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He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","bfef23bc-8b64-4ef4-8aff-ba7247b4931f",{"id":551,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":552,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":554,"is_external_url":50},148106801211125,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","asset",{},"https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/","author","Editor - Energy Transition & 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57,133982,134125,134223,134555,134667,134817,134986,135202,135540,135813,135921,136050,136387,136698,136978,137101,137215,137341,137433,137925,138232,138837,139594,139825,139914,140057,140181,140528,140717,140907,141071,141335,141618,141812,142042,142190,142367,142568,142760,142867,143008,143139,143365,143551,143718,143844,144281,144521,144635,144730,144869,144958,145035,145202,145325,145482,145649,145859,146002,146197,146356,146889,147219,147371,147567,147885,148066,148236,148439,148575,148710,149155,149255,149363,149533,149636,149790,150082,150637,150944,151127,151237,151342,151457,151628,151732,152091,152386,152580,152716,152961,153094,153253,153467,153612],{"id":562,"uuid":563,"name":564,"slug":565,"full_slug":566,"content":567},154491594783715,"b1231e13-5385-4df6-90bd-05f08d4627bd","US ITC votes against antidumping duty and countervailing duty on Chinese active anode material","us-itc-votes-against-antidumping-duty-and-countervailing-duty-on-chinese-active-anode-material","article/us-itc-votes-against-antidumping-duty-and-countervailing-duty-on-chinese-active-anode-material",{"_uid":568,"date":569,"tags":570,"editor":577,"content":587,"excerpt":595,"featured":51,"reporter":683,"component":697,"seo_title":698,"categories":699,"visibility":707,"data_vis_image":708,"featured_image":710,"seo_description":595,"formattedDate":714},"f432bc60-c2e8-4338-a621-e7e3d4cbb8e0","2026-03-13 00:00",[571,574],{"slug":572,"name":573},"usa","USA",{"slug":575,"name":576},"china","China",[578],{"slug":579,"name":580,"content":581},"benjamin-roche","Benjamin Roche",{"job_title":582,"image":583,"bio":585,"linkedin":586},"Editor – Energy Transition Supply Chains",{"filename":584},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/800x800/66d6674fb8/benjamin-roche.png","Benjamin is Benchmark's Editor for Energy Transition Supply Chains, covering both upstream products like critical minerals and downstream products including energy storage systems and electric vehicles. He has previous experience covering trade flows, tariffs and the effects of geopolitics on supply chains.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrochecontent/",{"type":588,"content":589},"doc",[590,597,614,624,638,643,650,655,665,672,677],{"type":591,"attrs":592,"content":593},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[594],{"text":595,"type":596},"The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has rejected antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CD) on imports of Chinese-made active anode material (AAM).","text",{"type":591,"attrs":598,"content":599},{"textAlign":49},[600,602,612],{"text":601,"type":596},"Continuation of the duties requires approval from both the ITC and the Department of Commerce (DOC). While the latter ",{"text":603,"type":596,"marks":604},"offered final affirmative determinations",[605],{"type":606,"attrs":607},"link",{"href":608,"uuid":609,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},"/article/us-to-increase-tariffs-on-chinese-anode-producers-to-205-","ee4cc049-cf29-4401-bf04-2a1cd938de91","_blank","story",{"text":613,"type":596}," on both AD and CD in February, which resulted in their initial imposition, their unexpected rejection in a 2-1 decision by the ITC means the duties will be removed.",{"type":615,"attrs":616,"content":618},"heading",{"level":617,"textAlign":49},2,[619],{"text":620,"type":596,"marks":621},"Total tariff rate falls to a fraction of previous level",[622],{"type":623},"bold",{"type":591,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627,629,636],{"text":628,"type":596},"The combined duty rate of AD and CD on Chinese AAM ",{"text":630,"type":596,"marks":631},"was levelled at",[632],{"type":606,"attrs":633},{"href":634,"uuid":635,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},"/article/chinese-aam-imports-into-the-us-face-160-tariff-following-antidumping-investigation-ruling","e291a952-d0e9-450d-a0a3-ba06479d1043",{"text":637,"type":596}," 160.3%, bringing the total tariff on Chinese AAM to 195.3% when considering Section 301 and Section 122 duties. With the removal of the AD and CD duties, the total rate falls to 35%.",{"type":591,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":596},"Tariffs peaked at 205% at the start of February when the new duties were introduced, before a 10% reduction brought them to 195% when the administration’s IEEPA tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court.",{"type":615,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":596,"marks":648},"Chinese AAM now cheaper for US buyers",[649],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":596},"With the AD/CD in place, US AAM was more competitively priced for US buyers than imported Chinese product. With their removal, Chinese imports are once again cheaper than US alternatives. Over 2025, imports of Chinese AAM into the US fell driven by the tariffs, consequently with lower tariff rates we expect an upturn in Chinese imports.",{"type":656,"attrs":657},"blok",{"id":658,"body":659},"c7db82d4-e916-4bc4-b4b6-71020a92b180",[660],{"id":661,"_uid":662,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"28041344","i-cb99271c-c271-4287-8a9c-62c662ed3e67","visualisation","ContentFlourish",{"type":615,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":596,"marks":670},"What does it mean for the US anode industry?",[671],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":596},"While there are US-based anode producers coming online, there is now a lack of financial incentive for consumers to purchase US-made product. This makes the development of the US’s domestic anode industry more challenging and puts at risk projects yet to come online. US anode production capacity for synthetic and natural AAM is set to expand with the likes of Kellyton, Graphite One and Videlia Phase and Novonix Riverside all expected to come online in coming years. However, uncertainty now arises as consumers may look to purchase cheaper Chinese material, this applies especially to smaller producers with higher costs.",{"type":656,"attrs":678},{"id":658,"body":679},[680],{"id":681,"_uid":682,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"28042193","i-6a07a3a9-1a9b-4939-b1af-a874ff8aec2a",[684,694],{"slug":685,"name":686,"content":687},"shruti-kashyap","Shruti Kashyap",{"job_title":688,"image":689,"bio":691,"linkedin":692,"markets_covered":693},"Product Director - Graphite and Battery Chemicals",{"filename":690},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/852x854/ac0cb6825d/shruti-k.png","Shruti is the Product Director for graphite and battery chemicals at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and has around two decades of experience in commodity analysis. Shruti previously worked at CRU as head of nitrogen analysis and has also worked with leading metals and mining companies, such as Peabody Energy and Anglo American, where she was responsible for analysis of coal and iron ore. Shruti has also worked with Ernst and Young where she was involved in strategy, valuations and due diligence analysis of mining and chemical companies. She has a Masters degree in Economics from Delhi University, India.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/shruti-kashyap/","Graphite",{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":695},{"job_title":557,"image":696,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"article","US ITC rejects antidumping, countervailing duties on Chinese AAM",[700,702,705],{"slug":701,"name":261},"anode",{"slug":703,"name":704},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":706,"name":693},"graphite","private",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":709},{},{"id":711,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":712,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":713,"is_external_url":50},141355809944402,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1707/d8fe6cefca/graphitepowder.jpg",{},"Mar 13, 2026",{"id":716,"uuid":717,"name":718,"slug":719,"full_slug":720,"content":721},154194521590895,"c67ac4c5-ec20-418f-8ffb-364460a1918c","Global EV sales reached 1.1 million units in February 2026","global-ev-sales-reached-1-1-million-units-in-february-2026","article/global-ev-sales-reached-1-1-million-units-in-february-2026",{"_uid":722,"date":723,"tags":724,"editor":726,"content":730,"excerpt":1020,"featured":51,"reporter":1021,"component":697,"seo_title":718,"categories":1032,"visibility":1043,"data_vis_image":1044,"featured_image":1046,"seo_description":1050,"formattedDate":1051},"98494644-3c47-4ada-9998-629cb2b8dcaf","2026-03-12 00:00",[725],{"slug":575,"name":576},[727],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":728},{"job_title":557,"image":729,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":731},[732,756,778,832,841,849,857,865,886,894,904,912,920,929,937,950,958,966,974,983,991,999,1007],{"type":591,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735,742,751],{"text":736,"type":596,"marks":737},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.1 million ",[738],{"type":739,"attrs":740},"textStyle",{"color":741},"black",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":744},"electric vehicles",[745,747],{"type":739,"attrs":746},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":748},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/ev-and-battery","url",{"text":752,"type":596,"marks":753}," were sold globally in February 2026. The global EV market was down 11% compared to February 2025, and also down 11% compared to January 2026.",[754],{"type":739,"attrs":755},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":757,"content":759},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},"justify",[760,765,773],{"text":761,"type":596,"marks":762},"Snapshot ",[763],{"type":739,"attrs":764},{"color":741},{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":767},"electric vehicle",[768,770],{"type":739,"attrs":769},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":771},{"href":772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-de-risking-the-global-electric-vehicle-value-chain-build-out",{"text":774,"type":596,"marks":775}," sales in YTD 2026 (Jan-Feb 2026) vs YTD 2025 (Jan-Feb 2025), YTD %",[776],{"type":739,"attrs":777},{"color":741},{"type":779,"content":780},"bullet_list",[781,792,802,812,822],{"type":782,"content":783},"list_item",[784],{"type":591,"attrs":785,"content":786},{"textAlign":49},[787],{"text":788,"type":596,"marks":789},"Global: 2.2 million, -8%   ",[790],{"type":739,"attrs":791},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":793},[794],{"type":591,"attrs":795,"content":796},{"textAlign":49},[797],{"text":798,"type":596,"marks":799},"China: 1.1 million, -26%",[800],{"type":739,"attrs":801},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":803},[804],{"type":591,"attrs":805,"content":806},{"textAlign":49},[807],{"text":808,"type":596,"marks":809},"Europe: 0.6 million, +21%",[810],{"type":739,"attrs":811},{"color":741},{"type":782,"content":813},[814],{"type":591,"attrs":815,"content":816},{"textAlign":49},[817],{"text":818,"type":596,"marks":819},"North America: 0.17 million, -36%",[820],{"type":739,"attrs":821},{"color":741},{"type":782,"content":823},[824],{"type":591,"attrs":825,"content":826},{"textAlign":49},[827],{"text":828,"type":596,"marks":829},"Rest of World: 0.37 million, +84%",[830],{"type":739,"attrs":831},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":833,"content":834},{"textAlign":49},[835],{"type":836,"attrs":837},"image",{"id":838,"alt":547,"src":839,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547,"meta_data":840},154196761638307,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1280x720/c98e182448/february-2026-monthly-ev-sales-slide-bmi.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":842,"content":843},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[844],{"text":845,"type":596,"marks":846},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented:",[847],{"type":739,"attrs":848},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":850,"content":851},{"textAlign":758},[852],{"text":853,"type":596,"marks":854},"“The global EV market’s divergence has sharpened further as 2026 progresses, with February’s performance underlining stark regional contrasts. Europe continues to act as the engine of growth, while North America remains in retreat and China adjusts to structural policy changes at home, even as exports accelerate.",[855],{"type":739,"attrs":856},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":858,"content":859},{"textAlign":758},[860],{"text":861,"type":596,"marks":862},"Europe’s EV market increased 1% month-on-month in February, reaching 21% growth year-to-date, led by Germany and France, where active subsidy schemes have pushed sales up 26% and 30% respectively. Italy also recorded a record February, up 23% month-on-month and 98% year-to-date, driven by its EU-backed incentive programme.",[863],{"type":739,"attrs":864},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":866,"content":867},{"textAlign":758},[868,873,881],{"text":869,"type":596,"marks":870},"North America remains under pressure: despite an 8% monthly increase in February, the region is still down 36% year-to-date, with sharp BEV sales declines in the US weighing on performance and prompting ",[871],{"type":739,"attrs":872},{"color":741},{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":875},"supply chain",[876,878],{"type":739,"attrs":877},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":879},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/supply-chain-data",{"text":882,"type":596,"marks":883}," cutbacks. Canada’s market is also down 23% year-to-date, though policymakers are seeking to stimulate demand through reduced-tariff access for Chinese-made EVs and closer cooperation with Germany.",[884],{"type":739,"attrs":885},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":887,"content":888},{"textAlign":758},[889],{"text":890,"type":596,"marks":891},"China’s domestic market is adjusting to the reintroduction of a purchase tax and changes to its trade-in scheme, resulting in a sharp year-on-year decline at the start of the year. However, exports remain a bright spot, with overseas shipments more than doubling year-on-year in the first two months of 2026.”",[892],{"type":739,"attrs":893},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":895,"content":896},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[897],{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":899},"Europe",[900,902],{"type":739,"attrs":901},{"color":741},{"type":903},"underline",{"type":591,"attrs":905,"content":906},{"textAlign":758},[907],{"text":908,"type":596,"marks":909},"Growth in the European EV market continues to be supported by subsidy schemes in key markets within the region. The European EV market grew 1% month-on-month in February 2026, leaving the region up 21% year-to date after the first two months of the year. Two of its largest markets, Germany and France, are leading the region’s growth, with the two markets up 26% and 30%, respectively. The EV markets in both countries are supported by subsidy schemes, with Germany introducing a new scheme at the start of 2026 and France continuing the scheme it was operating at the end of 2025.",[910],{"type":739,"attrs":911},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":913,"content":914},{"textAlign":758},[915],{"text":916,"type":596,"marks":917},"Italy’s EV market recorded its record month for EV sales in February after sales increased 23% month-on-month. The growth maintained a strong start to year for the Italian market, with EV sales up 98% year-to-date. In October 2025, the Italian government launched a generous new subsidy scheme financed by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. The scheme looks to increase EV adoption among lower income households and smaller businesses, with households able to receive up to EUR11,000 (USD12,700) in support and businesses up to EUR20,000 (USD23,200).",[918],{"type":739,"attrs":919},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":921,"content":922},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[923],{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":925},"North America",[926,928],{"type":739,"attrs":927},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":930,"content":931},{"textAlign":758},[932],{"text":933,"type":596,"marks":934},"EV sales in the North American EV market grew 8% month-on month in February 2026. However, the market remains down 36% year-to-date, with the US driving the contraction. Most automakers have experienced a significant decline in EV sales in the country. Ford’s BEV sales have fallen 70% year-to-date, Honda’s have declined 81% and Kia’s have dropped 52%. The impact of the weakening US EV market is increasingly starting to spread beyond the traditional automotive industry, with SK On laying off 37% of its workforce at its facility in Georgia, US.",[935],{"type":739,"attrs":936},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":938,"content":939},{"textAlign":758},[940,945],{"text":941,"type":596,"marks":942},"Canada continues to look to reinvigorate its EV market, with its PC & LDV EV market down 23% year-to-date after February 2026. Following the agreement reached between Canada and China in January 2026 that will allow Chinese made EVs into Canada at a reduced tariff rate of 6.1%, the first application window for import permits under this agreement opened on 1 March 2026. The application period will run for six months, with up to 24,500 permits to be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. In February 2026, Canada and Germany announced they intend to deepen their collaboration across the automotive and battery supply chains, which will involve expanding the trade of EVs. ",[943],{"type":739,"attrs":944},{"color":741},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":947}," ",[948],{"type":739,"attrs":949},{"color":547},{"type":615,"attrs":951,"content":952},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[953],{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":954},[955,957],{"type":739,"attrs":956},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":959,"content":960},{"textAlign":758},[961],{"text":962,"type":596,"marks":963},"The Chinese EV market declined by 32% in February 2026 compared with the same period last year. The market is feeling the impact of both the introduction of a purchase tax, for the first time since 2014, and adjustments to the trade-in scheme. EV sales volumes were also affected by the timing of the Chinese New Year. However, sales remain significantly lower year-on-year, despite the Chinese New Year having also largely fallen in February last year.",[964],{"type":739,"attrs":965},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":967,"content":968},{"textAlign":758},[969],{"text":970,"type":596,"marks":971},"Many Chinese OEMs have set ambitious EV export targets for 2026. In the first two months of the year, Chinese EV exports more than doubled year-on-year, surpassing half a million units.",[972],{"type":739,"attrs":973},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":975,"content":976},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[977],{"text":978,"type":596,"marks":979},"Rest of World (RoW)",[980,982],{"type":739,"attrs":981},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":984,"content":985},{"textAlign":758},[986],{"text":987,"type":596,"marks":988},"The RoW maintained the strong start to 2026 it had in January, with EV sales increasing 78% in February 2026 compared to February 2025.",[989],{"type":739,"attrs":990},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":992,"content":993},{"textAlign":758},[994],{"text":995,"type":596,"marks":996},"South Korea’s EV market more than tripled month-on-month to over 37,200 EV sales. This is the first time the country’s monthly PC & LDV EV sales have surpassed 30,000 units. South Korea’s penetration rate also rose to a new high, reaching 30% for the first time. The surge in sales followed the announcement of South Korea’s 2026 EV subsidy scheme, which encourages the adoption of smaller and more affordable EVs. South Korea’s EV market is highly sensitive to the introduction and expiration of subsidies and their budgets. This is a trend likely to be replicated this year, perhaps even exaggerated, as consumers who missed out on last year’s budget seek to take advantage of the 2026 budget.",[997],{"type":739,"attrs":998},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":1000,"content":1001},{"textAlign":758},[1002],{"text":1003,"type":596,"marks":1004},"The insights above were produced using data from Benchmark's EV & Battery Service. For more information, get in touch with the form below:",[1005],{"type":1006},"italic",{"type":656,"attrs":1008},{"id":1009,"body":1010},"d1665d80-2686-4fd5-8c74-893cb179b301",[1011],{"id":1012,"_uid":1013,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":1015,"success_file":1017,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":1019,"show_on_intelligence":50},"57a99950-73f5-48be-98a4-7324c28e5d0b","i-73cafb72-cf38-45dd-a719-2ec15d6b0d33","ContentHubspotForm",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},"multilink",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1018},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in February 2026. The global EV market was down 11% compared to February 2025, and also down 11% compared to January 2026.",[1022],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":1025},"charles-lester","Charles Lester",{"job_title":1026,"image":1027,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},"Data Manager",{"filename":1028},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/400x400/e3e91a8cc9/charles-lester.jpeg","Charles is Data Manager at Rho Motion, working on electric vehicle, battery, charging, and recycling market analysis, as well as modelling energy and commodity demand associated with the energy transition. Prior to joining Rho Motion he was a Consultant at Argus Media working across several sectors including energy, fertiliser and emissions economics. He has worked on multiple feasibility studies for major industrial projects worth several billion dollars. Charles graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Economics, and a Master’s Degree in Economics from University College London (UCL).","https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleslester-124/","EV and Battery",[1033,1036,1039,1042],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},"ev","EV",{"slug":1037,"name":1038},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":1040,"name":1041},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory",{"slug":703,"name":704},"public",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1045},{},{"id":1047,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1048,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1049,"is_external_url":50},129073389864781,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6e1c26712e/bm-uk-taxi-ev.jpg",{},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in February 2026.","Mar 12, 2026",{"id":1053,"uuid":1054,"name":1055,"slug":1056,"full_slug":1057,"content":1058},153796343478373,"e280bc7e-9792-4994-93d2-8de12eb4d83c","South Korea’s EV market has record month in February 2026","south-korea-s-ev-market-has-record-month-in-february-2026","article/south-korea-s-ev-market-has-record-month-in-february-2026",{"_uid":1059,"date":1060,"tags":1061,"editor":1068,"content":1072,"excerpt":1193,"featured":51,"reporter":1194,"component":697,"seo_title":1055,"categories":1204,"visibility":1043,"data_vis_image":1207,"featured_image":1211,"seo_description":1193,"formattedDate":1215},"0bf57292-25c1-411a-981a-a1cc87a53572","2026-03-11 00:00",[1062,1065],{"slug":1063,"name":1064},"south-korea","South Korea",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",[1069],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1070},{"job_title":557,"image":1071,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":1073},[1074,1093,1100,1106,1111,1116,1122,1131,1152,1160,1169,1177,1184],{"type":591,"attrs":1075,"content":1076},{"textAlign":49},[1077,1082,1088],{"text":1078,"type":596,"marks":1079},"South Korea’s passenger car and light duty ",[1080],{"type":739,"attrs":1081},{"color":547},{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":1083},[1084,1086],{"type":739,"attrs":1085},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":1087},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1089,"type":596,"marks":1090}," (PC & LDV EV) market more than tripled month-on-month to over 37,200 EV sales in February 2026. This is the first time the country’s monthly PC & LDV EV sales have surpassed 30,000 units. South Korea’s penetration rate also rose to new highs as it reached 30% for the first time.",[1091],{"type":739,"attrs":1092},{"color":547},{"type":656,"attrs":1094},{"id":1095,"body":1096},"b7e60e6d-f215-405e-b56d-c0e0134eca64",[1097],{"id":1098,"_uid":1099,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"28003132","i-9e608a73-de67-410f-a5d3-649e6e77c1a0",{"type":615,"attrs":1101,"content":1103},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},1,[1104],{"text":1105,"type":596},"Who drove the surge in sales?",{"type":591,"attrs":1107,"content":1108},{"textAlign":49},[1109],{"text":1110,"type":596},"EVs manufactured domestically drove the rise in sales, with the sale of locally made EVs increasing by almost 20,000 units month-on-month, compared to the 6,200 unit increase for imported EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":1112,"content":1113},{"textAlign":49},[1114],{"text":1115,"type":596},"In January 2026 domestically produced and imported EVs sold in roughly equal quantities. The January data shows the Kia PV5 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 led the increase in sales for domestically manufactured vehicles, while the Model Y experienced the greatest increase of all models as its sales rose to over 7,000 units. ",{"type":656,"attrs":1117},{"id":1095,"body":1118},[1119],{"id":1120,"_uid":1121,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"28003335","i-448b53e4-e075-4f74-b172-24eff3e5af40",{"type":615,"attrs":1123,"content":1124},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1125],{"text":1126,"type":596,"marks":1127},"What caused the surge in sales?",[1128,1130],{"type":739,"attrs":1129},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1132,"content":1133},{"textAlign":49},[1134,1139,1147],{"text":1135,"type":596,"marks":1136},"In January 2026, the South Korean government outlined its 2026 ",[1137],{"type":739,"attrs":1138},{"color":547},{"text":1140,"type":596,"marks":1141},"EV subsidy scheme",[1142,1144],{"type":739,"attrs":1143},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":1145},{"href":1146,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/germany-confirms-its-new-ev-subsidy-scheme",{"text":1148,"type":596,"marks":1149},". The scheme looks to encourage the adoption of smaller and more affordable EVs, which is expected to benefit lower income households. PC EVs under KRW53 million ($36,000) will be eligible for 100% of the subsidy, while those priced over KRW85 million ($57,700) will be eligible for no subsidy, with EVs priced in between able to receive 50% of the subsidy.",[1150],{"type":739,"attrs":1151},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1153,"content":1154},{"textAlign":49},[1155],{"text":1156,"type":596,"marks":1157},"The total budget for the 2026 scheme is KRW1.60 trillion ($1.08 billion), with new PC purchases receiving a total budget of KRW780 billion ($529 million). With subsidy amounts ranging from around KRW5.7 million ($3,870) to KRW1.7 million ($1,150).",[1158],{"type":739,"attrs":1159},{"color":547},{"type":615,"attrs":1161,"content":1162},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1163],{"text":1164,"type":596,"marks":1165},"What does this mean for South Korea’s EV market in 2026?",[1166,1168],{"type":739,"attrs":1167},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1170,"content":1171},{"textAlign":49},[1172],{"text":1173,"type":596,"marks":1174},"South Korea’s EV market is highly sensitive to the introduction and expiration of subsidies and their budgets. Following the announcement of the 2025 budget at the start of 2025, EV sales rose in the subsequent months until the budget was fully exhausted in the final months of the year. This trend is likely to be replicated this year, perhaps even exaggerated as consumers that missed out on last year’s budget, which was reduced compared to 2024, seek to take advantage of the 2026 budget.",[1175],{"type":739,"attrs":1176},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1178,"content":1179},{"textAlign":49},[1180],{"text":1181,"type":596,"marks":1182},"This data came from Benchmark's EV & Battery Service, for more information get in touch with the team using the form below:",[1183],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":1185},{"id":1095,"body":1186},[1187],{"id":1012,"_uid":1188,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":1189,"success_file":1190,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":1192,"show_on_intelligence":50},"i-e555462f-3b48-4bbc-8bd2-8ed793f1618c",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1191},{},[],"South Korea’s passenger car and light duty electric vehicle (PC & LDV EV) market more than tripled month-on-month to over 37,200 EV sales in February 2026. ",[1195],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":1198},"george-whitcombe","George Whitcombe",{"job_title":1199,"image":1200,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},"Analyst - EV",{"filename":1201},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/500x500/e5fa44ebf8/george-whitecombe.jpeg","George is an EV Analyst at Rho Motion, working in the EV & Battery research team. He works extensively on global EV sales and production analysis, considering the economic and legislative factors that influence both. He also focuses on the strategy of automotive OEMs in the transition to EVs and feeds that into the team’s view on global vehicle markets. George graduated from the University of Exeter with a First Class Honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-whitcombe-2320111b6/",[1205,1206],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":1208,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1209,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1210,"is_external_url":50},153799099387960,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/892x698/011e1e9c3d/screenshot-2026-03-11-140950.png",{},{"id":1212,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1213,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1214,"is_external_url":50},153797719269142,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3840x2160/4441d42ff5/adobestock_119926749.jpeg",{},"Mar 11, 2026",{"id":1217,"uuid":1218,"name":1219,"slug":1220,"full_slug":1221,"content":1222},150922938860816,"7de458a0-0657-40d8-8d37-346c42d4def5","EV manufacturers fail to meet their 2025 expectations","ev-manufacturers-fail-to-meet-their-2025-expectations","article/ev-manufacturers-fail-to-meet-their-2025-expectations",{"_uid":1223,"date":1224,"tags":1225,"editor":1233,"content":1237,"excerpt":1330,"featured":51,"reporter":1331,"component":697,"seo_title":1219,"categories":1335,"visibility":707,"data_vis_image":1337,"featured_image":1339,"seo_description":1330,"formattedDate":1343},"f17d6063-b7fe-40ee-9307-f570bc776035","2026-03-03 00:00",[1226,1227,1230],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1228,"name":1229},"xiaomi","Xiaomi",{"slug":1231,"name":1232},"byd","BYD",[1234],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1235},{"job_title":557,"image":1236,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":1238},[1239,1281,1286,1298,1303,1308,1315,1320,1325],{"type":591,"attrs":1240,"content":1241},{"textAlign":49},[1242,1244,1252,1254,1261,1263,1270,1272,1279],{"text":1243,"type":596},"EV-only manufacturers performed poorly relative to their expectations in 2025, with Xiaomi and Xiaopeng Motors the only notable exceptions. ",{"text":1245,"type":596,"marks":1246},"Over the past two years",[1247],{"type":606,"attrs":1248},{"href":1249,"uuid":1250,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":611},"/article/the-ev-market-past-present-and-future","fe291a62-d1e1-42fc-bf34-907bb7976f84","_self",{"text":1253,"type":596}," many legacy OEMs have scaled back their electrification ambitions, a consequence of slower EV adoption than first expected when the targets were set, due to ",{"text":1255,"type":596,"marks":1256},"current geopolitical trends",[1257],{"type":606,"attrs":1258},{"href":1259,"uuid":1260,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":611},"/publications/briefings/geo-economic-and-policy-briefings/geo-economic-and-policy-briefing-edition-1-2026","ce29258c-984f-40e2-8a4c-e4eabcf2debf",{"text":1262,"type":596}," and the weakening of legislation, ",{"text":1264,"type":596,"marks":1265},"subsidies ",[1266],{"type":606,"attrs":1267},{"href":1268,"uuid":1269,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":611},"/article/germany-confirms-its-new-ev-subsidy-scheme","7381307a-486b-41af-b923-1af8fdda11f2",{"text":1271,"type":596},"and ",{"text":1273,"type":596,"marks":1274},"incentives supporting EV adoption",[1275],{"type":606,"attrs":1276},{"href":1277,"uuid":1278,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":611},"/article/tax-changes-for-2026-hamper-norway-s-ev-sales","e11a55fc-8518-46e0-8327-2bc105a9615b",{"text":1280,"type":596},".",{"type":591,"attrs":1282,"content":1283},{"textAlign":49},[1284],{"text":1285,"type":596},"However, the majority of EV-only manufacturers continue to set annual sales targets. Primarily because this is the key indicator of expansion for these brands, as they do not have hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) or ICE vehicle sales to rely on for growth.",{"type":615,"attrs":1287,"content":1288},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[1289,1294],{"type":836,"attrs":1290},{"id":1291,"alt":547,"src":1292,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547,"meta_data":1293},150923122371694,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1134x592/b0b7d61460/brand.png",{},{"text":1295,"type":596,"marks":1296},"Many OEMs revised their expectations partway through the year",[1297],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1299,"content":1300},{"textAlign":49},[1301],{"text":1302,"type":596},"BYD, Rivian, Lucid and Li Auto all lowered their targets partway through 2025. Rivian and Lucid both just met the lower bounds of their revised targets while Li Auto still missed its revised target of 640,000, down from 700,000 units, by 37%.",{"type":591,"attrs":1304,"content":1305},{"textAlign":49},[1306],{"text":1307,"type":596},"Xiaomi and Leapmotor were the only OEMs to raise their EV sales expectations during the year. Leapmotor increased its targets from 500,000-600,000 EVs to 580,000-650,000 EVs and went on to deliver just under 600,000 units.",{"type":615,"attrs":1309,"content":1310},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[1311],{"text":1312,"type":596,"marks":1313},"Why did many miss their 2025 expectations?",[1314],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1316,"content":1317},{"textAlign":49},[1318],{"text":1319,"type":596},"The majority of OEMs only manufacturing EVs are Chinese companies relying on the domestic market for their vehicle sales. The Chinese market experienced strong growth in 2024, with EV sales rising 35% compared to 2023. This growth was underpinned by an increase in the generosity of China’s trade-in scheme, which works to subsidise the purchase of EVs, midway through the year. Chinese OEMs benefited significantly from this: BYD grew 44% compared to 2023, NIO grew 39%, and Li Auto grew 33%.",{"type":591,"attrs":1321,"content":1322},{"textAlign":49},[1323],{"text":1324,"type":596},"Chinese OEMs set their 2025 expectations during a period of high positivity in the Chinese market. This positivity continued into the first half of 2025 with strong year-on-year growth rates every month. However, year-on-year growth stalled in the second half of the year, as sales in the second half of 2024 had been heavily boosted by the change in the trade-in scheme that year.",{"type":591,"attrs":1326,"content":1327},{"textAlign":49},[1328],{"text":1329,"type":596},"China’s EV sales growth is expected to slow again in 2026 due to the introduction of a purchase tax on EVs for the first time since 2014, as well as a reduction in the generosity of China’s trade-in scheme. Chinese OEMs are increasingly turning to overseas markets to fuel their growth. For instance, BYD is looking to sell 1.3 million EVs outside China in 2026. Despite the changes in China’s EV market conditions this year, several OEMs continue to set strong targets for 2026. Zeekr’s target requires growth of 34% relative to 2025, Li Auto’s requires over 35% growth, and NIO’s requires 40% growth.","EV-only manufacturers performed poorly relative to their expectations in 2025, with Xiaomi and Xiaopeng Motors the only notable exceptions.",[1332],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":1333},{"job_title":1199,"image":1334,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1201},[1336],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1338},{},{"id":1340,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1341,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1342,"is_external_url":50},129064587089142,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/005d0156fa/bm-a-new-ford-mustang-mach-e-gt-x-electric-vehicle-parking-at-electrify-america-ev-charging-station.jpg",{},"Mar 03, 2026",{"id":1345,"uuid":1278,"name":1346,"slug":1347,"full_slug":1348,"content":1349},146727219669318,"Tax changes for 2026 hamper Norway’s EV sales","tax-changes-for-2026-hamper-norway-s-ev-sales","article/tax-changes-for-2026-hamper-norway-s-ev-sales",{"_uid":1350,"date":1351,"tags":1352,"editor":1356,"content":1360,"excerpt":1445,"featured":51,"reporter":1446,"component":697,"seo_title":1346,"categories":1450,"visibility":1043,"data_vis_image":1453,"featured_image":1457,"seo_description":1445,"formattedDate":1461},"3e762ae6-039d-42ad-a193-c63fcfdd2aae","2026-02-19 00:00",[1353,1355],{"slug":1354,"name":898},"europe",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[1357],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1358},{"job_title":557,"image":1359,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":1361},[1362,1381,1388,1397,1402,1407,1416,1421,1429,1435],{"type":591,"attrs":1363,"content":1364},{"textAlign":49},[1365,1370,1376],{"text":1366,"type":596,"marks":1367},"Norway’s passenger car and light duty ",[1368],{"type":739,"attrs":1369},{"color":547},{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":1371},[1372,1374],{"type":739,"attrs":1373},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":1375},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1377,"type":596,"marks":1378}," (PC & LDV EV) sales dropped 71% in January 2026 compared to the opening month of 2025 to just over 2,800 units. The drop came as a result of changes in VAT tax exemptions for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with the threshold for exemption dropping. Previously just the purchase price over NOK500,000 ($52,700) was subject to a 25% VAT rate, but from 1 January 2026, that threshold dropped to NOK300,000 ($31,600).",[1379],{"type":739,"attrs":1380},{"color":547},{"type":656,"attrs":1382},{"id":1383,"body":1384},"215532f4-1950-41bc-b236-249299665a78",[1385],{"id":1386,"_uid":1387,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27708474","i-a9eacbbb-ece4-44bb-ac8f-8eb0ef4acbff",{"type":615,"attrs":1389,"content":1390},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1391],{"text":1392,"type":596,"marks":1393},"How has Norway’s tax landscape for EVs changed?",[1394,1396],{"type":739,"attrs":1395},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1398,"content":1399},{"textAlign":49},[1400],{"text":1401,"type":596},"PC & LDV EV sales dropped 92% month-on-month following a strong pre-buying effect as consumers anticipated the tightening of VAT exemptions for BEVs. This is Norway’s largest month-on-month drop in EV sales since January 2023 when sales contracted 95% to less than 1,800 units due to the initial introduction of VAT for EVs priced over NOK500,000 ($52,700), as well as a weight tax for BEVs on all excess weight over 500kg. ",{"type":591,"attrs":1403,"content":1404},{"textAlign":49},[1405],{"text":1406,"type":596},"Over the past three years, Norway’s top ten best selling EVs all surpass the new NOK300,000 ($31,600) price threshold. However, the top ten also contained models that were subject to VAT as they were priced over the NOK500,000 ($52,700) threshold, such as the ID.Buzz and ID.7. The reduced threshold does not spell the end of VAT exemption for EVs in Norway, with the base prices of the MG-4 and Renault 5 falling under the new upper limit.",{"type":615,"attrs":1408,"content":1409},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1410],{"text":1411,"type":596,"marks":1412},"How does this impact Norway’s transition to EVs?",[1413,1415],{"type":739,"attrs":1414},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1417,"content":1418},{"textAlign":49},[1419],{"text":1420,"type":596},"Norway has reached penetration rates high enough to mean that its EV market is the majority of its total vehicle market on a monthly basis. While there was a significant drop in unit sales in January, the market’s penetration rate was 84%[MB3.1][DB3.2]. Which is slightly below its 2025 penetration rate but still above that of any preceding year.",{"type":591,"attrs":1422,"content":1423},{"textAlign":49},[1424],{"text":1425,"type":596,"marks":1426},"While Norway’s penetration will continue to lead both in Europe and globally, its unit sales for both its total vehicle market and EV market will see a contraction in 2026 relative to 2025. This contraction is likely to persist into 2027, with the Norwegian government proposing to end the VAT exemption enjoyed by BEVs entirely from 1 January 2027.",[1427],{"type":739,"attrs":1428},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1430,"content":1431},{"textAlign":49},[1432],{"text":1181,"type":596,"marks":1433},[1434],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":1436},{"id":1437,"body":1438},"cd388a39-4e6b-42cb-9888-243fc9cd41f8",[1439],{"id":1012,"_uid":1440,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":1441,"success_file":1442,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":1444,"show_on_intelligence":50},"i-54ac4dee-c805-4a7a-82e5-2dffd58bc2eb",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1443},{},[],"Norway’s passenger car and light duty electric vehicle (PC & LDV EV) sales dropped 71% in January 2026 compared to the opening month of 2025 to just over 2,800 units. ",[1447],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":1448},{"job_title":1199,"image":1449,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1201},[1451,1452],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":1454,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1455,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1456,"is_external_url":50},146728141620801,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1040x647/f47a17f4fe/screenshot-2026-02-19-110323.png",{},{"id":1458,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1459,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1460,"is_external_url":50},146727362807314,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6048x4024/4416c03e36/chuttersnap-xfayasmv1p8-unsplash.jpg",{},"Feb 19, 2026",{"id":1463,"uuid":1250,"name":1464,"slug":1465,"full_slug":1466,"content":1467},146054727735633,"The EV market, past present and future ","the-ev-market-past-present-and-future","article/the-ev-market-past-present-and-future",{"_uid":1468,"date":1469,"tags":1470,"editor":547,"content":1472,"excerpt":1614,"featured":51,"reporter":1615,"component":697,"seo_title":1619,"categories":1620,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":1624,"featured_image":1626,"seo_description":1614,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":1630},"c6f89e4a-b106-436e-8dd8-726bfd9c175e","2026-02-18 00:00",[1471],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"type":588,"content":1473},[1474,1515,1522,1527,1532,1537,1542,1556,1561,1574,1583,1591,1599,1605],{"type":591,"attrs":1475,"content":1476},{"textAlign":49},[1477,1482,1491,1496,1505,1510],{"text":1478,"type":596,"marks":1479},"Electric vehicles (EVs) have been the largest driver of the battery market in the 21st century, with EV-related battery demand ",[1480],{"type":739,"attrs":1481},{"color":547},{"text":1483,"type":596,"marks":1484},"accounting for 75% of the total 1.6 TWh of demand tracked in 2025",[1485,1489],{"type":606,"attrs":1486},{"href":1487,"uuid":1488,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},"/article/global-lithium-ion-battery-demand-rose-29-in-2025","96304af2-dffa-4477-9134-47853491eec9",{"type":739,"attrs":1490},{"color":547},{"text":1492,"type":596,"marks":1493},". However, the dynamics of the market are constantly changing. To celebrate ",[1494],{"type":739,"attrs":1495},{"color":547},{"text":1497,"type":596,"marks":1498},"International Battery Day",[1499,1503],{"type":606,"attrs":1500},{"href":1501,"uuid":1502,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":611},"/article/the-top-five-battery-producers-past-present-and-future","5a87817c-f839-49ea-9a92-ccb5a2952b63",{"type":739,"attrs":1504},{"color":547},{"text":1506,"type":596,"marks":1507},", Benchmark presents a past, present, and future view of key players within the EV market.",[1508],{"type":739,"attrs":1509},{"color":547},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":1511},[1512],{"type":739,"attrs":1513},{"color":1514},"#000000",{"type":656,"attrs":1516},{"id":1517,"body":1518},"b00b8fca-afac-484a-aa8f-572172bee2e6",[1519],{"id":1520,"_uid":1521,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27583433","i-c01e12ba-81c6-42db-bcd2-0be1e942a2f0",{"type":615,"attrs":1523,"content":1524},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1525],{"text":1526,"type":596},"Past - 2020 ",{"type":591,"attrs":1528,"content":1529},{"textAlign":49},[1530],{"text":1531,"type":596},"Just over 3.2 million EVs were sold worldwide in 2020, with ~42% of these sold in China. Tesla was by far the largest EV maker worldwide, with the Model 3 being the best-selling EV on the market. VW Group and SAIC were the next largest EV makers, accounting for 13% and 11% of total vehicles produced. These were followed by Hyundai Kia Automotive Group and BMW Group, each accounting for 6% of the total vehicles produced that year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":1533,"content":1534},{"textAlign":49},[1535],{"text":1536,"type":596},"In total, these top five producers accounted for 51% of the total EV production market in 2020. ",{"type":615,"attrs":1538,"content":1539},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1540],{"text":1541,"type":596},"Present - 2025 ",{"type":591,"attrs":1543,"content":1544},{"textAlign":49},[1545,1547,1554],{"text":1546,"type":596},"Five years down the line, the top five EV makers have flipped as ",{"text":1548,"type":596,"marks":1549},"global EV sales reached 20.7 million units",[1550],{"type":606,"attrs":1551},{"href":1552,"uuid":1553,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},"/article/global-ev-sales-reached-1-2-million-units-in-the-opening-month-of-2026","b27e8012-ca1b-4c7c-9200-1f5ccdbc7c24",{"text":1555,"type":596},". BYD took the top position, accounting for 20% of all EVs made that year. Geely Group also entered the space, accounting for 10% of total production, while Tesla, VW Group, and SAIC dropped to third, fifth, and fourth respectively, each accounting for between 6 and 7% market share.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":1557,"content":1558},{"textAlign":49},[1559],{"text":1560,"type":596},"In total, these top five producers accounted for 51% of the total EV production market, the same as in 2020. ",{"type":615,"attrs":1562,"content":1563},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1564,1570],{"text":1565,"type":596,"marks":1566},"Future - 2030",[1567,1569],{"type":739,"attrs":1568},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":1571},[1572],{"type":739,"attrs":1573},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1575,"content":1577},{"textAlign":1576},"left",[1578],{"text":1579,"type":596,"marks":1580},"Looking to the future, with the EV market now firmly established, we will see less change within the top makers. Notably, Tesla is forecast to fall out of the top five, to be replaced by Changan Automobile. However, it will still remain a major player within the EV market. ",[1581],{"type":739,"attrs":1582},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1584,"content":1585},{"textAlign":1576},[1586],{"text":1587,"type":596,"marks":1588},"Over this period, the market is expected to become more diversified, with more players gaining market share as overall EV sales continue to grow expected to reach 39.6 million units by 2030. BYD's and Geely's dominance will remain entrenched, but their share of the overall market is expected to decline as smaller players gain ground.  ",[1589],{"type":739,"attrs":1590},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1592,"content":1593},{"textAlign":1576},[1594],{"text":1595,"type":596,"marks":1596},"In 2030, the dominance of the top five players will fall to 43% down from 2020 and 2025. Similarly, the top 10 EV producers are forecast to account for 63% of production, down from 67% in 2025 and 78% in 2020.  ",[1597],{"type":739,"attrs":1598},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1600,"content":1601},{"textAlign":1576},[1602],{"text":1181,"type":596,"marks":1603},[1604],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":1606},{"id":1517,"body":1607},[1608],{"id":1012,"_uid":1609,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":1610,"success_file":1611,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":1613,"show_on_intelligence":50},"i-2c90f50d-df1b-4a21-b058-9f97a514387f",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1612},{},[],"Electric vehicles (EVs) have been the largest driver of the battery market in the 21st century, with EV-related battery demand accounting for 75% of the total 1.6 TWh of demand tracked in 2025.",[1616],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1617},{"job_title":557,"image":1618,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"The EV market, past present and future",[1621,1622,1623],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1625},{},{"id":1627,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1628,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1629,"is_external_url":50},146054819492629,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7200x4050/1337e7b926/adobestock_806152321.jpeg",{},"Feb 18, 2026",{"id":1632,"uuid":609,"name":1633,"slug":1634,"full_slug":1635,"content":1636},146024777158886,"US to increase tariffs on Chinese anode producers to 205%","us-to-increase-tariffs-on-chinese-anode-producers-to-205-","article/us-to-increase-tariffs-on-chinese-anode-producers-to-205-",{"_uid":1637,"date":1638,"tags":1639,"editor":1645,"content":1649,"excerpt":1805,"featured":51,"reporter":1806,"component":697,"seo_title":1633,"categories":1816,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":1833,"featured_image":1837,"seo_description":1805,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":1841},"d755be25-e6b4-4b1b-8c88-8a7afbe0341a","2026-02-17 00:00",[1640,1641,1644],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},"tariffs","Tariffs",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[1646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1647},{"job_title":557,"image":1648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":1650},[1651,1661,1668,1673,1678,1757,1762,1767,1772,1777,1783,1788,1793,1798,1803],{"type":591,"attrs":1652,"content":1653},{"textAlign":49},[1654,1656],{"text":1655,"type":596},"The US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued final affirmative determinations in its anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into Chinese active anode materials (AAM) used in lithium-ion batteries. The ruling imposes a minimum anti-dumping duty of 93.5% on selected Chinese producers, and a minimum countervailing duty of 66.82% applies to certain named firms. ",{"text":1657,"type":596,"marks":1658},"This follows an initial verdict initially announced in July 2025 that put the CVD at 11.58%. ",[1659],{"type":606,"attrs":1660},{"href":634,"uuid":635,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},{"type":656,"attrs":1662},{"id":1663,"body":1664},"16233cb7-cf12-4d64-9bf5-fbb09464e5a2",[1665],{"id":1666,"_uid":1667,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27678551","i-67af1341-f6a8-4779-a5ae-b7b758c215dd",{"type":615,"attrs":1669,"content":1670},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1671],{"text":1672,"type":596},"Tariff rate",{"type":591,"attrs":1674,"content":1675},{"textAlign":49},[1676],{"text":1677,"type":596},"When existing tariffs are added, a 25% Section 301 tariff and a combined 20% IEEPA tariff and reciprocal, the total effective minimum tariff reaches at least 205%. The minimum 93.5%AD tariff rates applies to selected companies:   ",{"type":779,"content":1679},[1680,1687,1694,1701,1708,1715,1722,1729,1736,1743,1750],{"type":782,"content":1681},[1682],{"type":591,"attrs":1683,"content":1684},{"textAlign":49},[1685],{"text":1686,"type":596},"BTR New Material Group Co., Ltd.  ",{"type":782,"content":1688},[1689],{"type":591,"attrs":1690,"content":1691},{"textAlign":49},[1692],{"text":1693,"type":596},"Huzhou Kaijin New Energy Technology Corp., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1695},[1696],{"type":591,"attrs":1697,"content":1698},{"textAlign":49},[1699],{"text":1700,"type":596},"Guizhou Zhongke Shinzoom Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1702},[1703],{"type":591,"attrs":1704,"content":1705},{"textAlign":49},[1706],{"text":1707,"type":596},"Jiangxi Zichen Technology Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1709},[1710],{"type":591,"attrs":1711,"content":1712},{"textAlign":49},[1713],{"text":1714,"type":596},"Henan Yicheng New Energy Co., Ltd ",{"type":782,"content":1716},[1717],{"type":591,"attrs":1718,"content":1719},{"textAlign":49},[1720],{"text":1721,"type":596},"Ningbo Shanshan New Material Technology Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1723},[1724],{"type":591,"attrs":1725,"content":1726},{"textAlign":49},[1727],{"text":1728,"type":596},"Fujian Shanshan Technology Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1730},[1731],{"type":591,"attrs":1732,"content":1733},{"textAlign":49},[1734],{"text":1735,"type":596},"Sichuan Shanshan New Material Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1737},[1738],{"type":591,"attrs":1739,"content":1740},{"textAlign":49},[1741],{"text":1742,"type":596},"Inner Mongolia Shanshan Technology Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1744},[1745],{"type":591,"attrs":1746,"content":1747},{"textAlign":49},[1748],{"text":1749,"type":596},"Qingdao Qingbei Carbon Products Co., Ltd. ",{"type":782,"content":1751},[1752],{"type":591,"attrs":1753,"content":1754},{"textAlign":49},[1755],{"text":1756,"type":596},"PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Company ",{"type":591,"attrs":1758,"content":1759},{"textAlign":49},[1760],{"text":1761,"type":596},"For all other companies higher 102.72% AD and 66.86% CVD rates apply, bringing the total effective tariff to 214.58%. However, these measures are not yet fully final. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to vote on 12 March 2026, with a final decision expected by the end of March.",{"type":615,"attrs":1763,"content":1764},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1765],{"text":1766,"type":596},"Tariff to protect the US domestic market",{"type":591,"attrs":1768,"content":1769},{"textAlign":49},[1770],{"text":1771,"type":596},"The immediate impact is a dramatic shift in cost competitiveness for material imported into the US. Before tariffs, Chinese natural graphite anode material carried a C1 cost of around $2,300 per tonne, and synthetic around $3,300 according to Benchmark’s Anode Service, roughly 30% cheaper than US equivalents, which stand at about $3,300 for natural and $4,700 for synthetic.",{"type":591,"attrs":1773,"content":1774},{"textAlign":49},[1775],{"text":1776,"type":596},"With a 205% tariff applied, Chinese costs increase to ~$7,000 per tonne for natural graphite and $10,000 for synthetic, more than double US production costs. ",{"type":656,"attrs":1778},{"id":1663,"body":1779},[1780],{"id":1781,"_uid":1782,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27678642","i-3b52853b-e8de-4c40-ad90-704dee329395",{"type":615,"attrs":1784,"content":1785},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1786],{"text":1787,"type":596},"Tariffs amid slowing trade",{"type":591,"attrs":1789,"content":1790},{"textAlign":49},[1791],{"text":1792,"type":596},"Trade flows for anode materials have already weakened amid broader tensions. Chinese synthetic graphite exports to the US fell from 74kt in 2024 to 59kt in 2025. Natural graphite exports declined even more sharply, from 30kt to just 8kt. The downward trend is expected to continue pending the ITC’s final ruling reinforcing the US’s strategic push to reduce reliance on Chinese battery materials.",{"type":615,"attrs":1794,"content":1795},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[1796],{"text":1797,"type":596},"The US domestic anode market",{"type":591,"attrs":1799,"content":1800},{"textAlign":49},[1801],{"text":1802,"type":596},"The US domestic capacity is set to expand in coming years. US natural graphite capacity is expected to reach roughly 25ktpa in 2026, with Kellyton commencing operations this year, and potentially rising fivefold to 120ktpa as projects such as Graphite One and Vidalia Phase 2 come online. Synthetic capacity is forecast to reach 8.2ktpa in 2026 with Novonix Riverside, and potentially 150ktpa by 2036 as Graphite One, Epsilon and Anovion develop. Despite this there will still be a need for imports from China, with producers taking a hit on higher prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":1804},{"textAlign":49},"The US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued final affirmative determinations in its anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into Chinese active anode materials (AAM) used in lithium-ion batteries. ",[1807],{"slug":1808,"name":1809,"content":1810},"yuan-gu","Yuan Gu",{"job_title":1811,"image":1812,"bio":1814,"linkedin":1815,"markets_covered":693},"Senior Analyst - Graphite",{"filename":1813},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3253x4066/726919227e/yuan-2024.jpg","Yuan is a Senior Analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, focusing on research and analysis of the graphite market. Yuan has over three years of experience in the mining and metals industry, specialising in cost modelling, supply, demand and price forecasting. Yuan holds a BSc in Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science and MSc in Energy, Trade and Finance from the Baynes Business School. She previously worked in the financial industry before shifting focus to base metals and lithium-ion battery supply chains.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuangu313/",[1817,1818,1819,1822,1825,1826,1827,1828,1830],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},"battery-technology","Battery Technology",{"slug":1823,"name":1824},"ess","ESS",{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":1829,"name":189},"natural-graphite",{"slug":1831,"name":1832},"synthetic-graphite","Synthetic Graphite",{"id":1834,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1835,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1836,"is_external_url":50},146025907530677,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/793x651/4e34501335/screenshot-2026-02-17-124657.png",{},{"id":1838,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1839,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":1840,"is_external_url":50},146024858626896,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1920/f9ae0a258d/us-department-of-commerce.avif",{},"Feb 17, 2026",{"id":1843,"uuid":1844,"name":1845,"slug":1846,"full_slug":1847,"content":1848},146014015521971,"42a2536b-f830-4cf1-ac56-b4cc47fed278","US Treasury and IRS release interim PFE guidance for 45X and 48E tax credit eligibility","us-treasury-and-irs-release-interim-pfe-guidance-for-45x-and-48e-tax-credit-eligibility","article/us-treasury-and-irs-release-interim-pfe-guidance-for-45x-and-48e-tax-credit-eligibility",{"_uid":1849,"date":1638,"tags":1850,"editor":1851,"content":1855,"excerpt":1861,"featured":51,"reporter":2146,"component":697,"seo_title":547,"categories":2157,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":2162,"featured_image":2164,"seo_description":547,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":1841},"d1be27b8-3591-48cb-8140-34fb523ab367",[],[1852],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":1853},{"job_title":557,"image":1854,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":1856},[1857,1865,1885,1893,1902,1910,1918,1926,1935,1943,1951,1970,1978,1986,1994,2003,2024,2046,2054,2061,2069,2089,2097,2129,2138],{"type":591,"attrs":1858,"content":1859},{"textAlign":49},[1860],{"text":1861,"type":596,"marks":1862},"The US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released interim guidance on how Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE) \"material assistance\" will be treated and calculated under the section 45X production tax credit (PTC) and section 48E investment tax credit (ITC).",[1863],{"type":739,"attrs":1864},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1866,"content":1867},{"textAlign":758},[1868,1873,1880],{"text":1869,"type":596,"marks":1870},"The notice, issued following the adoption of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July 2025, aims to answer a central question for the US battery and storage industry: how much PFE content is compatible with claiming federal tax credits. PFEs are defined as companies with excessive Chinese ownership, debt, or involvement in management. Under OBBBA, their role in US ",[1871],{"type":739,"attrs":1872},{"color":547},{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":1875},"supply chains",[1876,1878],{"type":739,"attrs":1877},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":1879},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1881,"type":596,"marks":1882}," is now a key determinant of tax credit eligibility.",[1883],{"type":739,"attrs":1884},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1886,"content":1887},{"textAlign":758},[1888],{"text":1889,"type":596,"marks":1890},"Although the core statutory language was already in OBBBA, the notice operationalises it by turning both 45X and 48E into explicit cost-based supply chain tests tied to origin and control of equipment and components.",[1891],{"type":739,"attrs":1892},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1894,"content":1895},{"textAlign":758},[1896],{"text":1897,"type":596,"marks":1898},"Interim safe harbour for PFE \"material assistance\" and supplier certification",[1899,1901],{"type":739,"attrs":1900},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1903,"content":1904},{"textAlign":758},[1905],{"text":1906,"type":596,"marks":1907},"The notice establishes interim safe harbour rules for determining whether a project, facility, or eligible component under sections 45X and 48E includes \"material assistance\" from a PFE. Taxpayers must calculate a \"material assistance cost ratio\" (MACR), which measures the percentage of a project or product's cost attributable to equipment, parts, and materials supplied by PFEs. The higher the share of PFE-sourced content, the greater the risk of failing to meet the MACR thresholds set by statute.",[1908],{"type":739,"attrs":1909},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1911,"content":1912},{"textAlign":758},[1913],{"text":1914,"type":596,"marks":1915},"The guidance also introduces a conditional certification safe harbour. A taxpayer may rely on a supplier certification regarding PFE status unless the taxpayer knows, or has reason to know, that it is inaccurate. If the taxpayer does know, or should know, that property is PFE-produced or PFE-sourced, all associated direct costs must be treated as PFE-produced or PFE-sourced for MACR purposes.",[1916],{"type":739,"attrs":1917},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1919,"content":1920},{"textAlign":758},[1921],{"text":1922,"type":596,"marks":1923},"As for supply chain due diligence, the MACR and certification safe harbour rules require in principle, just the mapping of direct equipment or material suppliers and as a result, no automatic duty to conduct a full supply chain due diligence and for mineral-level tracing, as long as there are no red flags or a vertically integrated taxpayer, which bears more tracing responsibility.",[1924],{"type":739,"attrs":1925},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1927,"content":1928},{"textAlign":758},[1929],{"text":1930,"type":596,"marks":1931},"\"Effective control\" and IP arrangements",[1932,1934],{"type":739,"attrs":1933},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1936,"content":1937},{"textAlign":758},[1938],{"text":1939,"type":596,"marks":1940},"Pending more detailed regulation, the notice already defines \"effective control\" as the unrestricted contractual right of a counterparty to determine key operational levers of a facility. This includes, for example, the right to dictate the quantity or timing of production; and/or the amount or timing of electricity production or storage activities.",[1941],{"type":739,"attrs":1942},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1944,"content":1945},{"textAlign":758},[1946],{"text":1947,"type":596,"marks":1948},"The definition explicitly extends to licensing agreements for the provision of intellectual property (IP) with respect to a qualified facility that are entered into or modified on or after 4 July 2025. This means that PFE-linked IP, licensing, or royalty structures that give a foreign counterparty practical control over operations or sourcing can affect whether a facility or component is treated as having PFE \"material assistance,\" even where physical manufacturing is conducted in the US.",[1949],{"type":739,"attrs":1950},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1952,"content":1953},{"textAlign":758},[1954,1960,1964],{"text":1955,"type":596,"marks":1956},"Implications for the ",[1957,1959],{"type":739,"attrs":1958},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"text":1961,"type":596,"marks":1962},"§",[1963],{"type":623},{"text":1965,"type":596,"marks":1966},"45X PTC – Battery Components & Critical Minerals",[1967,1969],{"type":739,"attrs":1968},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":1971,"content":1972},{"textAlign":758},[1973],{"text":1974,"type":596,"marks":1975},"Under section 45X, battery producers can claim up to $45/kWh in tax credits, split between $35/kWh for cells and $10/kWh for modules. For 45X, the MACR is calculated at the eligible component level and is based on the direct material costs of the component being produced. For cell and module manufacturers, this effectively pulls bill-of-materials sourcing, upstream input origin, and licensing structures into tax credit qualification.",[1976],{"type":739,"attrs":1977},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1979,"content":1980},{"textAlign":758},[1981],{"text":1982,"type":596,"marks":1983},"The minimum required share of non-PFE material assistance in battery components is set at 60% in 2026. This threshold then increases by 5 percentage points per year, reaching 85% in 2030. Over time, it will become progressively harder to qualify for 45X while relying on PFE-supplied materials and parts.",[1984],{"type":739,"attrs":1985},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1987,"content":1988},{"textAlign":758},[1989],{"text":1990,"type":596,"marks":1991},"Exposure under 45X is not limited to where a component is physically produced. It also extends to who controls the production platform. A US facility that depends on licensed IP, royalty structures, or contractual rights that give a specified foreign entity meaningful operational or sourcing influence could face 45X eligibility risk, even if all manufacturing takes place domestically and equipment is located in the US.",[1992],{"type":739,"attrs":1993},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":1995,"content":1996},{"textAlign":758},[1997],{"text":1998,"type":596,"marks":1999},"Implications for the §48E ITC – Energy Storage and Battery Projects",[2000,2002],{"type":739,"attrs":2001},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2004,"content":2005},{"textAlign":758},[2006,2011,2019],{"text":2007,"type":596,"marks":2008},"Section 48E covers energy storage technologies, including standalone ",[2009],{"type":739,"attrs":2010},{"color":547},{"text":2012,"type":596,"marks":2013},"battery energy storage systems",[2014,2016],{"type":739,"attrs":2015},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":2017},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/battery-energy-stationary-storage",{"text":2020,"type":596,"marks":2021}," (BESS). For the 48E ITC, the MACR is assessed at the project level. It is based on the direct costs of manufactured products that are incorporated into the facility or energy storage system. In practice:",[2022],{"type":739,"attrs":2023},{"color":547},{"type":779,"content":2025},[2026,2036],{"type":782,"content":2027},[2028],{"type":591,"attrs":2029,"content":2030},{"textAlign":758},[2031],{"text":2032,"type":596,"marks":2033},"Civil works, foundations, and most construction materials do not materially dilute the MACR denominator; and",[2034],{"type":739,"attrs":2035},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2037},[2038],{"type":591,"attrs":2039,"content":2040},{"textAlign":758},[2041],{"text":2042,"type":596,"marks":2043},"Structural steel and iron are excluded from the MACR calculation, concentrating the test on the core equipment stack.",[2044],{"type":739,"attrs":2045},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2047,"content":2048},{"textAlign":758},[2049],{"text":2050,"type":596,"marks":2051},"This means batteries, power conversion systems, and other manufactured equipment dominate the MACR calculation and therefore determine whether a project passes the PFE thresholds.",[2052],{"type":739,"attrs":2053},{"color":547},{"type":656,"attrs":2055},{"id":2056,"body":2057},"e9bd2b26-1d13-4aef-b23b-fe8a71f2965f",[2058],{"id":2059,"_uid":2060,"type":611,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"3587988","i-ab7aae67-3136-4e54-a68d-71967f355078",{"type":591,"attrs":2062,"content":2063},{"textAlign":49},[2064],{"text":2065,"type":596,"marks":2066},"For example, if a storage project uses PFE-produced cells that represent 50% of the manufactured product's direct cost, and the applicable minimum non-PFE share for 2026 is 55%, the project would fail the test and not qualify for 48E under the PFE rules.",[2067],{"type":739,"attrs":2068},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2070,"content":2071},{"textAlign":758},[2072,2077,2084],{"text":2073,"type":596,"marks":2074},"Under OBBBA, the new PFE regime applies only to projects that begin construction after 31 December 2025. As a result, 2026 becomes a structural pivot year for sourcing strategies, especially for storage projects that currently rely heavily on Chinese ",[2075],{"type":739,"attrs":2076},{"color":547},{"text":451,"type":596,"marks":2078},[2079,2081],{"type":739,"attrs":2080},{"color":547},{"type":606,"attrs":2082},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode",{"text":2085,"type":596,"marks":2086}," cells or other China-linked equipment.",[2087],{"type":739,"attrs":2088},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2090,"content":2091},{"textAlign":758},[2092],{"text":2093,"type":596,"marks":2094},"In practical terms, 48E has become an equipment supply chain compliance test:",[2095],{"type":739,"attrs":2096},{"color":547},{"type":779,"content":2098},[2099,2109,2119],{"type":782,"content":2100},[2101],{"type":591,"attrs":2102,"content":2103},{"textAlign":758},[2104],{"text":2105,"type":596,"marks":2106},"Developers must interrogate detailed cost breakdowns and supplier certifications, not just engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) pricing.",[2107],{"type":739,"attrs":2108},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2110},[2111],{"type":591,"attrs":2112,"content":2113},{"textAlign":758},[2114],{"text":2115,"type":596,"marks":2116},"System integrators must re-evaluate cell origin, power electronics sourcing, and licensing exposure.",[2117],{"type":739,"attrs":2118},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2120},[2121],{"type":591,"attrs":2122,"content":2123},{"textAlign":758},[2124],{"text":2125,"type":596,"marks":2126},"Investors are likely to underwrite 48E eligibility risk alongside conventional revenue and offtake assumptions.",[2127],{"type":739,"attrs":2128},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2130,"content":2131},{"textAlign":49},[2132],{"text":2133,"type":596,"marks":2134},"Next steps and forthcoming regulations",[2135,2137],{"type":739,"attrs":2136},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2139,"content":2140},{"textAlign":758},[2141],{"text":2142,"type":596,"marks":2143},"The notice confirms that Treasury and the IRS intend to issue comprehensive proposed regulations and further guidance on: the definition of a PFE; and the detailed operation of the material assistance rules. This is expected to take the form of additional notices and proposed regulations that will build on the interim safe-harbour framework. Stakeholders are invited to submit general comments and responses to a list of specific questions by 30 March 2026.",[2144],{"type":739,"attrs":2145},{"color":547},[2147],{"slug":2148,"name":2149,"content":2150},"iola-hughes","Iola Hughes",{"job_title":2151,"image":2152,"bio":2154,"linkedin":2155,"markets_covered":2156},"Head of Research",{"filename":2153},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/852x854/03382be015/iola-h.png","Iola was Head of Research at Rho Motion prior to the acquisition, and now leads the downstream research for the Benchmark. She has six years of experience in the battery space and works across electric vehicle, battery, and energy storage markets. Previous experience includes a research position with a Servomex working on paramagnetic sensors and spectroscopy gas analysis. Iola graduated with a First-Class Honours Master’s Degree in Geophysics from University College London","https://www.linkedin.com/in/iolahughes/","Battery, BESS, EV and Battery",[2158,2159,2160,2161],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2163},{},{"id":2165,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2166,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2167,"is_external_url":50},146014686025548,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5272x2965/82430d2802/adobestock_1703316058.jpeg",{},{"id":2169,"uuid":2170,"name":2171,"slug":2172,"full_slug":2173,"content":2174},145609816212261,"eec8aefc-1d79-4c41-a2ae-9cfb41ed3f1b","Who supplies the world’s EV batteries?","who-supplies-the-world-s-ev-batteries-","article/who-supplies-the-world-s-ev-batteries-",{"_uid":2175,"date":2176,"tags":2177,"editor":2181,"content":2185,"excerpt":2294,"featured":51,"reporter":2295,"component":697,"seo_title":2171,"categories":2299,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":2303,"featured_image":2305,"seo_description":2294,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":2310},"6ad77b7a-2cb9-4deb-883d-7a9537b6d2c7","2026-02-16 00:00",[2178,2179,2180],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[2182],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":2183},{"job_title":557,"image":2184,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":2186},[2187,2199,2207,2215,2225,2233,2246,2254,2259,2264,2269,2276,2278,2288],{"type":591,"attrs":2188,"content":2189},{"textAlign":49},[2190,2192,2197],{"text":2191,"type":596},"As global ",{"text":2193,"type":596,"marks":2194},"EV demand",[2195],{"type":606,"attrs":2196},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":2198,"type":596}," continues to accelerate, battery supply remains highly concentrated and regionally uneven.",{"type":591,"attrs":2200,"content":2201},{"textAlign":49},[2202],{"type":836,"attrs":2203},{"id":2204,"alt":547,"src":2205,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547,"meta_data":2206},145609966425599,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5208x3996/b37098b6b3/image-7.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":2208,"content":2209},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2210],{"text":2211,"type":596,"marks":2212},"Who supplies China’s EV batteries?",[2213],{"type":739,"attrs":2214},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2216,"content":2217},{"textAlign":49},[2218,2220,2224],{"text":2219,"type":596},"China’s EV market is largely self-supplied by domestic battery manufacturers, with players such as CATL, BYD, CALB, Gotion, Sunwoda and SVOLT leading the market. This dominance is underpinned by a high degree of vertical integration and control across the battery ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":2221},[2222],{"type":606,"attrs":2223},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":2226,"content":2227},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2228],{"text":2229,"type":596,"marks":2230},"Who supplies Europe’s EV batteries?",[2231],{"type":739,"attrs":2232},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2234,"content":2235},{"textAlign":49},[2236,2238,2244],{"text":2237,"type":596},"Europe’s EV battery supply is split primarily between South Korean and Chinese manufacturers. While Korean suppliers retain a strong foothold (LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On), Chinese players are steadily increasing market share. In 2025, Chinese producers supplied 42% of Europe’s EV ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":2240},"battery demand",[2241],{"type":606,"attrs":2242},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/battery-gigafactory",{"text":2245,"type":596},", gaining 4 p.p. year-on-year, while Korean manufacturers remained the largest suppliers with a 56% share year‑on‑year.",{"type":615,"attrs":2247,"content":2248},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2249],{"text":2250,"type":596,"marks":2251},"Who supplies EV batteries to the rest of the world?",[2252],{"type":739,"attrs":2253},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2255,"content":2256},{"textAlign":49},[2257],{"text":2258,"type":596},"The US benefits from a more diversified supplier base, spanning Korean, Japanese, US (predominantly Ultium, the GM–LG joint venture) and Chinese companies. Domestic capacity is expanding, but the market remains reliant on Asian manufacturers in the near to medium term.",{"type":591,"attrs":2260,"content":2261},{"textAlign":49},[2262],{"text":2263,"type":596},"Outside the major EV markets, battery supply is predominantly sourced from Chinese manufacturers, reflecting limited local production capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":2265,"content":2266},{"textAlign":49},[2267],{"text":2268,"type":596},"As EV adoption scales, regions are seeking greater supply chain resilience, but the difficulty of establishing domestic battery production means Chinese and Korean manufacturers, already scaled, cost competitive and integrated, remain central to meeting near and medium-term demand.‑competitive and integrated, remain central to meeting near‑ and medium‑term demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":2270,"content":2271},{"textAlign":49},[2272],{"text":2273,"type":596,"marks":2274},"For more information about Benchmark’s EV & Battery Service get in touch with the team below:",[2275],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":2277},{"textAlign":49},{"type":656,"attrs":2279},{"id":2280,"body":2281},"2f77e184-5c4f-4467-b2dd-c354495365cd",[2282],{"id":1012,"_uid":2283,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":2284,"success_file":2285,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":2287,"show_on_intelligence":50},"i-eacbc36c-a7f1-416f-8afc-56fb0b3efa13",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2286},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":2289,"content":2290},{"textAlign":49},[2291],{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2292},[2293],{"type":1006},"As global EV demand continues to accelerate, battery supply remains highly concentrated and regionally uneven.",[2296],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":2297},{"job_title":1026,"image":2298,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1028},[2300,2301,2302],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":2204,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2205,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2304,"is_external_url":50},{},{"id":2306,"alt":547,"name":2307,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2308,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2309,"is_external_url":50},145611001824827,"EV battery","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6543x3667/139acacf53/adobestock_627340524.jpeg",{},"Feb 16, 2026",{"id":2312,"uuid":1553,"name":2313,"slug":2314,"full_slug":2315,"content":2316},144283726874057,"Global EV sales reached 1.2 million units in the opening month of 2026","global-ev-sales-reached-1-2-million-units-in-the-opening-month-of-2026","article/global-ev-sales-reached-1-2-million-units-in-the-opening-month-of-2026",{"_uid":2317,"date":2318,"tags":2319,"editor":2321,"content":2325,"excerpt":2605,"featured":51,"reporter":2606,"component":697,"seo_title":2610,"categories":2611,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":2616,"featured_image":2618,"seo_description":2622,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":2623},"1650d9be-a69c-4dc2-90d7-5d04d9257809","2026-02-13 00:00",[2320],{"slug":575,"name":576},[2322],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":2323},{"job_title":557,"image":2324,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":2326},[2327,2346,2364,2420,2428,2435,2443,2451,2459,2468,2476,2489,2501,2509,2527,2539,2547,2555,2563,2571,2583,2585,2591,2593,2603],{"type":591,"attrs":2328,"content":2329},{"textAlign":49},[2330,2335,2341],{"text":2331,"type":596,"marks":2332},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.2 million ",[2333],{"type":739,"attrs":2334},{"color":741},{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":2336},[2337,2339],{"type":739,"attrs":2338},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":2340},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":2342,"type":596,"marks":2343}," were sold globally in January 2026. The global EV market was down 3% compared to January 2025, and down 44% compared to December 2025, driven by a 55% month-on-month and 20% year-on-year decrease in China.",[2344],{"type":739,"attrs":2345},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":2347,"content":2348},{"level":1102,"textAlign":758},[2349,2353,2359],{"text":761,"type":596,"marks":2350},[2351],{"type":739,"attrs":2352},{"color":741},{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":2354},[2355,2357],{"type":739,"attrs":2356},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":2358},{"href":772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":2360,"type":596,"marks":2361}," sales in Jan 2026 vs Jan 2025 (m-o-m vs Dec 2025):",[2362],{"type":739,"attrs":2363},{"color":741},{"type":779,"content":2365},[2366,2380,2390,2400,2410],{"type":782,"content":2367},[2368],{"type":591,"attrs":2369,"content":2370},{"textAlign":758},[2371,2376],{"text":2372,"type":596,"marks":2373},"Global: 1.2 million, -3% (-44%)",[2374],{"type":739,"attrs":2375},{"color":741},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2377},[2378],{"type":739,"attrs":2379},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2381},[2382],{"type":591,"attrs":2383,"content":2384},{"textAlign":758},[2385],{"text":2386,"type":596,"marks":2387},"China: 0.60 million, -20% (-55%)",[2388],{"type":739,"attrs":2389},{"color":741},{"type":782,"content":2391},[2392],{"type":591,"attrs":2393,"content":2394},{"textAlign":49},[2395],{"text":2396,"type":596,"marks":2397},"Europe: 0.32 million, +24% (-33%)",[2398],{"type":739,"attrs":2399},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2401},[2402],{"type":591,"attrs":2403,"content":2404},{"textAlign":49},[2405],{"text":2406,"type":596,"marks":2407},"North America: 0.09 million, -33% (-27%)",[2408],{"type":739,"attrs":2409},{"color":547},{"type":782,"content":2411},[2412],{"type":591,"attrs":2413,"content":2414},{"textAlign":49},[2415],{"text":2416,"type":596,"marks":2417},"Rest of World: 0.19 million, +92% (+0%)",[2418],{"type":739,"attrs":2419},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2421,"content":2422},{"textAlign":49},[2423],{"type":836,"attrs":2424},{"id":2425,"alt":547,"src":2426,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547,"meta_data":2427},144286440799951,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1280x720/8506d4db63/monthly-ev-sales-slide-bmi-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":2429,"content":2430},{"level":617,"textAlign":758},[2431],{"text":845,"type":596,"marks":2432},[2433],{"type":739,"attrs":2434},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2436,"content":2437},{"textAlign":758},[2438],{"text":2439,"type":596,"marks":2440},"“The EV market entered 2026 with a virtually unrecognisable landscape compared to its entry into 2025. Globally EV sales started 2026 down 3%, largely a consequence of China’s EV market contracting 20% compared to January 2025. January brought with it two key changes to China’s EV market, with the introduction of a purchase tax for EVs, as well as a reduction in the generosity of its trade-in scheme for 2026.",[2441],{"type":739,"attrs":2442},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2444,"content":2445},{"textAlign":758},[2446],{"text":2447,"type":596,"marks":2448},"“The European market retained its position as the fastest-growing major market, with its growth supporting the global EV market and preventing further contraction of the global EV market in January. It continues to be spurred on by the EU emission standards and, increasingly, the return of subsidy schemes to major markets.",[2449],{"type":739,"attrs":2450},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2452,"content":2453},{"textAlign":758},[2454],{"text":2455,"type":596,"marks":2456},"“Europe’s strong growth is sharply contrasted by North America, with the region’s EV market undergoing a period of readjustment. In the US, vehicle manufactures are realigning investment and production plans following Trump’s roll back on EV incentives from both the standpoint of consumers and manufacturers. Ford, GM and Stellantis have all taken significant multi-billion-dollar write-downs as they pivot their North American strategy away from EVs. Canada is looking to reinvigorate its EV market after 2025 brought the end of its subsidy scheme. The Canadian government reached an agreement with China to allow up to 49,000 Chinese made EVs into Canada at a tariff rate below 100% for the first time since 1 October 2024.”",[2457],{"type":739,"attrs":2458},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":2460,"content":2462},{"level":2461,"textAlign":758},3,[2463],{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":2464},[2465,2467],{"type":739,"attrs":2466},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":2469,"content":2470},{"textAlign":758},[2471],{"text":2472,"type":596,"marks":2473},"The European EV market started 2026 up 24% after selling over 320,000 EV units in January 2026. The European market continued the strong growth it experienced in 2025, when it was the fastest growing major region as vehicle manufactures pushed to meet the EU tailpipe emissions targets. While these targets were softened in 2025, EV sales in Europe must continue to grow if manufactures wish to avoid facing tough fines.",[2474],{"type":739,"attrs":2475},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2477,"content":2478},{"textAlign":758},[2479,2484],{"text":2480,"type":596,"marks":2481},"Entering 2026, the subsidy landscape in the European EV market has shifted from where it was 12 months ago. Several major European automotive markets reintroduced EV subsidy schemes in 2025 and the start of 2026. The UK, Germany and France all recently reintroduced subsidy schemes and experienced year-on-year growth rates of 14%, 25% and 41%, respectively. ",[2482],{"type":739,"attrs":2483},{"color":741},{"text":2485,"type":596,"marks":2486},"  ",[2487],{"type":739,"attrs":2488},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2490,"content":2491},{"textAlign":758},[2492,2497],{"text":2493,"type":596,"marks":2494},"Not all European markets grew year-on-year. The Norwegian EV market contracted 71% year-on-year and 92% month-on-month after a significant pre-buying effect in the final months of 2025 due to the tightening of VAT exemptions for EVs from 1 January 2026. The Netherlands fell 28% year-on-year and 64% month-on-month, again following a pre-buying effect in the final months of 2025 before an increase in the tax that company cars are subject to. ",[2495],{"type":739,"attrs":2496},{"color":741},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2498},[2499],{"type":739,"attrs":2500},{"color":547},{"type":615,"attrs":2502,"content":2503},{"level":2461,"textAlign":758},[2504],{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":2505},[2506,2508],{"type":739,"attrs":2507},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":2510,"content":2511},{"textAlign":758},[2512,2517,2523],{"text":2513,"type":596,"marks":2514},"Following the turbulence of 2025 for the North American EV market, sales in the region fell 33% year-on-year in January 2026. The decrease was driven by the US market which saw its lowest monthly EV since early 2022. The market continues to struggle following the elimination of federal tax credits on 30 September 2025, as well as the abolition of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards fines and the introduction of protectionist policies seeking to localise vehicle production and ",[2515],{"type":739,"attrs":2516},{"color":741},{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":2518},[2519,2521],{"type":739,"attrs":2520},{"color":741},{"type":606,"attrs":2522},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":2524},[2525],{"type":739,"attrs":2526},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2528,"content":2529},{"textAlign":758},[2530,2535],{"text":2531,"type":596,"marks":2532},"In January 2026, Canada and China reached an agreement that will allow up to 49,000 Chinese made EVs into Canada at the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%. This will strengthen the Canadian EV market which struggled in 2025 following the end of its EV subsidy scheme in January 2025 and its deteriorating trade relationship with the US throughout last year. ",[2533],{"type":739,"attrs":2534},{"color":741},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2536},[2537],{"type":739,"attrs":2538},{"color":547},{"type":615,"attrs":2540,"content":2541},{"level":2461,"textAlign":758},[2542],{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":2543},[2544,2546],{"type":739,"attrs":2545},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":2548,"content":2549},{"textAlign":758},[2550],{"text":2551,"type":596,"marks":2552},"The Chinese EV market fell 3% in January 2026 compared to the same period last year. January brought two major changes to the Chinese market. EVs became subject to purchase tax for the first time since 2014. Although EVs are not yet subject to the standard 10% purchase tax rate levied on internal combustion engine vehicles, with most EVs facing a purchase tax of 5%. China’s trade-in scheme became proportional for 2026, as opposed to the flat-rate subsidy applied in 2025. Consequently, average subsidy levels will be lower in 2026 than in 2025, with price reductions for smaller EVs no longer as significant.",[2553],{"type":739,"attrs":2554},{"color":741},{"type":615,"attrs":2556,"content":2557},{"level":2461,"textAlign":758},[2558],{"text":978,"type":596,"marks":2559},[2560,2562],{"type":739,"attrs":2561},{"color":741},{"type":903},{"type":591,"attrs":2564,"content":2565},{"textAlign":758},[2566],{"text":2567,"type":596,"marks":2568},"The RoW had a strong start to 2026 with its sales almost doubling compared to January 2025, supported by significant growth in South Korea, Brazil and Thailand.",[2569],{"type":739,"attrs":2570},{"color":741},{"type":591,"attrs":2572,"content":2573},{"textAlign":758},[2574,2579],{"text":2575,"type":596,"marks":2576},"Thailand’s EV sales more than tripled year-on-year to over 44,000 units in January 2026, a record month for the country. The surge in sales was driven by vehicle manufacturers being granted an extension to January 2026 to register their vehicles under Thailand’s EV3 scheme. Alongside consumer subsidies, the EV3 and EV3.5 schemes offer reduced import duties on completely built-up EVs, providing these are offset by local EV production. The increase in sales was also supported by reductions in vehicle excise tax rates for EVs from 1 January 2026. ",[2577],{"type":739,"attrs":2578},{"color":741},{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2580},[2581],{"type":739,"attrs":2582},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2584},{"textAlign":758},{"type":591,"attrs":2586,"content":2587},{"textAlign":758},[2588],{"text":1003,"type":596,"marks":2589},[2590],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":2592},{"textAlign":49},{"type":656,"attrs":2594},{"id":2595,"body":2596},"184cb64a-7128-49f2-ae6e-e9284aecc1cb",[2597],{"id":1012,"_uid":2598,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":2599,"success_file":2600,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":2602,"show_on_intelligence":50},"6b7c13d9-b7e1-403f-af1c-59115b7cdcc2",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2601},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":2604},{"textAlign":49},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold globally in January 2026.",[2607],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":2608},{"job_title":1026,"image":2609,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1028},"Global EV sales reached 1.2 million units in January 2026",[2612,2613,2614,2615],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2617},{},{"id":2619,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2620,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2621,"is_external_url":50},144285078707881,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8192x5522/2082d261b9/adobestock_482617019-1.jpeg",{},"Benchmark reports that 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold globally in January 2026.","Feb 13, 2026",{"id":2625,"uuid":2626,"name":2627,"slug":2628,"full_slug":2629,"content":2630},143538433972097,"2c114224-37fb-4458-97a1-112ab09a8958","Thailand’s EV sales surge to record levels in January 2026","thailand-s-ev-sales-surge-to-record-levels-in-january-2026","article/thailand-s-ev-sales-surge-to-record-levels-in-january-2026",{"_uid":2631,"date":2632,"tags":2633,"editor":2639,"content":2643,"excerpt":2751,"featured":51,"reporter":2752,"component":697,"seo_title":2627,"categories":2756,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":2760,"featured_image":2762,"seo_description":2751,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":2766},"93d1c6b7-02f3-4812-b25a-4fae9e536948","2026-02-10 00:00",[2634,2636],{"slug":2635,"name":743},"electric-vehicles",{"slug":2637,"name":2638},"thailand","Thailand",[2640],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":2641},{"job_title":557,"image":2642,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":2644},[2645,2650,2657,2664,2669,2674,2691,2709,2716,2721,2726,2737,2739,2749],{"type":591,"attrs":2646,"content":2647},{"textAlign":49},[2648],{"text":2649,"type":596},"Thailand’s electric vehicle (EV) sales (passenger car and light duty vehicles) more than tripled year-on-year to over 44,000 units in January 2026, a record month for the country. Its penetration rate grew to 48%, another monthly record, surpassing its previous high of 37% set in December 2025.",{"type":656,"attrs":2651},{"id":2652,"body":2653},"9608f7c1-62e4-4dc1-858a-d4c86f88b34c",[2654],{"id":2655,"_uid":2656,"type":611,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"3582498","i-a369525b-94af-4cd1-853d-08b70ae3b209",{"type":615,"attrs":2658,"content":2659},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2660],{"text":2661,"type":596,"marks":2662},"What drove the surge in EV sales?",[2663],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2665,"content":2666},{"textAlign":49},[2667],{"text":2668,"type":596},"The significant increase in sales was underpinned by vehicle manufacturers being granted an extension within which to register their vehicles under the Thailand’s EV3 scheme. The previous deadline of December 2025 had been extended to January 2026 in November 2025. At the same time, the deadline for EV3.5 vehicles was moved from December 2027 to January 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":2670,"content":2671},{"textAlign":49},[2672],{"text":2673,"type":596},"Thailand’s EV3 and EV3.5 schemes promote the adoption of EVs through consumer subsidies. The schemes also offer reduced import duties on completely fully assembled, providing these are later offset by local EV production. The schemes are crucial to Thailand’s ambition to become an EV production hub within Southeast Asia and have started to see success with several OEMs building out EV capacity within the country. To date 14 OEMs have established manufacturing operations in the country with it being a key player for EVs in the regional market but also for export.",{"type":591,"attrs":2675,"content":2676},{"textAlign":49},[2677,2682,2684,2689],{"type":836,"attrs":2678},{"id":2679,"alt":547,"src":2680,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547,"meta_data":2681},143539072715424,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1805x956/aa7958aba5/thai-ev-production.png",{},{"text":2683,"type":596},"The surge in sales was also supported by changes in vehicle excise tax rates from January 1",{"text":2685,"type":596,"marks":2686},"st",[2687],{"type":2688},"superscript",{"text":2690,"type":596},", 2026. For passenger car battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the rate was reduced from 8% to 2%, while BEV pickup trucks saw a reduction from 2% to 0%.",{"type":591,"attrs":2692,"content":2693},{"textAlign":49},[2694,2698,2706],{"text":2695,"type":596,"marks":2696},"Benchmark Intelligence subscribers can access exclusive EV sales in the ",[2697],{"type":1006},{"text":2699,"type":596,"marks":2700},"EV Sales Briefing",[2701,2705],{"type":606,"attrs":2702},{"href":2703,"uuid":2704,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":611},"/publications/briefings/all-ev-sales/december-2025-major-market-ev-sales","bd299d7e-f436-48c6-9f5e-147b1311409d",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":2707},[2708],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":2710,"content":2711},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2712],{"text":2713,"type":596,"marks":2714},"What does this mean for Thailand’s EV market in 2026?",[2715],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2717,"content":2718},{"textAlign":49},[2719],{"text":2720,"type":596},"The sharp increase in registrations in January 2026 is likely a one-off event, with OEMs looking to register EVs before the EV3 registration deadline. Thailand’s EV3.5 scheme will continue to encourage the ramp up of domestic EV production using local content which will continue to provide the foundation for EV sales growth in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":2722,"content":2723},{"textAlign":49},[2724],{"text":2725,"type":596},"EV production ramp up is encouraged through increasing the required number of locally produced EVs to offset every imported EV. The ratio is currently set at two locally produced EVs for every imported vehicle, however in 2027 this increases to a three to one ratio. In late 2025, the Thai government further incentivised local EV production by stipulating that every EV exported from Thailand counts as one and a half vehicles towards an OEM’s local production requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":2727,"content":2728},{"textAlign":49},[2729,2733],{"text":946,"type":596,"marks":2730},[2731],{"type":739,"attrs":2732},{"color":547},{"text":2734,"type":596,"marks":2735},"The insights in this article were produced using data from Benchmark's EV & Battery Service. For more information, get in touch with the form below:",[2736],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":2738},{"textAlign":49},{"type":656,"attrs":2740},{"id":2741,"body":2742},"0e939770-ec00-463e-8846-41c4b468bb85",[2743],{"id":1012,"_uid":2744,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":2745,"success_file":2746,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":2748,"show_on_intelligence":50},"10c9524a-e2cb-4bf3-abe4-9292cbb030b6",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2747},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":2750},{"textAlign":49},"Thailand’s electric vehicle (EV) sales (passenger car and light duty vehicles) more than tripled year-on-year to over 44,000 units in January 2026, a record month for the country",[2753],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":2754},{"job_title":1199,"image":2755,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1201},[2757,2758,2759],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2761},{},{"id":2763,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2764,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2765,"is_external_url":50},143541048273742,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1688x1126/0eebe7617c/adobestock_341081609.jpeg",{},"Feb 10, 2026",{"id":2768,"uuid":2769,"name":2770,"slug":2771,"full_slug":2772,"content":2773},141728893793819,"d988206d-9e4d-43bd-8969-21ef3bdb3281","Tesla to discontinue the Model S and X as it pivots towards humanoid robots","tesla-to-discontinue-the-model-s-and-x-as-it-pivots-towards-humanoid-robots","article/tesla-to-discontinue-the-model-s-and-x-as-it-pivots-towards-humanoid-robots",{"_uid":2774,"date":2775,"tags":2776,"editor":2781,"content":2785,"excerpt":2866,"featured":51,"reporter":2867,"component":697,"seo_title":2871,"categories":2872,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":2880,"featured_image":2882,"seo_description":2866,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":2886},"6727617d-07cd-4652-8ef4-ef0fda0038bb","2026-02-05 12:51",[2777,2780],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},"tesla","Tesla",{"slug":572,"name":573},[2782],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":2783},{"job_title":557,"image":2784,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":2786},[2787,2795,2802,2811,2819,2827,2836,2844],{"type":591,"attrs":2788,"content":2789},{"textAlign":49},[2790],{"text":2791,"type":596,"marks":2792},"Production of the Model S and Model X will cease at the end of Q2 2026, with Tesla to repurpose the floor space at its Fremont production facility for assembly of Optimus, its humanoid robot. This decision marks the end for two of the energy transition’s most iconic vehicles. The Model S was among the first mass produced EVs after it started production in mid-2012, with the Model X following soon after in 2015 with its “falcon wing” doors.",[2793],{"type":739,"attrs":2794},{"color":547},{"type":656,"attrs":2796},{"id":2797,"body":2798},"7f392453-3ff4-4706-b34f-9e2494ec1b58",[2799],{"id":2800,"_uid":2801,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27514804","i-2b2d9af9-4e42-4d4f-823b-7ab291ad316c",{"type":615,"attrs":2803,"content":2804},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2805],{"text":2806,"type":596,"marks":2807},"Model S and Model X sales fall as consumer choice increases",[2808,2810],{"type":739,"attrs":2809},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2812,"content":2813},{"textAlign":49},[2814],{"text":2815,"type":596,"marks":2816},"Compared to 2018, sales of the two models were down 75% in 2025 and their combined share of Tesla’s total sales fell to just 2%. This decline in sales is a product of an increasing number of available EV models and a greater focus on affordability as EVs sought to break into the mass market. Something neither model was able to achieve due to their premium price point.",[2817],{"type":739,"attrs":2818},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2820,"content":2821},{"textAlign":49},[2822],{"text":2823,"type":596,"marks":2824},"However, their ultimate demise is a result of Tesla’s increasing focus on becoming a technology company through its development of autonomous driving technology and humanoid robots. Tesla has invested in heavily in recent years to develop its Cybercab robotaxi and humanoid robot and is expected to continue to do so this year as Musk describes 2026 as “a very big capex year” as Tesla prepares “for an epic future.”",[2825],{"type":739,"attrs":2826},{"color":547},{"type":615,"attrs":2828,"content":2829},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2830],{"text":2831,"type":596,"marks":2832},"What is the outlook for humanoid robots?",[2833,2835],{"type":739,"attrs":2834},{"color":547},{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2837,"content":2838},{"textAlign":49},[2839],{"text":2840,"type":596,"marks":2841},"Tesla first announced Optimus, then known as “Tesla bot”, in August 2021, with a prototype first shown in September 2022. Tesla initially aimed to manufacture 5,000 Optimus units in 2025, a target first reduced to 2,000 units and then abandoned in October 2025 due to challenges with the robot’s hand. Musk has stated an ambitious target of producing up to 1 million units by the end of 2027.",[2842],{"type":739,"attrs":2843},{"color":547},{"type":591,"attrs":2845,"content":2846},{"textAlign":49},[2847,2852,2859,2864],{"text":2848,"type":596,"marks":2849},"Humanoid robots are attracting rapidly growing interest as the AI transformation accelerates. Development and testing have so far been concentrated in China; however, industrial trials are now beginning to emerge outside the country. According to Benchmark’s ",[2850],{"type":739,"attrs":2851},{"color":547},{"text":2853,"type":596,"marks":2854},"Non Road Mobile Machinery Outlook",[2855,2857],{"type":606,"attrs":2856},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":2858},{"color":547},{"text":2860,"type":596,"marks":2861},", ",[2862],{"type":739,"attrs":2863},{"color":547},{"text":2865,"type":596},"humanoid robot battery demand is expected to increase by more than 170‑fold by 2035, with sales reaching around 3 million units in that year. China is expected to remain the primary driver of this market.","Production of the Model S and Model X will cease at the end of Q2 2026, with Tesla to repurpose the floor space at its Fremont production facility for Optimus, its humanoid robot, assembly. ",[2868],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":2869},{"job_title":1199,"image":2870,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1201},"Tesla to discontinue Model S and X as it moves to humanoid robots",[2873,2874,2875,2876,2877],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},"new-energy","New Energy",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2881},{},{"id":2883,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":2884,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":2885,"is_external_url":50},141728962931477,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4080x2296/ce869e0609/adobestock_1836930130_editorial_use_only.jpeg",{},"Feb 05, 2026",{"id":2888,"uuid":2889,"name":2890,"slug":2891,"full_slug":2892,"content":2893},141084890272419,"cf6f633d-0990-45e9-b405-0feefc7463f1","China introduces national capacity pricing for grid‑side energy storage","china-introduces-national-capacity-pricing-for-gridside-ess-","article/china-introduces-national-capacity-pricing-for-gridside-ess-",{"_uid":2894,"date":2895,"tags":2896,"editor":2904,"content":2908,"excerpt":3073,"featured":51,"reporter":3074,"component":697,"seo_title":3094,"categories":3095,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3107,"featured_image":3109,"seo_description":3073,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3113},"1d6bbdc8-d687-41d6-ba85-bb562ba97ec6","2026-02-03 00:00",[2897,2898,2901],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},"policy","Policy",{"slug":2902,"name":2903},"energy-storage","Energy storage",[2905],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":2906},{"job_title":557,"image":2907,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":2909},[2910,2955,2960,2967,2990,2995,3000,3007,3014,3025,3032,3037,3042,3049,3054,3059,3066,3071],{"type":591,"attrs":2911,"content":2912},{"textAlign":49},[2913,2915,2920,2922,2926,2928,2933,2935,2940,2942,2947,2949,2953],{"text":2914,"type":596},"China has introduced a national capacity",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2917},"‑",[2918],{"type":739,"attrs":2919},{"color":547},{"text":2921,"type":596},"based pricing mechanism for grid",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2923},[2924],{"type":739,"attrs":2925},{"color":547},{"text":2927,"type":596},"side independent energy storage, marking a structural shift in how storage assets are compensated within the power system. Issued jointly by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration (NEA) under Document No.",{"text":2929,"type":596,"marks":2930}," ",[2931],{"type":739,"attrs":2932},{"color":547},{"text":2934,"type":596},"114, the reform recognises energy storage as a provider of system reliability under the principle of ",{"text":2936,"type":596,"marks":2937},"“",[2938],{"type":739,"attrs":2939},{"color":547},{"text":2941,"type":596},"equal pay for equal work",{"text":2943,"type":596,"marks":2944},"”",[2945],{"type":739,"attrs":2946},{"color":547},{"text":2948,"type":596},", aligning compensation with coal",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2950},[2951],{"type":739,"attrs":2952},{"color":547},{"text":2954,"type":596},"fired power.",{"type":591,"attrs":2956,"content":2957},{"textAlign":49},[2958],{"text":2959,"type":596},"The policy addresses underinvestment in flexible capacity as renewable penetration rises, while materially improving the bankability of standalone energy storage projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":2961,"content":2962},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[2963],{"text":2964,"type":596,"marks":2965},"How does the capacity pricing mechanism work?",[2966],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":2968,"content":2969},{"textAlign":49},[2970,2972,2976,2978,2982,2984,2988],{"text":2971,"type":596},"Eligible grid",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2973},[2974],{"type":739,"attrs":2975},{"color":547},{"text":2977,"type":596},"side standalone energy storage projects will receive an annual capacity payment based on verified effective capacity, benchmarked against local coal",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2979},[2980],{"type":739,"attrs":2981},{"color":547},{"text":2983,"type":596},"fired power standards. From 2026, coal",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":2985},[2986],{"type":739,"attrs":2987},{"color":547},{"text":2989,"type":596},"fired capacity prices must recover at least 50% of fixed costs, implying a minimum reference payment of around RMB165/kW/year, subject to provincial implementation.",{"type":591,"attrs":2991,"content":2992},{"textAlign":49},[2993],{"text":2994,"type":596},"These capacity payments are paid independently of dispatch and energy price spreads, are received in addition to market revenues such as arbitrage and ancillary services and are recovered through system operating costs ultimately borne by end users.",{"type":591,"attrs":2996,"content":2997},{"textAlign":49},[2998],{"text":2999,"type":596},"The mechanism does not mandate new construction or guarantee energy revenues but introduces a stable, financeable revenue stream that materially reduces reliance on volatile power market conditions.",{"type":615,"attrs":3001,"content":3002},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[3003],{"text":3004,"type":596,"marks":3005},"Implications for ESS demand and upside scenarios",[3006],{"type":623},{"type":656,"attrs":3008},{"id":3009,"body":3010},"3af7fe9a-34c2-48ac-9e97-bea1ab037d09",[3011],{"id":3012,"_uid":3013,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27496148","i-ec9a59fe-2cb5-4eeb-af5a-a6c2c94cc97a",{"type":591,"attrs":3015,"content":3016},{"textAlign":49},[3017,3019,3023],{"text":3018,"type":596},"While the reform does not raise absolute build limits, still constrained by grid planning and EPC capacity, it underwrites a baseline level of deployment and increases the probability that higher",{"text":2916,"type":596,"marks":3020},[3021],{"type":739,"attrs":3022},{"color":547},{"text":3024,"type":596},"end energy storage system (ESS) demand scenarios are realised. Upside deployment becomes less dependent on favourable power prices or low battery input costs.",{"type":615,"attrs":3026,"content":3027},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[3028],{"text":3029,"type":596,"marks":3030},"Will we see an increase in project duration?",[3031],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3033,"content":3034},{"textAlign":49},[3035],{"text":3036,"type":596},"Only standalone grid‑side projects included in provincial plans are eligible; storage paired with wind or solar is excluded. The adjustment factor strongly favours four‑hour‑plus systems, with shorter‑duration projects receiving proportionally lower payments. Over time, this is likely to shift system design towards longer‑duration storage, a trend already seen in recent years. From 2023 to 2025 Benchmark’s BESS Service saw average duration of grid projects in China rise from 2.1 hour to 2.9 hours.",{"type":591,"attrs":3038,"content":3039},{"textAlign":49},[3040],{"text":3041,"type":596},"Future reforms will transition all resources towards settlement based on “reliable capacity”, increasing the importance of performance, dispatch integration, and long‑term operations and maintenance capabilities.",{"type":615,"attrs":3043,"content":3044},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[3045],{"text":3046,"type":596,"marks":3047},"How can capacity compensation as a key driver of project viability?",[3048],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3050,"content":3051},{"textAlign":49},[3052],{"text":3053,"type":596},"Across several provinces, market‑based revenues alone are insufficient for standalone storage projects to cover capital and operating costs. Without capacity payments, project internal IRRs are often negative. With reasonable capacity compensation, IRRs rise above investment thresholds (~4–5%), enabling financing.",{"type":591,"attrs":3055,"content":3056},{"textAlign":49},[3057],{"text":3058,"type":596},"Since late 2025, developers have increasingly modelled projects assuming capacity compensation, with IRR‑based screening now central to investment decisions.",{"type":615,"attrs":3060,"content":3061},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[3062],{"text":3063,"type":596,"marks":3064},"Lower exposure to lithium price swings",[3065],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3067,"content":3068},{"textAlign":49},[3069],{"text":3070,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that a capacity-based price of RMB165/kW/yr would be able to offset an increase in lithium carbonate  of up to RMB44,000/tonne for a typical 6-hour project (so long as lithium prices are the only thing that change). This significantly increases energy storage providers resilience against volatile raw material prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":3072},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},"China has introduced a national capacity‑based pricing mechanism for grid‑side independent energy storage, marking a structural shift in how storage assets are compensated within the power system.",[3075,3085],{"slug":3076,"name":3077,"content":3078},"calvin-xu","Calvin Xu",{"job_title":3079,"image":3080,"bio":3082,"linkedin":3083,"markets_covered":3084},"Analyst - BESS",{"filename":3081},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/096bdfc0f7/calvin-xu.png","Calvin is a BESS Analyst focusing on China market. He works on daily research of China's BESS projects, legislation and policy analysis. He also works on the monthly and quarterly reports focusing on China market and the OEMs updates. Now he is assisting on the data centre database. Calvin holds a MSc of e-Business Management at University of Warwick. ","https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhengxu0416/","BESS",{"slug":3086,"name":3087,"content":3088},"cameron-perks","Cameron Perks",{"job_title":3089,"image":3090,"bio":3092,"linkedin":3093,"markets_covered":8},"Product Director - Lithium",{"filename":3091},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/5504398139/cam-perks.png","Dr Cameron Perks is a leading global lithium expert and currently serves as Product Director for Lithium at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. With over a decade of experience in opaque mineral markets, he has led market strategy, pricing analysis, and bespoke consulting for clients ranging from junior explorers to OEMs and institutional investors. He was previously a consultant at TZMI, a geologist with the Geological Survey of NSW, and holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronperks/","China introduces national capacity pricing for grid‑side ESS",[3096,3097,3098,3101,3103,3104,3106],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":3102,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":3105,"name":298},"cathode",{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3108},{},{"id":3110,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3111,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3112,"is_external_url":50},141084977756156,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5272x3948/e84a3df0c0/adobestock_1377471942.jpeg",{},"Feb 03, 2026",{"id":3115,"uuid":3116,"name":3117,"slug":3118,"full_slug":3119,"content":3120},136726898148960,"d4873e1a-a71e-4dea-8f82-e099ff0f8879","Infographic: Comparing EV charging networks worldwide","infographic-comparing-ev-charging-networks-worldwide","article/infographic-comparing-ev-charging-networks-worldwide",{"_uid":3121,"date":3122,"live":50,"tags":3123,"editor":3127,"content":3131,"excerpt":3219,"featured":51,"reporter":3220,"component":697,"seo_title":3117,"categories":3231,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3235,"featured_image":3237,"seo_description":3241,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3242},"ba775c7c-46f4-460a-9271-0d04810e5cea","2026-01-21 00:00",[3124],{"slug":3125,"name":3126},"charging","Charging",[3128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3129},{"job_title":557,"image":3130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3132},[3133,3138,3146,3153,3158,3163,3170,3175,3180,3187,3200,3202,3209],{"type":591,"attrs":3134,"content":3135},{"textAlign":49},[3136],{"text":3137,"type":596},"EV charging density offers a key metric to compare countries’ charging networks, with a lower EV-to-charger ratio indicating a more accessible charging experience for drivers. However, understanding regional demographics, housing patterns, and grid infrastructure is also essential when comparing different markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":3139,"content":3140},{"textAlign":49},[3141],{"type":836,"attrs":3142},{"id":49,"alt":3143,"src":3144,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":3145},"Countries Leading in EV Charger Density","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_745,h_1024,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1768987525/www-production/Countries-Leading-in-EV-Charger-Density-2_1352009baf26/Countries-Leading-in-EV-Charger-Density-2_1352009baf26.jpg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":3147,"content":3148},{"textAlign":49},[3149],{"text":3150,"type":596,"marks":3151},"Europe and North America",[3152],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3154,"content":3155},{"textAlign":49},[3156],{"text":3157,"type":596},"The Netherlands has the lowest EV-to-charger ratio, reflecting exceptionally dense public charger coverage. However, the share of fast chargers remains limited, as grid constraints continue to restrict the rollout of high-power charging despite the country’s strong base network.",{"type":591,"attrs":3159,"content":3160},{"textAlign":49},[3161],{"text":3162,"type":596},"In contrast, the US and UK both have significantly higher numbers of EVs per public charger. This is largely due to the higher proportion of people having access to private charging. Many charge point operators in these regions are scaling up networks and developing multi-use sites with retail and hospitality partners to boost utilisation and create added value across different charging scenarios.",{"type":591,"attrs":3164,"content":3165},{"textAlign":49},[3166],{"text":3167,"type":596,"marks":3168},"China, density driven by demographics and housing",[3169],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3171,"content":3172},{"textAlign":49},[3173],{"text":3174,"type":596},"China has the second-lowest EV-to-charger ratio, with just under half of chargers classed as fast. This growth has been driven both by the rapid expansion of its EV market and its high population density. A large share of residents live in high-rise buildings, meaning they depend heavily on public charging networks. This has spurred the rollout of a substantial number of both public and fast chargers.",{"type":591,"attrs":3176,"content":3177},{"textAlign":49},[3178],{"text":3179,"type":596},"By contrast, in Europe and North America, the need for public fast chargers is less acute because more drivers have access to private home or workplace charging options.",{"type":591,"attrs":3181,"content":3182},{"textAlign":49},[3183],{"text":3184,"type":596,"marks":3185},"India, rapid network expansion from a low base",[3186],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3188,"content":3189},{"textAlign":49},[3190,3192,3198],{"text":3191,"type":596},"India is emerging as one of the fastest-growing charging markets. In 2025, several local operators undertook large-scale network expansions. According to ",{"text":3193,"type":596,"marks":3194},"Benchmark’s EV Charging & Grid Infrastructure Service",[3195],{"type":606,"attrs":3196},{"href":3197,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/ev-charging",{"text":3199,"type":596},", India’s charging network expanded by ~130% over the past two years, showing strong growth momentum from a still modest base.",{"type":3201},"horizontal_rule",{"type":591,"attrs":3203,"content":3204},{"textAlign":49},[3205],{"text":3206,"type":596,"marks":3207},"To learn more about our EV and charging data and forecasts, submit your details below and our team will be in touch:",[3208],{"type":623},{"type":656,"attrs":3210},{"id":3211,"body":3212},"c7769c44-60d2-436f-98ff-d1e4b1dec134",[3213],{"id":1012,"_uid":3214,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":3215,"success_file":3216,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":3218,"show_on_intelligence":50},"i-3dd05d21-9f0e-4bdf-8478-2aabd7cbe0d4",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3217},{},[],"EV charging density offers a key metric to compare countries’ charging networks, with a lower EV-to-charger ratio indicating a more accessible charging experience for drivers. However, understanding regional demographics, housing patterns, and grid infrastructure is also essential when comparing different markets. Europe and North America The Netherlands has the lowest EV-to-charger ratio, reflecting exceptionally dense ...",[3221],{"slug":3222,"name":3223,"content":3224},"xinyi-lin","Xinyi Lin",{"job_title":3225,"image":3226,"bio":3228,"linkedin":3229,"markets_covered":3230},"Research Analyst",{"filename":3227},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/800x800/e4ab6097c6/xinyi-lin.jpeg","Xinyi is focusing on EV charging infrastructure as a Research Analyst at Rho Motion. She delivers insights through comprehensive analysis of the global EV charging market and contributes to monthly and quarterly reports as well as related projects. Before joining the company, she earned a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Glasgow with excellent academic performance.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinyi-l-132a861b6/","EV charging infrastructure",[3232,3233,3234],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3236},{},{"id":3238,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3239,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3240,"is_external_url":50},136727046884816,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1708/793b0e03c1/adobestock_484037738.jpeg",{},"EV charging density offers a key metric to compare countries’ charging networks, with a lower EV-to-charger ratio indicating a more accessible charging experience for drivers. However, understanding regional demographics, housing patterns, and grid infras","Jan 21, 2026",{"id":3244,"uuid":3245,"name":3246,"slug":3247,"full_slug":3248,"content":3249},136724607253715,"ecfaceba-f3ed-44bb-8177-b73107d3ebc6","Canada and China strike deal to allow Chinese made EVs into Canada","canada-and-china-strike-deal-to-allow-chinese-made-evs-into-canada","article/canada-and-china-strike-deal-to-allow-chinese-made-evs-into-canada",{"_uid":3250,"date":3122,"live":51,"tags":3251,"editor":3265,"content":3269,"excerpt":3353,"featured":51,"reporter":3354,"component":697,"seo_title":3358,"categories":3359,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3364,"featured_image":3368,"seo_description":3372,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3242},"e68cfa0e-8b12-4b0c-b293-f6c4f421ecc5",[3252,3253,3256,3257,3258,3261,3264],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":3254,"name":3255},"canada","Canada",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":3259,"name":3260},"ev-sales","EV Sales",{"slug":3262,"name":3263},"geely","Geely",{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[3266],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3267},{"job_title":557,"image":3268,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3270},[3271,3283,3294,3301,3308,3320,3326,3331,3336,3343,3348],{"type":591,"attrs":3272,"content":3273},{"textAlign":49},[3274,3276,3281],{"text":3275,"type":596},"Up to 49,000 Chinese made ",{"text":3277,"type":596,"marks":3278},"EVs",[3279],{"type":606,"attrs":3280},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3282,"type":596}," will be allowed into Canada at the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%. In October 2024, Canada introduced a 100% tariff on EVs from China, following the US’s imposition of the same policy in May of the same year.",{"type":591,"attrs":3284,"content":3285},{"textAlign":49},[3286,3288,3292],{"text":3287,"type":596},"In 2025, the Canadian EV market declined 41% compared to 2024. Largely due to its ",{"text":1140,"type":596,"marks":3289},[3290],{"type":606,"attrs":3291},{"href":1146,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3293,"type":596}," ending in mid-January 2025 and the deteriorating trade relationship between the US and Canada.",{"type":656,"attrs":3295},{"id":3296,"body":3297},"d8ae9ec0-8613-4f3d-bf5a-b3a6c675bc82",[3298],{"id":3299,"_uid":3300,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27309189","i-078bc768-e5e1-4dbf-bfe0-84b2e794eb82",{"type":591,"attrs":3302,"content":3303},{"textAlign":49},[3304],{"text":3305,"type":596,"marks":3306},"Who will benefit from this policy?",[3307],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3309,"content":3310},{"textAlign":49},[3311,3313,3319],{"text":3312,"type":596},"Historically, Canadian EV imports from China have been dominated by Tesla with Geely being the only other OEM to export EVs from China through Polestar and Volvo. In the immediate term, Tesla and Geely will gain the greatest benefit from the reduced tariff rate as both OEMs have already established networks in Canada. Something others will have to take the time to set up in a market that has largely been closed to ",{"text":3314,"type":596,"marks":3315},"Chinese EVs",[3316],{"type":606,"attrs":3317},{"href":3318,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/purchase-taxes-on-chinese-evs-to-increase-from-2026",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":656,"attrs":3321},{"id":3296,"body":3322},[3323],{"id":3324,"_uid":3325,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27309355","i-c8da3a1e-195d-47c6-8d5b-711017b8e980",{"type":591,"attrs":3327,"content":3328},{"textAlign":49},[3329],{"text":3330,"type":596},"The policy also provides Tesla with a unique opportunity to import vehicles into Canada at a lower tariff rate than what is currently faced by their vehicles made in the US. Considering its sales collapse in the country in 2025, this is something tesla will likely look to take advantage of.",{"type":591,"attrs":3332,"content":3333},{"textAlign":49},[3334],{"text":3335,"type":596},"The reduced tariff rate also presents the opportunity for more affordable EV models to enter the Canadian EV market. The Canadian government anticipates that by 2030, half of its EV imports from China will be priced under CAD35,000 (USD25,300). To date, the Canadian EV market has closely followed the US, where EV development has focused on large SUVs and pickup trucks.",{"type":591,"attrs":3337,"content":3338},{"textAlign":49},[3339],{"text":3340,"type":596,"marks":3341},"Will BYD take over?",[3342],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3344,"content":3345},{"textAlign":49},[3346],{"text":3347,"type":596},"BYD aims for 50% of its sales to come from markets outside of China by 2030. In pursuit of this, it has expanded significantly into numerous emerging markets, gaining significant market share in a short period of time. It is also growing its market share in Europe, despite the region’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese made EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":3349,"content":3350},{"textAlign":49},[3351],{"text":3352,"type":596},"The Canadian market certainly presents an opportunity for BYD with its product offering being unlike anything Canadian consumers have yet been exposed to. However, it will take time for BYD to establish the trade flows and networks to be able to distribute EVs within Canada. Many of the EV markets that BYD has come to dominate quickly have lacked competition, whereas the Canadian EV market has numerous American, European and Asian OEMs already operating. Even if BYD was able to claim all 49,000 units of the quota, that represents less than 3% of Canada’s total vehicle market.","Up to 49,000 Chinese made EVs will be allowed into Canada at the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%. In October 2024, Canada introduced a 100% tariff on EVs from China, following the US’s imposition of the same policy in May of the same year. In 2025, the Canadian EV market declined 41% compared to 2024...",[3355],{"slug":1196,"name":1197,"content":3356},{"job_title":1199,"image":3357,"bio":1202,"linkedin":1203,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1201},"Canada and China strike deal to allow Chinese made EVs into ...",[3360,3361,3362,3363],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":3365,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3366,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3367,"is_external_url":50},136726733991361,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/797x654/a662003933/screenshot-2026-01-21-100635.png",{},{"id":3369,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3370,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3371,"is_external_url":50},136725929385373,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1440/a8b7c16f93/adobestock_780784283.avif",{},"Up to 49,000 Chinese made EVs will be allowed into Canada at the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%. In October 2024, Canada introduced a 100% tariff on EVs from China, following the US’s imposition of the same policy in May of the same year. In 202",{"id":3374,"uuid":1269,"name":3375,"slug":3376,"full_slug":3377,"content":3378},136728963606797,"Germany confirms its new EV subsidy scheme","germany-confirms-its-new-ev-subsidy-scheme","article/germany-confirms-its-new-ev-subsidy-scheme",{"_uid":3379,"date":3380,"live":51,"tags":3381,"editor":3388,"content":3392,"excerpt":3476,"featured":51,"reporter":3477,"component":697,"seo_title":547,"categories":3481,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3486,"featured_image":3490,"seo_description":547,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3494},"31984dcd-6d8f-4fdc-9194-3413b260ec7c","2026-01-20 00:00",[3382,3383,3384,3387],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},{"slug":3259,"name":3260},{"slug":3385,"name":3386},"germany","Germany",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[3389],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3390},{"job_title":557,"image":3391,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3393},[3394,3413,3420,3425,3430,3437,3442,3447,3452,3459,3466,3471],{"type":591,"attrs":3395,"content":3396},{"textAlign":49},[3397,3399,3404,3406,3411],{"text":3398,"type":596},"The German government has confirmed its most recent ",{"text":3400,"type":596,"marks":3401},"electric vehicle (EV)",[3402],{"type":606,"attrs":3403},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3405,"type":596}," subsidies, setting out a new socially targeted programme that will support the purchase and leasing of EVs from the start of 2026. The programme aims to make EVs affordable for a broader range of households, stabilise the domestic market, and strengthen Germany’s position in the European automotive and battery ",{"text":3407,"type":596,"marks":3408},"value chain",[3409],{"type":606,"attrs":3410},{"href":772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3412,"type":596},". The Federal Environment Ministry has allocated a EUR3bn ($3.3bn) budget to run through 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":3414,"content":3415},{"textAlign":49},[3416],{"text":3417,"type":596,"marks":3418},"Subsidy structure",[3419],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3421,"content":3422},{"textAlign":49},[3423],{"text":3424,"type":596},"The central feature of the programme is its income-based design. Subsidies are tiered by household earnings, with grants ranging from EUR1,500 ($1,650) to EUR6,000 ($6,600) per vehicle. The highest payments will go to lower- and middle-income households, with eligibility capped at EUR90,000 ($99,000) annual income. Grants vary based on taxable income level and the number of children under the age of 18. Those eligible to receive the highest grants are households with a taxable income of EUR45,000 or below with two or more children aged under 18, while households with no children and a taxable income of EUR80,000 or below receive the lowest subsidy amount.",{"type":591,"attrs":3426,"content":3427},{"textAlign":49},[3428],{"text":3429,"type":596},"The subsidies apply to both outright purchases and leases, a key feature given leasing’s popularity among German households.",{"type":591,"attrs":3431,"content":3432},{"textAlign":49},[3433],{"text":3434,"type":596,"marks":3435},"Vehicle categories covered",[3436],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3438,"content":3439},{"textAlign":49},[3440],{"text":3441,"type":596},"Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will receive the highest support, with grants between EUR6,000 ($6,600) for lower-income and EUR3,000 ($3,300) for middle-income households.",{"type":591,"attrs":3443,"content":3444},{"textAlign":49},[3445],{"text":3446,"type":596},"For plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) and range-extender EVs (REEVs), eligibility is limited to between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2027. During this period, such vehicles must emit no more than 60gCO₂/km in type approval or achieve an electric-only range of at least 80km to qualify. Grants for these vehicles range from EUR4,500 ($4,950) to EUR1,500 ($1,650), depending on income level.",{"type":591,"attrs":3448,"content":3449},{"textAlign":49},[3450],{"text":3451,"type":596},"The current framework does not differentiate by vehicle origin, meaning Chinese-made models are eligible, although this could change as EU preferential regulations are under review.",{"type":591,"attrs":3453,"content":3454},{"textAlign":49},[3455],{"text":3456,"type":596,"marks":3457},"Market impact",[3458],{"type":623},{"type":656,"attrs":3460},{"id":3461,"body":3462},"a942a3d2-5a40-4469-a248-ddee94efee41",[3463],{"id":3464,"_uid":3465,"type":611,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"3561565","i-7c8a0fe7-7bae-4797-b536-d257e0df8a09",{"type":591,"attrs":3467,"content":3468},{"textAlign":49},[3469],{"text":3470,"type":596},"The German market has historically been highly responsive to subsidies. Across Europe, targeted support for lower- and middle-income buyers has proven effective: in Italy, similar incentives reached their funding cap in a matter of days, while in France, a larger scheme ended within six weeks of launch.",{"type":591,"attrs":3472,"content":3473},{"textAlign":49},[3474],{"text":3475,"type":596},"This scheme will provide a meaningful boost to Germany, likely funding a total of 200,000 vehicles through to 2029. Some recipients of the subsidy would likely have looked to purchase EVs without the subsidy, but targeted support for the lowest income groups, which typically have low uptake, makes this scheme more important for marginal buyers than blanket subsidies.","The German government has confirmed its most recent electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, setting out a new socially targeted programme that will support the purchase and leasing of EVs from the start of 2026. The programme aims to make EVs affordable for a broader range of households, stabilise the domestic market, and strengthen Germany’s position in ...",[3478],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":3479},{"job_title":1026,"image":3480,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1028},[3482,3483,3484,3485],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":3487,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3488,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3489,"is_external_url":50},136730621501124,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1270x752/a457787ddd/screenshot-2026-01-20-120823.png",{},{"id":3491,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3492,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3493,"is_external_url":50},136730819710688,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1440/f1bb25e77e/adobestock_316671337.jpeg",{},"Jan 20, 2026",{"id":3496,"uuid":1488,"name":3497,"slug":3498,"full_slug":3499,"content":3500},136732961738934,"Global lithium ion battery demand rose 29% in 2025","global-lithium-ion-battery-demand-rose-29-in-2025","article/global-lithium-ion-battery-demand-rose-29-in-2025",{"_uid":3501,"date":3502,"live":51,"tags":3503,"editor":3508,"content":3512,"excerpt":3647,"featured":51,"reporter":3648,"component":697,"seo_title":3497,"categories":3652,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3661,"featured_image":3665,"seo_description":3669,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3670},"d98b80c8-eb20-4c8d-ac1a-3ffcefbf2ad0","2026-01-15 00:00",[3504,3505],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":3506,"name":3507},"global-demand","Global demand",[3509],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3510},{"job_title":557,"image":3511,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3513},[3514,3533,3541,3549,3566,3571,3576,3583,3588,3593,3598,3603,3610,3619,3629,3630,3637],{"type":591,"attrs":3515,"content":3516},{"textAlign":49},[3517,3519,3525,3527,3531],{"text":3518,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that global ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":3521},"lithium ion battery",[3522],{"type":606,"attrs":3523},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium",{"text":3526,"type":596}," demand increased by 29% in 2025 to reach 1.59TWh. This growth was driven by rising demand across EVs, ",{"text":3084,"type":596,"marks":3528},[3529],{"type":606,"attrs":3530},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3532,"type":596},", and other battery applications, with BESS in particular gaining share in the overall mix.",{"type":591,"attrs":3534,"content":3535},{"textAlign":49},[3536],{"type":836,"attrs":3537},{"id":49,"alt":3538,"src":3539,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":3540},"Global lithium ion battery demand growth","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_1024,h_576,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1768474362/www-production/image-4-1_135187416429/image-4-1_135187416429.png?_i=AA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":3542,"content":3544},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},4,[3545],{"text":3546,"type":596,"marks":3547},"Battery demand by sector",[3548],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3550,"content":3551},{"textAlign":49},[3552,3554,3558,3560,3564],{"text":3553,"type":596},"The share of total battery demand accounted for by ",{"text":3277,"type":596,"marks":3555},[3556],{"type":606,"attrs":3557},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3559,"type":596}," continued to edge lower, even as absolute demand from the sector increased. EVs represented 75% of global ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":3561},[3562],{"type":606,"attrs":3563},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3565,"type":596}," in 2025, down from 77% in 2024 and 79% in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":3567,"content":3568},{"textAlign":49},[3569],{"text":3570,"type":596},"Portables also saw their share eroded, slipping from 6% of total demand in 2024 to 5% in 2025. Although both EVs and Portables recorded year-on-year growth in GWh terms, the pace of expansion was slower than in the BESS segment.",{"type":591,"attrs":3572,"content":3573},{"textAlign":49},[3574],{"text":3575,"type":596},"BESS remained the fastest-growing major end-use segment. Battery demand from BESS increased by 51% in 2025, compared with 26% growth in demand from the EV sector, resulting in a continued rebalancing of demand towards stationary storage.",{"type":615,"attrs":3577,"content":3578},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[3579],{"text":3580,"type":596,"marks":3581},"Regional variation",[3582],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3584,"content":3585},{"textAlign":49},[3586],{"text":3587,"type":596},"Regional demand patterns diverged significantly in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":3589,"content":3590},{"textAlign":49},[3591],{"text":3592,"type":596},"In North America, BESS gained a much larger foothold in the demand mix, accounting for 26% of total battery demand, up from 16% in 2024. This came as EV demand growth slowed, in part reflecting the impact of changes to Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit eligibility in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":3594,"content":3595},{"textAlign":49},[3596],{"text":3597,"type":596},"In Europe, EVs remained the dominant driver of battery demand. The EV share of total battery demand increased to 85% in 2025, from 77% in 2024, highlighting the region’s continued focus on light-duty electrification. BESS, by contrast, saw its share of total demand fall from 16% to 8% over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":3599,"content":3600},{"textAlign":49},[3601],{"text":3602,"type":596},"In China, EVs continued to account for the bulk of battery demand, with their share stable at 77% in both 2024 and 2025. However, BESS gained further ground, with its share of total battery demand rising from 16% in 2024 to 19% in 2025. Notably, in December 2025, BESS accounted for 45% of battery demand on account of a record month.",{"type":615,"attrs":3604,"content":3605},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[3606],{"text":3607,"type":596,"marks":3608},"Chemistry trends",[3609],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3611,"content":3612},{"textAlign":49},[3613,3617],{"text":451,"type":596,"marks":3614},[3615],{"type":606,"attrs":3616},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3618,"type":596}," remained the fastest-growing battery chemistry in 2025, with demand increasing by 48% year-on-year. This was underpinned by rapid growth in the global BESS market and by continued expansion of China’s EV market, both domestically and through rising vehicle exports.",{"type":591,"attrs":3620,"content":3621},{"textAlign":49},[3622,3627],{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":3623},[3624],{"type":606,"attrs":3625},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel",{"text":3628,"type":596},"-based chemistries also saw year-on-year demand growth in absolute terms. However, their overall share of global battery demand declined in 2025, as strong gains in LFP outpaced growth in nickel-containing cathode demand.",{"type":3201},{"type":591,"attrs":3631,"content":3632},{"textAlign":49},[3633],{"text":3634,"type":596,"marks":3635},"To learn more about our battery demand data and forecasts, submit your details below and our team will be in touch:",[3636],{"type":623},{"type":656,"attrs":3638},{"id":3639,"body":3640},"3fcc77e1-f5b8-4037-b659-8c28fef18d62",[3641],{"id":1012,"_uid":3642,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"redirect_url":3643,"success_file":3644,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"v2_hubspot_form":50,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":3646},"i-a0071b22-7145-472d-80fc-8e036478b3d8",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3645},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that global lithium ion battery demand increased by 29% in 2025 to reach 1.59TWh. This growth was driven by rising demand across EVs, BESS, and other battery applications, with BESS in particular gaining share in the overall mix. Battery demand by sector The share of total battery ...",[3649],{"slug":2148,"name":2149,"content":3650},{"job_title":2151,"image":3651,"bio":2154,"linkedin":2155,"markets_covered":2156},{"filename":2153},[3653,3654,3655,3656,3657,3658,3659,3660],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":3662,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3663,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3664,"is_external_url":50},136734537285855,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1024x576/f1d885ae7d/image-4_46706d895d.png",{},{"id":3666,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3667,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3668,"is_external_url":50},136733157654653,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1440/ec69255493/adobestock_854935416.jpeg",{},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that global lithium ion battery demand increased by 29% in 2025 to reach 1.59TWh. This growth was driven by rising demand a","Jan 15, 2026",{"id":3672,"uuid":3673,"name":3674,"slug":3675,"full_slug":3676,"content":3677},136732112060534,"7d470beb-9ecf-4916-9e61-7f5c89a5397a","How will China’s VAT rebate changes affect the battery market?","how-will-chinas-vat-rebate-changes-affect-the-battery-market","article/how-will-chinas-vat-rebate-changes-affect-the-battery-market",{"_uid":3678,"date":3502,"live":50,"tags":3679,"editor":3682,"content":3686,"excerpt":3810,"featured":51,"reporter":3811,"component":697,"seo_title":3674,"categories":3821,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":3828,"featured_image":3830,"seo_description":3834,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":3670},"a6a7af8b-62e8-44c1-9971-bce6e068d362",[3680,3681],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},{"slug":575,"name":576},[3683],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3684},{"job_title":557,"image":3685,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3687},[3688,3693,3698,3705,3713,3725,3736,3743,3754,3766,3773,3778,3783,3800,3805],{"type":591,"attrs":3689,"content":3690},{"textAlign":49},[3691],{"text":3692,"type":596},"On 9 January, China’s Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration issued a joint statement outlining plans to phase out export VAT rebates for the battery and solar industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":3694,"content":3695},{"textAlign":49},[3696],{"text":3697,"type":596},"China has operated a long-standing VAT export rebate system to support exporters of manufactured products, including PV modules, cells, and battery materials, with rebates ranging from 6%–13%.",{"type":615,"attrs":3699,"content":3700},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[3701],{"text":3702,"type":596,"marks":3703},"What is it?",[3704],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3706,"content":3707},{"textAlign":49},[3708],{"type":836,"attrs":3709},{"id":49,"alt":3710,"src":3711,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":3712},"VAT rebate phase-out overview","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_1024,h_479,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1768493497/www-production/Screenshot-2026-01-15-160959_1351911a4245/Screenshot-2026-01-15-160959_1351911a4245.png?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":3714,"content":3715},{"textAlign":49},[3716,3718,3723],{"text":3717,"type":596},"Under the new policy, VAT rebates for batteries will be reduced from 9% to 6% from 1 April 2026, before being eliminated entirely from 1 January 2027. The 13% VAT rebate for the solar industry will be completely phased out from 1 April 2026. The elimination of the rebate will also apply to battery materials such as ",{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":3720},"nickel",[3721],{"type":606,"attrs":3722},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3724,"type":596},"-based pCAM and CAM, and LCO pCAM and CAM, as well as anode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":3726,"content":3727},{"textAlign":49},[3728,3730,3734],{"text":3729,"type":596},"Notably, ",{"text":451,"type":596,"marks":3731},[3732],{"type":606,"attrs":3733},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3735,"type":596}," CAM is excluded, as this historically has not received any export VAT rebates.",{"type":615,"attrs":3737,"content":3738},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[3739],{"text":3740,"type":596,"marks":3741},"How will it affect the market?",[3742],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3744,"content":3745},{"textAlign":49},[3746,3748,3752],{"text":3747,"type":596},"From the battery cell side, the 3 percentage point drop in the VAT rebate will likely put pressure on producers to pass higher costs on to customers after April 2026, which in turn may pull forward ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":3749},[3750],{"type":606,"attrs":3751},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3753,"type":596}," in Q1 2026, as buyers look to secure lower prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":3755,"content":3756},{"textAlign":49},[3757,3759,3764],{"text":3758,"type":596},"As a consequence, this may lift battery output in the first quarter, temporarily boosting ",{"text":3760,"type":596,"marks":3761},"lithium carbonate",[3762],{"type":606,"attrs":3763},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3765,"type":596}," and hydroxide demand at a time when inventories are already tight, amplifying near-term price sensitivity without materially changing longer-term demand fundamentals.",{"type":656,"attrs":3767},{"id":3768,"body":3769},"57167298-334b-4147-af29-1bdbce4c254a",[3770],{"id":3771,"_uid":3772,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27091265","i-8caf2257-5f14-4389-ae67-5ff06721f0de",{"type":591,"attrs":3774,"content":3775},{"textAlign":49},[3776],{"text":3777,"type":596},"However, consumers may also look further ahead to Q4 2026, before the elimination of the VAT rebate, leading to another potential boost in demand in that quarter before the start of 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":3779,"content":3780},{"textAlign":49},[3781],{"text":3782,"type":596},"It is worth noting that this will only affect exported goods that are subject to VAT. Cells sold domestically are unlikely to see a significant change in demand or prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":3784,"content":3785},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[3786,3790,3796],{"text":3787,"type":596,"marks":3788},"What does this mean for ex-China ",[3789],{"type":623},{"text":701,"type":596,"marks":3791},[3792,3793],{"type":623},{"type":606,"attrs":3794},{"href":3795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/anode",{"text":3797,"type":596,"marks":3798}," and cathode prices?",[3799],{"type":623},{"type":591,"attrs":3801,"content":3802},{"textAlign":49},[3803],{"text":3804,"type":596},"China is a key source of cathode and anode materials, with many cell producers, especially South Korean and Japanese players, relying on China for NCM CAM and anode imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":3806,"content":3807},{"textAlign":49},[3808],{"text":3809,"type":596},"Given that cathode material accounts for roughly 40% of cell cost and anode material for 10%, an increase in the cost of these materials will put upward pressure on ex-China cell prices, assuming producers pass these higher costs on to customers.","On 9 January, China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration issued a joint statement outlining plans to phase out export VAT rebates for the battery and solar industries. China has operated a long-standing VAT export rebate system to support exporters of manufactured products, including PV modules, cells, and battery materials, with rebates ranging from ...",[3812],{"slug":3813,"name":3814,"content":3815},"aakanksha-raje","Aakanksha Raje",{"job_title":3816,"image":3817,"bio":3819,"linkedin":3820,"markets_covered":298},"Analyst - Cathode",{"filename":3818},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/f99cb893df/aakanksha-raje.png","Aakanksha is an analyst on the midstream team at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. She specialises in cathode and pCAM market analysis, with a particular focus on cathode forecasting. She holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Mumbai and an MSc in Geoscience from University College London.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/aakanksha-raje-270455209/",[3822,3823,3824,3825,3826,3827],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3829},{},{"id":3831,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":3832,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":3833,"is_external_url":50},136732238463040,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2560x1418/e3977cd873/adobestock_527528408.jpeg",{},"On 9 January, China’s Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration issued a joint statement outlining plans to phase out export VAT rebates for the battery and solar industries. China has operated a long-standing VAT export rebate system to",{"id":3836,"uuid":3837,"name":3838,"slug":3839,"full_slug":3840,"content":3841},133953821231216,"98327103-8d08-4b87-9f03-eee3dbdb86ca","Global EV sales reach 20.7 million units in 2025, growing by 20%","global-ev-sales-reach-20-7-million-units-in-2025-growing-by-20","article/global-ev-sales-reach-20-7-million-units-in-2025-growing-by-20",{"_uid":3842,"date":3843,"tags":3844,"editor":3845,"content":3849,"excerpt":4058,"featured":51,"reporter":4059,"component":697,"seo_title":3838,"categories":4063,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":4066,"featured_image":4068,"seo_description":4071,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":4072},"07c5b0ad-98ef-4798-823b-aa662dc0e32f","2026-01-14 00:00",[],[3846],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":3847},{"job_title":557,"image":3848,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":3850},[3851,3862,3867,3904,3911,3915,3920,3925,3930,3935,3939,3944,3949,3954,3959,3964,3968,3979,3984,3989,3994,4006,4010,4015,4020,4025,4029,4034,4039,4041,4046,4056],{"type":591,"attrs":3852,"content":3853},{"textAlign":49},[3854,3856,3860],{"text":3855,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":3857},[3858],{"type":606,"attrs":3859},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3861,"type":596}," were sold globally in December 2025, bringing the end of year figure to 20.7 million EV units sold in the passenger car and light-duty vehicle segment.",{"type":591,"attrs":3863,"content":3864},{"textAlign":49},[3865],{"text":3866,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in 2025 vs 2024:",{"type":779,"content":3868},[3869,3876,3883,3890,3897],{"type":782,"content":3870},[3871],{"type":591,"attrs":3872,"content":3873},{"textAlign":49},[3874],{"text":3875,"type":596},"Global: 20.7 million, +20% ",{"type":782,"content":3877},[3878],{"type":591,"attrs":3879,"content":3880},{"textAlign":49},[3881],{"text":3882,"type":596},"China: 12.9 million, +17%",{"type":782,"content":3884},[3885],{"type":591,"attrs":3886,"content":3887},{"textAlign":49},[3888],{"text":3889,"type":596},"Europe: 4.3 million, +33%",{"type":782,"content":3891},[3892],{"type":591,"attrs":3893,"content":3894},{"textAlign":49},[3895],{"text":3896,"type":596},"North America: 1.8 million, -4%",{"type":782,"content":3898},[3899],{"type":591,"attrs":3900,"content":3901},{"textAlign":49},[3902],{"text":3903,"type":596},"Rest of World: 1.7 million, +48%",{"type":591,"attrs":3905,"content":3906},{"textAlign":49},[3907],{"type":836,"attrs":3908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":3909,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":3910},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Monthly-EV-sales-slide-BMI-2-1024x576.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":3912,"content":3913},{"textAlign":49},[3914],{"text":845,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":3916,"content":3917},{"textAlign":49},[3918],{"text":3919,"type":596},"“This time last year few could have predicted the EV market upset that occurred which has resulted in a virtually unrecognisable landscape now as we enter 2026. Globally the EV sales figures have grown by a fifth compared to the previous year which shows how resilient the market is.",{"type":591,"attrs":3921,"content":3922},{"textAlign":49},[3923],{"text":3924,"type":596},"“Looking at Europe, the dark horse has overtaken China as the fastest growing major region. This is despite weakened car manufacturing targets bookending the year as many had already prepared for the 2025 targets to come into force.  We do not expect this growth rate to be the same in 2026 as manufacturers focus their efforts on the deadline year, 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":3926,"content":3927},{"textAlign":49},[3928],{"text":3929,"type":596},"“In North America, it will come as no surprise that the year has been tumultuous for the region. A year on from Trump’s inauguration, he has delivered on many of the promises he made to roll back the EV buying incentives and is attempting to domesticate manufacturing. In a move that signifies the arresting impact of this, GM has cancelled contracts with BEV battery suppliers. For the first time in seven years in the US we are predicting the market will shrink, by almost a third.",{"type":591,"attrs":3931,"content":3932},{"textAlign":49},[3933],{"text":3934,"type":596},"“China’s growth appears to have slowed, largely due to the high comparison base created by improved EV subsidies introduced in mid-2024, which significantly lifted sales in the second half of that year. With domestic price wars sapping BYD’s profit margins, the car manufacturer looked more towards Europe and other regions where they could deliver a competitive advantage with home-grown car manufacturers and still make several times the profit on every car sold.”",{"type":591,"attrs":3936,"content":3937},{"textAlign":49},[3938],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":3940,"content":3941},{"textAlign":49},[3942],{"text":3943,"type":596},"The European EV market grew by 33% in 2025 compared with 2024, with 31% growth coming from Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and 38% from Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) over the same period. The European electric vehicle market was marked by a year of legislative change, as EU tailpipe emissions targets were softened throughout the year. There was also increased support for consumer EV purchases, with several major European countries expanding or increasing subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":3945,"content":3946},{"textAlign":49},[3947],{"text":3948,"type":596},"Over 2025, EV sales accelerated in several major markets. Large-volume countries such as Germany and the UK grew by 48% and 27%, respectively. EV sales in France began 2025 weakly and remained in negative territory for most of the year, but finished with 2% growth overall after recovering in the final months, supported by subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":3950,"content":3951},{"textAlign":49},[3952],{"text":3953,"type":596},"The softening of the 2025 EU emissions targets in May 2025, shifting compliance to an average of 2025–27 emissions rather than just 2025, provided car manufacturers with some relief. However, many manufacturers had already put plans in place to increase EV sales in order to meet these targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":3955,"content":3956},{"textAlign":49},[3957],{"text":3958,"type":596},"Looking ahead to 2026, the key development in Europe is the proposed watering down of the 2035 emissions targets, reducing the requirement from a 100% tailpipe emissions reduction (relative to 2021 levels) to 90%, provided certain conditions are met, including the use of low‑carbon steel credits and renewable fuel credits. Under the proposed Automotive Package, manufacturers would also benefit from additional compliance flexibilities, including banking and borrowing of emissions performance for the 2030–32 period. Additional measures include new targets for corporate fleets, super‑credits for small vehicles, and increased support through the EU’s Battery Booster initiative.",{"type":591,"attrs":3960,"content":3961},{"textAlign":49},[3962],{"text":3963,"type":596},"Entering 2026, we expect car manufacturers to maintain strong EV sales momentum, as they must still comply with the 2025–27 emissions standards. The revival of consumer subsidies will also play a key role, with several countries, including France, Germany, and Sweden, announcing support targeted at low- and middle‑income households. As a result, the European EV market is expected to grow by 14% in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":3965,"content":3966},{"textAlign":49},[3967],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":3969,"content":3970},{"textAlign":49},[3971,3973,3977],{"text":3972,"type":596},"2025 was a turbulent year for the North American EV market. In the US, the elimination of federal tax credits on 30 September 2025, alongside the reduction of CAFE standards fines to zero and the introduction of protectionist policies aimed at onshoring vehicle production and ",{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":3974},[3975],{"type":606,"attrs":3976},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":3978,"type":596},", significantly weakened market momentum. As a result, US EV sales grew by just 1% in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":3980,"content":3981},{"textAlign":49},[3982],{"text":3983,"type":596},"Amid these changes, the Canadian market performed poorly following the removal of subsidies early in 2025, causing EV sales to fall by 41% over the year. In contrast, EV sales in Mexico grew by 29%, with the majority of this growth driven by imports of Chinese EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":3985,"content":3986},{"textAlign":49},[3987],{"text":3988,"type":596},"The US market experienced two consecutive months of record EV sales in August and September 2025, as consumers rushed to take advantage of federal tax credits before their removal. This was followed by a sharp contraction in Q4 2025, with EV sales falling by 49% compared with Q3 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":3990,"content":3991},{"textAlign":49},[3992],{"text":3993,"type":596},"The outlook for the US EV market in 2026 remains weak, reflecting limited consumer incentives, a lack of supportive legislation, and OEMs scaling back investment in electrification in favour of internal combustion engine production. As a result, EV sales in the US are expected to decline by 29% in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":3995,"content":3996},{"textAlign":49},[3997,3999,4004],{"text":3998,"type":596},"Looking further ahead, several range‑extended electric vehicles (REEVs) are expected to enter the US market over the next few years, including models from Stellantis, Scout, Ford, and Volvo. Both RAM (Ramcharger 1500) and Ford (F‑150 Lightning) have opted to introduce REEV variants rather than pure BEV versions for upcoming models. These vehicles are well aligned with North American consumer preferences for larger vehicles and reduce reliance on ",{"text":4000,"type":596,"marks":4001},"charging infrastructure",[4002],{"type":606,"attrs":4003},{"href":3197,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4005,"type":596}," by not operating solely on electricity. However, the appetite for REEV demand in the US is yet to be proven. The outlook for plug‑in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the region is also weakening. Most recently, Stellantis announced plans to cut its entire PHEV line‑up for 2026, while maintaining its strategy for two upcoming REEV models.",{"type":591,"attrs":4007,"content":4008},{"textAlign":49},[4009],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":4011,"content":4012},{"textAlign":49},[4013],{"text":4014,"type":596},"The Chinese EV market grew by 17% in 2025 compared with 2024, with BEVs increasing by 26% and PHEVs by 6% over the same period. Year‑on‑year growth slowed markedly in the final quarter of 2025, reaching just 4% compared with Q4 2024. In contrast, H1 2025 EV sales grew by 33% year on year. This divergence largely reflects the fact that, in mid-2024, subsidies under China’s trade‑in scheme were increased, meaning that EV sales in the second half of 2025 were being compared against an elevated base in H2 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":4016,"content":4017},{"textAlign":49},[4018],{"text":4019,"type":596},"Growth in the Chinese EV market during 2025 was driven by intense domestic competition, aggressive pricing, and expanded model availability. As competitive pressures intensified domestically, Chinese car manufacturers increasingly turned to overseas markets. For example, BYD more than doubled its EV exports, rising from 0.4 million units in 2024 to over one million in 2025. These export flows were a key driver of EV growth in the rest of the world, with South America, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia among the main beneficiaries. The European market also saw a strong presence of Chinese‑produced EVs, which accounted for 19% of total EV sales in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":4021,"content":4022},{"textAlign":49},[4023],{"text":4024,"type":596},"In 2026, EVs in China will face a purchase tax for the first time. Previously, EVs were fully exempt, but from 2026 they will be 50% exempt from purchase tax. In addition, the new 2026 trade‑in subsidy scheme will be proportional to vehicle price, rather than the flat‑rate subsidy applied in 2025, which had favoured smaller vehicles. As a result, average EV subsidy levels will be lower in 2026 than in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":4026,"content":4027},{"textAlign":49},[4028],{"text":978,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":4030,"content":4031},{"textAlign":49},[4032],{"text":4033,"type":596},"In the RoW, the EV market grew by 48% in 2025 compared with 2024. A significant number of regions in the RoW had a strong presence of Chinese EV imports, including Southeast Asia that almost doubled year-on-year and in the final three months of the 2025 average over 55,000 EVs sold per month compared with an average of 32,000 per month in the final three months of 2024. South & Central America grew by 49% year-on-year, again led by a strong Chinese presence that accounted for over 85% of EV sales in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":4035,"content":4036},{"textAlign":49},[4037],{"text":4038,"type":596},"Japan’s EV market only grew by 6% year-on-year, with limited uptake of EVs in the region due to the strong presence of hybrid EVs. Japan’s EV penetration remains at 3% for the fourth consecutive year. In contrast, the South Korean market grew by 50% year-on-year, led by new EV models introduced by domestic OEMs and imported EVs, and government incentives.",{"type":591,"attrs":4040},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":4042,"content":4043},{"textAlign":49},[4044],{"text":4045,"type":596},"To learn more about our EV sales data and forecast, submit your details below and our team will be in touch:",{"type":656,"attrs":4047},{"id":4048,"body":4049},"e3ea8d07-1dfe-4112-a7d9-ef6d96fbe7b1",[4050],{"id":1012,"_uid":4051,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":4052,"success_file":4053,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":4055},"i-1869e646-189b-49d7-b4f8-24d9ce3093f4",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4054},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":4057},{"textAlign":49},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in December 2025, bringing the end of year figure to 20.7 million EV units sold in the passenger car and light-duty vehicle segment. Snapshot electric vehicle sales in 2025 vs 2024: Benchmark Mineral […]",[4060],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":4061},{"job_title":1026,"image":4062,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1028},[4064,4065],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4067},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4069,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4070,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/058918fbd6/bm-adobestock-459495501-1.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in December 2025, bringing the end of year figure to 20.7 million EV units sold ","Jan 14, 2026",{"id":4074,"uuid":4075,"name":4076,"slug":4077,"full_slug":4078,"content":4079},133953805613165,"372ec2e6-f86b-4d48-8d39-a9247443767d","EU to introduce minimum pricing for Chinese BEV imports","eu-to-introduce-minimum-pricing-for-chinese-bev-imports","article/eu-to-introduce-minimum-pricing-for-chinese-bev-imports",{"_uid":4080,"date":3843,"tags":4081,"editor":4083,"content":4087,"excerpt":4171,"featured":51,"reporter":4172,"component":697,"seo_title":4076,"categories":4182,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":4186,"featured_image":4188,"seo_description":4191,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":4072},"45600993-3956-4848-9387-96b1c7276dd6",[4082],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[4084],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4085},{"job_title":557,"image":4086,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4088},[4089,4094,4099,4104,4109,4114,4119,4131,4136,4141,4146,4151,4158],{"type":591,"attrs":4090,"content":4091},{"textAlign":49},[4092],{"text":4093,"type":596},"Following ongoing negotiations between the EU and China, the EU is preparing to introduce minimum pricing mechanisms for Chinese‑made BEVs imported into the bloc. This move follows the EU’s final ruling on tariffs in October 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":4095,"content":4096},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4097],{"text":4098,"type":596},"What are the tariffs?",{"type":591,"attrs":4100,"content":4101},{"textAlign":49},[4102],{"text":4103,"type":596},"Since 2024, Chinese OEMs have been subject to countervailing duties ranging from 7.8% to 35.3%, on top of the standard 10% baseline tariff. These measures were introduced after an anti‑subsidy investigation concluded that Chinese manufacturers had benefited from unfair state support.",{"type":615,"attrs":4105,"content":4106},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4107],{"text":4108,"type":596},"What are the changes?",{"type":591,"attrs":4110,"content":4111},{"textAlign":49},[4112],{"text":4113,"type":596},"On 12 January, the EU issued guidance to Chinese automakers outlining a replacement mechanism for the existing tariffs, designed to continue protecting European manufacturers from unfair competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":4115,"content":4116},{"textAlign":49},[4117],{"text":4118,"type":596},"Under the proposed system, Chinese OEMs can avoid tariffs provided they commit to not selling their BEVs in the EU below an agreed minimum price.",{"type":591,"attrs":4120,"content":4121},{"textAlign":49},[4122,4124,4129],{"text":4123,"type":596},"Applications must be submitted to the European Commission for approval, with importers able to choose between applying for a minimum import price (MIP) or remaining under the existing countervailing duties regime. MIPs will be established on a per‑model basis, including all model variants, and will be benchmarked against comparable EU‑produced B",{"text":4125,"type":596,"marks":4126},"EV sales",[4127],{"type":606,"attrs":4128},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4130,"type":596}," prices. Failure to comply may result in the retroactive collection of duties at current tariff levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":4132,"content":4133},{"textAlign":49},[4134],{"text":4135,"type":596},"Notably commitments to invest in EU manufacturing may support approval, with OEMs that have firm plans for EU production potentially benefiting from a more favourable assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":4137,"content":4138},{"textAlign":49},[4139],{"text":4140,"type":596},"The guidance also highlights that OEMs with significant sales of non‑covered products, such as hybrids and ICE vehicles (for example BYD), present a higher risk of cross‑compensation. The risk for the EU is OEMs could compensate minimum import prices by discounting other vehicle types sold to EU importers. It has been explicit that importers in this position pose a higher risk of cross-compensation and therefore will be less likely to receive approval.  This could complicate purchasing for large fleet buyers with mixed powertrain orders, who may typically expect volume discount, something that is common practice at present.",{"type":591,"attrs":4142,"content":4143},{"textAlign":49},[4144],{"text":4145,"type":596},"By contrast, BEV‑only manufacturers will be considered to pose a significantly lower risk of cross‑compensation.",{"type":615,"attrs":4147,"content":4148},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4149],{"text":4150,"type":596},"How have China’s EV sales changed over the course of tariffs?",{"type":656,"attrs":4152},{"id":4153,"body":4154},"92d52cd6-dc11-48ad-8197-cc9ac2b60489",[4155],{"id":4156,"_uid":4157,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27204931","i-8d71edf5-89d9-492b-a1ae-9336fd2d06f5",{"type":591,"attrs":4159,"content":4160},{"textAlign":49},[4161,4163,4169],{"text":4162,"type":596},"Despite the first iterations of tariffs being introduced on BEVs in July 2024, BEV sales of ",{"text":4164,"type":596,"marks":4165},"Chinese made EVs",[4166],{"type":606,"attrs":4167},{"href":4168,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/canada-and-china-strike-deal-to-allow-chinese-made-evs-into-canada",{"text":4170,"type":596}," in Europe remained steady in 2025, marking a 2% drop on in the 11 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This relative steadiness conceals a marked increase in BYD’s BEV imports, countering a decrease in imports for Tesla. However, the PHEV market tells a different story, with PHEV imports from China increasing over 300% in the first 11 months of 2025 as OEMs switched strategies to incorporate tariff free PHEVs.  ","Following ongoing negotiations between the EU and China, the EU is preparing to introduce minimum pricing mechanisms for Chinese‑made BEVs imported into the bloc. This move follows the EU’s final ruling on tariffs in October 2024. What are the tariffs? Since 2024, Chinese OEMs have been subject to countervailing duties ranging from 7.8% to 35.3%, […]",[4173],{"slug":4174,"name":4175,"content":4176},"will-roberts","Will Roberts",{"job_title":4177,"image":4178,"bio":4180,"linkedin":4181,"markets_covered":1031},"Automotive Research Lead",{"filename":4179},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/852x854/474a3cfca2/will-r.png","Will is part of the EV & Battery research team. As Automotive Research Lead, he manages all aspects of the team's view on global vehicle markets. Will leads forecasting for both the total vehicle market globally as well as electrified vehicles and works extensively on electric vehicle and battery market analysis, with a particular focus on the effects of legislation in the North American & European markets and, auto OEM strategy in the transition to EV. In addition, Will is also leading research in EV motors, vehicle platforms and systems. Will graduated from the University of Exeter, with a BSc in Physics and MSc in Mechanical Engineering.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/willroberts227/",[4183,4184,4185],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4187},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4189,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4190,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1438,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1768383504/www-production/AdobeStock_1717945476/AdobeStock_1717945476.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Following ongoing negotiations between the EU and China, the EU is preparing to introduce minimum pricing mechanisms for Chinese‑made BEVs imported into the bloc. This move follows the EU’s final ruling on tariffs ",{"id":4193,"uuid":4194,"name":4195,"slug":4196,"full_slug":4197,"content":4198},133953852786809,"e2705a82-dc4e-449f-9777-6a15bc082b5e","China BESS installations in December surpass US 2025 total","china-bess-installations-in-december-surpass-us-2025-total","article/china-bess-installations-in-december-surpass-us-2025-total",{"_uid":4199,"date":4200,"tags":4201,"editor":4204,"content":4208,"excerpt":4310,"featured":51,"reporter":4311,"component":697,"seo_title":4195,"categories":4315,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":4318,"featured_image":4321,"seo_description":4324,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":4325},"775685cd-0521-41b7-b808-634ddfa9603c","2026-01-07 00:00",[4202,4203],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[4205],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4206},{"job_title":557,"image":4207,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4209},[4210,4221,4226,4233,4238,4245,4250,4255,4260,4265,4270,4275,4288,4293,4300],{"type":591,"attrs":4211,"content":4212},{"textAlign":49},[4213,4215,4219],{"text":4214,"type":596},"In December 2025, more than 65 GWh of grid scale battery energy stationary storage (",{"text":3084,"type":596,"marks":4216},[4217],{"type":606,"attrs":4218},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4220,"type":596},") entered operation in China. This exceeded the total installed in the US for the whole of 2025 by more than 15GWh. Considering the US is world’s second largest storage market this underlines the sheer scale of China’s market and dominance in BESS deployment.",{"type":591,"attrs":4222,"content":4223},{"textAlign":49},[4224],{"text":4225,"type":596},"Record December installations",{"type":656,"attrs":4227},{"id":4228,"body":4229},"2d19ad2c-45d2-423d-bca6-f47e756c0116",[4230],{"id":4231,"_uid":4232,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27107754","i-889dbc80-3064-41bd-8eb0-e28fd96982d6",{"type":591,"attrs":4234,"content":4235},{"textAlign":49},[4236],{"text":4237,"type":596},"December is often the biggest month for new capacity as developers race to meet installation commitments and capex deadlines, with most players operating on calendar-year capital budgets. China’s December figures accounted for ~41% of the country’s total annual installed capacity, up sharply from the ~25% share December had of the 2024 total figure. Additionally, the ~65GWh installed in December represented a ~135% year-on-year increase.",{"type":656,"attrs":4239},{"id":4240,"body":4241},"d59121f8-1f14-4f49-ac94-fed54d7b2f5c",[4242],{"id":4243,"_uid":4244,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"27108288","i-9adc4046-8cfc-4ff1-b806-c3276b99c98c",{"type":591,"attrs":4246,"content":4247},{"textAlign":49},[4248],{"text":4249,"type":596},"Inner Mongolia accounted for ~65% of the December installations, with Xinjiang the next-largest region, at ~14%. This broadly aligns with installation patterns seen throughout the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":4251,"content":4252},{"textAlign":49},[4253],{"text":4254,"type":596},"The year of policy changes",{"type":591,"attrs":4256,"content":4257},{"textAlign":49},[4258],{"text":4259,"type":596},"December’s strong finish follows a year of intense price pressure, as continued oversupply and aggressive bidding strategies have prevailed in the China market. This culminated in November when the government moved to curb irrational competition and strengthen market fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":4261,"content":4262},{"textAlign":49},[4263],{"text":4264,"type":596},"The year also saw other policy changes, including the banning of mandatory storage pairing, previously a key driver to the China market, and the introduction of renewable-driven electricity pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":4266,"content":4267},{"textAlign":49},[4268],{"text":4269,"type":596},"Benchmark energy storage analyst, Calvin Xu, commented “Targets announced in September by China’s National Energy Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission, aiming to reach 180GW of installed energy storage capacity between 2025 and 2027, further indicate the direction for China’s BESS market in the coming years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":4271,"content":4272},{"textAlign":49},[4273],{"text":4274,"type":596},"Unlock granular market visibility with Benchmark’s BESS Service:",{"type":591,"attrs":4276,"content":4277},{"textAlign":49},[4278,4280,4286],{"text":4279,"type":596},"This insight draws from Benchmark’s BESS Service, consisting of detailed ",{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":4282},"forecasts",[4283],{"type":606,"attrs":4284},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/intelligence",{"text":4287,"type":596}," to 2050, regional system pricing, capacity growth trends and more.",{"type":591,"attrs":4289,"content":4290},{"textAlign":49},[4291],{"text":4292,"type":596},"Bringing clarity to a rapidly accelerating market, this subscription facilitates smarter investment decisions, strategy, and successful commercial outcomes.",{"type":591,"attrs":4294,"content":4295},{"textAlign":49},[4296],{"text":4297,"type":596,"marks":4298},"To learn more, submit your details below and our team will be in touch:",[4299],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":4301},{"id":4302,"body":4303},"0cfbad61-af5c-4ce0-9ae4-08e8cafe64f8",[4304],{"id":1012,"_uid":4305,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":4306,"success_file":4307,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":4309},"i-4ecb541a-2c1b-4766-ab42-4fe5d4c68ee2",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4308},{},[],"In December 2025, more than 65 GWh of grid scale battery energy stationary storage (BESS) entered operation in China. This exceeded the total installed in the US for the whole of 2025 by more than 15GWh. Considering the US is world’s second largest storage market this underlines the sheer scale of China’s market and dominance […]",[4312],{"slug":2148,"name":2149,"content":4313},{"job_title":2151,"image":4314,"bio":2154,"linkedin":2155,"markets_covered":2156},{"filename":2153},[4316,4317],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4319,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4320,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1767802707/www-production/China-posts-record-BESS-installments-in-December-2025@2x-1/China-posts-record-BESS-installments-in-December-2025@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4322,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4323,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1440,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1767802638/www-production/AdobeStock_1703316058/AdobeStock_1703316058.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"In December 2025, more than 65 GWh of grid scale battery energy stationary storage (BESS) entered operation in China. This exceeded the total installed in the US for the whole of 2025 by more than 15GWh. […]","Jan 07, 2026",{"id":4327,"uuid":4328,"name":4329,"slug":4330,"full_slug":4331,"content":4332},133953892481154,"711e8fc0-0833-4349-af32-df0e03731863","“You’ve got to keep developing.” Q&A with Epsilon Advanced Materials","youve-got-to-keep-developing-qa-with-epsilon-advanced-materials","article/youve-got-to-keep-developing-qa-with-epsilon-advanced-materials",{"_uid":4333,"date":4334,"live":50,"tags":4335,"editor":4352,"content":4356,"excerpt":4589,"featured":50,"reporter":4590,"_editable":4594,"component":697,"seo_title":4595,"categories":4596,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":4601,"featured_image":4603,"seo_description":4607,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":4608},"a0e3c378-2dde-4d4b-9f63-6c2050743060","2025-12-24 00:00",[4336,4337,4340,4341,4344,4346,4349],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4338,"name":4339},"epsilon-advanced-materials","Epsilon Advanced Materials",{"slug":3385,"name":3386},{"slug":4342,"name":4343},"india","India",{"slug":4345,"name":451},"lfp",{"slug":4347,"name":4348},"qa","Q&A",{"slug":4350,"name":4351},"sodium-ion-batteries","Sodium Ion Batteries",[4353],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4354},{"job_title":557,"image":4355,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4357},[4358,4371,4384,4405,4410,4415,4422,4435,4440,4445,4452,4457,4462,4467,4472,4477,4490,4497,4501,4506,4511,4516,4521,4526,4531,4536,4541,4546,4551,4556,4561,4566,4571,4578],{"type":591,"attrs":4359,"content":4360},{"textAlign":49},[4361,4363,4369],{"text":4362,"type":596},"Epsilon Carbon was founded in India in 2010 as a supplier of carbon-based materials for the aluminium and tyre industries. In 2018, the company founded the subsidiary Epsilon Advanced Materials and began ",{"text":4364,"type":596,"marks":4365},"developing anode products",[4366],{"type":606,"attrs":4367},{"href":4368,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/epsilon-receives-115-million-in-tax-credits-as-us-seeks-anode-material-security",{"text":4370,"type":596},", a natural foray for a carbon company into the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":4372,"content":4373},{"textAlign":49},[4374,4376,4382],{"text":4375,"type":596},"They acquired some of Johnson Matthey’s facilities after the company ",{"text":4377,"type":596,"marks":4378},"folded its battery chemicals division",[4379],{"type":606,"attrs":4380},{"href":4381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/johnson-matthey-exits-battery-materials-business-in-blow-to-europe",{"text":4383,"type":596},", thus adding LFP cathode active material development to their remit.",{"type":591,"attrs":4385,"content":4386},{"textAlign":49},[4387,4389,4395,4397,4403],{"text":4388,"type":596},"In 2025, ",{"text":4390,"type":596,"marks":4391},"China still produces 99% of LFP CAM",[4392],{"type":606,"attrs":4393},{"href":4394,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-regional-trends-in-cathode-production-capacity",{"text":4396,"type":596}," and this year ",{"text":4398,"type":596,"marks":4399},"outlined export controls",[4400],{"type":606,"attrs":4401},{"href":4402,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-implements-export-restrictions-on-cathode-and-lithium-production-technologies",{"text":4404,"type":596}," to restrict companies from exporting the technology required to make the latest generation of LFP to other countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":4406,"content":4407},{"textAlign":49},[4408],{"text":4409,"type":596},"Epsilon’s managing director and founder Vikram Handa explains why he thinks the company can make a mark on the cathode industry despite the hegemony of China in this Q&A with Benchmark Source’s senior editor Matthew Bird.",{"type":615,"attrs":4411,"content":4412},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4413],{"text":4414,"type":596},"Matthew Bird: Talk me through the rationale behind transitioning from a carbon materials based company to one looking at cathode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":4416,"content":4417},{"textAlign":49},[4418,4420],{"text":4419,"type":596},"Vikram Handa: ",{"text":4421,"type":596},"When we looked at cathode, we have very good relationships with customers globally. We understand the requirements, we understand electrochemical performance, and that was one reason to get into cathode. We thought we had an advantage there.",{"type":591,"attrs":4423,"content":4424},{"textAlign":49},[4425,4427,4433],{"text":4426,"type":596},"The reasons to get into LFP are two: One is we didn’t see much value of a company like us in NMC chemistry. We see the Koreans who are really backward integrated from mining to processing. Very well established, very good relationship with Korean cell companies. I felt that really LFP is the dark horse in the room where it’s doing really well in China, I think it will do really well in ",{"text":4428,"type":596,"marks":4429},"India as a market",[4430],{"type":606,"attrs":4431},{"href":4432,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/site-visit-altmin-and-sudeep-advanced-material-support-indias-midstream-ambitions",{"text":4434,"type":596}," as well. And we wanted to bet on LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":4436,"content":4437},{"textAlign":49},[4438],{"text":4439,"type":596},"The other thing is, which is not very commonly known, but at Epsilon Carbon, we only have one raw material, and that is coal tar, which comes from steel plants. And one of the reasons was that we actually saw synergy there of access to a raw material out of the steel plant, namely iron. So we see that lithium is something that’s available, whether lithium carbonate or hydroxide, and that’s a pure commodity play. We’re not into mining, but we feel we have an edge when it comes to the source of iron.",{"type":615,"attrs":4441,"content":4442},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4443],{"text":4444,"type":596},"MB: You are targeting 100,000 tonnes per annum at your LFP CAM facility. What are the key challenges to get there?",{"type":591,"attrs":4446,"content":4447},{"textAlign":49},[4448],{"type":836,"attrs":4449},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":4450,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":4451},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_1024,h_768,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1766570248/www-production/Epsilon-Cathode/Epsilon-Cathode.jpg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":4453,"content":4454},{"textAlign":49},[4455],{"text":4456,"type":596},"Image credit: Epsilon",{"type":591,"attrs":4458,"content":4459},{"textAlign":49},[4460],{"text":4461,"type":596},"VH: The real focus is towards material development, and that’s what we get unique with our acquisition [of Johnson Matthey assets] in Germany, because the team has more than 100 years experience in just LFP. And not many people outside China have developed this know how of where LFP started and where it is today that is really helping us move ahead in generations. Today, we have a Gen III product, and we think in the next six to eight months, we’ll be at a Gen IV product as well. And the goal is not to stop there. The goal is to continue. And that facility gives us the advantage of doing things at kg scale, hundreds of kg scale, tonnes scale. In the last year, the team has done a really good job, today we have a couple of contracts with customers in Korea, in Japan and Europe, where our product is in physical cells for the last one year, getting used in niche applications, on defence, on mobility and consumer. So having worked with customers and having a product actually in cells and performing like that gives us the confidence, both on the quality and the performance of the product. Our strength lies in industrialisation as a company, so that is the benefit we’re getting: how to scale up this technology and get to market first.",{"type":615,"attrs":4463,"content":4464},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4465],{"text":4466,"type":596},"MB: Gen IV LFP has been the target of China’s technology export controls. What are your thoughts on these?",{"type":591,"attrs":4468,"content":4469},{"textAlign":49},[4470],{"text":4471,"type":596},"VH: As a country and as an institute, they’ve worked really hard to develop this technology. They’ve obviously invested a lot in it, scaled it up, commercialised it, and done a great job. And they want to kind of build that moat and enjoy it for the next few years, just like any other, say, chemical company would if they could, and put patents behind it. I think that’s a real challenge in developing technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":4473,"content":4474},{"textAlign":49},[4475],{"text":4476,"type":596},"I think one of the mistakes companies have been doing in battery materials and specifically cathode is they think that this is something that is licensable from China, and you just build it. But in the time it takes to build plants, you kind of become irrelevant in your product development. So there is a push and a pull between companies that are really good in innovating and doing R&D, and then there are companies that are good in industrialisation, and they’re not many of them that do both. So this restriction is going to force companies to spend more on R&D if they want to catch up with them. So I think that puts them [Chinese companies] three-to-four years ahead of anyone trying to build LFP outside China.",{"type":591,"attrs":4478,"content":4479},{"textAlign":49},[4480,4482,4488],{"text":4481,"type":596},"The restrictions on equipment, which for now have been kind of ",{"text":4483,"type":596,"marks":4484},"laxed",[4485],{"type":606,"attrs":4486},{"href":4487,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-delays-rare-earth-export-controls-after-us-china-trade-talks",{"text":4489,"type":596}," after President Trump’s visit to China, is a really big challenge, because you’re literally getting everything off the shelf over there. It’s not about paying 10% more in sourcing it from Europe or Japan. The industry and equipment supplies are so well established that it’s tough to build plants at cost. If China builds a plant at, say, $100 just because you have to source equipment from other places, it might cost you $150/$160 to build the same plant. And then, if you’re making a substandard, say, gen II product, your cell performance won’t be so high, so you’re not competitive at a cell level either. So it’s tough to catch up with them. But you know, you’ve got to keep developing and working closely with customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":4491,"content":4492},{"textAlign":49},[4493],{"type":836,"attrs":4494},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":4495,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":4496},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_1024,h_683,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1766570222/www-production/Cathode-RD_Germany-Epsilon/Cathode-RD_Germany-Epsilon.jpg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":4498,"content":4499},{"textAlign":49},[4500],{"text":4456,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":4502,"content":4503},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4504],{"text":4505,"type":596},"MB: Does the sourcing of equipment for CAM production concern you?",{"type":591,"attrs":4507,"content":4508},{"textAlign":49},[4509],{"text":4510,"type":596},"VH: Because of our background in the anode business – we’ve been working on a project in the US for anode business for the last two years in North Carolina – we realised that lot of the government funding we were applying in the US required non-China sourcing, so whether it was shaping, milling equipment, coating equipment, furnaces. So we started developing vendors in India, in adjacent industries, so they don’t make stuff for battery materials, but they make stuff for other, say, pharma industry or powder handling, or, you know, other other industries. And we started working with them, and we can install some of them in our anode plant, and they’ve been running for the last two years. So can we build it? Can we build the plant totally external? We can for both anode and cathode. We have comfort in buying things from Japan, Germany and a lot in India. Would it be easier to source from China? I think definitely. But if the restrictions kick in, I think we are okay buying it outside for building that plant.",{"type":615,"attrs":4512,"content":4513},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4514],{"text":4515,"type":596},"MB: Where are your anode and cathode technologies on the automotive qualification timeline?",{"type":591,"attrs":4517,"content":4518},{"textAlign":49},[4519],{"text":4520,"type":596},"VH: So I would say our anode business is much more mature just from the time that we’ve been in it. We are at Sample B with some customers, and sample C with some customers, and in contracts with some customers to supply volumes out of our India plant as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":4522,"content":4523},{"textAlign":49},[4524],{"text":4525,"type":596},"On the LFP side, you know, if you look ex-China, they’re not many customers that are making LFP cells. In India, there’s a lot of customers coming up. So I would say a lot of customers we are in the qualification stage with right now, somewhere between A and B. Like I said, we have a couple of contracts where there’s steady supply out of Germany. We are in discussions with two large customers, OEMs, that are clear that they’re going to go down the LFP path, and we are working with them to qualify and get into contracts. I’m pretty confident that in the next six-to-eight months, we should get into these contracts for our LFP facility as well.",{"type":615,"attrs":4527,"content":4528},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4529],{"text":4530,"type":596},"MB: What role could India play in the global battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":4532,"content":4533},{"textAlign":49},[4534],{"text":4535,"type":596},"VH: India is unique in that there are a lot of companies in the whole value chain, whether you look at foils, electrolytes and salts, anode, cathode. So it’s very encouraging to see. I think Indian investors aren’t as mature as European or US investors, because they’ve kind of seen this play out in five or six years. In India, you’re just seeing adoption of cars and bikes and upstream. The challenge in India is also cell technology. Some are trying to do it on their own. Some are partnering. So you really need your customer to mature. So what I look at is that in India, battery materials will first be made for the export market for the next three-to-four years. So we’re going to build capacity in India, focus on Korea, Japan, the US market – come up with a whole ex-China solution. India is coming along, and India is going to be really big, I would say, in four to five years. But I think the next two years, there are no really big consumers.",{"type":615,"attrs":4537,"content":4538},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4539],{"text":4540,"type":596},"MB: What is Epsilon’s position in the sodium ion supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":4542,"content":4543},{"textAlign":49},[4544],{"text":4545,"type":596},"VH: The last two years, we’ve been working on hard carbon because, again, we’re a pitch company originally, and a lot of hard carbon is made out of coal tar pitch in Japan, at the same time using, you know, coconut shell or other ingredients as well. So we’ve been working on it. We think early next year we’re going to go to market with our product. But again, not many large customers, but I really see that sodium mine is going to be big in two-to-three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":4547,"content":4548},{"textAlign":49},[4549],{"text":4550,"type":596},"The anode we’ve already worked on. We’re going to start working on the cathode as well, out in Germany maybe in the latter half of next year, after Gen IV. We want to come up with an anode and cathode solution for sodium ion as well. And one of the things we’re doing is we’re actually marrying anode and cathode together. So we’re unique in that we have maybe 20 products on each side, and we’re doing a lot of coin cell power cell development, and we go to the customer saying, if you want this performance by product A and by product B, and you get this and let them scale it up. But the ability to marry an anode and cathode is actually really unique when, you know, the customer’s looking for a power application or a storage application.",{"type":615,"attrs":4552,"content":4553},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4554],{"text":4555,"type":596},"MB: Any final comments?",{"type":591,"attrs":4557,"content":4558},{"textAlign":49},[4559],{"text":4560,"type":596},"VH: We think LFP is going to kind of hit a ceiling after maybe Gen V or VI. There’s only so much you can do with that kind of material, from a capacity and a density perspective. So we’re really starting to think what’s next? Could it be mixing different chemistries? Could it be optimising some other parameters, how you’re going to differentiate your customers in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":4562,"content":4563},{"textAlign":49},[4564],{"text":4565,"type":596},"I think compared to anode, the cathode companies in China are losing a lot more money, because the capacity is just huge. Due to the losses that they’re seeing, it’s becoming difficult for other people to enter the market from a customer point of view, because they’re just used to these really nice prices which are not realistic, in my opinion.",{"type":591,"attrs":4567,"content":4568},{"textAlign":49},[4569],{"text":4570,"type":596},"But capacity needs to come up globally, and people need to develop technology. So we’re taking a two prong approach. One is obviously what the customer understands, and the other is how to kind of leapfrog and come up with the next gen materials as well. It’s interesting, because while customers might say, “hey, I want Gen IV,” or “I want this”, it’s only CATL that knows how to use Gen IV. So it’s not just us making material, but it’s the customer being ready to develop it, make the cell and commercialise it. There are a lot of challenges in using Gen IV in a cell, which is easy to ask for, but you need to know how to do it.",{"type":591,"attrs":4572,"content":4573},{"textAlign":49},[4574],{"text":4575,"type":596,"marks":4576},"To learn more about Benchmark’s coverage of the cathode and anode markets, fill in the form below and one of the team will be in touch:",[4577],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":4579},{"id":4580,"body":4581},"58aa8e97-f9cc-46a6-a1b4-acb1178a15f8",[4582],{"id":1012,"_uid":4583,"_editable":4584,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":4585,"success_file":4586,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":4588},"i-10656a21-c29f-4a7f-b5a3-ac42dccbc162","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-10656a21-c29f-4a7f-b5a3-ac42dccbc162\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4587},{},[],"Epsilon Carbon was founded in India in 2010 as a supplier of carbon-based materials for the aluminium and tyre industries. In 2018, the company founded the subsidiary Epsilon Advanced Materials and began developing anode products, a natural foray for a carbon company into the battery industry. They acquired some of Johnson Matthey’s facilities after the […]",[4591],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4592},{"job_title":557,"image":4593,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a0e3c378-2dde-4d4b-9f63-6c2050743060\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","“You’ve got to keep developing.” Q&A with Epsilon",[4597,4598,4599,4600],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4602},{},{"id":4604,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4605,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4606,"is_external_url":50},138189243298749,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1379x951/929f2566f8/image-3.png",{},"Epsilon Carbon was founded in India in 2010 as a supplier of carbon-based materials for the aluminium and tyre industries. In 2018, the company founded the subsidiary Epsilon Advanced Materials and began developing anode ","Dec 24, 2025",{"id":4610,"uuid":4611,"name":4612,"slug":4613,"full_slug":4614,"content":4615},133953900476547,"ff5e06ce-cf2a-41bc-90a6-42f42c86ca6d","Chinese smelter reportedly agrees to record low copper concentrate TC/RCs","chinese-smelters-reportedly-agree-to-record-low-copper-concentrate-tc-rcs","article/chinese-smelters-reportedly-agree-to-record-low-copper-concentrate-tc-rcs",{"_uid":4616,"date":4617,"tags":4618,"editor":4626,"content":4630,"excerpt":4749,"featured":51,"reporter":4750,"_editable":4754,"component":697,"seo_title":4612,"categories":4755,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":4760,"seo_description":4749,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":4763},"5f1da9a5-0b6d-4964-91df-0175b021b080","2025-12-23 00:00",[4619,4622,4625],{"slug":4620,"name":4621},"antofagasta","Antofagasta",{"slug":4623,"name":4624},"chile","Chile",{"slug":575,"name":576},[4627],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4628},{"job_title":557,"image":4629,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4631},[4632,4645,4653,4666,4677,4688,4703,4708,4713,4718,4723,4728,4738],{"type":591,"attrs":4633,"content":4634},{"textAlign":49},[4635,4637,4643],{"text":4636,"type":596},"A Chinese smelter and ",{"text":4638,"type":596,"marks":4639},"Chilean",[4640],{"type":606,"attrs":4641},{"href":4642,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-chiles-recent-election-results-mean-for-the-lithium-and-copper-industries",{"text":4644,"type":596}," miner Antofagasta have reportedly agreed to record low, $0/t, annual copper concentrate treatment and refining charges. This level is well below last year’s already record low $21.25/t deal agreed between Chinese smelters and Antofagasta, but in line with mid-year discussions which were also agreed at $0/t. ",{"type":656,"attrs":4646},{"id":4647,"body":4648},"bd7db21a-2e84-499e-9e96-ab5c55934998",[4649],{"id":4650,"_uid":4651,"type":663,"_editable":4652,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26950254","i-52cd48a6-d510-4b5d-ac6c-d9949da24c48","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-52cd48a6-d510-4b5d-ac6c-d9949da24c48\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":4654,"content":4655},{"textAlign":49},[4656,4658,4664],{"text":4657,"type":596},"The agreement comes at a time of acute tightness in the copper concentrate market. Smelter expansions have far outstripped concentrate production growth creating a ",{"text":4659,"type":596,"marks":4660},"significant imbalance in the market",[4661],{"type":606,"attrs":4662},{"href":4663,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lme-week-preview-copper-market-faces-tight-supply-record-prices-and-ma-momentum",{"text":4665,"type":596},".  ",{"type":591,"attrs":4667,"content":4668},{"textAlign":49},[4669,4675],{"text":4670,"type":596,"marks":4671},"Spot copper concentrate TCs",[4672],{"type":606,"attrs":4673},{"href":4674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/copper-sellers-explore-tolling-contracts-amid-record-low-tcs",{"text":4676,"type":596}," have been well below $0/t for most of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":4678,"content":4679},{"textAlign":49},[4680,4682,4686],{"text":4681,"type":596},"Copper concentrate TC/RCs are often described as the fees smelters charge miners for processing copper concentrates into useable material",{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":4684},". ",[4685],{"type":1006},{"text":4687,"type":596},"In reality, the arrangement is more nuanced. The TC/RCs essentially act as a discount on the LME copper price and historically smelters would make a significant amount of their revenue via these discounts.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":4689,"content":4690},{"textAlign":49},[4691,4693,4699,4701],{"text":4692,"type":596},"However, smelters also make profit selling by-products like acid, gold and even extra copper produced. Beyond this, smelters sell their copper at a premium to the LME price and can also make profit from this. For 2026, ",{"text":4694,"type":596,"marks":4695},"those premiums are at record levels",[4696],{"type":606,"attrs":4697},{"href":4698,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/premiums-across-the-across-the-globe-hit-unprecedented-levels",{"text":4700,"type":596},", with many well into the $300/t.",{"text":4702,"type":596},"This all helps smelters’ margins. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4704,"content":4705},{"textAlign":49},[4706],{"text":4707,"type":596},"One miner source noted to Benchmark that it will be easier for smelters to stomach the low TCs due to the premiums in excess of $300/t.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":4709,"content":4710},{"textAlign":49},[4711],{"text":4712,"type":596},"The discussions between Antofagasta and Chinese smelters are seen essentially as the “benchmark” copper concentrate TC/RC discussions. As such, the global market tends to follow the agreement between those parties – often it is signed into multi-year contracts, in some way. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4714,"content":4715},{"textAlign":49},[4716],{"text":4717,"type":596},"Last year, the low annual TC/RCs agreed between Chinese smelters and Antofagasta were not as broadly followed as in most previous years. Japanese smelters managed to agree slightly higher TC/RCs, creating some dispute over what the benchmark level actually was. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4719,"content":4720},{"textAlign":49},[4721],{"text":4722,"type":596},"“I doubt the Japanese smelters will follow,” a second miner source told Benchmark, nothing this could open the door for disputes over the benchmark like we saw last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4724,"content":4725},{"textAlign":49},[4726],{"text":4727,"type":596},"If the industry broadly accepts the level agreed between Antofagasta and Chinese smelters it will be significant. Many smelters will lose a significant amount of a key revenue stream and be heavily impacted economically. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4729,"content":4730},{"textAlign":49},[4731,4736],{"text":4732,"type":596,"marks":4733},"To learn more about Benchmark’s copper market coverage please fill out the form below",[4734,4735],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":4737,"type":596},":",{"type":656,"attrs":4739},{"id":4740,"body":4741},"cfa4f88e-e0a2-4fed-8d1e-b1a75e617f96",[4742],{"id":1012,"_uid":4743,"_editable":4744,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":4745,"success_file":4746,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":4748},"i-d0a41d03-db46-4f98-9fb4-9f2a02fb36bd","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d0a41d03-db46-4f98-9fb4-9f2a02fb36bd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4747},{},[],"A Chinese smelter and Chilean miner Antofagasta have reportedly agreed to record low, $0/t, annual copper concentrate treatment and refining charges. This level is well below last year’s already record low $21.25/t deal agreed between Chinese smelters and Antofagasta, but in line with mid-year discussions which were also agreed at $0/t. The agreement comes at a time of acute […]",[4751],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4752},{"job_title":557,"image":4753,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5f1da9a5-0b6d-4964-91df-0175b021b080\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[4756,4759],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},"copper","Copper",{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4761,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4762,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1766489206/www-production/Antofagasta-Los-Pelambres-1/Antofagasta-Los-Pelambres-1.jpg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 23, 2025",{"id":4765,"uuid":4766,"name":4767,"slug":4768,"full_slug":4769,"content":4770},133953908467844,"aa18345f-1698-4ef5-b27c-06a67a847504","Visualising Critical Mineral Refining by 2030","visualising-critical-mineral-refining-by-2030","article/visualising-critical-mineral-refining-by-2030",{"_uid":4771,"date":4772,"tags":4773,"editor":4779,"content":4783,"excerpt":4890,"featured":51,"reporter":4891,"component":697,"seo_title":4767,"categories":4895,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":4910,"featured_image":4913,"seo_description":4890,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":4916},"0b341867-dd7d-44f0-9246-30c2b20cd11c","2025-12-22 00:00",[4774,4775,4776],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},"visual-capitalist","Visual Capitalist",[4780],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4781},{"job_title":557,"image":4782,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4784},[4785,4790,4797,4802,4834,4847,4852,4865,4870,4877,4887],{"type":591,"attrs":4786,"content":4787},{"textAlign":49},[4788],{"text":4789,"type":596},"China will remain the dominant refiner of critical minerals by 2030, even amid current global efforts to counter its dominance through supply diversification and onshoring of processing capabilities, especially from the United States (US) and the European Union (EU).",{"type":591,"attrs":4791,"content":4792},{"textAlign":49},[4793],{"type":836,"attrs":4794},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":4795,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":4796},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_842,h_1024,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1766418873/www-production/VCE_Chinas-Critical-Mineral-Refinery_Voronoi_12092025-2_1351418ed31a/VCE_Chinas-Critical-Mineral-Refinery_Voronoi_12092025-2_1351418ed31a.jpg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":4798,"content":4799},{"textAlign":49},[4800],{"text":4801,"type":596},"China remains the dominant refined mineral supplier, both in terms of country of origin and overseas Chinese corporate-owned supply",{"type":591,"attrs":4803,"content":4804},{"textAlign":49},[4805,4807,4811,4813,4817,4819,4825,4827,4832],{"text":4806,"type":596},"Critical mineral ",{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":4808},[4809],{"type":606,"attrs":4810},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4812,"type":596}," are highly concentrated within China, especially at the refining and processing stage. Apart from ",{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":4814},[4815],{"type":606,"attrs":4816},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4818,"type":596}," and copper, China will account for the majority of the refined critical mineral supply by 2030, by country of origin. China’s dominance in rare earths and ",{"text":4820,"type":596,"marks":4821},"synthetic graphite",[4822],{"type":606,"attrs":4823},{"href":4824,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/synthetic-graphite",{"text":4826,"type":596}," is particularly profound, as it is expected to take an 80%+ market share in both markets. Although China has a strong refined ",{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":4828},[4829],{"type":606,"attrs":4830},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/copper",{"text":4833,"type":596}," industry, refined copper production is forecast to be the most diversified globally, with 55% of global refined production coming from the rest of the world by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":4835,"content":4836},{"textAlign":49},[4837,4839,4845],{"text":4838,"type":596},"Even though Indonesia will remain the world’s dominant nickel refiner, accounting for 71% of global refined nickel production, around 80% of Indonesian refined nickel production is currently owned by Chinese companies, an illustration of China’s overseas strategic stronghold over critical mineral supply. Similarly, Chinese companies have invested heavily in upstream ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":4841},"cobalt",[4842],{"type":606,"attrs":4843},{"href":4844,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt",{"text":4846,"type":596}," assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to pursue vertical supply chain integration.",{"type":591,"attrs":4848,"content":4849},{"textAlign":49},[4850],{"text":4851,"type":596},"What about the US, the EU and other G7+ countries?",{"type":591,"attrs":4853,"content":4854},{"textAlign":49},[4855,4857,4863],{"text":4856,"type":596},"Despite the Trump Administration’s strategic focus on onshoring critical mineral refining and processing, the US will only gain relatively small market shares in the natural and synthetic graphite and ",{"text":4858,"type":596,"marks":4859},"rare earth",[4860],{"type":606,"attrs":4861},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths",{"text":4864,"type":596}," markets. Next to the US, Canada, and Finland, an EU member state, will account for 6% of the refined cobalt production market share each.",{"type":591,"attrs":4866,"content":4867},{"textAlign":49},[4868],{"text":4869,"type":596},"More information",{"type":591,"attrs":4871,"content":4872},{"textAlign":49},[4873],{"text":4874,"type":596,"marks":4875},"To learn more about Benchmark’s data and services across the whole supply chain from mine to grid, fill out the form below, and one of the team members will be in touch.",[4876],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":4878},{"id":4879,"body":4880},"9b9c47ff-ce2d-4482-9779-13cbfb806f89",[4881],{"id":1012,"_uid":4882,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":4883,"success_file":4884,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":4886},"i-9bb796eb-07bd-47c3-8a1b-11f4a34ad2b3",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4885},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":4888,"content":4889},{"textAlign":49},[],"China will remain the dominant refiner of critical minerals by 2030, even amid current global efforts to counter its dominance through supply diversification and onshoring of processing capabilities, especially from the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). China remains the dominant refined mineral supplier, both in terms of country of origin and overseas […]",[4892],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4893},{"job_title":557,"image":4894,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[4896,4897,4898,4899,4900,4903,4904,4905,4906,4909],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},"fluorspar","Fluorspar",{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},"manganese","Manganese",{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4911,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4912,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1766418873/www-production/VCE_Chinas-Critical-Mineral-Refinery_Voronoi_12092025-2_1351418ed31a/VCE_Chinas-Critical-Mineral-Refinery_Voronoi_12092025-2_1351418ed31a.jpg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4914,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":4915,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1766,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1766419159/www-production/AdobeStock_1340556299/AdobeStock_1340556299.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 22, 2025",{"id":4918,"uuid":4919,"name":4920,"slug":4921,"full_slug":4922,"content":4923},133953924315271,"d6542838-0f53-455f-9d44-f7f7018e4d8c","View from the ground in Argentina: A defining moment for DLE","view-from-the-ground-in-argentina-a-defining-moment-for-dle","article/view-from-the-ground-in-argentina-a-defining-moment-for-dle",{"_uid":4924,"date":4925,"tags":4926,"editor":4931,"content":4935,"excerpt":5137,"featured":51,"reporter":5138,"component":697,"seo_title":4920,"categories":5142,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":5144,"featured_image":5146,"seo_description":5149,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":5150},"4e093919-522e-40c9-8c28-8aa0cb8f2dc2","2025-12-16 00:00",[4927,4930],{"slug":4928,"name":4929},"dle","DLE",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[4932],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":4933},{"job_title":557,"image":4934,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":4936},[4937,4948,4953,4966,4973,4978,4983,4988,4993,4998,5003,5012,5019,5024,5029,5034,5039,5044,5049,5054,5059,5064,5071,5076,5081,5086,5091,5096,5105,5110,5115,5120,5125],{"type":591,"attrs":4938,"content":4939},{"textAlign":49},[4940,4942,4946],{"text":4941,"type":596},"Argentina has long been central to the global ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":4943},[4944],{"type":606,"attrs":4945},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":4947,"type":596}," industry, including the pioneering of direct lithium extraction (DLE) by FMC at Fenix some 29 years ago. China’s Qinghai is home to several commercially operating DLE projects, most are based on the technology used at Fenix. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4949,"content":4950},{"textAlign":49},[4951],{"text":4952,"type":596},"Many new projects are now looking to use DLE, but up until now, none have progressed to commercialiasation.",{"type":591,"attrs":4954,"content":4955},{"textAlign":49},[4956,4958,4964],{"text":4957,"type":596},"A recent visit by Benchmark’",{"text":4959,"type":596,"marks":4960},"s Lithium",[4961],{"type":606,"attrs":4962},{"href":4963,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmarks-lithium-carbonate-prices-reach-new-all-time-highs",{"text":4965,"type":596}," Product Director, Cameron Perks, suggests that this is about to change with Eramet’s Centenario project now at ~70% of capacity and already partially producing battery grade material.",{"type":591,"attrs":4967,"content":4968},{"textAlign":49},[4969],{"type":836,"attrs":4970},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":4971,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":4972},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_361,h_271,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1765894005/www-production/cam-in-argentina_1351109742e8/cam-in-argentina_1351109742e8.jpg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":4974,"content":4975},{"textAlign":49},[4976],{"text":4977,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Product Director, Cameron Perks",{"type":591,"attrs":4979,"content":4980},{"textAlign":49},[4981],{"text":4982,"type":596},"With a final push, Centario will become the first pure-play DLE project utilising a new generation of DLE technology to come online, and characterises a meaningful inflection point for the lithium industry’s assessment of DLE risk, scalability, and cost competitiveness. ",{"type":591,"attrs":4984,"content":4985},{"textAlign":49},[4986],{"text":4987,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Rio Tinto will flex its balance sheet, operational experience at nearby Rincon to become the next DLE project to come online after Eramet. ",{"type":615,"attrs":4989,"content":4990},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[4991],{"text":4992,"type":596},"Industrial DLE is not new, but this is different",{"type":591,"attrs":4994,"content":4995},{"textAlign":49},[4996],{"text":4997,"type":596},"Argentina is not experimenting with DLE for the first time. Fénix has been producing lithium via DLE-related processes for nearly 30 years, offering a long-standing proof point that DLE can operate profitably in Argentina’s remote Hombre Muerto salar.",{"type":591,"attrs":4999,"content":5000},{"textAlign":49},[5001],{"text":5002,"type":596},"What distinguishes the current moment is the emergence of new-build facilities designed end-to-end around DLE, in completely different salars, by new-comers to the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":5004,"content":5005},{"textAlign":49},[5006,5008,5010],{"text":5007,"type":596},"Eramet’s advanced Centenario project is purpose-built with DLE as the core process, supported by a fully integrated downstream flowsheet incorporating membrane concentration, mechanical vapour recompression (MVR), and impurity removal. At the time of Benchmark’s visit, the facility was operating at approximately ",{"text":5009,"type":596},"70% of nameplate capacity",{"text":5011,"type":596},", with ramp-up progressing toward stable commercial production.",{"type":591,"attrs":5013,"content":5014},{"textAlign":49},[5015],{"type":836,"attrs":5016},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":5017,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":5018},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_768,h_1024,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1765893970/www-production/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.52-AM-1/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.52-AM-1.jpeg?_i=AA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":5020,"content":5021},{"textAlign":49},[5022],{"text":5023,"type":596},"MRV unit at Eramet’s Centenario project",{"type":591,"attrs":5025,"content":5026},{"textAlign":49},[5027],{"text":5028,"type":596},"Benchmark also visited Rio Tinto’s lithium assets in Argentina, including both the long-established Fénix operation and the newer Rincón project.",{"type":591,"attrs":5030,"content":5031},{"textAlign":49},[5032],{"text":5033,"type":596},"Fénix remains a mature, de-risked operation, with stable wells, consistent flowsheets, and decades of reservoir performance data. Its longevity continues to demonstrate that DLE can support long mine lives when geology, chemistry, and operating discipline are aligned.",{"type":591,"attrs":5035,"content":5036},{"textAlign":49},[5037],{"text":5038,"type":596},"Rincón, by contrast, remains in a pilot-scale phase. While Rio Tinto has clear ambitions for the asset, the project has not yet reached industrial maturity. DLE media selection is still pending, and demonstration plant challenges were observed, highlighting the execution and integration challenges involved in scaling DLE from pilot to industrial operation.",{"type":615,"attrs":5040,"content":5041},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5042],{"text":5043,"type":596},"Eramet: DLE as a core business, not an experiment",{"type":591,"attrs":5045,"content":5046},{"textAlign":49},[5047],{"text":5048,"type":596},"For Eramet, DLE is not peripheral to the company’s future facing strategy, it is central to it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":5050,"content":5051},{"textAlign":49},[5052],{"text":5053,"type":596},"The project reflects nearly a decade of end-to-end testing, flowsheet optimisation, and in-house sorbent development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":5055,"content":5056},{"textAlign":49},[5057],{"text":5058,"type":596},"Redundancy is embedded throughout the plant design, supporting operational continuity during ramp-up. Early battery-grade production has already been achieved, even before final polishing stages are fully optimised; a strong signal of underlying flowsheet robustness.",{"type":591,"attrs":5060,"content":5061},{"textAlign":49},[5062],{"text":5063,"type":596},"While challenges remain, particularly around reagent supply and energy costs, Centenario’s progress materially lowers perceived execution risk for future pure-play DLE developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":5065,"content":5066},{"textAlign":49},[5067],{"type":836,"attrs":5068},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":5069,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":5070},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_768,h_1024,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1765893847/www-production/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.51-AM_1351105c615c/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.51-AM_1351105c615c.jpeg?_i=AA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":5072,"content":5073},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5074],{"text":5075,"type":596},"Cost drivers and technical convergence",{"type":591,"attrs":5077,"content":5078},{"textAlign":49},[5079],{"text":5080,"type":596},"Across both operators, several consistent technical themes emerged:",{"type":591,"attrs":5082,"content":5083},{"textAlign":49},[5084],{"text":5085,"type":596},"These insights are increasingly convergent across operators, suggesting that DLE cost structures are becoming better understood — even if project-specific outcomes will continue to vary.",{"type":615,"attrs":5087,"content":5088},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5089],{"text":5090,"type":596},"Policy reset supports long-term capital, cautiously",{"type":591,"attrs":5092,"content":5093},{"textAlign":49},[5094],{"text":5095,"type":596},"Meetings with macroeconomic and policy stakeholders in Buenos Aires highlighted a concerted effort to stabilise Argentina’s economy and re-establish credibility with international capital.",{"type":591,"attrs":5097,"content":5098},{"textAlign":49},[5099,5101,5103],{"text":5100,"type":596},"The introduction of the ",{"text":5102,"type":596},"RIGI framework",{"text":5104,"type":596}," is emerging as a practical enabler of project development, particularly for mining, by providing regulatory certainty across both national and provincial jurisdictions. While structural risks remain, there is broad political alignment behind export-led growth in mining and energy, and a clear recognition of the sector’s importance to future foreign exchange generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":5106,"content":5107},{"textAlign":49},[5108],{"text":5109,"type":596},"For lithium developers, this backdrop modestly improves the probability of project advancement, particularly for assets able to demonstrate technical readiness and capital discipline.",{"type":615,"attrs":5111,"content":5112},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5113],{"text":5114,"type":596},"What this means for the industry",{"type":591,"attrs":5116,"content":5117},{"textAlign":49},[5118],{"text":5119,"type":596},"The successful ramp-up of Eramet’s Centenario project changes the nature of the global DLE conversation. The question is no longer whether DLE can work at scale, but where it works best, at what cost, and with which trade-offs.",{"type":591,"attrs":5121,"content":5122},{"textAlign":49},[5123],{"text":5124,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark expects 2026 to be a high-activity year for DLE-related evaluation, including increased developer inquiries, investor due diligence, and reassessment of brine assets previously considered marginal under evaporation-based models.",{"type":591,"attrs":5126,"content":5127},{"textAlign":49},[5128,5130,5135],{"text":5129,"type":596},"With first-hand exposure to both legacy and new-build DLE operations, Benchmark is well positioned to support this next phase through independent cost analysis, supply ",{"text":5131,"type":596,"marks":5132},"forecasting",[5133],{"type":606,"attrs":5134},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":5136,"type":596},", and strategic advisory work grounded in observed plant performance rather than theory.","Argentina has long been central to the global lithium industry, including the pioneering of direct lithium extraction (DLE) by FMC at Fenix some 29 years ago. China’s Qinghai is home to several commercially operating DLE projects, most are based on the technology used at Fenix. Many new projects are now looking to use DLE, but […]",[5139],{"slug":3086,"name":3087,"content":5140},{"job_title":3089,"image":5141,"bio":3092,"linkedin":3093,"markets_covered":8},{"filename":3091},[5143],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5145},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5147,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5148,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1765893785/www-production/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.55-AM/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-12-at-4.27.55-AM.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Argentina has long been central to the global lithium industry, including the pioneering of direct lithium extraction (DLE) by FMC at Fenix some 29 years ago. China’s Qinghai is home to several commercially operating DLE projects, most are based ...","Dec 16, 2025",{"id":5152,"uuid":5153,"name":5154,"slug":5155,"full_slug":5156,"content":5157},133953948534922,"35c7c7fa-17a7-461e-b247-ae2efa2b5eca","Global EV sales reach 18.5 million units, growing by 21% YTD in November 2025","global-ev-sales-reach-18-5-million-units-growing-by-21-ytd-in-november-2025","article/global-ev-sales-reach-18-5-million-units-growing-by-21-ytd-in-november-2025",{"_uid":5158,"date":5159,"tags":5160,"editor":5166,"content":5170,"excerpt":5285,"featured":51,"reporter":5286,"component":697,"seo_title":5290,"categories":5291,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":5293,"featured_image":5295,"seo_description":5297,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":5298},"7f282442-b758-40fa-ac51-52d08274bcb4","2025-12-12 00:00",[5161,5162,5163],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},"us","US",[5167],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5168},{"job_title":557,"image":5169,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5171},[5172,5183,5188,5208,5213,5217,5222,5227,5232,5237,5241,5246,5251,5255,5260,5265,5267,5273,5283],{"type":591,"attrs":5173,"content":5174},{"textAlign":49},[5175,5177,5181],{"text":5176,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.0 million ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":5178},[5179],{"type":606,"attrs":5180},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":5182,"type":596}," were sold globally in November 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":5184,"content":5185},{"textAlign":49},[5186],{"text":5187,"type":596},"Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented:",{"type":591,"attrs":5189,"content":5190},{"textAlign":49},[5191,5193,5199,5201,5206],{"text":5192,"type":596},"“Global EV sales reached 2.0 ",{"text":5194,"type":596,"marks":5195},"million units",[5196],{"type":606,"attrs":5197},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-reach-20-7-million-units-in-2025-growing-by-20",{"text":5200,"type":596}," in November 2025, bringing cumulative sales to 18.5 million year-to-date, up 21% on 2024. Europe led growth, rising 36% year-on-year in November, driven by new incentives and wider model availability. France and Italy both saw renewed momentum from national support, while the UK expanded its subsidy list to support further uptake. In contrast, North America remains subdued following the end of US tax credits, whereas China continues to dominate with 11.6 ",{"text":5194,"type":596,"marks":5202},[5203],{"type":606,"attrs":5204},{"href":5205,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-reached-1-75-million-units-in-march-2026",{"text":5207,"type":596}," sold year-to-date, up 19%. Record overseas sales from BYD reflect the growing global reach of Chinese EV makers. Overall, EV demand remains resilient, supported by expanding model ranges and sustained policy incentives worldwide.”",{"type":591,"attrs":5209,"content":5210},{"textAlign":49},[5211],{"text":5212,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in YTD 2025 (Jan-Nov 2025) vs YTD 2024 (Jan-Nov 2024), YTD %",{"type":615,"attrs":5214,"content":5215},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5216],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":5218,"content":5219},{"textAlign":49},[5220],{"text":5221,"type":596},"The European market grew by 36% y-o-y in November 2025, with 35% growth in BEVs and 39% in PHEVs. This brings YTD sales in Europe to 3.8 million units, growing by 33% compared to YTD 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":5223,"content":5224},{"textAlign":49},[5225],{"text":5226,"type":596},"The French market is now up YTD for the first month this year, in November 2025, by 1%. The French market had been down throughout 2025 due to a cut in subsidies earlier in the year. The sales increase has been led by major OEMs, such as VW Group and Renault, alongside a wider range of models. The market has also been boosted from the nation’s ‘leasing social’ program that targets lower-income households to transition to EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":5228,"content":5229},{"textAlign":49},[5230],{"text":5231,"type":596},"The Italian market had record EV sales of just under 25,000 in November after it launched a new incentive program aimed at replacing older internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The program allocated EUR597.3 million (~USD700 million) in funding and plans to replace around 39,000 ICE cars.",{"type":591,"attrs":5233,"content":5234},{"textAlign":49},[5235],{"text":5236,"type":596},"The UK added five more EV models that qualify for the full GBP3,750 (~USD4,400) subsidy, including the Nissan Leaf (manufactured in Sunderland, UK, with deliveries set to begin in early 2026), the MINI Countryman, Renault 4, Renault 5, and the Alpine A290.",{"type":615,"attrs":5238,"content":5239},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5240],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":5242,"content":5243},{"textAlign":49},[5244],{"text":5245,"type":596},"Overall EV sales in the US increased m-o-m in November 2025, following a sharp drop in sales in October due to the Tax Credit ending on 30 September 2025. BEV sales increased m-o-m from Kia (30%), Hyundai (20%), Honda (11%), Subaru (232 Solterra sales vs 13), but figures are still significantly lower than when the Tax Credit was in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":5247,"content":5248},{"textAlign":49},[5249],{"text":5250,"type":596},"In early December, Donald J. Trump formally “reset” the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Under the new rule, manufacturers will only need to meet a fleetwide average of ~34.5 mpg by 2031, a big reduction compared to the roughly 50.4 mpg target under the previous rule. These rules allow OEMs to meet these standards through ICE vehicles and put less pressure on OEMs to have to transition to BEVs or PHEVs. These relaxed standards will slow the transition to electrification in the US, as seen by ICE-focused investments, such as Stellantis’ USD13 billion investment, which aims to expand production by 50% in the US.",{"type":615,"attrs":5252,"content":5253},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5254],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":5256,"content":5257},{"textAlign":49},[5258],{"text":5259,"type":596},"Growth in EV sales continues to slow in China as the market grew by 3% y-o-y and 4% m-o-m in November 2025. The Chinese market remains up YTD with 19% growth and 11.6 million units sold so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":5261,"content":5262},{"textAlign":49},[5263],{"text":5264,"type":596},"BYD set a record for reported EV exports of 131,935 units, eclipsing the previous record of ~90,000 set in June 2025. Sales of BYD models in Europe have increased by over four times in 2025, with ~200,000 units sold, doubled in Southeast Asia, and risen by more than 50% in South America.",{"type":591,"attrs":5266},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":5268,"content":5269},{"textAlign":49},[5270],{"text":4045,"type":596,"marks":5271},[5272],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":5274},{"id":5275,"body":5276},"8418f806-5ac4-4be9-b6ce-a2bee7c21936",[5277],{"id":1012,"_uid":5278,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":5279,"success_file":5280,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":5282},"i-81b5296b-f249-44eb-9f15-ff5e4b4fa111",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5281},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":5284},{"textAlign":49},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.0 million electric vehicles were sold globally in November 2025. Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: “Global EV sales reached 2.0 million units in November 2025, bringing cumulative sales to 18.5 million year-to-date, up 21% on 2024. Europe led […]",[5287],{"slug":1023,"name":1024,"content":5288},{"job_title":1026,"image":5289,"bio":1029,"linkedin":1030,"markets_covered":1031},{"filename":1028},"Global EV sales reach 18.5 million, growing 21% YTD in Nov 25",[5292],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5294},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":4069,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5296,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.0 million electric vehicles were sold globally in November 2025.","Dec 12, 2025",{"id":5300,"uuid":5301,"name":5302,"slug":5303,"full_slug":5304,"content":5305},133953956464779,"21085c02-5cd0-48c6-8294-dc4f14ad3a2d","Purchase taxes on Chinese EVs to increase from 2026","purchase-taxes-on-chinese-evs-to-increase-from-2026","article/purchase-taxes-on-chinese-evs-to-increase-from-2026",{"_uid":5306,"date":5307,"tags":5308,"editor":5312,"content":5316,"excerpt":5389,"featured":50,"reporter":5390,"_editable":5394,"component":697,"seo_title":5302,"categories":5395,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":5397,"featured_image":5400,"seo_description":5403,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":5404},"00547017-d55a-47e7-8e39-85fd2b60a3f8","2025-12-11 00:00",[5309,5310,5311],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[5313],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5314},{"job_title":557,"image":5315,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5317},[5318,5331,5336,5341,5346,5351,5356,5361,5369,5374,5379,5384],{"type":591,"attrs":5319,"content":5320},{"textAlign":49},[5321,5323,5329],{"text":5322,"type":596},"From 2026, new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China will face a 5% purchase tax rate, bringing an end to the decade-long era of full exemptions that have supported China’s EV growth. The revised policy sets the rate at half the standard 10% levied on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles but will represent a meaningful cost increase to some buyers who have grown used to paying no purchase tax. From 2026, ",{"text":5324,"type":596,"marks":5325},"technical requirements for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will be tightened",[5326],{"type":606,"attrs":5327},{"href":5328,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-miit-introduces-tougher-rules-for-evs-from-2026",{"text":5330,"type":596},", signalling Beijing’s intention to steer the market towards more efficient models.",{"type":615,"attrs":5332,"content":5333},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5334],{"text":5335,"type":596},"Overview of the tax change",{"type":591,"attrs":5337,"content":5338},{"textAlign":49},[5339],{"text":5340,"type":596},"For EVs priced at RMB300,000 ($42,465) or below (before value added tax), a 5% purchase tax will apply. For vehicles priced above RMB300,000, the purchase tax is first calculated at 10%, from which a maximum of RMB15,000 ($2,123) is subtracted.",{"type":591,"attrs":5342,"content":5343},{"textAlign":49},[5344],{"text":5345,"type":596},"Although this policy change has been known for some time, there is uncertainty over how consumers will react, as price has played an important role in supporting demand in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":5347,"content":5348},{"textAlign":49},[5349],{"text":5350,"type":596},"Several OEMs, including Xiaomi, NIO, and Li Auto, among others, have announced that if customers lock in orders before November or December 2025, they will cover the tax difference, even if delivery or invoicing occurs in 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":5352,"content":5353},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5354],{"text":5355,"type":596},"What are the reasons for this tax change?",{"type":591,"attrs":5357,"content":5358},{"textAlign":49},[5359],{"text":5360,"type":596},"A change of this nature was inevitable, considering EV penetration between January and October 2025 reached 48%. Assuming a 5% purchase tax rate had been in place in 2025, the top five EVs sold in the first 10 months of 2025 would have raised over $1.4 billion in tax revenue. For all vehicles, this would have resulted in well over $10 billion in additional tax receipts. Using Benchmark’s 2026 China forecast, this could increase to over $11.7 billion.",{"type":656,"attrs":5362},{"id":5363,"body":5364},"8f7a59e2-3f4b-4d2e-a161-783b589eccac",[5365],{"id":5366,"_uid":5367,"type":663,"_editable":5368,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26761265","i-1632cea1-cf18-493d-89f0-b012573d0f57","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-1632cea1-cf18-493d-89f0-b012573d0f57\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":5370,"content":5371},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5372],{"text":5373,"type":596},"Implications for the future",{"type":591,"attrs":5375,"content":5376},{"textAlign":49},[5377],{"text":5378,"type":596},"An increase in purchase taxes may push consumers to bring forward buying decisions, resulting in a sharp rise in December sales. However, growth rates in October and November have been lacklustre in the EV market as the year-on-year comparison shows supressed growth rates due to a very strong end to 2024 setting a high bar.",{"type":591,"attrs":5380,"content":5381},{"textAlign":49},[5382],{"text":5383,"type":596},"The resulting impact may push automakers back into aggressive pricing strategies to retain market share. However, the government has sought to limit this through anti-involution measures. OEMs in China have also been positioning themselves for further global expansion with the rise of exports continuing to outstrip domestic growth. Developing policies elsewhere, in particular Europe, will move the goalposts again in coming months in relation to local content requirements, setting the scene for a testing 2026 for Chinese manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":5385,"content":5386},{"textAlign":49},[5387],{"text":5388,"type":596},"Longer term, reaching a sustainable taxing regime for a transitioning transportation market is crucial for any market and how consumers initially react can be uncertain. China has shown its flexibility in the past in relation the EV market that it is willing to adapt incentive policies to maintain a smooth transition.","From 2026, new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China will face a 5% purchase tax rate, bringing an end to the decade-long era of full exemptions that have supported China’s EV growth. The revised policy sets the rate at half the standard 10% levied on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles but will represent a meaningful cost […]",[5391],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5392},{"job_title":557,"image":5393,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"00547017-d55a-47e7-8e39-85fd2b60a3f8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[5396],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5398,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5399,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1765463716/www-production/Screenshot-2025-12-11-130408/Screenshot-2025-12-11-130408.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5401,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5402,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1707,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1765463780/www-production/AdobeStock_279595729/AdobeStock_279595729.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"From 2026, new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China will face a 5% purchase tax rate, bringing an end to the decade-long era of full exemptions that have supported China’s EV growth. The revised policy sets the rate at half the standard 10% levied on ...","Dec 11, 2025",{"id":5406,"uuid":5407,"name":5408,"slug":5409,"full_slug":5410,"content":5411},133953980409999,"d6b62daf-8ed1-4f84-bbfc-fdd50e436327","BYD gains market share abroad whilst losing domestic share","byd-gains-market-share-abroad-whilst-losing-domestic-share","article/byd-gains-market-share-abroad-whilst-losing-domestic-share",{"_uid":5412,"date":5413,"tags":5414,"editor":5418,"content":5422,"excerpt":5538,"featured":51,"reporter":5539,"_editable":5543,"component":697,"seo_title":5408,"categories":5544,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":5548,"featured_image":5552,"seo_description":5538,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":5555},"e7d88abc-869b-4cfe-8392-9955a03299c7","2025-12-03 00:00",[5415,5416,5417],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[5419],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5420},{"job_title":557,"image":5421,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5423},[5424,5445,5450,5458,5463,5468,5481,5486,5491,5499,5518],{"type":591,"attrs":5425,"content":5426},{"textAlign":49},[5427,5429,5435,5437,5443],{"text":5428,"type":596},"BYD’s share of the ",{"text":5430,"type":596,"marks":5431},"Chinese battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle",[5432],{"type":606,"attrs":5433},{"href":5434,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-the-rise-of-byd",{"text":5436,"type":596}," (BEV&PHEV) ",{"text":5438,"type":596,"marks":5439},"market",[5440],{"type":606,"attrs":5441},{"href":5442,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-remain-up-ytd-at-23-following-1-9-million-evs-sold-in-october-2025",{"text":5444,"type":596}," has fallen from 34% in 2024 to 28% year-to-date in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":5446,"content":5447},{"textAlign":49},[5448],{"text":5449,"type":596},"By contrast, BYD’s share of the ex-China market has risen from 6% to 8% as the OEM looks to grow its presence in global markets beyond China.",{"type":656,"attrs":5451},{"id":5452,"body":5453},"ca835d33-fed7-45e4-a761-f06dd02adfd3",[5454],{"id":5455,"_uid":5456,"type":663,"_editable":5457,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26610049","i-ef84297b-b13e-43bc-b562-989ca93205a4","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ef84297b-b13e-43bc-b562-989ca93205a4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":5459,"content":5460},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5461],{"text":5462,"type":596},"What is driving the fall in BYD’s Chinese market share?",{"type":591,"attrs":5464,"content":5465},{"textAlign":49},[5466],{"text":5467,"type":596},"“BYD’s sliding market share in China is a testament to the increasing competition within the Chinese EV market,” George Whitcombe, an EV research analyst at Benchmark, said. “In many ways, BYD was the first established vehicle manufacturer in China to move heavily into the EV space, and now others are looking to catch up.”",{"type":591,"attrs":5469,"content":5470},{"textAlign":49},[5471,5473,5479],{"text":5472,"type":596},"The biggest competitor to BYD in China is Geely, which has seen its ",{"text":5474,"type":596,"marks":5475},"EV sales almost double year-to-date in China",[5476],{"type":606,"attrs":5477},{"href":5478,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/briefings/automaker-league-tables/ev-automakers-league-table-q3-2025",{"text":5480,"type":596},". Geely’s rise in market share in China almost entirely displaces BYD’s lost share.",{"type":615,"attrs":5482,"content":5483},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5484],{"text":5485,"type":596},"In which ex-China markets is BYD growing?",{"type":591,"attrs":5487,"content":5488},{"textAlign":49},[5489],{"text":5490,"type":596},"BYD is targeting 50% of its sales to come from overseas markets by 2030. So far in 2025, 17% of BYD’s sales have come from these markets, up from 9% in 2024 and 4% in 2023.",{"type":656,"attrs":5492},{"id":5493,"body":5494},"78958b47-7c13-4637-88b3-05f3461f9d4d",[5495],{"id":5496,"_uid":5497,"type":663,"_editable":5498,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26610913","i-2ea3f50e-2fcf-4c5a-88b1-7e1ba66a9e3c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2ea3f50e-2fcf-4c5a-88b1-7e1ba66a9e3c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":5500,"content":5501},{"textAlign":49},[5502,5508,5510,5516],{"text":5503,"type":596,"marks":5504},"In Europe",[5505],{"type":606,"attrs":5506},{"href":5507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-looks-to-turkey-as-gateway-to-europes-ev-market",{"text":5509,"type":596},", BYD has the highest market share of any Chinese EV producer, ",{"text":5511,"type":596,"marks":5512},"capitalising on Tesla’s falling share",[5513],{"type":606,"attrs":5514},{"href":5515,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-is-overtaking-tesla-in-europe",{"text":5517,"type":596},". So far in 2025, BYD has a 5% market share in Europe, up from 2% in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":5519,"content":5520},{"textAlign":49},[5521,5523,5529,5531,5537],{"text":5522,"type":596},"To support its overseas ambitions, ",{"text":5524,"type":596,"marks":5525},"BYD has recently started production",[5526],{"type":606,"attrs":5527},{"href":5528,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-chinas-byd-and-catl-came-to-dominate-tier-1-battery-supply",{"text":5530,"type":596}," at new facilities in Thailand, Uzbekistan and ",{"text":5532,"type":596,"marks":5533},"Brazil",[5534],{"type":606,"attrs":5535},{"href":5536,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-builds-battery-supply-chain-in-south-america-with-chile-and-brazil-plants",{"text":1280,"type":596},"BYD’s share of the Chinese battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (BEV&PHEV) market has fallen from 34% in 2024 to 28% year-to-date in 2025. By contrast, BYD’s share of the ex-China market has risen from 6% to 8% as the OEM looks to grow its presence in global markets beyond China. What is driving the […]",[5540],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5541},{"job_title":557,"image":5542,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e7d88abc-869b-4cfe-8392-9955a03299c7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[5545,5546,5547],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":5549,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":5549,"source":547,"filename":5550,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5551,"is_external_url":51},"Chart titled: BYD's market share in China is falling, whilst it's share outside of China is on the up. Subtitle: BYD's monthly market share of the the China and Ex-China BEV and PHEV markets","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1764783315/www-production/BYD-market-share@2x/BYD-market-share@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":5549,"title":5549,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5553,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5554,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1707,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1764783264/www-production/1-millionth-car/1-millionth-car.jpg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 03, 2025",{"id":5557,"uuid":5558,"name":5559,"slug":5560,"full_slug":5561,"content":5562},133954035558551,"51b8c5d2-d08d-4335-b83d-e4083f8d9d73","CODELCO offers Korean customers copper premiums of USD 330/t, up 288% from last year","codelco-offers-korean-customers-copper-premiums-of-usd-330-t-up-288-from-last-year","article/codelco-offers-korean-customers-copper-premiums-of-usd-330-t-up-288-from-last-year",{"_uid":5563,"date":5564,"tags":5565,"editor":5571,"content":5575,"excerpt":5666,"featured":51,"reporter":5667,"_editable":5671,"component":697,"seo_title":5672,"categories":5673,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":5676,"featured_image":5678,"seo_description":5581,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":5681},"5f58d1d8-6b32-4cba-a56b-5a040419990d","2025-11-21 00:00",[5566,5567,5570],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":5568,"name":5569},"codelco","Codelco",{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[5572],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5573},{"job_title":557,"image":5574,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5576},[5577,5582,5589,5608,5616,5621,5626,5631,5636,5641,5646,5651,5656,5661],{"type":591,"attrs":5578,"content":5579},{"textAlign":49},[5580],{"text":5581,"type":596},"CODELCO, the Chilean state-owned copper miner, has reportedly offered their Korean customers annual premiums of USD 330/t for 2026 according to media reports and market sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":5583,"content":5584},{"textAlign":49},[5585],{"text":5586,"type":596,"marks":5587},"(The premium CODELCO offers is the price customers need to pay above the LME price to receive copper from CODELCO.)",[5588],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":5590,"content":5591},{"textAlign":49},[5592,5594,5600,5602],{"text":5593,"type":596},"This number is significantly higher than last year’s USD 85/t and follows ",{"text":5595,"type":596,"marks":5596},"CODELCO offering a $325/t premium to its European customers last month.",[5597],{"type":606,"attrs":5598},{"href":5599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/codelco-raise-european-copper-cathode-premium-offers-to-record-levels",{"text":5601,"type":596},"  Similarly, ",{"text":5603,"type":596,"marks":5604},"Aurubis offered its customers a record premium in Europe last month.",[5605],{"type":606,"attrs":5606},{"href":5607,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/aurubis-raises-2026-copper-premium-offers-to-european-customers",{"type":656,"attrs":5609},{"id":5610,"body":5611},"f0d9d7d0-d325-4c85-9c8d-647c0992c8de",[5612],{"id":5613,"_uid":5614,"type":663,"_editable":5615,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26377214","i-54caae67-0bdd-42ed-ac21-a7e501bd9c43","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-54caae67-0bdd-42ed-ac21-a7e501bd9c43\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":5617,"content":5618},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5619],{"text":5620,"type":596},"Why is the premium so high?",{"type":591,"attrs":5622,"content":5623},{"textAlign":49},[5624],{"text":5625,"type":596},"The reason for the higher premiums is largely due to the continued arbitrage opportunity between the LME and CME. CME copper prices remain significantly above LME prices, with this trend even more significant between the forward curves on the two exchanges. Most recently the arbitrage sat at USD 267/t.",{"type":615,"attrs":5627,"content":5628},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5629],{"text":5630,"type":596},"What role does the US have to play?",{"type":591,"attrs":5632,"content":5633},{"textAlign":49},[5634],{"text":5635,"type":596},"The arbitrage is present due largely to the expectation of a tariff for copper imports in the US – which the US has indicated may start in 2027 at 15%. There is also some suggestion that the CME is being priced with more optimism than the LME.",{"type":591,"attrs":5637,"content":5638},{"textAlign":49},[5639],{"text":5640,"type":596},"Global copper premiums have been stoked by this as there is a growing expectation that extra copper will head to the US in 2026, as it did in 2025, and this will create tighter markets elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":5642,"content":5643},{"textAlign":49},[5644],{"text":5645,"type":596},"“The US is still the best place to send copper,” one trader said to Benchmark, noting the broad arbitrage.",{"type":591,"attrs":5647,"content":5648},{"textAlign":49},[5649],{"text":5650,"type":596},"Copper producers therefore need high premiums outside the US in order for them to be tempted to send copper to other regions. Beyond this, higher premiums are necessary to stop people in Europe and Asia playing with regional arbitrages using CODELCO’s copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":5652,"content":5653},{"textAlign":49},[5654],{"text":5655,"type":596},"“The arbitrage is the root cause of everything [these high premiums]” said a copper producer source.",{"type":615,"attrs":5657,"content":5658},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[5659],{"text":5660,"type":596},"China premiums to come",{"type":591,"attrs":5662,"content":5663},{"textAlign":49},[5664],{"text":5665,"type":596},"There also remains the question of the China premium – which CODELCO are likely to offer to their Chinese customers in the coming days, as Asia Copper Week takes place next week.","CODELCO, the Chilean state-owned copper miner, has reportedly offered their Korean customers annual premiums of USD 330/t for 2026 according to media reports and market sources. (The premium CODELCO offers is the price customers need to pay above the LME price to receive copper from CODELCO.) This number is significantly higher than last year’s USD […]",[5668],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5669},{"job_title":557,"image":5670,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5f58d1d8-6b32-4cba-a56b-5a040419990d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","CODELCO offers Korean customers copper premiums up 288% from 2024",[5674,5675],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5677},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5679,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5680,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/w_2560,h_1440,c_scale/f_auto,q_auto/v1763723017/www-production/AdobeStock_1740825032_Editorial_Use_Only/AdobeStock_1740825032_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 21, 2025",{"id":5683,"uuid":5684,"name":5685,"slug":5686,"full_slug":5687,"content":5688},114839388678480,"97c1dbbb-810f-4732-bbc5-3300ed5257d0","Global BESS installments increase 29% y-o-y","global-bess-installments-increase-29-y-o-y","article/global-bess-installments-increase-29-y-o-y",{"_uid":5689,"date":5690,"tags":5691,"editor":5703,"content":5707,"excerpt":5807,"featured":51,"reporter":5808,"component":697,"seo_title":5685,"categories":5812,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":5815,"seo_description":5807,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":5818},"77cf3951-1927-4866-a53d-d75ba3373e8e","2025-11-18 00:00",[5692,5695,5696,5697,5700,5702],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},"africa","Africa",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5698,"name":5699},"middle-east","Middle East",{"slug":5701,"name":924},"north-america",{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[5704],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5705},{"job_title":557,"image":5706,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5708},[5709,5721,5726,5747,5754,5759,5772,5777,5782,5787,5792,5797],{"type":591,"attrs":5710,"content":5711},{"textAlign":49},[5712,5714,5719],{"text":5713,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in battery ",{"text":5715,"type":596,"marks":5716},"supply chain research",[5717],{"type":606,"attrs":5718},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":5720,"type":596}," and insights, reports that 12.7GWh of new operational capacity entered operation in October 2025.",{"type":615,"attrs":5722,"content":5723},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5724],{"text":5725,"type":596},"Operational Capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":5727,"content":5728},{"textAlign":49},[5729,5731,5736,5738,5744,5745],{"text":5730,"type":596},"The ",{"text":5732,"type":596,"marks":5733},"grid-scale BESS market",[5734],{"type":606,"attrs":5735},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":5737,"type":596}," saw 12.7GWh of new capacity enter operations globally in October 2025, a y-o-y increase of 29%. China led new operational capacity with just under 8.8GWh of utility scale BESS being added0 – a m-o-m increase of 72% – including one giga-scale vanadium flow battery. The US saw the next largest monthly capacity additions to the grid with 2.3GWh entering operations. This is a m-o-m decrease of 40%, however this was up y-o-y verses October 2024 by 13%. Australia saw 980MWh enter commercial operations in the form of the second phase of the Waratah Super Battery in NSW, however technical issues regarding transformer failures have reduced the operating power to 350MW until 2026. Europe saw just under 500MWh of new grid-scale capacity commissioned which includes a 260MWh project in Bulgaria with Hithium acting as ",{"text":5739,"type":596,"marks":5740},"system integrator",[5741],{"type":606,"attrs":5742},{"href":5743,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bess-system-integrator-ranking-in-h1-2025-shows-change-is-on-the-horizon-for-the-industry",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":5746,"type":596},"Global YTD deployments have reached 156GWh, a y-o-y increase of 38%.",{"type":591,"attrs":5748,"content":5749},{"textAlign":49},[5750],{"type":836,"attrs":5751},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":5752,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":5753},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1b0e838c86/bm-slide1-1-13503743f249.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":5755,"content":5756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5757],{"text":5758,"type":596},"Snapshot grid BESS installations in YTD 2025 (Jan-Oct 2025) vs YTD 2024 (Jan-Oct 2024), YTD %",{"type":591,"attrs":5760,"content":5761},{"textAlign":49},[5762,5764,5766,5768,5770],{"text":5763,"type":596},"• Global: +38%",{"text":5765,"type":596},"• China: +27%",{"text":5767,"type":596},"• Europe: +21%",{"text":5769,"type":596},"• North America: +21%",{"text":5771,"type":596},"• ROW: +242%",{"type":615,"attrs":5773,"content":5774},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5775],{"text":5776,"type":596},"Planned Capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":5778,"content":5779},{"textAlign":49},[5780],{"text":5781,"type":596},"Project pipelines continue to grow, with just under 75GWh being proposed or announced in October 2025 – a m-o-m increase of 5%. Total global project pipeline additions YTD have reached 732GWh, increasing 23% y-o-y against the same period in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":5783,"content":5784},{"textAlign":49},[5785],{"text":5786,"type":596},"The largest project to enter the pipeline this month was the Yan’an Wenergy Electricity Shaanbei-Anhui HVDC Project at 4.2GWh. Another 16 giga-scale projects were announced, 12 of which are in Australia which continues to be one of the hottest energy storage markets globally. Over 16GWh of projects had technology providers assigned to projects and 32GWh entered construction globally. Four projects of 1GWh or over entered construction in September, including Masdar’s huge 19GWh project in Abu Dhabi. The Middle East has one of the largest growth rates in the world in 2025 in terms of BESS capacity installed, and has also reflect similarly rapid construction times to those only seen in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":5788,"content":5789},{"textAlign":49},[5790],{"text":5791,"type":596},"Notably, over 30GWh of pipeline capacity was cancelled in October, including over 5GW planned at the Esmerelda 7 Solar project in Nevada. The majority of these cancellations were in China relating to regional policy changes over the past few months. For the remainder of 2025, over 153GWh is in the pipeline and scheduled to enter operation. Project delays and cancellations will continue to bring this number down towards the end of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":5793,"content":5794},{"textAlign":49},[5795],{"text":5796,"type":596},"To learn more about our BESS data and forecast, submit your details below and our team will be in touch:",{"type":656,"attrs":5798},{"id":5799,"body":5800},"7cfddf67-50fa-4824-90f3-17e387d0c7d3",[5801],{"id":1012,"_uid":5802,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":5803,"success_file":5804,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":5806},"i-cded958d-8ed9-4291-a700-9751c9637f50",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5805},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in battery supply chain research and insights, reports that 12.7GWh of new operational capacity entered operation in October 2025. Operational Capacity The grid-scale BESS market saw 12.7GWh of new capacity enter operations globally in October 2025, a y-o-y increase of 29%. China led new operational capacity with just under 8.8GWh of […]",[5809],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5810},{"job_title":557,"image":5811,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[5813,5814],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5816,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5817,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c43597210f/bm-adobestock-1190982699-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 18, 2025",{"id":5820,"uuid":5821,"name":5822,"slug":5823,"full_slug":5824,"content":5825},114839380543822,"88a7f47a-4ba6-4db8-92be-8a97809f7d36","Infographic: Q3 results highlight challenges for major copper miners","infographic-q3-results-highlight-challenges-for-major-copper-miners","article/infographic-q3-results-highlight-challenges-for-major-copper-miners",{"_uid":5826,"date":5690,"tags":5827,"editor":5839,"content":5843,"excerpt":5929,"featured":51,"reporter":5930,"_editable":5934,"component":697,"seo_title":5822,"categories":5935,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":5938,"featured_image":5940,"seo_description":5929,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":5818},"143897d2-85f6-4068-a74e-7e0e7affc712",[5828,5831,5832,5833,5836],{"slug":5829,"name":5830},"anglo-american","Anglo American",{"slug":5568,"name":5569},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":5834,"name":5835},"freeport-mcmoran","Freeport-McMoRan",{"slug":5837,"name":5838},"glencore","Glencore",[5840],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5841},{"job_title":557,"image":5842,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5844},[5845,5864,5869,5876,5894,5899,5911,5918],{"type":591,"attrs":5846,"content":5847},{"textAlign":49},[5848,5850,5855,5857,5862],{"text":5849,"type":596},"In the third quarter of 2025, 18 of the largest 25 ",{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":5851},[5852],{"type":606,"attrs":5853},{"href":5854,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lme-copper-forward-curve-hits-record-high",{"text":5856,"type":596}," miners reported quarter-on-quarter decreases in their output, including the top four miners. The total Q3 ",{"text":5858,"type":596,"marks":5859},"copper production",[5860],{"type":606,"attrs":5861},{"href":4663,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5863,"type":596}," reported by the top 25 miners hit 3.72Mt.",{"type":591,"attrs":5865,"content":5866},{"textAlign":49},[5867],{"text":5868,"type":596},"“In the third quarter, many companies saw lower production compared to the previous quarter. However, most did not adjust their guidance, showing confidence in meeting their annual production goals,” said Ivan Llancas, a copper supply analyst at Benchmark. “On the positive side, historically the fourth quarter tends to be a period of stronger output, as mining companies typically ramp up production to reach their year‑end targets.”",{"type":591,"attrs":5870,"content":5871},{"textAlign":49},[5872],{"type":836,"attrs":5873},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":5874,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":5875},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/42256cb9d2/bm-q3-copper-production-top-25.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":5877,"content":5878},{"textAlign":49},[5879,5881,5885,5887,5892],{"text":5880,"type":596},"Amongst the most notable declines are ",{"text":5569,"type":596,"marks":5882},[5883],{"type":606,"attrs":5884},{"href":5599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596}," and ",{"text":5835,"type":596,"marks":5888},[5889],{"type":606,"attrs":5890},{"href":5891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/grasberg-supply-shock-to-plunge-refined-copper-market-into-deficit-in-2026-benchmark-analysis-shows",{"text":5893,"type":596},", which saw 10.2% and 5.3% Q-o-Q drops in production, respectively. Both have been affected by operational disruptions that included several fatalities and temporary suspensions of activity.",{"type":591,"attrs":5895,"content":5896},{"textAlign":49},[5897],{"text":5898,"type":596},"Ivanhoe’s operations also remained constrained as dewatering efforts continued, resulting in a 36.4% Q-o-Q decrease – the largest proportional drop from a top 25 miner. Hudbay faced setbacks stemming from social unrest at its Constancia site in Peru and evacuations at its Snow Lake operations in Canada due to wildfires.",{"type":591,"attrs":5900,"content":5901},{"textAlign":49},[5902,5904,5909],{"text":5903,"type":596},"Some producers posted Q-o-Q gains, the largest of which was a 36.1% increase in production posted by Glencore supported by higher grades at its KCC (DRC), Antapaccay (Peru) and Antamina (Peru) operations. Lundin’s stronger quarter (+7.4%) was driven by improved performance at Caserones, Chile while ",{"text":5830,"type":596,"marks":5905},[5906],{"type":606,"attrs":5907},{"href":5908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/anglo-american-and-teck-merger-set-to-become-fifth-biggest-copper-miner",{"text":5910,"type":596}," (+5.9%) benefited from higher milling rates and better ore grades at Quellaveco, Peru.",{"type":591,"attrs":5912,"content":5913},{"textAlign":49},[5914],{"text":5915,"type":596,"marks":5916},"To learn more about Benchmark’s copper market coverage please fill out the form below.",[5917],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":5919},{"id":5920,"body":5921},"5d5f2485-4a99-47a6-b9d6-19b06253fbff",[5922],{"id":1012,"_uid":5923,"_editable":5924,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":5925,"success_file":5926,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":5928},"i-2a94220b-b3e8-4410-963f-0c57e0143816","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2a94220b-b3e8-4410-963f-0c57e0143816\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5927},{},[],"In the third quarter of 2025, 18 of the largest 25 copper miners reported quarter-on-quarter decreases in their output, including the top four miners. The total Q3 copper production reported by the top 25 miners hit 3.72Mt. “In the third quarter, many companies saw lower production compared to the previous quarter. However, most did not […]",[5931],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5932},{"job_title":557,"image":5933,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"143897d2-85f6-4068-a74e-7e0e7affc712\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[5936,5937],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5874,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5939,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5941,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":5942,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a0e1de6e6b/bm-glencore-ktanaga-copper-mine-drc2-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":5944,"uuid":5945,"name":5946,"slug":5947,"full_slug":5948,"content":5949},112355507938532,"6bd7aaab-55f0-4bf4-b404-905e228e4541","Indonesia’s new smelter ban targets value‑added growth","indonesias-new-smelter-ban-targets-value-added-growth","article/indonesias-new-smelter-ban-targets-value-added-growth",{"_uid":5950,"date":5951,"tags":5952,"editor":5957,"content":5961,"excerpt":6022,"featured":51,"reporter":6023,"_editable":6027,"component":697,"seo_title":5946,"categories":6028,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":6032,"seo_description":6022,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":6035},"a66538c8-9a1f-47ef-a33b-4c907b4d1aa7","2025-11-11 00:00",[5953,5956],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},"indonesia","Indonesia",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[5958],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":5959},{"job_title":557,"image":5960,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":5962},[5963,5968,5979,5984,5989,5994,5999,6004,6012,6017],{"type":591,"attrs":5964,"content":5965},{"textAlign":49},[5966],{"text":5967,"type":596},"Indonesia has issued a ban on the issuance of new smelter permits for nickel matte, mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), and nickel pig iron (NPI), in a bid to curb overcapacity and incentivise value‑added investment in the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":5969,"content":5970},{"textAlign":49},[5971,5977],{"text":5972,"type":596,"marks":5973},"The policy marks the latest chapter in the Indonesian government’s strategic pivot in its nickel industrialisation plan",[5974],{"type":606,"attrs":5975},{"href":5976,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-launches-illegal-nickel-mining-crackdown",{"text":5978,"type":596},", moving from a period of rapid capacity expansion towards a more tightly regulated operational environment focused on value‑added growth. Its impact, however, is expected to be gradual, taking several years to reshape market fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":5980,"content":5981},{"textAlign":49},[5982],{"text":5983,"type":596},"The ruling will not affect existing licensed projects, applying only to new applications; Benchmark data indicates that most Indonesian nickel projects scheduled for start‑up by 2026–2027 are already under construction and have secured approvals, so these projects are likely to proceed unaffected.",{"type":591,"attrs":5985,"content":5986},{"textAlign":49},[5987],{"text":5988,"type":596},"Projects anticipated to come online post‑2028 and planning to produce NPI, ferronickel (FeNi), MHP, or nickel matte face potential delays or cancellations unless they include plans for downstream integration.",{"type":591,"attrs":5990,"content":5991},{"textAlign":49},[5992],{"text":5993,"type":596},"Uncertainty remains over how the policy will be applied in practice. Benchmark notes that the government will need to clarify how projects at the pre‑feasibility stage will be treated and whether operating smelters will be permitted to expand capacity if they continue to produce only NPI, FeNi, MHP, or nickel matte.",{"type":615,"attrs":5995,"content":5996},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[5997],{"text":5998,"type":596},"Will the ban affect the global balance?",{"type":591,"attrs":6000,"content":6001},{"textAlign":49},[6002],{"text":6003,"type":596},"Should Indonesian projects producing only intermediate or Class 2 nickel be cancelled, Benchmark data indicates that the global nickel market could rebalance earlier than current projections – from 2029 instead of 2032.",{"type":656,"attrs":6005},{"id":6006,"body":6007},"383d4b8a-8536-458a-bf04-fd6d6fb55c4f",[6008],{"id":6009,"_uid":6010,"type":663,"_editable":6011,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26157107","i-4444a4d9-8646-4547-ac24-88562829d3a6","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4444a4d9-8646-4547-ac24-88562829d3a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":6013,"content":6014},{"textAlign":49},[6015],{"text":6016,"type":596},"This shows that despite the ban, existing HPAL and NPI operations, and new projects expected through 2026–2027, will keep the market fundamentally oversupplied in the short term.",{"type":591,"attrs":6018,"content":6019},{"textAlign":49},[6020],{"text":6021,"type":596},"Combined inventories on the LME and SHFE surged above 280,000 t Ni as of the end of October 2025 – equivalent to 8% of end‑use demand this year – indicating that global stock levels remain elevated.","Indonesia has issued a ban on the issuance of new smelter permits for nickel matte, mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), and nickel pig iron (NPI), in a bid to curb overcapacity and incentivise value‑added investment in the battery supply chain. The policy marks the latest chapter in the Indonesian government’s strategic pivot in its nickel industrialisation […]",[6024],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6025},{"job_title":557,"image":6026,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a66538c8-9a1f-47ef-a33b-4c907b4d1aa7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[6029,6030,6031],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6033,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6034,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7427d063a/bm-nickel-indonesia-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 11, 2025",{"id":6037,"uuid":6038,"name":6039,"slug":6040,"full_slug":6041,"content":6042},111717983516551,"8c902f6d-616a-4844-93e9-31c499e486b5","North America sees LFP production capacity pipeline grow, driven by the BESS market","north-america-sees-lfp-production-capacity-pipeline-grow-driven-by-the-bess-market","article/north-america-sees-lfp-production-capacity-pipeline-grow-driven-by-the-bess-market",{"_uid":6043,"date":6044,"tags":6045,"editor":6063,"content":6067,"excerpt":6168,"featured":51,"reporter":6169,"component":697,"seo_title":6173,"categories":6174,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":6177,"featured_image":6179,"seo_description":6182,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":6183},"76cc5572-ecd2-42e0-8b69-f4cc6eef23c4","2025-11-06 00:00",[6046,6048,6049,6052,6055,6058,6059,6060],{"slug":6047,"name":3084},"bess",{"slug":5164,"name":5165},{"slug":6050,"name":6051},"lg-energy-solution","LG Energy Solution",{"slug":6053,"name":6054},"sk-on","SK On",{"slug":6056,"name":6057},"envision","Envision",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":6061,"name":6062},"data-centres","Data centres",[6064],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6065},{"job_title":557,"image":6066,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":6068},[6069,6074,6081,6086,6091,6096,6119,6124,6139,6144,6149,6154,6159,6164,6166],{"type":591,"attrs":6070,"content":6071},{"textAlign":49},[6072],{"text":6073,"type":596},"Since January 2025, 108GWh of LFP production capacity has been announced in North America through to 2030, bringing the total to 281GWh. These announcements have been driven by the increasing importance of the BESS industry in the US, as tax credits for EVs have been phased out.",{"type":656,"attrs":6075},{"id":6076,"body":6077},"49b071ae-f354-4b02-87ca-b4407c785391",[6078],{"id":6079,"_uid":6080,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"26046543","i-bf56142a-c20e-47c1-b676-75254642ffd1",{"type":615,"attrs":6082,"content":6083},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[6084],{"text":6085,"type":596},"How is future capacity changing?",{"type":591,"attrs":6087,"content":6088},{"textAlign":49},[6089],{"text":6090,"type":596},"The new capacity announcements come from a mix of players, including companies retrofitting existing NCM production lines to LFP, as demand for US-made LFP cells strengthens.",{"type":591,"attrs":6092,"content":6093},{"textAlign":49},[6094],{"text":6095,"type":596},"Companies that have announced or have completed line retrofits include:",{"type":779,"content":6097},[6098,6105,6112],{"type":782,"content":6099},[6100],{"type":591,"attrs":6101,"content":6102},{"textAlign":49},[6103],{"text":6104,"type":596},"LGES, Michigan",{"type":782,"content":6106},[6107],{"type":591,"attrs":6108,"content":6109},{"textAlign":49},[6110],{"text":6111,"type":596},"SK On, Commerce",{"type":782,"content":6113},[6114],{"type":591,"attrs":6115,"content":6116},{"textAlign":49},[6117],{"text":6118,"type":596},"Envision AESC, Smyrna",{"type":591,"attrs":6120,"content":6121},{"textAlign":49},[6122],{"text":6123,"type":596},"In addition, several companies have revised previously planned gigafactories to focus on LFP rather than NCM. These include LG and GM, Samsung, and VW.",{"type":591,"attrs":6125,"content":6126},{"textAlign":49},[6127,6129,6131,6133,6135,6137],{"text":6128,"type":596},"Alongside these developments, two planned LFP facilities – fro",{"text":6130,"type":596},"m Frey",{"text":6132,"type":596},"r and KORE Power – have been cancelled. However,",{"text":6134,"type":596}," Shelbyville Batter",{"text":6136,"type":596},"y, a battery subsidiary of Canadian Solar, has announced new capacity additions through to",{"text":6138,"type":596}," 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":6140,"content":6141},{"textAlign":49},[6142],{"text":6143,"type":596},"Benchmark expects further announcements from companies expanding beyond these listed announcement as BESS projected demand growths surges.",{"type":615,"attrs":6145,"content":6146},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[6147],{"text":6148,"type":596},"Why is this change happening?",{"type":591,"attrs":6150,"content":6151},{"textAlign":49},[6152],{"text":6153,"type":596},"Following the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, US-based battery manufacturers have turned their attention to the BESS market as the main area of demand growth. This shift is driven by the continuation of IRA tax credits for BESS projects through to 2035, with increasing restrictions on prohibited foreign entity (PFE) involvement. From 2026, 55% of the cost ratio of a BESS project must be sourced from a non-PFE, increasing to 75% by 2030 and thereafter. Additionally, to receive the additional 10% domestic content adder credit, 45% of the cost of the project must be sourced from the US, increasing to 55% from 2027. As a result, demand for US-made LFP cells, which enable eligibility for these tax credits, has risen sharply.",{"type":591,"attrs":6155,"content":6156},{"textAlign":49},[6157],{"text":6158,"type":596},"In parallel, large-scale data centre expansion is accelerating BESS deployment, as these systems support growing power demand while helping to expedite permitting processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":6160,"content":6161},{"textAlign":49},[6162],{"text":6163,"type":596},"Considering announced capacity through to 2030 and projected BESS demand, the US LFP market may move into oversupply by the late 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":6165},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":6167},{"textAlign":49},"Since January 2025, 108GWh of LFP production capacity has been announced in North America through to 2030, bringing the total to 281GWh. These announcements have been driven by the increasing importance of the BESS industry in the US, as tax credits for EVs have been phased out. How is future capacity changing? The new capacity […]",[6170],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6171},{"job_title":557,"image":6172,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"North America LFP capacity pipeline grow, driven by BESS",[6175,6176],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6178},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6180,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6181,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/76a3bdf3cc/bm-adobestock-1279070935.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Since January 2025, 108GWh of LFP production capacity has been announced in North America through to 2030, bringing the total to 281GWh.","Nov 06, 2025",{"id":6185,"uuid":6186,"name":6187,"slug":6188,"full_slug":6189,"content":6190},112265503130395,"0f98e80a-79c0-4dc3-af25-d459065cede5","Site visit: Altmin and Sudeep Advanced Material support India’s midstream ambitions","site-visit-altmin-and-sudeep-advanced-material-support-indias-midstream-ambitions","article/site-visit-altmin-and-sudeep-advanced-material-support-indias-midstream-ambitions",{"_uid":6191,"date":6192,"tags":6193,"editor":6208,"content":6212,"excerpt":6541,"featured":51,"reporter":6542,"_editable":6546,"component":697,"seo_title":6547,"categories":6548,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":6553,"featured_image":6556,"seo_description":6559,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":6560},"7831505e-c809-4edc-b013-e8bea524ec65","2025-11-03 00:00",[6194,6197,6200,6201,6202,6205],{"slug":6195,"name":6196},"altmin","Altmin",{"slug":6198,"name":6199},"asia","Asia",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4342,"name":4343},{"slug":6203,"name":6204},"site-visit","Site visit",{"slug":6206,"name":6207},"sudeep-advanced-material","Sudeep Advanced Material",[6209],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6210},{"job_title":557,"image":6211,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":6213},[6214,6226,6246,6251,6259,6264,6300,6308,6331,6343,6350,6355,6360,6365,6370,6375,6411,6433,6438,6445,6450,6455,6460,6465,6487,6509,6530],{"type":591,"attrs":6215,"content":6216},{"textAlign":49},[6217,6219,6224],{"text":6218,"type":596},"India’s pipeline of ",{"text":6220,"type":596,"marks":6221},"cathode active material",[6222],{"type":606,"attrs":6223},{"href":4394,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":6225,"type":596}," (CAM) production capacity is set to grow more than 50-fold over the next decade. Altmin, Himadri Speciality Chemical, and Epsilon Advanced Materials have the largest pipeline capacities in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":6227,"content":6228},{"textAlign":49},[6229,6231,6237,6239,6244],{"text":6230,"type":596},"Almost all CAM capacity ",{"text":6232,"type":596,"marks":6233},"under development in India",[6234],{"type":606,"attrs":6235},{"href":6236,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/india-looks-to-aid-domestic-battery-production-for-evs-and-phones",{"text":6238,"type":596}," is for ",{"text":451,"type":596,"marks":6240},[6241],{"type":606,"attrs":6242},{"href":6243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfp-leads-ncm-evolves-cathode-2024-year-in-review",{"text":6245,"type":596},", both due to the popularity of the cathode chemistry and also as India’s climate makes storing NCM material challenging.",{"type":591,"attrs":6247,"content":6248},{"textAlign":49},[6249],{"text":6250,"type":596},"Benchmark analyst Aakanksha Raje visited the Telangana site where Altmin intends to build a CAM production facility. It is due to begin operations in 2026 with a capacity of 10,000 tpa of LFP, though the company plans to increase this to 100,000 tpa in the 2030s.",{"type":656,"attrs":6252},{"id":6253,"body":6254},"bf2e5fd4-7909-4e95-b969-4f7a89b1461a",[6255],{"id":6256,"_uid":6257,"type":663,"_editable":6258,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25869129","i-25e41fda-e48f-445a-b932-efb78d7732a6","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-25e41fda-e48f-445a-b932-efb78d7732a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":6260,"content":6261},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[6262],{"text":6263,"type":596},"India’s up-and-coming battery market",{"type":591,"attrs":6265,"content":6266},{"textAlign":49},[6267,6273,6283,6288,6296],{"text":6268,"type":596,"marks":6269},"Battery demand in India is set to reach 112 GWh by 2030, up from around 30 GWh today. Much of this comes from the ",[6270],{"type":739,"attrs":6271},{"color":6272},"#3C3C39",{"text":6274,"type":596,"marks":6275},"2-&3-wheeler and EV markets",[6276,6279,6282],{"type":606,"attrs":6277},{"href":6278,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indias-battery-demand-from-electric-cars-set-to-overtake-two-wheelers-by-end-of-decade",{"type":739,"attrs":6280},{"color":6281},"#0969D7",{"type":903},{"text":6284,"type":596,"marks":6285},", though around a quarter is from ",[6286],{"type":739,"attrs":6287},{"color":6272},{"text":2012,"type":596,"marks":6289},[6290,6293,6295],{"type":606,"attrs":6291},{"href":6292,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-bess-installments-increase-29-y-o-y",{"type":739,"attrs":6294},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":6297},[6298],{"type":739,"attrs":6299},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":6301},{"id":6302,"body":6303},"38fdece1-bc2a-4378-9aeb-8168f3f106f0",[6304],{"id":6305,"_uid":6306,"type":663,"_editable":6307,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25891164","i-601b8fa8-a954-4981-8bde-dcc3f82f0714","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-601b8fa8-a954-4981-8bde-dcc3f82f0714\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":6309,"content":6310},{"textAlign":49},[6311,6313,6318,6327],{"text":6312,"type":596}," ",{"text":6314,"type":596,"marks":6315},"India, like most markets outside of China, depends on imported battery cells to meet its demand. Benchmark forecasts the country will produce just 7 GWh of cells by 2030, though it has ",[6316],{"type":739,"attrs":6317},{"color":6272},{"text":6319,"type":596,"marks":6320},"pipeline capacity for over 66 GWh",[6321,6324,6326],{"type":606,"attrs":6322},{"href":6323,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-hidden-gigafactories-powering-emerging-markets",{"type":739,"attrs":6325},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":6328},[6329],{"type":739,"attrs":6330},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6332,"content":6333},{"textAlign":49},[6334,6336,6342],{"text":6335,"type":596},"Altmin’s CAM production facility in Balapur, Hyderabad, Telangana is in the same state as the planned 16 GWh gigafactory under development by ",{"text":6337,"type":596,"marks":6338},"Amara Raja Energy & Mobility",[6339],{"type":606,"attrs":6340},{"href":6341,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indias-amara-raja-batteries-seeks-partner-for-1-16-billion-gigafactory-plant",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":6344,"content":6345},{"textAlign":49},[6346],{"type":836,"attrs":6347},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":6348,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":6349},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/082d2c7f71/bm-altmin-cam.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":6351,"content":6352},{"textAlign":49},[6353],{"text":6354,"type":596},"Chemicals from Altmin’s CAM site in Telangana. Photo by Aakanksha Raje.",{"type":591,"attrs":6356,"content":6357},{"textAlign":49},[6358],{"text":6359,"type":596},"Proximity to cell producers is advantageous given the nascent nature of the industry, but does not guarantee success.",{"type":591,"attrs":6361,"content":6362},{"textAlign":49},[6363],{"text":6364,"type":596},"“In India, the midstream projects struggle to come online due insufficient funding, achieving standardised and consistent batches of products and the existing low demand from downstream,” Raje said.",{"type":591,"attrs":6366,"content":6367},{"textAlign":49},[6368],{"text":6369,"type":596},"To date, Altmin has produced coin cells to test its CAM and has sent material out to customers for verification.",{"type":615,"attrs":6371,"content":6372},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[6373],{"text":6374,"type":596},"Developing the supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":6376,"content":6377},{"textAlign":49},[6378,6383,6392,6397,6406],{"text":6379,"type":596,"marks":6380},"In discussions with Raje, Altmin's CEO Anjani Mourya expressed desire to support the government's ",[6381],{"type":739,"attrs":6382},{"color":6272},{"text":6384,"type":596,"marks":6385},"Make In India initiative",[6386,6389,6391],{"type":606,"attrs":6387},{"href":6388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/india-is-far-behind-in-race-to-build-battery-supply-chain-epsilon-says",{"type":739,"attrs":6390},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6393,"type":596,"marks":6394}," by building out a ",[6395],{"type":739,"attrs":6396},{"color":6272},{"text":6398,"type":596,"marks":6399},"locally-focused supply chain",[6400,6403,6405],{"type":606,"attrs":6401},{"href":6402,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-indias-elections-mean-for-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain",{"type":739,"attrs":6404},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6407,"type":596,"marks":6408},". 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Raje visited SAM's pilot scale pCAM facility where the company has capacity to produce 200kg per day and is shipping material to customers, including Altmin, for trials.",[6431],{"type":739,"attrs":6432},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6434,"content":6435},{"textAlign":49},[6436],{"text":6437,"type":596},"The company claims its dilute phosphoric acid-based process can reduce the carbon emissions of the process down to 4.17 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of material compared to the 14.34 tonnes from conventional processes. 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SAM’s process uses sulphate-free premix secured from its inhouse factory.",{"type":615,"attrs":6456,"content":6457},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[6458],{"text":6459,"type":596},"Partnering for raw materials",{"type":591,"attrs":6461,"content":6462},{"textAlign":49},[6463],{"text":6464,"type":596},"India doesn’t have much in the way of natural lithium resources, so partnerships with other companies and countries is key for securing feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":6466,"content":6467},{"textAlign":49},[6468,6473,6482],{"text":6469,"type":596,"marks":6470},"Coal India, a state-owned coal producer, has been exploring ",[6471],{"type":739,"attrs":6472},{"color":6272},{"text":6474,"type":596,"marks":6475},"lithium resources in Chile and Argentina",[6476,6479,6481],{"type":606,"attrs":6477},{"href":6478,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-could-be-second-largest-lithium-miner-by-2035",{"type":739,"attrs":6480},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6483,"type":596,"marks":6484}," as well as looking to make deals in graphite and rare earths.",[6485],{"type":739,"attrs":6486},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6488,"content":6489},{"textAlign":49},[6490,6495,6504],{"text":6491,"type":596,"marks":6492},"Altmin has partnered with Companhia Brasileira de Lítio (CBL) in Brazil and Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) in Bolivia to secure lithium supplies. 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To request more information from our team, fill out the form below:",[6528],{"type":739,"attrs":6529},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":6531},{"id":6532,"body":6533},"54ee257c-bc64-45b7-a245-66926d5a262f",[6534],{"id":1012,"_uid":6535,"_editable":6536,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":6537,"success_file":6538,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":6540},"i-33511b2b-a670-4415-853e-bad3fc560ef9","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-33511b2b-a670-4415-853e-bad3fc560ef9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6539},{},[],"India’s pipeline of cathode active material (CAM) production capacity is set to grow more than 50-fold over the next decade. Altmin, Himadri Speciality Chemical, and Epsilon Advanced Materials have the largest pipeline capacities in the country. 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Altmin, Himadri Speciality Chemical, and Epsilon Advanced Materials have the largest pipeline  […]","Nov 03, 2025",{"id":6562,"uuid":6563,"name":6564,"slug":6565,"full_slug":6566,"content":6567},107089558794300,"dd8c9dc2-158a-49f8-8eaa-17475caa8520","Benchmark expands rare earth coverage with the launch of new metal price assessments","benchmark-expands-rare-earth-coverage-with-the-launch-of-new-metal-price-assessments","article/benchmark-expands-rare-earth-coverage-with-the-launch-of-new-metal-price-assessments",{"_uid":6568,"date":6569,"tags":6570,"editor":6577,"content":6581,"excerpt":6812,"featured":50,"reporter":6813,"_editable":6817,"component":697,"seo_title":6818,"categories":6819,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":6823,"featured_image":6825,"seo_description":6828,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":6829},"f68fa6cd-4709-4b8b-8a11-e7c8ccac44b5","2025-10-30 00:00",[6571,6574],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},"announcement","Announcement",{"slug":6575,"name":6576},"benchmark-mineral-intelligence","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",[6578],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6579},{"job_title":557,"image":6580,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":6582},[6583,6612,6617,6622,6643,6651,6673,6695,6703,6708,6725,6784,6789,6794,6801],{"type":591,"attrs":6584,"content":6585},{"textAlign":49},[6586,6593,6598,6607],{"text":6576,"type":596,"marks":6587},[6588,6590,6592],{"type":606,"attrs":6589},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":6591},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6594,"type":596,"marks":6595}," is pleased to announce the addition of rare earth metal prices to the monthly ",[6596],{"type":739,"attrs":6597},{"color":6272},{"text":6599,"type":596,"marks":6600},"Benchmark Rare Earths Price Assessment",[6601,6604,6606],{"type":606,"attrs":6602},{"href":6603,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/prices",{"type":739,"attrs":6605},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6608,"type":596,"marks":6609},". Publication of these new prices will begin 31 October 2025.",[6610],{"type":739,"attrs":6611},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":6613,"content":6614},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[6615],{"text":6616,"type":596},"Benchmark launches rare earth metal prices",{"type":591,"attrs":6618,"content":6619},{"textAlign":49},[6620],{"text":6621,"type":596},"Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of three new DDP China metal price assessment grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":6623,"content":6624},{"textAlign":49},[6625,6630,6639],{"text":6626,"type":596,"marks":6627},"These new assessments will be published alongside the ",[6628],{"type":739,"attrs":6629},{"color":6272},{"text":6631,"type":596,"marks":6632},"existing oxide and ex-China oxide 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",[6657],{"type":739,"attrs":6658},{"color":6272},{"text":6660,"type":596,"marks":6661},"rare earth value chain",[6662,6665,6667],{"type":606,"attrs":6663},{"href":6664,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/what-is-rare-earths",{"type":739,"attrs":6666},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6669,"type":596,"marks":6670}," from oxides to end-use materials,\"",[6671],{"type":739,"attrs":6672},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6674,"content":6675},{"textAlign":49},[6676,6681,6690],{"text":6677,"type":596,"marks":6678},"\"As ",[6679],{"type":739,"attrs":6680},{"color":6272},{"text":6682,"type":596,"marks":6683},"trade flows diversify and the interplay between Chinese and ex-China markets intensifies",[6684,6687,6689],{"type":606,"attrs":6685},{"href":6686,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rare-earth-prices-show-regional-bifurcation-following-export-restrictions-imposed-by-china",{"type":739,"attrs":6688},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6691,"type":596,"marks":6692},", these new price assessments will provide industry participants with the insight needed to manage risk, understand price relationships, and plan procurement more effectively\" commented George Ingall, Price Analyst at Benchmark.",[6693],{"type":739,"attrs":6694},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6696,"content":6697},{"textAlign":49},[6698],{"text":6699,"type":596,"marks":6700},"These new price grades will be made available to all Benchmark Rare Earths Price Assessment subscribers on the final working day of each month by 4pm (London), starting from 31 October 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon 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",[6756],{"type":739,"attrs":6757},{"color":6272},{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":6759},[6760,6763,6765],{"type":606,"attrs":6761},{"href":6762,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/prices",{"type":739,"attrs":6764},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6767,"type":596,"marks":6768},", Cathode, Anode, Black Mass and Rare Earths – to the ",[6769],{"type":739,"attrs":6770},{"color":6272},{"text":6772,"type":596,"marks":6773},"highest IOSCO 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decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":6795,"content":6796},{"textAlign":49},[6797],{"text":6798,"type":596,"marks":6799},"To learn more fill in the form below:",[6800],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":6802},{"id":6803,"body":6804},"78ea56d3-65d5-4f61-babd-d9b7417b9902",[6805],{"id":1012,"_uid":6806,"_editable":6807,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":6808,"success_file":6809,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":6811},"i-4a2ed49a-b6b7-468b-8e5b-84e8239856e9","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4a2ed49a-b6b7-468b-8e5b-84e8239856e9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6810},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the addition of rare earth metal prices to the monthly Benchmark Rare Earths Price Assessment. Publication of these new prices will begin 31October 2025. Benchmark launches rare earth metal prices Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of three new DDP China metal price assessment grades: These new assessments will be […]",[6814],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6815},{"job_title":557,"image":6816,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f68fa6cd-4709-4b8b-8a11-e7c8ccac44b5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Benchmark expands rare earth coverage",[6820,6821],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":6822,"name":414},"rare-earths",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6824},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6826,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":6827,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a0b98e4a9d/bm-collage-prices-5.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the addition of rare earth metal prices to the monthly Benchmark Rare Earths Price Assessment. Publication of these new prices will begin 31October 2025.  […]","Oct 30, 2025",{"id":6831,"uuid":6832,"name":6833,"slug":6834,"full_slug":6835,"content":6836},107042567029213,"6abdf488-be9c-409f-aba6-087cbd29ceb8","Benchmark launches daily cobalt metal price to bring transparency amid heightened volatility","benchmark-launches-daily-cobalt-metal-price-to-bring-transparency-amid-heightened-volatility","article/benchmark-launches-daily-cobalt-metal-price-to-bring-transparency-amid-heightened-volatility",{"_uid":6837,"date":6569,"tags":6838,"editor":6844,"content":6848,"excerpt":7039,"featured":51,"reporter":7040,"_editable":7044,"component":697,"seo_title":7045,"categories":7046,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":7049,"featured_image":7051,"seo_description":7054,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":6829},"801ad29d-06df-4cb4-be21-30fad2e1d8d5",[6839,6840,6841],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},"cobalt-prices","Cobalt prices",[6845],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":6846},{"job_title":557,"image":6847,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":6849},[6850,6871,6893,6929,6937,6942,6964,6986,6991,6996,7001,7028],{"type":591,"attrs":6851,"content":6852},{"textAlign":49},[6853,6858,6867],{"text":6854,"type":596,"marks":6855},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has expanded its cobalt coverage with the launch of a daily cobalt metal price, providing the market with a transparent and transaction-based reference during ",[6856],{"type":739,"attrs":6857},{"color":6272},{"text":6859,"type":596,"marks":6860},"a period of exceptional volatility",[6861,6864,6866],{"type":606,"attrs":6862},{"href":6863,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-surge-after-chinas-golden-week-as-drc-export-quotas-fuel-supply-concerns",{"type":739,"attrs":6865},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":6868},[6869],{"type":739,"attrs":6870},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6872,"content":6873},{"textAlign":49},[6874,6879,6888],{"text":6875,"type":596,"marks":6876},"The new daily assessment complements Benchmark's ",[6877],{"type":739,"attrs":6878},{"color":6272},{"text":6880,"type":596,"marks":6881},"existing daily cobalt hydroxide price",[6882,6885,6887],{"type":606,"attrs":6883},{"href":6884,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-launches-new-daily-prices-for-lithium-and-cobalt",{"type":739,"attrs":6886},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6889,"type":596,"marks":6890},", giving industry participants visibility across both the physical metal and feedstock markets every trading day.",[6891],{"type":739,"attrs":6892},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6894,"content":6895},{"textAlign":49},[6896,6901,6910,6915,6924],{"text":6897,"type":596,"marks":6898},"The move comes as ",[6899],{"type":739,"attrs":6900},{"color":6272},{"text":6902,"type":596,"marks":6903},"cobalt markets experience their most turbulent period in years",[6904,6907,6909],{"type":606,"attrs":6905},{"href":6906,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-stage-dramatic-rally-as-battery-demand-and-supply-chain-issues-push-cobalt-hydroxide-up-65-5-year-to-date/",{"type":739,"attrs":6908},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6911,"type":596,"marks":6912},". Rapid price swings, compounded by the ",[6913],{"type":739,"attrs":6914},{"color":6272},{"text":6916,"type":596,"marks":6917},"introduction of DRC export quotas",[6918,6921,6923],{"type":606,"attrs":6919},{"href":6920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/drc-to-lift-cobalt-export-ban-and-impose-quotas-through-2027",{"type":739,"attrs":6922},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6925,"type":596,"marks":6926},", uneven inventory distribution in China, and heightened speculative activity, have created significant uncertainty around fair value and pricing mechanisms.",[6927],{"type":739,"attrs":6928},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":6930},{"id":6931,"body":6932},"00d9b921-eb12-4000-ac94-cac5406b6ec8",[6933],{"id":6934,"_uid":6935,"type":663,"_editable":6936,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25934217","i-1bdaad4f-e8c9-46b0-9919-e530906abc13","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-1bdaad4f-e8c9-46b0-9919-e530906abc13\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":6938,"content":6939},{"textAlign":49},[6940],{"text":6941,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt metal and hydroxide indices rely exclusively on confirmed transactions, rather than bids, offers, or sentiment-driven inputs, ensuring that assessments reflect actual market activity and removing the influence of price noise. “The goal is to rebuild confidence and give market participants a price they can trade and hedge against with trust,” said Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, Director of Indexing & Derivatives at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":6943,"content":6944},{"textAlign":49},[6945,6950,6959],{"text":6946,"type":596,"marks":6947},"\"We have already seen ",[6948],{"type":739,"attrs":6949},{"color":6272},{"text":6951,"type":596,"marks":6952},"several major market participants move away from sentiment based legacy pricing mechanisms",[6953,6956,6958],{"type":606,"attrs":6954},{"href":6955,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-industry-looks-to-move-away-from-metal-prices-after-market-downturn",{"type":739,"attrs":6957},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6960,"type":596,"marks":6961}," in cobalt hydroxide, favouring Benchmark's transaction-based methodology, and we're excited to provide the same degree of trust and transparency for cobalt metal markets.\"",[6962],{"type":739,"attrs":6963},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6965,"content":6966},{"textAlign":49},[6967,6972,6981],{"text":6968,"type":596,"marks":6969},"Industry participants have expressed growing concern about the reliability of traditional benchmarks following ",[6970],{"type":739,"attrs":6971},{"color":6272},{"text":6973,"type":596,"marks":6974},"recent market disruption",[6975,6978,6980],{"type":606,"attrs":6976},{"href":6977,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lme-week-2025-metal-markets-navigate-policy-uncertainty-supply-disruptions-and-shifting-demand-sentiment",{"type":739,"attrs":6979},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":6982,"type":596,"marks":6983},". Benchmark's daily prices are designed to support the cobalt supply chain with clarity, precision, and independence – allowing producers, refiners, and traders to identify cross-market arbitrage opportunities and manage risk more effectively.",[6984],{"type":739,"attrs":6985},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":6987,"content":6988},{"textAlign":49},[6989],{"text":6990,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s move to release daily cobalt metal prices comes at a crucial time,” said George Ingall, Pricing Analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":6992,"content":6993},{"textAlign":49},[6994],{"text":6995,"type":596},"“The traditional linkage between cobalt hydroxide and metal prices has weakened significantly since 2022, with each responding largely to their own distinct supply‑demand fundamentals. As the DRC quota continues to shape hydroxide availability and metal demand tightens, accurate and reliable daily price reporting is essential for managing arbitrage positions and for reassessing procurement strategies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":6997,"content":6998},{"textAlign":49},[6999],{"text":7000,"type":596},"Benchmark will continue to expand its cobalt pricing coverage as the market evolves, maintaining its commitment to transparent, data‑driven assessments that reflect real trading activity rather than sentiment in volatile markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":7002,"content":7003},{"textAlign":49},[7004,7008,7015,7018,7024],{"text":7005,"type":596,"marks":7006},"From Monday 24 November, Benchmark (BMI) ",[7007],{"type":1006},{"text":7009,"type":596,"marks":7010},"futures contracts for lithium",[7011,7014],{"type":606,"attrs":7012},{"href":7013,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/lithium-prices/lithium-futures",{"type":1006},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":7016},[7017],{"type":1006},{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":7019},[7020,7023],{"type":606,"attrs":7021},{"href":7022,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/cobalt-prices/cobalt-futures",{"type":1006},{"text":7025,"type":596,"marks":7026}," go live on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). To learn more about Benchmark’s price assessments fill in the form below:",[7027],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":7029},{"id":7030,"body":7031},"2a09909f-0aca-4a86-b797-e9b1ca23bad6",[7032],{"id":1012,"_uid":7033,"_editable":7034,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":7035,"success_file":7036,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":7038},"i-22a723ba-5bbf-4a6c-ac1f-860b75cb5b83","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-22a723ba-5bbf-4a6c-ac1f-860b75cb5b83\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7037},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has expanded its cobalt coverage with the launch of a daily cobalt metal price, providing the market with a transparent and transaction‑based reference during a period of exceptional volatility. The new daily assessment complements Benchmark’s existing daily cobalt hydroxide price, giving industry participants visibility across both the physical metal and feedstock markets every trading day. […]",[7041],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7042},{"job_title":557,"image":7043,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"801ad29d-06df-4cb4-be21-30fad2e1d8d5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Benchmark launches daily cobalt metal price to bring transparency",[7047,7048],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7050},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7053,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3ac8918b07/bm-collage-prices-3.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has expanded its cobalt coverage with the launch of a daily cobalt metal price, providing the market with a transparent and transaction‑based reference during a period of exceptional volatility. […]",{"id":7056,"uuid":7057,"name":7058,"slug":7059,"full_slug":7060,"content":7061},107058036464325,"508da94f-bb3a-4c2e-a103-9a22048151f3","CATL posts record results as efficiency and capacity expansion drive profit growth","catl-posts-record-results-as-efficiency-and-capacity-expansion-drive-profit-growth","article/catl-posts-record-results-as-efficiency-and-capacity-expansion-drive-profit-growth",{"_uid":7062,"date":7063,"tags":7064,"editor":7071,"content":7075,"excerpt":7255,"featured":51,"reporter":7256,"_editable":7260,"component":697,"seo_title":7261,"categories":7262,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":7267,"featured_image":7269,"seo_description":7274,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":7275},"e8effa87-6ade-4efe-8099-184af54b244b","2025-10-23 00:00",[7065,7068],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},"catl","CATL",{"slug":7069,"name":7070},"financial-markets","Financial Markets",[7072],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7073},{"job_title":557,"image":7074,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":7076},[7077,7082,7087,7123,7128,7158,7193,7198,7206,7211,7216,7250],{"type":591,"attrs":7078,"content":7079},{"textAlign":49},[7080],{"text":7081,"type":596},"In the season of Q3 result releases, battery manufacturer CATL has reported record financial performance. Cumulative revenue from Q1–Q3 rose from RMB259bn ($36bn) in 2024 to RMB283bn ($39.3bn) in 2025, a year‑on‑year increase of 9%. Net profit also rose 41% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, from RMB13.14bn ($1.87bn) to RMB18.55bn ($2.58bn).",{"type":615,"attrs":7083,"content":7084},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7085],{"text":7086,"type":596},"Efficiency gains underpin profit growth",{"type":591,"attrs":7088,"content":7089},{"textAlign":49},[7090,7095,7104,7109,7118],{"text":7091,"type":596,"marks":7092},"Increasing efficiency has played a key role in driving higher net profit. In Q3 2025, CATL's operating margin rose to 17.5%, up from 15% in the same period last year – the highest among the battery makers tracked in ",[7093],{"type":739,"attrs":7094},{"color":6272},{"text":7096,"type":596,"marks":7097},"Benchmark's Profitability Heatmap",[7098,7101,7103],{"type":606,"attrs":7099},{"href":7100,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-do-profit-margins-vary-across-key-battery-producers",{"type":739,"attrs":7102},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7105,"type":596,"marks":7106},". The next-strongest performers, ",[7107],{"type":739,"attrs":7108},{"color":6272},{"text":7110,"type":596,"marks":7111},"LG Energy Solution and CALB",[7112,7115,7117],{"type":606,"attrs":7113},{"href":7114,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/visualising-battery-players-earnings",{"type":739,"attrs":7116},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7119,"type":596,"marks":7120},", posted margins of 8.8% and 7.3% respectively in Q2 2025.",[7121],{"type":739,"attrs":7122},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":7124,"content":7125},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7126],{"text":7127,"type":596},"Capacity expansion supports revenue growth",{"type":591,"attrs":7129,"content":7130},{"textAlign":49},[7131,7140,7145,7153],{"text":7132,"type":596,"marks":7133},"Global capacity expansion",[7134,7137,7139],{"type":606,"attrs":7135},{"href":7136,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-gigafactory-pipeline-hits-300-china-maintains-lead-but-west-gathers-pace",{"type":739,"attrs":7138},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7141,"type":596,"marks":7142}," is also reinforcing CATL's profitability. The company's domestic sites are undergoing major upgrades, with the Jining facility alone expected to add over 100GWh of ",[7143],{"type":739,"attrs":7144},{"color":6272},{"text":7146,"type":596,"marks":7147},"energy storage cell capacity",[7148,7150,7152],{"type":606,"attrs":7149},{"href":6292,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7151},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7154,"type":596,"marks":7155}," by 2026. Overseas, facilities in Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Indonesia are also ramping up production.",[7156],{"type":739,"attrs":7157},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7159,"content":7160},{"textAlign":49},[7161,7166,7175,7180,7189],{"text":7162,"type":596,"marks":7163},"Despite this growth, ",[7164],{"type":739,"attrs":7165},{"color":6272},{"text":7167,"type":596,"marks":7168},"Benchmark's Battery Gigafactory Database Q3 2025",[7169,7172,7174],{"type":606,"attrs":7170},{"href":7171,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/battery-gigafactory/supply-chain-data",{"type":739,"attrs":7173},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7176,"type":596,"marks":7177}," forecasts CATL will account for 36% of global lithium ion cell supply in 2025, down from 39% in 2024, as competitors expand and erode its ",[7178],{"type":739,"attrs":7179},{"color":6272},{"text":7181,"type":596,"marks":7182},"market share",[7183,7186,7188],{"type":606,"attrs":7184},{"href":7185,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/which-companies-control-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-2",{"type":739,"attrs":7187},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7190},[7191],{"type":739,"attrs":7192},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7194,"content":7195},{"textAlign":49},[7196],{"text":7197,"type":596},"Evan Hartley Research Manager at Benchmark commented “Although CATL’s share of supply expected to fall this year, the company very much remains in command of the battery market. Much of the new capacity coming online eroding CATL’s market share is from ambitious, but likely underutilised, project from Tier 2 and 3 producers who are unable to compete with the giant on technical specs or total volume of customers.”",{"type":656,"attrs":7199},{"id":7200,"body":7201},"ff0271dd-ce40-4f98-9fbe-744359cbab3d",[7202],{"id":7203,"_uid":7204,"type":663,"_editable":7205,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25806496","i-db2e0b67-877a-45b9-a1e5-211864f135a3","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-db2e0b67-877a-45b9-a1e5-211864f135a3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":7207,"content":7208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7209],{"text":7210,"type":596},"CATL’s move into heavy-duty electrification and battery swapping",{"type":591,"attrs":7212,"content":7213},{"textAlign":49},[7214],{"text":7215,"type":596},"CATL is strengthening its footprint in the commercial vehicle sector with the launch of the 75# standardised battery‑swap block and Qiji full‑scenario chassis‑swap solution. It has also signed strategic partnerships with JD Group and Sinopec.",{"type":591,"attrs":7217,"content":7218},{"textAlign":49},[7219,7223,7232,7237,7245],{"text":5730,"type":596,"marks":7220},[7221],{"type":739,"attrs":7222},{"color":6272},{"text":7224,"type":596,"marks":7225},"heavy-duty electric vehicle market",[7226,7229,7231],{"type":606,"attrs":7227},{"href":7228,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/growth-in-chinas-heavy-duty-electric-truck-sales-is-outpacing-the-passenger-car-market",{"type":739,"attrs":7230},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7233,"type":596,"marks":7234}," is expanding rapidly; according to ",[7235],{"type":739,"attrs":7236},{"color":6272},{"text":7238,"type":596,"marks":7239},"Benchmark's EV & Battery Forecast",[7240,7242,7244],{"type":606,"attrs":7241},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7243},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7246,"type":596,"marks":7247},", sales in H1 2025 grew 173% year on year, significantly outpacing passenger EV growth.",[7248],{"type":739,"attrs":7249},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7251,"content":7252},{"textAlign":49},[7253],{"text":7254,"type":596},"Additionally, following its agreement with NIO earlier this year, CATL has moved into the passenger‑car battery swapping market. The company has built 700 Choco‑Swap stations across China so far in 2025 and is targeting 1,000 stations by year‑end.","In the season of Q3 result releases, battery manufacturer CATL has reported record financial performance. Cumulative revenue from Q1–Q3 rose from RMB259bn ($36bn) in 2024 to RMB283bn ($39.3bn) in 2025, a year‑on‑year increase of 9%. Net profit also rose 41% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, from RMB13.14bn ($1.87bn) to RMB18.55bn ($2.58bn). Efficiency gains underpin profit growth Increasing efficiency has […]",[7257],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7258},{"job_title":557,"image":7259,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8effa87-6ade-4efe-8099-184af54b244b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","CATL posts record results as efficiency and capacity expansion",[7263,7264,7265,7266],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7268},{},{"id":49,"alt":7270,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":7271,"source":547,"filename":7272,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7273,"is_external_url":51},"CATL Headquarters Image","CATL Headquarters","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/07bea1b5ad/bm-adobestock-729569286-editorial-use-only.jpeg",{"alt":7270,"title":7271,"source":547,"copyright":547},"In the season of Q3 result releases, battery manufacturer CATL has reported record financial performance. Cumulative revenue from Q1–Q3 rose from RMB259bn ($36bn) in 2024 to RMB283bn ($39.3bn) in 2025, a year‑on‑year increase of 9%. Net profit also ...","Oct 23, 2025",{"id":7277,"uuid":7278,"name":7279,"slug":7280,"full_slug":7281,"content":7282},107126173628381,"9c5bd8e3-4a58-4552-b06c-515b5a0173ff","China’s MIIT introduces tougher rules for EVs from 2026","chinas-miit-introduces-tougher-rules-for-evs-from-2026","article/chinas-miit-introduces-tougher-rules-for-evs-from-2026",{"_uid":7283,"date":7284,"tags":7285,"editor":7290,"content":7294,"excerpt":7502,"featured":51,"reporter":7503,"_editable":7507,"component":697,"seo_title":7279,"categories":7508,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":7510,"featured_image":7512,"seo_description":7515,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":7516},"35512dd0-89b3-440d-88a0-f47b822089f5","2025-10-22 00:00",[7286,7287],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":7288,"name":7289},"miit","MIIT",[7291],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7292},{"job_title":557,"image":7293,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":7295},[7296,7329,7337,7385,7393,7439,7447,7452,7457,7462,7467],{"type":591,"attrs":7297,"content":7298},{"textAlign":49},[7299,7304,7312,7317,7325],{"text":7300,"type":596,"marks":7301},"China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled stricter listing requirements for ",[7302],{"type":739,"attrs":7303},{"color":6272},{"text":7305,"type":596,"marks":7306},"new energy vehicles (NEVs)",[7307,7309,7311],{"type":606,"attrs":7308},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7310},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7313,"type":596,"marks":7314},", set to take effect from 2026. Vehicles must meet these revised specifications to qualify for inclusion on the official MIIT listing, a prerequisite for receiving ",[7315],{"type":739,"attrs":7316},{"color":6272},{"text":7318,"type":596,"marks":7319},"favourable tax treatment",[7320,7322,7324],{"type":606,"attrs":7321},{"href":3318,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7323},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7326},[7327],{"type":739,"attrs":7328},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7330,"content":7331},{"textAlign":49},[7332],{"text":7333,"type":596,"marks":7334},"How will the new PHEV rules affect the market?",[7335],{"type":739,"attrs":7336},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7338,"content":7339},{"textAlign":49},[7340,7345,7354,7359,7368,7372,7380],{"text":7341,"type":596,"marks":7342},"From next year, ",[7343],{"type":739,"attrs":7344},{"color":6272},{"text":7346,"type":596,"marks":7347},"plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)",[7348,7351,7353],{"type":606,"attrs":7349},{"href":7350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-2024-was-the-year-of-the-plug-in-hybrid",{"type":739,"attrs":7352},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7355,"type":596,"marks":7356}," will need an all-electric driving range exceeding 100km, more than double the current 43km threshold. The update forms part of a broader tightening of standards for both ",[7357],{"type":739,"attrs":7358},{"color":6272},{"text":7360,"type":596,"marks":7361},"battery electric vehicles (BEVs)",[7362,7365,7367],{"type":606,"attrs":7363},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/ev-battery",{"type":739,"attrs":7366},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":7369},[7370],{"type":739,"attrs":7371},{"color":6272},{"text":7373,"type":596,"marks":7374},"internal combustion engine (ICE)",[7375,7377,7379],{"type":606,"attrs":7376},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7378},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7381,"type":596,"marks":7382}," models. Vehicles that fail to make the MIIT list can still be sold but will incur a higher 10% purchase tax rather than the 5% applicable to listed models.",[7383],{"type":739,"attrs":7384},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7386,"content":7387},{"textAlign":49},[7388],{"text":7389,"type":596,"marks":7390},"Market impact of the new PHEV threshold",[7391],{"type":739,"attrs":7392},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7394,"content":7395},{"textAlign":49},[7396,7401,7409,7414,7422,7427,7435],{"text":7397,"type":596,"marks":7398},"Between January and August, PHEVs accounted for roughly 2.2m units or 29% of ",[7399],{"type":739,"attrs":7400},{"color":6272},{"text":7402,"type":596,"marks":7403},"China's EV sales",[7404,7406,7408],{"type":606,"attrs":7405},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7407},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7410,"type":596,"marks":7411},". Of these, ~72% already meet the forthcoming 100km all-electric range requirement, covering 86 model variants. The remaining 28% of sales, spanning 19 model variants, would no longer qualify for MIIT listing according to ",[7412],{"type":739,"attrs":7413},{"color":6272},{"text":7415,"type":596,"marks":7416},"Benchmark's EV & Battery Database",[7417,7419,7421],{"type":606,"attrs":7418},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7420},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7423,"type":596,"marks":7424}," and therefore lose access to ",[7425],{"type":739,"attrs":7426},{"color":6272},{"text":7428,"type":596,"marks":7429},"tax incentives and potential subsidy support",[7430,7432,7434],{"type":606,"attrs":7431},{"href":3318,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7433},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7436},[7437],{"type":739,"attrs":7438},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":7440},{"id":7441,"body":7442},"20cf4df5-d47d-43ce-805d-c2a7cd98d745",[7443],{"id":7444,"_uid":7445,"type":663,"_editable":7446,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25765892","i-5acb1938-7817-4b38-8338-866d894091f1","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-5acb1938-7817-4b38-8338-866d894091f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7448,"content":7449},{"textAlign":49},[7450],{"text":7451,"type":596},"Stricter standards for BEVs and ICE models",{"type":591,"attrs":7453,"content":7454},{"textAlign":49},[7455],{"text":7456,"type":596},"For BEVs, the revised rules introduce minimum energy consumption limits per 100km travelled, differentiated by vehicle weight category. The MIIT’s objective is to promote improved efficiency across the market and reduce anxiety for consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":7458,"content":7459},{"textAlign":49},[7460],{"text":7461,"type":596},"ICE vehicles face a similar tightening: new minimum fuel-efficiency thresholds by weight class will further push traditional manufacturers towards electrified powertrains.",{"type":591,"attrs":7463,"content":7464},{"textAlign":49},[7465],{"text":7466,"type":596},"Consequences for non-compliant OEMs",{"type":591,"attrs":7468,"content":7469},{"textAlign":49},[7470,7475,7483,7488,7497],{"text":7471,"type":596,"marks":7472},"Although vehicles outside the MIIT list can still be marketed, the tax penalty creates a significant commercial disadvantage. In a market defined by ",[7473],{"type":739,"attrs":7474},{"color":6272},{"text":7476,"type":596,"marks":7477},"intense price competition",[7478,7480,7482],{"type":606,"attrs":7479},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7481},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7484,"type":596,"marks":7485}," and narrow profit margins, the difference between a 5% and 10% purchase tax could materially undermine a model's price competitiveness. In addition, non-listed vehicles are excluded from current ",[7486],{"type":739,"attrs":7487},{"color":6272},{"text":7489,"type":596,"marks":7490},"subsidy schemes",[7491,7494,7496],{"type":606,"attrs":7492},{"href":7493,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-post-subsidy-china-ev-market-look-like",{"type":739,"attrs":7495},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7498,"type":596,"marks":7499},", reducing their appeal among cost-conscious consumers.",[7500],{"type":739,"attrs":7501},{"color":6272},"China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled stricter listing requirements for new energy vehicles (NEVs), set to take effect from 2026. Vehicles must meet these revised specifications to qualify for inclusion on the official MIIT listing, a prerequisite for receiving favourable tax treatment. How will the new PHEV rules affect the market? From […]",[7504],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7505},{"job_title":557,"image":7506,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"35512dd0-89b3-440d-88a0-f47b822089f5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[7509],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7511},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7513,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7514,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/afe693f346/bm-adobestock-628403454-134912269100.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled stricter listing requirements for new energy vehicles (NEVs), set to take effect from 2026. Vehicles must meet these revised specifications to qualify for inclusion on […]","Oct 22, 2025",{"id":7518,"uuid":7519,"name":7520,"slug":7521,"full_slug":7522,"content":7523},107094801717730,"9ffdeb92-3210-4b7b-b561-a1e8669ba26c","LME Week 2025 review: Metal markets navigate policy uncertainty and supply disruptions","lme-week-2025-metal-markets-navigate-policy-uncertainty-supply-disruptions-and-shifting-demand-sentiment","article/lme-week-2025-metal-markets-navigate-policy-uncertainty-supply-disruptions-and-shifting-demand-sentiment",{"_uid":7524,"date":7525,"tags":7526,"editor":7530,"content":7534,"excerpt":7822,"featured":51,"reporter":7823,"_editable":7827,"component":697,"seo_title":7828,"categories":7829,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":7835,"featured_image":7837,"seo_description":7840,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":7841},"8456bb09-bd41-480a-b19b-6b2591b9565a","2025-10-21 00:00",[7527],{"slug":7528,"name":7529},"lme-week","LME week",[7531],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7532},{"job_title":557,"image":7533,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":7535},[7536,7541,7546,7563,7583,7591,7599,7627,7662,7667,7689,7711,7719,7724,7729,7734,7739,7744,7752,7757,7762,7783,7804,7812,7817],{"type":591,"attrs":7537,"content":7538},{"textAlign":49},[7539],{"text":7540,"type":596},"As the dust settles on LME Week in London, Benchmark reviews some of the key themes that shaped discussions throughout the week and gauges sentiment across metal markets heading towards year end. Across the board, discussions reflected metal markets navigating shifting trade policy, supply-side disruption, and uneven demand recovery.",{"type":615,"attrs":7542,"content":7543},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7544],{"text":7545,"type":596},"Copper: Arbitrage and disruption dominate discussion",{"type":591,"attrs":7547,"content":7548},{"textAlign":49},[7549,7558],{"text":7550,"type":596,"marks":7551},"The CME–LME copper arbitrage",[7552,7555,7557],{"type":606,"attrs":7553},{"href":7554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lme-cme-arbitrage-continues-to-be-broad-on-forward-curve",{"type":739,"attrs":7556},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7559,"type":596,"marks":7560}," remained one of the week's headline themes. Despite the US choosing not to impose copper cathode tariffs, the spread has stayed unusually wide.",[7561],{"type":739,"attrs":7562},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7564,"content":7565},{"textAlign":49},[7566,7571,7579],{"text":7567,"type":596,"marks":7568},"After cathode was excluded from tariff measures, the arbitrage narrowed from over $2,500/t to ~$100/t before rebounding above $300/t. Market sources attributed this to a lingering expectation that tariffs could still come into effect, potentially phased in from early 2027 at 15%, and to CME participants pricing in domestic supply risks, notably the ",[7569],{"type":739,"attrs":7570},{"color":6272},{"text":7572,"type":596,"marks":7573},"Grasberg disruption",[7574,7576,7578],{"type":606,"attrs":7575},{"href":5891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7577},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7580},[7581],{"type":739,"attrs":7582},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":7584},{"id":7585,"body":7586},"4c680734-d1e9-4029-beb3-56c69cebd028",[7587],{"id":7588,"_uid":7589,"type":663,"_editable":7590,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25337432","i-8147c13b-c623-412d-b2fb-dc599e927845","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8147c13b-c623-412d-b2fb-dc599e927845\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7592,"content":7593},{"textAlign":49},[7594],{"text":7595,"type":596,"marks":7596},"The US remains the preferred destination for refined copper, with expectations that inflows will continue while the arbitrage persists, even if this leaves material \"economically stranded\" in US warehouses until stocks draw down or non-US premiums recover.",[7597],{"type":739,"attrs":7598},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7600,"content":7601},{"textAlign":49},[7602,7610,7615,7623],{"text":7603,"type":596,"marks":7604},"Mine disruptions at Grasberg, Kamoa Kakula, and El Teniente",[7605,7607,7609],{"type":606,"attrs":7606},{"href":4663,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7608},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7611,"type":596,"marks":7612}," also featured heavily. Benchmark forecasts production losses totalling 591kt and 295kt across 2025–26 at Grasberg and Kamoa Kakula respectively. Market participants noted rising regional tightness in refined supply, with ",[7613],{"type":739,"attrs":7614},{"color":6272},{"text":7616,"type":596,"marks":7617},"Southeast Asian premiums increasing by $40/t and European premiums following suit",[7618,7620,7622],{"type":606,"attrs":7619},{"href":4698,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7621},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7624},[7625],{"type":739,"attrs":7626},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7628,"content":7629},{"textAlign":49},[7630,7635,7644,7649,7657],{"text":7631,"type":596,"marks":7632},"Smelters faced renewed scrutiny amid expectations that the ",[7633],{"type":739,"attrs":7634},{"color":6272},{"text":7636,"type":596,"marks":7637},"copper concentrate treatment charge (TC) benchmark",[7638,7641,7643],{"type":606,"attrs":7639},{"href":7640,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-smelters-reportedly-agree-to-record-low-copper-concentrate-tc-rcs",{"type":739,"attrs":7642},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7645,"type":596,"marks":7646}," could fall close to $0/t, further tightening margins. Sources suggested ",[7647],{"type":739,"attrs":7648},{"color":6272},{"text":7650,"type":596,"marks":7651},"tolling or spot-linked models",[7652,7654,7656],{"type":606,"attrs":7653},{"href":4674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7655},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7658,"type":596,"marks":7659}," may increasingly replace benchmark contracts as traditional smelting economics come under strain.",[7660],{"type":739,"attrs":7661},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":7663,"content":7664},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7665],{"text":7666,"type":596},"Lithium: Cautious optimism, but China’s capacity weighs",{"type":591,"attrs":7668,"content":7669},{"textAlign":49},[7670,7675,7684],{"text":7671,"type":596,"marks":7672},"Sentiment toward lithium was cautiously optimistic. In particular, ",[7673],{"type":739,"attrs":7674},{"color":6272},{"text":7676,"type":596,"marks":7677},"demand from energy storage systems (ESS) is buoyant",[7678,7681,7683],{"type":606,"attrs":7679},{"href":7680,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-lithium-ion-battery-demand-rose-29-in-2025",{"type":739,"attrs":7682},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7685,"type":596,"marks":7686},", supporting prices into year end, though China's latent capacity is expected to the market rangebound in the months ahead.",[7687],{"type":739,"attrs":7688},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7690,"content":7691},{"textAlign":49},[7692,7697,7706],{"text":7693,"type":596,"marks":7694},"Market participants noted that strong spodumene appetite continues amid limited lepidolite supply from Jiangxi. Attention turned to ",[7695],{"type":739,"attrs":7696},{"color":6272},{"text":7698,"type":596,"marks":7699},"CATL's Jianxiawo mine",[7700,7703,7705],{"type":606,"attrs":7701},{"href":7702,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/restart-of-catls-jianxiawo-lithium-mine-may-be-delayed-tightening-balance",{"type":739,"attrs":7704},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7707,"type":596,"marks":7708},", with its start-up – whether as soon as next month or delayed to early Q1 26 – likely to influence short-term pricing.",[7709],{"type":739,"attrs":7710},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":7712},{"id":7713,"body":7714},"ed52a656-4d80-4984-9861-adeb67d3b6ff",[7715],{"id":7716,"_uid":7717,"type":663,"_editable":7718,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25759610","i-e1ce7ed2-b5f5-4f07-aad6-4c17ec06aeef","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e1ce7ed2-b5f5-4f07-aad6-4c17ec06aeef\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7720,"content":7721},{"textAlign":49},[7722],{"text":7723,"type":596},"There was broad consensus that the typical seasonal slowdown in Q1 will be observed next year. A rockier picture than hoped was also painted by some regarding EV demand in 2026. Spot markets outside of China remains thinly traded, with limited signs of this picking up in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":7725,"content":7726},{"textAlign":49},[7727],{"text":7728,"type":596},"Policy shifts also featured prominently, with China’s precursor (pCAM) and cathode active material (CAM) export licence requirements, and the US’s on‑off tariff threats, framing broader uncertainty in trade sentiment.",{"type":615,"attrs":7730,"content":7731},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7732],{"text":7733,"type":596},"Nickel: Persistent oversupply weighs on outlook",{"type":591,"attrs":7735,"content":7736},{"textAlign":49},[7737],{"text":7738,"type":596},"Nickel discussions carried a bearish tone, with broad consensus that oversupply remains entrenched, driven by relentless growth in Indonesian production. Although rising costs may pressure weaker nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel (FeNi) producers, few expect meaningful curtailments in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":7740,"content":7741},{"textAlign":49},[7742],{"text":7743,"type":596},"Market participants noted that, without decisive Indonesian government intervention – such as export restrictions modelled on the DRC – the surplus will continue. While the long‑term demand outlook from the stainless steel and battery sectors remains robust, confidence that demand fundamentals will shift the short‑term market balance is minimal. ",{"type":656,"attrs":7745},{"id":7746,"body":7747},"0fbc7667-e2bc-435c-8f2e-dd5a0c29ccf6",[7748],{"id":7749,"_uid":7750,"type":663,"_editable":7751,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25759724","i-c4746786-55d8-47a0-9830-a227cc025903","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c4746786-55d8-47a0-9830-a227cc025903\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7753,"content":7754},{"textAlign":49},[7755],{"text":7756,"type":596},"Indonesia continues to invest in downstreaming, but concerns remain around the pace of ESG improvements and the complexity of meeting international standards. Meanwhile, financing and bringing new, non-Indonesian supply online remains extremely challenging. ",{"type":615,"attrs":7758,"content":7759},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[7760],{"text":7761,"type":596},"Cobalt: Export quotas and restocking fuel bullish sentiment",{"type":591,"attrs":7763,"content":7764},{"textAlign":49},[7765,7770,7778],{"text":7766,"type":596,"marks":7767},"In contrast, cobalt discussions were dominated by ",[7768],{"type":739,"attrs":7769},{"color":6272},{"text":7771,"type":596,"marks":7772},"rapid price gains, particularly for cobalt hydroxide, which rose by about $1/lb daily through the week",[7773,7775,7777],{"type":606,"attrs":7774},{"href":6863,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7776},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7779,"type":596,"marks":7780},", surpassing cobalt metal.",[7781],{"type":739,"attrs":7782},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7784,"content":7785},{"textAlign":49},[7786,7791,7799],{"text":7787,"type":596,"marks":7788},"Traders reported robust demand from Chinese refiners for both cobalt metal and cobalt hydroxide, due to the ",[7789],{"type":739,"attrs":7790},{"color":6272},{"text":7792,"type":596,"marks":7793},"expected delays in material leaving the DRC",[7794,7796,7798],{"type":606,"attrs":7795},{"href":6920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7797},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7800,"type":596,"marks":7801}," and Q4 typically being the strongest downstream demand period of the year.",[7802],{"type":739,"attrs":7803},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":7805},{"id":7806,"body":7807},"7539850b-1ad2-4dcb-b953-cf7c5f51aae1",[7808],{"id":7809,"_uid":7810,"type":663,"_editable":7811,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25259075","i-611dd96f-635d-4db1-a008-284a9d299598","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-611dd96f-635d-4db1-a008-284a9d299598\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7813,"content":7814},{"textAlign":49},[7815],{"text":7816,"type":596},"Material is not expected to reach China until February, prolonging tightness through Q4. Estimates on ex‑DRC stocks vary widely – from 40kt to 100kt – but much of this inventory is reportedly concentrated among a few major players, most notably Glencore.",{"type":591,"attrs":7818,"content":7819},{"textAlign":49},[7820],{"text":7821,"type":596},"Overall sentiment was strongly bullish for cobalt into year end, with further restocking rounds anticipated and potential for additional price spikes.","As the dust settles on LME Week in London, Benchmark reviews some of the key themes that shaped discussions throughout the week and gauges sentiment across metal markets heading towards year end. Across the board, discussions reflected metal markets navigating shifting trade policy, supply-side disruption, and uneven demand recovery. Copper: Arbitrage and disruption dominate discussion […]",[7824],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7825},{"job_title":557,"image":7826,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8456bb09-bd41-480a-b19b-6b2591b9565a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","LME Week 2025 : Metal markets navigate policy uncertainty",[7830,7831,7832,7833,7834],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7836},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7838,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":7839,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f5bfabdcd/bm-uk-parliament-big-bn.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"As the dust settles on LME Week in London, Benchmark reviews some of the key themes that shaped discussions throughout the week and gauges sentiment across metal markets heading towards year end.  […]","Oct 21, 2025",{"id":7843,"uuid":7844,"name":7845,"slug":7846,"full_slug":7847,"content":7848},107066120445079,"2cd8dd44-450a-4d05-a49a-81715d0e59f6","US and Australia sign landmark Critical Minerals Framework","us-and-australia-sign-landmark-critical-minerals-framework","article/us-and-australia-sign-landmark-critical-minerals-framework",{"_uid":7849,"date":7525,"tags":7850,"editor":7856,"content":7860,"excerpt":8127,"featured":51,"reporter":8128,"_editable":8132,"component":697,"seo_title":7845,"categories":8133,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":8143,"featured_image":8145,"seo_description":8148,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":7841},"6da5c62d-d7fe-4693-a9f9-5777450b4176",[7851,7854,7855],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},"australia","Australia",{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[7857],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":7858},{"job_title":557,"image":7859,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":7861},[7862,7911,7932,7940,7962,8005,8010,8015,8020,8068,8089,8106,8120],{"type":591,"attrs":7863,"content":7864},{"textAlign":49},[7865,7870,7879,7884,7893,7898,7907],{"text":7866,"type":596,"marks":7867},"US President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a landmark Critical Minerals Framework to bolster both nations' access to ",[7868],{"type":739,"attrs":7869},{"color":6272},{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":7872},"rare earths",[7873,7876,7878],{"type":606,"attrs":7874},{"href":7875,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-chinas-rare-earths-monopoly",{"type":739,"attrs":7877},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7880,"type":596,"marks":7881}," and other ",[7882],{"type":739,"attrs":7883},{"color":6272},{"text":7885,"type":596,"marks":7886},"critical minerals",[7887,7890,7892],{"type":606,"attrs":7888},{"href":7889,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-would-60-days-of-us-battery-minerals-cost-in-2026-",{"type":739,"attrs":7891},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7894,"type":596,"marks":7895},", in an effort to counter ",[7896],{"type":739,"attrs":7897},{"color":6272},{"text":7899,"type":596,"marks":7900},"China's dominance over strategically important supply chains",[7901,7904,7906],{"type":606,"attrs":7902},{"href":7903,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-rare-earths-export-controls-ahead-of-us-trade-talks",{"type":739,"attrs":7905},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":7908},[7909],{"type":739,"attrs":7910},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7912,"content":7913},{"textAlign":49},[7914,7919,7927],{"text":7915,"type":596,"marks":7916},"The framework indicates that the two governments will utilise a range of policy instruments to strengthen supply chains, including ",[7917],{"type":739,"attrs":7918},{"color":6272},{"text":7920,"type":596,"marks":7921},"strategic stockpiling",[7922,7924,7926],{"type":606,"attrs":7923},{"href":7889,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7925},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7928,"type":596,"marks":7929},", price-support mechanisms, permitting reforms, and financing through direct equity investments or loans. It also includes measures to curb China's acquisition of critical mineral assets, both in domestic markets and in third-party countries.",[7930],{"type":739,"attrs":7931},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":7933},{"id":7934,"body":7935},"63e4422a-edd2-4484-b603-ec6e73a497e8",[7936],{"id":7937,"_uid":7938,"type":663,"_editable":7939,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21180863","i-b8ab522e-35b3-46d4-83d6-acc3d3d6ef4b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b8ab522e-35b3-46d4-83d6-acc3d3d6ef4b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":7941,"content":7942},{"textAlign":49},[7943,7948,7957],{"text":7944,"type":596,"marks":7945},"Although details of the pact remain limited, the US and Australia have each agreed to invest at least $1bn over the next six months to fast-track project development. This includes a $200m equity investment in a West Australian gallium plant and $100m stake in ",[7946],{"type":739,"attrs":7947},{"color":6272},{"text":7949,"type":596,"marks":7950},"Arafura Rare Earths' Nolans mine",[7951,7954,7956],{"type":606,"attrs":7952},{"href":7953,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australia-leads-upstream-rare-earth-financing-efforts",{"type":739,"attrs":7955},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7958,"type":596,"marks":7959},". Prime Minister Albanese suggested that Australia has a pipeline of projects worth ~$8.5bn \"ready to go.\"",[7960],{"type":739,"attrs":7961},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":7963,"content":7964},{"textAlign":49},[7965,7974,7979,7987,7992,8001],{"text":7966,"type":596,"marks":7967},"US intervention in critical mineral markets",[7968,7971,7973],{"type":606,"attrs":7969},{"href":7970,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-the-us-embarking-on-a-critical-mineral-spending-spree",{"type":739,"attrs":7972},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7975,"type":596,"marks":7976}," has accelerated since China imposed ",[7977],{"type":739,"attrs":7978},{"color":6272},{"text":7980,"type":596,"marks":7981},"export controls on rare earth elements",[7982,7984,7986],{"type":606,"attrs":7983},{"href":7903,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":7985},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":7988,"type":596,"marks":7989}," that underpin key defence technologies in response to US tariffs. Last week, Beijing announced it would escalate controls on rare earths and associated technologies – covering Chinese intellectual property – as well as ",[7990],{"type":739,"attrs":7991},{"color":6272},{"text":7993,"type":596,"marks":7994},"lithium ion batteries, cathode active materials (CAM), and anode active materials (AAM)",[7995,7998,8000],{"type":606,"attrs":7996},{"href":7997,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-extends-export-controls-to-lithium-ion-batteries-and-battery-materials",{"type":739,"attrs":7999},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":8002},[8003],{"type":739,"attrs":8004},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8006,"content":8007},{"textAlign":49},[8008],{"text":8009,"type":596},"In a separate announcement, the US Export-Import Bank – the US government’s export credit agency – issued seven letters of interest worth more than $2.2bn to support critical minerals projects in Australia. Letters went to Arafura Rare Earths, Northern Minerals, Graphinex, Latrobe Magnesium, RZ Resources, and Sunrise Energy Metals.",{"type":615,"attrs":8011,"content":8012},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[8013],{"text":8014,"type":596},"Price-support mechanisms could underpin US–Australia agreement",{"type":591,"attrs":8016,"content":8017},{"textAlign":49},[8018],{"text":8019,"type":596},"China-led low-price environments across critical mineral markets are hampering Western efforts to strengthen supply security, as challenging market conditions make it difficult to attract the capital required to fund project development.",{"type":591,"attrs":8021,"content":8022},{"textAlign":49},[8023,8027,8036,8041,8050,8055,8064],{"text":3729,"type":596,"marks":8024},[8025],{"type":739,"attrs":8026},{"color":6272},{"text":8028,"type":596,"marks":8029},"weakened nickel prices",[8030,8033,8035],{"type":606,"attrs":8031},{"href":8032,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/more-than-20-of-nickel-supply-loss-making-at-current-prices-benchmark-analysis-shows",{"type":739,"attrs":8034},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8037,"type":596,"marks":8038}," since 2023 have led to a series of closures in the Australian nickel industry, resulting in the loss of more than 70% of the country's annual output between 2023–25, according to the ",[8039],{"type":739,"attrs":8040},{"color":6272},{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":8043},"Benchmark Nickel Forecast",[8044,8047,8049],{"type":606,"attrs":8045},{"href":8046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/supply-chain-data",{"type":739,"attrs":8048},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8051,"type":596,"marks":8052},". This includes the closure of Australia's largest nickel mining and refining complex, ",[8053],{"type":739,"attrs":8054},{"color":6272},{"text":8056,"type":596,"marks":8057},"BHP Nickel West",[8058,8061,8063],{"type":606,"attrs":8059},{"href":8060,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bhp-nickel-west-closure-deals-blow-to-australias-nickel-industry",{"type":739,"attrs":8062},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":8065},[8066],{"type":739,"attrs":8067},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8069,"content":8070},{"textAlign":49},[8071,8076,8084],{"text":8072,"type":596,"marks":8073},"The US set a precedent for minimum price floors – under which the government covers the difference once market prices fall below a defined threshold – as part of its ",[8074],{"type":739,"attrs":8075},{"color":6272},{"text":8077,"type":596,"marks":8078},"investment in MP Materials",[8079,8081,8083],{"type":606,"attrs":8080},{"href":6686,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8082},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8085,"type":596,"marks":8086}," earlier this year; a move that sent strong price signals to the wider ex-China rare earths market. Such mechanisms help to improve the bankability of projects by providing visibility on future revenues, making them more economically attractive to investors.",[8087],{"type":739,"attrs":8088},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8090,"content":8091},{"textAlign":49},[8092,8101],{"text":8093,"type":596,"marks":8094},"G7 countries and the European Union",[8095,8098,8100],{"type":606,"attrs":8096},{"href":8097,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/g7-and-eu-weigh-price-floors-to-counter-chinas-rare-earth-dominance",{"type":739,"attrs":8099},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8102,"type":596,"marks":8103}," are reportedly considering extending the MP Materials blueprint to support project development more broadly, as they seek to fast track their own supply security ambitions.",[8104],{"type":739,"attrs":8105},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8107,"content":8108},{"textAlign":49},[8109,8113],{"text":8110,"type":596,"marks":8111},"The diversification of rare earths supply chains will take centre stage across a number of sessions at Benchmark Week 2025. Join us to gain expert insights from market leaders from the International Seabed Authority, U.S. Department of the Interior, MP Materials, and more. ",[8112],{"type":1006},{"text":8114,"type":596,"marks":8115},"View the agenda.",[8116,8119],{"type":606,"attrs":8117},{"href":8118,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/benchmark-week/agenda",{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":8121,"content":8122},{"textAlign":49},[8123],{"type":836,"attrs":8124},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":8125,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":8126},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/89055461b8/bm-social-banner-2.png",{},"US President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a landmark Critical Minerals Framework to bolster both nations’ access to rare earths and other critical minerals, in an effort to counter China’s dominance over strategically important supply chains. The framework indicates that the two governments will utilise a range of policy instruments to […]",[8129],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8130},{"job_title":557,"image":8131,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6da5c62d-d7fe-4693-a9f9-5777450b4176\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[8134,8135,8136,8137,8138,8139,8140,8141,8142],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8144},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8146,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8147,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/79d2409f6c/bm-shutterstock-2092448815-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"US President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a landmark Critical Minerals Framework to bolster both nations’ access to rare earths and other critical minerals, in an effort to counter China’s dominance […]",{"id":8150,"uuid":8151,"name":8152,"slug":8153,"full_slug":8154,"content":8155},112398685422200,"b1812932-00f2-4d7b-b981-b2e774058ff0","Copper sellers explore tolling contracts amid record-low TCs","copper-sellers-explore-tolling-contracts-amid-record-low-tcs","article/copper-sellers-explore-tolling-contracts-amid-record-low-tcs",{"_uid":8156,"date":8157,"tags":8158,"editor":8161,"content":8165,"excerpt":8364,"featured":50,"reporter":8365,"_editable":8369,"component":697,"seo_title":8152,"categories":8370,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":8373,"featured_image":8375,"seo_description":8378,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8379},"9e95d749-d596-43b3-bc1c-7a93f89af714","2025-10-17 00:00",[8159],{"slug":8160,"name":8160},"prices",[8162],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8163},{"job_title":557,"image":8164,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":8166},[8167,8189,8224,8232,8240,8287,8295,8303,8311,8332,8353],{"type":591,"attrs":8168,"content":8169},{"textAlign":49},[8170,8175,8184],{"text":8171,"type":596,"marks":8172},"Multiple ",[8173],{"type":739,"attrs":8174},{"color":6272},{"text":8176,"type":596,"marks":8177},"copper sellers",[8178,8181,8183],{"type":606,"attrs":8179},{"href":8180,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/high-metal-prices-and-by-product-gains-increasing-copper-miners-margins",{"type":739,"attrs":8182},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8185,"type":596,"marks":8186},", including miners and traders, are reportedly in discussions with smelters to provide material under \"tolling\"-style contracts, several sources – some with direct knowledge of the talks – have told Benchmark.",[8187],{"type":739,"attrs":8188},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8190,"content":8191},{"textAlign":49},[8192,8197,8205,8210,8219],{"text":8193,"type":596,"marks":8194},"Market sources said ",[8195],{"type":739,"attrs":8196},{"color":6272},{"text":8198,"type":596,"marks":8199},"historically low treatment charges (TCs)",[8200,8202,8204],{"type":606,"attrs":8201},{"href":7640,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8203},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8206,"type":596,"marks":8207}," have forced sellers to seek alternatives to the ",[8208],{"type":739,"attrs":8209},{"color":6272},{"text":8211,"type":596,"marks":8212},"conventional treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) contract structure",[8213,8216,8218],{"type":606,"attrs":8214},{"href":8215,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/copper-concentrate-tc-rcs-for-smelters-flatten",{"type":739,"attrs":8217},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8220,"type":596,"marks":8221}," in an attempt to bolster profitability, with \"virtual tolling\" being mooted.",[8222],{"type":739,"attrs":8223},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8225,"content":8226},{"textAlign":49},[8227],{"text":8228,"type":596,"marks":8229},"Benchmark understands that multiple offers of this style of contract have been proposed to ex-China smelters. While it is not yet clear how receptive smelters are to such contracts, at least one smelter is understood to be interested in securing contracts via tolling.",[8230],{"type":739,"attrs":8231},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8233,"content":8234},{"textAlign":49},[8235],{"text":8236,"type":596,"marks":8237},"\"Some customers are happy to take toll contracts if they can get the units,\" said one sell-side market source.",[8238],{"type":739,"attrs":8239},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8241,"content":8242},{"textAlign":49},[8243,8248,8257,8262,8270,8274,8283],{"text":8244,"type":596,"marks":8245},"Under a tolling arrangement, smelters would receive higher TC/RCs but would not market the material; instead, that ",[8246],{"type":739,"attrs":8247},{"color":6272},{"text":8249,"type":596,"marks":8250},"refined copper",[8251,8254,8256],{"type":606,"attrs":8252},{"href":8253,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/what-is-copper",{"type":739,"attrs":8255},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8258,"type":596,"marks":8259}," would be returned to the concentrate seller, who would then handle the marketing. This means smelters would receive far higher TCs, but lose access to ",[8260],{"type":739,"attrs":8261},{"color":6272},{"text":8263,"type":596,"marks":8264},"premiums",[8265,8267,8269],{"type":606,"attrs":8266},{"href":4698,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8268},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":8271},[8272],{"type":739,"attrs":8273},{"color":6272},{"text":8275,"type":596,"marks":8276},"arbitrage opportunities",[8277,8280,8282],{"type":606,"attrs":8278},{"href":8279,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-coppers-shifting-trade-flows",{"type":739,"attrs":8281},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":8284},[8285],{"type":739,"attrs":8286},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8288,"content":8289},{"textAlign":49},[8290],{"text":8291,"type":596,"marks":8292},"Many participants noted that such contracts represent a last resort, with one sell-side source describing them as \"a hail mary\".",[8293],{"type":739,"attrs":8294},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8296,"content":8297},{"textAlign":49},[8298],{"text":8299,"type":596,"marks":8300},"Other market participants considered the proposal a means to improve optics, noting that gaining on TCs only to lose on premiums amounts to moving money \"from one hand to the other\" rather than improving business fundamentals.",[8301],{"type":739,"attrs":8302},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8304,"content":8305},{"textAlign":49},[8306],{"text":8307,"type":596,"marks":8308},"However, multiple sources also said that such contracts could strengthen balance sheets by allowing smelters to boost capacity utilisation rates and record positive TCs in their accounts. One trader source noted that higher utilisation rates could lower overall operating costs.",[8309],{"type":739,"attrs":8310},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8312,"content":8313},{"textAlign":49},[8314,8319,8327],{"text":8315,"type":596,"marks":8316},"Several sources added that ",[8317],{"type":739,"attrs":8318},{"color":6272},{"text":8320,"type":596,"marks":8321},"tight market conditions",[8322,8324,8326],{"type":606,"attrs":8323},{"href":4663,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8325},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8328,"type":596,"marks":8329}," are making both sides of the trade more creative, with one commenting that smelters welcomed sellers' willingness to discuss the smelters' concerns and explore alternative contract structures.",[8330],{"type":739,"attrs":8331},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8333,"content":8334},{"textAlign":49},[8335,8340,8348],{"text":8336,"type":596,"marks":8337},"To learn more about ",[8338],{"type":739,"attrs":8339},{"color":6272},{"text":8341,"type":596,"marks":8342},"Benchmark's copper market coverage",[8343,8345,8347],{"type":606,"attrs":8344},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8346},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8349,"type":596,"marks":8350}," please fill out the form below.",[8351],{"type":739,"attrs":8352},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":8354},{"id":8355,"body":8356},"da26439b-ef88-49db-848b-75a73a32c7ca",[8357],{"id":1012,"_uid":8358,"_editable":8359,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":8360,"success_file":8361,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":8363},"i-49372a9a-4dc0-4fcd-8d98-1c8a79c86d8f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-49372a9a-4dc0-4fcd-8d98-1c8a79c86d8f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8362},{},[],"Multiple copper sellers, including miners and traders, are reportedly in discussions with smelters to provide material under “tolling”-style contracts, several sources – some with direct knowledge of the talks – have told Benchmark. Market sources said historically low treatment charges (TCs) have forced sellers to seek alternatives to the conventional treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) […]",[8366],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8367},{"job_title":557,"image":8368,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9e95d749-d596-43b3-bc1c-7a93f89af714\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[8371,8372],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8374},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8376,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8377,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1e28fd00ca/bm-shutterstock-2317356159.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Multiple copper sellers, including miners and traders, are reportedly in discussions with smelters to provide material under “tolling”-style contracts, several sources – some with direct knowledge of the talks – have told Benchmark.  […]","Oct 17, 2025",{"id":8381,"uuid":8382,"name":8383,"slug":8384,"full_slug":8385,"content":8386},106706038475435,"8f7af20d-9524-4ec4-be6e-42a3d604f1d8","CODELCO raise European copper cathode premium offers to record levels","codelco-raise-european-copper-cathode-premium-offers-to-record-levels","article/codelco-raise-european-copper-cathode-premium-offers-to-record-levels",{"_uid":8387,"date":8388,"tags":8389,"editor":8393,"content":8397,"excerpt":8521,"featured":50,"reporter":8522,"_editable":8526,"component":697,"seo_title":8527,"categories":8528,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":8531,"featured_image":8533,"seo_description":8536,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8537},"661deba7-319c-42aa-b616-dc161180dcb0","2025-10-16 00:00",[8390,8391,8392],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":5568,"name":5569},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[8394],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8395},{"job_title":557,"image":8396,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":8398},[8399,8404,8425,8433,8467,8472,8477,8482,8494,8499,8504,8510],{"type":591,"attrs":8400,"content":8401},{"textAlign":49},[8402],{"text":8403,"type":596},"CODELCO, the Chilean state-owned copper miner, has reportedly offered their European customers record premiums on copper cathodes at USD 325/t for 2026 – 39% higher than last year’s level – according to sources familiar with the matter and media reports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8405,"content":8406},{"textAlign":49},[8407,8412,8420],{"text":8408,"type":596,"marks":8409},"This follows on from news last week that ",[8410],{"type":739,"attrs":8411},{"color":6272},{"text":8413,"type":596,"marks":8414},"Aurubis increased offers 38% for 2026",[8415,8417,8419],{"type":606,"attrs":8416},{"href":5607,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8418},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8421,"type":596,"marks":8422},", leaving market sources unsurprised by CODELCO's offer during LME week.",[8423],{"type":739,"attrs":8424},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":8426},{"id":8427,"body":8428},"09861361-da5d-4bad-98ea-18b54e3c3d6e",[8429],{"id":8430,"_uid":8431,"type":663,"_editable":8432,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25677995","i-5464d344-9d4b-439d-9399-f4f044d3ba66","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-5464d344-9d4b-439d-9399-f4f044d3ba66\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":8434,"content":8435},{"textAlign":49},[8436,8441,8449,8454,8462],{"text":8437,"type":596,"marks":8438},"Sources noted that, with smelters under pressure from ",[8439],{"type":739,"attrs":8440},{"color":6272},{"text":8442,"type":596,"marks":8443},"negative treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs)",[8444,8446,8448],{"type":606,"attrs":8445},{"href":7640,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8447},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8450,"type":596,"marks":8451},", as well as the ",[8452],{"type":739,"attrs":8453},{"color":6272},{"text":8455,"type":596,"marks":8456},"arbitrage between the CME and LME copper benchmarks",[8457,8459,8461],{"type":606,"attrs":8458},{"href":7554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8460},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8463,"type":596,"marks":8464}," sustaining, the premium offer increase was a reflection of the market's underlying fundamentals.",[8465],{"type":739,"attrs":8466},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8468,"content":8469},{"textAlign":49},[8470],{"text":8471,"type":596},"“People want long term, they want that security,” said one European copper producer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8473,"content":8474},{"textAlign":49},[8475],{"text":8476,"type":596}," “They [cathode producers] can increase the premium because TCs are increasing and the arbitrage is still a factor and will be for a while,” said a European copper trader. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8478,"content":8479},{"textAlign":49},[8480],{"text":8481,"type":596},"Sources told Benchmark that despite the increases in premium levels, many participants were still keen to lock in long-term contracts. In fact, multiple European cathode market participants noted that demand for long-term contracts was stronger this year than last. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8483,"content":8484},{"textAlign":49},[8485,8487,8492],{"text":8486,"type":596},"In addition, low LME stocks in Europe and ",{"text":8488,"type":596,"marks":8489},"recent disruption at Freeport McMoRan’s (Freeport) Grasberg mine in Indonesia",[8490],{"type":606,"attrs":8491},{"href":5891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":8493,"type":596}," – although not a significant supplier to the European cathode market – are adding to perceptions of a tight European cathode market next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":8495,"content":8496},{"textAlign":49},[8497],{"text":8498,"type":596},"Last year, long term copper cathode contract discussions were subdued by low premiums on spot sales heading into LME week, but also uncertainty around demand. In contrast, multiple market sources noted that there is now concern in Europe about potential tightness later in 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8500,"content":8501},{"textAlign":49},[8502],{"text":8503,"type":596},"Matrket sources also reported on Monday that Montanwerke Brixlegg had offered its customers its “BRX GREEN” copper cathodes, sold in Europe with high focus on sustainability at €355/t FCA Brixlegg.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":8505,"content":8506},{"textAlign":49},[8507],{"text":5915,"type":596,"marks":8508},[8509],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":8511},{"id":8512,"body":8513},"43aac999-6870-4ab1-836b-fa93612f0adb",[8514],{"id":1012,"_uid":8515,"_editable":8516,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":8517,"success_file":8518,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":8520},"i-fff12547-f6fa-458a-997f-2a29b0720a4b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-fff12547-f6fa-458a-997f-2a29b0720a4b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8519},{},[],"CODELCO, the Chilean state-owned copper miner, has reportedly offered their European customers record premiums on copper cathodes at USD 325/t for 2026 – 39% higher than last year’s level – according to sources familiar with the matter and media reports. This follows on from news last week that Aurubis increased offers 38% for 2026, leaving […]",[8523],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8524},{"job_title":557,"image":8525,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"661deba7-319c-42aa-b616-dc161180dcb0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","CODELCO raise European copper cathode premium offers to record ",[8529,8530],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8532},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8535,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5222d00d80/bm-glencore-copper-anodes-at-lomas-bayas-chile.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"CODELCO, the Chilean state-owned copper miner, has reportedly offered their European customers record premiums on copper cathodes at USD 325/t for 2026 – 39% higher than last year’s level – according  […]","Oct 16, 2025",{"id":8539,"uuid":8540,"name":8541,"slug":8542,"full_slug":8543,"content":8544},112398707020411,"7e08a06e-f141-4ace-b5e6-7568f3c6d5cf","Record monthly EV sales, breaking the two million mark","record-monthly-ev-sales-breaking-the-two-million-mark","article/record-monthly-ev-sales-breaking-the-two-million-mark",{"_uid":8545,"date":8546,"tags":8547,"editor":8548,"content":8552,"excerpt":8813,"featured":51,"reporter":8814,"_editable":8818,"component":697,"seo_title":8541,"categories":8819,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":8821,"featured_image":8823,"seo_description":8826,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8827},"ad13d420-dc4b-4dce-9d4c-4829141b81b7","2025-10-15 00:00",[],[8549],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8550},{"job_title":557,"image":8551,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":8553},[8554,8570,8572,8576,8578,8583,8585,8590,8592,8599,8603,8605,8610,8644,8666,8687,8689,8693,8695,8731,8736,8741,8743,8747,8749,8778,8786,8788,8793,8798,8803,8808],{"type":591,"attrs":8555,"content":8556},{"textAlign":49},[8557,8565],{"text":8558,"type":596,"marks":8559},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company",[8560,8562,8564],{"type":606,"attrs":8561},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8563},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8566,"type":596,"marks":8567}," specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in September 2025, the highest monthly total on record.",[8568],{"type":739,"attrs":8569},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8571},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8573,"content":8574},{"textAlign":49},[8575],{"text":5187,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8577},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8579,"content":8580},{"textAlign":49},[8581],{"text":8582,"type":596},"“Global EV sales topped two million units in a single month for the first time, driven by record-breaking demand across major markets. The US surged ahead as buyers raced to claim expiring tax credits, the UK hit new highs on the back of fresh registration plates and the Electric Car Grant, and South Korea set records thanks to Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, and rising BYD imports. Year to date, EV sales have reached 14.7 million – up 26%.",{"type":591,"attrs":8584},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8586,"content":8587},{"textAlign":49},[8588],{"text":8589,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in YTD 2025 (Jan-Sept 2025) vs YTD 2024 (Jan-Sept 2024), YTD %",{"type":591,"attrs":8591},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8593,"content":8594},{"textAlign":49},[8595],{"type":836,"attrs":8596},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":8597,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":8598},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2025/10/Monthly-EV-sales-slide-BMI-1-1024x576.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":8600,"content":8601},{"textAlign":49},[8602],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8604},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8606,"content":8607},{"textAlign":49},[8608],{"text":8609,"type":596},"The European market achieved a record month with 427,000 electric vehicles sold in September 2025, up 36% year on year and 55% month on month.",{"type":591,"attrs":8611,"content":8612},{"textAlign":49},[8613,8618,8626,8631,8639],{"text":8614,"type":596,"marks":8615},"In the UK, EV sales also reached a new high, supported by seasonally strong September demand tied to new registration plates and the Electric Car Grant introduced in July 2025. ",[8616],{"type":739,"attrs":8617},{"color":6272},{"text":8619,"type":596,"marks":8620},"Battery electric vehicle (BEV)",[8621,8623,8625],{"type":606,"attrs":8622},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8624},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8627,"type":596,"marks":8628}," sales rose by around 30% year on year, while ",[8629],{"type":739,"attrs":8630},{"color":6272},{"text":8632,"type":596,"marks":8633},"plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)",[8634,8636,8638],{"type":606,"attrs":8635},{"href":7350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8637},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8640,"type":596,"marks":8641}," climbed by almost 60%.",[8642],{"type":739,"attrs":8643},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8645,"content":8646},{"textAlign":49},[8647,8652,8661],{"text":8648,"type":596,"marks":8649},"Germany is expected to see a renewed boost in EV demand following the ",[8650],{"type":739,"attrs":8651},{"color":6272},{"text":8653,"type":596,"marks":8654},"approval of a new EUR3 billion (USD3.5 billion) incentive package",[8655,8658,8660],{"type":606,"attrs":8656},{"href":8657,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-to-change-its-emission-rules-for-vehicles-through-its-new-automotive-package",{"type":739,"attrs":8659},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8662,"type":596,"marks":8663},", agreed by the German coalition committee. Starting next year, the programme aims to support low- and middle-income households with purchase and leasing options, replacing the previous subsidy scheme that ended in December 2023.",[8664],{"type":739,"attrs":8665},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8667,"content":8668},{"textAlign":49},[8669,8674,8683],{"text":8670,"type":596,"marks":8671},"Italy and Spain also continue to benefit from supportive incentives, with ",[8672],{"type":739,"attrs":8673},{"color":6272},{"text":8675,"type":596,"marks":8676},"Italy's EV market expanding by two-thirds year on year and Spain's more than doubling",[8677,8680,8682],{"type":606,"attrs":8678},{"href":8679,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-up-29-first-third-of-2025",{"type":739,"attrs":8681},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":8684},[8685],{"type":739,"attrs":8686},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8688},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8690,"content":8691},{"textAlign":49},[8692],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8694},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8696,"content":8697},{"textAlign":49},[8698,8703,8712,8717,8726],{"text":8699,"type":596,"marks":8700},"The US market recorded its second consecutive monthly high for EV sales in September 2025, as consumers rushed to take advantage of ",[8701],{"type":739,"attrs":8702},{"color":6272},{"text":8704,"type":596,"marks":8705},"federal tax credits that expired on 30 September",[8706,8709,8711],{"type":606,"attrs":8707},{"href":8708,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/record-ev-sales-in-the-us-as-tax-credit-disappears",{"type":739,"attrs":8710},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8713,"type":596,"marks":8714},". EV sales were 66% higher year on year, driven by both the ",[8715],{"type":739,"attrs":8716},{"color":6272},{"text":8718,"type":596,"marks":8719},"30D tax credit, available for around 20 battery electric vehicles, and the 45W credit",[8720,8723,8725],{"type":606,"attrs":8721},{"href":8722,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-records-strongest-month-for-ev-sales-in-august-as-tax-credits-near-expiry",{"type":739,"attrs":8724},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8727,"type":596,"marks":8728},", which supported attractive leasing options.",[8729],{"type":739,"attrs":8730},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8732,"content":8733},{"textAlign":49},[8734],{"text":8735,"type":596},"Following a record-breaking quarter, demand is expected to fall sharply in Q4 2025, as both consumers and businesses lose access to the federal incentives that have underpinned EV purchases. Several manufacturers are introducing short-term measures to cushion the impact, for example Hyundai has reduced prices to remain competitive.",{"type":591,"attrs":8737,"content":8738},{"textAlign":49},[8739],{"text":8740,"type":596},"The end of the tax credit has also led several OEMs to scale back production. General Motors has suspended one shift at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant; Mercedes-Benz has paused production of four EV models; Volkswagen will halt ID.4 production in Tennessee at the end of October; and Nissan has cancelled plans to produce EVs in the United States entirely.",{"type":591,"attrs":8742},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8744,"content":8745},{"textAlign":49},[8746],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8748},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8750,"content":8751},{"textAlign":49},[8752,8760,8765,8773],{"text":8753,"type":596,"marks":8754},"China's EV market",[8755,8757,8759],{"type":606,"attrs":8756},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8758},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8761,"type":596,"marks":8762}," reached 1.3 million units in September 2025, driven by record monthly BEV sales. BEV volumes rose 28% year on year to just over 0.8 million units, while PHEVs (including ",[8763],{"type":739,"attrs":8764},{"color":6272},{"text":8766,"type":596,"marks":8767},"range-extended EVs",[8768,8770,8772],{"type":606,"attrs":8769},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":8771},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":8774,"type":596,"marks":8775},") declined by 2% to 0.47 million units.",[8776],{"type":739,"attrs":8777},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8779,"content":8780},{"textAlign":49},[8781],{"text":8782,"type":596,"marks":8783},"In the first nine months of 2025, nearly nine million EVs have been sold in China, a 24% year-to-date increase, underscoring the country's position as the world's largest and most mature EV market.",[8784],{"type":739,"attrs":8785},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":8787},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":8789,"content":8790},{"textAlign":49},[8791],{"text":8792,"type":596},"++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++",{"type":591,"attrs":8794,"content":8795},{"textAlign":49},[8796],{"text":8797,"type":596},"Notes to Editors",{"type":591,"attrs":8799,"content":8800},{"textAlign":49},[8801],{"text":8802,"type":596},"Rho Motion defines ‘Electric Vehicles’ in this case as passenger car and light-duty vehicles which doesn’t include e-scooters or heavy duty commercial vehicles. Rho Motion, a Benchmark Company, was founded in 2018 by Managing Director Adam Panayi and is now the leading global research house for actionable intelligence into electric vehicle and battery markets, associated technologies including motors and systems, charging and infrastructure, energy stationary storage, battery recycling and the wider energy and renewables markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8804,"content":8805},{"textAlign":49},[8806],{"text":8807,"type":596},"In June 2024 Rho Motion merged with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s fastest-growing business at scale for lithium, critical minerals and the energy transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":8809,"content":8810},{"textAlign":49},[8811],{"text":8812,"type":596},"Benchmark and Rho Motion form the world’s biggest platform for prices, data and market intelligence dedicated to the full breadth of critical mineral and energy transition supply chains.","Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in September 2025, the highest monthly total on record. Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: “Global EV sales topped two million units in a single month for the first time, […]",[8815],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8816},{"job_title":557,"image":8817,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ad13d420-dc4b-4dce-9d4c-4829141b81b7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[8820],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8822},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8824,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8825,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/26876c769f/bm-press-release-736x404-14-1-1-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, reports that 2.1 million electric vehicles were sold globally in September 2025, the highest monthly total on record. […]","Oct 15, 2025",{"id":8829,"uuid":8830,"name":8831,"slug":8832,"full_slug":8833,"content":8834},112398724956799,"0484de60-3473-4f89-bb75-8a675cdbab0c","Cobalt prices surge after China’s Golden Week, as DRC export quotas create fresh supply concerns","cobalt-prices-surge-after-chinas-golden-week-as-drc-export-quotas-fuel-supply-concerns","article/cobalt-prices-surge-after-chinas-golden-week-as-drc-export-quotas-fuel-supply-concerns",{"_uid":8835,"date":8836,"tags":8837,"editor":8842,"content":8846,"excerpt":8892,"featured":51,"reporter":8893,"_editable":8897,"component":697,"seo_title":8831,"categories":8898,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":8901,"seo_description":8892,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8904},"26936eb5-9a55-4fc5-9ade-a216aee252a5","2025-10-14 00:00",[8838,8839],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},"drc","DRC",[8843],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8844},{"job_title":557,"image":8845,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":8847},[8848,8859,8864,8872,8877,8882,8887],{"type":591,"attrs":8849,"content":8850},{"textAlign":49},[8851,8853,8858],{"text":8852,"type":596},"Cobalt prices jumped 10%–20% on the first trading day after China’s Golden Week holiday last week, amid deepening concerns over stock availability ",{"text":8854,"type":596,"marks":8855},"following the implementation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) new export quotas",[8856],{"type":606,"attrs":8857},{"href":6920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8860,"content":8861},{"textAlign":49},[8862],{"text":8863,"type":596},"Market participants reported to Benchmark last week that cobalt sulphate was trading at RMB 65,000–75,000/t ($9,170–10,580/t), up from RMB 60,000–62,000/t before the break. Cobalt hydroxide climbed to $17–18/lb ($37,480–39,680/t), while cobalt metal prices touched $20/lb ($44,092/t).",{"type":656,"attrs":8865},{"id":8866,"body":8867},"d14e9f46-0cdb-4009-bfe9-594dfeda6767",[8868],{"id":8869,"_uid":8870,"type":663,"_editable":8871,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25631663","i-80d5dc5a-2a6a-40df-9c16-4d95caa8fc65","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-80d5dc5a-2a6a-40df-9c16-4d95caa8fc65\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":8873,"content":8874},{"textAlign":49},[8875],{"text":8876,"type":596},"Sources in China described widespread anxiety that domestic inventories may not last through to February 2026, as the DRC’s quota regime constrains inflows and the market heads into annual long‑term contract negotiations. Several refiners said sellers are taking advantage of the tightness to raise offer levels sharply in an attempt to set a higher pricing base for 2026 contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":8878,"content":8879},{"textAlign":49},[8880],{"text":8881,"type":596},"According to multiple traders, most available cobalt stocks in China are concentrated between just two major players, leaving small and mid‑tier refiners with limited access to supply. This uneven distribution has accentuated fears of a supply squeeze and fuelled aggressive bidding for any available cargoes returning to market after the holiday.",{"type":591,"attrs":8883,"content":8884},{"textAlign":49},[8885],{"text":8886,"type":596},"Market participants said the rapid rise in domestic Chinese prices was already feeding through to international markets, with Western traders expecting an immediate knock‑on effect for cobalt metal this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":8888,"content":8889},{"textAlign":49},[8890],{"text":8891,"type":596},"Benchmark’s assessment is that the post‑holiday rally reflects a combination of constrained supply, acute inventory concentration, and pent‑up sentiment from the holiday, rather than any recovery in downstream demand. With the DRC’s quota system now in force and stocks in China heavily centralised, prices are likely to remain volatile and sentiment bullish through the coming negotiation season.","Cobalt prices jumped 10%–20% on the first trading day after China’s Golden Week holiday last week, amid deepening concerns over stock availability following the implementation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) new export quotas. Market participants reported to Benchmark last week that cobalt sulphate was trading at RMB 65,000–75,000/t ($9,170–10,580/t), up from RMB 60,000–62,000/t before the break. […]",[8894],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8895},{"job_title":557,"image":8896,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"26936eb5-9a55-4fc5-9ade-a216aee252a5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[8899,8900],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":8903,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/19b76bf785/bm-etoile-mine-cobalt-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 14, 2025",{"id":8906,"uuid":8907,"name":8908,"slug":8909,"full_slug":8910,"content":8911},112398720234110,"98b83d11-a643-419b-96d1-7643d8144025","Vulcan Energy signs lithium hydroxide offtake with Glencore","vulcan-energy-signs-lithium-hydroxide-offtake-with-glencore","article/vulcan-energy-signs-lithium-hydroxide-offtake-with-glencore",{"_uid":8912,"date":8836,"tags":8913,"editor":8928,"content":8932,"excerpt":9094,"featured":51,"reporter":9095,"_editable":9099,"component":697,"seo_title":8908,"categories":9100,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":9103,"seo_description":9094,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8904},"fe4bf332-30a3-4c8d-8f78-030af7fae4a1",[8914,8915,8916,8917,8918,8919,8922,8925],{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":3385,"name":3386},{"slug":5837,"name":5838},{"slug":6050,"name":6051},{"slug":8920,"name":8921},"stellantis","Stellantis",{"slug":8923,"name":8924},"umicore","Umicore",{"slug":8926,"name":8927},"vulcan-energy","Vulcan Energy",[8929],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":8930},{"job_title":557,"image":8931,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":8933},[8934,8962,8967,8972,8980,8985,8995,9022,9027,9035,9048,9053,9058,9063,9084,9089],{"type":591,"attrs":8935,"content":8936},{"textAlign":49},[8937,8939,8945,8947,8953,8955,8961],{"text":8938,"type":596},"Vulcan Energy Resources, an Australian DLE (",{"text":8940,"type":596,"marks":8941},"direct lithium extraction",[8942],{"type":606,"attrs":8943},{"href":8944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/special-issues/1320373",{"text":8946,"type":596},") developer ",{"text":8948,"type":596,"marks":8949},"operating in Europe,",[8950],{"type":606,"attrs":8951},{"href":8952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-lithium-chemical-production-far-exceeds-its-mined-supply",{"text":8954,"type":596}," has signed an eight-year offtake agreement with ",{"text":8956,"type":596,"marks":8957},"commodity trader Glencore",[8958],{"type":606,"attrs":8959},{"href":8960,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-and-glencore-talks-reflect-the-industrys-appetite-for-growth",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":8963,"content":8964},{"textAlign":49},[8965],{"text":8966,"type":596},"Under this agreement Glencore will take 40,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (35,200 tonnes LCE) over an eight-year period starting from when Vulcan Energy enters commercial production, towards the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":8968,"content":8969},{"textAlign":49},[8970],{"text":8971,"type":596},"This agreement means that the planned output of the first phase of Vulcan’s 21,500 tonne LCE  per year Lionheart project in the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany is fully under offtake agreements.",{"type":656,"attrs":8973},{"id":8974,"body":8975},"1b2541df-6d21-4f5a-b6b2-ce9e18dd1b0e",[8976],{"id":8977,"_uid":8978,"type":663,"_editable":8979,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25632090","i-cbbebb70-3eb0-4535-86a3-01dcc1fa04f5","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-cbbebb70-3eb0-4535-86a3-01dcc1fa04f5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":8981,"content":8982},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[8983],{"text":8984,"type":596},"Vulcan secures diverse offtake partners",{"type":591,"attrs":8986,"content":8987},{"textAlign":49},[8988,8993],{"text":5838,"type":596,"marks":8989},[8990],{"type":606,"attrs":8991},{"href":8992,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-deepens-lithium-push-with-galan-offtake",{"text":8994,"type":596}," is the fourth company to sign an offtake agreement for battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) from the Lionheart project, and means Vulcan now has the offtakes required to fund the first phase of the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":8996,"content":8997},{"textAlign":49},[8998,9000,9006,9008,9013,9015,9020],{"text":8999,"type":596},"The other companies to sign on are ",{"text":9001,"type":596,"marks":9002},"LG Energy Solution’s",[9003],{"type":606,"attrs":9004},{"href":9005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lges-doubles-down-on-lfp-but-nickel-based-chemistries-central-to-long-term-plans",{"text":9007,"type":596}," ESS division, ",{"text":8924,"type":596,"marks":9009},[9010],{"type":606,"attrs":9011},{"href":9012,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-delays-battery-material-expansion-plans-as-short-term-pressures-bite",{"text":9014,"type":596},", and ",{"text":8921,"type":596,"marks":9016},[9017],{"type":606,"attrs":9018},{"href":9019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-catl-jv-to-bolster-europes-lfp-build-out",{"text":9021,"type":596},". The diversity of the companies is a key strength to Vulcan’s offtake strategy, helping to derisk the project and support securing the required finance.",{"type":591,"attrs":9023,"content":9024},{"textAlign":49},[9025],{"text":9026,"type":596},"“Vulcan has now achieved a good mix of offtake partners for Phase One lithium production: an automaker, a battery maker, a cathode manufacturer, and a commodities trader, all with a strong European focus,” Vulcan Managing Director and CEO, Cris Moreno said in a statement. “The agreement also gives Vulcan the flexibility to bring in further European customers in the future, while also utilising Glencore’s expertise in this market, which is a value-add to Vulcan.”",{"type":656,"attrs":9028},{"id":9029,"body":9030},"3403807e-b49f-4330-96db-f1bda8a2a13d",[9031],{"id":9032,"_uid":9033,"type":663,"_editable":9034,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25611149","i-3a5790a9-9d42-426d-bd8a-7db0acd788bc","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-3a5790a9-9d42-426d-bd8a-7db0acd788bc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9036,"content":9037},{"textAlign":49},[9038,9040,9046],{"text":9039,"type":596},"Vulcan has secured a range of financing commitments totalling EUR 879m (~$1bn). Participating lenders include various commercial as well as export finance credit institutions, and the ",{"text":9041,"type":596,"marks":9042},"European Investment Bank",[9043],{"type":606,"attrs":9044},{"href":9045,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/financing-the-energy-transition",{"text":9047,"type":596},", though these agreements are yet to be finalised.",{"type":591,"attrs":9049,"content":9050},{"textAlign":49},[9051],{"text":9052,"type":596},"In 2025, Vulcan raised EUR 135m ($156m) through share placements and grant awards. It is also in talks with the German KfW development bank for an equity investment through KfW’s Raw Materials Fund worth EUR 150m ($173m).",{"type":615,"attrs":9054,"content":9055},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9056],{"text":9057,"type":596},"What is Vulcan’s Lionheart project?",{"type":591,"attrs":9059,"content":9060},{"textAlign":49},[9061],{"text":9062,"type":596},"Vulcan’s Lionheart project is Europe’s most advanced DLE project, and will extract lithium chloride from geothermal brines to then convert into battery-grade lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":9064,"content":9065},{"textAlign":49},[9066,9068,9074,9076,9082],{"text":9067,"type":596},"The company uses geothermal energy, which reduces the ",{"text":9069,"type":596,"marks":9070},"carbon footprint",[9071],{"type":606,"attrs":9072},{"href":9073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmarks-lithium-carbon-curves-reveals-10x-emissions-gap-across-top-50-operations",{"text":9075,"type":596}," of the process. Vulcan claims their lithium will be carbon neutral, a ",{"text":9077,"type":596,"marks":9078},"sustainability claim that is attractive to investors",[9079],{"type":606,"attrs":9080},{"href":9081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sustainability-now-a-critical-metric-for-lithium-supply-agreements",{"text":9083,"type":596},", especially in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":9085,"content":9086},{"textAlign":49},[9087],{"text":9088,"type":596},"Vulcan began pilot extraction of lithium chloride and conversion to lithium hydroxide in 2024. Commercial production was due to commence in 2025, but has been pushed back several times.",{"type":591,"attrs":9090,"content":9091},{"textAlign":49},[9092],{"text":9093,"type":596},"The company is targeting construction start on its main Lithium Extraction Plant in 2026. It recently secured approval from Landau council to acquire a plot of land on which the future plant is to be built.","Vulcan Energy Resources, an Australian DLE (direct lithium extraction) developer operating in Europe, has signed an eight-year offtake agreement with commodity trader Glencore. Under this agreement Glencore will take 40,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (35,200 tonnes LCE) over an eight-year period starting from when Vulcan Energy enters commercial production, towards the end of the decade. […]",[9096],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9097},{"job_title":557,"image":9098,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fe4bf332-30a3-4c8d-8f78-030af7fae4a1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[9101,9102],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9105,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fa8b151b3d/bm-vulcan-cleop-uli-deck.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":9107,"uuid":9108,"name":9109,"slug":9110,"full_slug":9111,"content":9112},106721855757710,"856c6f80-c683-4faf-95f5-f1b762deeac3","Who were the top cell suppliers in the BESS market in H1 2025?","who-were-the-top-cell-suppliers-in-the-bess-market-in-h1-2025","article/who-were-the-top-cell-suppliers-in-the-bess-market-in-h1-2025",{"_uid":9113,"date":8836,"tags":9114,"editor":9124,"content":9128,"excerpt":9291,"featured":51,"reporter":9292,"_editable":9296,"component":697,"seo_title":9109,"categories":9297,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":9300,"featured_image":9303,"seo_description":9306,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":8904},"13e55676-ca60-4498-97cc-9af2c7cd3062",[9115,9116,9117,9118,9119,9120,9123],{"slug":6047,"name":3084},{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":9121,"name":9122},"ncm","NCM",{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[9125],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9126},{"job_title":557,"image":9127,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9129},[9130,9152,9157,9165,9177,9182,9213,9218,9240,9245,9250,9255,9271,9278,9289],{"type":591,"attrs":9131,"content":9132},{"textAlign":49},[9133,9138,9147],{"text":9134,"type":596,"marks":9135},"In the first half of 2025, the global ",[9136],{"type":739,"attrs":9137},{"color":6272},{"text":9139,"type":596,"marks":9140},"BESS battery market",[9141,9144,9146],{"type":606,"attrs":9142},{"href":9143,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/battery-energy-storage-system",{"type":739,"attrs":9145},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9148,"type":596,"marks":9149}," showed clear signs of accelerated growth, with cell shipments in the first six months of 2025 surpassing the total volume of 2023 by over 17%.",[9150],{"type":739,"attrs":9151},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":9153,"content":9154},{"textAlign":49},[9155],{"text":9156,"type":596},"Explore how the top 10 ESS cell producers has evolved since 2023 in the interactive graphic below.",{"type":656,"attrs":9158},{"id":9159,"body":9160},"f4ef0090-c4b1-4dc6-a6cc-f10d8572caef",[9161],{"id":9162,"_uid":9163,"type":663,"_editable":9164,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25611853","i-c53f02e9-b63f-4e85-845b-67ba7d10cd22","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c53f02e9-b63f-4e85-845b-67ba7d10cd22\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9166,"content":9167},{"textAlign":49},[9168,9170,9175],{"text":9169,"type":596},"Previously we examined the top ",{"text":9171,"type":596,"marks":9172},"BESS system integrator ranking to understand how the BESS industry is changing",[9173],{"type":606,"attrs":9174},{"href":5743,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9176,"type":596},". Taking a look at the cell supply landscape shows different trends seen within the BESS industry.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":9178,"content":9179},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9180],{"text":9181,"type":596},"Market acceleration is driving Chinese dominance in cell supply",{"type":591,"attrs":9183,"content":9184},{"textAlign":49},[9185,9194,9199,9208],{"text":9186,"type":596,"marks":9187},"Chinese suppliers continued to dominate",[9188,9191,9193],{"type":606,"attrs":9189},{"href":9190,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/who-supplies-the-world-s-ev-batteries-",{"type":739,"attrs":9192},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9195,"type":596,"marks":9196},", with all of the top ten cell suppliers by shipment volume coming from China in H1 2025. In 2023, both Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution featured among the leading cell suppliers. However, as ",[9197],{"type":739,"attrs":9198},{"color":6272},{"text":9200,"type":596,"marks":9201},"LFP preference became more dominant",[9202,9205,9207],{"type":606,"attrs":9203},{"href":9204,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ncm-and-lfp-the-battle-for-cathode-chemistry-dominance",{"type":739,"attrs":9206},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9209,"type":596,"marks":9210},", Korean battery makers, previously advantaged in NCM, have temporarily fallen out of the global top ten ranking.",[9211],{"type":739,"attrs":9212},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":9214,"content":9215},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9216],{"text":9217,"type":596},"Competition is driving a less top-heavy market",{"type":591,"attrs":9219,"content":9220},{"textAlign":49},[9221,9226,9235],{"text":9222,"type":596,"marks":9223},"Although the overall market continues to expand, the market share of leading players has steadily declined. In 2023, the combined market share of the top three suppliers was 58%; in 2024, this dropped to 53%, and to just 46% in H1 2025. Despite rapid market growth, competition is intensifying, with more players successfully capturing share. That said, ",[9224],{"type":739,"attrs":9225},{"color":6272},{"text":9227,"type":596,"marks":9228},"CATL remained the largest cell supplier to the market",[9229,9232,9234],{"type":606,"attrs":9230},{"href":9231,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/charting-the-evolution-of-catls-revenue-streams",{"type":739,"attrs":9233},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9236,"type":596,"marks":9237},", holding a 22% share in H1 2025.",[9238],{"type":739,"attrs":9239},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":9241,"content":9242},{"textAlign":49},[9243],{"text":9244,"type":596},"Even so, the cell supplier market still has fewer participants than the system integration segment. This is mainly driven by the low cost of cells, which has lowered entry barriers for new system integrators, and by the fact that it is less capital-intensive to establish a system integration facility than to build a cell manufacturing plant.",{"type":615,"attrs":9246,"content":9247},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9248],{"text":9249,"type":596},"Rankings may change as shipment orders get increasingly large",{"type":591,"attrs":9251,"content":9252},{"textAlign":49},[9253],{"text":9254,"type":596},"At the company level, shipment rankings are closely tied to the delivery of major orders. In 2024, CALB significantly improved its position after supplying cells to Sungrow for a 12.2GWh order in the Middle East. Meanwhile, BYD fell out of the global top five in the first half of 2025, but with the launch of its 6.5GWh project with Grenergy in Chile in the second half of 2025, its ranking is expected to rebound strongly.",{"type":591,"attrs":9256,"content":9257},{"textAlign":49},[9258,9266],{"text":9259,"type":596,"marks":9260},"Benchmark's BESS Service",[9261,9263,9265],{"type":606,"attrs":9262},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":9264},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9267,"type":596,"marks":9268}," provides unmatched insights into the global battery energy stationary storage (BESS) market with long-term forecasts, monthly project-level data and analysis.",[9269],{"type":739,"attrs":9270},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":9272,"content":9273},{"textAlign":49},[9274],{"text":9275,"type":596,"marks":9276},"If you’d like to learn more, submit your details and our team will be in touch:",[9277],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":9279},{"id":9280,"body":9281},"9bee5210-4cde-46bc-a255-455d3093b94e",[9282],{"id":1012,"_uid":9283,"_editable":9284,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":9285,"success_file":9286,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":9288},"i-ef43d967-d09c-4ade-b3e8-104a8676cee5","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ef43d967-d09c-4ade-b3e8-104a8676cee5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9287},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":9290},{"textAlign":49},"In the first half of 2025, the global BESS battery market showed clear signs of accelerated growth, with cell shipments in the first six months of 2025 surpassing the total volume of 2023 by over 17%. Explore how the top 10 ESS cell producers has evolved since 2023 in the interactive graphic below. Previously we examined the top BESS […]",[9293],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9294},{"job_title":557,"image":9295,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"13e55676-ca60-4498-97cc-9af2c7cd3062\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[9298,9299],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9301,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9302,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1760449266/www-production/Screenshot-2025-10-14-144044/Screenshot-2025-10-14-144044.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9304,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9305,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6db38cd132/bm-adobestock-459510793.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"In the first half of 2025, the global BESS battery market showed clear signs of accelerated growth, with cell shipments in the first six months of 2025 surpassing the total volume of 2023 by over 17%. Explore how the top 10 ESS Cell […]",{"id":9308,"uuid":9309,"name":9310,"slug":9311,"full_slug":9312,"content":9313},107078614573221,"7dfe05d9-8b11-4b29-a6ea-e246b6fcaf71","What did California’s EV sales penetration look like in 2024?","what-did-californias-ev-sales-penetration-look-like-in-2024","article/what-did-californias-ev-sales-penetration-look-like-in-2024",{"_uid":9314,"date":9315,"tags":9316,"editor":9319,"content":9323,"excerpt":9414,"featured":51,"reporter":9415,"_editable":9419,"component":697,"seo_title":9310,"categories":9420,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":9422,"featured_image":9424,"seo_description":9427,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":9428},"d502aa82-3cd1-4a88-b4a3-a6162c20926d","2025-10-13 00:00",[9317,9318],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[9320],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9321},{"job_title":557,"image":9322,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9324},[9325,9347,9354,9359,9364,9369,9374,9379],{"type":591,"attrs":9326,"content":9327},{"textAlign":49},[9328,9333,9342],{"text":9329,"type":596,"marks":9330},"California has led the way in the electrification of the US' vehicle market with one in four of all new vehicle sales in 2024 being an EV, higher than the ",[9331],{"type":739,"attrs":9332},{"color":6272},{"text":9334,"type":596,"marks":9335},"country-level penetration rate of 10%",[9336,9339,9341],{"type":606,"attrs":9337},{"href":9338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-grow-by-27-in-the-opening-seven-months-of-the-year",{"type":739,"attrs":9340},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9343,"type":596,"marks":9344},". As the most populous state, it commands a large proportion of the total vehicle market (11%) but this is dwarfed by California's share of the USA's EV market which stood at nearly 29% in 2024.",[9345],{"type":739,"attrs":9346},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":9348,"content":9349},{"textAlign":49},[9350],{"type":836,"attrs":9351},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":9352,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":9353},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/38355abf1f/bm-cali-ev-penetration-top25-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":9355,"content":9356},{"textAlign":49},[9357],{"text":9358,"type":596},"How distributed is the EV uptake within California?",{"type":591,"attrs":9360,"content":9361},{"textAlign":49},[9362],{"text":9363,"type":596},"Looking at California’s EV landscape, two key state-level features stand out:",{"type":591,"attrs":9365,"content":9366},{"textAlign":49},[9367],{"text":9368,"type":596},"Although the Bay Area is clearly a major region for high EV share, the influence has spread widely and counties on the opposite side of the state like El Dorado and Placer, both of which turned Republican in the 2024 election, have an EV share at or above the state average.",{"type":591,"attrs":9370,"content":9371},{"textAlign":49},[9372],{"text":9373,"type":596},"The coastal counties down to Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego all continue to present a strong EV share above the average for the state, but when comparing them to other key counties in the state you may expect them to have a higher penetration rate.",{"type":591,"attrs":9375,"content":9376},{"textAlign":49},[9377],{"text":9378,"type":596},"In recent years, the EV share of California has begun to stagnate, struggling to push past the 25% mark. Whilst bringing many regions up to a good level of EV share is important, the high population counties around the Bay Area and LA will always be looked on as trailblazers in the space and need to see progress to the next level to lead the way and continue to drive up the state average.",{"type":591,"attrs":9380,"content":9381},{"textAlign":49},[9382,9387,9396,9401,9409],{"text":9383,"type":596,"marks":9384},"California will continue to be crucial to increasing the US EV share as a whole for years to come. Rho Motion's ",[9385],{"type":739,"attrs":9386},{"color":6272},{"text":9388,"type":596,"marks":9389},"Monthly EV & Battery Database and Monthly Sales Assessment",[9390,9393,9395],{"type":606,"attrs":9391},{"href":9392,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-over-9-million-in-first-half-of-2025-growing-by-28",{"type":739,"attrs":9394},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9397,"type":596,"marks":9398}," follows these key trends, tracking ",[9399],{"type":739,"attrs":9400},{"color":6272},{"text":9402,"type":596,"marks":9403},"BEV and PHEV sales",[9404,9406,9408],{"type":606,"attrs":9405},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":9407},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":9410,"type":596,"marks":9411}," as well as providing country-level penetration rate data.",[9412],{"type":739,"attrs":9413},{"color":6272},"California has led the way in the electrification of the US’ vehicle market with one in four of all new vehicle sales in 2024 being an EV, higher than the country-level penetration rate of 10%. As the most populous state, it commands a large proportion of the total vehicle market (11%) but this is dwarfed […]",[9416],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9417},{"job_title":557,"image":9418,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d502aa82-3cd1-4a88-b4a3-a6162c20926d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[9421],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9352,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9423,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9425,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9426,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/315c34e937/bm-adobestock-569003361-editorial-use-only.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"California has led the way in the electrification of the US’ vehicle market with one in four of all new vehicle sales in 2024 being an EV, higher than the country-level penetration rate of 10%. As the most populous state, it commands a large proportion[…]","Oct 13, 2025",{"id":9430,"uuid":9431,"name":9432,"slug":9433,"full_slug":9434,"content":9435},112398733365888,"119abccd-7642-4eff-bb36-5f56677bc2a8","LME Week Preview: Copper market faces tight supply, record prices, and M&A momentum","lme-week-preview-copper-market-faces-tight-supply-record-prices-and-ma-momentum","article/lme-week-preview-copper-market-faces-tight-supply-record-prices-and-ma-momentum",{"_uid":9436,"date":9437,"tags":9438,"editor":9441,"content":9445,"excerpt":9640,"featured":50,"reporter":9641,"_editable":9645,"component":697,"seo_title":9646,"categories":9647,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":9650,"featured_image":9652,"seo_description":9654,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":9655},"d4d63ec1-113c-41ab-a234-a2f69b29058a","2025-10-10 00:00",[9439,9440],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":7528,"name":7529},[9442],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9443},{"job_title":557,"image":9444,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9446},[9447,9452,9457,9462,9475,9483,9496,9501,9506,9511,9516,9521,9526,9531,9536,9541,9546,9551,9556,9561,9573,9578,9586,9591,9603,9608,9615,9620,9627,9638],{"type":591,"attrs":9448,"content":9449},{"textAlign":49},[9450],{"text":9451,"type":596},"With LME Week fast approaching, the copper market is abuzz with talk of supply disruptions, high prices, tariffs, and mergers. In this article, the Benchmark copper team dissects some of the major talking points that are likely to dominate conversations among metals market participants over the coming week.",{"type":615,"attrs":9453,"content":9454},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9455],{"text":9456,"type":596},"Major supply disruptions to plunge refined copper market into deficit",{"type":591,"attrs":9458,"content":9459},{"textAlign":49},[9460],{"text":9461,"type":596},"The past few months have seen a series of disruptions at major copper mines across the world. Grasberg, Kamoa Kakula, and El Teniente – three of the ten largest copper mines globally – have each faced significant issues that have altered the supply outlook for 2025 and 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":9463,"content":9464},{"textAlign":49},[9465,9467,9473],{"text":9466,"type":596},"A major incident at Freeport McMoRan’s ",{"text":9468,"type":596,"marks":9469},"Grasberg mine in Indonesia",[9470],{"type":606,"attrs":9471},{"href":9472,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://google.com/url?q=https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/grasberg-supply-shock-to-plunge-refined-copper-market-into-deficit-in-2026-benchmark-analysis-shows&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1760110064495069&usg=AOvVaw0XkQyVUirDLWduDhpcv3G-",{"text":9474,"type":596}," has been the most notable disruption, with the mine expected to lose close to 600kt of output between now and the end of next year. This production loss is greater than the annual output of many of the world’s largest mines.",{"type":656,"attrs":9476},{"id":9477,"body":9478},"81e48503-fe55-4258-8ac2-8d0356cb3272",[9479],{"id":9480,"_uid":9481,"type":663,"_editable":9482,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25336605","i-d224fe34-2078-46ff-ab78-87aae840b14a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d224fe34-2078-46ff-ab78-87aae840b14a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9484,"content":9485},{"textAlign":49},[9486,9488,9494],{"text":9487,"type":596},"Grasberg is not the only major mine facing issues.",{"text":9489,"type":596,"marks":9490}," Disruptions at the Kamoa Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)",[9491],{"type":606,"attrs":9492},{"href":9493,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/kakula-suspension-adds-pressure-to-already-tight-copper-concentrate-market",{"text":9495,"type":596}," are expected to remove a further ~300kt of copper supply across 2025–26. Together, the losses from these two operations are set to be a major topic of discussion during LME Week.",{"type":591,"attrs":9497,"content":9498},{"textAlign":49},[9499],{"text":9500,"type":596},"These losses have been compounded by issues at Codelco’s El Teniente in Chile, resulting in Codelco posting the worst monthly production for 20 years in August.  Less notable disruptions, such as Teck’s downgrading of QB2’s guidance, have added to broader supply concerns. ",{"type":615,"attrs":9502,"content":9503},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9504],{"text":9505,"type":596},"Sky high copper prices ",{"type":591,"attrs":9507,"content":9508},{"textAlign":49},[9509],{"text":9510,"type":596},"Owing largely to the aforementioned disruptions, LME copper prices have reached multi‑year highs in recent days – hitting $11,000/t on 8 October for only the third time in the exchange’s history.",{"type":591,"attrs":9512,"content":9513},{"textAlign":49},[9514],{"text":9515,"type":596},"Benchmark expects a substantial deficit in the copper market in both 2025 and 2026 – a widely held view that helps explain recent price strength. CME copper prices have reacted even more strongly than LME prices, with the arbitrage between the two exchanges reaching almost $600/t this week – the highest spread since before the US confirmed that copper cathodes would not be subject to tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":9517,"content":9518},{"textAlign":49},[9519],{"text":9520,"type":596},"Market participants told Benchmark that the widening spread may reflect buying from US‑based financial investors, such as funds, reacting to news of tightening supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":9522,"content":9523},{"textAlign":49},[9524],{"text":9525,"type":596},"While supply‑side constraints are seen as the key driver, attention is also turning to the potential impact of tariffs and wider macro‑economic uncertainty on demand in the months ahead.",{"type":615,"attrs":9527,"content":9528},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9529],{"text":9530,"type":596},"Treatment charges at unprecedented lows",{"type":591,"attrs":9532,"content":9533},{"textAlign":49},[9534],{"text":9535,"type":596},"No copper market conference in recent years would have been complete without a debate on treatment charges (TCs). Copper TCs have remained at record lows throughout 2025, with spot benchmarks sinking further into uncharted territory.",{"type":591,"attrs":9537,"content":9538},{"textAlign":49},[9539],{"text":9540,"type":596},"Spot smelter TCs have been in the negative territory for months; a level that wouldn’t have been believed just a few months ago. For context benchmark treatment charges for 2024 were positive $80/t.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":9542,"content":9543},{"textAlign":49},[9544],{"text":9545,"type":596},"Low TCs have put pressure on smelter business models. Many non‑Chinese smelters remain somewhat insulated by long‑term contracts, typically agreed in the positive $20s/t range for 2025. Meanwhile, some Chinese smelters have achieved record profits this year, supported by‑product earnings from gold, sulphuric acid, and free copper units.",{"type":591,"attrs":9547,"content":9548},{"textAlign":49},[9549],{"text":9550,"type":596},"Annual contract levels begin to take shape during LME week. Many concentrate market participants will focus on where the 2026 benchmark will settle and what this will mean for smelter margins. Several market participants, including Benchmark, expect annual TCs to average ~$0/t.",{"type":591,"attrs":9552,"content":9553},{"textAlign":49},[9554],{"text":9555,"type":596},"Fortunately for the already tight concentrate market, disruptions at Grasberg and Kamoa Kakula primarily affect refined output rather than concentrate supply, given both mines have integrated smelting operations.",{"type":615,"attrs":9557,"content":9558},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9559],{"text":9560,"type":596},"Aurubis raises copper premiums in Europe ",{"type":591,"attrs":9562,"content":9563},{"textAlign":49},[9564,9566,9571],{"text":9565,"type":596},"European participants will also digest the ",{"text":9567,"type":596,"marks":9568},"impact of Aurubis’s 2026 cathode premium announcement this week.",[9569],{"type":606,"attrs":9570},{"href":5607,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9572,"type":596}," The company set its European offer at $315/t – up 40% year‑on‑year, the highest in its history ",{"type":591,"attrs":9574,"content":9575},{"textAlign":49},[9576],{"text":9577,"type":596},"Market observers believe the increase reflects the need to offset weak TCs, persistent supply disruptions at Grasberg, and the wide arbitrage between the US and European exchanges.",{"type":656,"attrs":9579},{"id":9580,"body":9581},"03bf39b0-4359-4e6e-bf04-16f5501320a1",[9582],{"id":9583,"_uid":9584,"type":663,"_editable":9585,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25506300","i-acfad25b-90d1-4568-95ca-3c84a4aef1f0","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-acfad25b-90d1-4568-95ca-3c84a4aef1f0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":9587,"content":9588},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9589],{"text":9590,"type":596},"Anglo-Teck merger",{"type":591,"attrs":9592,"content":9593},{"textAlign":49},[9594,9596,9601],{"text":9595,"type":596},"M&A discussions are once again front and centre in the copper market. This year, attention is focused on the ",{"text":9597,"type":596,"marks":9598},"proposed merger between Anglo American and Teck.",[9599],{"type":606,"attrs":9600},{"href":5908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9602,"type":596}," If completed, the combined entity – known as “AngloTeck” – would rank as the fifth‑largest copper producer globally",{"type":591,"attrs":9604,"content":9605},{"textAlign":49},[9606],{"text":9607,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that AngloTeck’s combined production could total 875kt in 2025 (484kt from Anglo American and 391kt from Teck) placing it behind Codelco, BHP, Freeport McMoRan, and Grupo Mexico.",{"type":591,"attrs":9609,"content":9610},{"textAlign":49},[9611],{"type":836,"attrs":9612},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":9613,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":9614},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f614307c8b/bm-image-158-1348764d4bc0.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":9616,"content":9617},{"textAlign":49},[9618],{"text":9619,"type":596},"Key copper assets would include 44% of Collahuasi and 60% of Quebrada Blanca in Chile, along with 60% of Quellaveco in Peru. Based on company guidance, more than 70% of the portfolio’s value would be copper‑weighted following the merger.",{"type":591,"attrs":9621,"content":9622},{"textAlign":49},[9623],{"text":9624,"type":596,"marks":9625},"To learn more about Benchmark’s copper market coverage fill out the form below.",[9626],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":9628},{"id":9629,"body":9630},"1feea465-152f-46bd-9d61-0ce60a55f39f",[9631],{"id":1012,"_uid":9632,"_editable":9633,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":9634,"success_file":9635,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":9637},"i-62df25ac-57be-4066-8a8b-f312eb7af330","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-62df25ac-57be-4066-8a8b-f312eb7af330\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9636},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":9639},{"textAlign":49},"With LME Week fast approaching, the copper market is abuzz with talk of supply disruptions, high prices, tariffs, and mergers. In this article, the Benchmark copper team dissects some of the major talking points that are likely to dominate conversations among metals market participants over the coming week. Major supply disruptions to plunge refined copper […]",[9642],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9643},{"job_title":557,"image":9644,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d4d63ec1-113c-41ab-a234-a2f69b29058a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","LME Week Preview: Copper market faces tight supply, record",[9648,9649],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9651},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9653,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"With LME Week fast approaching, the copper market is abuzz with talk of supply disruptions, high prices, tariffs, and mergers. In this article, the Benchmark copper team dissects some of the major talking points that are ...","Oct 10, 2025",{"id":9657,"uuid":9658,"name":9659,"slug":9660,"full_slug":9661,"content":9662},107067233365235,"cb5e3359-a98e-435a-99d8-2ff2bbb5e0a5","China extends export controls to lithium ion batteries and battery materials","china-extends-export-controls-to-lithium-ion-batteries-and-battery-materials","article/china-extends-export-controls-to-lithium-ion-batteries-and-battery-materials",{"_uid":9663,"date":9437,"tags":9664,"editor":9667,"content":9671,"excerpt":9747,"featured":51,"reporter":9748,"_editable":9752,"component":697,"seo_title":9659,"categories":9753,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":9761,"seo_description":9747,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":9655},"79c41e97-cfc0-41b2-8157-6c31e6406a69",[9665,9666],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[9668],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9669},{"job_title":557,"image":9670,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9672},[9673,9678,9704,9709,9714,9719,9724,9729,9737,9742],{"type":591,"attrs":9674,"content":9675},{"textAlign":49},[9676],{"text":9677,"type":596},"China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced new export control measures on “dual-use products” on national security grounds, encompassing lithium ion batteries as well as cathode active materials (CAM) and anode active materials (AAM).",{"type":591,"attrs":9679,"content":9680},{"textAlign":49},[9681,9683,9688,9690,9696,9698,9703],{"text":9682,"type":596},"The restrictions were confirmed on the same day that ",{"text":9684,"type":596,"marks":9685},"Beijing escalated controls on rare earth elements and associated technologies",[9686],{"type":606,"attrs":9687},{"href":7903,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9689,"type":596},", ahead of high-level trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks. They follow existing controls on ",{"text":9691,"type":596,"marks":9692},"natural graphite",[9693],{"type":606,"attrs":9694},{"href":9695,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-graphite-export-controls-to-the-us",{"text":9697,"type":596},", lithium iron phosphate (LFP) CAM, and ",{"text":9699,"type":596,"marks":9700},"lithium processing technologies",[9701],{"type":606,"attrs":9702},{"href":4402,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":9705,"content":9706},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9707],{"text":9708,"type":596},"Scope of the restrictions",{"type":591,"attrs":9710,"content":9711},{"textAlign":49},[9712],{"text":9713,"type":596},"Taking effect from 8th November, companies wishing to export the covered products and materials will be required to obtain a licence, approval of which is at the discretion of China’s Ministry of Commerce. This process typically involves submitting detailed information including business scope, sales data, employee details, key customers, trade history, and an end-user certificate verifying the intended application.",{"type":615,"attrs":9715,"content":9716},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9717],{"text":9718,"type":596},"Near to medium term outlook",{"type":591,"attrs":9720,"content":9721},{"textAlign":49},[9722],{"text":9723,"type":596},"Following the announcement of export controls on natural graphite in October 2023, a notable spike in exports was observed ahead of their implementation. Foreign companies reliant on Chinese imports increased shipments to build inventories and minimise near-term supply risks, leading to a temporary rise in export prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":9725,"content":9726},{"textAlign":49},[9727],{"text":9728,"type":596},"After implementation, export volumes declined sharply as exporters navigated the new licensing process — a slowdown that lasted two to three months. During this phase, Benchmark received reports, particularly for India and the US, indicating that some permit applications were not approved after 2-3 months, while exports to South Korea were approved quickly. This suggested a case-by-case approach to licensing decisions, despite public announcements that all countries would be treated equally.",{"type":656,"attrs":9730},{"id":9731,"body":9732},"1b8ed4b8-e1e0-4129-9a0f-27808f0899d9",[9733],{"id":9734,"_uid":9735,"type":663,"_editable":9736,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25569967","i-6f67a9a0-4cfd-4c9d-9ae3-5da693654375","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6f67a9a0-4cfd-4c9d-9ae3-5da693654375\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9738,"content":9739},{"textAlign":49},[9740],{"text":9741,"type":596},"The market eventually adjusted to the new regulatory norms as both exporters and importers familiarised themselves with the process.",{"type":591,"attrs":9743,"content":9744},{"textAlign":49},[9745],{"text":9746,"type":596},"A similar pattern is expected following the latest round of controls, although the scope of the impact will depend on how stringent the new licensing procedures are compared with those for graphite. Given that both are categorised as “dual-use” products, the severity of the restrictions is expected to be comparable, though the precise implications remain to be seen.","China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced new export control measures on “dual-use products” on national security grounds, encompassing lithium ion batteries as well as cathode active materials (CAM) and anode active materials (AAM). The restrictions were confirmed on the same day that Beijing escalated controls on rare earth elements and associated technologies, ahead of high-level […]",[9749],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9750},{"job_title":557,"image":9751,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"79c41e97-cfc0-41b2-8157-6c31e6406a69\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[9754,9755,9756,9757,9758,9759,9760],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9762,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9763,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f93deea6d/bm-trade-picture1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":9765,"uuid":9766,"name":9767,"slug":9768,"full_slug":9769,"content":9770},112398763696773,"1b43947d-e7f2-4a47-b535-99b3ad1b1d38","Is the US embarking on a critical mineral spending spree?","is-the-us-embarking-on-a-critical-mineral-spending-spree","article/is-the-us-embarking-on-a-critical-mineral-spending-spree",{"_uid":9771,"date":9772,"tags":9773,"editor":9776,"content":9780,"excerpt":9880,"featured":51,"reporter":9881,"_editable":9885,"component":697,"seo_title":9767,"categories":9886,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":9897,"seo_description":9880,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":9900},"7e71cbc1-3057-4212-ac00-075fe6ef962c","2025-10-08 00:00",[9774,9775],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[9777],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9778},{"job_title":557,"image":9779,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9781},[9782,9787,9800,9813,9821,9826,9831,9836,9841,9846,9854,9875],{"type":591,"attrs":9783,"content":9784},{"textAlign":49},[9785],{"text":9786,"type":596},"The Trump administration is stepping up direct investments in critical mineral projects to bolster US supply security, as part of a broader push by Washington to acquire equity in sectors considered vital to national security.",{"type":591,"attrs":9788,"content":9789},{"textAlign":49},[9790,9792,9798],{"text":9791,"type":596},"Last week, the US Department of Energy (DoE) announced it would ",{"text":9793,"type":596,"marks":9794},"restructure a $2.3bn loan agreement with Lithium Americas",[9795],{"type":606,"attrs":9796},{"href":9797,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-administration-seeks-equity-role-in-largest-us-lithium-project",{"text":9799,"type":596},", providing the US government with a 5% equity stake in Lithium Americas and a separate 5% equity stake in the company’s Thacker Pass lithium mining project.",{"type":591,"attrs":9801,"content":9802},{"textAlign":49},[9803,9805,9811],{"text":9804,"type":596},"This marked the US government’s second direct equity investment in a domestic critical mineral project this year, following ",{"text":9806,"type":596,"marks":9807},"a landmark deal with rare earths miner MP Materials in July",[9808],{"type":606,"attrs":9809},{"href":9810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/pentagon-invests-in-mp-materials-in-bid-to-break-chinas-rare-earths-dominance",{"text":9812,"type":596},". That agreement included a 10-year price floor offtake contract designed to de-risk the project’s economics and unlock private investment in the broader sector. Benchmark tracked $570m of announced investment in the US rare earths supply chain in Q2 2025, led by public-private sector partnerships.",{"type":656,"attrs":9814},{"id":9815,"body":9816},"544c5a57-935a-4355-9c15-f41c0373826f",[9817],{"id":9818,"_uid":9819,"type":663,"_editable":9820,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25514557","i-e739be08-64d9-42a0-8def-bd22f94721e5","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e739be08-64d9-42a0-8def-bd22f94721e5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9822,"content":9823},{"textAlign":49},[9824],{"text":9825,"type":596},"The Lithium Americas announcement was followed by news this week that the US government has acquired a 10% stake ($35.6m) in Canadian mineral exploration company Trilogy Metals, which is developing the Ambler Metals Project in Alaska. The project includes deposits of copper, cobalt, and other metals. The announcement also confirmed approval for the Ambler Road Project, an industrial-use-only route designed to connect the remote deposit with state highway infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":9827,"content":9828},{"textAlign":49},[9829],{"text":9830,"type":596},"Reuters reported late last week that “hundreds of companies” with critical mineral projects had been approached by the US government regarding potential equity investments. This was reported to include Critical Metals Corporation, which recently became the majority owner of the Tanbreez rare earths project in Greenland — though these claims were later denied by US officials.",{"type":615,"attrs":9832,"content":9833},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9834],{"text":9835,"type":596},"US eyes public-private fund to tap into global critical mineral supplies",{"type":591,"attrs":9837,"content":9838},{"textAlign":49},[9839],{"text":9840,"type":596},"The flurry of announcements and speculation comes amid talks between the US government and Orion Resource Partners, via the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to establish a ~$5bn fund for investment in critical mineral mining projects globally, as reported by Bloomberg.",{"type":591,"attrs":9842,"content":9843},{"textAlign":49},[9844],{"text":9845,"type":596},"The DFC was established during President Trump’s first term and has served as a key vehicle for US investment in mining projects and associated infrastructure globally, offering credit, equity stakes, and technical assistance grants. This includes direct loans of over $500m to finance the refurbishment of the Lobito Corridor railway to facilitate exports of critical minerals from the Central African copperbelt to markets in the West.",{"type":656,"attrs":9847},{"id":9848,"body":9849},"372160b9-f640-4a79-82fa-cdd818c6127d",[9850],{"id":9851,"_uid":9852,"type":663,"_editable":9853,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25513518","i-c2f5e5f1-28b8-4459-be47-dda1f4002e8b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c2f5e5f1-28b8-4459-be47-dda1f4002e8b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":9855,"content":9856},{"textAlign":49},[9857,9859,9865,9867,9873],{"text":9858,"type":596},"The Trump administration has touted access to mining projects and critical minerals deposits as a prerequisite for potential",{"text":9860,"type":596,"marks":9861}," security guarantees offered to Ukraine",[9862],{"type":606,"attrs":9863},{"href":9864,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-and-ukraine-clinch-historic-critical-minerals-agreement",{"text":9866,"type":596}," and the ",{"text":9868,"type":596,"marks":9869},"Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)",[9870],{"type":606,"attrs":9871},{"href":9872,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-considers-minerals-for-security-deal-with-the-drc",{"text":9874,"type":596},", as well as in its overtures towards Greenland during its first year in office. ",{"type":591,"attrs":9876,"content":9877},{"textAlign":49},[9878],{"text":9879,"type":596},"More recently, the US government is said to have offered to purchase equity stakes in Australian critical mineral companies, aiming to tap into the country’s vast resource base as part of wider efforts to reduce strategic supply dependence on China.","The Trump administration is stepping up direct investments in critical mineral projects to bolster US supply security, as part of a broader push by Washington to acquire equity in sectors considered vital to national security. Last week, the US Department of Energy (DoE) announced it would restructure a $2.3bn loan agreement with Lithium Americas, providing […]",[9882],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9883},{"job_title":557,"image":9884,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7e71cbc1-3057-4212-ac00-075fe6ef962c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[9887,9888,9889,9890,9891,9892,9893,9896],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},"phosphate","Phosphate",{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9898,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":9899,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e391ad2ce5/bm-dollars-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 08, 2025",{"id":9902,"uuid":9903,"name":9904,"slug":9905,"full_slug":9906,"content":9907},112398758830724,"aa67810c-ff72-40dc-b725-201445973a9c","Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing frequency for rare earth prices to every two weeks and to update specification for CIF Europe & North America PrNd Oxide","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-frequency-for-rare-earth-prices-to-every-two-weeks-and-to-update-specification-for-cif-europe-north-america-prnd-oxide","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-frequency-for-rare-earth-prices-to-every-two-weeks-and-to-update-specification-for-cif-europe-north-america-prnd-oxide",{"_uid":9908,"date":9772,"tags":9909,"editor":9912,"content":9916,"excerpt":10015,"featured":50,"reporter":10016,"component":697,"seo_title":9904,"categories":10020,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10023,"seo_description":10015,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":9900},"dcee6938-5584-4604-b812-3395c573ec96",[9910,9911],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[9913],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":9914},{"job_title":557,"image":9915,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":9917},[9918,9929,9934,9945,9950,9955,9960,9965,9970,9975,9985,9990,9995,10000,10005,10010],{"type":591,"attrs":9919,"content":9920},{"textAlign":49},[9921,9923,9927],{"text":9922,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its ",{"text":414,"type":596,"marks":9924},[9925],{"type":606,"attrs":9926},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":9928,"type":596}," Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":9930,"content":9931},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9932],{"text":9933,"type":596},"Increased frequency",{"type":591,"attrs":9935,"content":9936},{"textAlign":49},[9937,9939,9944],{"text":9938,"type":596},"Growing activity in the global rare earth market has led shorter‑term price fluctuations, created greater transparency in spot transactions and increased the availability of verifiable data to support more regular ",{"text":9940,"type":596,"marks":9941},"price publication",[9942],{"type":606,"attrs":9943},{"href":6716,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":9946,"content":9947},{"textAlign":49},[9948],{"text":9949,"type":596},"To reflect these changes, Benchmark proposes to increase the publication frequency of selected rare earth oxide price assessments from monthly to every two weeks, covering the DDP China, CIF Europe and CIF North America grades. Higher frequency publication will provide a more representative and timely assessment of market movements, supporting participants that rely on Benchmark’s prices for procurement, sales, and contract indexation.",{"type":591,"attrs":9951,"content":9952},{"textAlign":49},[9953],{"text":9954,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussions with active market participants, Benchmark plans to publish relevant rare earth oxide price assessments every other Thursday by 4pm (London), starting from 27 November 2025. Prices currently assessed on a monthly basis will move to an alternate‑Thursday schedule.",{"type":591,"attrs":9956,"content":9957},{"textAlign":49},[9958],{"text":9959,"type":596},"As trading volumes in the rare earth oxide market continue to grow, Benchmark considers higher frequency reporting essential to capturing intra‑month price movements and improving overall market transparency.",{"type":615,"attrs":9961,"content":9962},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9963],{"text":9964,"type":596},"Evolution of assessed product forms",{"type":591,"attrs":9966,"content":9967},{"textAlign":49},[9968],{"text":9969,"type":596},"Benchmark is proposing to revise the purity specification for its CIF North America and CIF Europe PrNd oxide assessments.",{"type":591,"attrs":9971,"content":9972},{"textAlign":49},[9973],{"text":9974,"type":596},"The current specification of Pr >22%, Nd >70% will be adjusted to a Pr >20% minimum, with Nd purity remaining the same. This change ensures the assessment captures traded material more accurately in emerging markets outside China.",{"type":591,"attrs":9976,"content":9977},{"textAlign":49},[9978,9980,9984],{"text":9979,"type":596},"Market feedback has highlighted that ex‑China PrNd oxide typically has a Pr ratio closer to 20% rather than 25%, reflecting the natural Nd:Pr distribution in projects being developed to serve international magnet ",{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":9981},[9982],{"type":606,"attrs":9983},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":9986,"content":9987},{"textAlign":49},[9988],{"text":9989,"type":596},"By aligning the assessment spec with this trade reality, Benchmark will provide a more representative reflection of market‑forming ex‑China PrNd oxide transactions, supporting transparency as Western supply chains scale up",{"type":591,"attrs":9991,"content":9992},{"textAlign":49},[9993],{"text":9994,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback on the proposed increase in publication frequency and specification changes from all active participants involved in rare earth production, trading, and consumption.",{"type":615,"attrs":9996,"content":9997},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[9998],{"text":9999,"type":596},"Benchmark Price Assessments – contact us:",{"type":591,"attrs":10001,"content":10002},{"textAlign":49},[10003],{"text":10004,"type":596},"The proposed changes would impact the following grades currently collected by Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":10006,"content":10007},{"textAlign":49},[10008],{"text":10009,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 24 November 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":10011,"content":10012},{"textAlign":49},[10013],{"text":10014,"type":596},"Comments are welcomed via submission to: prices@benchmarkminerals.com","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Rare Earths Price Assessment Methodology. Increased frequency Growing activity in the global rare earth market has led shorter‑term price fluctuations, created greater transparency in spot transactions and increased the availability of verifiable data to support more regular price […]",[10017],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10018},{"job_title":557,"image":10019,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[10021,10022],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10025,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e2fc7a6dc0/bm-collage-prices-6.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":10027,"uuid":10028,"name":10029,"slug":10030,"full_slug":10031,"content":10032},106707119733491,"a3e6f249-8bfa-4d31-80ee-6efd93c869a4","Q3 2025 Black Mass Price Review: China lifts black mass import restrictions","q3-2025-black-mass-price-review-china-lifts-black-mass-import-restrictions","article/q3-2025-black-mass-price-review-china-lifts-black-mass-import-restrictions",{"_uid":10033,"date":9772,"tags":10034,"editor":10045,"content":10049,"excerpt":10184,"featured":50,"reporter":10185,"_editable":10189,"component":697,"seo_title":10029,"categories":10190,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":10197,"featured_image":10200,"seo_description":10184,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":9900},"efb81537-dec7-42c0-9bf9-fabda5ac49d4",[10035,10036,10038,10041,10042,10043,10044],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":10037,"name":373},"black-mass",{"slug":10039,"name":10040},"black-mass-prices","Black mass prices",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[10046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10047},{"job_title":557,"image":10048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10050},[10051,10064,10069,10077,10082,10108,10119,10124,10131,10139,10146,10161,10176],{"type":591,"attrs":10052,"content":10053},{"textAlign":49},[10054,10056,10062],{"text":10055,"type":596},"Black mass markets in Q3 2025 were largely shaped by ",{"text":10057,"type":596,"marks":10058},"China’s",[10059],{"type":606,"attrs":10060},{"href":10061,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-how-much-of-the-recycling-industry-does-china-control",{"text":10063,"type":596}," lifting of import restrictions on 1 August, which re‑routed trade flows. Outside of China, this has created a two-tier market divided by compliance with Chinese custom’s quality controls. Compliant material commanded high premiums (79%–84%), while producers of non‑compliant batches struggled to clear material, trading at lower payables (70%–75%).",{"type":591,"attrs":10065,"content":10066},{"textAlign":49},[10067],{"text":10068,"type":596},"Despite China’s relaxation of its black mass import ban, the country’s stringent policing of imports kept liquidity relatively subdued. Those companies importing material did so in small volumes, often using subsidiaries or partners to avoid scrutiny and focusing primarily on high quality batches from production scrap feedstock.",{"type":656,"attrs":10070},{"id":10071,"body":10072},"c6636775-ce92-4d7b-80d1-405006000b73",[10073],{"id":10074,"_uid":10075,"type":663,"_editable":10076,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25447387","i-4792d280-dd54-4b10-8e65-be3662b238c3","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4792d280-dd54-4b10-8e65-be3662b238c3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":10078,"content":10079},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10080],{"text":10081,"type":596},"Key trends by chemistry",{"type":591,"attrs":10083,"content":10084},{"textAlign":49},[10085,10087,10093,10095,10099,10100,10106],{"text":10086,"type":596},"Across chemistries, ",{"text":10088,"type":596,"marks":10089},"NCM payables",[10090],{"type":606,"attrs":10091},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced",{"text":10094,"type":596}," held firm globally this quarter, supported by stable-to-bullish ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":10096},[10097],{"type":606,"attrs":10098},{"href":6920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":10101,"type":596,"marks":10102},"nickel prices",[10103],{"type":606,"attrs":10104},{"href":10105,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-prices-q3-2025-review-china-restocking-lifts-sulphate-and-mhp-as-lme-oversupply-persists",{"text":10107,"type":596},", as well as robust Asian demand. LCO recovered from earlier lows as virgin cobalt metal and chemical prices rose due to the extension of the DRC’s export ban.",{"type":591,"attrs":10109,"content":10110},{"textAlign":49},[10111,10117],{"text":10112,"type":596,"marks":10113},"LFP black mass",[10114],{"type":606,"attrs":10115},{"href":10116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/lfp-recycling-unlocked-powering-the-circular-economy-future",{"text":10118,"type":596}," prices, by contrast, rose at the start of the quarter due to concerns of hard rock supply tightening, elevating the price of lithium chemicals in China. However, as these fears subsided, lithium chemical prices dipped, squeezing the margins at processors, in turn causing a drop in the price for LFP black mass.",{"type":615,"attrs":10120,"content":10121},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10122],{"text":10123,"type":596},"Key regional trends in black mass prices in Q3",{"type":591,"attrs":10125,"content":10126},{"textAlign":49},[10127,10129],{"text":10128,"type":596},"China:",{"text":10130,"type":596}," China’s import ban removal hasn’t flooded the market as many expected, since cautious procurement, strict compliance requirements, and customs scrutiny tempered import volumes. Moreover, margins at hydrometallurgical plants remained weak, primarily due to declines in lithium chemical prices. This put operations under pressure, especially those handling LFP black mass",{"type":656,"attrs":10132},{"id":10133,"body":10134},"0fa4ad5d-ded3-49b9-a692-27ac4c9cc64f",[10135],{"id":10136,"_uid":10137,"type":663,"_editable":10138,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25506751","i-f9f30414-a971-4589-8985-7c4398fc4306","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-f9f30414-a971-4589-8985-7c4398fc4306\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10140,"content":10141},{"textAlign":49},[10142,10144],{"text":10143,"type":596},"Rest of Asia (ex China):",{"text":10145,"type":596}," In the seaborne Asia market, two bands of payables have emerged due to Chinese import rule compliance. Otherwise, the market has become increasingly structured by upgrading practices, including blending and crude hydrometallurgy, amongst others.",{"type":591,"attrs":10147,"content":10148},{"textAlign":49},[10149,10151,10153,10159],{"text":10150,"type":596},"North America:",{"text":10152,"type":596}," An increasingly constrained market dominated by quality differentiation has emerged. ",{"text":10154,"type":596,"marks":10155},"US material is favoured for consistency and quality over Europe",[10156],{"type":606,"attrs":10157},{"href":10158,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-comparing-the-european-and-north-american-black-mass-markets",{"text":10160,"type":596},", but greater demand has been capped by high freight costs, political instability, and batch variance. Supply has been restricted as some operations went offline and many producers have opted to withhold material in the hope that prices improve towards the end of 2025. Uncertainty surrounding policy is hindering expansion, investment, and large commercial deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":10162,"content":10163},{"textAlign":49},[10164,10166,10168,10174],{"text":10165,"type":596},"Europe:",{"text":10167,"type":596}," European payable levels were volatile this quarter, hinging on the availability of production scrap sourced material. The waste vs product gap re‑emerged because overseas buyers increasingly favoured higher quality product classified material that would be more likely to pass Chinese customs, elevating product status black mass payables. Furthermore, many buyers were unable to meet the logistical and cost hurdles of ",{"text":10169,"type":596,"marks":10170},"shipping hazardous waste classified material",[10171],{"type":606,"attrs":10172},{"href":10173,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-classifies-black-mass-as-hazardous-waste-to-reduce-critical-mineral-leakage",{"text":10175,"type":596},", putting downward pressure on these payables.",{"type":656,"attrs":10177},{"id":10178,"body":10179},"70e806e4-6f88-41f6-bc3e-17967cff91a5",[10180],{"id":10181,"_uid":10182,"type":663,"_editable":10183,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25509309","i-b70a07ba-3634-4489-b90f-8d2a018c59a0","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b70a07ba-3634-4489-b90f-8d2a018c59a0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Black mass markets in Q3 2025 were largely shaped by China’s lifting of import restrictions on 1 August, which re‑routed trade flows. Outside of China, this has created a two-tier market divided by compliance with Chinese custom’s quality controls. Compliant material commanded high premiums (79%–84%), while producers of non‑compliant batches struggled to clear material, trading […]",[10186],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10187},{"job_title":557,"image":10188,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"efb81537-dec7-42c0-9bf9-fabda5ac49d4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10191,10194],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},"recycling","Recycling",{"slug":10195,"name":10196},"sustainability","Sustainability",{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10198,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10199,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1759923353/www-production/Socials-Q3-black-mass-payables-China@2x-2/Socials-Q3-black-mass-payables-China@2x-2.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10201,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10202,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4094602522/bm-adobestock-438850427.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":10204,"uuid":10205,"name":10206,"slug":10207,"full_slug":10208,"content":10209},112398782497418,"1130ccc7-20b9-4b0d-b12c-36f5259202eb","Nickel prices Q3 2025 review: China restocking lifts sulphate and MHP as LME oversupply persists","nickel-prices-q3-2025-review-china-restocking-lifts-sulphate-and-mhp-as-lme-oversupply-persists","article/nickel-prices-q3-2025-review-china-restocking-lifts-sulphate-and-mhp-as-lme-oversupply-persists",{"_uid":10210,"date":10211,"tags":10212,"editor":10217,"content":10221,"excerpt":10276,"featured":50,"reporter":10277,"_editable":10281,"component":697,"seo_title":10206,"categories":10282,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10285,"seo_description":10276,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10288},"a9c0d773-1f5f-4111-8666-27856f007e03","2025-09-30 00:00",[10213,10214],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},"nickel-prices","Nickel prices",[10218],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10219},{"job_title":557,"image":10220,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10222},[10223,10228,10233,10238,10243,10251,10256,10261,10266,10271],{"type":591,"attrs":10224,"content":10225},{"textAlign":49},[10226],{"text":10227,"type":596},"Nickel prices spent much of Q3 2025 trading at five‑year lows even as intermediates surged, highlighting the deepening split between China‑led chemical demand and a structurally oversupplied global metal market.",{"type":591,"attrs":10229,"content":10230},{"textAlign":49},[10231],{"text":10232,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate EXW China climbed 7% across the quarter to RMB 27,800–28,020/t ($3,920–3951/t), its highest since March. Precursor and cathode producers rebuilt inventories in August and September, supporting demand for nickel‑rich NCM chemistries ahead of Golden Week. Domestic consumption was also lifted by stronger EV output, with new model launches, including Huawei’s AITO, bolstering NCM demand despite LFP dominance.",{"type":591,"attrs":10234,"content":10235},{"textAlign":49},[10236],{"text":10237,"type":596},"By contrast, sulphate CIF Asia exports remained flat across Q3 at $3,575/t ($1,150/t Ni premium to the LME). Normalised sulphate values slipped back to $16,249/t Ni by end‑September amid thin spot liquidity in Japan and Korea, where refiners remain squeezed by elevated feedstock costs and muted downstream orders.",{"type":591,"attrs":10239,"content":10240},{"textAlign":49},[10241],{"text":10242,"type":596},"Nickel MHP CIF Asia rose steadily through Q3, closing at $13,172/t with payables reaching 87.25% of LME – their highest level since 2022’s short squeeze. Tight spot supply from Indonesia’s HPAL operations, most of which remains locked into captive flows, coupled with restocking by Chinese refiners, kept pressure on payables at multi‑year highs. The aggregate MHP CIF Asia index increased 5% across the quarter to $6,639/t.",{"type":656,"attrs":10244},{"id":10245,"body":10246},"ed1015f8-9e6d-4274-b5ed-dfdbb4a95d28",[10247],{"id":10248,"_uid":10249,"type":663,"_editable":10250,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25392827","i-a8687edb-173d-4707-a236-cbfc3701f61f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a8687edb-173d-4707-a236-cbfc3701f61f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10252,"content":10253},{"textAlign":49},[10254],{"text":10255,"type":596},"LME nickel lingered near depressed levels throughout Q3, dipping to $14,200/t in August – the lowest since October 2020 – before recovering to $15,200–15,500/t in late September as funds took long positions. Rising inventories approaching 300,000t and weak stainless steel demand capped gains, despite speculative sentiment that prices may have found a floor at $14–15k/t given over 20% of supply is loss‑making at these levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":10257,"content":10258},{"textAlign":49},[10259],{"text":10260,"type":596},"Q3 was defined by policy‑driven volatility from Indonesia. Royalty hikes, crackdowns on illegal mining, reports of flooding‑related supply issues and, most recently in September, the government’s partial seizure of a Tsingshan mine all provided short‑lived risk premiums.",{"type":591,"attrs":10262,"content":10263},{"textAlign":49},[10264],{"text":10265,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Western miners continued to retreat: South32 exited Cerro Matoso, BHP pulled back from Kabanga, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund excluded Eramet from its portfolio on ESG grounds. Concentration of supply in Indonesia and China strengthened, just as state‑backed investors such as INA increased their commitments to downstream HPAL and sulphate capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":10267,"content":10268},{"textAlign":49},[10269],{"text":10270,"type":596},"Downstream, CATL raised its 2026 output forecast +30% to 1,300 GWh, reinforcing long‑term battery demand projections, though its chemistry split (LFP vs NCM) remains unspecified. China also announced a new two‑year auto plan to support EV adoption, again positive for lithium demand but skewed toward LFP over nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":10272,"content":10273},{"textAlign":49},[10274],{"text":10275,"type":596},"In summary, Q3 2025 marked a China‑driven rally in chemicals and intermediates within a structurally bearish global market. Nickel sulphate EXW China and MHP payables climbed steadily, but LME nickel and ex‑China sulphate demand remained weighed down by oversupply and weak market fundamentals.","Nickel prices spent much of Q3 2025 trading at five‑year lows even as intermediates surged, highlighting the deepening split between China‑led chemical demand and a structurally oversupplied global metal market. Nickel sulphate EXW China climbed 7% across the quarter to RMB 27,800–28,020/t ($3,920–3951/t), its highest since March. Precursor and cathode producers rebuilt inventories in August and […]",[10278],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10279},{"job_title":557,"image":10280,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a9c0d773-1f5f-4111-8666-27856f007e03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10283,10284],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10286,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10287,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aa78691cce/bm-shutterstock-1754009414.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 30, 2025",{"id":10290,"uuid":10291,"name":10292,"slug":10293,"full_slug":10294,"content":10295},112398777881225,"2efd203f-77f4-49ff-bf04-d23ea6c4ce65","CATL and Gotion secure reserve approvals as Jiangxi permitting deadline looms","catl-and-gotion-secure-reserve-approvals-as-jiangxi-permitting-deadline-looms","article/catl-and-gotion-secure-reserve-approvals-as-jiangxi-permitting-deadline-looms",{"_uid":10296,"date":10211,"tags":10297,"editor":10307,"content":10311,"excerpt":10379,"featured":51,"reporter":10380,"_editable":10384,"component":697,"seo_title":10292,"categories":10385,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10388,"seo_description":10379,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10288},"59af097d-b4fb-4fe9-8b40-b7fd7b31b693",[10298,10299,10300,10303,10306],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10301,"name":10302},"jiangxi","Jiangxi",{"slug":10304,"name":10305},"lithium-prices","Lithium prices",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[10308],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10309},{"job_title":557,"image":10310,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10312},[10313,10318,10331,10339,10344,10356,10361,10369,10374],{"type":591,"attrs":10314,"content":10315},{"textAlign":49},[10316],{"text":10317,"type":596},"Chinese authorities have approved reserve reports for two key lithium mines in Jiangxi province, bringing months of uncertainty over the outlook for the lithium-rich region’s mining sector closer to a conclusion.",{"type":591,"attrs":10319,"content":10320},{"textAlign":49},[10321,10323,10329],{"text":10322,"type":596},"CATL’s Jianxiawo mine – which was ",{"text":10324,"type":596,"marks":10325},"suspended on 10 August following the expiration of its mining permit",[10326],{"type":606,"attrs":10327},{"href":10328,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-suspends-operations-at-jianxiawo-mine-as-permit-expires",{"text":10330,"type":596}," – is reported to have received reserve approval, paving the way for operations to restart in Q4. Fellow battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech (Gotion) also announced approval for mine reserves ahead of the 30 September deadline, avoiding a shutdown of operations.",{"type":656,"attrs":10332},{"id":10333,"body":10334},"a23c7b09-748c-4a78-ac3b-6b9e8698c7c0",[10335],{"id":10336,"_uid":10337,"type":663,"_editable":10338,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25397396","i-56fa2727-9d96-4ca6-9627-cf2eddc5ff1c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-56fa2727-9d96-4ca6-9627-cf2eddc5ff1c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10340,"content":10341},{"textAlign":49},[10342],{"text":10343,"type":596},"Turmoil in Jiangxi’s lithium sector was sparked by amendments to China’s New Mineral Resources Act, which took effect in early July. These changes, which are designed to strengthen regulatory oversight after an audit indicated that miners in Jiangxi were under-stating reserves, required eight mica mines in the region to resubmit paperwork to authorities.",{"type":591,"attrs":10345,"content":10346},{"textAlign":49},[10347,10349,10355],{"text":10348,"type":596},"This created concerns around China’s lithium supply outlook which caused prices to rally in late August. However, speculation that the Jianxiawo mine would restart sooner than initially expected subsequently weakened this momentum, later ",{"text":10350,"type":596,"marks":10351},"confirmed by CATL in mid-September",[10352],{"type":606,"attrs":10353},{"href":10354,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rangebound-prices-ahead-as-jiangxi-permits-set-floor-and-ceiling",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":10357,"content":10358},{"textAlign":49},[10359],{"text":10360,"type":596},"Six projects in Jiangxi are still awaiting regulatory approvals, with mines such as Jiuling and Yongxing facing tougher regulatory hurdles as their high grade material can no longer be treated as a by-product. Nevertheless, market participants report that they expect limited near-term supply risks, with the 30 September permitting deadline appearing set to result in paperwork updates rather than widespread suspensions.",{"type":656,"attrs":10362},{"id":10363,"body":10364},"53c5b3e9-9fcb-4b0b-bf5e-cfdad04ce972",[10365],{"id":10366,"_uid":10367,"type":663,"_editable":10368,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25396433","i-2a649e37-eac0-4e53-bfe0-3ad111306e9a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2a649e37-eac0-4e53-bfe0-3ad111306e9a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10370,"content":10371},{"textAlign":49},[10372],{"text":10373,"type":596},"The news comes as some relief to China’s battery supply chain, with lithium refiners already beginning to feel the effects of the Jianxiawo suspension. In late September, Lopal – a supplier in CATL’s supply chain – announced it had temporarily suspended operations at a lithium carbonate facility, citing a lack of available feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":10375,"content":10376},{"textAlign":49},[10377],{"text":10378,"type":596},"Ultimately, minimal impact is expected on the lithium market balance as a result of the recent uncertainty. Indeed, the Q3 edition of the Benchmark Lithium Forecast, released in late September, shows the lithium market sustaining structural oversupply through 2030, supported in large part by supply additions across Africa and China.","Chinese authorities have approved reserve reports for two key lithium mines in Jiangxi province, bringing months of uncertainty over the outlook for the lithium-rich region’s mining sector closer to a conclusion. CATL’s Jianxiawo mine – which was suspended on 10 August following the expiration of its mining permit – is reported to have received reserve […]",[10381],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10382},{"job_title":557,"image":10383,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"59af097d-b4fb-4fe9-8b40-b7fd7b31b693\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10386,10387],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10389,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10390,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39e88178e2/bm-china-flag.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":10392,"uuid":10393,"name":10394,"slug":10395,"full_slug":10396,"content":10397},112398796034700,"1587b1c2-81bc-4072-8881-0653af859540","Trump administration seeks equity role in largest US lithium project","trump-administration-seeks-equity-role-in-largest-us-lithium-project","article/trump-administration-seeks-equity-role-in-largest-us-lithium-project",{"_uid":10398,"date":10399,"tags":10400,"editor":10406,"content":10410,"excerpt":10514,"featured":51,"reporter":10515,"_editable":10519,"component":697,"seo_title":10394,"categories":10520,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10524,"seo_description":10514,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10527},"c1ac794c-de31-4fc9-b654-80de4d039a9d","2025-09-26 00:00",[10401,10404,10405],{"slug":10402,"name":10403},"lithium-americas","Lithium Americas",{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[10407],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10408},{"job_title":557,"image":10409,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10411},[10412,10425,10437,10445,10450,10455,10463,10468,10473,10480,10485,10498,10505,10509],{"type":591,"attrs":10413,"content":10414},{"textAlign":49},[10415,10417,10423],{"text":10416,"type":596},"The Trump administration is re-evaluating a $2.3bn Department of Energy (DoE) loan granted to Lithium America’s ",{"text":10418,"type":596,"marks":10419},"Thacker Pass lithium project with General Motors",[10420],{"type":606,"attrs":10421},{"href":10422,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/general-motors-lithium-americas-to-form-625-million-joint-venture-for-thacker-pass",{"text":10424,"type":596}," under the Biden administration. The revised terms could see Washington take a direct equity stake in Lithium Americas, reported at ~10%.",{"type":591,"attrs":10426,"content":10427},{"textAlign":49},[10428,10430,10435],{"text":10429,"type":596},"The US is racing to bolster domestic critical mineral mining and processing to reduce its strategic dependencies on China, highlighted by Beijing’s  export controls on rare earth elements vital to the US defence sector at the height of recent trade tensions between the two countries. This prompted the ",{"text":10431,"type":596,"marks":10432},"Pentagon to sign a landmark multibillion-dollar partnership with Nevada-based rare earth developer MP Materials (MP)",[10433],{"type":606,"attrs":10434},{"href":9810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":10436,"type":596},", establishing a precedent for federal equity participation in domestic mining projects.",{"type":656,"attrs":10438},{"id":10439,"body":10440},"df2030be-fb90-4808-8768-2b102c198b12",[10441],{"id":10442,"_uid":10443,"type":663,"_editable":10444,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25332763","i-837d3fdf-2a03-464d-9f5a-205d99c684e2","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-837d3fdf-2a03-464d-9f5a-205d99c684e2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10446,"content":10447},{"textAlign":49},[10448],{"text":10449,"type":596},"The buildout of the US lithium sector has been hampered by low prices, which has left financing as the central bottleneck in the project development cycle. High capital costs make it difficult to fund US projects solely through the private sector. However, should Washington begin taking equity positions in domestic lithium projects, it would help to de-risk the sector and unlock private capital, despite the current downcycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":10451,"content":10452},{"textAlign":49},[10453],{"text":10454,"type":596},"This sentiment was reflected in the immediate market response: Lithium Americas’ share price rose nearly 90% on the news, with investors interpreting Washington’s involvement as an endorsement of its strategic importance. Other US lithium developers also recorded share price gains, fuelled by speculation that government intervention could extend to other projects across the US lithium sector.",{"type":656,"attrs":10456},{"id":10457,"body":10458},"cd8f87cd-050f-4b4f-b4ae-576c5780316c",[10459],{"id":10460,"_uid":10461,"type":663,"_editable":10462,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25333749","i-eda3bd8a-2916-4efe-ab6a-39cf20f79428","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-eda3bd8a-2916-4efe-ab6a-39cf20f79428\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":10464,"content":10465},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10466],{"text":10467,"type":596},"Politics at play?",{"type":591,"attrs":10469,"content":10470},{"textAlign":49},[10471],{"text":10472,"type":596},"By taking direct equity stakes, Washington ensures domestic lithium projects are not only funded but also controlled by US interests, despite potential shareholder dilution. It is part of a wider play from the Trump administration to take direct equity stakes in sectors considered critical to US national security, which includes MP Materials and the recent 10% stake in chipmaker Intel.",{"type":591,"attrs":10474,"content":10475},{"textAlign":49},[10476],{"type":836,"attrs":10477},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":10478,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":10479},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9c024772fc/bm-image-150-1348016209ec.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":10481,"content":10482},{"textAlign":49},[10483],{"text":10484,"type":596},"Photo courtesy of Lithium Americas",{"type":591,"attrs":10486,"content":10487},{"textAlign":49},[10488,10490,10496],{"text":10489,"type":596},"Politics is also at play. President Trump has been vocal in his criticism of loans granted under the Biden administration, promising equity stakes in return for taxpayer dollars. Instead of being a passive lender, the US government could enjoy upside exposure from growing EV battery sector demand – even",{"text":10491,"type":596,"marks":10492}," as US demand projections are downgraded on Trump’s broader rollback of clean energy",[10493],{"type":606,"attrs":10494},{"href":10495,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-big-beautiful-bill-mean-for-the-ev-battery-and-critical-minerals",{"text":10497,"type":596}," subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":10499,"content":10500},{"textAlign":49},[10501],{"type":836,"attrs":10502},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":10503,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":10504},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/af397af451/bm-image-151-134801782405.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":10506,"content":10507},{"textAlign":49},[10508],{"text":10484,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":10510,"content":10511},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10512],{"text":10513,"type":596},"What to expect next?","Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Photo courtsey of Lithium Americas",[10516],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10517},{"job_title":557,"image":10518,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c1ac794c-de31-4fc9-b654-80de4d039a9d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10521,10522,10523],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10525,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10526,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1657210faf/bm-thacker-pass-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 26, 2025",{"id":10529,"uuid":10530,"name":10531,"slug":10532,"full_slug":10533,"content":10534},107080243601872,"1c9627e0-9756-4054-8000-4dad71359cb9","How does UK EV sales penetration vary across the country?","how-does-uk-ev-sale-penetration-vary-across-the-country","article/how-does-uk-ev-sale-penetration-vary-across-the-country",{"_uid":10535,"date":10399,"tags":10536,"editor":10541,"content":10545,"excerpt":10686,"featured":50,"reporter":10687,"_editable":10691,"component":697,"seo_title":10531,"categories":10692,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":10694,"featured_image":10696,"seo_description":10699,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10527},"a019c17d-dde2-46d4-97c9-365c235b3503",[10537,10538],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},"uk","UK",[10542],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10543},{"job_title":557,"image":10544,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10546},[10547,10555,10589,10596,10601,10606,10611,10616,10621,10626,10631,10636,10641,10654,10659,10670,10682,10684],{"type":591,"attrs":10548,"content":10549},{"textAlign":49},[10550],{"text":10551,"type":596,"marks":10552},"The UK's EV penetration rate reached 25% of all new passenger car and light duty vehicle sales in 2024, placing it firmly ahead of other major Western automotive markets, such as the US, Germany, and France.",[10553],{"type":739,"attrs":10554},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":10556,"content":10557},{"textAlign":49},[10558,10563,10571,10576,10585],{"text":10559,"type":596,"marks":10560},"But this figure is still a long way behind the adoption of ",[10561],{"type":739,"attrs":10562},{"color":6272},{"text":10564,"type":596,"marks":10565},"the most advanced regions, particularly China and Northern Europe",[10566,10568,10570],{"type":606,"attrs":10567},{"href":9338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":10569},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":10572,"type":596,"marks":10573},", according to ",[10574],{"type":739,"attrs":10575},{"color":6272},{"text":10577,"type":596,"marks":10578},"Rho Motion's National-level EV penetration rate figures",[10579,10582,10584],{"type":606,"attrs":10580},{"href":10581,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rho-motion",{"type":739,"attrs":10583},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":10586},[10587],{"type":739,"attrs":10588},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":10590,"content":10591},{"textAlign":49},[10592],{"type":836,"attrs":10593},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":10594,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":10595},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3ca518e76f/bm-uk-ev-penetration-wlondon-3.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":10597,"content":10598},{"textAlign":49},[10599],{"text":10600,"type":596},"Which cities have the highest EV uptake?",{"type":591,"attrs":10602,"content":10603},{"textAlign":49},[10604],{"text":10605,"type":596},"Inner London and Leeds lead the way with EV sales penetration above 40%. In Inner London, there are clear drivers: low mileage requirements, the congestion charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zone are all incentives for drivers to turn towards electric.",{"type":591,"attrs":10607,"content":10608},{"textAlign":49},[10609],{"text":10610,"type":596},"A mass rollout of on-street lamppost charge points has also made recharging an easier prospect for the high proportion of residents with access only to on-street parking. Each of the top 5 London boroughs by EV share sits well above the national level of 25%.",{"type":591,"attrs":10612,"content":10613},{"textAlign":49},[10614],{"text":10615,"type":596},"What drives Leeds’ EV demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":10617,"content":10618},{"textAlign":49},[10619],{"text":10620,"type":596},"The city of Leeds has looked to increase EV adoption in the city over the past few years with campaigns such as #LeedsByExample. Additionally, the roll out of charging infrastructure in the city has been successful with hundreds of points available, aiding EV adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":10622,"content":10623},{"textAlign":49},[10624],{"text":10625,"type":596},"However, in the UK, regional data can sometimes be skewed by the registrations of large firms that register vehicles all in one place; this can distort the data in some places and lead to outliers. While private residents of Leeds may well be progressing the city’s EV share, there aren’t as many obvious drivers as somewhere like London.",{"type":591,"attrs":10627,"content":10628},{"textAlign":49},[10629],{"text":10630,"type":596},"Other regions lagging behind",{"type":591,"attrs":10632,"content":10633},{"textAlign":49},[10634],{"text":10635,"type":596},"But, most cities fall below the national level, with some still just half of the 25% – showing more needs to be done to reach the highest levels of EV adoption via local support and enablement. Furthermore, the challenge will increase once high-achieving areas reach saturation and have a lesser effect on pulling up the national average.",{"type":591,"attrs":10637,"content":10638},{"textAlign":49},[10639],{"text":10640,"type":596},"The UK EV market in 2025",{"type":591,"attrs":10642,"content":10643},{"textAlign":49},[10644,10646,10652],{"text":10645,"type":596},"The UK market has shown strong growth so far this year, a 31% increase from January to August compared to the same period last year. In July 2025, ",{"text":10647,"type":596,"marks":10648},"the government reintroduced a subsidy scheme",[10649],{"type":606,"attrs":10650},{"href":10651,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-uk-government-returns-to-incentivising-ev-sales",{"text":10653,"type":596}," aimed at subsidising vehicles at the lower end of the price spectrum. Additionally, at the start of the year the government introduced guidelines for cross-pavement charging solutions as well as setting aside funding, a move that will make the installation of chargers more widespread and aid EV adoption.",{"type":615,"attrs":10655,"content":10656},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10657],{"text":10658,"type":596},"More Information",{"type":591,"attrs":10660,"content":10661},{"textAlign":49},[10662,10668],{"text":10663,"type":596,"marks":10664},"Rho Motion’s Monthly EV & Battery Database and Monthly Sales Assessment",[10665],{"type":606,"attrs":10666},{"href":10667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/ev-battery-database/",{"text":10669,"type":596}," tracks BEV and PHEV sales as well as providing country-level penetration rate data.",{"type":591,"attrs":10671,"content":10672},{"textAlign":49},[10673,10675,10681],{"text":10674,"type":596},"The UK EV market will take centre stage at our upcoming Benchmark Summit London. This free one-day event, held on 15 October during LME Week, will bring together policy, finance, and industry leaders to explore how best to drive success in the energy transition. ",{"text":10676,"type":596,"marks":10677},"Register here",[10678],{"type":606,"attrs":10679},{"href":10680,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/summitlondon",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":10683},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":10685},{"textAlign":49},"The UK’s EV penetration rate reached 25% of all new passenger car and light duty vehicle sales in 2024, placing it firmly ahead of other major Western automotive markets, such as the US, Germany, and France. But this figure is still a long way behind the adoption of the most advanced regions, particularly China and […]",[10688],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10689},{"job_title":557,"image":10690,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a019c17d-dde2-46d4-97c9-365c235b3503\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10693],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10594,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10695,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10697,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10698,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f2c9cecbd3/bm-adobestock-482617019.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The UK’s EV penetration rate reached 25% of all new passenger car and light duty vehicle sales in 2024, placing it firmly ahead of other major Western automotive markets, such as the US, Germany, and France. But this figure is still a long way behind […]",{"id":10701,"uuid":10702,"name":10703,"slug":10704,"full_slug":10705,"content":10706},112398800810638,"11e973d6-ffb1-46ee-a14c-5f9062486cee","G7 and EU weigh price floors to counter China’s rare earth dominance","g7-and-eu-weigh-price-floors-to-counter-chinas-rare-earth-dominance","article/g7-and-eu-weigh-price-floors-to-counter-chinas-rare-earth-dominance",{"_uid":10707,"date":10708,"tags":10709,"editor":10718,"content":10722,"excerpt":10810,"featured":51,"reporter":10811,"_editable":10815,"component":697,"seo_title":10703,"categories":10816,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10820,"seo_description":10810,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10824},"57707921-1bce-405b-9c69-1ac5ac4630bb","2025-09-25 00:00",[10710,10711,10714,10717],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},"european-union","European Union",{"slug":10715,"name":10716},"g7","G7",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[10719],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10720},{"job_title":557,"image":10721,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10723},[10724,10729,10750,10758,10770,10775,10782,10787,10792,10797,10802,10807],{"type":591,"attrs":10725,"content":10726},{"textAlign":49},[10727],{"text":10728,"type":596},"G7 nations and the European Union (EU) are reportedly examining a proposal to introduce price floors for rare earth elements, as they seek measures to reduce strategic vulnerabilities and break China’s dominance over the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":10730,"content":10731},{"textAlign":49},[10732,10734,10740,10742,10748],{"text":10733,"type":596},"China has built a monopoly on global rare earth production and accounts for 91% of global refined rare earth oxide supply, according to the Benchmark Rare Earths Forecast. Beijing’s decision to ",{"text":10735,"type":596,"marks":10736},"restrict exports of rare earths in April",[10737],{"type":606,"attrs":10738},{"href":10739,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-rare-earth-exports-amid-escalating-trade-tensions-with-us",{"text":10741,"type":596}," – a countermeasure deployed at the ",{"text":10743,"type":596,"marks":10744},"height of the recent trade war",[10745],{"type":606,"attrs":10746},{"href":10747,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-trade-war-begins-what-does-it-mean-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals",{"text":10749,"type":596}," – exposed US and European supply vulnerability and has since catalysed Western policy interventions in the market. ",{"type":656,"attrs":10751},{"id":10752,"body":10753},"28c3d447-c150-415a-b5cb-b6538624e5f3",[10754],{"id":10755,"_uid":10756,"type":663,"_editable":10757,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25318060","i-2fdd98ce-9c26-453f-accb-9a1761a6dfba","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2fdd98ce-9c26-453f-accb-9a1761a6dfba\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10759,"content":10760},{"textAlign":49},[10761,10763,10768],{"text":10762,"type":596},"In July, the US Department of Defense (DoD) inked a ",{"text":10764,"type":596,"marks":10765},"multibillion-dollar partnership with Nevada-based MP Materials (MP)",[10766],{"type":606,"attrs":10767},{"href":9810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":10769,"type":596}," to develop a fully integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain in the US. Underpinning the agreement was a 10-year NdPr (neodymium-praseodymium) minimum purchase price, designed to de-risk the project by providing visibility over future revenues. ",{"type":591,"attrs":10771,"content":10772},{"textAlign":49},[10773],{"text":10774,"type":596},"This sent a clear positive price signal to the ex-China market, improving the bankability of rare earths projects across the West – many of which have faced delays due to a sustained low price environment. Western governments are now considering whether to extend the MP Materials blueprint to support project growth more broadly, with Australia and Canada – both countries with sizable rare earth deposits – said to have reacted positively.",{"type":656,"attrs":10776},{"id":10777,"body":10778},"8ba97eb3-9cbe-4436-bb19-bda1868a133a",[10779],{"id":7937,"_uid":10780,"type":663,"_editable":10781,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"i-972a5d33-eab5-4a3e-83a8-370fc4fff1be","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-972a5d33-eab5-4a3e-83a8-370fc4fff1be\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10783,"content":10784},{"textAlign":49},[10785],{"text":10786,"type":596},"Aside from minimum price floors, other measures under consideration include restrictions on sourcing from China, as well as the potential introduction of a tariff or tax calculated on carbon emissions generated during mining, separation, and refining.",{"type":615,"attrs":10788,"content":10789},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10790],{"text":10791,"type":596},"Policy is key to breaking China’s rare earth dominance",{"type":591,"attrs":10793,"content":10794},{"textAlign":49},[10795],{"text":10796,"type":596},"For specific rare earth elements, the concentration of refining capacity in China is even more acute. About 98% of dysprosium refining – used in permanent magnet manufacturing – currently takes place in China. These magnets are critical for electric vehicle (EV) motors, wind turbines, and defence technologies such as F-35 fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles.",{"type":591,"attrs":10798,"content":10799},{"textAlign":49},[10800],{"text":10801,"type":596},"Beijing’s export controls are accelerating de-risking efforts among Western countries. China’s share of total refined rare earth oxide supply is projected to fall to 69% by 2030, driven by refining capacity coming online in the US, Australia, and Malaysia.",{"type":591,"attrs":10803,"content":10804},{"textAlign":49},[10805],{"text":10806,"type":596},"However, mitigating long-term supply dependencies on China will require Western governments to foster supportive policy environments for new entrants. This includes not only financial incentives but also streamlined regulatory approvals. The risk of sustained supply disruption may also incentivise greater substitution away from rare earth-containing magnets, partially easing supply pressures.",{"type":591,"attrs":10808,"content":10809},{"textAlign":49},[],"G7 nations and the European Union (EU) are reportedly examining a proposal to introduce price floors for rare earth elements, as they seek measures to reduce strategic vulnerabilities and break China’s dominance over the supply chain. China has built a monopoly on global rare earth production and accounts for 91% of global refined rare earth […]",[10812],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10813},{"job_title":557,"image":10814,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"57707921-1bce-405b-9c69-1ac5ac4630bb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10817,10818,10819],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":10821,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":10821,"source":547,"filename":10822,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10823,"is_external_url":51},"Deep excavation hole of an open pit mine for rare earth elements","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/372ab4a754/bm-rareearthsupply2024myanmar.jpeg",{"alt":10821,"title":10821,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 25, 2025",{"id":10826,"uuid":10827,"name":10828,"slug":10829,"full_slug":10830,"content":10831},112398814134928,"cdfb52b5-8b42-48e6-a60f-c26ddc4c2f05","BYD unveils 2,710Ah cell for new Haohan storage system","byd-unveils-2710ah-cell-for-new-haohan-storage-system","article/byd-unveils-2710ah-cell-for-new-haohan-storage-system",{"_uid":10832,"date":10833,"tags":10834,"editor":10837,"content":10841,"excerpt":10956,"featured":51,"reporter":10957,"_editable":10961,"component":697,"seo_title":10828,"categories":10962,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":10964,"seo_description":10956,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":10967},"5dc399c4-2b11-4f8f-ac09-a64e18d1f401","2025-09-23 00:00",[10835,10836],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":575,"name":576},[10838],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10839},{"job_title":557,"image":10840,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10842},[10843,10848,10853,10858,10863,10871,10876,10884,10889,10894,10899,10904,10909,10914,10919,10923,10947,10950,10953],{"type":591,"attrs":10844,"content":10845},{"textAlign":49},[10846],{"text":10847,"type":596},"BYD has unveiled its latest grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), named Haohan, with a capacity of 14.5MWh and powered by a new 2,710Ah blade cell. The launch marks a step-change in scale for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) storage technology, though the size of both the cell and the system raise questions over practical deployment and commercial viability.",{"type":615,"attrs":10849,"content":10850},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10851],{"text":10852,"type":596},"How big is 2,710Ah?",{"type":591,"attrs":10854,"content":10855},{"textAlign":49},[10856],{"text":10857,"type":596},"The 2,710Ah cell is an LFP blade design, adapted from BYD’s EV platform for stationary use. Until recently, cells in the 280Ah–314Ah range have dominated the storage market.",{"type":591,"attrs":10859,"content":10860},{"textAlign":49},[10861],{"text":10862,"type":596},"Mainstream cell formats deployed in the vast majority of systems today are 314Ah, having shifted from the industry-standard of 280Ah over the past year and half. In early September, the 400MWh/200MW Lingshou BESS project in China was commissioned using EVE’s 628Ah cells, the largest currently being deployed in the world. Other larger formats above 500Ah have started to emerge from Chinese suppliers in the past two years, but BYD’s product is by far the largest publicly disclosed to date.",{"type":656,"attrs":10864},{"id":10865,"body":10866},"ca406e57-6762-43ed-9908-e4c0dff63f78",[10867],{"id":10868,"_uid":10869,"type":663,"_editable":10870,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25279797","i-c756ab60-ed29-4160-9b12-bb5882084890","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c756ab60-ed29-4160-9b12-bb5882084890\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":10872,"content":10873},{"textAlign":49},[10874],{"text":10875,"type":596},"With a capacity of 14.5MWh, the Haohan system would be one of the largest standard units currently on sale. It is nearly three times larger than Tesla’s Megapack 3 (5MWh) that was released last week, though still smaller than Gotion’s 20MWh product announced in June 2025 that uses 314Ah cells.",{"type":656,"attrs":10877},{"id":10878,"body":10879},"ea7a6389-3912-478d-b259-e6617714aba0",[10880],{"id":10881,"_uid":10882,"type":663,"_editable":10883,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25280410","i-d68ec657-5aae-47dd-8aef-2562d9b56f22","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d68ec657-5aae-47dd-8aef-2562d9b56f22\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":10885,"content":10886},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10887],{"text":10888,"type":596},"Silicon anodes in play?",{"type":591,"attrs":10890,"content":10891},{"textAlign":49},[10892],{"text":10893,"type":596},"Reports in Chinese media suggest BYD’s cell may incorporate graphite-silicon anode material, which would be a first for energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":10895,"content":10896},{"textAlign":49},[10897],{"text":10898,"type":596},"Varnika Agarwal, new technology analyst at Benchmark, said: “Within the BESS industry silicon anodes have long been viewed as promising but problematic, given their tendency for volumetric expansion and contraction, which can shorten cell life.”",{"type":591,"attrs":10900,"content":10901},{"textAlign":49},[10902],{"text":10903,"type":596},"“If BYD has found a way to integrate silicon successfully into such a large-format design, it would represent a significant development to monitor closely,” she added.",{"type":615,"attrs":10905,"content":10906},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10907],{"text":10908,"type":596},"Performance trade-offs",{"type":591,"attrs":10910,"content":10911},{"textAlign":49},[10912],{"text":10913,"type":596},"Using larger format cell sizes can reduce the initial cost of an energy storage system. But, Agarwal cautioned, “larger cells often come with reduced cycle-life performance, which can, over time, erode those initial savings when measured by total cost of ownership.”",{"type":591,"attrs":10915,"content":10916},{"textAlign":49},[10917],{"text":10918,"type":596},"However, BYD has claimed the new cells are capable of 10,000 cycles, matching current industry benchmarks.",{"type":615,"attrs":10920,"content":10921},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[10922],{"text":4869,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":10924,"content":10925},{"textAlign":49},[10926,10928,10930,10932,10938,10940,10946],{"text":10927,"type":596},"To find out more about new technologies take a ",{"text":10929,"type":596},"look at Benchma",{"text":10931,"type":596},"rk’s ",{"text":10933,"type":596,"marks":10934},"New Technology Service",[10935],{"type":606,"attrs":10936},{"href":10937,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/new-technology",{"text":10939,"type":596}," or ",{"text":10941,"type":596,"marks":10942},"Rho Motion’s BESS Forecast report",[10943],{"type":606,"attrs":10944},{"href":10945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/battery-energy-stationary-storage-forecast/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":10948,"content":10949},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":10951,"content":10952},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":10954,"content":10955},{"textAlign":49},[],"BYD has unveiled its latest grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), named Haohan, with a capacity of 14.5MWh and powered by a new 2,710Ah blade cell. The launch marks a step-change in scale for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) storage technology, though the size of both the cell and the system raise questions over practical deployment […]",[10958],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10959},{"job_title":557,"image":10960,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5dc399c4-2b11-4f8f-ac09-a64e18d1f401\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[10963],{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10965,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":10966,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7c9b64969/bm-adobestock-1190982699.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 23, 2025",{"id":10969,"uuid":10970,"name":10971,"slug":10972,"full_slug":10973,"content":10974},107063155940189,"0ee35501-9066-4e6d-95fa-3174ffa37e65","In conversation with NEO Performance Materials CEO and President Rahim Suleman ","in-conversation-with-neo-performance-materials-ceo-and-president-rahim-suleman","article/in-conversation-with-neo-performance-materials-ceo-and-president-rahim-suleman",{"_uid":10975,"date":10976,"tags":10977,"editor":10985,"content":10989,"excerpt":11095,"featured":51,"reporter":11096,"component":697,"seo_title":11100,"categories":11101,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":11109,"featured_image":11111,"seo_description":11114,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":11115},"eaf4f149-3f34-48d3-8454-18dae669c4c2","2025-09-22 00:00",[10978,10979,10982],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10980,"name":10981},"estonia","Estonia",{"slug":10983,"name":10984},"neo-performance-materials","Neo Performance Materials",[10986],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":10987},{"job_title":557,"image":10988,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":10990},[10991,10996,11001,11006,11013,11018,11046,11053,11058,11063,11076,11083,11090],{"type":591,"attrs":10992,"content":10993},{"textAlign":49},[10994],{"text":10995,"type":596},"NEO Performance Materials (NEO), a Canadian company with 30 years of rare earths industry experience, officially opened its rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) plant in Narva, Estonia, with a high-level ceremony on September 19, with Benchmark in attendance. The Narva plant marks NEO’s second rare earth facility in Estonia, complementing its established Silmet rare earth processing operation in Sillamäe. Before the ceremony, Benchmark sat down with NEO CEO and President Rahim Suleman to learn more about the company and its position in the midstream and downstream segments of the global rare earths supply chain, as well as the outlook for REPMs in the current tense geo-economic context. ",{"type":591,"attrs":10997,"content":10998},{"textAlign":49},[10999],{"text":11000,"type":596},"NEO has a globally diversified asset base across Europe, North America, and Asia, including operations in China and South Korea. Its operations range from rare earth separation and refining through to magnetic powders and magnets integration, which Rahim Suleman argues makes NEO “currently the most fully integrated REPM company in the world and very well positioned  with its supply chains both in and outside of China.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":11002,"content":11003},{"textAlign":49},[11004],{"text":11005,"type":596},"The Narva plant focuses on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets and is currently operational at the sample production stage, planning to ramp up to reach Phase 1 production of 2,000 tonnes by Q2 2026 and subsequently to 5,000 tonnes per year. In terms of REE feedstock, Suleman explains that NEO relies on a wide variety of global upstream sources, including Lynas Rare Earths, an Australian rare earths miner and processor. NEO’s magnet plant also sources rare earth oxide locally from NEO’s Silmet separation plant in Sillamäe, one of the few such facilities outside of China. ",{"type":656,"attrs":11007},{"id":11008,"body":11009},"0b98d0d9-6ea9-4565-9b77-ae0fe0c862d2",[11010],{"id":11011,"_uid":11012,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23971300","i-63c3638f-b83a-4292-a18e-1578499991ad",{"type":591,"attrs":11014,"content":11015},{"textAlign":49},[11016],{"text":11017,"type":596},"While NEO’s Narva plant and Vacuumschmelze’s (VAC) plant in Hanau, Germany, are the only two operational REPM plants in Europe, several companies are building REPM manufacturing facilities in the US, including MP Materials. Both the US and the EU seek to reduce their heavy dependence on REPM imports from China, which currently provides 98% of European REPM supply and 91% of global supply.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":11019,"content":11020},{"textAlign":49},[11021,11023,11029,11031,11037,11039,11044],{"text":11022,"type":596},"REPMs sit at the intersection of economic security, defence and the green transition, given that they are critical components for electric vehicle (EV) and wind turbine motors, as well as ",{"text":11024,"type":596,"marks":11025},"modern defence technologies like F-35 fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles",[11026],{"type":606,"attrs":11027},{"href":11028,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/special-issues/1345874",{"text":11030,"type":596},". China’s near monopoly in REPM production makes supply chains in the US and the EU vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, as seen with China’s export restrictions on seven medium- and heavy REEs and permanent magnets in April this year. This has led to ",{"text":11032,"type":596,"marks":11033},"heightened price volatility",[11034],{"type":606,"attrs":11035},{"href":11036,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/terbium-prices-spike-following-china-rare-earths-export-ban",{"text":11038,"type":596},", with ex-China prices having surged, as captured by ",{"text":11040,"type":596,"marks":11041},"Benchmark’s recently launched ex-China price index",[11042],{"type":606,"attrs":11043},{"href":6635,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":11045,"type":596},". While holding a Made-in-Europe NEO permanent magnet, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the recent G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, urged the need to loosen China’s grip on rare earths and REPM supply chains through supply diversification.  ",{"type":656,"attrs":11047},{"id":11048,"body":11049},"55880f00-077d-4ae4-9445-d52b12a56e97",[11050],{"id":11051,"_uid":11052,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25198694","i-e9134416-2b37-4a61-bd63-b9770cebb571",{"type":591,"attrs":11054,"content":11055},{"textAlign":49},[11056],{"text":11057,"type":596},"Despite the current tense geo-economic environment, Rahim Suleman emphasised that NEO’s primary focus remains the automotive industry rather than defence industrial supply chains. Furthermore, Suleman is a strong believer in the need for “parallel supply chains and balanced co-dependence”, but not in ‘China decoupling’, illustrated by NEO’s global corporate footprint outside and inside China, which started 30 years ago at NEO’s foundation.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":11059,"content":11060},{"textAlign":49},[11061],{"text":11062,"type":596},"As for NEO’s European supply localisation strategy, Suleman underlines that it is primarily driven by the need to serve NEO’s local automotive customer base. This is supported by the implementation of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), funding from the EU Just Transition Fund and driven by Estonia’s cost-effective and competitive business environment, which is largely characterised by its strong technical skill set. Additionally, the cost premium of producing REPMs locally in Estonia vis-à-vis China is not overly punitive and does not meet the same level as with European battery supply localising, according to Suleman.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":11064,"content":11065},{"textAlign":49},[11066,11068,11074],{"text":11067,"type":596},"Although REPMs are currently increasingly linked to defence technologies, e-mobility is the largest driver of REPM demand and will remain so in the run-up to 2035, with Europe accounting for 19% of global REPM e-mobility demand after China this year. In 2025, ",{"text":11069,"type":596,"marks":11070},"demand for rare earths in EV motors is also expected to increase by 16% year-over-year to 43 kt.",[11071],{"type":606,"attrs":11072},{"href":11073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-many-rare-earths-are-needed-to-produce-ev-motors",{"text":11075,"type":596}," The most common magnets used are made by combining neodymium with iron and boron to create NdFeB magnets. ",{"type":656,"attrs":11077},{"id":11078,"body":11079},"aab20910-b66a-4178-8c00-15c2126ba0e8",[11080],{"id":11081,"_uid":11082,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21807234","i-f03d1d63-7d34-442a-a255-00336c2cee57",{"type":656,"attrs":11084},{"id":11085,"body":11086},"80eed068-4c75-4576-8647-113060300c8a",[11087],{"id":11088,"_uid":11089,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25199872","i-4cad4f2e-9cbe-44ef-b52d-32226c28414c",{"type":591,"attrs":11091,"content":11092},{"textAlign":49},[11093],{"text":11094,"type":596},"Finally, NEO CEO and President Rahim Suleman explains that the EV transition is not the sole determining factor for NEO’s business and growth strategy, referring to other promising end-markets for REPMs, such as data centres driven by the AI boom and robotics, which will actually outgrow the EV transition, he argues. ","NEO Performance Materials (NEO), a Canadian company with 30 years of rare earths industry experience, officially opened its rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) plant in Narva, Estonia, with a high-level ceremony on September 19, with Benchmark in attendance. The Narva plant marks NEO’s second rare earth facility in Estonia, complementing its established Silmet rare earth […]",[11097],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11098},{"job_title":557,"image":11099,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"In conversation with NEO Performance Materials CEO Rahim Suleman ",[11102,11103,11104,11105,11106],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"slug":11107,"name":11108},"raw-materials","Raw Materials",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11110},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11112,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11113,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e29c50cc7/bm-neo-performance-materials-inc-neo-performance-materials-opens.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"NEO Performance Materials (NEO), a Canadian company with 30 years of rare earths industry experience, officially opened its rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) plant in Narva, Estonia, with a high-level ceremony on September 19, Benchmark in attendance.","Sep 22, 2025",{"id":11117,"uuid":11118,"name":11119,"slug":11120,"full_slug":11121,"content":11122},107082463794253,"c9c1276a-6b0e-406c-9d6f-c1d0caacd130","Battery choices and EV cost, how do they vary in the EV market?","battery-choices-and-ev-cost-how-do-they-vary-in-the-ev-market","article/battery-choices-and-ev-cost-how-do-they-vary-in-the-ev-market",{"_uid":11123,"date":11124,"tags":11125,"editor":11130,"content":11134,"excerpt":11317,"featured":50,"reporter":11318,"_editable":11322,"component":697,"seo_title":11119,"categories":11323,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":11326,"featured_image":11329,"seo_description":11332,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":11333},"d2daf8cb-f4ad-4839-b8d8-1ff33968a749","2025-09-17 00:00",[11126,11127,11128,11129],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[11131],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11132},{"job_title":557,"image":11133,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":11135},[11136,11157,11162,11170,11175,11187,11192,11200,11205,11210,11215,11220,11228,11275,11280,11315],{"type":591,"attrs":11137,"content":11138},{"textAlign":49},[11139,11144,11152],{"text":11140,"type":596,"marks":11141},"Price remains one of the largest factors influencing EV adoption. The biggest contributor to the price of a ",[11142],{"type":739,"attrs":11143},{"color":6272},{"text":11145,"type":596,"marks":11146},"battery electric vehicle (BEV)",[11147,11149,11151],{"type":606,"attrs":11148},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11150},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11153,"type":596,"marks":11154}," is its battery, which in turn is influenced by the pack size and chemistry. How do these factors correlate with regional pricing?",[11155],{"type":739,"attrs":11156},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11158,"content":11159},{"textAlign":49},[11160],{"text":11161,"type":596},"How much more are EVs compared to ICE vehicles regionally?",{"type":656,"attrs":11163},{"id":11164,"body":11165},"5a84ddf2-e8f1-4352-9a06-52198ba1fe34",[11166],{"id":11167,"_uid":11168,"type":663,"_editable":11169,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25062838","i-b39d149a-5549-4013-a206-fc074f11ec23","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b39d149a-5549-4013-a206-fc074f11ec23\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":11171,"content":11172},{"textAlign":49},[11173],{"text":11174,"type":596},"When looking at the sales-weighted average base price of the top 15 BEV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in each region, North American consumers currently pay the most for a BEV at ~$48,000, a 46% premium over an ICE alternative. In Europe, a BEV costs less, at ~$40,000, but the premium relative to ICE vehicles is far higher at 82%.",{"type":591,"attrs":11176,"content":11177},{"textAlign":49},[11178,11180,11186],{"text":11179,"type":596},"China, by contrast, sees BEVs averaging ~$15,000. This is close to parity with ICE alternatives, with just a 6% premium according to",{"text":11181,"type":596,"marks":11182}," Rho Motion’s Q3 EV & Battery Forecast",[11183],{"type":606,"attrs":11184},{"href":11185,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/ev-production-quarterly-outlook/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":11188,"content":11189},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11190],{"text":11191,"type":596},"Bigger batteries mean bigger costs",{"type":656,"attrs":11193},{"id":11194,"body":11195},"d4b9a7db-61bd-4b1a-bdb7-b355e986a613",[11196],{"id":11197,"_uid":11198,"type":663,"_editable":11199,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25061354","i-9d719c27-bdc7-41d1-84f6-2241c2d227fa","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9d719c27-bdc7-41d1-84f6-2241c2d227fa\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":11201,"content":11202},{"textAlign":49},[11203],{"text":11204,"type":596},"The larger the battery capacity, the higher the upfront cost, which in turn can push the cost of a BEV up.",{"type":591,"attrs":11206,"content":11207},{"textAlign":49},[11208],{"text":11209,"type":596},"In Europe, 50% of BEV sales this year had batteries between 5–70kWh, while in North America the same range accounted for just 8% of sales. In China, the same segment accounted for 75% of sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":11211,"content":11212},{"textAlign":49},[11213],{"text":11214,"type":596},"At the higher end of the spectrum, 70–100kWh packs represented 48% of sales in Europe, over 70% in North America, and just 24% in China. Looking higher still the US shows a clear preference for even larger batteries, as more than 20% of BEVs sold this year had packs exceeding 100kWh, compared to just a few percent in Europe and China. These regional pack size disparities give some indication to why BEV-ICE premiums vary so much.",{"type":615,"attrs":11216,"content":11217},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11218],{"text":11219,"type":596},"Nickel vs LFP, a key price driver?",{"type":656,"attrs":11221},{"id":11222,"body":11223},"afdeca60-7168-4679-9b33-c3b7e6661881",[11224],{"id":11225,"_uid":11226,"type":663,"_editable":11227,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25066867","i-cc892aa6-c322-401f-a707-8660fad1126e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-cc892aa6-c322-401f-a707-8660fad1126e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":11229,"content":11230},{"textAlign":49},[11231,11236,11244,11249,11258,11262,11270],{"text":11232,"type":596,"marks":11233},"Pack chemistry is another clear price driver, with more expensive ",[11234],{"type":739,"attrs":11235},{"color":6272},{"text":11237,"type":596,"marks":11238},"nickel-based chemistries",[11239,11241,11243],{"type":606,"attrs":11240},{"href":9204,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11242},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11245,"type":596,"marks":11246}," dominant in Europe and North America, compared to the ",[11247],{"type":739,"attrs":11248},{"color":6272},{"text":11250,"type":596,"marks":11251},"cheaper LFP",[11252,11255,11257],{"type":606,"attrs":11253},{"href":11254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-do-sodium-ion-batteries-compare-to-lfp",{"type":739,"attrs":11256},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":11259},[11260],{"type":739,"attrs":11261},{"color":6272},{"text":11263,"type":596,"marks":11264},"China's BEV market is overwhelmingly dominated by LFP batteries",[11265,11267,11269],{"type":606,"attrs":11266},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11268},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11271,"type":596,"marks":11272}," allowing manufacturers to produce lower-cost BEVs.",[11273],{"type":739,"attrs":11274},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":11276,"content":11277},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11278],{"text":11279,"type":596},"Other factors to consider",{"type":591,"attrs":11281,"content":11282},{"textAlign":49},[11283,11288,11296,11301,11310],{"text":11284,"type":596,"marks":11285},"While pack size and chemistry remain key drivers of regional pricing, other factors are equally important. In China, ",[11286],{"type":739,"attrs":11287},{"color":6272},{"text":11289,"type":596,"marks":11290},"carmakers benefit from shorter supply chains and economies of scale",[11291,11293,11295],{"type":606,"attrs":11292},{"href":7114,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11294},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11297,"type":596,"marks":11298},", which can cut production costs. They also face intense domestic price competition, forcing OEMs to operate on thinner margins. By contrast, ",[11299],{"type":739,"attrs":11300},{"color":6272},{"text":11302,"type":596,"marks":11303},"European and North American manufacturers rely on longer supply chains",[11304,11307,11309],{"type":606,"attrs":11305},{"href":11306,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/making-sense-of-the-energy-transitions-most-complex-supply-chains",{"type":739,"attrs":11308},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11311,"type":596,"marks":11312}," and lack China's scale advantages, dynamics that can continue to keep prices high.",[11313],{"type":739,"attrs":11314},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11316},{"textAlign":49},"Price remains one of the largest factors influencing EV adoption. The biggest contributor to the price of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is its battery, which in turn is influenced by the pack size and chemistry. How do these factors correlate with regional pricing? How much more are EVs compared to ICE vehicles regionally? When […]",[11319],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11320},{"job_title":557,"image":11321,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d2daf8cb-f4ad-4839-b8d8-1ff33968a749\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[11324,11325],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11327,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11328,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1757598928/www-production/Screenshot-2025-09-11-145448/Screenshot-2025-09-11-145448.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11330,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11331,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aaf4d725ab/bm-adobestock-335360739-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Price remains one of the largest factors influencing EV adoption. The biggest contributor to the price of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is its battery, which in turn is influenced by the pack size and chemistry. How do these factors correlate with[…]","Sep 17, 2025",{"id":11335,"uuid":11336,"name":11337,"slug":11338,"full_slug":11339,"content":11340},112398848291477,"2f17b8af-9b62-4fe3-9976-0ad77118a642","CATL revises 2026 production guidance up 30% to 1,300GWh","catl-revises-2026-production-guidance-up-30-to-1300gwh","article/catl-revises-2026-production-guidance-up-30-to-1300gwh",{"_uid":11341,"date":11342,"tags":11343,"editor":11346,"content":11350,"excerpt":11456,"featured":51,"reporter":11457,"_editable":11461,"component":697,"seo_title":11337,"categories":11462,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":11467,"seo_description":11456,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":11470},"4a6a50d6-c9bf-4488-9448-077b7d42c904","2025-09-16 00:00",[11344,11345],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},[11347],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11348},{"job_title":557,"image":11349,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":11351},[11352,11357,11383,11391,11396,11401,11414,11426,11431,11444],{"type":591,"attrs":11353,"content":11354},{"textAlign":49},[11355],{"text":11356,"type":596},"CATL has revised its 2026 production guidance upwards by 30% to 1,300GWh, the battery giant’s suppliers report. ",{"type":591,"attrs":11358,"content":11359},{"textAlign":49},[11360,11362,11368,11373,11375,11381],{"text":11361,"type":596},"The new target signals growing confidence in the resilience of China’s EV and ESS markets, even as ",{"text":11363,"type":596,"marks":11364},"China’s EV trade-in policy scheme is set to expire at the end of the year.",[11365],{"type":606,"attrs":11366},{"href":11367,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/news/china-extends-its-vehicle-trade-in-policy-scheme-in-a-boost-to-2025-ev-sales-industry-update/",{"text":11369,"type":596,"marks":11370},"Commercial vehicles",[11371],{"type":606,"attrs":11372},{"href":7228,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":11374,"type":596}," and battery energy stationary storage (BESS) systems are providing the clearest near-term upside for battery demand, with ",{"text":11376,"type":596,"marks":11377},"growth in the BESS sector",[11378],{"type":606,"attrs":11379},{"href":11380,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-energy-storage-market-to-triple-by-2033",{"text":11382,"type":596}," seen as strong enough to underpin capacity expansions.",{"type":656,"attrs":11384},{"id":11385,"body":11386},"6dc6e8d4-1051-48a0-831b-3c6d88c77991",[11387],{"id":11388,"_uid":11389,"type":663,"_editable":11390,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25154848","i-9b62b6c4-a6a1-4aea-9fc5-07bbd71784f4","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9b62b6c4-a6a1-4aea-9fc5-07bbd71784f4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":11392,"content":11393},{"textAlign":49},[11394],{"text":11395,"type":596},"Despite the company’s strong track record, execution risk remains in delivering such a steep growth trajectory. Benchmark notes that CATL’s actual output has historically landed 30–40% below its initial guidance.",{"type":591,"attrs":11397,"content":11398},{"textAlign":49},[11399],{"text":11400,"type":596},"Nevertheless, suppliers consider the upward revision as evidence of greater confidence in the previous 1,000GWh target. They are expected to prioritise additional volumes of battery materials and components towards CATL’s supply chain, reinforcing its dominance in the sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":11402,"content":11403},{"textAlign":49},[11404,11406,11412],{"text":11405,"type":596},"Chinese sentiment around demand was further supported this week by a ",{"text":11407,"type":596,"marks":11408},"two-year plan issued by eight government departments",[11409],{"type":606,"attrs":11410},{"href":11411,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-announces-new-two-year-plan-for-the-auto-sector",{"text":11413,"type":596}," to stabilise the domestic auto sector. The plan specifies that more than 700,000 EVs will be deployed in sectors including public transport, taxis, and logistics across 25 pilot cities in 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":11415,"content":11416},{"textAlign":49},[11417,11418,11424],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":11419,"type":596,"marks":11420},"Benchmark Battery & Gigafactory Database",[11421],{"type":606,"attrs":11422},{"href":11423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/battery-gigafactory/data-reports/forecasts",{"text":11425,"type":596}," has revised upwards CATL production forecast in light of the news. Output is expected to exceed 700GWh in 2026, representing annual growth of ~18%.",{"type":615,"attrs":11427,"content":11428},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11429],{"text":11430,"type":596},"Revision buoys lithium market",{"type":591,"attrs":11432,"content":11433},{"textAlign":49},[11434,11436,11442],{"text":11435,"type":596},"CATL’s revision has lifted futures quotations for lithium after traded lithium carbonate prices had recorded three consecutive weeks of decline, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":11438},"Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment",[11439],{"type":606,"attrs":11440},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":11443,"type":596},". The battery giant’s capacity profile is geared primarily towards LFP, meaning the lithium market has been buoyed most by the news. ",{"type":591,"attrs":11445,"content":11446},{"textAlign":49},[11447,11449,11454],{"text":11448,"type":596},"The downtrend had been accelerated by CATL indicating that it ",{"text":11450,"type":596,"marks":11451},"expected to obtain a mining licence earlier than the market had anticipated",[11452],{"type":606,"attrs":11453},{"href":10354,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":11455,"type":596}," for its 40,000tpa LCE Jianxiawo mica mine in Jiangxi province. A restart before year-end now appears increasingly likely, reinforcing the lithium market’s supply surplus.","CATL has revised its 2026 production guidance upwards by 30% to 1,300GWh, the battery giant’s suppliers report. The new target signals growing confidence in the resilience of China’s EV and ESS markets, even as China’s EV trade-in policy scheme is set to expire at the end of the year. Commercial vehicles and battery energy stationary […]",[11458],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11459},{"job_title":557,"image":11460,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4a6a50d6-c9bf-4488-9448-077b7d42c904\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[11463,11464,11465,11466],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11468,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11469,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d51a79d5d2/bm-catl-1334998d0908.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 16, 2025",{"id":11472,"uuid":11473,"name":11474,"slug":11475,"full_slug":11476,"content":11477},107082984928470,"892e6b93-79f4-442f-90ed-c033a0717838","Debt in the EV market, how is it evolving?","debt-in-the-ev-market-how-is-it-evolving","article/debt-in-the-ev-market-how-is-it-evolving",{"_uid":11478,"date":11342,"tags":11479,"editor":11482,"content":11486,"excerpt":11632,"featured":51,"reporter":11633,"_editable":11637,"component":697,"seo_title":11474,"categories":11638,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":11640,"featured_image":11643,"seo_description":11646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":11470},"253f2a36-b12a-4d84-b344-5d1c633a7ed1",[11480,11481],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":7069,"name":7070},[11483],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11484},{"job_title":557,"image":11485,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":11487},[11488,11510,11517,11525,11530,11547,11569,11574,11595,11600,11605,11610,11630],{"type":591,"attrs":11489,"content":11490},{"textAlign":49},[11491,11496,11505],{"text":11492,"type":596,"marks":11493},"To expand any industry, ",[11494],{"type":739,"attrs":11495},{"color":6272},{"text":11497,"type":596,"marks":11498},"financing is essential. This can come in the form of equity, debt, or grants",[11499,11502,11504],{"type":606,"attrs":11500},{"href":11501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-is-battery-supply-chain-funding-evolving-in-2025",{"type":739,"attrs":11503},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11506,"type":596,"marks":11507},". The balance between these changes over time and reflects how market players evolve. The EV industry has grown rapidly over the last seven years, and the debt landscape for individual companies has shifted significantly.",[11508],{"type":739,"attrs":11509},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11511,"content":11512},{"textAlign":49},[11513],{"text":11514,"type":596,"marks":11515},"Here we look at the debt-to-capital ratio – a measure of how much of a company’s total capital is funded by debt – across a selection of EV players.",[11516],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":11518},{"id":11519,"body":11520},"569b410a-bcc9-4135-a618-c798db2e7f6e",[11521],{"id":11522,"_uid":11523,"type":663,"_editable":11524,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24987524","i-3377f477-9628-419b-9e24-8bf86f8ecd73","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-3377f477-9628-419b-9e24-8bf86f8ecd73\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":11526,"content":11527},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11528],{"text":11529,"type":596},"Falling debt for BYD and Tesla",{"type":591,"attrs":11531,"content":11532},{"textAlign":49},[11533,11542],{"text":11534,"type":596,"marks":11535},"Tesla and BYD are two prominent players that have seen debt fall and stabilise in recent years",[11536,11539,11541],{"type":606,"attrs":11537},{"href":11538,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/when-will-the-ev-market-reach-profitability",{"type":739,"attrs":11540},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11543,"type":596,"marks":11544},". In Q1 2021, Tesla and BYD had debt-to-capital ratios of 33.8% and 48.7%, respectively. By Q2 2025 these had dropped to 14.4% and 14.9%.",[11545],{"type":739,"attrs":11546},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11548,"content":11549},{"textAlign":49},[11550,11555,11564],{"text":11551,"type":596,"marks":11552},"Debt within these companies has dropped as ",[11553],{"type":739,"attrs":11554},{"color":6272},{"text":11556,"type":596,"marks":11557},"revenue from sales has allowed stronger profitability",[11558,11561,11563],{"type":606,"attrs":11559},{"href":11560,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-posts-record-results-as-efficiency-and-capacity-expansion-drive-profit-growth",{"type":739,"attrs":11562},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11565,"type":596,"marks":11566}," and the ability to reduce debt. Leverage was key during the high-growth phases of these companies, helping to build out facilities and brand image. Both have now scaled to more financially mature organisations and are no longer reliant on debt. However, reports in 2025 emerged stating that BYD has a high proportion of \"hidden debt\" within its supply chain, suggesting it is more reliant on debt than its balance sheet shows.",[11567],{"type":739,"attrs":11568},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11570,"content":11571},{"textAlign":49},[11572],{"text":11573,"type":596},"Increasing debt for Xpeng, Rivian, and Nio",{"type":591,"attrs":11575,"content":11576},{"textAlign":49},[11577,11582,11590],{"text":11578,"type":596,"marks":11579},"Although Xpeng, Rivian, and Nio post sales in the thousands, ",[11580],{"type":739,"attrs":11581},{"color":6272},{"text":11583,"type":596,"marks":11584},"they are all still loss-making companies",[11585,11587,11589],{"type":606,"attrs":11586},{"href":11538,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11588},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11591,"type":596,"marks":11592},". They continue to rely on debt to fund operations and growth, putting pressure on the financial health of these companies. If revenue growth does not accelerate, debt-to-capital ratios will continue to rise. While high ratios are not automatically negative, it can increase the risk of insolvency.",[11593],{"type":739,"attrs":11594},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":11596,"content":11597},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11598],{"text":11599,"type":596},"Stable debt for Li Auto and Seres Auto",{"type":591,"attrs":11601,"content":11602},{"textAlign":49},[11603],{"text":11604,"type":596},"Li Auto and Seres Auto have comparatively stable debt levels but at opposite ends of the spectrum. Li Auto’s consistently low debt-to-capital ratios reflect a strategy of prioritising equity funding. In 2020, it listed on the NASDAQ raising $1 billion, followed in 2021 by a Hong Kong raising $1.5 billion, and in 2022 it raised a further $2 billion from a stock offering on the NASDAQ. These funding rounds allowed it to expand with a limited debt reliance.",{"type":591,"attrs":11606,"content":11607},{"textAlign":49},[11608],{"text":11609,"type":596},"Conversely, Seres Group, which owns the AITO brand, has operated a highly leveraged business model, with its debt-to-capital ratio siting over 60% for four of the last 18 quarters. However, the group raised $700 million in a recent funding round as it looks to reduce its debt-to-capital ratio and fund further expansion through equity rather than debt.",{"type":591,"attrs":11611,"content":11612},{"textAlign":49},[11613,11615,11621,11623,11628],{"text":11614,"type":596},"To read more about this see our ",{"text":11616,"type":596,"marks":11617},"Energy Transition Capital",[11618],{"type":606,"attrs":11619},{"href":11620,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/briefings",{"text":11622,"type":596}," & ",{"text":11624,"type":596,"marks":11625},"Profitability Heatmap",[11626],{"type":606,"attrs":11627},{"href":11620,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":11629,"type":596}," briefings. ",{"type":591,"attrs":11631},{"textAlign":49},"To expand any industry, financing is essential. This can come in the form of equity, debt, or grants. The balance between these changes over time and reflects how market players evolve. The EV industry has grown rapidly over the last seven years, and the debt landscape for individual companies has shifted significantly. Here we look […]",[11634],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11635},{"job_title":557,"image":11636,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"253f2a36-b12a-4d84-b344-5d1c633a7ed1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[11639],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11641,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11642,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1757500651/www-production/Screenshot-2025-09-08-150124/Screenshot-2025-09-08-150124.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":11644,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11645,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/46870b0bb8/bm-adobestock-1442093561-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"To expand any industry, financing is essential. This can come in the form of equity, debt, or grants. The balance between these changes over time and reflects how market players evolve. The EV industry has grown rapidly […]",{"id":11648,"uuid":11649,"name":11650,"slug":11651,"full_slug":11652,"content":11653},112398871179930,"d60a1d3e-c01d-4d19-9406-d972c85edb46","Global EV sales grow by 5% m-o-m and by 15% y-o-y in August 2025","global-ev-sales-grow-by-5-m-o-m-and-by-15-y-o-y-in-august-2025","article/global-ev-sales-grow-by-5-m-o-m-and-by-15-y-o-y-in-august-2025",{"_uid":11654,"date":11655,"tags":11656,"editor":11660,"content":11664,"excerpt":11888,"featured":51,"reporter":11889,"_editable":11893,"component":697,"seo_title":11650,"categories":11894,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":11897,"featured_image":11899,"seo_description":11901,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":11902},"b045a5d7-be4d-4d97-8cb6-96c7807e9eb2","2025-09-12 00:00",[11657,11658,11659],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[11661],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11662},{"job_title":557,"image":11663,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":11665},[11666,11689,11693,11695,11741,11743,11748,11750,11757,11761,11763,11768,11773,11790,11792,11796,11798,11819,11821,11826,11831,11833,11837,11839,11844,11849,11851,11856,11861,11866,11870,11875,11886],{"type":591,"attrs":11667,"content":11668},{"textAlign":49},[11669,11671,11676,11684],{"text":11670,"type":596},"Rho Motion, a ",{"text":11672,"type":596,"marks":11673},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, today reports that 1.7 million electric vehicles were sold globally in August 2025. This includes 1.16 million ",[11674],{"type":739,"attrs":11675},{"color":6272},{"text":11677,"type":596,"marks":11678},"Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)",[11679,11681,11683],{"type":606,"attrs":11680},{"href":7364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11682},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11685,"type":596,"marks":11686}," and 0.57 million Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).",[11687],{"type":739,"attrs":11688},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11690,"content":11691},{"textAlign":49},[11692],{"text":5187,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11694},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11696,"content":11697},{"textAlign":49},[11698,11703,11711,11715,11723,11728,11736],{"text":11699,"type":596,"marks":11700},"\"Global EV sales have now reached 12.5 million units in the opening eight months of the year. The ",[11701],{"type":739,"attrs":11702},{"color":6272},{"text":11704,"type":596,"marks":11705},"North American market has reached a record monthly high as consumers in the US accelerate purchases to take advantage of the tax credit before it expires at the end of September",[11706,11708,11710],{"type":606,"attrs":11707},{"href":8722,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11709},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":11712},[11713],{"type":739,"attrs":11714},{"color":6272},{"text":11716,"type":596,"marks":11717},"Momentum remains in Europe, underpinned by the emissions legislation",[11718,11720,11722],{"type":606,"attrs":11719},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11721},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11724,"type":596,"marks":11725},", with major automotive countries, Germany and the UK, growing by 45% and 31% YTD, respectively. Y-o-y growth in the Chinese market slowed in July-August 2025, however, this is compared to a period where ",[11726],{"type":739,"attrs":11727},{"color":6272},{"text":11729,"type":596,"marks":11730},"subsidies for the auto trade-in scheme",[11731,11733,11735],{"type":606,"attrs":11732},{"href":5198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11734},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11737,"type":596,"marks":11738}," increased last year, which spurred on EV demand in the country.\"",[11739],{"type":739,"attrs":11740},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11742},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11744,"content":11745},{"textAlign":49},[11746],{"text":11747,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in YTD 2025 (Jan-Aug 2025) vs YTD 2024 (Jan-Aug 2024), YTD %",{"type":591,"attrs":11749},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11751,"content":11752},{"textAlign":49},[11753],{"type":836,"attrs":11754},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":11755,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":11756},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2025/09/Monthly-EV-sales-slide-BMI-1-2-1024x576.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":11758,"content":11759},{"textAlign":49},[11760],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11762},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11764,"content":11765},{"textAlign":49},[11766],{"text":11767,"type":596},"The European EV market has grown by 31% YTD, with strong momentum in both BEVs and PHEVs, up 31% and 30% respectively. Germany and the UK continue strong EV sales with growth of 45% and 31% YTD, respectively. EV sales in Spain have doubled YTD and Italy sales have grown by 41%. France remains down YTD at -9%.",{"type":591,"attrs":11769,"content":11770},{"textAlign":49},[11771],{"text":11772,"type":596},"UK sales were down m-o-m by 32%, however, this is a seasonal trend as vehicle sales will increase significantly in September due to new licence plate numbers. Two models were released in the UK for the maximum discount of GBP3,750 (USD5,100), the Ford Puma Gen-E and Ford E-Tourneo Courier.",{"type":591,"attrs":11774,"content":11775},{"textAlign":49},[11776,11785],{"text":11777,"type":596,"marks":11778},"China's BYD Seal U is now one of the bestselling PHEVs in Europe",[11779,11782,11784],{"type":606,"attrs":11780},{"href":11781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-ev-brands-look-to-phevs-to-avoid-eu-tariffs",{"type":739,"attrs":11783},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11786,"type":596,"marks":11787},", as the OEM continues to expand sales in the region. In September, it released another PHEV in Europe, the Seal 6 PHEV.",[11788],{"type":739,"attrs":11789},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11791},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11793,"content":11794},{"textAlign":49},[11795],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11797},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11799,"content":11800},{"textAlign":49},[11801,11806,11814],{"text":11802,"type":596,"marks":11803},"North American EV sales (US, Canada, and Mexico) are now up 6% YTD. Growth has increased due to an increase in EV sales in the US in August 2025 as consumers bring forward purchases to ",[11804],{"type":739,"attrs":11805},{"color":6272},{"text":11807,"type":596,"marks":11808},"take advantage of the tax credit before it ends on 30 September 2025",[11809,11811,11813],{"type":606,"attrs":11810},{"href":10495,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":11812},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":11815,"type":596,"marks":11816},". We also expect September sales to be strong, followed by a large reduction in monthly sales in the final quarter of the year.",[11817],{"type":739,"attrs":11818},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":11820},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11822,"content":11823},{"textAlign":49},[11824],{"text":11825,"type":596},"OEMs in the US are expected to cut production in Q4 2025. For example, reports suggest VW will pause production of the ID.4 in October 2025 and it is also reported that GM plans to reduce EV production after the tax credit expires.",{"type":591,"attrs":11827,"content":11828},{"textAlign":49},[11829],{"text":11830,"type":596},"Canadian sales have fallen by one-third YTD in the opening eight months of the year after the iZEV rebate was paused earlier in the year. Weak EV sales and challenging economic conditions in Canada will make it difficult for OEMs to meet the EV Sales Mandate in 2026. As a result, it is expected that the ZEV mandate will be paused for 2026 pending review.",{"type":591,"attrs":11832},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11834,"content":11835},{"textAlign":49},[11836],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11838},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11840,"content":11841},{"textAlign":49},[11842],{"text":11843,"type":596},"The Chinese EV market grew by 11% m-o-m in August 2025 and by 6% y-o-y, slowing YTD growth to 25%. Y-o-y growth has slowed in the Chinese market over July and August 2025. However, this is compared to July and August 2024 which were high due to an expansion in the trade-in NEV auto scheme.",{"type":591,"attrs":11845,"content":11846},{"textAlign":49},[11847],{"text":11848,"type":596},"It is reported that BYD cut its sales target this year from 5.5 million units to 4.6 million units, with 0.8-1.0 million units expected to be sold outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":11850},{"textAlign":49},{"type":591,"attrs":11852,"content":11853},{"textAlign":49},[11854,11855],{"text":8792,"type":596},{"text":8797,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11857,"content":11858},{"textAlign":49},[11859],{"text":11860,"type":596},"Rho Motion defines ‘Electric Vehicles’ in this case as passenger car and light-duty vehicles which doesn’t include e-scooters or heavy duty commercial vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":11862,"content":11863},{"textAlign":49},[11864],{"text":11865,"type":596},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Company, was founded in 2018 by Managing Director Adam Panayi and is now the leading global research house for actionable intelligence into electric vehicle and battery markets, associated technologies including motors and systems, charging and infrastructure, energy stationary storage, battery recycling and the wider energy and renewables markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":11867,"content":11868},{"textAlign":49},[11869],{"text":8807,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":11871,"content":11872},{"textAlign":49},[11873],{"text":11874,"type":596},"Combined, with nearly 250 employees, Benchmark and Rho Motion form the world’s biggest platform for prices, data and market intelligence dedicated to the full breadth of critical mineral and energy transition supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":11876,"content":11877},{"textAlign":49},[11878,11880],{"text":11879,"type":596},"Find out more about Rho Motion and their upcoming events at:",{"text":11881,"type":596,"marks":11882},"rhomotion.com",[11883],{"type":606,"attrs":11884},{"href":11885,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://rhomotion.com/",{"type":591,"attrs":11887},{"textAlign":49},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, today reports that 1.7 million electric vehicles were sold globally in August 2025. This includes 1.16 million Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and 0.57 million Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: “Global EV sales have […]",[11890],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11891},{"job_title":557,"image":11892,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b045a5d7-be4d-4d97-8cb6-96c7807e9eb2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[11895,11896],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11898},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8824,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":11900,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialising in EV supply chain research and insights, today reports that 1.7 million electric vehicles were sold globally in August 2025. This includes 1.16 million Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) […]","Sep 12, 2025",{"id":11904,"uuid":11905,"name":11906,"slug":11907,"full_slug":11908,"content":11909},112398885692061,"fd8d9fa2-3a92-4168-973e-760f72a44ef2","Site visit: Permanent Minerals highlights Africa’s growing flake graphite role","site-visit-permanent-minerals-highlights-africas-growing-flake-graphite-role","article/site-visit-permanent-minerals-highlights-africas-growing-flake-graphite-role",{"_uid":11910,"date":11911,"tags":11912,"editor":11918,"content":11922,"excerpt":12022,"featured":51,"reporter":12023,"_editable":12027,"component":697,"seo_title":11906,"categories":12028,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":12031,"seo_description":12022,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12034},"9dbae04a-bb41-4c84-a8bc-5c109eed8759","2025-09-10 00:00",[11913,11914,11915],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":11916,"name":11917},"tanzania","Tanzania",[11919],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":11920},{"job_title":557,"image":11921,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":11923},[11924,11929,11934,11941,11946,11951,11964,11971,11975,11980,11985,11990,11999,12004,12012,12017],{"type":591,"attrs":11925,"content":11926},{"textAlign":49},[11927],{"text":11928,"type":596},"Africa is the leading source of new flake graphite supply outside China. To assess developments on the ground, Benchmark’s China graphite analyst, Frank Li, recently travelled to Permanent Minerals, a Chinese-owned graphite mine and processing plant in Manyara province, Tanzania.",{"type":591,"attrs":11930,"content":11931},{"textAlign":49},[11932],{"text":11933,"type":596},"The company’s natural graphite output is large flake and contains a carbon content of 95%–98% and is currently one of the highest-grade flake graphite mining areas discovered in the world, with all graphite mining rights held by the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":11935,"content":11936},{"textAlign":49},[11937],{"type":836,"attrs":11938},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":11939,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":11940},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9945815ecb/bm-image-149.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":11942,"content":11943},{"textAlign":49},[11944],{"text":11945,"type":596},"Permanent Minerals graphite mine in Manyara province, Tanzania",{"type":591,"attrs":11947,"content":11948},{"textAlign":49},[11949],{"text":11950,"type":596},"Permanent Minerals’ 100,000tpa graphite beneficiation plant has been in operation since 2024 and is already shipping material to customers in Europe, the US, Japan, and S. Korea. A second 100,000tpa beneficiation line is under construction and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":11952,"content":11953},{"textAlign":49},[11954,11956,11962],{"text":11955,"type":596},"To track ex-China supply developments, ",{"text":11957,"type":596,"marks":11958},"Benchmark recently launched two new graphite price grades covering the East Africa region",[11959],{"type":606,"attrs":11960},{"href":11961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-launches-fob-east-africa-graphite-prices-as-demand-for-graphite-from-outside-china-mounts",{"text":11963,"type":596},". +80 mesh and -100 mesh, both capturing material with a carbon concentration between 94-95%, on an FOB East Africa basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":11965,"content":11966},{"textAlign":49},[11967],{"type":836,"attrs":11968},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":11969,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":11970},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dcef744e24/bm-image-148.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":11972,"content":11973},{"textAlign":49},[11974],{"text":11945,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":11976,"content":11977},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[11978],{"text":11979,"type":596},"What is Africa’s position in the graphite market?",{"type":591,"attrs":11981,"content":11982},{"textAlign":49},[11983],{"text":11984,"type":596},"Africa currently has seven active flake graphite mines in Mozambique, Madagascar, and Tanzania, with a combined capacity of 510kt.",{"type":591,"attrs":11986,"content":11987},{"textAlign":49},[11988],{"text":11989,"type":596},"The continent has a healthy pipeline of projects due online by the middle of the next decade. An additional 12 mines are projected to lift Africa’s flake graphite capacity to ~1.5m tonnes by 2035, broadening the production base to Namibia, Uganda, and Malawi.",{"type":591,"attrs":11991,"content":11992},{"textAlign":49},[11993],{"text":11994,"type":596,"marks":11995},"Read Benchmark’s special issue: Powering the Transition: Africa’s Critical Mineral Moment",[11996],{"type":606,"attrs":11997},{"href":11998,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/special-issues/1347054",{"type":591,"attrs":12000,"content":12001},{"textAlign":49},[12002],{"text":12003,"type":596},"In Tanzania, three projects are advancing towards final investment decisions. EcoGraf’s Epanko and Evolution Energy Minerals’ Chilalo projects have already commenced groundwork, including the construction of access roads. Meanwhile, Black Rock Mining’s Mahenge project has secured full funding for Module 1 and is moving into the execution phase.",{"type":656,"attrs":12005},{"id":12006,"body":12007},"1d1a27be-6c73-4279-8a3c-f7f7e502fcbb",[12008],{"id":12009,"_uid":12010,"type":663,"_editable":12011,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24460496","i-9871d0c6-2467-46c4-8e2e-cdaa4e56a372","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9871d0c6-2467-46c4-8e2e-cdaa4e56a372\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12013,"content":12014},{"textAlign":49},[12015],{"text":12016,"type":596},"Africa’s share of global flake graphite supply is set to rise from 19% in 2025 to 36% in 2035, supported by new project development and increasing utilisation rates at existing operations. These developments are underpinned by the continent’s abundant resources, competitive cost base, and demand growth from Europe,  North America, and Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":12018,"content":12019},{"textAlign":49},[12020],{"text":12021,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows Africa has the second-lowest all-in sustaining cost (AISC) behind China for flake graphite production in 2025. Although average costs are expected to rise as newer, higher-cost projects are brought online, Africa is forecast to remain cost-competitive relative to emerging producers in regions such as North America.","Africa is the leading source of new flake graphite supply outside China. To assess developments on the ground, Benchmark’s China graphite analyst, Frank Li, recently travelled to Permanent Minerals, a Chinese-owned graphite mine and processing plant in Manyara province, Tanzania. The company’s natural graphite output is large flake and contains a carbon content of 95%–98% […]",[12024],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12025},{"job_title":557,"image":12026,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9dbae04a-bb41-4c84-a8bc-5c109eed8759\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12029,12030],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12032,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12033,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dd452d8dde/bm-img-4637.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 10, 2025",{"id":12036,"uuid":12037,"name":12038,"slug":12039,"full_slug":12040,"content":12041},112398875898523,"ef360a66-e6dc-4d3e-a692-8c7ec5f11a11","ExxonMobil enters synthetic graphite with Superior Graphite acquisition","exxonmobil-enters-synthetic-graphite-with-superior-graphite-acquisition","article/exxonmobil-enters-synthetic-graphite-with-superior-graphite-acquisition",{"_uid":12042,"date":11911,"tags":12043,"editor":12048,"content":12052,"excerpt":12129,"featured":50,"reporter":12130,"_editable":12134,"component":697,"seo_title":12038,"categories":12135,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":12140,"seo_description":12129,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12034},"b521451e-4c67-4368-abe0-e914d8c8b1dc",[12044,12047],{"slug":12045,"name":12046},"exxon","Exxon",{"slug":572,"name":573},[12049],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12050},{"job_title":557,"image":12051,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12053},[12054,12059,12064,12072,12077,12082,12090,12095,12106,12111,12116],{"type":591,"attrs":12055,"content":12056},{"textAlign":49},[12057],{"text":12058,"type":596},"Oil-major ExxonMobil is expanding its footprint in the battery supply chain after reaching an agreement to acquire Superior Graphite, in a deal that includes the latter’s planned 12ktpa synthetic graphite facility in Kentucky, where commercial production is slated for 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":12060,"content":12061},{"textAlign":49},[12062],{"text":12063,"type":596},"Although it represents Exxon’s first direct foray into synthetic graphite production, the oil-giant is developing a proprietary technology to produce coke – the primary feedstock for synthetic graphite anode material – that aims to deliver up to a 30% higher battery capacity and faster charging time, as well as extended battery life. It plans to establish the first commercial-scale plant for the technology by 2028.",{"type":656,"attrs":12065},{"id":12066,"body":12067},"22ae480e-65ed-40ba-b1f1-ea0f7f6d7273",[12068],{"id":12069,"_uid":12070,"type":663,"_editable":12071,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25067469","i-02b77126-bcad-4e93-94db-5eca2dc5bb9a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-02b77126-bcad-4e93-94db-5eca2dc5bb9a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12073,"content":12074},{"textAlign":49},[12075],{"text":12076,"type":596},"US synthetic graphite anode demand is projected to quadruple by 2035, retaining a dominant share (+70%) of the market, according to the Benchmark Synthetic Graphite Forecast. This is underpinned by accelerating demand from the electric vehicle (EV) and stationary storage (ESS) sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":12078,"content":12079},{"textAlign":49},[12080],{"text":12081,"type":596},"Yet the US supply pipeline is on track to meet little more than 10% of domestic demand by 2035 – underscoring both the opportunity for new market entrants in the region and the scale of required investment to close this supply gap.",{"type":656,"attrs":12083},{"id":12084,"body":12085},"346c4078-da0a-44a0-8f2f-a81cc6dabd09",[12086],{"id":12087,"_uid":12088,"type":663,"_editable":12089,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"25066522","i-65618189-9183-43ad-91fe-368ded6badfb","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-65618189-9183-43ad-91fe-368ded6badfb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":12091,"content":12092},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12093],{"text":12094,"type":596},"Oil majors extend into battery supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":12096,"content":12097},{"textAlign":49},[12098,12100,12105],{"text":12099,"type":596},"Oil-majors are increasingly leveraging technological expertise, while exploring opportunities for vertical integration via upstream oil refining facilities, to strategically position themselves in the battery supply chain. For these companies, commitments in the space represent relatively minor investments – compared to their balance sheets – ",{"text":12101,"type":596,"marks":12102},"but promise to unlock significant new resources for battery minerals like lithium",[12103],{"type":606,"attrs":12104},{"href":8944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":12107,"content":12108},{"textAlign":49},[12109],{"text":12110,"type":596},"Several large oil refiners have expanded into synthetic graphite anode supply chains by establishing needle coke capacity. Sinopec and Phillips 66 are active producers, while Indian Oil Corporation, Imam Khomeini Shazand Oil Refinery, and Chevron have each announced plans to build new needle coke production facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":12112,"content":12113},{"textAlign":49},[12114],{"text":12115,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Exxon is also progressing a 100ktpa LCE capacity direct lithium extraction (DLE) project at the Smackover formation in Arkansas, an area with a long history of oil extraction. The project will utilise conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium-rich reservoirs underground, before DLE technology is used to separate lithium from saltwater.",{"type":591,"attrs":12117,"content":12118},{"textAlign":49},[12119,12121,12127],{"text":12120,"type":596},"Earlier this year, fellow US oil-giant ",{"text":12122,"type":596,"marks":12123},"Chevron entered the US lithium space through the acquisition of two direct lithium extraction (DLE)",[12124],{"type":606,"attrs":12125},{"href":12126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chevron-enters-us-lithium-space-with-dle-acquisitions",{"text":12128,"type":596}," leasehold positions from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources (ETNR), both located in the Smackover Formation.","Oil-major ExxonMobil is expanding its footprint in the battery supply chain after reaching an agreement to acquire Superior Graphite, in a deal that includes the latter’s planned 12ktpa synthetic graphite facility in Kentucky, where commercial production is slated for 2029. Although it represents Exxon’s first direct foray into synthetic graphite production, the oil-giant is developing […]",[12131],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12132},{"job_title":557,"image":12133,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b521451e-4c67-4368-abe0-e914d8c8b1dc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12136,12137,12138,12139],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12141,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12142,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/46d8b1ae4f/bm-exxon-mobil.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":12144,"uuid":12145,"name":12146,"slug":12147,"full_slug":12148,"content":12149},112398895084191,"424df04f-7b94-4534-93f6-2131fc909f7a","Anglo American and Teck merger set to become fifth biggest copper miner","anglo-american-and-teck-merger-set-to-become-fifth-biggest-copper-miner","article/anglo-american-and-teck-merger-set-to-become-fifth-biggest-copper-miner",{"_uid":12150,"date":12151,"tags":12152,"editor":12161,"content":12165,"excerpt":12259,"featured":51,"reporter":12260,"component":697,"seo_title":12146,"categories":12264,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":12267,"seo_description":12259,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12269},"5fad5262-8120-453c-a5f8-41b64986636f","2025-09-09 00:00",[12153,12154,12155,12158],{"slug":5829,"name":5830},{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":12156,"name":12157},"peru","Peru",{"slug":12159,"name":12160},"teck","Teck",[12162],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12163},{"job_title":557,"image":12164,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12166},[12167,12177,12188,12195,12200,12205,12212,12217,12222,12227,12232,12243,12249],{"type":591,"attrs":12168,"content":12169},{"textAlign":49},[12170,12175],{"text":5830,"type":596,"marks":12171},[12172],{"type":606,"attrs":12173},{"href":12174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-bhps-failed-bid-for-anglo-american-could-impact-the-copper-market",{"text":12176,"type":596}," and Teck look set to merge in one of the largest mining deals in history, with the both companies making announcements this morning. The new company will be called “Anglo Teck”.",{"type":591,"attrs":12178,"content":12179},{"textAlign":49},[12180,12182,12186],{"text":12181,"type":596},"The merger would make Anglo Teck the fifth-largest ",{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":12183},[12184],{"type":606,"attrs":12185},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":12187,"type":596}," producer, with combined production of 875kt in 2025, based on Benchmark’s forecasted data (484kt from Anglo American and 391kt from Teck). Anglo Teck would remain behind the “Big Three” of Codelco, BHP, and Freeport McMoRan, as well as Grupo Mexico.",{"type":591,"attrs":12189,"content":12190},{"textAlign":49},[12191],{"type":836,"attrs":12192},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":12193,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":12194},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0c137c0d5c/bm-image-145.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":12196,"content":12197},{"textAlign":49},[12198],{"text":12199,"type":596},"The company would also be a major copper concentrate supplier. Unlike majors Codelco and Freeport, which have integrated smelting capacity at site, Anglo Teck’s portfolio would be geared heavily towards copper concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":12201,"content":12202},{"textAlign":49},[12203],{"text":12204,"type":596},"The company’s key copper assets would include 44% of Collahuasi and 60% of Quebrada Blanca in Chile, and 60% of Quellaveco in Peru. More than 70% of the company’s portfolio is expected to be weighted towards copper, according to the announcement.",{"type":591,"attrs":12206,"content":12207},{"textAlign":49},[12208],{"type":836,"attrs":12209},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":12210,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":12211},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/78ffdb5bf0/bm-image-143.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":12213,"content":12214},{"textAlign":49},[12215],{"text":12216,"type":596},"Under the proposal, Anglo American shareholders would hold 62.4% and Teck shareholders 37.6% of Anglo Teck plc immediately post-completion. The deal is expected to close within 12–18 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":12218,"content":12219},{"textAlign":49},[12220],{"text":12221,"type":596},"Both Anglo American and Teck have been the subject of takeover attempts in recent years. Glencore tried to acquire Teck’s base metals business in 2023, while BHP failed in its bid for Anglo American in 2024. If the proposed merger succeeds, it could shield Anglo Teck from further unsolicited bids.",{"type":591,"attrs":12223,"content":12224},{"textAlign":49},[12225],{"text":12226,"type":596},"Although Anglo is significantly larger than Teck, the companies are more comparable in scale than in previous takeover attempts. Teck described the deal as a “Merger of Equals” in its statement. This deal follows other recent copper M&A moves, including Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Turquoise Hill and BHP’s takeover of Oz Minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":12228,"content":12229},{"textAlign":49},[12230],{"text":12231,"type":596},"Copper market fundamentals are expected to become increasingly tight in the coming years, as the metal is critical to global decarbonisation due to its conductivity and applications in clean energy technologies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":12233,"content":12234},{"textAlign":49},[12235,12237,12241],{"text":12236,"type":596},"Benchmark ",{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":12238},[12239],{"type":606,"attrs":12240},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":12242,"type":596}," demand growth both from energy transition industries and from traditional end-use sectors. Meanwhile, new mined supply is projected to fall short of requirements, creating a mined supply gap of ~8.3Mt by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":12244,"content":12245},{"textAlign":49},[12246],{"text":9624,"type":596,"marks":12247},[12248],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":12250},{"id":12251,"body":12252},"5fb4b8b3-6ee0-4b69-9a49-b1bf85872ada",[12253],{"id":1012,"_uid":12254,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":12255,"success_file":12256,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":12258},"i-244831d4-fe45-4fc4-97d7-e0bf915027ee",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12257},{},[],"Anglo American and Teck look set to merge in one of the largest mining deals in history, with the both companies making announcements this morning. The new company will be called “Anglo Teck”. The merger would make Anglo Teck the fifth-largest copper producer, with combined production of 875kt in 2025, based on Benchmark’s forecasted data […]",[12261],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12262},{"job_title":557,"image":12263,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[12265,12266],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8376,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12268,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 09, 2025",{"id":12271,"uuid":12272,"name":12273,"slug":12274,"full_slug":12275,"content":12276},112398890422942,"7a6d4dcc-a850-4b49-84ce-7c8db7ef8260","Infographic: The state of play of next-generation battery capacity in 2025","infographic-the-state-of-play-of-next-generation-battery-capacity-in-2025","article/infographic-the-state-of-play-of-next-generation-battery-capacity-in-2025",{"_uid":12277,"date":12151,"tags":12278,"editor":12287,"content":12291,"excerpt":12425,"featured":51,"reporter":12426,"_editable":12430,"component":697,"seo_title":12273,"categories":12431,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":12434,"featured_image":12436,"seo_description":12425,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12269},"4365ec75-4977-461b-9cbf-5594441adf7b",[12279,12280,12281,12282,12283,12286],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},"solid-state","Solid-state",{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[12288],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12289},{"job_title":557,"image":12290,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12292},[12293,12304,12317,12325,12343,12348,12362,12382,12394,12407,12414],{"type":591,"attrs":12294,"content":12295},{"textAlign":49},[12296,12298,12303],{"text":12297,"type":596},"The next-generation battery landscape has progressed from start-up to scale-up, with more than 250GWh of pipeline capacity expected to be installed by the end of 2025 across a variety of emerging technologies, according to ",{"text":12299,"type":596,"marks":12300},"Benchmark’s New Technology Service",[12301],{"type":606,"attrs":12302},{"href":10937,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":12305,"content":12306},{"textAlign":49},[12307,12309,12315],{"text":12308,"type":596},"China has a dominant position in the two most developed of these technologies: sodium ion and solid-state. The country is using its existing expertise in lithium ion cell production, as well as ",{"text":12310,"type":596,"marks":12311},"state support",[12312],{"type":606,"attrs":12313},{"href":12314,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state",{"text":12316,"type":596},", to push for significant capacity buildout ahead of demand being fully realised.",{"type":591,"attrs":12318,"content":12319},{"textAlign":49},[12320],{"type":836,"attrs":12321},{"id":49,"alt":12322,"src":12323,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":12324},"Infographic titled Next-gen battery capacity by the end of 202. The chart shows 122.9 GWh of sodium ion production and 90.8 GWh of solid-state battery production both dominated by China. 28.3 GWh of redox-flow batteries is 40% China. 10 GWh of Other technologies is 70% the US.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bc245454ac/bm-benchmark-19-next-gen-battery-capacity-voro-3.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":12326,"content":12327},{"textAlign":49},[12328,12334,12336,12341],{"text":12329,"type":596,"marks":12330},"Sodium ion batteries",[12331],{"type":606,"attrs":12332},{"href":12333,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sodium-ion-pipeline-dominated-by-unproven-cell-producers",{"text":12335,"type":596}," take top spot for installed production capacity, with 123GWh expected to be online by the end of the year. The technology aims to compete with ",{"text":12337,"type":596,"marks":12338},"lithium ion batteries on cost",[12339],{"type":606,"attrs":12340},{"href":11254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":12342,"type":596}," and safety, especially in battery energy storage systems. ",{"type":591,"attrs":12344,"content":12345},{"textAlign":49},[12346],{"text":12347,"type":596},"However, low utilisation rates and depressed lithium raw material and cell prices present critical commercialisation challenges, which must be overcome for widespread adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":12349,"content":12350},{"textAlign":49},[12351,12355],{"text":12352,"type":596,"marks":12353},"Watch: ",[12354],{"type":1006},{"text":12356,"type":596,"marks":12357},"Sodium ion batteries: Hype vs reality on the road to commercialisation",[12358,12359],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":12360},{"href":12361,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/sodium-ion-batteries-hype-vs-reality-on-the-road-to-commercialisation",{"type":591,"attrs":12363,"content":12364},{"textAlign":49},[12365,12367,12373,12375,12381],{"text":12366,"type":596},"Over 95% of installed sodium ion battery capacity is in China. The country is also home to four-fifths of the ",{"text":12368,"type":596,"marks":12369},"solid-state battery capacity",[12370],{"type":606,"attrs":12371},{"href":12372,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-chinas-solid-state-battery-industry-developing",{"text":12374,"type":596}," planned for operation by the end of 2025, which is set to reach 91GWh globally. Solid-state batteries promise higher energy density, faster charging, and reduced risk of battery fires, though high initial cost means this technology will likely first be applied in the ",{"text":12376,"type":596,"marks":12377},"premium EV segment",[12378],{"type":606,"attrs":12379},{"href":12380,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/incumbent-oems-double-down-on-solid-state-in-2025",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":12383,"content":12384},{"textAlign":49},[12385,12387,12392],{"text":12386,"type":596},"Other next-generation battery technologies are less concentrated in China. Sizable amounts of production capacity for ",{"text":12388,"type":596,"marks":12389},"redox-flow batteries",[12390],{"type":606,"attrs":12391},{"href":11380,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":12393,"type":596},", which store energy in liquid electrolytes, is located in Australia (28%), the US (15%), and Saudi Arabia (11%), in addition to China (40%). Nearly 30GWh of redox-flow battery production capacity is set to be online by the end of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":12395,"content":12396},{"textAlign":49},[12397,12399,12405],{"text":12398,"type":596},"The US dominates the capacity pipeline for more niche next-generation technologies including ",{"text":12400,"type":596,"marks":12401},"lithium-sulphur",[12402],{"type":606,"attrs":12403},{"href":12404,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-backed-lyten-to-build-1-billion-lithium-sulphur-gigafactory-in-us",{"text":12406,"type":596},", metal-air, and other lithium metal batteries. The country is set to account for 70% of the 10GWh global market for these technologies by the end of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":12408,"content":12409},{"textAlign":49},[12410],{"text":12411,"type":596,"marks":12412},"As the global energy landscape rapidly evolves, emerging battery technologies are poised to reshape markets and unlock new commercial potential. Benchmark’s New Technology Service identifies the key disruptors and technology trends driving this transformation. To learn more fill out the form below:",[12413],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":12415},{"id":12416,"body":12417},"cb8c0ed5-79c3-4f70-864f-15f28ee4b167",[12418],{"id":1012,"_uid":12419,"_editable":12420,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":12421,"success_file":12422,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":12424},"i-8cad45ea-29d3-4d8a-8753-7c97ed8dd234","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8cad45ea-29d3-4d8a-8753-7c97ed8dd234\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12423},{},[],"The next-generation battery landscape has progressed from start-up to scale-up, with more than 250GWh of pipeline capacity expected to be installed by the end of 2025 across a variety of emerging technologies, according to Benchmark’s New Technology Service. China has a dominant position in the two most developed of these technologies: sodium ion and solid-state. […]",[12427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12428},{"job_title":557,"image":12429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4365ec75-4977-461b-9cbf-5594441adf7b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12432,12433],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":12322,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":12322,"source":547,"filename":12323,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12435,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":12322,"title":12322,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12437,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12438,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e0c40b0f08/bm-solidpower-day1-08-jpg.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":12440,"uuid":12441,"name":12442,"slug":12443,"full_slug":12444,"content":12445},112398909477540,"728bf2c2-e712-429a-b3b7-2740e6c4e7f0","US records strongest month for EV sales in August as tax credits near expiry","us-records-strongest-month-for-ev-sales-in-august-as-tax-credits-near-expiry","article/us-records-strongest-month-for-ev-sales-in-august-as-tax-credits-near-expiry",{"_uid":12446,"date":12447,"tags":12448,"editor":12451,"content":12455,"excerpt":12522,"featured":51,"reporter":12523,"_editable":12527,"component":697,"seo_title":12442,"categories":12528,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":12531,"featured_image":12534,"seo_description":12522,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12537},"049598e3-ffb9-43ef-b4d1-aed53984ae19","2025-09-08 00:00",[12449,12450],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[12452],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12453},{"job_title":557,"image":12454,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12456},[12457,12469,12474,12479,12487,12492,12497,12502,12507,12512,12517],{"type":591,"attrs":12458,"content":12459},{"textAlign":49},[12460,12462,12467],{"text":12461,"type":596},"The US electric vehicle (EV) market posted its highest-ever monthly sales in August, with over 175,000 units sold, according to ",{"text":12463,"type":596,"marks":12464},"Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Database",[12465],{"type":606,"attrs":12466},{"href":10667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":12468,"type":596},". This follows July 2025, which was the third-strongest month on record, and surpasses the previous record set in December 2024 by over 15,000 units. Consequently, sales in the country are up 10% in the first eight months of the year. The surge reflects a consumer pull-forward effect, as buyers move ahead of the expiry of federal tax credits in September, following the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) in July.",{"type":615,"attrs":12470,"content":12471},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12472],{"text":12473,"type":596},"How is the market playing out?",{"type":591,"attrs":12475,"content":12476},{"textAlign":49},[12477],{"text":12478,"type":596},"Under the OBBBA, from 30 September the 30D purchase credit and the 45W leasing credit – both worth up to $7,500 on eligible EVs – will end. Consumers have accelerated purchases to take advantage of the incentives, with 30D-eligible models leading the growth.",{"type":656,"attrs":12480},{"id":12481,"body":12482},"19f254ab-b875-4d9e-9a01-2ca18cdb66e2",[12483],{"id":12484,"_uid":12485,"type":663,"_editable":12486,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24990808","i-e3216132-912f-4ef3-a5de-51e86c8e6b82","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e3216132-912f-4ef3-a5de-51e86c8e6b82\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12488,"content":12489},{"textAlign":49},[12490],{"text":12491,"type":596},"Many OEMs registered record sales in July and August. The Honda Prologue logged its best-ever month with more than 9,300 units sold, while the Ioniq 5 had its two strongest months yet over the period. The Chevrolet Equinox also exceeded its previous monthly record by close to 30%.",{"type":591,"attrs":12493,"content":12494},{"textAlign":49},[12495],{"text":12496,"type":596},"Similarly companies have posted their strongest ever months for BEV sales. GM sold more than 19,000 BEVs in July and 21,000 in August, surpassing its previous record of 16,000 in a single month. Hyundai–Kia likewise reported a record month in the US with more than 15,000 BEVs sold.",{"type":615,"attrs":12498,"content":12499},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12500],{"text":12501,"type":596},"What comes next?",{"type":591,"attrs":12503,"content":12504},{"textAlign":49},[12505],{"text":12506,"type":596},"Sales are expected to show continued unseasonal strength in September, but Benchmark analysts expect a slowdown once the tax credits expire, as future demand has effectively been pulled forward. “Our EV sales expectation for the year is completely flat” commented Will Roberts, Automotive Research Lead at Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":12508,"content":12509},{"textAlign":49},[12510],{"text":12511,"type":596},"“There’s high uncertainty of how big the EV sales drop off will be in Q4.” Roberts continued.",{"type":591,"attrs":12513,"content":12514},{"textAlign":49},[12515],{"text":12516,"type":596},"Other markets that had EV subsidies removed saw substantial drops. For example, Germany’s EV market fell 19% in 2024 compared to 2023 following the removal of subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":12518,"content":12519},{"textAlign":49},[12520],{"text":12521,"type":596},"Automakers are already adjusting to this expected dip. VW has announced plans to scale back ID.4 production in the US from October, while GM will cut output at several EV facilities.","The US electric vehicle (EV) market posted its highest-ever monthly sales in August, with over 175,000 units sold, according to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Database. This follows July 2025, which was the third-strongest month on record, and surpasses the previous record set in December 2024 by over 15,000 units. Consequently, sales in the country […]",[12524],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12525},{"job_title":557,"image":12526,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"049598e3-ffb9-43ef-b4d1-aed53984ae19\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12529,12530],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12532,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12533,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1757321546/www-production/Screenshot-2025-09-08-095155/Screenshot-2025-09-08-095155.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12535,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12536,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9055269383/bm-adobestock-1564214430.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 08, 2025",{"id":12539,"uuid":12540,"name":12541,"slug":12542,"full_slug":12543,"content":12544},112398899753632,"41650107-a253-4181-88f9-818641793a09","Copper supply up 3.5% y-o-y in Q2 as majors lift output","copper-supply-up-3-5-y-o-y-in-q2-as-majors-lift-output","article/copper-supply-up-3-5-y-o-y-in-q2-as-majors-lift-output",{"_uid":12545,"date":12447,"tags":12546,"editor":12549,"content":12553,"excerpt":12622,"featured":50,"reporter":12623,"component":697,"seo_title":12541,"categories":12627,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":12630,"seo_description":12622,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12537},"1634e4f3-9c2f-4bd6-a6a6-4a8a5670a5f1",[12547,12548],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[12550],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12551},{"job_title":557,"image":12552,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12554},[12555,12565,12570,12581,12588,12593,12598,12603,12609,12619],{"type":591,"attrs":12556,"content":12557},{"textAlign":49},[12558,12559,12563],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":12560},[12561],{"type":606,"attrs":12562},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":12564,"type":596}," market recorded robust supply-side performance in Q2 25, with the top 25 mining companies reporting a combined output of 3,800kt, an increase of 3.5% y-o-y.",{"type":591,"attrs":12566,"content":12567},{"textAlign":49},[12568],{"text":12569,"type":596},"Growth was driven by stronger quarterly performances from BHP (516.2kt, +2.2% y-o-y), Codelco (338kt, +18.6% y-o-y), and Zijin Mining (279.3kt, +9.1% y-o-y). BHP, Freeport, and Codelco retained market-leading positions, jointly accounting for 34% of total production.",{"type":591,"attrs":12571,"content":12572},{"textAlign":49},[12573,12575,12579],{"text":12574,"type":596},"However, this was partially offset by declines from Freeport (436.8kt, -7.1% y-o-y), Glencore (176kt, -21% y-o-y), and ",{"text":5830,"type":596,"marks":12576},[12577],{"type":606,"attrs":12578},{"href":12174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":12580,"type":596}," (173.3kt, -11.6% y-o-y), among others.",{"type":591,"attrs":12582,"content":12583},{"textAlign":49},[12584],{"type":836,"attrs":12585},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":12586,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":12587},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5dffab2e0c/bm-image-140.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":12589,"content":12590},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12591],{"text":12592,"type":596},"Q2 reporting season concludes",{"type":591,"attrs":12594,"content":12595},{"textAlign":49},[12596],{"text":12597,"type":596},"On a q-o-q basis, eight of the top 10 producers reported higher output. Notable gains included:",{"type":591,"attrs":12599,"content":12600},{"textAlign":49},[12601],{"text":12602,"type":596},"The only major producers reporting lower output were:",{"type":591,"attrs":12604,"content":12605},{"textAlign":49},[12606],{"text":9624,"type":596,"marks":12607},[12608],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":12610},{"id":12611,"body":12612},"90ebfa7c-5f88-4054-9815-ec0efca9527f",[12613],{"id":1012,"_uid":12614,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":12615,"success_file":12616,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":12618},"i-f6c05c71-cafa-413c-919d-96d4ee30044c",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12617},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":12620,"content":12621},{"textAlign":49},[],"The copper market recorded robust supply-side performance in Q2 25, with the top 25 mining companies reporting a combined output of 3,800kt, an increase of 3.5% y-o-y. Growth was driven by stronger quarterly performances from BHP (516.2kt, +2.2% y-o-y), Codelco (338kt, +18.6% y-o-y), and Zijin Mining (279.3kt, +9.1% y-o-y). BHP, Freeport, and Codelco retained market-leading […]",[12624],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12625},{"job_title":557,"image":12626,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[12628,12629],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12631,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12632,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bda8d09aa2/bm-aerial-view-of-santa-rita-strip-copper-mine-near-silver-city-nm.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":12634,"uuid":12635,"name":12636,"slug":12637,"full_slug":12638,"content":12639},112398923018918,"074100f3-405e-403f-a61e-8a18947257e4","Rare earths enter new era of price volatility ","rare-earths-enter-new-era-of-price-volatility","article/rare-earths-enter-new-era-of-price-volatility",{"_uid":12640,"date":12641,"tags":12642,"editor":12645,"content":12649,"excerpt":12775,"featured":51,"reporter":12776,"_editable":12780,"component":697,"seo_title":12636,"categories":12781,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":12785,"featured_image":12787,"seo_description":12790,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12791},"1d6b3256-5306-4199-8d33-f2b7fbb8687b","2025-09-05 00:00",[12643,12644],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[12646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12647},{"job_title":557,"image":12648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12650},[12651,12667,12688,12696,12701,12706,12711,12716,12737,12745],{"type":591,"attrs":12652,"content":12653},{"textAlign":49},[12654,12662],{"text":12655,"type":596,"marks":12656},"Rare earths (REEs)",[12657,12659,12661],{"type":606,"attrs":12658},{"href":6664,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":12660},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":12663,"type":596,"marks":12664}," stand at the intersection of global geopolitics, supply chain security, defence, and the energy transition; reflected in heightened price volatility for these strategically-important minerals.",[12665],{"type":739,"attrs":12666},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":12668,"content":12669},{"textAlign":49},[12670,12675,12684],{"text":12671,"type":596,"marks":12672},"Benchmark assessed prices of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide (DDP China) to rise 20.6% m-o-m in August, underpinned by buyer restocking activity and tighter spot availability, as well as the broader geopolitical context. This translated into an 18% m-o-m uptick for Benchmark's Rare Earth China Weighted Average price – a basket price based on the ratio of PrNd, terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy) oxides used in ",[12673],{"type":739,"attrs":12674},{"color":6272},{"text":12676,"type":596,"marks":12677},"rare earth permanent magnets (REPM)",[12678,12681,12683],{"type":606,"attrs":12679},{"href":12680,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/ev-motors-and-systems",{"type":739,"attrs":12682},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":12685},[12686],{"type":739,"attrs":12687},{"color":6272},{"type":656,"attrs":12689},{"id":12690,"body":12691},"cae21464-b81a-41bd-afe0-72e698eda224",[12692],{"id":12693,"_uid":12694,"type":663,"_editable":12695,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24976015","i-d8e48a92-7642-41c0-8544-95546922b800","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d8e48a92-7642-41c0-8544-95546922b800\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12697,"content":12698},{"textAlign":49},[12699],{"text":12700,"type":596},"With China currently in peak manufacturing season for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and consumer electronics, a cyclical uptick in demand has added pressure on PrNd supply, creating upward mometumn for prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":12702,"content":12703},{"textAlign":49},[12704],{"text":12705,"type":596},"Moreover, in late August, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources revised the issuance of production quotas from twice yearly to an annual basis. Prior to the official confirmation, only the two main state-backed rare earth groups and their subsidiaries were sanctioned to continue producing. This left spot trading largely in the hands of traders, who sold from limited inventories at high premiums.",{"type":615,"attrs":12707,"content":12708},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12709],{"text":12710,"type":596},"What’s driving prices outside of China?",{"type":591,"attrs":12712,"content":12713},{"textAlign":49},[12714],{"text":12715,"type":596},"PrNd oxide prices in Europe and North America also rose sharply in August, in response to the rally in the Chinese market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":12717,"content":12718},{"textAlign":49},[12719,12724,12732],{"text":12720,"type":596,"marks":12721},"Heavy rare earth oxides (HREO) have been trading at ",[12722],{"type":739,"attrs":12723},{"color":6272},{"text":12725,"type":596,"marks":12726},"considerably higher levels (+250%) than in the domestic Chinese markets",[12727,12729,12731],{"type":606,"attrs":12728},{"href":6686,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":12730},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":12733,"type":596,"marks":12734}," since China introduced export controls. The measures have resulted in widespread delays in securing the necessary licences, keeping supply availability constrained in these regions.",[12735],{"type":739,"attrs":12736},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":12738,"content":12739},{"textAlign":49},[12740],{"text":12741,"type":596,"marks":12742},"Beijing has cautioned Western companies that aggressive stockpiling of rare earths could trigger countermeasures. This has created renewed anxiety in the West over China's ability to choke off supply.",[12743],{"type":739,"attrs":12744},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":12746,"content":12747},{"textAlign":49},[12748,12757,12762,12770],{"text":12749,"type":596,"marks":12750},"The US and Europe are striving to reduce strategic dependencies on China",[12751,12754,12756],{"type":606,"attrs":12752},{"href":12753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-launches-section-232-investigation-into-imports-of-critical-minerals-and-rare-earths",{"type":739,"attrs":12755},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":12758,"type":596,"marks":12759}," by building out domestic REE supply chains. ",[12760],{"type":739,"attrs":12761},{"color":6272},{"text":12763,"type":596,"marks":12764},"MP Materials' 10-year supply agreement with the US Department of Defense",[12765,12767,12769],{"type":606,"attrs":12766},{"href":9810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":12768},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":12771,"type":596,"marks":12772}," – which introduced a price floor of $110/kg for PrNd, effectively creating a premium for projects located outside China – has increased the risk of a sustained market bifurcation between the West and China.",[12773],{"type":739,"attrs":12774},{"color":6272},"Rare earths (REEs) stand at the intersection of global geopolitics, supply chain security, defence, and the energy transition; reflected in heightened price volatility for these strategically-important minerals. Benchmark assessed prices of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide (DDP China) to rise 20.6% m-o-m in August, underpinned by buyer restocking activity and tighter spot availability, as well as the […]",[12777],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12778},{"job_title":557,"image":12779,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1d6b3256-5306-4199-8d33-f2b7fbb8687b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12782,12783,12784],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12786},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12788,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12789,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/96d8a6ecdb/bm-rare-earths-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rare earths (REEs) stand at the intersection of global geopolitics, supply chain security, defence, and the energy transition; reflected in heightened price volatility for these strategically-important minerals. Benchmark assessed prices […]","Sep 05, 2025",{"id":12793,"uuid":12794,"name":12795,"slug":12796,"full_slug":12797,"content":12798},112398927835815,"df46a979-2900-4413-b22f-156697f65198","Nickel intermediate tightness to underpin elevated MHP payables into Q4","nickel-intermediate-tightness-to-underpin-elevated-mhp-payables-into-q4","article/nickel-intermediate-tightness-to-underpin-elevated-mhp-payables-into-q4",{"_uid":12799,"date":12800,"tags":12801,"editor":12807,"content":12811,"excerpt":12959,"featured":50,"reporter":12960,"_editable":12964,"component":697,"seo_title":12795,"categories":12965,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":12969,"seo_description":12959,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":12971},"da02b754-ec6b-4b67-b99d-bd192678701c","2025-09-03 00:00",[12802,12805,12806],{"slug":12803,"name":12804},"hpal","HPAL",{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[12808],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12809},{"job_title":557,"image":12810,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12812},[12813,12818,12831,12839,12844,12864,12869,12874,12879,12891,12896,12901,12913,12921,12933,12946,12954],{"type":591,"attrs":12814,"content":12815},{"textAlign":49},[12816],{"text":12817,"type":596},"Payables for nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) have remained at elevated levels (84–86%) since April, according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment. This is despite structural oversupply and macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on nickel prices more broadly.",{"type":591,"attrs":12819,"content":12820},{"textAlign":49},[12821,12823,12829],{"text":12822,"type":596},"Payables initially ",{"text":12824,"type":596,"marks":12825},"rose to a three-year high following extensive flooding at the Morowali Industrial Park",[12826],{"type":606,"attrs":12827},{"href":12828,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/supply-disruptions-in-indonesia-drive-short-term-gains-for-mhp-payables",{"text":12830,"type":596},", which caused a tailings facility at the PT QMB high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant to collapse – resulting in the loss of several weeks worth of production.",{"type":656,"attrs":12832},{"id":12833,"body":12834},"8f73ad61-aa21-4533-bc0b-2476924a91bd",[12835],{"id":12836,"_uid":12837,"type":663,"_editable":12838,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24939172","i-4f43410f-a518-4a27-9c60-323fbe480c8e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4f43410f-a518-4a27-9c60-323fbe480c8e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12840,"content":12841},{"textAlign":49},[12842],{"text":12843,"type":596},"But high payability levels have since been sustained by coalescing supply- and demand-side factors. Most notably, Benchmark has received reports that CNGR – one of China’s leading battery material producers – has faced technical challenges with its oxygen side-blowing (OESBF) facility in Indonesia, used to process low grade saprolite ore into battery-suitable nickel matte. Market contacts report that exports of nickel matte are expected to fall in Q4, leaving buyers scrambling for MHP amid an anticipated tightening of matte supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":12845,"content":12846},{"textAlign":49},[12847,12849,12854,12856,12862],{"text":12848,"type":596},"Meanwhile, a recent rally in ",{"text":12850,"type":596,"marks":12851},"lithium prices ",[12852],{"type":606,"attrs":12853},{"href":10328,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":12855,"type":596},"has also spurred demand for MHP; downstream buyers in the battery supply chain are reported to have stepped up purchases of precursor material (pCAM) due to the prospect of ",{"text":12857,"type":596,"marks":12858},"higher prices in late 2025",[12859],{"type":606,"attrs":12860},{"href":12861,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/q3-lithium-preview-jiangxi-enforcement-shows-teeth-lifting-price-floor",{"text":12863,"type":596},". This is against a backdrop of market expectations that cell production will increase in Q4.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":12865,"content":12866},{"textAlign":49},[12867],{"text":12868,"type":596},"The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) cobalt export ban, in place since late February, is also proving supportive for demand – and consequently payables – of cobalt-containing MHP, lifting the absolute price.",{"type":615,"attrs":12870,"content":12871},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12872],{"text":12873,"type":596},"How long can high-payables be sustained?",{"type":591,"attrs":12875,"content":12876},{"textAlign":49},[12877],{"text":12878,"type":596},"Benchmark expects MHP payables to remain elevated into Q4, supported by tightening nickel intermediate supply (matte) and strengthening demand from the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":12880,"content":12881},{"textAlign":49},[12882,12883,12889],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":12884,"type":596,"marks":12885},"Indonesian government is also reportedly preparing stricter tailings management requirements",[12886],{"type":606,"attrs":12887},{"href":12888,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesian-nickel-miners-respond-to-calls-for-enhanced-environmental-management",{"text":12890,"type":596}," for HPAL facilities, as part of efforts to attract more western investment into its nickel sector. This has contributed to slower project development timelines, and Benchmark understands that none of the HPAL projects in construction are fully permitted, presenting a risk to the supply pipeline. ",{"type":591,"attrs":12892,"content":12893},{"textAlign":49},[12894],{"text":12895,"type":596},"Nevertheless, Indonesia retains a substantial pipeline of new HPAL capacity: Benchmark projects HPAL nameplate nickel capacity to increase from 410kt Ni in 2024 to more than 1,000kt Ni by 2027. This expansion presents downside risks for MHP payables as expansions accelerate from 2026 onwards.",{"type":615,"attrs":12897,"content":12898},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[12899],{"text":12900,"type":596},"Indonesia’s HPAL buildout continues",{"type":591,"attrs":12902,"content":12903},{"textAlign":49},[12904,12906,12911],{"text":12905,"type":596},"Despite oversupply leaving ",{"text":12907,"type":596,"marks":12908},"more than one fifth of the global nickel industry ",[12909],{"type":606,"attrs":12910},{"href":8032,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":12912,"type":596},"cash negative, Indonesia’s HPAL buildout has been left relatively unscathed by the prevailing low-price environment.",{"type":656,"attrs":12914},{"id":12915,"body":12916},"bb848a07-1b74-464a-8ac3-2e2e714fdbec",[12917],{"id":12918,"_uid":12919,"type":663,"_editable":12920,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24158826","i-d7334fd5-d8f6-4250-9ad5-4dbb26541d3e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d7334fd5-d8f6-4250-9ad5-4dbb26541d3e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12922,"content":12923},{"textAlign":49},[12924,12926,12932],{"text":12925,"type":596},"This reflects Indonesian HPALs position amongst the lowest-cost nickel producers globally, supported by integrated ore supply and industrial infrastructure, economies of scale, and cobalt by-product credits. ",{"text":12927,"type":596,"marks":12928},"HPAL facilities also benefit from favourable rates under recent changes to Indonesia’s royalty regime",[12929],{"type":606,"attrs":12930},{"href":12931,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battey-targeted-nickel-favoured-in-indonesias-royalty-hike",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":12934,"content":12935},{"textAlign":49},[12936,12938,12944],{"text":12937,"type":596},"The Benchmark Nickel Forecast projects Indonesia’s HPAL nickel capacity could reach 2Mt by 2030. This outlook is being bolstered by Danantara, Indonesia’s ",{"text":12939,"type":596,"marks":12940},"newly established sovereign wealth fund",[12941],{"type":606,"attrs":12942},{"href":12943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesias-new-sovereign-wealth-fund-eyes-hpal-investment",{"text":12945,"type":596},", which has a $20bn mandate to invest in a range of domestic projects, including metal processing.",{"type":656,"attrs":12947},{"id":12948,"body":12949},"d90ff60b-156a-43ef-a66f-49b5d73ee9b4",[12950],{"id":12951,"_uid":12952,"type":663,"_editable":12953,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24938826","i-b19603d4-3f03-4301-ade4-e9197406bf9d","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b19603d4-3f03-4301-ade4-e9197406bf9d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":12955,"content":12956},{"textAlign":49},[12957],{"text":12958,"type":596},"In late August, Danantara reached a $1.42bn agreement with China’s GEM and PT Vale Indonesia to invest in an HPAL plant in Central Sulawesi province. It came shortly after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in May with French developer Eramet to jointly explore investment opportunities in the nickel sector.","Payables for nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) have remained at elevated levels (84–86%) since April, according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment. This is despite structural oversupply and macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on nickel prices more broadly. Payables initially rose to a three-year high following extensive flooding at the Morowali Industrial Park, which caused a […]",[12961],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12962},{"job_title":557,"image":12963,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"da02b754-ec6b-4b67-b99d-bd192678701c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[12966,12967,12968],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6033,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":12970,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 03, 2025",{"id":12973,"uuid":12974,"name":12975,"slug":12976,"full_slug":12977,"content":12978},112398932791977,"0b10bf7e-4b8d-4f9a-9d9c-46a9945d2feb","Q3 lithium preview: Jiangxi enforcement shows teeth, lifting price floor","q3-lithium-preview-jiangxi-enforcement-shows-teeth-lifting-price-floor","article/q3-lithium-preview-jiangxi-enforcement-shows-teeth-lifting-price-floor",{"_uid":12979,"date":12980,"tags":12981,"editor":12986,"content":12990,"excerpt":13165,"featured":51,"reporter":13166,"_editable":13170,"component":697,"seo_title":12975,"categories":13171,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":13174,"seo_description":13165,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13177},"2e067da6-6765-4cbd-9dcf-96878a86086f","2025-09-02 00:00",[12982,12983,12984,12985],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[12987],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":12988},{"job_title":557,"image":12989,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":12991},[12992,13004,13009,13014,13019,13024,13029,13034,13045,13050,13055,13060,13065,13070,13075,13088,13093,13098,13103,13108,13113],{"type":591,"attrs":12993,"content":12994},{"textAlign":49},[12995,12997,13002],{"text":12996,"type":596},"Paperwork problems have left two of ",{"text":12998,"type":596,"marks":12999},"Jiangxi’s largest lithium mines ",[13000],{"type":606,"attrs":13001},{"href":10328,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":13003,"type":596},"facing prolonged suspension risk. The picture appears to be less of a blanket clampdown and more a story of bureaucratic delays, policy philosophy, and fiscal adjustments. Yet the effect on global pricing is the same: lithium’s floor raises, allowing prices to remain higher for longer.",{"type":591,"attrs":13005,"content":13006},{"textAlign":49},[13007],{"text":13008,"type":596},"Ahead of the release of Benchmark’s Q3 lithium forecast in the coming weeks, the Benchmark analyst team sets out the base‑case view guiding its work: CATL and Jiuling stand out as having the highest‑risk operations, with potential suspensions large enough to shape sentiment well into 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":13010,"content":13011},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13012],{"text":13013,"type":596},"At high risk: CATL’s Jianxiawo and Jiuling’s Huaqiao Dagang",{"type":591,"attrs":13015,"content":13016},{"textAlign":49},[13017],{"text":13018,"type":596},"Two operations dominate Jiangxi’s risk map:",{"type":591,"attrs":13020,"content":13021},{"textAlign":49},[13022],{"text":13023,"type":596},"These assets stand in contrast to the rest of Jiangxi’s miners and converters, which appear far less exposed. Treating the whole province as uniformly at risk therefore misreads the situation.",{"type":615,"attrs":13025,"content":13026},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13027],{"text":13028,"type":596},"New rules with sharper powers",{"type":591,"attrs":13030,"content":13031},{"textAlign":49},[13032],{"text":13033,"type":596},"The backdrop is China’s most significant overhaul of mineral management rules in 15 years. Adopted on 8 November 2024, and effective from 1 July 2025, the amendments are the first since 2009 (and prior to that, 1996).",{"type":591,"attrs":13035,"content":13036},{"textAlign":49},[13037,13039,13043],{"text":13038,"type":596},"The legislation introduces a new chapter on ",{"text":13040,"type":596,"marks":13041},"Supervision and Administration",[13042],{"type":1006},{"text":13044,"type":596},", equipping the National Natural Resources Inspectorate with powers to carry out inspections, enforce seizure or detention orders, and block operations pending compliance. For the first time, inspections are backed by enforcement authority rather than advisory oversight.",{"type":591,"attrs":13046,"content":13047},{"textAlign":49},[13048],{"text":13049,"type":596},"Another crucial shift is that lithium was further included in the catalog of 36 strategic minerals. The approval process for mining permits has received additional clarifications following amendments to previously obscured sections. For years in Jiangxi, lithium has often been accounted for as a “by‑product,” even though it is the main source of project revenues. This “under‑classification” has allowed companies to pay lower taxes and royalties than warranted, depriving the state of fiscal returns. The tightened framework reflects Beijing’s intent to close that gap through stricter reporting and higher scrutiny.",{"type":591,"attrs":13051,"content":13052},{"textAlign":49},[13053],{"text":13054,"type":596},"By contrast, in Qinghai lithium genuinely remains secondary to potash, which is the revenue driver in local brine operations. There, the by‑product classification is more defensible — and explains why lithium producers in Qinghai are not facing the same level of regulatory challenge as Jiangxi operators.",{"type":591,"attrs":13056,"content":13057},{"textAlign":49},[13058],{"text":13059,"type":596},"Transparency is also shifting. Between 2011 and 2023, reserve disclosure lists spanned 44–48 minerals, including lithium. From 2024 onward the official list contracts to 27 — excluding lithium. At precisely the moment scrutiny increases, visibility into official reporting declines, raising reliance on independent or asset‑specific disclosure.",{"type":591,"attrs":13061,"content":13062},{"textAlign":49},[13063],{"text":13064,"type":596},"One date will determine outcomes: 30 September 2025. Lithium miners are required to resubmit resource, reserve, and grade assessment reports in order to comply. Each project risks suspension until approvals clear, but not all risks are equal. Benchmark’s Q3 lithium forecast report will outline risks on each of the 8 mines affected by this crackdown. ",{"type":615,"attrs":13066,"content":13067},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13068],{"text":13069,"type":596},"Production impact",{"type":591,"attrs":13071,"content":13072},{"textAlign":49},[13073],{"text":13074,"type":596},"Jiangxi’s track record provides some buffer. Its mines traditionally front‑load production into the first half of the year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13076,"content":13077},{"textAlign":49},[13078,13080,13086],{"text":13079,"type":596},"Inventories provide another buffer, as noted in ",{"text":13081,"type":596,"marks":13082},"12th August Critical Insight",[13083],{"type":606,"attrs":13084},{"href":13085,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/market-insights/critical-insights",{"text":13087,"type":596},", however this new information indicates that shutdowns will outlast inventory drawdown, at least for CATL.",{"type":591,"attrs":13089,"content":13090},{"textAlign":49},[13091],{"text":13092,"type":596},"In Qinghai, Zangge has already indicated that temporary halts will not change its annual capacity guidance. This suggests full‑year volumes from Jiangxi may ultimately prove more resilient than currently priced. But the market reacts not just to volumes — it reacts to fragility, visibility, and confidence.",{"type":615,"attrs":13094,"content":13095},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13096],{"text":13097,"type":596},"A higher‑for‑longer outcome",{"type":591,"attrs":13099,"content":13100},{"textAlign":49},[13101],{"text":13102,"type":596},"The disruptions in Jiangxi will be measured not only in tonnes, but in the pricing premium that uncertainty now commands.",{"type":591,"attrs":13104,"content":13105},{"textAlign":49},[13106],{"text":13107,"type":596},"Even if CATL and Jiuling resolve filings within months, large volumes have already been flagged as at risk; including other projects to be discussed in the Q3 forecast. Combined with reduced data transparency, sharper enforcement powers, and lithium’s more strategic classification, the market has formed a new view of Chinese supply: administratively vulnerable, harder to track, and more exposed to state intervention.",{"type":591,"attrs":13109,"content":13110},{"textAlign":49},[13111],{"text":13112,"type":596},"The reputational shift is already embedded. We therefore expect lithium’s price floor to be raised, allowing prices to remain higher for longer through 2025, with moderation coming only slowly in H2, and an uncertainty premium carrying into 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":13114,"content":13115},{"textAlign":49},[13116,13121,13129,13134,13142,13147,13152,13160],{"text":13117,"type":596,"marks":13118},"Benchmark’s world-leading lithium market intelligence offering includes:",[13119,13120],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13122,"type":596,"marks":13123},"Lithium Price Assessment ",[13124,13127,13128],{"type":606,"attrs":13125},{"href":13126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/lithium-prices/table/",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13130,"type":596,"marks":13131},"publishing lithium prices on weekly and bi-weekly cycles to the industry’s most rigorous IOSCO standard, to enable supply contract settlement, indexation and price risk management.",[13132,13133],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":13136},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast",[13137,13140,13141],{"type":606,"attrs":13138},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/data-reports/forecast/",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13143,"type":596,"marks":13144}," providing a detailed outlook of lithium supply, demand, costs and prices to 2040.",[13145,13146],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13148,"type":596,"marks":13149},"To learn more, please provide your details ",[13150,13151],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":13154},"here",[13155,13158,13159],{"type":606,"attrs":13156},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/contact/",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13161,"type":596,"marks":13162},", and our experts will contact you shortly.",[13163,13164],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Paperwork problems have left two of Jiangxi’s largest lithium mines facing prolonged suspension risk. The picture appears to be less of a blanket clampdown and more a story of bureaucratic delays, policy philosophy, and fiscal adjustments. Yet the effect on global pricing is the same: lithium’s floor raises, allowing prices to remain higher for longer. […]",[13167],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13168},{"job_title":557,"image":13169,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2e067da6-6765-4cbd-9dcf-96878a86086f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13172,13173],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13175,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13176,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ab03882337/bm-large-yellow-machinery-crushing-spodumene-ore-in-a-lithium-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 02, 2025",{"id":13179,"uuid":13180,"name":13181,"slug":13182,"full_slug":13183,"content":13184},112398957736672,"b3df4ba0-52b6-469b-9695-870f7eb68178","BESS system integrator ranking in H1 2025 shows change is on the horizon for the industry","bess-system-integrator-ranking-in-h1-2025-shows-change-is-on-the-horizon-for-the-industry","article/bess-system-integrator-ranking-in-h1-2025-shows-change-is-on-the-horizon-for-the-industry",{"_uid":13185,"date":13186,"tags":13187,"editor":13192,"content":13196,"excerpt":13287,"featured":51,"reporter":13288,"component":697,"seo_title":13181,"categories":13292,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":13295,"featured_image":13298,"seo_description":13287,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13301},"cf087c4d-ce56-4e39-b2b7-6b63b341e961","2025-08-28 00:00",[13188,13191],{"slug":13189,"name":13190},"bess-systems","BESS Systems",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[13193],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13194},{"job_title":557,"image":13195,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13197},[13198,13210,13215,13222,13227,13232,13237,13242,13247,13259,13264,13269,13274],{"type":591,"attrs":13199,"content":13200},{"textAlign":49},[13201,13203,13208],{"text":13202,"type":596},"A recent BESS system integrator ranking from Rho Motion demonstrates how the ",{"text":13204,"type":596,"marks":13205},"energy storage industry",[13206],{"type":606,"attrs":13207},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":13209,"type":596}," is rapidly evolving as it grows. From 2023 to 2024, BESS shipments grew by 79%, and growth in 2025 is expected to be bigger. Data from the first half of 2025 (H1 2025) shows shipments have already surpassed the total for 2023 by 25%, highlighting the rapid pace of industry growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":13211,"content":13212},{"textAlign":49},[13213],{"text":13214,"type":596},"At the same time, as the industry expands and new players enter the market, smaller companies are steadily capturing market share. Meanwhile, the competitive dynamic is shifting between vertically integrated cell-and-system players and dedicated system manufacturers.",{"type":656,"attrs":13216},{"id":13217,"body":13218},"76d89e5d-8468-4579-8a56-46b5bba71553",[13219],{"id":13220,"_uid":13221,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24794327","i-292dfda3-52ae-44a3-80b1-d0bf7ef7e86c",{"type":615,"attrs":13223,"content":13224},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13225],{"text":13226,"type":596},"A market increasingly fragmented",{"type":591,"attrs":13228,"content":13229},{"textAlign":49},[13230],{"text":13231,"type":596},"In 2023 the top ten players accounted for 82% of the market, compared to 77% in H1 2025. Although the market remains relatively top-heavy, these dynamics are shifting as smaller players outside of the top five capture an increasingly larger portion of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":13233,"content":13234},{"textAlign":49},[13235],{"text":13236,"type":596},"As well as this, market share across top players is becoming more balanced. In 2023, the leading player, CATL, held 20% of market share, compared with only 6% for the fifth-ranked, CRRC. In H1 2025, this gap narrowed to 14% and 9% respectively between Sungrow Power and BYD, ranked first and fifth. A lead that is far less pronounced as the landscape becomes more competitive.",{"type":615,"attrs":13238,"content":13239},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13240],{"text":13241,"type":596},"System integration ability is proving more important",{"type":591,"attrs":13243,"content":13244},{"textAlign":49},[13245],{"text":13246,"type":596},"The competitive importance of system integrators has risen significantly as the market advantage of cell manufacturers has shown signs of weakening.",{"type":591,"attrs":13248,"content":13249},{"textAlign":49},[13250,13252,13257],{"text":13251,"type":596},"In 2023, cell makers accounted for at least 40% of BESS shipments, largely due to the surge in LFP ",{"text":13253,"type":596,"marks":13254},"cell prices",[13255],{"type":606,"attrs":13256},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":13258,"type":596}," in 2022. This gave cell players the advantage of being able to produce systems at lower costs, since cells made up the largest cost component of BESS systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":13260,"content":13261},{"textAlign":49},[13262],{"text":13263,"type":596},"By H1 2025, cell manufacturers’ share in the system market had dropped to below 30%. This shift has been fuelled by falling cell prices and the expansion of the battery industry, which has brought in more players and broadened the range of options available to BESS system producers, allowing them to compete more with vertically integrated players.",{"type":591,"attrs":13265,"content":13266},{"textAlign":49},[13267],{"text":13268,"type":596},"However, it is worth noting the growing importance of quality. As BESS players gain more experience operating projects, companies are increasingly recognising that, beyond initial costs, system integration capability plays a crucial role in long-term profitability. Factors such as operating lifetime, maintenance expenses, and insurance premiums all improve significantly with better system integration.",{"type":615,"attrs":13270,"content":13271},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13272],{"text":13273,"type":596},"Cell supply sees more specialised players",{"type":591,"attrs":13275,"content":13276},{"textAlign":49},[13277,13279,13285],{"text":13278,"type":596},"On the cell side CATL continues to dominate the market but more specialised BESS cell players are taking market share. In H1 2025, Hithium and EVE Energy joined CATL in the top three ",{"text":13280,"type":596,"marks":13281},"cell suppliers",[13282],{"type":606,"attrs":13283},{"href":13284,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/who-were-the-top-cell-suppliers-in-the-bess-market-in-h1-2025",{"text":13286,"type":596}," for the BESS market overtaking the likes of BYD, which has steadily fallen to fifth position for BESS cell supply. H1 also saw nine cell players ship over 10 GWh of BESS cells.","A recent BESS system integrator ranking from Rho Motion demonstrates how the energy storage industry is rapidly evolving as it grows. From 2023 to 2024, BESS shipments grew by 79%, and growth in 2025 is expected to be bigger. Data from the first half of 2025 (H1 2025) shows shipments have already surpassed the total […]",[13289],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13290},{"job_title":557,"image":13291,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[13293,13294],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13296,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13297,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1756372680/www-production/image-18-1/image-18-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13299,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13300,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b5bfb05c57/bm-adobestock-1377471510.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 28, 2025",{"id":13303,"uuid":13304,"name":13305,"slug":13306,"full_slug":13307,"content":13308},112398963102518,"bfd2200f-36ea-4f15-b5f8-a0343506eb38","Group14 secures $463m in funding to scale up its manufacturing capabilities","group14-secures-463m-in-funding-to-scale-up-its-manufacturing-capabilities","article/group14-secures-463m-in-funding-to-scale-up-its-manufacturing-capabilities",{"_uid":13309,"date":13310,"tags":13311,"editor":13322,"content":13326,"excerpt":13389,"featured":50,"reporter":13390,"_editable":13394,"component":697,"seo_title":13305,"categories":13395,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":13402,"seo_description":13389,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13405},"975438a0-4f45-4023-8d60-dde42d3a85a6","2025-08-27 00:00",[13312,13315,13318,13321],{"slug":13313,"name":13314},"group14","Group14",{"slug":13316,"name":13317},"oned-battery-science","OneD Battery Science",{"slug":13319,"name":13320},"sila-nanotechnologies","Sila Nanotechnologies",{"slug":572,"name":573},[13323],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13324},{"job_title":557,"image":13325,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13327},[13328,13341,13346,13351,13364,13376,13381],{"type":591,"attrs":13329,"content":13330},{"textAlign":49},[13331,13333,13339],{"text":13332,"type":596},"Group14 Technologies has raised $463m in a Series D funding round to accelerate its ",{"text":13334,"type":596,"marks":13335},"silicon anode",[13336],{"type":606,"attrs":13337},{"href":13338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-novel-silicon-carbon-anode-materials-compete-with-graphite-on-cost",{"text":13340,"type":596}," material (AAM) capacity pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":13342,"content":13343},{"textAlign":49},[13344],{"text":13345,"type":596},"The round was led by South Korean battery major SK, with participation from ATL, Lightrock, Microsoft, Porsche, and OMERS. Under the same announcement, Group14 has also acquired full ownership of its joint venture (JV) with SK, which comprises the Sangju facility in North Gyeongsang, South Korea. SK previously held a 75% stake.",{"type":591,"attrs":13347,"content":13348},{"textAlign":49},[13349],{"text":13350,"type":596},"The fresh capital injection could help to revitalise the construction of its Moses Lake facility which slowed in Q2 of this year with a revised timeline showing a 2026 commissioning date.",{"type":591,"attrs":13352,"content":13353},{"textAlign":49},[13354,13356,13362],{"text":13355,"type":596},"Fellow ",{"text":13357,"type":596,"marks":13358},"US silicon AAM",[13359],{"type":606,"attrs":13360},{"href":13361,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-silicon-anode-scene-starts-2024-with-a-wave-of-announcements",{"text":13363,"type":596}," aspirant OneD Battery Sciences has also faced a challenging quarter, suspending operations at its Washington site, whilst stalling on its planned JV in Canada with Koch Modular.",{"type":591,"attrs":13365,"content":13366},{"textAlign":49},[13367,13369,13374],{"text":13368,"type":596},"Even with these setbacks, the North American silicon anode industry has been relatively resilient despite the challenges posed to battery projects outside China: project viability complicated by tariffs, trade uncertainty, protracted permitting, and wider geopolitical risks. ",{"text":13320,"type":596,"marks":13370},[13371],{"type":606,"attrs":13372},{"href":13373,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sila-nanotechnologies-inks-silane-deal-with-rec-silicon-in-us-anode-hub",{"text":13375,"type":596},", for example, started commissioning its Moses Lake facility in April 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":13377,"content":13378},{"textAlign":49},[13379],{"text":13380,"type":596},"This strong funding round demonstrates the ongoing investor confidence in both Group14 and the silicon AAM market’s long term direction.",{"type":656,"attrs":13382},{"id":13383,"body":13384},"9d5d0e08-3879-4979-a029-5aa614b9df13",[13385],{"id":13386,"_uid":13387,"type":663,"_editable":13388,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24843286","i-252549c4-f6a5-4a03-8632-bcc69c2eb3d9","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-252549c4-f6a5-4a03-8632-bcc69c2eb3d9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Group14 Technologies has raised $463m in a Series D funding round to accelerate its silicon anode material (AAM) capacity pipeline. The round was led by South Korean battery major SK, with participation from ATL, Lightrock, Microsoft, Porsche, and OMERS. Under the same announcement, Group14 has also acquired full ownership of its joint venture (JV) with […]",[13391],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13392},{"job_title":557,"image":13393,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"975438a0-4f45-4023-8d60-dde42d3a85a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13396,13397,13398,13399],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},"silicon-anode","Silicon Anode",{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13403,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13404,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db34470a14/bm-bam-2-campus.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 27, 2025",{"id":13407,"uuid":13408,"name":13409,"slug":13410,"full_slug":13411,"content":13412},112398972994455,"14469f1d-ea5f-4dc8-9961-37e30cde238d","Chinese presence in Tier 1 increases further with CALB, EVE, SVOLT, and Gotion","chinese-presence-in-tier-1-increases-further-with-calb-eve-svolt-and-gotion","article/chinese-presence-in-tier-1-increases-further-with-calb-eve-svolt-and-gotion",{"_uid":13413,"date":13414,"tags":13415,"editor":13430,"content":13434,"excerpt":13498,"featured":51,"reporter":13499,"_editable":13503,"component":697,"seo_title":13409,"categories":13504,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":13507,"featured_image":13510,"seo_description":13498,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13513},"5759ddc4-1860-4a5e-9ebd-4862b9c9977b","2025-08-26 00:00",[13416,13419,13420,13421,13424,13427],{"slug":13417,"name":13418},"calb","CALB",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":13422,"name":13423},"eve-energy","EVE Energy",{"slug":13425,"name":13426},"gotion","Gotion",{"slug":13428,"name":13429},"svolt","SVOLT",[13431],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13432},{"job_title":557,"image":13433,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13435},[13436,13441,13449,13453,13458,13462,13467,13471,13476,13480,13485,13490],{"type":591,"attrs":13437,"content":13438},{"textAlign":49},[13439],{"text":13440,"type":596},"Benchmark has promoted Chinese cell producers CALB, EVE Energy, SVOLT, and Gotion to Tier 1 status. This follows sufficient evidence that these companies have met the offtake requirements to qualify as Tier 1 producers. Namely, they have been assessed as supplying multiple multinational passenger EV OEMs outside the Chinese market.",{"type":656,"attrs":13442},{"id":13443,"body":13444},"38db2d1e-6e8c-4cae-98d4-a691be8c4552",[13445],{"id":13446,"_uid":13447,"type":663,"_editable":13448,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24841875","i-35654368-ada0-4e92-89d1-3294e45ef0ec","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-35654368-ada0-4e92-89d1-3294e45ef0ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":13450,"content":13451},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13452],{"text":13418,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13454,"content":13455},{"textAlign":49},[13456],{"text":13457,"type":596},"CALB has an active capacity of 185 GWh. Its nine operational projects are based in China, with a tenth project in Portugal currently in the groundworks phase. This project is slated to come online in 2028 with a capacity of 15 GWh. CALB has a total cell pipeline capacity of 460 GWh by 2030. The company manufactures cells for both EV and BESS markets, focusing on LFP and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries.",{"type":615,"attrs":13459,"content":13460},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13461],{"text":13423,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13463,"content":13464},{"textAlign":49},[13465],{"text":13466,"type":596},"EVE Energy has 19 projects either operational or in the pipeline. Whilst primarily based in China, the company has announced cell production plans in Hungary, Malaysia, and the US. Its operational capacity is 205 GWh, which is set to expand to 386 GWh by 2030. The company produces NCM, LFP, and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cells, for EV, BESS, and Portables markets.",{"type":615,"attrs":13468,"content":13469},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13470],{"text":13429,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13472,"content":13473},{"textAlign":49},[13474],{"text":13475,"type":596},"SVOLT has a 2030 pipeline capacity of 318 GWh. The company has 10 operational projects and a further project completed and ready to begin production later this year. This will increase its 2025 capacity to 226 GWh. SVOLT’s customer base includes German automaker BMW and Chinese OEM Great Wall Motors.",{"type":615,"attrs":13477,"content":13478},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13479],{"text":13426,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13481,"content":13482},{"textAlign":49},[13483],{"text":13484,"type":596},"Gotion is also predominantly based in China but has recently expanded internationally, with projects announced in Vietnam, the US, Slovakia, and Morocco. In June 2024, Gotion announced the first cell facility in Africa, targeting 100 GWh at a site in Kenitra, Morocco. Satellite analysis via Benchmark’s Verified service has observed that this project is in the groundworks phase. Benchmark expects the facility to come online in 2026 with an initial capacity of 20 GWh. Gotion’s 2030 cell pipeline capacity is 401 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":13486,"content":13487},{"textAlign":49},[13488],{"text":13489,"type":596},"Chinese-owned companies represent 4,096 GWh (74%) of global Tier 1 cell capacity by 2030. This dominance reflects China’s extensive cell manufacturing experience, supported by strong government policy and funding.",{"type":656,"attrs":13491},{"id":13492,"body":13493},"0d0a21b1-4479-4871-a026-0256adc512e8",[13494],{"id":13495,"_uid":13496,"type":663,"_editable":13497,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24841227","i-5741c8c1-2a37-489e-aa2c-661af4b5b56a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-5741c8c1-2a37-489e-aa2c-661af4b5b56a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Benchmark has promoted Chinese cell producers CALB, EVE Energy, SVOLT, and Gotion to Tier 1 status. This follows sufficient evidence that these companies have met the offtake requirements to qualify as Tier 1 producers. Namely, they have been assessed as supplying multiple multinational passenger EV OEMs outside the Chinese market. CALB CALB has an active […]",[13500],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13501},{"job_title":557,"image":13502,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5759ddc4-1860-4a5e-9ebd-4862b9c9977b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13505,13506],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13508,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13509,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1756224474/www-production/Socials-New-Tier-1@2x/Socials-New-Tier-1@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13511,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13512,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1a95ffdd7f/bm-svolt-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 26, 2025",{"id":13515,"uuid":13516,"name":13517,"slug":13518,"full_slug":13519,"content":13520},112398983136291,"84c76965-c659-4132-99f8-51138c521c8d","How many rare earths are needed to produce EV motors?","how-many-rare-earths-are-needed-to-produce-ev-motors","article/how-many-rare-earths-are-needed-to-produce-ev-motors",{"_uid":13521,"date":13522,"tags":13523,"editor":13529,"content":13533,"excerpt":13626,"featured":51,"reporter":13627,"_editable":13631,"component":697,"seo_title":13517,"categories":13632,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":13637,"featured_image":13639,"seo_description":13626,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13642},"cdf368ab-c3ca-4ce8-a4f8-ac1c6ebf4454","2025-08-21 00:00",[13524,13525,13528],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":13526,"name":13527},"ev-motors","EV Motors",{"slug":4777,"name":4778},[13530],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13531},{"job_title":557,"image":13532,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13534},[13535,13555,13562,13567,13572,13584,13589,13602,13606,13623],{"type":591,"attrs":13536,"content":13537},{"textAlign":49},[13538,13540,13545,13547,13553],{"text":13539,"type":596},"As EV sales have risen, the need for EV motors has also grown, translating into increased demand for ",{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":13541},[13542],{"type":606,"attrs":13543},{"href":13544,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rare-earths-enter-new-era-of-price-volatility",{"text":13546,"type":596},". In 2024, 37kt of rare earth demand was tracked within the ",{"text":13548,"type":596,"marks":13549},"EV motors market",[13550],{"type":606,"attrs":13551},{"href":13552,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-importance-of-evs-to-the-rare-earths-market",{"text":13554,"type":596},", a 32% increase from the previous year. In 2025, this demand is expected to increase 16% to 43kt.",{"type":591,"attrs":13556,"content":13557},{"textAlign":49},[13558],{"type":836,"attrs":13559},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":13560,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":13561},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db3b872132/bm-benchmark-15-rare-earths-needed-to-produce-ev-motors-voro-08282025-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":13563,"content":13564},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13565],{"text":13566,"type":596},"How are rare earths are used in EV motors?",{"type":591,"attrs":13568,"content":13569},{"textAlign":49},[13570],{"text":13571,"type":596},"There are four main types of EV motors in the market: Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs), Asynchronous/Induction Motors, Electrically Excited Synchronous Motors, and Axial Flux Motors. Of these, only PMSMs and Axial Flux Motors both use rare earth permanent magnets.",{"type":591,"attrs":13573,"content":13574},{"textAlign":49},[13575,13577,13582],{"text":13576,"type":596},"In 2024, these two motor types accounted for over 86% of the EV motor market. The most common magnets used are made by combining neodymium with iron and boron to create neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets. Additional rare earth elements, such as dysprosium and ",{"text":13578,"type":596,"marks":13579},"terbium",[13580],{"type":606,"attrs":13581},{"href":11036,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":13583,"type":596},", are often added to help the magnets retain their magnetic strength (coercivity) under high temperatures. As a result, the bulk of rare earth demand from EV motors is driven by these three elements: neodymium, dysprosium and terbium.",{"type":615,"attrs":13585,"content":13586},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13587],{"text":13588,"type":596},"How will rare earth demand from EV motors evolve?",{"type":591,"attrs":13590,"content":13591},{"textAlign":49},[13592,13594,13600],{"text":13593,"type":596},"While some OEMs have signalled intentions to ",{"text":13595,"type":596,"marks":13596},"transition away from PMSMs",[13597],{"type":606,"attrs":13598},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-tesla-cutting-rare-earths-brings-new-competitive-dynamic-to-ev-motors",{"text":13601,"type":596}," to magnet-free motor designs, PMSMs have firmly established themselves as the longstanding dominant technology in the EV motor industry. While other new designs such as Hybrid Excited Permanent Magnet Motors aim to reduce rare earth content in electric motors; PMSMs are expected to remain a cornerstone of future developments, ensuring that rare earth demand from EV motors continues to grow.",{"type":615,"attrs":13603,"content":13604},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13605],{"text":4869,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13607,"content":13608},{"textAlign":49},[13609,13611,13616,13618,13622],{"text":13610,"type":596},"For more information on the EV motors market see ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":13612},[13613],{"type":606,"attrs":13614},{"href":13615,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/#ev-motors-&-systems",{"text":13617,"type":596},", or for more information on the rare earth market see ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":13619},[13620],{"type":606,"attrs":13621},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":13624,"content":13625},{"textAlign":49},[],"As EV sales have risen, the need for EV motors has also grown, translating into increased demand for rare earths. In 2024, 37kt of rare earth demand was tracked within the EV motors market, a 32% increase from the previous year. In 2025, this demand is expected to increase 16% to 43kt. How are rare […]",[13628],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13629},{"job_title":557,"image":13630,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cdf368ab-c3ca-4ce8-a4f8-ac1c6ebf4454\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13633,13634,13635,13636],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13560,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13638,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13640,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13641,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c4a8c3e71/bm-adobestock-283063095.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 21, 2025",{"id":13644,"uuid":13645,"name":13646,"slug":13647,"full_slug":13648,"content":13649},112398987969625,"b48d8650-447f-4567-bdf1-773419341d27","Indonesia proposes regulatory changes to promote nickel-based batteries amid global LFP shift ","indonesia-proposes-regulatory-changes-to-promote-nickel-based-batteries-amid-global-lfp-shift","article/indonesia-proposes-regulatory-changes-to-promote-nickel-based-batteries-amid-global-lfp-shift",{"_uid":13650,"date":13651,"tags":13652,"editor":13654,"content":13658,"excerpt":13739,"featured":51,"reporter":13740,"_editable":13744,"component":697,"seo_title":13646,"categories":13745,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":13751,"seo_description":13739,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13755},"94291fa1-122e-4e6c-a54f-c8270bf4aa57","2025-08-20 00:00",[13653],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[13655],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13656},{"job_title":557,"image":13657,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13659},[13660,13673,13678,13683,13688,13693,13698,13703,13708,13716,13721,13734],{"type":591,"attrs":13661,"content":13662},{"textAlign":49},[13663,13665,13671],{"text":13664,"type":596},"The Indonesian government is proposing what ministers have termed “regulatory tweaks” aimed at promoting the adoption of nickel-based batteries over lithium iron phosphate (LFP), in a move that aligns with the government’s broader policy to ",{"text":13666,"type":596,"marks":13667},"‘downstream’ its nickel resources ",[13668],{"type":606,"attrs":13669},{"href":13670,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-2024-indonesia-election-mean-for-the-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"text":13672,"type":596},"by establishing a fully-integrated domestic EV supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":13674,"content":13675},{"textAlign":49},[13676],{"text":13677,"type":596},"While details of the new policy framework are yet to be confirmed, local media suggests the government is exploring regulations that could require automakers in the country to transition from LFP to nickel-based batteries and/or introduce incentives to make nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cells more cost competitive with LFP. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13679,"content":13680},{"textAlign":49},[13681],{"text":13682,"type":596},"Indonesia’s EV ambitions are facing headwinds, notably from the global battery industry’s pivot towards lower-cost, non-nickel based cells. The country has attracted an influx of (mainly Chinese) investment into its nickel processing industry since 2020, premised on the prospect of surging battery demand, but downstream investment in the battery supply chain has been slower to materialise. A string of planned investments have been cancelled in the last year due to weakening nickel prices, slowing global EV sales growth, and the resurging popularity of LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":13684,"content":13685},{"textAlign":49},[13686],{"text":13687,"type":596},"In April, LG Energy Solution confirmed its withdrawal in April from an $8.45 billion NCM battery project in the country, citing market conditions and a challenging investment climate.",{"type":591,"attrs":13689,"content":13690},{"textAlign":49},[13691],{"text":13692,"type":596},"By bolstering the competitiveness of NCM cells relative to LFP, the Indonesian government hopes to revive investment across its domestic battery supply chain. Expanding the country’s manufacturing base is a key pillar of President Prabowo Subianto’s plans to achieve economic growth.",{"type":615,"attrs":13694,"content":13695},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13696],{"text":13697,"type":596},"LFP dominates Southeast Asian market",{"type":591,"attrs":13699,"content":13700},{"textAlign":49},[13701],{"text":13702,"type":596},"LFP’s popularity in Southeast Asia is continuing to increase, with its share of battery demand climbing from 23% in 2022 to over 60% by 2025, according to Rho Motion’s Battery Demand Outlook Service. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13704,"content":13705},{"textAlign":49},[13706],{"text":13707,"type":596},"Indonesia has experienced a sharp rise in EV sales in 2025. In the first six months of 2025, Indonesia’s EV sales were up 169% on the same period a year before, according to the Rho Motion EV Sales Assessment. Its EV market is dominated by Chinese OEMs, with BYD, Chery, and SAIC – automakers that rely predominantly on LFP cells – holding a combined market share of 84% during the first half of 2025. ",{"type":656,"attrs":13709},{"id":13710,"body":13711},"f7a8e53d-aac7-42c6-8874-f6b45e83b884",[13712],{"id":13713,"_uid":13714,"type":663,"_editable":13715,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24743103","i-ee0205e0-a217-4d4b-886d-27cabafa0e6f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ee0205e0-a217-4d4b-886d-27cabafa0e6f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":13717,"content":13718},{"textAlign":49},[13719],{"text":13720,"type":596},"The Indonesia market has been a key target for many Chinese OEMs as they seek to ramp up production at local facilities. Under current rules, automakers enjoy duty-free imports if they agree to build EV manufacturing facilities in the Southeast Asian country, but are not currently required to utilise nickel-based cells in their vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":13722,"content":13723},{"textAlign":49},[13724,13726,13732],{"text":13725,"type":596},"The growth in LFP deployment is also supported by ",{"text":13727,"type":596,"marks":13728},"increasing battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments",[13729],{"type":606,"attrs":13730},{"href":13731,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/southeast-asia-expected-to-see-uptick-in-bess-deployments-with-indonesias-new-bess-mandate",{"text":13733,"type":596}," and the prevalence of two- and three-wheelers in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":13735,"content":13736},{"textAlign":49},[13737],{"text":13738,"type":596},"Despite its abundant nickel resources, Indonesia has yet to translate its vast nickel resources into a comprehensive domestic NCM battery supply chain. The country is host to just one operational battery gigafactory producing NCM cells, with two pipeline facilities slated to produce LFP, according to Benchmark data.","The Indonesian government is proposing what ministers have termed “regulatory tweaks” aimed at promoting the adoption of nickel-based batteries over lithium iron phosphate (LFP), in a move that aligns with the government’s broader policy to ‘downstream’ its nickel resources by establishing a fully-integrated domestic EV supply chain. While details of the new policy framework are […]",[13741],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13742},{"job_title":557,"image":13743,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"94291fa1-122e-4e6c-a54f-c8270bf4aa57\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13746,13747,13748,13749,13750],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":13752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":13752,"source":547,"filename":13753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13754,"is_external_url":51},"Indonesia flag.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0bb3f48db1/bm-indonesiaflag.jpg",{"alt":13752,"title":13752,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 20, 2025",{"id":13757,"uuid":13758,"name":13759,"slug":13760,"full_slug":13761,"content":13762},112399007089989,"56a57020-3a91-4f36-84f2-c49f58aff513","Southeast Asia expected to see uptick in BESS deployments with Indonesia’s new BESS mandate","southeast-asia-expected-to-see-uptick-in-bess-deployments-with-indonesias-new-bess-mandate","article/southeast-asia-expected-to-see-uptick-in-bess-deployments-with-indonesias-new-bess-mandate",{"_uid":13763,"date":13764,"tags":13765,"editor":13774,"content":13778,"excerpt":13838,"featured":51,"reporter":13839,"_editable":13843,"component":697,"seo_title":13759,"categories":13844,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":13847,"featured_image":13850,"seo_description":13838,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":13853},"0b7fde4e-bd66-4a0c-a7e0-d27a864f5994","2025-08-14 00:00",[13766,13767,13768,13771],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":13769,"name":13770},"southeast-asia","Southeast Asia",{"slug":13772,"name":13773},"solar-pv","Solar PV",[13775],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13776},{"job_title":557,"image":13777,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13779},[13780,13785,13790,13795,13800,13805,13810,13815,13823,13835],{"type":591,"attrs":13781,"content":13782},{"textAlign":49},[13783],{"text":13784,"type":596},"The Indonesian government has announced a new program in which it aims to build 320GWh of BESS across the country. It will include the deployment of 80GW of solar alongside this, aiming to provide 80,000 villages with microgrids comprising of 1MW of solar and 4MWh of BESS.",{"type":591,"attrs":13786,"content":13787},{"textAlign":49},[13788],{"text":13789,"type":596},"First projects expected to come online soon",{"type":591,"attrs":13791,"content":13792},{"textAlign":49},[13793],{"text":13794,"type":596},"The primary purpose of the initiative is to extend reliable and affordable electricity to rural areas nationwide, creating opportunities for productive economic growth. Management and operation of the solar-storage microgrids will be handled by a village-level cooperative Merah Putih, which targets bringing online the first 10,000 villages by August 2025. No date has been announced for the completion of all the projects and no mention has been made about project funding. Stakeholders have warned that the biggest potential bottleneck for the overall project is site selection and labour.",{"type":591,"attrs":13796,"content":13797},{"textAlign":49},[13798],{"text":13799,"type":596},"How does this fit in with Indonesia’s BESS landscape?",{"type":591,"attrs":13801,"content":13802},{"textAlign":49},[13803],{"text":13804,"type":596},"Currently Indonesia has a handful of operational BESS projects, all of which are sized less than 20MWh. Iola Hughes Head of Research at Rho Motion commented “The country has several larger projects in its pipeline, including the large-scale 8GWh Riau Islands Hybrid Megaproject, however, is it at a very early stage of its energy storage journey.”",{"type":591,"attrs":13806,"content":13807},{"textAlign":49},[13808],{"text":13809,"type":596},"“The ambitious PV and storage plan would significantly advance the country to be a leader in the region and a significant source for battery demand,” Hughes continued.",{"type":591,"attrs":13811,"content":13812},{"textAlign":49},[13813],{"text":13814,"type":596},"The Southeast Asia storage landscape",{"type":656,"attrs":13816},{"id":13817,"body":13818},"43a2326d-57d9-4bc0-8747-19dd728dd0a8",[13819],{"id":13820,"_uid":13821,"type":663,"_editable":13822,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24681750","i-ef913f46-432f-4ef9-9676-2a5ae435a771","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ef913f46-432f-4ef9-9676-2a5ae435a771\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":13824,"content":13825},{"textAlign":49},[13826,13828,13833],{"text":13827,"type":596},"Across Southeast Asia, the Philippines is currently the clear market leader with over 1GWh of BESS online, with other countries having limited large scale storage capacity online. In ",{"text":13829,"type":596,"marks":13830},"Rho Motion’s Q3 BESS Forecast ",[13831],{"type":606,"attrs":13832},{"href":10945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":13834,"type":596},"the region sees close to 60GWh installed over the next 5 years. The Indonesian policy has potential to greatly accelerate this.",{"type":591,"attrs":13836,"content":13837},{"textAlign":49},[],"The Indonesian government has announced a new program in which it aims to build 320GWh of BESS across the country. It will include the deployment of 80GW of solar alongside this, aiming to provide 80,000 villages with microgrids comprising of 1MW of solar and 4MWh of BESS. First projects expected to come online soon The […]",[13840],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13841},{"job_title":557,"image":13842,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0b7fde4e-bd66-4a0c-a7e0-d27a864f5994\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[13845,13846],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13848,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13849,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1755185355/www-production/Screenshot-2025-08-14-162850/Screenshot-2025-08-14-162850.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13851,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":13852,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a5de2812eb/bm-adobestock-806139356-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 14, 2025",{"id":13855,"uuid":13856,"name":13857,"slug":13858,"full_slug":13859,"content":13860},112467332864448,"5afa29f0-2471-40a1-983e-e5210b53560a","What impact is the DRC’s extended export ban having on cobalt market dynamics?","what-impact-is-the-drcs-extended-export-ban-having-on-cobalt-market-dynamics","article/what-impact-is-the-drcs-extended-export-ban-having-on-cobalt-market-dynamics",{"_uid":13861,"date":13862,"tags":13863,"editor":13869,"content":13873,"excerpt":14005,"featured":50,"reporter":14006,"_editable":14010,"component":697,"seo_title":13857,"categories":14011,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14015,"seo_description":14005,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14017},"3f3cef3c-7d4f-4765-959e-816a3ba62054","2025-08-08 00:00",[13864,13865,13868],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},"export-restrictions","Export restrictions",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[13870],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":13871},{"job_title":557,"image":13872,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":13874},[13875,13888,13893,13898,13911,13916,13921,13926,13934,13939,13950,13955,13960,13965,13973,13978,13983,13990,14002],{"type":591,"attrs":13876,"content":13877},{"textAlign":49},[13878,13880,13886],{"text":13879,"type":596},"The cobalt market is coming to terms with a new reality following the ",{"text":13881,"type":596,"marks":13882},"DRC’s decision to extend its ban on cobalt exports in June until at least September",[13883],{"type":606,"attrs":13884},{"href":13885,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-drc-extends-cobalt-export-ban-whats-next-for-the-market",{"text":13887,"type":596},". Whilst the ban has been in place since late February – after which the market saw an immediate step-change in pricing – the impact on China’s cobalt hydroxide imports is just now becoming visible.",{"type":615,"attrs":13889,"content":13890},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13891],{"text":13892,"type":596},"China’s cobalt hydroxide imports slump in June",{"type":591,"attrs":13894,"content":13895},{"textAlign":49},[13896],{"text":13897,"type":596},"Transportation times between the DRC and China run at around three to four months. This means that although the February ban had an immediate impact on pricing, it did not have an immediate material impact on supply availability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13899,"content":13900},{"textAlign":49},[13901,13903,13909],{"text":13902,"type":596},"Despite this, the ",{"text":13904,"type":596,"marks":13905},"Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment ",[13906],{"type":606,"attrs":13907},{"href":13908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":13910,"type":596},"notes market liquidity has been limited since late February as DRC-based miners focused on supplying long-term contracts (primarily in China) over spot market sales, ahead of the anticipated drop off in supply availability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13912,"content":13913},{"textAlign":49},[13914],{"text":13915,"type":596},"Several industrial miners in the DRC have recently declared force majeure on supply contracts, including the three largest miners (or their trading arms). This included IXM – the trading arm of CMOC, the largest cobalt miner in the DRC – following confirmation of the ban’s three month extension in June.",{"type":591,"attrs":13917,"content":13918},{"textAlign":49},[13919],{"text":13920,"type":596},"Nevertheless, Benchmark understands these miners to have several months’ worth of stocks located outside the DRC from which to draw, although African warehouses are now thought to be empty of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":13922,"content":13923},{"textAlign":49},[13924],{"text":13925,"type":596},"China’s customs data shows that cobalt hydroxide imports were relatively flat between February and May, but fell by 61% m-o-m in June and are expected to drop further in July – demonstrating the delayed impact of the ban on supply.",{"type":656,"attrs":13927},{"id":13928,"body":13929},"36c458f3-22a5-49dd-8699-eabaafcca222",[13930],{"id":13931,"_uid":13932,"type":663,"_editable":13933,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24598461","i-397584ec-500b-4397-8f87-a01ce44dc17a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-397584ec-500b-4397-8f87-a01ce44dc17a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":13935,"content":13936},{"textAlign":49},[13937],{"text":13938,"type":596},"With market activity limited, cobalt hydroxide prices are receiving upside support through rising offers and bullish market sentiment, amidst an anticipated tightening of supply in the latter half of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":13940,"content":13941},{"textAlign":49},[13942,13948],{"text":13943,"type":596,"marks":13944},"But prices are not moving uniformly across the cobalt complex",[13945],{"type":606,"attrs":13946},{"href":13947,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-metal-premium-to-sulphate-shrinks-following-drc-export-restrictions",{"text":13949,"type":596},": cobalt hydroxide prices were assessed to be up over 100% on a year-on-year basis in early August, compared with a ~45% increase in cobalt metal prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":13951,"content":13952},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[13953],{"text":13954,"type":596},"Delta between cobalt metal and hydroxide narrows",{"type":591,"attrs":13956,"content":13957},{"textAlign":49},[13958],{"text":13959,"type":596},"Following the ban’s extension in June, a narrowing of the traditional delta between cobalt metal and hydroxide pricing is being observed – falling from ~$4.50/lb in mid-June to ~$2.70/lb by early August. ",{"type":591,"attrs":13961,"content":13962},{"textAlign":49},[13963],{"text":13964,"type":596},"As hydroxide prices continue to outpace cobalt metal, Benchmark notes that cobalt metal may briefly supplant hydroxide as the most economical feedstock for cobalt battery chemicals.",{"type":656,"attrs":13966},{"id":13967,"body":13968},"0e4655c7-0255-4a3f-ba4d-12cab4a069e2",[13969],{"id":13970,"_uid":13971,"type":663,"_editable":13972,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24598231","i-197858dd-0017-4bb4-8efe-631d1e596642","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-197858dd-0017-4bb4-8efe-631d1e596642\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":13974,"content":13975},{"textAlign":49},[13976],{"text":13977,"type":596},"Indeed, Benchmark received reports in early August that several smaller cobalt sulphate refiners in China had begun making enquiries with metal producers to secure units, in anticipation of this threshold being met over the coming months. This comes amidst reports of some Chinese sulphate producers shuttering production, under pressure from rising feedstock costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":13979,"content":13980},{"textAlign":49},[13981],{"text":13982,"type":596},"However, Benchmark notes this in turn would likely result in metal prices correcting upwards – widening the delta between the two cobalt products once again.",{"type":591,"attrs":13984,"content":13985},{"textAlign":49},[13986],{"text":13987,"type":596,"marks":13988},"Will the DRC choose to end or extend the cobalt export ban in September? Join our webinar for a debrief on the outcome and its implications:Unpacking the DRC’s Cobalt Export Ban Decision: End or Extend?",[13989],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":13991,"content":13992},{"textAlign":49},[13993,13997],{"text":13994,"type":596,"marks":13995},"Tuesday 23 September, 09:00 and 15:00 (GMT+1)",[13996],{"type":1006},{"text":10676,"type":596,"marks":13998},[13999],{"type":606,"attrs":14000},{"href":14001,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/unpacking-the-drcs-cobalt-export-ban-decision-end-or-extend",{"type":591,"attrs":14003,"content":14004},{"textAlign":49},[],"The cobalt market is coming to terms with a new reality following the DRC’s decision to extend its ban on cobalt exports in June until at least September. Whilst the ban has been in place since late February – after which the market saw an immediate step-change in pricing – the impact on China’s cobalt […]",[14007],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14008},{"job_title":557,"image":14009,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3f3cef3c-7d4f-4765-959e-816a3ba62054\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14012,14013,14014],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14016,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 08, 2025",{"id":14019,"uuid":14020,"name":14021,"slug":14022,"full_slug":14023,"content":14024},112467370421480,"12134db4-7d62-4708-a5f9-8c818ea2e91e","Benchmark launches new daily prices for lithium and cobalt","benchmark-launches-new-daily-prices-for-lithium-and-cobalt","article/benchmark-launches-new-daily-prices-for-lithium-and-cobalt",{"_uid":14025,"date":14026,"tags":14027,"editor":14030,"content":14034,"excerpt":14107,"featured":50,"reporter":14108,"_editable":14112,"component":697,"seo_title":14021,"categories":14113,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14117,"seo_description":14107,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14119},"d02ab303-5f5b-4d42-a3ea-e0565ab5f4be","2025-08-01 00:00",[14028,14029],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[14031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14032},{"job_title":557,"image":14033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14035},[14036,14043,14048,14053,14058,14063,14071,14076,14089,14096],{"type":591,"attrs":14037,"content":14038},{"textAlign":49},[14039,14041],{"text":14040,"type":596},"Benchmark",{"text":14042,"type":596}," is pleased to announce it has launched daily prices for several grades of critical battery raw materials as part of its market leading Lithium and Cobalt Price Assessments.",{"type":591,"attrs":14044,"content":14045},{"textAlign":49},[14046],{"text":14047,"type":596},"The new price grades, which launched on 31 July are:",{"type":591,"attrs":14049,"content":14050},{"textAlign":49},[14051],{"text":14052,"type":596},"Notably, these new grades do not replace but rather sit alongside and complement the existing weekly price assessments. Benchmark’s unique daily methodology disregards bids, offers, indications, tenders, contract prices, clearing prices, model values, broker marks, or sentiment and only considers verified spot trades.",{"type":591,"attrs":14054,"content":14055},{"textAlign":49},[14056],{"text":14057,"type":596},"During prolonged periods of low spot liquidity, defined by BMI as exceeding 10 consecutive working days, our Extended Illiquidity Protocol ensures prices move in line with the market trend whilst remaining insulated from extreme sentiment-driven swings. This unique methodology, designed in consultation with major miners, automakers, banks and brokers, avoids the exaggerated volatility seen in many of the existing daily price assessments published by legacy media outlets.",{"type":591,"attrs":14059,"content":14060},{"textAlign":49},[14061],{"text":14062,"type":596},"The daily assessment window closes every weekday at 4pm (London) and BMI will publish the price assessment every weekday on its website by 5pm (London). Price inputs received after 4pm (London) will form part of the following working day’s price assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":14064,"content":14065},{"textAlign":49},[14066,14068,14069],{"text":14067,"type":596},"Daisy Jennings-Gray, Head of Prices at ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":14070,"type":596}," said: “Gradually mounting liquidity and recent elevated price volatility in the lithium and cobalt markets demonstrate why this is the perfect time to launch more frequent price assessments, enabling key decisions in the battery supply chain to be made using the most accurate data. ”",{"type":591,"attrs":14072,"content":14073},{"textAlign":49},[14074],{"text":14075,"type":596},"Adam Megginson, Senior Price Analyst at Benchmark said: “Leveraging Benchmark’s trustworthy price data, subscribers can now more effectively unpick short term policy or sentiment-driven price rallies from consistent pricing inflection points, underpinned by supply and demand fundamentals.”",{"type":591,"attrs":14077,"content":14078},{"textAlign":49},[14079,14080,14082,14087],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":14081,"type":596}," publishes daily, weekly and monthly price assessments, to the highest ",{"text":14083,"type":596,"marks":14084},"IOSCO standards",[14085],{"type":606,"attrs":14086},{"href":6776,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":14088,"type":596}," for:",{"type":591,"attrs":14090,"content":14091},{"textAlign":49},[14092],{"text":14093,"type":596,"marks":14094},"To speak to our team to learn more about this service and to see a sample price report, please provide your details below",[14095],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":14097},{"id":14098,"body":14099},"94dec086-69ea-4a13-9c76-6d548ca58041",[14100],{"id":1012,"_uid":14101,"_editable":14102,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":14103,"success_file":14104,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":14106},"i-24ebcb6b-edd7-456a-8bd7-cc65faed60ac","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-24ebcb6b-edd7-456a-8bd7-cc65faed60ac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14105},{},[],"Benchmark is pleased to announce it has launched daily prices for several grades of critical battery raw materials as part of its market leading Lithium and Cobalt Price Assessments. The new price grades, which launched on 31 July are: Notably, these new grades do not replace but rather sit alongside and complement the existing weekly price […]",[14109],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14110},{"job_title":557,"image":14111,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d02ab303-5f5b-4d42-a3ea-e0565ab5f4be\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14114,14115,14116],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14118,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 01, 2025",{"id":14121,"uuid":14122,"name":14123,"slug":14124,"full_slug":14125,"content":14126},112467389492960,"5bc0f97a-a105-4d6a-a71b-d51deacc38a8","Copper market grapples with implications of 50% copper tariff","copper-market-grapples-with-implications-of-50-copper-tariff","article/copper-market-grapples-with-implications-of-50-copper-tariff",{"_uid":14127,"date":14128,"tags":14129,"editor":14131,"content":14135,"excerpt":14309,"featured":51,"reporter":14310,"component":697,"seo_title":14123,"categories":14314,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14318,"seo_description":14309,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14320},"a1b61612-efe8-47f6-9f08-99bc22e84178","2025-07-29 00:00",[14130],{"slug":572,"name":573},[14132],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14133},{"job_title":557,"image":14134,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14136},[14137,14148,14160,14165,14172,14177,14182,14187,14192,14197,14208,14213,14218,14223,14230,14235,14240,14245,14250,14255,14260,14265,14270,14275,14280,14287,14292,14297,14304],{"type":591,"attrs":14138,"content":14139},{"textAlign":49},[14140,14142,14146],{"text":14141,"type":596},"A sense of uncertainty hangs over the ",{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":14143},[14144],{"type":606,"attrs":14145},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":14147,"type":596}," market ahead of the upcoming 50% tariff on US copper imports from early August. Whilst the tariff now appears inevitable, details remain sparse and market participants are awaiting further guidance on the mechanics of how the tariff will be implemented.",{"type":591,"attrs":14149,"content":14150},{"textAlign":49},[14151,14152,14158],{"text":8171,"type":596},{"text":14153,"type":596,"marks":14154},"major copper",[14155],{"type":606,"attrs":14156},{"href":14157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-q3-results-highlight-challenges-for-major-copper-miners",{"text":14159,"type":596}," exporters to the US reported to Benchmark that they were still in the dark as to how logistics, paperwork, and even invoicing will function once the tariff is implemented. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14161,"content":14162},{"textAlign":49},[14163],{"text":14164,"type":596},"One noted they were uncertain if they invoiced a customer for the CME price, in theory a duty-included price, they wouldn’t have to pay an import duty – adding it also wasn’t clear whether they, or the customer, would have to bear the cost of the tariff and how that tariff value would be calculated.",{"type":656,"attrs":14166},{"id":14167,"body":14168},"3932802a-b808-449c-8a84-d021bf63a054",[14169],{"id":14170,"_uid":14171,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24161002","i-40843572-7580-4250-bc16-11b03b0bb1c3",{"type":591,"attrs":14173,"content":14174},{"textAlign":49},[14175],{"text":14176,"type":596},"“Everyone we speak to “knows” how a 50% tariff would impact [copper imports into the US] but they all know different things, so really no one knows,” said one miner source.",{"type":591,"attrs":14178,"content":14179},{"textAlign":49},[14180],{"text":14181,"type":596},"“Everyone is diverting units away from the US, no one knows what anything will actually look like so the safest option is to divert units away,” said a second miner source.",{"type":615,"attrs":14183,"content":14184},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14185],{"text":14186,"type":596},"Tariff announcement blindsides the market",{"type":591,"attrs":14188,"content":14189},{"textAlign":49},[14190],{"text":14191,"type":596},"The short window between the tariff announcement and its implementation has caught some traders off guard. One trader is rumored to have paid a $400 premium for CME deliverable copper in China the day before Trump announced the tariff, later offloading the package for a $75 premium the following day.",{"type":591,"attrs":14193,"content":14194},{"textAlign":49},[14195],{"text":14196,"type":596},"Sources noted that the drastic change in tariff policy may cause significant delays on the border for shipping copper, remarking that the tariff may create logistical challenges for US staff on the border due to a lack of consistent understanding of the rules. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14198,"content":14199},{"textAlign":49},[14200,14202,14206],{"text":14201,"type":596},"Anecdotally, sources reported to Benchmark that they have had aluminium shipments into the US delayed as the border staff didn’t understand the new rules. One source noted that some border staff may struggle to distinguish between copper products like anode, blister, and ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":14203},[14204],{"type":606,"attrs":14205},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":14207,"type":596},", despite the fact they look different, which may face different tariff rates and are different in terms of usage.",{"type":615,"attrs":14209,"content":14210},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14211],{"text":14212,"type":596},"Why does the CME-LME arbitrage not reflect the 50% tariff rate?",{"type":591,"attrs":14214,"content":14215},{"textAlign":49},[14216],{"text":14217,"type":596},"Benchmark notes that the CME-LME arbitrage does not currently reflect the 50% tariff on the LME copper price. There are several possible reasons behind this.",{"type":591,"attrs":14219,"content":14220},{"textAlign":49},[14221],{"text":14222,"type":596},"Firstly, there remains uncertainty as to whether the tariff will encompass copper cathode imports from all countries at the 50% rate. Multiple sources told Benchmark they wouldn’t be surprised if some exemptions were granted.",{"type":656,"attrs":14224},{"id":14225,"body":14226},"42ee06a4-073b-4317-9856-5c7805331e4d",[14227],{"id":14228,"_uid":14229,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24406023","i-599a42f0-50a5-4a4a-b7cb-84367a274301",{"type":591,"attrs":14231,"content":14232},{"textAlign":49},[14233],{"text":14234,"type":596},"Notably, some speculated that Indonesia could be granted an exemption, as Freeport-McMoran’s production in the nation may be seen as American production overseas – however, there is little evidence to substantiate the speculation.",{"type":591,"attrs":14236,"content":14237},{"textAlign":49},[14238],{"text":14239,"type":596},"Elsewhere, Chile has been touted as a possible exemption. But, as Chile can export far more copper than the US imports, giving the Latin American nation a full exemption would negate the goal of the tariff.",{"type":591,"attrs":14241,"content":14242},{"textAlign":49},[14243],{"text":14244,"type":596},"A second reason is that the US is currently awash with far more copper stocks than it needs, following months of massively elevated copper imports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14246,"content":14247},{"textAlign":49},[14248],{"text":14249,"type":596},"CME copper stocks are up 151% since February 25, following President Trump’s announced Section 232 investigation on copper imports, sitting at 243 kt. The arbitrage may not come to reflect a full 50% until some of this excess stock is soaked up. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14251,"content":14252},{"textAlign":49},[14253],{"text":14254,"type":596},"Moreover, It is not just visible stocks that are high, sources have told Benchmark that consumers have front loaded significant amounts of deliveries.",{"type":591,"attrs":14256,"content":14257},{"textAlign":49},[14258],{"text":14259,"type":596},"Lastly, it is worth noting that the arbitrage may also reflect other market dynamics beyond the spread between CME and LME prices. Copper buyers across the globe normally pay “premiums” when buying copper, these local premiums could in theory play a role in incentivising copper imports into the US, if US copper premiums pushed up as well as CME prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":14261,"content":14262},{"textAlign":49},[14263],{"text":14264,"type":596},"Benchmark notes that the LME/CME arbitrage is rarely flat, with the US market often at a premium to the LME before tariffs were even a concern, suggesting the arbitrage could reach over 50%.",{"type":615,"attrs":14266,"content":14267},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14268],{"text":14269,"type":596},"Is the aluminium tariff a blueprint for copper?",{"type":591,"attrs":14271,"content":14272},{"textAlign":49},[14273],{"text":14274,"type":596},"This isn’t the first time the US has issued a large base metals tariff. Aluminium was hit with the same tariff by the Trump administration earlier in the year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14276,"content":14277},{"textAlign":49},[14278],{"text":14279,"type":596},"However, aluminium does not necessarily provide a blueprint for how LME and CME copper prices will react to the tariff. CME aluminium is a duty-free contract, meaning it has not noticeably adjusted to the new tariff. ",{"type":656,"attrs":14281},{"id":14282,"body":14283},"ff546e0e-49c4-4793-bfaf-3700778b6db5",[14284],{"id":14285,"_uid":14286,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24451644","i-cbe956ce-42d3-4f4e-bb4a-23a60908442c",{"type":591,"attrs":14288,"content":14289},{"textAlign":49},[14290],{"text":14291,"type":596},"Rather, what has been seen is a dramatic increase in US aluminium premiums, which now reflect 59% of the LME aluminium price. However, these premiums are delivered and already represented 19.4% of the aluminium price at the start of 2025, before the tariff came in. ",{"type":591,"attrs":14293,"content":14294},{"textAlign":49},[14295],{"text":14296,"type":596},"Another development is that scrap imports of aluminium into the US drastically increased following the tariff. Presently, it’s still not clear whether copper scrap imports will be tariffed.",{"type":656,"attrs":14298},{"id":14299,"body":14300},"832b14ae-1583-4e11-a86e-7bdad9909334",[14301],{"id":14302,"_uid":14303,"type":663,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24406951","i-2e4daeeb-ab3c-473d-b713-a9d52a238bae",{"type":591,"attrs":14305,"content":14306},{"textAlign":49},[14307],{"text":14308,"type":596},"If scrap copper imports were to be exempt, this could lead to an increase of copper scrap imports into the US. Although the US is a massive net exporter of scrap, some of this is low quality and it is possible that the US could import high quality scrap, with this higher quality material more usable in semi-fabrication, and, if exempted, potentially cheaper than cathode.","A sense of uncertainty hangs over the copper market ahead of the upcoming 50% tariff on US copper imports from early August. Whilst the tariff now appears inevitable, details remain sparse and market participants are awaiting further guidance on the mechanics of how the tariff will be implemented. Multiple major copper exporters to the US […]",[14311],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14312},{"job_title":557,"image":14313,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[14315,14316,14317],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8376,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14319,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 29, 2025",{"id":14322,"uuid":14323,"name":14324,"slug":14325,"full_slug":14326,"content":14327},112467394416453,"f0df1be3-add0-4c24-b46c-e1f9cec44def","Is an EV market slowdown impending in China?  ","is-an-ev-market-slowdown-impending-in-china","article/is-an-ev-market-slowdown-impending-in-china",{"_uid":14328,"date":14329,"tags":14330,"editor":14332,"content":14336,"excerpt":14399,"featured":51,"reporter":14400,"_editable":14404,"component":697,"seo_title":14324,"categories":14405,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14407,"seo_description":14399,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14410},"da641f39-6e60-4eb2-b145-f8410960eec1","2025-07-23 00:00",[14331],{"slug":575,"name":576},[14333],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14334},{"job_title":557,"image":14335,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14337},[14338,14348,14353,14358,14363,14368,14373,14381,14386,14391,14396],{"type":591,"attrs":14339,"content":14340},{"textAlign":49},[14341,14343,14347],{"text":14342,"type":596},"In the opening six months of 2025, China has retained its position as the fastest growing major electric vehicle (EV) market with sales in the region up 32% YTD. Europe’s EV market has grown 26% YTD and North America’s just 3% according to ",{"text":12463,"type":596,"marks":14344},[14345],{"type":606,"attrs":14346},{"href":10667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":14349,"content":14350},{"textAlign":49},[14351],{"text":14352,"type":596},"China’s strong EV market growth continues to be underpinned by subsidies, as well as a fiercely competitive price environment that has resulted in EVs now being cheaper than their ICE vehicle counterparts in multiple segments. However, in recent months several headwinds have emerged in the Chinese market with the potential to curtail the trajectory of the country’s EV sales growth.",{"type":615,"attrs":14354,"content":14355},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14356],{"text":14357,"type":596},"Negative sentiment creeping in ",{"type":591,"attrs":14359,"content":14360},{"textAlign":49},[14361],{"text":14362,"type":596},"In June, China’s trade-in scheme was paused in several cities due to the scheme’s first round of funding in those regions having been exhausted. There has also been a reported rise in “zero kilometre” EVs in China, whereby new vehicles are registered, despite remaining unsold, to help OEMs meet sales targets. This comes against the backdrop of reports of unsold inventories increasing in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":14364,"content":14365},{"textAlign":49},[14366],{"text":14367,"type":596},"These challenges have been echoed by the reactions of key EV players. BYD reportedly slowed production across several sites, as well as delayed plans for new production lines, due to demand uncertainty , while Li Auto reduced its 2025 sales targets from 700,000 to 640,000, due to lower-than-expected orders for its updated Li L6.",{"type":615,"attrs":14369,"content":14370},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14371],{"text":14372,"type":596},"How does the seasonality of the Chinese EV market vary?",{"type":656,"attrs":14374},{"id":14375,"body":14376},"81eb280c-30c3-4898-84d6-5d4ff4c5fc2c",[14377],{"id":14378,"_uid":14379,"type":663,"_editable":14380,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24369217","i-c3849427-6f19-4c6c-b059-a5d7f726f4e7","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c3849427-6f19-4c6c-b059-a5d7f726f4e7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":14382,"content":14383},{"textAlign":49},[14384],{"text":14385,"type":596},"It is not unusual for Chinese EV market growth to slow during the summer months, owing to the typical decline in demand following the first half of the year, combined with extreme weather conditions in certain regions. This lull in growth is visible in the graph above, with YTD growth traditionally flattening in the second half of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":14387,"content":14388},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14389],{"text":14390,"type":596},"The trade-in scheme is set to return ",{"type":591,"attrs":14392,"content":14393},{"textAlign":49},[14394],{"text":14395,"type":596},"Although the trade-in scheme has been paused in certain cities, it has not ended permanently in those areas. The funding is released in two phases, with the second instalment scheduled to support demand during the final six months of the year. Moreover, the regions where funds have already been exhausted only account for a small share of new vehicle purchases, meaning the pause is unlikely to significantly affect national demand for electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":14397,"content":14398},{"textAlign":49},[],"In the opening six months of 2025, China has retained its position as the fastest growing major electric vehicle (EV) market with sales in the region up 32% YTD. Europe’s EV market has grown 26% YTD and North America’s just 3% according to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Database. China’s strong EV market growth continues […]",[14401],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14402},{"job_title":557,"image":14403,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"da641f39-6e60-4eb2-b145-f8410960eec1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14406],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":14408,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14409,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/80b2556fb4/bm-adobestock-1136139864-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 23, 2025",{"id":14412,"uuid":14413,"name":14414,"slug":14415,"full_slug":14416,"content":14417},112467409109108,"42de7493-e037-44da-9117-f9247b2ca660","Benchmark debuts cell price forecast as US’ LFP pipeline surges","benchmark-debuts-cell-price-forecast-as-us-lfp-pipeline-surges","article/benchmark-debuts-cell-price-forecast-as-us-lfp-pipeline-surges",{"_uid":14418,"date":14419,"tags":14420,"editor":14433,"content":14437,"excerpt":14669,"featured":51,"reporter":14670,"_editable":14674,"component":697,"seo_title":14414,"categories":14675,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":14678,"featured_image":14682,"seo_description":14669,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14685},"24f33843-5cea-43ba-9a45-a7127c153a92","2025-07-22 00:00",[14421,14422,14425,14426,14429,14430,14431,14432],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":14423,"name":14424},"battery-prices","Battery Prices",{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":14427,"name":14428},"cell-costs","Cell costs",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":572,"name":573},[14434],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14435},{"job_title":557,"image":14436,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14438},[14439,14450,14471,14476,14489,14494,14519,14527,14540,14545,14557,14577,14582,14590,14595,14600,14605,14625,14633,14641],{"type":591,"attrs":14440,"content":14441},{"textAlign":49},[14442,14444,14449],{"text":14443,"type":596},"US-made lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell prices are forecast to be 56% higher than their Chinese equivalents in 2025, according to the new ",{"text":14445,"type":596,"marks":14446},"Benchmark Cell Price Forecast",[14447],{"type":606,"attrs":14448},{"href":11423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":14451,"content":14452},{"textAlign":49},[14453,14455,14461,14463,14469],{"text":14454,"type":596},"Although the build out of domestic LFP cell production lines is expected close this price gap somewhat, US dependence on ",{"text":14456,"type":596,"marks":14457},"LFP cathode active material (CAM) imports",[14458],{"type":606,"attrs":14459},{"href":14460,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-doe-targets-lfp-cathode-capacity-but-battery-mismatch-remains",{"text":14462,"type":596}," limits its ability to close the price gap completely, as Chinese CAM is ",{"text":14464,"type":596,"marks":14465},"subject to tariffs",[14466],{"type":606,"attrs":14467},{"href":14468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-automotive-tariffs-whats-at-risk-for-the-ev-industry",{"text":14470,"type":596}," and also makes production facilities ineligible for 45X production tax credits.",{"type":615,"attrs":14472,"content":14473},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14474],{"text":14475,"type":596},"What is the status of LFP cell production in the US?",{"type":591,"attrs":14477,"content":14478},{"textAlign":49},[14479,14481,14487],{"text":14480,"type":596},"Envision AESC became the first battery manufacturer in North America to begin commercial scale LFP production earlier in 2025, retrofitting its legacy facility in Smyrna, Tennessee, to support the company’s ",{"text":14482,"type":596,"marks":14483},"local BESS",[14484],{"type":606,"attrs":14485},{"href":14486,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-what-impact-could-tariffs-have-on-battery-energy-storage-system-prices-in-the-us",{"text":14488,"type":596}," customers, primarily Fluence Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":14490,"content":14491},{"textAlign":49},[14492],{"text":14493,"type":596},"But the driving force behind the growth in US LFP gigafactories in Q2 was the EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":14495,"content":14496},{"textAlign":49},[14497,14499,14501,14503,14509,14511,14517],{"text":14498,"type":596},"On the 14",{"text":14500,"type":596},"th",{"text":14502,"type":596}," July, General Motors (GM) formally revealed plans to add production lines capable of manufacturing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at its 40 GWh ",{"text":14504,"type":596,"marks":14505},"gigafactory joint venture",[14506],{"type":606,"attrs":14507},{"href":14508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-set-for-largest-ever-annual-gigafactory-capacity-increase-in-2025",{"text":14510,"type":596}," with LGES in Tennessee. GM has also committed to adding LFP production lines to its LGES JV facility in Warren, Ohio. Production of LFP will begin concurrently with nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cell production in 2027 at its under-development ",{"text":14512,"type":596,"marks":14513},"plant with Samsung SDI",[14514],{"type":606,"attrs":14515},{"href":14516,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-and-samsung-sdi-finalise-battery-jv-signalling-demand-confidence",{"text":14518,"type":596},", in New Carlisle, Indiana.",{"type":656,"attrs":14520},{"id":14521,"body":14522},"98f25f61-b681-4ca6-9654-c50ae910fd68",[14523],{"id":14524,"_uid":14525,"type":663,"_editable":14526,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24330631","i-9db584ea-d53e-466b-b0b9-a786fb813fda","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9db584ea-d53e-466b-b0b9-a786fb813fda\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":14528,"content":14529},{"textAlign":49},[14530,14532,14538],{"text":14531,"type":596},"The shift in strategy from GM and others could address this key supply gap, and combat the now ",{"text":14533,"type":596,"marks":14534},"unavoidable tariffs",[14535],{"type":606,"attrs":14536},{"href":14537,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-aam-imports-into-the-us-face-160-tariff-following-antidumping-investigation-ruling",{"text":14539,"type":596}," imposed by the Trump Administration.",{"type":615,"attrs":14541,"content":14542},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14543],{"text":14544,"type":596},"How are tariffs impacting cell pricing?",{"type":591,"attrs":14546,"content":14547},{"textAlign":49},[14548,14550,14555],{"text":14549,"type":596},"From 2026, the ",{"text":14551,"type":596,"marks":14552},"tariff",[14553],{"type":606,"attrs":14554},{"href":10747,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":14556,"type":596}," on imported Chinese cells will rise to 82.4% due to the Section 301 investigation. This will begin to make US’ LFP cells cost competitive, despite lower domestic prices in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":14558,"content":14559},{"textAlign":49},[14560,14562,14568,14569,14575],{"text":14561,"type":596},"As of 2025, LFP manufacturing plants in the US are relying on ",{"text":14563,"type":596,"marks":14564},"South Korean AAM",[14565],{"type":606,"attrs":14566},{"href":14567,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south-korea-to-support-anode-players-to-secure-domestic-supply",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":14570,"type":596,"marks":14571},"Indonesian CAM",[14572],{"type":606,"attrs":14573},{"href":14574,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-lopal-to-supply-lfp-cathode-material-to-fords-us-battery-plant",{"text":14576,"type":596},", subject to 25% and 32% reciprocal rate import tariffs respectively. There is the potential for these rates to drop with further negotiation, reducing LFP costs more.",{"type":591,"attrs":14578,"content":14579},{"textAlign":49},[14580],{"text":14581,"type":596},"When considering Chinese company profitability, Benchmark understands that many Chinese manufacturers capture higher margins when exporting to overseas markets, often having agreements in place with state entities to subsidise production costs at domestic facilities,  meaning they can sell at or below production costs in China.",{"type":656,"attrs":14583},{"id":14584,"body":14585},"c0d05e10-062c-4f01-b2fb-ce42c674a160",[14586],{"id":14587,"_uid":14588,"type":663,"_editable":14589,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24331205","i-37619722-9de2-4852-bc17-7e9065463507","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-37619722-9de2-4852-bc17-7e9065463507\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":14591,"content":14592},{"textAlign":49},[14593],{"text":14594,"type":596},"As the situation stands, LFP production in the US is unlikely to be eligible for production tax credits under 45X due to the majority of cathode active material originating from China. Currently US LFP cell prices are forecasted to remain over 40% higher than those originating in China out to 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":14596,"content":14597},{"textAlign":49},[14598],{"text":14599,"type":596},"Whilst tariffs on Chinese cells will close that gap and benefit US cell manufacturers, enabling tax credit eligibility through the build out of domestic CAM production would further enhance the benefits of onshoring cell production.",{"type":615,"attrs":14601,"content":14602},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14603],{"text":14604,"type":596},"Benchmark debuts cell price forecast",{"type":591,"attrs":14606,"content":14607},{"textAlign":49},[14608,14613,14620],{"text":14609,"type":596,"marks":14610},"In order for OEMs to develop the strategies required to compete on a global scale, an understanding of future cell price trends is essential. As of Q2 2025, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the launch of its ",[14611,14612],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":14614,"type":596,"marks":14615},"Battery Cell Price Forecast",[14616,14618,14619],{"type":606,"attrs":14617},{"href":11423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":14621,"type":596,"marks":14622},", included as part of Benchmark’s Battery & Gigafactory Forecast subscription.",[14623,14624],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":14626,"content":14627},{"textAlign":49},[14628],{"text":14629,"type":596,"marks":14630},"This service will provide market participants, OEMs, and investors with Benchmark’s expert battery cell price forecasts, based upon analysis that centres on regional production costs, bill of material (BoM) changes, market fundamentals, and policy developments.",[14631,14632],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":14634,"content":14635},{"textAlign":49},[14636],{"text":14637,"type":596,"marks":14638},"The tool provides EXW price forecasts for 43 battery grades through to 2030, configured around cell technology, format, and region. The accompanying report covers wider market analyses around movements and trends in major cell chemistries and pivotal policy developments in the space.",[14639,14640],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":14642,"content":14643},{"textAlign":49},[14644,14652,14657,14664],{"text":14645,"type":596,"marks":14646},"Contact us",[14647,14650,14651],{"type":606,"attrs":14648},{"href":14649,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/contact",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":14653,"type":596,"marks":14654}," to learn more or request a free demonstration of Benchmark’s complete ",[14655,14656],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":14658,"type":596,"marks":14659},"Battery & Gigafactory Forecast",[14660,14662,14663],{"type":606,"attrs":14661},{"href":11423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":14665,"type":596,"marks":14666},", including price and cost tools.",[14667,14668],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"US-made lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell prices are forecast to be 56% higher than their Chinese equivalents in 2025, according to the new Benchmark Cell Price Forecast. Although the build out of domestic LFP cell production lines is expected close this price gap somewhat, US dependence on LFP cathode active material (CAM) imports limits its […]",[14671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14672},{"job_title":557,"image":14673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"24f33843-5cea-43ba-9a45-a7127c153a92\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14676,14677],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":14679,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":14679,"source":547,"filename":14680,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14681,"is_external_url":51},"The US has nearly 200 GWh of LFP capacity in its 2030 pipeline","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1753199675/www-production/US-LFP-map@2x-1/US-LFP-map@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":14679,"title":14679,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":14683,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14684,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e82c0c3b3c/bm-launch-collage-1-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 22, 2025",{"id":14687,"uuid":14688,"name":14689,"slug":14690,"full_slug":14691,"content":14692},112467404341263,"7da73bd8-12c6-4192-ba60-a4c34cd9205e","How do equity markets influence electric 2 & 3-wheeler sales?","how-do-equity-markets-influence-electric-2-3-wheeler-sales","article/how-do-equity-markets-influence-electric-2-3-wheeler-sales",{"_uid":14693,"date":14419,"tags":14694,"editor":14700,"content":14704,"excerpt":14781,"featured":51,"reporter":14782,"_editable":14786,"component":697,"seo_title":14689,"categories":14787,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14789,"seo_description":14781,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14685},"59b8dd76-756f-4f64-854c-fc18caf60bcc",[14695,14696,14697],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4342,"name":4343},{"slug":14698,"name":14699},"ipo","IPO",[14701],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14702},{"job_title":557,"image":14703,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14705},[14706,14711,14723,14731,14736,14741,14746,14759,14764,14771],{"type":591,"attrs":14707,"content":14708},{"textAlign":49},[14709],{"text":14710,"type":596},"The global 2 & 3-wheeler market is expected to move back into growth in coming years with the Indian market showing the fastest growth of any region. This trend aligns with the recent surge in the country’s IPO market, and reflects trends previously seen in the China market.",{"type":591,"attrs":14712,"content":14713},{"textAlign":49},[14714,14716,14722],{"text":14715,"type":596},"The 2 & 3-wheeler market after shrinking from 2022 to 2023, has shown signs of stagnation from 2023 to 2024, a trend that is expected to continue from 2024 to 2025, according to Rho Motion’s recent ",{"text":14717,"type":596,"marks":14718},"eMicromobility and 2 & 3-Wheeler Outlook",[14719],{"type":606,"attrs":14720},{"href":14721,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/emicromobility-and-2-3-wheeler-outlook/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":656,"attrs":14724},{"id":14725,"body":14726},"4dc23347-b7b8-48c0-9b17-59ddfaa16243",[14727],{"id":14728,"_uid":14729,"type":663,"_editable":14730,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24333944","i-a7995e1e-06e0-461c-8bce-7bc8dde424cc","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a7995e1e-06e0-461c-8bce-7bc8dde424cc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":14732,"content":14733},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14734],{"text":14735,"type":596},"China’s story of growth",{"type":591,"attrs":14737,"content":14738},{"textAlign":49},[14739],{"text":14740,"type":596},"“China saw a surge of sales across its 2 & 3-wheeler market from 2019 to 2020 and in the wake of Covid, largely on the back of strong policy support which has begun to subside, returning to somewhat normalised levels,” commented Pete Tillotson, Senior Analyst at Rho Motion. This surge in sales aligned with an uptick seen in the Chinese IPO market. During the 2010s many Chinese players looked to US equity markets to raise funds ahead of expansion. Following the launch of China’s STAR market in 2019, these IPOs shifted to the Chinese mainland. This equity funding was key to financing the production required to meet the surge in 2 & 3-wheeler sales seen in China.",{"type":615,"attrs":14742,"content":14743},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14744],{"text":14745,"type":596},"India’s growth is mimicking China’s",{"type":591,"attrs":14747,"content":14748},{"textAlign":49},[14749,14751,14757],{"text":14750,"type":596},"This is a trend that is now being reflected in the Indian 2 & 3-wheeler market, as it gears up for a new phase of fast growth. In the past year, five electric 2 & 3-wheeler companies listed on stock markets around the world according to ",{"text":14752,"type":596,"marks":14753},"Benchmark’s Energy Transition Capital Monthly",[14754],{"type":606,"attrs":14755},{"href":14756,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/publications/briefings/energy-transition-capitals/energy-transition-capital-june-2025",{"text":14758,"type":596},". Four of these IPOs were in India, raising a total of $1.09 billion. This comes in addition to a surge in private funding seen in the country, aligning with expectations that the market will grow rapidly.",{"type":615,"attrs":14760,"content":14761},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14762],{"text":14763,"type":596},"India set to be one of the fastest growing markets",{"type":591,"attrs":14765,"content":14766},{"textAlign":49},[14767,14769],{"text":14768,"type":596},"Through to 2030, India’s 2&3 wheeler market is expected to grow over 300% compared to 2024 levels. This surpassing global growth expectations of 190% and China’s 110% growth. Notably India’s market size is expected to catch up with China by 2030.",{"text":14770,"type":596},"China’s market growth will remain more subdued than India’s largely as China’s is more mature, while India is at the start of its electrification journey with a huge incumbent ICE market into which electric two wheelers can penetrate. Additionally, many of the trade-in schemes that aided growth in China are expected to come to an end in the near future. Comparatively, India’s market is going from strength to strength. Although its subsidy scheme has steadily been phased down over the last three years, sales have steadily increased year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":14772,"content":14773},{"textAlign":49},[14774,14776,14780],{"text":14775,"type":596},"To find out more about the 2 & 3-wheeler market, see our recent forecast report ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":14777},[14778],{"type":606,"attrs":14779},{"href":14721,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"The global 2 & 3-wheeler market is expected to move back into growth in coming years with the Indian market showing the fastest growth of any region. This trend aligns with the recent surge in the country’s IPO market, and reflects trends previously seen in the China market. The 2 & 3-wheeler market after shrinking […]",[14783],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14784},{"job_title":557,"image":14785,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"59b8dd76-756f-4f64-854c-fc18caf60bcc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14788],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":14790,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14791,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/994dd0a25e/bm-adobestock-866536202-1-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":14793,"uuid":14794,"name":14795,"slug":14796,"full_slug":14797,"content":14798},112467413803225,"49e97613-bb78-459f-8b3f-d5de143c1d07","Chinese regulators look to slow lithium rat race","chinese-regulators-look-to-slow-lithium-rat-race","article/chinese-regulators-look-to-slow-lithium-rat-race",{"_uid":14799,"date":14800,"tags":14801,"editor":14810,"content":14814,"excerpt":14920,"featured":51,"reporter":14921,"_editable":14925,"component":697,"seo_title":14795,"categories":14926,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":14929,"seo_description":14920,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":14932},"dad3fbab-147c-4ff4-a2ff-791529325ee4","2025-07-21 00:00",[14802,14803,14804,14807],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":14805,"name":14806},"zangge-mining","Zangge Mining",{"slug":14808,"name":14809},"zijin-mining","Zijin Mining",[14811],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14812},{"job_title":557,"image":14813,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14815},[14816,14821,14833,14846,14851,14856,14869,14874,14882,14887,14892,14897,14902,14907,14915],{"type":591,"attrs":14817,"content":14818},{"textAlign":49},[14819],{"text":14820,"type":596},"Haixi prefecture authorities ordered an immediate cessation of lithium resource development at Zangge Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary on July 16 2025, injecting fresh uncertainty into Qinghai’s lithium landscape.",{"type":591,"attrs":14822,"content":14823},{"textAlign":49},[14824,14826,14831],{"text":14825,"type":596},"This is part of a wider movement in ",{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":14827},[14828],{"type":606,"attrs":14829},{"href":14830,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-evolution-of-chinas-upstream-supply-chain-dominance",{"text":14832,"type":596}," as Beijing looks to combat deflationary pressures from within the extractive industries via “anti-rat race” directives.",{"type":591,"attrs":14834,"content":14835},{"textAlign":49},[14836,14838,14844],{"text":14837,"type":596},"Haixi Natural Resources Bureau and Salt Lake Management Bureau have demanded strict compliance with national laws, suspension of all non‑compliant extraction, and a comprehensive application to regularise its mining and processing ",{"text":14839,"type":596,"marks":14840},"permits",[14841],{"type":606,"attrs":14842},{"href":14843,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eight-lithium-mines-in-yichun-jiangxi-found-to-have-permit-issues",{"text":14845,"type":596}," before production may resume.",{"type":615,"attrs":14847,"content":14848},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14849],{"text":14850,"type":596},"What impact will this have on lithium production in Qinghai?",{"type":591,"attrs":14852,"content":14853},{"textAlign":49},[14854],{"text":14855,"type":596},"For Zangge, which produced approximately 5,350 tonnes of lithium carbonate in H1 2025 against its full‑year plan of 11,000 tonnes, the disruption could span several months. Management has already halted operations and begun preparing the required reproduction approval dossier.",{"type":591,"attrs":14857,"content":14858},{"textAlign":49},[14859,14861,14867],{"text":14860,"type":596},"Given past permitting cycles in Qinghai, as well as state-owned ",{"text":14862,"type":596,"marks":14863},"Zijin Mining’s January 2025 acquisition of Zangge",[14864],{"type":606,"attrs":14865},{"href":14866,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-miners-zijin-and-zangge-consolidate-in-1-87-billion-deal",{"text":14868,"type":596},", Benchmark expects that full-scale output could be restored by the end of 2025 or in the first quarter of 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":14870,"content":14871},{"textAlign":49},[14872],{"text":14873,"type":596},"Benchmark has applied a live supply update to its Lithium Forecast, reducing Zangge’s 2025 output by 2,000 tonnes to 9,500 tonnes to reflect residual inventory sales and ramp‑up potential post‑approval. For Qinghai Province as a whole, Benchmark now forecasts 126kt LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) in 2025.",{"type":656,"attrs":14875},{"id":14876,"body":14877},"6c61c0ba-0c59-4bbb-9d93-e97aee689ca4",[14878],{"id":14879,"_uid":14880,"type":663,"_editable":14881,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24332327","i-735a9946-a9c3-4f38-8889-6c75dd6d5599","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-735a9946-a9c3-4f38-8889-6c75dd6d5599\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":14883,"content":14884},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[14885],{"text":14886,"type":596},"How are regulators impacting Chinese lithium prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":14888,"content":14889},{"textAlign":49},[14890],{"text":14891,"type":596},"Fierce domestic price competition and overcapacity have been major contributors to the supply-side driving down of lithium prices. With regulators sharpening enforcement, other projects could face similar suspension risks unless their licensing and environmental compliance are bullet‑proof.",{"type":591,"attrs":14893,"content":14894},{"textAlign":49},[14895],{"text":14896,"type":596},"Some players with an optimistic view see prices already bottoming, whilst more pessimistic players expect oversupplied markets and the resultant inventory overhang to set the scene for the next months. Prices have trended upwards in the last few weeks, but it is unclear if this movement is sustainable.",{"type":591,"attrs":14898,"content":14899},{"textAlign":49},[14900],{"text":14901,"type":596},"Recently announced H1 results showed Ganfeng and Tianqi’s profit margins evaporate, with Ganfeng even posting a small loss. Carbonate prices fell almost 16% to an unsustainable level of $8,000/t over Q2, before a recovery to $8,500/t in the weeks since, as well as strengthening quotations on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX).",{"type":591,"attrs":14903,"content":14904},{"textAlign":49},[14905],{"text":14906,"type":596},"Recent events involving permit enforcement in China could spur further investor interest in GFEX. Benchmark views much of the price movement on the exchange to be sentiment-driven, and notes that GFEX prices remain susceptible to low-volume distortion effects.",{"type":656,"attrs":14908},{"id":14909,"body":14910},"f8e0089d-5a6f-46dd-8f67-5da5347f31df",[14911],{"id":14912,"_uid":14913,"type":663,"_editable":14914,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24332765","i-8a0e1f89-3b66-4931-b5cd-62c80a43cf3f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8a0e1f89-3b66-4931-b5cd-62c80a43cf3f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":14916,"content":14917},{"textAlign":49},[14918],{"text":14919,"type":596},"Another lithium major, Jiuling, is rumoured to have suspended sales of lithium carbonate products to “control risks under recent huge price fluctuations”, in what could be an attempt to support prices by restricting supply and/or an expectation of further price recovery in the near term. Short-term price impacts could be significant – Jiuling produces around 34kt lithium carbonate from its Huaqiao Dagang mine – further volumes up to 15kt LCE are coming from its growing Nigerian operations and other third party material. ","Haixi prefecture authorities ordered an immediate cessation of lithium resource development at Zangge Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary on July 16 2025, injecting fresh uncertainty into Qinghai’s lithium landscape. This is part of a wider movement in China as Beijing looks to combat deflationary pressures from within the extractive industries via “anti-rat race” directives. Haixi Natural Resources […]",[14922],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14923},{"job_title":557,"image":14924,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dad3fbab-147c-4ff4-a2ff-791529325ee4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[14927,14928],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":14930,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":14931,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8bd6f69b1f/bm-shutterstock-1495897103-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 21, 2025",{"id":14934,"uuid":14935,"name":14936,"slug":14937,"full_slug":14938,"content":14939},112467428061804,"1e7ad44a-3297-461c-8920-a0a00c5a585c","Eight lithium mines in Yichun, Jiangxi found to have permit issues","eight-lithium-mines-in-yichun-jiangxi-found-to-have-permit-issues","article/eight-lithium-mines-in-yichun-jiangxi-found-to-have-permit-issues",{"_uid":14940,"date":14941,"tags":14942,"editor":14946,"content":14950,"excerpt":15001,"featured":51,"reporter":15002,"_editable":15006,"component":697,"seo_title":14936,"categories":15007,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":15010,"featured_image":15013,"seo_description":15001,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15015},"4d731f4e-51d5-4801-bec1-b05c8a59122e","2025-07-17 00:00",[14943,14944,14945],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[14947],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":14948},{"job_title":557,"image":14949,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":14951},[14952,14957,14970,14978,14983,14988,14993],{"type":591,"attrs":14953,"content":14954},{"textAlign":49},[14955],{"text":14956,"type":596},"In mid-July, the Yichun Natural Resource Bureau published an official notification stating that it had found issues within the permit approval documents of eight lithium mines during a recent audit.",{"type":591,"attrs":14958,"content":14959},{"textAlign":49},[14960,14962,14968],{"text":14961,"type":596},"Amongst the mines in question are those belonging to major Chinese lithium producers and other key players, ",{"text":14963,"type":596,"marks":14964},"including CATL",[14965],{"type":606,"attrs":14966},{"href":14967,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-could-catl-restarting-its-chinese-lithium-mine-mean-for-the-market",{"text":14969,"type":596},". In its initial response, the Bureau has requested the companies to submit additional documents to proceed with the audit process. ",{"type":656,"attrs":14971},{"id":14972,"body":14973},"5e188a2d-2334-4ea6-a2af-3dda640f35b3",[14974],{"id":14975,"_uid":14976,"type":663,"_editable":14977,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24280791","i-0cb14678-1679-4db7-a3b4-a37d0de4db90","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-0cb14678-1679-4db7-a3b4-a37d0de4db90\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":14979,"content":14980},{"textAlign":49},[14981],{"text":14982,"type":596},"According to the Bureau, the submitted documentation reveals that some lepidolite mines were classified as porcelain stone mines and the reported volumes of mined material were much lower than in reality. If a mine fails the audit, it will either need to either stop production or pay a financial penalty.",{"type":591,"attrs":14984,"content":14985},{"textAlign":49},[14986],{"text":14987,"type":596},"These possible outcomes could impact China’s lithium supply pipeline, and potentially destabilise near-term and future prices. However, market participants believe the Chinese government will fix the discrepancies in the permitting documents and may demand up-front tax payments in return, minimising the risk of price volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":14989,"content":14990},{"textAlign":49},[14991],{"text":14992,"type":596},"Two of the impacted companies have told Benchmark that their production has not yet been affected, and that submitting the new documentation will take several weeks.",{"type":656,"attrs":14994},{"id":14995,"body":14996},"f3de9c66-8d7d-433e-b31c-d1c91b5419d0",[14997],{"id":14998,"_uid":14999,"type":663,"_editable":15000,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24281328","i-077bace3-5041-4067-8683-efaff17e160a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-077bace3-5041-4067-8683-efaff17e160a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","In mid-July, the Yichun Natural Resource Bureau published an official notification stating that it had found issues within the permit approval documents of eight lithium mines during a recent audit. Amongst the mines in question are those belonging to major Chinese lithium producers and other key players, including CATL. In its initial response, the Bureau […]",[15003],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15004},{"job_title":557,"image":15005,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4d731f4e-51d5-4801-bec1-b05c8a59122e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15008,15009],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15011,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15012,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1752760785/www-production/China-mined-lithium@2x/China-mined-lithium@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10389,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15014,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 17, 2025",{"id":15017,"uuid":15018,"name":15019,"slug":15020,"full_slug":15021,"content":15022},112467466675605,"a6c78ff3-665e-436f-9497-0afa5c751518","Benchmark to launch ex-China rare earth prices","benchmark-to-launch-ex-china-rare-earth-prices","article/benchmark-to-launch-ex-china-rare-earth-prices",{"_uid":15023,"date":15024,"tags":15025,"editor":15028,"content":15032,"excerpt":15155,"featured":50,"reporter":15156,"_editable":15160,"component":697,"seo_title":15019,"categories":15161,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15164,"seo_description":15155,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15166},"91b0d3cb-00df-4425-971b-a127665979ed","2025-07-15 00:00",[15026,15027],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[15029],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15030},{"job_title":557,"image":15031,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15033},[15034,15045,15050,15055,15060,15065,15070,15075,15094,15107,15112,15116,15121,15133,15138,15143],{"type":591,"attrs":15035,"content":15036},{"textAlign":49},[15037,15039,15043],{"text":15038,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the addition of European and North American rare earth oxide prices to the monthly ",{"text":6599,"type":596,"marks":15040},[15041],{"type":606,"attrs":15042},{"href":6603,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15044,"type":596},". Publication of these new prices will begin 31 July 2025. ",{"type":615,"attrs":15046,"content":15047},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15048],{"text":15049,"type":596},"Benchmark launches ex-China rare earth prices",{"type":591,"attrs":15051,"content":15052},{"textAlign":49},[15053],{"text":15054,"type":596},"Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of four ex-China rare earth price assessment grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":15056,"content":15057},{"textAlign":49},[15058],{"text":15059,"type":596},"These new grades will be published at the same frequency as the existing grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":15061,"content":15062},{"textAlign":49},[15063],{"text":15064,"type":596},"The launch of these grades is in response to the growing maturity and liquidity being observed in the ex-China rare earths market.",{"type":591,"attrs":15066,"content":15067},{"textAlign":49},[15068],{"text":15069,"type":596},"“Rare earths are the backbone of today’s technology revolution,” commented Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":15071,"content":15072},{"textAlign":49},[15073],{"text":15074,"type":596},"“Rare earth permanent magnets are powering the electric vehicle boom, next-generation military hardware, and the expanding drone economy. Until now, however, price opacity and dependency on China-dominated supply chains have created uncertainty for manufacturers, innovators, and governments,” she added.",{"type":591,"attrs":15076,"content":15077},{"textAlign":49},[15078,15080,15085,15087,15092],{"text":15079,"type":596},"Following China’s ",{"text":15081,"type":596,"marks":15082},"rare earth export restrictions in April",[15083],{"type":606,"attrs":15084},{"href":10739,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15086,"type":596},", developing a robust ex-China supply chain has become imperative for private and ",{"text":15088,"type":596,"marks":15089},"public sectors",[15090],{"type":606,"attrs":15091},{"href":9810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15093,"type":596}," worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":15095,"content":15096},{"textAlign":49},[15097,15099,15105],{"text":15098,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s ex-China NdPr indices could be transformative for project developers and marginal producers seeking to enter the market, tracking any natural delta which could materialize between Chinese and western material in order to reshape the global rare earth supply chain,” commented ",{"text":15100,"type":596,"marks":15101},"Neha Mukherjee",[15102],{"type":606,"attrs":15103},{"href":15104,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/benchmark-analyst-insights-on-the-impact-of-the-chinese-export-restrictions-on-rees-and-permanent-magnets",{"text":15106,"type":596},", research manager (rare earths) at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":15108,"content":15109},{"textAlign":49},[15110],{"text":15111,"type":596},"These four additional price grades alongside the existing price grades will be made available to existing Rare Earths Price Assessment subscribers on the final working day of the month by 4pm (London), starting from 31 July 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":615,"attrs":15113,"content":15114},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15115],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15117,"content":15118},{"textAlign":49},[15119],{"text":15120,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is the world’s number one market price provider for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15122,"content":15123},{"textAlign":49},[15124,15126,15131],{"text":15125,"type":596},"We publish weekly and monthly ",{"text":15127,"type":596,"marks":15128},"Price Assessments",[15129],{"type":606,"attrs":15130},{"href":6716,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15132,"type":596}," – Lithium, Cobalt, Natural Graphite, Synthetic Graphite, Nickel, Cathode, Anode, Black Mass and Rare Earths – to the highest IOSCO standard. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15134,"content":15135},{"textAlign":49},[15136],{"text":15137,"type":596},"Our rare earths price assessments are created by senior management and price analysts that truly understand the market they are assessing.",{"type":591,"attrs":15139,"content":15140},{"textAlign":49},[15141],{"text":15142,"type":596},"Benchmark publishes the world’s most trusted battery supply chain price assessments which are used to settle contracts and guide major investment decisions.",{"type":656,"attrs":15144},{"id":15145,"body":15146},"017b4a78-8051-46e6-9563-33d25f45555d",[15147],{"id":15148,"_uid":15149,"_editable":15150,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":15148,"redirect_url":15151,"success_file":15152,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":15154},"e11a89cb-d2fd-4fb5-89f6-499583cfac37","i-a7026aaf-31f9-45e2-bd79-552ec1f67e70","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a7026aaf-31f9-45e2-bd79-552ec1f67e70\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15153},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the addition of European and North American rare earth oxide prices to the monthly Benchmark Rare Earths Price Assessment. Publication of these new prices will begin 31 July 2025. Benchmark launches ex-China rare earth prices Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of four ex-China rare earth price […]",[15157],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15158},{"job_title":557,"image":15159,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"91b0d3cb-00df-4425-971b-a127665979ed\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15162,15163],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15165,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 15, 2025",{"id":15168,"uuid":15169,"name":15170,"slug":15171,"full_slug":15172,"content":15173},112467456914635,"8a775740-ece2-448f-bf52-cb349ed02d99","Global EV sales over 9 million in first half of 2025, growing by 28%","global-ev-sales-over-9-million-in-first-half-of-2025-growing-by-28","article/global-ev-sales-over-9-million-in-first-half-of-2025-growing-by-28",{"_uid":15174,"date":15024,"tags":15175,"editor":15179,"content":15183,"excerpt":15262,"featured":51,"reporter":15263,"_editable":15267,"component":697,"seo_title":15170,"categories":15268,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15270,"seo_description":15262,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15166},"ccadf8a8-4719-4768-8c40-3cd81df1b943",[15176,15177,15178],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[15180],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15181},{"job_title":557,"image":15182,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15184},[15185,15190,15195,15200,15205,15212,15216,15221,15226,15230,15235,15243,15247,15252],{"type":591,"attrs":15186,"content":15187},{"textAlign":49},[15188],{"text":15189,"type":596},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialised in EV supply chain research and insights, is today revealing that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in the first half 2025 was 9.1 million. The EV market grew by 24% year-on-year in June 2025 compared to June 2024 and increased by 7% compared to May 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":15191,"content":15192},{"textAlign":49},[15193],{"text":15194,"type":596},"Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: ",{"type":591,"attrs":15196,"content":15197},{"textAlign":49},[15198],{"text":15199,"type":596},"“Today’s EV sales figures of the first half of 2025 show that China and Europe are steaming ahead in terms of the electric transition. Over one in two electric vehicles sold in the world are being bought in China and around half of purchased new cars in the country are electric. Despite some nervousness over subsidies, we expect this strong EV sales trend to continue over the course of the year. European growth, while strong, hasn’t been uniform across the region. The UK and Germany are leading the way, leaving France in their dust as price-sensitive drivers continue to be at the mercy of subsidies. North America, and in particular Canada, is experiencing a slowdown of EV sales in 2025. With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the USA could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”",{"type":615,"attrs":15201,"content":15202},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15203],{"text":15204,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in H1 2025 vs H1 2024, Year-to-Date (YTD)%: ",{"type":591,"attrs":15206,"content":15207},{"textAlign":49},[15208],{"type":836,"attrs":15209},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15210,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15211},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/31d6038067/bm-monthly-ev-sales-slide-bmi-1-44770e78f6.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":15213,"content":15214},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15215],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15217,"content":15218},{"textAlign":49},[15219],{"text":15220,"type":596},"The European EV market has grown by 26% in the first half of the year, reaching 2.0 million units sold. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales have grown by 26% YTD, bolstered by the rise in small-segment vehicles available to the European market, such as the Renault 4 and Renault 5, and automakers push to meet, now relaxed, tailpipe emissions targets. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) sales have grown by 27% with many Chinese manufacturers seeing this as a way around the European tariffs on BEVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15222,"content":15223},{"textAlign":49},[15224],{"text":15225,"type":596},"The Spanish market continues to excel, with 85% growth ytd. The Spanish market still has a strong incentive scheme that has helped propel EV sales in 2025, and it also extended the MOVES III scheme in April 2025 until the end of the year, resulting in strong EV sales in May and June. Major auto markets, such as Germany and the UK, are up 40% and 32% ytd, respectively. Meanwhile, France remains down at -13% following their subsidy cuts.",{"type":615,"attrs":15227,"content":15228},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15229],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15231,"content":15232},{"textAlign":49},[15233],{"text":15234,"type":596},"Growth in the North American EV market (US, Canada, and Mexico) continues to slow down, with 3% growth now ytd. The Canadian market remains down at -23%, the Mexican market is up at 20%, and the US market has grown by 6%.",{"type":591,"attrs":15236,"content":15237},{"textAlign":49},[15238,15240,15241],{"text":15239,"type":596},"Following President Trump signing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ into law on 4 July 2025, all IRA consumer tax credits for new, used, and commercial EVs are withdrawn and will be terminated on 30",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":15242,"type":596}," September 2025. Just over half of EVs sold in the US this year have been eligible for the tax credit. We therefore expect a rise in EV sales before the elimination of the tax credit at the end of Q3, and then a sharp decline in demand in the final quarter of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":15244,"content":15245},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15246],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15248,"content":15249},{"textAlign":49},[15250],{"text":15251,"type":596},"The Chinese market has increased by 32% ytd in the opening six months of the year, and has grown by 28% y-o-y despite the negative sentiment that has crept into the Chinese market. There have been reports that some cities’ subsidies have run out for the first half of the year, prompting expectations of a slowdown in the Chinese market. However, we are anticipating more funding to become available in the second half of the year, allowing EV sales to continue to grow in the country. We still expect the Chinese market to have strong growth in the final months of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":15253,"content":15254},{"textAlign":49},[15255,15257,15261],{"text":15256,"type":596},"This data is taken from Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Monthly Database. This dynamic tool allows users to track and aggregate the demand of EV sales by country and OEM, as well as battery demand by cell manufacturer and chemistry. Find out more click ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":15258},[15259],{"type":606,"attrs":15260},{"href":10667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Rho Motion, a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence company specialised in EV supply chain research and insights, is today revealing that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in the first half 2025 was 9.1 million. The EV market grew by 24% year-on-year in June 2025 compared to June 2024 and increased by 7% compared to May […]",[15264],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15265},{"job_title":557,"image":15266,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ccadf8a8-4719-4768-8c40-3cd81df1b943\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15269],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15271,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15272,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4d48c1efbd/bm-adobestock-541600448.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":15274,"uuid":15275,"name":15276,"slug":15277,"full_slug":15278,"content":15279},112467452249189,"0155ca99-9f4b-4d7e-b14e-57b1fb36e081","Can the US copper tariff address domestic supply gap?","can-the-us-copper-tariff-address-domestic-supply-gaps","article/can-the-us-copper-tariff-address-domestic-supply-gaps",{"_uid":15280,"date":15024,"tags":15281,"editor":15285,"content":15289,"excerpt":15361,"featured":50,"reporter":15362,"_editable":15366,"component":697,"seo_title":15276,"categories":15367,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":15371,"featured_image":15373,"seo_description":15361,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15166},"ddc7a3b0-6634-4ad2-9cbf-515d700de59b",[15282,15283,15284],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[15286],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15287},{"job_title":557,"image":15288,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15290},[15291,15304,15309,15316,15321,15326,15338,15343,15350],{"type":591,"attrs":15292,"content":15293},{"textAlign":49},[15294,15296,15302],{"text":15295,"type":596},"Last week, ",{"text":15297,"type":596,"marks":15298},"President Donald Trump announced the US would impose a 50% tariff on copper imports",[15299],{"type":606,"attrs":15300},{"href":15301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-trump-set-to-impose-50-tariff-on-copper",{"text":15303,"type":596},", in a move that promises to shake-up global copper trade flows.",{"type":591,"attrs":15305,"content":15306},{"textAlign":49},[15307],{"text":15308,"type":596},"The tariff, which is due to enter force from early August, aims to bolster US copper production by prioritising domestic supply over foreign imports, thus reducing the US’s reliance on imports, which amounted to 45% of demand in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15310,"content":15311},{"textAlign":49},[15312],{"type":836,"attrs":15313},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15314,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15315},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/350d8da209/bm-benchmark-16-voro-3-1345473b928d.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":15317,"content":15318},{"textAlign":49},[15319],{"text":15320,"type":596},"Benchmark data in the above infographic demonstrates that the deficit in refined copper supply is primarily a function of a lack of US smelting capacity, rather than a shortfall of raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":15322,"content":15323},{"textAlign":49},[15324],{"text":15325,"type":596},"In fact, the US is a net exporter of copper scrap and concentrates, which combined could more than offset the 720 kt of refined copper imported last year. But this is contingent on additional smelting capacity being built to process the material.",{"type":591,"attrs":15327,"content":15328},{"textAlign":49},[15329,15331,15336],{"text":15330,"type":596},"Although investment in new smelting capacity is more straightforward than at the mining level, the tariff is unlikely to immediately resolve this issue. Investors will be hesitant to make large-scale, multi-year commitments on the back of a policy that may well be reversed in four years time. Indeed, the ",{"text":15332,"type":596,"marks":15333},"Trump administration’s recent roll back of Biden-era tax incentives",[15334],{"type":606,"attrs":15335},{"href":10495,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15337,"type":596}," for clean energy-projects and electric vehicles is only likely to reinforce this view.",{"type":591,"attrs":15339,"content":15340},{"textAlign":49},[15341],{"text":15342,"type":596},"Therefore, the copper tariff is unlikely to significantly boost US refined supply in the short term. Rather, its more immediate effect will likely be higher copper prices in the US market and, ultimately, higher costs for American consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":15344,"content":15345},{"textAlign":49},[15346],{"text":15347,"type":596,"marks":15348},"The data in this infographic is derived from the Benchmark Copper Service. To learn more about Benchmark’s copper market coverage fill out the form below.",[15349],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":15351},{"id":15352,"body":15353},"b6f1ba3d-8850-4dfd-83cb-ffee4d9e7303",[15354],{"id":1012,"_uid":15355,"_editable":15356,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":15357,"success_file":15358,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":15360},"i-eaf3620d-cd0b-48a5-af01-d6dc4909728c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-eaf3620d-cd0b-48a5-af01-d6dc4909728c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15359},{},[],"Last week, President Donald Trump announced the US would impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, in a move that promises to shake-up global copper trade flows. The tariff, which is due to enter force from early August, aims to bolster US copper production by prioritising domestic supply over foreign imports, thus reducing the US’s […]",[15363],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15364},{"job_title":557,"image":15365,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ddc7a3b0-6634-4ad2-9cbf-515d700de59b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15368,15369,15370],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15372,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15374,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15375,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4f602b3c80/bm-shutterstock-2155478019.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":15377,"uuid":15378,"name":15379,"slug":15380,"full_slug":15381,"content":15382},112467490396445,"a16107d6-8f76-46d2-9ff7-dcc2783c33aa","Indonesian nickel miners respond to calls for enhanced environmental management","indonesian-nickel-miners-respond-to-calls-for-enhanced-environmental-management","article/indonesian-nickel-miners-respond-to-calls-for-enhanced-environmental-management",{"_uid":15383,"date":15384,"tags":15385,"editor":15393,"content":15397,"excerpt":15506,"featured":51,"reporter":15507,"_editable":15511,"component":697,"seo_title":15379,"categories":15512,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15516,"seo_description":15506,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15519},"5e00d8ce-b060-4dc4-8e49-62aff5533d51","2025-07-09 00:00",[15386,15387,15390],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":15388,"name":15389},"vale-indonesia","Vale Indonesia",{"slug":15391,"name":15392},"esg","ESG",[15394],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15395},{"job_title":557,"image":15396,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15398},[15399,15411,15432,15452,15457,15462,15467,15475,15480,15493,15498],{"type":591,"attrs":15400,"content":15401},{"textAlign":49},[15402,15404,15409],{"text":15403,"type":596},"Deforestation is a critical issue in ",{"text":15405,"type":596,"marks":15406},"Indonesia’s rapidly expanding nickel mining sector",[15407],{"type":606,"attrs":15408},{"href":8032,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15410,"type":596},". This nickel is primarily derived from laterite ore layers located near the earth’s surface. The extraction process typically involves the excavation of superficial open-pit mines to access the ore, resulting in the clearance of large areas of land.",{"type":591,"attrs":15412,"content":15413},{"textAlign":49},[15414,15416,15422,15424,15430],{"text":15415,"type":596},"Through its engagement with various industry players and NGO reports, Benchmark has ",{"text":15417,"type":596,"marks":15418},"identified mounting pressure",[15419],{"type":606,"attrs":15420},{"href":15421,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-key-sustainability-considerations-for-battery-critical-minerals",{"text":15423,"type":596}," on nickel producers to engage with ",{"text":15425,"type":596,"marks":15426},"different environmental management practices",[15427],{"type":606,"attrs":15428},{"href":15429,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/hpal-waste-management-in-the-spotlight-after-indonesian-landslide",{"text":15431,"type":596},", including mine reclamation.",{"type":591,"attrs":15433,"content":15434},{"textAlign":49},[15435,15437,15443,15445,15450],{"text":15436,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysis of satellite imagery as well as ",{"text":15438,"type":596,"marks":15439},"on-the-ground visits to mine sites",[15440],{"type":606,"attrs":15441},{"href":15442,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmarks-on-the-ground-view-of-indonesias-nickel-sector",{"text":15444,"type":596}," by Benchmark analysts, shows that some ",{"text":15446,"type":596,"marks":15447},"Indonesian",[15448],{"type":606,"attrs":15449},{"href":12943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15451,"type":596}," miners are positively responding to calls for enhanced environmental management through land reclamation.",{"type":615,"attrs":15453,"content":15454},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15455],{"text":15456,"type":596},"How are Indonesian mines progressing on rehabilitation?",{"type":591,"attrs":15458,"content":15459},{"textAlign":49},[15460],{"text":15461,"type":596},"Using different tools, Benchmark’s GIS team tracked the rehabilitation efforts of three major nickel mine sites with laterite orebodies in Indonesia: PT Trimegah Bangun Persada (Harita Nickel),  PT Vale Indonesia’s Sorowako site, and PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama. Specifically, the analysis focused solely on the revegetation process, using the quality and health of the vegetation as the key metric for evaluation.",{"type":591,"attrs":15463,"content":15464},{"textAlign":49},[15465],{"text":15466,"type":596},"Results show that rehabilitation in Harita’s and PT Vale’s Sorowako sites are more established compared to PT Ceria, as Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) exhibits strong signs of well-established vegetation, displayed by good vegetation health. Harita states in its 2024 sustainability report that it uses a combination of local and endemic species in its revegetation efforts.",{"type":656,"attrs":15468},{"id":15469,"body":15470},"63ae9336-60b5-467c-8967-31cfc28b5ea5",[15471],{"id":15472,"_uid":15473,"type":663,"_editable":15474,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24142013","i-0704ab23-0c20-43b1-85f6-77d306bf2465","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-0704ab23-0c20-43b1-85f6-77d306bf2465\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":15476,"content":15477},{"textAlign":49},[15478],{"text":15479,"type":596},"PT Ceria, which began full scale mining operations in 2022, only recently began conducting mine site rehabilitation, so more time is needed to see if efforts at the site will be effective. High-resolution satellite imagery confirms that the company is actively planting, with much of the new vegetation being immature.",{"type":591,"attrs":15481,"content":15482},{"textAlign":49},[15483,15485,15491],{"text":15484,"type":596},"All sites appear to be conducting rehabilitation whilst actively mining, suggesting that at least some ",{"text":15486,"type":596,"marks":15487},"miners in Indonesia",[15488],{"type":606,"attrs":15489},{"href":15490,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-indonesias-nickel-boom-at-risk-from-shifting-policy",{"text":15492,"type":596}," are responding positively to pressure from the downstream sector, as well as the international community, to improve environmental management through land reclamation.",{"type":591,"attrs":15494,"content":15495},{"textAlign":49},[15496],{"text":15497,"type":596},"Revegetation is just one of many steps that need to be taken to ensure successful rehabilitation. Although these are positive actions, rehabilitation work will take decades and maybe even centuries to replace the original rainforests and the ecosystem services they offer, if at all.",{"type":656,"attrs":15499},{"id":15500,"body":15501},"a810ec06-1533-4a4e-90b0-005f5f5eefc3",[15502],{"id":15503,"_uid":15504,"type":663,"_editable":15505,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"24140684","i-06aeffb2-a3ce-4422-b2a1-1b512e808824","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-06aeffb2-a3ce-4422-b2a1-1b512e808824\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Deforestation is a critical issue in Indonesia’s rapidly expanding nickel mining sector. This nickel is primarily derived from laterite ore layers located near the earth’s surface. The extraction process typically involves the excavation of superficial open-pit mines to access the ore, resulting in the clearance of large areas of land. Through its engagement with various […]",[15508],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15509},{"job_title":557,"image":15510,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5e00d8ce-b060-4dc4-8e49-62aff5533d51\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15513,15514,15515],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15517,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15518,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e68a947d3/bm-indonesia-mine-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 09, 2025",{"id":15521,"uuid":15522,"name":15523,"slug":15524,"full_slug":15525,"content":15526},112467504835348,"5b7eeeea-766b-4cef-b765-020a7ec8841f","What does the “Big Beautiful Bill” mean for EVs, batteries and critical minerals?","what-does-the-big-beautiful-bill-mean-for-the-ev-battery-and-critical-minerals","article/what-does-the-big-beautiful-bill-mean-for-the-ev-battery-and-critical-minerals",{"_uid":15527,"date":15528,"tags":15529,"editor":15533,"content":15537,"excerpt":15651,"featured":51,"reporter":15652,"_editable":15656,"component":697,"seo_title":15523,"categories":15657,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15663,"seo_description":15651,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15666},"cfdcf777-7663-41ed-b33c-034c6b2a14e8","2025-07-04 00:00",[15530,15531,15532],{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[15534],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15535},{"job_title":557,"image":15536,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15538},[15539,15544,15549,15554,15559,15564,15569,15576,15581,15586,15591,15596,15609,15614,15619,15626,15631,15636,15641,15646],{"type":591,"attrs":15540,"content":15541},{"textAlign":49},[15542],{"text":15543,"type":596},"After debates that ran through the night, President Trump’s flagship “Big Beautiful Bill” passed through US Congress. This marks the pivot in clean energy policy that most were expecting from the new Administration. Mainly affecting Production Tax Credits (PTC), Investment Tax Credits (ITC) and consumer tax credits, what are the key takeaways from the Bill for the US EV, battery, and critical minerals industry?",{"type":615,"attrs":15545,"content":15546},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15547],{"text":15548,"type":596},"The EV market loses key subsidies",{"type":591,"attrs":15550,"content":15551},{"textAlign":49},[15552],{"text":15553,"type":596},"As of September 30th 2025, both the $7,500 30D clean vehicle credits and the $4,000 25E used-EV credits will be terminated. Additionally, the 45W commercial vehicle clean vehicle tax credit will also be eliminated.",{"type":591,"attrs":15555,"content":15556},{"textAlign":49},[15557],{"text":15558,"type":596},"Over the last three years, these credits have been a key driver of US EV sales. So far in 2025, approximately 50% of EVs sold in the US have been eligible for the 30D tax credit, according to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":15560,"content":15561},{"textAlign":49},[15562],{"text":15563,"type":596},"The 45W tax credit, originally designed to support commercial clean vehicles, such as electric trucks, has in practice been widely used for leased passenger cars. When an automaker’s leasing arm buys the vehicle, it is classified as a commercial purchase, making it eligible for 45W. This credit comes with far fewer restrictions than 30D, meaning any EV is eligible. The result has been that popularity for leasing EVs has soared from around 10% of sales in 2022, to roughly two thirds of EVs sold in recent months. The removal of all these credits will have a considerable impact on the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":15565,"content":15566},{"textAlign":49},[15567],{"text":15568,"type":596},"Considering EV demand, sentiment in the US has shifted since Trump took office. Taking into consideration the new administration’s announcements regarding changes to emission policies, and assuming tax credits would remain in place for most of 2025, Rho Motion had already reduced its US EV sales outlook by 42% – compared to forecasts from 2024 to 2025- across the period 2025-30, prior to passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill.",{"type":591,"attrs":15570,"content":15571},{"textAlign":49},[15572],{"type":836,"attrs":15573},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15574,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15575},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60685d777e/bm-screenshot-2025-07-04-123857-1345163937f1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":15577,"content":15578},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15579],{"text":15580,"type":596},"An altered 45X PTC remains in place but with definitive end date",{"type":591,"attrs":15582,"content":15583},{"textAlign":49},[15584],{"text":15585,"type":596},"Under the Bill, the 45X credit will remain in place but with a definitive end date; a phase down will begin in 2030 with it ending fully in 2033. This applies to all recipients, from battery manufacturers to critical mineral players.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":15587,"content":15588},{"textAlign":49},[15589],{"text":15590,"type":596},"The 45X PTC has been key to increasing domestic battery players competitiveness to imports from foreign manufacturers, as it offers a tax credit for each eligible unit of material or component produced in the US. Previously, the credit could be stacked across the whole supply chain, allowing some players to receive $45/kWh in tax credits for battery cells & modules. The final act allows stacking but only if:",{"type":615,"attrs":15592,"content":15593},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15594],{"text":15595,"type":596},"BESS retains access to 48E ITC and 45Y PTC but solar and wind sectors see change",{"type":591,"attrs":15597,"content":15598},{"textAlign":49},[15599,15601,15607],{"text":15600,"type":596},"Previously, Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Rho Motion had discussed with industry leaders ",{"text":15602,"type":596,"marks":15603},"how devastating the removal of the 48 ITC would be for the US storage industry at Benchmark’s Giga USA in June",[15604],{"type":606,"attrs":15605},{"href":15606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-us-storage-market-is-in-a-state-of-flux-thoughts-from-industry-leaders",{"text":15608,"type":596},". However, for BESS these credits will remain in place in full, meaning players can still receive the 6% base rate and 30% bonus rate as well as other additional stackable awards for new projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":15610,"content":15611},{"textAlign":49},[15612],{"text":15613,"type":596},"Additionally, the 45Y tax credit remains in place for BESS, which allows electricity producers to claim credits for each kWh of electricity generated. Both these credits will remain available in full through to 2033, with a phase down ending by 2036 – although they will face stricter foreign entity rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":15615,"content":15616},{"textAlign":49},[15617],{"text":15618,"type":596},"However, for wind and solar, qualifications for the credits are limited. To qualify, projects must be placed in service by December 31, 2027, or have started construction within one year of the Bill’s enactment and be placed in service within four years to remain eligible for 48E/45Y. This is expected to drastically reduce wind and solar installations in the US. Considering just under 50% of US BESS projects in Rho Motion’s 2025 to 2028 BESS pipeline are paired with either solar or wind, a reduction in wind and solar will also lead to a reduction in BESS installations.",{"type":591,"attrs":15620,"content":15621},{"textAlign":49},[15622],{"type":836,"attrs":15623},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15624,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15625},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fdf3bbbd59/bm-screenshot-2025-07-04-133230-1345164b3432.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":15627,"content":15628},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15629],{"text":15630,"type":596},"“Foreign Entity of Concern Rules” apply to 48E, 45Y and 45X",{"type":615,"attrs":15632,"content":15633},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15634],{"text":15635,"type":596},"The next steps for the Bill",{"type":591,"attrs":15637,"content":15638},{"textAlign":49},[15639],{"text":15640,"type":596},"The Bill now goes to President Trump to be signed and formally passed in law. Following this further interpretation guidance will be issued by the Treasury department. This guidance will make clear how the state interprets prohibited entity restrictions and component sourcing.",{"type":615,"attrs":15642,"content":15643},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15644],{"text":15645,"type":596},"More to come for Benchmark Subscribers",{"type":591,"attrs":15647,"content":15648},{"textAlign":49},[15649],{"text":15650,"type":596},"A Critical Insight for Benchmark forecast subscribers will be released in the coming week as interpretation on the published text becomes clearer, and potential impacts on forecasts are re-modelled.","After debates that ran through the night, President Trump’s flagship “Big Beautiful Bill” passed through US Congress. This marks the pivot in clean energy policy that most were expecting from the new Administration. Mainly affecting Production Tax Credits (PTC), Investment Tax Credits (ITC) and consumer tax credits, what are the key takeaways from the Bill […]",[15653],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15654},{"job_title":557,"image":15655,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cfdcf777-7663-41ed-b33c-034c6b2a14e8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15658,15659,15660,15661,15662],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15664,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15665,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9c45c46f44/bm-adobestock-191110992.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 04, 2025",{"id":15668,"uuid":15669,"name":15670,"slug":15671,"full_slug":15672,"content":15673},107065092680720,"3b1603f8-ee5c-4f56-aa9e-9e4aa45af162","Site visit report: Aclara’s Carina project shows progress towards Rare Earths supply diversification","site-visit-report-aclaras-carina-project-shows-progress-towards-rare-earths-supply-diversification","article/site-visit-report-aclaras-carina-project-shows-progress-towards-rare-earths-supply-diversification",{"_uid":15674,"date":15675,"tags":15676,"editor":15680,"content":15684,"excerpt":15804,"featured":51,"reporter":15805,"component":697,"seo_title":15670,"categories":15809,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15814,"seo_description":15804,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15817},"e5f751fa-d7de-4f34-bfa7-20d548abaea9","2025-07-03 00:00",[15677,15678],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":15679,"name":5532},"brazil",[15681],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15682},{"job_title":557,"image":15683,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15685},[15686,15698,15703,15710,15715,15726,15731,15738,15743,15748,15755,15760,15765,15770,15781,15786,15791,15796,15801],{"type":591,"attrs":15687,"content":15688},{"textAlign":49},[15689,15691,15696],{"text":15690,"type":596},"Aclara Resources’ Carina project in Goiás, Brazil, is positioning itself as a key future supplier of ",{"text":15692,"type":596,"marks":15693},"heavy rare earth elements",[15694],{"type":606,"attrs":15695},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":15697,"type":596}," (HREEs) through an environmentally responsible approach to ionic clay extraction. Benchmark’s Rare Earths team recently visited the Carina site and nearby pilot processing plant to evaluate technical progress and supply potential.",{"type":591,"attrs":15699,"content":15700},{"textAlign":49},[15701],{"text":15702,"type":596},"“The site visit provided the Benchmark team with valuable insights into the Carina project’s technical progress, environmental approach, and its potential role in global heavy rare earth supply diversification,” said Neha Mukherjee, Research Manager (Rare Earths) at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":15704,"content":15705},{"textAlign":49},[15706],{"type":836,"attrs":15707},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15708,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15709},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeGCQnNqufWPomieZScMGf9T1y4ED3yCk4b9HUv1CQ-pxXA0i0fCmadt5okQ6aH3GSQYaeG5SL0CCF3kBn9nqAid5gky1Ie5ngInp69-nq6omTAu2g-fjPwYWir-qv5HUzTAY53JA?key=p6GeDWysC1gK611_8ZdjSw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":15711,"content":15712},{"textAlign":49},[15713],{"text":15714,"type":596},"The Benchmark team at the Carina project in Brazil",{"type":591,"attrs":15716,"content":15717},{"textAlign":49},[15718,15720,15724],{"text":15719,"type":596},"The Carina project is an ionic clay deposit with a basket composition of dysprosium/terbium (DyTb) and 28% praseodymium/neodymium (PrNd) within the total rare earth oxides. These elements are critical for high-performance permanent magnets powering ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":15721},[15722],{"type":606,"attrs":15723},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":15725,"type":596},", wind turbines, and other clean energy technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":15727,"content":15728},{"textAlign":49},[15729],{"text":15730,"type":596},"“Aclara’s “circular mineral harvesting” method stands out for its minimal environmental footprint. Excavation occurs on-site, but processing—including ammonium sulfate-based ion exchange, purification, and water treatment—is done off-site. The clay is returned post-extraction, and no liquid residues or radioactive byproducts are produced. Compared to in-situ leaching used in China, Aclara uses ionic leaching off site,” Mukherjee added.",{"type":591,"attrs":15732,"content":15733},{"textAlign":49},[15734],{"type":836,"attrs":15735},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15736,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15737},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fccb208dcc/bm-image-129.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":15739,"content":15740},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15741],{"text":15742,"type":596},"How is the project progressing?",{"type":591,"attrs":15744,"content":15745},{"textAlign":49},[15746],{"text":15747,"type":596},"The project is currently in the pre-construction phase, with site preparation underway, including completed roadworks and ongoing drilling for feasibility studies. A pilot processing plant in Goiânia is testing extraction processes for mixed rare earth carbonates (MREC), with first production targeted for 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":15749,"content":15750},{"textAlign":49},[15751],{"type":836,"attrs":15752},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":15753,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":15754},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfAooptePeQPHpdBMEjNH9A1j-gSdmfQ16e3hpLEsOp_FZN2Ze9ll6dlox-n6dWPMmyM3bj6yMeQOyGxRSZCZNDqXSthiyeASsbtJ6Jpwoqtg6EItIiO7LI_sQm0BMs-uOu8IRI5Q?key=p6GeDWysC1gK611_8ZdjSw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":15756,"content":15757},{"textAlign":49},[15758],{"text":15759,"type":596},"Benchmark Research Analyst (Rare Earths) Evelyn Zhou and Research Manager (Rare Earths) Neha Mukherjee at the pilot processing plant",{"type":591,"attrs":15761,"content":15762},{"textAlign":49},[15763],{"text":15764,"type":596},"Aclara has outlined a projected CAPEX of US$599 million. A Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) is expected by Q3 2025, with a Final Investment Decision (FID) in Q2 2026. An Environmental Impact Assessment has been submitted, with approval anticipated by December 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15766,"content":15767},{"textAlign":49},[15768],{"text":15769,"type":596},"Owing to its potential to the region’s economy, Aclara has signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Goiás and the Municipality of Nova Roma to accelerate permitting and foster regional development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15771,"content":15772},{"textAlign":49},[15773,15775,15779],{"text":15774,"type":596},"The company also plans to expand into rare earth separation and metals and alloys manufacturing, building a vertical ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":15776},[15777],{"type":606,"attrs":15778},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":15780,"type":596}," with potential offtake partners.",{"type":615,"attrs":15782,"content":15783},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15784],{"text":15785,"type":596},"Supply diversification ",{"type":591,"attrs":15787,"content":15788},{"textAlign":49},[15789],{"text":15790,"type":596},"Given geopolitical risks and tightening Chinese export controls, projects like Carina are critical for mitigating future bottlenecks in heavy rare earth supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":15792,"content":15793},{"textAlign":49},[15794],{"text":15795,"type":596},"While Aclara’s forecast production of 240 tonnes per annum of DyTb by 2030 will meet just 7% of projected demand, its progress signals growing momentum in ex-China HREE development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15797,"content":15798},{"textAlign":49},[15799],{"text":15800,"type":596},"However, sustained incentive pricing and access to capital remain key challenges for the broader supply chain. Ex-China projects need a higher price environment to be profitable, Benchmark analysis shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":15802,"content":15803},{"textAlign":49},[],"Aclara Resources’ Carina project in Goiás, Brazil, is positioning itself as a key future supplier of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) through an environmentally responsible approach to ionic clay extraction. Benchmark’s Rare Earths team recently visited the Carina site and nearby pilot processing plant to evaluate technical progress and supply potential. “The site visit provided […]",[15806],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15807},{"job_title":557,"image":15808,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[15810,15811,15812,15813],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15815,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15816,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e0abc04735/bm-rare-earths.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 03, 2025",{"id":15819,"uuid":15820,"name":15821,"slug":15822,"full_slug":15823,"content":15824},112467533466893,"df0f5d44-d775-4798-a297-6fd4449f5eac","Rio Tinto to explore ELi DLE technology for South American lithium assets","rio-tinto-to-explore-eli-dle-technology-for-south-american-lithium-assets","article/rio-tinto-to-explore-eli-dle-technology-for-south-american-lithium-assets",{"_uid":15825,"date":15826,"tags":15827,"editor":15832,"content":15836,"excerpt":15924,"featured":51,"reporter":15925,"_editable":15929,"component":697,"seo_title":15821,"categories":15930,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":15933,"seo_description":15924,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":15936},"45d2032a-81a8-48f1-a2cf-f99889aa7fb9","2025-06-26 00:00",[15828,15829],{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},"rio-tinto","Rio Tinto",[15833],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15834},{"job_title":557,"image":15835,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15837},[15838,15849,15854,15859,15879,15891,15899,15904,15909,15914],{"type":591,"attrs":15839,"content":15840},{"textAlign":49},[15841,15843,15848],{"text":15842,"type":596},"Rio Tinto has continued efforts to position itself as a leader among commodity majors in the strategic pursuit of lithium assets, this week signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Reed Advanced Materials (RAM), majority-owned by Australia’s Neometals, covering a non-binding framework to explore collaboration on RAM’s patented ELi Process, ",{"text":15844,"type":596,"marks":15845},"a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology",[15846],{"type":606,"attrs":15847},{"href":8944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15850,"content":15851},{"textAlign":49},[15852],{"text":15853,"type":596},"The ELi process is designed to use electricity to convert processed lithium chloride solutions extracted from a variety of lithium-bearing brines, including salar brines, into battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate.",{"type":615,"attrs":15855,"content":15856},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15857],{"text":15858,"type":596},"Rio Tinto targets DLE to support growing lithium footprint",{"type":591,"attrs":15860,"content":15861},{"textAlign":49},[15862,15864,15870,15872,15878],{"text":15863,"type":596},"The technology has the potential to reduce operational costs and minimise the environmental impact of lithium extraction from salar brines by eliminating the need for large volumes of chemical reagents, making it a promising complement to ",{"text":15865,"type":596,"marks":15866},"Rio Tinto’s growing South American lithium portfolio.",[15867],{"type":606,"attrs":15868},{"href":15869,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-to-buy-arcadium-lithium-for-6-7-billion",{"text":15871,"type":596}," According to Benchmark data ",{"text":15873,"type":596,"marks":15874},"40% of Rio Tinto’s lithium pipeline capacity is slated to utilise DLE technology",[15875],{"type":606,"attrs":15876},{"href":15877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rise-of-dle-will-open-up-new-sources-of-lithium-supply-this-decade",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":15880,"content":15881},{"textAlign":49},[15882,15884,15889],{"text":15883,"type":596},"“Given the remote location of Rio Tinto’s lithium assets in the Lithium Triangle, reducing reagent consumption through processes like ELi offers a significant opportunity to ",{"text":15885,"type":596,"marks":15886},"minimise operational expenditure",[15887],{"type":606,"attrs":15888},{"href":12126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":15890,"type":596}," and mitigate supply chain constraints associated with chemical logistics.” Federico Gay, lithium analyst at Benchmark said.",{"type":656,"attrs":15892},{"id":15893,"body":15894},"5dda6771-7a8d-409f-97fa-ff3a9ac0782b",[15895],{"id":15896,"_uid":15897,"type":663,"_editable":15898,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22933146","i-c7a34499-cda6-4509-9f92-3f879a1d9d7e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c7a34499-cda6-4509-9f92-3f879a1d9d7e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":15900,"content":15901},{"textAlign":49},[15902],{"text":15903,"type":596},"Next steps under the MoU could include optimisation test work and possible updates to the ELi process flowsheet. Subject to further agreement, the parties may also collaborate on engineering design and cost estimates, with a view to begin constructing a pilot-scale plant at one of Rio Tinto’s lithium brine sites in Argentina. ",{"type":615,"attrs":15905,"content":15906},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15907],{"text":15908,"type":596},"Rio Tinto on track to become lithium major",{"type":591,"attrs":15910,"content":15911},{"textAlign":49},[15912],{"text":15913,"type":596},"The announcement comes hot on the heels of Rio Tinto’s recent acquisition of a minority stake in a brine project located in Chile’s Maricunga salt flats, in partnership with Chilean state miner Codelco. ",{"type":591,"attrs":15915,"content":15916},{"textAlign":49},[15917,15919],{"text":15918,"type":596},"Coupled with the Argentinian government’s recent approval of Rio Tinto’s $2.5 billion Rincon project, these developments are positioning the mining major to become the ",{"text":15920,"type":596,"marks":15921},"world’s second-largest lithium producer by 2035 according to Benchmark.",[15922],{"type":606,"attrs":15923},{"href":6478,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Rio Tinto has continued efforts to position itself as a leader among commodity majors in the strategic pursuit of lithium assets, this week signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Reed Advanced Materials (RAM), majority-owned by Australia’s Neometals, covering a non-binding framework to explore collaboration on RAM’s patented ELi Process, a direct lithium extraction (DLE) […]",[15926],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15927},{"job_title":557,"image":15928,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"45d2032a-81a8-48f1-a2cf-f99889aa7fb9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[15931,15932],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15934,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":15935,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7cfb5f9df7/bm-salar-de-maricunga-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 26, 2025",{"id":15938,"uuid":15939,"name":15940,"slug":15941,"full_slug":15942,"content":15943},112467542940943,"0d1753e0-4183-4a8e-bc6b-ff406cbc496c","Octopus Energy and BYD unveil V2G tariff in UK","octopus-energy-and-byd-unveil-v2g-tariff-in-uk","article/octopus-energy-and-byd-unveil-v2g-tariff-in-uk",{"_uid":15944,"date":15945,"tags":15946,"editor":15949,"content":15953,"excerpt":16014,"featured":50,"reporter":16015,"_editable":16019,"component":697,"seo_title":15940,"categories":16020,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16022,"seo_description":16014,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16025},"6bd399ca-154b-428f-afdc-a95a2d7f4482","2025-06-25 00:00",[15947,15948],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[15950],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":15951},{"job_title":557,"image":15952,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":15954},[15955,15960,15965,15970,15975,15980,15985,15990,15995,16000,16011],{"type":591,"attrs":15956,"content":15957},{"textAlign":49},[15958],{"text":15959,"type":596},"UK energy provider, Octopus Energy, and BYD have unveiled an all-inclusive vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bundle that includes car leasing, a bi-directional charger, and a smart tariff. In one of the first commercially available deals of its kind in the UK and Europe, this is a step towards increasing adoption of V2G, but obstacles remain ahead of its large-scale rollout.",{"type":615,"attrs":15961,"content":15962},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15963],{"text":15964,"type":596},"How does the V2G tariff work?",{"type":591,"attrs":15966,"content":15967},{"textAlign":49},[15968],{"text":15969,"type":596},"Starting at a monthly price of GBP300 (USD408) the “Power Pack Bundle” includes a “leased V2G-ready BYD Dolphin, a bi-directional Zaptec Pro charger and access to a smart tariff” that offers free home charging for the first 210kWh in a month.",{"type":591,"attrs":15971,"content":15972},{"textAlign":49},[15973],{"text":15974,"type":596},"Once the BYD Dolphin vehicle is plugged in, Octopus Energy remotely controls the charging and discharging of the vehicle’s battery to help manage grid demand. Power will flow first to meet demand in the owner’s home with the surplus going to the grid. Under the tariff customers will need to be able to have their vehicle plugged in for 12 hours a day, for a minimum of 20 days a month.",{"type":615,"attrs":15976,"content":15977},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15978],{"text":15979,"type":596},"What does the V2G landscape look like in across Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":15981,"content":15982},{"textAlign":49},[15983],{"text":15984,"type":596},"This is one of the first commercially available V2G offerings in Europe, joining a few other projects. In 2024, The Mobility House unveiled a system with Renault Group, allowing Renault 5 owners to access V2G charging in France. Elsewhere VW is running a small pilot project in Sweden, with plans to launch commercially there this year and to enter the Swiss market from late 2025.",{"type":615,"attrs":15986,"content":15987},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15988],{"text":15989,"type":596},"Challenges to large scale V2G adoption",{"type":591,"attrs":15991,"content":15992},{"textAlign":49},[15993],{"text":15994,"type":596},"The technology is still in its early stages, with only a small number of electric vehicles and chargers currently capable of supporting it. Additionally, the recently introduced ISO 15118-20 international communication charging standard does enable two-way energy flow between EVs and the grid, but its adoption is still not yet widespread. The industry faces limitations due to a lack of the required hardware, software, and infrastructure to support a wider scale rollout",{"type":615,"attrs":15996,"content":15997},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[15998],{"text":15999,"type":596},"The partnership with BYD is telling of the company’s increasing dominance in the UK",{"type":591,"attrs":16001,"content":16002},{"textAlign":49},[16003,16005,16009],{"text":16004,"type":596},"BYD is by no means the biggest EV seller in the UK, however it is fast becoming an established player in the market. According to ",{"text":12463,"type":596,"marks":16006},[16007],{"type":606,"attrs":16008},{"href":10667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16010,"type":596},", in the first four months of 2025, BYD’s EV sales increased 563% compared to the same period in 2024, making it the fastest growing EV player in the UK. While its sales still do not match the likes of VW or Tesla, to name a few, an offering such as this will add to the brand’s popularity and presence in the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":16012,"content":16013},{"textAlign":49},[],"UK energy provider, Octopus Energy, and BYD have unveiled an all-inclusive vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bundle that includes car leasing, a bi-directional charger, and a smart tariff. In one of the first commercially available deals of its kind in the UK and Europe, this is a step towards increasing adoption of V2G, but obstacles remain ahead of […]",[16016],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16017},{"job_title":557,"image":16018,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6bd399ca-154b-428f-afdc-a95a2d7f4482\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16021],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16023,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16024,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fc6391bf40/bm-adobestock-1294443161.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 25, 2025",{"id":16027,"uuid":16028,"name":16029,"slug":16030,"full_slug":16031,"content":16032},112467552402705,"ebdad688-c46e-4541-951c-b898eb4d72c6","Chevron enters US lithium space with DLE acquisitions","chevron-enters-us-lithium-space-with-dle-acquisitions","article/chevron-enters-us-lithium-space-with-dle-acquisitions",{"_uid":16033,"date":16034,"tags":16035,"editor":16043,"content":16047,"excerpt":16183,"featured":51,"reporter":16184,"_editable":16188,"component":697,"seo_title":16029,"categories":16189,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":16192,"featured_image":16195,"seo_description":16183,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16198},"947c1e65-3aeb-4ee0-bcff-e99863b628f9","2025-06-23 00:00",[16036,16039,16040,16041,16042],{"slug":16037,"name":16038},"chevron","Chevron",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[16044],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16045},{"job_title":557,"image":16046,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16048},[16049,16068,16073,16094,16102,16107,16112,16125,16138,16143,16148,16153,16158,16166],{"type":591,"attrs":16050,"content":16051},{"textAlign":49},[16052,16054,16060,16062,16066],{"text":16053,"type":596},"US-based Chevron has entered the ",{"text":16055,"type":596,"marks":16056},"US lithium space",[16057],{"type":606,"attrs":16058},{"href":16059,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/building-a-secure-lithium-supply-chain-in-north-america",{"text":16061,"type":596}," through the acquisition of two ",{"text":8940,"type":596,"marks":16063},[16064],{"type":606,"attrs":16065},{"href":15877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16067,"type":596}," (DLE) leasehold positions from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources (ETNR).",{"type":591,"attrs":16069,"content":16070},{"textAlign":49},[16071],{"text":16072,"type":596},"The leaseholds are located across 125,000 acres in the Smackover Formation in Arkansas and eastern Texas.",{"type":591,"attrs":16074,"content":16075},{"textAlign":49},[16076,16078,16084,16086,16092],{"text":16077,"type":596},"This acquisition follows in the footsteps of fellow ",{"text":16079,"type":596,"marks":16080},"US oil giant ExxonMobil",[16081],{"type":606,"attrs":16082},{"href":16083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/exxon-aiming-for-multiple-lithium-projects-this-decade",{"text":16085,"type":596},", which is developing a 100,000 tonne LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) DLE project also in the Smackover Formation. Norway’s ",{"text":16087,"type":596,"marks":16088},"Equinor, another oil major",[16089],{"type":606,"attrs":16090},{"href":16091,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/equinor-takes-stake-in-standard-lithium-smackover-direct-lithium-extraction-projects",{"text":16093,"type":596},", is also developing a DLE project in the Smackover Formation in partnership with Standard Lithium.",{"type":656,"attrs":16095},{"id":16096,"body":16097},"d9a3d434-27ca-439c-a33b-e3b3f00fb6c5",[16098],{"id":16099,"_uid":16100,"type":663,"_editable":16101,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23866606","i-fee17b43-db19-488c-aba0-8a9b0db25e06","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-fee17b43-db19-488c-aba0-8a9b0db25e06\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":16103,"content":16104},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16105],{"text":16106,"type":596},"What projects has Chevron acquired?",{"type":591,"attrs":16108,"content":16109},{"textAlign":49},[16110],{"text":16111,"type":596},"The most developed position Chevron has acquired is the $1 billion Project Liberty Owl which was under development by TerraVolta. The project is slated to have a capacity of 25,000 tonnes LCE per year and has a tentative construction start date of 2028/29.",{"type":591,"attrs":16113,"content":16114},{"textAlign":49},[16115,16117,16123],{"text":16116,"type":596},"TerraVolta is partly owned by the Energy & Minerals Group (EMG), which also has a $24 million stake in Cornish Lithium, a ",{"text":16118,"type":596,"marks":16119},"UK-based lithium company",[16120],{"type":606,"attrs":16121},{"href":16122,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-uks-domestic-lithium-ambitions",{"text":16124,"type":596}," developing a DLE project in Cornwall.",{"type":591,"attrs":16126,"content":16127},{"textAlign":49},[16128,16130,16136],{"text":16129,"type":596},"Liberty Owl received a $225 million award from the US Department of Energy in September 2024. In February 2025 it was selected as a ",{"text":16131,"type":596,"marks":16132},"FAST-41 project",[16133],{"type":606,"attrs":16134},{"href":16135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-is-mine-development-progressing-under-trump-2-0",{"text":16137,"type":596}," giving it access to streamlined permitting which may see it complete regulatory requirements by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":16139,"content":16140},{"textAlign":49},[16141],{"text":16142,"type":596},"The ETNR lease is significantly less developed with no associated technology, capacity, or construction start date. The company started buying brine leases in Texas in 2023.",{"type":615,"attrs":16144,"content":16145},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16146],{"text":16147,"type":596},"How do DLE costs compare to other forms of lithium extraction?",{"type":591,"attrs":16149,"content":16150},{"textAlign":49},[16151],{"text":16152,"type":596},"Although DLE projects promise very low operating costs, Benchmark analysis shows they are the most expensive in terms of capital expenditure. Financing costs can make it difficult for juniors to develop projects to maturity.",{"type":591,"attrs":16154,"content":16155},{"textAlign":49},[16156],{"text":16157,"type":596},"Oil and gas majors, on the other hand, have relevant expertise in drilling and fluid management as well as cheaper access to capital, making them better positioned to finance such projects.",{"type":656,"attrs":16159},{"id":16160,"body":16161},"120450cb-2bfc-4b00-98ab-3b7fe8fc1c43",[16162],{"id":16163,"_uid":16164,"type":663,"_editable":16165,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23865350","i-bedd0a8b-66ca-4cde-b752-25e317476c7f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-bedd0a8b-66ca-4cde-b752-25e317476c7f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":16167,"content":16168},{"textAlign":49},[16169,16173,16179],{"text":16170,"type":596,"marks":16171},"Learn more about the role DLE has to play in the lithium industry in this ",[16172],{"type":1006},{"text":16174,"type":596,"marks":16175},"Special Issue",[16176,16177],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":16178},{"href":8944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16180,"type":596,"marks":16181}," by Benchmark.",[16182],{"type":1006},"US-based Chevron has entered the US lithium space through the acquisition of two direct lithium extraction (DLE) leasehold positions from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources (ETNR). The leaseholds are located across 125,000 acres in the Smackover Formation in Arkansas and eastern Texas. This acquisition follows in the footsteps of fellow US oil giant […]",[16185],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16186},{"job_title":557,"image":16187,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"947c1e65-3aeb-4ee0-bcff-e99863b628f9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16190,16191],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16193,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16194,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1750673871/www-production/Redacted-Lithium-capex@2x/Redacted-Lithium-capex@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16196,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16197,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3e72fdb1f8/bm-chevron-texas-hq-1344368b37c7.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 23, 2025",{"id":16200,"uuid":16201,"name":16202,"slug":16203,"full_slug":16204,"content":16205},112467557371154,"5e311325-ae33-4dc7-bc2c-723200acc3cf","The UK’s domestic lithium ambitions","the-uks-domestic-lithium-ambitions","article/the-uks-domestic-lithium-ambitions",{"_uid":16206,"date":16207,"tags":16208,"editor":16232,"content":16236,"excerpt":16348,"featured":50,"reporter":16349,"_editable":16353,"component":697,"seo_title":16202,"categories":16354,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16357,"seo_description":16348,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16360},"cf8d3e17-d02a-4a99-8803-ada3151f4d84","2025-06-20 00:00",[16209,16212,16215,16216,16219,16222,16225,16228,16229],{"slug":16210,"name":16211},"altilium","Altilium",{"slug":16213,"name":16214},"cornish-lithium","Cornish Lithium",{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":16217,"name":16218},"evove","Evove",{"slug":16220,"name":16221},"green-lithium","Green Lithium",{"slug":16223,"name":16224},"levertonhelm","LevertonHelm",{"slug":16226,"name":16227},"northern-lithium","Northern Lithium",{"slug":10539,"name":10540},{"slug":16230,"name":16231},"weardale-lithium","Weardale Lithium",[16233],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16234},{"job_title":557,"image":16235,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16237},[16238,16264,16269,16282,16287,16295,16300,16305,16310,16315,16320,16325,16338,16343],{"type":591,"attrs":16239,"content":16240},{"textAlign":49},[16241,16242,16248,16250,16256,16257,16262],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":16243,"type":596,"marks":16244},"UK lithium scene",[16245],{"type":606,"attrs":16246},{"href":16247,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/moores-tells-uk-lawmakers-commodities-are-back-but-the-world-has-changed",{"text":16249,"type":596},", through ",{"text":16251,"type":596,"marks":16252},"mica mining",[16253],{"type":606,"attrs":16254},{"href":16255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-set-to-begin-lithium-mining-as-frances-imerys-agrees-deal-with-british-lithium",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":16258,"type":596,"marks":16259},"innovative direct lithium extraction (DLE)",[16260],{"type":606,"attrs":16261},{"href":8944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16263,"type":596}," projects, has an announced lithium extraction capacity pipeline of 78,000 tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalents), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. For lithium chemical production, the UK has 6,000 tonnes LCE of operating capacity and a further 135,000 tonnes LCE announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":16265,"content":16266},{"textAlign":49},[16267],{"text":16268,"type":596},"Most of the lithium projects in the UK still require significant development and investment to reach commercialisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":16270,"content":16271},{"textAlign":49},[16272,16274,16280],{"text":16273,"type":596},"These projects play into the UK’s push to build a domestic lithium supply chain. ",{"text":16275,"type":596,"marks":16276},"The government",[16277],{"type":606,"attrs":16278},{"href":16279,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/labour-landslide-promises-to-boost-uks-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-and-clean-energy-capability",{"text":16281,"type":596}," is supporting investments, partnerships and permitting reform through its Critical Minerals Strategy which identified lithium as essential for the country’s green industrial future.",{"type":591,"attrs":16283,"content":16284},{"textAlign":49},[16285],{"text":16286,"type":596},"However, although such projects could provide a local source of lithium for the UK’s 80 GWh gigafactory pipeline, investment will also be needed in midstream cathode production to maximise the value of local lithium production.",{"type":656,"attrs":16288},{"id":16289,"body":16290},"842163ec-fc22-4bcf-9447-9b550a66605f",[16291],{"id":16292,"_uid":16293,"type":663,"_editable":16294,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23786161","i-80216acd-ac86-41d9-9e02-d6cd32b8c7ae","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-80216acd-ac86-41d9-9e02-d6cd32b8c7ae\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":16296,"content":16297},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16298],{"text":16299,"type":596},"Direct lithium extraction key to UK’s upstream efforts",{"type":591,"attrs":16301,"content":16302},{"textAlign":49},[16303],{"text":16304,"type":596},"In County Durham in the north-east of England, Northern Lithium is developing the UK’s first large-scale DLE facility, aimed at producing 10,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate by 2030. The project uses Evove’s advanced membrane systems, which reduce water and chemical usage while producing ultra-pure lithium—aligning with environmental standards and investor preferences.",{"type":591,"attrs":16306,"content":16307},{"textAlign":49},[16308],{"text":16309,"type":596},"Benchmark analysts visited the site in April 2025, confirming the modular pilot plant is fully functional, with intention of ramping up shortly. Northern Lithium is expected to start commercial operations by 2027, aiming for 2,000 LCE tonnes that year. Weardale Lithium is also advancing in the engineering for a similar DLE plant nearby.",{"type":591,"attrs":16311,"content":16312},{"textAlign":49},[16313],{"text":16314,"type":596},"“Supplying gigafactories from local lithium is the next logical step for more sustainable and economic EV batteries,” Richard Morecombe, Northern Lithium’s chairman, said during Benchmark’s visit.",{"type":591,"attrs":16316,"content":16317},{"textAlign":49},[16318],{"text":16319,"type":596},"In Cornwall in the south-west of England, Cornish Lithium received the green light in March 2025 to drill two 2,000-meter wells and build a geothermal DLE plant. The company aims to extract lithium from deep, hot brines and re-inject the fluid after use, combining mineral extraction and renewable heat in one sustainable operation.",{"type":615,"attrs":16321,"content":16322},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16323],{"text":16324,"type":596},"Lithium chemical production on the rise",{"type":591,"attrs":16326,"content":16327},{"textAlign":49},[16328,16330,16336],{"text":16329,"type":596},"Although upstream lithium extraction is important, this material must be converted into lithium chemicals for greater value-add. The largest planned lithium refinery in the UK is ",{"text":16331,"type":596,"marks":16332},"Green Lithium’s 50,000 tonne LCE plant",[16333],{"type":606,"attrs":16334},{"href":16335,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-missing-middle-uks-first-lithium-refinery-highlights-need-for-domestic-battery-materials",{"text":16337,"type":596}," in Teeside.",{"type":591,"attrs":16339,"content":16340},{"textAlign":49},[16341],{"text":16342,"type":596},"Earlier in 2025, Benchmark attended the inauguration of LevertonHelm’s £30 million ($40 million) lithium chloride (LiCl) plant in Basingstoke with a capacity of 8,800 tonnes LCE, the largest of its kind in Europe. The plant will initially convert imported lithium carbonate into concentrated LiCl solution—an essential precursor for EV battery production.",{"type":591,"attrs":16344,"content":16345},{"textAlign":49},[16346],{"text":16347,"type":596},"LevertonHelm has partnered with Cornish Lithium to source lithium chloride from UK brines using DLE technology and with Altilium, a recycling company turning battery waste into usable lithium salts. This forms a closed domestic loop—a strategic advantage as battery production scales.","The UK lithium scene, through mica mining and innovative direct lithium extraction (DLE) projects, has an announced lithium extraction capacity pipeline of 78,000 tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalents), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. For lithium chemical production, the UK has 6,000 tonnes LCE of operating capacity and a further 135,000 tonnes LCE announced. Most of […]",[16350],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16351},{"job_title":557,"image":16352,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf8d3e17-d02a-4a99-8803-ada3151f4d84\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16355,16356],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16358,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16359,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/71ea53e3e7/bm-image005.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 20, 2025",{"id":16362,"uuid":16363,"name":16364,"slug":16365,"full_slug":16366,"content":16367},112467576093974,"aba5103a-f961-4681-8282-5493751971ad","How tech rivals, Huawei and Xiaomi, are helping to shape the Chinese EV market","how-tech-rivals-huawei-and-xiaomi-are-helping-to-shape-the-chinese-ev-market","article/how-tech-rivals-huawei-and-xiaomi-are-helping-to-shape-the-chinese-ev-market",{"_uid":16368,"date":16369,"tags":16370,"editor":16376,"content":16380,"excerpt":16438,"featured":50,"reporter":16439,"_editable":16443,"component":697,"seo_title":16364,"categories":16444,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16446,"seo_description":16438,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16449},"b7983340-e4ef-4e62-96af-6727bd7b0aa5","2025-06-16 00:00",[16371,16372,16375],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":16373,"name":16374},"huawei","Huawei",{"slug":1228,"name":1229},[16377],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16378},{"job_title":557,"image":16379,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16381},[16382,16387,16392,16397,16402,16410,16415,16420,16425,16430,16435],{"type":591,"attrs":16383,"content":16384},{"textAlign":49},[16385],{"text":16386,"type":596},"From smartphones to steering wheels, two well established technology companies Huawei and Xiaomi are helping shape the Chinese EV market. Both companies, well known for their consumer appliances, have firmly cemented themselves into the Chinese EV industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":16388,"content":16389},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16390],{"text":16391,"type":596},"How does Xiaomi compare to other EV start-ups in China?",{"type":591,"attrs":16393,"content":16394},{"textAlign":49},[16395],{"text":16396,"type":596},"Xiaomi released its first vehicle, the SU7, a C-segment sedan in April 2024, selling over 138,000 units during 2024. Competing in the same vehicle segment as BYD’s Dolphin or VW’s ID.3, its monthly sales have risen to reach levels that rival other EV players such Xpeng, Li Auto or Nio while offering only one model.",{"type":591,"attrs":16398,"content":16399},{"textAlign":49},[16400],{"text":16401,"type":596},"Largely this is due to confidence in the Xiaomi brand, which is widely known and trusted throughout China. However, Xiaomi’s EVs also offers design features other automakers do not. For example, its SU7 is available in 10 colours ranging from bright pink and blue to orange or black, comparatively, BYD offers its vehicles in four key colours: black, white, grey and blue.",{"type":656,"attrs":16403},{"id":16404,"body":16405},"8bf2397f-00d2-45e9-8548-8638052fdf62",[16406],{"id":16407,"_uid":16408,"type":663,"_editable":16409,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23685355","i-21d4e489-331b-453f-b62d-1d95289a686a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-21d4e489-331b-453f-b62d-1d95289a686a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":16411,"content":16412},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16413],{"text":16414,"type":596},"What does the future hold for Xiaomi?",{"type":591,"attrs":16416,"content":16417},{"textAlign":49},[16418],{"text":16419,"type":596},"Zoe Zhang, EV sales analyst at Rho Motion commented: “The biggest  factor limiting Xiaomi’s sales currently is its production capacity.” Waiting lists for the SU7 are reportedly up to a year. Previously it rented production capacity from BAIC, a state-owned automaker, but in July 2024 it received a license to produce its own vehicles. This year it plans to bring online more production capacity, hoping to address the growing demand for its vehicles. Sales are expected to continue growing as Xiaomi plans to release an all-electric SUV, the YU7, by the end of 2025.",{"type":615,"attrs":16421,"content":16422},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16423],{"text":16424,"type":596},"Huawei puts the focus on EV technology",{"type":591,"attrs":16426,"content":16427},{"textAlign":49},[16428],{"text":16429,"type":596},"Huawei has followed a different strategy to Xiaomi, putting a focus on building partnerships rather than building physical vehicles. Its collaborations follow three modes:",{"type":591,"attrs":16431,"content":16432},{"textAlign":49},[16433],{"text":16434,"type":596},"As EVs become increasingly intelligent, Huawei’s role will continue to evolve in the space becoming more important.",{"type":591,"attrs":16436,"content":16437},{"textAlign":49},[],"From smartphones to steering wheels, two well established technology companies Huawei and Xiaomi are helping shape the Chinese EV market. Both companies, well known for their consumer appliances, have firmly cemented themselves into the Chinese EV industry. How does Xiaomi compare to other EV start-ups in China? Xiaomi released its first vehicle, the SU7, a […]",[16440],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16441},{"job_title":557,"image":16442,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b7983340-e4ef-4e62-96af-6727bd7b0aa5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16445],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16447,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16448,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3b38fba579/bm-adobestock-767164079-editorial-use-only-2-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 16, 2025",{"id":16451,"uuid":16452,"name":16453,"slug":16454,"full_slug":16455,"content":16456},112467590544665,"f9315d0f-0f85-40d9-ad5e-bbeb83022d25","Global EV Sales Grow 28% in 2025","global-ev-sales-grow-28-in-2025","article/global-ev-sales-grow-28-in-2025",{"_uid":16457,"date":16458,"tags":16459,"editor":16460,"content":16464,"excerpt":16559,"featured":51,"reporter":16560,"_editable":16564,"component":697,"seo_title":16453,"categories":16565,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16567,"seo_description":16559,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16570},"54136a35-3402-45a8-afb4-18d0258399a7","2025-06-13 00:00",[],[16461],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16462},{"job_title":557,"image":16463,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16465},[16466,16471,16476,16481,16488,16492,16497,16502,16506,16511,16516,16520,16525,16530,16534,16538,16542,16546,16550],{"type":591,"attrs":16467,"content":16468},{"textAlign":49},[16469],{"text":16470,"type":596},"Rho Motion, the leading EV research house, today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in May 2025 is 1.6 million, with 7.2 million sold year-to-date (YTD). The EV market grew by 24% in May 2025 compared to May 2024, and by 8% compared to April 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":16472,"content":16473},{"textAlign":49},[16474],{"text":16475,"type":596},"Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented:  “The story this month with global vehicle sales is the continued chasm between Chinese market growth which saw one million vehicles sold in May, versus the faltering market in N. America. The European region is showing healthy signs of electrification, especially in Spain and Italy. At this stage in the EV adoption curve, incentives and policies are having a major impact as seen in Canada whose pause in support has resulted in a 20% decline and in Germany where the launch of new commercial tax breaks will likely start boosting sales in the coming months.”",{"type":591,"attrs":16477,"content":16478},{"textAlign":49},[16479],{"text":16480,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Jan-May 2025 vs Jan-May 2024, YTD % ",{"type":591,"attrs":16482,"content":16483},{"textAlign":49},[16484],{"type":836,"attrs":16485},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":16486,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":16487},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/25ffa0a5ae/bm-monthly-ev-sales-slide-bmi-may-1-1-4440002136.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":16489,"content":16490},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16491],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16493,"content":16494},{"textAlign":49},[16495],{"text":16496,"type":596},"The European EV market has grown by 27% in the opening five months of the year, reaching 1.6 million units sold. The pace of growth continues to rise for many major European countries, with Germany’s EV sales now at 45% growth YTD and the UK at 32% growth YTD. Other European countries that have previously been slower to electrify, are also growing fast, such as Spain with 72% YTD growth and Italy with 58% increase this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16498,"content":16499},{"textAlign":49},[16500],{"text":16501,"type":596},"Extra relief has also been announced in Germany as it launched a new incentive plan for electric vehicles. The plan aims to accelerate EV adoption among corporate fleets through special depreciation for EVs and other tax relief measures, which Rho Motion anticipates will have a positive impact as the corporate share accounts for over half of the new vehicle market.",{"type":615,"attrs":16503,"content":16504},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16505],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16507,"content":16508},{"textAlign":49},[16509],{"text":16510,"type":596},"The North American EV market (US, Canada, and Mexico) has grown by 3% YTD in 2025, with the Canadian market holding back the region as it has fallen by ~20% YTD due to the pausing of EV subsidies earlier in the year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16512,"content":16513},{"textAlign":49},[16514],{"text":16515,"type":596},"The US market is still experiencing moderate growth of 4% YTD, with tax credits remaining in place for eligible vehicles for the rest of 2025 which is expected to help maintain EV sales growth, as well as result in some pull forward in demand towards the end of the year. The tax credit is then being significantly phased out in 2026, before being completely phased out by 2027. ",{"type":615,"attrs":16517,"content":16518},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16519],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16521,"content":16522},{"textAlign":49},[16523],{"text":16524,"type":596},"EV sales have reached over one million units in a month for the first time this year, a feat that first occurred in August last year. The Chinese market increased by 33% in Jan-May 2025 compared to the same period last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16526,"content":16527},{"textAlign":49},[16528],{"text":16529,"type":596},"EV sales went up by 10% month-on-month in May 2025 and by 25% year-on-year. Chinese manufacturers continue to expand their market share abroad, with BYD releasing more BEVs and PHEVs in Europe, with hybrids not being subject to the additional EU tariff. Most recently, BYD has released its small segment EV, the Dolphin Surf (‘Seagull’ in China), in Europe, competitively priced at ~USD25,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":16531,"content":16532},{"textAlign":49},[16533],{"text":8792,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16535,"content":16536},{"textAlign":49},[16537],{"text":8797,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16539,"content":16540},{"textAlign":49},[16541],{"text":11865,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16543,"content":16544},{"textAlign":49},[16545],{"text":8807,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16547,"content":16548},{"textAlign":49},[16549],{"text":11874,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16551,"content":16552},{"textAlign":49},[16553,16554],{"text":11879,"type":596},{"text":16555,"type":596,"marks":16556}," rhomotion.com",[16557],{"type":606,"attrs":16558},{"href":11885,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Rho Motion, the leading EV research house, today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in May 2025 is 1.6 million, with 7.2 million sold year-to-date (YTD). The EV market grew by 24% in May 2025 compared to May 2024, and by 8% compared to April 2025. Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, […]",[16561],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16562},{"job_title":557,"image":16563,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54136a35-3402-45a8-afb4-18d0258399a7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16566],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":4125,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":4125,"source":547,"filename":16568,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16569,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db08992037/bm-adobestock-626617602-1.jpeg",{"alt":4125,"title":4125,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 13, 2025",{"id":16572,"uuid":16573,"name":16574,"slug":16575,"full_slug":16576,"content":16577},112467585789208,"cefbe53e-3573-4ecf-845a-f034c58de3d6","What is behind Europe’s 2025 EV sales surge?","what-is-behind-europes-2025-ev-sales-surge","article/what-is-behind-europes-2025-ev-sales-surge",{"_uid":16578,"date":16458,"tags":16579,"editor":16583,"content":16587,"excerpt":16646,"featured":50,"reporter":16647,"_editable":16651,"component":697,"seo_title":16574,"categories":16652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16654,"seo_description":16646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16570},"85373ca3-924e-42d7-9e00-a0a56cdcb50b",[16580,16581,16582],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[16584],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16585},{"job_title":557,"image":16586,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16588},[16589,16594,16601,16606,16611,16616,16621,16626,16633,16638,16643],{"type":591,"attrs":16590,"content":16591},{"textAlign":49},[16592],{"text":16593,"type":596},"Europe’s electric vehicle (EV), passenger car and light duty vehicle, sales are up 27% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This is a dramatic change from 2024 when sales in the region grew just 0.1% in the first five months of the year according to Rho Motion’s EV and Battery Database. The region’s largest EV market, Germany, has seen a return to growth, with EV sales up 44% YTD, following a 19% decline in 2024. With the majority of countries’ markets growing in Europe, what is driving this growth?",{"type":591,"attrs":16595,"content":16596},{"textAlign":49},[16597],{"type":836,"attrs":16598},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":16599,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":16600},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2025/06/image-21.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":16602,"content":16603},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16604],{"text":16605,"type":596},"How are the EU’s emissions targets changing the landscape?",{"type":591,"attrs":16607,"content":16608},{"textAlign":49},[16609],{"text":16610,"type":596},"A significant factor driving growth is the EU’s step change in emissions targets. From 2025, OEMs must reduce their carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions by an average of 15% over a three-year period (2025-2027) compared to 2021 levels. This has propelled the market as OEMs seek to avoid fines at the end of 2027. Many major OEMs have released new EVs to help reach their emissions targets.",{"type":615,"attrs":16612,"content":16613},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16614],{"text":16615,"type":596},"What role does model availability play?",{"type":591,"attrs":16617,"content":16618},{"textAlign":49},[16619],{"text":16620,"type":596},"An increase in model availability has also played a role in increased EV sales. From Jan-Apr 2025, 374 different EV models were sold in the EU & EFTA & UK region according to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Database, a 22% increase on the same period last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":16622,"content":16623},{"textAlign":49},[16624],{"text":16625,"type":596},"Over 30 of the newly launched models were in the SUV-C and SUV-D categories. These segments have historically offered greater EV model availability than smaller segments, contributing to higher unit sales. In contrast, smaller segments have typically seen limited EV offerings in Europe, leading to lower sales volumes and penetration rates. However, this trend is beginning to shift, since the start of 2025, five new B-segment EV models have been introduced across the EU, EFTA, and UK. This has increased the number of available models by 50%, making the B-segment the fastest-growing in YTD sales among all car and SUV categories in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":16627,"content":16628},{"textAlign":49},[16629],{"type":836,"attrs":16630},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":16631,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":16632},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2025/06/image-22.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":16634,"content":16635},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16636],{"text":16637,"type":596},"How are BEV prices changing?",{"type":591,"attrs":16639,"content":16640},{"textAlign":49},[16641],{"text":16642,"type":596},"The new model releases in Europe have largely focused on affordability. According to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Forecast, BEV prices have dropped -4.1% compared to 2024. This is a contrast to BEV prices remaining relatively flat in 2024. The B segment experienced the greatest price decrease, dropping -14% in Q1 2025 compared to 2024. As BEV prices fall, price parity between BEVs and ICE vehicles moves closer, helping increase the demand for EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16644,"content":16645},{"textAlign":49},[],"Europe’s electric vehicle (EV), passenger car and light duty vehicle, sales are up 27% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This is a dramatic change from 2024 when sales in the region grew just 0.1% in the first five months of the year according to Rho Motion’s […]",[16648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16649},{"job_title":557,"image":16650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"85373ca3-924e-42d7-9e00-a0a56cdcb50b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16653],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":16655,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16656,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ad6f221b9d/bm-adobestock-1048717294.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":16658,"uuid":16659,"name":16660,"slug":16661,"full_slug":16662,"content":16663},112467580919063,"e1510aaa-ec0e-44f3-b77e-9b8af29d5119","Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing cobalt battery metal prices to weekly publishing frequency","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-cobalt-battery-metal-prices-to-weekly-publishing-frequency","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-cobalt-battery-metal-prices-to-weekly-publishing-frequency",{"_uid":16664,"date":16458,"tags":16665,"editor":16669,"content":16673,"excerpt":16742,"featured":50,"reporter":16743,"_editable":16747,"component":697,"seo_title":16660,"categories":16748,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16751,"seo_description":16742,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16570},"54bc1f9e-ba72-4798-b371-dc2017367503",[16666,16667,16668],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[16670],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16671},{"job_title":557,"image":16672,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16674},[16675,16685,16689,16694,16699,16704,16709,16714,16719,16723,16728,16739],{"type":591,"attrs":16676,"content":16677},{"textAlign":49},[16678,16679,16684],{"text":9922,"type":596},{"text":16680,"type":596,"marks":16681},"Cobalt Price Assessment Methodology",[16682],{"type":606,"attrs":16683},{"href":13908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":16686,"content":16687},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16688],{"text":9933,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16690,"content":16691},{"textAlign":49},[16692],{"text":16693,"type":596},"Growing demand for cobalt metal from the battery and superalloy industries, combined with more liquid spot activity, has increased the volume and frequency of cobalt metal transactions, allowing for more regular price publication.",{"type":591,"attrs":16695,"content":16696},{"textAlign":49},[16697],{"text":16698,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes to move its cobalt battery metal grade from alternate weeks to weekly frequency to give a more comprehensive assessment of price trends, aligning with existing CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide and EXW China cobalt sulphate publication frequency.",{"type":591,"attrs":16700,"content":16701},{"textAlign":49},[16702],{"text":16703,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to increase the regularity of its EXW Europe cobalt battery metal pricing to weekly, to be published on Wednesdays, by 4 p.m. (London).",{"type":591,"attrs":16705,"content":16706},{"textAlign":49},[16707],{"text":16708,"type":596},"As the lithium ion battery industry continues to develop, the frequency and volume of battery material trading is increasing. To continue to give an accurate and comprehensive assessment of price movements, Benchmark continues to monitor and evolve the frequency with which its market leading price assessments are published.",{"type":591,"attrs":16710,"content":16711},{"textAlign":49},[16712],{"text":16713,"type":596},"The proposed changes would impact the following grade currently collected by Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":16715,"content":16716},{"textAlign":49},[16717],{"text":16718,"type":596},"Cobalt battery metal, EXW Europe, Min 99.8%",{"type":615,"attrs":16720,"content":16721},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16722],{"text":9999,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16724,"content":16725},{"textAlign":49},[16726],{"text":16727,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 14 July 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":16729,"content":16730},{"textAlign":49},[16731,16733],{"text":16732,"type":596},"Comments are welcomed via submission to: ",{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":16735},"prices@benchmarkminerals.com",[16736],{"type":606,"attrs":16737},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:prices@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":16740,"content":16741},{"textAlign":49},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Cobalt Price Assessment Methodology. Increased frequency Growing demand for cobalt metal from the battery and superalloy industries, combined with more liquid spot activity, has increased the volume and frequency of cobalt metal transactions, allowing for more regular price […]",[16744],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16745},{"job_title":557,"image":16746,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54bc1f9e-ba72-4798-b371-dc2017367503\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16749,16750],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6826,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16752,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":16754,"uuid":16755,"name":16756,"slug":16757,"full_slug":16758,"content":16759},112467604978972,"c3aee70f-6107-40dd-a4e0-5ba011e1a184","Benchmark to publish CIF North America and CIF Europe spot and contract lithium grades","benchmark-to-publish-cif-north-america-and-cif-europe-spot-and-contract-lithium-grades","article/benchmark-to-publish-cif-north-america-and-cif-europe-spot-and-contract-lithium-grades",{"_uid":16760,"date":16761,"tags":16762,"editor":16766,"content":16770,"excerpt":16975,"featured":50,"reporter":16976,"_editable":16980,"component":697,"seo_title":16756,"categories":16981,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":16984,"seo_description":16975,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":16986},"206f0b56-993a-429f-b203-5adecf2897a8","2025-06-11 00:00",[16763,16764,16765],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[16767],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16768},{"job_title":557,"image":16769,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":16771},[16772,16777,16782,16804,16826,16847,16868,16880,16892,16896,16900,16949,16954,16959,16964],{"type":591,"attrs":16773,"content":16774},{"textAlign":49},[16775],{"text":16776,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish separate spot and contract price assessments for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in Europe and North America, beginning 11 June 2025. Moreover, from the same date, the FOB North America lithium hydroxide incoterm will be changed to CIF North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16778,"content":16779},{"textAlign":49},[16780],{"text":16781,"type":596},"The following grades are being impacted:",{"type":591,"attrs":16783,"content":16784},{"textAlign":49},[16785,16789,16793,16797,16800],{"text":16786,"type":596,"marks":16787},"CIF Europe lithium carbonate",[16788],{"type":1006},{"text":16790,"type":596,"marks":16791}," is now ",[16792],{"type":1006},{"text":16794,"type":596,"marks":16795},"CIF Europe lithium carbonate (spot)",[16796],{"type":1006},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":16798},[16799],{"type":1006},{"text":16801,"type":596,"marks":16802},"CIF Europe lithium carbonate (contract)",[16803],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":16805,"content":16806},{"textAlign":49},[16807,16811,16815,16819,16822],{"text":16808,"type":596,"marks":16809},"CIF Europe lithium hydroxide ",[16810],{"type":1006},{"text":16812,"type":596,"marks":16813},"is now ",[16814],{"type":1006},{"text":16816,"type":596,"marks":16817},"CIF Europe lithium hydroxide 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",[16853],{"type":1006},{"text":16812,"type":596,"marks":16855},[16856],{"type":1006},{"text":16858,"type":596,"marks":16859},"CIF North America lithium hydroxide (spot)",[16860],{"type":1006},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":16862},[16863],{"type":1006},{"text":16865,"type":596,"marks":16866},"CIF North America lithium hydroxide (contract)",[16867],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":16869,"content":16870},{"textAlign":49},[16871,16873,16878],{"text":16872,"type":596},"These prices are available to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":16875},"Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment",[16876],{"type":606,"attrs":16877},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16879,"type":596}," subscribers every other Wednesday by 4pm (London), starting 11 June 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":16881,"content":16882},{"textAlign":49},[16883,16885,16890],{"text":16884,"type":596},"“These latest changes to Benchmark’s market leading, IOSCO compliant ",{"text":16886,"type":596,"marks":16887},"Lithium Price Assessments",[16888],{"type":606,"attrs":16889},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16891,"type":596}," reconfirm our commitment to providing the most trusted actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain, and reflect the increased spot liquidity we have seen in the European and North American markets,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, Head of Prices at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":16893,"content":16894},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[16895],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16897,"content":16898},{"textAlign":49},[16899],{"text":15120,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":16901,"content":16902},{"textAlign":49},[16903,16904,16909,16910,16915,16916,16921,16922,16927,16928,16933,16934,16940,16941,16947],{"text":6729,"type":596},{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":16905},[16906],{"type":606,"attrs":16907},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":115,"type":596,"marks":16911},[16912],{"type":606,"attrs":16913},{"href":16914,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":189,"type":596,"marks":16917},[16918],{"type":606,"attrs":16919},{"href":16920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/natural-graphite/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":1832,"type":596,"marks":16923},[16924],{"type":606,"attrs":16925},{"href":16926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/synthetic-graphite/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":16929},[16930],{"type":606,"attrs":16931},{"href":16932,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16935,"type":596,"marks":16936},"Cathodes",[16937],{"type":606,"attrs":16938},{"href":16939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16942,"type":596,"marks":16943},"Anodes",[16944],{"type":606,"attrs":16945},{"href":16946,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/anode/portal",{"text":16948,"type":596}," – to the highest IOSCO standard. ",{"type":591,"attrs":16950,"content":16951},{"textAlign":49},[16952],{"text":16953,"type":596},"Our lithium price assessments are created by senior management and price analysts that truly understand the market they are assessing.",{"type":591,"attrs":16955,"content":16956},{"textAlign":49},[16957],{"text":16958,"type":596},"They are the world’s most trusted battery supply chain price assessments and used to settle contracts and guide major investment decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":16960,"content":16961},{"textAlign":49},[16962],{"text":16963,"type":596},"To learn more please fill out this contact form:",{"type":656,"attrs":16965},{"id":16966,"body":16967},"224b8167-6c2a-4bc7-a303-dbd59095af68",[16968],{"id":15148,"_uid":16969,"_editable":16970,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":15148,"redirect_url":16971,"success_file":16972,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":16974},"i-20baf861-1701-4359-85af-812b695e3bde","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-20baf861-1701-4359-85af-812b695e3bde\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16973},{},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish separate spot and contract price assessments for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in Europe and North America, beginning 11 June 2025. Moreover, from the same date, the FOB North America lithium hydroxide incoterm will be changed to CIF North America. The following grades are being impacted: CIF Europe lithium […]",[16977],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":16978},{"job_title":557,"image":16979,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"206f0b56-993a-429f-b203-5adecf2897a8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[16982,16983],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":16985,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 11, 2025",{"id":16988,"uuid":16989,"name":16990,"slug":16991,"full_slug":16992,"content":16993},112467609791773,"d6686aa4-f38b-46d6-ba68-90a7ad23c39d","The US storage market is in a “state of flux”, thoughts from industry leaders","the-us-storage-market-is-in-a-state-of-flux-thoughts-from-industry-leaders","article/the-us-storage-market-is-in-a-state-of-flux-thoughts-from-industry-leaders",{"_uid":16994,"date":16995,"tags":16996,"editor":17007,"content":17011,"excerpt":17100,"featured":51,"reporter":17101,"component":697,"seo_title":16990,"categories":17105,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":17107,"seo_description":17100,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17110},"28457895-5337-457f-b723-db1c978cb89e","2025-06-10 00:00",[16997,17000,17003,17006],{"slug":16998,"name":16999},"fluence","Fluence",{"slug":17001,"name":17002},"rept-battero","REPT Battero",{"slug":17004,"name":17005},"samsung-sdi-america","Samsung SDI America",{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[17008],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17009},{"job_title":557,"image":17010,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17012},[17013,17025,17030,17041,17052,17057,17064,17069,17074,17079,17084,17089],{"type":591,"attrs":17014,"content":17015},{"textAlign":49},[17016,17018,17023],{"text":17017,"type":596},"“The US ",{"text":17019,"type":596,"marks":17020},"storage market",[17021],{"type":606,"attrs":17022},{"href":2018,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":17024,"type":596}," is in a state of flux” according to Rho Motion’s Head of Research Iola Hughes at Benchmark’s GIGA USA 2025 event in Washinton DC. Hughes had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the market with representatives from Fluence, Samsung SDI, REPT Battero, and Prelude Ventures.",{"type":615,"attrs":17026,"content":17027},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17028],{"text":17029,"type":596},"Strong growth in the US market is being overshadowed with uncertainty",{"type":591,"attrs":17031,"content":17032},{"textAlign":49},[17033,17035,17039],{"text":17034,"type":596},"Despite 24% growth across grid and BTM installations Jan-Apr 2025, and BESS accounting for a growing share of total ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":17036},[17037],{"type":606,"attrs":17038},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":17040,"type":596},", overshadowing the industry at present is the significant tariff uncertainty and the proposed “Big Beautiful Tax Bill”.",{"type":591,"attrs":17042,"content":17043},{"textAlign":49},[17044,17046,17050],{"text":17045,"type":596},"The US BESS ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":17047},[17048],{"type":606,"attrs":17049},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":17051,"type":596}," is highly reliant on China and therefore has been hit hard by sweeping IEEPA tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":17053,"content":17054},{"textAlign":49},[17055],{"text":17056,"type":596},"Additionally, the proposed early phasedown and tightening of FEOC rules of 48E and 45X in the “Big Beautiful Tax Bill” could remove two significant support mechanisms for both BESS project development and the BESS domestic supply chain development.",{"type":591,"attrs":17058,"content":17059},{"textAlign":49},[17060],{"type":836,"attrs":17061},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":17062,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":17063},"https://rhomotion.com/app/uploads/2025/06/image.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":17065,"content":17066},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17067],{"text":17068,"type":596},"Key take aways from industry leaders at GIGA USA 2025",{"type":591,"attrs":17070,"content":17071},{"textAlign":49},[17072],{"text":17073,"type":596},"Fluence – Suzanne Leta",{"type":591,"attrs":17075,"content":17076},{"textAlign":49},[17077],{"text":17078,"type":596},"Samsung SDI – Paul Dorsey",{"type":591,"attrs":17080,"content":17081},{"textAlign":49},[17082],{"text":17083,"type":596},"REPT Battero –  Dr Vikash Venkataramana",{"type":591,"attrs":17085,"content":17086},{"textAlign":49},[17087],{"text":17088,"type":596},"Prelude Ventures – Katie Clasen ",{"type":591,"attrs":17090,"content":17091},{"textAlign":49},[17092,17094,17098],{"text":17093,"type":596},"The panel discussed other developments including continued improvements of ",{"text":451,"type":596,"marks":17095},[17096],{"type":606,"attrs":17097},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":17099,"type":596},", innovation in software, and the potential for sodium ion.","“The US storage market is in a state of flux” according to Rho Motion’s Head of Research Iola Hughes at Benchmark’s GIGA USA 2025 event in Washinton DC. Hughes had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the market with representatives from Fluence, Samsung SDI, REPT Battero, and Prelude Ventures. Strong growth in the US […]",[17102],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17103},{"job_title":557,"image":17104,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[17106],{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":17108,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17109,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a732a727e4/bm-adobestock-965148262-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 10, 2025",{"id":17112,"uuid":17113,"name":17114,"slug":17115,"full_slug":17116,"content":17117},112467619306784,"c17a179d-ff24-477e-bf60-4b5588489b0d","Giga USA 2025 takeaways: Policy uncertainty threatens US battery momentum","giga-usa-2025-takeaways-policy-uncertainty-threatens-us-battery-momentum","article/giga-usa-2025-takeaways-policy-uncertainty-threatens-us-battery-momentum",{"_uid":17118,"date":17119,"tags":17120,"editor":17125,"content":17129,"excerpt":17492,"featured":51,"reporter":17493,"_editable":17497,"component":697,"seo_title":17498,"categories":17499,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":17505,"featured_image":17507,"seo_description":17510,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17511},"a8da5186-fe3a-47c2-b8fd-d4e72c2c9cb9","2025-06-06 00:00",[17121,17124],{"slug":17122,"name":17123},"giga-usa-2025","Giga USA 2025",{"slug":572,"name":573},[17126],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17127},{"job_title":557,"image":17128,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17130},[17131,17153,17174,17179,17184,17189,17209,17216,17237,17259,17264,17269,17290,17297,17302,17307,17312,17347,17352,17357,17379,17384,17391,17396,17401,17423,17445,17467,17485],{"type":591,"attrs":17132,"content":17133},{"textAlign":49},[17134,17139,17148],{"text":17135,"type":596,"marks":17136},"Benchmark's flagship ",[17137],{"type":739,"attrs":17138},{"color":6272},{"text":17140,"type":596,"marks":17141},"GIGA US 2025",[17142,17145,17147],{"type":606,"attrs":17143},{"href":17144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/giga-usa",{"type":739,"attrs":17146},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17149,"type":596,"marks":17150}," event wrapped up this week in Washington DC, at a pivotal time for the US electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industries.",[17151],{"type":739,"attrs":17152},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17154,"content":17155},{"textAlign":49},[17156,17161,17169],{"text":17157,"type":596,"marks":17158},"The focus of this year's discussions shifted to navigating rising uncertainty, as the prospect of reduced federal support threatens to derail the US clean energy boom. Concerns are mounting that a rollback of ",[17159],{"type":739,"attrs":17160},{"color":6272},{"text":17162,"type":596,"marks":17163},"Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies",[17164,17166,17168],{"type":606,"attrs":17165},{"href":10495,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":17167},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17170,"type":596,"marks":17171}," will not only remove support for US midstream and downstream projects, but also weaken key battery demand drivers in the US market, which will not be compensated for by other sectors.",[17172],{"type":739,"attrs":17173},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17175,"content":17176},{"textAlign":49},[17177],{"text":17178,"type":596},"In this article, Benchmark Source explores the major themes and talking points that emerged over the course of the week.",{"type":615,"attrs":17180,"content":17181},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17182],{"text":17183,"type":596},"EV sales growth is strong, but US market faces headwinds",{"type":591,"attrs":17185,"content":17186},{"textAlign":49},[17187],{"text":17188,"type":596},"Despite prevailing macroeconomic uncertainty, optimism persists around the trajectory of global EV adoption. Benchmark’s Head of Research, Adam Panayi, reported that global EV sales were up 30% in the first four months of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":17190,"content":17191},{"textAlign":49},[17192,17197,17205],{"text":17193,"type":596,"marks":17194},"It was underscored that this growth, however, varies significantly by region. China continues to lead with 30% growth, and Europe has bounced back from a difficult 2024 to post growth of 25%. By contrast, ",[17195],{"type":739,"attrs":17196},{"color":6272},{"text":17198,"type":596,"marks":17199},"the US market has been sluggish, with sales growing just 5.5%",[17200,17202,17204],{"type":606,"attrs":17201},{"href":9338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":17203},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":17206},[17207],{"type":739,"attrs":17208},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17210,"content":17211},{"textAlign":49},[17212],{"type":836,"attrs":17213},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":17214,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":17215},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdJzSAuPduSaqVHzN44J6B2GBzfg_EKl9txNu71Gxcg2FnEoZi2C285iDLkFedjCF3aATa1whJN9MrER__AxDNDniVvjtFN4IbwxvwwN5Yiowz1jwLF_uSunhX7py9aZXykNiE4hg?key=W5O04mpNlpjc1bI-L9mebA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":17217,"content":17218},{"textAlign":49},[17219,17224,17232],{"text":17220,"type":596,"marks":17221},"\"The situation in the US is difficult,\" Panayi noted. \"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions policies are likely to be softened, which have historically been key growth drivers. At the same time, the ",[17222],{"type":739,"attrs":17223},{"color":6272},{"text":17225,"type":596,"marks":17226},"winding down of IRA tax credits",[17227,17229,17231],{"type":606,"attrs":17228},{"href":10495,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":17230},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17233,"type":596,"marks":17234}," is adding cost pressure to an already uncompetitive market.\"",[17235],{"type":739,"attrs":17236},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17238,"content":17239},{"textAlign":49},[17240,17245,17254],{"text":17241,"type":596,"marks":17242},"Nevertheless, reasons for optimism remain. ",[17243],{"type":739,"attrs":17244},{"color":6272},{"text":17246,"type":596,"marks":17247},"General Motors is making positive strides in the EV sector",[17248,17251,17253],{"type":606,"attrs":17249},{"href":17250,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gms-kurt-kelty-says-ultium-battery-production-issues-are-behind-us",{"type":739,"attrs":17252},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17255,"type":596,"marks":17256},", while Tesla, despite intensifying Chinese competition, continues to lead globally in innovation and scale.",[17257],{"type":739,"attrs":17258},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":17260,"content":17261},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17262],{"text":17263,"type":596},"Copper and Rare Earths: the most critical of minerals?",{"type":591,"attrs":17265,"content":17266},{"textAlign":49},[17267],{"text":17268,"type":596},"The conference spotlighted two of the most strategically important raw materials for the energy transition: copper and rare earth elements (REEs).",{"type":591,"attrs":17270,"content":17271},{"textAlign":49},[17272,17277,17286],{"text":17273,"type":596,"marks":17274},"Although copper is facing short-term pressure from macroeconomic and trade policy uncertainties, the red metal is being underpinned by strong long-term demand fundamentals. ",[17275],{"type":739,"attrs":17276},{"color":6272},{"text":17278,"type":596,"marks":17279},"Demand is set to outpace historical trends on the back of the proliferation of AI data centers, renewable energy infrastructure, and electrification efforts",[17280,17283,17285],{"type":606,"attrs":17281},{"href":17282,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/copper-price-hits-record-13000-t-as-rally-continues",{"type":739,"attrs":17284},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":17287},[17288],{"type":739,"attrs":17289},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17291,"content":17292},{"textAlign":49},[17293],{"type":836,"attrs":17294},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":17295,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":17296},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87fd833a28/bm-eclipticmedia-gigausa2513309.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":17298,"content":17299},{"textAlign":49},[17300],{"text":17301,"type":596},"Benchmark CEO Andrew Miller and U.S. Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton",{"type":591,"attrs":17303,"content":17304},{"textAlign":49},[17305],{"text":17306,"type":596},"Yet supply growth is slowing due to mining cost inflation and weak investment returns, laying the groundwork for a period of sustained upward pressure on prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":17308,"content":17309},{"textAlign":49},[17310],{"text":17311,"type":596},"Meanwhile, supply risks in the REE market are more acute, as China has demonstrated its willingness to weaponise its dominance over these supply chains as global trade tensions heighten. ",{"type":591,"attrs":17313,"content":17314},{"textAlign":49},[17315,17320,17329,17334,17342],{"text":17316,"type":596,"marks":17317},"Panellists warned the ",[17318],{"type":739,"attrs":17319},{"color":6272},{"text":17321,"type":596,"marks":17322},"current REE price environment is too low to support supply chain development outside of China",[17323,17326,17328],{"type":606,"attrs":17324},{"href":17325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/higher-prices-needed-to-develop-ex-china-rare-earths-supply",{"type":739,"attrs":17327},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17330,"type":596,"marks":17331},", emphasising that the cost of losing access far outweighs the cost of securing new supply. This was illustrated by the fact that a ",[17332],{"type":739,"attrs":17333},{"color":6272},{"text":17335,"type":596,"marks":17336},"rare earth permanent magnet (REPM)",[17337,17339,17341],{"type":606,"attrs":17338},{"href":13552,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":17340},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17343,"type":596,"marks":17344},", critical to EV performance, costs less than a set of tires.",[17345],{"type":739,"attrs":17346},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17348,"content":17349},{"textAlign":49},[17350],{"text":17351,"type":596},"It was noted that stronger policy and downstream support was necessary to incentivise higher prices, or the US and its allies risked prolonged dependence on China.",{"type":615,"attrs":17353,"content":17354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17355],{"text":17356,"type":596},"Refining capacity the key bottleneck for North America recycling industry",{"type":591,"attrs":17358,"content":17359},{"textAlign":49},[17360,17365,17374],{"text":17361,"type":596,"marks":17362},"Progress is being made to build out a North American battery recycling industry, but a critical lack of ",[17363],{"type":739,"attrs":17364},{"color":6272},{"text":17366,"type":596,"marks":17367},"black mass refining infrastructure",[17368,17371,17373],{"type":606,"attrs":17369},{"href":17370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-bottleneck-in-the-industry-is-on-the-refining-capacity-qa-with-li-cycle-co-founder-tim-johnston",{"type":739,"attrs":17372},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17375,"type":596,"marks":17376}," in the region is a key bottleneck. This is forcing recyclers to export of black mass to other markets, primarily in Asia.",[17377],{"type":739,"attrs":17378},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17380,"content":17381},{"textAlign":49},[17382],{"text":17383,"type":596},"While both Europe and North America now have surplus pretreatment capacity, Benchmark data shows a persistent deficit in black mass refining. Even when material is processed domestically, other bottlenecks, such as the lack of midstream precursor refininers, mean battery chemicals often must still be exported.",{"type":591,"attrs":17385,"content":17386},{"textAlign":49},[17387],{"type":836,"attrs":17388},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":17389,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":17390},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeLrXGvDrVpxLG5oqsscsKh5QDJ8SYETvzEYDAqiFx_w172Q6ZQzB0tifygCZ-5z8G6bosHD2_m97X4QEKUalMq5xEdrJBYLYgHOHv6n-SNnv20yNwesrPKbMtvrblhBR9TuGH8IA?key=W5O04mpNlpjc1bI-L9mebA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":17392,"content":17393},{"textAlign":49},[17394],{"text":17395,"type":596},"To address some of these challenges, panellists emphasised the need for targeted R&D investments to build technical expertise and accelerate the development of a fully integrated recycling and refining ecosystem.",{"type":615,"attrs":17397,"content":17398},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17399],{"text":17400,"type":596},"LFP makes gains in the US, but sourcing challenges a risk",{"type":591,"attrs":17402,"content":17403},{"textAlign":49},[17404,17409,17418],{"text":17405,"type":596,"marks":17406},"A notable theme throughout the conference was the rapid expansion of ",[17407],{"type":739,"attrs":17408},{"color":6272},{"text":17410,"type":596,"marks":17411},"LFP cell production ambitions in the US",[17412,17415,17417],{"type":606,"attrs":17413},{"href":17414,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-debuts-cell-price-forecast-as-us-lfp-pipeline-surges",{"type":739,"attrs":17416},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17419,"type":596,"marks":17420},", reflecting a marked demand shift toward the more cost-effective battery chemistry in Western markets. It was noted ongoing innovation in 4th generation LFP and enhanced pack density is allowing traditional LFP to maintain competitiveness to nickel-based alternatives and expand market share.",[17421],{"type":739,"attrs":17422},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17424,"content":17425},{"textAlign":49},[17426,17431,17440],{"text":17427,"type":596,"marks":17428},"This increase in domestic demand is putting pressure on US cathode manufacturers to scale up and localise LFP supply chains. At the same time, interest in alternative blends like ",[17429],{"type":739,"attrs":17430},{"color":6272},{"text":17432,"type":596,"marks":17433},"LMFP (Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate)",[17434,17437,17439],{"type":606,"attrs":17435},{"href":17436,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lmfp-cathodes-advance-as-chinese-producers-test-material-with-automakers",{"type":739,"attrs":17438},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17441,"type":596,"marks":17442}," continues to grow due to performance benefits, though consensus suggests they will likely be adopted as blends rather than stand-alone chemistries.",[17443],{"type":739,"attrs":17444},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17446,"content":17447},{"textAlign":49},[17448,17453,17462],{"text":17449,"type":596,"marks":17450},"However, material sourcing remains a challenge. While securing lithium carbonate and phosphate from outside China is increasingly viable, ",[17451],{"type":739,"attrs":17452},{"color":6272},{"text":17454,"type":596,"marks":17455},"manganese remains a strategic vulnerability",[17456,17459,17461],{"type":606,"attrs":17457},{"href":17458,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/what-is-manganese",{"type":739,"attrs":17460},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":17463,"type":596,"marks":17464},", due to nearly all high-purity manganese sulphate processing capacity being controlled by China.",[17465],{"type":739,"attrs":17466},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":17468,"content":17469},{"textAlign":49},[17470,17474,17481],{"text":17471,"type":596,"marks":17472},"Join us for ",[17473],{"type":1006},{"text":17475,"type":596,"marks":17476},"Giga Africa 2025",[17477,17480],{"type":606,"attrs":17478},{"href":17479,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigaafrica",{"type":1006},{"text":17482,"type":596,"marks":17483}," on 22-24 September, 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco",[17484],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":17486,"content":17487},{"textAlign":49},[17488],{"text":17489,"type":596,"marks":17490},"This landmark event will spotlight Africa’s accelerating role in the global battery supply chain, with Morocco emerging as a strategic hub connecting Western, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets.",[17491],{"type":1006},"Benchmark’s flagship GIGA US 2025 event wrapped up this week in Washington DC, at a pivotal time for the US electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industries. The focus of this year’s discussions shifted to navigating rising uncertainty, as the prospect of reduced federal support threatens to derail the US clean energy boom. Concerns are mounting […]",[17494],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17495},{"job_title":557,"image":17496,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a8da5186-fe3a-47c2-b8fd-d4e72c2c9cb9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Giga USA 2025 : Policy uncertainty threatens US battery momentum",[17500,17501,17502,17503,17504],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17506},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":17508,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17509,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bbba24cb85/bm-eclipticmedia-gigausa2512981.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark’s flagship GIGA US 2025 event wrapped up this week in Washington DC, at a pivotal time for the US electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industries. The focus of this year’s discussions shifted to navigating rising […]","Jun 06, 2025",{"id":17513,"uuid":17514,"name":17515,"slug":17516,"full_slug":17517,"content":17518},112467628899618,"3b4b414a-cfc5-48de-bbcc-2b488ec78b48","EU identifies 13 global critical mineral projects to support CRMA targets","eu-identifies-13-global-critical-mineral-projects-to-support-crma-targets","article/eu-identifies-13-global-critical-mineral-projects-to-support-crma-targets",{"_uid":17519,"date":17520,"tags":17521,"editor":17526,"content":17530,"excerpt":17632,"featured":51,"reporter":17633,"_editable":17637,"component":697,"seo_title":17515,"categories":17638,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":17641,"seo_description":17632,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17644},"90141280-08fc-4e2d-8c93-c4aa939c690e","2025-06-05 00:00",[17522,17523],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":17524,"name":17525},"european-commission","European Commission",[17527],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17528},{"job_title":557,"image":17529,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17531},[17532,17537,17550,17555,17560,17565,17573,17578,17583,17595,17600,17605,17610,17615],{"type":591,"attrs":17533,"content":17534},{"textAlign":49},[17535],{"text":17536,"type":596},"The European Commission this week unveiled a list of 13 strategic critical mineral projects located outside the bloc that will benefit from coordinated financial support from European institutions, Member States, and lenders. The Commission will also help connect these projects to potential off-take partners in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":17538,"content":17539},{"textAlign":49},[17540,17542,17548],{"text":17541,"type":596},"It compliments a ",{"text":17543,"type":596,"marks":17544},"list of 47 strategic projects located within the European Union (EU)",[17545],{"type":606,"attrs":17546},{"href":17547,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-strategic-projects-could-help-progress-on-crma-goals",{"text":17549,"type":596},", announced in March. Together, these projects represent an important step toward securing and diversifying the EU’s supply of critical mineral supply chains and will be fundamental in meeting the Critical Raw Materials Act’s (CRMA) target that the bloc should not rely on a single country for more than 65% of supply of any single strategic mineral. ",{"type":591,"attrs":17551,"content":17552},{"textAlign":49},[17553],{"text":17554,"type":596},"According to the Commission, the newly selected projects will require a combined capital investment of €5.5 billion ($6.27 billion) to come to fruition. This comes in addition to the €22.5 billion ($24.3 billion) required for EU-based projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":17556,"content":17557},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17558],{"text":17559,"type":596},"Where are the selected projects located?",{"type":591,"attrs":17561,"content":17562},{"textAlign":49},[17563],{"text":17564,"type":596},"Seven of the selected projects are located in Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, Zambia, with whom the EU has signed strategic partnerships on critical minerals. The remaining projects are located in Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, New Caledonia, South Africa, and the UK.",{"type":656,"attrs":17566},{"id":17567,"body":17568},"55c278c9-cf21-4211-ae64-f5a09cee8aaf",[17569],{"id":17570,"_uid":17571,"type":663,"_editable":17572,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23607381","i-c555697a-9731-4c8f-b444-e51a02c288b7","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c555697a-9731-4c8f-b444-e51a02c288b7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":17574,"content":17575},{"textAlign":49},[17576],{"text":17577,"type":596},"Notably, the inclusion of projects in Ukraine and Greenland also carries geopolitical implications for the EU’s relationship with the US. By selecting projects in these locations—Greenland and Ukraine for graphite, though notably not for Rare Earth Elements (REEs)—the EU is trying to assert itself into what the US increasingly considers its own geopolitical sphere, underscored by former President Trump’s aggressive resource diplomacy and rhetoric toward both regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":17579,"content":17580},{"textAlign":49},[17581],{"text":17582,"type":596},"Ten of the projects will center on extracting and processing battery raw minerals, while two projects aim to extract REEs to support the development of REE processing and Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) production capacity within the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":17584,"content":17585},{"textAlign":49},[17586,17588,17593],{"text":17587,"type":596},"Risks to economic security arising from the concentration of global REE supply chains in China has come under increased scrutiny ",{"text":17589,"type":596,"marks":17590},"since it imposed export restrictions on medium and heavy REEs in April",[17591],{"type":606,"attrs":17592},{"href":11036,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":17594,"type":596},", a direct response to US President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":17596,"content":17597},{"textAlign":49},[17598],{"text":17599,"type":596},"Indeed, European automakers this week warned they could be forced to close factories within weeks due to a shortage of REPMs.",{"type":615,"attrs":17601,"content":17602},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17603],{"text":17604,"type":596},"Can the EU meet its CRMA targets?",{"type":591,"attrs":17606,"content":17607},{"textAlign":49},[17608],{"text":17609,"type":596},"The EU is under pressure to fast-track critical mineral project timelines to meet its 2030 CRMA goals. Under current projections, Benchmark’s analysis illustrates that, aside from lithium and nickel mining, the bloc is set to fall short of its CRMA targets across each stage of the value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":17611,"content":17612},{"textAlign":49},[17613],{"text":17614,"type":596},"This includes the requirement that, by 2030, domestic projects must meet 10% of mining, 40% of processing, and 25% of recycling of critical minerals to satisfy domestic demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":17616,"content":17617},{"textAlign":49},[17618,17622,17629],{"text":17619,"type":596,"marks":17620},"Benchmark’s new newsletter, Mine to Grid Monthly, includes a roundup of policy highlights impacting new energy supply chain development. ",[17621],{"type":1006},{"text":17623,"type":596,"marks":17624},"Sign up here to stay updated",[17625,17628],{"type":606,"attrs":17626},{"href":17627,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/newsletters",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":17630},[17631],{"type":1006},"The European Commission this week unveiled a list of 13 strategic critical mineral projects located outside the bloc that will benefit from coordinated financial support from European institutions, Member States, and lenders. The Commission will also help connect these projects to potential off-take partners in Europe. It compliments a list of 47 strategic projects located […]",[17634],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17635},{"job_title":557,"image":17636,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"90141280-08fc-4e2d-8c93-c4aa939c690e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[17639,17640],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":17642,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17643,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5a125e5d6b/bm-eu-flags-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 05, 2025",{"id":17646,"uuid":17647,"name":17648,"slug":17649,"full_slug":17650,"content":17651},112467624058145,"b601a86b-8fc3-4a34-92ea-c15b4335847a","What does the Russian EV market look like after three years of sanctions?","what-does-the-russian-ev-market-look-like-after-three-years-of-sanctions","article/what-does-the-russian-ev-market-look-like-after-three-years-of-sanctions",{"_uid":17652,"date":17520,"tags":17653,"editor":17658,"content":17662,"excerpt":17716,"featured":50,"reporter":17717,"_editable":17721,"component":697,"seo_title":17648,"categories":17722,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":17724,"seo_description":17716,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17644},"6b48dade-5bd1-4cee-ab2d-c59ca91649c1",[17654,17655],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":17656,"name":17657},"russia","Russia",[17659],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17660},{"job_title":557,"image":17661,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17663},[17664,17669,17674,17679,17686,17691,17696,17701,17706,17711],{"type":591,"attrs":17665,"content":17666},{"textAlign":49},[17667],{"text":17668,"type":596},"Western sanctions on Russia were significantly expanded in February 2022 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, its EV market has continued to evolve, but in a different direction to western markets. Following an exodus of previously well-established western brands, Chinese players have moved in to fill the gap. Russian BEV sales rose 27% year-on-year in 2024, compared to a 2% increase seen in Europe. But BEV sales penetration remains low at just above 1%, and the country’s Q1 2025 sales have showed a marked drop compared to the same period in 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":17670,"content":17671},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17672],{"text":17673,"type":596},"Who were the biggest players operating in Russia in 2024?",{"type":591,"attrs":17675,"content":17676},{"textAlign":49},[17677],{"text":17678,"type":596},"The top three EV companies accounted for approximately 60% of BEV sales in 2024, with the top player being China’s Zeekr, followed by two Russian players, Moskvich and Evolute. Notably Chinese EV players feature strongly in the market due to a lack of export restrictions and deepening economic ties between the two since 2022. Additionally, EVs made by domestic players Moskvich and Evolute are both made in partnership with Chinese brands. Despite trading restrictions, VW, Tesla and Honda also had sales into the hundreds. It is expected these vehicles were imported from China, from where they were produced.",{"type":591,"attrs":17680,"content":17681},{"textAlign":49},[17682],{"type":836,"attrs":17683},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":17684,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":17685},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1549fac6fa/bm-image-20-44254e176e.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":17687,"content":17688},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17689],{"text":17690,"type":596},"What is the outlook for Russia’s EV sales?",{"type":591,"attrs":17692,"content":17693},{"textAlign":49},[17694],{"text":17695,"type":596},"While Russia’s BEV sales saw strong growth in 2024, albeit from a small base, the country’s Q1 sales saw a 70% decline. This decline was seen across all players and is largely down to the increase of the “recycling fee” at the start of 2025. ",{"type":615,"attrs":17697,"content":17698},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17699],{"text":17700,"type":596},"What is the “recycling fee”?",{"type":591,"attrs":17702,"content":17703},{"textAlign":49},[17704],{"text":17705,"type":596},"The recycling fee is a tax imposed on vehicle purchases aimed at covering the cost of recycling the vehicles at the end of life. Companies that produce vehicles domestically, using Russian materials, are eligible for “localisation points”. Once accruing enough points, manufacturers are eligible for subsidies and government contracts. In 2025, the Russian government aimed to nearly double earnings from this tax to RUB2.01 trillion (USD25 billion) from RUB1.08 trillion (USD14 billion) in 2024. Subsequently, car prices have increased, resul ting in total vehicle sales falling.",{"type":591,"attrs":17707,"content":17708},{"textAlign":49},[17709],{"text":17710,"type":596},"Under the scheme new imported EVs now face an additional RUB667,400 (USD8,400) fee. According to the Industry and Trade Ministry these fees are set to increase annually by 10% to 20% annually though to 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":17712,"content":17713},{"textAlign":49},[17714],{"text":17715,"type":596},"Considering the increased “recycling fees” combined with a lack of charging infrastructure, and a challenging consumer environment, Russia’s EV market is expected to remain small in the near to midterm.","Western sanctions on Russia were significantly expanded in February 2022 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, its EV market has continued to evolve, but in a different direction to western markets. Following an exodus of previously well-established western brands, Chinese players have moved in to fill the gap. Russian BEV sales rose 27% […]",[17718],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17719},{"job_title":557,"image":17720,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6b48dade-5bd1-4cee-ab2d-c59ca91649c1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[17723],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":17725,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":17725,"source":547,"filename":17726,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17727,"is_external_url":51},"Russian EV sales","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d657922a34/bm-adobestock-853540750-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":17725,"title":17725,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":17729,"uuid":17730,"name":17731,"slug":17732,"full_slug":17733,"content":17734},112467633802631,"1185f6e0-7a81-4db9-8550-bc33aa7fa7bf","Incumbent OEMs double down on solid-state in 2025","incumbent-oems-double-down-on-solid-state-in-2025","article/incumbent-oems-double-down-on-solid-state-in-2025",{"_uid":17735,"date":17736,"tags":17737,"editor":17739,"content":17743,"excerpt":17809,"featured":50,"reporter":17810,"_editable":17814,"component":697,"seo_title":17731,"categories":17815,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":17817,"seo_description":17809,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17820},"a5a34f60-a8bd-4cc3-85e5-a3c7698dfe0e","2025-06-02 00:00",[17738],{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[17740],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17741},{"job_title":557,"image":17742,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17744},[17745,17758,17771,17779,17792],{"type":591,"attrs":17746,"content":17747},{"textAlign":49},[17748,17750,17756],{"text":17749,"type":596},"Since the launch of the first oxide-based semi-solid-state electric vehicles (EVs) by NIO and IM Motors in the ",{"text":17751,"type":596,"marks":17752},"second half of 2024",[17753],{"type":606,"attrs":17754},{"href":17755,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review",{"text":17757,"type":596},", commercial targets across the solid-state battery industry have accelerated markedly with attention shifting from cell-level innovation to developments of functional packs and demonstration vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":17759,"content":17760},{"textAlign":49},[17761,17763,17769],{"text":17762,"type":596},"Where to date the industry has been driven through innovation by new market entrants, incumbent cell producers and automakers have recently doubled down on timelines for ",{"text":17764,"type":596,"marks":17765},"commercial adoption with mass production expected before 2030",[17766],{"type":606,"attrs":17767},{"href":17768,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/will-2027-be-the-year-of-the-solid-state-electric-vehicle-battery",{"text":17770,"type":596},", through a flurry of announcements so far this year.",{"type":656,"attrs":17772},{"id":17773,"body":17774},"09d363ec-95aa-46db-8617-53a5c39675a9",[17775],{"id":17776,"_uid":17777,"type":663,"_editable":17778,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23541845","i-6dccf4cb-cf26-421f-9d19-557a0f51a7e6","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6dccf4cb-cf26-421f-9d19-557a0f51a7e6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":17780,"content":17781},{"textAlign":49},[17782,17784,17790],{"text":17783,"type":596},"“Innovation happens slowly until it happens all at once,” said ",{"text":17785,"type":596,"marks":17786},"Rory McNulty",[17787],{"type":606,"attrs":17788},{"href":17789,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/scale-up-approaches-for-solid-state-battery-development",{"text":17791,"type":596},", product director for new technology at Benchmark. “The solid-state battery industry is heating up.”",{"type":591,"attrs":17793,"content":17794},{"textAlign":49},[17795,17799,17806],{"text":17796,"type":596,"marks":17797},"To learn more about trends in emerging battery technologies, download Benchmark’s free special issue, ",[17798],{"type":1006},{"text":17800,"type":596,"marks":17801},"Cheaper, Better, and Smaller: The Future of Battery Technology",[17802,17803],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":17804},{"href":17805,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1332445",{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":17807},[17808],{"type":1006},"Since the launch of the first oxide-based semi-solid-state electric vehicles (EVs) by NIO and IM Motors in the second half of 2024, commercial targets across the solid-state battery industry have accelerated markedly with attention shifting from cell-level innovation to developments of functional packs and demonstration vehicles. Where to date the industry has been driven through […]",[17811],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17812},{"job_title":557,"image":17813,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a5a34f60-a8bd-4cc3-85e5-a3c7698dfe0e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[17816],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":17818,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17819,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c2590c7c08/bm-p90419720-highres-bmw-group-and-solid-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 02, 2025",{"id":17822,"uuid":17823,"name":17824,"slug":17825,"full_slug":17826,"content":17827},112467638484360,"aef0016c-4bdb-4d9a-bae6-8b804c018d26","US tariff ruling has little bearing on LME/COMEX copper arbitrage","us-tariff-ruling-has-little-bearing-on-lme-comex-copper-arbitrage","article/us-tariff-ruling-has-little-bearing-on-lme-comex-copper-arbitrage",{"_uid":17828,"date":17829,"tags":17830,"editor":17832,"content":17836,"excerpt":17912,"featured":50,"reporter":17913,"_editable":17917,"component":697,"seo_title":17824,"categories":17918,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":17921,"seo_description":17912,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":17923},"0b27cd29-d475-4318-8ea7-8c50829fb075","2025-05-30 00:00",[17831],{"slug":572,"name":573},[17833],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17834},{"job_title":557,"image":17835,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17837},[17838,17843,17856,17861,17869,17874,17879,17884,17889,17894,17899],{"type":591,"attrs":17839,"content":17840},{"textAlign":49},[17841],{"text":17842,"type":596},"A US court ruling blocking portions of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs appears unlikely to impact prospects for a copper-specific import tariff or disrupt the arbitrage between the LME and COMEX. Crucially, copper appears to be excluded from the scope of the ruling.",{"type":591,"attrs":17844,"content":17845},{"textAlign":49},[17846,17848,17854],{"text":17847,"type":596},"Since the Trump administration launched a ",{"text":17849,"type":596,"marks":17850},"Section 232 investigation into copper imports in February",[17851],{"type":606,"attrs":17852},{"href":17853,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-trump-orders-probe-into-copper-imports",{"text":17855,"type":596},", ostensibly to address vulnerabilities posed by US import dependence, the market has broadly anticipated the red metal to be slapped with a 25% tariff by the Trump administration, similar to those applied to steel and aluminium.",{"type":591,"attrs":17857,"content":17858},{"textAlign":49},[17859],{"text":17860,"type":596},"With the London Metal Exchange (LME) operating a duty-free market and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) a duty-paid one, the anticipation of tariffs has led a broad arbitrage to emerge between the two exchanges. Significant volumes of copper have flowed into US warehouses since late February, both to front load supply and to take advantage of this arbitrage opportunity.",{"type":656,"attrs":17862},{"id":17863,"body":17864},"1360452f-cf6a-454c-b89c-3dd5873b4f26",[17865],{"id":17866,"_uid":17867,"type":663,"_editable":17868,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23505176","i-9d793b57-4003-4886-9770-ef3a5707d497","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9d793b57-4003-4886-9770-ef3a5707d497\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":17870,"content":17871},{"textAlign":49},[17872],{"text":17873,"type":596},"This week the US Court of International Trade (CIT) blocked huge swathes of Trump’s tariffs, though this was later paused pending appeal. Despite this, the arbitrage between the LME and COMEX has remained in place and in fact broadened, standing at $735 per tonne by the morning of 30th May – 20% higher than prior to the court’s ruling.",{"type":615,"attrs":17875,"content":17876},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[17877],{"text":17878,"type":596},"Could the ruling affect a potential copper tariff?",{"type":591,"attrs":17880,"content":17881},{"textAlign":49},[17882],{"text":17883,"type":596},"The CIT’s ruling impacts only the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs and thus has no bearing on aluminium and steel tariffs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":17885,"content":17886},{"textAlign":49},[17887],{"text":17888,"type":596},"By extension it would not impact a prospective copper tariff, although this isn’t to say there won’t have been some sentimental affects – particularly as market participants weigh up the potential impact of the ruling on President Trump’s broader trade policies and the possibility for future challenges that could impact copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":17890,"content":17891},{"textAlign":49},[17892],{"text":17893,"type":596},"However, sources noted to Benchmark that with other options to tariff goods still on the table, the Trump administration may turn to other weapons in their arsenal, such as applying tariffs to copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":17895,"content":17896},{"textAlign":49},[17897],{"text":17898,"type":596},"“The news hasn’t affected the arbitrage,” said one miner. “It may actually hurry the tariff on copper, so Trump can still achieve what he wants.” Other sources concurred that the news hadn’t impacted the market’s expectation that copper would become subject to tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":17900,"content":17901},{"textAlign":49},[17902,17906],{"text":17903,"type":596,"marks":17904},"Register to Benchmark’s Copper Newsletter ",[17905],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":17907},[17908,17910,17911],{"type":606,"attrs":17909},{"href":17627,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"A US court ruling blocking portions of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs appears unlikely to impact prospects for a copper-specific import tariff or disrupt the arbitrage between the LME and COMEX. Crucially, copper appears to be excluded from the scope of the ruling. Since the Trump administration launched a Section 232 investigation into copper imports […]",[17914],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17915},{"job_title":557,"image":17916,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0b27cd29-d475-4318-8ea7-8c50829fb075\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[17919,17920],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":17922,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 30, 2025",{"id":17925,"uuid":17926,"name":17927,"slug":17928,"full_slug":17929,"content":17930},112467648441739,"3e2a0e8c-7cfe-4083-9800-663570d8a7f3","Infographic: Regional trends in cathode production capacity","infographic-regional-trends-in-cathode-production-capacity","article/infographic-regional-trends-in-cathode-production-capacity",{"_uid":17931,"date":17932,"tags":17933,"editor":17945,"content":17949,"excerpt":18064,"featured":50,"reporter":18065,"_editable":18069,"component":697,"seo_title":17927,"categories":18070,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":18073,"featured_image":18075,"seo_description":18064,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18078},"aff7b70e-abfe-4425-bdbd-ad3420f7a601","2025-05-28 00:00",[17934,17935,17936,17937,17940,17941,17942,17943,17944],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":17938,"name":17939},"japan","Japan",{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":9121,"name":9122},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},[17946],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":17947},{"job_title":557,"image":17948,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":17950},[17951,17962,17975,17987,18000,18015,18033,18040,18045,18053],{"type":591,"attrs":17952,"content":17953},{"textAlign":49},[17954,17956,17961],{"text":17955,"type":596},"Global cathode active material (CAM) production capacity is set to grow 178% between 2024 and 2030, as ",{"text":17957,"type":596,"marks":17958},"assessed by Benchmark",[17959],{"type":606,"attrs":17960},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":17963,"content":17964},{"textAlign":49},[17965,17967,17973],{"text":17966,"type":596},"The bulk of this ",{"text":17968,"type":596,"marks":17969},"capacity is in China",[17970],{"type":606,"attrs":17971},{"href":17972,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/four-provinces-produce-over-half-of-chinas-cathode-output",{"text":17974,"type":596},", with the country accounting for 87% of capacity in 2024, falling slightly to 84% by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":17976,"content":17977},{"textAlign":49},[17978,17980,17985],{"text":17979,"type":596},"In China, the predominant cathode chemistry is ",{"text":17981,"type":596,"marks":17982},"lithium iron phosphate",[17983],{"type":606,"attrs":17984},{"href":6243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":17986,"type":596}," (LFP) driven in part by the country’s appetite for cheaper electric vehicles. LFP is set to account for three-quarters of China’s CAM capacity by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":17988,"content":17989},{"textAlign":49},[17990,17992,17998],{"text":17991,"type":596},"Outside of China, the largest proportion of CAM production capacity is for ",{"text":17993,"type":596,"marks":17994},"nickel cobalt manganese",[17995],{"type":606,"attrs":17996},{"href":17997,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/impact-of-drcs-cobalt-export-ban-seen-in-cathode-prices",{"text":17999,"type":596}," (NCM) chemistries, at 60% in 2030. NCM chemistries are more suited to longer-range EVs than LFP, albeit at a higher cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":18001,"content":18002},{"textAlign":49},[18003,18008,18009,18013],{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":18004},[18005],{"type":606,"attrs":18006},{"href":18007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-us-midstream-needs-to-accelerate-in-an-america-first-world",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":18010},[18011],{"type":606,"attrs":18012},{"href":9019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18014,"type":596}," currently have low levels of CAM production capacity, but are set to see compound annual growth rates of 101% and 57%, respectively, between 2024 and 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":18016,"content":18017},{"textAlign":49},[18018,18023,18025,18031],{"text":1064,"type":596,"marks":18019},[18020],{"type":606,"attrs":18021},{"href":18022,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ecopro-bm-latest-cathode-producer-to-mull-capacity-cut",{"text":18024,"type":596}," has the largest CAM production capacity outside of China and is set to maintain this position with a 6% compound annual growth rate over the same period. South Korean and Japanese companies are focusing their ",{"text":18026,"type":596,"marks":18027},"capacity expansions overseas",[18028],{"type":606,"attrs":18029},{"href":18030,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-scales-back-ev-plans-with-exit-from-canadian-cathode-project",{"text":18032,"type":596}," in North America and Europe, more so than domestically.",{"type":591,"attrs":18034,"content":18035},{"textAlign":49},[18036],{"type":836,"attrs":18037},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":18038,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":18039},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60e70f3b1e/bm-battery-chemistry-preferences-by-market-20250505.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":18041,"content":18042},{"textAlign":49},[18043],{"text":18044,"type":596},"Chart showing cathode active material (CAM) production capacity by region and cathode chemistry (green = LFP, blue = NCM, white = other)",{"type":591,"attrs":18046,"content":18047},{"textAlign":49},[18048,18052],{"text":18049,"type":596,"marks":18050},"The data in this article and infographic comes from Benchmark’s Cathode Price Assessment. To find out more, fill in this form below and one of the team will be in touch",[18051],{"type":1006},{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":656,"attrs":18054},{"id":18055,"body":18056},"4cd09cf0-a123-4ef8-96e8-ab0cf37f3bd1",[18057],{"id":1012,"_uid":18058,"_editable":18059,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":18060,"success_file":18061,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":18063},"i-4e9d5b55-fd7d-4f42-a8ba-d4bde7a48f65","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4e9d5b55-fd7d-4f42-a8ba-d4bde7a48f65\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18062},{},[],"Global cathode active material (CAM) production capacity is set to grow 178% between 2024 and 2030, as assessed by Benchmark. The bulk of this capacity is in China, with the country accounting for 87% of capacity in 2024, falling slightly to 84% by 2030. In China, the predominant cathode chemistry is lithium iron phosphate (LFP) […]",[18066],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18067},{"job_title":557,"image":18068,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aff7b70e-abfe-4425-bdbd-ad3420f7a601\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18071,18072],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18038,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18074,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18076,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18077,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/42d94a4aff/bm-cathode-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 28, 2025",{"id":18080,"uuid":18081,"name":18082,"slug":18083,"full_slug":18084,"content":18085},112467643485577,"0ac21411-883e-4dd8-99da-5ad8cb357e95","Kakula suspension adds pressure to tight copper concentrate market","kakula-suspension-adds-pressure-to-already-tight-copper-concentrate-market","article/kakula-suspension-adds-pressure-to-already-tight-copper-concentrate-market",{"_uid":18086,"date":17932,"tags":18087,"editor":18092,"content":18096,"excerpt":18165,"featured":51,"reporter":18166,"_editable":18170,"component":697,"seo_title":18082,"categories":18171,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":18174,"seo_description":18165,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18078},"2f7c6801-0ef8-4f6b-b7d6-748ddd22618f",[18088,18089],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":18090,"name":18091},"ivanhoe-mines","Ivanhoe Mines",[18093],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18094},{"job_title":557,"image":18095,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18097},[18098,18103,18115,18120,18128,18133,18138,18143,18148],{"type":591,"attrs":18099,"content":18100},{"textAlign":49},[18101],{"text":18102,"type":596},"Ivanhoe Mines’ Kakula mine has been suspended following seismic activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a statement released by the company on Monday said.",{"type":591,"attrs":18104,"content":18105},{"textAlign":49},[18106,18108,18113],{"text":18107,"type":596},"The Kamoa-Kakula complex had been projected to be the world’s third largest copper operation in 2025, according to ",{"text":18109,"type":596,"marks":18110},"Benchmark’s Q1 Copper forecast",[18111],{"type":606,"attrs":18112},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18114,"type":596},". The announced suspension only impacts the Kakula mine and not the Kamoa part of the project. However, Kakula is the larger of the two operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":18116,"content":18117},{"textAlign":49},[18118],{"text":18119,"type":596},"The complex has a total milling capacity of 15 Mtpa, two-thirds of which is fed by ore from the Kakula mine. The Kamoa mine feeds the remaining third. In light of the suspension, Ivanhoe has withdrawn Kamoa-Kakula’s production and cost guidance for 2025—as well as the ramp-up schedule for an integrated on-site smelter—pending review. ",{"type":656,"attrs":18121},{"id":18122,"body":18123},"41e82b98-95ac-4d06-8ac9-e609df5aa7b5",[18124],{"id":18125,"_uid":18126,"type":663,"_editable":18127,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23463794","i-00752365-47ed-4e6d-8c64-df050e06d285","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-00752365-47ed-4e6d-8c64-df050e06d285\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":18129,"content":18130},{"textAlign":49},[18131],{"text":18132,"type":596},"Although it remains unclear at this stage when full mine production will recommence, the processing of stockpiled copper concentrates will continue at the site. The complex has significant quantities of stockpiled ore, standing at around 4 Mt, sufficient to last until mid-Q4 – potentially meaning that some of the broader impacts can be abated.",{"type":591,"attrs":18134,"content":18135},{"textAlign":49},[18136],{"text":18137,"type":596},"Ivanhoe previously outlined production guidance for the complex of between 520–580 kt. Following Kakula’s suspension, Benchmark has adjusted 2025 projected output down to 480-500 kt (base case), potentially dropping to 400–420 kt should mining at Kakula be suspended for the remainder of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":18139,"content":18140},{"textAlign":49},[18141],{"text":18142,"type":596},"The suspension comes at a time when the copper raw material market is already tight, with copper concentrate treatment charges (TC) falling to record lows over recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":18144,"content":18145},{"textAlign":49},[18146],{"text":18147,"type":596},"The news follows Freeport-McMoRan’s recent announcement of an earlier-than-expected restart of its Manyar smelter in Indonesia – meaning the supply of copper concentrates from two of the world’s three largest mines, Grasberg and Kamoa-Kakula, may now not be more constrained than previously anticipated.",{"type":591,"attrs":18149,"content":18150},{"textAlign":49},[18151,18153,18158],{"text":18152,"type":596},"The projected tightening of mined material comes amidst the initial stages of Antofagasta’s mid-year discussions over treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) with Asian smelters, potentially tipping the balance further in miners’ favour during these negotiations.",{"text":17903,"type":596,"marks":18154},[18155,18156,18157],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":18159},[18160,18162,18163,18164],{"type":606,"attrs":18161},{"href":17627,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Ivanhoe Mines’ Kakula mine has been suspended following seismic activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a statement released by the company on Monday said. The Kamoa-Kakula complex had been projected to be the world’s third largest copper operation in 2025, according to Benchmark’s Q1 Copper forecast. The announced suspension only impacts the Kakula […]",[18167],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18168},{"job_title":557,"image":18169,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2f7c6801-0ef8-4f6b-b7d6-748ddd22618f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18172,18173],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5941,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18175,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":18177,"uuid":18178,"name":18179,"slug":18180,"full_slug":18181,"content":18182},112467664002447,"582643f2-1c02-4997-a05a-a5320f9814b4","Tariffs and countervailing duties narrow US-China anode cost gap","tariffs-and-countervailing-duties-narrow-us-china-anode-cost-gap","article/tariffs-and-countervailing-duties-narrow-us-china-anode-cost-gap",{"_uid":18183,"date":18184,"tags":18185,"editor":18191,"content":18195,"excerpt":18321,"featured":51,"reporter":18322,"_editable":18326,"component":697,"seo_title":18179,"categories":18327,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":18332,"featured_image":18335,"seo_description":18321,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18338},"d5c56df9-cbd4-403c-a660-91994069acff","2025-05-22 00:00",[18186,18187,18188,18189,18190],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[18192],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18193},{"job_title":557,"image":18194,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18196},[18197,18217,18229,18234,18239,18244,18257,18265,18278,18283,18291,18296,18301,18306,18311,18316],{"type":591,"attrs":18198,"content":18199},{"textAlign":49},[18200,18202,18207,18209,18215],{"text":18201,"type":596},"Chinese anode active material (AAM) producers have received ",{"text":18203,"type":596,"marks":18204},"unfair government subsidies",[18205],{"type":606,"attrs":18206},{"href":9695,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18208,"type":596}," according to a preliminary ruling from the US Department of Commerce (DOC) released on 20 May 2025, ",{"text":18210,"type":596,"marks":18211},"following a petition from the American Active Anode Material Producers",[18212],{"type":606,"attrs":18213},{"href":18214,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-graphite-players-tariff-petition-wins-preliminary-itc-trade-case-ruling",{"text":18216,"type":596}," (AAAMP) at the end of last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":18218,"content":18219},{"textAlign":49},[18220,18222,18227],{"text":18221,"type":596},"The DOC has suggested a countervailing measure (CVM) duty of 6.55% be set for most AAM producers exporting from China to the US, including anode major BTR. This duty is on top of a raft of existing ",{"text":1642,"type":596,"marks":18223},[18224],{"type":606,"attrs":18225},{"href":18226,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-face-challenges-as-tariffs-threaten-north-american-trade",{"text":18228,"type":596}," and applies to AAM imported into the US independently, part of a compound or as part of a cell. Combined, these tariffs add up to 61.55% for most Chinese anode exporters.",{"type":591,"attrs":18230,"content":18231},{"textAlign":49},[18232],{"text":18233,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that these tariffs could lead to US-made AAM being cost competitive with that made in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":18235,"content":18236},{"textAlign":49},[18237],{"text":18238,"type":596},"The companies of Huzhou Kaijin New Energy Technology and Shanghai Shaosheng Knitted Sweat have separately been set at a subsidy rate of 721%, as they declined to cooperate, though these companies do not currently export AAM directly into the US market.",{"type":615,"attrs":18240,"content":18241},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18242],{"text":18243,"type":596},"What impact will the tariffs have on AAM costs?",{"type":591,"attrs":18245,"content":18246},{"textAlign":49},[18247,18249,18255],{"text":18248,"type":596},"Prior to President Trump starting his second term, AAM imported into the US from China was subject to the modified ",{"text":18250,"type":596,"marks":18251},"Section 301 tariff reinstated at 25%",[18252],{"type":606,"attrs":18253},{"href":18254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/why-has-the-us-reinstated-tariffs-on-natural-graphite",{"text":18256,"type":596}," in June 2024 under the Biden Administration. Under the Trump Administration, a further 36.55% of tariffs have been imposed on the material, including the CVM duty",{"type":656,"attrs":18258},{"id":18259,"body":18260},"195d3d98-d719-4584-8017-3e0ed2921b5a",[18261],{"id":18262,"_uid":18263,"type":663,"_editable":18264,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23328673","i-e2377298-09c8-4d8a-9a10-406267ba513e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e2377298-09c8-4d8a-9a10-406267ba513e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":18266,"content":18267},{"textAlign":49},[18268,18270,18276],{"text":18269,"type":596},"Without tariffs, the average C2 costs for Chinese AAM are $4,019 per tonne, as assessed by ",{"text":18271,"type":596,"marks":18272},"Benchmark’s Synthetic Graphite Forecast",[18273],{"type":606,"attrs":18274},{"href":18275,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/synthetic-graphite/data-reports/forecast",{"text":18277,"type":596},". The addition of tariffs brings the total landed cost of AAM imported in the US (Port of New York or Port of New Jersey) from China to $6,800 per tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":18279,"content":18280},{"textAlign":49},[18281],{"text":18282,"type":596},"This compares to a production cost of $5,259 per tonne at US AAM producer Anovion’s Sanborn facility in New York. This indicates the tariffs could allow US producers to be cost competitive with China, likely leading to greater demand for domestic material from OEMs.",{"type":656,"attrs":18284},{"id":18285,"body":18286},"617477eb-894b-4438-9d82-5fe66fa5569a",[18287],{"id":18288,"_uid":18289,"type":663,"_editable":18290,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23329344","i-55160685-0d42-4f7c-9b57-fa0235c20489","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-55160685-0d42-4f7c-9b57-fa0235c20489\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":18292,"content":18293},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18294],{"text":18295,"type":596},"How will this impact cell prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":18297,"content":18298},{"textAlign":49},[18299],{"text":18300,"type":596},"These higher AAM costs will likely be passed on further downstream. Under these increased incurred costs on the anode side, cell prices are likely to rise by nearly 3% compared to pre-February levels, including 0.4% from the CVM duties.",{"type":591,"attrs":18302,"content":18303},{"textAlign":49},[18304],{"text":18305,"type":596},"There is potential for stalling EV adoption and discouraging some cell makers from committing to regional expansion. The policy could act as a double-edged sword—supporting reshoring efforts, but at the risk of softening demand due to inflated cost structures. ",{"type":615,"attrs":18307,"content":18308},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18309],{"text":18310,"type":596},"What happens next?",{"type":591,"attrs":18312,"content":18313},{"textAlign":49},[18314],{"text":18315,"type":596},"The AAAMP also petitioned the US International Trade Commission (ITC) which has a separate antidumping investigation underway. Its preliminary decision was originally expected by May 27, 2025, but was delayed to no later than July 16, 2025 under a formal request by AAAMP, which argued that additional time was needed for US trade authorities to review industry responses and issue supplemental questionnaires before making a preliminary ruling.",{"type":591,"attrs":18317,"content":18318},{"textAlign":49},[18319],{"text":18320,"type":596},"Anti-dumping investigations typically result in higher tariff levels than with CVM and so could bring the cost of material imported into the US from China up further, heightening the impacts already seen.","Chinese anode active material (AAM) producers have received unfair government subsidies according to a preliminary ruling from the US Department of Commerce (DOC) released on 20 May 2025, following a petition from the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP) at the end of last year. The DOC has suggested a countervailing measure (CVM) duty of […]",[18323],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18324},{"job_title":557,"image":18325,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d5c56df9-cbd4-403c-a660-91994069acff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18328,18329,18330,18331],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18333,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18334,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1748439043/www-production/AAM-Tariffs@2x/AAM-Tariffs@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18336,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18337,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1093d2c339/bm-btr-anode.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 22, 2025",{"id":18340,"uuid":18341,"name":18342,"slug":18343,"full_slug":18344,"content":18345},112467674111377,"e1c7c678-bfa0-4a5b-8b0a-3554d111f318","Rio Tinto on track to be second largest lithium miner by 2035","rio-tinto-could-be-second-largest-lithium-miner-by-2035","article/rio-tinto-could-be-second-largest-lithium-miner-by-2035",{"_uid":18346,"date":18347,"tags":18348,"editor":18356,"content":18360,"excerpt":18546,"featured":51,"reporter":18547,"_editable":18551,"component":697,"seo_title":18342,"categories":18552,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":18555,"featured_image":18559,"seo_description":18546,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18561},"a2fb63a9-a289-4cbc-9c69-7f27934580a2","2025-05-21 00:00",[18349,18352,18353,18354,18355],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},"argentina","Argentina",{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":5568,"name":5569},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},[18357],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18358},{"job_title":557,"image":18359,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18361},[18362,18382,18387,18400,18408,18413,18426,18431,18436,18448,18453,18466,18471,18479,18484,18497,18510,18515,18520,18525,18532,18543],{"type":591,"attrs":18363,"content":18364},{"textAlign":49},[18365,18367,18373,18375,18381],{"text":18366,"type":596},"Mining giant ",{"text":18368,"type":596,"marks":18369},"Rio Tinto could become the second largest lithium miner",[18370],{"type":606,"attrs":18371},{"href":18372,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/will-rio-tintos-move-entice-other-mining-majors-into-lithium",{"text":18374,"type":596}," globally following its acquisition of a minority (49.99%) stake in a joint venture with Chilean state miner, Codelco, to develop a 50,000 tonne lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) project on the Maricunga salt flats in ",{"text":18376,"type":596,"marks":18377},"Chile’s Atacama region",[18378],{"type":606,"attrs":18379},{"href":18380,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chile-accelerates-state-led-lithium-strategy-with-new-salt-flat-projects",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18383,"content":18384},{"textAlign":49},[18385],{"text":18386,"type":596},"Rio Tinto will contribute $900 million to the project, spread over multiple tranches until 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":18388,"content":18389},{"textAlign":49},[18390,18392,18398],{"text":18391,"type":596},"Further bolstering the Anglo-Australian company’s lithium ambitions is the Argentinian government’s approval of its $2.5 billion Rincon project. This is the first mining project to be approved under ",{"text":18393,"type":596,"marks":18394},"Argentina’s incentive regime for large investments",[18395],{"type":606,"attrs":18396},{"href":18397,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/argentinas-economic-reform-bill-offers-copper-and-lithium-mining-incentives",{"text":18399,"type":596}," (RIGI).",{"type":656,"attrs":18401},{"id":18402,"body":18403},"a9d4eba3-b2a8-48da-aa4c-32371a6154c7",[18404],{"id":18405,"_uid":18406,"type":663,"_editable":18407,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23302732","i-4acb873a-ca8f-4f43-81aa-0c7ff97141fa","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4acb873a-ca8f-4f43-81aa-0c7ff97141fa\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":18409,"content":18410},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18411],{"text":18412,"type":596},"Rio Tinto’s lithium rise",{"type":591,"attrs":18414,"content":18415},{"textAlign":49},[18416,18418,18424],{"text":18417,"type":596},"Rio Tinto produced its first lithium at the Rincon project in ",{"text":18419,"type":596,"marks":18420},"Argentina’s Salta province",[18421],{"type":606,"attrs":18422},{"href":18423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-state-of-argentinas-lithium-sector",{"text":18425,"type":596}," in November 2024 from the 3,000 tonne LCE starter plant. In December 2024, the company announced a $2.5 billion investment to develop the 57,000 expansion facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":18427,"content":18428},{"textAlign":49},[18429],{"text":18430,"type":596},"The project uses direct lithium extraction (DLE), which the company says improves water conservation and reduces waste.",{"type":591,"attrs":18432,"content":18433},{"textAlign":49},[18434],{"text":18435,"type":596},"The RIGI framework provides tax benefits to companies and is designed to improve stability for long-term projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":18437,"content":18438},{"textAlign":49},[18439,18441,18446],{"text":18440,"type":596},"The largest boost to Rio Tinto’s lithium pipeline came when it finalised the ",{"text":18442,"type":596,"marks":18443},"acquisition of Arcadium Lithium",[18444],{"type":606,"attrs":18445},{"href":15869,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18447,"type":596}," in March 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":18449,"content":18450},{"textAlign":49},[18451],{"text":18452,"type":596},"This gave it access to the Hombre Muerto project, also in Argentina, which has been operational since 1997. The first phase has a 22,000 tonne LCE capacity and a 10,000 tonne LCE expansion came online last year. An additional 70,000 tonne LCE is planned through several more expansions.",{"type":591,"attrs":18454,"content":18455},{"textAlign":49},[18456,18458,18464],{"text":18457,"type":596},"Rio Tinto is also the ",{"text":18459,"type":596,"marks":18460},"Jadar hardrock project in Serbia",[18461],{"type":606,"attrs":18462},{"href":18463,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-central-to-new-serbia-eu-strategic-partnership",{"text":18465,"type":596}," though this has faced significant setbacks due to local protests against its development.",{"type":591,"attrs":18467,"content":18468},{"textAlign":49},[18469],{"text":18470,"type":596},"The first phase (20,000 tonnes LCE) of the Maricunga project with Codelco is due online in 2030 and will use evaporation techniques. The second phase (30,000 tonnes LCE) will use DLE.",{"type":656,"attrs":18472},{"id":18473,"body":18474},"5a460593-cd5d-46df-811b-2b771f396fe1",[18475],{"id":18476,"_uid":18477,"type":663,"_editable":18478,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23295902","i-a0a7adbf-3056-4587-bd42-50f4b2ba4f74","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a0a7adbf-3056-4587-bd42-50f4b2ba4f74\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":18480,"content":18481},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18482],{"text":18483,"type":596},"Codelco supports Chile’s ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":18485,"content":18486},{"textAlign":49},[18487,18489,18495],{"text":18488,"type":596},"As a state-owned miner, Codelco is fundamental to Chile’s lithium ambitions to ",{"text":18490,"type":596,"marks":18491},"reverse the decline in its share",[18492],{"type":606,"attrs":18493},{"href":18494,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/argentina-challenges-chile-for-top-lithium-spot-in-south-america",{"text":18496,"type":596}," of the global lithium market.",{"type":591,"attrs":18498,"content":18499},{"textAlign":49},[18500,18502,18508],{"text":18501,"type":596},"In 2030, ",{"text":18503,"type":596,"marks":18504},"Codelco will take a 50.01% stake in SQM’s Salar de Atacama project",[18505],{"type":606,"attrs":18506},{"href":18507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sqm-and-codelco-confirm-chilean-lithium-partnership",{"text":18509,"type":596},"—the largest lithium mine in the country. Although this project currently uses traditional evaporation methods, SQM and Codelco aim to utilise DLE technology in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":18511,"content":18512},{"textAlign":49},[18513],{"text":18514,"type":596},"Codelco was also recently awarded a special lithium operating contract (CEOL) by the Chilean government to jointly develop a DLE project on the Ascotan salt flat with French miner Eramet and Chilean chemicals producer Quiborax. ",{"type":591,"attrs":18516,"content":18517},{"textAlign":49},[18518],{"text":18519,"type":596},"Although the extensive portfolios of Rio Tinto and Codelco could create synergies, there is also a risk of resources being stretched too thin and neither have significant experience in operating commercial lithium assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":18521,"content":18522},{"textAlign":49},[18523],{"text":18524,"type":596},"“The main challenge is in prioritisation,” said Federico Gay, Benchmark’s principal lithium analyst. “There are many fronts open for both companies, in a moment when justifying large investments for lithium is challenging.”",{"type":591,"attrs":18526,"content":18527},{"textAlign":49},[18528],{"text":18529,"type":596,"marks":18530},"Submit your details below to request more information about Benchmark’s industry-leading lithium intelligence, including Price Assessments, Forecasts, Sustainability Reports and Consultancy services.",[18531],{"type":1006},{"type":656,"attrs":18533},{"id":18534,"body":18535},"9e50c280-5674-41b8-97fa-59dd0ab2b198",[18536],{"id":1012,"_uid":18537,"_editable":18538,"component":1014,"wrap_in_box":50,"hubspot_form":1012,"redirect_url":18539,"success_file":18540,"default_height":547,"success_message":547,"success_sub_text":547,"hidden_field_values":18542},"i-753a650a-cc3a-48dc-97a0-68e74ea30d4c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentHubspotForm\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-753a650a-cc3a-48dc-97a0-68e74ea30d4c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"id":547,"url":547,"linktype":611,"fieldtype":1016,"cached_url":547},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18541},{},[],{"type":591,"attrs":18544,"content":18545},{"textAlign":49},[],"Mining giant Rio Tinto could become the second largest lithium miner globally following its acquisition of a minority (49.99%) stake in a joint venture with Chilean state miner, Codelco, to develop a 50,000 tonne lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) project on the Maricunga salt flats in Chile’s Atacama region. Rio Tinto will contribute $900 million to […]",[18548],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18549},{"job_title":557,"image":18550,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a2fb63a9-a289-4cbc-9c69-7f27934580a2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18553,18554],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":18556,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":18556,"source":547,"filename":18557,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18558,"is_external_url":51},"Rio Tinto could be number two lithium miner by 2035","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1747823486/www-production/Rio-Tinto-position-lithium-2035@2x/Rio-Tinto-position-lithium-2035@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":18556,"title":18556,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":15934,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18560,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 21, 2025",{"id":18563,"uuid":18564,"name":18565,"slug":18566,"full_slug":18567,"content":18568},112467678911891,"14754ee8-aa22-4e65-992f-76c84b6c2348","Infographic: How much of the battery recycling industry does China control?","infographic-how-much-of-the-recycling-industry-does-china-control","article/infographic-how-much-of-the-recycling-industry-does-china-control",{"_uid":18569,"date":18570,"tags":18571,"editor":18578,"content":18582,"excerpt":18671,"featured":51,"reporter":18672,"_editable":18676,"component":697,"seo_title":18565,"categories":18677,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":18680,"featured_image":18682,"seo_description":18671,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18685},"cd8bb851-f791-42ce-a237-b50329ec9b2e","2025-05-16 00:00",[18572,18573,18574,18575,18576,18577],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},[18579],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18580},{"job_title":557,"image":18581,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18583},[18584,18596,18604,18609,18614,18626,18638,18643,18654],{"type":591,"attrs":18585,"content":18586},{"textAlign":49},[18587,18589,18595],{"text":18588,"type":596},"As the largest producer and user of lithium ion batteries, China dominates the global battery supply chain, including the ",{"text":18590,"type":596,"marks":18591},"emerging industry of recycling",[18592],{"type":606,"attrs":18593},{"href":18594,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/recyclers-feel-the-squeeze-recycling-2024-in-review",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18597,"content":18598},{"textAlign":49},[18599],{"type":836,"attrs":18600},{"id":49,"alt":18601,"src":18602,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":18603},"Visualising China's battery recycling dominance. Chart shows that in 2025 China is forecast to account for 78% of pre-treatment capacity and 89% of black mass refining capacity","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c7608f4397/bm-benchmark-14-chinas-battery-recycling-dominance-voro-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":18605,"content":18606},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18607],{"text":18608,"type":596},"How are batteries recycled?",{"type":591,"attrs":18610,"content":18611},{"textAlign":49},[18612],{"text":18613,"type":596},"The first stage of the battery recycling process is the collection of scrap from battery production facilities or end-of-life batteries. Given that China has the largest electric vehicle market and is forecast to account for 85% of 2025 battery production, China’s recycling industry has ready access to substantial volumes of feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":18615,"content":18616},{"textAlign":49},[18617,18619,18624],{"text":18618,"type":596},"The collected scrap is then pre-treated, typically through a mechanical shredding process, to ",{"text":18620,"type":596,"marks":18621},"produce a material known as black mass",[18622],{"type":606,"attrs":18623},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18625,"type":596},". This material contains lithium, nickel, cobalt and other valuable battery minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":18627,"content":18628},{"textAlign":49},[18629,18631,18637],{"text":18630,"type":596},"Outside of China, pre-treatment is the stage for which many regions have primarily built capacity. For example, of the 38 operational recycling assets in Europe, ",{"text":18632,"type":596,"marks":18633},"28 focus on pre-treatment only",[18634],{"type":606,"attrs":18635},{"href":18636,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bmw-partners-with-sk-for-battery-recycling-in-europe",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18639,"content":18640},{"textAlign":49},[18641],{"text":18642,"type":596},"The black mass is then refined into chemicals for use in the production of new battery cathode materials. Some refiners convert black mass directly into pre-cathode active material (pCAM), whereas others produce chemicals that may need further refining before they are ready to be used in CAM or pCAM production processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":18644,"content":18645},{"textAlign":49},[18646,18648,18652],{"text":18647,"type":596},"China and South Korea both have large overcapacities of refining capacity, meaning they must source feedstock from other regions such as ",{"text":3150,"type":596,"marks":18649},[18650],{"type":606,"attrs":18651},{"href":10158,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18653,"type":596}," which have a deficit of refining capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":18655,"content":18656},{"textAlign":49},[18657,18661,18668],{"text":18658,"type":596,"marks":18659},"To find out more about Benchmark’s recycling data, ",[18660],{"type":1006},{"text":18662,"type":596,"marks":18663},"click here",[18664,18667],{"type":606,"attrs":18665},{"href":18666,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling/portal",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":18669},[18670],{"type":1006},"As the largest producer and user of lithium ion batteries, China dominates the global battery supply chain, including the emerging industry of recycling. How are batteries recycled? The first stage of the battery recycling process is the collection of scrap from battery production facilities or end-of-life batteries. Given that China has the largest electric vehicle […]",[18673],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18674},{"job_title":557,"image":18675,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cd8bb851-f791-42ce-a237-b50329ec9b2e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18678,18679],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18602,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18681,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18683,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18684,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/41d4ca2e40/bm-adobestock-764761877.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 16, 2025",{"id":18687,"uuid":18688,"name":18689,"slug":18690,"full_slug":18691,"content":18692},112467683605910,"5ce3db39-4cb0-4ffa-8b63-28afe576d7b6","Cobalt market braces for further price rises amid looming DRC export decision","cobalt-market-braces-for-further-price-rises-amid-looming-drc-export-decision","article/cobalt-market-braces-for-further-price-rises-amid-looming-drc-export-decision",{"_uid":18693,"date":18694,"tags":18695,"editor":18698,"content":18702,"excerpt":18762,"featured":51,"reporter":18763,"_editable":18767,"component":697,"seo_title":18689,"categories":18768,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":18772,"seo_description":18762,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18775},"575ddb17-0487-4ca1-8580-4f39802bc7dc","2025-05-15 00:00",[18696,18697],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[18699],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18700},{"job_title":557,"image":18701,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18703},[18704,18709,18714,18719,18727,18732,18737,18742,18747,18752,18757],{"type":591,"attrs":18705,"content":18706},{"textAlign":49},[18707],{"text":18708,"type":596},"The cobalt market is bracing for further price increases as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials confirmed that curbs on cobalt exports would be extended beyond the initial four-month ban, which is set to conclude in June.",{"type":591,"attrs":18710,"content":18711},{"textAlign":49},[18712],{"text":18713,"type":596},"Speaking at the Cobalt Institute conference in Singapore this week, Patrick Luabeya, President of the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances’ Markets (ARECOMS), told delegates that the DRC government would implement further restrictions, but did not specify the form these would take.",{"type":591,"attrs":18715,"content":18716},{"textAlign":49},[18717],{"text":18718,"type":596},"“There is no general market consensus on what the next possible steps may be,” said Harry Fisher, Product Director (Cobalt) at Benchmark, speaking from the conference. “But the most likely scenario appears to be either an extension of the ban followed by the introduction of an export quota, or a direct transition to an export quota starting in late June. Both scenarios are likely to provide further support to pricing”.",{"type":656,"attrs":18720},{"id":18721,"body":18722},"8557a962-1e4f-4775-85f9-f2d11e0cce7e",[18723],{"id":18724,"_uid":18725,"type":663,"_editable":18726,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23186815","i-1ac7cdca-db7a-4ac4-ba45-5e664ba686d2","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-1ac7cdca-db7a-4ac4-ba45-5e664ba686d2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":18728,"content":18729},{"textAlign":49},[18730],{"text":18731,"type":596},"Approaching the final month of the ban, cobalt hydroxide supply availability is reported to be tightening, although some volumes exported pre-ban are yet to reach end use markets due to the three-to-four month supply chain from the DRC to China. Nevertheless, sellers are prioritising long-term supply contracts over sales on the spot market.",{"type":591,"attrs":18733,"content":18734},{"textAlign":49},[18735],{"text":18736,"type":596},"Prices across the cobalt complex have largely stabilised since early April, as reported in the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment, as a lack of liquidity is compounded by prevailing market uncertainty regarding the future of DRC exports and the potential impact on prices over the remainder of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":18738,"content":18739},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18740],{"text":18741,"type":596},"Benchmark’s ICE cobalt contract offers risk management tools",{"type":591,"attrs":18743,"content":18744},{"textAlign":49},[18745],{"text":18746,"type":596},"To help market participants navigate price volatility, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) has partnered with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to launch a suite of futures contracts for cobalt, lithium, and critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":18748,"content":18749},{"textAlign":49},[18750],{"text":18751,"type":596},"The BMI cobalt hydroxide contract on the ICE is the first of its kind. It enables market participants to hedge risk using BMI’s hydroxide pricing—without exposure to basis risk. A critical tool in the increasingly uncertain cobalt market.",{"type":591,"attrs":18753,"content":18754},{"textAlign":49},[18755],{"text":18756,"type":596},"The new contract reflects a fundamental shift in cobalt pricing dynamics. The rapid expansion of industrial mining in the DRC, combined with accelerating demand from the battery sector, has led to a steady decoupling of cobalt hydroxide prices from traditional cobalt metal benchmarks.",{"type":591,"attrs":18758,"content":18759},{"textAlign":49},[18760],{"text":18761,"type":596},"BMI’s ICE-listed hydroxide contract offers improved trading flexibility and enhanced risk mitigation, helping buyers and sellers manage price volatility in a market central to the global energy transition.","The cobalt market is bracing for further price increases as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials confirmed that curbs on cobalt exports would be extended beyond the initial four-month ban, which is set to conclude in June. Speaking at the Cobalt Institute conference in Singapore this week, Patrick Luabeya, President of the Authority for the […]",[18764],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18765},{"job_title":557,"image":18766,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"575ddb17-0487-4ca1-8580-4f39802bc7dc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18769,18770,18771],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18773,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18774,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cc962f2397/bm-drc-flag.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 15, 2025",{"id":18777,"uuid":18778,"name":18779,"slug":18780,"full_slug":18781,"content":18782},112467693182362,"ff5ee850-358b-4adf-ac5a-b1643a77f9d7","Global EV Sales Up 29% First Third of 2025","global-ev-sales-up-29-first-third-of-2025","article/global-ev-sales-up-29-first-third-of-2025",{"_uid":18783,"date":18784,"tags":18785,"editor":18789,"content":18793,"excerpt":18867,"featured":50,"reporter":18868,"_editable":18872,"component":697,"seo_title":18779,"categories":18873,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":18875,"seo_description":18867,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18878},"12bc32ed-916d-4a30-a54d-c6714c75a7a5","2025-05-14 00:00",[18786,18787,18788],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[18790],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18791},{"job_title":557,"image":18792,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18794},[18795,18800,18804,18809,18814,18821,18825,18830,18835,18839,18844,18848,18853],{"type":591,"attrs":18796,"content":18797},{"textAlign":49},[18798],{"text":18799,"type":596},"The number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold globally in April 2025 was 1.5 million, with 5.6 million sold year-to-date. The EV market grew by 29% in April 2025 compared to April 2024, and decreased by 12% compared to March 2025. Global EV sales continue to grow by 29% YTD in January – April 2025 vs January to April 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":18801,"content":18802},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18803],{"text":5187,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18805,"content":18806},{"textAlign":49},[18807],{"text":18808,"type":596},"“Ongoing tariff negotiations are dominating talk in the electric vehicle industry but quietly, domestic manufacturers in China and the EU continue to perform well and grow market share. The EU is certainly the success story for EV sales in 2025 so far, with emissions targets lighting a fire under the industry to accelerate the switch to electric, they have grown the market by a quarter in the first third of the year. In China, that year on year sales increase is even greater at 35%, spurred on by the vehicle trade-in scheme.”",{"type":615,"attrs":18810,"content":18811},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18812],{"text":18813,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Jan-Apr 2025 vs Jan-Apr 2024, YTD %",{"type":591,"attrs":18815,"content":18816},{"textAlign":49},[18817],{"type":836,"attrs":18818},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":18819,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":18820},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5dcd587ecf/bm-monthly-ev-sales-slide-bmi-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":18822,"content":18823},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18824],{"text":898,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18826,"content":18827},{"textAlign":49},[18828],{"text":18829,"type":596},"The European EV market has grown by 25% in the opening four months of the year, reaching 1.2 million units sold. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales have grown by 29% year-to-date (ytd) as they continue to outpace Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) sales (16% growth) as manufacturers continue to push fully electric sales in order to hit 2025 emission targets. Several large auto markets continue to grow at a strong pace, with Germany growing by 42% ytd, Italy by 56% ytd, Spain by 57%, and the UK by 32%. France remains down ytd at -14% due to the reduction in consumer incentives.",{"type":591,"attrs":18831,"content":18832},{"textAlign":49},[18833],{"text":18834,"type":596},"There has been a rise in PHEV exports from China to Europe as manufacturers, such as BYD and Chery, look to gain market share in the region and avoid the higher tariffs on BEVs. ",{"type":615,"attrs":18836,"content":18837},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18838],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18840,"content":18841},{"textAlign":49},[18842],{"text":18843,"type":596},"The North American EV market (US, Canada, and Mexico) has grown by 5% ytd in 2025, with the Mexican market growing at the fastest rate (almost doubling ytd) due to the rise in Chinese exports to the country. The USA and UK tariff agreement resulted in a 10% tariff for a maximum of 100,000 UK cars, with Jaguar Land Rover the main manufacturer that exports cars from the UK to the USA. However, only a small number of these vehicles are EV (~5%). The second trade deal was agreed over the weekend between the US and China. Reciprocal tariffs have been reduced for a 90-day period. However, tariffs for cars and parts remain in place. ",{"type":615,"attrs":18845,"content":18846},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18847],{"text":576,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":18849,"content":18850},{"textAlign":49},[18851],{"text":18852,"type":596},"The Chinese market increased by 35% in Jan-Apr 2025 compared to the same period last year. EV sales declined by -9% in April 2025 compared to March 2025, however, sales increased by 32% compared to April 2024. The US and China announced a reduction in tariffs, including eliminating some tariffs and suspending others for 90 days. The large tariffs previously imposed by President Biden for electric vehicles remain in place. However, these tariffs will not have an impact as there are no major EV exports from China to the US, rather, it acts as a safeguard to prevent Chinese OEMs entering the US market.",{"type":591,"attrs":18854,"content":18855},{"textAlign":49},[18856,18863],{"text":18857,"type":596,"marks":18858},"Click here to gain access to the fastest EV sales data each month",[18859,18860],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":18861},{"href":18862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/landing/ev-sales-monthly-assessment/",{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":18864},[18865],{"type":606,"attrs":18866},{"href":18862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"The number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold globally in April 2025 was 1.5 million, with 5.6 million sold year-to-date. The EV market grew by 29% in April 2025 compared to April 2024, and decreased by 12% compared to March 2025. Global EV sales continue to grow by 29% YTD in January – April 2025 vs […]",[18869],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18870},{"job_title":557,"image":18871,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"12bc32ed-916d-4a30-a54d-c6714c75a7a5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18874],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":1035,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":1035,"source":547,"filename":18876,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18877,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bd730b3f81/bm-adobestock-459495501.jpeg",{"alt":1035,"title":1035,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 14, 2025",{"id":18880,"uuid":18881,"name":18882,"slug":18883,"full_slug":18884,"content":18885},112467688377751,"9154bb0c-9a9d-4e95-a706-11eb7f6fe933","Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund eyes HPAL investment","indonesias-new-sovereign-wealth-fund-eyes-hpal-investment","article/indonesias-new-sovereign-wealth-fund-eyes-hpal-investment",{"_uid":18886,"date":18784,"tags":18887,"editor":18889,"content":18893,"excerpt":18983,"featured":51,"reporter":18984,"_editable":18988,"component":697,"seo_title":18882,"categories":18989,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":18992,"seo_description":18983,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":18878},"10ead9c4-dc80-4b51-94e9-d8a60061616d",[18888],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[18890],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18891},{"job_title":557,"image":18892,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":18894},[18895,18900,18913,18921,18926,18938,18949,18954,18959,18970,18978],{"type":591,"attrs":18896,"content":18897},{"textAlign":49},[18898],{"text":18899,"type":596},"Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, is reported to be in talks with French miner Eramet to form a partnership to invest in a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant in North Maluku province, in what could represent the government’s first major venture into the nickel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":18901,"content":18902},{"textAlign":49},[18903,18905,18911],{"text":18904,"type":596},"The potential investment underscores the Indonesian government’s increasing involvement in this key part of the economy; ",{"text":18906,"type":596,"marks":18907},"‘downstreaming’ the Southeast Asian nation’s nickel resources is a key pillar of President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitions",[18908],{"type":606,"attrs":18909},{"href":18910,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesias-ev-ambitions-face-tests-under-new-leadership",{"text":18912,"type":596}," to boost GDP growth to 8%, up from around 5% now.",{"type":656,"attrs":18914},{"id":18915,"body":18916},"29f17ca2-303a-4a56-b350-3bcb02e2ce40",[18917],{"id":18918,"_uid":18919,"type":663,"_editable":18920,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23181551","i-e6739672-cc2c-4ca3-9b8f-85b1a12bf95b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e6739672-cc2c-4ca3-9b8f-85b1a12bf95b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":18922,"content":18923},{"textAlign":49},[18924],{"text":18925,"type":596},"Indonesia has allocated Danantara $20 billion to invest in a range of projects, from metal processing to artificial intelligence. With former PT Vale Indonesia CEO, Febriany Eddy, joining its leadership ranks in April, Benchmark anticipates the sovereign wealth fund to have a particular focus on the nickel value chain, potentially targeting downstream investments in line with the government’s policy platform. ",{"type":591,"attrs":18927,"content":18928},{"textAlign":49},[18929,18931,18936],{"text":18930,"type":596},"While project details are vague, Benchmark believes the proposed investment could target the Huayou-owned Huashan project at the Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP). ",{"text":18932,"type":596,"marks":18933},"IWIP is generally focused more on the battery supply chain than other industrial parks in Indonesia",[18934],{"type":606,"attrs":18935},{"href":15442,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":18937,"type":596},", presenting opportunities for vertical integration. This is the case both upstream—Eramet operates the nearby Weda Bay Nickel Mine—and downstream to nickel sulphate and battery precursor (pCAM) refining capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":18939,"content":18940},{"textAlign":49},[18941,18943],{"text":18942,"type":596},"Meanwhile, for Eramet, it presents another opportunity to gain a foothold in an Indonesian HPAL operation, after a previous project at IWIP, in partnership with BASF, ",{"text":18944,"type":596,"marks":18945},"fell through last year. ",[18946],{"type":606,"attrs":18947},{"href":18948,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/basf-and-eramet-cancel-only-100-western-backed-nickel-project-in-indonesia",{"type":615,"attrs":18950,"content":18951},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[18952],{"text":18953,"type":596},"Indonesia’s royalty overhaul favours HPAL",{"type":591,"attrs":18955,"content":18956},{"textAlign":49},[18957],{"text":18958,"type":596},"Following a recent overhaul of Indonesia’s royalty structure, HPAL projects will now benefit from lower rates for limonite processed for battery applications, a move that is designed to channel investments towards Indonesia’s battery-targeted supply base. ",{"type":591,"attrs":18960,"content":18961},{"textAlign":49},[18962,18964],{"text":18963,"type":596},"Tapping into growing demand from the battery sector, HPAL projects are set to drive the majority of Indonesia’s nickel supply growth through to 2030, according to ",{"text":18965,"type":596,"marks":18966},"the Benchmark Nickel Forecast.",[18967],{"type":606,"attrs":18968},{"href":18969,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/data-reports/forecast",{"type":656,"attrs":18971},{"id":18972,"body":18973},"4ca9a2fd-cad0-4a62-864c-be87e06db346",[18974],{"id":18975,"_uid":18976,"type":663,"_editable":18977,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22711341","i-ad322dc1-4263-4ab3-ac03-a0a3bd909040","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ad322dc1-4263-4ab3-ac03-a0a3bd909040\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":18979,"content":18980},{"textAlign":49},[18981],{"text":18982,"type":596},"Indeed, the share of nickel supply captured by HPAL projects (MHP) is set to rise from 16% of Indonesia’s total nickel output in 2025, to 29% by the end of the decade.","Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, is reported to be in talks with French miner Eramet to form a partnership to invest in a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant in North Maluku province, in what could represent the government’s first major venture into the nickel industry. The potential investment underscores the Indonesian government’s increasing […]",[18985],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":18986},{"job_title":557,"image":18987,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"10ead9c4-dc80-4b51-94e9-d8a60061616d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[18990,18991],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18993,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":18994,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/91fc72bb00/bm-shutterstock-2328289305-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":18996,"uuid":18997,"name":18998,"slug":18999,"full_slug":19000,"content":19001},112467702971805,"95297446-8816-4a48-b4e3-abba49776a09","China and US agree to cut tariffs offering the US battery industry some respite","china-and-us-agree-to-cut-tariffs-offering-the-us-battery-industry-some-respite","article/china-and-us-agree-to-cut-tariffs-offering-the-us-battery-industry-some-respite",{"_uid":19002,"date":19003,"tags":19004,"editor":19009,"content":19013,"excerpt":19101,"featured":51,"reporter":19102,"_editable":19106,"component":697,"seo_title":18998,"categories":19107,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":19111,"seo_description":19101,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19114},"036a8206-39f8-4df3-8d02-4efa50ace6c5","2025-05-13 00:00",[19005,19006,19007,19008],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[19010],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19011},{"job_title":557,"image":19012,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19014},[19015,19023,19028,19041,19048,19053,19058,19074,19079,19084,19089],{"type":591,"attrs":19016,"content":19017},{"textAlign":49},[19018,19020,19021],{"text":19019,"type":596},"The US and China have agreed to cut respective tariffs by 115 percentage points following two days of talks in Switzerland. The cuts are set to come into force on the 14",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":19022,"type":596}," May and will remain in place for the next 90 days. It marks a thawing of relations between the two countries amid a trade conflict that has been steadily escalating over the last few months. This 90-day pause offers some respite for the US battery industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":19024,"content":19025},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19026],{"text":19027,"type":596},"The US BESS industry is set to gain the most from tariff reductions",{"type":591,"attrs":19029,"content":19030},{"textAlign":49},[19031,19033,19039],{"text":19032,"type":596},"Installations of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the US grew 60% from 2023 to 2024 according to ",{"text":19034,"type":596,"marks":19035},"Rho Motion’s BESS Outlook",[19036],{"type":606,"attrs":19037},{"href":19038,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/#energy-stationary-storage",{"text":19040,"type":596},". Of these installations ~90% relied on imported lithium ion cells from China. Under tariffs announced in April these cells were facing levies of 155.9%. Under the recently announced reduction these cells will instead face a 40.9% tariff increasing to 58.4% from 2026 as new Section 301 tariffs come into force.",{"type":591,"attrs":19042,"content":19043},{"textAlign":49},[19044],{"type":836,"attrs":19045},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":19046,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":19047},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/544e9b29f1/bm-screenshot-2025-05-12-160855-1342521b0681.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":19049,"content":19050},{"textAlign":49},[19051],{"text":19052,"type":596},"Notably this realigns the price of Chinese cells with US made cells, possibly leaving room for Chinese cells to still be cheaper than US alternatives, as US cell prices are expected to increase as a result of the tariffs.",{"type":615,"attrs":19054,"content":19055},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19056],{"text":19057,"type":596},"Will tariff cuts help the US battery industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":19059,"content":19060},{"textAlign":49},[19061,19063,19069,19071,19072],{"text":19062,"type":596},"The US’ battery industry is heavily dependent on Chinese supply chains for materials. In 2024, ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":19065},"Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast",[19066],{"type":606,"attrs":19067},{"href":19068,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/data-reports/forecast",{"text":19070,"type":596}," showed that of the batteries made in the US over 90% of them relied on imported cathode active material (CAM), the majority of which came from China. Under the previous tariffs, these materials were subject to 170% levies from the 14",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":19073,"type":596}," May this will decrease to 55%. This still remains higher than the 25% tariff these materials were subject to in 2024, meaning profit margins are expected to be further eroded as raw materials costs increase for domestic battery producers.",{"type":615,"attrs":19075,"content":19076},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19077],{"text":19078,"type":596},"The role of tariff uncertainty",{"type":591,"attrs":19080,"content":19081},{"textAlign":49},[19082],{"text":19083,"type":596},"The effect of the tariffs on the US battery and BESS industry has not been immediate as inventory build-up has acted as a buffer, shielding players from immediate price rises. But uncertainty over changing tariff levels may lead players to delay or reassess business plans due to potential risks to increased costs, supply chain disruption and profitability.",{"type":615,"attrs":19085,"content":19086},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19087],{"text":19088,"type":596},"Rare earths see export restrictions raised",{"type":591,"attrs":19090,"content":19091},{"textAlign":49},[19092,19094,19099],{"text":19093,"type":596},"China will also remove non-tariff countermeasures it imposed on the US, which included export restrictions on medium and heavy rare earths. ",{"text":19095,"type":596,"marks":19096},"The US has very little domestic rare earth mining and processing capacity and is highly reliant on imports for China for these key elements",[19097],{"type":606,"attrs":19098},{"href":10739,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":19100,"type":596}," to meet demand from strategically important industries, such as defence.","The US and China have agreed to cut respective tariffs by 115 percentage points following two days of talks in Switzerland. The cuts are set to come into force on the 14th May and will remain in place for the next 90 days. It marks a thawing of relations between the two countries amid a […]",[19103],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19104},{"job_title":557,"image":19105,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"036a8206-39f8-4df3-8d02-4efa50ace6c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[19108,19109,19110],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":19112,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":19113,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ceede72be0/bm-adobestock-651440484-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 13, 2025",{"id":19116,"uuid":19117,"name":19118,"slug":19119,"full_slug":19120,"content":19121},112467697995164,"a6986605-1083-404b-b2c8-aace4f41db3b","Benchmark begins public consultation on its Price Assessment Methodologies","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-its-price-assessment-methodologies","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-its-price-assessment-methodologies",{"_uid":19122,"date":19003,"tags":19123,"editor":19127,"content":19131,"excerpt":19422,"featured":50,"reporter":19423,"_editable":19427,"component":697,"seo_title":19118,"categories":19428,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":19439,"seo_description":19422,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19114},"f119a668-fd82-4637-a060-1e2c998714bb",[19124,19125,19126],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},[19128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19129},{"job_title":557,"image":19130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19132},[19133,19143,19148,19153,19158,19163,19168,19173,19177,19182,19187,19192,19196,19201,19205,19210,19215,19219,19224,19228,19233,19238,19243,19248,19252,19257,19262,19267,19272,19276,19281,19286,19291,19296,19301,19306,19311,19316,19320,19325,19330,19335,19340,19345,19350,19355,19360,19364,19369,19374,19379,19384,19389,19394,19399,19404,19409,19414],{"type":591,"attrs":19134,"content":19135},{"textAlign":49},[19136,19137,19142],{"text":9922,"type":596},{"text":19138,"type":596,"marks":19139},"Price Assessment Methodologies",[19140],{"type":606,"attrs":19141},{"href":6716,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":19144,"content":19145},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19146],{"text":19147,"type":596},"Domestic China prices to be published in Chinese yuan",{"type":591,"attrs":19149,"content":19150},{"textAlign":49},[19151],{"text":19152,"type":596},"Amid recent increased foreign exchange (FX) rate volatility, Benchmark is proposing to publish all grades that are collected in Chinese yuan in their original currency.",{"type":591,"attrs":19154,"content":19155},{"textAlign":49},[19156],{"text":19157,"type":596},"This will impact prices uploaded to the website, however subscribers will be able to toggle between currencies on the website for all grades.",{"type":591,"attrs":19159,"content":19160},{"textAlign":49},[19161],{"text":19162,"type":596},"Therefore, prices will be available in both USD and CNY on the website and continue to be shown in both USD and CNY in assessments distributed to subscribers via email. ",{"type":591,"attrs":19164,"content":19165},{"textAlign":49},[19166],{"text":19167,"type":596},"Moreover, Benchmark proposes to change its FX rate provider for all prices to Finnhub, with FX rates taken for any relevant grades at 9am (London) on the day of publication. ",{"type":591,"attrs":19169,"content":19170},{"textAlign":49},[19171],{"text":19172,"type":596},"The following grades will be impacted:",{"type":615,"attrs":19174,"content":19175},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19176],{"text":8,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19178,"content":19179},{"textAlign":49},[19180],{"text":19181,"type":596},"Lithium Carbonate EXW China; Min 99.0%; Technical",{"type":591,"attrs":19183,"content":19184},{"textAlign":49},[19185],{"text":19186,"type":596},"Lithium Carbonate EXW China; Min 99.5%; Battery",{"type":591,"attrs":19188,"content":19189},{"textAlign":49},[19190],{"text":19191,"type":596},"Lithium Hydroxide EXW China; Min 56.5%",{"type":615,"attrs":19193,"content":19194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19195],{"text":150,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19197,"content":19198},{"textAlign":49},[19199],{"text":19200,"type":596},"Nickel Sulphate EXW China; Min 22%",{"type":615,"attrs":19202,"content":19203},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19204],{"text":115,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19206,"content":19207},{"textAlign":49},[19208],{"text":19209,"type":596},"Cobalt Sulphate EXW China; Min 20.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19211,"content":19212},{"textAlign":49},[19213],{"text":19214,"type":596},"Cobalt Oxide EXW China; Min 72.8%",{"type":615,"attrs":19216,"content":19217},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19218],{"text":4908,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19220,"content":19221},{"textAlign":49},[19222],{"text":19223,"type":596},"Manganese Sulphate; EXW China; Min 32%",{"type":615,"attrs":19225,"content":19226},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19227],{"text":414,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19229,"content":19230},{"textAlign":49},[19231],{"text":19232,"type":596},"Neodymium-Praseodymium Oxide; DDP China; >22%>70%",{"type":591,"attrs":19234,"content":19235},{"textAlign":49},[19236],{"text":19237,"type":596},"Dysprosium Oxide; DDP China; 99.0-99.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19239,"content":19240},{"textAlign":49},[19241],{"text":19242,"type":596},"Samarium Oxide; DDP China; 99.0-99.9%",{"type":591,"attrs":19244,"content":19245},{"textAlign":49},[19246],{"text":19247,"type":596},"Terbium Oxide; DDP China; 99.0-99.9%",{"type":615,"attrs":19249,"content":19250},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19251],{"text":373,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19253,"content":19254},{"textAlign":49},[19255],{"text":19256,"type":596},"Black Mass LFP Feedstock; EXW China; Li Price per Percentage Point; Fixed Price",{"type":615,"attrs":19258,"content":19259},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19260],{"text":19261,"type":596},"Flake Graphite",{"type":591,"attrs":19263,"content":19264},{"textAlign":49},[19265],{"text":19266,"type":596},"DDP China; 94-95% C; -100 Mesh",{"type":591,"attrs":19268,"content":19269},{"textAlign":49},[19270],{"text":19271,"type":596},"DDP China; 94-95% C; +100 Mesh",{"type":615,"attrs":19273,"content":19274},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19275],{"text":1832,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19277,"content":19278},{"textAlign":49},[19279],{"text":19280,"type":596},"Calcined Pet Coke; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19282,"content":19283},{"textAlign":49},[19284],{"text":19285,"type":596},"Calcined Pet Needle Coke; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19287,"content":19288},{"textAlign":49},[19289],{"text":19290,"type":596},"Calcined Pitch Needle Coke; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19292,"content":19293},{"textAlign":49},[19294],{"text":19295,"type":596},"Medium Sulphur Pre-calcined Pet Coke; DDP China; 0.5%\u003CS\u003C3.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":19297,"content":19298},{"textAlign":49},[19299],{"text":19300,"type":596},"Pre-calcined Pet Coke; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19302,"content":19303},{"textAlign":49},[19304],{"text":19305,"type":596},"Pre-calcined Pet Needle Coke; Current; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19307,"content":19308},{"textAlign":49},[19309],{"text":19310,"type":596},"Pre-calcined Pitch Needle Coke; DDP China; S\u003C0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":19312,"content":19313},{"textAlign":49},[19314],{"text":19315,"type":596},"Graphitisation Tolling Fees; China; C≥90%",{"type":615,"attrs":19317,"content":19318},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19319],{"text":298,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19321,"content":19322},{"textAlign":49},[19323],{"text":19324,"type":596},"NCM111, DDP China, 140-160 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19326,"content":19327},{"textAlign":49},[19328],{"text":19329,"type":596},"NCM523, DDP China, 150-170 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19331,"content":19332},{"textAlign":49},[19333],{"text":19334,"type":596},"NCM622, DDP China, 155-180 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19336,"content":19337},{"textAlign":49},[19338],{"text":19339,"type":596},"NCM613, DDP China, 170-200 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19341,"content":19342},{"textAlign":49},[19343],{"text":19344,"type":596},"NCM811,DDP China, ≥200 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19346,"content":19347},{"textAlign":49},[19348],{"text":19349,"type":596},"NCA, DDP China, ≥175 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19351,"content":19352},{"textAlign":49},[19353],{"text":19354,"type":596},"LFP, DDP China, ≥160 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19356,"content":19357},{"textAlign":49},[19358],{"text":19359,"type":596},"LCO, DDP China, ≥155 mAh/g",{"type":615,"attrs":19361,"content":19362},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19363],{"text":261,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19365,"content":19366},{"textAlign":49},[19367],{"text":19368,"type":596},"High Energy Synthetic Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.97% C, 350-370 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19370,"content":19371},{"textAlign":49},[19372],{"text":19373,"type":596},"Medium Energy Synthetic Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.95% C, 330-350 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19375,"content":19376},{"textAlign":49},[19377],{"text":19378,"type":596},"Low Energy Synthetic Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.70% C, 310-330 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19380,"content":19381},{"textAlign":49},[19382],{"text":19383,"type":596},"High Energy Natural Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.97% C, 360-370 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19385,"content":19386},{"textAlign":49},[19387],{"text":19388,"type":596},"Medium Energy Natural Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.95% C, 360-370 mAh/g",{"type":591,"attrs":19390,"content":19391},{"textAlign":49},[19392],{"text":19393,"type":596},"Low Energy Natural Graphite Anode, DDP China, ≥99.90% C, 345-360 mAh/g",{"type":615,"attrs":19395,"content":19396},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19397],{"text":19398,"type":596},"Electrolyte",{"type":591,"attrs":19400,"content":19401},{"textAlign":49},[19402],{"text":19403,"type":596},"LiPF6 EXW China (99.95%)",{"type":591,"attrs":19405,"content":19406},{"textAlign":49},[19407],{"text":19408,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark is seeking feedback on its plans to modify these grades and public consultation for this change is now open for 30 days.",{"type":591,"attrs":19410,"content":19411},{"textAlign":49},[19412],{"text":19413,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest Monday 16 June 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":19415,"content":19416},{"textAlign":49},[19417,19418],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":19419},[19420],{"type":606,"attrs":19421},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Price Assessment Methodologies. Domestic China prices to be published in Chinese yuan Amid recent increased foreign exchange (FX) rate volatility, Benchmark is proposing to publish all grades that are collected in Chinese yuan in their original currency. This […]",[19424],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19425},{"job_title":557,"image":19426,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f119a668-fd82-4637-a060-1e2c998714bb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[19429,19430,19431,19432,19433,19434,19435,19436,19437,19438],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":19440,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":19442,"uuid":19443,"name":19444,"slug":19445,"full_slug":19446,"content":19447},112467722239394,"63fb26b3-ce05-48c5-a237-a32ec7c138b0","What is behind Tesla’s falling sales?","what-is-behind-teslas-falling-sales","article/what-is-behind-teslas-falling-sales",{"_uid":19448,"date":19449,"tags":19450,"editor":19455,"content":19459,"excerpt":19556,"featured":50,"reporter":19557,"_editable":19561,"component":697,"seo_title":19444,"categories":19562,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":19564,"seo_description":19556,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19567},"1414a697-e823-4494-a011-6f4e593ef619","2025-05-09 00:00",[19451,19452,19453,19454],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},{"slug":572,"name":573},[19456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19457},{"job_title":557,"image":19458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19460},[19461,19480,19485,19490,19495,19502,19507,19512,19522,19527,19532,19539,19546,19551],{"type":591,"attrs":19462,"content":19463},{"textAlign":49},[19464,19466,19472,19474],{"text":19465,"type":596},"Tesla is one of the leading brands in the global EV industry. After years of growth, Tesla’s 2024 results showed a fall in sales compared to 2023 and the company’s Q1 2025 sales indicated a continuation of this downturn. In Q1 2025 global ",{"text":19467,"type":596,"marks":19468},"battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales increased 35%",[19469],{"type":606,"attrs":19470},{"href":19471,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-ev-sales-up-29-in-2025-from-previous-year",{"text":19473,"type":596},", while Tesla’s global sales fell 13% comparatively according to ",{"text":19475,"type":596,"marks":19476},"Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Database.",[19477],{"type":606,"attrs":19478},{"href":19479,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/research/ev-battery-monthly-database/",{"type":615,"attrs":19481,"content":19482},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19483],{"text":19484,"type":596},"How widespread is Tesla’s negative growth?",{"type":591,"attrs":19486,"content":19487},{"textAlign":49},[19488],{"text":19489,"type":596},"China was the only region where Tesla experienced a Q1 increase in sales, rising 2%. Notably, however, BEV sales in the region grew 48%, meaning Tesla’s growth lagged significantly behind market leaders like BYD. In Europe and North America, Tesla’s unit sales fell by 33% and 8%, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":19491,"content":19492},{"textAlign":49},[19493],{"text":19494,"type":596},"At specific country levels the company did see growth, with its sales increasing over 230% in Mexico, 7% in the UK, 5% in Ireland and 3% in Japan. However, these increases come from comparatively low bases.",{"type":591,"attrs":19496,"content":19497},{"textAlign":49},[19498],{"type":836,"attrs":19499},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":19500,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":19501},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/017703896c/bm-image-14-43834ffe86.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":19503,"content":19504},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19505],{"text":19506,"type":596},"What role has Musk played?",{"type":591,"attrs":19508,"content":19509},{"textAlign":49},[19510],{"text":19511,"type":596},"Tesla’s poor sales performance in the opening months of 2025 has coincided with CEO Elon Musk’s political alignment with divisive political figures and parties, such as the Trump administration and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. For many, Musk’s controversial politics has made purchasing a Tesla a political statement they are unwilling to make. Indeed, dissatisfaction towards Musk has spread beyond a downturn in Tesla sales, with Tesla dealerships in the US, Canada, and Europe facing physical attacks.",{"type":591,"attrs":19513,"content":19514},{"textAlign":49},[19515,19517],{"text":19516,"type":596},"Read: ",{"text":19518,"type":596,"marks":19519},"Chinese EV brands look to PHEVs to avoid EU tariffs",[19520],{"type":606,"attrs":19521},{"href":11781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":19523,"content":19524},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19525],{"text":19526,"type":596},"Tesla’s 2025 downturn is not all political",{"type":591,"attrs":19528,"content":19529},{"textAlign":49},[19530],{"text":19531,"type":596},"Tesla’s sales decline has been more severe for the Model Y than the Model 3. In Q1 2025, global Model Y sales dropped 28%, while Model 3 sales rose 27%. Model Y declined across all major regions, while the Model 3 grew in China and North America by 64% and 62%, respectively. Early 2025 saw a Model Y refresh with the Juniper launch, temporarily halting production. This production halt and running down of old inventory will have contributed to the drop in Model Y sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":19533,"content":19534},{"textAlign":49},[19535],{"type":836,"attrs":19536},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":19537,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":19538},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2d281b8cb9/bm-image-15-1024x577.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":19540,"content":19541},{"textAlign":49},[19542,19544],{"text":19543,"type":596},"What does Tesla’s future look like?",{"text":19545,"type":596},"Tesla had originally planned to produce 20 million EV annually by 2030, but in May 2024 it dropped this target.",{"type":591,"attrs":19547,"content":19548},{"textAlign":49},[19549],{"text":19550,"type":596},"Rho Motion EV sales analyst George Whitcombe commented “Tesla’s significant underperformance in 2025 to follow-up a downturn in sales in 2024 reinforces Tesla’s uncertain future as high-volume automotive OEM.”",{"type":591,"attrs":19552,"content":19553},{"textAlign":49},[19554],{"text":19555,"type":596},"Instead, the company will look to expand other parts of its business such as energy storage or its humanoid robots.","Tesla is one of the leading brands in the global EV industry. After years of growth, Tesla’s 2024 results showed a fall in sales compared to 2023 and the company’s Q1 2025 sales indicated a continuation of this downturn. In Q1 2025 global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales increased 35%, while Tesla’s global sales fell […]",[19558],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19559},{"job_title":557,"image":19560,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1414a697-e823-4494-a011-6f4e593ef619\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[19563],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":19565,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":19566,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fe2f6d2309/bm-adobestock-447326299-editorial-use-only-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 09, 2025",{"id":19569,"uuid":19570,"name":19571,"slug":19572,"full_slug":19573,"content":19574},112467717434785,"1b8e5f73-bcf8-41d6-b6c3-7a0d60ef8aa5","How is mine development progressing under Trump 2.0?","how-is-mine-development-progressing-under-trump-2-0","article/how-is-mine-development-progressing-under-trump-2-0",{"_uid":19575,"date":19449,"tags":19576,"editor":19579,"content":19583,"excerpt":19720,"featured":51,"reporter":19721,"_editable":19725,"component":697,"seo_title":19571,"categories":19726,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":19732,"seo_description":19720,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19567},"b6b7d1ae-f853-4fa2-aea6-e596b6a99802",[19577,19578],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[19580],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19581},{"job_title":557,"image":19582,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19584},[19585,19590,19595,19600,19608,19613,19618,19623,19628,19633,19638,19643,19651,19656,19661,19666,19671,19679,19684,19689,19694,19699,19706],{"type":591,"attrs":19586,"content":19587},{"textAlign":49},[19588],{"text":19589,"type":596},"Critical minerals have climbed to the top of the political agenda under the second Trump administration, as focus has centered on bolstering US mining and critical mineral processing to reduce strategic dependencies on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":19591,"content":19592},{"textAlign":49},[19593],{"text":19594,"type":596},"Through a series of Executive Orders, President Trump has invoked executive powers to develop domestic supply chains. This has included expediting permitting approvals, repurposing Biden-era funding for domestic projects, government-backed offtakes, and tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":19596,"content":19597},{"textAlign":49},[19598],{"text":19599,"type":596},"Perhaps most notably, the Trump administration announced 20 mining projects that will benefit from streamlined permitting —known as FAST-41—in April and May, fast-tracking multi-year environmental reviews to a maximum of 28 days. ",{"type":656,"attrs":19601},{"id":19602,"body":19603},"ecf0a5e2-4803-4f36-b5fd-5c166bb4eb84",[19604],{"id":19605,"_uid":19606,"type":663,"_editable":19607,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23074983","i-313885d3-3bc5-4cb8-8e0d-80efd4aca9f6","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-313885d3-3bc5-4cb8-8e0d-80efd4aca9f6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":19609,"content":19610},{"textAlign":49},[19611],{"text":19612,"type":596},"Copper has been a major focus area in this regard, with four copper-producing projects included on the FAST-41 list due to the red metal’s foundational role in the global economy. Combined, the Resolution and NewRange copper mines (the two largest copper projects on the FAST-41 list) are slated to bring an additional 476kt of copper capacity online, equivalent to nearly 70% of US copper imports in 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":19614,"content":19615},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19616],{"text":19617,"type":596},"Leveraging existing mechanisms",{"type":591,"attrs":19619,"content":19620},{"textAlign":49},[19621],{"text":19622,"type":596},"But it is not just Trump-era mechanisms paying dividends. Prospective graphite miner, Graphite One, announced the completion of a bankable feasibility study several months early in April, a key beneficiary of the Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III funding invoked by the Biden administration through the Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":591,"attrs":19624,"content":19625},{"textAlign":49},[19626],{"text":19627,"type":596},"Graphite One CEO, Anthony Huston, notes that the DPA Title III grant played a critical role in accelerating development timelines for the Graphite Creek project in Alaska. “With DoD’s $37.5 million grant, Graphite One cut 15 months off the projected timeline to complete our feasibility study. In Alaska, where seasonal effects are a constant unknown, that may have saved two years on the development path,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":19629,"content":19630},{"textAlign":49},[19631],{"text":19632,"type":596},"The Graphite Creek project—alongside South Star Battery Metals’ BamaStar and Westwater Resources Coosa projects—is one of three early stage US-based graphite mines pivotal to reducing US reliance on China. The US was wholly dependent on natural graphite imports to meet demand in 2024, 40% of which originated from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":19634,"content":19635},{"textAlign":49},[19636],{"text":19637,"type":596},"Lithium Americas, a fellow recipient of DPA Title III funding, announced a $250 million strategic investment from Orion Resource Partners in April, to support the continued development of the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada. Albermarle’s Kings Mountain mine in North Carolina has also been a recipient of DPA Title III funding.",{"type":591,"attrs":19639,"content":19640},{"textAlign":49},[19641],{"text":19642,"type":596},"Meanwhile, in January 2025, Standard Lithium, in partnership with Equinor, finalised a $225 million grant from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains.",{"type":656,"attrs":19644},{"id":19645,"body":19646},"d47bb548-6624-4c6d-8113-d526265a3fda",[19647],{"id":19648,"_uid":19649,"type":663,"_editable":19650,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23158749","i-276d8876-53fb-418d-a72d-ef789b72aeb3","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-276d8876-53fb-418d-a72d-ef789b72aeb3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":19652,"content":19653},{"textAlign":49},[19654],{"text":19655,"type":596},"“What we are seeing now is an acceleration under President Trump,” Huston added. “Politics is a given, but I’m confident that the long-term policies of the US Government are going to lean toward domestic supply chain development.”",{"type":615,"attrs":19657,"content":19658},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19659],{"text":19660,"type":596},"Processing a key bottleneck",{"type":591,"attrs":19662,"content":19663},{"textAlign":49},[19664],{"text":19665,"type":596},"Yet, even where domestic mining does exist, such as for copper and rare earths, the US lacks sufficient processing capacity to refine extracted minerals, remaining dependent on third countries, such as China, to upgrade the material.",{"type":591,"attrs":19667,"content":19668},{"textAlign":49},[19669],{"text":19670,"type":596},"According to the Benchmark Copper Service, nearly half (48%) of the copper contained in US mined concentrate was exported in 2024, largely due to limited domestic smelting capacity.",{"type":656,"attrs":19672},{"id":19673,"body":19674},"6db90a92-2790-4261-80be-1019a87ca7ce",[19675],{"id":19676,"_uid":19677,"type":663,"_editable":19678,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23086902","i-ea2a68dc-946e-4e80-b817-ac6da3f192d7","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ea2a68dc-946e-4e80-b817-ac6da3f192d7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":19680,"content":19681},{"textAlign":49},[19682],{"text":19683,"type":596},"Last month the Trump administration launched a Section 232 probe into imports of processed critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs) to identify US supply chain vulnerabilities at this stage of the value chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":19685,"content":19686},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19687],{"text":19688,"type":596},"Supply self-sufficiency?",{"type":591,"attrs":19690,"content":19691},{"textAlign":49},[19692],{"text":19693,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that even if all planned US mining projects were to come to fruition, there will still be a shortfall in domestic supply for several critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":19695,"content":19696},{"textAlign":49},[19697],{"text":19698,"type":596},"As such, despite efforts to boost local mining, the US will remain reliant on imports to meet growing domestic demand, particularly for nickel, cobalt, and graphite; underscoring the necessity for expanded investment and diplomatic engagement in foreign strategic mineral projects across resource-rich regions, such as Africa and Latin America.",{"type":591,"attrs":19700,"content":19701},{"textAlign":49},[19702],{"text":19703,"type":596,"marks":19704},"Benchmark’s Giga USA conference will bring government, industry and finance together in Washington DC to debrief ever-evolving US policy and examine the road ahead for North America’s EV battery supply chain.",[19705],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":19707,"content":19708},{"textAlign":49},[19709,19716],{"text":19710,"type":596,"marks":19711},"Purchase your tickets",[19712,19715],{"type":606,"attrs":19713},{"href":19714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigausa2025/home",{"type":1006},{"text":19717,"type":596,"marks":19718}," and join us on 3-4 June.",[19719],{"type":1006},"Critical minerals have climbed to the top of the political agenda under the second Trump administration, as focus has centered on bolstering US mining and critical mineral processing to reduce strategic dependencies on China. Through a series of Executive Orders, President Trump has invoked executive powers to develop domestic supply chains. This has included expediting […]",[19722],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19723},{"job_title":557,"image":19724,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b6b7d1ae-f853-4fa2-aea6-e596b6a99802\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[19727,19728,19729,19730,19731],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":19733,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":19734,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6a00b4049a/bm-us-congress.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":19736,"uuid":19737,"name":19738,"slug":19739,"full_slug":19740,"content":19741},112467712519584,"d14fbf55-c66e-49c1-b446-0014f5f4037c","Benchmark begins public consultation on its European and North American lithium grades","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-its-european-and-north-american-lithium-grades","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-its-european-and-north-american-lithium-grades",{"_uid":19742,"date":19449,"tags":19743,"editor":19747,"content":19751,"excerpt":19845,"featured":50,"reporter":19846,"_editable":19850,"component":697,"seo_title":19738,"categories":19851,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":19854,"seo_description":19845,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19567},"ca54bb31-eed8-4755-aff8-c787590ee5f8",[19744,19745,19746],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[19748],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19749},{"job_title":557,"image":19750,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19752},[19753,19764,19769,19774,19779,19784,19789,19793,19802,19811,19819,19828,19832,19837],{"type":591,"attrs":19754,"content":19755},{"textAlign":49},[19756,19757,19762],{"text":9922,"type":596},{"text":19758,"type":596,"marks":19759},"Lithium Price Assessment",[19760],{"type":606,"attrs":19761},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":19763,"type":596}," Methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":19765,"content":19766},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19767],{"text":19768,"type":596},"Evolution of Europe and North America lithium price grades",{"type":591,"attrs":19770,"content":19771},{"textAlign":49},[19772],{"text":19773,"type":596},"As regional liquidity in the lithium market continues to grow, Europe and North America have seen battery grade spot markets burgeon.",{"type":591,"attrs":19775,"content":19776},{"textAlign":49},[19777],{"text":19778,"type":596},"Until now, battery grade spot market liquidity in Europe and North America has been insufficient for a robust price assessment process, to Benchmark’s strict market specific methodology process.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":19780,"content":19781},{"textAlign":49},[19782],{"text":19783,"type":596},"However, with an accelerating pipeline of domestic and ex-Asia lithium chemical production capacity, coupled with increased desire to source battery raw materials locally, Benchmark is proposing splitting its European and North American lithium grades into spot and contract assessments to support this trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":19785,"content":19786},{"textAlign":49},[19787],{"text":19788,"type":596},"Benchmark also proposes updating the incoterm for its FOB North America lithium hydroxide grade to CIF North America, to better reflect changing global trade flows.",{"type":591,"attrs":19790,"content":19791},{"textAlign":49},[19792],{"text":19172,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19794,"content":19795},{"textAlign":49},[19796,19797,19799,19800,19801],{"text":16786,"type":596},{"text":19798,"type":596}," will be split into ",{"text":16794,"type":596},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":16801,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19803,"content":19804},{"textAlign":49},[19805,19806,19808,19809,19810],{"text":16808,"type":596},{"text":19807,"type":596},"will be split into ",{"text":16816,"type":596},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":16823,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19812,"content":19813},{"textAlign":49},[19814,19815,19816,19817,19818],{"text":16830,"type":596},{"text":19798,"type":596},{"text":16837,"type":596},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":16844,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19820,"content":19821},{"textAlign":49},[19822,19823,19825,19826,19827],{"text":16851,"type":596},{"text":19824,"type":596},"will be split, and its incoterm altered, into ",{"text":16858,"type":596},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":16865,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19829,"content":19830},{"textAlign":49},[19831],{"text":19408,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19833,"content":19834},{"textAlign":49},[19835],{"text":19836,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest Monday 9 June 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":19838,"content":19839},{"textAlign":49},[19840,19841],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":19842},[19843],{"type":606,"attrs":19844},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology. Evolution of Europe and North America lithium price grades As regional liquidity in the lithium market continues to grow, Europe and North America have seen battery grade spot markets burgeon. Until now, battery grade […]",[19847],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19848},{"job_title":557,"image":19849,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ca54bb31-eed8-4755-aff8-c787590ee5f8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[19852,19853],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6826,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":19855,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":19857,"uuid":19858,"name":19859,"slug":19860,"full_slug":19861,"content":19862},112467707755935,"37f56d4f-9c55-4995-acef-842dd648536a","US considers “minerals-for-security” deal with the DRC","us-considers-minerals-for-security-deal-with-the-drc","article/us-considers-minerals-for-security-deal-with-the-drc",{"_uid":19863,"date":19449,"tags":19864,"editor":19868,"content":19872,"excerpt":20030,"featured":51,"reporter":20031,"_editable":20035,"component":697,"seo_title":19859,"categories":20036,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":20042,"featured_image":20046,"seo_description":20030,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":19567},"901e40ca-d600-49e5-8431-5681756c8501",[19865,19866,19867],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[19869],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":19870},{"job_title":557,"image":19871,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":19873},[19874,19893,19898,19910,19915,19928,19933,19938,19946,19951,19956,19964,19969,19974,19979,19984,19991,19996,20009],{"type":591,"attrs":19875,"content":19876},{"textAlign":49},[19877,19878,19884,19886,19892],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":19879,"type":596,"marks":19880},"US is looking to play a larger role",[19881],{"type":606,"attrs":19882},{"href":19883,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1342127",{"text":19885,"type":596}," in the critical minerals sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country is a key source of cobalt for battery production and has a growing presence in the ",{"text":19887,"type":596,"marks":19888},"lithium market",[19889],{"type":606,"attrs":19890},{"href":19891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/africas-lithium-supply-to-treble-this-year-china-dominates-region",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":19894,"content":19895},{"textAlign":49},[19896],{"text":19897,"type":596},"The US plans to use its significant geopolitical sway to push toward this goal. The US will meet with Congolese and Rwandan officials with the aim of agreeing on the final draft of a peace accord, to end the conflict between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.",{"type":591,"attrs":19899,"content":19900},{"textAlign":49},[19901,19903,19908],{"text":19902,"type":596},"Following a similar “minerals-for-security” ",{"text":19904,"type":596,"marks":19905},"strategy deployed with Ukraine",[19906],{"type":606,"attrs":19907},{"href":9864,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":19909,"type":596},", the US insists that bilateral economic agreements must be signed before any peace accord. These agreements would see the US invest billions of dollars into DRC mining and infrastructure projects as well as Rwandan projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":19911,"content":19912},{"textAlign":49},[19913],{"text":19914,"type":596},"In a move towards greater US presence in DRC minerals, US-based KoBold Metals announced in May it had agreed on a framework to buy AVZ Minerals’ stake in the sizeable Manono lithium project in the DRC. The agreement is being developed alongside the ongoing peace and economic discussions.",{"type":591,"attrs":19916,"content":19917},{"textAlign":49},[19918,19920,19926],{"text":19919,"type":596},"“For the Trump Administration, getting access to strategic greenfield critical minerals projects in the DRC, like the Manono lithium project, is one of the central priorities in securing a minerals-for-security deal with the DRC and Rwanda, as existing projects in the Copperbelt region are ",{"text":19921,"type":596,"marks":19922},"dominated mainly by Chinese companies",[19923],{"type":606,"attrs":19924},{"href":19925,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-drc-dominance-threatens-us-de-risking-efforts",{"text":19927,"type":596},",” said Bryan Bille, principal policy and geopolitics analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":19929,"content":19930},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19931],{"text":19932,"type":596},"How can DRC lithium impact the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":19934,"content":19935},{"textAlign":49},[19936],{"text":19937,"type":596},"The DRC is home to the Manono lithium development. The development was split into the Manono and Manono North projects following a legal dispute over ownership. The projects are forecast to have a combined spodumene concentrate output of one million tonnes, equivalent to ~140,000 tonnes per year (lithium carbonate equivalent) making it one of the largest spodumene mines.",{"type":656,"attrs":19939},{"id":19940,"body":19941},"07eb0f07-f52d-42b4-8ce8-ddd1683d6b1a",[19942],{"id":19943,"_uid":19944,"type":663,"_editable":19945,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23086730","i-8d90535f-b7dd-4a68-a938-9a019d23edcb","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8d90535f-b7dd-4a68-a938-9a019d23edcb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":19947,"content":19948},{"textAlign":49},[19949],{"text":19950,"type":596},"The Manono lithium deposit is high quality, and although transport logistics could double operating costs, Benchmark’s view is that the deposit will still be cost competitive globally. Costs could further be reduced through partnership with the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":19952,"content":19953},{"textAlign":49},[19954],{"text":19955,"type":596},"If the Manono projects are developed at an accelerated rate, it could worsen current surpluses and push the forecast deficit back from 2029 into next decade.",{"type":656,"attrs":19957},{"id":19958,"body":19959},"6cf6cda9-4de0-4bde-9bd0-3bf7b62d0de6",[19960],{"id":19961,"_uid":19962,"type":663,"_editable":19963,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"23075967","i-3dd970b5-3f2a-4197-9f2b-7936a2c1444c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-3dd970b5-3f2a-4197-9f2b-7936a2c1444c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":19965,"content":19966},{"textAlign":49},[19967],{"text":19968,"type":596},"KoBold is looking to buy the stake currently held by Australian miner AVZ which holds 51% in the Manono project. The rest of the project is owned by Cominiere (25%) and CATL (24%). Currently forecast to begin production in 2035, this deal could bring that date forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":19970,"content":19971},{"textAlign":49},[19972],{"text":19973,"type":596},"KoBold says that if the deal goes ahead, it will enable the company to invest over $1 billion in the asset, helping to push forward its development and unlock a key lithium resource for the US and other Western markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":19975,"content":19976},{"textAlign":49},[19977],{"text":19978,"type":596},"China’s Zijin Mining was granted a license for Manono North in 2023, and holds a majority stake in the project with the rest held by Cominiere.",{"type":591,"attrs":19980,"content":19981},{"textAlign":49},[19982],{"text":19983,"type":596},"Benchmark satellite analysis shows that significant work on the Manono North is underway, potentially in line with production starting in 2026 or 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":19985,"content":19986},{"textAlign":49},[19987],{"type":836,"attrs":19988},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":19989,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":19990},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd76e0c4d4/bm-zijin-manono-northeast-lithium-010.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":19992,"content":19993},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[19994],{"text":19995,"type":596},"What is the role of China in the DRC?",{"type":591,"attrs":19997,"content":19998},{"textAlign":49},[19999,20001,20007],{"text":20000,"type":596},"Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), ",{"text":20002,"type":596,"marks":20003},"China has invested billions",[20004],{"type":606,"attrs":20005},{"href":20006,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/african-lithium-exports-climb-as-chinese-owned-mines-go-online",{"text":20008,"type":596}," of dollars in the DRC’s assets and infrastructure, giving China a significant hold over the country’s critical minerals ecosystem.",{"type":591,"attrs":20010,"content":20011},{"textAlign":49},[20012,20014,20020,20022,20028],{"text":20013,"type":596},"The “minerals-for-security” deal is just the latest move by the US to get a foothold in the otherwise China-dominated region. A key tool for the US to gain a foothold in the DRC and ",{"text":20015,"type":596,"marks":20016},"Africa more broadly",[20017],{"type":606,"attrs":20018},{"href":20019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/zimbabwe-africas-lithium-heartland?_branch_match_id=1544413264717313927&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdwzz9XW0SHIKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3asA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":20021,"type":596}," is the ",{"text":20023,"type":596,"marks":20024},"Lobito Corridor Project",[20025],{"type":606,"attrs":20026},{"href":20027,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-proposal-for-trans-africa-corridor-targets-copper-and-cobalt-supply-chains",{"text":20029,"type":596},". This rail infrastructure project aims to significantly reduce transportation times across the African Copperbelt.","The US is looking to play a larger role in the critical minerals sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country is a key source of cobalt for battery production and has a growing presence in the lithium market. The US plans to use its significant geopolitical sway to push toward this […]",[20032],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20033},{"job_title":557,"image":20034,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"901e40ca-d600-49e5-8431-5681756c8501\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20037,20038,20039,20040,20041],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":20043,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":20043,"source":547,"filename":20044,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20045,"is_external_url":51},"Activity seen at Manono North lithium project","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1746795074/www-production/Zijin_Manono_Northeast_Lithium_0.8-1/Zijin_Manono_Northeast_Lithium_0.8-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":20043,"title":20043,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20047,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20048,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d9f45d1e1/bm-rochedure.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":20050,"uuid":20051,"name":20052,"slug":20053,"full_slug":20054,"content":20055},112467747229153,"f7a1d742-d995-498f-8fdc-55219b7d3c86","US and Ukraine clinch historic critical minerals agreement ","us-and-ukraine-clinch-historic-critical-minerals-agreement","article/us-and-ukraine-clinch-historic-critical-minerals-agreement",{"_uid":20056,"date":20057,"tags":20058,"editor":20066,"content":20070,"excerpt":20136,"featured":51,"reporter":20137,"_editable":20141,"component":697,"seo_title":20052,"categories":20142,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":20145,"seo_description":20136,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20148},"2829d356-f0d8-4fc3-89aa-40dad7a9d360","2025-05-01 00:00",[20059,20062,20065],{"slug":20060,"name":20061},"president-trump","President Trump",{"slug":20063,"name":20064},"ukraine","Ukraine",{"slug":572,"name":573},[20067],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20068},{"job_title":557,"image":20069,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20071},[20072,20077,20082,20089,20094,20099,20104,20109,20114,20119,20124,20131],{"type":591,"attrs":20073,"content":20074},{"textAlign":49},[20075],{"text":20076,"type":596},"The US and Ukraine have signed an economic partnership deal to establish a jointly-owned “Reconstruction Investment Fund” to develop Ukraine’s natural resources and associated infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":20078,"content":20079},{"textAlign":49},[20080],{"text":20081,"type":596},"Crucially, unlike previous proposals, the deal does not require Ukraine to pay back past military and economic aid. Instead, future US assistance will be counted as a contribution to the fund, while Kyiv will retain full control of the resources by contributing mine licences to the fund.",{"type":591,"attrs":20083,"content":20084},{"textAlign":49},[20085],{"type":836,"attrs":20086},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":20087,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":20088},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92a83323dc/bm-ukraine-critical-mineral-insight-resourceloc-001.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":20090,"content":20091},{"textAlign":49},[20092],{"text":20093,"type":596},"What is Ukraine’s critical mineral potential?",{"type":591,"attrs":20095,"content":20096},{"textAlign":49},[20097],{"text":20098,"type":596},"Ukraine is home to significant untapped deposits of critical minerals, with 22 of the 50 minerals listed by the US government found within its territory. Amongst these, lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements (REEs) have been highlighted for their strategic value.",{"type":591,"attrs":20100,"content":20101},{"textAlign":49},[20102],{"text":20103,"type":596},"Historically, Ukraine has extracted manganese and graphite, though production at the country’s only commercially operational mine—the Zavalievsky graphite mine—was halted in December 2024 due to labour and energy shortages stemming from the ongoing war.",{"type":591,"attrs":20105,"content":20106},{"textAlign":49},[20107],{"text":20108,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis has identified 24 critical mineral projects, 7 of which lie within Russian-occupied territory. However, much of Ukraine’s geological data is outdated, making accurate assessment of their economic potential challenging.",{"type":591,"attrs":20110,"content":20111},{"textAlign":49},[20112],{"text":20113,"type":596},"How significant could Ukraine’s REE deposits be?",{"type":591,"attrs":20115,"content":20116},{"textAlign":49},[20117],{"text":20118,"type":596},"REE supply has taken on increasing geopolitical importance during President Trump’s first 100 days in office, especially following China’s export restrictions on medium and heavy REEs in response to Trump’s recent tariffs. Indeed, President Trump has consistently highlighted access to Ukraine’s REE deposits as a key prerequisite for a deal with Ukraine, owing to their importance for the US defense sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":20120,"content":20121},{"textAlign":49},[20122],{"text":20123,"type":596},"Benchmark’s geographic information system (GIS) team has identified 18 REE deposits in Ukraine, the majority of which are licensed. Four key sites are estimated to contain up to 1.6 million tonnes of mineral resource, at a value of approximately $106 billion at current prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":20125,"content":20126},{"textAlign":49},[20127],{"type":836,"attrs":20128},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":20129,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":20130},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f550b187c/bm-ukraine-critical-mineral-insight-ree-004-1-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":20132,"content":20133},{"textAlign":49},[20134],{"text":20135,"type":596},"However, extensive exploration and drilling are required to determine commercial viability. Therefore, Benchmark does not anticipate meaningful production from most projects in the short to medium term, particularly within the current US presidential term.","The US and Ukraine have signed an economic partnership deal to establish a jointly-owned “Reconstruction Investment Fund” to develop Ukraine’s natural resources and associated infrastructure. Crucially, unlike previous proposals, the deal does not require Ukraine to pay back past military and economic aid. Instead, future US assistance will be counted as a contribution to the […]",[20138],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20139},{"job_title":557,"image":20140,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2829d356-f0d8-4fc3-89aa-40dad7a9d360\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20143,20144],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20146,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20147,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/919f201fc2/bm-us-ukraine-1-13421204a0c4.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 01, 2025",{"id":20150,"uuid":20151,"name":20152,"slug":20153,"full_slug":20154,"content":20155},112467764018696,"3ecf15b7-34ed-42f6-a34e-ea1d4a7d886e","What does Mark Carney’s election win mean for critical minerals and EVs in Canada?","what-does-mark-carneys-election-win-mean-for-critical-minerals-and-evs-in-canada","article/what-does-mark-carneys-election-win-mean-for-critical-minerals-and-evs-in-canada",{"_uid":20156,"date":20157,"tags":20158,"editor":20163,"content":20167,"excerpt":20251,"featured":51,"reporter":20252,"_editable":20256,"component":697,"seo_title":20152,"categories":20257,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":20266,"seo_description":20251,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20269},"054f62cc-89df-4cf1-867d-24874b616d6a","2025-04-30 00:00",[20159,20160,20161,20162],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[20164],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20165},{"job_title":557,"image":20166,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20168},[20169,20174,20179,20184,20189,20194,20199,20207,20212,20217,20224,20229,20234,20239],{"type":591,"attrs":20170,"content":20171},{"textAlign":49},[20172],{"text":20173,"type":596},"Prime Minister Mark Carney has claimed victory in Canada’s election, following a campaign defined by rebuttals to President Trump’s annexation threats and Canadian pushback to aggressive US tariff policies.",{"type":591,"attrs":20175,"content":20176},{"textAlign":49},[20177],{"text":20178,"type":596},"As Canada enters a new, more turbulent era in its relationship with the US, Prime Minister Carney has pledged to maintain Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against its southern neighbour. However, he has ruled out expanding these measures, citing concerns about further economic harm.",{"type":591,"attrs":20180,"content":20181},{"textAlign":49},[20182],{"text":20183,"type":596},"Underpinning the Liberal Party campaign was a pledge to minimise risks associated with Canada’s economic dependence on the US, with the new government set to prioritise trade diversification and bolstering international alliances, particularly with the European Union (EU).",{"type":615,"attrs":20185,"content":20186},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20187],{"text":20188,"type":596},"What does the result mean for critical minerals?",{"type":591,"attrs":20190,"content":20191},{"textAlign":49},[20192],{"text":20193,"type":596},"Canada is a global leader in critical minerals, with rich reserves of lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and graphite and favourable mining policies. The US accounted for around 60% of Canada’s critical mineral exports in 2024—making Canada export-dependent on the US market.",{"type":591,"attrs":20195,"content":20196},{"textAlign":49},[20197],{"text":20198,"type":596},"Despite climate and energy dropping down the election agenda, due to catalysing effects of President Trump’s rhetoric, the Liberal Party outlined its ambition to position Canada as a “leading energy superpower” across both clean energy and fossil fuel markets. This will be guided by a three-pronged policy objective: energy security, trade diversification, and long-term competitiveness. ",{"type":656,"attrs":20200},{"id":20201,"body":20202},"4482e7e4-9dfd-451e-a1c0-d38d77d95b90",[20203],{"id":20204,"_uid":20205,"type":663,"_editable":20206,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22928631","i-f9f526d4-9616-4534-8a7a-21329c3cb17e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-f9f526d4-9616-4534-8a7a-21329c3cb17e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":20208,"content":20209},{"textAlign":49},[20210],{"text":20211,"type":596},"In relation to critical minerals, this includes accelerating permitting approvals for key projects and increased public support to bolster supply security, through greater investment in critical mineral prospecting and the expansion of tax credits for mineral exploration and extraction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":20213,"content":20214},{"textAlign":49},[20215],{"text":20216,"type":596},"A cornerstone of the economic diversification plan is a proposed C$5 billion (US$3.6 billion) Trade Diversification Corridor Fund, which will support new infrastructure projects, including ports, rail lines, terminals, airports, highways, and an “east-to-west” national electricity grid. This is intended to facilitate intra-Canadian trade and reduce reliance on the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":20218,"content":20219},{"textAlign":49},[20220],{"type":836,"attrs":20221},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":20222,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":20223},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXegNNmp46ocDrbmDZJT5FRVcM-hJheny8bq9vaLh2GDUWn3Ryti0JvauBkUruVSRpjzULtvNh4VSlqBrLuG_hCZJdcFq3zYm6XRWcHC26A_QvXJwdj8FAswtN5fqnCeIY5Mn5zP0A?key=_DMaN8OQT3iQV7ny8Yy7glaN",{},{"type":591,"attrs":20225,"content":20226},{"textAlign":49},[20227],{"text":20228,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the Liberal government also plans to enhance engagement with Indigenous communities. This includes doubling the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to C$10 billion (US$7.2 billion), enabling more Indigenous-led participation in infrastructure, transportation, and trade projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":20230,"content":20231},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20232],{"text":20233,"type":596},"What is the Liberal Party’s stance towards EVs?",{"type":591,"attrs":20235,"content":20236},{"textAlign":49},[20237],{"text":20238,"type":596},"During the campaign Prime Minister Carney pledged to reinstate the federal zero-emission vehicle subsidy programme, which had been suspended earlier this year after the previously allocated funds were exhausted.",{"type":591,"attrs":20240,"content":20241},{"textAlign":49},[20242,20244,20250],{"text":20243,"type":596},"This commitment comes at a challenging time for Canada’s electric vehicle (EV) market: EV sales in Canada fell by 8% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period a year before, according to ",{"text":20245,"type":596,"marks":20246},"Rho Motion’s latest assessment",[20247],{"type":606,"attrs":20248},{"href":20249,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Prime Minister Mark Carney has claimed victory in Canada’s election, following a campaign defined by rebuttals to President Trump’s annexation threats and Canadian pushback to aggressive US tariff policies. As Canada enters a new, more turbulent era in its relationship with the US, Prime Minister Carney has pledged to maintain Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against its […]",[20253],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20254},{"job_title":557,"image":20255,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"054f62cc-89df-4cf1-867d-24874b616d6a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20258,20259,20260,20261,20262,20263,20264,20265],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20267,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20268,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1f38a5844b/bm-shutterstock-2609096991.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 30, 2025",{"id":20271,"uuid":20272,"name":20273,"slug":20274,"full_slug":20275,"content":20276},112467783142924,"2bc56633-b6f9-40c0-bf7e-ec7a7d4ccbd6","CATL gears up for mass market sodium ion batteries","catl-gears-up-for-mass-market-sodium-ion-batteries","article/catl-gears-up-for-mass-market-sodium-ion-batteries",{"_uid":20277,"date":20278,"tags":20279,"editor":20284,"content":20288,"excerpt":20418,"featured":51,"reporter":20419,"_editable":20423,"component":697,"seo_title":20273,"categories":20424,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":20428,"featured_image":20432,"seo_description":20418,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20435},"1646ee35-6369-4c1b-8cd2-ac8e6d1d85a6","2025-04-24 00:00",[20280,20281,20282,20283],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[20285],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20286},{"job_title":557,"image":20287,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20289},[20290,20295,20300,20313,20321,20326,20339,20352,20357,20365,20370,20375,20380,20385,20390,20395,20408,20413],{"type":591,"attrs":20291,"content":20292},{"textAlign":49},[20293],{"text":20294,"type":596},"CATL will begin mass production of its next-generation sodium ion batteries for passenger electric vehicle (EV) applications in December this year under the brand name Naxtra.",{"type":591,"attrs":20296,"content":20297},{"textAlign":49},[20298],{"text":20299,"type":596},"The battery could compete with mid-range lithium iron phosphate (LFP) on an energy density basis, with a purported energy density of 175 Wh/kg.",{"type":591,"attrs":20301,"content":20302},{"textAlign":49},[20303,20305,20311],{"text":20304,"type":596},"“CATL’s announcement represents one of the ",{"text":20306,"type":596,"marks":20307},"highest reported energy densities",[20308],{"type":606,"attrs":20309},{"href":20310,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/new-entrants-drive-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-growth?_branch_match_id=1544413169052187117&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLy5wMw0sN8nK9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUABshu2EgAAAA%3D",{"text":20312,"type":596}," for sodium-ion technology to date,” said Varnika Agarwal, a battery analyst at Rho Motion. “However, CATL did not disclose the cost of the Naxtra EV cell, which is very important, as at current lithium prices, sodium ion cell prices are higher than LFP.”",{"type":656,"attrs":20314},{"id":20315,"body":20316},"048ec6e4-e461-4af3-9052-2ecf88d6b2bc",[20317],{"id":20318,"_uid":20319,"type":663,"_editable":20320,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22804690","i-0ea159b1-12d3-49c5-8cda-7ac0d0f38f13","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-0ea159b1-12d3-49c5-8cda-7ac0d0f38f13\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":20322,"content":20323},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20324],{"text":20325,"type":596},"Can sodium ion compete with LFP on price?",{"type":591,"attrs":20327,"content":20328},{"textAlign":49},[20329,20331,20337],{"text":20330,"type":596},"Sodium ion batteries are often touted as ",{"text":20332,"type":596,"marks":20333},"low cost alternatives",[20334],{"type":606,"attrs":20335},{"href":20336,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-do-sodium-ion-batteries-compare-to-lfp?_branch_match_id=1544413185472797406&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL8%2FzyIuqMHEsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAyNf6VUgAAAA%3D",{"text":20338,"type":596}," to lithium ion batteries with the added advantage of not using as many critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":20340,"content":20341},{"textAlign":49},[20342,20344,20350],{"text":20343,"type":596},"However, with LFP ",{"text":20345,"type":596,"marks":20346},"cell prices having fallen so low",[20347],{"type":606,"attrs":20348},{"href":20349,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-cell-prices-reach-all-time-low-in-september-as-lfp-falls-below-60-per-kwh-level?_branch_match_id=1544413177004787966&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FNwtUz1cnEy9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUACxsgE0gAAAA%3D",{"text":20351,"type":596}," whilst also improving in energy density and cycle life, sodium ion cells are not currently able to compete on cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":20353,"content":20354},{"textAlign":49},[20355],{"text":20356,"type":596},"Helping to drive the LFP cell price down is an oversupply of LFP cells in the market with significantly more capacity than required to meet demand.",{"type":656,"attrs":20358},{"id":20359,"body":20360},"40dc02e3-ce65-4886-be63-9028558f7aae",[20361],{"id":20362,"_uid":20363,"type":663,"_editable":20364,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22811602","i-e07b3a05-8b94-4f3b-bb22-ad4d715aa63c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e07b3a05-8b94-4f3b-bb22-ad4d715aa63c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":20366,"content":20367},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20368],{"text":20369,"type":596},"Beyond price, what can sodium ion compete in?",{"type":591,"attrs":20371,"content":20372},{"textAlign":49},[20373],{"text":20374,"type":596},"At CATL’s Tech Day 2025 event, the company leaned into the benefits of sodium-ion batteries performance in low temperature environments, demonstrating the performance of its Naxtra batteries at temperatures as low as −40°C.",{"type":591,"attrs":20376,"content":20377},{"textAlign":49},[20378],{"text":20379,"type":596},"“The difficult environment for cost competitiveness means that sodium-ion batteries will have to rely on benefits like this, along with high temperature stability and potential improvements in safety, to build early market demand,” said Rory McNulty, product director for new technology at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":20381,"content":20382},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20383],{"text":20384,"type":596},"Are sodium ion batteries ready for mass market penetration?",{"type":591,"attrs":20386,"content":20387},{"textAlign":49},[20388],{"text":20389,"type":596},"CATL claims that sodium ion batteries will account for as much as half the demand forecast for LFP by 2030, however Benchmark views this to be an overly bullish outlook.",{"type":591,"attrs":20391,"content":20392},{"textAlign":49},[20393],{"text":20394,"type":596},"Although CATL’s announcement places it as the best performing sodium ion battery from an energy density perspective, there is still a long way to go to reach the 200 Wh/kg target the company has previously set.",{"type":591,"attrs":20396,"content":20397},{"textAlign":49},[20398,20400,20406],{"text":20399,"type":596},"CATL’s Naxtra passenger EV battery will first appear in Changan NEVO vehicles and some GAC EV models using CATL’s Choco-SEB battery swapping platform. It may also replace the 160 Wh/kg sodium ion battery found in ",{"text":20401,"type":596,"marks":20402},"CATL’s Freevoy",[20403],{"type":606,"attrs":20404},{"href":20405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-releases-freevoy-lithium-sodium-ion-hybrid-battery?_branch_match_id=1544413164524417280&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9y%2BzDI6MNHUsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPbFb%2FEgAAAA%3D",{"text":20407,"type":596}," lithium-sodium hybrid battery packs.",{"type":591,"attrs":20409,"content":20410},{"textAlign":49},[20411],{"text":20412,"type":596},"In addition to passenger EV applications, CATL’s Naxtra brand will also include a 24V heavy-duty sodium ion battery, designed to be a longer-lasting replacement to the lead-acid starter battery in trucks. Mass production of that battery is set to begin as early as June this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":20414,"content":20415},{"textAlign":49},[20416],{"text":20417,"type":596},"“If the technology was ready to go mass market, it would be applied as the sole powertrain, rather than as an auxiliary system or in support of lithium-ion battery cells,” McNulty said.","CATL will begin mass production of its next-generation sodium ion batteries for passenger electric vehicle (EV) applications in December this year under the brand name Naxtra. The battery could compete with mid-range lithium iron phosphate (LFP) on an energy density basis, with a purported energy density of 175 Wh/kg. “CATL’s announcement represents one of the […]",[20420],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20421},{"job_title":557,"image":20422,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1646ee35-6369-4c1b-8cd2-ac8e6d1d85a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20425,20426,20427],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":20429,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":20429,"source":547,"filename":20430,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20431,"is_external_url":51},"Chart titled: CATL's Naxtra sodium ion battery is competitive with mid-range LFP cells. Subtitle: Energy densities (Wh/kg) for sodium ion batteries by select companies","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1745485670/www-production/Sodium-ion-energy-density@2x-5/Sodium-ion-energy-density@2x-5.png?_i=AA",{"alt":20429,"title":20429,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20433,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20434,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/56ced82eb3/bm-shutterstock-2533509499.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 24, 2025",{"id":20437,"uuid":20438,"name":20439,"slug":20440,"full_slug":20441,"content":20442},112467802443281,"042feb95-0966-47ee-80f9-2191f3a7a842","Why are French EV sales falling?","why-are-french-ev-sales-falling","article/why-are-french-ev-sales-falling",{"_uid":20443,"date":20444,"tags":20445,"editor":20452,"content":20456,"excerpt":20528,"featured":50,"reporter":20529,"_editable":20533,"component":697,"seo_title":20439,"categories":20534,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":20537,"seo_description":20528,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20540},"1e327e8a-16e7-46d3-a525-13f8e8176823","2025-04-17 00:00",[20446,20449],{"slug":20447,"name":20448},"france","France",{"slug":20450,"name":20451},"rho-motion","Rho Motion",[20453],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20454},{"job_title":557,"image":20455,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20457},[20458,20470,20478,20483,20488,20493,20498,20503,20510,20515],{"type":591,"attrs":20459,"content":20460},{"textAlign":49},[20461,20463,20468],{"text":20462,"type":596},"Europe’s electric vehicles (EV) sales have had",{"text":20464,"type":596,"marks":20465}," a strong start to the year, growing 21% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024",[20466],{"type":606,"attrs":20467},{"href":19471,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":20469,"type":596},". Notably, this growth has not been reflected in France’s EV market, which is down over 18% in the same period according to Rho Motion’s EV Sales Database. This makes it the only major EV market in Europe to be down in the opening months of 2025. Comparatively, Germany is up 37% compared to 2024 and the UK is up 36%.",{"type":656,"attrs":20471},{"id":20472,"body":20473},"c2b740d4-71cc-4aa9-bd15-8de39b781234",[20474],{"id":20475,"_uid":20476,"type":663,"_editable":20477,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22706158","i-6627482b-96c8-49ff-a216-b4d08c43774a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6627482b-96c8-49ff-a216-b4d08c43774a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":20479,"content":20480},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20481],{"text":20482,"type":596},"What’s driving France’s EV market decline?",{"type":591,"attrs":20484,"content":20485},{"textAlign":49},[20486],{"text":20487,"type":596},"Changes in French subsidies are the key driver behind market dynamics. Under France’s “Bonus Écologique”, its EV subsidy scheme, consumers could receive anywhere from EUR4,000 up to EUR7,000 (dependent on household income) in subsidy towards the purchase of an EV. From 2025, this changed with the maximum subsidy now EUR4,000. Additionally, the subsidy is now only available to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), excluding plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).",{"type":591,"attrs":20489,"content":20490},{"textAlign":49},[20491],{"text":20492,"type":596},"In addition to PHEVs no longer being eligible for the “Bonus Écologique”, they are also now liable for the “malus masse” tax, which requires consumers to pay a penalty respective to weight of the vehicle when it is first registered. Vehicles weighing over 1,600 kg pay a tax for each kilo over that weight. However, PHEVs receive a discount on this tax, with the greatest discount received for PHEVs with an electric range of over 50 km.",{"type":615,"attrs":20494,"content":20495},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20496],{"text":20497,"type":596},"How has this change affected the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":20499,"content":20500},{"textAlign":49},[20501],{"text":20502,"type":596},"In 2024, the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class was the best-selling PHEV in France. However, its sales in Q1 2025 are less than a sixth of what they were in Q1 2024 according to Rho Motion’s EV & Battery Monthly Database. This decrease is predominantly driven by the vehicle now being subject to a minimum malus mass tax of EUR9,680. This effect has been seen in numerous other PHEV models, such as the Peugeot 308 and 3008, or the Porsche Cayenne. The negative impact of the malus mass tax has been widespread, with PHEV sales in France down 47% in Q1 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":20504,"content":20505},{"textAlign":49},[20506],{"type":836,"attrs":20507},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":20508,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":20509},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9114b5e994/bm-screenshot-2025-04-17-121431.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":20511,"content":20512},{"textAlign":49},[20513],{"text":20514,"type":596},"Additionally, the reduction of the subsidy amount for the purchase for BEVs has also led to a drop in sales, with BEV sales down 5% in Q1 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":20516,"content":20517},{"textAlign":49},[20518,20520,20526],{"text":20519,"type":596},"The downturn reflects similar changes seen in the German market in 2023/24, when ",{"text":20521,"type":596,"marks":20522},"the EV subsidy was changed in August 2023 and then unexpectedly stopped in December 2023",[20523],{"type":606,"attrs":20524},{"href":20525,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-industry-updates/german-government-fast-tracks-ev-subsidy-phase-out/",{"text":20527,"type":596},". The subsidy change caused a dramatic downturn in sales throughout 2024, with the German market ending 2024 down 19% compared to 2023.","Europe’s electric vehicles (EV) sales have had a strong start to the year, growing 21% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, this growth has not been reflected in France’s EV market, which is down over 18% in the same period according to Rho Motion’s EV Sales Database. This makes it […]",[20530],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20531},{"job_title":557,"image":20532,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e327e8a-16e7-46d3-a525-13f8e8176823\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20535,20536],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20538,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20539,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b597261266/bm-adobestock-912633089-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 17, 2025",{"id":20542,"uuid":20543,"name":20544,"slug":20545,"full_slug":20546,"content":20547},112467797753360,"8d2afa5f-b776-4a2d-a0d8-c28f0c112bc0","Terbium prices spike following China rare earths export restrictions","terbium-prices-spike-following-china-rare-earths-export-ban","article/terbium-prices-spike-following-china-rare-earths-export-ban",{"_uid":20548,"date":20444,"tags":20549,"editor":20555,"content":20559,"excerpt":20668,"featured":50,"reporter":20669,"_editable":20673,"component":697,"seo_title":20544,"categories":20674,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":20677,"seo_description":20668,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20540},"ec7a5f25-9f40-4c68-aac2-bbde78726975",[20550,20551,20552],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},{"slug":20553,"name":20554},"rare-earth-prices","rare earth prices",[20556],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20557},{"job_title":557,"image":20558,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20560},[20561,20574,20594,20599,20607,20612,20617,20622,20627,20640,20645,20650,20655,20663],{"type":591,"attrs":20562,"content":20563},{"textAlign":49},[20564,20566,20572],{"text":20565,"type":596},"Terbium prices have spiked this month amid market turbulence following China’s restrictions on exports of medium and heavy rare earth elements (MHREs) that came in response to US President Trump’s “",{"text":20567,"type":596,"marks":20568},"Liberation Day",[20569],{"type":606,"attrs":20570},{"href":20571,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-launches-section-232-investigation-into-imports-of-critical-minerals-and-rare-earths?_branch_match_id=1544413144635972797&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz4soyMr3rjJwCU6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAFlU97UgAAAA%3D",{"text":20573,"type":596},"” reciprocal tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":20575,"content":20576},{"textAlign":49},[20577,20579,20585,20587,20593],{"text":20578,"type":596},"In particular, both prices and equities for heavy ",{"text":20580,"type":596,"marks":20581},"rare earth elements",[20582],{"type":606,"attrs":20583},{"href":20584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-importance-of-evs-to-the-rare-earths-market?_branch_match_id=1544413131844400309&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD83JNva2LDdwCU6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPOqe8EgAAAA%3D",{"text":20586,"type":596}," (HREEs) like terbium (Tb) are reacting sharply to tightening supply dynamics and ",{"text":20588,"type":596,"marks":20589},"escalating geopolitical risk",[20590],{"type":606,"attrs":20591},{"href":20592,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-trade-war-begins-what-does-it-mean-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals?_branch_match_id=1544413139837851293&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz01Jy%2FXNNQp2Ck6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAeEW9WUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":20595,"content":20596},{"textAlign":49},[20597],{"text":20598,"type":596},"This rise is driven largely by bullish price sentiment amid the uncertainty, as the spot market tightens rapidly, and buyers rush to secure supply.",{"type":656,"attrs":20600},{"id":20601,"body":20602},"ac4f56c1-fd5f-40e2-bac8-cabf0b9c9f19",[20603],{"id":20604,"_uid":20605,"type":663,"_editable":20606,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22712208","i-94a44b87-dfcc-45e4-86a7-d8f4ee4b37c7","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-94a44b87-dfcc-45e4-86a7-d8f4ee4b37c7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":20608,"content":20609},{"textAlign":49},[20610],{"text":20611,"type":596},"Rare earths underpin modern defense systems. An F-35 fighter jet contains around 418 kilograms of rare earth materials, used in engines, radar, electronics, and other essential systems. As military procurement ramps up globally, securing a stable supply of these materials is a matter of national security.",{"type":615,"attrs":20613,"content":20614},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20615],{"text":20616,"type":596},"How have the export restrictions impacted the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":20618,"content":20619},{"textAlign":49},[20620],{"text":20621,"type":596},"Since the export restrictions were implemented earlier this month, Benchmark contacts report that export licenses will now take from 45 days up to several months to be approved. This is up from a couple of weeks prior to the controls.",{"type":591,"attrs":20623,"content":20624},{"textAlign":49},[20625],{"text":20626,"type":596},"Industry contacts report to Benchmark that the Chinese government is increasingly unlikely to issue a license if the buyer is a US-based defence contractor—amounting to a de facto export ban.",{"type":591,"attrs":20628,"content":20629},{"textAlign":49},[20630,20632,20638],{"text":20631,"type":596},"MP Materials is the only operational ",{"text":20633,"type":596,"marks":20634},"rare earths mine in the US",[20635],{"type":606,"attrs":20636},{"href":20637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chart-can-the-us-meet-its-critical-mineral-needs-domestically?_branch_match_id=1544413152990175316&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNw42cvYOLSw3C0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAAEdk5kgAAAA%3D",{"text":20639,"type":596},", though is yet to produce Dy or Tb at commercial scale, highlighting the strategic urgency of bringing more capacity online.",{"type":591,"attrs":20641,"content":20642},{"textAlign":49},[20643],{"text":20644,"type":596},"Rare earth exports from China have been slower since the export restrictions began, market participants have told Benchmark, although demand for rare earths is typically slower at this time of year. The slow down in exports suggests there are sufficient stockpiles to meet near-term demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":20646,"content":20647},{"textAlign":49},[20648],{"text":20649,"type":596},"However, were this disruption to last beyond the second quarter of 2025, Benchmark expects the market to approach balance and enter a period of nominal deficit by the end of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":20651,"content":20652},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20653],{"text":20654,"type":596},"Could this catalyse supply diversification?",{"type":656,"attrs":20656},{"id":20657,"body":20658},"4a28b0ff-87d9-48e4-98f5-b7dc7d1b7050",[20659],{"id":20660,"_uid":20661,"type":663,"_editable":20662,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22705628","i-6c5c6d46-199f-4492-b24d-83dbb9f90a9a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6c5c6d46-199f-4492-b24d-83dbb9f90a9a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":20664,"content":20665},{"textAlign":49},[20666],{"text":20667,"type":596},"China’s export restrictions underscore the need for supply chain diversification. Improved financial incentives, expedited permitting, and strategic funding for vertically integrated efforts by governments outside of China could help to spur this investment.","Terbium prices have spiked this month amid market turbulence following China’s restrictions on exports of medium and heavy rare earth elements (MHREs) that came in response to US President Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs. In particular, both prices and equities for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) like terbium (Tb) are reacting sharply to tightening supply […]",[20670],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20671},{"job_title":557,"image":20672,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ec7a5f25-9f40-4c68-aac2-bbde78726975\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20675,20676],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12788,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20678,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":20680,"uuid":20681,"name":20682,"slug":20683,"full_slug":20684,"content":20685},112467817012757,"a5dcf5da-6012-4e8a-b259-9f7c65f43a40","In Charts: What impact could tariffs have on battery energy storage system prices in the US?","in-charts-what-impact-could-tariffs-have-on-battery-energy-storage-system-prices-in-the-us","article/in-charts-what-impact-could-tariffs-have-on-battery-energy-storage-system-prices-in-the-us",{"_uid":20686,"date":20687,"tags":20688,"editor":20694,"content":20698,"excerpt":20772,"featured":51,"reporter":20773,"_editable":20777,"component":697,"seo_title":20682,"categories":20778,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":20782,"featured_image":20785,"seo_description":20772,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20788},"5ec7f2e3-e863-49fd-8b93-f37bf9a6afac","2025-04-16 00:00",[20689,20690,20691,20692,20693],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[20695],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20696},{"job_title":557,"image":20697,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20699},[20700,20713,20718,20726,20731,20736,20744,20749,20754,20759,20764],{"type":591,"attrs":20701,"content":20702},{"textAlign":49},[20703,20705,20711],{"text":20704,"type":596},"The average price for Chinese battery energy storage systems sold in the US could return to 2022 levels, following ",{"text":20706,"type":596,"marks":20707},"President Trump’s Liberation Day ",[20708],{"type":606,"attrs":20709},{"href":20710,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-trade-war-begins-what-does-it-mean-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals?_branch_match_id=1544413097548700849&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz01Jy%2FXNNQp2Ck6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAeEW9WUgAAAA%3D",{"text":20712,"type":596},"tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":20714,"content":20715},{"textAlign":49},[20716],{"text":20717,"type":596},"Tariffs on imports of such systems are set to reach nearly 200% next year, with the bulk coming from Trump’s so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’.",{"type":656,"attrs":20719},{"id":20720,"body":20721},"c7787cb3-19e6-4407-926f-a3523d98fc8b",[20722],{"id":20723,"_uid":20724,"type":663,"_editable":20725,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22661280","i-1be229dc-2ae8-4c3d-9de7-325cb6de7acc","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-1be229dc-2ae8-4c3d-9de7-325cb6de7acc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":20727,"content":20728},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20729],{"text":20730,"type":596},"How will this impact system prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":20732,"content":20733},{"textAlign":49},[20734],{"text":20735,"type":596},"Assuming the US applies an additional 25% tariff on China for its use of Venezuelan oil, Benchmark and Rho Motion forecast that the average price of a Chinese-made BESS sold in the US could rise above the 2022 average price of $340 per kilowatt-hour reached when lithium prices skyrocketed.",{"type":656,"attrs":20737},{"id":20738,"body":20739},"ad3f8f73-6536-4c0a-9b76-6f62e119c1d1",[20740],{"id":20741,"_uid":20742,"type":663,"_editable":20743,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22648741","i-ab466686-bc2d-455c-9d79-9e1e5f3157a0","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ab466686-bc2d-455c-9d79-9e1e5f3157a0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":20745,"content":20746},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20747],{"text":20748,"type":596},"Could the tariffs be absorbed?",{"type":591,"attrs":20750,"content":20751},{"textAlign":49},[20752],{"text":20753,"type":596},"The average price of a BESS made and sold in China at the end of 2024 was close to half the average price of an equivalent Chinese BESS sold in the US. This means there is headroom for BESS producers to absorb some of the costs of the tariffs, but not all.",{"type":615,"attrs":20755,"content":20756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20757],{"text":20758,"type":596},"Can domestic supply meet demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":20760,"content":20761},{"textAlign":49},[20762],{"text":20763,"type":596},"Although these tariffs will certainly put US-based LFP cell producers in high demand, the country does not have production at a scale sufficient to meet its domestic BESS demand.",{"type":656,"attrs":20765},{"id":20766,"body":20767},"86cfec09-0f4d-4ae9-ac01-f58f32a6bd6b",[20768],{"id":20769,"_uid":20770,"type":663,"_editable":20771,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22672171","i-106b39cf-40f1-48a4-8a14-12bbae7291ed","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-106b39cf-40f1-48a4-8a14-12bbae7291ed\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","The average price for Chinese battery energy storage systems sold in the US could return to 2022 levels, following President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. Tariffs on imports of such systems are set to reach nearly 200% next year, with the bulk coming from Trump’s so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’. How will this impact system prices? Assuming the […]",[20774],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20775},{"job_title":557,"image":20776,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ec7f2e3-e863-49fd-8b93-f37bf9a6afac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20779,20780,20781],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20783,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20784,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1744795784/www-production/BESS-Tariffs@2x/BESS-Tariffs@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20786,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20787,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f2d111b22e/bm-shutterstock-2384104795-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 16, 2025",{"id":20790,"uuid":20791,"name":20792,"slug":20793,"full_slug":20794,"content":20795},112467812232723,"4a04eb39-d37e-4163-b178-faf4bbc24f90","US launches Section 232 investigation into critical minerals imports","us-launches-section-232-investigation-into-imports-of-critical-minerals-and-rare-earths","article/us-launches-section-232-investigation-into-imports-of-critical-minerals-and-rare-earths",{"_uid":20796,"date":20687,"tags":20797,"editor":20803,"content":20807,"excerpt":20919,"featured":51,"reporter":20920,"_editable":20924,"component":697,"seo_title":20792,"categories":20925,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":20928,"featured_image":20931,"seo_description":20919,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20788},"97a18e41-0a12-419a-ad53-54fe22f87667",[20798,20799,20800,20801,20802],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":20060,"name":20061},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[20804],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20805},{"job_title":557,"image":20806,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20808},[20809,20814,20819,20827,20847,20852,20857,20862,20867,20872,20880,20891,20896,20901,20907],{"type":591,"attrs":20810,"content":20811},{"textAlign":49},[20812],{"text":20813,"type":596},"The Trump administration has ordered a probe into imports of processed critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs), which underpin US national and economic security. This move marks the latest effort to address US supply chain vulnerabilities and reduce strategic dependence on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":20815,"content":20816},{"textAlign":49},[20817],{"text":20818,"type":596},"“The investigation highlights growing US concerns over its reliance on China for processed minerals and REEs, especially amid escalating trade tensions,” said Bryan Bille, principal policy and geopolitical analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":656,"attrs":20820},{"id":20821,"body":20822},"7c5c58b6-1d78-467c-8366-9b73012450d2",[20823],{"id":20824,"_uid":20825,"type":663,"_editable":20826,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22688067","i-86a480c1-2c27-4407-968d-38f75a8d9abf","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-86a480c1-2c27-4407-968d-38f75a8d9abf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":20828,"content":20829},{"textAlign":49},[20830,20832,20838,20840,20846],{"text":20831,"type":596},"It follows Beijing’s decision to impose export restrictions on medium and heavy REEs and permanent magnets, ",{"text":20833,"type":596,"marks":20834},"critical to US defence technologies",[20835],{"type":606,"attrs":20836},{"href":20837,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-rare-earth-exports-amid-escalating-trade-tensions-with-us?_branch_match_id=1544413107876104904&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd0suKjQpzTB2Ck6yrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA6W85fkgAAAA%3D",{"text":20839,"type":596},", last week. A Section 232 investigation was previously used by President Trump to impose a 25% global tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as to examine ",{"text":20841,"type":596,"marks":20842},"copper imports earlier this year",[20843],{"type":606,"attrs":20844},{"href":20845,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-trump-orders-probe-into-copper-imports?_branch_match_id=1544413120896863169&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWt3CvDIxIzCg3C0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAlOQVM0gAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":20848,"content":20849},{"textAlign":49},[20850],{"text":20851,"type":596},"A final report is expected within 180 days, outlining policy recommendations that could include tariffs and import restrictions on critical minerals and REEs, or expanded federal support for domestic production, processing, and recycling capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":20853,"content":20854},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20855],{"text":20856,"type":596},"US lacks domestic processing capabilities",{"type":591,"attrs":20858,"content":20859},{"textAlign":49},[20860],{"text":20861,"type":596},"The US has limited capacity for extracting and processing raw materials used in batteries. Imports of key battery inputs— copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, natural graphite, and synthetic graphite—were valued at  $11.7 billion in 2024, according to Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":20863,"content":20864},{"textAlign":49},[20865],{"text":20866,"type":596},"Chile is a key source of copper and lithium imports, accounting for 70% and 60% of the total imports, respectively. Meanwhile, China is the predominant source of flake and synthetic graphite imports, as well as REEs.",{"type":591,"attrs":20868,"content":20869},{"textAlign":49},[20870],{"text":20871,"type":596},"Even where domestic mining does exist, such as for copper and REEs, the US lacks sufficient processing infrastructure and remains dependent on other countries, particularly China, to upgrade the material.",{"type":656,"attrs":20873},{"id":20874,"body":20875},"cfdec8bf-e5e0-4728-b687-eec5f0a79155",[20876],{"id":20877,"_uid":20878,"type":663,"_editable":20879,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22690632","i-98d5646a-f8aa-4c16-a9e5-29d8f25600cb","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-98d5646a-f8aa-4c16-a9e5-29d8f25600cb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":20881,"content":20882},{"textAlign":49},[20883,20885],{"text":20884,"type":596},"Tariffs alone will not address structural limitations in the medium to long term. Permitting delays are a major obstacle to bringing new domestic mining and processing capacity online, and have been a ",{"text":20886,"type":596,"marks":20887},"key area of focus for the Trump administration.",[20888],{"type":606,"attrs":20889},{"href":20890,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-executive-order-to-accelerate-us-critical-mineral-push?_branch_match_id=1544413115965890420&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTy4uiDAzN8o3DkqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAWldDL0gAAAA%3D",{"type":591,"attrs":20892,"content":20893},{"textAlign":49},[20894],{"text":20895,"type":596},"To de-risk projects and attract private investment, especially in the current low-price, high-volatility environment, additional policy support is needed. This may include government-backed offtake agreements to incentivise domestic processing projects, as well as temporary price support mechanisms.",{"type":591,"attrs":20897,"content":20898},{"textAlign":49},[20899],{"text":20900,"type":596},"Despite efforts to boost local mining, the US will continue to rely on imports of critical minerals to meet growing domestic demand, particularly for nickel, cobalt, and graphite. This underscores the need for expanded investment and diplomatic engagement in foreign strategic mineral projects in resource-rich regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":20902,"content":20903},{"textAlign":49},[20904],{"text":19703,"type":596,"marks":20905},[20906],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":20908,"content":20909},{"textAlign":49},[20910,20916],{"text":20911,"type":596,"marks":20912},"Purchase your Early Bird tickets",[20913,20915],{"type":606,"attrs":20914},{"href":19714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":19717,"type":596,"marks":20917},[20918],{"type":1006},"The Trump administration has ordered a probe into imports of processed critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs), which underpin US national and economic security. This move marks the latest effort to address US supply chain vulnerabilities and reduce strategic dependence on China. “The investigation highlights growing US concerns over its reliance on China for […]",[20921],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20922},{"job_title":557,"image":20923,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"97a18e41-0a12-419a-ad53-54fe22f87667\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[20926,20927],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20929,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20930,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1744815369/www-production/snapshot-1744813914725@2x/snapshot-1744813914725@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20932,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":20933,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8d36ef7062/bm-exports.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":20935,"uuid":20936,"name":20937,"slug":20938,"full_slug":20939,"content":20940},112467807464978,"cde09a62-178d-43b0-80c4-4c17aea639e6","Global EV sales up 29% in 2025 from previous year","global-ev-sales-up-29-in-2025-from-previous-year","article/global-ev-sales-up-29-in-2025-from-previous-year",{"_uid":20941,"date":20687,"tags":20942,"editor":20946,"content":20950,"excerpt":21031,"featured":50,"reporter":21032,"component":697,"seo_title":20937,"categories":21036,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":21039,"seo_description":21031,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":20788},"a449c5e5-d54a-43a2-8c33-1ce6328dc672",[20943,20944,20945],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[20947],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":20948},{"job_title":557,"image":20949,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":20951},[20952,20963,20967,20984,20989,20996,21001,21006,21011,21016,21021,21026],{"type":591,"attrs":20953,"content":20954},{"textAlign":49},[20955,20957,20961],{"text":20956,"type":596},"The number of ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":20958},[20959],{"type":606,"attrs":20960},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":20962,"type":596}," sold globally in March 2025 is 1.7 million, with 4.1 million sold in Q1 2025. The EV market grew by 29% in March 2025 compared to March 2024, and increased by 40% compared to February 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":20964,"content":20965},{"textAlign":49},[20966],{"text":15194,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":20968,"content":20969},{"textAlign":49},[20970,20972,20976,20978,20982],{"text":20971,"type":596},"“This quarter, while turbulent, has seen a strong rate of growth globally for the EV market. Some countries, such as the UK, had a record-breaking March as drivers continue to go electric. The removal of subsidies in France has had a shrinking effect on sales which are down 18%. Meanwhile, in North America, ",{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":20973},[20974],{"type":606,"attrs":20975},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":20977,"type":596}," are struggling to keep up with the rate of policy announcements under the current White House administration. What is sure is that the electric vehicle market is already struggling to compete with ICE on cost, so reductions in subsidies and hefty tariffs for a very international ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":20979},[20980],{"type":606,"attrs":20981},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":20983,"type":596}," are guaranteed to have a cooling effect on the industry.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":20985,"content":20986},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20987],{"text":20988,"type":596},"Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024, YTD % ",{"type":591,"attrs":20990,"content":20991},{"textAlign":49},[20992],{"type":836,"attrs":20993},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":20994,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":20995},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/10574954db/bm-monthly-ev-sales-7-43539105bc.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":20997,"content":20998},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[20999],{"text":21000,"type":596},"Europe ",{"type":591,"attrs":21002,"content":21003},{"textAlign":49},[21004],{"text":21005,"type":596},"The European EV market has grown at 22% YTD, with BEVs growing at 27% and PHEVs at 10%. BEV sales in several countries are growing fast YTD, with BEVs in Germany up 37%, Italy up 64%, and the UK growing by 42%. The UK had a record number of EV sales in March 2025, with over 100,000 units sold for the first time. A large volume of vehicle sales is expected in March (and September) in the UK due to the new registration plates. However, the UK market still grew by 41% in March 2025 vs March 2024. The French market remains down YTD at -18%, a direct result of the reduction in available incentives, with BEVs down -5% and PHEVs by -47%. ",{"type":615,"attrs":21007,"content":21008},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21009],{"text":21010,"type":596},"North America ",{"type":591,"attrs":21012,"content":21013},{"textAlign":49},[21014],{"text":21015,"type":596},"The North American EV market (US, Canada, and Mexico) had a strong Q1 2025, growing by 16% compared to Q1 2024. In February, President Trump announced a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and then in March a 25% tariff on all countries’ imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts, with importers of automobiles under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) able to certify their US Content and systems so that the tariff will only apply to the value of their non-US content.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":21017,"content":21018},{"textAlign":49},[21019],{"text":21020,"type":596},"In 2024, around three-fifths of EVs sold in the USA were domestically produced. However, most of the remaining EV sales are manufactured in Japan, Korea, and Mexico. OEMS may be able to absorb some of the tariff, however, the levy will likely lead to a rise in price for US consumers in both the ICE and EV markets. The landscape for the total passenger car market will change as a direct result of the tariffs, especially from automakers in Korea and Japan, as well as US automakers operating in Mexico, that export a significant number of affordable models to the US market each year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":21022,"content":21023},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21024],{"text":21025,"type":596},"China ",{"type":591,"attrs":21027,"content":21028},{"textAlign":49},[21029],{"text":21030,"type":596},"The Chinese market increased by 36% in Q1 2025, compared to the same period last year. EV sales almost reach one million in March 2025, a feat first achieved in August last year. The ongoing tariffs between China and the US will have a limited impact on EV sales, due to the small number of EV sales between the two countries. The Model S and Model X from Tesla are exported from the US to China, in low volumes, but due to the current tariffs, the price would almost double for these Tesla vehicles.","The number of electric vehicles sold globally in March 2025 is 1.7 million, with 4.1 million sold in Q1 2025. The EV market grew by 29% in March 2025 compared to March 2024, and increased by 40% compared to February 2025. Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester, commented: “This quarter, while turbulent, has seen a […]",[21033],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21034},{"job_title":557,"image":21035,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[21037,21038],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21040,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21041,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5a14db842e/bm-adobestock-752110831-scaled.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":21043,"uuid":21044,"name":21045,"slug":21046,"full_slug":21047,"content":21048},112467831148056,"f8828e84-82ab-4226-b8b2-36d1e20fa83c","Supply disruptions in Indonesia drive short-term gains for MHP payables","supply-disruptions-in-indonesia-drive-short-term-gains-for-mhp-payables","article/supply-disruptions-in-indonesia-drive-short-term-gains-for-mhp-payables",{"_uid":21049,"date":21050,"tags":21051,"editor":21057,"content":21061,"excerpt":21208,"featured":50,"reporter":21209,"_editable":21213,"component":697,"seo_title":21214,"categories":21215,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":21219,"featured_image":21221,"seo_description":21223,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":21224},"3c2bf168-be1d-4137-b128-6ad3dfaac314","2025-04-10 00:00",[21052,21055,21056],{"slug":21053,"name":21054},"analyst-insights","Analyst Insights",{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},[21058],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21059},{"job_title":557,"image":21060,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21062},[21063,21112,21117,21125,21137,21158,21163,21168,21173],{"type":591,"attrs":21064,"content":21065},{"textAlign":49},[21066,21071,21080,21085,21094,21099,21107],{"text":21067,"type":596,"marks":21068},"Payables for ",[21069],{"type":739,"attrs":21070},{"color":6272},{"text":21072,"type":596,"marks":21073},"Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP)",[21074,21077,21079],{"type":606,"attrs":21075},{"href":21076,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-launches-nickel-industrys-first-mixed-hydroxide-precipitate-mhp-price",{"type":739,"attrs":21078},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21081,"type":596,"marks":21082},"–the ",[21083],{"type":739,"attrs":21084},{"color":6272},{"text":21086,"type":596,"marks":21087},"key nickel feedstock for lithium ion battery production",[21088,21091,21093],{"type":606,"attrs":21089},{"href":21090,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/what-is-nickel",{"type":739,"attrs":21092},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21095,"type":596,"marks":21096},"–rose 3.7% (to a range of 83-85%) between 26 March and 9 April, according to the ",[21097],{"type":739,"attrs":21098},{"color":6272},{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":21101},"Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment",[21102,21104,21106],{"type":606,"attrs":21103},{"href":6762,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":21105},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21108,"type":596,"marks":21109},", in response to nickel's declines on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and restocking activity following recent flooding in Indonesia.",[21110],{"type":739,"attrs":21111},{"color":6272},{"type":591,"attrs":21113,"content":21114},{"textAlign":49},[21115],{"text":21116,"type":596},"Notably, heavy rains in Indonesia impacted MHP production at the Morowali Industrial Park, the largest nickel mining and refining complex in the country, affecting roughly a week’s worth of output. These developments helped create short-term supply tightness throughout the value chain, with traders reporting low inventory levels to Benchmark during the assessment period.",{"type":656,"attrs":21118},{"id":21119,"body":21120},"0e8361a6-3690-44dd-bafe-6ea4470d0638",[21121],{"id":21122,"_uid":21123,"type":663,"_editable":21124,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22582833","i-7937e95c-eaba-4ae2-9148-b8ec65af1f8b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-7937e95c-eaba-4ae2-9148-b8ec65af1f8b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21126,"content":21127},{"textAlign":49},[21128,21130,21135],{"text":21129,"type":596},"In conjunction, news that the ",{"text":21131,"type":596,"marks":21132},"Indonesian government is considering raising the royalty rates for miners from a flat 10% for nickel ore",[21133],{"type":606,"attrs":21134},{"href":15490,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":21136,"type":596},", to a variable rate of 14 – 19%—dependent on the underlying price level—is providing additional upward support for battery-targeted nickel prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":21138,"content":21139},{"textAlign":49},[21140,21145,21153],{"text":21141,"type":596,"marks":21142},"Meanwhile, short term market sentiment is being buoyed by expectations of upcoming restocking activity from ",[21143],{"type":739,"attrs":21144},{"color":6272},{"text":21146,"type":596,"marks":21147},"Chinese nickel sulphate producers",[21148,21150,21152],{"type":606,"attrs":21149},{"href":21090,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":21151},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21154,"type":596,"marks":21155}," and reduced nickel matte production in Indonesia due to cost pressures, which is anticipated to further bolster demand for MHP.",[21156],{"type":739,"attrs":21157},{"color":6272},{"type":615,"attrs":21159,"content":21160},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21161],{"text":21162,"type":596},"How are tariff announcements impacting nickel?",{"type":591,"attrs":21164,"content":21165},{"textAlign":49},[21166],{"text":21167,"type":596},"President Trump’s flurry of recent tariff announcements has created tumult in global markets which is weighing negatively on the base metals complex. Nickel prices on the LME fell to a five-year low in early April, as the stainless steel market—the predominant end-use sector for nickel—is negatively impacted by the prevailing global economic uncertainty. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21169,"content":21170},{"textAlign":49},[21171],{"text":21172,"type":596},"Due to the aforementioned factors, MHP payables shifted upwards to 85% at the end of the assessment period in early April, to counteract declines in the underlying metal price.",{"type":591,"attrs":21174,"content":21175},{"textAlign":49},[21176,21181,21189,21194,21203],{"text":21177,"type":596,"marks":21178},"However, downstream demand signals in the battery supply chain are bearish—which could be a negative for MHP payables medium term. Chinese nickel sulphate refiners have reported limited buying interest from ",[21179],{"type":739,"attrs":21180},{"color":6272},{"text":21182,"type":596,"marks":21183},"battery precursor (pCAM) manufacturers",[21184,21186,21188],{"type":606,"attrs":21185},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":739,"attrs":21187},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21190,"type":596,"marks":21191},", who are demonstrating caution due to the ",[21192],{"type":739,"attrs":21193},{"color":6272},{"text":21195,"type":596,"marks":21196},"recent volatility in nickel and cobalt prices",[21197,21200,21202],{"type":606,"attrs":21198},{"href":21199,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/glossary/what-is-cobalt",{"type":739,"attrs":21201},{"color":6281},{"type":903},{"text":21204,"type":596,"marks":21205}," and broader macroeconomic headwinds.",[21206],{"type":739,"attrs":21207},{"color":6272},"Payables for Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP)–the key nickel feedstock for lithium ion battery production–rose 3.7% (to a range of 83-85%) between 26 March and 9 April, according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment, in response to nickel’s declines on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and restocking activity following recent flooding in Indonesia. Notably, heavy rains […]",[21210],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21211},{"job_title":557,"image":21212,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3c2bf168-be1d-4137-b128-6ad3dfaac314\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Disruptions in Indonesia drive short-term gains for MHP payables",[21216,21217,21218],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21220},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6033,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21222,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Payables for Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP)–the key nickel feedstock for lithium ion battery production–rose 3.7% (to a range of 83-85%) between 26 March and 9 April, according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment, in response to […]","Apr 10, 2025",{"id":21226,"uuid":21227,"name":21228,"slug":21229,"full_slug":21230,"content":21231},112467845602844,"32570814-b555-4d7f-9880-f9c336f91f20","Benchmark to increase publishing frequency of all black mass grades to every two weeks and launch EXW Europe grades","benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-all-black-mass-grades-to-every-two-weeks-and-launch-exw-europe-grades","article/benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-all-black-mass-grades-to-every-two-weeks-and-launch-exw-europe-grades",{"_uid":21232,"date":21233,"tags":21234,"editor":21238,"content":21242,"excerpt":21381,"featured":50,"reporter":21382,"_editable":21386,"component":697,"seo_title":21228,"categories":21387,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":21390,"seo_description":21381,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":21392},"9b66a5b6-71dc-4b59-930b-a5cf5c626aa3","2025-04-08 00:00",[21235,21236,21237],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},[21239],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21240},{"job_title":557,"image":21241,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21243},[21244,21257,21262,21267,21272,21277,21282,21287,21292,21304,21308,21312,21364,21369,21373],{"type":591,"attrs":21245,"content":21246},{"textAlign":49},[21247,21249,21255],{"text":21248,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce it will now publish its ",{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":21251},"Black Mass Price Assessment",[21252],{"type":606,"attrs":21253},{"href":21254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":21256,"type":596}," every two weeks on Thursdays, beginning 10 April 2025. This increased frequency includes all assessed grades, as well as two new EXW Europe black mass grades.",{"type":615,"attrs":21258,"content":21259},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21260],{"text":21261,"type":596},"All Black Mass grades to be assessed on alternate Thursdays",{"type":591,"attrs":21263,"content":21264},{"textAlign":49},[21265],{"text":21266,"type":596},"The changes will apply to the following black mass grades assessed by Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":21268,"content":21269},{"textAlign":49},[21270],{"text":21271,"type":596},"This evolution facilitates more frequent black mass price assessment releases within the parameters of Benchmark’s IOSCO-compliant black mass price assessment methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":21273,"content":21274},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21275],{"text":21276,"type":596},"Benchmark launches EXW Europe black mass prices",{"type":591,"attrs":21278,"content":21279},{"textAlign":49},[21280],{"text":21281,"type":596},"In addition to this frequency increase, Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of two EXW Europe black mass price assessment grades.",{"type":591,"attrs":21283,"content":21284},{"textAlign":49},[21285],{"text":21286,"type":596},"These new grades will be published at the same increased frequency as the existing grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":21288,"content":21289},{"textAlign":49},[21290],{"text":21291,"type":596},"The launch of these grades is in response to the growing maturity and liquidity being observed in the European black mass market.",{"type":591,"attrs":21293,"content":21294},{"textAlign":49},[21295,21297,21302],{"text":21296,"type":596},"These two additional price grades alongside the existing price grades will be made available to existing ",{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":21298},[21299],{"type":606,"attrs":21300},{"href":21301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling",{"text":21303,"type":596}," subscribers on alternate Thursdays by 4pm (London), starting from 10 April 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":615,"attrs":21305,"content":21306},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21307],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":21309,"content":21310},{"textAlign":49},[21311],{"text":15120,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":21313,"content":21314},{"textAlign":49},[21315,21316,21320,21321,21325,21326,21331,21332,21336,21337,21341,21342,21346,21347,21351,21352,21356,21357,21362],{"text":6729,"type":596},{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":21317},[21318],{"type":606,"attrs":21319},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":115,"type":596,"marks":21322},[21323],{"type":606,"attrs":21324},{"href":4844,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":189,"type":596,"marks":21327},[21328],{"type":606,"attrs":21329},{"href":21330,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/natural-graphite",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":1832,"type":596,"marks":21333},[21334],{"type":606,"attrs":21335},{"href":4824,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":21338},[21339],{"type":606,"attrs":21340},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":298,"type":596,"marks":21343},[21344],{"type":606,"attrs":21345},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":261,"type":596,"marks":21348},[21349],{"type":606,"attrs":21350},{"href":3795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":373,"type":596,"marks":21353},[21354],{"type":606,"attrs":21355},{"href":21301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":21358,"type":596,"marks":21359},"Rare Earths ",[21360],{"type":606,"attrs":21361},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":21363,"type":596},"– to the highest IOSCO standard. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21365,"content":21366},{"textAlign":49},[21367],{"text":21368,"type":596},"Our black mass price assessments are created by senior management and price analysts that truly understand the market they are assessing.",{"type":591,"attrs":21370,"content":21371},{"textAlign":49},[21372],{"text":16958,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":21374,"content":21375},{"textAlign":49},[21376,21378,21380],{"text":21377,"type":596},"To learn more please fill out this ",{"text":21379,"type":596},"contact form",{"text":4737,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce it will now publish its Black Mass Price Assessment every two weeks on Thursdays, beginning 10 April 2025. This increased frequency includes all assessed grades, as well as two new EXW Europe black mass grades. All Black Mass grades to be assessed on alternate Thursdays The changes will […]",[21383],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21384},{"job_title":557,"image":21385,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9b66a5b6-71dc-4b59-930b-a5cf5c626aa3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[21388,21389],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21391,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 08, 2025",{"id":21394,"uuid":21395,"name":21396,"slug":21397,"full_slug":21398,"content":21399},112467859845007,"be7904b2-7e66-4773-b522-654270daa8dc","The trade war begins… what does it mean for EVs, batteries and critical minerals?","the-trade-war-begins-what-does-it-mean-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals","article/the-trade-war-begins-what-does-it-mean-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals",{"_uid":21400,"date":21401,"tags":21402,"editor":21409,"content":21413,"excerpt":21565,"featured":51,"reporter":21566,"_editable":21570,"component":697,"seo_title":21396,"categories":21571,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":21582,"seo_description":21565,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":21585},"6f56d652-473e-4556-a1c1-7a474594f8fb","2025-04-03 00:00",[21403,21404,21405,21406,21407,21408],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":17938,"name":17939},{"slug":20060,"name":20061},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[21410],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21411},{"job_title":557,"image":21412,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21414},[21415,21420,21425,21436,21441,21452,21465,21470,21475,21480,21487,21492,21497,21502,21507,21512,21517,21522,21527,21535,21540,21545,21550,21555,21560],{"type":591,"attrs":21416,"content":21417},{"textAlign":49},[21418],{"text":21419,"type":596},"President Trump has announced his “Liberation Day” imposing reciprocal tariffs on some of the US’ largest trading partners, as well as a universal 10% levy on almost all imports. This marks one of the biggest shake ups in global trade in the last 100 years.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":21421,"content":21422},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21423],{"text":21424,"type":596},"What do the tariffs cover?",{"type":591,"attrs":21426,"content":21427},{"textAlign":49},[21428,21430,21431,21433,21434],{"text":21429,"type":596},"Aside from the universal 10%, the Trump Administration has named 60 countries each with a specific reciprocal tariff rate. The 10% universal import is set to be implemented on the 5",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":21432,"type":596}," of April, while the reciprocal tariffs will start on the 9",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":21435,"type":596}," of April. ",{"type":615,"attrs":21437,"content":21438},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21439],{"text":21440,"type":596},"List of reciprocal tariffs on key economies",{"type":591,"attrs":21442,"content":21443},{"textAlign":49},[21444,21446],{"text":21445,"type":596},"There are a few notable exemptions to the tariffs, these include steel and aluminium as well as automobiles and auto parts which each have their own 25% tariff. The automobile tariffs are set to take effect on the 3rd of April and ",{"text":21447,"type":596,"marks":21448},"are expected to have a significant impact on the EV industry, given that the US imported nearly 40% of all its EVs in 2024. ",[21449],{"type":606,"attrs":21450},{"href":21451,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-industry-updates/us-auto-tariffs-set-to-have-significant-impact-on-global-ev-industry/",{"type":591,"attrs":21453,"content":21454},{"textAlign":49},[21455,21457,21463],{"text":21456,"type":596},"Additionally, ",{"text":21458,"type":596,"marks":21459},"USMCA qualifying goods from Mexico and Canada will remain exempt from tariffs",[21460],{"type":606,"attrs":21461},{"href":21462,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-industry-updates/trumps-mexico-canada-and-china-tariffs-put-risks-on-the-ev-and-ess-industry/",{"text":21464,"type":596},", while non-qualifying goods will pay the previously announced rate of 25%. Notably, within this energy-related goods imports from Canada, including critical minerals, that are non-USCMA compliant face a lower 10% tariff.",{"type":615,"attrs":21466,"content":21467},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21468],{"text":21469,"type":596},"The BESS market in the US is set to be most affected",{"type":591,"attrs":21471,"content":21472},{"textAlign":49},[21473],{"text":21474,"type":596},"With EVs not set to be affected by the reciprocal and universal tariffs, the focus turns to the second largest battery demand market in the US, energy storage. In 2024, over 90% of lithium-ion energy storage cells deployed in the US storage market originated from China, according to Rho Motion’s BESS database.",{"type":591,"attrs":21476,"content":21477},{"textAlign":49},[21478],{"text":21479,"type":596},"Under the new “reciprocal” tariffs, Chinese goods will face a 34% rate in addition to the previously announced 20% tariffs, the 7.5% already applied to Chinese LFP cells for ESS and the 3.4% baseline tariffs. As a result, Chinese LFP cells will now be subject to a 64.9% tariff, which will increase to 82.4% in 2026 under previously planned Section 301 tariff increases announced under the Biden Administration. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21481,"content":21482},{"textAlign":49},[21483],{"type":836,"attrs":21484},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":21485,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":21486},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c36ee42eb3/bm-image-80-1341056221d2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":21488,"content":21489},{"textAlign":49},[21490],{"text":21491,"type":596},"Assuming the IRA production credit remains in place, this has the potential to dramatically bolster the cost competitiveness of domestically produced cells compared to Chinese counterparts. However, with domestic LFP supply still constrained, many industry players will remain dependent on Chinese-made cells, pushing cell prices back up to levels last seen in 2022. While this will undoubtedly drive up costs, the BESS market is still expected to grow with the potential for Chinese players to absorb some or part of the tariff due to the higher levels of margins currently achieved.",{"type":615,"attrs":21493,"content":21494},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21495],{"text":21496,"type":596},"Do the tariffs cover critical minerals?",{"type":591,"attrs":21498,"content":21499},{"textAlign":49},[21500],{"text":21501,"type":596},"The White House confirmed that ‘certain’ minerals, including copper, would be exempt from reciprocal tariffs due to US dependencies on foreign supply across key strategic industries and technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":21503,"content":21504},{"textAlign":49},[21505],{"text":21506,"type":596},"In 2024, the US was 100% dependent on imports to meet its demand for natural graphite and high-purity manganese sulphate, while domestic supply of lithium, cobalt, synthetic graphite, and nickel was equivalent to less than 10% of demand, according to Benchmark analysis. ",{"type":615,"attrs":21508,"content":21509},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21510],{"text":21511,"type":596},"List of key mineral exemptions:",{"type":591,"attrs":21513,"content":21514},{"textAlign":49},[21515],{"text":21516,"type":596},"The US has a significant copper pipeline supply, with close to two million tonnes of pipeline supply identified by Benchmark across 31 projects, potentially making the US a top three producer globally if realised. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21518,"content":21519},{"textAlign":49},[21520],{"text":21521,"type":596},"To incentivise domestic production, President Trump has indicated he plans to levy a separate tariff on copper imports, the result of a Section 232 investigation initiated on copper imports on national security grounds earlier this year. Although unspecified, market expectations are for a 25% tariff, similar to those imposed on steel and aluminium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21523,"content":21524},{"textAlign":49},[21525],{"text":21526,"type":596},"Tariffs are just one of the measures that the US could adopt as a result of the Section 232 investigation, which include export controls (to deter copper scrap exports).",{"type":656,"attrs":21528},{"id":21529,"body":21530},"379b3ed1-83f8-42ab-af8e-00dc6bd2dcfd",[21531],{"id":21532,"_uid":21533,"type":663,"_editable":21534,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22357455","i-e7030270-15fe-427a-9a3d-57c5f1279099","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e7030270-15fe-427a-9a3d-57c5f1279099\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21536,"content":21537},{"textAlign":49},[21538],{"text":21539,"type":596},"Although exempt from yesterday’s tariff announcement, reports indicate that President Trump is considering launching a tariff investigation on critical minerals under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act – raising the prospect for future levies on these minerals.",{"type":615,"attrs":21541,"content":21542},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21543],{"text":21544,"type":596},"The effect on battery recyclers depends on the future macro economic environment ",{"type":591,"attrs":21546,"content":21547},{"textAlign":49},[21548],{"text":21549,"type":596},"In the short term, impacts on the battery recycling industry will remain limited considering the critical minerals exemptions. However, in the longer term, broader macroeconomic effects could drive up overall operating costs for recyclers, while the supply of end-of-life batteries may fall short of initial expectations due to weakened consumer demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":21551,"content":21552},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21553],{"text":21554,"type":596},"What will the macro-economic impact be?",{"type":591,"attrs":21556,"content":21557},{"textAlign":49},[21558],{"text":21559,"type":596},"In the short term, these tariffs are expected to fuel inflation, drive up prices, and dampen consumer spending. Over time, inflationary pressures could intensify as the costs of supply chain restructuring are transferred to consumers and domestic producers seize the opportunity to raise prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":21561,"content":21562},{"textAlign":49},[21563],{"text":21564,"type":596},"However, a contraction in demand could simultaneously weaken economic growth, heightening the risk of stagflation. While the ultimate impact of these measures remains uncertain, what is clear is that the implementation of many of these tariffs will be complex and will involve numerous legal issues. ","President Trump has announced his “Liberation Day” imposing reciprocal tariffs on some of the US’ largest trading partners, as well as a universal 10% levy on almost all imports. This marks one of the biggest shake ups in global trade in the last 100 years. What do the tariffs cover? Aside from the universal 10%, […]",[21567],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21568},{"job_title":557,"image":21569,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6f56d652-473e-4556-a1c1-7a474594f8fb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[21572,21573,21574,21575,21576,21577,21578,21579,21580,21581],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21584,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6e42e2c186/bm-the-white-house.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 03, 2025",{"id":21587,"uuid":21588,"name":21589,"slug":21590,"full_slug":21591,"content":21592},112467864743988,"f77c9596-51e0-44aa-a15b-40a82917ea97","In Charts:  How much must battery mineral supply grow to meet demand?","in-charts-how-much-must-battery-mineral-supply-grow-to-meet-demand","article/in-charts-how-much-must-battery-mineral-supply-grow-to-meet-demand",{"_uid":21593,"date":21594,"tags":21595,"editor":21597,"content":21601,"excerpt":21664,"featured":51,"reporter":21665,"_editable":21669,"component":697,"seo_title":21589,"categories":21670,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":21677,"featured_image":21680,"seo_description":21664,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":21683},"b0ed3c1b-3602-4046-a9a0-260b552b8b69","2025-04-02 00:00",[21596],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[21598],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21599},{"job_title":557,"image":21600,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21602},[21603,21608,21613,21621,21626,21631,21636,21641,21646,21654,21659],{"type":591,"attrs":21604,"content":21605},{"textAlign":49},[21606],{"text":21607,"type":596},"Global lithium supply will need to nearly quadruple to meet battery demand projections by 2040, the latest analysis from Benchmark shows. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21609,"content":21610},{"textAlign":49},[21611],{"text":21612,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite and lithium will require the highest absolute growth during the forecast period, while high-purity manganese sulfate (HPMSM) will require the most significant relative expansion by 2030.",{"type":656,"attrs":21614},{"id":21615,"body":21616},"2ebfb2fd-97b7-408e-bc69-ad35e056aa76",[21617],{"id":21618,"_uid":21619,"type":663,"_editable":21620,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21117373","i-81eb87fb-79f5-49e3-b525-6b63984fed83","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-81eb87fb-79f5-49e3-b525-6b63984fed83\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21622,"content":21623},{"textAlign":49},[21624],{"text":21625,"type":596},"All battery mineral markets are due to be transformed as miners race to meet demand projections over the coming decade. Rapidly rising global electric vehicle (EV) adoption rates and the build out of stationary storage (BESS) infrastructure, to support the global energy transition, are set to accelerate battery demand growth over the forecast period.",{"type":591,"attrs":21627,"content":21628},{"textAlign":49},[21629],{"text":21630,"type":596},"However, the current low-price environment is disincentivising upstream investment in new supply and leading miners to curtail production at existing mines, particularly in the West, creating future supply risk that could complicate supply growth trajectories.",{"type":615,"attrs":21632,"content":21633},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21634],{"text":21635,"type":596},"Where will new supply come from?",{"type":591,"attrs":21637,"content":21638},{"textAlign":49},[21639],{"text":21640,"type":596},"Each battery raw material has a unique supply profile—requiring investment in different resource-rich corners of the globe. Despite the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) capturing the lion’s share of global cobalt supply (76% in 2024), Indonesia is set to be the largest source of incremental cobalt supply growth (52% of total supply growth) through to 2035. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21642,"content":21643},{"textAlign":49},[21644],{"text":21645,"type":596},"Likewise, Indonesia will be the major source of total nickel incremental supply growth (82%), while supply additions in the lithium market will be more geographically spread across different regions, with Argentina (17%), the US (16%), and China (14%) leading the pack.",{"type":656,"attrs":21647},{"id":21648,"body":21649},"07500e7a-453f-44b2-9ec4-54affef4d352",[21650],{"id":21651,"_uid":21652,"type":663,"_editable":21653,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21146611","i-34197782-773f-4c73-8e5f-7faee6ca4f23","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-34197782-773f-4c73-8e5f-7faee6ca4f23\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21655,"content":21656},{"textAlign":49},[21657],{"text":21658,"type":596},"China is set to compose the largest share of incremental supply growth for natural graphite (28%), synthetic graphite (77%), and high purity manganese sulphate (55%). ",{"type":591,"attrs":21660,"content":21661},{"textAlign":49},[21662],{"text":21663,"type":596},"As China grows its share of supply in these markets, it will pose supply security challenges for the European Union (EU) and the US, both of which are undergoing wide-ranging critical mineral supply chain de-risking efforts.","Global lithium supply will need to nearly quadruple to meet battery demand projections by 2040, the latest analysis from Benchmark shows. Synthetic graphite and lithium will require the highest absolute growth during the forecast period, while high-purity manganese sulfate (HPMSM) will require the most significant relative expansion by 2030. All battery mineral markets are due […]",[21666],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21667},{"job_title":557,"image":21668,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b0ed3c1b-3602-4046-a9a0-260b552b8b69\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[21671,21672,21673,21674,21675,21676],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21678,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21679,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1743612569/www-production/Briefing-and-resources-Supply-growth-Index@2x/Briefing-and-resources-Supply-growth-Index@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21681,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21682,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d0a32e42e2/bm-lithium-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 02, 2025",{"id":21685,"uuid":21686,"name":21687,"slug":21688,"full_slug":21689,"content":21690},112467869704247,"2900549e-2f96-4d5f-95d9-e9d261e7b5b4","The US and China ramp up funding for domestic critical mineral exploration","the-us-and-china-ramp-up-funding-for-domestic-critical-mineral-exploration","article/the-us-and-china-ramp-up-funding-for-domestic-critical-mineral-exploration",{"_uid":21691,"date":21692,"tags":21693,"editor":21697,"content":21701,"excerpt":21797,"featured":50,"reporter":21798,"_editable":21802,"component":697,"seo_title":21687,"categories":21803,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":21812,"seo_description":21797,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":21815},"06c99d5c-1a77-4ab0-99ec-741716caa7b8","2025-03-28 00:00",[21694,21695,21696],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[21698],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21699},{"job_title":557,"image":21700,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21702},[21703,21708,21721,21728,21741,21754,21759,21764,21772,21777,21789,21794],{"type":591,"attrs":21704,"content":21705},{"textAlign":49},[21706],{"text":21707,"type":596},"China and the US are both increasing funding for domestic critical mineral exploration to bolster supply self-sufficiency, as competition over strategic supply chains for advanced technologies — such as electric vehicles (EVs) and artificial intelligence (AI) — intensifies between the two superpowers.",{"type":591,"attrs":21709,"content":21710},{"textAlign":49},[21711,21713,21719],{"text":21712,"type":596},"Since entering office in January, the Trump administration has prioritised domestic mining as a matter of national security. ",{"text":21714,"type":596,"marks":21715},"An executive order signed last week invoked the Defense Production Act",[21716],{"type":606,"attrs":21717},{"href":21718,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-executive-order-to-accelerate-us-critical-mineral-push?_branch_match_id=1544413044856320277&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWtwz2c8qPDPUzC0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAndAaOkgAAAA%3D",{"text":21720,"type":596}," to re-direct Biden-era federal funding (approximately $700 million in 2024) towards domestic critical mineral production, establishing a new critical mineral fund for domestic projects and identifying mineral-rich federal lands, offering leases on suitable sites to private companies for mineral extraction. ",{"type":656,"attrs":21722},{"id":21723,"body":21724},"1e710653-14df-4ec2-bd16-f535306b418c",[21725],{"id":21532,"_uid":21726,"type":663,"_editable":21727,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"i-b4a8adc1-916b-4a92-9dfa-6e905b414e74","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b4a8adc1-916b-4a92-9dfa-6e905b414e74\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21729,"content":21730},{"textAlign":49},[21731,21733,21739],{"text":21732,"type":596},"Meanwhile, in China, at least half of the 34 provincial-level governments have increased subsidies or expanded access to critical mineral exploration over the past year, according to the Financial Times. Xinjiang — ",{"text":21734,"type":596,"marks":21735},"a key emerging hub for China’s domestic lithium production",[21736],{"type":606,"attrs":21737},{"href":21738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/2-billion-xinjiang-lithium-investments-to-double-regions-supply?_branch_match_id=1544413049636580925&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN8zJLQ4PMfIzC0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAU5TP8kgAAAA%3D",{"text":21740,"type":596}," — increased support for geological exploration to RMB 650 million ($89.6 million) in 2025, three times 2023 levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":21742,"content":21743},{"textAlign":49},[21744,21746,21752],{"text":21745,"type":596},"China is leveraging its control over critical mineral supply chains in the escalating tit-for-tat trade war between the two superpowers, ",{"text":21747,"type":596,"marks":21748},"imposing export restrictions on a number of strategic minerals last year, including gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite ",[21749],{"type":606,"attrs":21750},{"href":21751,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-graphite-export-controls-to-the-us?_branch_match_id=1544413040457797669&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FFOCSjxq0hOCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQ8S84kgAAAA%3D",{"text":21753,"type":596},"and tungsten last year, in response to a ban on US technology exports to China and the spectre of rising tariffs.",{"type":615,"attrs":21755,"content":21756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21757],{"text":21758,"type":596},"How exposed is the US to China?",{"type":591,"attrs":21760,"content":21761},{"textAlign":49},[21762],{"text":21763,"type":596},"Benchmark’s data illustrates that the US has direct supply vulnerabilities to China in graphite, manganese, and rare earths. Alongside directing funding to domestic projects, the Trump administration has targeted access to critical minerals abroad in Greenland and Ukraine to de-risk these supply chains.",{"type":656,"attrs":21765},{"id":21766,"body":21767},"e29ab9c9-7bdd-4594-838e-6ae7a46fd9c1",[21768],{"id":21769,"_uid":21770,"type":663,"_editable":21771,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22362000","i-ec69401b-61e4-485f-93ac-51408769d92c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ec69401b-61e4-485f-93ac-51408769d92c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":21773,"content":21774},{"textAlign":49},[21775],{"text":21776,"type":596},"But US exposure to China’s dominance over critical mineral supply chains extends beyond its direct reliance on imports. China’s strategic drive for critical mineral supply self-sufficiency — to support its clean energy and advanced technology manufacturing base — has created sizable supply surpluses across several markets, pushing prices down to levels that are intolerable for Western-owned operations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":21778,"content":21779},{"textAlign":49},[21780,21782,21788],{"text":21781,"type":596},"This trend was evident in the nickel market in 2024. The Australian nickel industry, once a major supplier for the US battery sector, has been significantly affected by a sharp decline in nickel prices since 2023. This drop was driven by the expansion of Chinese-owned nickel operations in Indonesia and caused several Australian mines to halt operations last year. A ",{"text":21783,"type":596,"marks":21784},"similar situation has unfolded in the cobalt market",[21785],{"type":606,"attrs":21786},{"href":21787,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-moment-of-truth-for-european-automakers?_branch_match_id=1544413035622349552&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzR2TUvOTM71DEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAobRBQUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":21790,"content":21791},{"textAlign":49},[21792],{"text":21793,"type":596},"In addition to mine closures, the current low-price environment is discouraging private investment in new projects across the West. These factors present significant risks to US supply security and could limit the availability of non-Chinese-owned supply globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":21795,"content":21796},{"textAlign":49},[],"China and the US are both increasing funding for domestic critical mineral exploration to bolster supply self-sufficiency, as competition over strategic supply chains for advanced technologies — such as electric vehicles (EVs) and artificial intelligence (AI) — intensifies between the two superpowers. Since entering office in January, the Trump administration has prioritised domestic mining as […]",[21799],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21800},{"job_title":557,"image":21801,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"06c99d5c-1a77-4ab0-99ec-741716caa7b8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[21804,21805,21806,21807,21808,21809,21810,21811],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21813,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":21814,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/186cf2a280/bm-us-china.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 28, 2025",{"id":21817,"uuid":21818,"name":21819,"slug":21820,"full_slug":21821,"content":21822},112467884191802,"612b4180-5bc2-4b15-8467-547ff55811d0","Chart: Can the US meet its critical mineral needs domestically?","chart-can-the-us-meet-its-critical-mineral-needs-domestically","article/chart-can-the-us-meet-its-critical-mineral-needs-domestically",{"_uid":21823,"date":21824,"tags":21825,"editor":21829,"content":21833,"excerpt":21991,"featured":51,"reporter":21992,"_editable":21996,"component":697,"seo_title":21819,"categories":21997,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":22007,"featured_image":22010,"seo_description":21991,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22013},"4bbe731d-0826-4bb2-b5a5-bc19a248db50","2025-03-26 00:00",[21826,21827,21828],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[21830],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21831},{"job_title":557,"image":21832,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":21834},[21835,21840,21859,21872,21877,21885,21890,21903,21916,21937,21942,21947,21969],{"type":591,"attrs":21836,"content":21837},{"textAlign":49},[21838],{"text":21839,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that the US will fall short of meeting most of its critical mineral needs, even if all announced projects come online as planned.",{"type":591,"attrs":21841,"content":21842},{"textAlign":49},[21843,21845,21850,21852,21858],{"text":21844,"type":596},"Especially in ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":21846},[21847],{"type":606,"attrs":21848},{"href":21849,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials?_branch_match_id=1544412904548151979&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTwsvCvV2CszxDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA4p2OzUgAAAA%3D",{"text":21851,"type":596},", nickel and graphite, the US needs significantly more investment if it is to meet a greater proportion of its ",{"text":21853,"type":596,"marks":21854},"needs domestically",[21855],{"type":606,"attrs":21856},{"href":21857,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/could-trump-pursue-friendshoring-to-counter-china?_branch_match_id=1544412896883005043&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd6nITDXJsMw3DkqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAwqIVnEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":21860,"content":21861},{"textAlign":49},[21862,21864,21870],{"text":21863,"type":596},"This comes as US President Donald Trump is placing critical minerals under an ever stronger spotlight with the ",{"text":21865,"type":596,"marks":21866},"Executive Order he signed earlier in March",[21867],{"type":606,"attrs":21868},{"href":21869,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-executive-order-to-accelerate-us-critical-mineral-push?_branch_match_id=1544412884392183655&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTy4uiDAzN8o3DkqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAWldDL0gAAAA%3D",{"text":21871,"type":596}," to speed up permitting and accelerate public and private investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":21873,"content":21874},{"textAlign":49},[21875],{"text":21876,"type":596},"“The Executive Order injects much-needed momentum into US critical mineral production,” said Andrew Miller, Benchmark’s chief executive. “But in addition to accelerating project development, the US needs to grow the supply pipeline itself to truly reduce import dependence.”",{"type":656,"attrs":21878},{"id":21879,"body":21880},"174b20e8-ad19-46e0-9eb6-c502ffe2e415",[21881],{"id":21882,"_uid":21883,"type":663,"_editable":21884,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22294383","i-21e3bdc4-3153-4107-91f5-c4f40a3ae7a2","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-21e3bdc4-3153-4107-91f5-c4f40a3ae7a2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":21886,"content":21887},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[21888],{"text":21889,"type":596},"What role can policy play?",{"type":591,"attrs":21891,"content":21892},{"textAlign":49},[21893,21895,21901],{"text":21894,"type":596},"In the US, the last five years have been especially active on the ",{"text":21896,"type":596,"marks":21897},"policy front",[21898],{"type":606,"attrs":21899},{"href":21900,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/trump-2-0-us-election-policy-implications-for-the-ev-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544412892500228395&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwoyz0tON83xDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAISoTAEgAAAA%3D",{"text":21902,"type":596}," for promoting domestic critical mineral exploration and production.",{"type":591,"attrs":21904,"content":21905},{"textAlign":49},[21906,21908,21914],{"text":21907,"type":596},"The Biden Administration’s ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":21910},"Inflation Reduction Act",[21911],{"type":606,"attrs":21912},{"href":21913,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/biden-administration-raced-to-protect-clean-energy-loans?_branch_match_id=1544412914012291477&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBMQ6AIAwF0BvBbmIcOIGOLgZMpQ1QyIfg5tl9j8dofbE2kN5cPFIRJfjcjW%2FNZNFkj3kiynR1D9sHeggQjVdAfTthdYxa6AcRMg%2BjSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":21915,"type":596}," and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law offered grants, loans and tax incentives for many projects along the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":21917,"content":21918},{"textAlign":49},[21919,21921,21927,21929,21935],{"text":21920,"type":596},"Although the ",{"text":21922,"type":596,"marks":21923},"Trump Administration",[21924],{"type":606,"attrs":21925},{"href":21926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-president-trumps-executive-orders-mean-for-critical-minerals?_branch_match_id=1544412879872573872&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpPoiQtm3qAqHxS1Fn5Cu06%2By9F8dofbI2QK5YPXNNAvrSjW%2FNlCTZEuq2Q5zuYfmIG2SS5wzUt4PzGqkVP3Bw9cVIAAAA",{"text":21928,"type":596}," is looking to dismantle some aspects of these laws, it is still ",{"text":21930,"type":596,"marks":21931},"pursuing the overall aim",[21932],{"type":606,"attrs":21933},{"href":21934,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-election-plot-twist-trump-and-musk-to-oversee-great-us-battery-boom-in-red-states?_branch_match_id=1544412909519961537&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWtzAMcw0KSMo28E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAA%2BDsVEgAAAA%3D",{"text":21936,"type":596}," of improving supply chain security. In comparison to Biden’s policies, Trump’s have a stronger focus on the upstream elements of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":21938,"content":21939},{"textAlign":49},[21940],{"text":21941,"type":596},"The Executive Order passed earlier this month, invokes the Defense Production Act to provide funding support for domestic critical mineral projects. It also aims to expedite the permitting process.",{"type":591,"attrs":21943,"content":21944},{"textAlign":49},[21945],{"text":21946,"type":596},"However, although permitting is a key bottle neck for scaling critical mineral projects in the US, resolving those issues is not a panacea given that most critical minerals in the US are in a deficit even if all announced projects come online as planned.",{"type":591,"attrs":21948,"content":21949},{"textAlign":49},[21950,21954,21957,21961,21965],{"text":21951,"type":596,"marks":21952},"At ",[21953],{"type":1006},{"text":17123,"type":596,"marks":21955},[21956],{"type":1006},{"text":21958,"type":596,"marks":21959},", taking place ",[21960],{"type":1006},{"text":21962,"type":596,"marks":21963},"3-4 June in Washington, D.C.",[21964],{"type":1006},{"text":21966,"type":596,"marks":21967},", we will be joined by policymakers shaping critical legislation, industry leaders spearheading innovation, and investors fuelling domestic growth, united in the mission to strengthen the North American battery supply chain.",[21968],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":21970,"content":21971},{"textAlign":49},[21972,21979,21983,21987],{"text":21973,"type":596,"marks":21974},"Register now",[21975,21978],{"type":606,"attrs":21976},{"href":21977,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigausa25",{"type":1006},{"text":21980,"type":596,"marks":21981}," with our Early Bird offer",[21982],{"type":1006},{"text":21984,"type":596,"marks":21985},", available until ",[21986],{"type":1006},{"text":21988,"type":596,"marks":21989},"April 25th.",[21990],{"type":1006},"Benchmark analysis shows that the US will fall short of meeting most of its critical mineral needs, even if all announced projects come online as planned. Especially in cobalt, nickel and graphite, the US needs significantly more investment if it is to meet a greater proportion of its needs domestically. This comes as US President […]",[21993],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":21994},{"job_title":557,"image":21995,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4bbe731d-0826-4bb2-b5a5-bc19a248db50\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[21998,21999,22000,22001,22002,22003,22004,22005,22006],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22009,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1743000967/www-production/US-CRM-s_d@2x-5/US-CRM-s_d@2x-5.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22011,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22012,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5769cb7e5e/bm-p20250207dt-0103-54325856884-o-9b3947-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 26, 2025",{"id":22015,"uuid":22016,"name":22017,"slug":22018,"full_slug":22019,"content":22020},112467893899332,"8e90579f-543f-4c81-b4e2-d3ff5052d996","Impact of DRC’s cobalt export ban seen in cathode prices","impact-of-drcs-cobalt-export-ban-seen-in-cathode-prices","article/impact-of-drcs-cobalt-export-ban-seen-in-cathode-prices",{"_uid":22021,"date":22022,"tags":22023,"editor":22030,"content":22034,"excerpt":22097,"featured":50,"reporter":22098,"_editable":22102,"component":697,"seo_title":22017,"categories":22103,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":22108,"seo_description":22097,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22110},"680495c3-2459-46da-92fc-b9aa9dad47cd","2025-03-21 00:00",[22024,22027,22028,22029],{"slug":22025,"name":22026},"cathode-prices","Cathode prices",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[22031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22032},{"job_title":557,"image":22033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22035},[22036,22049,22056,22061,22074,22087,22092],{"type":591,"attrs":22037,"content":22038},{"textAlign":49},[22039,22041,22047],{"text":22040,"type":596},"Following the temporary four-month ",{"text":22042,"type":596,"marks":22043},"suspension of cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo",[22044],{"type":606,"attrs":22045},{"href":22046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-could-the-temporary-drc-cobalt-export-ban-mean-for-the-market?_branch_match_id=1544412865309183852&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD87N8zEx8EsMC0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAAebHdUgAAAA%3D",{"text":22048,"type":596}," (DRC) earlier this month, prices of nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials have risen.",{"type":591,"attrs":22050,"content":22051},{"textAlign":49},[22052],{"type":836,"attrs":22053},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":22054,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":22055},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/20b2cde473/bm-cobalt-and-cathode-prices2x-3.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":22057,"content":22058},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22059],{"text":22060,"type":596},"How is the cobalt export ban impacting the cathode market?",{"type":591,"attrs":22062,"content":22063},{"textAlign":49},[22064,22066,22072],{"text":22065,"type":596},"The rise in NCM cathode material costs is not wholly down to the DRC’s suspension of cobalt exports in an attempt to manage the large ",{"text":22067,"type":596,"marks":22068},"oversupply in the market",[22069],{"type":606,"attrs":22070},{"href":22071,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cmoc-supply-ramp-up-drives-cobalt-market-to-its-lowest-ebb-cobalt-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412856443175280&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN0iMCvbPDEgMC0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAZC6TH0gAAAA%3D",{"text":22073,"type":596},". Prices had already been rising due to increased costs for procuring and processing pCAM.",{"type":591,"attrs":22075,"content":22076},{"textAlign":49},[22077,22079,22085],{"text":22078,"type":596},"However, Benchmark has received reports that the sharp rise in cobalt sulphate prices has led to some NCM ",{"text":22080,"type":596,"marks":22081},"cathode producers",[22082],{"type":606,"attrs":22083},{"href":22084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfp-leads-ncm-evolves-cathode-2024-year-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412860855987890&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzy1wCXcvNM61DEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAsscbDEgAAAA%3D",{"text":22086,"type":596}," suspending new order quotations. Instead, producers are focusing on fulfilling existing contracts with existing stocks.",{"type":591,"attrs":22088,"content":22089},{"textAlign":49},[22090],{"text":22091,"type":596},"Benchmark understands that cathode producers are holding around one month of raw material stocks available before they will need to acquire more.",{"type":591,"attrs":22093,"content":22094},{"textAlign":49},[22095],{"text":22096,"type":596},"The export ban has especially impacted LCO cathode producers which are the most exposed to cobalt oxide prices which rose 44% between 19 February and 19 March. Many LCO producers were unable to acquire cobalt oxide at an acceptable cost.","Following the temporary four-month suspension of cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this month, prices of nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials have risen. How is the cobalt export ban impacting the cathode market? The rise in NCM cathode material costs is not wholly down to […]",[22099],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22100},{"job_title":557,"image":22101,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"680495c3-2459-46da-92fc-b9aa9dad47cd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22104,22105,22106,22107],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22109,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 21, 2025",{"id":22112,"uuid":22113,"name":22114,"slug":22115,"full_slug":22116,"content":22117},112467903418438,"cf93d9ad-e16c-422a-9462-dce7855dce2f","Is Europe doing enough to secure its copper supply?","is-europe-doing-enough-to-secure-its-copper-supply","article/is-europe-doing-enough-to-secure-its-copper-supply",{"_uid":22118,"date":22119,"tags":22120,"editor":22125,"content":22129,"excerpt":22253,"featured":50,"reporter":22254,"_editable":22258,"component":697,"seo_title":22114,"categories":22259,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":22262,"seo_description":22253,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22265},"41d49dc5-ad58-484e-90a8-5036ee571382","2025-03-20 00:00",[22121,22122],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":22123,"name":22124},"giga-europe-2025","Giga Europe 2025",[22126],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22127},{"job_title":557,"image":22128,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22130},[22131,22136,22141,22146,22151,22156,22164,22176,22181,22186,22191,22196,22201,22206,22211,22216,22224,22234,22241],{"type":591,"attrs":22132,"content":22133},{"textAlign":49},[22134],{"text":22135,"type":596},"Copper is classified as a critical mineral by the European Union (EU) under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), qualifying projects for “strategic status” despite the red metal’s relatively low supply risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":22137,"content":22138},{"textAlign":49},[22139],{"text":22140,"type":596},"“Copper has the lowest supply risk among all the EU’s critical minerals,” Quentin de Hults, Director General of the International Copper Association (ICA) Europe, told delegates at the Benchmark Giga Europe event in Brussels this week. “Supply is diversified and the EU’s import reliance is limited, with recycling contributing significantly to European supply.”",{"type":591,"attrs":22142,"content":22143},{"textAlign":49},[22144],{"text":22145,"type":596},"“Despite copper ranking low on risk assessments, the EU has made an exception by designating it as a critical mineral. This is due to it being essential for electrification, energy efficiency, renewables, and digitalisation, making it strategically important for Europe,” de Hults added.",{"type":615,"attrs":22147,"content":22148},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22149],{"text":22150,"type":596},"Why is copper strategic for Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":22152,"content":22153},{"textAlign":49},[22154],{"text":22155,"type":596},"The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy will significantly increase copper demand in the coming years. EVs require two to three times more copper than traditional internal combustion cars, while renewables, such as solar and wind, are three to eight times more copper-intensive than fossil fuels.",{"type":656,"attrs":22157},{"id":22158,"body":22159},"033368a5-3017-486d-ace7-b24875eeedeb",[22160],{"id":22161,"_uid":22162,"type":663,"_editable":22163,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22218480","i-d0a2152f-1875-43b9-9e98-e12ad81c0236","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d0a2152f-1875-43b9-9e98-e12ad81c0236\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22165,"content":22166},{"textAlign":49},[22167,22169,22174],{"text":22168,"type":596},"Although the copper intensity of EVs per vehicle is steadily decreasing, rapidly increasing adoption rates globally means the e-mobility sector alone will require over 2.3 million tonnes of copper by 2030, according to the ",{"text":22170,"type":596,"marks":22171},"Benchmark Copper Service",[22172],{"type":606,"attrs":22173},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":22175,"type":596},". This figure is set to exceed 4 million tonnes by 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":22177,"content":22178},{"textAlign":49},[22179],{"text":22180,"type":596},"Highlighting the need for new supply sources, Mike Finch, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Benchmark, noted that meeting EV demand alone by 2040 would require the equivalent of three new mines the size of Escondida—the world’s largest copper mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":22182,"content":22183},{"textAlign":49},[22184],{"text":22185,"type":596},"Panellists noted that expanding the copper value chain in Europe would be critical for the bloc’s economic and military security. However, high energy costs, lengthy and complex permitting processes, and challenges securing project financing have hindered the expansion of mining and processing capacity in the region.",{"type":615,"attrs":22187,"content":22188},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22189],{"text":22190,"type":596},"How is the EU addressing these challenges?",{"type":591,"attrs":22192,"content":22193},{"textAlign":49},[22194],{"text":22195,"type":596},"Policies such as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aim to tackle these challenges by expanding mining and smelting capacity both within the EU and in partner countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22197,"content":22198},{"textAlign":49},[22199],{"text":22200,"type":596},"Despite notable progress, further action is needed, according to Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director at Transport & Environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":22202,"content":22203},{"textAlign":49},[22204],{"text":22205,"type":596},"“Europe is not doing enough to secure the raw materials. We have strategic partnerships with partner countries, but we find ourselves in a situation where, in the same week the EU Commission signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an African country, China acquires a mine in that very country,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":22207,"content":22208},{"textAlign":49},[22209],{"text":22210,"type":596},"“We need to rethink our value proposition to these nations so that it is just as attractive as China’s,” Poliscanova continued.",{"type":591,"attrs":22212,"content":22213},{"textAlign":49},[22214],{"text":22215,"type":596},"In 2023, the EU signed a strategic partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support sustainable raw materials value chains. But progress since has been slow, with European companies yet to invest directly into the DRC’s mining sector.",{"type":656,"attrs":22217},{"id":22218,"body":22219},"56a9fa2e-a585-4334-8295-325285dc9057",[22220],{"id":22221,"_uid":22222,"type":663,"_editable":22223,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22215596","i-aada4b52-0bb6-4566-b34b-5fd66a3a81a2","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-aada4b52-0bb6-4566-b34b-5fd66a3a81a2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22225,"content":22226},{"textAlign":49},[22227,22229,22233],{"text":22228,"type":596},"The DRC is the world’s leading source of new copper supply. Between 2019 and 2024, the country accounted for 72% of new global copper supply growth, according to the ",{"text":22170,"type":596,"marks":22230},[22231],{"type":606,"attrs":22232},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":22235,"content":22236},{"textAlign":49},[22237],{"text":22238,"type":596,"marks":22239},"Benchmark’s Copper Service launches on 26 March, providing unparalleled intelligence with a comprehensive Copper Forecast out to 2050, plus a weekly Copper Briefing sharing the latest industry updates.",[22240],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":22242,"content":22243},{"textAlign":49},[22244,22250],{"text":22245,"type":596,"marks":22246},"Learn more and book a demonstration here",[22247,22248],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":22249},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":22251},[22252],{"type":1006},"Copper is classified as a critical mineral by the European Union (EU) under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), qualifying projects for “strategic status” despite the red metal’s relatively low supply risk. “Copper has the lowest supply risk among all the EU’s critical minerals,” Quentin de Hults, Director General of the International Copper Association (ICA) […]",[22255],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22256},{"job_title":557,"image":22257,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"41d49dc5-ad58-484e-90a8-5036ee571382\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22260,22261],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22263,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22264,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8097e45091/bm-r5c11671-1-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 20, 2025",{"id":22267,"uuid":22268,"name":22269,"slug":22270,"full_slug":22271,"content":22272},112467922718894,"4fd0ab97-e39f-4be7-b872-2ada836dc365","Even the slowest adopting group of provinces in China sees strong EV uptake","even-the-slowest-adopting-group-of-provinces-in-china-sees-strong-ev-uptake","article/even-the-slowest-adopting-group-of-provinces-in-china-sees-strong-ev-uptake",{"_uid":22273,"date":22274,"tags":22275,"editor":22281,"content":22285,"excerpt":22400,"featured":50,"reporter":22401,"_editable":22405,"component":697,"seo_title":22269,"categories":22406,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":22410,"featured_image":22413,"seo_description":22400,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22416},"196a36ae-b563-47bb-ae20-0bcf34859927","2025-03-14 00:00",[22276,22277,22278,22280],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":22279,"name":2193},"ev-demand",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[22282],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22283},{"job_title":557,"image":22284,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22286},[22287,22304,22316,22321,22329,22334,22339,22344,22349,22357,22362,22367,22372,22380,22385,22390,22395],{"type":591,"attrs":22288,"content":22289},{"textAlign":49},[22290,22292,22297,22298,22303],{"text":22291,"type":596},"Electric vehicle uptake across China is higher than much of the West, with even the slowest adapting group of provinces seeing penetration rates of 29% in 2024, according to an analysis by ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":22293},[22294],{"type":606,"attrs":22295},{"href":22296,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":20451,"type":596,"marks":22299},[22300],{"type":606,"attrs":22301},{"href":22302,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/about-us/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":22305,"content":22306},{"textAlign":49},[22307,22309,22314],{"text":22308,"type":596},"This compares to penetration rates of 21% and 10% in ",{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":22310},[22311],{"type":606,"attrs":22312},{"href":22313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-more-than-halves-proposed-imports-duties-on-tesla-evs-made-in-china?_branch_match_id=1544412786244733488&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdw%2BKcLZwzinI9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAEY8ggUgAAAA%3D",{"text":22315,"type":596}," and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":22317,"content":22318},{"textAlign":49},[22319],{"text":22320,"type":596},"Policy initiatives, competition and availability of low priced EVs all contribute to China’s success at ensuring all its provinces benefit from strong EV uptake, according to Zoe Zhang, a research analyst at Rho Motion.",{"type":656,"attrs":22322},{"id":22323,"body":22324},"6a75c830-84cc-4ab1-89a6-47419e295245",[22325],{"id":22326,"_uid":22327,"type":663,"_editable":22328,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22097571","i-102d9aae-2a9e-4171-8d7f-86b94fc4c828","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-102d9aae-2a9e-4171-8d7f-86b94fc4c828\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":22330,"content":22331},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22332],{"text":22333,"type":596},"China’s trade-in policy boosts EV uptake",{"type":591,"attrs":22335,"content":22336},{"textAlign":49},[22337],{"text":22338,"type":596},"In April 2024, China initiated a policy in which buyers of a new EV could trade in their older car in exchange for a subsidy of between RMB7,000 and RMB10,000 to boost its fledgling consumer demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":22340,"content":22341},{"textAlign":49},[22342],{"text":22343,"type":596},"The subsidy amount doubled in August 2024, and at the start of this year was extended with the range of cars eligible for the scheme widened.",{"type":591,"attrs":22345,"content":22346},{"textAlign":49},[22347],{"text":22348,"type":596},"Since China ended its broad ranging EV subsidies in 2022, this trade-in scheme is the last country-wide scheme financially incentivising EV purchases.",{"type":656,"attrs":22350},{"id":22351,"body":22352},"5f484143-4642-4453-a03d-f7866d15cfa5",[22353],{"id":22354,"_uid":22355,"type":663,"_editable":22356,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22114028","i-ec6b5414-7682-4398-984a-9ce36386b08f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-ec6b5414-7682-4398-984a-9ce36386b08f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22358,"content":22359},{"textAlign":49},[22360],{"text":22361,"type":596},"The greatest increase in penetration rates was seen in the so-called D Provinces which include Tibet, Heilongjiang and Gansu. These provinces have challenging environmental factors such as very low temperatures and mountains which typically slow EV uptake.",{"type":615,"attrs":22363,"content":22364},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22365],{"text":22366,"type":596},"EVs in China are at price parity with ICE vehicles",{"type":591,"attrs":22368,"content":22369},{"textAlign":49},[22370],{"text":22371,"type":596},"China’s well known subsidisation of EV manufacturers, along with high competition from the country’s many automakers has driven down EV prices.",{"type":656,"attrs":22373},{"id":22374,"body":22375},"3c182cd5-59ec-41c9-b58b-ae9e9c9ffcdd",[22376],{"id":22377,"_uid":22378,"type":663,"_editable":22379,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22113695","i-8e7c3ba8-9386-438b-bf03-5d3456e7973a","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8e7c3ba8-9386-438b-bf03-5d3456e7973a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22381,"content":22382},{"textAlign":49},[22383],{"text":22384,"type":596},"This, coupled with the trade-in policy, boosts the attractiveness of purchasing an EV to Chinese consumers even in the country’s poorer provinces.",{"type":591,"attrs":22386,"content":22387},{"textAlign":49},[22388],{"text":22389,"type":596},"“The cheaper EV is mainly down to competition within the country,” Zhang said. “There are so many OEMs in China and they’re really trying to compete with each other.”",{"type":591,"attrs":22391,"content":22392},{"textAlign":49},[22393],{"text":22394,"type":596},"Beyond lowering the price, competition between automakers also increases the range of features available in these lower price vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":22396,"content":22397},{"textAlign":49},[22398],{"text":22399,"type":596},"“We see a lot of news regarding how much automakers are going to invest in making the EVs more intelligent,” Zhang said. “BYD announced that they’re going to make their cars more intelligent, more autonomous, down to even their cheaper priced cars.”","Electric vehicle uptake across China is higher than much of the West, with even the slowest adapting group of provinces seeing penetration rates of 29% in 2024, according to an analysis by Benchmark and Rho Motion. This compares to penetration rates of 21% and 10% in Europe and the US. Policy initiatives, competition and availability […]",[22402],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22403},{"job_title":557,"image":22404,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"196a36ae-b563-47bb-ae20-0bcf34859927\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22407,22408,22409],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22411,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22412,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741966255/www-production/Chinese-penetration-rates@2x-3/Chinese-penetration-rates@2x-3.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22414,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22415,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4111766412/bm-electric-vehicle-china.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 14, 2025",{"id":22418,"uuid":22419,"name":22420,"slug":22421,"full_slug":22422,"content":22423},112467941925053,"cbec2170-ad13-4552-a49c-c8105191ab5a","Global EV sales rise 50% in February, but Tesla struggles","global-ev-sales-rise-50-in-february-but-tesla-struggles","article/global-ev-sales-rise-50-in-february-but-tesla-struggles",{"_uid":22424,"date":22425,"tags":22426,"editor":22428,"content":22432,"excerpt":22522,"featured":50,"reporter":22523,"_editable":22527,"component":697,"seo_title":22420,"categories":22528,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":22531,"seo_description":22522,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22534},"c9b0d1b0-a2b7-4b66-a486-378d73220431","2025-03-12 00:00",[22427],{"slug":20450,"name":20451},[22429],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22430},{"job_title":557,"image":22431,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22433},[22434,22447,22452,22459,22464,22469,22474,22479,22484,22489,22494,22499,22512,22517],{"type":591,"attrs":22435,"content":22436},{"textAlign":49},[22437,22439,22445],{"text":22438,"type":596},"Global electric vehicle (EV) sales hit 1.2 million in February 2025, marking a 50% increase compared to the same month last year, ",{"text":22440,"type":596,"marks":22441},"according to data from Rho Motion",[22442],{"type":606,"attrs":22443},{"href":22444,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/news/global-ev-sales-up-50-in-february-2025/",{"text":22446,"type":596},", a Benchmark company. However, sales dipped 3% from January’s figures.",{"type":591,"attrs":22448,"content":22449},{"textAlign":49},[22450],{"text":22451,"type":596},"“It’s been a solid start to the year for EV sales globally. Much of the growth continues to come from China which is seeing a pure electric renaissance this year compared to the hybrid love affair of 2024. Despite high tariffs, their domestic brand, BYD, shows no signs of slowing down their home and international expansion,” said Rho Motion Data Manager, Charles Lester.",{"type":591,"attrs":22453,"content":22454},{"textAlign":49},[22455],{"type":836,"attrs":22456},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":22457,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":22458},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c281b50349/bm-image-79-13370324cf60.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":22460,"content":22461},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22462],{"text":22463,"type":596},"How did sales perform?",{"type":591,"attrs":22465,"content":22466},{"textAlign":49},[22467],{"text":22468,"type":596},"Total EV sales for the first two months of 2025 reached 2.4 million units, reflecting a 30% year-on-year increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":22470,"content":22471},{"textAlign":49},[22472],{"text":22473,"type":596},"China continues to drive global growth, with demand shifting back toward battery electric vehicles (BEVs) over plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). BYD, the country’s largest EV manufacturer, has already sold over 130,000 EVs overseas in 2025, maintaining strong momentum despite international tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":22475,"content":22476},{"textAlign":49},[22477],{"text":22478,"type":596},"Europe’s EV market has seen growth of 20% YTD, with BEVs up 29% and PHEVs only growing 2%. France is seeing a dramatic shift in consumer preference due to a new weight tax on PHEVs, leading to a 48% drop in their sales while BEV sales edged up 1%. In contrast, Germany and the UK are seeing robust BEV growth of over 40% YTD.",{"type":591,"attrs":22480,"content":22481},{"textAlign":49},[22482],{"text":22483,"type":596},"North America is experiencing steady EV adoption, with sales up 20% YTD. The US saw a 28% rise in BEV sales, but concerns are growing over potential changes to the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22485,"content":22486},{"textAlign":49},[22487],{"text":22488,"type":596},"The ELITE Vehicles Act (S. 541) has been introduced in Congress, aiming to eliminate federal incentives for EV purchases and charging infrastructure. Consumers are expected to take advantage of existing incentives before they are removed.",{"type":615,"attrs":22490,"content":22491},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22492],{"text":22493,"type":596},"Tesla’s challenges",{"type":591,"attrs":22495,"content":22496},{"textAlign":49},[22497],{"text":22498,"type":596},"Tesla has faced a challenging start to 2025, with sales declining across key markets:",{"type":591,"attrs":22500,"content":22501},{"textAlign":49},[22502,22504,22510],{"text":22503,"type":596},"CEO ",{"text":22505,"type":596,"marks":22506},"Elon Musk’s polarising role in the President Trump’s administration",[22507],{"type":606,"attrs":22508},{"href":22509,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/news/teslas-troubled-2025-outlook/",{"text":22511,"type":596}," is seen as the key contributing factor behind the fall, damaging the Tesla brand worldwide. An example seen recently was the city of Toronto scrapping its EV incentives specifically for new Tesla taxis and no other automakers.",{"type":615,"attrs":22513,"content":22514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22515],{"text":22516,"type":596},"What’s the outlook?",{"type":591,"attrs":22518,"content":22519},{"textAlign":49},[22520],{"text":22521,"type":596},"Despite regulatory uncertainties in North America and shifting consumer trends in Europe, the global EV market remains on a strong growth trajectory. China’s BEV resurgence and steady demand across key markets suggest 2025 could be another record-breaking year for electric mobility.","Global electric vehicle (EV) sales hit 1.2 million in February 2025, marking a 50% increase compared to the same month last year, according to data from Rho Motion, a Benchmark company. However, sales dipped 3% from January’s figures. “It’s been a solid start to the year for EV sales globally. Much of the growth continues […]",[22524],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22525},{"job_title":557,"image":22526,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c9b0d1b0-a2b7-4b66-a486-378d73220431\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22529,22530],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22532,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22533,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65303695c0/bm-nio-solid-state-battery.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 12, 2025",{"id":22536,"uuid":22537,"name":22538,"slug":22539,"full_slug":22540,"content":22541},112467937095862,"0d684008-0166-43fd-a510-1a1ebdab7f1c","What does Northvolt’s bankruptcy mean for Europe’s battery ambitions?","what-does-northvolts-bankruptcy-mean-for-europes-battery-ambitions","article/what-does-northvolts-bankruptcy-mean-for-europes-battery-ambitions",{"_uid":22542,"date":22425,"tags":22543,"editor":22552,"content":22556,"excerpt":22698,"featured":51,"reporter":22699,"_editable":22703,"component":697,"seo_title":22538,"categories":22704,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":22707,"featured_image":22710,"seo_description":22698,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22534},"f9448c7f-26eb-4db8-858c-d8137c2d960e",[22544,22545,22546,22549],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":22547,"name":22548},"northvolt","Northvolt",{"slug":22550,"name":22551},"sweden","Sweden",[22553],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22554},{"job_title":557,"image":22555,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22557},[22558,22579,22584,22595,22616,22621,22629,22634,22644,22649,22661,22666,22674,22681,22691],{"type":591,"attrs":22559,"content":22560},{"textAlign":49},[22561,22563,22569,22571,22577],{"text":22562,"type":596},"Once heralded as ",{"text":22564,"type":596,"marks":22565},"Europe’s best shot",[22566],{"type":606,"attrs":22567},{"href":22568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-last-shot-can-europe-act-fast-enough-to-compete-in-the-battery-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544412720059143784&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT8yI9PMt8SsI8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA20l6m0gAAAA%3D",{"text":22570,"type":596}," at competing in the global battery industry, Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. This follows ",{"text":22572,"type":596,"marks":22573},"its bankruptcy filing in the US",[22574],{"type":606,"attrs":22575},{"href":22576,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-files-for-bankruptcy-in-us-as-ceo-steps-down?_branch_match_id=1544412732429520754&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT6syda2o8CgI8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA9HEV%2FEgAAAA%3D",{"text":22578,"type":596}," last November.",{"type":591,"attrs":22580,"content":22581},{"textAlign":49},[22582],{"text":22583,"type":596},"Northvolt’s hopes at securing further investment to support its operations fell through on Wednesday, following the company’s struggles to ramp up production at its gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden, beyond one gigawatt-hour despite a planned capacity of 16 GWh. This led BMW to cancel a $2 billion supply contract in June last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":22585,"content":22586},{"textAlign":49},[22587,22593],{"text":22588,"type":596,"marks":22589},"Plans to integrate cathode",[22590],{"type":606,"attrs":22591},{"href":22592,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-halts-european-cathode-plans-to-refocus-on-batteries?_branch_match_id=1544412707145061313&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzzUxjvBzrox0C0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA2cWxCUgAAAA%3D",{"text":22594,"type":596}," and precursor production were also shuttered last year as the company focused its efforts on cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":22596,"content":22597},{"textAlign":49},[22598,22600,22606,22608,22614],{"text":22599,"type":596},"This is a major blow for ",{"text":22601,"type":596,"marks":22602},"Europe’s gigafactory ambitions",[22603],{"type":606,"attrs":22604},{"href":22605,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/european-2030-battery-pipeline-falls-176-gwh-this-year-amid-ev-slowdown?_branch_match_id=1544412745806899703&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FQ2z6g0Nc%2FP9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA57dqK0gAAAA%3D",{"text":22607,"type":596}," as Northvolt was the largest ",{"text":22609,"type":596,"marks":22610},"tier 1 cell producer owned by a European company",[22611],{"type":606,"attrs":22612},{"href":22613,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-companies-will-account-for-80-of-europes-lfp-cell-supply-but-can-ex-chinese-catch-up?_branch_match_id=1544412727611032177&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTzIIyTIJcskN80%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAmQG3V0gAAAA%3D",{"text":22615,"type":596}," by announced capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":22617,"content":22618},{"textAlign":49},[22619],{"text":22620,"type":596},"“One potential contribution to Northvolt’s struggles were the broad ambitions across multiple steps of the supply chain, which were difficult to manage for a startup, and remaining homegrown producers in Europe seem to be wary of following that model,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":656,"attrs":22622},{"id":22623,"body":22624},"a18f0e43-cbaa-4e0b-863f-a38ef49d0242",[22625],{"id":22626,"_uid":22627,"type":663,"_editable":22628,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22068751","i-5a3f3993-dceb-498b-b40b-2e77285f48ed","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-5a3f3993-dceb-498b-b40b-2e77285f48ed\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":22630,"content":22631},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22632],{"text":22633,"type":596},"What does this mean for Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":22635,"content":22636},{"textAlign":49},[22637,22642],{"text":5503,"type":596,"marks":22638},[22639],{"type":606,"attrs":22640},{"href":22641,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-plans-support-for-automakers-with-contentious-regulatory-shake-up?_branch_match_id=1544412715511271766&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdws1Nyl2rXB3DUqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAohyn30gAAAA%3D",{"text":22643,"type":596},", Northvolt is also developing Northvolt Drei in Germany with a planned capacity of 60 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":22645,"content":22646},{"textAlign":49},[22647],{"text":22648,"type":596},"Though Northvolt’s German developments are technically beyond the scope of the bankruptcy filing in Sweden, it is likely confidence in the project will fall and risk of it failing has increased.",{"type":591,"attrs":22650,"content":22651},{"textAlign":49},[22652,22654,22660],{"text":22653,"type":596},"Although Europe’s battery pipeline is set to more than double between 2025 and 2030, even without Northvolt’s gigafactories, much of this comes from ",{"text":22655,"type":596,"marks":22656},"Asian cell producers",[22657],{"type":606,"attrs":22658},{"href":22659,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-owned-companies-to-produce-one-third-of-european-battery-cells-by-2030?_branch_match_id=1544412740847824230&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBwQnAIAwF0I305qFQenAARxCVtIomhq%2FQW2fve3VvXYe1maRUTujchJDGMknVjCbdOnXFU5gc8vWBbgKaPDFjvotw%2BorJ9APwRxTnSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":22662,"content":22663},{"textAlign":49},[22664],{"text":22665,"type":596},"“Europe has a maturing battery industry, and has seen impressive investment in LFP battery capacity in the past year, indicating that the region is following trends in advanced markets in Asia,” Hartley said. “However, the majority of that capacity is owned or has involvement from Chinese or South Korean manufacturers, with Northvolt having represented the largest homegrown ambitions.”",{"type":656,"attrs":22667},{"id":22668,"body":22669},"a9d9fa9d-a26a-487c-8145-2d40f1c9b5af",[22670],{"id":22671,"_uid":22672,"type":663,"_editable":22673,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22069182","i-81362d17-ed67-4b9b-8d0c-c494f9117e62","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-81362d17-ed67-4b9b-8d0c-c494f9117e62\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22675,"content":22676},{"textAlign":49},[22677],{"text":22678,"type":596,"marks":22679},"Benchmark provides a full spectrum of world-leading market intelligence for lithium ion battery cells, including monthly prices, capacity assessments, market forecasts to 2040 with a dynamic lithium ion battery cost model, and Benchmark’s Battery Emissions Analyser.",[22680],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":22682,"content":22683},{"textAlign":49},[22684],{"text":22685,"type":596,"marks":22686},"Explore Benchmark’s prices, data and analysis providing a complete view of the lithium ion battery market.",[22687,22688],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":22689},{"href":22690,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/portal/",{"type":591,"attrs":22692,"content":22693},{"textAlign":49},[22694],{"text":22695,"type":596,"marks":22696},"For more information, please fill out this form and out team will get in touch:",[22697],{"type":1006},"Once heralded as Europe’s best shot at competing in the global battery industry, Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. This follows its bankruptcy filing in the US last November. Northvolt’s hopes at securing further investment to support its operations fell through on Wednesday, following the company’s struggles to ramp up production at its gigafactory […]",[22700],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22701},{"job_title":557,"image":22702,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f9448c7f-26eb-4db8-858c-d8137c2d960e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22705,22706],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22708,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22709,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741787884/www-production/Socials-version-Northvolt-Europe@2x/Socials-version-Northvolt-Europe@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22711,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22712,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f36f6a8f99/bm-drone-ett-2024-11-10-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":22714,"uuid":22715,"name":22716,"slug":22717,"full_slug":22718,"content":22719},112467932123314,"5eca0065-f63a-422f-aa72-83defffaefde","Will the EU copy China’s playbook on foreign investments?","will-the-eu-copy-chinas-playbook-on-foreign-investments","article/will-the-eu-copy-chinas-playbook-on-foreign-investments",{"_uid":22720,"date":22425,"tags":22721,"editor":22726,"content":22730,"excerpt":22857,"featured":51,"reporter":22858,"_editable":22862,"component":697,"seo_title":22716,"categories":22863,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":22869,"seo_description":22857,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":22534},"0193059f-9420-43a7-8b88-755cd2a2d264",[22722,22723,22724,22725],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[22727],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22728},{"job_title":557,"image":22729,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22731},[22732,22737,22750,22763,22771,22776,22781,22786,22791,22796,22801,22806,22811,22831,22844,22852],{"type":591,"attrs":22733,"content":22734},{"textAlign":49},[22735],{"text":22736,"type":596},"The European Union (EU) has announced it will consider new guardrails on foreign investment into its domestic lithium-ion battery and automotive sectors, measures that could involve technology transfers similar to those faced by European companies in China for decades.",{"type":591,"attrs":22738,"content":22739},{"textAlign":49},[22740,22742,22748],{"text":22741,"type":596},"The proposal was announced as part of the so-called ",{"text":22743,"type":596,"marks":22744},"“Industrial Plan for the Automotive Industry”",[22745],{"type":606,"attrs":22746},{"href":22747,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-plans-support-for-automakers-with-contentious-regulatory-shake-up?_branch_match_id=1544412767987273980&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FNwSwwJTs90D0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA4TF2c0gAAAA%3D",{"text":22749,"type":596}," unveiled last week, a policy framework that aims to bolster the competitiveness of the bloc’s beleaguered automotive sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22751,"content":22752},{"textAlign":49},[22753,22755,22761],{"text":22754,"type":596},"“A key focus will be on ",{"text":22756,"type":596,"marks":22757},"next-generation (next-gen) battery technologies",[22758],{"type":606,"attrs":22759},{"href":22760,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-eu-use-next-gen-battery-tech-to-leapfrog-china?_branch_match_id=1544412760672374549&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL%2FZKLM9y9E53D0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAoZ6h6UgAAAA%3D",{"text":22762,"type":596},", as the EU attempts to close (and potentially leapfrog) China’s technological edge,” said Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark. “The EU wants to set specific requirements for inbound foreign investments, especially from China, to capture intellectual know-how.”",{"type":656,"attrs":22764},{"id":22765,"body":22766},"2a73e50d-fab9-4333-97fd-d8af4bdc434f",[22767],{"id":22768,"_uid":22769,"type":663,"_editable":22770,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22027017","i-32ffcacb-cf2a-47bb-aa65-4c5fc93f19bf","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-32ffcacb-cf2a-47bb-aa65-4c5fc93f19bf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":22772,"content":22773},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22774],{"text":22775,"type":596},"Which measures are under consideration?",{"type":591,"attrs":22777,"content":22778},{"textAlign":49},[22779],{"text":22780,"type":596},"The EU aims to impose specific requirements on inbound foreign investments, particularly from China, to foster a localised next-gen battery supply chain and increase local industrial added value. Proposed conditions for foreign investments and market access include:",{"type":591,"attrs":22782,"content":22783},{"textAlign":49},[22784],{"text":22785,"type":596},"The European Commission hopes to correct competitive imbalances in the industry, which it attributes to “assertive strategies” from foreign competitors to dominate the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":22787,"content":22788},{"textAlign":49},[22789],{"text":22790,"type":596},"The EU has already imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% on China-made electric vehicles (EVs), citing unfair competition due to Beijing’s subsidies for domestic car manufacturers, but has refrained from imposing large tariffs on batteries from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":22792,"content":22793},{"textAlign":49},[22794],{"text":22795,"type":596},"To further strengthen supply chain localisation, the EU plans to introduce legislation later this year specifying local content requirements for batteries and components—taking inspiration from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), although the measures will not likely go as far. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22797,"content":22798},{"textAlign":49},[22799],{"text":22800,"type":596},"“The big caveat is that the language remains quite vague,” noted Bille.",{"type":615,"attrs":22802,"content":22803},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22804],{"text":22805,"type":596},"How much of Europe’s EV supply chain is under foreign ownership?",{"type":591,"attrs":22807,"content":22808},{"textAlign":49},[22809],{"text":22810,"type":596},"With stringent EU emissions standards coming into force, European automakers are reliant on battery supply chains dominated by Chinese and South Korean firms to produce EVs in the bloc. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22812,"content":22813},{"textAlign":49},[22814,22816,22822,22823,22829],{"text":22815,"type":596},"Several European-owned projects across the supply chain have been ",{"text":22817,"type":596,"marks":22818},"cancelled",[22819],{"type":606,"attrs":22820},{"href":22821,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-halts-european-cathode-plans-to-refocus-on-batteries?_branch_match_id=1544412756112677868&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNzM09s12zCrL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAuNDXkkgAAAA%3D",{"text":10939,"type":596},{"text":22824,"type":596,"marks":22825},"delayed",[22826],{"type":606,"attrs":22827},{"href":22828,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-delays-battery-material-expansion-plans-as-short-term-pressures-bite?_branch_match_id=1544412772469419250&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzzMxNvHKKMlwD0qyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAmLVppEgAAAA%3D",{"text":22830,"type":596}," due to difficult market conditions and operational challenges in the last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":22832,"content":22833},{"textAlign":49},[22834,22836,22842],{"text":22835,"type":596},"Benchmark data reveals that by 2030, 22% of European-produced battery cells will come from gigafactories owned and operated by Chinese firms, according to the ",{"text":22837,"type":596,"marks":22838},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Forecast",[22839],{"type":606,"attrs":22840},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/data-reports/forecast",{"text":22843,"type":596},". When factoring in South Korean players, this figure rises to 61%.",{"type":656,"attrs":22845},{"id":22846,"body":22847},"f7700cbd-97e2-4c47-a0aa-de8ad49a853e",[22848],{"id":22849,"_uid":22850,"type":663,"_editable":22851,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"22074185","i-e07dccae-d3fe-48d6-80a2-66cd420fe9a7","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e07dccae-d3fe-48d6-80a2-66cd420fe9a7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":22853,"content":22854},{"textAlign":49},[22855],{"text":22856,"type":596},"Chinese firms hold a dominant position in Europe’s growing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery supply chain. With demand for the iron-based battery chemistry accelerating in the region, set to capture over 50% of regional demand by 2030, Chinese manufacturers are projected to supply over 67% of European produced LFP cells.","The European Union (EU) has announced it will consider new guardrails on foreign investment into its domestic lithium-ion battery and automotive sectors, measures that could involve technology transfers similar to those faced by European companies in China for decades. The proposal was announced as part of the so-called “Industrial Plan for the Automotive Industry” unveiled […]",[22859],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22860},{"job_title":557,"image":22861,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0193059f-9420-43a7-8b88-755cd2a2d264\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[22864,22865,22866,22867,22868],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22870,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":22871,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6cbd47cb1d/bm-adobestock-844065-1-scaled-1.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":22873,"uuid":22874,"name":22875,"slug":22876,"full_slug":22877,"content":22878},112467963498695,"16fbc49b-e84c-43db-aad1-b2ae4367d3a2","EU plans support for automakers with contentious regulatory shake-up","eu-plans-support-for-automakers-with-contentious-regulatory-shake-up","article/eu-plans-support-for-automakers-with-contentious-regulatory-shake-up",{"_uid":22879,"date":22880,"tags":22881,"editor":22884,"content":22888,"excerpt":23024,"featured":51,"reporter":23025,"_editable":23029,"component":697,"seo_title":22875,"categories":23030,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":23034,"seo_description":23024,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23036},"6fc1ef92-bb9c-47c3-8bab-6fd279e77034","2025-03-06 00:00",[22882,22883],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[22885],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":22886},{"job_title":557,"image":22887,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":22889},[22890,22903,22910,22915,22922,22936,22941,22946,22951,22956,22961,22966,22971,22976,22981,22986,22999,23006],{"type":591,"attrs":22891,"content":22892},{"textAlign":49},[22893,22895,22901],{"text":22894,"type":596},"The European Union (EU) this week unveiled its so-called “Industrial Plan for the Automotive Industry” following the conclusion of a ",{"text":22896,"type":596,"marks":22897},"strategic dialogue with regional automakers since early February",[22898],{"type":606,"attrs":22899},{"href":22900,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-sets-out-economic-competitiveness-plan",{"text":22902,"type":596},", a policy framework that aims to bolster the short-term competitiveness of Europe’s embattled automotive sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22904,"content":22905},{"textAlign":49},[22906,22908],{"text":22907,"type":596},"Critically, the European Commission announced plans (pending approval) to introduce greater flexibility in",{"text":22909,"type":596},"fleet CO₂ emission performance standards, allowing automakers to comply with annual targets by averaging their performance over three years rather than one. But, changes to the 2035 internal combustion engine (ICE) sales ban were ruled out.",{"type":615,"attrs":22911,"content":22912},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22913],{"text":22914,"type":596},"Performance based on 2024 emission results",{"type":591,"attrs":22916,"content":22917},{"textAlign":49},[22918],{"type":836,"attrs":22919},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":22920,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":22921},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeuyaF3P4Spr9IwuqFkcCRYlDH9XLMl4VRcS_B5KGrUIt-72sIN4GyBMH-Tv5JSJN5gm8XMqGPMSr2WDtEFziQJ7xNNBS4UXonZespKkp2ujMNqE1bIQUdf98jfa32Sjo8Hcr4Bzw?key=kOQSgX5IljlxlrPDBO7hcey-",{},{"type":591,"attrs":22923,"content":22924},{"textAlign":49},[22925,22929],{"text":22926,"type":596,"marks":22927},"Source: ",[22928],{"type":1006},{"text":22930,"type":596,"marks":22931},"Rho Motion’s EU 2025 Vehicle Emissions Tracker – March 2025",[22932,22935],{"type":606,"attrs":22933},{"href":22934,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://Rho Motion's EU 2025 Vehicle Emissions Tracker - March 2025",{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":22937,"content":22938},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22939],{"text":22940,"type":596},"What are the implications for Europe’s battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":22942,"content":22943},{"textAlign":49},[22944],{"text":22945,"type":596},"Aside from changes to fleet emissions targets, the policy includes numerous measures to support the development of next-generation lithium ion battery technologies and associated supply chains in the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":22947,"content":22948},{"textAlign":49},[22949],{"text":22950,"type":596},"This includes a so-called “battery booster” that aims to support local production of battery cells and components through direct funding, competitive loans, and non-price criteria for components (through public procurement).",{"type":591,"attrs":22952,"content":22953},{"textAlign":49},[22954],{"text":22955,"type":596},"“The EU aims to introduce legislation later this year that will specify the local content requirements for batteries and components,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark. “This could be a key policy driver for local battery manufacturing, but its impact will depend heavily on the details, and it is unlikely to match the scale of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)”",{"type":591,"attrs":22957,"content":22958},{"textAlign":49},[22959],{"text":22960,"type":596},"“The plan sets a clear goal to accelerate the permitting process for battery materials refining (where the EU has more growth potential than mining) and to increase support for recycling, including funding for recycling facilities.” Bille added.",{"type":591,"attrs":22962,"content":22963},{"textAlign":49},[22964],{"text":22965,"type":596},"Specific requirements under which the EU will allow foreign investments into the sector will also be set, especially from China, to support the buildout of localised next-gen battery supply chains in Europe. These could include measures such as joint venture requirements and technology licensing agreements.",{"type":615,"attrs":22967,"content":22968},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[22969],{"text":22970,"type":596},"How have automakers responded?",{"type":591,"attrs":22972,"content":22973},{"textAlign":49},[22974],{"text":22975,"type":596},"The deregulatory push grants some European automakers an immediate reprieve from potentially ruinous fines. Volkswagen and Renault were amongst those to welcome the EU’s “pragmatism” on emissions standards.",{"type":591,"attrs":22977,"content":22978},{"textAlign":49},[22979],{"text":22980,"type":596},"Meanwhile, automakers on target to meet the existing requirements, such as Volvo, have expressed dismay at a relaxation of the rules, arguing that they should not be disadvantaged by the changes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22982,"content":22983},{"textAlign":49},[22984],{"text":22985,"type":596},"For some industry players the proposed plan is underwhelming in terms of support due to the conditional language used in the policy document. It has also been contended that the rule changes on emission standards could soften the short-term outlook for EV sales in Europe by weakening the incentive to prioritise fleet electrification. ",{"type":591,"attrs":22987,"content":22988},{"textAlign":49},[22989,22991,22997],{"text":22990,"type":596},"The EU hopes to offset some of these potential losses by introducing a law to electrify corporate fleets, which ",{"text":22992,"type":596,"marks":22993},"account for ~60% of the total car registrations in the EU",[22994],{"type":606,"attrs":22995},{"href":22996,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-industry-updates/key-takeaways-from-the-eus-automotive-industry-action-plan/",{"text":22998,"type":596},",  while working with Member States on coordinating measures to bolster consumer demand, including tax incentives.",{"type":591,"attrs":23000,"content":23001},{"textAlign":49},[23002],{"text":23003,"type":596,"marks":23004},"Benchmark experts are closely monitoring EU policy announcements and their potential impacts on critical minerals, sustainability reporting, battery manufacturing and EV production in the region.",[23005],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":23007,"content":23008},{"textAlign":49},[23009,23013,23020],{"text":23010,"type":596,"marks":23011},"Join our webinar on Thursday 8 May at 09:00 or 15:00 (GMT+1) as we zoom in on each stage of the EV supply chain, addressing challenges and opportunities for scaling effectively – ",[23012],{"type":1006},{"text":23014,"type":596,"marks":23015},"Europe’s Quest for EV Competitiveness: How Could New EU Policies Re-energise Its Supply Chain",[23016,23017],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":23018},{"href":23019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/europes-quest-for-ev-competitiveness-how-could-new-eu-policies-re-energise-its-supply-chain",{"text":23021,"type":596,"marks":23022},"?",[23023],{"type":1006},"The European Union (EU) this week unveiled its so-called “Industrial Plan for the Automotive Industry” following the conclusion of a strategic dialogue with regional automakers since early February, a policy framework that aims to bolster the short-term competitiveness of Europe’s embattled automotive sector. Critically, the European Commission announced plans (pending approval) to introduce greater flexibility […]",[23026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23027},{"job_title":557,"image":23028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6fc1ef92-bb9c-47c3-8bab-6fd279e77034\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23031,23032,23033],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":17642,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23035,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 06, 2025",{"id":23038,"uuid":23039,"name":23040,"slug":23041,"full_slug":23042,"content":23043},112467969421512,"4a11a29c-4613-406a-85fb-ba4fd549d2c5","Does North America have enough lithium metal for its next-gen battery ambitions?","does-north-america-have-enough-lithium-metal-for-its-next-gen-battery-ambitions","article/does-north-america-have-enough-lithium-metal-for-its-next-gen-battery-ambitions",{"_uid":23044,"date":23045,"tags":23046,"editor":23060,"content":23064,"excerpt":23230,"featured":50,"reporter":23231,"_editable":23235,"component":697,"seo_title":23040,"categories":23236,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":23242,"featured_image":23245,"seo_description":23230,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23248},"43a03f22-7e05-4fba-bd93-6315aef9cdee","2025-03-05 00:00",[23047,23050,23053,23054,23055,23058,23059],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},"albemarle","Albemarle",{"slug":23051,"name":23052},"arcadium-lithium","Arcadium Lithium",{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":23056,"name":23057},"lithium-metal","Lithium metal",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[23061],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23062},{"job_title":557,"image":23063,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23065},[23066,23086,23091,23096,23101,23106,23118,23131,23139,23144,23157,23165,23177,23182,23187,23192,23197,23202,23207,23212,23225],{"type":591,"attrs":23067,"content":23068},{"textAlign":49},[23069,23071,23077,23079,23085],{"text":23070,"type":596},"Significant investment into lithium metal production will be needed if North America’s planned production of ",{"text":23072,"type":596,"marks":23073},"lithium metal batteries",[23074],{"type":606,"attrs":23075},{"href":23076,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/are-lithium-metal-batteries-an-opportunity-for-the-west?_branch_match_id=1544412576328943195&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLzb0DM3KM842D0yyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAKOc5fEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23078,"type":596}," is to be met with domestically sourced anode material, according to ",{"text":23080,"type":596,"marks":23081},"Benchmark’s Solid-state Batteries Forecast",[23082],{"type":606,"attrs":23083},{"href":23084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/solid-state/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23087,"content":23088},{"textAlign":49},[23089],{"text":23090,"type":596},"In such batteries, lithium metal is used in place of the graphite found in more traditional lithium ion battery anodes, leading to significant improvements in energy density.",{"type":591,"attrs":23092,"content":23093},{"textAlign":49},[23094],{"text":23095,"type":596},"But producing battery grade lithium metal at scale is highly technical with challenges from both an engineering and safety perspective.",{"type":591,"attrs":23097,"content":23098},{"textAlign":49},[23099],{"text":23100,"type":596},"“Significant capacity expansion will be required before the turn of the decade to support lithium metal battery commercialisation if these emerging technologies are successful,” said Rory McNulty, Benchmark’s product director for new technology.",{"type":615,"attrs":23102,"content":23103},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23104],{"text":23105,"type":596},"How does lithium metal supply compare to North America’s next-generation ambitions?",{"type":591,"attrs":23107,"content":23108},{"textAlign":49},[23109,23111,23117],{"text":23110,"type":596},"In the immediate term, North America’s 250 tonnes of lithium metal ingot production capacity is sufficient to meet the needs of its ",{"text":23112,"type":596,"marks":23113},"next-generation battery producers",[23114],{"type":606,"attrs":23115},{"href":23116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/next-gen-battery-developers-licensing-technology-to-oems-enables-scale?_branch_match_id=1544412580899889930&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT0339TeqKs9yDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA90HGHUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23119,"content":23120},{"textAlign":49},[23121,23123,23129],{"text":23122,"type":596},"However, North American lithium metal battery production is set to increase 30-fold between 2025 and 2035, ",{"text":23124,"type":596,"marks":23125},"far outstripping the capacity",[23126],{"type":606,"attrs":23127},{"href":23128,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-metal-deficit-could-limit-next-generation-battery-development-this-year?_branch_match_id=1544412612747460113&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FfwKrNMMc02D0yyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAgYDFbEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23130,"type":596}," of domestic lithium metal producers.",{"type":656,"attrs":23132},{"id":23133,"body":23134},"dfb2abfb-1371-4d98-bc3f-30198bdc6937",[23135],{"id":23136,"_uid":23137,"type":663,"_editable":23138,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21927957","i-699928a7-1549-4bd5-92d4-3fe538f0a43b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-699928a7-1549-4bd5-92d4-3fe538f0a43b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":23140,"content":23141},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23142],{"text":23143,"type":596},"What is China’s position in the lithium metal market?",{"type":591,"attrs":23145,"content":23146},{"textAlign":49},[23147,23149,23155],{"text":23148,"type":596},"Although North America is the second largest lithium metal producing region, ",{"text":23150,"type":596,"marks":23151},"China dominates",[23152],{"type":606,"attrs":23153},{"href":23154,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-chinas-solid-state-battery-industry-developing?_branch_match_id=1544412624795458036&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FVwLsn0CHMsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAkdx2L0gAAAA%3D",{"text":23156,"type":596}," announced capacity.",{"type":656,"attrs":23158},{"id":23159,"body":23160},"39639032-be7e-4671-a383-5e7ac32ceb9c",[23161],{"id":23162,"_uid":23163,"type":663,"_editable":23164,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21940724","i-d6dbbaa9-c80c-4ce9-b844-3e4d6762e67e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-d6dbbaa9-c80c-4ce9-b844-3e4d6762e67e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":23166,"content":23167},{"textAlign":49},[23168,23170,23175],{"text":23169,"type":596},"“Announced capacity expansion plans in ",{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":23171},[23172],{"type":606,"attrs":23173},{"href":23174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state?_branch_match_id=1544412566965425781&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd690KbDMDncsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAhziMIEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23176,"type":596}," far exceed those of producers outside of China, indicating less regulatory and permitting hurdles to capacity expansion,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":23178,"content":23179},{"textAlign":49},[23180],{"text":23181,"type":596},"Watch Benchmark’s Rory McNulty discussChina’s approach to scaling lithium metal production.",{"type":615,"attrs":23183,"content":23184},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23185],{"text":23186,"type":596},"What are the challenges with scaling lithium metal production?",{"type":591,"attrs":23188,"content":23189},{"textAlign":49},[23190],{"text":23191,"type":596},"Lithium metal is produced through molten salt electrolysis of a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride, followed by vacuum distillation to reach battery-grade level purity. This first stage of this process produces significant quantities of chlorine gas.",{"type":591,"attrs":23193,"content":23194},{"textAlign":49},[23195],{"text":23196,"type":596},"“On a small scale the chlorine gas can be used to make industrial bleach,” McNulty said. “But on a large scale, the toxic and corrosive nature of the gas poses a safety concern which presents a considerable hurdle for permitting.”",{"type":591,"attrs":23198,"content":23199},{"textAlign":49},[23200],{"text":23201,"type":596},"The energy density of a lithium metal battery increases as the thickness of the lithium metal foil decreases, though producing ever thinner foils at scale is extremely challenging for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":23203,"content":23204},{"textAlign":49},[23205],{"text":23206,"type":596},"“The bottleneck is high throughput within the strict requirements of next-gen lithium metal anodes, namely a thickness below 20 microns and less than one micron surface variance,” McNulty said.",{"type":615,"attrs":23208,"content":23209},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23210],{"text":23211,"type":596},"Can innovation help North America compete?",{"type":591,"attrs":23213,"content":23214},{"textAlign":49},[23215,23217,23223],{"text":23216,"type":596},"Helping North America to compete with China, ",{"text":23218,"type":596,"marks":23219},"innovations in the region",[23220],{"type":606,"attrs":23221},{"href":23222,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412571843297549&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ylzKzD1jwiKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAitH%2FQkgAAAA%3D",{"text":23224,"type":596}," could help to overcome some of the challenges associated with lithium metal production.",{"type":591,"attrs":23226,"content":23227},{"textAlign":49},[23228],{"text":23229,"type":596},"“Such innovations could enable a technological leap for North American players,” McNulty said, adding that “supply and offtake agreements are more important than announced capacity.”","Significant investment into lithium metal production will be needed if North America’s planned production of lithium metal batteries is to be met with domestically sourced anode material, according to Benchmark’s Solid-state Batteries Forecast. In such batteries, lithium metal is used in place of the graphite found in more traditional lithium ion battery anodes, leading to […]",[23232],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23233},{"job_title":557,"image":23234,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"43a03f22-7e05-4fba-bd93-6315aef9cdee\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23237,23238,23239,23240,23241],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23243,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23244,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1741183440/www-production/North-America-vs-China-Lithium-Metal-Capacity@2x/North-America-vs-China-Lithium-Metal-Capacity@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23246,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23247,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/83604999e1/bm-arcadium-lithium-foil-13368699e7d5.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 05, 2025",{"id":23250,"uuid":23251,"name":23252,"slug":23253,"full_slug":23254,"content":23255},112467974373586,"1e82c3c0-c12a-472b-bb6e-5dbc1c297262","Lithium chemical prices fall as inventory builds","lithium-chemical-prices-fall-as-inventory-builds","article/lithium-chemical-prices-fall-as-inventory-builds",{"_uid":23256,"date":23257,"tags":23258,"editor":23262,"content":23266,"excerpt":23420,"featured":51,"reporter":23421,"_editable":23425,"component":697,"seo_title":23252,"categories":23426,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":23430,"featured_image":23432,"seo_description":23420,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23435},"a04379bd-decb-40ca-9285-6a21e2e595ad","2025-03-03 00:00",[23259,23260,23261],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[23263],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23264},{"job_title":557,"image":23265,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23267},[23268,23281,23286,23298,23303,23310,23315,23335,23340,23345,23352,23357,23369,23374,23379,23386,23412],{"type":591,"attrs":23269,"content":23270},{"textAlign":49},[23271,23273,23279],{"text":23272,"type":596},"Lithium chemical producers and traders are increasing their lithium stocks as ",{"text":23274,"type":596,"marks":23275},"Chinese supply",[23276],{"type":606,"attrs":23277},{"href":23278,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-miners-zijin-and-zangge-consolidate-in-1-87-billion-deal?_branch_match_id=1544412533990902001&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD8mI8ihISnbKD0yyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAKocqA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":23280,"type":596}," ramps up after a slow period due to annual maintenance operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":23282,"content":23283},{"textAlign":49},[23284],{"text":23285,"type":596},"Inventory is also building due to a larger than expected seasonal dip in January electric vehicle sales in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":23287,"content":23288},{"textAlign":49},[23289,23291,23297],{"text":23290,"type":596},"Market participants told Benchmark that they anticipate chemical inventory levels to rise further next month as converters work through improving availability of spodumene and ",{"text":23292,"type":596,"marks":23293},"mica feedstocks in the country",[23294],{"type":606,"attrs":23295},{"href":23296,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-growing-role-of-chinese-mica-in-the-lithium-market?_branch_match_id=1544412546512091420&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz05x8whOybcoCEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAnpAALUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23299,"content":23300},{"textAlign":49},[23301],{"text":23302,"type":596},"“We are seeing a rise in inventory levels of both lithium chemicals and cathode materials, driven by a ramp up of production post Chinese New Year and a slow-down of demand amid uncertainty sparked by US tariffs,” said Alex Albinski, a lithium analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":23304,"content":23305},{"textAlign":49},[23306],{"type":836,"attrs":23307},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":23308,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":23309},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/293275ac41/bm-lithium-and-cathode-inventory2x-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":23311,"content":23312},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23313],{"text":23314,"type":596},"What impact is this having on prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":23316,"content":23317},{"textAlign":49},[23318,23320,23326,23328,23334],{"text":23319,"type":596},"Increased inventory levels are exerting ",{"text":23321,"type":596,"marks":23322},"downward pressure on lithium chemical prices",[23323],{"type":606,"attrs":23324},{"href":23325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/low-prices-spark-mergers-and-closures-lithium-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412541611897898&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz3YJ9ityNDQpCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAJ2vQLEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23327,"type":596},". This is despite processors already contending with reduced margins due to ",{"text":23329,"type":596,"marks":23330},"relatively high spodumene prices compared to chemical prices",[23331],{"type":606,"attrs":23332},{"href":23333,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-pressure-processors?_branch_match_id=1544412552476360163&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTw1NqfQzzrUsDEqyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAoZeOcUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23336,"content":23337},{"textAlign":49},[23338],{"text":23339,"type":596},"This fall in chemical prices is despite pressure from global spodumene producers, aiming to maintain price discipline.",{"type":591,"attrs":23341,"content":23342},{"textAlign":49},[23343],{"text":23344,"type":596},"“We have seen a push from some of the Australian spodumene majors to maintain prices at current levels, however on the flip side, current chemicals prices in China are limiting margin for conversion,” Albinski said.",{"type":591,"attrs":23346,"content":23347},{"textAlign":49},[23348],{"type":836,"attrs":23349},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":23350,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":23351},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf78a05e38/bm-spodumene-relative-to-chemicals-03-03-252x.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":23353,"content":23354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23355],{"text":23356,"type":596},"Where is inventory building up?",{"type":591,"attrs":23358,"content":23359},{"textAlign":49},[23360,23362,23367],{"text":23361,"type":596},"According to ",{"text":23363,"type":596,"marks":23364},"Benchmark’s Monthly Lithium Inventory Tracker",[23365],{"type":606,"attrs":23366},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":23368,"type":596},", chemical inventories are building both at chemical producers and converters and at traders and exchanges. ",{"type":591,"attrs":23370,"content":23371},{"textAlign":49},[23372],{"text":23373,"type":596},"In contrast, chemical inventories are falling at cathode manufacturers, as these players look to draw down existing stock to produce cathode material without replacement of chemicals amid a more uncertain near-term demand outlook.",{"type":591,"attrs":23375,"content":23376},{"textAlign":49},[23377],{"text":23378,"type":596},"Meanwhile, cathode producers are struggling to sell this finished cathode active material onto cell producers, who are trying to work through CAM inventory rather than purchase more, given expectations of weak end-user battery demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":23380,"content":23381},{"textAlign":49},[23382],{"text":23383,"type":596,"marks":23384},"Benchmark’s new Lithium Inventory Tracker provides monthly insight into stocks of lithium chemicals and cathode active material inventory in China.",[23385],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":23387,"content":23388},{"textAlign":49},[23389,23393,23398,23401,23408],{"text":23390,"type":596,"marks":23391},"Now included as part of ",[23392],{"type":1006},{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":23394},[23395,23397],{"type":606,"attrs":23396},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":23399},[23400],{"type":1006},{"text":23402,"type":596,"marks":23403},"Forecast",[23404,23407],{"type":606,"attrs":23405},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/data-reports/forecast",{"type":1006},{"text":23409,"type":596,"marks":23410}," subscriptions, this additional data enriches the picture of near-term supply-demand dynamics by bringing clarity to how chemical and cathode inventory levels are changing across the main points in the supply chain.",[23411],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":23413,"content":23414},{"textAlign":49},[23415,23419],{"text":23416,"type":596,"marks":23417},"To find out more about the Lithium Inventory Tracker and the wider Price Assessment or Forecast subscriptions, fill out the form below",[23418],{"type":1006},{"text":4737,"type":596},"Lithium chemical producers and traders are increasing their lithium stocks as Chinese supply ramps up after a slow period due to annual maintenance operations. Inventory is also building due to a larger than expected seasonal dip in January electric vehicle sales in China. Market participants told Benchmark that they anticipate chemical inventory levels to rise […]",[23422],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23423},{"job_title":557,"image":23424,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a04379bd-decb-40ca-9285-6a21e2e595ad\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23427,23428,23429],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23308,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23431,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23433,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23434,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/308fb1abd9/bm-sal-del-hombre-muerto-carbonate-plant-scaled-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 03, 2025",{"id":23437,"uuid":23438,"name":23439,"slug":23440,"full_slug":23441,"content":23442},112467988922581,"0e27b8bd-31ef-4ccc-9f84-fe47a6556010","The importance of EVs to the rare earths market","the-importance-of-evs-to-the-rare-earths-market","article/the-importance-of-evs-to-the-rare-earths-market",{"_uid":23443,"date":23444,"tags":23445,"editor":23447,"content":23451,"excerpt":23517,"featured":50,"reporter":23518,"_editable":23522,"component":697,"seo_title":23439,"categories":23523,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":23527,"featured_image":23530,"seo_description":23517,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23533},"4a6a0934-f39c-44e0-9918-61bf551fb580","2025-02-26 00:00",[23446],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[23448],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23449},{"job_title":557,"image":23450,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23452},[23453,23465,23470,23475,23480,23485,23492,23497,23502,23510],{"type":591,"attrs":23454,"content":23455},{"textAlign":49},[23456,23458,23464],{"text":23457,"type":596},"The electric vehicle market is the fastest growing demand sector for rare earth permanent magnets (REPM), according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":23460},"Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast",[23461],{"type":606,"attrs":23462},{"href":23463,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23466,"content":23467},{"textAlign":49},[23468],{"text":23469,"type":596},"Demand for such magnets is set to grow at a compound average growth rate of 15% per year between 2024 and 2030, compared to a 9% CAGR for the overall REPM market.",{"type":591,"attrs":23471,"content":23472},{"textAlign":49},[23473],{"text":23474,"type":596},"“As the global push for decarbonization accelerates, the demand for magnetic rare earth oxides—critical for EV motors—continues to rise,” said Neha Mukherjee, a rare earths analyst at Benchmark. “With stricter emission policies and regulations shaping the market, the rare earth sector is entering a phase of heightened strategic importance, where supply chain security and policy interventions will play a crucial role in determining the market’s market balance and price environment.”",{"type":615,"attrs":23476,"content":23477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23478],{"text":23479,"type":596},"What are the key markets for REPM?",{"type":591,"attrs":23481,"content":23482},{"textAlign":49},[23483],{"text":23484,"type":596},"Rare earth permanent magnets have a multitude of uses. Electric vehicle motors, consumer electronics such as air conditioners, industrial motors, and wind energy are the primary markets for these magnets, with EVs accounting for the largest share.",{"type":656,"attrs":23486},{"id":23487,"body":23488},"905e9464-9151-42f7-a047-4eca7f8a135c",[23489],{"id":11081,"_uid":23490,"type":663,"_editable":23491,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"i-4df8835a-704a-4912-ab73-67712b37d073","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-4df8835a-704a-4912-ab73-67712b37d073\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":23493,"content":23494},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23495],{"text":23496,"type":596},"Where do magnets fit into rare earth oxide demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":23498,"content":23499},{"textAlign":49},[23500],{"text":23501,"type":596},"As with the magnets, the rare earth oxides from which they are made also have several applications. The REPM market is the largest demand sector for rare earths, though polishing powders and catalysts for petroleum refining are also large markets.",{"type":656,"attrs":23503},{"id":23504,"body":23505},"967cc906-5bb7-482a-9a0c-5751f97d2688",[23506],{"id":23507,"_uid":23508,"type":663,"_editable":23509,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21811363","i-8d609243-bcb2-46ba-8470-0d5a2873cbb3","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-8d609243-bcb2-46ba-8470-0d5a2873cbb3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":23511,"content":23512},{"textAlign":49},[23513],{"text":23514,"type":596,"marks":23515},"Watch Benchmark and Rho Motion analysts discuss the mine to grid supply chain for motors here.",[23516],{"type":1006},"The electric vehicle market is the fastest growing demand sector for rare earth permanent magnets (REPM), according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast. Demand for such magnets is set to grow at a compound average growth rate of 15% per year between 2024 and 2030, compared to a 9% CAGR for the overall REPM market. “As […]",[23519],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23520},{"job_title":557,"image":23521,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4a6a0934-f39c-44e0-9918-61bf551fb580\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23524,23525,23526],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23528,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23529,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1740584320/www-production/REPM-demand@2x-1/REPM-demand@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23531,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23532,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/54c4c1b6e6/bm-electric-motor-rotor-with-permanent-magnet.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 26, 2025",{"id":23535,"uuid":23536,"name":23537,"slug":23538,"full_slug":23539,"content":23540},112468007817433,"f5f9e9ac-0ebb-4c88-a08d-3518f5f97c08","Spodumene prices pressure processors","spodumene-prices-pressure-processors","article/spodumene-prices-pressure-processors",{"_uid":23541,"date":23542,"tags":23543,"editor":23549,"content":23553,"excerpt":23652,"featured":50,"reporter":23653,"_editable":23657,"component":697,"seo_title":23537,"categories":23658,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":23661,"featured_image":23664,"seo_description":23652,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23667},"85ee6841-ba7c-492d-8bc5-c8ebfa881438","2025-02-20 00:00",[23544,23545,23546],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},"spodumene","Spodumene",[23550],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23551},{"job_title":557,"image":23552,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23554},[23555,23580,23593,23598,23611,23619,23624,23629,23634,23639,23644],{"type":591,"attrs":23556,"content":23557},{"textAlign":49},[23558,23564,23566,23572,23574,23579],{"text":23559,"type":596,"marks":23560},"Spodumene prices",[23561],{"type":606,"attrs":23562},{"href":23563,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/low-prices-spark-mergers-and-closures-lithium-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412414812976768&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz3YJ9ityNDQpCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAJ2vQLEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23565,"type":596}," are relatively high compared to ",{"text":23567,"type":596,"marks":23568},"lithium chemical prices",[23569],{"type":606,"attrs":23570},{"href":23571,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfp-uptake-and-flexible-production-lines-keep-lithium-carbonate-prices-above-hydroxide?_branch_match_id=1544412407064098077&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD0%2FyrDCOirTMD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAmLA7S0gAAAA%3D",{"text":23573,"type":596},", putting pressure on chemical producers, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":23575},[23576],{"type":606,"attrs":23577},{"href":23578,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/lithium-prices/table",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23581,"content":23582},{"textAlign":49},[23583,23585,23591],{"text":23584,"type":596},"However, this week ",{"text":23586,"type":596,"marks":23587},"spodumene prices",[23588],{"type":606,"attrs":23589},{"href":23590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-soften-to-three-year-low-amid-weak-lithium-chemical-prices?_branch_match_id=1544412424376785682&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBMQ6AIBAEwB9Bb2IsrMUnGDCn4MFBFpTOtzPjWyt10tqRnD5ZcApCsLEqW4qKQVibZ2M279d3t%2Fygi4Ag9%2BGQeyXMq0dONADCkDwpSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":23592,"type":596}," ticked down 2.3%, the second week of falling spodumene concentrate prices following a two-month period of no decline.",{"type":591,"attrs":23594,"content":23595},{"textAlign":49},[23596],{"text":23597,"type":596},"Despite this correction, the ratio of spodumene prices to lithium chemical prices remains above last year’s average, as it has been since the end of November 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":23599,"content":23600},{"textAlign":49},[23601,23603,23609],{"text":23602,"type":596},"“This is driven by a tighter feedstock supply picture in China and ",{"text":23604,"type":596,"marks":23605},"Australian spodumene majors",[23606],{"type":606,"attrs":23607},{"href":23608,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australian-lithium-supply-cut-by-15-due-to-low-spodumene-prices?_branch_match_id=1544412419695925230&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWjyhx8UoMyzR180%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA6UsK%2F0gAAAA%3D",{"text":23610,"type":596}," maintaining price discipline,” said Alex Albinski, a lithium pricing analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":656,"attrs":23612},{"id":23613,"body":23614},"1924c8dd-9b2a-48c1-a696-ba61d37963e4",[23615],{"id":23616,"_uid":23617,"type":663,"_editable":23618,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21728158","i-6535fedb-1b4d-49d9-90d7-2459cb827f3f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6535fedb-1b4d-49d9-90d7-2459cb827f3f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":23620,"content":23621},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23622],{"text":23623,"type":596},"What impact is this having on the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":23625,"content":23626},{"textAlign":49},[23627],{"text":23628,"type":596},"The disconnect between spodumene concentrate prices and the price of lithium chemicals has put pressure on chemical producers who will be working with a reduced margin.",{"type":591,"attrs":23630,"content":23631},{"textAlign":49},[23632],{"text":23633,"type":596},"However, this does not mean that spodumene miners are sitting happy as they are forced to maintain price discipline despite chemical producers pushing for a reduction in feedstock prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":23635,"content":23636},{"textAlign":49},[23637],{"text":23638,"type":596},"“We are seeing price discipline from a lot of the Australian spodumene majors,” Albinski said. “Some operations are not too far away from cost and are therefore reluctant to decrease prices.”",{"type":591,"attrs":23640,"content":23641},{"textAlign":49},[23642],{"text":23643,"type":596},"Despite this discipline, there are signs that the pressure from chemical producers is moving the needle.",{"type":591,"attrs":23645,"content":23646},{"textAlign":49},[23647],{"type":836,"attrs":23648},{"id":49,"alt":23649,"src":23650,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":23651},"Spodumene prices tick down slightly in response to pressure from chemical producers","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0feffb6086/bm-spodumene-and-chemical-prices-20-feb-2025-usd2x.png",{},"Spodumene prices are relatively high compared to lithium chemical prices, putting pressure on chemical producers, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. However, this week spodumene prices ticked down 2.3%, the second week of falling spodumene concentrate prices following a two-month period of no decline. Despite this correction, the ratio of spodumene prices to lithium chemical […]",[23654],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23655},{"job_title":557,"image":23656,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"85ee6841-ba7c-492d-8bc5-c8ebfa881438\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23659,23660],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23662,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23663,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1740057069/www-production/Copy-of-Spodumene-relative-to-chemicals@2x-1/Copy-of-Spodumene-relative-to-chemicals@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23665,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23666,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a6a6b2af41/bm-the-tianqi-lithium-hydroxide-plant-at-kwinana.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 20, 2025",{"id":23669,"uuid":23670,"name":23671,"slug":23672,"full_slug":23673,"content":23674},112468022923484,"cc15eed3-df03-4a1a-a251-40ff620655fc","Philippines seeks to replicate Indonesia’s nickel strategy with proposed export ban","philippines-seeks-to-replicate-indonesias-nickel-strategy-with-proposed-export-ban","article/philippines-seeks-to-replicate-indonesias-nickel-strategy-with-proposed-export-ban",{"_uid":23675,"date":23676,"tags":23677,"editor":23682,"content":23686,"excerpt":23796,"featured":51,"reporter":23797,"_editable":23801,"component":697,"seo_title":23671,"categories":23802,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":23805,"seo_description":23796,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23809},"3086abdd-4089-4ab6-97c9-eb12bcb7a168","2025-02-18 00:00",[23678,23679],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":23680,"name":23681},"philippines","Philippines",[23683],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23684},{"job_title":557,"image":23685,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23687},[23688,23700,23705,23713,23718,23736,23741,23746,23751,23756,23761,23766,23771,23776,23781,23786,23791],{"type":591,"attrs":23689,"content":23690},{"textAlign":49},[23691,23693,23699],{"text":23692,"type":596},"Philippine lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban raw nickel ore exports, aiming to encourage domestic value-add processing and replicate neighbouring ",{"text":23694,"type":596,"marks":23695},"Indonesia’s success in downstreaming its nickel resources",[23696],{"type":606,"attrs":23697},{"href":23698,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-market-faces-uncertainty-amid-indonesias-mining-quota-adjustments?_branch_match_id=1544412304180349002&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD3XycUwPMS3OD0yyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAI5kFHkgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23701,"content":23702},{"textAlign":49},[23703],{"text":23704,"type":596},"Set to take effect five years after passage, the ban seeks to shift the country away from raw material exports toward local processing to capture more economic value. Similar efforts in 2016 and 2014 failed due to lack of support.",{"type":656,"attrs":23706},{"id":23707,"body":23708},"18993d07-4b74-4a22-9e20-968f5f27b1a4",[23709],{"id":23710,"_uid":23711,"type":663,"_editable":23712,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21632195","i-c5669880-13c3-46c2-8391-1f0eaf0a1382","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-c5669880-13c3-46c2-8391-1f0eaf0a1382\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":23714,"content":23715},{"textAlign":49},[23716],{"text":23717,"type":596},"“The Philippines is the world’s second-largest nickel ore producer and has historically shipped the majority of its ore to China. However, last year its ore exports to Indonesia surged, amidst tightness in Indonesia’s domestic ore market due to delays in approvals to mining quotas,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":23719,"content":23720},{"textAlign":49},[23721,23723,23729,23731],{"text":23722,"type":596},"However, with few new deposits under development and declining nickel grades at existing mines, Benchmark projects limited ",{"text":23724,"type":596,"marks":23725},"supply growth",[23726],{"type":606,"attrs":23727},{"href":23728,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/supply-surplus-overshadows-demand-growth-nickel-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544412296898955641&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwhzS86OiDSpDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA%2B2FPBUgAAAA%3D",{"text":23730,"type":596}," from the Philippines through 2030. In 2024, the country’s mine output fell 2% to 376kt Ni contained and isn’t expected to return to 2023 levels until 2027, according to the ",{"text":23732,"type":596,"marks":23733},"Benchmark Nickel Forecast.",[23734],{"type":606,"attrs":23735},{"href":18969,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":23737,"content":23738},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23739],{"text":23740,"type":596},"Capturing domestic value ",{"type":591,"attrs":23742,"content":23743},{"textAlign":49},[23744],{"text":23745,"type":596},"Currently, the Philippines has two high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facilities, both operated by Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM). These plants process ore into mixed sulphide precipitate (MSP), which is then shipped to Japan for refining into final nickel products, including battery-grade nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":23747,"content":23748},{"textAlign":49},[23749],{"text":23750,"type":596},"To strengthen its domestic industry, the government aims to establish at least three additional processing plants, but foreign investment will be crucial to achieving this goal.",{"type":591,"attrs":23752,"content":23753},{"textAlign":49},[23754],{"text":23755,"type":596},"The Luzon Economic Corridor, a trilateral agreement between the US, Japan, and the Philippines signed in April 2024, seeks to channel $100 billion into infrastructure and strategic sectors – including critical mineral supply chains – over the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":23757,"content":23758},{"textAlign":49},[23759],{"text":23760,"type":596},"The initiative aims to provide a pathway towards establishing a viable alternative to the Chinese-dominated Indonesian nickel sector, which is projected to capture 70% of global supply by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":23762,"content":23763},{"textAlign":49},[23764],{"text":23765,"type":596},"Western and Asian governments are increasingly wary of the implications for supply chain security posed by both nickel’s single-country supply concentration and China’s dominance over Indonesia’s mining sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":23767,"content":23768},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23769],{"text":23770,"type":596},"What are the challenges?",{"type":591,"attrs":23772,"content":23773},{"textAlign":49},[23774],{"text":23775,"type":596},"Despite these ambitions, the Philippines faces major hurdles in building a competitive domestic nickel processing industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":23777,"content":23778},{"textAlign":49},[23779],{"text":23780,"type":596},"China’s monopoly on next-generation HPAL technology – along with access to cheap, state-backed loans – has enabled its firms to build processing facilities in Indonesia at unrivaled speed, scale, and cost. In contrast, numerous western nickel operations have been forced to close due to low prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":23782,"content":23783},{"textAlign":49},[23784],{"text":23785,"type":596},"Without Chinese involvement, projects in the Philippines would likely struggle to compete with their Indonesian counterparts on cost, potentially deterring investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":23787,"content":23788},{"textAlign":49},[23789],{"text":23790,"type":596},"Additionally, the Philippines’ nickel reserves are smaller than Indonesia’s, raising the possibility that an export ban could be ineffective, pushing buyers toward alternative suppliers, such as New Caledonia, rather than driving investment towards local processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":23792,"content":23793},{"textAlign":49},[23794],{"text":23795,"type":596},"Finally, the return of President Trump to the White House adds further uncertainty, particularly the risk that tariffs could raise barriers for US investment. The new administration is shifting focus toward domestic resource development, potentially reducing foreign investment incentives in countries such as the Philippines.","Philippine lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban raw nickel ore exports, aiming to encourage domestic value-add processing and replicate neighbouring Indonesia’s success in downstreaming its nickel resources. Set to take effect five years after passage, the ban seeks to shift the country away from raw material exports toward local processing to capture more economic […]",[23798],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23799},{"job_title":557,"image":23800,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3086abdd-4089-4ab6-97c9-eb12bcb7a168\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[23803,23804],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":23806,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":23806,"source":547,"filename":23807,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":23808,"is_external_url":51},"Philippines nickel mine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0c0b889573/bm-shutterstock-2340094415-1.jpg",{"alt":23806,"title":23806,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 18, 2025",{"id":23811,"uuid":23812,"name":23813,"slug":23814,"full_slug":23815,"content":23816},112468018090203,"418b35bc-dd2f-4154-9ce0-58fcefd2aa39","Twenty-fold increase in US lithium chemical production forecast by 2035","twenty-fold-increase-in-us-lithium-chemical-production-forecast-by-2035","article/twenty-fold-increase-in-us-lithium-chemical-production-forecast-by-2035",{"_uid":23817,"date":23676,"tags":23818,"editor":23827,"content":23831,"excerpt":24004,"featured":50,"reporter":24005,"_editable":24009,"component":697,"seo_title":23813,"categories":24010,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24013,"seo_description":24004,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":23809},"9e0ad58c-606c-4b86-aa3e-7e64f4a66790",[23819,23820,23821,23822,23823,23826],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":23051,"name":23052},{"slug":12045,"name":12046},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":23824,"name":23825},"stardust-power-inc","Stardust Power Inc",{"slug":572,"name":573},[23828],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":23829},{"job_title":557,"image":23830,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":23832},[23833,23843,23855,23867,23872,23880,23885,23895,23914,23919,23924,23929,23942,23947,23960,23965,23970,23982,23987],{"type":591,"attrs":23834,"content":23835},{"textAlign":49},[23836,23838,23842],{"text":23837,"type":596},"The US is set to see a twenty-fold increase in lithium chemical production between 2025 and 2035, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":23839},[23840],{"type":606,"attrs":23841},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23844,"content":23845},{"textAlign":49},[23846,23848,23853],{"text":23847,"type":596},"Albemarle and ",{"text":23052,"type":596,"marks":23849},[23850],{"type":606,"attrs":23851},{"href":23852,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-to-buy-arcadium-lithium-for-6-7-billion?_branch_match_id=1544412332155837879&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNwvO9ozwyDd180%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAoy%2FCBEgAAAA%3D",{"text":23854,"type":596}," are the only two companies operating lithium refineries in the US. However, there are more than 20 companies with plans to operate a lithium refinery in the country by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":23856,"content":23857},{"textAlign":49},[23858,23860,23865],{"text":23859,"type":596},"If all these plans were to come to fruition, the country’s total chemical supply could reach as high as 690,000 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), though ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":23862},"Benchmark forecasts",[23863],{"type":606,"attrs":23864},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":23866,"type":596}," this value will be more like 180,000 tonnes LCE taking into account the likelihood of projects coming online.",{"type":591,"attrs":23868,"content":23869},{"textAlign":49},[23870],{"text":23871,"type":596},"“Despite having lithium reserves, the US has traditionally lacked large-scale refining capacity, leading to a reliance on foreign processing,” said Federico Gay, a lithium analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":656,"attrs":23873},{"id":23874,"body":23875},"09100fb9-590b-4a55-a653-cd1ffb89d3f5",[23876],{"id":23877,"_uid":23878,"type":663,"_editable":23879,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21693411","i-e25d4332-411d-460f-89be-6bbba3d75881","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e25d4332-411d-460f-89be-6bbba3d75881\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":23881,"content":23882},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23883],{"text":23884,"type":596},"Which are the largest projects in the US’ 2035 lithium chemicals pipeline?",{"type":591,"attrs":23886,"content":23887},{"textAlign":49},[23888,23890,23894],{"text":23889,"type":596},"If all plans known to Benchmark come to fruition, Exxon, Albemarle and Stardust Power could operate the three largest lithium chemical production assets in the US by 2035, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":23891},[23892],{"type":606,"attrs":23893},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23896,"content":23897},{"textAlign":49},[23898,23904,23906,23912],{"text":23899,"type":596,"marks":23900},"Exxon’s Arkansas direct lithium extraction project",[23901],{"type":606,"attrs":23902},{"href":23903,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/exxon-aiming-for-multiple-lithium-projects-this-decade?_branch_match_id=1544412327724220860&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLyvISvYsDzPMD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAF5T840gAAAA%3D",{"text":23905,"type":596}," has a planned capacity of 100,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate and is due to come online in 2030. ",{"text":23907,"type":596,"marks":23908},"LG Chem intends to source lithium",[23909],{"type":606,"attrs":23910},{"href":23911,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lg-chems-tennessee-cathode-plant-to-source-us-lithium-from-exxons-dle-project?_branch_match_id=1544412314744562468&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDy0MNzaKCgsK8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUANdiObUgAAAA%3D",{"text":23913,"type":596}," for its Tennessee cathode plant from Exxon’s operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":23915,"content":23916},{"textAlign":49},[23917],{"text":23918,"type":596},"Albemarle’s Mega-Flex spodumene concentrate to lithium hydroxide plant in South Carolina is also set to come online in 2030 and has a production capacity of 100,000 tonne LCE.",{"type":591,"attrs":23920,"content":23921},{"textAlign":49},[23922],{"text":23923,"type":596},"Stardust Power’s Oklahoma facility set to produce lithium carbonate from lithium chloride has a total capacity of 50,000 tonnes LCE to be built in two phases. The company broke ground on the site earlier this year and recently entered a non-binding agreement with Japanese commodities trader Sumitomo.",{"type":615,"attrs":23925,"content":23926},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[23927],{"text":23928,"type":596},"What are the challenges facing production in the US?",{"type":591,"attrs":23930,"content":23931},{"textAlign":49},[23932,23934,23940],{"text":23933,"type":596},"However, with these projects several years away from commercial production, ",{"text":23935,"type":596,"marks":23936},"major challenges",[23937],{"type":606,"attrs":23938},{"href":23939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-new-project-economics?_branch_match_id=1544412336879768871&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWjyi1cEnPDTfPD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAfZsMSkgAAAA%3D",{"text":23941,"type":596}," still need to be overcome for them to reach their intended potential.",{"type":591,"attrs":23943,"content":23944},{"textAlign":49},[23945],{"text":23946,"type":596},"US-based lithium chemical production will need to compete on cost with China and Argentina, both of which are able to produce low cost lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":23948,"content":23949},{"textAlign":49},[23950,23952,23958],{"text":23951,"type":596},"Feedstock sourcing is another key factor. Exxon’s production relies on ",{"text":23953,"type":596,"marks":23954},"novel DLE technologies",[23955],{"type":606,"attrs":23956},{"href":23957,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rise-of-dle-will-open-up-new-sources-of-lithium-supply-this-decade?_branch_match_id=1544412344933356719&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNykrjsiLDEr38k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUARthgR0gAAAA%3D",{"text":23959,"type":596}," whilst Albemarle is currently developing the Kings Mountain spodumene mine that will feed its facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":23961,"content":23962},{"textAlign":49},[23963],{"text":23964,"type":596},"Stardust Power, although it plans to eventually operate brine facilities, does not currently control the supply of its feedstock and remains open to varying the feedstock in the short-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":23966,"content":23967},{"textAlign":49},[23968],{"text":23969,"type":596},"“While there is a lot of investment going into upstream, the lithium chloride market is developing,” Rohsan Pujari, the chief executive of Stardust Power, told Benchmark. “One of the things that we’ve discussed is the possibility of taking in technical grade lithium and refining it to battery grade while we build the entire train […] to get to revenue faster.”",{"type":591,"attrs":23971,"content":23972},{"textAlign":49},[23973,23975,23981],{"text":23974,"type":596},"Geopolitics, too, are increasingly important, with President Trump looking to dismantle parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and ",{"text":23976,"type":596,"marks":23977},"China restricting exports of lithium processing technologies",[23978],{"type":606,"attrs":23979},{"href":23980,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-proposes-restrictions-on-lithium-and-cathode-technology-exports?_branch_match_id=1544412323223933929&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzIz8KlIjMq1DEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAROyygkgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":23983,"content":23984},{"textAlign":49},[23985],{"text":23986,"type":596},"“With growing trade restrictions between the US and China, the path to lithium independence is becoming even steeper,” Gay said. “And despite efforts to build a domestic lithium supply chain, the US remains reliant on China for midstream production.”",{"type":591,"attrs":23988,"content":23989},{"textAlign":49},[23990,23994,24001],{"text":23991,"type":596,"marks":23992},"Watch Benchmark analysts discuss the potential impact of ",[23993],{"type":1006},{"text":23995,"type":596,"marks":23996},"China’s proposed restrictions",[23997,24000],{"type":606,"attrs":23998},{"href":23999,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/whats-the-impact-of-chinas-proposed-export-controls-on-lithium-and-cathode-technologies",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":24002},[24003],{"type":1006},"The US is set to see a twenty-fold increase in lithium chemical production between 2025 and 2035, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Albemarle and Arcadium Lithium are the only two companies operating lithium refineries in the US. However, there are more than 20 companies with plans to operate a lithium refinery in the country by […]",[24006],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24007},{"job_title":557,"image":24008,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9e0ad58c-606c-4b86-aa3e-7e64f4a66790\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24011,24012],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24014,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24015,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e87960bcac/bm-bessemer-city-main-plant.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":24017,"uuid":24018,"name":24019,"slug":24020,"full_slug":24021,"content":24022},112468027597021,"fe4b8b43-46c6-467e-b1d1-9a67a966de3d","Australia looks to production tax credits to incentivise processing build out","australia-looks-to-production-tax-credits-to-incentivise-processing-build-out","article/australia-looks-to-production-tax-credits-to-incentivise-processing-build-out",{"_uid":24023,"date":24024,"tags":24025,"editor":24027,"content":24031,"excerpt":24126,"featured":51,"reporter":24127,"_editable":24131,"component":697,"seo_title":24019,"categories":24132,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24137,"seo_description":24126,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24139},"fc046672-adef-401b-8b7d-116b0a13d01a","2025-02-14 00:00",[24026],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[24028],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24029},{"job_title":557,"image":24030,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24032},[24033,24038,24043,24048,24053,24058,24063,24068,24073,24078,24083,24088,24093,24098,24106,24111,24116,24121],{"type":591,"attrs":24034,"content":24035},{"textAlign":49},[24036],{"text":24037,"type":596},"Australian critical mineral producers will receive a tax credit worth 10% of their processing and refining costs between fiscal years 2027-2028 and 2039-2040, for up to ten years per project.",{"type":591,"attrs":24039,"content":24040},{"textAlign":49},[24041],{"text":24042,"type":596},"The tax credits are part of the “Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2024” that passed through the Australian Senate this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":24044,"content":24045},{"textAlign":49},[24046],{"text":24047,"type":596},"These incentives could be worth up to $17 billion according to estimates by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, a trade organisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":24049,"content":24050},{"textAlign":49},[24051],{"text":24052,"type":596},"“This government stimulus is an important step for the Australian critical mineral supply chains and shows that the current Albanese government is serious about supporting domestic industries and incentivising value-addition,” said Bryan Bille, a senior policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":24054,"content":24055},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24056],{"text":24057,"type":596},"What impact could these incentives have?",{"type":591,"attrs":24059,"content":24060},{"textAlign":49},[24061],{"text":24062,"type":596},"Given the nature of tax incentives, it is unlikely that this plan will accommodate projects with otherwise poor economics, but it could help encourage the flow of capital into projects with strong underlying cost fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":24064,"content":24065},{"textAlign":49},[24066],{"text":24067,"type":596},"“This will stimulate billions in new investment in critical minerals processing, which will be far more valuable than the incentives on offer,” said Warren Pearce, the chief executive of AMEC, in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":24069,"content":24070},{"textAlign":49},[24071],{"text":24072,"type":596},"US-based processors are at risk of President Trump withholding Inflation Reduction Act payments. As such, this move by Australia could be a catalyst for the diversion of private investment into the country.",{"type":615,"attrs":24074,"content":24075},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24076],{"text":24077,"type":596},"What processing capabilities does Australia have?",{"type":591,"attrs":24079,"content":24080},{"textAlign":49},[24081],{"text":24082,"type":596},"Lithium is a key critical mineral for Australia, though this strength is in upstream mining. Processing lithium feedstock into chemicals suitable for the battery industry has been a challenge for developers in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":24084,"content":24085},{"textAlign":49},[24086],{"text":24087,"type":596},"In January, China’s Tianqi Lithium stopped work on its lithium hydroxide facility operated in Australia with joint venture partner IGO.",{"type":591,"attrs":24089,"content":24090},{"textAlign":49},[24091],{"text":24092,"type":596},"“The conversion of spodumene concentrate into lithium chemicals is a complex process that involves multiple chemical steps,” said Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark. “Yet, the highest challenge remains on the cost side, as the conversion is an energy-intensive process that also requires considerable amounts of reagents, which make it harder to compete with China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":24094,"content":24095},{"textAlign":49},[24096],{"text":24097,"type":596},"For other key battery minerals, as with lithium, Australia’s processing capabilities are small compared to China and the rest of the world.",{"type":656,"attrs":24099},{"id":24100,"body":24101},"abff84c4-093b-419a-9fb1-a529f209aee1",[24102],{"id":24103,"_uid":24104,"type":663,"_editable":24105,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21633448","i-0bdaf949-8738-4e91-a1b5-5c7dec33c87d","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-0bdaf949-8738-4e91-a1b5-5c7dec33c87d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":24107,"content":24108},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24109],{"text":24110,"type":596},"Could the elections impact these incentives?",{"type":591,"attrs":24112,"content":24113},{"textAlign":49},[24114],{"text":24115,"type":596},"Given the tax incentives are not set to commence until 2027 and will continue through to 2040, such a measure will require long term political support.",{"type":591,"attrs":24117,"content":24118},{"textAlign":49},[24119],{"text":24120,"type":596},"However, with the next federal election in Australia due to take place on or before the 17th of May 2025, such support is not guaranteed with a potential change in government before the tax credits would begin.",{"type":591,"attrs":24122,"content":24123},{"textAlign":49},[24124],{"text":24125,"type":596},"“Prime Minister Albanese’s Labor Party is falling behind in the polls,” Bille said. “The Conservative-Liberal Party has a different vision for the country’s future, focusing less on driving green industrial manufacturing through subsidies and tax breaks.”","Australian critical mineral producers will receive a tax credit worth 10% of their processing and refining costs between fiscal years 2027-2028 and 2039-2040, for up to ten years per project. The tax credits are part of the “Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2024” that passed through the Australian Senate […]",[24128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24129},{"job_title":557,"image":24130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fc046672-adef-401b-8b7d-116b0a13d01a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24133,24134,24135,24136],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23665,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24138,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 14, 2025",{"id":24141,"uuid":24142,"name":24143,"slug":24144,"full_slug":24145,"content":24146},112468032389342,"7f7c3afb-baac-44f2-9078-ac3a661f7baa","Critical minerals a potential bargaining chip for US-Ukraine security guarantees","critical-minerals-a-potential-bargaining-chip-for-us-ukraine-security-guarantees","article/critical-minerals-a-potential-bargaining-chip-for-us-ukraine-security-guarantees",{"_uid":24147,"date":24148,"tags":24149,"editor":24154,"content":24158,"excerpt":24262,"featured":51,"reporter":24263,"_editable":24267,"component":697,"seo_title":24143,"categories":24268,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24278,"seo_description":24262,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24281},"e7056599-7cc0-4e2a-be25-e0ea5f2e6ab5","2025-02-13 00:00",[24150,24151,24152,24153],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":17656,"name":17657},{"slug":20063,"name":20064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[24155],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24156},{"job_title":557,"image":24157,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24159},[24160,24165,24170,24175,24180,24185,24192,24197,24202,24207,24212,24217,24222,24227,24232,24237,24242,24249],{"type":591,"attrs":24161,"content":24162},{"textAlign":49},[24163],{"text":24164,"type":596},"The United States and Ukraine are exploring a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves in return for continued military and financial support",{"type":591,"attrs":24166,"content":24167},{"textAlign":49},[24168],{"text":24169,"type":596},"This week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent travelled to Kyiv, where he reportedly presented a draft economic cooperation agreement to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The proposal, part of a US-backed plan to end the war in Ukraine, includes provisions on critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24171,"content":24172},{"textAlign":49},[24173],{"text":24174,"type":596},"“As with Greenland, President Trump is trying to secure US access to the various critical mineral deposits essential for defence industrial supply chains,” said Bryan Bille, policy and geopolitical analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24176,"content":24177},{"textAlign":49},[24178],{"text":24179,"type":596},"President Trump has suggested access to ‘$500 billion’ worth of critical minerals as a potential prerequisite for US security guarantees – particularly rare earth elements (REEs), which are essential for strategic military hardware. The US is highly vulnerable to China’s near-monopoly on global REE supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":24181,"content":24182},{"textAlign":49},[24183],{"text":24184,"type":596},"“However, much like Greenland, little mining is taking place, and the business case for mining in Ukraine is challenging, given the ongoing war and current Russian occupation in mineral-rich zones,” Bille added.",{"type":591,"attrs":24186,"content":24187},{"textAlign":49},[24188],{"type":836,"attrs":24189},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24190,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24191},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b711e8b254/bm-ukraine-map.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24193,"content":24194},{"textAlign":49},[24195],{"text":24196,"type":596},"According to the Kyiv School of Economics, the country holds one-third of Europe’s lithium reserves and 3% of the world’s total, along with 6% of the world’s explored graphite reserves. However, an estimated 20-40% of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including up to half of its rare earth deposits, are under Russian occupation.",{"type":615,"attrs":24198,"content":24199},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24200],{"text":24201,"type":596},"Ukraine’s critical mineral landscape",{"type":591,"attrs":24203,"content":24204},{"textAlign":49},[24205],{"text":24206,"type":596},"Despite its mineral wealth, Ukraine’s critical minerals sector remains largely undeveloped due to the ongoing war and long-standing political instability. Although the country has significant REE deposits, Benchmark data indicates that there are no active mines or deposits currently under development.",{"type":591,"attrs":24208,"content":24209},{"textAlign":49},[24210],{"text":24211,"type":596},"Ukraine is home to two early-stage hard-rock lithium projects. The Shevchenkivske project, the country’s largest lithium deposit, is located in the Donetsk region, which is under Russian control. A second project, the Polokhivske and Dobra deposits, is situated in central Ukraine.",{"type":591,"attrs":24213,"content":24214},{"textAlign":49},[24215],{"text":24216,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Ukraine’s only operational flake graphite asset, the Zavalievsky Plant in the Kirovograd region, halted production in December 2024 due to a lack of investment and challenging market conditions. A second project in the same region is progressing through its early development stages, having completed a pre-feasibility study in early 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":24218,"content":24219},{"textAlign":49},[24220],{"text":24221,"type":596},"The country has also been home to several manganese ore mines since the Soviet era – but production has been stopped since 2023 due to electricity and labour shortages.",{"type":615,"attrs":24223,"content":24224},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24225],{"text":24226,"type":596},"Ukraine looks to foreign investment ",{"type":591,"attrs":24228,"content":24229},{"textAlign":49},[24230],{"text":24231,"type":596},"According to reports, Ukrainian officials have been pitching access to the country’s critical mineral deposits to entice President Trump to retain American support since last year. A consortium led by US-government backed TechMet has been engaged with Kyiv regarding a bid for a lithium deposit in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":24233,"content":24234},{"textAlign":49},[24235],{"text":24236,"type":596},"Foreign direct investment will be key to rebuilding Ukraine’s shattered economy and the government has enacted reforms to streamline regulatory approvals in the mining sector, in the hope that it will create the necessary prerequisites to attract investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24238,"content":24239},{"textAlign":49},[24240],{"text":24241,"type":596},"However, significant barriers to investment remain. Not least that developing deposits in a geo-politically unstable region will be a multi-year undertaking with limited immediate economic benefits for investors.",{"type":591,"attrs":24243,"content":24244},{"textAlign":49},[24245],{"text":24246,"type":596,"marks":24247},"At Giga USA 2025, taking place 3-4 June in Washington, D.C., we will be joined by policymakers shaping critical legislation, industry leaders spearheading innovation, and investors fuelling domestic growth, united in the mission to strengthen the North American battery supply chain.",[24248],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":24250,"content":24251},{"textAlign":49},[24252,24258],{"text":24253,"type":596,"marks":24254},"Register now ",[24255,24257],{"type":606,"attrs":24256},{"href":21977,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":24259,"type":596,"marks":24260},"with our Super Early Bird offer, available until 22nd March.",[24261],{"type":1006},"The United States and Ukraine are exploring a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves in return for continued military and financial support This week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent travelled to Kyiv, where he reportedly presented a draft economic cooperation agreement to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The proposal, part […]",[24264],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24265},{"job_title":557,"image":24266,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e7056599-7cc0-4e2a-be25-e0ea5f2e6ab5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24269,24270,24271,24272,24273,24274,24275,24276,24277],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24279,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24280,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4ad9b3534f/bm-us-ukraine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 13, 2025",{"id":24283,"uuid":24284,"name":24285,"slug":24286,"full_slug":24287,"content":24288},112468046561506,"3994dd50-44f0-4d27-ac25-2f1fbbb0ef21","What could CATL restarting its Chinese lithium mine mean for the market?","what-could-catl-restarting-its-chinese-lithium-mine-mean-for-the-market","article/what-could-catl-restarting-its-chinese-lithium-mine-mean-for-the-market",{"_uid":24289,"date":24290,"tags":24291,"editor":24296,"content":24300,"excerpt":24384,"featured":51,"reporter":24385,"_editable":24389,"component":697,"seo_title":24285,"categories":24390,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":24393,"featured_image":24395,"seo_description":24384,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24398},"aa26ecfb-2aec-4dbb-aab5-d39694bbbaf1","2025-02-11 00:00",[24292,24293,24294,24295],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[24297],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24298},{"job_title":557,"image":24299,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24301},[24302,24323,24328,24333,24346,24353,24358,24363,24371,24376],{"type":591,"attrs":24303,"content":24304},{"textAlign":49},[24305,24307,24313,24315,24321],{"text":24306,"type":596},"CATL’s Jianxiawo ",{"text":24308,"type":596,"marks":24309},"mica mine",[24310],{"type":606,"attrs":24311},{"href":24312,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-growing-role-of-chinese-mica-in-the-lithium-market?_branch_match_id=1544412236725434078&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz05x8whOybcoCEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAnpAALUgAAAA%3D",{"text":24314,"type":596}," in Jiangxi, China is rumoured to be ",{"text":24316,"type":596,"marks":24317},"resuming operations",[24318],{"type":606,"attrs":24319},{"href":24320,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-reported-shutdown-of-catls-mine-mean-for-the-lithium-market?_branch_match_id=1544412232417366955&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT3NJ8ip1szQvCEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAJARBzkgAAAA%3D",{"text":24322,"type":596},", potentially weakening price support for lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":24324,"content":24325},{"textAlign":49},[24326],{"text":24327,"type":596},"Through conversations with contacts, Benchmark understands that the local government has asked CATL to resume operations in a bid to increase local tax revenues and support jobs.",{"type":591,"attrs":24329,"content":24330},{"textAlign":49},[24331],{"text":24332,"type":596},"A final decision on whether to restart the mine has yet to be made. Both parties are understood by Benchmark to be negotiating favorable policies such as cheaper electricity and lower royalties.",{"type":591,"attrs":24334,"content":24335},{"textAlign":49},[24336,24338,24344],{"text":24337,"type":596},"CATL’s integrated plant at the site is also expected to resume operation once the mine restarts. Additionally, the company’s ",{"text":24339,"type":596,"marks":24340},"joint refinery operation with Lopal",[24341],{"type":606,"attrs":24342},{"href":24343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lopal-signs-rmb-7-billion-lfp-supply-agreement-with-catl?_branch_match_id=1544412227586028263&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD47MK8%2B2KHauDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA2vsb9EgAAAA%3D",{"text":24345,"type":596}," in the province is also reported to be resuming operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":24347,"content":24348},{"textAlign":49},[24349],{"type":836,"attrs":24350},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24351,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24352},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/883c40c63d/bm-carbonate-price-annotated-with-jianxiawo-feb-10-20252x-1-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24354,"content":24355},{"textAlign":49},[24356],{"text":24357,"type":596},"“Lithium carbonate prices haven’t improved much since Jianxiawo was put into care and maintenance. As such, the mine is unlikely to be profitable when it reopens,” said Adam Megginson, a lithium price analyst at Benchmark. “This is less of a concern for a vertically integrated miner like CATL, which can make up for losses upstream with its more profitable downstream operations”",{"type":591,"attrs":24359,"content":24360},{"textAlign":49},[24361],{"text":24362,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysis of the site through satellite imagery shows minimal activity at the site with some minor activities happening around the administrative and processing areas, potentially indicative of preparation work. As yet, there are no clear visual indicators of resumed mining operations.",{"type":656,"attrs":24364},{"id":24365,"body":24366},"06bdeac3-92ac-4813-afad-83059938f6d1",[24367],{"id":24368,"_uid":24369,"type":663,"_editable":24370,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21570280","i-cddc36cd-0ca5-4ab9-8afa-e7bb55c1200f","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-cddc36cd-0ca5-4ab9-8afa-e7bb55c1200f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":24372,"content":24373},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24374],{"text":24375,"type":596},"What impact could this have on the market?",{"type":656,"attrs":24377},{"id":24378,"body":24379},"c9aed719-6c1b-4b05-b923-c1d1fd17219f",[24380],{"id":24381,"_uid":24382,"type":663,"_editable":24383,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21557259","i-9b286038-c4c2-4c08-ae94-6be9cb6bbd49","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9b286038-c4c2-4c08-ae94-6be9cb6bbd49\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","CATL’s Jianxiawo mica mine in Jiangxi, China is rumoured to be resuming operations, potentially weakening price support for lithium. Through conversations with contacts, Benchmark understands that the local government has asked CATL to resume operations in a bid to increase local tax revenues and support jobs. A final decision on whether to restart the mine […]",[24386],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24387},{"job_title":557,"image":24388,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aa26ecfb-2aec-4dbb-aab5-d39694bbbaf1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24391,24392],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24351,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24394,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24396,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24397,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4280a70002/bm-catl-headquarters-3.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 11, 2025",{"id":24400,"uuid":24401,"name":24402,"slug":24403,"full_slug":24404,"content":24405},112468041818336,"97e6f606-7439-4550-bebb-775c7a382ff6","High-purity manganese sulphate deficits set to widen in 2025","high-purity-manganese-sulphate-deficits-set-to-widen-in-2025","article/high-purity-manganese-sulphate-deficits-set-to-widen-in-2025",{"_uid":24406,"date":24290,"tags":24407,"editor":24409,"content":24413,"excerpt":24509,"featured":50,"reporter":24510,"_editable":24514,"component":697,"seo_title":24402,"categories":24515,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24518,"seo_description":24509,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24398},"6e7e16fa-40bb-4825-96ca-07b88c580fd7",[24408],{"slug":575,"name":576},[24410],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24411},{"job_title":557,"image":24412,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24414},[24415,24420,24425,24432,24437,24442,24447,24459,24464,24471,24476,24481,24486,24491,24496,24501,24506],{"type":591,"attrs":24416,"content":24417},{"textAlign":49},[24418],{"text":24419,"type":596},"China’s high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) output contracted in 2024 amidst slower-than-expected demand and low prices, falling 24% on the previous year.",{"type":591,"attrs":24421,"content":24422},{"textAlign":49},[24423],{"text":24424,"type":596},"Benchmark’s manganese analyst, Zach Parsons, notes that Chinese HPMSM facilities average capacity utilisation rates dropped to just 45% in 2024, down from a historical average of 60%-65%. In addition, several Chinese operations halted production altogether due to challenging market conditions, taking over 30kt tonnes of supply out of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":24426,"content":24427},{"textAlign":49},[24428],{"type":836,"attrs":24429},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24430,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24431},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e49ecc6fae/bm-manganese-prices2x-2-1332326af886.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24433,"content":24434},{"textAlign":49},[24435],{"text":24436,"type":596},"“The supply response was partly due to the extremely low-price environment early in 2024, with HPMSM prices falling to historical lows of $577/tonne before recovering throughout the year,” Parsons said.",{"type":591,"attrs":24438,"content":24439},{"textAlign":49},[24440],{"text":24441,"type":596},"Despite a slowdown in demand-side growth, deep supply cuts saw the HPMSM market flip into a supply deficit in 2024, a marked reversal in fortunes from the previous year.",{"type":615,"attrs":24443,"content":24444},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24445],{"text":24446,"type":596},"HPMSM deficits to accelerate",{"type":591,"attrs":24448,"content":24449},{"textAlign":49},[24450,24452,24458],{"text":24451,"type":596},"Following a period of sustained oversupply, the HPMSM market has entered a new era of supply deficits, as demand-side growth is projected to outstrip the pace of supply-side additions through to 2030, according to ",{"text":24453,"type":596,"marks":24454},"Benchmark analysis",[24455],{"type":606,"attrs":24456},{"href":24457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/manganese/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":24460,"content":24461},{"textAlign":49},[24462],{"text":24463,"type":596},"In 2025, 24kt of new HPMSM supply is set to come into production, but  will be insufficient to offset demand-side growth of 28kt. This result is set to be a widening of the supply deficit to 25kt, supporting higher prices throughout the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":24465,"content":24466},{"textAlign":49},[24467],{"type":836,"attrs":24468},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24469,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24470},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfl13K11qGgHCnh8nRN4ZhofDXd-zKHtaTSDbe4mNEpOLKgVlsle3hKOnNNSeIwZmBC2nK3U9KQCNC-SeOfC0DLX7VlreVEmEeTwjHS9Ad6G0YJFlT4EriYVtKv1pxd2YdSptG-?key=80iJ1PT8ysb_ehuyxdmUC6h2",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24472,"content":24473},{"textAlign":49},[24474],{"text":24475,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Chinese capacity utilisation rates are set to eventually return to historical levels: reaching 60% by 2027. But this alone will be insufficient to bridge upcoming supply deficits.",{"type":591,"attrs":24477,"content":24478},{"textAlign":49},[24479],{"text":24480,"type":596},"HPMSM demand is projected to grow at a CAGR of 28% from 2025 to 2028, while supply is expected to grow faster at a CAGR of 32%. Despite this, the market is anticipated to face a deficit ranging between 25-30kt tonnes during this period.",{"type":615,"attrs":24482,"content":24483},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24484],{"text":24485,"type":596},"How could the market respond?",{"type":591,"attrs":24487,"content":24488},{"textAlign":49},[24489],{"text":24490,"type":596},"But supply deficits are unsustainable long term and the market will respond accordingly, either through demand destruction or by unlocking new sources of supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24492,"content":24493},{"textAlign":49},[24494],{"text":24495,"type":596},"Although the current pipeline for new supply is relatively limited, Parsons notes that significant deficits in the HPMSM market are likely to be short lived as supply responses can be agile, with Chinese brownfield expansions able to materialise in a short period of time.",{"type":591,"attrs":24497,"content":24498},{"textAlign":49},[24499],{"text":24500,"type":596},"“Chinese operations also have the potential to increase supply by ramping up capacity utilisation above the standard 60% utilisation levels during periods of high prices,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":24502,"content":24503},{"textAlign":49},[24504],{"text":24505,"type":596},"Beyond China, additional HPMSM capacity is being developed across North America (50kt), Europe (24kt) and Africa (22kt) by the end of the decade. Although there is just one planned HPMSM project in the ex-China Asian region, despite comprising 10% of global pCAM production capacity by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":24507,"content":24508},{"textAlign":49},[],"China’s high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) output contracted in 2024 amidst slower-than-expected demand and low prices, falling 24% on the previous year. Benchmark’s manganese analyst, Zach Parsons, notes that Chinese HPMSM facilities average capacity utilisation rates dropped to just 45% in 2024, down from a historical average of 60%-65%. In addition, several Chinese operations halted […]",[24511],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24512},{"job_title":557,"image":24513,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6e7e16fa-40bb-4825-96ca-07b88c580fd7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24516,24517],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":24519,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":24519,"source":547,"filename":1341,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24520,"is_external_url":51},"A new Ford Mustang Mach-E GT X Electric vehicle parking at Electrify America EV charging station",{"alt":24519,"title":24519,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":24522,"uuid":24523,"name":24524,"slug":24525,"full_slug":24526,"content":24527},112468056248548,"a3fd7705-f427-4481-8796-9208994d3a73","Non-needle pet coke prices rally amid Chinese New Year restocking","non-needle-pet-coke-prices-rally-amid-chinese-new-year-restocking","article/non-needle-pet-coke-prices-rally-amid-chinese-new-year-restocking",{"_uid":24528,"date":24529,"tags":24530,"editor":24532,"content":24536,"excerpt":24597,"featured":50,"reporter":24598,"_editable":24602,"component":697,"seo_title":24524,"categories":24603,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24608,"seo_description":24597,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24610},"5bce4b6b-af28-4e7f-bdf0-2041e08cd5f6","2025-02-10 00:00",[24531],{"slug":575,"name":576},[24533],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24534},{"job_title":557,"image":24535,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24537},[24538,24543,24548,24555,24560,24565,24570,24575,24580,24587,24592],{"type":591,"attrs":24539,"content":24540},{"textAlign":49},[24541],{"text":24542,"type":596},"Non-needle petroleum (pet) coke prices rallied in January to their highest level since August-2023 on strong demand from Chinese anode manufacturers, according to the Benchmark Synthetic Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":24544,"content":24545},{"textAlign":49},[24546],{"text":24547,"type":596},"“After most of 2024 saw coke prices fall, an uptick in demand for battery anode feedstock in Q4 2024 has been accelerated by a tighter supply picture and restocking activity ahead of Spring Festival in China,” said Benchmark senior analyst Adam Megginson.",{"type":591,"attrs":24549,"content":24550},{"textAlign":49},[24551],{"type":836,"attrs":24552},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24553,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24554},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdlmQXM5MwUuqqcO6j6HfdRbf0Ccr-LSYezkuKlnpO0L37mDL_o5yqkM9s2cO-rgXpLYRjYno2ydy28dF4RjBYbdxrMnzOFYMWproGF0GjbKS1Mq-HMc_FSz9mm-VE5L1LG0AUS?key=ehYQUl1anDwvu_epOlKjlF8U",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24556,"content":24557},{"textAlign":49},[24558],{"text":24559,"type":596},"The seasonal uptick in buying activity was supported by anode producers’ growing preference for non-needle pet coke feedstocks, which has helped to maintain an upward price trajectory since the second half of 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":24561,"content":24562},{"textAlign":49},[24563],{"text":24564,"type":596},"Conversely, needle coke prices have not witnessed similar upwards momentum in 2025 so far. “Needle coke prices are more closely tied to steel end market demand due to their use in the production of graphite electrodes. This market has experienced limited growth over the same period,which has so far kept needle coke prices stable,” Megginson added.",{"type":615,"attrs":24566,"content":24567},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24568],{"text":24569,"type":596},"Why are anode producers favouring non-needle pet coke?",{"type":591,"attrs":24571,"content":24572},{"textAlign":49},[24573],{"text":24574,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite anode prices have been steadily declining since late 2023 due a sizable market surplus. Under pressure, Chinese synthetic graphite anode players have sought cost savings by pivoting toward cheaper alternatives to needle coke, to maintain competitiveness in what is an increasingly cut-throat domestic market.",{"type":591,"attrs":24576,"content":24577},{"textAlign":49},[24578],{"text":24579,"type":596},"While the lower quality end product does not typically meet the specifications of high-end battery applications, such as the high-nickel cells destined for Western EV markets, non-needle coke feedstocks serve as a viable option for applications where cell performance requirements are less stringent, like ESS.",{"type":591,"attrs":24581,"content":24582},{"textAlign":49},[24583],{"type":836,"attrs":24584},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":24585,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":24586},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd2YkafwBG1CXSP0W-4_ykFSZF3x-CVLiKb0mM2C94TroffOlBz2Hehfz5XSA05LEzt4pIU0eCGfDFpWFfr86_uine099X818dmO03vxOpQPICxTMSY96q2zJbYWzSeqmkOJboz4w?key=ehYQUl1anDwvu_epOlKjlF8U",{},{"type":591,"attrs":24588,"content":24589},{"textAlign":49},[24590],{"text":24591,"type":596},"Indeed, the trend favouring non-needle coke has been most evident amongst Tier 2 and 3 anode players in China, primarily serving domestic ESS and consumer electronics end-use markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24593,"content":24594},{"textAlign":49},[24595],{"text":24596,"type":596},"But, Benchmark has heard reports of an increasing number of synthetic graphite anode players blending some non-needle pet coke into their production process for use in EV applications to cut costs. A trend that is likely to continue as the anode market faces supply surpluses late into the decade.","Non-needle petroleum (pet) coke prices rallied in January to their highest level since August-2023 on strong demand from Chinese anode manufacturers, according to the Benchmark Synthetic Price Assessment. “After most of 2024 saw coke prices fall, an uptick in demand for battery anode feedstock in Q4 2024 has been accelerated by a tighter supply picture […]",[24599],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24600},{"job_title":557,"image":24601,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5bce4b6b-af28-4e7f-bdf0-2041e08cd5f6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24604,24605,24606,24607],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10389,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24609,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 10, 2025",{"id":24612,"uuid":24613,"name":24614,"slug":24615,"full_slug":24616,"content":24617},112468051464419,"41412caa-1242-4ee4-915e-9d98f2653239","Benchmark to increase publishing frequency of spodumene prices to weekly","benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-spodumene-to-weekly","article/benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-spodumene-to-weekly",{"_uid":24618,"date":24529,"tags":24619,"editor":24623,"content":24627,"excerpt":24818,"featured":50,"reporter":24819,"_editable":24823,"component":697,"seo_title":24614,"categories":24824,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":24827,"seo_description":24818,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24610},"e7161539-69ad-4f38-9d85-39a562ed6ce7",[24620,24621,24622],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[24624],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24625},{"job_title":557,"image":24626,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24628},[24629,24634,24639,24644,24649,24654,24659,24664,24669,24674,24684,24689,24694,24699,24704,24709,24714,24719,24724,24729,24734,24739,24744,24749,24754,24758,24763,24803,24807,24811],{"type":591,"attrs":24630,"content":24631},{"textAlign":49},[24632],{"text":24633,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish weekly market price assessments of its Benchmark FOB Australia spodumene price assessments beginning 12 February 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":24635,"content":24636},{"textAlign":49},[24637],{"text":24638,"type":596},"This evolution allows for the facilitation of more frequent spodumene price assessments within the parameters of Benchmark’s IOSCO compliant lithium price methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":24640,"content":24641},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24642],{"text":24643,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium prices – every week",{"type":591,"attrs":24645,"content":24646},{"textAlign":49},[24647],{"text":24648,"type":596},"Spodumene FOB Australia; 6%",{"type":591,"attrs":24650,"content":24651},{"textAlign":49},[24652],{"text":24653,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate EXW China; Min 99.0%; Technical",{"type":591,"attrs":24655,"content":24656},{"textAlign":49},[24657],{"text":24658,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate EXW China; Min 99.5%; Battery",{"type":591,"attrs":24660,"content":24661},{"textAlign":49},[24662],{"text":24663,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide EXW China; Min 56.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":24665,"content":24666},{"textAlign":49},[24667],{"text":24668,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide Lithium carbonate CIF Asia (spot); Min 99.2%",{"type":591,"attrs":24670,"content":24671},{"textAlign":49},[24672],{"text":24673,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide CIF Asia (spot); Min 56.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":24675,"content":24676},{"textAlign":49},[24677,24678,24682],{"text":16872,"type":596},{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":24679},[24680],{"type":606,"attrs":24681},{"href":23578,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":24683,"type":596}," Subscribers every Wednesday by 4pm (London), starting 12 February 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":615,"attrs":24685,"content":24686},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24687],{"text":24688,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium prices – every two weeks",{"type":591,"attrs":24690,"content":24691},{"textAlign":49},[24692],{"text":24693,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate CIF EU; Min 99.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24695,"content":24696},{"textAlign":49},[24697],{"text":24698,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate CIF N America; Min 99.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24700,"content":24701},{"textAlign":49},[24702],{"text":24703,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate FOB S America; Min 99.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24705,"content":24706},{"textAlign":49},[24707],{"text":24708,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate CIF Asia (combined); Min 99.2%",{"type":591,"attrs":24710,"content":24711},{"textAlign":49},[24712],{"text":24713,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate CIF Asia (contract); Min 99.2%",{"type":591,"attrs":24715,"content":24716},{"textAlign":49},[24717],{"text":24718,"type":596},"Sustainable Lithium Carbonate (Spot); CIF Asia (spot); Min 99.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24720,"content":24721},{"textAlign":49},[24722],{"text":24723,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide CIF Asia (combined); Min 56.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":24725,"content":24726},{"textAlign":49},[24727],{"text":24728,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide CIF Asia (contract); Min 56.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":24730,"content":24731},{"textAlign":49},[24732],{"text":24733,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide CIF EU; Min 55.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24735,"content":24736},{"textAlign":49},[24737],{"text":24738,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide FOB N America; Min 55.0%",{"type":591,"attrs":24740,"content":24741},{"textAlign":49},[24742],{"text":24743,"type":596},"These prices will be published by Benchmark every alternate Wednesday by 4pm (London) starting from 19 February 2025, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":24745,"content":24746},{"textAlign":49},[24747],{"text":24748,"type":596},"“This change to the frequency of spodumene prices within Benchmark’s IOSCO compliant Lithium Price Assessment reassures our commitment to providing the most reliable actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain, and reflects increased liquidity in the market as the number of active players continues to grow,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, Head of Prices at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":24750,"content":24751},{"textAlign":49},[24752],{"text":24753,"type":596},"“We are proud of our reputation for matching price assessment frequency to actual market dynamics. Benchmark’s weekly spodumene price assessments provide market participants with the most granular and timely price insights available, enabling the industry to act decisively and with confidence” said Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, Director of Prices and Data at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":24755,"content":24756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24757],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":24759,"content":24760},{"textAlign":49},[24761],{"text":24762,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is the world’s number one market price provider for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":24764,"content":24765},{"textAlign":49},[24766,24767,24771,24772,24776,24777,24781,24782,24786,24787,24791,24792,24796,24797,24801],{"text":6729,"type":596},{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":24768},[24769],{"type":606,"attrs":24770},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":115,"type":596,"marks":24773},[24774],{"type":606,"attrs":24775},{"href":16914,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":189,"type":596,"marks":24778},[24779],{"type":606,"attrs":24780},{"href":16920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":1832,"type":596,"marks":24783},[24784],{"type":606,"attrs":24785},{"href":16926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":24788},[24789],{"type":606,"attrs":24790},{"href":16932,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16935,"type":596,"marks":24793},[24794],{"type":606,"attrs":24795},{"href":16939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16942,"type":596,"marks":24798},[24799],{"type":606,"attrs":24800},{"href":16946,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":24802,"type":596}," – to the highest IOSCO standard.",{"type":591,"attrs":24804,"content":24805},{"textAlign":49},[24806],{"text":16953,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":24808,"content":24809},{"textAlign":49},[24810],{"text":16958,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":24812,"content":24813},{"textAlign":49},[24814,24815,24816],{"text":21377,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596},{"text":24817,"type":596},": ","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish weekly market price assessments of its Benchmark FOB Australia spodumene price assessments beginning 12 February 2025. This evolution allows for the facilitation of more frequent spodumene price assessments within the parameters of Benchmark’s IOSCO compliant lithium price methodology. Benchmark’s lithium prices – every week Spodumene FOB Australia; 6% Lithium […]",[24820],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24821},{"job_title":557,"image":24822,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e7161539-69ad-4f38-9d85-39a562ed6ce7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24825,24826],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24828,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":24830,"uuid":24831,"name":24832,"slug":24833,"full_slug":24834,"content":24835},112468075139304,"d65e2587-50bc-4bc1-b1a1-42924ced2aa0","WeLion places significant order for solid-state separators from Semcorp","welion-places-significant-order-for-solid-state-separators-from-semcorp","article/welion-places-significant-order-for-solid-state-separators-from-semcorp",{"_uid":24836,"date":24837,"tags":24838,"editor":24848,"content":24852,"excerpt":24976,"featured":51,"reporter":24977,"_editable":24981,"component":697,"seo_title":24832,"categories":24982,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":24984,"featured_image":24987,"seo_description":24976,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24990},"53896c31-a243-4e4b-8ac7-77ae61e5d62d","2025-02-05 00:00",[24839,24840,24841,24844,24847],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":24842,"name":24843},"semcorp","Semcorp",{"slug":24845,"name":24846},"welion","WeLion",{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[24849],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24850},{"job_title":557,"image":24851,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":24853},[24854,24867,24872,24900,24905,24913,24925,24938,24943,24948,24953,24958,24963],{"type":591,"attrs":24855,"content":24856},{"textAlign":49},[24857,24859,24865],{"text":24858,"type":596},"In January 2025, ",{"text":24860,"type":596,"marks":24861},"Chinese solid-state producer",[24862],{"type":606,"attrs":24863},{"href":24864,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-chinas-solid-state-battery-industry-developing?_branch_match_id=1544412080640359444&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FVwLsn0CHMsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAkdx2L0gAAAA%3D",{"text":24866,"type":596}," WeLion signed a long term supply agreement to source 80% of its membrane and electrolyte needs from Semcorp.",{"type":591,"attrs":24868,"content":24869},{"textAlign":49},[24870],{"text":24871,"type":596},"The agreement specifies a minimum order quantity of 300 million square metres of membranes and 100 tonnes of solid electrolyte from the Chinese separator giant over the next six years, equivalent to tens of gigawatt-hours (GWh) of cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":24873,"content":24874},{"textAlign":49},[24875,24877,24883,24885,24891,24893,24898],{"text":24876,"type":596},"“It looks like ",{"text":24878,"type":596,"marks":24879},"solid-state, and semi-solid-state",[24880],{"type":606,"attrs":24881},{"href":24882,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-solid-state-batteries-and-the-route-to-commercialisation?_branch_match_id=1544412053648241009&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9wlzTck2DMx0DEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUANgTnk0gAAAA%3D",{"text":24884,"type":596},", is here to stay in China and big ",{"text":24886,"type":596,"marks":24887},"OEMs are getting involved",[24888],{"type":606,"attrs":24889},{"href":24890,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/next-gen-battery-developers-licensing-technology-to-oems-enables-scale?_branch_match_id=1544412076125817851&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT0339TeqKs9yDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA90HGHUgAAAA%3D",{"text":24892,"type":596}," in the prospects,” said ",{"text":17785,"type":596,"marks":24894},[24895],{"type":606,"attrs":24896},{"href":24897,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/scale-up-approaches-for-solid-state-battery-development?_branch_match_id=1544412059303359031&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpPogIT2CblqE15TA6yldo19l7L43R%2BmRtJD1TCZDCSgi5m9CayaxiZfPsrp1XH5cPdBPA%2BhwR9e2E2SXUQj8lOUsfSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":24899,"type":596},", Benchmark’s product director for new technology. “Small, agile start-ups working with industry leaders like Semcorp is a great way to streamline and optimise a technology.”",{"type":615,"attrs":24901,"content":24902},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24903],{"text":24904,"type":596},"What is the status of WeLion’s solid-state plans?",{"type":656,"attrs":24906},{"id":24907,"body":24908},"e279bef7-6c88-4c54-b36e-99abf4e7ebc0",[24909],{"id":24910,"_uid":24911,"type":663,"_editable":24912,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21447719","i-fc3a871e-a651-432e-8aa6-903af7fe892d","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-fc3a871e-a651-432e-8aa6-903af7fe892d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":24914,"content":24915},{"textAlign":49},[24916,24918,24924],{"text":24917,"type":596},"WeLion produces solid-state batteries with high-nickel ternary cathode materials paired with either lithium metal or silicon-based anodes. Currently, their technology is semi-solid-state with a liquid electrolyte component used to increase the interfacial contact between the electrodes and ",{"text":24919,"type":596,"marks":24920},"oxide-based solid electrolyte",[24921],{"type":606,"attrs":24922},{"href":24923,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-batteries-bring-new-supply-chain-opportunities-challenges-and-potential-bottlenecks?_branch_match_id=1544412063816286239&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzEJKgmzjHQsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPQUVs0gAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":24926,"content":24927},{"textAlign":49},[24928,24930,24936],{"text":24929,"type":596},"The company has a partnership with ",{"text":24931,"type":596,"marks":24932},"automaker Nio",[24933],{"type":606,"attrs":24934},{"href":24935,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs?_branch_match_id=1544412085345705195&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLyv08zaNNHAsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUARGeNjEgAAAA%3D",{"text":24937,"type":596},", which began mass production of its electric vehicle using WeLion’s solid-state cells in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":24939,"content":24940},{"textAlign":49},[24941],{"text":24942,"type":596},"The company has ambitions to progress to an all-solid-state battery in the future, eliminating the liquid component.",{"type":615,"attrs":24944,"content":24945},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[24946],{"text":24947,"type":596},"How does the Semcorp order compare to WeLion’s forecast production?",{"type":591,"attrs":24949,"content":24950},{"textAlign":49},[24951],{"text":24952,"type":596},"The minimum order amount in the Semcorp supply agreement is expected to support more than 25 GWh of production between 2025 and 2030, assuming the amount of separator material needed for WeLion’s solid-state batteries is similar to that of traditional lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":24954,"content":24955},{"textAlign":49},[24956],{"text":24957,"type":596},"Given that WeLion has agreed that 80% of its material requirements will come from Semcorp, this suggests the company is expecting to produce at least 31 GWh of cells between 2025 and 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":24959,"content":24960},{"textAlign":49},[24961],{"text":24962,"type":596},"For Semcorp, this forecast suggests WeLion would be looking to order significantly more than the minimum order quantity.",{"type":591,"attrs":24964,"content":24965},{"textAlign":49},[24966,24968,24974],{"text":24967,"type":596},"“Semcorp is a leader in the traditional lithium-ion battery separator market, so this isn’t a make or break order for them,” McNulty said, “but it is an exciting first foothold into an ",{"text":24969,"type":596,"marks":24970},"emerging industry that the Chinese government has committed",[24971],{"type":606,"attrs":24972},{"href":24973,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state?_branch_match_id=1544412071651209136&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd690KbDMDncsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAhziMIEgAAAA%3D",{"text":24975,"type":596}," significant capital and focus to over the next five years.”","In January 2025, Chinese solid-state producer WeLion signed a long term supply agreement to source 80% of its membrane and electrolyte needs from Semcorp. The agreement specifies a minimum order quantity of 300 million square metres of membranes and 100 tonnes of solid electrolyte from the Chinese separator giant over the next six years, equivalent […]",[24978],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":24979},{"job_title":557,"image":24980,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"53896c31-a243-4e4b-8ac7-77ae61e5d62d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[24983],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24985,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24986,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1738679054/www-production/WeLion-Forecast@2x/WeLion-Forecast@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24988,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":24989,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b990cd3443/bm-welion-hq-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 05, 2025",{"id":24992,"uuid":24993,"name":24994,"slug":24995,"full_slug":24996,"content":24997},112468070306023,"6f082dc2-7d33-4ce7-88e0-bfab7fd3c4b5","Could Trump pursue friendshoring to counter China?","could-trump-pursue-friendshoring-to-counter-china","article/could-trump-pursue-friendshoring-to-counter-china",{"_uid":24998,"date":24837,"tags":24999,"editor":25007,"content":25011,"excerpt":25194,"featured":50,"reporter":25195,"_editable":25199,"component":697,"seo_title":24994,"categories":25200,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":25211,"seo_description":25194,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":24990},"fd044bc3-fa44-4011-98ac-d2597af75202",[25000,25001,25002,25005,25006],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":25003,"name":25004},"minerals-security-partnership","Minerals Security Partnership",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[25008],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25009},{"job_title":557,"image":25010,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25012},[25013,25049,25069,25074,25101,25106,25111,25116,25128,25133,25138,25151,25164,25171,25176,25181],{"type":591,"attrs":25014,"content":25015},{"textAlign":49},[25016,25018,25024,25026,25032,25034,25040,25042,25048],{"text":25017,"type":596},"Although ",{"text":25019,"type":596,"marks":25020},"President Trump’s",[25021],{"type":606,"attrs":25022},{"href":25023,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question?_branch_match_id=1544412137867602525&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwgPCs9ILDUv9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3AqFEgAAAA%3D",{"text":25025,"type":596}," first ",{"text":25027,"type":596,"marks":25028},"weeks in office",[25029],{"type":606,"attrs":25030},{"href":25031,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-trumps-policies-send-mixed-signals-for-copper?_branch_match_id=1544412116853588195&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz8ywTM7xqMrxDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUApoYRsUgAAAA%3D",{"text":25033,"type":596}," have seen much talk around imposing tariffs on imports from all countries including Canada and Mexico, it could be that this Administration will need to firm up relationships with friendly nations if it is to ",{"text":25035,"type":596,"marks":25036},"compete with China",[25037],{"type":606,"attrs":25038},{"href":25039,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-why-decoupling-from-chinas-anode-market-could-be-difficult-for-the-west?_branch_match_id=1544412121525633892&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN3DPrCosLUwq90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQYFuCUgAAAA%3D",{"text":25041,"type":596}," in ",{"text":25043,"type":596,"marks":25044},"key sectors",[25045],{"type":606,"attrs":25046},{"href":25047,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-proposes-restrictions-on-lithium-and-cathode-technology-exports?_branch_match_id=1544412110739483264&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzIz8KlIjMq1DEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAROyygkgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25050,"content":25051},{"textAlign":49},[25052,25054,25060,25062,25068],{"text":25053,"type":596},"Friendshoring and international investment could be key to enhancing the US’ ",{"text":25055,"type":596,"marks":25056},"supply chain security",[25057],{"type":606,"attrs":25058},{"href":25059,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/which-companies-control-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-2?_branch_match_id=1544412142421573971&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTyv0qQxxSSrI9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAY2%2BaQEgAAAA%3D",{"text":25061,"type":596},", panellists suggested during ",{"text":25063,"type":596,"marks":25064},"Benchmark’s geopolitics webinar last month",[25065],{"type":606,"attrs":25066},{"href":25067,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/trump-2-0-us-election-policy-implications-for-the-ev-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544412103352287381&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwoyz0tON83xDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAISoTAEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25070,"content":25071},{"textAlign":49},[25072],{"text":25073,"type":596},"“We expect friendshoring to continue, at least to some extent, under the next Administration,” said Bryan Bille, a senior policy analyst at Benchmark, during the webinar. “What Trump and his Administration might do is potentially prioritise the funding aspect even more.”",{"type":591,"attrs":25075,"content":25076},{"textAlign":49},[25077,25081,25087,25091,25098],{"text":25078,"type":596,"marks":25079},"Source subscribers can watch the ",[25080],{"type":1006},{"text":25082,"type":596,"marks":25083},"full webinar here",[25084,25085],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":25086},{"href":25067,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":25088,"type":596,"marks":25089}," and download the presentation ",[25090],{"type":1006},{"text":25092,"type":596,"marks":25093},"slide deck here",[25094,25095],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":25096},{"href":25097,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/presentations/1331639",{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":25099},[25100],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":25102,"content":25103},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25104],{"text":25105,"type":596},"Why does the US need to look beyond domestic supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":25107,"content":25108},{"textAlign":49},[25109],{"text":25110,"type":596},"Although the US has several critical mineral projects in the pipeline its share of the global mineral market is very small, especially in the short term. ",{"type":615,"attrs":25112,"content":25113},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25114],{"text":25115,"type":596},"The US-Canada relationship",{"type":591,"attrs":25117,"content":25118},{"textAlign":49},[25119,25121,25127],{"text":25120,"type":596},"Through the Defense Production Act, the US has significant investments in ",{"text":25122,"type":596,"marks":25123},"critical mineral projects in Canada",[25124],{"type":606,"attrs":25125},{"href":25126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials?_branch_match_id=1544412125803961980&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTwsvCvV2CszxDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA4p2OzUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25129,"content":25130},{"textAlign":49},[25131],{"text":25132,"type":596},"“I would actually expect much more negotiation to happen to get closer to Canada on supply chains than the bit of the fear mongering or threats that we’re seeing right now,” said Dr. Tom Moerenhout, a global energy policy research scholar at Columbia University.",{"type":615,"attrs":25134,"content":25135},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25136],{"text":25137,"type":596},"Africa has key mineral resources",{"type":591,"attrs":25139,"content":25140},{"textAlign":49},[25141,25143,25149],{"text":25142,"type":596},"The US is a significant backer of the ",{"text":25144,"type":596,"marks":25145},"Lobito corridor",[25146],{"type":606,"attrs":25147},{"href":25148,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-proposal-for-trans-africa-corridor-targets-copper-and-cobalt-supply-chains?_branch_match_id=1544412095892884681&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FcwK3TyDo%2Bo8E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAu7jLA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":25150,"type":596}," connecting Zambia to Angola. This key transportation infrastructure project could increase the US’ strength in the region whilst softening China’s influence.",{"type":591,"attrs":25152,"content":25153},{"textAlign":49},[25154,25156,25162],{"text":25155,"type":596},"“The ",{"text":25157,"type":596,"marks":25158},"African",[25159],{"type":606,"attrs":25160},{"href":25161,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium?_branch_match_id=1544412133337952860&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDykrLgwLLUnz90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQmOXJkgAAAA%3D",{"text":25163,"type":596}," copper belt region has emerged as a pivotal zone for the global energy transition,” Bille said. “But also as a geopolitical flashpoint between China and the United States.”",{"type":591,"attrs":25165,"content":25166},{"textAlign":49},[25167],{"type":836,"attrs":25168},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":25169,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":25170},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e02ea98283/bm-lobito-corridor-map-11092024-cp-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":25172,"content":25173},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25174],{"text":25175,"type":596},"Further developing international relationships",{"type":591,"attrs":25177,"content":25178},{"textAlign":49},[25179],{"text":25180,"type":596},"Free trade agreements have been a key mechanism for encouraging US companies to source critical minerals from allied countries. During his presidency, Biden set up a critical mineral specific FTA with Japan, though this approach is unlikely under Trump.",{"type":591,"attrs":25182,"content":25183},{"textAlign":49},[25184,25186,25192],{"text":25185,"type":596},"“I’m not looking at the Trump administration to do a lot of new FTAs,” said Sarah Bianchi, a former trade representative for the US, during the Webinar. “I do think that they are interested in friendshoring, and might have some of those kinds of collaborative efforts.”The US is also a part of the ",{"text":25187,"type":596,"marks":25188},"Mineral Security Partnership Forum",[25189],{"type":606,"attrs":25190},{"href":25191,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/minerals-security-partnership-enters-financing-but-know-how-still-the-missing-link?_branch_match_id=1544412146897303745&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWr8j3sMh1D8nxDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUArL9%2B7kgAAAA%3D",{"text":25193,"type":596},", a coalition of 30 member states formed to collectively bolster the critical mineral relationships between its members.","Although President Trump’s first weeks in office have seen much talk around imposing tariffs on imports from all countries including Canada and Mexico, it could be that this Administration will need to firm up relationships with friendly nations if it is to compete with China in key sectors. Friendshoring and international investment could be key […]",[25196],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25197},{"job_title":557,"image":25198,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fd044bc3-fa44-4011-98ac-d2597af75202\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25201,25202,25203,25204,25205,25206,25207,25208,25209,25210],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":25212,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25213,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f43c94a9b/bm-us-flag-auto.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":25215,"uuid":25216,"name":25217,"slug":25218,"full_slug":25219,"content":25220},112468089250027,"b78b135e-06d0-45b0-a8e0-f88cb1abe672","How the world reached 1 TWh of battery production","how-the-world-reached-1-twh-of-battery-production","article/how-the-world-reached-1-twh-of-battery-production",{"_uid":25221,"date":25222,"tags":25223,"editor":25226,"content":25230,"excerpt":25282,"featured":51,"reporter":25283,"_editable":25287,"component":697,"seo_title":25217,"categories":25288,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":25291,"featured_image":25295,"seo_description":25282,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25298},"490a6aad-517e-468a-a116-b11a08a0aad8","2025-02-04 00:00",[25224,25225],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[25227],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25228},{"job_title":557,"image":25229,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25231},[25232,25244,25249,25261,25272,25277],{"type":591,"attrs":25233,"content":25234},{"textAlign":49},[25235,25237,25242],{"text":25236,"type":596},"China has dominated global battery supply since ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":25239},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database",[25240],{"type":606,"attrs":25241},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":25243,"type":596}," began, accounting for 59% of production in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":25245,"content":25246},{"textAlign":49},[25247],{"text":25248,"type":596},"In 2023, when global battery production reached one terawatt hour, Chinese companies were responsible for 84% of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":25250,"content":25251},{"textAlign":49},[25252,25254,25260],{"text":25253,"type":596},"Chinese companies make up three of the top five largest companies by market share, these being CATL, BYD, and EVE Energy. CATL and BYD combined production accounted for 49% of supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":25255,"type":596,"marks":25256},"analysis by Benchmark",[25257],{"type":606,"attrs":25258},{"href":25259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/which-companies-control-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-2?_branch_match_id=1544412012505405112&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTyv0qQxxSSrI9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAY2%2BaQEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25262,"content":25263},{"textAlign":49},[25264,25266,25271],{"text":25265,"type":596},"China’s battery market is in surplus and expected to remain so for the next ten years, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":25268},"Lithium ion Battery Database",[25269],{"type":606,"attrs":25270},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25273,"content":25274},{"textAlign":49},[25275],{"text":25276,"type":596},"However, Chinese companies’ ability to supply global markets may be inhibited by supply chain localisation policies. In May 2024, the US increased the tariff on Chinese electric vehicle lithium ion batteries from 7.5% to 25%.",{"type":591,"attrs":25278,"content":25279},{"textAlign":49},[25280],{"text":25281,"type":596},"Sustainability criteria may also lessen the appeal of Chinese cells overseas. For example, the European Union’s (EU) New Batteries Regulation requires batteries sold in the EU to disclose their carbon footprint from February 2025 and eventually meet minimum recycled content requirements.","China has dominated global battery supply since Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database began, accounting for 59% of production in 2015. In 2023, when global battery production reached one terawatt hour, Chinese companies were responsible for 84% of supply. Chinese companies make up three of the top five largest companies by market share, these being CATL, […]",[25284],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25285},{"job_title":557,"image":25286,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"490a6aad-517e-468a-a116-b11a08a0aad8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25289,25290],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":25292,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":25292,"source":547,"filename":25293,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25294,"is_external_url":51},"How battery production reached 1 TWh","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1738679534/www-production/1-TWh-production-static-2030@2x/1-TWh-production-static-2030@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":25292,"title":25292,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":25296,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25297,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7615121d5e/bm-road-to-1-twh.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 04, 2025",{"id":25300,"uuid":25301,"name":25302,"slug":25303,"full_slug":25304,"content":25305},112468084564202,"c3b86d79-7228-46e0-a6d4-869344c33666","The EU sets out economic competitiveness plan","eu-sets-out-economic-competitiveness-plan","article/eu-sets-out-economic-competitiveness-plan",{"_uid":25306,"date":25222,"tags":25307,"editor":25311,"content":25315,"excerpt":25432,"featured":51,"reporter":25433,"_editable":25437,"component":697,"seo_title":25302,"categories":25438,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":25445,"seo_description":25432,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25298},"47562111-7f2a-4751-ae16-ab137c8eb906",[25308,25309,25310],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[25312],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25313},{"job_title":557,"image":25314,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25316},[25317,25322,25327,25335,25340,25345,25353,25358,25371,25384,25392,25397,25402,25407,25412,25417,25422,25427],{"type":591,"attrs":25318,"content":25319},{"textAlign":49},[25320],{"text":25321,"type":596},"The European Commission unveiled its ‘Competitiveness Compass’ last week, a plan that seeks to revive the EU’s economic growth by cutting back on climate-related regulation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25323,"content":25324},{"textAlign":49},[25325],{"text":25326,"type":596},"Building upon the 2024 Draghi report, policymakers hope to bolster EU competitiveness vis-à-vis China and the US in key strategic sectors, such as clean energy technology and artificial intelligence (AI), by cutting red tape, simplifying sustainability reporting, and increasing incentives for investment.  ",{"type":656,"attrs":25328},{"id":25329,"body":25330},"5b1442ba-d7bf-49c2-9cb5-8b8c3d06955a",[25331],{"id":25332,"_uid":25333,"type":663,"_editable":25334,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21463257","i-94e47552-5110-48a9-af8f-0d1bfbda3c51","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-94e47552-5110-48a9-af8f-0d1bfbda3c51\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":25336,"content":25337},{"textAlign":49},[25338],{"text":25339,"type":596},"“This means making investing in critical minerals and green tech manufacturing more attractive while continuing to focus on boosting critical mineral supply security,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark. “However, one of the main consequences is that ESG-related rules are likely to be watered down.”",{"type":591,"attrs":25341,"content":25342},{"textAlign":49},[25343],{"text":25344,"type":596},"Two significant initiatives, the Clean Industrial Deal and the first Omnibus Bill, are due to be unveiled in February.",{"type":656,"attrs":25346},{"id":25347,"body":25348},"b68b7225-cec7-41d3-820b-91b587a69002",[25349],{"id":25350,"_uid":25351,"type":663,"_editable":25352,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21404995","i-86f7c81e-017a-4871-8994-65288552c720","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-86f7c81e-017a-4871-8994-65288552c720\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":25354,"content":25355},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25356],{"text":25357,"type":596},"What are the implications for Europe’s automakers?",{"type":591,"attrs":25359,"content":25360},{"textAlign":49},[25361,25363,25369],{"text":25362,"type":596},"In particular, the EU has faced mounting pressure from the automotive sector – the bloc’s largest industry contributing €1 trillion to GDP– to reduce regulatory burdens, as it has been left facing an existential crisis from high energy costs, ",{"text":25364,"type":596,"marks":25365},"slumping EV sales",[25366],{"type":606,"attrs":25367},{"href":25368,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-moment-of-truth-for-european-automakers?_branch_match_id=1544412025832984116&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzR2TUvOTM71DEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAobRBQUgAAAA%3D",{"text":25370,"type":596},", and the looming threat posed by low-cost Chinese rivals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25372,"content":25373},{"textAlign":49},[25374,25376,25382],{"text":25375,"type":596},"Compounding the crisis, European automakers could face over €10 billion in fines as ",{"text":25377,"type":596,"marks":25378},"European Union emissions standards",[25379],{"type":606,"attrs":25380},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues",{"text":25383,"type":596}," come into effect this year, according to analysis by Rho Motion. Added to this, President Trump’s deregulatory push and the prospect of tariffs threaten to further undermine Europe’s competitiveness.",{"type":656,"attrs":25385},{"id":25386,"body":25387},"b0dd0b91-8cb7-473a-b0f4-da7ec016761a",[25388],{"id":25389,"_uid":25390,"type":663,"_editable":25391,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21406182","i-b4b73f54-eab5-46c7-a8da-2b6d8da5a9be","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b4b73f54-eab5-46c7-a8da-2b6d8da5a9be\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":25393,"content":25394},{"textAlign":49},[25395],{"text":25396,"type":596},"Underpinning the Commission’s deregulatory turn, policymakers last week launched a strategic dialogue (due to be completed in March) with key automotive stakeholders to review emissions targets, promising to safeguard the industry and its capacity to invest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25398,"content":25399},{"textAlign":49},[25400],{"text":25401,"type":596},"While officials have ruled out delaying the 2035 ICE sales deadline, they have signaled potential for flexibility on annual EV sales targets and fines. Plans for subsidies to boost sales have also been floated.",{"type":591,"attrs":25403,"content":25404},{"textAlign":49},[25405],{"text":25406,"type":596},"Some industry bodies are pressing for more stringent policies to protect Europe’s automotive supply chain from foreign competition, akin to local content requirements under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But automakers generally oppose such measures, fearing retaliation from China.",{"type":615,"attrs":25408,"content":25409},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25410],{"text":25411,"type":596},"Boosting competitiveness",{"type":591,"attrs":25413,"content":25414},{"textAlign":49},[25415],{"text":25416,"type":596},"Aside from measures to lower energy costs, the Commission is considering a range of policy measures to bolster the competitiveness of strategic industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":25418,"content":25419},{"textAlign":49},[25420],{"text":25421,"type":596},"These include the establishment of a joint purchasing platform for “strategic raw materials” deemed critical for the twin digital and clean energy transitions. The platform is designed to improve EU-wide global purchasing power and negotiating position. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25423,"content":25424},{"textAlign":49},[25425],{"text":25426,"type":596},"“To fund these projects, the Commission will work with the European Investment Bank (EIB) group and the private sector to deploy a TechEU investment programme to help scale-up companies which invest in innovative technologies such as clean tech and critical raw materials,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":25428,"content":25429},{"textAlign":49},[25430],{"text":25431,"type":596},"It has also proposed prioritising “Made-in-Europe” products through public procurement reforms, echoing parts of President Trump’s “America First” agenda. This includes a focus on “boosting circular use of materials,” indicating that battery recycling facilities could be a key beneficiary under the proposed reforms.","The European Commission unveiled its ‘Competitiveness Compass’ last week, a plan that seeks to revive the EU’s economic growth by cutting back on climate-related regulation. Building upon the 2024 Draghi report, policymakers hope to bolster EU competitiveness vis-à-vis China and the US in key strategic sectors, such as clean energy technology and artificial intelligence (AI), […]",[25434],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25435},{"job_title":557,"image":25436,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"47562111-7f2a-4751-ae16-ab137c8eb906\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25439,25440,25441,25442,25443,25444],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":25446,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25447,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/930b1cf238/bm-ursula-von-der-leyen.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":25449,"uuid":25450,"name":25451,"slug":25452,"full_slug":25453,"content":25454},112468079943913,"ebf2bb48-0fc7-4d38-a19d-f346380cc5f5","Automakers face challenges as tariffs threaten North American trade","automakers-face-challenges-as-tariffs-threaten-north-american-trade","article/automakers-face-challenges-as-tariffs-threaten-north-american-trade",{"_uid":25455,"date":25222,"tags":25456,"editor":25464,"content":25468,"excerpt":25571,"featured":51,"reporter":25572,"_editable":25576,"component":697,"seo_title":25451,"categories":25577,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":25581,"seo_description":25571,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25298},"dce15d02-fb7f-41a2-9d6a-d69d91747717",[25457,25458,25459,25462,25463],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":25460,"name":25461},"mexico","Mexico",{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},[25465],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25466},{"job_title":557,"image":25467,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25469},[25470,25475,25480,25488,25499,25504,25512,25517,25522,25530,25535,25540,25545,25556,25561,25566],{"type":591,"attrs":25471,"content":25472},{"textAlign":49},[25473],{"text":25474,"type":596},"President Trump has confirmed a 10% tariff on imports from China, and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico (later delayed by one month following last minute negotiations), ostensibly to curb fentanyl trafficking, illegal migration, and address trade imbalances. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25476,"content":25477},{"textAlign":49},[25478],{"text":25479,"type":596},"By ripping up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), tariffs threaten to disrupt trade flows across one of the world’s most deeply integrated economic regions. The North American automotive industry faces some of the biggest headwinds, as its supply chains are highly dependent on cross-border trade. ",{"type":656,"attrs":25481},{"id":25482,"body":25483},"fc0d8ac4-cb30-48e0-9fc2-97cfb0cfa8c2",[25484],{"id":25485,"_uid":25486,"type":663,"_editable":25487,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21452142","i-37d371dd-e522-4de7-9c6e-87c7fbb636f1","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-37d371dd-e522-4de7-9c6e-87c7fbb636f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":25489,"content":25490},{"textAlign":49},[25491,25497],{"text":25492,"type":596,"marks":25493},"Mexico is an established EV production hub ",[25494],{"type":606,"attrs":25495},{"href":25496,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/membership-industry-updates/what-effect-will-trumps-mexico-and-canada-tariffs-have-on-the-us-ev-industry/",{"text":25498,"type":596},"for US automakers, accounting for 35% of US BEV imports in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":25500,"content":25501},{"textAlign":49},[25502],{"text":25503,"type":596},"The prospect of tariffs are casting doubts on the “friendshoring” efforts undertaken since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Building upon its rich critical mineral reserves, Canada had received substantial investment at the midstream and downstream stages of the battery value chain since 2021 – the economics of which will now be called into question.",{"type":656,"attrs":25505},{"id":25506,"body":25507},"9b8e0279-28ad-44b2-a2cb-5efa5149f854",[25508],{"id":25509,"_uid":25510,"type":663,"_editable":25511,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21465092","i-a8d82283-66ca-4833-8740-725d13522413","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a8d82283-66ca-4833-8740-725d13522413\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":25513,"content":25514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25515],{"text":25516,"type":596},"US trade exposure?",{"type":591,"attrs":25518,"content":25519},{"textAlign":49},[25520],{"text":25521,"type":596},"While tariffs will apply uniformly, their impact will vary based on the US trade dependence on each trading partner. The following chart illustrates US reliance on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico across key goods relevant to electric vehicles, critical minerals, and the broader energy transition.",{"type":656,"attrs":25523},{"id":25524,"body":25525},"9ae001c1-4c17-4898-9471-390362256bc9",[25526],{"id":25527,"_uid":25528,"type":663,"_editable":25529,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21450735","i-2d6b0f3c-8427-401e-98f8-333609ecef14","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2d6b0f3c-8427-401e-98f8-333609ecef14\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":25531,"content":25532},{"textAlign":49},[25533],{"text":25534,"type":596},"The US relies heavily on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico across a variety of copper, rare earths, graphite and nickel products and compounds.",{"type":591,"attrs":25536,"content":25537},{"textAlign":49},[25538],{"text":25539,"type":596},"Tariffs increase costs for US importers, much of which will typically be passed on to consumers, creating inflationary pressures. The harder substitution is to achieve and the more reliant the US is on these countries, the greater the impact tariffs will have.",{"type":591,"attrs":25541,"content":25542},{"textAlign":49},[25543],{"text":25544,"type":596},"While much remains unclear, the prospect of higher prices will leave US firms considering substitution options – although the spectre of additional tariffs on other trading partners adds further uncertainty. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25546,"content":25547},{"textAlign":49},[25548,25554],{"text":25549,"type":596,"marks":25550},"President Trump hopes to use a combination of tariffs and de-regulation to attract investment in US domestic mining projects.",[25551],{"type":606,"attrs":25552},{"href":25553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-trumps-policies-send-mixed-signals-for-copper?_branch_match_id=1544412039767124058&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9wopzQ218CvwDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAG0Kiz0gAAAA%3D",{"text":25555,"type":596}," But, US projects have long been mired by permitting problems and without an existing domestic supply base trade measures are only likely to drive up inflation short-term.",{"type":615,"attrs":25557,"content":25558},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25559],{"text":25560,"type":596},"How long could tariffs last?",{"type":591,"attrs":25562,"content":25563},{"textAlign":49},[25564],{"text":25565,"type":596},"President Trump hasn’t indicated how long tariffs could be in place or what metrics would need to be satisfied to see them removed, and has reserved the right to impose even higher tariffs in the event of retaliatory action.",{"type":591,"attrs":25567,"content":25568},{"textAlign":49},[25569],{"text":25570,"type":596},"Once implemented, tariffs have historically proven sticky and difficult to remove. If prolonged, the trade measures could result in a fundamental reshaping of trade flows across the North American region and the wider global economy, as businesses and governments seek alternative markets and trading partners.","President Trump has confirmed a 10% tariff on imports from China, and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico (later delayed by one month following last minute negotiations), ostensibly to curb fentanyl trafficking, illegal migration, and address trade imbalances. By ripping up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), tariffs threaten to disrupt trade flows across […]",[25573],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25574},{"job_title":557,"image":25575,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dce15d02-fb7f-41a2-9d6a-d69d91747717\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25578,25579,25580],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9762,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25582,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":25584,"uuid":25585,"name":25586,"slug":25587,"full_slug":25588,"content":25589},112468098896110,"7fe5a31f-79c3-4857-8264-41e7d7a940f5","Spodumene prices rise as Australian miners hold price discipline","spodumene-prices-rise-as-australian-miners-hold-price-discipline","article/spodumene-prices-rise-as-australian-miners-hold-price-discipline",{"_uid":25590,"date":25591,"tags":25592,"editor":25594,"content":25598,"excerpt":25653,"featured":50,"reporter":25654,"_editable":25658,"component":697,"seo_title":25586,"categories":25659,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":25662,"seo_description":25653,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25664},"2a06a891-07bc-4054-929c-18c9b9ea1b4b","2025-01-31 00:00",[25593],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[25595],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25596},{"job_title":557,"image":25597,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25599},[25600,25605,25612,25617,25622,25627,25640],{"type":591,"attrs":25601,"content":25602},{"textAlign":49},[25603],{"text":25604,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene have continued to rise as Australian miners resist downward pressure and new Chinese converters seek feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":25606,"content":25607},{"textAlign":49},[25608],{"type":836,"attrs":25609},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":25610,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":25611},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f83bc8ec5/bm-spod-p-recover2x-1-13320370fe6e.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":25613,"content":25614},{"textAlign":49},[25615],{"text":25616,"type":596},"The rise in prices was driven by a combination of tighter supply due to disruption, a rise in operational costs at some African hard-rock mining operations, and Australian producers maintaining price discipline.",{"type":615,"attrs":25618,"content":25619},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25620],{"text":25621,"type":596},"How might the growing availability of African material affect the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":25623,"content":25624},{"textAlign":49},[25625],{"text":25626,"type":596},"The ramp up of supply from African countries may slow price rises.",{"type":591,"attrs":25628,"content":25629},{"textAlign":49},[25630,25632,25638],{"text":25631,"type":596},"In late 2024, Benchmark’s lithium product director ",{"text":25633,"type":596,"marks":25634},"Cameron Perks visited Zimbabwe",[25635],{"type":606,"attrs":25636},{"href":25637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/zimbabwe-africas-lithium-heartland?_branch_match_id=1544411950800770198&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdwzz9XW0SHIKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3asA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":25639,"type":596},", Africa’s largest mined lithium producer and the fourth largest globally. Through conversations with miners in Zimbabwe, Perks noted a wide range of costs for lithium projects in the country from $600 per tonne at the low end to over $1,000 per tonne at the upper end.",{"type":591,"attrs":25641,"content":25642},{"textAlign":49},[25643,25645,25651],{"text":25644,"type":596},"Mali is set to become the continent’s second largest lithium producer this year. The ",{"text":25646,"type":596,"marks":25647},"Goulamina spodumene mine",[25648],{"type":606,"attrs":25649},{"href":25650,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/mali-set-to-become-africas-second-largest-lithium-producer-in-2025?_branch_match_id=1544411956317869556&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz3JPLvYorKrKDUyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAreNnIEgAAAA%3D",{"text":25652,"type":596},", owned by Ganfeng Lithium and responsible for the country’s rise as a source of lithium, came online in late 2024.","Prices for spodumene have continued to rise as Australian miners resist downward pressure and new Chinese converters seek feedstock. The rise in prices was driven by a combination of tighter supply due to disruption, a rise in operational costs at some African hard-rock mining operations, and Australian producers maintaining price discipline. How might the growing […]",[25655],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25656},{"job_title":557,"image":25657,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a06a891-07bc-4054-929c-18c9b9ea1b4b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25660,25661],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6826,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25663,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 31, 2025",{"id":25666,"uuid":25667,"name":25668,"slug":25669,"full_slug":25670,"content":25671},112468093989101,"14e1a592-fb6d-4b82-ae34-bd6d4bdb0345","France leads Europe’s solid-state efforts","france-leads-europes-solid-state-efforts","article/france-leads-europes-solid-state-efforts",{"_uid":25672,"date":25591,"tags":25673,"editor":25684,"content":25688,"excerpt":25817,"featured":50,"reporter":25818,"_editable":25822,"component":697,"seo_title":25668,"categories":25823,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":25826,"featured_image":25830,"seo_description":25817,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25664},"7dd7375c-e396-4e1c-8e33-ffa3da64d240",[25674,25677,25678,25679,25680,25683],{"slug":25675,"name":25676},"blue-solutions","Blue Solutions",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":20447,"name":20448},{"slug":25681,"name":25682},"prologium","ProLogium",{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[25685],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25686},{"job_title":557,"image":25687,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25689},[25690,25709,25721,25734,25746,25754,25759,25772,25784,25789,25794,25799,25804],{"type":591,"attrs":25691,"content":25692},{"textAlign":49},[25693,25695,25701,25703,25708],{"text":25694,"type":596},"France is at the heart of Europe’s ",{"text":25696,"type":596,"marks":25697},"solid-state battery efforts",[25698],{"type":606,"attrs":25699},{"href":25700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544411981601558800&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ylzKzD1jwiKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAitH%2FQkgAAAA%3D",{"text":25702,"type":596},",  representing over 90% of the region’s forecast 18 gigawatt-hours of production in 2030 according to ",{"text":25704,"type":596,"marks":25705},"Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Battery Forecast",[25706],{"type":606,"attrs":25707},{"href":23084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25710,"content":25711},{"textAlign":49},[25712,25714,25720],{"text":25713,"type":596},"Currently Blue Solutions leads the charge in France, having been the first company globally to commercialise a solid-state lithium metal battery for use in ",{"text":25715,"type":596,"marks":25716},"vehicular applications",[25717],{"type":606,"attrs":25718},{"href":25719,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs?_branch_match_id=1544412001100823923&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLyv08zaNNHAsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUARGeNjEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25722,"content":25723},{"textAlign":49},[25724,25726,25732],{"text":25725,"type":596},"The largest planned solid-state gigafactory in the country is a 48 gigawatt hours (GWh) facility in development by ",{"text":25727,"type":596,"marks":25728},"Taiwanese solid-state innovator ProLogium",[25729],{"type":606,"attrs":25730},{"href":25731,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/prologiums-e5-2-billion-french-plant-advances-commercialisation-of-solid-state-batteries?_branch_match_id=1544411993608152098&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTzHLznR38890DEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAgv5h%2B0gAAAA%3D",{"text":25733,"type":596},". The company recently received its permits and construction is set to commence later in the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":25735,"content":25736},{"textAlign":49},[25737,25739,25744],{"text":25738,"type":596},"“Securing these permits is a huge step towards large-scale European manufacture of solid-state batteries,” said ",{"text":17785,"type":596,"marks":25740},[25741],{"type":606,"attrs":25742},{"href":25743,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/scale-up-approaches-for-solid-state-battery-development?_branch_match_id=1544411966555449554&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpPogIT2CblqE15TA6yldo19l7L43R%2BmRtJD1TCZDCSgi5m9CayaxiZfPsrp1XH5cPdBPA%2BhwR9e2E2SXUQj8lOUsfSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":25745,"type":596},", Benchmark’s product director for new technologies.",{"type":656,"attrs":25747},{"id":25748,"body":25749},"af76f53b-e348-4c24-878d-ff6926c14ea6",[25750],{"id":25751,"_uid":25752,"type":663,"_editable":25753,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21385309","i-cff0542b-63f8-4744-9a36-66f29d289e03","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-cff0542b-63f8-4744-9a36-66f29d289e03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":25755,"content":25756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25757],{"text":25758,"type":596},"What solid-state developments are happening in France?",{"type":591,"attrs":25760,"content":25761},{"textAlign":49},[25762,25764,25770],{"text":25763,"type":596},"Currently, Blue Solutions operates the only ",{"text":25765,"type":596,"marks":25766},"commercial scale",[25767],{"type":606,"attrs":25768},{"href":25769,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-solid-state-batteries-and-the-route-to-commercialisation?_branch_match_id=1544411974203505141&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9wlzTck2DMx0DEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUANgTnk0gAAAA%3D",{"text":25771,"type":596}," solid-state battery production facility in France.",{"type":591,"attrs":25773,"content":25774},{"textAlign":49},[25775,25777,25782],{"text":25776,"type":596},"ProLogium, which currently operates a GWh-scale facility in Taiwan, intends to start construction of its Dunkirk gigafactory this year. ",{"text":25778,"type":596,"marks":25779},"Benchmark anticipates",[25780],{"type":606,"attrs":25781},{"href":23084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":25783,"type":596}," full production will commence from 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":25785,"content":25786},{"textAlign":49},[25787],{"text":25788,"type":596},"“When ProLogium announced its 48 GWh, €5.2 billion gigafactory it was, and still is, the largest solid-state battery capacity expansion project in the world,” McNulty said. “The company has already secured a grant of up to €1.5 billion from the European Commission towards this goal, advancing plans from speculative to tangible.”",{"type":615,"attrs":25790,"content":25791},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25792],{"text":25793,"type":596},"What is going on in the rest of Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":25795,"content":25796},{"textAlign":49},[25797],{"text":25798,"type":596},"Outside of France, there are commercial-scale plants under construction or development in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25800,"content":25801},{"textAlign":49},[25802],{"text":25803,"type":596},"The only operating solid-state facility is Ilika’s pilot scale facility in the UK. The company is targeting gigawatt-scale production for 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":25805,"content":25806},{"textAlign":49},[25807,25809,25815],{"text":25808,"type":596},"The largest facility in Europe’s pipeline outside of France is the 20 GWh capacity gigafactory ",{"text":25810,"type":596,"marks":25811},"planned by QuantumScape",[25812],{"type":606,"attrs":25813},{"href":25814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/next-gen-battery-developers-licensing-technology-to-oems-enables-scale?_branch_match_id=1544411985964249305&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT0339TeqKs9yDEyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA90HGHUgAAAA%3D",{"text":25816,"type":596}," in Germany in collaboration with Volkswagen’s PowerCo which is planned to come online in 2028.","France is at the heart of Europe’s solid-state battery efforts, representing over 90% of the region’s forecast 18 gigawatt-hours of production in 2030 according to Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Battery Forecast. Currently Blue Solutions leads the charge in France, having been the first company globally to commercialise a solid-state lithium metal battery for use […]",[25819],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25820},{"job_title":557,"image":25821,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7dd7375c-e396-4e1c-8e33-ffa3da64d240\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25824,25825],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":25827,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":25827,"source":547,"filename":25828,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25829,"is_external_url":51},"France is the centre of Europe's solid-state scene","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1738679353/www-production/Europe-solid-state@2x-1/Europe-solid-state@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":25827,"title":25827,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":25831,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25832,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b03d61f41/bm-image-12.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":25834,"uuid":25835,"name":25836,"slug":25837,"full_slug":25838,"content":25839},112468108447991,"ecf5f1d5-2641-47a0-8816-c8fedc3b1c8c","How many mines are needed for the energy transition?","how-many-mines-are-needed-for-the-energy-transition","article/how-many-mines-are-needed-for-the-energy-transition",{"_uid":25840,"date":25841,"tags":25842,"editor":25844,"content":25848,"excerpt":25916,"featured":51,"reporter":25917,"_editable":25921,"component":697,"seo_title":25836,"categories":25922,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":25932,"featured_image":25935,"seo_description":25916,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":25937},"6e9ccff6-effc-481c-946c-105361de587a","2025-01-30 00:00",[25843],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[25845],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25846},{"job_title":557,"image":25847,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25849},[25850,25855,25862,25872,25877,25888,25901,25906,25911],{"type":591,"attrs":25851,"content":25852},{"textAlign":49},[25853],{"text":25854,"type":596},"To meet the increasing demand for batteries for the energy transition 293 new mines would need to be built by 2030, according to analysis by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":25856,"content":25857},{"textAlign":49},[25858],{"type":836,"attrs":25859},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":25860,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":25861},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d9b201130/bm-mines-needed-voronoi-01202025-1-133203407c0f.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":25863,"content":25864},{"textAlign":49},[25865,25867,25871],{"text":25866,"type":596},"Lithium likely poses the most pressing bottleneck for the industry, with 52 lithium mines needed by the end of the decade. Though it is second to copper in terms of the number of new mines required, supply must more than double relative to current levels, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":25868},[25869],{"type":606,"attrs":25870},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25873,"content":25874},{"textAlign":49},[25875],{"text":25876,"type":596},"To meet demand for copper, used in a range of applications, from batteries to wires, 61 new mines are needed by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":25878,"content":25879},{"textAlign":49},[25880,25882,25887],{"text":25881,"type":596},"For High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate, supply needs to more than triple in five years and 21 plants must come online, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25883,"type":596,"marks":25884},"Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook",[25885],{"type":606,"attrs":25886},{"href":24457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":25889,"content":25890},{"textAlign":49},[25891,25893,25899],{"text":25892,"type":596},"Benchmark’s ",{"text":25894,"type":596,"marks":25895},"Capital Tracker",[25896],{"type":606,"attrs":25897},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/",{"text":25900,"type":596}," shows $285 billion of investment is required to bring sufficient critical raw materials online by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":25902,"content":25903},{"textAlign":49},[25904],{"text":25905,"type":596},"Though many of these markets are currently in a state of oversupply, the forecast deficits are substantially higher than current surpluses. This presents an issue, where the necessary investment in raw materials to ensure adequate future supply is discouraged by the current low price environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":25907,"content":25908},{"textAlign":49},[25909],{"text":25910,"type":596},"Anode, cathode, and cell capacity can be brought online in less than five years but raw material supply can take as long as 25 years to come online.",{"type":591,"attrs":25912,"content":25913},{"textAlign":49},[25914],{"text":25915,"type":596},"Additionally, Western nations are taking steps to derisk their supply chains from China. Supply in many of these raw materials markets is driven primarily by Chinese production, meaning more investment is needed from Western countries to secure supply to meet domestic demand.","To meet the increasing demand for batteries for the energy transition 293 new mines would need to be built by 2030, according to analysis by Benchmark. Lithium likely poses the most pressing bottleneck for the industry, with 52 lithium mines needed by the end of the decade. Though it is second to copper in terms […]",[25918],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25919},{"job_title":557,"image":25920,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6e9ccff6-effc-481c-946c-105361de587a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[25923,25924,25925,25926,25927,25928,25929,25930,25931],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":25933,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":25933,"source":547,"filename":25860,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25934,"is_external_url":51},"Infographic showing each critical energy transition metal as a circle with current supply and how much is needed to come online by 2030 to meet demand",{"alt":25933,"title":25933,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":10821,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":10821,"source":547,"filename":10822,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":25936,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":10821,"title":10821,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 30, 2025",{"id":25939,"uuid":25940,"name":25941,"slug":25942,"full_slug":25943,"content":25944},112468117991673,"3d1623c7-af34-458e-b041-4f0ca209a4d2","President Trump’s policies send mixed signals for copper","president-trumps-policies-send-mixed-signals-for-copper","article/president-trumps-policies-send-mixed-signals-for-copper",{"_uid":25945,"date":25946,"tags":25947,"editor":25950,"content":25954,"excerpt":26069,"featured":51,"reporter":26070,"_editable":26074,"component":697,"seo_title":25941,"categories":26075,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26079,"seo_description":26069,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26082},"bc240083-0c62-40c6-8e40-61963f097d07","2025-01-29 00:00",[25948,25949],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[25951],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":25952},{"job_title":557,"image":25953,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":25955},[25956,25961,25966,25971,25978,25983,25988,26001,26006,26013,26018,26023,26028,26033,26038,26043],{"type":591,"attrs":25957,"content":25958},{"textAlign":49},[25959],{"text":25960,"type":596},"The copper market faces conflicting signals as President Trump begins his second term in the White House. While his administration has proven supportive of domestic mining projects, its early actions and messaging have unsettled commodity markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":25962,"content":25963},{"textAlign":49},[25964],{"text":25965,"type":596},"President Trump threatened this week to introduce tariffs on copper imports to incentivise companies to bring production to the US. Piotr Ortonowski, head of copper research at Benchmark, argues the measures make little sense.",{"type":591,"attrs":25967,"content":25968},{"textAlign":49},[25969],{"text":25970,"type":596},"“All they are likely to achieve in the short-term is to drive up inflation. While the US does have a strong pipeline of mine projects, these will take many years to build,” Ortonowski said.",{"type":591,"attrs":25972,"content":25973},{"textAlign":49},[25974],{"type":836,"attrs":25975},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":25976,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":25977},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2ca7dccf10/bm-copper-imports2x-13319792fc1a.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":25979,"content":25980},{"textAlign":49},[25981],{"text":25982,"type":596},"“The main issue facing US projects is permitting. Fix that and mine supply will come. Tariffs are arbitrary if you don’t have a pre-existing source of domestic supply,” Ortonowski added.",{"type":615,"attrs":25984,"content":25985},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[25986],{"text":25987,"type":596},"Positives for permitting ",{"type":591,"attrs":25989,"content":25990},{"textAlign":49},[25991,25993,25999],{"text":25992,"type":596},"Trump’s first day executive order “Unleashing American Energy” ",{"text":25994,"type":596,"marks":25995},"laid out a vision to position the US as a global leader in critical minerals",[25996],{"type":606,"attrs":25997},{"href":25998,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-president-trumps-executive-orders-mean-for-critical-minerals?_branch_match_id=1544411881054203394&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvlPoiINm09QWhMzqCOw1eINp2993gM67NzkfTiGpCrKCGUPgWzqYhmlw5l85u8Pq4f6CZANJ0R7emEZWe0Sj%2BLWxWLSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":26000,"type":596}," by expediting permitting decisions and reducing regulatory barriers.",{"type":591,"attrs":26002,"content":26003},{"textAlign":49},[26004],{"text":26005,"type":596},"This initiative sent a positive signal to US copper projects that have long been in regulatory limbo. Rio Tinto last week expressed optimism about its massive Resolution copper mine project in Arizona, which has been mired in permitting challenges since 2013.",{"type":591,"attrs":26007,"content":26008},{"textAlign":49},[26009],{"type":836,"attrs":26010},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26011,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26012},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aa20ae6a42/bm-us-copper-projects-pipeline2x-1-133197762889.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":26014,"content":26015},{"textAlign":49},[26016],{"text":26017,"type":596},"Additionally, Federal support for critical mineral projects and a potential National Defense Stockpile for critical minerals, possibly including copper, are being explored.",{"type":615,"attrs":26019,"content":26020},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26021],{"text":26022,"type":596},"Mixed demand prospects ",{"type":591,"attrs":26024,"content":26025},{"textAlign":49},[26026],{"text":26027,"type":596},"While domestic mining could benefit, prospects for copper demand are more mixed under Trump’s second term. The new administration has begun to reverse Biden-era initiatives supporting copper-intensive clean energy technologies, including subsidies for EVs and federal land leasing for wind farms.",{"type":591,"attrs":26029,"content":26030},{"textAlign":49},[26031],{"text":26032,"type":596},"Conversely, President Trump’s pledge to support an Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure could be a boon for copper demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26034,"content":26035},{"textAlign":49},[26036],{"text":26037,"type":596},"OpenAI, in conjunction with partners, last week announced a bumper $500 billion investment to build out AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years. Data centers housing AI models require copper-intensive electrical infrastructure due to their significant power demands. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26039,"content":26040},{"textAlign":49},[26041],{"text":26042,"type":596},"But, the recent launch of low-cost Chinese AI model, DeepSeek, is also casting doubts about the necessity of such large-scale infrastructure investments to support AI progression.",{"type":591,"attrs":26044,"content":26045},{"textAlign":49},[26046,26051,26056,26064],{"text":26047,"type":596,"marks":26048},"Benchmark’s Copper Weekly Newsletter provides expert market insights and analysis of copper’s role in the evolving energy transition.",[26049,26050],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":26052,"type":596,"marks":26053},"Sign up with your business email address to receive ",[26054,26055],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":26057,"type":596,"marks":26058},"Copper Weekly",[26059,26062,26063],{"type":606,"attrs":26060},{"href":26061,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/copper-weekly",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":26065,"type":596,"marks":26066}," direct to your inbox every Monday.",[26067,26068],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"The copper market faces conflicting signals as President Trump begins his second term in the White House. While his administration has proven supportive of domestic mining projects, its early actions and messaging have unsettled commodity markets. President Trump threatened this week to introduce tariffs on copper imports to incentivise companies to bring production to the […]",[26071],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26072},{"job_title":557,"image":26073,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bc240083-0c62-40c6-8e40-61963f097d07\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26076,26077,26078],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26080,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26081,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0d57dbd490/bm-trump-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 29, 2025",{"id":26084,"uuid":26085,"name":26086,"slug":26087,"full_slug":26088,"content":26089},112468127621377,"f8fd87f8-e8ac-4f99-bb18-9da2602e75d9","Neo Battery Materials to build $84 million silicon anode plant in Canada","neo-battery-materials-to-build-84-million-silicon-anode-plant-in-canada","article/neo-battery-materials-to-build-84-million-silicon-anode-plant-in-canada",{"_uid":26090,"date":26091,"tags":26092,"editor":26098,"content":26102,"excerpt":26204,"featured":51,"reporter":26205,"_editable":26209,"component":697,"seo_title":26086,"categories":26210,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26214,"seo_description":26204,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26217},"83efa144-0cc7-4c05-95ae-a0e452e706d3","2025-01-28 00:00",[26093,26094,26097],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":26095,"name":26096},"neo-battery-materials","Neo Battery Materials",{"slug":5701,"name":924},[26099],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26100},{"job_title":557,"image":26101,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26103},[26104,26116,26128,26146,26151,26156,26161,26166,26171,26176,26181,26189,26194,26199],{"type":591,"attrs":26105,"content":26106},{"textAlign":49},[26107,26109,26114],{"text":26108,"type":596},"Canadian silicon anode developer Neo Battery Materials is investing up to C$120 million (US$84 million) over eight years to build a ",{"text":13334,"type":596,"marks":26110},[26111],{"type":606,"attrs":26112},{"href":26113,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-how-silicon-anodes-could-impact-graphite-demand?_branch_match_id=1544411857582847767&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ysqM4uwKPVx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA6zb89EgAAAA%3D",{"text":26115,"type":596}," production facility in Windsor, Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":26117,"content":26118},{"textAlign":49},[26119,26121,26127],{"text":26120,"type":596},"An initial investment of C$69 million (US$48 million) by Neo will enable a production capacity of around 240 tonnes of anode material. The planned additional investment will increase the capacity to 5,000 tonnes of ",{"text":26122,"type":596,"marks":26123},"silicon anode material per year",[26124],{"type":606,"attrs":26125},{"href":26126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/silicon-anodes-prepare-for-mainstream-deployment-with-production-capacity-set-to-triple-in-2024?_branch_match_id=1544411848140814413&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWr%2FQtMK7IcfNx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAzIH%2FQ0gAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":26129,"content":26130},{"textAlign":49},[26131,26137,26139,26145],{"text":26132,"type":596,"marks":26133},"North America’s production of silicon anode materials",[26134],{"type":606,"attrs":26135},{"href":26136,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544411852988035595&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ylzKzD1jwiKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAitH%2FQkgAAAA%3D",{"text":26138,"type":596}," is set to grow more than six-fold between 2025 and 2030 to 29 gigawatt hours (GWh) of material (6,700 tonnes), according to ",{"text":26140,"type":596,"marks":26141},"Benchmark’s Silicon Anode Forecast",[26142],{"type":606,"attrs":26143},{"href":26144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/silicon-anode/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":26147,"content":26148},{"textAlign":49},[26149],{"text":26150,"type":596},"“North America is positioning itself as a leader in the emerging silicon anode industry,” said Rory McNulty, Benchmark’s product director for new technologies. “This announcement by Neo is a great example of the size and pace of innovation which is happening in the North American region.”",{"type":591,"attrs":26152,"content":26153},{"textAlign":49},[26154],{"text":26155,"type":596},"The company expects to break ground on the facility later this year. Neo currently operates a small, ten tonne per year pilot facility in Gyeonggi, South Korea.",{"type":615,"attrs":26157,"content":26158},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26159],{"text":26160,"type":596},"What are North America and Canada’s positions in the silicon anode industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":26162,"content":26163},{"textAlign":49},[26164],{"text":26165,"type":596},"Watch Benchmark’s product director for new technology discuss the evolution of the silicon anode market.",{"type":615,"attrs":26167,"content":26168},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26169],{"text":26170,"type":596},"What kind of silicon anode material does Neo produce?",{"type":591,"attrs":26172,"content":26173},{"textAlign":49},[26174],{"text":26175,"type":596},"Neo has developed a next-generation coated silicon anode material that uses metallurgical grade silicon (MGS) to produce its silicon anode which the company claims is low cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":26177,"content":26178},{"textAlign":49},[26179],{"text":26180,"type":596},"“Innovators across the US and Canada are developing novel silicon architectures, nano structures, and material coatings, to accelerate the adoption of silicon as a battery anode material,” McNulty said.",{"type":656,"attrs":26182},{"id":26183,"body":26184},"e8dfae5c-fe1a-4d4a-8033-abccfdddb42a",[26185],{"id":26186,"_uid":26187,"type":663,"_editable":26188,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21338153","i-5f12d8ef-ed81-44f3-855b-034ad5505dbf","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-5f12d8ef-ed81-44f3-855b-034ad5505dbf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":26190,"content":26191},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26192],{"text":26193,"type":596},"What is the significance of the location of Neo’s facility?",{"type":591,"attrs":26195,"content":26196},{"textAlign":49},[26197],{"text":26198,"type":596},"Windsor, in Ontario, Canada, is on the border between Canada and the US and is home to several other players in the automotive industry. NextStar Energy is building a 49 GWh gigafactory in the city and automakers Stellantis and Volkswagen have assembly facilities there. The University of Windsor has a strategic partnership with Neo for the development of novel battery technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":26200,"content":26201},{"textAlign":49},[26202],{"text":26203,"type":596},"“With prospective collaborators, business partners, and customers on your doorstep the opportunities to drive commercial efforts are clear,” McNulty said. “Proximity is a great accelerator of progress through partnership.”","Canadian silicon anode developer Neo Battery Materials is investing up to C$120 million (US$84 million) over eight years to build a silicon anode production facility in Windsor, Canada. An initial investment of C$69 million (US$48 million) by Neo will enable a production capacity of around 240 tonnes of anode material. The planned additional investment will […]",[26206],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26207},{"job_title":557,"image":26208,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"83efa144-0cc7-4c05-95ae-a0e452e706d3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26211,26212,26213],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26215,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26216,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3db8e7c764/bm-neo-battery-materials.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 28, 2025",{"id":26219,"uuid":26220,"name":26221,"slug":26222,"full_slug":26223,"content":26224},112468147331340,"96120d83-f9fd-4ade-9bdf-90671359dae6","South Korea to support anode players to secure domestic supply","south-korea-to-support-anode-players-to-secure-domestic-supply","article/south-korea-to-support-anode-players-to-secure-domestic-supply",{"_uid":26225,"date":26226,"tags":26227,"editor":26229,"content":26233,"excerpt":26288,"featured":50,"reporter":26289,"_editable":26293,"component":697,"seo_title":26221,"categories":26294,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26297,"seo_description":26288,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26300},"54b0339e-a062-482c-b0cc-8de4cf70e28f","2025-01-23 00:00",[26228],{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[26230],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26231},{"job_title":557,"image":26232,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26234},[26235,26240,26245,26250,26255,26268,26273,26278,26283],{"type":591,"attrs":26236,"content":26237},{"textAlign":49},[26238],{"text":26239,"type":596},"The South Korean government is looking to subsidise domestic anode players to onshore supply of battery materials amidst the US-China trade conflict.",{"type":591,"attrs":26241,"content":26242},{"textAlign":49},[26243],{"text":26244,"type":596},"The country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the ‘Supply Chain Stabilisation Support Program’ initiative on 15 January 2025. According to an official from the Ministry, this will probably take the form of subsidies based on production scale.",{"type":615,"attrs":26246,"content":26247},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26248],{"text":26249,"type":596},"Why would South Korea subsidise its domestic anode players?",{"type":591,"attrs":26251,"content":26252},{"textAlign":49},[26253],{"text":26254,"type":596},"“South Korea’s move to subsidise domestic anode manufacturers could be attributed to the increasingly polarised geopolitical landscape,” said Tony Alderson, Senior Analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":26256,"content":26257},{"textAlign":49},[26258,26260,26266],{"text":26259,"type":596},"“With ",{"text":26261,"type":596,"marks":26262},"China announcing export regulations",[26263],{"type":606,"attrs":26264},{"href":26265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-graphite-export-controls-to-the-us?_branch_match_id=1544411771261441572&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FFOCSjxq0hOCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQ8S84kgAAAA%3D",{"text":26267,"type":596}," and Trump emphasising localised supply chains for the anode and broader battery industry, South Korea’s government may see investment in its domestic supply chain as critical to reducing reliance on foreign nations that could impose tariffs or other trade barriers on battery materials,” added Alderson. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26269,"content":26270},{"textAlign":49},[26271],{"text":26272,"type":596},"Given South Korea’s significant role as an exporter in the battery materials space, such measures aim to safeguard its competitive edge amidst potential disruptions.",{"type":615,"attrs":26274,"content":26275},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26276],{"text":26277,"type":596},"Why did South Korean anode players struggle in 2024?",{"type":591,"attrs":26279,"content":26280},{"textAlign":49},[26281],{"text":26282,"type":596},"“In 2024, South Korean anode players faced challenges from weaker-than-anticipated downstream demand, rising industrial electricity costs, and declining material prices driven by competition with China,” said Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":26284,"content":26285},{"textAlign":49},[26286],{"text":26287,"type":596},"Private companies like POSCO have begun vertically integrating their operations to reduce reliance on Chinese imports, particularly uncoated spherical purified graphite (USPG), which is essential for natural graphite anode production. This trend of reducing dependency on China is expected to accelerate as other regional players follow suit.","The South Korean government is looking to subsidise domestic anode players to onshore supply of battery materials amidst the US-China trade conflict. The country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the ‘Supply Chain Stabilisation Support Program’ initiative on 15 January 2025. According to an official from the Ministry, this will probably take the form […]",[26290],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26291},{"job_title":557,"image":26292,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54b0339e-a062-482c-b0cc-8de4cf70e28f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26295,26296],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26298,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26299,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8aeccabeb4/bm-poscochemical39sanodematerialsejongplant.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 23, 2025",{"id":26302,"uuid":26303,"name":26304,"slug":26305,"full_slug":26306,"content":26307},112468142354698,"bbf0a340-0376-42df-8023-64162c447472","OPINION:  US midstream needs to accelerate in an America-first world","opinion-us-midstream-needs-to-accelerate-in-an-america-first-world","article/opinion-us-midstream-needs-to-accelerate-in-an-america-first-world",{"_uid":26308,"date":26226,"tags":26309,"editor":26316,"content":26320,"excerpt":26545,"featured":50,"reporter":26546,"_editable":26550,"component":697,"seo_title":26551,"categories":26552,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":26555,"featured_image":26557,"seo_description":26560,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26300},"cda705af-3d03-4c94-93e9-480327bd11e4",[26310,26311,26314,26315],{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},"opinion","Opinion",{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[26317],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26318},{"job_title":557,"image":26319,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26321},[26322,26334,26343,26356,26367,26374,26379,26384,26389,26394,26399,26404,26409,26414,26419,26424,26435,26442,26453,26458,26465,26470,26475,26488,26495,26500,26505,26510,26515,26528,26533,26538],{"type":591,"attrs":26323,"content":26324},{"textAlign":49},[26325,26327,26333],{"text":26326,"type":596},"President Donald Trump has pledged to boost production of critical minerals, as part of his “Unleashing American Energy” ",{"text":26328,"type":596,"marks":26329},"executive order",[26330],{"type":606,"attrs":26331},{"href":26332,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-president-trumps-executive-orders-mean-for-critical-minerals",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":26335,"content":26336},{"textAlign":49},[26337,26339],{"text":26338,"type":596},"Trump aims to make America the leading producer and supplier of minerals, including rare earth minerals, the order declares – restoring “America’s Mineral Dominance",{"text":26340,"type":596,"marks":26341},".”  ",[26342],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":26344,"content":26345},{"textAlign":49},[26346,26348,26354],{"text":26347,"type":596},"For those in the mining industry, Trump’s aims to ease permitting and “unleash” the industry sound promising. Yet while Trump wants to support the supply side, he also has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t want any ",{"text":26349,"type":596,"marks":26350},"government support",[26351],{"type":606,"attrs":26352},{"href":26353,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/trump-2-0-us-election-policy-implications-for-the-ev-supply-chain",{"text":26355,"type":596}," for clean energy or electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26357,"content":26358},{"textAlign":49},[26359,26361,26365],{"text":26360,"type":596},"That raises the question of where the US critical minerals will all go, absent subsidies to support the companies that buy them in the electric vehicle supply chain. In particular the midstream of the battery industry: the ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":26362},[26363],{"type":606,"attrs":26364},{"href":19068,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":26366,"type":596}," and anode material producers.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":26368,"content":26369},{"textAlign":49},[26370],{"type":836,"attrs":26371},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26372,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26373},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f9071c8ae5/bm-north-americas-cathode-material-supply-deficit4-13319992155c.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":26375,"content":26376},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26377],{"text":26378,"type":596},"Biden’s friendshoring",{"type":591,"attrs":26380,"content":26381},{"textAlign":49},[26382],{"text":26383,"type":596},"Under former President Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act helped support the rapid build out of battery gigafactories in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26385,"content":26386},{"textAlign":49},[26387],{"text":26388,"type":596},"It also encouraged a supply chain for these factories to be built in “friendly countries,” which had a free trade agreement with the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26390,"content":26391},{"textAlign":49},[26392],{"text":26393,"type":596},"This was crystallised in the IRA’s electric vehicle tax credits, which required battery minerals to be processed in the US or Free Trade Agreement countries – if automakers wanted to receive the full $7,500 credit for consumers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26395,"content":26396},{"textAlign":49},[26397],{"text":26398,"type":596},"As a result, cathode material plants were built or expanded in Canada and South Korea, in order to supply the US market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26400,"content":26401},{"textAlign":49},[26402],{"text":26403,"type":596},"But that supply chain structure, which was built around the notion of “friendshoring,” looks less certain under Trump. He said he will put 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and also review other trade agreements. What happens to “friendshoring” in this environment?",{"type":615,"attrs":26405,"content":26406},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26407],{"text":26408,"type":596},"South Korea’s pivotal role in the supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":26410,"content":26411},{"textAlign":49},[26412],{"text":26413,"type":596},"Any country that runs a trade surplus with the US must be nervously watching the current situation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26415,"content":26416},{"textAlign":49},[26417],{"text":26418,"type":596},"South Korea is one of those countries. Its trade surplus with the US has only grown in recent years, and was a record $44.4 billion in 2023, according to Reuters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26420,"content":26421},{"textAlign":49},[26422],{"text":26423,"type":596},"The country is the world’s second largest producer of cathode active materials for electric vehicle batteries, and a leading buyer of critical minerals for Western supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":26425,"content":26426},{"textAlign":49},[26427,26429,26433],{"text":26428,"type":596},"South Korea accounted for 463 ktpa of CAM capacity in 2024, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":26430},[26431],{"type":606,"attrs":26432},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":26434,"type":596},". It currently plans to add 294 ktpa of CAM supply by 2040 if all announced projects succeed, with more expected to be announced in the interim.",{"type":591,"attrs":26436,"content":26437},{"textAlign":49},[26438],{"type":836,"attrs":26439},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26440,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26441},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e88c96a1fc/bm-fta-cathode-capacity-13317933939a.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":26443,"content":26444},{"textAlign":49},[26445,26447,26452],{"text":26446,"type":596},"In a sign of Korea’s concerns, this month the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance said it had set aside $250 billion to help its exporters. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also launched a funding package for the battery industry, ",{"text":26448,"type":596,"marks":26449},"including anode producers",[26450],{"type":606,"attrs":26451},{"href":14567,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":26454,"content":26455},{"textAlign":49},[26456],{"text":26457,"type":596},"“We will focus on developing strategies for the automotive and battery industries aiming to address external changes, such as possible tariff increase of the new US administration and uncertainties related to the Inflation Reduction Act,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said.",{"type":591,"attrs":26459,"content":26460},{"textAlign":49},[26461],{"type":836,"attrs":26462},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26463,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26464},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e4a747bdbb/bm-pcam-capacity-globally-1331794a93e5.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":26466,"content":26467},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26468],{"text":26469,"type":596},"The end of friendshoring?",{"type":591,"attrs":26471,"content":26472},{"textAlign":49},[26473],{"text":26474,"type":596},"While Trump’s policies are still uncertain, his intent is not. Sending US critical minerals offshore is unlikely to please his administration. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26476,"content":26477},{"textAlign":49},[26478,26480,26486],{"text":26479,"type":596},"The same is true for recycled minerals. As J.B Straubel, founder of Redwood Materials, ",{"text":26481,"type":596,"marks":26482},"told",[26483],{"type":606,"attrs":26484},{"href":26485,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/fireside-chat-with-redwood-materials-ceo-jb-straubel-and-benchmark",{"text":26487,"type":596}," the Benchmark Week conference last year, without a midstream the US “could risk being a consumer and importer and then exporting our scrap, our waste, our value again, for someone else to benefit from – that would be a shame I think.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":26489,"content":26490},{"textAlign":49},[26491],{"type":836,"attrs":26492},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26493,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26494},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e983c06ef4/bm-black-mass-trade.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":26496,"content":26497},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26498],{"text":26499,"type":596},"Build in the US ",{"type":591,"attrs":26501,"content":26502},{"textAlign":49},[26503],{"text":26504,"type":596},"Assuming US consumers continue to buy electric vehicles without the EV subsidies going forward, the answer to meeting Trump’s America-first agenda may be to reverse this trend. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26506,"content":26507},{"textAlign":49},[26508],{"text":26509,"type":596},"Innovations will be needed to produce CAM and pCAM in the US rather than in FTA countries going forward. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26511,"content":26512},{"textAlign":49},[26513],{"text":26514,"type":596},"This is the approach of multiple companies such as Ascend Elements, who have built the first US plant to produce pCAM in Kentucky.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":26516,"content":26517},{"textAlign":49},[26518,26520,26526],{"text":26519,"type":596},"In an ",{"text":26521,"type":596,"marks":26522},"interview",[26523],{"type":606,"attrs":26524},{"href":26525,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/producing-battery-materials-in-the-us-interview-with-ascend-elements-co-founder-eric-gatz",{"text":26527,"type":596}," with Benchmark Source, the company’s founder Eric Gratz said that the company could compete with the “landed cost” of material from China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26529,"content":26530},{"textAlign":49},[26531],{"text":26532,"type":596},"There will likely need to be many more projects like this to help build out the US supply chain in the years ahead. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26534,"content":26535},{"textAlign":49},[26536],{"text":26537,"type":596},"Biden’s policies led to a battery boom in the US, while Trump’s could lead to a mining boom. The missing bit is the midstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":26539,"content":26540},{"textAlign":49},[26541],{"type":836,"attrs":26542},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26543,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26544},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/56a38ff61f/bm-us-manufacturing-investment-133179285a56.png",{},"President Donald Trump has pledged to boost production of critical minerals, as part of his “Unleashing American Energy” executive order. Trump aims to make America the leading producer and supplier of minerals, including rare earth minerals, the order declares – restoring “America’s Mineral Dominance.” For those in the mining industry, Trump’s aims to ease permitting […]",[26547],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26548},{"job_title":557,"image":26549,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cda705af-3d03-4c94-93e9-480327bd11e4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","OPINION:  US midstream needs to accelerate in",[26553,26554],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26556},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26558,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26559,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d68af2799/bm-jars-li-carbonate-ni-sulfate-co-sulfate-cathode-2048x1365-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"President Donald Trump has pledged to boost production of critical minerals, as part of his “Unleashing American Energy” executive order. Trump aims to make America the leading producer and supplier of minerals...",{"id":26562,"uuid":26563,"name":26564,"slug":26565,"full_slug":26566,"content":26567},112468156928270,"ea9e84cd-d714-4e84-8ecb-b340e7c48ae4","What do President Trump’s executive orders mean for critical minerals?","what-do-president-trumps-executive-orders-mean-for-critical-minerals","article/what-do-president-trumps-executive-orders-mean-for-critical-minerals",{"_uid":26568,"date":26569,"tags":26570,"editor":26573,"content":26577,"excerpt":26652,"featured":51,"reporter":26653,"_editable":26657,"component":697,"seo_title":26564,"categories":26658,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26661,"seo_description":26652,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26664},"1bb08c97-a7cd-45be-bb16-cb81eafc0d9e","2025-01-22 00:00",[26571,26572],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[26574],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26575},{"job_title":557,"image":26576,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26578},[26579,26584,26589,26594,26599,26604,26609,26614,26619,26624,26629,26634,26647],{"type":591,"attrs":26580,"content":26581},{"textAlign":49},[26582],{"text":26583,"type":596},"President Trump entered the White House on Monday with a sweeping set of executive orders designed to re-shape the US energy landscape, with considerable implications for critical minerals, electric vehicles and other clean-energy technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":26585,"content":26586},{"textAlign":49},[26587],{"text":26588,"type":596},"In a historic move, the Trump Administration declared a “national energy emergency” to unlock Presidential powers to rescind Biden-era restrictions and expedite natural resource extraction in the US, particularly for fossil fuels and mining.",{"type":615,"attrs":26590,"content":26591},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26592],{"text":26593,"type":596},"“Restoring America’s Mineral Dominance”",{"type":591,"attrs":26595,"content":26596},{"textAlign":49},[26597],{"text":26598,"type":596},"President Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” outlined a vision to establish the US as a global leader in critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26600,"content":26601},{"textAlign":49},[26602],{"text":26603,"type":596},"A directive entitled “Restoring America’s Mineral Dominance” mandates federal agencies to begin speeding-up the permitting process for critical mineral mining and processing projects by suspending environmental rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":26605,"content":26606},{"textAlign":49},[26607],{"text":26608,"type":596},"The Trump Administration has promised to strengthen US critical mineral supply chains and counter the influence of “malign and adversarial states”. This includes tariff investigations on “exploitative practices” and state-sponsored mineral projects abroad, an obvious nod towards China.",{"type":591,"attrs":26610,"content":26611},{"textAlign":49},[26612],{"text":26613,"type":596},"“Given US President Trump’s aim to establish the US as a global leader in critical minerals, especially for mining and refining, Trump’s policies could potentially result in the start of a real mining boom, while Biden’s policies resulted more in the start of battery industrial renaissance in the US,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":26615,"content":26616},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26617],{"text":26618,"type":596},"Rolling back the IRA",{"type":591,"attrs":26620,"content":26621},{"textAlign":49},[26622],{"text":26623,"type":596},"As expected, President Trump ordered an immediate pause on IRA-related funding, launching a review of the policies and programs used to issue grants and loans under the Biden Administration.",{"type":591,"attrs":26625,"content":26626},{"textAlign":49},[26627],{"text":26628,"type":596},"President Trump’s executive orders also indicated plans to dismantle Biden’s so-called “EV mandate.” Environmental regulations, such as tailpipe emission rules, and EV subsidies, including the IRA’s EV tax credits, are likely to be repealed.",{"type":615,"attrs":26630,"content":26631},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26632],{"text":26633,"type":596},"Tariffs delayed",{"type":591,"attrs":26635,"content":26636},{"textAlign":49},[26637,26639,26645],{"text":26638,"type":596},"President Trump ",{"text":26640,"type":596,"marks":26641},"stalled on his promise to introduce tariffs from “day one,”",[26642],{"type":606,"attrs":26643},{"href":26644,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-tariffs-threats-could-impact-critical-mineral-supply-chains",{"text":26646,"type":596}," but initiated a broad re-examination of US trading relationships, particularly in relation to China, Mexico, and Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":26648,"content":26649},{"textAlign":49},[26650],{"text":26651,"type":596},"The federal government will also direct a comprehensive review of the US industrial and manufacturing base, to determine whether additional national security-related tariffs are warranted.","President Trump entered the White House on Monday with a sweeping set of executive orders designed to re-shape the US energy landscape, with considerable implications for critical minerals, electric vehicles and other clean-energy technologies. In a historic move, the Trump Administration declared a “national energy emergency” to unlock Presidential powers to rescind Biden-era restrictions and […]",[26654],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26655},{"job_title":557,"image":26656,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1bb08c97-a7cd-45be-bb16-cb81eafc0d9e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26659,26660],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26662,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26663,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/de4c4f63d3/bm-trump.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 22, 2025",{"id":26666,"uuid":26667,"name":26668,"slug":26669,"full_slug":26670,"content":26671},112468176109845,"ea12d26f-c63b-4c81-a07a-a1f5442a50b9","Epsilon receives $115 million in tax credits as US seeks anode material security","epsilon-receives-115-million-in-tax-credits-as-us-seeks-anode-material-security","article/epsilon-receives-115-million-in-tax-credits-as-us-seeks-anode-material-security",{"_uid":26672,"date":26673,"tags":26674,"editor":26677,"content":26681,"excerpt":26771,"featured":51,"reporter":26772,"_editable":26776,"component":697,"seo_title":26668,"categories":26777,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26780,"seo_description":26771,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26783},"0d974be7-7034-4c9d-97ce-66bbe252cbe9","2025-01-21 00:00",[26675,26676],{"slug":4338,"name":4339},{"slug":572,"name":573},[26678],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26679},{"job_title":557,"image":26680,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26682},[26683,26688,26693,26706,26711,26716,26721,26726,26731,26736,26741,26746,26751,26756,26761,26766],{"type":591,"attrs":26684,"content":26685},{"textAlign":49},[26686],{"text":26687,"type":596},"Epsilon has received $115 million in tax credits as the company looks to develop midstream capacity in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26689,"content":26690},{"textAlign":49},[26691],{"text":26692,"type":596},"The support will go towards establishing the Indian-owned anode and cathode player’s planned $650 million synthetic graphite manufacturing facility in North Carolina.",{"type":591,"attrs":26694,"content":26695},{"textAlign":49},[26696,26698,26704],{"text":26697,"type":596},"Escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and China could threaten the ability for US cell makers to access anode feedstock, with China’s ",{"text":26699,"type":596,"marks":26700},"heightened export restrictions for graphite material",[26701],{"type":606,"attrs":26702},{"href":26703,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-graphite-export-controls-to-the-us?_branch_match_id=1544411724367074431&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FFOCSjxq0hOCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQ8S84kgAAAA%3D",{"text":26705,"type":596}," highlighting this risk.",{"type":615,"attrs":26707,"content":26708},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26709],{"text":26710,"type":596},"Why is Epsilon building a project in the US?",{"type":591,"attrs":26712,"content":26713},{"textAlign":49},[26714],{"text":26715,"type":596},"“The US has emerged as a destination for plants supporting energy transition primarily due to Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. Production tax credits have bolstered the competitiveness of the US compared to the rest of the world leading to project announcements especially in the energy transition areas,” said Shruti Kashyap, Product Director at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":26717,"content":26718},{"textAlign":49},[26719],{"text":26720,"type":596},"Kashyap also noted the synthetic graphite anode supply chain benefits from typically taking less time to come online compared to natural graphite anode counterparts, where mines require social license to operate and are subject to a long permitting process.",{"type":591,"attrs":26722,"content":26723},{"textAlign":49},[26724],{"text":26725,"type":596},"Epsilon is positioning itself as a source of ex-China synthetic graphite as demand for the material rises.",{"type":615,"attrs":26727,"content":26728},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26729],{"text":26730,"type":596},"What has the Biden administration done to support the battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":26732,"content":26733},{"textAlign":49},[26734],{"text":26735,"type":596},"There has been a flurry of loans and tax credits issued by the US government during the final months of the Biden administration.",{"type":591,"attrs":26737,"content":26738},{"textAlign":49},[26739],{"text":26740,"type":596},"“Biden’s government likely prioritised closing as many successful grants as possible before the transition to a Trump administration, given the uncertainty around how these programs might be impacted under his leadership,” said Tony Alderson, Senior Analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":26742,"content":26743},{"textAlign":49},[26744],{"text":26745,"type":596},"Chinese companies hold large market shares across the lithium ion battery supply chain and this is acutely prominent in the anode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":26747,"content":26748},{"textAlign":49},[26749],{"text":26750,"type":596},"The US wants to ensure the security of battery material supply so domestic producers can meet demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":26752,"content":26753},{"textAlign":49},[26754],{"text":26755,"type":596},"Other US-based anode material projects have also received tax credit support. On 14 January 2025, Syrah Resources was awarded a $165 million tax credit to support the potential expansion of its natural graphite anode active material facility in Vidalia, Louisiana. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26757,"content":26758},{"textAlign":49},[26759],{"text":26760,"type":596},"Similarly, in April 2024, Novonix was selected to receive $103 million in tax credits to support development of its synthetic graphite facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.",{"type":591,"attrs":26762,"content":26763},{"textAlign":49},[26764],{"text":26765,"type":596},"Whilst demand for synthetic graphite is growing in North America, the notable weight on synthetic graphite currently seen amongst Chinese domestic anode producers has not yet been mirrored in the North American market.",{"type":591,"attrs":26767,"content":26768},{"textAlign":49},[26769],{"text":26770,"type":596},"“This could align with regional priorities, where the North American market is more focused on great energy capacity,” said Alderson.","Epsilon has received $115 million in tax credits as the company looks to develop midstream capacity in the US. The support will go towards establishing the Indian-owned anode and cathode player’s planned $650 million synthetic graphite manufacturing facility in North Carolina. Escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and China could threaten the ability for US […]",[26773],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26774},{"job_title":557,"image":26775,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0d974be7-7034-4c9d-97ce-66bbe252cbe9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26778,26779],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26781,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26782,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/579293a6a6/bm-epsilon-anode-us-1307799096cd.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 21, 2025",{"id":26785,"uuid":26786,"name":26787,"slug":26788,"full_slug":26789,"content":26790},112468171297044,"bb9e81c3-0c59-4b99-a290-d4edde8df7e2","Nickel market faces uncertainty amid Indonesia’s mining quota adjustments","nickel-market-faces-uncertainty-amid-indonesias-mining-quota-adjustments","article/nickel-market-faces-uncertainty-amid-indonesias-mining-quota-adjustments",{"_uid":26791,"date":26673,"tags":26792,"editor":26795,"content":26799,"excerpt":26892,"featured":51,"reporter":26893,"_editable":26897,"component":697,"seo_title":26787,"categories":26898,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":26902,"seo_description":26892,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":26783},"3f22dd08-bc0d-4e35-81bf-a246cf6ec85c",[26793,26794],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[26796],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26797},{"job_title":557,"image":26798,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26800},[26801,26806,26818,26823,26828,26835,26840,26845,26850,26855,26862,26867,26872,26877,26882,26887],{"type":591,"attrs":26802,"content":26803},{"textAlign":49},[26804],{"text":26805,"type":596},"The short-term outlook for the nickel market hinges on Indonesia’s shifting nickel ore mining quotas in 2025. Any downgrade could have significant repercussions on market balance and price trajectories this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":26807,"content":26808},{"textAlign":49},[26809,26811,26817],{"text":26810,"type":596},"In mid 2024, the Indonesian government approved annual ore quotas worth 240 million tonnes, valid until 2026. However, by the end of 2024 the final quota was understood to have been cut, closer to 200 million tonnes, leaving domestic smelters ",{"text":26812,"type":596,"marks":26813},"reliant on imports from neighbouring Philippines to fill this supply gap",[26814],{"type":606,"attrs":26815},{"href":26816,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-will-indonesias-mining-quotas-affect-the-nickel-market",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":26819,"content":26820},{"textAlign":49},[26821],{"text":26822,"type":596},"Benchmark understands this year’s RKAB quota has been set at 200 million tonnes, unchanged from 2024 and well below the 240 million tonnes initially approved. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26824,"content":26825},{"textAlign":49},[26826],{"text":26827,"type":596},"“We estimate the current quota will fall short of domestic ore demand by around 78 million tonnes, equivalent to nearly 750,000 tonnes of refined nickel,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":26829,"content":26830},{"textAlign":49},[26831],{"type":836,"attrs":26832},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26833,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26834},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b35e25c9df/bm-indonesia-rkab2x-1331620ef15e.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":26836,"content":26837},{"textAlign":49},[26838],{"text":26839,"type":596},"While earlier media reports hinted at potential quota cuts to as low as 150 million tonnes, such drastic reductions are unlikely given the scale of losses to tax revenue losses and the acute ore shortages already faced by smelters.",{"type":615,"attrs":26841,"content":26842},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26843],{"text":26844,"type":596},"Bridging the supply gap?",{"type":591,"attrs":26846,"content":26847},{"textAlign":49},[26848],{"text":26849,"type":596},"Several levers exist which could offset some of the losses from a lower-than-expected nickel ore quota, including higher ore imports, the tapping of higher nickel grades, and utilising existing stockpiles.",{"type":591,"attrs":26851,"content":26852},{"textAlign":49},[26853],{"text":26854,"type":596},"Last year Indonesia imported record levels of nickel ore from the Philippines to sustain domestic refined output, registering a 24-fold increase between January and October compared to the entirety of 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":26856,"content":26857},{"textAlign":49},[26858],{"type":836,"attrs":26859},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":26860,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":26861},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/18e145f249/bm-indonesia-filipino-ore-imports2x.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":26863,"content":26864},{"textAlign":49},[26865],{"text":26866,"type":596},"“Given the scale of the current estimated shortfall, it appears likely that there will be a cut to refined nickel production unless the quota is expanded from current levels,” Uzcategui said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26868,"content":26869},{"textAlign":49},[26870],{"text":26871,"type":596},"“That said, mining quotas were revised throughout 2024, so adjustments for 2025 remain possible,” he added.",{"type":615,"attrs":26873,"content":26874},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26875],{"text":26876,"type":596},"Indonesia seeks equilibrium",{"type":591,"attrs":26878,"content":26879},{"textAlign":49},[26880],{"text":26881,"type":596},"Indonesia has built up a near-monopoly over global refined nickel supply since the nickel ore export ban in 2020, giving it significant leverage over the direction of prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":26883,"content":26884},{"textAlign":49},[26885],{"text":26886,"type":596},"Indonesian officials have indicated that a price range of $16,000 to $18,000 per tonne is optimal to sustain profitability of the nickel sector while preserving its economic case in lithium-ion battery production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26888,"content":26889},{"textAlign":49},[26890],{"text":26891,"type":596},"The government’s commitment to stricter resource management suggests a deliberate effort to balance market stability with long-term economic benefits; an approach that looks set to continue into the future, to curb excess production while maximising the sector’s future economic potential.","The short-term outlook for the nickel market hinges on Indonesia’s shifting nickel ore mining quotas in 2025. Any downgrade could have significant repercussions on market balance and price trajectories this year. In mid 2024, the Indonesian government approved annual ore quotas worth 240 million tonnes, valid until 2026. However, by the end of 2024 the […]",[26894],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26895},{"job_title":557,"image":26896,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3f22dd08-bc0d-4e35-81bf-a246cf6ec85c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[26899,26900,26901],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":13752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":13752,"source":547,"filename":13753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":26903,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":13752,"title":13752,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":26905,"uuid":26906,"name":26907,"slug":26908,"full_slug":26909,"content":26910},114841608055522,"562c21f7-4499-4ad3-8470-40baa368ac9d","Australia leads upstream rare earth financing efforts","australia-leads-upstream-rare-earth-financing-efforts","article/australia-leads-upstream-rare-earth-financing-efforts",{"_uid":26911,"date":26912,"tags":26913,"editor":26915,"content":26919,"excerpt":27028,"featured":51,"reporter":27029,"_editable":27033,"component":697,"seo_title":26907,"categories":27034,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27038,"seo_description":27028,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27041},"d1090ae3-6529-408e-9730-2bedd26f1805","2025-01-17 00:00",[26914],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[26916],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":26917},{"job_title":557,"image":26918,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":26920},[26921,26926,26931,26936,26943,26948,26953,26958,26963,26971,26976,26989,26994,26999,27010,27015],{"type":591,"attrs":26922,"content":26923},{"textAlign":49},[26924],{"text":26925,"type":596},"The Australian government is leading upstream financing commitments towards the development of an ex-China rare earths supply chain, critical for the national and economic security of Western nations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":26927,"content":26928},{"textAlign":49},[26929],{"text":26930,"type":596},"This week Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRFC) agreed to invest a further A$450 million ($283 million) in Arafura Rare Earths, to support the development of its mine and processing facility in Northern Territory.",{"type":591,"attrs":26932,"content":26933},{"textAlign":49},[26934],{"text":26935,"type":596},"“We are witnessing a surge in capital investment announcements in the rare earth sector, totalling US$3.1 billion globally in 2024. 84% of these investments were government-led, spanning mining to recycling,” said Neha Mukherjee, senior rare earths analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":656,"attrs":26937},{"id":26938,"body":26939},"a4f9f01c-154f-42ce-bdfa-51ef58f0c9c7",[26940],{"id":7937,"_uid":26941,"type":663,"_editable":26942,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"i-eacf9bb9-20c9-4441-a69c-92ec6046744e","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-eacf9bb9-20c9-4441-a69c-92ec6046744e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":26944,"content":26945},{"textAlign":49},[26946],{"text":26947,"type":596},"“Australia has dominated financing for upstream projects, while Europe leads in recycling initiatives and the US has committed towards magnet manufacturing. This underscores ex-China efforts to diversify and mitigate supply vulnerabilities,” Mukherjee added.",{"type":615,"attrs":26949,"content":26950},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26951],{"text":26952,"type":596},"Australia key to West’s de-risking strategy ",{"type":591,"attrs":26954,"content":26955},{"textAlign":49},[26956],{"text":26957,"type":596},"Australia is leading efforts to counter China’s dominance over the rare earth supply chain, which captured over 90% of global rare earth processing capacity in 2024, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":26959,"content":26960},{"textAlign":49},[26961],{"text":26962,"type":596},"In November, Lynas Rare Earths opened the Kalgoorlie Rare Earths Processing Facility in Western Australia, marking a significant milestone as the country’s first rare earth processing facility and the largest facility outside China. The project was the recipient of a A$20 million ($14 million) Australian government grant back in 2023.",{"type":656,"attrs":26964},{"id":26965,"body":26966},"a0f702e9-c6da-442d-bd10-24f86727b845",[26967],{"id":26968,"_uid":26969,"type":663,"_editable":26970,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21181063","i-fa40be7d-6681-4f50-9524-2ad153981c25","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-fa40be7d-6681-4f50-9524-2ad153981c25\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":26972,"content":26973},{"textAlign":49},[26974],{"text":26975,"type":596},"The US too has committed financing to projects in Australia: the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) signed a $600 million non-binding Letter of Interest with Australian Strategic Materials in 2024, to help progress the Dubbo project in New South Wales.",{"type":591,"attrs":26977,"content":26978},{"textAlign":49},[26979,26981,26987],{"text":26980,"type":596},"Meanwhile, ",{"text":26982,"type":596,"marks":26983},"Australia has also signed a Critical Raw Materials (CRM) partnership with the European Union",[26984],{"type":606,"attrs":26985},{"href":26986,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-signs-supply-partnership-with-critical-minerals-giant-australia?_branch_match_id=1544394068315244265&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTzW2TI0wrEpPCUyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAkpcrBEgAAAA%3D",{"text":26988,"type":596},", facilitating the shipment of upstream mined material to support Europe’s incoming capacity for rare earth processing.",{"type":615,"attrs":26990,"content":26991},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[26992],{"text":26993,"type":596},"Rare earth price premium?",{"type":591,"attrs":26995,"content":26996},{"textAlign":49},[26997],{"text":26998,"type":596},"But questions remain over the short-to-medium term viability of developing an ex-China rare earth supply chain without more robust mechanisms to support the higher prices required to make Australian projects economical.",{"type":591,"attrs":27000,"content":27001},{"textAlign":49},[27002,27008],{"text":27003,"type":596,"marks":27004},"Last year, rare earth prices fell to historical lows",[27005],{"type":606,"attrs":27006},{"href":27007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/low-prices-persist-despite-chinas-incentive-led-demand-boost-rare-earth-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544394083254987036&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT0v1sYzMdU9PCUyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA0GRfj0gAAAA%3D",{"text":27009,"type":596}," as China opted to increase its annual rare earth production quotas despite the market’s oversupply, suppressing prices. The downturn had a sharp impact on ex-China producer margins, while stifling investment into new greenfield projects globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":27011,"content":27012},{"textAlign":49},[27013],{"text":27014,"type":596},"Arafura executives have suggested that offtake partners are prepared to pay a premium above the current price to avoid sourcing from China. The company has signed offtake agreements with automaker Hyundai and wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa.",{"type":591,"attrs":27016,"content":27017},{"textAlign":49},[27018,27020,27026],{"text":27019,"type":596},"However, it is unclear whether such a premium will materialise without policy intervention; Australia’s nickel industry was ravaged by the Indonesia-driven low price environment in 2024, as calls for the establishment of a ",{"text":27021,"type":596,"marks":27022},"‘green premium’ to support mines with higher ESG standards",[27023],{"type":606,"attrs":27024},{"href":27025,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/struggling-nickel-miners-press-for-alternative-pricing-mechanisms?_branch_match_id=1544394055218186868&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTzXzSA0P9U5PCUyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAFKFzZ0gAAAA%3D",{"text":27027,"type":596}," fell on deaf ears.","The Australian government is leading upstream financing commitments towards the development of an ex-China rare earths supply chain, critical for the national and economic security of Western nations. This week Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRFC) agreed to invest a further A$450 million ($283 million) in Arafura Rare Earths, to support the development of its mine and […]",[27030],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27031},{"job_title":557,"image":27032,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d1090ae3-6529-408e-9730-2bedd26f1805\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27035,27036,27037],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27039,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27040,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e98b17d9b/bm-australia-flags.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 17, 2025",{"id":27043,"uuid":27044,"name":27045,"slug":27046,"full_slug":27047,"content":27048},114841641396968,"46d38018-104d-4ce6-9b45-ce84b7bb1942","Morocco and US set to lead ex-China battery phosphate supply chain","morocco-and-us-set-to-lead-ex-china-battery-phosphate-supply-chain","article/morocco-and-us-set-to-lead-ex-china-battery-phosphate-supply-chain",{"_uid":27049,"date":27050,"tags":27051,"editor":27056,"content":27060,"excerpt":27127,"featured":51,"reporter":27128,"_editable":27132,"component":697,"seo_title":27045,"categories":27133,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27136,"seo_description":27127,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27140},"f9d06585-26ef-4883-9ea4-2b6be4c89d42","2025-01-16 00:00",[27052,27055],{"slug":27053,"name":27054},"morocco","Morocco",{"slug":572,"name":573},[27057],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27058},{"job_title":557,"image":27059,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27061},[27062,27074,27079,27084,27097,27102,27107,27112,27117,27122],{"type":591,"attrs":27063,"content":27064},{"textAlign":49},[27065,27067,27073],{"text":27066,"type":596},"Morocco and the US are set to be the largest sources of ex-China purified phosphoric acid (PPA) supply by 2030, according to",{"text":27068,"type":596,"marks":27069}," Benchmark’s Phosphoric Acid Market Outlook",[27070],{"type":606,"attrs":27071},{"href":27072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/phosphate/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":27075,"content":27076},{"textAlign":49},[27077],{"text":27078,"type":596},"Together the US and Morocco will account for 36% of ex-China supply by the end of the decade; other important suppliers include Belgium, Canada and Israel.",{"type":591,"attrs":27080,"content":27081},{"textAlign":49},[27082],{"text":27083,"type":596},"“With 1 operating and 3 more lithium iron phosphate (LFP) facilities planned, the US is going to need more PPA to both satisfy domestic LFP production and have enough supply for traditional food and beverage industry customers,” said Rania Benjelloun Benkacem, Benchmark analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":27085,"content":27086},{"textAlign":49},[27087,27089,27095],{"text":27088,"type":596},"PPA production is concentrated in China, due to the predominance of LFP batteries, but",{"text":27090,"type":596,"marks":27091}," demand is also rising in the West",[27092],{"type":606,"attrs":27093},{"href":27094,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/canada-adds-phosphate-to-critical-minerals-list-as-lfp-demand-grows-outside-china",{"text":27096,"type":596},", raising concerns about the lack of investment into ex-China PPA capacity expansions there.",{"type":591,"attrs":27098,"content":27099},{"textAlign":49},[27100],{"text":27101,"type":596},"Ex-China PPA is set to remain steady overall as a share of global supply at 27% from 2024 to 2030. In many of these countries, producers are already working at full capacity and are forecasted to produce the same annual output until 2030. ",{"type":615,"attrs":27103,"content":27104},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27105],{"text":27106,"type":596},"Moroccan PPA to grow on the back of world-leading phosphate reserves",{"type":591,"attrs":27108,"content":27109},{"textAlign":49},[27110],{"text":27111,"type":596},"Morocco is the biggest growth hotspot for ex-China PPA supply, with its share of ex-China production to increase from 11% to 18% in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":27113,"content":27114},{"textAlign":49},[27115],{"text":27116,"type":596},"The country is a natural area for PPA capacity expansion, holding by far the world’s largest known reserves of phosphate which is needed to make the chemical.",{"type":591,"attrs":27118,"content":27119},{"textAlign":49},[27120],{"text":27121,"type":596},"The country’s biggest PPA producer is Emaphos, a joint venture between OCP Group, Buddenheim, and Prayon, which owns two operating plants known as Emaphos 1 and 2 in Jorf Lasfar, Morocco. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27123,"content":27124},{"textAlign":49},[27125],{"text":27126,"type":596},"“The Jorf Lasfar complex stands out with a total planned capacity of 680,000 tonnes by 2030 – the largest ex-China capacity at a single location – and will serve as the primary source of PPA for nearby LFP facilities to be operated by Chinese companies BTR and Tinci Materials,” said Benjelloun Benkacem.","Morocco and the US are set to be the largest sources of ex-China purified phosphoric acid (PPA) supply by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Phosphoric Acid Market Outlook. Together the US and Morocco will account for 36% of ex-China supply by the end of the decade; other important suppliers include Belgium, Canada and Israel. “With 1 […]",[27129],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27130},{"job_title":557,"image":27131,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f9d06585-26ef-4883-9ea4-2b6be4c89d42\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27134,27135],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":27137,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":27137,"source":547,"filename":27138,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27139,"is_external_url":51},"Phosphate mine.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f4c9c7f70/bm-phosphate-mine.jpg",{"alt":27137,"title":27137,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 16, 2025",{"id":27142,"uuid":27143,"name":27144,"slug":27145,"full_slug":27146,"content":27147},114841624783589,"232d0495-1ca2-44ac-ae8d-644b01894f01","Vianode to supply GM with synthetic graphite anode in North America","vianode-to-supply-gm-with-synthetic-graphite-anode-in-north-america","article/vianode-to-supply-gm-with-synthetic-graphite-anode-in-north-america",{"_uid":27148,"date":27050,"tags":27149,"editor":27158,"content":27162,"excerpt":27304,"featured":51,"reporter":27305,"_editable":27309,"component":697,"seo_title":27144,"categories":27310,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27313,"seo_description":27304,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27140},"7c54ed16-5f84-4618-bafb-56b967809c1e",[27150,27153,27154,27155],{"slug":27151,"name":27152},"general-motors","General Motors",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":27156,"name":27157},"vianode","Vianode",[27159],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27160},{"job_title":557,"image":27161,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27163},[27164,27176,27187,27215,27220,27233,27238,27243,27248,27253,27261,27266,27271,27283,27294,27299],{"type":591,"attrs":27165,"content":27166},{"textAlign":49},[27167,27169,27175],{"text":27168,"type":596},"Vianode has signed a multi-billion dollar agreement to supply GM with Inflation Reduction Act-compliant synthetic graphite anode material from its ",{"text":27170,"type":596,"marks":27171},"planned production facility in North America",[27172],{"type":606,"attrs":27173},{"href":27174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vianodes-norway-plant-trials-anode-innovation-but-north-america-beckons-for-scale?_branch_match_id=1544394019125009079&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz%2FVIN7I0CnRKDkyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAvnOLHUgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":27177,"content":27178},{"textAlign":49},[27179,27185],{"text":27180,"type":596,"marks":27181},"Vianode’s plant",[27182],{"type":606,"attrs":27183},{"href":27184,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-has-really-shifted-the-whole-battery-industry-towards-north-america-qa-with-vianode-ceo-hans-erik-vatne?_branch_match_id=1544393922454061001&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT7fIMTM1DHJKDkyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA9ftubkgAAAA%3D",{"text":27186,"type":596}," will likely be built in Ontario, Canada, though an official location has yet to be announced.  The company says production will begin in 2027. The supply agreement runs from then until 2033 and includes a minimum offtake commitment.",{"type":591,"attrs":27188,"content":27189},{"textAlign":49},[27190,27192,27198,27200,27206,27208,27213],{"text":27191,"type":596},"This is the latest move from a downstream player in the US looking to secure anode material from companies ",{"text":27193,"type":596,"marks":27194},"outside of China",[27195],{"type":606,"attrs":27196},{"href":27197,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-why-decoupling-from-chinas-anode-market-could-be-difficult-for-the-west?_branch_match_id=1544393886201681449&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN3DPrCosLUwq90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQYFuCUgAAAA%3D",{"text":27199,"type":596}," ahead of ",{"text":27201,"type":596,"marks":27202},"President-elect Donald Trump",[27203],{"type":606,"attrs":27204},{"href":27205,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question?_branch_match_id=1544393951678419005&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwgPCs9ILDUv9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3AqFEgAAAA%3D",{"text":27207,"type":596}," potentially raising ",{"text":1642,"type":596,"marks":27209},[27210],{"type":606,"attrs":27211},{"href":27212,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-synthetic-graphite-faces-25-tariff-in-us-as-exemption-ends?_branch_match_id=1544393975379603727&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD082Cg3JLEkq90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAKKETFUgAAAA%3D",{"text":27214,"type":596}," on Chinese material.",{"type":591,"attrs":27216,"content":27217},{"textAlign":49},[27218],{"text":27219,"type":596},"“IRA-compliant materials will become increasingly critical when Trump assumes office,” said Tony Alderson, an anode analyst at Benchmark. “The key factors will be how he manages geopolitical tensions with China and their potential retaliation, as the US currently lacks a commercial anode market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":27221,"content":27222},{"textAlign":49},[27223,27225,27231],{"text":27224,"type":596},"GM previously signed a six-year, 18,000 tonnes per annum offtake agreement with ",{"text":27226,"type":596,"marks":27227},"Canada’s Nouveau Monde Graphite",[27228],{"type":606,"attrs":27229},{"href":27230,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/north-americas-anode-push-accelerates-with-nouveau-monde-gm-deal?_branch_match_id=1544393901083978157&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD8h2NUovdXZODkyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAZ5aO%2F0gAAAA%3D",{"text":27232,"type":596}," for natural graphite anode material.",{"type":615,"attrs":27234,"content":27235},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27236],{"text":27237,"type":596},"How dominant is China in the anode market?",{"type":615,"attrs":27239,"content":27240},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27241],{"text":27242,"type":596},"What is the state of the North American anode market?",{"type":591,"attrs":27244,"content":27245},{"textAlign":49},[27246],{"text":27247,"type":596},"Although there are several operating anode production facilities in North America, most of these are very small scale or pilot operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":27249,"content":27250},{"textAlign":49},[27251],{"text":27252,"type":596},"“Further investment in domestic projects and IRA-compliant materials is critical to address this shortfall,” Alderson said.",{"type":656,"attrs":27254},{"id":27255,"body":27256},"b7103f82-bf74-4e0d-ab93-b912b3664c41",[27257],{"id":27258,"_uid":27259,"type":663,"_editable":27260,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21177485","i-2b742e0d-ba36-468d-ae31-0c87c5cc29b1","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-2b742e0d-ba36-468d-ae31-0c87c5cc29b1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":27262,"content":27263},{"textAlign":49},[27264],{"text":27265,"type":596},"Over half of North America’s traditional anode material production in 2030 is forecast to be for synthetic graphite anodes. By contrast, synthetic graphite anode material is set to account for over 80% of China’s anode production in the same period.",{"type":615,"attrs":27267,"content":27268},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27269],{"text":27270,"type":596},"What is the US doing to encourage domestic anode supplies?",{"type":591,"attrs":27272,"content":27273},{"textAlign":49},[27274,27275,27281],{"text":24858,"type":596},{"text":27276,"type":596,"marks":27277},"Syrah Resources",[27278],{"type":606,"attrs":27279},{"href":27280,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/syrahs-anode-material-production-start-in-us-sets-stage-for-localised-supply?_branch_match_id=1544394034158582542&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWjyp0qnR3KnVODkyyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA%2F1uHpkgAAAA%3D",{"text":27282,"type":596}," was awarded a $165 million tax credit under the IRA’s 48C Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit Program.",{"type":591,"attrs":27284,"content":27285},{"textAlign":49},[27286,27292],{"text":27287,"type":596,"marks":27288},"Syrah operates the Vidalia",[27289],{"type":606,"attrs":27290},{"href":27291,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-ability-to-restrict-supply-is-now-fully-visible-qa-with-syrahs-shaun-verner?_branch_match_id=1544393873763973384&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpPoggu4DbNuHIlKKO8rXadfbeC2O0PmlNLD4Uh1SiMFzuyrWmcpSkt53svT7GW1o%2B8MlAlOsg1LczZhNQC%2F%2F28nZFSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":27293,"type":596}," natural graphite anode facility in Louisiana, US which began operating last year and has a capacity of 11,250 tonnes. Syrah says the tax credits will help it expand this capacity to 45,000 tonnes per annum.",{"type":591,"attrs":27295,"content":27296},{"textAlign":49},[27297],{"text":27298,"type":596},"Several other anode projects have also received US funding in an attempt to reduce the country’s growing deficit and dependence on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":27300,"content":27301},{"textAlign":49},[27302],{"text":27303,"type":596},"Watch Benchmark’s Head of Prices Daisy Jennings-Gray discuss North America’s anode scene.","Vianode has signed a multi-billion dollar agreement to supply GM with Inflation Reduction Act-compliant synthetic graphite anode material from its planned production facility in North America. Vianode’s plant will likely be built in Ontario, Canada, though an official location has yet to be announced. The company says production will begin in 2027. The supply agreement […]",[27306],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27307},{"job_title":557,"image":27308,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7c54ed16-5f84-4618-bafb-56b967809c1e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27311,27312],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27315,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/593580c4d7/bm-vianode3.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":27317,"uuid":27318,"name":27319,"slug":27320,"full_slug":27321,"content":27322},114841666386670,"72b48a31-e30d-428a-bb18-898f79b2a032","Greenland in Trump’s gaze due to critical mineral potential ","greenland-in-trumps-gaze-due-to-critical-mineral-potential","article/greenland-in-trumps-gaze-due-to-critical-mineral-potential",{"_uid":27323,"date":27324,"tags":27325,"editor":27328,"content":27332,"excerpt":27454,"featured":51,"reporter":27455,"_editable":27459,"component":697,"seo_title":27319,"categories":27460,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27467,"seo_description":27454,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27470},"5a26b00c-6d8a-4300-a759-69ccd0f8c77e","2025-01-13 00:00",[27326,27327],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[27329],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27330},{"job_title":557,"image":27331,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27333},[27334,27339,27344,27349,27361,27366,27371,27376,27384,27389,27394,27399,27404,27409,27414,27419,27434,27441],{"type":591,"attrs":27335,"content":27336},{"textAlign":49},[27337],{"text":27338,"type":596},"President-elect Donald Trump last week refused to rule out military action or economic coercion in his pursuit to seize ownership of resource-rich Greenland, claiming the territory was vital for US national security.",{"type":591,"attrs":27340,"content":27341},{"textAlign":49},[27342],{"text":27343,"type":596},"Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland back in 2019, emphasising the economic benefits of the proposed deal. But today his emphasis lies on more of a national security bent.",{"type":591,"attrs":27345,"content":27346},{"textAlign":49},[27347],{"text":27348,"type":596},"“As the polar ice caps melt due to the impacts of climate change, Greenland – and the wider Arctic region – is becoming an important geo-political battleground between the US, China, Russia, and the European Union (EU) as new trade routes open up and opportunities for natural resource extraction becomes more feasible,” said Bryan Bille, geopolitical and policy principal at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":27350,"content":27351},{"textAlign":49},[27352,27354,27360],{"text":27353,"type":596},"The EU has already courted Greenland as a potentially important supplier of critical minerals – ",{"text":27355,"type":596,"marks":27356},"signing a strategic partnership to develop sustainable raw materials value chains in November 2023",[27357],{"type":606,"attrs":27358},{"href":27359,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-courts-greenland-for-critical-raw-materials-amid-arctic-geopolitical-shifts?_branch_match_id=1544393719576275276&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz8vy9oqqyPEzD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAKYqr%2FUgAAAA%3D",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":27362,"content":27363},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27364],{"text":27365,"type":596},"Why does Trump want to acquire Greenland?",{"type":591,"attrs":27367,"content":27368},{"textAlign":49},[27369],{"text":27370,"type":596},"US officials want to bolster US military presence in Greenland to counter Russian ships and China’s emerging position in the Arctic region. But Greenland also holds strategically important reserves of 43 of the 50 “critical minerals” deemed vital to US national and economic security. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27372,"content":27373},{"textAlign":49},[27374],{"text":27375,"type":596},"In particular, the island has significant deposits of rare earth elements (REE): critical for advanced military hardware such as F-35 aircraft and clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines.",{"type":656,"attrs":27377},{"id":27378,"body":27379},"cffcd2ab-8566-445a-b4a6-f55ca3c329ca",[27380],{"id":27381,"_uid":27382,"type":663,"_editable":27383,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"21103271","i-b7992204-8afc-4f48-b749-88cea9ccab35","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b7992204-8afc-4f48-b749-88cea9ccab35\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":27385,"content":27386},{"textAlign":49},[27387],{"text":27388,"type":596},"Greenland is home to only one mine tracked by Benchmark, the now-closed Kvanefjeld REE mine. However, melting ice caps are making new resources accessible and more economically viable, with Benchmark tracking 3 additional early stage exploration REE projects in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":27390,"content":27391},{"textAlign":49},[27392],{"text":27393,"type":596},"China has previously expressed interest in Greenland’s raw materials, having pledged to build a “Polar Silk Road” in 2018. Although Chinese firms have yet to establish a significant foothold in the region, US officials fear they could move in first to secure resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":27395,"content":27396},{"textAlign":49},[27397],{"text":27398,"type":596},"In 2024 US officials lobbied Tanbreez, the developer of Greenland’s largest rare earths deposit, to not to sell its project to Chinese-linked firms, according to Reuters.",{"type":615,"attrs":27400,"content":27401},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27402],{"text":27403,"type":596},"How have European leaders responded?",{"type":591,"attrs":27405,"content":27406},{"textAlign":49},[27407],{"text":27408,"type":596},"Trump’s comments have faced pushback from European leaders, with Germany and France reminding the President-elect against threatening Greenland, underscoring the inviolability of borders that underpins the NATO alliance.",{"type":591,"attrs":27410,"content":27411},{"textAlign":49},[27412],{"text":27413,"type":596},"Beyond the possibility for military action, Greenland holds sovereignty over its future (in 2009 Denmark granted the right to declare independence through referendum) and Danish officials have said it would be for Greenlanders to decide their status.",{"type":591,"attrs":27415,"content":27416},{"textAlign":49},[27417],{"text":27418,"type":596},"Greenland’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, is pushing for independence from Denmark but has stated that the territory “is not for sale and will never be for sale”.",{"type":591,"attrs":27420,"content":27421},{"textAlign":49},[27422,27426,27430],{"text":27423,"type":596,"marks":27424},"Amid rising geopolitical tensions, Benchmark’s ",[27425],{"type":1006},{"text":27427,"type":596,"marks":27428},"Giga Europe",[27429],{"type":1006},{"text":27431,"type":596,"marks":27432}," conference will facilitate essential discussion on how policy-makers, financiers and industry participants can further Europe’s energy transition supply chain resilience.",[27433],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":27435,"content":27436},{"textAlign":49},[27437],{"text":27438,"type":596,"marks":27439},"Join us on 18-19 March at Autoworld, Brussels for two days of presentations, networking and dealmaking.",[27440],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":27442,"content":27443},{"textAlign":49},[27444,27448],{"text":27445,"type":596,"marks":27446},"Register before Friday 31st January for access our Early Bird saving: ",[27447],{"type":1006},{"text":27449,"type":596,"marks":27450},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/benchmarkgigaeurope25",[27451,27452],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":27453},{"href":27449,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"President-elect Donald Trump last week refused to rule out military action or economic coercion in his pursuit to seize ownership of resource-rich Greenland, claiming the territory was vital for US national security. Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland back in 2019, emphasising the economic benefits of the proposed deal. But today his emphasis […]",[27456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27457},{"job_title":557,"image":27458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5a26b00c-6d8a-4300-a759-69ccd0f8c77e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27461,27462,27463,27464,27465,27466],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27468,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27469,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a8c48f6b54/bm-trump-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 13, 2025",{"id":27472,"uuid":27473,"name":27474,"slug":27475,"full_slug":27476,"content":27477},112468234998153,"97b8d569-e767-4be0-9abb-ee5e978adaa1","Mali set to become Africa’s second largest lithium producer in 2025","mali-set-to-become-africas-second-largest-lithium-producer-in-2025","article/mali-set-to-become-africas-second-largest-lithium-producer-in-2025",{"_uid":27478,"date":27479,"tags":27480,"editor":27491,"content":27495,"excerpt":27584,"featured":51,"reporter":27585,"_editable":27589,"component":697,"seo_title":27474,"categories":27590,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":27593,"featured_image":27596,"seo_description":27584,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27599},"d66ef3ef-af21-4f4f-b393-5469100de993","2025-01-09 00:00",[27481,27482,27483,27484,27487,27490],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":27485,"name":27486},"ganfeng","Ganfeng Lithium",{"slug":27488,"name":27489},"mali","Mali",{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[27492],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27493},{"job_title":557,"image":27494,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27496},[27497,27514,27522,27534,27554,27559,27564,27569,27574,27579],{"type":591,"attrs":27498,"content":27499},{"textAlign":49},[27500,27502,27508,27509,27513],{"text":27501,"type":596},"Mali is set to become the second largest lithium miner in Africa this year behind ",{"text":27503,"type":596,"marks":27504},"Zimbabwe",[27505],{"type":606,"attrs":27506},{"href":27507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/zimbabwe-africas-lithium-heartland?_branch_match_id=1544411616265311640&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdwzz9XW0SHIKCEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3asA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":10572,"type":596},{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":27510},[27511],{"type":606,"attrs":27512},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":656,"attrs":27515},{"id":27516,"body":27517},"9eed3013-e601-4a02-99dc-714d76c66316",[27518],{"id":27519,"_uid":27520,"type":663,"_editable":27521,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"20837912","i-a1165e85-c282-4965-ac45-0ec013ee689b","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a1165e85-c282-4965-ac45-0ec013ee689b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":27523,"content":27524},{"textAlign":49},[27525,27527,27533],{"text":27526,"type":596},"The jump in Mali’s position in Africa’s lithium scene is thanks to the Goulamina spodumene mine coming online towards the ",{"text":27528,"type":596,"marks":27529},"end of 2024",[27530],{"type":606,"attrs":27531},{"href":27532,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/low-prices-spark-mergers-and-closures-lithium-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544411625263658888&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz3YJ9ityNDQpCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAJ2vQLEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":27535,"content":27536},{"textAlign":49},[27537,27539,27544,27546,27552],{"text":27538,"type":596},"The mine is wholly owned by ",{"text":27486,"type":596,"marks":27540},[27541],{"type":606,"attrs":27542},{"href":27543,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium?_branch_match_id=1544411620735843756&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDykrLgwLLUnz90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQmOXJkgAAAA%3D",{"text":27545,"type":596}," after the ",{"text":27547,"type":596,"marks":27548},"Chinese company",[27549],{"type":606,"attrs":27550},{"href":27551,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/africas-lithium-supply-to-treble-this-year-china-dominates-region?_branch_match_id=1544411630082274590&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpLiKIFh7AI4QOYyPqKF%2BhXWfvPVlrzMPayErSAkrLygh1mjCGqVmL3dwuRJq8j9cHTgxkfe6I%2Fk7G6QS98Q%2FWigvTSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":27553,"type":596}," bought out Australian miner Leo Lithium’s stake in November last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":27555,"content":27556},{"textAlign":49},[27557],{"text":27558,"type":596},"Mali’s mining code allows the government to take up to a 10% stake in mining projects in the country. An additional 20% stake can be purchased by the government within the first two years of commercial production.",{"type":615,"attrs":27560,"content":27561},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27562],{"text":27563,"type":596},"What is the future of lithium mining in Mali?",{"type":591,"attrs":27565,"content":27566},{"textAlign":49},[27567],{"text":27568,"type":596},"The government does not currently hold a stake in the Goulamina mine, though has begun the process to do so.",{"type":591,"attrs":27570,"content":27571},{"textAlign":49},[27572],{"text":27573,"type":596},"A second lithium mine is due to come online in the country this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":27575,"content":27576},{"textAlign":49},[27577],{"text":27578,"type":596},"Bougouni is operated by the UK’s Kodal Minerals who jointly own the asset (49%) with China’s Hainan Mining (51%). Output from the mine will feed Hainan Mining’s lithium hydroxide plant in China. The Malian government will take 35% equity in the mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":27580,"content":27581},{"textAlign":49},[27582],{"text":27583,"type":596},"Both the Goulamina and Bougouni mines are in the Sikasso region in the south of Mali.","Mali is set to become the second largest lithium miner in Africa this year behind Zimbabwe, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The jump in Mali’s position in Africa’s lithium scene is thanks to the Goulamina spodumene mine coming online towards the end of 2024. The mine is wholly owned by Ganfeng Lithium after the Chinese […]",[27586],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27587},{"job_title":557,"image":27588,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d66ef3ef-af21-4f4f-b393-5469100de993\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27591,27592],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27594,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27595,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1736435474/www-production/Rise-of-Mali-lithium-in-Africa@2x/Rise-of-Mali-lithium-in-Africa@2x.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27597,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27598,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dc95bb76f3/bm-drone-plant-and-crushing1-scaled-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 09, 2025",{"id":27601,"uuid":27602,"name":27603,"slug":27604,"full_slug":27605,"content":27606},112468261057066,"5ef237be-5429-4526-86fa-1c90296f61bc","Jervois agrees rescue deal as China’s cobalt dominance squeezes western miners","jervois-agrees-rescue-deal-as-chinas-cobalt-dominance-squeezes-western-miners","article/jervois-agrees-rescue-deal-as-chinas-cobalt-dominance-squeezes-western-miners",{"_uid":27607,"date":27608,"tags":27609,"editor":27615,"content":27619,"excerpt":27721,"featured":51,"reporter":27722,"_editable":27726,"component":697,"seo_title":27603,"categories":27727,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27731,"seo_description":27721,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27734},"60266c16-570b-48b9-be80-33faa47b3dc4","2025-01-06 00:00",[27610,27611,27614],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":27612,"name":27613},"jervois-global","Jervois Global",{"slug":572,"name":573},[27616],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27617},{"job_title":557,"image":27618,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27620},[27621,27634,27641,27646,27659,27664,27675,27680,27685,27690,27695,27700],{"type":591,"attrs":27622,"content":27623},{"textAlign":49},[27624,27626,27632],{"text":27625,"type":596},"Jervois Global will be taken private after reaching a restructuring agreement with key lender Millstreet Capital Management, citing cost pressures stemming from ",{"text":27627,"type":596,"marks":27628},"cobalt’s prolonged price slump linked to a Chinese-driven oversupply",[27629],{"type":606,"attrs":27630},{"href":27631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cmoc-supply-ramp-up-drives-cobalt-market-to-its-lowest-ebb-cobalt-2024-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544411570525243534&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9yp0SzSMSkkOD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAv%2BnGuUgAAAA%3D",{"text":27633,"type":596}," of the battery metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":27635,"content":27636},{"textAlign":49},[27637],{"type":836,"attrs":27638},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":27639,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":27640},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8d1384fba/bm-jervois-cobalt-5.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":27642,"content":27643},{"textAlign":49},[27644],{"text":27645,"type":596},"“Jervois has been struggling for some time, with its Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) uniquely disadvantaged as a primary cobalt producer, unable to benefit from potential price uplifts in nickel or copper markets,” said Will Talbot, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":27647,"content":27648},{"textAlign":49},[27649,27651,27657],{"text":27650,"type":596},"ICO began commissioning in 2022, during a period of record high cobalt prices, but was placed on care and maintenance a year later as the market quickly turned. Today, the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":27653},"Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment",[27654],{"type":606,"attrs":27655},{"href":27656,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/cobalt-prices/table",{"text":27658,"type":596}," shows cobalt metal prices languishing close to historic lows of $10/lb, down 73% drop from the April 2022 peak.",{"type":591,"attrs":27660,"content":27661},{"textAlign":49},[27662],{"text":27663,"type":596},"“The deal could mark a growing interest in US critical minerals space from investors, given the more protectionist bent we would assume from the US government in coming years,” said Talbot. “Millstreet may believe the asset to be undervalued in the current price environment.”",{"type":591,"attrs":27665,"content":27666},{"textAlign":49},[27667,27669],{"text":27668,"type":596},"Jervois has indicated that the ICO will remain on care and maintenance until cobalt prices reach at least $20/lb—a threshold not projected to be met until 2030, according to ",{"text":27670,"type":596,"marks":27671},"Benchmark’s forecasts.",[27672],{"type":606,"attrs":27673},{"href":27674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/forecast",{"type":615,"attrs":27676,"content":27677},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27678],{"text":27679,"type":596},"Low prices threaten US de-risking efforts",{"type":591,"attrs":27681,"content":27682},{"textAlign":49},[27683],{"text":27684,"type":596},"The cobalt market’s China-driven structrual oversupply is posing considerable headwinds for US de-coupling efforts. Last year the low-price environment created intolerable cost pressures for many western miners, while also stifling investment in new greenfield capacity globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":27686,"content":27687},{"textAlign":49},[27688],{"text":27689,"type":596},"The US government has shown support for domestic cobalt mining, with the Department of Defense (DoD) earmarking $15 million for Jervois’s Idaho operations in 2023. However, more comprehensive policy measures may be required to counter Chinese dominance in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":27691,"content":27692},{"textAlign":49},[27693],{"text":27694,"type":596},"“Government support, such as the DoD/DoE loans, can help get projects off the ground but this may not be a sustainable solution long-term given the scale of the market’s structural oversupply” Talbot said.",{"type":591,"attrs":27696,"content":27697},{"textAlign":49},[27698],{"text":27699,"type":596},"Last month, during the Reuters NEXT conference, Jervois called for targeted policy interventions to support domestic projects, including incentives for manufacturers to prioritize domestic critical minerals through tax credits, rather than broad sweeping-tariffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":27701,"content":27702},{"textAlign":49},[27703,27705,27711,27713,27719],{"text":27704,"type":596},"President-elect Trump is set to impose tariff hikes on China and ",{"text":27706,"type":596,"marks":27707},"has further threatened to rip-up the free-trade agreement with neighbours Mexico and Canada",[27708],{"type":606,"attrs":27709},{"href":27710,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-tariffs-threats-could-impact-critical-mineral-supply-chains?_branch_match_id=1544411563239404295&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTwpycS13DE8KD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAm2Mq10gAAAA%3D",{"text":27712,"type":596},", proposals that would effectively tax foreign critical mineral supplies. The incoming President has also ",{"text":27714,"type":596,"marks":27715},"promised permitting reform",[27716],{"type":606,"attrs":27717},{"href":27718,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trump-promises-expedited-permitting-process-to-projects-over-1-billion?_branch_match_id=1544411554851496700&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTzP1NDM2CkkKD0iyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAz3OlVUgAAAA%3D",{"text":27720,"type":596}," to accelerate the timeline for domestic project development.","Jervois Global will be taken private after reaching a restructuring agreement with key lender Millstreet Capital Management, citing cost pressures stemming from cobalt’s prolonged price slump linked to a Chinese-driven oversupply of the battery metal. “Jervois has been struggling for some time, with its Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) uniquely disadvantaged as a primary cobalt producer, […]",[27723],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27724},{"job_title":557,"image":27725,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"60266c16-570b-48b9-be80-33faa47b3dc4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27728,27729,27730],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27732,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27733,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bff6aa10cd/bm-mining.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 06, 2025",{"id":27736,"uuid":27737,"name":27738,"slug":27739,"full_slug":27740,"content":27741},112468276515374,"5991bd6d-e4bb-4080-95e4-5f02590433b9","Low prices persist despite China’s incentive-led demand boost: Rare earths 2024 in  review","low-prices-persist-despite-chinas-incentive-led-demand-boost-rare-earth-2024-in-review","article/low-prices-persist-despite-chinas-incentive-led-demand-boost-rare-earth-2024-in-review",{"_uid":27742,"date":27743,"tags":27744,"editor":27750,"content":27754,"excerpt":27869,"featured":51,"reporter":27870,"_editable":27874,"component":697,"seo_title":27738,"categories":27875,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":27878,"seo_description":27869,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":27881},"9d5f8b35-bef4-4ac7-bfe0-1f1d569effcb","2024-12-31 00:00",[27745,27746,27749],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":27747,"name":27748},"myanmar","Myanmar",{"slug":572,"name":573},[27751],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27752},{"job_title":557,"image":27753,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27755},[27756,27761,27766,27771,27778,27783,27788,27793,27798,27805,27810,27815,27820,27825,27830,27835,27840,27845,27850,27855,27859,27864],{"type":591,"attrs":27757,"content":27758},{"textAlign":49},[27759],{"text":27760,"type":596},"The rare earth industry faced challenges from historically low prices and robust supply-side growth in China in 2024. This was despite the rising deployment of rare earth permanent magnets (REPM) in electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean technology sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":27762,"content":27763},{"textAlign":49},[27764],{"text":27765,"type":596},"“The rare earth market is fundamentally supply-side driven,” said Neha Mukherjee, senior rare earth analyst at Benchmark. “Despite a short term boost in demand due to EV and household incentives in China, supply disruptions in Myanmar and increasing capital investment announcements, prices have remained at ‘sub-rational’ levels.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":27767,"content":27768},{"textAlign":49},[27769],{"text":27770,"type":596},"China continued to increase its annual rare earth production quotas, contributing to an oversupplied rare earth market and rising stockpiles of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) and dysprosium (Dy) in 2024. This had inflicted pain on producers outside of China, which reported a sharp downturn in profits, and challenged new project development globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27772,"content":27773},{"textAlign":49},[27774],{"type":836,"attrs":27775},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":27776,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":27777},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXebbC_4jGgeD36NSQpfh2zC_ZsgDOcoW3QuBOoytjOgABrmZoOW91zUk-dnQD4K75XluR6Qel05Mlx2arJZC7c4s8BBB3mYWtUgLUHedPce6NXMnJmfYkH98HlNbqLlI-fs3g5j?key=4Dz64UeDy3QBJ3leT__gMbGm",{},{"type":591,"attrs":27779,"content":27780},{"textAlign":49},[27781],{"text":27782,"type":596},"Low prices even impacted more cost-efficient mines in China. But state-owned operations were largely insulated from the negative impacts, owing to the rare earths sector’s strategic importance to the Chinese government. ",{"type":615,"attrs":27784,"content":27785},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27786],{"text":27787,"type":596},"China’s trade-in scheme provides short-term demand uplift",{"type":591,"attrs":27789,"content":27790},{"textAlign":49},[27791],{"text":27792,"type":596},"REPM deployment – the key end-use segment for rare earths – was underpinned by robust EV sales and home appliance production in China. From August onwards, both sectors provided a notable uptick in REPM demand following the implementation of China’s trade-in scheme. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27794,"content":27795},{"textAlign":49},[27796],{"text":27797,"type":596},"The trade-in scheme helped fuel a rebound in PrNd prices in late 2024, after they had fallen to historic lows by mid-2024. But the upward momentum was constrained by REPM manufacturers primarily utilising sizeable stockpiles to meet OEM demands.",{"type":591,"attrs":27799,"content":27800},{"textAlign":49},[27801],{"type":836,"attrs":27802},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":27803,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":27804},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdsGDwDZzs4KjTt43-AcnaYA4AxyZmFftDJIziYRMIixgE-Q2MZmaOd7YBG2jLWD1xTu851apLyuiFd41iSreMO0uSgjzMXmUNRCUnvYxu7LM4e_F11BcHwCM_Z-vMp2gY7is2ptw?key=4Dz64UeDy3QBJ3leT__gMbGm",{},{"type":591,"attrs":27806,"content":27807},{"textAlign":49},[27808],{"text":27809,"type":596},"“Throughout the year, prices for rare earths assessed by Benchmark remained relatively stable, but following demand stimulus in downstream markets by the Chinese government there was a slight uptick in Q3,” said George Ingall, rare earth price analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":27811,"content":27812},{"textAlign":49},[27813],{"text":27814,"type":596},"Outside of China, slower-than-expected EV sales in Europe and North America proved to be a drag on REPM demand growth in these markets.",{"type":615,"attrs":27816,"content":27817},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27818],{"text":27819,"type":596},"US steps up de-risking efforts",{"type":591,"attrs":27821,"content":27822},{"textAlign":49},[27823],{"text":27824,"type":596},"The US has intensified efforts to develop an independent rare earths supply chain in 2024, providing significant financial support to bolster ‘on-shoring’ and ‘friend-shoring’ efforts. China’s recent ban on exports to the US of gallium, germanium and antimony underscored the need for supply chain diversity.",{"type":591,"attrs":27826,"content":27827},{"textAlign":49},[27828],{"text":27829,"type":596},"To address challenges posed by China’s state-supported low-cost production, which has undermined investment in other regions, with the US government reported to be exploring market intervention measures. These strategies could aim to create a stable market environment and attract private capital into ex-China projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":27831,"content":27832},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27833],{"text":27834,"type":596},"Low price environment drives M&A activity",{"type":591,"attrs":27836,"content":27837},{"textAlign":49},[27838],{"text":27839,"type":596},"Under pressure from the low-price environment, the ex-China rare earth sector witnessed a significant number of collaborations and strategic investments in 2024, aimed at securing capital required to progress project development.",{"type":591,"attrs":27841,"content":27842},{"textAlign":49},[27843],{"text":27844,"type":596},"“We have seen significant capital announcements in the market this year. A total of US$3.1 billion in capital investment announcements were made globally in the rare earth market. These investments span across the entire supply chain, from mining, processing, magnet making to recycling,” said Mukherjee.",{"type":591,"attrs":27846,"content":27847},{"textAlign":49},[27848],{"text":27849,"type":596},"Australia received the highest worth of upstream investment announcements, Europe led in recycling initiatives, and the United States secured the most announcements for magnet manufacturing facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":27851,"content":27852},{"textAlign":49},[27853],{"text":27854,"type":596},"These partnerships underscore the sector’s focus on fostering operational synergies to accelerate project timelines, streamline production processes, and secure assured material flow. ",{"type":615,"attrs":27856,"content":27857},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27858],{"text":22516,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":27860,"content":27861},{"textAlign":49},[27862],{"text":27863,"type":596},"In 2025, the rare earth market is projected to be well-supplied with prices fluctuating around current levels over the next few quarters.",{"type":591,"attrs":27865,"content":27866},{"textAlign":49},[27867],{"text":27868,"type":596},"“Our current stockpile analysis and market balance data indicates that the market is expected to remain in a low price environment for the next few years,” Mukherjee said.","The rare earth industry faced challenges from historically low prices and robust supply-side growth in China in 2024. This was despite the rising deployment of rare earth permanent magnets (REPM) in electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean technology sectors. “The rare earth market is fundamentally supply-side driven,” said Neha Mukherjee, senior rare earth analyst at […]",[27871],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27872},{"job_title":557,"image":27873,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9d5f8b35-bef4-4ac7-bfe0-1f1d569effcb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[27876,27877],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27879,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":27880,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7e3a21b6ce/bm-wint-turbine-aerial.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 31, 2024",{"id":27883,"uuid":27884,"name":27885,"slug":27886,"full_slug":27887,"content":27888},112468285694512,"f4589d9f-bab5-472b-8eab-d6476483bb34","Macro uncertainty and supply disruptions underpin price volatility: Copper 2024 in review","macro-uncertainty-and-supply-disruptions-underpin-price-volatility-copper-2024-in-review","article/macro-uncertainty-and-supply-disruptions-underpin-price-volatility-copper-2024-in-review",{"_uid":27889,"date":27890,"tags":27891,"editor":27894,"content":27898,"excerpt":28008,"featured":51,"reporter":28009,"_editable":28013,"component":697,"seo_title":27885,"categories":28014,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":28018,"seo_description":28008,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":28021},"3b3897aa-1600-4293-ad5c-a965c1091b37","2024-12-30 00:00",[27892,27893],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":572,"name":573},[27895],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":27896},{"job_title":557,"image":27897,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":27899},[27900,27905,27910,27915,27922,27927,27934,27939,27944,27949,27954,27959,27964,27969,27974,27979,27984,27989,27993,27998,28003],{"type":591,"attrs":27901,"content":27902},{"textAlign":49},[27903],{"text":27904,"type":596},"Copper prices soared to a record high at close to $11,000 per tonne in early 2024, before tailing off in the latter half of the year on growing macroeconomic uncertainty – stemming primarily from China’s uneven economic performance.",{"type":591,"attrs":27906,"content":27907},{"textAlign":49},[27908],{"text":27909,"type":596},"The year saw a marked disconnect between the copper concentrate and refined copper markets. Late 2023 and early 2024 saw a series of significant mine supply disruptions, notably the Cobre Panama shutdown and Anglo American’s guidance cutback, that accelerated the shift towards a major copper concentrate deficit.",{"type":591,"attrs":27911,"content":27912},{"textAlign":49},[27913],{"text":27914,"type":596},"“As concentrate supply tightened, hedge funds flooded the copper market between March and June, driving prices to all-time highs. This rally was fueled by bullish sentiment around a perceived copper undersupply,” said Piotr Ortonowski, head of copper research at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":27916,"content":27917},{"textAlign":49},[27918],{"type":836,"attrs":27919},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":27920,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":27921},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf38naiMtVSX5DEsSmSQBO9hFKZM_MrOG1sf907LpANFBRfYfmKcot3SwauQjTdTjgtOXJgv5hF37U3DdWDAbJHEEGCYcCM9YTcznU5LDS2j3jhEL_dZA8ocmxXS7V13GvKNcePjQ?key=P32v_aFDbGi1xKZr1-413vvv",{},{"type":591,"attrs":27923,"content":27924},{"textAlign":49},[27925],{"text":27926,"type":596},"“However, there was subsequent realisation that the pronounced concentrate deficit was mainly underpinned by new smelter overcapacity in China, rather than weak mine supply,” Ortonowski added.",{"type":591,"attrs":27928,"content":27929},{"textAlign":49},[27930],{"type":836,"attrs":27931},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":27932,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":27933},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcraUt3TFuBHtPQKjssBdp2leZFd5WJl6zhnSqKFha05UrR2xyb7TsQ5s2Xeuhf_au6vdczmw0kDTXTo65p45HKflcNHc_H5lLGOtDd28cPBtybREuQMgn3koZhu_zw_8xbBhUL?key=P32v_aFDbGi1xKZr1-413vvv",{},{"type":591,"attrs":27935,"content":27936},{"textAlign":49},[27937],{"text":27938,"type":596},"In contrast, the refined copper market experienced a surplus in 2024. This was driven by slower demand growth in China, primarily due to the ongoing property sector crisis, and other economic headwinds, notably in Europe where high energy costs dampened industrial output. The surplus was exemplified by hefty visible inventory builds in 2024, which was most notable in China during the summer months.",{"type":591,"attrs":27940,"content":27941},{"textAlign":49},[27942],{"text":27943,"type":596},"Beyond underlying fundamentals, several key macroeconomic trends also influenced the direction for copper prices and are shaping the market’s outlook heading into 2025. ",{"type":615,"attrs":27945,"content":27946},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27947],{"text":27948,"type":596},"US Fed initiates cycle of rate cuts",{"type":591,"attrs":27950,"content":27951},{"textAlign":49},[27952],{"text":27953,"type":596},"The US Federal Reserve’s decision to initiate a rate-cutting cycle in September (50bps) provided a tailwind for copper prices. The September announcement was followed by cuts in October (25bps) and December (25bps) – taking the Fed’s rate from an upper range of 5.5% in the summer, to that of 4.5% by year end. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27955,"content":27956},{"textAlign":49},[27957],{"text":27958,"type":596},"Copper prices were buoyed in the immediate aftermath, reversing a downward trend visible since late May. Lower interest rates typically weaken the US dollar, benefiting dollar-denominated commodities like copper. A softer dollar can make copper more affordable for buyers, increasing demand and supporting higher prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27960,"content":27961},{"textAlign":49},[27962],{"text":27963,"type":596},"The Fed has indicated that it plans to continue cutting rates in 2025, although officials have recently offered a more cautious projection for future rate decisions than previously anticipated as inflation proves stickier than expected.",{"type":615,"attrs":27965,"content":27966},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27967],{"text":27968,"type":596},"China’s stimulus shift",{"type":591,"attrs":27970,"content":27971},{"textAlign":49},[27972],{"text":27973,"type":596},"China, the world’s largest consumer of copper, has faced mixed economic prospects in 2024, linked to a crisis in the country’s property sector. With the domestic market struggling to support economic growth, the Chinese government changed tack on its stimulus strategy in late September. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27975,"content":27976},{"textAlign":49},[27977],{"text":27978,"type":596},"While these measures provided modest support to copper prices through increased infrastructure spending and industrial sector aid, they fell short of expectations. Markets had anticipated a large-scale fiscal stimulus reminiscent of the late-2000s “bazooka” strategy.",{"type":615,"attrs":27980,"content":27981},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27982],{"text":27983,"type":596},"Trump’s re-election risks",{"type":591,"attrs":27985,"content":27986},{"textAlign":49},[27987],{"text":27988,"type":596},"Adding to the disappointment around China’s stimulus, Donald Trump’s November re-election was viewed as a negative development for copper in 2025, pressuring prices late in the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":27990,"content":27991},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[27992],{"text":22516,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":27994,"content":27995},{"textAlign":49},[27996],{"text":27997,"type":596},"While monetary easing and Chinese policy shifts are broadly positive for copper prices next year, geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties tied to Trump’s policies present downside risks. ",{"type":591,"attrs":27999,"content":28000},{"textAlign":49},[28001],{"text":28002,"type":596},"In regards to fundamentals, smelter production cuts in China now appear unavoidable with the market’s 2025 benchmark copper concentrate treating and refining charges (TC/RC) at historic lows due to persistent concentrate tightness. Key smelters plan to reduce output by 4-10% next year to compensate, according to Benchmark’s copper analysts.",{"type":591,"attrs":28004,"content":28005},{"textAlign":49},[28006],{"text":28007,"type":596},"This, in tandem with continued growth in supply from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – now the world’s second largest copper producer – means that tightness in the concentrate market could percolate through to the refined market in 2025, leading the market to be more balanced than in 2024.","Copper prices soared to a record high at close to $11,000 per tonne in early 2024, before tailing off in the latter half of the year on growing macroeconomic uncertainty – stemming primarily from China’s uneven economic performance. The year saw a marked disconnect between the copper concentrate and refined copper markets. Late 2023 and […]",[28010],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28011},{"job_title":557,"image":28012,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3b3897aa-1600-4293-ad5c-a965c1091b37\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28015,28016,28017],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":28019,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28020,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3131780712/bm-containers-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 30, 2024",{"id":28023,"uuid":28024,"name":28025,"slug":28026,"full_slug":28027,"content":28028},112468295324210,"7810e77d-cea9-4c11-ad86-6992f557d73c","China leads production, but the West is catching up: New battery technology 2024 in review","china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review","article/china-leads-production-but-the-west-is-catching-up-new-battery-technology-2024-in-review",{"_uid":28029,"date":28030,"tags":28031,"editor":28037,"content":28041,"excerpt":28309,"featured":51,"reporter":28310,"_editable":28314,"component":697,"seo_title":28025,"categories":28315,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":28319,"featured_image":28322,"seo_description":28309,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":28325},"62c2a3f0-82fb-45cf-a4b3-4ec77609ccb1","2024-12-24 00:00",[28032,28033,28034,28035,28036],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[28038],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28039},{"job_title":557,"image":28040,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":28042},[28043,28063,28075,28093,28098,28103,28116,28121,28126,28147,28152,28160,28165,28170,28178,28198,28203,28223,28242,28247,28255,28263,28268,28281,28286,28299,28304],{"type":591,"attrs":28044,"content":28045},{"textAlign":49},[28046,28048,28054,28056,28062],{"text":28047,"type":596},"In 2024, companies developing new battery technologies began transitioning from ",{"text":28049,"type":596,"marks":28050},"development to commercial deployment",[28051],{"type":606,"attrs":28052},{"href":28053,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-battery-industry-gears-up-for-automotive-qualification-2023-in-review?_branch_match_id=1544411312266840445&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9zIuDDZxNHQsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAdefEX0gAAAA%3D",{"text":28055,"type":596}," in earnest across the world, ",{"text":28057,"type":596,"marks":28058},"especially in China",[28059],{"type":606,"attrs":28060},{"href":28061,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-chinas-solid-state-battery-industry-developing?_branch_match_id=1544411392018775540&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FVwLsn0CHMsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAkdx2L0gAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28064,"content":28065},{"textAlign":49},[28066,28068,28074],{"text":28067,"type":596},"Production of solid-state and sodium ion cells has exceeded demand in 2024 and in the near term, as producers ramp up facilities in anticipation of demand growth in the mid- to long-term, according to ",{"text":28069,"type":596,"marks":28070},"Benchmark Forecasts",[28071],{"type":606,"attrs":28072},{"href":28073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/sodium-ion-batteries/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28076,"content":28077},{"textAlign":49},[28078,28079,28085,28087,28091],{"text":25155,"type":596},{"text":28080,"type":596,"marks":28081},"training wheels came off in 2024",[28082],{"type":606,"attrs":28083},{"href":28084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs?_branch_match_id=1544411327885778511&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLyv08zaNNHAsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUARGeNjEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28086,"type":596},", and the strengths and weaknesses of practical cells are now being put to the test on the world stage,” said ",{"text":17785,"type":596,"marks":28088},[28089],{"type":606,"attrs":28090},{"href":17789,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":28092,"type":596},", product director for new technology at Benchmark. “Over the next 2 years, we will see some technologies fail and others rise as the leaders of the next-generation of battery technology.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":28094,"content":28095},{"textAlign":49},[28096],{"text":28097,"type":596},"Between 2023 and 2024, supply of new technologies is set to grow apace, with Benchmark forecasting production growth of:",{"type":615,"attrs":28099,"content":28100},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28101],{"text":28102,"type":596},"How is China pushing ahead with new battery technologies?",{"type":591,"attrs":28104,"content":28105},{"textAlign":49},[28106,28108,28114],{"text":28107,"type":596},"China firmly showed its commitment to solid-state batteries through the launch of the ",{"text":28109,"type":596,"marks":28110},"China All Solid-state Collaborative Innovation Platform",[28111],{"type":606,"attrs":28112},{"href":28113,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state?_branch_match_id=1544411304033421375&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd690KbDMDncsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAhziMIEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28115,"type":596}," (CASIP) at the start of 2024 alongside more than $830 million of government funding.",{"type":591,"attrs":28117,"content":28118},{"textAlign":49},[28119],{"text":28120,"type":596},"This has spurred incumbent cell producers in the country to develop roadmaps for deploying next-generation solid-state batteries with lithium metal or high-silicon content anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":28122,"content":28123},{"textAlign":49},[28124],{"text":28125,"type":596},"“These timelines broadly land around 2027 for demonstration vehicles, meaning cells are currently undergoing qualification, and 2030 for subsequent large-scale commercial production,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":28127,"content":28128},{"textAlign":49},[28129,28131,28137,28139,28145],{"text":28130,"type":596},"Incumbent Chinese lithium ion producers have also made major moves in the ",{"text":28132,"type":596,"marks":28133},"commercialisation of sodium ion batteries",[28134],{"type":606,"attrs":28135},{"href":28136,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/chinas-dominance-of-the-sodium-ion-battery-market?_branch_match_id=1544411346290948153&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTy8PzCiNMHMsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA9ebZAUgAAAA%3D",{"text":28138,"type":596},". BYD’s subsidiary FinDreams broke ground on its 30 gigawatt-hour sodium ion gigafactory in China at the start of the year, whilst ",{"text":28140,"type":596,"marks":28141},"CATL launched a hybrid battery with both lithium ion and sodium ion cells",[28142],{"type":606,"attrs":28143},{"href":28144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-releases-freevoy-lithium-sodium-ion-hybrid-battery?_branch_match_id=1544411399245413359&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9y%2BzDI6MNHUsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPbFb%2FEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28146,"type":596}," for use in hybrid electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":28148,"content":28149},{"textAlign":49},[28150],{"text":28151,"type":596},"In terms of production, China currently leads in terms of commercial manufacturing ramp-up of many battery technologies, though other regions have also made significant progress in ramping production of next-generation cells for qualification.",{"type":656,"attrs":28153},{"id":28154,"body":28155},"b4f101f5-c859-42be-b310-e0954b2f716a",[28156],{"id":28157,"_uid":28158,"type":663,"_editable":28159,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"20835984","i-0f691acb-337d-489c-a75d-0b5919524ac0","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-0f691acb-337d-489c-a75d-0b5919524ac0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":615,"attrs":28161,"content":28162},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28163],{"text":28164,"type":596},"What is the West doing to develop new technologies and supply chains?",{"type":591,"attrs":28166,"content":28167},{"textAlign":49},[28168],{"text":28169,"type":596},"In North America, several solid-state battery developers have entered or progressed along automotive qualification, a process that takes four to six years.",{"type":656,"attrs":28171},{"id":28172,"body":28173},"766e63e3-a0d0-4747-ba62-3cbde4019845",[28174],{"id":28175,"_uid":28176,"type":663,"_editable":28177,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"20817790","i-6cc75615-8943-4a5a-8e3b-347fa0c3c128","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-6cc75615-8943-4a5a-8e3b-347fa0c3c128\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":28179,"content":28180},{"textAlign":49},[28181,28183,28189,28191,28196],{"text":28182,"type":596},"For silicon anodes the US, especially, has invested in the development of domestic supply chains with ",{"text":28184,"type":596,"marks":28185},"OneD Battery Sciences",[28186],{"type":606,"attrs":28187},{"href":28188,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-silicon-anode-scene-starts-2024-with-a-wave-of-announcements?_branch_match_id=1544411320027987196&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzzMwzo4ISXYqDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAnRlki0gAAAA%3D",{"text":28190,"type":596},", Group14 Technologies and ",{"text":13320,"type":596,"marks":28192},[28193],{"type":606,"attrs":28194},{"href":28195,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sila-nanotechnologies-inks-silane-deal-with-rec-silicon-in-us-anode-hub?_branch_match_id=1544411380264526904&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL3YsNUkyqfRx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAxhEqUEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28197,"type":596}," all making significant announcements relating to the supply or production of silane gas—a key precursor for many next generation silicon anode technologies.",{"type":615,"attrs":28199,"content":28200},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28201],{"text":28202,"type":596},"What markets are there for new battery technologies beyond EVs?",{"type":591,"attrs":28204,"content":28205},{"textAlign":49},[28206,28208,28214,28215,28221],{"text":28207,"type":596},"In 2024, with continued ",{"text":28209,"type":596,"marks":28210},"low lithium raw material",[28211],{"type":606,"attrs":28212},{"href":28213,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-soften-to-three-year-low-amid-weak-lithium-chemical-prices?_branch_match_id=1544411387597370857&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBMQ6AIBAEwB9Bb2IsrMUnGDCn4MFBFpTOtzPjWyt10tqRnD5ZcApCsLEqW4qKQVibZ2M279d3t%2Fygi4Ag9%2BGQeyXMq0dONADCkDwpSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":28216,"type":596,"marks":28217},"lithium ion battery cathode prices",[28218],{"type":606,"attrs":28219},{"href":28220,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfp-begins-to-make-inroads-into-europes-lithium-ion-ecosystem?_branch_match_id=1544411336157836835&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD3FOzQrLN87P9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAUG8XiEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28222,"type":596},", the cost benefit of sodium ion batteries became less attractive leading to demand destruction.",{"type":591,"attrs":28224,"content":28225},{"textAlign":49},[28226,28228,28234,28236,28241],{"text":28227,"type":596},"Despite this, 2024 saw several announcements relating to sodium ion batteries in the ",{"text":28229,"type":596,"marks":28230},"energy storage market",[28231],{"type":606,"attrs":28232},{"href":28233,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-role-can-sodium-ion-batteries-play-in-energy-storage?_branch_match_id=1544411363178007767&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNwop9XPJsnAsDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAuCBF7UgAAAA%3D",{"text":28235,"type":596},". Indeed, demand from this segment accounted for over half of the total demand for sodium ion batteries in 2024, according to ",{"text":28237,"type":596,"marks":28238},"Benchmark’s Sodium ion Battery Forecast",[28239],{"type":606,"attrs":28240},{"href":28073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28243,"content":28244},{"textAlign":49},[28245],{"text":28246,"type":596},"In June 2024, an energy storage system utilising sodium ion batteries from Chinese battery maker HiNa Battery came online in China. Towards the end of the year, another Chinese company, Hithium, also unveiled a sodium ion battery cell designed for utility-scale energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":28248,"content":28249},{"textAlign":49},[28250,28254],{"text":28251,"type":596,"marks":28252},"Hover over the pie charts for more details",[28253],{"type":1006},{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":656,"attrs":28256},{"id":28257,"body":28258},"00c83a34-fbda-4b98-a3aa-0ba692d42d50",[28259],{"id":28260,"_uid":28261,"type":663,"_editable":28262,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"20820159","i-e1fd0f27-83e2-4a0f-bedd-9da9290367dc","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-e1fd0f27-83e2-4a0f-bedd-9da9290367dc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":591,"attrs":28264,"content":28265},{"textAlign":49},[28266],{"text":28267,"type":596},"Demand beyond the EV segment was also seen for other new battery technologies in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":28269,"content":28270},{"textAlign":49},[28271,28273,28279],{"text":28272,"type":596},"For next-generation silicon anodes with high silicon content, the ",{"text":28274,"type":596,"marks":28275},"portables segment has been a key market",[28276],{"type":606,"attrs":28277},{"href":28278,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/portable-electronics-are-a-key-market-for-silicon-anodes-in-short-term?_branch_match_id=1544411355203008230&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz680N%2FcwTXQqDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAo7g08UgAAAA%3D",{"text":28280,"type":596}," as developers look to prove their technology ahead of pursuing the more lucrative EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":28282,"content":28283},{"textAlign":49},[28284],{"text":28285,"type":596},"For example Group14 announced its 100% silicon anode technology is used in the Honor Magic7 Pro smartphone.",{"type":591,"attrs":28287,"content":28288},{"textAlign":49},[28289,28291,28297],{"text":28290,"type":596},"Lyten, a lithium sulphur and solid-state battery developer, announced a ",{"text":28292,"type":596,"marks":28293},"$1 billion gigafactory",[28294],{"type":606,"attrs":28295},{"href":28296,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-backed-lyten-to-build-1-billion-lithium-sulphur-gigafactory-in-us?_branch_match_id=1544411370990534213&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT%2FfNCg1OM3AqDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAjx94%2F0gAAAA%3D",{"text":28298,"type":596}," in November 2024. This year, the company signed contracts to develop batteries for Aevex—an eVTOL company—and the International Space Station. The company also recently secured a loan of $650 from the US export-import bank.",{"type":615,"attrs":28300,"content":28301},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28302],{"text":28303,"type":596},"What are the trends to watch out for in 2025?",{"type":591,"attrs":28305,"content":28306},{"textAlign":49},[28307],{"text":28308,"type":596},"“Increased trade tensions could incentivise the US to invest in emerging battery technologies that rely on domestic supply chains,” said Catherine Peake, a sodium ion battery analyst at Benchmark.","In 2024, companies developing new battery technologies began transitioning from development to commercial deployment in earnest across the world, especially in China. Production of solid-state and sodium ion cells has exceeded demand in 2024 and in the near term, as producers ramp up facilities in anticipation of demand growth in the mid- to long-term, according […]",[28311],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28312},{"job_title":557,"image":28313,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"62c2a3f0-82fb-45cf-a4b3-4ec77609ccb1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28316,28317,28318],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":28320,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28321,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1734691255/www-production/New-Tech-by-region-2024@2x-1/New-Tech-by-region-2024@2x-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":28323,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28324,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/be131afbd3/bm-qs-lab-2021-6-scaled-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 24, 2024",{"id":28327,"uuid":28328,"name":28329,"slug":28330,"full_slug":28331,"content":28332},114841826224904,"bd6110ae-d4b5-4cdf-b0eb-30489abbd3bd","What happened to lithium ion batteries in 2024 and what to expect from 2025?","what-happened-to-lithium-ion-batteries-in-2024-and-what-to-expect-from-2025","article/what-happened-to-lithium-ion-batteries-in-2024-and-what-to-expect-from-2025",{"_uid":28333,"date":28334,"tags":28335,"editor":28337,"content":28341,"excerpt":28490,"featured":51,"reporter":28491,"_editable":28495,"component":697,"seo_title":28329,"categories":28496,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":28499,"seo_description":28490,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":28502},"78c2faa6-54bb-4fcf-a3f3-c9c2bf037945","2024-12-23 00:00",[28336],{"slug":4345,"name":451},[28338],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28339},{"job_title":557,"image":28340,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":28342},[28343,28348,28353,28358,28371,28378,28385,28390,28395,28408,28413,28418,28438,28443,28449,28454,28459,28464,28470,28475,28480,28485],{"type":591,"attrs":28344,"content":28345},{"textAlign":49},[28346],{"text":28347,"type":596},"In 2024, the battery market experienced challenges and setbacks as weaker than expected EV demand produced the highest gigafactory capacity cancellations on record.",{"type":591,"attrs":28349,"content":28350},{"textAlign":49},[28351],{"text":28352,"type":596},"However, there have been bright spots amidst the negative market sentiment with growing interest in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-related investment. Furthermore, cell prices have been declining, which could support consumer access to electric vehicles (EVs) and large scale energy storage projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":28354,"content":28355},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28356],{"text":28357,"type":596},"Cell prices hit record lows",{"type":591,"attrs":28359,"content":28360},{"textAlign":49},[28361,28363,28369],{"text":28362,"type":596},"Battery cell prices reached ",{"text":28364,"type":596,"marks":28365},"all time lows",[28366],{"type":606,"attrs":28367},{"href":28368,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-cell-prices-reach-all-time-low-in-september-as-lfp-falls-below-60-per-kwh-level?_branch_match_id=1544393487952929010&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FNwtUz1cnEy9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUACxsgE0gAAAA%3D",{"text":28370,"type":596}," in 2024, driven by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prices falling below $60 per kilowatt hour (kWh) enabled by the low cost of raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":28372,"content":28373},{"textAlign":49},[28374],{"type":836,"attrs":28375},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28376,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28377},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/614a3b321b/bm-global-average-weighted-cell-price-over-time2x-2-1330231f5756.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28379,"content":28380},{"textAlign":49},[28381,28383],{"text":28382,"type":596},"Benchmark’s perspective: ",{"text":28384,"type":596},"“The low price environment for raw materials persisting across 2023 and 2024 has driven cell prices to new lows, but equally the considerable improvements in energy density, and the maintained R&D efforts in improving cell specs mean that the price continues to fall on a per kWh basis,” said Evan Hartley, a Research Manager at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":28386,"content":28387},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28388],{"text":28389,"type":596},"Economic headwinds and scaled back EV plans ",{"type":591,"attrs":28391,"content":28392},{"textAlign":49},[28393],{"text":28394,"type":596},"Ex-China automakers have scaled back EV targets as they continue to make losses on electric models. Economic headwinds caused many brands to cut jobs as inflation and labour drove costs higher.",{"type":591,"attrs":28396,"content":28397},{"textAlign":49},[28398,28400,28406],{"text":28399,"type":596},"These market conditions have led to consolidation amongst battery manufacturers. More than ",{"text":28401,"type":596,"marks":28402},"312 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gigafactory capacity was cancelled",[28403],{"type":606,"attrs":28404},{"href":28405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/2024-sees-highest-gigafactory-capacity-cancellations-on-record?_branch_match_id=1544393470804895124&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT8x1DvGyyMkK80%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA48FI70gAAAA%3D",{"text":28407,"type":596}," in 2024, substantially higher than preceding years.",{"type":591,"attrs":28409,"content":28410},{"textAlign":49},[28411],{"text":28412,"type":596},"Cancellations were seen predominantly amongst less experienced manufacturers based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":28414,"content":28415},{"textAlign":49},[28416],{"text":28417,"type":596},"‘",{"type":591,"attrs":28419,"content":28420},{"textAlign":49},[28421,28422,28428,28430,28436],{"text":21456,"type":596},{"text":28423,"type":596,"marks":28424},"Benchmark Verified",[28425],{"type":606,"attrs":28426},{"href":28427,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-verified-the-five-stages-of-benchmarks-gigafactory-satellite-analysis?_branch_match_id=1544393479663390015&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL%2FBNNPQsTPVx9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAkOjPqkgAAAA%3D",{"text":28429,"type":596}," has identified ",{"text":28431,"type":596,"marks":28432},"construction delays to Chinese gigafactories",[28433],{"type":606,"attrs":28434},{"href":28435,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-gigafactory-construction-timelines-lengthen-as-tier-2-and-3-developments-increase?_branch_match_id=1544393520150418623&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdzMwiPTydHQL8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAVvA07kgAAAA%3D",{"text":28437,"type":596}," as well as those in the US and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":28439,"content":28440},{"textAlign":49},[28441],{"text":28442,"type":596},"Though the current price environment is pressuring manufacturers it could lead to lower cost EVs and therefore greater uptake, a long-term boon to the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":28444,"content":28445},{"textAlign":49},[28446,28447],{"text":28382,"type":596},{"text":28448,"type":596},"“Economic headwinds, weakening EV demand, and financial losses have forced automakers to scale back electrification plans, impacting battery cell production strategies and triggering delays or cancellations to key projects in the West,” said Aran Waid, Principal Analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":28450,"content":28451},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28452],{"text":28453,"type":596},"Increased LFP interest amid EV price competition and ESS demand",{"type":591,"attrs":28455,"content":28456},{"textAlign":49},[28457],{"text":28458,"type":596},"Technological developments in LFP technology, combined with the cost advantage over nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells, led to increased interest from Western automakers for the cell format in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28460,"content":28461},{"textAlign":49},[28462],{"text":28463,"type":596},"LFP cells’ cost advantage over NCM makes it attractive in a market where price is a limiting factor for EV adoption outside of China. The cathode type is also favoured for energy storage systems (ESS), an area where cell makers sought to secure orders in the face of weaker than expected EV demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":28465,"content":28466},{"textAlign":49},[28467,28468],{"text":28382,"type":596},{"text":28469,"type":596},"“Automakers are turning to LFP batteries to cut EV costs, aided by China’s technological advancements in the chemistry. Slowing EV demand and a booming ESS market favours LFP cells, helping firms like EVE Energy secure major orders and join the top five global producers by market share,” said Waid.",{"type":591,"attrs":28471,"content":28472},{"textAlign":49},[28473],{"text":28474,"type":596},"On ex-China LFP production, Waid added: “Non-Chinese producers like LG Energy Solution are adding LFP to their portfolios to meet rising demand for lower cost EVs and ESS.”",{"type":615,"attrs":28476,"content":28477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28478],{"text":28479,"type":596},"What’s next?",{"type":591,"attrs":28481,"content":28482},{"textAlign":49},[28483],{"text":28484,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that nickel, cobalt, and lithium prices will recover in the medium term, potentially widening the cost gap between NCM and LFP cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28486,"content":28487},{"textAlign":49},[28488],{"text":28489,"type":596},"To remain competitive in this environment, innovation will be key for NCM cell makers to mitigate these pressures and remain both viable and cost-effective within the evolving battery market.","In 2024, the battery market experienced challenges and setbacks as weaker than expected EV demand produced the highest gigafactory capacity cancellations on record. However, there have been bright spots amidst the negative market sentiment with growing interest in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-related investment. Furthermore, cell prices have been declining, […]",[28492],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28493},{"job_title":557,"image":28494,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"78c2faa6-54bb-4fcf-a3f3-c9c2bf037945\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28497,28498],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":28500,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28501,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/61c3d4e6eb/bm-what-happened-to-lithium-ion-batteries-in-2024-and-what-to-expect-from-2025.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 23, 2024",{"id":28504,"uuid":28505,"name":28506,"slug":28507,"full_slug":28508,"content":28509},112468311233075,"80bbe44b-8add-41f5-943b-574df8c67076","CMOC supply ramp-up drives cobalt market to its lowest ebb: Cobalt 2024 in review","cmoc-supply-ramp-up-drives-cobalt-market-to-its-lowest-ebb-cobalt-2024-in-review","article/cmoc-supply-ramp-up-drives-cobalt-market-to-its-lowest-ebb-cobalt-2024-in-review",{"_uid":28510,"date":28511,"tags":28512,"editor":28517,"content":28521,"excerpt":28644,"featured":51,"reporter":28645,"_editable":28649,"component":697,"seo_title":28506,"categories":28650,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":28654,"seo_description":28644,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":28657},"24adfe70-b627-427a-b65e-15ca3c359f56","2024-12-20 00:00",[28513,28514,28515,28516],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},{"slug":572,"name":573},[28518],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28519},{"job_title":557,"image":28520,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":28522},[28523,28528,28533,28540,28545,28550,28555,28560,28565,28575,28578,28583,28588,28593,28598,28603,28608,28615,28620,28625,28629,28639],{"type":591,"attrs":28524,"content":28525},{"textAlign":49},[28526],{"text":28527,"type":596},"Unprecedentedly strong supply growth from CMOC’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assets culminated in a historically large cobalt supply surplus in 2024, amounting to 37,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":28529,"content":28530},{"textAlign":49},[28531],{"text":28532,"type":596},"“China’s CMOC significantly ramped up cobalt and copper production at its Tenke Fungurume (TFM) and Kisanfu (KFM) sites this year,” said Will Talbot, principal cobalt analyst at Benchmark. “Data published by the company suggests that the sites have been operating substantially above their stated combined capacity for cobalt.”",{"type":591,"attrs":28534,"content":28535},{"textAlign":49},[28536],{"type":836,"attrs":28537},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28538,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28539},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcRGyhok9Mz-gQAl8E0gRyUSkhHBfFHD8NA_fJVZ3WmJ17UNkw95iCwfOANyn1Z9xi7uGnWyALGsEaOuAF_dhXA5l5_gZY2wtfWoEVSoiEoM5MbAO17swa2sTtKHz1ypRTS8as5xw?key=cHm6b2RmQTm63ntPL3gHZop2",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28541,"content":28542},{"textAlign":49},[28543],{"text":28544,"type":596},"CMOC has prioritised growing copper output at the expense of cobalt fundamentals. This is due to prevailing tightness in global copper concentrate supply in 2024 and China’s drive to achieve self-sufficiency in mined copper supply, essential to feed industries of strategic importance to the Chinese government.",{"type":591,"attrs":28546,"content":28547},{"textAlign":49},[28548],{"text":28549,"type":596},"In contrast, battery demand growth proved weaker than expected due to a slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales growth in Europe and North America, markets in which EVs utilising cobalt-containing cells predominate. EV battery demand grew by 8% year-on-year in 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":28551,"content":28552},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28553],{"text":28554,"type":596},"How did prices perform?",{"type":591,"attrs":28556,"content":28557},{"textAlign":49},[28558],{"text":28559,"type":596},"The scale of the cobalt market surplus – equivalent to 16% of demand – weighed considerably on prices throughout 2024, with the Benchmark Cobalt Price Index closing 18% lower year-to-date.",{"type":591,"attrs":28561,"content":28562},{"textAlign":49},[28563],{"text":28564,"type":596},"“Following the large price swings that characterised the 2022-2023 period, cobalt prices were much more muted, falling continuously throughout 2024,” said Roman Aubry, cobalt price analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":28566,"content":28567},{"textAlign":49},[28568,28570,28574],{"text":28569,"type":596},"Record levels of production from CMOC’s DRC assets resulted in bumper cobalt hydroxide stockpiles throughout the supply chain, contributing to downward pressure on all cobalt price grades, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":28571},[28572],{"type":606,"attrs":28573},{"href":13908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28576,"content":28577},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":28579,"content":28580},{"textAlign":49},[28581],{"text":28582,"type":596},"“Sentiment became steadily more bearish as the scale of CMOC’s supply ramp-up became increasingly clear. Prices approached a level at which many in the market believe could be close to a bottom by year end,” Aubry added.",{"type":615,"attrs":28584,"content":28585},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28586],{"text":28587,"type":596},"Africa’s Copperbelt emerges as key geopolitical battleground",{"type":591,"attrs":28589,"content":28590},{"textAlign":49},[28591],{"text":28592,"type":596},"A key theme in 2024 was the emerging geopolitical competition between the US and China in the African-Copperbelt. US officials reportedly pressured the DRC government to block the sale of Chemaf Resources to Chinese state-owned Norin Mining, a company with ties to the Chinese military, citing strategic concerns. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28594,"content":28595},{"textAlign":49},[28596],{"text":28597,"type":596},"In turn, the US actively encouraged Western firms to acquire mines in the DRC – reflecting a strategy to reclaim lost influence in both the DRC and broader Sub-Saharan subcontinent. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28599,"content":28600},{"textAlign":49},[28601],{"text":28602,"type":596},"“The US and China are now competing beyond critical minerals security in the Copperbelt,” said Talbot. “Both countries have committed investment to railways through Africa’s resource-rich Copperbelt region in 2024, which expands across Zambia and the DRC.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":28604,"content":28605},{"textAlign":49},[28606],{"text":28607,"type":596},"The US-led Lobito Corridor project – which has seen more than $6bn of investment pledged towards it – aims to connect the Copperbelt with the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola and could allow for more volumes to be shipped to the US or the European markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28609,"content":28610},{"textAlign":49},[28611],{"type":836,"attrs":28612},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28613,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28614},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf-2xMXKNaQZ3JcUwQBPKSdJzzNGYiHjgyN0DxPBr8tvjhP9AJQwWxQRJ7Pj6aonyPaSIb1uox-coOuPrZbHkcEqR-a8VU-TA_-2cCTuJ2-j4TccCtILf71rjuGYS3X5iJB1hrhSw?key=cHm6b2RmQTm63ntPL3gHZop2",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28616,"content":28617},{"textAlign":49},[28618],{"text":28619,"type":596},"The project aims to facilitate local trade and investment, providing African countries with an alternative to China’s debt-laden Belt and Road Initiative. US officials also revealed plans to extend the project into Tanzania and the Indian Ocean, to create a trans-African railway network.",{"type":591,"attrs":28621,"content":28622},{"textAlign":49},[28623],{"text":28624,"type":596},"However, US ambitions are facing strong competition from China, which has announced its own plans for a $2bn refurbishment of the TAZARA railway spanning Tanzania and Zambia to strengthen its long-standing geopolitical and economic interests in the region. ",{"type":615,"attrs":28626,"content":28627},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28628],{"text":22516,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28630,"content":28631},{"textAlign":49},[28632,28633,28637],{"text":4388,"type":596},{"text":25778,"type":596,"marks":28634},[28635],{"type":606,"attrs":28636},{"href":27674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":28638,"type":596}," stronger demand growth from the EV sector as markets continue their recovery. But this is unlikely to translate into an improved pricing environment, given the scale of the market’s structural oversupply.",{"type":591,"attrs":28640,"content":28641},{"textAlign":49},[28642],{"text":28643,"type":596},"“The market also views the incoming Trump presidency as broadly negative for cobalt prices due to lower Chinese demand on increased tariffs, a stronger dollar due to inflationary policies and a slower pace of the energy transition,” Talbot added.","Unprecedentedly strong supply growth from CMOC’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assets culminated in a historically large cobalt supply surplus in 2024, amounting to 37,000 tonnes. “China’s CMOC significantly ramped up cobalt and copper production at its Tenke Fungurume (TFM) and Kisanfu (KFM) sites this year,” said Will Talbot, principal cobalt analyst at Benchmark. “Data […]",[28646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28647},{"job_title":557,"image":28648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"24adfe70-b627-427a-b65e-15ca3c359f56\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28651,28652,28653],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":28655,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28656,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dad5925879/bm-etoile-mine-cobalt-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 20, 2024",{"id":28659,"uuid":28660,"name":28661,"slug":28662,"full_slug":28663,"content":28664},114841850862352,"d160c532-a2a1-4e28-bbff-74f1d4846f9c","Supply surplus overshadows demand growth: Nickel 2024 in review","supply-surplus-overshadows-demand-growth-nickel-2024-in-review","article/supply-surplus-overshadows-demand-growth-nickel-2024-in-review",{"_uid":28665,"date":28666,"tags":28667,"editor":28670,"content":28674,"excerpt":28828,"featured":51,"reporter":28829,"_editable":28833,"component":697,"seo_title":28661,"categories":28834,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":28837,"seo_description":28828,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":28839},"00dbf632-5684-49ac-9d73-d9faaea842f1","2024-12-19 00:00",[28668,28669],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},[28671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28672},{"job_title":557,"image":28673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":28675},[28676,28681,28694,28701,28706,28713,28718,28723,28727,28740,28745,28752,28757,28762,28767,28772,28777,28784,28789,28794,28799,28804,28809,28813,28818,28823],{"type":591,"attrs":28677,"content":28678},{"textAlign":49},[28679],{"text":28680,"type":596},"The nickel market faced mixed prospects in 2024, notching up a third consecutive year of oversupply. Demand-side growth did show strength, outpacing supply-side additions for the first time since 2021, but was insufficient to shift the market’s underlying fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":28682,"content":28683},{"textAlign":49},[28684,28686,28692],{"text":28685,"type":596},"Indeed, it was the supply-side that continued to dominate headlines. ",{"text":28687,"type":596,"marks":28688},"Despite the delayed approval to new mining quotas",[28689],{"type":606,"attrs":28690},{"href":28691,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-will-indonesias-mining-quotas-affect-the-nickel-market?_branch_match_id=1544393455364334934&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBsQqAIBQF0D%2FSPYiGcG9qDZWXivqU%2B5Ro6ds7J47RZdHaEftYLXJNTLBFlO1dlcRZT%2FOeMH7K4bYPdBOQOFwO7RHCuke0Sj8HxDUjSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":28693,"type":596},", Indonesia notched up considerable supply growth in 2024 – bringing 337,000 tonnes of additional supply to market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28695,"content":28696},{"textAlign":49},[28697],{"type":836,"attrs":28698},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28699,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28700},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeAbleZR2oRWcF6TCLi3iKrN3PlPb2Cs3aEFNsd4F5x8miE_g5Sm4irHDnIHzC7ETHBdgr_OoQjtVEuhAajmCzt8xXDCNZ7sHDLuWXt4miLmcODk04m6VoeeVYuLIo_PcKH6GDr?key=7C4TjgDG5COcCkYaNrfYT-C5",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28702,"content":28703},{"textAlign":49},[28704],{"text":28705,"type":596},"In contrast, ex-Indonesian supply contracted under pressure from low-prices throughout the year, as 152,000 tonnes of supply left the market compared to 2023, led by mine suspensions in Australia and New Caledonia.",{"type":591,"attrs":28707,"content":28708},{"textAlign":49},[28709],{"type":836,"attrs":28710},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28711,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28712},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeCpdfUo29KY84Tz330Xt52b4IZfvo6kwum8mHstf9jfg2u1QS_BP_JlSyglh5RIebnTCzX0JsHxGnPXEUSVwZBZqywBwoMRpQXHrCQtDKcU_yB92J1a5VYfYj4CuvmKZbZRiDb?key=7C4TjgDG5COcCkYaNrfYT-C5",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28714,"content":28715},{"textAlign":49},[28716],{"text":28717,"type":596},"Meanwhile, demand growth from the stainless steel and battery sectors was tempered by macroeconomic headwinds, but remained robust with overall nickel demand growing 7% year-on-year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28719,"content":28720},{"textAlign":49},[28721],{"text":28722,"type":596},"Battery demand was strong (+115,000 tonnes vs 2023), but was weaker than originally expected as mid-nickel and nickel-free chemistries increased market share in EVs, particularly in China. ",{"type":615,"attrs":28724,"content":28725},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28726],{"text":28554,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28728,"content":28729},{"textAlign":49},[28730,28732,28738],{"text":28731,"type":596},"From a battery perspective, ",{"text":28733,"type":596,"marks":28734},"nickel sulphate prices",[28735],{"type":606,"attrs":28736},{"href":28737,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":28739,"type":596}," underwent a brief rally in H1 2024, peaking at $19,800 per tonne on a nickel contained basis (EXW China) in late May – a price level not seen since prior to the market’s downturn in 2023. But by August these gains had largely been reversed.",{"type":591,"attrs":28741,"content":28742},{"textAlign":49},[28743],{"text":28744,"type":596},"“Early upwards price movements were unsupported by fundamentals,” said Spencer Ingall, nickel price analyst at Benchmark. “Weak demand for nickel-containing cells swiftly caused nickel sulphate prices to retreat by the middle of 2024. And they have shown little movement since, despite volatile metal prices.”",{"type":591,"attrs":28746,"content":28747},{"textAlign":49},[28748],{"type":836,"attrs":28749},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28750,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28751},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcxRD-uBy4Nq4sSRZ5CdehgbwL7IFbV3U2J_cLBokxoCzNzkJ9fgsraFQ5pohg6zgUSNtf_Q-zqFst5GbGAx6VWzB4CGqufTzOQq_qzoNETUkyXlE8Tw1Cqt2LJI9ixxMezzY3weg?key=7C4TjgDG5COcCkYaNrfYT-C5",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28753,"content":28754},{"textAlign":49},[28755],{"text":28756,"type":596},"Meanwhile, mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) payables remained elevated on the impact of Indonesia’s delayed mining quotas in early 2024, which pushed up ore prices as Indonesian HPAL operators were forced to turn to imports from the Philippines to secure feed.",{"type":591,"attrs":28758,"content":28759},{"textAlign":49},[28760],{"text":28761,"type":596},"Overall, the supply/demand equation left the market grappling with a supply surplus of 138,000 tonnes in 2024, weighing negatively on underlying metal prices throughout the year. The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel contract averaged a touch below $17,000 per tonne for 2024, resulting in intolerable cost pressures for many operations outside of Indonesia.",{"type":615,"attrs":28763,"content":28764},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28765],{"text":28766,"type":596},"Is Australia’s nickel industry in terminal decline?",{"type":591,"attrs":28768,"content":28769},{"textAlign":49},[28770],{"text":28771,"type":596},"BHP’s announcement that it would transition the Nickel West facility to care and maintenance in October, Australia’s largest nickel mining and refining complex, dealt a considerable blow to both Australia and the West’s nickel industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":28773,"content":28774},{"textAlign":49},[28775],{"text":28776,"type":596},"Citing economic challenges stemming from global oversupply and a weak pricing environment, Nickel West’s closure compounded earlier mine shutdowns, such as Wyloo Metals’ Kambalda mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":28778,"content":28779},{"textAlign":49},[28780],{"type":836,"attrs":28781},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28782,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28783},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXferfRoB5nZoy1Wz_ZbKbhUkHgb_Q6pVl1CDnjTsEMmlTKccxlhx3YW6kSadQOkkY6pRHQzYb9cMep-1T0ZLqpmkWuCeGgl7O35tOG8ejkk1HPs_blbt5SB-yvVnMUYtAmKPT9C?key=7C4TjgDG5COcCkYaNrfYT-C5",{},{"type":591,"attrs":28785,"content":28786},{"textAlign":49},[28787],{"text":28788,"type":596},"The closure has further implications for the Western battery supply chain, particularly in the US, which relies on nickel that complies with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Its absence from the market could hinder manufacturers’ ability to source Inflation-compliant nickel, intensifying supply chain pressures as demand grows. ",{"type":615,"attrs":28790,"content":28791},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28792],{"text":28793,"type":596},"Indonesia’s shifting nickel policy?",{"type":591,"attrs":28795,"content":28796},{"textAlign":49},[28797],{"text":28798,"type":596},"One of the key trends in 2024 was the beginning of structural changes to Indonesia’s nickel sector, driven by shifts in product mix and more stringent government policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":28800,"content":28801},{"textAlign":49},[28802],{"text":28803,"type":596},"In early 2024, the Indonesian government delayed the approval of new mining quotas and later proposed moratorium on new rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) smelters, to prioritise high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) investments targeted at the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":28805,"content":28806},{"textAlign":49},[28807],{"text":28808,"type":596},"Benchmark understands that mine licensing has become stricter to prevent companies from exhausting their reserves and to crackdown on illegal mining and poor sustainability practices, while promoting value-added investment.",{"type":615,"attrs":28810,"content":28811},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28812],{"text":22516,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28814,"content":28815},{"textAlign":49},[28816],{"text":28817,"type":596},"Heading into 2025, Indonesia is again set to drive substantial new supply growth with several HPAL facilities due to come into production (supplementing only 5 currently active HPALs in the country). ",{"type":591,"attrs":28819,"content":28820},{"textAlign":49},[28821],{"text":28822,"type":596},"“We expect the current low-price environment to persist in 2025, as bearish sentiment will keep weighing on a fundamentally oversupplied market,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":28824,"content":28825},{"textAlign":49},[28826],{"text":28827,"type":596},"“Additional delays or project cancellations are therefore likely, both in Indonesia and other markets, due to underlying cost pressures,” he added.","The nickel market faced mixed prospects in 2024, notching up a third consecutive year of oversupply. Demand-side growth did show strength, outpacing supply-side additions for the first time since 2021, but was insufficient to shift the market’s underlying fundamentals. Indeed, it was the supply-side that continued to dominate headlines. Despite the delayed approval to new […]",[28830],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28831},{"job_title":557,"image":28832,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"00dbf632-5684-49ac-9d73-d9faaea842f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28835,28836],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":6033,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":28838,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 19, 2024",{"id":28841,"uuid":28842,"name":28843,"slug":28844,"full_slug":28845,"content":28846},112468335030836,"fba1d173-8eb6-4cf4-a0f6-f15082343c46","Recycling to boost US lithium carbonate production","recycling-to-boost-us-lithium-carbonate-production","article/recycling-to-boost-us-lithium-carbonate-production",{"_uid":28847,"date":28848,"tags":28849,"editor":28855,"content":28859,"excerpt":28989,"featured":51,"reporter":28990,"_editable":28994,"component":697,"seo_title":28843,"categories":28995,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":29000,"seo_description":28989,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29003},"85be4be7-461c-4e9c-988e-82999f33ea9f","2024-12-13 00:00",[28850,28853,28854],{"slug":28851,"name":28852},"ascend-elements","Ascend Elements",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[28856],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28857},{"job_title":557,"image":28858,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":28860},[28861,28872,28885,28890,28895,28900,28905,28910,28931,28936,28941,28946,28967,28972,28977,28982],{"type":591,"attrs":28862,"content":28863},{"textAlign":49},[28864,28866,28871],{"text":28865,"type":596},"North America’s battery scrap pool could contain nearly 30,000 tonnes LCE of lithium in 2030, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":28868},"Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast",[28869],{"type":606,"attrs":28870},{"href":21301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":28873,"content":28874},{"textAlign":49},[28875,28877,28883],{"text":28876,"type":596},"If this material can be ",{"text":28878,"type":596,"marks":28879},"reclaimed domestically",[28880],{"type":606,"attrs":28881},{"href":28882,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-could-trump-impact-the-us-battery-recycling-market?_branch_match_id=1544411271174664589&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNy2yLDVMzErPDEiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUADD7KSEgAAAA%3D",{"text":28884,"type":596},", it could be a significant boost to the country’s lithium carbonate production which currently comes entirely from Albemarle’s Silver Peak facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":28886,"content":28887},{"textAlign":49},[28888],{"text":28889,"type":596},"The US is increasingly looking inward for critical mineral supplies, with President-elect Donald Trump promising tariffs on all imports, including from countries the US is traditionally friendly with.",{"type":591,"attrs":28891,"content":28892},{"textAlign":49},[28893],{"text":28894,"type":596},"“The incoming Trump administration’s probable prioritisation of domestic manufacturing, alongside escalating trade tensions with China, underscore the importance of onshoring America’s battery supply chain midstream,” said Frederick Bloomfield, a recycling analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":28896,"content":28897},{"textAlign":49},[28898],{"text":28899,"type":596},"How can recycling boost lithium chemical supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":28901,"content":28902},{"textAlign":49},[28903],{"text":28904,"type":596},"As domestic production of lithium ion batteries and deployment of EVs increases, so too does the quantity of critical minerals contained with the battery scrap pool.",{"type":591,"attrs":28906,"content":28907},{"textAlign":49},[28908],{"text":28909,"type":596},"“However, commercial-scale hydrometallurgical processing has remained an elusive milestone in North America’s recycling industry,” Bloomfield said.",{"type":591,"attrs":28911,"content":28912},{"textAlign":49},[28913,28915,28921,28923,28929],{"text":28914,"type":596},"This means the ",{"text":28916,"type":596,"marks":28917},"critical minerals contained within",[28918],{"type":606,"attrs":28919},{"href":28920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced?_branch_match_id=1544411287884920357&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWtywJCInIrsgx9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAEusdjkgAAAA%3D",{"text":28922,"type":596}," America’s scrap pool are often lost to the ",{"text":28924,"type":596,"marks":28925},"Asian recycling market",[28926],{"type":606,"attrs":28927},{"href":28928,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/critical-mass-asian-demand-for-north-american-scrap-sees-recycler-prices-spike?_branch_match_id=1544411279055857950&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBwQ2AIAwF0I3ghAcT48EBHMGAqZRAC%2Fkl8ebsvsdzDlu9T6Q3S0SVooTYzMUxXCta%2FTJr4CAtnGn%2FQA8BRfOV0F8jbAejC%2F26SmqmSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":28930,"type":596}," where there is an abundance of processing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":28932,"content":28933},{"textAlign":49},[28934],{"text":28935,"type":596},"Ascend Elements, a US-based recycler, recently claimed it would become the first commercial-scale producer of lithium carbonate from recycled materials from early 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":28937,"content":28938},{"textAlign":49},[28939],{"text":28940,"type":596},"The company will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of technical grade lithium carbonate which it will then sell onto a US-based partner for processing into battery grade material that can be then sold into the domestic EV market, Thomas Frey, a representative of the company, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":28942,"content":28943},{"textAlign":49},[28944],{"text":28945,"type":596},"“For America’s energy security and independence, we see ‘urban mining’ and recycled battery material as an essential part of the US battery materials supply chain,” Frey said. “By all indications, the new administration wants to strengthen US mining and manufacturing and the domestic critical minerals supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":28947,"content":28948},{"textAlign":49},[28949,28951,28957,28959,28965],{"text":28950,"type":596},"Another recycler targeting lithium carbonate from recycled sources is ",{"text":28952,"type":596,"marks":28953},"Li-Cycle",[28954],{"type":606,"attrs":28955},{"href":28956,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-companies-shaping-the-north-american-lithium-ion-recycling-ecosystem?_branch_match_id=1544411292234087822&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT4z0dw6vyM4x9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAUBaTPkgAAAA%3D",{"text":28958,"type":596},". The company recently closed a $475 million loan from the ",{"text":28960,"type":596,"marks":28961},"US Department of Energy",[28962],{"type":606,"attrs":28963},{"href":28964,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-doe-funding-promises-680-million-to-support-domestic-recycling-projects?_branch_match_id=1544411283473899221&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD%2FEwNHUuysgx9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAqe622UgAAAA%3D",{"text":28966,"type":596}," to support development of its Rochester hub in New York.",{"type":615,"attrs":28968,"content":28969},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[28970],{"text":28971,"type":596},"How much lithium carbonate production does the US have?",{"type":591,"attrs":28973,"content":28974},{"textAlign":49},[28975],{"text":28976,"type":596},"The only commercial-scale operating domestic source of lithium carbonate in the US is Albemarle’s Silver Peak plant in Nevada which is forecast to produce 3,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate this year and has a nameplate capacity of 6,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":28978,"content":28979},{"textAlign":49},[28980],{"text":28981,"type":596},"Volt Lithium, a US-based lithium developer, successfully produced its first batch of battery-grade lithium carbonate in October this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":28983,"content":28984},{"textAlign":49},[28985],{"type":836,"attrs":28986},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":28987,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":28988},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/649e970706/bm-lithium-carbonate-prices-in-north-america-down-439-year-on-year2x.png",{},"North America’s battery scrap pool could contain nearly 30,000 tonnes LCE of lithium in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast. If this material can be reclaimed domestically, it could be a significant boost to the country’s lithium carbonate production which currently comes entirely from Albemarle’s Silver Peak facility. The US is increasingly looking inward for […]",[28991],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":28992},{"job_title":557,"image":28993,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"85be4be7-461c-4e9c-988e-82999f33ea9f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[28996,28997,28998,28999],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29001,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29002,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/86e9ee9115/bm-jar-lithium-carbonate-plant-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 13, 2024",{"id":29005,"uuid":29006,"name":29007,"slug":29008,"full_slug":29009,"content":29010},112468339900981,"ec3b712d-e57d-4951-abfa-557ec900143a","Syrah Resources declares force majeure at Balama graphite mine","syrah-resources-declares-force-majeure-at-balama","article/syrah-resources-declares-force-majeure-at-balama",{"_uid":29011,"date":29012,"tags":29013,"editor":29020,"content":29024,"excerpt":29123,"featured":51,"reporter":29124,"_editable":29128,"component":697,"seo_title":29007,"categories":29129,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":29132,"seo_description":29123,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29135},"9494fee2-6449-4651-ad0b-6e8a21d70d73","2024-12-12 00:00",[29014,29015,29018],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":29016,"name":29017},"mozambique","Mozambique",{"slug":29019,"name":27276},"syrah-resources",[29021],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29022},{"job_title":557,"image":29023,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29025},[29026,29038,29043,29048,29053,29058,29063,29068,29073,29078,29083,29088,29093,29098,29103,29108,29113,29118],{"type":591,"attrs":29027,"content":29028},{"textAlign":49},[29029,29031,29037],{"text":29030,"type":596},"Syrah Resources has declared force majeure at its Balama graphite mine due to civil unrest in Mozambique, marking a further setback to already ",{"text":29032,"type":596,"marks":29033},"struggling East African miners",[29034],{"type":606,"attrs":29035},{"href":29036,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-natural-graphite-prices-pressure-east-african-operations?_branch_match_id=1544411254110800284&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvpuiCCWrbxBqE16aCO8kdo19l7L43RdbY2kFypeuTKQvBFje%2FdFJZsj8ndknmLLqwf6CGAJZ4B7VXCsie0Sj%2BcIgyySAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29039,"content":29040},{"textAlign":49},[29041],{"text":29042,"type":596},"“The news comes at an inconvenient time for Syrah who suspended production of new material at Balama last quarter due to low demand prices, especially for small mesh graphite,” said Alex Albinski, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":29044,"content":29045},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29046],{"text":29047,"type":596},"Why has Syrah declared a force majeure event?",{"type":591,"attrs":29049,"content":29050},{"textAlign":49},[29051],{"text":29052,"type":596},"Civil unrest, which began as farmland resettlement protests at the Balama mine and was exacerbated by a contested general election in October, has caused disruption throughout Mozambique.",{"type":591,"attrs":29054,"content":29055},{"textAlign":49},[29056],{"text":29057,"type":596},"“The movement of people and supplies, site access and plant operations have continued to be interrupted,” said Syrah in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":29059,"content":29060},{"textAlign":49},[29061],{"text":29062,"type":596},"The disruption is inhibiting government authorities from addressing the protests at Syrah’s Balama site.",{"type":615,"attrs":29064,"content":29065},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29066],{"text":29067,"type":596},"What impact could the disruption have on the market?",{"type":591,"attrs":29069,"content":29070},{"textAlign":49},[29071],{"text":29072,"type":596},"It is unlikely the news will have much impact on prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":29074,"content":29075},{"textAlign":49},[29076],{"text":29077,"type":596},"“Syrah usually sells quite a lot of large flake, but given they have not been selling much recently due to a lack of inventories, it is unlikely this disruption will be sufficient to significantly support large mesh prices over an extended period of time,” said Albinski.",{"type":591,"attrs":29079,"content":29080},{"textAlign":49},[29081],{"text":29082,"type":596},"However, the market for large mesh is tighter and is thus more vulnerable to further disruptions.",{"type":591,"attrs":29084,"content":29085},{"textAlign":49},[29086],{"text":29087,"type":596},"Oversupply, and competition from synthetic graphite, mean prices for small mesh graphite will not be affected.",{"type":615,"attrs":29089,"content":29090},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29091],{"text":29092,"type":596},"What impact has the disruption had on Syrah?",{"type":591,"attrs":29094,"content":29095},{"textAlign":49},[29096],{"text":29097,"type":596},"Syrah has been unable to operate the Balama mine due to the protests and is defaulting on its loans with the US International Development Finance Corporation and the US Department of Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":29099,"content":29100},{"textAlign":49},[29101],{"text":29102,"type":596},"“The logistical disruption will likely make it harder for them to make sales of the existing low inventory levels they currently have,” said Albinski.",{"type":591,"attrs":29104,"content":29105},{"textAlign":49},[29106],{"text":29107,"type":596},"The company had been planning a production campaign this December to replenish inventories.",{"type":591,"attrs":29109,"content":29110},{"textAlign":49},[29111],{"text":29112,"type":596},"The news has led Syrah’s stock value to fall 29.6% since it was announced on Thursday.",{"type":615,"attrs":29114,"content":29115},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29116],{"text":29117,"type":596},"How significant is Mozambique for natural graphite supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":29119,"content":29120},{"textAlign":49},[29121],{"text":29122,"type":596},"China is the dominant source of natural graphite production, with the country expected to account for 86% of supply this year, however Mozambique is ramping up production.","Syrah Resources has declared force majeure at its Balama graphite mine due to civil unrest in Mozambique, marking a further setback to already struggling East African miners. “The news comes at an inconvenient time for Syrah who suspended production of new material at Balama last quarter due to low demand prices, especially for small mesh […]",[29125],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29126},{"job_title":557,"image":29127,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9494fee2-6449-4651-ad0b-6e8a21d70d73\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29130,29131],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29133,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29134,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0726f94549/bm-three-african-countries-account-for-47-graphite-supply-growth.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 12, 2024",{"id":29137,"uuid":29138,"name":29139,"slug":29140,"full_slug":29141,"content":29142},112468359688762,"a020d8f2-0fc0-4ef0-962a-3daab927fb59","Benchmark begins public consultation on changing nickel price publication dates","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-changing-nickel-price-publication-dates","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-changing-nickel-price-publication-dates",{"_uid":29143,"date":29144,"tags":29145,"editor":29148,"content":29152,"excerpt":29222,"featured":50,"reporter":29223,"_editable":29227,"component":697,"seo_title":29139,"categories":29228,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":29231,"seo_description":29222,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29233},"92ae2a97-987d-4bc6-99ef-b97ca8bd0ca7","2024-12-11 00:00",[29146,29147],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[29149],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29150},{"job_title":557,"image":29151,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29153},[29154,29159,29164,29169,29174,29179,29184,29189,29194,29199,29204,29209,29214],{"type":591,"attrs":29155,"content":29156},{"textAlign":49},[29157],{"text":29158,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Nickel Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":29160,"content":29161},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29162],{"text":29163,"type":596},"Change in publication time",{"type":591,"attrs":29165,"content":29166},{"textAlign":49},[29167],{"text":29168,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes to change the frequency publication of its nickel price assessments from semi-monthly to alternate Wednesdays by 4 p.m. (London). This is in order to better align with the existing publishing schedules for its cobalt and lithium price assessments, where increased volume and frequency of materials being traded has allowed for more regular price publication over the past few years.",{"type":591,"attrs":29170,"content":29171},{"textAlign":49},[29172],{"text":29173,"type":596},"The proposed changes would impact these grades currently collected by Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":29175,"content":29176},{"textAlign":49},[29177],{"text":29178,"type":596},"Nickel Sulphate EXW China",{"type":591,"attrs":29180,"content":29181},{"textAlign":49},[29182],{"text":29183,"type":596},"Nickel MHP CIF Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":29185,"content":29186},{"textAlign":49},[29187],{"text":29188,"type":596},"Nickel Sulphate CIF Asia (Normalised)",{"type":591,"attrs":29190,"content":29191},{"textAlign":49},[29192],{"text":29193,"type":596},"Aggregate MHP CIF Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":29195,"content":29196},{"textAlign":49},[29197],{"text":29198,"type":596},"Sustainable Nickel Metal EXW Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":29200,"content":29201},{"textAlign":49},[29202],{"text":29203,"type":596},"Sustainable Nickel Sulphate CIF Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":29205,"content":29206},{"textAlign":49},[29207],{"text":29208,"type":596},"This change will enable subscribers to more easily track and compare prices and trends across these key battery supply chain markets. As the lithium ion battery industry continues to develop, the frequency and volume of battery material trading is increasing. Benchmark will continue to closely monitor the markets it assesses and move to adjust the frequency of its price assessments in response to market feedback when liquidity allows.",{"type":591,"attrs":29210,"content":29211},{"textAlign":49},[29212],{"text":29213,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 11 January 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":29215,"content":29216},{"textAlign":49},[29217,29218],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":29219},[29220],{"type":606,"attrs":29221},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Nickel Price Assessment Methodology. Change in publication time Benchmark proposes to change the frequency publication of its nickel price assessments from semi-monthly to alternate Wednesdays by 4 p.m. (London). This is in order to better align with the […]",[29224],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29225},{"job_title":557,"image":29226,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"92ae2a97-987d-4bc6-99ef-b97ca8bd0ca7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29229,29230],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":14683,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29232,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 11, 2024",{"id":29235,"uuid":29236,"name":29237,"slug":29238,"full_slug":29239,"content":29240},112468354839097,"87b5476b-85eb-4276-a622-887818813fb7","Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing spodumene prices to weekly publishing frequency","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-spodumene-prices-to-weekly-publishing-frequency","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-spodumene-prices-to-weekly-publishing-frequency",{"_uid":29241,"date":29144,"tags":29242,"editor":29245,"content":29249,"excerpt":29304,"featured":50,"reporter":29305,"_editable":29309,"component":697,"seo_title":29237,"categories":29310,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":29313,"seo_description":29304,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29233},"6ee25411-4bb2-4bcb-948e-3f301dd9b0c1",[29243,29244],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[29246],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29247},{"job_title":557,"image":29248,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29250},[29251,29256,29260,29265,29270,29275,29279,29283,29288,29292,29296],{"type":591,"attrs":29252,"content":29253},{"textAlign":49},[29254],{"text":29255,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":29257,"content":29258},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29259],{"text":9933,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29261,"content":29262},{"textAlign":49},[29263],{"text":29264,"type":596},"Growing demand for lithium feedstock from the lithium chemicals industry, combined with more liquid spot activity, has increased the volume and frequency of spodumene concentrate transactions, allowing for more regular price publication.",{"type":591,"attrs":29266,"content":29267},{"textAlign":49},[29268],{"text":29269,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes to move its spodumene concentrate grade from alternate weeks to weekly frequency to give a more comprehensive assessment of price trends, aligning with existing CIF Asia (spot) and EXW China lithium carbonate and hydroxide publication frequency.",{"type":591,"attrs":29271,"content":29272},{"textAlign":49},[29273],{"text":29274,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to increase the regularity of its FOB Australia spodumene concentrate pricing to weekly, to be published on Wednesdays, by 4 p.m. (London).",{"type":591,"attrs":29276,"content":29277},{"textAlign":49},[29278],{"text":16708,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29280,"content":29281},{"textAlign":49},[29282],{"text":16713,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29284,"content":29285},{"textAlign":49},[29286],{"text":29287,"type":596},"Spodumene concentrate, FOB Australia, 6% Li2O",{"type":615,"attrs":29289,"content":29290},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29291],{"text":9999,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29293,"content":29294},{"textAlign":49},[29295],{"text":29213,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29297,"content":29298},{"textAlign":49},[29299,29300],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":29301},[29302],{"type":606,"attrs":29303},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology. Increased frequency Growing demand for lithium feedstock from the lithium chemicals industry, combined with more liquid spot activity, has increased the volume and frequency of spodumene concentrate transactions, allowing for more regular price publication. […]",[29306],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29307},{"job_title":557,"image":29308,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6ee25411-4bb2-4bcb-948e-3f301dd9b0c1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29311,29312],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29315,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/717531daa3/bm-launch-collage-2.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":29317,"uuid":29318,"name":29319,"slug":29320,"full_slug":29321,"content":29322},112468349653559,"cbbd9def-75d6-4eeb-952b-52915866f699","South Korea cementing position as a top ex-China lithium hydroxide producer","south-korea-cementing-position-as-a-top-ex-china-lithium-hydroxide-producer","article/south-korea-cementing-position-as-a-top-ex-china-lithium-hydroxide-producer",{"_uid":29323,"date":29144,"tags":29324,"editor":29334,"content":29338,"excerpt":29440,"featured":51,"reporter":29441,"_editable":29445,"component":697,"seo_title":29319,"categories":29446,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":29449,"featured_image":29451,"seo_description":29440,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29233},"25ab5786-1fc0-42c9-9091-8873cc63d8a1",[29325,29326,29327,29330,29333],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":29328,"name":29329},"ecopro","EcoPro",{"slug":29331,"name":29332},"posco","Posco",{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[29335],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29336},{"job_title":557,"image":29337,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29339},[29340,29350,29363,29381,29389,29394,29406,29417,29425,29430,29435],{"type":591,"attrs":29341,"content":29342},{"textAlign":49},[29343,29345,29349],{"text":29344,"type":596},"South Korea’s lithium hydroxide production is set to increase 87% between 2024 and 2030, securing its position as a top three producer of the chemical, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":29346},[29347],{"type":606,"attrs":29348},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29351,"content":29352},{"textAlign":49},[29353,29355,29361],{"text":29354,"type":596},"Its current number one position was further cemented as ",{"text":29356,"type":596,"marks":29357},"Posco completed construction on the second train",[29358],{"type":606,"attrs":29359},{"href":29360,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sk-on-secures-domestic-lithium-hydroxide-from-posco-pilbara-jv?_branch_match_id=1544411222483080299&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTw9zqTIwLYlKDUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAD9Y5NkgAAAA%3D",{"text":29362,"type":596}," of its joint venture plant in the country with Pilbara Minerals last month.",{"type":591,"attrs":29364,"content":29365},{"textAlign":49},[29366,29372,29374,29379],{"text":29367,"type":596,"marks":29368},"South Korea has strong geopolitical ties",[29369],{"type":606,"attrs":29370},{"href":29371,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/why-south-korean-battery-makers-fear-feoc-rules-could-disrupt-their-us-plans?_branch_match_id=1544411230231338911&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBsQqAIBQF0D%2FKPYiGoLm5JXx2S1GfchVq6ts7x%2Fde22iMQJ3PljEHBW1qg611SEGjcXLCveuOTeaPuEAGvQ9heRo4LZ4l4weKsSiTSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":29373,"type":596}," to the West, having free trade agreements with many countries including the ",{"text":5165,"type":596,"marks":29375},[29376],{"type":606,"attrs":29377},{"href":29378,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/japanese-and-south-korean-battery-makers-prioritise-north-america-over-asia?_branch_match_id=1544411239861613439&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBOw6AIBAFwBtBb2Is7GzobA1rlo%2BwC3mQ2Hl2Z9KcfSzWEuudxKNIVoavw%2FjeTc1aLIWjPvFs4mj7wIGBrPEitHcw1j2hCf%2FQg0x7SAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":29380,"type":596}," and the European Union.",{"type":591,"attrs":29382,"content":29383},{"textAlign":49},[29384],{"type":836,"attrs":29385},{"id":49,"alt":29386,"src":29387,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":29388},"South Korea is currently the largest ex-China producer of lithium hydroxide","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/370d3566ae/bm-sk-in-global-lioh.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":29390,"content":29391},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29392],{"text":29393,"type":596},"Who are the lithium chemical producers in South Korea?",{"type":591,"attrs":29395,"content":29396},{"textAlign":49},[29397,29399,29405],{"text":29398,"type":596},"All of South Korea’s lithium chemical output through to 2040 is currently set to be lithium hydroxide and all of the planned facilities are wholly or majority owned by ",{"text":29400,"type":596,"marks":29401},"South Korean companies",[29402],{"type":606,"attrs":29403},{"href":29404,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ecopro-bm-latest-cathode-producer-to-mull-capacity-cut?_branch_match_id=1544411214745817486&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwzM96%2FIdI5KDUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAAiEu4EgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29407,"content":29408},{"textAlign":49},[29409,29411,29416],{"text":29410,"type":596},"Posco Pilbara Lithium Solution recently announced that it would supply 20,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (17,600 tonnes LCE) to cathode maker Posco Future M and 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (13,200 tonnes LCE) to ",{"text":29412,"type":596,"marks":29413},"battery maker SK On",[29414],{"type":606,"attrs":29415},{"href":29360,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29418,"content":29419},{"textAlign":49},[29420],{"type":836,"attrs":29421},{"id":49,"alt":29422,"src":29423,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":29424},"Three companies account for all of South Korea's lithium hydroxide supply","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c2bc249893/bm-south-korean-lithium-hydroxide-producers-table.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":29426,"content":29427},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29428],{"text":29429,"type":596},"Posco’s global lithium footprint",{"type":591,"attrs":29431,"content":29432},{"textAlign":49},[29433],{"text":29434,"type":596},"Posco is also investing heavily in Argentina developing the Sal de Oro project which includes a 25,000 tonne LCE per year lithium hydroxide plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":29436,"content":29437},{"textAlign":49},[29438],{"text":29439,"type":596},"In December 2024, the company signed a deal with Australia’s Hancock Prospecting to build a 30,000 tonne lithium chemical plant though no location or investment amounts have yet been released.","South Korea’s lithium hydroxide production is set to increase 87% between 2024 and 2030, securing its position as a top three producer of the chemical, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Its current number one position was further cemented as Posco completed construction on the second train of its joint venture plant in the country with […]",[29442],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29443},{"job_title":557,"image":29444,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"25ab5786-1fc0-42c9-9091-8873cc63d8a1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29447,29448],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":29386,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":29386,"source":547,"filename":29387,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29450,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":29386,"title":29386,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29452,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29453,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/344d4ee311/bm-posco-flag-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":29455,"uuid":29456,"name":29457,"slug":29458,"full_slug":29459,"content":29460},112468369359420,"8af9d271-51be-4859-8565-4df72f27d623","Falling natural graphite prices pressure East African operations","falling-natural-graphite-prices-pressure-east-african-operations","article/falling-natural-graphite-prices-pressure-east-african-operations",{"_uid":29461,"date":29462,"tags":29463,"editor":29467,"content":29471,"excerpt":29564,"featured":51,"reporter":29565,"_editable":29569,"component":697,"seo_title":29457,"categories":29570,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":29573,"seo_description":29564,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29575},"7886b3d1-7892-4040-97eb-ddfa8e7b9727","2024-12-10 00:00",[29464],{"slug":29465,"name":29466},"graphite-prices","Graphite prices",[29468],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29469},{"job_title":557,"image":29470,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29472},[29473,29478,29483,29488,29495,29500,29505,29516,29521,29526,29531,29536,29541,29554,29559],{"type":591,"attrs":29474,"content":29475},{"textAlign":49},[29476],{"text":29477,"type":596},"Global small flake natural graphite prices are at historic lows, leading several operations in East Africa to halt operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":29479,"content":29480},{"textAlign":49},[29481],{"text":29482,"type":596},"“Downward pressure on small mesh prices is due to a market desire, especially in China, for greater synthetic graphite material in the anode chemistry mix and structural overcapacity in China,” said Alex Albinski, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":29484,"content":29485},{"textAlign":49},[29486],{"text":29487,"type":596},"“Continued downward price pressure will weigh on the progress of ex-China natural graphite supply development, by making the case for further or continued financing of projects more challenging,” Albinski added.",{"type":591,"attrs":29489,"content":29490},{"textAlign":49},[29491],{"type":836,"attrs":29492},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":29493,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":29494},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/383ca14938/bm-global-small-flake-natural-graphite-prices-are-at-historic-lows2x.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":29496,"content":29497},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29498],{"text":29499,"type":596},"How have low prices affected miners in East Africa?",{"type":591,"attrs":29501,"content":29502},{"textAlign":49},[29503],{"text":29504,"type":596},"“As prices for certain mesh sizes have dipped to all time lows, miners and graphite aspirants in East Africa have had to pause production or scale back project plans,” said Adam Megginson, a senior analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":29506,"content":29507},{"textAlign":49},[29508,29514],{"text":29509,"type":596,"marks":29510},"Walkabout Resources",[29511],{"type":606,"attrs":29512},{"href":29513,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ions-leading-producers-in-2030-china-to-dominate-as-west-ramps-up?_branch_match_id=1544411170007735814&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwzO8ius8g4O8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA7VnLXUgAAAA%3D",{"text":29515,"type":596},", who operated the Lindi Jumbo mine in Tanzania, went into administration in November having faced logistical issues exporting its material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29517,"content":29518},{"textAlign":49},[29519],{"text":29520,"type":596},"Syrah Resources initially paused operations at its Balama mine in Mozambique as it had sufficient stock to meet orders. Operations have not resumed in Q4 as planned due to strikes preventing site access. Tirupati Graphite has also paused operations at its Sahamamy project in Madagascar.",{"type":615,"attrs":29522,"content":29523},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29524],{"text":29525,"type":596},"Why have prices for natural graphite decreased?",{"type":591,"attrs":29527,"content":29528},{"textAlign":49},[29529],{"text":29530,"type":596},"Cell makers are increasingly using synthetic graphite anode material over natural graphite alternatives. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29532,"content":29533},{"textAlign":49},[29534],{"text":29535,"type":596},"The increased market share of synthetic graphite in the anode chemistry mix has resulted in decreased demand for natural graphite anode, subsequently affecting demand further upstream. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29537,"content":29538},{"textAlign":49},[29539],{"text":29540,"type":596},"Moreover, under the overcapacity of anode material, players are being forced to undercut their competitors and retain market share from their customer base.",{"type":591,"attrs":29542,"content":29543},{"textAlign":49},[29544,29546,29552],{"text":29545,"type":596},"At the start of December, China ",{"text":29547,"type":596,"marks":29548},"announced export restrictions",[29549],{"type":606,"attrs":29550},{"href":29551,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-tightens-graphite-export-controls-to-the-us?_branch_match_id=1544411180111505495&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9%2FFOCSjxq0hOCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQ8S84kgAAAA%3D",{"text":29553,"type":596}," on a number of materials to the US, one of them being graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":29555,"content":29556},{"textAlign":49},[29557],{"text":29558,"type":596},"A lack of clarity over how the restrictions will be implemented or exactly what material will be affected means it is currently uncertain how the restrictions will affect the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29560,"content":29561},{"textAlign":49},[29562],{"text":29563,"type":596},"The restrictions are targeted at ultra high purity graphite material and not anode manufacturing. However, it may be extra checks to ensure graphite material does not meet this purity grade, combined with the immediate enactment of policy, could cause disruption.","Global small flake natural graphite prices are at historic lows, leading several operations in East Africa to halt operations. “Downward pressure on small mesh prices is due to a market desire, especially in China, for greater synthetic graphite material in the anode chemistry mix and structural overcapacity in China,” said Alex Albinski, an analyst at […]",[29566],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29567},{"job_title":557,"image":29568,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7886b3d1-7892-4040-97eb-ddfa8e7b9727\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29571,29572],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29574,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 10, 2024",{"id":29577,"uuid":29578,"name":29579,"slug":29580,"full_slug":29581,"content":29582},112468364444219,"74472c45-3d19-47e9-a623-43173dc96ad5","Stellantis-CATL JV to bolster Europe’s LFP build out","stellantis-catl-jv-to-bolster-europes-lfp-build-out","article/stellantis-catl-jv-to-bolster-europes-lfp-build-out",{"_uid":29583,"date":29462,"tags":29584,"editor":29592,"content":29596,"excerpt":29713,"featured":51,"reporter":29714,"_editable":29718,"component":697,"seo_title":29579,"categories":29719,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":29722,"featured_image":29724,"seo_description":29602,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29575},"8be034fd-ea46-4b76-9aea-aa79d0dca974",[29585,29586,29587,29588,29591],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":29589,"name":29590},"spain","Spain",{"slug":8920,"name":8921},[29593],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29594},{"job_title":557,"image":29595,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29597},[29598,29603,29616,29621,29626,29631,29644,29649,29654,29659,29664,29675,29680,29685,29692,29699],{"type":591,"attrs":29599,"content":29600},{"textAlign":49},[29601],{"text":29602,"type":596},"Stellantis and CATL have confirmed a €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) investment to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in Spain, furthering Europe’s growing LFP capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29604,"content":29605},{"textAlign":49},[29606,29608,29614],{"text":29607,"type":596},"The two companies had ",{"text":29609,"type":596,"marks":29610},"announced a memorandum of understanding",[29611],{"type":606,"attrs":29612},{"href":29613,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-catl-deal-could-bring-chinese-lfp-battery-production-to-europe?_branch_match_id=1544411195622489162&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd4tw9kvPD0hMCUiyrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUADTuJvUgAAAA%3D",{"text":29615,"type":596}," to build a European LFP gigafactory in November 2023. The facility is expected to begin production by the end of 2026 and could reach a capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh), as well as being carbon neutral, according to the companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":29617,"content":29618},{"textAlign":49},[29619],{"text":29620,"type":596},"“Collaboration between the two has been rumoured for a while, but the revealed commitment solidifies the trend of major cell and automakers in Europe restrategising to incorporate LFP batteries into production plans,” said Evan Hartley, Research Manager at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":29622,"content":29623},{"textAlign":49},[29624],{"text":29625,"type":596},"“The 50 GWh facility also confirms a further potential downgrading of ACC within Stellantis’ battery plans, though the producer will remain key for NCM supply,” added Hartley.",{"type":615,"attrs":29627,"content":29628},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29629],{"text":29630,"type":596},"How have European EV sales performed in 2024?",{"type":591,"attrs":29632,"content":29633},{"textAlign":49},[29634,29636,29642],{"text":29635,"type":596},"European EV sales fell by 2.9% year-to-date in October 2024, according to Rho Motion. There have also been a number of ",{"text":29637,"type":596,"marks":29638},"gigafactory capacity cancellations",[29639],{"type":606,"attrs":29640},{"href":29641,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/european-2030-battery-pipeline-falls-176-gwh-this-year-amid-ev-slowdown?_branch_match_id=1544411203581576718&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FQ2z6g0Nc%2FP9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA57dqK0gAAAA%3D",{"text":29643,"type":596}," in the region this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":29645,"content":29646},{"textAlign":49},[29647],{"text":29648,"type":596},"“Europe is in a very precarious position right now where it has set itself tough goals for very high EV penetration which at current 2024 rates will not be met in future,” said Will Roberts, Automotive Research Lead at Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":29650,"content":29651},{"textAlign":49},[29652],{"text":29653,"type":596},"“Achieving the high EV penetration rates seen in Norway and China is going to require European governments – both national and the EU – to support the industry,” added Roberts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29655,"content":29656},{"textAlign":49},[29657],{"text":29658,"type":596},"Stellantis aims for 100% of its European passenger car sales to be electric in 2030. Offering more affordable EVs will be essential to this and better enabled by lower cost LFP cells.",{"type":615,"attrs":29660,"content":29661},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29662],{"text":29663,"type":596},"What is the outlook for LFP in Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":29665,"content":29666},{"textAlign":49},[29667,29669,29674],{"text":29668,"type":596},"By 2030, Europe is forecast to have 213 GWh of LFP capacity, according to Benchmark ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":29671},"Gigafactory Assessment",[29672],{"type":606,"attrs":29673},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":29676,"content":29677},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29678],{"text":29679,"type":596},"What role do Chinese companies play in Europe’s LFP supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":29681,"content":29682},{"textAlign":49},[29683],{"text":29684,"type":596},"Europe’s more open relations with China – relative to the US – mean Chinese companies account for a significant amount of the region’s LFP projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":29686,"content":29687},{"textAlign":49},[29688],{"text":29689,"type":596,"marks":29690},"Be a part of the conversations shaping the future of Europe’s energy landscape by attending Giga Europe 2025.",[29691],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":29693,"content":29694},{"textAlign":49},[29695],{"text":29696,"type":596,"marks":29697},"Set across two days, Giga Europe is the region’s premier event for energy transition supply chain stakeholders, sharing expert insights from mine to market.",[29698],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":29700,"content":29701},{"textAlign":49},[29702,29709],{"text":29703,"type":596,"marks":29704},"Secure your tickets here and join us",[29705,29708],{"type":606,"attrs":29706},{"href":29707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events",{"type":1006},{"text":29710,"type":596,"marks":29711}," on 18-19 March at Autoworld, Brussels – Super Early Bird saving expires December 20th.",[29712],{"type":1006},"Stellantis and CATL have confirmed a €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) investment to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in Spain, furthering Europe’s growing LFP capacity. The two companies had announced a memorandum of understanding to build a European LFP gigafactory in November 2023. The facility is expected to begin production by the end of 2026 […]",[29715],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29716},{"job_title":557,"image":29717,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8be034fd-ea46-4b76-9aea-aa79d0dca974\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29720,29721],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29723},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29725,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29726,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/701c1264b7/bm-spain-subsidises-stellantis-gigafactory-13257743b4cd.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":29728,"uuid":29729,"name":29730,"slug":29731,"full_slug":29732,"content":29733},112468374241853,"34d37216-1e1f-48e2-befc-26ec60c4d081","How could Trump impact the US battery recycling market?","how-could-trump-impact-the-us-battery-recycling-market","article/how-could-trump-impact-the-us-battery-recycling-market",{"_uid":29734,"date":29735,"tags":29736,"editor":29745,"content":29749,"excerpt":29911,"featured":51,"reporter":29912,"_editable":29916,"component":697,"seo_title":29730,"categories":29917,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":29920,"featured_image":29922,"seo_description":29911,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":29925},"0c10599d-e189-4130-9dd2-a30781ec1d3c","2024-12-05 00:00",[29737,29738,29740,29741,29744],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":29739,"name":28952},"li-cycle",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":29742,"name":29743},"redwood-materials","Redwood Materials",{"slug":572,"name":573},[29746],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29747},{"job_title":557,"image":29748,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29750},[29751,29764,29777,29782,29787,29795,29800,29805,29810,29815,29820,29825,29850,29857,29862,29867,29872,29877,29882,29894,29899],{"type":591,"attrs":29752,"content":29753},{"textAlign":49},[29754,29756,29762],{"text":29755,"type":596},"An emphasis on America-first supply chains when ",{"text":29757,"type":596,"marks":29758},"President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 2025",[29759],{"type":606,"attrs":29760},{"href":29761,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question?_branch_match_id=1544411154589285780&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwgPCs9ILDUv9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3AqFEgAAAA%3D",{"text":29763,"type":596}," could increase the need for battery recycling in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":29765,"content":29766},{"textAlign":49},[29767,29769,29775],{"text":29768,"type":596},"However, much of the country’s recycling capacity is targeted at the production of ",{"text":29770,"type":596,"marks":29771},"black mass",[29772],{"type":606,"attrs":29773},{"href":29774,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced?_branch_match_id=1544411136256135245&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWtywJCInIrsgx9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAEusdjkgAAAA%3D",{"text":29776,"type":596}," from scrap, rather than processing it all the way to usable battery chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":29778,"content":29779},{"textAlign":49},[29780],{"text":29781,"type":596},"“Trump has placed emphasis on onshoring and domestic sourcing in line with his ‘America First’ policy agenda,” said Beatrice Browning, a recycling analyst at Benchmark. “Recycling companies would be able to facilitate this through hydrometallurgical treatment of battery black mass.”",{"type":615,"attrs":29783,"content":29784},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29785],{"text":29786,"type":596},"How could lower EV uptake impact US scrap availability?",{"type":591,"attrs":29788,"content":29789},{"textAlign":49},[29790],{"type":836,"attrs":29791},{"id":49,"alt":29792,"src":29793,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":29794},"US EV battery demand growth will likely slow under trump","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ca93056046/bm-trump-ev-demand.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":29796,"content":29797},{"textAlign":49},[29798],{"text":29799,"type":596},"Although this may have minimal impact on the short-term end-of-life scrap pool, the reduction in demand may lead to less availability of process scrap if US-based gigafactories lower production.",{"type":615,"attrs":29801,"content":29802},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29803],{"text":29804,"type":596},"Could America First support US recycling?",{"type":591,"attrs":29806,"content":29807},{"textAlign":49},[29808],{"text":29809,"type":596},"A stronger preference for domestically sourced critical minerals over those imported–even from neighbouring Canada–is likely under Trump’s America First regime.",{"type":591,"attrs":29811,"content":29812},{"textAlign":49},[29813],{"text":29814,"type":596},"“Some of the stances from this administration could actually drive even more demand for a domestic processing source,” Ajay Kochhar, chief executive of US battery recycler Li-Cycle, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":615,"attrs":29816,"content":29817},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29818],{"text":29819,"type":596},"Will DoE loans continue to support US recycling?",{"type":591,"attrs":29821,"content":29822},{"textAlign":49},[29823],{"text":29824,"type":596},"Much of the recycling capacity that is being built out in the US is supported by loans and grants from the Department of Energy (DoE).",{"type":591,"attrs":29826,"content":29827},{"textAlign":49},[29828,29830,29835,29836,29840,29842,29848],{"text":29829,"type":596},"This includes $475 million and $2 billion loans for ",{"text":28952,"type":596,"marks":29831},[29832],{"type":606,"attrs":29833},{"href":29834,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-companies-shaping-the-north-american-lithium-ion-recycling-ecosystem?_branch_match_id=1544411144816391245&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT4z0dw6vyM4x9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAUBaTPkgAAAA%3D",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":29743,"type":596,"marks":29837},[29838],{"type":606,"attrs":29839},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":29841,"type":596}," as well as ",{"text":29843,"type":596,"marks":29844},"$680 million in grants",[29845],{"type":606,"attrs":29846},{"href":29847,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-doe-funding-promises-680-million-to-support-domestic-recycling-projects?_branch_match_id=1544411128053004815&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD%2FEwNHUuysgx9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAqe622UgAAAA%3D",{"text":29849,"type":596}," for battery recycling projects from six companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":29851,"content":29852},{"textAlign":49},[29853],{"type":836,"attrs":29854},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":29855,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":29856},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/abab7982f0/bm-li-cycle-rochester-progress.gif",{},{"type":591,"attrs":29858,"content":29859},{"textAlign":49},[29860],{"text":29861,"type":596},"During Trump’s first term in office, no DoE loans were closed. However, as 92% of Inflation Reduction Act funding benefited Republican states, Trump’s relationship with the loan programs office in his second term may be different.",{"type":591,"attrs":29863,"content":29864},{"textAlign":49},[29865],{"text":29866,"type":596},"“It is an issue of critical material independence, an issue of energy independence, always was,” Kochhar said. “I think that appeals from a bipartisan perspective.”",{"type":591,"attrs":29868,"content":29869},{"textAlign":49},[29870],{"text":29871,"type":596},"Benchmark recycling analyst Beatrice Browning discussesNorth America’s recycling industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":29873,"content":29874},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29875],{"text":29876,"type":596},"Does the US have enough black mass processing capacity?",{"type":591,"attrs":29878,"content":29879},{"textAlign":49},[29880],{"text":29881,"type":596},"The US’ recycling capacity is predominantly at the preliminary stage of the recycling process. Many plants take battery scrap and produce black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":29883,"content":29884},{"textAlign":49},[29885,29887,29893],{"text":29886,"type":596},"While black mass refining is still nascent in the US, countries such as South Korea and China with significant amounts of hydrometallurgical processing capacity are ",{"text":29888,"type":596,"marks":29889},"competing to secure feedstock from the US",[29890],{"type":606,"attrs":29891},{"href":29892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/critical-mass-asian-demand-for-north-american-scrap-sees-recycler-prices-spike?_branch_match_id=1544411118764817548&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBwQ2AIAwF0I3ghAcT48EBHMGAqZRAC%2Fkl8ebsvsdzDlu9T6Q3S0SVooTYzMUxXCta%2FTJr4CAtnGn%2FQA8BRfOV0F8jbAejC%2F26SmqmSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":29895,"content":29896},{"textAlign":49},[29897],{"text":29898,"type":596},"The US then reimports those critical minerals, having lost out on the value add.",{"type":591,"attrs":29900,"content":29901},{"textAlign":49},[29902,29904,29909],{"text":29903,"type":596},"“Recycling and reprocessing over time can be one of our most strategic ways to actually compete with external supply chains,” JB Straubel, Redwood Material’s chief executive, ",{"text":29905,"type":596,"marks":29906},"told attendees at Benchmark Week",[29907],{"type":606,"attrs":29908},{"href":26485,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":29910,"type":596}," in November.","An emphasis on America-first supply chains when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 2025 could increase the need for battery recycling in the US. However, much of the country’s recycling capacity is targeted at the production of black mass from scrap, rather than processing it all the way to usable battery chemicals. “Trump has placed […]",[29913],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29914},{"job_title":557,"image":29915,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0c10599d-e189-4130-9dd2-a30781ec1d3c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[29918,29919],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":29792,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":29792,"source":547,"filename":29793,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29921,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":29792,"title":29792,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29923,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":29924,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/53304740e2/bm-adobestock-733199986.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 05, 2024",{"id":29927,"uuid":29928,"name":29929,"slug":29930,"full_slug":29931,"content":29932},114841980173088,"ac486874-e582-4ddf-9044-f65136ac72c4","COP29 pledges promise to boost critical mineral demand","cop29-pledges-promise-to-boost-critical-mineral-demand","article/cop29-pledges-promise-to-boost-critical-mineral-demand",{"_uid":29933,"date":29934,"tags":29935,"editor":29939,"content":29943,"excerpt":30023,"featured":51,"reporter":30024,"_editable":30028,"component":697,"seo_title":29929,"categories":30029,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30035,"seo_description":30023,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30038},"c156b3a3-0da8-4d6f-b88d-00529e108ef7","2024-12-03 00:00",[29936],{"slug":29937,"name":29938},"cop29","COP29",[29940],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":29941},{"job_title":557,"image":29942,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":29944},[29945,29950,29955,29960,29965,29970,29975,29980,29993,29998,30003,30008,30013,30018],{"type":591,"attrs":29946,"content":29947},{"textAlign":49},[29948],{"text":29949,"type":596},"The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) wrapped up in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku last week clinching a $300 billion a year climate finance agreement by 2035 to help cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.",{"type":591,"attrs":29951,"content":29952},{"textAlign":49},[29953],{"text":29954,"type":596},"“Many countries were disappointed by the outcome of the COP29 summit,” said Bryan Bille, policy and geopolitical principal at Benchmark. “Experts see this edition as transitional, with the next summit, COP30 in Brazil, deemed far more critical for global climate agreements.”",{"type":591,"attrs":29956,"content":29957},{"textAlign":49},[29958],{"text":29959,"type":596},"Among the pledges made at this year’s summit, several promised to boost lithium ion battery demand and underscored the vital role of critical minerals for renewable energy technologies, energy storage, and infrastructure expansion. ",{"type":615,"attrs":29961,"content":29962},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29963],{"text":29964,"type":596},"Scaling energy storage and grids",{"type":591,"attrs":29966,"content":29967},{"textAlign":49},[29968],{"text":29969,"type":596},"One of the conference’s key commitments was the COP presidency announcing the Clean Energy Storage and Grid Pledge, targeting 1,500 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage (ESS) capacity by 2030—six times the 2022 level. ",{"type":591,"attrs":29971,"content":29972},{"textAlign":49},[29973],{"text":29974,"type":596},"The emphasis on ESS to support renewable energy generation underscores the central role of critical minerals in the global energy transition – particularly lithium, owing to the primacy of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells for ESS applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":29976,"content":29977},{"textAlign":49},[29978],{"text":29979,"type":596},"Similarly, the commitment to add or upgrade 25 million kilometers of transmission and distribution grids by 2030 will boost copper demand, essential for electrical wiring and grid infrastructure. Expanding energy storage systems (ESS) will ensure the infrastructure needed to support renewable energy and meet net-zero goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":29981,"content":29982},{"textAlign":49},[29983,29985,29991],{"text":29984,"type":596},"However, ",{"text":29986,"type":596,"marks":29987},"Rho Motion notes that forecasts for 2030 global BESS capacity already stand at approximately 1,600 GW",[29988],{"type":606,"attrs":29989},{"href":29990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/news/rho-motions-key-takeaways-from-cop29-industry-update/",{"text":29992,"type":596},", making the overall target not overly ambitious.",{"type":615,"attrs":29994,"content":29995},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[29996],{"text":29997,"type":596},"Spotlight on critical minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":29999,"content":30000},{"textAlign":49},[30001],{"text":30002,"type":596},"The high-level panel underscored the continued support for recommendations by the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, which was established to address supply bottlenecks, geopolitical risks, and environmental concerns in the mining sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30004,"content":30005},{"textAlign":49},[30006],{"text":30007,"type":596},"The panel emphasised that resource-rich developing countries should develop processing capacity to capture greater economic benefits from the energy transition. Several environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues in the ming sector were highlighted – including respect for Indigenous rights and combatting corruption.",{"type":615,"attrs":30009,"content":30010},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30011],{"text":30012,"type":596},"Green hydrogen expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":30014,"content":30015},{"textAlign":49},[30016],{"text":30017,"type":596},"Another focus area was scaling up hydrogen production from renewable energy resources. The declaration, announced by the presidency, set the target of producing 1 million tonnes of “green hydrogen” annually via renewable sources, while reducing the 96 million tonnes of hydrogen produced via fossil fuels.",{"type":591,"attrs":30019,"content":30020},{"textAlign":49},[30021],{"text":30022,"type":596},"The required expansion of renewable energy capacity to support green hydrogen production will further increase the demand for rare earths, platinum group metals, and other critical minerals. ","The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) wrapped up in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku last week clinching a $300 billion a year climate finance agreement by 2035 to help cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. “Many countries were disappointed by the outcome of the COP29 summit,” said Bryan Bille, policy and geopolitical principal […]",[30025],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30026},{"job_title":557,"image":30027,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c156b3a3-0da8-4d6f-b88d-00529e108ef7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30030,30031,30032,30033,30034],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":30036,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30037,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/17251f30c9/bm-cop29-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 03, 2024",{"id":30040,"uuid":30041,"name":30042,"slug":30043,"full_slug":30044,"content":30045},114841988631330,"5136172b-ff3e-4bc9-9226-8a5a9c97b2cb","Geopolitics to drive rare earth supply diversification","geopolitics-to-drive-rare-earth-supply-diversification","article/geopolitics-to-drive-rare-earth-supply-diversification",{"_uid":30046,"date":30047,"tags":30048,"editor":30052,"content":30056,"excerpt":30217,"featured":51,"reporter":30218,"component":697,"seo_title":30042,"categories":30222,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":30227,"featured_image":30229,"seo_description":30231,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30232},"0e1c3392-7d8e-409f-8708-d7243d7d5e16","2024-12-02 00:00",[30049,30050,30051],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[30053],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30054},{"job_title":557,"image":30055,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30057},[30058,30063,30068,30081,30086,30098,30105,30110,30115,30120,30132,30145,30158],{"type":591,"attrs":30059,"content":30060},{"textAlign":49},[30061],{"text":30062,"type":596},"The rare earths supply chain is poised for greater geographical diversification as new mines and processing plants outside of China are brought into production throughout the second half of the decade, as part of on-going derisking efforts by Western governments.",{"type":591,"attrs":30064,"content":30065},{"textAlign":49},[30066],{"text":30067,"type":596},"“The world is reliant on a single source for the majority of rare earths supply,” said Daan de Jonge, product director multi-commodity at Benchmark. “Investments are being driven not only by economics but also important geopolitical considerations. The future of the supply chain is wrapped up in the complexity of criticality and national supply chain strategies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30069,"content":30070},{"textAlign":49},[30071,30073,30079],{"text":30072,"type":596},"Supply growth is expected outside China in spite of ",{"text":30074,"type":596,"marks":30075},"a weak pricing environment",[30076],{"type":606,"attrs":30077},{"href":30078,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/unsustainable-prices-hit-rare-earths-projects-worldwide?_branch_match_id=1544393327604954400&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzzZK9KsocDMN9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAppUUOEgAAAA%3D",{"text":30080,"type":596},", supported by bullish demand prospects and the strategic importance of developing an ex-China rare earth supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30082,"content":30083},{"textAlign":49},[30084],{"text":30085,"type":596},"The US, in particular, is seeking to develop a rare earths supply chain independent of China – providing financing for ex-China projects through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BLI).",{"type":591,"attrs":30087,"content":30088},{"textAlign":49},[30089,30091,30096],{"text":30090,"type":596},"According to the ",{"text":30092,"type":596,"marks":30093},"Benchmark Rare Earths Forecast",[30094],{"type":606,"attrs":30095},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":30097,"type":596},", the supply of mined rare earth oxides from non-Chinese sources is expected to grow 5.8x through to 2030, with the US and Australia accounting for the largest share of this growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30099,"content":30100},{"textAlign":49},[30101],{"type":836,"attrs":30102},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":30103,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":30104},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/028075772a/bm-image-77.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":30106,"content":30107},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30108],{"text":30109,"type":596},"Higher prices required to support ex-China projects",{"type":591,"attrs":30111,"content":30112},{"textAlign":49},[30113],{"text":30114,"type":596},"China’s grip over rare earths supply makes the industry a strategic geopolitical battleground, potentially allowing it to shut off exports with significant ramifications for western economies.",{"type":591,"attrs":30116,"content":30117},{"textAlign":49},[30118],{"text":30119,"type":596},"The country’s rare earth mining sector is predominantly owned and operated by state-owned enterprises, which are able operate at or below cost, as strategic objectives taking precedence over profit maximisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":30121,"content":30122},{"textAlign":49},[30123,30125,30130],{"text":30124,"type":596},"This approach has resulted in ",{"text":30126,"type":596,"marks":30127},"unsustainably low prices",[30128],{"type":606,"attrs":30129},{"href":30078,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":30131,"type":596}," for large portions of the ex-China industry, making it more challenging for projects to secure financing from the private sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":30133,"content":30134},{"textAlign":49},[30135,30137,30143],{"text":30136,"type":596},"With higher prices required to incentivise project development, the US and EU have considered intervention into critical mineral markets. These measures include ",{"text":30138,"type":596,"marks":30139},"mechanisms such as minimum price floors",[30140],{"type":606,"attrs":30141},{"href":30142,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-critical-mineral-price-support-could-cost-7-5-billion-alone-for-lithium-in-next-five-years?_branch_match_id=1544393345053759768&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTwlPtPAN9zIN9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA8Mso5kgAAAA%3D",{"text":30144,"type":596}," and national stockpiling to support price levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":30146,"content":30147},{"textAlign":49},[30148,30150,30156],{"text":30149,"type":596},"Western governments are also developing a joint-strategy through the ",{"text":30151,"type":596,"marks":30152},"US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), which aims to drive investments into ex-China ",[30153],{"type":606,"attrs":30154},{"href":30155,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/minerals-security-partnership-enters-financing-but-know-how-still-the-missing-link?_branch_match_id=1544393316285123337&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzws1DowIKykJ80%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAdR7oBEgAAAA%3D",{"text":30157,"type":596},"critical mineral projects to help bridge the private sector funding gap.",{"type":591,"attrs":30159,"content":30160},{"textAlign":49},[30161,30166,30174,30179,30186,30190,30197,30202,30207,30213],{"text":30162,"type":596,"marks":30163},"Benchmark offers a range of market intelligence services for the rare earths market, including:",[30164,30165],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":30167,"type":596,"marks":30168},"Rare Earths Price Assessment",[30169,30172,30173],{"type":606,"attrs":30170},{"href":30171,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/rare-earths-prices/table/",{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":30175,"type":596,"marks":30176}," providing transparency into rare earth prices along with market analysis every month.",[30177,30178],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":30180,"type":596,"marks":30181},"Rare Earths Forecast Report",[30182,30185],{"type":606,"attrs":30183},{"href":30184,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/data-reports/forecast/",{"type":1006},{"text":30187,"type":596,"marks":30188}," examines supply, demand, prices and costs for rare earth elements out to 2050.",[30189],{"type":1006},{"text":30191,"type":596,"marks":30192},"Rare Earths ESG Report",[30193,30196],{"type":606,"attrs":30194},{"href":30195,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/data-reports/sustainability/",{"type":1006},{"text":30198,"type":596,"marks":30199}," enables market participants to assess and benchmark the ESG performance and approach of rare earths producers globally.",[30200,30201],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":30203,"type":596,"marks":30204},"For more information on our Rare Earths market intelligence, please provide your details ",[30205,30206],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":30208},[30209,30211,30212],{"type":606,"attrs":30210},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":30214},[30215,30216],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"The rare earths supply chain is poised for greater geographical diversification as new mines and processing plants outside of China are brought into production throughout the second half of the decade, as part of on-going derisking efforts by Western governments. “The world is reliant on a single source for the majority of rare earths supply,” […]",[30219],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30220},{"job_title":557,"image":30221,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[30223,30224,30225,30226],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30228},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12788,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30230,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The rare earths supply chain is poised for greater geographical diversification as new mines and processing plants outside of China are brought into production throughout the second ...","Dec 02, 2024",{"id":30234,"uuid":30235,"name":30236,"slug":30237,"full_slug":30238,"content":30239},114842004278052,"18dd821c-75d3-4dd6-83c1-64a9b8fe8cf3","Galp cancels Portuguese lithium refinery following Northvolt collapse","galp-cancels-portuguese-lithium-refinery-following-northvolt-collapse","article/galp-cancels-portuguese-lithium-refinery-following-northvolt-collapse",{"_uid":30240,"date":30241,"tags":30242,"editor":30248,"content":30252,"excerpt":30358,"featured":51,"reporter":30359,"_editable":30363,"component":697,"seo_title":30236,"categories":30364,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30367,"seo_description":30358,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30370},"e362c6e9-1046-48f6-a5ab-47cf600c2691","2024-11-28 00:00",[30243,30244,30247],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":30245,"name":30246},"galp","Galp",{"slug":22547,"name":22548},[30249],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30250},{"job_title":557,"image":30251,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30253},[30254,30275,30280,30293,30298,30303,30308,30318,30323,30328,30333,30338,30343,30348,30353],{"type":591,"attrs":30255,"content":30256},{"textAlign":49},[30257,30259,30265,30267,30273],{"text":30258,"type":596},"Development of the ",{"text":30260,"type":596,"marks":30261},"50:50 joint venture",[30262],{"type":606,"attrs":30263},{"href":30264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-moves-upstream-with-galp-lithium-hydroxide-jv?_branch_match_id=1544391513654564874&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwm2cAlyiiwI8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAT6mG2kgAAAA%3D",{"text":30266,"type":596}," lithium hydroxide refinery between Northvolt and Portuguese oil and gas major Galp has ended after ",{"text":30268,"type":596,"marks":30269},"Northvolt collapsed",[30270],{"type":606,"attrs":30271},{"href":30272,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-files-for-bankruptcy-in-us-as-ceo-steps-down?_branch_match_id=1544391505164126653&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT6syda2o8CgI8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA9HEV%2FEgAAAA%3D",{"text":30274,"type":596}," and Galp failed to find an alternative partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":30276,"content":30277},{"textAlign":49},[30278],{"text":30279,"type":596},"The refinery was planned to have a capacity of up to 35,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (30,000 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent) and come online in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":30281,"content":30282},{"textAlign":49},[30283,30285,30291],{"text":30284,"type":596},"This comes as a disappointing blow for ",{"text":30286,"type":596,"marks":30287},"Europe’s aspirations",[30288],{"type":606,"attrs":30289},{"href":30290,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-last-shot-can-europe-act-fast-enough-to-compete-in-the-battery-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544391522433247155&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT8yI9PMt8SsI8U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA20l6m0gAAAA%3D",{"text":30292,"type":596}," of developing a lithium industry that could bolster its domestic supply of the critical battery chemical.",{"type":591,"attrs":30294,"content":30295},{"textAlign":49},[30296],{"text":30297,"type":596},"“Galp’s exit represents a major setback for Europe’s Net Zero Industry Act objectives,” said Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark. “Combined with delays in Serbia’s Jadar mine and Northvolt’s challenges, the continent’s efforts to secure a resilient lithium supply chain have taken a hit.”",{"type":615,"attrs":30299,"content":30300},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30301],{"text":30302,"type":596},"Could Northvolt’s collapse impact demand for lithium in Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":30304,"content":30305},{"textAlign":49},[30306],{"text":30307,"type":596},"However, even without Northvolt’s mineral demand, Europe is forecast to remain in a significant supply deficit for both mined lithium and lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":30309,"content":30310},{"textAlign":49},[30311,30316],{"text":30312,"type":596,"marks":30313},"Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act",[30314],{"type":606,"attrs":30315},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":30317,"type":596}," is targeting 10% of Europe’s critical mineral demand to be met by domestic mining and 40% by domestic processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":30319,"content":30320},{"textAlign":49},[30321],{"text":30322,"type":596},"“While the setback is significant, the broader context remains unchanged: the energy transition targets are pressing, and the looming deficit in lithium and other critical minerals persists,” Gay said.",{"type":615,"attrs":30324,"content":30325},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30326],{"text":30327,"type":596},"What was Galp’s position in Europe’s lithium industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":30329,"content":30330},{"textAlign":49},[30331],{"text":30332,"type":596},"Europe currently has a very small-scale lithium industry. Its only operating lithium mine is Sociedade Mineira’s de Pegmatite’s mine in Portugal which produces under 2,000 tonnes LCE per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":30334,"content":30335},{"textAlign":49},[30336],{"text":30337,"type":596},"One of the mines due to come online in this time period is the Mina do Barroso spodumene mine. This is 74% owned by Savannah Resources, 16% by AMG Lithium and 10% owned by Galp.",{"type":591,"attrs":30339,"content":30340},{"textAlign":49},[30341],{"text":30342,"type":596},"“Galp made a strategic investment in Mina do Barroso to secure feedstock for the Aurora Lithium project” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":30344,"content":30345},{"textAlign":49},[30346],{"text":30347,"type":596},"The Aurora refinery was due to come online in 2026 and reach full capacity by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":30349,"content":30350},{"textAlign":49},[30351],{"text":30352,"type":596},"The cancellation of Aurora is a particular blow to Portugal’s lithium industry which is already struggling with setbacks to its mining projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":30354,"content":30355},{"textAlign":49},[30356],{"text":30357,"type":596},"“Portugal’s dream of leading the European lithium-ion supply chain has encountered significant setbacks in recent months,” Gay said. “Despite hosting some of the continent’s largest identified lithium resources, particularly at Savannah Resources’ Mina do Barroso project, environmental activism and opposition from local agricultural communities have stalled its progress.”","Development of the 50:50 joint venture lithium hydroxide refinery between Northvolt and Portuguese oil and gas major Galp has ended after Northvolt collapsed and Galp failed to find an alternative partner. The refinery was planned to have a capacity of up to 35,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (30,000 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent) and come online […]",[30360],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30361},{"job_title":557,"image":30362,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e362c6e9-1046-48f6-a5ab-47cf600c2691\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30365,30366],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":30368,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30369,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/900070f9ae/bm-portugalflagg.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 28, 2024",{"id":30372,"uuid":30373,"name":30374,"slug":30375,"full_slug":30376,"content":30377},114842012650277,"de2ac000-df3f-43b4-a194-9b4234f59af1","SK On secures domestic lithium hydroxide from Posco-Pilbara JV","sk-on-secures-domestic-lithium-hydroxide-from-posco-pilbara-jv","article/sk-on-secures-domestic-lithium-hydroxide-from-posco-pilbara-jv",{"_uid":30378,"date":30379,"tags":30380,"editor":30391,"content":30395,"excerpt":30501,"featured":51,"reporter":30502,"_editable":30506,"component":697,"seo_title":30374,"categories":30507,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30512,"seo_description":30501,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30516},"106f0881-2daf-48bd-9835-e706ec6271a1","2024-11-27 00:00",[30381,30382,30385,30386,30389,30390],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":30383,"name":30384},"pilbara-minerals","Pilbara Minerals",{"slug":29331,"name":29332},{"slug":30387,"name":30388},"sk-innovation","SK Innovation",{"slug":6053,"name":6054},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[30392],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30393},{"job_title":557,"image":30394,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30396},[30397,30409,30422,30435,30440,30445,30456,30469,30474,30479,30486,30491,30496],{"type":591,"attrs":30398,"content":30399},{"textAlign":49},[30400,30402,30408],{"text":30401,"type":596},"South Korean battery maker SK On has secured a domestic source of lithium hydroxide from ",{"text":30403,"type":596,"marks":30404},"Posco Pilbara Lithium Solution",[30405],{"type":606,"attrs":30406},{"href":30407,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/pilbara-to-put-ngungaju-into-care-and-maintenance-amid-spodumene-price-woes?_branch_match_id=1544391463205551873&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD8kKck9zTSst90%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAksbm%2F0gAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":30410,"content":30411},{"textAlign":49},[30412,30414,30420],{"text":30413,"type":596},"The deal is for up to ",{"text":30415,"type":596,"marks":30416},"15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide",[30417],{"type":606,"attrs":30418},{"href":30419,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-hydroxide-prices-fall-for-fifth-straight-month-in-october-amid-shift-to-lfp?_branch_match_id=1544391480857909252&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd6uoKjHIcAoO8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAMDCrUEgAAAA%3D",{"text":30421,"type":596}," (13,200 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent) over the next three years with the option to extend this for another three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":30423,"content":30424},{"textAlign":49},[30425,30427,30433],{"text":30426,"type":596},"Sourcing lithium chemicals locally could help SK On reduce its ",{"text":30428,"type":596,"marks":30429},"reliance on China",[30430],{"type":606,"attrs":30431},{"href":30432,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/which-companies-control-the-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-2?_branch_match_id=1544391472008153377&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTyv0qQxxSSrI9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAY2%2BaQEgAAAA%3D",{"text":30434,"type":596},". The South Korean company has several ex-China lithium supply agreements in place alongside agreements for cobalt, graphite and cathode.",{"type":591,"attrs":30436,"content":30437},{"textAlign":49},[30438],{"text":30439,"type":596},"“SK On is securing domestically produced lithium chemicals to diversify supply sources, and enhance their procurement competitiveness,” said Sophia Jang, a lithium price analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":30441,"content":30442},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30443],{"text":30444,"type":596},"Why has SK On made the deal?",{"type":591,"attrs":30446,"content":30447},{"textAlign":49},[30448,30450,30454],{"text":30449,"type":596},"In 2024, three quarters of lithium hydroxide is set to be produced in China, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":30451},[30452],{"type":606,"attrs":30453},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":30455,"type":596},". China also dominates in natural graphite, cobalt chemicals, and cathode production.",{"type":591,"attrs":30457,"content":30458},{"textAlign":49},[30459,30461,30467],{"text":30460,"type":596},"Although SK On, and its parent company SK Innovation, operate ",{"text":30462,"type":596,"marks":30463},"gigafactories in China",[30464],{"type":606,"attrs":30465},{"href":30466,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ions-leading-producers-in-2030-china-to-dominate-as-west-ramps-up?_branch_match_id=1544391491022405819&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwzO8ius8g4O8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA7VnLXUgAAAA%3D",{"text":30468,"type":596},", the company has a sizeable footprint in the US, Hungary and South Korea.",{"type":615,"attrs":30470,"content":30471},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30472],{"text":30473,"type":596},"Is SK On’s lithium deal part of a trend?",{"type":591,"attrs":30475,"content":30476},{"textAlign":49},[30477],{"text":30478,"type":596},"This deal with Posco-Pilbara is the latest in a raft of agreements SK On has made across its supply chain over the last several years, especially in lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":30480,"content":30481},{"textAlign":49},[30482],{"type":836,"attrs":30483},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":30484,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":30485},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3a46afb1ec/bm-sk-on-lithium-deals2x-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":30487,"content":30488},{"textAlign":49},[30489],{"text":30490,"type":596},"SK On is not the only company looking to secure ex-China supplies of critical minerals and materials:",{"type":615,"attrs":30492,"content":30493},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30494],{"text":30495,"type":596},"What is the Posco-Pilbara joint venture?",{"type":591,"attrs":30497,"content":30498},{"textAlign":49},[30499],{"text":30500,"type":596},"The lithium hydroxide will be sourced from Posco Pilbara Lithium Solution’s 43,000 tonne LCE lithium hydroxide plant which began operating earlier this year.","South Korean battery maker SK On has secured a domestic source of lithium hydroxide from Posco Pilbara Lithium Solution. The deal is for up to 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide (13,200 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent) over the next three years with the option to extend this for another three years. Sourcing lithium chemicals locally […]",[30503],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30504},{"job_title":557,"image":30505,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"106f0881-2daf-48bd-9835-e706ec6271a1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30508,30509,30510,30511],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":30513,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":30513,"source":547,"filename":30514,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30515,"is_external_url":51},"SK On Seosan plant. Image credit: SK On","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0ce29faa42/bm-sk.jpg",{"alt":30513,"title":30513,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 27, 2024",{"id":30518,"uuid":30519,"name":30520,"slug":30521,"full_slug":30522,"content":30523},112468412162626,"e45c3ada-5447-4aa5-a8ba-3d59a28750c1","Trump tariffs threats could impact critical mineral supply chains","trump-tariffs-threats-could-impact-critical-mineral-supply-chains","article/trump-tariffs-threats-could-impact-critical-mineral-supply-chains",{"_uid":30524,"date":30379,"tags":30525,"editor":30531,"content":30535,"excerpt":30603,"featured":51,"reporter":30604,"_editable":30608,"component":697,"seo_title":30520,"categories":30609,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30612,"seo_description":30603,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30516},"0be6fcdc-5a2b-4865-b3c5-0ad04b1e68e2",[30526,30527,30528,30529,30530],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":25460,"name":25461},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},[30532],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30533},{"job_title":557,"image":30534,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30536},[30537,30542,30547,30552,30557,30562,30567,30588,30593,30598],{"type":591,"attrs":30538,"content":30539},{"textAlign":49},[30540],{"text":30541,"type":596},"President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he plans to leverage a tariff of 25% on all imports from Mexico and Canada and an extra 10% tariff on goods from China on his first day in office, a move that would effectively override the US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement.",{"type":591,"attrs":30543,"content":30544},{"textAlign":49},[30545],{"text":30546,"type":596},"As FTA partners, Canada and Mexico had been set to be key links for the US lithium ion battery supply chain. But President-elect Trump has sharply criticised the beneficial status granted to FTA economies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), promising to reverse the flow of capital towards ‘friendshoring’ supply chains in favour of US investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":30548,"content":30549},{"textAlign":49},[30550],{"text":30551,"type":596},"“This is potentially good news for local lithium mines and integrated refineries,” said Cameron Perks, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark. “Many are high-cost, so it is yet to be seen if the 25% tariff will shift the economic balance.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30553,"content":30554},{"textAlign":49},[30555],{"text":30556,"type":596},"“It is also a potential win for others like Australia, who do not have a trade surplus with the US, and are ready to export spodumene and diversify their customer base away from China,” Perks added.",{"type":615,"attrs":30558,"content":30559},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30560],{"text":30561,"type":596},"What could tariffs mean for other critical minerals?",{"type":591,"attrs":30563,"content":30564},{"textAlign":49},[30565],{"text":30566,"type":596},"Canada, in particular, is a key supplier of critical minerals such as nickel and cobalt, for which the US does not have domestic large-scale mining capabilities or significant mineral endowments.",{"type":591,"attrs":30568,"content":30569},{"textAlign":49},[30570,30572,30578,30580,30586],{"text":30571,"type":596},"US automakers, such as General Motors, have targeted ",{"text":30573,"type":596,"marks":30574},"Canadian nickel for their EV battery supply chains",[30575],{"type":606,"attrs":30576},{"href":30577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-targets-70-kwh-batteries-as-it-signs-nickel-deal-with-vale?_branch_match_id=1544411006132549326&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLy%2FNzTOwKIkI8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAye%2B0r0gAAAA%3D",{"text":30579,"type":596}," to qualify for tax credits under the IRA. Since 2022, Canada has ",{"text":30581,"type":596,"marks":30582},"emerged as a key regional hub",[30583],{"type":606,"attrs":30584},{"href":30585,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/honda-invests-11-billion-in-ev-battery-and-cathode-production-in-canada?_branch_match_id=1544410998351174601&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLzAtdLY0qYwI8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAGC4OLUgAAAA%3D",{"text":30587,"type":596}," in the midstream of the North American lithium ion battery supply chain – but the threat of trade barriers could now throw these investments in doubt.",{"type":591,"attrs":30589,"content":30590},{"textAlign":49},[30591],{"text":30592,"type":596},"The imposition of tariffs could therefore increase raw material sourcing costs for US-based automakers and cell manufacturers, driving up battery manufacturing costs and electric vehicle (EV) prices in the US and North America.",{"type":615,"attrs":30594,"content":30595},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30596],{"text":30597,"type":596},"How could a Trump presidency impact US battery demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":30599,"content":30600},{"textAlign":49},[30601],{"text":30602,"type":596},"President-elect Trump has voiced his opposition to pro-EV regulations introduced under the Biden administration, signalling his intention to roll-back the pro-EV mandate and other related policies once in office. The result is likely to be a slowing of EV adoption rates in the US. ","President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he plans to leverage a tariff of 25% on all imports from Mexico and Canada and an extra 10% tariff on goods from China on his first day in office, a move that would effectively override the US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement. As FTA partners, Canada and Mexico had been set […]",[30605],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30606},{"job_title":557,"image":30607,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0be6fcdc-5a2b-4865-b3c5-0ad04b1e68e2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30610,30611],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26662,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30613,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":30615,"uuid":30616,"name":30617,"slug":30618,"full_slug":30619,"content":30620},112468436079176,"a0982607-f0b8-4898-aab0-d30ef208edaf","BHP outlines $14 billion Chilean copper strategy","bhp-outlines-14-billion-chilean-copper-strategy","article/bhp-outlines-14-billion-chilean-copper-strategy",{"_uid":30621,"date":30622,"tags":30623,"editor":30628,"content":30632,"excerpt":30702,"featured":51,"reporter":30703,"_editable":30707,"component":697,"seo_title":30617,"categories":30708,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30711,"seo_description":30702,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30714},"6c5b05a6-93b6-4156-9500-ebe82d68e931","2024-11-25 00:00",[30624,30627],{"slug":30625,"name":30626},"bhp","BHP",{"slug":4623,"name":4624},[30629],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30630},{"job_title":557,"image":30631,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30633},[30634,30639,30644,30649,30654,30659,30664,30677,30682,30687,30692,30697],{"type":591,"attrs":30635,"content":30636},{"textAlign":49},[30637],{"text":30638,"type":596},"BHP last week outlined its vision for the future of its copper operations in Chile, earmarking up to $14 billion to stabilise copper production at 1.4 million tonnes from the start of the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":30640,"content":30641},{"textAlign":49},[30642],{"text":30643,"type":596},"“BHP’s growth plans are bold but well-supported by strategic initiatives and detailed engineering,” said Ivan Llancas, copper analyst at Benchmark. “Escondida, BHP’s flagship operation and the world’s largest copper mine, is set to experience production declines by the end of the decade, attributed to falling ore grades and the planned demolition of the Los Colorados concentrator to access the high-grade ore below.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30645,"content":30646},{"textAlign":49},[30647],{"text":30648,"type":596},"As a result of Escondida’s falling output, the mining giant expects global copper production to decrease by around 300,000 tonnes to 1.6 million tonnes by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":30650,"content":30651},{"textAlign":49},[30652],{"text":30653,"type":596},"Together, these projects are expected to add an additional 75,000-125,000 of copper production above current production levels in Chile by 2031.",{"type":615,"attrs":30655,"content":30656},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30657],{"text":30658,"type":596},"BHP eyes global growth",{"type":591,"attrs":30660,"content":30661},{"textAlign":49},[30662],{"text":30663,"type":596},"The world’s largest mining company has been manoeuvring to increase its copper exposure to capitalise on bullish demand prospects for the red metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":30665,"content":30666},{"textAlign":49},[30667,30669,30675],{"text":30668,"type":596},"In partnership with Lundin Mining,",{"text":30670,"type":596,"marks":30671}," BHP agreed to a $3 billion joint acquisition of South American copper explorer Filo Corp in August",[30672],{"type":606,"attrs":30673},{"href":30674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bhp-and-lundin-boost-copper-exposure-with-3-billion-filo-acquisition",{"text":30676,"type":596},". This followed a failed $49 billion takeover of Anglo American earlier this year – which targeted Anglo’s prized copper assets in Chile and Peru. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30678,"content":30679},{"textAlign":49},[30680],{"text":30681,"type":596},"In August, BHP unveiled plans to increase copper production at its South Australian operations, aiming to double output in the region to 650,000 tonnes by the mid-2030’s. The plan hinges on two key projects in the region: an expansion of its copper smelter and refinery at Olympic Dam and the Oak Dam exploration project.",{"type":615,"attrs":30683,"content":30684},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30685],{"text":30686,"type":596},"Rising capital costs",{"type":591,"attrs":30688,"content":30689},{"textAlign":49},[30690],{"text":30691,"type":596},"BHP expects increasing copper intensity of the global economy to leave the market facing a 10 million tonne deficit by 2035, requiring an estimated $250 billion of additional investment to plug the supply gap.",{"type":591,"attrs":30693,"content":30694},{"textAlign":49},[30695],{"text":30696,"type":596},"However, rising capital costs are hamstringing new project development. Miners have largely sought to boost their copper output through acquisitions, rather than through brownfield expansions and new greenfield projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30698,"content":30699},{"textAlign":49},[30700],{"text":30701,"type":596},"New project development faces a multitude of challenges: from declining ore grades, inflationary pressures, and challenging permitting environments. Factors that have contributed to long lead times for bringing new supply to market. ","BHP last week outlined its vision for the future of its copper operations in Chile, earmarking up to $14 billion to stabilise copper production at 1.4 million tonnes from the start of the next decade. “BHP’s growth plans are bold but well-supported by strategic initiatives and detailed engineering,” said Ivan Llancas, copper analyst at Benchmark. […]",[30704],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30705},{"job_title":557,"image":30706,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6c5b05a6-93b6-4156-9500-ebe82d68e931\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30709,30710],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":30712,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30713,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1cb8bc0fc6/bm-bhp-sign-132092108e69.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 25, 2024",{"id":30716,"uuid":30717,"name":30718,"slug":30719,"full_slug":30720,"content":30721},112468455617100,"923d0cc0-e6bf-4c43-9ac5-f7049e4b0647","LG Chem’s Tennessee cathode plant to source US lithium from Exxon’s DLE project","lg-chems-tennessee-cathode-plant-to-source-us-lithium-from-exxons-dle-project","article/lg-chems-tennessee-cathode-plant-to-source-us-lithium-from-exxons-dle-project",{"_uid":30722,"date":30723,"tags":30724,"editor":30734,"content":30738,"excerpt":30854,"featured":51,"reporter":30855,"_editable":30859,"component":697,"seo_title":30718,"categories":30860,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30865,"seo_description":30854,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30868},"c3fcad84-2705-4c27-b24f-9a41e8a830ca","2024-11-22 00:00",[30725,30727,30728,30729,30732,30733],{"slug":30726,"name":28423},"benchmark-verified",{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":12045,"name":12046},{"slug":30730,"name":30731},"lg-chem","LG Chem",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[30735],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30736},{"job_title":557,"image":30737,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30739},[30740,30745,30756,30761,30766,30771,30787,30792,30803,30816,30826,30831,30836,30841,30846],{"type":591,"attrs":30741,"content":30742},{"textAlign":49},[30743],{"text":30744,"type":596},"LG Chem has signed a non-binding offtake agreement with ExxonMobil for up to 100,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year. This is potentially Exxon’s full annual production.",{"type":591,"attrs":30746,"content":30747},{"textAlign":49},[30748,30754],{"text":30749,"type":596,"marks":30750},"Exxon will supply lithium carbonate",[30751],{"type":606,"attrs":30752},{"href":30753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/exxon-aiming-for-multiple-lithium-projects-this-decade?_branch_match_id=1544410878732025840&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWD650rkyrCEr38k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAHRnX0EgAAAA%3D",{"text":30755,"type":596}," from its planned direct lithium extraction (DLE) project in the US to LG Chem’s cathode production facility under construction in Tennessee.",{"type":591,"attrs":30757,"content":30758},{"textAlign":49},[30759],{"text":30760,"type":596},"LG Chem’s Tennessee plant due to produce high-nickel cathode material is one of several cathode plants planned for the US, though the country’s cathode supply is still forecast to fall short of its domestic demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":30762,"content":30763},{"textAlign":49},[30764],{"text":30765,"type":596},"“The US cathode market is still in a stage of infancy,” said Harry Tinker, a cathode analyst at Benchmark. “This deal provides some level of domestic supply chain security, as well as a major commitment to the US market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30767,"content":30768},{"textAlign":49},[30769],{"text":30770,"type":596},"Exxon signed a similarly sized non-binding offtake agreement for its lithium with SK On. The South Korean company has a joint venture with Eco Pro developing a precursor plant in Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":30772,"content":30773},{"textAlign":49},[30774,30779,30781,30786],{"text":30775,"type":596,"marks":30776},"LG Chem invested $75 million into Piedmont Lithium",[30777],{"type":606,"attrs":30778},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":30780,"type":596}," earlier in the year to secure lithium. LG Chem has also signed an offtake agreement downstream with ",{"text":30782,"type":596,"marks":30783},"GM",[30784],{"type":606,"attrs":30785},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":30788,"content":30789},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30790],{"text":30791,"type":596},"How important is direct lithium extraction for the US?",{"type":591,"attrs":30793,"content":30794},{"textAlign":49},[30795,30801],{"text":30796,"type":596,"marks":30797},"Direct Lithium Extraction",[30798],{"type":606,"attrs":30799},{"href":30800,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rise-of-dle-will-open-up-new-sources-of-lithium-supply-this-decade?_branch_match_id=1544410902616544369&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNykrjsiLDEr38k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUARthgR0gAAAA%3D",{"text":30802,"type":596}," allows for lithium extraction from sources otherwise inaccessible by traditional methods and has the potential to be a more sustainable source of lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":30804,"content":30805},{"textAlign":49},[30806,30808,30814],{"text":30807,"type":596},"Exxon is developing its DLE project in the ",{"text":30809,"type":596,"marks":30810},"Smackover formation",[30811],{"type":606,"attrs":30812},{"href":30813,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/equinor-takes-stake-in-standard-lithium-smackover-direct-lithium-extraction-projects?_branch_match_id=1544410886276824422&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd3bKDcjIC0738k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAQOPJ10gAAAA%3D",{"text":30815,"type":596}," in Arkansas, US.",{"type":591,"attrs":30817,"content":30818},{"textAlign":49},[30819,30824],{"text":30820,"type":596,"marks":30821},"DLE is expected to play a major role",[30822],{"type":606,"attrs":30823},{"href":30800,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":30825,"type":596}," in the development of the US’ lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":30827,"content":30828},{"textAlign":49},[30829],{"text":30830,"type":596},"“Given that we expect the US to be in a domestic lithium deficit, DLE can enable the US to bolster their domestic supply chain,” said Claudia Cook, a lithium analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":30832,"content":30833},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30834],{"text":30835,"type":596},"Where does LG Chem fit in the US cathode industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":30837,"content":30838},{"textAlign":49},[30839],{"text":30840,"type":596},"The company broke ground on its cathode plant in Clarksville, Tennessee in December 2023 and recently began construction proper earlier this year. Benchmark’s Verified service confirms construction has begun at the site.",{"type":591,"attrs":30842,"content":30843},{"textAlign":49},[30844],{"text":30845,"type":596},"Of note is that this deal is for lithium carbonate, despite high nickel cathode chemistries of the sort LG Chem’s plant is set to produce usually requiring lithium hydroxide as the feedstock material.",{"type":656,"attrs":30847},{"id":30848,"body":30849},"2acc7c2b-31e5-4306-8f3d-e5cb41dd0d4d",[30850],{"id":30851,"_uid":30852,"type":663,"_editable":30853,"component":664,"fixed_height":547,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":547,"fixed_height_tablet":547},"20415081","i-a8015b95-9cd6-4e77-be0d-5a5f57bbcbd0","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-a8015b95-9cd6-4e77-be0d-5a5f57bbcbd0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","LG Chem has signed a non-binding offtake agreement with ExxonMobil for up to 100,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year. This is potentially Exxon’s full annual production. Exxon will supply lithium carbonate from its planned direct lithium extraction (DLE) project in the US to LG Chem’s cathode production facility under construction in Tennessee. LG Chem’s […]",[30856],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30857},{"job_title":557,"image":30858,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c3fcad84-2705-4c27-b24f-9a41e8a830ca\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30861,30862,30863,30864],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":30866,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30867,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f1de774bf9/bm-image-11.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 22, 2024",{"id":30870,"uuid":30871,"name":30872,"slug":30873,"full_slug":30874,"content":30875},112468445823562,"7d1730c8-e261-4df2-a31b-7fa9b18a3fe3","China revises export rebates amid overcapacity and trade tensions","china-revises-export-rebates-amid-overcapacity-and-trade-tensions","article/china-revises-export-rebates-amid-overcapacity-and-trade-tensions",{"_uid":30876,"date":30723,"tags":30877,"editor":30881,"content":30885,"excerpt":30958,"featured":51,"reporter":30959,"_editable":30963,"component":697,"seo_title":30872,"categories":30964,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":30967,"seo_description":30958,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":30868},"cf8557a1-0ab5-4d9e-9f53-cf6e86dca92b",[30878,30879,30880],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[30882],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30883},{"job_title":557,"image":30884,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30886},[30887,30892,30897,30902,30913,30918,30923,30928,30933,30938,30943,30948,30953],{"type":591,"attrs":30888,"content":30889},{"textAlign":49},[30890],{"text":30891,"type":596},"China has announced adjustments to its export tax rebate system effective from December, targeting commodities and products like spherical graphite, semi-refined copper, and batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30893,"content":30894},{"textAlign":49},[30895],{"text":30896,"type":596},"“The export tax rebate system applies to the value added tax (VAT) that companies pay on exported goods,” said Bryan Bille, policy and geopolitical principal at Benchmark. “It ensures Chinese exports are more competitive in the global market by reducing the tax burden on exporters, thereby encouraging international trade.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30898,"content":30899},{"textAlign":49},[30900],{"text":30901,"type":596},"Outwardly, the policy shift seems to relate to Chinese policymakers’ desire to address overcapacity problems in low-value industries – particularly within the clean energy sector. The change will increase manufacturing costs and drive up export prices, deterring low-cost competition and limiting capacity expansions.",{"type":591,"attrs":30903,"content":30904},{"textAlign":49},[30905,30907],{"text":30906,"type":596},"Amidst domestic economic challenges, government-supported industry and export markets have served as key engines for Chinese economic growth in 2024. However, international criticism of perceived unfair subsidies has intensified, ",{"text":30908,"type":596,"marks":30909},"prompting rising trade tensions.",[30910],{"type":606,"attrs":30911},{"href":30912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-more-than-halves-proposed-imports-duties-on-tesla-evs-made-in-china",{"type":615,"attrs":30914,"content":30915},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30916],{"text":30917,"type":596},"Why is China changing the export rebate?",{"type":591,"attrs":30919,"content":30920},{"textAlign":49},[30921],{"text":30922,"type":596},"The current system incentivises companies to export lower-value material to receive the VAT rebate rather than upgrading material into higher-value products, according to Benchmark analysts, creating overcapacity problems at these points of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":30924,"content":30925},{"textAlign":49},[30926],{"text":30927,"type":596},"In the short-term, amendments to the rebate will negatively impact the competitiveness of Chinese exports in global markets and could result in consolidation in the affected industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":30929,"content":30930},{"textAlign":49},[30931],{"text":30932,"type":596},"“The removal of the rebate will make Chinese exports of copper semi-fabricated products less competitive on the world stage,” noted Benchmark copper analysts. “The rule change could result in a drop in China’s refined copper demand growth next year, though this would be offset by increased production in the rest of the world.”",{"type":591,"attrs":30934,"content":30935},{"textAlign":49},[30936],{"text":30937,"type":596},"Longer term, the rule change is likely to spur value-added investment and fast-track the Chinese policymakers’ aim of achieving self-sufficiency for critical industries, reducing reliance on imports and bolstering the country’s economic resilience.",{"type":615,"attrs":30939,"content":30940},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[30941],{"text":30942,"type":596},"Could other factors be at play?",{"type":591,"attrs":30944,"content":30945},{"textAlign":49},[30946],{"text":30947,"type":596},"But there may be other economic and geopolitical factors at play behind the policy shift, according to Jonathan Humphrey, senior economist at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30949,"content":30950},{"textAlign":49},[30951],{"text":30952,"type":596},"“China may be pre-emptively removing these subsidies so it has more credibility in trade negotiations with the incoming Trump presidency,” Humphrey said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":30954,"content":30955},{"textAlign":49},[30956],{"text":30957,"type":596},"“It could also be to assuage the EU’s concerns that it may have over becoming a dumping ground for Chinese exports if the US erects high trade barriers,” Humphrey added.","China has announced adjustments to its export tax rebate system effective from December, targeting commodities and products like spherical graphite, semi-refined copper, and batteries. “The export tax rebate system applies to the value added tax (VAT) that companies pay on exported goods,” said Bryan Bille, policy and geopolitical principal at Benchmark. “It ensures Chinese exports […]",[30960],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30961},{"job_title":557,"image":30962,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf8557a1-0ab5-4d9e-9f53-cf6e86dca92b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[30965,30966],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9762,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":30968,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":30970,"uuid":30971,"name":30972,"slug":30973,"full_slug":30974,"content":30975},114842098851035,"95344493-d830-4fc9-850b-191895ae47be","Critical Mineral Consistency Act targets copper status upgrade","critical-mineral-consistency-act-targets-copper-status-upgrade","article/critical-mineral-consistency-act-targets-copper-status-upgrade",{"_uid":30976,"date":30977,"tags":30978,"editor":30981,"content":30985,"excerpt":31071,"featured":51,"reporter":31072,"_editable":31076,"component":697,"seo_title":30972,"categories":31077,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31081,"seo_description":31071,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31083},"7fcc1e0f-12f8-4d2c-a726-e0cddca65f5c","2024-11-21 00:00",[30979,30980],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[30982],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":30983},{"job_title":557,"image":30984,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":30986},[30987,30992,30997,31002,31020,31025,31030,31035,31040,31045,31052,31066],{"type":591,"attrs":30988,"content":30989},{"textAlign":49},[30990],{"text":30991,"type":596},"The US House of Representatives passed the Critical Mineral Consistency Act last week, seeking to harmonise the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Critical Minerals List with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) list of ‘critical materials’, which includes copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":30993,"content":30994},{"textAlign":49},[30995],{"text":30996,"type":596},"The bill, if approved by the Senate, would align critical mineral policy across US government departments – conferring clean energy tax credits, financial support, and eligibility for the FAST-41 permitting programme – designed to shorten decison making timelines – to materials covered by the DoE list.",{"type":591,"attrs":30998,"content":30999},{"textAlign":49},[31000],{"text":31001,"type":596},"“Copper’s inclusion should support mine development in the US,” said Piotr Ortonowski, product director, energy transition commodities at Benchmark. “Copper mine permitting the US has been notoriously lengthy due to complex environmental regulations, multiple agency approvals, and frequent legal challenges.”",{"type":591,"attrs":31003,"content":31004},{"textAlign":49},[31005,31010,31012,31018],{"text":31006,"type":596,"marks":31007},"Permitting has been identified as the key bottleneck to upscaling the supply of domestic critical minerals in the US",[31008],{"type":606,"attrs":31009},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31011,"type":596},". The proposed ",{"text":31013,"type":596,"marks":31014},"Energy Permitting Reform Bill ",[31015],{"type":606,"attrs":31016},{"href":31017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-senators-unveil-long-awaited-energy-permitting-reform-bill-to-boost-domestic-critical-minerals-supply?_branch_match_id=1544391434842290046&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ygIzzAJTEzx9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPcdHQUgAAAA%3D",{"text":31019,"type":596},"aims to address this by accelerating leasing and permitting decisions on federal lands and expeditate judicial reviews.",{"type":615,"attrs":31021,"content":31022},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31023],{"text":31024,"type":596},"What does this mean for copper?",{"type":591,"attrs":31026,"content":31027},{"textAlign":49},[31028],{"text":31029,"type":596},"The USGS excluded copper from the 2022 Critical Minerals List, judging domestic production sufficient to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities due to a relatively low reliance on imports and a high-level of global supply diversity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31031,"content":31032},{"textAlign":49},[31033],{"text":31034,"type":596},"Copper’s exclusion caused controversy, however, owing to red metal’s critical role in electrification and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, fields in which the US is in direct competition with China. The USGS methodology has faced criticism for using backwards looking data to assess criticality, which many argue fails to adequately judge future supply risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":31036,"content":31037},{"textAlign":49},[31038],{"text":31039,"type":596},"US copper supply has been steadily declining in the last decade, with output last year down 21% from 2016. A lengthy and complex permitting process has stalled new project development in the US, resulting in no major additions to supply during this period. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31041,"content":31042},{"textAlign":49},[31043],{"text":31044,"type":596},"Benchmark is currently tracking 34 pipeline projects in the US, 3 of which are in more advanced stages of development and 1 on care and maintenance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31046,"content":31047},{"textAlign":49},[31048],{"type":836,"attrs":31049},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":31050,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31051},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e955fe0ba/bm-image-75.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":31053,"content":31054},{"textAlign":49},[31055,31057,31062],{"text":31056,"type":596},"Facing future supply shortages as copper demand from the energy transition ramps up, the US is also seeking to play an ever-growing role in overseas copper supply through trade agreements, facilitating offtake or investments by US companies, and ",{"text":31058,"type":596,"marks":31059},"the development of key infrastructure",[31060],{"type":606,"attrs":31061},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":31063},[31064],{"type":606,"attrs":31065},{"href":20027,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":31067,"content":31068},{"textAlign":49},[31069],{"text":31070,"type":596},"“Already, we have seen the US play an active role in major copper-producing countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo. Such efforts could increase further following copper’s status upgrade,” Ortonowski said.","The US House of Representatives passed the Critical Mineral Consistency Act last week, seeking to harmonise the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Critical Minerals List with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) list of ‘critical materials’, which includes copper. The bill, if approved by the Senate, would align critical mineral policy across US government departments – conferring […]",[31073],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31074},{"job_title":557,"image":31075,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7fcc1e0f-12f8-4d2c-a726-e0cddca65f5c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31078,31079,31080],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":19733,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31082,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 21, 2024",{"id":31085,"uuid":31086,"name":31087,"slug":31088,"full_slug":31089,"content":31090},114842107239644,"7e398555-0fd4-47d7-af12-cc6aad49b1a4","Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium to merge amid low spodumene prices","sayona-mining-and-piedmont-lithium-to-merge-amid-low-spodumene-prices","article/sayona-mining-and-piedmont-lithium-to-merge-amid-low-spodumene-prices",{"_uid":31091,"date":31092,"tags":31093,"editor":31109,"content":31113,"excerpt":31256,"featured":51,"reporter":31257,"_editable":31261,"component":697,"seo_title":31087,"categories":31262,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":31265,"featured_image":31267,"seo_description":31256,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31270},"a33f5c3f-80a8-4756-b5c0-4e3cd86aef3c","2024-11-20 00:00",[31094,31095,31096,31097,31100,31101,31104,31107,31108],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":31098,"name":31099},"ma","M&A",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":31102,"name":31103},"piedmont-lithium","Piedmont Lithium",{"slug":31105,"name":31106},"sayona-mining","Sayona Mining",{"slug":23547,"name":23548},{"slug":572,"name":573},[31110],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31111},{"job_title":557,"image":31112,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31114},[31115,31120,31131,31156,31169,31174,31179,31184,31195,31200,31205,31213,31226,31231,31236,31248],{"type":591,"attrs":31116,"content":31117},{"textAlign":49},[31118],{"text":31119,"type":596},"Australia’s Sayona Mining and US-based Piedmont Lithium intend to merge, forming a company with a market capitalisation of $623 million. The merged entity will be owned 50-50 by the shareholders of each company.",{"type":591,"attrs":31121,"content":31122},{"textAlign":49},[31123,31125,31129],{"text":31124,"type":596},"The merged company could become the second largest lithium miner in North America in 2030, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":31126},[31127],{"type":606,"attrs":31128},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31130,"type":596},", if the projects in their combined pipeline come to fruition.",{"type":591,"attrs":31132,"content":31133},{"textAlign":49},[31134,31136,31142,31144,31149,31151,31155],{"text":31135,"type":596},"This is the ",{"text":31137,"type":596,"marks":31138},"latest counter-cyclical merger",[31139],{"type":606,"attrs":31140},{"href":31141,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-soften-to-three-year-low-amid-weak-lithium-chemical-prices?_branch_match_id=1544391404458711260&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBMQ6AIBAEwB9Bb2IsrMUnGDCn4MFBFpTOtzPjWyt10tqRnD5ZcApCsLEqW4qKQVibZ2M279d3t%2Fygi4Ag9%2BGQeyXMq0dONADCkDwpSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":31143,"type":596}," and acquisition activity in the space amid a year of ",{"text":31145,"type":596,"marks":31146},"generally falling prices",[31147],{"type":606,"attrs":31148},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31150,"type":596},". Spodumene prices have fallen 68% since a year ago, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":31152},[31153],{"type":606,"attrs":31154},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":31157,"content":31158},{"textAlign":49},[31159,31161,31167],{"text":31160,"type":596},"“It shows that ",{"text":31162,"type":596,"marks":31163},"lithium producers",[31164],{"type":606,"attrs":31165},{"href":31166,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/will-rio-tintos-move-entice-other-mining-majors-into-lithium?_branch_match_id=1544391414044588082&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTw4pL6t08jF180%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAnUwedUgAAAA%3D",{"text":31168,"type":596},", even in these current market conditions, still believe they are able to raise significant funds, highlighting the belief in long-term returns from the lithium market,” said Claudia Cook, a lithium analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":31170,"content":31171},{"textAlign":49},[31172],{"text":31173,"type":596},"Source:Benchmark Lithium Forecast",{"type":591,"attrs":31175,"content":31176},{"textAlign":49},[31177],{"text":31178,"type":596},"Both companies also have various exploration targets in North America and Australia.",{"type":615,"attrs":31180,"content":31181},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31182],{"text":31183,"type":596},"What will the merged company’s position in North America be?",{"type":591,"attrs":31185,"content":31186},{"textAlign":49},[31187,31189,31193],{"text":31188,"type":596},"Sayona and Piedmont are the first and second largest lithium miners in North America in 2024, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":31190},[31191],{"type":606,"attrs":31192},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31194,"type":596},", thanks to their joint venture North American Lithium which began production in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":31196,"content":31197},{"textAlign":49},[31198],{"text":31199,"type":596},"“Having already collaborated on the North American Lithium project under a joint venture, makes the two companies more attractive candidates for a merger,” said Adam Megginson, a lithium price analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":31201,"content":31202},{"textAlign":49},[31203],{"text":31204,"type":596},"According to Sayona’s reports, the North American Lithium project made a loss last quarter after it finished ramping up in June this year. In a press statement, the companies say that the merger will simplify their corporate structure and make it easier to accept government support. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31206,"content":31207},{"textAlign":49},[31208],{"type":836,"attrs":31209},{"id":49,"alt":31210,"src":31211,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31212},"Combined, Sayona nad Piedmont could be the second largest lithium miner in North America in 2030","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ababe20633/bm-sayona-piedmont-2030.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":31214,"content":31215},{"textAlign":49},[31216,31218,31224],{"text":31217,"type":596},"“North America is looking to secure and shorten its battery supply chain, and this strategy, ",{"text":31219,"type":596,"marks":31220},"even with the uncertainty of the IRA",[31221],{"type":606,"attrs":31222},{"href":31223,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question?_branch_match_id=1544391394917167181&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwgPCs9ILDUv9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3AqFEgAAAA%3D",{"text":31225,"type":596},", remains,” Cook said. “This merger and its possibility for growing the companies’ lithium output puts them in a great position to be a part of this, and builds on what Piedmont has done with its offtake with Tesla, providing a domestic supply of lithium to North American OEMs.”",{"type":615,"attrs":31227,"content":31228},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31229],{"text":31230,"type":596},"Falling lithium prices increase M&A activity",{"type":591,"attrs":31232,"content":31233},{"textAlign":49},[31234],{"text":31235,"type":596},"With spodumene and lithium chemical prices falling over the past year, there’s been an uptick in counter-cyclical deals in the lithium space.",{"type":591,"attrs":31237,"content":31238},{"textAlign":49},[31239,31241,31246],{"text":31240,"type":596},"“It is the kind of ",{"text":31242,"type":596,"marks":31243},"consolidation we would expect in the market",[31244],{"type":606,"attrs":31245},{"href":31166,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31247,"type":596}," following a tumble of spodumene concentrate prices from all-time highs of $6,401/tonne (FOB Australia) in December 2022,” Megginson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":31249,"content":31250},{"textAlign":49},[31251],{"type":836,"attrs":31252},{"id":49,"alt":31253,"src":31254,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31255},"Spodumene prices remain low but see slight uptick","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3509d55ca5/bm-spod-prices-13-nov.png",{},"Australia’s Sayona Mining and US-based Piedmont Lithium intend to merge, forming a company with a market capitalisation of $623 million. The merged entity will be owned 50-50 by the shareholders of each company. The merged company could become the second largest lithium miner in North America in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, if the […]",[31258],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31259},{"job_title":557,"image":31260,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a33f5c3f-80a8-4756-b5c0-4e3cd86aef3c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31263,31264],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":31210,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":31210,"source":547,"filename":31211,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31266,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":31210,"title":31210,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31268,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31269,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/12ceb121d6/bm-nal-operation-2-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 20, 2024",{"id":31272,"uuid":31273,"name":31274,"slug":31275,"full_slug":31276,"content":31277},112468468056653,"0374f0fd-663b-4014-a371-91b2010180d2","Portable electronics are a key market for silicon anodes in short term","portable-electronics-are-a-key-market-for-silicon-anodes-in-short-term","article/portable-electronics-are-a-key-market-for-silicon-anodes-in-short-term",{"_uid":31278,"date":31279,"tags":31280,"editor":31284,"content":31288,"excerpt":31425,"featured":51,"reporter":31426,"_editable":31430,"component":697,"seo_title":31274,"categories":31431,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31435,"seo_description":31425,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31438},"2165463a-f35f-499a-9af7-a1dc42800435","2024-11-19 00:00",[31281,31282,31283],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[31285],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31286},{"job_title":557,"image":31287,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31289},[31290,31303,31320,31332,31337,31342,31347,31352,31357,31362,31379,31384,31389,31394,31399,31412,31417],{"type":591,"attrs":31291,"content":31292},{"textAlign":49},[31293,31295,31301],{"text":31294,"type":596},"Demand for ",{"text":31296,"type":596,"marks":31297},"silicon anodes",[31298],{"type":606,"attrs":31299},{"href":31300,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-how-silicon-anodes-could-impact-graphite-demand?_branch_match_id=1544410864610390641&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9ysqM4uwKPVx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA6zb89EgAAAA%3D",{"text":31302,"type":596}," from the portables market is expected to see strong growth this year as a flurry of announcements from smartphone makers shows significant advancements in the battery anode technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":31304,"content":31305},{"textAlign":49},[31306,31310,31312,31318],{"text":26140,"type":596,"marks":31307},[31308],{"type":606,"attrs":31309},{"href":26144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31311,"type":596}," shows that demand for silicon anodes from portables is forecast to increase 40% in 2024 compared to 2023. Demand from the ",{"text":31313,"type":596,"marks":31314},"electric vehicles market",[31315],{"type":606,"attrs":31316},{"href":31317,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/silicon-anodes-prepare-for-mainstream-deployment-with-production-capacity-set-to-triple-in-2024?_branch_match_id=1544410841517934719&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWr%2FQtMK7IcfNx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAzIH%2FQ0gAAAA%3D",{"text":31319,"type":596}," is expected to grow slower at 31%.",{"type":591,"attrs":31321,"content":31322},{"textAlign":49},[31323,31325,31331],{"text":31324,"type":596},"The large majority of silicon anodes in the portables space use so-called traditional silicon anode technology with a very small weight percent of silicon, though some are starting to emerge using ",{"text":31326,"type":596,"marks":31327},"next-generation silicon anodes",[31328],{"type":606,"attrs":31329},{"href":31330,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-novel-silicon-carbon-anode-materials-compete-with-graphite-on-cost?_branch_match_id=1544410849202360007&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL8%2BLdEk3zfNx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUALeCY9EgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":31333,"content":31334},{"textAlign":49},[31335],{"text":31336,"type":596},"“Traditional silicon anodes were first commercialised almost a decade ago and have been used in portables at very low percentages since,” said Alex Sargent, a next-generation technology analyst at Benchmark. “It’s added a small but increasing boost in performance, creating a steadily growing market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":31338,"content":31339},{"textAlign":49},[31340],{"text":31341,"type":596},"Although it is often unclear what exact silicon anode technology is being used in a mobile phone, several Chinese smartphone OEMs look to be releasing silicon anode-containing phones into the market, including: OnePlus (subsidiary of Oppo), Honor, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Lenovo, and realme.",{"type":615,"attrs":31343,"content":31344},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31345],{"text":31346,"type":596},"Traditional silicon anode technologies are improving",{"type":591,"attrs":31348,"content":31349},{"textAlign":49},[31350],{"text":31351,"type":596},"The silicon anode market can be broadly split into two types: traditional silicon anodes and next-generation silicon anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":31353,"content":31354},{"textAlign":49},[31355],{"text":31356,"type":596},"Traditional silicon anodes are limited by the up to 300% expansion and contraction of the silicon particles that occurs upon lithiation and delithiation, which can then cause rapid cell failure. This means that traditional materials are primarily composed of graphite, with a small amount of silicon blended in to balance performance with lifetime, typically around 3 to 5% by weight.",{"type":591,"attrs":31358,"content":31359},{"textAlign":49},[31360],{"text":31361,"type":596},"“We’re starting to see a big push towards higher silicon content within the portables market, with 6% silicon becoming a buzzword for Chinese smartphone developers,” Sargent said.",{"type":591,"attrs":31363,"content":31364},{"textAlign":49},[31365,31369,31376],{"text":31366,"type":596,"marks":31367},"Watch Rory McNulty, product director for new technology at Benchmark, discuss the ",[31368],{"type":1006},{"text":31370,"type":596,"marks":31371},"evolution of the silicon anode market",[31372,31375],{"type":606,"attrs":31373},{"href":31374,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-evolution-of-the-silicon-anode-market",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":31377},[31378],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":31380,"content":31381},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31382],{"text":31383,"type":596},"Portables as a proving ground for next generation anodes",{"type":591,"attrs":31385,"content":31386},{"textAlign":49},[31387],{"text":31388,"type":596},"To further boost the energy density of a silicon anode will require a significantly higher percentage of silicon in the anode. To achieve this, next-generation silicon anode developers engineer the anode material to overcome or mitigate the expansion issues experienced by traditional silicon anode technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":31390,"content":31391},{"textAlign":49},[31392],{"text":31393,"type":596},"The ultimate target for developers of such silicon anode technologies is the automotive market. However, this requires extensive qualification which itself needs the technology to be scaled up and proven.",{"type":591,"attrs":31395,"content":31396},{"textAlign":49},[31397],{"text":31398,"type":596},"“The potential revenue generation available from the EV market is vast, but entry is restricted by manufacturing and performance criteria,” Sargent said. “As such we see many players enter the portables market, whether that be for extra revenue, publicity or a testing bed in a less restrictive environment.”",{"type":591,"attrs":31400,"content":31401},{"textAlign":49},[31402,31404,31410],{"text":31403,"type":596},"In the US, both ",{"text":31405,"type":596,"marks":31406},"Sila Nanotechnologies and Group14 Technologies",[31407],{"type":606,"attrs":31408},{"href":31409,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/moses-lake-the-usas-silicon-anode-hub?_branch_match_id=1544410856657902666&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL0ssTylxzzBx9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAVmw29UgAAAA%3D",{"text":31411,"type":596}," are going down this route. The former’s nanocomposite silicon technology is used in the Whoop 4.0 fitness tracker whilst the latter supplies China’s ATL with its scaffold-based silicon technology for use in mobile phones.",{"type":591,"attrs":31413,"content":31414},{"textAlign":49},[31415],{"text":31416,"type":596},"“Once qualifications are complete and car OEMs are confident in the technology, that’s when we’ll see a significant rise in demand for next-generation silicon,” Sargent said.",{"type":591,"attrs":31418,"content":31419},{"textAlign":49},[31420],{"type":836,"attrs":31421},{"id":49,"alt":31422,"src":31423,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31424},"Portables make up most of early market for next-generation silicon anodes","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6a2effbf14/bm-si-anode-portables-data-v2.png",{},"Demand for silicon anodes from the portables market is expected to see strong growth this year as a flurry of announcements from smartphone makers shows significant advancements in the battery anode technology. Benchmark’s Silicon Anode Forecast shows that demand for silicon anodes from portables is forecast to increase 40% in 2024 compared to 2023. Demand […]",[31427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31428},{"job_title":557,"image":31429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2165463a-f35f-499a-9af7-a1dc42800435\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31432,31433,31434],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31436,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31437,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0d603fa3a6/bm-huwawei-smart-mobile-phones-13285291acd8.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 19, 2024",{"id":31440,"uuid":31441,"name":31442,"slug":31443,"full_slug":31444,"content":31445},112468484682319,"789c3c1e-5f89-4a78-afe7-9f50b50d4eca","Gotion secures €300 million from Morocco’s CDG for gigafactory","gotion-secures-e300-million-from-moroccos-cdg-for-gigafactory","article/gotion-secures-e300-million-from-moroccos-cdg-for-gigafactory",{"_uid":31446,"date":31447,"tags":31448,"editor":31452,"content":31456,"excerpt":31553,"featured":51,"reporter":31554,"_editable":31558,"component":697,"seo_title":31442,"categories":31559,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31562,"seo_description":31553,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31565},"8fbcd8d1-d63b-417c-9276-bbb10b893ffd","2024-11-18 00:00",[31449,31450,31451],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":13425,"name":13426},{"slug":27053,"name":27054},[31453],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31454},{"job_title":557,"image":31455,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31457},[31458,31463,31468,31481,31486,31499,31516,31528,31533,31538,31548],{"type":591,"attrs":31459,"content":31460},{"textAlign":49},[31461],{"text":31462,"type":596},"Gotion has secured €300 million ($317 million) worth of investment from Morocco’s state-owned investment fund CDG to build the first gigafactory in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":31464,"content":31465},{"textAlign":49},[31466],{"text":31467,"type":596},"The gigafactory, announced in June of this year, is expected to have 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of capacity when first phase operations begin in 2027. Gotion plans to increase capacity to 100 GWh, requiring an investment of approximately $6.5 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":31469,"content":31470},{"textAlign":49},[31471,31473,31479],{"text":31472,"type":596},"The facility will produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, playing to ",{"text":31474,"type":596,"marks":31475},"Europe’s growing demand",[31476],{"type":606,"attrs":31477},{"href":31478,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/european-2030-battery-pipeline-falls-176-gwh-this-year-amid-ev-slowdown?_branch_match_id=1544410826727293447&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN%2FQ2z6g0Nc%2FP9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA57dqK0gAAAA%3D",{"text":31480,"type":596}," for lower cost electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS).",{"type":615,"attrs":31482,"content":31483},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31484],{"text":31485,"type":596},"Why are Chinese companies investing in Morocco?",{"type":591,"attrs":31487,"content":31488},{"textAlign":49},[31489,31491,31497],{"text":31490,"type":596},"“Morocco has significant phosphate reserves which can be used as feedstock for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) ",{"text":31492,"type":596,"marks":31493},"cathode material",[31494],{"type":606,"attrs":31495},{"href":31496,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-midstream-majors-flock-to-moroccos-fledgling-cathode-hub?_branch_match_id=1544410818892300287&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBMQ6AIAwF0BvBbmIcmI2bqymmSgUK%2BWB08uy%2BF3qvbbDWs%2B4hE2IWZVBqhmo1STTa1c1y0e3exU8f%2BGBA9Nw8ytMYowsomX%2F%2B6C11SAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":31498,"type":596},", alongside maintaining FTA status with the EU and US, which makes it an attractive base for new battery material projects,” said Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":31500,"content":31501},{"textAlign":49},[31502,31504,31508,31509,31514],{"text":31503,"type":596},"Chinese ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":31505},[31506],{"type":606,"attrs":31507},{"href":31496,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":701,"type":596,"marks":31510},[31511],{"type":606,"attrs":31512},{"href":31513,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-overseas-anode-push-expands-with-shinzooms-planned-morocco-plant?_branch_match_id=1544410810438354649&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNzAPMjYIrnKu8E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAID9Ob0gAAAA%3D",{"text":31515,"type":596}," players have also invested in Morocco, not only for ease of access to Western markets but also to escape domestic overcapacity in these markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":31517,"content":31518},{"textAlign":49},[31519,31521,31526],{"text":31520,"type":596},"Moreover, Morocco has ",{"text":31522,"type":596,"marks":31523},"actively courted international investment",[31524],{"type":606,"attrs":31525},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31527,"type":596},". Along with macroeconomic stability and investment in infrastructure, the country offers 119 industrial zones and 7 Special Economic Zones with no taxes during a company’s first 5 years in business and a reduced rate beyond that.",{"type":591,"attrs":31529,"content":31530},{"textAlign":49},[31531],{"text":31532,"type":596},"As a result of these factors, Chinese companies have been making investments in Morocco across the battery supply chain:",{"type":615,"attrs":31534,"content":31535},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31536],{"text":31537,"type":596},"Gotion’s international expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":31539,"content":31540},{"textAlign":49},[31541,31543,31547],{"text":31542,"type":596},"An ability to supply the European market is especially valuable to Gotion as the region is forecast to be in a supply deficit of 191 GWh this year, rising to 502 GWh by 2030, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":31544},[31545],{"type":606,"attrs":31546},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":31549,"content":31550},{"textAlign":49},[31551],{"text":31552,"type":596},"Gotion’s other overseas projects include:","Gotion has secured €300 million ($317 million) worth of investment from Morocco’s state-owned investment fund CDG to build the first gigafactory in the country. The gigafactory, announced in June of this year, is expected to have 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of capacity when first phase operations begin in 2027. Gotion plans to increase capacity to 100 […]",[31555],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31556},{"job_title":557,"image":31557,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8fbcd8d1-d63b-417c-9276-bbb10b893ffd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31560,31561],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31563,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31564,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6732880a50/bm-gotion-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 18, 2024",{"id":31567,"uuid":31568,"name":31569,"slug":31570,"full_slug":31571,"content":31572},112468489323088,"449ee20f-dce5-4723-b126-1f3df25756f4","Copper demand upside potentially “unlimited” delegates at Benchmark Week 2024 told","copper-demand-upside-potentially-unlimited-delegates-at-benchmark-week-2024-told","article/copper-demand-upside-potentially-unlimited-delegates-at-benchmark-week-2024-told",{"_uid":31573,"date":31574,"tags":31575,"editor":31579,"content":31583,"excerpt":31657,"featured":51,"reporter":31658,"_editable":31662,"component":697,"seo_title":31569,"categories":31663,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31666,"seo_description":31657,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31669},"a46e2e2e-5e62-42fe-a55f-3eb8ba4547f0","2024-11-15 00:00",[31576],{"slug":31577,"name":31578},"benchmark-week-2024","Benchmark Week 2024",[31580],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31581},{"job_title":557,"image":31582,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31584},[31585,31590,31595,31600,31607,31612,31617,31622,31627,31632,31637,31642,31647,31652],{"type":591,"attrs":31586,"content":31587},{"textAlign":49},[31588],{"text":31589,"type":596},"Copper prices will need to rise to incentivise new supply as demand upside is potentially “unlimited”, Paul Gait, Group Head of Strategy at Anglo American, told the Benchmark Week 2024 conference.",{"type":591,"attrs":31591,"content":31592},{"textAlign":49},[31593],{"text":31594,"type":596},"Gait emphasised copper’s foundational role in the global economy and its importance in the energy transition. Without copper, “the decarbonisation and electrification of the global economy simply doesn’t take place,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":31596,"content":31597},{"textAlign":49},[31598],{"text":31599,"type":596},"Clean technologies are set to command an increasingly large share of copper demand, projected to grow from 22% in 2022 to 29% by 2030, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":31601,"content":31602},{"textAlign":49},[31603],{"type":836,"attrs":31604},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":31605,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31606},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdAtRRRU4dwal-fHpF4YJSjYfMxD_ZTzWuA7Ssf5Nk7zrqCzFBZYj14-uJNKpkrH-idhwmg8ge7mQMTzhs5CuF9VdAewsOjZDUNm9gicyqwxXbC1VBHyQTf7-2JPcBbYjZfdDqCEg?key=A0HpHEaG87PKjxKXGnZaOIJE",{},{"type":591,"attrs":31608,"content":31609},{"textAlign":49},[31610],{"text":31611,"type":596},"“There has been a break from copper’s traditional role as a bellwether of the global economy. We’re now seeing rapid growth in clean technology applications, which will shape the copper demand curve moving forward,” Mike Finch, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":31613,"content":31614},{"textAlign":49},[31615],{"text":31616,"type":596},"Aside from electrification, Gait emphasised copper’s role in global industrial development, crucial for closing the economic gap between the richest nations and the developing world. “We believe the ‘green’ transition has to be a ‘just’ transition,” he said. “We can’t expect decarbonisation of the global economy without economic development in lock step.”",{"type":591,"attrs":31618,"content":31619},{"textAlign":49},[31620],{"text":31621,"type":596},"To bridge the development gap, Gait estimated that 2-2.5 billion tonnes of copper would be needed—roughly twice the current known reserve base of the entire industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31623,"content":31624},{"textAlign":49},[31625],{"text":31626,"type":596},"“For all intents and purposes, future copper demand is essentially unlimited,” he stated.",{"type":615,"attrs":31628,"content":31629},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31630],{"text":31631,"type":596},"Supply constraints and investment hurdles",{"type":591,"attrs":31633,"content":31634},{"textAlign":49},[31635],{"text":31636,"type":596},"However, the supply-side faces significant obstacles to match copper’s demand prospects.",{"type":591,"attrs":31638,"content":31639},{"textAlign":49},[31640],{"text":31641,"type":596},"“Copper demand from EVs alone will require the equivalent of three new Escondida-sized mines by 2039, even accounting for thrifting efforts,” Finch noted.",{"type":591,"attrs":31643,"content":31644},{"textAlign":49},[31645],{"text":31646,"type":596},"Gait outlined several critical supply-side challenges hampering new project development, including rising capital costs for the mining industry and geological challenges—such as deeper ore bodies and lower-grade resources—having an inflationary impact on mining costs. Additionally, regulatory environments have become more restrictive, stifling new mining projects, while geopolitical tensions, particularly between China and the US, are complicating copper trade and distribution.",{"type":591,"attrs":31648,"content":31649},{"textAlign":49},[31650],{"text":31651,"type":596},"Although recent mine disruptions have brought forward deficit projections in the copper market, miners have turned to acquisitions to boost production rather than bearing the risks of new project development. This approach allows them to capitalise on the supply gap while avoiding the financial and operational challenges posed by high capital costs, inflationary pressures, and permitting delays.",{"type":591,"attrs":31653,"content":31654},{"textAlign":49},[31655],{"text":31656,"type":596},"“Ultimately, price clears the market,” Gait said. “We’ll see either a price level that stimulates new supply or one that curtails demand. But if the industry substitutes copper with inferior materials, it doesn’t actually solve the problem.”","Copper prices will need to rise to incentivise new supply as demand upside is potentially “unlimited”, Paul Gait, Group Head of Strategy at Anglo American, told the Benchmark Week 2024 conference. Gait emphasised copper’s foundational role in the global economy and its importance in the energy transition. Without copper, “the decarbonisation and electrification of the […]",[31659],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31660},{"job_title":557,"image":31661,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a46e2e2e-5e62-42fe-a55f-3eb8ba4547f0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31664,31665],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31667,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31668,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6d90e19e90/bm-paul-gait-anglo-copper.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 15, 2024",{"id":31671,"uuid":31672,"name":31673,"slug":31674,"full_slug":31675,"content":31676},112468503536311,"44c07eb4-abe1-4a74-b7c4-da81bfe5144e","NOVONIX synthetic graphite offtake deal with Stellantis furthers demand for ex-China anode material","novonix-synthetic-graphite-offtake-deal-with-stellantis-furthers-demand-for-ex-china-anode-material","article/novonix-synthetic-graphite-offtake-deal-with-stellantis-furthers-demand-for-ex-china-anode-material",{"_uid":31677,"date":31678,"tags":31679,"editor":31682,"content":31686,"excerpt":31772,"featured":51,"reporter":31773,"_editable":31777,"component":697,"seo_title":31673,"categories":31778,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31781,"seo_description":31772,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31784},"92ebba59-89c4-4f89-abd7-1c84fc65bde9","2024-11-14 00:00",[31680,31681],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8920,"name":8921},[31683],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31684},{"job_title":557,"image":31685,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31687},[31688,31693,31698,31703,31708,31713,31718,31723,31728,31740,31745,31757,31762,31767],{"type":591,"attrs":31689,"content":31690},{"textAlign":49},[31691],{"text":31692,"type":596},"NOVONIX has signed a binding offtake agreement with Stellantis for synthetic graphite material, as ex-China downstream players continue to seek graphite from outside of China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31694,"content":31695},{"textAlign":49},[31696],{"text":31697,"type":596},"“China’s graphite export regulations have heightened concerns within the battery supply chain over the country’s dominant position in the graphite market,” said Tony Alderson, senior analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":31699,"content":31700},{"textAlign":49},[31701],{"text":31702,"type":596},"“Under rising geopolitical tensions, the western players push for more localised supply chains and with the possibility of further export restrictions from China, many industry players are seeking alternative sources to reduce their reliance on one country,” said Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":31704,"content":31705},{"textAlign":49},[31706],{"text":31707,"type":596},"NOVONIX will supply Stellantis’ cell manufacturing partners with a minimum of 86,250 tonnes up to a target volume of 115,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite for a six-year period starting in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":31709,"content":31710},{"textAlign":49},[31711],{"text":31712,"type":596},"In July, Stellantis subsidiary Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) signed a binding off-take agreement with Westwater Resources for natural anode material.",{"type":615,"attrs":31714,"content":31715},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31716],{"text":31717,"type":596},"Geopolitical uncertainty drives graphite supply chain localisation",{"type":591,"attrs":31719,"content":31720},{"textAlign":49},[31721],{"text":31722,"type":596},"Demand for ex-China graphite material has surged from downstream players outside of China since the country implemented export regulations in December 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31724,"content":31725},{"textAlign":49},[31726],{"text":31727,"type":596},"China’s dominance in producing graphite makes the restrictions especially concerning to ex-China players. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31729,"content":31730},{"textAlign":49},[31731,31733,31739],{"text":31732,"type":596},"Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) tax credit has encouraged the use of non-Chinese raw materials and products in the battery supply chain. However, a second Trump administration is a ",{"text":31734,"type":596,"marks":31735},"threat to the IRA and US battery demand more broadly",[31736],{"type":606,"attrs":31737},{"href":31738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":31741,"content":31742},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31743],{"text":31744,"type":596},"What is the state of the USA’s synthetic graphite market?",{"type":591,"attrs":31746,"content":31747},{"textAlign":49},[31748,31750,31755],{"text":31749,"type":596},"NOVONIX is expected to begin production of synthetic graphite from its Chattanooga facility in Tennessee, USA in 2025, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":31751,"type":596,"marks":31752},"Synthetic Graphite Forecast",[31753],{"type":606,"attrs":31754},{"href":18275,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":31756,"type":596},". The company’s Riverside anode facility is also expected to begin production next year and will be North America’s first large-scale synthetic graphite dedicated to the battery sector when it begins production.",{"type":591,"attrs":31758,"content":31759},{"textAlign":49},[31760],{"text":31761,"type":596},"In February of this year, NOVONIX announced a binding offtake deal with Panasonic Energy to supply 10,000 tpa of synthetic graphite from 2025 to 2028 from its Riverside project in Tennessee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31763,"content":31764},{"textAlign":49},[31765],{"text":31766,"type":596},"Anovion is also developing synthetic graphite and anode active material production in the US. The company’s New York anode facility is operational and has a nameplate capacity of 5,000 tpa, whilst it is also developing 40,000 tpa of synthetic graphite capacity from its Bainbridge facility in Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":31768,"content":31769},{"textAlign":49},[31770],{"text":31771,"type":596},"In February 2023, Anovion signed an offtake agreement to supply Forge Nano with the company’s synthetic graphite.","NOVONIX has signed a binding offtake agreement with Stellantis for synthetic graphite material, as ex-China downstream players continue to seek graphite from outside of China. “China’s graphite export regulations have heightened concerns within the battery supply chain over the country’s dominant position in the graphite market,” said Tony Alderson, senior analyst at Benchmark. “Under rising […]",[31774],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31775},{"job_title":557,"image":31776,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"92ebba59-89c4-4f89-abd7-1c84fc65bde9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31779,31780],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31782,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31783,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2c1146b8ad/bm-novonix-synthetic-graphite-offtake-deal-with-stellantis-furthers-demand-for-ex-china-anode-materi.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 14, 2024",{"id":31786,"uuid":31787,"name":31788,"slug":31789,"full_slug":31790,"content":31791},112468522615483,"ae009202-beab-42a0-b69c-b9efe09683fd","PT Vale and GEM sign $1.4bn HPAL deal in boost for new Indonesian president","pt-vale-and-gem-sign-1-4bn-hpal-deal-in-boost-for-new-indonesian-president","article/pt-vale-and-gem-sign-1-4bn-hpal-deal-in-boost-for-new-indonesian-president",{"_uid":31792,"date":31793,"tags":31794,"editor":31800,"content":31804,"excerpt":31884,"featured":51,"reporter":31885,"_editable":31889,"component":697,"seo_title":31788,"categories":31890,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":31895,"seo_description":31884,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":31898},"532e66a0-4c83-4eee-9d17-5dbef525200c","2024-11-13 00:00",[31795,31796,31797,31799],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},"inflation-reduction-act",{"slug":572,"name":573},[31801],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31802},{"job_title":557,"image":31803,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31805},[31806,31817,31822,31827,31832,31837,31842,31849,31854,31859,31864,31869,31874,31879],{"type":591,"attrs":31807,"content":31808},{"textAlign":49},[31809,31811,31816],{"text":31810,"type":596},"Indonesia’s recently inagurated president Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of a $1.4 billion high pressure acid leach (HPAL) agreement between PT Vale Indonesia and China’s GEM in Beijing last week, an early success for the new president’s ambition to ",{"text":31812,"type":596,"marks":31813},"continue the ‘downstreaming’ policy that defined predecessor Joko Widodo’s tenure in office",[31814],{"type":606,"attrs":31815},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":31818,"content":31819},{"textAlign":49},[31820],{"text":31821,"type":596},"Under the terms of the strategic collaboration, PT Vale and GEM will construct a 60,000 tonne nickel HPAL facility in Central Sulawesi. The two companies are also set to examine the development of battery precursor and anode capacity at the site. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31823,"content":31824},{"textAlign":49},[31825],{"text":31826,"type":596},"The deal is part of a broader $10 billion agreement to strengthen economic ties between Indonesia and China, covering a range of sectors including electric vehicles and lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":31828,"content":31829},{"textAlign":49},[31830],{"text":31831,"type":596},"The new president is embarking on a tour of key global partners to drum up foreign investment to advance Indonesia’s green economy ambitions that will underpin the new administation’s domestic economic agenda. The state visit to China is set to be followed by a trip to Washington this week, cultivating ties to cement Indonesia’s position as a key global energy transition partner and non-aligned position in the Asia-Pacific region.",{"type":615,"attrs":31833,"content":31834},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31835],{"text":31836,"type":596},"Eyeing the IRA?",{"type":591,"attrs":31838,"content":31839},{"textAlign":49},[31840],{"text":31841,"type":596},"To advance its downstreaming goals and reduce over-reliance on a single trading partner, Indonesian officials have sought to attract diversified investment into the country’s nickel sector and re-structure the ownership of existing plants, to facilitate qualification for tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).",{"type":591,"attrs":31843,"content":31844},{"textAlign":49},[31845],{"type":836,"attrs":31846},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":31847,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31848},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0595104c68/bm-image-73.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":31850,"content":31851},{"textAlign":49},[31852],{"text":31853,"type":596},"China’s GEM will control up to a 25% stake in the project – a nod towards  US IRA tax credit qualifcation. PT Vale will hold a 30% share, with the remaining partner (45%) yet to be announced.",{"type":615,"attrs":31855,"content":31856},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31857],{"text":31858,"type":596},"Net-zero commitment",{"type":591,"attrs":31860,"content":31861},{"textAlign":49},[31862],{"text":31863,"type":596},"A cornerstone of the new project is a commitment to net zero status. This focus on sustainability remains important for Indonesia’s continued role as a major player in the global energy transition, as well as attracting investment from ex-China sources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31865,"content":31866},{"textAlign":49},[31867],{"text":31868,"type":596},"The project also plans to establish a research centre focused on advancing HPAL technology, to develop the skills of the local workforce through practical education. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31870,"content":31871},{"textAlign":49},[31872],{"text":31873,"type":596},"Indonesia has faced persistent scrutiny regarding the poor environment record of its nickel sector. Chinese companies operating in the sector have been accused of labour violations and human rights abuses. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31875,"content":31876},{"textAlign":49},[31877],{"text":31878,"type":596},"Although the plant’s commitment to net-zero practice is a positive step, Benchmark’s Global Nickel LCA’s demonstrates that HPAL plants have a lower carbon intensity than other processing routes, particularly in Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":31880,"content":31881},{"textAlign":49},[31882],{"text":31883,"type":596},"Rather, the technology is associated with a host of other environmental challenges, including water consumption, deforestation, and tailings management. ","Indonesia’s recently inagurated president Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of a $1.4 billion high pressure acid leach (HPAL) agreement between PT Vale Indonesia and China’s GEM in Beijing last week, an early success for the new president’s ambition to continue the ‘downstreaming’ policy that defined predecessor Joko Widodo’s tenure in office. Under the terms of […]",[31886],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31887},{"job_title":557,"image":31888,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"532e66a0-4c83-4eee-9d17-5dbef525200c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[31891,31892,31893,31894],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31896,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":31897,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9dfd5ce627/bm-indonesia-china.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 13, 2024",{"id":31900,"uuid":31901,"name":31902,"slug":31903,"full_slug":31904,"content":31905},112468532822717,"edd7a30b-e96c-4485-a23b-e201ca8eec12","US set for largest ever annual gigafactory capacity increase in 2025","us-set-for-largest-ever-annual-gigafactory-capacity-increase-in-2025","article/us-set-for-largest-ever-annual-gigafactory-capacity-increase-in-2025",{"_uid":31906,"date":31907,"tags":31908,"editor":31911,"content":31915,"excerpt":32052,"featured":51,"reporter":32053,"_editable":32057,"component":697,"seo_title":31902,"categories":32058,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":32061,"seo_description":32052,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32064},"4da4d9b4-4ae2-48ae-83b6-01802b32fd32","2024-11-12 00:00",[31909,31910],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[31912],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":31913},{"job_title":557,"image":31914,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":31916},[31917,31928,31933,31938,31945,31950,31955,31960,31965,31970,31983,31988,31993,31998,32010,32022,32035,32042,32047],{"type":591,"attrs":31918,"content":31919},{"textAlign":49},[31920,31922,31927],{"text":31921,"type":596},"The US is expected to bring 160 gigawatt hours (GWh) of new gigafactory capacity online in 2025, its largest annual increase to date, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":31923},[31924],{"type":606,"attrs":31925},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/capacity-database/gigafactory",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":31929,"content":31930},{"textAlign":49},[31931],{"text":31932,"type":596},"This is a marked increase on previous years where capacity from new facilities grew by an average of 26 GWh per year between 2022 and 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":31934,"content":31935},{"textAlign":49},[31936],{"text":31937,"type":596},"“Whilst only four of the 11 new projects in 2025 were announced post-IRA there is still incentive for companies to bring their existing plans online in order to access the credits and gain a foothold in the US battery market,” said Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":31939,"content":31940},{"textAlign":49},[31941],{"type":836,"attrs":31942},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":31943,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":31944},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a107c1cdfb/bm-us-gigafactory-growth-chart.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":31946,"content":31947},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31948],{"text":31949,"type":596},"Where is the new capacity coming from?",{"type":591,"attrs":31951,"content":31952},{"textAlign":49},[31953],{"text":31954,"type":596},"The new gigafactories will come from eight different companies with several being joint ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":31956,"content":31957},{"textAlign":49},[31958],{"text":31959,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":31961,"content":31962},{"textAlign":49},[31963],{"text":31964,"type":596},"SK Innovation is set to bring 59 GWh of new capacity online in the US next year (including joint ventures), the most of any company. This comes from three gigafactories, two joint ventures with Ford and one with Hyundai.",{"type":591,"attrs":31966,"content":31967},{"textAlign":49},[31968],{"text":31969,"type":596},"Joint ventures between South Korean battery manufacturers and automakers is indicative of the wider trend in new US battery capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31971,"content":31972},{"textAlign":49},[31973,31975,31981],{"text":31974,"type":596},"Of the 160 GWh of new capacity coming online, 115 GWh comes from projects either wholly owned or associated with ",{"text":31976,"type":596,"marks":31977},"South Korean cell manufacturers",[31978],{"type":606,"attrs":31979},{"href":31980,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south-korean-companies-drive-expected-us-battery-supply-growth?_branch_match_id=1544410688150131646&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL3b3dTQqL8zP9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAYnJMQkgAAAA%3D",{"text":31982,"type":596},". Additionally, 102 GWh comes from joint ventures with automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":31984,"content":31985},{"textAlign":49},[31986],{"text":31987,"type":596},"“Technological capabilities and the reliable, established production processes of South Korean cell makers like LGES, Samsung and SK On have made them attractive partners for US automakers to establish strategic partnerships to support electrification plans,” said Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":31989,"content":31990},{"textAlign":49},[31991],{"text":31992,"type":596},"“The potential of the US EV market makes it a key market for ex-China cell producers to capitalise on and the IRA provides additional incentives for foreign cell makers to establish local facilities in the US to benefit from tax credits,” he added.",{"type":615,"attrs":31994,"content":31995},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[31996],{"text":31997,"type":596},"How will a second Trump administration affect the US battery market?",{"type":591,"attrs":31999,"content":32000},{"textAlign":49},[32001,32003,32009],{"text":32002,"type":596},"The IRA’s manufacturing production tax credit of $35/kWh of cell production up to 2029 domestic cell production means ",{"text":32004,"type":596,"marks":32005},"US battery production could beat China on cost",[32006],{"type":606,"attrs":32007},{"href":32008,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-battery-production-could-beat-china-on-cost-due-to-ira-tax-credits?_branch_match_id=1544410675410836224&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWt%2FDMDjSODDcr9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUApCR4zEgAAAA%3D",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32011,"content":32012},{"textAlign":49},[32013,32015,32020],{"text":32014,"type":596},"The average cost of production at the cell level in the US could fall from $111.8/kWh to $76.8/kWh in 2029, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":32016,"type":596,"marks":32017},"Lithium ion Battery Cell Cost Forecast",[32018],{"type":606,"attrs":32019},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":32021,"type":596},". In comparison, the average cell production cost for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries in China is currently $95.81/kWh, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32023,"content":32024},{"textAlign":49},[32025,32027,32033],{"text":32026,"type":596},"However, a second ",{"text":32028,"type":596,"marks":32029},"Trump administration poses a threat to the IRA",[32030],{"type":606,"attrs":32031},{"href":32032,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question?_branch_match_id=1544410683776628247&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWrwgPCs9ILDUv9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAq3AqFEgAAAA%3D",{"text":32034,"type":596}," and its battery supply chain investment incentives. Trump has regularly stated his support for the fossil fuel industry and criticised the IRA, especially its EV tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":32036,"content":32037},{"textAlign":49},[32038],{"text":32039,"type":596,"marks":32040},"Watch Benchmark analysts discuss what Trump’s victory means for EVs and the battery supply chain.",[32041],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":32043,"content":32044},{"textAlign":49},[32045],{"text":32046,"type":596},"“We could expect stronger headwinds and potentially lower EV adoption under a Trump administration than a Harris administration,” said Bryan Bille, a policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32048,"content":32049},{"textAlign":49},[32050],{"text":32051,"type":596},"Republican states have disproportionately benefited from IRA investment, meaning attempts to repeal the act could be met by resistance from Republicans senators.","The US is expected to bring 160 gigawatt hours (GWh) of new gigafactory capacity online in 2025, its largest annual increase to date, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. This is a marked increase on previous years where capacity from new facilities grew by an average of 26 GWh per year between 2022 and 2024. “Whilst […]",[32054],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32055},{"job_title":557,"image":32056,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4da4d9b4-4ae2-48ae-83b6-01802b32fd32\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[32059,32060],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32062,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32063,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a0c0476657/bm-us-160-gwh-capacity-growth-2025-featured.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 12, 2024",{"id":32066,"uuid":32067,"name":32068,"slug":32069,"full_slug":32070,"content":32071},112468563636931,"abba48c8-cf09-475a-b27c-aecb2d920a3a","Chinese companies will account for 63% of Europe’s LFP cell supply but can ex-Chinese catch up?","chinese-companies-will-account-for-80-of-europes-lfp-cell-supply-but-can-ex-chinese-catch-up","article/chinese-companies-will-account-for-80-of-europes-lfp-cell-supply-but-can-ex-chinese-catch-up",{"_uid":32072,"date":32073,"tags":32074,"editor":32078,"content":32082,"excerpt":32200,"featured":51,"reporter":32201,"_editable":32205,"component":697,"seo_title":32068,"categories":32206,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":32209,"seo_description":32200,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32212},"d4ab9ab6-6b15-46d9-ab0f-f688c48199e4","2024-11-07 00:00",[32075,32076,32077],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[32079],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32080},{"job_title":557,"image":32081,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32083},[32084,32094,32099,32104,32109,32114,32124,32136,32141,32146,32159,32164,32169,32174,32185,32190,32195],{"type":591,"attrs":32085,"content":32086},{"textAlign":49},[32087,32089,32093],{"text":32088,"type":596},"Chinese cell manufacturers will account for around 63% of Europe’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) supply in 2026, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":32090},[32091],{"type":606,"attrs":32092},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32095,"content":32096},{"textAlign":49},[32097],{"text":32098,"type":596},"Europe’s more open policy stance on Chinese companies operating in the region mean facilities from CATL, CALB, Envision, EVE Energy, and Gotion are either currently in production or expected to start within the next two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":32100,"content":32101},{"textAlign":49},[32102],{"text":32103,"type":596},"“Along with greater experience in producing LFP cells, Chinese battery players have taken advantage of Europe’s more open policy approach to China than the US,” said Luke Gear, principal analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32105,"content":32106},{"textAlign":49},[32107],{"text":32108,"type":596},"Compared to Europe, the US has only one LFP facility that is primarily Chinese-owned, Gotion’s project in Illinois. The site has pushed back production to 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":32110,"content":32111},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32112],{"text":32113,"type":596},"The role of Chinese companies in European LFP production",{"type":591,"attrs":32115,"content":32116},{"textAlign":49},[32117,32119,32123],{"text":32118,"type":596},"Chinese companies operating in Europe are forecast to account for 65% of the region’s LFP supply in 2030 compared to 30% in the US, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":32120},[32121],{"type":606,"attrs":32122},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32125,"content":32126},{"textAlign":49},[32127,32129,32134],{"text":32128,"type":596},"The US figure would be higher if",{"text":32130,"type":596,"marks":32131}," Ford’s Michigan project",[32132],{"type":606,"attrs":32133},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":32135,"type":596}," – which uses “knowledge and services provided by CATL,” a Chinese battery manufacturer – was counted as Chinese facility. As the factory is primarily owned by Ford it is counted as US-owned.",{"type":591,"attrs":32137,"content":32138},{"textAlign":49},[32139],{"text":32140,"type":596},"Of Europe’s 12 gigafactories expected to be producing LFP in 2030, six have Chinese companies as their primary owner. Forecast European LFP production is more robust as a result, with 46% of supply in 2030 expected to come from Tier 1 producers, compared to 26% in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":32142,"content":32143},{"textAlign":49},[32144],{"text":32145,"type":596},"Chinese-owned Envision AESC’s facility in Navalmoral de la Mata, Spain, is expected be the first European facility focused entirely on LFP cells for the EV market and forecast to begin production from 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32147,"content":32148},{"textAlign":49},[32149,32151,32157],{"text":32150,"type":596},"The project will most likely be supplied in the long term by a new ",{"text":32152,"type":596,"marks":32153},"LFP cathode active material (CAM) facility based in Spain and owned by Yuneng",[32154],{"type":606,"attrs":32155},{"href":32156,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/hunan-yuneng-expands-global-footprint-with-spanish-lfp-cathode-plant?_branch_match_id=1544410576246885578&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWz8wyCDQJsCzK9k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA4j1iJkgAAAA%3D",{"text":32158,"type":596},", one of China’s leading LFP cathode producers, and is scheduled to start production in 2027.",{"type":615,"attrs":32160,"content":32161},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32162],{"text":32163,"type":596},"How are ex-China players trying to catch up?",{"type":591,"attrs":32165,"content":32166},{"textAlign":49},[32167],{"text":32168,"type":596},"Though there has been growing interest from ex-China players towards LFP, there is little in the way of firm commitments.",{"type":591,"attrs":32170,"content":32171},{"textAlign":49},[32172],{"text":32173,"type":596},"Tesla is expected to begin LFP production from its Sparks 2 facility in Nevada, US next year with an initial nameplate capacity of 10 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":32175,"content":32176},{"textAlign":49},[32177,32179,32184],{"text":32178,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution (LGES) is prioritising LFP production in Europe over North America. The company has delayed LFP production in Arizona until 2028 but plans to start producing LFP cells from its Polish facility from late 2025, following ",{"text":32180,"type":596,"marks":32181},"a five-year supply agreement with Renault’s EV unit Ampere",[32182],{"type":606,"attrs":32183},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32186,"content":32187},{"textAlign":49},[32188],{"text":32189,"type":596},"ACC’s decision to delay construction of its gigafactories in Germany and Italy is rumoured to be related to a chemistry review, with the company considering a switch to LFP cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":32191,"content":32192},{"textAlign":49},[32193],{"text":32194,"type":596},"Freyr Battery and Elinor Batteries both plan to produce LFP cells targeted specifically for the ESS market.",{"type":591,"attrs":32196,"content":32197},{"textAlign":49},[32198],{"text":32199,"type":596},"“As more OEMs consider and adopt LFP in their EV plans, the more commitment we could see from other ex China players,” said Aran Waid, principal analyst at Benchmark.","Chinese cell manufacturers will account for around 63% of Europe’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) supply in 2026, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. Europe’s more open policy stance on Chinese companies operating in the region mean facilities from CATL, CALB, Envision, EVE Energy, and Gotion are either currently in production or expected to start within […]",[32202],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32203},{"job_title":557,"image":32204,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d4ab9ab6-6b15-46d9-ab0f-f688c48199e4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[32207,32208],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32210,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32211,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a3a3116b5/bm-chinese-companies-will-account-for-80-of-europes-lfp-cell-supply-but-can-ex-chinese-catch-up.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 07, 2024",{"id":32214,"uuid":32215,"name":32216,"slug":32217,"full_slug":32218,"content":32219},112468582474439,"81a7adc0-5308-44fb-8da6-2f1285bcd0c4","Benchmark launches Lithium ion Battery Cost Model","benchmark-launches-lithium-ion-battery-cost-model","article/benchmark-launches-lithium-ion-battery-cost-model",{"_uid":32220,"date":32221,"tags":32222,"editor":32225,"content":32229,"excerpt":32301,"featured":50,"reporter":32302,"component":697,"seo_title":32216,"categories":32306,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":32308,"seo_description":32301,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32310},"b40709a7-49fc-4174-b7ae-356c75368209","2024-11-06 00:00",[32223,32224],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[32226],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32227},{"job_title":557,"image":32228,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32230},[32231,32253,32258,32269,32274,32282,32288,32293],{"type":591,"attrs":32232,"content":32233},{"textAlign":49},[32234,32235,32237,32242,32244,32246,32251],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":32236,"type":596}," is pleased to announce the launch of its new ",{"text":32238,"type":596,"marks":32239},"Lithium ion Battery",[32240],{"type":606,"attrs":32241},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":32243,"type":596}," Cost Model",{"text":32245,"type":596},". This comprehensive model is designed for market participants, OEMs, and investors, providing essential guidance through the complexities of ",{"text":32247,"type":596,"marks":32248},"battery cell",[32249],{"type":606,"attrs":32250},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":32252,"type":596}," production and identifying market competitiveness for individual assets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32254,"content":32255},{"textAlign":49},[32256],{"text":32257,"type":596},"Subscribers will gain insights into forecast costs of producing a variety of battery technology mixes and how policy and input prices are set to shape the industry to the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":32259,"content":32260},{"textAlign":49},[32261,32263,32267],{"text":32262,"type":596},"The report offers detailed modelling of cost components for production of battery cells at an asset-level across all gigafactories operating globally and planned for production till 2030. It is configured according to the ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":32264},[32265],{"type":606,"attrs":32266},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":32268,"type":596}," chemistry split at each asset and uses country-level macroeconomic inputs to provide an estimate of market competitiveness across regions, companies and assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":32270,"content":32271},{"textAlign":49},[32272],{"text":32273,"type":596},"The accompanying report covers wider, market analyses around movements and trends in major cathode chemistries and provides regional guidance on production costs. Subscribers also have access to the analyst team behind the model for personalised insights and context.",{"type":591,"attrs":32275,"content":32276},{"textAlign":49},[32277,32279,32280],{"text":32278,"type":596},"“The tempered market demand and pricing headwinds from large Chinese players are making it crucial for all market participants to understand and optimise production with a view of gaining cost competitiveness. In this environment, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":32281,"type":596},"’s cost model provides a unique and crucial tool for users to analyse each asset’s position on the cost curve and delve deeper into the key reasons for that outcome,” said Shivangee Chauhan, Analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":32283,"content":32284},{"textAlign":49},[32285,32286],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":32287,"type":596},"’s analysis shows the regional disparity between production costs at assets and highlights where these differences arise in the process. Vertical integration and cheaper inputs are some of the key factors driving this trend. As more legislation for incentivizing ex-China supply comes online, understanding the impact of these subsidies and the resulting change in the cost curve will be key to shaping long-term strategies in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":32289,"content":32290},{"textAlign":49},[32291],{"text":32292,"type":596},"“Optimising costs is essential for battery manufacturing at scale, now more than ever. This tool enables users to perform strategic analysis by providing detailed understanding of key factors, including chemistry, format, and the 45X manufacturing credit which can be toggled on or off by the user,” said Matt Stock, Product Director.",{"type":591,"attrs":32294,"content":32295},{"textAlign":49},[32296,32298,32300],{"text":32297,"type":596},"Contact us to learn more or request a free demonstration of ",{"text":32299,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cost Model",{"text":4737,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the launch of its new Lithium ion Battery Cost Model. This comprehensive model is designed for market participants, OEMs, and investors, providing essential guidance through the complexities of battery cell production and identifying market competitiveness for individual assets. Subscribers will gain insights into forecast costs of producing a […]",[32303],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32304},{"job_title":557,"image":32305,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[32307],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32309,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 06, 2024",{"id":32312,"uuid":32313,"name":32314,"slug":32315,"full_slug":32316,"content":32317},112468577747654,"305388bd-7dd9-4609-89bc-10a27bedd22e","LGES to start ESS battery production in US next year to tap into booming market","lges-to-start-ess-battery-production-in-us-next-year-to-tap-into-booming-market","article/lges-to-start-ess-battery-production-in-us-next-year-to-tap-into-booming-market",{"_uid":32318,"date":32221,"tags":32319,"editor":32324,"content":32328,"excerpt":32420,"featured":51,"reporter":32421,"_editable":32425,"component":697,"seo_title":32314,"categories":32426,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":32429,"seo_description":32420,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32310},"ebdc0804-9643-441c-b1eb-0d700dc51f79",[32320,32323],{"slug":32321,"name":32322},"lges","LGES",{"slug":572,"name":573},[32325],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32326},{"job_title":557,"image":32327,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32329},[32330,32343,32362,32367,32372,32377,32382,32387,32400,32405,32410,32415],{"type":591,"attrs":32331,"content":32332},{"textAlign":49},[32333,32335,32341],{"text":32334,"type":596},"South Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution (LGES) will start energy storage systems (ESS) battery production in the US in 2025 as it looks to ",{"text":32336,"type":596,"marks":32337},"tap the booming demand for energy storage",[32338],{"type":606,"attrs":32339},{"href":32340,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eve-energys-20-gwh-agreement-with-aesi-shows-growing-role-of-ess-demand?_branch_match_id=1544395655786884608&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzzB2DS8yMPDM9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAnrR5Q0gAAAA%3D",{"text":32342,"type":596}," in western markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":32344,"content":32345},{"textAlign":49},[32346,32348,32353,32355,32361],{"text":32347,"type":596},"LGES said it plans ",{"text":32349,"type":596,"marks":32350},"to launch high capacity lithium iron phosphate",[32351],{"type":606,"attrs":32352},{"href":9005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":32354,"type":596}," (LFP) ESS batteries and expects substantial revenue from long-term, large-scale power grid installations in North America. The battery maker is also considering converting EV production lines to ESS in response to the ",{"text":32356,"type":596,"marks":32357},"European market demand",[32358],{"type":606,"attrs":32359},{"href":32360,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lges-to-supply-fords-commercial-evs-in-europe",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32363,"content":32364},{"textAlign":49},[32365],{"text":32366,"type":596},"“This is a key development to strengthen LGES position in the ESS market,” said Aran Waid, senior analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32368,"content":32369},{"textAlign":49},[32370],{"text":32371,"type":596},"“Commitment to diversifying into LFP alongside its established nickel cobalt and manganese (NCM) capabilities make LGES a more flexible and competitive supplier in the ESS space. The move could help them compete with Chinese competitors in a market where customers prioritise cost, safety and cycle life,” said Waid.",{"type":591,"attrs":32373,"content":32374},{"textAlign":49},[32375],{"text":32376,"type":596},"LGES’ move comes at a time when it is navigating declining profit from its electric vehicle (EV) business amid a slowing EV demand in Western markets. This has been compounded by rising interest in hybrids over fully electric offerings.",{"type":591,"attrs":32378,"content":32379},{"textAlign":49},[32380],{"text":32381,"type":596},"“Slowing demand and delays from OEMs on their EV production plans opens up the opportunity to focus and capitalise on the growing ESS market,” said Waid.",{"type":615,"attrs":32383,"content":32384},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32385],{"text":32386,"type":596},"LGES’ battery ambitions in the US",{"type":591,"attrs":32388,"content":32389},{"textAlign":49},[32390,32392,32398],{"text":32391,"type":596},"Besides South Korea, LGES has battery plants in the US, Poland as well as in China. In the US, ",{"text":32393,"type":596,"marks":32394},"the Inflation Reduction Act",[32395],{"type":606,"attrs":32396},{"href":32397,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-45x-tax-credit-revisions-should-go-further-miners-say",{"text":32399,"type":596}," (IRA) provides substantial incentives to South Korean companies such as LGES to increase their battery making footprint there. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32401,"content":32402},{"textAlign":49},[32403],{"text":32404,"type":596},"Back in June, LGES said it was pausing construction of an ESS battery line at the Arizona plant. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32406,"content":32407},{"textAlign":49},[32408],{"text":32409,"type":596},"“LGES paused construction on the LFP line in Arizona and switched focus to Wroclaw, Poland. They do however have a small line operational in Michigan and that will likely be the focus for their LFP plans in the US,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32411,"content":32412},{"textAlign":49},[32413],{"text":32414,"type":596},"Hartley warns that the initial volumes of LGES’ ESS LFP cells will be minor compared to what can be purchased from a Chinese company like EVE, CATL or Gotion.",{"type":591,"attrs":32416,"content":32417},{"textAlign":49},[32418],{"text":32419,"type":596},"“While LGES has an advantage over Chinese firms, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to scale and experience in LFP manufacturing, and have less established supply chains within that space,” he said.","South Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution (LGES) will start energy storage systems (ESS) battery production in the US in 2025 as it looks to tap the booming demand for energy storage in western markets. LGES said it plans to launch high capacity lithium iron phosphate (LFP) ESS batteries and expects substantial revenue from long-term, […]",[32422],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32423},{"job_title":557,"image":32424,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ebdc0804-9643-441c-b1eb-0d700dc51f79\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[32427,32428],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32430,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32431,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3daf190ca7/bm-lges-us-michigan.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":32433,"uuid":32434,"name":32435,"slug":32436,"full_slug":32437,"content":32438},112468572988101,"c4a18118-fb4d-419f-b2d6-5d178ce2b67c","Donald Trump wins US election bringing future of IRA into question","donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question","article/donald-trump-wins-us-election-bringing-future-of-ira-into-question",{"_uid":32439,"date":32221,"tags":32440,"editor":32447,"content":32451,"excerpt":32769,"featured":51,"reporter":32770,"_editable":32774,"component":697,"seo_title":32435,"categories":32775,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":32786,"featured_image":32789,"seo_description":32769,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32310},"cf8eb26b-f266-4f3e-a50a-8678cd31a02f",[32441,32442,32445,32446],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":32443,"name":32444},"elections","Elections",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[32448],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32449},{"job_title":557,"image":32450,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32452},[32453,32474,32486,32491,32496,32501,32508,32536,32543,32548,32553,32558,32563,32568,32575,32585,32590,32597,32602,32615,32620,32625,32646,32658,32663,32681,32686,32691,32696,32701,32706,32711,32716,32745,32752],{"type":591,"attrs":32454,"content":32455},{"textAlign":49},[32456,32458,32464,32466,32472],{"text":32457,"type":596},"Donald Trump has regained control of the White House after beating ",{"text":32459,"type":596,"marks":32460},"Kamala Harris",[32461],{"type":606,"attrs":32462},{"href":32463,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1323497",{"text":32465,"type":596}," in the US ",{"text":32467,"type":596,"marks":32468},"election",[32469],{"type":606,"attrs":32470},{"href":32471,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-the-battery-industry-could-be-impacted-by-elections-this-year?_branch_match_id=1544395702630232381&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd8wx9yhz9fPJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA%2B7cSA0gAAAA%3D",{"text":32473,"type":596}," this week. Republicans have secured a majority in the Senate and are currently winning the race for the House of Representatives.",{"type":591,"attrs":32475,"content":32476},{"textAlign":49},[32477,32479,32485],{"text":32478,"type":596},"Having a majority in both houses strengthens Trump’s ability to repeal more legislation, including parts of President Biden’s signature ",{"text":32480,"type":596,"marks":32481},"Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)",[32482],{"type":606,"attrs":32483},{"href":32484,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-the-us-2024-elections-mean-for-the-ira-and-ev-battery-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544395687804031052&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWN8g3sjQoCvTJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPIMrwEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32487,"content":32488},{"textAlign":49},[32489],{"text":32490,"type":596},"“Trump’s return to the White House is likely to result in a pivot towards fossil fuels and a relaxation of environmental regulations,” said Bryan Bille, a policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":32492,"content":32493},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32494],{"text":32495,"type":596},"Could Trump repeal the Inflation Reduction Act?",{"type":591,"attrs":32497,"content":32498},{"textAlign":49},[32499],{"text":32500,"type":596},"Since President Biden enacted the IRA in August 2022, more than $110 billion of investments have flowed into the electric vehicles and battery sectors, according to data from Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":32502,"content":32503},{"textAlign":49},[32504],{"type":836,"attrs":32505},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32506,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32507},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d5e1453019/bm-election-charts-02-v2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":32509,"content":32510},{"textAlign":49},[32511,32513,32519,32521,32527,32529,32535],{"text":32512,"type":596},"The success of the IRA can be seen in the ",{"text":32514,"type":596,"marks":32515},"2030 gigafactory pipeline",[32516],{"type":606,"attrs":32517},{"href":32518,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/who-owns-the-usas-gigafactories?_branch_match_id=1544395733606393582&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdy%2FwzwxxifDJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAhICqs0gAAAA%3D",{"text":32520,"type":596},". At the start of Biden’s presidency it sat at around 360 gigawatt-hours. Today the 2030 pipeline is more than ",{"text":32522,"type":596,"marks":32523},"three times the size",[32524],{"type":606,"attrs":32525},{"href":32526,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ira-supercharges-usas-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-as-it-overtakes-europe-for-first-time?_branch_match_id=1544395719259944050&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLw10dC1yNPDJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA7WZbQkgAAAA%3D",{"text":32528,"type":596}," at 1,310 gigawatt-hours, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":32531},"Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment",[32532],{"type":606,"attrs":32533},{"href":32534,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/data-reports/market-assessments",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32537,"content":32538},{"textAlign":49},[32539],{"type":836,"attrs":32540},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32541,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32542},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ac5152a6c1/bm-us-gigafactory-capacity.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":32544,"content":32545},{"textAlign":49},[32546],{"text":32547,"type":596},"Trump has repeatedly expressed a wish to repeal parts of the IRA, especially those parts favouring EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":32549,"content":32550},{"textAlign":49},[32551],{"text":32552,"type":596},"“Donald Trump has reportedly promised to scrap pro-EV rules, mandates, and has regularly criticised the IRA’s tax policy, especially Section 30D, which provides tax credits,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":32554,"content":32555},{"textAlign":49},[32556],{"text":32557,"type":596},"Although Trump looks on track to have control of both the House and the Senate, he may face push back from within his own party if he pushes too hard against the IRA.",{"type":591,"attrs":32559,"content":32560},{"textAlign":49},[32561],{"text":32562,"type":596},"“Mainly Republican states have significantly benefited from clean tech investments resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act,” Bille said. “Watering down or cancelling these investments would affect the US’ catch up efforts vis-a-vis China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":32564,"content":32565},{"textAlign":49},[32566],{"text":32567,"type":596},"IRA investment flowed primarily into Republican states, with this proportion growing following the election results. Up to 92% of IRA investments are now in red states (including states yet to declare but looking likely to vote Republican).",{"type":591,"attrs":32569,"content":32570},{"textAlign":49},[32571],{"type":836,"attrs":32572},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32573,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32574},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cc334d56f2/bm-election-charts-11112024.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":32576,"content":32577},{"textAlign":49},[32578,32580,32584],{"text":32579,"type":596},"Of the 1272 GWh in the pipeline to 2030 in the US, 876 GWh is planned for Republican states, with over 300 GWh of capacity sitting in states yet to be called. Should all this capacity go ahead it marks $81.5 billion in investments and thousands of jobs for those regions. Notably Texas, a republican stronghold, has the largest pipeline capacity of all US states, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":32581},[32582],{"type":606,"attrs":32583},{"href":32534,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32586,"content":32587},{"textAlign":49},[32588],{"text":32589,"type":596},"Without control of both houses, it is unlikely that Trump could repeal parts of the IRA nor the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That said, Trump could still change the implementation of the IRA, according to Bille, such as changing foreign entity of concern (FEOC) rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":32591,"content":32592},{"textAlign":49},[32593],{"type":836,"attrs":32594},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32595,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32596},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e726a8c3bf/bm-usa-map-11112024.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":32598,"content":32599},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32600],{"text":32601,"type":596},"What is Trump’s view on mining?",{"type":591,"attrs":32603,"content":32604},{"textAlign":49},[32605,32607,32613],{"text":32606,"type":596},"Although Trump is not in support of the IRA, ",{"text":32608,"type":596,"marks":32609},"domestic critical mineral",[32610],{"type":606,"attrs":32611},{"href":32612,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-critical-mineral-price-support-could-cost-7-5-billion-alone-for-lithium-in-next-five-years?_branch_match_id=1544395711166352951&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdy2tCK8oM%2FHJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUATno62UgAAAA%3D",{"text":32614,"type":596}," production is likely to still have a place.",{"type":591,"attrs":32616,"content":32617},{"textAlign":49},[32618],{"text":32619,"type":596},"“Trump voiced his support for domestic mining, which could result in a more profound permitting reform and further financial support for domestic mining projects,” Bille said.",{"type":615,"attrs":32621,"content":32622},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32623],{"text":32624,"type":596},"What does Trump’s win mean for US-China relations?",{"type":591,"attrs":32626,"content":32627},{"textAlign":49},[32628,32630,32636,32638,32644],{"text":32629,"type":596},"Earlier in 2024, Biden added ",{"text":32631,"type":596,"marks":32632},"100% tariffs to imported Chinese EVs",[32633],{"type":606,"attrs":32634},{"href":32635,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-hikes-tariffs-to-further-isolate-china-from-its-ev-supply-chain-ambitions?_branch_match_id=1544395676102152705&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNw6sys0NtPDJ9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAPdsb30gAAAA%3D",{"text":32637,"type":596}," and also ",{"text":32639,"type":596,"marks":32640},"increased the tariffs",[32641],{"type":606,"attrs":32642},{"href":32643,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/navigating-trade-challenges-electric-vehicles-china-and-tariffs?_branch_match_id=1544395755602213352&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLy1L9UkKSvbN9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAw4g0CEgAAAA%3D",{"text":32645,"type":596}," on Chinese critical minerals. Trump’s win will likely see more tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":32647,"content":32648},{"textAlign":49},[32649,32651,32657],{"text":32650,"type":596},"Further, the FEOC rules of the IRA currently only apply for the 30D tax credits when consumers purchase an EV. Bille says Trump could strengthen these and potentially extend them to apply to the ",{"text":32652,"type":596,"marks":32653},"45X production tax credits",[32654],{"type":606,"attrs":32655},{"href":32656,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-45x-tax-credit-revisions-should-go-further-miners-say?_branch_match_id=1544395745966797796&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBOw6AIBAFwBtBb2IsrNXayoBZYfksmweJnWd3Jo6hfbLWk9yxOuTKQnClG6dqCku2Ke1n1LDx4ZcP9BDAEi6P9nbCvEa0Sj9BU5peSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32659,"content":32660},{"textAlign":49},[32661],{"text":32662,"type":596},"“There is an expectation of more domestic and foreign policy uncertainty and turbulence,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":32664,"content":32665},{"textAlign":49},[32666,32670,32677],{"text":32667,"type":596,"marks":32668},"Watch Benchmark’s ",[32669],{"type":1006},{"text":32671,"type":596,"marks":32672},"free video",[32673,32676],{"type":606,"attrs":32674},{"href":32675,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/what-does-trumps-victory-mean-for-evs-and-the-battery-supply-chain",{"type":1006},{"text":32678,"type":596,"marks":32679}," on what Trump’s victory could mean for EV and battery supply chains.",[32680],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":32682,"content":32683},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32684],{"text":32685,"type":596},"What does this mean for electric vehicles?",{"type":591,"attrs":32687,"content":32688},{"textAlign":49},[32689],{"text":32690,"type":596},"Since the implementation of the IRA, EV sales in the US have been steadily growing with penetration rates currently around 10% of new sales, according to Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":32692,"content":32693},{"textAlign":49},[32694],{"text":32695,"type":596},"There was a dip in sales when the first FEOC restrictions came into play at the start of 2024 as several models became ineligible for 30D tax credits. However, these sales have since recovered.",{"type":591,"attrs":32697,"content":32698},{"textAlign":49},[32699],{"text":32700,"type":596},"Despite Trump’s aversion to EVs, Bille says it is notable that Elon Musk–the chief executive of Tesla, the US’ largest EV company–is a staunch supporter of Trump.",{"type":591,"attrs":32702,"content":32703},{"textAlign":49},[32704],{"text":32705,"type":596},"Future demand for EVs was supported by the Biden administration strengthening the environmental protection agency (EPA) emissions standards that had been reduced during Trump’s first presidency.",{"type":591,"attrs":32707,"content":32708},{"textAlign":49},[32709],{"text":32710,"type":596},"Trump has expressed an ambition to roll back these emission reduction standards. Such changes would reduce demand for EVs. However, making such changes won’t come quickly.",{"type":591,"attrs":32712,"content":32713},{"textAlign":49},[32714],{"text":32715,"type":596},"“Rolling back these standards takes time, typically, years,” Bille said. “Moreover, another thing to remember is that some federal states have already implemented stringent emission standards and EV adoption programs beyond federal control.”",{"type":591,"attrs":32717,"content":32718},{"textAlign":49},[32719,32723,32727,32730,32734,32737,32741],{"text":32720,"type":596,"marks":32721},"Join us at Benchmark Week for critical sessions like ",[32722],{"type":1006},{"text":32724,"type":596,"marks":32725},"US Election Aftermath: Policy and Industry Implications",[32726],{"type":1006},{"text":2860,"type":596,"marks":32728},[32729],{"type":1006},{"text":32731,"type":596,"marks":32732},"Navigating the US Policy Landscape",[32733],{"type":1006},{"text":9014,"type":596,"marks":32735},[32736],{"type":1006},{"text":32738,"type":596,"marks":32739},"MESC Grants: Boosting the US Domestic Battery Supply Chain",[32740],{"type":1006},{"text":32742,"type":596,"marks":32743}," to gain insights into the policies shaping the market post-election.",[32744],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":32746,"content":32747},{"textAlign":49},[32748],{"text":32749,"type":596,"marks":32750},"Benchmark Week returns to Los Angeles on 12-14 November 2024, bringing global industry leaders, financiers, and government officials together to chart a course for the technologies and supply chains central to the energy transition.",[32751],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":32753,"content":32754},{"textAlign":49},[32755,32759,32766],{"text":32756,"type":596,"marks":32757},"Stay informed about potential changes in the industry and be part of the discussions that will define the future. View the agenda and secure your ",[32758],{"type":1006},{"text":32760,"type":596,"marks":32761},"ticket here",[32762,32765],{"type":606,"attrs":32763},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/benchmarkweek2024",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":32767},[32768],{"type":1006},"Donald Trump has regained control of the White House after beating Kamala Harris in the US election this week. Republicans have secured a majority in the Senate and are currently winning the race for the House of Representatives. Having a majority in both houses strengthens Trump’s ability to repeal more legislation, including parts of President […]",[32771],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32772},{"job_title":557,"image":32773,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf8eb26b-f266-4f3e-a50a-8678cd31a02f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[32776,32777,32778,32779,32780,32781,32782,32783,32784,32785],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32787,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32788,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1730899274/www-production/Election-charts_03/Election-charts_03.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32790,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":32792,"uuid":32793,"name":32794,"slug":32795,"full_slug":32796,"content":32797},112468587356872,"5346b6df-9330-4ba6-baef-77884b537d7e","Indonesia’s EV ambitions face tests under new leadership","indonesias-ev-ambitions-face-tests-under-new-leadership","article/indonesias-ev-ambitions-face-tests-under-new-leadership",{"_uid":32798,"date":32799,"tags":32800,"editor":32802,"content":32806,"excerpt":32924,"featured":51,"reporter":32925,"_editable":32929,"component":697,"seo_title":32794,"categories":32930,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":32935,"seo_description":32924,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":32938},"120550af-014c-4f31-9b48-d4a4377644bf","2024-11-05 00:00",[32801],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[32803],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32804},{"job_title":557,"image":32805,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32807},[32808,32813,32818,32823,32828,32833,32838,32843,32855,32860,32867,32872,32877,32882,32887,32892,32897,32902,32907,32912,32919],{"type":591,"attrs":32809,"content":32810},{"textAlign":49},[32811],{"text":32812,"type":596},"The inauguration of Indonesia’s new president Prabowo Subianto in late October marked a potentially defining moment in its bid to establish an electric vehicle (EV) production hub. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32814,"content":32815},{"textAlign":49},[32816],{"text":32817,"type":596},"Outgoing president Joko Widodo has overseen a dramatic transformation of the Indonesian economy since coming to power in 2014. The ‘downstreaming’ of the country’s vast nickel resources – underpinned by the influx of Chinese capital towards the development of a sprawling nickel processing industry – has created a large industrial base, boosted exports, and positioned Indonesia as a key energy transition partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":32819,"content":32820},{"textAlign":49},[32821],{"text":32822,"type":596},"However, as Prabowo takes the reins, Indonesia finds itself at a critical juncture for the future of its downstreaming ambitions. The Widodo government has sought to attract foreign investment to move up the battery value chain and establish a fully-fledged EV ecosystem, but this has proven slow to materialise.",{"type":591,"attrs":32824,"content":32825},{"textAlign":49},[32826],{"text":32827,"type":596},"“Joko Widodo’s fundamental priority has been economic development and attracting overseas investment,” said Zach Parsons, battery metals analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32829,"content":32830},{"textAlign":49},[32831],{"text":32832,"type":596},"“But Prabowo does not share this central focus and many are concerned about the potential return to a Suharto-style political structure, and what that could mean for investment.”",{"type":615,"attrs":32834,"content":32835},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32836],{"text":32837,"type":596},"Can Indonesia develop an EV ecosystem?",{"type":591,"attrs":32839,"content":32840},{"textAlign":49},[32841],{"text":32842,"type":596},"The Widodo government set an ambitious target to rank amongst the top three producers of lithium ion batteries worldwide by 2027 and achieve 140 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity by 2030, offering incentives such as tax breaks to attract foreign investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":32844,"content":32845},{"textAlign":49},[32846,32848,32853],{"text":32847,"type":596},"Despite some progress, ",{"text":32849,"type":596,"marks":32850},"Benchmark projects",[32851],{"type":606,"attrs":32852},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":32854,"type":596}," Indonesia’s cell capacity to fall some way short of the government’s 2030 target, reaching just 20 GWh by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32856,"content":32857},{"textAlign":49},[32858],{"text":32859,"type":596},"In fact, the below graph demonstrates that Indonesia has failed to translate its nickel dominance into investment at the midstream and downstream stages of the battery value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":32861,"content":32862},{"textAlign":49},[32863],{"type":836,"attrs":32864},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32865,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32866},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c71205c4af/bm-unnamed.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":32868,"content":32869},{"textAlign":49},[32870],{"text":32871,"type":596},"To address the imbalance, President Prabowo has vowed to continue the downstreaming policy of the previous administration to reduce dependence on mineral exports and spur the development of a domestic manufacturing sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":32873,"content":32874},{"textAlign":49},[32875],{"text":32876,"type":596},"This value-add process, however, could pit Indonesia in direct competition with its largest trade partner and source of foreign investment: China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32878,"content":32879},{"textAlign":49},[32880],{"text":32881,"type":596},"“It will be challenging for Indonesia to develop a complete battery supply chain, considering how competitive China is,” said Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark. “Even if the Indonesian government wants to diversify investments and move up to the value chain, China will likely remain an important partner both in terms of capital and technological expertise.”",{"type":591,"attrs":32883,"content":32884},{"textAlign":49},[32885],{"text":32886,"type":596},"Politics, too, is also at play. Luhut Panjaitan, the de-facto mastermind behind the downstreaming policy and key point of contact for foreign investors, is expected to transition to a less prominent role in the new government, which is creating concerns that there may be a lack of coordination for the downstreaming strategy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32888,"content":32889},{"textAlign":49},[32890],{"text":32891,"type":596},"“The country’s diversification strategy may also be complicated by Prabowo Subianto’s well-documented anti-democratic tendencies and links to Indonesia’s former authoritarian leader Suharto,” Bille added.",{"type":615,"attrs":32893,"content":32894},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[32895],{"text":32896,"type":596},"Indonesia and the Inflation Reduction Act",{"type":591,"attrs":32898,"content":32899},{"textAlign":49},[32900],{"text":32901,"type":596},"To facilitate its downstreaming ambitions, as well as reduce reliance on a single trade partner and affirm Indonesia’s position as a non-aligned power, officials have touted the importance of a Critical Mineral Agreement (CMA) with the US in order to gain access to Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":32903,"content":32904},{"textAlign":49},[32905],{"text":32906,"type":596},"However, current prospects for such an agreement appear remote: US policymakers’ have expressed concerns’ over China’s hegemonic position in Indonesia’s nickel industry, while in September the US Department of Labor reported that forced labour was being used in the Indonesian nickel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":32908,"content":32909},{"textAlign":49},[32910],{"text":32911,"type":596},"Indonesian nickel could still qualify for tax credits without a CMA in place, contingent that nickel was exported to a free trade agreement (FTA) economy for further processing, such as South Korea and Japan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32913,"content":32914},{"textAlign":49},[32915],{"type":836,"attrs":32916},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":32917,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":32918},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcEGaNORrN_BzP1RNsC-ZHPySlk7JNl2HBePOOfPSzQFM-5r-mIAj0Q6-vUyNp4turXyNDacsr9aC0teitQNUo53b8HTOpgj9HzCmfnsflhKtvfS7DtuqzlVHnyQJkOwch8FflxjnWmGD5x82UqSXlfZXTL?key=-9bd8FSVNnRG2JhuN409VbT3",{},{"type":591,"attrs":32920,"content":32921},{"textAlign":49},[32922],{"text":32923,"type":596},"The IRA’s foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions would make this challenging, however, given that section 30D dictates that you need to assess the full supply chain for FEOC involvement when doing the due diligence to qualify for the credits.","The inauguration of Indonesia’s new president Prabowo Subianto in late October marked a potentially defining moment in its bid to establish an electric vehicle (EV) production hub. Outgoing president Joko Widodo has overseen a dramatic transformation of the Indonesian economy since coming to power in 2014. The ‘downstreaming’ of the country’s vast nickel resources – […]",[32926],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32927},{"job_title":557,"image":32928,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"120550af-014c-4f31-9b48-d4a4377644bf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[32931,32932,32933,32934],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32936,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":32937,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fdb8e027a9/bm-prabowo-subianto-1327072db135.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 05, 2024",{"id":32940,"uuid":32941,"name":32942,"slug":32943,"full_slug":32944,"content":32945},112468597371594,"4700e7ba-b457-4ffd-999d-444a0484cf85","US LFP demand to take a hit in near term as Tesla cancels entry level Model 3","us-lfp-demand-to-take-a-hit-in-near-term-as-tesla-cancels-entry-level-model-3","article/us-lfp-demand-to-take-a-hit-in-near-term-as-tesla-cancels-entry-level-model-3",{"_uid":32946,"date":32947,"tags":32948,"editor":32952,"content":32956,"excerpt":33007,"featured":51,"reporter":33008,"_editable":33012,"component":697,"seo_title":32942,"categories":33013,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33016,"seo_description":33007,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33020},"fde580ff-9702-45e2-a868-f659d8b64781","2024-11-04 00:00",[32949,32950,32951],{"slug":2635,"name":743},{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":572,"name":573},[32953],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":32954},{"job_title":557,"image":32955,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":32957},[32958,32963,32974,32979,32984],{"type":591,"attrs":32959,"content":32960},{"textAlign":49},[32961],{"text":32962,"type":596},"Tesla’s decision to stop selling the Model 3 Standard Range in North America in October will lead to a significant drop in demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the region in the near term, Benchmark data shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":32964,"content":32965},{"textAlign":49},[32966,32968,32973],{"text":32967,"type":596},"The US electric vehicle maker’s latest move could see North American LFP cell demand drop by around 1 gigawatt hour (GWh) in the fourth quarter this year and about 5 GWh for the full year 2025, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":32970},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Database",[32971],{"type":606,"attrs":32972},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":32975,"content":32976},{"textAlign":49},[32977],{"text":32978,"type":596},"“This will significantly reduce US LFP adoption in the EV market over the short term, following a significant drop already seen this year after the loss of the tax credit for Tesla’s LFP models. Given the lower cost of LFP, this has implications for broader EV adoption in the US,” said Luke Gear, principal analyst for Batteries and Electric Vehicles at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":32980,"content":32981},{"textAlign":49},[32982],{"text":32983,"type":596},"The entry level variant for Model 3 was until recently the only vehicle in Tesla’s North American portfolio that used LFP batteries from CATL, imported from China. Tesla uses the nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) cells for its other two Model 3 variants which it makes at its gigafactory in Nevada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":32985,"content":32986},{"textAlign":49},[32987,32989,32994,32995,32999,33000,33005],{"text":32988,"type":596},"EV makers including ",{"text":2779,"type":596,"marks":32990},[32991],{"type":606,"attrs":32992},{"href":32993,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-set-to-maintain-us-battery-dominance-this-decade",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":30782,"type":596,"marks":32996},[32997],{"type":606,"attrs":32998},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9014,"type":596},{"text":33001,"type":596,"marks":33002},"Ford",[33003],{"type":606,"attrs":33004},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33006,"type":596}," are gearing up for domestic LFP production in the coming years. ","Tesla’s decision to stop selling the Model 3 Standard Range in North America in October will lead to a significant drop in demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the region in the near term, Benchmark data shows. The US electric vehicle maker’s latest move could see North American LFP cell demand drop by […]",[33009],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33010},{"job_title":557,"image":33011,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fde580ff-9702-45e2-a868-f659d8b64781\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33014,33015],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":33017,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":33017,"source":547,"filename":33018,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33019,"is_external_url":51},"Generic EV Battery Pack on Electric Car Production Line inside Modern Factory.","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/LFP-begins-to-make-inroads-into-Europes-lithium-ion-ecosystem-scaled.jpg",{"alt":33017,"title":33017,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 04, 2024",{"id":33022,"uuid":33023,"name":33024,"slug":33025,"full_slug":33026,"content":33027},112468611699405,"93b5886f-45f0-49c6-9ef2-520b5a61c484","New state-owned enterprise strengthens China’s recycling position","new-state-owned-enterprise-strengthens-chinas-recycling-position","article/new-state-owned-enterprise-strengthens-chinas-recycling-position",{"_uid":33028,"date":33029,"tags":33030,"editor":33032,"content":33036,"excerpt":33191,"featured":51,"reporter":33192,"_editable":33196,"component":697,"seo_title":33024,"categories":33197,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33200,"seo_description":33191,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33203},"2e56c198-d31d-43e4-84c3-aa3220d74058","2024-11-01 00:00",[33031],{"slug":575,"name":576},[33033],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33034},{"job_title":557,"image":33035,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33037},[33038,33043,33048,33067,33087,33094,33099,33104,33109,33114,33119,33124,33136,33141,33153,33158,33163,33168,33173,33184],{"type":591,"attrs":33039,"content":33040},{"textAlign":49},[33041],{"text":33042,"type":596},"China has announced the formation of a state-owned recycling enterprise which will have an initial capital of 10 billion RMB ($1.4 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":33044,"content":33045},{"textAlign":49},[33046],{"text":33047,"type":596},"The enterprise, to be known as the China Resources Recycling Group, will incorporate multiple subsidiaries including one focused on recycling scrap batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":33049,"content":33050},{"textAlign":49},[33051,33053,33059,33061,33066],{"text":33052,"type":596},"China is forecast to account for 80% of the ",{"text":33054,"type":596,"marks":33055},"available battery scrap globally",[33056],{"type":606,"attrs":33057},{"href":33058,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/western-battery-scrap-to-account-for-over-third-of-global-pool-by-2035?_branch_match_id=1544395441862432359&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTywuSTT3CPfL9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAW2binkgAAAA%3D",{"text":33060,"type":596}," in 2024 with most of this being scrap from its gigafactories, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":33062},[33063],{"type":606,"attrs":33064},{"href":33065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling/data-reports/forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33068,"content":33069},{"textAlign":49},[33070,33072,33077,33079,33085],{"text":33071,"type":596},"“This will not only enhance the Chinese ",{"text":33073,"type":596,"marks":33074},"circular economy",[33075],{"type":606,"attrs":33076},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33078,"type":596}," across the relevant markets but will also facilitate recycling of consumer and household goods which are often not routinely collected as extensively due to lack of consumer incentive,” said ",{"text":33080,"type":596,"marks":33081},"Beatrice Browning",[33082],{"type":606,"attrs":33083},{"href":33084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-black-mass-101",{"text":33086,"type":596},", a recycling analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":33088,"content":33089},{"textAlign":49},[33090],{"type":836,"attrs":33091},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":33092,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":33093},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dc19e4d905/bm-image-102-1344078e1122.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":33095,"content":33096},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33097],{"text":33098,"type":596},"What is the role of the State in China’s recycling industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":33100,"content":33101},{"textAlign":49},[33102],{"text":33103,"type":596},"In China, the State plays a key role in the development of the recycling industry. In 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in China published the “’Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilisation of Power Batteries and New Energy Vehicles”.",{"type":591,"attrs":33105,"content":33106},{"textAlign":49},[33107],{"text":33108,"type":596},"Within this, a so-called whitelist was established to highlight companies that met responsible recycling practices and hit certain requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":33110,"content":33111},{"textAlign":49},[33112],{"text":33113,"type":596},"China made these requirements more stringent in August 2024. Any existing whitelisted company that doesn’t meet these requirements has one year to meet them lest they be removed from the list.",{"type":591,"attrs":33115,"content":33116},{"textAlign":49},[33117],{"text":33118,"type":596},"Some of these requirements are:",{"type":591,"attrs":33120,"content":33121},{"textAlign":49},[33122],{"text":33123,"type":596},"“Within this legislation, recyclers are expected to continually develop their recycling technologies and equipment for all parts of the battery and enhance their recycling efficiency,” Browning said.",{"type":591,"attrs":33125,"content":33126},{"textAlign":49},[33127,33129,33134],{"text":33128,"type":596},"Globally, there is overcapacity in the recycling ecosystem, as regions build out their capacity in anticipation of more battery scrap in the coming years. Much of the overcapacity for ",{"text":33130,"type":596,"marks":33131},"processing black mass",[33132],{"type":606,"attrs":33133},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33135,"type":596}," is located in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":33137,"content":33138},{"textAlign":49},[33139],{"text":33140,"type":596},"“This state-owned enterprise is likely to contribute to that overcapacity initially with such a saturated environment,” Browning said. “But with a forecasted combined scrap pool exceeding 1,500 GWh in 2040 within China, this capacity will be extremely valuable to tackle this inevitable waste feedstock.”",{"type":591,"attrs":33142,"content":33143},{"textAlign":49},[33144,33146,33151],{"text":33145,"type":596},"Until recently, Chinese recyclers were unable to access ",{"text":33147,"type":596,"marks":33148},"black mass from outside of the country",[33149],{"type":606,"attrs":33150},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33152,"type":596}," due to the government banning its import.",{"type":591,"attrs":33154,"content":33155},{"textAlign":49},[33156],{"text":33157,"type":596},"“Therefore when black mass is ready for processing, it is often fed into surrounding Asian regions for intermediate processing to then be transported into China as a mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) intermediate,” Browning said.",{"type":615,"attrs":33159,"content":33160},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33161],{"text":33162,"type":596},"What is China’s position in the global recycling ecosystem?",{"type":591,"attrs":33164,"content":33165},{"textAlign":49},[33166],{"text":33167,"type":596},"Given China’s dominance in the production of batteries and in the deployment of electric vehicles, the country has had a head start in the build out of a recycling ecosystem.",{"type":591,"attrs":33169,"content":33170},{"textAlign":49},[33171],{"text":33172,"type":596},"“In China, the whitelist has been around since 2018 whereas legislation in other regions is still being determined reflecting China’s strong position,” Browning said.",{"type":591,"attrs":33174,"content":33175},{"textAlign":49},[33176,33178,33182],{"text":33177,"type":596},"In Europe and ",{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":33179},[33180],{"type":606,"attrs":33181},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33183,"type":596},", over 80% recycling facilities only carry out pretreatment–that is the shredding of batteries to produce black mass. By contrast, 62% of China’s recyclers in 2024 are integrated, meaning they produce black mass and then process it into battery chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":33185,"content":33186},{"textAlign":49},[33187],{"type":836,"attrs":33188},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":33189,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":33190},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/74553fa5a3/bm-total-battery-scrap-pool-proportion-1.png",{},"China has announced the formation of a state-owned recycling enterprise which will have an initial capital of 10 billion RMB ($1.4 billion). The enterprise, to be known as the China Resources Recycling Group, will incorporate multiple subsidiaries including one focused on recycling scrap batteries. China is forecast to account for 80% of the available battery […]",[33193],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33194},{"job_title":557,"image":33195,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2e56c198-d31d-43e4-84c3-aa3220d74058\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33198,33199],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":33201,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33202,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/22ed4c5523/bm-adobestock-110768217.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 01, 2024",{"id":33205,"uuid":33206,"name":33207,"slug":33208,"full_slug":33209,"content":33210},112468606952140,"00d90776-5e8c-4c38-9c61-814940b48d79","Revolutionising battery production: how dry electrode manufacturing promises to cut costs","revolutionising-battery-production-how-dry-electrode-manufacturing-promises-to-cut-costs","article/revolutionising-battery-production-how-dry-electrode-manufacturing-promises-to-cut-costs",{"_uid":33211,"date":33029,"tags":33212,"editor":33213,"content":33217,"excerpt":33404,"featured":51,"reporter":33405,"_editable":33409,"component":697,"seo_title":33207,"categories":33410,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33414,"seo_description":33404,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33203},"373ddd68-b79a-4bea-bc85-0328f0d8f503",[],[33214],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33215},{"job_title":557,"image":33216,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33218},[33219,33231,33243,33248,33253,33258,33263,33268,33275,33280,33285,33290,33295,33300,33305,33310,33315,33320,33325,33330,33335,33340,33345,33350,33355,33360,33365,33370,33375,33392],{"type":591,"attrs":33220,"content":33221},{"textAlign":49},[33222,33224,33229],{"text":33223,"type":596},"The use of dry electrode manufacturing in the production of lithium ion batteries is beginning to scale, promising to significantly lower emissions and further reduce ",{"text":33225,"type":596,"marks":33226},"costs",[33227],{"type":606,"attrs":33228},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33230,"type":596}," in the future. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33232,"content":33233},{"textAlign":49},[33234,33236,33241],{"text":33235,"type":596},"Tesla is set to start producing some of its battery cells using the dry process at the end of this year, while battery producer ",{"text":6051,"type":596,"marks":33237},[33238],{"type":606,"attrs":33239},{"href":33240,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-supplier-lges-to-build-4680-battery-production-capacity?_branch_match_id=1544395557058386856&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BvlPogW0S6sG4TGLwd1lK%2FQrrP3Xui9ttEYD71CdoxZFHSpDa7WIYlGs1lEHKuV3c8fcYMUfU7P8jZwWgJLxg959rITSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":33242,"type":596}," said this week it is developing dry electrode manufacturing to “achieve higher energy density and cost innovation.” The company aims to build a pilot production line in Korea by the end of this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33244,"content":33245},{"textAlign":49},[33246],{"text":33247,"type":596},"And Massachusetts-based startup AM Batteries, which is backed by Toyota Ventures and Porsche Ventures, said this month it had shipped samples from its pilot line to “a major battery cell provider.”",{"type":591,"attrs":33249,"content":33250},{"textAlign":49},[33251],{"text":33252,"type":596},"Dry processing cuts down the number of steps needed to produce battery electrodes, as well as removing the need for the use of a solvent to make a slurry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33254,"content":33255},{"textAlign":49},[33256],{"text":33257,"type":596},"In most battery factories today, cathode and anode materials are mixed with polymer binder and conductive additives in wet solvent to create a slurry, which is coated onto aluminium or copper foils. These are then heated to around 100 degrees centigrade in an oven. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33259,"content":33260},{"textAlign":49},[33261],{"text":33262,"type":596},"In the dry processing method cathode or anode material powders are sprayed directly onto the metal foils that make up the electrode. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33264,"content":33265},{"textAlign":49},[33266],{"text":33267,"type":596},"Because the dry process cuts out the need for ovens to heat the electrodes, it can offer significant energy savings. It also removes the use of NMP solvent, which can be toxic to humans and also be harmful to the environment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33269,"content":33270},{"textAlign":49},[33271],{"type":836,"attrs":33272},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":33273,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":33274},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/03d1686d1d/bm-dry-electrode-processing.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":33276,"content":33277},{"textAlign":49},[33278],{"text":33279,"type":596},"Tesla said last month that it had produced its 100-millionth 4680 battery cell and “continued to progress our dry-cathode manufacturing lines.”",{"type":591,"attrs":33281,"content":33282},{"textAlign":49},[33283],{"text":33284,"type":596},"Lie Shi, the chief executive of AM Batteries, told Benchmark Source that the process could reduce energy consumption by around 40%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33286,"content":33287},{"textAlign":49},[33288],{"text":33289,"type":596},"AM Batteries has built a first engineering pilot line, which allows the company to make electrode films continuously at “reasonable speed,” Shi said. It aims for full production in 2026, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33291,"content":33292},{"textAlign":49},[33293],{"text":33294,"type":596},"“So in three years, we’re trying to scale up quickly to the production level,” he said. The company wants to sell its dry coating equipment as well the know-how to other battery manufacturers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33296,"content":33297},{"textAlign":49},[33298],{"text":33299,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution says it’s aiming to start mass production of dry electrode technology by 2028. ",{"type":615,"attrs":33301,"content":33302},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33303],{"text":33304,"type":596},"Competing with China ",{"type":591,"attrs":33306,"content":33307},{"textAlign":49},[33308],{"text":33309,"type":596},"Reno, Nevada-based DragonFly Energy said the dry electrode process means battery production will be a little cheaper than Chinese lithium ion battery production today. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33311,"content":33312},{"textAlign":49},[33313],{"text":33314,"type":596},"“And that’s before you take into account tariffs, the IRA, and tax credits,” Tyler Bourns, chief marketing officer at DragonFly said. “We need an innovation like this in order to compete with China.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":33316,"content":33317},{"textAlign":49},[33318],{"text":33319,"type":596},"The company uses spray drying to prepare electrode feedstock materials before the powder is coated onto the metal foil. Its process pre-coats the materials in polymer binders and conductive carbons.",{"type":591,"attrs":33321,"content":33322},{"textAlign":49},[33323],{"text":33324,"type":596},"“We’re able to effectively coat the particles in a really homogeneous uniform way,” Emily Litt, director of R&D at Dragonfly Energy, told Benchmark Source. “We almost saran wrap the polymer binder around each individual particle grain and without that step the powder coating isn’t nearly as effective.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":33326,"content":33327},{"textAlign":49},[33328],{"text":33329,"type":596},"Overall it says its process reduces energy usage by around 25% compared to conventional battery production and the carbon footprint of the entire battery cell by around 9%. ",{"type":615,"attrs":33331,"content":33332},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33333],{"text":33334,"type":596},"Stricter controls on NMP solvent",{"type":591,"attrs":33336,"content":33337},{"textAlign":49},[33338],{"text":33339,"type":596},"N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, which is currently used to produce lithium ion batteries, is considered to have damaging impacts on reproductive health and is classed by the European Chemicals Agency as a “substance of very high concern.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":33341,"content":33342},{"textAlign":49},[33343],{"text":33344,"type":596},"The US Environmental Protection Agency says that it “causes serious health effects, including miscarriages and reduced fertility, as well as damage to the liver, kidneys, immune system and nervous system.”  ",{"type":591,"attrs":33346,"content":33347},{"textAlign":49},[33348],{"text":33349,"type":596},"In June, the EPA proposed stricter controls on the use of NMP solvent, including safeguards for employees working with the substance. This could limit the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33351,"content":33352},{"textAlign":49},[33353],{"text":33354,"type":596},"This summer protests in Hungary against a battery factory there said the solvent was found in the water. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33356,"content":33357},{"textAlign":49},[33358],{"text":33359,"type":596},"Companies wanting to build even small battery production facilities have had trouble with permits due to this chemical, AM Batteries’ Lie said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33361,"content":33362},{"textAlign":49},[33363],{"text":33364,"type":596},"“Using this dry process, AM batteries should be able to provide a solution which not only saves energy but also allows the environmental concern to be addressed,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33366,"content":33367},{"textAlign":49},[33368],{"text":33369,"type":596},"The solvent has a really high boiling point, around 200 degrees centigrade, which means that a lot of energy is required to evaporate it off during the battery manufacturing process, Litt said. Because it’s toxic, it also needs to be recovered after use. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33371,"content":33372},{"textAlign":49},[33373],{"text":33374,"type":596},"“There’s a lot of precaution and safety steps that have to be implemented because it is this toxic solvent,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":33376,"content":33377},{"textAlign":49},[33378,33381,33385,33389],{"text":6576,"type":596,"marks":33379},[33380],{"type":1006},{"text":33382,"type":596,"marks":33383}," has announced the launch of its new ",[33384],{"type":1006},{"text":33386,"type":596,"marks":33387},"Lithium ion Battery Cost Model",[33388],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":33390},[33391],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":33393,"content":33394},{"textAlign":49},[33395,33398,33401],{"text":32297,"type":596,"marks":33396},[33397],{"type":1006},{"text":32299,"type":596,"marks":33399},[33400],{"type":1006},{"text":4737,"type":596,"marks":33402},[33403],{"type":1006},"The use of dry electrode manufacturing in the production of lithium ion batteries is beginning to scale, promising to significantly lower emissions and further reduce costs in the future. Tesla is set to start producing some of its battery cells using the dry process at the end of this year, while battery producer LG Energy […]",[33406],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33407},{"job_title":557,"image":33408,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"373ddd68-b79a-4bea-bc85-0328f0d8f503\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33411,33412,33413],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":33415,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33416,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d87dc27c47/bm-am-batteries-dry-electrode.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":33418,"uuid":33419,"name":33420,"slug":33421,"full_slug":33422,"content":33423},112468626416336,"9b7aa924-1e1e-4244-9663-7b805d3ec4c0","SVOLT cancels second German gigafactory","svolt-cancels-second-german-gigafactory","article/svolt-cancels-second-german-gigafactory",{"_uid":33424,"date":33425,"tags":33426,"editor":33430,"content":33434,"excerpt":33513,"featured":51,"reporter":33514,"_editable":33518,"component":697,"seo_title":33420,"categories":33519,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33522,"seo_description":33513,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33524},"680edee8-b0d4-42d3-8f2d-8c56293991ac","2024-10-31 00:00",[33427,33428,33429],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":3385,"name":3386},{"slug":13428,"name":13429},[33431],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33432},{"job_title":557,"image":33433,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33435},[33436,33441,33446,33451,33456,33461,33470,33475,33480,33491,33503,33508],{"type":591,"attrs":33437,"content":33438},{"textAlign":49},[33439],{"text":33440,"type":596},"SVOLT has confirmed the cancellation of its Saarland, Germany gigafactory amidst a climate of delayed and withdrawn investment in Europe’s battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":33442,"content":33443},{"textAlign":49},[33444],{"text":33445,"type":596},"The planned location for the Überherrn site falls within a water protection zone, meaning strict environmental protection regulations are in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":33447,"content":33448},{"textAlign":49},[33449],{"text":33450,"type":596},"SVOLT abandoned plans for a gigafactory in Brandenburg, Germany in May this year. Plans for the 16 gigawatt hours (GWh) facility were announced in September 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":33452,"content":33453},{"textAlign":49},[33454],{"text":33455,"type":596},"Though a slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) demand is significant in understanding the recent delays and cancellations to European battery projects, the practical challenges to scaling production are also other factors to consider.",{"type":591,"attrs":33457,"content":33458},{"textAlign":49},[33459],{"text":33460,"type":596},"“A lot of the project delays and cancellations come down to failures within the actual construction and permitting, investment needs, and technical manufacturing requirements,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":33462,"content":33463},{"textAlign":49},[33464,33468],{"text":28423,"type":596,"marks":33465},[33466],{"type":606,"attrs":33467},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33469,"type":596},", Benchmark’s satellite analysis team, found no signs of any earthworks or construction at the location given for this site. ",{"type":615,"attrs":33471,"content":33472},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33473],{"text":33474,"type":596},"SVOLT’s capacity outlook",{"type":615,"attrs":33476,"content":33477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33478],{"text":33479,"type":596},"European delays and cancellations",{"type":591,"attrs":33481,"content":33482},{"textAlign":49},[33483,33485,33490],{"text":33484,"type":596},"SVOLT’s cancellation of the Saarland gigafactory brings the total ",{"text":33486,"type":596,"marks":33487},"capacity removed from Europe’s 2030 pipeline this year to 200 GWh",[33488],{"type":606,"attrs":33489},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33492,"content":33493},{"textAlign":49},[33494,33496,33502],{"text":33495,"type":596},"The scaled back investment is driven by a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles (EVs). EV sales in the European market – comprising the EU, UK, and EFTA – were down an estimated 4% between January and August 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":33497,"type":596,"marks":33498},"Lithium ion Battery Forecast",[33499],{"type":606,"attrs":33500},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33504,"content":33505},{"textAlign":49},[33506],{"text":33507,"type":596},"Benchmark Verified shows construction has stalled at three European gigafactories with a further four having been in the planning stage for more than a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":33509,"content":33510},{"textAlign":49},[33511],{"text":33512,"type":596},"European battery projects cancelled delayed, or downsized this year include:","SVOLT has confirmed the cancellation of its Saarland, Germany gigafactory amidst a climate of delayed and withdrawn investment in Europe’s battery market. The planned location for the Überherrn site falls within a water protection zone, meaning strict environmental protection regulations are in place. SVOLT abandoned plans for a gigafactory in Brandenburg, Germany in May this […]",[33515],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33516},{"job_title":557,"image":33517,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"680edee8-b0d4-42d3-8f2d-8c56293991ac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33520,33521],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13511,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33523,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 31, 2024",{"id":33526,"uuid":33527,"name":33528,"slug":33529,"full_slug":33530,"content":33531},112468621656783,"604c285f-24bc-4dfb-b2da-7e664cde1179","Volvo to take ownership of joint venture with Northvolt ","volvo-to-take-ownership-of-joint-venture-with-northvolt","article/volvo-to-take-ownership-of-joint-venture-with-northvolt",{"_uid":33532,"date":33425,"tags":33533,"editor":33540,"content":33544,"excerpt":33646,"featured":51,"reporter":33647,"_editable":33651,"component":697,"seo_title":33528,"categories":33652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33655,"seo_description":33646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33524},"c760f409-ccec-46b2-80a2-880cf9299a3f",[33534,33535,33536,33537],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":22547,"name":22548},{"slug":22550,"name":22551},{"slug":33538,"name":33539},"volvo","Volvo",[33541],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33542},{"job_title":557,"image":33543,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33545},[33546,33551,33556,33566,33571,33576,33581,33593,33598,33609,33614,33619,33624,33629,33641],{"type":591,"attrs":33547,"content":33548},{"textAlign":49},[33549],{"text":33550,"type":596},"Chinese-owned Volvo Cars is taking over its joint venture with Northvolt as the battery manufacturer struggles with scaling production and challenging market conditions.",{"type":591,"attrs":33552,"content":33553},{"textAlign":49},[33554],{"text":33555,"type":596},"The joint venture, NOVO Energy, was expected to begin production in 2026 from a facility in Gothenburg, Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":33557,"content":33558},{"textAlign":49},[33559,33561,33565],{"text":33560,"type":596},"The project has planned investments of $2.8 billion and a 2030 pipeline capacity of 32 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":33562},[33563],{"type":606,"attrs":33564},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33567,"content":33568},{"textAlign":49},[33569],{"text":33570,"type":596},"“Whilst it is true that the removal of the Gothenburg cell plant from Northvolt’s ambitious project list allows them more scope to focus on ramping up production and construction at other facilities, it also represents the loss of another major customer which will not inspire confidence in its position,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":33572,"content":33573},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33574],{"text":33575,"type":596},"What will happen now?",{"type":615,"attrs":33577,"content":33578},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33579],{"text":33580,"type":596},"Why are companies struggling to scale battery production in Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":33582,"content":33583},{"textAlign":49},[33584,33586,33591],{"text":33585,"type":596},"A slowdown in EV sales has caused several battery companies to ",{"text":33587,"type":596,"marks":33588},"cancel or delay investment in Europe this year",[33589],{"type":606,"attrs":33590},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33592,"type":596},". However, other factors are also significant. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33594,"content":33595},{"textAlign":49},[33596],{"text":33597,"type":596},"Many of the delays are the result of failures within the construction and permitting processes, investment requirements, and technical manufacturing factors.",{"type":591,"attrs":33599,"content":33600},{"textAlign":49},[33601,33603],{"text":33602,"type":596},"Northvolt began cell production in 2021, but has struggled to ramp up production at its 16 GWh kellefteå gigafactory in northern Sweden – producing less than 1 GWh of cells in 2023, according to the ",{"text":33604,"type":596,"marks":33605},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Database.",[33606],{"type":606,"attrs":33607},{"href":33608,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/capacity-database/",{"type":591,"attrs":33610,"content":33611},{"textAlign":49},[33612],{"text":33613,"type":596},"Capacity utilisation rates at Northvolt’s Skellefteå plant are due to be significantly improved in 2024, according to the Benchmark, but will remain at little over 30% of nameplate capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33615,"content":33616},{"textAlign":49},[33617],{"text":33618,"type":596},"“These are expected challenges when it comes to scaling up a new manufacturing industry at speed in a region that has significantly reduced experience in this sector relative to China and Asia,” said Hartley.",{"type":591,"attrs":33620,"content":33621},{"textAlign":49},[33622],{"text":33623,"type":596},"This is especially relevant in the case of NOVO Energy as Geely, Volvo Cars’ major shareholder, has 62 GWh of capacity (including joint ventures). ",{"type":591,"attrs":33625,"content":33626},{"textAlign":49},[33627],{"text":33628,"type":596},"The company may seem an obvious fit for the ‘third party’ Volvo said needed to be involved if battery production is to occur from the project. However, Geely has no experience with cell production outside of China, meaning the issues faced by NOVO Energy may persist.",{"type":591,"attrs":33630,"content":33631},{"textAlign":49},[33632,33634,33639],{"text":33633,"type":596},"There have been several delays and cancellations to European battery projects this year. ",{"text":33635,"type":596,"marks":33636},"Most recently SVOLT",[33637],{"type":606,"attrs":33638},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33640,"type":596},", a Chinese battery player with significant active production and 320 GWh 2030 pipeline capacity, cancelled plans for its Saarland, Germany gigafactory, having already cancelled its Lauchhammer gigafactory, also in Germany, earlier this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33642,"content":33643},{"textAlign":49},[33644],{"text":33645,"type":596},"ACC, ProLogium, Volkswagen, and ABEE have all delayed, cancelled, or downsized planned European gigafactories this year.","Chinese-owned Volvo Cars is taking over its joint venture with Northvolt as the battery manufacturer struggles with scaling production and challenging market conditions. The joint venture, NOVO Energy, was expected to begin production in 2026 from a facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. The project has planned investments of $2.8 billion and a 2030 pipeline capacity of […]",[33648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33649},{"job_title":557,"image":33650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c760f409-ccec-46b2-80a2-880cf9299a3f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33653,33654],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":33656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33657,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/796fd9668e/bm-volvo-nortvolt-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":33659,"uuid":33660,"name":33661,"slug":33662,"full_slug":33663,"content":33664},112468645741268,"361d238b-5cd7-4c90-a8bd-9ba7fd294d85","Vianode’s Norway plant trials anode innovation but North America beckons for scale","vianodes-norway-plant-trials-anode-innovation-but-north-america-beckons-for-scale","article/vianodes-norway-plant-trials-anode-innovation-but-north-america-beckons-for-scale",{"_uid":33665,"date":33666,"tags":33667,"editor":33670,"content":33674,"excerpt":33906,"featured":51,"reporter":33907,"_editable":33911,"component":697,"seo_title":33661,"categories":33912,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":33917,"seo_description":33906,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":33919},"65520df0-210d-45cf-b7c0-47684e25d9f1","2024-10-30 00:00",[33668,33669],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":27156,"name":27157},[33671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33672},{"job_title":557,"image":33673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33675},[33676,33681,33700,33705,33710,33715,33727,33732,33737,33742,33747,33754,33759,33764,33769,33774,33779,33784,33789,33794,33805,33810,33815,33820,33825,33834,33839,33844,33849,33854,33861,33866,33871,33876,33881,33886,33891,33896,33901],{"type":591,"attrs":33677,"content":33678},{"textAlign":49},[33679],{"text":33680,"type":596},"Benchmark attended the grand opening of Vianode’s second synthetic graphite facility in Herøya, Norway in early October.",{"type":591,"attrs":33682,"content":33683},{"textAlign":49},[33684,33686,33692,33694,33699],{"text":33685,"type":596},"Forecast to contribute 9.4% of Europe’s synthetic graphite supply by 2030, according to ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":33688},"Benchmark data",[33689],{"type":606,"attrs":33690},{"href":33691,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/synthetic-graphite/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":33693,"type":596},", Oslo-registered Vianode is a rarity in a regional industry where 86% of 2030 output will be non-European owned and over half the pipeline is ",{"text":33695,"type":596,"marks":33696},"Chinese-owned",[33697],{"type":606,"attrs":33698},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33701,"content":33702},{"textAlign":49},[33703],{"text":33704,"type":596},"From Vianode’s perspective, North America offers better scaling support. Nonetheless, the company is keen to retain a European presence in order to hone its manufacturing innovations.",{"type":591,"attrs":33706,"content":33707},{"textAlign":49},[33708],{"text":33709,"type":596},"CEO Burkhard Straube told Benchmark about opportunities and challenges in the region as well as his company’s North American expansion plans.",{"type":615,"attrs":33711,"content":33712},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33713],{"text":33714,"type":596},"Herøya as a testing ground",{"type":591,"attrs":33716,"content":33717},{"textAlign":49},[33718,33720,33725],{"text":33719,"type":596},"Under the ",{"text":33721,"type":596,"marks":33722},"EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act target",[33723],{"type":606,"attrs":33724},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33726,"type":596},", at least 10% of the bloc’s annual synthetic graphite consumption should be domestic supply by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":33728,"content":33729},{"textAlign":49},[33730],{"text":33731,"type":596},"Yet question marks remain over the region’s competitiveness, particularly under current low prices. European synthetic graphite production costs are on average 25.4% higher than in China or the US, according to Benchmark estimates.",{"type":591,"attrs":33733,"content":33734},{"textAlign":49},[33735],{"text":33736,"type":596},"Despite this, Vianode sees strategic advantages to operating in Norway. Straube cited the country’s engineering expertise and openness to innovation as being vital for the Herøya plant, the first European plant to apply induction technology to synthetic graphite manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":33738,"content":33739},{"textAlign":49},[33740],{"text":33741,"type":596},"“The real reason Vianode was founded here in Norway is the people and the technology. We came from a tradition of using induction furnaces for other processes, so we adapted this [for making synthetic graphite],” said Straube.",{"type":591,"attrs":33743,"content":33744},{"textAlign":49},[33745],{"text":33746,"type":596},"Norway also has a large share of hydropower-based electricity, which can mitigate emissions from high-energy graphitisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":33748,"content":33749},{"textAlign":49},[33750],{"type":836,"attrs":33751},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":33752,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":33753},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/48bd9a56e7/bm-vianode1-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":33755,"content":33756},{"textAlign":49},[33757],{"text":33758,"type":596},"Benchmark attended the grand opening of Vianode’s synthetic graphite facility in Herøya, Norway.",{"type":591,"attrs":33760,"content":33761},{"textAlign":49},[33762],{"text":33763,"type":596},"At just 2,000 tonnes capacity a year, however, Herøya will be more a technological proving ground and customer qualification plant, at least for now.",{"type":591,"attrs":33765,"content":33766},{"textAlign":49},[33767],{"text":33768,"type":596},"“Via ONE is the most important scaling step for our technology to substantially de-risk our multi-billion dollar investment in North America. Of course we are in negotiation with customers, and focus on development and qualification, but 2,000 tonnes is not sufficient to become a real partner for an OEM,” said Straube.",{"type":615,"attrs":33770,"content":33771},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33772],{"text":33773,"type":596},"North American scale-up",{"type":591,"attrs":33775,"content":33776},{"textAlign":49},[33777],{"text":33778,"type":596},"While Europe offers some advantages, Vianode is looking to North America to embark on high-volume production, planning to start production there in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":33780,"content":33781},{"textAlign":49},[33782],{"text":33783,"type":596},"In order to maximise investor confidence in its North American venture, Vianode wants to demonstrate induction technology on full-scale in its Norwegian plant before using it at scale across the Atlantic.",{"type":591,"attrs":33785,"content":33786},{"textAlign":49},[33787],{"text":33788,"type":596},"Unlike its European plants, which will target small market applications and recycling, Vianode plans to focus its North American assets on the large-scale automotive battery sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":33790,"content":33791},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33792],{"text":33793,"type":596},"Vianode retains EV optimism",{"type":591,"attrs":33795,"content":33796},{"textAlign":49},[33797,33799,33804],{"text":33798,"type":596},"Europe’s battery materials producers face an uncertain time today, with September’s synthetic graphite anode feedstock prices down 34.6% year-on-year, according to ",{"text":33800,"type":596,"marks":33801},"Benchmark’s assessment",[33802],{"type":606,"attrs":33803},{"href":33691,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":33806,"content":33807},{"textAlign":49},[33808],{"text":33809,"type":596},"European EV demand growth has also been slower than expected, yet Straube sees this as a temporary slowdown that may even benefit the region long-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":33811,"content":33812},{"textAlign":49},[33813],{"text":33814,"type":596},"“We do need time to catch up, so maybe that gives us some time,” said Straube.",{"type":591,"attrs":33816,"content":33817},{"textAlign":49},[33818],{"text":33819,"type":596},"His certainty rests on the sheer scale of electrification ambitions among Western car makers. Even if they fall short, he believes, Europe and North America would still not be self-sufficient on battery materials by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":33821,"content":33822},{"textAlign":49},[33823],{"text":33824,"type":596},"“The train has left the station, you cannot stop it,” said Straube.",{"type":591,"attrs":33826,"content":33827},{"textAlign":49},[33828,33832],{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":33829},[33830],{"type":606,"attrs":33831},{"href":18275,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33833,"type":596}," that ex-China synthetic graphite anode material will enter a persistent deficit from 2027 due to supply growth lagging forecast demand growth.",{"type":615,"attrs":33835,"content":33836},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33837],{"text":33838,"type":596},"Policy disconnects in Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":33840,"content":33841},{"textAlign":49},[33842],{"text":33843,"type":596},"Vianode is the only European company that majority-owns a synthetic graphite pipeline in the region. As a result, its plants will be seen as a barometer for the success of the bloc’s critical minerals policy as a whole.",{"type":591,"attrs":33845,"content":33846},{"textAlign":49},[33847],{"text":33848,"type":596},"Yet Straube argues that Vianode has managed to enter operation despite European policy rather than because of it.",{"type":591,"attrs":33850,"content":33851},{"textAlign":49},[33852],{"text":33853,"type":596},"“We did receive a good environment here in Europe for research development support, but not good for scaling support,” he explained. “99% of this [plant’s] investment came from our shareholders, so it is not an area which was heavily subsidised.”",{"type":591,"attrs":33855,"content":33856},{"textAlign":49},[33857],{"type":836,"attrs":33858},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":33859,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":33860},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/336b8285eb/bm-vianode2-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":33862,"content":33863},{"textAlign":49},[33864],{"text":33865,"type":596},"Vianode’s CEO Burkhard Straube presenting at the grand opening of the company’s synthetic graphite plant in Herøya, Norway.",{"type":591,"attrs":33867,"content":33868},{"textAlign":49},[33869],{"text":33870,"type":596},"Straube laid out the disconnect between the EU’s goal of reducing import dependence and the limited incentives it has put in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":33872,"content":33873},{"textAlign":49},[33874],{"text":33875,"type":596},"“The Critical Minerals Act says how much raw material we need to have out of our own production, but if nobody can invest, because there is no financing for it, because there is no payback, what do we do?”",{"type":615,"attrs":33877,"content":33878},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33879],{"text":33880,"type":596},"US-style tariffs offer no easy solution",{"type":591,"attrs":33882,"content":33883},{"textAlign":49},[33884],{"text":33885,"type":596},"US industry on the other hand is benefiting from more assertive policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act incentives and tariffs that have effectively “closed” the American market to Chinese exports, according to Straube.",{"type":591,"attrs":33887,"content":33888},{"textAlign":49},[33889],{"text":33890,"type":596},"Straube noted that without action, the European market will become the only market where China can release its surplus. Yet the bloc cannot easily imitate the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":33892,"content":33893},{"textAlign":49},[33894],{"text":33895,"type":596},"“It is easier for America to put import duties on cars without worrying about an action from China in the same manner as Europe. Europe depends much more on exports than the US does,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":33897,"content":33898},{"textAlign":49},[33899],{"text":33900,"type":596},"Straube suggests that there are no easy solutions but that without changes to battery buildout policies, European industry as a whole will suffer.",{"type":591,"attrs":33902,"content":33903},{"textAlign":49},[33904],{"text":33905,"type":596},"“If we don’t get autonomy and sovereignty over this [the lithium ion] industry, I am very concerned about the European industry. It will depend upon China, and potentially upon America. And that’s not a good position,” he said.","Benchmark attended the grand opening of Vianode’s second synthetic graphite facility in Herøya, Norway in early October. Forecast to contribute 9.4% of Europe’s synthetic graphite supply by 2030, according to Benchmark data, Oslo-registered Vianode is a rarity in a regional industry where 86% of 2030 output will be non-European owned and over half the pipeline […]",[33908],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33909},{"job_title":557,"image":33910,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"65520df0-210d-45cf-b7c0-47684e25d9f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[33913,33914,33915,33916],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":33918,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 30, 2024",{"id":33921,"uuid":33922,"name":33923,"slug":33924,"full_slug":33925,"content":33926},112468655268566,"2f400ad9-cd0c-4074-b850-b54fd38a5817","CATL releases ‘Freevoy’ lithium-sodium ion hybrid battery ","catl-releases-freevoy-lithium-sodium-ion-hybrid-battery","article/catl-releases-freevoy-lithium-sodium-ion-hybrid-battery",{"_uid":33927,"date":33928,"tags":33929,"editor":33932,"content":33936,"excerpt":34000,"featured":51,"reporter":34001,"_editable":34005,"component":697,"seo_title":33923,"categories":34006,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34008,"seo_description":34000,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34010},"79aa8e6e-f937-4db4-8c0a-696b308f64bb","2024-10-29 00:00",[33930,33931],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[33933],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":33934},{"job_title":557,"image":33935,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":33937},[33938,33943,33948,33953,33958,33963,33968,33973,33978,33990,33995],{"type":591,"attrs":33939,"content":33940},{"textAlign":49},[33941],{"text":33942,"type":596},"CATL’s new lithium-sodium ion hybrid battery could be a boon to demand for sodium ion cells, as the battery maker attempts to crack low temperature regions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33944,"content":33945},{"textAlign":49},[33946],{"text":33947,"type":596},"The Chinese battery maker’s ‘Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery’ is said to balance the high energy density of lithium ion batteries with the low temperature performance of sodium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":33949,"content":33950},{"textAlign":49},[33951],{"text":33952,"type":596},"“The excellent performance of sodium ion batteries at low-temperatures sets them apart from lithium ion batteries. The low-temperature performance of CATL’s Freevoy hybrid battery may strengthen EV adoption in cold climates such as North China,” said Catherine Peake, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":33954,"content":33955},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33956],{"text":33957,"type":596},"Why this is important",{"type":591,"attrs":33959,"content":33960},{"textAlign":49},[33961],{"text":33962,"type":596},"The production of cells optimised for low temperature performance indicates CATL’s desire to crack cold regions like northern China and Russia where electric vehicle penetration is low.",{"type":591,"attrs":33964,"content":33965},{"textAlign":49},[33966],{"text":33967,"type":596},"EV penetration stood at 32.4% for 2023 in China, according to data from Rho Motion. Of the six provinces below 25% penetration, all were located in either the North or West of the country. These areas are more rural and poorer but also experience colder temperatures where lithium ion battery performance is compromised.",{"type":591,"attrs":33969,"content":33970},{"textAlign":49},[33971],{"text":33972,"type":596},"The announcement bodes well for the sodium ion battery market more broadly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":33974,"content":33975},{"textAlign":49},[33976],{"text":33977,"type":596},"“With the currently low price environment of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, it’s encouraging to see announcements surrounding the application of sodium ion batteries in electric vehicles,” said Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":33979,"content":33980},{"textAlign":49},[33981,33983,33988],{"text":33982,"type":596},"The appeal of sodium ion batteries soared during the high lithium prices of late 2022 and early 2023. The current low price environment for lithium has produced ",{"text":33984,"type":596,"marks":33985},"record low LFP cell prices",[33986],{"type":606,"attrs":33987},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":33989,"type":596}," and cooled interest in sodium ion batteries as a result.",{"type":615,"attrs":33991,"content":33992},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33993],{"text":33994,"type":596},"Key features",{"type":615,"attrs":33996,"content":33997},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[33998],{"text":33999,"type":596},"CATL’s role in the sodium ion battery market","CATL’s new lithium-sodium ion hybrid battery could be a boon to demand for sodium ion cells, as the battery maker attempts to crack low temperature regions. The Chinese battery maker’s ‘Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery’ is said to balance the high energy density of lithium ion batteries with the low temperature performance of sodium ion batteries. […]",[34002],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34003},{"job_title":557,"image":34004,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"79aa8e6e-f937-4db4-8c0a-696b308f64bb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34007],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":24396,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34009,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 29, 2024",{"id":34012,"uuid":34013,"name":34014,"slug":34015,"full_slug":34016,"content":34017},112468664955608,"76f3df62-4d98-41d5-ab2f-21336f4ebcd3","Can the European Union meet its CRMA goals?","can-the-european-union-meet-its-crma-goals","article/can-the-european-union-meet-its-crma-goals",{"_uid":34018,"date":34019,"tags":34020,"editor":34029,"content":34033,"excerpt":34178,"featured":51,"reporter":34179,"_editable":34183,"component":697,"seo_title":34014,"categories":34184,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":34194,"featured_image":34196,"seo_description":34178,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34200},"28187843-70ae-4c53-9e33-77a1d190ca6a","2024-10-28 00:00",[34021,34024,34025,34026,34027,34028],{"slug":34022,"name":34023},"critical-raw-materials-act","Critical Raw Materials Act",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[34030],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34031},{"job_title":557,"image":34032,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34034},[34035,34048,34082,34087,34107,34112,34120,34125,34137,34149,34156,34163],{"type":591,"attrs":34036,"content":34037},{"textAlign":49},[34038,34040,34046],{"text":34039,"type":596},"The European Union’s ",{"text":34041,"type":596,"marks":34042},"Critical Raw Material Act",[34043],{"type":606,"attrs":34044},{"href":34045,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-are-the-esg-implications-of-the-eu-critical-raw-materials-act?_branch_match_id=1544395097783749159&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWTyyvsjTP9y%2FL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA0CAB%2B0gAAAA%3D",{"text":34047,"type":596}," laid out several ambitious goals to improve the resilience of its critical mineral supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":34049,"content":34050},{"textAlign":49},[34051,34057,34059,34065,34067,34073,34075,34081],{"text":34052,"type":596,"marks":34053},"Included in the Act",[34054],{"type":606,"attrs":34055},{"href":34056,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-critical-raw-materials-act-europes-attempt-to-have-both-quality-speed?_branch_match_id=1544395018405977297&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWLwgMza8yCizL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAj5QfE0gAAAA%3D",{"text":34058,"type":596}," are non-binding goals that the ",{"text":34060,"type":596,"marks":34061},"EU",[34062],{"type":606,"attrs":34063},{"href":34064,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-last-shot-can-europe-act-fast-enough-to-compete-in-the-battery-supply-chain?_branch_match_id=1544395141770236489&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWdykINnNOCynL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAT30mNEgAAAA%3D",{"text":34066,"type":596}," builds out sufficient mining capacity that 10% of its critical mineral demands can be met by bloc mines. Similarly ",{"text":34068,"type":596,"marks":34069},"the Act",[34070],{"type":606,"attrs":34071},{"href":34072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ultimately-its-about-making-sure-that-we-keep-real-jobs-here-in-europe-qa-with-the-eus-peter-handley?_branch_match_id=1544394971463284669&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL7fML3cJjCjL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA2vi8bUgAAAA%3D",{"text":34074,"type":596}," sets out a target of 40% of demand to be met by processing within the bloc and ",{"text":34076,"type":596,"marks":34077},"25% to be met through recycling",[34078],{"type":606,"attrs":34079},{"href":34080,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-europe-ambitious-enough-on-recycling?_branch_match_id=1544395032423116174&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW9zV0TjWpjCrL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUANdB9qEgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34083,"content":34084},{"textAlign":49},[34085],{"text":34086,"type":596},"The Act provides a framework through which EU strategic projects that help to achieve these goals can be accelerated through the permitting process and have easier access to finance.",{"type":591,"attrs":34088,"content":34089},{"textAlign":49},[34090,34092,34097,34099,34105],{"text":34091,"type":596},"Several months since the Act passed in May 2024, ",{"text":24453,"type":596,"marks":34093},[34094],{"type":606,"attrs":34095},{"href":34096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump?_branch_match_id=1544394956888576110&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd%2FctNjUxMSzL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAAOEtNEgAAAA%3D",{"text":34098,"type":596}," shows the scale of the challenge the EU hopes to surmount. With the exception of ",{"text":34100,"type":596,"marks":34101},"nickel mining",[34102],{"type":606,"attrs":34103},{"href":34104,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump",{"text":34106,"type":596},", none of the battery minerals deemed strategic by the EU are on track to meet these goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":34108,"content":34109},{"textAlign":49},[34110],{"text":34111,"type":596},"The graphic below compares the EU-based supply of several critical battery minerals with the targets set out by the CRMA.",{"type":591,"attrs":34113,"content":34114},{"textAlign":49},[34115],{"type":836,"attrs":34116},{"id":49,"alt":34117,"src":34118,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34119},"Graphic showing the progress towards the EU Critical Raw Materials Act targets","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3400930e37/bm-benchmark-4-eu-critical-minerals-gap-4.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":34121,"content":34122},{"textAlign":49},[34123],{"text":34124,"type":596},"The Act considers critical minerals in aggregate, so strong supply of one critical mineral can compensate for poor supply of another.",{"type":591,"attrs":34126,"content":34127},{"textAlign":49},[34128,34130,34136],{"text":34129,"type":596},"Although there is no EU mined supply of manganese ore, the EU does have some capacity to produce ",{"text":34131,"type":596,"marks":34132},"high purity manganese sulphate",[34133],{"type":606,"attrs":34134},{"href":34135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-manganese-and-batteries?_branch_match_id=1544395001410357263&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvW96sySzS0NCnL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAIwOG9UgAAAA%3D",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34138,"content":34139},{"textAlign":49},[34140,34142,34147],{"text":34141,"type":596},"Of the three goals in the Act pertaining to localised supply, recycling is the furthest away from the goal. However, ",{"text":24453,"type":596,"marks":34143},[34144],{"type":606,"attrs":34145},{"href":34146,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/crma-boosts-eus-2030-battery-recycling-pipeline-by-28?_branch_match_id=1544394988135809672&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWDzDytQhJNi%2FL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAl1jCVUgAAAA%3D",{"text":34148,"type":596}," has shown that the 2030 pipeline for recycling projects has already been boosted by the CRMA.",{"type":591,"attrs":34150,"content":34151},{"textAlign":49},[34152],{"text":34153,"type":596,"marks":34154},"Benchmark Week will return to Los Angeles on 12-14 November 2024, bringing global industry leaders, financiers and government officials together to chart a course for the technologies and supply chains central to the energy transition.",[34155],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":34157,"content":34158},{"textAlign":49},[34159],{"text":34160,"type":596,"marks":34161},"Join us at Benchmark Week to forge connections, identify future partners and unlock market opportunities.",[34162],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":34164,"content":34165},{"textAlign":49},[34166,34170,34175],{"text":34167,"type":596,"marks":34168},"View the agenda and secure your ticket ",[34169],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":34171},[34172,34174],{"type":606,"attrs":34173},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":34176},[34177],{"type":1006},"The European Union’s Critical Raw Material Act laid out several ambitious goals to improve the resilience of its critical mineral supply chains. Included in the Act are non-binding goals that the EU builds out sufficient mining capacity that 10% of its critical mineral demands can be met by bloc mines. Similarly the Act sets out […]",[34180],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34181},{"job_title":557,"image":34182,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"28187843-70ae-4c53-9e33-77a1d190ca6a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34185,34186,34187,34188,34189,34190,34191,34192,34193],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":34117,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34117,"source":547,"filename":34118,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34195,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":34117,"title":34117,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":34197,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34197,"source":547,"filename":34198,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34199,"is_external_url":51},"EU flags in front of a building in Brussels","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/488f14d730/bm-eu-csddd.jpg",{"alt":34197,"title":34197,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 28, 2024",{"id":34202,"uuid":34203,"name":34204,"slug":34205,"full_slug":34206,"content":34207},112468679295708,"64070b8e-dbdb-4935-bd36-4a2a3e55038e","Ningbo Ronbay to enter cathode production in Europe with Polish factory","ningbo-ronbay-to-enter-cathode-production-in-europe-with-polish-factory","article/ningbo-ronbay-to-enter-cathode-production-in-europe-with-polish-factory",{"_uid":34208,"date":34209,"tags":34210,"editor":34219,"content":34223,"excerpt":34288,"featured":51,"reporter":34289,"_editable":34293,"component":697,"seo_title":34204,"categories":34294,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34297,"seo_description":34288,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34300},"7fca3f62-a27d-4f24-9ea0-ec43a3835a6e","2024-10-25 00:00",[34211,34212,34213,34216],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":34214,"name":34215},"poland","Poland",{"slug":34217,"name":34218},"ronbay","Ronbay",[34220],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34221},{"job_title":557,"image":34222,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34224},[34225,34230,34235,34240,34253,34258,34263,34268,34273,34278,34283],{"type":591,"attrs":34226,"content":34227},{"textAlign":49},[34228],{"text":34229,"type":596},"Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology has bought a former Johnson Matthey cathode materials factory in Konin, Poland despite delays and cancellations across Western cathode projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":34231,"content":34232},{"textAlign":49},[34233],{"text":34234,"type":596},"The investment is the company’s first project in Europe, with the first phase of construction expected to last until the end of 2025 and annual production to reach 20,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":34236,"content":34237},{"textAlign":49},[34238],{"text":34239,"type":596},"“Ronbay is seeking opportunities in Europe and America to cope with overcapacity in the Chinese market, forecast demand growth in the West, and the supply chain localisation policies in those regions,” said Annie Li, Principal Analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":34241,"content":34242},{"textAlign":49},[34243,34245,34251],{"text":34244,"type":596},"Construction at the site began under Johnson Matthey prior to its ",{"text":34246,"type":596,"marks":34247},"decision to exit the battery materials business",[34248],{"type":606,"attrs":34249},{"href":34250,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/johnson-matthey-exits-battery-materials-business-in-blow-to-europe?_branch_match_id=1544394609885129417&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWd%2FHLCw52tijJ8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAMTRYHEgAAAA%3D",{"text":34252,"type":596}," in November 2021. The facility had been intended for production of high nickel LNO, but as Ronbay makes both nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials the facility could produce either.",{"type":591,"attrs":34254,"content":34255},{"textAlign":49},[34256],{"text":34257,"type":596},"“The fact Johnson Matthey will already have begun construction on a converting substation and completed an Environmental Impact Assessment, as well as access to green electricity, will facilitate Ronbay’s plant construction,” added Li.",{"type":615,"attrs":34259,"content":34260},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34261],{"text":34262,"type":596},"Chinese players in Europe’s cathode market",{"type":591,"attrs":34264,"content":34265},{"textAlign":49},[34266],{"text":34267,"type":596},"“Faced with fierce competition in China and expected demand growth outside the country, several leading cathode producers have announced investment in Europe and America,” said Li.",{"type":591,"attrs":34269,"content":34270},{"textAlign":49},[34271],{"text":34272,"type":596},"There are four European projects which are primarily owned by Chinese companies expected to begin production by 2030, namely Beijing Easpring, Yuneng New Energy, Huayou Cobalt, and Xiamen Tungsten.",{"type":615,"attrs":34274,"content":34275},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34276],{"text":34277,"type":596},"Western cathode projects have been scaled back",{"type":591,"attrs":34279,"content":34280},{"textAlign":49},[34281],{"text":34282,"type":596},"Project delays and cancellations in the West have been driven by the slowdown in EV sales in the European and North American markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34284,"content":34285},{"textAlign":49},[34286],{"text":34287,"type":596},"The delays mean Western markets will remain dependent on China’s well-developed and heavily invested battery supply chain in the short to medium term.","Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology has bought a former Johnson Matthey cathode materials factory in Konin, Poland despite delays and cancellations across Western cathode projects. The investment is the company’s first project in Europe, with the first phase of construction expected to last until the end of 2025 and annual production to reach 20,000 tonnes. […]",[34290],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34291},{"job_title":557,"image":34292,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7fca3f62-a27d-4f24-9ea0-ec43a3835a6e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34295,34296],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":34298,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34299,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/263ae75381/bm-ningbo-ronbay-expands-cathode-production-in-europe-with-polish-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 25, 2024",{"id":34302,"uuid":34303,"name":34304,"slug":34305,"full_slug":34306,"content":34307},112468669870809,"aa85bb45-f896-46c6-aac7-243e707db2f4","Eramet buys out Tsingshan for full control of its lithium assets in Argentina","eramet-buys-out-tsingshan-for-full-control-of-its-lithium-assets-in-argentina","article/eramet-buys-out-tsingshan-for-full-control-of-its-lithium-assets-in-argentina",{"_uid":34308,"date":34209,"tags":34309,"editor":34317,"content":34321,"excerpt":34492,"featured":51,"reporter":34493,"_editable":34497,"component":697,"seo_title":34304,"categories":34498,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34501,"seo_description":34492,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34300},"28eab329-2171-47d7-b31e-08415c0215a7",[34310,34311,34314],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},{"slug":34312,"name":34313},"eramet","Eramet",{"slug":34315,"name":34316},"tsingshan","Tsingshan",[34318],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34319},{"job_title":557,"image":34320,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34322},[34323,34335,34340,34365,34377,34385,34390,34395,34400,34405,34410,34421,34426,34431,34443,34448,34456,34461,34466,34471,34476],{"type":591,"attrs":34324,"content":34325},{"textAlign":49},[34326,34328,34333],{"text":34327,"type":596},"Eramet has bought out Tsingshan’s 49.9% stake in its ",{"text":34329,"type":596,"marks":34330},"lithium operations in Argentina",[34331],{"type":606,"attrs":34332},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34334,"type":596}," in a deal worth around $699 million.",{"type":591,"attrs":34336,"content":34337},{"textAlign":49},[34338],{"text":34339,"type":596},"The move gives the French miner complete control of its Centenario direct lithium extraction (DLE) project and removes any concerns associated with Chinese ownership.",{"type":591,"attrs":34341,"content":34342},{"textAlign":49},[34343,34345,34349,34351,34356,34358,34364],{"text":34344,"type":596},"This is the latest deal in the lithium space in recent months despite lithium carbonate prices having fallen 60.19% year-on-year, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":34346},[34347],{"type":606,"attrs":34348},{"href":23578,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34350,"type":596},". Earlier in October, ",{"text":34352,"type":596,"marks":34353},"Rio Tinto acquired Arcadium Lithium",[34354],{"type":606,"attrs":34355},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34357,"type":596}," for $6.7 billion and General Motor’s entered a $625 million ",{"text":34359,"type":596,"marks":34360},"joint venture with Lithium Americas",[34361],{"type":606,"attrs":34362},{"href":34363,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkminerals.app.link/nPLBipjwjOb",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34366,"content":34367},{"textAlign":49},[34368,34370,34375],{"text":34369,"type":596},"“The deal is counter-cyclical but confirms the long-term view of several producers, like ",{"text":34371,"type":596,"marks":34372},"Pilbara",[34373],{"type":606,"attrs":34374},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34376,"type":596}," and Rio Tinto, supporting a true belief the market will recover,” said Federico Gay, principal analyst for lithium at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":34378,"content":34379},{"textAlign":49},[34380],{"type":836,"attrs":34381},{"id":49,"alt":34382,"src":34383,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34384},"Lithium carbonate prices have dropped over 60% in the last 12 months","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/859e3e4915/bm-lithium-prices-october-2024.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":34386,"content":34387},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34388],{"text":34389,"type":596},"Why has Eramet bought out Tsingshan’s share?",{"type":591,"attrs":34391,"content":34392},{"textAlign":49},[34393],{"text":34394,"type":596},"Despite lithium prices generally following a downward trajectory over the last 12 months, Eramet taking full control of the Centenario project will allow it to fully benefit from any future rise in lithium prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":34396,"content":34397},{"textAlign":49},[34398],{"text":34399,"type":596},"“Eramet is quite optimistic on market conditions changing rapidly–and favourably–particularly on the EV demand front,” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":34401,"content":34402},{"textAlign":49},[34403],{"text":34404,"type":596},"The deal is not expected to sour the relationship between the two companies. Eramet and Tsingshan remain partners on a nickel mine in Indonesia.",{"type":615,"attrs":34406,"content":34407},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34408],{"text":34409,"type":596},"What does this mean for Argentinian lithium?",{"type":591,"attrs":34411,"content":34412},{"textAlign":49},[34413,34415,34419],{"text":34414,"type":596},"In 2024, Eramet is forecast to account for around 5.1% of Argentina’s lithium production, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":34416},[34417],{"type":606,"attrs":34418},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34420,"type":596},". This is due to rise to 7.8% in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":34422,"content":34423},{"textAlign":49},[34424],{"text":34425,"type":596},"Eramet regaining full control of its operations will increase the proportion of Argentinian lithium that has no risk of falling foul of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Foreign Entity of Concern Rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":34427,"content":34428},{"textAlign":49},[34429],{"text":34430,"type":596},"In addition, this deal highlights Eramet’s general confidence in Argentina as a base to build a lithium business from.",{"type":591,"attrs":34432,"content":34433},{"textAlign":49},[34434,34436,34441],{"text":34435,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that although Chile is forecast to remain the ",{"text":34437,"type":596,"marks":34438},"dominant lithium player in South America",[34439],{"type":606,"attrs":34440},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34442,"type":596},", Argentina has a larger project pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":34444,"content":34445},{"textAlign":49},[34446],{"text":34447,"type":596},"“Eramet is optimistic about Argentinian lithium, and all brine-sourced lithium in particular,” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":34449,"content":34450},{"textAlign":49},[34451],{"type":836,"attrs":34452},{"id":49,"alt":34453,"src":34454,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34455},"Chile is set to maintain top spot in South American lithium scene","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/06cf67bb15/bm-chile-argentina-supply-v3.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":34457,"content":34458},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34459],{"text":34460,"type":596},"What is Eramet’s position in lithium?",{"type":591,"attrs":34462,"content":34463},{"textAlign":49},[34464],{"text":34465,"type":596},"The Centenario project in the Salta province of Argentina is Eramet’s signature lithium asset.",{"type":591,"attrs":34467,"content":34468},{"textAlign":49},[34469],{"text":34470,"type":596},"“Tsingshan was an excellent ally in securing the initial funding and supporting the early stages of construction for the Centenario project,” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":34472,"content":34473},{"textAlign":49},[34474],{"text":34475,"type":596},"Eramet is also developing a 10,000 tonne per year DLE facility in France which is due to come online in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":34477,"content":34478},{"textAlign":49},[34479,34483,34489],{"text":34480,"type":596,"marks":34481},"Benchmark’s special issue – Direct Lithium Extraction: The rise and potential of new lithium extraction technology – explores this topic in further detail. ",[34482],{"type":1006},{"text":34484,"type":596,"marks":34485},"Request your copy now",[34486,34488],{"type":606,"attrs":34487},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":34490},[34491],{"type":1006},"Eramet has bought out Tsingshan’s 49.9% stake in its lithium operations in Argentina in a deal worth around $699 million. The move gives the French miner complete control of its Centenario direct lithium extraction (DLE) project and removes any concerns associated with Chinese ownership. This is the latest deal in the lithium space in recent […]",[34494],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34495},{"job_title":557,"image":34496,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"28eab329-2171-47d7-b31e-08415c0215a7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34499,34500],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":34502,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34503,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/061c4d8b1b/bm-eramet-argentina.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":34505,"uuid":34506,"name":34507,"slug":34508,"full_slug":34509,"content":34510},112468683903710,"326ae3d5-05ed-41b5-bc16-eadb58fc9f0e","Battery cell prices reach all time low in September as LFP falls below $60 per kWh level","battery-cell-prices-reach-all-time-low-in-september-as-lfp-falls-below-60-per-kwh-level","article/battery-cell-prices-reach-all-time-low-in-september-as-lfp-falls-below-60-per-kwh-level",{"_uid":34511,"date":34512,"tags":34513,"editor":34515,"content":34519,"excerpt":34630,"featured":51,"reporter":34631,"_editable":34635,"component":697,"seo_title":34507,"categories":34636,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34641,"seo_description":34630,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34644},"c633a0f2-e0e8-4a22-9d0d-f9013aeef93a","2024-10-24 00:00",[34514],{"slug":14423,"name":14424},[34516],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34517},{"job_title":557,"image":34518,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34520},[34521,34532,34537,34547,34552,34557,34562,34587,34592,34599,34610,34620,34625],{"type":591,"attrs":34522,"content":34523},{"textAlign":49},[34524,34526,34531],{"text":34525,"type":596},"Global battery cell prices fell to an all time low in September, led by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell prices slipping below $60 per kilowatt hours (kWh) for the first time in over three years amid a continued rout in ",{"text":34527,"type":596,"marks":34528},"raw material prices",[34529],{"type":606,"attrs":34530},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34533,"content":34534},{"textAlign":49},[34535],{"text":34536,"type":596},"“Prices will likely drop a little further on average, but already LFP battery cells have and are actively being purchased in instances at agreed prices around $50/kWh,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":34538,"content":34539},{"textAlign":49},[34540,34545],{"text":34541,"type":596,"marks":34542},"Low cell prices",[34543],{"type":606,"attrs":34544},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34546,"type":596}," are critical for the energy transition in terms of improving consumer access to electric vehicles (EVs) and large scale energy storage projects. However, they also put pressure on producers’ profitability, which could hinder the transition.",{"type":615,"attrs":34548,"content":34549},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34550],{"text":34551,"type":596},"Low cost LFP cells lead the price drop",{"type":591,"attrs":34553,"content":34554},{"textAlign":49},[34555],{"text":34556,"type":596},"LFP cells are currently priced 14% lower than the nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) cells.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":34558,"content":34559},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34560],{"text":34561,"type":596},"Global cell prices dip to record lows at under $70 per kWh",{"type":591,"attrs":34563,"content":34564},{"textAlign":49},[34565,34570,34572,34578,34580,34585],{"text":34566,"type":596,"marks":34567},"Global average cell prices",[34568],{"type":606,"attrs":34569},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34571,"type":596}," for lithium ion cells have declined 16.8% so far this year to $66.5 per kWh at the end of the assessment period in September, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":34574},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",[34575],{"type":606,"attrs":34576},{"href":34577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":34579,"type":596},". Prices ",{"text":34581,"type":596,"marks":34582},"dipped below the key $100 per kWh mark",[34583],{"type":606,"attrs":34584},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34586,"type":596}," over a year ago, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":34588,"content":34589},{"textAlign":49},[34590],{"text":34591,"type":596},"“The low price environment for raw materials persisting across 2023 and 2024 has driven cell prices to new lows, but equally the considerable improvements in energy density, and the maintained R&D efforts in improving cell specs mean that the price continues to fall on a per kWh basis,” said Hartley.",{"type":591,"attrs":34593,"content":34594},{"textAlign":49},[34595],{"type":836,"attrs":34596},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":34597,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34598},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cdf483ac55/bm-global-cell-prices-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":34600,"content":34601},{"textAlign":49},[34602,34604,34608],{"text":34603,"type":596},"Passenger EVs currently account for the largest share for lithium ion batteries. Light-duty battery EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales are expected to reach 23 million units by 2025 from 17.3 million this year on a base case scenario, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":34605},[34606],{"type":606,"attrs":34607},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34609,"type":596},". That represents a penetration rate of 26% and 20% respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":34611,"content":34612},{"textAlign":49},[34613,34615,34619],{"text":34614,"type":596},"Global cell supply is expected to reach around 1.47 terawatt hour (TWh) this year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":34616},[34617],{"type":606,"attrs":34618},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":34621,"content":34622},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34623],{"text":34624,"type":596},"Raw material price rout continues",{"type":591,"attrs":34626,"content":34627},{"textAlign":49},[34628],{"text":34629,"type":596},"Battery raw material prices have extended their declines this year as a mix of supply glut, overcapacity and sluggish demand continued to push prices lower.","Global battery cell prices fell to an all time low in September, led by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell prices slipping below $60 per kilowatt hours (kWh) for the first time in over three years amid a continued rout in raw material prices. “Prices will likely drop a little further on average, but already LFP […]",[34632],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34633},{"job_title":557,"image":34634,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c633a0f2-e0e8-4a22-9d0d-f9013aeef93a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34637,34638,34639,34640],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":34642,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34643,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/80123b71be/bm-featured-image-top-lithium-ion-battery-producers-inforgraphic.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 24, 2024",{"id":34646,"uuid":34647,"name":34648,"slug":34649,"full_slug":34650,"content":34651},112468688769759,"d7be291f-e17d-4959-af77-8952de1f75a0","Graphite One anode plant in line for Export-Import Bank $325 million financing","graphite-one-anode-plant-in-line-for-export-import-bank-325-million-financing","article/graphite-one-anode-plant-in-line-for-export-import-bank-325-million-financing",{"_uid":34652,"date":34653,"tags":34654,"editor":34660,"content":34664,"excerpt":34741,"featured":51,"reporter":34742,"_editable":34746,"component":697,"seo_title":34648,"categories":34747,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34752,"seo_description":34741,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34755},"3d911541-3fb7-4096-9be1-1548be53a79b","2024-10-23 00:00",[34655,34658,34659],{"slug":34656,"name":34657},"graphite-one","Graphite One",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[34661],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34662},{"job_title":557,"image":34663,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34665},[34666,34671,34676,34688,34700,34711,34716,34721,34726,34731,34736],{"type":591,"attrs":34667,"content":34668},{"textAlign":49},[34669],{"text":34670,"type":596},"The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of the United States has signed a non-binding letter of intent with US-based Graphite One on a potential $325 million financing award for its planned anode materials facility. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34672,"content":34673},{"textAlign":49},[34674],{"text":34675,"type":596},"“This loan highlights the government’s ongoing efforts to localise the domestic supply chain, from upstream to midstream. It builds on last year’s $37.5 million grant that Graphite One received from the Department of Defense to advance its graphite mining project in Alaska,” said Tony Alderson, senior analyst at Benchmark.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":34677,"content":34678},{"textAlign":49},[34679,34681,34687],{"text":34680,"type":596},"The funds would be for Graphite One’s planned anode site in Ohio, set to contribute about 3% of the US’ annual anode supply from 2030 if it comes online, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":34683},"Benchmark’s Anode Forecast",[34684],{"type":606,"attrs":34685},{"href":34686,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/anode/data-reports/forecast",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34689,"content":34690},{"textAlign":49},[34691,34693,34698],{"text":34692,"type":596},"The partnership is the latest in a string of US financing agreements in the anode space. The aim is to ",{"text":34694,"type":596,"marks":34695},"reduce reliance on China",[34696],{"type":606,"attrs":34697},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34699,"type":596},", the world’s biggest anode producer as well as the only region with a surplus in the component. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34701,"content":34702},{"textAlign":49},[34703,34705,34709],{"text":34704,"type":596},"“North America saw its first commercial production of natural graphite AAM earlier this year, with ",{"text":27276,"type":596,"marks":34706},[34707],{"type":606,"attrs":34708},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34710,"type":596}," becoming the first vertically integrated producer outside of China,” said Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":34712,"content":34713},{"textAlign":49},[34714],{"text":34715,"type":596},"Yet North America is still far from self-sufficiency, with its regional deficit for anode materials set to widen over the coming decade.",{"type":615,"attrs":34717,"content":34718},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34719],{"text":34720,"type":596},"What other critical minerals projects is EXIM supporting?",{"type":591,"attrs":34722,"content":34723},{"textAlign":49},[34724],{"text":34725,"type":596},"“EXIM has also supported the US supply diversification efforts globally and is involved in the MSP Finance Network,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":34727,"content":34728},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34729],{"text":34730,"type":596},"What assets is Graphite One developing?",{"type":591,"attrs":34732,"content":34733},{"textAlign":49},[34734],{"text":34735,"type":596},"“EXIM’s potential financing (…) underscores the urgent need to bring US graphite supply into production, and end the nation’s 100% foreign dependency,” said Anthony Huston, President and CEO of Graphite One.",{"type":591,"attrs":34737,"content":34738},{"textAlign":49},[34739],{"text":34740,"type":596},"“The EXIM letter is Graphite One’s third instance of US Government support, but our first in relation to our advanced anode production facility planned for Ohio, and our path to revenue,” Huston told Benchmark Source. ","The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of the United States has signed a non-binding letter of intent with US-based Graphite One on a potential $325 million financing award for its planned anode materials facility. “This loan highlights the government’s ongoing efforts to localise the domestic supply chain, from upstream to midstream. It builds on last year’s $37.5 […]",[34743],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34744},{"job_title":557,"image":34745,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3d911541-3fb7-4096-9be1-1548be53a79b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34748,34749,34750,34751],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":34753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34754,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7f493f96c1/bm-shutterstock-300528800.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 23, 2024",{"id":34757,"uuid":34758,"name":34759,"slug":34760,"full_slug":34761,"content":34762},112468707619555,"0a534f80-e859-4e7f-bfcb-f48b85350238","US battery production could beat China on cost due to IRA tax credits ","us-battery-production-could-beat-china-on-cost-due-to-ira-tax-credits","article/us-battery-production-could-beat-china-on-cost-due-to-ira-tax-credits",{"_uid":34763,"date":34764,"tags":34765,"editor":34766,"content":34770,"excerpt":34910,"featured":51,"reporter":34911,"_editable":34915,"component":697,"seo_title":34759,"categories":34916,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":34919,"seo_description":34910,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34923},"d115d61c-41cf-4dbb-9d17-38465732d61b","2024-10-22 00:00",[],[34767],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34768},{"job_title":557,"image":34769,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34771},[34772,34783,34788,34793,34800,34805,34810,34815,34820,34825,34832,34837,34842,34847,34852,34857,34862,34873,34880,34885,34890,34895,34900,34905],{"type":591,"attrs":34773,"content":34774},{"textAlign":49},[34775,34777,34782],{"text":34776,"type":596},"US battery production could potentially be lower cost than China’s by the end of the decade, once the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are taken into account, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":34778},[34779],{"type":606,"attrs":34780},{"href":34781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":34784,"content":34785},{"textAlign":49},[34786],{"text":34787,"type":596},"“The Inflation Reduction Act has truly been transformational in this space,” said Shivangee Chauhan, an analyst at Benchmark. “Suddenly the US producers are the cheapest producers in the entire world.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":34789,"content":34790},{"textAlign":49},[34791],{"text":34792,"type":596},"The Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in August 2022, has led to a surge of investments into the battery sector. The bill offers a manufacturing production tax credit equal to $35/kWh of cell production up to 2029, for cells produced in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34794,"content":34795},{"textAlign":49},[34796],{"type":836,"attrs":34797},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":34798,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34799},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b5683263e6/bm-us-battery-capacity-since-ira.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":34801,"content":34802},{"textAlign":49},[34803],{"text":34804,"type":596},"Currently, China has a significant cost advantage over the US. The average production cost at the cell level for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries in China is $95.81/kWh, according to Benchmark. That compares with a cost of $98.06 in the US, without taking into account the tax credits. ",{"type":615,"attrs":34806,"content":34807},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34808],{"text":34809,"type":596},"Boost to profits ",{"type":591,"attrs":34811,"content":34812},{"textAlign":49},[34813],{"text":34814,"type":596},"But the IRA is boosting the economics of producing batteries in the US, which should ensure that investments continue. Once capacity is up and running, improvements made during production should also lower costs further, according to Chauhan.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":34816,"content":34817},{"textAlign":49},[34818],{"text":34819,"type":596},"Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution said earlier this year that the IRA tax credits had turned its operating income from a loss of 253 billion KRW into a profit of 195 billion KRW in the second quarter. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34821,"content":34822},{"textAlign":49},[34823],{"text":34824,"type":596},"Panasonic Energy also said the tax credits had increased its earnings margin from 7% to 18% for the fiscal year ending in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34826,"content":34827},{"textAlign":49},[34828],{"type":836,"attrs":34829},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":34830,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34831},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf054ade20/bm-us-battery-supply-growth-comes-from-foreign-owned-projects.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":34833,"content":34834},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34835],{"text":34836,"type":596},"Production issues ",{"type":591,"attrs":34838,"content":34839},{"textAlign":49},[34840],{"text":34841,"type":596},"Future battery production, however, depends on electric vehicle demand rising in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34843,"content":34844},{"textAlign":49},[34845],{"text":34846,"type":596},"US automakers have scaled back their production plans for electric vehicles this year, which has created uncertainty for US battery producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34848,"content":34849},{"textAlign":49},[34850],{"text":34851,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution said this summer it is slowing its investment into a planned third plant with General Motors, which is being built at part of the two companies’ Ultium Cells joint venture. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34853,"content":34854},{"textAlign":49},[34855],{"text":34856,"type":596},"The company also lowered its forecast battery production capacity eligible for the IRA tax credit from 45~50GWh to 30~35 GWh this year, due to “adjustments in ramp-up speed in response to changing customer demands.”",{"type":591,"attrs":34858,"content":34859},{"textAlign":49},[34860],{"text":34861,"type":596},"At the same time, GM has said it won’t have capacity to produce 1 million EVs next year, which had been the original target. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34863,"content":34864},{"textAlign":49},[34865,34867,34871],{"text":34866,"type":596},"Of North America’s 413 GWh of planned battery capacity under construction, over a third has yet to actually start building construction, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":34868},[34869],{"type":606,"attrs":34870},{"href":32534,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34872,"type":596},", with ground works still ongoing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34874,"content":34875},{"textAlign":49},[34876],{"type":836,"attrs":34877},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":34878,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34879},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae906de882/bm-benchmark-gigafactory-construction-tracker.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":34881,"content":34882},{"textAlign":49},[34883],{"text":34884,"type":596},"That compares with 14% of Chinese planned battery plants, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34886,"content":34887},{"textAlign":49},[34888],{"text":34889,"type":596},"In addition, the average construction of plants in North America is almost 30 months, compared to just over 20 months for those in China. ",{"type":615,"attrs":34891,"content":34892},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34893],{"text":34894,"type":596},"Cost increases ",{"type":591,"attrs":34896,"content":34897},{"textAlign":49},[34898],{"text":34899,"type":596},"Another issue is that US battery producers don’t have such easy access to refined minerals as well as midstream products such as cathodes and anodes as those companies in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34901,"content":34902},{"textAlign":49},[34903],{"text":34904,"type":596},"Battery companies also face rising labour costs, due to negotiations with labour unions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34906,"content":34907},{"textAlign":49},[34908],{"text":34909,"type":596},"This summer the union at the Ultium Cells joint venture in Lordstown, Ohio, reached an agreement that will see wages increase by 30% over three years, for example.","US battery production could potentially be lower cost than China’s by the end of the decade, once the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are taken into account, according to Benchmark. “The Inflation Reduction Act has truly been transformational in this space,” said Shivangee Chauhan, an analyst at Benchmark. “Suddenly the US producers are […]",[34912],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34913},{"job_title":557,"image":34914,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d115d61c-41cf-4dbb-9d17-38465732d61b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[34917,34918],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":34920,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34920,"source":547,"filename":34921,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":34922,"is_external_url":51},"Aerial image of the Tesla-Panasonic gigafactory in Nevada, US","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/067d5a5b91/bm-north-american-gigafactory-tesla-panasonic-nevada.jpg",{"alt":34920,"title":34920,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 22, 2024",{"id":34925,"uuid":34926,"name":34927,"slug":34928,"full_slug":34929,"content":34930},112468702905058,"52859e25-a4a3-48cb-9d00-966c26c5fbf9","Lithium hydroxide prices fall for fifth straight month in October amid shift to LFP ","lithium-hydroxide-prices-fall-for-fifth-straight-month-in-october-amid-shift-to-lfp","article/lithium-hydroxide-prices-fall-for-fifth-straight-month-in-october-amid-shift-to-lfp",{"_uid":34931,"date":34764,"tags":34932,"editor":34935,"content":34939,"excerpt":35024,"featured":51,"reporter":35025,"_editable":35029,"component":697,"seo_title":34927,"categories":35030,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":35034,"seo_description":35024,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":34923},"0155ce34-2ff3-4148-993d-b05e4f4de9e3",[34933,34934],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[34936],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":34937},{"job_title":557,"image":34938,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":34940},[34941,34946,34964,34975,34980,34987,34992,34997,35007,35014],{"type":591,"attrs":34942,"content":34943},{"textAlign":49},[34944],{"text":34945,"type":596},"Chinese lithium hydroxide prices fell for the fifth straight month in October as an increasing preference for lithium, iron, phosphate (LFP) cathode materials over high-nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) chemistries pushed prices lower. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34947,"content":34948},{"textAlign":49},[34949,34951,34956,34958,34962],{"text":34950,"type":596},"Spot prices for Chinese lithium ",{"text":34952,"type":596,"marks":34953},"hydroxide",[34954],{"type":606,"attrs":34955},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34957,"type":596}," have fallen 30.6% since early May this year to RMB 68,500 ($9,650) per tonne as of the assessment period ended October 16, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":34959},[34960],{"type":606,"attrs":34961},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34963,"type":596},". The current price level is also at its lowest level since March 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":34965,"content":34966},{"textAlign":49},[34967,34969,34973],{"text":34968,"type":596},"“We have seen supply remain relatively stable over the past five months, with an increase in demand for LFP cathode material from the ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":34970},[34971],{"type":606,"attrs":34972},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":34974,"type":596}," (EV) market in China and from energy storage system (ESS) applications globally, leading to a preference for lithium carbonate over hydroxide,” said Alex Albinski, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":34976,"content":34977},{"textAlign":49},[34978],{"text":34979,"type":596},"While lithium hydroxide is used to make high-nickel NCM cathode material, lithium carbonate is the preferred feedstock for LFP cathode material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":34981,"content":34982},{"textAlign":49},[34983],{"type":836,"attrs":34984},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":34985,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":34986},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b6e87fff97/bm-lh-vs-lc-2024.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":34988,"content":34989},{"textAlign":49},[34990],{"text":34991,"type":596},"“This has led to a fall in spot demand, specifically in the seaborne Asia market, as customers already have sufficient hydroxide volumes to meet their needs under long-term offtake agreements,” said Albinski.",{"type":615,"attrs":34993,"content":34994},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[34995],{"text":34996,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate holds on to a premium ",{"type":591,"attrs":34998,"content":34999},{"textAlign":49},[35000,35002,35006],{"text":35001,"type":596},"Since late June last year, Chinese lithium carbonate prices have held a premium over hydroxide prices, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":35003},[35004],{"type":606,"attrs":35005},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35008,"content":35009},{"textAlign":49},[35010],{"type":836,"attrs":35011},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":35012,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35013},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c48f12e02d/bm-lc-vs-lh-premium-13262320eb43.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":35015,"content":35016},{"textAlign":49},[35017,35019,35023],{"text":35018,"type":596},"Chinese lithium carbonate spot prices have declined 21.7% to RMB 75,500 ($10,650) per tonne so far this year, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":35020},[35021],{"type":606,"attrs":35022},{"href":11441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},"Chinese lithium hydroxide prices fell for the fifth straight month in October as an increasing preference for lithium, iron, phosphate (LFP) cathode materials over high-nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) chemistries pushed prices lower. Spot prices for Chinese lithium hydroxide have fallen 30.6% since early May this year to RMB 68,500 ($9,650) per tonne as of […]",[35026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35027},{"job_title":557,"image":35028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0155ce34-2ff3-4148-993d-b05e4f4de9e3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35031,35032,35033],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35035,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":35037,"uuid":35038,"name":35039,"slug":35040,"full_slug":35041,"content":35042},112468726690535,"acba2a2c-3df7-4d85-8765-6f1e03398688","Cathode expansions in the West hit by EV sales slump","cathode-expansions-in-the-west-hit-by-ev-sales-slump","article/cathode-expansions-in-the-west-hit-by-ev-sales-slump",{"_uid":35043,"date":35044,"tags":35045,"editor":35048,"content":35052,"excerpt":35217,"featured":51,"reporter":35218,"_editable":35222,"component":697,"seo_title":35039,"categories":35223,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":35227,"seo_description":35217,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":35230},"50733c8b-a823-4d25-a92f-c3587f79e70b","2024-10-18 00:00",[35046,35047],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[35049],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35050},{"job_title":557,"image":35051,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35053},[35054,35059,35071,35089,35119,35124,35129,35134,35144,35149,35161,35166,35178,35189,35196,35201,35212],{"type":591,"attrs":35055,"content":35056},{"textAlign":49},[35057],{"text":35058,"type":596},"Western cathode producers are coming under stress from headwinds linked to a slowdown in regional electric vehicle (EV) sales, leading capacity expansion to be scaled back in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":35060,"content":35061},{"textAlign":49},[35062,35064,35069],{"text":35063,"type":596},"In Europe, the combined impact of delays is set to reduce Europe’s supply by up to 10% long-term, ",{"text":35065,"type":596,"marks":35066},"according to the Benchmark Cathode Forecast",[35067],{"type":606,"attrs":35068},{"href":19068,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35070,"type":596},". This will leave the region facing an 800 GWh cathode supply deficit by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":35072,"content":35073},{"textAlign":49},[35074,35076,35081,35083,35088],{"text":35075,"type":596},"EV sales in Europe have contracted 4% between January and August compared to the same period in 2023, according to ",{"text":35077,"type":596,"marks":35078},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Forecast",[35079],{"type":606,"attrs":35080},{"href":34577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35082,"type":596},", resulting in ",{"text":35084,"type":596,"marks":35085},"176 gigawatt hours (GWh) of the region’s pipeline gigafactory capacity to be cancelled in 2024",[35086],{"type":606,"attrs":35087},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35090,"content":35091},{"textAlign":49},[35092,35094,35099,35101,35105,35107,35111,35112,35117],{"text":35093,"type":596},"A weakened demand outlook from regional gigafactories, ",{"text":35095,"type":596,"marks":35096},"combined with the prevailing low price environment",[35097],{"type":606,"attrs":35098},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35100,"type":596}," for cathode material, has created a challenging operational environment for market entrants. ",{"text":8924,"type":596,"marks":35102},[35103],{"type":606,"attrs":35104},{"href":9012,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35106,"type":596},", BASF, ",{"text":29329,"type":596,"marks":35108},[35109],{"type":606,"attrs":35110},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9014,"type":596},{"text":22548,"type":596,"marks":35113},[35114],{"type":606,"attrs":35115},{"href":35116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-halts-european-cathode-plans-to-refocus-on-batteries?_branch_match_id=1544394454459647767&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWNzM09s12zCrL8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAuNDXkkgAAAA%3D",{"text":35118,"type":596}," have all either confirmed or announced they are considering plans to defer expansions in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":35120,"content":35121},{"textAlign":49},[35122],{"text":35123,"type":596},"North America, too, has experienced several project delays in 2024. Umicore and Posco have both opted to delay expansions in Canada due to challenging market conditions, resulting in a 15% reduction in regional cathode capacity over 2025 and 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":35125,"content":35126},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35127],{"text":35128,"type":596},"China’s LFP boom squeezes wider industry margins",{"type":591,"attrs":35130,"content":35131},{"textAlign":49},[35132],{"text":35133,"type":596},"Alongside demand headwinds, western cathode producers have also been squeezed by China’s rapidly expanding, vertically-integrated lithium ion phosphate (LFP) supply base.",{"type":591,"attrs":35135,"content":35136},{"textAlign":49},[35137,35142],{"text":35138,"type":596,"marks":35139},"Despite a prevailing oversupply and falling prices",[35140],{"type":606,"attrs":35141},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35143,"type":596},", the Benchmark Cathode Forecast reports investment into LFP capacity China has continued in 2024: supply increased by 28% over the first three quarters of the year, while NCM low/mid nickel supply fell by 8%.",{"type":591,"attrs":35145,"content":35146},{"textAlign":49},[35147],{"text":35148,"type":596},"LFP has benefited from rising demand from both the EV and electronic stationary storage (ESS) sectors due to lower production costs. The chemistry is set to account for close to half of global cathode demand in 2024.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":35150,"content":35151},{"textAlign":49},[35152,35154,35159],{"text":35153,"type":596},"In Europe, Benchmark analysis indicates LFP could reach 50% of market share by 2030, up from only 27% in 2024. ",{"text":35155,"type":596,"marks":35156},"This is due to European tariffs on Chinese EVs being set much lower in the US",[35157],{"type":606,"attrs":35158},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35160,"type":596},", creating more LFP opportunities in Europe for Chinese EV makers.",{"type":615,"attrs":35162,"content":35163},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35164],{"text":35165,"type":596},"Europe faces prolonged LFP supply deficit",{"type":591,"attrs":35167,"content":35168},{"textAlign":49},[35169,35171,35176],{"text":35170,"type":596},"As ",{"text":35172,"type":596,"marks":35173},"LFP cells continue to make inroads in Europe",[35174],{"type":606,"attrs":35175},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35177,"type":596},", the region is set to face a worsening shortage of domestic LFP cathode supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35179,"content":35180},{"textAlign":49},[35181,35183,35188],{"text":35182,"type":596},"Although today Europe produces just 1.2 GWh of LFP cells, this figure is set to rise to 74 GWh by the end of the decade, ",{"text":35184,"type":596,"marks":35185},"according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database",[35186],{"type":606,"attrs":35187},{"href":34781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35190,"content":35191},{"textAlign":49},[35192],{"type":836,"attrs":35193},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":35194,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35195},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfeTdz2oPTPIXyjVVJck978KPsM0MzJwqI2n6nC3Ls9G1_Est8IMTc1nIliT3CL3GIGIVgRcPJo66sr9Tdydakp2rR78uMX96RRQa4g2HFy4iPpmFHpiHQaLMD3TEuksf5eoiT6t0qQX_lYEucPBGprMKVg?key=4KRB2ou6E2Dd1SHCdkDQ9w",{},{"type":591,"attrs":35197,"content":35198},{"textAlign":49},[35199],{"text":35200,"type":596},"“As Europe’s LFP EV demand continues to grow and ramp up past 2030, the region’s domestic LFP cathode supply is expected to flatline towards the end of the decade,” said Harry Tinker, senior cathode analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":35202,"content":35203},{"textAlign":49},[35204,35206,35211],{"text":35205,"type":596},"He added that ",{"text":35207,"type":596,"marks":35208},"recent joint venture investments between Chinese/South Korean and European companies for LFP cathode facilities have bolstered the supply outlook somewhat in the short term",[35209],{"type":606,"attrs":35210},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35213,"content":35214},{"textAlign":49},[35215],{"text":35216,"type":596},"“But to avoid long-term reliance on Chinese cathode imports, Europe will need to make significant investments in developing its own upstream and midstream supply chains,” said Tinker. ","Western cathode producers are coming under stress from headwinds linked to a slowdown in regional electric vehicle (EV) sales, leading capacity expansion to be scaled back in 2024. In Europe, the combined impact of delays is set to reduce Europe’s supply by up to 10% long-term, according to the Benchmark Cathode Forecast. This will leave […]",[35219],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35220},{"job_title":557,"image":35221,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"50733c8b-a823-4d25-a92f-c3587f79e70b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35224,35225,35226],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":35228,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35229,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/639b39a706/bm-ev-sweden.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 18, 2024",{"id":35232,"uuid":35233,"name":35234,"slug":35235,"full_slug":35236,"content":35237},112468721918694,"58d7e3dc-1d0e-4ace-b2ab-7592f6f0be3a","General Motors, Lithium Americas to form $625 million joint venture for Thacker Pass","general-motors-lithium-americas-to-form-625-million-joint-venture-for-thacker-pass","article/general-motors-lithium-americas-to-form-625-million-joint-venture-for-thacker-pass",{"_uid":35238,"date":35044,"tags":35239,"editor":35245,"content":35249,"excerpt":35345,"featured":51,"reporter":35346,"_editable":35350,"component":697,"seo_title":35234,"categories":35351,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":35354,"featured_image":35357,"seo_description":35345,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":35230},"2882f1c4-88d1-4dda-8829-dccc9be03b11",[35240,35241,35242,35243,35244],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":27151,"name":27152},{"slug":10402,"name":10403},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[35246],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35247},{"job_title":557,"image":35248,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35250},[35251,35256,35261,35273,35278,35285,35290,35295,35300,35305,35310,35315,35325,35330,35335,35340],{"type":591,"attrs":35252,"content":35253},{"textAlign":49},[35254],{"text":35255,"type":596},"US automotive giant General Motors (GM) will form a joint venture with Lithium Americas around its Thacker Pass development in a deal worth $625 million. Lithium Americas will contribute $387 million to the venture.",{"type":591,"attrs":35257,"content":35258},{"textAlign":49},[35259],{"text":35260,"type":596},"The joint venture will see GM increase its stake in the project to 38%. GM will also have access to up to 100% offtake agreement for the first phase of the project and a 38% offtake of the second phase with the right of first offer on the remaining production.",{"type":591,"attrs":35262,"content":35263},{"textAlign":49},[35264,35266,35271],{"text":35265,"type":596},"This is particularly beneficial for the automaker as Benchmark’s ",{"text":35267,"type":596,"marks":35268},"Lithium Forecast",[35269],{"type":606,"attrs":35270},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35272,"type":596}," shows North American demand for lithium far exceeds the forecast domestic supply of the critical mineral.",{"type":591,"attrs":35274,"content":35275},{"textAlign":49},[35276],{"text":35277,"type":596},"“This move puts GM in a position that not every US EV manufacturer will be able to have,” said Claudia Cook, a lithium analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":35279,"content":35280},{"textAlign":49},[35281],{"type":836,"attrs":35282},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":35283,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35284},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/21000df575/bm-screenshot-2024-10-18-122308.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":35286,"content":35287},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35288],{"text":35289,"type":596},"Why has GM invested further in Lithium America?",{"type":591,"attrs":35291,"content":35292},{"textAlign":49},[35293],{"text":35294,"type":596},"Despite the slower-than-expected growth in EV demand this year, the continued growth in battery demand for EVs and energy storage applications will see North America’s lithium demand from batteries grow 290% between 2024 and 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":35296,"content":35297},{"textAlign":49},[35298],{"text":35299,"type":596},"“It reflects a wider trend that while western EV manufacturers have scaled back EV targets, the growth in demand for EVs is still expected and being planned for,” Cook said.",{"type":615,"attrs":35301,"content":35302},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35303],{"text":35304,"type":596},"What is the status of Thacker Pass?",{"type":591,"attrs":35306,"content":35307},{"textAlign":49},[35308],{"text":35309,"type":596},"The Thacker Pass project is a sedimentary lithium resource located in Humboldt County, Nevada comprising an open pit mine and processing facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":35311,"content":35312},{"textAlign":49},[35313],{"text":35314,"type":596},"The first phase will have a capacity of 40,000 tonnes per year with the second phase bringing the total to 80,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":35316,"content":35317},{"textAlign":49},[35318,35320,35324],{"text":35319,"type":596},"Thacker Pass is set to be the largest US lithium project in production in 2030 according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35267,"type":596,"marks":35321},[35322],{"type":606,"attrs":35323},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":35326,"content":35327},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35328],{"text":35329,"type":596},"How is Thacker Pass funded?",{"type":615,"attrs":35331,"content":35332},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35333],{"text":35334,"type":596},"What are other automakers doing in the lithium space?",{"type":591,"attrs":35336,"content":35337},{"textAlign":49},[35338],{"text":35339,"type":596},"GM is not the only automaker actively working to secure their lithium supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":35341,"content":35342},{"textAlign":49},[35343],{"text":35344,"type":596},"“EV manufacturers for a while now have been making direct investments in lithium supply, in order to secure feedstock,” Cook said. “In a market that is as volatile as lithium with such demand growth, this enables them to reduce the risk of having to purchase on the open market.”","US automotive giant General Motors (GM) will form a joint venture with Lithium Americas around its Thacker Pass development in a deal worth $625 million. Lithium Americas will contribute $387 million to the venture. The joint venture will see GM increase its stake in the project to 38%. GM will also have access to up […]",[35347],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35348},{"job_title":557,"image":35349,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2882f1c4-88d1-4dda-8829-dccc9be03b11\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35352,35353],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":35355,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":35355,"source":547,"filename":35283,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35356,"is_external_url":51},"Clustered column chart showing North American lithium demand from batteries alongside mined and chemical supply from the region.",{"alt":35355,"title":35355,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":35358,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35359,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1f98645c56/bm-general-motors-lithium-americas-joint-venture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":35361,"uuid":35362,"name":35363,"slug":35364,"full_slug":35365,"content":35366},112468717114085,"1ccd5e0a-c4be-45ba-9fc3-a41ba1aedafe","China’s DRC dominance threatens US de-risking efforts","chinas-drc-dominance-threatens-us-de-risking-efforts","article/chinas-drc-dominance-threatens-us-de-risking-efforts",{"_uid":35367,"date":35044,"tags":35368,"editor":35369,"content":35373,"excerpt":35506,"featured":51,"reporter":35507,"_editable":35511,"component":697,"seo_title":35363,"categories":35512,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":35515,"seo_description":35506,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":35230},"6b386143-f274-4099-9331-e0b11b588e7a",[],[35370],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35371},{"job_title":557,"image":35372,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35374},[35375,35380,35399,35411,35416,35423,35428,35433,35438,35443,35455,35460,35465,35484,35489,35501],{"type":591,"attrs":35376,"content":35377},{"textAlign":49},[35378],{"text":35379,"type":596},"Two thirds of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) cobalt supply is classified as at ‘high risk’ of falling foul of the Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) clause under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Benchmark analysis shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":35381,"content":35382},{"textAlign":49},[35383,35385,35390,35392,35397],{"text":35384,"type":596},"Through the IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BLI), ",{"text":35386,"type":596,"marks":35387},"the US is undergoing a wide-ranging effort to de-risk its critical",[35388],{"type":606,"attrs":35389},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35391,"type":596}," mineral supply chains from China. This has included",{"text":35393,"type":596,"marks":35394}," significant federal funding to support domestic projects",[35395],{"type":606,"attrs":35396},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35398,"type":596},", as well as incentives to ‘onshore’/‘friendshore’ supply chains in the US and other free trade agreement (FTA) economies.",{"type":591,"attrs":35400,"content":35401},{"textAlign":49},[35402,35404,35409],{"text":35403,"type":596},"However, Benchmark analysis shows de-risking cobalt supply will prove challenging due to ",{"text":35405,"type":596,"marks":35406},"high concentration of supply in the DRC (a non-FTA country) and within the hands of Chinese firms",[35407],{"type":606,"attrs":35408},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35410,"type":596},", posing significant economic and geopolitical risks for the US, including the potential for trade restrictions.",{"type":591,"attrs":35412,"content":35413},{"textAlign":49},[35414],{"text":35415,"type":596},"“The majority of DRC volumes fall under the ‘high risk’ category, owing to high levels of Chinese ownership in assets in the country, and therefore are likely to be ineligible for consumer tax credits under the IRA,” said Will Talbot, research manager at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35417,"content":35418},{"textAlign":49},[35419],{"type":836,"attrs":35420},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":35421,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35422},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdRg795SMrTOy7kmjU1nyxuCK7rou7rK5njmWq26VKuNc_St73o5X_aF87Q9Ij7DCqmC7pmxeYw0SQItTISd0KxTRKy90vnse5gC66Mr4Q7om2U_0yMkjJ3qzZp50d5c_NLwUFz3w8o_ijSYqd4_Fck5EvE?key=B8zbvGa6Z0AfIR5gb4Yi8Q",{},{"type":615,"attrs":35424,"content":35425},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35426],{"text":35427,"type":596},"Cobalt’s FEOC status ",{"type":591,"attrs":35429,"content":35430},{"textAlign":49},[35431],{"text":35432,"type":596},"Benchmark has assessed the FEOC risk profile for mines and refineries across critical mineral markets, evaluating the likelihood of triggering this risk for each battery raw material asset worldwide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35434,"content":35435},{"textAlign":49},[35436],{"text":35437,"type":596},"“Over time, we do expect the share of material coming from high risk or FEOC countries will decline marginally as more ex-China supply comes online,” said Talbot. “But we forecast it to remain significant.”",{"type":615,"attrs":35439,"content":35440},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35441],{"text":35442,"type":596},"US officials accuse CMOC of predatory actions",{"type":591,"attrs":35444,"content":35445},{"textAlign":49},[35446,35448,35453],{"text":35447,"type":596},"In particular, US officials have grown increasingly concerned over CMOC’s outsized role in the cobalt supply chain; levelling accusations that the company has conducted predatory actions to flood the market with supply, ",{"text":35449,"type":596,"marks":35450},"crashing prices",[35451],{"type":606,"attrs":35452},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35454,"type":596}," and stifling investment in new greenfield capacity worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":35456,"content":35457},{"textAlign":49},[35458],{"text":35459,"type":596},"“CMOC produced over 50,000 tonnes of cobalt in the first half of the year and sales figures indicate that the company is still stockpiling material,” said Talbot. “Stock levels in the market are now significant, with low prices and short-term oversupply stifiling investment in greenfield cobalt projects.”",{"type":591,"attrs":35461,"content":35462},{"textAlign":49},[35463],{"text":35464,"type":596},"Cobalt fundamentals have largely fallen to the wayside, as CMOC has prioritised the ramp up of copper supply to feed China’s growing domestic smelting capacity, amid high prices and a bullish demand outlook for the red metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":35466,"content":35467},{"textAlign":49},[35468,35470,35475,35477,35482],{"text":35469,"type":596},"To prevent ",{"text":35471,"type":596,"marks":35472},"low-price’s derailing de-risking efforts",[35473],{"type":606,"attrs":35474},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35476,"type":596},", US officials are said to be examining more robust measures to support the endeavour, i",{"text":35478,"type":596,"marks":35479},"ncluding price support thresholds for domestic projects",[35480],{"type":606,"attrs":35481},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35483,"type":596}," and critical mineral stockpiling.",{"type":615,"attrs":35485,"content":35486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35487],{"text":35488,"type":596},"How is the US attempting to extend its DRC influence? ",{"type":591,"attrs":35490,"content":35491},{"textAlign":49},[35492,35494,35499],{"text":35493,"type":596},"The US is also attempting to regain lost ground in the ",{"text":35495,"type":596,"marks":35496},"Central African Copperbelt through the Lobito Corridor Railway",[35497],{"type":606,"attrs":35498},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35500,"type":596},", a project designed to facilitate copper-cobalt exports from the DRC into western markets and spur value-added investment across the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35502,"content":35503},{"textAlign":49},[35504],{"text":35505,"type":596},"In recent months, US officials have also manoeuvred to block additional DRC copper-cobalt assets falling into the hands of Chinese firms.","Two thirds of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) cobalt supply is classified as at ‘high risk’ of falling foul of the Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) clause under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Benchmark analysis shows. Through the IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BLI), the US is undergoing a wide-ranging effort to de-risk its […]",[35508],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35509},{"job_title":557,"image":35510,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6b386143-f274-4099-9331-e0b11b588e7a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35513,35514],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20932,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35516,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":35518,"uuid":35519,"name":35520,"slug":35521,"full_slug":35522,"content":35523},112468712452836,"f38cc831-e950-41a2-9fb0-14f80bc5aec2","Benchmark begins tracking the global anode market via satellite analysis","benchmark-begins-tracking-the-global-anode-market-via-satellite-analysis","article/benchmark-begins-tracking-the-global-anode-market-via-satellite-analysis",{"_uid":35524,"date":35044,"tags":35525,"editor":35528,"content":35532,"excerpt":35709,"featured":50,"reporter":35710,"_editable":35714,"component":697,"seo_title":35520,"categories":35715,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":35718,"seo_description":35709,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":35230},"1925cbaa-6441-46a7-9154-dc3f7a08a031",[35526,35527],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[35529],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35530},{"job_title":557,"image":35531,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35533},[35534,35544,35559,35564,35573,35582,35594,35600,35604,35610,35615,35621,35629,35634,35639,35644,35652,35660,35665,35671,35685],{"type":591,"attrs":35535,"content":35536},{"textAlign":49},[35537,35538,35540,35542],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":35539,"type":596},"is pleased to announce it has started utilising satellite imagery to track and validate the advancement of anode material facility construction worldwide as part of the ",{"text":35541,"type":596},"Benchmark Verified ",{"text":35543,"type":596},"service.",{"type":591,"attrs":35545,"content":35546},{"textAlign":49},[35547,35549,35550,35552,35554,35556,35558],{"text":35548,"type":596},"This adds to the existing ",{"text":35541,"type":596},{"text":35551,"type":596},"service already incorporated in the ",{"text":35553,"type":596},"Benchmark Gigafactory Market Assessment ",{"text":35555,"type":596},"and the ",{"text":35557,"type":596},"Benchmark Cathode Price Assessment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35560,"content":35561},{"textAlign":49},[35562],{"text":35563,"type":596},"“Integrating satellite imagery into the anode market assessment will provide valuable, real-time insights into production activity and global supply chain trends, unlocking a whole new level of precision and strategic foresight,” said George Ingall, anode analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":35565,"content":35566},{"textAlign":49},[35567,35569,35571],{"text":35568,"type":596},"With Chinese producers continuing to expand their capacity and new players preparing to meet growing demand in western markets for locally sourced anode material, ",{"text":35570,"type":596},"Benchmark’s",{"text":35572,"type":596}," satellite imagery will give subscribers granular, evidenced-based insight into the status of developments at specific facilities worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":35574,"content":35575},{"textAlign":49},[35576,35577,35579,35580],{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":35578,"type":596}," analysis reveals the global capacity of anode material will increase over fivefold between 2024 and the end of the decade, reaching over 15,000,000 tonnes per year. At present, ",{"text":28423,"type":596},{"text":35581,"type":596}," has confirmed  2,277,150 tonnes per year of operational capacity in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":35583,"content":35584},{"textAlign":49},[35585,35587,35588,35590,35592],{"text":35586,"type":596},"However, the battery industry is facing increased risk due to a downturn in crucial mineral prices. In light of this, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35589,"type":596}," expects the anode market to undergo a period of consolidation throughout this year and the following, with geospatial analysis giving",{"text":35591,"type":596}," Benchmark",{"text":35593,"type":596}," the means to track how industry participants are coping with the downturn.",{"type":591,"attrs":35595,"content":35596},{"textAlign":49},[35597,35598],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35599,"type":596}," intends to keep a close eye on every location to verify any activity, especially since certain markets may experience overcapacity, which could force businesses to cease development, expansion, or production or, if challenges continue, to abandon projects entirely.",{"type":591,"attrs":35601,"content":35602},{"textAlign":49},[35603],{"text":28423,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35605,"content":35606},{"textAlign":49},[35607,35608],{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":35609,"type":596}," new remote sensing service will be included within its Anode Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":35611,"content":35612},{"textAlign":49},[35613],{"text":35614,"type":596},"This service will provide accurate and transparent insight into anode projects, backed by satellite imagery.",{"type":591,"attrs":35616,"content":35617},{"textAlign":49},[35618,35619],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35620,"type":596}," has combined its detailed knowledge of these existing and planned facilities globally with advanced capabilities in the analysis of satellite imagery using geographic information systems (GIS).",{"type":591,"attrs":35622,"content":35623},{"textAlign":49},[35624,35626,35627],{"text":35625,"type":596},"Initially this service will verify the status of active anode facilities and monitor the progress of individual projects construction and production timelines. Through the development of proprietary site evaluation methodologies from satellite imagery, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35628,"type":596}," will assign each individual anode production site into one of two initial categories:",{"type":591,"attrs":35630,"content":35631},{"textAlign":49},[35632],{"text":35633,"type":596},"Benchmark uses a number of indicators to gauge activity levels at each site or the stage of construction each facility is undergoing.",{"type":591,"attrs":35635,"content":35636},{"textAlign":49},[35637],{"text":35638,"type":596},"These indicators include but are not limited to:",{"type":591,"attrs":35640,"content":35641},{"textAlign":49},[35642],{"text":35643,"type":596},"Where anode production sites have been verified this will be indicated in research via two main categories:",{"type":591,"attrs":35645,"content":35646},{"textAlign":49},[35647,35649,35650],{"text":35648,"type":596},"Where possible ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35651,"type":596}," uses its extensive field visits to further verify its findings from satellite imagery.",{"type":591,"attrs":35653,"content":35654},{"textAlign":49},[35655,35657,35658],{"text":35656,"type":596},"As part of our data collection process ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":35659,"type":596}," also conducts regular reviews of our sources and the data received to analyse the information published against external metrics and verify accuracy.",{"type":591,"attrs":35661,"content":35662},{"textAlign":49},[35663],{"text":35664,"type":596},"Benchmark provides expert market coverage of the midstream anode sector:",{"type":591,"attrs":35666,"content":35667},{"textAlign":49},[35668],{"text":35664,"type":596,"marks":35669},[35670],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":35672,"content":35673},{"textAlign":49},[35674,35681],{"text":35675,"type":596,"marks":35676},"Benchmark’s Anode Price Assessment",[35677,35678],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":35679},{"href":35680,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/anode/anode-prices/table/",{"text":35682,"type":596,"marks":35683}," publishes anode prices on a monthly basis as well as a capacity assessment of every anode facility globally out to 2035.",[35684],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":35686,"content":35687},{"textAlign":49},[35688,35695,35699,35705],{"text":35689,"type":596,"marks":35690},"Our Anode Forecast",[35691,35692],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":35693},{"href":35694,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/anode/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":35696,"type":596,"marks":35697}," examines supply and demand of Anode Active Material (AAM) by region and producer out to 2040, along with a dynamic cost model.",[35698],{"type":1006},{"text":35700,"type":596,"marks":35701},"Get in touch",[35702,35703],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":35704},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35706,"type":596,"marks":35707}," with our team to learn more.",[35708],{"type":1006},"Benchmark is pleased to announce it has started utilising satellite imagery to track and validate the advancement of anode material facility construction worldwide as part of the Benchmark Verified service. This adds to the existing Benchmark Verified service already incorporated in the Benchmark Gigafactory Market Assessment and the Benchmark Cathode Price Assessment. “Integrating satellite imagery […]",[35711],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35712},{"job_title":557,"image":35713,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1925cbaa-6441-46a7-9154-dc3f7a08a031\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35716,35717],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":35719,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35720,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2d989915fb/bm-satellite-130761106417.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":35722,"uuid":35723,"name":35724,"slug":35725,"full_slug":35726,"content":35727},112468750439149,"da5ad8ca-dbf2-4a26-a4d7-d9fafa335686","Will Rio Tinto’s move entice other mining majors into lithium?","will-rio-tintos-move-entice-other-mining-majors-into-lithium","article/will-rio-tintos-move-entice-other-mining-majors-into-lithium",{"_uid":35728,"date":35729,"tags":35730,"editor":35733,"content":35737,"excerpt":35915,"featured":51,"reporter":35916,"_editable":35920,"component":697,"seo_title":35724,"categories":35921,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":35923,"seo_description":35915,"author_full_name":35927,"author_job_title":35928,"formattedDate":35929},"7746048b-267c-44a3-bf90-bb5316092784","2024-10-16 00:00",[35731,35732],{"slug":23051,"name":23052},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},[35734],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35735},{"job_title":557,"image":35736,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35738},[35739,35744,35757,35770,35775,35780,35785,35790,35795,35807,35812,35817,35822,35834,35842,35862,35867,35885,35890,35895,35900,35905,35910],{"type":591,"attrs":35740,"content":35741},{"textAlign":49},[35742],{"text":35743,"type":596},"For the last decade the world’s largest mining companies found the lithium sector not attractive enough to invest, given the relative geological abundance of the metal as well as small size and low barriers to entry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35745,"content":35746},{"textAlign":49},[35747,35749,35755],{"text":35748,"type":596},"We previously ",{"text":35750,"type":596,"marks":35751},"discussed",[35752],{"type":606,"attrs":35753},{"href":35754,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-what-most-major-mining-houses-have-got-wrong-about-lithium?_branch_match_id=1544394289845813357&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBQQqAIBAF0BspbYNoEdSyI4TGlKaOw5%2BBdp2995KZ6Oh9JD5TCygtMyFUdUHE1czFi21Dt1WfPc4f6CIg831E9FcJ05LQG%2F2dpYg4SAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":35756,"type":596}," that it was probably too late for major miners to enter the industry for value – unless there was a counter-cyclical move during the low part of the price cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":35758,"content":35759},{"textAlign":49},[35760,35762,35768],{"text":35761,"type":596},"Such a move has now been made by Rio Tinto, with ",{"text":35763,"type":596,"marks":35764},"their $6.7 billion cash offer",[35765],{"type":606,"attrs":35766},{"href":35767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-to-buy-arcadium-lithium-for-6-7-billion?_branch_match_id=1544394284523673277&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL4r0rvINdC7O8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAszMQ6kgAAAA%3D",{"text":35769,"type":596}," for Arcadium Lithium, which has mines in Canada, Argentina and Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35771,"content":35772},{"textAlign":49},[35773],{"text":35774,"type":596},"After the merger between Allkem and Livent, Arcadium was very likely a target for several players. Nobody can discard a competing offer, but at 90% premium the likelihood is probably low.",{"type":591,"attrs":35776,"content":35777},{"textAlign":49},[35778],{"text":35779,"type":596},"Glencore is probably the only other major with some intention to play in the lithium market via recycling and prepayment offtake – albeit at a very small scale for now. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35781,"content":35782},{"textAlign":49},[35783],{"text":35784,"type":596},"The rest of the pack (BHP, Anglo and Vale) remain firmly on the fence.",{"type":591,"attrs":35786,"content":35787},{"textAlign":49},[35788],{"text":35789,"type":596},"But Rio Tinto’s deal should provide a good reference for the corporate teams at these majors to refresh their own industry attractiveness profile and the potential pathways to enter the industry. ",{"type":615,"attrs":35791,"content":35792},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35793],{"text":35794,"type":596},"Changing dynamics ",{"type":591,"attrs":35796,"content":35797},{"textAlign":49},[35798,35800,35805],{"text":35799,"type":596},"We argued in a ",{"text":35801,"type":596,"marks":35802},"previous piece",[35803],{"type":606,"attrs":35804},{"href":35754,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35806,"type":596}," that a “geology-first” approach was too simplistic for nascent, ultra-high-growth commodities such as lithium for which supply is likely to remain constrained by ex-China processing capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":35808,"content":35809},{"textAlign":49},[35810],{"text":35811,"type":596},"So apart from a price crash what else has changed over the last two years?",{"type":591,"attrs":35813,"content":35814},{"textAlign":49},[35815],{"text":35816,"type":596},"The short answer is not much: supply side constraints in the long run plus a steep cost curve will enable strong returns for players at the bottom end of the cost curve. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35818,"content":35819},{"textAlign":49},[35820],{"text":35821,"type":596},"An additional tailwind for Rio’s move includes regulation and geopolitics creating the need for an “ex-China” supply chain to feed the batteries Western countries will consume and manufacture.",{"type":591,"attrs":35823,"content":35824},{"textAlign":49},[35825,35827,35832],{"text":35826,"type":596},"As highlighted by Benchmark ",{"text":35828,"type":596,"marks":35829},"recently",[35830],{"type":606,"attrs":35831},{"href":35767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35833,"type":596}," the deal gives Rio the top third position in lithium globally. As the premium paid for Arcadium is almost 100%, some commentators are raising concerns of overpaying – some even referring to Rio’s poor M&A track record (Alcan, Riversdale) which led to massive write downs a decade ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":35835,"content":35836},{"textAlign":49},[35837],{"type":836,"attrs":35838},{"id":49,"alt":35839,"src":35840,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35841},"Rio Tinto's acquisition of Arcadium Lithium will propel the mining giant into the top five of lithium players","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d6be28ce23/bm-rio-tinto-01-final-01.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":35843,"content":35844},{"textAlign":49},[35845,35847,35853,35854,35860],{"text":35846,"type":596},"However, those deals were made in a different context. This time Rio has taken time to learn about the industry via its development assets ",{"text":35848,"type":596,"marks":35849},"Jadar",[35850],{"type":606,"attrs":35851},{"href":35852,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-2-4bn-to-arrive-at-lithiums-main-stage?_branch_match_id=1544394309774662405&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWzwyuKoosqyzO8k%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUA0z4MbEgAAAA%3D",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":35855,"type":596,"marks":35856},"Rincon",[35857],{"type":606,"attrs":35858},{"href":35859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal?_branch_match_id=1544394299337337764&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBUQqAIBAFwBvpfxBBHqAjxG5saeoqbwX%2FOnszcYxui%2FcsesVKyDWpgIo56t2VpNnvwoXCtPfg7YPcAiR9TkabJlhDRKvyA93Mu7BIAAAA",{"text":35861,"type":596}," – hoping to get a low cost entry. The Arcadium move appears to have been pursued with the usual detailed industry and asset analyses large miners use in their investment decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":35863,"content":35864},{"textAlign":49},[35865],{"text":35866,"type":596},"Ultimately the deal will be judged not on size or tonnage, but on value to shareholders.",{"type":591,"attrs":35868,"content":35869},{"textAlign":49},[35870,35872,35877,35879,35883],{"text":35871,"type":596},"Combining Benchmark’s proprietary ",{"text":35873,"type":596,"marks":35874},"lithium cost model",[35875],{"type":606,"attrs":35876},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35878,"type":596}," and $7bn deal value agreed, we estimate that the underlying lithium price required for the existing operating output (inclusive of brownfield expansions) to achieve a 15% IRR is likely to be $20,000 to 22,000 per tonne LCE. Benchmark’s ",{"text":35267,"type":596,"marks":35880},[35881],{"type":606,"attrs":35882},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":35884,"type":596}," Report sets the long term price at $21,000 a tonne, right in the middle of this range.",{"type":591,"attrs":35886,"content":35887},{"textAlign":49},[35888],{"text":35889,"type":596},"The reality is that Rio is also buying a significant project execution risk as Arcadium has a strong list of development projects (Hombre Muerto expansions,  Sal de Vida, Cauchari, Galaxy) which combined with Rio’s Jadar and Rincon projects account for about 280 to 300 ktpa LCE of additional capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35891,"content":35892},{"textAlign":49},[35893],{"text":35894,"type":596},"This level of expansion may stretch Rio Tinto’s execution capabilities. However, the good news is that most of those projects (with the notable exception of Galaxy) appear well positioned in Benchmark’s cost curve datasets so they would be able to absorb the usual cost increases and delays.",{"type":615,"attrs":35896,"content":35897},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35898],{"text":35899,"type":596},"Will others follow?",{"type":591,"attrs":35901,"content":35902},{"textAlign":49},[35903],{"text":35904,"type":596},"The deal should provide much food for thought for the other big miners: there is no shortage of assets, but they all have their own challenges plus there is a need to have a strong integration push to achieve meaningful scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35906,"content":35907},{"textAlign":49},[35908],{"text":35909,"type":596},"Rio Tinto’s presentation highlighted the potential synergies from combining a technology portfolio as well as regional footprints between the Arcadium assets and Rio’s legacy portfolio. ",{"type":591,"attrs":35911,"content":35912},{"textAlign":49},[35913],{"text":35914,"type":596},"We can only speculate on what other majors might do, as some do have strong regional footprints in lithium rich regions e.g. Vale in Canada and Brazil and BHP in Australia and South America. However, both majors appear to have limited exposure to the processing technologies required to enable good operating performance.","For the last decade the world’s largest mining companies found the lithium sector not attractive enough to invest, given the relative geological abundance of the metal as well as small size and low barriers to entry. We previously discussed that it was probably too late for major miners to enter the industry for value – […]",[35917],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35918},{"job_title":557,"image":35919,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7746048b-267c-44a3-bf90-bb5316092784\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[35922],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":35924,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":35924,"source":547,"filename":35925,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":35926,"is_external_url":51},"Argentina Lithium's Rincon asset in Argentina.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b6de7372ec/bm-rincon.jpeg",{"alt":35924,"title":35924,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Ricardo Morales","Associate Director Strategic Advisory","Oct 16, 2024",{"id":35931,"uuid":35932,"name":35933,"slug":35934,"full_slug":35935,"content":35936},112468755251950,"07437bb7-48ea-4c16-8144-d5a9189d3128","Three African countries to account for 47% of new flake graphite production in 2025","three-african-countries-to-account-for-47-of-new-flake-graphite-production-in-2025","article/three-african-countries-to-account-for-47-of-new-flake-graphite-production-in-2025",{"_uid":35937,"date":35938,"tags":35939,"editor":35942,"content":35946,"excerpt":36054,"featured":51,"reporter":36055,"_editable":36059,"component":697,"seo_title":35933,"categories":36060,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":36063,"featured_image":36066,"seo_description":36054,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":36068},"2fed0be4-8049-4496-ae86-bcde1bd6de80","2024-10-14 00:00",[35940,35941],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[35943],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":35944},{"job_title":557,"image":35945,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":35947},[35948,35959,35964,35969,35976,35981,35986,35991,35996,36009,36014,36019,36024,36029,36034,36039,36044,36049],{"type":591,"attrs":35949,"content":35950},{"textAlign":49},[35951,35953,35958],{"text":35952,"type":596},"Mozambique, Tanzania, and Madagascar are forecast to produce 47% of new graphite supply in 2025, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":35955},"Natural Graphite Forecast",[35956],{"type":606,"attrs":35957},{"href":21330,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":35960,"content":35961},{"textAlign":49},[35962],{"text":35963,"type":596},"The growth in supply comes from six mines across the three countries with all but one – Nipepe in Mozambique – currently operational.",{"type":591,"attrs":35965,"content":35966},{"textAlign":49},[35967],{"text":35968,"type":596},"Downstream players are increasingly looking to diversify their sourced material away from China, seeking incentives under western governments’ rules of origin policies and to avoid potential disruption from China’s graphite export regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":35970,"content":35971},{"textAlign":49},[35972],{"type":836,"attrs":35973},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":35974,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":35975},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f7a24d338/bm-treemap-africa-graphite-supply.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":35977,"content":35978},{"textAlign":49},[35979],{"text":35980,"type":596},"The following details the African countries with the greatest contribution to the continent’s natural graphite supply growth, as well as the mines and companies responsible for driving this development.",{"type":615,"attrs":35982,"content":35983},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[35984],{"text":35985,"type":596},"Mozambique is Africa’s largest source of new natural graphite supply in 2025",{"type":591,"attrs":35987,"content":35988},{"textAlign":49},[35989],{"text":35990,"type":596},"Only China is forecast to increase its year-on-year natural graphite production more than Mozambique in absolute terms. The south-east African country is forecast to increase supply by more than 31,000 tonnes in 2025, a 31% year-on-year increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":35992,"content":35993},{"textAlign":49},[35994],{"text":35995,"type":596},"Supply is expected to come from Mozambique’s two operational mines and the opening of Nipepe, owned by DH Mining Development, a Chinese company.",{"type":591,"attrs":35997,"content":35998},{"textAlign":49},[35999,36001,36007],{"text":36000,"type":596},"Balama, owned by Syrah Resources, will be responsible for 75% of the country’s new supply in 2025. In February, the Australian miner secured a ",{"text":36002,"type":596,"marks":36003},"long-term offtake agreement",[36004],{"type":606,"attrs":36005},{"href":36006,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/syrah-posco-offtake-agreement-highlights-appetite-for-ex-china-flake-graphite?_branch_match_id=1544394269247116467&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAAwXBsQqAIBAG4DfSNYJoCGe31jjjStE75Vdw69n7vjhG66u1gfWOQsiSlEGlG2rNlKTZjun8ubgsPuwf%2BGEg6XsF1NkZ2xFRhX%2BLEA4PSAAAAA%3D%3D",{"text":36008,"type":596}," with South Korean anode maker Posco Future M. Syrah Resources will supply up to 60,000 tonnes of natural graphite from the second year to the end of the six-year term.",{"type":591,"attrs":36010,"content":36011},{"textAlign":49},[36012],{"text":36013,"type":596},"The country’s other active mine is Ancuabe I, owned by Graphit Kropfmühl GmbH.",{"type":615,"attrs":36015,"content":36016},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36017],{"text":36018,"type":596},"All of Tanzania’s 2025 supply growth to come from one mine",{"type":591,"attrs":36020,"content":36021},{"textAlign":49},[36022],{"text":36023,"type":596},"Tanzania is forecast to increase its flake graphite production by more than 10,000 tonnes in 2025, a 20% year-on-year increase. All of this new production is expected to come from its Lindi mine, owned by Walkabout Resources, which is expected to double its current output in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":36025,"content":36026},{"textAlign":49},[36027],{"text":36028,"type":596},"Walkabout announced it had shipped the first material from its Lindi mine in June of this year, and made two further sales totalling 800 tonnes in September.",{"type":591,"attrs":36030,"content":36031},{"textAlign":49},[36032],{"text":36033,"type":596},"Tanzania’s other mine, Tanga, is operated by Tanxin Group Mineral Co., but is not expected to increase production next year.",{"type":615,"attrs":36035,"content":36036},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36037],{"text":36038,"type":596},"Madagascar to increase its flake graphite production by 27%",{"type":591,"attrs":36040,"content":36041},{"textAlign":49},[36042],{"text":36043,"type":596},"Madagascar has three operational flake graphite mines with another five in various stages of development. The country is forecast to ramp up flake graphite production by more than a quarter next year, with 84% of this expected to come from NextSource Materials’ Molo – Phase 1 mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":36045,"content":36046},{"textAlign":49},[36047],{"text":36048,"type":596},"The rest of Madagascar’s growth in supply is forecast to come from the Vatomina mine owned by Tirupati Graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36050,"content":36051},{"textAlign":49},[36052],{"text":36053,"type":596},"Etablissements Gallois S.A.s’ Gallois mine is expected to produce more than 10,000 tonnes of graphite in 2025, consistent with its production this year.","Mozambique, Tanzania, and Madagascar are forecast to produce 47% of new graphite supply in 2025, according to Benchmark’s Natural Graphite Forecast. The growth in supply comes from six mines across the three countries with all but one – Nipepe in Mozambique – currently operational. Downstream players are increasingly looking to diversify their sourced material away […]",[36056],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36057},{"job_title":557,"image":36058,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2fed0be4-8049-4496-ae86-bcde1bd6de80\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[36061,36062],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":36064,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":36064,"source":547,"filename":35974,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36065,"is_external_url":51},"Treemap showing new natural graphite supply by country for 2025",{"alt":36064,"title":36064,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29133,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36067,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 14, 2024",{"id":36070,"uuid":36071,"name":36072,"slug":36073,"full_slug":36074,"content":36075},112468760429396,"57b77ec2-e6d3-489f-9430-65368483f055","US cobalt supply chain takes positive steps despite price downturn","us-cobalt-supply-chain-takes-positive-steps-amid-china-driven-price-downturn","article/us-cobalt-supply-chain-takes-positive-steps-amid-china-driven-price-downturn",{"_uid":36076,"date":36077,"tags":36078,"editor":36081,"content":36085,"excerpt":36183,"featured":51,"reporter":36184,"_editable":36188,"component":697,"seo_title":36072,"categories":36189,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":36192,"seo_description":36183,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":36195},"22a5401b-55cf-421f-89eb-e293a037b427","2024-10-11 00:00",[36079,36080],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[36082],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36083},{"job_title":557,"image":36084,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36086},[36087,36092,36097,36102,36107,36112,36117,36122,36132,36137,36142,36147,36160,36165],{"type":591,"attrs":36088,"content":36089},{"textAlign":49},[36090],{"text":36091,"type":596},"Despite a prolonged downturn in cobalt prices, the advancement of a US-focused cobalt supply chain is making positive strides. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36093,"content":36094},{"textAlign":49},[36095],{"text":36096,"type":596},"This week, US Strategic Metals (USSM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Stillwater Critical Minerals, a prospective critical mineral producer with a flagship project in Montana covering cobalt, nickel, and copper. The agreement includes collaboration on technical, lobbying, and marketing efforts between the two companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":36098,"content":36099},{"textAlign":49},[36100],{"text":36101,"type":596},"The MoU follows USSM’s August announcement of its partnership with Glencore and Chilean Cobalt Corp (C3). This collaboration connects copper-cobalt concentrate from C3’s La Cobaltera project in Northern Chile to USSM’s Madison refinery in Missouri",{"type":591,"attrs":36103,"content":36104},{"textAlign":49},[36105],{"text":36106,"type":596},"“The C3-USSM-Glencore deal is an example of a cobalt supply chain that will meet Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) criteria, although output from the asset will be nowhere near enough to cover US EV demand for the metal,” said Will Talbot, principal analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":36108,"content":36109},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36110],{"text":36111,"type":596},"US-centric supply chain under pressure from low prices",{"type":591,"attrs":36113,"content":36114},{"textAlign":49},[36115],{"text":36116,"type":596},"While such partnerships strengthen de-risking efforts, the US is facing significant challenges sourcing sufficient IRA-compliant supply to meet demand projections.",{"type":591,"attrs":36118,"content":36119},{"textAlign":49},[36120],{"text":36121,"type":596},"“Cobalt is of particular risk because so much of its mined and refined production comes not only from countries that are not US free trade agreement (FTA) partners but from assets which – due to significant levels of Chinese ownership – are likely to be considered Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC), meaning that EVs ultimately using their material would not be eligible for subsidies,” said Talbot.",{"type":591,"attrs":36123,"content":36124},{"textAlign":49},[36125,36127],{"text":36126,"type":596},"The cobalt market is struggling under a supply gut, driven by the ramp up of supply at CMOC’s DRC operations, that has resulted in a marked decline in prices, falling by more than 25% year-on-year to their lowest level recorded by Benchmark in Q2, according to the ",{"text":36128,"type":596,"marks":36129},"Cobalt Price Assessment.",[36130],{"type":606,"attrs":36131},{"href":13908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":36133,"content":36134},{"textAlign":49},[36135],{"text":36136,"type":596},"The low price environment is creating challenges for existing projects and disinvesting investment in greenfield projects in FTA regions. Cobalt supply from US and FTA regions is projected to decline by 6% year-on-year in 2024, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":36138,"content":36139},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36140],{"text":36141,"type":596},"Advancing a US cobalt supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":36143,"content":36144},{"textAlign":49},[36145],{"text":36146,"type":596},"The USSM, Glencore, and C3 agreement positions USSM’s Madison refinery as a key domestic cobalt processing site. The announcement suggests that a dedicated processing line for La Cobaltera concentrate could be developed at the Madison site.",{"type":591,"attrs":36148,"content":36149},{"textAlign":49},[36150,36152,36158],{"text":36151,"type":596},"The Madison project is due to begin intial production in 2024, according to the ",{"text":36153,"type":596,"marks":36154},"Benchmark Cobalt Forecast",[36155],{"type":606,"attrs":36156},{"href":36157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/portal/",{"text":36159,"type":596},", ramping up production to 1,500 tonnes per annum by 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":36161,"content":36162},{"textAlign":49},[36163],{"text":36164,"type":596},"In July, Glencore signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with C3 for a potential offtake agreement, covering 100% of cobalt and copper production for an initial five-year period. Located in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) region, supply from La Cobaltera would qualify for tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).",{"type":591,"attrs":36166,"content":36167},{"textAlign":49},[36168,36170,36175,36176,36181],{"text":36169,"type":596},"The agreement is designed to satisfy the conditions of the project financing arrangements agreed by ",{"text":36171,"type":596,"marks":36172},"C3",[36173],{"type":606,"attrs":36174},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":36177,"type":596,"marks":36178},"USSM",[36179],{"type":606,"attrs":36180},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":36182,"type":596}," with the US Export Import Bank (EXIM). Debt finance is provided through EXIM Bank’s China and Transformational Export Program, which aims at assisting US-based companies facing competition from China in strategic sectors such as critical minerals.","Despite a prolonged downturn in cobalt prices, the advancement of a US-focused cobalt supply chain is making positive strides. This week, US Strategic Metals (USSM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Stillwater Critical Minerals, a prospective critical mineral producer with a flagship project in Montana covering cobalt, nickel, and copper. The agreement includes collaboration […]",[36185],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36186},{"job_title":557,"image":36187,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"22a5401b-55cf-421f-89eb-e293a037b427\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[36190,36191],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":36193,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36194,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c2af1d8c4d/bm-us-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 11, 2024",{"id":36197,"uuid":36198,"name":36199,"slug":36200,"full_slug":36201,"content":36202},112468779213656,"93cd75a6-f13f-4346-9966-ed691d69f052","North American rare earth metals projects pave way for magnet manufacturing","north-american-rare-earth-metals-projects-pave-way-for-magnet-manufacturing","article/north-american-rare-earth-metals-projects-pave-way-for-magnet-manufacturing",{"_uid":36203,"date":36204,"tags":36205,"editor":36213,"content":36217,"excerpt":36340,"featured":51,"reporter":36341,"_editable":36345,"component":697,"seo_title":36199,"categories":36346,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":36350,"seo_description":36340,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":36353},"0ab0b34f-2cf7-46c3-9358-9a94e9a7cec8","2024-10-10 00:00",[36206,36209,36210],{"slug":36207,"name":36208},"mp-materials","MP Materials",{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":36211,"name":36212},"saskatchewan-research-council","Saskatchewan Research Council",[36214],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36215},{"job_title":557,"image":36216,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36218},[36219,36224,36229,36234,36239,36244,36249,36260,36265,36270,36275,36280,36285,36290,36295,36300,36305,36310,36315,36320,36325,36330,36335],{"type":591,"attrs":36220,"content":36221},{"textAlign":49},[36222],{"text":36223,"type":596},"Two rare earth metal facilities are set to open this year in the US and Canada, paving the way towards a complete rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) supply chain in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":36225,"content":36226},{"textAlign":49},[36227],{"text":36228,"type":596},"Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) metal plant became the first in Canada to enter commercial production last week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36230,"content":36231},{"textAlign":49},[36232],{"text":36233,"type":596},"Meanwhile in Texas, US miner-processor MP materials is constructing the US’ first major rare earths metals facility, scheduled to open later this year.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":36235,"content":36236},{"textAlign":49},[36237],{"text":36238,"type":596},"“This shows ex-China efforts to build an independent, vertically integrated, and resilient supply chain, from mine to metal, to ensure the downstream supply risk is mitigated,” said senior Benchmark analyst Neha Mukherjee.",{"type":591,"attrs":36240,"content":36241},{"textAlign":49},[36242],{"text":36243,"type":596},"The US has targeted domestic buildout in the higher-value segments of the REPM supply chain, such as metal and magnets production.",{"type":591,"attrs":36245,"content":36246},{"textAlign":49},[36247],{"text":36248,"type":596},"MP CFO Ryan Corbett said in a Benchmark webinar that the Texan plant would be a “critical milestone” for the company that would “mark the beginning of commercial [rare earths] metal production in the United States in a way that hasn’t been done in many, many decades.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36250,"content":36251},{"textAlign":49},[36252,36254,36259],{"text":36253,"type":596},"The main application for rare earth metals are in rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs), essential in growth sectors like EVs. Global REPM demand is set to climb 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2030, driven primarily by the e-mobility and wind energy segments, ",{"text":36255,"type":596,"marks":36256},"according to Benchmark data",[36257],{"type":606,"attrs":36258},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36261,"content":36262},{"textAlign":49},[36263],{"text":36264,"type":596},"The magnets also have uses in industrial motors and consumer electronics, as well as in lower-volume, high-strategy uses like military aircraft. ",{"type":615,"attrs":36266,"content":36267},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36268],{"text":36269,"type":596},"The race for the midstream ",{"type":591,"attrs":36271,"content":36272},{"textAlign":49},[36273],{"text":36274,"type":596},"Without expanding ex-China midstream and downstream capacity, Western-owned rare earths ores and oxides would continue to end up in China for re-export, moving the West’s import dependence down the value chain rather than reducing them.",{"type":591,"attrs":36276,"content":36277},{"textAlign":49},[36278],{"text":36279,"type":596},"SRC and MP’s metal plants are the first results of an ongoing push to re-establish complete rare earths value chains in North America and among trade partner nations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36281,"content":36282},{"textAlign":49},[36283],{"text":36284,"type":596},"The region, alongside Europe, is ramping up investments into capacity for processing rare earth concentrate into oxides, an input for rare earths metals production.",{"type":615,"attrs":36286,"content":36287},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36288],{"text":36289,"type":596},"Integrating and localising Canada’s rare earths supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":36291,"content":36292},{"textAlign":49},[36293],{"text":36294,"type":596},"In Canada, the newly operational Saskatchewan Research Council Rare Earth Processing facility is aiming for a 40 tonne per month metal production target by the end of this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36296,"content":36297},{"textAlign":49},[36298],{"text":36299,"type":596},"Once fully operational in 2025, it is aiming to produce around 400 tonnes of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) metals per year. The plant will also have its own capacity to process rare earth minerals into oxides, inputs for metal production.",{"type":591,"attrs":36301,"content":36302},{"textAlign":49},[36303],{"text":36304,"type":596},"In terms of raw materials, it has an agreement with the Hung Thinh Group to import rare earth carbonate from Vietnam.",{"type":591,"attrs":36306,"content":36307},{"textAlign":49},[36308],{"text":36309,"type":596},"Yet the SRC plant also intends to localise raw materials supply. The company has purchased $3 million worth of stockpiled rare earth material from Vital Metals, a Canadian miner.  The Canadian government also gave a CAD$16 million award to help SRC acquire the capability required to convert Vital’s bastaneseite ores for use in oxide and metal manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36311,"content":36312},{"textAlign":49},[36313],{"text":36314,"type":596},"Owner-operator the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) was established by the province of Saskatchewan in 1947. Its close ties to the provincial government has afforded it a leading position within local and national policy efforts to localise the Canadian rare earths value chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":36316,"content":36317},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36318],{"text":36319,"type":596},"MP’s Texan metal-magnet facility",{"type":591,"attrs":36321,"content":36322},{"textAlign":49},[36323],{"text":36324,"type":596},"Meanwhile in the US, MP Materials is constructing its own rare earths metals facility in Fort Worth, Texas, which will eventually belong to a fully-integrated metal and magnet facility. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36326,"content":36327},{"textAlign":49},[36328],{"text":36329,"type":596},"MP aims to bring its magnet facility into commercial production by the end of 2025, with its products geared towards the EV market. The company has already signed a partnership to supply GM with ex-China REPMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":36331,"content":36332},{"textAlign":49},[36333],{"text":36334,"type":596},"MP is one of just two major integrated Western rare earths miner-processors operating globally. With its planned metal-magnet facility, it would become the first Western company to own a complete mine-to-magnet production line. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36336,"content":36337},{"textAlign":49},[36338],{"text":36339,"type":596},"MP’s mine-to-magnet pipeline has particular potency in today’s context of supply chain localisation and industrial policy revival. Its Mountain Pass mine, which the company acquired and restarted in 2017, was the epicentre of the US rare earths sector when the country was the globally dominant producer during the 1970s and 1980s.","Two rare earth metal facilities are set to open this year in the US and Canada, paving the way towards a complete rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) supply chain in North America. Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) metal plant became the first in Canada to enter commercial production last week. Meanwhile in Texas, US miner-processor MP […]",[36342],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36343},{"job_title":557,"image":36344,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0ab0b34f-2cf7-46c3-9358-9a94e9a7cec8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[36347,36348,36349],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":36351,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36352,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5537c4f740/bm-rare-earth-magnets.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 10, 2024",{"id":36355,"uuid":36356,"name":36357,"slug":36358,"full_slug":36359,"content":36360},112468769850198,"99b2a29e-a002-41bf-8bee-42fd915ad9cc","Argentina challenges Chile for top lithium spot in South America","argentina-challenges-chile-for-top-lithium-spot-in-south-america","article/argentina-challenges-chile-for-top-lithium-spot-in-south-america",{"_uid":36361,"date":36204,"tags":36362,"editor":36366,"content":36370,"excerpt":36591,"featured":51,"reporter":36592,"component":697,"seo_title":36596,"categories":36597,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":36600,"featured_image":36603,"seo_description":36606,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":36353},"4c833efb-5397-4ac7-ae52-f82786d6fb17",[36363,36364,36365],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[36367],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36368},{"job_title":557,"image":36369,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36371},[36372,36396,36409,36414,36427,36433,36438,36443,36448,36467,36472,36477,36482,36494,36499,36504,36509,36514,36519,36524,36529,36534,36539],{"type":591,"attrs":36373,"content":36374},{"textAlign":49},[36375,36381,36383,36387,36389,36395],{"text":36376,"type":596,"marks":36377},"Argentina’s lithium production",[36378],{"type":606,"attrs":36379},{"href":36380,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-javier-mileis-election-in-argentina-mean-for-lithium-mining",{"text":36382,"type":596}," is set to increase 340% between 2024 and 2035 compared to the 56% growth forecast for Chile, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":36384},[36385],{"type":606,"attrs":36386},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":36388,"type":596},". Despite this, Chile is set to maintain its position as the top producer of lithium in ",{"text":36390,"type":596,"marks":36391},"South America",[36392],{"type":606,"attrs":36393},{"href":36394,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/lithium-and-resource-nationalism-shifting-policies-in-chile-and-the-impact-on-lithium-in-south-america",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36397,"content":36398},{"textAlign":49},[36399,36401,36407],{"text":36400,"type":596},"The country is forecast to account for 44% of the region’s lithium production in 2035 ",{"text":36402,"type":596,"marks":36403},"down from 67% this year",[36404],{"type":606,"attrs":36405},{"href":36406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chile-boosts-albemarles-quota-as-country-set-to-lose-lithium-market-share",{"text":36408,"type":596},". Argentina, by contrast, is forecast to see its share of the South American lithium industry rise from 20% this year to 38% in 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":36410,"content":36411},{"textAlign":49},[36412],{"text":36413,"type":596},"Though this could change as Argentina boasts a larger project pipeline than Chile, albeit a less mature one that needs significant investment to come to fruition.",{"type":591,"attrs":36415,"content":36416},{"textAlign":49},[36417,36419,36425],{"text":36418,"type":596},"“Historically, Chile has been more attractive to mining investors due to its stability, whereas Argentina, despite its potential, has been seen as a risky bet,” said Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark. “Although Argentina holds vast resources, including copper and lithium, its lack of judicial and ",{"text":36420,"type":596,"marks":36421},"political stability",[36422],{"type":606,"attrs":36423},{"href":36424,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-what-the-election-of-argentinas-president-milei-means-for-lithium",{"text":36426,"type":596},", high inflation, and fixed currency exchange have deterred investors.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36428,"content":36429},{"textAlign":49},[36430],{"type":836,"attrs":36431},{"id":49,"alt":34453,"src":34454,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":36432},{},{"type":615,"attrs":36434,"content":36435},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36436],{"text":36437,"type":596},"Argentina’s lithium pipeline",{"type":591,"attrs":36439,"content":36440},{"textAlign":49},[36441],{"text":36442,"type":596},"“Argentina has attracted significant financial resources for mining projects, partly due to its untapped potential as a relatively virgin mining region,” Gay said. “The geological conditions of Argentine salars are favourable, and economic benefits have drawn the interest of developers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36444,"content":36445},{"textAlign":49},[36446],{"text":36447,"type":596},"However, unlike Chile, the majority of Argentina’s potential 2030 production is yet to be operational.",{"type":591,"attrs":36449,"content":36450},{"textAlign":49},[36451,36453,36459,36461,36466],{"text":36452,"type":596},"In 2024, the largest lithium project in Argentina is Arcadium’s Hombre Muerto facility in the ",{"text":36454,"type":596,"marks":36455},"Catamarca province",[36456],{"type":606,"attrs":36457},{"href":36458,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/pilbara-minerals-diversifies-lithium-portfolio-with-latin-resources-acquisition",{"text":36460,"type":596},". Rio Tinto recently committed to ",{"text":36462,"type":596,"marks":36463},"acquiring Arcadium for $6.7 billion",[36464],{"type":606,"attrs":36465},{"href":15869,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36468,"content":36469},{"textAlign":49},[36470],{"text":36471,"type":596},"The largest pipeline project not currently in operation is Posco’s Sal de Oro project also in Catamarca. The project has three phases with the first currently under construction and due to come online in 2027.",{"type":615,"attrs":36473,"content":36474},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36475],{"text":36476,"type":596},"Challenges for Argentina to overcome",{"type":591,"attrs":36478,"content":36479},{"textAlign":49},[36480],{"text":36481,"type":596},"Several factors complicate lithium production in Argentina, including geological challenges like lower evaporation rates, higher impurities, and water access issues, according to Gay.",{"type":591,"attrs":36483,"content":36484},{"textAlign":49},[36485,36486,36492],{"text":2936,"type":596},{"text":36487,"type":596,"marks":36488},"Argentina will need to advance DLE",[36489],{"type":606,"attrs":36490},{"href":36491,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eramet-and-tsingshan-open-direct-lithium-extraction-plant-in-argentina",{"text":36493,"type":596}," (Direct Lithium Extraction) technology, which is still pre-commercial, to overcome these obstacles,” Gay said. “Additionally, Argentina faces reputational risks, political uncertainty, and infrastructure limitations in the remote areas where the salars are located.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36495,"content":36496},{"textAlign":49},[36497],{"text":36498,"type":596},"Argentina also suffers from a level of political instability which can bring into question the long-term strength of any laws or policies that the government brings in.",{"type":591,"attrs":36500,"content":36501},{"textAlign":49},[36502],{"text":36503,"type":596},"“Argentina has a history of repealing laws, particularly when a new government from an opposite party comes to power,” Gay said.",{"type":615,"attrs":36505,"content":36506},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36507],{"text":36508,"type":596},"Argentina’s improving mining image",{"type":591,"attrs":36510,"content":36511},{"textAlign":49},[36512],{"text":36513,"type":596},"At Benchmark’s World Tour event in London this week, Luis Lucero, Argentina’s mining minister, told delegates that mining is increasingly important for Argentina’s economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":36515,"content":36516},{"textAlign":49},[36517],{"text":36518,"type":596},"“There’s a shared view by political leadership, both at federal and provincial levels, that mining must be a pillar of economic revival,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":36520,"content":36521},{"textAlign":49},[36522],{"text":36523,"type":596},"Qualifying projects will enjoy a range of benefits including a flat income tax rate of 25% down from 35% for 30 years. Additional incentives such as exemption from export duties after two years are available for investments over US$1 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":36525,"content":36526},{"textAlign":49},[36527],{"text":36528,"type":596},"“The RIGI announcement provides a degree of assurance to investors by addressing many concerns related to Argentina’s erratic policy changes, export duties, and currency instability,” Gay said. “By offering long-term guarantees, RIGI could significantly boost investor confidence and help unlock more of the country’s mining potential.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36530,"content":36531},{"textAlign":49},[36532],{"text":36533,"type":596},"In Argentina, the public perception of mining has been historically challenging. However, Minister Lucero claims this is changing.",{"type":591,"attrs":36535,"content":36536},{"textAlign":49},[36537],{"text":36538,"type":596},"“The public has developed an increasingly favourable perception of the role and importance of mining in the country,” he said. “Mining is no longer viewed with scepticism, but increasingly, as a sector of great potential.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36540,"content":36541},{"textAlign":49},[36542,36546,36552,36556,36561,36565,36572,36577,36581,36587],{"text":13117,"type":596,"marks":36543},[36544,36545],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13122,"type":596,"marks":36547},[36548,36550,36551],{"type":606,"attrs":36549},{"href":13126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13130,"type":596,"marks":36553},[36554,36555],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":36557},[36558,36560],{"type":606,"attrs":36559},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":36562,"type":596,"marks":36563}," providing a detailed outlook of lithium supply, demand, costs and prices to 2050.",[36564],{"type":1006},{"text":36566,"type":596,"marks":36567},"Lithium ESG Report",[36568,36571],{"type":606,"attrs":36569},{"href":36570,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/data-reports/sustainability/",{"type":1006},{"text":36573,"type":596,"marks":36574}," assessing and benchmarking the ESG performance and approach of lithium producers worldwide to enable responsible raw material sourcing.",[36575,36576],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13148,"type":596,"marks":36578},[36579,36580],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":36582},[36583,36585,36586],{"type":606,"attrs":36584},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13161,"type":596,"marks":36588},[36589,36590],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Argentina’s lithium production is set to increase 340% between 2024 and 2035 compared to the 56% growth forecast for Chile, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Despite this, Chile is set to maintain its position as the top producer of lithium in South America. The country is forecast to account for 44% of the region’s lithium […]",[36593],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36594},{"job_title":557,"image":36595,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"Argentina challenges Chile for top lithium...",[36598,36599],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":34453,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34453,"source":547,"filename":36601,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36602,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1728558427/www-production/Chile_Argentina_Supply_wo_yaxis/Chile_Argentina_Supply_wo_yaxis.png?_i=AA",{"alt":34453,"title":34453,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":36604,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36605,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/21f0acec88/bm-olaroz-3.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Argentina’s lithium production is set to increase 340% between 2024 and 2035 compared to the 56% growth forecast for Chile, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"id":36608,"uuid":36609,"name":36610,"slug":36611,"full_slug":36612,"content":36613},112468793643868,"a7a505e4-1a7d-4ff2-9582-5c1b93651b9f","LG Energy Solution to supply Mercedes-Benz North American affiliate","lg-energy-solution-to-supply-mercedes-benz-north-american-affiliate","article/lg-energy-solution-to-supply-mercedes-benz-north-american-affiliate",{"_uid":36614,"date":36615,"tags":36616,"editor":36620,"content":36624,"excerpt":36685,"featured":51,"reporter":36686,"_editable":36690,"component":697,"seo_title":36610,"categories":36691,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":36694,"seo_description":36685,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":36698},"f1d55ddb-10e0-4185-bceb-11df2feb58cc","2024-10-09 00:00",[36617,36618,36619],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":32321,"name":32322},{"slug":572,"name":573},[36621],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36622},{"job_title":557,"image":36623,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36625},[36626,36631,36636,36655,36660,36665,36670,36675,36680],{"type":591,"attrs":36627,"content":36628},{"textAlign":49},[36629],{"text":36630,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution (LGES) has signed a deal to supply electric vehicle (EV) batteries to a Mercedes-Benz affiliate in North America and other regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":36632,"content":36633},{"textAlign":49},[36634],{"text":36635,"type":596},"The South Korean cell maker will supply 50.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries from 2028 to 2038.",{"type":591,"attrs":36637,"content":36638},{"textAlign":49},[36639,36641,36646,36648,36653],{"text":36640,"type":596},"The deal furthers the trend of ",{"text":36642,"type":596,"marks":36643},"South Korean cell manufacturer’s influence in the North American battery market",[36644],{"type":606,"attrs":36645},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":36647,"type":596},". Last month, GM and Samsung ",{"text":36649,"type":596,"marks":36650},"finalised a joint venture US gigafactory deal",[36651],{"type":606,"attrs":36652},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":36654,"type":596},", demonstrating confidence in the long-term demand for EVs in the US.",{"type":615,"attrs":36656,"content":36657},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36658],{"text":36659,"type":596},"What is LGES’ role in the North American battery market?",{"type":591,"attrs":36661,"content":36662},{"textAlign":49},[36663],{"text":36664,"type":596},"LGES is one of the largest cell manufacturers operating in the North American market. This capacity comes from both independent projects and joint ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":36666,"content":36667},{"textAlign":49},[36668],{"text":36669,"type":596},"The South Korean cell manufacturer is able to leverage its battery experience to aid automakers moving into the EV market. US demand for EVs is expected to grow following the implementation of policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).",{"type":591,"attrs":36671,"content":36672},{"textAlign":49},[36673],{"text":36674,"type":596},"“LGES has been a big beneficiary of the IRA. When the IRA was announced the company had one operational plant in the US but now it represents 24% of the country’s 2030  pipeline capacity with two additional plants announced,” said Shivangee Chauhan, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":36676,"content":36677},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36678],{"text":36679,"type":596},"How much does the North American battery market rely on foreign manufacturers?",{"type":591,"attrs":36681,"content":36682},{"textAlign":49},[36683],{"text":36684,"type":596},"The IRA’s Foreign Entity of Concern ownership requirements have sought to derisk the US’ battery supply chain from China. As a result, foreign companies that meet these requirements have invested in US-based production, expanding the country’s gigafactory capacity.","LG Energy Solution (LGES) has signed a deal to supply electric vehicle (EV) batteries to a Mercedes-Benz affiliate in North America and other regions. The South Korean cell maker will supply 50.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries from 2028 to 2038. The deal furthers the trend of South Korean cell manufacturer’s influence in the North American […]",[36687],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36688},{"job_title":557,"image":36689,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f1d55ddb-10e0-4185-bceb-11df2feb58cc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[36692,36693],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":36695,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":36695,"source":547,"filename":36696,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36697,"is_external_url":51},"LGES Ochang South Korea","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8af09dc384/bm-lges-to-supply-mercedesbenz-affiliate.jpg",{"alt":36695,"title":36695,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 09, 2024",{"id":36700,"uuid":36701,"name":36702,"slug":36703,"full_slug":36704,"content":36705},112468788749147,"a48744cb-c3ff-40c9-8afc-ac6fc9845a7d","Rio Tinto commits to buy Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion","rio-tinto-commits-to-buy-arcadium-lithium-for-6-7-billion","article/rio-tinto-commits-to-buy-arcadium-lithium-for-6-7-billion",{"_uid":36706,"date":36615,"tags":36707,"editor":36712,"content":36716,"excerpt":36874,"featured":51,"reporter":36875,"component":697,"seo_title":36702,"categories":36879,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":36882,"featured_image":36884,"seo_description":36886,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":36698},"f695b0b8-2323-458e-b27c-adbfa4b78a3a",[36708,36709,36710,36711],{"slug":23051,"name":23052},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":31098,"name":31099},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},[36713],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36714},{"job_title":557,"image":36715,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36717},[36718,36730,36740,36750,36755,36771,36776,36781,36787,36792,36797,36802,36807,36812,36817,36822,36829,36842,36853,36866],{"type":591,"attrs":36719,"content":36720},{"textAlign":49},[36721,36722,36728],{"text":18366,"type":596},{"text":36723,"type":596,"marks":36724},"Rio Tinto has announced it will acquire Arcadium Lithium",[36725],{"type":606,"attrs":36726},{"href":36727,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-eyes-arcadium-acquisition-to-secure-lithium-presence",{"text":36729,"type":596}," in a cash deal worth $6.7 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":36731,"content":36732},{"textAlign":49},[36733,36735,36739],{"text":36734,"type":596},"Combined, Rio Tinto and Arcadium could become the third largest lithium miner globally by 2030 if their projects come to fruition, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":36736},[36737],{"type":606,"attrs":36738},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36741,"content":36742},{"textAlign":49},[36743,36745,36749],{"text":36744,"type":596},"The counter-cyclical deal comes as lithium prices have fallen by more than 60% over the last 12 months, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":36746},[36747],{"type":606,"attrs":36748},{"href":23578,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36751,"content":36752},{"textAlign":49},[36753],{"text":36754,"type":596},"“Rio is making its move when lithium prices are relatively low,” said Cameron Perks, product director for lithium at Benchmark. “This shows confidence in long-term lithium demand, suggesting that Rio sees the current market conditions as an opportunity rather than a risk.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36756,"content":36757},{"textAlign":49},[36758,36762,36768],{"text":36759,"type":596,"marks":36760},"Read Benchmark’s analysis from when the ",[36761],{"type":1006},{"text":36763,"type":596,"marks":36764},"deal was first proposed here",[36765,36767],{"type":606,"attrs":36766},{"href":36727,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":36769},[36770],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":36772,"content":36773},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36774],{"text":36775,"type":596},"What are the benefits of the acquisition?",{"type":591,"attrs":36777,"content":36778},{"textAlign":49},[36779],{"text":36780,"type":596},"Arcadium is already a top player in the lithium industry through its Hombre Muerto brine project which uses direct lithium extraction in Argentina and through a sizable pipeline of projects in Canada, Argentina and China.",{"type":591,"attrs":36782,"content":36783},{"textAlign":49},[36784],{"type":836,"attrs":36785},{"id":49,"alt":35839,"src":35840,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":36786},{},{"type":591,"attrs":36788,"content":36789},{"textAlign":49},[36790],{"text":36791,"type":596},"“Rio’s expertise in mining and its robust balance sheet will likely enable Arcadium to accelerate its hard-rock lithium projects and expansion plans, as well as its downstream plans in Europe, where Rio already has a presence and relationships with EV-related customers,” Perks said.",{"type":615,"attrs":36793,"content":36794},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36795],{"text":36796,"type":596},"Why is Rio Tinto buying Arcadium now?",{"type":591,"attrs":36798,"content":36799},{"textAlign":49},[36800],{"text":36801,"type":596},"The current low lithium price environment makes Arcadium an attractive takeover target. Perks notes that buying Arcadium now is “certainly a lot cheaper than when lithium prices soared to $80,000 a tonne.”",{"type":591,"attrs":36803,"content":36804},{"textAlign":49},[36805],{"text":36806,"type":596},"“This also indicates that Rio Tinto believes prices may have bottomed out, and that this is a strategic entry point,” he added.",{"type":615,"attrs":36808,"content":36809},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36810],{"text":36811,"type":596},"What is the structure of the deal?",{"type":591,"attrs":36813,"content":36814},{"textAlign":49},[36815],{"text":36816,"type":596},"The deal has already been unanimously approved by the boards of both Rio Tinto and Arcadium. It is expected to close in mid-2025 subject to a 75% approval from Arcadium’s shareholders.",{"type":615,"attrs":36818,"content":36819},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36820],{"text":36821,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s lithium services",{"type":591,"attrs":36823,"content":36824},{"textAlign":49},[36825],{"text":13117,"type":596,"marks":36826},[36827,36828],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":36830,"content":36831},{"textAlign":49},[36832,36838],{"text":13122,"type":596,"marks":36833},[36834,36836,36837],{"type":606,"attrs":36835},{"href":13126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":13130,"type":596,"marks":36839},[36840,36841],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":36843,"content":36844},{"textAlign":49},[36845,36850],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":36846},[36847,36849],{"type":606,"attrs":36848},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":36562,"type":596,"marks":36851},[36852],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":36854,"content":36855},{"textAlign":49},[36856,36862],{"text":36566,"type":596,"marks":36857},[36858,36860,36861],{"type":606,"attrs":36859},{"href":36570,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"text":36573,"type":596,"marks":36863},[36864,36865],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":36867,"content":36868},{"textAlign":49},[36869],{"text":36870,"type":596,"marks":36871},"To learn more, please provide your details here, and our experts will contact you shortly:",[36872,36873],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced it will acquire Arcadium Lithium in a cash deal worth $6.7 billion. Combined, Rio Tinto and Arcadium could become the third largest lithium miner globally by 2030 if their projects come to fruition, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The counter-cyclical deal comes as lithium prices have fallen by more […]",[36876],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36877},{"job_title":557,"image":36878,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[36880,36881],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":35839,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":35839,"source":547,"filename":35840,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36883,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":35839,"title":35839,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":23433,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":36885,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced it will acquire Arcadium Lithium in a cash deal worth $6.7 billion. Combined, Rio Tinto and Arcadium could become the third largest lithium miner globally by 2030",{"id":36888,"uuid":36889,"name":36890,"slug":36891,"full_slug":36892,"content":36893},112468809130847,"4eb079d0-348a-48e6-9343-7b576f92c7fb","Who owns the USA’s gigafactories?","who-owns-the-usas-gigafactories","article/who-owns-the-usas-gigafactories",{"_uid":36894,"date":36895,"tags":36896,"editor":36899,"content":36903,"excerpt":37183,"featured":51,"reporter":37184,"_editable":37188,"component":697,"seo_title":36890,"categories":37189,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":37192,"featured_image":37195,"seo_description":37183,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37197},"461e361d-ea37-4820-988b-c624b5e6461b","2024-10-08 00:00",[36897,36898],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},[36900],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":36901},{"job_title":557,"image":36902,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":36904},[36905,36915,36920,36925,36930,36937,36942,36953,36958,36963,36978,36983,36993,36998,37003,37018,37028,37045,37050,37062,37067,37081,37086,37098,37103,37117,37128,37140,37145,37159,37170],{"type":591,"attrs":36906,"content":36907},{"textAlign":49},[36908,36910,36914],{"text":36909,"type":596},"US companies own just 43% of the country’s 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":36911},[36912],{"type":606,"attrs":36913},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36916,"content":36917},{"textAlign":49},[36918],{"text":36919,"type":596},"The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has had a significant impact on gigafactory buildout in the country, with 2030 pipeline capacity growing 68% and 17 new projects being added since it came into force in July 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":36921,"content":36922},{"textAlign":49},[36923],{"text":36924,"type":596},"The IRA provides a $35 kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for the production of battery cells in the US, making the country more competitive with China where capital intensity is lower and producers benefit from a more vertically integrated supply chain, enabling access to lower cost raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":36926,"content":36927},{"textAlign":49},[36928],{"text":36929,"type":596},"“The IRA has been transformational in how we forecast and see costs by the end of this decade,” said Shivangee Chauhan, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":36931,"content":36932},{"textAlign":49},[36933],{"type":836,"attrs":36934},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":36935,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":36936},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/afa964598d/bm-who-owns-us-gigafactories.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":36938,"content":36939},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36940],{"text":36941,"type":596},"The five companies with the highest US-based 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":36943,"content":36944},{"textAlign":49},[36945,36947,36951],{"text":36946,"type":596},"North American demand for cells is forecast to triple by 2030, according to Benchmark’s  ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":36948},[36949],{"type":606,"attrs":36950},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":36952,"type":596},". Combined with IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) incentives, many companies are prioritising expanding gigafactory capacity in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":36954,"content":36955},{"textAlign":49},[36956],{"text":36957,"type":596},"Here are the five companies with the highest US-based 2030 gigafactory pipeline capacity:",{"type":615,"attrs":36959,"content":36960},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[36961],{"text":36962,"type":596},"1. Tesla ",{"type":591,"attrs":36964,"content":36965},{"textAlign":49},[36966,36970,36974],{"text":36967,"type":596,"marks":36968},"Headquarters: US",[36969],{"type":1006},{"text":36971,"type":596,"marks":36972},"2030 US-based pipeline capacity: 309 GWh",[36973],{"type":1006},{"text":36975,"type":596,"marks":36976},"Number of US gigafactories in production or development: Four",[36977],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":36979,"content":36980},{"textAlign":49},[36981],{"text":36982,"type":596},"Tesla is responsible for the bulk of US-owned 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity, comprising 309 gigawatt-hour (GWh), comprising over half of the nation’s gigafactory capacity in production or development.",{"type":591,"attrs":36984,"content":36985},{"textAlign":49},[36986,36988,36992],{"text":36987,"type":596},"The automaker began battery production in the US in 2017 at Gigafactory 1, its joint venture project with Panasonic which is operated by the Japanese electronics company. The company has ramped up production since then and is expected to have 149 GWh of US-based capacity in 2025, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":36989},[36990],{"type":606,"attrs":36991},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":36994,"content":36995},{"textAlign":49},[36996],{"text":36997,"type":596},"Tesla is expanding overseas and is expected to begin production from its gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany next year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":36999,"content":37000},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37001],{"text":37002,"type":596},"2. LG Energy Solution",{"type":591,"attrs":37004,"content":37005},{"textAlign":49},[37006,37010,37014],{"text":37007,"type":596,"marks":37008},"Headquarters: South Korea",[37009],{"type":1006},{"text":37011,"type":596,"marks":37012},"2030 US-based pipeline capacity: 302 GWh",[37013],{"type":1006},{"text":37015,"type":596,"marks":37016},"Number of US gigafactories in production or development: Seven",[37017],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37019,"content":37020},{"textAlign":49},[37021,37023,37027],{"text":37022,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution (LGES) is expected to more than double its US-based capacity this decade to just over 300 GWh, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":37024},[37025],{"type":606,"attrs":37026},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37029,"content":37030},{"textAlign":49},[37031,37033,37038,37040,37044],{"text":37032,"type":596},"South Korean cell manufacturers are increasingly ",{"text":37034,"type":596,"marks":37035},"partnering with US automakers",[37036],{"type":606,"attrs":37037},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37039,"type":596}," on joint venture gigafactory projects, with four of the ten gigafactories expected to begin production in the US by 2030 being partnerships of this kind, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":37041},[37042],{"type":606,"attrs":37043},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37046,"content":37047},{"textAlign":49},[37048],{"text":37049,"type":596},"LGES’ two operational US gigafactories are joint ventures with General Motors, one located in Spring Hill, Tennessee and one in Warren, Ohio.",{"type":591,"attrs":37051,"content":37052},{"textAlign":49},[37053,37055,37060],{"text":37054,"type":596},"LGES is primarily focused on mid-and high-nickel cathodes, but has some lithium iron phosphate (LFP) production at its Michigan facility. In July, the company agreed to ",{"text":37056,"type":596,"marks":37057},"supply Ampere with LFP batteries",[37058],{"type":606,"attrs":37059},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37061,"type":596}," for five years, with a total capacity of 39 GWh.",{"type":615,"attrs":37063,"content":37064},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37065],{"text":37066,"type":596},"3. SK Innovation ",{"type":591,"attrs":37068,"content":37069},{"textAlign":49},[37070,37073,37077],{"text":37007,"type":596,"marks":37071},[37072],{"type":1006},{"text":37074,"type":596,"marks":37075},"2030 US-based pipeline capacity: 196 GWh",[37076],{"type":1006},{"text":37078,"type":596,"marks":37079},"Number of US gigafactories in production or development: Six",[37080],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37082,"content":37083},{"textAlign":49},[37084],{"text":37085,"type":596},"SK Innovation’s gigafactory capacity build out shows similar geographic prioritisation to LGES, with US capacity more than doubling by 2030 whilst Chinese capacity increases by around a third.",{"type":591,"attrs":37087,"content":37088},{"textAlign":49},[37089,37091,37096],{"text":37090,"type":596},"South Korean and Japanese cell manufacturers have ",{"text":37092,"type":596,"marks":37093},"prioritised ramping up North American production",[37094],{"type":606,"attrs":37095},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37097,"type":596}," over Asian projects. Cell demand in the North American market is forecast to be almost double that of the APAC ex-China region in 2030. ",{"type":615,"attrs":37099,"content":37100},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37101],{"text":37102,"type":596},"4. Samsung ",{"type":591,"attrs":37104,"content":37105},{"textAlign":49},[37106,37109,37113],{"text":37007,"type":596,"marks":37107},[37108],{"type":1006},{"text":37110,"type":596,"marks":37111},"2030 US-based pipeline capacity: 103 GWh",[37112],{"type":1006},{"text":37114,"type":596,"marks":37115},"Number of US gigafactories in production or development: Three",[37116],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37118,"content":37119},{"textAlign":49},[37120,37122,37126],{"text":37121,"type":596},"Samsung is expected to produce its first batteries in the US from its Kokomo, Indiana facility next year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":37123},[37124],{"type":606,"attrs":37125},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37127,"type":596},". The company is forecast to more than quadruple its US capacity by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":37129,"content":37130},{"textAlign":49},[37131,37133,37138],{"text":37132,"type":596},"In August, ",{"text":37134,"type":596,"marks":37135},"Samsung finalised its agreement with General Motors",[37136],{"type":606,"attrs":37137},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37139,"type":596}," for a joint venture gigafactory in Indiana, US. The $3.5 billion deal will develop a 27 GWh facility that could be expanded to 36 GWh.",{"type":615,"attrs":37141,"content":37142},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37143],{"text":37144,"type":596},"5. Envision ",{"type":591,"attrs":37146,"content":37147},{"textAlign":49},[37148,37152,37156],{"text":37149,"type":596,"marks":37150},"Headquarters: China",[37151],{"type":1006},{"text":37153,"type":596,"marks":37154},"2030 US-based pipeline capacity: 85 GWh",[37155],{"type":1006},{"text":37114,"type":596,"marks":37157},[37158],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37160,"content":37161},{"textAlign":49},[37162,37164,37168],{"text":37163,"type":596},"Of Envision’s five projects expected to begin production by 2030, four are located in the US and Europe with the other based in China. Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":37165},[37166],{"type":606,"attrs":37167},{"href":31926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37169,"type":596}," shows the company’s capacity will be more international by the end of the decade, as it increases US gigafactory capacity fivefold, quadrupes European capacity, and more than doubles its Asia ex-China capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37171,"content":37172},{"textAlign":49},[37173,37175,37181],{"text":37174,"type":596},"Gotion is the only other Chinese company that is the primary owner of a US gigafactory with its Manteno, Illinois facility expected to begin production in 2025. There is also ",{"text":37176,"type":596,"marks":37177},"Ford’s joint venture with CATL",[37178],{"type":606,"attrs":37179},{"href":37180,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-to-build-3-5-billion-us-lfp-battery-plant-using-catl-technology?_branch_match_id=1544394147155095977&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWT87LqjI3zs%2FJ9U%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAKdS2rkgAAAA%3D",{"text":37182,"type":596}," which plans to produce LFP cells from its Michigan facility using “knowledge and services provided by CATL,” according to a statement by Ford.","US companies own just 43% of the country’s 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has had a significant impact on gigafactory buildout in the country, with 2030 pipeline capacity growing 68% and 17 new projects being added since it came into force in July 2022. The IRA […]",[37185],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37186},{"job_title":557,"image":37187,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"461e361d-ea37-4820-988b-c624b5e6461b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[37190,37191],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":37193,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":37193,"source":547,"filename":36935,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37194,"is_external_url":51},"Treemap showing US-based gigafactory capacity by the country of the primary owner. The largest segment is the US (43%) and the second largest is South Korea (36%)",{"alt":37193,"title":37193,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":32430,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37196,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 08, 2024",{"id":37199,"uuid":37200,"name":37201,"slug":37202,"full_slug":37203,"content":37204},112468803847006,"23ce69e3-45e3-4dea-8277-8efe570295a0","How lithium ion batteries keep getting cheaper","how-lithium-ion-batteries-keep-getting-cheaper","article/how-lithium-ion-batteries-keep-getting-cheaper",{"_uid":37205,"date":36895,"tags":37206,"editor":37210,"content":37214,"excerpt":37260,"featured":51,"reporter":37261,"component":697,"seo_title":37201,"categories":37265,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":37268,"featured_image":37271,"seo_description":37260,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37197},"e04fb506-03e1-4d3c-b2f0-403915e738ad",[37207,37208,37209],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},[37211],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37212},{"job_title":557,"image":37213,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37215},[37216,37226,37236,37239,37250,37255],{"type":591,"attrs":37217,"content":37218},{"textAlign":49},[37219,37224],{"text":37220,"type":596,"marks":37221},"Lithium ion batteries",[37222],{"type":606,"attrs":37223},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":37225,"type":596}," are a business of scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37227,"content":37228},{"textAlign":49},[37229,37234],{"text":37230,"type":596,"marks":37231},"Cell prices",[37232],{"type":606,"attrs":37233},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":37235,"type":596}," have fallen 73% since 2014, as higher production volumes, technological advancements, and falling raw material costs have allowed battery makers to achieve significant cost savings in the manufacturing process.",{"type":591,"attrs":37237,"content":37238},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":37240,"content":37241},{"textAlign":49},[37242,37244,37248],{"text":37243,"type":596},"Since 2014, there has been a rapid expansion of cell manufacturing capacity around the world, backed by accelerating ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":37245},[37246],{"type":606,"attrs":37247},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":37249,"type":596}," deployment rates and the introduction of supportive policy regimes in China, Europe, and North America. The cost advantages of large-scale cell production saw prices drop consistently to $100 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the first time in 2021, the point at which EVs approach cost parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37251,"content":37252},{"textAlign":49},[37253],{"text":37254,"type":596},"The downtrend did experience a brief reversal in fortunes, recording the first year-on-year increase in 2022, as lithium prices underwent a record-breaking rally. As economies of scale are achieved, cell production costs have become increasingly exposed to battery raw material price volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":37256,"content":37257},{"textAlign":49},[37258],{"text":37259,"type":596},"The battery industry entered the terawatt hour era in 2023, with Benchmark tracking 237 operational gigafactories. The prevailing low price environment for battery mineral prices has corresponded to cell prices falling to their lowest recorded levels in 2024 – averaging $78/kWh.","Lithium ion batteries are a business of scale. Cell prices have fallen 73% since 2014, as higher production volumes, technological advancements, and falling raw material costs have allowed battery makers to achieve significant cost savings in the manufacturing process. Since 2014, there has been a rapid expansion of cell manufacturing capacity around the world, backed […]",[37262],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37263},{"job_title":557,"image":37264,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[37266,37267],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":37269,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37270,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1728477365/www-production/Benchmark_5_Lithium-Prices-2013-2023_Voronoi_10082024/Benchmark_5_Lithium-Prices-2013-2023_Voronoi_10082024.jpg?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":37272,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":37272,"source":547,"filename":37273,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37274,"is_external_url":51},"EV battery pack on production line","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b1159c5f37/bm-ev-battery-pack-on-production-line.jpg",{"alt":37272,"title":37272,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":37276,"uuid":37277,"name":37278,"slug":37279,"full_slug":37280,"content":37281},112468798530397,"c6690d0c-8ff6-459a-a73b-aa01c5e44ec9","Indonesia tightens nickel policies amid resource depletion concerns","indonesia-tightens-nickel-policies-amid-resource-depletion-concerns","article/indonesia-tightens-nickel-policies-amid-resource-depletion-concerns",{"_uid":37282,"date":36895,"tags":37283,"editor":37286,"content":37290,"excerpt":37407,"featured":51,"reporter":37408,"_editable":37412,"component":697,"seo_title":37278,"categories":37413,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":37418,"seo_description":37407,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37197},"789cc9d1-0fdf-47bc-8a0b-1ba46968aa62",[37284,37285],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[37287],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37288},{"job_title":557,"image":37289,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37291},[37292,37297,37302,37307,37312,37317,37322,37331,37342,37349,37354,37359,37370,37375,37380,37385,37390,37397,37402],{"type":591,"attrs":37293,"content":37294},{"textAlign":49},[37295],{"text":37296,"type":596},"Indonesia is implementing stricter measures to manage its nickel resources, to safeguard long-term economic opportunity and improve environmental standards for its sprawling nickel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":37298,"content":37299},{"textAlign":49},[37300],{"text":37301,"type":596},"Although officials argue that the country’s high-grade saprolite reserves are due to last until 2035, with lower-grade (limonite) nickel supply extending to 2069, the Indonesia Nickel Miners Association (APNI) has warned that high grade reserves could be depleted in as little as six years.",{"type":591,"attrs":37303,"content":37304},{"textAlign":49},[37305],{"text":37306,"type":596},"To address concerns that overproduction could lead to premature resource depletion, the Indonesian government proposed a moratorium on new rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) smelters that produce nickel pig iron (NPI) and ferronickel (FeNi) in August. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37308,"content":37309},{"textAlign":49},[37310],{"text":37311,"type":596},"“Indonesia is seeking to balance short-term industrial demand with its long-term ambitions to develop a full domestic battery supply chain,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":37313,"content":37314},{"textAlign":49},[37315],{"text":37316,"type":596},"“We expect future supply growth will be dictated by the government’s desire to strike a balance between increasing market share, maintaining some profitable margins, and sustainably extracting finite resources,” he added.",{"type":615,"attrs":37318,"content":37319},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37320],{"text":37321,"type":596},"Domestic ore tightness",{"type":591,"attrs":37323,"content":37324},{"textAlign":49},[37325,37327],{"text":37326,"type":596},"Since the implementation of a nickel ore export ban in 2020, investment in downstream capacity has seen Indonesia’s nickel supply more than double to over 2 million tonnes. The region now accounts for over half of global refined output, according to the ",{"text":23732,"type":596,"marks":37328},[37329],{"type":606,"attrs":37330},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":37332,"content":37333},{"textAlign":49},[37334,37336],{"text":37335,"type":596},"Its rapid growth is raising concerns that overproduction is causing premature depletion of reserves and harming the local environment, ",{"text":37337,"type":596,"marks":37338},"resulting in the government delaying the approval of new mining quotas in 2024.",[37339],{"type":606,"attrs":37340},{"href":37341,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-will-indonesias-mining-quotas-affect-the-nickel-market?_branch_match_id=1544394183961946461&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0rNS87ITSzKzs3MSy1KzCnWSywo0MvJzMvWL%2FAyyCvN8jMp9E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAgGYOxUgAAAA%3D",{"type":591,"attrs":37343,"content":37344},{"textAlign":49},[37345],{"type":836,"attrs":37346},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":37347,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":37348},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ffbcf5af10/bm-image-71-1325557b0103.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":37350,"content":37351},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37352],{"text":37353,"type":596},"Supply pipeline pivots towards batteries",{"type":591,"attrs":37355,"content":37356},{"textAlign":49},[37357],{"text":37358,"type":596},"Indonesia’s supply pipeline is increasingly shifting towards products aimed at the lithium ion battery industry. HPAL facilities are viewed as crucial to maximising the long-term economic opportunity presented by this fast-growing industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":37360,"content":37361},{"textAlign":49},[37362,37364,37368],{"text":37363,"type":596},"Beyond 2030, ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":37365},[37366],{"type":606,"attrs":37367},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":37369,"type":596},"’s outlook for HPAL nickel supply has risen more than six-fold compared to Q3 2022 projections, driven by the rapid proliferation of the technology in the region. Benchmark is now tracking 37 HPAL projects in Indonesia, with supply expected to reach 1.5 Mt by 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":37371,"content":37372},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37373],{"text":37374,"type":596},"How long can Indonesia’s reserves last?",{"type":591,"attrs":37376,"content":37377},{"textAlign":49},[37378],{"text":37379,"type":596},"Utilising 2022 Reserves and Resources data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and current supply estimates, Benchmark has analysed the depletion timeline for the Indonesia’s saprolite and limonite nickel reserves",{"type":591,"attrs":37381,"content":37382},{"textAlign":49},[37383],{"text":37384,"type":596},"“Based on current supply assumptions and assuming no further expansion through exploration, high-grade saprolite reserves are projected to last another 13 years, with depletion expected by 2038,” said Uzcategui.",{"type":591,"attrs":37386,"content":37387},{"textAlign":49},[37388],{"text":37389,"type":596},"“The more abundant limonite reserves, on the other hand, are estimated to hold out for at least 18 more years,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":37391,"content":37392},{"textAlign":49},[37393],{"type":836,"attrs":37394},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":37395,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":37396},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeJh-YPx2N3CawM4y1g-U4Jy2RHpQLrbNHUCprfJ7s9a8WON0niNeBlGIWek98QUjdcTYhiApYRq2g3KuKRB02BaGmlNpg7ltloJX4VC563hBV2Idlc6mde_RnJkzbfpptR4TDpCEmGbRNQEO6LyXlTNI5s?key=MYuVVFc8-k3NejRS7cenlw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":37398,"content":37399},{"textAlign":49},[37400],{"text":37401,"type":596},"Once Measured and Indicated (M&I) Resources are taken into consideration, the analysis indicates that saprolite production could be extended by just one additional year, pushing depletion to 2039. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37403,"content":37404},{"textAlign":49},[37405],{"text":37406,"type":596},"However, from an M&I resource perspective, limonite ores could sustain production for another 44 years, with depletion not expected until 2069 – in line estimates provided by Indonesian government officials.","Indonesia is implementing stricter measures to manage its nickel resources, to safeguard long-term economic opportunity and improve environmental standards for its sprawling nickel industry. Although officials argue that the country’s high-grade saprolite reserves are due to last until 2035, with lower-grade (limonite) nickel supply extending to 2069, the Indonesia Nickel Miners Association (APNI) has warned […]",[37409],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37410},{"job_title":557,"image":37411,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"789cc9d1-0fdf-47bc-8a0b-1ba46968aa62\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[37414,37415,37416,37417],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":13752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":13752,"source":547,"filename":13753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37419,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":13752,"title":13752,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":37421,"uuid":37422,"name":37423,"slug":37424,"full_slug":37425,"content":37426},112468843934566,"20bf1cf6-4526-4af6-a003-34c158e6f867","Benchmark begins public consultation on updates to all price assessment methodologies regarding the publication rights of assessments","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-updates-to-all-price-assessment-methodologies-regarding-the-publication-rights-of-assessments","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-updates-to-all-price-assessment-methodologies-regarding-the-publication-rights-of-assessments",{"_uid":37427,"date":37428,"tags":37429,"editor":37432,"content":37436,"excerpt":37464,"featured":50,"reporter":37465,"component":697,"seo_title":37423,"categories":37469,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":37471,"seo_description":37464,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37474},"fdd192b7-5bf6-4568-b8d9-d869bede970a","2024-10-03 00:00",[37430,37431],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[37433],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37434},{"job_title":557,"image":37435,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37437},[37438,37449,37454,37459],{"type":591,"attrs":37439,"content":37440},{"textAlign":49},[37441,37443,37447],{"text":37442,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation regarding the publication rights of assessments across all of its price assessment methodologies: lithium, nickel, cobalt, natural graphite, synthetic graphite, black mass, rare earths, anode, cathode, ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":37444},[37445],{"type":606,"attrs":37446},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":37448,"type":596}," cells, manganese and electrolyte.",{"type":591,"attrs":37450,"content":37451},{"textAlign":49},[37452],{"text":37453,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes that it will reserve the right to temporarily alter publishing dates, for example during UK national holidays, subject to providing the market with 30 days notice via email.",{"type":591,"attrs":37455,"content":37456},{"textAlign":49},[37457],{"text":37458,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 4 November 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":37460,"content":37461},{"textAlign":49},[37462],{"text":37463,"type":596},"Please contact any Benchmark team member with feedback or email prices@benchmarkminerals.com.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation regarding the publication rights of assessments across all of its price assessment methodologies: lithium, nickel, cobalt, natural graphite, synthetic graphite, black mass, rare earths, anode, cathode, lithium ion battery cells, manganese and electrolyte. Benchmark proposes that it will reserve the right to […]",[37466],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37467},{"job_title":557,"image":37468,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[37470],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":37472,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37473,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d9c10e81db/bm-launch-collage-3.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 03, 2024",{"id":37476,"uuid":37477,"name":37478,"slug":37479,"full_slug":37480,"content":37481},112468839109477,"c81ee9f0-3576-47b3-82da-a53eaec8bf15","South Korean companies drive expected US battery supply growth","south-korean-companies-drive-expected-us-battery-supply-growth","article/south-korean-companies-drive-expected-us-battery-supply-growth",{"_uid":37482,"date":37428,"tags":37483,"editor":37487,"content":37491,"excerpt":37563,"featured":51,"reporter":37564,"_editable":37568,"component":697,"seo_title":37478,"categories":37569,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":37572,"featured_image":37576,"seo_description":37563,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37474},"a23f3f99-c93c-4fd9-8bb6-b314f0e6b6e4",[37484,37485,37486],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[37488],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37489},{"job_title":557,"image":37490,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37492},[37493,37503,37508,37512,37516,37523,37528,37533,37543,37548,37558],{"type":591,"attrs":37494,"content":37495},{"textAlign":49},[37496,37498,37502],{"text":37497,"type":596},"South Korean-owned gigafactories will account for 43% of the growth in US battery production over the next five years, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":37499},[37500],{"type":606,"attrs":37501},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37504,"content":37505},{"textAlign":49},[37506],{"text":37507,"type":596},"Incentivised by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), total US-based battery supply is forecast to increase ninefold by 2029. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37509,"content":37510},{"textAlign":49},[37511],{"text":31987,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37513,"content":37514},{"textAlign":49},[37515],{"text":31992,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37517,"content":37518},{"textAlign":49},[37519],{"type":836,"attrs":37520},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":37521,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":37522},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d707b0ec2c/bm-the-majority-of-us-battery-supply-growth-comes-from-foreign-owned-projects.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":37524,"content":37525},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37526],{"text":37527,"type":596},"Overseas investment in US battery production",{"type":615,"attrs":37529,"content":37530},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37531],{"text":37532,"type":596},"South Korean cell manufacturers and US automakers",{"type":591,"attrs":37534,"content":37535},{"textAlign":49},[37536,37538,37542],{"text":37537,"type":596},"South Korean companies are the primary driver of the growth in foreign-owned projects in the US. Of the 10 new gigafactories expected to begin production by 2030, four are joint ventures between South Korean cell manufacturers and US automakers, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":37539},[37540],{"type":606,"attrs":37541},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37544,"content":37545},{"textAlign":49},[37546],{"text":37547,"type":596},"“By partnering with US automakers to build gigafactories, both parties benefit as automakers secure a reliable supply of batteries for their growing EV production, while battery manufacturers secure demand for their cells,” said Waid.",{"type":591,"attrs":37549,"content":37550},{"textAlign":49},[37551,37553,37557],{"text":37552,"type":596},"Production from South Korean companies in the US is forecast to increase more than 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":37554},[37555],{"type":606,"attrs":37556},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37559,"content":37560},{"textAlign":49},[37561],{"text":37562,"type":596},"US automakers benefit from the scale and expertise of established South Korean cell manufacturers when partnering on domestic battery projects.","South Korean-owned gigafactories will account for 43% of the growth in US battery production over the next five years, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. Incentivised by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), total US-based battery supply is forecast to increase ninefold by 2029. “Technological capabilities and the reliable, established production processes of South Korean […]",[37565],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37566},{"job_title":557,"image":37567,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a23f3f99-c93c-4fd9-8bb6-b314f0e6b6e4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[37570,37571],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":37573,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":37573,"source":547,"filename":37574,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37575,"is_external_url":51},"Stacked column chart showing primary ownership of US battery production in 2024 and 2029 - the majority of growth comes from foreign-owned projects, South Korean in particular","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1727874085/www-production/The-majority-of-US-battery-supply-growth-comes-from-foreign-owned-projects-1_1325169b517e/The-majority-of-US-battery-supply-growth-comes-from-foreign-owned-projects-1_1325169b517e.png?_i=AA",{"alt":37573,"title":37573,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":37577,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37578,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/161c6e7819/bm-south-korean-companies-drive-expected-us-battery-supply-growth.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":37580,"uuid":37581,"name":37582,"slug":37583,"full_slug":37584,"content":37585},112468834399076,"87f797a8-8713-4e11-bc1b-d0d221ee5c5c","Europe’s last shot: Can Europe act fast enough to compete in the battery supply chain?","europes-last-shot-can-europe-act-fast-enough-to-compete-in-the-battery-supply-chain","article/europes-last-shot-can-europe-act-fast-enough-to-compete-in-the-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":37586,"date":37428,"tags":37587,"editor":37590,"content":37594,"excerpt":37791,"featured":51,"reporter":37792,"_editable":37796,"component":697,"seo_title":37582,"categories":37797,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":37801,"seo_description":37791,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37474},"cb8cfebd-8b0b-44eb-a4f7-60929fa7fbfe",[37588,37589],{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[37591],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37592},{"job_title":557,"image":37593,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37595},[37596,37608,37621,37626,37631,37636,37654,37659,37664,37669,37674,37679,37689,37694,37707,37712,37717,37722,37727,37732,37740,37753,37758,37763,37776,37781,37786],{"type":591,"attrs":37597,"content":37598},{"textAlign":49},[37599,37601,37606],{"text":37600,"type":596},"Political change in the ",{"text":10713,"type":596,"marks":37602},[37603],{"type":606,"attrs":37604},{"href":37605,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/european-union?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags[]=european-union",{"text":37607,"type":596}," has brought about a shift in priorities for the bloc, with climate no longer taking the whole spotlight.",{"type":591,"attrs":37609,"content":37610},{"textAlign":49},[37611,37613,37619],{"text":37612,"type":596},"During a ",{"text":37614,"type":596,"marks":37615},"Benchmark webinar last month",[37616],{"type":606,"attrs":37617},{"href":37618,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/presentations/1324781",{"text":37620,"type":596},", Bryan Bille, a policy analyst at Benchmark, outlined that in addition to climate, policies associated with the battery supply chain will have to also emphasise competitiveness and security.",{"type":591,"attrs":37622,"content":37623},{"textAlign":49},[37624],{"text":37625,"type":596},"“More attention will be given to economic security and the competitiveness of European companies, especially vis-à-vis China and the United States,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":37627,"content":37628},{"textAlign":49},[37629],{"text":37630,"type":596},"China is already many steps ahead of Europe in the battery supply chain and the US’ Inflation Reduction Act has incentivised much investment in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":37632,"content":37633},{"textAlign":49},[37634],{"text":37635,"type":596},"“Europe has one last shot to make it work over the next two years,” Chris Heron, the secretary general of the European Association for Electromobility, said during the webinar. “Otherwise that door might close and some of these value chains will be populated elsewhere.”",{"type":591,"attrs":37637,"content":37638},{"textAlign":49},[37639,37643,37650],{"text":37640,"type":596,"marks":37641},"Watch ",[37642],{"type":1006},{"text":37644,"type":596,"marks":37645},"Benchmark’s latest policy webinar",[37646,37649],{"type":606,"attrs":37647},{"href":37648,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/what-would-political-change-in-europe-mean-for-the-energy-transition",{"type":1006},{"text":37651,"type":596,"marks":37652}," on how political change could impact European and British battery supply chains.",[37653],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37655,"content":37656},{"textAlign":49},[37657],{"text":37658,"type":596},"Here Benchmark Source outlines the shifting political priorities for the new European Parliament.",{"type":615,"attrs":37660,"content":37661},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37662],{"text":37663,"type":596},"Green industrial competitiveness is key for Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":37665,"content":37666},{"textAlign":49},[37667],{"text":37668,"type":596},"Fostering the green industrial competitiveness of European companies, especially compared to China and the US, is a key priority for the next European Commission.",{"type":591,"attrs":37670,"content":37671},{"textAlign":49},[37672],{"text":37673,"type":596},"Chris Heron, the secretary general of the European Association for Electromobility, said during the webinar that there is a “real urgency” in Brussels about Europe’s industrial competitiveness.",{"type":591,"attrs":37675,"content":37676},{"textAlign":49},[37677],{"text":37678,"type":596},"“What unifies everything is a focus on competitiveness,” he said. “We have to show that competitiveness and the battery supply chain go hand in hand, and they need to if we’re to make a success with this E-mobility transition.”",{"type":591,"attrs":37680,"content":37681},{"textAlign":49},[37682,37684,37688],{"text":37683,"type":596},"China dominates the majority of the battery supply chain, accounting for 85% of the batteries forecast to be produced this year, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":37685},[37686],{"type":606,"attrs":37687},{"href":22841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37690,"content":37691},{"textAlign":49},[37692],{"text":37693,"type":596},"However, Heron emphasised that more is needed to close the “competitiveness gap” between Europe and China and that the EU lacks the incentives à la the Inflation Reduction Act to help bring costs down.",{"type":591,"attrs":37695,"content":37696},{"textAlign":49},[37697,37699,37705],{"text":37698,"type":596},"Although there is a move towards ",{"text":37700,"type":596,"marks":37701},"imposing more tariffs on goods imported from China",[37702],{"type":606,"attrs":37703},{"href":37704,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-anti-subsidy-probe-results-in-almost-50-tariffs-on-chinese-ev-imports",{"text":37706,"type":596},", the expansive knowledge base on Chinese companies could be vital to building out a competitive European supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":37708,"content":37709},{"textAlign":49},[37710],{"text":37711,"type":596},"However, Heron cautioned that, “[Europe needs to] make sure that Chinese investments happen on the right terms.”",{"type":615,"attrs":37713,"content":37714},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37715],{"text":37716,"type":596},"Supply chain security is a priority",{"type":591,"attrs":37718,"content":37719},{"textAlign":49},[37720],{"text":37721,"type":596},"Derisking Europe’s relationship with China and other countries could bring supply chain security improvements as well as increased competitiveness.",{"type":591,"attrs":37723,"content":37724},{"textAlign":49},[37725],{"text":37726,"type":596},"Currently, the EU is highly dependent on imports for all stages of the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":37728,"content":37729},{"textAlign":49},[37730],{"text":37731,"type":596},"France, in particular, is making headway in developing its battery industry. In 2020, France’s pipeline capacity to 2030 was 24 gigawatt-hours (GWh), today the pipeline is 162 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":37733,"content":37734},{"textAlign":49},[37735],{"type":836,"attrs":37736},{"id":49,"alt":37737,"src":37738,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":37739},"European battery demand outstrips domestic supply","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/12c07abb32/bm-european-cell-supply-and-demand.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":37741,"content":37742},{"textAlign":49},[37743,37745,37751],{"text":37744,"type":596},"A ",{"text":37746,"type":596,"marks":37747},"cathode active material production facility",[37748],{"type":606,"attrs":37749},{"href":37750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-xtc-and-orano-strike-e1-5-billion-deal-for-frances-first-cathode-production",{"text":37752,"type":596}," is in development with a Tier 1 Chinese partner in Hauts-de-France, an emerging battery industry hub. However more midstream investment is needed in Europe to ensure a secure, domestic supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":37754,"content":37755},{"textAlign":49},[37756],{"text":37757,"type":596},"“The European planned capacity for cathode, anode and precursor material is not enough to supply the region’s demands,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark, during the webinar.",{"type":615,"attrs":37759,"content":37760},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37761],{"text":37762,"type":596},"Climate is still on the agenda",{"type":591,"attrs":37764,"content":37765},{"textAlign":49},[37766,37768,37774],{"text":37767,"type":596},"The makeup of the ",{"text":37769,"type":596,"marks":37770},"European Parliament shifted towards the right",[37771],{"type":606,"attrs":37772},{"href":37773,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-do-the-eu-election-results-mean-for-the-battery-industry",{"text":37775,"type":596}," in the last election, bringing in a larger number of parties for whom climate change is not a major concern.",{"type":591,"attrs":37777,"content":37778},{"textAlign":49},[37779],{"text":37780,"type":596},"“You’ve got an electoral threat from climate sceptic parties in the European Parliament,” Bille said. “Climate policy is no longer the sole or the biggest policy priority.”",{"type":591,"attrs":37782,"content":37783},{"textAlign":49},[37784],{"text":37785,"type":596},"However, Bille expects the EU green deal to remain important to the bloc given the need for Europe to remain competitive.",{"type":591,"attrs":37787,"content":37788},{"textAlign":49},[37789],{"text":37790,"type":596},"“Despite the shifting priorities, the energy transition and implementation of the EU green dean will remain a policy priority,” said Bille.","Political change in the European Union has brought about a shift in priorities for the bloc, with climate no longer taking the whole spotlight. During a Benchmark webinar last month, Bryan Bille, a policy analyst at Benchmark, outlined that in addition to climate, policies associated with the battery supply chain will have to also emphasise […]",[37793],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37794},{"job_title":557,"image":37795,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cb8cfebd-8b0b-44eb-a4f7-60929fa7fbfe\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[37798,37799,37800],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":37802,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37803,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f462a5bbcf/bm-european-union.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":37805,"uuid":37806,"name":37807,"slug":37808,"full_slug":37809,"content":37810},112468829528931,"5e14ead2-bc2e-4293-8022-f24a209bfe2f","“As one commodity ends, another begins” – Benchmark House of Lords Speech: LME Week, London ","as-one-commodity-ends-another-begins-benchmark-house-of-lords-speech-lme-week-london","article/as-one-commodity-ends-another-begins-benchmark-house-of-lords-speech-lme-week-london",{"_uid":37811,"date":37428,"tags":37812,"editor":37817,"content":37821,"excerpt":37967,"featured":51,"reporter":37968,"_editable":37972,"component":697,"seo_title":37807,"categories":37973,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":37976,"seo_description":37967,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37474},"d93f84d6-2e28-4966-b5e4-5cd0edf59ff6",[37813,37814],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":37815,"name":37816},"lme","LME",[37818],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37819},{"job_title":557,"image":37820,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37822},[37823,37831,37836,37841,37846,37851,37856,37861,37866,37871,37876,37881,37886,37891,37896,37901,37906,37911,37916,37921,37926,37931,37936,37941,37946,37953],{"type":591,"attrs":37824,"content":37825},{"textAlign":49},[37826,37830],{"text":37827,"type":596,"marks":37828},"This speech was delivered in a House of Lords reception celebrating relations between the UK, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. It was given by Benchmark CEO Simon Moores",[37829],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":37832,"content":37833},{"textAlign":49},[37834],{"text":37835,"type":596},"The world of minerals is changing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37837,"content":37838},{"textAlign":49},[37839],{"text":37840,"type":596},"A new asset class is emerging to sit alongside traditional commodities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37842,"content":37843},{"textAlign":49},[37844],{"text":37845,"type":596},"The asset class of critical minerals is now driving the supply chains of the future. Key minerals such as lithium, rare earths, graphite, cobalt, nickel, manganese. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37847,"content":37848},{"textAlign":49},[37849],{"text":37850,"type":596},"Key traditional commodities, especially copper, are also being reshaped for the 21st century as everything becomes electrified. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37852,"content":37853},{"textAlign":49},[37854],{"text":37855,"type":596},"In this moment of flux, the old ways of doing this are not quite working and innovation and new thinking is taking centre stage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37857,"content":37858},{"textAlign":49},[37859],{"text":37860,"type":596},"Only two days ago the UK turned off its last remaining coal fired power plant, ending our 142 year long relationship with the fossil fuel. And with it becoming the first major economy to stop burning coal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37862,"content":37863},{"textAlign":49},[37864],{"text":37865,"type":596},"This is such an historic moment and we are right in the middle of it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37867,"content":37868},{"textAlign":49},[37869],{"text":37870,"type":596},"But where one commodity ends, others begin. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37872,"content":37873},{"textAlign":49},[37874],{"text":37875,"type":596},"Opportunities for disruptors are plentiful. Benchmark has been one such example.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":37877,"content":37878},{"textAlign":49},[37879],{"text":37880,"type":596},"Everything is changing.",{"type":591,"attrs":37882,"content":37883},{"textAlign":49},[37884],{"text":37885,"type":596},"The way we use and recycle minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37887,"content":37888},{"textAlign":49},[37889],{"text":37890,"type":596},"The way we trade minerals – both for today’s physical supplies and as hedging mechanisms for tomorrow.",{"type":591,"attrs":37892,"content":37893},{"textAlign":49},[37894],{"text":37895,"type":596},"The way we buy minerals are changing and who we partner with. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37897,"content":37898},{"textAlign":49},[37899],{"text":37900,"type":596},"Choosing long term stable critical mineral partners will be crucial in navigating this new era of electric vehicles and energy storage which is central to the energy transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37902,"content":37903},{"textAlign":49},[37904],{"text":37905,"type":596},"Countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Chile are leading this push into this new era of critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37907,"content":37908},{"textAlign":49},[37909],{"text":37910,"type":596},"Developing lasting, long term relationships is the key to ensuring these global pipelines of critical minerals are stable, scalable, and sustainable. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37912,"content":37913},{"textAlign":49},[37914],{"text":37915,"type":596},"Even as we build as much local capacity as possible, the need for a global supply chain will still remain, as the primary base for a new generation of demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37917,"content":37918},{"textAlign":49},[37919],{"text":37920,"type":596},"Benchmark enables these conversations and these investments to happen. Whether it’s our lithium and critical mineral prices used to settle contracts or our supply chain data used for billion dollar gigafactory investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37922,"content":37923},{"textAlign":49},[37924],{"text":37925,"type":596},"Yet while Benchmark can enable this environment, making these long term deals happen is on everyone else in this room. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37927,"content":37928},{"textAlign":49},[37929],{"text":37930,"type":596},"I am proud that Benchmark is UK bred and now in our tenth year. But this era is now just at the start. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37932,"content":37933},{"textAlign":49},[37934],{"text":37935,"type":596},"I very much want to thank Lord Waverley for giving such an historic platform to let this conversation play out and encourage all of you to take advantage of such moments in time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":37937,"content":37938},{"textAlign":49},[37939],{"text":37940,"type":596},"Thank you and good luck. ",{"type":615,"attrs":37942,"content":37943},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[37944],{"text":37945,"type":596},"Join us at Benchmark Week 2024",{"type":591,"attrs":37947,"content":37948},{"textAlign":49},[37949],{"text":37950,"type":596,"marks":37951},"Benchmark Week will return to Los Angeles on 12-14 November 2024, bringing global industry leaders, financiers and government officials together to chart a course for the technologies and supply chains central to the energy transition. Join us at Benchmark Week to forge connections, identify future partners and unlock market opportunities. ",[37952],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":37954,"content":37955},{"textAlign":49},[37956,37959,37964],{"text":34167,"type":596,"marks":37957},[37958],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":37960},[37961,37963],{"type":606,"attrs":37962},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":37965},[37966],{"type":1006},"This speech was delivered in a House of Lords reception celebrating relations between the UK, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. It was given by Benchmark CEO Simon Moores. The world of minerals is changing. A new asset class is emerging to sit alongside traditional commodities. The asset class of critical minerals is now driving the supply […]",[37969],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37970},{"job_title":557,"image":37971,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d93f84d6-2e28-4966-b5e4-5cd0edf59ff6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[37974,37975],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7838,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":37977,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":37979,"uuid":37980,"name":37981,"slug":37982,"full_slug":37983,"content":37984},112468824617826,"a75643f0-64c9-445d-8131-fd47d8ca134f","Minerals Security Partnership enters financing but know-how still the missing link","minerals-security-partnership-enters-financing-but-know-how-still-the-missing-link","article/minerals-security-partnership-enters-financing-but-know-how-still-the-missing-link",{"_uid":37985,"date":37428,"tags":37986,"editor":37990,"content":37994,"excerpt":38118,"featured":51,"reporter":38119,"_editable":38123,"component":697,"seo_title":37981,"categories":38124,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":38127,"seo_description":38118,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":37474},"ef052100-11f7-4ff6-a53c-d82e8267d859",[37987,37988,37989],{"slug":25003,"name":25004},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[37991],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":37992},{"job_title":557,"image":37993,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":37995},[37996,38001,38006,38011,38024,38029,38034,38039,38044,38051,38056,38068,38073,38078,38083,38088,38093,38098,38103,38108,38113],{"type":591,"attrs":37997,"content":37998},{"textAlign":49},[37999],{"text":38000,"type":596},"The US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) has announced a new finance network to drive investments into ex-China critical minerals assets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38002,"content":38003},{"textAlign":49},[38004],{"text":38005,"type":596},"The announcement marks a milestone for the 14-country coalition as it turns from policy dialogue towards actual project development.",{"type":591,"attrs":38007,"content":38008},{"textAlign":49},[38009],{"text":38010,"type":596},"The MSP’s new finance network aims to drive private sector capital into critical minerals extraction, processing, recycling, and recovery by boosting “information sharing, coordination, and collaboration.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38012,"content":38013},{"textAlign":49},[38014,38016,38022],{"text":38015,"type":596},"Financing is one barrier to plugging the gap between today’s battery supply and 2040 battery demand, a task that would require ",{"text":38017,"type":596,"marks":38018},"at least $1.6 trillion of investment",[38019],{"type":606,"attrs":38020},{"href":38021,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/1-6-trillion-investment-needed-in-battery-industry-by-2040",{"text":38023,"type":596},", according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":38025,"content":38026},{"textAlign":49},[38027],{"text":38028,"type":596},"However, financing will not be the only factor determining whether Western countries can expand ex-China supply, according to Benchmark analyst Federico Gay.",{"type":591,"attrs":38030,"content":38031},{"textAlign":49},[38032],{"text":38033,"type":596},"“Apart from access to low cost credit, Chinese firms also have decades of experience and the know-how on how to refine lithium chemicals at scale,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":38035,"content":38036},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38037],{"text":38038,"type":596},"Why is it necessary?",{"type":591,"attrs":38040,"content":38041},{"textAlign":49},[38042],{"text":38043,"type":596},"The battery minerals industry has been buffeted by price declines since 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":38045,"content":38046},{"textAlign":49},[38047],{"type":836,"attrs":38048},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":38049,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38050},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ff21611448/bm-screenshot-2024-10-03-at-180642.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":38052,"content":38053},{"textAlign":49},[38054],{"text":38055,"type":596},"As a result, ex-China projects are struggling to attract private investment. This threatens to extend the US’ reliance on its geopolitical and economic rival China for strategic resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":38057,"content":38058},{"textAlign":49},[38059,38061,38067],{"text":38060,"type":596},"The scale of the issue is indicated by recent reports that the US government is discussing a price floor for domestic critical minerals projects. Benchmark analysis indicates this would cost up to ",{"text":38062,"type":596,"marks":38063},"$7.5 billion for lithium alone",[38064],{"type":606,"attrs":38065},{"href":38066,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-critical-mineral-price-support-could-cost-7-5-billion-alone-for-lithium-in-next-five-years",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":38069,"content":38070},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38071],{"text":38072,"type":596},"Will it work?",{"type":591,"attrs":38074,"content":38075},{"textAlign":49},[38076],{"text":38077,"type":596},"The initiative is a move in the right direction by Western countries trying to gain some independence from Chinese firms which dominate these supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":38079,"content":38080},{"textAlign":49},[38081],{"text":38082,"type":596},"Yet while financing cooperation may address capital costs, Chinese firms also have lower operating costs.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":38084,"content":38085},{"textAlign":49},[38086],{"text":38087,"type":596},"“The energy matrix is more affordable than in Western economies, Coupled with lower labour costs and economy of scale, this gives China a competitive advantage,” said Gay.",{"type":591,"attrs":38089,"content":38090},{"textAlign":49},[38091],{"text":38092,"type":596},"Aside from costs, China’s high market share in critical minerals owes to the expertise it has built up for a decade or more.",{"type":591,"attrs":38094,"content":38095},{"textAlign":49},[38096],{"text":38097,"type":596},"“The West is currently where China was more than a decade ago. China has been following a long-term strategy, both in funding projects and advancing infrastructure,” said Gay.",{"type":591,"attrs":38099,"content":38100},{"textAlign":49},[38101],{"text":38102,"type":596},"Pumping private investment into mineral projects without matching China on expertise, from plant construction to managerial know-how, is likely to result in projects only viable with sustained government support. ",{"type":615,"attrs":38104,"content":38105},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38106],{"text":38107,"type":596},"What else is needed to add significant ex-China supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":38109,"content":38110},{"textAlign":49},[38111],{"text":38112,"type":596},"In addition to financing schemes, Western countries will need to adopt at least some of China’s industrial policy playbook over the last two decades if it is to catch up. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38114,"content":38115},{"textAlign":49},[38116],{"text":38117,"type":596},"“China tried to dominate the whole market, from refining to end-user. So they have built effective infrastructure along the supply chain,” said Gay. “The EU and US are starting to do the same with purchase incentives and supply chain development incentives but this needs to be ramped up and sustained over time to match China’s consistency and long-term policy approach.”","The US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) has announced a new finance network to drive investments into ex-China critical minerals assets. The announcement marks a milestone for the 14-country coalition as it turns from policy dialogue towards actual project development. The MSP’s new finance network aims to drive private sector capital into critical minerals extraction, processing, […]",[38120],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38121},{"job_title":557,"image":38122,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ef052100-11f7-4ff6-a53c-d82e8267d859\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38125,38126],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":38128,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38129,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/flake-graphite-mining-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":38131,"uuid":38132,"name":38133,"slug":38134,"full_slug":38135,"content":38136},112468858581865,"c1335f81-e6d6-41a6-8de6-974ce5759a2d","Benchmark’s view from on the ground: Can Qinghai maintain its strength in lithium?","benchmarks-view-from-on-the-ground-can-qinghai-maintain-its-strength-in-lithium","article/benchmarks-view-from-on-the-ground-can-qinghai-maintain-its-strength-in-lithium",{"_uid":38137,"date":38138,"tags":38139,"editor":38143,"content":38147,"excerpt":38298,"featured":51,"reporter":38299,"_editable":38303,"component":697,"seo_title":38133,"categories":38304,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":38307,"featured_image":38310,"seo_description":38298,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38313},"b38823ea-3a73-4545-8701-5b2052e903fa","2024-10-01 00:00",[38140,38141,38142],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4928,"name":4929},[38144],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38145},{"job_title":557,"image":38146,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38148},[38149,38167,38178,38183,38196,38204,38209,38222,38227,38235,38240,38245,38253,38258,38263,38280,38285,38290],{"type":591,"attrs":38150,"content":38151},{"textAlign":49},[38152,38154,38160,38162,38166],{"text":38153,"type":596},"More than 40% of ",{"text":38155,"type":596,"marks":38156},"China’s mined lithium",[38157],{"type":606,"attrs":38158},{"href":38159,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-of-the-global-battery-supply-chain-is-owned-by-chinese-companies",{"text":38161,"type":596}," output this year is forecast to come from Qinghai province, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":38163},[38164],{"type":606,"attrs":38165},{"href":23406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":38168,"content":38169},{"textAlign":49},[38170,38172,38176],{"text":38171,"type":596},"Qinghai’s entire output is from brine sources which combine traditional evaporation ponds with ",{"text":8940,"type":596,"marks":38173},[38174],{"type":606,"attrs":38175},{"href":15877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38177,"type":596}," (DLE) technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":38179,"content":38180},{"textAlign":49},[38181],{"text":38182,"type":596},"However, the province has relatively little growth in the pipeline, with no projects planned to come online after 2025. Qinghai’s share of China’s mined lithium production is forecast to drop to 25% by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":38184,"content":38185},{"textAlign":49},[38186,38188,38194],{"text":38187,"type":596},"“Producers in Qinghai said they have no expansion plans at this moment, as the market is in surplus,” reported ",{"text":38189,"type":596,"marks":38190},"Xiaobai Liu",[38191],{"type":606,"attrs":38192},{"href":38193,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/overtaking-around-the-curve-chinas-dominance-in-ev-market-and-battery-supply-chain",{"text":38195,"type":596},", a lithium analyst at Benchmark, who recently met with industry players during a visit to Qinghai. “They will only consider new projects when they see strong demand downstream.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38197,"content":38198},{"textAlign":49},[38199],{"type":836,"attrs":38200},{"id":49,"alt":38201,"src":38202,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38203},"Qinghai's share in China's mined lithium industry is falling","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dbcd744fef/bm-qinghai-market-share-150.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":38205,"content":38206},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38207],{"text":38208,"type":596},"What is China doing to support Qinghai?",{"type":591,"attrs":38210,"content":38211},{"textAlign":49},[38212,38214,38220],{"text":38213,"type":596},"Recently, the state-owned mining giant ",{"text":38215,"type":596,"marks":38216},"Minmetals announced it would form a $1.4 billion subsidiary",[38217],{"type":606,"attrs":38218},{"href":38219,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/minmetals-leads-chinas-1-4-billion-lithium-consolidation-effort",{"text":38221,"type":596}," known as the China Salt Lake Group. Minmetals would take a 53% in the enterprise while the Qinghai provincial government would take a minority stake.",{"type":591,"attrs":38223,"content":38224},{"textAlign":49},[38225],{"text":38226,"type":596},"“The suggested ‘world-class salt lake industry base’ is considered as part of the development plan of Qinghai province,” Liu said. “Its primary target is to set up a series of standards on exploration, construction, environmental protection and resource development.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38228,"content":38229},{"textAlign":49},[38230],{"type":836,"attrs":38231},{"id":49,"alt":38232,"src":38233,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38234},"Qinghai's mined lithium production is plateauing","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1d28bc4175/bm-qinghai-mined-lithium-supply.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":38236,"content":38237},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38238],{"text":38239,"type":596},"Are Qinghai operations cost effective?",{"type":591,"attrs":38241,"content":38242},{"textAlign":49},[38243],{"text":38244,"type":596},"Despite being relatively low cost, compared to the low prevailing price of lithium carbonate in China, Liu notes that they are only just making money.",{"type":591,"attrs":38246,"content":38247},{"textAlign":49},[38248],{"type":836,"attrs":38249},{"id":49,"alt":38250,"src":38251,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38252},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices (EXW China) have fallen 23% so far this year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c2b097af97/bm-lithium-carbonate-prices-1324911368bc.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":38254,"content":38255},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38256],{"text":38257,"type":596},"What is the technology profile of Qinghai?",{"type":591,"attrs":38259,"content":38260},{"textAlign":49},[38261],{"text":38262,"type":596},"Within Qinghai, the prevailing DLE technology stack is a combination of adsorption, membrane electrodialysis, and solvents, with recovery rates of around 70%, Liu said following her visit to the province.",{"type":591,"attrs":38264,"content":38265},{"textAlign":49},[38266,38270,38277],{"text":38267,"type":596,"marks":38268},"Download Benchmark’s ",[38269],{"type":1006},{"text":38271,"type":596,"marks":38272},"Special Issue on Direct Lithium Extraction",[38273,38276],{"type":606,"attrs":38274},{"href":38275,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1320373",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":38278},[38279],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":38281,"content":38282},{"textAlign":49},[38283],{"text":38284,"type":596},"Part of the development plan for the province is to improve the efficiency of the extraction of lithium as well as magnesium, potassium and sodium impurities. This could enhance the recovery rate of lithium from brine sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":38286,"content":38287},{"textAlign":49},[38288],{"text":38289,"type":596},"“Improvements in recovery rates can increase output with the same amount of brine they extract from the salt lake,” Liu said. “And better quality means higher selling price.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38291,"content":38292},{"textAlign":49},[38293],{"type":836,"attrs":38294},{"id":49,"alt":38295,"src":38296,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38297},"In 2030, brine is forecast to account for 38% of China's mined lithium production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d3403bb604/bm-2030-brine-production-150.png",{},"More than 40% of China’s mined lithium output this year is forecast to come from Qinghai province, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Qinghai’s entire output is from brine sources which combine traditional evaporation ponds with direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. However, the province has relatively little growth in the pipeline, with no projects planned to […]",[38300],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38301},{"job_title":557,"image":38302,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b38823ea-3a73-4545-8701-5b2052e903fa\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38305,38306],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":38295,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":38295,"source":547,"filename":38308,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38309,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1727708935/www-production/2030_brine_production_v3/2030_brine_production_v3.png?_i=AA",{"alt":38295,"title":38295,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":38311,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38312,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ab659840a2/bm-1-1324912d7fd5.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 01, 2024",{"id":38315,"uuid":38316,"name":38317,"slug":38318,"full_slug":38319,"content":38320},112468849042279,"f166cba7-8e0b-4f7e-853a-e0fe8f7f8ac7","Mongolia’s fluorspar, copper draws Western partnerships","mongolias-fluorspar-copper-draws-western-partnerships","article/mongolias-fluorspar-copper-draws-western-partnerships",{"_uid":38321,"date":38138,"tags":38322,"editor":38327,"content":38331,"excerpt":38459,"featured":51,"reporter":38460,"_editable":38464,"component":697,"seo_title":38317,"categories":38465,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":38470,"seo_description":38459,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38313},"33107395-be3b-44cc-bd56-8bf289bff7e7",[38323,38326],{"slug":38324,"name":38325},"mongolia","Mongolia",{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[38328],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38329},{"job_title":557,"image":38330,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38332},[38333,38338,38343,38348,38361,38366,38371,38376,38381,38386,38391,38404,38409,38414,38419,38424,38429,38434,38439,38444,38449,38454],{"type":591,"attrs":38334,"content":38335},{"textAlign":49},[38336],{"text":38337,"type":596},"Mongolia is an emerging battery critical minerals frontier for Western countries looking to secure ex-China supply, including in fluorspar, copper, and rare earths.",{"type":591,"attrs":38339,"content":38340},{"textAlign":49},[38341],{"text":38342,"type":596},"The US is moving closer to the Central Asian country on account of its critical minerals potential, as highlighted by the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s August visit where he hinted at deeper bilateral cooperation over new energy resources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38344,"content":38345},{"textAlign":49},[38346],{"text":38347,"type":596},"Mongolia is home to Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, which could become one of the world’s largest by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38349,"content":38350},{"textAlign":49},[38351,38353,38359],{"text":38352,"type":596},"Benchmark also forecasts ",{"text":38354,"type":596,"marks":38355},"Mongolia will contribute 10% of the world’s fluorspar",[38356],{"type":606,"attrs":38357},{"href":38358,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/fluorspar/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":38360,"type":596}," production by 2030, up from 5% in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38362,"content":38363},{"textAlign":49},[38364],{"text":38365,"type":596},"The country also holds rare earth reserves although there are no active or developing mines.",{"type":591,"attrs":38367,"content":38368},{"textAlign":49},[38369],{"text":38370,"type":596},"Blinken’s visit came a week after the inaugural US-Mongolia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue in Washington and almost a year after the countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly advance critical mineral supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":38372,"content":38373},{"textAlign":49},[38374],{"text":38375,"type":596},"The UK is another Western country cultivating Mongolia as a resource security partner. Then-Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani visited Mongolia to explore mining investment opportunities in 2023.",{"type":615,"attrs":38377,"content":38378},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38379],{"text":38380,"type":596},"Mongolia is the third largest fluorspar supplier",{"type":591,"attrs":38382,"content":38383},{"textAlign":49},[38384],{"text":38385,"type":596},"Mongolia’s fluorspar mines could become more important for the global market balance as demand grows and China’s share of supply wanes between now and 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38387,"content":38388},{"textAlign":49},[38389],{"text":38390,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Fluorspar Market Outlook",{"type":591,"attrs":38392,"content":38393},{"textAlign":49},[38394,38396,38402],{"text":38395,"type":596},"China will remain the world’s biggest producer at 58% of supply in 2030 but intensive extraction will almost totally deplete its measurable reserves by this time, according to ",{"text":38397,"type":596,"marks":38398},"Benchmark’s Fluorspar Market Outlook",[38399],{"type":606,"attrs":38400},{"href":38401,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/fluorspar/data-reports/forecast",{"text":38403,"type":596},". Globally too, currently measurable reserves are set to plunge 30% by 2030 compared to 2022 levels as demand increases from traditional sectors and high growth from batteries alike. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38405,"content":38406},{"textAlign":49},[38407],{"text":38408,"type":596},"The incoming squeeze on global fluorspar supply could turn the spotlight on Mongolia. Between 2024 and 2030, the country is forecast to retain its spot as the third biggest supplier of the mineral while increasing its share of the global supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38410,"content":38411},{"textAlign":49},[38412],{"text":38413,"type":596},"The country also holds potential for new mine development since its currently-measurable reserves for 2030 far outstrip forecast supply for 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":38415,"content":38416},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38417],{"text":38418,"type":596},"Mongolian copper",{"type":591,"attrs":38420,"content":38421},{"textAlign":49},[38422],{"text":38423,"type":596},"Mongolia also has copper assets, including its largest in Oyu Tolgoi. Majority-owned by Rio Tinto and 34% owned by the Mongolian government, this asset could soon become one of the world’s biggest by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":38425,"content":38426},{"textAlign":49},[38427],{"text":38428,"type":596},"The story of the mine is one of successful expansion. After Rio Tinto discovered its below-ground ores were up to four times higher quality than at the top, it augmented the open-pit with an underground mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":38430,"content":38431},{"textAlign":49},[38432],{"text":38433,"type":596},"“The transition from an open pit to an underground mine is technically challenging, however Rio Tinto managed to develop this successfully,” said Ivan Llancas, copper supply analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38435,"content":38436},{"textAlign":49},[38437],{"text":38438,"type":596},"The payoff from this investment could be significant. Oyu Tolgoi is now expected to produce 500,000 tonnes per annum during the expected years of peak production between 2028 to 2036, up from 168,000 tonnes in 2023, according to Rio Tinto.",{"type":615,"attrs":38440,"content":38441},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38442],{"text":38443,"type":596},"Central Asia’s geostrategic importance ",{"type":591,"attrs":38445,"content":38446},{"textAlign":49},[38447],{"text":38448,"type":596},"Mongolia is not the only country in the region attracting interest for its mineral wealth. The EU entered strategic partnerships with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to develop critical minerals value chains in 2022 and 2024 respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":38450,"content":38451},{"textAlign":49},[38452],{"text":38453,"type":596},"China’s critical minerals dominance is what’s driving Western countries to engage in critical minerals diplomacy with Mongolia and the wider Central Asian region. The mineral wealth of the region offers these countries supply security as they embark on the energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":38455,"content":38456},{"textAlign":49},[38457],{"text":38458,"type":596},"Cooperation with Central Asia is also seen as offering opportunities for the West to balance neighbouring China’s influence in the region. Russia’s waning influence in the region has also widened the door to Western actors as well as China, who are all currently vying for access to the country’s mineral resources. ","Mongolia is an emerging battery critical minerals frontier for Western countries looking to secure ex-China supply, including in fluorspar, copper, and rare earths. The US is moving closer to the Central Asian country on account of its critical minerals potential, as highlighted by the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s August visit where he hinted at […]",[38461],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38462},{"job_title":557,"image":38463,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"33107395-be3b-44cc-bd56-8bf289bff7e7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38466,38467,38468,38469],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":38471,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38472,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2d999ceb05/bm-mongolia-on-map-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":38474,"uuid":38475,"name":38476,"slug":38477,"full_slug":38478,"content":38479},112468868105067,"cccf955b-503b-4699-8b35-810ba8a82168","Synthetic graphite electrode producers accelerate shift to battery anodes driven by long term demand","synthetic-graphite-electrode-producers-accelerate-shift-to-battery-anodes-driven-by-long-term-demand","article/synthetic-graphite-electrode-producers-accelerate-shift-to-battery-anodes-driven-by-long-term-demand",{"_uid":38480,"date":38481,"tags":38482,"editor":38488,"content":38492,"excerpt":38580,"featured":51,"reporter":38581,"_editable":38585,"component":697,"seo_title":38476,"categories":38586,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":38591,"seo_description":38580,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38594},"e65d535b-8e42-471a-b484-b6d3608a0001","2024-09-30 00:00",[38483,38486],{"slug":38484,"name":38485},"ex-china","ex-China",{"slug":38487,"name":38487},"steel",[38489],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38490},{"job_title":557,"image":38491,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38493},[38494,38499,38504,38515,38520,38525,38530,38535,38542,38547,38552,38557,38562,38567],{"type":591,"attrs":38495,"content":38496},{"textAlign":49},[38497],{"text":38498,"type":596},"Ex-China manufacturers of synthetic graphite electrodes for steel are moving away into battery anodes, galvanised by prospects of high lithium ion demand growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":38500,"content":38501},{"textAlign":49},[38502],{"text":38503,"type":596},"“The shift is driven by the anticipated significant surge in demand for battery anode materials outside of China, with electrode end-use demand projected to grow at a relatively steadier rate year on-year,” said Tony Alderson, Benchmark senior analyst. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38505,"content":38506},{"textAlign":49},[38507,38509,38513],{"text":38508,"type":596},"The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for battery demand is forecast to hit 13.9% between 2024 2029, according to ",{"text":35077,"type":596,"marks":38510},[38511],{"type":606,"attrs":38512},{"href":34577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38514,"type":596},", compared to just 3.7% for electric arc furnace (EAF) steel demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":38516,"content":38517},{"textAlign":49},[38518],{"text":38519,"type":596},"Both electrodes for steel and battery anodes use synthetic graphite feedstock meaning electrode producers hold both the graphitisation expertise and coke feedstock supplier relationships needed to make the transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":38521,"content":38522},{"textAlign":49},[38523],{"text":38524,"type":596},"Electrode producers are mainly targeting the synthetic graphite EV battery market and to a lesser extent that energy storage systems (ESS) market.",{"type":615,"attrs":38526,"content":38527},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38528],{"text":38529,"type":596},"Which electrode companies are moving into anodes?",{"type":591,"attrs":38531,"content":38532},{"textAlign":49},[38533],{"text":38534,"type":596},"India’s HEG is moving into battery anode production currently after announcing in 2022 that it plans to build a 20,000 tonne capacity synthetic graphite anode facility. The company says the plant is now under construction, aiming for 2025 completion.",{"type":591,"attrs":38536,"content":38537},{"textAlign":49},[38538,38540],{"text":38539,"type":596},"Japanese electrode producer Resonac is already in the space and has announced plans in the last quarter to expand its presence. ",{"text":38541,"type":596},"US electrode supplier Sangraf Narni began construction on a brownfield anode plant in Italy earlier this year after successfully qualifying their synthetic anode active materials for ex-China EV and ESS markets. The facility is expected to contribute just under 9% of total European anode active materials supply between 2025 and 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":38543,"content":38544},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38545],{"text":38546,"type":596},"What is driving electrode producers to anodes?",{"type":591,"attrs":38548,"content":38549},{"textAlign":49},[38550],{"text":38551,"type":596},"Electrode producers are moving into the new market to take advantage of high forecast growth for battery anodes over the coming years. Benchmark forecasts a global deficit starting from 2029. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38553,"content":38554},{"textAlign":49},[38555],{"text":38556,"type":596},"However, the electrode producers will not necessarily need to wait until the end of the decade to capitalise on rising anode demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38558,"content":38559},{"textAlign":49},[38560],{"text":38561,"type":596},"Despite a current global anode surplus driven by overcapacity in China, there are also anode deficits regionally across North America and Europe, markets which companies like Sangraf are targeting. Ex-China electrode firms are also keen to offer a source of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-compliant anode supply as demand for this rises from OEMs selling into the US market.",{"type":591,"attrs":38563,"content":38564},{"textAlign":49},[38565],{"text":38566,"type":596},"Further, electrode manufacturers are looking to diversify thanks to oversupply and low prices in their current market. Japan’s Resonac announced a minimum 20% global price increase on all new graphite electrode orders in a bid to stem falling revenue from price graphite electrode price declines over the first half of this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38568,"content":38569},{"textAlign":49},[38570,38572,38578],{"text":38571,"type":596},"The battery anode market is suffering similar problems, with high capacity synthetic graphite anodes falling 12.5% year-on-year in September, according to ",{"text":38573,"type":596,"marks":38574},"Benchmark’s Anode Price Assessmen",[38575],{"type":606,"attrs":38576},{"href":38577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/anode/data-reports/price-assessments",{"text":38579,"type":596},"t. Still, the battery anode end market is in a stronger position than the market for graphite electrodes, making it a more attractive market already. ","Ex-China manufacturers of synthetic graphite electrodes for steel are moving away into battery anodes, galvanised by prospects of high lithium ion demand growth. “The shift is driven by the anticipated significant surge in demand for battery anode materials outside of China, with electrode end-use demand projected to grow at a relatively steadier rate year on-year,” […]",[38582],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38583},{"job_title":557,"image":38584,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e65d535b-8e42-471a-b484-b6d3608a0001\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38587,38588,38589,38590],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":38592,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38593,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/efe7c7bb9a/bm-electric-arc-furnace-electrode.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 30, 2024",{"id":38596,"uuid":38597,"name":38598,"slug":38599,"full_slug":38600,"content":38601},112468882641774,"5f18f749-9759-4d7c-a51f-9e00df9185a0","China LFP cathode prices fall for sixth straight month in September","china-lfp-cathode-prices-fall-for-sixth-straight-month-in-september","article/china-lfp-cathode-prices-fall-for-sixth-straight-month-in-september",{"_uid":38602,"date":38603,"tags":38604,"editor":38608,"content":38612,"excerpt":38726,"featured":51,"reporter":38727,"_editable":38731,"component":697,"seo_title":38598,"categories":38732,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":38737,"seo_description":38726,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38739},"9b22db12-94b9-4bb7-a0c7-5c147bb1ad06","2024-09-27 00:00",[38605,38606,38607],{"slug":22025,"name":22026},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[38609],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38610},{"job_title":557,"image":38611,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38613},[38614,38619,38631,38636,38649,38656,38661,38666,38671,38683,38694,38699,38704,38714],{"type":591,"attrs":38615,"content":38616},{"textAlign":49},[38617],{"text":38618,"type":596},"Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material prices fell for the sixth straight month in September amid an ongoing weakness in lithium carbonate prices, a supply glut and an intensive competition among cathode producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":38620,"content":38621},{"textAlign":49},[38622,38624,38629],{"text":38623,"type":596},"The average prices for the LFP cathode material prices declined 6.8% to RMB 34,000 ($4,795) per tonne in the assessment period ended September 19, according to the ",{"text":35557,"type":596,"marks":38625},[38626],{"type":606,"attrs":38627},{"href":38628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/data-reports/price-assessments/",{"text":38630,"type":596},". LFP cathode prices have fallen 35.2% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":38632,"content":38633},{"textAlign":49},[38634],{"text":38635,"type":596},"“Utilisation rates for producers across the period are high, over 90% in anticipation of high order volumes, but this increasingly creates an oversupply in which products are dumped in the market with extremely low prices,” said Evan Hartley, senior analyst, Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":38637,"content":38638},{"textAlign":49},[38639,38641,38647],{"text":38640,"type":596},"Improving seasonal demand for LFP material in late August and early September kept capacity utilisation higher for Tier 1 and Tier 2 cathode producers. However, ",{"text":38642,"type":596,"marks":38643},"uncertainty over order volumes",[38644],{"type":606,"attrs":38645},{"href":38646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-lfp-cathode-competition-has-driven-prices-down",{"text":38648,"type":596}," beyond the mid autumn festival failed to stir enough buying confidence, keeping prices weak. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38650,"content":38651},{"textAlign":49},[38652],{"type":836,"attrs":38653},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":38654,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38655},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3b5890f6fe/bm-lfp-cathode-price-sept-1324126c3892.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":38657,"content":38658},{"textAlign":49},[38659],{"text":38660,"type":596},"According to Hartley, cell makers can take advantage of the reduced lithium prices to facilitate and exacerbate that price reduction even as cathode producers continue to sacrifice profits to maintain and gain market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":38662,"content":38663},{"textAlign":49},[38664],{"text":38665,"type":596},"LFP cell production in China jumped 11.4% month-on-month in August to 76.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Uptick in demand from the energy storage market both domestic and overseas drove the increase.",{"type":615,"attrs":38667,"content":38668},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38669],{"text":38670,"type":596},"Feedstock prices play a key role",{"type":591,"attrs":38672,"content":38673},{"textAlign":49},[38674,38676,38681],{"text":38675,"type":596},"Despite the increased seasonal demand and healthy production schedules of ",{"text":38677,"type":596,"marks":38678},"LFP makers",[38679],{"type":606,"attrs":38680},{"href":27094,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38682,"type":596},", weakness in lithium prices continues to influence cathode prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38684,"content":38685},{"textAlign":49},[38686,38688,38693],{"text":38687,"type":596},"Prices for Chinese lithium carbonate, the key feedstock for LFP cathodes, have declined 23.3% so far this year to RMB 74,000 ($10,575) per tonne for the period ended September 25, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":38689},[38690],{"type":606,"attrs":38691},{"href":38692,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/lithium-prices/chart/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":38695,"content":38696},{"textAlign":49},[38697],{"text":38698,"type":596},"However, in an early positive indicator for downstream demand, China’s electric vehicle sales increased 11.1% month-on-month in August. ",{"type":615,"attrs":38700,"content":38701},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38702],{"text":38703,"type":596},"Prices fall across all grades",{"type":591,"attrs":38705,"content":38706},{"textAlign":49},[38707,38709,38713],{"text":38708,"type":596},"Prices have fallen across all battery cathode materials, with lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials leading the declines in the period under review. LCO prices fell 7.1% to RMB 150,500 ($21,221) per tonne during the assessment period under review, according to the ",{"text":35557,"type":596,"marks":38710},[38711],{"type":606,"attrs":38712},{"href":38628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":38715,"content":38716},{"textAlign":49},[38717,38718,38724],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":38719,"type":596,"marks":38720},"Benchmark Cathode Price Index",[38721],{"type":606,"attrs":38722},{"href":38723,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/?tab=chart",{"text":38725,"type":596},", which tracks prices of cathode relative to demand, fell 4.8% month-on-month. ","Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material prices fell for the sixth straight month in September amid an ongoing weakness in lithium carbonate prices, a supply glut and an intensive competition among cathode producers. The average prices for the LFP cathode material prices declined 6.8% to RMB 34,000 ($4,795) per tonne in the assessment period […]",[38728],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38729},{"job_title":557,"image":38730,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9b22db12-94b9-4bb7-a0c7-5c147bb1ad06\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38733,38734,38735,38736],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38738,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 27, 2024",{"id":38741,"uuid":38742,"name":38743,"slug":38744,"full_slug":38745,"content":38746},112468896940941,"e202acb1-274c-4760-a83b-aff452af86ff","Redwood Materials adds BMW to growing list of US recycling partnerships","redwood-materials-adds-bmw-to-growing-list-of-us-recycling-partnerships","article/redwood-materials-adds-bmw-to-growing-list-of-us-recycling-partnerships",{"_uid":38747,"date":38748,"tags":38749,"editor":38753,"content":38757,"excerpt":38930,"featured":51,"reporter":38931,"_editable":38935,"component":697,"seo_title":38743,"categories":38936,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":38939,"seo_description":38930,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38942},"4514ba2a-c08b-4f8f-a8bb-4875e54912c1","2024-09-26 00:00",[38750,38751,38752],{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":29742,"name":29743},{"slug":572,"name":573},[38754],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38755},{"job_title":557,"image":38756,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38758},[38759,38769,38786,38799,38804,38812,38822,38827,38832,38837,38842,38855,38860,38865,38870,38875,38880,38885,38890,38895,38908,38925],{"type":591,"attrs":38760,"content":38761},{"textAlign":49},[38762,38767],{"text":29743,"type":596,"marks":38763},[38764],{"type":606,"attrs":38765},{"href":38766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-companies-shaping-the-north-american-lithium-ion-recycling-ecosystem",{"text":38768,"type":596},", a US-based recycler, will recycle end-of-life batteries from BMW electric vehicles in the US through a new partnership established last week.",{"type":591,"attrs":38770,"content":38771},{"textAlign":49},[38772,38774,38779,38781,38785],{"text":38773,"type":596},"Between 2023 and 2035, scrap from end-of-life batteries in ",{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":38775},[38776],{"type":606,"attrs":38777},{"href":38778,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/north-americas-recycling-capacity-set-to-overtake-europe-this-year",{"text":38780,"type":596}," is forecast to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% reaching over 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":38782},[38783],{"type":606,"attrs":38784},{"href":33065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":38787,"content":38788},{"textAlign":49},[38789,38791,38797],{"text":38790,"type":596},"The deal with BMW is the latest of a growing number of automotive partnerships for ",{"text":38792,"type":596,"marks":38793},"Redwood",[38794],{"type":606,"attrs":38795},{"href":38796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/2-billion-redwood-doe-loan-advances-us-cathode-production",{"text":38798,"type":596},". The company is also partnered with Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors (through Ultium Cells), Audi and Ford (through BlueOvalSK).",{"type":591,"attrs":38800,"content":38801},{"textAlign":49},[38802],{"text":38803,"type":596},"“With high competition for recycling feedstock, acquiring a secure supply will be extremely significant for all recyclers, therefore this is a key partnership within North America for Redwood,” said Beatrice Browning, a recycling analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":38805,"content":38806},{"textAlign":49},[38807],{"type":836,"attrs":38808},{"id":49,"alt":38809,"src":38810,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":38811},"End-of-life scrap will become predominant scrap source in North America from 2035","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/67fd528da9/bm-process-scrap-vs-eol-north-america-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":38813,"content":38814},{"textAlign":49},[38815,38817,38821],{"text":38816,"type":596},"Redwood currently operates a facility in Reno, Nevada, which processes 10,000 tonnes of battery scrap a year and produces precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and lithium carbonate, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":38818},[38819],{"type":606,"attrs":38820},{"href":33065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":38823,"content":38824},{"textAlign":49},[38825],{"text":38826,"type":596},"The company is also developing a facility in Charleston, South Carolina. BMW operates Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff in the same area where it will produce at least six electric vehicles. South Carolina is also home to AESC which produces batteries for BMW and is partnered with Redwood.",{"type":615,"attrs":38828,"content":38829},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38830],{"text":38831,"type":596},"Closing the loop",{"type":591,"attrs":38833,"content":38834},{"textAlign":49},[38835],{"text":38836,"type":596},"The majority of recycling operations in the region are pre-treatment only. That is, they take end-of-life or process scrap and mechanically crush it into a powder known as black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":38838,"content":38839},{"textAlign":49},[38840],{"text":38841,"type":596},"This black mass is then sold onto processors who convert it into battery chemicals such as lithium carbonate. North America’s relatively small amount of black mass processors means the minerals contained within black mass are often lost from the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":38843,"content":38844},{"textAlign":49},[38845,38847,38853],{"text":38846,"type":596},"“This ",{"text":38848,"type":596,"marks":38849},"black mass is being sold into the Asian market",[38850],{"type":606,"attrs":38851},{"href":38852,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/critical-mass-asian-demand-for-north-american-scrap-sees-recycler-prices-spike",{"text":38854,"type":596}," where bids to secure this highly sought after material are high,” Browning said.",{"type":591,"attrs":38856,"content":38857},{"textAlign":49},[38858],{"text":38859,"type":596},"As more hydrometallurgical capacity comes online in the US, the ability for the country to keep the process the black mass and keep the contained critical minerals within the North America region will increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":38861,"content":38862},{"textAlign":49},[38863],{"text":38864,"type":596},"“EV battery materials recycled in the US qualify as ‘North American made’ material,” Browning added. “This would qualify the material for subsidies, regardless of their origin. So if a company ships battery material from Europe and then recycles within the US – it would be considered ‘North American made’.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38866,"content":38867},{"textAlign":49},[38868],{"text":38869,"type":596},"Integrated recyclers both produce black mass from scrap batteries and then process this in house. Redwood takes this a step further and also produces cathode active material as well as copper anode foils.",{"type":591,"attrs":38871,"content":38872},{"textAlign":49},[38873],{"text":38874,"type":596},"This simplifies the closed loop recycling supply chain as the process is streamlined, potentially improving the cost effectiveness of the overall process.",{"type":591,"attrs":38876,"content":38877},{"textAlign":49},[38878],{"text":38879,"type":596},"“With partnerships between recyclers and manufacturers it is likely that any pCAM or CAM generated can be tailored for specific cell production,” Browning said.",{"type":615,"attrs":38881,"content":38882},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38883],{"text":38884,"type":596},"Redwood’s diverse partnership portfolio",{"type":591,"attrs":38886,"content":38887},{"textAlign":49},[38888],{"text":38889,"type":596},"Over the last several years, Redwood has been busy signing partnerships with a variety of companies. Some, like its recent deal with BMW, are to collect the end-of-life batteries from an automotive partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":38891,"content":38892},{"textAlign":49},[38893],{"text":38894,"type":596},"BMW’s network of dealerships, distribution centres and other facilities will be used to recover the batteries from all electric, plugin-hybrid, and mild hybrid BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad vehicles in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":38896,"content":38897},{"textAlign":49},[38898,38900,38906],{"text":38899,"type":596},"Others are partnerships with battery makers, ",{"text":38901,"type":596,"marks":38902},"such as Panasonic",[38903],{"type":606,"attrs":38904},{"href":38905,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/redwood-to-supply-us-made-cathode-to-panasonic-as-bidens-ira-boosts-supply-chain",{"text":38907,"type":596}," and key BMW battery supplier Envision AESC, to take the waste scrap from the growing number of North American gigafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":38909,"content":38910},{"textAlign":49},[38911,38915,38917,38923],{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":38912},[38913],{"type":606,"attrs":38914},{"href":33065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38916,"type":596}," shows that ",{"text":38918,"type":596,"marks":38919},"process scrap will constitute the primary feedstock supply",[38920],{"type":606,"attrs":38921},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-production-scrap-to-be-main-source-of-recyclable-material-this-decade",{"text":38924,"type":596}," for North American recyclers until around 2035, at which point the increasing number of old EVs will mean the amount of end-of-life scrap will skyrocket.",{"type":591,"attrs":38926,"content":38927},{"textAlign":49},[38928],{"text":38929,"type":596},"Some of Redwood’s partnerships are around the partner taking Redwood’s materials. For example, Toyota will use copper anode foil and cathode active material produced by Redwood.","Redwood Materials, a US-based recycler, will recycle end-of-life batteries from BMW electric vehicles in the US through a new partnership established last week. Between 2023 and 2035, scrap from end-of-life batteries in North America is forecast to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% reaching over 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year, according to […]",[38932],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38933},{"job_title":557,"image":38934,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4514ba2a-c08b-4f8f-a8bb-4875e54912c1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[38937,38938],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":38940,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":38941,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/741512e958/bm-module11.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 26, 2024",{"id":38944,"uuid":38945,"name":38946,"slug":38947,"full_slug":38948,"content":38949},112468892128112,"78096d7c-78e3-4a74-ae4c-91dd50aa7ce5","US critical mineral price support could cost $7.5 billion alone for lithium in next five years","us-critical-mineral-price-support-could-cost-7-5-billion-alone-for-lithium-in-next-five-years","article/us-critical-mineral-price-support-could-cost-7-5-billion-alone-for-lithium-in-next-five-years",{"_uid":38950,"date":38748,"tags":38951,"editor":38954,"content":38958,"excerpt":39116,"featured":51,"reporter":39117,"_editable":39121,"component":697,"seo_title":38946,"categories":39122,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":39126,"seo_description":39116,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38942},"55a0e433-6fa6-45e5-b2ab-2c9b2677625c",[38952,38953],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[38955],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":38956},{"job_title":557,"image":38957,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":38959},[38960,38965,38970,38975,38980,38985,38997,39002,39007,39012,39017,39024,39029,39034,39039,39044,39065,39070,39075,39087,39100,39105],{"type":591,"attrs":38961,"content":38962},{"textAlign":49},[38963],{"text":38964,"type":596},"The US government is reportedly examining price support mechanisms for domestic critical mineral projects, as Chinese-fuelled oversupply threatens to thwart efforts to on-shore clean energy supply chains in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":38966,"content":38967},{"textAlign":49},[38968],{"text":38969,"type":596},"The policy could involve the Department of Energy (DoE) setting price floors for different critical minerals, covering the difference once prices fall below a certain threshold, according to Politico.",{"type":591,"attrs":38971,"content":38972},{"textAlign":49},[38973],{"text":38974,"type":596},"“The objective of such a policy is clear,” said Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, director of prices and data at Benchmark. “The near term price trajectory for battery raw materials is bearish and is making it increasingly difficult to attract the required capital to develop a domestic supply chain in the US.”",{"type":591,"attrs":38976,"content":38977},{"textAlign":49},[38978],{"text":38979,"type":596},"If the measures were to be enacted, Benchmark analysis indicates that the US could face up to $7.5 billion in potential liabilities for lithium alone between 2025-2030. ",{"type":615,"attrs":38981,"content":38982},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[38983],{"text":38984,"type":596},"How could the price mechanism be implemented for lithium?",{"type":591,"attrs":38986,"content":38987},{"textAlign":49},[38988,38990,38995],{"text":38989,"type":596},"Lithium prices have experienced the sharpest contraction of all battery minerals. Following record highs in early 2023, ",{"text":38991,"type":596,"marks":38992},"lithium prices have fallen by over 60% year-on-year",[38993],{"type":606,"attrs":38994},{"href":13126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38996,"type":596}," due to a combination of slowing EV sales growth and surging Chinese-financed supply shifting the market into oversupply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":38998,"content":38999},{"textAlign":49},[39000],{"text":39001,"type":596},"Lithium, in particular, is prone to wild price fluctuations due to the immature nature of the market; hindering prospects of raising capital as lenders lack an effective mechanism to manage price risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":39003,"content":39004},{"textAlign":49},[39005],{"text":39006,"type":596},"“The question the White House has had to contend with, in lieu of a mature hedging mechanism, is what can the government do today to stimulate support for the fledgling domestic US battery raw materials supply chain” Fletcher-Manuel said.",{"type":591,"attrs":39008,"content":39009},{"textAlign":49},[39010],{"text":39011,"type":596},"“Price control mechanisms are the most dramatic thing the US could adopt to prop up its domestic supply chain. The fact they’re even entertaining the idea demonstrates the level of concern within the US government,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":39013,"content":39014},{"textAlign":49},[39015],{"text":39016,"type":596},"Benchmark conducted scenario-based analysis to determine the US government’s potential liability under three-different incentive prices. The results of which are shown below:",{"type":591,"attrs":39018,"content":39019},{"textAlign":49},[39020],{"type":836,"attrs":39021},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":39022,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":39023},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf6-twV8YRBBODrgjzddmN4y6vwnyQZcQbgA0G8BDNVJBRZGpVgfTM2KS6SVMrL7boisnGc5OVtSabp0ABjdQZ_vgzFx17yy5sOM7AXqcyK-nw0PndfDJRGghR4mIux6rN7Z-4GMCODBWhEHdfjhYH1zBGw?key=fWqxbRYfEPK3GqHOkTuN5A",{},{"type":591,"attrs":39025,"content":39026},{"textAlign":49},[39027],{"text":39028,"type":596},"The analysis demonstrates that under each incentive price scenario, the US will face liability payments until at least 2027 – potentially reaching as high as $2 billion in 2028 under a high-case scenario. However, the measures are are only set to be temporary, with lithium prices projected to pick up towards the end of this decade as the market faces a protracted supply deficit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39030,"content":39031},{"textAlign":49},[39032],{"text":39033,"type":596},"“Although price support pricing mechanisms would be popular amongst US miners and processors, automakers are not likely to favour such measures due to the risk of creating artificially inflated domestic prices,” said Fletcher-Manuel.",{"type":591,"attrs":39035,"content":39036},{"textAlign":49},[39037],{"text":39038,"type":596},"The EU, meanwhile, is considering an alternative form of government intervention in critical mineral markets on the demand side, proposing to develop a joint purchasing platform for critical minerals amongst EU member states.",{"type":615,"attrs":39040,"content":39041},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39042],{"text":39043,"type":596},"Why is the US considering the measures?",{"type":591,"attrs":39045,"content":39046},{"textAlign":49},[39047,39049,39055,39057,39063],{"text":39048,"type":596},"While the US has boosted the build out of domestic supply chains by ",{"text":39050,"type":596,"marks":39051},"financing capital costs",[39052],{"type":606,"attrs":39053},{"href":39054,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-the-us-2024-elections-mean-for-the-ira-and-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"text":39056,"type":596}," through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BLI) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as ",{"text":39058,"type":596,"marks":39059},"hiking tariffs on Chinese imports",[39060],{"type":606,"attrs":39061},{"href":39062,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-hikes-tariffs-to-further-isolate-china-from-its-ev-supply-chain-ambitions",{"text":39064,"type":596},", more robust measures may be required as project economics are stressed by falling prices and broader inflationary pressures.",{"type":591,"attrs":39066,"content":39067},{"textAlign":49},[39068],{"text":39069,"type":596},"The low-price environment has led a number of critical mineral operations in the west to close, stalled project development timelines, and made it increasingly challenging to secure financing for new mining and processing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":39071,"content":39072},{"textAlign":49},[39073],{"text":39074,"type":596},"The current state of play risks exacerbating future supply deficits for the US, potentially increasing reliance on Chinese-dominated supply chains despite efforts to the contrary. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39076,"content":39077},{"textAlign":49},[39078,39080,39086],{"text":39079,"type":596},"Unlike western peers, Chinese-backed projects are often less exposed to underlying price volatility due to ready access to state-financing, with strategic objectives, such as security of supply, taking precedence over operating margins. In some cases, ",{"text":39081,"type":596,"marks":39082},"Chinese projects have also benefited from advantegous technology and looser regulation on sustainability standards",[39083],{"type":606,"attrs":39084},{"href":39085,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sustainability-key-to-diversifying-indonesian-nickel-investment-pt-vale-indonesia-tells-benchmarks-giga-apac-conference",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39088,"content":39089},{"textAlign":49},[39090,39092,39098],{"text":39091,"type":596},"Chinese projects are continuing to ramp up new supply even as headwinds have caused demand growth to slow, leaving projects in the west ",{"text":39093,"type":596,"marks":39094},"facing delays and funding shortfalls",[39095],{"type":606,"attrs":39096},{"href":39097,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/unsustainable-prices-hit-rare-earths-projects-worldwide",{"text":39099,"type":596}," as prices have tumbled. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39101,"content":39102},{"textAlign":49},[39103],{"text":39104,"type":596},"According to Benchmark data, Chinese-backed projects are due to account for 68% of lithium supply growth in 2024, 78% of nickel, and nearly all new cobalt capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":39106,"content":39107},{"textAlign":49},[39108,39110,39115],{"text":39109,"type":596},"In comparison, lithium supply from the US and free trade agreement (FTA) economies will account for just 21% of lithium supply growth in 2024, while nickel and cobalt supply is projected to contract ",{"text":39111,"type":596,"marks":39112},"as several projects in Australia curb production or are taken offline completely",[39113],{"type":606,"attrs":39114},{"href":8060,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"The US government is reportedly examining price support mechanisms for domestic critical mineral projects, as Chinese-fuelled oversupply threatens to thwart efforts to on-shore clean energy supply chains in the US. The policy could involve the Department of Energy (DoE) setting price floors for different critical minerals, covering the difference once prices fall below a certain […]",[39118],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39119},{"job_title":557,"image":39120,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"55a0e433-6fa6-45e5-b2ab-2c9b2677625c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[39123,39124,39125],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":36193,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":39127,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":39129,"uuid":39130,"name":39131,"slug":39132,"full_slug":39133,"content":39134},112468887380847,"4151903f-1e4a-4ec2-b860-75419963520b","US DoE targets LFP cathode capacity but battery mismatch remains","us-doe-targets-lfp-cathode-capacity-but-battery-mismatch-remains","article/us-doe-targets-lfp-cathode-capacity-but-battery-mismatch-remains",{"_uid":39135,"date":38748,"tags":39136,"editor":39142,"content":39146,"excerpt":39287,"featured":51,"reporter":39288,"_editable":39292,"component":697,"seo_title":39131,"categories":39293,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":39297,"seo_description":39287,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":38942},"e320b59c-cc46-4c1e-a2c7-32ebe687bcf0",[39137,39140,39141],{"slug":39138,"name":39139},"department-of-energy","Department of Energy",{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[39143],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39144},{"job_title":557,"image":39145,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":39147},[39148,39153,39166,39171,39176,39188,39199,39206,39211,39216,39221,39247,39254,39270],{"type":591,"attrs":39149,"content":39150},{"textAlign":49},[39151],{"text":39152,"type":596},"The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) selection of Mitra Chem and Li Industries for funding to support domestic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material (CAM) production could boost the technology’s presence in the US. Benchmark analysis, however, indicates there will still be insufficient domestic capacity to meet future cell production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39154,"content":39155},{"textAlign":49},[39156,39158,39164],{"text":39157,"type":596},"Cell makers have rushed to plan and build gigafactories to take advantage of incoming Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies, ",{"text":39159,"type":596,"marks":39160},"shortening gigafactory development timelines in North America",[39161],{"type":606,"attrs":39162},{"href":39163,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-gigafactory-construction-timelines-surpass-china-as-ira-turbocharges-capacity-pipeline",{"text":39165,"type":596},". Yet, the corresponding build out domestic midstream capacity to feed these gigafactories has lagged the pace of downstream developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":39167,"content":39168},{"textAlign":49},[39169],{"text":39170,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis has identified considerable future gaps at the midstream of the US battery value chain, particularly for critical mineral processing and battery material production, endangering US supply security as it builds out its domestic clean energy capabilities.",{"type":615,"attrs":39172,"content":39173},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39174],{"text":39175,"type":596},"Developing a US LFP supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":39177,"content":39178},{"textAlign":49},[39179,39181,39187],{"text":39180,"type":596},"The current mismatch is particularly stark in the US LFP sector. The US does not currently have any active LFP CAM capacity, with 99% of global LFP CAM production located in China, according to the ",{"text":39182,"type":596,"marks":39183},"Benchmark Cathode Forecast",[39184],{"type":606,"attrs":39185},{"href":39186,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39189,"content":39190},{"textAlign":49},[39191,39197],{"text":39192,"type":596,"marks":39193},"Automakers and battery manufacturers in the west are increasingly pivoting towards LFP technology to lower production costs",[39194],{"type":606,"attrs":39195},{"href":39196,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lges-lfp-commitment-grows-with-renault-group-battery-cell-deal",{"text":39198,"type":596},", as technological improvements mean the iron-based cathode now rivals mid-nickel cathodes in terms of performance. LFP is also benefiting from the booming battery storage market in the US, as grid-scale installations are built to help integrate intermittent supplies of renewable energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":39200,"content":39201},{"textAlign":49},[39202],{"type":836,"attrs":39203},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":39204,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":39205},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfVEg3o-u45guP2-tx6uY3vCl9wgnzW47KMDJM1bTdyMn4zC0iZaeIexbnO_0cCvTWIYQ5oWkBz4CpMrRgsWAO47peGhvhQWaLcGSuK6y3NdE52pUpusdMjjsCGT0tH9OfHj67RVwDgrGIIb1yyIHUePQAn?key=3XrQm9-CdueG4-NkLRQcLA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":39207,"content":39208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39209],{"text":39210,"type":596},"Where did the funding go?",{"type":591,"attrs":39212,"content":39213},{"textAlign":49},[39214],{"text":39215,"type":596},"To accelerate the build out of domestic LFP CAM capacity, the US DoE Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) selected Mitra Chem and Li Industries for awards last week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39217,"content":39218},{"textAlign":49},[39219],{"text":39220,"type":596},"The US Department of Defense (DoD) later followed suit with its own $12.9 million award to Nano One Materials, under the Defense Production Act Investments (DPAI) program, to boost Nano One’s LFP CAM facilities in Québec and British Columbia.",{"type":591,"attrs":39222,"content":39223},{"textAlign":49},[39224,39226,39232,39234,39239,39241],{"text":39225,"type":596},"The DoE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) announced an investment of over $3 billion in its second round funding for 25 critical mineral and battery manufacturing projects, including an allocation ",{"text":39227,"type":596,"marks":39228},"of $450 million for projects",[39229],{"type":606,"attrs":39230},{"href":39231,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/dle-and-lithium-metal-projects-on-track-for-over-500-million-in-us-doe-funding",{"text":39233,"type":596}," utilising ",{"text":39235,"type":596,"marks":39236},"direct lithium extraction (DLE)",[39237],{"type":606,"attrs":39238},{"href":39231,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39240,"type":596}," technology and ",{"text":39242,"type":596,"marks":39243},"$145 million to advance the US nickel supply chain.",[39244],{"type":606,"attrs":39245},{"href":39246,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/doe-boosts-us-nickel-growth-but-supply-security-still-a-concern",{"type":591,"attrs":39248,"content":39249},{"textAlign":49},[39250],{"text":39251,"type":596,"marks":39252},"The outcome of the US presidential election on November 5 will bring significant geopolitical consequences for the energy transition in the US and worldwide.",[39253],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39255,"content":39256},{"textAlign":49},[39257,39261,39266],{"text":39258,"type":596,"marks":39259},"Benchmark’s latest ",[39260],{"type":1006},{"text":16174,"type":596,"marks":39262},[39263,39264],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":39265},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39267,"type":596,"marks":39268}," explores the likely policy outcomes from a Harris or Trump presidency and how either administration could impact critical mineral and battery industries.",[39269],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39271,"content":39272},{"textAlign":49},[39273,39277,39281],{"text":39274,"type":596,"marks":39275},"Request Benchmark’s Special Issue",[39276],{"type":1006},{"text":39278,"type":596,"marks":39279}," – ",[39280],{"type":1006},{"text":39282,"type":596,"marks":39283},"Trump vs Harris: What is at stake?",[39284,39285],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":39286},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) selection of Mitra Chem and Li Industries for funding to support domestic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material (CAM) production could boost the technology’s presence in the US. Benchmark analysis, however, indicates there will still be insufficient domestic capacity to meet future cell production. Cell makers have rushed […]",[39289],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39290},{"job_title":557,"image":39291,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e320b59c-cc46-4c1e-a2c7-32ebe687bcf0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[39294,39295,39296],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":39298,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":39299,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7327243f53/bm-us-doe-dollars-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":39301,"uuid":39302,"name":39303,"slug":39304,"full_slug":39305,"content":39306},112468902024091,"b6b8669c-7e54-4f18-8c94-7f9060693f53","US steps up manganese focus as it lines up over $300 million funding for domestic projects  ","us-steps-up-manganese-focus-as-it-lines-up-over-300-million-funding-for-domestic-projects","article/us-steps-up-manganese-focus-as-it-lines-up-over-300-million-funding-for-domestic-projects",{"_uid":39307,"date":39308,"tags":39309,"editor":39315,"content":39319,"excerpt":39478,"featured":51,"reporter":39479,"_editable":39483,"component":697,"seo_title":39303,"categories":39484,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":39488,"seo_description":39478,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":39491},"d1b10c1e-c08a-4018-b79e-130ffdf5cbca","2024-09-25 00:00",[39310,39311,39312,39313,39314],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":39138,"name":39139},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[39316],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39317},{"job_title":557,"image":39318,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":39320},[39321,39347,39360,39380,39385,39396,39401,39406,39411,39416,39421,39426,39431,39436,39446,39452,39466],{"type":591,"attrs":39322,"content":39323},{"textAlign":49},[39324,39326,39332,39333,39339,39341,39345],{"text":39325,"type":596},"Australian manganese producers ",{"text":39327,"type":596,"marks":39328},"South32",[39329],{"type":606,"attrs":39330},{"href":39331,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south32-could-become-key-battery-manganese-supplier-as-arizona-project-receives-permitting-boost",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":39334,"type":596,"marks":39335},"Element 25",[39336],{"type":606,"attrs":39337},{"href":39338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-year-western-companies-got-serious-about-manganese-2023-in-review",{"text":39340,"type":596}," have been selected for grants worth up to $166 million each from the US ",{"text":39139,"type":596,"marks":39342},[39343],{"type":606,"attrs":39344},{"href":39246,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39346,"type":596}," (DoE) to develop high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) projects in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39348,"content":39349},{"textAlign":49},[39350,39352,39358],{"text":39351,"type":596},"This is the first such funding from the DoE dedicated to HPMSM projects as the US looks to lower its reliance on China for sourcing electric vehicle (EV) battery making materials. The move also shows the ",{"text":39353,"type":596,"marks":39354},"growing importance",[39355],{"type":606,"attrs":39356},{"href":39357,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/why-manganese-matters-the-battery-supply-chains-stabilising-force",{"text":39359,"type":596}," of manganese in EV batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":39361,"content":39362},{"textAlign":49},[39363,39365,39371,39373,39379],{"text":39364,"type":596},"North America’s ",{"text":39366,"type":596,"marks":39367},"HPMSM demand is forecast",[39368],{"type":606,"attrs":39369},{"href":39370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-to-hold-position-as-top-manganese-sulphate-producer-this-decade-despite-falling-share",{"text":39372,"type":596}," to reach 60,000 tonnes in 2030 from 18,000 tonnes this year, according to the ",{"text":39374,"type":596,"marks":39375},"Benchmark Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook",[39376],{"type":606,"attrs":39377},{"href":39378,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/manganese/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39381,"content":39382},{"textAlign":49},[39383],{"text":39384,"type":596},"“This does indicate that the US government is now prioritising manganese, which we haven’t really seen before,” said Zach Parsons, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":39386,"content":39387},{"textAlign":49},[39388,39390,39394],{"text":39389,"type":596},"China currently dominates the global manganese supply and is set to account for 97% of the HPMSM output this year, according to the ",{"text":39374,"type":596,"marks":39391},[39392],{"type":606,"attrs":39393},{"href":39378,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39395,"type":596},". The rest of the world HPMSM supply is set to gain share to reach 28% by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39397,"content":39398},{"textAlign":49},[39399],{"text":39400,"type":596},"“Given the very few ex-China projects in the HPMSM space, and the paucity of projects in the United States in particular, the funding for both Element 25 and South32 are natural fits. These two US-based projects bring the most to the table,” said Parsons. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39402,"content":39403},{"textAlign":49},[39404],{"text":39405,"type":596},"The latest announcement is part of DoE’s $3 billion investment across 25 battery projects in 14 states. The DoE had in October 2022 awarded $1.82 billion to 14 projects. ",{"type":615,"attrs":39407,"content":39408},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39409],{"text":39410,"type":596},"South32’s Hermosa project gets a boost",{"type":591,"attrs":39412,"content":39413},{"textAlign":49},[39414],{"text":39415,"type":596},"South32 said it would use the funding to build a commercial-scale manganese production facility at its Hermosa project located in the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39417,"content":39418},{"textAlign":49},[39419],{"text":39420,"type":596},"The Hermosa project includes a zinc-manganese-silver oxide deposit called Clark and a zinc-lead-silver sulphide mine deposit called Taylor. ",{"type":615,"attrs":39422,"content":39423},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39424],{"text":39425,"type":596},"Element 25 to get a capacity headstart  ",{"type":591,"attrs":39427,"content":39428},{"textAlign":49},[39429],{"text":39430,"type":596},"Element 25 said the funding would boost its plan to build the proposed battery grade HPMSM facility in Louisiana. The funding is in addition to the $115 million already committed by offtake partners General Motors and Stellantis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39432,"content":39433},{"textAlign":49},[39434],{"text":39435,"type":596},"Element 25 secured a $85 million loan from GM in 2023 to supply 32,500 tonnes of manganese sulphate annually. It has also signed a take-or-pay offtake commitments for 45,000 tonnes per annum of HPMSM over five years with Stellantis, that includes $30 million in project funding.",{"type":591,"attrs":39437,"content":39438},{"textAlign":49},[39439,39441,39445],{"text":39440,"type":596},"Element 25’s capacity is forecast to increase sevenfold to about 36,000 tonnes a year in 2030, from 5,000 tonnes in 2025, according to the ",{"text":39374,"type":596,"marks":39442},[39443],{"type":606,"attrs":39444},{"href":39378,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39447,"content":39448},{"textAlign":49},[39449],{"text":39251,"type":596,"marks":39450},[39451],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39453,"content":39454},{"textAlign":49},[39455,39458,39463],{"text":39258,"type":596,"marks":39456},[39457],{"type":1006},{"text":16174,"type":596,"marks":39459},[39460,39462],{"type":606,"attrs":39461},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":39267,"type":596,"marks":39464},[39465],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39467,"content":39468},{"textAlign":49},[39469,39473],{"text":39470,"type":596,"marks":39471},"Request Benchmark’s Special Issue – ",[39472],{"type":1006},{"text":39282,"type":596,"marks":39474},[39475,39477],{"type":606,"attrs":39476},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},"Australian manganese producers South32 and Element 25 have been selected for grants worth up to $166 million each from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to develop high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) projects in the country. This is the first such funding from the DoE dedicated to HPMSM projects as the US looks to lower […]",[39480],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39481},{"job_title":557,"image":39482,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d1b10c1e-c08a-4018-b79e-130ffdf5cbca\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[39485,39486,39487],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":39489,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":39490,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d65261d112/bm-hermosa-project-south-32.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 25, 2024",{"id":39493,"uuid":39494,"name":39495,"slug":39496,"full_slug":39497,"content":39498},112468922414021,"9e8d7908-356a-4ea4-948b-449a735f9724","EVE Energy’s 20 GWh agreement with AESI shows growing role of ESS demand","eve-energys-20-gwh-agreement-with-aesi-shows-growing-role-of-ess-demand","article/eve-energys-20-gwh-agreement-with-aesi-shows-growing-role-of-ess-demand",{"_uid":39499,"date":39500,"tags":39501,"editor":39503,"content":39507,"excerpt":39665,"featured":51,"reporter":39666,"_editable":39670,"component":697,"seo_title":39495,"categories":39671,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":39675,"seo_description":39665,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":39677},"abb8eb2c-9aae-4dae-9d7c-d60b7f4301f7","2024-09-24 00:00",[39502],{"slug":575,"name":576},[39504],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39505},{"job_title":557,"image":39506,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":39508},[39509,39522,39543,39556,39561,39578,39588,39601,39608,39613,39623,39628,39649,39654],{"type":591,"attrs":39510,"content":39511},{"textAlign":49},[39512,39514,39520],{"text":39513,"type":596},"Chinese battery maker EVE Energy has secured an order to supply about 20 gigawatt hours (GWh) of cells over three years to US based ",{"text":39515,"type":596,"marks":39516},"energy storage systems",[39517],{"type":606,"attrs":39518},{"href":39519,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/energy-storage-demand-boom-in-china-helps-market-double-in-size",{"text":39521,"type":596}," (ESS) provider American Energy Storage Innovations (AESI).",{"type":591,"attrs":39523,"content":39524},{"textAlign":49},[39525,39527,39533,39535,39541],{"text":39526,"type":596},"The large order comes at a time when the Chinese ",{"text":39528,"type":596,"marks":39529},"Tier 2 battery maker",[39530],{"type":606,"attrs":39531},{"href":39532,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-tier-2-producers-double-down-on-energy-storage-market-amid-ev-competition",{"text":39534,"type":596}," is ramping up efforts to meet the booming ESS demand and ",{"text":39536,"type":596,"marks":39537},"installations",[39538],{"type":606,"attrs":39539},{"href":39540,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-is-the-post-ira-cathode-landscape-evolving",{"text":39542,"type":596}," outside China, especially in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39544,"content":39545},{"textAlign":49},[39546,39548,39554],{"text":39547,"type":596},"“The deal highlights how the growing demand for, and development of, ESS projects within North America is currently dependent on Chinese ",{"text":39549,"type":596,"marks":39550},"LFP cell supply",[39551],{"type":606,"attrs":39552},{"href":39553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lfp-cathode-prices-more-than-halve-in-a-year-as-cell-makers-flex-power",{"text":39555,"type":596},",” said Evan Hartley, analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39557,"content":39558},{"textAlign":49},[39559],{"text":39560,"type":596},"“With the chemistry so well suited for the market, and priced so competitively, the lack of domestic LFP cell production, or really any large scale LFP cell production outside of China, means that US ESS companies must rely on EVE, and other Chinese producers for this supply,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":39562,"content":39563},{"textAlign":49},[39564,39566,39571,39573,39577],{"text":39565,"type":596},"Spurred by favourable policies and incentives, ",{"text":39567,"type":596,"marks":39568},"global ESS demand is forecast to more than triple",[39569],{"type":606,"attrs":39570},{"href":39519,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39572,"type":596}," by 2030 to about 450 GWh in 2030, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":39574},[39575],{"type":606,"attrs":39576},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39579,"content":39580},{"textAlign":49},[39581,39583,39587],{"text":39582,"type":596},"Outside China, North America is the second largest market and is set to account for 23% of the global ESS share this year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":39584},[39585],{"type":606,"attrs":39586},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39589,"content":39590},{"textAlign":49},[39591,39593,39599],{"text":39592,"type":596},"Of the 416 global gigafactories that are currently in the pipeline, 57 factories have ESS as their primary OEM supply, according to the ",{"text":39594,"type":596,"marks":39595},"Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment",[39596],{"type":606,"attrs":39597},{"href":39598,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/data-reports/market-assessments/",{"text":39600,"type":596},". Of these, 46 factories are in China alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":39602,"content":39603},{"textAlign":49},[39604],{"type":836,"attrs":39605},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":39606,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":39607},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5b60dc681d/bm-global-ess-demand.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":39609,"content":39610},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39611],{"text":39612,"type":596},"How does EVE rank against other ESS players?",{"type":591,"attrs":39614,"content":39615},{"textAlign":49},[39616,39618,39622],{"text":39617,"type":596},"Over 20% of EVE’s pipeline capacity by 2030 is dedicated to ESS, according to the ",{"text":39594,"type":596,"marks":39619},[39620],{"type":606,"attrs":39621},{"href":39598,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39624,"content":39625},{"textAlign":49},[39626],{"text":39627,"type":596},"EVE is currently ranked the second largest ESS producer in the world with 83 GWh total pipeline capacity by 2030, behind Chinese ESS producer Hithium’s 95 GWh pipeline capacity by 2030, according to the Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment. EVE is planning 20 factories of which 12 are currently operational.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":39629,"content":39630},{"textAlign":49},[39631,39633,39639,39641,39647],{"text":39632,"type":596},"CATL, ",{"text":39634,"type":596,"marks":39635},"the world’s largest battery producer",[39636],{"type":606,"attrs":39637},{"href":39638,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-calls-for-australia-to-build-out-lithium-processing-capacity-to-meet-us-battery-needs",{"text":39640,"type":596},", ranks third with 75 GWh of ESS pipeline capacity by 2030, while Great Power and ",{"text":39642,"type":596,"marks":39643},"Ganfeng",[39644],{"type":606,"attrs":39645},{"href":39646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-view-from-china-exclusive-interview-with-ganfeng-lithium",{"text":39648,"type":596}," are the next biggest producers with pipeline capacities of 59 GWh and 55 GWh respectively. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39650,"content":39651},{"textAlign":49},[39652],{"text":39653,"type":596},"“We have seen certain Tier 2 producers make significant steps in securing ESS orders to support production increases as it becomes increasingly difficult for them to compete with leaders such as CATL and BYD for EV orders,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":39655,"content":39656},{"textAlign":49},[39657,39659,39663],{"text":39658,"type":596},"EVE Energy’s total battery capacity, including for electric vehicles and ESS, has grown fourfold to about 150 GWh between 2020 and 2024, according to the ",{"text":39594,"type":596,"marks":39660},[39661],{"type":606,"attrs":39662},{"href":39598,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39664,"type":596},". The battery maker’s capacity is forecast to further increase two folds to about 400 GWh in 2030.","Chinese battery maker EVE Energy has secured an order to supply about 20 gigawatt hours (GWh) of cells over three years to US based energy storage systems (ESS) provider American Energy Storage Innovations (AESI). The large order comes at a time when the Chinese Tier 2 battery maker is ramping up efforts to meet the […]",[39667],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39668},{"job_title":557,"image":39669,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"abb8eb2c-9aae-4dae-9d7c-d60b7f4301f7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[39672,39673,39674],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":33017,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":33017,"source":547,"filename":33018,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":39676,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":33017,"title":33017,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 24, 2024",{"id":39679,"uuid":39680,"name":39681,"slug":39682,"full_slug":39683,"content":39684},112468917400503,"b4bf19f4-a4f1-43b0-9627-3f45c777cbd1","Mahenge funding highlights Tanzania’s growing role in graphite supply chain ","mahenge-funding-highlights-tanzanias-growing-role-in-graphite-supply-chain","article/mahenge-funding-highlights-tanzanias-growing-role-in-graphite-supply-chain",{"_uid":39685,"date":39500,"tags":39686,"editor":39692,"content":39696,"excerpt":39817,"featured":51,"reporter":39818,"_editable":39822,"component":697,"seo_title":39681,"categories":39823,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":39826,"seo_description":39817,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":39677},"a629539d-1755-4a08-bb89-fc11d0356d9f",[39687,39688,39691],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":39689,"name":39690},"black-rock-mining","Black Rock Mining",{"slug":11916,"name":11917},[39693],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39694},{"job_title":557,"image":39695,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":39697},[39698,39709,39719,39724,39729,39736,39741,39746,39751,39756,39761,39771,39776,39781,39792,39797,39802,39807,39812],{"type":591,"attrs":39699,"content":39700},{"textAlign":49},[39701,39703,39708],{"text":39702,"type":596},"Black Rock Mining has secured $179 million to develop its Mahenge graphite project in Tanzania. The country’s natural graphite production is set to increase more than fourfold by the end of this decade, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":39704},[39705],{"type":606,"attrs":39706},{"href":39707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/natural-graphite/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39710,"content":39711},{"textAlign":49},[39712,39714,39718],{"text":39713,"type":596},"Tanzania’s share of global supply is forecast to increase from 4% to 8% in 2030. Global demand for natural graphite is forecast to more than double over the same period driven by demand from the battery industry, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":39715},[39716],{"type":606,"attrs":39717},{"href":39707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39720,"content":39721},{"textAlign":49},[39722],{"text":39723,"type":596},"The ramp up of ex-China natural graphite supply is welcomed by OEMs looking to source material that qualifies for tax credits under the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Similarly, importers of natural graphite to the US will face a tariff of 25% on material from China starting in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":39725,"content":39726},{"textAlign":49},[39727],{"text":39728,"type":596},"“Despite current structural overcapacity in China, investors are beginning to draw conclusions about what a looming deficit in the second half of the decade could do to prices,” said Adam Megginson, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":39730,"content":39731},{"textAlign":49},[39732],{"type":836,"attrs":39733},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":39734,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":39735},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b6187bb857/bm-africa-ramps-up-natural-graphite-production-4.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":39737,"content":39738},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39739],{"text":39740,"type":596},"What role does Tanzania play in graphite production?",{"type":591,"attrs":39742,"content":39743},{"textAlign":49},[39744],{"text":39745,"type":596},"Natural flake graphite supply from African countries is forecast to make up 26% of the global market in 2030, up from 13% in this year. The region has attracted interest from ex-China downstream players looking to diversify their supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":39747,"content":39748},{"textAlign":49},[39749],{"text":39750,"type":596},"The ramp up in Tanzanian supply comes from projects being developed by several companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":39752,"content":39753},{"textAlign":49},[39754],{"text":39755,"type":596},"Supply is more diverse in Tanzania than Mozambique, the only African country with higher natural graphite production. In 2030, the two largest Mozambican mines are forecast to be responsible for 82% of the country’s production, whilst the two largest Tanzanian mines – Epanko and Mahenge – will make up 45% of the country’s production.",{"type":615,"attrs":39757,"content":39758},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39759],{"text":39760,"type":596},"Tanzania’s natural graphite projects",{"type":591,"attrs":39762,"content":39763},{"textAlign":49},[39764,39766,39770],{"text":39765,"type":596},"Tanzania has two natural graphite mines currently in operation, with a further four in development, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":39767},[39768],{"type":606,"attrs":39769},{"href":39707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":39772,"content":39773},{"textAlign":49},[39774],{"text":39775,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Natural Graphite Forecast",{"type":615,"attrs":39777,"content":39778},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39779],{"text":39780,"type":596},"Why is there interest in ex-China graphite?",{"type":591,"attrs":39782,"content":39783},{"textAlign":49},[39784,39786,39790],{"text":39785,"type":596},"China dominates the global supply of natural graphite, with 73% of global supply expected to come from the country in 2024, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":39787},[39788],{"type":606,"attrs":39789},{"href":39707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39791,"type":596},". For USPG, China is forecast to produce 94% of global supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":39793,"content":39794},{"textAlign":49},[39795],{"text":39796,"type":596},"Interest in ex-China material has risen since the US’ IRA was enacted in July 2022. The foreign entity of concern (FEOC) stipulations require an electric vehicle to use parts and materials made outside of China and by non-Chinese companies. In the case of graphite, automakers have until 2027 to source material from outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":39798,"content":39799},{"textAlign":49},[39800],{"text":39801,"type":596},"Earlier this month, the US finalised its 25% tariff on Chinese graphite starting in 2026, confirming the need for US automakers to source material from elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":39803,"content":39804},{"textAlign":49},[39805],{"text":39806,"type":596},"“Ex-China project developers are hoping a premium develops for material that does not originate from a FEOC,” Megginson said. “This will be important if these producers are to overcome the more challenging capital expenditure requirements of projects outside of China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":39808,"content":39809},{"textAlign":49},[39810],{"text":39811,"type":596},"The EU has similar legislation in the form of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).",{"type":591,"attrs":39813,"content":39814},{"textAlign":49},[39815],{"text":39816,"type":596},"The export regulations China placed on natural graphite in December 2023 provide further incentive to source material from outside the country, though the policy has not yet been used to limit supply.","Black Rock Mining has secured $179 million to develop its Mahenge graphite project in Tanzania. The country’s natural graphite production is set to increase more than fourfold by the end of this decade, according to Benchmark’s Natural Graphite Forecast. Tanzania’s share of global supply is forecast to increase from 4% to 8% in 2030. Global […]",[39819],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39820},{"job_title":557,"image":39821,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a629539d-1755-4a08-bb89-fc11d0356d9f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[39824,39825],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":39827,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":39828,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/33b0c394a2/bm-mahenge-funding-highlights-tanzanias-growing-role.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":39830,"uuid":39831,"name":39832,"slug":39833,"full_slug":39834,"content":39835},112468912137132,"21213819-da8a-4e77-9b94-1577a84c6134","DoE boosts US nickel growth, but supply security still a concern","doe-boosts-us-nickel-growth-but-supply-security-still-a-concern","article/doe-boosts-us-nickel-growth-but-supply-security-still-a-concern",{"_uid":39836,"date":39500,"tags":39837,"editor":39841,"content":39845,"excerpt":39997,"featured":51,"reporter":39998,"_editable":40002,"component":697,"seo_title":39832,"categories":40003,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":40007,"seo_description":39997,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":39677},"525b998d-3b80-4531-82d7-c26c3abe26e4",[39838,39839,39840],{"slug":39138,"name":39139},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[39842],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":39843},{"job_title":557,"image":39844,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":39846},[39847,39852,39857,39862,39874,39887,39892,39897,39908,39918,39923,39930,39935,39947,39952,39963,39969,39983],{"type":591,"attrs":39848,"content":39849},{"textAlign":49},[39850],{"text":39851,"type":596},"The US is progressing efforts to build out a domestic nickel supply chain, as the Department of Energy (DoE) last week selected Revex Technologies (Revex) for an award of up to $145 million to advance its Michigan-based REV nickel project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39853,"content":39854},{"textAlign":49},[39855],{"text":39856,"type":596},"“The grant demonstrates that the US government is getting serious about boosting its domestic nickel capabilities,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39858,"content":39859},{"textAlign":49},[39860],{"text":39861,"type":596},"“Although this project will promote sustainable, US-sourced critical minerals, it is unlikely to move the needle significantly, with the US set to remain reliant on foreign sources as nickel demand intensifies,” he added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39863,"content":39864},{"textAlign":49},[39865,39867,39872],{"text":39866,"type":596},"Despite the potential domestic supply growth, hurdles remain to achieve supply security. ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":39868},[39869],{"type":606,"attrs":39870},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":39873,"type":596}," shows that US domestic nickel supply is set to account for just 5% of the country’s demand by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":39875,"content":39876},{"textAlign":49},[39877,39879,39885],{"text":39878,"type":596},"Revex’s selection is part of DoE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) broader $3 billion second round funding for domestic critical mineral and battery manufacturing projects, announced last week. ",{"text":39880,"type":596,"marks":39881},"This latest round follows the first, announced in 2022",[39882],{"type":606,"attrs":39883},{"href":39884,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-battery-supply-chain-momentum-continues-with-department-of-energys-3-16-billion-funding",{"text":39886,"type":596},", allocated as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to develop the country’s battery supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":39888,"content":39889},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39890],{"text":39891,"type":596},"US nickel prospects",{"type":591,"attrs":39893,"content":39894},{"textAlign":49},[39895],{"text":39896,"type":596},"The US currently has limited domestic nickel mining and no domestic refining capacity, leaving the country reliant on exports from Canada (40%), Norway (8%), and Australia (8%) for the majority of its nickel supply in 2023, according to Global Trade Tracker.",{"type":591,"attrs":39898,"content":39899},{"textAlign":49},[39900,39902,39906],{"text":39901,"type":596},"Lundin Mining’s Eagle mine is the US’ only active nickel mine, projected to produce 11,000 tonnes of nickel contained in concentrate in 2024, according to the ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":39903},[39904],{"type":606,"attrs":39905},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39907,"type":596},". As the US lacks domestic refining capacity, the mine’s concentrate is exported to smelters in Canada for additional processing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":39909,"content":39910},{"textAlign":49},[39911,39913],{"text":39912,"type":596},"The Eagle mine is due to wind down production by 2028, as it reaches the end of its mine life. Talon Metal’s (Talon) Tamarack project – located at an adjacent site in Michigan – is set to begin operations in 2028, with the commissioning of Teck and Glencore’s NewRange Copper Nickel in Minnesota, due in 2030, set to take ",{"text":39914,"type":596,"marks":39915},"US nickel supply to 25,000 tonnes by the end of the decade.",[39916],{"type":606,"attrs":39917},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":39919,"content":39920},{"textAlign":49},[39921],{"text":39922,"type":596},"In theory, there could be enough nickel supply from free trade agreement (FTA) regions to meet US battery demand projections through 2032. However, this would require diverting in excess of 60% of this supply to the US – a scenario that is unlikely to materialise. As demand for nickel from electric vehicles increases, the US will likely have to rely on third countries such as Indonesia to plug supply gaps.",{"type":591,"attrs":39924,"content":39925},{"textAlign":49},[39926],{"type":836,"attrs":39927},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":39928,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":39929},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXedPa2brFzw9-Vhhw1J19HNB00xwVkGee8GuNNK1WazP4n8ma3HxOb3vDLGfaLOSFdZX9CKgi_Y1ZZf3aRT5GWwRTbfwQHZX6ezSEYNIB0IVqAG7K59Be7epAUok3ACuL0XO-MK1LodSpB9r-PQFmz1viA?key=xxgpkw3k6x3j-qs18EXq-A",{},{"type":591,"attrs":39931,"content":39932},{"textAlign":49},[39933],{"text":39934,"type":596},"As a result, US-based automakers and battery manufacturers are likely to face challenges in securing enough Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)–compliant nickel to meet growing battery demand over the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":39936,"content":39937},{"textAlign":49},[39938,39940,39945],{"text":39939,"type":596},"Moreover, nickel’s prevailing low price environment risks exacerbating future supply shortfalls. ",{"text":39941,"type":596,"marks":39942},"Benchmark forecasts a 2% year-on-year decline",[39943],{"type":606,"attrs":39944},{"href":8060,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39946,"type":596}," in nickel supply from US and FTA regions in 2024, led by recent mine closures in Australia and New Caledonia due to market pressures stemming from the ramp up of new supply in Indonesia.",{"type":615,"attrs":39948,"content":39949},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[39950],{"text":39951,"type":596},"Who are Revex Technologies?",{"type":591,"attrs":39953,"content":39954},{"textAlign":49},[39955,39957],{"text":39956,"type":596},"Revex joins Talon as one of only two domestic nickel extraction projects to be selected for federal grants. Talon signed a definitive agreement with the DoE on $114.8 million of funding in November 2023, and is also the ",{"text":39958,"type":596,"marks":39959},"recipient of a $20.6 million grant from US Department of Defense (DoD).",[39960],{"type":606,"attrs":39961},{"href":39962,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-department-of-defense-awards-110-million-to-boost-lithium-and-nickel-mining",{"type":591,"attrs":39964,"content":39965},{"textAlign":49},[39966],{"text":39251,"type":596,"marks":39967},[39968],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39970,"content":39971},{"textAlign":49},[39972,39975,39980],{"text":39258,"type":596,"marks":39973},[39974],{"type":1006},{"text":16174,"type":596,"marks":39976},[39977,39978],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":39979},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":39267,"type":596,"marks":39981},[39982],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":39984,"content":39985},{"textAlign":49},[39986,39989,39992],{"text":39274,"type":596,"marks":39987},[39988],{"type":1006},{"text":39278,"type":596,"marks":39990},[39991],{"type":1006},{"text":39282,"type":596,"marks":39993},[39994,39995],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":39996},{"href":25381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"The US is progressing efforts to build out a domestic nickel supply chain, as the Department of Energy (DoE) last week selected Revex Technologies (Revex) for an award of up to $145 million to advance its Michigan-based REV nickel project. “The grant demonstrates that the US government is getting serious about boosting its domestic nickel […]",[39999],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40000},{"job_title":557,"image":40001,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"525b998d-3b80-4531-82d7-c26c3abe26e4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40004,40005,40006],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40009,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/US-DOE-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":40011,"uuid":40012,"name":40013,"slug":40014,"full_slug":40015,"content":40016},112468931900359,"460a5c0d-6108-4fca-9ffb-c8a938e0a14b","Lack of Tier 1 experience could risk sodium ion battery production ramp up","lack-of-tier-1-experience-risks-sodium-ion-battery-production-ramp-up","article/lack-of-tier-1-experience-risks-sodium-ion-battery-production-ramp-up",{"_uid":40017,"date":40018,"tags":40019,"editor":40025,"content":40029,"excerpt":40126,"featured":51,"reporter":40127,"_editable":40131,"component":697,"seo_title":40013,"categories":40132,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":40135,"featured_image":40138,"seo_description":40126,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40141},"49288340-7707-44d6-8568-77ddeb23afb2","2024-09-19 00:00",[40020,40021,40024],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},"sodium-ion-2","Sodium ion",{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[40026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40027},{"job_title":557,"image":40028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40030},[40031,40043,40054,40059,40064,40069,40074,40079,40084,40089,40096,40101,40106,40111,40116,40121],{"type":591,"attrs":40032,"content":40033},{"textAlign":49},[40034,40036,40042],{"text":40035,"type":596},"A lack of established manufacturers threaten the security of sodium ion battery supply,  according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":40037,"type":596,"marks":40038},"Sodium ion Battery Forecast",[40039],{"type":606,"attrs":40040},{"href":40041,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/sodium-ion-batteries/portal/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":40044,"content":40045},{"textAlign":49},[40046,40048,40052],{"text":40047,"type":596},"Currently, there are only three Tier 1 manufacturers: BYD, CATL, and Farasis Energy. All three also manufacture lithium ion batteries. In contrast, there are 43 Tier 2 and 3 manufacturers, ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":40049},[40050],{"type":606,"attrs":40051},{"href":40041,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40053,"type":596}," shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":40055,"content":40056},{"textAlign":49},[40057],{"text":40058,"type":596},"“While the pipeline capacity for sodium ion batteries is strong, much of the forecast supply originates from Tier 2 and 3 manufacturers, indicating that the realised supply will be much lower than the announced capacity,” said Catherine Peake, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":40060,"content":40061},{"textAlign":49},[40062],{"text":40063,"type":596},"The Tier status of a producer is a reflection of its manufacturing maturity and Benchmark’s confidence in its pipeline capacity becoming realised supply. Only Tier 1 manufacturers are qualified to supply cells to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":40065,"content":40066},{"textAlign":49},[40067],{"text":40068,"type":596},"Tier 2 producers may have several years of experience in manufacturing sodium ion battery cells, cathodes, or anodes and partnerships with OEMs whilst Tier 3 producers are likely new market entrants.",{"type":591,"attrs":40070,"content":40071},{"textAlign":49},[40072],{"text":40073,"type":596},"The dependence on lower Tier producers is a concern for automakers and ESS developers interested in using the technology as these manufacturers are less experienced. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40075,"content":40076},{"textAlign":49},[40077],{"text":40078,"type":596},"“We expect ramp up of production and efficiency of manufacturing to be lower for Tier 2 and 3 producers compared to Tier 1 producers. The chance of projects falling through is also higher for less established producers. For this reason, despite the ambitious capacity announcements, the realised supply will be significantly lower,” said Catherine Peake, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":40080,"content":40081},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40082],{"text":40083,"type":596},"Lower Tiers reduce confidence in supply",{"type":591,"attrs":40085,"content":40086},{"textAlign":49},[40087],{"text":40088,"type":596},"The complexity of establishing new cell manufacturing capability, coupled with the low price of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, makes for a challenging environment for new market entrants in the sodium ion battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":40090,"content":40091},{"textAlign":49},[40092],{"type":836,"attrs":40093},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40094,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40095},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/380256b301/bm-sodium-ion-battery-supply-stacked-column-chart-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":40097,"content":40098},{"textAlign":49},[40099],{"text":40100,"type":596},"Tier 1 supply is forecast to increase more than 11-fold between 2024 and 2030, however as a share of total production it remains around 21%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40102,"content":40103},{"textAlign":49},[40104],{"text":40105,"type":596},"However, the majority of supply, both historically and forecast to 2040, comes from Tier 2 producers, with supply from Tier 3 producers increasing proportionately with total announced supply.",{"type":615,"attrs":40107,"content":40108},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40109],{"text":40110,"type":596},"Demand grows faster than supply",{"type":591,"attrs":40112,"content":40113},{"textAlign":49},[40114],{"text":40115,"type":596},"Year-on-year demand for sodium ion batteries is forecast to almost triple in 2024, and more than double in 2025 and again in 2026. Supply is expected to increase similarly up to 2030, though there is minimal ramp up forecast beyond the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40117,"content":40118},{"textAlign":49},[40119],{"text":40120,"type":596},"“The Western ESS market will likely remain reliant on sourcing cells from Tier 2 and 3 manufacturers, as they make up the majority of supply,” said Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":40122,"content":40123},{"textAlign":49},[40124],{"text":40125,"type":596},"This dependence on Tier 2 and 3 producers holds across cathode and anode supply, further reducing confidence in the security of supply.","A lack of established manufacturers threaten the security of sodium ion battery supply, according to Benchmark’s Sodium ion Battery Forecast. Currently, there are only three Tier 1 manufacturers: BYD, CATL, and Farasis Energy. All three also manufacture lithium ion batteries. In contrast, there are 43 Tier 2 and 3 manufacturers, Benchmark data shows. “While the […]",[40128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40129},{"job_title":557,"image":40130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"49288340-7707-44d6-8568-77ddeb23afb2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40133,40134],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":40136,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":40136,"source":547,"filename":40094,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40137,"is_external_url":51},"Stacked column chart showing Sodium ion battery supply in 2024, 2027, and 2030 broken down by Tier. Total production increases more than tenfold as market share of each Tier scales",{"alt":40136,"title":40136,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40139,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40140,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3340a3ef59/bm-batteryfuture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 19, 2024",{"id":40143,"uuid":40144,"name":40145,"slug":40146,"full_slug":40147,"content":40148},112468946260938,"41b64077-867d-4fe3-afaf-e210a051900c","Chinese Tier 2 battery producers double down on energy storage market amid EV competition","chinese-tier-2-producers-double-down-on-energy-storage-market-amid-ev-competition","article/chinese-tier-2-producers-double-down-on-energy-storage-market-amid-ev-competition",{"_uid":40149,"date":40150,"tags":40151,"editor":40154,"content":40158,"excerpt":40266,"featured":51,"reporter":40267,"_editable":40271,"component":697,"seo_title":40145,"categories":40272,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":40275,"featured_image":40278,"seo_description":40266,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40282},"36c3f88b-8857-442b-bb48-e082b250a9e9","2024-09-18 00:00",[40152,40153],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[40155],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40156},{"job_title":557,"image":40157,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40159},[40160,40165,40170,40175,40180,40185,40192,40197,40208,40213,40225,40230,40235,40240,40251,40256,40261],{"type":591,"attrs":40161,"content":40162},{"textAlign":49},[40163],{"text":40164,"type":596},"Chinese Tier 2 cell producers are increasingly focusing on energy storage systems (ESS) applications amid intense competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market.",{"type":591,"attrs":40166,"content":40167},{"textAlign":49},[40168],{"text":40169,"type":596},"Overcapacity and low prices are weighing on margins and forcing suppliers to find alternative routes to survive.",{"type":591,"attrs":40171,"content":40172},{"textAlign":49},[40173],{"text":40174,"type":596},"“Tier 2 companies like REPT and EVE Energy have shifted their focus to the ESS market to secure more orders and support planned production ramp ups,” said Aran Waid, a principal analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":40176,"content":40177},{"textAlign":49},[40178],{"text":40179,"type":596},"For context, from 2020 to 2022, REPT’s EV battery sales increased almost five fold, while its ESS battery sales increased more than 30 fold.",{"type":615,"attrs":40181,"content":40182},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40183],{"text":40184,"type":596},"Chinese Tier 2 cell manufacturers shift focus to ESS",{"type":591,"attrs":40186,"content":40187},{"textAlign":49},[40188],{"type":836,"attrs":40189},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40190,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40191},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/def079746b/bm-chinese-tier-2-producers-focus-on-ess.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":40193,"content":40194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40195],{"text":40196,"type":596},"Battery competition in China",{"type":591,"attrs":40198,"content":40199},{"textAlign":49},[40200,40202,40206],{"text":40201,"type":596},"The Chinese battery market is forecast to be in surplus by close to 670 GWh in 2024, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":33497,"type":596,"marks":40203},[40204],{"type":606,"attrs":40205},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40207,"type":596},". As a result, manufacturers are subject to intense competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":40209,"content":40210},{"textAlign":49},[40211],{"text":40212,"type":596},"The price of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell has fallen to around $60 per kilowatt hour (kWh), a 30% decline since the same time last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":40214,"content":40215},{"textAlign":49},[40216,40218,40223],{"text":40217,"type":596},"These market conditions have led to the cancellation or postponement of gigafactory investment in China. Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":40219},[40220],{"type":606,"attrs":40221},{"href":40222,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-batteries/capacity-database/gigafactory/",{"text":40224,"type":596}," has removed 24 Chinese projects due to cancellation or a lack of updates since their announcement in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40226,"content":40227},{"textAlign":49},[40228],{"text":40229,"type":596},"In its infancy, the ESS market was supplied by surplus cells that did not find an offtake partner in the EV market. However in the current market, ESS cells are purpose built.",{"type":591,"attrs":40231,"content":40232},{"textAlign":49},[40233],{"text":40234,"type":596},"“To compete in the market, battery manufacturers have to develop specific solutions for different applications and differentiate their products. For instance, LFP cells for EVs usually have around a 5,000 cycle life. However, for ESS applications, the minimum we see is 8,000 cycles, with most products having a 10,000 cycle life at least,” said Yu (Frank) Du, China research lead at Rho Motion.",{"type":615,"attrs":40236,"content":40237},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40238],{"text":40239,"type":596},"Global demand dynamics will affect Tier 2 manufacturers’ strategy",{"type":591,"attrs":40241,"content":40242},{"textAlign":49},[40243,40245,40249],{"text":40244,"type":596},"ESS demand remains strong, growing 50% year-on-year in 2024, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":33497,"type":596,"marks":40246},[40247],{"type":606,"attrs":40248},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40250,"type":596},". This trend is forecast to continue, with demand for ESS more than doubling by 2030 and increasing four-fold by the end of the forecast period in 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":40252,"content":40253},{"textAlign":49},[40254],{"text":40255,"type":596},"As EV demand improves, Tier 2 producers will likely try to secure more orders from this market, though competition from Tier 1 producers will make this difficult.",{"type":591,"attrs":40257,"content":40258},{"textAlign":49},[40259],{"text":40260,"type":596},"“The EV market is increasingly cost focused so it will depend on how cost competitive Tier 2 producers are compared to the competition,” said Waid.",{"type":591,"attrs":40262,"content":40263},{"textAlign":49},[40264],{"text":40265,"type":596},"How committed a producer is to ESS cells is also a significant factor as more technological advancements in developing these cells will make a switch back to EV production more difficult. However, most Tier 2 manufacturers are invested in both EV and ESS markets.","Chinese Tier 2 cell producers are increasingly focusing on energy storage systems (ESS) applications amid intense competition in the electric vehicle (EV) market. Overcapacity and low prices are weighing on margins and forcing suppliers to find alternative routes to survive. “Tier 2 companies like REPT and EVE Energy have shifted their focus to the ESS […]",[40268],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40269},{"job_title":557,"image":40270,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"36c3f88b-8857-442b-bb48-e082b250a9e9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40273,40274],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":40276,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":40276,"source":547,"filename":40190,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40277,"is_external_url":51},"Stacked column chart showing share of Chinese ESS production by Tier. Tier 2 share increases from 24% in 2021 to 47% in 2024",{"alt":40276,"title":40276,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":40279,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":40279,"source":547,"filename":40280,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40281,"is_external_url":51},"Energy storage power station","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8dc774b86d/bm-chinese-tier-2-producers-ess-focus.jpg",{"alt":40279,"title":40279,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 18, 2024",{"id":40284,"uuid":40285,"name":40286,"slug":40287,"full_slug":40288,"content":40289},112468950991819,"ad392c46-6471-4107-8104-288246a6c980","China’s battery supply chain will be tough to displace, speakers tell Benchmark’s Giga APAC 2024 conference","chinas-battery-supply-chain-will-be-tough-to-displace-speakers-tell-benchmarks-giga-apac-2024-conference","article/chinas-battery-supply-chain-will-be-tough-to-displace-speakers-tell-benchmarks-giga-apac-2024-conference",{"_uid":40290,"date":40291,"tags":40292,"editor":40297,"content":40301,"excerpt":40454,"featured":51,"reporter":40455,"_editable":40459,"component":697,"seo_title":40286,"categories":40460,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":40463,"seo_description":40454,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40466},"c77389d6-a332-4916-8c79-b400508fad63","2024-09-17 00:00",[40293,40294],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":40295,"name":40296},"giga-apac-2024","Giga APAC 2024",[40298],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40299},{"job_title":557,"image":40300,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40302},[40303,40316,40328,40333,40338,40351,40364,40371,40399,40404,40409,40422,40427,40432,40439,40444,40449],{"type":591,"attrs":40304,"content":40305},{"textAlign":49},[40306,40308,40314],{"text":40307,"type":596},"China continues to expand its battery supply chain presence overseas despite the growing ",{"text":40309,"type":596,"marks":40310},"pressure",[40311],{"type":606,"attrs":40312},{"href":40313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-the-final-30d-ira-tax-credit-rules-mean-for-the-us-auto-industry",{"text":40315,"type":596}," from the US and the European Union (EU) to isolate the country’s dominance in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":40317,"content":40318},{"textAlign":49},[40319,40321,40326],{"text":40320,"type":596},"“Western countries are increasingly looking to de-risk their battery supply chains from China. But China has a firm grip on the various critical minerals both at home and outside,” said ",{"text":38189,"type":596,"marks":40322},[40323],{"type":606,"attrs":40324},{"href":40325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/presentations/1323412",{"text":40327,"type":596},", analyst at Benchmark, at the Giga APAC 2024 in Perth, Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":40329,"content":40330},{"textAlign":49},[40331],{"text":40332,"type":596},"China has seen rapid expansion of battery production in the past decade helped by its favourable policy stimulus. As a result, China’s battery production share among the world’s top 10 battery makers is set to reach 76% this year, from just 38% in 2015, according to a Benchmark analysis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40334,"content":40335},{"textAlign":49},[40336],{"text":40337,"type":596},"Further, 99% of global cathode active material and 93% of the anode active material production is forecast to be produced in either China or it involves a Chinese company. Further, China has significantly grown its electric vehicle (EV) sales faster than the rest of the world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40339,"content":40340},{"textAlign":49},[40341,40343,40349],{"text":40342,"type":596},"The country has managed to achieve this dominance faster than the rest of the world thanks to its proactive policies to incentivise the build out of capacity. Yet, China now faces ",{"text":40344,"type":596,"marks":40345},"growing",[40346],{"type":606,"attrs":40347},{"href":40348,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/canada-follows-us-eu-to-impose-steep-import-tariffs-on-china-made-evs",{"text":40350,"type":596}," restrictions from Europe and the US as they look to favour local production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40352,"content":40353},{"textAlign":49},[40354,40356,40362],{"text":40355,"type":596},"“China is ",{"text":40357,"type":596,"marks":40358},"expanding",[40359],{"type":606,"attrs":40360},{"href":40361,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-china-exporting-its-electric-vehicles",{"text":40363,"type":596}," overseas not only to lower geopolitical risks but also ensure the security of its supply chain,” said Liu.",{"type":591,"attrs":40365,"content":40366},{"textAlign":49},[40367],{"type":836,"attrs":40368},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40369,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40370},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/23bfe17828/bm-china-expansion.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":40372,"content":40373},{"textAlign":49},[40374,40376,40382,40384,40389,40391,40397],{"text":40375,"type":596},"Chinese companies have increasingly been establishing ",{"text":40377,"type":596,"marks":40378},"presence",[40379],{"type":606,"attrs":40380},{"href":40381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-seeks-balance-between-chinese-nickel-dominance-and-ira-compliance",{"text":40383,"type":596}," in resource-rich countries such as ",{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":40385},[40386],{"type":606,"attrs":40387},{"href":40388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-chinas-influence-over-indonesian-nickel",{"text":40390,"type":596}," for its nickel, the ",{"text":40392,"type":596,"marks":40393},"Democratic Republic of Congo ",[40394],{"type":606,"attrs":40395},{"href":40396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-drcs-election-mean-for-copper-and-cobalt-supply",{"text":40398,"type":596},"for the cobalt, and the European Union to distribute its electric vehicles. ",{"type":615,"attrs":40400,"content":40401},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40402],{"text":40403,"type":596},"Policies and tariffs",{"type":591,"attrs":40405,"content":40406},{"textAlign":49},[40407],{"text":40408,"type":596},"Despite the growing political efforts that are pushing different countries to take steps to lower their reliance on the Chinese battery supply chain, the country’s dominance is unlikely to shift significantly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40410,"content":40411},{"textAlign":49},[40412,40414,40420],{"text":40413,"type":596},"“Scaling the upstream and the midstream of the battery supply chain is going to take time and at the same time need significant capital. We have estimated by 2040 the industry will need $1.6 trillion worth of capital invested across the upstream and the midstream,” said ",{"text":40415,"type":596,"marks":40416},"Andrew Miller",[40417],{"type":606,"attrs":40418},{"href":40419,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/presentations/1323345",{"text":40421,"type":596},", Chief Operating Officer at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40423,"content":40424},{"textAlign":49},[40425],{"text":40426,"type":596},"According to Miller, while China is at the forefront of this electrification race, others such as the US and Australia are just starting that journey and a huge amount of work still needs to be done. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40428,"content":40429},{"textAlign":49},[40430],{"text":40431,"type":596},"However, China has been building battery plants in its home turf far beyond its needs leading to an overcapacity and fierce price competition, forcing it to look overseas for growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40433,"content":40434},{"textAlign":49},[40435],{"type":836,"attrs":40436},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40437,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40438},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8c5228780b/bm-china-supply-chain-expansion.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":40440,"content":40441},{"textAlign":49},[40442],{"text":40443,"type":596},"“China has the capacity to supply all current global EV battery demand and still has capacity left to supply batteries for an extra 1,560,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5 long range EVs,” said James Choi, Honorary Ambassador for Foreign Investment Promotion, Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":40445,"content":40446},{"textAlign":49},[40447],{"text":40448,"type":596},"Both the US and the EU have been establishing policies to build out its local supply chain and imposing tariffs on the import of Chinese EVs citing to create a level playing field. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40450,"content":40451},{"textAlign":49},[40452],{"text":40453,"type":596},"“Free trade is on life support,” Choi said, adding that the growing trade war with China is likely to decouple battery supply chains. ","China continues to expand its battery supply chain presence overseas despite the growing pressure from the US and the European Union (EU) to isolate the country’s dominance in the supply chain. “Western countries are increasingly looking to de-risk their battery supply chains from China. But China has a firm grip on the various critical minerals […]",[40456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40457},{"job_title":557,"image":40458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c77389d6-a332-4916-8c79-b400508fad63\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40461,40462],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40464,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40465,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9155a56fa/bm-xiaobai-liu-giga-apac-2024.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 17, 2024",{"id":40468,"uuid":40469,"name":40470,"slug":40471,"full_slug":40472,"content":40473},112468955792332,"09b41776-195c-4f0c-af83-563a342fab78","Sustainability key to diversifying Indonesian nickel investment PT Vale tells Benchmark’s Giga APAC conference ","sustainability-key-to-diversifying-indonesian-nickel-investment-pt-vale-indonesia-tells-benchmarks-giga-apac-conference","article/sustainability-key-to-diversifying-indonesian-nickel-investment-pt-vale-indonesia-tells-benchmarks-giga-apac-conference",{"_uid":40474,"date":40475,"tags":40476,"editor":40481,"content":40485,"excerpt":40709,"featured":51,"reporter":40710,"_editable":40714,"component":697,"seo_title":40470,"categories":40715,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":40719,"seo_description":40709,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40722},"b56dd0c8-de97-4669-b24c-938213113351","2024-09-16 00:00",[40477,40478,40479,40480],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":40295,"name":40296},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[40482],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40483},{"job_title":557,"image":40484,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40486},[40487,40492,40497,40516,40527,40537,40542,40547,40552,40557,40562,40567,40578,40585,40590,40595,40600,40605,40610,40615,40620,40625,40630,40635,40642,40660,40676,40692],{"type":591,"attrs":40488,"content":40489},{"textAlign":49},[40490],{"text":40491,"type":596},"Integrating higher sustainability standards is key to promoting diversified investment in Indonesia’s nickel sector, PT Vale Indonesia’s Chief Executive Officer Febriany Eddy and Chief Strategy and Technical Officer Luke Mahony told delegates at Giga APAC in Perth last week.",{"type":591,"attrs":40493,"content":40494},{"textAlign":49},[40495],{"text":40496,"type":596},"“Customers and governments are starting to realise the importance of diversifying investment in the Indonesian nickel sector. And ESG is key to this,” said Eddy.",{"type":591,"attrs":40498,"content":40499},{"textAlign":49},[40500,40502,40506,40508,40514],{"text":40501,"type":596},"Indonesia’s nickel industry has experienced a boom in recent years, as supply has risen from 120,000 tonnes in 2015 to over 2.2 million tonnes in 2023, according to the ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":40503},[40504],{"type":606,"attrs":40505},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40507,"type":596},". But investment in the sector has been overwhelmingly dominated by China and dogged ",{"text":40509,"type":596,"marks":40510},"by persistent concerns",[40511],{"type":606,"attrs":40512},{"href":40513,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-renewables-help-clean-up-indonesias-nickel-industry",{"text":40515,"type":596}," around environmental, social, governance (ESG) standards. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40517,"content":40518},{"textAlign":49},[40519,40525],{"text":40520,"type":596,"marks":40521},"The extraction of laterite nickel ore in Indonesia involves land clearing, which threatens valuable carbon sinks and biodiversity",[40522],{"type":606,"attrs":40523},{"href":40524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/data-reports/sustainability/",{"text":40526,"type":596},". Electricity consumption is also predominantly supplied by coal-fired power plants, contributing a higher carbon-intensity per tonne of nickel produced.",{"type":591,"attrs":40528,"content":40529},{"textAlign":49},[40530,40535],{"text":40531,"type":596,"marks":40532},"The Indonesia government wants to diversify the ownership of nickel projects",[40533],{"type":606,"attrs":40534},{"href":40381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40536,"type":596}," to reduce reliance on a single trade partner and ensure its nickel qualifies for tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). ",{"type":591,"attrs":40538,"content":40539},{"textAlign":49},[40540],{"text":40541,"type":596},"Discussing the recent expansion of Indonesia’s SIMBARA platform into the nickel sector, a system that allows officials to monitor mining activity by tracing ore from mine to smelter, Eddy suggested it was an ‘extremely important’ first step for improving sustainability standards.",{"type":591,"attrs":40543,"content":40544},{"textAlign":49},[40545],{"text":40546,"type":596},"“We’re starting to see the change around expectations of sustainability, standards are higher to get financing,” said Mahony. “And that’s the key part as we start to diversify equity ownership of the nickel and look to other markets outside of China.”",{"type":615,"attrs":40548,"content":40549},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40550],{"text":40551,"type":596},"Embracing Chinese technology partners",{"type":591,"attrs":40553,"content":40554},{"textAlign":49},[40555],{"text":40556,"type":596},"Discussing the proliferation of high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants in Indonesia, Mahony said that Chinese technological advancements had revolutionised the nickel market and transformed project economics.",{"type":591,"attrs":40558,"content":40559},{"textAlign":49},[40560],{"text":40561,"type":596},"“China has transformed HPAL in terms of capital efficiency,” he said. “Previously the technology required capital deployment of $60-70,000/tonne of nickel installed. Today capex is below $20,000/tonne of nickel in some cases, while the ramp up period has gone from years to months.”",{"type":591,"attrs":40563,"content":40564},{"textAlign":49},[40565],{"text":40566,"type":596},"“From an economic perspective there are now huge margins in an HPAL. It enables development projects to downstream further into pure nickel plays,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":40568,"content":40569},{"textAlign":49},[40570,40572,40576],{"text":40571,"type":596},"The number of planned HPAL projects in Indonesia has risen rapidly since the successful commissioning and ramp-up of Indonesia’s first plant in 2021. According to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":40573},[40574],{"type":606,"attrs":40575},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40577,"type":596},", battery-targeted nickel supply from these operations to increase from 254,000 tonnes in 2024 to over 1 million tonnes by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":40579,"content":40580},{"textAlign":49},[40581],{"type":836,"attrs":40582},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40583,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40584},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf7ZgeZ8PTAXVN253Cmj2NdxPCFKhkEQ-nv-7k5S9UgemyVkRjN1IyKW1CUJsBYQzwERPf-aDYptwMKeOOU-cAELoe3T5jFMID-nf3ZLp27rGHoPm_AX1UzO0NzzNVb_LFwZh384XOez2CQ1SMSSU8MDru7?key=Ipw17fiEZIVW_DlsHtiVYg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":40586,"content":40587},{"textAlign":49},[40588],{"text":40589,"type":596},"“We will struggle to compete with the Chinese on HPAL technology,” Mahony added. “We have to embrace and partner with technology. The question is really from an equity point of view, on where the ownership will lie.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":40591,"content":40592},{"textAlign":49},[40593],{"text":40594,"type":596},"PT Vale Indonesia is developing two battery-focused high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant’s in Indonesia with China’s Huayou Cobalt, one of which includes the Ford Motor Company as partner with a view to supply into the ex-China market.",{"type":591,"attrs":40596,"content":40597},{"textAlign":49},[40598],{"text":40599,"type":596},"“It’s a three way agreement. We bring the sustainably mined ore, the Chinese bring the efficient technology to process the minerals, and Ford helps us in terms of financing, ESG, and access to market,” Eddy said.",{"type":615,"attrs":40601,"content":40602},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40603],{"text":40604,"type":596},"Opportunities for collaboration ",{"type":591,"attrs":40606,"content":40607},{"textAlign":49},[40608],{"text":40609,"type":596},"As Indonesia looks to leverage its large nickel reserves to build a battery and electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem and become a key player in the global battery supply chain, the panellists discussed how collaboration with international partners would be important – particularly with close neighbours such as Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":40611,"content":40612},{"textAlign":49},[40613],{"text":40614,"type":596},"“Indonesia doesn’t have lithium and that is a possible area where collaboration between two countries could be improved,” said Eddy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40616,"content":40617},{"textAlign":49},[40618],{"text":40619,"type":596},"“Australia may also bring some mining best practices to Indonesia and change the mining landscape of the country,” she added.",{"type":591,"attrs":40621,"content":40622},{"textAlign":49},[40623],{"text":40624,"type":596},"Mahony concurred, noting that while the build out of Indonesia’s vast industrial parks had been successful in rapidly growing the country’s nickel supply base, the development had largely been at the expense of ESG considerations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40626,"content":40627},{"textAlign":49},[40628],{"text":40629,"type":596},"Moving forward, he suggested it was critical to replicate this success with a stronger ESG emphasis would be crucial, which presented an opportunity for Australian involvement.",{"type":591,"attrs":40631,"content":40632},{"textAlign":49},[40633],{"text":40634,"type":596},"“We must ensure all growth is sustainable. This includes fixing the current base line of what we already have,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":40636,"content":40637},{"textAlign":49},[40638],{"text":40639,"type":596,"marks":40640},"Benchmark’s comprehensive nickel market intelligence offering includes:",[40641],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":40643,"content":40644},{"textAlign":49},[40645,40649,40656],{"text":40646,"type":596,"marks":40647},"IOSCO-assured ",[40648],{"type":1006},{"text":40650,"type":596,"marks":40651},"Nickel Price Assessments",[40652,40655],{"type":606,"attrs":40653},{"href":40654,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/nickel-prices/table/",{"type":1006},{"text":40657,"type":596,"marks":40658},", published on a bi-weekly basis to support supply contract settlement, indexation and price risk management.",[40659],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":40661,"content":40662},{"textAlign":49},[40663,40666,40672],{"text":25892,"type":596,"marks":40664},[40665],{"type":1006},{"text":40667,"type":596,"marks":40668},"Nickel Forecast",[40669,40671],{"type":606,"attrs":40670},{"href":39871,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":40673,"type":596,"marks":40674}," provides a forward-looking view of supply, demand, costs and prices out to 2040 to guide strategic planning.",[40675],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":40677,"content":40678},{"textAlign":49},[40679,40682,40688],{"text":25892,"type":596,"marks":40680},[40681],{"type":1006},{"text":40683,"type":596,"marks":40684},"Nickel ESG Report",[40685,40687],{"type":606,"attrs":40686},{"href":40524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":40689,"type":596,"marks":40690}," assesses the ESG performance of nickel producers worldwide to enable responsible raw material sourcing.",[40691],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":40693,"content":40694},{"textAlign":49},[40695,40699,40705],{"text":40696,"type":596,"marks":40697},"To learn more, please submit your details ",[40698],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":40700},[40701,40704],{"type":606,"attrs":40702},{"href":40703,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/contact/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-84PTMj6JSL7mncNx5c-_JBRhAUUWK02nNvrJBoTjY3Ckn-8XNxR_npr_RPS2sOopIXCFKTb-6Zt0kFbhVWhdruRUg0I2Ki68FEJpCByKiqpeub_Mc&_hsmi=2&utm_content=2&utm_source=hs_email",{"type":1006},{"text":40706,"type":596,"marks":40707}," and our team will be in touch.",[40708],{"type":1006},"Integrating higher sustainability standards is key to promoting diversified investment in Indonesia’s nickel sector, PT Vale Indonesia’s Chief Executive Officer Febriany Eddy and Chief Strategy and Technical Officer Luke Mahony told delegates at Giga APAC in Perth last week. “Customers and governments are starting to realise the importance of diversifying investment in the Indonesian nickel […]",[40711],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40712},{"job_title":557,"image":40713,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b56dd0c8-de97-4669-b24c-938213113351\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40716,40717,40718],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40720,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40721,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3b597b4c1b/bm-giga-apac-vale.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 16, 2024",{"id":40724,"uuid":40725,"name":40726,"slug":40727,"full_slug":40728,"content":40729},112468970615759,"6d9bcaa1-3c0e-4b6a-996c-982212c7083a","CATL calls for Australia to build out lithium processing capacity to meet US battery needs","catl-calls-for-australia-to-build-out-lithium-processing-capacity-to-meet-us-battery-needs","article/catl-calls-for-australia-to-build-out-lithium-processing-capacity-to-meet-us-battery-needs",{"_uid":40730,"date":40731,"tags":40732,"editor":40737,"content":40741,"excerpt":40902,"featured":51,"reporter":40903,"_editable":40907,"component":697,"seo_title":40726,"categories":40908,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":40912,"seo_description":40902,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40915},"2cba471f-364e-4918-87c7-d568585b3f68","2024-09-13 00:00",[40733,40734,40735,40736],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":40295,"name":40296},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[40738],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40739},{"job_title":557,"image":40740,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40742},[40743,40755,40767,40780,40792,40797,40802,40807,40812,40817,40824,40829,40850,40861,40872,40877,40882,40892,40897],{"type":591,"attrs":40744,"content":40745},{"textAlign":49},[40746,40748,40753],{"text":40747,"type":596},"CATL executive John Kwon told Benchmark’s Giga APAC conference that the Chinese battery maker is open to buying processed lithium from ",{"text":7853,"type":596,"marks":40749},[40750],{"type":606,"attrs":40751},{"href":40752,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-australias-budget-mean-for-the-critical-minerals-industry",{"text":40754,"type":596}," in future and that the country should build out its downstream lithium processing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":40756,"content":40757},{"textAlign":49},[40758,40760,40765],{"text":40759,"type":596},"Australia ranks as the largest lithium miner in the world and is forecast to mine 34% of the global lithium supplies this year, according to the ",{"text":40761,"type":596,"marks":40762},"Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[40763],{"type":606,"attrs":40764},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40766,"type":596},". However, the country’s lithium chemical supply share is forecast to reach just 4% in 2030, from around 1% this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40768,"content":40769},{"textAlign":49},[40770,40772,40778],{"text":40771,"type":596},"CATL’s call also comes at a time as the Chinese companies look to navigate the ",{"text":40773,"type":596,"marks":40774},"Foreign Entity of Concern",[40775],{"type":606,"attrs":40776},{"href":40777,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/why-south-korean-battery-makers-fear-feoc-rules-could-disrupt-their-us-plans",{"text":40779,"type":596}," (FEOC) status under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).",{"type":591,"attrs":40781,"content":40782},{"textAlign":49},[40783,40785,40790],{"text":40784,"type":596},"According to the US IRA guidelines, ",{"text":40786,"type":596,"marks":40787},"companies with more than 25%",[40788],{"type":606,"attrs":40789},{"href":40313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40791,"type":596}," ownership or control by an FEOC, will be ineligible for tax credits. This means CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, could lose the edge to supply batteries to its key US-based customers including Ford and General Motors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40793,"content":40794},{"textAlign":49},[40795],{"text":40796,"type":596},"“As a company, we would welcome the option of purchasing processed lithium here [Australia] instead of having another pain point to solve which is to process elsewhere,” said Kwon, General Counsel, Chairman of the Board, CATL Australia at the Benchmark Giga APAC 2024 conference in Perth.",{"type":591,"attrs":40798,"content":40799},{"textAlign":49},[40800],{"text":40801,"type":596},"According to Kwon, impediments like the IRA pose the risk of slowing down the demand for electric vehicles in the short term as it poses challenges for a vertically integrated company such as CATL to offer a cost effective business model.",{"type":591,"attrs":40803,"content":40804},{"textAlign":49},[40805],{"text":40806,"type":596},"“Australia is a US FTA country and we can buy from here and supply to the US. However, since there are no processing facilities here that are up and running right now, we have to process it in South Korea, which adds to the logistics costs,” said Kwon.",{"type":591,"attrs":40808,"content":40809},{"textAlign":49},[40810],{"text":40811,"type":596},"According to the US IRA guidelines, starting this year batteries having critical minerals have to be extracted or processed in the US or in a US free trade agreement (FTA) country.",{"type":591,"attrs":40813,"content":40814},{"textAlign":49},[40815],{"text":40816,"type":596},"“CATL being a FEOC, we have to devise ways to serve our customers in ways other than investing capital in the United States…the IRA has implications for us on where we build and where we source the rare materials from,” said Kwon. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40818,"content":40819},{"textAlign":49},[40820],{"type":836,"attrs":40821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":40822,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":40823},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0292419f06/bm-china-battery-supply-13232570e933.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":40825,"content":40826},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40827],{"text":40828,"type":596},"International expansion amid growing geopolitics ",{"type":591,"attrs":40830,"content":40831},{"textAlign":49},[40832,40834,40840,40842,40848],{"text":40833,"type":596},"CATL has been making efforts to establish a presence outside China including expansion in European and the ",{"text":40835,"type":596,"marks":40836},"North American",[40837],{"type":606,"attrs":40838},{"href":40839,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-is-the-ex-china-apac-region-position-in-the-global-battery-supply-chain-evolving",{"text":40841,"type":596}," market as it looks to support ",{"text":40843,"type":596,"marks":40844},"overseas ",[40845],{"type":606,"attrs":40846},{"href":40847,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-looks-to-overseas-markets-amid-domestic-battery-oversupply",{"text":40849,"type":596},"customers and lower reliance on an oversupplied domestic market as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":40851,"content":40852},{"textAlign":49},[40853,40855,40859],{"text":40854,"type":596},"Though, less than 1% of CATL’s cell came from outside China last year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":40856},[40857],{"type":606,"attrs":40858},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40860,"type":596},", indicating the potential for growth overseas. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40862,"content":40863},{"textAlign":49},[40864,40866,40870],{"text":40865,"type":596},"Ford is currently developing a gigafactory in partnership with CATL in Michigan, US, using the technology licensed from the battery maker. The facility  is forecast to begin production of LFP cells in 2027, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":40867},[40868],{"type":606,"attrs":40869},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40871,"type":596},". It is also building a 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) factory in Debrecen, Hungary.",{"type":615,"attrs":40873,"content":40874},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40875],{"text":40876,"type":596},"Gaps in geopolitical expectations and reality",{"type":591,"attrs":40878,"content":40879},{"textAlign":49},[40880],{"text":40881,"type":596},"While China has traditionally dominated the battery market, other countries are catching up as geopolitics diverts newer investments to newer regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":40883,"content":40884},{"textAlign":49},[40885,40887,40891],{"text":40886,"type":596},"China’s battery cell supply share is forecast to be 62% in 2034, from 85% this year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":40888},[40889],{"type":606,"attrs":40890},{"href":33501,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":40893,"content":40894},{"textAlign":49},[40895],{"text":40896,"type":596},"“There is a paradox here,” said Terry Scarrott, Director of Consultancy at Benchmark, talking about the growing anti-China rhetoric. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40898,"content":40899},{"textAlign":49},[40900],{"text":40901,"type":596},"“Countries want to scale up their industries relatively rapidly and take control of their supply chain, and build a strong manufacturing hub. Equally, that gestation period for growing the industry takes a long time. There is clearly a gap there to achieve self-sufficiency to facilitate that growth,” said Scarrott.","CATL executive John Kwon told Benchmark’s Giga APAC conference that the Chinese battery maker is open to buying processed lithium from Australia in future and that the country should build out its downstream lithium processing capacity. Australia ranks as the largest lithium miner in the world and is forecast to mine 34% of the global […]",[40904],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40905},{"job_title":557,"image":40906,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2cba471f-364e-4918-87c7-d568585b3f68\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[40909,40910,40911],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40913,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":40914,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/284e9b8c4b/bm-john-kwon-giga-apac-2024.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 13, 2024",{"id":40917,"uuid":40918,"name":40919,"slug":40920,"full_slug":40921,"content":40922},112468965835726,"e525f62f-369d-4eae-846c-50e3d972e815","Minmetals leads China’s $1.4 billion lithium consolidation effort","minmetals-leads-chinas-1-4-billion-lithium-consolidation-effort","article/minmetals-leads-chinas-1-4-billion-lithium-consolidation-effort",{"_uid":40923,"date":40731,"tags":40924,"editor":40929,"content":40933,"excerpt":41053,"featured":51,"reporter":41054,"_editable":41058,"component":697,"seo_title":40919,"categories":41059,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":41062,"seo_description":41053,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40915},"66d3fdf9-6583-472f-bed3-c885d9c0468a",[40925,40926],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":40927,"name":40928},"china-minmetals","China Minmetals",[40930],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":40931},{"job_title":557,"image":40932,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":40934},[40935,40940,40945,40957,40962,40967,40972,40977,40982,40987,40992,40997,41002,41009,41022,41033,41038,41043],{"type":591,"attrs":40936,"content":40937},{"textAlign":49},[40938],{"text":40939,"type":596},"China is stepping up consolidation of its domestic lithium resources, as state-owned mining giant China Minmetals Corp (Minmetals) plans to establish a $1.4 billion subsidiary, China Salt Lake Group, to speed up the development of lithium brine resources in the lithium-rich Qinghai province.",{"type":591,"attrs":40941,"content":40942},{"textAlign":49},[40943],{"text":40944,"type":596},"Central government-backed Minmetals will control a 53% majority stake, absorbing control of provincial government-owned Qinghai Salt Lake Industry’s existing lithium operations in the Qinghai region. The Qinghai provincial government will retain a minority ownership in the venture.",{"type":591,"attrs":40946,"content":40947},{"textAlign":49},[40948,40950,40955],{"text":40949,"type":596},"Qinghai Salt Lake Industry’s Qarhan brine operation is the largest operating lithium mine in China, producing 36,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate in 2023 – according to the",{"text":40951,"type":596,"marks":40952}," Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[40953],{"type":606,"attrs":40954},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40956,"type":596},". Two greenfield expansions are underway close by, taking total capacity to over 70,000 LCE by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":40958,"content":40959},{"textAlign":49},[40960],{"text":40961,"type":596},"Minmetals, meanwhile, operates a smaller 10,000 tpa LCE capacity lithium brine resource in Qinghai province known as Yiliping, in partnership with Ganfeng Lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40963,"content":40964},{"textAlign":49},[40965],{"text":40966,"type":596},"First proposed by President Xi Jingping in 2021, the consolidation aligns with China’s national vision of accelerating the development of ‘world class’ lithium brine resources in the Qinghai province. The involvement of Minmetals is indicative of the central government’s push to play an increasing role in the build out of its domestic lithium sector. ",{"type":615,"attrs":40968,"content":40969},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40970],{"text":40971,"type":596},"Minmetals expands battery supply chain footprint",{"type":591,"attrs":40973,"content":40974},{"textAlign":49},[40975],{"text":40976,"type":596},"Minmetals is no stranger to consolidation, having orchestrated a merger with two-rare earth companies in 2021 to create one of China’s big six rare-earth producers. By consolidating key assets in Qinghai, Minmetals will seek to replicate this approach in the lithium industry, creating a state-controlled leader akin to Chile’s SQM. ",{"type":591,"attrs":40978,"content":40979},{"textAlign":49},[40980],{"text":40981,"type":596},"Minmetals also owns Asia’s largest graphite mine—the Yunshan mine in Luobei province—and has extended its footprint from graphite mining to processing and the production of battery anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":40983,"content":40984},{"textAlign":49},[40985],{"text":40986,"type":596},"In addition, the company took over Changyuan Li-Co (rebranded as Minmetals Materials), one of the world’s leading producers of cathode materials, positioning itself as a major player across the battery value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":40988,"content":40989},{"textAlign":49},[40990],{"text":40991,"type":596},"Given its control over key battery materials, Benchmark analysts believe Minmetals could look to vertically integrate its operations to include downstream battery cell production.",{"type":615,"attrs":40993,"content":40994},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[40995],{"text":40996,"type":596},"China’s lithium industry",{"type":591,"attrs":40998,"content":40999},{"textAlign":49},[41000],{"text":41001,"type":596},"Chinese producers have long relied on imported minerals, but domestic mined production has steadily been growing to meet demand from its vast domestic battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":41003,"content":41004},{"textAlign":49},[41005],{"type":836,"attrs":41006},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41007,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41008},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe1xVlvv3-VIT9u28D1RX5kqYOO7SDgiGIt6L8puNBhntnGgKePfbxIvqsxcSnvEiIO8CaWcoTxRP3deyZXzCz1ao6ewFNtOKBOdh7jvgqX1Nkg61I8RUcT0KlMDFqElyXa2zf7N0DO_3se3NBGFxRuG5SA?key=sXVtLXQlegGUCBpkZWvHVg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41010,"content":41011},{"textAlign":49},[41012,41014,41020],{"text":41013,"type":596},"China is now the third biggest producer of lithium, behind Australia and Chile. Supply of lithium from China is set to almost quadruple by 2028, according to ",{"text":41015,"type":596,"marks":41016},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast,",[41017],{"type":606,"attrs":41018},{"href":41019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/portal/",{"text":41021,"type":596}," with mica mines in Jiangxi and spodumene mines in Xinjiang the major source of mine supply growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41023,"content":41024},{"textAlign":49},[41025,41027],{"text":41026,"type":596},"However, due to the relatively low grade of ore, these mines make up the higher end of the lithium cost curve and are estimated by Benchmark to be loss-making at current market prices. This week China’s largest battery manufacturer, CATL, reportedly ",{"text":41028,"type":596,"marks":41029},"shut a lithium mine in Jiangxi province due to falling prices.",[41030],{"type":606,"attrs":41031},{"href":41032,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-reported-shutdown-of-catls-mine-mean-for-the-lithium-market",{"type":591,"attrs":41034,"content":41035},{"textAlign":49},[41036],{"text":41037,"type":596},"China’s lithium brine operations are concentrated in Qinghai province, with supply from brine is expected to grow from 100,000 in 2024 to 193,000 LCE in 2028, accounting for 36% of total lithium supply from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":41039,"content":41040},{"textAlign":49},[41041],{"text":41042,"type":596},"Unlike Australia and South America, whose lithium industries are dominated by a small number of large-scale operations, China’s lithium sector consists of a greater number of smaller producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41044,"content":41045},{"textAlign":49},[41046,41051],{"text":41047,"type":596,"marks":41048},"According to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[41049],{"type":606,"attrs":41050},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":41052,"type":596},", China had 27 operational lithium assets in 2023, which extracted lithium from a mixture of hard rock and brine deposits. This compares to just 8 mines in Australia and 9 operational assets in South America.","China is stepping up consolidation of its domestic lithium resources, as state-owned mining giant China Minmetals Corp (Minmetals) plans to establish a $1.4 billion subsidiary, China Salt Lake Group, to speed up the development of lithium brine resources in the lithium-rich Qinghai province. Central government-backed Minmetals will control a 53% majority stake, absorbing control of […]",[41055],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41056},{"job_title":557,"image":41057,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"66d3fdf9-6583-472f-bed3-c885d9c0468a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[41060,41061],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":10389,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":41063,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":41065,"uuid":41066,"name":41067,"slug":41068,"full_slug":41069,"content":41070},112468961051597,"430461a2-abad-4e05-98b5-54323ab0499f","US proposal for trans-Africa railway targets copper and cobalt supply chains","us-proposal-for-trans-africa-corridor-targets-copper-and-cobalt-supply-chains","article/us-proposal-for-trans-africa-corridor-targets-copper-and-cobalt-supply-chains",{"_uid":41071,"date":40731,"tags":41072,"editor":41083,"content":41087,"excerpt":41253,"featured":51,"reporter":41254,"_editable":41258,"component":697,"seo_title":41067,"categories":41259,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":41264,"seo_description":41253,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":40915},"ca26e943-8374-47a2-944b-c2eda3072e58",[41073,41074,41075,41078,41079,41080],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":41076,"name":41077},"lobito-corridor","Lobito Corridor",{"slug":11916,"name":11917},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":41081,"name":41082},"zambia","Zambia",[41084],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41085},{"job_title":557,"image":41086,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":41088},[41089,41094,41099,41104,41116,41126,41136,41141,41146,41151,41158,41163,41168,41173,41178,41183,41196,41201,41206,41211,41216,41221,41226,41231,41238,41245],{"type":591,"attrs":41090,"content":41091},{"textAlign":49},[41092],{"text":41093,"type":596},"The US is exploring opportunities to extend the Lobito Corridor Railway to Tanzania, creating a ‘Trans-Africa Corridor’ to connect the Central African Copperbelt to both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.",{"type":591,"attrs":41095,"content":41096},{"textAlign":49},[41097],{"text":41098,"type":596},"Speaking in Tanzania in late August, Helaina Matza, Acting Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), said the US’ ‘mission’ was to relaunch its partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and engage with the public and private sector in Tanzania towards the goal of extending the railway to the Indian Ocean.",{"type":591,"attrs":41100,"content":41101},{"textAlign":49},[41102],{"text":41103,"type":596},"The Lobito Corridor Railway marks a high point of US re-engagement in Africa, aiming to boost American soft power and counter China’s hegemonic position in the Central African Copperbelt.",{"type":591,"attrs":41105,"content":41106},{"textAlign":49},[41107,41109,41115],{"text":41108,"type":596},"The US and its allies, however, are facing an uphill battle in their strategy to wrest control of Africa’s critical minerals from China. Chinese firms have invested heavily in mining projects in Africa over the last decade, locking up ",{"text":41110,"type":596,"marks":41111},"copper-cobalt assets in the DRC as Western miners have largely backed away from building new projects in the Copperbelt",[41112],{"type":606,"attrs":41113},{"href":41114,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-china-is-reshaping-the-global-copper-market",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":41117,"content":41118},{"textAlign":49},[41119,41124],{"text":41120,"type":596,"marks":41121},"Benchmark data demonstrates that Chinese firms now have financial stakes in 18 of the 25 cobalt-producing assets in the DRC",[41122],{"type":606,"attrs":41123},{"href":36157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":41125,"type":596},", with Chinese-financed supply set to account for over 60% of the country’s cobalt production in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41127,"content":41128},{"textAlign":49},[41129,41131],{"text":41130,"type":596},"The same story rings true for Africa’s nascent lithium industry: Chinese backed projects are set to account for 95% of the continent’s mined output in 2024, ",{"text":41132,"type":596,"marks":41133},"according to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast.",[41134],{"type":606,"attrs":41135},{"href":41019,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":41137,"content":41138},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41139],{"text":41140,"type":596},"What is the Lobito Corridor?",{"type":591,"attrs":41142,"content":41143},{"textAlign":49},[41144],{"text":41145,"type":596},"The Lobito Corridor is a 1,300 km stretch of railway connecting the port of Lobito, on the Atlantic coast of Angola, with the city of Kolwezi in the DRC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41147,"content":41148},{"textAlign":49},[41149],{"text":41150,"type":596},"Since 2023, the US and its partners have been supporting the refurbishment of the railway’s existing infrastructure to open up a new transport route to export critical minerals such as copper and cobalt from Africa’s Atlantic coast to North America and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":41152,"content":41153},{"textAlign":49},[41154],{"type":836,"attrs":41155},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41156,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41157},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8d6d4eda13/bm-image-69.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41159,"content":41160},{"textAlign":49},[41161],{"text":41162,"type":596},"The railway is touted as a future gamechanger for exports, designed to cut transportation time from the DRC to port from up to 50 days to 36 hours. The first shipment of copper destined for the US left port in Angola in August, although railway capacity remains too small to make a meaningful difference for most DRC-produced copper.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":41164,"content":41165},{"textAlign":49},[41166],{"text":41167,"type":596},"A feasibility study on a second-phase greenfield expansion of the railway to connect the Zambian Copperbelt is expected to conclude in November, with a view to begin construction in 2026. Plans to extend the railway to Tanzania represent a possible third-stage expansion. ",{"type":615,"attrs":41169,"content":41170},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41171],{"text":41172,"type":596},"Lobito Corridor seeks to unlock local value-add",{"type":591,"attrs":41174,"content":41175},{"textAlign":49},[41176],{"text":41177,"type":596},"Financed through a combination of public and private sector investment, the US and European Union (EU) hope the Lobito Corridor can offer an alternative to China’s debt-laden Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by generating local value-add in the African Copperbelt.",{"type":591,"attrs":41179,"content":41180},{"textAlign":49},[41181],{"text":41182,"type":596},"“By creating the infrastructure necessary to address the current logistical bottlenecks and attract private investment, the Lobito Corridor project is designed to facilitate the development of an industrial cluster in the African Copperbelt,” said Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41184,"content":41185},{"textAlign":49},[41186,41188,41194],{"text":41187,"type":596},"“The plans bode well for the ",{"text":41189,"type":596,"marks":41190},"DRC and Zambia’s ambitions of value-adding their critical mineral resources",[41191],{"type":606,"attrs":41192},{"href":41193,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/african-nations-seek-to-capture-greater-value-from-copper-resources",{"text":41195,"type":596}," to create an EV ecosystem in the region,” Bille continued. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41197,"content":41198},{"textAlign":49},[41199],{"text":41200,"type":596},"Acting Special Coordinator Matza highlighted Tanzanian nickel junior Lifezone Metals as an example of how the US’ plans to extend the railway to the Indian Ocean could help to generate value-added industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":41202,"content":41203},{"textAlign":49},[41204],{"text":41205,"type":596},"“It’s more than helping to support bringing online an important nickel project…it creates opportunities for processing here in the country – the nickel products coming out – but hopefully more feedstock from other parts of the country and the region, while investing at the same time in training local Tanzanians to participate in every part of the value chain of that industry,” she said.",{"type":615,"attrs":41207,"content":41208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41209],{"text":41210,"type":596},"Geopolitics in the copperbelt",{"type":591,"attrs":41212,"content":41213},{"textAlign":49},[41214],{"text":41215,"type":596},"The African Copperbelt is emerging as a key flashpoint in geopolitical competition between the West and China, and US hopes of leveraging some of the existing infrastructure of the Tazara railway —spanning Zambia and Tanzania— are set to position it in direct competition with China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41217,"content":41218},{"textAlign":49},[41219],{"text":41220,"type":596},"At the recent Forum on China–Africa Cooperation in Beijing, where over 50 African leaders gathered, President Xi Jinping pledged an additional $51 billion for African infrastructure projects, with $1 billion designated for the modernisation of the Tazara railway. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41222,"content":41223},{"textAlign":49},[41224],{"text":41225,"type":596},"During the summit, China, Tanzania, and Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate the railway, signalling China’s intent to develop an alternative to the western-backed Lobito Corridor.",{"type":591,"attrs":41227,"content":41228},{"textAlign":49},[41229],{"text":41230,"type":596},"A Chinese state-owned company will reportedly finalise an agreement to take over the railway, connecting the Zambian copperbelt to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, by the end of 2024, with the upgrade taking around 2 years to complete.",{"type":591,"attrs":41232,"content":41233},{"textAlign":49},[41234],{"text":41235,"type":596,"marks":41236},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast now includes an additional Policy Report, tracking geopolitical developments shaping the cobalt supply chain.",[41237],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":41239,"content":41240},{"textAlign":49},[41241],{"text":41242,"type":596,"marks":41243},"This is one of the several enhancements made to Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast, which provides a comprehensive view of supply, demand, costs and prices out to 2040.",[41244],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":41246,"content":41247},{"textAlign":49},[41248,41252],{"text":41249,"type":596,"marks":41250},"Contact our experts to learn more or request a demonstration",[41251],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},"The US is exploring opportunities to extend the Lobito Corridor Railway to Tanzania, creating a ‘Trans-Africa Corridor’ to connect the Central African Copperbelt to both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Speaking in Tanzania in late August, Helaina Matza, Acting Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), said the US’ ‘mission’ was […]",[41255],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41256},{"job_title":557,"image":41257,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ca26e943-8374-47a2-944b-c2eda3072e58\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[41260,41261,41262,41263],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":41265,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":41266,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f9fe68563c/bm-tazra-rail.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":41268,"uuid":41269,"name":41270,"slug":41271,"full_slug":41272,"content":41273},112468984853458,"aa853dcb-4454-4f1a-95b1-50db205a87e3","Northvolt halts European cathode plans to refocus on batteries ","northvolt-halts-european-cathode-plans-to-refocus-on-batteries","article/northvolt-halts-european-cathode-plans-to-refocus-on-batteries",{"_uid":41274,"date":41275,"tags":41276,"editor":41279,"content":41283,"excerpt":41422,"featured":51,"reporter":41423,"_editable":41427,"component":697,"seo_title":41270,"categories":41428,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":41432,"seo_description":41422,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":41435},"a2297852-d0f2-4971-b206-106c259c95d1","2024-09-11 00:00",[41277,41278],{"slug":22547,"name":22548},{"slug":22550,"name":22551},[41280],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41281},{"job_title":557,"image":41282,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":41284},[41285,41290,41295,41304,41309,41314,41319,41324,41329,41334,41338,41343,41348,41353,41358,41363,41374,41379,41384,41395,41402,41412,41417],{"type":591,"attrs":41286,"content":41287},{"textAlign":49},[41288],{"text":41289,"type":596},"Northvolt is re-orienting its focus to large-scale battery cell manufacturing, placing its battery material capabilities in Europe on hold to streamline its operations amid challenges ramping up battery cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":41291,"content":41292},{"textAlign":49},[41293],{"text":41294,"type":596},"Following a strategic review of its business, Northvolt confirmed the Ett Upstream 1 cathode plant would be put on care and maintenance and the site of the planned Northvolt Fem cathode plant would be sold. The company is also exploring the sale of its stationary storage facility in Gdańsk, Poland to reduce costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":41296,"content":41297},{"textAlign":49},[41298,41300],{"text":41299,"type":596},"Since commissioning cell production in 2021, Northvolt has faced problems ramping up the first 16 GWh phase of the Skellefteå gigafactory in northern Sweden – producing less than 1 GWh of cells in 2023, according to the ",{"text":33604,"type":596,"marks":41301},[41302],{"type":606,"attrs":41303},{"href":33608,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":41305,"content":41306},{"textAlign":49},[41307],{"text":41308,"type":596},"Northvolt’s operational challenges are also set with the broader context of slowing electric vehicle (EV) sales growth in Europe, which is creating headwinds for much of Europe’s nascent battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41310,"content":41311},{"textAlign":49},[41312],{"text":41313,"type":596},"“These measures reflect a challenging macroeconomic environment and our subsequent reassessment of Northvolt’s near-term priorities, leading to a re-scope of operations and appropriate resizing of our workforce,” the Swedish battery maker said in a press release.",{"type":615,"attrs":41315,"content":41316},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41317],{"text":41318,"type":596},"Ramp up challenges ",{"type":591,"attrs":41320,"content":41321},{"textAlign":49},[41322],{"text":41323,"type":596},"The Swedish battery maker is not unique in facing problems during the early ramp up phase of cell production, which are typically linked to high yield loss, a lengthy qualification process with customers, as well as difficulties maintaining consistent quality control.",{"type":591,"attrs":41325,"content":41326},{"textAlign":49},[41327],{"text":41328,"type":596},"Large-volume cell production comprises several intricate production phases in one operation and a minor error at one stage of the process can significantly impact the quality of the final product. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41330,"content":41331},{"textAlign":49},[41332],{"text":41333,"type":596},"“Northvolt has faced the standard host of challenges that new cell manufacturers are likely to face,” said Evan Hartley, research manager at Benchmark. “But this has been exacerbated by their position as one of the first to do so in Europe and the general pricing trends that have persisted across the market these past two years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":41335,"content":41336},{"textAlign":49},[41337],{"text":33613,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":41339,"content":41340},{"textAlign":49},[41341],{"text":41342,"type":596},"“Skilled labour has also been one of the issues that has plagued not only Northvolt but the industry generally, this is further compounded by the need to attract workers to a remote area of Sweden and the challenges that come with it,” Hartley added.",{"type":591,"attrs":41344,"content":41345},{"textAlign":49},[41346],{"text":41347,"type":596},"These operational challenges have left Northvolt facing financial instability, due to rising production costs and problems delivering on long-term supply contracts with customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":41349,"content":41350},{"textAlign":49},[41351],{"text":41352,"type":596},"BMW cancelled a cell supply contract with Northvolt in June  – worth a reported $2.2 billion – as the slow ramp up left Northvolt unable to deliver on its long-term obligations. The German automaker opted instead to source batteries from South Korea’s Samsung SDI due to a ready availability of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":41354,"content":41355},{"textAlign":49},[41356],{"text":41357,"type":596},"Despite challenges, Northvolt said it remained committed to its other battery gigafactory projects in Sweden (NOVO), Germany (Northvolt Drei), and Canada (Northvolt Six), but noted the potential for timelines to be adjusted due to economic challenges.",{"type":615,"attrs":41359,"content":41360},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41361],{"text":41362,"type":596},"Europe’s battery supply chain headwinds",{"type":591,"attrs":41364,"content":41365},{"textAlign":49},[41366,41372],{"text":41367,"type":596,"marks":41368},"The European EV market grew by just 1% in the first half of this year compared to 2023",[41369],{"type":606,"attrs":41370},{"href":41371,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-bad-is-the-electric-vehicle-slowdown",{"text":41373,"type":596},", according to Rho Motion, a Benchmark owned company, with sales in the region’s largest automotive market of Germany recording a year-on-year decline.",{"type":591,"attrs":41375,"content":41376},{"textAlign":49},[41377],{"text":41378,"type":596},"Sales have slowed amidst a worsening macroeconomic climate. European automakers have also struggled to remain competitive with Chinese rivals that utilise lower-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41380,"content":41381},{"textAlign":49},[41382],{"text":41383,"type":596},"China has been accused of exporting industrial overcapacity to other markets due to weak domestic consumer demand, helping to drive down prices of everything from EVs and batteries to processed materials such as lithium and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":41385,"content":41386},{"textAlign":49},[41387,41393],{"text":41388,"type":596,"marks":41389},"Benchmark data reveals that Europe’s 2030 battery pipeline shrunk by 2% during the first half of 2024",[41390],{"type":606,"attrs":41391},{"href":41392,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/european-and-chinese-gigafactory-pipelines-shrink-despite-long-term-demand-growth-prospects",{"text":41394,"type":596},", with Volkswagen and Stellantis-backed cell maker ACC amongst those to cancel or delay battery gigafactories in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":41396,"content":41397},{"textAlign":49},[41398],{"type":836,"attrs":41399},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41400,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41401},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcgAfWYpuNzSt-i71Nmlkx4x29K0UGXNcoATXH5iDsjeW8tGxWrJIRdnqBYbTQiFvY3vCWFgkJPGPCQdn4cjcxwA8QNcBofzKSFvG9_h29PI8qRrHchylqNWZlAbvhvVVm-t_n9e8dlHudF02OTGUGnGJI?key=Qt8MhNILNLG6wfUOzX9vTA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41403,"content":41404},{"textAlign":49},[41405,41407],{"text":41406,"type":596},"To safeguard its automotive sector from these prevailing headwinds, the European Union (EU) has taken measures to restrict the sales of Chinese EV into the European market, ",{"text":41408,"type":596,"marks":41409},"proposing additional import tariffs on Chinese EVs of between 9% to 36.3%.",[41410],{"type":606,"attrs":41411},{"href":30912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":41413,"content":41414},{"textAlign":49},[41415],{"text":41416,"type":596},"However, it remains to be seen whether these measures will be sufficient to stem the tide of closures and secure the competitiveness of Europe’s automotive industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41418,"content":41419},{"textAlign":49},[41420],{"text":41421,"type":596},"Indeed, Volkswagen last week confirmed that it was considering plant closures in Germany for the first time, as it faces mounting cost pressures from rivals in China.","Northvolt is re-orienting its focus to large-scale battery cell manufacturing, placing its battery material capabilities in Europe on hold to streamline its operations amid challenges ramping up battery cell production. Following a strategic review of its business, Northvolt confirmed the Ett Upstream 1 cathode plant would be put on care and maintenance and the site […]",[41424],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41425},{"job_title":557,"image":41426,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a2297852-d0f2-4971-b206-106c259c95d1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[41429,41430,41431],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":41433,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":41434,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8d7e68a6d8/bm-northvolt-ett-1-e1657802062222.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 11, 2024",{"id":41437,"uuid":41438,"name":41439,"slug":41440,"full_slug":41441,"content":41442},112468999025621,"fe1a83fe-ab7f-4021-b1da-0ea37747387c","Chinese policy boosts rare earths spending, but effect could be short-lived","chinese-policy-boosts-rare-earths-spending-but-effect-could-be-short-lived","article/chinese-policy-boosts-rare-earths-spending-but-effect-could-be-short-lived",{"_uid":41443,"date":41444,"tags":41445,"editor":41449,"content":41453,"excerpt":41567,"featured":51,"reporter":41568,"_editable":41572,"component":697,"seo_title":41439,"categories":41573,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":41577,"seo_description":41567,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":41580},"3054104d-aa9e-4355-a34c-6f305ec4cfe1","2024-09-10 00:00",[41446,41447,41448],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[41450],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41451},{"job_title":557,"image":41452,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":41454},[41455,41460,41472,41477,41482,41487,41492,41497,41502,41507,41512,41517,41522,41527,41532,41537,41542,41547,41552,41557,41562],{"type":591,"attrs":41456,"content":41457},{"textAlign":49},[41458],{"text":41459,"type":596},"Prices for light and heavy rare earths increased over August 2024 as demand-bolstering Chinese policies for consumer goods took effect.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":41461,"content":41462},{"textAlign":49},[41463,41465,41470],{"text":41464,"type":596},"PrNd rose 9% to RMB 392,500/tonne ($55,343) over August, according to ",{"text":41466,"type":596,"marks":41467},"Benchmark’s Rare Earths Price Assessment",[41468],{"type":606,"attrs":41469},{"href":30171,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":41471,"type":596},", building on July’s uptick of 1.5%,",{"type":591,"attrs":41473,"content":41474},{"textAlign":49},[41475],{"text":41476,"type":596},"Heavy rare earths prices rose at a slower pace of 5.7% and 1.7% for terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy) oxides respectively, reflecting lower liquidity in these markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41478,"content":41479},{"textAlign":49},[41480],{"text":41481,"type":596},"Driving this was a bump in downstream demand for rare earth-containing goods, prompting rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) producers to buy heavily from the spot market to fill depleted oxide stockpiles.",{"type":591,"attrs":41483,"content":41484},{"textAlign":49},[41485],{"text":41486,"type":596},"Chinese government policies on both the supply and demand sides were responsible for the unseasonal rise in downstream demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41488,"content":41489},{"textAlign":49},[41490],{"text":41491,"type":596},"The price recovery may prove fragile, however, as structural features of the rare earth market remain unchanged and the recovery has relied heavily on short-term stimulus.",{"type":591,"attrs":41493,"content":41494},{"textAlign":49},[41495],{"text":41496,"type":596},"“We do not anticipate a sustained increase in prices in the near future as the market continues to be severely oversupplied. It is expected that prices will remain around current levels through to the end of 2024.” commented George Ingall, price and data analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":41498,"content":41499},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41500],{"text":41501,"type":596},"A temporary policy boost",{"type":591,"attrs":41503,"content":41504},{"textAlign":49},[41505],{"text":41506,"type":596},"The third quarter is typically when REPM producers see a rise in OEM orders and begin manufacturing for next year’s tranche of seasonal consumer goods, like air conditioners.",{"type":591,"attrs":41508,"content":41509},{"textAlign":49},[41510],{"text":41511,"type":596},"This year, however, the market saw slightly earlier demand improvement over August, primarily thanks to several new Chinese stimulus policies.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":41513,"content":41514},{"textAlign":49},[41515],{"text":41516,"type":596},"The first was announced in April, when several government departments announced a scheme where citizens could trade in used consumer goods in exchange for subsidised low-carbon goods.",{"type":591,"attrs":41518,"content":41519},{"textAlign":49},[41520],{"text":41521,"type":596},"In late July, China doubled the subsidy for old-vehicle trade-ins for new energy vehicles (NEVs) to RMB 20,000 ($2,800) from RMB 10,000 ($1,400).",{"type":591,"attrs":41523,"content":41524},{"textAlign":49},[41525],{"text":41526,"type":596},"China announced in late August that consumers would receive a 15% trade-in subsidy off a product’s final sales price covering eight types of household appliances.",{"type":591,"attrs":41528,"content":41529},{"textAlign":49},[41530],{"text":41531,"type":596},"The scheme includes washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters, household stoves, and range hoods, all of which contribute to downstream demand for rare earths.",{"type":591,"attrs":41533,"content":41534},{"textAlign":49},[41535],{"text":41536,"type":596},"These policies were designed to boost key industries by shoring up consumer confidence but the effect is likely to be short-lived without more concerted reforms. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41538,"content":41539},{"textAlign":49},[41540],{"text":41541,"type":596},"“Most people don’t buy new air con units, cars, and houses every year so trade-ins will encourage buyers to bring forward their spending plans. What this means is, today’s sales growth likely comes at the expense of later quarters and years,” said Jonathan Humphrey, economist at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":41543,"content":41544},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41545],{"text":41546,"type":596},"Quota cooldown supports market sentiment",{"type":591,"attrs":41548,"content":41549},{"textAlign":49},[41550],{"text":41551,"type":596},"Another contributor to unseasonal demand improvement through August was a supply-side policy shift. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41553,"content":41554},{"textAlign":49},[41555],{"text":41556,"type":596},"China’s second and final rare earth production quota of 2024 in August raised full year production at a slower rate than in recent years, indicating a tighter market going forwards. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41558,"content":41559},{"textAlign":49},[41560],{"text":41561,"type":596},"The second and final rare earths quota of 2024, released in August, raised China’s full year production ceiling by just 5% compared to a 21.4% year-on-year rare earths quota increase in 2023 or and a 25% increase in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":41563,"content":41564},{"textAlign":49},[41565],{"text":41566,"type":596},"This marks a shift in Chinese rare earths policy, which has pursued continual production ramp up since 2022, yet the market should remain oversupplied for some time.","Prices for light and heavy rare earths increased over August 2024 as demand-bolstering Chinese policies for consumer goods took effect. PrNd rose 9% to RMB 392,500/tonne ($55,343) over August, according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Price Assessment, building on July’s uptick of 1.5%, Heavy rare earths prices rose at a slower pace of 5.7% and 1.7% […]",[41569],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41570},{"job_title":557,"image":41571,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3054104d-aa9e-4355-a34c-6f305ec4cfe1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[41574,41575,41576],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":41578,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":41579,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a2a6274298/bm-air-conditioners-sold-in-shopping-mallsaugust-5-2019-beijing-china.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 10, 2024",{"id":41582,"uuid":41583,"name":41584,"slug":41585,"full_slug":41586,"content":41587},112469027603419,"f73b7741-a8ab-418d-aa83-3e0ded360a2d","What does the rise of plug-in hybrids mean for battery demand? ","what-does-the-rise-of-plug-in-hybrids-mean-for-battery-demand","article/what-does-the-rise-of-plug-in-hybrids-mean-for-battery-demand",{"_uid":41588,"date":41589,"tags":41590,"editor":41592,"content":41596,"excerpt":41788,"featured":51,"reporter":41789,"_editable":41793,"component":697,"seo_title":41584,"categories":41794,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":41797,"seo_description":41788,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":41800},"f4ae7138-817f-44f1-920c-96efe600520f","2024-09-05 00:00",[41591],{"slug":22279,"name":2193},[41593],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41594},{"job_title":557,"image":41595,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":41597},[41598,41603,41608,41615,41626,41631,41636,41641,41646,41651,41658,41663,41675,41680,41685,41692,41697,41704,41709,41714,41719,41724,41735,41742,41747,41752,41757,41762,41773,41778,41783],{"type":591,"attrs":41599,"content":41600},{"textAlign":49},[41601],{"text":41602,"type":596},"Plug-in hybrid vehicles are increasing their share of the electric vehicle market this year, especially in China, where they now account for over half of sales. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41604,"content":41605},{"textAlign":49},[41606],{"text":41607,"type":596},"Plug-in hybrids are growing in popularity since they ease consumer concerns over range anxiety, promising driving ranges of over 1,000 kilometres. Sales of PHEVs in China have risen by 70% year-to-date, compared to a 12% increase for pure battery electric vehicles, according to Rho Motion, hitting a record high in July. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41609,"content":41610},{"textAlign":49},[41611],{"type":836,"attrs":41612},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41613,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41614},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/07f916a3b9/bm-image-97-1344070a0de5.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41616,"content":41617},{"textAlign":49},[41618,41620,41624],{"text":41619,"type":596},"If all light duty electric vehicles this year were to be PHEV instead of pure battery electric vehicles ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":41621},[41622],{"type":606,"attrs":41623},{"href":22690,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":41625,"type":596}," would drop to around 320 gigawatt hours compared to 716 GWh with the current market share split. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41627,"content":41628},{"textAlign":49},[41629],{"text":41630,"type":596},"Yet even as PHEV increase their market share the impact on lithium ion battery demand may be more limited due to the rapid rise of range extender EVs (REEVs) in China, which use smaller engines and larger batteries compared to other plug-in hybrids. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41632,"content":41633},{"textAlign":49},[41634],{"text":41635,"type":596},"Range extender hybrids only use small engines to charge the battery for longer journeys, rather than power the car. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41637,"content":41638},{"textAlign":49},[41639],{"text":41640,"type":596},"In addition, outside China tightening CO2 emissions regulations on automakers in Europe means that PHEVs are unlikely to be a longer term solution, due to the uncertainty around their emissions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41642,"content":41643},{"textAlign":49},[41644],{"text":41645,"type":596},"“Even if there are some good PHEV users out there the problem for policymakers is incentivising PHEVs with regulation or subsidies doesn’t guarantee meaningful emissions reduction in the same way as zero-emission vehicles, such as BEVs” Luke Gear, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41647,"content":41648},{"textAlign":49},[41649],{"text":41650,"type":596},"“PHEVs are seeing a resurgence, but so far this is regionally isolated to China.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":41652,"content":41653},{"textAlign":49},[41654],{"type":836,"attrs":41655},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41656,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41657},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f734a49782/bm-image-98-1344072685f5.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":41659,"content":41660},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41661],{"text":41662,"type":596},"The impact of PHEVs on battery demand",{"type":591,"attrs":41664,"content":41665},{"textAlign":49},[41666,41668,41673],{"text":41667,"type":596},"Globally PHEVs accounted for 35% of global electric vehicle sales this year – a growth of 5 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023 where PHEVs represented almost a third of total EV sales, according to ",{"text":20451,"type":596,"marks":41669},[41670],{"type":606,"attrs":41671},{"href":41672,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com/news/press-release-european-ev-sales-fall-year-on-year-13-august-2024/",{"text":41674,"type":596},", a Benchmark-owned company.",{"type":591,"attrs":41676,"content":41677},{"textAlign":49},[41678],{"text":41679,"type":596},"That’s around an additional 420,000 vehicles, compared to if the market share split between BEVs and PHEVs remained the same as last year. Due to their smaller batteries, that would represent a potential loss of around 19 gigawatt hours of battery demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41681,"content":41682},{"textAlign":49},[41683],{"text":41684,"type":596},"Yet the impact of potential lost battery demand is being mitigated by the increase of range-extender electric vehicles in China. In China, the share of so-called range extender EVs in the total electric vehicle market has risen from 7% to 11%, according to Rho Motion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41686,"content":41687},{"textAlign":49},[41688],{"type":836,"attrs":41689},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41690,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41691},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b56dd00d48/bm-the-share-of-range-extended-evs-is-rising-in-china.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41693,"content":41694},{"textAlign":49},[41695],{"text":41696,"type":596},"The range extender vehicles in China have average battery pack sizes of 39 kWh compared to an average of 19 kWh for PHEVs, according to Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":41698,"content":41699},{"textAlign":49},[41700],{"type":836,"attrs":41701},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41702,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41703},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0ad5e92533/bm-image-99-1344073708f8.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41705,"content":41706},{"textAlign":49},[41707],{"text":41708,"type":596},"That’s increased the overall average pack size for the PHEV sector by 3.82 kWh, according to William Roberts, an analyst at Rho. In total that’s added an additional 12 GWh of battery demand this year alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":41710,"content":41711},{"textAlign":49},[41712],{"text":41713,"type":596},"“Because of the prevalence of range-extenders that has diminished the reduction [in battery demand] from plug-in hybrids,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":41715,"content":41716},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41717],{"text":41718,"type":596},"Questions over emissions",{"type":591,"attrs":41720,"content":41721},{"textAlign":49},[41722],{"text":41723,"type":596},"Even as automakers continue to sell PHEVs there are concerns around their emissions, since the use of the battery over the engine depends on individual drivers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41725,"content":41726},{"textAlign":49},[41727,41729,41731,41733],{"text":41728,"type":596},"In March the European Commission published a study based on fuel consumption monitors installed on-board vehicles. It showed that for ",{"text":41730,"type":596},"plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the real-world CO",{"text":41732,"type":596},"2",{"text":41734,"type":596}," emissions were on average 3.5 times higher than the laboratory values. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41736,"content":41737},{"textAlign":49},[41738],{"type":836,"attrs":41739},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41740,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41741},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bd6e7366d1/bm-image-100-13440746144d.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41743,"content":41744},{"textAlign":49},[41745],{"text":41746,"type":596},"The data “confirms that these vehicles are currently not realising their potential, largely because they are not being charged and driven fully electrically as frequently as assumed,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41748,"content":41749},{"textAlign":49},[41750],{"text":41751,"type":596},"As a result the commission has introduced changes to how they calculate the so-called utility factor of PHEVs, which is the share of distance driven electrically. These changes will apply starting in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":41753,"content":41754},{"textAlign":49},[41755],{"text":41756,"type":596},"Where a PHEV with a 60km range would currently be expected to be used in all-electric mode 69% of the time, this will change to 37% in 2025 and then 21% in 2027, according to Rho Motion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41758,"content":41759},{"textAlign":49},[41760],{"text":41761,"type":596},"This feeds into the fleet-wide CO2 targets established by the EU. If manufacturers in Europe do not meet average CO2 emissions standards they have to pay an excess emissions premium to the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41763,"content":41764},{"textAlign":49},[41765,41767,41768,41770,41771],{"text":41766,"type":596},"The targets are 93.6 g CO",{"text":41732,"type":596},{"text":41769,"type":596},"/km from between 2025-2029 and 49.5 g CO",{"text":41732,"type":596},{"text":41772,"type":596},"/km from 2030 to 2034.",{"type":591,"attrs":41774,"content":41775},{"textAlign":49},[41776],{"text":41777,"type":596},"European automakers will not want PHEVs to eat into their sales of pure battery EVs as they look to meet CO2 emissions regulations, Rho’s Roberts said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41779,"content":41780},{"textAlign":49},[41781],{"text":41782,"type":596},"While they might be able to meet the 2025 targets, the EU has set a target of 0 g CO2/km by 2035, which means that PHEVs cannot be the solution over the longer-term. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41784,"content":41785},{"textAlign":49},[41786],{"text":41787,"type":596},"“Our view is that OEMs can’t afford to have plug-in hybrids to be stealing sales from battery electric vehicles,” Rho Motion’s Roberts said. “They need plug-in hybrids to only be stealing sales from ICE vehicles … they cannot afford to lose battery electric vehicle sales to plug-in hybrids.”","Plug-in hybrid vehicles are increasing their share of the electric vehicle market this year, especially in China, where they now account for over half of sales. Plug-in hybrids are growing in popularity since they ease consumer concerns over range anxiety, promising driving ranges of over 1,000 kilometres. Sales of PHEVs in China have risen by […]",[41790],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41791},{"job_title":557,"image":41792,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f4ae7138-817f-44f1-920c-96efe600520f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[41795,41796],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":41798,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":41799,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/74ecf78592/bm-byd-u8-ev.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 05, 2024",{"id":41802,"uuid":41803,"name":41804,"slug":41805,"full_slug":41806,"content":41807},112469046940740,"574ff73f-b160-4e28-8d62-c9bd74e9255e","Unsustainable prices hit rare earths projects worldwide","unsustainable-prices-hit-rare-earths-projects-worldwide","article/unsustainable-prices-hit-rare-earths-projects-worldwide",{"_uid":41808,"date":41809,"tags":41810,"editor":41820,"content":41824,"excerpt":41998,"featured":51,"reporter":41999,"component":697,"seo_title":41804,"categories":42003,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":42007,"featured_image":42009,"seo_description":42012,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42013},"986db00a-d639-4367-aa74-79e6a42f3074","2024-09-03 00:00",[41811,41812,41814,41817],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":41813,"name":41813},"mining",{"slug":41815,"name":41816},"mining-costs","mining costs",{"slug":41818,"name":41819},"rare-earths-prices","rare earths prices",[41821],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":41822},{"job_title":557,"image":41823,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":41825},[41826,41837,41842,41847,41852,41857,41864,41869,41874,41879,41884,41889,41894,41899,41904,41909,41914,41919,41924,41929,41936,41941,41946,41951,41956,41961,41966,41971,41976,41983],{"type":591,"attrs":41827,"content":41828},{"textAlign":49},[41829,41831,41836],{"text":41830,"type":596},"Most rare earths mines are struggling to break even under low prices while early-stage projects face delays and funding shortfalls, according to ",{"text":41832,"type":596,"marks":41833},"Benchmark’s new cost and margin curve models",[41834],{"type":606,"attrs":41835},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":41838,"content":41839},{"textAlign":49},[41840],{"text":41841,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s cost model suggests that current price levels are not only hurting producers outside of China, but Chinese producers as well,” said Benchmark’s senior rare earth analyst Neha Mukherjee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41843,"content":41844},{"textAlign":49},[41845],{"text":41846,"type":596},"Chinese rare earths producers are among the most cost-efficient in the world, signalling how challenging the market has been over the last two years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41848,"content":41849},{"textAlign":49},[41850],{"text":41851,"type":596},"The impact of low prices is most concerning for suppliers outside China,  where 16 assets representing around half of all forecast ex-China supply in 2030 would struggle to maintain production in praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) in that year if PrNd oxide dipped below $60 per kilogram. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41853,"content":41854},{"textAlign":49},[41855],{"text":41856,"type":596},"Just eight ex-China rare earths assets would be capable of breaking even on direct on-site costs for making PrNd in 2030, according to Benchmark’s cost analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":41858,"content":41859},{"textAlign":49},[41860],{"type":836,"attrs":41861},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41862,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41863},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ff5d4867b7/bm-screenshot-2024-09-30-095138.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41865,"content":41866},{"textAlign":49},[41867],{"text":41868,"type":596},"Investors may have little incentive to back projects so dependent on higher prices, potentially slowing the West’s push to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":41870,"content":41871},{"textAlign":49},[41872],{"text":41873,"type":596},"Ex-China projects are under the added disadvantage of having to demonstrate high rates of return while large state-owned competitors in China do not face the same pressure. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41875,"content":41876},{"textAlign":49},[41877],{"text":41878,"type":596},"Prices for PrNd oxide, used in rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs), have been on the decline overall for two years. Despite a slight August rebound, demand would need to strengthen further for a significant and longer-term uplift.",{"type":591,"attrs":41880,"content":41881},{"textAlign":49},[41882],{"text":41883,"type":596},"The cost analysis also reveals direct costs for ionic clay assets, which contain higher concentrations of heavy rare earths, tend to be higher. This puts heavy rare earths projects at highest risks of delays unless current market conditions improve. ",{"type":615,"attrs":41885,"content":41886},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41887],{"text":41888,"type":596},"Price suppression likely in competitive light rare earths ",{"type":591,"attrs":41890,"content":41891},{"textAlign":49},[41892],{"text":41893,"type":596},"The most economical rare earth assets globally can produce a kilogram of rare earth oxide for $11 or below, according to the cost analysis. Almost all of these are hard rock deposits, which contain relatively higher concentrations of light compared to heavy rare earths.",{"type":591,"attrs":41895,"content":41896},{"textAlign":49},[41897],{"text":41898,"type":596},"The bulk of hard rock assets are already operating, including China’s Baiyun Ebo and the group of assets known as Sichuan Hard Rock. These are among the most productive in terms of supply. Mountain Pass in the US and Mount Weld in Australia, which have a smaller output, have comparable costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":41900,"content":41901},{"textAlign":49},[41902],{"text":41903,"type":596},"The fact that most PrNd-centric assets are already so high quality means prospective hard rock projects must achieve extreme cost reductions in order to compete in a crowded field. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41905,"content":41906},{"textAlign":49},[41907],{"text":41908,"type":596},"This will deter all but the most cost-effective entrants from going online, particularly in a low price environment such as today. ",{"type":615,"attrs":41910,"content":41911},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41912],{"text":41913,"type":596},"Ex-China heavy rare earths most at risk",{"type":591,"attrs":41915,"content":41916},{"textAlign":49},[41917],{"text":41918,"type":596},"Ionic clay projects are most at risk from low price environments, according to the cost analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":41920,"content":41921},{"textAlign":49},[41922],{"text":41923,"type":596},"This is because most ex-China ionic clay assets have higher extraction costs than hard rock mines, requiring much higher prices to come online. Ionic clay assets worldwide are also mostly still under development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41925,"content":41926},{"textAlign":49},[41927],{"text":41928,"type":596},"The heavy rare earths oxides have seen somewhat higher price volatility in recent years, another factor that could potentially deter investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41930,"content":41931},{"textAlign":49},[41932],{"type":836,"attrs":41933},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":41934,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":41935},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7a16ab163e/bm-screenshot-2024-09-30-095251.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":41937,"content":41938},{"textAlign":49},[41939],{"text":41940,"type":596},"Without more ionic clay assets going into operation over coming years, there is a high risk of a global supply gap in the heavy rare earths. The ex-China deficit is likely to be even more acute. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41942,"content":41943},{"textAlign":49},[41944],{"text":41945,"type":596},"The unfavourable economics of ex-China ionic clay mines, due partly to the low production costs of illegal output from Myanmar, could prolong Western dependence on Chinese mined and processed dysprosium, terbium, and other heavy rare earths.",{"type":591,"attrs":41947,"content":41948},{"textAlign":49},[41949],{"text":41950,"type":596},"The West’s reliance on China is greater for the heavy rare earths than the light rare earths since almost all ionic clay mines are under Chinese ownership. ",{"type":615,"attrs":41952,"content":41953},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[41954],{"text":41955,"type":596},"What Benchmark’s cost model model accounts for",{"type":591,"attrs":41957,"content":41958},{"textAlign":49},[41959],{"text":41960,"type":596},"Benchmark analysed on-site costs to mine and process enough rare earths ore concentrate for a single kilogram of rare earth oxide at 27 mining rare earths assets and 20 processing assets around the world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":41962,"content":41963},{"textAlign":49},[41964],{"text":41965,"type":596},"On-site costs included labour, chemical inputs, processing, and energy for extracting the ores and converting them into concentrate. The analysis centred on the year 2030 as most rare earths assets are not operating today.",{"type":591,"attrs":41967,"content":41968},{"textAlign":49},[41969],{"text":41970,"type":596},"Where assets lacked the on-site capacity to convert ores into concentrate, the model added transport costs to move material to facilities elsewhere.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":41972,"content":41973},{"textAlign":49},[41974],{"text":41975,"type":596},"It also accounts for where assets make extra revenue from non-rare earth byproducts.",{"type":591,"attrs":41977,"content":41978},{"textAlign":49},[41979],{"text":41980,"type":596,"marks":41981},"Benchmark’s rare earths cost model is one of the continuous enhancements made to our Rare Earths Forecast, which analyses supply, demand and price of rare earth materials by producer out to 2050.",[41982],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":41984,"content":41985},{"textAlign":49},[41986,41990,41994],{"text":41987,"type":596,"marks":41988},"Learn more about Benchmark’s",[41989],{"type":1006},{"text":41991,"type":596,"marks":41992}," Rare Earths Forecast",[41993],{"type":1006},{"text":41995,"type":596,"marks":41996}," and accompanying cost model by completing the form below:",[41997],{"type":1006},"Most rare earths mines are struggling to break even under low prices while early-stage projects face delays and funding shortfalls, according to Benchmark’s new cost and margin curve models. “Benchmark’s cost model suggests that current price levels are not only hurting producers outside of China, but Chinese producers as well,” said Benchmark’s senior rare earth […]",[42000],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42001},{"job_title":557,"image":42002,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[42004,42005,42006],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42008},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":42010,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42011,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/05a2a6a959/bm-ree.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Most rare earths mines are struggling to break even under low prices while early-stage projects face delays and funding shortfalls, according to Benchmark’s new cost and margin curve models.","Sep 03, 2024",{"id":42015,"uuid":42016,"name":42017,"slug":42018,"full_slug":42019,"content":42020},112469056951366,"9fbcc502-b317-496b-9eeb-60bcd99132d8","Lithium ion’s leading producers in 2030: China to dominate as West ramps up","lithium-ions-leading-producers-in-2030-china-to-dominate-as-west-ramps-up","article/lithium-ions-leading-producers-in-2030-china-to-dominate-as-west-ramps-up",{"_uid":42021,"date":42022,"tags":42023,"editor":42027,"content":42031,"excerpt":42101,"featured":51,"reporter":42102,"_editable":42106,"component":697,"seo_title":42017,"categories":42107,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":42110,"featured_image":42113,"seo_description":42101,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42115},"53c896df-2742-4449-bd8f-d84006757669","2024-09-02 00:00",[42024,42025,42026],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},[42028],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42029},{"job_title":557,"image":42030,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42032},[42033,42038,42043,42050,42055,42060,42065,42075,42079,42085],{"type":591,"attrs":42034,"content":42035},{"textAlign":49},[42036],{"text":42037,"type":596},"An early mover in the lithium ion battery supply chain, China is home to a significant proportion of global supply and many of the largest companies. The country has the highest 2030 pipeline capacity at close to 6,300 gigawatt hours (GWh), totalling 67% of global capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42039,"content":42040},{"textAlign":49},[42041],{"text":42042,"type":596},"It follows that the largest Tier 1 manufacturers are Chinese companies, namely CATL and BYD with more than 1,000 GWh and 500 GWh respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":42044,"content":42045},{"textAlign":49},[42046],{"type":836,"attrs":42047},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":42048,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":42049},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f6d01ed952/bm-top-lithium-ion-battery-producers-inforgraphic.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":42051,"content":42052},{"textAlign":49},[42053],{"text":42054,"type":596},"The US has the second highest capacity at almost 1,300 GWh, making up 14% of global capacity but only a fifth of China’s total. Tier 1 capacity makes up 58% of the US’ total battery capacity. Only Hungary (86%) and South Korea (95%) have a higher proportion of Tier 1 capacity and both countries have significantly lower total battery capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":42056,"content":42057},{"textAlign":49},[42058],{"text":42059,"type":596},"South Korean and Japanese companies have a substantial presence in the US. Of the 1,200 GWh 2030 pipeline capacity, more than 700 GWh comes from LG Energy Solution, Samsung, SK On, and Panasonic.",{"type":591,"attrs":42061,"content":42062},{"textAlign":49},[42063],{"text":42064,"type":596},"The US’ desire to reduce its dependence from China for national security reasons has supported the build out of its lithium ion battery supply chain. In pursuit of this, the US has introduced policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a significant portion of which is aimed at building domestic cleantech industries. Stipulations like the Foreign Entity of Concern clause of the IRA encourage OEMs to source materials and products from outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":42066,"content":42067},{"textAlign":49},[42068,42070,42074],{"text":42069,"type":596},"Hungary has the highest Tier 1 capacity in Europe and has been the beneficiary of €16 billion ($17.7 billion) worth of Chinese foreign direct investment. CATL and EVE Energy’s projects are forecast to produce 68 GWh of lithium ion batteries in 2030, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":42071},[42072],{"type":606,"attrs":42073},{"href":22690,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":42076,"content":42077},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42078],{"text":37945,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":42080,"content":42081},{"textAlign":49},[42082],{"text":34153,"type":596,"marks":42083},[42084],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":42086,"content":42087},{"textAlign":49},[42088,42092,42098],{"text":42089,"type":596,"marks":42090},"Join us at Benchmark Week to forge connections, identify future partners and unlock market opportunities. ",[42091],{"type":1006},{"text":42093,"type":596,"marks":42094},"Purchase your tickets today",[42095,42097],{"type":606,"attrs":42096},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":42099},[42100],{"type":1006},"An early mover in the lithium ion battery supply chain, China is home to a significant proportion of global supply and many of the largest companies. The country has the highest 2030 pipeline capacity at close to 6,300 gigawatt hours (GWh), totalling 67% of global capacity. It follows that the largest Tier 1 manufacturers are […]",[42103],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42104},{"job_title":557,"image":42105,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"53c896df-2742-4449-bd8f-d84006757669\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42108,42109],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":42111,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":42111,"source":547,"filename":42048,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42112,"is_external_url":51},"Treemap showing the top lithium ion battery producers in each country and what Tier they are",{"alt":42111,"title":42111,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":34642,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42114,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 02, 2024",{"id":42117,"uuid":42118,"name":42119,"slug":42120,"full_slug":42121,"content":42122},112469052146757,"cd852b0c-9b66-49b8-b931-fafea6fdd250","Sibanye-Stillwater shifts focus to battery precursor in Europe amid nickel price slump","sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump","article/sibanye-stillwater-shifts-focus-to-battery-precursor-in-europe-amid-nickel-price-slump",{"_uid":42123,"date":42022,"tags":42124,"editor":42132,"content":42136,"excerpt":42234,"featured":51,"reporter":42235,"_editable":42239,"component":697,"seo_title":42119,"categories":42240,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":42246,"seo_description":42234,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42115},"dd661dd4-2e05-4199-ac47-f93c8b841efe",[42125,42126,42129],{"slug":20447,"name":20448},{"slug":42127,"name":42128},"pcam","pCAM",{"slug":42130,"name":42131},"sibanye-stillwater","Sibanye-Stillwater",[42133],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42134},{"job_title":557,"image":42135,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42137},[42138,42143,42154,42159,42164,42177,42182,42187,42192,42197,42202,42219,42224],{"type":591,"attrs":42139,"content":42140},{"textAlign":49},[42141],{"text":42142,"type":596},"Sibanye-Stillwater plans to re-purpose the Sandouville nickel refinery in northern France to produce battery precursor (pCAM), progressing the company’s strategy of increasing its downstream exposure to Europe’s battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42144,"content":42145},{"textAlign":49},[42146,42148],{"text":42147,"type":596},"Acquired from Eramet in 2022, the Sandouville refinery’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet was due to be upgraded to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate from nickel matte, but has become loss-making as ",{"text":42149,"type":596,"marks":42150},"nickel prices have tumbled 35% since the acquisition.",[42151],{"type":606,"attrs":42152},{"href":42153,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/nickel-prices/chart/",{"type":591,"attrs":42155,"content":42156},{"textAlign":49},[42157],{"text":42158,"type":596},"The company confirmed it was conducting a pre-feasibility study to determine the viability of transitioning the plant’s existing chloride processing infrastructure towards producing pCAM directly from mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP); a novel process designed to cut several steps out of traditional sulphate-based processing routes. A small-scale pCAM pilot plant at the refinery is set to begin by the end of Q3. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42160,"content":42161},{"textAlign":49},[42162],{"text":42163,"type":596},"“The current low price environment for nickel has hit many western producers, who are struggling to compete with lower-cost competitors in China,” said Will Talbot, principal nickel analyst at Benchmark. “Sibanye-Stillwater’s decision to pivot Sandouville to pCAM production will enable them to sell a value-add product for the battery industry – which is now the key growth driver in the nickel market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":42165,"content":42166},{"textAlign":49},[42167,42169,42175],{"text":42168,"type":596},"Aside from value-adding its nickel production, switching to MHP also grants access to a lower-cost, more abundant feedstock; MHP nickel payability to the LME nickel contract averaged 74% in 2023, compared to 90% for nickel matte ",{"text":42170,"type":596,"marks":42171},"according to the Benchmark Nickel Forecast",[42172],{"type":606,"attrs":42173},{"href":42174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/portal/",{"text":42176,"type":596},". MHP also includes a higher concentration of cobalt, making it a preferable feedstock for pCAM production.",{"type":591,"attrs":42178,"content":42179},{"textAlign":49},[42180],{"text":42181,"type":596},"“Switching the input of the plant from matte to MHP is not surprising given the new product, and in doing so Sibanye-Stillwater is following in the footsteps of the Chinese players for which MHP is now the key input for battery applications,” said Talbot.",{"type":591,"attrs":42183,"content":42184},{"textAlign":49},[42185],{"text":42186,"type":596},"“MHP is cost-effective to convert to nickel sulphate, but Sibanye say they are using a novel chloride process to make their pCAM. While this has reportedly been proven at laboratory scale, it remains to be seen if the process can reach commercial scale,” he continued.",{"type":591,"attrs":42188,"content":42189},{"textAlign":49},[42190],{"text":42191,"type":596},"As part of plans to address the refinery’s projected losses and prepare for potential commercial-scale pCAM production, the company revealed it had reached an agreement to cancel its existing nickel matte supply contracts by the close of 2024, incurring a cost of $37 million. ",{"type":615,"attrs":42193,"content":42194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42195],{"text":42196,"type":596},"Sibanye-Stillwater advances battery strategy",{"type":615,"attrs":42198,"content":42199},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42200],{"text":42201,"type":596},"Europe lacks sufficient pCAM production capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":42203,"content":42204},{"textAlign":49},[42205,42210,42212,42218],{"text":42206,"type":596,"marks":42207},"China holds a dominant hold at this midstream stage of the battery supply chain",[42208],{"type":606,"attrs":42209},{"href":40839,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42211,"type":596},", accounting for over 90% of global pCAM output in 2023, according to the ",{"text":42213,"type":596,"marks":42214},"Benchmark Battery Precursor Assessment",[42215],{"type":606,"attrs":42216},{"href":42217,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/portal/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":42220,"content":42221},{"textAlign":49},[42222],{"text":42223,"type":596},"Benchmark projections posit Europe’s pCAM capacity pipeline at 66% of the continent’s cathode capacity by the end of the decade, leaving the region reliant on imports from Asia to fill the supply gap.",{"type":591,"attrs":42225,"content":42226},{"textAlign":49},[42227,42229],{"text":42228,"type":596},"Moreover, slower-than-expected EV sales and overcapacity in China is creating supply risk for the west, as rising cost pressures have led European midstream players BASF and ",{"text":42230,"type":596,"marks":42231},"Umicore to drawback on planned investments in 2024.",[42232],{"type":606,"attrs":42233},{"href":9012,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Sibanye-Stillwater plans to re-purpose the Sandouville nickel refinery in northern France to produce battery precursor (pCAM), progressing the company’s strategy of increasing its downstream exposure to Europe’s battery supply chain. Acquired from Eramet in 2022, the Sandouville refinery’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet was due to be upgraded to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate from nickel matte, but has […]",[42236],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42237},{"job_title":557,"image":42238,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dd661dd4-2e05-4199-ac47-f93c8b841efe\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42241,42242,42243,42244,42245],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":42247,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":42247,"source":547,"filename":42248,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42249,"is_external_url":51},"Close-up image of a battery and wiring","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/baec85913e/bm-pcam-in-charts-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":42247,"title":42247,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":42251,"uuid":42252,"name":42253,"slug":42254,"full_slug":42255,"content":42256},112469066429513,"2de64a90-1f70-48bc-9a21-c86ce2f2e366","New entrants drive sodium ion battery capacity growth","new-entrants-drive-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-growth","article/new-entrants-drive-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-growth",{"_uid":42257,"date":42258,"tags":42259,"editor":42262,"content":42266,"excerpt":42351,"featured":51,"reporter":42352,"_editable":42356,"component":697,"seo_title":42253,"categories":42357,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":42359,"featured_image":42363,"seo_description":42351,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42367},"e0fd89a6-6673-45fe-93db-17f04ece9b45","2024-08-30 00:00",[42260,42261],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[42263],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42264},{"job_title":557,"image":42265,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42267},[42268,42279,42284,42289,42294,42299,42310,42318,42323,42328,42333,42346],{"type":591,"attrs":42269,"content":42270},{"textAlign":49},[42271,42273,42278],{"text":42272,"type":596},"Sodium ion battery capacity is surging as an additional 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) are expected to come online this year along with 14 new market entrants, taking global capacity to 70 GWh, according to ",{"text":28237,"type":596,"marks":42274},[42275],{"type":606,"attrs":42276},{"href":42277,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/sodium-ion-batteries/data-reports/market-assessments/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":42280,"content":42281},{"textAlign":49},[42282],{"text":42283,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts there will be over 370 GWh of sodium ion battery capacity in 2030 as the industry ramps up to meet growing energy storage needs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42285,"content":42286},{"textAlign":49},[42287],{"text":42288,"type":596},"“The price of lithium ion batteries has a significant influence on the commercial viability of sodium ion batteries. An increase in the price, or further price volatility of lithium chemicals, would likely increase interest in sodium ion batteries, as they are independent of the lithium supply chain,” said Catherine Peake, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":42290,"content":42291},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42292],{"text":42293,"type":596},"Sodium ion’s capacity ramp-up",{"type":591,"attrs":42295,"content":42296},{"textAlign":49},[42297],{"text":42298,"type":596},"The move to build out sodium ion battery capacity was predominantly driven by high lithium prices in 2022. Lithium averaged $77.4 per kg over Q4 2022, having been around half that at the start of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":42300,"content":42301},{"textAlign":49},[42302,42304,42308],{"text":42303,"type":596},"As a result of these high lithium prices, companies moved to develop sodium ion battery capacity. Of the 55 cell manufacturing facilities monitored within ",{"text":28237,"type":596,"marks":42305},[42306],{"type":606,"attrs":42307},{"href":42277,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42309,"type":596},", 29 companies are expected to be active in 2024. By 2028, an additional 18 companies are expected to be contributing to supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":42311,"content":42312},{"textAlign":49},[42313],{"type":836,"attrs":42314},{"id":49,"alt":42315,"src":42316,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":42317},"Two treemaps showing sodium ion battery market share by capacity, one for 2024 and 2030","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a22da0a59a/bm-sib-capacity-market-share-v4.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":42319,"content":42320},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42321],{"text":42322,"type":596},"Oversupply this decade",{"type":591,"attrs":42324,"content":42325},{"textAlign":49},[42326],{"text":42327,"type":596},"Lithium ion battery prices have fallen considerably as raw material input costs have dropped, reducing the appeal of sodium ion cells. A lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell cost around $100 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in December 2022 and now costs around $65 per kWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42329,"content":42330},{"textAlign":49},[42331],{"text":42332,"type":596},"As a result, the near-term boost in sodium ion battery demand has not been realised, producing an oversupply of sodium ion batteries in the short- and mid-term. However, demand is expected to rise as the cost of sodium ion batteries reduces and due to the desire for more diverse battery supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":42334,"content":42335},{"textAlign":49},[42336,42338,42344],{"text":42337,"type":596},"The energy storage systems (ESS) market is initially the strongest driver of demand, where sodium ion batteries offer ",{"text":42339,"type":596,"marks":42340},"several key advantages",[42341],{"type":606,"attrs":42342},{"href":42343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-role-can-sodium-ion-batteries-play-in-energy-storage",{"text":42345,"type":596},". Demand from the ESS sector is strongest in China, which is forecast to be responsible for 64% of demand in 2030, but present across Europe (15%) and North America (9%) too.",{"type":591,"attrs":42347,"content":42348},{"textAlign":49},[42349],{"text":42350,"type":596},"By 2036, demand from the electric vehicle (EV) market – especially micromobility and two-and-three wheelers – overtakes that from ESS. Sodium ion batteries have a lower energy density than lithium ion alternatives so are unlikely to compete with such cells in sectors of the EV market that prioritise range.","Sodium ion battery capacity is surging as an additional 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) are expected to come online this year along with 14 new market entrants, taking global capacity to 70 GWh, according to Benchmark’s Sodium ion Battery Forecast. Benchmark forecasts there will be over 370 GWh of sodium ion battery capacity in 2030 as the […]",[42353],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42354},{"job_title":557,"image":42355,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e0fd89a6-6673-45fe-93db-17f04ece9b45\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42358],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":42360,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":42360,"source":547,"filename":42361,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42362,"is_external_url":51},"Treemap showing the market share of sodium ion battery companies by capacity in 2030","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1725024684/www-production/2030-sodium-ion-market-capacity-share-treemap/2030-sodium-ion-market-capacity-share-treemap.png?_i=AA",{"alt":42360,"title":42360,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":42364,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":42364,"source":547,"filename":42365,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42366,"is_external_url":51},"Two sodium ion batteries in pile of salt on black background","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/facb1bc021/bm-sodium-ion-battery-new-entrants-feature-image.jpg",{"alt":42364,"title":42364,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 30, 2024",{"id":42369,"uuid":42370,"name":42371,"slug":42372,"full_slug":42373,"content":42374},112469061731400,"dcc99def-23eb-4b59-a778-d878b27a30e8","Recycling industry margins squeezed by low virgin material prices","recycling-industry-margins-squeezed-by-low-virgin-material-prices","article/recycling-industry-margins-squeezed-by-low-virgin-material-prices",{"_uid":42375,"date":42258,"tags":42376,"editor":42379,"content":42383,"excerpt":42589,"featured":51,"reporter":42590,"_editable":42594,"component":697,"seo_title":42371,"categories":42595,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":42598,"seo_description":42589,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42367},"520e39ad-1d02-454b-b80c-a3b50dc96949",[42377,42378],{"slug":10037,"name":373},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},[42380],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42381},{"job_title":557,"image":42382,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42384},[42385,42396,42408,42413,42426,42453,42458,42463,42476,42483,42488,42493,42498,42503,42532,42544,42549,42554,42559,42564,42569,42574,42579,42584],{"type":591,"attrs":42386,"content":42387},{"textAlign":49},[42388,42390,42394],{"text":42389,"type":596},"Bearish raw material markets are dragging down ",{"text":29770,"type":596,"marks":42391},[42392],{"type":606,"attrs":42393},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42395,"type":596}," prices and payables, squeezing the margins of players in the recycling industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":42397,"content":42398},{"textAlign":49},[42399,42401,42407],{"text":42400,"type":596},"Prices for black mass from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) scrap feedstock have been the worst hit by the low lithium price environment, with the aggregated price for LFP black mass dropping 2.33% month-on-month to $1,741 per tonne in August 2024 after having dropped 18% the month prior, according to ",{"text":42402,"type":596,"marks":42403},"Benchmark’s Black Mass Price Assessment",[42404],{"type":606,"attrs":42405},{"href":42406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling/recycling-prices/table/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":42409,"content":42410},{"textAlign":49},[42411],{"text":42412,"type":596},"Some LFP recyclers are consequently stockpiling battery scrap and black mass as they wait for prices to improve from September, or selling it into the reuse market.",{"type":591,"attrs":42414,"content":42415},{"textAlign":49},[42416,42418,42424],{"text":42417,"type":596},"“Some LFP black mass traders in Asia (ex. China) are even willing to pay recyclers to take LFP black mass off their hands in the current price climate,” ",{"text":42419,"type":596,"marks":42420},"Frederick Bloomfield",[42421],{"type":606,"attrs":42422},{"href":42423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-black-mass-price-trends-outside-of-china",{"text":42425,"type":596},", a black mass pricing analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":42427,"content":42428},{"textAlign":49},[42429,42433,42440,42444,42450],{"text":42430,"type":596,"marks":42431},"Watch Benchmark analyst Piotr Kulas discuss the ",[42432],{"type":1006},{"text":42434,"type":596,"marks":42435},"profitability of recycling LFP batteries",[42436,42439],{"type":606,"attrs":42437},{"href":42438,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-can-lfp-be-recycled-profitably",{"type":1006},{"text":42441,"type":596,"marks":42442}," on Source. View more analyst insight videos ",[42443],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":42445},[42446,42449],{"type":606,"attrs":42447},{"href":42448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/analyst-insights?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags%5B%5D=analyst-insights",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":42451},[42452],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":42454,"content":42455},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42456],{"text":42457,"type":596},"Why are black mass prices falling?",{"type":591,"attrs":42459,"content":42460},{"textAlign":49},[42461],{"text":42462,"type":596},"Across the board, battery raw material markets are generally experiencing a low price environment, driven by oversupply from China and weak downstream EV demand. LFP black mass is particularly impacted by the virgin lithium market as lithium carbonate is the only valuable battery mineral that is typically extracted from such cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":42464,"content":42465},{"textAlign":49},[42466,42468,42474],{"text":42467,"type":596},"Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) black mass prices have also been impacted by cobalt sulphate prices (EXW China) dropping 13.1% so far this year to $3,920 per tonne, according to ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":42470},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment",[42471],{"type":606,"attrs":42472},{"href":42473,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/cobalt-prices/table/",{"text":42475,"type":596}," from 28 August this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":42477,"content":42478},{"textAlign":49},[42479],{"type":836,"attrs":42480},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":42481,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":42482},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f812b5e840/bm-black-mass-prices-august-2024.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":42484,"content":42485},{"textAlign":49},[42486],{"text":42487,"type":596},"China’s black mass prices remain the highest in the global market due to the maturity of their recycling industry, large processing overcapacity and inclusion of lithium payables in transactions.",{"type":591,"attrs":42489,"content":42490},{"textAlign":49},[42491],{"text":42492,"type":596},"Prices in China and Asia closely mirror each other due to the large and growing volume of black mass exchanged between the two regions.",{"type":615,"attrs":42494,"content":42495},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42496],{"text":42497,"type":596},"Are there regional differences in the black mass prices and payables?",{"type":591,"attrs":42499,"content":42500},{"textAlign":49},[42501],{"text":42502,"type":596},"Payables have taken the most severe hit in the seaborne Asia and domestic China markets as these regions are the most heavily influenced by virgin market conditions due to the large amount of domestic processing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":42504,"content":42505},{"textAlign":49},[42506,42510,42516,42520,42524,42529],{"text":42507,"type":596,"marks":42508},"Watch Benchmark analyst Frederick Bloomfield discuss ",[42509],{"type":1006},{"text":42511,"type":596,"marks":42512},"black mass price trends outside of China",[42513,42515],{"type":606,"attrs":42514},{"href":42423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":42517,"type":596,"marks":42518}," on Source.",[42519],{"type":1006},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":42522},"View more analyst insight videos ",[42523],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":42525},[42526,42528],{"type":606,"attrs":42527},{"href":42448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":42530},[42531],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":42533,"content":42534},{"textAlign":49},[42535,42537,42542],{"text":42536,"type":596},"The drop in virgin market prices in recent months has been felt less acutely by ",{"text":42538,"type":596,"marks":42539},"North American and European recyclers",[42540],{"type":606,"attrs":42541},{"href":38852,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42543,"type":596}," due to the lagged effect of the virgin market in these regions. Many domestic black mass suppliers are also unwilling to take a hit on their profits even under the current tough market conditions.",{"type":591,"attrs":42545,"content":42546},{"textAlign":49},[42547],{"text":42548,"type":596},"Divergent valuations of black mass between buyers and sellers has resulted in deals increasingly being cancelled as buyers are unable to afford the material, while virgin prices continue to tumble.",{"type":591,"attrs":42550,"content":42551},{"textAlign":49},[42552],{"text":42553,"type":596},"“The low-price environment is straining both recycling companies and traders as their margins degrade” Bloomfield said. “As a result, trading activity has been subdued as buyers have often been unable to match the asking price of black mass sellers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":42555,"content":42556},{"textAlign":49},[42557],{"text":42558,"type":596},"Market conditions have been worsened further by rising shipping costs globally due to numerous geopolitical events, like the political instability in the Red Sea.",{"type":615,"attrs":42560,"content":42561},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42562],{"text":42563,"type":596},"What are the consequences of the low black mass prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":42565,"content":42566},{"textAlign":49},[42567],{"text":42568,"type":596},"The ripple effect of the prolonged virgin market downturn is that market participants in Asia (ex. China) are more frequently being priced out of black mass bidding wars since Chinese market participants possess greater purchasing power. China’s reported relaxation of its black mass import policy is also thought to contribute to this growing theme.",{"type":591,"attrs":42570,"content":42571},{"textAlign":49},[42572],{"text":42573,"type":596},"Utilisation rates at non-integrated black mass processing facilities of smaller recyclers are also suffering due to weak raw material prices disincentivising battery chemical recovery from black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":42575,"content":42576},{"textAlign":49},[42577],{"text":42578,"type":596},"The larger integrated recyclers are able to keep utilisation rates healthier through partnerships and in-house supply of black mass feedstock. Various recycling companies attempting to be publicly listed are also keeping their utilisation rates high.",{"type":591,"attrs":42580,"content":42581},{"textAlign":49},[42582],{"text":42583,"type":596},"Another knock-on effect of these tough conditions has been Western recyclers switching their black mass processing technologies, especially in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":42585,"content":42586},{"textAlign":49},[42587],{"text":42588,"type":596},"“Western recyclers have a tougher time implementing the acid leach hydrometallurgical technique adopted in Asia due to higher opex and capex costs, as well as stricter environmental regulations,” Bloomfield said. “Consequently, European and North American recyclers have started looking into the opportunity of direct recycling, pCAM/MHP production and alternative processing technologies, such as electroextraction, plasma extraction and chromatography extraction.”","Bearish raw material markets are dragging down black mass prices and payables, squeezing the margins of players in the recycling industry. Prices for black mass from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) scrap feedstock have been the worst hit by the low lithium price environment, with the aggregated price for LFP black mass dropping 2.33% month-on-month to […]",[42591],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42592},{"job_title":557,"image":42593,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"520e39ad-1d02-454b-b80c-a3b50dc96949\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42596,42597],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":33201,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42599,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":42601,"uuid":42602,"name":42603,"slug":42604,"full_slug":42605,"content":42606},112469076431947,"f30e5659-4359-46a3-b39f-680ccd1d2487","EU courts Greenland for critical raw materials amid Arctic geopolitical shifts","eu-courts-greenland-for-critical-raw-materials-amid-arctic-geopolitical-shifts","article/eu-courts-greenland-for-critical-raw-materials-amid-arctic-geopolitical-shifts",{"_uid":42607,"date":42608,"tags":42609,"editor":42616,"content":42620,"excerpt":42762,"featured":51,"reporter":42763,"_editable":42767,"component":697,"seo_title":42603,"categories":42768,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":42779,"seo_description":42762,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42782},"5afa5841-1bdb-4dcc-a50f-dc5336ee2f06","2024-08-29 00:00",[42610,42611,42612,42613],{"slug":34022,"name":34023},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":42614,"name":42615},"greenland","Greenland",[42617],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42618},{"job_title":557,"image":42619,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42621},[42622,42627,42639,42644,42651,42656,42661,42666,42671,42676,42681,42686,42691,42696,42701,42706,42711,42716,42721,42726,42733,42747],{"type":591,"attrs":42623,"content":42624},{"textAlign":49},[42625],{"text":42626,"type":596},"The European Union (EU) is eyeing Greenland as a key strategic partner as it advances plans to develop Europe-focused raw material value chains and reduce reliance on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":42628,"content":42629},{"textAlign":49},[42630,42632,42638],{"text":42631,"type":596},"The bloc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Greenland for a strategic partnership to develop sustainable raw materials value chains in November 2023; a bilateral cooperation that seeks to develop Greenland’s mining sector in a manner that adheres to the EU’s ",{"text":42633,"type":596,"marks":42634},"sustainability standards",[42635],{"type":606,"attrs":42636},{"href":42637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-the-eus-new-corporate-sustainability-directive-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":42640,"content":42641},{"textAlign":49},[42642],{"text":42643,"type":596},"“Given the geostrategic interests and the battery mineral endowments in Greenland, it makes sense for the EU to deepen the raw material and geopolitical relationship with Greenland,” said Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":42645,"content":42646},{"textAlign":49},[42647],{"type":836,"attrs":42648},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":42649,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":42650},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1961176b8b/bm-image-68.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":42652,"content":42653},{"textAlign":49},[42654],{"text":42655,"type":596},"As an autonomous Danish territory, Greenland is not part of the EU and possesses autonomy over domestic affairs such as mineral exploration and extraction rights. Denmark, meanwhile, retains rights over the territory’s foreign policy and defence.",{"type":591,"attrs":42657,"content":42658},{"textAlign":49},[42659],{"text":42660,"type":596},"The EU Commission opened an office in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, in March 2024, simultaneously launching a Green Growth program to invest €22.5 million in energy and critical raw materials value chains in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42662,"content":42663},{"textAlign":49},[42664],{"text":42665,"type":596},"“Despite some progress, we haven’t yet seen a roadmap since the MoU was signed in November last year, although the two sides intended to agree on one within six months,” Bille added.",{"type":615,"attrs":42667,"content":42668},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42669],{"text":42670,"type":596},"Greenland’s critical raw material potential",{"type":591,"attrs":42672,"content":42673},{"textAlign":49},[42674],{"text":42675,"type":596},"A 2023 reported published by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) recognised that 25 of the 34 of the minerals covered under the European Comission’s ‘critical raw materials’ were present in Greenland, including significant endowments of battery minerals such as graphite and lithium, as well as the rare earth elements (REE) utilised in clean technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines.",{"type":591,"attrs":42677,"content":42678},{"textAlign":49},[42679],{"text":42680,"type":596},"GEUS identified 6 Mt of known natural graphite resources, 36.1 Mt of known REE resources, 235kt of known lithium resources, and 106kt of known copper resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":42682,"content":42683},{"textAlign":49},[42684],{"text":42685,"type":596},"Aside from the potential for local pushback, the development of mining projects in Greenland will also be challenging due to its remoteness, harsh climate, limited workforce, and lack of infrastructure. The EU will need to assist in alleviating some of these barriers to entry if it hopes to attract private investment for large-scale mining operations in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42687,"content":42688},{"textAlign":49},[42689],{"text":42690,"type":596},"But Greenland does offer a stable political climate and a broadly pro-mining government keen to diversify its economy – making it a more attractive partner compared to some other resource-rich nations. ",{"type":615,"attrs":42692,"content":42693},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42694],{"text":42695,"type":596},"Greenland and the geopolitics of the Arctic",{"type":591,"attrs":42697,"content":42698},{"textAlign":49},[42699],{"text":42700,"type":596},"The EU’s motivation for deepening economic and political ties with Greenland also lie in a desire to anchor the island’s economy towards Europe and away from China and Russia, amidst intensifying geopolitical competition in the Arctic region.",{"type":591,"attrs":42702,"content":42703},{"textAlign":49},[42704],{"text":42705,"type":596},"An independence movement in Greenland has steadily gained momentum in recent years, with the government presenting a first draft of a constitution in 2023. The possibility of full autonomy from Denmark poses several economic and security implications for the EU and its allies, while also adding risk for potential mining investments in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42707,"content":42708},{"textAlign":49},[42709],{"text":42710,"type":596},"“The geopolitics involved could make future mining investments more risky and complex. Hence, the importance of the EU-Greenland strategic partnership, which should be aimed at derisking these investments,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":42712,"content":42713},{"textAlign":49},[42714],{"text":42715,"type":596},"As polar ice caps continue to disappear, new opportunities for resource extraction and emerging trade routes in the Arctic are enhancing Greenland’s strategic importance as a gateway to the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":42717,"content":42718},{"textAlign":49},[42719],{"text":42720,"type":596},"China has previously expressed interest in Greenland’s raw material resources, pledging to build a “Polar Silk Road” – although China has failed as yet to gain a significant foothold in the region. Russia, meanwhile, is increasingly asserting its military presence in the Arctic region, with regional cooperation all but disappearing following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":42722,"content":42723},{"textAlign":49},[42724],{"text":42725,"type":596},"Greenland, therefore, sits at the intersection of several overlapping strands of geopolitical competition and the EU will hope it can use bilateral cooperation to strengthen its position in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":42727,"content":42728},{"textAlign":49},[42729],{"text":42730,"type":596,"marks":42731},"Policy developments in the EU, including recent election results, will play a key role in shaping European critical mineral and battery industries.",[42732],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":42734,"content":42735},{"textAlign":49},[42736,42740],{"text":42737,"type":596,"marks":42738},"Join Benchmark’s webinar on Thursday 26 September at 07:00 or 15:00 (GMT+1) as our experts examine the question – ",[42739],{"type":1006},{"text":42741,"type":596,"marks":42742},"What Would Political Change in Europe Mean for the Energy Transition?",[42743,42746],{"type":606,"attrs":42744},{"href":42745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/what-would-political-change-in-europe-mean-for-the-energy-transition/",{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":42748,"content":42749},{"textAlign":49},[42750,42754,42759],{"text":42751,"type":596,"marks":42752},"Register with your business email address ",[42753],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":42755},[42756,42758],{"type":606,"attrs":42757},{"href":42745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":42760},[42761],{"type":1006},"The European Union (EU) is eyeing Greenland as a key strategic partner as it advances plans to develop Europe-focused raw material value chains and reduce reliance on China. The bloc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Greenland for a strategic partnership to develop sustainable raw materials value chains in November 2023; a bilateral cooperation […]",[42764],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42765},{"job_title":557,"image":42766,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5afa5841-1bdb-4dcc-a50f-dc5336ee2f06\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42769,42770,42771,42772,42773,42774,42775,42776,42777,42778],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":42780,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42781,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/19b705f5cd/bm-greenland-eu.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 29, 2024",{"id":42784,"uuid":42785,"name":42786,"slug":42787,"full_slug":42788,"content":42789},112469101978704,"5820012e-01aa-494b-91d5-3222c5ae7dc9","US government progresses North American cobalt supply chain with $20 million award to Canada’s Electra Battery Materials","us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials","article/us-government-progresses-north-american-cobalt-supply-chain-with-20-million-award-to-canadas-electra-battery-materials",{"_uid":42790,"date":42791,"tags":42792,"editor":42798,"content":42802,"excerpt":42933,"featured":51,"reporter":42934,"_editable":42938,"component":697,"seo_title":42786,"categories":42939,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":42943,"seo_description":42933,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42946},"392d8980-52cd-4087-bf11-4d893c03aa25","2024-08-23 00:00",[42793,42794,42797],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":42795,"name":42796},"electra-battery-materials","Electra Battery Materials",{"slug":572,"name":573},[42799],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42800},{"job_title":557,"image":42801,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42803},[42804,42809,42814,42819,42824,42829,42834,42846,42856,42863,42868,42873,42891,42911,42916,42928],{"type":591,"attrs":42805,"content":42806},{"textAlign":49},[42807],{"text":42808,"type":596},"Canada’s Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has secured a $20 million award from the US Department of Defense, advancing efforts towards onshoring of the cobalt supply chain in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":42810,"content":42811},{"textAlign":49},[42812],{"text":42813,"type":596},"“This is the first bricks and mortar investment into Canada in many years by the US Department of Defense, and marks their first significant investment in Canada’s battery supply chain,” Trent Mell, Electra’s CEO, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":42815,"content":42816},{"textAlign":49},[42817],{"text":42818,"type":596},"The funds will be used to support the construction at Electra’s battery-grade cobalt sulphate refinery in Ontario, Canada, set to be the first of its kind in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":42820,"content":42821},{"textAlign":49},[42822],{"text":42823,"type":596},"“We expect the remaining US$40 million capex requirement to complete the refinery will be addressed through the continuing pursuit of government programs and private sector strategic investments,” Mell added.",{"type":615,"attrs":42825,"content":42826},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42827],{"text":42828,"type":596},"Electra’s Ontario refinery:",{"type":615,"attrs":42830,"content":42831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[42832],{"text":42833,"type":596},"US ramps up federal funding for cobalt projects",{"type":591,"attrs":42835,"content":42836},{"textAlign":49},[42837,42839,42844],{"text":42838,"type":596},"The US is highly vulnerable to China’s control over the cobalt supply chain. China currently comprises over 90% of global battery-grade cobalt sulphate production, according to the ",{"text":36153,"type":596,"marks":42840},[42841],{"type":606,"attrs":42842},{"href":42843,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":42845,"type":596},", with refined cobalt supply emanating from US and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) regions set to meet just 27% of US demand by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":42847,"content":42848},{"textAlign":49},[42849,42854],{"text":42850,"type":596,"marks":42851},"China’s grip extends across the battery value",[42852],{"type":606,"attrs":42853},{"href":38159,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42855,"type":596}," chain, with 61% of cobalt mining involving at least one Chinese company, but is most concentrated at the midstream of the value chain: China will account for the vast majority of battery chemical and battery material production in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":42857,"content":42858},{"textAlign":49},[42859],{"type":836,"attrs":42860},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":42861,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":42862},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeRLbQPRSWuuuMHDjS3ndm99OHrHCntz7ZenzdXFgkko0nSvsUjZDlwOvVnjs5RvJgGLe-tGy7vtVhpGS4zXIT946yvajT-pjMyrorWdlmvaflU3B5B7uYEAxDFxSguLAsfwOfelSUje3OZ5j-5aP1_7dA?key=7jcq2VHCkfOVA-281yS7Gg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":42864,"content":42865},{"textAlign":49},[42866],{"text":42867,"type":596},"Beijing has moved to impose export limits on a number of strategic minerals in the name of national security since last year, the most recent restrictions on antimony were announced in August.",{"type":591,"attrs":42869,"content":42870},{"textAlign":49},[42871],{"text":42872,"type":596},"To address its supply chain vulnerabilities, the US government has been ramping up funding for critical mineral mining and processing projects since the passage of the IRA in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":42874,"content":42875},{"textAlign":49},[42876,42877,42883,42885,42889],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":42878,"type":596,"marks":42879},"Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO)",[42880],{"type":606,"attrs":42881},{"href":42882,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/exclusive-interview-with-does-jigar-shah",{"text":42884,"type":596},", in particular, has disbursed billions of dollars in low-interest loans to expedite projects such as ",{"text":29743,"type":596,"marks":42886},[42887],{"type":606,"attrs":42888},{"href":38796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42890,"type":596}," and Li-Cycle, both of which will recover battery-grade cobalt from black mass in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":42892,"content":42893},{"textAlign":49},[42894,42896,42902,42903,42909],{"text":42895,"type":596},"Similarly, the US Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) has facilitated funding for a US-focused cobalt supply chain, provisionally agreeing debt financing packages with ",{"text":42897,"type":596,"marks":42898},"US Strategic Metals",[42899],{"type":606,"attrs":42900},{"href":42901,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-exim-bank-backs-domestic-cobalt-production-with-us-strategic-metals-loan",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":42904,"type":596,"marks":42905},"Chilean Cobalt Corp",[42906],{"type":606,"attrs":42907},{"href":42908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-exim-bank-boosts-chiles-cobalt-ambitions-in-effort-to-build-ex-china-supply-chain",{"text":42910,"type":596}," in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":42912,"content":42913},{"textAlign":49},[42914],{"text":42915,"type":596},"In early 2022, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III, to strengthen supply chains critical to national security; allocating $250 million of funding to assist in getting projects in the US and Canada off the ground. Several cobalt projects have since received DoD DPA grants, including:",{"type":591,"attrs":42917,"content":42918},{"textAlign":49},[42919,42921,42926],{"text":42920,"type":596},"Electra, however, is the most advanced-stage cobalt project to have been awarded a grant under the DPA Title III, with ",{"text":42922,"type":596,"marks":42923},"Benchmark projecting",[42924],{"type":606,"attrs":42925},{"href":36157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42927,"type":596}," first production from the refinery to be achieved by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":42929,"content":42930},{"textAlign":49},[42931],{"text":42932,"type":596},"“We want this to be the blueprint for future successful investments,” Mell added. ","Canada’s Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has secured a $20 million award from the US Department of Defense, advancing efforts towards onshoring of the cobalt supply chain in North America. “This is the first bricks and mortar investment into Canada in many years by the US Department of Defense, and marks their first significant investment in […]",[42935],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42936},{"job_title":557,"image":42937,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"392d8980-52cd-4087-bf11-4d893c03aa25\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[42940,42941,42942],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":42944,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":42945,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b62cc81078/bm-us-dod.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 23, 2024",{"id":42948,"uuid":42949,"name":42950,"slug":42951,"full_slug":42952,"content":42953},112469097186383,"adad38c9-41ed-40eb-9427-0c496b22eb0f","Sibanye-Stillwater €500 million green loan boosts EU lithium outlook","sibanye-stillwater-e500-million-green-loan-boosts-eu-lithium-outlook","article/sibanye-stillwater-e500-million-green-loan-boosts-eu-lithium-outlook",{"_uid":42954,"date":42791,"tags":42955,"editor":42964,"content":42968,"excerpt":43117,"featured":51,"reporter":43118,"_editable":43122,"component":697,"seo_title":42950,"categories":43123,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":43126,"seo_description":43117,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42946},"0326d778-56c7-499b-99f7-3d39aaa66043",[42956,42957,42959,42960,42963],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":42958,"name":9041},"european-investment-bank",{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":42961,"name":42962},"finland","Finland",{"slug":42130,"name":42131},[42965],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":42966},{"job_title":557,"image":42967,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":42969},[42970,42975,42980,42999,43004,43009,43014,43019,43024,43029,43034,43052,43057,43062,43072,43077,43082,43087,43092,43097,43102,43107,43112],{"type":591,"attrs":42971,"content":42972},{"textAlign":49},[42973],{"text":42974,"type":596},"Sibanye-Stillwater this week received a €500 million (US$557 million) green loan for its Keliber lithium mining and refining project in Finland.",{"type":591,"attrs":42976,"content":42977},{"textAlign":49},[42978],{"text":42979,"type":596},"The loan completes the full financing requirements for the project in addition to the €250 million (US$278 million) previously raised through equity financing.",{"type":591,"attrs":42981,"content":42982},{"textAlign":49},[42983,42985,42989,42991,42997],{"text":42984,"type":596},"This comes as the ",{"text":10713,"type":596,"marks":42986},[42987],{"type":606,"attrs":42988},{"href":37605,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42990,"type":596}," is looking to boost its domestic battery supply chain. The EU is targeting 10% and 40% of its critical mineral demand to come from ",{"text":42992,"type":596,"marks":42993},"domestic mining and processing",[42994],{"type":606,"attrs":42995},{"href":42996,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-forecast-to-fall-short-of-2030-crma-targets-without-ambitious-action",{"text":42998,"type":596},", respectively, by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":43000,"content":43001},{"textAlign":49},[43002],{"text":43003,"type":596},"“This marks the first European Investment Bank (EIB) financing support for mining critical raw materials in the EU and is an important step towards the EU’s strategic autonomy,” Claudia Cook, a lithium analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":43005,"content":43006},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43007],{"text":43008,"type":596},"What is the status of the Keliber lithium project?",{"type":591,"attrs":43010,"content":43011},{"textAlign":49},[43012],{"text":43013,"type":596},"The Keliber project, located in the Central Ostrobothnia region of Finland,  is vertically integrated, comprising both open pit and underground spodumene mining across five sites, a concentrator, and a lithium hydroxide refinery.",{"type":591,"attrs":43015,"content":43016},{"textAlign":49},[43017],{"text":43018,"type":596},"The spodumene ore has a grade of 1.2% Li2O and will be concentrated near the mine sites.",{"type":591,"attrs":43020,"content":43021},{"textAlign":49},[43022],{"text":43023,"type":596},"The refinery is due to produce its first hydroxide in 2025 using third party ore. From 2026, the refinery will be fed with ore from the project and has a nameplate capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year of hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":43025,"content":43026},{"textAlign":49},[43027],{"text":43028,"type":596},"The project is majority-owned by South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater (~79%), with the state-owned Finnish Minerals Group owning 20%. Around 1% is owned by a group of Finnish shareholders.",{"type":615,"attrs":43030,"content":43031},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43032],{"text":43033,"type":596},"What does this mean for EU lithium production?",{"type":591,"attrs":43035,"content":43036},{"textAlign":49},[43037,43039,43044,43046,43050],{"text":43038,"type":596},"Currently there is no commercial scale lithium hydroxide production in the EU, making the bloc ",{"text":43040,"type":596,"marks":43041},"highly dependent on China",[43042],{"type":606,"attrs":43043},{"href":38159,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43045,"type":596},". By 2030, ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":43047},[43048],{"type":606,"attrs":43049},{"href":13139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43051,"type":596}," the EU will produce around 64,000 tonnes LCE of lithium hydroxide, with supply weighted by how likely it is to come online.",{"type":591,"attrs":43053,"content":43054},{"textAlign":49},[43055],{"text":43056,"type":596},"The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) has set out ambitious targets for increasing its domestic supply chains by 2030. However, compared to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act, the CRMA does not accompany these goals with specific financial incentives.",{"type":591,"attrs":43058,"content":43059},{"textAlign":49},[43060],{"text":43061,"type":596},"“The lack of funding attached to the CRMA is often a point of discussion, however these types of government loans highlight that the EU is looking to put money towards achieving these targets,” Cook said. “Which in these lower price environments gives the region a better chance at securing supply, and being able to capitalise on the growing EU battery market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":43063,"content":43064},{"textAlign":49},[43065,43067,43071],{"text":43066,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Index is down 24.2% so far this year, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":43068},[43069],{"type":606,"attrs":43070},{"href":13126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43073,"content":43074},{"textAlign":49},[43075],{"text":43076,"type":596},"In addition to helping the EU meet the goals of the CRMA, the project is also a boost to Finland’s National Battery Strategy 2025 released in 2021 which added €300 million to the Finnish Minerals Group.",{"type":615,"attrs":43078,"content":43079},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43080],{"text":43081,"type":596},"Sibanye-Stillwater across the battery supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":43083,"content":43084},{"textAlign":49},[43085],{"text":43086,"type":596},"Keliber is not the only project Sibanye-Stillwater has in the battery supply chain. The company has nickel refineries in South Africa and France as well as operations in copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":43088,"content":43089},{"textAlign":49},[43090],{"text":43091,"type":596},"The French nickel refinery was acquired by Sibanye-Stillwater in 2022. The company is currently undertaking a pre-feasibility study to assess the viability of producing precursor cathode active material (pCAM) directly from the mixed hydroxide precipitate to serve the European market.",{"type":615,"attrs":43093,"content":43094},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43095],{"text":43096,"type":596},"What is a green loan?",{"type":591,"attrs":43098,"content":43099},{"textAlign":49},[43100],{"text":43101,"type":596},"A green loan is a type of loan that exclusively is used to finance or refinance green projects. Such loans follow the Green Loan Principles laid out by the Loan Market Associated which assess project eligibility based on four components:",{"type":591,"attrs":43103,"content":43104},{"textAlign":49},[43105],{"text":43106,"type":596},"To support in proving eligibility, the credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings classified the Keliber project as “Medium Green”. This is the second highest green rating available meaning the project represents a “significant step” towards a low-carbon and sustainable future.",{"type":591,"attrs":43108,"content":43109},{"textAlign":49},[43110],{"text":43111,"type":596},"“One of Western mining’s biggest issues is a lack of public support, so if they can really engage in environmental issues and provide clear and publicly accepted standards then that’s a positive,” Cook said.",{"type":591,"attrs":43113,"content":43114},{"textAlign":49},[43115],{"text":43116,"type":596},"The total amount of the loan is distributed across three tranches. The first tranche of €250 million is guaranteed by the Export Credit Agency, the European Investment Bank is providing €150 million, and €100 million is from a syndicate of seven international commercial banks.","Sibanye-Stillwater this week received a €500 million (US$557 million) green loan for its Keliber lithium mining and refining project in Finland. The loan completes the full financing requirements for the project in addition to the €250 million (US$278 million) previously raised through equity financing. This comes as the European Union is looking to boost its […]",[43119],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43120},{"job_title":557,"image":43121,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0326d778-56c7-499b-99f7-3d39aaa66043\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[43124,43125],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43127,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43128,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6135009967/bm-52877082769-0a656600fd-h.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":43130,"uuid":43131,"name":43132,"slug":43133,"full_slug":43134,"content":43135},112469092189262,"07efec7b-7bfa-42d3-8aed-8db61193e4b5","Chinese cobalt sulphate stagnation continues as prices stay flat for six straight weeks ","chinese-cobalt-sulphate-stagnation-continues-as-prices-stay-flat-for-six-straight-weeks","article/chinese-cobalt-sulphate-stagnation-continues-as-prices-stay-flat-for-six-straight-weeks",{"_uid":43136,"date":42791,"tags":43137,"editor":43141,"content":43145,"excerpt":43314,"featured":51,"reporter":43315,"_editable":43319,"component":697,"seo_title":43132,"categories":43320,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":43323,"seo_description":43314,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":42946},"e8ff83cb-a5a6-44af-9f19-0e0bdb90e383",[43138,43139,43140],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":2635,"name":743},[43142],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43143},{"job_title":557,"image":43144,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":43146},[43147,43160,43173,43192,43197,43202,43215,43220,43231,43238,43243,43253,43258,43263,43268,43273,43278,43283,43288,43293,43300,43307],{"type":591,"attrs":43148,"content":43149},{"textAlign":49},[43150,43152,43158],{"text":43151,"type":596},"Chinese cobalt sulphate prices stayed flat for the sixth straight week in late August after staging a slight recovery from the lowest levels ",{"text":43153,"type":596,"marks":43154},"over seven years",[43155],{"type":606,"attrs":43156},{"href":43157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-sulphate-prices-sink-to-seven-year-low-in-june",{"text":43159,"type":596}," seen a little over a month ago. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43161,"content":43162},{"textAlign":49},[43163,43165,43171],{"text":43164,"type":596},"The brief pause in price decline comes as producers resist lower bids amid a supply surplus, despite relatively weak demand for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":43167},"cathodes",[43168],{"type":606,"attrs":43169},{"href":43170,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-remain-steady-in-march-as-cathode-makers-ease-restocking-inventories",{"text":43172,"type":596}," used in electric vehicle batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43174,"content":43175},{"textAlign":49},[43176,43178,43183,43185,43190],{"text":43177,"type":596},"Spot ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":43179},[43180],{"type":606,"attrs":43181},{"href":43182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-market-may-need-new-pricing-mechanisms-for-ev-era",{"text":43184,"type":596}," for Chinese cobalt sulphate prices remained flat at RMB 28,000 ($3,920) per tonne for the assessment period ended August 22, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":43186},[43187],{"type":606,"attrs":43188},{"href":43189,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/data-reports/price-assessments/",{"text":43191,"type":596},". Despite this brief pause, Chinese cobalt sulphate prices are still down 13.2% so far this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":43193,"content":43194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43195],{"text":43196,"type":596},"Has cobalt reached its floor?",{"type":591,"attrs":43198,"content":43199},{"textAlign":49},[43200],{"text":43201,"type":596},"Prices are however expected to decline further as offers for RMB 30,000 ($4,170) per tonne in early August failed to gain any traction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43203,"content":43204},{"textAlign":49},[43205,43207,43213],{"text":43206,"type":596},"“The current price trend strongly suggests that cobalt sulphate is ",{"text":43208,"type":596,"marks":43209},"close to the perceived floor",[43210],{"type":606,"attrs":43211},{"href":43212,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/have-cobalt-prices-reached-a-floor",{"text":43214,"type":596},". At the current price, cobalt sulphate refiners are facing significant pressure on margins, however, the minimal demand leaves little options for these producers,” said Roman Aubry, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":43216,"content":43217},{"textAlign":49},[43218],{"text":43219,"type":596},"According to Aubry, sellers typically see seasonal demand wane in the third quarter. However, as more and more cobalt refineries reach unprofitability, sellers are adopting a level of price discipline in an effort to wrestle control of the market trend, which currently favours buyers.",{"type":591,"attrs":43221,"content":43222},{"textAlign":49},[43223,43225,43229],{"text":43224,"type":596},"The global cobalt surplus is expected to be about 8,000 tonnes this year and persist until 2027 before entering an era of deficit, according to the ",{"text":36153,"type":596,"marks":43226},[43227],{"type":606,"attrs":43228},{"href":42843,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43230,"type":596},". Despite the near term oversupply, battery demand for cobalt is forecast to grow 17% this year, from just 1% in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":43232,"content":43233},{"textAlign":49},[43234],{"type":836,"attrs":43235},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":43236,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43237},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a001d7f7f3/bm-cobalt-sulphate-price-pause.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":43239,"content":43240},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43241],{"text":43242,"type":596},"Marginal increase in feedstock price ",{"type":591,"attrs":43244,"content":43245},{"textAlign":49},[43246,43248,43252],{"text":43247,"type":596},"Prices for cobalt hydroxide, the most commonly traded cobalt feedstock material, recovered marginally during the assessment period ended August 22 after hitting the lowest levels since January 2021 last week. CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide prices increased 0.8% to $6.30 per pound ($13,889 per tonne) but are still down 8.7% so far this year, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":43249},[43250],{"type":606,"attrs":43251},{"href":43189,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43254,"content":43255},{"textAlign":49},[43256],{"text":43257,"type":596},"Lower cobalt hydroxide prices have however brought some relief to refiners who have been struggling with a persistent period of weak pricing for their sulphate products. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43259,"content":43260},{"textAlign":49},[43261],{"text":43262,"type":596},"Further, amid low prices, Glencore said last week it has stopped stockpiling cobalt hydroxide, a move it made in August last year to support prices. Glencore’s decision could further lift the cobalt hydroxide glut. The company however said it will produce between 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes of cobalt this year from its Katanga and Mutanda assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":43264,"content":43265},{"textAlign":49},[43266],{"text":43267,"type":596},"“Cobalt at the moment is certainly structurally oversupplied, particularly out of the growth in supply from Tenke and Kisanfu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). But the demand side looks pleasing. All three buckets of demand, aerospace and defence, EV and home user goods, all are looking very good,” Gary Nagle, CEO, Glencore, told analysts in a post earnings call on August 7. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43269,"content":43270},{"textAlign":49},[43271],{"text":43272,"type":596},"China’s top cobalt producer CMOC is set to increase production this year at its two DRC mines – Kisanfu and Tenke Fungurume. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43274,"content":43275},{"textAlign":49},[43276],{"text":43277,"type":596},"“While demand is quite robust, supply has kept pace and made it difficult for prices to recover as stock levels are higher than Benchmark has ever recorded,” said Aubry.",{"type":615,"attrs":43279,"content":43280},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43281],{"text":43282,"type":596},"Cobalt oxide prices move lower as stockpiling season ends ",{"type":591,"attrs":43284,"content":43285},{"textAlign":49},[43286],{"text":43287,"type":596},"The prices for Chinese cobalt oxide fell the most among all the cobalt grades during the assessment period ended August 22 as the key stockpiling season came to an end. Average spot prices fell 3.3% to RMB 117,500 per tonne ($16,450 per tonne) during the assessment period and are down 9.6% so far this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43289,"content":43290},{"textAlign":49},[43291],{"text":43292,"type":596},"Lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cell makers, who depend on cobalt oxide as key feedstock, usually stockpile ahead of September and October in anticipation of an increase in portable electronics sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":43294,"content":43295},{"textAlign":49},[43296],{"text":43297,"type":596,"marks":43298},"Benchmark provides independent Price Assessments to the industry’s most rigorous IOSCO standards, used for supply contract settlement, indexation and price risk management.",[43299],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":43301,"content":43302},{"textAlign":49},[43303],{"text":43304,"type":596,"marks":43305},"Partner with Benchmark’s Price Reporting Agency to empower your pricing decisions across lithium ion and energy transition supply chains.",[43306],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":43308,"content":43309},{"textAlign":49},[43310],{"text":43311,"type":596,"marks":43312},"To learn more about Benchmark Price Assessments, provide your details below:",[43313],{"type":1006},"Chinese cobalt sulphate prices stayed flat for the sixth straight week in late August after staging a slight recovery from the lowest levels over seven years seen a little over a month ago. The brief pause in price decline comes as producers resist lower bids amid a supply surplus, despite relatively weak demand for nickel […]",[43316],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43317},{"job_title":557,"image":43318,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8ff83cb-a5a6-44af-9f19-0e0bdb90e383\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[43321,43322],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43324,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43325,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/abea704b68/bm-priceupdate2.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":43327,"uuid":43328,"name":43329,"slug":43330,"full_slug":43331,"content":43332},112469116429396,"56c2701a-a60a-4e93-a205-ff2bb2281403","US automaker offtakes signal momentum in domestic anode market","us-automaker-offtakes-signal-momentum-in-domestic-anode-market","article/us-automaker-offtakes-signal-momentum-in-domestic-anode-market",{"_uid":43333,"date":43334,"tags":43335,"editor":43341,"content":43345,"excerpt":43475,"featured":51,"reporter":43476,"_editable":43480,"component":697,"seo_title":43329,"categories":43481,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":43486,"seo_description":43475,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":43490},"4be35742-507a-4509-9f3b-6386eb42c57f","2024-08-21 00:00",[43336,43337,43338],{"slug":34656,"name":34657},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":43339,"name":43340},"westwater-resources","Westwater Resources",[43342],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43343},{"job_title":557,"image":43344,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":43346},[43347,43352,43357,43362,43367,43372,43383,43388,43393,43398,43403,43408,43413,43418,43429,43440,43460,43465,43470],{"type":591,"attrs":43348,"content":43349},{"textAlign":49},[43350],{"text":43351,"type":596},"The US anode scene continued to develop in July as automakers look to establish offtake agreements in the natural and synthetic anode supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":43353,"content":43354},{"textAlign":49},[43355],{"text":43356,"type":596},"Last month, Westwater Resources inked a binding offtake with Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) while Graphite One signed a non-binding supply agreement with Lucid Motors. ",{"type":615,"attrs":43358,"content":43359},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43360],{"text":43361,"type":596},"What has happened?",{"type":615,"attrs":43363,"content":43364},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43365],{"text":43366,"type":596},"US anode supply chain needs investment to compete with Chinese giants",{"type":591,"attrs":43368,"content":43369},{"textAlign":49},[43370],{"text":43371,"type":596},"“The key challenge in getting projects up and running in North America lies in securing CAPEX injection, whether from government incentives or private investments. Once facilities are operational, the variable costs are not significantly higher than in China,” Jon Jacobs, Chief Commercial Officer at Westwater Resources, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":43373,"content":43374},{"textAlign":49},[43375,43377,43382],{"text":43376,"type":596},"Westwater Resources is currently developing its Kellyton graphite plant in Alabama which is forecast to start production of natural active anode material next year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":43378},[43379],{"type":606,"attrs":43380},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/natural-graphite/reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43384,"content":43385},{"textAlign":49},[43386],{"text":43387,"type":596},"Anthony Huston, CEO of Graphite One, told Benchmark Source that to compete with China’s players the US’s domestic supply chain needs to not just produce natural graphite, but also develop synthetic and natural anode materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43389,"content":43390},{"textAlign":49},[43391],{"text":43392,"type":596},"“Onshoring that production know-how is essential, it’s investment-intensive and it’s imperative if we want to see the US be a maker and not a taker in the great technology transformation taking place around us,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":43394,"content":43395},{"textAlign":49},[43396],{"text":43397,"type":596},"Huston also emphasised that, while the two Department of Defence grants Graphite One has received since mid-2023 were useful, the graphite sector needs more support from the US Government. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43399,"content":43400},{"textAlign":49},[43401],{"text":43402,"type":596},"“Government grants and loans, targeted investments and even offtakes that allow private companies like Graphite One room to innovate and allocate capital in the ways only private markets can is the collaborative approach we need in the US and industrialised democracies if we’re going to succeed,” said Huston.",{"type":591,"attrs":43404,"content":43405},{"textAlign":49},[43406],{"text":43407,"type":596},"Westwater’s Jacobs is also in favour of governmental support for securing financing, and called for the rules of origin loopholes – where Chinese companies can produce FEOC-compliant material via overseas markets – to be addressed. Not resolving this issue “would undermine the IRA’s goal of reducing reliance on foreign materials and could lead to a less effective localisation of the supply chain,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":43409,"content":43410},{"textAlign":49},[43411],{"text":43412,"type":596},"Sustainability is of increasing importance and an area US graphite can compete with Chinese material. “Locally sourced materials using non-coal-powered furnaces are more environmentally friendly,” said Jacobs.",{"type":615,"attrs":43414,"content":43415},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43416],{"text":43417,"type":596},"US graphite trade policy is driving activity in its domestic market",{"type":591,"attrs":43419,"content":43420},{"textAlign":49},[43421,43423,43428],{"text":43422,"type":596},"The US aims to reduce its dependence on China for natural graphite. In 2024, China will produce 73% of global mined supply and 94% of uncoated spherical graphite (USPG), according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":43425},"Benchmark’s Natural Graphite Forecast",[43426],{"type":606,"attrs":43427},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43430,"content":43431},{"textAlign":49},[43432,43434,43438],{"text":43433,"type":596},"At present, the US produces no natural graphite but has four mines in various stages of development, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":43435},[43436],{"type":606,"attrs":43437},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43439,"type":596},". The four assets are operated by Redbird Bluebird, Westwater Resources, Graphite One Resources, and South Star Battery Metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":43441,"content":43442},{"textAlign":49},[43443,43445,43450,43452,43458],{"text":43444,"type":596},"To balance protecting domestic miners with allowing US OEMs time to source ex-China graphite, ",{"text":43446,"type":596,"marks":43447},"the US has placed a 25% tariff",[43448],{"type":606,"attrs":43449},{"href":18254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43451,"type":596}," on Chinese natural graphite starting in 2026 and ",{"text":43453,"type":596,"marks":43454},"delayed the implementation",[43455],{"type":606,"attrs":43456},{"href":43457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/graphite-feoc-sourcing-extension-supports-us-battery-expansion-but-highlights-chinas-dominance",{"text":43459,"type":596}," of FEOC requirements to 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":43461,"content":43462},{"textAlign":49},[43463],{"text":43464,"type":596},"“The tariffs imposed by the US have notably boosted the industry, leading to an immediate surge in interest,” said Jacobs.",{"type":591,"attrs":43466,"content":43467},{"textAlign":49},[43468],{"text":43469,"type":596},"This sentiment was echoed by Huston who said deals that have been in discussion phase for a long time are now getting done.",{"type":591,"attrs":43471,"content":43472},{"textAlign":49},[43473],{"text":43474,"type":596},"“Players up and down the supply chain realise there is enormous competition for graphite supply,” Huston said. ","The US anode scene continued to develop in July as automakers look to establish offtake agreements in the natural and synthetic anode supply chains. Last month, Westwater Resources inked a binding offtake with Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) while Graphite One signed a non-binding supply agreement with Lucid Motors. What has happened? US anode supply chain needs […]",[43477],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43478},{"job_title":557,"image":43479,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4be35742-507a-4509-9f3b-6386eb42c57f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[43482,43483,43484,43485],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":43487,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":43487,"source":547,"filename":43488,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43489,"is_external_url":51},"Two large quarry trucks","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/37b10df46b/bm-us-automaker-offtakes.jpg",{"alt":43487,"title":43487,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 21, 2024",{"id":43492,"uuid":43493,"name":43494,"slug":43495,"full_slug":43496,"content":43497},112469125854294,"ac10df5f-6ffb-4727-8b8d-8cb469f84cb4","Global cell prices extend declines to fall over three year low in July","global-cell-prices-extend-declines-to-fall-over-three-year-low-in-july","article/global-cell-prices-extend-declines-to-fall-over-three-year-low-in-july",{"_uid":43498,"date":43499,"tags":43500,"editor":43506,"content":43510,"excerpt":43646,"featured":51,"reporter":43647,"_editable":43651,"component":697,"seo_title":43494,"categories":43652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":43655,"seo_description":43646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":43658},"62e6530d-21e9-4948-bb41-bc5de9c90ea0","2024-08-20 00:00",[43501,43502,43505],{"slug":14423,"name":14424},{"slug":43503,"name":43504},"cells","Cells",{"slug":575,"name":576},[43507],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43508},{"job_title":557,"image":43509,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":43511},[43512,43524,43543,43548,43559,43578,43585,43590,43602,43614,43624,43636],{"type":591,"attrs":43513,"content":43514},{"textAlign":49},[43515,43517,43522],{"text":43516,"type":596},"The global weighted average price for lithium ion cells fell to an over three year low in July mainly due to a continued decline in ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":43518},[43519],{"type":606,"attrs":43520},{"href":43521,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-hydroxide-prices-fall-below-rmb-80000-for-the-first-time-in-over-three-years",{"text":43523,"type":596}," and other key battery raw material prices so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":43525,"content":43526},{"textAlign":49},[43527,43529,43534,43536,43542],{"text":43528,"type":596},"The latest global average cell price for lithium ion cells fell 4.8% month-on-month to $71.2 per kilowatt hours (kWh) at the end of the assessment period in July, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":43530},[43531],{"type":606,"attrs":43532},{"href":43533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/reports/",{"text":43535,"type":596},". This is a 33.7% drop from the price a year ago when it went below the key ",{"text":43537,"type":596,"marks":43538},"$100 per kWh",[43539],{"type":606,"attrs":43540},{"href":43541,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-cell-prices-fall-below-100-kwh-for-first-time-in-two-years",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43544,"content":43545},{"textAlign":49},[43546],{"text":43547,"type":596},"“The latest cell price decline can be largely attributed to persistent low raw material feedstock prices, compounded by falling margins for many across the supply chain in the wake of less than expected demand,” said Anya Sidhu, analyst at Benchmark, adding that rising energy and labour costs now play a larger role in cell pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":43549,"content":43550},{"textAlign":49},[43551,43553,43558],{"text":43552,"type":596},"Lithium prices have been one of the biggest drivers for this price drop. Global weighted average price of lithium carbonate has declined 21.1% since the start of this year, while lithium hydroxide has fallen 14.6%, according to the ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":43554},[43555],{"type":606,"attrs":43556},{"href":43557,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/chart/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43560,"content":43561},{"textAlign":49},[43562,43563,43569,43571,43576],{"text":31503,"type":596},{"text":43564,"type":596,"marks":43565},"cobalt sulphate",[43566],{"type":606,"attrs":43567},{"href":43568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/chart/",{"text":43570,"type":596}," prices too are at their ",{"text":43572,"type":596,"marks":43573},"lowest levels",[43574],{"type":606,"attrs":43575},{"href":43157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43577,"type":596}," in over seven years and have declined 12.5% so far this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43579,"content":43580},{"textAlign":49},[43581],{"type":836,"attrs":43582},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":43583,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43584},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/82e338c881/bm-global-cell-prices.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":43586,"content":43587},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43588],{"text":43589,"type":596},"LFP prices have taken a harder hit",{"type":591,"attrs":43591,"content":43592},{"textAlign":49},[43593,43595,43600],{"text":43594,"type":596},"Lithium iron phosphate ",{"text":43596,"type":596,"marks":43597},"(LFP) cells",[43598],{"type":606,"attrs":43599},{"href":39553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43601,"type":596}," are currently nearly 14% lower cost than nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":43603,"content":43604},{"textAlign":49},[43605,43607,43612],{"text":43606,"type":596},"“LFP prices have fallen the most as ",{"text":31492,"type":596,"marks":43608},[43609],{"type":606,"attrs":43610},{"href":43611,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cathode-prices-rise-in-march-as-tier-1-producers-increase-orders",{"text":43613,"type":596}," prices continue to decrease. This is caused by continual price suppression from cell makers aiming to increase competition in the LFP market,” said Sidhu.",{"type":591,"attrs":43615,"content":43616},{"textAlign":49},[43617,43619,43623],{"text":43618,"type":596},"The weighted average price for LFP cells has declined 13.5% to $64.5 per kWh so far this year, the lowest level in over three years, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":43620},[43621],{"type":606,"attrs":43622},{"href":43533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43625,"content":43626},{"textAlign":49},[43627,43629,43634],{"text":43628,"type":596},"Besides the low raw material prices, LFP cathode overcapacity has depressed cell prices forcing ",{"text":43630,"type":596,"marks":43631},"cathode producers to compete",[43632],{"type":606,"attrs":43633},{"href":38646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43635,"type":596}," in an oversaturated market despite depressed margins. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43637,"content":43638},{"textAlign":49},[43639,43641,43645],{"text":43640,"type":596},"In comparison, the weighted average price for NCM cells has only dropped 6.3% to $73.3 per kWh so far this year, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":43642},[43643],{"type":606,"attrs":43644},{"href":43533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},"The global weighted average price for lithium ion cells fell to an over three year low in July mainly due to a continued decline in lithium and other key battery raw material prices so far this year. The latest global average cell price for lithium ion cells fell 4.8% month-on-month to $71.2 per kilowatt hours […]",[43648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43649},{"job_title":557,"image":43650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"62e6530d-21e9-4948-bb41-bc5de9c90ea0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[43653,43654],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43657,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/609b8999df/bm-price-update-4.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 20, 2024",{"id":43660,"uuid":43661,"name":43662,"slug":43663,"full_slug":43664,"content":43665},112469154448478,"6b0910f0-4660-43f9-a593-5e61aea2a3ba","$1.6 trillion investment needed in battery industry by 2040","1-6-trillion-investment-needed-in-battery-industry-by-2040","article/1-6-trillion-investment-needed-in-battery-industry-by-2040",{"_uid":43666,"date":43667,"tags":43668,"editor":43671,"content":43675,"excerpt":43822,"featured":51,"reporter":43823,"_editable":43827,"component":697,"seo_title":43662,"categories":43828,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":43839,"featured_image":43841,"seo_description":43844,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":43845},"f280f163-b9b9-4453-bf04-88c9d6d14f21","2024-08-14 00:00",[43669,43670],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4777,"name":4778},[43672],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43673},{"job_title":557,"image":43674,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":43676},[43677,43690,43700,43713,43721,43734,43763,43776,43786,43798,43802,43808],{"type":591,"attrs":43678,"content":43679},{"textAlign":49},[43680,43682,43688],{"text":43681,"type":596},"To plug the gap between ",{"text":43683,"type":596,"marks":43684},"today’s battery industry",[43685],{"type":606,"attrs":43686},{"href":43687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/words-of-welcome-from-simon-moores",{"text":43689,"type":596}," and 2040 battery demand will require at least $1.6 trillion of investment. This is almost triple the $571 billion needed to meet 2030 demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":43691,"content":43692},{"textAlign":49},[43693,43695,43699],{"text":43694,"type":596},"Such large investments are needed as battery demand is forecast to grow from 937 gigawatt-hours in 2023 to 3.7 terawatt-hours in 2030. From 2030 to 2040, battery demand will double again, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":43696},[43697],{"type":606,"attrs":43698},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43701,"content":43702},{"textAlign":49},[43703,43705,43711],{"text":43704,"type":596},"Of this 2040 investment, 44% is needed to build the ",{"text":43706,"type":596,"marks":43707},"battery gigafactories",[43708],{"type":606,"attrs":43709},{"href":43710,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/920-billion-needed-to-bridge-the-great-raw-material-disconnect-benchmark-ceo-simon-moores",{"text":43712,"type":596}," that produce the battery cells and assemble the packs.",{"type":591,"attrs":43714,"content":43715},{"textAlign":49},[43716],{"type":836,"attrs":43717},{"id":49,"alt":43718,"src":43719,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43720},"Investments needed to meet future battery demand","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bcf0037882/bm-benchmark-1-battery-capex-final-2.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":43722,"content":43723},{"textAlign":49},[43724,43726,43732],{"text":43725,"type":596},"As more gigafactories come online and an increasing number of electric vehicles reach their end of life, the ",{"text":43727,"type":596,"marks":43728},"battery scrap pool",[43729],{"type":606,"attrs":43730},{"href":43731,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/western-battery-scrap-to-account-for-over-third-of-global-pool-by-2035",{"text":43733,"type":596}," is set to grow substantially.",{"type":591,"attrs":43735,"content":43736},{"textAlign":49},[43737,43739,43745,43747,43753,43755,43761],{"text":43738,"type":596},"To build the capacity required to ",{"text":43740,"type":596,"marks":43741},"recycle this scrap",[43742],{"type":606,"attrs":43743},{"href":43744,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-ramp-up-recycling-plans-as-volvo-and-catl-agree-partnership",{"text":43746,"type":596}," into ",{"text":43748,"type":596,"marks":43749},"battery materials",[43750],{"type":606,"attrs":43751},{"href":43752,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-recycling-pool-could-supplement-2040-lithium-supply-with-equivalent-to-30-mines",{"text":43754,"type":596}," will require $26 billion ",{"text":43756,"type":596,"marks":43757},"by 2030",[43758],{"type":606,"attrs":43759},{"href":43760,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/crma-boosts-eus-2030-battery-recycling-pipeline-by-28",{"text":43762,"type":596},". The required investment grows five-fold to $157 billion to process the large amount of battery scrap that is forecast to be available by 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":43764,"content":43765},{"textAlign":49},[43766,43768,43774],{"text":43767,"type":596},"Of the critical raw materials, ",{"text":43769,"type":596,"marks":43770},"lithium will require the largest investments",[43771],{"type":606,"attrs":43772},{"href":43773,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-industry-needs-over-116-billion-to-meet-automaker-and-policy-targets-by-2030",{"text":43775,"type":596},": $94 billion to meet 2030 demand, and double that to meet 2040 demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":43777,"content":43778},{"textAlign":49},[43779,43784],{"text":43780,"type":596,"marks":43781},"Cathode active material",[43782],{"type":606,"attrs":43783},{"href":39540,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43785,"type":596}," production accounts for 52% of the midstream investment needed to meet 2040 demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":43787,"content":43788},{"textAlign":49},[43789,43791,43796],{"text":43790,"type":596},"These investment costs are all based on Benchmark’s base case scenario. If the ",{"text":43792,"type":596,"marks":43793},"ambitious targets set out by policymakers",[43794],{"type":606,"attrs":43795},{"href":42996,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43797,"type":596}," and industry are all to be met, this investment number will need to increase even further.",{"type":615,"attrs":43799,"content":43800},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43801],{"text":37945,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":43803,"content":43804},{"textAlign":49},[43805],{"text":34153,"type":596,"marks":43806},[43807],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":43809,"content":43810},{"textAlign":49},[43811,43814,43819],{"text":42089,"type":596,"marks":43812},[43813],{"type":1006},{"text":42093,"type":596,"marks":43815},[43816,43818],{"type":606,"attrs":43817},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":43820},[43821],{"type":1006},"To plug the gap between today’s battery industry and 2040 battery demand will require at least $1.6 trillion of investment. This is almost triple the $571 billion needed to meet 2030 demand. Such large investments are needed as battery demand is forecast to grow from 937 gigawatt-hours in 2023 to 3.7 terawatt-hours in 2030. From […]",[43824],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43825},{"job_title":557,"image":43826,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f280f163-b9b9-4453-bf04-88c9d6d14f21\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[43829,43830,43831,43832,43833,43834,43835,43836,43837,43838],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":43718,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":43718,"source":547,"filename":43719,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43840,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":43718,"title":43718,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43842,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":43843,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b562890aed/bm-pile-of-assorted-notes-132214644c93.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"To plug the gap between today’s battery industry and 2040 battery demand will require at least $1.6 trillion of investment. This is almost triple the $571 billion needed to meet 2030 demand","Aug 14, 2024",{"id":43847,"uuid":43848,"name":43849,"slug":43850,"full_slug":43851,"content":43852},112469163975777,"b07e7030-2366-4df6-92f4-27a72358f297","Battery mineral price correction heightens scrutiny on pricing mechanisms","battery-mineral-price-correction-heightens-scrutiny-on-pricing-mechanisms","article/battery-mineral-price-correction-heightens-scrutiny-on-pricing-mechanisms",{"_uid":43853,"date":43854,"tags":43855,"editor":43859,"content":43863,"excerpt":44070,"featured":51,"reporter":44071,"_editable":44075,"component":697,"seo_title":43849,"categories":44076,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":44083,"seo_description":44070,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":44085},"d9ca7d34-63be-4c5e-8c4c-ab10cf811f41","2024-08-13 00:00",[43856,43857,43858],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},[43860],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":43861},{"job_title":557,"image":43862,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":43864},[43865,43870,43890,43897,43902,43915,43920,43932,43937,43942,43947,43952,43964,43969,43974,43981,43986,43991,43998,44003,44008,44015,44020,44025,44032,44037,44049,44056,44063],{"type":591,"attrs":43866,"content":43867},{"textAlign":49},[43868],{"text":43869,"type":596},"A steep decline in battery raw material prices has thrown supply contract pricing mechanisms into sharp focus, highlighting the pressing need for more effective tools to manage price risk and limit volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":43871,"content":43872},{"textAlign":49},[43873,43875,43881,43883,43888],{"text":43874,"type":596},"Critical raw material prices have experienced a sweeping correction since early 2023, plummeting from ",{"text":43876,"type":596,"marks":43877},"record highs",[43878],{"type":606,"attrs":43879},{"href":43880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-hit-record-high-as-market-pricing-takes-hold-2022-in-review",{"text":43882,"type":596}," to near-",{"text":43884,"type":596,"marks":43885},"historical lows",[43886],{"type":606,"attrs":43887},{"href":43157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43889,"type":596}," across many markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":43891,"content":43892},{"textAlign":49},[43893],{"type":836,"attrs":43894},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":43895,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43896},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf-7v46JCN3Y5Cs8oMQqYG7Zk72VVav3rSmc0wN97XMgX0YFvcgN0j7izSzlGBFut3nnjhVbhkzahAFOsqjRz5rMdZ3jbuMBCl_SKw0U8snmgP96yiHHDyI28DIrk1T-9QtZypnTQpq2BqICQrBdgDs7ssj?key=0PMrY2V8STKblxlFnmQdyA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":43898,"content":43899},{"textAlign":49},[43900],{"text":43901,"type":596},"Lithium has experienced the sharpest volatility, with prices crashing over 70% in the past year, after more than doubling to a record peak in late 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":43903,"content":43904},{"textAlign":49},[43905,43907,43913],{"text":43906,"type":596},"Cobalt prices are trading at their ",{"text":43908,"type":596,"marks":43909},"lowest level ever recorded by Benchmark",[43910],{"type":606,"attrs":43911},{"href":43912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/portal/?tab=table",{"text":43914,"type":596},", down by over 25% year-on-year, while nickel prices have sunk below production costs for much of the industry, leading to a wave of mine closures this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":43916,"content":43917},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43918],{"text":43919,"type":596},"Volatility threatens long-term EV ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":43921,"content":43922},{"textAlign":49},[43923,43925,43930],{"text":43924,"type":596},"The downturn, linked to a ",{"text":43926,"type":596,"marks":43927},"short-term slowdown in EV sales ",[43928],{"type":606,"attrs":43929},{"href":41371,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43931,"type":596},"and widespread overcapacity concerns in the supply chain, also reflects the use of fixed-term pricing mechanisms in the battery supply chain, which helps to foster a “feast or famine” approach to supply contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":43933,"content":43934},{"textAlign":49},[43935],{"text":43936,"type":596},"This “feast or famine” approach has created significant tension between suppliers and customers during periods of sharp volatility, as one side of the trade inevitably benefits disproportionately at the expense of the other.",{"type":591,"attrs":43938,"content":43939},{"textAlign":49},[43940],{"text":43941,"type":596},"In the longer term, sharp volatility threatens to derail electric vehicle deployment targets, as supply chain players scale back investments and mines are shuttered. Instability further complicates financing efforts for miners looking to bring new supply into production, while making it difficult for automotive manufacturers to control costs effectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":43943,"content":43944},{"textAlign":49},[43945],{"text":43946,"type":596},"To mitigate these extremes, many industry players are now adopting market-led pricing mechanisms – which offer both sides greater flexibility and stability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":43948,"content":43949},{"textAlign":49},[43950],{"text":43951,"type":596},"Market-led pricing mechanisms utilise benchmark prices or indices to set contract terms,helping to foster transparency, reduce negotiation time, and enable both parties to better manage volatility and uncertainty. This approach helps establish a smoother, long-term relationship between suppliers and their critical partners, and is widely used in other commodity markets.",{"type":615,"attrs":43953,"content":43954},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43955,43957,43962],{"text":43956,"type":596},"Here are four methods to leverage ",{"text":6707,"type":596,"marks":43958},[43959],{"type":606,"attrs":43960},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/",{"text":43963,"type":596}," in commodity contracts:",{"type":615,"attrs":43965,"content":43966},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43967],{"text":43968,"type":596},"Floating Price",{"type":591,"attrs":43970,"content":43971},{"textAlign":49},[43972],{"text":43973,"type":596},"The floating price method is the most common market-led pricing strategy. It involves using the average of a reference price over a specified period. This method minimises price volatility around delivery times and accurately reflects current market fundamentals. By adopting a floating price mechanism, both parties can ensure that the contract price is aligned with the prevailing market conditions, thereby reducing the risk of significant price discrepancies.",{"type":591,"attrs":43975,"content":43976},{"textAlign":49},[43977],{"type":836,"attrs":43978},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":43979,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43980},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfGS9KCjzXsgecRy-NpxZ-f8cRmkbh1drTkXPqYyP4qjzKB8XhtUOJ7ctbe5Y64a_I4HJGdftmWDuX56D_GnvAY7KAWA1JRzWQoDYrf-_FV6okG-zEGuBsKL5H3uVVtz4WERJyyu7Jpxg3OfuQxt2dOZCox?key=0PMrY2V8STKblxlFnmQdyA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":43982,"content":43983},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[43984],{"text":43985,"type":596},"Floors and Ceilings",{"type":591,"attrs":43987,"content":43988},{"textAlign":49},[43989],{"text":43990,"type":596},"Setting price floors and ceilings is another effective strategy. In this method, both parties agree on upper and lower price bounds based on factors such as market volatility and forecasts. Within these boundaries, the market price, typically derived using the floating price method, is paid. This approach eliminates the need for frequent price reviews and protects both parties from extreme price movements, providing a balanced and predictable pricing structure.",{"type":591,"attrs":43992,"content":43993},{"textAlign":49},[43994],{"type":836,"attrs":43995},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":43996,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":43997},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfiTcDh4UsqIGV1yZCDNhKXb_PC2hvFnDfZ5HtoCJ4D_VMtKy95gMNTGcONz38BtSZx8bSIbh9CNBjb8l-rHqRmIbJiGwv9S_4MA2kUb2o7MYy48B-iCnEouUJ0MeYMpoVWo7ZRn7OgAOcZXCEKE9UG91Pa?key=0PMrY2V8STKblxlFnmQdyA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":43999,"content":44000},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44001],{"text":44002,"type":596},"Short-Term Fixed Price",{"type":591,"attrs":44004,"content":44005},{"textAlign":49},[44006],{"text":44007,"type":596},"Short-term fixed pricing involves setting prices for a period ranging from one to six months, with quarterly adjustments being the most common. While this method requires access to the latest prices and market fundamentals and necessitates frequent renegotiation, it can significantly reduce volatility. By following market trends to some extent, short-term fixed pricing offers a compromise between the stability of fixed prices and the flexibility of market-led pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":44009,"content":44010},{"textAlign":49},[44011],{"type":836,"attrs":44012},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":44013,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44014},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdNoQA2GM76HMQkQUcGVEBQ6HTPohfNhr1XweVWjD-6GiF-SiScUAEdlOli7zTX20f1umroKjKQXNZAYBZuZKZWJB6VJLkUuptCOnfQKx3iXYDRxcM5_FhOebA9JDvJBV4CUS5QhXfHXg8WMzRyOttl1eY?key=0PMrY2V8STKblxlFnmQdyA",{},{"type":615,"attrs":44016,"content":44017},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44018],{"text":44019,"type":596},"Relative Change Indexing",{"type":591,"attrs":44021,"content":44022},{"textAlign":49},[44023],{"text":44024,"type":596},"Relative change indexing adjusts an initial fixed price based on percentage changes in the market price, derived from a benchmark index provider over a set period. This method incorporates premiums or discounts and aligns the contract price with market evolution. By reflecting market trends in the contract price, relative change indexing ensures that the price remains fair and relevant throughout the contract term.",{"type":591,"attrs":44026,"content":44027},{"textAlign":49},[44028],{"type":836,"attrs":44029},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":44030,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44031},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXf7-iUrbJb40ezThdkKiJ4mn8BqpP7zLl27wFyBWPmefz-OvP3Nx4CZqSW3KMZEPnhvEIQiJsBorXmhi6IpcCvGFAY2_o5ct_WII2_8wYX_pTQxqmj9bsxi1K9F1SC73rn4V10HrsKsF_1QQyzox8o0x2w?key=0PMrY2V8STKblxlFnmQdyA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":44033,"content":44034},{"textAlign":49},[44035],{"text":44036,"type":596},"For maximum flexibility, transparency, and price risk management, suppliers and buyers can also mix and match these pricing methods. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44038,"content":44039},{"textAlign":49},[44040,44042,44047],{"text":44041,"type":596},"By indexing to ",{"text":44043,"type":596,"marks":44044},"Benchmark’s prices",[44045],{"type":606,"attrs":44046},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44048,"type":596},", the industry is able to achieve more stable, predictable and less volatile supply contracts, benefitting both sides of the trade.",{"type":591,"attrs":44050,"content":44051},{"textAlign":49},[44052],{"text":44053,"type":596,"marks":44054},"Benchmark produces the leading market price assessments used for supply contract settlement, indexation and price risk management.",[44055],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":44057,"content":44058},{"textAlign":49},[44059],{"text":44060,"type":596,"marks":44061},"Partner with Benchmark’s Price Reporting Agency to empower your pricing decisions across the lithium ion supply chain and energy transition ecosystem.",[44062],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":44064,"content":44065},{"textAlign":49},[44066],{"text":44067,"type":596,"marks":44068},"Complete the form below to learn more:",[44069],{"type":1006},"A steep decline in battery raw material prices has thrown supply contract pricing mechanisms into sharp focus, highlighting the pressing need for more effective tools to manage price risk and limit volatility. Critical raw material prices have experienced a sweeping correction since early 2023, plummeting from record highs to near-historical lows across many markets. Lithium […]",[44072],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44073},{"job_title":557,"image":44074,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d9ca7d34-63be-4c5e-8c4c-ab10cf811f41\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[44077,44078,44079,44080,44081,44082],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44084,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 13, 2024",{"id":44087,"uuid":44088,"name":44089,"slug":44090,"full_slug":44091,"content":44092},112469159232608,"a058c538-b846-45da-9539-f1c1a304da5b","Are lithium metal batteries an opportunity for the West?","are-lithium-metal-batteries-an-opportunity-for-the-west","article/are-lithium-metal-batteries-an-opportunity-for-the-west",{"_uid":44093,"date":43854,"tags":44094,"editor":44100,"content":44104,"excerpt":44375,"featured":51,"reporter":44376,"_editable":44380,"component":697,"seo_title":44089,"categories":44381,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":44386,"featured_image":44389,"seo_description":44375,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":44085},"629c7818-4d5e-4e50-a2d8-cf5911fd5159",[44095,44096,44097,44098,44099],{"slug":23051,"name":23052},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":23056,"name":23057},{"slug":6203,"name":6204},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[44101],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44102},{"job_title":557,"image":44103,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":44105},[44106,44119,44124,44134,44139,44144,44149,44154,44159,44163,44168,44173,44194,44212,44220,44225,44230,44235,44240,44245,44250,44255,44262,44267,44272,44277,44282,44287,44298,44303,44321,44326,44331,44336,44341,44346,44351,44355,44361],{"type":591,"attrs":44107,"content":44108},{"textAlign":49},[44109,44111,44117],{"text":44110,"type":596},"The lithium metal battery industry is nascent and rapidly growing with no country yet enjoying a dominant position. ",{"text":44112,"type":596,"marks":44113},"Upstream lithium metal production",[44114],{"type":606,"attrs":44115},{"href":44116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-metal-deficit-could-limit-next-generation-battery-development-this-year",{"text":44118,"type":596},", however, is currently dominated by China, though this could change given the growth potential of the industry and technological advancements.",{"type":591,"attrs":44120,"content":44121},{"textAlign":49},[44122],{"text":44123,"type":596},"Lithium metal has several industrial and aerospace applications and is used in primary batteries today, though its use as a lithium ion battery anode is forecast to lead to a large rise in demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":44125,"content":44126},{"textAlign":49},[44127,44132],{"text":23052,"type":596,"marks":44128},[44129],{"type":606,"attrs":44130},{"href":44131,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/in-conversation-with-arcadium-lithiums-ashish-patki",{"text":44133,"type":596},", the largest producer of lithium metal outside of China, recently acquired technology to produce lithium metal from lithium carbonate. It bought the technology for $11 million from Canada’s Li-Metal, a next-generation lithium metal anode producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":44135,"content":44136},{"textAlign":49},[44137],{"text":44138,"type":596},"“Acquiring high purity lithium metal at a palatable cost is a huge barrier for lithium metal battery producers today, so there will be a lot of innovators excited by Arcadium staking their intent to expand supply with this IP acquisition,” Rory McNulty, product director for new technologies at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":44140,"content":44141},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44142],{"text":44143,"type":596},"What is a lithium metal anode?",{"type":591,"attrs":44145,"content":44146},{"textAlign":49},[44147],{"text":44148,"type":596},"In a traditional lithium ion battery anode, only one lithium ion can be stored for every six carbon atoms in the structure. By removing this carbon host structure, the energy density of the anode can be greatly increased.",{"type":591,"attrs":44150,"content":44151},{"textAlign":49},[44152],{"text":44153,"type":596},"“You can theoretically increase the energy density of the anode by ten-fold,” McNulty said. “In practice there are many more considerations, and an increase at the cell level once optimised is expected to be between two-to-three-fold which still opens the doors to significant upside.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44155,"content":44156},{"textAlign":49},[44157],{"text":44158,"type":596},"Within a battery, all the lithium required for the battery to operate is located within the lithiated cathode material. As such, the thinner the lithium metal anode can be made, the greater the energy density increase possible.",{"type":615,"attrs":44160,"content":44161},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44162],{"text":44089,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":44164,"content":44165},{"textAlign":49},[44166],{"text":44167,"type":596},"The supply chain for traditional lithium ion batteries is dominated by China, with 80% of cathode active materials, 93% of anode active materials, and 84% of cells forecast to be produced in the country this year",{"type":591,"attrs":44169,"content":44170},{"textAlign":49},[44171],{"text":44172,"type":596},"Although there is some ex-China growth forecast this decade, China is expected to remain dominant. This is especially true for LFP-based cells which are particularly popular in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":44174,"content":44175},{"textAlign":49},[44176,44178,44184,44186,44192],{"text":44177,"type":596},"“The West has probably lost the battle for LFP,” Sarah Maryssael, chief strategy officer at ",{"text":44179,"type":596,"marks":44180},"Arcadium",[44181],{"type":606,"attrs":44182},{"href":44183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/arcadium-lithiums-liovix-technology-li-metal-anode-innovation-at-scale",{"text":44185,"type":596},", told Benchmark Source. “No one has won the ",{"text":44187,"type":596,"marks":44188},"race yet for solid-state",[44189],{"type":606,"attrs":44190},{"href":44191,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs",{"text":44193,"type":596},".”",{"type":591,"attrs":44195,"content":44196},{"textAlign":49},[44197,44199,44204,44206,44211],{"text":44198,"type":596},"In terms of capacity announcements, around a third of lithium metal battery capacity in 2030 is set to be ",{"text":44200,"type":596,"marks":44201},"located in China",[44202],{"type":606,"attrs":44203},{"href":12372,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44205,"type":596},", with another third in North America, according to ",{"text":25704,"type":596,"marks":44207},[44208],{"type":606,"attrs":44209},{"href":44210,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state/reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":44213,"content":44214},{"textAlign":49},[44215],{"type":836,"attrs":44216},{"id":49,"alt":44217,"src":44218,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44219},"The lithium metal battery race has to be won","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b2bfc031aa/bm-lithium-metal-battery-capacity.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":44221,"content":44222},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44223],{"text":44224,"type":596},"How is lithium metal produced?",{"type":591,"attrs":44226,"content":44227},{"textAlign":49},[44228],{"text":44229,"type":596},"Today most lithium metal is produced from lithium chloride. The high-purity lithium chloride required for this process can come from purifying the output of brine sources, though commonly battery-grade chloride is produced from lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":44231,"content":44232},{"textAlign":49},[44233],{"text":44234,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium chloride can then be converted to lithium metal through a process that generates five tonnes of toxic chlorine gas for every one tonne of metal produced.",{"type":591,"attrs":44236,"content":44237},{"textAlign":49},[44238],{"text":44239,"type":596},"“Mass production of chlorine raises several safety concerns which raise questions over whether permitting such production would be possible,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":44241,"content":44242},{"textAlign":49},[44243],{"text":44244,"type":596},"When Benchmark analysts visited Arcadium’s Bessemer City site in North Carolina, the company explained that they use electrolysis to convert this chlorine into industrial bleach to then sell on. However, the viability of this approach is less certain as the lithium metal market scales to meet the needs of next-generation batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":44246,"content":44247},{"textAlign":49},[44248],{"text":44249,"type":596},"Technical-grade lithium metal contains sodium contaminants at a level of around 1000 parts per million. Vacuum distillation is used to reduce this impurity level to below ten parts per million to produce battery-grade lithium metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":44251,"content":44252},{"textAlign":49},[44253],{"text":44254,"type":596},"As lithium metal is highly reactive in air, it must be handled in an inert, dry atmosphere. Arcadium showed Benchmark analysts the large argon-filled box in which they cast the lithium metal into ingots six to eight inches in diameter and up to 20 inches long.",{"type":591,"attrs":44256,"content":44257},{"textAlign":49},[44258],{"type":836,"attrs":44259},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":44260,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44261},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3e0c8b0b16/bm-rory-mcnulty-5kh-lithium-metal-ingot-2.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":44263,"content":44264},{"textAlign":49},[44265],{"text":44266,"type":596},"Rory McNulty holding a 5kg lithium metal ingot during a Benchmark site visit to Arcadium (formerlyLivent) in Bessemer City, North Carolina, US. The photo is taken in a dry room and McNulty is wearing a mask to limit the ingot’s exposure to exhaled carbon dioxide and water.",{"type":591,"attrs":44268,"content":44269},{"textAlign":49},[44270],{"text":44271,"type":596},"Transporting and handling the highly reactive lithium metal is a key challenge that the industry needs to face as next-generation technologies scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":44273,"content":44274},{"textAlign":49},[44275],{"text":44276,"type":596},"“It’s not an easy product to handle, and it comes with its own sort of safety risk,” Maryssael said. “The packaging and logistics of that supply chain as well is going to continue to be a challenge.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44278,"content":44279},{"textAlign":49},[44280],{"text":44281,"type":596},"Lithium metal anodes require lithium that is 30 micrometres or thinner. To achieve this, the lithium metal ingots go through an extrusion and rolling process. The thin sheet of lithium metal is then pressed onto a copper foil to make the anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":44283,"content":44284},{"textAlign":49},[44285],{"text":44286,"type":596},"To achieve even thinner anodes, some North American companies are developing innovative solutions.",{"type":591,"attrs":44288,"content":44289},{"textAlign":49},[44290,44296],{"text":44291,"type":596,"marks":44292},"Pure Lithium",[44293],{"type":606,"attrs":44294},{"href":44295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/brine-to-battery-a-vertically-integrated-lithium-metal-battery-company",{"text":44297,"type":596},", based in Boston, US is developing a process to electroplate lithium onto the copper foil. The lithium is directly extracted from brine sources using their polymer membrane technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":44299,"content":44300},{"textAlign":49},[44301],{"text":44302,"type":596},"Li-Metal, based in Canada, is looking at using physical vapour deposition. This technology, developed in partnership with Mustang Vacuum Systems, vaporises the ingot under vacuum and deposits the lithium onto the copper substrate. This technology remains with Li-Metal and was not part of the deal with Arcadium.",{"type":591,"attrs":44304,"content":44305},{"textAlign":49},[44306,44310,44317],{"text":44307,"type":596,"marks":44308},"Watch the ",[44309],{"type":1006},{"text":44311,"type":596,"marks":44312},"Battery Technology & Innovation",[44313,44316],{"type":606,"attrs":44314},{"href":44315,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/battery-technology-innovation-panel-session",{"type":1006},{"text":44318,"type":596,"marks":44319}," panel session from Benchmark’s  Giga USA 2024 event in Washington D.C.",[44320],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":44322,"content":44323},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44324],{"text":44325,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate to metal",{"type":591,"attrs":44327,"content":44328},{"textAlign":49},[44329],{"text":44330,"type":596},"The technology Arcadium acquired from Li-Metal is able to produce lithium metal from technical-grade lithium carbonate, rather than requiring high purity lithium chloride.",{"type":591,"attrs":44332,"content":44333},{"textAlign":49},[44334],{"text":44335,"type":596},"One advantage of this is that the conversion process releases carbon dioxide gas rather than toxic chlorine gas.",{"type":591,"attrs":44337,"content":44338},{"textAlign":49},[44339],{"text":44340,"type":596},"“The second thing is, it gives us a lot more optionality in terms of how we optimise our network,” Maryssael said. “There’s value in converting low grade carbonate material into high purity end products.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44342,"content":44343},{"textAlign":49},[44344],{"text":44345,"type":596},"Maryssael explained that the technology acquired from Li-Metal is still at the pilot scale. It could take around two years to ascertain whether the technology has commercial viability.",{"type":591,"attrs":44347,"content":44348},{"textAlign":49},[44349],{"text":44350,"type":596},"“We’ll have a decision at that point once we can prove this technology can scale,” she said. “What do we do? Do we build a commercial scale plant? Do we do it ourselves, with a partner? Do we licence the technology? Do we sell the technology? I think all those options could potentially be on the table.”",{"type":615,"attrs":44352,"content":44353},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44354],{"text":37945,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":44356,"content":44357},{"textAlign":49},[44358],{"text":34153,"type":596,"marks":44359},[44360],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":44362,"content":44363},{"textAlign":49},[44364,44367,44372],{"text":42089,"type":596,"marks":44365},[44366],{"type":1006},{"text":42093,"type":596,"marks":44368},[44369,44371],{"type":606,"attrs":44370},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":44373},[44374],{"type":1006},"The lithium metal battery industry is nascent and rapidly growing with no country yet enjoying a dominant position. Upstream lithium metal production, however, is currently dominated by China, though this could change given the growth potential of the industry and technological advancements. Lithium metal has several industrial and aerospace applications and is used in primary […]",[44377],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44378},{"job_title":557,"image":44379,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"629c7818-4d5e-4e50-a2d8-cf5911fd5159\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[44382,44383,44384,44385],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":44217,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":44217,"source":547,"filename":44387,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44388,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1723633705/www-production/Lithium-metal-battery-capacity-no-y/Lithium-metal-battery-capacity-no-y.png?_i=AA",{"alt":44217,"title":44217,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":44390,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44391,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5d99773b68/bm-li-metal-arcadium.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":44393,"uuid":44394,"name":44395,"slug":44396,"full_slug":44397,"content":44398},112469183272040,"1e8cf924-d436-4e98-98fb-e6870551ea9f","BHP and Lundin boost copper exposure with $3 billion Filo acquisition","bhp-and-lundin-boost-copper-exposure-with-3-billion-filo-acquisition","article/bhp-and-lundin-boost-copper-exposure-with-3-billion-filo-acquisition",{"_uid":44399,"date":44400,"tags":44401,"editor":44407,"content":44411,"excerpt":44531,"featured":51,"reporter":44532,"_editable":44536,"component":697,"seo_title":44395,"categories":44537,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":44540,"seo_description":44531,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":44542},"186c10f6-d87d-4a1d-a125-f61495fa69f4","2024-08-08 00:00",[44402,44403,44404],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},{"slug":30625,"name":30626},{"slug":44405,"name":44406},"lundin-mining","Lundin Mining",[44408],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44409},{"job_title":557,"image":44410,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":44412},[44413,44418,44423,44428,44433,44438,44443,44448,44453,44465,44470,44475,44480,44485,44490,44495,44507,44512,44519,44524],{"type":591,"attrs":44414,"content":44415},{"textAlign":49},[44416],{"text":44417,"type":596},"BHP and Lundin Mining agreed to a $3 billion joint acquisition of South American copper explorer Filo Corp last week, marking the latest chapter of BHP’s drive to increase exposure to the metal most critical to the energy transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44419,"content":44420},{"textAlign":49},[44421],{"text":44422,"type":596},"The two companies will form a 50/50 joint venture to develop the Filo del Sol project, straddling the Argentina-Chile border, as well as Lundin’s nearby Josemaria project. Under the terms of the deal, BHP will part with $2.1 billion in cash – earmarking $500 million to Lundin for contributing its 100% owned Josemaria project to the venture. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44424,"content":44425},{"textAlign":49},[44426],{"text":44427,"type":596},"“This deal demonstrates BHP’s hunger to increase its copper portfolio,” said Ivan Llancas, copper analyst at Benchmark. “These two copper projects are a great example of how BHP has been operating in other mining districts, creating synergies between mining assets to consolidate production.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44429,"content":44430},{"textAlign":49},[44431],{"text":44432,"type":596},"The Australian mining giant will be looking to replicate the success of its copper operations in South Australia since the acquisition of Oz Minerals mines last year, having reported a record volume of copper concentrate processed and copper cathode produced at the Olympic Dam smelter across 2023-2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":44434,"content":44435},{"textAlign":49},[44436],{"text":44437,"type":596},"“For Lundin this is an opportunity to de-risk its portfolio, harnessing the financial prowess of BHP to drive Josemaria towards first production,” Llancas added.",{"type":591,"attrs":44439,"content":44440},{"textAlign":49},[44441],{"text":44442,"type":596},"Nevertheless, the projects do not come without significant challenges. Notably, the location of the mines across two jurisdictions could be a potential source of friction between governments on either side of the border, particularly in regards to royalty payments and electricity usage.",{"type":615,"attrs":44444,"content":44445},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44446],{"text":44447,"type":596},"Build vs buy",{"type":591,"attrs":44449,"content":44450},{"textAlign":49},[44451],{"text":44452,"type":596},"The world’s leading miners are scrambling to secure copper resources, as bullish price forecasts are underpinned by a lack of new mined supply that threatens to slow the global energy transition. As prices broke $11,000 per tonne to reach record highs in May, interest in bolstering copper portfolio’s has only been further amplified this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":44454,"content":44455},{"textAlign":49},[44456,44458,44463],{"text":44457,"type":596},"Indeed, BHP’s latest deal comes hot on the heels of its ",{"text":44459,"type":596,"marks":44460},"failed $49 billion takeover bid of Anglo American",[44461],{"type":606,"attrs":44462},{"href":12174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44464,"type":596},", backed by the Australian mining giant’s desire to secure Anglo’s prized copper assets in Peru and Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":44466,"content":44467},{"textAlign":49},[44468],{"text":44469,"type":596},"Rather than focusing on project development, miners have largely sought to boost copper production through acquisitions: taking advantage of the emerging supply gap without burdening themselves with project development risks, particularly amidst inflationary pressures and widespread permitting delays in the mining sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":44471,"content":44472},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44473],{"text":44474,"type":596},"Copper market M&A activity",{"type":591,"attrs":44476,"content":44477},{"textAlign":49},[44478],{"text":44479,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark outlines a list of major copper M&A activity since late 2022:",{"type":591,"attrs":44481,"content":44482},{"textAlign":49},[44483],{"text":44484,"type":596},"Miners have baulked at the cost of building new projects or have been stung by difficult regulatory environments, with Chinese companies driving the vast majority of new resource development in the last decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44486,"content":44487},{"textAlign":49},[44488],{"text":44489,"type":596},"However, following a string of recent high-profile M&A failures in the mining sector, BHP and Lundin’s joint venture may indicate that miners may now be warming to the development of early-stage projects. ",{"type":615,"attrs":44491,"content":44492},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44493],{"text":44494,"type":596},"Argentina attracts first post-RIGI investment",{"type":591,"attrs":44496,"content":44497},{"textAlign":49},[44498,44500,44505],{"text":44499,"type":596},"BHP and Lundin’s joint venture marks the first high-profile deal since ",{"text":44501,"type":596,"marks":44502},"Argentina passed a new incentive regime for large investments in extractive industries",[44503],{"type":606,"attrs":44504},{"href":18397,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44506,"type":596}," in July, known as RIGI. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44508,"content":44509},{"textAlign":49},[44510],{"text":44511,"type":596},"Despite there currently being no active copper mines in the country, Argentina is considered one of the leading hotspots for new copper resource development globally, boasting a strong pipeline of projects that, until recently, had largely been on hold due to economic and political instability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44513,"content":44514},{"textAlign":49},[44515],{"type":836,"attrs":44516},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":44517,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44518},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfQzR99plWHfAqW4Jc5fLvV4IAGEhm-VzJK0E3In1qGNWwMCarwfP2LsFUBTm06WJLFuOvcZxx4CxGHpfYdZBkpBdeHvAYpGtCBWsIIyLrJUFFQJXebUAT5NewsU7oWGOWO7t5QKEJVsm0esnVYkJp1OCpa?key=TFkgA86d8g0eS6o1g0JIbA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":44520,"content":44521},{"textAlign":49},[44522],{"text":44523,"type":596},"Should Argentina’s most advanced copper projects come to fruition, Benchmark estimates combined potential annual production could reach over 1.2 million tonnes per year – cementing the country as one of the top 10 producers globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":44525,"content":44526},{"textAlign":49},[44527],{"text":44528,"type":596,"marks":44529},"To receive Benchmark’s “Copper Weekly” newsletter direct to your inbox simply register your details using the below form:",[44530],{"type":1006},"BHP and Lundin Mining agreed to a $3 billion joint acquisition of South American copper explorer Filo Corp last week, marking the latest chapter of BHP’s drive to increase exposure to the metal most critical to the energy transition. The two companies will form a 50/50 joint venture to develop the Filo del Sol project, […]",[44533],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44534},{"job_title":557,"image":44535,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"186c10f6-d87d-4a1d-a125-f61495fa69f4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[44538,44539],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44541,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 08, 2024",{"id":44544,"uuid":44545,"name":44546,"slug":44547,"full_slug":44548,"content":44549},112469192877163,"4187cc78-da0b-4a68-8378-1cabbfd8f2c1","Liontown’s Kathleen Valley produces first spodumene concentrate amid uncertain market conditions","liontowns-kathleen-valley-produces-first-spodumene-concentrate-amid-uncertain-market-conditions","article/liontowns-kathleen-valley-produces-first-spodumene-concentrate-amid-uncertain-market-conditions",{"_uid":44550,"date":44551,"tags":44552,"editor":44559,"content":44563,"excerpt":44742,"featured":51,"reporter":44743,"_editable":44747,"component":697,"seo_title":44546,"categories":44748,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":44751,"seo_description":44742,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":44755},"c49a0aaf-4fd1-4abd-9fac-4c119cd354c5","2024-08-06 00:00",[44553,44554,44557,44558],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":44555,"name":44556},"liontown-resources","Liontown Resources",{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[44560],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44561},{"job_title":557,"image":44562,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":44564},[44565,44570,44587,44592,44604,44612,44617,44622,44627,44637,44642,44647,44660,44665,44677,44682,44687,44692,44697,44717,44722,44727,44732,44737],{"type":591,"attrs":44566,"content":44567},{"textAlign":49},[44568],{"text":44569,"type":596},"Last week, the first spodumene concentrate came out of Liontown’s Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":44571,"content":44572},{"textAlign":49},[44573,44578,44580,44586],{"text":23559,"type":596,"marks":44574},[44575],{"type":606,"attrs":44576},{"href":44577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/miners-under-pressure-as-spodumene-price-falls-below-1000-a-tonne",{"text":44579,"type":596},", however, are low, having dropped 73.29% year-on-year to $935 per tonne, according to ",{"text":44581,"type":596,"marks":44582},"Benchmark’s Lithium price Assessment",[44583],{"type":606,"attrs":44584},{"href":44585,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":44588,"content":44589},{"textAlign":49},[44590],{"text":44591,"type":596},"Notably, the Kathleen Valley project is the first new mine in Australia since Core Lithium’s Finnis project was put under care and maintenance at the start of 2024 less than two years after it came online due to the low price environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":44593,"content":44594},{"textAlign":49},[44595,44597,44602],{"text":44596,"type":596},"“Kathleen Valley is a significant project both for Australia and globally,” ",{"text":3087,"type":596,"marks":44598},[44599],{"type":606,"attrs":44600},{"href":44601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-lithium-automakers-unconventional-supply-and-esg",{"text":44603,"type":596},", product director for lithium at Benchmark, said. “The project was notably on time and on budget and demonstrates the ability for spodumene projects of high quality to respond relatively quickly to demand.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44605,"content":44606},{"textAlign":49},[44607],{"type":836,"attrs":44608},{"id":49,"alt":44609,"src":44610,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44611},"Spodumene prices have fallen 73% year-on-year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/91237b6b68/bm-spodumene-prices-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":44613,"content":44614},{"textAlign":49},[44615],{"text":44616,"type":596},"The project is currently ramping up to produce three million tonnes of 6% spodumene concentrate per year with plans to expand to four million tonnes per year later down the line.",{"type":591,"attrs":44618,"content":44619},{"textAlign":49},[44620],{"text":44621,"type":596},"Kathleen Valley represents the first globally significant lithium project to include both open pit and underground mining operations from the outset.",{"type":615,"attrs":44623,"content":44624},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44625],{"text":44626,"type":596},"Australian lithium in a low price world",{"type":591,"attrs":44628,"content":44629},{"textAlign":49},[44630,44635],{"text":7853,"type":596,"marks":44631},[44632],{"type":606,"attrs":44633},{"href":44634,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/australia?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags[]=australia",{"text":44636,"type":596}," is the largest miner of lithium, forecast to produce close to 400,000 tonnes LCE of spodumene concentrate this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":44638,"content":44639},{"textAlign":49},[44640],{"text":44641,"type":596},"The country is expected to increase its output 60% by the end of the decade holding on to its top spot, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44643,"content":44644},{"textAlign":49},[44645],{"text":44646,"type":596},"Part of the appeal of Australia is that its spodumene is relatively high grade and low cost. Despite the low price environment, most miners in the country are operating profitably.",{"type":591,"attrs":44648,"content":44649},{"textAlign":49},[44650,44652,44658],{"text":44651,"type":596},"“However, ",{"text":44653,"type":596,"marks":44654},"low prices are now squeezing margins",[44655],{"type":606,"attrs":44656},{"href":44657,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-new-project-economics",{"text":44659,"type":596}," and are not sufficient to incentivise development of the majority of new projects,” Adam Webb, head of battery raw materials at Benchmark, said. “This will likely result in a lack of investment in new capacity in Australia and elsewhere until prices recover.”",{"type":591,"attrs":44661,"content":44662},{"textAlign":49},[44663],{"text":44664,"type":596},"Wesfarmers’ Mt Holland project with SQM in Western Australia is expected to hit commercial production this year, though Perks expects this will be the last project to come online for some time.",{"type":591,"attrs":44666,"content":44667},{"textAlign":49},[44668,44670,44675],{"text":44669,"type":596},"“There is a long tail of lithium projects in Australia,” Perks said. “The M&A sector has cooled, partly due to depressed markets, ",{"text":44671,"type":596,"marks":44672},"uncertain demand outlook",[44673],{"type":606,"attrs":44674},{"href":41371,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44676,"type":596}," (despite underlying fundamentals looking relatively strong), and a resultant need to conserve capital from majors.”",{"type":615,"attrs":44678,"content":44679},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44680],{"text":44681,"type":596},"Offtakes and processing",{"type":591,"attrs":44683,"content":44684},{"textAlign":49},[44685],{"text":44686,"type":596},"In early July 2024, Liontown announced it had secured $250 million in supply chain financing from LG Energy Solution. The South Korean cell major increased its existing offtake deal to 15 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":44688,"content":44689},{"textAlign":49},[44690],{"text":44691,"type":596},"Liontown plans to use the pre-payment to increase the output of Kathleen Valley to four million tonnes per year of 6% spodumene concentrate from 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":44693,"content":44694},{"textAlign":49},[44695],{"text":44696,"type":596},"In 2022, Liontown also secured offtake agreements with US automakers Tesla and Ford.",{"type":591,"attrs":44698,"content":44699},{"textAlign":49},[44700,44702,44708,44710,44716],{"text":44701,"type":596},"However, although these offtakes are for Australian spodumene, the ",{"text":44703,"type":596,"marks":44704},"country currently lacks the commercial capacity to process",[44705],{"type":606,"attrs":44706},{"href":44707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/will-midstream-go-mainstream-in-australia",{"text":44709,"type":596}," this into ",{"text":44711,"type":596,"marks":44712},"battery chemicals",[44713],{"type":606,"attrs":44714},{"href":44715,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australia-looks-to-boost-domestic-mineral-processing-industry-with-676-million-fund",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":44718,"content":44719},{"textAlign":49},[44720],{"text":44721,"type":596},"Albemarle recently halted the expansion of its Kemerton facility, one of just two operating lithium chemical production facilities in Australia. The other is Kwinana majority owned by China’s Tianqi.",{"type":591,"attrs":44723,"content":44724},{"textAlign":49},[44725],{"text":44726,"type":596},"“China is still the only place that companies with offtakes can currently get spodumene turned into a chemical,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":44728,"content":44729},{"textAlign":49},[44730],{"text":44731,"type":596},"In this vein, Liontown arranged a short-term offtake agreement with Chinese miner and refiner Sinomine. Liontown will supply 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Sinomine over a ten-month period starting late September 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":44733,"content":44734},{"textAlign":49},[44735],{"text":44736,"type":596},"But although Australian miners depend on China to process their feedstock into battery chemicals, the government is increasingly weary of China’s involvement.",{"type":591,"attrs":44738,"content":44739},{"textAlign":49},[44740],{"text":44741,"type":596},"“In terms of investment, buying lithium and other critical mineral projects in Australia is only getting harder for China due to local foreign investment rules,” Perks said.","Last week, the first spodumene concentrate came out of Liontown’s Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia. Spodumene prices, however, are low, having dropped 73.29% year-on-year to $935 per tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium price Assessment. Notably, the Kathleen Valley project is the first new mine in Australia since Core Lithium’s Finnis project was put under […]",[44744],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44745},{"job_title":557,"image":44746,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c49a0aaf-4fd1-4abd-9fac-4c119cd354c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[44749,44750],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":44752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":44752,"source":547,"filename":44753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44754,"is_external_url":51},"Kathleen Valley spodumene first crush","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/af2d006904/bm-first-crush-april-2024-1.jpg",{"alt":44752,"title":44752,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 06, 2024",{"id":44757,"uuid":44758,"name":44759,"slug":44760,"full_slug":44761,"content":44762},112469202297966,"58cf110a-8378-4efd-9ac7-154e54ad4d21","Copper prices hit five-month low amid economic uncertainty and oversupply concerns","copper-prices-hit-five-month-low-amid-economic-uncertainty-and-oversupply-concerns","article/copper-prices-hit-five-month-low-amid-economic-uncertainty-and-oversupply-concerns",{"_uid":44763,"date":44764,"tags":44765,"editor":44770,"content":44774,"excerpt":44873,"featured":51,"reporter":44874,"_editable":44878,"component":697,"seo_title":44759,"categories":44879,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":44882,"seo_description":44873,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":44884},"8e8de821-8709-43e3-848b-ab144dc663f0","2024-08-02 00:00",[44766,44767],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":44768,"name":44769},"copper-prices","copper prices",[44771],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44772},{"job_title":557,"image":44773,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":44775},[44776,44781,44786,44799,44804,44809,44814,44819,44824,44829,44834,44839,44844,44857,44862,44867],{"type":591,"attrs":44777,"content":44778},{"textAlign":49},[44779],{"text":44780,"type":596},"Copper prices endured eight consecutive days of losses in late July, reaching their lowest level since March. Prices fell below the $9,000 per tonne mark late last week – settling 18% below the all-time peak that was registered in May. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44782,"content":44783},{"textAlign":49},[44784],{"text":44785,"type":596},"Copper fell as investor sentiment falters due to concerns of oversupply in China, a broader sell-off in equity markets, and growing economic and political uncertainty in the rest of the world. Disappointment at the stimulus-light Third Plenum meeting in China a week earlier compounded matters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44787,"content":44788},{"textAlign":49},[44789,44791,44797],{"text":44790,"type":596},"Copper stocks too have continued to swell – last week recording their eleventh consecutive week of increase, ",{"text":44792,"type":596,"marks":44793},"a continuation of the counter-seasonal stock-build observed during the second quarter.",[44794],{"type":606,"attrs":44795},{"href":44796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-shares-key-copper-insights-from-lme-asia-week-2024",{"text":44798,"type":596}," The majority of this stock-build has occurred at warehouses across Asia, absorbing China’s surplus of refined copper production.",{"type":591,"attrs":44800,"content":44801},{"textAlign":49},[44802],{"text":44803,"type":596},"Notably, the Indxx AI and Big Data Index fell by 7.9% last week – dampening copper bulls hopes of a dramatic demand pick-up from copper-intensive AI and data centres in the second half of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":44805,"content":44806},{"textAlign":49},[44807],{"text":44808,"type":596},"Meanwhile, US purchasing managers index (PMI) results in July compounded the prevailing bearish sentiment, recording the first contraction this year. It marked a sharp and unexpected deterioration in the US’ manufacturing sector performance, creating fears of waning consumer demand amid inflation, higher borrowing costs and depleted pandemic savings.",{"type":615,"attrs":44810,"content":44811},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44812],{"text":44813,"type":596},"Mine supply continues to underperform",{"type":591,"attrs":44815,"content":44816},{"textAlign":49},[44817],{"text":44818,"type":596},"It wasn’t all bad news for copper last week, however. There were further indications of mine supply underperformance as miners released quarterly reporting:",{"type":591,"attrs":44820,"content":44821},{"textAlign":49},[44822],{"text":44823,"type":596},"Although the Third Plenum meeting was widely interpreted as underwhelming on the stimulus front – particularly for China’s embattled property sector – last week did see the announcement of a number of supportive measures for copper demand in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":44825,"content":44826},{"textAlign":49},[44827],{"text":44828,"type":596},"This included interest rate cuts, a major increase in China’s State Grid’s investment budget for this year, as well as subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles and appliances.",{"type":615,"attrs":44830,"content":44831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44832],{"text":44833,"type":596},"Further prices weakness possible, but likely to find downward resistance",{"type":591,"attrs":44835,"content":44836},{"textAlign":49},[44837],{"text":44838,"type":596},"Copper prices currently sit $2,000 below their May peak. With a slew of macroeconomic indicators and industry reporting due to be released in early August, any unexpected readings or results could drive sharp price moves in either direction over the short term. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44840,"content":44841},{"textAlign":49},[44842],{"text":44843,"type":596},"In the coming weeks the market will closely monitor how Chinese buying responds to the recent rout, for further indications on the future direction of pricing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44845,"content":44846},{"textAlign":49},[44847,44849,44855],{"text":44848,"type":596},"“Buying appetite has certainly picked up in China lately, with cathode import premiums jumping to the highest level since April. However, the jury is still out on whether this will turn out to be an opportunistic restocking blip, or a more sustained discharge of pent-up demand,” ",{"text":44850,"type":596,"marks":44851},"Benchmark copper analysts commented in the first edition of the “Copper Weekly” newsletter",[44852],{"type":606,"attrs":44853},{"href":44854,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/copper-weekly/",{"text":44856,"type":596},", released earlier this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":44858,"content":44859},{"textAlign":49},[44860],{"text":44861,"type":596},"Although further downward pressure on prices in the coming weeks cannot be ruled out, prices will likely find ~$8,750/tonne to be the next major level of downward resistance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44863,"content":44864},{"textAlign":49},[44865],{"text":44866,"type":596},"“Any lower and copper would retreat into its H2 2023 trading range, and we believe that a potential move into this range would be short-lived. After all, the fundamental outlook is much stronger than it was this time last year, especially on the supply side,” they added.",{"type":591,"attrs":44868,"content":44869},{"textAlign":49},[44870],{"text":44528,"type":596,"marks":44871},[44872],{"type":1006},"Copper prices endured eight consecutive days of losses in late July, reaching their lowest level since March. Prices fell below the $9,000 per tonne mark late last week – settling 18% below the all-time peak that was registered in May. Copper fell as investor sentiment falters due to concerns of oversupply in China, a broader […]",[44875],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44876},{"job_title":557,"image":44877,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8e8de821-8709-43e3-848b-ab144dc663f0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[44880,44881],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12631,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":44883,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 02, 2024",{"id":44886,"uuid":44887,"name":44888,"slug":44889,"full_slug":44890,"content":44891},112469216506993,"caf92305-067b-4b36-8d27-f036575104db","What the EU’s new corporate sustainability directive means for the battery supply chain","what-the-eus-new-corporate-sustainability-directive-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain","article/what-the-eus-new-corporate-sustainability-directive-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":44892,"date":44893,"tags":44894,"editor":44898,"content":44902,"excerpt":45057,"featured":51,"reporter":45058,"_editable":45062,"component":697,"seo_title":45063,"categories":45064,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":45066,"featured_image":45068,"seo_description":44908,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45070},"c2e045ad-dacc-414b-832d-b3b1689fe5dd","2024-08-01 00:00",[44895,44896,44897],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[44899],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":44900},{"job_title":557,"image":44901,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":44903},[44904,44909,44914,44919,44924,44935,44940,44947,44952,44957,44962,44967,44972,44977,44982,44987,44992,44997,45002,45007,45012,45017,45022,45027,45032,45037,45049],{"type":591,"attrs":44905,"content":44906},{"textAlign":49},[44907],{"text":44908,"type":596},"Approved by the Council of the European Union (EU) in May, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) entered into force in July, impacting battery supply chain players that operate in the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44910,"content":44911},{"textAlign":49},[44912],{"text":44913,"type":596},"The directive aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour in companies’ operations and across their global value chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":44915,"content":44916},{"textAlign":49},[44917],{"text":44918,"type":596},"As this legislation is a directive, member states have some room for manoeuvre in how they implement it domestically, though ultimately the CSDDD intends to harmonise due diligence policies across Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":44920,"content":44921},{"textAlign":49},[44922],{"text":44923,"type":596},"“EU battery supply chain players should prepare for the CSDDD to meet impending legal requirements, manage reputational risk, and appeal to socially responsible investors,” said Soad Chambazi, a sustainability analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":44925,"content":44926},{"textAlign":49},[44927,44929,44933],{"text":44928,"type":596},"The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) was used as a reference point for drafting the CSDDD. Only nine of the 21 EU-based active mining and refining companies tracked by Benchmark across its Sustainability Indexes have stated they implement these principles, ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":44930},[44931],{"type":606,"attrs":44932},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":44934,"type":596}," shows.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":44936,"content":44937},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44938],{"text":44939,"type":596},"Key points",{"type":591,"attrs":44941,"content":44942},{"textAlign":49},[44943],{"type":836,"attrs":44944},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":44945,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":44946},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3728c700e9/bm-screenshot-2024-08-01-133448.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":44948,"content":44949},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44950],{"text":44951,"type":596},"1) What are the mandates of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive? ",{"type":591,"attrs":44953,"content":44954},{"textAlign":49},[44955],{"text":44956,"type":596},"The directive requires companies to implement a due diligence process that assesses the environmental and human rights impacts of their operations as well those of their business partners up and downstream of them in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":44958,"content":44959},{"textAlign":49},[44960],{"text":44961,"type":596},"The CSDDD goes beyond reporting and requires companies take measures to prevent environmental harm or human rights abuses. Additionally, companies can be held liable for the damage caused and will have to provide full compensation.",{"type":591,"attrs":44963,"content":44964},{"textAlign":49},[44965],{"text":44966,"type":596},"One of the more specific aspects of the directive is that companies must establish clear communication channels with stakeholders relevant to their operations and a complaints platform providing individuals and organisations with direct access to the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":44968,"content":44969},{"textAlign":49},[44970],{"text":44971,"type":596},"Companies affected by the directive are also required to adopt a climate transition plan in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change.",{"type":615,"attrs":44973,"content":44974},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[44975],{"text":44976,"type":596},"2) Who is going to be affected? ",{"type":591,"attrs":44978,"content":44979},{"textAlign":49},[44980],{"text":44981,"type":596},"There are two categories of companies affected by the directive.",{"type":591,"attrs":44983,"content":44984},{"textAlign":49},[44985],{"text":44986,"type":596},"The first is EU registered companies with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover of more than €450 million ($492 million) worldwide. This also applies to EU registered companies with franchise or licensing agreements and more than €22.5 million ($24 million) in royalties and €80 million ($88 million) net turnover worldwide in the past two consecutive years.",{"type":591,"attrs":44988,"content":44989},{"textAlign":49},[44990],{"text":44991,"type":596},"The second is for non-EU registered companies with more than €450 million ($492 million) net turnover in the EU. The employee threshold is not applicable here and the same is true for franchising and licensing agreements.",{"type":591,"attrs":44993,"content":44994},{"textAlign":49},[44995],{"text":44996,"type":596},"Though the proposed rules do not cover micro-companies and SMEs, such enterprises could be indirectly affected as business partners in value chains.",{"type":615,"attrs":44998,"content":44999},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45000],{"text":45001,"type":596},"3) When are companies expected to start reporting?",{"type":591,"attrs":45003,"content":45004},{"textAlign":49},[45005],{"text":45006,"type":596},"The directive entered into force on 25 July 2024 and by 2026 member states are required to implement the directive into national regulation. This takes the form of the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive.",{"type":591,"attrs":45008,"content":45009},{"textAlign":49},[45010],{"text":45011,"type":596},"By 2027, the CSDDD measures will apply to companies with more than 5,000 employees and a net global turnover of more than €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion). These criteria become more stringent – lowering the number of employees and net global turnover – until 2029 when the targets will apply to all companies stipulated in the directive.",{"type":615,"attrs":45013,"content":45014},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45015],{"text":45016,"type":596},"4) What are the repercussions in the case of noncompliance?",{"type":591,"attrs":45018,"content":45019},{"textAlign":49},[45020],{"text":45021,"type":596},"Individuals and civil society organisations can receive full compensation from companies who have not met their due diligence obligations.",{"type":591,"attrs":45023,"content":45024},{"textAlign":49},[45025],{"text":45026,"type":596},"There are also financial sanctions accounted for in the CSDDD where member states should apply a minimum penalty of 5% of the company’s worldwide net turnover for the previous financial year.",{"type":615,"attrs":45028,"content":45029},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45030],{"text":45031,"type":596},"5) How can companies prepare for the CSDDD?",{"type":591,"attrs":45033,"content":45034},{"textAlign":49},[45035],{"text":45036,"type":596},"The policy makers who formulated the CSDDD used the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), as a point of reference. Though voluntary, the UNGP is a fully developed framework meaning companies can implement its policies and management systems now and cover most of the topics required under CSDDD as a result.",{"type":591,"attrs":45038,"content":45039},{"textAlign":49},[45040,45041,45047],{"text":23361,"type":596},{"text":45042,"type":596,"marks":45043},"Benchmark’s Sustainability Index data",[45044],{"type":606,"attrs":45045},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/",{"text":45048,"type":596},", 19 of the 35 critical battery mineral mining and refining companies with active operations in the EU have stated UNGP implementation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45050,"content":45051},{"textAlign":49},[45052],{"text":45053,"type":596,"marks":45054},"Learn more about Benchmark’s ESG services, including how we can carry out a bespoke lifecycle assessment for your company’s operations, by filling out the form below:",[45055,45056],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Approved by the Council of the European Union (EU) in May, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) entered into force in July, impacting battery supply chain players that operate in the EU. The directive aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour in companies’ operations and across their global value chains. As this legislation […]",[45059],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45060},{"job_title":557,"image":45061,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c2e045ad-dacc-414b-832d-b3b1689fe5dd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","What the EU’s new corporate sustainability directive means for ..",[45065],{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45067},{},{"id":49,"alt":34197,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34197,"source":547,"filename":34198,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45069,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":34197,"title":34197,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 01, 2024",{"id":45072,"uuid":45073,"name":45074,"slug":45075,"full_slug":45076,"content":45077},112469231043700,"a49d697f-9cdf-4c95-98e6-ed25cf9c8cb0","Umicore delays battery material expansion plans as short-term pressures bite","umicore-delays-battery-material-expansion-plans-as-short-term-pressures-bite","article/umicore-delays-battery-material-expansion-plans-as-short-term-pressures-bite",{"_uid":45078,"date":45079,"tags":45080,"editor":45084,"content":45088,"excerpt":45228,"featured":51,"reporter":45229,"_editable":45233,"component":697,"seo_title":45074,"categories":45234,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45237,"seo_description":45228,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45240},"d8185c0a-0430-4db6-8781-6a2582fa7a67","2024-07-30 00:00",[45081,45082,45083],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":8923,"name":8924},[45085],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45086},{"job_title":557,"image":45087,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45089},[45090,45095,45100,45113,45118,45123,45130,45146,45151,45156,45161,45166,45179,45191,45196,45207,45212,45223],{"type":591,"attrs":45091,"content":45092},{"textAlign":49},[45093],{"text":45094,"type":596},"Umicore is scaling-back a number of supply chain investments as it recognises a €1.6 billion impairment charge on its battery material business, citing a “sharp slowdown” in the ramp up of EV sales in half-year results released last week.",{"type":591,"attrs":45096,"content":45097},{"textAlign":49},[45098],{"text":45099,"type":596},"The Belgian company said it was seeing an 18-month delay in the “ramp up of customer contracted volumes,” as well as reduced volume projections under its current offtake agreements; anticipating its battery materials business to remain loss-making until 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45101,"content":45102},{"textAlign":49},[45103,45105,45111],{"text":45104,"type":596},"As a result, it will delay ",{"text":45106,"type":596,"marks":45107},"spending on a 35 gigawatt hours (GWh) equivalent battery precursor and cathode complex in Ontario, Canada",[45108],{"type":606,"attrs":45109},{"href":45110,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-aesc-cathode-deal-bolsters-nascent-north-american-supply-chain",{"text":45112,"type":596},", opting instead to focus on maximising capacity utilisation rates at existing plants across Europe and Asia – despite the Canadian project having been set to receive substantial assistance from both the federal and Ontario governments.",{"type":591,"attrs":45114,"content":45115},{"textAlign":49},[45116],{"text":45117,"type":596},"Plans to build a large-scale battery recycling plant in Europe have also been pushed back until at least 2032, from a previous target of 2026, reflecting projections for a lower availability of battery scrap material and slower influx of end-of-life batteries, stemming from the downgraded outlook for EV sales in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45119,"content":45120},{"textAlign":49},[45121],{"text":45122,"type":596},"Although sales volumes of battery materials were reported to be broadly in line with H1 2023, battery material revenues were down 33% year-on-year – indicative of the sharp downturn in critical mineral pricing over the last 12 months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45124,"content":45125},{"textAlign":49},[45126],{"type":836,"attrs":45127},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":45128,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":45129},"https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd9nFnnjdPCevTPWoe9Lg8M04HmKi8pCIKG99YFdg1byZ7TcYr04bzG8Rs8nYFjH0XYECoBNf0viNd3XKk6U6mARQEbwM3sv2Fv0qbGrVSBK5NhUZOGBfX6fIknMkKY8nGm5nLX3CXshwQVkbItVDGv8xeW?key=r-o4v3pcZE0wRX9DWd8e7A",{},{"type":591,"attrs":45131,"content":45132},{"textAlign":49},[45133,45138,45140,45144],{"text":45134,"type":596,"marks":45135},"Lithium’s downturn has been the sharp end of a broader correction",[45136],{"type":606,"attrs":45137},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":45139,"type":596}," which has seen critical mineral prices record double digit declines since early 2023, according to ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":45141},[45142],{"type":606,"attrs":45143},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":45145,"type":596},". Prices have come under pressure from slowing demand and overcapacity concerns across much of the battery value chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":45147,"content":45148},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45149],{"text":45150,"type":596},"Western players scale back supply chain investments",{"type":591,"attrs":45152,"content":45153},{"textAlign":49},[45154],{"text":45155,"type":596},"The short-term deceleration in EV sales growth and prevailing low-price environment for critical minerals is leading a growing list of western players to opt to halt or curtail supply chain investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":45157,"content":45158},{"textAlign":49},[45159],{"text":45160,"type":596},"“With an existing deficit already present between planned battery cell manufacturing capacity and planned battery material and component production capacity in both Europe and North America, a slowdown in the deployment of capital in these projects will maintain western dependence on China for such products,” said Evan Hartley, senior analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":45162,"content":45163},{"textAlign":49},[45164],{"text":45165,"type":596},"“While legislation is seeking to level the playing field, western midstream players may struggle to compete with the low cost but advanced materials coming from China’s vast cathode industry without additional support,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":45167,"content":45168},{"textAlign":49},[45169,45171,45177],{"text":45170,"type":596},"In contrast, China continues to support the development of new critical minerals resources and midstream processing capacity to meet its long-term battery and EV deployment targets, ",{"text":45172,"type":596,"marks":45173},"plunging many critical mineral markets into a structural oversupply",[45174],{"type":606,"attrs":45175},{"href":45176,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-surplus-risks-widening-as-cmoc-surpasses-q1-guidance",{"text":45178,"type":596}," which has helped to depress prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":45180,"content":45181},{"textAlign":49},[45182,45184,45189],{"text":45183,"type":596},"The impact of this has perhaps been felt most acutely amongst Australia’s nickel industry. ",{"text":45185,"type":596,"marks":45186},"BHP recently confirmed it would be closing Australia’s largest nickel mining complex",[45187],{"type":606,"attrs":45188},{"href":8060,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":45190,"type":596}," later this year, blaming a supply gut stemming from the ramp-up of Chinese-financed nickel supply from Indonesia.",{"type":615,"attrs":45192,"content":45193},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45194],{"text":45195,"type":596},"EV sales growth slows, but long-term projections remain bullish ",{"type":591,"attrs":45197,"content":45198},{"textAlign":49},[45199,45201],{"text":45200,"type":596},"EV sales growth in the Western markets has been steadily slowing since peaking in Q3. ",{"text":45202,"type":596,"marks":45203},"Benchmark projects US growth to reach 11% in the second quarter, while European EV sales are expected to be flat in Q2 2024 compared to 2023.",[45204],{"type":606,"attrs":45205},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium-ion-batteries/reports/",{"type":591,"attrs":45208,"content":45209},{"textAlign":49},[45210],{"text":45211,"type":596},"Earlier this month, Tesla announced that Q2 EV sales were down by around 5% year-on-year, as affordability – linked to high interest rates and the loss of some subsidies –  remains a key barrier for many consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":45213,"content":45214},{"textAlign":49},[45215,45221],{"text":45216,"type":596,"marks":45217},"The US and EU have erected trade barriers to curb the influx of low-cost Chinese EVs into their markets",[45218],{"type":606,"attrs":45219},{"href":45220,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-us-and-european-policy-tackle-chinas-ev-dominance",{"text":45222,"type":596},", due to fears Chinese EVs threaten the competitiveness of Western automakers and the long-term viability of the automotive industry in the West.",{"type":591,"attrs":45224,"content":45225},{"textAlign":49},[45226],{"text":45227,"type":596},"Despite short term pressures, the long-term investment case for the industry is positive as sales projections for EVs in Western markets remain bullish: Benchmark forecasts lithium ion battery demand in Europe and North America to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 19% and 17% through to 2034, respectively, as emissions standards tighten and fossil fuel bans are approached.","Umicore is scaling-back a number of supply chain investments as it recognises a €1.6 billion impairment charge on its battery material business, citing a “sharp slowdown” in the ramp up of EV sales in half-year results released last week. The Belgian company said it was seeing an 18-month delay in the “ramp up of customer […]",[45230],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45231},{"job_title":557,"image":45232,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d8185c0a-0430-4db6-8781-6a2582fa7a67\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[45235,45236],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":45238,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45239,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/773dbd8f03/bm-16973-operators-working-at-umicore-in-nysa-poland-highres-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 30, 2024",{"id":45242,"uuid":45243,"name":45244,"slug":45245,"full_slug":45246,"content":45247},112469254517883,"84b0ad53-b016-41a2-9294-e832a21f6276","Lithium central to new Serbia-EU strategic partnership","lithium-central-to-new-serbia-eu-strategic-partnership","article/lithium-central-to-new-serbia-eu-strategic-partnership",{"_uid":45248,"date":45249,"tags":45250,"editor":45256,"content":45260,"excerpt":45408,"featured":51,"reporter":45409,"_editable":45413,"component":697,"seo_title":45244,"categories":45414,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45417,"seo_description":45408,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45420},"5ad72503-c084-422a-b765-ab3bf596bd60","2024-07-22 00:00",[45251,45252,45253],{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},{"slug":45254,"name":45255},"serbia","Serbia",[45257],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45258},{"job_title":557,"image":45259,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45261},[45262,45267,45278,45283,45288,45293,45298,45303,45308,45313,45318,45323,45328,45333,45338,45348,45353,45358,45363,45368,45373,45378,45383,45388,45393,45398,45403],{"type":591,"attrs":45263,"content":45264},{"textAlign":49},[45265],{"text":45266,"type":596},"On Friday in Belgrade, Serbia and the European Union signed a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":45268,"content":45269},{"textAlign":49},[45270,45272,45277],{"text":45271,"type":596},"The agreement came just days after the Serbian government gave the greenlight of Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium project in the country. The project could represent as much as 70% of Europe’s forecast mined lithium supply in 2035, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":45273},[45274],{"type":606,"attrs":45275},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":45279,"content":45280},{"textAlign":49},[45281],{"text":45282,"type":596},"The deal comes as the EU continues to use policy to increase its critical mineral resilience and reduce its dependency on China, which dominates almost all of the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":45284,"content":45285},{"textAlign":49},[45286],{"text":45287,"type":596},"“It marks a potential step towards achieving the main aim of the Critical Raw Material Act, to ensure access to a secure supply of critical raw materials,” Claudia Cook, a lithium analyst at Benchmark, said. “While Serbia sits outside of the EU, it will still allow for the shortening of supply chains and secures the EU supply closer to the EU.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45289,"content":45290},{"textAlign":49},[45291],{"text":45292,"type":596},"The partnership could also be a positive step towards Serbia’s accession to the EU, especially after the EU criticised Serbia’s handling of its elections in December last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":45294,"content":45295},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45296],{"text":45297,"type":596},"Lithium in Serbia",{"type":591,"attrs":45299,"content":45300},{"textAlign":49},[45301],{"text":45302,"type":596},"Of particular importance to this partnership on critical minerals is Serbia’s lithium potential.",{"type":591,"attrs":45304,"content":45305},{"textAlign":49},[45306],{"text":45307,"type":596},"The most advanced lithium project in the country is Rio Tinto’s Jadar project which halted development in 2022 after the Serbian government revoked its licence following pressure from environmental protests.",{"type":591,"attrs":45309,"content":45310},{"textAlign":49},[45311],{"text":45312,"type":596},"At the start of last year, Serbian courts overturned this decision claiming the initial ruling was unconstitutional, meaning the mine could come online towards the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":45314,"content":45315},{"textAlign":49},[45316],{"text":45317,"type":596},"Although the Serbian government has given Rio Tinto the greenlight, local residents and activist groups say they will continue to protest its development.",{"type":591,"attrs":45319,"content":45320},{"textAlign":49},[45321],{"text":45322,"type":596},"“The Jadar project will be subject to stringent environmental requirements in compliance with Serbia and EU regulations,” Rio Tinto said in a statement last week. A Final Investment Decision has yet to be made on the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":45324,"content":45325},{"textAlign":49},[45326],{"text":45327,"type":596},"“While Rio Tinto has stated that they will adhere to stringent environmental regulations, they will also need to engage the public to ensure there is an understanding of what this entails,” Cook said.",{"type":591,"attrs":45329,"content":45330},{"textAlign":49},[45331],{"text":45332,"type":596},"At the Serbian Critical Raw Materials Summit 2024 ahead of the signing, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Jadar as a “good project for Serbia.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45334,"content":45335},{"textAlign":49},[45336],{"text":45337,"type":596},"Rio Tinto intends to mine the sedimentary ore Jadarite at the mine and convert this to battery-grade lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":45339,"content":45340},{"textAlign":49},[45341,45343,45347],{"text":45342,"type":596},"If the project goes ahead, it would be Europe’s largest lithium mine, and could represent as much as 70% of Europe’s forecast lithium production in 2035. This is equivalent to 5% of the region’s lithium demand, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":45344},[45345],{"type":606,"attrs":45346},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":45349,"content":45350},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45351],{"text":45352,"type":596},"Building an EV hub",{"type":591,"attrs":45354,"content":45355},{"textAlign":49},[45356],{"text":45357,"type":596},"The critical minerals partnership is part of Serbia’s ambitions to become a major player in the electric vehicle supply chain. It has already courted Stellantis, Mercedes and Volkswagen who recently signed a letter of intent to invest in the Jadar project.",{"type":591,"attrs":45359,"content":45360},{"textAlign":49},[45361],{"text":45362,"type":596},"To court the interest of automakers, Serbia said it would favour European automakers when selling the lithium mined in the country. This played well with Mercedes, Volkswagen and Stellantis who all signed a letter of intent to invest in EV supply chains in Serbia including lithium processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":45364,"content":45365},{"textAlign":49},[45366],{"text":45367,"type":596},"Stellantis already produces its Fiat Panda EV at its production line in Serbia.",{"type":591,"attrs":45369,"content":45370},{"textAlign":49},[45371],{"text":45372,"type":596},"“It will also ensure that the material from Jadar has a stable and guaranteed user,” Cook said. “As well as for the OEMs to shorten and secure their supply chain by having a European source of feedstock.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45374,"content":45375},{"textAlign":49},[45376],{"text":45377,"type":596},"This would be a huge boon for Europe at a time when China dominates the vast majority of the lithium ion battery ecosystem.",{"type":591,"attrs":45379,"content":45380},{"textAlign":49},[45381],{"text":45382,"type":596},"“It may go some way in lessening reliance on China, given China’s market dominance,” Cook said. “It makes sense for each region to secure and shorten their supply chains.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45384,"content":45385},{"textAlign":49},[45386],{"text":45387,"type":596},"A key demand from the Serbian government for backing the Jadar project was that the value-add of the lithium supply chain be kept within the country, Bloomberg reported. The presence of lithium refining in Jadar and the development of gigafactories and car manufacturing in Serbia helps achieve this.",{"type":591,"attrs":45389,"content":45390},{"textAlign":49},[45391],{"text":45392,"type":596},"InoBat, a battery developer backed by Rio Tinto, selected Serbia as the location of its nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) gigafactory due to be operational towards the end of this decade.",{"type":615,"attrs":45394,"content":45395},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45396],{"text":45397,"type":596},"EU-Serbia critical mineral partnership",{"type":591,"attrs":45399,"content":45400},{"textAlign":49},[45401],{"text":45402,"type":596},"The partnership signed on Friday lists five work streams in which Serbia and the EU will collaboratively work on:",{"type":591,"attrs":45404,"content":45405},{"textAlign":49},[45406],{"text":45407,"type":596},"Within the next six months, Serbia and the EU will develop a Strategic Project Roadmap detailing the actions to be taken to achieve the goals of the partnership.","On Friday in Belgrade, Serbia and the European Union signed a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles. The agreement came just days after the Serbian government gave the greenlight of Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium project in the country. The project could represent as much as 70% of Europe’s forecast […]",[45410],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45411},{"job_title":557,"image":45412,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ad72503-c084-422a-b765-ab3bf596bd60\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[45415,45416],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":45418,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45419,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e8f5bb987a/bm-rt-jadar-environment.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 22, 2024",{"id":45422,"uuid":45423,"name":45424,"slug":45425,"full_slug":45426,"content":45427},112469259383932,"984a5236-2ecc-4561-a44c-459e573aa845","Copper prices hit record highs in H1 2024 – what were the key drivers?","copper-prices-hit-record-highs-in-h1-2024-what-were-the-key-drivers","article/copper-prices-hit-record-highs-in-h1-2024-what-were-the-key-drivers",{"_uid":45428,"date":45429,"tags":45430,"editor":45433,"content":45437,"excerpt":45541,"featured":51,"reporter":45542,"_editable":45546,"component":697,"seo_title":45424,"categories":45547,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45550,"seo_description":45541,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45552},"ad7054fa-0c14-4246-ad2b-52d66c331dd0","2024-07-19 00:00",[45431,45432],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":44768,"name":44769},[45434],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45435},{"job_title":557,"image":45436,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45438},[45439,45444,45449,45454,45459,45464,45471,45476,45481,45491,45496,45501,45506,45511,45516,45521,45526,45531,45536],{"type":591,"attrs":45440,"content":45441},{"textAlign":49},[45442],{"text":45443,"type":596},"Copper experienced a powerful price rally during the first half of 2024, briefly breaching $11,000 tonne to reach record highs in May. While prices have since retreated, sitting over $1,000 below their peak, they remain 11% higher than at the start of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":45445,"content":45446},{"textAlign":49},[45447],{"text":45448,"type":596},"In this article, Benchmark examines the path that took the copper prices to this point and what’s in store for the market during the second half of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":45450,"content":45451},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45452],{"text":45453,"type":596},"Supply shock ignites rally",{"type":591,"attrs":45455,"content":45456},{"textAlign":49},[45457],{"text":45458,"type":596},"Underpinning the price rally was an unprecedented series of supply disruptions across late 2023 and early 2024, taking close to 1 million tonnes of copper supply out of the 2024 market balance, and shifting it into a projected deficit.",{"type":591,"attrs":45460,"content":45461},{"textAlign":49},[45462],{"text":45463,"type":596},"“The copper market has certainly turned out to be quite a surprise this year,” said Piotr Ortonowski, lead copper analyst at Benchmark. “If we rewind to the second half of 2023, the consensus then was that strong mine supply growth would plunge the market into a pronounced surplus this year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45465,"content":45466},{"textAlign":49},[45467],{"type":836,"attrs":45468},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":45469,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":45470},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeHcxpupgga-El-Nr-FX81aArWA3A231jaJC62ZfwxaOKKgqccPUqVlbV1bUj9Vbvx9rejW-Ikxg4RTH8ss4q5JQTn0064dNliw6fQF-jfMbtcix4VICot8JghNxLUC7gPq_8-dUPP0HqEsLbVsXN5MXhQK?key=qiwyx6Fo7O9lE4K3lJwzug",{},{"type":591,"attrs":45472,"content":45473},{"textAlign":49},[45474],{"text":45475,"type":596},"The impact of this supply shortfall was felt immediately in the copper concentrate market – the raw material intermediate product that is processed by smelters – which led the Chinese processors to announce coordinated production cuts.",{"type":591,"attrs":45477,"content":45478},{"textAlign":49},[45479],{"text":45480,"type":596},"As the Chinese smelting industry scrambled for concentrate supply, copper caught the attention of the investment community. Speculative money flooded the London Metal Exchange (LME) in May, pushing copper prices to a new all-time high of over $11,000 per tonne. A short squeeze followed in the US, elevating the COMEX price even further.",{"type":591,"attrs":45482,"content":45483},{"textAlign":49},[45484,45486],{"text":45485,"type":596},"Tight concentrate supply and increased smelting capacity caused spot treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for Chinese smelters to collapse to record lows of near-zero in the first half of the year, as production cuts ",{"text":45487,"type":596,"marks":45488},"proved slow to materialise.",[45489],{"type":606,"attrs":45490},{"href":44796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":45492,"content":45493},{"textAlign":49},[45494],{"text":45495,"type":596},"As the year progresses, mine production continues to underperform: both Rio Tinto and Chile’s Antofagasta Minerals announced in July that they expect their 2024 production to come in at the bottom end of guidance, while Codelco now appears unlikely to hit its 2024 target.",{"type":591,"attrs":45497,"content":45498},{"textAlign":49},[45499],{"text":45500,"type":596},"Two Chinese smelters recently announced production cuts of between 20-40% next year, due to the ongoing imbalance between mined copper supply and smelting capacity. Signals of production cuts in China will most likely prove supportive for TC/RCs over the remainder of the year, particularly heading towards the start of long-term contract negotiations in October.",{"type":615,"attrs":45502,"content":45503},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45504],{"text":45505,"type":596},"Copper market awaits signals of Chinese economic stimulus",{"type":591,"attrs":45507,"content":45508},{"textAlign":49},[45509],{"text":45510,"type":596},"While supply-side disruptions wrought havoc for China’s smelting industry – creating the conditions necessary for copper prices to rally to a record high in May – industrial demand indicators in the world’s second largest economy performed relatively weakly during the first half of 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":45512,"content":45513},{"textAlign":49},[45514],{"text":45515,"type":596},"“The key cause for concern right now is China. In spite of all of the supply disruptions, we have thus far seen very little evidence of a copper shortage in the world’s top copper-consuming nation,” said Ortonowski.",{"type":591,"attrs":45517,"content":45518},{"textAlign":49},[45519],{"text":45520,"type":596},"“Quite the opposite in fact. We have observed a counter-seasonal stock-build and deeply negative import premiums,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":45522,"content":45523},{"textAlign":49},[45524],{"text":45525,"type":596},"China’s protracted property crisis, an industry accounting for around 20% of end-use demand, is a major drag on copper demand. New home prices in China fell for the 13th consecutive month in June, and year-to-date floor space completions are down about 20% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":45527,"content":45528},{"textAlign":49},[45529],{"text":45530,"type":596},"The market is now awaiting the outcome of China’s Third Plenum Session this week, where additional economic stimulus measures to boost the struggling construction sector and lacklustre domestic spending are expected to be announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":45532,"content":45533},{"textAlign":49},[45534],{"text":45535,"type":596},"As such, demand from China is expected to improve in the second half of the year, supported further by robust demand from the grid, renewable energy, and electric vehicles (EVs) year-to-date.",{"type":591,"attrs":45537,"content":45538},{"textAlign":49},[45539],{"text":45540,"type":596},"Conversely, the increasing likelhood of Donald Trump returning to the US presidency is seen as a negative for copper prices, given the policy uncertainty stemming former president’s anti-renewable stance and the prospect of more punitive trade measures against Chinese goods.","Copper experienced a powerful price rally during the first half of 2024, briefly breaching $11,000 tonne to reach record highs in May. While prices have since retreated, sitting over $1,000 below their peak, they remain 11% higher than at the start of the year. In this article, Benchmark examines the path that took the copper […]",[45543],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45544},{"job_title":557,"image":45545,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ad7054fa-0c14-4246-ad2b-52d66c331dd0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[45548,45549],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45551,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 19, 2024",{"id":45554,"uuid":45555,"name":45556,"slug":45557,"full_slug":45558,"content":45559},112469296227562,"48356e33-41dc-4acb-8cdc-53451ae09fe6","Ex-China rare earth producers shift strategies as low prices persist","ex-china-rare-earth-producers-shift-strategies-as-low-prices-persist","article/ex-china-rare-earth-producers-shift-strategies-as-low-prices-persist",{"_uid":45560,"date":45561,"tags":45562,"editor":45575,"content":45579,"excerpt":45708,"featured":51,"reporter":45709,"_editable":45713,"component":697,"seo_title":45556,"categories":45714,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45718,"seo_description":45708,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45722},"a1150333-a6df-4888-852f-26abcfb47f5e","2024-07-12 00:00",[45563,45566,45567,45568,45571,45574],{"slug":45564,"name":45565},"lynas","Lynas",{"slug":36207,"name":36208},{"slug":10983,"name":10984},{"slug":45569,"name":45570},"peak-rare-earths","Peak Rare Earths",{"slug":45572,"name":45573},"pensana","Pensana",{"slug":20553,"name":20554},[45576],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45577},{"job_title":557,"image":45578,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45580},[45581,45586,45591,45604,45609,45614,45619,45624,45629,45634,45639,45644,45649,45654,45659,45664,45669,45674,45679,45684,45688,45694],{"type":591,"attrs":45582,"content":45583},{"textAlign":49},[45584],{"text":45585,"type":596},"Western rare earths companies across the value chain are reevaluating corporate strategy amidst prolonged price declines.",{"type":591,"attrs":45587,"content":45588},{"textAlign":49},[45589],{"text":45590,"type":596},"Over the last 12 months, ex-China companies have mulled options including mergers, sales, and capital restructuring as a two year-long slide in prices for light rare earth ores and oxides makes medium-term growth uncertain.",{"type":591,"attrs":45592,"content":45593},{"textAlign":49},[45594,45596,45602],{"text":45595,"type":596},"Neodymium-Praseodymium (PrNd) oxide was at RMB 413,672 per tonne in June 2024, down 9.3% month-on-month, according to ",{"text":45597,"type":596,"marks":45598},"Benchmark’s Rare Earth Price Assessment",[45599],{"type":606,"attrs":45600},{"href":45601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/rare-earths/portal/",{"text":45603,"type":596},", far below incentive levels for most ex-China companies.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":45605,"content":45606},{"textAlign":49},[45607],{"text":45608,"type":596},"“There are no recovery signals yet. For prices to go up, either China would have to restrict supply or demand will have to grow and outstrip supply: neither seem feasible in the short term,” said George Ingall, analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45610,"content":45611},{"textAlign":49},[45612],{"text":45613,"type":596},"Rare earths permanent magnets (REPMs) are the biggest end use of rare earths elements, high-performance magnets mostly used in wind turbines and EV motors. Low prices for ores and oxides have resulted from slower demand growth in end-use sectors as well as increased production from China since 2022. ",{"type":615,"attrs":45615,"content":45616},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45617],{"text":45618,"type":596},"Large ex-China producers mull restructuring",{"type":591,"attrs":45620,"content":45621},{"textAlign":49},[45622],{"text":45623,"type":596},"Last month, Canada’s Neo Performance Materials became the latest Western rare earths firm to consider rationalisation, announcing a strategic review to explore options to maximise shareholder returns including sale, divestiture, a merger, and changes to capital structure.",{"type":591,"attrs":45625,"content":45626},{"textAlign":49},[45627],{"text":45628,"type":596},"Neo is among the most integrated of Western rare earths producers, manufacturing higher-value metals and magnetic powders as well as lower-value oxides. It is also constructing a highly anticipated REPM plant in Estonia, one of very few such ex-China facilities.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":45630,"content":45631},{"textAlign":49},[45632],{"text":45633,"type":596},"The decision echoed merger talks in January 2024 between Lynas and MP Materials, the two biggest Western rare earth miner-processors. The talks eventually fell through but, along with Neo’s recent move, show mounting disquiet even among relatively mature companies in the sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45635,"content":45636},{"textAlign":49},[45637],{"text":45638,"type":596},"“Neo’s decision to conduct a strategic review has likely been driven by the same factors as the Lynas-MP merger talks earlier this year and increased government-led capital investment announcements: if prices don’t rise, the ex-China market will need rationalisation in order to grow,” said Daan de Jonge, product director at Benchmark.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":45640,"content":45641},{"textAlign":49},[45642],{"text":45643,"type":596},"Uncertainty in the rare earths sector comes at an inconvenient time for Western governments as they step up efforts to reduce reliance on China for these critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45645,"content":45646},{"textAlign":49},[45647],{"text":45648,"type":596},"Neo, Lynas, and MP are set to play a crucial role in Western capacity buildout, forecast to own 57% of ex-China PrNd oxide supply in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":45650,"content":45651},{"textAlign":49},[45652],{"text":45653,"type":596},"However, even the largest ex-China rare earths companies are more vulnerable to the low price environment than their state-owned Chinese competitors, being smaller, higher-cost, and less buffered by state support.",{"type":615,"attrs":45655,"content":45656},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45657],{"text":45658,"type":596},"Developers draw back on processing",{"type":591,"attrs":45660,"content":45661},{"textAlign":49},[45662],{"text":45663,"type":596},"Price pressure is also affecting the strategic direction of development-stage rare earths companies, who are drawing back on investments into capital-intensive processing capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":45665,"content":45666},{"textAlign":49},[45667],{"text":45668,"type":596},"Two of these are the UK-registered Pensana and Peak Rare Earths, both developing projects in Africa as well as processing capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":45670,"content":45671},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45672],{"text":45673,"type":596},"Government action crucial in a low-price environment ",{"type":591,"attrs":45675,"content":45676},{"textAlign":49},[45677],{"text":45678,"type":596},"The negative impact of low prices on a strategic sector have recently led ex-China governments to increase capital investments to help support buildout through low prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":45680,"content":45681},{"textAlign":49},[45682],{"text":45683,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that around 95% of capital allocation through the entire ex-China rare earths value chain in quarter two of this year came from government -involved consortia. The Canadian government led the way on investments in the quarter, followed by the US and Australia.",{"type":615,"attrs":45685,"content":45686},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45687],{"text":37945,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":45689,"content":45690},{"textAlign":49},[45691],{"text":34153,"type":596,"marks":45692},[45693],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":45695,"content":45696},{"textAlign":49},[45697,45700,45705],{"text":42089,"type":596,"marks":45698},[45699],{"type":1006},{"text":42093,"type":596,"marks":45701},[45702,45704],{"type":606,"attrs":45703},{"href":32764,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":45706},[45707],{"type":1006},"Western rare earths companies across the value chain are reevaluating corporate strategy amidst prolonged price declines. Over the last 12 months, ex-China companies have mulled options including mergers, sales, and capital restructuring as a two year-long slide in prices for light rare earth ores and oxides makes medium-term growth uncertain. Neodymium-Praseodymium (PrNd) oxide was at […]",[45710],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45711},{"job_title":557,"image":45712,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a1150333-a6df-4888-852f-26abcfb47f5e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[45715,45716,45717],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":45719,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":45719,"source":547,"filename":45720,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45721,"is_external_url":51},"Neodymium, on periodic table. Rare earth metal in lanthanide series, with atomic number 60","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/426df57d27/bm-neodymium-rare-earth-on-periodic-table.png",{"alt":45719,"title":45719,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 12, 2024",{"id":45724,"uuid":45725,"name":45726,"slug":45727,"full_slug":45728,"content":45729},114843521605309,"bf254039-dc69-4b03-818d-c9e0831616b9","LFP uptake and flexible production lines keep lithium carbonate prices above hydroxide","lfp-uptake-and-flexible-production-lines-keep-lithium-carbonate-prices-above-hydroxide","article/lfp-uptake-and-flexible-production-lines-keep-lithium-carbonate-prices-above-hydroxide",{"_uid":45730,"date":45731,"tags":45732,"editor":45735,"content":45739,"excerpt":45853,"featured":51,"reporter":45854,"_editable":45858,"component":697,"seo_title":45726,"categories":45859,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45863,"seo_description":45853,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45865},"8500ce68-ea1e-44ae-9b8b-83c7b052ff82","2024-07-05 00:00",[45733,45734],{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[45736],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45737},{"job_title":557,"image":45738,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45740},[45741,45752,45763,45768,45773,45780,45790,45795,45800,45811,45816,45823,45828,45833,45838,45843,45848],{"type":591,"attrs":45742,"content":45743},{"textAlign":49},[45744,45746,45751],{"text":45745,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide has consistently priced lower than lithium carbonate since August last year, according to global weighted average prices of the two materials in ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":45747},[45748],{"type":606,"attrs":45749},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/portal/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":45753,"content":45754},{"textAlign":49},[45755,45757,45761],{"text":45756,"type":596},"This is the longest period that hydroxide has priced lower than carbonate since Benchmark began recording prices in 2016. ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":45758},[45759],{"type":606,"attrs":45760},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":45762,"type":596}," expects carbonate to remain more expensive than hydroxide until 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":45764,"content":45765},{"textAlign":49},[45766],{"text":45767,"type":596},"The higher price of lithium carbonate reflects a shift towards lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries which is the preference for lower cost electric vehicles and for energy storage applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":45769,"content":45770},{"textAlign":49},[45771],{"text":45772,"type":596},"“A lot of it is down to LFP’s strength in China versus NCM,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark, said. “Whilst EV sentiment has been a bit weaker, ESS has stayed fairly consistent or strengthened.”",{"type":591,"attrs":45774,"content":45775},{"textAlign":49},[45776],{"type":836,"attrs":45777},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":45778,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":45779},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0519f197fe/bm-lfp.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":45781,"content":45782},{"textAlign":49},[45783,45785,45789],{"text":45784,"type":596},"The global weighted average price for lithium hydroxide was $12,172 per tonne LCE as of 26 June 2024, 5% lower than for lithium carbonate which was priced at $12,818 per tonne in ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":45786},[45787],{"type":606,"attrs":45788},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":45791,"content":45792},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45793],{"text":45794,"type":596},"Strong LFP demand",{"type":591,"attrs":45796,"content":45797},{"textAlign":49},[45798],{"text":45799,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate is the lithium chemical used for the production of LFP cathode material. High performance cathode chemistries such as high nickel NCM and nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA), use lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":45801,"content":45802},{"textAlign":49},[45803,45805,45809],{"text":45804,"type":596},"Between 2021 and 2024, demand for LFP battery cells has grown 430% from 575 GWh and they are forecast to account for 48% of global cell demand this year, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":45806},[45807],{"type":606,"attrs":45808},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":45810,"type":596},". Meanwhile, high nickel NCM and NCA are expected to account for a combined 23% of 2024 demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":45812,"content":45813},{"textAlign":49},[45814],{"text":45815,"type":596},"By 2027, high nickel NCM and NCA cell demand is forecast to rise to 31% of the market. This increased demand for chemistries requiring lithium hydroxide suggests a price premium for the material over carbonate would return.",{"type":591,"attrs":45817,"content":45818},{"textAlign":49},[45819],{"type":836,"attrs":45820},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":45821,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":45822},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeRdfo4LNxPROo_RwrLLnh2z1qXcRUQNjbV9nOk4mxeTZlZ8eYqSIl1hG6IS5nl7eLk6VSQZm-mXuS3vjtZxcxLVJY8IRIqX7pPAkeB0Hb75AC-QC1iSlv3BA_YmeNlfrpqeQ-PD_ruCXOtR7LFPMx1CvJN?key=JfR4QBoa0eXOJUs43n3Q0g",{},{"type":615,"attrs":45824,"content":45825},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[45826],{"text":45827,"type":596},"Flexible production lines",{"type":591,"attrs":45829,"content":45830},{"textAlign":49},[45831],{"text":45832,"type":596},"Another trend influencing the price relationship between hydroxide and carbonate is increasing flexibility in lithium chemical production lines.",{"type":591,"attrs":45834,"content":45835},{"textAlign":49},[45836],{"text":45837,"type":596},"Historically, lithium hydroxide has been produced by converting lithium carbonate. However more and more lines are now able to deal with flexible feedstock inputs, switching between brine and hard rock sources – and eschewing the need to produce hydroxide from carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":45839,"content":45840},{"textAlign":49},[45841],{"text":45842,"type":596},"On the carbonate front, an increasing amount is being produced from lepidolite feedstock, which is more expensive to process than spodumene or brine and has been placing upward pressure on carbonate prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":45844,"content":45845},{"textAlign":49},[45846],{"text":45847,"type":596},"Production lines also increasingly have flexibility in terms of their end product, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":45849,"content":45850},{"textAlign":49},[45851],{"text":45852,"type":596},"“Producers can choose to switch between carbonate and hydroxide depending on the price relationship, where they used to generally be stuck making a single product,” Jennings-Gray said.","Lithium hydroxide has consistently priced lower than lithium carbonate since August last year, according to global weighted average prices of the two materials in Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. This is the longest period that hydroxide has priced lower than carbonate since Benchmark began recording prices in 2016. Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast expects carbonate to remain more […]",[45855],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45856},{"job_title":557,"image":45857,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8500ce68-ea1e-44ae-9b8b-83c7b052ff82\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[45860,45861,45862],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43324,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45864,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 05, 2024",{"id":45867,"uuid":45868,"name":45869,"slug":45870,"full_slug":45871,"content":45872},112469340959986,"e562d7f2-971b-4540-9cfc-26dfa5dad7e4","Benchmark launches Silicon Anode Forecast report","benchmark-launches-silicon-anode-forecast-report","article/benchmark-launches-silicon-anode-forecast-report",{"_uid":45873,"date":45874,"tags":45875,"editor":45877,"content":45881,"excerpt":45986,"featured":50,"reporter":45987,"component":697,"seo_title":45869,"categories":45991,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":45996,"seo_description":45986,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":45998},"735ff5fa-a217-4127-a1a1-45191203e7e8","2024-07-04 00:00",[45876],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[45878],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45879},{"job_title":557,"image":45880,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":45882},[45883,45903,45914,45919,45933,45941,45953,45961,45979],{"type":591,"attrs":45884,"content":45885},{"textAlign":49},[45886,45887,45888,45893,45895,45897,45901],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":32236,"type":596},{"text":13401,"type":596,"marks":45889},[45890],{"type":606,"attrs":45891},{"href":45892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/silicon-anode",{"text":45894,"type":596}," Forecast",{"text":45896,"type":596},". This comprehensive report is designed for market participants, OEMs, and investors, providing essential guidance through the complexities of the silicon ",{"text":701,"type":596,"marks":45898},[45899],{"type":606,"attrs":45900},{"href":3795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":45902,"type":596}," sector. Subscribers will gain insights into forecast market growth and the role that established and emerging silicon anode technologies are set to play.",{"type":591,"attrs":45904,"content":45905},{"textAlign":49},[45906,45908,45912],{"text":45907,"type":596},"The report offers detailed ",{"text":5131,"type":596,"marks":45909},[45910],{"type":606,"attrs":45911},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":45913,"type":596}," of supply and demand for traditional silicon oxide (SiOx) and silicon-carbon composite (Si-C) materials, currently used in small quantities blended into graphite anodes. It also covers next-generation engineered silicon materials that have the potential to increase the silicon content used in anodes in the near-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":45915,"content":45916},{"textAlign":49},[45917],{"text":45918,"type":596},"Analysis is broken down by material type, with the report including contextual written analysis of forecast trends, in-depth profiles of key companies in the sector, and a technology handbook which explains key concepts and material-classes of commercially relevant silicon anode materials. Subscribers also have access to the analyst team behind the forecast for personalised insights and context.",{"type":591,"attrs":45920,"content":45921},{"textAlign":49},[45922,45924,45928,45930,45931],{"text":45923,"type":596},"Silicon anode materials have been added to the anode of some ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":45925},[45926],{"type":606,"attrs":45927},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":45929,"type":596}," batteries to increase their energy density since at least 2015, but growth in the sector since has been modest due to technical challenges faced with their use such as swelling. ",{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":45932,"type":596}," analysis shows that now the pipeline capacity for silicon anode is starting to boom, with a 234% increase between 2023 to 2024, and continued rapid capacity growth forecast out to 2035. These increases signal a commercial drive, although crucially capacity does not equal supply, and careful analysis is required to convert this capacity forecast to supply, and a forecast of the supply-demand balance.",{"type":591,"attrs":45934,"content":45935},{"textAlign":49},[45936,45938,45939],{"text":45937,"type":596},"“Silicon materials are not new to the battery sector, but the signals that we are seeing from the industry are aligning with significant capital infusions to indicate that these materials are about to go mainstream. ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":45940,"type":596}," is perfectly positioned to keep up to date with the complexities of the silicon anode market and aims to become the go-to for silicon market intelligence,” said Rory McNulty, Senior Analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":45942,"content":45943},{"textAlign":49},[45944,45945,45947,45951],{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":45946,"type":596}," analysis shows that next generation silicon anode active materials present an opportunity to localise anode ",{"text":1874,"type":596,"marks":45948},[45949],{"type":606,"attrs":45950},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":45952,"type":596},", bringing supply online outside of China. While China and South Korea dominate traditional silicon anode active material supply, the emerging next-generation engineered silicon anode active material market presents a balanced picture, with North America and Europe forecast to make a move into this high value market in the near-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":45954,"content":45955},{"textAlign":49},[45956,45958,45959],{"text":45957,"type":596},"“Launching this forecast enables ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":45960,"type":596}," to provide in-depth coverage of the silicon anode sector. Our analysis indicates substantial increases in announced capacity from this year through 2040, reflecting growing commercial momentum for both established and emerging silicon materials,” said Matt Stock, Product Director.",{"type":591,"attrs":45962,"content":45963},{"textAlign":49},[45964,45967,45971,45975],{"text":35570,"type":596,"marks":45965},[45966],{"type":1006},{"text":45968,"type":596,"marks":45969}," new ",[45970],{"type":1006},{"text":45972,"type":596,"marks":45973},"Silicon Anode Forecast",[45974],{"type":1006},{"text":45976,"type":596,"marks":45977}," provides independent and detailed analysis of supply and demandout to 2040.",[45978],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":45980,"content":45981},{"textAlign":49},[45982],{"text":45983,"type":596,"marks":45984},"To view more detail and speak to Benchmark’s analysts further, please provide your details here:",[45985],{"type":1006},"Benchmark is pleased to announce the launch of its new Silicon Anode Forecast. This comprehensive report is designed for market participants, OEMs, and investors, providing essential guidance through the complexities of the silicon anode sector. Subscribers will gain insights into forecast market growth and the role that established and emerging silicon anode technologies are set […]",[45988],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":45989},{"job_title":557,"image":45990,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[45992,45993,45994,45995],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":29314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":45997,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 04, 2024",{"id":46000,"uuid":46001,"name":46002,"slug":46003,"full_slug":46004,"content":46005},112469367313655,"77901453-df7a-478d-ab33-cba714349254","Benchmark’s key copper insights from LME Asia Week 2024","benchmark-shares-key-copper-insights-from-lme-asia-week-2024","article/benchmark-shares-key-copper-insights-from-lme-asia-week-2024",{"_uid":46006,"date":46007,"tags":46008,"editor":46010,"content":46014,"excerpt":46162,"featured":51,"reporter":46163,"component":697,"seo_title":46002,"categories":46167,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46171,"seo_description":46162,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46174},"3edc4d52-c5d7-49bb-a680-8a6a3f587c37","2024-07-01 00:00",[46009],{"slug":575,"name":576},[46011],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46012},{"job_title":557,"image":46013,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46015},[46016,46032,46037,46042,46047,46052,46057,46062,46067,46072,46077,46082,46087,46098,46103,46108,46113,46118,46129,46134,46139,46144,46149,46154],{"type":591,"attrs":46017,"content":46018},{"textAlign":49},[46019,46020,46024,46026,46031],{"text":25892,"type":596},{"text":4757,"type":596,"marks":46021},[46022],{"type":606,"attrs":46023},{"href":4831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":46025,"type":596}," team attended LME Asia Week in Hong Kong last week, where discussions carried a note of cautious optimism for China’s copper demand. Below we share the key takeaways from the ",{"text":46027,"type":596,"marks":46028},"event",[46029],{"type":606,"attrs":46030},{"href":29707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":24817,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":46033,"content":46034},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46035],{"text":46036,"type":596},"1) Despite pressure from extremely low spot treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), Chinese smelters maintain strong output",{"type":591,"attrs":46038,"content":46039},{"textAlign":49},[46040],{"text":46041,"type":596},"With spot treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) to Chinese smelters currently trading near record lows of $0/0¢, Benchmark estimates most smelters in China are loss-making, in spite of improved by-product and free metal credits in recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":46043,"content":46044},{"textAlign":49},[46045],{"text":46046,"type":596},"In response to the above, in March, the Chinese smelting industry proposed production cuts of 5-10%; however, Benchmark has found limited evidence of any cuts materialising thus far.",{"type":591,"attrs":46048,"content":46049},{"textAlign":49},[46050],{"text":46051,"type":596},"On the contrary, January-May refined copper production in China grew by around 5% year-on-year, supported by inflows of price-responsive scrap feed in conjunction with pressure from local governments to maintain high operating rates in order to support economic targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":46053,"content":46054},{"textAlign":49},[46055],{"text":46056,"type":596},"Benchmark projects sub-breakeven levels of spot TC/RCs to prevail into the second half of this year and through to 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":46058,"content":46059},{"textAlign":49},[46060],{"text":46061,"type":596},"With China’s state-owned smelters seemingly willing to operate at a loss, smelter closures outside of China look increasingly inevitable, especially once 2024 long-term supply contracts that were settled at $80/8¢ roll off.",{"type":591,"attrs":46063,"content":46064},{"textAlign":49},[46065],{"text":46066,"type":596},"In fact, mid-year long-term contract negotiations between Chinese smelters and Chile’s Antofagasta Minerals wrapped up last week, settling at $23.25/2.325¢ – their lowest level in the last decade and suggesting that the market may see a record low annual benchmark TC/RC for 2025.",{"type":615,"attrs":46068,"content":46069},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46070],{"text":46071,"type":596},"2) Scrap supply boom is set to fade in early H2, which will slow, but not stall, growth in China’s domestic refined copper supply",{"type":591,"attrs":46073,"content":46074},{"textAlign":49},[46075],{"text":46076,"type":596},"Copper prices rallied to all-time highs in May, spurring a wave of scrap copper supply to enter the market. China’s year-to-date scrap imports (on an estimated copper content basis) are up by 20% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":46078,"content":46079},{"textAlign":49},[46080],{"text":46081,"type":596},"Benchmark confirmed that the majority of this incremental copper scrap supply has flowed to Chinese smelters, supporting growth in refined copper production in recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":46083,"content":46084},{"textAlign":49},[46085],{"text":46086,"type":596},"However, with copper prices now sitting around 10% below their May peak, scrap merchants are proving less willing to supply additional units to the market, particularly as their inventories have been drawn down considerably in recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":46088,"content":46089},{"textAlign":49},[46090,46092,46096],{"text":46091,"type":596},"According to industry sources, smelters are yet to consume all of the ",{"text":701,"type":596,"marks":46093},[46094],{"type":606,"attrs":46095},{"href":3795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":46097,"type":596}," produced from scrap in recent months, which should support strong refined copper production for another 1-2 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":46099,"content":46100},{"textAlign":49},[46101],{"text":46102,"type":596},"As excess scrap copper supply fades in Q3, raw material supply is set to tighten. Benchmark now projects the growth rate of refined copper production to slow slightly over the second half of the year to around 2.3% year-on-year. The annual growth rate of copper production is now forecast to be around 3.5%.",{"type":615,"attrs":46104,"content":46105},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46106],{"text":46107,"type":596},"3) Counter-seasonal stock-build in Q2 creates cause for concern over demand, but sentiment cautiously optimistic for H2 due to robust end-use demand",{"type":591,"attrs":46109,"content":46110},{"textAlign":49},[46111],{"text":46112,"type":596},"While China’s refined copper supply turned out to be stronger than expected in Q2 – driven by robust domestic refined copper production coupled with strong imports from the DRC and Russia – China’s consumption growth was considerably weaker than expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":46114,"content":46115},{"textAlign":49},[46116],{"text":46117,"type":596},"Price-sensitive fabricators baulked at high copper prices and reduced restocking activity and plant utilisation during what is traditionally the seasonal peak for demand in China. The result was a counter-seasonal stock-build in Q2 and record exports of refined metal from China in May.",{"type":591,"attrs":46119,"content":46120},{"textAlign":49},[46121,46123,46127],{"text":46122,"type":596},"According to reports, high prices also contributed to some substitution of copper for aluminium, allegedly in the medium voltage distribution network, as well as in ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":46124},[46125],{"type":606,"attrs":46126},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":46128,"type":596}," and renewable energy generation. Although Benchmark has found little supporting evidence for this, many market participants noted that reducing copper intensity is becoming a growing priority across end-use segments.",{"type":591,"attrs":46130,"content":46131},{"textAlign":49},[46132],{"text":46133,"type":596},"Despite short-term pressures, end-use demand indicators are supportive of a pick-up in pent-up demand in the second half of the year: electric vehicle sales are up 32% year-on-year, while solar power installations and investment in grid infrastructure have increased 29% and 22% year-on-year, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":46135,"content":46136},{"textAlign":49},[46137],{"text":46138,"type":596},"From the perspective of the physical market, market participants noted that semis plants have gradually started to restock in recent weeks after prices fell by around 10% from their peak in May.",{"type":615,"attrs":46140,"content":46141},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46142],{"text":46143,"type":596},"4) The construction sector remains a major headwind for H2, but a further stimulus injection could be around the corner",{"type":591,"attrs":46145,"content":46146},{"textAlign":49},[46147],{"text":46148,"type":596},"China’s struggling construction sector, which accounts for around 20% of end-use demand, looks set to be a major headwind for domestic copper demand in the second half of the year, with year-to-date floor space completions are down by 20% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":46150,"content":46151},{"textAlign":49},[46152],{"text":46153,"type":596},"There is, however, a growing sense of confidence that the housing sector is close to bottoming out due to support from government stimulus. The market is also eagerly awaiting China’s Third Plenum Session later this month, where additional economic stimulus measures are widely expected to be announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":46155,"content":46156},{"textAlign":49},[46157],{"text":46158,"type":596,"marks":46159},"To receive our latest Copper coverage direct to your inbox simply register your details using the below form:",[46160,46161],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Benchmark’s copper team attended LME Asia Week in Hong Kong last week, where discussions carried a note of cautious optimism for China’s copper demand. Below we share the key takeaways from the event: 1) Despite pressure from extremely low spot treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), Chinese smelters maintain strong output With spot treatment and refining […]",[46164],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46165},{"job_title":557,"image":46166,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[46168,46169,46170],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":46172,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46173,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/68652ed2e4/bm-katanga-copper-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 01, 2024",{"id":46176,"uuid":46177,"name":46178,"slug":46179,"full_slug":46180,"content":46181},112469376910585,"c253274d-b28a-45f1-ae2d-efcbc1eee397","What do the EU election results mean for the battery industry?  ","what-do-the-eu-election-results-mean-for-the-battery-industry","article/what-do-the-eu-election-results-mean-for-the-battery-industry",{"_uid":46182,"date":46183,"tags":46184,"editor":46189,"content":46193,"excerpt":46329,"featured":51,"reporter":46330,"_editable":46334,"component":697,"seo_title":46178,"categories":46335,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46338,"seo_description":46329,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46342},"91894a76-b65e-498b-8536-eec711c43ab3","2024-06-28 00:00",[46185,46186,46187,46188],{"slug":32443,"name":32444},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[46190],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46191},{"job_title":557,"image":46192,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46194},[46195,46200,46205,46216,46229,46234,46239,46244,46249,46254,46259,46264,46269,46274,46279,46284,46289,46294,46299,46304,46309,46314,46319,46324],{"type":591,"attrs":46196,"content":46197},{"textAlign":49},[46198],{"text":46199,"type":596},"EU battery buildout is set to become further integrated into policies around security and economic competitiveness after the bloc’s June elections led to a rightward shift in parliament.",{"type":591,"attrs":46201,"content":46202},{"textAlign":49},[46203],{"text":46204,"type":596},"Recent calls for an Industrial Deal to support the Green Deal suggests this emphasis on manufacturing competitiveness could still stimulate battery capacity growth even as the EU’s focus on climate softens. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46206,"content":46207},{"textAlign":49},[46208,46210,46214],{"text":46209,"type":596},"The EU is already a hotspot for lithium ion expansion, with Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":46211},[46212],{"type":606,"attrs":46213},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":46215,"type":596}," indicating the region will overtake the US to become the second biggest cell supplier behind China by the mid 2030s. It is already the second-biggest EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":46217,"content":46218},{"textAlign":49},[46219,46221,46227],{"text":46220,"type":596},"However, policy choices remain influential in deciding the bloc’s future battery-producing capacity. The EU still needs more investment to meet critical minerals supply targets and is also coming under pressure to ",{"text":46222,"type":596,"marks":46223},"compete with US",[46224],{"type":606,"attrs":46225},{"href":46226,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-agrees-e902-million-aid-to-northvolt-as-europes-battery-production-set-to-fall-behind-north-america",{"text":46228,"type":596}," battery manufacturing incentives.",{"type":615,"attrs":46230,"content":46231},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46232],{"text":46233,"type":596},"What happened?",{"type":591,"attrs":46235,"content":46236},{"textAlign":49},[46237],{"text":46238,"type":596},"The pro-business European People’s Party (EPP) maintained its position as the biggest party in the European Parliament after the June elections.",{"type":591,"attrs":46240,"content":46241},{"textAlign":49},[46242],{"text":46243,"type":596},"At the same time, the biggest gains went to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the radical populist Identity and Democracy (ID). The green and centrist blocs meanwhile saw the biggest losses. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46245,"content":46246},{"textAlign":49},[46247],{"text":46248,"type":596},"ID broadly opposes the EU Green Deal and includes many climate sceptics. The ECR has been critical towards elements of the Green Deal as well as policies to phase out combustion vehicles. ",{"type":615,"attrs":46250,"content":46251},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46252],{"text":46253,"type":596},"What does this mean for future battery policies?",{"type":591,"attrs":46255,"content":46256},{"textAlign":49},[46257],{"text":46258,"type":596},"The pro-business EPP’s continued parliamentary dominance should instil confidence among lithium ion stakeholders. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46260,"content":46261},{"textAlign":49},[46262],{"text":46263,"type":596},"However, a weakened green bloc and the electoral threat from ID and ERC will push the EPP to lower its climate ambitions. This will accelerate a pre-existing shift in the EU to prioritise defence, security and economic competitiveness.",{"type":591,"attrs":46265,"content":46266},{"textAlign":49},[46267],{"text":46268,"type":596},"In practice, this means lithium ion related policies will increasingly need to be justified in terms of their contribution to economic productivity and geopolitical strategy rather than environmental targets per se. Battery scaling will also likely be pursued as part of policies primarily geared towards economic and resource security goals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46270,"content":46271},{"textAlign":49},[46272],{"text":46273,"type":596},"However, none of this is entirely new and the EU’s ongoing tendency to fold energy transition buildout into security goals has not undermined lithium ion buildout so far. For example, it was the supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic and the Ukraine war that initially revived EU interest in industrial policy, such as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) tabled in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46275,"content":46276},{"textAlign":49},[46277],{"text":46278,"type":596},"A potential industrial deal could become another example of how a sharper security focus could sustain EU battery buildout. The proposed law aims to prevent European deindustrialisation by helping companies bear the costs of Green Deal regulations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46280,"content":46281},{"textAlign":49},[46282],{"text":46283,"type":596},"“A potential industrial deal with greater emphasis on European competitiveness by the European Commission could bode well for the bloc’s battery build-out. This matches with the EU’s goal to further foster its green industrial competitiveness and economic security vis-à-vis the US and China,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":46285,"content":46286},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46287],{"text":46288,"type":596},"How will the results impact battery-related polices that already exist or are being developed? ",{"type":591,"attrs":46290,"content":46291},{"textAlign":49},[46292],{"text":46293,"type":596},"Most environmental and battery-related policies that have already been adopted by the EU will not be affected. However, gains by the ERC and ID could affect two pieces of legislation important in determining regional EV demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":46295,"content":46296},{"textAlign":49},[46297],{"text":46298,"type":596},"One is the legislation on phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, which is coming up for review among EU lawmakers in 2026. The more climate-sceptic wing of the EPP may be willing to ally with ID and ECR to water it down. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46300,"content":46301},{"textAlign":49},[46302],{"text":46303,"type":596},"Another is the European Commission’s proposed target of reducing EU emissions by 90% on 1990 levels by 2040, an ambitious goal that is still up for negotiation between EU member states and parliament.",{"type":615,"attrs":46305,"content":46306},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46307],{"text":46308,"type":596},"What impact could the election have on the French lithium ion industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":46310,"content":46311},{"textAlign":49},[46312],{"text":46313,"type":596},"The most immediate impacts of the EU elections on the battery supply chain may be felt in France. Here, president Emmanuel Macron called a snap general election after the National Rally (RN) beat his centrist party by a wide margin in the EU vote.",{"type":591,"attrs":46315,"content":46316},{"textAlign":49},[46317],{"text":46318,"type":596},"The RN, which has pledged to roll back France’s post-Green Deal renewable energy developments, could be on track to knock out of government and win power in France for the first time.",{"type":591,"attrs":46320,"content":46321},{"textAlign":49},[46322],{"text":46323,"type":596},"“An RN-led government could water down France’s climate and green industrial ambitions and have an impact on France’s growing battery industry,” said Bille.",{"type":591,"attrs":46325,"content":46326},{"textAlign":49},[46327],{"text":46328,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows France is tied with Hungary for having Europe’s second-biggest lithium ion pipeline. Its first cathode plant is expected to go live in 2026 and will contribute 4.5% of European supply by 2030.","EU battery buildout is set to become further integrated into policies around security and economic competitiveness after the bloc’s June elections led to a rightward shift in parliament. Recent calls for an Industrial Deal to support the Green Deal suggests this emphasis on manufacturing competitiveness could still stimulate battery capacity growth even as the EU’s […]",[46331],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46332},{"job_title":557,"image":46333,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"91894a76-b65e-498b-8536-eec711c43ab3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[46336,46337],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":46339,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":46339,"source":547,"filename":46340,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46341,"is_external_url":51},"EU flag in background, hand putting slip into ballot box in foreground","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39adfdfc49/bm-eu-ballot-box-election-2024-1319994cc309.jpg",{"alt":46339,"title":46339,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 28, 2024",{"id":46344,"uuid":46345,"name":46346,"slug":46347,"full_slug":46348,"content":46349},112469372224760,"1ead45ee-d8db-4f46-80c4-14177670f7a0","BASF and Eramet cancel only 100% Western-backed nickel project in Indonesia","basf-and-eramet-cancel-only-100-western-backed-nickel-project-in-indonesia","article/basf-and-eramet-cancel-only-100-western-backed-nickel-project-in-indonesia",{"_uid":46350,"date":46183,"tags":46351,"editor":46358,"content":46362,"excerpt":46476,"featured":51,"reporter":46477,"_editable":46481,"component":697,"seo_title":46346,"categories":46482,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46488,"seo_description":46476,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46342},"a9ce7615-1fa8-45ad-bf1b-7124c282c330",[46352,46355,46356,46357],{"slug":46353,"name":46354},"basf","BASF",{"slug":34312,"name":34313},{"slug":12803,"name":12804},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[46359],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46360},{"job_title":557,"image":46361,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46363},[46364,46369,46374,46386,46391,46398,46403,46416,46421,46426,46431,46436,46441,46446,46451,46456,46461,46466,46471],{"type":591,"attrs":46365,"content":46366},{"textAlign":49},[46367],{"text":46368,"type":596},"BASF and Eramet have cancelled plans to invest up to $2.6 billion to build a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) operation in Weda Bay, Indonesia. The project, known as Sonic Bay, had been set to become the first, and only nickel plant in Indonesia with 100% Western ownership.",{"type":591,"attrs":46370,"content":46371},{"textAlign":49},[46372],{"text":46373,"type":596},"First announced in December 2020, the Sonic Bay project was considered the flagship operation for Western investors making their mark on the China-dominated Indonesian nickel industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46375,"content":46376},{"textAlign":49},[46377,46379,46384],{"text":46378,"type":596},"Since then, however, the number of HPAL plants in Indonesia tracked by the ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":46380},[46381],{"type":606,"attrs":46382},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel/reports/",{"text":46385,"type":596}," has proliferated, as Chinese operators have proven next-generation HPAL technology at speed and scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46387,"content":46388},{"textAlign":49},[46389],{"text":46390,"type":596},"The result has been a massive increase in Indonesia’s pipeline supply of nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) by 2030 – the primary feedstock for nickel sulphate production globally – rising 6x from Benchmark’s forecast in late 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":46392,"content":46393},{"textAlign":49},[46394],{"type":836,"attrs":46395},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":46396,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":46397},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfVfIPy0JG3pzdVAqEJFLYqmt8XQOWnQ6lGrU1fdmKGBoU9ssMGZBuMAXgHcpl7DKWlblRkShvgpL1Datfqp1Pu4SykDl3p1llSO9SZnp8YGxSY_WWDsI7e2byW-zBYLMQ2o2A2dHP2-SwfhM2agsoigosW?key=OtwwAZgXcEUPbIwRsUc9_A",{},{"type":591,"attrs":46399,"content":46400},{"textAlign":49},[46401],{"text":46402,"type":596},"“The cancellation of BASF and Eramet’s project demonstrates the pressures faced by HPAL operators today, particularly for those owned by Western companies, both in Indonesia and outside of the region,” said Will Talbot, principal nickel analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":46404,"content":46405},{"textAlign":49},[46406,46408,46414],{"text":46407,"type":596},"The nickel market entered structural oversupply in 2022, due to the rapid supply growth from Indonesia coupled with slower than expected demand growth from the electric vehicle industry. Fueling a ",{"text":46409,"type":596,"marks":46410},"double digit decline in nickel prices",[46411],{"type":606,"attrs":46412},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/portal/?tab=table",{"text":46415,"type":596}," since the start of last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":46417,"content":46418},{"textAlign":49},[46419],{"text":46420,"type":596},"The price downturn has tightened margins across the nickel industry, with Benchmark estimating over 120,000 tonnes of nickel to have come out of the market year-to-date. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46422,"content":46423},{"textAlign":49},[46424],{"text":46425,"type":596},"Current fundamentals are even leading some Chinese-backed projects in Indonesia to be shelved or delayed. China’s Hanrui Cobalt and Huayou Cobalt are amongst those re-evaluate investments in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":46427,"content":46428},{"textAlign":49},[46429],{"text":46430,"type":596},"“Cancellations are creating future risk to the build out of supply necessary to meet future energy transition goals,” Talbot added.",{"type":615,"attrs":46432,"content":46433},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46434],{"text":46435,"type":596},"How did the companies respond?",{"type":591,"attrs":46437,"content":46438},{"textAlign":49},[46439],{"text":46440,"type":596},"In a press release, BASF stated the decision was down to “significant” changes in the global nickel market since the initial announcement to partner with Eramet in December 2020. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46442,"content":46443},{"textAlign":49},[46444],{"text":46445,"type":596},"Indonesia officials had reported the two companies were close to finalising an investment decision in January 2023. Benchmark CIF Asia nickel sulphate prices were just shy of $26,000 per tonne (nickel contained) at the time but have since fallen by over 40%, sitting below incentive levels for many prospective operations backed by Western companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":46447,"content":46448},{"textAlign":49},[46449],{"text":46450,"type":596},"“In particular, the supply options have evolved and with that BASF’s availability of battery grade nickel,” said Anup Kothari, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF.",{"type":591,"attrs":46452,"content":46453},{"textAlign":49},[46454],{"text":46455,"type":596},"“Consequently, BASF no longer sees the need to make such a substantial investment to ensure a resilient metals supply for its battery materials business,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":46457,"content":46458},{"textAlign":49},[46459],{"text":46460,"type":596},"BASF is building out a global cathode footprint, focusing on the expansion of high-nickel cathode capacity across the US, Canada, and Europe. In April 2024, the Germany company revealed that environmental permitting issues at its battery precursor plant in Harjavalta, Finland would delay initial production until 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":46462,"content":46463},{"textAlign":49},[46464],{"text":46465,"type":596},"Eramet, meanwhile, struck a slightly different tone to their German counterpart, leaving the door open to future battery targeted nickel investments in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46467,"content":46468},{"textAlign":49},[46469],{"text":46470,"type":596},"“Eramet remains focused on sustainably optimising the resource potential of Weda Bay mine to supply ore to local nickel producers, while also further investigating opportunities to participate in the nickel electric vehicle battery value chain in Indonesia,” said Geoff Streeton, Eramet’s Chief Development Officer.",{"type":591,"attrs":46472,"content":46473},{"textAlign":49},[46474],{"text":46475,"type":596},"The French mining company currently operates a nickel pig iron facility at the Weda Bay park and associated mining operations in partnership with China’s Tsingshan.","BASF and Eramet have cancelled plans to invest up to $2.6 billion to build a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) operation in Weda Bay, Indonesia. The project, known as Sonic Bay, had been set to become the first, and only nickel plant in Indonesia with 100% Western ownership. First announced in December 2020, the Sonic […]",[46478],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46479},{"job_title":557,"image":46480,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a9ce7615-1fa8-45ad-bf1b-7124c282c330\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[46483,46484,46485,46486,46487],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":13752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":13752,"source":547,"filename":13753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46489,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":13752,"title":13752,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":46491,"uuid":46492,"name":46493,"slug":46494,"full_slug":46495,"content":46496},112469386548475,"1439b3c5-34cd-45bc-aa09-d7e1573f4a89","US EXIM Bank boosts Chile’s cobalt ambitions in effort to build ex-China supply chain","us-exim-bank-boosts-chiles-cobalt-ambitions-in-effort-to-build-ex-china-supply-chain","article/us-exim-bank-boosts-chiles-cobalt-ambitions-in-effort-to-build-ex-china-supply-chain",{"_uid":46497,"date":46498,"tags":46499,"editor":46503,"content":46507,"excerpt":46610,"featured":51,"reporter":46611,"_editable":46615,"component":697,"seo_title":46493,"categories":46616,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46620,"seo_description":46610,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46623},"c8a118d0-2010-4f60-8af4-030dafb24dcf","2024-06-27 00:00",[46500,46501,46502],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[46504],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46505},{"job_title":557,"image":46506,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46508},[46509,46514,46527,46532,46536,46541,46546,46553,46558,46563,46575,46580,46585,46590,46595,46600,46605],{"type":591,"attrs":46510,"content":46511},{"textAlign":49},[46512],{"text":46513,"type":596},"The United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, the official US credit export agency, signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with US-based cobalt aspirant Chilean Cobalt Corp (C3) in June to progress efforts towards on-shoring and friend-shoring US critical mineral supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46515,"content":46516},{"textAlign":49},[46517,46519,46525],{"text":46518,"type":596},"The US is seeking to de-risk cobalt supply from China by building an America-focused supply chain with free trade agreement (FTA) partners. However, as of 2023, over 50% of mined cobalt supply and 80% of refined cobalt production had some involvement from Chinese entities, ",{"text":46520,"type":596,"marks":46521},"according to the Benchmark Cobalt Forecast",[46522],{"type":606,"attrs":46523},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt/reports/",{"text":46526,"type":596},", highlighting the size of the task.",{"type":591,"attrs":46528,"content":46529},{"textAlign":49},[46530],{"text":46531,"type":596},"Under current projections, mined cobalt supply from US and Free Trade Agreement (US+FTA) economies will meet just 9% of US cobalt demand by 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":46533,"content":46534},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46535],{"text":46233,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":46537,"content":46538},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46539],{"text":46540,"type":596},"Chile’s cobalt ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":46542,"content":46543},{"textAlign":49},[46544],{"text":46545,"type":596},"Chile is one of the world’s top mining jurisdictions and supplier of critical minerals for the energy transition, ranking as the number one producer of copper and number two producer of lithium globally. It has FTA with the US, making it a key investment target for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) eligible supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":46547,"content":46548},{"textAlign":49},[46549],{"type":836,"attrs":46550},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":46551,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":46552},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/45a1ce3094/bm-screenshot-2024-06-26-104339.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":46554,"content":46555},{"textAlign":49},[46556],{"text":46557,"type":596},"The South American country does not currently have an active role in the cobalt market. The mining of primary cobalt ore deposits stopped in 1944. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46559,"content":46560},{"textAlign":49},[46561],{"text":46562,"type":596},"However, the Chilean government hopes to establish the country as a top three producer of cobalt, with a study commissioned by Chile’s state development office (Corfo) suggesting that production from tailings could reach 15,000 tonnes per annum.",{"type":591,"attrs":46564,"content":46565},{"textAlign":49},[46566,46568,46573],{"text":46567,"type":596},"Chile has two cobalt operations slated to begin operating this decade, C3’s La Cobaltera and Capstone Mining’s Santo Domingo project. ",{"text":46569,"type":596,"marks":46570},"The Benchmark Cobalt Forecast",[46571],{"type":606,"attrs":46572},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":46574,"type":596}," projects cobalt production in Chile to re-start by 2027, with output forecast to reach up to 6,500 tonnes per annum by 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":46576,"content":46577},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46578],{"text":46579,"type":596},"EXIM steps up support for critical mineral projects",{"type":591,"attrs":46581,"content":46582},{"textAlign":49},[46583],{"text":46584,"type":596},"The agreement is part of EXIM Bank’s China and Transformational Export Program (CTEP), an initiative that aims to assist US companies facing competition from China across a number of strategic sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":46586,"content":46587},{"textAlign":49},[46588],{"text":46589,"type":596},"Once the most prominent global export credit agency, EXIM Bank credit commitments have paled in comparison to those from China in the last 15 years. China’s credit agencies have been utilised as instruments to promote industrial policy and increase strategic influence in emerging markets across the globe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46591,"content":46592},{"textAlign":49},[46593],{"text":46594,"type":596},"According to EXIM’s 2023 annual report, at their 2018 peak, China’s export credit agency support was more than 14 times larger than the bank’s own credit export volumes in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46596,"content":46597},{"textAlign":49},[46598],{"text":46599,"type":596},"However, as the US undertakes a policy of re-industrialisation and critical minerals take on increasing geopolitical importance, EXIM’s role is being revitalised. The agency launched a ‘Make More in America Initiative’ in 2022 to help finance sectors deemed critical to US national security, following the US-government 100-day review of critical supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":46601,"content":46602},{"textAlign":49},[46603],{"text":46604,"type":596},"The bank is also an active participant in the US-led ‘Mineral Security Partnership,’ a collaboration between the US, EU, and 13 other countries to stimulate public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":46606,"content":46607},{"textAlign":49},[46608],{"text":46609,"type":596},"C3 joins a growing list of critical mineral projects to receive financing commitments from EXIM. In March this year, the bank signed a LOI with Australian Strategic Materials for a debt funding package of up to $600 million for the Dubbo rare earths project in New South Wales, Australia.","The United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, the official US credit export agency, signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with US-based cobalt aspirant Chilean Cobalt Corp (C3) in June to progress efforts towards on-shoring and friend-shoring US critical mineral supply chains. The US is seeking to de-risk cobalt supply from China by building an America-focused […]",[46612],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46613},{"job_title":557,"image":46614,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c8a118d0-2010-4f60-8af4-030dafb24dcf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[46617,46618,46619],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":46621,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46622,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/27f185d18b/bm-chile-flags.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 27, 2024",{"id":46625,"uuid":46626,"name":46627,"slug":46628,"full_slug":46629,"content":46630},112469395875069,"7f5a0a0e-7c2a-4f20-9ecc-e12522a1889e","Benchmark acquires Rho Motion and expands energy transition platform ","benchmark-acquires-rho-motion-and-expands-energy-transition-platform","article/benchmark-acquires-rho-motion-and-expands-energy-transition-platform",{"_uid":46631,"date":46632,"tags":46633,"editor":46635,"content":46639,"excerpt":46818,"featured":50,"reporter":46819,"_editable":46823,"component":697,"seo_title":46627,"categories":46824,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46827,"seo_description":46818,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46830},"84f5e64f-a522-4f8e-a99e-3f1a24241d12","2024-06-25 00:00",[46634],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[46636],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46637},{"job_title":557,"image":46638,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46640},[46641,46651,46656,46660,46665,46670,46675,46680,46685,46690,46695,46700,46705,46710,46715,46720,46725,46730,46735,46740,46745,46750,46755,46760,46765,46770,46775,46780,46785,46794,46799,46804,46809],{"type":591,"attrs":46642,"content":46643},{"textAlign":49},[46644,46649],{"text":6576,"type":596,"marks":46645},[46646],{"type":606,"attrs":46647},{"href":46648,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":46650,"type":596}," Limited (“Benchmark”) is excited to announce the successful completion of its first major acquisition, Rho Motion, a leading energy transition data and market intelligence provider. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46652,"content":46653},{"textAlign":49},[46654],{"text":46655,"type":596},"The deal expands Benchmark’s market coverage by providing downstream visibility of electric vehicles (EV), powertrain technology, energy storage systems (ESS), rare earth permanent magnets, EV charging ecosystems, semiconductors and renewable energy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46657,"content":46658},{"textAlign":49},[46659],{"text":11874,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":46661,"content":46662},{"textAlign":49},[46663],{"text":46664,"type":596},"With both companies headquartered in London, the deal positions the UK at the centre of this generational shift from fossil fuels to future-facing, low carbon technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":46666,"content":46667},{"textAlign":49},[46668],{"text":46669,"type":596},"Benchmark is the world’s fastest growing business at scale for lithium, critical minerals and the energy transition. ",{"type":615,"attrs":46671,"content":46672},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46673],{"text":46674,"type":596},"Simon Moores, CEO at Benchmark said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":46676,"content":46677},{"textAlign":49},[46678],{"text":46679,"type":596},"“Where Benchmark’s coverage stops, Rho Motion’s starts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46681,"content":46682},{"textAlign":49},[46683],{"text":46684,"type":596},"“The company that Adam and his team have built over the last six years is something both unique and industry defining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46686,"content":46687},{"textAlign":49},[46688],{"text":46689,"type":596},"“The combination of Rho’s proprietary insights on the entire energy transition ecosystem coupled with Benchmark has a multiplier effect for both customer bases. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46691,"content":46692},{"textAlign":49},[46693],{"text":46694,"type":596},"“This is particularly powerful considering the new and significant investment into our commercial, sales and technology divisions following our minority investment from Spectrum Equity.",{"type":591,"attrs":46696,"content":46697},{"textAlign":49},[46698],{"text":46699,"type":596},"“This acquisition makes our offering completely unique and further reinforces Benchmark’s number one position in the battery, electric vehicle and energy transition market intelligence space.",{"type":591,"attrs":46701,"content":46702},{"textAlign":49},[46703],{"text":46704,"type":596},"“Benchmark is the first major commodity publishing house to scale in a generation.”",{"type":615,"attrs":46706,"content":46707},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46708],{"text":46709,"type":596},"Adam Panayi, Managing Director at Rho Motion said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":46711,"content":46712},{"textAlign":49},[46713],{"text":46714,"type":596},"“It is a great pleasure to be joining forces with Benchmark to form the first dedicated end-to-end data and market intelligence firm covering the energy transition from mine to grid. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46716,"content":46717},{"textAlign":49},[46718],{"text":46719,"type":596},"“The combined expertise of the two companies will provide a complete solution to guide the trillion dollar challenge of building the future energy landscape. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46721,"content":46722},{"textAlign":49},[46723],{"text":46724,"type":596},"“The decision to join Benchmark comes at the end of a long search for a partner who shares our values in terms of company culture and dedication to excellence in the work we produce.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":46726,"content":46727},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46728],{"text":46729,"type":596},"About Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":46731,"content":46732},{"textAlign":49},[46733],{"text":46734,"type":596},"Benchmark enables the most critical decisions of the energy transition through independent prices, data and supply chain intelligence. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46736,"content":46737},{"textAlign":49},[46738],{"text":46739,"type":596},"Benchmark’s clients are major decision makers reaching the highest levels of industry, government and finance across the globe.",{"type":591,"attrs":46741,"content":46742},{"textAlign":49},[46743],{"text":46744,"type":596},"Benchmark sets reference prices for lithium and other key battery raw materials and chemicals, including graphite, anode, nickel, cobalt, rare earths, cathode, PCAM, black mass (battery recycling), and battery cells.",{"type":615,"attrs":46746,"content":46747},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46748],{"text":46749,"type":596},"About Rho Motion: ",{"type":591,"attrs":46751,"content":46752},{"textAlign":49},[46753],{"text":46754,"type":596},"Rho Motion produces the most comprehensive and well-informed forecasts and analysis for the energy transition and electrification megatrend. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46756,"content":46757},{"textAlign":49},[46758],{"text":46759,"type":596},"Rho Motion offers deep insights, through unique datasets and developed industry connections on a global scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":46761,"content":46762},{"textAlign":49},[46763],{"text":46764,"type":596},"Rho Motion’s client base spans the entire electrification ecosystem and our analysis is relied upon by key decision makers in industry, government and finance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46766,"content":46767},{"textAlign":49},[46768],{"text":46769,"type":596},"The company was founded in 2018 by Managing Director Adam Panayi. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46771,"content":46772},{"textAlign":49},[46773],{"text":46774,"type":596},"Media Contact: ",{"type":591,"attrs":46776,"content":46777},{"textAlign":49},[46778],{"text":46779,"type":596},"Louis Spice",{"type":591,"attrs":46781,"content":46782},{"textAlign":49},[46783],{"text":46784,"type":596},"Rho Motion ",{"type":591,"attrs":46786,"content":46787},{"textAlign":49},[46788],{"text":46789,"type":596,"marks":46790},"lspice@rhomotion.com",[46791],{"type":606,"attrs":46792},{"href":46793,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:lspice@rhomotion.com",{"type":591,"attrs":46795,"content":46796},{"textAlign":49},[46797],{"text":46798,"type":596},"+44 20 3988 7648",{"type":591,"attrs":46800,"content":46801},{"textAlign":49},[46802],{"text":46803,"type":596},"Emily Dunn ",{"type":591,"attrs":46805,"content":46806},{"textAlign":49},[46807],{"text":46808,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence ",{"type":591,"attrs":46810,"content":46811},{"textAlign":49},[46812],{"text":46813,"type":596,"marks":46814},"edunn@benchmarkminerals.com",[46815],{"type":606,"attrs":46816},{"href":46817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:edunn@benchmarkminerals.com","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Limited (“Benchmark”) is excited to announce the successful completion of its first major acquisition, Rho Motion, a leading energy transition data and market intelligence provider. The deal expands Benchmark’s market coverage by providing downstream visibility of electric vehicles (EV), powertrain technology, energy storage systems (ESS), rare earth permanent magnets, EV charging ecosystems, […]",[46820],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46821},{"job_title":557,"image":46822,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"84f5e64f-a522-4f8e-a99e-3f1a24241d12\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[46825,46826],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":46828,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46829,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/15da417068/bm-benchmarkxrhomotion-1920x1080-wordpressheader-01.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 25, 2024",{"id":46832,"uuid":46833,"name":46834,"slug":46835,"full_slug":46836,"content":46837},112469391222012,"1907a1f6-17c2-41a5-9953-31f9b4405a05","Asian NCM cell prices fall to lowest levels in over three years","asian-ncm-cell-prices-fall-to-lowest-levels-in-over-three-years","article/asian-ncm-cell-prices-fall-to-lowest-levels-in-over-three-years",{"_uid":46838,"date":46632,"tags":46839,"editor":46843,"content":46847,"excerpt":46951,"featured":51,"reporter":46952,"_editable":46956,"component":697,"seo_title":46834,"categories":46957,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":46961,"seo_description":46951,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":46830},"931777f5-1d6d-4a69-ad62-8090544944b0",[46840,46841,46842],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[46844],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46845},{"job_title":557,"image":46846,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46848},[46849,46854,46859,46864,46875,46885,46890,46895,46900,46905,46916,46921,46926,46936,46941,46946],{"type":591,"attrs":46850,"content":46851},{"textAlign":49},[46852],{"text":46853,"type":596},"Asian nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cell prices fell to their lowest level for the first time in over three years in May, retreating significantly from the peak seen in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":46855,"content":46856},{"textAlign":49},[46857],{"text":46858,"type":596},"A combination of lower critical battery raw material prices, supply glut, a sluggish demand and improving technology has kept a tight lid on NCM prices in the past year, driving them lower.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":46860,"content":46861},{"textAlign":49},[46862],{"text":46863,"type":596},"“Prices for NCM batteries relate to several factors, but principally the decline can be attributed to much lower cobalt pricing now compared with historical trends,” said Evan Hartley, senior analyst at Benchmark, adding that improving technology keeps pushing prices lower as well. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46865,"content":46866},{"textAlign":49},[46867,46869],{"text":46868,"type":596},"The latest average price for Asian NCM 622 prismatic battery cells reached $89.8 per kilowatt hours (kWh) in May, the lowest since Jan 2021 and a decline of 46% from the peak of $166.4 per kWh in March 2022, according to the ",{"text":46870,"type":596,"marks":46871},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment.",[46872],{"type":606,"attrs":46873},{"href":46874,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/chart/",{"type":591,"attrs":46876,"content":46877},{"textAlign":49},[46878,46880,46884],{"text":46879,"type":596},"For Asian NCM 811 prismatic cells, prices reached $84.9 per kWh last month and have declined 42.4% from the peak of $147.5 per kWh in March 2022, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":46881},[46882],{"type":606,"attrs":46883},{"href":46874,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":46886,"content":46887},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46888],{"text":46889,"type":596},"NCM remains chemistry of choice in Western markets",{"type":591,"attrs":46891,"content":46892},{"textAlign":49},[46893],{"text":46894,"type":596},"NCM cells offer longer range, especially for cathodes with higher nickel intensities. While the more affordable lithium ion iron phosphate (LFP) cells have been popular in China, NCM cells have found favour in the European and the US markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":46896,"content":46897},{"textAlign":49},[46898],{"text":46899,"type":596},"“NCM technology remains preferred in North America and Europe, particularly high nickel, but recent NCM projects cancelled in favour of potential LFP facilities may be a sign of turning tides in these regions,” said Hartley.",{"type":591,"attrs":46901,"content":46902},{"textAlign":49},[46903],{"text":46904,"type":596},"LFP cells have grown fast in the past few years largely due to rapid adoption in China as the chemistry of choice. Benchmark however forecasts NCM chemistries to be dominant by the end of the decade, due to growth in Western electric vehicle markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46906,"content":46907},{"textAlign":49},[46908,46910,46914],{"text":46909,"type":596},"Global LFP cell demand has increased from 22% in 2020 to 45% last year, while NCM cell demand share has stayed at 43% during the same period, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":46911},[46912],{"type":606,"attrs":46913},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":46915,"type":596},". Though by the end of the decade, NCM cell demand is forecast to reach 48% while LFP cell demand share is expected to be 45%. ",{"type":615,"attrs":46917,"content":46918},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[46919],{"text":46920,"type":596},"How much have raw material prices for NCM cells changed? ",{"type":591,"attrs":46922,"content":46923},{"textAlign":49},[46924],{"text":46925,"type":596},"Continued declines in cobalt and lithium prices this year have pushed down NCM cell prices lower. Prices for nickel, which are still significantly down from the levels at the start of 2023, have increased so far this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46927,"content":46928},{"textAlign":49},[46929,46931,46935],{"text":46930,"type":596},"Lithium, cobalt and nickel are extensively used in making NCM batteries, and are responsible for about 40% of costs for a typical NCM 622 cell, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":46932},[46933],{"type":606,"attrs":46934},{"href":46874,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":46937,"content":46938},{"textAlign":49},[46939],{"text":46940,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":46942,"content":46943},{"textAlign":49},[46944],{"text":46945,"type":596},"Despite lower cell prices, demand from EV makers for NCM cathodes remains restrained.",{"type":591,"attrs":46947,"content":46948},{"textAlign":49},[46949],{"text":46950,"type":596},"“We have seen a little increase in the purchasing of NCM cathode material by cell producers looking to build inventory whilst the material is cheap, and some increased demand for high end EVs, but the shift towards LFP in China negates any drastic demand improvement based on price,” said Hartley.","Asian nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cell prices fell to their lowest level for the first time in over three years in May, retreating significantly from the peak seen in 2022. A combination of lower critical battery raw material prices, supply glut, a sluggish demand and improving technology has kept a tight lid on NCM […]",[46953],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46954},{"job_title":557,"image":46955,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"931777f5-1d6d-4a69-ad62-8090544944b0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[46958,46959,46960],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":46962,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":46963,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f1ff980e0/bm-bmiprices1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":46965,"uuid":46966,"name":46967,"slug":46968,"full_slug":46969,"content":46970},112469400655102,"4c2dee7c-b4f5-4958-95a8-ab3a2a9526eb","Rise of African rare earths bolsters supply pipeline for China and the West","rise-of-african-rare-earths-bolsters-supply-pipeline-for-china-and-the-west","article/rise-of-african-rare-earths-bolsters-supply-pipeline-for-china-and-the-west",{"_uid":46971,"date":46972,"tags":46973,"editor":46976,"content":46980,"excerpt":47139,"featured":51,"reporter":47140,"_editable":47144,"component":697,"seo_title":46967,"categories":47145,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":47150,"seo_description":47139,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":47153},"37c42db5-5990-4854-9431-370a0ac0819c","2024-06-24 00:00",[46974,46975],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[46977],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":46978},{"job_title":557,"image":46979,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":46981},[46982,46987,46992,46997,47004,47016,47021,47026,47031,47045,47050,47055,47060,47065,47070,47075,47080,47085,47090,47095,47100,47105,47110,47115,47122,47129,47136],{"type":591,"attrs":46983,"content":46984},{"textAlign":49},[46985],{"text":46986,"type":596},"Africa is set to become a major new rare earths ore exporter to Chinese and Western processors, with eight pipeline projects due to go into production across the continent by 2029.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":46988,"content":46989},{"textAlign":49},[46990],{"text":46991,"type":596},"Rare earth’s biggest end use are rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) for wind turbines and EV motors, a supply chain that China dominates.",{"type":591,"attrs":46993,"content":46994},{"textAlign":49},[46995],{"text":46996,"type":596},"Tanzania will become one of China’s fastest-growing sources of imported rare earth ores this decade, despite producing none today. ",{"type":591,"attrs":46998,"content":46999},{"textAlign":49},[47000],{"type":836,"attrs":47001},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47002,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47003},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXenCDqrw0adrYR6rgXMyZXaAg0YfcdTrc7ulKNp0bRuznj-3guLbKEiWJmuM7bmuYVsvnvwpFiqlk13NXmMaHH3gAmeRt7H9K96_rcE6LZ_KldwCXtKoYyw9urT0leuhJB8Y35AKm6cqZvb4CC7mIL5DgEx?key=6FKRf7jgsKg2USpTzru5xA",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47005,"content":47006},{"textAlign":49},[47007,47009,47015],{"text":47008,"type":596},"By 2029, the east African country is expected to send all its rare earths output to Chinese processors, amounting to 10% of China’s imported mined rare earths supply in 2029, according to ",{"text":47010,"type":596,"marks":47011},"Benchmarks Rare Earths Forecast",[47012],{"type":606,"attrs":47013},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/rare-earths/reports/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47017,"content":47018},{"textAlign":49},[47019],{"text":47020,"type":596},"Tanzania’s rise as a producer will mirror broader growth in African rare earths mining. The continent will go from producing no PrNd today to contributing about 9% of global mined supply in 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":47022,"content":47023},{"textAlign":49},[47024],{"text":47025,"type":596},"“African projects have very low CAPEX and OPEX requirements compared to other ex-China projects. Also, government support is there, hence licensing and permits are easier,” said Benchmark senior analyst Neha Mukherjee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47027,"content":47028},{"textAlign":49},[47029],{"text":47030,"type":596},"China will not be the only beneficiary of Africa’s active, low cost pipeline, which will also become strategically valuable for the EU and US.",{"type":591,"attrs":47032,"content":47033},{"textAlign":49},[47034,47036,47038,47043],{"text":47035,"type":596},"African rare earths should become critical to Western rare earths supply chains facing cost challenges in building ex-China mined capacity.",{"text":47037,"type":596},"“The main reasons ex-China struggles to compete with Chinese producers are high operational costs and capital returns, especially in the ",{"text":47039,"type":596,"marks":47040},"low price environments",[47041],{"type":606,"attrs":47042},{"href":45601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":47044,"type":596}," we are seeing today,” said Mukherjee.",{"type":615,"attrs":47046,"content":47047},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47048],{"text":47049,"type":596},"Why does China need rare earth imports? ",{"type":591,"attrs":47051,"content":47052},{"textAlign":49},[47053],{"text":47054,"type":596},"China may be the world’s biggest rare earths miner but the sheer size of its processing industry means it also requires imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":47056,"content":47057},{"textAlign":49},[47058],{"text":47059,"type":596},"Myanmar and Thailand will provide 86% of its imported rare earths in 2024 but China will rapidly diversify over the coming years, something Tanzanian supply will support.",{"type":615,"attrs":47061,"content":47062},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47063],{"text":47064,"type":596},"Which African countries have a rare earth mine pipeline? ",{"type":591,"attrs":47066,"content":47067},{"textAlign":49},[47068],{"text":47069,"type":596},"Tanzania is only one of five African countries that have rare earths projects due to come online by 2029. The others are Angola, South Africa, Malawi, and Uganda.",{"type":591,"attrs":47071,"content":47072},{"textAlign":49},[47073],{"text":47074,"type":596},"Malawi may become Africa’s top rare earths miner by 2029, with Benchmark forecasts indicating 30% of the continent’s supply will come from the country’s two pipeline mines, Songwe Hill and Kagankunde by that year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47076,"content":47077},{"textAlign":49},[47078],{"text":47079,"type":596},"Still, Tanzania could end up taking the top spot once output forecasts for its Wigu Hill project become clearer.",{"type":591,"attrs":47081,"content":47082},{"textAlign":49},[47083],{"text":47084,"type":596},"Angola is expected to contribute 23% to total African PrNd supply in 2029 while South Africa is expected to supply 18%. Uganda is due to contribute 3%.",{"type":615,"attrs":47086,"content":47087},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47088],{"text":47089,"type":596},"Is Africa a China alternative for Western processors?",{"type":591,"attrs":47091,"content":47092},{"textAlign":49},[47093],{"text":47094,"type":596},"All of Tanzania’s rare earth ores are tied up in supply agreements with firms in China but this remains exceptional on the wider continent, with just 37% of total African rare earths ores set to go to Chinese companies in 2029, according to Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":47096,"content":47097},{"textAlign":49},[47098],{"text":47099,"type":596},"This leaves most African rare earth ores potentially available for ex-China and Western rare earths companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":47101,"content":47102},{"textAlign":49},[47103],{"text":47104,"type":596},"“Ex-China pipeline processors are going to absorb the rest of the materials. The highest number of processors being developed outside of China is in Europe,” said Mukherjee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47106,"content":47107},{"textAlign":49},[47108],{"text":47109,"type":596},"All eight projects current in the pipeline in Africa are being developed by companies registered in Western countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47111,"content":47112},{"textAlign":49},[47113],{"text":47114,"type":596},"Yet for some of these miners, Western processing capacity is not expanding quickly enough and continue to rely on Chinese customers for offtakes that will secure project viability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47116,"content":47117},{"textAlign":49},[47118],{"text":47119,"type":596,"marks":47120},"Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast examines supply, demand, prices and costs for rare earth elements out to 2040 updated on a quarterly basis.",[47121],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47123,"content":47124},{"textAlign":49},[47125],{"text":47126,"type":596,"marks":47127},"It forms part of our wider rare earths market intelligence alongside our Rare Earths Price Assessment and ESG Report.",[47128],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47130,"content":47131},{"textAlign":49},[47132],{"text":47133,"type":596,"marks":47134},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Rare Earths coverage, please provide your details below and our team will contact you shortly.",[47135],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47137,"content":47138},{"textAlign":49},[],"Africa is set to become a major new rare earths ore exporter to Chinese and Western processors, with eight pipeline projects due to go into production across the continent by 2029. Rare earth’s biggest end use are rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) for wind turbines and EV motors, a supply chain that China dominates. Tanzania […]",[47141],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47142},{"job_title":557,"image":47143,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"37c42db5-5990-4854-9431-370a0ac0819c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[47146,47147,47148,47149],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":47151,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":47152,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae726ad7b7/bm-shutterstock-2352130007.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 24, 2024",{"id":47155,"uuid":47156,"name":47157,"slug":47158,"full_slug":47159,"content":47160},112469405615359,"06f20236-d7bb-4844-b0bc-f340b3f0a06a","Four key insights from Benchmark’s World Lithium Congress","four-key-insights-from-benchmarks-global-lithium-congress","article/four-key-insights-from-benchmarks-global-lithium-congress",{"_uid":47161,"date":47162,"tags":47163,"editor":47168,"content":47172,"excerpt":47449,"featured":51,"reporter":47450,"_editable":47454,"component":697,"seo_title":47157,"categories":47455,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":47459,"seo_description":47449,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":47462},"370d2f2e-70ff-4e1e-91a1-4bb2bb70dd26","2024-06-21 00:00",[47164,47167],{"slug":47165,"name":47166},"battery-gigafactories-usa-2024","Battery Gigafactories USA 2024",{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[47169],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47170},{"job_title":557,"image":47171,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":47173},[47174,47187,47192,47203,47208,47215,47220,47225,47230,47243,47248,47267,47280,47288,47310,47315,47320,47333,47340,47345,47350,47357,47362,47367,47372,47385,47390,47395,47402,47407,47428,47433,47444],{"type":591,"attrs":47175,"content":47176},{"textAlign":49},[47177,47179,47185],{"text":47178,"type":596},"Benchmark hosted the first World Lithium Congress on the final day of its ",{"text":47180,"type":596,"marks":47181},"Giga USA 2024",[47182],{"type":606,"attrs":47183},{"href":47184,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/giga-usa-2024-takeaways-policy-and-politics-drive-us-battery-ambitions",{"text":47186,"type":596}," conference in Washington DC. Here, Source outlines the key takeaways.",{"type":615,"attrs":47188,"content":47189},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47190],{"text":47191,"type":596},"1. Lithium industry scaleup needed to meet battery demands",{"type":591,"attrs":47193,"content":47194},{"textAlign":49},[47195,47197,47202],{"text":47196,"type":596},"All critical minerals in the battery supply chain require significant scale-up to meet the 8.4 terawatt-hours of battery demand forecasted for 2040 by ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":47198},[47199],{"type":606,"attrs":47200},{"href":47201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium-ion-batteries/reports",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47204,"content":47205},{"textAlign":49},[47206],{"text":47207,"type":596},"But of these minerals, lithium is the common factor for all lithium ion battery technologies, making it the key limiting factor. By 2040, 5.6 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalents will be required, up from 1.2 million tonnes in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":47209,"content":47210},{"textAlign":49},[47211],{"type":836,"attrs":47212},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47213,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47214},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0abd7b4c36/bm-andy-congress.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47216,"content":47217},{"textAlign":49},[47218],{"text":47219,"type":596},"Benchmark COO Andy Miller delivers the opening address at Benchmark’s World Lithium Congress",{"type":591,"attrs":47221,"content":47222},{"textAlign":49},[47223],{"text":47224,"type":596},"“Lithium remains the most critical of the minerals,” Andrew Miller, Benchmark’s chief operating officer, said at the opening of Benchmark’s World Lithium Congress last week. “The ability to scale lithium will ultimately dictate the ability to deliver a clean energy economy.”",{"type":615,"attrs":47226,"content":47227},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47228],{"text":47229,"type":596},"2. Lithium is global, but China is central",{"type":591,"attrs":47231,"content":47232},{"textAlign":49},[47233,47235,47241],{"text":47234,"type":596},"The geopolitics of the global lithium supply chain will be key in shaping the industry over the next decade. This year will see ",{"text":47236,"type":596,"marks":47237},"elections take place in over 60 countries",[47238],{"type":606,"attrs":47239},{"href":47240,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-the-battery-industry-could-be-impacted-by-elections-this-year",{"text":47242,"type":596},", with at least 16 of these with lithium projects either in operation or in development.",{"type":591,"attrs":47244,"content":47245},{"textAlign":49},[47246],{"text":47247,"type":596},"“The results of those elections, how they play out over the months to come will shape, in many cases, how quickly some of those assets can either be brought to fruition or be scaled over the coming months and years,” Miller said.",{"type":591,"attrs":47249,"content":47250},{"textAlign":49},[47251,47253,47259,47260,47265],{"text":47252,"type":596},"Globally, China has been active in developing mining projects around the world, through schemes such as the Belt and Road Initiative. This has led ",{"text":47254,"type":596,"marks":47255},"Chinese companies to be associated with 59% of last year’s mined lithium supply",[47256],{"type":606,"attrs":47257},{"href":47258,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-control-do-chinese-companies-have-over-global-lithium-production",{"text":10572,"type":596},{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":47261},[47262],{"type":606,"attrs":47263},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/reports",{"text":47266,"type":596},". This is despite the relatively low amount of domestic mining, which accounted for 20% of global production last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":47268,"content":47269},{"textAlign":49},[47270,47272,47278],{"text":47271,"type":596},"China’s domestic lithium mining is, however, on the up, especially in terms of mica sources towards the ",{"text":47273,"type":596,"marks":47274},"right of the cost curve",[47275],{"type":606,"attrs":47276},{"href":47277,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-growing-role-of-chinese-mica-in-the-lithium-market",{"text":47279,"type":596},". Although more expensive than other sources of lithium, such supply can be ramped up and down according to price dynamics, making it an important swing factor to be considered.",{"type":591,"attrs":47281,"content":47282},{"textAlign":49},[47283],{"type":836,"attrs":47284},{"id":49,"alt":47285,"src":47286,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47287},"Chart titled China's outsized investment in lithium mining","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/68ed78da25/bm-china-operation-vs-ownership-lithium.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47289,"content":47290},{"textAlign":49},[47291,47296,47298,47303,47304,47308],{"text":4624,"type":596,"marks":47292},[47293],{"type":606,"attrs":47294},{"href":47295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/chile?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags[]=chile",{"text":47297,"type":596},", one of the largest lithium mining jurisdictions in the world, currently only has two companies–",{"text":47299,"type":596,"marks":47300},"SQM",[47301],{"type":606,"attrs":47302},{"href":18507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":23049,"type":596,"marks":47305},[47306],{"type":606,"attrs":47307},{"href":36406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":47309,"type":596},"–exploiting its lithium resources. It hopes to attract both domestic and international investment to strengthen its position whilst the State maintains some ownership of projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":47311,"content":47312},{"textAlign":49},[47313],{"text":47314,"type":596},"“Chile aims to develop a sustainable industry with the development of value added products in harmony with local communities and with public private partnerships,” Juan Gabriel Valdés, ambassador of Chile to the US, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":47316,"content":47317},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47318],{"text":47319,"type":596},"3. Lithium price volatility makes investment challenging",{"type":591,"attrs":47321,"content":47322},{"textAlign":49},[47323,47325,47331],{"text":47324,"type":596},"Compared to commodities such as iron ore and copper, lithium is a small, specialist market. That brings a greater level of ",{"text":47326,"type":596,"marks":47327},"volatility to the price environment",[47328],{"type":606,"attrs":47329},{"href":47330,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-raw-material-price-declines-add-to-long-term-supply-risks",{"text":47332,"type":596},", which makes investing in long term projects challenging.",{"type":591,"attrs":47334,"content":47335},{"textAlign":49},[47336],{"type":836,"attrs":47337},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47338,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47339},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d961f3e285/bm-screenshot-2024-06-19-161722.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47341,"content":47342},{"textAlign":49},[47343],{"text":47344,"type":596},"“Whilst price volatility is a given in our supply chain, the degree of volatility and exaggerated volatility–driven by excess weight being given to sentiment–is a major hurdle for existing participants and for aspirants,” Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, director of prices and data at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47346,"content":47347},{"textAlign":49},[47348],{"text":47349,"type":596},"Anthony Tse, founder of NEO Capital, agreed, saying, “When it’s volatile, it leads to investors and financiers applying much more rigour in terms of their risk analysis.”",{"type":591,"attrs":47351,"content":47352},{"textAlign":49},[47353],{"type":836,"attrs":47354},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47355,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47356},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/80ab143c2d/bm-anthony.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47358,"content":47359},{"textAlign":49},[47360],{"text":47361,"type":596},"Anthony Tse and Bart Thanhauser give their views on a panel with Benchmark’s Adam Megginson at the World Lithium Congress",{"type":591,"attrs":47363,"content":47364},{"textAlign":49},[47365],{"text":47366,"type":596},"A potential approach that Western players could take to this price volatility is vertical integration. This would allow the volatility to be smoothed out as companies are able to better absorb price changes internally.",{"type":615,"attrs":47368,"content":47369},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47370],{"text":47371,"type":596},"4. ESG compliance is crucial but requires changes to markets",{"type":591,"attrs":47373,"content":47374},{"textAlign":49},[47375,47377,47383],{"text":47376,"type":596},"There is an emerging split in the lithium, and other critical mineral, markets between supply that has strong compliance with ",{"text":47378,"type":596,"marks":47379},"environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards",[47380],{"type":606,"attrs":47381},{"href":47382,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/over-40-of-2024-lithium-feedstock-to-come-from-companies-with-industry-leading-scores-for-esg",{"text":47384,"type":596}," and that which does not.",{"type":591,"attrs":47386,"content":47387},{"textAlign":49},[47388],{"text":47389,"type":596},"Generally, compliance results in higher costs, but the global markets are not set up to account for this.",{"type":591,"attrs":47391,"content":47392},{"textAlign":49},[47393],{"text":47394,"type":596},"“What we see with critical minerals markets at present is troubling for energy security and troubling for the green transition,” Hon Dr Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the US, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":47396,"content":47397},{"textAlign":49},[47398],{"type":836,"attrs":47399},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47400,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47401},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8e075a59a8/bm-rudd-and-daniel.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47403,"content":47404},{"textAlign":49},[47405],{"text":47406,"type":596},"Hon Dr Kevin Rudd speaks to Benchmark’s Daniel Fletcher-Manuel at the World Lithium Congress",{"type":591,"attrs":47408,"content":47409},{"textAlign":49},[47410,47412,47418,47420,47426],{"text":47411,"type":596},"Rudd proposes that ",{"text":47413,"type":596,"marks":47414},"ESG considerations",[47415],{"type":606,"attrs":47416},{"href":47417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/all-chilean-lithium-rated-to-worlds-most-rigorous-standard",{"text":47419,"type":596}," should be built into ",{"text":47421,"type":596,"marks":47422},"international trading markets",[47423],{"type":606,"attrs":47424},{"href":47425,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/sustainable-lithium-prices-economics-and-availability",{"text":47427,"type":596}," that account for better compliance with ESG standards.",{"type":591,"attrs":47429,"content":47430},{"textAlign":49},[47431],{"text":47432,"type":596},"“We need to reward sellers that invest in improving quality and sustainability of critical minerals,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":47434,"content":47435},{"textAlign":49},[47436,47437,47442],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":47438},[47439],{"type":606,"attrs":47440},{"href":47441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-has-created-a-race-to-the-top-qa-with-ruth-gratzke-of-siemens",{"text":47443,"type":596}," (IRA) in the US naturally lends itself to requiring OEMs to source critical raw materials and components from suppliers with strong ESG credentials, as free trade agreement countries generally have higher ESG standards.",{"type":591,"attrs":47445,"content":47446},{"textAlign":49},[47447],{"text":47448,"type":596},"“What we do see happening is a real conflation of the IRA supply chain with those high ESG standards,” Fletcher-Manuel said. “It implies that you will be exposing your supply chains to more ESG friendly material.”","Benchmark hosted the first World Lithium Congress on the final day of its Giga USA 2024 conference in Washington DC. Here, Source outlines the key takeaways. 1. Lithium industry scaleup needed to meet battery demands All critical minerals in the battery supply chain require significant scale-up to meet the 8.4 terawatt-hours of battery demand forecasted […]",[47451],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47452},{"job_title":557,"image":47453,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"370d2f2e-70ff-4e1e-91a1-4bb2bb70dd26\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[47456,47457,47458],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":47460,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":47461,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7fa97cfa59/bm-rudd-1-1319767b016d.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 21, 2024",{"id":47464,"uuid":47465,"name":47466,"slug":47467,"full_slug":47468,"content":47469},112469420049666,"ef58b587-72eb-4a1d-87e5-3e85bdf64de4","How will Indonesia’s mining quotas affect the nickel market?","how-will-indonesias-mining-quotas-affect-the-nickel-market","article/how-will-indonesias-mining-quotas-affect-the-nickel-market",{"_uid":47470,"date":47471,"tags":47472,"editor":47474,"content":47478,"excerpt":47646,"featured":51,"reporter":47647,"_editable":47651,"component":697,"seo_title":47466,"categories":47652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":47655,"seo_description":47646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":47658},"50fbba5e-a1eb-4e1c-89f3-153071cb08c2","2024-06-18 00:00",[47473],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[47475],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47476},{"job_title":557,"image":47477,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":47479},[47480,47485,47496,47507,47512,47517,47522,47527,47534,47539,47544,47555,47560,47565,47570,47575,47580,47585,47590,47595,47600,47605,47620,47625,47630,47635],{"type":591,"attrs":47481,"content":47482},{"textAlign":49},[47483],{"text":47484,"type":596},"Indonesia issued long-awaited nickel mining quotas last week, equating to around 240 million tonnes of nickel ore per annum over the next three years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47486,"content":47487},{"textAlign":49},[47488,47490,47495],{"text":47489,"type":596},"The delayed approval of the permits, known as RKAB, stemmed from changes to their validity from one year to three years; designed to address fears of premature resource depletion. The ",{"text":47491,"type":596,"marks":47492},"recent Indonesian election further compounded delays",[47493],{"type":606,"attrs":47494},{"href":13670,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47497,"content":47498},{"textAlign":49},[47499,47501,47505],{"text":47500,"type":596},"Indonesia’s refined nickel output jumped by more than 32% in 2023, according to the ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":47502},[47503],{"type":606,"attrs":47504},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":47506,"type":596},", leading to overcapacity concerns as the nickel market surplus widened to over 200,000 tonnes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47508,"content":47509},{"textAlign":49},[47510],{"text":47511,"type":596},"“Mining quota delays have created a supply bottleneck in Indonesia,” said Jorge Uzcategui, nickel analyst at Benchmark.“Non-vertically integrated smelters have been struggling to secure sufficient ore volumes to keep their operations running at capacity so far this year.”",{"type":615,"attrs":47513,"content":47514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47515],{"text":47516,"type":596},"Why has Indonesia imported nickel from the Philippines?",{"type":591,"attrs":47518,"content":47519},{"textAlign":49},[47520],{"text":47521,"type":596},"Amidst a squeeze on domestic ore supply, Indonesia’s nickel smelters have increasingly turned to neighbouring Philippines to secure feedstock to meet demand requirements in recent months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47523,"content":47524},{"textAlign":49},[47525],{"text":47526,"type":596},"Trade data shows that nickel ore exports from the Philippines to Indonesia reached record levels in April, and were 31% higher in the first four months of 2024 than full-year 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":47528,"content":47529},{"textAlign":49},[47530],{"type":836,"attrs":47531},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47532,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47533},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdygmaFIxxnxUhpC4jJmUjvtm4pi7E8E-7DFaeB_KldnBrv0ezGq3ivee0KijTDkD89_FGH84Yb1yjIbB6xoqrMkn73ytz5OIgMejHOgEcj9fHQz8b5Ld4G5P8KmWeiRojZDtzmTPZgmiXtg8YEuHOWeV0?key=ygGFYTNRc4DZanzzuYrbTw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47535,"content":47536},{"textAlign":49},[47537],{"text":47538,"type":596},"“A mix of factors have led refiners to import ore from the Philippines,” said Uzcategui. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47540,"content":47541},{"textAlign":49},[47542],{"text":47543,"type":596},"“These include ore stockpiles running low for smelters, tightness in freshly mined ore due to the slowdown in permitting of new mining quotas, and uncertainty of how much and when the government would approve the new quotas being some of the main ones.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":47545,"content":47546},{"textAlign":49},[47547,47549],{"text":47548,"type":596},"The squeeze on supplies helped to drive nickel ore prices up by 10% in May, ",{"text":47550,"type":596,"marks":47551},"according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment. ",[47552],{"type":606,"attrs":47553},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/portal/",{"type":615,"attrs":47556,"content":47557},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47558],{"text":47559,"type":596},"Will the quota be sufficient to meet domestic demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":47561,"content":47562},{"textAlign":49},[47563],{"text":47564,"type":596},"The approval of mining permits will come as a relief to domestic smelters; high ore prices have squeezed margins during a period of low nickel prices in the first half of 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":47566,"content":47567},{"textAlign":49},[47568],{"text":47569,"type":596},"To determine whether the mining quotas will be sufficient to meet demand from domestic smelters, Benchmark has conducted scenario-based analysis that includes a number of assumptions around nickel ore grades, refined nickel output by product, and yield loss.",{"type":591,"attrs":47571,"content":47572},{"textAlign":49},[47573],{"text":47574,"type":596},"The analysis indicates that, in the majority of scenarios, the mining quota should be sufficient to meet projected demand from Indonesia’s refined nickel production in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":47576,"content":47577},{"textAlign":49},[47578],{"text":47579,"type":596},"“Only if average saprolite grades were to fall below 1.7% and limonite below 0.7%, would additional ore likely be required,” added Uzcategui.",{"type":615,"attrs":47581,"content":47582},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47583],{"text":47584,"type":596},"Why is Indonesia focusing on HPAL?",{"type":591,"attrs":47586,"content":47587},{"textAlign":49},[47588],{"text":47589,"type":596},"The delay in issuing new mining permits is part of a wider strategy to clampdown on low-grade nickel production in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47591,"content":47592},{"textAlign":49},[47593],{"text":47594,"type":596},"The Indonesian government is evaluating the potential termination of permits for rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) smelters, used to make low-grade nickel products for the stainless steel industry, Reuters reported. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47596,"content":47597},{"textAlign":49},[47598],{"text":47599,"type":596},"RKEF smelters require higher grade saprolite ore to feed their operations, reserves of which are at risk of depleting before the end of the decade. In contrast, high pressure acid leach (HPAL) operations utilise more abundant, and lower-grade limonite ore. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47601,"content":47602},{"textAlign":49},[47603],{"text":47604,"type":596},"Indonesia wants to attract more value-added investment from the battery industry,  capitalising on its vast nickel reserves to build out an end-to-end battery supply chain and cement its position at the heart of the lithium ion economy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47606,"content":47607},{"textAlign":49},[47608,47612,47617],{"text":47609,"type":596,"marks":47610},"Watch Benchmark analyst Jorge Uzcategui discuss Indonesia’s nickel market dominance. View more analyst insight videos ",[47611],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":47613},[47614,47616],{"type":606,"attrs":47615},{"href":42448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":47618},[47619],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47621,"content":47622},{"textAlign":49},[47623],{"text":47624,"type":596},"RKEF smelters can be upgraded to produce nickel-matte targeted for the battery industry, however the pyrometallurgical process is several times more carbon intensive than HPAL.",{"type":591,"attrs":47626,"content":47627},{"textAlign":49},[47628],{"text":47629,"type":596},"“The push towards more HPAL plants is because of the environmental and social governance concerns connected to pyrometallurgical smelters alongside depleting saprolite reserves,” Uzcategui said.",{"type":591,"attrs":47631,"content":47632},{"textAlign":49},[47633],{"text":47634,"type":596},"While Indonesia has attracted billions of dollars of mining investments to supply nickel to the battery industry, large-scale commitments for downstream projects have been slower to materialise. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47636,"content":47637},{"textAlign":49},[47638,47640],{"text":47639,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution and Hyundai are slated to begin cell production at a 20 GWh facility in Karawang late this year, to date Indonesia’s only planned battery gigafactory, according to the",{"text":47641,"type":596,"marks":47642}," Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment.",[47643],{"type":606,"attrs":47644},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment/capacities/","Indonesia issued long-awaited nickel mining quotas last week, equating to around 240 million tonnes of nickel ore per annum over the next three years. The delayed approval of the permits, known as RKAB, stemmed from changes to their validity from one year to three years; designed to address fears of premature resource depletion. The recent […]",[47648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47649},{"job_title":557,"image":47650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"50fbba5e-a1eb-4e1c-89f3-153071cb08c2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[47653,47654],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":47656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":47657,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3c57fd2cb5/bm-nickel-ore-indonesia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 18, 2024",{"id":47660,"uuid":47661,"name":47662,"slug":47663,"full_slug":47664,"content":47665},112469424854275,"4404deda-df81-443d-8bf5-b5056b7960a5","Rare earth prices rise for the first time in 2024 as sentiment runs ahead of fundamentals","rare-earth-prices-rise-for-the-first-time-in-2024-as-sentiment-runs-ahead-of-fundamentals","article/rare-earth-prices-rise-for-the-first-time-in-2024-as-sentiment-runs-ahead-of-fundamentals",{"_uid":47666,"date":47667,"tags":47668,"editor":47671,"content":47675,"excerpt":47872,"featured":51,"reporter":47873,"_editable":47877,"component":697,"seo_title":47878,"categories":47879,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":47883,"featured_image":47885,"seo_description":47681,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":47887},"e52f9f70-a74c-4e08-bcb8-90a34debc917","2024-06-17 00:00",[47669,47670],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":20553,"name":20554},[47672],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47673},{"job_title":557,"image":47674,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":47676},[47677,47682,47687,47698,47708,47713,47718,47723,47728,47733,47738,47743,47756,47761,47766,47771,47776,47781,47786,47791,47796,47801,47806,47811,47823,47837,47858],{"type":591,"attrs":47678,"content":47679},{"textAlign":49},[47680],{"text":47681,"type":596},"Chinese market sentiment in early May overestimated consumer demand for rare earths oxides, resulting in the first price increases for rare earths dysprosium (Dy) and praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) oxide this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47683,"content":47684},{"textAlign":49},[47685],{"text":47686,"type":596},"“This was the first time rare earths prices had recovered after a continuous decline last year, but after a brief recovery, prices are now falling again,” said Benchmark pricing and data analyst George Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":47688,"content":47689},{"textAlign":49},[47690,47692,47697],{"text":47691,"type":596},"Dysprosium oxide went up 10% month-on-month, finishing May at RMB 2,175,000 ($300,150) per tonne, according to ",{"text":41466,"type":596,"marks":47693},[47694],{"type":606,"attrs":47695},{"href":47696,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/rare-earths/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47699,"content":47700},{"textAlign":49},[47701,47703,47707],{"text":47702,"type":596},"The spike in market sentiment produced a less exaggerated price effect on PrNd oxide, a larger market, which went up 0.6% on April to hit RMB 391,500 ($54,027) per tonne, according to ",{"text":41466,"type":596,"marks":47704},[47705],{"type":606,"attrs":47706},{"href":47696,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47709,"content":47710},{"textAlign":49},[47711],{"text":47712,"type":596},"Chinese state-owned China Northern was one of those that contributed to the positive sentiment in early May by setting PrNd oxide prices high in anticipation of high demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47714,"content":47715},{"textAlign":49},[47716],{"text":47717,"type":596},"Prices fell in the latter half as orders failed to materialise at levels initially expected and are not expected to increase further in the near-term since the market is well-supplied.",{"type":591,"attrs":47719,"content":47720},{"textAlign":49},[47721],{"text":47722,"type":596},"Rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) are the biggest end use for rare earth oxides such as PrNd and are used mainly in wind turbines and EV motors as well as consumer goods. ",{"type":615,"attrs":47724,"content":47725},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47726],{"text":47727,"type":596},"How long have rare earths prices been low and what impact is this having? ",{"type":591,"attrs":47729,"content":47730},{"textAlign":49},[47731],{"text":47732,"type":596},"PrNd ores and oxide prices have plummeted since hitting near-record highs in 2022, when Chinese production increases coincided with weakening growth in demand for REPMs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47734,"content":47735},{"textAlign":49},[47736],{"text":47737,"type":596},"Low prices have geopolitical consequences. Western governments rely on a handful of home producers to build capacity and reduce reliance on China for its REPMs and REPM inputs.",{"type":591,"attrs":47739,"content":47740},{"textAlign":49},[47741],{"text":47742,"type":596},"Yet prices are far below levels that would incentivise capacity investment at most ex-China producers, including Lynas and MP Materials, the only major rare earths miner-processors in the Western world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47744,"content":47745},{"textAlign":49},[47746,47748,47754],{"text":47747,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the Chinese players that dominate the global markets remain resilient. China is set to produce 84% of global PrNd oxide supply in 2024, ",{"text":47749,"type":596,"marks":47750},"according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast",[47751],{"type":606,"attrs":47752},{"href":47753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/rare-earths/portal/?tab=table",{"text":47755,"type":596},", and has a near-monopoly on REPM production.",{"type":615,"attrs":47757,"content":47758},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47759],{"text":47760,"type":596},"What are rare earths price trends like now compared to last year?",{"type":591,"attrs":47762,"content":47763},{"textAlign":49},[47764],{"text":47765,"type":596},"PrNd prices displayed a slower rate of decline over March and April 2024 compared to the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, raising hopes of market strengthening. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47767,"content":47768},{"textAlign":49},[47769],{"text":47770,"type":596},"However, demand would have to go up quicker and more consistently for ex-China producers to benefit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47772,"content":47773},{"textAlign":49},[47774],{"text":47775,"type":596},"“After a large decrease at the very beginning of 2024, prices are yet to bounce back to support the margins of Western producers,” said Ingall.",{"type":615,"attrs":47777,"content":47778},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47779],{"text":47780,"type":596},"Why are low prices hurting Western producers more than Chinese ones? ",{"type":591,"attrs":47782,"content":47783},{"textAlign":49},[47784],{"text":47785,"type":596},"Western producers tend to be smaller and younger and therefore more likely to be in the capital-intensive stages of their careers. Operating in liberal market economies, they also need high prices to attract investors and support expansions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47787,"content":47788},{"textAlign":49},[47789],{"text":47790,"type":596},"By contrast, China’s industry has larger, state-owned players that enjoy cost-lowering economies of scale as well as policies that buffer them from price volatility. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47792,"content":47793},{"textAlign":49},[47794],{"text":47795,"type":596},"“Through state policy support, China is able to produce REPMs from concentrate that exceed quality in the West at an artificially low price,” Ingall said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47797,"content":47798},{"textAlign":49},[47799],{"text":47800,"type":596},"Their large global market share also means influence over price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47802,"content":47803},{"textAlign":49},[47804],{"text":47805,"type":596},"“By flooding the market with this low cost concentrate, China is looking to disincentivise ex-China aspirants from entering the market,” said Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":47807,"content":47808},{"textAlign":49},[47809],{"text":47810,"type":596},"Western governments have recently moved to support REPM and rare earths producers, such as the recently announced 25% import tariff on Chinese REPMs from 2026. Nonetheless, measures like this will not substitute entirely for stronger prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":47812,"content":47813},{"textAlign":49},[47814,47816,47821],{"text":47815,"type":596},"Almost ",{"text":47817,"type":596,"marks":47818},"all ex-China pipeline PrNd capacity",[47819],{"type":606,"attrs":47820},{"href":17325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":47822,"type":596}," needs prices above current levels to achieve a 15% profit margin or higher, according to Benchmark data. A further 27% would need prices to reach over twice what they are today.",{"type":591,"attrs":47824,"content":47825},{"textAlign":49},[47826,47830,47833],{"text":47827,"type":596,"marks":47828},"Benchmark’s new ",[47829],{"type":1006},{"text":30167,"type":596,"marks":47831},[47832],{"type":1006},{"text":47834,"type":596,"marks":47835}," provides price transparency for four rare earth elements along with market analysis every month.",[47836],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47838,"content":47839},{"textAlign":49},[47840,47844,47848,47851,47855],{"text":47841,"type":596,"marks":47842},"It further expands our coverage of the rare earths market alongside our ",[47843],{"type":1006},{"text":47845,"type":596,"marks":47846},"Rare Earths Forecast",[47847],{"type":1006},{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":47849},[47850],{"type":1006},{"text":47852,"type":596,"marks":47853},"ESG Report",[47854],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":47856},[47857],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":47859,"content":47860},{"textAlign":49},[47861,47865,47868],{"text":47862,"type":596,"marks":47863},"To request a sample report and learn more about our new ",[47864],{"type":1006},{"text":30167,"type":596,"marks":47866},[47867],{"type":1006},{"text":47869,"type":596,"marks":47870}," coverage, please provide your details and our team will contact you shortly.",[47871],{"type":1006},"Chinese market sentiment in early May overestimated consumer demand for rare earths oxides, resulting in the first price increases for rare earths dysprosium (Dy) and praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) oxide this year. “This was the first time rare earths prices had recovered after a continuous decline last year, but after a brief recovery, prices are now […]",[47874],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47875},{"job_title":557,"image":47876,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e52f9f70-a74c-4e08-bcb8-90a34debc917\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Rare earth prices rise for the first time in 2024",[47880,47881,47882],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":47884},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":7052,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":47886,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 17, 2024",{"id":47889,"uuid":47890,"name":47891,"slug":47892,"full_slug":47893,"content":47894},112469429585156,"f0e4a885-eab4-48d7-8bcb-79f85545c5e5","Senator Manchin commits to tackling US permitting reform for critical minerals projects ","senator-manchin-commits-to-tackling-us-permitting-reform-for-critical-minerals-projects","article/senator-manchin-commits-to-tackling-us-permitting-reform-for-critical-minerals-projects",{"_uid":47895,"date":47896,"tags":47897,"editor":47903,"content":47907,"excerpt":48051,"featured":51,"reporter":48052,"_editable":48056,"component":697,"seo_title":47891,"categories":48057,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":48067,"seo_description":48051,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":48070},"58291144-cd4d-4986-b977-17863718a2fc","2024-06-14 00:00",[47898,47899,47900,47901,47902],{"slug":47165,"name":47166},{"slug":39138,"name":39139},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[47904],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":47905},{"job_title":557,"image":47906,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":47908},[47909,47914,47919,47924,47929,47942,47953,47958,47965,47970,47975,47980,47993,47998,48031,48036,48041,48046],{"type":591,"attrs":47910,"content":47911},{"textAlign":49},[47912],{"text":47913,"type":596},"US Senator Joe Manchin said he is “ready to go” on permitting reform for mining and infrastructure projects during a keynote on the second day of Benchmark’s Giga USA event in Washington DC.",{"type":591,"attrs":47915,"content":47916},{"textAlign":49},[47917],{"text":47918,"type":596},"“We’ve got a bill written,” said Manchin, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m working with my Republican colleagues and hopefully we will be able to show you a complete bill that does an awful lot of good things that’s going to continue to help.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":47920,"content":47921},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47922],{"text":47923,"type":596},"Permitting reform top of the agenda",{"type":591,"attrs":47925,"content":47926},{"textAlign":49},[47927],{"text":47928,"type":596},"Manchin identified permitting as a key bottleneck to upscaling the supply of domestic critical minerals, suggesting that reforms were necessary to ensure projects do not get caught up in “judicial hell holes.”",{"type":591,"attrs":47930,"content":47931},{"textAlign":49},[47932,47934,47940],{"text":47933,"type":596},"Manchin’s sentiments echoed comments made the previous day by representatives of leading mining companies, who identified ",{"text":47935,"type":596,"marks":47936},"the permitting process",[47937],{"type":606,"attrs":47938},{"href":47939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/government-private-sector-cooperation-key-to-critical-mineral-security-ex-uk-deputy-prime-minister-tells-giga-usa",{"text":47941,"type":596}," as the biggest hurdle for capital deployment in new North American mining projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":47943,"content":47944},{"textAlign":49},[47945,47947,47952],{"text":47946,"type":596},"The US has attracted billions of dollars in downstream battery investment since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. ",{"text":47948,"type":596,"marks":47949},"The pipeline of US gigafactory capacity now stands at over 1,200 gigawatt hours by 2030",[47950],{"type":606,"attrs":47951},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":47954,"content":47955},{"textAlign":49},[47956],{"text":47957,"type":596},"However, investment in new mines has been less forthcoming due to high capital cost and long lead times for projects in North America. Benchmark gap analysis has identified domestically sourced critical minerals as a key constraint for on-shoring the lithium ion battery supply chain in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":47959,"content":47960},{"textAlign":49},[47961],{"type":836,"attrs":47962},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":47963,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":47964},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfM2G_QPs-jYKPCmuNNmgJtyQ7ueymibe_K0NnoAHh0AbQVZV24Au-3qAKQI8tMyrA4Dg0Hen0B37MXng0OUkLZNhoNmTY7VBFjuPeqMZgIyvp285e74JpApIcVcp4VT7xgGwq8mBf0Yjl_tdYMtCENwY6c?key=v9pjVG8doz81sYV2g5KSPw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":47966,"content":47967},{"textAlign":49},[47968],{"text":47969,"type":596},"To bridge this gap, mining companies are urging Washington to speed up the permitting process and provide more clarity on how permits are rubber-stamped, rather than relaxing environmental standards.",{"type":615,"attrs":47971,"content":47972},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[47973],{"text":47974,"type":596},"Loan Programs Office offers lifeline to new projects",{"type":591,"attrs":47976,"content":47977},{"textAlign":49},[47978],{"text":47979,"type":596},"Although the permitting process has constrained investment from larger mining houses in the US, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) is proving a vital source of funding to get prospective critical mineral projects off the ground.",{"type":591,"attrs":47981,"content":47982},{"textAlign":49},[47983,47985,47991],{"text":47984,"type":596},"“The LPO recognises that in the mining space, when you build facilities your weighted average capital cost is too high,” said ",{"text":47986,"type":596,"marks":47987},"Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office (LPO), US Department of Energy told the conference",[47988],{"type":606,"attrs":47989},{"href":47990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/to-me-what-matters-is-american-dominance-in-these-sectors-of-the-future-qa-with-the-does-jigar-shah",{"text":47992,"type":596},". “You have to almost exclusively equity finance what you are doing, and if you do access debt it’s generally venture debt with double digit interest rates.”",{"type":591,"attrs":47994,"content":47995},{"textAlign":49},[47996],{"text":47997,"type":596},"The LPO is designed to help kickstart critical mineral mining by providing low interest, long term debt to projects. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which expanded the LPO’s remit to include mining, the office has announced $3 billion of debt financing for critical minerals projects in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":47999,"content":48000},{"textAlign":49},[48001,48003,48009,48011,48017,48023,48025,48029],{"text":48002,"type":596},"Lithium has been a particular area of focus for the program. In March, ",{"text":48004,"type":596,"marks":48005},"the LPO announced a multi-billion dollar loan to Lithium America",[48006],{"type":606,"attrs":48007},{"href":48008,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-safeguards-long-term-lithium-supply-with-multi-billion-dollar-lithium-americas-loan",{"text":48010,"type":596},"’s to advance the Thacker Pass project in Nevada, the country’s largest lithium mining project. The LPO has also extended financing to fellow lithium aspirant ",{"text":48012,"type":596,"marks":48013},"Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge mine in Nevada, ",[48014],{"type":606,"attrs":48015},{"href":48016,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-doe-backs-domestic-lithium-with-700-million-ioneer-loan",{"text":48018,"type":596,"marks":48019},"Syrah Technologies",[48020],{"type":606,"attrs":48021},{"href":48022,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-secures-us-graphite-supplies-with-syrah-deal",{"text":48024,"type":596}," for its graphite anode facility in Louisiana, as well as leading US lithium ion battery recyclers ",{"text":29743,"type":596,"marks":48026},[48027],{"type":606,"attrs":48028},{"href":38796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48030,"type":596}," and Li-Cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":48032,"content":48033},{"textAlign":49},[48034],{"text":48035,"type":596},"“We have now established that there is enough lithium in the country to fully meet domestic needs and export products to allies around the world,” said Shah.",{"type":591,"attrs":48037,"content":48038},{"textAlign":49},[48039],{"text":48040,"type":596},"“The US should be exporting lithium by the early 2030s,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":48042,"content":48043},{"textAlign":49},[48044],{"text":48045,"type":596},"Shah remarked that the goal of the LPO was to provide a “bridge to bankability” for projects; creating confidence in private markets that there was a clear pathway to make a reasonable rate of return on critical mineral investments in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":48047,"content":48048},{"textAlign":49},[48049],{"text":48050,"type":596},"“To date, all of our projects have been able to raise equity in the marketplace. Which is no small feat,” he said.","US Senator Joe Manchin said he is “ready to go” on permitting reform for mining and infrastructure projects during a keynote on the second day of Benchmark’s Giga USA event in Washington DC. “We’ve got a bill written,” said Manchin, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m working with my Republican colleagues […]",[48053],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48054},{"job_title":557,"image":48055,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"58291144-cd4d-4986-b977-17863718a2fc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[48058,48059,48060,48061,48062,48063,48064,48065,48066],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":48068,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48069,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eb752e883e/bm-atl04792.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 14, 2024",{"id":48072,"uuid":48073,"name":48074,"slug":48075,"full_slug":48076,"content":48077},112469454091529,"8da92824-3f4f-477e-a793-aebd75359643","Chinese nickel sulphate prices climb higher in May","chinese-nickel-sulphate-prices-climb-higher-in-may","article/chinese-nickel-sulphate-prices-climb-higher-in-may",{"_uid":48078,"date":48079,"tags":48080,"editor":48083,"content":48087,"excerpt":48225,"featured":51,"reporter":48226,"_editable":48230,"component":697,"seo_title":48074,"categories":48231,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":48234,"seo_description":48225,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":48236},"d04d8c77-9b78-4f68-b2a0-dc4248edff09","2024-06-12 00:00",[48081,48082],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8160,"name":8160},[48084],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48085},{"job_title":557,"image":48086,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":48088},[48089,48094,48104,48109,48137,48142,48147,48157,48164,48176,48181,48194,48199,48210,48220],{"type":591,"attrs":48090,"content":48091},{"textAlign":49},[48092],{"text":48093,"type":596},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices increased in May to reach their highest levels in 11 months as high feedstock costs and a scarce spot supply in recent weeks pushed prices higher.",{"type":591,"attrs":48095,"content":48096},{"textAlign":49},[48097,48099,48103],{"text":48098,"type":596},"Average prices for nickel sulphate in China increased 4.9% to RMB 32,000 ($4,416) per tonne in the week ending June 5, according to the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":48100},[48101],{"type":606,"attrs":48102},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48105,"content":48106},{"textAlign":49},[48107],{"text":48108,"type":596},"Higher mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) prices pushed up sulphate prices causing some producers to stop production for the spot market in order to protect margins, resulting in a scarcer spot supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":48110,"content":48111},{"textAlign":49},[48112,48114,48120,48122,48128,48130,48136],{"text":48113,"type":596},"Further, unlike the bear cycle of 2023, Chinese nickel sulphate prices ",{"text":48115,"type":596,"marks":48116},"have increased all of this year",[48117],{"type":606,"attrs":48118},{"href":48119,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-prices-rise-after-us-uk-sanctions-on-russian-metal",{"text":48121,"type":596}," so far, except for a marginal drop in April after producers finished restocking ",{"text":48123,"type":596,"marks":48124},"inventories",[48125],{"type":606,"attrs":48126},{"href":48127,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-miners-struggle-amid-falling-prices-supply-glut",{"text":48129,"type":596}," in the three ",{"text":48131,"type":596,"marks":48132},"months ended March",[48133],{"type":606,"attrs":48134},{"href":48135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-nickel-price-drop-pauses-as-cathode-makers-top-up-inventory",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48138,"content":48139},{"textAlign":49},[48140],{"text":48141,"type":596},"“The main reason nickel prices have recovered this year is because nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode demand picked back up at the start of the year,” said Spencer Ingall, analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48143,"content":48144},{"textAlign":49},[48145],{"text":48146,"type":596},"“Following this, restocking by cathode makers further pushed prices up, which was then supported by high feedstock costs,” said Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":48148,"content":48149},{"textAlign":49},[48150,48152,48156],{"text":48151,"type":596},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices have increased 28% so far this year, according to the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":48153},[48154],{"type":606,"attrs":48155},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48158,"content":48159},{"textAlign":49},[48160],{"type":836,"attrs":48161},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":48162,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":48163},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/90c0a0049e/bm-nickel-price-chart-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":48165,"content":48166},{"textAlign":49},[48167,48169,48175],{"text":48168,"type":596},"However, prices may not rise further as demand from major NCM cathode producers is expected to be down by up to 30% in June on a month-on-month basis, according to the",{"text":48170,"type":596,"marks":48171}," Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment",[48172],{"type":606,"attrs":48173},{"href":48174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/portal/?tab=table",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":48177,"content":48178},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48179],{"text":48180,"type":596},"LME, MHP prices up",{"type":591,"attrs":48182,"content":48183},{"textAlign":49},[48184,48186,48192],{"text":48185,"type":596},"Last month, nickel production ",{"text":48187,"type":596,"marks":48188},"halted in New Caledonia following",[48189],{"type":606,"attrs":48190},{"href":48191,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/new-caledonia-unrest-deepens-nickel-industry-crisis",{"text":48193,"type":596}," political unrest sent London Metal Exchange nickel prices higher by more than 8%, breaching the $20,000 per tonne mark for the first time since July 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":48195,"content":48196},{"textAlign":49},[48197],{"text":48198,"type":596},"MHP prices have also increased in the past two months as continued delays in mining permit approvals in Indonesia has forced some refiners in the country to import ores at a higher price from neighbouring Philippines to meet the demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48200,"content":48201},{"textAlign":49},[48202,48204,48208],{"text":48203,"type":596},"Nickel MHP CIF Asia prices have increased 27.9% to $15,932 per tonne so far this year, according to the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":48205},[48206],{"type":606,"attrs":48207},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48209,"type":596},". The pace of price increase for MHP has quickened in the past two months, rising 17%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48211,"content":48212},{"textAlign":49},[48213,48215,48219],{"text":48214,"type":596},"Nickel MHP CIF Asia traded at a 78-80% payable range in the week ending June 5, a decline of 1.5 percentage points, according to the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":48216},[48217],{"type":606,"attrs":48218},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48221,"content":48222},{"textAlign":49},[48223],{"text":48224,"type":596},"“The rise in MHP prices due to delays in mining permits, facilities not able to provide correct certification, resulting in delays in exports and growing inventories, have pushed up sulphate prices this year,” said Ingall.","Chinese nickel sulphate prices increased in May to reach their highest levels in 11 months as high feedstock costs and a scarce spot supply in recent weeks pushed prices higher. Average prices for nickel sulphate in China increased 4.9% to RMB 32,000 ($4,416) per tonne in the week ending June 5, according to the Benchmark […]",[48227],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48228},{"job_title":557,"image":48229,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d04d8c77-9b78-4f68-b2a0-dc4248edff09\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[48232,48233],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48235,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 12, 2024",{"id":48238,"uuid":48239,"name":48240,"slug":48241,"full_slug":48242,"content":48243},114843745229549,"55090617-5e63-4639-bc5e-a8bd50f0b799","Gotion’s $1.3 billion gigafactory investment to further expand Morocco’s lithium ion ecosystem","gotions-1-3-billion-gigafactory-investment-to-further-expand-moroccos-lithium-ion-ecosystem","article/gotions-1-3-billion-gigafactory-investment-to-further-expand-moroccos-lithium-ion-ecosystem",{"_uid":48244,"date":48245,"tags":48246,"editor":48250,"content":48254,"excerpt":48394,"featured":51,"reporter":48395,"_editable":48399,"component":697,"seo_title":48240,"categories":48400,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":48406,"seo_description":48394,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":48408},"65b2f70f-6c8e-454d-b114-23d3bc503b3b","2024-06-11 00:00",[48247,48248,48249],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":13425,"name":13426},{"slug":27053,"name":27054},[48251],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48252},{"job_title":557,"image":48253,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":48255},[48256,48268,48281,48298,48309,48319,48324,48329,48334,48339,48352,48364,48369,48374,48379,48384,48389],{"type":591,"attrs":48257,"content":48258},{"textAlign":49},[48259,48261,48266],{"text":48260,"type":596},"Chinese cell maker Gotion High-Tech will invest 12.8 billion dirhams ($1.3 billion) to build a 20 gigawatt-hour (GWh) gigafactory in ",{"text":27054,"type":596,"marks":48262},[48263],{"type":606,"attrs":48264},{"href":48265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-saudi-arabia-and-morocco-are-shaping-the-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"text":48267,"type":596},". The facility will be Africa’s first gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":48269,"content":48270},{"textAlign":49},[48271,48273,48279],{"text":48272,"type":596},"This is just the latest of a recent surge of investments by Chinese companies into the ",{"text":48274,"type":596,"marks":48275},"burgeoning battery value chain",[48276],{"type":606,"attrs":48277},{"href":48278,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-overseas-anode-push-expands-with-shinzooms-planned-morocco-plant",{"text":48280,"type":596}," in Morocco.",{"type":591,"attrs":48282,"content":48283},{"textAlign":49},[48284,48289,48291,48296],{"text":13426,"type":596,"marks":48285},[48286],{"type":606,"attrs":48287},{"href":48288,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gotion-targets-100-gwh-overseas-expansion-as-it-launches-german-battery-pack-plant",{"text":48290,"type":596},", and other Chinese companies, have identified ",{"text":27054,"type":596,"marks":48292},[48293],{"type":606,"attrs":48294},{"href":48295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/morocco?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags[]=morocco",{"text":48297,"type":596}," as ideally suited for a gigafactory and other battery industry facilities due to its close proximity to Europe. The country also has free trade agreements (FTA) with both the European Union and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":48299,"content":48300},{"textAlign":49},[48301,48302,48307],{"text":31490,"type":596},{"text":31492,"type":596,"marks":48303},[48304],{"type":606,"attrs":48305},{"href":48306,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-midstream-majors-flock-to-moroccos-fledgling-cathode-hub",{"text":48308,"type":596},", alongside maintaining FTA status with the EU and US, which makes it an attractive base for new battery material projects,” Anya Sidhu, a gigafactory analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":48310,"content":48311},{"textAlign":49},[48312,48317],{"text":13426,"type":596,"marks":48313},[48314],{"type":606,"attrs":48315},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-big-get-bigger-in-batteries-top-ten-producers-set-to-grow-output-400",{"text":48318,"type":596}," plans to begin production in the third quarter of 2026. The company may later increase the total capacity to 100 GWh with an investment of up to $6.5 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48320,"content":48321},{"textAlign":49},[48322],{"text":48323,"type":596},"This announcement shows that major cell and automakers still see long term battery demand prospects, despite recent gigafactory cancellations in China and Europe. German automaker Volkswagen has a 26% stake in Gotion.",{"type":615,"attrs":48325,"content":48326},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48327],{"text":48328,"type":596},"Morocco: The African gateway to Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":48330,"content":48331},{"textAlign":49},[48332],{"text":48333,"type":596},"Morocco’s geography and geopolitical positioning make it a prime location for an emerging battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":48335,"content":48336},{"textAlign":49},[48337],{"text":48338,"type":596},"“Morocco’s closeness to Europe means lower logistical costs for Chinese producers targeting this other growing market,” Sidhu said.",{"type":591,"attrs":48340,"content":48341},{"textAlign":49},[48342,48344,48350],{"text":48343,"type":596},"Although Morocco is well-placed to serve Europe, ",{"text":48345,"type":596,"marks":48346},"most investment is coming from China",[48347],{"type":606,"attrs":48348},{"href":48349,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/phosphate-concerns-drive-chinese-battery-investments-in-morocco",{"text":48351,"type":596},". Morocco was the first North African country to sign on to implement the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s global infrastructure development program.",{"type":591,"attrs":48353,"content":48354},{"textAlign":49},[48355,48357,48362],{"text":48356,"type":596},"Investment from the initiative, and from Chinese companies, has led to ",{"text":48358,"type":596,"marks":48359},"Morocco fast emerging as a key player",[48360],{"type":606,"attrs":48361},{"href":48265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48363,"type":596}," in the global battery supply chain, with several major investments into the country by Chinese companies across the sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":48365,"content":48366},{"textAlign":49},[48367],{"text":48368,"type":596},"Source:Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, company announcements",{"type":591,"attrs":48370,"content":48371},{"textAlign":49},[48372],{"text":48373,"type":596},"Further downstream, Morocco has a strong automotive base: Renault, Stellantis, and BYD all have automotive plants in the country. The auto industry accounted for around a fifth of its GDP. In 2023, Morocco exported 64.7 billion dirhams ($6.4 billion) worth of passenger vehicles according to the country’s Office des Changes.",{"type":615,"attrs":48375,"content":48376},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48377],{"text":48378,"type":596},"Could US FEOC rules be an issue?",{"type":591,"attrs":48380,"content":48381},{"textAlign":49},[48382],{"text":48383,"type":596},"Despite Morocco having an FTA with the US, Gotion’s position as a Chinese-owned country may mean it falls foul of the foreign entity of concern (FEOC) guidance contained which restricts access to certain tax credits if EVs use components or materials from companies with links to Chinese officials.",{"type":591,"attrs":48385,"content":48386},{"textAlign":49},[48387],{"text":48388,"type":596},"However, Gotion already has plans for cell and electrode production facilities in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":48390,"content":48391},{"textAlign":49},[48392],{"text":48393,"type":596},"“Optimally, Gotion would be relying on its planned US facilities for regional supply, which would negate any need for concern surrounding FEOC,” Evan Hartley, a gigafactory analyst at Benchmark, said.","Chinese cell maker Gotion High-Tech will invest 12.8 billion dirhams ($1.3 billion) to build a 20 gigawatt-hour (GWh) gigafactory in Morocco. The facility will be Africa’s first gigafactory. This is just the latest of a recent surge of investments by Chinese companies into the burgeoning battery value chain in Morocco. Gotion, and other Chinese companies, […]",[48396],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48397},{"job_title":557,"image":48398,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"65b2f70f-6c8e-454d-b114-23d3bc503b3b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[48401,48402,48403,48404,48405],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":31563,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48407,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 11, 2024",{"id":48410,"uuid":48411,"name":48412,"slug":48413,"full_slug":48414,"content":48415},112469475349772,"35a3b106-6d12-4f8d-abca-3725d5ddecfd","CATL looks to overseas markets amid domestic battery oversupply","catl-looks-to-overseas-markets-amid-domestic-battery-oversupply","article/catl-looks-to-overseas-markets-amid-domestic-battery-oversupply",{"_uid":48416,"date":48417,"tags":48418,"editor":48422,"content":48426,"excerpt":48613,"featured":51,"reporter":48614,"_editable":48618,"component":697,"seo_title":48412,"categories":48619,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":48622,"featured_image":48625,"seo_description":48613,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":48629},"bdf5b0aa-8c42-49d6-8ac4-c3ffc60ca671","2024-06-07 00:00",[48419,48420,48421],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[48423],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48424},{"job_title":557,"image":48425,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":48427},[48428,48433,48438,48443,48454,48459,48462,48467,48472,48484,48489,48494,48504,48509,48514,48519,48524,48529,48534,48539,48558,48563,48581,48586,48591,48596,48601,48606],{"type":591,"attrs":48429,"content":48430},{"textAlign":49},[48431],{"text":48432,"type":596},"CATL’s founder and chairman, Robin Zeng Yuqun, recently issued an internal letter urging the world’s largest battery maker to “harvest” overseas markets. This comes as China’s domestic market faces concerns around overcapacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":48434,"content":48435},{"textAlign":49},[48436],{"text":48437,"type":596},"CATL will look to meet growing ex-China battery demand through its production base in China but could look to international production expansions as it targets overseas markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":48439,"content":48440},{"textAlign":49},[48441],{"text":48442,"type":596},"Its rise to become the world’s largest cell producer has seen CATL focus expansions in China, taking advantage of its home country’s capex and opex advantages, but this has left it with a small international gigafactory footprint. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48444,"content":48445},{"textAlign":49},[48446,48448,48452],{"text":48447,"type":596},"In 2023, just 1% of CATL’s cell production came from outside of China according to analysis from Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":48449},[48450],{"type":606,"attrs":48451},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48453,"type":596},", highlighting the opportunities for the company to expand production in other regions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48455,"content":48456},{"textAlign":49},[48457],{"text":48458,"type":596},"“CATL is beginning to focus more now on expansion into European and North American markets in order to provide further local supply to its customers, and reduce reliance on an oversupplied domestic market,” according to Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":48460,"content":48461},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":48463,"content":48464},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48465],{"text":48466,"type":596},"How does CATL’s domestic and international capacities compare? ",{"type":591,"attrs":48468,"content":48469},{"textAlign":49},[48470],{"text":48471,"type":596},"CATL’s existing capacity is predominantly based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":48473,"content":48474},{"textAlign":49},[48475,48477,48483],{"text":48476,"type":596},"In 2023, CATL had 490 GWh of production capacity across 17 operating gigafactories (including joint ventures), with all but one in China according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":48478},[48479,48481],{"type":606,"attrs":48480},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":606,"attrs":48482},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48485,"content":48486},{"textAlign":49},[48487],{"text":48488,"type":596},"Its current expansions, however, will see its share of international production grow. By 2030 its capacity is set to rise to almost 1.1 TWh, with just over a tenth of this coming from gigafactories outside of China.",{"type":615,"attrs":48490,"content":48491},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48492],{"text":48493,"type":596},"Why is Zeng calling for CATL to expand to other markets?",{"type":591,"attrs":48495,"content":48496},{"textAlign":49},[48497,48499,48503],{"text":48498,"type":596},"In 2024, China is set to be the only region with a battery market in surplus, standing at almost 500 GWh, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":48500},[48501],{"type":606,"attrs":48502},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48505,"content":48506},{"textAlign":49},[48507],{"text":48508,"type":596},"A significant portion of Chinese oversupply will come from Tier 2 and 3 producers which are unable to supply Western EV markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48510,"content":48511},{"textAlign":49},[48512],{"text":48513,"type":596},"As a Tier 1 producer, CATL is able to meet this demand and already has extensive agreements with North American and European automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48515,"content":48516},{"textAlign":49},[48517],{"text":48518,"type":596},"To maintain its market-leading role and meet the demands of Western OEMs the most obvious next steps are for CATL to develop more capacity closer to its end customers. ",{"type":615,"attrs":48520,"content":48521},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48522],{"text":48523,"type":596},"What are the challenges facing CATL’s international expansion?",{"type":591,"attrs":48525,"content":48526},{"textAlign":49},[48527],{"text":48528,"type":596},"While CATL has begun to develop its international footprint, geopolitical tensions are making it more difficult for Chinese producers to establish production in Western regions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48530,"content":48531},{"textAlign":49},[48532],{"text":48533,"type":596},"Localisation, or ‘de-risking’, policies may affect CATL’s international ambitions. Legislation such as the US’ Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) seek to reduce China’s influence on the battery value chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48535,"content":48536},{"textAlign":49},[48537],{"text":48538,"type":596},"The US is more hostile to Chinese companies than the EU. Clauses, such as the IRA’s Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC), specifically penalise Chinese-owned companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48540,"content":48541},{"textAlign":49},[48542,48544,48550,48552,48556],{"text":48543,"type":596},"CATL is currently ",{"text":48545,"type":596,"marks":48546},"developing a gigafactory",[48547],{"type":606,"attrs":48548},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-to-build-3-5-billion-us-lfp-battery-plant-using-catl-technology",{"text":48551,"type":596}," in partnership with Ford in Michigan, US, which is forecast to begin production of LFP cells in 2027, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":48553},[48554],{"type":606,"attrs":48555},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48557,"type":596},". Zeng has previously said that the plant has been developed to abide by the FEOC legislation so will not be affected by the policy, but there has been controversy in the US over CATL’s role in the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":48559,"content":48560},{"textAlign":49},[48561],{"text":48562,"type":596},"The EU is more accommodating. CATL’s only operating facility outside of China is in Erfurt, Germany which is forecast to have a capacity of 14 GWh in 2025. The company is also expected to begin production at its Debrecen facility in Hungary next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":48564,"content":48565},{"textAlign":49},[48566,48568,48574,48576,48580],{"text":48567,"type":596},"Europe is attracting investment from other Chinese companies as well. By 2030, it is forecast that ",{"text":48569,"type":596,"marks":48570},"33% of cells produced in Europe",[48571],{"type":606,"attrs":48572},{"href":48573,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-owned-companies-to-produce-one-third-of-european-battery-cells-by-2030",{"text":48575,"type":596}," will come from Chinese-owned operations, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":48577},[48578],{"type":606,"attrs":48579},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":48582,"content":48583},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48584],{"text":48585,"type":596},"Case Study: China’s CATL vs South Korea’s LGES",{"type":591,"attrs":48587,"content":48588},{"textAlign":49},[48589],{"text":48590,"type":596},"CATL reflects a broader trend in the battery market, where Chinese producers have concentrated on domestic gigafactory expansions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48592,"content":48593},{"textAlign":49},[48594],{"text":48595,"type":596},"Its international peers, particularly South Korean producers, mostly expanded overseas, with limited production capacity in their home countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48597,"content":48598},{"textAlign":49},[48599],{"text":48600,"type":596},"For example, last year 99% of CATL’s gigafactory capacity was located within China, where the company is based. This is in stark contrast to South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES), another Tier 1 battery manufacturer, which has just 8% of its capacity located domestically.",{"type":591,"attrs":48602,"content":48603},{"textAlign":49},[48604],{"text":48605,"type":596},"The overall trend is set to continue, although CATL will make inroads into international markets. By 2030, CATL is forecast to increase 12% of its battery capacity located overseas and LGES will also increase its international capacity further to 94%.",{"type":591,"attrs":48607,"content":48608},{"textAlign":49},[48609],{"type":836,"attrs":48610},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":48611,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":48612},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2d177881f6/bm-case-study-catl-vs-lges.png",{},"CATL’s founder and chairman, Robin Zeng Yuqun, recently issued an internal letter urging the world’s largest battery maker to “harvest” overseas markets. This comes as China’s domestic market faces concerns around overcapacity. CATL will look to meet growing ex-China battery demand through its production base in China but could look to international production expansions as […]",[48615],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48616},{"job_title":557,"image":48617,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bdf5b0aa-8c42-49d6-8ac4-c3ffc60ca671\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[48620,48621],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":48623,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48624,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1717751781/www-production/Case-study-CATL-vs-LGES-no-Y-axis/Case-study-CATL-vs-LGES-no-Y-axis.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":48626,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":48626,"source":547,"filename":48627,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48628,"is_external_url":51},"A factory under construction","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3f0def7774/bm-catl-looks-to-overseas-markets-amid-domestic-oversupply.jpg",{"alt":48626,"title":48626,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 07, 2024",{"id":48631,"uuid":48632,"name":48633,"slug":48634,"full_slug":48635,"content":48636},112469480359181,"d5f2e40c-60d6-4f17-a34c-29730f44c589","Critical mass: Asian demand for North American scrap sees recycler prices spike","critical-mass-asian-demand-for-north-american-scrap-sees-recycler-prices-spike","article/critical-mass-asian-demand-for-north-american-scrap-sees-recycler-prices-spike",{"_uid":48637,"date":48638,"tags":48639,"editor":48645,"content":48649,"excerpt":48896,"featured":51,"reporter":48897,"_editable":48901,"component":697,"seo_title":48633,"categories":48902,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":48905,"seo_description":48896,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":48908},"2a630d0c-bf7d-49cb-9f3e-dfb551c522db","2024-06-06 00:00",[48640,48641,48642,48643,48644],{"slug":6198,"name":6199},{"slug":10037,"name":373},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":29742,"name":29743},[48646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48647},{"job_title":557,"image":48648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":48650},[48651,48669,48680,48698,48708,48716,48721,48726,48731,48741,48760,48772,48777,48782,48795,48820,48825,48851,48856,48861,48869,48874,48879,48884,48889],{"type":591,"attrs":48652,"content":48653},{"textAlign":49},[48654,48656,48660,48662,48667],{"text":48655,"type":596},"Competition for North American ",{"text":29770,"type":596,"marks":48657},[48658],{"type":606,"attrs":48659},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48661,"type":596}," is increasing as Asian recyclers look to the region to secure material for their facilities. Black mass contains ",{"text":48663,"type":596,"marks":48664},"critical battery minerals",[48665],{"type":606,"attrs":48666},{"href":43752,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48668,"type":596}," and is produced by processing battery scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":48670,"content":48671},{"textAlign":49},[48672,48674,48679],{"text":48673,"type":596},"Aggregated North American black mass price in May rose 10.11% month-on-month to $5,758 per tonne (EXW NA) on the back of rising demand from Asian recyclers, according to ",{"text":42402,"type":596,"marks":48675},[48676],{"type":606,"attrs":48677},{"href":48678,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/black-mass/portal",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48681,"content":48682},{"textAlign":49},[48683,48688,48690,48696],{"text":48684,"type":596,"marks":48685},"Domestic North American recyclers",[48686],{"type":606,"attrs":48687},{"href":38766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48689,"type":596}," are struggling to compete with these high prices, increasing the risk that the critical minerals contained within the black mass could ",{"text":48691,"type":596,"marks":48692},"leak out of the region",[48693],{"type":606,"attrs":48694},{"href":48695,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/black-mass-hits-policy-mainstream-2023-in-review",{"text":48697,"type":596},". As such, securing black mass material is of great importance.",{"type":591,"attrs":48699,"content":48700},{"textAlign":49},[48701,48703,48707],{"text":48702,"type":596},"“With competition for black mass feedstock heating up in Asia, escalating procurement in the North America market from Asian market participants is pushing North American payables to new highs,” ",{"text":42419,"type":596,"marks":48704},[48705],{"type":606,"attrs":48706},{"href":42423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":42425,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48709,"content":48710},{"textAlign":49},[48711],{"type":836,"attrs":48712},{"id":49,"alt":48713,"src":48714,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":48715},"North american black mass prices are up 10% month-on-month","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/070ea61d0d/bm-na-black-mass-prices-31-may.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":48717,"content":48718},{"textAlign":49},[48719],{"text":48720,"type":596},"Benchmark reports that in May cobalt and nickel metal payables for North American nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) feedstock black mass were 77%, up from 70.5% in April.",{"type":615,"attrs":48722,"content":48723},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48724],{"text":48725,"type":596},"Why are prices rising?",{"type":591,"attrs":48727,"content":48728},{"textAlign":49},[48729],{"text":48730,"type":596},"Globally, and especially in Asia, there is a significant overcapacity for black mass processing due to the high amount of hydrometallurgical recycling capability within this region and a relatively low volume of black mass available worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":48732,"content":48733},{"textAlign":49},[48734,48736,48740],{"text":48735,"type":596},"This results in a very active sellers market for black mass. Buyers have limited scope in the Asian market to negotiate black mass prices, according to ",{"text":42402,"type":596,"marks":48737},[48738],{"type":606,"attrs":48739},{"href":48678,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48742,"content":48743},{"textAlign":49},[48744,48746,48750,48752,48758],{"text":48745,"type":596},"Heightened competition for black mass has now spread into ",{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":48747},[48748],{"type":606,"attrs":48749},{"href":38778,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48751,"type":596}," as well. Indeed, Benchmark notes that some ",{"text":48753,"type":596,"marks":48754},"North American recyclers",[48755],{"type":606,"attrs":48756},{"href":48757,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/north-american-recyclers-set-sights-on-european-market",{"text":48759,"type":596}," are struggling to secure domestic supplies as prices are beginning to resemble the prices Benchmark has reported for the CIF Asia Market.",{"type":591,"attrs":48761,"content":48762},{"textAlign":49},[48763,48765,48770],{"text":48764,"type":596},"As a result, some North American recyclers are starting to secure ",{"text":48766,"type":596,"marks":48767},"black mass from Europe",[48768],{"type":606,"attrs":48769},{"href":48678,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48771,"type":596}," instead. For now, this has not significantly driven up prices for European black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":48773,"content":48774},{"textAlign":49},[48775],{"text":48776,"type":596},"“It is expected that this will push European prices up to the levels we see in North America, especially if traders manage to circumvent current issues with hazardous waste shipments out of the EU,” Bloomfield said.",{"type":615,"attrs":48778,"content":48779},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48780],{"text":48781,"type":596},"What are recyclers doing about this?",{"type":591,"attrs":48783,"content":48784},{"textAlign":49},[48785,48787,48793],{"text":48786,"type":596},"A stable ",{"text":48788,"type":596,"marks":48789},"supply of feedstock",[48790],{"type":606,"attrs":48791},{"href":48792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-and-feedstock-availability-key-to-profitable-lfp-recycling",{"text":48794,"type":596}," is vitally important for a recycler. This normally takes the form of battery scrap for shredders and integrated recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":48796,"content":48797},{"textAlign":49},[48798,48800,48805,48807,48812,48814,48819],{"text":48799,"type":596},"Although several recyclers have been ",{"text":48801,"type":596,"marks":48802},"making deals with automakers",[48803],{"type":606,"attrs":48804},{"href":43744,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48806,"type":596}," to recycle their end-of-life batteries, ",{"text":48808,"type":596,"marks":48809},"process scrap from gigafactories",[48810],{"type":606,"attrs":48811},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48813,"type":596}," will be the primary source of battery scrap until the mid-2030s, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":48815},[48816],{"type":606,"attrs":48817},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/recycling/reports",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48821,"content":48822},{"textAlign":49},[48823],{"text":48824,"type":596},"Process scrap is generated by gigafactories at a variety of production steps: electrode manufacture, cell assembly, and cell finishing. Scrap from the former stages is not yet in cell form so can be easier to process.",{"type":591,"attrs":48826,"content":48827},{"textAlign":49},[48828,48832,48838,48842,48845,48850],{"text":48829,"type":596,"marks":48830},"Watch Benchmark analyst ",[48831],{"type":1006},{"text":48833,"type":596,"marks":48834},"Beatrice Browning explain what black mass",[48835,48837],{"type":606,"attrs":48836},{"href":33084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":48839,"type":596,"marks":48840}," is in this video on Benchmark Source.",[48841],{"type":1006},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":48843},[48844],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":48846},[48847,48849],{"type":606,"attrs":48848},{"href":42448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":48852,"content":48853},{"textAlign":49},[48854],{"text":48855,"type":596},"In the near term, process scrap will be the primary source of feedstock for the battery recycling industry. From the mid-2030s, end-of-life scrap will take over as the main source of feedstock as electric vehicles reach their end-of-life.",{"type":591,"attrs":48857,"content":48858},{"textAlign":49},[48859],{"text":48860,"type":596},"“In order to obtain a secure supply of recycling feedstock, partnering with a cell manufacturer is extremely beneficial for a recycler, particularly in the short-term where scrap volumes are low and process scrap is set to dominate,” Beatrice Browning, a recycling analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":48862,"content":48863},{"textAlign":49},[48864],{"type":836,"attrs":48865},{"id":49,"alt":48866,"src":48867,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":48868},"End-of-life batteries to make up half of scrap pool from 2033","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8616516794/bm-recycling-scrap-pool-q1-2024.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":48870,"content":48871},{"textAlign":49},[48872],{"text":48873,"type":596},"Last month, Redwood Materials secured a deal to source process battery scrap from the US gigafactories operated by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":48875,"content":48876},{"textAlign":49},[48877],{"text":48878,"type":596},"Redwood Materials is a US-based integrated recycler. It aspires to produce battery-grade materials from battery scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":48880,"content":48881},{"textAlign":49},[48882],{"text":48883,"type":596},"“This is significant for the US’ critical material supply as currently there is a global overcapacity for black mass processing,” Browning said. “With Redwood’s procurement of this feedstock this can ensure materials leakage for recycling is limited.”",{"type":591,"attrs":48885,"content":48886},{"textAlign":49},[48887],{"text":48888,"type":596},"In February, Sweden-based Stena Recycling announced a similar agreement to Redwood’s to manage the process scrap from Morrow Batteries’ gigafactory in Norway.",{"type":591,"attrs":48890,"content":48891},{"textAlign":49},[48892],{"text":48893,"type":596,"marks":48894},"Benchmark provides a Black Mass Price Assessment with 27 prices updated on a monthly basis. To request a sample report please provide your details below:",[48895],{"type":1006},"Competition for North American black mass is increasing as Asian recyclers look to the region to secure material for their facilities. Black mass contains critical battery minerals and is produced by processing battery scrap. Aggregated North American black mass price in May rose 10.11% month-on-month to $5,758 per tonne (EXW NA) on the back of […]",[48898],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48899},{"job_title":557,"image":48900,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a630d0c-bf7d-49cb-9f3e-dfb551c522db\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[48903,48904],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":48906,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":48907,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d3c4b4b7e6/bm-redwood-aerial-shot.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 06, 2024",{"id":48910,"uuid":48911,"name":48912,"slug":48913,"full_slug":48914,"content":48915},112469489968399,"c8408ce7-416a-4258-80a0-d04872361f37","Chinese gigafactory construction timelines lengthen as overcapacity hits Tier 2 and 3 producers","chinese-gigafactory-construction-timelines-lengthen-as-tier-2-and-3-developments-increase","article/chinese-gigafactory-construction-timelines-lengthen-as-tier-2-and-3-developments-increase",{"_uid":48916,"date":48917,"tags":48918,"editor":48923,"content":48927,"excerpt":49107,"featured":51,"reporter":49108,"_editable":49112,"component":697,"seo_title":48912,"categories":49113,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":49116,"featured_image":49118,"seo_description":49107,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":49122},"0ce686a7-db06-4f1d-8660-2e42eecd9665","2024-06-05 00:00",[48919,48920,48921,48922],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[48924],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":48925},{"job_title":557,"image":48926,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":48928},[48929,48940,48945,48950,48955,48960,48965,48970,48975,48980,48992,49012,49023,49028,49033,49038,49049,49054,49062,49067,49072,49080,49085,49090],{"type":591,"attrs":48930,"content":48931},{"textAlign":49},[48932,48934,48938],{"text":48933,"type":596},"The average construction timeline for Chinese gigafactories is getting longer, according to data from Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":48935},[48936],{"type":606,"attrs":48937},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":48939,"type":596},". This is the result of Tier 2 and 3 facilities – which take longer to build – making up a greater proportion of domestic construction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48941,"content":48942},{"textAlign":49},[48943],{"text":48944,"type":596},"“Chinese buildout is slower as active construction and planned projects are now skewed to Tier 2 and 3 projects, whereas in the West it’s more Tier 1,” said Bart Harvey, a geospatial analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":48946,"content":48947},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48948],{"text":48949,"type":596},"Why are construction timelines growing in China?",{"type":591,"attrs":48951,"content":48952},{"textAlign":49},[48953],{"text":48954,"type":596},"“Overcapacity concerns and low cell prices in China have caused several construction delays and cancellations, particularly amongst smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies,” said Harvey.",{"type":591,"attrs":48956,"content":48957},{"textAlign":49},[48958],{"text":48959,"type":596},"Benchmark has observed that some Chinese players are intensifying development overseas while delaying construction at domestic sites. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48961,"content":48962},{"textAlign":49},[48963],{"text":48964,"type":596},"Using remote sensing analysis, Benchmark’s GIS analysis has seen companies progressing further with US-based plans, relative to those in China which spent longer in the groundworks stages prior to building construction.",{"type":615,"attrs":48966,"content":48967},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[48968],{"text":48969,"type":596},"How do we know this is not part of a global slowdown in gigafactory construction timelines?",{"type":591,"attrs":48971,"content":48972},{"textAlign":49},[48973],{"text":48974,"type":596},"The slowdown is not seen in other regions. For example, in North America, a region of substantial gigafactory buildout, construction timelines are falling.",{"type":591,"attrs":48976,"content":48977},{"textAlign":49},[48978],{"text":48979,"type":596},"Since the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) came into effect in August 2022 there has been a push to build gigafactory capacity in the US. North American construction timelines have shrunk as a result. Typical construction timelines for Tier 1 facilities in North America are now on par with those of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":48981,"content":48982},{"textAlign":49},[48983,48985,48990],{"text":48984,"type":596},"Based on data from ",{"text":28423,"type":596,"marks":48986},[48987],{"type":606,"attrs":48988},{"href":48989,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-verified-the-five-stages-of-benchmarks-gigafactory-satellite-analysis",{"text":48991,"type":596},", which uses satellite imagery and remote sensing to monitor gigafactory construction, the Construction Tracker shows North America now has the shortest timeline for plant construction. Facilities in the region average fewer than 30 months between initial ground clearance and completion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":48993,"content":48994},{"textAlign":49},[48995,48999,49000,49003,49009],{"text":48996,"type":596,"marks":48997},"Watch Benchmark senior analyst Bart Harvey talk through how Benchmark uses satellite imagery as an additional level of gigafactory analysis",[48998],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":49001},[49002],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":49004},[49005,49008],{"type":606,"attrs":49006},{"href":49007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/tag/analyst-insights?items_per_page=12&page_offset=0&tags[]=analyst-insights",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":49010},[49011],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":49013,"content":49014},{"textAlign":49},[49015,49017,49021],{"text":49016,"type":596},"US gigafactory capacity is expected to be more than 800 GWh in 2030, a 20% increase on Benchmark’s projection a year ago. Since the IRA’s ratification, the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":49018},[49019],{"type":606,"attrs":49020},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49022,"type":596}," has added nine new US plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":49024,"content":49025},{"textAlign":49},[49026],{"text":49027,"type":596},"The European cell pipeline has also grown, in an effort to reduce reliance on China for battery production. Europe’s cell pipeline has increased 36% since August 2022.",{"type":615,"attrs":49029,"content":49030},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49031],{"text":49032,"type":596},"How do gigafactory construction timelines in China and Europe compare?",{"type":591,"attrs":49034,"content":49035},{"textAlign":49},[49036],{"text":49037,"type":596},"Chinese producers are able to construct their domestic cell plants in a much shorter time than their European projects, however. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49039,"content":49040},{"textAlign":49},[49041,49043,49047],{"text":49042,"type":596},"Europe is forecast to have 14 operation gigafactories in 2024, three of which are Chinese-owned, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":49044},[49045],{"type":606,"attrs":49046},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49048,"type":596},". These are CATL’s Debrecen plant in Hungary; CATL’s Erfurt plant in Germany; and Envision AESC’s Sunderland plant in the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":49050,"content":49051},{"textAlign":49},[49052],{"text":49053,"type":596},"However, Chinese producers are unable to match their domestic construction timelines, with European projects averaging 42 months compared to 27 in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":49055,"content":49056},{"textAlign":49},[49057],{"type":836,"attrs":49058},{"id":49,"alt":49059,"src":49060,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49061},"Bar chart showing Chinese cell manufacturer construction timelines for projects in Europe compared to projects in China. The main source of the difference is Europe plants spending 16 months in the completion phase while Chinese projects spend six months","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b64257722b/bm-chinese-cell-manufacturers-can-construct-domestic-plants-faster-than-their-european-projects-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":49063,"content":49064},{"textAlign":49},[49065],{"text":49066,"type":596},"“China has a larger, more skilled labour pool compared to Europe and the US, allowing Chinese companies to develop their domestic cell plants much quicker than their overseas plans,” according to Harvey.",{"type":591,"attrs":49068,"content":49069},{"textAlign":49},[49070],{"text":49071,"type":596},"It is important to note that Chinese companies operating in Europe have a longer construction timeline compared to non-Chinese ones. However, this is again a reflection of the longer construction times of Tier 1 facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":49073,"content":49074},{"textAlign":49},[49075],{"type":836,"attrs":49076},{"id":49,"alt":49077,"src":49078,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49079},"Bar chart showing Chinese companies operating in Europe take longer to construct gigafactories than non-Chinese companies. Ground works and Completion are the most significant differences","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d125586e76/bm-chinese-companies-operating-in-europe-have-a-longer-construction-timeline-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":49081,"content":49082},{"textAlign":49},[49083],{"text":49084,"type":596},"The majority of Chinese operators in Europe are bigger players such as Tier 1 cell producer CATL, which has an average startup capacity of approximately 30 GWh. Tier 3 producers comprise the majority of non-mainland Chinese operators in Europe. For example, Taiwanese Tier 3 cell producer Prologium has approximately half the startup capacity when compared to its peers in mainland China.",{"type":615,"attrs":49086,"content":49087},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49088],{"text":49089,"type":596},"Join us at Giga APAC 2024",{"type":591,"attrs":49091,"content":49092},{"textAlign":49},[49093,49097,49103],{"text":49094,"type":596,"marks":49095},"Discussions on Asia Pacific’s battery market will continue at Benchmark’s",[49096],{"type":1006},{"text":40296,"type":596,"marks":49098},[49099,49102],{"type":606,"attrs":49100},{"href":49101,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigaapac24",{"type":1006},{"text":49104,"type":596,"marks":49105},"conference being held September 11-12 at the Ritz Carlton in Perth, Australia.",[49106],{"type":1006},"The average construction timeline for Chinese gigafactories is getting longer, according to data from Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. This is the result of Tier 2 and 3 facilities – which take longer to build – making up a greater proportion of domestic construction. “Chinese buildout is slower as active construction and planned projects are now skewed […]",[49109],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49110},{"job_title":557,"image":49111,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0ce686a7-db06-4f1d-8660-2e42eecd9665\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[49114,49115],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":49059,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49059,"source":547,"filename":49060,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49117,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":49059,"title":49059,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":49119,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49119,"source":547,"filename":49120,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49121,"is_external_url":51},"Gigafactory under construction","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a4de7daa7f/bm-gigafactory-construction.jpg",{"alt":49119,"title":49119,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 05, 2024",{"id":49124,"uuid":49125,"name":49126,"slug":49127,"full_slug":49128,"content":49129},112469485208846,"266324b7-fd58-493c-a670-e809a9dc5a7b","Why has the US reinstated tariffs on natural graphite?","why-has-the-us-reinstated-tariffs-on-natural-graphite","article/why-has-the-us-reinstated-tariffs-on-natural-graphite",{"_uid":49130,"date":48917,"tags":49131,"editor":49137,"content":49141,"excerpt":49348,"featured":51,"reporter":49349,"_editable":49353,"component":697,"seo_title":49126,"categories":49354,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":49357,"featured_image":49361,"seo_description":49348,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":49122},"5595e851-e524-4e3b-a310-4870172682c5",[49132,49133,49134,49135,49136],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[49138],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49139},{"job_title":557,"image":49140,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":49142},[49143,49154,49159,49164,49176,49181,49186,49191,49198,49208,49213,49228,49233,49243,49248,49253,49258,49263,49275,49280,49285,49295,49300,49305,49310,49315,49320,49327,49332,49343],{"type":591,"attrs":49144,"content":49145},{"textAlign":49},[49146,49148,49153],{"text":49147,"type":596},"Last month, the US increased tariffs on large sections of the lithium ion battery supply chain. While tariffs were already in place for other critical battery raw materials, White House statements drew specific attention to natural graphite when they announced the ",{"text":49149,"type":596,"marks":49150},"application of a 25% tariff starting in 2026",[49151],{"type":606,"attrs":49152},{"href":39062,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49155,"content":49156},{"textAlign":49},[49157],{"text":49158,"type":596},"Natural graphite has long been on the radar of US policymakers, but the country’s growing domestic needs and China’s role in the supply chain has pushed it to the top of the geopolitical agenda.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":49160,"content":49161},{"textAlign":49},[49162],{"text":49163,"type":596},"“The US graphite market is much less mature than that of China, so the tariff on Chinese products comes as an incentive to new local projects as well as to ensure US production capacity will be able to comply with the future local demand,” said Camila Cardili, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":49165,"content":49166},{"textAlign":49},[49167,49169,49175],{"text":49168,"type":596},"The US is actively trying to limit China’s control of the lithium ion battery supply chain, and natural graphite is an area where ",{"text":49170,"type":596,"marks":49171},"China is acutely dominant",[49172],{"type":606,"attrs":49173},{"href":49174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1313805",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49177,"content":49178},{"textAlign":49},[49179],{"text":49180,"type":596},"Here are the key reasons why the White House re-introduced tariffs on natural graphite. ",{"type":615,"attrs":49182,"content":49183},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49184],{"text":49185,"type":596},"1. Natural graphite is essential to US EV and battery adoption ",{"type":591,"attrs":49187,"content":49188},{"textAlign":49},[49189],{"text":49190,"type":596},"The battery market is the largest source of demand growth for natural graphite. In 2017, 15% of demand came from batteries; at present, this figure is 57% and by 2030 it is expected to be 80%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49192,"content":49193},{"textAlign":49},[49194],{"type":836,"attrs":49195},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":49196,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49197},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b15fdfda08/bm-the-battery-market-is-the-key-demand-driver-for-natural-graphite-1319148a911e.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":49199,"content":49200},{"textAlign":49},[49201,49203,49207],{"text":49202,"type":596},"This trend is true of the US as it seeks to build out its battery supply chain. North American demand for natural graphite – the majority of which comes from the US – is expected to be more than 437,000 tonnes in 2030, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":49204},[49205],{"type":606,"attrs":49206},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49209,"content":49210},{"textAlign":49},[49211],{"text":49212,"type":596},"While automakers have tended towards the use of synthetic graphite-dominant anodes in recent years due to life-cycle benefits, western anode consumers are seeking to increase natural graphite inputs to reduce cost and sustainability concerns. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49214,"content":49215},{"textAlign":49},[49216,49220,49225],{"text":49217,"type":596,"marks":49218},"Watch Benchmark head of prices Daisy Jennings-Gray discuss the North American anode market. View more analyst insight videos ",[49219],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":49221},[49222,49224],{"type":606,"attrs":49223},{"href":42448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":49226},[49227],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":49229,"content":49230},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49231],{"text":49232,"type":596},"2. China’s outsized role in natural graphite",{"type":591,"attrs":49234,"content":49235},{"textAlign":49},[49236,49238,49242],{"text":49237,"type":596},"This year, China is expected to produce 72% of global natural graphite supply, and 98% of uncoated spherical graphite (USPG) output, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":49239},[49240],{"type":606,"attrs":49241},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49244,"content":49245},{"textAlign":49},[49246],{"text":49247,"type":596},"There is no other stage of the lithium ion battery supply chain where China exerts the same level of control from the first stage of production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49249,"content":49250},{"textAlign":49},[49251],{"text":49252,"type":596},"China’s influence on natural graphite was highlighted when it introduced export controls in December 2023, requiring producers to apply for permits before exporting certain graphite products. Though permit allocations have not been used to completely deny access to Chinese graphite, the policy emphasised the country’s dominance over this critical material.",{"type":591,"attrs":49254,"content":49255},{"textAlign":49},[49256],{"text":49257,"type":596},"The battery supply chain remains reliant on Chinese natural graphite which poses an issue for the ‘de-risking’ policies introduced in many Western countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":49259,"content":49260},{"textAlign":49},[49261],{"text":49262,"type":596},"Chinese market share led the South Korean minister of trade to call for natural graphite to be granted an exemption from the rules of origin stipulations under the US’ Inflation Reduction Act, otherwise it would be almost impossible for any EVs to qualify for subsidies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49264,"content":49265},{"textAlign":49},[49266,49268,49273],{"text":49267,"type":596},"In May, the US government granted a ",{"text":49269,"type":596,"marks":49270},"two year extension for natural graphite",[49271],{"type":606,"attrs":49272},{"href":43457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49274,"type":596},", giving automakers until 2027 to meet the Foreign Entities of Concern requirements that qualify them for subsidies.",{"type":615,"attrs":49276,"content":49277},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49278],{"text":49279,"type":596},"3. The US lacks natural graphite production capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":49281,"content":49282},{"textAlign":49},[49283],{"text":49284,"type":596},"The US cannot meet its domestic demands and must therefore rely on natural graphite supply from other countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49286,"content":49287},{"textAlign":49},[49288,49290,49294],{"text":49289,"type":596},"The US currently produces no natural flake graphite but has four mines in various stages of development, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":49291},[49292],{"type":606,"attrs":49293},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":43439,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49296,"content":49297},{"textAlign":49},[49298],{"text":49299,"type":596},"In the near-term the country is on track to develop its graphite processing (USPG) capacity more rapidly than mined supply, with 6,000 tonnes per year currently in operation at Syrah Resources’ Vidalia facility, which came online this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49301,"content":49302},{"textAlign":49},[49303],{"text":49304,"type":596},"To meet this increase in capacity, the US will continue to rely on feedstock from other countries and regions where new mined supply is coming online such as Canada and graphite hubs in Africa.",{"type":591,"attrs":49306,"content":49307},{"textAlign":49},[49308],{"text":49309,"type":596},"By limiting the use of Chinese graphite, the US hopes to develop a more localised graphite supply chain, one less exposed to the national security threat it perceives from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":49311,"content":49312},{"textAlign":49},[49313],{"text":49314,"type":596},"“Concentration of critical minerals mining and refining capacity in China leaves our supply chains vulnerable and our national security and clean energy goals at risk,” the White House said in a statement announcing the tariffs on natural graphite.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":49316,"content":49317},{"textAlign":49},[49318],{"text":49319,"type":596},"This is why domestic graphite projects are important in many ways, “from industrial investment and job creation to the renewable energy transition, technology development and national security,” said Anthony Houston, CEO of Graphite One, who was invited to meet President Biden ahead of the announcement. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49321,"content":49322},{"textAlign":49},[49323],{"type":836,"attrs":49324},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":49325,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49326},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b13bd692d3/bm-natural-graphite-mine-and-uspg-developments-in-the-us.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":49328,"content":49329},{"textAlign":49},[49330],{"text":49331,"type":596},"Benchmark is tracking a total 29 projects across North America, comprising 15 mines and 14 USPG facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":49333,"content":49334},{"textAlign":49},[49335,49337,49341],{"text":49336,"type":596},"China’s share of production is expected to fall to 58% by 2029, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":49338},[49339],{"type":606,"attrs":49340},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49342,"type":596},". This is the result of significant buildout from countries in south east Africa, Australia, and Canada, presenting an opportunity for the US to source natural graphite from outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":49344,"content":49345},{"textAlign":49},[49346],{"text":49347,"type":596},"This trend is more pronounced in USPG where Chinese production falls from 98% in 2024 to 56% in 2029. The US is expected to account for 41% of ex-China USPG production in 2029. ","Last month, the US increased tariffs on large sections of the lithium ion battery supply chain. While tariffs were already in place for other critical battery raw materials, White House statements drew specific attention to natural graphite when they announced the application of a 25% tariff starting in 2026. Natural graphite has long been on […]",[49350],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49351},{"job_title":557,"image":49352,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5595e851-e524-4e3b-a310-4870172682c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[49355,49356],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":49358,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49358,"source":547,"filename":49359,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49360,"is_external_url":51},"Column-line chart with natural graphite demand shown in columns, increasing between 2017 and 2030, and proportion of natural graphite demand coming from battery market shown as a line measured against right hand y axis","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1717599405/www-production/The-battery-market-is-the-key-demand-driver-for-natural-graphite-Blank-Y-axis/The-battery-market-is-the-key-demand-driver-for-natural-graphite-Blank-Y-axis.png?_i=AA",{"alt":49358,"title":49358,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49362,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49364,"uuid":49365,"name":49366,"slug":49367,"full_slug":49368,"content":49369},112469509248275,"da356cc5-aee4-4139-bc68-c71ca5685588","Ex-China coke supply lags synthetic graphite buildout ","ex-china-coke-supply-lags-synthetic-graphite-buildout","article/ex-china-coke-supply-lags-synthetic-graphite-buildout",{"_uid":49370,"date":49371,"tags":49372,"editor":49376,"content":49380,"excerpt":49497,"featured":51,"reporter":49498,"_editable":49502,"component":697,"seo_title":49366,"categories":49503,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":49507,"seo_description":49497,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":49511},"71483238-f720-4215-b129-7998e6e86b26","2024-05-31 00:00",[49373,49374,49375],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[49377],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49378},{"job_title":557,"image":49379,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":49381},[49382,49387,49392,49397,49402,49407,49412,49417,49422,49427,49432,49437,49442,49447,49452,49457,49462,49467,49472,49477,49482,49487,49492],{"type":591,"attrs":49383,"content":49384},{"textAlign":49},[49385],{"text":49386,"type":596},"Western synthetic graphite capacity is heading for a raw material bottleneck with not enough ex-China pet needle coke to meet forecast feedstock needs.",{"type":591,"attrs":49388,"content":49389},{"textAlign":49},[49390],{"text":49391,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that ex-China regions could soon enter a deficit for needle coke, the favoured feedstock for synthetic graphite anode materials destined on Western markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49393,"content":49394},{"textAlign":49},[49395],{"text":49396,"type":596},"“The shortage of pet needle coke supply is set to develop and grow towards the end of this decade, as graphitisation capacity for western anode developers begins to come online,” said Benchmark analyst Tony Alderson. ",{"type":615,"attrs":49398,"content":49399},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49400],{"text":49401,"type":596},"Why are Western producers facing this bottleneck?",{"type":591,"attrs":49403,"content":49404},{"textAlign":49},[49405],{"text":49406,"type":596},"An ex-China needle coke deficit has been long expected. However, forecast shortfalls have increased thanks to the 2022 US IRA, which incentivised companies to expand synthetic graphite expansion in the US or US free trade partner countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":49408,"content":49409},{"textAlign":49},[49410],{"text":49411,"type":596},"This post-IRA synthetic graphite expansion has occurred without concurrent expansions for needle coke that would fit FEOC (Foreign Entity of Concern) sourcing requirements or could support the EU’s diversification targets under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).",{"type":591,"attrs":49413,"content":49414},{"textAlign":49},[49415],{"text":49416,"type":596},"This highlights the need for more investment into the upstream sections of the anode supply chain, a segment where diversification has already proven difficult for the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":49418,"content":49419},{"textAlign":49},[49420],{"text":49421,"type":596},"China’s dominance in synthetic graphite already led the US Treasury in May to relax its FEOC sourcing rules for the critical mineral until 2027, aimed at allowing ex-China supply to come online.",{"type":591,"attrs":49423,"content":49424},{"textAlign":49},[49425],{"text":49426,"type":596},"The FEOC exemption means that EV producers will not need to trace the origins of synthetic graphite to qualify for IRA tax credits until the deadline as there is currently not enough upstream capacity outside China.",{"type":615,"attrs":49428,"content":49429},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49430],{"text":49431,"type":596},"Who are the current ex-China coke suppliers?",{"type":591,"attrs":49433,"content":49434},{"textAlign":49},[49435],{"text":49436,"type":596},"Currently, there are nine non-Chinese owned needle coke producers that hold either operating or pipeline capacity across six ex-China countries. Of these, eight are FEOC compliant.",{"type":591,"attrs":49438,"content":49439},{"textAlign":49},[49440],{"text":49441,"type":596},"“Many companies planning synthetic graphite capacity outside of China have gone to suppliers such as Phillips 66 to secure this feedstock. This is adequate for near-term plans but when looking at the expansion plans of all the ex-China players, demand for high quality ex-China feedstock will eventually outstrip supply,” said Alderson.",{"type":615,"attrs":49443,"content":49444},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49445],{"text":49446,"type":596},"Why can’t ex-China producers use Chinese needle coke? ",{"type":591,"attrs":49448,"content":49449},{"textAlign":49},[49450],{"text":49451,"type":596},"The IRA’s FEOC clause drastically narrows the pool of needle coke feedstock synthetic graphite producers can draw on if they are to benefit from US EV tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":49453,"content":49454},{"textAlign":49},[49455],{"text":49456,"type":596},"Under the FOEC clause, EVs are not eligible for IRA credits if its batteries’ components or inputs are supplied either by companies with ownership ties to the Chinese government or are owned over a certain threshold by Chinese companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49458,"content":49459},{"textAlign":49},[49460],{"text":49461,"type":596},"Yet even if the FEOC clause were not an issue, ex-China producers would still not be able to rely on Chinese supply long term. By 2032, China will also enter a long-term needle coke deficit.",{"type":615,"attrs":49463,"content":49464},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49465],{"text":49466,"type":596},"Is substitution possible? ",{"type":591,"attrs":49468,"content":49469},{"textAlign":49},[49470],{"text":49471,"type":596},"Without more investment into ex-China needle coke capacity, synthetic coke producers would need to substitute the material. This would come at a cost, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":49473,"content":49474},{"textAlign":49},[49475],{"text":49476,"type":596},"Needle coke has the lowest sulphur content and the lowest concentration of metallic components and other impurities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49478,"content":49479},{"textAlign":49},[49480],{"text":49481,"type":596},"This results in a high-quality anode material favoured by Western OEMs for their higher electrical conductivity and power than anodes that draw on other types of cokes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49483,"content":49484},{"textAlign":49},[49485],{"text":49486,"type":596},"“Low sulphur pet coke would be the next best option, then medium coke sulphur. However, their performance benefits for these are not as good as for needle coke,” said Tony Alderson. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49488,"content":49489},{"textAlign":49},[49490],{"text":49491,"type":596},"The lower-cost pet cokes have higher sulphur and impurity content resulting in lower-performance products. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49493,"content":49494},{"textAlign":49},[49495],{"text":49496,"type":596},"Chinese anode producers have tried blending pet cokes with needle coke to cut costs while retaining some performance factors. These products have until recently been restricted to the lower-value Chinese markets.","Western synthetic graphite capacity is heading for a raw material bottleneck with not enough ex-China pet needle coke to meet forecast feedstock needs. Benchmark data shows that ex-China regions could soon enter a deficit for needle coke, the favoured feedstock for synthetic graphite anode materials destined on Western markets. “The shortage of pet needle coke […]",[49499],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49500},{"job_title":557,"image":49501,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"71483238-f720-4215-b129-7998e6e86b26\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[49504,49505,49506],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":49508,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49508,"source":547,"filename":49509,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49510,"is_external_url":51},"VW EV charging in Berlin","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3d66fed62a/bm-shutterstock-742532452.jpg",{"alt":49508,"title":49508,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 31, 2024",{"id":49513,"uuid":49514,"name":49515,"slug":49516,"full_slug":49517,"content":49518},112469499532561,"0f80dca6-2885-4702-bad0-9ca2d6fb9b9f","SQM and Codelco confirm Chilean lithium partnership","sqm-and-codelco-confirm-chilean-lithium-partnership","article/sqm-and-codelco-confirm-chilean-lithium-partnership",{"_uid":49519,"date":49371,"tags":49520,"editor":49526,"content":49530,"excerpt":49665,"featured":51,"reporter":49666,"_editable":49670,"component":697,"seo_title":49515,"categories":49671,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":49674,"featured_image":49677,"seo_description":49665,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":49511},"61a0bf35-308f-4124-8747-922575dbe687",[49521,49522,49523,49524],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":5568,"name":5569},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":49525,"name":47299},"sqm",[49527],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49528},{"job_title":557,"image":49529,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":49531},[49532,49537,49550,49555,49560,49565,49586,49591,49603,49615,49620,49625,49633,49638,49643,49648,49660],{"type":591,"attrs":49533,"content":49534},{"textAlign":49},[49535],{"text":49536,"type":596},"SQM and the National Copper Corporation of Chile, Codelco, will form a partnership for the development of mining and production activities at SQM’s Salar de Atacama site.",{"type":591,"attrs":49538,"content":49539},{"textAlign":49},[49540,49542,49548],{"text":49541,"type":596},"The two companies entered a formal partnership agreement on 31 May 2024, after having signed a ",{"text":49543,"type":596,"marks":49544},"memorandum of understanding",[49545],{"type":606,"attrs":49546},{"href":49547,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sqm-forms-private-public-partnership-with-codelco-for-chilean-lithium-production",{"text":49549,"type":596}," in December last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":49551,"content":49552},{"textAlign":49},[49553],{"text":49554,"type":596},"“This announcement comes as expected news,” Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark, said. “First of all, it takes out the certain degree of uncertainty regarding timelines and puts an end to certain shareholder’s claims to stop the deal.”",{"type":591,"attrs":49556,"content":49557},{"textAlign":49},[49558],{"text":49559,"type":596},"The partnership will be formed through the merging of Codelco’s subsidiary Minera Tarar with SQM’s subsidiary SQM Salar. The joint venture’s new name has yet to be announced.",{"type":615,"attrs":49561,"content":49562},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49563],{"text":49564,"type":596},"Lithium in Chile",{"type":591,"attrs":49566,"content":49567},{"textAlign":49},[49568,49570,49576,49578,49584],{"text":49569,"type":596},"The partnership is part of President Gabriel Boric ",{"text":49571,"type":596,"marks":49572},"National Lithium Strategy",[49573],{"type":606,"attrs":49574},{"href":49575,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chile-plans-to-take-control-of-lithium-mining-via-public-private-partnership",{"text":49577,"type":596}," which aims to increase the state’s role in Chile’s lithium production through the ",{"text":49579,"type":596,"marks":49580},"formation of public-private partnerships",[49581],{"type":606,"attrs":49582},{"href":49583,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-chiles-national-lithium-strategy-mean-for-albemarle-and-sqm",{"text":49585,"type":596},". The SQM-Codelco partnership will be the first.",{"type":591,"attrs":49587,"content":49588},{"textAlign":49},[49589],{"text":49590,"type":596},"“This has as its main objective for the Chilean people to act as ‘shareholders’ of their strategic resources, as copper already is,” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":49592,"content":49593},{"textAlign":49},[49594,49596,49601],{"text":49595,"type":596},"All lithium properties in Chile are owned by the Chilean Production Development Corporation, CORFO. Currently, ",{"text":49597,"type":596,"marks":49598},"SQM and US-based Albemarle",[49599],{"type":606,"attrs":49600},{"href":47382,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49602,"type":596}," are the only companies operating lithium production assets in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":49604,"content":49605},{"textAlign":49},[49606,49608,49613],{"text":49607,"type":596},"Earlier in May, ",{"text":49609,"type":596,"marks":49610},"CORFO boosted Albemarle’s lithium quota",[49611],{"type":606,"attrs":49612},{"href":36406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49614,"type":596}," in the country. The terms of the SQM-Codelco partnership will boost the production quota for SQM’s assets as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":49616,"content":49617},{"textAlign":49},[49618],{"text":49619,"type":596},"“This results in Chile being able to ramp-up production, which has been stagnating during the last few years, allowing the country to increase its footprint as one of the largest lithium producers globally,” Gay said.",{"type":591,"attrs":49621,"content":49622},{"textAlign":49},[49623],{"text":49624,"type":596},"In 2023, Chile represented a quarter of global lithium production making it the second largest producer of lithium after Australia. By 2030, this market share is on track to slump to 13%. The agreement is expected to ease some of the geopolitical constraints to expansion and reaffirm Chile as a long-term major force in lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":49626,"content":49627},{"textAlign":49},[49628],{"type":836,"attrs":49629},{"id":49,"alt":49630,"src":49631,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49632},"Chile's lithium output growth lags behind rest of the world","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d86b9ddbed/bm-chile-lithium-2015-to-2025.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":49634,"content":49635},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49636],{"text":49637,"type":596},"How will the partnership operate?",{"type":591,"attrs":49639,"content":49640},{"textAlign":49},[49641],{"text":49642,"type":596},"The partnership is due to form in 2025 and its operation is split into two periods based on SQM’s current lease agreement from the Chilean Production Development Corporation, CORFO, which is due to expire in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":49644,"content":49645},{"textAlign":49},[49646],{"text":49647,"type":596},"The increase in lithium production by the partnership will be achieved through increases in “process efficiency, the adoption of new technologies and the optimisation of operations,” according to a press release from Codelco.",{"type":591,"attrs":49649,"content":49650},{"textAlign":49},[49651,49653,49658],{"text":49652,"type":596},"“Also, this deal comes with stringent ",{"text":49654,"type":596,"marks":49655},"environmental requirements",[49656],{"type":606,"attrs":49657},{"href":47417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49659,"type":596},", particularly regarding water consumption,” Gay said. “This is extremely important considering that the Salar de Atacama is located in the most arid region in the globe.”",{"type":591,"attrs":49661,"content":49662},{"textAlign":49},[49663],{"text":49664,"type":596},"Although a formal agreement has been signed, there are still several requirements that need to be met before the partnership can be officially formed in 2025 including obtaining governmental approval and the conclusion of a consultation process with indigenous communities regarding aspects of the deal.","SQM and the National Copper Corporation of Chile, Codelco, will form a partnership for the development of mining and production activities at SQM’s Salar de Atacama site. The two companies entered a formal partnership agreement on 31 May 2024, after having signed a memorandum of understanding in December last year. “This announcement comes as expected […]",[49667],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49668},{"job_title":557,"image":49669,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"61a0bf35-308f-4124-8747-922575dbe687\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[49672,49673],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":49630,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49630,"source":547,"filename":49675,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49676,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1717175581/www-production/Chile-lithium-2015-to-2025-no-Y/Chile-lithium-2015-to-2025-no-Y.png?_i=AA",{"alt":49630,"title":49630,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":49678,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49679,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1850e044f1/bm-sqms-regulatory-headache-continues.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49681,"uuid":49682,"name":49683,"slug":49684,"full_slug":49685,"content":49686},112469513954580,"5c9a0b6f-9ea7-424e-a2de-42f63a87aedd","Where is China exporting its electric vehicles?","where-is-china-exporting-its-electric-vehicles","article/where-is-china-exporting-its-electric-vehicles",{"_uid":49687,"date":49688,"tags":49689,"editor":49694,"content":49698,"excerpt":49825,"featured":51,"reporter":49826,"_editable":49830,"component":697,"seo_title":49683,"categories":49831,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":49834,"seo_description":49825,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":49836},"fae8921e-8a77-445e-8a81-a127c0216c82","2024-05-28 00:00",[49690,49691,49692,49693],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[49695],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49696},{"job_title":557,"image":49697,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":49699},[49700,49712,49723,49728,49733,49738,49743,49748,49760,49777,49784,49789,49794,49799,49804,49809,49820],{"type":591,"attrs":49701,"content":49702},{"textAlign":49},[49703,49705,49710],{"text":49704,"type":596},"This month the ",{"text":49706,"type":596,"marks":49707},"US imposed steep tariffs",[49708],{"type":606,"attrs":49709},{"href":39062,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49711,"type":596}," on electric vehicle (EV) imports from China, but the country accounted for less than 1% of Chinese EV exports in 2023. Other regions, particularly Europe, were key to China’s surge in EV exports, which increased 47% last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":49713,"content":49714},{"textAlign":49},[49715,49721],{"text":49716,"type":596,"marks":49717},"Electric vehicle exports from China increased",[49718],{"type":606,"attrs":49719},{"href":49720,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-nev-sales-rebound-in-march-after-slow-start-this-year",{"text":49722,"type":596}," seven fold to 1.55 million units in 2023 from 2020, according to data from the General Administration of Customs People’s Republic of China (GACC). ",{"type":591,"attrs":49724,"content":49725},{"textAlign":49},[49726],{"text":49727,"type":596},"“Chinese automakers have been looking ahead to overseas markets for new sources of growth, which is reflected in the rapid increase in exports seen in 2023,” said Luke Gear, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":49729,"content":49730},{"textAlign":49},[49731],{"text":49732,"type":596},"In 2023, the European Union (EU) had the largest share of China’s EV exports at 31%, while Thailand emerged second with a 10% share and the UK came third with an 8% share, according to GACC.",{"type":591,"attrs":49734,"content":49735},{"textAlign":49},[49736],{"text":49737,"type":596},"Here’s a look at China’s growing electric vehicle exports.",{"type":615,"attrs":49739,"content":49740},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49741],{"text":49742,"type":596},"Europe’s lower tariff draws Chinese EV imports ",{"type":591,"attrs":49744,"content":49745},{"textAlign":49},[49746],{"text":49747,"type":596},"The 27-nation EU currently imposes a 10% tariff on electric cars imported from China. That could change as the European Commission’s anti-subsidy probe aims to find out whether it should impose higher tariffs on Chinese EV imports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49749,"content":49750},{"textAlign":49},[49751,49753,49758],{"text":49752,"type":596},"“European tariffs are expected to be more lenient than the 100% tariffs introduced in the US,” said Gear. Despite a tariff, Chinese EV makers can ",{"text":49754,"type":596,"marks":49755},"still draw more profit",[49756],{"type":606,"attrs":49757},{"href":772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49759,"type":596}," from selling cars in Europe than in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":49761,"content":49762},{"textAlign":49},[49763,49765,49770,49772,49776],{"text":49764,"type":596},"Chinese battery producers too have been making ",{"text":49766,"type":596,"marks":49767},"significant inroads in Europe",[49768],{"type":606,"attrs":49769},{"href":48573,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49771,"type":596}," where they see the environment to be more favourable to develop battery production than the US. In 2030, Chinese companies are forecast to account for one third of Europe’s total battery output, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":49773},[49774],{"type":606,"attrs":49775},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49778,"content":49779},{"textAlign":49},[49780],{"type":836,"attrs":49781},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":49782,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49783},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8a3dc7d46e/bm-chinese-exports-sankey-v4.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":49785,"content":49786},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49787],{"text":49788,"type":596},"Thailand leads China’s EV exports in Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":49790,"content":49791},{"textAlign":49},[49792],{"text":49793,"type":596},"Thailand has emerged as the largest importer of Chinese EVs in Asia, driven by a combination of free trade agreement and Thai subsidies. Chinese EV shipments to Thailand increased fifty fold in 2023 to 156,670 units from 2020, and more than doubled in 2023, according to GAAC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49795,"content":49796},{"textAlign":49},[49797],{"text":49798,"type":596},"The Thai government reduced tariffs on imported EVs under its first phase of the EV subsidy program, according to Gear.",{"type":591,"attrs":49800,"content":49801},{"textAlign":49},[49802],{"text":49803,"type":596},"“Thailand’s initial strategy to increase EV sales and meet EV adoption targets has been to open the doors to affordable Chinese EV imports with customs and excise tax breaks,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":49805,"content":49806},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49807],{"text":49808,"type":596},"Canada’s lower tariffs draw more Chinese EVs than US",{"type":591,"attrs":49810,"content":49811},{"textAlign":49},[49812,49814,49818],{"text":49813,"type":596},"Canada’s lower import tariffs on Chinese EVs helped it ship in more EVs from China in 2023 than the ",{"text":5165,"type":596,"marks":49815},[49816],{"type":606,"attrs":49817},{"href":39062,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49819,"type":596}," last year.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":49821,"content":49822},{"textAlign":49},[49823],{"text":49824,"type":596},"“China’s presence in the US market was already low as a result of the political sentiments and policy of recent years…the new tariffs will work to cement this further,” said Gear.","This month the US imposed steep tariffs on electric vehicle (EV) imports from China, but the country accounted for less than 1% of Chinese EV exports in 2023. Other regions, particularly Europe, were key to China’s surge in EV exports, which increased 47% last year. Electric vehicle exports from China increased seven fold to 1.55 […]",[49827],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49828},{"job_title":557,"image":49829,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fae8921e-8a77-445e-8a81-a127c0216c82\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[49832,49833],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":20932,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":49835,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 28, 2024",{"id":49838,"uuid":49839,"name":49840,"slug":49841,"full_slug":49842,"content":49843},112469523490071,"3d1a1fff-ddac-451d-8d09-42d2ae442849","Over 40% of 2024 lithium feedstock to come from companies with Industry Leading scores for ESG","over-40-of-2024-lithium-feedstock-to-come-from-companies-with-industry-leading-scores-for-esg","article/over-40-of-2024-lithium-feedstock-to-come-from-companies-with-industry-leading-scores-for-esg",{"_uid":49844,"date":49845,"tags":49846,"editor":49850,"content":49854,"excerpt":50058,"featured":51,"reporter":50059,"_editable":50063,"component":697,"seo_title":49840,"categories":50064,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":50068,"featured_image":50070,"seo_description":50058,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50073},"59274130-1e26-4a0a-b3d8-4d8e9a9e3b8b","2024-05-27 00:00",[49847,49848,49849],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":49525,"name":47299},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[49851],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":49852},{"job_title":557,"image":49853,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":49855},[49856,49875,49887,49900,49908,49913,49918,49923,49928,49935,49940,49945,49957,49962,49967,49980,49990,50002,50009,50014,50019,50024,50029,50042,50052],{"type":591,"attrs":49857,"content":49858},{"textAlign":49},[49859,49861,49866,49868,49874],{"text":49860,"type":596},"This year, two-fifths of lithium feedstock is forecast to be produced by companies with Industry Leading ",{"text":49862,"type":596,"marks":49863},"environmental, social and governance standards",[49864],{"type":606,"attrs":49865},{"href":9081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49867,"type":596},", as assessed by ",{"text":49869,"type":596,"marks":49870},"Benchmark’s Lithium Sustainability Index",[49871],{"type":606,"attrs":49872},{"href":49873,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/lithium/sustainability-index/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49876,"content":49877},{"textAlign":49},[49878,49880,49885],{"text":49879,"type":596},"All “Industry Leading” supply came from countries with ",{"text":49881,"type":596,"marks":49882},"intrinsically low ESG risks",[49883],{"type":606,"attrs":49884},{"href":47417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49886,"type":596},", according to Benchmark’s regional risk map.",{"type":591,"attrs":49888,"content":49889},{"textAlign":49},[49890,49892,49898],{"text":49891,"type":596},"“The Index is important and aims to increase the transparency of the ESG performance of lithium miners globally,” ",{"text":49893,"type":596,"marks":49894},"Tom Drabble",[49895],{"type":606,"attrs":49896},{"href":49897,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-lithium-sustainability-risks-in-china-africa-and-south-america",{"text":49899,"type":596},", a lithium ESG analyst at Benchmark, said. “This information is then used as a responsible sourcing and investing tool highlighting lithium supply opportunities with strong ESG credentials.”",{"type":591,"attrs":49901,"content":49902},{"textAlign":49},[49903],{"type":836,"attrs":49904},{"id":49,"alt":49905,"src":49906,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":49907},"41% of 2024 mined lithium supply is from companies with Industry Leading ESG practices","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ca5d92116b/bm-esg-risk-sankey-chart-v3a.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":49909,"content":49910},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49911],{"text":49912,"type":596},"Industry Leading producers",{"type":591,"attrs":49914,"content":49915},{"textAlign":49},[49916],{"text":49917,"type":596},"Benchmark assesses all operating and developing lithium miners based on 79 indicators to give an overall score out of 100. A score of 70 or higher deems a company to be “Industry Leading” in their ESG practices.",{"type":591,"attrs":49919,"content":49920},{"textAlign":49},[49921],{"text":49922,"type":596},"Based on their Lithium ESG score, top commercially operating lithium miners that are “Industry Leading” include:",{"type":591,"attrs":49924,"content":49925},{"textAlign":49},[49926],{"text":49927,"type":596},"Source:Benchmark Lithium ESG Report",{"type":591,"attrs":49929,"content":49930},{"textAlign":49},[49931],{"text":49932,"type":596,"marks":49933},"*Arcadium has yet to publish an ESG report since it formed from the merger of Allkem and Livent. Allkem’s previous score is used.",[49934],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":49936,"content":49937},{"textAlign":49},[49938],{"text":49939,"type":596},"All of the countries that these Industry Leading companies currently operate in are deemed as Low Risk countries from an ESG perspective.",{"type":591,"attrs":49941,"content":49942},{"textAlign":49},[49943],{"text":49944,"type":596},"“Australia is deemed to have low ESG risks, in part thanks to the strong regulatory environment of the national and regional governments,” Drabble said. “Chile also is a country with relatively low ESG risk. The country recently joined the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining showing that the national government is taking mining risk seriously.”",{"type":591,"attrs":49946,"content":49947},{"textAlign":49},[49948,49950,49955],{"text":49949,"type":596},"The worst case scenario of lithium supply from companies with scores in the “Limited Visibility” category of ",{"text":49951,"type":596,"marks":49952},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Index",[49953],{"type":606,"attrs":49954},{"href":49873,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":49956,"type":596}," and in countries of concern from an ESG perspective accounts for 26% of forecast 2024 supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":49958,"content":49959},{"textAlign":49},[49960],{"text":49961,"type":596},"“These countries have inherent ESG risks and the companies operating in these countries are not currently reporting what measures they are taking to mitigate such risks,” Drabble said.",{"type":615,"attrs":49963,"content":49964},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[49965],{"text":49966,"type":596},"Chemical supply",{"type":591,"attrs":49968,"content":49969},{"textAlign":49},[49970,49972,49978],{"text":49971,"type":596},"For lithium chemicals, ",{"text":49973,"type":596,"marks":49974},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report",[49975],{"type":606,"attrs":49976},{"href":49977,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/lithium/reports/",{"text":49979,"type":596}," forecasts that just under a third will come from companies categorised as “Industry Leading” in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":49981,"content":49982},{"textAlign":49},[49983,49985,49989],{"text":49984,"type":596},"The largest lithium chemical producer globally is SQM, which has an “Industry Leading” score on ",{"text":49951,"type":596,"marks":49986},[49987],{"type":606,"attrs":49988},{"href":49873,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":49991,"content":49992},{"textAlign":49},[49993,49995,50001],{"text":49994,"type":596},"All of SQM’s chemical supply is from brine sources which generally results in a lower carbon footprint than chemicals produced from spodumene, according to ",{"text":49996,"type":596,"marks":49997},"Benchmark’s Lithium Global LCAs",[49998],{"type":606,"attrs":49999},{"href":50000,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/lca/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50003,"content":50004},{"textAlign":49},[50005],{"type":836,"attrs":50006},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":50007,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":50008},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/452b2b8f74/bm-carbon-curves-chart-24052024-cp-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":50010,"content":50011},{"textAlign":49},[50012],{"text":50013,"type":596},"Although there is a significant amount of mined lithium supply coming from companies and countries with strong ESG credentials, most of this is exported into China.",{"type":591,"attrs":50015,"content":50016},{"textAlign":49},[50017],{"text":50018,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Regional Risk Map deems China “of concern” from an ESG perspective, in part due a deficiency in environmental performance and curtailment of civic freedoms.",{"type":591,"attrs":50020,"content":50021},{"textAlign":49},[50022],{"text":50023,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that China will account for 64% of global lithium chemical production this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":50025,"content":50026},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50027],{"text":50028,"type":596},"Sustainable lithium price",{"type":591,"attrs":50030,"content":50031},{"textAlign":49},[50032,50034,50040],{"text":50033,"type":596},"Benchmark publishes a ",{"text":50035,"type":596,"marks":50036},"sustainable lithium carbonate price",[50037],{"type":606,"attrs":50038},{"href":50039,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-to-launch-sustainable-lithium-carbonate-pricing",{"text":50041,"type":596}," (CIF Asia). This is based on primary data collected from active market participants with Industry Leading scores.",{"type":591,"attrs":50043,"content":50044},{"textAlign":49},[50045,50047,50051],{"text":50046,"type":596},"The latest sustainable lithium carbonate price was assessed at $13,725 per tonne, down 4.85% so far this year, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":50048},[50049],{"type":606,"attrs":50050},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50053,"content":50054},{"textAlign":49},[50055],{"text":45053,"type":596,"marks":50056},[50057],{"type":1006},"This year, two-fifths of lithium feedstock is forecast to be produced by companies with Industry Leading environmental, social and governance standards, as assessed by Benchmark’s Lithium Sustainability Index. All “Industry Leading” supply came from countries with intrinsically low ESG risks, according to Benchmark’s regional risk map. “The Index is important and aims to increase the […]",[50060],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50061},{"job_title":557,"image":50062,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"59274130-1e26-4a0a-b3d8-4d8e9a9e3b8b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50065,50066,50067],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49905,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":49905,"source":547,"filename":49906,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50069,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":49905,"title":49905,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":50071,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50072,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ba6e13286c/bm-photo-salar-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 27, 2024",{"id":50075,"uuid":50076,"name":50077,"slug":50078,"full_slug":50079,"content":50080},112469518742806,"fb071df0-8a53-4fdf-afd7-accc417bf4a5","EU needs international partners for critical minerals diversification","eu-needs-international-partners-for-critical-minerals-diversification","article/eu-needs-international-partners-for-critical-minerals-diversification",{"_uid":50081,"date":49845,"tags":50082,"editor":50084,"content":50088,"excerpt":50303,"featured":51,"reporter":50304,"_editable":50308,"component":697,"seo_title":50077,"categories":50309,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":50320,"seo_description":50303,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50073},"7d5e6d60-5fa6-47b5-99ea-402e9e1d7e9c",[50083],{"slug":10712,"name":10713},[50085],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50086},{"job_title":557,"image":50087,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50089},[50090,50095,50100,50113,50126,50133,50138,50143,50148,50153,50158,50163,50168,50173,50178,50183,50188,50193,50203,50214,50219,50224,50229,50234,50246,50251,50256,50261,50266,50278,50283,50288,50293,50298],{"type":591,"attrs":50091,"content":50092},{"textAlign":49},[50093],{"text":50094,"type":596},"The EU will rely heavily on international partners to meet critical minerals diversification targets under its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which entered into force on 23 May 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":50096,"content":50097},{"textAlign":49},[50098],{"text":50099,"type":596},"According to the CRMA, the EU should source no more than 65% of its annual consumption of each strategic raw material from any single non-EU country, including China, by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":50101,"content":50102},{"textAlign":49},[50103,50105,50111],{"text":50104,"type":596},"Boosting domestic mining should support this. However, this will be insufficient without ",{"text":50106,"type":596,"marks":50107},"increasing international supply",[50108],{"type":606,"attrs":50109},{"href":50110,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australian-eu-and-canadian-representatives-urge-critical-minerals-cooperation",{"text":50112,"type":596}," too.",{"type":591,"attrs":50114,"content":50115},{"textAlign":49},[50116,50118,50124],{"text":50117,"type":596},"“Besides onshoring and critical mineral supply localisation, the CRMA aims to derisk and reduce the EU’s import reliance on China through supply diversification and cooperation with ",{"text":50119,"type":596,"marks":50120},"mineral-rich third countries",[50121],{"type":606,"attrs":50122},{"href":50123,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-africa-fill-the-eus-critical-mineral-deficit",{"text":50125,"type":596},",” commented Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":50127,"content":50128},{"textAlign":49},[50129],{"type":836,"attrs":50130},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":50131,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":50132},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/mz3pDfZnb0ON6w5JdNMqFSUGZaTLsVkirVNplGiFI5_IrJui_3wKyau8eR3FfkhQc17iLlaEHAEVUYfb5pf1J9J6Gu0SUg9UYHIiSJn-SxdldgCdT0SrbbYuPCpYWkcc_JkO7RCEDBTEmJJUz0Z22Bw",{},{"type":591,"attrs":50134,"content":50135},{"textAlign":49},[50136],{"text":50137,"type":596},"The EU has laid the basis for diversifying its international supply through its Strategic Partnerships and Global Gateway Initiative. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50139,"content":50140},{"textAlign":49},[50141],{"text":50142,"type":596},"Strategic partnerships are non-binding agreements with critical minerals-producing nations designed to encourage project investment and integrate their supply chains with those of the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50144,"content":50145},{"textAlign":49},[50146],{"text":50147,"type":596},"The 2021 Global Gateway Initiative is the EU’s global infrastructure development program, a response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that aims to drive funding into overseas projects, including those related to battery critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50149,"content":50150},{"textAlign":49},[50151],{"text":50152,"type":596},"Existing instruments like free trade agreements (FTAs) with mineral-rich countries such as Chile are also expected to support diversification and overseas investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":50154,"content":50155},{"textAlign":49},[50156],{"text":50157,"type":596},"It remains to be seen whether and how these schemes will work in practice. One challenge will be aligning EU critical minerals supply security goals with partner countries’ goals to attract investment into value-added industries, such as processing.",{"type":615,"attrs":50159,"content":50160},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50161],{"text":50162,"type":596},"12 partners and counting",{"type":591,"attrs":50164,"content":50165},{"textAlign":49},[50166],{"text":50167,"type":596},"So far, the EU has concluded 12 strategic partnerships, with one more under negotiation with Australia. In addition, the EU is negotiating FTAs with Australia and Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":50169,"content":50170},{"textAlign":49},[50171],{"text":50172,"type":596},"Some partners are major critical minerals producers already, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for cobalt or Chile for lithium. Others are not yet significant producers but possess major deposits, such as Ukraine and Kazakhstan for lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":50174,"content":50175},{"textAlign":49},[50176],{"text":50177,"type":596},"These soft power instruments aim to derisk and support public-private cooperation to attract European investments in partner countries’ high-risk raw material projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50179,"content":50180},{"textAlign":49},[50181],{"text":50182,"type":596},"The hope is that this will lead to supply offtakes between European companies and overseas assets, helping to achieve the 65% supply diversification target. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50184,"content":50185},{"textAlign":49},[50186],{"text":50187,"type":596},"To support offtake agreements, the EU Commission plans to develop a system aimed at reducing price uncertainty for buyers and project developers dealing in potentially volatile commodities.",{"type":615,"attrs":50189,"content":50190},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50191],{"text":50192,"type":596},"Australian agreement key to lithium stocks",{"type":591,"attrs":50194,"content":50195},{"textAlign":49},[50196,50198,50202],{"text":50197,"type":596},"The EU is now trying to secure a free trade agreement and strategic partnership with Australia, a major critical minerals ore producer set to contribute 34% of global lithium supply this year, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":50199},[50200],{"type":606,"attrs":50201},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50204,"content":50205},{"textAlign":49},[50206,50208,50212],{"text":50207,"type":596},"Deals with Australia would be a windfall for EU supply security, given the bloc is only on track to produce 9% of its lithium needs in 2030, data from ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":50209},[50210],{"type":606,"attrs":50211},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50213,"type":596}," shows. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50215,"content":50216},{"textAlign":49},[50217],{"text":50218,"type":596},"Australia is also a longstanding geopolitical ally with low political risk, meaning any critical minerals partnership would prompt easy investment flows. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50220,"content":50221},{"textAlign":49},[50222],{"text":50223,"type":596},"The country is also a major critical minerals ore producer with low political risk and a good ESG track record, meeting the EU CRMA’s criteria for sustainable supply. ",{"type":615,"attrs":50225,"content":50226},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50227],{"text":50228,"type":596},"DRC’s derisking challenge ",{"type":591,"attrs":50230,"content":50231},{"textAlign":49},[50232],{"text":50233,"type":596},"Derisking is an important part of the EU’s strategic partnerships since many European investors have been hesitant to invest in some countries on the list due to geopolitical and ESG risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":50235,"content":50236},{"textAlign":49},[50237,50239,50244],{"text":50238,"type":596},"The DRC, set to produce 76% of the world’s cobalt this year according to ",{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":50241},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast",[50242],{"type":606,"attrs":50243},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50245,"type":596},", exemplifies the challenge and importance of de-risking. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50247,"content":50248},{"textAlign":49},[50249],{"text":50250,"type":596},"Cobalt is the critical mineral in which the EU is set to have the biggest shortfalls, with the bloc expected to produce just 2% of regional demand in 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50252,"content":50253},{"textAlign":49},[50254],{"text":50255,"type":596},"Yet clashes between rebels and government forces have intensified in the east of the country, the most recent flare-up in a three-decades-long civil and regional conflict that has further fed concerns around the DRC’s business environment and ESG track record. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50257,"content":50258},{"textAlign":49},[50259],{"text":50260,"type":596},"Implementing the DRC-EU partnership is facing diplomatic challenges as the EU has also recently concluded a strategic partnership with Rwanda, which, according to the UN, is backing rebels in Eastern Congo. ",{"type":615,"attrs":50262,"content":50263},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50264],{"text":50265,"type":596},"Value addition and the problem of goal alignment",{"type":591,"attrs":50267,"content":50268},{"textAlign":49},[50269,50271,50276],{"text":50270,"type":596},"Also at issue is how to align the EU’s goal of supply diversification with the DRC’s goal of value addition and battery industrialisation, aiming to start with processing and the ",{"text":50272,"type":596,"marks":50273},"manufacturing of precursors for NCM batteries",[50274],{"type":606,"attrs":50275},{"href":40396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50277,"type":596},", as ‘local value addition’ is often defined too vaguely. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50279,"content":50280},{"textAlign":49},[50281],{"text":50282,"type":596},"The Global Gateway project is supposedly addressing concerns around value addition, aiming to compete with China’s Belt and Road Project on overseas infrastructure and mining investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50284,"content":50285},{"textAlign":49},[50286],{"text":50287,"type":596},"The project’s relevance for the battery supply chain is that it will act as the central funding tool for critical minerals-related projects set up under CRM strategic partnerships. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50289,"content":50290},{"textAlign":49},[50291],{"text":50292,"type":596},"The broader purpose of the Global Gateway Project is to cultivate a presence in mineral-rich regions that will enable the EU to balance Chinese influence overseas.",{"type":591,"attrs":50294,"content":50295},{"textAlign":49},[50296],{"text":50297,"type":596},"Its flagship project, co-supported with the US, is the upgrade of the Lobito Corridor in the central African Copperbelt, just one of 12 African strategic corridors the EU plans to become involved in. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50299,"content":50300},{"textAlign":49},[50301],{"text":50302,"type":596},"Still, critics say the Global Gateway needs more resources and clearer action plans to compete with China’s proven record of investing in higher-value industrial development throughout Africa and Latin America.","The EU will rely heavily on international partners to meet critical minerals diversification targets under its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which entered into force on 23 May 2024. According to the CRMA, the EU should source no more than 65% of its annual consumption of each strategic raw material from any single non-EU country, […]",[50305],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50306},{"job_title":557,"image":50307,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7d5e6d60-5fa6-47b5-99ea-402e9e1d7e9c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50310,50311,50312,50313,50314,50315,50316,50317,50318,50319],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":50321,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50322,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d71e6d8f78/bm-eu-flags.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":50324,"uuid":50325,"name":50326,"slug":50327,"full_slug":50328,"content":50329},112469537813786,"dc153370-b2c5-4c54-bece-b1e91cdc31ab","Benchmark to increase publishing frequency of cobalt sulphate and cobalt hydroxide grades to weekly","benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-cobalt-sulphate-and-cobalt-hydroxide-grades-to-weekly","article/benchmark-to-increase-publishing-frequency-of-cobalt-sulphate-and-cobalt-hydroxide-grades-to-weekly",{"_uid":50330,"date":50331,"tags":50332,"editor":50334,"content":50338,"excerpt":50511,"featured":50,"reporter":50512,"_editable":50516,"component":697,"seo_title":50326,"categories":50517,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":50520,"seo_description":50511,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50522},"a47a2bf9-a6d8-4790-9731-087057d035d8","2024-05-23 00:00",[50333],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[50335],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50336},{"job_title":557,"image":50337,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50339},[50340,50345,50350,50355,50360,50365,50370,50375,50387,50392,50397,50402,50407,50412,50417,50429,50434,50439,50444,50449,50453,50457,50496,50501,50505],{"type":591,"attrs":50341,"content":50342},{"textAlign":49},[50343],{"text":50344,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish weekly market price assessments of its Benchmark CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide and EXW China cobalt sulphate price assessments beginning 22 May 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":50346,"content":50347},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50348],{"text":50349,"type":596},"Cobalt metal, cobalt oxide and MHP grades to be assessed on alternate Wednesdays",{"type":591,"attrs":50351,"content":50352},{"textAlign":49},[50353],{"text":50354,"type":596},"Moreover, non-weekly cobalt grades assessed by Benchmark will move to a publishing cycle of every two weeks on Wednesdays, to align with the weekly publication.",{"type":591,"attrs":50356,"content":50357},{"textAlign":49},[50358],{"text":50359,"type":596},"This evolution allows for the facilitation of more frequent cobalt price assessments within the parameters of Benchmark’s IOSCO compliant cobalt price methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":50361,"content":50362},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50363],{"text":50364,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt prices – every week",{"type":591,"attrs":50366,"content":50367},{"textAlign":49},[50368],{"text":50369,"type":596},"Cobalt Hydroxide, CIF Asia, >30%, CoOH",{"type":591,"attrs":50371,"content":50372},{"textAlign":49},[50373],{"text":50374,"type":596},"Cobalt Sulphate, EXW China, >20.5%, CoSO4",{"type":591,"attrs":50376,"content":50377},{"textAlign":49},[50378,50380,50385],{"text":50379,"type":596},"These two prices are available to ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":50381},[50382],{"type":606,"attrs":50383},{"href":50384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/portal/",{"text":50386,"type":596}," Subscribers every Wednesday by 4pm (London), starting 22 May 2024, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":615,"attrs":50388,"content":50389},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50390],{"text":50391,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt prices – every two weeks",{"type":591,"attrs":50393,"content":50394},{"textAlign":49},[50395],{"text":50396,"type":596},"Cobalt Metal, EXW Europe, >99.8%, Co",{"type":591,"attrs":50398,"content":50399},{"textAlign":49},[50400],{"text":50401,"type":596},"Cobalt Oxide, EXW China, >72.8%, Co3O4",{"type":591,"attrs":50403,"content":50404},{"textAlign":49},[50405],{"text":50406,"type":596},"MHP, CIF Asia, >1%",{"type":591,"attrs":50408,"content":50409},{"textAlign":49},[50410],{"text":50411,"type":596},"Aggregate MHP",{"type":591,"attrs":50413,"content":50414},{"textAlign":49},[50415],{"text":50416,"type":596},"These four prices will be published by Benchmark every alternate Wednesday by 4pm (London) starting from 15 May 2024, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":50418,"content":50419},{"textAlign":49},[50420,50422,50427],{"text":50421,"type":596},"“These latest changes to the frequency of Benchmark’s market leading, IOSCO compliant ",{"text":50423,"type":596,"marks":50424},"Cobalt Price Assessments",[50425],{"type":606,"attrs":50426},{"href":50384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50428,"type":596}," reconfirm our commitment to providing the most trusted actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain, and reflect the increased liquidity we have seen in the market,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, Head of Prices at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":50430,"content":50431},{"textAlign":49},[50432],{"text":50433,"type":596},"“Pricing mechanisms for cobalt chemicals which are destined for use in lithium ion batteries have bifurcated significantly from cobalt metal prices over the past 24 months. Legacy pricing methodologies, driven by metal demand and pricing dynamics, do not meet the needs of tomorrow’s cathode, cell and EV manufacturers,” said Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, Director of Prices and Data at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":50435,"content":50436},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50437],{"text":50438,"type":596},"Cobalt metal forms expanded to capture liquidity in the market",{"type":591,"attrs":50440,"content":50441},{"textAlign":49},[50442],{"text":50443,"type":596},"Along with this increase in frequency, Benchmark is expanding the metal forms acceptable for the assessment of the Benchmark EXW Europe cobalt metal price, to include some cut cathodes, particularly as cut cathode of Chinese origin becomes the most prevalent metal in the European spot market.",{"type":591,"attrs":50445,"content":50446},{"textAlign":49},[50447],{"text":50448,"type":596},"Cut cathode originating from Sumitomo and Nikkelverk will be excluded from this price, due to this material being priced differently as it is typically destined for the superalloy market.",{"type":615,"attrs":50450,"content":50451},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50452],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50454,"content":50455},{"textAlign":49},[50456],{"text":15120,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50458,"content":50459},{"textAlign":49},[50460,50461,50465,50466,50470,50471,50475,50476,50480,50481,50485,50486,50490,50491,50495],{"text":6729,"type":596},{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":50462},[50463],{"type":606,"attrs":50464},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":115,"type":596,"marks":50467},[50468],{"type":606,"attrs":50469},{"href":16914,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":189,"type":596,"marks":50472},[50473],{"type":606,"attrs":50474},{"href":16920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":1832,"type":596,"marks":50477},[50478],{"type":606,"attrs":50479},{"href":16926,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":50482},[50483],{"type":606,"attrs":50484},{"href":16932,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16935,"type":596,"marks":50487},[50488],{"type":606,"attrs":50489},{"href":16939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":16942,"type":596,"marks":50492},[50493],{"type":606,"attrs":50494},{"href":16946,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":16948,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50497,"content":50498},{"textAlign":49},[50499],{"text":50500,"type":596},"Our cobalt price assessments are created by senior management and price analysts that truly understand the market they are assessing.",{"type":591,"attrs":50502,"content":50503},{"textAlign":49},[50504],{"text":16958,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50506,"content":50507},{"textAlign":49},[50508,50509,50510],{"text":21377,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596},{"text":4737,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish weekly market price assessments of its Benchmark CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide and EXW China cobalt sulphate price assessments beginning 22 May 2024. Cobalt metal, cobalt oxide and MHP grades to be assessed on alternate Wednesdays Moreover, non-weekly cobalt grades assessed by Benchmark will move to a publishing cycle of […]",[50513],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50514},{"job_title":557,"image":50515,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a47a2bf9-a6d8-4790-9731-087057d035d8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50518,50519],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":37472,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50521,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 23, 2024",{"id":50524,"uuid":50525,"name":50526,"slug":50527,"full_slug":50528,"content":50529},112469532882201,"984cf828-b1ea-43ec-8cff-c48f8742a2cd","What role can sodium ion batteries play in energy storage? ","what-role-can-sodium-ion-batteries-play-in-energy-storage","article/what-role-can-sodium-ion-batteries-play-in-energy-storage",{"_uid":50530,"date":50331,"tags":50531,"editor":50534,"content":50538,"excerpt":50696,"featured":51,"reporter":50697,"_editable":50701,"component":697,"seo_title":50526,"categories":50702,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":50706,"seo_description":50696,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50522},"2f22f1c2-edee-49b8-bfb7-d9bd9045cb04",[50532,50533],{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[50535],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50536},{"job_title":557,"image":50537,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50539},[50540,50545,50550,50555,50566,50571,50576,50581,50586,50591,50596,50601,50606,50611,50622,50629,50634,50639,50644,50657,50662,50667,50672,50691],{"type":591,"attrs":50541,"content":50542},{"textAlign":49},[50543],{"text":50544,"type":596},"With demand for energy storage systems (ESS) set to triple this decade, sodium ion batteries have become one of the most promising next-generation battery chemistries for this sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50546,"content":50547},{"textAlign":49},[50548],{"text":50549,"type":596},"“The key performance criteria of batteries for ESS are cost, safety, and lifetime. Sodium ion batteries have the attributes to meet these key criteria, making ESS a key area of growth for sodium ion,” said Catherine Peake, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":50551,"content":50552},{"textAlign":49},[50553],{"text":50554,"type":596},"However, despite these factors, the relatively small scale of sodium ion production and its immature supply chains means that it will likely complement lithium ion’s role in the ESS market rather than replace it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50556,"content":50557},{"textAlign":49},[50558,50560,50564],{"text":50559,"type":596},"By 2030, 12% of demand for lithium ion batteries is expected to come from the ESS sector, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":50561},[50562],{"type":606,"attrs":50563},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50565,"type":596},"; for sodium ion batteries, this figure is around 50%.",{"type":591,"attrs":50567,"content":50568},{"textAlign":49},[50569],{"text":50570,"type":596},"The remaining demand is expected to come from the electric vehicle (EV) market, as automakers’ interest in sodium ion batteries for some markets continues to increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":50572,"content":50573},{"textAlign":49},[50574],{"text":50575,"type":596},"“While the lower energy density of sodium ion batteries mean they are unlikely to replace the use of nickel cobalt manganese-based lithium ion batteries in the North American and European EV market, there is opportunity to penetrate the Chinese short range EV and micro-mobility markets,” said Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":50577,"content":50578},{"textAlign":49},[50579],{"text":50580,"type":596},"Whereas EVs have driven the growth in lithium ion batteries, demand from the ESS sector will play a greater role in shaping the future of sodium ion batteries. ",{"type":615,"attrs":50582,"content":50583},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50584],{"text":50585,"type":596},"What are the advantages of using sodium ion batteries in ESS?",{"type":591,"attrs":50587,"content":50588},{"textAlign":49},[50589],{"text":50590,"type":596},"The main ESS-specific benefit of sodium ion batteries is that they have the potential to be both low cost and relatively safe, two of the primary performance criteria for the ESS market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50592,"content":50593},{"textAlign":49},[50594],{"text":50595,"type":596},"“Unlike with electric vehicles (EVs), the lower energy density of sodium ion batteries compared to lithium ion batteries is not a significant disadvantage in the ESS market,” said Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":50597,"content":50598},{"textAlign":49},[50599],{"text":50600,"type":596},"In the EV market, energy density is crucial in determining the range of the vehicle, as it determines how much power a battery can produce over a period of time. In pursuit of energy density, many automakers pursue high-nickel lithium ion batteries, especially in western markets. As ESS projects typically do not need to optimise for size or weight, energy density is less of a concern.",{"type":591,"attrs":50602,"content":50603},{"textAlign":49},[50604],{"text":50605,"type":596},"As with lithium iron phosphate batteries, sodium ion batteries do not contain cobalt. Additionally, they have a lower nickel content (none in some cases) and don’t contain lithium. Instead, sodium ion cells typically use sodium, iron, and manganese in the cathode, hard or soft carbon in the anode, and  aluminium as the current collector.",{"type":591,"attrs":50607,"content":50608},{"textAlign":49},[50609],{"text":50610,"type":596},"“The reduced reliance on geo-politically constrained supply chains such as lithium and cobalt is another significant advantage offered by sodium ion batteries,” said Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":50612,"content":50613},{"textAlign":49},[50614,50615,50620],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":50616},[50617],{"type":606,"attrs":50618},{"href":50619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/",{"text":50621,"type":596}," lithium and cobalt face deficits by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50623,"content":50624},{"textAlign":49},[50625],{"type":836,"attrs":50626},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":50627,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":50628},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/k4Sf5V7GZH-uoRxqFfoam0ginaeyQgYHSGWuinp2i60e-JfMuZ9fW4il4YuFZ-MxFQ3lFMOn6F0CQ02jnDfTpmq-5kf9c1pTSFZAciXLH7oYcnZ6k2a2i1JC_6um6rWrvPCMxZx6gtbMEVmwjMxo5qQ",{},{"type":615,"attrs":50630,"content":50631},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50632],{"text":50633,"type":596},"What is driving sodium ion battery expansions?",{"type":591,"attrs":50635,"content":50636},{"textAlign":49},[50637],{"text":50638,"type":596},"Last week, first phase operations began at China’s first large-scale sodium ion battery energy storage project, a 10 megawatt hour (MWh) station in Guangxi, showing the growing interest in developing this technology for the ESS market. The project is expected to reach 100 MWh by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":50640,"content":50641},{"textAlign":49},[50642],{"text":50643,"type":596},"“Currently, the majority of sodium ion cell capacity is planned to target the energy storage market, however, a few recent partnerships have highlighted the demand for sodium cells within industrial EV applications,” said Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":50645,"content":50646},{"textAlign":49},[50647,50649,50655],{"text":50648,"type":596},"Of the 46 facilities in Benchmark’s ",{"text":50650,"type":596,"marks":50651},"Sodium ion Market Assessment",[50652],{"type":606,"attrs":50653},{"href":50654,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/sodium-ion-batteries/battery-cell-capacities/",{"text":50656,"type":596}," pipeline, 17 are operational, producing sodium ion batteries for different applications, with the remaining 29 under planning or construction.",{"type":615,"attrs":50658,"content":50659},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50660],{"text":50661,"type":596},"What economic factors are at play? ",{"type":591,"attrs":50663,"content":50664},{"textAlign":49},[50665],{"text":50666,"type":596},"“The opportunity for an economic advantage is the critical driver for sodium ion battery expansion, as demonstrated by the industry’s increased attention in the technology when lithium prices peaked in 2023,” according to Peake.",{"type":591,"attrs":50668,"content":50669},{"textAlign":49},[50670],{"text":50671,"type":596},"These advantages, however, rely on lithium prices staying at a certain threshold. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50673,"content":50674},{"textAlign":49},[50675,50677,50683,50685,50690],{"text":50676,"type":596},"When the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate falls below 150,000 RMB ($20,705) per tonne for an extended period, sodium ion batteries may lose their cost advantage according to ",{"text":50678,"type":596,"marks":50679},"Benchmark’s Sodium ion Batteries Special Report",[50680],{"type":606,"attrs":50681},{"href":50682,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/special-issues/1317717",{"text":50684,"type":596},". Currently, this figure is 109,082 RMB ($15,075) having fallen 55% in the past year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":50686,"type":596,"marks":50687},"Lithium prices portal",[50688],{"type":606,"attrs":50689},{"href":48174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50692,"content":50693},{"textAlign":49},[50694],{"text":50695,"type":596},"The economic benefit of sodium ion batteries is not only subject to lithium prices, but also the establishment of commercial-scale manufacturing facilities to reinforce supply chains and further reduce costs as was achieved with lithium ion production in the 2010s. ","With demand for energy storage systems (ESS) set to triple this decade, sodium ion batteries have become one of the most promising next-generation battery chemistries for this sector. “The key performance criteria of batteries for ESS are cost, safety, and lifetime. Sodium ion batteries have the attributes to meet these key criteria, making ESS a […]",[50698],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50699},{"job_title":557,"image":50700,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2f22f1c2-edee-49b8-bfb7-d9bd9045cb04\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50703,50704,50705],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":50707,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":50707,"source":547,"filename":50708,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50709,"is_external_url":51},"View of energy storage system from above, with solar panels in the background.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c3f6f9d2ee/bm-energy-storage-systems.jpg",{"alt":50707,"title":50707,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":50711,"uuid":50712,"name":50713,"slug":50714,"full_slug":50715,"content":50716},112469542749567,"cb4519b8-b9d3-4a0a-9a1a-4288ea0c2798","OPINION: De-risking the global electric vehicle value chain build-out","opinion-de-risking-the-global-electric-vehicle-value-chain-build-out","article/opinion-de-risking-the-global-electric-vehicle-value-chain-build-out",{"_uid":50717,"date":50718,"tags":50719,"editor":50721,"content":50725,"excerpt":50842,"featured":51,"reporter":50843,"_editable":50847,"component":697,"seo_title":50713,"categories":50848,"visibility":1043,"author_company":50851,"featured_image":50852,"seo_description":50842,"author_full_name":50855,"author_job_title":50856,"formattedDate":50857},"70818d4a-6caa-44eb-810b-39a795c379db","2024-05-20 00:00",[50720],{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[50722],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50723},{"job_title":557,"image":50724,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50726},[50727,50732,50737,50742,50747,50752,50757,50785,50790,50795,50800,50805,50810,50815,50820,50825,50830,50835],{"type":591,"attrs":50728,"content":50729},{"textAlign":49},[50730],{"text":50731,"type":596},"Recent headlines would want you to believe that electric vehicles (EVs), which arguably are the greatest disruptors the industry has seen since its birth more than a century ago, are no longer growing. Headlines are now dominated by negative stories, suggesting that the transition to EVs will be slower than many expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":50733,"content":50734},{"textAlign":49},[50735],{"text":50736,"type":596},"However, the facts do not quite fully support these headlines. Global EV sales grew some 31% last year over 2022. More than 14 million EVs were sold worldwide in 2023, and China was in the lead followed by Europe and the US. By comparison, it took Toyota’s Prius, the first hybrid electric, more than a decade to reach one million sales globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":50738,"content":50739},{"textAlign":49},[50740],{"text":50741,"type":596},"In the US, industry has already made concrete private-sector investment announcements of more than $188 billion in EV technologies over the last 9 years. More than $50 billion supports battery manufacturing, EV infrastructure and retraining as a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and another $369 billion is available via the Inflation Reduction Act(IRA) for economy-wide clean energy investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":50743,"content":50744},{"textAlign":49},[50745],{"text":50746,"type":596},"Yes, the EV transformation is difficult, and it may not move as quickly in the future as there are many obstacles that have not been fully addressed for the nascent and just over a decade old technology. High sticker prices and lack of infrastructure is often the most mentioned consumer concern. Prices are coming down fast and price parity with traditional, internal combustion powered vehicles is likely in the next few years. Beyond Tesla, who built its own charging network worldwide, availability and reliability for owners of EVs by other manufacturers, continues to be problematic. A fair portion of the investments are going into addressing the much-needed charging infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":50748,"content":50749},{"textAlign":49},[50750],{"text":50751,"type":596},"But there are also significant obstacles that the industry faces, which often remain “behind the curtain” for the consumer. Developing an efficient and sustainable EV manufacturing value chain to meet the ballooning demand is a tricky proposition, rife with financial risk, political uncertainty, and logistical complexity. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, plays a unique and vital role in developing economies where the new EV supply chain reaches into. On the one hand, it mitigates risks for investors while creating opportunities for those developing economies.",{"type":591,"attrs":50753,"content":50754},{"textAlign":49},[50755],{"text":50756,"type":596},"Because the bulk of critical materials essential for making EV batteries, as well as processing facilities, are concentrated in a handful of emerging economies, those countries will play an increasingly important role in the EV value chain of tomorrow. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50758,"content":50759},{"textAlign":49},[50760,50762,50768,50770,50776,50778,50783],{"text":50761,"type":596},"Right now, three quarters of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo; 70% of the world’s mined ",{"text":50763,"type":596,"marks":50764},"nickel supply",[50765],{"type":606,"attrs":50766},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel/",{"text":50769,"type":596}," from Indonesia and the Philippines; 32% of the ",{"text":50771,"type":596,"marks":50772},"lithium supply",[50773],{"type":606,"attrs":50774},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/",{"text":50777,"type":596}," is from South America, and 17% of the ",{"text":9894,"type":596,"marks":50779},[50780],{"type":606,"attrs":50781},{"href":50782,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/phosphate/reports/",{"text":50784,"type":596}," comes from Morocco. An electric vehicle battery can contain anywhere from 290kg to 333kg of minerals, depending on the battery chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":50786,"content":50787},{"textAlign":49},[50788],{"text":50789,"type":596},"In an ideal world, pragmatic processing of critical minerals into battery materials, in or near the countries where the raw materials are sourced, makes the best financial and environmental sense. These materials range from the various metal hydroxides and sulphates to precursor cathode active materials (pCAM) used in battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50791,"content":50792},{"textAlign":49},[50793],{"text":50794,"type":596},"Processing closer to where critical minerals are mined would reduce transport costs and transport-related emissions. These emerging economies also tend to have cheaper electricity, abundant renewable energy potential, less expensive labour, and though it might seem counter-intuitive, in many cases quicker permitting times compared to many developed markets. All of that represents a sustainable competitive advantage.",{"type":591,"attrs":50796,"content":50797},{"textAlign":49},[50798],{"text":50799,"type":596},"But investing in those markets comes with its own set of challenges. Political uncertainties, for example, raise a country’s risk profile and drive borrowing costs up, which can dissuade manufacturers from even considering an opportunity. There are also Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in some countries that don’t meet international standards. Finally, a lack of infrastructure, such as power, water supply, wastewater treatment, and logistics, often hinders investments in manufacturing operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":50801,"content":50802},{"textAlign":49},[50803],{"text":50804,"type":596},"Given its mandate to support the development of private industry in developing economies,  IFC is not a traditional bank. The investment officers who drive its $70 billion debt and equity portfolio are supported by technical and industry experts from across the world, often with decades of experience in such markets, who provide pre-investment support, including technical assistance, project preparation advisory, project development funding, as well as technical and ESG expertise to help upskill the company in the developing economy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50806,"content":50807},{"textAlign":49},[50808],{"text":50809,"type":596},"For example, IFC recently financed SK IE Technology with a green loan to produce battery separators in Poland. IFC also recently financed Allkem, a world-class lithium chemical producer, to support the development of Sal de Vida, a greenfield lithium operation in the province of Catamarca, Argentina.",{"type":591,"attrs":50811,"content":50812},{"textAlign":49},[50813],{"text":50814,"type":596},"The World Bank adds additional capability. Its new Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE) program will help emerging economies increase their participation in the manufacturing value chain of clean-energy products and boost their participation in the minerals industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":50816,"content":50817},{"textAlign":49},[50818],{"text":50819,"type":596},"Another part of the World Bank Group, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), provides guarantees for cross border investments that cover non-commercial risks. When all these resources come together, they can help provide an umbrella of deterrence against government actions that could disrupt projects and assist in the resolution of disputes between investors and governments.",{"type":591,"attrs":50821,"content":50822},{"textAlign":49},[50823],{"text":50824,"type":596},"A transition to electric vehicles is essential if the world is to decarbonize the transport sector and limit the global temperature increase. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50826,"content":50827},{"textAlign":49},[50828],{"text":50829,"type":596},"According to the International Energy Agency, “limiting the global temperature increase to below 2°C will require at least 20% of all road transport vehicles to be electrically driven by 2030 (approximately 300 million vehicles).”",{"type":591,"attrs":50831,"content":50832},{"textAlign":49},[50833],{"text":50834,"type":596},"With continued collaboration and support, the EV manufacturing value chain can thrive, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future. The IFC stands ready to be partner helping industry and developing economies stand up the new electro-mobility supply chain, and benefit from the transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":50836,"content":50837},{"textAlign":49},[50838],{"text":50839,"type":596,"marks":50840},"Asogan Moodaly is Global Sector Lead for Automotive, Electronics and Machinery at the International Finance Corporation.",[50841],{"type":1006},"Recent headlines would want you to believe that electric vehicles (EVs), which arguably are the greatest disruptors the industry has seen since its birth more than a century ago, are no longer growing. Headlines are now dominated by negative stories, suggesting that the transition to EVs will be slower than many expected. However, the facts […]",[50844],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50845},{"job_title":557,"image":50846,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"70818d4a-6caa-44eb-810b-39a795c379db\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50849,50850],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100}," International Finance Corporation",{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":50853,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50854,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/62ea2125c3/bm-skiet-ifc.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547}," Asogan Moodaly","Global Sector Lead: Automotive, Electronics and Machinery ","May 20, 2024",{"id":50859,"uuid":50860,"name":50861,"slug":50862,"full_slug":50863,"content":50864},112469556938115,"2c5eccd3-ca0f-4f9e-b759-ddbe9be73003","India’s battery recycling startups push to boost capacity","indias-battery-startups-push-to-boost-capacity","article/indias-battery-startups-push-to-boost-capacity",{"_uid":50865,"date":50866,"tags":50867,"editor":50871,"content":50875,"excerpt":50951,"featured":51,"reporter":50952,"_editable":50956,"component":697,"seo_title":50861,"categories":50957,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":50960,"seo_description":50951,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50963},"f51653e8-b5cc-423f-8e74-bb9823013da3","2024-05-16 00:00",[50868,50870],{"slug":50869,"name":50869},"battery",{"slug":4342,"name":4343},[50872],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50873},{"job_title":557,"image":50874,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50876},[50877,50882,50894,50899,50910,50921,50926,50931,50936,50941,50946],{"type":591,"attrs":50878,"content":50879},{"textAlign":49},[50880],{"text":50881,"type":596},"India’s lithium ion battery recycling capacity is set to more than double by the end of the decade as the country’s nascent battery recycling startups move ahead with their plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":50883,"content":50884},{"textAlign":49},[50885,50887,50893],{"text":50886,"type":596},"The country’s battery recycling capacity is forecast to grow to 117,000 tonnes by the end of 2030 from 44,000 tonnes this year, according to the ",{"text":50888,"type":596,"marks":50889},"Benchmark Recycling Forecast",[50890],{"type":606,"attrs":50891},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/recycling/reports/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50895,"content":50896},{"textAlign":49},[50897],{"text":50898,"type":596},"India’s battery recycling as well its gigafactory plans are both in infancy stage and the country currently imports its new and spent batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":50900,"content":50901},{"textAlign":49},[50902,50904,50909],{"text":50903,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery capacity in India is expected to reach 23 gigawatt hours (GWh) by the end of 2025, according to the ",{"text":39594,"type":596,"marks":50905},[50906],{"type":606,"attrs":50907},{"href":50908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment/reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50911,"content":50912},{"textAlign":49},[50913,50915,50920],{"text":50914,"type":596},"However, the world’s fourth largest passenger vehicle market by production holds huge promise as it wants 30% of its passenger vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. India has set a target of setting up 50 GWh of lithium ion battery production capacity in the ",{"text":50916,"type":596,"marks":50917},"country by 2030",[50918],{"type":606,"attrs":50919},{"href":6278,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":50922,"content":50923},{"textAlign":49},[50924],{"text":50925,"type":596},"India sold 1.67 million electric vehicles in 2023, an increase of 41.6% year-on-year, according to data from Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles. ",{"type":615,"attrs":50927,"content":50928},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50929],{"text":50930,"type":596},"India seeks more federal push",{"type":615,"attrs":50932,"content":50933},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50934],{"text":50935,"type":596},"Recycling startups double down on capacity expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":50937,"content":50938},{"textAlign":49},[50939],{"text":50940,"type":596},"At least three Indian battery recycling startups have plans to scale up capacities to meet the demand overseas and prepare for the potential brewing in the domestic market.",{"type":591,"attrs":50942,"content":50943},{"textAlign":49},[50944],{"text":50945,"type":596},"Source: Companies",{"type":591,"attrs":50947,"content":50948},{"textAlign":49},[50949],{"text":50950,"type":596},"“The vast majority of operational Indian recyclers have processing capacity for lithium ion battery recycling, which is highly important for black mass treatment and materials value extraction, as in the West we are seeing far fewer processing facilities in operation,” said Beatrice Browning, analyst at Benchmark.","India’s lithium ion battery recycling capacity is set to more than double by the end of the decade as the country’s nascent battery recycling startups move ahead with their plans. The country’s battery recycling capacity is forecast to grow to 117,000 tonnes by the end of 2030 from 44,000 tonnes this year, according to the […]",[50953],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50954},{"job_title":557,"image":50955,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f51653e8-b5cc-423f-8e74-bb9823013da3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[50958,50959],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":50961,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":50962,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/527d2baea3/bm-india-evs-pic.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 16, 2024",{"id":50965,"uuid":50966,"name":50967,"slug":50968,"full_slug":50969,"content":50970},112469552268674,"5b28b86b-b8ef-49ae-bc77-01cac281f878","Can the Philippines emulate Indonesia’s success with downstream nickel plans?","can-the-philippines-emulate-indonesias-success-with-downstream-nickel-plans","article/can-the-philippines-emulate-indonesias-success-with-downstream-nickel-plans",{"_uid":50971,"date":50866,"tags":50972,"editor":50976,"content":50980,"excerpt":51100,"featured":51,"reporter":51101,"_editable":51105,"component":697,"seo_title":50967,"categories":51106,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":51110,"seo_description":51100,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":50963},"3a816ac1-31be-42da-8e7e-9998c89ea51a",[50973,50974,50975],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":23680,"name":23681},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[50977],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":50978},{"job_title":557,"image":50979,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":50981},[50982,50987,50992,50997,51000,51005,51010,51015,51020,51025,51040,51045,51050,51055,51060,51065,51070,51075,51080,51084],{"type":591,"attrs":50983,"content":50984},{"textAlign":49},[50985],{"text":50986,"type":596},"The Philippines is aiming to add three more processing plants to its domestic nickel industry, as it seeks to emulate the success of neighbouring Indonesia in downstreaming its nickel resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":50988,"content":50989},{"textAlign":49},[50990],{"text":50991,"type":596},"The Philippine government is hoping to attract foreign investment to value-add the country’s domestic nickel industry, developing it from a purely extractive sector to one that is an important step in the lithium ion battery value chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":50993,"content":50994},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[50995],{"text":50996,"type":596},"The Philippines’ nickel footprint:",{"type":591,"attrs":50998,"content":50999},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":51001,"content":51002},{"textAlign":49},[51003],{"text":51004,"type":596},"As a free trade agreement (FTA) partner of the US, the Philippines could prove pivotal to Washington’s ambition of de-risking its nickel supply chain away from China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51006,"content":51007},{"textAlign":49},[51008],{"text":51009,"type":596},"The US has reportedly entered early-stage discussions with the Philippine government regarding measures to prevent China from gaining a controlling interest in its nickel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":51011,"content":51012},{"textAlign":49},[51013],{"text":51014,"type":596},"These measures could take the form of a trilateral arrangement, that would see the US provide the necessary financing and a third country the refining and processing technology.",{"type":615,"attrs":51016,"content":51017},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51018],{"text":51019,"type":596},"Can the Philippines replicate Indonesia’s success?",{"type":591,"attrs":51021,"content":51022},{"textAlign":49},[51023],{"text":51024,"type":596},"For the West, the Philippines offers an opportunity to diversify away from the China-dominated Indonesian nickel industry and mitigate against the risks associated with nickel’s growing supply concentration in a single country.",{"type":591,"attrs":51026,"content":51027},{"textAlign":49},[51028,51032,51037],{"text":51029,"type":596,"marks":51030},"Watch Benchmark senior analyst Jorge Uzcategui discuss the nickel market in Indonesia. Watch more analyst insight videos ",[51031],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":51033},[51034,51036],{"type":606,"attrs":51035},{"href":49007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":51038},[51039],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":51041,"content":51042},{"textAlign":49},[51043],{"text":51044,"type":596},"“With the dominance of Chinese companies in the Indonesian nickel sector, any policies that preferentially encourage downstream nickel capacity development from non-Chinese companies could incentivise investment,” said Adam Webb, cathode productor director at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51046,"content":51047},{"textAlign":49},[51048],{"text":51049,"type":596},"“This could create Inflation Reduction Act compliant material for the US market from the Philippines. Outside of this, more conventional policies, such as tax breaks, could be used to make investment in the Philippines more attractive.”",{"type":591,"attrs":51051,"content":51052},{"textAlign":49},[51053],{"text":51054,"type":596},"Chinese-driven supply side growth in Indonesia has negatively impacted nickel prices since early 2023, resulting in a growing list of supply curtailments and shutdowns across Western jurisdictions this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51056,"content":51057},{"textAlign":49},[51058],{"text":51059,"type":596},"The development of new nickel processing facilities in the Philippines will require large capital outlays during a period of sustained over-supply for the nickel market, which could suppress prices below incentive levels for many prospective operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":51061,"content":51062},{"textAlign":49},[51063],{"text":51064,"type":596},"“Aside from raising financing in the current price environment, the other major challenge is the Philippines’ historic legislation and attitude towards the mining industry,” Webb added.",{"type":591,"attrs":51066,"content":51067},{"textAlign":49},[51068],{"text":51069,"type":596},"The Philippines issued a ban on new-open pit mines in 2017, that was only lifted in 2021. Local governments and communities too have often been strongly opposed to new mining projects in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51071,"content":51072},{"textAlign":49},[51073],{"text":51074,"type":596},"OceanaGold’s Didipio mine in the Philippines was closed for two years following a dispute with the local government, before eventually being allowed to re-open in late 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":51076,"content":51077},{"textAlign":49},[51078],{"text":51079,"type":596},"Such instability makes the Philippines mining sector a higher risk jurisdiction for investment in nickel mining.",{"type":615,"attrs":51081,"content":51082},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51083],{"text":49089,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51085,"content":51086},{"textAlign":49},[51087,51091,51096],{"text":51088,"type":596,"marks":51089},"Discussions on Asia Pacific’s battery market will continue at Benchmark’s ",[51090],{"type":1006},{"text":40296,"type":596,"marks":51092},[51093,51095],{"type":606,"attrs":51094},{"href":49101,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":51097,"type":596,"marks":51098}," conference being held September 11-12 at the Ritz Carlton in Perth, Australia.",[51099],{"type":1006},"The Philippines is aiming to add three more processing plants to its domestic nickel industry, as it seeks to emulate the success of neighbouring Indonesia in downstreaming its nickel resources. The Philippine government is hoping to attract foreign investment to value-add the country’s domestic nickel industry, developing it from a purely extractive sector to one […]",[51102],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51103},{"job_title":557,"image":51104,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3a816ac1-31be-42da-8e7e-9998c89ea51a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51107,51108,51109],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":23806,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":23806,"source":547,"filename":51111,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51112,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4993e39e60/bm-philippines-nickel-mine.jpg",{"alt":23806,"title":23806,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":51114,"uuid":51115,"name":51116,"slug":51117,"full_slug":51118,"content":51119},112469566604677,"cd10754a-9bbe-42d5-bc54-8ac36c943d0b","Energy storage demand boom in China helps market double in size","energy-storage-demand-boom-in-china-helps-market-double-in-size","article/energy-storage-demand-boom-in-china-helps-market-double-in-size",{"_uid":51120,"date":51121,"tags":51122,"editor":51125,"content":51129,"excerpt":51251,"featured":51,"reporter":51252,"_editable":51256,"component":697,"seo_title":51116,"categories":51257,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":51261,"seo_description":51251,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51264},"e1e6d838-bcac-4352-a7ef-008cbf2eff2e","2024-05-15 00:00",[51123,51124],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[51126],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51127},{"job_title":557,"image":51128,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51130},[51131,51136,51162,51167,51172,51182,51189,51194,51199,51209,51214,51219,51226,51231,51241],{"type":591,"attrs":51132,"content":51133},{"textAlign":49},[51134],{"text":51135,"type":596},"The global energy storage system (ESS) market doubled in size last year, driven by a booming demand for grid storage in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":51137,"content":51138},{"textAlign":49},[51139,51140,51144,51146,51152,51154,51160],{"text":23361,"type":596},{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":51141},[51142],{"type":606,"attrs":51143},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51145,"type":596},", the global ",{"text":51147,"type":596,"marks":51148},"ESS market",[51149],{"type":606,"attrs":51150},{"href":51151,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/energy-storage-will-be-the-bottleneck-for-a-clean-energy-grid-qa-with-author-akshat-rathi",{"text":51153,"type":596}," size grew 98% year-on-year in 2023 to 123 gigawatt hours (GWh). A bulk of that growth came from China where the ",{"text":51155,"type":596,"marks":51156},"ESS demand",[51157],{"type":606,"attrs":51158},{"href":51159,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/understanding-battery-demand-dynamics-from-ev-and-ess-markets",{"text":51161,"type":596}," breached the 70 GWh mark last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":51163,"content":51164},{"textAlign":49},[51165],{"text":51166,"type":596},"“Grid storage represented 77% of the total ESS battery demand in 2023,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51168,"content":51169},{"textAlign":49},[51170],{"text":51171,"type":596},"“Benchmark expects a 56% year-on-year growth in the grid storage market this year, which is projected to elevate its market share to 81% of the overall market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":51173,"content":51174},{"textAlign":49},[51175,51177,51181],{"text":51176,"type":596},"The global ESS demand is forecast to more than triple by 2030 to about 450 GWh in 2030, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":51178},[51179],{"type":606,"attrs":51180},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51183,"content":51184},{"textAlign":49},[51185],{"type":836,"attrs":51186},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":51187,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":51188},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/859ebd2ebd/bm-global-ess-chart-v2.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":51190,"content":51191},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51192],{"text":51193,"type":596},"What is driving the ESS boom in China?",{"type":591,"attrs":51195,"content":51196},{"textAlign":49},[51197],{"text":51198,"type":596},"“Several provinces in China have announced their local energy strategies, with 16 provinces having both renewable and ESS targets, driving grid market growth,” said Waid.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":51200,"content":51201},{"textAlign":49},[51202,51204,51208],{"text":51203,"type":596},"China’s ESS demand is expected to reach 190 GWh in 2030, playing a dominating role in a growing market, though its share is forecast to drop to 42%, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":51205},[51206],{"type":606,"attrs":51207},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":51210,"content":51211},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51212],{"text":51213,"type":596},"What are the impact of falling lithium prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":51215,"content":51216},{"textAlign":49},[51217],{"text":51218,"type":596},"“The fall in lithium ion iron phosphate (LFP) prices make ESS deployment more economically viable as cost is one of the main considerations for ESS systems,” said Waid. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51220,"content":51221},{"textAlign":49},[51222],{"type":836,"attrs":51223},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":51224,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":51225},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3531793dbb/bm-global-ess-demand-forecast-chart.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":51227,"content":51228},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51229],{"text":51230,"type":596},"Where else is demand growing?",{"type":591,"attrs":51232,"content":51233},{"textAlign":49},[51234,51236,51240],{"text":51235,"type":596},"North America is the second largest market and is set to account for 23% of the global ESS share this year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":51237},[51238],{"type":606,"attrs":51239},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51242,"content":51243},{"textAlign":49},[51244,51245,51249],{"text":17017,"type":596},{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":51246},[51247],{"type":606,"attrs":51248},{"href":39540,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51250,"type":596}," (IRA) has had a two fold benefit to ESS deployment — firstly with the extension of Investment Tax Credits (ITC) to standalone ESS projects in the IRA that reduced upfront Capex costs by around 30% and the production tax credits on offer increases onshoring of ESS manufacturing,” said Waid. ","The global energy storage system (ESS) market doubled in size last year, driven by a booming demand for grid storage in China. According to Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Database, the global ESS market size grew 98% year-on-year in 2023 to 123 gigawatt hours (GWh). A bulk of that growth came from China where the ESS […]",[51253],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51254},{"job_title":557,"image":51255,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e1e6d838-bcac-4352-a7ef-008cbf2eff2e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51258,51259,51260],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":51262,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51263,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e13f41ff0/bm-ess-wall.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 15, 2024",{"id":51266,"uuid":51267,"name":51268,"slug":51269,"full_slug":51270,"content":51271},112469561726340,"57a546ad-ea26-4ca1-b267-32885475cdd4","US hikes tariffs to further isolate China from its EV supply chain ambitions","us-hikes-tariffs-to-further-isolate-china-from-its-ev-supply-chain-ambitions","article/us-hikes-tariffs-to-further-isolate-china-from-its-ev-supply-chain-ambitions",{"_uid":51272,"date":51121,"tags":51273,"editor":51278,"content":51282,"excerpt":51509,"featured":51,"reporter":51510,"_editable":51514,"component":697,"seo_title":51268,"categories":51515,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":51521,"seo_description":51509,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51264},"6ec45d96-0613-45ca-a7f1-6caefa3335dd",[51274,51275,51276,51277],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[51279],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51280},{"job_title":557,"image":51281,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51283},[51284,51301,51316,51321,51326,51337,51354,51359,51364,51369,51379,51384,51389,51408,51413,51418,51423,51430,51440,51445,51450,51455,51460,51465,51470,51475,51480,51494],{"type":591,"attrs":51285,"content":51286},{"textAlign":49},[51287,51291,51297],{"text":51288,"type":596,"marks":51289},"Government policies for the energy transition will be centre stage at ",[51290],{"type":1006},{"text":47180,"type":596,"marks":51292},[51293,51296],{"type":606,"attrs":51294},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigausa24",{"type":1006},{"text":51298,"type":596,"marks":51299}," in Washington on June 11-13.",[51300],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":51302,"content":51303},{"textAlign":49},[51304,51308,51313],{"text":51305,"type":596,"marks":51306},"Join Benchmark and leaders from government, industry and finance in four weeks’ time – secure your tickets ",[51307],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":51309},[51310,51312],{"type":606,"attrs":51311},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":51314},[51315],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":51317,"content":51318},{"textAlign":49},[51319],{"text":51320,"type":596},"The US on Tuesday imposed tariff increases on electric vehicle and lithium ion battery imports from China and also introduced new duties on natural graphite, permanent magnets and certain other critical minerals imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":51322,"content":51323},{"textAlign":49},[51324],{"text":51325,"type":596},"The White House said the steep tariffs would be applicable on imports worth $18 billion and are aimed at curbing China’s “unfair trade practices” and “artificially low-priced” exports from flooding its market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51327,"content":51328},{"textAlign":49},[51329,51331,51335],{"text":51330,"type":596},"The move follows the US ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":51332},[51333],{"type":606,"attrs":51334},{"href":40313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51336,"type":596}," (IRA) that was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022 and was aimed at accelerating the country’s electric vehicle battery supply chain while lowering reliance on China.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":51338,"content":51339},{"textAlign":49},[51340,51346,51348,51353],{"text":51341,"type":596,"marks":51342},"China dominates nearly every aspect",[51343],{"type":606,"attrs":51344},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-chinas-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-dominance",{"text":51347,"type":596}," of the electric vehicle and battery supply chain. Just last year, 85% of the global cell supplies came from China, according to the ",{"text":51349,"type":596,"marks":51350},"Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Database",[51351],{"type":606,"attrs":51352},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":51355,"content":51356},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51357],{"text":51358,"type":596},"What do the tariffs mean for battery production?",{"type":591,"attrs":51360,"content":51361},{"textAlign":49},[51362],{"text":51363,"type":596},"Starting this year the US is increasing the tariff rate on lithium ion batteries and battery parts to 25% from 7.5% earlier. For non-electric vehicle lithium ion batteries a tariff of 25% will be introduced in 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51365,"content":51366},{"textAlign":49},[51367],{"text":51368,"type":596},"The move will likely lead to the US having even greater reliance on South Korean and Japanese manufacturers to plug its supply chain gap. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51370,"content":51371},{"textAlign":49},[51372,51374,51378],{"text":51373,"type":596},"US automakers could lose access to imports of low cost Chinese lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) cells until South Korean producers can ramp up production. China currently produces nearly all of the world’s LFP cells and about half of that supply comes from CATL alone, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":51375},[51376],{"type":606,"attrs":51377},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51380,"content":51381},{"textAlign":49},[51382],{"text":51383,"type":596},"In response to the tariffs, Chinese battery makers are likely to focus on increasing exports to other markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia. ",{"type":615,"attrs":51385,"content":51386},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51387],{"text":51388,"type":596},"Why does the US want to hike EV tariffs?",{"type":591,"attrs":51390,"content":51391},{"textAlign":49},[51392,51394,51399,51401,51406],{"text":51393,"type":596},"The Biden administration said starting this year it will impose a four fold increase in the additional duties on ",{"text":51395,"type":596,"marks":51396},"electric vehicle imports",[51397],{"type":606,"attrs":51398},{"href":49720,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51400,"type":596}," from China in addition to the 2.5% standard car tariff. The overall ",{"text":14551,"type":596,"marks":51402},[51403],{"type":606,"attrs":51404},{"href":51405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-policy-levers-does-the-us-use-to-limit-chinese-ev-competition",{"text":51407,"type":596}," will increase to 102.5% from 27.5%.",{"type":591,"attrs":51409,"content":51410},{"textAlign":49},[51411],{"text":51412,"type":596},"“Biden wants to protect the US automotive industry, which is politically a very important sector amid an election year,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":51414,"content":51415},{"textAlign":49},[51416],{"text":51417,"type":596},"However, the US accounted for less than 1% of China’s EV exports last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":51419,"content":51420},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51421],{"text":51422,"type":596},"Why has natural graphite been added to the list of tariffs? ",{"type":591,"attrs":51424,"content":51425},{"textAlign":49},[51426,51428],{"text":51427,"type":596},"Beginning in 2026 the US will apply a tariff of 25% on Chinese natural graphite imports, a",{"text":51429,"type":596},"move aimed at reining in China’s near-monopoly in the graphite used for making batteries for electric vehicles and shows that it intends to diversify anode supplies away from China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51431,"content":51432},{"textAlign":49},[51433,51438],{"text":51434,"type":596,"marks":51435},"US graphite policy",[51436],{"type":606,"attrs":51437},{"href":43457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51439,"type":596}," has been under pressure from domestic producers who want protection from lower cost Chinese supply, and downstream manufacturers who rely on access to Chinese graphite production.",{"type":591,"attrs":51441,"content":51442},{"textAlign":49},[51443],{"text":51444,"type":596},"However, Benchmark analysis shows that the current ex-China flake graphite supply is insufficient to meet the global demand for graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51446,"content":51447},{"textAlign":49},[51448],{"text":51449,"type":596},"The tariffs are likely to accelerate the ex-China natural graphite build out that has emerged in recent years.",{"type":615,"attrs":51451,"content":51452},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51453],{"text":51454,"type":596},"What other critical raw materials are set to join the tariff list?",{"type":591,"attrs":51456,"content":51457},{"textAlign":49},[51458],{"text":51459,"type":596},"The Biden administration has also proposed the inclusion of “certain critical materials” to the tariff list, which is yet to be finalised. Tariffs of 25% will be introduced starting this year for certain critical minerals. ",{"type":615,"attrs":51461,"content":51462},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51463],{"text":51464,"type":596},"What are the implications for the rare earth to permanent magnet supply chain? ",{"type":591,"attrs":51466,"content":51467},{"textAlign":49},[51468],{"text":51469,"type":596},"Permanent magnets will draw a tariff of 25% from 2026 onwards. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51471,"content":51472},{"textAlign":49},[51473],{"text":51474,"type":596},"“If the market outside of China is set to grow, policies like this are the right step in ensuring the build out of a diversified supply chain,” said Daan de Jonge, product director, at Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":51476,"content":51477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51478],{"text":51479,"type":596},"Join Benchmark in Washington ",{"type":591,"attrs":51481,"content":51482},{"textAlign":49},[51483,51486,51491],{"text":51288,"type":596,"marks":51484},[51485],{"type":1006},{"text":47180,"type":596,"marks":51487},[51488,51490],{"type":606,"attrs":51489},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":51298,"type":596,"marks":51492},[51493],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":51495,"content":51496},{"textAlign":49},[51497,51501,51506],{"text":51498,"type":596,"marks":51499},"Join Benchmark and leaders from government, industry and finance in 4 weeks’ time – secure your tickets ",[51500],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":51502},[51503,51505],{"type":606,"attrs":51504},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":51507},[51508],{"type":1006},"Government policies for the energy transition will be centre stage at Giga USA 2024 in Washington on June 11-13. Join Benchmark and leaders from government, industry and finance in four weeks’ time – secure your tickets here. The US on Tuesday imposed tariff increases on electric vehicle and lithium ion battery imports from China and […]",[51511],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51512},{"job_title":557,"image":51513,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6ec45d96-0613-45ca-a7f1-6caefa3335dd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51516,51517,51518,51519,51520],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":21583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51522,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":51524,"uuid":51525,"name":51526,"slug":51527,"full_slug":51528,"content":51529},112469571388806,"144c045d-be89-4cbc-920a-437fe8813ca1","What do China’s plans to regulate battery capacity expansions mean for the industry?","what-do-chinas-plans-to-regulate-battery-capacity-expansions-mean","article/what-do-chinas-plans-to-regulate-battery-capacity-expansions-mean",{"_uid":51530,"date":51531,"tags":51532,"editor":51537,"content":51541,"excerpt":51650,"featured":51,"reporter":51651,"_editable":51655,"component":697,"seo_title":51526,"categories":51656,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":51660,"featured_image":51664,"seo_description":51650,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51667},"7332acd8-ecca-4eb3-a3a6-dc7a06ae4672","2024-05-14 00:00",[51533,51534,51535,51536],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":572,"name":573},[51538],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51539},{"job_title":557,"image":51540,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51542},[51543,51548,51558,51563,51568,51573,51578,51583,51586,51591,51604,51609,51614,51619,51624,51629,51640],{"type":591,"attrs":51544,"content":51545},{"textAlign":49},[51546],{"text":51547,"type":596},"China took steps to limit excess capacity in the lithium ion battery industry last week, as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a set of draft rules it said were designed to guide the “healthy” development of the sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":51549,"content":51550},{"textAlign":49},[51551,51553],{"text":51552,"type":596},"China’s lithium ion battery sector has been heavily subsided since its classification as a strategic industry under the ‘Made in China 2025’ policy back in 2015. China now dominates lithium ion battery cell production: set to account for over 80% of global output in 2024, according to the ",{"text":51554,"type":596,"marks":51555},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Forecast.",[51556],{"type":606,"attrs":51557},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":51559,"content":51560},{"textAlign":49},[51561],{"text":51562,"type":596},"While China has cemented itself as the global leader in battery cell production, economic and geo-political headwinds have left its domestic battery industry grappling with excess capacity. Slowing demand growth from the electric vehicle (EV) sector last year saw the average gigafactory capacity utilisation rate in the country fall to just 37%, down from nearly 50% the year before. ",{"type":615,"attrs":51564,"content":51565},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51566],{"text":51567,"type":596},"Increasing capacity utilisation rates",{"type":591,"attrs":51569,"content":51570},{"textAlign":49},[51571],{"text":51572,"type":596},"Following a challenging twelve months, many in China’s domestic battery industry have anticipated the market to undergo consolidation in 2024, according to Evan Hartley, senior analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":51574,"content":51575},{"textAlign":49},[51576],{"text":51577,"type":596},"“Smaller producers in China are struggling with low cell prices, limited capacity utilisation rates, and the need for constant R&D efforts in order to match pace with more advanced manufacturers,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":51579,"content":51580},{"textAlign":49},[51581],{"text":51582,"type":596},"“Policies designed to limit expansions from companies already under utilising capacity could serve to protect the country’s battery industry from further consolidation,” Hartley added. “The rules could promote stability across the industry by forcing smaller producers to focus on increasing utilisation rates at existing facilities rather than building new capacity.”",{"type":591,"attrs":51584,"content":51585},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":51587,"content":51588},{"textAlign":49},[51589],{"text":51590,"type":596},"Despite denials of overcapacity problems from Chinese officials’, excess capacity is evident across China’s battery supply chain. Benchmark data demonstrates that midstream capacity in the country is often multiple factors greater than global demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":51592,"content":51593},{"textAlign":49},[51594,51596,51602],{"text":51595,"type":596},"Large scale Chinese investment in ",{"text":51597,"type":596,"marks":51598},"upstream mining projects too has pushed some battery raw material markets into structural oversupply",[51599],{"type":606,"attrs":51600},{"href":51601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesian-nickel-investments-buck-wider-downturn",{"text":51603,"type":596},", negatively impacting prices and squeezing margins for producers across these industries. ",{"type":615,"attrs":51605,"content":51606},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51607],{"text":51608,"type":596},"China seeks export markets to bolster growth",{"type":591,"attrs":51610,"content":51611},{"textAlign":49},[51612],{"text":51613,"type":596},"The consequences of this overcapacity could be higher costs and lower profits for Chinese companies, as they pay for under-utilised capacity and inventory they cannot sell. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51615,"content":51616},{"textAlign":49},[51617],{"text":51618,"type":596},"However, Jonathan Humphrey, senior economist at Benchmark, believes that China can keep financing strategic sectors such as the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle industry for a long time to come.",{"type":591,"attrs":51620,"content":51621},{"textAlign":49},[51622],{"text":51623,"type":596},"“China seems to be building out the capacity necessary to meet domestic demand, but consumers’ incomes aren’t there yet. In the meantime, it is exporting a lot of EVs to the rest of the world” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":51625,"content":51626},{"textAlign":49},[51627],{"text":51628,"type":596},"China has been hit with accusations that it is using industrial overcapacity to boost economic growth through increased exports. The EU and US have cautioned that industrial overcapacity is allowing China to undercut prices across a number of high-tech and clean energy sectors, with harmful consequences for Western economies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51630,"content":51631},{"textAlign":49},[51632,51638],{"text":51633,"type":596,"marks":51634},"A recent EU anti-dumping probe",[51635],{"type":606,"attrs":51636},{"href":51637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-the-eu-could-tackle-subsidised-imports-of-chinese-evs",{"text":51639,"type":596}," found that Chinese EVs were being unfairly subsidised to an extent which reduces the competitiveness of automakers operating in the bloc, proposing to raise tariffs on China’s EV imports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51641,"content":51642},{"textAlign":49},[51643,51648],{"text":51644,"type":596,"marks":51645},"The US already imposes a 27.5% tariff on Chinese EV’s",[51646],{"type":606,"attrs":51647},{"href":51405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51649,"type":596}," to limit their penetration into the world’s second largest vehicle market, with the Biden Administration reportedly set to raise this tariff to 100%.","China took steps to limit excess capacity in the lithium ion battery industry last week, as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a set of draft rules it said were designed to guide the “healthy” development of the sector. China’s lithium ion battery sector has been heavily subsided since its classification as a […]",[51652],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51653},{"job_title":557,"image":51654,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7332acd8-ecca-4eb3-a3a6-dc7a06ae4672\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51657,51658,51659],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":51661,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":51661,"source":547,"filename":51662,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51663,"is_external_url":51},"China overcapacity","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1715681626/www-production/Screenshot-2024-05-14-111004/Screenshot-2024-05-14-111004.png?_i=AA",{"alt":51661,"title":51661,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":51665,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51666,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/19d07bb4be/bm-hidden-gigafactory-vietnam.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 14, 2024",{"id":51669,"uuid":51670,"name":51671,"slug":51672,"full_slug":51673,"content":51674},112469593486734,"f933e1a3-52a0-41bf-9a4f-e104f092d2cd","Equinor takes stake in Standard Lithium Smackover direct lithium extraction projects","equinor-takes-stake-in-standard-lithium-smackover-direct-lithium-extraction-projects","article/equinor-takes-stake-in-standard-lithium-smackover-direct-lithium-extraction-projects",{"_uid":51675,"date":51676,"tags":51677,"editor":51683,"content":51687,"excerpt":51790,"featured":51,"reporter":51791,"_editable":51795,"component":697,"seo_title":51671,"categories":51796,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":51799,"seo_description":51790,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51802},"34ecf1b4-c2c1-4016-a5e9-9631f8a3817e","2024-05-09 00:00",[51678,51679,51682],{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":51680,"name":51681},"standard-lithium","Standard Lithium",{"slug":572,"name":573},[51684],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51685},{"job_title":557,"image":51686,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51688},[51689,51701,51706,51723,51728,51733,51740,51745,51750,51755,51760,51765,51770,51775,51785],{"type":591,"attrs":51690,"content":51691},{"textAlign":49},[51692,51694,51699],{"text":51693,"type":596},"Norwegian energy company Equinor will invest up to $160 million in two US-based ",{"text":8940,"type":596,"marks":51695},[51696],{"type":606,"attrs":51697},{"href":51698,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-lithium-race-intensifies-as-arkansas-advances-dle-prospects",{"text":51700,"type":596}," (DLE) projects being developed by Standard Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":51702,"content":51703},{"textAlign":49},[51704],{"text":51705,"type":596},"Equinor will take 45% stakes in both the South West Arkansas project and East Texas properties.",{"type":591,"attrs":51707,"content":51708},{"textAlign":49},[51709,51715,51717,51721],{"text":51710,"type":596,"marks":51711},"Direct lithium extraction",[51712],{"type":606,"attrs":51713},{"href":51714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-is-direct-lithium-extraction-the-industrys-shale-moment",{"text":51716,"type":596}," is an emerging technology for selectively extracting lithium from subsurface brine resources without the need for large evaporation ponds. ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":51718},[51719],{"type":606,"attrs":51720},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51722,"type":596}," that DLE will represent around 16% of global lithium production in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":51724,"content":51725},{"textAlign":49},[51726],{"text":51727,"type":596},"“DLE will play an increasingly important role in global lithium production,” Robert Mintak, chief executive of Standard Lithium, told Benchmark Source. “While it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, DLE is a powerful tool when applied to the right resources.”",{"type":591,"attrs":51729,"content":51730},{"textAlign":49},[51731],{"text":51732,"type":596},"Standard Lithium is targeting 2026 for production from its first commercial lithium extraction plant and 2027 for production from the South West Arkansas project. The latter project’s preliminary feasibility study suggests that the facility could operate at 30,000 tonnes per annum of lithium hydroxide over a 20-year operating life.",{"type":591,"attrs":51734,"content":51735},{"textAlign":49},[51736],{"type":836,"attrs":51737},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":51738,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":51739},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/11199740c3/bm-dle-chart.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":51741,"content":51742},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51743],{"text":51744,"type":596},"What has been agreed?",{"type":591,"attrs":51746,"content":51747},{"textAlign":49},[51748],{"text":51749,"type":596},"Subject to both parties making a positive final investment decision, the terms of the agreement are:",{"type":615,"attrs":51751,"content":51752},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51753],{"text":51754,"type":596},"Oil companies invest in DLE",{"type":591,"attrs":51756,"content":51757},{"textAlign":49},[51758],{"text":51759,"type":596},"Both of Standard Lithium’s projects included in this deal are located in the Smackover formation, a limestone aquifer that stretches from Texas to Florida. The region has historically been developed for the extraction of bromine.",{"type":591,"attrs":51761,"content":51762},{"textAlign":49},[51763],{"text":51764,"type":596},"As an oil and gas company, Equinor has expertise which significantly overlaps with that required for developing a DLE operation. Equinor also invested in DLE developer Lithium de France in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":51766,"content":51767},{"textAlign":49},[51768],{"text":51769,"type":596},"“Oil and gas companies are experts on fluid management,” Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark, said. “One of the most complicated aspects, apart from lithium recovery, is the re-injection of brines, and International Oil Companies’ expertise in this topic is of paramount importance.”",{"type":591,"attrs":51771,"content":51772},{"textAlign":49},[51773],{"text":51774,"type":596},"Energy companies also have deep pockets and Gay says this can help boost the development of DLE technologies even when funding for lithium projects from other sources may be scarce.",{"type":591,"attrs":51776,"content":51777},{"textAlign":49},[51778,51783],{"text":51779,"type":596,"marks":51780},"ExxonMobil, a US-based oil and gas major",[51781],{"type":606,"attrs":51782},{"href":16083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51784,"type":596},", is also developing a DLE project in the Arkansas region of the Smackover formation. It is targeting first production in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":51786,"content":51787},{"textAlign":49},[51788],{"text":51789,"type":596},"Other major energy companies have also invested in DLE, including Occidental Petroleum and Schlumberger.","Norwegian energy company Equinor will invest up to $160 million in two US-based direct lithium extraction (DLE) projects being developed by Standard Lithium. Equinor will take 45% stakes in both the South West Arkansas project and East Texas properties. Direct lithium extraction is an emerging technology for selectively extracting lithium from subsurface brine resources without […]",[51792],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51793},{"job_title":557,"image":51794,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"34ecf1b4-c2c1-4016-a5e9-9631f8a3817e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51797,51798],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":51800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51801,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e91d4052b3/bm-abc-0969-standardlithium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 09, 2024",{"id":51804,"uuid":51805,"name":51806,"slug":51807,"full_slug":51808,"content":51809},112469608428945,"739566b5-018c-40f5-8fb3-cbf42a3e6f8e","Graphite FEOC sourcing extension supports US battery expansion but highlights China’s dominance","graphite-feoc-sourcing-extension-supports-us-battery-expansion-but-highlights-chinas-dominance","article/graphite-feoc-sourcing-extension-supports-us-battery-expansion-but-highlights-chinas-dominance",{"_uid":51810,"date":51811,"tags":51812,"editor":51818,"content":51822,"excerpt":51922,"featured":51,"reporter":51923,"_editable":51927,"component":697,"seo_title":51806,"categories":51928,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":51931,"seo_description":51922,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51934},"b3198087-8cf8-4745-89af-56cb01ef08a0","2024-05-08 00:00",[51813,51814,51815,51816,51817],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[51819],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51820},{"job_title":557,"image":51821,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51823},[51824,51829,51834,51839,51849,51854,51858,51863,51868,51873,51878,51883,51893,51912,51917],{"type":591,"attrs":51825,"content":51826},{"textAlign":49},[51827],{"text":51828,"type":596},"Following mounting pressure from battery supply chain players, the US government has provided an extension on the use of Chinese graphite in batteries to qualify for electric vehicle (EV) tax credits.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":51830,"content":51831},{"textAlign":49},[51832],{"text":51833,"type":596},"Automakers and OEMs will now have until 2027 to meet the Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act when it comes to certain critical minerals. Graphite will be categorised as an “impracticable-to-trace” mineral, giving it a temporary exemption from FEOC compliance for two years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51835,"content":51836},{"textAlign":49},[51837],{"text":51838,"type":596},"“It may prove challenging for ex-China anode aspirants to build out sufficient regional supply to meet the surging downstream demand without some level of Chinese involvement in overseas projects, or continued imports from the country,” said Tony Alderson, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":51840,"content":51841},{"textAlign":49},[51842,51844,51848],{"text":51843,"type":596},"China is expected to produce 72% of global natural graphite supply in 2024, and 98% of the uncoated spherical graphite (USPG) output, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":51845},[51846],{"type":606,"attrs":51847},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51850,"content":51851},{"textAlign":49},[51852],{"text":51853,"type":596},"China is also dominant in synthetic graphite production – the country is expected to account for 54% of needle coke supply in 2024 and 77% of synthetic graphite supply – with its market share set to grow in the coming years.",{"type":615,"attrs":51855,"content":51856},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51857],{"text":43361,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51859,"content":51860},{"textAlign":49},[51861],{"text":51862,"type":596},"The US government’s policy on graphite had been under pressure from both domestic miners and overseas OEMs due to China’s dominance in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":51864,"content":51865},{"textAlign":49},[51866],{"text":51867,"type":596},"North American graphite miners were pressing for a tariff on Chinese graphite imports to help them compete. Simultaneously, OEMs were concerned they would be unable to qualify for IRA subsidies without an exemption for Chinese graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":51869,"content":51870},{"textAlign":49},[51871],{"text":51872,"type":596},"“The Treasury rules appear to recognize the realities of the global supply chain by providing some temporary flexibility in terms of where the critical minerals in EV batteries can be sourced. That’s helpful as more automotive supply chains and battery production are localised to the US and our allies,” John Bozzella, president and CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":51874,"content":51875},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51876],{"text":51877,"type":596},"The North American graphite market",{"type":591,"attrs":51879,"content":51880},{"textAlign":49},[51881],{"text":51882,"type":596},"North America is currently a net importer of natural graphite and USPG. The US in particular is expected to add more USPG capacity towards the end of the decade, but will need to rely on imports of natural flake graphite due to the lack of domestic production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51884,"content":51885},{"textAlign":49},[51886,51888,51892],{"text":51887,"type":596},"In 2023, North America produced 5,000 tonnes of natural graphite, all of which came from the Lac des Illes mine in Canada, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":51889},[51890],{"type":606,"attrs":51891},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":51894,"content":51895},{"textAlign":49},[51896,51900,51904,51909],{"text":51897,"type":596,"marks":51898},"Watch Benchmark’s Head of Prices Daisy Jennings-Gray discuss North America’s anode supply chain.",[51899],{"type":1006},{"text":51901,"type":596,"marks":51902},"Watch more analyst insight videos ",[51903],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":51905},[51906,51908],{"type":606,"attrs":51907},{"href":49007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":51910},[51911],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":51913,"content":51914},{"textAlign":49},[51915],{"text":51916,"type":596},"China was responsible for nearly 100% of global USPG in 2023 while North America had no production last year. Syrah Resources’ Vidalia project has since started production in Louisiana, with an initial production capacity of 11,250 tonnes per year of anode active materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51918,"content":51919},{"textAlign":49},[51920],{"text":51921,"type":596},"“Despite ongoing capacity announcements in the North American market, including projects affiliated with Chinese entities, it remains insufficient to meet the projected regional demand. The Benchmark Anode Forecast expects a supply-demand deficit exceeding 700,000 tonnes per year by the end of the decade,” said Alderson.","Following mounting pressure from battery supply chain players, the US government has provided an extension on the use of Chinese graphite in batteries to qualify for electric vehicle (EV) tax credits. Automakers and OEMs will now have until 2027 to meet the Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act when it […]",[51924],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51925},{"job_title":557,"image":51926,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b3198087-8cf8-4745-89af-56cb01ef08a0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[51929,51930],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":51932,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":51933,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf16818807/bm-graphitepicture-1318295eca12.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 08, 2024",{"id":51936,"uuid":51937,"name":51938,"slug":51939,"full_slug":51940,"content":51941},112469603718544,"acc37457-363f-4ed8-86ea-399968ad5226","What the final 30D IRA tax credit rules mean for the US auto industry","what-the-final-30d-ira-tax-credit-rules-mean-for-the-us-auto-industry","article/what-the-final-30d-ira-tax-credit-rules-mean-for-the-us-auto-industry",{"_uid":51942,"date":51811,"tags":51943,"editor":51948,"content":51952,"excerpt":52157,"featured":51,"reporter":52158,"_editable":52162,"component":697,"seo_title":51938,"categories":52163,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":52166,"seo_description":52157,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":51934},"758d9cf2-c8d6-4683-9257-a0e4452cae24",[51944,51945,51946,51947],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[51949],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":51950},{"job_title":557,"image":51951,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":51953},[51954,51965,51976,51981,51986,51991,51996,52001,52006,52011,52016,52021,52026,52031,52036,52041,52046,52051,52056,52061,52066,52071,52076,52081,52089,52094,52099,52104,52109,52120,52125,52130,52135,52140,52152],{"type":591,"attrs":51955,"content":51956},{"textAlign":49},[51957,51959,51963],{"text":51958,"type":596},"The US Department of the Treasury has issued its final rules for the 30D clean vehicle tax credit included in the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":51960},[51961],{"type":606,"attrs":51962},{"href":47441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51964,"type":596},". The rules will become effective on 5 July 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":51966,"content":51967},{"textAlign":49},[51968,51970,51974],{"text":51969,"type":596},"The rules now exempt graphite contained in battery anodes from needing to meet ",{"text":40773,"type":596,"marks":51971},[51972],{"type":606,"attrs":51973},{"href":40777,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":51975,"type":596}," (FEOC) and due diligence rules until 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":51977,"content":51978},{"textAlign":49},[51979],{"text":51980,"type":596},"The Department of Energy also released its guidance on the interpretation of the term FEOC.",{"type":591,"attrs":51982,"content":51983},{"textAlign":49},[51984],{"text":51985,"type":596},"“The final rules issued by the US Department of the Treasury for the 30D credit, particularly the FEOC definition, have been long awaited by the industry and allow more concrete plans for the coming wave of sourcing,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":51987,"content":51988},{"textAlign":49},[51989],{"text":51990,"type":596},"With a clearer definition of FEOC the US battery supply chain can start to finalise its sourcing needs for the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":51992,"content":51993},{"textAlign":49},[51994],{"text":51995,"type":596},"“However, there still remains a certain amount of uncertainty linked to the final rules for the 45X manufacturing credit, with further clarity needed to finalise eligibility across the value chain,” Rawles added.",{"type":615,"attrs":51997,"content":51998},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[51999],{"text":52000,"type":596},"What is the 30D tax credit?",{"type":591,"attrs":52002,"content":52003},{"textAlign":49},[52004],{"text":52005,"type":596},"The 30D New Energy Vehicle tax credit worth up to $7,500 and available to purchasers of electric or fuel cell vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":52007,"content":52008},{"textAlign":49},[52009],{"text":52010,"type":596},"To be eligible for $3,750 of the tax credit, the applicable percentage of the value of the battery components must be manufactured or assembled in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":52012,"content":52013},{"textAlign":49},[52014],{"text":52015,"type":596},"To be eligible for the other half of the tax credit, the applicable percentage of the value of the critical minerals contained in the battery must be extracted or processed in the US or a country with which the US has a free trade agreement (FTA) or be recycled in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":52017,"content":52018},{"textAlign":49},[52019],{"text":52020,"type":596},"The applicable percentages are as follows:",{"type":591,"attrs":52022,"content":52023},{"textAlign":49},[52024],{"text":52025,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Policy Report",{"type":591,"attrs":52027,"content":52028},{"textAlign":49},[52029],{"text":52030,"type":596},"The finalised rules adopt the Traced Qualifying Value test–a method for precisely determining the value of the critical minerals within a battery. The simplified 50% Value Added Test is allowed to be used until 2027.",{"type":615,"attrs":52032,"content":52033},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52034],{"text":52035,"type":596},"What is the definition of “Foreign Entity of Concern”?",{"type":591,"attrs":52037,"content":52038},{"textAlign":49},[52039],{"text":52040,"type":596},"The Department of Energy finalised its definition of the term “Foreign Entity of Concern” in the latest guidance. This term appears in both the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.",{"type":591,"attrs":52042,"content":52043},{"textAlign":49},[52044],{"text":52045,"type":596},"Under the DOE’s guidance interpreting this phrase, an entity is considered an FEOC if it is headquartered, incorporated or performing relevant activities in a covered nation, if 25% or more of its voting rights, board seats, or equity interest are held by the government of a covered nation, or if the entity is effectively controlled by a FEOC through a licence or contract with that FEOC.",{"type":591,"attrs":52047,"content":52048},{"textAlign":49},[52049],{"text":52050,"type":596},"The list of covered nations are:",{"type":591,"attrs":52052,"content":52053},{"textAlign":49},[52054],{"text":52055,"type":596},"Source: Department of Energy, country names as given in the guidance",{"type":615,"attrs":52057,"content":52058},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52059],{"text":52060,"type":596},"Why does graphite have an exception?",{"type":591,"attrs":52062,"content":52063},{"textAlign":49},[52064],{"text":52065,"type":596},"The final regulations state that critical minerals which are “impracticable-to-trace” are to be exempted from the due diligence requirements of the 30D tax credit until January 1 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":52067,"content":52068},{"textAlign":49},[52069],{"text":52070,"type":596},"The graphite contained in a battery anode falls into this category. The government states this is “due to the commingling of natural and synthetic graphite, as well as the difficulty of tracing synthetic graphite fully upstream.”",{"type":591,"attrs":52072,"content":52073},{"textAlign":49},[52074],{"text":52075,"type":596},"These materials will also be exempted from complying with FEOC rules. This is significant as Benchmark data shows that 98% of spherical graphite and 97.8% of synthetic graphite anode material is forecast to be produced in China this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":52077,"content":52078},{"textAlign":49},[52079],{"text":52080,"type":596},"“If the US Administration had not provided the temporary graphite exception, very few cars would have qualified for the 30D purchase credit in 2025, given China’s dominance,” Bryan Bille, a policy analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":52082,"content":52083},{"textAlign":49},[52084],{"type":836,"attrs":52085},{"id":49,"alt":52086,"src":52087,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":52088},"China's share of the graphite anode supply chain","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2acfd71da9/bm-chinas-share-of-graphite-anode-supply-chain.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":52090,"content":52091},{"textAlign":49},[52092],{"text":52093,"type":596},"The full list of impracticable-to-trace battery materials are:",{"type":591,"attrs":52095,"content":52096},{"textAlign":49},[52097],{"text":52098,"type":596},"“Exemptions until 2027 for ‘impracticable-to-trace battery materials’ will be welcomed by some, especially around graphite sourcing and the anode supply chain as this was proving to be one of the most challenging parts of the requirement, with 98% of natural graphite spheronisation occurring in China in 2024,” Rawles said.",{"type":591,"attrs":52100,"content":52101},{"textAlign":49},[52102],{"text":52103,"type":596},"A manufacturer intending to make use of the exemption must provide a report demonstrating how they will comply with the FEOC rules once the transition rule is no longer in effect.",{"type":615,"attrs":52105,"content":52106},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52107],{"text":52108,"type":596},"What has the response been?",{"type":591,"attrs":52110,"content":52111},{"textAlign":49},[52112,52118],{"text":52113,"type":596,"marks":52114},"Joe Manchin",[52115],{"type":606,"attrs":52116},{"href":52117,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/joe-manchin-says-treasury-guidance-waters-down-inflation-reduction-act",{"text":52119,"type":596},", a Democratic senator instrumental in the IRA initially getting passed, criticised the final guidance of the 30D tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":52121,"content":52122},{"textAlign":49},[52123],{"text":52124,"type":596},"“But with this final rule for the consumer credit, their [the Administration’s] creation of loopholes in the commercial vehicle credit, and their EPA tailpipe rules, the Administration is effectively endorsing ‘Made in China.’,” he said in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":52126,"content":52127},{"textAlign":49},[52128],{"text":52129,"type":596},"The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, however, welcomed the final rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":52131,"content":52132},{"textAlign":49},[52133],{"text":52134,"type":596},"“The Treasury rules appear to recognize the realities of the global supply chain by providing some temporary flexibility in terms of where the critical minerals in EV batteries can be sourced,” John Bozzella, the president and chief executive of the Alliance said in a statement. “That’s helpful as more automotive supply chains and battery production is localised to the US and our allies.”",{"type":615,"attrs":52136,"content":52137},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52138],{"text":52139,"type":596},"Could the elections impact this?",{"type":591,"attrs":52141,"content":52142},{"textAlign":49},[52143,52145,52150],{"text":52144,"type":596},"With the ",{"text":52146,"type":596,"marks":52147},"US elections",[52148],{"type":606,"attrs":52149},{"href":39054,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52151,"type":596}," coming up, the interpretation of the rules surrounding the tax credit could change.",{"type":591,"attrs":52153,"content":52154},{"textAlign":49},[52155],{"text":52156,"type":596},"“A potential Trump administration would have some scope to tighten the EV tax credit rules, for example, by removing the temporary exemption for Chinese graphite and revising the FEOC rules to make them more stringent to be tough on China,” Bille said.","The US Department of the Treasury has issued its final rules for the 30D clean vehicle tax credit included in the Inflation Reduction Act. The rules will become effective on 5 July 2024. The rules now exempt graphite contained in battery anodes from needing to meet Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) and due diligence rules […]",[52159],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52160},{"job_title":557,"image":52161,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"758d9cf2-c8d6-4683-9257-a0e4452cae24\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[52164,52165],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52167,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":52169,"uuid":52170,"name":52171,"slug":52172,"full_slug":52173,"content":52174},112469613282708,"a16ed654-43f1-47f2-a800-271b2621586b","China’s overseas anode push expands with Shinzoom’s planned Morocco plant","chinas-overseas-anode-push-expands-with-shinzooms-planned-morocco-plant","article/chinas-overseas-anode-push-expands-with-shinzooms-planned-morocco-plant",{"_uid":52175,"date":52176,"tags":52177,"editor":52185,"content":52189,"excerpt":52324,"featured":51,"reporter":52325,"_editable":52329,"component":697,"seo_title":52171,"categories":52330,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":52333,"seo_description":52324,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52337},"44197d88-15b0-41c8-946f-8ce6418d66a6","2024-05-07 00:00",[52178,52179,52180,52181,52184],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":27053,"name":27054},{"slug":52182,"name":52183},"shanshan","Shanshan",{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[52186],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52187},{"job_title":557,"image":52188,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52190},[52191,52196,52201,52206,52219,52224,52237,52249,52254,52264,52269,52274,52279,52284,52289,52294,52299,52304,52309,52314,52319],{"type":591,"attrs":52192,"content":52193},{"textAlign":49},[52194],{"text":52195,"type":596},"Chinese anode producer Shinzoom is looking to build an integrated anode material facility in Morocco as overcapacity in China drives a search for overseas markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":52197,"content":52198},{"textAlign":49},[52199],{"text":52200,"type":596},"Shinzoom, also known as Hunan Zhongke, says its total planned investment for the Moroccan plant will not exceed RMB 5 billion ($690 million), with annual capacity to be 100,000 tonnes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52202,"content":52203},{"textAlign":49},[52204],{"text":52205,"type":596},"“Shinzoom’s recent announcement highlights the ongoing trend of Chinese anode majors expanding their presence to overseas regions. Faced with intense competition domestically, these companies are going to regions where the anode supply pipeline fails to meet forecast demand,” said Tony Alderson, Benchmark analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":52207,"content":52208},{"textAlign":49},[52209,52211,52217],{"text":52210,"type":596},"A global anode surplus of under 400,000 tonnes is expected in 2024, according to the ",{"text":52212,"type":596,"marks":52213},"Benchmark Anode Forecast",[52214],{"type":606,"attrs":52215},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/anode/reports/",{"text":52218,"type":596},", pushing Chinese producers to cut costs and sacrifice margins to retain market share. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52220,"content":52221},{"textAlign":49},[52222],{"text":52223,"type":596},"“Alongside Shinzoom’s commitment, there are reports suggesting that BTR is also considering investments in anode operations in Morocco,” said Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":52225,"content":52226},{"textAlign":49},[52227,52229,52235],{"text":52228,"type":596},"Europe and the US together are expected to have an ",{"text":52230,"type":596,"marks":52231},"anode deficit",[52232],{"type":606,"attrs":52233},{"href":52234,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-anode-pipeline-grows-150-since-ira-but-large-north-american-deficit-still-forecast",{"text":52236,"type":596}," of over 500,000 tonnes in 2024, presenting attractive markets for pressured Chinese producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52238,"content":52239},{"textAlign":49},[52240,52242,52247],{"text":52241,"type":596},"Shinzoom’s investment also belongs to a more general wave of ",{"text":52243,"type":596,"marks":52244},"Chinese battery investments into Morocco",[52245],{"type":606,"attrs":52246},{"href":48265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52248,"type":596}," over the last year. The company has become the seventh Chinese battery or battery materials producer to announce planned capacity there since the start of 2023. ",{"type":615,"attrs":52250,"content":52251},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52252],{"text":52253,"type":596},"Who is Shinzoom?",{"type":591,"attrs":52255,"content":52256},{"textAlign":49},[52257,52259,52263],{"text":52258,"type":596},"Hunan-headquartered Shinzoom is an established natural and synthetic anode active materials producer. It operates 215,000 tonnes in nameplate capacity for anode active material production in China, with a further 495,000 tonnes in the pipeline, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":52260},[52261],{"type":606,"attrs":52262},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":52265,"content":52266},{"textAlign":49},[52267],{"text":52268,"type":596},"The Moroccan anode plant would become its first ex-China anode facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":52270,"content":52271},{"textAlign":49},[52272],{"text":52273,"type":596},"According to Benchmark’s anode manufacturer tiering system, Shinzoom is a Tier 1 producer, meaning that it is qualified to supply multinational electric vehicle (EV) producers outside of China and has over 10,000 tonnes of annual production capacity. ",{"type":615,"attrs":52275,"content":52276},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52277],{"text":52278,"type":596},"Why is their announcement important?",{"type":591,"attrs":52280,"content":52281},{"textAlign":49},[52282],{"text":52283,"type":596},"Shinzoom’s announcement sits at the confluence of two battery investments trends: the expansion of Chinese anode producers abroad and the rise of Chinese battery supply chain investments in Morocco specifically. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52285,"content":52286},{"textAlign":49},[52287],{"text":52288,"type":596},"There have been five major Chinese investments into overseas anode capacity since 2022 across the US, Asia, and Europe.",{"type":615,"attrs":52290,"content":52291},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52292],{"text":52293,"type":596},"Major Chinese overseas anode capacity investments since 2022",{"type":591,"attrs":52295,"content":52296},{"textAlign":49},[52297],{"text":52298,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Anode Forecast, company announcements",{"type":615,"attrs":52300,"content":52301},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52302],{"text":52303,"type":596},"Why Morocco?",{"type":591,"attrs":52305,"content":52306},{"textAlign":49},[52307],{"text":52308,"type":596},"Shinzoom, as well as other Chinese battery materials producers, have chosen Morocco primarily because it is a free trade partner to both the US and EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52310,"content":52311},{"textAlign":49},[52312],{"text":52313,"type":596},"The US Inflation Reduction Act awards tax credits for EVs if a percent value of its battery critical minerals were extracted or processed in a free trade partner country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52315,"content":52316},{"textAlign":49},[52317],{"text":52318,"type":596},"It remains to be seen whether Chinese producers in Morocco will still fall foul of the US FEOC rules that bans EVs from tax credits if their batteries contain material from companies over a certain threshold and type of Chinese ownership. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52320,"content":52321},{"textAlign":49},[52322],{"text":52323,"type":596},"Even if the US market remains a challenge, Morocco’s closeness to the Europe means lower logistical costs for Chinese producers targeting this other growing market.","Chinese anode producer Shinzoom is looking to build an integrated anode material facility in Morocco as overcapacity in China drives a search for overseas markets. Shinzoom, also known as Hunan Zhongke, says its total planned investment for the Moroccan plant will not exceed RMB 5 billion ($690 million), with annual capacity to be 100,000 tonnes. […]",[52326],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52327},{"job_title":557,"image":52328,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"44197d88-15b0-41c8-946f-8ce6418d66a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[52331,52332],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":52334,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":52334,"source":547,"filename":52335,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52336,"is_external_url":51},"Chinese and Moroccan flag taking up diagonal halves of the image","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf7e83f8b5/bm-morocco-china-flags.jpg",{"alt":52334,"title":52334,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 07, 2024",{"id":52339,"uuid":52340,"name":52341,"slug":52342,"full_slug":52343,"content":52344},114844005163005,"2fd5f8fa-c3e5-4a01-bf83-334217457d28","Benchmark receives award from King Charles III on PM’s recommendation ","benchmark-receives-award-from-king-charles-iii-on-pms-recommendation","article/benchmark-receives-award-from-king-charles-iii-on-pms-recommendation",{"_uid":52345,"date":52346,"tags":52347,"editor":52349,"content":52353,"excerpt":52437,"featured":50,"reporter":52438,"component":697,"seo_title":52442,"categories":52443,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":52446,"featured_image":52448,"seo_description":52451,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52452},"3a3dcaab-7761-48e2-9f3a-94f74d212e59","2024-05-06 00:00",[52348],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[52350],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52351},{"job_title":557,"image":52352,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52354},[52355,52360,52365,52370,52375,52380,52386,52397,52402,52407,52412,52417,52422,52427,52432],{"type":591,"attrs":52356,"content":52357},{"textAlign":49},[52358],{"text":52359,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has received The King’s Award for Enterprise in the category for International Trade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52361,"content":52362},{"textAlign":49},[52363],{"text":52364,"type":596},"The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":52366,"content":52367},{"textAlign":49},[52368],{"text":52369,"type":596},"This is His Majesty King Charles III’s second awards following his desire to continue the legacy created by HM Queen Elizabeth II. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52371,"content":52372},{"textAlign":49},[52373],{"text":52374,"type":596},"This year 252 businesses have been recognised for their contribution to International Trade, Innovation, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity (through Social Mobility).",{"type":591,"attrs":52376,"content":52377},{"textAlign":49},[52378],{"text":52379,"type":596},"Benchmark CEO, Simon Moores said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":52381,"content":52382},{"textAlign":49},[52383,52384],{"text":2936,"type":596},{"text":52385,"type":596},"To receive the King’s Award from His Majesty King Charles III and on the Prime Minister’s recommendation is of huge significance for us. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52387,"content":52388},{"textAlign":49},[52389,52391,52395],{"text":52390,"type":596},"Benchmark was founded on the principle that independent and accurate market prices and intelligence are a cornerstone to the ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":52392},[52393],{"type":606,"attrs":52394},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":52396,"type":596}," and energy storage era. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52398,"content":52399},{"textAlign":49},[52400],{"text":52401,"type":596},"We were founded with no investment in 2014 to become the most valuable business in the world for what we do. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52403,"content":52404},{"textAlign":49},[52405],{"text":52406,"type":596},"From our bases in London and Swindon, and harnessing the strength of UK-based talent, our team have guided the decision-making of leaders across energy, transportation, technology, finance and politics under times of immense change.",{"type":591,"attrs":52408,"content":52409},{"textAlign":49},[52410],{"text":52411,"type":596},"Benchmark has steered the allocation of billions of pounds of capital investment, putting British research and intellectual property at the heart of the global push towards clean energy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52413,"content":52414},{"textAlign":49},[52415],{"text":52416,"type":596},"Benchmark’s impact is being felt not just in our industry but at the highest levels of global influence.",{"type":591,"attrs":52418,"content":52419},{"textAlign":49},[52420],{"text":52421,"type":596},"All of Team Benchmark send our deepest gratitude to The King and Prime Minister Sunak for this award.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":52423,"content":52424},{"textAlign":49},[52425],{"text":52426,"type":596},"About The King’s Award: ",{"type":591,"attrs":52428,"content":52429},{"textAlign":49},[52430],{"text":52431,"type":596},"The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed last year to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses. The Award programme, now in its 58th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":52433,"content":52434},{"textAlign":49},[52435],{"text":52436,"type":596},"The awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes, or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has received The King’s Award for Enterprise in the category for International Trade. The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the UK. This is His Majesty King Charles III’s second awards following his desire to continue the legacy created by HM Queen Elizabeth II. This year 252 […]",[52439],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52440},{"job_title":557,"image":52441,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"Benchmark receives award from King Charles III",[52444,52445],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52447},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":52449,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52450,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f142c5c9b6/bm-the-kings-award-source-image.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has received The King’s Award for Enterprise in the category for International Trade. The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the UK. ","May 06, 2024",{"id":52454,"uuid":52455,"name":52456,"slug":52457,"full_slug":52458,"content":52459},112469629801879,"88b90599-090e-4112-84ae-c901c5157f8e","Is 2024 the year of solid-state battery powered EVs?","is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs","article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs",{"_uid":52460,"date":52461,"tags":52462,"editor":52465,"content":52469,"excerpt":52623,"featured":51,"reporter":52624,"_editable":52628,"component":697,"seo_title":52456,"categories":52629,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":52632,"seo_description":52623,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52635},"c356817a-5b16-490c-a3ff-a66d59ce7dd5","2024-05-03 00:00",[52463,52464],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[52466],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52467},{"job_title":557,"image":52468,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52470},[52471,52476,52481,52486,52491,52496,52501,52506,52511,52519,52524,52529,52541,52546,52551,52556,52563,52572,52577,52582,52587,52592,52597,52602,52616],{"type":591,"attrs":52472,"content":52473},{"textAlign":49},[52474],{"text":52475,"type":596},"Chinese automaker Nio has begun publicly testing semi-solid-state battery packs in some of its electric vehicles ahead of a full rollout planned for June.",{"type":591,"attrs":52477,"content":52478},{"textAlign":49},[52479],{"text":52480,"type":596},"The 150 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries are produced by WeLion, a Chinese solid-state battery developer. Towards the end of last year, Nio’s chief executive drove an electric vehicle (EV) fitted with WeLion’s battery pack on a live stream to demonstrate its capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":52482,"content":52483},{"textAlign":49},[52484],{"text":52485,"type":596},"Significantly, this marks the first case of an oxide-based solid-state battery in public use in an EV. The production of oxide solid electrolytes is challenging due to the brittle nature of the material which makes mass manufacture more difficult than other solid-state electrolytes.",{"type":591,"attrs":52487,"content":52488},{"textAlign":49},[52489],{"text":52490,"type":596},"“Seeing oxide-based technologies rolled out in China first is a huge moment for the industry,” Rory McNulty, a solid-state battery analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":52492,"content":52493},{"textAlign":49},[52494],{"text":52495,"type":596},"Battery giant CATL recently said it was targeting 2027 for the small-scale rollout of its solid-state batteries.",{"type":615,"attrs":52497,"content":52498},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52499],{"text":52500,"type":596},"What’s the difference between semi- and all-solid-state batteries?",{"type":591,"attrs":52502,"content":52503},{"textAlign":49},[52504],{"text":52505,"type":596},"The electrolyte in a semi-solid-state battery contains both a solid and a liquid component, with the liquid overcoming some of the interfacial challenges that an all-solid-state system faces, where no liquid is present.",{"type":591,"attrs":52507,"content":52508},{"textAlign":49},[52509],{"text":52510,"type":596},"“There are drawbacks of using a semi-solid-state system. Compatibility with next-generation electrodes, safety, and performance might be compromised to allow the inclusion of liquid for instance,” McNulty said. “That being said, it looks set that semi-solid-state batteries will be commercialised before all-solid-state batteries.”",{"type":591,"attrs":52512,"content":52513},{"textAlign":49},[52514,52518],{"text":52515,"type":596,"marks":52516},"Watch Benchmark Analyst Rory McNulty discuss the transition of next-gen battery companies from R&D to commercialisation",[52517],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":52520,"content":52521},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52522],{"text":52523,"type":596},"What’s the significance of the anode material?",{"type":591,"attrs":52525,"content":52526},{"textAlign":49},[52527],{"text":52528,"type":596},"Robin Zeng, the chief executive of CATL, told the Financial Times that he believes solid-state batteries can only deliver on their promises if lithium metal is used as a next-generation anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":52530,"content":52531},{"textAlign":49},[52532,52534,52539],{"text":52533,"type":596},"The development of such batteries is currently limited by the ",{"text":52535,"type":596,"marks":52536},"insufficient capacity",[52537],{"type":606,"attrs":52538},{"href":44116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52540,"type":596}," to produce battery-grade lithium metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":52542,"content":52543},{"textAlign":49},[52544],{"text":52545,"type":596},"“Nio is still commercialising a solid-state battery with a traditional anode,” McNulty said. “The pack is 150 kWh, but the anode is a silicon-graphite composite anode, rather than the high content silicon or lithium metal anodes that have been promised.”",{"type":615,"attrs":52547,"content":52548},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52549],{"text":52550,"type":596},"Does any country dominate the solid-state space?",{"type":591,"attrs":52552,"content":52553},{"textAlign":49},[52554],{"text":52555,"type":596},"China is a leader in solid-state battery production, though has yet to assert the level of dominance it holds in the traditional lithium ion industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":52557,"content":52558},{"textAlign":49},[52559],{"type":836,"attrs":52560},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":52561,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":52562},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/90de7e445e/bm-solid-state-players.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":52564,"content":52565},{"textAlign":49},[52566,52570],{"text":25704,"type":596,"marks":52567},[52568],{"type":606,"attrs":52569},{"href":44210,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52571,"type":596},", shows that China is currently on track to account for 38% of nameplace solid-state capacity in 2030. The US and Europe each account for around 25% of the 2030 nameplate capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":52573,"content":52574},{"textAlign":49},[52575],{"text":52576,"type":596},"Earlier this year, China formed a coalition of solid-state battery players, including CATL and Nio, in order to encourage the build out of this nascent industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":52578,"content":52579},{"textAlign":49},[52580],{"text":52581,"type":596},"Nio’s test and subsequent rollout will be watched closely by all players in this developing market.",{"type":591,"attrs":52583,"content":52584},{"textAlign":49},[52585],{"text":52586,"type":596},"“If this proves that solid-state batteries can be manufactured on a gigawatt hour-scale, then that is a huge green flag for the rest of the world to drive ahead” McNulty said. “However, if these technologies fail fast, or are recalled, then that could swing sentiment in the other direction entirely.”",{"type":615,"attrs":52588,"content":52589},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52590],{"text":52591,"type":596},"How is Nio testing the batteries?",{"type":591,"attrs":52593,"content":52594},{"textAlign":49},[52595],{"text":52596,"type":596},"The semi-solid-state battery packs will be randomly available at no extra cost to users of Nio’s EV rental service across China and deployed through its battery swapping stations.",{"type":591,"attrs":52598,"content":52599},{"textAlign":49},[52600],{"text":52601,"type":596},"“Battery swapping is a fantastic way to trial a new technology while being able to bring it back and run full diagnostics of performance and degradation,” McNulty said. “From a data collection perspective, you can’t beat it.”",{"type":591,"attrs":52603,"content":52604},{"textAlign":49},[52605,52608,52612],{"text":25892,"type":596,"marks":52606},[52607],{"type":1006},{"text":52609,"type":596,"marks":52610},"Solid State and Lithium Metal Batteries Forecasts",[52611],{"type":1006},{"text":52613,"type":596,"marks":52614}," provide a comprehensive view across the industry, examining supply and demand by region and producer out to 2040.",[52615],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":52617,"content":52618},{"textAlign":49},[52619],{"text":52620,"type":596,"marks":52621},"To learn more, please provide your details here and our experts will contact you shortly:",[52622],{"type":1006},"Chinese automaker Nio has begun publicly testing semi-solid-state battery packs in some of its electric vehicles ahead of a full rollout planned for June. The 150 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries are produced by WeLion, a Chinese solid-state battery developer. Towards the end of last year, Nio’s chief executive drove an electric vehicle (EV) fitted with WeLion’s […]",[52625],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52626},{"job_title":557,"image":52627,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c356817a-5b16-490c-a3ff-a66d59ce7dd5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[52630,52631],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":52633,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52634,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f38fa056f4/bm-solid-state-scaled-1-129865701f3a.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 03, 2024",{"id":52637,"uuid":52638,"name":52639,"slug":52640,"full_slug":52641,"content":52642},112469644555676,"65cb73c5-1ece-46db-bfdb-23ba105cacdf","Hunan Yuneng expands global footprint with Spanish LFP cathode plant","hunan-yuneng-expands-global-footprint-with-spanish-lfp-cathode-plant","article/hunan-yuneng-expands-global-footprint-with-spanish-lfp-cathode-plant",{"_uid":52643,"date":52644,"tags":52645,"editor":52650,"content":52654,"excerpt":52721,"featured":51,"reporter":52722,"_editable":52726,"component":697,"seo_title":52639,"categories":52727,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":52733,"seo_description":52721,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52736},"1fb22f54-16a8-4b11-827f-4a35863b1973","2024-05-01 00:00",[52646,52647,52648,52649],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":29589,"name":29590},[52651],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52652},{"job_title":557,"image":52653,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52655},[52656,52661,52665,52676,52681,52686,52691,52696,52701,52706,52716],{"type":591,"attrs":52657,"content":52658},{"textAlign":49},[52659],{"text":52660,"type":596},"One of China’s leading LFP cathode producers is planning to enter the European battery supply chain, taking advantage of the growing opportunities presented by burgeoning demand for the iron-based cathode in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":52662,"content":52663},{"textAlign":49},[52664],{"text":43361,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":52666,"content":52667},{"textAlign":49},[52668,52674],{"text":52669,"type":596,"marks":52670},"The Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Forecast",[52671],{"type":606,"attrs":52672},{"href":52673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/portal/",{"text":52675,"type":596}," projects European LFP cell production to reach 47 GWh by 2030. The continent’s LFP cathode supply meanwhile is only set to rise to 19 GWh over the same period – a supply shortfall of around 60%.",{"type":591,"attrs":52677,"content":52678},{"textAlign":49},[52679],{"text":52680,"type":596},"This supply gap represents an economic opportunity for Chinese cathode producers. Unlike the US, the EU currently does not impose limits on Chinese involvement in its battery supply chain. Rather the EU’s Critical Raw Mineral Act (CRMA) legislates an applicable percentage of critical raw material extraction, processing and recycling that must take place within the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":52682,"content":52683},{"textAlign":49},[52684],{"text":52685,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts 29% and 30% of European cathode and cell supply respectively to originate from facilities owned by Chinese companies by the end of the decade.",{"type":615,"attrs":52687,"content":52688},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52689],{"text":52690,"type":596},"Chinese cathode producers target Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":52692,"content":52693},{"textAlign":49},[52694],{"text":52695,"type":596},"Yuneng’s move forms part of a broader trend of Chinese battery cathode manufacturers intensifying investment into production capacity overseas – capitalising on growing demand for LFP cells in ex-China markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52697,"content":52698},{"textAlign":49},[52699],{"text":52700,"type":596},"Policies designed to strengthen supply chain security in the West, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), are mandating that lithium ion battery and other clean energy technology supply chain’s diversify from China through stringent market entry regulations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52702,"content":52703},{"textAlign":49},[52704],{"text":52705,"type":596},"Chinese cathode investments in overseas markets are aimed at ensuring compliance with these incoming policy regimes, with Yuneng’s counterparts pursuing similar investments in France, Morocco, and South Korea. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52707,"content":52708},{"textAlign":49},[52709,52714],{"text":52710,"type":596,"marks":52711},"Morocco has attracted a flurry of investment from cathode producers, due to its privileged status as an EU and US free trade agreement (FTA) partner.",[52712],{"type":606,"attrs":52713},{"href":48265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52715,"type":596}," $700 million has been pledged in battery materials plants in the North African country, which could take Morocco’s cathode production capacity to around a quarter of the cathode requirements of EU-based battery gigafactories by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":52717,"content":52718},{"textAlign":49},[52719],{"text":52720,"type":596},"The North African country also plays host to around 70% of the world’s known reserves of phosphate resources, making it a particularly attractive prospect for LFP cathode investments. The close proximity to Morocco’s phosphate reserves are likely to have been a determining factor for Yuneng in deciding upon Spain for its latest investment.","One of China’s leading LFP cathode producers is planning to enter the European battery supply chain, taking advantage of the growing opportunities presented by burgeoning demand for the iron-based cathode in the region. What has happened? The Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Forecast projects European LFP cell production to reach 47 GWh by 2030. The continent’s […]",[52723],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52724},{"job_title":557,"image":52725,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1fb22f54-16a8-4b11-827f-4a35863b1973\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[52728,52729,52730,52731,52732],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":52734,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52735,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d296f8bfd8/bm-french-ev.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 01, 2024",{"id":52738,"uuid":52739,"name":52740,"slug":52741,"full_slug":52742,"content":52743},112469659575712,"42f9264a-5944-4273-9ccb-a35aedb9487a","Flake graphite needs at least $7.5 billion to meet 2035 battery demand ","flake-graphite-needs-more-than-7-5-billion-to-meet-2035-battery-demand","article/flake-graphite-needs-more-than-7-5-billion-to-meet-2035-battery-demand",{"_uid":52744,"date":52745,"tags":52746,"editor":52749,"content":52753,"excerpt":52892,"featured":51,"reporter":52893,"_editable":52897,"component":697,"seo_title":52740,"categories":52898,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":52901,"featured_image":52904,"seo_description":52892,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52908},"39c3bd59-0f93-4122-aea9-9c55a1adb12e","2024-04-30 00:00",[52747,52748],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[52750],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52751},{"job_title":557,"image":52752,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52754},[52755,52760,52765,52772,52777,52782,52794,52799,52804,52809,52822,52827,52832,52845,52850,52861,52866,52871,52876],{"type":591,"attrs":52756,"content":52757},{"textAlign":49},[52758],{"text":52759,"type":596},"Flake graphite production will require $7.57 billion in capital expenditure (capex) investment to meet battery demand in 2035, according to Benchmark data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52761,"content":52762},{"textAlign":49},[52763],{"text":52764,"type":596},"This is the level of investment needed to bring online more than 4 million tonnes of annual flake graphite production to meet 2035 demand according to Benchmark’s base case scenario. In the event of high demand, the supply gap rises to more than 6.5 million tonnes and the capex figure more than doubles to $12.27 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":52766,"content":52767},{"textAlign":49},[52768],{"type":836,"attrs":52769},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":52770,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":52771},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ec4eb82265/bm-flake-graphite-capex-column-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":52773,"content":52774},{"textAlign":49},[52775],{"text":52776,"type":596},"Benchmark’s base case demand scenario is based on forecast demand from transportation, energy storage, and portable battery markets. The high case demand scenario reflects OEM targets and government policy decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":52778,"content":52779},{"textAlign":49},[52780],{"text":52781,"type":596},"“The lack of investment in flake graphite projects today could lead to demand destruction and increase dependence on China. The country continues to increase graphite production and has the potential to step up when required,” said Shruti Kashyap, anode product director at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":52783,"content":52784},{"textAlign":49},[52785,52787,52792],{"text":52786,"type":596},"The lack of investment could also exacerbate deficits in flake graphite supply and price volatility, according to ",{"text":52788,"type":596,"marks":52789},"Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast",[52790],{"type":606,"attrs":52791},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52793,"type":596},", with Benchmark forecasting a deficit emerging in 2025. ",{"type":615,"attrs":52795,"content":52796},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52797],{"text":52798,"type":596},"Where will funding come from?",{"type":591,"attrs":52800,"content":52801},{"textAlign":49},[52802],{"text":52803,"type":596},"As flake graphite production is a low margin business and projects take years to come online and be productive, investors may not see a return for several years after their initial investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52805,"content":52806},{"textAlign":49},[52807],{"text":52808,"type":596},"Flake graphite production has begun to have success in attracting investment, with ex-Chinese vertically integrated operations showing recent success in attracting both public and private investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52810,"content":52811},{"textAlign":49},[52812,52814,52820],{"text":52813,"type":596},"With graphite’s growing geopolitical role Western governments have also shown more interest in using ",{"text":52815,"type":596,"marks":52816},"public funds",[52817],{"type":606,"attrs":52818},{"href":52819,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/carrots-and-sticks-how-europe-can-improve-its-battery-value-chain-funding",{"text":52821,"type":596}," to support project development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52823,"content":52824},{"textAlign":49},[52825],{"text":52826,"type":596},"Recent investment in the flake graphite value chain outside of China include:",{"type":615,"attrs":52828,"content":52829},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52830],{"text":52831,"type":596},"China’s impact on investment",{"type":591,"attrs":52833,"content":52834},{"textAlign":49},[52835,52837,52843],{"text":52836,"type":596},"China’s ability to oversupply the market and drive prices down, as well as its ",{"text":52838,"type":596,"marks":52839},"export regulations",[52840],{"type":606,"attrs":52841},{"href":52842,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/graphite-prices-tick-up-following-chinas-proposed-export-regulations",{"text":52844,"type":596}," enacted in December 2023, may deter investment outside of the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52846,"content":52847},{"textAlign":49},[52848],{"text":52849,"type":596},"“Companies have reservations on the sustainability of prices to encourage investment, given China’s dominance and ability to bring new supply online quickly,” said Kashyap.",{"type":591,"attrs":52851,"content":52852},{"textAlign":49},[52853,52855,52859],{"text":52854,"type":596},"In 2023, China produced 67% of the world’s flake graphite, according to ",{"text":52788,"type":596,"marks":52856},[52857],{"type":606,"attrs":52858},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52860,"type":596},". By 2033, this falls to 39% as supply from Mozambique, Madagascar, and Tanzania ramps up. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52862,"content":52863},{"textAlign":49},[52864],{"text":52865,"type":596},"In the case of uncoated spherical graphite, the product of processing flake graphite for use in batteries, nearly 100% of supply came from China in 2023; by 2029, this is 56%.",{"type":591,"attrs":52867,"content":52868},{"textAlign":49},[52869],{"text":52870,"type":596},"“However, the growing desire to de-link from China through policy initiatives will nevertheless support ex-China supply growth. The Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the Critical Raw Materials Act in Europe are key examples of government intervention to boost domestic supply and friend-shoring to reduce dependence on China,” said Kashyap. ",{"type":615,"attrs":52872,"content":52873},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52874],{"text":52875,"type":596},"Join us at Giga USA 2024",{"type":591,"attrs":52877,"content":52878},{"textAlign":49},[52879,52883,52888],{"text":52880,"type":596,"marks":52881},"Discussions on financing the energy transition will continue at Benchmark’s ",[52882],{"type":1006},{"text":47180,"type":596,"marks":52884},[52885,52887],{"type":606,"attrs":52886},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":52889,"type":596,"marks":52890}," conference being held June 11-13 at the JW Marriott Washington DC, USA.",[52891],{"type":1006},"Flake graphite production will require $7.57 billion in capital expenditure (capex) investment to meet battery demand in 2035, according to Benchmark data. This is the level of investment needed to bring online more than 4 million tonnes of annual flake graphite production to meet 2035 demand according to Benchmark’s base case scenario. In the event […]",[52894],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52895},{"job_title":557,"image":52896,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"39c3bd59-0f93-4122-aea9-9c55a1adb12e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[52899,52900],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":52902,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":52902,"source":547,"filename":52770,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52903,"is_external_url":51},"Stacked column chart showing the capex needed for flake graphite to meet demand in 2030 and 2035 under base case and high case demand scenarios",{"alt":52902,"title":52902,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":52905,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":52905,"source":547,"filename":52906,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":52907,"is_external_url":51},"Birds-eye view of an excavator working on a mine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f6f499bc6/bm-natural-graphite-capex-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":52905,"title":52905,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 30, 2024",{"id":52910,"uuid":52911,"name":52912,"slug":52913,"full_slug":52914,"content":52915},112469654775198,"a812db3f-a49c-41fd-80c3-7cbb1b837611","Honda invests $11 billion in EV, battery, and cathode production in Canada","honda-invests-11-billion-in-ev-battery-and-cathode-production-in-canada","article/honda-invests-11-billion-in-ev-battery-and-cathode-production-in-canada",{"_uid":52916,"date":52745,"tags":52917,"editor":52923,"content":52927,"excerpt":53013,"featured":51,"reporter":53014,"_editable":53018,"component":697,"seo_title":52912,"categories":53019,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":53023,"seo_description":53013,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52908},"88d2d331-e664-4b60-bcc8-718850a68c48",[52918,52919,52922],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":52920,"name":52921},"honda","Honda",{"slug":31798,"name":21909},[52924],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":52925},{"job_title":557,"image":52926,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":52928},[52929,52934,52939,52944,52949,52954,52965,52970,52983,52988,52993,52998,53003,53008],{"type":591,"attrs":52930,"content":52931},{"textAlign":49},[52932],{"text":52933,"type":596},"Canada’s battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chain continues to grow with Honda Motor announcing a C$15 billion ($11 billion) investment in Ontario. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52935,"content":52936},{"textAlign":49},[52937],{"text":52938,"type":596},"“This new project reflects Honda’s expectations of increasing EV demand in North America as it tries to develop a battery ecosystem in a region where it expects less competition from Chinese rivals,” said Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":52940,"content":52941},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52942],{"text":52943,"type":596},"What is the impact of the investment?",{"type":591,"attrs":52945,"content":52946},{"textAlign":49},[52947],{"text":52948,"type":596},"As part of the investment Honda will develop four new factories: ",{"type":591,"attrs":52950,"content":52951},{"textAlign":49},[52952],{"text":52953,"type":596},"The deal builds on Honda’s footprint in North America, where it is currently developing a gigafactory in Ohio, US, in partnership with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52955,"content":52956},{"textAlign":49},[52957,52959,52963],{"text":52958,"type":596},"This is a significant investment for both Honda – its largest in the region – and Canada, which currently has no active battery cell capacity, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":52960},[52961],{"type":606,"attrs":52962},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":52964,"type":596},". However, the country has attracted substantial investment and is forecast to have 168 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity by 2030 across four gigafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":52966,"content":52967},{"textAlign":49},[52968],{"text":52969,"type":596},"Of the four Canadian gigafactories currently in the pipeline, three are expected to produce cells for EVs and two of these are automaker owned plants. One is a joint venture between battery maker LGES and Stellantis and the other is owned by Germany’s Volkswagen. ",{"type":591,"attrs":52971,"content":52972},{"textAlign":49},[52973,52975,52981],{"text":52974,"type":596},"Honda and Posco’s investments reflect the growing trend of ",{"text":52976,"type":596,"marks":52977},"Japanese and South Korean companies prioritising expansion in North America",[52978],{"type":606,"attrs":52979},{"href":52980,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/japanese-and-south-korean-battery-makers-prioritise-north-america-over-asia",{"text":52982,"type":596},". Almost half of production expansions from South Korean and Japanese battery manufacturers this decade will be in North America.",{"type":615,"attrs":52984,"content":52985},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[52986],{"text":52987,"type":596},"Ontario sits at the heart of North America’s supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":52989,"content":52990},{"textAlign":49},[52991],{"text":52992,"type":596},"Ontario is becoming a key region in the North American battery supply chain. Prior to the announcement from Honda, Ontario had seen more than $9.3 billion invested in battery cell production and has a pipeline capacity of 105 GWh to 2030, coming from two plants. Investment in Quebec stands at $5.2 billion, with one 60 GWh capacity plant in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":52994,"content":52995},{"textAlign":49},[52996],{"text":52997,"type":596},"Central Canada is emerging as a key regional hub in the midstream of the North American lithium ion battery supply chain, owing to an abundance of critical minerals in the region, its access to clean energy, and close proximity to the US EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":52999,"content":53000},{"textAlign":49},[53001],{"text":53002,"type":596},"It is a similar story at the cathode level of the value chain, with the Benchmark Cathode Assessment tracking seven facilities being constructed in central Canada – a supply pipeline projected to account for 12% of North American gigafactory cathode demand by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":53004,"content":53005},{"textAlign":49},[53006],{"text":53007,"type":596},"Moreover, Electra Battery Materials is close to bringing North America’s first nickel and cobalt refining complex onstream later this year, while Posco, Umicore, and Toda Advanced Materials are amongst those building out up to 175,000 tonnes of battery precursor capacity across Ontario and Quebec by 2030. Posco and Umicore’s battery precursor facilities will be used to feed their adjacent cathode production facilities.",{"type":615,"attrs":53009,"content":53010},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53011],{"text":53012,"type":596},"Cathode active material and gigafactory projects in Ontario and Quebec","Canada’s battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chain continues to grow with Honda Motor announcing a C$15 billion ($11 billion) investment in Ontario. “This new project reflects Honda’s expectations of increasing EV demand in North America as it tries to develop a battery ecosystem in a region where it expects less competition from Chinese rivals,” […]",[53015],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53016},{"job_title":557,"image":53017,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"88d2d331-e664-4b60-bcc8-718850a68c48\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[53020,53021,53022],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":53024,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":53024,"source":547,"filename":53025,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53026,"is_external_url":51},"Honda sign on the front of a dealership","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60476515a5/bm-honda-investment-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":53024,"title":53024,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":53028,"uuid":53029,"name":53030,"slug":53031,"full_slug":53032,"content":53033},112469649499549,"4c681960-32f6-4101-a6fa-5bd5e03ae570","Why higher prices are needed to develop ex-China rare earths supply","higher-prices-needed-to-develop-ex-china-rare-earths-supply","article/higher-prices-needed-to-develop-ex-china-rare-earths-supply",{"_uid":53034,"date":52745,"tags":53035,"editor":53037,"content":53041,"excerpt":53253,"featured":51,"reporter":53254,"_editable":53258,"component":697,"seo_title":53259,"categories":53260,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":53263,"featured_image":53265,"seo_description":53268,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":52908},"1c85498d-9be6-4e20-b515-041839fbf89d",[53036],{"slug":20553,"name":20554},[53038],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53039},{"job_title":557,"image":53040,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53042},[53043,53048,53053,53065,53070,53075,53080,53087,53092,53097,53102,53107,53112,53117,53122,53127,53132,53137,53142,53154,53159,53164,53169,53175,53180,53192,53197,53202,53207,53212,53217,53222,53227,53232,53239,53246],{"type":591,"attrs":53044,"content":53045},{"textAlign":49},[53046],{"text":53047,"type":596},"Western governments are starting to pledge meaningful funding for rare earth projects outside of China – but the biggest challenge will be the need for higher prices, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53049,"content":53050},{"textAlign":49},[53051],{"text":53052,"type":596},"In the first quarter of this year 81% of investment in ex-China rare earth projects came from Western governments. In March the Australian government agreed to provide $533 million in 15-year debt funding to Arafura Rare Earths, which is developing the Nolans project in Western Australia to produce neodymium-praseodymium material for magnets used in electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53054,"content":53055},{"textAlign":49},[53056,53058,53063],{"text":53057,"type":596},"Yet at the same time rare earth prices have fallen to four-year lows, due to expansion of supply in China and Myanmar. Prices for neodymium-praseodymium oxide is currently at $54 a kilogram in China, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":53059,"type":596,"marks":53060},"Rare Earth Price Assessment",[53061],{"type":606,"attrs":53062},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":53064,"type":596},".  Similarly, dysprosium oxide prices in March were recorded at $273kg.",{"type":591,"attrs":53066,"content":53067},{"textAlign":49},[53068],{"text":53069,"type":596},"At current rare earth prices no planned rare earth projects outside of China can achieve a 15% return on investment, according to Benchmark’s Rare Earth Forecast. Almost 40% of pipeline ex-China rare earth mines require prices of between $75/kg to $85/kg, according to Benchmark. 15% of this pipeline requires even higher prices, at above $85 a kilogram. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53071,"content":53072},{"textAlign":49},[53073],{"text":53074,"type":596},"“Prices right now are simply too low for the ex-China market. There is great policy support from USA and Australia, but ex-China realised prices need to grow, or the economics of these assets needs to be otherwise augmented for the market to develop, and for critical mineral supply chains to be more geo-politically secure,” Daan De Jonge, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53076,"content":53077},{"textAlign":49},[53078],{"text":53079,"type":596},"“More needs to be done if you want to diversify the supply chain – OEMs need to accept that higher prices are required outside of China, or governments need to step in.”",{"type":591,"attrs":53081,"content":53082},{"textAlign":49},[53083],{"type":836,"attrs":53084},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53085,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53086},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/27c18860c1/bm-rare-earths-infographic-final-300dpi1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":53088,"content":53089},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53090],{"text":53091,"type":596},"Investment needed",{"type":591,"attrs":53093,"content":53094},{"textAlign":49},[53095],{"text":53096,"type":596},"Governments provided the bulk of the $1.9 billion invested in ex-China rare earth projects in the first quarter, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53098,"content":53099},{"textAlign":49},[53100],{"text":53101,"type":596},"Yet, governments cannot provide all of the funding needed to make even a small dent in China’s dominance. And private capital will require the prospect of investment returns. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53103,"content":53104},{"textAlign":49},[53105],{"text":53106,"type":596},"China’s share of refined rare earths is set to fall to only 77% by 2030, according to Benchmark, compared to 81% this year, while its share of mined supply is set to fall to 60% from 71% currently.",{"type":591,"attrs":53108,"content":53109},{"textAlign":49},[53110],{"text":53111,"type":596},"In terms of magnet materials China accounted for 83% of PrNd output last year, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53113,"content":53114},{"textAlign":49},[53115],{"text":53116,"type":596},"And about 49% of the rare earth concentrate supply this year is set to come from just one mine – the Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia.",{"type":591,"attrs":53118,"content":53119},{"textAlign":49},[53120],{"text":53121,"type":596},"China also produced 99.9% of global processed dysprosium last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53123,"content":53124},{"textAlign":49},[53125],{"text":53126,"type":596},"Adding to the difficulties for Western miners is the fact that Chinese mines have also been ramping up supply, despite lower prices. Beijing announced a third rare earth mining and smelter quota in late 2023, rather than the normal two per year. As a result, the PrNd market is expected to be in a surplus out to 2026, according to Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":53128,"content":53129},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53130],{"text":53131,"type":596},"Competing on costs",{"type":591,"attrs":53133,"content":53134},{"textAlign":49},[53135],{"text":53136,"type":596},"Competing with Chinese costs is particularly hard for Western rare earth mines, according to de Jonge. Benchmark estimates that $60 a kilogram is a rational resistance price within China, but there are ways to support companies within China when their fundamental commodity price is too low.",{"type":591,"attrs":53138,"content":53139},{"textAlign":49},[53140],{"text":53141,"type":596},"“This dynamic exerts downward pressure on prices, below a ‘rational’ point,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53143,"content":53144},{"textAlign":49},[53145,53147,53152],{"text":53146,"type":596},"One ex-China source of supply will be Lynas’ expansion at Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, forecast to contribute 3.1% of global mined PrNd supply in 2024, according to",{"text":53148,"type":596,"marks":53149}," Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast",[53150],{"type":606,"attrs":53151},{"href":47696,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":53153,"type":596},". Yet this expansion may need prices as high as $95 a kilogram, according to de Jonge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53155,"content":53156},{"textAlign":49},[53157],{"text":53158,"type":596},"In addition, for another magnet rare earth, dysprosium, around a third of global supply is mined in Myanmar, where costs of production can be as low as $4 a kilogram, according to de Jonge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53160,"content":53161},{"textAlign":49},[53162],{"text":53163,"type":596},"“They’re still making a 70% margin at these low prices,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53165,"content":53166},{"textAlign":49},[53167],{"text":53168,"type":596},"One aspect that may support ex-Chinese rare earth mines is sustainability, however. ",{"type":615,"attrs":53170,"content":53171},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53172,53173],{"text":10196,"type":596},{"text":53174,"type":596},"advantage",{"type":591,"attrs":53176,"content":53177},{"textAlign":49},[53178],{"text":53179,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that no Chinese rare earth miners reach “good practice,” in terms of their sustainability performance, compared to 100% of mining companies in Australia who reach this grade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53181,"content":53182},{"textAlign":49},[53183,53185,53190],{"text":53184,"type":596},"According to Benchmark’s ",{"text":53186,"type":596,"marks":53187},"Rare Earths Sustainability Index",[53188],{"type":606,"attrs":53189},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":53191,"type":596},", the sustainability performance of Chinese companies currently producing in both mined and refined rare earths industries is forecasted to remain relatively stagnant until 2040, with most companies classified as “Moderate Visibility.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":53193,"content":53194},{"textAlign":49},[53195],{"text":53196,"type":596},"The Sustainability Index evaluates the extent of ESG transparency among rare earths companies and their commitment to best practices related to the most relevant and pressing Environmental, Social, and Governance concerns.",{"type":591,"attrs":53198,"content":53199},{"textAlign":49},[53200],{"text":53201,"type":596},"Each company has been tiered using Benchmark’s threshold methodology into 4 ranks from “Industry Leading”, “Good Practice”, “Moderate Visibility” to “Limited Visibility”.",{"type":615,"attrs":53203,"content":53204},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53205],{"text":53206,"type":596},"OEM offtakes ",{"type":591,"attrs":53208,"content":53209},{"textAlign":49},[53210],{"text":53211,"type":596},"As a result of China’s dominance of rare earths and related sustainability concerns, non-Chinese OEMs are already showing their interest in securing offtakes for rare earths – which may help support ex-China projects if prices are fixed in offtake agreements. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53213,"content":53214},{"textAlign":49},[53215],{"text":53216,"type":596},"Benchmark expects the ex-China rare earth pipeline to grow as a result, even despite the headwinds.",{"type":591,"attrs":53218,"content":53219},{"textAlign":49},[53220],{"text":53221,"type":596},"Arafura Rare Earths has secured offtakes with Hyundai and Kia, as well as wind turbine producer Siemens Gamesa. It is targeting having 85% of its planned production from the Nolans project committed via binding offtake agreements, up from 53% currently. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53223,"content":53224},{"textAlign":49},[53225],{"text":53226,"type":596},"And US rare earth miner MP Materials signed a long-term supply agreement with General Motors in 2021. MP Materials will supply U.S.-sourced and manufactured rare earth materials, alloy and finished magnets for the electric motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":53228,"content":53229},{"textAlign":49},[53230],{"text":53231,"type":596},"“If you want an ex-China market this is exactly what’s needed,” de Jonge said. “You need investment when prices are low. You’ve got to pay up if you want the non-China pipeline to exist.”",{"type":591,"attrs":53233,"content":53234},{"textAlign":49},[53235],{"text":53236,"type":596,"marks":53237},"Benchmark’s new Rare Earths Price Assessment provides price transparency for four rare earth elements along with market analysis every month.",[53238],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":53240,"content":53241},{"textAlign":49},[53242],{"text":53243,"type":596,"marks":53244},"It further expands our coverage of the rare earths market alongside our Rare Earths Forecast and ESG Report.",[53245],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":53247,"content":53248},{"textAlign":49},[53249],{"text":53250,"type":596,"marks":53251},"To request a sample report and learn more about our new Rare Earths Price Assessment coverage, please provide your details and our team will contact you shortly.",[53252],{"type":1006},"Western governments are starting to pledge meaningful funding for rare earth projects outside of China – but the biggest challenge will be the need for higher prices, according to Benchmark. In the first quarter of this year 81% of investment in ex-China rare earth projects came from Western governments. In March the Australian government agreed […]",[53255],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53256},{"job_title":557,"image":53257,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1c85498d-9be6-4e20-b515-041839fbf89d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Why higher prices are needed to develop ex-China..",[53261,53262],{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53264},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":53266,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53267,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/edc6e631e1/bm-rep-cover.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Western governments are starting to pledge meaningful funding for rare earth projects outside of China – but the biggest challenge will be the need for higher prices, according to Benchmark.",{"id":53270,"uuid":53271,"name":53272,"slug":53273,"full_slug":53274,"content":53275},112469664331170,"fcf391df-27e8-4a1f-b926-a99f3447a3e4","Automakers ramp up recycling plans as Volvo and CATL agree partnership","automakers-ramp-up-recycling-plans-as-volvo-and-catl-agree-partnership","article/automakers-ramp-up-recycling-plans-as-volvo-and-catl-agree-partnership",{"_uid":53276,"date":53277,"tags":53278,"editor":53281,"content":53285,"excerpt":53438,"featured":51,"reporter":53439,"_editable":53443,"component":697,"seo_title":53272,"categories":53444,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":53447,"seo_description":53438,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":53450},"b817ebe1-a9c7-4e28-b292-c5264e46c576","2024-04-26 00:00",[53279,53280],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":33538,"name":33539},[53282],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53283},{"job_title":557,"image":53284,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53286},[53287,53299,53318,53323,53341,53346,53351,53356,53361,53387,53392,53397,53402,53407,53412,53422,53427,53432],{"type":591,"attrs":53288,"content":53289},{"textAlign":49},[53290,53292,53298],{"text":53291,"type":596},"Automakers are increasingly forming partnerships in the recycling space to improve the sustainability credentials of their batteries and prepare for ",{"text":53293,"type":596,"marks":53294},"upcoming legislation",[53295],{"type":606,"attrs":53296},{"href":53297,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-europe-ambitious-enough-on-recycling",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53300,"content":53301},{"textAlign":49},[53302,53304,53309,53311,53316],{"text":53303,"type":596},"Last week, Volvo Cars signed an agreement to provide ",{"text":53305,"type":596,"marks":53306},"recycled materials",[53307],{"type":606,"attrs":53308},{"href":43752,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53310,"type":596}," to ",{"text":7067,"type":596,"marks":53312},[53313],{"type":606,"attrs":53314},{"href":53315,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-big-are-catls-battery-emissions",{"text":53317,"type":596}," to use in its batteries for the automaker. Volvo will collect retired batteries from its electric vehicles (EVs) and use its recycling network to extract battery metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":53319,"content":53320},{"textAlign":49},[53321],{"text":53322,"type":596},"This comes as end-of-life batteries, especially those from EVs, are set to represent an increasingly significant portion of the global battery scrap pool feeding the recycling ecosystem.",{"type":591,"attrs":53324,"content":53325},{"textAlign":49},[53326,53328,53333,53335,53339],{"text":53327,"type":596},"“As the end-of-life scrap pool is set to overtake the ",{"text":53329,"type":596,"marks":53330},"process scrap pool",[53331],{"type":606,"attrs":53332},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53334,"type":596}," in the mid-2030s, by 2040, the EOL transport sector will have a profound impact on the feedstock for recycling,” ",{"text":33080,"type":596,"marks":53336},[53337],{"type":606,"attrs":53338},{"href":33084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53340,"type":596},", a recycling analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":53342,"content":53343},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53344],{"text":53345,"type":596},"Automakers look to secure recycled feedstock",{"type":591,"attrs":53347,"content":53348},{"textAlign":49},[53349],{"text":53350,"type":596},"Volvo’s plan to secure recycled feedstock is part of a wider trend seen globally. Notable examples from this year of these relationships include:",{"type":591,"attrs":53352,"content":53353},{"textAlign":49},[53354],{"text":53355,"type":596},"Source:Benchmark Recycling Forecast",{"type":615,"attrs":53357,"content":53358},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53359],{"text":53360,"type":596},"Policy drives partnerships",{"type":591,"attrs":53362,"content":53363},{"textAlign":49},[53364,53366,53370,53372,53378,53380,53386],{"text":53365,"type":596},"Last summer, the ",{"text":10713,"type":596,"marks":53367},[53368],{"type":606,"attrs":53369},{"href":43760,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53371,"type":596}," passed a set of ",{"text":53373,"type":596,"marks":53374},"Battery Regulations",[53375],{"type":606,"attrs":53376},{"href":53377,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/giga-europe-2024-panel-recycling-and-circular-economy-strategies",{"text":53379,"type":596},". Amongst other provisions, these regulations require that new batteries sold into or within the bloc must have a certain percentage of the critical raw materials derived from recycled sources. These ",{"text":53381,"type":596,"marks":53382},"percentages are",[53383],{"type":606,"attrs":53384},{"href":53385,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-increases-critical-mineral-recycling-targets-in-bid-to-increase-self-reliance",{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53388,"content":53389},{"textAlign":49},[53390],{"text":53391,"type":596},"Source:European Commission",{"type":591,"attrs":53393,"content":53394},{"textAlign":49},[53395],{"text":53396,"type":596},"The regulations also prohibit end-of-life batteries going to landfill and that all waste batteries, including those in EVs, must be collected at no charge to the end-user.",{"type":591,"attrs":53398,"content":53399},{"textAlign":49},[53400],{"text":53401,"type":596},"In 2022, India published an amendment to its Battery Waste Management Rules. These rules now state that from 2024, 35% of the dry weight of a battery must come from recycled sources. In 2026 this rises to 40%.",{"type":591,"attrs":53403,"content":53404},{"textAlign":49},[53405],{"text":53406,"type":596},"“Global legislation mandating minimum levels of recycled content within future EV batteries has led to automakers forging partnerships with recyclers and cell manufacturers in order to ensure their commitment towards sustainably-sourced materials is prioritised,” Browning said.",{"type":615,"attrs":53408,"content":53409},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53410],{"text":53411,"type":596},"End-of-Life batteries on the rise",{"type":591,"attrs":53413,"content":53414},{"textAlign":49},[53415,53417,53421],{"text":53416,"type":596},"Currently, the vast majority of the feedstock of battery recycling is the process scrap generated by gigafactories in the production of battery cells. By contrast, end-of-life battery scrap is set to account for just 15% of the global scrap pool this year, as assessed by ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":53418},[53419],{"type":606,"attrs":53420},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53423,"content":53424},{"textAlign":49},[53425],{"text":53426,"type":596},"“With the electrification of the transport industry, the number of EVs that are set to reach end of life is set to grow extensively in upcoming years,” Browning said.",{"type":591,"attrs":53428,"content":53429},{"textAlign":49},[53430],{"text":53431,"type":596},"As such, end-of-life battery scrap is forecast to comprise 50% of the scrap pool by 2033, with most of this coming from electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":53433,"content":53434},{"textAlign":49},[53435],{"type":836,"attrs":53436},{"id":49,"alt":48866,"src":48867,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53437},{},"Automakers are increasingly forming partnerships in the recycling space to improve the sustainability credentials of their batteries and prepare for upcoming legislation. Last week, Volvo Cars signed an agreement to provide recycled materials to CATL to use in its batteries for the automaker. Volvo will collect retired batteries from its electric vehicles (EVs) and use […]",[53440],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53441},{"job_title":557,"image":53442,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b817ebe1-a9c7-4e28-b292-c5264e46c576\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[53445,53446],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":53448,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53449,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/81b76c2e97/bm-276153-battery-assembly-ghent.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 26, 2024",{"id":53452,"uuid":53453,"name":53454,"slug":53455,"full_slug":53456,"content":53457},112469678560677,"d54c339f-70fd-48f8-a857-499df7db408f","China’s NEV sales rebound in March after slow start this year","chinas-nev-sales-rebound-in-march-after-slow-start-this-year","article/chinas-nev-sales-rebound-in-march-after-slow-start-this-year",{"_uid":53458,"date":53459,"tags":53460,"editor":53462,"content":53466,"excerpt":53540,"featured":51,"reporter":53541,"_editable":53545,"component":697,"seo_title":53454,"categories":53546,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":53549,"seo_description":53540,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":53551},"fc219924-d104-43ac-9585-276044fe4bda","2024-04-25 00:00",[53461],{"slug":575,"name":576},[53463],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53464},{"job_title":557,"image":53465,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53467},[53468,53473,53478,53482,53487,53492,53497,53502,53507,53512,53517,53528,53535],{"type":591,"attrs":53469,"content":53470},{"textAlign":49},[53471],{"text":53472,"type":596},"China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sales rebound in March has spurred hopes that a recovery could be coming soon in the world’s largest automotive market after a slow start this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53474,"content":53475},{"textAlign":49},[53476],{"text":53477,"type":596},"While a combination of sluggish demand and the ending of key subsidies and tax kept sales lower since the start of the year, the jump comes as a surprise given how March has typically been seen as a slow month in terms of sales. ",{"type":615,"attrs":53479,"content":53480},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53481],{"text":43361,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53483,"content":53484},{"textAlign":49},[53485],{"text":53486,"type":596},"“The first quarter is historically a slow quarter for China as it typically coincides with the next stage of financial incentive phase-outs, as well as the Chinese New Year holiday,” said Luke Gear, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":53488,"content":53489},{"textAlign":49},[53490],{"text":53491,"type":596},"“However, this year total NEV sales were up 94% year-on-year in January and increased 32% in March alone, showing signs that the recent growth deceleration over the past few quarters is stabilising,” said Gear.",{"type":615,"attrs":53493,"content":53494},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53495],{"text":53496,"type":596},"Have discounts pushed up sales?",{"type":591,"attrs":53498,"content":53499},{"textAlign":49},[53500],{"text":53501,"type":596},"Electric vehicle makers led by Tesla have been offering discounts to push sales higher. Tesla lowered prices for some of its models in China in January as it competes with rival BYD, a company that has a wider portfolio of NEVs and is backed by Warren Buffett. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53503,"content":53504},{"textAlign":49},[53505],{"text":53506,"type":596},"“The price reductions from leading automakers were the key driver,” said Gear. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53508,"content":53509},{"textAlign":49},[53510],{"text":53511,"type":596},"“We’ve seen model price reductions up to 5% to 6% in 2024, including with already low-priced models such as BYD’s Seagull. In March, there were also reports of growth across manufacturing industries, showing signs of a recovering economy since the post-pandemic downturn,” said Gear.",{"type":615,"attrs":53513,"content":53514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53515],{"text":53516,"type":596},"Battery cell prices decline",{"type":591,"attrs":53518,"content":53519},{"textAlign":49},[53520,53522,53527],{"text":53521,"type":596},"The global weighted average price for lithium ion cell prices is trading near $80 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the first time in nearly three years on the back of fall in raw material prices, according to the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":53523},[53524],{"type":606,"attrs":53525},{"href":53526,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries/portal/?tab=table",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53529,"content":53530},{"textAlign":49},[53531],{"type":836,"attrs":53532},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53533,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53534},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7dd97d72c6/bm-cell-prices-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":53536,"content":53537},{"textAlign":49},[53538],{"text":53539,"type":596},"The decline in cell prices comes as electric vehicle makers compete with each other with prices. ","China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sales rebound in March has spurred hopes that a recovery could be coming soon in the world’s largest automotive market after a slow start this year. While a combination of sluggish demand and the ending of key subsidies and tax kept sales lower since the start of the year, the […]",[53542],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53543},{"job_title":557,"image":53544,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fc219924-d104-43ac-9585-276044fe4bda\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[53547,53548],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":22414,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53550,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 25, 2024",{"id":53553,"uuid":53554,"name":53555,"slug":53556,"full_slug":53557,"content":53558},112469683258790,"ff906092-39bb-4b27-bd86-81602921a715","How is South Korea’s battery industry navigating FEOC nickel risks?","how-is-south-koreas-battery-industry-navigating-feoc-nickel-risks","article/how-is-south-koreas-battery-industry-navigating-feoc-nickel-risks",{"_uid":53559,"date":53560,"tags":53561,"editor":53568,"content":53572,"excerpt":53730,"featured":51,"reporter":53731,"_editable":53735,"component":697,"seo_title":53555,"categories":53736,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":53743,"seo_description":53730,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":53746},"7b43928b-7b80-45eb-99c6-0e22d650855b","2024-04-24 00:00",[53562,53563,53564,53565,53566,53567],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[53569],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53570},{"job_title":557,"image":53571,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53573},[53574,53579,53584,53596,53608,53613,53618,53623,53628,53633,53638,53643,53650,53662,53667,53672,53677,53689,53707,53712,53716],{"type":591,"attrs":53575,"content":53576},{"textAlign":49},[53577],{"text":53578,"type":596},"Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), South Korean battery players have stepped up investment across the lithium ion battery value chain to meet US electric vehicle demand projections. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53580,"content":53581},{"textAlign":49},[53582],{"text":53583,"type":596},"Many of these investments have taken the form of joint venture partnerships with Chinese companies, as a means to mitigate supply chain risk and leverage Chinese technological expertise and operational know-how.",{"type":591,"attrs":53585,"content":53586},{"textAlign":49},[53587,53589,53594],{"text":53588,"type":596},"This trend has been particularly prominent in the nickel-to-battery precursor stage of the value chain. South Korean battery players have signed partnerships with Chinese peers on eight high pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel facilities in Indonesia. A ",{"text":53590,"type":596,"marks":53591},"supply pipeline projected to reach over 250,000 tonnes",[53592],{"type":606,"attrs":53593},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53595,"type":596}," by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53597,"content":53598},{"textAlign":49},[53599,53601,53607],{"text":53600,"type":596},"Commitments to South Korean battery precursor and cathode capacity since the start of 2023 now exceed $5 billion, with joint ventures with Chinese partners extending to nearly 40% of planned precursor capacity in the east Asian country, according to ",{"text":53602,"type":596,"marks":53603},"Benchmark’s Battery Precursor Assessment",[53604],{"type":606,"attrs":53605},{"href":53606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/precursor-assessment/capacities/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53609,"content":53610},{"textAlign":49},[53611],{"text":53612,"type":596},"However, many of these investments are now facing potential risk. The Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) regulations impose a cap of 25% on Chinese control, either directly or indirectly, of a project to qualify for tax credits. Eligible clean vehicles must not contain critical minerals extracted, processed, or recycled by projects that breach this threshold from 2025 onwards.",{"type":615,"attrs":53614,"content":53615},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53616],{"text":53617,"type":596},"Why have South Korea battery players targeted Indonesia?",{"type":591,"attrs":53619,"content":53620},{"textAlign":49},[53621],{"text":53622,"type":596},"The rationale driving South Korean investment in Indonesia lies in the economic benefits of vertically integrated supply chains. Indonesian plants offer a stable and secure supply of nickel at the lowest global cost base, while also minimising exposure to future price risk. ",{"type":591,"attrs":53624,"content":53625},{"textAlign":49},[53626],{"text":53627,"type":596},"Chinese-financed HPAL plants in Indonesia have been built with a capital expenditure (capex) intensity up to 50% lower than in other regions, with considerably shorter construction timelines.",{"type":591,"attrs":53629,"content":53630},{"textAlign":49},[53631],{"text":53632,"type":596},"“There has been lots of discussion around IRA credits from South Korean companies when announcing new investments in Indonesia,” said Jorge Uzcategui, nickel and cobalt analyst at Benchmark. “As long as the nickel isn’t extracted or processed by a project that breaks the US’ FEOC rules, it should be eligible.”",{"type":591,"attrs":53634,"content":53635},{"textAlign":49},[53636],{"text":53637,"type":596},"The IRA facilitates tax credit eligibility for critical minerals processed within a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) jurisdiction (South Korea is a FTA partner) up to the battery precursor stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":53639,"content":53640},{"textAlign":49},[53641],{"text":53642,"type":596},"While the guidance on joint ventures remains unclear, FEOC rules will likely require ownership structures of many of these partnerships to be adjusted if the material is intended for the US EV battery market; necessitating additional investments from South Korean companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":53644,"content":53645},{"textAlign":49},[53646],{"type":836,"attrs":53647},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53648,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53649},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/50c5dec4b6/bm-nickel-sk-indo-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":53651,"content":53652},{"textAlign":49},[53653,53655,53660],{"text":53654,"type":596},"From 2025, ",{"text":53656,"type":596,"marks":53657},"Benchmark estimates 90% of Indonesian nickel supply",[53658],{"type":606,"attrs":53659},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53661,"type":596}," suitable for batteries comes from operations with some Chinese ownership. Moreover, half of all HPAL plants to receive investment from South Korean companies have stakes held by Chinese entities that would likely breach FEOC requirements.",{"type":615,"attrs":53663,"content":53664},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53665],{"text":53666,"type":596},"How are they responding?",{"type":591,"attrs":53668,"content":53669},{"textAlign":49},[53670],{"text":53671,"type":596},"With the FEOC rules set to take effect from the beginning of the next year, joint venture partners are reviewing their ownership structures to ensure IRA tax credit eligibility. ",{"type":615,"attrs":53673,"content":53674},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53675],{"text":53676,"type":596},"Battery makers call for IRA grace period",{"type":591,"attrs":53678,"content":53679},{"textAlign":49},[53680,53682,53687],{"text":53681,"type":596},"With the 2025 deadline looming, ",{"text":53683,"type":596,"marks":53684},"South Korean battery players have requested a two-year grace period from the US Treasury Department",[53685],{"type":606,"attrs":53686},{"href":40777,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53688,"type":596},", arguing that the current timeline does not allow sufficient time to reconfigure their supply chains away from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":53690,"content":53691},{"textAlign":49},[53692,53694,53699,53700,53705],{"text":53693,"type":596},"While diversifying supply chain’s away from China is a challenge across the suite of battery materials, it is perhaps most acute for the graphite-to-anode value chain. Benchmark data demonstrates that",{"text":53695,"type":596,"marks":53696}," 74% of natural graphite production",[53697],{"type":606,"attrs":53698},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":53701,"type":596,"marks":53702},"93% of global anode supply",[53703],{"type":606,"attrs":53704},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53706,"type":596}," is forecast to come from China respectively in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":53708,"content":53709},{"textAlign":49},[53710],{"text":53711,"type":596},"In their letter to the US Treasury Department, South Korean battery makers argued that natural and synthetic graphite need exemptions due to the limitations on ex-China supply availability. Sk On suggested it would take “at least three to four years” to secure a non-Chinese graphite supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":53713,"content":53714},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[53715],{"text":49089,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":53717,"content":53718},{"textAlign":49},[53719,53722,53727],{"text":51088,"type":596,"marks":53720},[53721],{"type":1006},{"text":40296,"type":596,"marks":53723},[53724,53726],{"type":606,"attrs":53725},{"href":49101,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":51097,"type":596,"marks":53728},[53729],{"type":1006},"Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), South Korean battery players have stepped up investment across the lithium ion battery value chain to meet US electric vehicle demand projections. Many of these investments have taken the form of joint venture partnerships with Chinese companies, as a means to mitigate supply chain risk and […]",[53732],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53733},{"job_title":557,"image":53734,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7b43928b-7b80-45eb-99c6-0e22d650855b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[53737,53738,53739,53740,53741,53742],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":53744,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53745,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/49a973f531/bm-us-korea-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 24, 2024",{"id":53748,"uuid":53749,"name":53750,"slug":53751,"full_slug":53752,"content":53753},112469702370730,"ddd94c53-1f31-4570-b064-637b88ca1eb2","Benchmark shares 7 key takeaways from CESCO Week Santiago","benchmark-shares-7-key-takeaways-from-cesco-week-santiago","article/benchmark-shares-7-key-takeaways-from-cesco-week-santiago",{"_uid":53754,"date":53755,"tags":53756,"editor":53762,"content":53766,"excerpt":53939,"featured":51,"reporter":53940,"component":697,"seo_title":53750,"categories":53944,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":53948,"featured_image":53950,"seo_description":53952,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":53953},"39d31558-f4c9-4410-923c-5b78dae5874a","2024-04-22 00:00",[53757,53758,53759],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":6061,"name":6062},{"slug":53760,"name":53761},"cesco","CESCO",[53763],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53764},{"job_title":557,"image":53765,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53767},[53768,53773,53789,53794,53799,53804,53809,53814,53819,53824,53829,53840,53845,53852,53857,53862,53867,53872,53877,53882,53887,53892,53897,53902,53909,53914,53919,53924,53929,53934],{"type":591,"attrs":53769,"content":53770},{"textAlign":49},[53771],{"text":53772,"type":596},"Benchmark is initiating coverage of copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":53774,"content":53775},{"textAlign":49},[53776,53778,53783,53785,53787],{"text":53777,"type":596},"We will launch the Benchmark ",{"text":53779,"type":596,"marks":53780},"Copper Forecast ",[53781],{"type":606,"attrs":53782},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":53784,"type":596},"Service in ",{"text":53786,"type":596},"H2",{"text":53788,"type":596}," 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":53790,"content":53791},{"textAlign":49},[53792],{"text":53793,"type":596},"Benchmark’s newly established copper team travelled to Santiago, to attend the annual copper industry gathering known as CESCO Week.",{"type":591,"attrs":53795,"content":53796},{"textAlign":49},[53797],{"text":53798,"type":596},"Discussions during this year’s event proved to be especially captivating against the backdrop of unprecedented levels of mine disruptions, multi-decade low copper concentrate TC/RCs and surging copper prices. Benchmark’s key takeaways are as follows:",{"type":615,"attrs":53800,"content":53801},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53802],{"text":53803,"type":596},"1) A mood of excitement… but also near-term caution",{"type":591,"attrs":53805,"content":53806},{"textAlign":49},[53807],{"text":53808,"type":596},"Entering CESCO Week, we expected to be overwhelmed by expressions of bullish conviction at an event that is traditionally dominated by miners. While an outlook of an insurmountable supply gap in the medium to long term became the consensus view, we detected a clear underlying sense of caution for 2024. Notably, market insiders pointed to limited evidence to suggest that the tightness in the concentrate market is percolating through to the refined balance, with sticky Fed policy presenting a further downside risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":53810,"content":53811},{"textAlign":49},[53812],{"text":53813,"type":596},"In light of this, many felt that copper prices had run ahead of fundamentals and the macro picture, pointing to the lacklustre pick-up in post-holiday copper demand in China, rising visible inventories, weak premiums, forward curve contango and the breakdown of the inverse relationship with the US dollar. As such, many believed that a temporary price correction is justified until further evidence of refined market tightness emerges in H2 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":53815,"content":53816},{"textAlign":49},[53817],{"text":53818,"type":596},"At Benchmark, we would agree that a small correction is likely following four consecutive weeks of price increase, but, at the same time, we would argue that the broader step-change in prices is here to stay. Benchmark’s view is that the market is already pricing in an outlook beyond the near term, as evidenced by the influx of long positions from large macro and index funds, which are taking a long-term super-cycle view. Benchmark expects downside resistance in the mid-$9,000s/t over the coming weeks, with the prospect of breaching $10,000 on a sustained basis becoming ever more likely, especially as the refined market tightens in H2.",{"type":615,"attrs":53820,"content":53821},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53822],{"text":53823,"type":596},"2) Unending risk of elevated mine disruptions",{"type":591,"attrs":53825,"content":53826},{"textAlign":49},[53827],{"text":53828,"type":596},"Benchmark has already identified nearly 1Mt of mine supply disruptions due to be realised over the course of 2024, however, the market still sees additional mine supply at risk this year and next. Most notably, initial hopes for a restart of the 400ktpa Cobre Panama mine post-Panamanian elections in May 2024 are quickly fading. A number of market participants that Benchmark spoke with expected the asset to remain on care and maintenance not only this year, but also next year – we share similar sentiment, with current presidential frontrunners unwilling to aggravate persistent and fierce social opposition.",{"type":591,"attrs":53830,"content":53831},{"textAlign":49},[53832,53834,53838],{"text":53833,"type":596},"Discussions of supply risks also centred around Zambia and the DRC (close to 4Mt of global mine supply), where low rainfall forced a major power utility in the region to declare ",{"text":53835,"type":596,"marks":53836},"force majeure",[53837],{"type":1006},{"text":53839,"type":596}," on the supply of electricity to some mines and smelters. Elsewhere, a June copper concentrate export ban hangs over Indonesian miners, which could lead to a 40% production cutback at the 750ktpa Grasberg mine (though consensus expectations are for an extension to be granted until the year-end). Over in Chile, some have cast doubt over Codelco’s ability to recovery from its 25-year production low and achieve its 2024 guidance of 1.325 – 1.390Mt – the company reported production of just 300kt in Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":53841,"content":53842},{"textAlign":49},[53843],{"text":53844,"type":596},"Lastly, the announcements of the suspension of Vale’s 80ktpa Sossego mine in Brazil and Zijin’s 130ktpa COMMUS mine in the DRC mid-CESCO Week added to the sense of mine supply in crisis that permeated the event.",{"type":591,"attrs":53846,"content":53847},{"textAlign":49},[53848],{"type":836,"attrs":53849},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53850,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53851},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f60beeab1/bm-cesco-week-takeaways-01-v3-22042024-cp.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":53853,"content":53854},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53855],{"text":53856,"type":596},"3) Copper conc market takes centre stage, but impact on smelting still unclear",{"type":591,"attrs":53858,"content":53859},{"textAlign":49},[53860],{"text":53861,"type":596},"Since the agreement of the annual benchmark TC/RC of $80/8¢ in November, the unprecedented scale of mine disruptions against a backdrop of immense global smelter capacity build-out has suppressed spot TC/RCs at an eyewatering pace. Indeed, Benchmark heard deals quoted at negative TC/RCs last week, with many market participants estimating this year’s deficit at over 500kt, and even more next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":53863,"content":53864},{"textAlign":49},[53865],{"text":53866,"type":596},"Where opinions differed, however, was the extent of the announced smelter cutbacks to date: some claimed little evidence of cuts, others saw cuts of more than 500kt, primarily in China. At Benchmark, we tend to agree with the latter view, but only if smelter project commissioning pushbacks are taken into account – cutbacks at operating smelters have so far been very modest in spite of the Copper Smelter Purchasing Team’s (CSPT) unsubstantiated proposal to cut output by 5-10%. We also heard that some of the concentrate shortfall has been offset by increased scrap feed processing, with availability spurred on by higher copper prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":53868,"content":53869},{"textAlign":49},[53870],{"text":53871,"type":596},"Overall, the prevailing level of TC/RCs at a time of synchronised maintenance downtime suggests to us that more smelter cuts will be necessary before the year-end, both in China and the rest of world.",{"type":615,"attrs":53873,"content":53874},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53875],{"text":53876,"type":596},"4) Future of the concentrate benchmark under question",{"type":591,"attrs":53878,"content":53879},{"textAlign":49},[53880],{"text":53881,"type":596},"Amid the reversal of fortunes for smelters, many industry participants began to question the survival of the benchmark system, notably, whether long-term contracts tied to a spot index system will replace the annual benchmark. In Benchmark’s view, while more contracts look likely to be tied to a spot index system next year, the benchmark system is very unlikely to disappear, especially given that many multi-year long-term contracts require a reference benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":53883,"content":53884},{"textAlign":49},[53885],{"text":53886,"type":596},"Moreover, an annual benchmark allows for more transparent financial planning and is less prone to manipulation. In view of this, speculation was already rife as to where the 2025 benchmark may settle, with most seeing an agreement of around $50/5¢ as fair, taking cues from past benchmarks and smelters’ breakeven costs. Antofagasta’s mid-year contract negotiations with smelters, which start next month, should give us more clues on the outlook – Benchmark will be monitoring this closely.",{"type":615,"attrs":53888,"content":53889},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53890],{"text":53891,"type":596},"5) A sense of nervousness on the refined market outlook for 2024",{"type":591,"attrs":53893,"content":53894},{"textAlign":49},[53895],{"text":53896,"type":596},"In stark contrast to the concentrate market, many market participants sensed that the refined copper market is yet to show convincing evidence of tightness, especially in China, where smelters were rumoured to be planning to export some stock last week. In Benchmark’s view, this is largely attributed to reduced spot purchases by Chinese semis fabricators, who are highly price-sensitive in the short term, in conjunction with a refined metal stock buffer created by strong Chinese refinery output in 2023 and Q1. With overall end-use demand across the world improving and Chinese smelters embarking on a period of well above-normal maintenance shutdowns this quarter, Benchmark foresees the refined market tightening markedly into the second half of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":53898,"content":53899},{"textAlign":49},[53900],{"text":53901,"type":596},"On the end-use demand front in China, while housing completions have declined sharply in Q1, Benchmark sees weakness in the construction segment being more than offset by strong consumption from the grid and new energy segments, especially in H2, as local governments catch up on their investment targets. Overall, while China’s demand growth is expected to moderate from last year’s level, most market participants that we spoke with still expected a healthy 2-4% y/y increase this year. Outside of China, Europe and the US appear to be emerging out of their industrial downcycle, as evidenced by improving PMI figures (shown below), and will help to drive synchronised demand growth in H2, accelerating further into 2025. Overall, global demand growth of 2-3% y/y in 2024 seems to represent consensus, with the refined market tightening markedly in the second half of this year and moving into more pronounced deficit into 2025 as supply shortages continue to bite.",{"type":591,"attrs":53903,"content":53904},{"textAlign":49},[53905],{"type":836,"attrs":53906},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53907,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53908},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/704e3200ba/bm-cesco-week-takeaways-02-v3-22042024-cp.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":53910,"content":53911},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53912],{"text":53913,"type":596},"6) Long-term demand destruction looks inevitable",{"type":591,"attrs":53915,"content":53916},{"textAlign":49},[53917],{"text":53918,"type":596},"There appeared to be a growing realisation that the copper market is finally face-to-face with the long-anticipated structural supply gap, which is no longer theoretical. The recent mine disruptions have effectively fast-tracked the transition to deficit, eradicating the previously forecasted two- to three-year surplus buffer. In such an environment, copper thrift and substitution are inevitable, especially in new energy transition segments, where research and development is advancing at lightning pace and easy gains are more likely to be made than in more mature end-use markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":53920,"content":53921},{"textAlign":49},[53922],{"text":53923,"type":596},"Benchmark will be diving into these segments at great depth, utilising our in-house technological expertise to move away from demand forecasts based around static intensity assumptions.",{"type":615,"attrs":53925,"content":53926},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[53927],{"text":53928,"type":596},"7) Demand from data centres – more noise than substance",{"type":591,"attrs":53930,"content":53931},{"textAlign":49},[53932],{"text":53933,"type":596},"Of course, we couldn’t end this piece without mentioning prospects for copper demand from datacentres – a subject that had blown up in coverage in the run-up to CESCO Week. Whilst we heard copper intensity assumptions being quoted anywhere from 10kt per GW to 100+kt per GW, Benchmark’s key takeaway is that robust, defensible numbers are lacking and we will need to run our own analysis on the subject – watch this space!",{"type":591,"attrs":53935,"content":53936},{"textAlign":49},[53937],{"text":53938,"type":596},"If you would like to hear more about Benchmark’s upcoming copper forecast service, or indeed like to sign up to the Copper Weekly, please fill in the form below:","Benchmark is initiating coverage of copper. We will launch the Benchmark Copper Forecast Service in H2 2024. Benchmark’s newly established copper team travelled to Santiago, to attend the annual copper industry gathering known as CESCO Week. Discussions during this year’s event proved to be especially captivating against the backdrop of unprecedented levels of mine disruptions, […]",[53941],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53942},{"job_title":557,"image":53943,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[53945,53946,53947],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53949},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":53951,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark is initiating coverage of copper. We will launch the Benchmark Copper Forecast Service in H2 2024. Benchmark’s newly established copper team travelled to Santiago, to attend the annual copper industry gathering known as CESCO Week.","Apr 22, 2024",{"id":53955,"uuid":53956,"name":53957,"slug":53958,"full_slug":53959,"content":53960},112469707122091,"7fc2c577-a1d3-4333-b0ab-11c21914f098","Japanese and South Korean battery makers prioritise North America over Asia ","japanese-and-south-korean-battery-makers-prioritise-north-america-over-asia","article/japanese-and-south-korean-battery-makers-prioritise-north-america-over-asia",{"_uid":53961,"date":53962,"tags":53963,"editor":53968,"content":53972,"excerpt":54094,"featured":51,"reporter":54095,"_editable":54099,"component":697,"seo_title":53957,"categories":54100,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":54103,"featured_image":54106,"seo_description":54094,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":54108},"051da007-2da2-42a1-bfdd-5b0cabbb5f03","2024-04-19 00:00",[53964,53965,53966,53967],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":17938,"name":17939},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[53969],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":53970},{"job_title":557,"image":53971,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":53973},[53974,53979,53984,53991,54001,54006,54011,54019,54024,54029,54040,54045,54050,54055,54060,54065,54069,54073,54087],{"type":591,"attrs":53975,"content":53976},{"textAlign":49},[53977],{"text":53978,"type":596},"Japanese and South Korean battery cell producers are prioritising the North American market, with 49% of output expansions by 2030 occurring in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":53980,"content":53981},{"textAlign":49},[53982],{"text":53983,"type":596},"Though still expanding in Asia, cell manufacturers based in the two countries are favouring expansion in North America, pursuing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives and less competition from Chinese cell producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":53985,"content":53986},{"textAlign":49},[53987],{"type":836,"attrs":53988},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":53989,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":53990},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/977b40dee3/bm-newjapanskchart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":53992,"content":53993},{"textAlign":49},[53994,53995,53999],{"text":25892,"type":596},{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":53996},[53997],{"type":606,"attrs":53998},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54000,"type":596}," shows China produced 93% of cells within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in 2023. By 2030, this figure is forecast to grow to 94%, despite cell supply from APAC ex-China tripling over this period.",{"type":615,"attrs":54002,"content":54003},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54004],{"text":54005,"type":596},"APAC ex-China players look to North America",{"type":591,"attrs":54007,"content":54008},{"textAlign":49},[54009],{"text":54010,"type":596},"South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions (LGES), Samsung, SK Innovation, and Japan’s Panasonic, some of the APAC ex-China region’s biggest battery manufacturers, are directing most of their production expansion towards North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":54012,"content":54013},{"textAlign":49},[54014],{"type":836,"attrs":54015},{"id":49,"alt":54016,"src":54017,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":54018},"Bar chart showing SK On, Panasonic, LGES, and Samsung SDI battery production in 2023 and 2030 broken down by production coming from North America and the rest of the world.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92efcfe348/bm-company-cell-production-north-america.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":54020,"content":54021},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54022],{"text":54023,"type":596},"Why are APAC ex-China battery manufacturers looking to North America?",{"type":591,"attrs":54025,"content":54026},{"textAlign":49},[54027],{"text":54028,"type":596},"The APAC ex-China region may prove to be a substantial market for lithium ion batteries, however, South Korean and Japanese manufacturers favour the larger market and policy incentives of North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54030,"content":54031},{"textAlign":49},[54032,54034,54038],{"text":54033,"type":596},"Demand for lithium ion batteries from the APAC ex-China region is forecast to be 85 GWh in 2024, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":54035},[54036],{"type":606,"attrs":54037},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54039,"type":596},". For North America, the figure is 182 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54041,"content":54042},{"textAlign":49},[54043],{"text":54044,"type":596},"“Cell manufacturers within APAC ex-China have focused on expanding overseas into North America and Europe, driven by the demand for localised supply chains in both regions,” said Aran Waid, senior analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54046,"content":54047},{"textAlign":49},[54048],{"text":54049,"type":596},"North America, specifically the US, offers incentives to battery manufacturers through tax credits and subsidies as part of the IRA. However, foreign entity of concern (FEOC) rules mean that Chinese cell manufacturers are not eligible for these credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":54051,"content":54052},{"textAlign":49},[54053],{"text":54054,"type":596},"“The significant growth observed in North America can be credited to the US’ IRA, which offers manufacturers greater financial support and incentives,” said Waid.",{"type":591,"attrs":54056,"content":54057},{"textAlign":49},[54058],{"text":54059,"type":596},"Supply-side tax credits grant $35 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for US-produced battery cells, an additional $10/kWh for battery modules, and a 10% production cost credit for mining critical minerals and producing battery materials such as cathodes and anodes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54061,"content":54062},{"textAlign":49},[54063],{"text":54064,"type":596},"On the demand-side, clean vehicle tax credits offer up to $7,500 in tax credits for EVs that meet rules of origin criteria around the critical minerals in its battery.",{"type":615,"attrs":54066,"content":54067},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54068],{"text":52875,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54070,"content":54071},{"textAlign":49},[54072],{"text":49089,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54074,"content":54075},{"textAlign":49},[54076,54079,54084],{"text":51088,"type":596,"marks":54077},[54078],{"type":1006},{"text":40296,"type":596,"marks":54080},[54081,54083],{"type":606,"attrs":54082},{"href":49101,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":51097,"type":596,"marks":54085},[54086],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":54088,"content":54089},{"textAlign":49},[54090],{"text":54091,"type":596,"marks":54092},"To learn more about the event please provide your details here and we’ll contact you shortly.",[54093],{"type":1006},"Japanese and South Korean battery cell producers are prioritising the North American market, with 49% of output expansions by 2030 occurring in the region. Though still expanding in Asia, cell manufacturers based in the two countries are favouring expansion in North America, pursuing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives and less competition from Chinese cell producers. […]",[54096],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54097},{"job_title":557,"image":54098,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"051da007-2da2-42a1-bfdd-5b0cabbb5f03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[54101,54102],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":54104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54105,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1713870766/www-production/APAC-companies-NA-expansion-19042024-CP-V3/APAC-companies-NA-expansion-19042024-CP-V3.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":34920,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":34920,"source":547,"filename":34921,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54107,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":34920,"title":34920,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 19, 2024",{"id":54110,"uuid":54111,"name":54112,"slug":54113,"full_slug":54114,"content":54115},112469721417134,"0471e6f9-3765-4cd3-9985-c94d28199875","Indonesian nickel investments buck wider downturn","indonesian-nickel-investments-buck-wider-downturn","article/indonesian-nickel-investments-buck-wider-downturn",{"_uid":54116,"date":54117,"tags":54118,"editor":54121,"content":54125,"excerpt":54289,"featured":51,"reporter":54290,"_editable":54294,"component":697,"seo_title":54112,"categories":54295,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":54298,"seo_description":54289,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":54300},"49c9b68f-91cd-4d1b-b632-2c0b34a7faab","2024-04-16 00:00",[54119,54120],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},[54122],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54123},{"job_title":557,"image":54124,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":54126},[54127,54132,54141,54153,54160,54165,54170,54175,54180,54185,54190,54195,54200,54205,54210,54215,54220,54225,54230,54235,54240,54253,54266,54271,54275],{"type":591,"attrs":54128,"content":54129},{"textAlign":49},[54130],{"text":54131,"type":596},"Despite the nickel market’s broader structural challenges, investment is continuing to flow into the development of battery-suitable nickel supply in Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":54133,"content":54134},{"textAlign":49},[54135,54139],{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":54136},[54137],{"type":606,"attrs":54138},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54140,"type":596}," Indonesia to add more than 250,000 tonnes of supply from new projects and expanding operations in 2024, with projections for the region’s supply through to 2030 now 20% higher than the same period a year ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":54142,"content":54143},{"textAlign":49},[54144,54146,54151],{"text":54145,"type":596},"This is in contrast to the West, where ",{"text":54147,"type":596,"marks":54148},"low nickel prices have led a swathe of nickel operations to shutter or curtail production",[54149],{"type":606,"attrs":54150},{"href":48127,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54152,"type":596},". Benchmark estimates 60,000 tonnes to have come out of the market since the start of the year, with several more operations classified as ‘at risk.’ Supply exiting the market could reach more than 100,000 tonnes in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":54154,"content":54155},{"textAlign":49},[54156],{"type":836,"attrs":54157},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":54158,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":54159},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/373c9bb724/bm-chart-for-greg-nickel-april-11-v2-1-1317547622c9.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":54161,"content":54162},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54163],{"text":54164,"type":596},"Recent Indonesian developments:",{"type":615,"attrs":54166,"content":54167},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54168],{"text":54169,"type":596},"Are Indonesian nickel operations profitable?",{"type":591,"attrs":54171,"content":54172},{"textAlign":49},[54173],{"text":54174,"type":596},"As the Western nickel industry has creaked under the pressure of nickel’s prevailing low price environment, Indonesian operations are largely thought to have remained profitable. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54176,"content":54177},{"textAlign":49},[54178],{"text":54179,"type":596},"“Our understanding is that a lot of HPAL operations in Indonesia are still operating with good margins,” said Jorge Uzcategui, nickel and cobalt analyst at Benchmark. “HPAL expansions seem to be progressing well and are expected to bring significant additional capacity online by the end of the year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":54181,"content":54182},{"textAlign":49},[54183],{"text":54184,"type":596},"Chinese capital allocation in Indonesia has also tended not to be as beholden to economic forces as in the West. Non-commercial considerations such as security of supply for strategic industries have long taken precedence over capital returns. An approach the West is now beginning to replicate.",{"type":591,"attrs":54186,"content":54187},{"textAlign":49},[54188],{"text":54189,"type":596},"Despite this, there are signs that some operations in the region are struggling. Benchmark understands that non-vertically integrated smelters in Indonesia are considering a curtailment of production if low prices persist. The government has introduced mining quotas as a way to restrict overcapacity, with higher ore prices on the back of slow mine permit approvals driving up operational costs in recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":54191,"content":54192},{"textAlign":49},[54193],{"text":54194,"type":596},"Moreover, Hanrui Cobalt recently announced that it would not be proceeding with a new HPAL project in the region, as structural oversupply meant the project was no longer economically feasible; suggesting the start of more fiscal discipline by Chinese companies.",{"type":615,"attrs":54196,"content":54197},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54198],{"text":54199,"type":596},"Nickel’s strategic importance",{"type":591,"attrs":54201,"content":54202},{"textAlign":49},[54203],{"text":54204,"type":596},"The Indonesian government is seeking to leverage its vast nickel reserves to capture downstream EV supply chain investment and enhance its position as a geopolitical “swing state” in the balance of power between the US and China.",{"type":591,"attrs":54206,"content":54207},{"textAlign":49},[54208],{"text":54209,"type":596},"Septian Hario, one of the ministers charged with overseeing the development of Indonesia’s nickel industry, remarked earlier this year the government did not expect nickel prices to exceed $18,000 per tonne. He Indicated operations in the region would remain profitable, so long as prices did not fall below $15,000 per tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54211,"content":54212},{"textAlign":49},[54213],{"text":54214,"type":596},"“The government’s objective is to establish an equilibrium to ensure that nickel demand, particularly for EVs, is met adequately,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54216,"content":54217},{"textAlign":49},[54218],{"text":54219,"type":596},"Recent operational developments have allowed smelters in Indonesia to begin delivering onto the London Metal Exchange (LME) and command greater influence over the direction of exchange-led pricing. The quoted price levels would likely see Indonesia continue to increase market share at the expense of other regions in the medium-to-long term, due to unfavourable economics for many operations located in the West. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54221,"content":54222},{"textAlign":49},[54223],{"text":54224,"type":596},"Benchmark projects Indonesia’s dominance over the nickel supply chain to be comparable to that of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the cobalt market by the end of the decade",{"type":615,"attrs":54226,"content":54227},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54228],{"text":54229,"type":596},"Western governments step up support",{"type":591,"attrs":54231,"content":54232},{"textAlign":49},[54233],{"text":54234,"type":596},"To stem the tide of recent closures, Western governments are increasingly stepping in with support measures to protect their nickel industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":54236,"content":54237},{"textAlign":49},[54238],{"text":54239,"type":596},"The measures, however, are only likely to act as a stop gap without structural changes to the nickel market. Western producers are facing a prolonged period of pain as Indonesia continues to ramp up low-cost supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":54241,"content":54242},{"textAlign":49},[54243,54245,54251],{"text":54244,"type":596},"Miners are lobbying for",{"text":54246,"type":596,"marks":54247}," alternative pricing structures to ",[54248],{"type":606,"attrs":54249},{"href":54250,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/struggling-nickel-miners-press-for-alternative-pricing-mechanisms",{"text":54252,"type":596},"reflect the higher sustainability standards of their operations, citing the weaker environmental and social governance credentials of Indonesian operations as a threat to the long-term competitiveness of the Western nickel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":54254,"content":54255},{"textAlign":49},[54256,54258,54264],{"text":54257,"type":596},"They argue that ",{"text":54259,"type":596,"marks":54260},"stricter sustainability requirements",[54261],{"type":606,"attrs":54262},{"href":54263,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-should-the-nickel-industry-define-sustainability",{"text":54265,"type":596}," for tax credits under the flagship US Inflation Reduction Act could help to rebalance the playing field. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54267,"content":54268},{"textAlign":49},[54269],{"text":54270,"type":596},"“In the medium-to-long term we believe that there is scope for a bifurcation in the nickel market along sustainability lines,” said Uzcategui. “We expect that producers that can provide better ESG credentials and are compliant with Western regulations, could receive a premium in the future.”",{"type":615,"attrs":54272,"content":54273},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54274],{"text":49089,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54276,"content":54277},{"textAlign":49},[54278,54281,54286],{"text":51088,"type":596,"marks":54279},[54280],{"type":1006},{"text":40296,"type":596,"marks":54282},[54283,54285],{"type":606,"attrs":54284},{"href":49101,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":51097,"type":596,"marks":54287},[54288],{"type":1006},"Despite the nickel market’s broader structural challenges, investment is continuing to flow into the development of battery-suitable nickel supply in Indonesia. Benchmark forecasts Indonesia to add more than 250,000 tonnes of supply from new projects and expanding operations in 2024, with projections for the region’s supply through to 2030 now 20% higher than the same […]",[54291],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54292},{"job_title":557,"image":54293,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"49c9b68f-91cd-4d1b-b632-2c0b34a7faab\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[54296,54297],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":13752,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":13752,"source":547,"filename":13753,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54299,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":13752,"title":13752,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 16, 2024",{"id":54302,"uuid":54303,"name":54304,"slug":54305,"full_slug":54306,"content":54307},114844179714055,"92047bd3-db23-4ef1-a69c-bdccdd756b9e","What policy levers does the US use to limit Chinese EV competition?","what-policy-levers-does-the-us-use-to-limit-chinese-ev-competition","article/what-policy-levers-does-the-us-use-to-limit-chinese-ev-competition",{"_uid":54308,"date":54309,"tags":54310,"editor":54317,"content":54321,"excerpt":54632,"featured":51,"reporter":54633,"_editable":54637,"component":697,"seo_title":54638,"categories":54639,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":54642,"featured_image":54645,"seo_description":54648,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":54649},"8e4fb5f3-3bd8-41aa-8e16-d34b9c79fb00","2024-04-15 00:00",[54311,54312,54313,54314,54315,54316],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":25460,"name":25461},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[54318],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54319},{"job_title":557,"image":54320,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":54322},[54323,54344,54355,54374,54387,54398,54409,54414,54419,54430,54435,54440,54445,54455,54460,54465,54476,54495,54503,54515,54526,54531,54536,54541,54546,54554,54566,54570,54575,54586,54591,54596,54601,54606,54613,54625],{"type":591,"attrs":54324,"content":54325},{"textAlign":49},[54326,54328,54334,54336,54342],{"text":54327,"type":596},"As the demand for ",{"text":54329,"type":596,"marks":54330},"electric vehicles (EVs) continues to rise",[54331],{"type":606,"attrs":54332},{"href":54333,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ev-sales-growth-has-slowed-but-has-not-been-derailed",{"text":54335,"type":596},", the US government is increasingly concerned about a potential wave of cheap ",{"text":54337,"type":596,"marks":54338},"Chinese-made",[54339],{"type":606,"attrs":54340},{"href":54341,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/chinas-ev-supply-chain-partnerships-prices-and-prospects-for-2024",{"text":54343,"type":596}," EVs flooding the market and out-competing domestic automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":54345,"content":54346},{"textAlign":49},[54347,54349,54353],{"text":54348,"type":596},"In 2023, 1.4 million new electric vehicles were registered in the US up from 930,000 in 2022. In 2024, ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":54350},[54351],{"type":606,"attrs":54352},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":54354,"type":596}," this will rise to 1.5 million.",{"type":591,"attrs":54356,"content":54357},{"textAlign":49},[54358,54360,54365,54367,54373],{"text":54359,"type":596},"High tariffs helped keep imports of EVs from China at just 3% of the 390,000 total EV imports into the US in 2023. However, Chinese automakers are eying up countries like ",{"text":25461,"type":596,"marks":54361},[54362],{"type":606,"attrs":54363},{"href":54364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bmw-accelerates-mexicos-ev-shift-with-860-million-battery-plant",{"text":54366,"type":596}," as an ",{"text":54368,"type":596,"marks":54369},"alternative route into the US",[54370],{"type":606,"attrs":54371},{"href":54372,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-chinese-companies-should-be-careful-about-exploiting-loopholes-in-western-policy",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54375,"content":54376},{"textAlign":49},[54377,54379,54385],{"text":54378,"type":596},"“This could mean a world where the tariffs on these Chinese vehicles fall to 2.5%, or even to zero if stringent local content requirements are met under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” ",{"text":54380,"type":596,"marks":54381},"Bryan Bille",[54382],{"type":606,"attrs":54383},{"href":54384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-how-do-export-restrictions-and-green-industrial-policies-impact-ev-battery-supply-chain-dynamics",{"text":54386,"type":596},", a policy analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":54388,"content":54389},{"textAlign":49},[54390,54392,54396],{"text":54391,"type":596},"Parts of the US ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":54393},[54394],{"type":606,"attrs":54395},{"href":47441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54397,"type":596}," (IRA) are designed to help increase the competitiveness of the domestic EV supply chain, though currently the country will be reliant on others for many key aspects.",{"type":591,"attrs":54399,"content":54400},{"textAlign":49},[54401,54403,54407],{"text":54402,"type":596},"For example, the new EV registrations forecast for this year will require 98 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium ion batteries. However, ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":54404},[54405],{"type":606,"attrs":54406},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":54408,"type":596}," shows the US is forecast to produce just 76 GWh.",{"type":615,"attrs":54410,"content":54411},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54412],{"text":54413,"type":596},"What policy levers are the US pulling?",{"type":591,"attrs":54415,"content":54416},{"textAlign":49},[54417],{"text":54418,"type":596},"Currently, the US imposes a 27.5% tariff on EVs imported from China. However, this tariff drops if the Chinese company instead assembles the vehicle in the US, Canada or Mexico.",{"type":591,"attrs":54420,"content":54421},{"textAlign":49},[54422,54426,54428],{"text":1232,"type":596,"marks":54423},[54424],{"type":606,"attrs":54425},{"href":5536,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54427,"type":596}," Mexico, a subsidiary of the Chinese automaker, plans to build a facility in Mexico, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.",{"text":54429,"type":596},"The US also has a 15% tariff on Chinese battery cell imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":54431,"content":54432},{"textAlign":49},[54433],{"text":54434,"type":596},"In 2022, the US implemented the IRA which included a number of measures to increase the competitiveness of EVs produced in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":54436,"content":54437},{"textAlign":49},[54438],{"text":54439,"type":596},"The $7,500 consumer clean vehicle tax credit in the IRA is only available for vehicles that undergo final assembly in North America and meet increasingly strict sourcing requirements based on the value of the battery components and critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":54441,"content":54442},{"textAlign":49},[54443],{"text":54444,"type":596},"From 2024, this tax credit will only be available if none of the components or critical minerals are sourced from a Foreign Entity of Concern–a measure, targeting Chinese involvement, especially with links to the government, in the lithium ion battery supply chain. The final rules are expected to come into force in mid-2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":54446,"content":54447},{"textAlign":49},[54448,54453],{"text":54449,"type":596,"marks":54450},"Benchmark analysis shows",[54451],{"type":606,"attrs":54452},{"href":52117,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54454,"type":596}," that in 2023, China controlled over 50% of the production of several key battery chemicals. The US and its free trade allies controlled far less of the supply, making it difficult to produce an EV that is eligible for the tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":54456,"content":54457},{"textAlign":49},[54458],{"text":54459,"type":596},"North America accounted for 4% of global battery production last year, despite accounting for 16% of demand. China, by contrast, produced 85% of battery cells globally, but accounted for just 51% of demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":54461,"content":54462},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54463],{"text":54464,"type":596},"Where does the US import EVs from?",{"type":591,"attrs":54466,"content":54467},{"textAlign":49},[54468,54470,54474],{"text":54469,"type":596},"Just three countries accounted for 71% of the US’ 390,000 imports of EVs last year: South Korea (29%), Germany (21%), and ",{"text":25461,"type":596,"marks":54471},[54472],{"type":606,"attrs":54473},{"href":54364,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54475,"type":596}," (21%). EVs originating in China accounted for just 3% of imports, according to US trade data.",{"type":591,"attrs":54477,"content":54478},{"textAlign":49},[54479,54481,54486,54488,54494],{"text":54480,"type":596},"By contrast, the European Union (EU) imported around 2.4 million EVs in 2023, with ",{"text":54482,"type":596,"marks":54483},"60% of the EU’s EV imports",[54484],{"type":606,"attrs":54485},{"href":51637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54487,"type":596}," coming from China, due to the EU’s lower import tariffs and lack of stringent local content and sourcing requirements in its legislation, like the ",{"text":54489,"type":596,"marks":54490},"Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)",[54491],{"type":606,"attrs":54492},{"href":54493,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/european-crm-act-establishing-a-framework-for-ensuring-a-secure-and-sustainable-supply-of-critical-raw-materials",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54496,"content":54497},{"textAlign":49},[54498],{"type":836,"attrs":54499},{"id":49,"alt":54500,"src":54501,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":54502},"The US imports relatively few EVs from China","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cbb1ec5ae1/bm-us-ev-import-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":54504,"content":54505},{"textAlign":49},[54506,54508,54513],{"text":54507,"type":596},"Given the significant imports of EVs from Mexico, BYD and other Chinese automakers plans to set up manufacturing facilities in the country could ",{"text":54509,"type":596,"marks":54510},"allow Chinese-made EVs to enter the US",[54511],{"type":606,"attrs":54512},{"href":54372,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54514,"type":596}," without originating in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":54516,"content":54517},{"textAlign":49},[54518,54520,54524],{"text":54519,"type":596},"BYD is also considering ",{"text":27054,"type":596,"marks":54521},[54522],{"type":606,"attrs":54523},{"href":48265,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54525,"type":596}," as a production base due to the country’s free trade agreements with both the US and the European Union.",{"type":591,"attrs":54527,"content":54528},{"textAlign":49},[54529],{"text":54530,"type":596},"“The US car manufacturing industry and US lawmakers see China’s competitive EVs, especially BYD, as ‘an existential threat to America’s auto industry and to US national security’,” Bille said.",{"type":615,"attrs":54532,"content":54533},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54534],{"text":54535,"type":596},"Are Chinese EVs cheaper?",{"type":591,"attrs":54537,"content":54538},{"textAlign":49},[54539],{"text":54540,"type":596},"Although the US imports relatively few EVs from China, the EVs that do originate from the country are significantly cheaper.",{"type":591,"attrs":54542,"content":54543},{"textAlign":49},[54544],{"text":54545,"type":596},"US Trade data shows that the average EV imported into the US has a value of $49,016. For an EV imported into the US from China the average value is significantly lower at $30,594.",{"type":591,"attrs":54547,"content":54548},{"textAlign":49},[54549],{"type":836,"attrs":54550},{"id":49,"alt":54551,"src":54552,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":54553},"EVs imported into US from China cheaper than from other countries","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6bab9927ef/bm-value-of-us-ev-imports.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":54555,"content":54556},{"textAlign":49},[54557,54559,54564],{"text":54558,"type":596},"Beyond China’s vertical integration of the supply chain, the country also deploys industrial policy, subsidies and incentives to increase the competitiveness of Chinese EVs. The ",{"text":54560,"type":596,"marks":54561},"EU claims these subsidies",[54562],{"type":606,"attrs":54563},{"href":51637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54565,"type":596}," into the EV sector are unfair and is currently investigating this.",{"type":615,"attrs":54567,"content":54568},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54569],{"text":12501,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54571,"content":54572},{"textAlign":49},[54573],{"text":54574,"type":596},"President Joe Biden has ordered an investigation into automotive technologies that could track US drivers as part of a broader strategy to mitigate national security risks associated with foreign technology and EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":54576,"content":54577},{"textAlign":49},[54578,54579,54584],{"text":37744,"type":596},{"text":54580,"type":596,"marks":54581},"potential Trump presidency",[54582],{"type":606,"attrs":54583},{"href":47240,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54585,"type":596}," may result in higher tariffs on cars built in Mexico by Chinese companies for US market sale, according to recent campaign speeches.",{"type":591,"attrs":54587,"content":54588},{"textAlign":49},[54589],{"text":54590,"type":596},"“US political pressure, urging the Biden Administration to further restrict imports of China-made EVs to the US market, has been increasing in view of the US elections in November 2024,” Bille said.",{"type":615,"attrs":54592,"content":54593},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54594],{"text":54595,"type":596},"What is China’s recent response?",{"type":591,"attrs":54597,"content":54598},{"textAlign":49},[54599],{"text":54600,"type":596},"In March, China filed a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organisation. It says that some of the subsidies provided in the IRA are “discriminatory, protectionist and contrary to WTO rules”.",{"type":591,"attrs":54602,"content":54603},{"textAlign":49},[54604],{"text":54605,"type":596},"Earlier this month, the US agreed to enter into consultations over the complaint.",{"type":591,"attrs":54607,"content":54608},{"textAlign":49},[54609],{"text":54610,"type":596,"marks":54611},"Join policy makers and industry leaders from across the EV battery supply chain at Benchmark’s premiere conference, Giga USA 2024.",[54612],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":54614,"content":54615},{"textAlign":49},[54616,54622],{"text":54617,"type":596,"marks":54618},"Click here to find out more about Giga USA and reserve your ticket now",[54619,54621],{"type":606,"attrs":54620},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":54623},[54624],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":54626,"content":54627},{"textAlign":49},[54628],{"text":54629,"type":596,"marks":54630},"And, to learn more about Benchmark’s services, including our policy analysis, speak to our experts – please provide your details here:",[54631],{"type":1006},"As the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to rise, the US government is increasingly concerned about a potential wave of cheap Chinese-made EVs flooding the market and out-competing domestic automakers. In 2023, 1.4 million new electric vehicles were registered in the US up from 930,000 in 2022. In 2024, Benchmark forecasts this will rise […]",[54634],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54635},{"job_title":557,"image":54636,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8e4fb5f3-3bd8-41aa-8e16-d34b9c79fb00\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","What policy levers does the US use to ...",[54640,54641],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":54643,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54644,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1713190928/www-production/US-EV-import-chart-no-y/US-EV-import-chart-no-y.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":54646,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54647,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a57d06c2f2/bm-evs-in-parking-lot.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"As the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to rise, the US government is increasingly concerned about a potential wave of cheap Chinese-made EVs flooding the market and out-competing domestic automakers.","Apr 15, 2024",{"id":54651,"uuid":54652,"name":54653,"slug":54654,"full_slug":54655,"content":54656},112469729465775,"7ea1df23-a204-4524-82f6-61b8a9680c28","Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing two cobalt prices to weekly frequency and to update specification for EXW Europe metal price","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-two-cobalt-prices-to-weekly-frequency-and-to-update-specification-for-exw-europe-metal-price","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-two-cobalt-prices-to-weekly-frequency-and-to-update-specification-for-exw-europe-metal-price",{"_uid":54657,"date":54309,"tags":54658,"editor":54660,"content":54664,"excerpt":54757,"featured":50,"reporter":54758,"_editable":54762,"component":697,"seo_title":54653,"categories":54763,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":54766,"seo_description":54757,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":54649},"1b3d2504-d52d-4111-b5cc-e38a3fdffe59",[54659],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[54661],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54662},{"job_title":557,"image":54663,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":54665},[54666,54671,54675,54680,54685,54690,54695,54700,54705,54710,54715,54720,54724,54729,54734,54739,54744,54749],{"type":591,"attrs":54667,"content":54668},{"textAlign":49},[54669],{"text":54670,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Cobalt Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":54672,"content":54673},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54674],{"text":9933,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54676,"content":54677},{"textAlign":49},[54678],{"text":54679,"type":596},"Growing demand for cobalt chemicals from the lithium ion battery industry has increased the volume and frequency of materials being traded, creating more price volatility over a short period of time, allowing for more regular price publication.",{"type":591,"attrs":54681,"content":54682},{"textAlign":49},[54683],{"text":54684,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes to move two of its cobalt price grades from semi-monthly to weekly frequency to give a more comprehensive assessment of price trends, with the remaining six price assessments being assessed on a two-weekly basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":54686,"content":54687},{"textAlign":49},[54688],{"text":54689,"type":596},"Higher frequency publication is considered for cobalt sulphate, EXW China basis, and cobalt hydroxide, CIF Asia basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":54691,"content":54692},{"textAlign":49},[54693],{"text":54694,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to increase the regularity of its cobalt sulphate and hydroxide pricing to weekly, to be published on Wednesday, by 4pm (London). The remaining cobalt price assessments will shift from semi-monthly to alternate Wednesday by 4pm (London), to better align with the new publishing schedule for cobalt sulphate and cobalt hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":54696,"content":54697},{"textAlign":49},[54698],{"text":54699,"type":596},"As the lithium ion battery industry continues to develop, the frequency and volume of battery material trading is increasing. To give an accurate and comprehensive assessment of price movements, the frequency with which Benchmark publishes prices must also increase.",{"type":615,"attrs":54701,"content":54702},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54703],{"text":54704,"type":596},"Evolution of cobalt metal price forms",{"type":591,"attrs":54706,"content":54707},{"textAlign":49},[54708],{"text":54709,"type":596},"As the landscape of the cobalt metal market continues to evolve, the metal forms that drive the cobalt metal price is evolving in turn. This has resulted in an expansion of the metal forms being applicable to cobalt metal in the spot market. Historically, Benchmark has assessed briquettes and broken cathodes as part of its cobalt metal price assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":54711,"content":54712},{"textAlign":49},[54713],{"text":54714,"type":596},"Benchmark is proposing changing the language and price inputs considered in its pricing methodology from “Briquettes and broken cathode” to “Briquettes, cut cathode, and broken cathode, excluding metal from Sumitomo and Nikkelverk, which are typically destined for the superalloy market and usually priced differently to material used in alternative end markets.”",{"type":591,"attrs":54716,"content":54717},{"textAlign":49},[54718],{"text":54719,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark is seeking feedback on its plans to publish cobalt grades more frequently, and on the modification to our acceptable forms for cobalt metal.",{"type":615,"attrs":54721,"content":54722},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54723],{"text":9999,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54725,"content":54726},{"textAlign":49},[54727],{"text":54728,"type":596},"The proposed changes would impact three grades currently collected by Benchmark:",{"type":591,"attrs":54730,"content":54731},{"textAlign":49},[54732],{"text":54733,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate, EXW China, ≥20.5% CoSO4",{"type":591,"attrs":54735,"content":54736},{"textAlign":49},[54737],{"text":54738,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide, CIF Asia, ≥20% Co(OH)2",{"type":591,"attrs":54740,"content":54741},{"textAlign":49},[54742],{"text":54743,"type":596},"Cobalt metal, EXW China, ≥99.8% Co metal",{"type":591,"attrs":54745,"content":54746},{"textAlign":49},[54747],{"text":54748,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 15 May 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":54750,"content":54751},{"textAlign":49},[54752,54753],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":54754},[54755],{"type":606,"attrs":54756},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Cobalt Price Assessment Methodology. Increased frequency Growing demand for cobalt chemicals from the lithium ion battery industry has increased the volume and frequency of materials being traded, creating more price volatility over a short period of time, allowing […]",[54759],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54760},{"job_title":557,"image":54761,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1b3d2504-d52d-4111-b5cc-e38a3fdffe59\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[54764,54765],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54767,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":54769,"uuid":54770,"name":54771,"slug":54772,"full_slug":54773,"content":54774},112469734213040,"f68ffe5c-edd0-4dcf-8973-5740569b8256","Electra and ERG deal brings North America closer to commercial cobalt sulphate production ","electra-and-erg-deal-brings-north-america-closer-to-commercial-cobalt-sulphate-production","article/electra-and-erg-deal-brings-north-america-closer-to-commercial-cobalt-sulphate-production",{"_uid":54775,"date":54776,"tags":54777,"editor":54782,"content":54786,"excerpt":54909,"featured":51,"reporter":54910,"_editable":54914,"component":697,"seo_title":54771,"categories":54915,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":54918,"seo_description":54909,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":54921},"26c05aff-31fc-43b0-bfe2-4cd6251fc241","2024-04-12 00:00",[54778,54779,54780,54781],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":42795,"name":42796},{"slug":572,"name":573},[54783],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54784},{"job_title":557,"image":54785,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":54787},[54788,54793,54798,54803,54808,54813,54818,54828,54841,54846,54851,54856,54861,54866,54871,54888,54899,54904],{"type":591,"attrs":54789,"content":54790},{"textAlign":49},[54791],{"text":54792,"type":596},"Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has locked up all of its required feedstock as it progresses North America’s first cobalt sulphate refinery towards commercial production later this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54794,"content":54795},{"textAlign":49},[54796],{"text":54797,"type":596},"Last week, the Canadian battery materials refiner signed a binding letter of intent with Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) on the long-term supply of cobalt hydroxide to feed its plant in Ontario, Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":54799,"content":54800},{"textAlign":49},[54801],{"text":54802,"type":596},"A positive step towards onshoring the North American battery supply chain; the US and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners will need several similar tie-ups to match ambitions of diversifying supply chains away from China. Currently, Benchmark projects IRA-compliant cobalt sulphate supply to meet just 19% of North America’s regional demand by the end of the decade. ",{"type":615,"attrs":54804,"content":54805},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54806],{"text":54807,"type":596},"What has happened:",{"type":615,"attrs":54809,"content":54810},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54811],{"text":54812,"type":596},"De-risking from China a challenge",{"type":591,"attrs":54814,"content":54815},{"textAlign":49},[54816],{"text":54817,"type":596},"Until now, the US and its Western allies have largely relinquished control of the cobalt supply chain to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":54819,"content":54820},{"textAlign":49},[54821,54822,54826],{"text":23361,"type":596},{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":54823},[54824],{"type":606,"attrs":54825},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54827,"type":596},", Chinese financed cobalt mines are set to account for 56% of global mined output in 2024, up from 15% in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":54829,"content":54830},{"textAlign":49},[54831,54833,54839],{"text":54832,"type":596},"The US Government classifies China as a “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) and ",{"text":54834,"type":596,"marks":54835},"caps Chinese-ownership in a project to 25%",[54836],{"type":606,"attrs":54837},{"href":54838,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-moves-to-cut-china-from-its-battery-supply-chain",{"text":54840,"type":596}," for material to be eligible for tax credits. From 2025, an eligible clean vehicle may not contain any critical minerals that were extracted, processed, or recycled by entities that breach these requirements. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54842,"content":54843},{"textAlign":49},[54844],{"text":54845,"type":596},"Chinese refineries also comprise over 90% of global battery-grade cobalt sulphate supply; and with the pipeline of US and FTA refining capacity limited, OEMs are facing headaches sourcing IRA-compliant material in the coming years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54847,"content":54848},{"textAlign":49},[54849],{"text":54850,"type":596},"As such, the US may need to be more pragmatic in regards to China and its hegemonic position in the cobalt supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54852,"content":54853},{"textAlign":49},[54854],{"text":54855,"type":596},"“A lot of EVs lost eligibility for credits this year, as they could not meet the critical mineral value thresholds,” said Jorge Uzcategui, nickel and cobalt analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":54857,"content":54858},{"textAlign":49},[54859],{"text":54860,"type":596},"“As these thresholds increase, it will become ever more difficult for OEMs to qualify without more investment in cobalt resources and refining capacity in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) jurisdictions,” he added.",{"type":615,"attrs":54862,"content":54863},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54864],{"text":54865,"type":596},"Lithium the target of post-IRA investment",{"type":591,"attrs":54867,"content":54868},{"textAlign":49},[54869],{"text":54870,"type":596},"With the IRA offering more than half a trillion dollars in clean energy incentives, de-risking reliance on China for critical minerals is now viewed as an economic and national security imperative in Washington.",{"type":591,"attrs":54872,"content":54873},{"textAlign":49},[54874,54876,54880,54882,54887],{"text":54875,"type":596},"Post-IRA investment has accelerated the build out of ",{"text":43706,"type":596,"marks":54877},[54878],{"type":606,"attrs":54879},{"href":39163,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54881,"type":596}," in the US and targeted l",{"text":54883,"type":596,"marks":54884},"ithium mining and processing capacity",[54885],{"type":606,"attrs":54886},{"href":48008,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":54889,"content":54890},{"textAlign":49},[54891,54893,54897],{"text":54892,"type":596},"The focus on lithium comes as no surprise. ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":54894},[54895],{"type":606,"attrs":54896},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54898,"type":596},"’s Battery Cell Cost Calculator demonstrates that lithium currently accounts for 26% of the bill of materials for a nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 811 cell;  half of the 50% critical mineral value threshold for tax credit qualification in 2024. In contrast, cobalt accounts for just 6%.",{"type":591,"attrs":54900,"content":54901},{"textAlign":49},[54902],{"text":54903,"type":596},"As this threshold ramps up to 80% by 2027, cobalt supply could emerge as a pinch point for OEMs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54905,"content":54906},{"textAlign":49},[54907],{"text":54908,"type":596},"Moreover, as the IRA treats battery minerals as a basket of value added commodities, price volatility in any given market has the potential to alter a vehicles tax credit eligibility. ","Electra Battery Materials (Electra) has locked up all of its required feedstock as it progresses North America’s first cobalt sulphate refinery towards commercial production later this year. Last week, the Canadian battery materials refiner signed a binding letter of intent with Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) on the long-term supply of cobalt hydroxide to feed its […]",[54911],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54912},{"job_title":557,"image":54913,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"26c05aff-31fc-43b0-bfe2-4cd6251fc241\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[54916,54917],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":54919,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":54920,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b79626dceb/bm-aerial-view-directly-above-an-electric-vehicle-charging-station-with-parking-spaces-and-road-mark.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 12, 2024",{"id":54923,"uuid":54924,"name":54925,"slug":54926,"full_slug":54927,"content":54928},112469738816945,"95d820c3-66ff-49dd-8226-a77dbe8e06a9","Coking shutdowns create unseasonal uptick in synthetic graphite prices ","coking-shutdowns-create-unseasonal-uptick-in-synthetic-graphite-prices","article/coking-shutdowns-create-unseasonal-uptick-in-synthetic-graphite-prices",{"_uid":54929,"date":54930,"tags":54931,"editor":54934,"content":54938,"excerpt":55046,"featured":51,"reporter":55047,"_editable":55051,"component":697,"seo_title":54925,"categories":55052,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":55055,"seo_description":55046,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55057},"93741853-6438-4c97-b4ca-1bd0456cd61b","2024-04-11 00:00",[54932,54933],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":29465,"name":29466},[54935],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":54936},{"job_title":557,"image":54937,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":54939},[54940,54945,54958,54971,54976,54981,54986,54991,54996,55001,55006,55011,55016,55021,55026,55031,55036,55041],{"type":591,"attrs":54941,"content":54942},{"textAlign":49},[54943],{"text":54944,"type":596},"Needle coke prices saw an unseasonal uptick between February and March thanks to Chinese coking facilities staying shut after the Spring Festival. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54946,"content":54947},{"textAlign":49},[54948,54950,54956],{"text":54949,"type":596},"“We would expect coking capacity to come back online after Spring Festival when a lot of facilities opt to undertake seasonal maintenance, but this mostly hasn’t happened in 2024,” said ",{"text":54951,"type":596,"marks":54952},"Adam Megginson",[54953],{"type":606,"attrs":54954},{"href":54955,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:amegginson@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":54957,"type":596},", Benchmark analyst. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54959,"content":54960},{"textAlign":49},[54961,54963,54969],{"text":54962,"type":596},"Pre-calcined pitch needle coke DDP China rose 1.1% to reach RMB 4,800 per tonne ($662), according to ",{"text":54964,"type":596,"marks":54965},"Benchmark’s Synthetic Graphite Price Assessment",[54966],{"type":606,"attrs":54967},{"href":54968,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/synthetic-graphite/portal/",{"text":54970,"type":596},". Pre-calcined pet needle coke DDP China went up 1% month-on-month in March to RMB 4,950 per tonne ($683).",{"type":591,"attrs":54972,"content":54973},{"textAlign":49},[54974],{"text":54975,"type":596},"The rise in these synthetic graphite inputs contributed to a 0.5% month-on-month increase in Benchmark’s LiB Anode Coke Price Index, which tracks price movements across all low sulphur coke types. ",{"type":591,"attrs":54977,"content":54978},{"textAlign":49},[54979],{"text":54980,"type":596},"These figures contrast to the market situation this time last year when needle cokes fell by 3.6% and 3.8% month-on-month and Benchmark’s LiB Anode Coke Price Index also dropped by 5.2% as supply came back online after Spring Festival.",{"type":591,"attrs":54982,"content":54983},{"textAlign":49},[54984],{"text":54985,"type":596},"2024’s rises in needle cokes are the result of lower supply rather than any increase in downstream demand. March prices for pre-calcined pet coke, less affected by supply disruptions, remained stable month-on-month at RMB 3,000 per tonne ($414).",{"type":591,"attrs":54987,"content":54988},{"textAlign":49},[54989],{"text":54990,"type":596},"“Without the shutdowns, we expect needle coke prices would have either remained flat or fallen again,” said Megginson.",{"type":615,"attrs":54992,"content":54993},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[54994],{"text":54995,"type":596},"Is needle coke about to consolidate? ",{"type":591,"attrs":54997,"content":54998},{"textAlign":49},[54999],{"text":55000,"type":596},"The coking shutdowns are a deliberate response by producers to falling prices. Pre-calcined pet needle and pitch needle coke are now down 38.9% and 36% year-on-year respectively. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55002,"content":55003},{"textAlign":49},[55004],{"text":55005,"type":596},"Megginson says that shutdowns are expected to continue until prices rise significantly. However, industry consolidation in needle coke is still not imminent. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55007,"content":55008},{"textAlign":49},[55009],{"text":55010,"type":596},"“Consolidation is a natural consequence of continued low prices and a market that is saturated with producers. So far the market has seen limited consolidation, but recent trends indicate this could begin to take place,” said Megginson.",{"type":615,"attrs":55012,"content":55013},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55014],{"text":55015,"type":596},"Why needle coke is more vulnerable to price drops",{"type":591,"attrs":55017,"content":55018},{"textAlign":49},[55019],{"text":55020,"type":596},"Weak downstream demand has been the biggest contributor to needle coke price declines over the last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55022,"content":55023},{"textAlign":49},[55024],{"text":55025,"type":596},"However, factors specific to the synthetic graphite industry are also playing a role.",{"type":591,"attrs":55027,"content":55028},{"textAlign":49},[55029],{"text":55030,"type":596},"First, needle coke buyers are increasingly switching to pet coke, a cheaper input for synthetic graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55032,"content":55033},{"textAlign":49},[55034],{"text":55035,"type":596},"In addition, needle coke producers tend to be larger players that can remain in operation for longer during low prices, meaning supply is slow to cut back in response to price signals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55037,"content":55038},{"textAlign":49},[55039],{"text":55040,"type":596},"This contrasts to the situation with pet coke, dominated by smaller players that are more responsive to unfavourable market conditions. Pet coke prices have been relatively stable the last month for the reason that players had already moderately tightened supply.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":55042,"content":55043},{"textAlign":49},[55044],{"text":55045,"type":596},"The needle coke shutdowns indicate that this segment is now finally starting to bring itself in line with market conditions despite a structural tendency to oversupply.","Needle coke prices saw an unseasonal uptick between February and March thanks to Chinese coking facilities staying shut after the Spring Festival. “We would expect coking capacity to come back online after Spring Festival when a lot of facilities opt to undertake seasonal maintenance, but this mostly hasn’t happened in 2024,” said Adam Megginson, Benchmark […]",[55048],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55049},{"job_title":557,"image":55050,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"93741853-6438-4c97-b4ca-1bd0456cd61b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[55053,55054],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43324,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":55056,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 11, 2024",{"id":55059,"uuid":55060,"name":55061,"slug":55062,"full_slug":55063,"content":55064},112469753157044,"acef6cd4-4dd9-47c8-b93b-5bc34aadf17f","How should the nickel industry define ‘sustainability’?","how-should-the-nickel-industry-define-sustainability","article/how-should-the-nickel-industry-define-sustainability",{"_uid":55065,"date":55066,"tags":55067,"editor":55069,"content":55073,"excerpt":55252,"featured":51,"reporter":55253,"_editable":55257,"component":697,"seo_title":55061,"categories":55258,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":55262,"seo_description":55252,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55265},"e6200670-71de-402e-8b91-615c56a069ee","2024-04-09 00:00",[55068],{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[55070],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55071},{"job_title":557,"image":55072,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":55074},[55075,55080,55085,55097,55102,55107,55112,55117,55122,55135,55140,55145,55150,55160,55165,55170,55175,55180,55199,55202,55213,55218,55236,55243],{"type":591,"attrs":55076,"content":55077},{"textAlign":49},[55078],{"text":55079,"type":596},"As the lithium ion battery industry scales at an unprecedented speed to meet global energy transition goals, the sector is grappling with how to define the scope of upstream ‘sustainability’ and embed it within critical mineral pricing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55081,"content":55082},{"textAlign":49},[55083],{"text":55084,"type":596},"Discussions too often have focused primarily upon the carbon footprint of various operations and processing routes, with little consideration for the broader spectrum of sustainability metrics.",{"type":591,"attrs":55086,"content":55087},{"textAlign":49},[55088,55090,55095],{"text":55089,"type":596},"This issue has been particularly pertinent to the nickel market in recent months. ",{"text":55091,"type":596,"marks":55092},"Embattled miners have pressed for new pricing mechanisms",[55093],{"type":606,"attrs":55094},{"href":54250,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55096,"type":596}," that differentiate nickel dependent on environmental, social and governance standards. Western operations have come under pressure from a glut of low-cost, but often carbon intensive nickel supply originating from Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55098,"content":55099},{"textAlign":49},[55100],{"text":55101,"type":596},"The London Metal Exchange (LME) has rejected calls to establish a “green” or “low-carbon” nickel contract in recent weeks, stating it believed there would be insufficient liquidity to support such a contract. The exchange noted that there was no “global industry consensus” on what constituted “green” nickel.",{"type":615,"attrs":55103,"content":55104},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55105],{"text":55106,"type":596},"How does the industry measure carbon emissions?",{"type":591,"attrs":55108,"content":55109},{"textAlign":49},[55110],{"text":55111,"type":596},"There is no standardised, industry-approved methodology to quantify what constitutes “low-carbon” nickel, making a true comparison on an asset-by-asset basis near-impossible.",{"type":591,"attrs":55113,"content":55114},{"textAlign":49},[55115],{"text":55116,"type":596},"“Even when mining companies do disclose carbon emissions of their nickel products, full details about the system boundaries [the set of criteria used to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions] are not always available,” said Marine Hautsch, ESG nickel analyst at Benchmark. “This makes it extremely challenging to compare and cross check the data at present.”",{"type":591,"attrs":55118,"content":55119},{"textAlign":49},[55120],{"text":55121,"type":596},"Moreover, while many operators do make carbon emissions data publicly available, not all are obligated to do so. Chinese mining companies operating in Indonesia tend to have more opaque governance structures than their Western counterparts and are often not as forthcoming with their carbon emissions data.",{"type":591,"attrs":55123,"content":55124},{"textAlign":49},[55125,55127,55133],{"text":55126,"type":596},"Comparative analysis, such as ",{"text":55128,"type":596,"marks":55129},"Benchmark’s Carbon Intensity Curves",[55130],{"type":606,"attrs":55131},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/nickel/reports/",{"text":55134,"type":596},", therefore rely predominantly on high-level assumptions for emissions associated with an individual processing route and the energy mix of different jurisdictions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55136,"content":55137},{"textAlign":49},[55138],{"text":55139,"type":596},"For institutions such as the LME, which requires standardisation to underpin confidence in its nickel contract, the lack of consensus on the parameters as to what constitutes a “low-carbon” product makes it difficult to build a contract on this basis.",{"type":615,"attrs":55141,"content":55142},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55143],{"text":55144,"type":596},"Is sustainability more than carbon?",{"type":591,"attrs":55146,"content":55147},{"textAlign":49},[55148],{"text":55149,"type":596},"Alongside carbon emissions, environmental and social factors such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, tailing management, water pollution, and labour rights must also be considered. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55151,"content":55152},{"textAlign":49},[55153,55158],{"text":55154,"type":596,"marks":55155},"The Benchmark Nickel ESG Report",[55156],{"type":606,"attrs":55157},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55159,"type":596}," indicates that deforestation in Indonesia is the foremost environmental concern linked with the nickel supply chain. The extraction of Indonesia’s laterite nickel ore deposits necessitates land clearing, which leads to the depletion of valuable carbon sinks. ​​",{"type":591,"attrs":55161,"content":55162},{"textAlign":49},[55163],{"text":55164,"type":596},"Moreover, while Benchmark’s Global Nickel LCA’s demonstrate that High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) plant’s have a lower carbon intensity than other processing routes utilised in Indonesia, this tells only part of the story.",{"type":591,"attrs":55166,"content":55167},{"textAlign":49},[55168],{"text":55169,"type":596},"“It is important to realise there are other impacts that a carbon focus would not account for in HPAL,” said Hautsch. “Notably, sulphuric acid is one of the environmental hotspots in all impact categories, and HPAL has the worst performance in terms of water consumption of all six routes modelled in Benchmark’s Nickel Global LCAs.”",{"type":591,"attrs":55171,"content":55172},{"textAlign":49},[55173],{"text":55174,"type":596},"“Some operations could therefore be mislabelled ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ if carbon emissions are the only factor taken into consideration,” she added. ",{"type":615,"attrs":55176,"content":55177},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55178],{"text":55179,"type":596},"Benchmark launches sustainable nickel prices",{"type":591,"attrs":55181,"content":55182},{"textAlign":49},[55183,55185,55191,55193,55198],{"text":55184,"type":596},"To provide the industry with clarity, Benchmark has launched an ",{"text":55186,"type":596,"marks":55187},"EXW Europe Sustainable Nickel Metal and CIF Asia Sustainable Nickel Sulphate price",[55188],{"type":606,"attrs":55189},{"href":55190,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-launches-sustainable-nickel-prices",{"text":55192,"type":596},"; price points that only consider transactions for material that originates from ‘Industry Leading’ producers according to the ",{"text":55194,"type":596,"marks":55195},"Benchmark Nickel Sustainability Index",[55196],{"type":606,"attrs":55197},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55200,"content":55201},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":55203,"content":55204},{"textAlign":49},[55205,55211],{"text":55206,"type":596,"marks":55207},"Benchmark’s Nickel Sustainability Index",[55208],{"type":606,"attrs":55209},{"href":55210,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/nickel/sustainability-index/",{"text":55212,"type":596}," measures 79 indicators categorised under environmental, social and governance components to form a composite score. Producers who score above 70 are deemed “Industry Leading” by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":55214,"content":55215},{"textAlign":49},[55216],{"text":55217,"type":596},"It is paramount for the industry to consider more than carbon emissions when determining whether material is or isn’t ‘sustainable.’ Benchmark’s in-house sustainability metrics provide a comprehensive approach to quantifying risks and measuring compliance.",{"type":591,"attrs":55219,"content":55220},{"textAlign":49},[55221,55225,55232],{"text":55222,"type":596,"marks":55223},"Join us at our upcoming webinar ‘",[55224],{"type":1006},{"text":55226,"type":596,"marks":55227},"Sustainable Nickel Prices: A New Benchmark For The Industry",[55228,55231],{"type":606,"attrs":55229},{"href":55230,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/sustainable-nickel-prices-a-new-benchmark-for-the-industry/",{"type":1006},{"text":55233,"type":596,"marks":55234},"‘ on Thursday 18 April at 07:00 or 15:00 (GMT+1).",[55235],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":55237,"content":55238},{"textAlign":49},[55239],{"text":55240,"type":596,"marks":55241},"Our experts will delve into the evolution of nickel pricing mechanisms and contextualise Benchmark’s new Sustainable Nickel prices, which were launched in response to market demand for new indexes to help with greater transparency around ESG compliant material.",[55242],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":55244,"content":55245},{"textAlign":49},[55246],{"text":55247,"type":596,"marks":55248},"Click here to register",[55249,55250],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":55251},{"href":55230,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"As the lithium ion battery industry scales at an unprecedented speed to meet global energy transition goals, the sector is grappling with how to define the scope of upstream ‘sustainability’ and embed it within critical mineral pricing. Discussions too often have focused primarily upon the carbon footprint of various operations and processing routes, with little […]",[55254],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55255},{"job_title":557,"image":55256,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e6200670-71de-402e-8b91-615c56a069ee\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[55259,55260,55261],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":55263,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":55264,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf196cdd45/bm-nickel-smelting-indonesia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 09, 2024",{"id":55267,"uuid":55268,"name":55269,"slug":55270,"full_slug":55271,"content":55272},112469767689655,"b45e62e2-68f5-4415-8507-3c6873e61cca","Benchmark launches new CIF Asia and EXW China aggregated black mass prices, and EXW North America LCO black mass payables","benchmark-launches-new-cif-asia-and-exw-china-aggregated-black-mass-prices-and-exw-north-america-lco-black-mass-payables","article/benchmark-launches-new-cif-asia-and-exw-china-aggregated-black-mass-prices-and-exw-north-america-lco-black-mass-payables",{"_uid":55273,"date":55274,"tags":55275,"editor":55278,"content":55282,"excerpt":55425,"featured":50,"reporter":55426,"_editable":55430,"component":697,"seo_title":55269,"categories":55431,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":55435,"seo_description":55425,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55438},"ed4cf073-9a4e-468a-b9ae-4a37447ec30e","2024-04-03 00:00",[55276,55277],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},[55279],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55280},{"job_title":557,"image":55281,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":55283},[55284,55296,55301,55306,55311,55316,55321,55326,55336,55341,55346,55351,55363,55376,55389,55393,55410,55420],{"type":591,"attrs":55285,"content":55286},{"textAlign":49},[55287,55288,55290,55295],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":55289,"type":596}," is pleased to announce the launch of new prices as part of its monthly ",{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":55291},[55292],{"type":606,"attrs":55293},{"href":55294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/black-mass/portal/?tab=table",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55297,"content":55298},{"textAlign":49},[55299],{"text":55300,"type":596},"Benchmark has new launched aggregated black mass prices for EXW China black mass from NCM feedstock, LCO feedstock and LFP feedstock, as well as aggregated black mass prices for CIF Asia black mass from NCM feedstock and LCO feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":55302,"content":55303},{"textAlign":49},[55304],{"text":55305,"type":596},"These prices are calculated by applying collected payables to the relevant virgin material prices to get the weighted average price for each battery metal/chemical. Based on the typical black mass content from different battery chemistry feedstocks and the EOL/process scrap split in each region, the weighted average price can then be used to calculate the approximate value of a tonne of black mass from a particular battery chemistry feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":55307,"content":55308},{"textAlign":49},[55309],{"text":55310,"type":596},"In addition, Benchmark has launched EXW North America cobalt metal payables for black mass from LCO feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":55312,"content":55313},{"textAlign":49},[55314],{"text":55315,"type":596},"As the battery recycling industry matures, recyclers are splitting their battery scrap feedstock according to battery chemistry. This allows for more efficient classification of the black mass so that it can be priced accordingly. It is currently commonplace in Asia for recyclers to separate out their feedstocks and it is likely that the West will follow suit as its battery recycling landscape advances.",{"type":591,"attrs":55317,"content":55318},{"textAlign":49},[55319],{"text":55320,"type":596},"Furthermore, in certain regions, recyclers only have access to one type of battery chemistry in the scrap pool. It is particularly useful for these market participants to understand the approximate value of black mass coming from a certain battery chemistry feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":55322,"content":55323},{"textAlign":49},[55324],{"text":55325,"type":596},"For these reasons, Benchmark now offers aggregated prices that indicate the price of black mass coming from these different battery chemistry feedstocks.",{"type":591,"attrs":55327,"content":55328},{"textAlign":49},[55329,55330,55334],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":55331},[55332],{"type":606,"attrs":55333},{"href":55294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55335,"type":596}," subscribers will now have access to the following prices on a monthly basis:",{"type":591,"attrs":55337,"content":55338},{"textAlign":49},[55339],{"text":55340,"type":596},"EXW China",{"type":591,"attrs":55342,"content":55343},{"textAlign":49},[55344],{"text":55345,"type":596},"CIF Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":55347,"content":55348},{"textAlign":49},[55349],{"text":55350,"type":596},"EXW North America",{"type":591,"attrs":55352,"content":55353},{"textAlign":49},[55354,55356,55361],{"text":55355,"type":596},"These prices will be published for access by subscribers to Benchmark’s ",{"text":55357,"type":596,"marks":55358},"website",[55359],{"type":606,"attrs":55360},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55362,"type":596}," on the last working day of the month (or the closest workday following) by 4pm (London). Market analysis will be sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":55364,"content":55365},{"textAlign":49},[55366,55368,55370,55374],{"text":55367,"type":596},"Daisy Jennings-Gray, Head of Prices at Benchmark, ",{"text":55369,"type":596},"said: “As the battery recycling value chain becomes more global, market participants are paying increased attention to how price dynamics play out in different regions. We are really pleased to expand our ",{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":55371},[55372],{"type":606,"attrs":55373},{"href":55294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55375,"type":596}," offering further, offering greater transparency on what the market price is for black mass material, as well as the payables being used by the market to settle on this price.”",{"type":591,"attrs":55377,"content":55378},{"textAlign":49},[55379,55381,55383,55387],{"text":55380,"type":596},"Frederick Bloomfield, Analyst",{"text":55382,"type":596},", said: “The dynamic and complex nature of the battery recycling industry necessitates continual reflection of our price offering at Benchmark. This latest addition of aggregated battery chemistry-specific black mass prices for EXW China and CIF Asia, as well as LCO cobalt payables for EXW North America, to our ",{"text":21250,"type":596,"marks":55384},[55385],{"type":606,"attrs":55386},{"href":55294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55388,"type":596}," ensures that we are tracking the everchanging needs of the global recycling market.”",{"type":615,"attrs":55390,"content":55391},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55392],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55394,"content":55395},{"textAlign":49},[55396,55398,55403,55405,55409],{"text":55397,"type":596},"If you would like to provide feedback or become a price submitter for the ",{"text":55399,"type":596,"marks":55400},"Benchmark Black Mass Price Assessment",[55401],{"type":606,"attrs":55402},{"href":55294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55404,"type":596}," please contact us at ",{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":55406},[55407],{"type":606,"attrs":55408},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55411,"content":55412},{"textAlign":49},[55413,55415,55419],{"text":55414,"type":596},"Benchmark publish weekly and monthly price assessments, to the highest ",{"text":14083,"type":596,"marks":55416},[55417],{"type":606,"attrs":55418},{"href":6776,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55421,"content":55422},{"textAlign":49},[55423],{"text":55424,"type":596},"To speak to our team to learn more about this service and to see a sample price report, please provide your details here:","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is pleased to announce the launch of new prices as part of its monthly Black Mass Price Assessment. Benchmark has new launched aggregated black mass prices for EXW China black mass from NCM feedstock, LCO feedstock and LFP feedstock, as well as aggregated black mass prices for CIF Asia black mass from NCM […]",[55427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55428},{"job_title":557,"image":55429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ed4cf073-9a4e-468a-b9ae-4a37447ec30e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[55432,55433,55434],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":55436,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":55437,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/772f8adb58/bm-plastic-scrap-metal-and-black-mass-from-li-cycle-germany-spoke-13084506ef59.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 03, 2024",{"id":55440,"uuid":55441,"name":55442,"slug":55443,"full_slug":55444,"content":55445},112469762839990,"68aeef76-97ec-4e7d-b758-eb2fad9ee3be","Cobalt prices remain steady in March as cathode makers ease restocking inventories","cobalt-prices-remain-steady-in-march-as-cathode-makers-ease-restocking-inventories","article/cobalt-prices-remain-steady-in-march-as-cathode-makers-ease-restocking-inventories",{"_uid":55446,"date":55274,"tags":55447,"editor":55450,"content":55454,"excerpt":55590,"featured":51,"reporter":55591,"_editable":55595,"component":697,"seo_title":55442,"categories":55596,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":55599,"seo_description":55590,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55438},"db474113-2d69-4de2-8048-7811a1b6adfb",[55448,55449],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[55451],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55452},{"job_title":557,"image":55453,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":55455},[55456,55468,55473,55491,55496,55501,55511,55528,55533,55540,55545,55555,55560,55570,55575,55580,55585],{"type":591,"attrs":55457,"content":55458},{"textAlign":49},[55459,55461,55466],{"text":55460,"type":596},"Chinese cobalt sulphate prices held steady in March despite midstream demand slowing in the second half of the month after ",{"text":55462,"type":596,"marks":55463},"cathode makers",[55464],{"type":606,"attrs":55465},{"href":43611,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55467,"type":596}," eased restocking of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode inventories.",{"type":591,"attrs":55469,"content":55470},{"textAlign":49},[55471],{"text":55472,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate prices in China reported their first rise this year in early March due to an increased demand for NCM materials from Tier 1 cell suppliers for high end electric vehicle models, a move that pushed cathode makers to restock inventory.",{"type":591,"attrs":55474,"content":55475},{"textAlign":49},[55476,55478,55483,55485,55489],{"text":55477,"type":596},"Chinese cobalt sulphate ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":55479},[55480],{"type":606,"attrs":55481},{"href":55482,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-stage-mild-recovery-in-october-as-seasonal-demand-improves",{"text":55484,"type":596}," remained flat at RMB 32,500 ($4,485) per tonne for the assessment period ended April 2, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":55486},[55487],{"type":606,"attrs":55488},{"href":43568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55490,"type":596},". Chinese cobalt sulphate prices are now up 1.6% so far this year but have fallen 21% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":55492,"content":55493},{"textAlign":49},[55494],{"text":55495,"type":596},"“Price increases in the first quarter were driven by restocking from Tier 1 cell suppliers for high end electric vehicle models,” said Roman Aubry, analyst with Benchmark. A bulk of battery demand for cobalt comes from NCM cathode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":55497,"content":55498},{"textAlign":49},[55499],{"text":55500,"type":596},"“However, as stocking has completed, the rise has stalled and the oversupply is looming again,” Aubry added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55502,"content":55503},{"textAlign":49},[55504,55506],{"text":55505,"type":596},"Cobalt supplies are expected to remain in surplus this year and enter an era of deficit from 2027 onwards, according to the ",{"text":55507,"type":596,"marks":55508},"Benchmark Cobalt Forecast.",[55509],{"type":606,"attrs":55510},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":55512,"content":55513},{"textAlign":49},[55514,55516,55521,55522,55526],{"text":55515,"type":596},"While ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":55517},[55518],{"type":606,"attrs":55519},{"href":55520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-prices-climb-higher-in-early-march-on-improving-downstream-demand",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":10101,"type":596,"marks":55523},[55524],{"type":606,"attrs":55525},{"href":48135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55527,"type":596}," have rebounded in recent weeks amid an uptick in orders from large cell makers, the increases for cobalt were softer in March as cathode makers had enough cobalt inventories compared to nickel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55529,"content":55530},{"textAlign":49},[55531],{"text":55532,"type":596},"“On the battery side, we can see that prices can recover even when the market as a whole is massively oversupplied, provided demand is strong,” said Aubry.",{"type":591,"attrs":55534,"content":55535},{"textAlign":49},[55536],{"type":836,"attrs":55537},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":55538,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":55539},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a5b16a52d4/bm-chinese-cobalt-sulphate-prices-ed-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":55541,"content":55542},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55543],{"text":55544,"type":596},"Feedstock prices hit on brakes",{"type":591,"attrs":55546,"content":55547},{"textAlign":49},[55548,55550,55554],{"text":55549,"type":596},"Prices for cobalt hydroxide, the most commonly traded cobalt feedstock material, retreated during the assessment period. CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide prices fell 1.1% to $7.05 per pound but are up 8.5% so far this year, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":55551},[55552],{"type":606,"attrs":55553},{"href":43568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55556,"content":55557},{"textAlign":49},[55558],{"text":55559,"type":596},"This is the first time this year that hydroxide prices did not increase after a gradual climb from the floor of $6.50 per pound at the end of 2023. A bulk of the increases were a result of price discipline by producers who were struggling with a significant oversupply of hydroxide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55561,"content":55562},{"textAlign":49},[55563,55565,55569],{"text":55564,"type":596},"Prices for EXW Europe cobalt metal remained flat at $13.88 per pound during the assessment period and are down 4.8% so far this year. The market is still very vulnerable to temporary supply issues, particularly from metal producers outside of China, according to the ",{"text":27652,"type":596,"marks":55566},[55567],{"type":606,"attrs":55568},{"href":43568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55571,"content":55572},{"textAlign":49},[55573],{"text":55574,"type":596},"“While the European market is less exposed to this, the US market can see some significant price fluctuations if even a single producer slows production or doesn’t have material available for the spot market,” said Aubry.",{"type":615,"attrs":55576,"content":55577},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55578],{"text":55579,"type":596},"SRB stockpiling rumours",{"type":591,"attrs":55581,"content":55582},{"textAlign":49},[55583],{"text":55584,"type":596},"China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) is rumoured to buy more cobalt metal in the coming days, a move that could drive up prices. The SRB typically waits to restock until market prices are near or at their floor.",{"type":591,"attrs":55586,"content":55587},{"textAlign":49},[55588],{"text":55589,"type":596},"“Provided there are no additional changes to demand, prices are likely to stabilise,” said Aubry, adding that if the rumours of SRB buying cobalt metal in China in the next few months materialise, prices could move higher.","Chinese cobalt sulphate prices held steady in March despite midstream demand slowing in the second half of the month after cathode makers eased restocking of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode inventories. Cobalt sulphate prices in China reported their first rise this year in early March due to an increased demand for NCM materials from Tier 1 cell […]",[55592],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55593},{"job_title":557,"image":55594,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"db474113-2d69-4de2-8048-7811a1b6adfb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[55597,55598],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":43656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":55600,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":55602,"uuid":55603,"name":55604,"slug":55605,"full_slug":55606,"content":55607},112469782291898,"1c8b6f20-5436-4de6-8591-fce156a05b56","Lithium metal deficit could limit next generation battery development this year","lithium-metal-deficit-could-limit-next-generation-battery-development-this-year","article/lithium-metal-deficit-could-limit-next-generation-battery-development-this-year",{"_uid":55608,"date":55609,"tags":55610,"editor":55613,"content":55617,"excerpt":55766,"featured":51,"reporter":55767,"_editable":55771,"component":697,"seo_title":55604,"categories":55772,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":55775,"seo_description":55766,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55778},"e8eaa12f-abf0-43b7-99af-3a7e9f61ec60","2024-04-02 00:00",[55611,55612],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":23056,"name":23057},[55614],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55615},{"job_title":557,"image":55616,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":55618},[55619,55631,55636,55647,55655,55660,55665,55675,55680,55685,55708,55713,55718,55723,55728,55733,55738,55743,55748,55760],{"type":591,"attrs":55620,"content":55621},{"textAlign":49},[55622,55624,55630],{"text":55623,"type":596},"Global capacity for lithium metal production is insufficient to support the early commercial growth of the lithium metal battery industry, according to ",{"text":55625,"type":596,"marks":55626},"Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Forecast",[55627],{"type":606,"attrs":55628},{"href":55629,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state/reports",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55632,"content":55633},{"textAlign":49},[55634],{"text":55635,"type":596},"Such batteries use lithium metal as the anode material. This can drastically increase the capacity of the battery, but require the use of either a novel liquid or solid-state electrolyte for safe operation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55637,"content":55638},{"textAlign":49},[55639,55641,55645],{"text":55640,"type":596},"If all suitable lithium metal produced in 2024 was used for lithium metal batteries, the industry could support five to ten gigawatt-hours (GWh) of cell production. However, much of the lithium metal will be diverted to other industries and, as such, ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":55642},[55643],{"type":606,"attrs":55644},{"href":55629,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55646,"type":596}," a supply deficit of the metal this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":55648,"content":55649},{"textAlign":49},[55650],{"type":836,"attrs":55651},{"id":49,"alt":55652,"src":55653,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":55654},"Lithium metal production is forecast to become a critical bottleneck for lithium metal battery cells in 2024","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/176c2d067a/bm-li-metal-balance.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":55656,"content":55657},{"textAlign":49},[55658],{"text":55659,"type":596},"“To date, battery grade lithium metal demand has been largely driven by the primary battery and aerospace alloy markets,” Rory McNulty, a next-generation technologies analyst at Benchmark, said. “The demand growth that we are seeing today is driven by next-generation, rechargeable lithium metal batteries, and the requirements for these applications are much more strict.”",{"type":615,"attrs":55661,"content":55662},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55663],{"text":55664,"type":596},"What is the state of production today?",{"type":591,"attrs":55666,"content":55667},{"textAlign":49},[55668,55673],{"text":55669,"type":596,"marks":55670},"Benchmark assesses",[55671],{"type":606,"attrs":55672},{"href":55629,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55674,"type":596}," global lithium metal production capacity to have been over 7,500 tonnes per year in 2023, but less than half of that was battery grade.",{"type":591,"attrs":55676,"content":55677},{"textAlign":49},[55678],{"text":55679,"type":596},"China leads in established capacity, accounting for over 90% of 2023 capacity. This dominance looks set to continue as the country has plans to double its capacity over the next three to five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":55681,"content":55682},{"textAlign":49},[55683],{"text":55684,"type":596},"“The question that hangs over that Chinese capacity is whether it can deliver for the requirements of next generation battery technologies,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":55686,"content":55687},{"textAlign":49},[55688,55692,55696,55697,55700,55705],{"text":55689,"type":596,"marks":55690},"Watch Benchmark next-generation technologies analyst Rory McNulty",[55691],{"type":1006},{"text":55693,"type":596,"marks":55694},"discuss China’s lithium metal strategy",[55695],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":55698},[55699],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":55701},[55702,55704],{"type":606,"attrs":55703},{"href":49007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":55706},[55707],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":55709,"content":55710},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55711],{"text":55712,"type":596},"Why is there a deficit?",{"type":591,"attrs":55714,"content":55715},{"textAlign":49},[55716],{"text":55717,"type":596},"Although lithium metal batteries are a novel technology, developers are increasingly moving from cell development into pilot production and early commercial growth, requiring supply chains to mature with them. Demand for lithium metal batteries is set to exceed 10 GWh by 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":55719,"content":55720},{"textAlign":49},[55721],{"text":55722,"type":596},"“As next generation lithium metal batteries have developed from low amp-hour cells to, in some cases, up to 100 amp-hour cells, the market maturity and new demand for lithium metal has increased quite significantly,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":55724,"content":55725},{"textAlign":49},[55726],{"text":55727,"type":596},"The precursor to lithium metal is lithium chloride. Although this can be sourced directly from brine, with several lithium metal producers vertically integrating this process, the majority of brine resources have an unsuitable impurity profile for integration.",{"type":591,"attrs":55729,"content":55730},{"textAlign":49},[55731],{"text":55732,"type":596},"Where direct lithium chloride supply is not available, battery-grade lithium carbonate can instead be converted to lithium chloride, albeit incurring considerable capital expense.",{"type":591,"attrs":55734,"content":55735},{"textAlign":49},[55736],{"text":55737,"type":596},"Further, next generation lithium metal batteries require a lithium metal foil for the anode that is significantly thinner than the foils used for primary lithium metal batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":55739,"content":55740},{"textAlign":49},[55741],{"text":55742,"type":596},"This pushes the traditional extrusion and rolling processes to their mechanical limits, according to McNulty.",{"type":591,"attrs":55744,"content":55745},{"textAlign":49},[55746],{"text":55747,"type":596},"“Meeting these requirements is tough, and drives cost up significantly,” McNulty said. “This technical barrier is a key constraint of the industry and several companies are exploring novel, bottom-up approaches to overcome this challenge.”",{"type":591,"attrs":55749,"content":55750},{"textAlign":49},[55751,55754,55757],{"text":25892,"type":596,"marks":55752},[55753],{"type":1006},{"text":52609,"type":596,"marks":55755},[55756],{"type":1006},{"text":52613,"type":596,"marks":55758},[55759],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":55761,"content":55762},{"textAlign":49},[55763],{"text":52620,"type":596,"marks":55764},[55765],{"type":1006},"Global capacity for lithium metal production is insufficient to support the early commercial growth of the lithium metal battery industry, according to Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Forecast. Such batteries use lithium metal as the anode material. This can drastically increase the capacity of the battery, but require the use of either a novel liquid […]",[55768],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55769},{"job_title":557,"image":55770,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8eaa12f-abf0-43b7-99af-3a7e9f61ec60\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[55773,55774],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":55776,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":55777,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7a4dd9730b/bm-solidstatebatteries.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 02, 2024",{"id":55780,"uuid":55781,"name":55782,"slug":55783,"full_slug":55784,"content":55785},112469777491385,"d3fa600f-ff5b-4d36-ac5f-698901b42334","“When there is a market pull, the likelihood of a new technology succeeding goes way up.” Q&A with Volta Energy Technologies","when-there-is-a-market-pull-the-likelihood-of-a-new-technology-succeeding-goes-way-up-qa-with-volta-energy-technologies","article/when-there-is-a-market-pull-the-likelihood-of-a-new-technology-succeeding-goes-way-up-qa-with-volta-energy-technologies",{"_uid":55786,"date":55609,"tags":55787,"editor":55789,"content":55793,"excerpt":55997,"featured":51,"reporter":55998,"_editable":56002,"component":697,"seo_title":55782,"categories":56003,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":56006,"seo_description":55997,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":55778},"4e592a5c-0dec-4c8a-96f7-4c84076357a7",[55788],{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[55790],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":55791},{"job_title":557,"image":55792,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":55794},[55795,55800,55812,55817,55822,55827,55832,55837,55844,55849,55862,55867,55872,55877,55884,55889,55894,55899,55904,55911,55916,55921,55928,55933,55945,55951,55956,55961,55966,55972,55977,55982,55987,55992],{"type":591,"attrs":55796,"content":55797},{"textAlign":49},[55798],{"text":55799,"type":596},"Volta Energy Technologies is a venture capital investment fund that invests in new battery technologies and clean energy technologies, using its deep understanding and experience of the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":55801,"content":55802},{"textAlign":49},[55803,55805,55810],{"text":55804,"type":596},"Launched in 2016, the firm has invested in around 20 companies, involved in everything from ",{"text":55806,"type":596,"marks":55807},"lithium extraction",[55808],{"type":606,"attrs":55809},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55811,"type":596},", to power electronics that enable fast charge and prolonged battery life, silicon anodes, niobium anodes, non-rare earth permanent magnets, and wireless charging.",{"type":591,"attrs":55813,"content":55814},{"textAlign":49},[55815],{"text":55816,"type":596},"It manages around $250 million in investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55818,"content":55819},{"textAlign":49},[55820],{"text":55821,"type":596},"The fund is led by Jeff Chamberlain, who previously led the battery and energy storage research and licensing at the US DOE Argonne National Laboratory for ten years.",{"type":591,"attrs":55823,"content":55824},{"textAlign":49},[55825],{"text":55826,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Chamberlain and James Frith, principal at Volta, to learn more. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55828,"content":55829},{"textAlign":49},[55830],{"text":55831,"type":596},"Below is an edited transcript of the conversation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":55833,"content":55834},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55835],{"text":55836,"type":596},"There has been a lot of innovation in battery cathodes over the last decade or longer, is now the time for innovation in anodes? ",{"type":591,"attrs":55838,"content":55839},{"textAlign":49},[55840,55842],{"text":55841,"type":596},"James:",{"text":55843,"type":596}," When we look at the kind of innovation that happened in that 2010 period, the 2010 to 2020 period, we really see the automakers pushing for an increase in energy density and a reduction in cost. And I think the first base that they turned to to achieve that was really through slight tweaks to the cathode material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55845,"content":55846},{"textAlign":49},[55847],{"text":55848,"type":596},"… but now we’re at a point where there are still some improvements that can come from the cathode side, but they’re not quite so easily won if you’d like. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55850,"content":55851},{"textAlign":49},[55852,55854,55860],{"text":55853,"type":596},"Whereas on the other side, you really haven’t had any changes to the ",{"text":55855,"type":596,"marks":55856},"anode ",[55857],{"type":606,"attrs":55858},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/anode/",{"text":55861,"type":596},"material since the commercial introduction of lithium ion cells in the early 1990s by Sony, it’s really just graphite that’s been used. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55863,"content":55864},{"textAlign":49},[55865],{"text":55866,"type":596},"We’re getting to the point now where there’s been a lot of R&D that’s happened on silicon and a lot of the kind of initial problems with silicon are fairly well understood now, and companies have come up with methods to mitigate those performance issues.",{"type":591,"attrs":55868,"content":55869},{"textAlign":49},[55870],{"text":55871,"type":596},"We’ve got these R&D approaches that have borne fruit and now there’s a lot of focus on really scaling up that technology and commercialising it and getting it into vehicles. So a lot of the science risk is gone now and it’s really around that kind of commercial scale up. And that’s where I think you can get more of a step change in performance improvement, if you can engineer silicon into the cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55873,"content":55874},{"textAlign":49},[55875],{"text":55876,"type":596},"I think you won’t see a huge step change because I think it’s going to be similar to the development of NMC where it’s going to be slight changes. So you’ll see cell makers going to 2% silicon, then 5%, and 7%, and getting those kinds of gradual improvements. Once you can see how it performs in the real world, that helps you have a kind of longer product life and recoup some of that kind of R&D investment as well. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55878,"content":55879},{"textAlign":49},[55880,55882],{"text":55881,"type":596},"Jeff: ",{"text":55883,"type":596},"The industry has been focused on replacing graphite with silicon for well over a decade. And unlike solid state batteries silicon is bound to happen. It’s already happening. It’s unclear whether solid state batteries will happen in a universal sense, but it is certain silicon will. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55885,"content":55886},{"textAlign":49},[55887],{"text":55888,"type":596},"We believe at Volta, in part due to our experience with the semiconductor industry, that the automotive OEMs – and even their suppliers the battery makers – what they want is improved performance and cost with no change. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55890,"content":55891},{"textAlign":49},[55892],{"text":55893,"type":596},"And so in the case of blending some form of silicon with graphite, the battery makers and automakers can feel almost no change in their supply chain … And that’s that’s really important because not only is the risk lower for the end user, but the cost is lower.",{"type":591,"attrs":55895,"content":55896},{"textAlign":49},[55897],{"text":55898,"type":596},"There’s billions of dollars of sunk capital in these gigafactories that no one’s going to want to replace those with new manufacturing processes with new equipment anytime soon. Some of the silicon startups that are out there are aiming for a very simple change in the processes that is not really felt. And what do you get out of that? A significant increase in performance – range and charging rates in particular. ",{"type":615,"attrs":55900,"content":55901},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55902],{"text":55903,"type":596},"You recently invested in a UK company, Echion Technologies, that produces niobium-based battery anodes, can you describe the applications of that technology?",{"type":591,"attrs":55905,"content":55906},{"textAlign":49},[55907,55909],{"text":55908,"type":596},"James: ",{"text":55910,"type":596},"I think the kind of niche applications are sitting in a similar kind of area to where LTO (lithium titanate) is used today. So really, anything where there’s kind of high cycle life requirements, high power requirements. Although the LTO cells that we have today on the market are more expensive than LFP and NMC cells because of the higher lifetime requirements, you’re selling into applications where you’re thinking about the total cost of ownership rather than the upfront costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55912,"content":55913},{"textAlign":49},[55914],{"text":55915,"type":596},"So it’s really commercial applications – that could be some stationary storage applications, or uses in electric buses and commercial vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55917,"content":55918},{"textAlign":49},[55919],{"text":55920,"type":596},"But what’s interesting about Echion is that because of that higher energy density, you’re opening up the size of that market, so suddenly your addressable market increases quite dramatically. And you could see this [technology] being used in things like mining trucks, where previously LTO packs were just kind of too heavy and bulky to be used in mining truck applications. So you’ve seen companies exploring the use of NMC or LFP cells but they have to replace those packs several times a year in some instances. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55922,"content":55923},{"textAlign":49},[55924,55926],{"text":55925,"type":596},"Jeff:",{"text":55927,"type":596}," There’s also a reflexive action by the automakers that’s happening right now – getting back to plug-in hybrids. While the world is aiming to build a ubiquitous, fast charging network, in the meantime it might make sense to have these plug-in hybrids – and this kind of battery that we’ve described would serve that market very well. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55929,"content":55930},{"textAlign":49},[55931],{"text":55932,"type":596},"There’s been a lot of work done in niobium in the last decade or so. And the question might be, why is that emerging now? Because if there’s anything I learned from half of my career working in industry it’s that when there is a market pull, the likelihood of a new technology succeeding goes way, way up.",{"type":615,"attrs":55934,"content":55935},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55936,55938,55944],{"text":55937,"type":596},"How do you see the potential for ",{"text":55939,"type":596,"marks":55940},"sodium ion batteries",[55941],{"type":606,"attrs":55942},{"href":55943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/sodium-ion-batteries/",{"text":23021,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":55946,"content":55947},{"textAlign":49},[55948,55949],{"text":55841,"type":596},{"text":55950,"type":596}," I think from where I sit, I think sodium ion is a fantastic technology. Particularly if you look at where lithium prices were last year, if we had had commercial sodium ion systems out there it would have been able to reduce a lot of the pressure that was on the market at the time. And that’s why we saw so much interest last year in developing new kinds of approaches to the sodium ion industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55952,"content":55953},{"textAlign":49},[55954],{"text":55955,"type":596},"But we’re seeing more lithium supply coming online and lithium prices are low today. And actually, if you look at the bill of materials for LFP – if you have very low lithium prices, there’s not that much of a cost advantage of moving from LFP to a sodium ion system, particularly if you’re trying to match the energy density on a volumetric or gravimetric basis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55957,"content":55958},{"textAlign":49},[55959],{"text":55960,"type":596},"And so the driver for me for sodium ion adoption, is not necessarily as a replacement for lithium ion. It’s more of a pressure release valve. So if you find that lithium prices are getting too high and it’s in short supply you can switch to the sodium ion product.",{"type":615,"attrs":55962,"content":55963},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[55964],{"text":55965,"type":596},"How do you view the current difficulties many startups have faced, with higher interest rates and cost of capital, are you concerned about their ability to survive?",{"type":591,"attrs":55967,"content":55968},{"textAlign":49},[55969,55970],{"text":55925,"type":596},{"text":55971,"type":596}," There are cycles, especially during a period of adoption of new technology like electric vehicles. And what’s very tough, is the capital markets are very tight right now … capital markets are generally very tight and they’re made even tighter and more complicated by an increase in interest rates over the last year or two. On top of that, a few big automakers announced late last year that we’re gonna slow down their plans. And so that creates a perception of risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":55973,"content":55974},{"textAlign":49},[55975],{"text":55976,"type":596},"The good news is this: the need by the automotive OEMs and the power producers for increasingly lower cost battery and storage technologies and all the associated supply chains and all the innovations in the supply chain. The need for those technologies that will lower costs and improve performance is going up.",{"type":591,"attrs":55978,"content":55979},{"textAlign":49},[55980],{"text":55981,"type":596},"The European automakers and the North American automakers view the wave of low cost electric vehicles coming out of China as an existential threat.",{"type":591,"attrs":55983,"content":55984},{"textAlign":49},[55985],{"text":55986,"type":596},"And so what that means is, while they’re slowing down their spending capex and building big manufacturing plants, they’re actually accelerating their desire to adopt technologies like we’ve been talking about today. So the need for the technology is going up while the valuations are going down, so there’s a dislocation from the investors’ perspective. ",{"type":591,"attrs":55988,"content":55989},{"textAlign":49},[55990],{"text":55991,"type":596},"The market need is increasing, while the prices for those investors are going down – there’s an ongoing capitulation in valuations in the private markets. So that is actually the time, the moment, to invest.",{"type":591,"attrs":55993,"content":55994},{"textAlign":49},[55995],{"text":55996,"type":596},"To speak to our team to learn more about Benchmark, please provide your details here:","Volta Energy Technologies is a venture capital investment fund that invests in new battery technologies and clean energy technologies, using its deep understanding and experience of the battery industry. Launched in 2016, the firm has invested in around 20 companies, involved in everything from lithium extraction, to power electronics that enable fast charge and prolonged […]",[55999],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56000},{"job_title":557,"image":56001,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4e592a5c-0dec-4c8a-96f7-4c84076357a7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56004,56005],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56007,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56008,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/40fb4595f4/bm-volta-energy-technologies.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":56010,"uuid":56011,"name":55179,"slug":56012,"full_slug":56013,"content":56014},112469801408034,"29aff00f-0381-41da-b1d8-af216dc1a7e6","benchmark-launches-sustainable-nickel-prices","article/benchmark-launches-sustainable-nickel-prices",{"_uid":56015,"date":56016,"tags":56017,"editor":56019,"content":56023,"excerpt":56116,"featured":50,"reporter":56117,"_editable":56121,"component":697,"seo_title":55179,"categories":56122,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":56126,"seo_description":56116,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":56129},"104f872c-3b15-4905-8c7c-f51646ffdb45","2024-03-28 00:00",[56018],{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[56020],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56021},{"job_title":557,"image":56022,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56024},[56025,56037,56042,56054,56059,56070,56075,56080,56085,56090,56095,56100,56105],{"type":591,"attrs":56026,"content":56027},{"textAlign":49},[56028,56029,56031,56035],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":56030,"type":596}," has launched an ",{"text":55186,"type":596,"marks":56032},[56033],{"type":606,"attrs":56034},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56036,"type":596}," on 28 March, in response to growing demand from the lithium ion battery supply chain for prices which take into account the sustainability credentials of the products under assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":56038,"content":56039},{"textAlign":49},[56040],{"text":56041,"type":596},"The new prices are assessed by Benchmark using primary data collected directly from active market participants and only consider transactions for material that originates from Industry Leading producers according to the Benchmark Nickel Sustainability Index. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56043,"content":56044},{"textAlign":49},[56045,56047,56052],{"text":56046,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Nickel Sustainability Index is published quarterly in the ",{"text":56048,"type":596,"marks":56049},"Benchmark Nickel ESG Report",[56050],{"type":606,"attrs":56051},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56053,"type":596},", and currently measures 79 indicators categorised under environmental, social and governance components to form a composite score.",{"type":591,"attrs":56055,"content":56056},{"textAlign":49},[56057],{"text":56058,"type":596},"Producers who score above 70 are deemed “Industry Leading” by Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56060,"content":56061},{"textAlign":49},[56062,56064,56069],{"text":56063,"type":596},"As with all other nickel grades under assessment, transactional price data is collected directly from active buyers and sellers in the market. Benchmark will publish both grades every two weeks, as part of its industry-leading, IOSCO assured, ",{"text":56065,"type":596,"marks":56066},"Nickel Price Assessment",[56067],{"type":606,"attrs":56068},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56071,"content":56072},{"textAlign":49},[56073],{"text":56074,"type":596},"In addition to the new Sustainable Nickel Metal and Sustainable Nickel Sulphate prices, Benchmark currently publishes:",{"type":591,"attrs":56076,"content":56077},{"textAlign":49},[56078],{"text":56079,"type":596},"A growing focus on ESG criteria within the battery supply chain and specifically the environmental performance of various nickel supply routes has incentivised Industry Leading producers to market the sustainability of their product and the transparency of their practices. Moreover, a desire from OEM procurement teams to meet company ESG requirements has demonstrated downstream desire for such prices.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":56081,"content":56082},{"textAlign":49},[56083],{"text":56084,"type":596},"As such, market participants have requested new indexes to help with greater transparency around more ESG compliant material, to be used to support contract negotiations between buyers and sellers that consider more than just the underlying price of nickel and nickel chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":56086,"content":56087},{"textAlign":49},[56088],{"text":56089,"type":596},"“We hear a lot about decarbonisation but sustainability is about so much more than ‘carbon’. Our consultations with the nickel supply chain show that much of the downstream is as concerned about partnering with a nickel supplier which is responsible for deforestation and biodiversity erosion as, for example, one which uses fossil fuels in its refining process,” commented Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, Director of Prices & Data at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":56091,"content":56092},{"textAlign":49},[56093],{"text":56094,"type":596},"“Sustainability is complex and that is why Benchmark is proud to be the only Price Reporting Agency in the world which has a dedicated team of specialists focussing on it. Benchmark’s first of its kind Sustainable Nickel prices enable the supply chain to index to a price which considers sustainability holistically and objectively,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":56096,"content":56097},{"textAlign":49},[56098],{"text":56099,"type":596},"Prices for battery minerals are expected to undergo continued volatility to 2030 and beyond and the lithium ion battery supply chain scales for the energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":56101,"content":56102},{"textAlign":49},[56103],{"text":56104,"type":596},"This presents risk across the length of the supply chain, from miners to automakers. Benchmarks suite of Price Assessment subscriptions offers unparalleled insight for price risk management to shield supply chain players from the greatest risks to their business.",{"type":591,"attrs":56106,"content":56107},{"textAlign":49},[56108,56112],{"text":56109,"type":596,"marks":56110},"Benchmark’s new Sustainable Nickel Price grades are the first of their kind and reflect our evolving, market-first coverage to meet the needs of the industry.",[56111],{"type":1006},{"text":56113,"type":596,"marks":56114},"To request a sample and learn more about Benchmark’s new Sustainable Nickel prices coverage and our Nickel Price Assessment, please provide your details and our team will contact you shortly.",[56115],{"type":1006},"Benchmark has launched an EXW Europe Sustainable Nickel Metal and CIF Asia Sustainable Nickel Sulphate price on 28 March, in response to growing demand from the lithium ion battery supply chain for prices which take into account the sustainability credentials of the products under assessment. The new prices are assessed by Benchmark using primary data […]",[56118],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56119},{"job_title":557,"image":56120,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"104f872c-3b15-4905-8c7c-f51646ffdb45\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56123,56124,56125],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56127,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56128,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/291abb2975/bm-terrafame-nickel-sulfate-13110680112f.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 28, 2024",{"id":56131,"uuid":56132,"name":56133,"slug":56134,"full_slug":56135,"content":56136},112469825582631,"5420978d-34fb-4f6e-b10e-0d69572a1b64","Canadian caution over Chinese role in domestic battery supply chain continues","canadian-caution-over-chinese-role-in-domestic-battery-supply-chain-continues","article/canadian-caution-over-chinese-role-in-domestic-battery-supply-chain-continues",{"_uid":56137,"date":56138,"tags":56139,"editor":56142,"content":56146,"excerpt":56262,"featured":51,"reporter":56263,"_editable":56267,"component":697,"seo_title":56133,"categories":56268,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":56274,"seo_description":56262,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":56278},"3e81099e-d0b2-4924-aa03-5647c9d59d07","2024-03-27 00:00",[56140,56141],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":575,"name":576},[56143],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56144},{"job_title":557,"image":56145,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56147},[56148,56153,56158,56169,56176,56192,56197,56202,56212,56217,56222,56227,56232,56237,56242,56254],{"type":591,"attrs":56149,"content":56150},{"textAlign":49},[56151],{"text":56152,"type":596},"Canada has heightened scrutiny of Chinese investment in its critical raw materials sector as it continues to seek to reduce its dependence on the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56154,"content":56155},{"textAlign":49},[56156],{"text":56157,"type":596},"Western states are increasingly concerned by China’s dominance across the battery supply chain and are seeking to localise production in response. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56159,"content":56160},{"textAlign":49},[56161,56163,56168],{"text":56162,"type":596},"Earlier this month, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, spoke of democratic nations coming together to ensure critical raw material supply. This was also a key topic of discussions at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024 event, where policy representatives from the EU, Canada, and Australia emphasised the need for ",{"text":56164,"type":596,"marks":56165},"cooperation between Western nations",[56166],{"type":606,"attrs":56167},{"href":50110,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56170,"content":56171},{"textAlign":49},[56172],{"text":56173,"type":596,"marks":56174},"Watch the Building Global Alliances panel from Giga Europe 2024.",[56175],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":56177,"content":56178},{"textAlign":49},[56179,56183,56189],{"text":56180,"type":596,"marks":56181},"Watch other presentations from the event ",[56182],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":56184},[56185,56188],{"type":606,"attrs":56186},{"href":56187,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/downloads/presentations",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":56190},[56191],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":56193,"content":56194},{"textAlign":49},[56195],{"text":56196,"type":596},"“The Canadian government likely sees Chinese investment in this area as a national security risk because critical minerals are a strategic and somewhat sensitive area given their importance for energy security,” said Alex Becker, a policy analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56198,"content":56199},{"textAlign":49},[56200],{"text":56201,"type":596},"Becker noted this development fits a broader trend in the relationship between the two countries which has been deteriorating for several years now.",{"type":591,"attrs":56203,"content":56204},{"textAlign":49},[56205,56207,56211],{"text":56206,"type":596},"Canada is forecast to produce more than 300,000 tonnes of natural graphite in 2030, accounting for 11% of global production, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":56208},[56209],{"type":606,"attrs":56210},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":56213,"content":56214},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56215],{"text":56216,"type":596},"Scrutiny of Chinese ownership ",{"type":591,"attrs":56218,"content":56219},{"textAlign":49},[56220],{"text":56221,"type":596},"The Canadian government has previously limited sales of Canadian mining assets to Chinese companies and issued divestment orders to Chinese companies involved in Canadian lithium projects. China says this breaks international commerce and market rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":56223,"content":56224},{"textAlign":49},[56225],{"text":56226,"type":596},"In November 2022, the government of Canada requested Sinomine Rare Metals Resources to divest its interests in Power Metals; Chengze Lithium International Limited was required to divest from Lithium Chile; and Zangge Mining Investment was required to divest from Ultra Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":56228,"content":56229},{"textAlign":49},[56230],{"text":56231,"type":596},"Earlier this month, an agreement between Canada’s graphite mining company anode aspirant SRG Mining and China’s Carbon ONE New Energy Group (C-ONE) was terminated, reportedly following intervention by the Canadian government on national security grounds. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56233,"content":56234},{"textAlign":49},[56235],{"text":56236,"type":596},"The ending of the agreement highlights the broader conflict of trying to expand anode production whilst avoiding investment from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":56238,"content":56239},{"textAlign":49},[56240],{"text":56241,"type":596},"“Overall, collaborating with Chinese anode manufacturers could be advantageous for anode aspirants outside of China, as they can facilitate knowledge transfer and leverage the structural expertise and market dominance of these players,” said Tony Alderson, an anode analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":56243,"content":56244},{"textAlign":49},[56245,56247,56252],{"text":56246,"type":596},"China is forecast to hold 93% of anode capacity in 2024, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":56248},[56249],{"type":606,"attrs":56250},{"href":56251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/anode/portal/?tab=table",{"text":56253,"type":596},", and has superior technology and operating experience in anode production. Without access to this expertise in the short to mid term, anode aspirants may struggle to ramp up capacity to meet the demand for ex-China anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":56255,"content":56256},{"textAlign":49},[56257],{"type":836,"attrs":56258},{"id":49,"alt":56259,"src":56260,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":56261},"Stacked column chart comparing forecast anode production from China and the Rest of the world in 2024 to 2030","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aff805199b/bm-china-vs-row-anode-production-chart-1.png",{},"Canada has heightened scrutiny of Chinese investment in its critical raw materials sector as it continues to seek to reduce its dependence on the country. Western states are increasingly concerned by China’s dominance across the battery supply chain and are seeking to localise production in response. Earlier this month, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, […]",[56264],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56265},{"job_title":557,"image":56266,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3e81099e-d0b2-4924-aa03-5647c9d59d07\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56269,56270,56271,56272,56273],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":56275,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":56275,"source":547,"filename":56276,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56277,"is_external_url":51},"Birds eye view of a mine in Canada","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f1dbbf58a4/bm-canadian-mine.jpg",{"alt":56275,"title":56275,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 27, 2024",{"id":56280,"uuid":56281,"name":56282,"slug":56283,"full_slug":56284,"content":56285},112469820753446,"9a34688a-6273-4ab3-bfc7-6852b4627044","South Africa to remain top manganese producer with more than one third of supply in 2024 ","south-africa-to-remain-top-manganese-producer-with-more-than-one-third-of-supply-in-2024","article/south-africa-to-remain-top-manganese-producer-with-more-than-one-third-of-supply-in-2024",{"_uid":56286,"date":56138,"tags":56287,"editor":56292,"content":56296,"excerpt":56431,"featured":51,"reporter":56432,"_editable":56436,"component":697,"seo_title":56282,"categories":56437,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":56440,"seo_description":56431,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":56278},"383c8953-7ff0-4090-a18f-b801f3a35df6",[56288,56289],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":56290,"name":56291},"south-africa","South Africa",[56293],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56294},{"job_title":557,"image":56295,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56297},[56298,56311,56319,56324,56329,56334,56339,56344,56349,56354,56359,56370,56375,56380,56385,56396,56401,56406,56426],{"type":591,"attrs":56299,"content":56300},{"textAlign":49},[56301,56303,56309],{"text":56302,"type":596},"South Africa is forecast to produce more than seven million tonnes of manganese in 2024 (manganese contained). This accounts for more than a third of global manganese supply in 2024, according to new mine-level data from Benchmark’s ",{"text":56304,"type":596,"marks":56305},"Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook Data",[56306],{"type":606,"attrs":56307},{"href":56308,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/manganese/reports/",{"text":56310,"type":596},". Gabon, the second largest producer, will supply approximately 3.8 million tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":56312,"content":56313},{"textAlign":49},[56314],{"type":836,"attrs":56315},{"id":49,"alt":56316,"src":56317,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":56318},"Map of the world showing manganese production, with colour scale showing countries with higher production in dark red and those with less production in yellow.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c84bd58ec7/bm-manganese-global-supply-2024.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":56320,"content":56321},{"textAlign":49},[56322],{"text":56323,"type":596},"Unlike other manganese-rich countries, South African production is relatively decentralised. Tshipi, owned by a joint venture between Jupiter mines and Ntsimbintle Mining called Tshipi é Ntle, is the largest mine and is forecast to produce 18% of the country’s manganese this year. Australia and Gabon, the next two largest manganese producers, have just two active mines.",{"type":615,"attrs":56325,"content":56326},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56327],{"text":56328,"type":596},"What role does South African manganese production play in the battery value chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":56330,"content":56331},{"textAlign":49},[56332],{"text":56333,"type":596},"“South Africa can be considered the central hub of the manganese world,” said Zach Parsons, a manganese analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":56335,"content":56336},{"textAlign":49},[56337],{"text":56338,"type":596},"But even though the country is key for manganese mining, its focus hasn’t been on supply suitable for lithium ion battery applications, with very little of South Africa’s mined manganese supply ending up in batteries. However, there are early signs that this is beginning to change.",{"type":591,"attrs":56340,"content":56341},{"textAlign":49},[56342],{"text":56343,"type":596},"In November 2023, Australia-listed Jupiter Mines produced a 99.9% sample of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) from its Tshipi project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56345,"content":56346},{"textAlign":49},[56347],{"text":56348,"type":596},"Jupiter Mines plans to increase its manganese ore production by 300% over the next five years. The HPMSM project at Tshipi will have 50,000 tonnes per year capacity for the first three years of operation, rising to 100,000 tonnes per year from 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":56350,"content":56351},{"textAlign":49},[56352],{"text":56353,"type":596},"Other companies such as Manganese Metal Company and Sherwood EMM are both considering producing HPMSM in South Africa.",{"type":615,"attrs":56355,"content":56356},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56357],{"text":56358,"type":596},"What is the outlook for high purity manganese? ",{"type":591,"attrs":56360,"content":56361},{"textAlign":49},[56362,56364,56368],{"text":56363,"type":596},"Demand for manganese-containing lithium ion batteries is growing faster than demand for the overall battery market. For all battery chemistries, demand is forecast to increase by 200% by 2030, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":56365},[56366],{"type":606,"attrs":56367},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56369,"type":596},". For manganese-containing lithium ion batteries, this figure is around 250%.",{"type":591,"attrs":56371,"content":56372},{"textAlign":49},[56373],{"text":56374,"type":596},"Manganese is used in lithium ion batteries to increase energy density. Manganese currently represents 8.5% of battery demand for cathode materials, a figure which is due to grow to 13% by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":56376,"content":56377},{"textAlign":49},[56378],{"text":56379,"type":596},"“Just under 80% of manganese sulphate goes towards passenger EVs, generally through nickel cobalt manganese chemistries,” said Parsons.",{"type":591,"attrs":56381,"content":56382},{"textAlign":49},[56383],{"text":56384,"type":596},"HPMSM is the required precursor for cathode production and must have a minimum manganese content of 32% coupled with low impurities to be considered battery grade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56386,"content":56387},{"textAlign":49},[56388,56390,56395],{"text":56389,"type":596},"Global demand for HPMSM will increase more than 3.5x by 2030 in the base scenario. This figure could be significantly higher in the case of increased uptake of manganese-containing cathodes such as NCM and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), according to ",{"text":56391,"type":596,"marks":56392},"Benchmark’s Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook Report",[56393],{"type":606,"attrs":56394},{"href":56308,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56397,"content":56398},{"textAlign":49},[56399],{"text":56400,"type":596},"China currently supplies 93% of global HPMSM; Japan and Belgium are home to the only two HPMSM production facilities not located within mainland China.",{"type":591,"attrs":56402,"content":56403},{"textAlign":49},[56404],{"text":56405,"type":596},"Legislation such as the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may disrupt this. The IRA offers tax credits to EVs on a rules of origin basis, most notably those which exclude China from their supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56407,"content":56408},{"textAlign":49},[56409,56411,56417,56419,56425],{"text":56410,"type":596},"Though a definitive ruling on how manganese is treated under the IRA is pending, manganese companies are looking to access the North American market. For example, South Africa’s Tshipi é Ntle decided to build its ",{"text":56412,"type":596,"marks":56413},"HPMSM facility in North America based",[56414],{"type":606,"attrs":56415},{"href":56416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.jupitermines.com/cproot/1197/3/Scoping-Study-High-Purity-Manganese-Sulphate-Project.pdf",{"text":56418,"type":596}," on the strong US federal governmental focus on the EV sector, according to the company’s ",{"text":56420,"type":596,"marks":56421},"scoping study",[56422],{"type":606,"attrs":56423},{"href":56424,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://www.jupitermines.com/cproot/1197/3/Scoping-Study-High-Purity-Manganese-Sulphate-Project.pdf",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56427,"content":56428},{"textAlign":49},[56429],{"text":56430,"type":596},"“Should manganese be classified as a traceable material, we could see projects across Europe and North America become even more cost-viable than they already are,” said Parsons.","South Africa is forecast to produce more than seven million tonnes of manganese in 2024 (manganese contained). This accounts for more than a third of global manganese supply in 2024, according to new mine-level data from Benchmark’s Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook Data. Gabon, the second largest producer, will supply approximately 3.8 million tonnes. Unlike other […]",[56433],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56434},{"job_title":557,"image":56435,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"383c8953-7ff0-4090-a18f-b801f3a35df6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56438,56439],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":56441,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":56441,"source":547,"filename":56442,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56443,"is_external_url":51},"Manganese ore in stockpile at harbor loading site in Port Hedland, Pilbara, Western Australia","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3f82f1e2fa/bm-manganese-ore-stockpile.jpg",{"alt":56441,"title":56441,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":56445,"uuid":56446,"name":56447,"slug":56448,"full_slug":56449,"content":56450},112469815891493,"bf2d299a-72fe-4291-954b-21efb4ce8ce1","POSCO’s rare earth magnet orders advance ex-China value chain ","poscos-rare-earth-magnet-orders-advance-ex-china-value-chain","article/poscos-rare-earth-magnet-orders-advance-ex-china-value-chain",{"_uid":56451,"date":56138,"tags":56452,"editor":56456,"content":56460,"excerpt":56563,"featured":51,"reporter":56564,"_editable":56568,"component":697,"seo_title":56447,"categories":56569,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":56573,"seo_description":56563,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":56278},"c3b38ded-b636-4339-a35f-4eecc7f29d0a",[56453,56454,56455],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[56457],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56458},{"job_title":557,"image":56459,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56461},[56462,56467,56472,56477,56482,56487,56492,56502,56507,56512,56517,56522,56527,56532,56537,56542,56547,56558],{"type":591,"attrs":56463,"content":56464},{"textAlign":49},[56465],{"text":56466,"type":596},"POSCO International has agreed to sell non-Chinese rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) to Western automakers, advancing the ex-China REPMs value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":56468,"content":56469},{"textAlign":49},[56470],{"text":56471,"type":596},"China produces most of the world’s REPMs, high performance magnets used in EV motors and wind turbines, as well as the rare earths ores and chemicals used to make them. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56473,"content":56474},{"textAlign":49},[56475],{"text":56476,"type":596},"The US and EU now want to reduce their rare earths import dependence on China as they grow their energy transition industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":56478,"content":56479},{"textAlign":49},[56480],{"text":56481,"type":596},"“The POSCO deals connect to a wider drive in the EU and US markets to diversify away from a single source of goods,” said Daan de Jonge, product director at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":56483,"content":56484},{"textAlign":49},[56485],{"text":56486,"type":596},"South Korean manufacturer POSCO will now play a role in this through a KRW 900 billion ($680 million) deal for its US subsidiary to supply an unnamed North American automaker with non-Chinese REPMs between 2026 and 2031. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56488,"content":56489},{"textAlign":49},[56490],{"text":56491,"type":596},"Under a separate deal, POSCO’s German subsidiary will supply an unnamed  European automaker with non-Chinese REPMs between 2025 and 2034 for KRW 260 billion ($196 million). ",{"type":591,"attrs":56493,"content":56494},{"textAlign":49},[56495,56497,56501],{"text":56496,"type":596},"Instead of rare earths from China, POSCO will source ores and chemicals from Vietnam, the US, and Australia, together forecast to produce 19% of global mined supply in praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) in 2024, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":56498},[56499],{"type":606,"attrs":56500},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56503,"content":56504},{"textAlign":49},[56505],{"text":56506,"type":596},"The magnets will be manufactured by Star Group, a South Korean REPM specialist. ",{"type":615,"attrs":56508,"content":56509},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56510],{"text":56511,"type":596},"Voluntary de-risking ",{"type":591,"attrs":56513,"content":56514},{"textAlign":49},[56515],{"text":56516,"type":596},"Automaker orders for ex-China REPMs are still rare. This is because there are no legislative incentives for them to purchase, or magnet manufacturers to produce, domestic and trade partner-sourced REPMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":56518,"content":56519},{"textAlign":49},[56520],{"text":56521,"type":596},"Even so, some companies along the REPM value chain are voluntarily moving away from Chinese sources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56523,"content":56524},{"textAlign":49},[56525],{"text":56526,"type":596},"“There’s several reasons why they would try to source ex-China REPM in favour of that from China,” de Jonge said. “It could be the need for ESG metrics aligning with requirements, expectations of future policy support, and broader, long-run view to protect against geo-political insecurity.”",{"type":615,"attrs":56528,"content":56529},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56530],{"text":56531,"type":596},"Finding ex-China inputs will be the challenge",{"type":591,"attrs":56533,"content":56534},{"textAlign":49},[56535],{"text":56536,"type":596},"Because China mines and processes most of the world’s rare earths, finding enough ex-Chinese raw materials will be one of the biggest challenges in building alternative mine-to-magnet value chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":56538,"content":56539},{"textAlign":49},[56540],{"text":56541,"type":596},"POSCO has addressed the supply concern through a strategic choice of suppliers in Vietnam, Australia, and the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56543,"content":56544},{"textAlign":49},[56545],{"text":56546,"type":596},"Together, Vietnam, Australia and the US are forecast to produce a large and growing share of ex-China rare earths. This year, they will contribute most of the world’s non-Chinese mined PrNd supply. Between 2024 and 2034, their yearly mined PrNd output will increase 101%, lifting their global share of supply to 29% in 2034.",{"type":591,"attrs":56548,"content":56549},{"textAlign":49},[56550,56552,56556],{"text":56551,"type":596},"Despite forecast output growth in other regions, China will remain the globally dominant producer in mined and processed rare earths. It will produce 71% of the world’s mined PrNd in 2024, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":56553},[56554],{"type":606,"attrs":56555},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56557,"type":596},", dropping to 62% in 2034.",{"type":591,"attrs":56559,"content":56560},{"textAlign":49},[56561],{"text":56562,"type":596},"Sourcing ex-China processed dysprosium, another REPM input, will be even harder. China is forecast to produce 97% of supply in 2028. The US will be POSCO’s only supplier with dysprosium processing capacity in 2028 and will contribute just 0.34% of global supply.","POSCO International has agreed to sell non-Chinese rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) to Western automakers, advancing the ex-China REPMs value chain. China produces most of the world’s REPMs, high performance magnets used in EV motors and wind turbines, as well as the rare earths ores and chemicals used to make them. The US and EU […]",[56565],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56566},{"job_title":557,"image":56567,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c3b38ded-b636-4339-a35f-4eecc7f29d0a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56570,56571,56572],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56574,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56575,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6475644629/bm-rare-earth-permanent-magnets.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":56577,"uuid":56578,"name":56579,"slug":56580,"full_slug":56581,"content":56582},112469810955812,"89d8976e-8abf-4055-99b5-0e8e6fe87d67","How the battery industry could be impacted by elections this year","how-the-battery-industry-could-be-impacted-by-elections-this-year","article/how-the-battery-industry-could-be-impacted-by-elections-this-year",{"_uid":56583,"date":56138,"tags":56584,"editor":56590,"content":56594,"excerpt":56854,"featured":51,"reporter":56855,"_editable":56859,"component":697,"seo_title":56579,"categories":56860,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":56863,"featured_image":56865,"seo_description":56854,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":56278},"16a19efa-0d9c-4232-8478-434e617df8c0",[56585,56586,56587,56588,56589],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":32443,"name":32444},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[56591],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56592},{"job_title":557,"image":56593,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56595},[56596,56616,56634,56639,56649,56654,56664,56669,56677,56690,56703,56708,56716,56756,56764,56769,56774,56779,56784,56789,56794,56799,56818,56831,56844,56849],{"type":591,"attrs":56597,"content":56598},{"textAlign":49},[56599,56601,56606,56608,56614],{"text":56600,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that notably 65% of next year’s ",{"text":56602,"type":596,"marks":56603},"refined nickel",[56604],{"type":606,"attrs":56605},{"href":40388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56607,"type":596}," supply, a quarter of ",{"text":56609,"type":596,"marks":56610},"natural graphite supply",[56611],{"type":606,"attrs":56612},{"href":56613,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/natural-graphite-market-dominated-by-oversupply-2023-in-review",{"text":56615,"type":596}," and over 70% of ex-China battery supply is forecast to come from countries with elections in 2024–the biggest year in the history of elections.",{"type":591,"attrs":56617,"content":56618},{"textAlign":49},[56619,56621,56626,56627,56632],{"text":56620,"type":596},"The incumbent political parties of both the ",{"text":5165,"type":596,"marks":56622},[56623],{"type":606,"attrs":56624},{"href":56625,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lg-chem-gm-cathode-deal-illustrates-successes-of-ira-supply-chain-buildout",{"text":9866,"type":596},{"text":10713,"type":596,"marks":56628},[56629],{"type":606,"attrs":56630},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-eu-meet-its-proposed-battery-metals-recycling-targets",{"text":56633,"type":596}," (EU) and the EU member states have deployed vast and far-reaching policies that have already impacted the battery industry, but with new leaders set to be decided this year the future direction of these policies could change.",{"type":591,"attrs":56635,"content":56636},{"textAlign":49},[56637],{"text":56638,"type":596},"There is the potential for elections to be a disruptive force, which could lead to reluctance from investors to make decisions until the geopolitical fallout is clear.",{"type":591,"attrs":56640,"content":56641},{"textAlign":49},[56642,56644,56648],{"text":56643,"type":596},"“The elections this year could add or subtract momentum from the energy transition which would presumably feed into investors’ appetite to invest in critical minerals and battery supply chains,” ",{"text":54380,"type":596,"marks":56645},[56646],{"type":606,"attrs":56647},{"href":54384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":54386,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":56650,"content":56651},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56652],{"text":56653,"type":596},"Which battery supply chain sectors are exposed most to elections?",{"type":591,"attrs":56655,"content":56656},{"textAlign":49},[56657,56658,56662],{"text":25892,"type":596},{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":56659},[56660],{"type":606,"attrs":56661},{"href":47201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56663,"type":596}," forecasts that 82% of next year’s battery production will come from China. However, over 70% of ex-China production is forecast to be located in countries heading to the polls this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":56665,"content":56666},{"textAlign":49},[56667],{"text":56668,"type":596},"The US and several EU countries account for most of this, though the UK is an emerging player in this space that is also expected to hold an election this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":56670,"content":56671},{"textAlign":49},[56672],{"type":836,"attrs":56673},{"id":49,"alt":56674,"src":56675,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":56676},"71% of ex-China battery supply in 2025 is from countries with an election this year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/00a6c95820/bm-battery-cells-elections-impact.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":56678,"content":56679},{"textAlign":49},[56680,56682,56688],{"text":56681,"type":596},"Indonesia is by far the largest producer of nickel, with ",{"text":56683,"type":596,"marks":56684},"Benchmark forecasting",[56685],{"type":606,"attrs":56686},{"href":56687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel/reports",{"text":56689,"type":596}," the country to account for 59% of mined nickel and 55% of refined nickel in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":56691,"content":56692},{"textAlign":49},[56693,56695,56701],{"text":56694,"type":596},"Prabowo Subianto has been confirmed as ",{"text":56696,"type":596,"marks":56697},"Indonesia’s president-elect",[56698],{"type":606,"attrs":56699},{"href":56700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-how-could-the-elections-in-the-drc-and-indonesia-impact-the-cobalt-and-nickel-markets",{"text":56702,"type":596},". Given Prabowo’s rhetoric, that he received the backing of the current President Joko Widodo, and that Joko’s eldest son is the new vice president-elect, it is expected that there will be a level of continuity of existing nickel policies.",{"type":591,"attrs":56704,"content":56705},{"textAlign":49},[56706],{"text":56707,"type":596},"However, Prabowo is characterised by some as having an illiberal profile with Bille saying that some experts say he may “pose a threat to the continuation of democracy in the country.” This could have political repercussions for Indonesia’s economy and investment attractiveness.",{"type":591,"attrs":56709,"content":56710},{"textAlign":49},[56711],{"type":836,"attrs":56712},{"id":49,"alt":56713,"src":56714,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":56715},"Most of next year's upstream nickel supply will come from countries with an election this year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c06535a538/bm-nickel-elections-impact.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":56717,"content":56718},{"textAlign":49},[56719,56721,56726,56727,56732,56733,56739,56741,56746,56748,56754],{"text":56720,"type":596},"In ",{"text":9691,"type":596,"marks":56722},[56723],{"type":606,"attrs":56724},{"href":56725,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/esg-of-graphite-how-do-synthetic-graphite-and-natural-graphite-compare",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":29017,"type":596,"marks":56728},[56729],{"type":606,"attrs":56730},{"href":56731,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/syrah-posco-offtake-agreement-highlights-appetite-for-ex-china-flake-graphite",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":56734,"type":596,"marks":56735},"Madagascar",[56736],{"type":606,"attrs":56737},{"href":56738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/madagascar-to-boost-supply-of-ex-china-graphite-for-batteries",{"text":56740,"type":596}," are the largest producers of the mineral outside of China, with 11% of forecast 2025 production each, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":56742},[56743],{"type":606,"attrs":56744},{"href":56745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/natural-graphite/reports",{"text":56747,"type":596},". Both ",{"text":56749,"type":596,"marks":56750},"African countries",[56751],{"type":606,"attrs":56752},{"href":56753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/flake-graphite-production-in-africa-set-to-overtake-china-this-decade",{"text":56755,"type":596}," have elections this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":56757,"content":56758},{"textAlign":49},[56759],{"type":836,"attrs":56760},{"id":49,"alt":56761,"src":56762,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":56763},"A quarter of flake graphite supply in 2025 is forecast to come from countries with elections in 2024","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f15a4f7ef5/bm-natural-graphite-elections-impact.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":56765,"content":56766},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56767],{"text":56768,"type":596},"Ten elections to watch this year",{"type":591,"attrs":56770,"content":56771},{"textAlign":49},[56772],{"text":56773,"type":596},"Although many countries with elections this year have small levels of production across different aspects of the supply chain, the table below highlights ten key elections to watch.",{"type":615,"attrs":56775,"content":56776},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56777],{"text":56778,"type":596},"Elections could disrupt policy direction",{"type":591,"attrs":56780,"content":56781},{"textAlign":49},[56782],{"text":56783,"type":596},"Several of the elections happening this year are in countries with major policies associated with the build out of battery and critical mineral supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":56785,"content":56786},{"textAlign":49},[56787],{"text":56788,"type":596},"Some of these policies have an industrial and resource nationalist flavour, with a bigger role for the state, a theme Bille is seeing across this year’s elections, especially in resource-rich emerging economies.",{"type":591,"attrs":56790,"content":56791},{"textAlign":49},[56792],{"text":56793,"type":596},"“The goal of resource nationalist policies is to generate more local added value from mining minerals and move up the battery value chain,” Bille said.",{"type":591,"attrs":56795,"content":56796},{"textAlign":49},[56797],{"text":56798,"type":596},"Indonesia, which went to the polls earlier this year, has a resource nationalist nickel policy, banning the exports of unprocessed nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":56800,"content":56801},{"textAlign":49},[56802,56804,56809,56810,56816],{"text":56803,"type":596},"In the West, the ",{"text":56805,"type":596,"marks":56806},"US Inflation Reduction Act",[56807],{"type":606,"attrs":56808},{"href":48008,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":9866,"type":596},{"text":56811,"type":596,"marks":56812},"EU’s ",[56813],{"type":606,"attrs":56814},{"href":56815,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/european-companies-must-look-upstream-for-eu-critical-minerals-support",{"text":56817,"type":596},"suite of policies including the Critical Raw Materials Act are industrial policies, seeking to friendshore and localise production across the whole battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":56819,"content":56820},{"textAlign":49},[56821,56823,56829],{"text":56822,"type":596},"The US especially has an anti-China sentiment in its policies, though the exact interpretation of the of ",{"text":56824,"type":596,"marks":56825},"foreign entity of concern",[56826],{"type":606,"attrs":56827},{"href":56828,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/role-of-private-overseas-chinese-companies-key-to-us-ev-tax-credits",{"text":56830,"type":596}," (FEOC) aspect of the IRA could be decided by whoever takes office after the 2024 elections.",{"type":591,"attrs":56832,"content":56833},{"textAlign":49},[56834,56836,56842],{"text":56835,"type":596},"“Players like the US have obviously recognized security concerns that have led to conscious policy decisions to disincentivise integration with ‘risky’ players like China even if that has implications for cost,” Bille said. “The US election could disrupt EV incentives in the US through tightening of anti-China guidance in the ",{"text":56837,"type":596,"marks":56838},"FEOC requirements",[56839],{"type":606,"attrs":56840},{"href":56841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-us-government-guidance-on-chinese-involvement-in-battery-supply-chain",{"text":56843,"type":596}," for 30D tax credits.”",{"type":591,"attrs":56845,"content":56846},{"textAlign":49},[56847],{"text":56848,"type":596},"Within the policy space, a key trend to watch out for is whether the incoming leaders look to increase or decrease the level of global integration.",{"type":591,"attrs":56850,"content":56851},{"textAlign":49},[56852],{"text":56853,"type":596},"“Greater integration could lead to lower prices as players take ownership over those areas in the supply chain for which they have the greatest comparative advantage and this would likely accelerate the green transition,” Bille said.","Benchmark analysis shows that notably 65% of next year’s refined nickel supply, a quarter of natural graphite supply and over 70% of ex-China battery supply is forecast to come from countries with elections in 2024–the biggest year in the history of elections. The incumbent political parties of both the US and the European Union (EU) […]",[56856],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56857},{"job_title":557,"image":56858,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"16a19efa-0d9c-4232-8478-434e617df8c0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[56861,56862],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":56674,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":56674,"source":547,"filename":56675,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56864,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":56674,"title":56674,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56866,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":56867,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/05de2718a7/bm-election.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":56869,"uuid":56870,"name":56871,"slug":56872,"full_slug":56873,"content":56874},112469837071913,"53274f9d-59a3-4616-b73d-3f445c24fb71","Cathode prices rise in March as Tier 1 producers increase orders","cathode-prices-rise-in-march-as-tier-1-producers-increase-orders","article/cathode-prices-rise-in-march-as-tier-1-producers-increase-orders",{"_uid":56875,"date":56876,"tags":56877,"editor":56879,"content":56883,"excerpt":57008,"featured":51,"reporter":57009,"_editable":57013,"component":697,"seo_title":56871,"categories":57014,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57017,"seo_description":57008,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57019},"558991ae-5b33-467f-9fd1-f1377d284346","2024-03-25 00:00",[56878],{"slug":22025,"name":22026},[56880],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":56881},{"job_title":557,"image":56882,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":56884},[56885,56901,56912,56922,56940,56945,56955,56962,56967,56977,56982,56993,57003],{"type":591,"attrs":56886,"content":56887},{"textAlign":49},[56888,56890,56894,56895,56899],{"text":56889,"type":596},"Prices of all Chinese battery cathode materials rose for the first time in months in March driven by a rebound in ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":56891},[56892],{"type":606,"attrs":56893},{"href":55520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":56896},[56897],{"type":606,"attrs":56898},{"href":55520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56900,"type":596}," and cobalt prices and an uptick in orders from large cell makers amid improving downstream demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":56902,"content":56903},{"textAlign":49},[56904,56906,56910],{"text":56905,"type":596},"A combination of significant price boost for Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material and a better than expected increase in demand for the nickel cobalt and manganese (NCM) cathodes paused the rout in the ",{"text":38719,"type":596,"marks":56907},[56908],{"type":606,"attrs":56909},{"href":38723,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56911,"type":596}," for the first time in nine months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56913,"content":56914},{"textAlign":49},[56915,56916,56920],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":38719,"type":596,"marks":56917},[56918],{"type":606,"attrs":56919},{"href":38723,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56921,"type":596},", which tracks all cathode chemistries, increased 3.5% from a month earlier. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56923,"content":56924},{"textAlign":49},[56925,56930,56932,56938],{"text":56926,"type":596,"marks":56927},"LFP cathode",[56928],{"type":606,"attrs":56929},{"href":38646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56931,"type":596}," prices in China jumped the most, rising 11.3% month-on-month in March to an average of RMB 44,500 ($6,186) per tonne, according to ",{"text":56933,"type":596,"marks":56934},"Benchmark’s Cathode Price Assessment",[56935],{"type":606,"attrs":56936},{"href":56937,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/reports/",{"text":56939,"type":596},". This was the first such increase since July 2023. LFP cathode prices have declined 66.5% year-on-year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56941,"content":56942},{"textAlign":49},[56943],{"text":56944,"type":596},"“LFP prices have risen significantly relative to other chemistries this month due to increasing Chinese lithium carbonate prices, coupled with increasing orders from the largest cell makers, who are anticipating further price increases on the raw material side,” said Evan Hartley, senior analyst at Benchmark, adding that smaller producers continued to offer reduced prices to draw customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":56946,"content":56947},{"textAlign":49},[56948,56950,56954],{"text":56949,"type":596},"Spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China have increased 14.2% so far this year, according to the latest ",{"text":11437,"type":596,"marks":56951},[56952],{"type":606,"attrs":56953},{"href":43557,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":56956,"content":56957},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[56958,56960],{"text":56959,"type":596},"NCM prices rout hits a",{"text":56961,"type":596},"pause",{"type":591,"attrs":56963,"content":56964},{"textAlign":49},[56965],{"text":56966,"type":596},"Prices also increased across the nickel based cathode chemistries, led by high nickel cathode grades helped by unexpected upticks in orders from Tier 1 cell suppliers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":56968,"content":56969},{"textAlign":49},[56970,56972,56976],{"text":56971,"type":596},"NCM811 cathode material prices rose 2% over last month to an average of RMB 155,000 ($21,545) (DDP China) per tonne, according to ",{"text":56933,"type":596,"marks":56973},[56974],{"type":606,"attrs":56975},{"href":56937,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":56978,"content":56979},{"textAlign":49},[56980],{"text":56981,"type":596},"“NCM prices have risen marginally across the month, with Tier 1 cathode and cell makers increasing production of high nickel grades as a result of marginal EV demand upticks, though producers in both the mid and downstream are cautious regarding overstocking, as demand is still considered by them to be weak,” said Hartley.",{"type":591,"attrs":56983,"content":56984},{"textAlign":49},[56985,56987,56991],{"text":56986,"type":596},"Prices also increased 1.9% and 1.5% month-on-month for NCM111 and nickel cobalt aluminium cathodes to an average of RMB 132,500 ($18,418) and RMB 167,500 ($23,283) respectively, according to the ",{"text":56933,"type":596,"marks":56988},[56989],{"type":606,"attrs":56990},{"href":56937,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":56992,"type":596},". The increase was limited for mid nickel cathodes, with prices rising 0.4% for NCM523 and 0.7% for NCM622 respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":56994,"content":56995},{"textAlign":49},[56996,56998,57002],{"text":56997,"type":596},"Overall, China’s NCM production fell 34.8% month-on-month in February to 14.8 gigawatt hours, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":56999},[57000],{"type":606,"attrs":57001},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":57004,"content":57005},{"textAlign":49},[57006],{"text":57007,"type":596},"Producers however continue to remain cautious and are still producing and procuring only to orders with “persistent fears of building inventories” should prices and liquidity fall again, said Hartley.","Prices of all Chinese battery cathode materials rose for the first time in months in March driven by a rebound in lithium, nickel and cobalt prices and an uptick in orders from large cell makers amid improving downstream demand. A combination of significant price boost for Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material and a […]",[57010],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57011},{"job_title":557,"image":57012,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"558991ae-5b33-467f-9fd1-f1377d284346\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57015,57016],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18076,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57018,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 25, 2024",{"id":57021,"uuid":57022,"name":57023,"slug":57024,"full_slug":57025,"content":57026},112469831243304,"87646123-18cc-4603-b33e-1bce21931ec2","What’s in store for lithium prices?","whats-in-store-for-lithium-prices","article/whats-in-store-for-lithium-prices",{"_uid":57027,"date":56876,"tags":57028,"editor":57030,"content":57034,"excerpt":57272,"featured":51,"reporter":57273,"_editable":57277,"component":697,"seo_title":57023,"categories":57278,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57280,"seo_description":57272,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57019},"32eb4303-78dd-4ba6-a3e5-f6049c6d8d59",[57029],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[57031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57032},{"job_title":557,"image":57033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57035},[57036,57048,57053,57058,57069,57076,57081,57086,57097,57104,57109,57114,57126,57138,57143,57148,57153,57158,57163,57168,57173,57178,57183,57195,57200,57205,57210,57215,57220,57225,57230,57235,57246,57251,57256,57261,57266],{"type":591,"attrs":57037,"content":57038},{"textAlign":49},[57039,57041,57046],{"text":57040,"type":596},"Prices for ",{"text":57042,"type":596,"marks":57043},"lithium chemicals",[57044],{"type":606,"attrs":57045},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57047,"type":596}," in the Chinese domestic market continued to rally this month, driven by improving sentiment surrounding the electric vehicle and energy storage markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57049,"content":57050},{"textAlign":49},[57051],{"text":57052,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate in China has now risen by 13% year-to-date to trade at an average price of RMB 110,250 ($15,325) a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57054,"content":57055},{"textAlign":49},[57056],{"text":57057,"type":596},"Yet while sentiment has turned positive, due to a rebound in battery production following the end of China’s Spring Festival and environmental inspections in Jiangxi province, it remains to be seen whether demand in the near-term will be strong enough to support a significant rise in prices, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57059,"content":57060},{"textAlign":49},[57061,57063,57067],{"text":57062,"type":596},"Benchmark breaks down where the ",{"text":19887,"type":596,"marks":57064},[57065],{"type":606,"attrs":57066},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57068,"type":596}," may be headed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57070,"content":57071},{"textAlign":49},[57072],{"type":836,"attrs":57073},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":57074,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":57075},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ff003c92d2/bm-lithium-prices-long-term-average.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":57077,"content":57078},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57079],{"text":57080,"type":596},"What do prices tell us about demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":57082,"content":57083},{"textAlign":49},[57084],{"text":57085,"type":596},"The short-term increase in lithium prices in China reflects an uptick in purchases from cathode producers.  Chinese cathode producers have increased their production targets this month, and are procuring additional lithium feedstock rather than building up inventory.",{"type":591,"attrs":57087,"content":57088},{"textAlign":49},[57089,57091,57096],{"text":57090,"type":596},"Prices for LFP cathode material increased by 11.3% to an average of RMB 44,500/tonne ($6,186) between late February and mid-March, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":57092},[57093],{"type":606,"attrs":57094},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":57098,"content":57099},{"textAlign":49},[57100],{"type":836,"attrs":57101},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":57102,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":57103},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dae8d6839c/bm-lfp-cathode-prices.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":57105,"content":57106},{"textAlign":49},[57107],{"text":57108,"type":596},"Still, their purchases are limited, suggesting they don’t forecast a significant increase in demand, according to Evan Hartley, a senior analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57110,"content":57111},{"textAlign":49},[57112],{"text":57113,"type":596},"“Cathode producers remain cautious. If they really forecast higher demand they’d stock up now while prices are cheap,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57115,"content":57116},{"textAlign":49},[57117,57119,57124],{"text":57118,"type":596},"Stronger demand for high nickel NCM cathode chemistries is also pushing Chinese lithium hydroxide prices higher. ",{"text":57120,"type":596,"marks":57121},"Prices for lithium hydroxide",[57122],{"type":606,"attrs":57123},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57125,"type":596}," ticked up by 2.6% to an average of RMB 100,000/tonne ($13,900) (EXW China) in the week to 20 March. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57127,"content":57128},{"textAlign":49},[57129,57131,57136],{"text":57130,"type":596},"Prices for NCM811 ",{"text":31492,"type":596,"marks":57132},[57133],{"type":606,"attrs":57134},{"href":57135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/portal/?tab=table",{"text":57137,"type":596}," rose 2% between late February and mid-March to an average of RMB 155,000/tonne ($21,545), according to Benchmark’s Cathode Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57139,"content":57140},{"textAlign":49},[57141],{"text":57142,"type":596},"Still, there is a lack of support for significantly higher lithium feedstock prices. Australian miner Pilbara Minerals said last week it accepted a pre-auction price for 5,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate at an equivalent of $1,200 a tonne (SC6.0 CIF China) to be shipped in December. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57144,"content":57145},{"textAlign":49},[57146],{"text":57147,"type":596},"That price is in line with offers for material already reported by Benchmark earlier this month, and contacts reported that this price fell below the expectations of some market participants, with the effect of slowing rising prices. ",{"type":615,"attrs":57149,"content":57150},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57151],{"text":57152,"type":596},"Where do the majors see the market in 2024?",{"type":591,"attrs":57154,"content":57155},{"textAlign":49},[57156],{"text":57157,"type":596},"The largest lithium majors, including Arcadium Lithium, Albemarle and SQM, view current lithium prices as too low to support expansion projects, warning of the need for higher prices to meet electric vehicle demand growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57159,"content":57160},{"textAlign":49},[57161],{"text":57162,"type":596},"In its fourth quarter earnings last month Albemarle said it had pushed back its target date for a lithium hydroxide refinery in the US, and it would not start construction of its King Mountain mine in North Carolina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57164,"content":57165},{"textAlign":49},[57166],{"text":57167,"type":596},"“At today’s prices, the economics for new greenfield projects, particularly in the West, are not supported,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57169,"content":57170},{"textAlign":49},[57171],{"text":57172,"type":596},"Arcadium Lithium also said it would look at options for its two spodumene mining resources in Canada, and likely only produce feed for its own refinery in the country, rather than selling material overseas. ",{"type":615,"attrs":57174,"content":57175},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57176],{"text":57177,"type":596},"Lithium CEOs on the state of the market ",{"type":615,"attrs":57179,"content":57180},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57181],{"text":57182,"type":596},"How will the market balance develop?",{"type":591,"attrs":57184,"content":57185},{"textAlign":49},[57186,57188,57193],{"text":57187,"type":596},"Overall, ",{"text":57189,"type":596,"marks":57190},"Benchmark expects",[57191],{"type":606,"attrs":57192},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57194,"type":596}," lithium demand to increase by 32% this year, compared to 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57196,"content":57197},{"textAlign":49},[57198],{"text":57199,"type":596},"But increases in production by industry majors as well as new supply means the market is set to be in a small surplus of around 8,000 tonnes this year, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":57201,"content":57202},{"textAlign":49},[57203],{"text":57204,"type":596},"Arcadium Lithium said it would increase lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide volumes by around 40% in 2024 to between 50,000 to 54,000 tonnes LCE.",{"type":591,"attrs":57206,"content":57207},{"textAlign":49},[57208],{"text":57209,"type":596},"Outside of China, so far the largest market casualty of lower prices has been non-integrated spodumene production such as Australia’s Core Lithium, which said in January it would suspend mining operations at its Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory and process stockpiles instead.",{"type":591,"attrs":57211,"content":57212},{"textAlign":49},[57213],{"text":57214,"type":596},"Its estimated output was set to be 11,000 tonnes LCE this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57216,"content":57217},{"textAlign":49},[57218],{"text":57219,"type":596},"“Even though some more supply curtailments might occur, as some miners are struggling, as of now we don’t have enough evidence of this happening,” Federico Gay, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57221,"content":57222},{"textAlign":49},[57223],{"text":57224,"type":596},"Benchmark currently forecasts the lithium market will be balanced until 2029, when it will enter a deficit.",{"type":615,"attrs":57226,"content":57227},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57228],{"text":57229,"type":596},"What about demand?",{"type":591,"attrs":57231,"content":57232},{"textAlign":49},[57233],{"text":57234,"type":596},"Lower lithium prices could help push demand higher, however, if it leads to lower battery prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57236,"content":57237},{"textAlign":49},[57238,57239,57244],{"text":57040,"type":596},{"text":57240,"type":596,"marks":57241},"lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells",[57242],{"type":606,"attrs":57243},{"href":53526,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57245,"type":596}," have fallen by 20% over the past year to an average of $73.6 a kilowatt hour, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57247,"content":57248},{"textAlign":49},[57249],{"text":57250,"type":596},"China’s largest EV producer BYD has already started to cut prices for more models this year, a trend that is being followed by others across the industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57252,"content":57253},{"textAlign":49},[57254],{"text":57255,"type":596},"China’s largest battery producer CATL said last month that the new energy industry “maintains a rapid growth rate.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":57257,"content":57258},{"textAlign":49},[57259],{"text":57260,"type":596},"Tier 1 battery producers are also increasing production this month, according to Benchmark’s Hartley. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57262,"content":57263},{"textAlign":49},[57264],{"text":57265,"type":596},"“If the low prices continue it will be hard to meet the demand for lithium as we forecast there will be a deficit late in the decade,” according to Sophia Jang, an analyst at Benchmark. “A persistent low price environment could challenge this supply and tip the market towards a deficit sooner.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":57267,"content":57268},{"textAlign":49},[57269,57271],{"text":57270,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessments, Forecasts and ESG report provide a comprehensive view across the lithium industry as part of our leading prices, data and market intelligence for the lithium ion battery to EV supply chain.",{"text":52620,"type":596},"Prices for lithium chemicals in the Chinese domestic market continued to rally this month, driven by improving sentiment surrounding the electric vehicle and energy storage markets. Battery-grade lithium carbonate in China has now risen by 13% year-to-date to trade at an average price of RMB 110,250 ($15,325) a tonne. Yet while sentiment has turned positive, […]",[57274],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57275},{"job_title":557,"image":57276,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"32eb4303-78dd-4ba6-a3e5-f6049c6d8d59\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57279],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":57281,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57282,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b0dea42ca2/bm-sal-de-vida.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":57284,"uuid":57285,"name":57286,"slug":57287,"full_slug":57288,"content":57289},112469848016428,"d85f27c0-cd71-4ce1-bd30-1e4cefbe5d04","US safeguards long term lithium supply with multi-billion dollar Lithium Americas loan","us-safeguards-long-term-lithium-supply-with-multi-billion-dollar-lithium-americas-loan","article/us-safeguards-long-term-lithium-supply-with-multi-billion-dollar-lithium-americas-loan",{"_uid":57290,"date":57291,"tags":57292,"editor":57297,"content":57301,"excerpt":57392,"featured":51,"reporter":57393,"_editable":57397,"component":697,"seo_title":57286,"categories":57398,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57402,"seo_description":57392,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57404},"dbd82e05-b4fd-4af7-969d-8a43d5714f03","2024-03-22 00:00",[57293,57294,57295,57296],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":10402,"name":10403},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[57298],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57299},{"job_title":557,"image":57300,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57302},[57303,57308,57325,57329,57334,57339,57349,57354,57359,57364,57369,57379,57382,57387],{"type":591,"attrs":57304,"content":57305},{"textAlign":49},[57306],{"text":57307,"type":596},"The US government has committed to supporting its domestic lithium industry after earmarking $2.26 billion of federal funds to advance the country’s largest lithium mining project.",{"type":591,"attrs":57309,"content":57310},{"textAlign":49},[57311,57317,57319,57324],{"text":57312,"type":596,"marks":57313},"With current lithium prices",[57314],{"type":606,"attrs":57315},{"href":57316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/have-lithium-prices-reached-a-bottom",{"text":57318,"type":596}," failing to incentivise capital investment in new supply, the US Department of Energy (DoE) loan to Lithium America’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada demonstrates the strategic importance of establishing a domestic lithium sector. The Thacker Pass project is set to account for 35% of US lithium chemical supply by 2030, according to ",{"text":57320,"type":596,"marks":57321},"the Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[57322],{"type":606,"attrs":57323},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":57326,"content":57327},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57328],{"text":43361,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":57330,"content":57331},{"textAlign":49},[57332],{"text":57333,"type":596},"“The Thacker Pass project is a strategic asset for the US,” said Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark. “Even if it’s uneconomical for some time, the US is aiming to secure long-term supply.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":57335,"content":57336},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57337],{"text":57338,"type":596},"How is the US government approaching long term domestic supply? ",{"type":591,"attrs":57340,"content":57341},{"textAlign":49},[57342,57344],{"text":57343,"type":596},"The IRA is the cornerstone of the Biden administration’s strategy to reduce reliance on China by building domestic clean energy supply chains. Under the flagship climate policy, the DoE’s Loan Program Office is providing finance to support the development of domestic critical raw material projects, including ",{"text":57345,"type":596,"marks":57346},"fellow lithium entrant Ioneer.",[57347],{"type":606,"attrs":57348},{"href":48016,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":57350,"content":57351},{"textAlign":49},[57352],{"text":57353,"type":596},"“The US is focusing on a medium-to-long term view. It realises it is currently left behind in the supply chain,” said Gay. “If the US doesn’t develop mines now, by the late 2020’s to mid-2030’s when demand is expected to ramp-up considerably in the EV space, dependence on China will remain the only outcome.”",{"type":591,"attrs":57355,"content":57356},{"textAlign":49},[57357],{"text":57358,"type":596},"Gay expects further action to support the development of lithium mines and processing plants in the US, due to the strategic nature of the industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57360,"content":57361},{"textAlign":49},[57362],{"text":57363,"type":596},"“Apart from the IRA’s support on taxation, granting loans in a pricing environment where banks’ affordability tests might be under stress for lithium projects makes sense if the US hopes to secure a stronger place in the supply chain,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":57365,"content":57366},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57367],{"text":57368,"type":596},"Weakened lithium prices pose future supply risk",{"type":591,"attrs":57370,"content":57371},{"textAlign":49},[57372,57377],{"text":57373,"type":596,"marks":57374},"Lithium’s downturn from record highs is adding to future supply risk",[57375],{"type":606,"attrs":57376},{"href":57316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57378,"type":596}," for the battery industry in the West, where both capital and operational costs are higher than other regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":57380,"content":57381},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":57383,"content":57384},{"textAlign":49},[57385],{"text":57386,"type":596},"Leading US-based lithium producer Albemarle stated late last year that prices were below its own “reinvestment economics,” confirming the company would defer spending on a lithium refinery in South Carolina as part of a measures to preserve cash flow.",{"type":591,"attrs":57388,"content":57389},{"textAlign":49},[57390],{"text":57391,"type":596},"This trend threatens to slow supply-side growth, at a time when lower lithium prices could provide further stimulus to long-term demand projections.","The US government has committed to supporting its domestic lithium industry after earmarking $2.26 billion of federal funds to advance the country’s largest lithium mining project. With current lithium prices failing to incentivise capital investment in new supply, the US Department of Energy (DoE) loan to Lithium America’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada demonstrates the […]",[57394],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57395},{"job_title":557,"image":57396,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dbd82e05-b4fd-4af7-969d-8a43d5714f03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57399,57400,57401],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57403,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 22, 2024",{"id":57406,"uuid":57407,"name":57408,"slug":57409,"full_slug":57410,"content":57411},112469852759597,"7dabbe31-78cf-4321-9d5f-155f145b49ab","Synthetic graphite anode prices decline 35% in a year, as premium to natural graphite anode narrows","synthetic-graphite-anode-prices-decline-35-in-a-year-as-natural-graphite-price-premium-narrows","article/synthetic-graphite-anode-prices-decline-35-in-a-year-as-natural-graphite-price-premium-narrows",{"_uid":57412,"date":57413,"tags":57414,"editor":57418,"content":57422,"excerpt":57547,"featured":51,"reporter":57548,"_editable":57552,"component":697,"seo_title":57408,"categories":57553,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57558,"seo_description":57547,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57561},"20af8f3b-5031-497c-955f-4cb5ae52981b","2024-03-21 00:00",[57415],{"slug":57416,"name":57417},"anode-prices","Anode prices",[57419],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57420},{"job_title":557,"image":57421,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57423},[57424,57429,57448,57453,57458,57463,57470,57475,57480,57485,57490,57499,57510,57521,57526,57531,57542],{"type":591,"attrs":57425,"content":57426},{"textAlign":49},[57427],{"text":57428,"type":596},"The substitution of ‘needle’ coke for lower-cost coke feedstocks in synthetic graphite anode production is diminishing the price premium between synthetic graphite dominant anodes and their natural graphite anode peers.",{"type":591,"attrs":57430,"content":57431},{"textAlign":49},[57432,57434,57438,57440,57446],{"text":57433,"type":596},"Since late 2022, ",{"text":35675,"type":596,"marks":57435},[57436],{"type":606,"attrs":57437},{"href":56251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57439,"type":596}," has reported that technological improvements have facilitated the blending of part or most needle coke with lower-cost coke inputs. Termed ‘",{"text":57441,"type":596,"marks":57442},"medium sulphur pet coke’,",[57443],{"type":606,"attrs":57444},{"href":57445,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-to-publish-ddp-china-medium-sulphur-pet-coke-spot-prices",{"text":57447,"type":596}," blending high-sulphur coke with needle coke is intended to balance end performance of the anode with reduced raw material input costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57449,"content":57450},{"textAlign":49},[57451],{"text":57452,"type":596},"Prior to this trend, high-energy synthetic graphite anodes traded up to 25% higher than their high-energy natural graphite peers. Today the difference is closer to 10%.",{"type":591,"attrs":57454,"content":57455},{"textAlign":49},[57456],{"text":57457,"type":596},"“The average price of synthetic graphite anode material has declined by more than 35% year-on-year due to market overcapacity in China and producers utilising lower-quality raw materials in their production process,” said Tony Alderson, anode analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":57459,"content":57460},{"textAlign":49},[57461],{"text":57462,"type":596},"“The premium associated with synthetic graphite anode material has declined to the extent that low and medium energy synthetic graphite anode prices now fall below that of low and medium energy natural graphite anodes,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":57464,"content":57465},{"textAlign":49},[57466],{"type":836,"attrs":57467},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":57468,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":57469},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7f9905ca08/bm-synethic-graphite-premium.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":57471,"content":57472},{"textAlign":49},[57473],{"text":57474,"type":596},"Traditionally producers solely utilised needle coke feedstocks with a sulphur content below 0.5%. High-sulphur coke feedstocks typically resulted in a lower quality anode product that, until recently, had been limited in its use to lower-value battery applications in China’s domestic market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57476,"content":57477},{"textAlign":49},[57478],{"text":57479,"type":596},"Chinese anode producers are now blending needle coke with coke containing medium (0.5% to 4%) or high (4+%) sulphur contents for EVs; opening up access to a more diversified source of coke feed for synthetic graphite anode production, flattening the industry’s cost curve.",{"type":615,"attrs":57481,"content":57482},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57483],{"text":57484,"type":596},"Higher sulphur, lower cost",{"type":591,"attrs":57486,"content":57487},{"textAlign":49},[57488],{"text":57489,"type":596},"Compared to natural graphite anodes, synthetic graphite dominant anodes generally have a higher cycle life and consistency. They are considered safer, but are also typically more expensive to produce due to increased raw material costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":57491,"content":57492},{"textAlign":49},[57493,57497],{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":57494},[57495],{"type":606,"attrs":57496},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57498,"type":596},"’s anode active material cost model demonstrates that synthetic graphite anode production in China costs on average 13% more than its natural graphite anode counterparts.",{"type":591,"attrs":57500,"content":57501},{"textAlign":49},[57502,57504,57509],{"text":57503,"type":596},"Substitution of low-sulphur needle coke was facilitated by technological improvements and a desire amongst lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell producers to reduce production costs amidst a lithium price ",{"text":57505,"type":596,"marks":57506},"rally that reached record highs in 2022",[57507],{"type":606,"attrs":57508},{"href":43880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":57511,"content":57512},{"textAlign":49},[57513,57515,57519],{"text":57514,"type":596},"The utilisation of lower quality feed has grown in line with LFP’s increasing share of global lithium ion battery production. According to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":57516},[57517],{"type":606,"attrs":57518},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57520,"type":596},", LFP cells are projected to account for 38% of total lithium ion battery cell supply in 2024, up from 33% two years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":57522,"content":57523},{"textAlign":49},[57524],{"text":57525,"type":596},"To mitigate against the detrimental effects that high sulphur levels have on battery performance and premature cell death, medium-sulphur pet coke must undergo a process desulphurisation before it is viable for use in a battery anode. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57527,"content":57528},{"textAlign":49},[57529],{"text":57530,"type":596},"Despite the additional costs involved in desulphurising the material before graphitisation, medium sulphur content cokes currently trade at a discount of up to $400 per tonne to low-sulphur feeds. Even factoring this additional processing step, utilising coke with greater sulphur contents is lower cost than sourcing from synthetic graphite producers that uses only needle coke.",{"type":591,"attrs":57532,"content":57533},{"textAlign":49},[57534,57536,57540],{"text":57535,"type":596},"Owing to this economic incentive for diversifying feedstocks, ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":57537},[57538],{"type":606,"attrs":57539},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57541,"type":596}," base-case analysis projects prices of high-energy synthetic graphite and high-energy natural graphite anodes to reach close to parity by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57543,"content":57544},{"textAlign":49},[57545],{"text":57546,"type":596},"Nevertheless, higher performance cells using lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) cathodes continue to prefer using anode material exclusively produced from low sulphur feedstocks.","The substitution of ‘needle’ coke for lower-cost coke feedstocks in synthetic graphite anode production is diminishing the price premium between synthetic graphite dominant anodes and their natural graphite anode peers. Since late 2022, Benchmark’s Anode Price Assessment has reported that technological improvements have facilitated the blending of part or most needle coke with lower-cost coke […]",[57549],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57550},{"job_title":557,"image":57551,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"20af8f3b-5031-497c-955f-4cb5ae52981b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57554,57555,57556,57557],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":57559,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57560,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6ea8b3dea3/bm-battery-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 21, 2024",{"id":57563,"uuid":57564,"name":57565,"slug":57566,"full_slug":57567,"content":57568},112469873075762,"c8695ed5-18c7-4dfb-a6a5-92cfed87e4b9","Australian, EU, and Canadian representatives urge critical minerals cooperation","australian-eu-and-canadian-representatives-urge-critical-minerals-cooperation","article/australian-eu-and-canadian-representatives-urge-critical-minerals-cooperation",{"_uid":57569,"date":57570,"tags":57571,"editor":57576,"content":57580,"excerpt":57754,"featured":50,"reporter":57755,"_editable":57759,"component":697,"seo_title":57565,"categories":57760,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57763,"seo_description":57754,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57766},"83a986a5-e837-45d5-a8af-db03c5cd6878","2024-03-20 00:00",[57572,57573,57574,57575],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[57577],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57578},{"job_title":557,"image":57579,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57581},[57582,57587,57592,57597,57614,57619,57624,57629,57639,57644,57649,57654,57659,57664,57670,57684,57689,57694,57699,57704,57709,57714,57719,57724,57729,57734,57739,57744,57749],{"type":591,"attrs":57583,"content":57584},{"textAlign":49},[57585],{"text":57586,"type":596},"Cooperation at multiple scales is essential in building ex-China battery supply chains, according to Australian, EU, and Canadian policy representatives speaking at Benchmark’s Giga Europe event last week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57588,"content":57589},{"textAlign":49},[57590],{"text":57591,"type":596},"In a panel discussion on building global alliances, Agent General for Western Australia John Langoulant spoke of how the EU, Australia, and Canada’s common values could ground a supply chain that can withstand geopolitical uncertainties. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57593,"content":57594},{"textAlign":49},[57595],{"text":57596,"type":596},"“Canada and Australia have the same values as most of Europe,” Langoulant said.",{"type":591,"attrs":57598,"content":57599},{"textAlign":49},[57600,57602,57606,57608,57613],{"text":57601,"type":596},"Australia will remain the world’s top country for mined lithium production by 2028 at 30% of world supply, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":57603},[57604],{"type":606,"attrs":57605},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":57607,"type":596},". It also has sizable mined nickel capacity and is forecast to contribute 4% of global supply by 2028, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":57610},"Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast",[57611],{"type":606,"attrs":57612},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":57615,"content":57616},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57617],{"text":57618,"type":596},"Cooperation makes sustainability viable",{"type":591,"attrs":57620,"content":57621},{"textAlign":49},[57622],{"text":57623,"type":596},"Canadian ambassador to Sweden Jason LaTorre, on stage with Langoulant, argued that reconciling sustainability with high levels of trade demanded common ESG standards among economic partners. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57625,"content":57626},{"textAlign":49},[57627],{"text":57628,"type":596},"“Our high EGS standards are what set us apart and we must continue to drive high ESG standards,” said LaTorre, speaking about Western producers.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":57630,"content":57631},{"textAlign":49},[57632,57634,57638],{"text":57633,"type":596},"By 2030, Canada is forecast to produce 11% of the world’s natural flake graphite, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":57635},[57636],{"type":606,"attrs":57637},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":57640,"content":57641},{"textAlign":49},[57642],{"text":57643,"type":596},"Finding common ways of assessing ESG performance among Western producers is necessary to prevent market fragmentation, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57645,"content":57646},{"textAlign":49},[57647],{"text":57648,"type":596},"“The governments are working together also to coordinate on ESG to ensure alignment and compatibility with our ESG standards so that our ESG standards don’t actually impede the trade,” LaTorre told the audience attending Benchmark’s Giga Europe in Sweden.",{"type":615,"attrs":57650,"content":57651},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57652],{"text":57653,"type":596},"Shared values mitigates shocks",{"type":591,"attrs":57655,"content":57656},{"textAlign":49},[57657],{"text":57658,"type":596},"During the panel discussion, Langoulant made the strongest link between critical minerals security and geopolitical security, saying that Europe needs trusted economic partners to absorb supply shocks such as Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57660,"content":57661},{"textAlign":49},[57662],{"text":57663,"type":596},"“That’s important because you’ve got to trust your supply chains. If you don’t trust your supply chains, you’ll get into serious difficulties,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":57665,"content":57666},{"textAlign":49},[57667],{"text":56173,"type":596,"marks":57668},[57669],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":57671,"content":57672},{"textAlign":49},[57673,57676,57681],{"text":56180,"type":596,"marks":57674},[57675],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":57677},[57678,57680],{"type":606,"attrs":57679},{"href":56187,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":57682},[57683],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":57685,"content":57686},{"textAlign":49},[57687],{"text":57688,"type":596},"He pointed to Australia and Europe as an example of a partnership where common values can facilitate exchange in commodities and expertise, stressing that mineral-rich Western Australia was open for business with the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":57690,"content":57691},{"textAlign":49},[57692],{"text":57693,"type":596},"“We want to increase investment even further from Europe into Western Australia and equally we want to export our skills out of Western Australia into Europe,” Langoulant added.",{"type":615,"attrs":57695,"content":57696},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57697],{"text":57698,"type":596},"“Team Europe” in critical minerals diplomacy",{"type":591,"attrs":57700,"content":57701},{"textAlign":49},[57702],{"text":57703,"type":596},"Throughout his keynote presentation on the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act implementation, Peter Handley of the European Commission underlined that the EU had to speak with one voice when negotiating on critical minerals markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":57705,"content":57706},{"textAlign":49},[57707],{"text":57708,"type":596},"An example of this is the principle of demand aggregation, where the bloc’s supply and demand will be calculated collectively under the CRMA.",{"type":591,"attrs":57710,"content":57711},{"textAlign":49},[57712],{"text":57713,"type":596},"Unity between member states as well as between companies and the EU will also help international outreach, another route to CRMA implementation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57715,"content":57716},{"textAlign":49},[57717],{"text":57718,"type":596},"This will be especially important for investing in new partner regions with high political and ESG risk, including Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo, which the EU signed Memorandums of Understanding with in October 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":57720,"content":57721},{"textAlign":49},[57722],{"text":57723,"type":596},"“In difficult places, it’s going to be easier for everybody if America and the European Union and maybe the Japanese or the Australians or the British are working side by side. Sometimes those challenges are so big it needs the tools that each of us has,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":57725,"content":57726},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57727],{"text":57728,"type":596},"Regional versus global",{"type":591,"attrs":57730,"content":57731},{"textAlign":49},[57732],{"text":57733,"type":596},"There were differences over the scales at which cooperation should occur, however, with Canada’s LaTorre favouring regionalisation and Australia’s Langoulant emphasising the need for free global trade.",{"type":591,"attrs":57735,"content":57736},{"textAlign":49},[57737],{"text":57738,"type":596},"For LaTorre, the sustainability benefits of supply chain regionalisation “makes sense”.",{"type":591,"attrs":57740,"content":57741},{"textAlign":49},[57742],{"text":57743,"type":596},"“If you are shipping large quantities of inputs into your supply chain, that’s a huge carbon footprint. I think companies are trying to be closer to the markets they serve,” LaTorre said.",{"type":591,"attrs":57745,"content":57746},{"textAlign":49},[57747],{"text":57748,"type":596},"On the question of regionalisation versus global free trade, Langoulant steered towards the latter, saying that Western Australia’s focus is not “regional but worldwide.”",{"type":591,"attrs":57750,"content":57751},{"textAlign":49},[57752],{"text":57753,"type":596},"Returning to his emphasis on the connection between trade economics and geopolitical security, he said that challenging China’s supply predominance would demand the market efficiencies that global partnerships bring.","Cooperation at multiple scales is essential in building ex-China battery supply chains, according to Australian, EU, and Canadian policy representatives speaking at Benchmark’s Giga Europe event last week. In a panel discussion on building global alliances, Agent General for Western Australia John Langoulant spoke of how the EU, Australia, and Canada’s common values could ground […]",[57756],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57757},{"job_title":557,"image":57758,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"83a986a5-e837-45d5-a8af-db03c5cd6878\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57761,57762],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":57764,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57765,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0579b9ef36/bm-panel.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 20, 2024",{"id":57768,"uuid":57769,"name":57770,"slug":57771,"full_slug":57772,"content":57773},112469892159031,"2b5a5233-8d5c-4575-a44c-7bc900058e93","European companies must look upstream for EU critical minerals support","european-companies-must-look-upstream-for-eu-critical-minerals-support","article/european-companies-must-look-upstream-for-eu-critical-minerals-support",{"_uid":57774,"date":57775,"tags":57776,"editor":57783,"content":57787,"excerpt":57916,"featured":51,"reporter":57917,"_editable":57921,"component":697,"seo_title":57770,"categories":57922,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":57924,"seo_description":57916,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57927},"e9cbed53-0c10-43d0-89a3-22fa823506be","2024-03-18 00:00",[57777,57778,57779,57782],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":57780,"name":57781},"giga-europe-2024","Giga Europe 2024",{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[57784],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57785},{"job_title":557,"image":57786,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57788},[57789,57794,57799,57804,57809,57820,57825,57830,57835,57840,57845,57852,57866,57871,57876,57881,57886,57891,57896,57901,57906,57911],{"type":591,"attrs":57790,"content":57791},{"textAlign":49},[57792],{"text":57793,"type":596},"European battery companies should invest in domestic upstream projects or risk losing EU support to competitors elsewhere, Peter Handley, head of unit for energy-intensive industries and raw materials at the European Commission, told the audience attending Benchmark’s Giga Europe event in Sweden. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57795,"content":57796},{"textAlign":49},[57797],{"text":57798,"type":596},"Companies can get priority permitting and financial derisking support for upstream investments if they qualify as Strategic Projects under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).",{"type":591,"attrs":57800,"content":57801},{"textAlign":49},[57802],{"text":57803,"type":596},"“The mid to downstream really need to start to realise that they need to be looking upwards to secure their supplies and frame the conditions under which things are going into their manufacturing processes,” said Handley. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57805,"content":57806},{"textAlign":49},[57807],{"text":57808,"type":596},"By 2030, the CRMA states that Europe should meet at least 10% of its annual critical minerals mining requirements through domestic sources as well as 25% for recycling and 40% of its processing needs.",{"type":591,"attrs":57810,"content":57811},{"textAlign":49},[57812,57818],{"text":57813,"type":596,"marks":57814},"Benchmark data shows",[57815],{"type":606,"attrs":57816},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-achievable-are-the-eu-critical-raw-materials-targets",{"text":57819,"type":596}," that domestically produced mined lithium and flake graphite should be enough to meet CRMA targets by 2030. However, the EU faces a shortage of domestically mined cobalt while forecast processed spherical graphite and cobalt are also far below targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":57821,"content":57822},{"textAlign":49},[57823],{"text":57824,"type":596},"As the CRMA targets are not legally enforceable, question remains about whether the bloc can align private interests with its strategic goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":57826,"content":57827},{"textAlign":49},[57828],{"text":57829,"type":596},"“Financially de-risking critical raw material projects in and outside Europe and attracting private investments is a big challenge, as the CRMA lacks real financial incentives at EU-level,” said Bryan Bille, Benchmark analyst.",{"type":615,"attrs":57831,"content":57832},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57833],{"text":57834,"type":596},"Strategic projects to drive CRMA implementation ",{"type":591,"attrs":57836,"content":57837},{"textAlign":49},[57838],{"text":57839,"type":596},"Strategic Projects are a key implementation tool for the CRMA, due to come into force in May. Its benefits aim to spur the private investment that Europe needs to increase domestic critical minerals capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":57841,"content":57842},{"textAlign":49},[57843],{"text":57844,"type":596},"To qualify, projects must demonstrate “a meaningful contribution to raising EU domestic capacity” or, if they are international projects, “help reduce EU dependence on single sources of supply,” said Handley.",{"type":591,"attrs":57846,"content":57847},{"textAlign":49},[57848],{"text":57849,"type":596,"marks":57850},"Watch Peter Handley, head of unit at the European Commission, present at Giga Europe 2024. ",[57851],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":57853,"content":57854},{"textAlign":49},[57855,57858,57863],{"text":56180,"type":596,"marks":57856},[57857],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":57859},[57860,57862],{"type":606,"attrs":57861},{"href":56187,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":57864},[57865],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":57867,"content":57868},{"textAlign":49},[57869],{"text":57870,"type":596},"The initial list of Strategic Projects will be drawn up as soon as the CRMA comes into force in May.",{"type":615,"attrs":57872,"content":57873},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57874],{"text":57875,"type":596},"Limits of the CRMA",{"type":591,"attrs":57877,"content":57878},{"textAlign":49},[57879],{"text":57880,"type":596},"Handley described the value of the EU’s CRMA legislation as a “political signalling mechanism” and that “predictability is one of the main benefits of the CRMA” for investors.",{"type":591,"attrs":57882,"content":57883},{"textAlign":49},[57884],{"text":57885,"type":596},"He also acknowledged that the EU will rely heavily on cooperation from private companies, but that the prospect of losing competitiveness may encourage players to get on board.",{"type":591,"attrs":57887,"content":57888},{"textAlign":49},[57889],{"text":57890,"type":596},"“There’s only so much we can do as public administrators. If the mid and downstream European companies are not ready to invest in such projects, then those projects will be taken by others,” Handley added.",{"type":615,"attrs":57892,"content":57893},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57894],{"text":57895,"type":596},"Permitting speedup could entice investors",{"type":591,"attrs":57897,"content":57898},{"textAlign":49},[57899],{"text":57900,"type":596},"One way that the CRMA offers the private sector predictability is the accelerated project permitting offered by Strategic Project status.",{"type":591,"attrs":57902,"content":57903},{"textAlign":49},[57904],{"text":57905,"type":596},"Handley believes this will win over the private sector as it currently takes at least a decade for mines to begin production in the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57907,"content":57908},{"textAlign":49},[57909],{"text":57910,"type":596},"He also commented on the frustrations in the industry around red tape, saying companies would rather have a “’no’ after two years than a ‘yes’ after five”.",{"type":591,"attrs":57912,"content":57913},{"textAlign":49},[57914],{"text":57915,"type":596},"Another permitting innovation of the CRMA is that companies will now have a single point of contact in each member state to begin the application process for permitting. ","European battery companies should invest in domestic upstream projects or risk losing EU support to competitors elsewhere, Peter Handley, head of unit for energy-intensive industries and raw materials at the European Commission, told the audience attending Benchmark’s Giga Europe event in Sweden. Companies can get priority permitting and financial derisking support for upstream investments if […]",[57918],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57919},{"job_title":557,"image":57920,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e9cbed53-0c10-43d0-89a3-22fa823506be\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[57923],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":57925,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":57926,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7ffa64d3bd/bm-peterkeynote.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 18, 2024",{"id":57929,"uuid":57930,"name":57931,"slug":57932,"full_slug":57933,"content":57934},112469887428149,"7c6861b7-4abd-4bdc-b217-abd998649193","International deep sea extraction negotiations resume, here’s what you need to know","international-deep-sea-extraction-negotiations-resume-heres-what-you-need-to-know","article/international-deep-sea-extraction-negotiations-resume-heres-what-you-need-to-know",{"_uid":57935,"date":57775,"tags":57936,"editor":57940,"content":57944,"excerpt":58157,"featured":51,"reporter":58158,"_editable":58162,"component":697,"seo_title":57931,"categories":58163,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":58168,"seo_description":58157,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":57927},"64d084b6-782a-4484-8dd9-c44b6d453f0b",[57937],{"slug":57938,"name":57939},"deep-sea","Deep Sea",[57941],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":57942},{"job_title":557,"image":57943,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":57945},[57946,57951,57956,57961,57966,57971,57976,57981,57986,57993,57998,58003,58010,58031,58036,58041,58046,58051,58056,58061,58066,58071,58082,58103,58108,58113,58120,58142,58152],{"type":591,"attrs":57947,"content":57948},{"textAlign":49},[57949],{"text":57950,"type":596},"With the start of the 29th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) this month, international negotiations resumed on an international deep-sea extraction code to allow commercial deep-sea extraction operations beyond national territorial waters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57952,"content":57953},{"textAlign":49},[57954],{"text":57955,"type":596},"Extraction of the seabed is also taking on increasing geopolitical significance, acting as one of the latest flashpoints in US-China geopolitical competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":57957,"content":57958},{"textAlign":49},[57959],{"text":57960,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark’s Policy team sets out key developments in the deep-sea extraction space. ",{"type":615,"attrs":57962,"content":57963},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57964],{"text":57965,"type":596},"What are the latest deep-sea extraction developments?",{"type":591,"attrs":57967,"content":57968},{"textAlign":49},[57969],{"text":57970,"type":596},"A growing number of companies and countries are looking to extract deep sea minerals in international waters, especially in the nodule-rich Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57972,"content":57973},{"textAlign":49},[57974],{"text":57975,"type":596},"Awaiting the adoption of an international deep-sea extraction code by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), some countries, like Norway and the Cook Islands, have adopted national legal frameworks for deep-seabed mineral activities in their national waters, allowing mineral exploration and laying the groundwork for future commercial extraction activities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57977,"content":57978},{"textAlign":49},[57979],{"text":57980,"type":596},"In January 2024, the Norwegian Parliament adopted a legal framework allowing companies to apply for permits to explore deep-sea minerals on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). However, future commercial deep-sea extraction licences will require further parliamentary approval. ",{"type":591,"attrs":57982,"content":57983},{"textAlign":49},[57984],{"text":57985,"type":596},"Furthermore, spurred by concerns about over-dependence on REE supply from China, the Japanese government aims to open its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for commercial deep-sea extraction operations, which is expected to begin after the mid-2020s. US lawmakers have recently tabled a bill to support deep-sea mineral activities and domestic processing in view of reducing its dependence on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":57987,"content":57988},{"textAlign":49},[57989],{"type":836,"attrs":57990},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":57991,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":57992},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/euXeeMTL8MceiHkfv6s5ud-5LXEh41icJTwZj0XQOJQDN_sRF7-vJrYLG5flbEYmuK4HxoKUFqfMGtlHc8nV029u7-yuI_F9HaSxWi9uNss6ThYhp9wKCGoHbcIWW8SAJMTbvaV9XTWYtcxd4LtADRs",{},{"type":615,"attrs":57994,"content":57995},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[57996],{"text":57997,"type":596},"What are the ISA’s timelines?",{"type":591,"attrs":57999,"content":58000},{"textAlign":49},[58001],{"text":58002,"type":596},"The ISA is tasked with setting up a legal framework for both exploration and extraction of deep-sea minerals in a zone known as “the Area”. “The Area” refers to the seabed and its subsoil in international waters. To date, the ISA has only adopted a deep-sea exploration code and issued 30 exploration contracts to a mix of state-owned, state-backed and privately-owned companies, all supported by a sponsoring state.",{"type":591,"attrs":58004,"content":58005},{"textAlign":49},[58006],{"type":836,"attrs":58007},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":58008,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58009},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/80b2f9e9c1/bm-dsm-chart-updated.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58011,"content":58012},{"textAlign":49},[58013,58015,58021,58023,58029],{"text":58014,"type":596},"Due to the ISA ",{"text":58016,"type":596,"marks":58017},"missing its 2023 deadline",[58018],{"type":606,"attrs":58019},{"href":58020,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/clock-is-ticking-for-isa-as-deep-sea-extraction-rules-delayed-until-2025",{"text":58022,"type":596}," to adopt a deep-sea extraction code, countries can now submit applications for commercial extraction",{"text":58024,"type":596,"marks":58025}," licences",[58026],{"type":606,"attrs":58027},{"href":58028,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://archive.is/o/usCSC/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/MINING-DEEPSEA/CLIMATE/zjpqezqzlpx/",{"text":58030,"type":596}," even without a code in place. The ISA set a timeline and aims to adopt the final extraction code by 2025, eliminating regulatory uncertainty, including around environmental standards.",{"type":615,"attrs":58032,"content":58033},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58034],{"text":58035,"type":596},"Where does this fit into geopolitics? ",{"type":591,"attrs":58037,"content":58038},{"textAlign":49},[58039],{"text":58040,"type":596},"With 5 exploration contracts, more than any other country, China has strengthened its grip on the deep-sea extraction industry. It has actively pushed for an international deep-sea extraction code and positioned itself as a central rule-maker in the ISA. The US, in contrast, has sidelined itself from the debate and is only an observer due to its failure to ratify UNCLOS thus far. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58042,"content":58043},{"textAlign":49},[58044],{"text":58045,"type":596},"This may be changing, however, as US lawmakers are waking up to the urgency of this issue. This month, US lawmakers introduced the ‘Responsible Use of Seafloor Resources Act’, a bill intended to support deep-sea mineral exploration, responsible extraction, and domestic processing and refining capabilities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58047,"content":58048},{"textAlign":49},[58049],{"text":58050,"type":596},"Additionally, following the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act last December, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy was instructed to submit a report to the House Armed Services Committee by early March on developing domestic deep-sea mineral processing capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":58052,"content":58053},{"textAlign":49},[58054],{"text":58055,"type":596},"Norway’s recent decision stems from similar geo-economic factors: reducing its dependence on China for the supply of battery minerals and anticipating the expected decline of its oil and gas industries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58057,"content":58058},{"textAlign":49},[58059],{"text":58060,"type":596},"However, this decision is geopolitically sensitive, as the NCS overlaps with a disputed area around the Svalbard archipelago. Consequently, both Russia and Iceland have called Norway’s decision illegal. Furthermore, the EU Parliament expressed its concerns in a recent resolution. ",{"type":615,"attrs":58062,"content":58063},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58064],{"text":58065,"type":596},"What are the main sustainability factors at play? ",{"type":591,"attrs":58067,"content":58068},{"textAlign":49},[58069],{"text":58070,"type":596},"There is a lack of clarity around the overall environmental impact of deep-sea extraction in terms of biodiversity, marine environment, noise and light pollution. As a result, 24 ISA member states, including France, Germany and the UK, have reportedly called for a “precautionary pause” or “moratorium” on moving to the extraction phase of deep sea minerals until more scientific evidence is available. That said, the legality of a precautionary pause or moratorium has been called into question by legal experts and could, in fact, be challenged. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58072,"content":58073},{"textAlign":49},[58074,58075,58080],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":58076,"type":596,"marks":58077},"research",[58078],{"type":606,"attrs":58079},{"href":50000,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58081,"type":596}," shows that production from deep sea resources, such as those targeted by companies like TMC, has the potential to have a smaller environmental footprint than some forms of land-based extraction.",{"type":591,"attrs":58083,"content":58084},{"textAlign":49},[58085,58087,58093,58095,58101],{"text":58086,"type":596},"The Norwegian Parliament’s decision caused some organisations to voice concerns about sustainability issues. ",{"text":58088,"type":596,"marks":58089},"Norway’s Environment Agency",[58090],{"type":606,"attrs":58091},{"href":58092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/613111b7e02c464ca95b3e5bb364cc14/miljodirektoratet.pdf?uid=Milj%C3%B8direktoratet",{"text":58094,"type":596}," and its ",{"text":58096,"type":596,"marks":58097},"Institute of Marine Research",[58098],{"type":606,"attrs":58099},{"href":58100,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.hi.no/hi/nyheter/2023/januar/havbunnsmineraler-horing",{"text":58102,"type":596}," criticised the decision and argued that the previous environmental assessment was insufficient. Extracting crusts and polymetallic sulphides is understood to be more challenging and invasive than extracting the polymetallic nodules in the Pacific.",{"type":615,"attrs":58104,"content":58105},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58106],{"text":58107,"type":596},"Can deep-sea extraction meet raw material deficits?",{"type":591,"attrs":58109,"content":58110},{"textAlign":49},[58111],{"text":58112,"type":596},"Despite the regulatory, environmental, and economic challenges to deep-sea extraction, it could potentially help meet the demand for battery minerals and ease supply shortages. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58114,"content":58115},{"textAlign":49},[58116],{"type":836,"attrs":58117},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":58118,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58119},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/DArh3UOqNUkZCbmf8cm1hprSNXjGCIOgA2Xij_-2QKfv-Hrcm5l8odukrc-UVt6bH4GatEU5rxXAkxb88zT0Ilh_VHe7BqTrAEQj6wPQNGD-B4LfJULEPBrxuQV4_oGk_IT-RRVUO0h5r0GRO-L5pkU",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58121,"content":58122},{"textAlign":49},[58123,58124,58128,58130,58135,58136,58140],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":58125},[58126],{"type":606,"attrs":58127},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58129,"type":596}," that from the late 2020s onwards, growing demand from EVs, energy storage and portables will drive a call for critical minerals that the current pipeline will not be able to meet, meaning further investment and diversification in battery raw materials such as ",{"text":58131,"type":596,"marks":58132},"nickel ",[58133],{"type":606,"attrs":58134},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1271,"type":596},{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":58137},[58138],{"type":606,"attrs":58139},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58141,"type":596}," extraction is needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":58143,"content":58144},{"textAlign":49},[58145,58146,58150],{"text":25017,"type":596},{"text":10192,"type":596,"marks":58147},[58148],{"type":606,"attrs":58149},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58151,"type":596}," is forecasted to grow and could help fill supply gaps, secondary cobalt is only expected to account for 13% of total supply in 2030 and 40% in 2040, accounting for 32% of demand in 2040. Secondary nickel supply is expected to meet 12% of demand in 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":58153,"content":58154},{"textAlign":49},[58155],{"text":58156,"type":596},"Against this background, terrestrial extraction and recycling alone may not be enough to meet the global demand for battery minerals needed for the energy transition. Deep-sea extracted outputs could help to close the gap. ","With the start of the 29th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) this month, international negotiations resumed on an international deep-sea extraction code to allow commercial deep-sea extraction operations beyond national territorial waters. Extraction of the seabed is also taking on increasing geopolitical significance, acting as one of the latest flashpoints in US-China geopolitical […]",[58159],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58160},{"job_title":557,"image":58161,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"64d084b6-782a-4484-8dd9-c44b6d453f0b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[58164,58165,58166,58167],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":58169,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58170,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/71883d81c0/bm-deepsea.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":58172,"uuid":58173,"name":58174,"slug":58175,"full_slug":58176,"content":58177},112469901715001,"8bf815b2-4e88-4053-978b-ea162678d709","Europe must face up to supply chain challenges Giga Europe 2024 conference told","europe-must-face-up-to-supply-chain-challenges-giga-europe-2024-conference-told","article/europe-must-face-up-to-supply-chain-challenges-giga-europe-2024-conference-told",{"_uid":58178,"date":58179,"tags":58180,"editor":58183,"content":58187,"excerpt":58377,"featured":51,"reporter":58378,"_editable":58382,"component":697,"seo_title":58174,"categories":58383,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":58394,"seo_description":58377,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":58397},"803d0022-d426-4eed-bb37-5aeb0930d54f","2024-03-15 00:00",[58181,58182],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":57780,"name":57781},[58184],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58185},{"job_title":557,"image":58186,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":58188},[58189,58194,58199,58218,58223,58228,58233,58238,58243,58254,58259,58264,58269,58274,58279,58284,58289,58301,58306,58311,58316,58321,58326,58338,58343,58367,58372],{"type":591,"attrs":58190,"content":58191},{"textAlign":49},[58192],{"text":58193,"type":596},"Europe is facing key challenges as it scales its lithium ion battery supply chain, according to panellists at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58195,"content":58196},{"textAlign":49},[58197],{"text":58198,"type":596},"“Electrification is here to stay. It’s now about European competitiveness. We’ve gone from ambition to putting money where our mouth is,” said Jessica Olsson, Head of Europe Energy & Transport at Business Sweden. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58200,"content":58201},{"textAlign":49},[58202,58204,58209,58211,58216],{"text":58203,"type":596},"Substantial progress has been made in Europe, particularly since the introduction of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) last year, panellists agreed. ",{"text":58205,"type":596,"marks":58206},"The Benchmark Recycling Forecast",[58207],{"type":606,"attrs":58208},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58210,"type":596}," has ",{"text":58212,"type":596,"marks":58213},"added 22 European facilities to its battery recyclers database since the announcement of the CRMA",[58214],{"type":606,"attrs":58215},{"href":43760,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58217,"type":596},", commitments that have increased the bloc’s 2030 battery recycling capacity pipeline by 28% on a year-on-year basis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58219,"content":58220},{"textAlign":49},[58221],{"text":58222,"type":596},"But further investment is needed across the entire battery value chain if Europe hopes to foster a sustainable and secure supply chain on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":58224,"content":58225},{"textAlign":49},[58226],{"text":58227,"type":596},"“Battery is a scale business. It’s highly competitive,” Olsson said. “In Europe we need to make it better and more sustainable.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":58229,"content":58230},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58231],{"text":58232,"type":596},"Opening access to European minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":58234,"content":58235},{"textAlign":49},[58236],{"text":58237,"type":596},"One of the key issues highlighted by panellists was the permitting process for new mines in Europe, which is essential to enhancing the bloc’s critical raw material autonomy.",{"type":591,"attrs":58239,"content":58240},{"textAlign":49},[58241],{"text":58242,"type":596},"The CRMA has set a target for 10% of Europe’s consumption of critical raw materials to be extracted from within the union by 2030. The EU is seeking to simplify the permitting procedure for new critical raw materials projects within the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":58244,"content":58245},{"textAlign":49},[58246,58247,58252],{"text":25017,"type":596},{"text":58248,"type":596,"marks":58249},"Benchmark data projects Europe will meet the 10% mining threshold for the majority of battery minerals by 2030",[58250],{"type":606,"attrs":58251},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58253,"type":596},", the bloc will remain reliant on imports from third countries for the majority of its future supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":58255,"content":58256},{"textAlign":49},[58257],{"text":58258,"type":596},"“In Europe we are going from oil dependence to metal dependence,” said Olsson. “Permits and long-term capital commitments are critical. Mining doesn’t have to be as dirty as it was in the past.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":58260,"content":58261},{"textAlign":49},[58262],{"text":58263,"type":596},"Mining projects in Europe are struggling to get off the ground. Facing backlash from local communities and environmental groups, with timelines to first production often more extensive than in other regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":58265,"content":58266},{"textAlign":49},[58267],{"text":58268,"type":596},"The decision to revoke Rio Tinto’s licence for the Jadar lithium project in Serbia in 2022, following environmental protests highlights some of the challenges faced by projects in the region.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":58270,"content":58271},{"textAlign":49},[58272],{"text":58273,"type":596},"“We don’t think permitting should be less strict but that the supply chain should be better,” Balázs Szilágyi, European Public Affairs Manager at CATL, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":58275,"content":58276},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58277],{"text":58278,"type":596},"Global partnerships key to supply security",{"type":591,"attrs":58280,"content":58281},{"textAlign":49},[58282],{"text":58283,"type":596},"Where Europe can’t meet its own supply needs, securing stable supply of critical minerals from partner countries is key.",{"type":591,"attrs":58285,"content":58286},{"textAlign":49},[58287],{"text":58288,"type":596},"“Raw materials are global and Europe needs to secure access to materials,” Olsson said. “Europe needs strategic partnerships around the world to secure its supply chain across different points.”",{"type":591,"attrs":58290,"content":58291},{"textAlign":49},[58292,58294,58299],{"text":58293,"type":596},"The EU has made some progress in this regard, signing strategic partnerships with a number of resource-rich countries, including Chile, Canada, Argentina, ",{"text":58295,"type":596,"marks":58296},"and the Democratic Republic of Congo",[58297],{"type":606,"attrs":58298},{"href":50123,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58300,"type":596},". Aimed at promoting the mutual development of sustainable critical raw material supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58302,"content":58303},{"textAlign":49},[58304],{"text":58305,"type":596},"Critics argue, however, that the CRMA fails to provide sufficient incentive for private investment in the development of new mineral supply chains across the globe to rival China. They point to the substantial subsidies provided by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).",{"type":591,"attrs":58307,"content":58308},{"textAlign":49},[58309],{"text":58310,"type":596},"“It is important for Europe to have influence across the whole supply chain to manage the volatility of prices as best as possible,” Szilágyi said.",{"type":615,"attrs":58312,"content":58313},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58314],{"text":58315,"type":596},"More focus on midstream localisation",{"type":591,"attrs":58317,"content":58318},{"textAlign":49},[58319],{"text":58320,"type":596},"Aside from permitting and securing critical mineral partnerships, panellists suggested that additional investment was required to localise the midstream value chain in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":58322,"content":58323},{"textAlign":49},[58324],{"text":58325,"type":596},"“The most crucial point is midstream. While battery producers follow OEMs, it is important the whole value chain be taken into consideration,” said Szilágyi. “The supply chain is coming closer, it’s getting increasingly European.”",{"type":591,"attrs":58327,"content":58328},{"textAlign":49},[58329,58331,58336],{"text":58330,"type":596},"Lithium processing capacity was highlighted as a key area where Europe needed more investment. ",{"text":58332,"type":596,"marks":58333},"The Benchmark Lithium Forecast",[58334],{"type":606,"attrs":58335},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58337,"type":596}," projects weighted lithium chemical supply to account for only 19% of the region’s demand by 2030, falling well below the CRMA’s 40% processing threshold.",{"type":591,"attrs":58339,"content":58340},{"textAlign":49},[58341],{"text":58342,"type":596},"Moreover, panellists pointed out that Europe had substantial gaps in other midstream capabilities, in some cases having almost no capacity at all. “Electrolytes and separators are something Europe is really missing,” said Olsson. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58344,"content":58345},{"textAlign":49},[58346,58348,58353,58355,58359,58361,58365],{"text":58347,"type":596},"Europe accounts for 15% of global pipeline ",{"text":58349,"type":596,"marks":58350},"lithium ion battery cell capacity",[58351],{"type":606,"attrs":58352},{"href":53526,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58354,"type":596}," by 2030, but only 4.2% of ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":58356},[58357],{"type":606,"attrs":58358},{"href":57135,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58360,"type":596}," and 3.6% of ",{"text":701,"type":596,"marks":58362},[58363],{"type":606,"attrs":58364},{"href":56251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58366,"type":596}," capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":58368,"content":58369},{"textAlign":49},[58370],{"text":58371,"type":596},"Asked what he was looking forward to over the next 12 to 18 months, Szilágyi hoped that elections in Europe would foster more joined up thinking in the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58373,"content":58374},{"textAlign":49},[58375],{"text":58376,"type":596},"“We need a better common understanding around electromobility. This is critical if we hope to reach our net zero targets,” he said.","Europe is facing key challenges as it scales its lithium ion battery supply chain, according to panellists at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024. “Electrification is here to stay. It’s now about European competitiveness. We’ve gone from ambition to putting money where our mouth is,” said Jessica Olsson, Head of Europe Energy & Transport at Business Sweden. […]",[58379],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58380},{"job_title":557,"image":58381,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"803d0022-d426-4eed-bb37-5aeb0930d54f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[58384,58385,58386,58387,58388,58389,58390,58391,58392,58393],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":58395,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58396,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dd084a97a1/bm-benchmark-giga.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 15, 2024",{"id":58399,"uuid":58400,"name":58401,"slug":58402,"full_slug":58403,"content":58404},112469906482746,"f3f238b0-9222-4f52-960f-2c778a9d6cbc","More raw material price volatility to come this decade, Benchmark’s Chief Data Officer warns","more-raw-material-price-volatility-to-come-this-decade-benchmarks-chief-data-officer-warns","article/more-raw-material-price-volatility-to-come-this-decade-benchmarks-chief-data-officer-warns",{"_uid":58405,"date":58406,"tags":58407,"editor":58410,"content":58414,"excerpt":58597,"featured":51,"reporter":58598,"_editable":58602,"component":697,"seo_title":58401,"categories":58603,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":58611,"seo_description":58597,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":58614},"023c442b-1c29-4bce-9862-14541ee8dfc8","2024-03-13 00:00",[58408,58409],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":57780,"name":57781},[58411],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58412},{"job_title":557,"image":58413,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":58415},[58416,58427,58432,58437,58454,58459,58470,58475,58488,58493,58503,58516,58521,58528,58533,58538,58543,58548,58553,58557,58573,58590],{"type":591,"attrs":58417,"content":58418},{"textAlign":49},[58419,58421,58426],{"text":58420,"type":596},"Downstream consumers will face more battery raw material price volatility this decade, Benchmark’s Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer, warned delegates at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024 event, being held in Stockholm, ",{"text":22551,"type":596,"marks":58422},[58423],{"type":606,"attrs":58424},{"href":58425,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-anode-supply-chain-converges-on-sweden",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58428,"content":58429},{"textAlign":49},[58430],{"text":58431,"type":596},"While many battery raw material markets are currently in surplus, Benchmark forecasts that by the end of the decade these markets will slip into deficits on the back of long-term demand fundamentals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58433,"content":58434},{"textAlign":49},[58435],{"text":58436,"type":596},"“In the next five years, all of these raw material markets, whether it’s lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, whatever it may be, are expected to go through a period of deficit,” said Rawles, at the inaugural keynote presentation at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":58438,"content":58439},{"textAlign":49},[58440,58445,58447,58452],{"text":58441,"type":596,"marks":58442},"Oversupply",[58443],{"type":606,"attrs":58444},{"href":38646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58446,"type":596}," and slower than expected demand for electric vehicles has sent prices of critical battery materials lower, forcing companies to ",{"text":58448,"type":596,"marks":58449},"cut production or slow investments",[58450],{"type":606,"attrs":58451},{"href":44657,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58453,"type":596}," in projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58455,"content":58456},{"textAlign":49},[58457],{"text":58458,"type":596},"“We know this wave of demand is coming and while supplies are adequate now, as we reduce those investments and reduce the future pipeline, we’re creating future periods of volatility,” said Rawles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58460,"content":58461},{"textAlign":49},[58462,58464,58469],{"text":58463,"type":596},"Global weighted average lithium prices have fallen 81% since the beginning of 2023, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":58465},[58466],{"type":606,"attrs":58467},{"href":58468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/portal/?tab=chart",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58471,"content":58472},{"textAlign":49},[58473],{"text":58474,"type":596},"“One of the trends we see going forward is that the market is going to mature more and more,” said Rawles.",{"type":591,"attrs":58476,"content":58477},{"textAlign":49},[58478,58480,58486],{"text":58479,"type":596},"Taking lithium prices as a proxy, Rawles pointed out the current ",{"text":58481,"type":596,"marks":58482},"price rout",[58483],{"type":606,"attrs":58484},{"href":58485,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-chemical-prices-edge-up-on-improving-near-term-demand-sentiment",{"text":58487,"type":596}," should be put in the context of where they were just a few years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":58489,"content":58490},{"textAlign":49},[58491],{"text":58492,"type":596},"“The market will continue to cycle and we’re just going through a period of lower pricing now,” said Rawles. “If you look all the way back to eight years ago, it’s a whole different world. There were hardly any gigafactories around and it was certainly not a conversation in the mainstream media and mainstream politics.”",{"type":591,"attrs":58494,"content":58495},{"textAlign":49},[58496,58498,58502],{"text":58497,"type":596},"Lithium is set to enter an era of deficit from 2029 onwards, according to the ",{"text":40761,"type":596,"marks":58499},[58500],{"type":606,"attrs":58501},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58504,"content":58505},{"textAlign":49},[58506,58508,58514],{"text":58507,"type":596},"The price rout has hit other critical materials as well. Chinese ",{"text":58509,"type":596,"marks":58510},"nickel sulphate",[58511],{"type":606,"attrs":58512},{"href":58513,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/chart/",{"text":58515,"type":596}," and cobalt sulphate prices have declined 30% and 23% year-on-year, while flake and synthetic graphite prices are down 36% and 56% respectively since January 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":58517,"content":58518},{"textAlign":49},[58519],{"text":58520,"type":596},"However, falling critical material prices are expected to further lower battery prices and in turn fuel electric vehicle demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":58522,"content":58523},{"textAlign":49},[58524],{"type":836,"attrs":58525},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":58526,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58527},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7c6e1b2d19/bm-pricedeclines.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":58529,"content":58530},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58531],{"text":58532,"type":596},"State push to speed up green transition",{"type":591,"attrs":58534,"content":58535},{"textAlign":49},[58536],{"text":58537,"type":596},"As economies across the globe rush to secure critical battery material supplies, the need for increasing government support for ensuring this transition becomes even more important. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58539,"content":58540},{"textAlign":49},[58541],{"text":58542,"type":596},"While China started preparing a robust battery material supply chain at least over a decade ago, the US with its Inflation Reduction Act and Europe with its soon to come into force Critical Raw Material Act are recent entrants. Given the urgent need to cut global emissions by the end of the decade, more effort is required to speed up the transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":58544,"content":58545},{"textAlign":49},[58546],{"text":58547,"type":596},"“The European Critical Raw Materials Act has the potential to increase extraction, recycling and processing within the EU. For example, through streamlined permitting processes. God knows things are not moving fast enough in this union,” said Ebba Busch, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister, Government of Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":58549,"content":58550},{"textAlign":49},[58551],{"text":58552,"type":596},"According to Busch, the state should be a catalyst and accelerator for the green transition, rather than just supplying state aid. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58554,"content":58555},{"textAlign":49},[58556],{"text":52875,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58558,"content":58559},{"textAlign":49},[58560,58564,58569],{"text":58561,"type":596,"marks":58562},"Discussions on raw material price volatility will continue at Benchmark’s ",[58563],{"type":1006},{"text":47180,"type":596,"marks":58565},[58566,58568],{"type":606,"attrs":58567},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":58570,"type":596,"marks":58571}," conference behind held June 11-13 at the JW Marriott Washington DC, USA.",[58572],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":58574,"content":58575},{"textAlign":49},[58576,58580,58586],{"text":58577,"type":596,"marks":58578},"This year’s conference will include Benchmark’s inaugural ",[58579],{"type":1006},{"text":58581,"type":596,"marks":58582},"World Lithium Congress",[58583,58585],{"type":606,"attrs":58584},{"href":51295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":58587,"type":596,"marks":58588},". The world’s lithium industry, global governance and finance meet for the world’s biggest and most influential pure play lithium event.",[58589],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":58591,"content":58592},{"textAlign":49},[58593],{"text":54091,"type":596,"marks":58594},[58595,58596],{"type":1006},{"type":1006},"Downstream consumers will face more battery raw material price volatility this decade, Benchmark’s Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer, warned delegates at Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024 event, being held in Stockholm, Sweden. While many battery raw material markets are currently in surplus, Benchmark forecasts that by the end of the decade these markets will slip into […]",[58599],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58600},{"job_title":557,"image":58601,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"023c442b-1c29-4bce-9862-14541ee8dfc8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[58604,58605,58606,58607,58608,58609,58610],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":58612,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58613,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5c7fd928b8/bm-casparandbusch.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 13, 2024",{"id":58616,"uuid":58617,"name":58618,"slug":58619,"full_slug":58620,"content":58621},112469921084990,"3cdd18fc-dffd-42b3-a8e1-d339dbd21835","In charts: The state of play in Europe’s battery market","in-charts-the-state-of-play-in-europes-battery-market","article/in-charts-the-state-of-play-in-europes-battery-market",{"_uid":58622,"date":58623,"tags":58624,"editor":58627,"content":58631,"excerpt":58737,"featured":51,"reporter":58738,"_editable":58742,"component":697,"seo_title":58618,"categories":58743,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":58745,"featured_image":58747,"seo_description":58737,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":58751},"95c86931-1337-45b7-96ee-2bc291fa8be5","2024-03-12 00:00",[58625,58626],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[58628],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58629},{"job_title":557,"image":58630,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":58632},[58633,58638,58643,58651,58662,58667,58675,58686,58691,58698,58703,58708,58716],{"type":591,"attrs":58634,"content":58635},{"textAlign":49},[58636],{"text":58637,"type":596},"Europe faces unique challenges across its electric vehicle battery supply chain. The region also holds significant advantages. The following charts set out some of the key trends and data for understanding the European battery cell market.",{"type":615,"attrs":58639,"content":58640},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58641],{"text":58642,"type":596},"European demand significantly exceeds supply",{"type":591,"attrs":58644,"content":58645},{"textAlign":49},[58646],{"type":836,"attrs":58647},{"id":49,"alt":58648,"src":58649,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58650},"Line chart showing growing European battery cell deficit between 2024 and 2035","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/34c1d9b506/bm-eu-cell-deficit-to-2035-line-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58652,"content":58653},{"textAlign":49},[58654,58656,58660],{"text":58655,"type":596},"European battery cell production for 2035 is forecast to be more than 8x higher than 2024, but demand still significantly exceeds supply, leading to a battery cell deficit of more than 850 gigawatt hours (GWh) by the mid 2030s, based on forecast figures from ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":58657},[58658],{"type":606,"attrs":58659},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58661,"type":596},". Europe will rely on production from other regions, especially China, to address this deficit.",{"type":615,"attrs":58663,"content":58664},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58665],{"text":58666,"type":596},"The majority of Europe’s battery cells are made in four countries",{"type":591,"attrs":58668,"content":58669},{"textAlign":49},[58670],{"type":836,"attrs":58671},{"id":49,"alt":58672,"src":58673,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58674},"Stacked area chart showing growing European battery cell production broken down by country","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/81d9d3675b/bm-european-countrys-forecast-battery-cell-supply-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58676,"content":58677},{"textAlign":49},[58678,58680,58684],{"text":58679,"type":596},"Poland, Hungary, Sweden, and Germany are forecast to produce 93% of Europe’s battery cells in 2024, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":58681},[58682],{"type":606,"attrs":58683},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58685,"type":596},". This figure falls to 60% by 2035 as countries like France, whose market share will be 10% by that time, ramp up production. Germany is set for the largest absolute increase with production forecast to be more than 340 GWh higher in 2035.",{"type":615,"attrs":58687,"content":58688},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58689],{"text":58690,"type":596},"Chinese-owned companies will account for 33% of Europe’s battery production in 2030",{"type":591,"attrs":58692,"content":58693},{"textAlign":49},[58694],{"type":836,"attrs":58695},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":58696,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58697},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0de067ca8c/bm-chinese-owned-european-battery-production-chart.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58699,"content":58700},{"textAlign":49},[58701],{"text":58702,"type":596},"Chinese-owned companies – seeking to benefit from the region’s ambitious electrification targets and a more favourable business environment than the US – will make up 33% of European battery production in 2030, according to Aran Waid, a battery analyst at Benchmark. Benchmark is tracking more than 40 production facilities being developed in Europe, 12 of which are Chinese-owned.",{"type":615,"attrs":58704,"content":58705},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58706],{"text":58707,"type":596},"European battery cells offer lower carbon intensity than those made in China",{"type":591,"attrs":58709,"content":58710},{"textAlign":49},[58711],{"type":836,"attrs":58712},{"id":49,"alt":58713,"src":58714,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58715},"Stacked bar chart showing the similar Cathode and Anode carbon intensity between EU and Chinese manufactured cells and the higher cell manufacturing carbon intensity of cells made in China.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/77d36ed72c/bm-china-vs-eu-battery-cell-carbon-intensity-3.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58717,"content":58718},{"textAlign":49},[58719,58721,58727,58729,58735],{"text":58720,"type":596},"Europe’s lower carbon energy mix means cells produced in the region generally have a lower carbon intensity than those made in China, according to data from ",{"text":58722,"type":596,"marks":58723},"Benchmark’s Battery Emissions Analyser",[58724],{"type":606,"attrs":58725},{"href":58726,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/battery-emissions-analyser/",{"text":58728,"type":596},". This is significant in light of the recent ",{"text":58730,"type":596,"marks":58731},"EU Battery Regulation",[58732],{"type":606,"attrs":58733},{"href":58734,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-the-lithium-ion-supply-chain-should-prepare-for-the-eu-battery-regulation",{"text":58736,"type":596}," which sets out rules on transparency and sustainability for battery cells. From 2025, EV battery producers will have to disclose the carbon footprint of their cells with later regulation setting performance classes and thresholds which encourage manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of their batteries.","Europe faces unique challenges across its electric vehicle battery supply chain. The region also holds significant advantages. The following charts set out some of the key trends and data for understanding the European battery cell market. European demand significantly exceeds supply European battery cell production for 2035 is forecast to be more than 8x higher […]",[58739],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58740},{"job_title":557,"image":58741,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"95c86931-1337-45b7-96ee-2bc291fa8be5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[58744],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":58672,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":58672,"source":547,"filename":58673,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58746,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":58672,"title":58672,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":58748,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":58748,"source":547,"filename":58749,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58750,"is_external_url":51},"Battery and wire installed on electric system of eco car engine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7fb112f16d/bm-ev-battery.jpg",{"alt":58748,"title":58748,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 12, 2024",{"id":58753,"uuid":58754,"name":58755,"slug":58756,"full_slug":58757,"content":58758},112469945378371,"5772f80e-a465-4952-854e-c888dfa6ff2b","How LFP cathode competition has driven prices down","how-lfp-cathode-competition-has-driven-prices-down","article/how-lfp-cathode-competition-has-driven-prices-down",{"_uid":58759,"date":58760,"tags":58761,"editor":58765,"content":58769,"excerpt":58933,"featured":51,"reporter":58934,"_editable":58938,"component":697,"seo_title":58755,"categories":58939,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":58945,"featured_image":58947,"seo_description":58933,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":58949},"125c300d-7660-4121-a791-cfb70b330f38","2024-03-08 00:00",[58762,58763,58764],{"slug":22025,"name":22026},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[58766],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58767},{"job_title":557,"image":58768,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":58770},[58771,58783,58796,58814,58824,58837,58842,58850,58855,58867,58872,58880,58885,58890,58895,58900,58905,58910,58915,58920,58928],{"type":591,"attrs":58772,"content":58773},{"textAlign":49},[58774,58776,58782],{"text":58775,"type":596},"Capacity for the production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material is significantly exceeding demand for the material, ",{"text":58777,"type":596,"marks":58778},"driving down prices",[58779],{"type":606,"attrs":58780},{"href":58781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-to-expect-for-cathode-markets-in-2024",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58784,"content":58785},{"textAlign":49},[58786,58788,58794],{"text":58787,"type":596},"This year, LFP production capacity is set to be 76% higher than the ",{"text":58789,"type":596,"marks":58790},"forecast demand",[58791],{"type":606,"attrs":58792},{"href":58793,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cathode/reports/",{"text":58795,"type":596}," for the material. This overcapacity is expected to increase to 127% in 2025. A significant quantity of this supply, however, is set to come from cathode material producers not qualified to supply the Western automotive market.",{"type":591,"attrs":58797,"content":58798},{"textAlign":49},[58799,58801,58807,58809,58813],{"text":58800,"type":596},"This, in part, pushed ",{"text":58802,"type":596,"marks":58803},"LFP cathode material prices down",[58804],{"type":606,"attrs":58805},{"href":58806,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lfp-cathode-prices-hit-17-month-low-as-producers-cut-prices-due-to-weak-demand",{"text":58808,"type":596}," 73% between February 2023 and February 2024, according to ",{"text":56933,"type":596,"marks":58810},[58811],{"type":606,"attrs":58812},{"href":16939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":58815,"content":58816},{"textAlign":49},[58817,58822],{"text":58818,"type":596,"marks":58819},"Low raw material prices",[58820],{"type":606,"attrs":58821},{"href":47330,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58823,"type":596}," are also putting negative pressure on cathode prices, further squeezing the profit margins of cathode producers who are increasingly struggling to compete in an oversaturated market.",{"type":591,"attrs":58825,"content":58826},{"textAlign":49},[58827,58829,58835],{"text":58828,"type":596},"“There’s a huge price war between cathode producers because with so much available supply from a large number of manufacturers, cell producers are able to capitalise and pit suppliers against each other,” ",{"text":58830,"type":596,"marks":58831},"Evan Hartley",[58832],{"type":606,"attrs":58833},{"href":58834,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/lithium-ion-cell-prices-fall-below-100-per-kwh-battery-market-2023-in-review",{"text":58836,"type":596},", a senior price analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":58838,"content":58839},{"textAlign":49},[58840],{"text":58841,"type":596},"LFP cathodes are currently used mostly for shorter-range EVs owing to the lower energy density of cells using the chemistry in contrast to higher energy density nickel-based cathode chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":58843,"content":58844},{"textAlign":49},[58845],{"type":836,"attrs":58846},{"id":49,"alt":58847,"src":58848,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58849},"LFP cathode overcapacity set to grow","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b538d83219/bm-lfp-overcapacity-chart-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":58851,"content":58852},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58853],{"text":58854,"type":596},"Cathode competition used as cell bargaining tool",{"type":591,"attrs":58856,"content":58857},{"textAlign":49},[58858,58860,58865],{"text":58859,"type":596},"In cell production, the ",{"text":58861,"type":596,"marks":58862},"top ten companies",[58863],{"type":606,"attrs":58864},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58866,"type":596}," account for 92% of global cell capacity. By contrast, the top ten cathode producers account for just 38% of global cathode material production.",{"type":591,"attrs":58868,"content":58869},{"textAlign":49},[58870],{"text":58871,"type":596},"This greater diversity of companies means there is far greater competition in cathode material production, with producers looking to supply relatively few cell makers. This decreases cathode material prices as companies compete on price.",{"type":591,"attrs":58873,"content":58874},{"textAlign":49},[58875],{"type":836,"attrs":58876},{"id":49,"alt":58877,"src":58878,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58879},"2024 cathode market more competitive than cell market","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39ab0a5fe4/bm-cell-cathode-top-10-pie-charts.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58881,"content":58882},{"textAlign":49},[58883],{"text":58884,"type":596},"However, many new cathode producers are entering the market from non-battery related industries such as titanium dioxide or agricultural chemical production. This is especially the case for LFP producers with 43% of 2024 capacity associated with Tier 2 and 3 producers who are not qualified to supply the Western automotive market.",{"type":591,"attrs":58886,"content":58887},{"textAlign":49},[58888],{"text":58889,"type":596},"“Many industrially focused manufacturers found themselves with existing procurement strategies for iron phosphate or phosphoric acid, and anticipated a small leap to LFP material production,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":58891,"content":58892},{"textAlign":49},[58893],{"text":58894,"type":596},"These companies are often lower tier companies not yet qualified to supply to the automotive market. But the low costs they are offering further drive down the prices of Tier 1 producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":58896,"content":58897},{"textAlign":49},[58898],{"text":58899,"type":596},"“Whilst Tier 1 cell producers aren’t likely to utilise supply from Tier 3 cathode producers, what they can do is use those companies as bargaining tools against their regular suppliers,” Hartley said.",{"type":615,"attrs":58901,"content":58902},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[58903],{"text":58904,"type":596},"Low raw material costs lower margins",{"type":591,"attrs":58906,"content":58907},{"textAlign":49},[58908],{"text":58909,"type":596},"The raw material costs for cathode producers have declined over the last year, especially for LFP producers who are more sensitive to changes in lithium pricing than those producing nickel- and cobalt-containing cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":58911,"content":58912},{"textAlign":49},[58913],{"text":58914,"type":596},"Cathode material is typically priced based on current raw material prices, rather than the price that the cathode producer bought the feedstock at. Hartley explained that this can benefit the cathode makers when prices are rising, but in a falling price environment this further squeezes their profit margins.",{"type":591,"attrs":58916,"content":58917},{"textAlign":49},[58918],{"text":58919,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have fallen over the last year, but ticked upwards 1.6% between mid-January and mid-February this year. Despite this recent uptick, LFP cathode prices declined 7% in the same period due to highly competitive market conditions.",{"type":591,"attrs":58921,"content":58922},{"textAlign":49},[58923],{"type":836,"attrs":58924},{"id":49,"alt":58925,"src":58926,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58927},"LFP prices have fallen 73% year-on-year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/240be89a37/bm-lfp-price-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58929,"content":58930},{"textAlign":49},[58931],{"text":58932,"type":596},"The low raw material prices, high competition between cathode producers and the bargaining power held by cell makers have combined to squeeze the profit margins of cathode producers to be “significantly reduced,” according to Hartley.","Capacity for the production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material is significantly exceeding demand for the material, driving down prices. This year, LFP production capacity is set to be 76% higher than the forecast demand for the material. This overcapacity is expected to increase to 127% in 2025. A significant quantity of this supply, […]",[58935],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58936},{"job_title":557,"image":58937,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"125c300d-7660-4121-a791-cfb70b330f38\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[58940,58941,58942,58943,58944],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":58877,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":58877,"source":547,"filename":58878,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58946,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":58877,"title":58877,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18076,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":58948,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 08, 2024",{"id":58951,"uuid":58952,"name":58953,"slug":58954,"full_slug":58955,"content":58956},112469935703617,"3b13238d-4c25-433a-8657-b2320aa5b60a","Can Africa fill the EU’s critical mineral deficit? ","can-africa-fill-the-eus-critical-mineral-deficit","article/can-africa-fill-the-eus-critical-mineral-deficit",{"_uid":58957,"date":58760,"tags":58958,"editor":58963,"content":58967,"excerpt":59117,"featured":51,"reporter":59118,"_editable":59122,"component":697,"seo_title":58953,"categories":59123,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":59129,"seo_description":59117,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":58949},"3fdc214d-ae54-43a1-92d3-fbd9a888214f",[58959,58960,58961,58962],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":34022,"name":34023},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[58964],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":58965},{"job_title":557,"image":58966,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":58968},[58969,58981,58986,58991,58998,59003,59008,59013,59018,59029,59034,59047,59052,59057,59067,59078,59083,59088,59093,59100],{"type":591,"attrs":58970,"content":58971},{"textAlign":49},[58972,58974,58979],{"text":58973,"type":596},"Since the ",{"text":58975,"type":596,"marks":58976},"Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) established ambitious targets",[58977],{"type":606,"attrs":58978},{"href":53385,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":58980,"type":596}," for the EU to strengthen the autonomy of its critical raw material supply chains and reduce dependence on China, the diversity of Africa’s minerals has seen the EU prioritise the continent as a key energy transition partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":58982,"content":58983},{"textAlign":49},[58984],{"text":58985,"type":596},"Africa is currently a leading exporter of at least 10 critical minerals to the EU and European policymakers have signed several Strategic Partnerships post-CRMA to enhance cooperation with mineral-rich countries across the continent. These partnerships are designed to integrate critical mineral value chains and promote economic development, while upholding the EU’s rigorous sustainability standards. ",{"type":591,"attrs":58987,"content":58988},{"textAlign":49},[58989],{"text":58990,"type":596},"Africa currently accounts for 78% of global cobalt supply, 19% of flake graphite supply, and 4% of lithium supply, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":58992,"content":58993},{"textAlign":49},[58994],{"type":836,"attrs":58995},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":58996,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":58997},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/965a9978a5/bm-africas-raw-material-potential.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":58999,"content":59000},{"textAlign":49},[59001],{"text":59002,"type":596},"Through its Global Gateway Initiative (launched in October 2021) the EU is also attempting to regain lost geopolitical influence in the region. Counterbalancing China’s Belt and Road Initiative by promoting European investment in infrastructure projects throughout the continent.",{"type":615,"attrs":59004,"content":59005},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59006],{"text":59007,"type":596},"DRC underpins Europe’s battery ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":59009,"content":59010},{"textAlign":49},[59011],{"text":59012,"type":596},"Across the spectrum of battery materials, cobalt is forecast to experience the largest supply shortfall in Europe by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59014,"content":59015},{"textAlign":49},[59016],{"text":59017,"type":596},"“Mined cobalt output in the EU currently accounts for less than 1% of total global supply. Europe produces about 10% of the world’s refined cobalt, leaving it reliant on imports of cobalt intermediates from outside the region,” said Will Talbot, cobalt analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":59019,"content":59020},{"textAlign":49},[59021,59023,59027],{"text":59022,"type":596},"This reliance is only set to increase over the short-to-medium term as the bloc ramps up refining capacity to meet the CRMA’s 40% processing target by 2030. ",{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":59024},[59025],{"type":606,"attrs":59026},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59028,"type":596}," shows that cobalt extracted in the EU will be equivalent to only 2% of the bloc’s battery demand by the end of decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":59030,"content":59031},{"textAlign":49},[59032],{"text":59033,"type":596},"With this forthcoming supply deficit in mind, the EU has partnered with the cobalt-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbour Zambia, signing provisional critical raw materials agreements with the two countries in October 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59035,"content":59036},{"textAlign":49},[59037,59039,59045],{"text":59038,"type":596},"As well as accounting for more than two-thirds of global cobalt production out to 2030, the ",{"text":59040,"type":596,"marks":59041},"DRC also has considerable reserves of lithium",[59042],{"type":606,"attrs":59043},{"href":59044,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/africas-critical-mineral-production-poised-for-rapid-growth",{"text":59046,"type":596}," that could meet up to 10% of the EU’s lithium demand by 2035. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59048,"content":59049},{"textAlign":49},[59050],{"text":59051,"type":596},"The bloc has agreed similar partnerships with Namibia (November 2022) and Rwanda (February 2024). Although its partnership with Rwanda has drawn sharp criticism from Congolese lawmakers due to the former’s alleged support for M23 rebels in eastern DRC – a potential sticking point as the EU seeks to progress its agreement with the DRC. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59053,"content":59054},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59055],{"text":59056,"type":596},"Breaking China’s grip in Africa",{"type":591,"attrs":59058,"content":59059},{"textAlign":49},[59060,59065],{"text":59061,"type":596,"marks":59062},"Chinese firms currently have financial stakes in 18 of the 26 cobalt-producing assets in the DRC ",[59063],{"type":606,"attrs":59064},{"href":40396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59066,"type":596},"and 80% of lithium mines across Africa. By establishing Strategic Partnerships, the EU hopes to stimulate private investment in Africa’s mining sector and associated infrastructure to develop alternative critical mineral supplies and trade routes for Western allies.",{"type":591,"attrs":59068,"content":59069},{"textAlign":49},[59070,59072,59076],{"text":59071,"type":596},"The EU’s partnership with the DRC and Zambia includes a commitment, alongside the United States and other regional actors such as Trafigura, to support the development of the ",{"text":41077,"type":596,"marks":59073},[59074],{"type":606,"attrs":59075},{"href":40396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59077,"type":596},"; a proposed upgrade to the existing railway connecting the Angolan port of Lobito with Kolwezi in the DRC. An expansion into Zambia is also planned. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59079,"content":59080},{"textAlign":49},[59081],{"text":59082,"type":596},"“The Lobito Corridor is an illustration of the EU’s and the US’s ambition to counter China’s geopolitical involvement in the African Copperbelt, and, at the same time, it is a way for both to diversify supply. Both hope that more of the DRC’s minerals will be shipped to Western players through the refurbishment of the railway,” said Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":59084,"content":59085},{"textAlign":49},[59086],{"text":59087,"type":596},"Pilot shipments indicate that transporting raw materials from the copper belt via the Lobito Railway could cut transportation times to port by more than a third. Shipping from the Atlantic coast would also considerably reduce transit times for minerals destined for Europe and North America markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59089,"content":59090},{"textAlign":49},[59091],{"text":59092,"type":596},"“However, it remains to be seen in practice if Chinese players will also use this corridor. There might be a gap between geopolitical aspirations and eventual practical implications,” Bille added.",{"type":591,"attrs":59094,"content":59095},{"textAlign":49},[59096],{"text":59097,"type":596,"marks":59098},"Benchmark’s upcoming webinar will be the first instalment of our quarterly webinar series focused on the impact of geopolitics and government legislation on the supply chain.",[59099],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":59101,"content":59102},{"textAlign":49},[59103,59107,59114],{"text":59104,"type":596,"marks":59105},"For further insight, join our webinar on Thursday 28 March at 15:00 (GMT): ",[59106],{"type":1006},{"text":59108,"type":596,"marks":59109},"How Election Year Will Shape Critical Mineral Supply Chains",[59110,59113],{"type":606,"attrs":59111},{"href":59112,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/how-election-year-will-shape-critical-mineral-supply-chains/",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":59115},[59116],{"type":1006},"Since the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) established ambitious targets for the EU to strengthen the autonomy of its critical raw material supply chains and reduce dependence on China, the diversity of Africa’s minerals has seen the EU prioritise the continent as a key energy transition partner. Africa is currently a leading exporter of at […]",[59119],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59120},{"job_title":557,"image":59121,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3fdc214d-ae54-43a1-92d3-fbd9a888214f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[59124,59125,59126,59127,59128],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":59130,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":59131,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d55dafe473/bm-africanunionflagandeuflag.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":59133,"uuid":59134,"name":59135,"slug":59136,"full_slug":59137,"content":59138},112469950150212,"9b299501-9a2d-4039-9309-5416435afdcc","Why South Korean battery makers fear FEOC rules could disrupt their US plans","why-south-korean-battery-makers-fear-feoc-rules-could-disrupt-their-us-plans","article/why-south-korean-battery-makers-fear-feoc-rules-could-disrupt-their-us-plans",{"_uid":59139,"date":59140,"tags":59141,"editor":59147,"content":59151,"excerpt":59305,"featured":51,"reporter":59306,"_editable":59310,"component":697,"seo_title":59135,"categories":59311,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":59315,"seo_description":59305,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":59318},"ab1922d7-a493-4de1-a670-47c4219114cb","2024-03-07 00:00",[59142,59143,59144,59145,59146],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":32321,"name":32322},{"slug":6053,"name":6054},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[59148],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59149},{"job_title":557,"image":59150,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":59152},[59153,59158,59163,59168,59173,59178,59183,59201,59206,59211,59222,59225,59230,59235,59240,59245,59250,59255,59260,59265,59270,59275,59280,59285,59290,59295,59300],{"type":591,"attrs":59154,"content":59155},{"textAlign":49},[59156],{"text":59157,"type":596},"Foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions on Chinese supply would make it difficult for South Korean producers to meet demand for Inflation Reduction Act-compliant batteries, according to battery makers LG and SK On.",{"type":591,"attrs":59159,"content":59160},{"textAlign":49},[59161],{"text":59162,"type":596},"In their feedback to the US Treasury’s FEOC guidelines, SK On joined LG and Hyundai in expressing reluctance to move away from existing supply chains starting next January, the deadline given under current FEOC rules. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59164,"content":59165},{"textAlign":49},[59166],{"text":59167,"type":596},"The US’ FEOC guidelines, published December 2023, defined an FEOC as any entity 25% owned or controlled by a FEOC, including China. It is still unclear how the FEOC will be implemented. The final guidance expected to come out later this year may incorporate some of the feedback comments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59169,"content":59170},{"textAlign":49},[59171],{"text":59172,"type":596},"A factor that might ease South Korea’s supply concerns is that some Chinese critical minerals and battery producers have shown willingness to reduce ownership shares in firms so that they comply with the 25% FEOC threshold. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59174,"content":59175},{"textAlign":49},[59176],{"text":59177,"type":596},"SK On, which holds battery supply contracts with Ford and Volkswagen, stated while they support the US’ supply security measures, building alternative supply chains “requires significant time, investment, and technological resources as part of a coherent long-term strategy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59179,"content":59180},{"textAlign":49},[59181],{"text":59182,"type":596},"SK On, LG, and Hyundai each requested temporary sourcing disclosure exemptions for certain critical minerals whose supply is dominated by China.",{"type":591,"attrs":59184,"content":59185},{"textAlign":49},[59186,59188,59193,59194,59200],{"text":59187,"type":596},"The companies pointed to spherical and synthetic graphite as key examples of minerals that need temporary FEOC exemptions. In 2023, China globally supplied 99% and 69% of these materials respectively, according to ",{"text":59189,"type":596,"marks":59190},"Benchmark’s Natural",[59191],{"type":606,"attrs":59192},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":11622,"type":596},{"text":59195,"type":596,"marks":59196},"Synthetic Graphite Forecasts",[59197],{"type":606,"attrs":59198},{"href":59199,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/synthetic-graphite/reports/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59202,"content":59203},{"textAlign":49},[59204],{"text":59205,"type":596},"From 1 January 2025, EVs sold in the US with batteries containing FEOC-processed, extracted, or recycled minerals could become ineligible for IRA tax credits, with manufacturers responsible for tracking and disclosing battery sourcing.",{"type":591,"attrs":59207,"content":59208},{"textAlign":49},[59209],{"text":59210,"type":596},"South Korea, a US free trade partner, is a vital ally in US efforts to diversify battery sourcing away from China. South Korean companies are the second biggest battery producers after Chinese companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":59212,"content":59213},{"textAlign":49},[59214,59216,59221],{"text":59215,"type":596},"In addition, LGES and SK On’s combined battery operations are set to account for 38% of total North American battery production capacity in 2030, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":59217},[59218],{"type":606,"attrs":59219},{"href":59220,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment/capacities",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59223,"content":59224},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":59226,"content":59227},{"textAlign":49},[59228],{"text":59229,"type":596},"Yet South Korea has little mining and processing capacity leaving its major cathode producers, including Ecopro, L&F and POSCO, reliant on significant amounts of precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM) from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":59231,"content":59232},{"textAlign":49},[59233],{"text":59234,"type":596},"As well as temporary disclosure exemptions for Chinese-dominated supply chains, South Korean industry interests also called on the US Treasury to permanently revise how FEOC materials in batteries are calculated and to raise the limit for how much FEOC-supplied materials a battery can contain before it is ineligible for IRA benefits.",{"type":591,"attrs":59236,"content":59237},{"textAlign":49},[59238],{"text":59239,"type":596},"SK On stated they support US supply security measures but that building alternative supply chains “requires significant time, investment, and technological resources as part of a coherent long-term strategy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59241,"content":59242},{"textAlign":49},[59243],{"text":59244,"type":596},"Hyundai called the “immediate elimination of FEOCs” from the guidelines “unrealistic”,  warning it could hamper IRA climate goals by preventing the “majority” of potential US EV consumers from enjoying its tax credits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59246,"content":59247},{"textAlign":49},[59248],{"text":59249,"type":596},"It is still unclear how the FEOC will be implemented. The final guidance is expected to come out later this year, potentially incorporating some of the feedback comments.",{"type":615,"attrs":59251,"content":59252},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59253],{"text":59254,"type":596},"Grace period for graphite",{"type":591,"attrs":59256,"content":59257},{"textAlign":49},[59258],{"text":59259,"type":596},"Most South Korean lithium ion players that submitted feedback agreed that the US Treasury should allow temporary disclosure exemptions for minerals whose supply chains are still dominated by China.",{"type":591,"attrs":59261,"content":59262},{"textAlign":49},[59263],{"text":59264,"type":596},"Under the temporary exemption proposal requested by Hyundai, LG, Sk On, and the Korean Battery Industry Association (KBIA), certain minerals could qualify for IRA credits regardless of their origin.",{"type":591,"attrs":59266,"content":59267},{"textAlign":49},[59268],{"text":59269,"type":596},"Each stated that natural and synthetic graphite need exemptions due to limited ex-China supply, with SK On estimating it would take “at least three to four years” to secure non-Chinese graphite suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":59271,"content":59272},{"textAlign":49},[59273],{"text":59274,"type":596},"LG argued for the exemption of graphite and other minerals on the basis that they should be classed as ‘low value’ materials that comprise less than ten percent of the value of a battery’s critical minerals. The company said that fluorspar and cobalt should also be exempt from disclosure for this reason.",{"type":615,"attrs":59276,"content":59277},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59278],{"text":59279,"type":596},"Exempt hard-to-trace inputs, say producers",{"type":591,"attrs":59281,"content":59282},{"textAlign":49},[59283],{"text":59284,"type":596},"LG, SK On, and KBIA also urged the US Treasury to permanently exempt low-value, difficult-to-trace battery inputs from origin disclosure requirements due to practical difficulties and cost burdens for manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":59286,"content":59287},{"textAlign":49},[59288],{"text":59289,"type":596},"SK On gave the example of electrolyte inputs, stating it would be “impossible to conduct due diligence” on each of the “20 different raw materials” that go into the component. Instead, it proposed that manufacturers should only be obliged to disclose sourcing for the final electrolyte that goes into cells. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59291,"content":59292},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59293],{"text":59294,"type":596},"Higher FEOC material threshold ",{"type":591,"attrs":59296,"content":59297},{"textAlign":49},[59298],{"text":59299,"type":596},"Hyundai also wants a permanent revision in the method used to calculate the number of FEOC compliant batteries that can be manufactured, saying current rules “would be a significant burden on qualified manufacturers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59301,"content":59302},{"textAlign":49},[59303],{"text":59304,"type":596},"The current method means that even if just one of the applicable critical minerals used to manufacture batteries is 0% FEOC-compliant, none of the batteries manufactured is accepted as FEOC compliant.","Foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions on Chinese supply would make it difficult for South Korean producers to meet demand for Inflation Reduction Act-compliant batteries, according to battery makers LG and SK On. In their feedback to the US Treasury’s FEOC guidelines, SK On joined LG and Hyundai in expressing reluctance to move away from […]",[59307],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59308},{"job_title":557,"image":59309,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ab1922d7-a493-4de1-a670-47c4219114cb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[59312,59313,59314],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":59316,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":59317,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/LG-building-South-Korea-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 07, 2024",{"id":59320,"uuid":59321,"name":59322,"slug":59323,"full_slug":59324,"content":59325},112469989283405,"4419dfaf-1122-4184-9685-fb68e4a9493e","“The potential for DLE to make a contribution to the lithium growth story is immense.” Q&A with ILiAD CEO Samuel Moore","the-potential-for-dle-to-make-a-contribution-to-the-lithium-growth-story-is-immense-qa-with-iliad-ceo-samuel-moore","article/the-potential-for-dle-to-make-a-contribution-to-the-lithium-growth-story-is-immense-qa-with-iliad-ceo-samuel-moore",{"_uid":59326,"date":59327,"tags":59328,"editor":59331,"content":59335,"excerpt":59525,"featured":50,"reporter":59526,"_editable":59530,"component":697,"seo_title":59322,"categories":59531,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":59533,"seo_description":59525,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":59536},"b264b01b-ff07-437a-96ac-9b153d99d7b6","2024-02-28 00:00",[59329,59330],{"slug":4928,"name":4929},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[59332],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59333},{"job_title":557,"image":59334,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":59336},[59337,59353,59358,59370,59375,59380,59385,59394,59399,59404,59409,59414,59419,59424,59429,59442,59447,59452,59457,59462,59467,59472,59477,59484,59489,59494,59499,59504,59509,59514],{"type":591,"attrs":59338,"content":59339},{"textAlign":49},[59340,59342,59346,59348],{"text":59341,"type":596},"At the end of last year lithium major Livent (now Arcadium Lithium) bought a minority stake in ILiAD Technologies, a California-based company that has spent years developing technology to produce ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":59343},[59344],{"type":606,"attrs":59345},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59347,"type":596}," from various brines using ",{"text":59349,"type":596,"marks":59350},"Direct Lithium Extraction.",[59351],{"type":606,"attrs":59352},{"href":51714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":59354,"content":59355},{"textAlign":49},[59356],{"text":59357,"type":596},"The company’s adsorption technology has been developed over seven years of research and pilot testing with its parent company Energy Source Minerals, a developer of projects in the Salton Sea in California. It has also delivered its DLE technology to other companies such as Kansas-based Compass Minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59359,"content":59360},{"textAlign":49},[59361,59363,59368],{"text":59362,"type":596},"The process can be used to recover high-purity lithium chloride from lithium-laden ",{"text":59364,"type":596,"marks":59365},"brine resources",[59366],{"type":606,"attrs":59367},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59369,"type":596}," around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":59371,"content":59372},{"textAlign":49},[59373],{"text":59374,"type":596},"Arcadium Lithium said it could deploy ILiAD’s technology as soon as 2025 in Argentina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59376,"content":59377},{"textAlign":49},[59378],{"text":59379,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with ILiAD’s chief executive Samuel Moore to learn more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59381,"content":59382},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59383],{"text":59384,"type":596},"Could you describe your technology for us? ",{"type":591,"attrs":59386,"content":59387},{"textAlign":49},[59388,59390,59392],{"text":59389,"type":596},"ILiAD",{"text":59391,"type":596},"stands for Integrated Lithium Adsorption Desorption. ILiAD rolls off the tongue a little bit better than that, but maybe not. It lives in the adsorption",{"text":59393,"type":596},"to desorption family of DLE. And adsorption to desorption does seem to be gaining traction. A lot of industries seem to be centering around that core family of DLE. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59395,"content":59396},{"textAlign":49},[59397],{"text":59398,"type":596},"What we’ve done with ILiAD is really two things: we’ve got a proprietary adsorbent media that was developed by Chuck Marston. Chuck spent his career at Dow Chemical and was part of the original team that helped develop the adsorbent and the process that is now used by Arcadium Lithium. And he has improved the aluminium-based adsorbent that we use and we’ve got a proprietary recipe that’s very effective, and it has a very long life. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59400,"content":59401},{"textAlign":49},[59402],{"text":59403,"type":596},"And if you think about one of the major costs in a DLE project, it’s replacement – how long it lasts, how many cycles you can get out of it before you have to replace it. That makes a meaningful difference to economics. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59405,"content":59406},{"textAlign":49},[59407],{"text":59408,"type":596},"The second thing is we’ve married that adsorbent to our continuous counter-current circuit, and what that does is it takes what would traditionally be a very large fixed base column and splits it into multiple smaller columns. And what that allows us to do is run every single part of the process simultaneously, continuously. And it just means that you don’t have any adsorbent that is not doing anything. It’s always working. And that’s a step change in efficiency. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59410,"content":59411},{"textAlign":49},[59412],{"text":59413,"type":596},"That means you can have a lower inventory, you don’t need as much adsorbent as you’d otherwise require. You don’t need as much energy; you don’t need as much water. So you just get all of these step change benefits, in the costs and the way the system works. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59415,"content":59416},{"textAlign":49},[59417],{"text":59418,"type":596},"The other benefit is we’re able to tune the system very precisely so we can actually target the lowest impurities possible, the highest recoveries possible or maybe the lowest water use possible – you can actually balance between those competing factors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59420,"content":59421},{"textAlign":49},[59422],{"text":59423,"type":596},"We almost universally get recoveries over 90%. We get very high impurity rejections and have very efficient water use. So we believe the marrying of that proprietary adsorbent with the continuous counter carrier circuit really is state-of-the-art in the DLE space. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59425,"content":59426},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59427],{"text":59428,"type":596},"Does it need to work with brine at a high temperature?",{"type":591,"attrs":59430,"content":59431},{"textAlign":49},[59432,59434,59438,59440],{"text":59433,"type":596},"So traditionally, adsorption desorption does like temperature, [but] we’ve shown that ILiAD works really well down to 35 degrees celsius. So that’s another step change. And that’s a huge energy saving if you think of an Argentinian ",{"text":59435,"type":596,"marks":59436},"salar",[59437],{"type":1006},{"text":59439,"type":596},", it might come up at 12 degrees C. So not having to heat that into the 70s is a huge benefit. So you know, we’ve shown that we run ILiAD",{"text":59441,"type":596},"at 35 degrees with the incoming brine. For the strip solution to strip out of the adsorbent-laden columns, we heat the water for that process to 75 degrees C. But that’s a much smaller quantity of water than the incoming brine, it’s about 10% of it. So you’ve got a pretty large energy saving. And if you’ve got a downstream process off the back end, they will have excess heat. So it’s normal engineering practice to get a lot of heat from that. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59443,"content":59444},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59445],{"text":59446,"type":596},"What are the biggest hurdles for the DLE space to scale up the technology? ",{"type":591,"attrs":59448,"content":59449},{"textAlign":49},[59450],{"text":59451,"type":596},"So the DLE industry is still in its relative infancy. I mean, other than Livent or Arcadium, there isn’t much DLE operating today. And if you look at the DLE offerings in the marketplace, they’re all startups – trying new approaches to do something new. We had one customer tell us they had an advisor sort of survey the industry for them, and there were over 80 companies offering a solution. So if I’m a project owner, sitting on the outside looking in, there’s so much noise. There’s a huge number of companies with very little information about what they’re actually doing and how they do it and whether it works and how it works. A lot of companies haven’t progressed beyond bench testing and lab-scale testing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59453,"content":59454},{"textAlign":49},[59455],{"text":59456,"type":596},"It’s taking some time and it will take some time to sort of really get some clarity around which approaches work, and which approaches less so. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59458,"content":59459},{"textAlign":49},[59460],{"text":59461,"type":596},"And then obviously scale up is going to be – I don’t wanna say a hurdle – but it’s going to be a large undertaking for the industry. The adsorbent manufacturing requirements, building the equipment. A lot of the equipment uses specialist metals, because of their high salinity brines that we deal with. You’ve got to make sure your materials and construction are appropriate and they can be hard to come by. And then you’ve got to layer on top of that, the fact that it is still a new approach to lithium extraction. And so funding can take some time before traditional bank-type debt is comfortable with the state of the industry and it’s fundable. So we’re going to probably look at balance sheet funding of a lot of projects in the near term. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59463,"content":59464},{"textAlign":49},[59465],{"text":59466,"type":596},"And you’ve got natural resource risk, you still need to prove the resource and permit all of those things … The natural resource development lifecycle is a long one. And that will take time as well. I do think the potential for DLE to make a contribution to the lithium growth story is immense but the task at hand for the industry is immense as well. ",{"type":615,"attrs":59468,"content":59469},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59470],{"text":59471,"type":596},"And given the current depressed lithium prices, what do you see amongst your customers, is development slowing down?",{"type":591,"attrs":59473,"content":59474},{"textAlign":49},[59475],{"text":59476,"type":596},"ILiAD I think will be some of the cheapest lithium that you could produce and will be at the lower end of the cost curve. And we’re pretty comfortable about that. I think customers don’t look more than they have to at the lithium volatility. Natural resources projects are twenty or third year projects, you have to take a long term view on price. I don’t think anyone believed $80,000 a tonne was going to be the long term price and I don’t think people believe $10,000 a tonne will be either. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59478,"content":59479},{"textAlign":49},[59480],{"type":836,"attrs":59481},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":59482,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":59483},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fbd136a611/bm-weekly-price-charts-28.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":59485,"content":59486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59487],{"text":59488,"type":596},"And you mentioned that the supply chain needs to be built up or the manufacturing capacity needs to be built up. What’s the capex like for your technology?",{"type":591,"attrs":59490,"content":59491},{"textAlign":49},[59492],{"text":59493,"type":596},"So it’s not too bad. We’re lucky – we can deliver commercial systems today. I actually think that’s one of the differentiating factors. We’ve got blue chip suppliers in our adsorbent manufacturing space. We’ve got two household names, industry names, to manufacture the adsorbent to our specification. They are doing that today. And we delivered a commercial scale system to Compass Minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59495,"content":59496},{"textAlign":49},[59497],{"text":59498,"type":596},"I think the capital required on the scale up is upstream of us. The trickier question might be when do you form the confidence to invest? Everyone is sort of saying: What do I do first, do I get an order for a large commercial project and then build the supply chain to supply it, or do I build a supply chain and invest quite a lot of money in the hope that the customers are going to turn up? ",{"type":615,"attrs":59500,"content":59501},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59502],{"text":59503,"type":596},"And if you put a date on it, when do you think DLE is going to make a meaningful impact to supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":59505,"content":59506},{"textAlign":49},[59507],{"text":59508,"type":596},"Wow, that’s a great question. A project is probably a two year undertaking from the point where you’ve gone through your testing, you’ve decided on your approach, you’ve placed an order … I would hope that you’ll start to see DLE projects coming online in two to three years and then scaling to make a pretty significant contribution in three to five or six [years].",{"type":615,"attrs":59510,"content":59511},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59512],{"text":59513,"type":596},"How important is it to validate the technology on real world brines?",{"type":591,"attrs":59515,"content":59516},{"textAlign":49},[59517,59519,59523],{"text":59518,"type":596},"We think it’s important – we think you have to test on real world brines. And we’ve done that. We’ve tested Canadian petroleum brines. We’ve tested Smackover [Arkansas.] We’ve done years of testing here in California on the Salton Sea. And we’ve tested a number of Argentinian ",{"text":59520,"type":596,"marks":59521},"salars",[59522],{"type":1006},{"text":59524,"type":596}," as well. And brine from Europe. So we really have tested the universe. ","At the end of last year lithium major Livent (now Arcadium Lithium) bought a minority stake in ILiAD Technologies, a California-based company that has spent years developing technology to produce lithium from various brines using Direct Lithium Extraction. The company’s adsorption technology has been developed over seven years of research and pilot testing with its […]",[59527],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59528},{"job_title":557,"image":59529,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b264b01b-ff07-437a-96ac-9b153d99d7b6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[59532],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":59534,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":59535,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/64548b9e57/bm-iliad-ceo-samuel-moore.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 28, 2024",{"id":59538,"uuid":59539,"name":59540,"slug":59541,"full_slug":59542,"content":59543},112470003738192,"1d4f717b-b4af-43fa-8192-0b6e3ca7c7d9","Lithium prices and feedstock availability key to profitable LFP recycling","lithium-prices-and-feedstock-availability-key-to-profitable-lfp-recycling","article/lithium-prices-and-feedstock-availability-key-to-profitable-lfp-recycling",{"_uid":59544,"date":59545,"tags":59546,"editor":59552,"content":59556,"excerpt":59854,"featured":51,"reporter":59855,"_editable":59859,"component":697,"seo_title":59540,"categories":59860,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":59867,"featured_image":59871,"seo_description":59854,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":59873},"3bbde620-8ec2-4a75-9055-e2dcec0f5cfc","2024-02-23 00:00",[59547,59548,59549,59550,59551],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[59553],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59554},{"job_title":557,"image":59555,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":59557},[59558,59578,59589,59601,59613,59618,59623,59628,59638,59646,59651,59656,59672,59685,59690,59698,59703,59708,59718,59723,59744,59749,59754,59773,59782,59787,59792,59797,59802,59807,59812,59824,59829,59834,59839,59844,59849],{"type":591,"attrs":59559,"content":59560},{"textAlign":49},[59561,59563,59569,59571,59576],{"text":59562,"type":596},"With lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries ",{"text":59564,"type":596,"marks":59565},"increasing in popularity",[59566],{"type":606,"attrs":59567},{"href":59568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-catl-deal-could-bring-chinese-lfp-battery-production-to-europe",{"text":59570,"type":596},", recycling them will be key to ",{"text":59572,"type":596,"marks":59573},"reducing the demand-side pressures",[59574],{"type":606,"attrs":59575},{"href":43752,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59577,"type":596}," facing lithium producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":59579,"content":59580},{"textAlign":49},[59581,59583,59588],{"text":59582,"type":596},"However, unlike nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells, the only critical mineral accessible to recyclers in an LFP cell is lithium, exposing them more strongly to the ",{"text":59584,"type":596,"marks":59585},"mineral’s pricing trends",[59586],{"type":606,"attrs":59587},{"href":44657,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59590,"content":59591},{"textAlign":49},[59592,59594,59599],{"text":59593,"type":596},"Since February 2023, ",{"text":59595,"type":596,"marks":59596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Price Index",[59597],{"type":606,"attrs":59598},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59600,"type":596}," has fallen 81% making the economics of recycling LFP significantly less favourable, especially in the West.",{"type":591,"attrs":59602,"content":59603},{"textAlign":49},[59604,59606,59611],{"text":59605,"type":596},"“In the simplest of ways, if the lithium price is at the levels that we’re seeing today, we don’t think that, in the West at least, the recycling of LFP can be done profitably today without the gate fees,” ",{"text":59607,"type":596,"marks":59608},"Piotr Kulas",[59609],{"type":606,"attrs":59610},{"href":42438,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59612,"type":596},", a cost analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":59614,"content":59615},{"textAlign":49},[59616],{"text":59617,"type":596},"One reason for this is that China, generally, is a more cost effective country to build a recycling plant in than Western countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":59619,"content":59620},{"textAlign":49},[59621],{"text":59622,"type":596},"“Things are fast to build in China,” Kulas said. “They happen faster, they’re cheaper to make, there’s less red tape, and so on and so forth.”",{"type":615,"attrs":59624,"content":59625},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59626],{"text":59627,"type":596},"The value of lithium has fallen",{"type":591,"attrs":59629,"content":59630},{"textAlign":49},[59631,59633,59637],{"text":59632,"type":596},"This time last year, battery grade lithium carbonate was priced at RMB 434,000 per tonne ($62,925). Since then it has fallen 78% to RMB 95,400 ($13,250), according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":59634},[59635],{"type":606,"attrs":59636},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59639,"content":59640},{"textAlign":49},[59641],{"type":836,"attrs":59642},{"id":49,"alt":59643,"src":59644,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":59645},"In the last year, lithium prices have fallen around 80%","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/15e55974f0/bm-lithium-carbonate-price-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":59647,"content":59648},{"textAlign":49},[59649],{"text":59650,"type":596},"Unlike other battery chemistries, lithium is the only battery mineral that is extracted in the last stage of the battery recycling process for LFP. So with the price so low, there isn’t as strong an economic case to be made for recycling such batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":59652,"content":59653},{"textAlign":49},[59654],{"text":59655,"type":596},"Indeed, when prices were high, 79% of the value of the metal in an LFP cell was lithium. Now this has fallen to 46%.",{"type":591,"attrs":59657,"content":59658},{"textAlign":49},[59659,59664,59666,59670],{"text":59660,"type":596,"marks":59661},"Benchmark’s Recycling Cost Calculator",[59662],{"type":606,"attrs":59663},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59665,"type":596}," suggests a 10,000 tonne ",{"text":29770,"type":596,"marks":59667},[59668],{"type":606,"attrs":59669},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59671,"type":596}," processing facility in the US would only be able to break-even recycling end-of-life LFP if they received a gate fee of almost $900 per tonne of black mass received.",{"type":591,"attrs":59673,"content":59674},{"textAlign":49},[59675,59677,59683],{"text":59676,"type":596},"For some ",{"text":59678,"type":596,"marks":59679},"European countries",[59680],{"type":606,"attrs":59681},{"href":59682,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-europe-need-to-meet-eu-battery-recycling-targets",{"text":59684,"type":596}," such as Hungary, recyclers begin to make a small profit if they get the black mass for free.",{"type":591,"attrs":59686,"content":59687},{"textAlign":49},[59688],{"text":59689,"type":596},"“At the time of high interest rates and escalating capital costs, the payback on the investment is even harder to achieve,” Kulas said. “Having a choice between NCM and LFP feedstock, it is hard to make an economic case for recycling LFP.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59691,"content":59692},{"textAlign":49},[59693],{"type":836,"attrs":59694},{"id":49,"alt":59695,"src":59696,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":59697},"Fallingh lithium prices sees metal value in LFP cells drop significantly","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/683ad56d24/bm-lfp-value-131355320d23.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":59699,"content":59700},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59701],{"text":59702,"type":596},"To scale needs feedstock",{"type":591,"attrs":59704,"content":59705},{"textAlign":49},[59706],{"text":59707,"type":596},"In order to recycle LFP batteries, a company needs access to waste LFP batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":59709,"content":59710},{"textAlign":49},[59711,59713,59717],{"text":59712,"type":596},"This can either be in the form of an end-of-life LFP battery from an electric vehicle or energy storage system, or it could be ",{"text":48808,"type":596,"marks":59714},[59715],{"type":606,"attrs":59716},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59719,"content":59720},{"textAlign":49},[59721],{"text":59722,"type":596},"In either case, the vast majority of LFP batteries available for recycling are located in China, where most LFP gigafactories are and where penetration of LFP batteries into the EV market is high.",{"type":591,"attrs":59724,"content":59725},{"textAlign":49},[59726,59728,59732,59733,59737,59739,59743],{"text":59727,"type":596},"A recycler setting up in ",{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":59729},[59730],{"type":606,"attrs":59731},{"href":38766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":10939,"type":596},{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":59734},[59735],{"type":606,"attrs":59736},{"href":48757,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59738,"type":596}," will have far less access to waste LFP feedstock as there are no operating gigafactories in those regions that produce LFP cells according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":59740},[59741],{"type":606,"attrs":59742},{"href":47201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59745,"content":59746},{"textAlign":49},[59747],{"text":59748,"type":596},"Without access to large amounts of feedstock, economies of scale are less accessible. A large LFP recycling facility in North America or Europe would potentially need to operate at low utilisation rates until more feedstock became available.",{"type":591,"attrs":59750,"content":59751},{"textAlign":49},[59752],{"text":59753,"type":596},"“No one is going to invest a significant amount of capital, if they don’t think they will have uninterrupted flow of the batteries to run their plant at high utilisation,” Kulas said.",{"type":591,"attrs":59755,"content":59756},{"textAlign":49},[59757,59761,59762,59765,59770],{"text":59758,"type":596,"marks":59759},"Watch Benchmark principal analyst Piotr Kulas discuss the challenges of LFP recycling",[59760],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":59763},[59764],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":59766},[59767,59769],{"type":606,"attrs":59768},{"href":49007,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":59771},[59772],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":59774,"content":59775},{"textAlign":49},[59776,59780],{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":59777},[59778],{"type":606,"attrs":59779},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59781,"type":596}," shows in North America, just 16% of the end-of-life batteries available for recycling are LFP, compared to 35% for NCM. Similar percentages are seen in Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":59783,"content":59784},{"textAlign":49},[59785],{"text":59786,"type":596},"“Considering LFP recycling outside of China makes sense if one takes into account the future make-up of the recycled battery mix,” Kulas said.",{"type":591,"attrs":59788,"content":59789},{"textAlign":49},[59790],{"text":59791,"type":596},"In both North America and Europe, around 40% of the end-of-life battery pool in 2030 is forecast to be LFP, though it will remain a low proportion of process scrap.",{"type":615,"attrs":59793,"content":59794},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59795],{"text":59796,"type":596},"Integration helps but doesn’t solve the problem",{"type":591,"attrs":59798,"content":59799},{"textAlign":49},[59800],{"text":59801,"type":596},"For both shredders and integrated recyclers, a key cost is the scrap batteries. In a non-integrated setup, a shredder buys scrap batteries and processes them to produce black mass and metal scrap. The black mass is then sold on to a recycler at a profit.",{"type":591,"attrs":59803,"content":59804},{"textAlign":49},[59805],{"text":59806,"type":596},"In an integrated system, the profits of the shredding process are internalised, reducing costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":59808,"content":59809},{"textAlign":49},[59810],{"text":59811,"type":596},"“Western companies, their typical business model has always been the spoke and hub model,” Kulas said. “Where spokes would be the shredding plants located quite close to where the batteries are collected, and hubs would be largely hydrometallurgical plants that are fed by a variety of those spokes.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59813,"content":59814},{"textAlign":49},[59815,59817,59822],{"text":59816,"type":596},"But, even with the lower costs enjoyed by integrated companies, ",{"text":59818,"type":596,"marks":59819},"Benchmark’s Recycling Cost Model",[59820],{"type":606,"attrs":59821},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59823,"type":596}," shows that an integrated recycler taking end-of-life LFP battery modules in the US or Europe would need a gate-fee for the scrap batteries in order to breakeven.",{"type":591,"attrs":59825,"content":59826},{"textAlign":49},[59827],{"text":59828,"type":596},"“Shredding plants are relatively cheap and fast to set up, therefore any feedstock will do,” Kulas said. “However, given the capital costs involved in building the hydrometallurgical plant outside of China, and significantly smaller revenues derived from recycling of the LFP, it is hard to make a case for using the LFP black mass as the first choice.”",{"type":615,"attrs":59830,"content":59831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59832],{"text":59833,"type":596},"Value outside of lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":59835,"content":59836},{"textAlign":49},[59837],{"text":59838,"type":596},"Beyond lithium, there is also notable value in the copper and aluminium foils. As the foils are in a pure elemental form, these are extracted in the battery shredding process. As such the value of the foils is gained by the shredder, not the black mass processor.",{"type":591,"attrs":59840,"content":59841},{"textAlign":49},[59842],{"text":59843,"type":596},"This is one reason why shredding makes a stronger business case in the West than black mass processing: copper and aluminium prices are currently more stable than those of lithium and other battery minerals making revenues more predictable.",{"type":591,"attrs":59845,"content":59846},{"textAlign":49},[59847],{"text":59848,"type":596},"“[Shredders] can shred an LFP battery and get the foils–copper and aluminium–and sell it as scrap and maybe keep the black mass for one day or export it somewhere else,” Kulas said.",{"type":591,"attrs":59850,"content":59851},{"textAlign":49},[59852],{"text":59853,"type":596},"An integrated recycler, a company which both shreds the batteries and processes the resulting black mass, can gain the value of the metal foils as well as the minerals contained in the black mass.","With lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries increasing in popularity, recycling them will be key to reducing the demand-side pressures facing lithium producers. However, unlike nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells, the only critical mineral accessible to recyclers in an LFP cell is lithium, exposing them more strongly to the mineral’s pricing trends. Since February 2023, Benchmark’s […]",[59856],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59857},{"job_title":557,"image":59858,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3bbde620-8ec2-4a75-9055-e2dcec0f5cfc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[59861,59862,59863,59864,59865,59866],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":59868,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":59868,"source":547,"filename":59869,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":59870,"is_external_url":51},"Falling lithium prices sees metal value in LFP cells drop significantly","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1708695801/www-production/LFP-value-no-Y/LFP-value-no-Y.png?_i=AA",{"alt":59868,"title":59868,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":33201,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":59872,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 23, 2024",{"id":59875,"uuid":59876,"name":59877,"slug":59878,"full_slug":59879,"content":59880},112470018344531,"cbf18c37-6192-4db9-bcc0-fd8a349c8419","Battery recycling pool could supplement 2040 lithium supply with equivalent to 30 mines","battery-recycling-pool-could-supplement-2040-lithium-supply-with-equivalent-to-30-mines","article/battery-recycling-pool-could-supplement-2040-lithium-supply-with-equivalent-to-30-mines",{"_uid":59881,"date":59882,"tags":59883,"editor":59885,"content":59889,"excerpt":60099,"featured":51,"reporter":60100,"_editable":60104,"component":697,"seo_title":59877,"categories":60105,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":60112,"featured_image":60115,"seo_description":60099,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60118},"f521dbdd-3a32-41f5-b49a-057a440a9c00","2024-02-21 00:00",[59884],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[59886],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":59887},{"job_title":557,"image":59888,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":59890},[59891,59896,59907,59931,59936,59949,59957,59962,59972,59980,59985,59996,60007,60012,60017,60022,60027,60032,60037,60042,60047,60052,60057,60062,60074,60094],{"type":591,"attrs":59892,"content":59893},{"textAlign":49},[59894],{"text":59895,"type":596},"By 2040, the combined battery scrap pool containing end-of-life batteries and process scrap is forecast to contain lithium in a quantity equivalent to 30 of today’s mines, Benchmark analysis shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":59897,"content":59898},{"textAlign":49},[59899,59901,59905],{"text":59900,"type":596},"If all the material in the combined pool were recycled back into the supply chain it could represent around a quarter of total lithium demand for batteries by 2040, according to the base case scenario in ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":59902},[59903],{"type":606,"attrs":59904},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59906,"type":596},". However, the majority of this material will still need to be met through expansions in mined production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":59908,"content":59909},{"textAlign":49},[59910,59914,59916,59922,59924,59929],{"text":28069,"type":596,"marks":59911},[59912],{"type":606,"attrs":59913},{"href":50619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59915,"type":596}," show the industry needs the addition of the equivalent of ",{"text":59917,"type":596,"marks":59918},"273 new mines",[59919],{"type":606,"attrs":59920},{"href":59921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/more-than-300-new-mines-required-to-meet-battery-demand-by-2035",{"text":59923,"type":596}," to meet the difference in 2040 demand and 2023 supply of lithium, nickel and cobalt, not accounting for recycling. Benchmark’s base-case forecast for end-of-life and ",{"text":59925,"type":596,"marks":59926},"process scrap batteries",[59927],{"type":606,"attrs":59928},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59930,"type":596}," suggests recycling could reduce the number of new mines needed for the minerals by a third.",{"type":591,"attrs":59932,"content":59933},{"textAlign":49},[59934],{"text":59935,"type":596},"How much of this will be offset by recycling hinges on technology innovation and the development of a robust supply chain for recyclable material to find its way back into the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":59937,"content":59938},{"textAlign":49},[59939,59941,59947],{"text":59940,"type":596},"Further, with lithium and nickel prices currently so low, the attractiveness of recycling economics are currently under increased scrutiny. The ",{"text":59942,"type":596,"marks":59943},"profitability of a recycling enterprise",[59944],{"type":606,"attrs":59945},{"href":59946,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-the-key-cost-factors-of-battery-recycling-profitability",{"text":59948,"type":596}," depends heavily on the geographical location of the plant and the cell chemistries it accepts.",{"type":591,"attrs":59950,"content":59951},{"textAlign":49},[59952],{"type":836,"attrs":59953},{"id":49,"alt":59954,"src":59955,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":59956},"2040 battery scrap pool forecast to be equivalent to 30 lithium mines","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/536091848e/bm-recycling-mines-graphic-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":59958,"content":59959},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[59960],{"text":59961,"type":596},"A quarter of lithium demand ",{"type":591,"attrs":59963,"content":59964},{"textAlign":49},[59965,59967,59971],{"text":59966,"type":596},"Recycled sources could represent up to a quarter of lithium demand from batteries in 2040, highlighting the importance of recycling in the supply chain, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":59968},[59969],{"type":606,"attrs":59970},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":59973,"content":59974},{"textAlign":49},[59975],{"type":836,"attrs":59976},{"id":49,"alt":59977,"src":59978,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":59979},"Battery recycling forecast to provide over a quarter of lithium in 2040","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92ef34a0ed/bm-recycling-proportion-demand.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":59981,"content":59982},{"textAlign":49},[59983],{"text":59984,"type":596},"Currently much of the recycling capacity is concentrated in China, in part due to the number of gigafactories in the country. However, as gigafactory buildout and electric vehicle adoption accelerate in other regions, recycled sources could become a vital domestic source of battery minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":59986,"content":59987},{"textAlign":49},[59988,59990,59994],{"text":59989,"type":596},"“As process scrap is set to dominate the scrap pool for the next decade, current recycling facilities are predominantly reliant on cell manufacturing facilities for this lithium-ion battery waste,” ",{"text":33080,"type":596,"marks":59991},[59992],{"type":606,"attrs":59993},{"href":33084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":59995,"type":596},", a recycling analyst at Benchmark, said. “Partnerships and offtake agreements are vital to ensure recyclers secure a reliable source of battery scrap.”",{"type":591,"attrs":59997,"content":59998},{"textAlign":49},[59999,60001,60005],{"text":60000,"type":596},"In 2040, ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":60002},[60003],{"type":606,"attrs":60004},{"href":47201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60006,"type":596}," forecasts eight terawatt-hours of battery demand, six times that forecast for 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":60008,"content":60009},{"textAlign":49},[60010],{"text":60011,"type":596},"To meet this demand will require 5.1 million tonnes of lithium (lithium carbonate equivalent), along with 3.5 million tonnes of nickel and half a million tonnes of cobalt.",{"type":615,"attrs":60013,"content":60014},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60015],{"text":60016,"type":596},"Mined and recycled supply required ",{"type":591,"attrs":60018,"content":60019},{"textAlign":49},[60020],{"text":60021,"type":596},"To meet this mineral demand will necessitate the build out of new mines. For example, the forecast lithium output of mines in 2024 would meet just half of the battery demand in 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":60023,"content":60024},{"textAlign":49},[60025],{"text":60026,"type":596},"However, the scrap pool of end-of-life batteries and process scrap is effectively an urban mine with a very high-grade ‘ore’. Benchmark forecasts the scrap pool could contain 26% of lithium and nickel and 36% of the cobalt demand from batteries in 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":60028,"content":60029},{"textAlign":49},[60030],{"text":60031,"type":596},"Extracting these valuable minerals from scrap batteries in 2040 is forecast to be the equivalent of the output of 30 average lithium mines, 21 nickel mines and 40 cobalt mining operations. This is calculated on the basis of average mine sizes of 45,000 tonnes per year, 42,000 tonnes per year and 5,000 tonnes per year for lithium, nickel and cobalt, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":60033,"content":60034},{"textAlign":49},[60035],{"text":60036,"type":596},"This assumes that the required capacity to recycle said scrap is built out.",{"type":591,"attrs":60038,"content":60039},{"textAlign":49},[60040],{"text":60041,"type":596},"“In China, they have established a large amount of infrastructure for battery mineral recovery,” Browning said. “In North America and in Europe there’s a lot less infrastructure there to extract these materials and so a lot of investment is needed.”",{"type":615,"attrs":60043,"content":60044},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60045],{"text":60046,"type":596},"A broader distribution of raw materials",{"type":591,"attrs":60048,"content":60049},{"textAlign":49},[60050],{"text":60051,"type":596},"But recycling doesn’t just increase the available supply of critical minerals. As electric vehicle adoption increases across the globe, the distribution of these urban sources of minerals will widen.",{"type":591,"attrs":60053,"content":60054},{"textAlign":49},[60055],{"text":60056,"type":596},"Used batteries can be collected and shredded to produce black mass. This black mass can then be processed to produce battery chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":60058,"content":60059},{"textAlign":49},[60060],{"text":60061,"type":596},"So long as the used batteries and black mass don’t cross the border, the value of the minerals contained within a country’s batteries can be kept locally.",{"type":591,"attrs":60063,"content":60064},{"textAlign":49},[60065,60067,60072],{"text":60066,"type":596},"One way to achieve this is through the ",{"text":60068,"type":596,"marks":60069},"regulation of black mass",[60070],{"type":606,"attrs":60071},{"href":48695,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60073,"type":596},". China already does this through designating black mass a hazardous waste, thus significantly increasing the difficulty of exporting it.",{"type":591,"attrs":60075,"content":60076},{"textAlign":49},[60077,60079,60085,60087,60092],{"text":60078,"type":596},"The European Commission has proposed taking a similar route. This could complement the European Union’s new ",{"text":60080,"type":596,"marks":60081},"battery regulation",[60082],{"type":606,"attrs":60083},{"href":60084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insight-how-the-supply-chain-needs-to-prepare-for-the-new-eu-batteries-regulation",{"text":60086,"type":596}," which, amongst other things, legislates a ",{"text":60088,"type":596,"marks":60089},"minimum amount of the minerals",[60090],{"type":606,"attrs":60091},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60093,"type":596}," contained within a battery to come from recycled sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":60095,"content":60096},{"textAlign":49},[60097],{"text":60098,"type":596},"“Bringing in these waste codes in Europe and policies like the Inflation Reduction Act in the US that incentivise localisation of the supply chain is really important to domesticate materials supply, otherwise these regions are going to continue being reliant on Asia and China for processing due to their established materials extraction capacity,” Browning said.","By 2040, the combined battery scrap pool containing end-of-life batteries and process scrap is forecast to contain lithium in a quantity equivalent to 30 of today’s mines, Benchmark analysis shows. If all the material in the combined pool were recycled back into the supply chain it could represent around a quarter of total lithium demand […]",[60101],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60102},{"job_title":557,"image":60103,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f521dbdd-3a32-41f5-b49a-057a440a9c00\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[60106,60107,60108,60109,60110,60111],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":59954,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":59954,"source":547,"filename":60113,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60114,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1708412164/www-production/Recycling-mines-graphic/Recycling-mines-graphic.png?_i=AA",{"alt":59954,"title":59954,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":60116,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60117,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c51b6e28a0/bm-2023-08-17-licycle-23.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 21, 2024",{"id":60120,"uuid":60121,"name":60122,"slug":60123,"full_slug":60124,"content":60125},112470027830969,"d655eded-fa7e-437a-8adf-a9cef66644af","How the lithium ion supply chain can prepare for the EU Battery Regulation","how-the-lithium-ion-supply-chain-should-prepare-for-the-eu-battery-regulation","article/how-the-lithium-ion-supply-chain-should-prepare-for-the-eu-battery-regulation",{"_uid":60126,"date":60127,"tags":60128,"editor":60130,"content":60134,"excerpt":60279,"featured":51,"reporter":60280,"_editable":60284,"component":697,"seo_title":60285,"categories":60286,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":60290,"featured_image":60292,"seo_description":60295,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60296},"2d5040f6-eea9-42c3-bfaa-7cce914d026e","2024-02-20 00:00",[60129],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[60131],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60132},{"job_title":557,"image":60133,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":60135},[60136,60141,60146,60151,60156,60176,60181,60186,60191,60196,60201,60206,60210,60215,60220,60225,60232,60237,60242,60247,60252,60257,60262,60267,60272],{"type":591,"attrs":60137,"content":60138},{"textAlign":49},[60139],{"text":60140,"type":596},"A new regulation which focuses on batteries at the centre of the energy transition is now under way in the European Union. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60142,"content":60143},{"textAlign":49},[60144],{"text":60145,"type":596},"The EU Battery Regulation, which replaces the EU Battery Directive, entered into force in August 2023, but has begun to phase in this week. This new regulation puts in place rules regarding the safety, sustainability, and recycled nature of batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60147,"content":60148},{"textAlign":49},[60149],{"text":60150,"type":596},"Although the regulation started to apply on 18 February, not all of the regulation is applicable at once. It is instead a phased introduction over the coming years, with some aspects becoming even stricter over time. There are also areas of the implementation still to be confirmed.",{"type":591,"attrs":60152,"content":60153},{"textAlign":49},[60154],{"text":60155,"type":596},"Manufacturers and importers of batteries looking to sell into the European market must adhere to the regulations to be allowed to do so. Failure to comply will result in penalties including the potential restriction or withdrawal of batteries from the market depending on how countries look to administer the law.",{"type":591,"attrs":60157,"content":60158},{"textAlign":49},[60159,60163,60164,60167,60173],{"text":60160,"type":596,"marks":60161},"Watch Benchmark analyst Tom Drabble discuss Europe’s new battery regulation",[60162],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":42521,"type":596,"marks":60165},[60166],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":60168},[60169,60172],{"type":606,"attrs":60170},{"href":60171,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search?tag=Analyst+Insights",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":60174},[60175],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":60177,"content":60178},{"textAlign":49},[60179],{"text":60180,"type":596},"Here we set out how this impacts Europe’s lithium ion value chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":60182,"content":60183},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60184],{"text":60185,"type":596},"Carbon footprint",{"type":591,"attrs":60187,"content":60188},{"textAlign":49},[60189],{"text":60190,"type":596},"All batteries must have their carbon footprint disclosed by 18 February 2025. The system boundary of the carbon footprint covers the extraction of the raw materials, processing and manufacturing of the battery, through to the recycling of the battery (the use phase is currently excluded).",{"type":591,"attrs":60192,"content":60193},{"textAlign":49},[60194],{"text":60195,"type":596},"The energy mix during cell manufacturing can have a sizable impact on the overall carbon footprint of a battery. Analysis from Benchmark’s Battery Emissions Analyser shows that a mid-nickel nickel, cobalt, manganese battery, with cell manufacturing taking place in China, results in more than 45% higher carbon intensity than that of a cell produced in Europe.",{"type":615,"attrs":60197,"content":60198},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60199],{"text":60200,"type":596},"Due diligence",{"type":591,"attrs":60202,"content":60203},{"textAlign":49},[60204],{"text":60205,"type":596},"Focusing predominantly on lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel, by August 2025, companies are expected to put in place and disclose their corporate strategy on what the potential social and environmental risks are within their supply chains, and how they plan to mitigate these risks.",{"type":615,"attrs":60207,"content":60208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60209],{"text":10193,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":60211,"content":60212},{"textAlign":49},[60213],{"text":60214,"type":596},"The regulation stipulates both the amount of recycled content of certain materials that must be in new batteries by 2031 (6% for lithium and nickel and 16% for cobalt), and also the recovery rates of respective materials via recycling. Recycling targets are set to become more stringent in 2036 with the minimum recycled content targets increasing to 12% for lithium, 15% for nickel and 26% for cobalt. ",{"type":615,"attrs":60216,"content":60217},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60218],{"text":60219,"type":596},"Battery passport  ",{"type":591,"attrs":60221,"content":60222},{"textAlign":49},[60223],{"text":60224,"type":596},"Each battery must have its own digital battery passport by February 2027, which will take the form of a QR code on the battery. The passport will disclose several pieces of information including its chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content, safety assurances and more.",{"type":591,"attrs":60226,"content":60227},{"textAlign":49},[60228],{"type":836,"attrs":60229},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":60230,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":60231},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5b4eae277d/bm-timeline-eu-battery-regulation-1313453bd874.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":60233,"content":60234},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60235],{"text":60236,"type":596},"How attainable is the current regulation",{"type":591,"attrs":60238,"content":60239},{"textAlign":49},[60240],{"text":60241,"type":596},"With the EU Battery Regulation now entered into force, the race is now on for battery players to put the relevant strategies in place to meet the regulation. Certain clauses may be easier for manufacturers to meet than others depending on a manufacturer’s supply chains and access to recycled material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60243,"content":60244},{"textAlign":49},[60245],{"text":60246,"type":596},"There are also still some unknowns about the implementation of the regulation which will require monitoring. This mainly focuses on the carbon footprint performance classes and thresholds, which are expected to be announced by the Commission in an additional act. In addition, the form the battery passport will take and the disclosure process is still somewhat unclear with the commission leaving this to the private sector to lead on.",{"type":615,"attrs":60248,"content":60249},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60250],{"text":60251,"type":596},"It is not just battery producers that are affected",{"type":591,"attrs":60253,"content":60254},{"textAlign":49},[60255],{"text":60256,"type":596},"Whilst the new regulation applies directly to manufacturers and importers of batteries being placed on the EU market, it is also set to impact the upstream suppliers of battery materials. Therefore miners and refiners of materials, especially lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, must understand what it means for them.",{"type":591,"attrs":60258,"content":60259},{"textAlign":49},[60260],{"text":60261,"type":596},"As part of the battery passport and due diligence disclosures, manufacturers will have to disclose where the raw materials within the battery were sourced, in what quantity, and who they impacted on. As such, miners will come under more scrutiny regarding their mining practices and will be expected to have robust due diligence practices in place following the likes of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and The OECD Due Diligence Principles.",{"type":591,"attrs":60263,"content":60264},{"textAlign":49},[60265],{"text":60266,"type":596},"In addition, the raw material extraction and processing method, and the region this takes place in, will all impact on the overall carbon footprint of the battery, which will become increasingly important once performance classes and carbon footprint thresholds are introduced.",{"type":615,"attrs":60268,"content":60269},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60270],{"text":60271,"type":596},"How Benchmark can help you get prepared for the EU Battery Regulation",{"type":591,"attrs":60273,"content":60274},{"textAlign":49},[60275],{"text":60276,"type":596,"marks":60277},"Benchmark’s Sustainability division can provide support in getting prepared for the regulation through our services such as ESG Reports for battery materials, bespoke Life Cycle Assessment Services, and our Battery Emissions Analyser tool.",[60278],{"type":1006},"A new regulation which focuses on batteries at the centre of the energy transition is now under way in the European Union. The EU Battery Regulation, which replaces the EU Battery Directive, entered into force in August 2023, but has begun to phase in this week. This new regulation puts in place rules regarding the […]",[60281],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60282},{"job_title":557,"image":60283,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2d5040f6-eea9-42c3-bfaa-7cce914d026e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","How the lithium ion supply chain can prepare ..",[60287,60288,60289],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60291},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":60293,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60294,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e22e51780b/bm-european-commission-flags-e1649948622413-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"A new regulation which focuses on batteries at the centre of the energy transition is now under way in the European Union. The EU Battery Regulation, which replaces the EU Battery Directive, entered into force in August 2023,...","Feb 20, 2024",{"id":60298,"uuid":60299,"name":60300,"slug":60301,"full_slug":60302,"content":60303},112470032955066,"25ca5490-1d24-4aca-8ce4-1fc12186be54","How Saudi Arabia and Morocco are shaping the EV battery supply chain","how-saudi-arabia-and-morocco-are-shaping-the-ev-battery-supply-chain","article/how-saudi-arabia-and-morocco-are-shaping-the-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":60304,"date":60305,"tags":60306,"editor":60311,"content":60315,"excerpt":60565,"featured":51,"reporter":60566,"_editable":60570,"component":697,"seo_title":60571,"categories":60572,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":60581,"featured_image":60583,"seo_description":60586,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60587},"c23876c8-b6b0-446b-819a-933b69a7f7a8","2024-02-19 00:00",[60307,60308],{"slug":27053,"name":27054},{"slug":60309,"name":60310},"saudi-arabia","Saudi Arabia",[60312],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60313},{"job_title":557,"image":60314,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":60316},[60317,60322,60327,60340,60345,60350,60370,60375,60380,60399,60404,60424,60437,60442,60454,60480,60491,60498,60511,60521,60526,60531,60536,60541,60553,60558],{"type":591,"attrs":60318,"content":60319},{"textAlign":49},[60320],{"text":60321,"type":596},"As the global race to secure critical minerals heats up, actors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially Saudi Arabia and Morocco, are gaining a strategic foothold in the lithium ion battery supply chain. Through various policy approaches utilising state support and industrial policy and taking advantage of geopolitical trends, these countries are attracting investors and deploying capital to increase their role in the EV battery supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":60323,"content":60324},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60325],{"text":60326,"type":596},"Saudi’s mineral wealth and mid and downstream ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":60328,"content":60329},{"textAlign":49},[60330,60332,60338],{"text":60331,"type":596},"For Saudi Arabia, entering the EV battery supply chain is a way to ",{"text":60333,"type":596,"marks":60334},"diversify its ‘fossil fuel economy’",[60335],{"type":606,"attrs":60336},{"href":60337,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/will-oil-and-gas-companies-invest-in-the-battery-supply-chain-qa-with-ahmed-mehdi",{"text":60339,"type":596},", which is part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s landmark “Vision 2030”.",{"type":591,"attrs":60341,"content":60342},{"textAlign":49},[60343],{"text":60344,"type":596},"To achieve Vision 2030, the Saudi government is leveraging its Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, to drive its economic transition. Specific programs to boost mineral production include the provision of $182 million to be used as de-risking money to get mining endeavours off the ground, as well as financing up to 75% of CAPEX with preference to advanced exploration and mining activities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60346,"content":60347},{"textAlign":49},[60348],{"text":60349,"type":596},"Saudi Arabia recently increased its estimate of its mineral resources nearly two-fold, from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion. The estimates include deposits of rare earths, phosphate, and copper. To capitalise on this, the Saudi authorities have developed dozens of new mining exploration sites and awarded foreign investors over 30 mining exploration licences for 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60351,"content":60352},{"textAlign":49},[60353,60355,60360,60362,60368],{"text":60354,"type":596},"Beyond mineral exploration and ",{"text":41813,"type":596,"marks":60356},[60357],{"type":606,"attrs":60358},{"href":60359,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/saudi-arabia-backs-lithium-startups-as-it-sharpens-upstream-focus",{"text":60361,"type":596},", Saudi Arabia is also involved in ",{"text":60363,"type":596,"marks":60364},"developing mid- and downstream",[60365],{"type":606,"attrs":60366},{"href":60367,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/from-oil-to-lithium-how-saudi-arabia-is-building-a-battery-supply-chain",{"text":60369,"type":596}," capabilities domestically. In 2021, Saudi Arabia became the first Middle Eastern country to establish pipeline capacity in lithium processing by signing an agreement with EV Metals Group to build a battery chemicals complex in Yanbu Industrial City. In 2023, TAQAT Development, a Saudi energy company, began a joint venture with Novonix to build a 30,000-tonne capacity graphite anode materials facility to supply EV and energy storage systems (ESS) to markets in the Middle East and North Africa.",{"type":591,"attrs":60371,"content":60372},{"textAlign":49},[60373],{"text":60374,"type":596},"The kingdom’s ambition of producing EVs began to materialise in 2022 when Lucid Motors announced that it would build its first ex-US factory in Saudi Arabia and when the Saudi EV brand Ceer was launched. Both investments are backed by the Saudi PIF. The Saudi government has announced its goal of producing 500,000 EVs by 2030 and making 30% of all vehicles on the road in Riyadh electric. ",{"type":615,"attrs":60376,"content":60377},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60378],{"text":60379,"type":596},"Saudi overseas mineral investments and geopolitical engagement",{"type":591,"attrs":60381,"content":60382},{"textAlign":49},[60383,60385,60391,60393,60398],{"text":60384,"type":596},"Besides developing its domestic chemicals-to-EV supply chain, Saudi Arabia invests in key overseas mining assets to secure critical mineral supply. For example, ",{"text":60386,"type":596,"marks":60387},"a recent deal ",[60388],{"type":606,"attrs":60389},{"href":60390,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/saudi-arabia-enters-nickel-and-copper-mining-through-vale-deal-lithium-could-be-next",{"text":60392,"type":596},"involving Manara Minerals (a JV between the PIF and Saudi’s state mining company Ma’aden) along with Brazilian miner Vale gives Saudi Arabia minority control in various critical mineral assets and the opportunity to secure offtake agreements. This strategy closely resembles the kingdom’s previous efforts to develop a ",{"text":60394,"type":596,"marks":60395},"domestic aluminium industry",[60396],{"type":606,"attrs":60397},{"href":60390,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":60400,"content":60401},{"textAlign":49},[60402],{"text":60403,"type":596},"As the geopolitical competition to secure critical minerals heats up, Saudi Arabia is notably balancing its engagement with the US, Russia and China to position itself in the lithium ion battery supply chain. At the recent and well-attended Future Minerals Forum in Riyad, Saudi officials signed several MoUs with, among others, Russia and the US Export-Import Bank to cooperate in critical mineral projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":60405,"content":60406},{"textAlign":49},[60407,60409,60415,60417,60423],{"text":60408,"type":596},"Chief among the regions that may benefit from Saudi Arabia’s wealth and zest for battery minerals is Africa, endowed with battery mineral deposits like cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, and natural graphite. For instance, according to ",{"text":60410,"type":596,"marks":60411},"Benchmark’s natural graphite forecast",[60412],{"type":606,"attrs":60413},{"href":60414,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/natural-graphite/",{"text":60416,"type":596},", Africa has emerged as a low-cost hub for natural flake graphite production in countries like Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania and the region is forecasted to mine 41% of natural flake graphite by 2030. As for lithium, Africa is set to produce ",{"text":60418,"type":596,"marks":60419},"15% of global lithium production in 2030",[60420],{"type":606,"attrs":60421},{"href":60422,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":60425,"content":60426},{"textAlign":49},[60427,60429,60435],{"text":60428,"type":596},"This past fall, the US and Saudi officials were engaged in talks to secure critical minerals in Africa, with the Saudis announcing their intention to purchase $15 billion in mining stakes in countries such as Namibia, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC ",{"text":60430,"type":596,"marks":60431},"accounted for 76% of the world’s mined cobalt supply",[60432],{"type":606,"attrs":60433},{"href":60434,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cobalt/",{"text":60436,"type":596}," last year and will continue to dominate the cobalt market, even if its market share is expected to decrease to 66% by 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":60438,"content":60439},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60440],{"text":60441,"type":596},"Morocco’s development of the mid and downstream",{"type":591,"attrs":60443,"content":60444},{"textAlign":49},[60445,60447,60452],{"text":60446,"type":596},"On the western flank of the MENA region, Morocco is looking to establish itself as an ",{"text":60448,"type":596,"marks":60449},"EV battery-making hub ",[60450],{"type":606,"attrs":60451},{"href":48306,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60453,"type":596},"serving Western markets. In part due to its privileged status as an EU and US free trade agreement (FTA) partner, the latter partnership allowing materials produced there to be eligible for IRA EV tax credits, Morocco has attracted mid and downstream investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60455,"content":60456},{"textAlign":49},[60457,60459,60464,60466,60471,60473,60478],{"text":60458,"type":596},"However, the ",{"text":60460,"type":596,"marks":60461},"growing Chinese involvement in Morocco’s critical minerals",[60462],{"type":606,"attrs":60463},{"href":48349,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60465,"type":596}," sector could create barriers to selling into the US market ",{"text":60467,"type":596,"marks":60468},"based on the latest proposed FEOC guidelines from the Biden Administration",[60469],{"type":606,"attrs":60470},{"href":54838,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60472,"type":596},". So far, Morocco has seen commitments from Chinese firms BTR, CNGR, Huayou Cobalt, Gotion and Guangzhou Tinci. Gotion’s lithium ion investment into the kingdom would ",{"text":60474,"type":596,"marks":60475},"become Africa’s first battery cell project",[60476],{"type":606,"attrs":60477},{"href":48349,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60479,"type":596},". Morocco has deepened its diplomatic ties with China and was the first North African country to sign an agreement to implement China’s Belt and Road Initiative.",{"type":591,"attrs":60481,"content":60482},{"textAlign":49},[60483,60485,60490],{"text":60484,"type":596},"A total of over $700 million has been pledged in battery materials plants, which could take Morocco’s cathode production capacity to around 150,000 tonnes a year – around a quarter of Europe’s planned cathode production capacity by 2030, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":60486},[60487],{"type":606,"attrs":60488},{"href":60489,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/cathode/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":60492,"content":60493},{"textAlign":49},[60494],{"type":836,"attrs":60495},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":60496,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":60497},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4346fd7d32/bm-europe-morocco-cathode-capacity-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":60499,"content":60500},{"textAlign":49},[60501,60503,60509],{"text":60502,"type":596},"Morocco is also home to around 70% of the known global reserves of phosphate, which is used to make ",{"text":60504,"type":596,"marks":60505},"phosphoric acid",[60506],{"type":606,"attrs":60507},{"href":60508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/phosphate/",{"text":60510,"type":596}," for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes. As demand for next-generation LFP and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LFMP) cathode chemistries increases, more phosphoric acid will be needed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60512,"content":60513},{"textAlign":49},[60514,60516],{"text":60515,"type":596},"Chinese firms may also have an incentive to set up shop in Morocco to bypass potential export restrictions on phosphates, which are also used for fertiliser. Currently, the automotive sector represents about 5% of purified phosphoric acid (PPA) demand, but that number is expected to jump to 24% by 2030, according to Benchmark’s recently released ",{"text":60517,"type":596,"marks":60518},"phosphoric acid market outlook.",[60519],{"type":606,"attrs":60520},{"href":60508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":60522,"content":60523},{"textAlign":49},[60524],{"text":60525,"type":596},"Policy has been key in setting up Morocco for success. Macroeconomic stability, infrastructure improvement, and incentives for international investors will also support the country’s development. Among its initiatives to attract investment are Morocco’s 119 industrial zones and 7 Special Economic Zones with no taxes during a company’s first 5 years in business and reduced rate beyond that. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60527,"content":60528},{"textAlign":49},[60529],{"text":60530,"type":596},"Morocco has set a goal to produce 100,000 electric vehicles per year by 2025 and has been leveraging its existing automotive capabilities to attract more foreign investments to reach this target. Renault-Nissan and Stellantis, Morocco’s major automakers, have announced plans to expand EV production in the country. The country is also geographically well situated, tying Europe to Africa and its state-owned phosphate giant, OPC, has a presence in 16 African countries through subsidiaries. ",{"type":615,"attrs":60532,"content":60533},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60534],{"text":60535,"type":596},"Policy, geopolitics, and State support will boost MENA’s role in the EV value chain",{"type":591,"attrs":60537,"content":60538},{"textAlign":49},[60539],{"text":60540,"type":596},"The activity in the battery supply chain in the MENA region, exemplified by Saudi Arabia and Morocco, comes with significant political support and benefits from trends toward critical mineral supply diversification in the global economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":60542,"content":60543},{"textAlign":49},[60544,60546,60551],{"text":60545,"type":596},"While some investors may be wary of volatility and recent ",{"text":60547,"type":596,"marks":60548},"price slumps",[60549],{"type":606,"attrs":60550},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60552,"type":596}," in markets for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, deep-pocketed governments like Saudi Arabia can take a longer view toward diversifying their economy for the future. For countries in the region more generally, proximity to mineral-rich countries in Africa and existing commercial ties create natural synergy.",{"type":591,"attrs":60554,"content":60555},{"textAlign":49},[60556],{"text":60557,"type":596},"Morocco has benefitted from its natural resources, investor-friendly policies and US-China geopolitical competition. Firms, including from China, have rushed in to take advantage of Morocco’s good trade relations with both the US and the EU. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60559,"content":60560},{"textAlign":49},[60561],{"text":60562,"type":596,"marks":60563},"Sign up for Benchmark’s Policy Newsletter to get coverage and timely updates on policy and geopolitical developments impacting the EV battery supply chain and broader energy transition.",[60564],{"type":1006},"As the global race to secure critical minerals heats up, actors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially Saudi Arabia and Morocco, are gaining a strategic foothold in the lithium ion battery supply chain. Through various policy approaches utilising state support and industrial policy and taking advantage of geopolitical trends, these countries […]",[60567],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60568},{"job_title":557,"image":60569,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c23876c8-b6b0-446b-819a-933b69a7f7a8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","How Saudi Arabia and Morocco are shaping the..",[60573,60574,60575,60576,60577,60578,60579,60580],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60582},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":60584,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60585,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5b91694c3e/bm-moroccoshipping.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"As the global race to secure critical minerals heats up, actors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially Saudi Arabia and Morocco, are gaining a strategic foothold in the lithium ion battery supply chain. ","Feb 19, 2024",{"id":60589,"uuid":60590,"name":60591,"slug":60592,"full_slug":60593,"content":60594},112470047332029,"62d8cddb-1724-4d62-aa61-4bf8d44d64ba","China’s latest rare earth quota increase to sustain low prices","chinas-latest-rare-earth-quota-increase-to-sustain-low-prices","article/chinas-latest-rare-earth-quota-increase-to-sustain-low-prices",{"_uid":60595,"date":60596,"tags":60597,"editor":60599,"content":60603,"excerpt":60708,"featured":51,"reporter":60709,"_editable":60713,"component":697,"seo_title":60591,"categories":60714,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":60718,"seo_description":60708,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60722},"5eb44ad4-cc1a-4270-ada5-a01b9721ed5e","2024-02-16 00:00",[60598],{"slug":575,"name":576},[60600],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60601},{"job_title":557,"image":60602,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":60604},[60605,60610,60615,60626,60633,60638,60643,60648,60653,60658,60663,60668,60673,60678,60683,60688,60693,60698,60703],{"type":591,"attrs":60606,"content":60607},{"textAlign":49},[60608],{"text":60609,"type":596},"China has raised its mined rare earth quota for the second half of 2023 in a move that should sustain high supply and low prices for praseodymium-neodymium (PrND).",{"type":591,"attrs":60611,"content":60612},{"textAlign":49},[60613],{"text":60614,"type":596},"“China keeps increasing their quotas to ensure it remains the primary global supplier,” said Benchmark rare earths analyst Neha Mukherjee.",{"type":591,"attrs":60616,"content":60617},{"textAlign":49},[60618,60620,60624],{"text":60619,"type":596},"China is to produce 70% of global mined PrNd supply in 2024, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":60621},[60622],{"type":606,"attrs":60623},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60625,"type":596},". The largest end use for rare earths are rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs), found inside wind turbines and EV motors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60627,"content":60628},{"textAlign":49},[60629],{"type":836,"attrs":60630},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":60631,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":60632},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1539930e5d/bm-screenshot-2024-02-15-163738.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":60634,"content":60635},{"textAlign":49},[60636],{"text":60637,"type":596},"The latest quota, released in early February, raised the total mined rare earths quota for the second half of 2023 to 135,000 tonnes. This is 12.5% more compared to the quota for the first half of the year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60639,"content":60640},{"textAlign":49},[60641],{"text":60642,"type":596},"This increase was driven entirely by output quota from hard clay, with the quota for soft clay falling by 7.3% from the previous half-year period. Soft clay holds higher concentrations of heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium while hard rock mainly yields light rare earths like praseodymium and neodymium.",{"type":591,"attrs":60644,"content":60645},{"textAlign":49},[60646],{"text":60647,"type":596},"For refined rare earths output, the quota rose by 10% compared to the first half of 2023 to 127,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":60649,"content":60650},{"textAlign":49},[60651],{"text":60652,"type":596},"The Chinese government’s twice-yearly rare earth quotas set ceilings on mined and processed output from four major domestic producers: China Northern Rare Earth, China Rare Earth Group, Xiamen Tungsten, and Guangdong Rare Earth.",{"type":615,"attrs":60654,"content":60655},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60656],{"text":60657,"type":596},"Year-on-year slowdown won’t stem oversupply",{"type":591,"attrs":60659,"content":60660},{"textAlign":49},[60661],{"text":60662,"type":596},"February’s new release means that China’s full 2023 mined rare earths output will grow 21% year-on-year, down from 25% for 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60664,"content":60665},{"textAlign":49},[60666],{"text":60667,"type":596},"The slowdown will not be significant enough to tighten the rare earths market, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":60669,"content":60670},{"textAlign":49},[60671],{"text":60672,"type":596},"“China’s year-on-year rare earth quota growth has dipped because previous quota growth rates have been very, very high,” said Benchmark project manager Daan de Jonge. “The market is currently very well supplied meaning that any growth in its quota will still sustain low prices.”",{"type":591,"attrs":60674,"content":60675},{"textAlign":49},[60676],{"text":60677,"type":596},"The latest figures are a sign that China is continuing with its rare earths industrial strategy of raising output despite slowed downstream demand growth from early 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":60679,"content":60680},{"textAlign":49},[60681],{"text":60682,"type":596},"China’s continual quota increases since the first half of 2021 have lowered PrNd prices to levels that benefit actors across China’s domestic rare earths value chain while making it harder for companies elsewhere to build capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60684,"content":60685},{"textAlign":49},[60686],{"text":60687,"type":596},"“Low prices make it difficult for diversification of Western supply, especially for assets with a lower economic feasibility,” said Mukherjee. ",{"type":615,"attrs":60689,"content":60690},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60691],{"text":60692,"type":596},"China focuses on hard rock",{"type":591,"attrs":60694,"content":60695},{"textAlign":49},[60696],{"text":60697,"type":596},"China has historically mined more hard rock than soft clay, with much lower growth rates for soft clay output.",{"type":591,"attrs":60699,"content":60700},{"textAlign":49},[60701],{"text":60702,"type":596},"The country’s latest quota continues this trend as 2023 will see a 10% year-on-year increase in mined output from soft clay compared to 23% for mined output from hard rock. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60704,"content":60705},{"textAlign":49},[60706],{"text":60707,"type":596},"Heavy rare earths quotas have risen 33% between 2017 and 2023 compared to 162% for light rare earths.","China has raised its mined rare earth quota for the second half of 2023 in a move that should sustain high supply and low prices for praseodymium-neodymium (PrND). “China keeps increasing their quotas to ensure it remains the primary global supplier,” said Benchmark rare earths analyst Neha Mukherjee. China is to produce 70% of global […]",[60710],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60711},{"job_title":557,"image":60712,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5eb44ad4-cc1a-4270-ada5-a01b9721ed5e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[60715,60716,60717],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":60719,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":60719,"source":547,"filename":60720,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60721,"is_external_url":51},"China office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the State Council","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9703f8cdd/bm-china-office-of-the-ministry-of-industry-and-information-technology-of-the-state-council.jpg",{"alt":60719,"title":60719,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 16, 2024",{"id":60724,"uuid":60725,"name":60726,"slug":60727,"full_slug":60728,"content":60729},112470042506940,"14732f4c-ec3a-4fe1-b0f4-86ae8cc8f5e8","African lithium exports climb as Chinese-owned mines go online","african-lithium-exports-climb-as-chinese-owned-mines-go-online","article/african-lithium-exports-climb-as-chinese-owned-mines-go-online",{"_uid":60730,"date":60596,"tags":60731,"editor":60736,"content":60740,"excerpt":60873,"featured":51,"reporter":60874,"_editable":60878,"component":697,"seo_title":60726,"categories":60879,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":60882,"seo_description":60873,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60722},"609aeee4-e5ad-4f74-911e-a3589cb505b1",[60732,60733,60734],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":60735,"name":27503},"zimbabwe",[60737],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60738},{"job_title":557,"image":60739,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":60741},[60742,60747,60756,60761,60766,60773,60778,60783,60788,60793,60798,60808,60813,60818,60823,60828,60833,60838,60843,60848,60853,60858,60863,60868],{"type":591,"attrs":60743,"content":60744},{"textAlign":49},[60745],{"text":60746,"type":596},"African lithium raw materials exports have increased over the past year as mines owned by Chinese lithium processors across the continent go online.",{"type":591,"attrs":60748,"content":60749},{"textAlign":49},[60750,60754],{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":60751},[60752],{"type":606,"attrs":60753},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60755,"type":596}," that 97% of Africa’s mined lithium supply in 2024 is set to come from projects owned by Chinese companies that also have lithium chemical processing capacity.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":60757,"content":60758},{"textAlign":49},[60759],{"text":60760,"type":596},"Zimbabwe has been a top beneficiary of this investment, with the majority of operating mines there owned by Chinese companies that also have lithium chemical production capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":60762,"content":60763},{"textAlign":49},[60764],{"text":60765,"type":596},"Chinese-led lithium mine development in Zimbabwe supported an almost 1,300% increase in spodumene concentrate exports from the country between January and November 2023. The rise was also driven by Zimbabwe’s 2022 lithium ore export restrictions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60767,"content":60768},{"textAlign":49},[60769],{"type":836,"attrs":60770},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":60771,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":60772},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c09858ddb2/bm-screenshot-2024-02-19-100835.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":60774,"content":60775},{"textAlign":49},[60776],{"text":60777,"type":596},"In January 2024, Chinese processor Yahua Lithium kicked off production at its majority-owned Zimbabwean Kamativi mine and beneficiation project. Yahua has a 60% stake in the mine with Sichuan Pude Technology holding the remaining shares.",{"type":591,"attrs":60779,"content":60780},{"textAlign":49},[60781],{"text":60782,"type":596},"The Chinese company announced later in the month that it had transported almost 300 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from Kamativi, the first batch of an eventual 5,000 tonne shipment from the asset.",{"type":591,"attrs":60784,"content":60785},{"textAlign":49},[60786],{"text":60787,"type":596},"Yahua is currently the largest Chinese lithium chemicals producer to operate mines in Africa. However, Sinomine, Xinfeng Investments, Chengxin Lithium Group, and Hainan Mining also own planned or operating projects across Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mali, and Ethiopia.",{"type":591,"attrs":60789,"content":60790},{"textAlign":49},[60791],{"text":60792,"type":596},"These investments are part of a vertical integration drive among Chinese processors keen to reduce costs while diversifying away from China’s main spodumene supplier, Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60794,"content":60795},{"textAlign":49},[60796],{"text":60797,"type":596},"“Chinese processors see Africa as a low cost, accessible source of feedstock that is friendlier than Australia in terms of investment and foreign ownership,” Benchmark analyst Cameron Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":60799,"content":60800},{"textAlign":49},[60801,60803,60807],{"text":60802,"type":596},"Africa’s lithium mined supply is expected to surge by over five-fold from 2024 to the end of the decade, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":60804},[60805],{"type":606,"attrs":60806},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":60809,"content":60810},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60811],{"text":60812,"type":596},"Lower grade but cost-competitive African spodumene",{"type":591,"attrs":60814,"content":60815},{"textAlign":49},[60816],{"text":60817,"type":596},"Material coming out of Africa generally has a lower lithium content, typically sold on a 2-6% SC basis, lower than the 5.5-6% SC basis Australian spodumene is typically sold at. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60819,"content":60820},{"textAlign":49},[60821],{"text":60822,"type":596},"Despite the lower concentration of African material, Chinese processors can still achieve overall cost reductions leveraging material from their own mining operations in the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":60824,"content":60825},{"textAlign":49},[60826],{"text":60827,"type":596},"“Africa spodumene is cheaper than Australia for two reasons: first, it is an integrated product from their own mine, and second, it includes lepidolite as well, its grade varies from 3-5%,” said Leo Hu, Benchmark analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":60829,"content":60830},{"textAlign":49},[60831],{"text":60832,"type":596},"Vertically integrating with African mines can also offer supply security to Chinese processors, an issue coming into sharper focus as declining lithium prices have led to some mine closures in Australia, where China gets most of its spodumene. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60834,"content":60835},{"textAlign":49},[60836],{"text":60837,"type":596},"Yahua’s Australian offtake partner Core Lithium suspended mining operations in January 2024 at its Grants open pit, part of the Northern Australian Finnis lithium project that is under contract to supply the Chinese processor.",{"type":615,"attrs":60839,"content":60840},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60841],{"text":60842,"type":596},"Zimbabwe legislates to climb lithium value chain",{"type":591,"attrs":60844,"content":60845},{"textAlign":49},[60846],{"text":60847,"type":596},"Currently, African chemicals processing capacity is negligible and most concentrate is shipped to China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60849,"content":60850},{"textAlign":49},[60851],{"text":60852,"type":596},"“These companies all have sufficient lithium chemical conversion capacity in China for their African mining projects. They would prefer to spend money in China, where operating costs are cheaper, than in Africa,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":60854,"content":60855},{"textAlign":49},[60856],{"text":60857,"type":596},"However, policy shifts in African nations could encourage investment into local processing. Zimbabwe banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and imposed a 5% tax on exports of lithium concentrate, a more refined product.",{"type":591,"attrs":60859,"content":60860},{"textAlign":49},[60861],{"text":60862,"type":596},"Zimbabwe appears intent on climbing further up the lithium value chain. In November 2023, it gave miners operating in the country until 31 March 2024 to submit their plans for facilities to produce lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":60864,"content":60865},{"textAlign":49},[60866],{"text":60867,"type":596},"Benchmark anticipates the government’s call for submissions is aimed at encouraging local carbonate production before any potential future outright ban on concentrate exports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":60869,"content":60870},{"textAlign":49},[60871],{"text":60872,"type":596},"This would give time for the build up of value-added operations, as the country wants to avoid a build-up of concentrates domestically.","African lithium raw materials exports have increased over the past year as mines owned by Chinese lithium processors across the continent go online. Benchmark forecasts that 97% of Africa’s mined lithium supply in 2024 is set to come from projects owned by Chinese companies that also have lithium chemical processing capacity. Zimbabwe has been […]",[60875],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60876},{"job_title":557,"image":60877,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"609aeee4-e5ad-4f74-911e-a3589cb505b1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[60880,60881],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":60883,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":60883,"source":547,"filename":60884,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":60885,"is_external_url":51},"Cargo being loaded onto a ship at the Indian Ocean port of Beira, Mozambique.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/da778696ad/bm-beira-port-mozambique.jpg",{"alt":60883,"title":60883,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":60887,"uuid":60888,"name":60889,"slug":60890,"full_slug":60891,"content":60892},112470037767867,"9ffcf6a7-312e-49b3-beb5-76ddcf518479","China’s battery industry unites in effort to extend dominance to solid-state","chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state","article/chinas-battery-industry-unites-in-effort-to-extend-dominance-to-solid-state",{"_uid":60893,"date":60596,"tags":60894,"editor":60898,"content":60902,"excerpt":61017,"featured":51,"reporter":61018,"_editable":61022,"component":697,"seo_title":60889,"categories":61023,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":61026,"featured_image":61029,"seo_description":61017,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":60722},"91795b6d-fd89-49b3-9ddb-22c191b75199",[60895,60896,60897],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[60899],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":60900},{"job_title":557,"image":60901,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":60903},[60904,60909,60914,60930,60935,60940,60945,60950,60955,60960,60965,60970,60975,60986,60992,60997,61002,61007,61012],{"type":591,"attrs":60905,"content":60906},{"textAlign":49},[60907],{"text":60908,"type":596},"CATL and BYD are among the big names in China’s new consortium aiming to jump-start the country’s progress in all-solid-state batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":60910,"content":60911},{"textAlign":49},[60912],{"text":60913,"type":596},"The China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), formed by Beijing at the end of last month, brings together major battery and automakers alongside academia and government to accelerate the research, development and commercialisation of solid-state batteries and build out that battery supply chain by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":60915,"content":60916},{"textAlign":49},[60917,60922,60924,60928],{"text":60918,"type":596,"marks":60919},"Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Batteries Forecast’s",[60920],{"type":606,"attrs":60921},{"href":44210,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60923,"type":596}," base case scenario currently expects China to account for 38% of solid-state battery nameplate capacity by 2030. This is significantly less than the 67% share of global lithium ion battery nameplate capacity ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":60925},[60926],{"type":606,"attrs":60927},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60929,"type":596}," shows the country will have the same year.",{"type":591,"attrs":60931,"content":60932},{"textAlign":49},[60933],{"text":60934,"type":596},"“Through this platform, China has openly identified solid-state battery technologies as a risk to its dominant position in battery supply- and value-chains, a message that should serve as a call to action for innovators globally,” Brigita Darminto, a solid-state battery analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":60936,"content":60937},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60938],{"text":60939,"type":596},"Competing Chinese companies collaborate",{"type":591,"attrs":60941,"content":60942},{"textAlign":49},[60943],{"text":60944,"type":596},"A notable feature of the consortium is the presence of companies that typically compete heavily against one another. China’s top six battery producers, representing over two-thirds of the forecast production of lithium ion batteries in China this year, are all in the consortium, seemingly working together towards a common goal.",{"type":591,"attrs":60946,"content":60947},{"textAlign":49},[60948],{"text":60949,"type":596},"CATL has previously sued CALB and SVOLT, both in the consortium, for patent infringement.",{"type":591,"attrs":60951,"content":60952},{"textAlign":49},[60953],{"text":60954,"type":596},"“This is certainly a China-first move by the government, asking companies that are traditionally fierce competitors to put aside their differences and collaborate to solidify China’s position as the leading force in the next-generation battery market,” Darminto said. “It remains to be seen if those companies will be happy to collaborate to the extent that the project proposes.”",{"type":591,"attrs":60956,"content":60957},{"textAlign":49},[60958],{"text":60959,"type":596},"Several of China’s large battery- and automakers have already made announcements in the solid-state space.",{"type":591,"attrs":60961,"content":60962},{"textAlign":49},[60963],{"text":60964,"type":596},"For example, Nio, an automaker in the consortium, has previously revealed a 1,000 kilometre range demonstration vehicle powered by WeLion’s solid-state battery.",{"type":615,"attrs":60966,"content":60967},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[60968],{"text":60969,"type":596},"China aims to remain dominant",{"type":591,"attrs":60971,"content":60972},{"textAlign":49},[60973],{"text":60974,"type":596},"China has a leading position in many segments of the lithium ion battery supply chain from mineral refining through to battery production. But a truly dominant player in the solid-state space has yet to emerge.",{"type":591,"attrs":60976,"content":60977},{"textAlign":49},[60978,60980,60984],{"text":60979,"type":596},"By 2030, ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":60981},[60982],{"type":606,"attrs":60983},{"href":44210,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":60985,"type":596}," the US and Europe to account for 25% and 22% of the world’s solid-state battery nameplate capacity, respectively. Asia (excluding China) is forecast to represent 15%.",{"type":591,"attrs":60987,"content":60988},{"textAlign":49},[60989],{"type":836,"attrs":60990},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":52561,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":60991},{},{"type":591,"attrs":60993,"content":60994},{"textAlign":49},[60995],{"text":60996,"type":596},"The formation of this consortium speaks to China’s concerns that this poses a risk to the country’s dominance in the battery industry. The consortium aims to reassert China’s strength by rapidly building out a solid-state battery supply chain by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":60998,"content":60999},{"textAlign":49},[61000],{"text":61001,"type":596},"“2030 is an ambitious timeline, but China often makes ambitious targets and has a history of hitting them, or getting close enough,” Darminto said. “However, technology development is never a simple thing, and maturing supply chains will naturally have to wait for the technologies to be ready to scale to support them.”",{"type":591,"attrs":61003,"content":61004},{"textAlign":49},[61005],{"text":61006,"type":596},"In 2022, Europe formed Upcell, a similar consortium designed to tackle the challenge of solid-state battery development. However, unlike CASIP, Upcell is formed primarily of start-up and growth-phase companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":61008,"content":61009},{"textAlign":49},[61010],{"text":61011,"type":596},"By contrast CASIP pulls in industry heavyweights with the resources and scale required to bring solid-state technologies to the mass market.",{"type":591,"attrs":61013,"content":61014},{"textAlign":49},[61015],{"text":61016,"type":596},"“China has made its move and doubled down on development of solid-state,” Darminto said. “This could serve as a catalyst that spurs the rest of the world to not only form similar alliances but also demonstrate similar levels of commitments and drive innovation for next-generation batteries.”","CATL and BYD are among the big names in China’s new consortium aiming to jump-start the country’s progress in all-solid-state batteries. The China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), formed by Beijing at the end of last month, brings together major battery and automakers alongside academia and government to accelerate the research, development and commercialisation […]",[61019],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61020},{"job_title":557,"image":61021,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"91795b6d-fd89-49b3-9ddb-22c191b75199\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61024,61025],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61027,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61028,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1708111165/www-production/Solid-state-capacity-chart-no-y/Solid-state-capacity-chart-no-y.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61030,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61031,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/62dd64010e/bm-shutterstock-2292804607-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":61033,"uuid":61034,"name":61035,"slug":61036,"full_slug":61037,"content":61038},112470085158597,"549b4407-6434-4815-affa-68cbd9e5e976","US backs Philippines as part of nickel de-risking strategy","us-backs-philippines-as-part-of-nickel-de-risking-strategy","article/us-backs-philippines-as-part-of-nickel-de-risking-strategy",{"_uid":61039,"date":61040,"tags":61041,"editor":61044,"content":61048,"excerpt":61207,"featured":50,"reporter":61208,"_editable":61212,"component":697,"seo_title":61035,"categories":61213,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":61217,"seo_description":61207,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":61219},"411666ff-4ac1-4ed0-8816-ceec78724cf7","2024-02-07 00:00",[61042,61043],{"slug":23680,"name":23681},{"slug":5164,"name":5165},[61045],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61046},{"job_title":557,"image":61047,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61049},[61050,61055,61066,61071,61076,61081,61092,61097,61102,61109,61120,61125,61130,61135,61140,61145,61150,61155,61160,61165,61170,61175,61180,61185,61190,61195,61200],{"type":591,"attrs":61051,"content":61052},{"textAlign":49},[61053],{"text":61054,"type":596},"A diplomatic visit to the Philippines by US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez signals growing US interest in the country as a potential source of non-Chinese battery nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":61056,"content":61057},{"textAlign":49},[61058,61060,61064],{"text":61059,"type":596},"The Philippines produced 11% of the world’s mined nickel in 2023, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":61061},[61062],{"type":606,"attrs":61063},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61065,"type":596},", making it the second biggest producer after Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61067,"content":61068},{"textAlign":49},[61069],{"text":61070,"type":596},"Fernandez met representatives of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association as well as Philippines-based Nickel Asia Corporation and Japan’s Sumitomo Metals Mining, both companies that dominate the country’s nickel sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":61072,"content":61073},{"textAlign":49},[61074],{"text":61075,"type":596},"Fernandez also held a bilateral meeting with the Philippines’ Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, stating the US’ interest in closer cooperation in critical minerals, as well as semiconductors and energy security.",{"type":591,"attrs":61077,"content":61078},{"textAlign":49},[61079],{"text":61080,"type":596},"“His trip and the messaging involved aligns closely with the broader US strategy of China de-risking,” said Benchmark policy analyst Alex Becker. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61082,"content":61083},{"textAlign":49},[61084,61086,61091],{"text":61085,"type":596},"Indonesia is the world’s top nickel producer but the US is seeking alternative sources since most Indonesian output is ",{"text":61087,"type":596,"marks":61088},"produced by Chinese firms",[61089],{"type":606,"attrs":61090},{"href":40388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61093,"content":61094},{"textAlign":49},[61095],{"text":61096,"type":596},"Ex-Indonesian nickel diversification has taken on added urgency for the West as declining prices for the mineral lead to refinery closures around the world, including in Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":61098,"content":61099},{"textAlign":49},[61100],{"text":61101,"type":596},"Yet the Philippines’ nickel value chain is underdeveloped and the country would need to increase processing capacity if it is to play a bigger role as a global supplier for the electric vehicle (EV) market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61103,"content":61104},{"textAlign":49},[61105],{"type":836,"attrs":61106},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61107,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61108},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/148dc7ba59/bm-filipino-indonesian-nickel-value-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":61110,"content":61111},{"textAlign":49},[61112,61114,61118],{"text":61113,"type":596},"The country’s share of global refined battery-suitable nickel was just 6.2% in 2023, forecast to fall to 3.1% in 2033, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":61115},[61116],{"type":606,"attrs":61117},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61119,"type":596},". Its actual contribution to the battery sector is likely lower since this material can also be used in steel manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61121,"content":61122},{"textAlign":49},[61123],{"text":61124,"type":596},"The Philippines lack of domestic processing capacity means most of its nickel ore is shipped directly to China, mostly for processing into steel inputs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61126,"content":61127},{"textAlign":49},[61128],{"text":61129,"type":596},"“The Philippines today is in the same position in the global battery supply chain that Indonesia was before implementing its ore export ban in 2014 that encouraged refinery investment into the country,” said Benchmark nickel analyst Will Talbot.",{"type":615,"attrs":61131,"content":61132},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61133],{"text":61134,"type":596},"Philippines in the global battery supply chain today",{"type":591,"attrs":61136,"content":61137},{"textAlign":49},[61138],{"text":61139,"type":596},"The Philippines already plays some part in the global market balance for mined nickel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61141,"content":61142},{"textAlign":49},[61143],{"text":61144,"type":596},"Yet the country has just two operating refineries capable of producing battery-suitable nickel, both high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) sites. It only has two further facilities planned.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":61146,"content":61147},{"textAlign":49},[61148],{"text":61149,"type":596},"The country also has no operating or planned capacity for nickel sulphate, an input for battery cathode precursors. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61151,"content":61152},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61153],{"text":61154,"type":596},"Barriers to scaling ",{"type":591,"attrs":61156,"content":61157},{"textAlign":49},[61158],{"text":61159,"type":596},"The Philippines faces major challenges in scaling its battery nickel industry, according to Benchmark nickel analyst Jorge Uzacategui. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61161,"content":61162},{"textAlign":49},[61163],{"text":61164,"type":596},"“The Philippines would require expertise to ensure a new operation is efficient in terms of production, upfront capital and ongoing operating costs, so that it remains globally competitive. Indonesia was able to achieve this thanks to Chinese know-how and expertise,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":61166,"content":61167},{"textAlign":49},[61168],{"text":61169,"type":596},"In an interview given while visiting the Philippines, Fernandez said that the US government can connect the Philippines government to potential investors in Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61171,"content":61172},{"textAlign":49},[61173],{"text":61174,"type":596},"The US has already taken steps to increase critical minerals investment into the country. In November 2023, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) promising the Philippines technical assistance aimed at making it a “major global value chain player in the clean every sector”, alongside a PHP 280 million ($5 million) investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":61176,"content":61177},{"textAlign":49},[61178],{"text":61179,"type":596},"The MoU aimed at increasing Philippine’s mined and processed critical minerals output by providing support for streamlining permitting, policy reforms, and standards, as well as facilitating investment. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61181,"content":61182},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61183],{"text":61184,"type":596},"US and China vye for Asian critical minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":61186,"content":61187},{"textAlign":49},[61188],{"text":61189,"type":596},"After the Philippines, Fernandez visited South Korea and Vietnam, two other key players in the EV battery supply, also to discuss economic cooperation in critical minerals, semiconductors, and energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":61191,"content":61192},{"textAlign":49},[61193],{"text":61194,"type":596},"“There is explicit recognition that the US cannot afford to neglect ties with these countries in its pursuit of diversified supply chains in strategic industries, including critical minerals,” said Becker. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61196,"content":61197},{"textAlign":49},[61198],{"text":61199,"type":596},"This US diplomatic tour in Asia mirrors China’s ongoing efforts to forge closer bilateral ties with regional critical minerals producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61201,"content":61202},{"textAlign":49},[61203,61205],{"text":61204,"type":596},"China and Vietnam, a rare earths producer, have discussed ways to enhance cooperation over critical minerals supply and have held talks on developing rail infrastructure connecting the countries. ",{"text":61206,"type":596},"Nickel partnerships between Chinese and Filipino companies are also on the cards. Philippine mining company Global Ferronickel Holdings mentioned in 2023 that they were in talks with a Chinese firm for its first HPAL facility with a capacity of about 40,000 metric tonnes, to be constructed near its mines in southern Surigao province.","A diplomatic visit to the Philippines by US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez signals growing US interest in the country as a potential source of non-Chinese battery nickel. The Philippines produced 11% of the world’s mined nickel in 2023, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast, making it the […]",[61209],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61210},{"job_title":557,"image":61211,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"411666ff-4ac1-4ed0-8816-ceec78724cf7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61214,61215,61216],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":23806,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":23806,"source":547,"filename":51111,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61218,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":23806,"title":23806,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 07, 2024",{"id":61221,"uuid":61222,"name":61223,"slug":61224,"full_slug":61225,"content":61226},112470089905862,"238a3841-456e-4163-a7d0-275552e5c4cb","“Morocco is a sweet spot for the time being.” Q&A with CNGR’s Thorsten Lahrs","morocco-is-a-sweet-spot-for-the-time-being-qa-with-cngrs-thorsten-lahrs","article/morocco-is-a-sweet-spot-for-the-time-being-qa-with-cngrs-thorsten-lahrs",{"_uid":61227,"date":61228,"tags":61229,"editor":61233,"content":61237,"excerpt":61426,"featured":51,"reporter":61427,"_editable":61431,"component":697,"seo_title":61223,"categories":61432,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":61434,"seo_description":61426,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":61437},"7c2237ee-0628-4e96-a7fb-1658da773b24","2024-02-06 00:00",[61230,61231,61232],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":27053,"name":27054},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[61234],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61235},{"job_title":557,"image":61236,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61238},[61239,61250,61262,61267,61272,61277,61282,61287,61292,61297,61302,61307,61312,61317,61322,61327,61334,61339,61344,61349,61354,61359,61364,61369,61374,61379,61384,61389,61394,61401,61406,61411,61416,61421],{"type":591,"attrs":61240,"content":61241},{"textAlign":49},[61242,61244,61248],{"text":61243,"type":596},"China’s CNGR Advanced Material is the world’s largest producer of precursor cathode active material (",{"text":42128,"type":596,"marks":61245},[61246],{"type":606,"attrs":61247},{"href":53606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61249,"type":596},") for lithium ion batteries, and is a key part of the supply chain for some of the largest companies including Tesla and LG Chem. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61251,"content":61252},{"textAlign":49},[61253,61255,61260],{"text":61254,"type":596},"Listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange with a market capitalisation of $3.9 billion, the company is now looking to supply US and European markets with planned projects in ",{"text":27054,"type":596,"marks":61256},[61257],{"type":606,"attrs":61258},{"href":61259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-huayou-and-cngr-hope-to-supply-europe-and-us-from-morocco-plants?mc_cid=d3871583f3&mc_eid=UNIQID",{"text":61261,"type":596}," and Finland. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61263,"content":61264},{"textAlign":49},[61265],{"text":61266,"type":596},"According to Benchmark, CNGR had a pCAM production capacity of around 300,000 tonnes a year in 2023, and plans to expand this to almost 1 million tonnes by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61268,"content":61269},{"textAlign":49},[61270],{"text":61271,"type":596},"Thorsten Lahrs is chief executive of the company’s European operations. He has a long history in the battery industry, having worked for Phostech Lithium in Canada on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries before moving to China to work for Pulead Technology Industry in Beijing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61273,"content":61274},{"textAlign":49},[61275],{"text":61276,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with him to learn more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61278,"content":61279},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61280],{"text":61281,"type":596},"Could you give us an update on your planned pCAM plant in Finland with Finnish Minerals Group?",{"type":591,"attrs":61283,"content":61284},{"textAlign":49},[61285],{"text":61286,"type":596},"We’ve been working on that for four years more or less – since when we discussed with FMG [Finnish Minerals Group] how to establish an entity in Finland and a permitted facility. So Monday next week I expect we’re going to have a published version of our permit. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61288,"content":61289},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61290],{"text":61291,"type":596},"Why is Finland such an attractive place for this plant?",{"type":591,"attrs":61293,"content":61294},{"textAlign":49},[61295],{"text":61296,"type":596},"What Finland did initially years back is they were very early to detect that this will be one of the new waves of industrialization. And they have a framework which is interesting, the basis of it, long term, is that Finland will have the lowest cost CO2-free energy in Europe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61298,"content":61299},{"textAlign":49},[61300],{"text":61301,"type":596},"But overall it’s probably the most attractive site to be. So then when you look at what other elements you need, that’s logistics, we found a location east of Helsinki in Hamina … We are directly connected to the sea.",{"type":615,"attrs":61303,"content":61304},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61305],{"text":61306,"type":596},"Will Finnish Minerals provide the nickel?",{"type":591,"attrs":61308,"content":61309},{"textAlign":49},[61310],{"text":61311,"type":596},"That’s one option. That’s obviously not sufficient. You can probably imagine right now the market situation … I wouldn’t be surprised that many people in the industry today will go a little bit slower.",{"type":615,"attrs":61313,"content":61314},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61315],{"text":61316,"type":596},"So will the metal come from your Indonesian plants then?",{"type":591,"attrs":61318,"content":61319},{"textAlign":49},[61320],{"text":61321,"type":596},"Yes. In principle we are relying a lot on our own resources. We have to see a little bit for what market actually we’re going to do it. Finland typically was intended for Europe. As of today, Europe is a little bit difficult to export to the US as there’s no FTA. And Morocco is.",{"type":591,"attrs":61323,"content":61324},{"textAlign":49},[61325],{"text":61326,"type":596},"We will see. I mean, we now have a lot of impact and regulatory forces which are changing all the time. So when you take the IRA context, we have elections in November and then we have Donald Trump, who has his own opinion on EVs and his own opinion on China … I think everyone is sort of lying back and saying, hmm, what does it mean. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61328,"content":61329},{"textAlign":49},[61330],{"type":836,"attrs":61331},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61332,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61333},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0aaf5fb3e1/bm-global-pcam-capacity.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":61335,"content":61336},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61337],{"text":61338,"type":596},"Can pCAM production outside of China be competitive?",{"type":591,"attrs":61340,"content":61341},{"textAlign":49},[61342],{"text":61343,"type":596},"I mean, in the long run I think we all agree, even on the Chinese side, it’s probably not very intelligent to have all your eggs in one nest. So having 90% come out of a certain region, however you call it, really is not something which is probably sustainable. But how you shift that away in a context where you have a price war in China and therefore any new facilities are at the top price point is not an easy answer. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61345,"content":61346},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61347],{"text":61348,"type":596},"So do you think the targets in the EU Critical Raw Materials Act are too ambitious? ",{"type":591,"attrs":61350,"content":61351},{"textAlign":49},[61352],{"text":61353,"type":596},"At the moment I think it’s not too ambitious, but any number without any further regulations or detail on how to execute that will maybe lead to nothing. It’s an ambitious statement, but at this point of time, it will stay at that point.",{"type":615,"attrs":61355,"content":61356},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61357],{"text":61358,"type":596},"So moving on to talk about Morocco, why did you choose the country for battery materials production?",{"type":591,"attrs":61360,"content":61361},{"textAlign":49},[61362],{"text":61363,"type":596},"Morocco is a sweet spot for the time being, because it has a FTA [Free Trade Agreement] with the US, and with Europe. It is obviously a little bit less expensive going to Morocco, it is faster going to Morocco. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61365,"content":61366},{"textAlign":49},[61367],{"text":61368,"type":596},"And in the context of the IRA speed is relevant. Because it’s kicking in next year. You will not be able to do that in North America, or in Europe, simply because the permitting process would not allow you to be that fast. [In Morocco] certain work we can start already. And then the main work will start quite soon.",{"type":615,"attrs":61370,"content":61371},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61372],{"text":61373,"type":596},"Have you agreed with Morocco’s OCP Group to supply phosphate for the LFP materials?",{"type":591,"attrs":61375,"content":61376},{"textAlign":49},[61377],{"text":61378,"type":596},"In principle that’s the case. And we [discussions] are still ongoing. So we have not yet finalised how to handle the LFP ramp up. The LFP discussion is intensifying in Europe. Much more during the last year. But with such low raw material prices on nickel, it’s already difficult to bring nickel chemistry out of China to Europe or anywhere else. To stay competitive. Actually, you’re not. And for LFP I would say in relative terms it’s even more complicated.",{"type":615,"attrs":61380,"content":61381},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61382],{"text":61383,"type":596},"And in terms of the Inflation Reduction Act how does it work out with the Foreign Entity of Concern provisions? Will you adjust the equity ownership? Is there a way around it?",{"type":591,"attrs":61385,"content":61386},{"textAlign":49},[61387],{"text":61388,"type":596},"It’s a question which interpretation you follow. I mean, based on what we hear … the actual interpretation would let us think that we are not impacted.",{"type":591,"attrs":61390,"content":61391},{"textAlign":49},[61392],{"text":61393,"type":596},"We are privately owned, and none of our officials is connected to the Chinese government.",{"type":591,"attrs":61395,"content":61396},{"textAlign":49},[61397],{"type":836,"attrs":61398},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61399,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61400},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/514d42beef/bm-image-94-1344064044b0.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":61402,"content":61403},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61404],{"text":61405,"type":596},"You are working on a new process for producing nickel matte using an oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace, which you say is lower emissions, could you give us some details on that?",{"type":591,"attrs":61407,"content":61408},{"textAlign":49},[61409],{"text":61410,"type":596},"We are a little bit delayed in terms of the start of production, because it’s a new technology so we had to fix some issues. Now it’s running relatively stable. We are just measuring, so we will have validated data, hopefully this quarter. What I’m seeing right now is it’s significantly lower [emissions] compared to RKEF.",{"type":591,"attrs":61412,"content":61413},{"textAlign":49},[61414],{"text":61415,"type":596},"And it has a big advantage in that the tailings are not there. And the tailings sit there for how many years? … Some big players are starting to rethink that a little bit. Should you first discuss the long term liabilities and then you discuss CO2? ",{"type":615,"attrs":61417,"content":61418},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61419],{"text":61420,"type":596},"Are automakers willing to pay a green premium for nickel? ",{"type":591,"attrs":61422,"content":61423},{"textAlign":49},[61424],{"text":61425,"type":596},"I think we are all struggling with how to price it.","China’s CNGR Advanced Material is the world’s largest producer of precursor cathode active material (pCAM) for lithium ion batteries, and is a key part of the supply chain for some of the largest companies including Tesla and LG Chem. Listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange with a market capitalisation of $3.9 billion, the company is […]",[61428],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61429},{"job_title":557,"image":61430,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7c2237ee-0628-4e96-a7fb-1658da773b24\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61433],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61435,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61436,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db73e4a325/bm-thorsten-cngr.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 06, 2024",{"id":61439,"uuid":61440,"name":61441,"slug":61442,"full_slug":61443,"content":61444},112470109828810,"90c7a88d-5e77-4f91-b036-fd7b2e32071a","Rare earths supply to be strong in 2024 but Myanmar risk remains","rare-earths-supply-to-be-strong-in-2024-but-myanmar-risk-remains","article/rare-earths-supply-to-be-strong-in-2024-but-myanmar-risk-remains",{"_uid":61445,"date":61446,"tags":61447,"editor":61451,"content":61455,"excerpt":61646,"featured":51,"reporter":61647,"_editable":61651,"component":697,"seo_title":61441,"categories":61652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":61656,"seo_description":61646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":61658},"f21b1533-39be-4e8b-8ae7-6a6e65b7a536","2024-02-02 00:00",[61448,61449,61450],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":27747,"name":27748},{"slug":572,"name":573},[61452],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61453},{"job_title":557,"image":61454,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61456},[61457,61462,61467,61472,61482,61487,61492,61497,61504,61509,61514,61519,61524,61535,61540,61545,61550,61555,61560,61565,61570,61575,61580,61585,61590,61595,61600,61605,61610,61621,61626,61631,61636,61641],{"type":591,"attrs":61458,"content":61459},{"textAlign":49},[61460],{"text":61461,"type":596},"Supply will be key to understanding the rare earths market in 2024 when global production is set to increase amidst persistent low demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":61463,"content":61464},{"textAlign":49},[61465],{"text":61466,"type":596},"Rare earths demand is primarily driven by their use in high-strength rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) found inside wind turbines, electric vehicle (EV) motors, and certain defence technologies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61468,"content":61469},{"textAlign":49},[61470],{"text":61471,"type":596},"“The outlook for 2024 is one of a well supplied market,” said Daan de Jonge, product director at Benchmark. “We’re expecting Chinese output to remain high with supply growth from non-China sources as well. This will likely lead to price stability at low levels for praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd).” ",{"type":591,"attrs":61473,"content":61474},{"textAlign":49},[61475,61477,61481],{"text":61476,"type":596},"One new ex-China source will be Lynas’ expansion at Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, forecast to contribute 3.1% of global mined PrNd supply in 2024, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":61478},[61479],{"type":606,"attrs":61480},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61483,"content":61484},{"textAlign":49},[61485],{"text":61486,"type":596},"The picture differs for the more volatile heavy rare earths like dysprosium, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":61488,"content":61489},{"textAlign":49},[61490],{"text":61491,"type":596},"“We are expecting continued uncertainty around heavy rare earths prices due to this market’s reliance on Myanmar, whose output is variable and uncertain,” said de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":61493,"content":61494},{"textAlign":49},[61495],{"text":61496,"type":596},"The other new mine this year is Brazil’s Pela Ema, owned by Serra Verde. As the first commercial-scale ionic clay deposit outside Myanmar and China, it could bring some relief to what has been a disrupted dysprosium market.",{"type":591,"attrs":61498,"content":61499},{"textAlign":49},[61500],{"type":836,"attrs":61501},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61502,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61503},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0f13559337/bm-rareearthsupply2024-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":61505,"content":61506},{"textAlign":49},[61507],{"text":61508,"type":596},"However, new ex-China mines will not automatically translate into more sourcing options for the West. China’s processing dominance means it is still the prime destination for ores while its domestic production quotas will also remain the biggest determinant of prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":61510,"content":61511},{"textAlign":49},[61512],{"text":61513,"type":596},"“We are expecting continuous capacity growth outside of China but global prices will continue to be below incentive for the West,” said de Jonge.",{"type":615,"attrs":61515,"content":61516},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61517],{"text":61518,"type":596},"Market braces for further price drops",{"type":591,"attrs":61520,"content":61521},{"textAlign":49},[61522],{"text":61523,"type":596},"The Chinese government has raised its light rare earths production quota year-on-year since 2020 onwards to achieve what it calls ‘rational’ rare earths prices: high enough to profit Chinese miners while being low enough to satisfy domestic EV manufacturers and REPM producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61525,"content":61526},{"textAlign":49},[61527,61529,61534],{"text":61528,"type":596},"China’s search for optimal prices is not yet over and could drive PrNd prices below $70/kg in the first quarter of this year, according to the ",{"text":61530,"type":596,"marks":61531},"Benchmark Rare Earth Forecast",[61532],{"type":606,"attrs":61533},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61536,"content":61537},{"textAlign":49},[61538],{"text":61539,"type":596},"“China has had a historical tendency to push prices lower than rational prices as the government has a slight preference for ensuring stable, low prices for domestic EV manufacturers rather than high profitability for its rare earth miners,” said de Jonge.",{"type":615,"attrs":61541,"content":61542},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61543],{"text":61544,"type":596},"Western buildout hits price roadblock",{"type":591,"attrs":61546,"content":61547},{"textAlign":49},[61548],{"text":61549,"type":596},"Without stronger prices, even China’s December 2023 export ban on rare earth production technologies will not be enough to spur faster capacity building.",{"type":591,"attrs":61551,"content":61552},{"textAlign":49},[61553],{"text":61554,"type":596},"“Investors will be careful to invest in companies with stronger economics, which could ultimately slow down production outside China,” said Benchmark analyst Neha Mukherjee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61556,"content":61557},{"textAlign":49},[61558],{"text":61559,"type":596},"This presents Western governments and industries with limited options, according to de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":61561,"content":61562},{"textAlign":49},[61563],{"text":61564,"type":596},"“We would need to see more desire to accept higher prices among OEMs if you want non-China supply. More government support or continued support too,” said de Jonge. ",{"type":615,"attrs":61566,"content":61567},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61568],{"text":61569,"type":596},"Lynas on track with expansion ",{"type":591,"attrs":61571,"content":61572},{"textAlign":49},[61573],{"text":61574,"type":596},"As investors draw back from rare earths, Lynas’ AUD$500 million Mount Weld mine expansion now under construction will be important for Western diversification. The asset is expected to come into full operation this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":61576,"content":61577},{"textAlign":49},[61578],{"text":61579,"type":596},"“If the expansion goes online along previously stated deadlines, it will be an important contributor to a balanced market,” said de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":61581,"content":61582},{"textAlign":49},[61583],{"text":61584,"type":596},"Apart from adding raw volumes to global supply, Lynas is Australian-owned and holds processing capacity, offering a viable alternative to Chinese oxides while meeting EU and US sourcing diversification requirements. US company MP Materials is the only other major Western miner-processor.",{"type":615,"attrs":61586,"content":61587},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61588],{"text":61589,"type":596},"Brazil starts first ex-Asia ionic clay mine",{"type":591,"attrs":61591,"content":61592},{"textAlign":49},[61593],{"text":61594,"type":596},"As a hard rock mine, Mount Weld’s primary output will be light rare earths. Diversifying in the heavy rare earths will be harder as almost all mines and processing for these are concentrated in Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":61596,"content":61597},{"textAlign":49},[61598],{"text":61599,"type":596},"“Hard rock ores have between 5-20% PrNd oxide but just 0.01-1% heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium. By contrast, ionic clay contains higher levels of dysprosium and terbium while also containing competitive levels of PrNd,” explained de Jonge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61601,"content":61602},{"textAlign":49},[61603],{"text":61604,"type":596},"Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil became the first operational ionic clay mine outside China and Myanmar in January 2024. Yet without oxide processing capacity, its heavy rare earths ores will likely go to China, which refines 99.9% of the world’s dysprosium.",{"type":615,"attrs":61606,"content":61607},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61608],{"text":61609,"type":596},"Myanmar supply is the big uncertainty",{"type":591,"attrs":61611,"content":61612},{"textAlign":49},[61613,61615,61620],{"text":61614,"type":596},"China has its own supply issues with dysprosium. Its heavy rare earths processing industry, and by extension the global oxide supply, is heavily dependent on Myanmar, which contributed 33% of mined dysprosium supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":61616,"type":596,"marks":61617},"Benchmark’s Rare Earth’s Forecast",[61618],{"type":606,"attrs":61619},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61622,"content":61623},{"textAlign":49},[61624],{"text":61625,"type":596},"“China has outsourced some of its heavy rare earths mining there as it is very environmentally damaging,” explained de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":61627,"content":61628},{"textAlign":49},[61629],{"text":61630,"type":596},"In 2023, mining suspensions in Myanmar, driven by local protests and inspections, led to Dy prices increasing between April and November even as light rare earths fell then stabilised. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61632,"content":61633},{"textAlign":49},[61634],{"text":61635,"type":596},"The question is whether disruptions will continue and how the market will respond. Pela Ema’s opening will help strengthen the global production this year, at 5.9% of 2024 supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61637,"content":61638},{"textAlign":49},[61639],{"text":61640,"type":596},"A possible though unlikely scenario is that China will raise its domestic heavy rare earths mining quotas for the first time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61642,"content":61643},{"textAlign":49},[61644],{"text":61645,"type":596},"“Historically, China has kept its domestic heavy rare earth quota the same, only increasing their quotas for light rare earths,” said de Jonge. “However, the government is concerned with ensuring steady prices and this may force its hand to raise its heavy rare earths output.”","Supply will be key to understanding the rare earths market in 2024 when global production is set to increase amidst persistent low demand. Rare earths demand is primarily driven by their use in high-strength rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) found inside wind turbines, electric vehicle (EV) motors, and certain defence technologies. “The outlook for 2024 […]",[61648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61649},{"job_title":557,"image":61650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f21b1533-39be-4e8b-8ae7-6a6e65b7a536\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61653,61654,61655],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":10821,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":10821,"source":547,"filename":10822,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61657,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":10821,"title":10821,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 02, 2024",{"id":61660,"uuid":61661,"name":61662,"slug":61663,"full_slug":61664,"content":61665},112470114629323,"c641dded-2e0d-411e-b930-e9381da40b42","Low raw material prices increase role of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell price","low-raw-material-prices-increase-role-of-operational-costs-and-other-inputs-to-battery-cell-price-benchmark-data","article/low-raw-material-prices-increase-role-of-operational-costs-and-other-inputs-to-battery-cell-price-benchmark-data",{"_uid":61666,"date":61667,"tags":61668,"editor":61670,"content":61674,"excerpt":61759,"featured":51,"reporter":61760,"_editable":61764,"component":697,"seo_title":61662,"categories":61765,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":61767,"featured_image":61770,"seo_description":61759,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":61773},"407d0754-9500-4a5c-b695-997155bc49e0","2024-01-31 00:00",[61669],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[61671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61672},{"job_title":557,"image":61673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61675},[61676,61681,61692,61699,61704,61709,61714,61719,61724,61729,61734,61739,61744,61749,61754],{"type":591,"attrs":61677,"content":61678},{"textAlign":49},[61679],{"text":61680,"type":596},"Falling cathode and anode raw material prices in 2023 have magnified the contributions of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell prices, Benchmark analysis shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":61682,"content":61683},{"textAlign":49},[61684,61686,61691],{"text":61685,"type":596},"Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 622 battery cell prices fell from $145.2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) at the start of the year to $90.1/kWh by December 2023, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":61687,"type":596,"marks":61688},"Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",[61689],{"type":606,"attrs":61690},{"href":43533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61693,"content":61694},{"textAlign":49},[61695],{"type":836,"attrs":61696},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61697,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61698},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/44d50c9442/bm-cell-price-change-jan-dec-2023.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":61700,"content":61701},{"textAlign":49},[61702],{"text":61703,"type":596},"Over the same period, cathode and anode raw materials’ share of NCM 622 battery cell prices fell from 71% to 54% largely driven by lower lithium prices. This changing price dynamic has increased the contribution of production costs and peripheral battery materials used in cell assembly—such as separator and electrolyte materials—rising from 18% at the start of 2023 to 31% of costs by the end of the year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61705,"content":61706},{"textAlign":49},[61707],{"text":61708,"type":596},"“After two years in which raw material pricing dominated the battery cell pricing narrative, we could be re-entering an era where operational costs have a large part to play,” said Evan Hartley, a senior analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61710,"content":61711},{"textAlign":49},[61712],{"text":61713,"type":596},"This means looking to factors like labour and energy costs to understand cell price.",{"type":591,"attrs":61715,"content":61716},{"textAlign":49},[61717],{"text":61718,"type":596},"In the US, higher wages have already raised operating costs. Strike action by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the US won a 25% wage increase for workers, according to Reuters. The raise was matched by Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda, though their employees are not members of the UAW. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61720,"content":61721},{"textAlign":49},[61722],{"text":61723,"type":596},"However, the overall cost of labour has only increased 10% in the US over the past two years, according to Benchmark data. The cost of power has seen a more modest increase, rising by 5% since 2021. In the EU, labour and power costs have risen by 9% and 137% respectively. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61725,"content":61726},{"textAlign":49},[61727],{"text":61728,"type":596},"Over time, cell manufacturers will look to employ more automation and efficient technology to reduce operational costs, potentially reversing the inflationary trends present today.",{"type":615,"attrs":61730,"content":61731},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61732],{"text":61733,"type":596},"Echoes from the past ",{"type":591,"attrs":61735,"content":61736},{"textAlign":49},[61737],{"text":61738,"type":596},"Prior to the rise of gigawatt hour production in the mid-to-late 2010s, battery cell prices were largely determined by processing and manufacturing costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61740,"content":61741},{"textAlign":49},[61742],{"text":61743,"type":596},"The economies of scale achieved through gigafactory production helped drive down cell prices but increased the share of the cost of raw materials used in the cathode and anode. As battery and automakers expanded production, they were in turn exposed to greater raw material price volatility risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":61745,"content":61746},{"textAlign":49},[61747],{"text":61748,"type":596},"The raw material price rises seen between 2021 and 2022 illustrated how these risks could develop over a relatively short period of time. However, since then, consistently falling prices have eased the burden on cell makers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61750,"content":61751},{"textAlign":49},[61752],{"text":61753,"type":596},"“It is not looking likely that these material prices will pick back up in the next quarter or beyond,” said Hartley. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61755,"content":61756},{"textAlign":49},[61757],{"text":61758,"type":596},"However, with cathode and anode raw materials still contributing to more than half of NCM 622 cell prices and deficits set to emerge later this decade, the battery industry remains exposed to longer-term raw material price risk.","Falling cathode and anode raw material prices in 2023 have magnified the contributions of operational costs and other inputs to battery cell prices, Benchmark analysis shows. Nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 622 battery cell prices fell from $145.2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) at the start of the year to $90.1/kWh by December 2023, according to Benchmark’s […]",[61761],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61762},{"job_title":557,"image":61763,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"407d0754-9500-4a5c-b695-997155bc49e0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61766],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":61768,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":61768,"source":547,"filename":61697,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61769,"is_external_url":51},"Two donut charts showing how different raw materials and costs of production made up the cost of a n NCM622 battery in January and December 2023.",{"alt":61768,"title":61768,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61771,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61772,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae20cac3ca/bm-lithium-ion-battery-adobe-stock-image.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 31, 2024",{"id":61775,"uuid":61776,"name":61777,"slug":61778,"full_slug":61779,"content":61780},112470119483084,"1848f509-8436-4033-9b1b-0d71deae9095","Falling lithium prices challenge new project economics","falling-lithium-prices-challenge-new-project-economics","article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-new-project-economics",{"_uid":61781,"date":61782,"tags":61783,"editor":61784,"content":61788,"excerpt":61939,"featured":51,"reporter":61940,"_editable":61944,"component":697,"seo_title":61777,"categories":61945,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":61947,"seo_description":61939,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":61950},"89d498eb-1b07-47ef-8115-8b5451a2a17d","2024-01-29 00:00",[],[61785],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61786},{"job_title":557,"image":61787,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61789},[61790,61801,61806,61811,61816,61828,61833,61838,61845,61850,61855,61860,61865,61870,61875,61880,61885,61890,61897,61902,61914,61919,61924,61929,61934],{"type":591,"attrs":61791,"content":61792},{"textAlign":49},[61793,61795,61799],{"text":61794,"type":596},"The continuing price rout in ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":61796},[61797],{"type":606,"attrs":61798},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61800,"type":596}," is causing an increasing number of companies to cut production or delay projects, raising questions about future incentive price levels and the sustainability of the current market.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":61802,"content":61803},{"textAlign":49},[61804],{"text":61805,"type":596},"This month Australia’s Liontown Resources said it would review its planned expansion and ramp-up of its Kathleen Valley project to “preserve capital and reduce the near-term funding requirements of the project.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":61807,"content":61808},{"textAlign":49},[61809],{"text":61810,"type":596},"Australian miner Sayona Mining also said it would conduct an “operational review” of its North American Lithium operation, to improve costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61812,"content":61813},{"textAlign":49},[61814],{"text":61815,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene concentrate as assessed by Benchmark decreased notably throughout the assessment period 10 January – 24 January 2024. Prices experienced a fall of 11.0% to an average of $850/tonne (FOB Australia).",{"type":591,"attrs":61817,"content":61818},{"textAlign":49},[61819,61821,61826],{"text":61820,"type":596},"That’s well below Benchmark’s l",{"text":61822,"type":596,"marks":61823},"ong-run incentive price",[61824],{"type":606,"attrs":61825},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61827,"type":596}," of $1,850 per tonne for spodumene concentrate (6% Li2O), raising the question of when prices will find a floor, and what a prolonged period of low prices will do to the prospects of new producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":61829,"content":61830},{"textAlign":49},[61831],{"text":61832,"type":596},"“There’s a lot of new projects out there that will struggle to get financing at these levels, the economics don’t stack up,” Cameron Perks, a consultant at Benchmark, said. “This will slow down a lot of project development we saw coming online for 2024 and 2025 and that will exacerbate the price cycle on the upside.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":61834,"content":61835},{"textAlign":49},[61836],{"text":61837,"type":596},"Prices for lithium carbonate have slipped below long run incentive levels, and while average carbonate prices remain higher than the start of the price cycle, serious concerns remain around whether prices below $20,000 per tonne will actually facilitate the capital deployment required to meet to demand requirements of the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":61839,"content":61840},{"textAlign":49},[61841],{"type":836,"attrs":61842},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61843,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61844},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/33895d6897/bm-new-lithium-projects-are-needed-cam-perks.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":61846,"content":61847},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61848],{"text":61849,"type":596},"A sustainable lithium price?",{"type":591,"attrs":61851,"content":61852},{"textAlign":49},[61853],{"text":61854,"type":596},"While some higher cost Australian mines are shutting down, there are question marks around supply of lithium from lepidolite mines in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61856,"content":61857},{"textAlign":49},[61858],{"text":61859,"type":596},"While their costs range from between $16,000 to $27,000 a tonne, many can keep going longer than expected as they are integrated with large battery cell producers, or are becoming consolidated. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61861,"content":61862},{"textAlign":49},[61863],{"text":61864,"type":596},"Perks likens the situation to the iron ore market boom of the last decade, when prices when Chinese production costs were assumed to be a “floor,” when in reality prices spent extended periods below this. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61866,"content":61867},{"textAlign":49},[61868],{"text":61869,"type":596},"“However, there is not necessarily bottomless endurance, particularly when producers start to re-prioritise conserving local resources for high-price cycles,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61871,"content":61872},{"textAlign":49},[61873],{"text":61874,"type":596},"In addition, in the current price rout, some of the largest and lowest cost Australia producers are still expanding production, with Pilbara Minerals saying this month that its expansion plans were on track. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61876,"content":61877},{"textAlign":49},[61878],{"text":61879,"type":596},"“With a low unit-cost structure and strong balance sheet position, Pilbara Minerals is uniquely placed relative to many of its competitors in the lithium sector to withstand and capitalise on a period of lower prices that could rationalise the market,” the company said. “With increasing production capacity, the group is also uniquely positioned to take advantage of an improvement in market conditions when the pricing cycle turns.”",{"type":591,"attrs":61881,"content":61882},{"textAlign":49},[61883],{"text":61884,"type":596},"In theory a price of around $20,000 a tonne would be sustainable, Perks said, as it means that Chinese lepidolite production and high cost spodumene producers will be making money.",{"type":591,"attrs":61886,"content":61887},{"textAlign":49},[61888],{"text":61889,"type":596},"“An extended period of prices below these levels means price will likely rebound faster and harder than in previous cycles,” he said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":61891,"content":61892},{"textAlign":49},[61893],{"type":836,"attrs":61894},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":61895,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":61896},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/37f5733d4a/bm-lithium-2024-cam-perks.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":61898,"content":61899},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[61900],{"text":61901,"type":596},"Demand expectations vs reality",{"type":591,"attrs":61903,"content":61904},{"textAlign":49},[61905,61907,61912],{"text":61906,"type":596},"There will be an ongoing requirement for new greenfield capacity to meet future demand. Benchmark’s ",{"text":61908,"type":596,"marks":61909},"long-term incentive price",[61910],{"type":606,"attrs":61911},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":61913,"type":596}," is used in the assessment of project economics and reflects the fact that there will be a need for the development of higher capex projects over time.",{"type":591,"attrs":61915,"content":61916},{"textAlign":49},[61917],{"text":61918,"type":596},"An Internal Rate of Return (IRR) analysis for a ‘typical’ integrated greenfield project suggests that to achieve 30% IRR, a price level of $28,980/t is required, while a spodumene concentrate price of $1,850/t would be required to achieve an IRR of 15%.",{"type":591,"attrs":61920,"content":61921},{"textAlign":49},[61922],{"text":61923,"type":596},"That lithium price, however, depends on demand, which has been increasingly uncertain, due to a slowdown in growth in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61925,"content":61926},{"textAlign":49},[61927],{"text":61928,"type":596},"Global electric vehicle sales grew by 31% growth in 2023, down from a 60% growth rate in 2022.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":61930,"content":61931},{"textAlign":49},[61932],{"text":61933,"type":596},"Much of this decline is driven by China, where the NEV market is slowing naturally due to high sales volumes already achieved (8.3mn domestic NEV sales in 2023) tying in with a government phase out of EV subsidies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":61935,"content":61936},{"textAlign":49},[61937],{"text":61938,"type":596},"Still, growth of global electric vehicle sales continues to be strong and at a global level, EV adoption will rise from 16% in 2023 to 78% by 2040, representing the largest demand opportunity for the battery supply chain out of the segments tracked by Benchmark.","The continuing price rout in lithium is causing an increasing number of companies to cut production or delay projects, raising questions about future incentive price levels and the sustainability of the current market. This month Australia’s Liontown Resources said it would review its planned expansion and ramp-up of its Kathleen Valley project to “preserve capital […]",[61941],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61942},{"job_title":557,"image":61943,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"89d498eb-1b07-47ef-8115-8b5451a2a17d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[61946],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61948,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":61949,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/04ebe2dddc/bm-australia-lithium-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 29, 2024",{"id":61952,"uuid":61953,"name":61954,"slug":61955,"full_slug":61956,"content":61957},112470124304077,"0a68b76d-2bc1-4e2b-b400-0b22152944fa","Sustainability now a critical metric for lithium supply agreements","sustainability-now-a-critical-metric-for-lithium-supply-agreements","article/sustainability-now-a-critical-metric-for-lithium-supply-agreements",{"_uid":61958,"date":61959,"tags":61960,"editor":61963,"content":61967,"excerpt":62126,"featured":51,"reporter":62127,"component":697,"seo_title":62131,"categories":62132,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":62136,"featured_image":62138,"seo_description":62141,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62142},"54f61b19-d7cd-4a92-a655-04e4a26809f4","2024-01-26 00:00",[61961,61962],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[61964],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":61965},{"job_title":557,"image":61966,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":61968},[61969,61979,61989,62001,62013,62030,62035,62040,62045,62050,62055,62060,62078,62086,62091,62101,62106,62111,62116,62121],{"type":591,"attrs":61970,"content":61971},{"textAlign":49},[61972,61974,61978],{"text":61973,"type":596},"Lithium ion battery demand is forecast to grow almost four-fold between 2023 and 2030 to 3.9 terawatt-hours, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":61975},[61976],{"type":606,"attrs":61977},{"href":47201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61980,"content":61981},{"textAlign":49},[61982,61984,61988],{"text":61983,"type":596},"This growth in battery demand will result in a corresponding surge in demand for the constituent critical raw materials. In 2015, batteries accounted for just 34% of lithium demand. In 2024, batteries are expected to account for 88% of the 1.2 million tonne demand, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":61985},[61986],{"type":606,"attrs":61987},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":61990,"content":61991},{"textAlign":49},[61992,61994,61999],{"text":61993,"type":596},"Although a near-term surplus of lithium is forecast until 2029, there is a growing desire from automakers and consumers for lithium sourced sustainably. But ",{"text":49869,"type":596,"marks":61995},[61996],{"type":606,"attrs":61997},{"href":61998,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/lithium/reports",{"text":62000,"type":596}," shows there is currently insufficient supply of lithium from companies with good environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices to meet demand now and in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":62002,"content":62003},{"textAlign":49},[62004,62006,62011],{"text":62005,"type":596},"“The question of provenance becomes the most important question of them all,” Cameron Perks, principal analyst for lithium at Benchmark, said during a ",{"text":62007,"type":596,"marks":62008},"Benchmark webinar",[62009],{"type":606,"attrs":62010},{"href":47425,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62012,"type":596}," last week.",{"type":591,"attrs":62014,"content":62015},{"textAlign":49},[62016,62020,62026],{"text":62017,"type":596,"marks":62018},"Benchmark Source subscribers can watch the “",[62019],{"type":1006},{"text":62021,"type":596,"marks":62022},"Sustainable Lithium: Prices, Economics and Availability",[62023,62025],{"type":606,"attrs":62024},{"href":47425,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":62027,"type":596,"marks":62028},"” webinar as part of their subscription.",[62029],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":62031,"content":62032},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62033],{"text":62034,"type":596},"Sustainability drives commercial decisions",{"type":591,"attrs":62036,"content":62037},{"textAlign":49},[62038],{"text":62039,"type":596},"“On both the buy side and sell side, sustainability is now a critical metric when supply agreements are being discussed,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":62041,"content":62042},{"textAlign":49},[62043],{"text":62044,"type":596},"As such, Benchmark tracks the progress and commitment to stakeholder-defined ESG indicators across all participants in the mineral mining and processing space for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":62046,"content":62047},{"textAlign":49},[62048],{"text":62049,"type":596},"The values are quantified through 79 indicators to give every player, whether operating or developing, an overall score out of 100. These scores correspond to the sustainability classifications as follows:",{"type":591,"attrs":62051,"content":62052},{"textAlign":49},[62053],{"text":62054,"type":596},"These ESG metrics are of increasing business importance to players across the supply chain down to the automakers producing electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":62056,"content":62057},{"textAlign":49},[62058],{"text":62059,"type":596},"“The sourcing strategies, particularly for OEMs, is that they’re looking for industry leading, good practice companies to fulfil their lithium requirements in order to fulfil, say, decarbonisation goals, not just for the company, but for the country they’re operating in,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":62061,"content":62062},{"textAlign":49},[62063,62065,62070,62072,62076],{"text":62064,"type":596},"But the ",{"text":62066,"type":596,"marks":62067},"supply of such lithium",[62068],{"type":606,"attrs":62069},{"href":47417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62071,"type":596}," is limited. By 2026, ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":62073},[62074],{"type":606,"attrs":62075},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62077,"type":596}," shows that lithium from recycled sourced or mined by companies with industry leading or good ESG practices is set to meet 45% of demand but drop to 35% by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":62079,"content":62080},{"textAlign":49},[62081],{"type":836,"attrs":62082},{"id":49,"alt":62083,"src":62084,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62085},"Mined lithium from sustainable sources is insufficient to meet demand","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7c73064b82/bm-lithium-sustainability-index-2026-supply-demand.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":62087,"content":62088},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62089],{"text":62090,"type":596},"Sustainability in pricing",{"type":591,"attrs":62092,"content":62093},{"textAlign":49},[62094,62096,62100],{"text":62095,"type":596},"With the desire for sustainably sourced lithium on the rise, there is a growing need for pricing mechanisms to reflect this. Benchmark now releases a biweekly ",{"text":50035,"type":596,"marks":62097},[62098],{"type":606,"attrs":62099},{"href":50039,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62102,"content":62103},{"textAlign":49},[62104],{"text":62105,"type":596},"The price is normalised to CIF Asia and follows Benchmark’s IOSCO-approved methodologies using first-hand collection of prices from active market participants with industry leading scores on Benchmark’s Lithium Sustainability Index.",{"type":591,"attrs":62107,"content":62108},{"textAlign":49},[62109],{"text":62110,"type":596},"“It gives automakers the opportunity to index contract price mechanisms to demonstrate supply chain sustainability practices,” Jennings-Gray said, adding that such a price also “incentivises producers to strive for better ESG transparency.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62112,"content":62113},{"textAlign":49},[62114],{"text":62115,"type":596},"The latest sustainable lithium carbonate price was reported at $14,525 per tonne, up 0.7% from two weeks prior.",{"type":591,"attrs":62117,"content":62118},{"textAlign":49},[62119],{"text":62120,"type":596},"Benchmark is the world’s leading provider of independent price assessments, market forecasts, cost analysis and consultancy for the global lithium market.",{"type":591,"attrs":62122,"content":62123},{"textAlign":49},[62124],{"text":62125,"type":596},"To learn more about our services and our outlook to 2050 for lithium, please provide your details here and our team will be in touch.","Lithium ion battery demand is forecast to grow almost four-fold between 2023 and 2030 to 3.9 terawatt-hours, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. This growth in battery demand will result in a corresponding surge in demand for the constituent critical raw materials. In 2015, batteries accounted for just 34% of lithium demand. In 2024, […]",[62128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62129},{"job_title":557,"image":62130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"Sustainability now a critical metric for lithium supply ",[62133,62134,62135],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":62083,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":62083,"source":547,"filename":62084,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62137,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":62083,"title":62083,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62139,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62140,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/lithium-atacama-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Lithium ion battery demand is forecast to grow almost four-fold between 2023 and 2030 to 3.9 terawatt-hours, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. This growth in battery demand will result in]","Jan 26, 2024",{"id":62144,"uuid":62145,"name":62146,"slug":62147,"full_slug":62148,"content":62149},112470139201233,"093004bd-fe3b-4fb9-9e66-7273adaaeca1","Graphite prices fall as China’s export rules bolster domestic supply","graphite-prices-fall-as-chinas-export-rules-bolster-domestic-supply","article/graphite-prices-fall-as-chinas-export-rules-bolster-domestic-supply",{"_uid":62150,"date":62151,"tags":62152,"editor":62158,"content":62162,"excerpt":62335,"featured":51,"reporter":62336,"_editable":62340,"component":697,"seo_title":62146,"categories":62341,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":62344,"featured_image":62346,"seo_description":62335,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62350},"37be556c-7690-435d-af5f-024ea7c34dcc","2024-01-23 00:00",[62153,62154,62155,62156,62157],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},{"slug":29465,"name":29466},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[62159],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62160},{"job_title":557,"image":62161,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":62163},[62164,62175,62180,62185,62190,62207,62215,62220,62225,62233,62246,62266,62271,62289,62294,62299,62304,62309,62314,62319,62330],{"type":591,"attrs":62165,"content":62166},{"textAlign":49},[62167,62173],{"text":62168,"type":596,"marks":62169},"China’s regulations",[62170],{"type":606,"attrs":62171},{"href":62172,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-what-do-chinas-graphite-export-restrictions-mean-for-lithium-ion",{"text":62174,"type":596}," on the export of graphite products have been in force since the start of December last year, making it more difficult for some Western traders and buyers to get a hold of material.",{"type":591,"attrs":62176,"content":62177},{"textAlign":49},[62178],{"text":62179,"type":596},"Benchmark has not received reports of any licences being granted for shipments of graphite from China into North America. However, licences have been issued for shipping material into South Korea and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":62181,"content":62182},{"textAlign":49},[62183],{"text":62184,"type":596},"Last week a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce said the regulations “were not an export ban,” and that the ministry had already approved some applications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62186,"content":62187},{"textAlign":49},[62188],{"text":62189,"type":596},"“The Ministry of Commerce continues to check other applications according to the procedures in the regulations,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62191,"content":62192},{"textAlign":49},[62193,62194,62199,62201,62206],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":62195,"type":596,"marks":62196},"regulations",[62197],{"type":606,"attrs":62198},{"href":54384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62200,"type":596},", alongside later-than-expected winter shut downs of operations in Heilongjiang and strong inventories, led to an unseasonal 1.3% drop in prices of flake graphite suitable for battery applications in December, according to ",{"text":62202,"type":596,"marks":62203},"Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Price Assessment",[62204],{"type":606,"attrs":62205},{"href":56745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62208,"content":62209},{"textAlign":49},[62210],{"type":836,"attrs":62211},{"id":49,"alt":62212,"src":62213,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62214},"December's fall in flake graphite prices was unusual","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f7fff990ab/bm-change-in-flake-graphite-prices.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":62216,"content":62217},{"textAlign":49},[62218],{"text":62219,"type":596},"Ahead of the implementation of the regulations, a rush to secure material saw exports of graphite materials rise to 45,000 tonnes in November, significantly higher than the 17,000 tonne monthly average. After the regulations entered force, exports dropped over 90% to 4,000 tonnes, according to Chinese customs data.",{"type":591,"attrs":62221,"content":62222},{"textAlign":49},[62223],{"text":62224,"type":596},"“Domestic supply in China remains robust,” Tony Alderson, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Throughout December prices for finer mesh flake fell. At this time of year we would usually see that price either stable or on the rise.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62226,"content":62227},{"textAlign":49},[62228],{"type":836,"attrs":62229},{"id":49,"alt":62230,"src":62231,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62232},"December saw significant drop in Chinese graphite exports","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/070b116067/bm-chinese-graphite-exports.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":62234,"content":62235},{"textAlign":49},[62236,62238,62244],{"text":62237,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite prices have been impacted less as that market is already in a ",{"text":62239,"type":596,"marks":62240},"notable state of overcapacity",[62241],{"type":606,"attrs":62242},{"href":62243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/synthetic-graphite-capacity-expansions-continue-as-anode-producers-look-to-higher-sulphur-pet-cokes-2023-in-review",{"text":62245,"type":596},", Alderson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":62247,"content":62248},{"textAlign":49},[62249,62251,62256,62258,62264],{"text":62250,"type":596},"The disruption has had minimal impact on the anode market due to its concentration in China. ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":62252},[62253],{"type":606,"attrs":62254},{"href":62255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/anode/reports",{"text":62257,"type":596}," shows that",{"text":62259,"type":596,"marks":62260}," 93% of anode production is expected to occur in China",[62261],{"type":606,"attrs":62262},{"href":62263,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-china-controls-three-quarters-of-graphite-anode-supply-chain",{"text":62265,"type":596}," this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":62267,"content":62268},{"textAlign":49},[62269],{"text":62270,"type":596},"Japan and South Korea are the second and third largest anode producers, respectively. Benchmark forecasts them to represent 4% and 2% of supply this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":62272,"content":62273},{"textAlign":49},[62274,62280,62282,62287],{"text":62275,"type":596,"marks":62276},"South Korean anode producers",[62277],{"type":606,"attrs":62278},{"href":62279,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south-koreas-sk-agrees-us-anode-deal-in-move-to-reduce-china-dominance",{"text":62281,"type":596}," such as ",{"text":29332,"type":596,"marks":62283},[62284],{"type":606,"attrs":62285},{"href":62286,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/posco-expands-lithium-ion-empire-with-silicon-anode-acquisition",{"text":62288,"type":596}," have received spherical graphite from China with their licences being approved, according to the Yonhap News Agency.",{"type":591,"attrs":62290,"content":62291},{"textAlign":49},[62292],{"text":62293,"type":596},"“China has relatively good relations with South Korea,” Alderson said. “Chinese authorities set a policy briefing exclusively for Korean companies prior to the regulation implementation to help in minimising any disruptions to the battery supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62295,"content":62296},{"textAlign":49},[62297],{"text":62298,"type":596},"Battery anode production outside of Asia currently represents a very small proportion of supply, though the export regulations have impacted industrial users of graphite products.",{"type":591,"attrs":62300,"content":62301},{"textAlign":49},[62302],{"text":62303,"type":596},"Some traders within Europe and North America have told Benchmark they are finding it difficult to obtain material, according to Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":62305,"content":62306},{"textAlign":49},[62307],{"text":62308,"type":596},"Some European traders have received licences, though as yet Benchmark has not received reports of any licences being granted for shipments of graphite from China into North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":62310,"content":62311},{"textAlign":49},[62312],{"text":62313,"type":596},"However there is a pushback from some of the traders’ customers against getting material from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":62315,"content":62316},{"textAlign":49},[62317],{"text":62318,"type":596},"“The information China requires in regard to the end user is comprehensive,” Alderson said. “On the back of this, some end users are remaining cautious about procuring material and are looking elsewhere.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62320,"content":62321},{"textAlign":49},[62322,62324,62328],{"text":62323,"type":596},"Some of these customers are instead looking to Africa for graphite. After China, Africa is the largest producer of flake graphite, forecast to represent 22% of the global market this year according to ",{"text":52788,"type":596,"marks":62325},[62326],{"type":606,"attrs":62327},{"href":56745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62329,"type":596},", primarily from operations in Madagascar and Mozambique.",{"type":591,"attrs":62331,"content":62332},{"textAlign":49},[62333],{"text":62334,"type":596},"However, although Africa has flake graphite production, there is currently no processing capacity in the country to produce spherical graphite, whereas 96% of the material comes from China.","China’s regulations on the export of graphite products have been in force since the start of December last year, making it more difficult for some Western traders and buyers to get a hold of material. Benchmark has not received reports of any licences being granted for shipments of graphite from China into North America. However, […]",[62337],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62338},{"job_title":557,"image":62339,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"37be556c-7690-435d-af5f-024ea7c34dcc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[62342,62343],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":62230,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":62230,"source":547,"filename":62231,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62345,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":62230,"title":62230,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":62347,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":62347,"source":547,"filename":62348,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62349,"is_external_url":51},"flake graphite china","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f00339b3a3/bm-img-3615.jpg",{"alt":62347,"title":62347,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 23, 2024",{"id":62352,"uuid":62353,"name":62354,"slug":62355,"full_slug":62356,"content":62357},112470153930452,"7984254e-f3cb-4730-8411-00be24f859da","Can renewables help clean up Indonesia’s nickel industry?","can-renewables-help-clean-up-indonesias-nickel-industry","article/can-renewables-help-clean-up-indonesias-nickel-industry",{"_uid":62358,"date":62359,"tags":62360,"editor":62363,"content":62367,"excerpt":62474,"featured":51,"reporter":62475,"_editable":62479,"component":697,"seo_title":62354,"categories":62480,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":62483,"featured_image":62485,"seo_description":62474,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62488},"58ca07c2-40ed-4011-ba2c-0205b4cf4799","2024-01-19 00:00",[62361,62362],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[62364],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62365},{"job_title":557,"image":62366,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":62368},[62369,62382,62387,62392,62397,62402,62412,62417,62422,62429,62434,62439,62444,62449,62459,62464,62469],{"type":591,"attrs":62370,"content":62371},{"textAlign":49},[62372,62374,62380],{"text":62373,"type":596},"Indonesia relies on coal for most of its electricity, but in November 2022, the country ",{"text":62375,"type":596,"marks":62376},"welcomed",[62377],{"type":606,"attrs":62378},{"href":62379,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rich-nations-pledge-could-help-nickel-producer-indonesia-go-green",{"text":62381,"type":596}," the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), aiming to raise the share of renewables in the country grid to 34% by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62383,"content":62384},{"textAlign":49},[62385],{"text":62386,"type":596},"Introduced a year later, the Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan (CIPP) is the roadmap to achieve the JETP’s objectives, with an initial funding commitment of $20 billion, now increased to $21.6 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62388,"content":62389},{"textAlign":49},[62390],{"text":62391,"type":596},"The CIPP outlines a more ambitious decarbonisation scenario than the initial JETP pledge, targeting 250 million tons of CO2 emissions for on-grid electricity by 2030, with a 44% renewable energy share and a net-zero emissions goal for the electricity sector by 2050. The official launch of CIPP is scheduled for August 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":62393,"content":62394},{"textAlign":49},[62395],{"text":62396,"type":596},"But to what extent can renewables help reduce the carbon intensity of nickel processing in Indonesia?",{"type":615,"attrs":62398,"content":62399},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62400],{"text":62401,"type":596},"Benchmark’s nickel LCA ",{"type":591,"attrs":62403,"content":62404},{"textAlign":49},[62405,62410],{"text":62406,"type":596,"marks":62407},"Benchmark’s Nickel Global LCA",[62408],{"type":606,"attrs":62409},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62411,"type":596}," analyses how increasing the share of renewables or substituting it entirely induces changes in carbon intensity for different nickel processing technologies. Presently, electricity for RKEF and HPAL projects in Indonesia is sourced from coal-fired power plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":62413,"content":62414},{"textAlign":49},[62415],{"text":62416,"type":596},"The graph below illustrates that both routes would benefit from the initial JETP that aimed for a 34% share of renewables for the country’s electricity mix by 2030 (6% and 2% carbon reduction, respectively). ",{"type":591,"attrs":62418,"content":62419},{"textAlign":49},[62420],{"text":62421,"type":596},"Because only HPAL and RKEF operations are relevant to Indonesia, the other routes are not modelled for the Indonesian context in Benchmark’s LCA.",{"type":591,"attrs":62423,"content":62424},{"textAlign":49},[62425],{"type":836,"attrs":62426},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":62427,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62428},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d7e6467c7c/bm-how-renewables-impact-nickel-production-indonesia.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":62430,"content":62431},{"textAlign":49},[62432],{"text":62433,"type":596},"Arguably, achieving a 44% share of renewables would result in slightly higher carbon reductions, falling between the 34% and 100% renewables displayed in brown and yellow.",{"type":591,"attrs":62435,"content":62436},{"textAlign":49},[62437],{"text":62438,"type":596},"In both cases, despite a reduction in emissions, RKEF remains the most carbon-intensive technology. According to Benchmark’s analysis, even using 100% renewable energy, which represents a 40% carbon reduction from business-as-usual, RKEF is still the second most emission intensive process after the Caron route. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62440,"content":62441},{"textAlign":49},[62442],{"text":62443,"type":596},"It is caused by the direct emissions and embedded emissions from reagents production and distribution, which cannot be compensated with alternative energy sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":62445,"content":62446},{"textAlign":49},[62447],{"text":62448,"type":596},"Additionally, Benchmark Global LCA’s results showcase the importance of considering trade-offs between different environmental impacts when comparing different routes.",{"type":591,"attrs":62450,"content":62451},{"textAlign":49},[62452,62458],{"text":62453,"type":596,"marks":62454},"Nature risks for example, are less monitored by companies than GHG emissions",[62455],{"type":606,"attrs":62456},{"href":62457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-ecological-costs-of-indonesian-nickel",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62460,"content":62461},{"textAlign":49},[62462],{"text":62463,"type":596},"For example, the HPAL has the highest water consumption, soil acidification and particulate matter formation impacts amongst all processing routes, despite its lower carbon footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":62465,"content":62466},{"textAlign":49},[62467],{"text":62468,"type":596},"While the increase of the renewable energy target to 44% by the CIPP is a notable improvement that will help to decarbonise the sector, battery producers and OEMs must understand and seek to minimise the embedded emissions of battery manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62470,"content":62471},{"textAlign":49},[62472],{"text":62473,"type":596},"Beyond emissions, meaningful improvement of the environmental impacts of the nickel industry requires monitoring to minimise nature risks.","Indonesia relies on coal for most of its electricity, but in November 2022, the country welcomed the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), aiming to raise the share of renewables in the country grid to 34% by 2030. Introduced a year later, the Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan (CIPP) is the roadmap to achieve the JETP’s […]",[62476],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62477},{"job_title":557,"image":62478,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"58ca07c2-40ed-4011-ba2c-0205b4cf4799\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[62481,62482],{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62427,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62484,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62486,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62487,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0088effcc6/bm-nickel-smelter1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 19, 2024",{"id":62490,"uuid":62491,"name":62492,"slug":62493,"full_slug":62494,"content":62495},112470158698197,"164336a2-2a81-4afc-8f55-645df66cb7f7","Cobalt industry looks to move away from metal prices after market downturn","cobalt-industry-looks-to-move-away-from-metal-prices-after-market-downturn","article/cobalt-industry-looks-to-move-away-from-metal-prices-after-market-downturn",{"_uid":62496,"date":62497,"tags":62498,"editor":62500,"content":62504,"excerpt":62654,"featured":51,"reporter":62655,"_editable":62659,"component":697,"seo_title":62492,"categories":62660,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":62662,"seo_description":62654,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62665},"1d54c78a-6687-46f8-985b-80a597931964","2024-01-18 00:00",[62499],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[62501],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62502},{"job_title":557,"image":62503,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":62505},[62506,62517,62522,62527,62540,62545,62550,62555,62560,62565,62576,62581,62586,62593,62598,62603,62608,62613,62618,62623,62633,62638,62643],{"type":591,"attrs":62507,"content":62508},{"textAlign":49},[62509,62511,62515],{"text":62510,"type":596},"The cobalt market is beginning to move away from using metal ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":62512},[62513],{"type":606,"attrs":62514},{"href":50384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62516,"type":596}," in contracts, so as to better reflect demand in the lithium ion battery market, Benchmark understands. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62518,"content":62519},{"textAlign":49},[62520],{"text":62521,"type":596},"Some Chinese cobalt refiners have pushed to use cobalt sulphate prices in contracts, leaning towards a 50/50 pricing split with cobalt metal prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62523,"content":62524},{"textAlign":49},[62525],{"text":62526,"type":596},"In addition, the mining industry is also considering moving towards using currency denominated cobalt hydroxide prices in USD, as published by Benchmark, rather than referencing metal prices, to reflect the form of the mineral produced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and exported to China for use primarily by the lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":62528,"content":62529},{"textAlign":49},[62530,62532,62538],{"text":62531,"type":596},"The move reflects a desire to better tie cobalt prices to the growth in the battery market, rather than the industrial market. It comes after cobalt prices fell by a third ",{"text":62533,"type":596,"marks":62534},"last year",[62535],{"type":606,"attrs":62536},{"href":62537,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-price-rout-deepens-in-2023-as-oversupply-weak-ncm-demand-looms-2023-in-review",{"text":62539,"type":596}," due to a rise in supply from the DRC and a slowdown in demand in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62541,"content":62542},{"textAlign":49},[62543],{"text":62544,"type":596},"Miners normally sell cobalt hydroxide priced as a payable to metal prices despite the cobalt metal supply chain representing a small portion of the market compared to hydroxide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62546,"content":62547},{"textAlign":49},[62548],{"text":62549,"type":596},"Last year, a total of 20% of refined cobalt was in the form of metal: 32,300 tonnes of metal compared to 162,200 tonnes of chemicals. Benchmark forecasts that the market share of metal will decline to 16.8% this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62551,"content":62552},{"textAlign":49},[62553],{"text":62554,"type":596},"As such, relatively small  tonnages of industrial demand for metal can impact prices quickly, and in recent years has been at odds with the battery supply and demand picture. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62556,"content":62557},{"textAlign":49},[62558],{"text":62559,"type":596},"In addition, Chinese cobalt sulphate prices, EXW China, the form used in batteries, have fallen more than metal prices over the past year, putting pressure on refiners. That’s led them to push for greater use of domestic cobalt sulphate prices in contracts. ",{"type":615,"attrs":62561,"content":62562},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62563],{"text":62564,"type":596},"Falling prices ",{"type":591,"attrs":62566,"content":62567},{"textAlign":49},[62568,62570,62575],{"text":62569,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Cobalt sulphate EXW China prices have fallen by 32% over the past year, while cobalt metal, EXW Europe, is down by 26%, according to Benchmark’s latest ",{"text":62571,"type":596,"marks":62572},"Cobalt Price Assessment",[62573],{"type":606,"attrs":62574},{"href":50384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62577,"content":62578},{"textAlign":49},[62579],{"text":62580,"type":596},"Last year, cobalt sulphate prices fell to RMB 30,000 a tonne, a boundary that has not been crossed since Benchmark began recording prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":62582,"content":62583},{"textAlign":49},[62584],{"text":62585,"type":596},"By adopting a 50/50 price split in contracts of sulphate vs metal, this represents a compromise that benefits both refiners and miners since they can both hedge against the different pricing dynamics. Refiners can benchmark to lower sulphate prices, while miners can still benefit from higher metal prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62587,"content":62588},{"textAlign":49},[62589],{"type":836,"attrs":62590},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":62591,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62592},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d5628aae9/bm-cobalt-price-comparison-graph.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":62594,"content":62595},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62596],{"text":62597,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide  ",{"type":591,"attrs":62599,"content":62600},{"textAlign":49},[62601],{"text":62602,"type":596},"Miners are also keen to move towards pricing cobalt hydroxide in dollars, rather than using the current payable to the metal price structure, since availability of hydroxide, alongside demand, is one of the key factors in determining market value for the cobalt to battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":62604,"content":62605},{"textAlign":49},[62606],{"text":62607,"type":596},"A wide number of market players are of the view that dollar-based hydroxide pricing should be the market standard and downstream chemicals (sulphate, oxide, metal etc) should be priced as a premium to hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":62609,"content":62610},{"textAlign":49},[62611],{"text":62612,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt hydroxide, CIF Asia, was $15,212/tonne as of 15 January 2024, down 30% year-over-year and down 80% since the highs of $76,000 in the last rally seen in April 2022. ",{"type":615,"attrs":62614,"content":62615},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62616],{"text":62617,"type":596},"Oversupply ",{"type":591,"attrs":62619,"content":62620},{"textAlign":49},[62621],{"text":62622,"type":596},"China imports almost all its cobalt in the form of hydroxide from the DRC. It is the world’s largest producer of cobalt sulphate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62624,"content":62625},{"textAlign":49},[62626,62627,62631],{"text":30090,"type":596},{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":62628},[62629],{"type":606,"attrs":62630},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62632,"type":596},", cobalt is expected to remain in oversupply until 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":62634,"content":62635},{"textAlign":49},[62636],{"text":62637,"type":596},"Last year, cobalt sulphate prices fell by 38.5%, due to a slowdown in growth for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathodes in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62639,"content":62640},{"textAlign":49},[62641],{"text":62642,"type":596},"Cobalt metal prices fell by 29% in contrast, due to cobalt hydroxide supply from the DRC, leading to a substantial oversupply in the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62644,"content":62645},{"textAlign":49},[62646,62648,62652],{"text":62647,"type":596},"Still, ",{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":62649},[62650],{"type":606,"attrs":62651},{"href":46524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62653,"type":596}," estimates that cobalt demand from batteries will increase by almost 150% by 2030.","The cobalt market is beginning to move away from using metal prices in contracts, so as to better reflect demand in the lithium ion battery market, Benchmark understands. Some Chinese cobalt refiners have pushed to use cobalt sulphate prices in contracts, leaning towards a 50/50 pricing split with cobalt metal prices. In addition, the mining […]",[62656],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62657},{"job_title":557,"image":62658,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1d54c78a-6687-46f8-985b-80a597931964\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[62661],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62663,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62664,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c3f96c70c4/bm-cobalt-drc-trucks.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 18, 2024",{"id":62667,"uuid":62668,"name":62669,"slug":62670,"full_slug":62671,"content":62672},112470163494614,"50465732-5801-4688-b8bf-7405ab553068","Ganfeng doubles Pilbara offtake and ups Mali mine stake in bid for spodumene","ganfeng-doubles-pilbara-offtake-and-ups-mali-mine-stake-in-bid-for-spodumene","article/ganfeng-doubles-pilbara-offtake-and-ups-mali-mine-stake-in-bid-for-spodumene",{"_uid":62673,"date":62674,"tags":62675,"editor":62680,"content":62684,"excerpt":62844,"featured":51,"reporter":62845,"_editable":62849,"component":697,"seo_title":62669,"categories":62850,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":62853,"seo_description":62844,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62856},"4a4900b7-e266-4547-a676-21639fde267c","2024-01-17 00:00",[62676,62677,62678,62679],{"slug":27485,"name":27486},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":30383,"name":30384},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[62681],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62682},{"job_title":557,"image":62683,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":62685},[62686,62691,62696,62708,62713,62718,62729,62734,62739,62747,62752,62762,62773,62778,62783,62793,62801,62806,62811,62816,62826,62831],{"type":591,"attrs":62687,"content":62688},{"textAlign":49},[62689],{"text":62690,"type":596},"Ganfeng Lithium, a top three producer of lithium chemicals globally, has nearly doubled its offtake of spodumene from Pilbara Minerals in Australia, as it looks to secure feedstock to meet a recovery in demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62692,"content":62693},{"textAlign":49},[62694],{"text":62695,"type":596},"The Chinese lithium chemical producer also announced it intends to increase its stake in Mali Lithium by up to 5% for no more than $65 million. Ganfeng currently has a 55% stake in the African spodumene project and would purchase the stake from Australian mining company Leo Lithium who holds the other 45%.",{"type":591,"attrs":62697,"content":62698},{"textAlign":49},[62699,62701,62706],{"text":62700,"type":596},"These announcements come amid falling spodumene prices which dipped below ",{"text":62702,"type":596,"marks":62703},"$1,000 per tonne this month",[62704],{"type":606,"attrs":62705},{"href":44577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62707,"type":596}," for the first time since August 2021. The low spodumene price has tracked a steep decline in lithium chemicals prices over the last year on the back of slowed demand growth for electric vehicles and strong lithium supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":62709,"content":62710},{"textAlign":49},[62711],{"text":62712,"type":596},"But Ganfeng’s increased interest in securing spodumene could be a signal that the Chinese lithium chemical producer expects the market to improve.",{"type":591,"attrs":62714,"content":62715},{"textAlign":49},[62716],{"text":62717,"type":596},"“Many market participants in China have shared expectations of lithium demand recovery in the second quarter of 2024,” Adam Megginson, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Therefore Ganfeng wanting to secure increased volume to meet this anticipated growth in demand makes sense.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62719,"content":62720},{"textAlign":49},[62721,62723,62727],{"text":62722,"type":596},"This sentiment is reflected in the fact that lithium carbonate futures contracts in China are indicating that future prices may be higher than current spot market prices, which ",{"text":55669,"type":596,"marks":62724},[62725],{"type":606,"attrs":62726},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62728,"type":596}," at RMB 96,000 per tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":62730,"content":62731},{"textAlign":49},[62732],{"text":62733,"type":596},"The updated offtake agreement will see Pilbara supply an additional 150,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Ganfeng Lithium this year for a total of 310,000 tonnes. The offtake in 2025 and 2026 will be increased by 100,000 tonnes per year for a total 260,000 tonnes per year. There is the option for Pilbara to increase this by a further 50,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":62735,"content":62736},{"textAlign":49},[62737],{"text":62738,"type":596},"The price Ganfeng will pay Pilbara for the offtake will remain determined by market-based pricing. Ganfeng holds a 6.16% stake in Pilbara.",{"type":591,"attrs":62740,"content":62741},{"textAlign":49},[62742],{"type":836,"attrs":62743},{"id":49,"alt":62744,"src":62745,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62746},"Spodumene prices fall below $1000 per tonne","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7071525e95/bm-spod-prices.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":62748,"content":62749},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62750],{"text":62751,"type":596},"Australian spodumene",{"type":591,"attrs":62753,"content":62754},{"textAlign":49},[62755,62757,62761],{"text":62756,"type":596},"Australia is the world’s largest miner of lithium, representing 40% of the world’s supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":62758},[62759],{"type":606,"attrs":62760},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62763,"content":62764},{"textAlign":49},[62765,62767,62771],{"text":62766,"type":596},"All of Australia’s mined lithium is currently in the form of spodumene. The price for spodumene concentrate (FOB Australia, 6% Li2O) fell to $955 per tonne this month, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":62768},[62769],{"type":606,"attrs":62770},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62772,"type":596},". This is 84% lower than the same time last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":62774,"content":62775},{"textAlign":49},[62776],{"text":62777,"type":596},"“While some spodumene miners with higher cost base projects have begun to take action to reduce production in response to sub $1,000/tonne spodumene prices, those that can maintain profitable production at these price levels have no reason to slow production,” Megginson said. “Some may even see an opportunity to assert their position in the market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":62779,"content":62780},{"textAlign":49},[62781],{"text":62782,"type":596},"Core Lithium, an Australian spodumene miner, announced earlier this month that it would temporarily suspend mining operations until market conditions improve.",{"type":591,"attrs":62784,"content":62785},{"textAlign":49},[62786,62788,62792],{"text":62787,"type":596},"Pilbara is the second largest miner in the country representing 19% of supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":62789},[62790],{"type":606,"attrs":62791},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62794,"content":62795},{"textAlign":49},[62796],{"type":836,"attrs":62797},{"id":49,"alt":62798,"src":62799,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62800},"Talison and Pilbara represented 65% of Australia's lithium production in 2023","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c56ddcd395/bm-spod-producers.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":62802,"content":62803},{"textAlign":49},[62804],{"text":62805,"type":596},"Pilbara operates the Pilgangoora mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia with a nameplate capacity of 360,000 to 380,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":62807,"content":62808},{"textAlign":49},[62809],{"text":62810,"type":596},"In the third quarter this year, Pilbara plans to ramp up its so-called P680 expansion which would see capacity increase to up to 680,000 tonnes per year. Its P1000 expansion due for ramp up a year later is designed to increase nameplate capacity to one million tonnes of spodumene concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":62812,"content":62813},{"textAlign":49},[62814],{"text":62815,"type":596},"“It makes sense for them to lock in greater offtake volumes if progress towards these expansions has been successful so far,” Megginson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":62817,"content":62818},{"textAlign":49},[62819,62821,62825],{"text":62820,"type":596},"Ganfeng, too, has plans to increase its production of lithium chemicals. Ganfeng’s lithium chemical production is expected to increase by over 40% by 2026 compared to 2023, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":62822},[62823],{"type":606,"attrs":62824},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":62827,"content":62828},{"textAlign":49},[62829],{"text":62830,"type":596},"Mali Lithium, in which Ganfeng is looking to become a majority stakeholder, is developing a spodumene mine in Mali due to come online in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":62832,"content":62833},{"textAlign":49},[62834,62836,62842],{"text":62835,"type":596},"Ganfeng also produces battery cells and formed a ",{"text":62837,"type":596,"marks":62838},"partnership with Chinese automaker Changan Auto",[62839],{"type":606,"attrs":62840},{"href":62841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/changan-joins-forces-with-ganfeng-lithium-as-china-pursues-solid-state-batteries",{"text":62843,"type":596}," at the end of last year for the development of solid-state batteries.","Ganfeng Lithium, a top three producer of lithium chemicals globally, has nearly doubled its offtake of spodumene from Pilbara Minerals in Australia, as it looks to secure feedstock to meet a recovery in demand. The Chinese lithium chemical producer also announced it intends to increase its stake in Mali Lithium by up to 5% for […]",[62846],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62847},{"job_title":557,"image":62848,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4a4900b7-e266-4547-a676-21639fde267c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[62851,62852],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62854,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62855,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/356ba2340d/bm-mahong-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 17, 2024",{"id":62858,"uuid":62859,"name":62860,"slug":62861,"full_slug":62862,"content":62863},112470182762202,"b59ba6a2-673d-4fb1-9938-521ba08d8df7","Miners under pressure as spodumene price falls below $1,000 a tonne","miners-under-pressure-as-spodumene-price-falls-below-1000-a-tonne","article/miners-under-pressure-as-spodumene-price-falls-below-1000-a-tonne",{"_uid":62864,"date":62865,"tags":62866,"editor":62869,"content":62873,"excerpt":62975,"featured":51,"reporter":62976,"_editable":62980,"component":697,"seo_title":62860,"categories":62981,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":62983,"seo_description":62975,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":62987},"861ac14d-3c4b-41ba-bae0-7a9c5b69d42a","2024-01-12 00:00",[62867,62868],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[62870],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62871},{"job_title":557,"image":62872,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":62874},[62875,62886,62891,62898,62903,62908,62913,62918,62923,62928,62933,62938,62943,62948,62953,62958,62970],{"type":591,"attrs":62876,"content":62877},{"textAlign":49},[62878,62880,62884],{"text":62879,"type":596},"Spodumene prices dipped below $1,000 a tonne for the first time since August 2021 this month, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":62881},[62882],{"type":606,"attrs":62883},{"href":48174,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62885,"type":596},", tracking steep declines in prices for lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":62887,"content":62888},{"textAlign":49},[62889],{"text":62890,"type":596},"Spodumene FOB Australia was down by 84% year-on-year to an average of $955 a tonne on 10 January 2024. This represented a 27% drop since 27 December 2023, marking the third biggest fortnightly decline in the chemical feedstock over the last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":62892,"content":62893},{"textAlign":49},[62894],{"type":836,"attrs":62895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":62896,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":62897},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dc7d7ef1a1/bm-screenshot-2024-01-12-103032.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":62899,"content":62900},{"textAlign":49},[62901],{"text":62902,"type":596},"The low prices led Australia’s Core Lithium to announce in early January 2024 that it would temporarily suspend mining operations at its Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory until market conditions improve.",{"type":591,"attrs":62904,"content":62905},{"textAlign":49},[62906],{"text":62907,"type":596},"“If this low price environment persists, we would expect more producers to begin to slow down or pause production, especially those higher up on the cost curve,” commented Benchmark analyst Adam Meggingson. ",{"type":615,"attrs":62909,"content":62910},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62911],{"text":62912,"type":596},"Spodumene becomes more reactive to chemicals prices",{"type":591,"attrs":62914,"content":62915},{"textAlign":49},[62916],{"text":62917,"type":596},"Spodumene has fallen in lagged response to declines in lithium hydroxide and carbonate prices over the past year as pricing contracts for the feedstock reference CIF Asia lithium chemicals prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":62919,"content":62920},{"textAlign":49},[62921],{"text":62922,"type":596},"CIF Asia lithium carbonate and hydroxide were down 80.6% and 81.6% year-on-year on 10 January, respectively, with both chemicals hitting $15,125 per tonne, according to Benchmark’s latest Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":62924,"content":62925},{"textAlign":49},[62926],{"text":62927,"type":596},"“As CIF Asia chemicals prices continue to decline, we would expect spodumene prices to continue to decline in a lagged response,” said Benchmark analyst Adam Megginson.",{"type":591,"attrs":62929,"content":62930},{"textAlign":49},[62931],{"text":62932,"type":596},"In recent months, spodumene prices have become more responsive to changes in chemicals pricing due to changes in pricing mechanisms.",{"type":591,"attrs":62934,"content":62935},{"textAlign":49},[62936],{"text":62937,"type":596},"Formerly, most spodumene contract prices were determined at point of sale, with reference to CIF Asia chemical prices from the previous quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":62939,"content":62940},{"textAlign":49},[62941],{"text":62942,"type":596},"Since mid 2023, more sellers have been negotiating for so-called ‘M+1’ pricing contracts. These are determined by chemical prices on the day that material is delivered. A growing proportion of these contracts in the market has narrowed the delay between changes in chemicals prices and the response in spodumene prices",{"type":615,"attrs":62944,"content":62945},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[62946],{"text":62947,"type":596},"The lithium backlog",{"type":591,"attrs":62949,"content":62950},{"textAlign":49},[62951],{"text":62952,"type":596},"Core Lithium plans to continue processing its existing 280,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore during its mining suspension. It expects this stock to be sufficient to feed the concentrator until mid-2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":62954,"content":62955},{"textAlign":49},[62956],{"text":62957,"type":596},"Core Lithium opened its Finniss mine in October 2022, when spodumene prices were over $5,000 a tonne. It has offtake agreements with Ganfeng Lithium and Sichuan Yahua, both Chinese lithium chemicals producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":62959,"content":62960},{"textAlign":49},[62961,62963,62968],{"text":62962,"type":596},"Lithium feedstock supply is estimated to have increased by 24% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":62964,"type":596,"marks":62965},"Lithium Forecast Report",[62966],{"type":606,"attrs":62967},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62969,"type":596},", driven by increased output from Australia’s biggest lithium mines – Greenbushes, Mount Marion, and Wodgina.",{"type":591,"attrs":62971,"content":62972},{"textAlign":49},[62973],{"text":62974,"type":596},"This feedstock increase coincided with a year of slowed demand growth for EV batteries in the Chinese market where much of Australia’s spodumene is sold for processing.","Spodumene prices dipped below $1,000 a tonne for the first time since August 2021 this month, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, tracking steep declines in prices for lithium chemicals. Spodumene FOB Australia was down by 84% year-on-year to an average of $955 a tonne on 10 January 2024. This represented a 27% drop since […]",[62977],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":62978},{"job_title":557,"image":62979,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"861ac14d-3c4b-41ba-bae0-7a9c5b69d42a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[62982],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":62984,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":62984,"source":547,"filename":62985,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":62986,"is_external_url":51},"Large yellow truck used in modern lithium mine in Western Australia. A truck transports ore from the open cast mine.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d118c61996/bm-shutterstock-133473047.jpg",{"alt":62984,"title":62984,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 12, 2024",{"id":62989,"uuid":62990,"name":62991,"slug":62992,"full_slug":62993,"content":62994},112470187714267,"636d7f6e-bb25-4ed4-9a68-6eff1ce2357c","Changan joins forces with Ganfeng Lithium as China pursues solid-state batteries","changan-joins-forces-with-ganfeng-lithium-as-china-pursues-solid-state-batteries","article/changan-joins-forces-with-ganfeng-lithium-as-china-pursues-solid-state-batteries",{"_uid":62995,"date":62996,"tags":62997,"editor":63001,"content":63005,"excerpt":63125,"featured":51,"reporter":63126,"_editable":63130,"component":697,"seo_title":62991,"categories":63131,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":63135,"seo_description":63125,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":63138},"237fd650-c433-41e1-9c2b-303416a9ca7f","2024-01-11 00:00",[62998,62999,63000],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":27485,"name":27486},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[63002],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63003},{"job_title":557,"image":63004,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63006},[63007,63020,63025,63043,63056,63064,63069,63082,63087,63092,63097,63102,63107,63120],{"type":591,"attrs":63008,"content":63009},{"textAlign":49},[63010,63012,63018],{"text":63011,"type":596},"Chinese automaker Changan formed a strategic partnership with Ganfeng Lithium at the end of last year to cooperatively work on the development of ",{"text":63013,"type":596,"marks":63014},"solid-state batteries for use in electric vehicles",[63015],{"type":606,"attrs":63016},{"href":63017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-battery-industry-gears-up-for-automotive-qualification-2023-in-review",{"text":63019,"type":596},". The state-owned carmaker plans for mass production of solid-state battery EVs from 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":63021,"content":63022},{"textAlign":49},[63023],{"text":63024,"type":596},"Changan was also one of 27 companies including FAW and Dongfeng to jointly establish the Solid-State Battery Industry Innovation Alliance in Shenzhen, in December last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":63026,"content":63027},{"textAlign":49},[63028,63030,63036,63038,63042],{"text":63029,"type":596},"These announcements come as Benchmark forecasts solid-state battery production by Chinese companies to more than triple in 2024 compared to 2023. Between 2023 and 2028, Chinese ",{"text":63031,"type":596,"marks":63032},"capacity",[63033],{"type":606,"attrs":63034},{"href":63035,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/emerging-solid-state-industry-has-9-utilisation-rate-as-production-ramps-up",{"text":63037,"type":596}," is set to increase almost nine-fold, according to ",{"text":55625,"type":596,"marks":63039},[63040],{"type":606,"attrs":63041},{"href":55629,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":63044,"content":63045},{"textAlign":49},[63046,63048,63054],{"text":63047,"type":596},"“The partnership between Changan and Ganfeng highlights the continued commitment of large Chinese automakers to ",{"text":63049,"type":596,"marks":63050},"commercialise novel next-generation battery technologies",[63051],{"type":606,"attrs":63052},{"href":63053,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-solid-state-batteries-and-the-route-to-commercialisation",{"text":63055,"type":596}," in the Chinese domestic market,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":63057,"content":63058},{"textAlign":49},[63059],{"type":836,"attrs":63060},{"id":49,"alt":63061,"src":63062,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":63063},"Chinese solid-stateproduction capacity forecast to reach 130 GWh by 2028","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d4622f80b4/bm-chinese-solid-state-production-capacity-base-case.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":63065,"content":63066},{"textAlign":49},[63067],{"text":63068,"type":596},"The partnership is Ganfeng’s second venture with an automaker for its batteries. In 2022, Ganfeng’s solid-state batteries were demonstrated in 50 electric taxi cabs produced by Dongfeng, another state-owned automaker. These vehicles used Ganfeng’s first generation semi-solid-state batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":63070,"content":63071},{"textAlign":49},[63072,63074,63080],{"text":63073,"type":596},"Ganfeng is expected to continue to ramp up its pilot solid-state production line this year ahead of beginning operations at its Chongqing facility next year. Both facilities produce batteries using a ",{"text":63075,"type":596,"marks":63076},"solid-state oxide electrolyte",[63077],{"type":606,"attrs":63078},{"href":63079,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-production-forecast-to-hit-2-gwh-this-year-as-oxide-batteries-dominate",{"text":63081,"type":596}," and graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":63083,"content":63084},{"textAlign":49},[63085],{"text":63086,"type":596},"The Changan-Ganfeng partnership also aims to use semi-solid-state batteries, so named due to the inclusion of a small amount of liquid electrolyte, required to to improve the interfacial contact between the solid-state electrolyte and the cathode and anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":63088,"content":63089},{"textAlign":49},[63090],{"text":63091,"type":596},"Although Changan has a long track record of R&D in the new energy vehicle space, the partnership with Ganfeng could accelerate the commercial timeline for solid-state powered vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":63093,"content":63094},{"textAlign":49},[63095],{"text":63096,"type":596},"“Developing a novel battery chemistry from lab-scale to giga-scale cell production is no simple task and is outside of the traditional business scope of the automaker,” McNulty said. “Partnering with companies like Ganfeng, who have come some way through that journey, indicates that Changan understands these challenges and is open to collaborating to solve them quickly.”",{"type":591,"attrs":63098,"content":63099},{"textAlign":49},[63100],{"text":63101,"type":596},"The automaker has a history of collaboration including:",{"type":591,"attrs":63103,"content":63104},{"textAlign":49},[63105],{"text":63106,"type":596},"Ganfeng’s primary business area is in the production of lithium chemicals. In this area, Ganfeng has supply contracts and cooperation agreements with LG Chem, BMW, Tesla, and VW.",{"type":591,"attrs":63108,"content":63109},{"textAlign":49},[63110,63112,63118],{"text":63111,"type":596},"The company also produces ",{"text":63113,"type":596,"marks":63114},"lithium metal foil",[63115],{"type":606,"attrs":63116},{"href":63117,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-needs-lithium-metal-production-to-gear-up-to-meet-future-demand",{"text":63119,"type":596},". This next-generation anode material can be used in both traditional and solid-state lithium ion batteries. Ganfeng targets production of solid-state batteries using a lithium metal anode to begin in 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":63121,"content":63122},{"textAlign":49},[63123],{"text":63124,"type":596},"Ganfeng’s partnership with Changan also includes exploring upstream lithium mining as well as battery production and recycling.","Chinese automaker Changan formed a strategic partnership with Ganfeng Lithium at the end of last year to cooperatively work on the development of solid-state batteries for use in electric vehicles. The state-owned carmaker plans for mass production of solid-state battery EVs from 2025. Changan was also one of 27 companies including FAW and Dongfeng to […]",[63127],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63128},{"job_title":557,"image":63129,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"237fd650-c433-41e1-9c2b-303416a9ca7f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[63132,63133,63134],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":63136,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":63137,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cb3649c0e5/bm-battery-production-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 11, 2024",{"id":63140,"uuid":63141,"name":63142,"slug":63143,"full_slug":63144,"content":63145},112470197663453,"5f570124-7f3b-4f3a-8f8d-a804a7d0ddb8","“OEMs are ready to pay the price needed to finance projects.” Q&A with Nouveau Monde CEO Eric Desaulniers","oems-are-ready-to-pay-the-price-needed-to-finance-projects-qa-with-nouveau-monde-ceo-eric-desaulniers","article/oems-are-ready-to-pay-the-price-needed-to-finance-projects-qa-with-nouveau-monde-ceo-eric-desaulniers",{"_uid":63146,"date":63147,"tags":63148,"editor":63150,"content":63154,"excerpt":63344,"featured":50,"reporter":63345,"_editable":63349,"component":697,"seo_title":63142,"categories":63350,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":63353,"seo_description":63344,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":63356},"ca2ff3d7-29e8-411e-b4ec-1982f4c4f19a","2024-01-10 00:00",[63149],{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[63151],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63152},{"job_title":557,"image":63153,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63155},[63156,63168,63173,63178,63183,63188,63201,63206,63211,63223,63228,63233,63246,63253,63258,63263,63268,63273,63278,63285,63290,63295,63300,63305,63310,63315,63320,63325,63330,63341],{"type":591,"attrs":63157,"content":63158},{"textAlign":49},[63159,63161,63166],{"text":63160,"type":596},"Montreal-based Nouveau Monde Graphite could become one of the largest integrated producers of natural graphite and ",{"text":63162,"type":596,"marks":63163},"anode products",[63164],{"type":606,"attrs":63165},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63167,"type":596}," in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63169,"content":63170},{"textAlign":49},[63171],{"text":63172,"type":596},"The company aims to produce 42,000 tonnes a year of anode materials at a facility in Bécancour, using graphite from its nearby Matawinie mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63174,"content":63175},{"textAlign":49},[63176],{"text":63177,"type":596},"Battery producer Panasonic Energy has been testing the company’s anode active material over the past year, and the two companies hope to sign a final offtake agreement soon. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63179,"content":63180},{"textAlign":49},[63181],{"text":63182,"type":596},"A geophysicist by trade, chief executive Eric Desaulniers discovered the Matawinie graphite deposit after doing aerial surveys of the area using helicopters near where he lived some 90 miles north of Montreal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63184,"content":63185},{"textAlign":49},[63186],{"text":63187,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with him to learn more. Below is an edited transcript of the discussion. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63189,"content":63190},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63191,63193,63199],{"text":63192,"type":596},"Have you seen a flurry of interest since China announced some ",{"text":63194,"type":596,"marks":63195},"export restrictions",[63196],{"type":606,"attrs":63197},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-graphite-export-restrictions-could-hinder-ex-china-anode-development",{"text":63200,"type":596}," on graphite products last year? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63202,"content":63203},{"textAlign":49},[63204],{"text":63205,"type":596},"We’ve been working a long time with Panasonic … They understand that it’s imperative to build a supply chain locally. So with Panasonic there’s not much change – they’re already convinced that they need to do that. We have already had advanced discussions with a few large tier one [battery manufacturers] as well. But I would say it’s all the others: we had over 10 different enquiries from even Chinese companies, but also smaller OEMs. All of them suddenly realised that they were relying on China for the next few years to come. And now they need to make a plan B. So I see a pickup in enquiries and the demand for discussion.",{"type":615,"attrs":63207,"content":63208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63209],{"text":63210,"type":596},"The price impact of the restrictions has so far been quite muted, why is that? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63212,"content":63213},{"textAlign":49},[63214,63216,63221],{"text":63215,"type":596},"That is simply because all transactions occur in China for graphite, so there’s not much going on outside China. So even Panasonic they purchase in China. So there’s not many OEMs yet that are purchasing from outside suppliers. So for sure, imagine you’re in China and suddenly your government is ",{"text":63217,"type":596,"marks":63218},"restricting you",[63219],{"type":606,"attrs":63220},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63222,"type":596},". It’s more difficult for you to export. So there’s suddenly more supply within China. So I’m not surprised that prices in China will stay where they are for … hopefully not so long. Because at some point, we need the price in China to be better for us to increase our price here. But I think OEMs understand that they need to pay the price for being outside China. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63224,"content":63225},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63226],{"text":63227,"type":596},"Are we going to see a two-tiered pricing system then?",{"type":591,"attrs":63229,"content":63230},{"textAlign":49},[63231],{"text":63232,"type":596},"Because there’s two different markets, for sure. Because inside China, there’s an oversupply, and there’s an undersupply from suppliers outside China. Now that the geopolitics and all the rules of this new economy are making two different worlds, two different markets, we need to do the supply and demand analysis for North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63234,"content":63235},{"textAlign":49},[63236,63238,63244],{"text":63237,"type":596},"And it’s clear we are undersupplied here in North America so pricing will be higher. And also here with our standards it’s also imperative that we build this with the highest ESG standard. And the same quality – I would not brag that we have better quality than the Chinese. The Chinese are established, they know what the customer wants and the customer wants just exactly the same thing. I mean at the exact same quality but at a much higher ESG standard located in a market that is under supplied in North America. For sure we expect ",{"text":63239,"type":596,"marks":63240},"higher pricing",[63241],{"type":606,"attrs":63242},{"href":63243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/anode/portal/",{"text":63245,"type":596}," to build more projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":63247,"content":63248},{"textAlign":49},[63249],{"type":836,"attrs":63250},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":63251,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":63252},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a3e946310/bm-image-93-134406225c98.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":63254,"content":63255},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63256],{"text":63257,"type":596},"You’ve talked about signing multi-year offtakes using “flexible pricing” mechanisms, can you talk a bit more about this?",{"type":591,"attrs":63259,"content":63260},{"textAlign":49},[63261],{"text":63262,"type":596},"When you build a project of this magnitude and it’s not fully financed by the government you need to have equity holders. And equity holders have an expected return to take a risk. It’s a [pricing] formula that makes the equity holders happy to invest today with the expectation of higher return in the future and also the lenders happy about certainty of having a minimum pricing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63264,"content":63265},{"textAlign":49},[63266],{"text":63267,"type":596},"So I think we’re building a very strong, long term offtake formula that would be good for both the offtaker, to make sure they can forecast their future pricing and having availability of volumes, but also good for all our stakeholders internally. And also for the governments who want to create jobs so they need to play a role with the right incentive package and the right financial support. And we’re glad and in Quebec and Canada we have this government that understands this. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63269,"content":63270},{"textAlign":49},[63271],{"text":63272,"type":596},"I cannot go into details, but it will have a floor but no ceiling. A ceiling makes it impossible for an equity holder to invest. So there’s other concepts that will need to be developed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63274,"content":63275},{"textAlign":49},[63276],{"text":63277,"type":596},"What we do know is how much will it cost to build our project and what is the minimum return on this project, and what floor price we need for the lenders to be happy to lend us the money. And what I can tell you is the OEMs now are ready to pay the price needed to finance projects and even though the equity holders are not super happy about the low price environment we’re in, they understand the future upside of graphite. So I think we have the right formula now to make everyone happy – or everyone unhappy enough but happy enough to sign the contract. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63279,"content":63280},{"textAlign":49},[63281],{"type":836,"attrs":63282},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":63283,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":63284},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a0161217e8/bm-naturalgraphiteprices2023.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":63286,"content":63287},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63288],{"text":63289,"type":596},"You’ve said you won’t use hydrofluoric acid like they do in China for processing. What are the results so far for your process? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63291,"content":63292},{"textAlign":49},[63293],{"text":63294,"type":596},"What we’re doing is using energy with chlorine gas to purify graphite – because of our energy profile, here in Quebec. What we’re doing would not be possible in the high energy cost environment like in most of China. But the results are very good. So we’re very fortunate to have developed this process and we’ve been running it for close to two years now. So we’re ready to build a commercial scale project.",{"type":591,"attrs":63296,"content":63297},{"textAlign":49},[63298],{"text":63299,"type":596},"We announced last year that we received a very good deal from Hydro Quebec [electricity provider.] And the Quebec government is one of our largest shareholders. So we’re very aligned. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63301,"content":63302},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63303],{"text":63304,"type":596},"What is the timeline for anode production of anode materials at Becancourt? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63306,"content":63307},{"textAlign":49},[63308],{"text":63309,"type":596},"We’re talking about FID [Final Investment Decision] plus 31 months would be a good expectation. That’s what we’re working on. If FID is in six months you can add 31 months to that. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63311,"content":63312},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63313],{"text":63314,"type":596},"Will we see bigger companies become involved in graphite? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63316,"content":63317},{"textAlign":49},[63318],{"text":63319,"type":596},"One thing that nobody is talking about is when the large miners will get involved in graphite. Today there’s not many commodities of this magnitude. Graphite is getting bigger in terms of market, but there’s no major out there. So there’s no big miners who can really develop this by themselves. So I think at some point, those guys will want to play, they won’t leave this growing market to juniors. They need to start playing ball. In the next five years we should see major companies look at graphite assets. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63321,"content":63322},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63323],{"text":63324,"type":596},"Can you tell us a bit about how you discovered this Matawinie deposit? ",{"type":591,"attrs":63326,"content":63327},{"textAlign":49},[63328],{"text":63329,"type":596},"I’m a geophysicist, that was the only thing I knew in life. Even from 2009 to 2012 I was doing airborne geophysics on my own. That was my own little company and I had a partner who was a helicopter pilot. But then Tesla announced [its Model S] I think in 2012 and then there was a big spike in graphite at this point. And everybody was calling us to fly surveys for graphite over all the deposits. Where I live is west of Quebec, where the Imerys mine is located, that’s 10 minutes airtime from my home. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63331,"content":63332},{"textAlign":49},[63333,63335,63339],{"text":63334,"type":596},"So that’s why I started Nouveau Monde, ",{"text":63336,"type":596,"marks":63337},"new world",[63338],{"type":1006},{"text":63340,"type":596},". Let’s go explore where nobody else explored before and not over all the showings and old occurrences of graphite that everybody knew – it was too small. That’s how we discovered it after a few years of surveys and going on the ground … In 2014 we did the surveys over the Matawinie project, and then the first few trenches, drill holes, and then we raised the first 3 million dollars in 2015 to build a resource on the deposit. But it was like the 20th anomaly that we were following up on the ground. The geologist Tony is still with us and we tell this story all the time at Christmas parties to the new guys. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63342,"content":63343},{"textAlign":49},[],"Montreal-based Nouveau Monde Graphite could become one of the largest integrated producers of natural graphite and anode products in North America. The company aims to produce 42,000 tonnes a year of anode materials at a facility in Bécancour, using graphite from its nearby Matawinie mine. Battery producer Panasonic Energy has been testing the company’s anode […]",[63346],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63347},{"job_title":557,"image":63348,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ca2ff3d7-29e8-411e-b4ec-1982f4c4f19a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[63351,63352],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":63354,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":63355,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/478a2faeb2/bm-nouveau-monde-ceo.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 10, 2024",{"id":63358,"uuid":63359,"name":63360,"slug":63361,"full_slug":63362,"content":63363},112470212241120,"d33961bb-a840-42c5-b01c-dee3918880b3","SQM agrees to partnership with Codelco for Chilean lithium production","sqm-forms-private-public-partnership-with-codelco-for-chilean-lithium-production","article/sqm-forms-private-public-partnership-with-codelco-for-chilean-lithium-production",{"_uid":63364,"date":63365,"tags":63366,"editor":63369,"content":63373,"excerpt":63519,"featured":50,"reporter":63520,"_editable":63524,"component":697,"seo_title":63360,"categories":63525,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":63528,"seo_description":63519,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":63531},"8aaf9ae9-4e39-48da-8608-1776f211d366","2024-01-03 00:00",[63367,63368],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":49525,"name":47299},[63370],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63371},{"job_title":557,"image":63372,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63374},[63375,63387,63406,63423,63428,63433,63441,63446,63451,63456,63461,63479,63484,63489,63501,63514],{"type":591,"attrs":63376,"content":63377},{"textAlign":49},[63378,63380,63385],{"text":63379,"type":596},"Chilean lithium major SQM is set to form a new company with state-owned copper miner ",{"text":5569,"type":596,"marks":63381},[63382],{"type":606,"attrs":63383},{"href":63384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chile-advances-lithium-and-cathode-ambitions-with-codelco-and-tsingshan-deals",{"text":63386,"type":596},", which will allow it to continue operating in Chile after 2030, when its current contract is set to expire.",{"type":591,"attrs":63388,"content":63389},{"textAlign":49},[63390,63392,63397,63399,63404],{"text":63391,"type":596},"The new company, in which Codelco will have majority control, is expected to be created in 2025, and will be the first ",{"text":63393,"type":596,"marks":63394},"private-public partnership",[63395],{"type":606,"attrs":63396},{"href":49575,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63398,"type":596}," in lithium following ",{"text":63400,"type":596,"marks":63401},"President Gabriel Boric’s lithium nationalisation plan",[63402],{"type":606,"attrs":63403},{"href":49583,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63405,"type":596}," revealed in April 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":63407,"content":63408},{"textAlign":49},[63409,63411,63417,63418,63422],{"text":63410,"type":596},"Chile is the second largest producer of lithium, forecast to account for 25% of global production in 2023. However, with only two companies operating in the country and few major plans for expansion, the country’s share is ",{"text":63412,"type":596,"marks":63413},"set to decline to 13% by 2030",[63414],{"type":606,"attrs":63415},{"href":63416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-set-to-overtake-chile-as-worlds-second-largest-lithium-producer",{"text":10572,"type":596},{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":63419},[63420],{"type":606,"attrs":63421},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":63424,"content":63425},{"textAlign":49},[63426],{"text":63427,"type":596},"The deal struck with SQM could pave the way for new entrants into the country’s lithium sector, however. Executives from Tianqi Lithium, LG Energy Solution and France’s Eramet have also recently met with Chilean officials, according to Bloomberg. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63429,"content":63430},{"textAlign":49},[63431],{"text":63432,"type":596},"“The key takeaway to SQM is that it will continue to exist in Chile, where it’s largest by far,” Federico Gay, principal lithium analyst at Benchmark, said. “For Codelco, it means entering into a new business where, with the government’s aid, it can grow and have from day one a considerable share in the global market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":63434,"content":63435},{"textAlign":49},[63436],{"type":836,"attrs":63437},{"id":49,"alt":63438,"src":63439,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":63440},"Chile's share of lithium production set to fall","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1a3bff8910/bm-lithium-lce-geo-share-2015-2030.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":63442,"content":63443},{"textAlign":49},[63444],{"text":63445,"type":596},"Currently SQM and US company Albemarle are the only companies operating lithium assets in Chile, and they lease their properties from the state development company Corfo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63447,"content":63448},{"textAlign":49},[63449],{"text":63450,"type":596},"SQM’s current lease is set to expire in 2030. Albemarle’s is set to expire in 2043, and the Chilean government has indicated it intends to honour this, though it is expected that Albemarle will have to enter a similar arrangement at some point.",{"type":591,"attrs":63452,"content":63453},{"textAlign":49},[63454],{"text":63455,"type":596},"The MOU between SQM and Codelco will allow SQM’s lease contracts to transfer to Codelco when they expire in 2030. Codelco currently owns the lease contracts between 2031 and 2060.",{"type":591,"attrs":63457,"content":63458},{"textAlign":49},[63459],{"text":63460,"type":596},"The agreement could allow for SQM to increase production by up to 300,000 tonnes of lithium by the end of the decade, both through an expansion of its existing quota as well as an additional quota contributed by Codelco.",{"type":591,"attrs":63462,"content":63463},{"textAlign":49},[63464,63466,63472,63474,63478],{"text":63465,"type":596},"Prices for lithium Carbonate, FOB South America, ",{"text":63467,"type":596,"marks":63468},"fell by 68% last year",[63469],{"type":606,"attrs":63470},{"href":63471,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-price-decline-casts-shadow-over-long-term-supply-prospects-2023-in-review",{"text":63473,"type":596}," to $18,750/tonne, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":63475},[63476],{"type":606,"attrs":63477},{"href":16908,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":63480,"content":63481},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63482],{"text":63483,"type":596},"Proposed terms of the partnership",{"type":615,"attrs":63485,"content":63486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63487],{"text":63488,"type":596},"Sustainable lithium production",{"type":591,"attrs":63490,"content":63491},{"textAlign":49},[63492,63494,63499],{"text":63493,"type":596},"SQM is one of only two lithium producers to have assets accredited by the ",{"text":63495,"type":596,"marks":63496},"Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance",[63497],{"type":606,"attrs":63498},{"href":47417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63500,"type":596}," (IRMA). The other is Albemarle which also has its Chilean assets accredited by the standard which is the most rigorous assessment of its type in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":63502,"content":63503},{"textAlign":49},[63504,63506,63512],{"text":63505,"type":596},"The increased production quotas will be allowed only without significantly increasing brine extraction at the site. In 2020, SQM committed to ",{"text":63507,"type":596,"marks":63508},"halving brine extraction",[63509],{"type":606,"attrs":63510},{"href":63511,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/carbon-and-water-neutral-lithium-sqms-innovation-roadmap-and-sustainable-development-plan",{"text":63513,"type":596}," by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":63515,"content":63516},{"textAlign":49},[63517],{"text":63518,"type":596},"“The commitments to reduce brine extraction levels in the Salar de Atacama for the coming years remain unchanged,” SQM said.","Chilean lithium major SQM is set to form a new company with state-owned copper miner Codelco, which will allow it to continue operating in Chile after 2030, when its current contract is set to expire. The new company, in which Codelco will have majority control, is expected to be created in 2025, and will be […]",[63521],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63522},{"job_title":557,"image":63523,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8aaf9ae9-4e39-48da-8608-1776f211d366\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[63526,63527],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":63529,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":63530,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b61da709ae/bm-sqm-reducira-en-50-la-extraccion-de-salmuera-del-salar-de-atacama-y-en-40-su-consumo-hidrico-en-t.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 03, 2024",{"id":63533,"uuid":63534,"name":63535,"slug":63536,"full_slug":63537,"content":63538},112470236206821,"a52a32d0-c23b-448e-bc2c-7be5490d3df4","What did COP28 mean for critical minerals? ","what-did-cop-28-mean-for-critical-minerals","article/what-did-cop-28-mean-for-critical-minerals",{"_uid":63539,"date":63540,"tags":63541,"editor":63542,"content":63546,"excerpt":63690,"featured":50,"reporter":63691,"_editable":63695,"component":697,"seo_title":63535,"categories":63696,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":63699,"seo_description":63690,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":63702},"ef485902-b8bf-4f45-bd4c-e69fa9533873","2023-12-27 00:00",[],[63543],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63544},{"job_title":557,"image":63545,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63547},[63548,63553,63563,63568,63573,63585,63590,63595,63600,63612,63617,63622,63627,63632,63641,63646,63657,63670,63675,63680,63685],{"type":591,"attrs":63549,"content":63550},{"textAlign":49},[63551],{"text":63552,"type":596},"This year’s COP28 set out a landmark agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels by 2050. But with critical minerals and their supply chains set to be central to the energy transition, there is a growing need for them to be on the COP agenda. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63554,"content":63555},{"textAlign":49},[63556,63558,63562],{"text":63557,"type":596},"Since the Paris Climate Agreement at COP21 in 2015, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pursue efforts to limit global warming to less than 1.5°C raw material production has scaled rapidly to meet battery demand. Benchmark data shows that production of critical minerals has increased rapidly, in the case of lithium by 433% since 2015, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":63559},[63560],{"type":606,"attrs":63561},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":63564,"content":63565},{"textAlign":49},[63566],{"text":63567,"type":596},"Recognising the importance of critical minerals to achieve “the final fight to keep 1.5 degrees alive”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced at COP28 the establishment of The Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63569,"content":63570},{"textAlign":49},[63571],{"text":63572,"type":596},"Yet, little more clarity was given as part of this year’s agenda regarding how UN leaders view the roadmap of critical mineral production over the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":63574,"content":63575},{"textAlign":49},[63576,63578,63583],{"text":63577,"type":596},"Here, ",{"text":63579,"type":596,"marks":63580},"Benchmark’s Sustainability division",[63581],{"type":606,"attrs":63582},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63584,"type":596}," sets out the key critical mineral takeaways from COP28.",{"type":615,"attrs":63586,"content":63587},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63588],{"text":63589,"type":596},"Disbanding of the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures ",{"type":591,"attrs":63591,"content":63592},{"textAlign":49},[63593],{"text":63594,"type":596},"COP28 saw the disbanding of the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD), after fulfilling its intended remit. The responsibilities for climate-related financial reporting monitoring now sits with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as part of the recently released International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and IFRS S2. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63596,"content":63597},{"textAlign":49},[63598],{"text":63599,"type":596},"Companies who report via TCFD, can continue to do so, and will be well placed to start working towards the IFRS S2 climate-related disclosures which TCFD now exists under. Those who currently have structured their reporting aligned with global ESG standards such as GRI and SASB will also have a head start when it comes to the transition, as the ISSB intends for its sustainability disclosure standards to streamline the reporting process for users. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63601,"content":63602},{"textAlign":49},[63603,63605,63610],{"text":63604,"type":596},"Currently, in the mining industry, GRI is the most common disclosure standard with those with an ESG report. There is, however, a large discrepancy across minerals with 75% of nickel miners and 70% of cobalt miners reporting through GRI, yet as low as 15% in flake graphite producers according to ",{"text":63606,"type":596,"marks":63607},"Benchmark’s ESG reports",[63608],{"type":606,"attrs":63609},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63611,"type":596},", demonstrating the need for the streamlining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63613,"content":63614},{"textAlign":49},[63615],{"text":63616,"type":596},"The new ISSB standards have received strong backing from financial institutions, policymakers and G20 and G7 leaders with suggestions they will become mandatory disclosures in some jurisdictions. The first publishing of reports is expected to be in 2025 based on the 2024 financial year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63618,"content":63619},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63620],{"text":63621,"type":596},"A just transition in reality ",{"type":591,"attrs":63623,"content":63624},{"textAlign":49},[63625],{"text":63626,"type":596},"“The extraction of critical minerals for the clean energy revolution — from wind farms to solar panels and battery manufacturing — must be done in a sustainable, fair and just way.” These were the words of António Guterres during his remarks to developing countries leaders.",{"type":591,"attrs":63628,"content":63629},{"textAlign":49},[63630],{"text":63631,"type":596},"The concept of a just transition as called for by Gueterres, and defined by the International Labour Organization as “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind,” is not new. It has however in recent years been linked with critical mineral mining due to the global nature of locations where mining takes place and the potential adverse impacts on indigenous communities, the environment, and workers’ rights. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63633,"content":63634},{"textAlign":49},[63635,63639],{"text":55206,"type":596,"marks":63636},[63637],{"type":606,"attrs":63638},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63640,"type":596}," highlights that in 2023 two-thirds of global mined nickel supply has come from companies operating with moderate or limited ESG transparency. This lack of ESG transparency coupled with differing levels of regional risk of mining locations around the globe highlights the challenges of a just transition in reality. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63642,"content":63643},{"textAlign":49},[63644],{"text":63645,"type":596},"Central to a just transition is ensuring that the rights of indigenous communities are protected. Indigenous communities were a focus of a recent report from Oxfam, which analysed 43 companies mining metals for the lithium ion battery supply chain on their performance across issues related to human rights and gender justice. The report concluded that the sector’s approach to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) was not ready to support a just energy transition.. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63647,"content":63648},{"textAlign":49},[63649,63651,63655],{"text":63650,"type":596},"Across ",{"text":63606,"type":596,"marks":63652},[63653],{"type":606,"attrs":63654},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63656,"type":596}," on average 5% of developing miners have a FPIC policy in place. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63658,"content":63659},{"textAlign":49},[63660,63662,63668],{"text":63661,"type":596},"As the world continues to see increasing demand for critical minerals over the next decade, a scramble is set to unfold to exploit new resources as quickly as possible. An example of this is investment into ",{"text":63663,"type":596,"marks":63664},"African lithium projects especially from Chinese companies",[63665],{"type":606,"attrs":63666},{"href":63667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-set-to-dominate-african-lithium-production-this-decade",{"text":63669,"type":596},". This investment into mining on the continent, which has an abundance of resources, presents an opportunity if managed correctly by all stakeholders to facilitate a just transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63671,"content":63672},{"textAlign":49},[63673],{"text":63674,"type":596},"Despite this opportunity, often countries lack the regulatory environment to implement robust ESG policies. Leaving them susceptible to corruption, human rights concerns and unsafe working conditions. ",{"type":615,"attrs":63676,"content":63677},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63678],{"text":63679,"type":596},"Looking ahead to COP29 ",{"type":591,"attrs":63681,"content":63682},{"textAlign":49},[63683],{"text":63684,"type":596},"Whilst the commitments to pivot away from fossil fuels made at COP28 and the call for a just transition in the extraction of critical minerals from António Guterres are welcomed, greater leadership to meet these commitments is needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":63686,"content":63687},{"textAlign":49},[63688],{"text":63689,"type":596},"The global south is set to have a major role in meeting critical raw material demand, but the foundations are not being put in place by stakeholders to do so in a “sustainable, fair, and just way.” A more concrete road map of the transition away from fossil fuels and how to protect those affected by critical mineral mining projects is needed at COP29, in Baku to truly ensure a just transition.","This year’s COP28 set out a landmark agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels by 2050. But with critical minerals and their supply chains set to be central to the energy transition, there is a growing need for them to be on the COP agenda. Since the Paris Climate Agreement at COP21 in 2015, to […]",[63692],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63693},{"job_title":557,"image":63694,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ef485902-b8bf-4f45-bd4c-e69fa9533873\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[63697,63698],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":63700,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":63701,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/82e7fe24f9/bm-cop28.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 27, 2023",{"id":63704,"uuid":63705,"name":63706,"slug":63707,"full_slug":63708,"content":63709},112470231344868,"3e3088a6-8127-4a35-84ac-9a286cd7b29c","Black mass hits policy mainstream: 2023 in review","black-mass-hits-policy-mainstream-2023-in-review","article/black-mass-hits-policy-mainstream-2023-in-review",{"_uid":63710,"date":63540,"tags":63711,"editor":63715,"content":63719,"excerpt":63951,"featured":51,"reporter":63952,"_editable":63956,"component":697,"seo_title":63706,"categories":63957,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":63960,"seo_description":63951,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":63702},"1e284614-9d80-4bd3-a920-0cf66e7755b3",[63712,63713,63714],{"slug":10037,"name":373},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[63716],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63717},{"job_title":557,"image":63718,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63720},[63721,63726,63738,63743,63748,63753,63758,63763,63768,63773,63778,63783,63795,63800,63805,63817,63829,63833,63846,63851,63862,63869,63874,63879,63884,63889,63894,63899,63909,63919,63946],{"type":591,"attrs":63722,"content":63723},{"textAlign":49},[63724],{"text":63725,"type":596},"Recycling policy and black mass regulation have been on the minds of multiple governments in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":63727,"content":63728},{"textAlign":49},[63729,63731,63736],{"text":63730,"type":596},"Shredding battery scrap to ",{"text":63732,"type":596,"marks":63733},"produce black mass",[63734],{"type":606,"attrs":63735},{"href":10092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63737,"type":596},", a material containing battery metals, and processing that into battery-grade materials is key to creating a circular economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":63739,"content":63740},{"textAlign":49},[63741],{"text":63742,"type":596},"There is a rising quantity of battery scrap from gigafactory waste and end-of-life electric vehicles. Regulation of black mass is key in controlling its movements across borders to allow governments to maximise on the value of the materials contained within the scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":63744,"content":63745},{"textAlign":49},[63746],{"text":63747,"type":596},"“All these legislative movements within these regions will impact black mass transportation and incentivisation for recycling,” Beatrice Browning, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":63749,"content":63750},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63751],{"text":63752,"type":596},"Standardising black mass classification",{"type":591,"attrs":63754,"content":63755},{"textAlign":49},[63756],{"text":63757,"type":596},"Battery scrap contains valuable lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese chemicals. By recycling scrap batteries, these materials can be recovered and converted back into battery-grade materials to use again.",{"type":591,"attrs":63759,"content":63760},{"textAlign":49},[63761],{"text":63762,"type":596},"But often scrap is converted to black mass and then exported to Asia for further recycling. This means the value contained in the black mass is lost to another country.",{"type":591,"attrs":63764,"content":63765},{"textAlign":49},[63766],{"text":63767,"type":596},"China, the most developed region for black mass processing, classifies the material as toxic. This means it cannot be directly exported or imported. This allows China to control the flow of the material to best capture its value.",{"type":591,"attrs":63769,"content":63770},{"textAlign":49},[63771],{"text":63772,"type":596},"This year, the European Commission proposed the development of “dedicated waste codes for lithium ion batteries and intermediate waste streams (black mass)” to be included in the bloc’s waste list in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":63774,"content":63775},{"textAlign":49},[63776],{"text":63777,"type":596},"The US’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a note in May 2023 stating “black mass is not a universal waste and is no longer a battery and should be classified as solid waste.”",{"type":615,"attrs":63779,"content":63780},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63781],{"text":63782,"type":596},"Europe doubles down on policy",{"type":591,"attrs":63784,"content":63785},{"textAlign":49},[63786,63788,63793],{"text":63787,"type":596},"The European Union looked to incentivise battery recycling through two new pieces of legislation in 2023. The first is the ",{"text":63789,"type":596,"marks":63790},"EU Batteries Regulation",[63791],{"type":606,"attrs":63792},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63794,"type":596}," which was passed at the start of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":63796,"content":63797},{"textAlign":49},[63798],{"text":63799,"type":596},"The new rules outlined in this regulatory framework stipulate that a certain percentage of the critical minerals contained in any batteries sold within the EU must come from recycled sources. By the beginning of 2031, these percentages are set to a minimum of 6%, 6% and 16% for lithium, nickel, and cobalt, respectively. These rise to 12%, 15% and 26% in 2036.",{"type":591,"attrs":63801,"content":63802},{"textAlign":49},[63803],{"text":63804,"type":596},"The regulations also have stipulations on minimum recovery rates for recyclers and set out what battery collection rates need to be achieved within the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":63806,"content":63807},{"textAlign":49},[63808,63810,63815],{"text":63809,"type":596},"The second policy package to tackle recycling is the ",{"text":34023,"type":596,"marks":63811},[63812],{"type":606,"attrs":63813},{"href":63814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-critical-raw-materials-act-europes-attempt-to-have-both-quality-speed",{"text":63816,"type":596},". Political agreement on this was reached at the end of 2023, though it has yet to be formally approved.",{"type":591,"attrs":63818,"content":63819},{"textAlign":49},[63820,63822,63827],{"text":63821,"type":596},"The Act sets out a benchmark for 25% of the European Union’s combined consumption of ",{"text":63823,"type":596,"marks":63824},"critical raw materials to come from recycled sources",[63825],{"type":606,"attrs":63826},{"href":53385,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63828,"type":596},". Although this is a highly ambitious goal, it is not a legal mandate like the Battery Regulation targets.",{"type":615,"attrs":63830,"content":63831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63832],{"text":10040,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":63834,"content":63835},{"textAlign":49},[63836,63838,63844],{"text":63837,"type":596},"Black mass prices are ",{"text":63839,"type":596,"marks":63840},"closely linked to raw material prices",[63841],{"type":606,"attrs":63842},{"href":63843,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-lithium-prices-weigh-on-black-mass-prices-in-china",{"text":63845,"type":596}," as the material is often traded on a payable basis. Given the drop in raw material across the board over 2023, black mass prices, too, dropped.",{"type":591,"attrs":63847,"content":63848},{"textAlign":49},[63849],{"text":63850,"type":596},"“Together with the influence of the lithium carbonate futures market, the volatility of market sentiment was magnified, showing dramatic price fluctuations,” Hazel Huang, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “The underlying reason was that sales in the end EV market were not as high as expected, with insufficient demand and significant overcapacity.”",{"type":591,"attrs":63852,"content":63853},{"textAlign":49},[63854,63856,63860],{"text":63855,"type":596},"Between April and June of 2023, black mass prices experienced an uptick, according to ",{"text":42402,"type":596,"marks":63857},[63858],{"type":606,"attrs":63859},{"href":48678,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63861,"type":596},". Typically in September and October, precursor manufacturers purchase large quantities of material in anticipation of year end festivities, according to Huang.",{"type":591,"attrs":63863,"content":63864},{"textAlign":49},[63865],{"type":836,"attrs":63866},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":63867,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":63868},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/de8a0ee152/bm-black-mass-price-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":63870,"content":63871},{"textAlign":49},[63872],{"text":63873,"type":596},"This leads to a slight increase in raw material prices which then trickles down into black mass prices. The price rise observed around June was in anticipation of this.",{"type":591,"attrs":63875,"content":63876},{"textAlign":49},[63877],{"text":63878,"type":596},"“However, it was ultimately found that end-market demand did increase, but not by as much as expected,” Huang said.",{"type":591,"attrs":63880,"content":63881},{"textAlign":49},[63882],{"text":63883,"type":596},"The historical opacity of the black mass market improved somewhat in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":63885,"content":63886},{"textAlign":49},[63887],{"text":63888,"type":596},"“For the Chinese market, black mass prices are more transparent as the black mass treatment capacity is much larger than the existing market volume of black mass and competition is intense,” Huang said. “In the case of the Asian market, the opacity of the market has been reduced with the gradual expansion of the black mass market in Korea.”",{"type":615,"attrs":63890,"content":63891},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[63892],{"text":63893,"type":596},"Supply growth and disruptions",{"type":591,"attrs":63895,"content":63896},{"textAlign":49},[63897],{"text":63898,"type":596},"Several recycling facilities came online in 2023 or ramped up significantly.",{"type":591,"attrs":63900,"content":63901},{"textAlign":49},[63902,63904,63908],{"text":63903,"type":596},"The largest increase in capacity came from Hengchuang Ruineng Environmental Protection Technology in Guangdong, China. Across their recycling bases they have increased the tonnage of battery scrap they can handle from 50,000 tonnes last year to 150,000 tonnes this year, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":63905},[63906],{"type":606,"attrs":63907},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":63910,"content":63911},{"textAlign":49},[63912,63913,63917],{"text":56720,"type":596},{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":63914},[63915],{"type":606,"attrs":63916},{"href":38766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63918,"type":596},", the largest new facility is operated by the American Battery Technology Company which operates a mechanical pre-treatment facility with an initial capacity to handle 20,000 tonnes of batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":63920,"content":63921},{"textAlign":49},[63922,63924,63929,63931,63936,63938,63944],{"text":63923,"type":596},"In Europe, ",{"text":63925,"type":596,"marks":63926},"Li-Cycle opened a pretreatment facility",[63927],{"type":606,"attrs":63928},{"href":48757,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63930,"type":596}," to produce ",{"text":63932,"type":596,"marks":63933},"black mass in Germany",[63934],{"type":606,"attrs":63935},{"href":17370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63937,"type":596},". The initial plan was to later send the material to a centralised hydrometallurgical facility co-owned by ",{"text":63939,"type":596,"marks":63940},"Glencore in Sardinia",[63941],{"type":606,"attrs":63942},{"href":63943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-and-li-cycle-plan-to-build-europes-largest-battery-recycling-hub-in-italy",{"text":63945,"type":596},". However, the government pulled its permits citing environmental concerns.",{"type":591,"attrs":63947,"content":63948},{"textAlign":49},[63949],{"text":63950,"type":596},"Li-Cycle’s central hub facility in Rochester, New York has also suffered setbacks due to unexpected rises in the costs of construction.","Recycling policy and black mass regulation have been on the minds of multiple governments in 2023. Shredding battery scrap to produce black mass, a material containing battery metals, and processing that into battery-grade materials is key to creating a circular economy. There is a rising quantity of battery scrap from gigafactory waste and end-of-life electric […]",[63953],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63954},{"job_title":557,"image":63955,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e284614-9d80-4bd3-a920-0cf66e7755b3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[63958,63959],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":63961,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":63962,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3ca5d87d92/bm-germany-spoke.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":63964,"uuid":63965,"name":63966,"slug":63967,"full_slug":63968,"content":63969},112470256228074,"a2837826-427d-473c-a11e-3f318f423e43","Natural graphite supply chain hit by Chinese export permit rules – 2023 in review","natural-graphite-market-dominated-by-oversupply-2023-in-review","article/natural-graphite-market-dominated-by-oversupply-2023-in-review",{"_uid":63970,"date":63971,"tags":63972,"editor":63973,"content":63977,"excerpt":64212,"featured":50,"reporter":64213,"_editable":64217,"component":697,"seo_title":63966,"categories":64218,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":64221,"seo_description":64212,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":64224},"f7e0b7fe-a508-454f-b983-7e79a5f93a48","2023-12-20 00:00",[],[63974],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":63975},{"job_title":557,"image":63976,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":63978},[63979,63990,63995,64000,64013,64023,64028,64037,64049,64054,64059,64071,64076,64081,64086,64091,64096,64106,64111,64123,64128,64140,64145,64151,64156,64161,64166,64171,64176,64181,64186,64191,64202,64207],{"type":591,"attrs":63980,"content":63981},{"textAlign":49},[63982,63984,63988],{"text":63983,"type":596},"China’s announcement of graphite ",{"text":52838,"type":596,"marks":63985},[63986],{"type":606,"attrs":63987},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":63989,"type":596}," increased supply security concerns across the anode value chain in 2023, intensifying calls for industry diversification. ",{"type":591,"attrs":63991,"content":63992},{"textAlign":49},[63993],{"text":63994,"type":596},"Despite the threat of export controls, prices remained under pressure for most of 2023, with November only seeing a marginal  uptick in natural graphite prices following China’s announcement.",{"type":591,"attrs":63996,"content":63997},{"textAlign":49},[63998],{"text":63999,"type":596},"While the global market balance remains in surplus, increasing scrutiny on reshoring and sustainability, suggest the market could become increasingly bifurcated over the coming years, with higher prices likely to be required to facilitate supply diversification. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64001,"content":64002},{"textAlign":49},[64003,64005,64011],{"text":64004,"type":596},"Up to the end of November graphite prices had fallen by 27% on average in 2023. In comparison ",{"text":64006,"type":596,"marks":64007},"Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Price Index",[64008],{"type":606,"attrs":64009},{"href":64010,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/natural-graphite/portal/?tab=table",{"text":64012,"type":596}," had risen by 10% in 2022 and 20% in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":64014,"content":64015},{"textAlign":49},[64016],{"text":64017,"type":596,"marks":64018},"Watch Benchmark analyst Adam Megginson discuss the key natural graphite market trends of 2023",[64019,64022],{"type":606,"attrs":64020},{"href":64021,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/a-growing-geopolitical-role-natural-graphite-market-2023-in-review",{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":64024,"content":64025},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64026],{"text":64027,"type":596},"Where next for Chinese graphite?",{"type":591,"attrs":64029,"content":64030},{"textAlign":49},[64031,64035],{"text":64006,"type":596,"marks":64032},[64033],{"type":606,"attrs":64034},{"href":64010,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64036,"type":596}," rose by 2.3% throughout November, due to improved demand for exported material ahead of China’s export regulations being implemented on 1 December.",{"type":591,"attrs":64038,"content":64039},{"textAlign":49},[64040,64042,64047],{"text":64041,"type":596},"The concern is that",{"text":64043,"type":596,"marks":64044}," China could limit feedstock exports",[64045],{"type":606,"attrs":64046},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64048,"type":596},", disrupting production for anode producers in South Korea and Japan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64050,"content":64051},{"textAlign":49},[64052],{"text":64053,"type":596},"The new rules say that Chinese graphite exporters must now apply for and obtain a permit from the state to sell abroad and report on the products they are selling abroad as well as their destinations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64055,"content":64056},{"textAlign":49},[64057],{"text":64058,"type":596},"Since the rules took effect, China’s Ministry of Commerce has approved “several” applications that meet the requirements, spokesperson Shu Jueting said during a press conference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64060,"content":64061},{"textAlign":49},[64062,64064,64069],{"text":64063,"type":596},"Apart from China, South Korea and Japan are the only other significant active anode material producers, in second and third place at 14% and 7% of global supply, according to",{"text":64065,"type":596,"marks":64066}," Benchmark’s Anode Forecast",[64067],{"type":606,"attrs":64068},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64070,"type":596},". They are heavily dependent on China for their flake and spherical graphite feedstock. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64072,"content":64073},{"textAlign":49},[64074],{"text":64075,"type":596},"China has already assured South Korea anode manufacturers that it will not restrict supply as long as buyers abided by Chinese laws. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64077,"content":64078},{"textAlign":49},[64079],{"text":64080,"type":596},"Nonetheless, the fact that China now has the administrative instruments to disrupt overseas anode manufacturing has trained attention on the lack of supply diversity in this often overlooked segment of the lithium ion supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":64082,"content":64083},{"textAlign":49},[64084],{"text":64085,"type":596},"For now, China remains the centre of gravity for natural graphite markets and movements there are what have shaped patterns of supply and demand through the year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":64087,"content":64088},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64089],{"text":64090,"type":596},"Signs of weakening EV demand",{"type":591,"attrs":64092,"content":64093},{"textAlign":49},[64094],{"text":64095,"type":596},"In 2023, the natural graphite market saw increased oversupply and price declines throughout most of the year. Continued upstream production, healthy inventories among downstream producers, and slow demand from the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry were some of the factors impacting the sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64097,"content":64098},{"textAlign":49},[64099,64104],{"text":64100,"type":596,"marks":64101},"Benchmark’s Natural Graphite Price Index",[64102],{"type":606,"attrs":64103},{"href":64010,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64105,"type":596}," fell by 27% this year, while the type of flake graphite used in batteries (-100 Mesh, 94-95% C) declined by 30% to $650 a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":64107,"content":64108},{"textAlign":49},[64109],{"text":64110,"type":596},"“Weak demand has aggravated strong supply. The last time we had seen a 30% drop rate was in 2019,” said Benchmark analyst Tony Alderson.",{"type":591,"attrs":64112,"content":64113},{"textAlign":49},[64114,64116,64121],{"text":64115,"type":596},"Some of the sharpest month-on-month declines for natural graphite began in February when the",{"text":64117,"type":596,"marks":64118}," Benchmark Flake Graphite Price Index",[64119],{"type":606,"attrs":64120},{"href":64010,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64122,"type":596}," fell by 5.7%. This was the direct result of weakening EV industry demand after the withdrawal of Chinese EV tax credits at the start of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":64124,"content":64125},{"textAlign":49},[64126],{"text":64127,"type":596},"March saw the seasonal restart of flake graphite mining in Heilongjiang province, the global centre of upstream graphite production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64129,"content":64130},{"textAlign":49},[64131,64133,64138],{"text":64132,"type":596},"In April came another steep drop, with",{"text":64134,"type":596,"marks":64135}," Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Price Index",[64136],{"type":606,"attrs":64137},{"href":64010,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64139,"type":596}," falling by 6.4% month-on-month on the back of continued weak demand from the anode sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64141,"content":64142},{"textAlign":49},[64143],{"text":64144,"type":596},"Weak market conditions on the back of residual oversupply from 2022 and slower EV demand growth were main factors impacting prices, but interactions between market players themselves, as well as the structure of the supply chain, further dampened prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":64146,"content":64147},{"textAlign":49},[64148],{"type":836,"attrs":64149},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":63283,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64150},{},{"type":591,"attrs":64152,"content":64153},{"textAlign":49},[64154],{"text":64155,"type":596},"Firstly, anode manufacturers have strong negotiating power and pushed for discounts on flake and spherical graphite throughout the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":64157,"content":64158},{"textAlign":49},[64159],{"text":64160,"type":596},"Another factor was the interplay between producers of flake graphite and their customers, producers of spherical graphite. Their attempts to stem margin pressures in an oversupplied market tended to worsen losses, triggering a feedback loop between low prices, low profits, and a cost-cutting imperative that drove further discounts.",{"type":591,"attrs":64162,"content":64163},{"textAlign":49},[64164],{"text":64165,"type":596},"Even a temporary recovery in Chinese EV demand between May and July did not produce any price strengthening across the natural graphite products, indicating the level of market saturation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":64167,"content":64168},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64169],{"text":64170,"type":596},"Capacity investments continue ",{"type":591,"attrs":64172,"content":64173},{"textAlign":49},[64174],{"text":64175,"type":596},"Oversupply did not stop upstream and midstream investments and capacity developments over the year, however. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64177,"content":64178},{"textAlign":49},[64179],{"text":64180,"type":596},"In May, Aofeng New Material Technology, announced that it had finished construction at its spherical graphite facility and integrated anode project located in Mudanjiang city in Heilongjiang.",{"type":591,"attrs":64182,"content":64183},{"textAlign":49},[64184],{"text":64185,"type":596},"The second quarter of the year also saw a rush of ex-China projects. South Korean cell manufacturer SK On announced a joint development agreement with US graphite project developer and anode aspirant Westwater Resources in May. The following month, US anode company Superior Graphite announced plans to invest in an anode project in Kentucky with a 24,000 tonne per annum capacity of natural graphite anode material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64187,"content":64188},{"textAlign":49},[64189],{"text":64190,"type":596},"Australian-listed anode developer, Talga, received approval for 150 million euros ($163 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help progress its Vittangi anode project in Luleå Industrial Park, Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":64192,"content":64193},{"textAlign":49},[64194,64196,64200],{"text":64195,"type":596},"Continued investments into natural graphite supply despite the weak market conditions reflects a general sentiment through the industry that in the long-term, rapid growth in battery demand will justify added capacity. ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":64197},[64198],{"type":606,"attrs":64199},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64201,"type":596}," supports this outlook, showing that a prolonged deficit for natural graphite will set in from 2028 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":64203,"content":64204},{"textAlign":49},[64205],{"text":64206,"type":596},"Like other battery materials, rising battery demand will feed significant deficits before the decade is up. In the short term however, price declines and strong supply will persist. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64208,"content":64209},{"textAlign":49},[64210],{"text":64211,"type":596},"“The flake graphite market in 2024 is expected to be in a marginal surplus, as demand is set to grow in line with new graphite projects coming online and increasing supply throughout that period,” said Alderson.","China’s announcement of graphite export regulations increased supply security concerns across the anode value chain in 2023, intensifying calls for industry diversification. Despite the threat of export controls, prices remained under pressure for most of 2023, with November only seeing a marginal uptick in natural graphite prices following China’s announcement. While the global market balance remains […]",[64214],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64215},{"job_title":557,"image":64216,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f7e0b7fe-a508-454f-b983-7e79a5f93a48\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[64219,64220],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":64222,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":64223,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7ffa369126/bm-2022naturalgraphitetrialmine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 20, 2023",{"id":64226,"uuid":64227,"name":64228,"slug":64229,"full_slug":64230,"content":64231},112470270867281,"e4e9eb22-c407-4add-8db5-76e935f47515","US miners and recyclers could lose out on production tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act","us-miners-and-recyclers-could-lose-out-on-production-tax-credits-in-the-inflation-reduction-act","article/us-miners-and-recyclers-could-lose-out-on-production-tax-credits-in-the-inflation-reduction-act",{"_uid":64232,"date":64233,"tags":64234,"editor":64237,"content":64241,"excerpt":64367,"featured":50,"reporter":64368,"_editable":64372,"component":697,"seo_title":64228,"categories":64373,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":64375,"seo_description":64367,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":64378},"90f9b273-1a6a-424b-84f9-0260127efd53","2023-12-18 00:00",[64235,64236],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[64238],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64239},{"job_title":557,"image":64240,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":64242},[64243,64255,64260,64265,64276,64281,64286,64291,64296,64301,64306,64311,64316,64327,64332,64337,64342,64347,64352,64357,64362],{"type":591,"attrs":64244,"content":64245},{"textAlign":49},[64246,64248,64253],{"text":64247,"type":596},"US miners and recycling companies could lose out on manufacturing production tax credits in the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":64249},[64250],{"type":606,"attrs":64251},{"href":64252,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-what-will-be-the-eventual-cost-of-the-us-inflation-reduction-act",{"text":64254,"type":596},", following guidance from the government that suggests raw materials are not eligible costs under the clean energy legislation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64256,"content":64257},{"textAlign":49},[64258],{"text":64259,"type":596},"The guidance released by the US Treasury on Friday states that “any costs related to the extraction or acquisition of raw materials would not be taken into account as production costs.”",{"type":591,"attrs":64261,"content":64262},{"textAlign":49},[64263],{"text":64264,"type":596},"The proposal is a disappointment for domestic mining companies, who had hoped to be beneficiaries of the tax credits, since the credits for critical minerals have no end dates, unlike those for other clean energy manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64266,"content":64267},{"textAlign":49},[64268,64270,64274],{"text":64269,"type":596},"It’s also a blow to ",{"text":10192,"type":596,"marks":64271},[64272],{"type":606,"attrs":64273},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64275,"type":596}," companies, since they cannot receive tax credits on the biggest portion of their costs – the feedstock raw materials that they recycle. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64277,"content":64278},{"textAlign":49},[64279],{"text":64280,"type":596},"The tax credits cover costs equal to 10 percent of the costs incurred by the taxpayer with respect to production of critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64282,"content":64283},{"textAlign":49},[64284],{"text":64285,"type":596},"The National Mining Association said the guidance “fails to uphold Congress’s intent to incentivize the secure and reliable mineral supply chains we need.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":64287,"content":64288},{"textAlign":49},[64289],{"text":64290,"type":596},"“By restricting the benefits available to the front end of the supply chain – the mines and minerals that drive the clean energy economy – the incentives offer a pittance of what Congress intended to bolster domestic raw material supply and take on China,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64292,"content":64293},{"textAlign":49},[64294],{"text":64295,"type":596},"The guidance states that only production of processed battery raw materials with a high level of purity would count towards the production tax credits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64297,"content":64298},{"textAlign":49},[64299],{"text":64300,"type":596},"For graphite this means “99.9 percent graphitic carbon by mass”, which is essentially anode active material. For lithium it is lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64302,"content":64303},{"textAlign":49},[64304],{"text":64305,"type":596},"For manganese, it is material converted to manganese sulphate or purified to a minimum purity of 99.7 percent manganese by mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":64307,"content":64308},{"textAlign":49},[64309],{"text":64310,"type":596},"And for nickel it is material converted to nickel sulphate or purified to a minimum purity of 99 percent nickel by mass.",{"type":615,"attrs":64312,"content":64313},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64314],{"text":64315,"type":596},"Cathode and anode materials",{"type":591,"attrs":64317,"content":64318},{"textAlign":49},[64319,64321,64325],{"text":64320,"type":596},"The guidance states that producers of ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":64322},[64323],{"type":606,"attrs":64324},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64326,"type":596}," and anode materials can deduct tax credits including for labour, electricity, storage costs, depreciation or amortisation, recycling, and overhead. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64328,"content":64329},{"textAlign":49},[64330],{"text":64331,"type":596},"However, it says that “the cost of acquiring the raw material used to produce the electrode active material, the cost of materials used for conversion, purification, or recycling of the raw material, and other material costs related to the production of the electrode active material would not be taken into account.”",{"type":591,"attrs":64333,"content":64334},{"textAlign":49},[64335],{"text":64336,"type":596},"The Treasury said that this was done to prevent the same costs being counted multiple times, creating the risk of fraud. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64338,"content":64339},{"textAlign":49},[64340],{"text":64341,"type":596},"A material that qualifies as both an electrode active material and an applicable critical material is eligible for the section 45X credit, but a company can only claim one of the credits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64343,"content":64344},{"textAlign":49},[64345],{"text":64346,"type":596},"“A taxpayer who produces and sells lithium carbonate may claim either the electrode active material credit or the critical mineral credit for its production and sale of lithium carbonate but may not take both credits,” it says. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64348,"content":64349},{"textAlign":49},[64350],{"text":64351,"type":596},"The department said, however, that it welcomed comments on how to include raw material costs if it does not lead to double-counting or fraud, waste or abuse. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64353,"content":64354},{"textAlign":49},[64355],{"text":64356,"type":596},"“Treasury explicitly left the door open in the guidelines for adding raw materials into the calculation of critical mineral production for the 45x tax credits.  In numerous other parts of the tax code, raw material is included in production costs so there is good precedent,” Ben Steinberg of the Battery Materials & Technology Coalition, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64358,"content":64359},{"textAlign":49},[64360],{"text":64361,"type":596},"The group’s members include battery recycling companies such as Li-Cycle and anode producer Anovion, among others. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64363,"content":64364},{"textAlign":49},[64365],{"text":64366,"type":596},"The Treasury guidance is open for comments for 60 days. ","US miners and recycling companies could lose out on manufacturing production tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, following guidance from the government that suggests raw materials are not eligible costs under the clean energy legislation. The guidance released by the US Treasury on Friday states that “any costs related to the extraction or acquisition […]",[64369],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64370},{"job_title":557,"image":64371,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"90f9b273-1a6a-424b-84f9-0260127efd53\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[64374],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":64376,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":64377,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/US-mine-truck-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 18, 2023",{"id":64380,"uuid":64381,"name":64382,"slug":64383,"full_slug":64384,"content":64385},112470285219668,"9bc5f57e-a34e-4b8a-a487-0c112efe10d2","The rise of alternative pricing mechanisms in the nickel sulphate market","the-rise-of-alternative-pricing-mechanisms-in-the-nickel-sulphate-market","article/the-rise-of-alternative-pricing-mechanisms-in-the-nickel-sulphate-market",{"_uid":64386,"date":64387,"tags":64388,"editor":64390,"content":64394,"excerpt":64580,"featured":51,"reporter":64581,"_editable":64585,"component":697,"seo_title":64382,"categories":64586,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":64588,"seo_description":64580,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":64590},"45fb75e4-f65c-4138-a837-8185f8ec67f8","2023-12-14 00:00",[64389],{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[64391],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64392},{"job_title":557,"image":64393,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":64395},[64396,64416,64428,64433,64444,64449,64454,64459,64466,64471,64483,64488,64495,64500,64505,64510,64515,64522,64527,64532,64543,64548,64553,64565,64570,64575],{"type":591,"attrs":64397,"content":64398},{"textAlign":49},[64399,64401,64407,64409,64414],{"text":64400,"type":596},"In the year leading up to a ",{"text":64402,"type":596,"marks":64403},"short squeeze",[64404],{"type":606,"attrs":64405},{"href":64406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/a-year-after-lme-nickel-chaos-battery-supply-chain-seeks-alternative-prices",{"text":64408,"type":596}," in nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in March 2022, Benchmark’s nickel sulphate, ",{"text":64410,"type":596,"marks":64411},"EXW China price",[64412],{"type":606,"attrs":64413},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64415,"type":596},", closely tracked the LME Class I nickel price with a statistical discrepancy of just 4% on a monthly basis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64417,"content":64418},{"textAlign":49},[64419,64421,64426],{"text":64420,"type":596},"However, following those events, a demonstrable ",{"text":64422,"type":596,"marks":64423},"bifurcation",[64424],{"type":606,"attrs":64425},{"href":64406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64427,"type":596}," has occurred, with that statistical discrepancy increasing by more than five times to 21%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64429,"content":64430},{"textAlign":49},[64431],{"text":64432,"type":596},"That reflects an increased use of alternative pricing mechanisms. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64434,"content":64435},{"textAlign":49},[64436,64438,64442],{"text":64437,"type":596},"With stainless steel continuing to make up more than 68% of global nickel demand, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":40667,"type":596,"marks":64439},[64440],{"type":606,"attrs":64441},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64443,"type":596},", the LME price remains a reflection of the stainless steel market rather than the supply-demand dynamics of the nickel chemical to lithium ion battery supply chain. Therefore, any changes in the dynamics of this industrial world will have significant implications for the price of nickel battery materials, under conventional sulphate pricing mechanisms. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64445,"content":64446},{"textAlign":49},[64447],{"text":64448,"type":596},"For example, in a scenario where a major economy introduces a stimulus package targeted towards the construction or engineering industries, this would be bullish for the stainless steel industry and therefore inadvertently increase nickel chemical prices for the battery industry should it be priced on LME exchange prices. This would be as true during a period of weak battery demand as it would be during a period of firm demand for nickel battery chemicals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64450,"content":64451},{"textAlign":49},[64452],{"text":64453,"type":596},"Whilst such a dynamic is not a strategic concern for many nickel miners, it has become an ever greater concern for downstream market participants, keen to minimise basis risk in their procurement and hedging strategies.",{"type":591,"attrs":64455,"content":64456},{"textAlign":49},[64457],{"text":64458,"type":596},"Benchmark data further shows that nickel demand from the lithium-ion battery industry is set to grow as a proportion of total nickel demand from 16.5% to more than 34.1% in 2030.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":64460,"content":64461},{"textAlign":49},[64462],{"type":836,"attrs":64463},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":64464,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64465},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1988c40856/bm-lme-nickel-and-nickel-sulphate-exw-china-divergence-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":64467,"content":64468},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64469],{"text":64470,"type":596},"The importance of Chinese sulphate in the CIF Asia market",{"type":591,"attrs":64472,"content":64473},{"textAlign":49},[64474,64475,64481],{"text":53184,"type":596},{"text":64476,"type":596,"marks":64477},"Cathode Forecast",[64478],{"type":606,"attrs":64479},{"href":64480,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cathode/",{"text":64482,"type":596},", an estimated 71% of global cathode capacity in 2023 is based in China alone. This goes some way towards explaining the ease with which the domestic Chinese nickel sulphate price has bifurcated from the LME nickel futures price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64484,"content":64485},{"textAlign":49},[64486],{"text":64487,"type":596},"Furthermore, nickel sulphate produced in China makes up more than two thirds of the nickel sulphate volumes purchased by South Korean and Japanese buyers. For this reason, Asian market participants outside of China have reported to Benchmark that some of their new nickel sulphate contracts feature mechanisms that rely on pricing based on the mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) to nickel sulphate supply chain rather than the historic reference to LME.",{"type":591,"attrs":64489,"content":64490},{"textAlign":49},[64491],{"type":836,"attrs":64492},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":64493,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64494},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b274d750ba/bm-the-importance-of-chinese-sulphate-in-the-cif-asia-market.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":64496,"content":64497},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64498],{"text":64499,"type":596},"MHP to play a growing role in Asian sulphate pricing",{"type":591,"attrs":64501,"content":64502},{"textAlign":49},[64503],{"text":64504,"type":596},"In both Indonesia and the Philippines, large investments into MHP production via high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) continue to be made, resulting in significant MHP capacity increases in the region. This rapidly growing MHP capacity will result in an increase low cost feed for nickel sulphate producers, affecting prices in both China and the wider Asian region.",{"type":591,"attrs":64506,"content":64507},{"textAlign":49},[64508],{"text":64509,"type":596},"This rapidly growing MHP capacity will result in an increase in sulphate supply, affecting prices in both China and Asia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64511,"content":64512},{"textAlign":49},[64513],{"text":64514,"type":596},"Benchmark has also seen a greater diversity of MHP pricing mechanisms in recent months, rather than the conventional payable to the LME approach. It is therefore vital to market participants that whilst more mature nickel sulphate pricing mechanisms consider the significance of Chinese EXW product as a source of supply, they must also consider the economics of MHP conversion to more fully represent the CIF Asia and lithium ion battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":64516,"content":64517},{"textAlign":49},[64518],{"type":836,"attrs":64519},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":64520,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64521},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f139d44be1/bm-global-mhp-capacity.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":64523,"content":64524},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64525],{"text":64526,"type":596},"Metal to remain an important element of nickel sulphate pricing",{"type":591,"attrs":64528,"content":64529},{"textAlign":49},[64530],{"text":64531,"type":596},"Since the South Korean and Indonesian governments met in July 2023 to discuss cooperating in strengthening each nation’s battery manufacturing sector, there has been a clear ambition from South Korean companies to invest in an Indonesia-South Korea-US cathode supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64533,"content":64534},{"textAlign":49},[64535,64537,64541],{"text":64536,"type":596},"With companies such as LG Chem and SK Innovation revealing plans for new ",{"text":42128,"type":596,"marks":64538},[64539],{"type":606,"attrs":64540},{"href":53606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64542,"type":596}," production facilities in South Korea using Indonesian nickel, the Indonesia-South Korea trade route will likely see much larger volumes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64544,"content":64545},{"textAlign":49},[64546],{"text":64547,"type":596},"Whilst South Korean nickel chemical buyers in particular have expressed unease with the conventional LME premium pricing mechanism, it is also clear that any new price mechanism cannot represent a complete divorce from the Class I metal prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64549,"content":64550},{"textAlign":49},[64551],{"text":64552,"type":596},"Although growth in Class II capacity outpaces Class I, the technology gap between the two is closing. In October, the LME announced that Chinese battery materials major, CNGR, had applied for listing on the exchange, hoping to sell the Class I nickel it produces from Indonesian nickel matte. Furthermore, dissolving metal to produce nickel sulphate is a well-established conversion method, especially in Japan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64554,"content":64555},{"textAlign":49},[64556,64558,64563],{"text":64557,"type":596},"Consequently, it is important that the evolution of CIF Asia nickel sulphate pricing maintains a valid connection to nickel metal values, which is why this remains one of the three critical supply routes behind Benchmark’s new ",{"text":64559,"type":596,"marks":64560},"normalised nickel sulphate CIF Asia (100% Ni contained)",[64561],{"type":606,"attrs":64562},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":64564,"type":596},"price.",{"type":591,"attrs":64566,"content":64567},{"textAlign":49},[64568],{"text":64569,"type":596},"Benchmark’s new Nickel Sulphate, CIF Asia, normalised price is provided in our Nickel Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":64571,"content":64572},{"textAlign":49},[64573],{"text":64574,"type":596},"Our Nickel Price Assessment provides independent price assessments and analysis for nickel sulphate, nickel MHP and normalisation factors.",{"type":591,"attrs":64576,"content":64577},{"textAlign":49},[64578],{"text":64579,"type":596},"To learn more and request a sample price report, please provide your details here and our experts will contact you shortly.","In the year leading up to a short squeeze in nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in March 2022, Benchmark’s nickel sulphate, EXW China price, closely tracked the LME Class I nickel price with a statistical discrepancy of just 4% on a monthly basis. However, following those events, a demonstrable bifurcation has occurred, with […]",[64582],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64583},{"job_title":557,"image":64584,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"45fb75e4-f65c-4138-a837-8185f8ec67f8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[64587],{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56127,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":64589,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 14, 2023",{"id":64592,"uuid":64593,"name":64594,"slug":64595,"full_slug":64596,"content":64597},112470305937241,"3512dc61-ce9f-4ecf-901a-8196e1368196","In charts: China’s rare earths monopoly ","in-charts-chinas-rare-earths-monopoly","article/in-charts-chinas-rare-earths-monopoly",{"_uid":64598,"date":64599,"tags":64600,"editor":64601,"content":64605,"excerpt":64782,"featured":50,"reporter":64783,"_editable":64787,"component":697,"seo_title":64594,"categories":64788,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":64791,"seo_description":64782,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":64795},"dcdc9f0e-96f4-4bd5-90bb-03de2811ab0d","2023-12-08 00:00",[],[64602],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64603},{"job_title":557,"image":64604,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":64606},[64607,64617,64622,64635,64640,64645,64650,64655,64660,64671,64676,64681,64689,64694,64699,64704,64709,64714,64719,64729,64734,64739,64744,64749,64754,64759,64767,64774],{"type":591,"attrs":64608,"content":64609},{"textAlign":49},[64610,64612,64616],{"text":64611,"type":596},"China’s rare earths industry is unrivaled: the country is forecast to produce 99.9% of global processed dysprosium (Dy) and 80% of processed praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) in 2023, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":64613},[64614],{"type":606,"attrs":64615},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64618,"content":64619},{"textAlign":49},[64620],{"text":64621,"type":596},"The size of China’s global share and close government control over industrial output has also given the country immense influence over rare earths prices, posing problems for buildout elsewhere. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64623,"content":64624},{"textAlign":49},[64625,64627,64633],{"text":64626,"type":596},"For example, China has ",{"text":64628,"type":596,"marks":64629},"continually raised rare earth output quotas from 2020",[64630],{"type":606,"attrs":64631},{"href":64632,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-latest-rare-earths-quota-could-sustain-weak-prices",{"text":64634,"type":596}," onwards despite low demand over 2023, leading to oversupply and low prices. This benefits domestic players while making it more difficult for fledgling producers elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":64636,"content":64637},{"textAlign":49},[64638],{"text":64639,"type":596},"“The ability for Chinese producers to expand so rapidly is a serious risk for a large number of greenfield projects outside of China, who need a supportive pricing outlook,” said Neha Mukherjee, a rare earths analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":64641,"content":64642},{"textAlign":49},[64643],{"text":64644,"type":596},"A recent State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang in early November stressed the need for more standardisation and coordination across rare earths research, mine exploration, development, utilisation and industrial management.",{"type":591,"attrs":64646,"content":64647},{"textAlign":49},[64648],{"text":64649,"type":596},"This extends an ongoing government programme first announced in 2020 to further develop the domestic rare sector, primarily by increasing state surveillance across the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":64651,"content":64652},{"textAlign":49},[64653],{"text":64654,"type":596},"“China wants to ensure that they continue holding its rare earths monopoly now that the West is trying to reduce its dependence on Chinese supply,” said Mukherjee.",{"type":615,"attrs":64656,"content":64657},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64658],{"text":64659,"type":596},"China unchallenged as dysprosium processor despite low mining share",{"type":591,"attrs":64661,"content":64662},{"textAlign":49},[64663,64669],{"text":64664,"type":596,"marks":64665},"High-value rare earths",[64666],{"type":606,"attrs":64667},{"href":64668,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-role-of-rare-earths-in-the-energy-transition",{"text":64670,"type":596}," such as Dy and PrNd have strategic importance as inputs for rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs), their primary end use. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64672,"content":64673},{"textAlign":49},[64674],{"text":64675,"type":596},"REPMs generate powerful drive forces inside wind turbines, electric vehicles (EVs), personal electronics, and industrial machinery. Some rare earths are also used to make advanced defence equipment.",{"type":591,"attrs":64677,"content":64678},{"textAlign":49},[64679],{"text":64680,"type":596},"China is the globally dominant player across all rare earths and at each step of the value chain, from mining to rare earths magnet production. However, the size of its lead varies by element as well as by supply chain segment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64682,"content":64683},{"textAlign":49},[64684],{"type":836,"attrs":64685},{"id":49,"alt":64686,"src":64687,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64688},"China global share of mined and processed praseodymium-neodymium and dysprosium, 2023, 2028","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d9a5e5d7b8/bm-screenshot-2023-12-08-141438-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":64690,"content":64691},{"textAlign":49},[64692],{"text":64693,"type":596},"In dysprosium processing, for example, China will remain virtually unchallenged for the foreseeable future. It is forecast to produce almost all of global supply in 2023 and 97% by 2028. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64695,"content":64696},{"textAlign":49},[64697],{"text":64698,"type":596},"China has achieved this despite having a relatively low share of global mined dysprosium output. In 2023, it will contribute half the world’s mined dysprosium supply, falling to 47% in 2028. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64700,"content":64701},{"textAlign":49},[64702],{"text":64703,"type":596},"Yet China’s domestic mining capacity alone does not give a full picture of its control over this supply chain. Chinese companies dominate rare earth mining in neighbouring Myanmar, the second biggest producer of dysprosium globally. The two countries together represent 92% of global mined dysprosium production in 2023, falling to 71% in  2028. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64705,"content":64706},{"textAlign":49},[64707],{"text":64708,"type":596},"Finally, growth in mined output in other parts of the world are likely to benefit China’s processing industry too. Minimal processing capacity buildout in countries that are set to increase dysprosium ore output, such as in Australia and Brazil, means a lot of raw material from here will continue to end up in China for processing. ",{"type":615,"attrs":64710,"content":64711},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64712],{"text":64713,"type":596},"China will lose some global share in mined PrNd",{"type":591,"attrs":64715,"content":64716},{"textAlign":49},[64717],{"text":64718,"type":596},"The PrNd supply chain is headed for slightly greater geographical diversification by the end of the decade as deposits are relatively more dispersed compared to dysprosium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64720,"content":64721},{"textAlign":49},[64722,64724,64728],{"text":64723,"type":596},"Between 2023 and 2028, there will be a 145% increase in the number of operating PrNd mines outside of China, primarily in Australia and Africa. This will push China’s global share of mined PrNd down 9 percentage points between now and 2028 from 73% to 64%, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":64725},[64726],{"type":606,"attrs":64727},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64730,"content":64731},{"textAlign":49},[64732],{"text":64733,"type":596},"Still, China’s sizable PrNd mines means it will retain a comfortable majority of global share. It has three of the world’s five biggest, including Baiyun Ebo, the top producer. In 2023, this single asset is forecast to produce almost double the combined production of all ex-China assets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64735,"content":64736},{"textAlign":49},[64737],{"text":64738,"type":596},"Even by 2028, China’s two largest PrNd mines are still forecast to produce 12% more than all ex-China assets combined. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64740,"content":64741},{"textAlign":49},[64742],{"text":64743,"type":596},"In addition, prices for the mined material need to be competitive and China will still have an advantage on this, according to Mukherjee.",{"type":615,"attrs":64745,"content":64746},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64747],{"text":64748,"type":596},"Ex-China PrNd processing to grow",{"type":591,"attrs":64750,"content":64751},{"textAlign":49},[64752],{"text":64753,"type":596},"Ex-China PrNd processing capacity will also grow between now and 2028, mainly driven by the US, followed by Malaysia and Australia, pushing China’s share of global processed PrNd from 82% this year to 73% in 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":64755,"content":64756},{"textAlign":49},[64757],{"text":64758,"type":596},"The percentage point drop in China’s global share of processed PrNd will be slightly smaller than for its share of mined material. This is because processing buildout tends to lag expansions in mining capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64760,"content":64761},{"textAlign":49},[64762],{"type":836,"attrs":64763},{"id":49,"alt":64764,"src":64765,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64766},"China versus rest of world in processed praeseodymium-neodymium prnd 2023 and 2028","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/208d964416/bm-screenshot-2023-12-08-141936.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":64768,"content":64769},{"textAlign":49},[64770,64772],{"text":64771,"type":596},"Chinese dominance in PrNd processing relies on a handful of key producers. These include three of the world’s five biggest: China Northern, China Rare Earth Group, and Shenghe Resources, which will be responsible for the vast majority of China’s output through to 2028.",{"text":64773,"type":596},"China’s top PrNd processor is state-owned China Northern, set to produce almost five times more PrNd oxide than all ex-China processors in the world combined in 2023 and 57% more in 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":64775,"content":64776},{"textAlign":49},[64777],{"type":836,"attrs":64778},{"id":49,"alt":64779,"src":64780,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64781},"China Northern (top PrNd processor) versus all ex-China PrNd processors in 2023 and 2028","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c7c1ed2ff/bm-screenshot-2023-12-08-142848.png",{},"China’s rare earths industry is unrivaled: the country is forecast to produce 99.9% of global processed dysprosium (Dy) and 80% of processed praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) in 2023, according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast. The size of China’s global share and close government control over industrial output has also given the country immense influence over rare earths […]",[64784],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64785},{"job_title":557,"image":64786,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dcdc9f0e-96f4-4bd5-90bb-03de2811ab0d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[64789,64790],{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":64792,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":64792,"source":547,"filename":64793,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":64794,"is_external_url":51},"the workshop of a Rare Earth production enterprise in jiangxi province, central China.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a2daf616f5/bm-shutterstock-1410095645.jpg",{"alt":64792,"title":64792,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 08, 2023",{"id":64797,"uuid":64798,"name":64799,"slug":64800,"full_slug":64801,"content":64802},112470326163296,"439e8efd-fcb5-47e3-86f7-abcedfa30b34","Battery producers cut back on investments as EV growth rate slows","battery-producers-cut-back-on-investments-as-ev-growth-rate-slows","article/battery-producers-cut-back-on-investments-as-ev-growth-rate-slows",{"_uid":64803,"date":64804,"tags":64805,"editor":64807,"content":64811,"excerpt":64900,"featured":51,"reporter":64901,"_editable":64905,"component":697,"seo_title":64799,"categories":64906,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":64910,"seo_description":64900,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":64914},"d2324953-e99c-4b7c-9ed6-285c1130e9e5","2023-12-07 00:00",[64806],{"slug":22279,"name":2193},[64808],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64809},{"job_title":557,"image":64810,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":64812},[64813,64818,64823,64833,64838,64843,64848,64853,64860,64865,64870,64875,64880,64885,64890,64895],{"type":591,"attrs":64814,"content":64815},{"textAlign":49},[64816],{"text":64817,"type":596},"Several large battery and electric vehicle manufacturers are pushing back or cancelling investments in new facilities, as demand for electric vehicles slows in key markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64819,"content":64820},{"textAlign":49},[64821],{"text":64822,"type":596},"Ford is delaying $12 billion in EV investments and has cancelled a planned battery plant with LG Energy Solution (LGES) in Turkey. And Honda, General Motors, and Volkswagen have all delayed, discontinued, or cancelled plans for new EV production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64824,"content":64825},{"textAlign":49},[64826,64828,64832],{"text":64827,"type":596},"Late October and early November saw consistently limited battery gigafactory capacity commitments globally, with only two new plants added, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":64829},[64830],{"type":606,"attrs":64831},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64834,"content":64835},{"textAlign":49},[64836],{"text":64837,"type":596},"Slowing growth in EV demand, rising costs of production, and macroeconomic factors explain the slowdown in gigafactory investments. Higher interest rates, for example, make leasing EVs more expensive for consumers and also increase the cost of capital for new battery projects.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":64839,"content":64840},{"textAlign":49},[64841],{"text":64842,"type":596},"Outside of China, the EV market is also dependent on early adopters, who are becoming more price sensitive, according to Luke Gear, principal analyst for batteries and EVs at Benchmark. This year, the share of EVs in new car sales will be around 21% in Europe, 9% in the US and 35% in China, according to data from Rho Motion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64844,"content":64845},{"textAlign":49},[64846],{"text":64847,"type":596},"“It is safe to say most of the world is still in the early adopter range of 13.5%-34%, with China only just leaving it. The growth slowdown is more driven by challenging economic conditions, such as high inflation and interest rates, which are making early adopters more price sensitive,” he said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":64849,"content":64850},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64851],{"text":64852,"type":596},"Slowing demand growth",{"type":591,"attrs":64854,"content":64855},{"textAlign":49},[64856],{"type":836,"attrs":64857},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":64858,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64859},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0b2d8f481c/bm-global-ev-sales-growth-rho-motion.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":64861,"content":64862},{"textAlign":49},[64863],{"text":64864,"type":596},"Sales of EVs, as well as plug-in hybrid vehicles, have grown 32% in 2023, according to data from Rho Motion. Though sales have increased, they have done so at a slower rate than over the past three years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64866,"content":64867},{"textAlign":49},[64868],{"text":64869,"type":596},"“Global EV sales are set to grow around 30% this year, which is a decline from around 60% in 2022. However, this still represents a new record, with over 13 million battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars sold in 2023,” according to Gear.",{"type":615,"attrs":64871,"content":64872},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[64873],{"text":64874,"type":596},"Rising costs",{"type":591,"attrs":64876,"content":64877},{"textAlign":49},[64878],{"text":64879,"type":596},"For battery producers, higher capital expenditure is a key issue. A joint venture battery plant between LGES and Hyundai in the state of Georgia was estimated to require $4.3 billion in May, a figure that was revised to $7.6 billion in September. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64881,"content":64882},{"textAlign":49},[64883],{"text":64884,"type":596},"Higher wages, following strike action by the United Auto Workers (UAW) this year, adds further to costs. General Motors, Stellantis and Ford all agreed to provide a 25% wage increase to resolve the strike in October. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64886,"content":64887},{"textAlign":49},[64888],{"text":64889,"type":596},"In September, Ford said it would delay construction at its battery plant in Michigan with China’s CATL as a result of delays brought on by the United Auto Workers strikes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":64891,"content":64892},{"textAlign":49},[64893],{"text":64894,"type":596},"In late October, Ford also announced that construction on its JV cell plant with SKI in Glendale, Kentucky, US, had been delayed, again due to falling EV demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":64896,"content":64897},{"textAlign":49},[64898],{"text":64899,"type":596},"”Rising inflation and higher labour costs following UAW agreements has meant higher capital expenditure than expected. Combined with legacy automakers still loss-making on EVs, further investment has been delayed to limit losses in the short term. Higher costs, along with slower than expected demand growth for EVs, has led OEMs to revise their targets and delay investment,” said Aran Waid, a Senior Battery Analyst at Benchmark. ","Several large battery and electric vehicle manufacturers are pushing back or cancelling investments in new facilities, as demand for electric vehicles slows in key markets. Ford is delaying $12 billion in EV investments and has cancelled a planned battery plant with LG Energy Solution (LGES) in Turkey. And Honda, General Motors, and Volkswagen have all […]",[64902],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64903},{"job_title":557,"image":64904,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d2324953-e99c-4b7c-9ed6-285c1130e9e5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[64907,64908,64909],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":64911,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":64911,"source":547,"filename":64912,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":64913,"is_external_url":51},"Tesla Gigafactory","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2993b6fc5b/bm-tesla-gigafactory-4-dji-0336.jpg",{"alt":64911,"title":64911,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 07, 2023",{"id":64916,"uuid":64917,"name":64918,"slug":64919,"full_slug":64920,"content":64921},112470335817571,"1fe0029e-883e-4738-aede-c30ebb931733","EcoPro signs $34 billion deal to supply Samsung with cathode material","ecopro-signs-34-billion-deal-to-supply-samsung-with-cathode-material","article/ecopro-signs-34-billion-deal-to-supply-samsung-with-cathode-material",{"_uid":64922,"date":64923,"tags":64924,"editor":64930,"content":64934,"excerpt":65065,"featured":50,"reporter":65066,"_editable":65070,"component":697,"seo_title":64918,"categories":65071,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":65074,"featured_image":65076,"seo_description":65065,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65079},"7cda4ee3-6c13-45fe-b9fb-c50be76d6deb","2023-12-06 00:00",[64925,64926,64927],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":29328,"name":29329},{"slug":64928,"name":64929},"samsung","Samsung",[64931],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":64932},{"job_title":557,"image":64933,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":64935},[64936,64941,64952,64962,64967,64975,64987,64992,65000,65005,65018,65023,65032,65040,65053],{"type":591,"attrs":64937,"content":64938},{"textAlign":49},[64939],{"text":64940,"type":596},"South Korea’s Samsung SDI will purchase nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) cathode materials from EcoPro BM, in a deal worth 43.9 trillion KRW ($34 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":64942,"content":64943},{"textAlign":49},[64944,64946,64951],{"text":64945,"type":596},"EcoPro is the largest producer of NCA cathode material globally, producing 34% of the global supply of the material last year, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":64947},[64948],{"type":606,"attrs":64949},{"href":64950,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cathode/reports",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64953,"content":64954},{"textAlign":49},[64955,64957,64961],{"text":64956,"type":596},"The deal comes amidst falling cathode prices due to oversupply in China and weakening demand. NCA cathode material prices, specifically, fell 2.3% last month and 50.9% so far this year, on the back of falling raw material costs and persistent weak demand across end-use demand sectors, according to ",{"text":56933,"type":596,"marks":64958},[64959],{"type":606,"attrs":64960},{"href":16939,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64963,"content":64964},{"textAlign":49},[64965],{"text":64966,"type":596},"“This deal is very significant as the demand for EVs has slowed, causing automakers and battery producers to delay battery projects,” Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":64968,"content":64969},{"textAlign":49},[64970],{"type":836,"attrs":64971},{"id":49,"alt":64972,"src":64973,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64974},"EcoPro BM leads global NCA production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/489e01073c/bm-nca-2022-producers.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":64976,"content":64977},{"textAlign":49},[64978,64980,64986],{"text":64979,"type":596},"The supply contract is from the start of 2024 through to the end of 2028. After this period, the supply deal can continue and will be linked to raw material prices, according to a ",{"text":64981,"type":596,"marks":64982},"filing by EcoPro",[64983],{"type":606,"attrs":64984},{"href":64985,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://englishdart.fss.or.kr/dsbh001/main.do?rcpNo=20231201900749",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":64988,"content":64989},{"textAlign":49},[64990],{"text":64991,"type":596},"EcoPro are the primary suppliers of cathode material to Samsung. The two companies operate a joint venture NCA cathode production facility in North Gyeongsang, South Korea.",{"type":591,"attrs":64993,"content":64994},{"textAlign":49},[64995],{"type":836,"attrs":64996},{"id":49,"alt":64997,"src":64998,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":64999},"NCA prices have more than halved this year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87ce8753b6/bm-nca-price-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":65001,"content":65002},{"textAlign":49},[65003],{"text":65004,"type":596},"Samsung currently has 17.2 gigawatt-hours of cell production capacity and has 242.3 GWh in its 2030 pipeline. The largest gigafactory operated by Samsung is its Göd facility in Hungary which produces both NCA and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":65006,"content":65007},{"textAlign":49},[65008,65010,65016],{"text":65009,"type":596},"In October, ",{"text":65011,"type":596,"marks":65012},"Samsung signed a deal with Hyuandai",[65013],{"type":606,"attrs":65014},{"href":65015,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/samsung-and-hyundais-first-battery-deal-targets-european-market",{"text":65017,"type":596}," to supply the Korean automaker with NCA batteries from its facility in Hungary for seven years from 2026. These prismatic cells use a cathode made up of 91% nickel, as well as a silicon-based anode. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65019,"content":65020},{"textAlign":49},[65021],{"text":65022,"type":596},"“NCA has a high energy density, similar to NCM, and has a good fast-charging capability, which is beneficial for use in EVs,” Sidhu said.",{"type":591,"attrs":65024,"content":65025},{"textAlign":49},[65026,65030],{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":65027},[65028],{"type":606,"attrs":65029},{"href":64950,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65031,"type":596}," shows that supply of NCA cathode material is expected to be sufficient to meet demand through to 2040. However, this is contingent on cathode producers having access to critical raw material supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":65033,"content":65034},{"textAlign":49},[65035],{"type":836,"attrs":65036},{"id":49,"alt":65037,"src":65038,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65039},"NCA market is forecast to have sufficient supply to meet demand","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/22596892aa/bm-nca-market-balance-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":65041,"content":65042},{"textAlign":49},[65043,65045,65051],{"text":65044,"type":596},"For NCA cathodes, lithium and cobalt could be constraining factors. Benchmark forecasts that the two metals will ",{"text":65046,"type":596,"marks":65047},"enter deficits",[65048],{"type":606,"attrs":65049},{"href":65050,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-oversupply-not-likely-five-main-reasons-why",{"text":65052,"type":596}," from 2028 and 2027, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":65054,"content":65055},{"textAlign":49},[65056,65058,65064],{"text":65057,"type":596},"EcoPro is also building a joint venture high-nickel NCM cathode production facility in Bécancour, Canada with ",{"text":65059,"type":596,"marks":65060},"Ford and SK Innovation",[65061],{"type":606,"attrs":65062},{"href":65063,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-ecopro-and-sk-on-turn-to-canadas-ev-battery-hub-for-cathode-factory",{"text":1280,"type":596},"South Korea’s Samsung SDI will purchase nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) cathode materials from EcoPro BM, in a deal worth 43.9 trillion KRW ($34 billion). EcoPro is the largest producer of NCA cathode material globally, producing 34% of the global supply of the material last year, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast. The deal comes amidst falling […]",[65067],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65068},{"job_title":557,"image":65069,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7cda4ee3-6c13-45fe-b9fb-c50be76d6deb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65072,65073],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":64972,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":64972,"source":547,"filename":64973,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65075,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":64972,"title":64972,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":65077,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65078,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0940b12ce8/bm-samsung-sdi.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 06, 2023",{"id":65081,"uuid":65082,"name":65083,"slug":65084,"full_slug":65085,"content":65086},112470364571501,"4cf8c4ed-af40-4c8a-a586-a188f347f4f4","What does Javier Milei’s election in Argentina mean for lithium mining?","what-does-javier-mileis-election-in-argentina-mean-for-lithium-mining","article/what-does-javier-mileis-election-in-argentina-mean-for-lithium-mining",{"_uid":65087,"date":65088,"tags":65089,"editor":65091,"content":65095,"excerpt":65234,"featured":51,"reporter":65235,"_editable":65239,"component":697,"seo_title":65083,"categories":65240,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":65244,"seo_description":65234,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65247},"0663831e-b0a3-4010-a747-025e11632b20","2023-11-28 00:00",[65090],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},[65092],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65093},{"job_title":557,"image":65094,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":65096},[65097,65102,65107,65112,65117,65122,65127,65137,65142,65147,65154,65159,65164,65169,65174,65179,65184,65189,65194,65199,65204,65209,65214,65219,65224,65229],{"type":591,"attrs":65098,"content":65099},{"textAlign":49},[65100],{"text":65101,"type":596},"Javier Milei’s victory in Argentina’s election this month has been welcomed so far by investors. But Milei’s plans for lithium mining in the country remain uncertain.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":65103,"content":65104},{"textAlign":49},[65105],{"text":65106,"type":596},"Milei, a climate change sceptic, has pledged to reduce state intervention, cut public spending and implement radical economic reforms. As a firm believer in a free market approach, Milei has plans to privatise “as many companies as he is able to,” including oil company YPF, energy group Enarsa and state-owned media. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65108,"content":65109},{"textAlign":49},[65110],{"text":65111,"type":596},"Argentina is the largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund and has seen inflation increase more than 140% over the past year. President-elect Milei, who also wants to dollarise the economy and reorganise Argentina’s Central Bank, has just announced his economy minister, former finance minister and Central Bank chief Luis Caputo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65113,"content":65114},{"textAlign":49},[65115],{"text":65116,"type":596},"Given Milei’s lack of majority in Argentina’s Congress, he will face difficulties in implementing his campaign pledges and he will thus be heavily reliant on other parties, including former president Mauricio Macri’s supporters.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":65118,"content":65119},{"textAlign":49},[65120],{"text":65121,"type":596},"“Milei’s main priority and biggest challenge will be stabilising the Argentinian economy and addressing soaring inflation. Despite his strong democratic mandate, he is likely to face legislative hurdles in implementing his radical campaign pledges, given his party’s lack of majority in both the Chamber and the Senate,” Bryan Bille, policy analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65123,"content":65124},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65125],{"text":65126,"type":596},"Lithium mining in Argentina",{"type":591,"attrs":65128,"content":65129},{"textAlign":49},[65130,65132,65136],{"text":65131,"type":596},"Argentina is the fourth largest lithium mining country in the world, with production expected to make up 5% of the world’s supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":65133},[65134],{"type":606,"attrs":65135},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65138,"content":65139},{"textAlign":49},[65140],{"text":65141,"type":596},"There are currently three producing assets in the country: Olaroz, operated by Australia’s Allkem; Fenix, owned by US-based Livent; and Cauchari Olaroz, which produced its first lithium this June and being developed by China’s Ganfeng and Lithium Argentina – a spin-off of Lithium Americas. Allkem and Livent are set to merge in early 2024, creating a company to be called Arcadium Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":65143,"content":65144},{"textAlign":49},[65145],{"text":65146,"type":596},"By 2030, Argentina is expected to be producing around 330,000 tonnes of LCE, which compares to around 350,000 tonnes expected from Chile. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65148,"content":65149},{"textAlign":49},[65150],{"type":836,"attrs":65151},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65152,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65153},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4a86db435b/bm-lithiumtriangleforecast.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":65155,"content":65156},{"textAlign":49},[65157],{"text":65158,"type":596},"The majority of Chilean supply in 2030 is expected to come from projects already operating. Meanwhile, Argentina’s supply in 2030 will largely come from operations that have yet to go into production.",{"type":591,"attrs":65160,"content":65161},{"textAlign":49},[65162],{"text":65163,"type":596},"Argentina’s president-elect Milei has not outlined any specific plans for lithium mining in the country, although his plans to open markets and attract foreign investments could be indicative of what is to come for the sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65165,"content":65166},{"textAlign":49},[65167],{"text":65168,"type":596},"“Considering Milei’s business-friendly policy program, it will be interesting to see how the future government will address the issue of lithium taxation. Another big question is whether Argentina will succeed in industrialising lithium in the coming years,” Bille said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65170,"content":65171},{"textAlign":49},[65172],{"text":65173,"type":596},"But any major changes to lithium mining policies in the country will not be easy, as provincial governments have control over certain aspects when it comes to developing resources in each territory. The provincial government grants permits, sets royalties, and is responsible for environmental compliance within its territory, while the federal government is in charge of the mining code as the general regulatory framework, mining investment laws and environmental regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":65175,"content":65176},{"textAlign":49},[65177],{"text":65178,"type":596},"Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca, where most lithium projects are located, are seen as mining-friendly jurisdictions and this is likely to continue under Mile’s presidency. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65180,"content":65181},{"textAlign":49},[65182],{"text":65183,"type":596},"According to Argentina’s official figures, the country has 36 advanced lithium projects in the pipeline. The South American country has attracted interest from foreign investors in the past year, especially after Chile launched its National Lithium Strategy, aimed at taking more ownership of lithium assets in the country, a strategy previously criticised by Milei. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65185,"content":65186},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65187],{"text":65188,"type":596},"Relationship with China",{"type":591,"attrs":65190,"content":65191},{"textAlign":49},[65192],{"text":65193,"type":596},"President-elect Milei, who will take office on December 10, has publicly said that he wants to cut ties with China and Brazil, Argentina’s largest trading partners. However, he has also said private companies could potentially make deals with these countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65195,"content":65196},{"textAlign":49},[65197],{"text":65198,"type":596},"“I deeply believe in opening up to international trade. However, I also believe that the state should not intervene in trade relations. It is a matter for the private sector,” he said during the last presidential debate.",{"type":591,"attrs":65200,"content":65201},{"textAlign":49},[65202],{"text":65203,"type":596},"Business-friendly Milei has also stated that he will pull Argentina out of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which is currently in trade negotiations with the EU to ratify a trade agreement concluded in 2019. The Mercosur countries would like to finalise these discussions with the EU by the 7th of December, just before Milei’s inauguration on the 10th of December.",{"type":591,"attrs":65205,"content":65206},{"textAlign":49},[65207],{"text":65208,"type":596},"But China’s government has warned Argentina that cutting off relations would be “a serious mistake,” according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. China, she said, “is willing to work with Argentina so that relations continue to advance steadily,” adding that “the economic complementarity between both countries means that there is great potential for cooperation.”",{"type":591,"attrs":65210,"content":65211},{"textAlign":49},[65212],{"text":65213,"type":596},"China is Argentina’s second-largest trading partner and the first destination for its agricultural exports. Last year, Argentina exports to China were more than $8 billion and imports were around $17 billion, according to official Argentine figures. Furthermore, about 41% of lithium exports were sold to the Asian country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65215,"content":65216},{"textAlign":49},[65217],{"text":65218,"type":596},"China is the largest investor in Argentinian lithium projects, including Zijin Mining Group, Tibet Summit Resources and Ganfeng Lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65220,"content":65221},{"textAlign":49},[65222],{"text":65223,"type":596},"In 2030, 51% of the forecast Argentine lithium supply has Chinese involvement. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65225,"content":65226},{"textAlign":49},[65227],{"text":65228,"type":596},"Less than a week after the elections, Milei has already toned down his discourse toward China, thanking the Chinese government via social media for its congratulations after his presidential election victory.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":65230,"content":65231},{"textAlign":49},[65232],{"text":65233,"type":596},"“Despite Milei’s previous statements about China, it seems unlikely that investment ties with Beijing will be cut off, especially since China’s deep involvement in various lithium projects and Milei being open for foreign investments,” Bille said. ","Javier Milei’s victory in Argentina’s election this month has been welcomed so far by investors. But Milei’s plans for lithium mining in the country remain uncertain. Milei, a climate change sceptic, has pledged to reduce state intervention, cut public spending and implement radical economic reforms. As a firm believer in a free market approach, Milei […]",[65236],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65237},{"job_title":557,"image":65238,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0663831e-b0a3-4010-a747-025e11632b20\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65241,65242,65243],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":65245,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65246,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c47d212773/bm-argentina-brine-1-e1642525912906-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 28, 2023",{"id":65249,"uuid":65250,"name":65251,"slug":65252,"full_slug":65253,"content":65254},112470383744882,"70ac60fb-a268-4659-914d-0b36dfaf72c6","Sodium ion batteries advance with BYD, Northvolt plans, but supply chain challenges loom","sodium-ion-batteries-advance-with-byd-northvolt-plans-but-supply-chain-challenges-loom","article/sodium-ion-batteries-advance-with-byd-northvolt-plans-but-supply-chain-challenges-loom",{"_uid":65255,"date":65256,"tags":65257,"editor":65260,"content":65264,"excerpt":65408,"featured":51,"reporter":65409,"_editable":65413,"component":697,"seo_title":65251,"categories":65414,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":65416,"seo_description":65408,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65419},"abc2de53-f7f2-48d7-bb3f-197b2bf4c15b","2023-11-23 00:00",[65258,65259],{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[65261],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65262},{"job_title":557,"image":65263,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":65265},[65266,65277,65282,65287,65292,65297,65302,65307,65312,65317,65322,65329,65334,65339,65344,65349,65356,65361,65371,65376,65381,65386,65391,65396,65401],{"type":591,"attrs":65267,"content":65268},{"textAlign":49},[65269,65271,65275],{"text":65270,"type":596},"China’s BYD said it would build a RMB 10 billion ($1.4 billion) factory to produce ",{"text":55939,"type":596,"marks":65272},[65273],{"type":606,"attrs":65274},{"href":55943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65276,"type":596}," with conglomerate Huaihai group, the largest announced plant by a leading producer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65278,"content":65279},{"textAlign":49},[65280],{"text":65281,"type":596},"China’s largest electric carmaker, and second largest cell producer of lithium-ion batteries behind CATL, said the plant in Xuzhou would have the capacity to produce around 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of sodium ion battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":65283,"content":65284},{"textAlign":49},[65285],{"text":65286,"type":596},"The announcement doubles the global pipeline capacity of sodium ion cells from experienced Tier 1 suppliers, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65288,"content":65289},{"textAlign":49},[65290],{"text":65291,"type":596},"“It’s a huge announcement from a producer that knows what they’re doing,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65293,"content":65294},{"textAlign":49},[65295],{"text":65296,"type":596},"BYD’s announcement comes as European battery producer Northvolt also said it had developed a sodium ion cell with Swedish startup Altris, which could lead to the first sodium ion pilot plant in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":65298,"content":65299},{"textAlign":49},[65300],{"text":65301,"type":596},"The developments come despite falling lithium prices, highlighting how the global battery industry is still moving forward with sodium ion plans, in an effort to diversify the supply chain, McNulty said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65303,"content":65304},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65305],{"text":65306,"type":596},"Sodium ion battery capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":65308,"content":65309},{"textAlign":49},[65310],{"text":65311,"type":596},"The majority of announced sodium ion battery capacity is from companies who have not produced batteries before. Benchmark is tracking almost 300 GWh of planned sodium ion battery capacity, but most of this is attributed to Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65313,"content":65314},{"textAlign":49},[65315],{"text":65316,"type":596},"Northvolt said its battery cell uses a hard carbon anode and a Prussian White-based cathode and has an energy density of 160 watt-hours per kilogram, comparable with the lower end of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65318,"content":65319},{"textAlign":49},[65320],{"text":65321,"type":596},"“Northvolt plans to be the first to industrialise Prussian White-based batteries and bring them to commercial markets,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65323,"content":65324},{"textAlign":49},[65325],{"type":836,"attrs":65326},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65327,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65328},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cdd3626d5b/bm-sodium-ion-pipeline-capacity.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":65330,"content":65331},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65332],{"text":65333,"type":596},"Cost advantage",{"type":591,"attrs":65335,"content":65336},{"textAlign":49},[65337],{"text":65338,"type":596},"Sodium ion batteries promise to be lower cost, safer to transport and more sustainable than current lithium ion chemistries, since they use no cobalt and nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":65340,"content":65341},{"textAlign":49},[65342],{"text":65343,"type":596},"Aluminium can also be used as the current collector at both ends of the battery cell, instead of copper for the anode.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":65345,"content":65346},{"textAlign":49},[65347],{"text":65348,"type":596},"That could make them a promising technology for energy storage or smaller electric vehicles. Founded in 1976, Huaihai produces small electric vehicles and scooters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65350,"content":65351},{"textAlign":49},[65352],{"type":836,"attrs":65353},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65354,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65355},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1cfab30b67/bm-basics-of-sodium-ion.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":65357,"content":65358},{"textAlign":49},[65359],{"text":65360,"type":596},"But a sharp fall in lithium prices this year has eroded their potential cost advantage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65362,"content":65363},{"textAlign":49},[65364,65366,65370],{"text":65365,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have fallen by 74% this year to RMB 140,000 ($19,725) a tonne, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":65367},[65368],{"type":606,"attrs":65369},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65372,"content":65373},{"textAlign":49},[65374],{"text":65375,"type":596},"As a result the price of prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells has fallen by 17% this year in China and was last assessed at $80 a kWh, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65377,"content":65378},{"textAlign":49},[65379],{"text":65380,"type":596},"In addition, a key problem for sodium ion cells is scaling up the supply chain – especially the production of the hard carbon anode, McNulty said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65382,"content":65383},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65384],{"text":65385,"type":596},"Supply chain limitations",{"type":591,"attrs":65387,"content":65388},{"textAlign":49},[65389],{"text":65390,"type":596},"The current supply of hard carbon is not enough to supply planned sodium ion battery cell capacity, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65392,"content":65393},{"textAlign":49},[65394],{"text":65395,"type":596},"There is less than 100 GWh of hard carbon capacity announced, according to Benchmark. In terms of Tier 1 producers, only 12 GWh of Tier 1 hard carbon production is expected by 2030, to support a projected 120 GWh of high-case forecast cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":65397,"content":65398},{"textAlign":49},[65399],{"text":65400,"type":596},"“Until we see those supply chains moving in the same way that the battery makers are moving, we’ve got to take everything with a bit of a pinch of salt because you can’t make a battery without an anode,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":65402,"content":65403},{"textAlign":49},[65404],{"type":836,"attrs":65405},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65406,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65407},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4ce197395f/bm-sodium-ion-and-hard-carbon-supply.png",{},"China’s BYD said it would build a RMB 10 billion ($1.4 billion) factory to produce sodium ion batteries with conglomerate Huaihai group, the largest announced plant by a leading producer. China’s largest electric carmaker, and second largest cell producer of lithium-ion batteries behind CATL, said the plant in Xuzhou would have the capacity to produce […]",[65410],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65411},{"job_title":557,"image":65412,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"abc2de53-f7f2-48d7-bb3f-197b2bf4c15b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65415],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":65417,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65418,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5804b457f5/bm-northvolt-sodium-ion.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 23, 2023",{"id":65421,"uuid":65422,"name":65423,"slug":65424,"full_slug":65425,"content":65426},112470407542647,"13d6ab46-6f4b-440c-b17c-8eeea4bb0e85","“If you want to have access to a large supply of nickel you can’t ignore Indonesia.” Q&A with Eramet’s Geoff Streeton.","if-you-want-to-have-access-to-a-large-supply-of-nickel-you-cant-ignore-indonesia-qa-with-eramets-geoff-streeton","article/if-you-want-to-have-access-to-a-large-supply-of-nickel-you-cant-ignore-indonesia-qa-with-eramets-geoff-streeton",{"_uid":65427,"date":65428,"tags":65429,"editor":65431,"content":65435,"excerpt":65669,"featured":51,"reporter":65670,"_editable":65674,"component":697,"seo_title":65423,"categories":65675,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":65678,"seo_description":65669,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65681},"9e96ce6c-f082-4901-88ec-ff7bcc615f76","2023-11-20 00:00",[65430],{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[65432],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65433},{"job_title":557,"image":65434,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":65436},[65437,65442,65447,65458,65463,65474,65479,65484,65489,65494,65499,65504,65509,65514,65519,65524,65529,65534,65539,65544,65549,65554,65559,65572,65577,65584,65589,65599,65609,65614,65619,65624,65629,65634,65639,65644,65649,65654,65659,65664],{"type":591,"attrs":65438,"content":65439},{"textAlign":49},[65440],{"text":65441,"type":596},"Eramet is one of Europe’s largest and oldest mining companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65443,"content":65444},{"textAlign":49},[65445],{"text":65446,"type":596},"It can trace its history back to 1880 when Société Le Nickel (SLN) was founded in New Caledonia. It has also been mining manganese in Gabon since 1996. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65448,"content":65449},{"textAlign":49},[65450,65452,65456],{"text":65451,"type":596},"Now the company is looking to supply metal to the global battery markets, from its Centenario-Ratones ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":65453},[65454],{"type":606,"attrs":65455},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65457,"type":596}," project in Argentina and Weda Bay nickel mine in Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65459,"content":65460},{"textAlign":49},[65461],{"text":65462,"type":596},"Both mines are developed in partnership with the Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65464,"content":65465},{"textAlign":49},[65466,65468,65472],{"text":65467,"type":596},"This month the company also opened a pilot plant close to Paris, in order to demonstrate its technology for ",{"text":10192,"type":596,"marks":65469},[65470],{"type":606,"attrs":65471},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65473,"type":596}," lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65475,"content":65476},{"textAlign":49},[65477],{"text":65478,"type":596},"The company plans to invest EUR 1.9bn ($2 billion) between 2024 and 2026, in both its existing assets as well as its battery minerals projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":65480,"content":65481},{"textAlign":49},[65482],{"text":65483,"type":596},"Geoff Streeton is chief development officer at Eramet. He previously worked for BHP and Mitsubishi. Geoff started his career as a geologist at the Mount Isa mines in Australia. Benchmark Source sat down with him to learn more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65485,"content":65486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65487],{"text":65488,"type":596},"Can you talk about your strategy to move from producing industrial metals to those targeted at clean energy? ",{"type":591,"attrs":65490,"content":65491},{"textAlign":49},[65492],{"text":65493,"type":596},"As a company over the last five years, we’ve developed two key strategy pillars.",{"type":591,"attrs":65495,"content":65496},{"textAlign":49},[65497],{"text":65498,"type":596},"Our first pillar is the existing business of supplying metals to meet growing global economic demand, supplying manganese to the global steel industry, ferronickel to the global stainless steel sector and titanium minerals … and that remains a core aspect of our strategy today. They generate the cash that we can then also use to deploy investment into our second pillar, which is where we see more growth potential: the emerging transition metals market.",{"type":591,"attrs":65500,"content":65501},{"textAlign":49},[65502],{"text":65503,"type":596},"And effectively, the leverage that we have in this emerging transition metals market is that over the last 10 to 15 years we’ve built a portfolio of resource projects that can provide into this market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65505,"content":65506},{"textAlign":49},[65507],{"text":65508,"type":596},"The two projects that are most important for us are the Weda Bay nickel project in Indonesia, where the nickel laterite mine that we have developed provides both saprolite that can go into producing nickel pig iron for the stainless steel sector, but it can also produce limonite that is now starting to be extracted and processed into the Class One nickel market through high pressure acid leach (HPAL) projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":65510,"content":65511},{"textAlign":49},[65512],{"text":65513,"type":596},"The second key transition metal project in our portfolio is to provide lithium from the Centenario-Ratones project developed over the last 15-odd years in Argentina.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":65515,"content":65516},{"textAlign":49},[65517],{"text":65518,"type":596},"Those projects position us to provide nickel units or lithium carbonate that can feed directly into this emerging and rapidly growing transition metals market.",{"type":591,"attrs":65520,"content":65521},{"textAlign":49},[65522],{"text":65523,"type":596},"Our intent is to continue to invest in growing those business themes through further brownfield expansion projects, continuing to invest in the Weda Bay nickel mine to meet the considerable demand of the industrial park that is developing on Halmahera island in Indonesia and to expand lithium production capacity at Centenario-Ratones. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65525,"content":65526},{"textAlign":49},[65527],{"text":65528,"type":596},"We have also radically changed our portfolio, divesting out of a number of loss making downstream metallurgical assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":65530,"content":65531},{"textAlign":49},[65532],{"text":65533,"type":596},"So we no longer have significant drags on our balance sheet and are now primarily a mining company.",{"type":615,"attrs":65535,"content":65536},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65537],{"text":65538,"type":596},"You are currently working on building a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel processing plant with BASF in Indonesia. How will you compete with the Chinese companies such as Huayou Cobalt on costs, especially capex? ",{"type":591,"attrs":65540,"content":65541},{"textAlign":49},[65542],{"text":65543,"type":596},"I think it’s more than just the capex, they’ve actually figured out the engineering of these plants: how to actually get them to work, to perform to design. There’s been a long, difficult, history of value destruction in HPAL projects over the last 20 years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65545,"content":65546},{"textAlign":49},[65547],{"text":65548,"type":596},"We need to have a project that can compete with the Chinese owned plants and our strategy to achieve that is to actually use the same engineering, the same engineering companies, the same construction providers that has been used by the groups such as Huayou.",{"type":591,"attrs":65550,"content":65551},{"textAlign":49},[65552],{"text":65553,"type":596},"We recognise that we can’t engineer a competitive HPAL plant without using the same engineering input that has gone into the projects that have been successfully developed over the last five years and are proven from an engineering and performance perspective. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65555,"content":65556},{"textAlign":49},[65557],{"text":65558,"type":596},"Our project delivery model would be based on accessing Chinese engineering and Chinese contractors. In order to have a plant that is very similar in design and construction to what has been constructed by Huayou and others. The project would utilise ore from the Weda Bay nickel mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65560,"content":65561},{"textAlign":49},[65562,65564,65570],{"text":65563,"type":596},"If approved into investment our project with BASF will be socially and environmentally compliant. We will have dry stack ",{"text":65565,"type":596,"marks":65566},"tailings",[65567],{"type":606,"attrs":65568},{"href":65569,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-overcoming-mining-waste-issues-will-be-key-to-indonesias-nickel-ambitions",{"text":65571,"type":596},", the most stable storage method. Plus, we are very focused on water and emissions and mine site rehabilitation. The plant needs sulphuric acid and to produce this you burn sulphur and the byproduct of that is heat which can be used. Typically we can co-generate two thirds of the plant’s energy requirement by burning sulphur. So compared to nickel produced through pyrometallurgy it will have much lower emissions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65573,"content":65574},{"textAlign":49},[65575],{"text":65576,"type":596},"Our observation is that the OEMs are taking a wait and see approach – but if you want to have access to a large supply of nickel you can’t ignore Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":65578,"content":65579},{"textAlign":49},[65580],{"type":836,"attrs":65581},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65582,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65583},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b75058b308/bm-indonesia-nickel-supply-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":65585,"content":65586},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65587],{"text":65588,"type":596},"Your Centenario-Ratones Lithium project in Argentina is set to start production early next year. What makes your Direct Lithium Extraction technology (DLE) superior to others? ",{"type":591,"attrs":65590,"content":65591},{"textAlign":49},[65592,65594,65597],{"text":65593,"type":596},"Our DLE has been the subject of over a decade of research and development, and innovation. We’ve been operating an industrial demonstration plant on the ",{"text":59435,"type":596,"marks":65595},[65596],{"type":1006},{"text":65598,"type":596}," for over four years now, which has achieved a very high performance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65600,"content":65601},{"textAlign":49},[65602,65604,65608],{"text":65603,"type":596},"In terms of the specific characteristics of our ",{"text":4929,"type":596,"marks":65605},[65606],{"type":606,"attrs":65607},{"href":51714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65610,"content":65611},{"textAlign":49},[65612],{"text":65613,"type":596},"First of all it has a very good lithium recovery rate, close to 90%. And it has a very good selectivity. These brines don’t just contain lithium chloride, they contain all sorts of dissolved metals, sodium and other metals. Our process is very good at selectively extracting the lithium chloride. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65615,"content":65616},{"textAlign":49},[65617],{"text":65618,"type":596},"It also has a lower reagent consumption, the chemical reagents such as acids used in the separation process. They are the major source of the scope 3 emissions of lithium production through DLE, as these chemical reagents all have their own underlying emissions profile.",{"type":591,"attrs":65620,"content":65621},{"textAlign":49},[65622],{"text":65623,"type":596},"The main area of focus for us now is in driving down the freshwater consumption associated with our process. We’ve already identified opportunities to reduce freshwater consumption by about 50%, from when the project was first designed. That is for us as much of an area of focus for our research and development going forward as it is how to actually improve the lithium extraction characteristics of the DLE.",{"type":615,"attrs":65625,"content":65626},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65627],{"text":65628,"type":596},"You recently agreed a $400 million lithium marketing deal with Glencore, will commodity traders become an attractive source of capital for battery mineral projects? ",{"type":591,"attrs":65630,"content":65631},{"textAlign":49},[65632],{"text":65633,"type":596},"It enables both of us to gain a win. Glencore is looking to expand in its trading and offering of lithium carbonate products but don’t have a captive source so we are able to provide them with the ability to build their trading book. On the other side we were looking for a flexible source of capital. The arrangement provides us with pre-financing we can use for general corporate purposes. We got a very competitive source of capital through this. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65635,"content":65636},{"textAlign":49},[65637],{"text":65638,"type":596},"We will co-market this product together: we gain the benefit of Glencore’s very extensive trading and marketing capability, and that’s an important step for us – we don’t have an existing lithium production operation, so we don’t have an existing lithium marketing position.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":65640,"content":65641},{"textAlign":49},[65642],{"text":65643,"type":596},"I think one of the challenges in critical metals is there’s a lot of companies and governments seeking to secure supplies and the one risk we run into is that could then lead to a less efficient market because there’s less liquidity in the market, if production is locked up in offtake-type contracts rather than sold into a market exchange. I think traders like Glencore will play a very important role in improving liquidity and matching supply and demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":65645,"content":65646},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65647],{"text":65648,"type":596},"Your CEO has said that Europe is “lagging behind” in terms of critical minerals, what does Eramet mean by that? ",{"type":591,"attrs":65650,"content":65651},{"textAlign":49},[65652],{"text":65653,"type":596},"I think what’s changed in the last year or just a little over a year now since the Inflation Reduction Act was announced, is that the US has put in place a very strong incentive structure to trigger the inflow of critical minerals and metals into the US economy. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act probably doesn’t yet have enough horsepower to compete with the IRA … the challenge for Europe is that it does not have significant domestic sources of these minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65655,"content":65656},{"textAlign":49},[65657],{"text":65658,"type":596},"So therefore, it’s going to be dependent on international projects and accessing international projects. And they probably need to think further around what they can do to put in place mechanisms that can compete with the IRA and attract project flow into the European economy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65660,"content":65661},{"textAlign":49},[65662],{"text":65663,"type":596},"There’s a very important role for country-to-country approaches, but at the end of the day, the bulk of mineral projects are held by commercial companies, and it ultimately becomes company to company transactions that dictate who develops projects, who finances projects. and who buys the product. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65665,"content":65666},{"textAlign":49},[65667],{"text":65668,"type":596},"Country-to-country agreements can only provide a mechanism to encourage companies to talk but you still need to have the incentives, the sources of capital, be it tax incentives or fiscal incentives that enable European companies to be competitive in going out and competing with American companies and others in accessing critical mineral projects.","Eramet is one of Europe’s largest and oldest mining companies. It can trace its history back to 1880 when Société Le Nickel (SLN) was founded in New Caledonia. It has also been mining manganese in Gabon since 1996. Now the company is looking to supply metal to the global battery markets, from its Centenario-Ratones lithium […]",[65671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65672},{"job_title":557,"image":65673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9e96ce6c-f082-4901-88ec-ff7bcc615f76\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65676,65677],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":65679,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65680,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7a2c12e07/bm-portrait-geoff-streeton.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 20, 2023",{"id":65683,"uuid":65684,"name":65685,"slug":65686,"full_slug":65687,"content":65688},112470417090426,"fd311056-9496-4511-a06b-67790156a07f","Global anode producers will struggle to compete with China’s giants","global-anode-producers-will-struggle-to-compete-with-chinas-giants","article/global-anode-producers-will-struggle-to-compete-with-chinas-giants",{"_uid":65689,"date":65690,"tags":65691,"editor":65696,"content":65700,"excerpt":65798,"featured":51,"reporter":65799,"_editable":65803,"component":697,"seo_title":65685,"categories":65804,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":65806,"seo_description":65798,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65808},"b33d2e8c-b23a-4938-82c2-715ba21f3eb9","2023-11-17 00:00",[65692,65695],{"slug":65693,"name":65694},"benchmark-week-2023","Benchmark Week 2023",{"slug":52182,"name":52183},[65697],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65698},{"job_title":557,"image":65699,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":65701},[65702,65707,65712,65722,65740,65747,65752,65757,65767,65772,65777],{"type":591,"attrs":65703,"content":65704},{"textAlign":49},[65705],{"text":65706,"type":596},"Global anode producers will struggle to compete with the largest Chinese producers of the battery material without innovation, Benchmark analyst Albert Li said at the Benchmark Week 2023 conference in Los Angeles.",{"type":591,"attrs":65708,"content":65709},{"textAlign":49},[65710],{"text":65711,"type":596},"“Unless there is any revolutionary anode product that changes the whole picture, future anode producers outside China will have to compete directly with the giants in China,” said Li.",{"type":591,"attrs":65713,"content":65714},{"textAlign":49},[65715,65717,65721],{"text":65716,"type":596},"China’s BTR New Energy, Shanshan and Putailai together have a combined market share of 46%, up from 41% in 2016, according to the ",{"text":52212,"type":596,"marks":65718},[65719],{"type":606,"attrs":65720},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65723,"content":65724},{"textAlign":49},[65725,65727,65733,65735,65739],{"text":65726,"type":596},"China accounts for ",{"text":65728,"type":596,"marks":65729},"92% of anode production globally",[65730],{"type":606,"attrs":65731},{"href":65732,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/in-charts-why-decoupling-from-chinas-anode-market-could-be-difficult-for-the-west",{"text":65734,"type":596}," and is still forecast to account for 80% of the total anode production by 2030, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":65736},[65737],{"type":606,"attrs":65738},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65741,"content":65742},{"textAlign":49},[65743],{"type":836,"attrs":65744},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65745,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65746},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e046c9e679/bm-chinese-anode-expansions.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":65748,"content":65749},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65750],{"text":65751,"type":596},"The big anode rush",{"type":591,"attrs":65753,"content":65754},{"textAlign":49},[65755],{"text":65756,"type":596},"Li said in 2016 a typical anode factory in China had a capacity of 5,000 tonnes a year. Production in China reached 100,000 tonnes that year in the country. Just two years later anode production doubled in China to over 200,000 tonnes a year and Shanshan announced the construction of China’s first 100,000 tonnes a year anode factory in Inner Mongolia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65758,"content":65759},{"textAlign":49},[65760,65762,65766],{"text":65761,"type":596},"Since 2016 China’s top three anode producers have been at the forefront of transforming the anode industry to meet the ever growing demands of the electric vehicle battery industry – with each company increasing production by more than 10 times over that period, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":65763},[65764],{"type":606,"attrs":65765},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":65768,"content":65769},{"textAlign":49},[65770],{"text":65771,"type":596},"Li said Shanshan has since announced even bigger projects — a 200,000 tonnes a year capacity factory in Sichuan in 2021 and another 300,000 tonnes a year capacity factory in Yunnan.",{"type":591,"attrs":65773,"content":65774},{"textAlign":49},[65775],{"text":65776,"type":596},"Besides Shanshan, other leading anode producers in China have announced large projects with capacities both in the domestic market as well as overseas. These include BTR, Putailai, Dongdao, Shangtai, and Carbon One among others.",{"type":591,"attrs":65778,"content":65779},{"textAlign":49},[65780,65782,65788,65790,65796],{"text":65781,"type":596},"Shanshan said last month it will",{"text":65783,"type":596,"marks":65784}," invest",[65785],{"type":606,"attrs":65786},{"href":65787,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-shanshan-to-build-e1-28-billion-synthetic-anode-plant-in-finland",{"text":65789,"type":596}," EUR 1.28 billion ($1.35 billion) to build a synthetic graphite anode facility in Finland with a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year of anodes, constructed in two phases of 50,000 tonnes. Putailai ",{"text":65791,"type":596,"marks":65792},"said in May it would build",[65793],{"type":606,"attrs":65794},{"href":65795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-anode-market-set-to-accelerate-with-putailai-talga-plants",{"text":65797,"type":596}," a SEK 15.7 billion ($1.4 billion) synthetic graphite anode facility in Sweden.","Global anode producers will struggle to compete with the largest Chinese producers of the battery material without innovation, Benchmark analyst Albert Li said at the Benchmark Week 2023 conference in Los Angeles. “Unless there is any revolutionary anode product that changes the whole picture, future anode producers outside China will have to compete directly with […]",[65800],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65801},{"job_title":557,"image":65802,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b33d2e8c-b23a-4938-82c2-715ba21f3eb9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65805],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18336,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":65807,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 17, 2023",{"id":65810,"uuid":65811,"name":65812,"slug":65813,"full_slug":65814,"content":65815},112470412318585,"94d32808-5b71-4f46-ab8b-d1077379f584","US rare earth industry needs bigger players to take on risk, says MP Materials","us-rare-earth-industry-needs-bigger-players-to-take-on-risk-says-mp-materials","article/us-rare-earth-industry-needs-bigger-players-to-take-on-risk-says-mp-materials",{"_uid":65816,"date":65690,"tags":65817,"editor":65820,"content":65824,"excerpt":65992,"featured":51,"reporter":65993,"_editable":65997,"component":697,"seo_title":65812,"categories":65998,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66002,"seo_description":65992,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":65808},"cfba7c7d-7b87-43a5-8e32-800b0f8219b5",[65818,65819],{"slug":65693,"name":65694},{"slug":572,"name":573},[65821],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65822},{"job_title":557,"image":65823,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":65825},[65826,65837,65842,65855,65868,65873,65878,65890,65895,65900,65905,65910,65915,65920,65925,65930,65935,65940,65945,65950,65955,65960,65965,65970,65975,65980,65985],{"type":591,"attrs":65827,"content":65828},{"textAlign":49},[65829,65831,65835],{"text":65830,"type":596},"The US rare earths sector needs large companies capable of taking risks, as low prices make new projects challenging, according to James Litinsky, chief executive of MP Materials, the country’s only ",{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":65832},[65833],{"type":606,"attrs":65834},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65836,"type":596}," miner. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65838,"content":65839},{"textAlign":49},[65840],{"text":65841,"type":596},"“Our best hope is to make sure that we lower the cost of capital for the companies that have the scale to get this done,” Litinsky told the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65843,"content":65844},{"textAlign":49},[65845,65847,65853],{"text":65846,"type":596},"China dominates not just the global production of rare earth ores and oxides but also rare earth ",{"text":65848,"type":596,"marks":65849},"permanent magnets",[65850],{"type":606,"attrs":65851},{"href":65852,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rare-earth-magnets-unlikely-to-be-substituted-any-time-soon",{"text":65854,"type":596}," (REPMs) used in wind turbines and electric vehicle (EV) motors as well as industrial machinery and personal electronics.",{"type":591,"attrs":65856,"content":65857},{"textAlign":49},[65858,65860,65866],{"text":65859,"type":596},"The US ",{"text":65861,"type":596,"marks":65862},"government has been building",[65863],{"type":606,"attrs":65864},{"href":65865,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-targets-rare-earth-magnet-industry",{"text":65867,"type":596}," an end-to-end rare earths domestic supply chain that includes high-value magnet manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65869,"content":65870},{"textAlign":49},[65871],{"text":65872,"type":596},"MP Materials is driving this mine-to-magnet buildout, having been awarded two Department of Defense contracts worth $44.6 million in total to support development of its rare earth processing facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":65874,"content":65875},{"textAlign":49},[65876],{"text":65877,"type":596},"The company is also developing a new REPM factory at Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a deal to supply General Motors. Feedstock will come from MP’s Mountain Pass mine in California, one of only two major rare earths mining operations outside of Myanmar and China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65879,"content":65880},{"textAlign":49},[65881,65883,65888],{"text":65882,"type":596},"Yet ",{"text":65884,"type":596,"marks":65885},"low prices",[65886],{"type":606,"attrs":65887},{"href":64632,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":65889,"type":596}," stemming from high output in China has made a “significant portion” of the industry unprofitable, Litinsky said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65891,"content":65892},{"textAlign":49},[65893],{"text":65894,"type":596},"“At these prices, there is not a single new rare earth project … that’s economic,” stated Litinsky. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65896,"content":65897},{"textAlign":49},[65898],{"text":65899,"type":596},"Ex-China producers face higher costs and greater pressure to earn back investments than their established Chinese counterparts, which enjoy strong state backing, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":65901,"content":65902},{"textAlign":49},[65903],{"text":65904,"type":596},"Smaller players also face “treacherous” conditions in the capital market. Investors have drawn back from the critical minerals industry as EV penetration growth rates slowed over 2023, he added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65906,"content":65907},{"textAlign":49},[65908],{"text":65909,"type":596},"In this context, Litinsky said that rare earths buildout needs the involvement of larger companies, citing the oil majors as the sorts of entities with the scaling capacity required.",{"type":591,"attrs":65911,"content":65912},{"textAlign":49},[65913],{"text":65914,"type":596},"“We should be hugging Exxon, Chevron, Valero, you know these major project companies that have the scale to take on a lot of projects that are going to take a lot of time,” he said. “The capital won’t get to the right place if we have a bunch of single proprietors out there.”",{"type":591,"attrs":65916,"content":65917},{"textAlign":49},[65918],{"text":65919,"type":596},"Litinsky, who ran a hedge fund in Chicago for fifteen years before founding MP Materials, appreciates the need to instil investor confidence in an industry prone to negative return on capital even “in good times.”",{"type":591,"attrs":65921,"content":65922},{"textAlign":49},[65923],{"text":65924,"type":596},"“It’s a challenging business to be in and it really does take an understanding of both sides of the table,” said Litinsky, referring to mining companies and the financial community. ",{"type":615,"attrs":65926,"content":65927},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65928],{"text":65929,"type":596},"MP leads US rare earths buildout",{"type":591,"attrs":65931,"content":65932},{"textAlign":49},[65933],{"text":65934,"type":596},"Litinsky says his company is in a better position than most to weather the current market because it is already making money and has capital. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65936,"content":65937},{"textAlign":49},[65938],{"text":65939,"type":596},"MP’s processing facility at Mountain Pass is forecast to be the world’s third biggest producer for praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide in 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":65941,"content":65942},{"textAlign":49},[65943],{"text":65944,"type":596},"The company’s 60K project, announced in November 2023, aims to increase processed rare earths output by 50% within four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":65946,"content":65947},{"textAlign":49},[65948],{"text":65949,"type":596},"MP’s currently sells most of its products on the Asian market due to the concentration of global refining capacity there.",{"type":591,"attrs":65951,"content":65952},{"textAlign":49},[65953],{"text":65954,"type":596},"However, Litinsky stated the company’s vision is to develop a full non-China supply chain, underlining the importance of domestic magnet capacity for US supply security. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65956,"content":65957},{"textAlign":49},[65958],{"text":65959,"type":596},"“We could have all the rare earths in the world in the US but if we haven’t found the capability to go downstream in some efficient … capacity, we haven’t solved any problem. It doesn’t do us any good if everything we make is going to a single point of failure in China,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":65961,"content":65962},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[65963],{"text":65964,"type":596},"Low prices",{"type":591,"attrs":65966,"content":65967},{"textAlign":49},[65968],{"text":65969,"type":596},"Litinsky said MP Materials’ financial security and competitiveness rests on its Mountain Pass mine, which it acquired in 2017 after its previous owner went bankrupt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65971,"content":65972},{"textAlign":49},[65973],{"text":65974,"type":596},"“I had the benefit of getting somebody else’s $2 billion mistake. That’s a great way to start, if you can start by buying somebody else’s capital at pennies on the dollar,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":65976,"content":65977},{"textAlign":49},[65978],{"text":65979,"type":596},"Yet even as a relatively established producer, MP Materials’ financial performance has been hit by low prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":65981,"content":65982},{"textAlign":49},[65983],{"text":65984,"type":596},"The company reported a 83% year-on-year drop in adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 when realised prices per tonne of rare earth oxide were 51% lower from the same period in the previous year.",{"type":591,"attrs":65986,"content":65987},{"textAlign":49},[65988],{"type":836,"attrs":65989},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":65990,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":65991},"https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/iEAAocTnIBF58u11svic0in1h_GvJXgGac7eo6rWG6lxbd1icfIlTsO21wM5R0Rk-jxk02gJBeUW9azBYAqbWDpKHVEBlOfiCrrTgtXU2vSftwfeMg7lTCaDh468jfx0sXuBBR8-oZm52ygogn1i4Gk",{},"The US rare earths sector needs large companies capable of taking risks, as low prices make new projects challenging, according to James Litinsky, chief executive of MP Materials, the country’s only rare earths miner. “Our best hope is to make sure that we lower the cost of capital for the companies that have the scale […]",[65994],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":65995},{"job_title":557,"image":65996,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cfba7c7d-7b87-43a5-8e32-800b0f8219b5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[65999,66000,66001],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":66003,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":66003,"source":547,"filename":66004,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66005,"is_external_url":51},"James Litinsky CEO and founder of MP materials rare earth producer on stage at Benchmark Week","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aa39dd6da7/bm-james-litinsky-ceo-and-founder-of-mp-materials-rare-earth-producer.jpg",{"alt":66003,"title":66003,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":66007,"uuid":66008,"name":66009,"slug":66010,"full_slug":66011,"content":66012},112470446307200,"b21e6c34-200d-4024-8a1f-4b43092405b3","Low lithium prices risk delaying investment in new supply, Allkem says","low-lithium-prices-risk-delaying-investment-in-new-supply-allkem-says","article/low-lithium-prices-risk-delaying-investment-in-new-supply-allkem-says",{"_uid":66013,"date":66014,"tags":66015,"editor":66017,"content":66021,"excerpt":66158,"featured":51,"reporter":66159,"_editable":66163,"component":697,"seo_title":66009,"categories":66164,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66166,"seo_description":66158,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66169},"a1784dc6-90e2-4692-a896-d349f53a2864","2023-11-15 00:00",[66016],{"slug":65693,"name":65694},[66018],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66019},{"job_title":557,"image":66020,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66022},[66023,66028,66033,66038,66043,66056,66061,66066,66076,66081,66086,66091,66098,66103,66108,66113,66118,66123,66128,66133,66138,66143,66148,66153],{"type":591,"attrs":66024,"content":66025},{"textAlign":49},[66026],{"text":66027,"type":596},"Falling lithium prices could delay investment in new mines that will be needed to meet rising demand this decade, according to producer Allkem. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66029,"content":66030},{"textAlign":49},[66031],{"text":66032,"type":596},"Chinese lithium prices have fallen over 70% this year, due to a slowdown in demand in China and a rise in supply from new mines. Prices for lithium hydroxide have been particularly hard hit, falling by 75% to below $20,000 a tonne.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":66034,"content":66035},{"textAlign":49},[66036],{"text":66037,"type":596},"But this makes it more difficult for explorers and developers to get funding, with investor’s risk appetite dampened by the lower price environment, Christian Barbier, chief sales and marketing officer of Allkem, said during a keynote presentation at Benchmark Week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66039,"content":66040},{"textAlign":49},[66041],{"text":66042,"type":596},"“As a consequence, supplier response at current levels is likely to be delayed. This in turn will naturally feed into the stop and go behaviour of the upstream lithium industry,” Barbier said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66044,"content":66045},{"textAlign":49},[66046,66048,66054],{"text":66047,"type":596},"Allkem is set to merge with rival Livent at the beginning of next year, to ",{"text":66049,"type":596,"marks":66050},"create",[66051],{"type":606,"attrs":66052},{"href":66053,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/livent-and-allkem-merger-to-create-10-6-billion-lithium-producer",{"text":66055,"type":596}," what it says will be the world’s third biggest lithium producer by capacity this decade. The new entity will be called Arcadium Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":66057,"content":66058},{"textAlign":49},[66059],{"text":66060,"type":596},"Livent said this week it has received all required regulatory approvals in connection with the merger. The company said the deal is likely to close on January 4.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":66062,"content":66063},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66064],{"text":66065,"type":596},"Falling lithium prices",{"type":591,"attrs":66067,"content":66068},{"textAlign":49},[66069,66071],{"text":66070,"type":596},"Global weighted average lithium prices have fallen 63% year-to-date, according to ",{"text":66072,"type":596,"marks":66073},"Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",[66074],{"type":606,"attrs":66075},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":66077,"content":66078},{"textAlign":49},[66079],{"text":66080,"type":596},"After reaching a record high in 2022, prices for battery grade lithium carbonate in China are currently sitting at $21,775 a tonne while lithium hydroxide prices are at $19,925 per tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66082,"content":66083},{"textAlign":49},[66084],{"text":66085,"type":596},"“Lithium is an immature market, where players are still probing to discover the right price for lithium in a very complex supply and demand situation,” Barbier said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66087,"content":66088},{"textAlign":49},[66089],{"text":66090,"type":596},"The challenge to grow capacity over the next 10 years in the lithium industry is at every step of the supply chain, Barbier added, from the miner to the converter, the cathode maker, the cell and battery producers and to the OEM.",{"type":591,"attrs":66092,"content":66093},{"textAlign":49},[66094],{"type":836,"attrs":66095},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66096,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66097},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0fe8890b1c/bm-lithium-prices-since-december-2022.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":66099,"content":66100},{"textAlign":49},[66101],{"text":66102,"type":596},"Javier Arraztoa, lithium sales manager at Chilean producer SQM, said a price correction was expected, given the record levels lithium reached in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66104,"content":66105},{"textAlign":49},[66106],{"text":66107,"type":596},"“We were expecting a correction at some point, but we expect the market to continue to incentivise new suppliers as well because we need to,” he told the attendees of Benchmark Week in Los Angeles. ",{"type":615,"attrs":66109,"content":66110},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66111],{"text":66112,"type":596},"Optimistic on demand",{"type":591,"attrs":66114,"content":66115},{"textAlign":49},[66116],{"text":66117,"type":596},"Both lithium producers, however, said they are optimistic about demand in the long term. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66119,"content":66120},{"textAlign":49},[66121],{"text":66122,"type":596},"“This transition to electric cars to renewables and so on is huge, it’s coming, and will bring a lot of demand, so long term I am not scared of an alternative,” Arraztoa said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66124,"content":66125},{"textAlign":49},[66126],{"text":66127,"type":596},"Similarly, Allkem’s Barbier said that the strong market fundamentals for EVs remain, even after the lukewarm comments from some OEMs this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66129,"content":66130},{"textAlign":49},[66131],{"text":66132,"type":596},"“This is such a revolution in such a complex supply chain, that we’re bound to see contradicting moves and news, huge investments, new alliances, ambitious projects and delays, redeployment of capitals and partnerships. And it’s okay. It was to be expected,” Barbier said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":66134,"content":66135},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66136],{"text":66137,"type":596},"ESG price premium ",{"type":591,"attrs":66139,"content":66140},{"textAlign":49},[66141],{"text":66142,"type":596},"Another topic of discussion at Benchmark Week were ESG standards, which are a key aspect for upcoming and incumbent lithium producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":66144,"content":66145},{"textAlign":49},[66146],{"text":66147,"type":596},"“I think it’s a must …  it’s something that is going to be required … it’s having this holistic view of making a net zero car, but also being aware of the raw materials as well,” Arraztoa said.",{"type":591,"attrs":66149,"content":66150},{"textAlign":49},[66151],{"text":66152,"type":596},"Whether ESG credentials will create a price bifurcation in the lithium market has been a topic of discussion for some time, and even though a price premium is not currently in place, Barbier said he believes this could be the case at some point in the future. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66154,"content":66155},{"textAlign":49},[66156],{"text":66157,"type":596},"“The current situation is that the different feedstocks are generally mixed along the supply chain. And the ambiguity of ESG credentials actually serves the downstream players,” he said. “However, again, when consumers start to look at it, they will want to have transparency and this transparency is what will probably bring a pricing price differential.”","Falling lithium prices could delay investment in new mines that will be needed to meet rising demand this decade, according to producer Allkem. Chinese lithium prices have fallen over 70% this year, due to a slowdown in demand in China and a rise in supply from new mines. Prices for lithium hydroxide have been particularly […]",[66160],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66161},{"job_title":557,"image":66162,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a1784dc6-90e2-4692-a896-d349f53a2864\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66165],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":66167,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66168,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/55d96abe7a/bm-barbier-allkem-130877547710.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 15, 2023",{"id":66171,"uuid":66172,"name":66173,"slug":66174,"full_slug":66175,"content":66176},112470436718462,"bd0a8862-0870-4fc1-8cdb-75c9db1daeec","Arnold Schwarzenegger says lack of “political will” key obstacle to US clean energy buildout","arnold-schwarzenegger-says-lack-of-political-will-key-obstacle-to-us-clean-energy-buildout","article/arnold-schwarzenegger-says-lack-of-political-will-key-obstacle-to-us-clean-energy-buildout",{"_uid":66177,"date":66014,"tags":66178,"editor":66181,"content":66185,"excerpt":66293,"featured":51,"reporter":66294,"_editable":66298,"component":697,"seo_title":66173,"categories":66299,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66301,"seo_description":66293,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66169},"57d61a7f-3cf6-45b2-8f88-165e1acdbf57",[66179,66180],{"slug":65693,"name":65694},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[66182],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66183},{"job_title":557,"image":66184,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66186},[66187,66200,66205,66210,66223,66228,66233,66238,66243,66248,66253,66258,66263,66268,66273,66278,66283,66288],{"type":591,"attrs":66188,"content":66189},{"textAlign":49},[66190,66192,66198],{"text":66191,"type":596},"The US needs “political will” and leadership to tackle climate change and build a clean energy industry, Arnold Schwarzenegger said at the ",{"text":66193,"type":596,"marks":66194},"Benchmark Week",[66195],{"type":606,"attrs":66196},{"href":66197,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-the-battery-supply-chain-has-changed-since-the-first-benchmark-week-in-2016",{"text":66199,"type":596}," conference in Los Angeles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66201,"content":66202},{"textAlign":49},[66203],{"text":66204,"type":596},"Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of California, said Republicans and Democrats should work together to progress clean energy, citing recent meetings with both parties in Washington. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66206,"content":66207},{"textAlign":49},[66208],{"text":66209,"type":596},"“I believe very strongly that the US has the know-how and the money to go and build as many factories as we need to build batteries, and to build everything that we need,” Schwarzenegger told the conference. “But where’s the will? And where’s the vision? If you don’t have the vision, then how is it going to happen?”",{"type":591,"attrs":66211,"content":66212},{"textAlign":49},[66213,66215,66221],{"text":66214,"type":596},"Schwarzengger received Benchmark’s inaugural ",{"text":66216,"type":596,"marks":66217},"Lifetime Achievement Award",[66218],{"type":606,"attrs":66219},{"href":66220,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/arnold-schwarzenegger-to-be-presented-with-inaugural-benchmark-lifetime-achievement-award-at-benchmark-week-2023",{"text":66222,"type":596}," at the opening of the conference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66224,"content":66225},{"textAlign":49},[66226],{"text":66227,"type":596},"He told the conference that Republicans were keen on a discussion about building renewable energy in the US, citing his recent meetings in Washington with Republican Congressional leaders as well as the White House.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":66229,"content":66230},{"textAlign":49},[66231],{"text":66232,"type":596},"“They both want agreement – that we can go and create nuclear power and more renewable power,” he said. “And there’s a deal there. [But] I haven’t heard them talking to each other yet about it.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":66234,"content":66235},{"textAlign":49},[66236],{"text":66237,"type":596},"The lack of political vision in Washington had also led to a “pitiful” permitting process, Schwarzengger said.",{"type":591,"attrs":66239,"content":66240},{"textAlign":49},[66241],{"text":66242,"type":596},"“Permitting for what? We are doing something renewable – that cleans the world. How many more permits do you need for that?” He said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66244,"content":66245},{"textAlign":49},[66246],{"text":66247,"type":596},"North American demand for lithium and natural flake graphite is set to increase threefold this decade, according to Benchmark, while nickel demand is set to rise by 60%. Cobalt demand is expected to double. ",{"type":615,"attrs":66249,"content":66250},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66251],{"text":66252,"type":596},"Climate change messaging",{"type":591,"attrs":66254,"content":66255},{"textAlign":49},[66256],{"text":66257,"type":596},"The former California governor said that the messaging around climate change needed to change, with more of a focus on pollution. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66259,"content":66260},{"textAlign":49},[66261],{"text":66262,"type":596},"He said this had helped him with the opposition to the Proposition 23 referendum in California in 2010, which would have delayed California’s climate change law. It was rejected by voters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66264,"content":66265},{"textAlign":49},[66266],{"text":66267,"type":596},"“We found out that every time we used climate change to the people they didn’t kind of respond,” he said. “Because they didn’t quite know what that meant. I said let’s go back to the word ‘pollution’ because people understand it.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":66269,"content":66270},{"textAlign":49},[66271],{"text":66272,"type":596},"“We have to ‘terminate’ pollution. We have to say ‘hasta la vista baby’ to greenhouse gases.”",{"type":615,"attrs":66274,"content":66275},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66276],{"text":66277,"type":596},"California governor",{"type":591,"attrs":66279,"content":66280},{"textAlign":49},[66281],{"text":66282,"type":596},"During his time as governor of California, Schwarzenegger signed the first-in-the-nation Global Warming Solutions Act and the Million Solar Roofs Initiative. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66284,"content":66285},{"textAlign":49},[66286],{"text":66287,"type":596},"He also issued an executive order establishing the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66289,"content":66290},{"textAlign":49},[66291],{"text":66292,"type":596},"“I’m with you 100%,” he told the audience at Benchmark Week. “Because this is the only way to go, it is to go the renewable route and to go with the lithium ion batteries.”","The US needs “political will” and leadership to tackle climate change and build a clean energy industry, Arnold Schwarzenegger said at the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger, a former Republican governor of California, said Republicans and Democrats should work together to progress clean energy, citing recent meetings with both parties in Washington. “I […]",[66295],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66296},{"job_title":557,"image":66297,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"57d61a7f-3cf6-45b2-8f88-165e1acdbf57\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66300],{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":66302,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66303,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6624d294e7/bm-arnold-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":66305,"uuid":66306,"name":66307,"slug":66308,"full_slug":66309,"content":66310},112470455711618,"03da0868-25bb-49b4-adbe-8dd5956b78fd","US and Indonesia pave way for critical minerals agreement  ","us-and-indonesia-pave-way-for-critical-minerals-agreement","article/us-and-indonesia-pave-way-for-critical-minerals-agreement",{"_uid":66311,"date":66312,"tags":66313,"editor":66316,"content":66320,"excerpt":66454,"featured":51,"reporter":66455,"_editable":66459,"component":697,"seo_title":66307,"categories":66460,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66464,"seo_description":66454,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66468},"be654494-2288-4462-b63b-2e21940c2bde","2023-11-14 00:00",[66314,66315],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":572,"name":573},[66317],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66318},{"job_title":557,"image":66319,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66321},[66322,66327,66332,66337,66347,66352,66361,66368,66373,66378,66383,66394,66406,66411,66416,66421,66426,66431,66444,66449],{"type":591,"attrs":66323,"content":66324},{"textAlign":49},[66325],{"text":66326,"type":596},"Indonesian president Joko Widodo and US president Joe Biden agreed to develop a “critical minerals action plan” in talks at the White House on Monday, which could pave the way for more Indonesian nickel to enter the US electric vehicle market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66328,"content":66329},{"textAlign":49},[66330],{"text":66331,"type":596},"The two leaders agreed to support work towards a “low-greenhouse gas emissions mineral support chain” while laying the “the foundation to launch future negotiations on a critical minerals agreement.”",{"type":591,"attrs":66333,"content":66334},{"textAlign":49},[66335],{"text":66336,"type":596},"The meeting may mark the first step towards a potential trade deal that was first proposed in April 2023 by President Widodo. This could make Indonesian nickel eligible for subsidies under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which currently only allows minerals from countries with existing free trade agreements. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66338,"content":66339},{"textAlign":49},[66340,66342,66346],{"text":66341,"type":596},"Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and is set to produce 65% of the world’s refined nickel in 2032 and 66% of mined nickel according to ",{"text":33687,"type":596,"marks":66343},[66344],{"type":606,"attrs":66345},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":66348,"content":66349},{"textAlign":49},[66350],{"text":66351,"type":596},"Yet because the country does not have a free trade agreement with the US, its nickel is not eligible for subsidies under the IRA. Automakers must source a certain percentage of critical minerals from the US or FTA countries, in order to obtain a $3,750 EV tax credit under the legislation.",{"type":591,"attrs":66353,"content":66354},{"textAlign":49},[66355,66357],{"text":66356,"type":596},"Whilst battery demand for nickel is expected to increase by over 150% between 2023 and 2027, refined nickel supply from US free trade partners is only expected to increase by 35%, according to the ",{"text":23732,"type":596,"marks":66358},[66359],{"type":606,"attrs":66360},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":66362,"content":66363},{"textAlign":49},[66364],{"type":836,"attrs":66365},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66366,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66367},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b28cf597c8/bm-indonesia-nickel-supply.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66369,"content":66370},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66371],{"text":66372,"type":596},"Key hurdles",{"type":591,"attrs":66374,"content":66375},{"textAlign":49},[66376],{"text":66377,"type":596},"Still, any final deal will likely be limited in scope and take time to emerge, according to a person familiar with the matter.",{"type":591,"attrs":66379,"content":66380},{"textAlign":49},[66381],{"text":66382,"type":596},"One hurdle is that most of the nickel processing facilities in Indonesia are owned by Chinese companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66384,"content":66385},{"textAlign":49},[66386,66388,66392],{"text":66387,"type":596},"Chinese ownership could make the nickel ineligible under another clause of the IRA, which prohibits any critical minerals extracted, processed, or recycled by a “",{"text":56824,"type":596,"marks":66389},[66390],{"type":606,"attrs":66391},{"href":56841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":66393,"type":596},"” starting in 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66395,"content":66396},{"textAlign":49},[66397,66399,66404],{"text":66398,"type":596},"Chinese investment has been critical in expanding Indonesia’s nickel industry, and Chinese companies have significantly lowered the cost of processing the country’s nickel ore into battery materials. Over ",{"text":66400,"type":596,"marks":66401},"half of the country’s refined nickel output in 2032",[66402],{"type":606,"attrs":66403},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":66405,"type":596}," is due to come to majority Chinese-owned companies, according to Benchmark data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66407,"content":66408},{"textAlign":49},[66409],{"text":66410,"type":596},"The US is also likely to demand other conditions like labour and environmental protections related to the minerals sector, which could further water down any final agreement. A senior US administration official said the deal would need to be in “accordance with the highest of labour and environmental standards.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":66412,"content":66413},{"textAlign":49},[66414],{"text":66415,"type":596},"During the meeting at the White House, the two leaders talked of “the importance of strong worker and environmental protections to prevent exploitation and promote sustainability in the international mining sector.”",{"type":591,"attrs":66417,"content":66418},{"textAlign":49},[66419],{"text":66420,"type":596},"The critical minerals action plan “seeks to increase high standard investment in the critical minerals sectors in both countries,” they said, according to the White House.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":66422,"content":66423},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66424],{"text":66425,"type":596},"A controversial trade deal",{"type":591,"attrs":66427,"content":66428},{"textAlign":49},[66429],{"text":66430,"type":596},"Any deal with Indonesia could also face opposition from NGOs, unions, and political representatives, who are wary of giving freer market access to Indonesian nickel. It would also have to be approved by Congress.",{"type":591,"attrs":66432,"content":66433},{"textAlign":49},[66434,66436,66442],{"text":66435,"type":596},"In October, a bipartisan group of senators ",{"text":66437,"type":596,"marks":66438},"expressed concerns",[66439],{"type":606,"attrs":66440},{"href":66441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/us-senators-express-concern-over-indonesia-critical-minerals-deal/",{"text":66443,"type":596}," about a prospective deal with Indonesia in an open letter that cited the country’s low labour, environmental, and human rights standards and argued IRA credits “must prioritise domestic producers and existing free trade agreement partners.”",{"type":591,"attrs":66445,"content":66446},{"textAlign":49},[66447],{"text":66448,"type":596},"A group of US environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, also opposed any trade deal in a letter to Biden this month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66450,"content":66451},{"textAlign":49},[66452],{"text":66453,"type":596},"“The U.S. cannot allow benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives to extend to minerals from countries with unsafe and environmentally degrading mining practices,” it said. ","Indonesian president Joko Widodo and US president Joe Biden agreed to develop a “critical minerals action plan” in talks at the White House on Monday, which could pave the way for more Indonesian nickel to enter the US electric vehicle market. The two leaders agreed to support work towards a “low-greenhouse gas emissions mineral support […]",[66456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66457},{"job_title":557,"image":66458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"be654494-2288-4462-b63b-2e21940c2bde\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66461,66462,66463],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":66465,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":66465,"source":547,"filename":66466,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66467,"is_external_url":51},"Biden and Widodo stand facing each other in front of G20 Indonesia 2022 logo","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60bcacd2e8/bm-screenshot-2023-11-14-144813.png",{"alt":66465,"title":66465,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 14, 2023",{"id":66470,"uuid":66471,"name":66472,"slug":66473,"full_slug":66474,"content":66475},112470465406852,"2a590815-330f-4a67-9a0a-faadfd1459bf","Key takeaways from Benchmark’s Graphite Spotlight webinar","key-takeaways-from-benchmarks-graphite-spotlight-webinar","article/key-takeaways-from-benchmarks-graphite-spotlight-webinar",{"_uid":66476,"date":66477,"tags":66478,"editor":66483,"content":66487,"excerpt":66550,"featured":50,"reporter":66551,"_editable":66555,"component":697,"seo_title":66472,"categories":66556,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66559,"seo_description":66550,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66562},"7882a64b-6533-4d08-bb63-c2093486b6eb","2023-11-13 00:00",[66479,66482],{"slug":66480,"name":66481},"benchmark-webinars","Benchmark Webinars",{"slug":13866,"name":13867},[66484],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66485},{"job_title":557,"image":66486,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66488},[66489,66498,66509,66514,66519,66526,66531,66538,66543],{"type":591,"attrs":66490,"content":66491},{"textAlign":49},[66492,66494,66496],{"text":66493,"type":596},"Benchmark recently held its ",{"text":66495,"type":596},"Graphite Spotlight: The Future of Battery Anodes",{"text":66497,"type":596}," webinar.",{"type":591,"attrs":66499,"content":66500},{"textAlign":49},[66501,66503,66507],{"text":66502,"type":596},"The webinar discussed the state of the natural and synthetic graphite markets; the recent ",{"text":6572,"type":596,"marks":66504},[66505],{"type":606,"attrs":66506},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":66508,"type":596}," by China of increased controls on some graphite exports; and the current low price environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":66510,"content":66511},{"textAlign":49},[66512],{"text":66513,"type":596},"Here are the key takeaways from the speakers:",{"type":615,"attrs":66515,"content":66516},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66517],{"text":66518,"type":596},"Tony Alderson, analyst: ",{"type":591,"attrs":66520,"content":66521},{"textAlign":49},[66522],{"type":836,"attrs":66523},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66524,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66525},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/50ac0805bf/bm-global-anode-capacity-pipeline-ta.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66527,"content":66528},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66529],{"text":66530,"type":596},"Yuan Gu, senior graphite analyst:",{"type":591,"attrs":66532,"content":66533},{"textAlign":49},[66534],{"type":836,"attrs":66535},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66536,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66537},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3495d76e61/bm-synthetic-anode-share-yg.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66539,"content":66540},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66541],{"text":66542,"type":596},"Richard Cooke, consultant:",{"type":591,"attrs":66544,"content":66545},{"textAlign":49},[66546],{"type":836,"attrs":66547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66548,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66549},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a637fbf19f/bm-china-dominate-supply-chain-rc.png",{},"Benchmark recently held its Graphite Spotlight: The Future of Battery Anodes webinar. The webinar discussed the state of the natural and synthetic graphite markets; the recent announcement by China of increased controls on some graphite exports; and the current low price environment. Here are the key takeaways from the speakers: Tony Alderson, analyst: Yuan Gu, […]",[66552],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66553},{"job_title":557,"image":66554,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7882a64b-6533-4d08-bb63-c2093486b6eb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66557,66558],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":66495,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":66495,"source":547,"filename":66560,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66561,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/66bdc7bfb5/bm-graphite-webinar-web-image.png",{"alt":66495,"title":66495,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 13, 2023",{"id":66564,"uuid":66565,"name":66566,"slug":66567,"full_slug":66568,"content":66569},112470484961161,"03b4a736-4ee8-4266-b12e-122e4a439ea0","In charts: solid-state batteries and the route to commercialisation","in-charts-solid-state-batteries-and-the-route-to-commercialisation","article/in-charts-solid-state-batteries-and-the-route-to-commercialisation",{"_uid":66570,"date":66571,"tags":66572,"editor":66574,"content":66578,"excerpt":66762,"featured":51,"reporter":66763,"_editable":66767,"component":697,"seo_title":66566,"categories":66768,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66770,"seo_description":66762,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66773},"89427910-0254-4a5f-9c95-67019cb21bac","2023-11-10 00:00",[66573],{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[66575],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66576},{"job_title":557,"image":66577,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66579},[66580,66593,66598,66610,66615,66620,66625,66630,66635,66640,66645,66650,66657,66662,66667,66672,66679,66684,66689,66696,66701,66706,66711,66718,66723,66728,66733,66740,66745,66750,66755],{"type":591,"attrs":66581,"content":66582},{"textAlign":49},[66583,66585,66591],{"text":66584,"type":596},"This week US battery startup Solid Power said it had shipped its first sample cells to BMW for testing, marking the first sulfide-based ",{"text":66586,"type":596,"marks":66587},"solid-state battery",[66588],{"type":606,"attrs":66589},{"href":66590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state/",{"text":66592,"type":596}," to submit to formal qualification. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66594,"content":66595},{"textAlign":49},[66596],{"text":66597,"type":596},"The Colorado-based company said the delivery of A-sample cells marks the beginning of the “formal automotive qualification process,” a period that can take between four to six years. If successful, it could lead to the roll-out of the company’s cells in electric cars. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66599,"content":66600},{"textAlign":49},[66601,66603,66608],{"text":66602,"type":596},"The transition from pre-A to A-sample is a critical milestone towards ",{"text":66604,"type":596,"marks":66605},"commercialisation",[66606],{"type":606,"attrs":66607},{"href":63079,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":66609,"type":596},", where a prospective technology will be rigorously assessed and must meet strict manufacturing, reliability, and consistency requirements and timelines. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66611,"content":66612},{"textAlign":49},[66613],{"text":66614,"type":596},"Taiwan’s ProLogium and US startup QuantumScape have also confirmed their intentions to enter formal automotive qualification by the end of 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":66616,"content":66617},{"textAlign":49},[66618],{"text":66619,"type":596},"Solid Power is one of a number of startups working on solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, which promise greater safety, higher energy density and faster charging times by replacing the current separator and liquid electrolyte used in current batteries with a solid material that can enable the use of next-generation anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":66621,"content":66622},{"textAlign":49},[66623],{"text":66624,"type":596},"The largest automotive companies, including Toyota and Volkswagen, have invested in the technology. Toyota said this year that it had made a “breakthrough” in solid-state batteries, and expects the batteries to be launched between 2027 and 2028. Samsung SDI has also said it will have a pilot line for solid state batteries in South Korea this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66626,"content":66627},{"textAlign":49},[66628],{"text":66629,"type":596},"Solid-state batteries have already been commercialised in several applications – however, the golden goose of mass market EVs still remains some time away. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66631,"content":66632},{"textAlign":49},[66633],{"text":66634,"type":596},"Here Benchmark looks at the route to commercialisation of solid-state batteries.",{"type":615,"attrs":66636,"content":66637},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66638],{"text":66639,"type":596},"Starting at the lab",{"type":591,"attrs":66641,"content":66642},{"textAlign":49},[66643],{"text":66644,"type":596},"When we first hear about a prospective commercial technology, it is likely that 10+ years have been spent developing that product since its first inception in the lab. The truth is, the majority of lab-scale innovations never make it that far.",{"type":591,"attrs":66646,"content":66647},{"textAlign":49},[66648],{"text":66649,"type":596},"Several solid-state battery innovators have scaled their technologies to the many Ah (ampere-hours) and have established large-scale R&D facilities and pilot production lines to enable technical qualification – this marks huge commercial progress.",{"type":591,"attrs":66651,"content":66652},{"textAlign":49},[66653],{"type":836,"attrs":66654},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66655,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66656},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5ae03f56da/bm-from-lab-to-launch-solid-state.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66658,"content":66659},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66660],{"text":66661,"type":596},"Meeting automaker qualification criteria",{"type":591,"attrs":66663,"content":66664},{"textAlign":49},[66665],{"text":66666,"type":596},"To be successfully employed in commercial automotive applications, a prospective cell chemistry must undergo rigorous testing by OEMs to ensure that the technology is both suitable for purpose and can be manufactured at the scale, consistency, and reliability that is required for automotive applications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66668,"content":66669},{"textAlign":49},[66670],{"text":66671,"type":596},"Each prospective partner will have targets, expectations, and time restrictions for this process – officially entering this procedure is both a boost in an innovator’s technology, and a huge risk for commercial prospects, where failure could sour sentiment.",{"type":591,"attrs":66673,"content":66674},{"textAlign":49},[66675],{"type":836,"attrs":66676},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66677,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66678},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f8a7a4d811/bm-the-many-stages-of-automotive-qualification-solid-state.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66680,"content":66681},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66682],{"text":66683,"type":596},"Solid-state facilities are being established globally",{"type":591,"attrs":66685,"content":66686},{"textAlign":49},[66687],{"text":66688,"type":596},"The number of large-scale solid-state facilities has increased dramatically between the end of 2021 and the end of 2023. In line with formal automotive qualification, this acceleration is set to continue to 2025 and beyond – but the next two years will be critical in determining the winners and losers of the solid-state battery race.",{"type":591,"attrs":66690,"content":66691},{"textAlign":49},[66692],{"type":836,"attrs":66693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66694,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66695},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4600603615/bm-large-scale-solid-state-battery-factories.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66697,"content":66698},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66699],{"text":66700,"type":596},"Early capacity expansions could see short-term oversupply ",{"type":591,"attrs":66702,"content":66703},{"textAlign":49},[66704],{"text":66705,"type":596},"With the majority of companies expected to initiate the formal automotive qualification procedure by the end of 2025, demand growth over the next four to eight years will be largely determined by the requirements of these qualification processes and the extent to which they are successful. These timelines paint a realistic first EV commercialisation target of 2028 – 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66707,"content":66708},{"textAlign":49},[66709],{"text":66710,"type":596},"Ambitious capacity expansion plans announced by innovators paint the picture of an oversupply in the near-term, indicating that capacity roll out will likely be pushed back as part of a natural timeline of development for this emerging market.",{"type":591,"attrs":66712,"content":66713},{"textAlign":49},[66714],{"type":836,"attrs":66715},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66716,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66717},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0c809e9827/bm-near-term-oversupply-solid-state-batteries.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66719,"content":66720},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66721],{"text":66722,"type":596},"Asia will lead expansions",{"type":591,"attrs":66724,"content":66725},{"textAlign":49},[66726],{"text":66727,"type":596},"With several Chinese companies announcing partnerships with automakers for demonstration vehicles, albeit using graphite and silicon-graphite composite anode materials, Asia looks set to lead the early expansion of the solid-state battery market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66729,"content":66730},{"textAlign":49},[66731],{"text":66732,"type":596},"A mid-term outlook to 2030, however, paints a more balanced picture of the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66734,"content":66735},{"textAlign":49},[66736],{"type":836,"attrs":66737},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66738,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66739},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2574541185/bm-asia-to-dominate-solid-state-batteries.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66741,"content":66742},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66743],{"text":66744,"type":596},"When can we expect commercial solid state batteries?",{"type":591,"attrs":66746,"content":66747},{"textAlign":49},[66748],{"text":66749,"type":596},"It is likely that upon first commercialisation, solid-state batteries will struggle to compete with state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries on a cost basis and will therefore be reserved for luxury applications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66751,"content":66752},{"textAlign":49},[66753],{"text":66754,"type":596},"As these technologies and supply chains mature, and cost parity on a per kWh basis is achieved, mass market EV penetration may be realised. Benchmark believes luxury applications could be accessed in 2028-2030, with mass market penetration expected between 2033-2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":66756,"content":66757},{"textAlign":49},[66758],{"type":836,"attrs":66759},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66760,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66761},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/89292427c3/bm-when-can-we-expect-solid-state-batteries-2.png",{},"This week US battery startup Solid Power said it had shipped its first sample cells to BMW for testing, marking the first sulfide-based solid-state battery to submit to formal qualification. The Colorado-based company said the delivery of A-sample cells marks the beginning of the “formal automotive qualification process,” a period that can take between four […]",[66764],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66765},{"job_title":557,"image":66766,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"89427910-0254-4a5f-9c95-67019cb21bac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66769],{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":66771,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66772,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0317b5496f/bm-solidpower-day1-16-jpg.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 10, 2023",{"id":66775,"uuid":66776,"name":66777,"slug":66778,"full_slug":66779,"content":66780},112470480172935,"9060a3d5-118a-4e8f-a932-27594d4c763d","Tesla set to maintain US battery dominance this decade","tesla-set-to-maintain-us-battery-dominance-this-decade","article/tesla-set-to-maintain-us-battery-dominance-this-decade",{"_uid":66781,"date":66571,"tags":66782,"editor":66783,"content":66787,"excerpt":66883,"featured":51,"reporter":66884,"_editable":66888,"component":697,"seo_title":66777,"categories":66889,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":66892,"seo_description":66883,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":66773},"40afa687-a207-4dad-8287-6c5100239030",[],[66784],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66785},{"job_title":557,"image":66786,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66788},[66789,66794,66805,66810,66815,66820,66825,66830,66837,66842,66858,66863,66868,66873,66878],{"type":591,"attrs":66790,"content":66791},{"textAlign":49},[66792],{"text":66793,"type":596},"Tesla is set to maintain the battery dominance among US automakers by the end of the decade, with one fifth of the market, including production from its joint venture with Panasonic. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66795,"content":66796},{"textAlign":49},[66797,66799,66804],{"text":66798,"type":596},"Tesla’s total production is forecast to reach 172 GWh, or about 21% of total US cell production according to the ",{"text":66800,"type":596,"marks":66801},"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Database ",[66802],{"type":606,"attrs":66803},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":66806,"content":66807},{"textAlign":49},[66808],{"text":66809,"type":596},"The Nevada gigafactory is set to produce 34 GWh while the rest will come from Tesla’s own supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":66811,"content":66812},{"textAlign":49},[66813],{"text":66814,"type":596},"Tesla leads the way in domestically owned cell capacity in the US. Following its first gigafactory in conjunction with Panasonic, Tesla opened its own facility in Fremont and in April 2022, the company opened its third gigafactory in Texas. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66816,"content":66817},{"textAlign":49},[66818],{"text":66819,"type":596},"The site in Texas is Tesla’s biggest property to date and offers potential to be the company’s leading manufacturing plant, with plans to build capacity that could eventually surpass the capacity of Gigafactory 1 in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":66821,"content":66822},{"textAlign":49},[66823],{"text":66824,"type":596},"Tesla has been ramping up its 4680 battery cell production in Giga Texas. The company said last month that 4680 cell production increased 40% quarter over quarter and that it had produced 20 million cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66826,"content":66827},{"textAlign":49},[66828],{"text":66829,"type":596},"“By making these agreements and investing in battery capacity earlier than other legacy automakers, Tesla is in the best position to ensure adequate ramp up in production vs other automakers and best positioned to take advantage of the production tax credits on offer as part of the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Aran Waid, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":66831,"content":66832},{"textAlign":49},[66833],{"type":836,"attrs":66834},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":66835,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66836},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0f53ad38fa/bm-us-oem-cell-making-2030.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":66838,"content":66839},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66840],{"text":66841,"type":596},"Other automakers catch up",{"type":591,"attrs":66843,"content":66844},{"textAlign":49},[66845,66851,66853,66857],{"text":66846,"type":596,"marks":66847},"Tesla’s",[66848],{"type":606,"attrs":66849},{"href":66850,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-charts-a-battery-powered-future-key-takeaways-from-2023-investor-day",{"text":66852,"type":596}," US battery production, most from the Nevada gigafactory, is set to reach 39.5 gigawatt hours (GWh), or about 69% of the country’s total battery production at the end of this year, according to the ",{"text":32969,"type":596,"marks":66854},[66855],{"type":606,"attrs":66856},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":66859,"content":66860},{"textAlign":49},[66861],{"text":66862,"type":596},"In contrast, among US automakers, GM’s battery production in partnership with LG Energy Solution (LGES) is forecast to reach 2 GWh by the end of 2023, or just about 3% of the total US cell production, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66864,"content":66865},{"textAlign":49},[66866],{"text":66867,"type":596},"GM and legacy rival Ford will by the end of the 2030 ramp up their US cell production to 129 GWh and 111.5 GWh respectively, including joint ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":66869,"content":66870},{"textAlign":49},[66871],{"text":66872,"type":596},"Besides LGES, Detroit-based GM also has a $3 billion joint venture battery plant plan in the US with Samsung SDI. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66874,"content":66875},{"textAlign":49},[66876],{"text":66877,"type":596},"Ford has announced partnerships with SK Innovation and China’s CATL, Stellantis with Samsung SDI; Honda with LGES; and Hyundai with LGES and SK Innovation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66879,"content":66880},{"textAlign":49},[66881],{"text":66882,"type":596},"Japanese automaker Toyota is also spending nearly $14 billion in North Carolina to make batteries for electric vehicles.","Tesla is set to maintain the battery dominance among US automakers by the end of the decade, with one fifth of the market, including production from its joint venture with Panasonic. Tesla’s total production is forecast to reach 172 GWh, or about 21% of total US cell production according to the Benchmark Lithium ion Battery […]",[66885],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66886},{"job_title":557,"image":66887,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"40afa687-a207-4dad-8287-6c5100239030\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[66890,66891],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":66893,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":66894,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e624922d97/bm-5-gigafactorytexas-01.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":66896,"uuid":66897,"name":66898,"slug":66899,"full_slug":66900,"content":66901},112470489720714,"7e1c5466-a467-471e-adca-9f45d75f0441","What is black mass and how is it priced?","what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced","article/what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced",{"_uid":66902,"date":66903,"tags":66904,"editor":66909,"content":66913,"excerpt":67118,"featured":51,"reporter":67119,"_editable":67123,"component":697,"seo_title":66898,"categories":67124,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":67127,"featured_image":67129,"seo_description":67131,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":67132},"802b6665-5978-414e-b6f4-634ed952408e","2023-11-09 00:00",[66905,66906,66907,66908],{"slug":10037,"name":373},{"slug":10039,"name":10040},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[66910],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":66911},{"job_title":557,"image":66912,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":66914},[66915,66926,66931,66936,66941,66946,66951,66956,66961,66966,66971,66976,66987,66995,67000,67005,67010,67015,67020,67025,67030,67035,67040,67045,67050,67055,67060,67065,67078,67083,67088,67093,67098,67103,67108,67113],{"type":591,"attrs":66916,"content":66917},{"textAlign":49},[66918,66920,66924],{"text":66919,"type":596},"As investment in lithium ion battery recycling capacity increases, the pricing and availability of ",{"text":29770,"type":596,"marks":66921},[66922],{"type":606,"attrs":66923},{"href":21301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":66925,"type":596}," is becoming increasingly important.",{"type":591,"attrs":66927,"content":66928},{"textAlign":49},[66929],{"text":66930,"type":596},"This valuable material, a mix of crushed metals produced by shredding battery scrap, is often exported to Asia from the West. But a buildout of recycling plants in Europe and North America could keep more of that material in those regions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":66932,"content":66933},{"textAlign":49},[66934],{"text":66935,"type":596},"We take a look at what black mass is and how it is priced. ",{"type":615,"attrs":66937,"content":66938},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66939],{"text":66940,"type":596},"How is black mass produced?",{"type":591,"attrs":66942,"content":66943},{"textAlign":49},[66944],{"text":66945,"type":596},"When a lithium ion battery reaches the end of its useful life it is collected for recycling and sent to a pretreatment facility. Here the batteries are shredded. This produces a mixture of materials including scrap metal, plastic waste, and black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":66947,"content":66948},{"textAlign":49},[66949],{"text":66950,"type":596},"“Once you’ve shredded these batteries, you can use magnetic separation and sieving in order to separate out the casing, the electrode foils and the active material mixture that’s known as black mass,” Beatrice Browning, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":66952,"content":66953},{"textAlign":49},[66954],{"text":66955,"type":596},"The black mass contains valuable lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. However, at this stage it can also contain some organic compounds from the electrolyte and binders, so some recyclers put the material through an extra heat treatment step to remove these.",{"type":591,"attrs":66957,"content":66958},{"textAlign":49},[66959],{"text":66960,"type":596},"To increase the efficiency of the pre-treatment stage, recyclers will often locate these facilities near areas with large amounts of waste, such as close to a gigafactory or near areas with large amounts of electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":66962,"content":66963},{"textAlign":49},[66964],{"text":66965,"type":596},"For example, Fortum Battery Recycling recently started operations at its hydrometallurgical facility in Harjavalta, Finland–the largest in Europe. This facility will be fed by black mass produced at its pre-treatment facility in Kirchardt, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":66967,"content":66968},{"textAlign":49},[66969],{"text":66970,"type":596},"Companies that don’t have their own processing facilities then sell the black mass to independent processors or send the black mass on to their partners.",{"type":615,"attrs":66972,"content":66973},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[66974],{"text":66975,"type":596},"How is black mass priced?",{"type":591,"attrs":66977,"content":66978},{"textAlign":49},[66979,66980,66985],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":66981,"type":596,"marks":66982},"price of black mass in China",[66983],{"type":606,"attrs":66984},{"href":63843,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":66986,"type":596},", the world’s most advanced battery recycling market, is typically based on payables to the prevailing virgin battery-grade mineral spot prices. As such, black mass prices closely correlate to battery-grade mineral prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":66988,"content":66989},{"textAlign":49},[66990],{"type":836,"attrs":66991},{"id":49,"alt":66992,"src":66993,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":66994},"Aggregate black mass prices. Black mass from process scrap commands a higher price than that from end-of-life scrap","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/417f03cb4f/bm-aggregate-black-mass-prices-8-nov-2023.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":66996,"content":66997},{"textAlign":49},[66998],{"text":66999,"type":596},"For example, the valuable components of black mass from NCM feedstocks are nickel, cobalt, and lithium. A payable for each mineral will be decided to then derive a price.",{"type":591,"attrs":67001,"content":67002},{"textAlign":49},[67003],{"text":67004,"type":596},"“The balance between the payable and  the virgin market has to account for the processing costs and recyclers’ margins,” Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, head of prices, data, and indices at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":67006,"content":67007},{"textAlign":49},[67008],{"text":67009,"type":596},"In addition to this margin, the balance must typically leave room for the final product to be sold at a discount to virgin minerals due to the increased impurity content. However, some industry players are hoping they may eventually be able to secure a premium given the encouragement of domestic sourcing in North America and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":67011,"content":67012},{"textAlign":49},[67013],{"text":67014,"type":596},"Whilst lithium is a vital consideration for black mass valuation in China,  the extent to which it is factored into Western black mass price varies significantly. If pyrometallurgical techniques are used, then the lithium cannot easily be extracted and is less likely to be considered during pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":67016,"content":67017},{"textAlign":49},[67018],{"text":67019,"type":596},"“Black mass pricing is a summation of only the areas that the processor deems to be economically viable to them in their process,” Fletcher-Manuel said.",{"type":591,"attrs":67021,"content":67022},{"textAlign":49},[67023],{"text":67024,"type":596},"An exception to the use of payables is in pricing black mass from LFP scrap. The only truly valuable component of this material today is lithium which is in relatively low proportions with high impurity levels. As such, in Asia, where black mass from LFP is traded today, traders agree on a fixed value based on how much lithium is present.",{"type":591,"attrs":67026,"content":67027},{"textAlign":49},[67028],{"text":67029,"type":596},"Black mass from process scrap contains proportionately higher cathode material content and lower impurity levels than end-of-life black mass. This means it can sell for a higher price.",{"type":615,"attrs":67031,"content":67032},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67033],{"text":67034,"type":596},"How is black mass regulated?",{"type":591,"attrs":67036,"content":67037},{"textAlign":49},[67038],{"text":67039,"type":596},"In many ways, black mass is equivalent to a very high grade ore containing all the minerals for a lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":67041,"content":67042},{"textAlign":49},[67043],{"text":67044,"type":596},"As such, the material is highly valuable to the regions that produce it. Exporting it outside of the region is effectively losing critical minerals it contains, weakening the domestic supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":67046,"content":67047},{"textAlign":49},[67048],{"text":67049,"type":596},"This is particularly common in North America and Europe where battery scrap is processed into black mass that is then exported to Asia, according to Browning.",{"type":591,"attrs":67051,"content":67052},{"textAlign":49},[67053],{"text":67054,"type":596},"For example, Posco’s battery recycling plant in Poland disassembles and shreds battery scrap to produce black mass. The material is then exported to South Korea to Posco HY Clean Metal (a joint venture between Posco and Huayou Cobalt) to be processed.",{"type":591,"attrs":67056,"content":67057},{"textAlign":49},[67058],{"text":67059,"type":596},"Control of black mass exports is typically achieved through classifying the material as a hazardous waste. Then by regulating the export of materials with certain waste codes, the movement of black mass can be controlled.",{"type":591,"attrs":67061,"content":67062},{"textAlign":49},[67063],{"text":67064,"type":596},"“In China, black mass is classified as a hazardous waste material and its importation and exportation has been banned from the region in order to reduce materials leakage,” Browning said.",{"type":591,"attrs":67066,"content":67067},{"textAlign":49},[67068,67070,67076],{"text":67069,"type":596},"In September this year, the",{"text":67071,"type":596,"marks":67072}," European Parliament proposed",[67073],{"type":606,"attrs":67074},{"href":67075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0260_EN.html",{"text":67077,"type":596}," to the European Commission that they “develop dedicated waste codes for lithium ion batteries and intermediate waste streams (black mass).” This would be a first step in reducing the export of black mass outside of Europe.",{"type":615,"attrs":67079,"content":67080},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67081],{"text":67082,"type":596},"How is black mass processed?",{"type":591,"attrs":67084,"content":67085},{"textAlign":49},[67086],{"text":67087,"type":596},"Black mass is sent to processing facilities to extract the valuable battery minerals. These can be integrated into the same facility that produces the black mass, or can be a separate facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":67089,"content":67090},{"textAlign":49},[67091],{"text":67092,"type":596},"Some recyclers use an energy intensive pyrometallurgical process, which heats the material up to extract metals. However, this process loses lithium to the slag waste, so increasingly recyclers are using hydrometallurgical processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":67094,"content":67095},{"textAlign":49},[67096],{"text":67097,"type":596},"“This is basically an acid-leaching process,” Browning said. “So say if you were to use sulphuric acid, you can extract out nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate and manganese sulphate.”",{"type":591,"attrs":67099,"content":67100},{"textAlign":49},[67101],{"text":67102,"type":596},"Recyclers can then use a precipitation process to extract lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":67104,"content":67105},{"textAlign":49},[67106],{"text":67107,"type":596},"Alternatively, a mixed metal hydroxide process can be used to create a nickel, cobalt, manganese (NCM) mixture that is effectively a precursor cathode material. Lithium chemicals can be added to this to produce cathode active material.",{"type":591,"attrs":67109,"content":67110},{"textAlign":49},[67111],{"text":67112,"type":596},"Benchmark provides independent price assessments and market analysis for black mass and the battery recycling space.",{"type":591,"attrs":67114,"content":67115},{"textAlign":49},[67116],{"text":67117,"type":596},"To learn more about our Black Mass Price Assessment and our Recycling Forecast, please provide your details here and our team will contact you shortly with more information.","As investment in lithium ion battery recycling capacity increases, the pricing and availability of black mass is becoming increasingly important. This valuable material, a mix of crushed metals produced by shredding battery scrap, is often exported to Asia from the West. But a buildout of recycling plants in Europe and North America could keep more […]",[67120],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67121},{"job_title":557,"image":67122,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"802b6665-5978-414e-b6f4-634ed952408e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[67125,67126],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67128},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":55436,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67130,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"As investment in lithium ion battery recycling capacity increases, the pricing and availability of black mass is becoming increasingly important. This valuable material, a mix of crushed metals produced by shredding battery scrap, ","Nov 09, 2023",{"id":67134,"uuid":67135,"name":67136,"slug":67137,"full_slug":67138,"content":67139},112470504032241,"0cd5fb19-bfb9-4784-9a85-3e1fedb793f7","Falling LME nickel price hits sulphate prices","falling-lme-nickel-price-hits-sulphate-prices","article/falling-lme-nickel-price-hits-sulphate-prices",{"_uid":67140,"date":67141,"tags":67142,"editor":67145,"content":67149,"excerpt":67251,"featured":50,"reporter":67252,"_editable":67256,"component":697,"seo_title":67136,"categories":67257,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":67259,"seo_description":67251,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":67262},"4c9e8da0-9ba5-48ae-9661-54bcbce46964","2023-11-08 00:00",[67143,67144],{"slug":37815,"name":37816},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[67146],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67147},{"job_title":557,"image":67148,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":67150},[67151,67156,67167,67172,67177,67182,67187,67200,67205,67210,67215,67220,67225,67230,67235,67240],{"type":591,"attrs":67152,"content":67153},{"textAlign":49},[67154],{"text":67155,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate prices in Asia fell to their lowest level in over two years at the end of October, as the nickel price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached its lowest monthly level since July 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":67157,"content":67158},{"textAlign":49},[67159,67161,67165],{"text":67160,"type":596},"Average prices for nickel sulphate in the CIF Asian spot market declined 6.9% in October to $4,400 per tonne to reach their lowest level since May 2021, according to the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":67162},[67163],{"type":606,"attrs":67164},{"href":46413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67166,"type":596},". CIF Asian nickel sulphate prices are down 35% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":67168,"content":67169},{"textAlign":49},[67170],{"text":67171,"type":596},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices have also fallen by 21% year-to-date to an average of RMB 31,350 ($4,295) per tonne in October. That’s around a $1,000 discount to the Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67173,"content":67174},{"textAlign":49},[67175],{"text":67176,"type":596},"The falling nickel price will put further pressure on nickel miners, who have faced weaker global steel demand this year, as well as a slower uptake of high nickel batteries in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67178,"content":67179},{"textAlign":49},[67180],{"text":67181,"type":596},"The price of nickel on the LME has fallen by almost 40% year-to-date to $17,905 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67183,"content":67184},{"textAlign":49},[67185],{"text":67186,"type":596},"“There’s still a large oversupply in the nickel market with both stainless steel and NCM battery demand being weak at the minute,” said Spencer Ingall, an analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":67188,"content":67189},{"textAlign":49},[67190,67192,67198],{"text":67191,"type":596},"China, ",{"text":67193,"type":596,"marks":67194},"the world’s leading electric vehicle market",[67195],{"type":606,"attrs":67196},{"href":67197,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/three-reasons-why-chinas-ev-market-is-still-strong",{"text":67199,"type":596},", has rapidly adopted lower cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes over NCM chemistries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67201,"content":67202},{"textAlign":49},[67203],{"text":67204,"type":596},"Ingall said recent discussions with market participants in China suggest that NCM demand will continue to fall throughout the fourth quarter with about 5% to 10% month-over-month lower demand levels in November. This can be attributed to the growing share of LFP batteries and generally weak EV sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":67206,"content":67207},{"textAlign":49},[67208],{"text":67209,"type":596},"Amid weak demand for NCM cathode, Benchmark has also not seen evidence of any meaningful stockpiling by producers. ",{"type":615,"attrs":67211,"content":67212},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67213],{"text":67214,"type":596},"Indonesia ore crackdown",{"type":591,"attrs":67216,"content":67217},{"textAlign":49},[67218],{"text":67219,"type":596},"Meanwhile, a crackdown on illegal mining in Indonesia, however, has tightened supply of nickel ore in recent months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67221,"content":67222},{"textAlign":49},[67223],{"text":67224,"type":596},"In late October, French miner Eramet, reduced its nickel ore production targets for its Weda Bay mine in Indonesia, citing a slowdown in permit approvals.",{"type":591,"attrs":67226,"content":67227},{"textAlign":49},[67228],{"text":67229,"type":596},"Most of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity addition is to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), an intermediate nickel product that needs to be further processed into nickel sulphate for use in batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67231,"content":67232},{"textAlign":49},[67233],{"text":67234,"type":596},"Nickel MHP, CIF Asia payables to the LME were assessed in the range of 75-78% during October, representing a slight increase of half a percentage point m-o-m.",{"type":591,"attrs":67236,"content":67237},{"textAlign":49},[67238],{"text":67239,"type":596},"Still, although ore prices may increase, downstream prices will be largely unaffected as there is still an oversupply of nickel, according to Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":67241,"content":67242},{"textAlign":49},[67243,67245,67249],{"text":67244,"type":596},"Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, is ramping up capacity both with new projects that are being planned and those that are coming online. According to the ",{"text":8042,"type":596,"marks":67246},[67247],{"type":606,"attrs":67248},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67250,"type":596},", refined supply in Indonesia is estimated to grow by 144% between 2022 and 2027.","Nickel sulphate prices in Asia fell to their lowest level in over two years at the end of October, as the nickel price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached its lowest monthly level since July 2021. Average prices for nickel sulphate in the CIF Asian spot market declined 6.9% in October to $4,400 per […]",[67253],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67254},{"job_title":557,"image":67255,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4c9e8da0-9ba5-48ae-9661-54bcbce46964\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[67258],{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":67260,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67261,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5909955fe5/bm-sudbury-nickel-operations1-e1643820203892.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 08, 2023",{"id":67264,"uuid":67265,"name":67266,"slug":67267,"full_slug":67268,"content":67269},112470494418927,"b20132ab-d50d-459c-8937-724c6956a64a","China’s new rare earth export rules extend government oversight over trade","chinas-new-rare-earth-export-rules-extend-government-oversight-over-trade","article/chinas-new-rare-earth-export-rules-extend-government-oversight-over-trade",{"_uid":67270,"date":67141,"tags":67271,"editor":67274,"content":67278,"excerpt":67420,"featured":51,"reporter":67421,"_editable":67425,"component":697,"seo_title":67266,"categories":67426,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":67430,"seo_description":67420,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":67262},"a5d45b7c-ec05-43eb-ac74-a8f60c44eb5e",[67272,67273],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},[67275],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67276},{"job_title":557,"image":67277,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":67279},[67280,67285,67290,67295,67300,67312,67319,67326,67331,67336,67341,67346,67351,67362,67367,67372,67377,67382,67387,67398,67403,67408],{"type":591,"attrs":67281,"content":67282},{"textAlign":49},[67283],{"text":67284,"type":596},"China announced new rare earths export rules on Tuesday, a move designed to extend state control over its domestic industry while demonstrating its power over the global supply chain in the critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67286,"content":67287},{"textAlign":49},[67288],{"text":67289,"type":596},"The Ministry of Commerce has added rare earth oxides and metals to to its catalogue of energy resource products that needed to be reported before export. This means exporters must now report all products going abroad, as well as their destination, to the Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mining, Minerals and Chemicals. The regulations are to last until 31 October 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":67291,"content":67292},{"textAlign":49},[67293],{"text":67294,"type":596},"“The new measures do not restrict exports but do increase supervision. With greater control over the industry comes greater control over the market – meaning the Chinese government would be better able to use exports as a diplomatic tool when things get difficult,” explained Benchmark project manager Daan de Jonge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67296,"content":67297},{"textAlign":49},[67298],{"text":67299,"type":596},"Rare earth oxides and alloys are key inputs for rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) used in turbines and EV motors. Wind energy and e-mobility are the biggest end use sectors but the elements are also needed to manufacture some advanced defence equipment.",{"type":591,"attrs":67301,"content":67302},{"textAlign":49},[67303,67305,67310],{"text":67304,"type":596},"Dysprosium (Dy) oxide and praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide, both subject to the new regulations, are used in REPM manufacturing. China is by far the world’s biggest producer, forecast to process ",{"text":67306,"type":596,"marks":67307},"99.9% of the world’s Dy oxide",[67308],{"type":606,"attrs":67309},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67311,"type":596}," and 80% of PrNd oxide in 2023 according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":67313,"content":67314},{"textAlign":49},[67315],{"type":836,"attrs":67316},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":67317,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":67318},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b614836c4/bm-chart-screenshot-45.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":67320,"content":67321},{"textAlign":49},[67322],{"type":836,"attrs":67323},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":67324,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":67325},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/190c903d7a/bm-chart-screenshot-44.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":67327,"content":67328},{"textAlign":49},[67329],{"text":67330,"type":596},"China produces over 90% of the global supply in REPMs but these components do not fall under the new exporting reporting rules. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67332,"content":67333},{"textAlign":49},[67334],{"text":67335,"type":596},"These regulations are the latest measures by the Chinese government to develop its rare earths industry under greater state supervision, a programme that began in 2021. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67337,"content":67338},{"textAlign":49},[67339],{"text":67340,"type":596},"On 3 November 2023, the Chinese government reaffirmed its commitment to state-led development of the domestic rare earths industry by announcing new plans to more closely coordinate the supply chain. ",{"type":615,"attrs":67342,"content":67343},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67344],{"text":67345,"type":596},"Ex-China REPM producers could be at risk",{"type":591,"attrs":67347,"content":67348},{"textAlign":49},[67349],{"text":67350,"type":596},"Japan, a major ex-China REPM manufacturer, would be most affected by any moves to restrict Chinese exports. The country imports oxides and alloys from China and does not have its own rare earths mining or separation capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67352,"content":67353},{"textAlign":49},[67354,67360],{"text":67355,"type":596,"marks":67356},"Europe’s industry",[67357],{"type":606,"attrs":67358},{"href":67359,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rare-earth-permanent-magnet-production-advances-outside-of-china",{"text":67361,"type":596}," could also be affected if China actually limits the flow of rare earth oxides and metals. Germany’s Vacuumschmelze is one of the few European companies operating in the space while Canada’s Neo Magnequench began construction on an REPM plant in Estonia earlier in the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":67363,"content":67364},{"textAlign":49},[67365],{"text":67366,"type":596},"The region has some operating and pipeline REPM capacity but limited feedstock prospects and processing capacity.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":67368,"content":67369},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67370],{"text":67371,"type":596},"Trade tensions",{"type":591,"attrs":67373,"content":67374},{"textAlign":49},[67375],{"text":67376,"type":596},"China’s new export rules build on a series of measures from 2020 onwards by the Chinese government to extend state control over the rare earths industry and pursue ‘rational development’ of these critical resources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67378,"content":67379},{"textAlign":49},[67380],{"text":67381,"type":596},"The new rules on reporting rare earths exports also send a signal to the rest of the world that China has the means to regulate the flow of these critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":67383,"content":67384},{"textAlign":49},[67385],{"text":67386,"type":596},"This move comes at a fraught time for US-Chinese trade relations. In July 2023, the China’s Ministry of Commerce announced restrictions on products made from minor metals gallium and germanium used to make semiconductors, an apparent response to new US controls on exports to China’s manufacturing sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":67388,"content":67389},{"textAlign":49},[67390,67392,67396],{"text":67391,"type":596},"In mid-October, a US government decision to extend limits on semiconductor exports to China was followed by China announcing a new export permit system for ",{"text":706,"type":596,"marks":67393},[67394],{"type":606,"attrs":67395},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67397,"type":596}," products, including those needed to make battery anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":67399,"content":67400},{"textAlign":49},[67401],{"text":67402,"type":596},"Tuesday’s announcement also comes before a face-to-face meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, starting 11 November.",{"type":591,"attrs":67404,"content":67405},{"textAlign":49},[67406],{"text":67407,"type":596},"China’s near-monopoly over processed rare earths has long fuelled Western concerns that the country could use export restrictions as diplomatic and geopolitical leverage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67409,"content":67410},{"textAlign":49},[67411,67413,67418],{"text":67412,"type":596},"These fears have driven the US government’s current efforts to build a domestic",{"text":67414,"type":596,"marks":67415}," supply chain",[67416],{"type":606,"attrs":67417},{"href":65865,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67419,"type":596}," in rare earths.","China announced new rare earths export rules on Tuesday, a move designed to extend state control over its domestic industry while demonstrating its power over the global supply chain in the critical minerals. The Ministry of Commerce has added rare earth oxides and metals to to its catalogue of energy resource products that needed to […]",[67422],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67423},{"job_title":557,"image":67424,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a5d45b7c-ec05-43eb-ac74-a8f60c44eb5e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[67427,67428,67429],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":67431,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":67431,"source":547,"filename":67432,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67433,"is_external_url":51},"Cargo ships loaded with rare earth soil for export in China","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fb2e2847c3/bm-shutterstock-119301508.jpg",{"alt":67431,"title":67431,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":67435,"uuid":67436,"name":67437,"slug":67438,"full_slug":67439,"content":67440},112470508730354,"946e05a3-2eed-479d-ac37-da8d09fa6302","Infographic: China controls three-quarters of graphite anode supply chain","infographic-china-controls-three-quarters-of-graphite-anode-supply-chain","article/infographic-china-controls-three-quarters-of-graphite-anode-supply-chain",{"_uid":67441,"date":67442,"tags":67443,"editor":67455,"content":67459,"excerpt":67606,"featured":51,"reporter":67607,"_editable":67611,"component":697,"seo_title":67437,"categories":67612,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":67617,"featured_image":67620,"seo_description":67606,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":67624},"da3b6aac-5f87-4781-a18c-2630a78d0210","2023-11-07 00:00",[67444,67445,67446,67447,67450,67453],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},{"slug":67448,"name":67449},"flake-graphite","flake graphite",{"slug":67451,"name":67452},"spherical-graphite","Spherical graphite",{"slug":1831,"name":67454},"Synthetic graphite",[67456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67457},{"job_title":557,"image":67458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":67460},[67461,67472,67477,67496,67501,67506,67514,67519,67524,67529,67541,67552,67557,67562,67567,67572,67580,67591,67596,67601],{"type":591,"attrs":67462,"content":67463},{"textAlign":49},[67464,67466,67471],{"text":67465,"type":596},"Battery anodes depend on a supply chain in which China dominates at every stage from feedstock material to ",{"text":67467,"type":596,"marks":67468},"active anode material production",[67469],{"type":606,"attrs":67470},{"href":65732,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67473,"content":67474},{"textAlign":49},[67475],{"text":67476,"type":596},"Chinese production represents 74% of the total supply chain for graphite anodes, according to data from Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":67478,"content":67479},{"textAlign":49},[67480,67482,67487,67489,67495],{"text":67481,"type":596},"This ",{"text":67483,"type":596,"marks":67484},"poses a risk to supply chain security",[67485],{"type":606,"attrs":67486},{"href":62172,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67488,"type":596}," for anode producers in South Korea and elsewhere as ",{"text":67490,"type":596,"marks":67491},"China seeks to regulate the exports of its graphite products",[67492],{"type":606,"attrs":67493},{"href":67494,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-chinas-graphite-export-restrictions-mean-for-prices",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67497,"content":67498},{"textAlign":49},[67499],{"text":67500,"type":596},"“In addition to China’s current dominance, the nation is on track to retain over 85% of the global anode market share by the end of the decade,” Tony Alderson, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “As such, a notable amount of investment will be required to diversify supply away from China and create a more balanced global landscape.”",{"type":591,"attrs":67502,"content":67503},{"textAlign":49},[67504],{"text":67505,"type":596},"The infographic below illustrates the scale of this challenge and the technical and sustainability questions that form part of the graphite dilemma.",{"type":591,"attrs":67507,"content":67508},{"textAlign":49},[67509],{"type":836,"attrs":67510},{"id":49,"alt":67511,"src":67512,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":67513},"Comparing synthetic and natural graphite anode supply chains. China controls three-quarters of the global graphite anode supply chain.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf615d45bc/bm-nat-and-syn-graphite-infographic-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":67515,"content":67516},{"textAlign":49},[67517],{"text":67518,"type":596},"During the charging of a battery, lithium ions flow to the anode where they intercalate with the layers of graphite. The reverse process occurs when the battery is discharged.",{"type":591,"attrs":67520,"content":67521},{"textAlign":49},[67522],{"text":67523,"type":596},"Both natural and synthetic forms of graphite can be used to make the anode material. Although the two feedstocks produce broadly similar materials, natural graphite anodes offer higher capacities whereas synthetic graphite anodes typically boast longer cycle lifes.",{"type":591,"attrs":67525,"content":67526},{"textAlign":49},[67527],{"text":67528,"type":596},"As anode producers seek to maximise these different properties, batteries increasingly contain a blend of both synthetic and natural graphite in their anode materials, though the proportions vary by producer, and ultimately the requirements of the application.",{"type":591,"attrs":67530,"content":67531},{"textAlign":49},[67532,67534,67540],{"text":67533,"type":596},"The raw material feedstock for a natural graphite anode is mined flake graphite. This is then separated by size, with the small-to-medium mesh material being the ",{"text":67535,"type":596,"marks":67536},"optimal size for battery material processing",[67537],{"type":606,"attrs":67538},{"href":67539,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/deficit-of-100-flake-graphite-deficit-could-push-anode-makers-to-larger-flakes",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67542,"content":67543},{"textAlign":49},[67544,67545,67550],{"text":25892,"type":596},{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":67546},[67547],{"type":606,"attrs":67548},{"href":67549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/natural-graphite/",{"text":67551,"type":596}," shows that material at this mesh size represented only 49% of a total global market of 1.2 million tonnes of flake graphite concentrate in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":67553,"content":67554},{"textAlign":49},[67555],{"text":67556,"type":596},"The flake graphite is then micronised, purified and spheronised to produce uncoated spherical graphite, the precursor to natural graphite anode material. Less than 1% of uncoated spherical graphite production is forecast to take place outside of China this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":67558,"content":67559},{"textAlign":49},[67560],{"text":67561,"type":596},"For synthetic graphite anodes, the starting material is petroleum coke or coal tar pitch, byproducts of the oil and coal industries. China again dominates, accounting for 69% of global low sulphur petroleum coke production in 2023. Japan and the US represent 11% and 10% of global coke production, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":67563,"content":67564},{"textAlign":49},[67565],{"text":67566,"type":596},"To convert coke or pitch into synthetic graphite requires the material to undergo an energy intensive graphitisation process. Inner Mongolia in China is home to many graphitisation facilities but the region uses coal for much of its electricity generation. This results in the average synthetic graphite anode material having a carbon intensity over three times that of the average natural graphite anode material produced in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":67568,"content":67569},{"textAlign":49},[67570],{"text":67571,"type":596},"Despite these environmental concerns, the cost competitiveness and scale of China’s anode industry means the global market has a major obstacle to overcome in reducing its dependence on China, which stands as high as 99% in some parts of the supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67573,"content":67574},{"textAlign":49},[67575],{"type":836,"attrs":67576},{"id":49,"alt":67577,"src":67578,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":67579},"Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16 November in LA, USA. Joint the graphite industry's premiere conference","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/21b887ecaa/bm-benchmark-week-footer-design.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":67581,"content":67582},{"textAlign":49},[67583,67585,67590],{"text":67584,"type":596},"Join the graphite industry’s premiere conference at Graphite and Anodes 2023, part of ",{"text":65694,"type":596,"marks":67586},[67587],{"type":606,"attrs":67588},{"href":67589,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/benchmarkweek23",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67592,"content":67593},{"textAlign":49},[67594],{"text":67595,"type":596},"Benchmark provides market leading prices, forecasts and ESG analysis for natural graphite, synthetic graphite, anodes and the full lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":67597,"content":67598},{"textAlign":49},[67599],{"text":67600,"type":596},"In 2024, we will be expanding our coverage with the launch of a new forecast service for the silicon anode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":67602,"content":67603},{"textAlign":49},[67604],{"text":67605,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s services and to speak to our experts – please provide your details here:","Battery anodes depend on a supply chain in which China dominates at every stage from feedstock material to active anode material production. Chinese production represents 74% of the total supply chain for graphite anodes, according to data from Benchmark. This poses a risk to supply chain security for anode producers in South Korea and elsewhere […]",[67608],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67609},{"job_title":557,"image":67610,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"da3b6aac-5f87-4781-a18c-2630a78d0210\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[67613,67614,67615,67616],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":67618,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67619,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1699286431/www-production/Graphite-anode-infographic-extract/Graphite-anode-infographic-extract.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":67621,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":67621,"source":547,"filename":67622,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67623,"is_external_url":51},"Open pit graphite quarry","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c1745558f8/bm-shutterstock-1628580370-1.jpg",{"alt":67621,"title":67621,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 07, 2023",{"id":67626,"uuid":67627,"name":67628,"slug":67629,"full_slug":67630,"content":67631},112470518446068,"dd175d4e-1dbf-44e9-90a6-fc5a921f1e92","“The good thing about US customers is that they have scale.” Q&A with Epsilon’s Vikram Handa ","the-good-thing-about-us-customers-is-that-they-have-scale-qa-with-epsilons-vikram-handa","article/the-good-thing-about-us-customers-is-that-they-have-scale-qa-with-epsilons-vikram-handa",{"_uid":67632,"date":67633,"tags":67634,"editor":67638,"content":67642,"excerpt":67847,"featured":50,"reporter":67848,"_editable":67852,"component":697,"seo_title":67628,"categories":67853,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":67857,"seo_description":67847,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":67860},"631d8ce0-4b9a-4359-94f1-568af9df6b49","2023-11-02 00:00",[67635,67636,67637],{"slug":4342,"name":4343},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},{"slug":572,"name":573},[67639],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67640},{"job_title":557,"image":67641,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":67643},[67644,67657,67662,67667,67672,67677,67689,67694,67699,67704,67709,67714,67719,67732,67743,67748,67753,67758,67763,67768,67773,67778,67783,67796,67809,67814,67819,67824,67829,67834],{"type":591,"attrs":67645,"content":67646},{"textAlign":49},[67647,67649,67655],{"text":67648,"type":596},"Last month India’s Epsilon Advanced Materials announced it would build a ",{"text":67650,"type":596,"marks":67651},"$650 million synthetic graphite",[67652],{"type":606,"attrs":67653},{"href":67654,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indias-epsilon-to-build-650-million-anode-plant-in-north-carolina",{"text":67656,"type":596}," anode plant in North Carolina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67658,"content":67659},{"textAlign":49},[67660],{"text":67661,"type":596},"It is the largest investment by an Indian company in the US electric vehicle market and is set to produce 50,000 tonnes a year of anode active material starting in 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67663,"content":67664},{"textAlign":49},[67665],{"text":67666,"type":596},"Mumbai-headquartered Epsilon Advanced Materials is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon and makes synthetic and natural graphite anodes from its factory in Vijaynagar, Karnataka, India. Its parent Epsilon Carbon is a maker of coal tar derivatives.",{"type":591,"attrs":67668,"content":67669},{"textAlign":49},[67670],{"text":67671,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Vikram Handa, managing director at Epsilon Advanced Materials, to learn more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":67673,"content":67674},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67675],{"text":67676,"type":596},"China recently announced it would introduce permits for exports of some graphite products. What do you think of the move?",{"type":591,"attrs":67678,"content":67679},{"textAlign":49},[67680,67682,67687],{"text":67681,"type":596},"We’ve been working on this US project for more than a year. We’ve gone from a hundred sites to two to three and finally to one. Our announcement is not linked to this move, but this restriction is very concerning, because graphite processing into active anode material is ",{"text":67683,"type":596,"marks":67684},"very skewed towards China",[67685],{"type":606,"attrs":67686},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67688,"type":596},". These are plants where technology is a challenge and it takes time to set them up because they are big infrastructure projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67690,"content":67691},{"textAlign":49},[67692],{"text":67693,"type":596},"I was really surprised at the restrictions because it’s a very bold move to block a material that is not available outside China. They want to control the supply chain and they’re looking to restrict the export of graphite materials that make high performance cells or materials that give you a high capacity or a fast charge. These materials are in high demand in Europe and the US mainly for electric vehicles. They don’t mind giving you a B-grade graphite that makes a B-grade cell. ",{"type":615,"attrs":67695,"content":67696},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67697],{"text":67698,"type":596},"Do you see any immediate impact?",{"type":591,"attrs":67700,"content":67701},{"textAlign":49},[67702],{"text":67703,"type":596},"I don’t think there’ll be an immediate impact on prices. On the supply side too there is no huge demand as many gigafactories are still being built. That gives the outlook on what will happen in 2025. Today most of the graphite is coming from China and a lot of the Koreans are very comfortable buying it from China. Now they need to start thinking about a plan B. I will be more worried about 2025 rather than December 2023.",{"type":615,"attrs":67705,"content":67706},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67707],{"text":67708,"type":596},"Do you have customers with guaranteed demand yet?",{"type":591,"attrs":67710,"content":67711},{"textAlign":49},[67712],{"text":67713,"type":596},"We are at sample C qualification at tonne level with customers now and we hope to get into offtakes very soon. In my opinion, we will be sold out in the next three to four months. These are mainly Korean cell companies that are supplying US auto OEMs.",{"type":615,"attrs":67715,"content":67716},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67717],{"text":67718,"type":596},"Will automakers pay more for US-based supply? Is there a green premium? ",{"type":591,"attrs":67720,"content":67721},{"textAlign":49},[67722,67724,67730],{"text":67723,"type":596},"I don’t think there’s anything like a green premium out there. Is there a premium for the ex-China supply? Not necessarily either. Everybody’s under pricing pressure and customers need to find affordable materials. The only way to reduce cost is scale. And the ",{"text":67725,"type":596,"marks":67726},"good thing about the US customers",[67727],{"type":606,"attrs":67728},{"href":67729,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/five-reasons-western-automakers-face-a-synthetic-graphite-problem",{"text":67731,"type":596}," is they have scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67733,"content":67734},{"textAlign":49},[67735,67736,67741],{"text":56720,"type":596},{"text":67737,"type":596,"marks":67738},"India, if I find a one gigawatt-hour (GWh) customer",[67739],{"type":606,"attrs":67740},{"href":6388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67742,"type":596},", in the US I find a 25 GWh customer. And it is the scale that helps you reduce price. When we look at our business, we want to be competitive with China. A lower carbon footprint can help get a small premium, but it is not like you can double the price. Customers cannot afford that.",{"type":615,"attrs":67744,"content":67745},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67746],{"text":67747,"type":596},"It’s been a year since Epsilon and the Finnish Minerals Group announced an anode material memorandum of understanding. What’s the latest update? ",{"type":591,"attrs":67749,"content":67750},{"textAlign":49},[67751],{"text":67752,"type":596},"We’re currently in the process of obtaining the necessary permits. In Finland, securing permits tends to be a time-consuming process. We successfully completed our initial public hearing earlier this year, and the next hearing is scheduled for February 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67754,"content":67755},{"textAlign":49},[67756],{"text":67757,"type":596},"We aim to secure the permit by the end of the coming year. While the pace may be a bit slower, we’re committed to the permitting, engineering, and feasibility processes for this excellent project.",{"type":591,"attrs":67759,"content":67760},{"textAlign":49},[67761],{"text":67762,"type":596},"We’re debating the capacity. Eventually it will be a 50,000 tonnes a year plant. As we engage with customers we are trying to decide what capacity we should build in phase one. The customers are from gigafactories and auto OEMs. These are customers who we will first supply from India and then move the order book to Finland.",{"type":615,"attrs":67764,"content":67765},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67766],{"text":67767,"type":596},"Could you provide details on your capacity ramp up over the years?",{"type":591,"attrs":67769,"content":67770},{"textAlign":49},[67771],{"text":67772,"type":596},"Right now, if we look at India, Finland and the US, it’s 200,000 tonnes. We are at 500 tonnes this year, which is our customer qualification plan. So, that’s our current capacity. In 2025 we should make 30,000 tonnes, and 60,000 tonnes in 2026, and 70,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes in 2027, depending upon the Finland capacity. Once the first phase is set up, the next phase becomes easy. The real big growth would happen between 2027 to 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":67774,"content":67775},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67776],{"text":67777,"type":596},"Could you also talk about the cathode R&D centre acquisition in Germany. How does Epsilon plan to unlock the value in the cathode space given that the supply chain requirements are different from those of the anode? ",{"type":591,"attrs":67779,"content":67780},{"textAlign":49},[67781],{"text":67782,"type":596},"If you look at our anode journey, it all starts from the waste coming out of the steel plant. We take coal tar, we make our own coke and convert that into anode material. We are the only anode company in the world that is backward integrated into making its own coke.",{"type":591,"attrs":67784,"content":67785},{"textAlign":49},[67786,67788,67794],{"text":67787,"type":596},"I did not see value in nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) at all and decided to ",{"text":67789,"type":596,"marks":67790},"focus on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) to differentiate",[67791],{"type":606,"attrs":67792},{"href":67793,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indias-reliance-to-build-lfp-battery-factory-as-ambani-targets-clean-energy-push",{"text":67795,"type":596}," ourselves. We have identified waste streams of iron coming out of the steel plants. How do we quickly convert this high purity waste stream into cathode active materials (CAM)? And when we engaged with technology suppliers, mainly in China, we realised that there are a lot of different ways to make CAM. I felt that we have some unique raw material, which has a very low carbon footprint and is cost competitive. That’s when we started looking at Johnson Matthey’s LFP cathode active material technology centre in Moosburg, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":67797,"content":67798},{"textAlign":49},[67799,67801,67807],{"text":67800,"type":596},"This acquisition is unique because it has developed a great product, which is mostly qualified with customers already. So, our goal is now to acquire this unit to re-qualify the customers after Johnson Matthey exited the business. The idea is to build a large-scale plant in India…a 30,000 tonne plant in ",{"text":67802,"type":596,"marks":67803},"India ",[67804],{"type":606,"attrs":67805},{"href":67806,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tatas-10000-ev-set-to-boost-india-ev-market-but-domestic-battery-supply-lags",{"text":67808,"type":596},"which will eventually be increased to 100,000 tonnes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":67810,"content":67811},{"textAlign":49},[67812],{"text":67813,"type":596},"Iron will be local, phosphoric acid will be local. The lithium carbonate has to be imported. But the lithium is such a big piece of the cathode that if the lithium comes from a Free Trade Agreement country, that CAM made in India will be Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) compliant. It’s very unique, if you can build in India with India’s capital expenditure and operating expenses structure… it would feed right into being IRA compliant.",{"type":615,"attrs":67815,"content":67816},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67817],{"text":67818,"type":596},"India does not currently benefit from incentives under the IRA but it could be a great candidate for a free trade agreement partner when it comes to critical battery minerals. What do you think?",{"type":591,"attrs":67820,"content":67821},{"textAlign":49},[67822],{"text":67823,"type":596},"That’s a very important point, which we keep discussing in India as well. Why shouldn’t India and the US have a Critical Minerals Agreement (CMA), so that everything made in India gets the IRA benefit? I think it’s a lack of awareness that this dialogue has not happened.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":67825,"content":67826},{"textAlign":49},[67827],{"text":67828,"type":596},"The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) signing was a great step. MSP is a good framework. I think the next step after MSP is a CMA. I think it will benefit the US and help develop India’s ecosystem. ",{"type":615,"attrs":67830,"content":67831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67832],{"text":67833,"type":596},"How is the government incentivising the buildout of India’s supply chain? ",{"type":591,"attrs":67835,"content":67836},{"textAlign":49},[67837,67839,67845],{"text":67838,"type":596},"Currently, the incentives provided are quite inadequate, that’s how I would describe it. When I mention this, I’m not solely considering government incentives but also the role of customers in incentivising suppliers. It’s about encouraging us to build by committing to purchase the products. Unfortunately, no ",{"text":67840,"type":596,"marks":67841},"Indian customer",[67842],{"type":606,"attrs":67843},{"href":67844,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/electric-scooters-to-dominate-indias-roads-by-2025-ola-says",{"text":67846,"type":596}," has offered a commitment to purchase battery materials from any company within India. This scenario is indeed disappointing.","Last month India’s Epsilon Advanced Materials announced it would build a $650 million synthetic graphite anode plant in North Carolina. It is the largest investment by an Indian company in the US electric vehicle market and is set to produce 50,000 tonnes a year of anode active material starting in 2026. Mumbai-headquartered Epsilon Advanced Materials […]",[67849],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67850},{"job_title":557,"image":67851,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"631d8ce0-4b9a-4359-94f1-568af9df6b49\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[67854,67855,67856],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":67858,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":67859,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/139e25ee83/bm-vikram-handa-md-epsilon.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 02, 2023",{"id":67862,"uuid":67863,"name":67864,"slug":67865,"full_slug":67866,"content":67867},112470528526326,"78737c67-4380-4e03-8d86-ad3bee411caa","Benchmark to publish DDP China medium sulphur pet coke spot prices","benchmark-to-publish-ddp-china-medium-sulphur-pet-coke-spot-prices","article/benchmark-to-publish-ddp-china-medium-sulphur-pet-coke-spot-prices",{"_uid":67868,"date":67869,"tags":67870,"editor":67872,"content":67876,"excerpt":68012,"featured":50,"reporter":68013,"_editable":68017,"component":697,"seo_title":67864,"categories":68018,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68021,"seo_description":68012,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68024},"8ec4bc88-df6c-46b7-baee-35d4706a0873","2023-11-01 00:00",[67871],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[67873],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":67874},{"job_title":557,"image":67875,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":67877},[67878,67891,67896,67908,67920,67925,67930,67935,67940,67945,67950,67959,67969,67974,67979,67984,67988,67998,68008],{"type":591,"attrs":67879,"content":67880},{"textAlign":49},[67881,67883,67889],{"text":67882,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish market ",{"text":67884,"type":596,"marks":67885},"price assessments",[67886],{"type":606,"attrs":67887},{"href":67888,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/synthetic-graphite/",{"text":67890,"type":596}," for medium sulphur pet coke (0.5%\u003CS≤3.0%), EXW China spot price, on a monthly basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":67892,"content":67893},{"textAlign":49},[67894],{"text":67895,"type":596},"The move comes in response to market developments over the past 12 months that have seen synthetic graphite producers supplying battery anode customers with previously unviable material produced from pet coke with a higher sulphur content (0.5%\u003CS≤3.0%).",{"type":591,"attrs":67897,"content":67898},{"textAlign":49},[67899,67901,67906],{"text":67900,"type":596},"As Benchmark has previously reported, this shift has taken place despite the additional costs involved in desulphurising such material before graphitisation. This is because higher sulphur pet coke has maintained a ",{"text":67902,"type":596,"marks":67903},"discount",[67904],{"type":606,"attrs":67905},{"href":67888,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67907,"type":596}," to low sulphur material during the period, even after accounting for the additional processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":67909,"content":67910},{"textAlign":49},[67911,67913,67918],{"text":67912,"type":596},"The new grade joins six existing low sulphur anode coke grades (S\u003C0.5%), which Benchmark assesses first hand and publishes every month. This means Benchmark ",{"text":67914,"type":596,"marks":67915},"Synthetic Graphite Price Assessment",[67916],{"type":606,"attrs":67917},{"href":67888,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":67919,"type":596}," subscribers will now have access to the following anode coke prices on a monthly basis:",{"type":591,"attrs":67921,"content":67922},{"textAlign":49},[67923],{"text":67924,"type":596},"·        Calcined Pet Needle Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67926,"content":67927},{"textAlign":49},[67928],{"text":67929,"type":596},"·        Pre-calcined Pet Needle Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67931,"content":67932},{"textAlign":49},[67933],{"text":67934,"type":596},"·        Calcined Pitch Needle Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67936,"content":67937},{"textAlign":49},[67938],{"text":67939,"type":596},"·        Pre-calcined Pitch Needle Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67941,"content":67942},{"textAlign":49},[67943],{"text":67944,"type":596},"·        Calcined Pet Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67946,"content":67947},{"textAlign":49},[67948],{"text":67949,"type":596},"·        Pre-calcined Pet Coke, DDP China, S≤0.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":67951,"content":67952},{"textAlign":49},[67953,67955],{"text":67954,"type":596},"·        Pre-calcined Pet Coke, DDP China, 0.5%\u003CS≤3.0% –",{"text":67956,"type":596,"marks":67957}," NEW",[67958],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":67960,"content":67961},{"textAlign":49},[67962,67964,67968],{"text":67963,"type":596},"These seven prices will be published for access by subscribers to Benchmark’s ",{"text":55357,"type":596,"marks":67965},[67966],{"type":606,"attrs":67967},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":55362,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67970,"content":67971},{"textAlign":49},[67972],{"text":67973,"type":596},"“I’m pleased to announce this addition to Benchmark’s market leading Synthetic Graphite Price Assessment, as Benchmark continues to develop its offering to fulfil its purpose of providing the most trusted actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and energy transition supply chains,” Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":67975,"content":67976},{"textAlign":49},[67977],{"text":67978,"type":596},"“As the battery supply chain evolves Benchmark continues to move with the industry, bringing this latest dataset to its series of graphite price assessments to give our subscribers the trusted data they need for use in long term supply chain contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":67980,"content":67981},{"textAlign":49},[67982],{"text":67983,"type":596},"“We tirelessly collaborate with the global graphite and battery supply chain to ensure Benchmark’s data is the most relevant and dependable in the market and are committed to evolving our Price Assessment operations to reflect latest market conditions”",{"type":615,"attrs":67985,"content":67986},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[67987],{"text":6707,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67989,"content":67990},{"textAlign":49},[67991,67993,67997],{"text":67992,"type":596},"If you would like to provide feedback or become a price submitter for the Benchmark Graphite Price Assessment please contact us at ",{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":67994},[67995],{"type":606,"attrs":67996},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":67999,"content":68000},{"textAlign":49},[68001,68003,68007],{"text":68002,"type":596},"We publish weekly and monthly price assessments, to the highest ",{"text":14083,"type":596,"marks":68004},[68005],{"type":606,"attrs":68006},{"href":6776,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68009,"content":68010},{"textAlign":49},[68011],{"text":55424,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish market price assessments for medium sulphur pet coke (0.5%\u003CS≤3.0%), EXW China spot price, on a monthly basis. The move comes in response to market developments over the past 12 months that have seen synthetic graphite producers supplying battery anode customers with previously unviable material produced from pet coke with […]",[68014],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68015},{"job_title":557,"image":68016,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8ec4bc88-df6c-46b7-baee-35d4706a0873\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68019,68020],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":68022,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68023,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e7f4757a64/bm-oil-refinery.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 01, 2023",{"id":68026,"uuid":68027,"name":68028,"slug":68029,"full_slug":68030,"content":68031},112470523291637,"e3fa7020-31d6-4d3a-b147-2bb6ff333f69","Cathode supply poses problems for post-Brexit EV trade rules","cathode-supply-poses-problems-for-post-brexit-ev-trade-rules","article/cathode-supply-poses-problems-for-post-brexit-ev-trade-rules",{"_uid":68032,"date":67869,"tags":68033,"editor":68036,"content":68040,"excerpt":68194,"featured":50,"reporter":68195,"_editable":68199,"component":697,"seo_title":68028,"categories":68200,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68204,"seo_description":68194,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68024},"7ac2761a-cf82-4954-b14d-58fb18f02722",[68034,68035],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[68037],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68038},{"job_title":557,"image":68039,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68041},[68042,68047,68052,68057,68062,68067,68072,68077,68082,68087,68097,68107,68112,68117,68122,68127,68132,68137,68149,68154,68159,68164,68169,68174,68179,68184,68189],{"type":591,"attrs":68043,"content":68044},{"textAlign":49},[68045],{"text":68046,"type":596},"A lack of local cathode production could make it difficult for auto manufacturers in Europe and the UK to meet new ‘rules of origin’ trade requirements that come into force at the beginning of next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":68048,"content":68049},{"textAlign":49},[68050],{"text":68051,"type":596},"Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), electric vehicles exported between the EU and the UK must comply with rules of origin to be traded tariff-free. The rules dictate whether a car is local enough to qualify for a preferential tariff rate, otherwise a tariff of 10% has to be paid. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68053,"content":68054},{"textAlign":49},[68055],{"text":68056,"type":596},"Expected to kick off on 1 January 2024, the new rules state that up to 60% of the battery pack value and up to 50% of the battery cell value have to originate and be locally sourced from the UK or EU.",{"type":591,"attrs":68058,"content":68059},{"textAlign":49},[68060],{"text":68061,"type":596},"Reaching this threshold could be challenging for automakers. The auto industry has urged for a renegotiation of these rules, with the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) saying this could cost EU vehicle makers €4.3 billion over the next three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":68063,"content":68064},{"textAlign":49},[68065],{"text":68066,"type":596},"“The only way to avoid these duties will be to source all battery parts and some critical battery material in the EU/UK. This is practically impossible to achieve today,” the group said in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":68068,"content":68069},{"textAlign":49},[68070],{"text":68071,"type":596},"Under the new post-Brexit policy, for a battery to be considered local, it won’t be enough for the assembly to happen in Europe or the UK – its components will also have to be primarily domestically sourced. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68073,"content":68074},{"textAlign":49},[68075],{"text":68076,"type":596},"“The cathode active material (CAM) that is used in batteries should also be processed and sourced from the UK or EU for tariff-free trade of EVs, or at least 50% of the material value in each battery cell has to be sourced from UK or EU production, which is very challenging to achieve without originating CAM,” the Advanced Propulsion Centre said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68078,"content":68079},{"textAlign":49},[68080],{"text":68081,"type":596},"Raw materials make up more than 65% of a battery cell cost, with cathode inputs responsible for about 56% depending on the chemistry mix, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68083,"content":68084},{"textAlign":49},[68085],{"text":68086,"type":596},"The UK and EU remain dependent on Chinese supply of cathode materials, with production in the region set to lag behind demand this decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68088,"content":68089},{"textAlign":49},[68090,68092],{"text":68091,"type":596},"Europe is only set to account for 3% of global cathode production capacity by 2025, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":68093,"type":596,"marks":68094},"Cathode Price Assessment. ",[68095],{"type":606,"attrs":68096},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":68098,"content":68099},{"textAlign":49},[68100,68102,68106],{"text":68101,"type":596},"Cathode supply in the region is forecast to reach around 20,500 tonnes per year in 2023, increasing to 315,000 tonnes per year by the end of the decade, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":68103},[68104],{"type":606,"attrs":68105},{"href":64950,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68108,"content":68109},{"textAlign":49},[68110],{"text":68111,"type":596},"More time is also needed, as it can often take three to five years for a facility to become fully operational towards the target capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":68113,"content":68114},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68115],{"text":68116,"type":596},"Auto sector calls for delay",{"type":591,"attrs":68118,"content":68119},{"textAlign":49},[68120],{"text":68121,"type":596},"The UK is the EU’s number one market for vehicle exports by volume, including EU-made battery-electric vehicles, with about one million cars exported in 2022, according to ACEA.",{"type":591,"attrs":68123,"content":68124},{"textAlign":49},[68125],{"text":68126,"type":596},"At the same time, the majority, about 57.5%, of UK-built cars are exported to the EU, with an average value of £20,900, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).",{"type":591,"attrs":68128,"content":68129},{"textAlign":49},[68130],{"text":68131,"type":596},"If the new rules are implemented, EU-made battery electric vehicles could see a £3,400 average price hike starting in January, with British-made battery electric vehicles sold in the EU increasing by an average of £3,600, the SMMT estimates.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":68133,"content":68134},{"textAlign":49},[68135],{"text":68136,"type":596},"The group has called on the UK and EU to postpone the new post-Brexit rules of origin to 2027 to avoid putting the EV transition and net zero ambitions at risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":68138,"content":68139},{"textAlign":49},[68140,68142,68148],{"text":68141,"type":596},"“A three-year delay to the introduction of the stricter rules of origin is a pragmatic solution. It would provide the necessary time for EU and UK gigafactories to come on stream as well as helping the development of local battery parts and critical mineral supply chains,” the SMMT said in a ",{"text":68143,"type":596,"marks":68144},"statement",[68145],{"type":606,"attrs":68146},{"href":68147,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.smmt.co.uk/2023/10/agreement-with-europe-needed-to-avoid-3400-electric-vehicle-tax-hike/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68150,"content":68151},{"textAlign":49},[68152],{"text":68153,"type":596},"Major automakers such as Stellantis have also urged for a delay in the implementation of tariffs to 2027, saying British plants will close if the rules are not promptly renegotiated. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68155,"content":68156},{"textAlign":49},[68157],{"text":68158,"type":596},"US-based Ford has warned that the UK doesn’t have enough local battery and components production to meet the threshold in the new rules, with these only expected to add to costs and slow down the EV transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68160,"content":68161},{"textAlign":49},[68162],{"text":68163,"type":596},"The new rules could potentially see a reduction in electric vehicle production by some 480,000 units, the equivalent output of two average-size auto factories, auto group ACEA said.",{"type":615,"attrs":68165,"content":68166},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68167],{"text":68168,"type":596},"Ongoing discussions between the EU and the UK",{"type":591,"attrs":68170,"content":68171},{"textAlign":49},[68172],{"text":68173,"type":596},"The UK government has called for a three-year delay to the introduction of the new rules of origin, in line with the claims from carmakers and trade associations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68175,"content":68176},{"textAlign":49},[68177],{"text":68178,"type":596},"France is the only EU member state that remains opposed, while Germany leads the European push to delay the introduction of the new rules. France believes that delaying the introduction of more restrictive rules of origin would hamper the EU’s efforts to onshore battery production and develop a European lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":68180,"content":68181},{"textAlign":49},[68182],{"text":68183,"type":596},"According to recent reports, the EU Commission would be willing to grant the UK a one-year postponement. Besides this, EU and UK officials are working on guidance on the definition of cathode active materials for electric vehicle batteries agreed in the TCA.",{"type":591,"attrs":68185,"content":68186},{"textAlign":49},[68187],{"text":68188,"type":596},"“A one-year postponement will likely not bring much relief to UK and EU car manufacturers, given the forecasted lack of cathode production in the EU and UK,” Bryan Bille, principal policy analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68190,"content":68191},{"textAlign":49},[68192],{"text":68193,"type":596},"Discussions between the EU and UK are currently ongoing, ahead of a 31 December 2023 deadline. ","A lack of local cathode production could make it difficult for auto manufacturers in Europe and the UK to meet new ‘rules of origin’ trade requirements that come into force at the beginning of next year. Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), electric vehicles exported between the EU and the UK must comply […]",[68196],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68197},{"job_title":557,"image":68198,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7ac2761a-cf82-4954-b14d-58fb18f02722\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68201,68202,68203],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":60293,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68205,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":68207,"uuid":68208,"name":68209,"slug":68210,"full_slug":68211,"content":68212},112470560102396,"da80f029-d451-4b3c-bca4-ec01dcaa6677","Samsung and Hyundai’s first battery deal targets European market","samsung-and-hyundais-first-battery-deal-targets-european-market","article/samsung-and-hyundais-first-battery-deal-targets-european-market",{"_uid":68213,"date":68214,"tags":68215,"editor":68220,"content":68224,"excerpt":68355,"featured":50,"reporter":68356,"_editable":68360,"component":697,"seo_title":68209,"categories":68361,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68364,"seo_description":68355,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68368},"4fa5eafd-42d2-456e-a930-df801697f671","2023-10-26 00:00",[68216,68219],{"slug":68217,"name":68218},"hyundai","Hyundai",{"slug":64928,"name":64929},[68221],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68222},{"job_title":557,"image":68223,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68225},[68226,68231,68241,68246,68258,68268,68288,68295,68300,68305,68310,68315,68320,68325,68330,68335,68340,68345,68350],{"type":591,"attrs":68227,"content":68228},{"textAlign":49},[68229],{"text":68230,"type":596},"Samsung SDI will supply Hyundai Motor with high nickel electric vehicle (EV) batteries for seven years starting from 2026, the first ever partnership in the EV space between the two South Korean companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68232,"content":68233},{"textAlign":49},[68234,68236,68240],{"text":68235,"type":596},"The prismatic battery cells will be made at Samsung’s factory in Hungary, forecast to supply 16.9% of Europe’s total cell supply in 2023, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":68237},[68238],{"type":606,"attrs":68239},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68242,"content":68243},{"textAlign":49},[68244],{"text":68245,"type":596},"The supply will go into Hyundai EVs aimed at the European market, where around 15% of the company’s sales in the region in the first half of 2023 were zero-emission vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68247,"content":68248},{"textAlign":49},[68249,68251,68256],{"text":68250,"type":596},"Samsung is already supplying German automaker BMW under a ten-year, €2.9 billion ($3.21 billion) deal that began in 2021. It is also party to two US joint ventures: one with ",{"text":8921,"type":596,"marks":68252},[68253],{"type":606,"attrs":68254},{"href":68255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/samsung-confirms-us-battery-race-entry-with-2-5-billion-stellantis-joint-venture",{"text":68257,"type":596}," that aims to build two EV battery plants and another with General Motors, which has one plant in the pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":68259,"content":68260},{"textAlign":49},[68261,68263,68267],{"text":68262,"type":596},"The company is forecast to contribute 5% of global battery supply this year, according to ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":68264},[68265],{"type":606,"attrs":68266},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68269,"content":68270},{"textAlign":49},[68271,68273,68275,68279,68281,68286],{"text":68272,"type":596},"“Samsung’s next gen P6 cells,",{"text":68274,"type":596},"which utilise high nickel ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":68276},[68277],{"type":606,"attrs":68278},{"href":58793,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68280,"type":596}," and silicon ",{"text":68282,"type":596,"marks":68283},"anodes",[68284],{"type":606,"attrs":68285},{"href":52216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68287,"type":596},", will enhance Hyundai’s EV range offerings and competitiveness as well as diversify its battery supply as the market continues to grow rapidly,” said Benchmark analyst Luke Gear.",{"type":591,"attrs":68289,"content":68290},{"textAlign":49},[68291],{"type":836,"attrs":68292},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":68293,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":68294},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/33cfd68f76/bm-europe-north-americas-cell-demand.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":68296,"content":68297},{"textAlign":49},[68298],{"text":68299,"type":596},"The deal will also build on the success of Hyundai’s E-GMP electric vehicle platform, which has helped grow its European EV sales at a 30% compound annual growth rate since 2021, said Gear.",{"type":615,"attrs":68301,"content":68302},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68303],{"text":68304,"type":596},"Samsung targets longer-range EV market",{"type":591,"attrs":68306,"content":68307},{"textAlign":49},[68308],{"text":68309,"type":596},"Samsung has claimed its P6 prismatic battery, central to the Hyundai deal, offers a 10% improvement in energy density on its predecessor, the P5. It is scheduled for mass production in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":68311,"content":68312},{"textAlign":49},[68313],{"text":68314,"type":596},"As well as a 91% nickel NCA cathode, Samsung’s batteries to Hyundai will feature a silicon-based anode that uses its patented composite material combining graphite and ‘nano-sized’ silicon.",{"type":591,"attrs":68316,"content":68317},{"textAlign":49},[68318],{"text":68319,"type":596},"In its third quarter 2023 report, the company stated that its EV battery sales had seen record profitability owing mainly to its P5 batteries and an early ramp-up of its Hungarian plant’s new line. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68321,"content":68322},{"textAlign":49},[68323],{"text":68324,"type":596},"Samsung has targeted the longer-range EV market as a high growth segment showing resilience even as global auto demand slows. ",{"type":615,"attrs":68326,"content":68327},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68328],{"text":68329,"type":596},"Partners in battery research",{"type":591,"attrs":68331,"content":68332},{"textAlign":49},[68333],{"text":68334,"type":596},"Although the deal marks the first EV battery supply arrangement between the companies, Hyundai and Samsung have already been cooperating over next-generation battery research. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68336,"content":68337},{"textAlign":49},[68338],{"text":68339,"type":596},"Both companies are also independently investing in battery R&D. In 2021, the automaker joined Kia and Massachusetts-based Factorial Energy to develop a solid state battery that could be integrated into Hyundai EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68341,"content":68342},{"textAlign":49},[68343],{"text":68344,"type":596},"At the same time, Hyundai is collaborating with Seoul National University to develop new battery technologies at the university’s Joint Battery Research centre. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68346,"content":68347},{"textAlign":49},[68348],{"text":68349,"type":596},"The company has committed an investment of over KRW 30 billion ($22 million) by 2030 into research focusing on battery technologies that can increase EV driving distance and shorten charging time.",{"type":591,"attrs":68351,"content":68352},{"textAlign":49},[68353],{"text":68354,"type":596},"Samsung too is involved in developing its own sodium ion battery and in March 2023 completed a solid state battery pilot line at its R&D centre.","Samsung SDI will supply Hyundai Motor with high nickel electric vehicle (EV) batteries for seven years starting from 2026, the first ever partnership in the EV space between the two South Korean companies. The prismatic battery cells will be made at Samsung’s factory in Hungary, forecast to supply 16.9% of Europe’s total cell supply in […]",[68357],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68358},{"job_title":557,"image":68359,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4fa5eafd-42d2-456e-a930-df801697f671\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68362,68363],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":68365,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":68365,"source":547,"filename":68366,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68367,"is_external_url":51},"Hyundai Kona EV parked next to full length window, with the car reflected in the window","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/hyundai-kona-electric-0923-28-scaled.jpg",{"alt":68365,"title":68365,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 26, 2023",{"id":68370,"uuid":68371,"name":68372,"slug":68373,"full_slug":68374,"content":68375},112470555461627,"0e408e85-ebdd-43ad-a7c5-1ab4c5e56a22","What China’s graphite export restrictions mean for prices","what-chinas-graphite-export-restrictions-mean-for-prices","article/what-chinas-graphite-export-restrictions-mean-for-prices",{"_uid":68376,"date":68214,"tags":68377,"editor":68380,"content":68384,"excerpt":68573,"featured":51,"reporter":68574,"_editable":68578,"component":697,"seo_title":68372,"categories":68579,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68582,"seo_description":68573,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68368},"e8cccdbb-7f7e-454c-93d8-15c5a9a82fd4",[68378,68379],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},[68381],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68382},{"job_title":557,"image":68383,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68385},[68386,68398,68403,68408,68419,68426,68431,68441,68446,68451,68458,68463,68475,68480,68485,68490,68495,68500,68505,68510,68515,68520,68531,68538,68543,68548,68553,68558,68563,68568],{"type":591,"attrs":68387,"content":68388},{"textAlign":49},[68389,68391,68396],{"text":68390,"type":596},"China’s announcement that it will restrict exports on some graphite products starting in December, could lead to a boost in ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":68392},[68393],{"type":606,"attrs":68394},{"href":68395,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/natural-graphite/portal/",{"text":68397,"type":596}," for the battery anode material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68399,"content":68400},{"textAlign":49},[68401],{"text":68402,"type":596},"Companies may look to stockpile supply before the introduction of new export permits. Various traders and flake graphite miners outside of China are already reporting that enquiries for material are beginning to flood in, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":68404,"content":68405},{"textAlign":49},[68406],{"text":68407,"type":596},"The restrictions announced last week also come just ahead of the winter, when graphite mines in China’s northern Heilongjiang province often shut down, curtailing supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68409,"content":68410},{"textAlign":49},[68411,68413,68417],{"text":68412,"type":596},"A price uptick would be a relief to the graphite industry after flake graphite ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":68414},[68415],{"type":606,"attrs":68416},{"href":68395,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68418,"type":596},", (-100 Mesh, 94-95% C, FOB China), fell by 30.8% this year to their lowest levels since September 2021, due to robust supply and slower downstream demand from both the EV and industrial end use sectors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68420,"content":68421},{"textAlign":49},[68422],{"type":836,"attrs":68423},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":68424,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":68425},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8c18ae01a9/bm-flake-graphite-prices-23oct-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":68427,"content":68428},{"textAlign":49},[68429],{"text":68430,"type":596},"Prices have fallen below the cost of production for some flake graphite mines outside China, leading Australia’s Syrah Resources to temporarily halt production at its mine in Mozambique this summer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68432,"content":68433},{"textAlign":49},[68434,68436,68440],{"text":68435,"type":596},"China’s restrictions could provide the stimulus needed to finance graphite mines, to meet a deficit of material that is expected to start as soon as 2025, according to ",{"text":52788,"type":596,"marks":68437},[68438],{"type":606,"attrs":68439},{"href":67549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68442,"content":68443},{"textAlign":49},[68444],{"text":68445,"type":596},"Flake graphite has also faced growing competition from synthetic graphite, which has become cheaper due to the use of lower cost feedstocks, as well as increased production capacity. Battery producers normally use a mix of the two in their anodes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68447,"content":68448},{"textAlign":49},[68449],{"text":68450,"type":596},"Prices for all flake graphite grades, as assessed by Benchmark, fell during September. Higher purity -100 mesh prices dropped by 2.6% m-o-m to an average of $563/tonne (94-95% C, FOB China).  ",{"type":591,"attrs":68452,"content":68453},{"textAlign":49},[68454],{"text":68455,"type":596,"marks":68456},"Watch Benchmark analyst Adam Megginson’s anode presentation from Giga APAC 2023",[68457],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":68459,"content":68460},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68461],{"text":68462,"type":596},"Export restrictions hit South Korea ",{"type":591,"attrs":68464,"content":68465},{"textAlign":49},[68466,68468,68473],{"text":68467,"type":596},"China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs ",{"text":68469,"type":596,"marks":68470},"said",[68471],{"type":606,"attrs":68472},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68474,"type":596}," that from the 1 December export controls will be placed on high purity synthetic graphite and “its products,” as well as flake graphite and its products, including spherical graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68476,"content":68477},{"textAlign":49},[68478],{"text":68479,"type":596},"A spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry, Shu Jueting, said at a press conference this week that the action did not target any specific sector, country or region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68481,"content":68482},{"textAlign":49},[68483],{"text":68484,"type":596},"Still, the announcement has created uncertainty for buyers of Chinese graphite materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68486,"content":68487},{"textAlign":49},[68488],{"text":68489,"type":596},"Nearly 100% of spherical graphite is made in China and 93% of battery anode material is produced in the nation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68491,"content":68492},{"textAlign":49},[68493],{"text":68494,"type":596},"China exports spherical graphite primarily to South Korea, Japan and the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68496,"content":68497},{"textAlign":49},[68498],{"text":68499,"type":596},"Export licences could take between one to two months to be granted, meaning players in the anode value chain outside of China could see their spherical graphite supply affected (the feedstock for natural flake graphite anode production).",{"type":591,"attrs":68501,"content":68502},{"textAlign":49},[68503],{"text":68504,"type":596},"South Korea, the largest anode producer outside of China, said this week that it was working to secure alternative sources of graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68506,"content":68507},{"textAlign":49},[68508],{"text":68509,"type":596},"The country’s Trade Ministry also held meetings with battery producers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On as well as anode producer Posco, according to Nikkei. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68511,"content":68512},{"textAlign":49},[68513],{"text":68514,"type":596},"The country would look to source graphite from countries such as Tanzania and Mozambique, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68516,"content":68517},{"textAlign":49},[68518],{"text":68519,"type":596},"In addition, LG Energy Solution said it would look at “securing some inventory early” to respond to risks, though it highlighted that China’s action was not a ban on graphite exports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68521,"content":68522},{"textAlign":49},[68523,68525,68530],{"text":68524,"type":596},"Flake graphite supply from Africa is set to nearly double by the end of the decade to reach nearly 1.5 million tonnes, according to the ",{"text":68526,"type":596,"marks":68527},"Benchmark Flake Graphite Forecast",[68528],{"type":606,"attrs":68529},{"href":67549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68532,"content":68533},{"textAlign":49},[68534],{"type":836,"attrs":68535},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":68536,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":68537},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ac5ec01c21/bm-chinas-dominance-in-graphite-anodes.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":68539,"content":68540},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68541],{"text":68542,"type":596},"Good news for graphite miners",{"type":591,"attrs":68544,"content":68545},{"textAlign":49},[68546],{"text":68547,"type":596},"Graphite miners outside of China said they could benefit from the export restrictions, as the announcement will further solidify the need to diversify supplies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68549,"content":68550},{"textAlign":49},[68551],{"text":68552,"type":596},"Australia’s Syrah Resources, which mines graphite in Mozambique, said the controls “are expected to result in favourable commercial outcomes in natural graphite sales with ex-China customers due to uncertainty around supply.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":68554,"content":68555},{"textAlign":49},[68556],{"text":68557,"type":596},"The controls will increase the focus for anode producers “to secure reliable long-term supply of ex-China natural graphite feed, and are likely to accelerate Syrah’s transition to a higher proportion of natural graphite sales volumes ex-China,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68559,"content":68560},{"textAlign":49},[68561],{"text":68562,"type":596},"While Chinese graphite producers may ramp up exports before the December 1 deadline, this “alone will not alleviate customer concern,” the company said.",{"type":591,"attrs":68564,"content":68565},{"textAlign":49},[68566],{"text":68567,"type":596},"Syrah paused production at its Balama mine in Mozambique earlier this summer due to low prices, but restarted the mine for 32 days over September and October, the company said this month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68569,"content":68570},{"textAlign":49},[68571],{"text":68572,"type":596},"It said it had the “capability to return to higher capacity utilisation quickly should natural graphite demand increase further.”","China’s announcement that it will restrict exports on some graphite products starting in December, could lead to a boost in prices for the battery anode material. Companies may look to stockpile supply before the introduction of new export permits. Various traders and flake graphite miners outside of China are already reporting that enquiries for material […]",[68575],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68576},{"job_title":557,"image":68577,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8cccdbb-7f7e-454c-93d8-15c5a9a82fd4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68580,68581],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":68583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68584,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d1c91ea071/bm-nextsource-molo-madagascar.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":68586,"uuid":68587,"name":68588,"slug":68589,"full_slug":68590,"content":68591},112470550718458,"e735edad-6f9b-4677-82ce-178fcfbcfa22","India’s Epsilon to build $650 million anode plant in North Carolina","indias-epsilon-to-build-650-million-anode-plant-in-north-carolina","article/indias-epsilon-to-build-650-million-anode-plant-in-north-carolina",{"_uid":68592,"date":68214,"tags":68593,"editor":68595,"content":68599,"excerpt":68743,"featured":51,"reporter":68744,"_editable":68748,"component":697,"seo_title":68588,"categories":68749,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68752,"seo_description":68743,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68368},"c16a5406-07ff-4307-8555-3db6f38760a8",[68594],{"slug":572,"name":573},[68596],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68597},{"job_title":557,"image":68598,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68600},[68601,68614,68619,68635,68640,68645,68650,68661,68673,68684,68691,68696,68708,68713,68718,68723,68728,68733,68738],{"type":591,"attrs":68602,"content":68603},{"textAlign":49},[68604,68606,68612],{"text":68605,"type":596},"India’s top battery anode producer Epsilon Advanced Materials said it will build its first ",{"text":68607,"type":596,"marks":68608},"plant",[68609],{"type":606,"attrs":68610},{"href":68611,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-inflation-reduction-act-has-really-shifted-the-whole-battery-industry-towards-north-america-qa-with-vianode-ceo-hans-erik-vatne",{"text":68613,"type":596}," in the US in North Carolina, so as to meet demand from automakers looking to localise their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":68615,"content":68616},{"textAlign":49},[68617],{"text":68618,"type":596},"The company plans to begin construction of the $650 million facility in mid-2024 and kick off commercial production in 2026. The plant will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year of synthetic graphite anodes, reaching full capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year by 2031, enough to power 1.1 million electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68620,"content":68621},{"textAlign":49},[68622,68627,68629,68633],{"text":68623,"type":596,"marks":68624},"China currently dominates",[68625],{"type":606,"attrs":68626},{"href":65732,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68628,"type":596}," global anode production with a 92% share, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":68630},[68631],{"type":606,"attrs":68632},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68634,"type":596},". That share is expected to drop to 80% in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":68636,"content":68637},{"textAlign":49},[68638],{"text":68639,"type":596},"US automakers will need to source a growing percentage of battery materials  from the US or free trade agreement countries, in order to receive electric vehicle subsidies under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). ",{"type":591,"attrs":68641,"content":68642},{"textAlign":49},[68643],{"text":68644,"type":596},"“US customers are looking for IRA-compliant material in 2026 and Epsilon hopes to be a big supplier to customers and support them with their requirements,” Vikram Handa, managing director of Epsilon, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":68646,"content":68647},{"textAlign":49},[68648],{"text":68649,"type":596},"Epsilon said it has secured non-binding agreements and advanced stage qualification with various battery makers and plans to enter offtakes soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":68651,"content":68652},{"textAlign":49},[68653,68655,68659],{"text":68654,"type":596},"The company, a producer of needle coke and synthetic graphite, added it will leverage its experience in ",{"text":4343,"type":596,"marks":68656},[68657],{"type":606,"attrs":68658},{"href":6341,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68660,"type":596}," to build a plant at a competitive cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":68662,"content":68663},{"textAlign":49},[68664,68666,68671],{"text":68665,"type":596},"The announcement also comes at a time when China’s decision to ",{"text":68667,"type":596,"marks":68668},"restrict some exports of graphite ",[68669],{"type":606,"attrs":68670},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68672,"type":596},"products could curb production of battery anodes in South Korea and elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":68674,"content":68675},{"textAlign":49},[68676,68678,68682],{"text":68677,"type":596},"Anode supply in the US is forecast to reach 113,600 tonnes in 2030, from 3,300 tonnes this year, according to ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":68679},[68680],{"type":606,"attrs":68681},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68683,"type":596},". In contrast, global anode supply, which is dominated by China, is expected to reach 3.2 million tonnes in 2030 from 1.4 million tonnes this year.    ",{"type":591,"attrs":68685,"content":68686},{"textAlign":49},[68687],{"type":836,"attrs":68688},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":68689,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":68690},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d65dfb8798/bm-us-anode-production.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":68692,"content":68693},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68694],{"text":68695,"type":596},"Growth outside India",{"type":591,"attrs":68697,"content":68698},{"textAlign":49},[68699,68701,68706],{"text":68700,"type":596},"The company ",{"text":68702,"type":596,"marks":68703},"has previously told Benchmark Source",[68704],{"type":606,"attrs":68705},{"href":6388,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68707,"type":596}," it plans to focus on supplying global battery makers. In India, the company revealed plans last year to invest Rs 9,000 crore ($1.1 billion) in the country’s southern state Karnataka to set up a battery anode materials facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":68709,"content":68710},{"textAlign":49},[68711],{"text":68712,"type":596},"A year ago, Epsilon also announced a project with Finnish Minerals Group (FMG) to establish a graphite anode plant in Finland with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":68714,"content":68715},{"textAlign":49},[68716],{"text":68717,"type":596},"Earlier this month, Epsilon acquired Johnson Matthey’s lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) cathode active material technology centre in Moosburg, Germany for an undisclosed amount. The move it said would eventually help the company go to market with cathode active material produced at scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":68719,"content":68720},{"textAlign":49},[68721],{"text":68722,"type":596},"North Carolina emerging as a battery hub",{"type":591,"attrs":68724,"content":68725},{"textAlign":49},[68726],{"text":68727,"type":596},"North Carolina has attracted a number of projects linked to the clean energy transition. Epsilon said the location would help it streamline logistics and reduce costs, due to being near a port.",{"type":591,"attrs":68729,"content":68730},{"textAlign":49},[68731],{"text":68732,"type":596},"Other recent projects include Toyota’s plans to invest a total of $5.9 billion in North Carolina where the Japanese automaker plans to make batteries starting in 2025 for its upcoming electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68734,"content":68735},{"textAlign":49},[68736],{"text":68737,"type":596},"Vietnam’s electric vehicle maker VinFast too has announced a $4 billion investment in North Carolina for an automotive assembly and battery manufacturing plant. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68739,"content":68740},{"textAlign":49},[68741],{"text":68742,"type":596},"Finnish electric vehicle charging station maker Kempower also has plans to make components in North Carolina.","India’s top battery anode producer Epsilon Advanced Materials said it will build its first plant in the US in North Carolina, so as to meet demand from automakers looking to localise their supply chains. The company plans to begin construction of the $650 million facility in mid-2024 and kick off commercial production in 2026. The […]",[68745],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68746},{"job_title":557,"image":68747,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c16a5406-07ff-4307-8555-3db6f38760a8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68750,68751],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26781,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68753,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":68755,"uuid":68756,"name":68757,"slug":68758,"full_slug":68759,"content":68760},112470574553088,"6cd3f8f6-fb5e-42a0-9ca3-fd5647202e62","Benchmark satellite analysis confirms gigafactory construction timelines","benchmark-satellite-analysis-confirms-gigafactory-construction-timelines","article/benchmark-satellite-analysis-confirms-gigafactory-construction-timelines",{"_uid":68761,"date":68762,"tags":68763,"editor":68765,"content":68769,"excerpt":68922,"featured":51,"reporter":68923,"_editable":68927,"component":697,"seo_title":68757,"categories":68928,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":68930,"seo_description":68922,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68932},"a0039146-c3d3-40e1-bf82-aaf9d4072286","2023-10-25 00:00",[68764],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[68766],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68767},{"job_title":557,"image":68768,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68770},[68771,68776,68781,68792,68797,68802,68807,68812,68817,68830,68840,68845,68850,68857,68861,68866,68871,68876,68881,68886,68891,68896,68901,68906,68911],{"type":591,"attrs":68772,"content":68773},{"textAlign":49},[68774],{"text":68775,"type":596},"Benchmark has begun monitoring and verifying battery gigafactory construction progress using satellite imagery, as a total of over 160 lithium ion battery cell plants are set to be built this decade globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68777,"content":68778},{"textAlign":49},[68779],{"text":68780,"type":596},"Benchmark has now verified 90% of all Tier 1 capacity globally which represents 38% of the capacity outlook to 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68782,"content":68783},{"textAlign":49},[68784,68786,68790],{"text":68785,"type":596},"As many new companies enter the market, and incumbent producers aggressively scale their production capacity, ",{"text":28423,"type":596,"marks":68787},[68788],{"type":606,"attrs":68789},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68791,"type":596}," will provide further evidence-backed insight into the market, giving greater confidence for Benchmark’s subscribers.",{"type":591,"attrs":68793,"content":68794},{"textAlign":49},[68795],{"text":68796,"type":596},"The world’s Tier 1 battery manufacturers continue to develop the experience curve and are able to install capacity on increasingly shorter timelines.",{"type":591,"attrs":68798,"content":68799},{"textAlign":49},[68800],{"text":68801,"type":596},"The pipeline for lithium ion battery production capacity continues to grow rapidly, with the capacity forecast to 2030 now 9246.4 GWh up by 26.0% on the year prior, with 408 plants now tracked as part of the assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":68803,"content":68804},{"textAlign":49},[68805],{"text":68806,"type":596},"In addition, Benchmark will continue to monitor each site at regular intervals, in order to confirm maintained activity at each factory, particularly as overcapacity in some markets may lead to companies halting construction or production and in some cases abandoning projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":68808,"content":68809},{"textAlign":49},[68810],{"text":68811,"type":596},"The remaining capacity pipeline is expected to be verified in the fourth quarter of this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":68813,"content":68814},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68815],{"text":68816,"type":596},"Tracking battery progress in Hungary",{"type":591,"attrs":68818,"content":68819},{"textAlign":49},[68820,68822,68826,68828],{"text":68821,"type":596},"For example, through new analysis of Samsung SDI’s (Samsung) nameplate 40 GWh cell plant in Göd, Hungary",{"text":68823,"type":596,"marks":68824},",",[68825],{"type":1006},{"text":68827,"type":596}," Benchmark has verified construction began in June, 2016",{"text":68829,"type":596},"and production had begun in 2017, and has as such, designated the site in the category ‘Verified Active Capacity’",{"type":591,"attrs":68831,"content":68832},{"textAlign":49},[68833,68835,68839],{"text":68834,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysis indicates almost continuous construction at the site since its inception, consistent with Benchmark’s capacity ramp up projections within the ",{"text":39594,"type":596,"marks":68836},[68837],{"type":606,"attrs":68838},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68841,"content":68842},{"textAlign":49},[68843],{"text":68844,"type":596},"In addition, analysis of vehicular activity supports large increases in capacity, as well as significant cell supply out of the site. Samsung currently supplies a number of European automakers from Hungary, including German manufacturer, BMW Group (BMW).",{"type":591,"attrs":68846,"content":68847},{"textAlign":49},[68848],{"text":68849,"type":596},"In August 2023, Samsung revealed plans to expand capacity at its cell factory in Hungary to 40 GWh, having previously been targeting 30 GWh. New production lines will manufacture cylindrical high nickel cells, and continued satellite analysis of the site will provide insight into both the installation of such lines, and the utilisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":68851,"content":68852},{"textAlign":49},[68853],{"type":836,"attrs":68854},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":68855,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":68856},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/36e998e0d2/bm-samsung-hungary-benchmark-verified-gif.gif",{},{"type":615,"attrs":68858,"content":68859},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68860],{"text":35541,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":68862,"content":68863},{"textAlign":49},[68864],{"text":68865,"type":596},"Benchmark’s new remote sensing service will be included within its Gigafactory Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":68867,"content":68868},{"textAlign":49},[68869],{"text":68870,"type":596},"This service will provide accurate and transparent insight into downstream projects, backed by satellite imagery.",{"type":591,"attrs":68872,"content":68873},{"textAlign":49},[68874],{"text":68875,"type":596},"Benchmark has combined its detailed knowledge of these existing and planned facilities globally with advanced capabilities in the analysis of satellite imagery using geographic information systems (GIS). ",{"type":591,"attrs":68877,"content":68878},{"textAlign":49},[68879],{"text":68880,"type":596},"Initially this service will verify the status of active battery gigafactories and monitor the progress of individual projects’ construction and production timelines. Through the development of proprietary site evaluation methodologies from satellite imagery, Benchmark will assign each individual cell production site into one of two initial categories:",{"type":591,"attrs":68882,"content":68883},{"textAlign":49},[68884],{"text":68885,"type":596},"·       Verified Active Capacity: Benchmark is satisfied there is visible evidence of cell production activity at the site",{"type":591,"attrs":68887,"content":68888},{"textAlign":49},[68889],{"text":68890,"type":596},"·       Verified Capacity Under Construction: Benchmark is satisfied there is visible evidence of construction at the site",{"type":591,"attrs":68892,"content":68893},{"textAlign":49},[68894],{"text":68895,"type":596},"The indicators used to determine Benchmark Verified status include but are not limited to:",{"type":591,"attrs":68897,"content":68898},{"textAlign":49},[68899],{"text":68900,"type":596},"·       Major construction milestones including site clearance, earth works, ground works, support/wall/roof erection, installation of major services",{"type":591,"attrs":68902,"content":68903},{"textAlign":49},[68904],{"text":68905,"type":596},"·       Vehicle activity levels at the site, including the movement of goods and people",{"type":591,"attrs":68907,"content":68908},{"textAlign":49},[68909],{"text":68910,"type":596},"·       Emissions from active facilities that can be picked up by remote sensing arrays",{"type":591,"attrs":68912,"content":68913},{"textAlign":49},[68914,68916,68920],{"text":68915,"type":596},"As Benchmark continues to refine this service, remote sensing analysis will be extended to include midstream assets, bringing further transparency to anode, cathode, and precursor markets. If you interested in accessing ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":68917},[68918],{"type":606,"attrs":68919},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68921,"type":596},"subscription service please register your interest here:","Benchmark has begun monitoring and verifying battery gigafactory construction progress using satellite imagery, as a total of over 160 lithium ion battery cell plants are set to be built this decade globally. Benchmark has now verified 90% of all Tier 1 capacity globally which represents 38% of the capacity outlook to 2030. As many new […]",[68924],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68925},{"job_title":557,"image":68926,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a0039146-c3d3-40e1-bf82-aaf9d4072286\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[68929],{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":35719,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":68931,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 25, 2023",{"id":68934,"uuid":68935,"name":68936,"slug":68937,"full_slug":68938,"content":68939},112470569744382,"ba81c4f4-7cd2-49d4-bf25-97ebd684088e","In charts: Why decoupling from China’s anode market could be difficult for the West","in-charts-why-decoupling-from-chinas-anode-market-could-be-difficult-for-the-west","article/in-charts-why-decoupling-from-chinas-anode-market-could-be-difficult-for-the-west",{"_uid":68940,"date":68762,"tags":68941,"editor":68945,"content":68949,"excerpt":69159,"featured":51,"reporter":69160,"_editable":69164,"component":697,"seo_title":68936,"categories":69165,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":69169,"featured_image":69171,"seo_description":69159,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":68932},"ef40f985-bac3-4e1b-ba26-ed868c808d17",[68942,68943,68944],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},[68946],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":68947},{"job_title":557,"image":68948,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":68950},[68951,68964,68976,68981,68986,68991,69008,69016,69019,69024,69029,69037,69042,69047,69058,69066,69071,69082,69093,69098,69106,69111,69116,69129,69134,69142],{"type":591,"attrs":68952,"content":68953},{"textAlign":49},[68954,68956,68962],{"text":68955,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that a ",{"text":68957,"type":596,"marks":68958},"severe lack of anode developments",[68959],{"type":606,"attrs":68960},{"href":68961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-looming-battery-anode-shortage",{"text":68963,"type":596}," outside of China will see global reliance on the country continue into the 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":68965,"content":68966},{"textAlign":49},[68967,68969,68974],{"text":68968,"type":596},"China’s recent decision to ",{"text":68970,"type":596,"marks":68971},"restrict some exports of graphite products",[68972],{"type":606,"attrs":68973},{"href":63198,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":68975,"type":596}," has put the anode supply chain under increased scrutiny.",{"type":591,"attrs":68977,"content":68978},{"textAlign":49},[68979],{"text":68980,"type":596},"In the near term, the restrictions could slow battery anode production in markets such as South Korea. However, if the restrictions continue into the long term it could accelerate the development of an ex-China supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":68982,"content":68983},{"textAlign":49},[68984],{"text":68985,"type":596},"“This measure may have some short term impact on the ex-China graphite markets, but it remains a question how this will impact longer term,” Rob Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “An important thing to keep in mind is that China produces far more material than it needs domestically, so they will not want to shut themselves off completely.”",{"type":615,"attrs":68987,"content":68988},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[68989],{"text":68990,"type":596},"China supplies the world",{"type":591,"attrs":68992,"content":68993},{"textAlign":49},[68994,68996,69000,69001,69006],{"text":68995,"type":596},"This year, ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":68997},[68998],{"type":606,"attrs":68999},{"href":62255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":38916,"type":596},{"text":69002,"type":596,"marks":69003},"China will account for 92% of anode production",[69004],{"type":606,"attrs":69005},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69007,"type":596}," globally. This is forecast to drop over the rest of the decade but China is still expected to account for over 80% of anode production in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":69009,"content":69010},{"textAlign":49},[69011],{"type":836,"attrs":69012},{"id":49,"alt":69013,"src":69014,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69015},"China's anode dominance extends into 2030s","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87c470945e/bm-regional-anode-percentages-q3-2023-1307563c5514.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":69017,"content":69018},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":69020,"content":69021},{"textAlign":49},[69022],{"text":69023,"type":596},"China’s dominance means its anode production massively outstrips its domestic demand. The surplus of anode production in China is larger than the combined deficit of the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":69025,"content":69026},{"textAlign":49},[69027],{"text":69028,"type":596},"However, even China’s global strength is forecast to be unable to meet the world’s ever-increasing demand for anode material, primarily driven by skyrocketing demand for electric vehicles. From 2028, China’s surplus will be less than the rest of the world’s deficit for the first time.",{"type":591,"attrs":69030,"content":69031},{"textAlign":49},[69032],{"type":836,"attrs":69033},{"id":49,"alt":69034,"src":69035,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69036},"China is oversupplied with anode material","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/76cabc3807/bm-anode-market-balance-q3-2023-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":69038,"content":69039},{"textAlign":49},[69040],{"text":69041,"type":596},"The grip China has on the anode supply chain is led by relatively few Tier 1 companies. Just four companies account for over half of the global anode supply chain and all are based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":69043,"content":69044},{"textAlign":49},[69045],{"text":69046,"type":596},"The leader is BTR New Energy with almost a fifth of the global market (including its joint ventures). Benchmark forecasts they will triple their production between 2023 and 2030 including new operations in Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":69048,"content":69049},{"textAlign":49},[69050,69052,69056],{"text":69051,"type":596},"Shanshan and Putailai, the second and third largest anode producers, also have plans to develop anode production outside of China with plants in ",{"text":42962,"type":596,"marks":69053},[69054],{"type":606,"attrs":69055},{"href":65787,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69057,"type":596}," and Sweden, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":69059,"content":69060},{"textAlign":49},[69061],{"type":836,"attrs":69062},{"id":49,"alt":69063,"src":69064,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69065},"Just four companies account for over half of global anode production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f63fdc519/bm-chart-screenshot-51.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":69067,"content":69068},{"textAlign":49},[69069],{"text":69070,"type":596},"Outside of China, Japan and South Korea are the strongest anode makers, producing 47% and 39% of ex-China anode supplies, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":69072,"content":69073},{"textAlign":49},[69074,69076,69080],{"text":69075,"type":596},"The largest non-Chinese company by tonnes of anode production in 2023 is ",{"text":29332,"type":596,"marks":69077},[69078],{"type":606,"attrs":69079},{"href":62286,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69081,"type":596},", based in South Korea. It accounts for 3% of global production.",{"type":591,"attrs":69083,"content":69084},{"textAlign":49},[69085,69086,69091],{"text":56720,"type":596},{"text":17939,"type":596,"marks":69087},[69088],{"type":606,"attrs":69089},{"href":69090,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/japans-role-in-developing-the-lithium-ion-battery-industry",{"text":69092,"type":596},", Resonac and the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation are the largest producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":69094,"content":69095},{"textAlign":49},[69096],{"text":69097,"type":596},"Outside of Asia, the US and Sweden are the next strongest countries, representing 8.6% of ex-China supply combined.",{"type":591,"attrs":69099,"content":69100},{"textAlign":49},[69101],{"type":836,"attrs":69102},{"id":49,"alt":69103,"src":69104,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69105},"Japan and South Korea dominate ex-China anode production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/93aa67173c/bm-ex-china-anode-producers-q3-2023-2.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":69107,"content":69108},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69109],{"text":69110,"type":596},"Chemistry matters",{"type":591,"attrs":69112,"content":69113},{"textAlign":49},[69114],{"text":69115,"type":596},"The strength of China’s dominance in anode production varies by chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":69117,"content":69118},{"textAlign":49},[69119,69121,69127],{"text":69120,"type":596},"For ",{"text":69122,"type":596,"marks":69123},"synthetic graphite anodes",[69124],{"type":606,"attrs":69125},{"href":69126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-anode-players-announce-3-9-billion-for-synthetic-graphite-projects",{"text":69128,"type":596},", 98% of global production is forecast to occur in China this year. However for natural graphite anodes, this drops to 79%.",{"type":591,"attrs":69130,"content":69131},{"textAlign":49},[69132],{"text":69133,"type":596},"The majority of ex-China natural graphite anode production is in South Korea and Japan, but North America could match those countries by 2030 if its pipeline projects come online.",{"type":591,"attrs":69135,"content":69136},{"textAlign":49},[69137],{"type":836,"attrs":69138},{"id":49,"alt":69139,"src":69140,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69141},"Synthetic anode production more stongly controlled by China than natural graphite anode production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/457fb1a4c6/bm-regional-synthetic-vs-natural-anode-q3-2023-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":69143,"content":69144},{"textAlign":49},[69145,69147,69151,69153,69158],{"text":69146,"type":596},"However, despite ex-China’s slight strength in natural anode production compared to synthetic, it should be noted that the upstream is still dominated by China with 99% of spherical graphite, the precursor for natural graphite anodes, coming from the country in 2023 according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":69148},[69149],{"type":606,"attrs":69150},{"href":56745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69152,"type":596},". China is also set to produce 69% of synthetic graphite globally according to ",{"text":18271,"type":596,"marks":69154},[69155],{"type":606,"attrs":69156},{"href":69157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/synthetic-graphite/reports",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that a severe lack of anode developments outside of China will see global reliance on the country continue into the 2030s. China’s recent decision to restrict some exports of graphite products has put the anode supply chain under increased scrutiny. In the near term, the restrictions could slow battery anode production in […]",[69161],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69162},{"job_title":557,"image":69163,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ef40f985-bac3-4e1b-ba26-ed868c808d17\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[69166,69167,69168],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":69013,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":69013,"source":547,"filename":69014,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":69170,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":69013,"title":69013,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18336,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":69172,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":69174,"uuid":69175,"name":69176,"slug":69177,"full_slug":69178,"content":69179},112470579521537,"27c40324-7841-4aab-a2d0-7a0924e6a078","New Caledonia nickel losses highlight obstacles to Western supply security","new-caledonia-nickel-losses-highlight-obstacles-to-western-supply-security","article/new-caledonia-nickel-losses-highlight-obstacles-to-western-supply-security",{"_uid":69180,"date":69181,"tags":69182,"editor":69185,"content":69189,"excerpt":69372,"featured":50,"reporter":69373,"_editable":69377,"component":697,"seo_title":69176,"categories":69378,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":69382,"seo_description":69372,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":69386},"9fdc6f1a-7763-4b39-a33a-74ca2413dffe","2023-10-24 00:00",[69183,69184],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[69186],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69187},{"job_title":557,"image":69188,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":69190},[69191,69196,69214,69219,69224,69229,69234,69239,69244,69251,69256,69261,69266,69271,69276,69281,69292,69297,69307,69312,69317,69322,69327,69332,69337,69342,69347,69352,69357,69362,69367],{"type":591,"attrs":69192,"content":69193},{"textAlign":49},[69194],{"text":69195,"type":596},"Glencore’s decision to stop funding its nickel project in the French territory of New Caledonia highlights the difficulties for producers seeking to establish Western supply chains for the critical metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":69197,"content":69198},{"textAlign":49},[69199,69201,69205,69207,69212],{"text":69200,"type":596},"Indonesia is set to supply 66% of global refined nickel in 2032, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":69202},[69203],{"type":606,"attrs":69204},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69206,"type":596},", but heavy Chinese involvement in its industry and concerns around ",{"text":69208,"type":596,"marks":69209},"ESG performance",[69210],{"type":606,"attrs":69211},{"href":62457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69213,"type":596}," are driving the West’s push for alternative sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":69215,"content":69216},{"textAlign":49},[69217],{"text":69218,"type":596},"“Diversification away from Indonesia is definitely something the West is concerned with but a key issue is cost,” said Will Talbot, Benchmark analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":69220,"content":69221},{"textAlign":49},[69222],{"text":69223,"type":596},"High energy and labour costs have driven unprofitability in New Caledonia’s nickel industry for the last 12 years, according to a French government report. Even though there are three integrated refiners in the territory, only Société Le Nickel has recorded positive earnings since 2018. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69225,"content":69226},{"textAlign":49},[69227],{"text":69228,"type":596},"Last month, Glencore announced it will stop funding its Koniambo nickel project after February 2024 due to its “significant losses.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":69230,"content":69231},{"textAlign":49},[69232],{"text":69233,"type":596},"Koniambo, of which Glencore owns 49%, recorded a €192 million EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) loss in 2022, according to a report by the French Inspector General of Finance. Prony Resources’ battery nickel project has also struggled, losing $95 million in EBITDA last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69235,"content":69236},{"textAlign":49},[69237],{"text":69238,"type":596},"Securing high volumes of nickel from diverse sources is crucial to the battery industries in the European Union and the US as 59% of cathode capacity across the regions is forecast to be in high nickel NCM chemistries by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":69240,"content":69241},{"textAlign":49},[69242],{"text":69243,"type":596},"“Mined ore and refined nickel will be the real bottleneck,” said Talbot. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69245,"content":69246},{"textAlign":49},[69247],{"type":836,"attrs":69248},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":69249,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69250},"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/mLx89i6Fpd5FgiZAcytNJaaecbXn0V6v8qRasIzkhyIQtW7vnXiw5BG1yUHOfTWjCxDUDlevV6IyGHU95eqzl0N4O36t6W_04FsUAezMWbPCrfE_dg9hAFH6OPsD1yI1qVfpduccdo2dd5Rthk6LrVM",{},{"type":615,"attrs":69252,"content":69253},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69254],{"text":69255,"type":596},"Cost pressures",{"type":591,"attrs":69257,"content":69258},{"textAlign":49},[69259],{"text":69260,"type":596},"Indonesian nickel refineries enjoy lower operating costs compared to their Western counterparts, primarily due to the abundance of low cost coal energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":69262,"content":69263},{"textAlign":49},[69264],{"text":69265,"type":596},"Even though the true operating costs of HPAL plants in Indonesia are difficult to estimate due to a lack of reporting, these plants are estimated to operate between a cost range of $5,000 and $15,000 per tonne of nickel contained, according to Benchmark’s assessment. In contrast, costs are expected to average $20,000 for the same amount of material for a typical North American sulphide project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69267,"content":69268},{"textAlign":49},[69269],{"text":69270,"type":596},"Another potential supplier for the West is the Philippines. Contributing 11% of global mined nickel supply in 2022, it is the second largest producer after Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69272,"content":69273},{"textAlign":49},[69274],{"text":69275,"type":596},"Sumitomo controls both of the HPAL plants currently operating in the Philippines while Korea’s Posco Future M recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Nickel Prime Solutions to build another HPAL site in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69277,"content":69278},{"textAlign":49},[69279],{"text":69280,"type":596},"Yet industrial rates for electricity in the Philippines are among the highest in the ASEAN region, posing issues to further HPAL buildout there. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69282,"content":69283},{"textAlign":49},[69284,69286,69291],{"text":69285,"type":596},"Further hampering ex-Indonesia viability are falling prices. The price of CIF Asia nickel sulphate has fallen by 30% this year, according to ",{"text":69287,"type":596,"marks":69288},"Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment",[69289],{"type":606,"attrs":69290},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":69293,"content":69294},{"textAlign":49},[69295],{"text":69296,"type":596},"The price declines are being driven by Chinese-backed expansions in Indonesia where Chinese companies have seen success in drastically reducing the capital expenditure and start-up time of new HPAL plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":69298,"content":69299},{"textAlign":49},[69300,69302,69306],{"text":69301,"type":596},"These expansions are adding supply to the market, setting up a structural surplus that is due to continue into 2027, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":69303},[69304],{"type":606,"attrs":69305},{"href":46383,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":69308,"content":69309},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69310],{"text":69311,"type":596},"Green premium could support diversification",{"type":591,"attrs":69313,"content":69314},{"textAlign":49},[69315],{"text":69316,"type":596},"One way ex-Indonesian producers could become more competitive is through the implementation of a green premium.",{"type":591,"attrs":69318,"content":69319},{"textAlign":49},[69320],{"text":69321,"type":596},"“A green premium would be an additional price that companies could start charging for producing clean, ESG-friendly nickel” explained Jorge Uzcategui, a Benchmark analyst. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69323,"content":69324},{"textAlign":49},[69325],{"text":69326,"type":596},"Under a potential green premium scenario, certain Western producers may be able to differentiate their product from Indonesian output based on their environmental performance metrics.",{"type":591,"attrs":69328,"content":69329},{"textAlign":49},[69330],{"text":69331,"type":596},"Laterite ores, which make up 100% of Indonesia’s nickel ore sources, can be processed through different methods – HPAL is the route of choice to produce the feedstock material for nickel sulphate, the form of nickel used in pCAM material for lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69333,"content":69334},{"textAlign":49},[69335],{"text":69336,"type":596},"In Canada and Australia, sulphide ores are more prevalent. Here, producers use what’s known as a conventional processing method, which involves concentrating, smelting and refining nickel ore into metal. If the metal units are destined for the battery market, dissolution of the metal in sulphuric acid would produce nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":69338,"content":69339},{"textAlign":49},[69340],{"text":69341,"type":596},"Many contingent factors influence the environmental impacts of these two refining processes. However, Benchmark analysis estimates the best-performing conventional assets will be 20% less carbon-intensive than the top HPAL assets in 2030 thanks to the greater employment of renewables by Western conventional producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":69343,"content":69344},{"textAlign":49},[69345],{"text":69346,"type":596},"The deployment of HPAL in biodiversity-rich Indonesia is another concern with the method, as it can have potentially severe ecological impacts.",{"type":591,"attrs":69348,"content":69349},{"textAlign":49},[69350],{"text":69351,"type":596},"“What we could potentially see evolving is a sort of bifurcated market, where Western OEMs will be primarily sourcing ESG compliant nickel at a premium, while the other market will be dominated by Chinese sulphate producers sourcing low-cost nickel feedstock regardless of emissions generated or social impacts,” said Uzcategui.",{"type":615,"attrs":69353,"content":69354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69355],{"text":69356,"type":596},"Ex-Indonesia producers respond to ESG demand",{"type":591,"attrs":69358,"content":69359},{"textAlign":49},[69360],{"text":69361,"type":596},"Australia, forecast to produce 2% of refined nickel in 2032, is already responding to EU and US nickel sourcing policies by building up its ESG-compliant capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69363,"content":69364},{"textAlign":49},[69365],{"text":69366,"type":596},"Western Australian Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston recently singled out “high grade, high purity battery nickel” as a focal point in the region’s industrial development strategy, which aims to add value to its existing mining sector with processing capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69368,"content":69369},{"textAlign":49},[69370],{"text":69371,"type":596},"The Australian federal government is also working on a Certification and Life Cycle Analysis for Australian Battery Materials and a Battery Material Provenance Authentication pilot to prove the emissions efficiency of products from the country. ","Glencore’s decision to stop funding its nickel project in the French territory of New Caledonia highlights the difficulties for producers seeking to establish Western supply chains for the critical metal. Indonesia is set to supply 66% of global refined nickel in 2032, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast, but heavy Chinese involvement in its industry and […]",[69374],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69375},{"job_title":557,"image":69376,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9fdc6f1a-7763-4b39-a33a-74ca2413dffe\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[69379,69380,69381],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":69383,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":69383,"source":547,"filename":69384,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":69385,"is_external_url":51},"Sudbury Nickel Smelter","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/195fc0434f/bm-nickel-smelter.webp",{"alt":69383,"title":69383,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 24, 2023",{"id":69388,"uuid":69389,"name":69390,"slug":69391,"full_slug":69392,"content":69393},112470594193412,"6f1962d0-ad26-4f30-9f7c-7027a59f3378","Cobalt prices stage mild recovery in October as seasonal demand improves","cobalt-prices-stage-mild-recovery-in-october-as-seasonal-demand-improves","article/cobalt-prices-stage-mild-recovery-in-october-as-seasonal-demand-improves",{"_uid":69394,"date":69395,"tags":69396,"editor":69400,"content":69404,"excerpt":69530,"featured":50,"reporter":69531,"_editable":69535,"component":697,"seo_title":69390,"categories":69536,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":69539,"seo_description":69530,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":69541},"3171d483-dbc2-4ad2-a0c9-3b7796da7a17","2023-10-20 00:00",[69397,69398,69399],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":2635,"name":743},[69401],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69402},{"job_title":557,"image":69403,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":69405},[69406,69411,69421,69426,69431,69444,69449,69456,69461,69472,69484,69489,69500,69505,69510,69515,69520,69525],{"type":591,"attrs":69407,"content":69408},{"textAlign":49},[69409],{"text":69410,"type":596},"Cobalt prices staged a mild recovery in recent weeks as small increases in downstream demand due to seasonal buying trends brought a relief to producers after prices hit a floor in early September.",{"type":591,"attrs":69412,"content":69413},{"textAlign":49},[69414,69416,69420],{"text":69415,"type":596},"While cobalt prices increased across all grades, CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide rose 3.3% to $17,416 a tonne ($7.9 per pound) between October 1 and 16, according to ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":69417},[69418],{"type":606,"attrs":69419},{"href":43912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":69422,"content":69423},{"textAlign":49},[69424],{"text":69425,"type":596},"“Despite the mild recovery, prices are still very close to the floor,” said Roman Aubry, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69427,"content":69428},{"textAlign":49},[69429],{"text":69430,"type":596},"“Overall, the market is still very bearish on the intermediate to long term, and while we may see some small improvements in the short term, there isn’t an expectation from the market for prices to rise considerably higher anytime soon,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69432,"content":69433},{"textAlign":49},[69434,69436,69442],{"text":69435,"type":596},"According to Aubry, the cobalt market is ",{"text":69437,"type":596,"marks":69438},"highly sentiment driven",[69439],{"type":606,"attrs":69440},{"href":69441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalts-brief-price-rally-ends-as-logistical-constraints-ease-surplus-continues",{"text":69443,"type":596},". The recent increases are also linked to the ‘Golden September, Silver October’ period in China when there’s an expectation that customers will increase buying, which could support electric vehicle sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":69445,"content":69446},{"textAlign":49},[69447],{"text":69448,"type":596},"China’s New Energy Vehicles sales reached 904,000 in September, an increase of 6.8% on a month-on-month basis, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Sales are up 27.7% on a year-on-year basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":69450,"content":69451},{"textAlign":49},[69452],{"type":836,"attrs":69453},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":69454,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69455},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c91a11517f/bm-cobalt-hydroxide-prices-ytd-oct-23.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":69457,"content":69458},{"textAlign":49},[69459],{"text":69460,"type":596},"Further, October is considered a pivotal month for cobalt prices as key players in the supply chain revisit contracts for the year, spurring suppliers to push the market up towards the $8 per pound level.",{"type":591,"attrs":69462,"content":69463},{"textAlign":49},[69464,69466,69471],{"text":69465,"type":596},"Other than the occasional short term tightness, the market is expected to remain in a cobalt supply surplus until 2026 before entering a deficit from 2027 onwards, according to ",{"text":50240,"type":596,"marks":69467},[69468],{"type":606,"attrs":69469},{"href":69470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":69473,"content":69474},{"textAlign":49},[69475,69477,69483],{"text":69476,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide prices are now down 34.8% year-to-date and significantly below the highs reached last year, a trend seen in prices for ",{"text":69478,"type":596,"marks":69479},"most other critical battery materials",[69480],{"type":606,"attrs":69481},{"href":69482,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/3q-roundup-uncertain-demand-hits-battery-mineral-prices",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":69485,"content":69486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69487],{"text":69488,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate and oxide prices",{"type":591,"attrs":69490,"content":69491},{"textAlign":49},[69492,69494,69498],{"text":69493,"type":596},"Chinese cobalt sulphate prices reported the smallest rise and increased 1.4% to RMB 37,500 per tonne ($5,069 per tonne) in the first half of October, according to ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":69495},[69496],{"type":606,"attrs":69497},{"href":43912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69499,"type":596},". Sulphate prices are still down 27.9% on a year-to-date basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":69501,"content":69502},{"textAlign":49},[69503],{"text":69504,"type":596},"Aubry said the increase is also largely seasonal, with improvement in downstream demand just enough to tip the scale slightly to contribute to a price increase for cobalt sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":69506,"content":69507},{"textAlign":49},[69508],{"text":69509,"type":596},"A majority of battery demand for cobalt comes from nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode materials. Buying interest is still underwhelming as NCM cathode makers are opting for moderate inventory building. NCM recovery in China has been smaller than expected resulting in a lower volume of sales. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69511,"content":69512},{"textAlign":49},[69513],{"text":69514,"type":596},"Cobalt oxide prices increased by 4% to RMB 155,000 per tonne ($21,235 per tonne) during the period under review. Portal electronic model announcements during the period supported lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cell demand, which is widely used in portable electronics batteries.",{"type":615,"attrs":69516,"content":69517},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69518],{"text":69519,"type":596},"European metal prices also up",{"type":591,"attrs":69521,"content":69522},{"textAlign":49},[69523],{"text":69524,"type":596},"European metal prices also rose, increasing by 5.2% to $15.65 per pound, as tightness in the superalloy market fed through into the wider cobalt metal market. Due to the significant price gaps, some alloy producers are opting to buy some briquettes from producers like Ambatovy and Murrin Murrin, inducing some additional demand for this segment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69526,"content":69527},{"textAlign":49},[69528],{"text":69529,"type":596},"“It has become harder to acquire metal within the briquettes market recently, with companies restricting their supply and Ambatovy going on scheduled maintenance,” said Aubry.","Cobalt prices staged a mild recovery in recent weeks as small increases in downstream demand due to seasonal buying trends brought a relief to producers after prices hit a floor in early September. While cobalt prices increased across all grades, CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide rose 3.3% to $17,416 a tonne ($7.9 per pound) between October […]",[69532],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69533},{"job_title":557,"image":69534,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3171d483-dbc2-4ad2-a0c9-3b7796da7a17\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[69537,69538],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":46172,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":69540,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 20, 2023",{"id":69543,"uuid":69544,"name":69545,"slug":69546,"full_slug":69547,"content":69548},112470603782151,"3af5bed1-3c20-4eff-8a9a-b14187a54e8c","North American recyclers set sights on European market","north-american-recyclers-set-sights-on-european-market","article/north-american-recyclers-set-sights-on-european-market",{"_uid":69549,"date":69550,"tags":69551,"editor":69558,"content":69562,"excerpt":69871,"featured":51,"reporter":69872,"_editable":69876,"component":697,"seo_title":69545,"categories":69877,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":69880,"seo_description":69871,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":69883},"d3c0b47a-febc-409d-b956-845e4553a195","2023-10-18 00:00",[69552,69553,69554,69555,69556,69557],{"slug":28851,"name":28852},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":29739,"name":28952},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":29742,"name":29743},{"slug":6203,"name":6204},[69559],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69560},{"job_title":557,"image":69561,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":69563},[69564,69576,69594,69606,69618,69631,69643,69653,69658,69665,69670,69675,69680,69685,69690,69702,69707,69712,69717,69722,69733,69738,69743,69748,69753,69758,69763,69781,69786,69791,69804,69809,69814,69819,69824,69829,69834,69839,69844,69856,69861,69866],{"type":591,"attrs":69565,"content":69566},{"textAlign":49},[69567,69569,69574],{"text":69568,"type":596},"Li-Cycle and Redwood Materials, both ",{"text":69570,"type":596,"marks":69571},"headquartered in North America",[69572],{"type":606,"attrs":69573},{"href":38766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69575,"type":596},", have recently made moves into the European market as they look to tap into the demand generated by recent European legislation.",{"type":591,"attrs":69577,"content":69578},{"textAlign":49},[69579,69581,69586,69588,69592],{"text":69580,"type":596},"Last month, ",{"text":69582,"type":596,"marks":69583},"Li-Cycle opened its plant in Germany",[69584],{"type":606,"attrs":69585},{"href":17370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69587,"type":596},", while ",{"text":38792,"type":596,"marks":69589},[69590],{"type":606,"attrs":69591},{"href":38905,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69593,"type":596}," said it would acquire Redux Recycling, a German recycler, for an undisclosed sum.",{"type":591,"attrs":69595,"content":69596},{"textAlign":49},[69597,69599,69604],{"text":69598,"type":596},"The deals come as the European Parliament adopted the proposal for the Critical Raw Materials Act last month, which calls for 15% of critical materials to be sourced through recycling by 2030. This is in addition to the ",{"text":69600,"type":596,"marks":69601},"EU’s New Batteries Regulation",[69602],{"type":606,"attrs":69603},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69605,"type":596},", which mandates that batteries sold within the EU contain minimum levels of recycled materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":69607,"content":69608},{"textAlign":49},[69609,69611,69616],{"text":69610,"type":596},"This is a different approach to the US which has opted to encourage the growth of its battery supply chain through electric vehicle tax incentives that ",{"text":69612,"type":596,"marks":69613},"encourage the use of recycled materials",[69614],{"type":606,"attrs":69615},{"href":38778,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69617,"type":596}," with no specific mandates relating to recycling.",{"type":591,"attrs":69619,"content":69620},{"textAlign":49},[69621,69623,69629],{"text":69622,"type":596},"“The IRA has no doubt led to increased investment in recycling operations in North America,” ",{"text":69624,"type":596,"marks":69625},"Sarah Colbourn",[69626],{"type":606,"attrs":69627},{"href":69628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-battery-recycling-in-north-america",{"text":69630,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark, said. “But this hasn’t meant that Europe is falling behind totally – though it’s lacking similar financial incentives, the need to advance capacity is real there considering the Batteries Regulation targets.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69632,"content":69633},{"textAlign":49},[69634,69636,69641],{"text":69635,"type":596},"Both regions have ",{"text":69637,"type":596,"marks":69638},"recycling scrap pools",[69639],{"type":606,"attrs":69640},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69642,"type":596}," of around nine gigawatt-hours which are expected to grow substantially as gigafactories come online and electric vehicles reach the end of their life.",{"type":591,"attrs":69644,"content":69645},{"textAlign":49},[69646,69648,69652],{"text":69647,"type":596},"Europe’s battery scrap pool is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40% between 2023 and 2030, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":69649},[69650],{"type":606,"attrs":69651},{"href":48818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":69654,"content":69655},{"textAlign":49},[69656],{"text":69657,"type":596},"But Europe faces challenges. With the US offering generous incentives, it needs to reform its funding bodies to make finance more accessible and desirable. Industry is also calling for clarification on the classification of black mass to help stop the critical minerals contained within the material leaking out of the bloc and into Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":69659,"content":69660},{"textAlign":49},[69661],{"type":836,"attrs":69662},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":69663,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":69664},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a2cbf08034/bm-chart-screenshot-50.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":69666,"content":69667},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69668],{"text":69669,"type":596},"Moving into Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":69671,"content":69672},{"textAlign":49},[69673],{"text":69674,"type":596},"Both Europe and North America are home to operational lithium ion battery recycling facilities. However, there are only two companies with operations in both regions: Li-Cycle and Redwood Materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":69676,"content":69677},{"textAlign":49},[69678],{"text":69679,"type":596},"Benchmark Source attended the opening of Li-Cycle’s latest ‘spoke’ facility which takes in waste batteries and processes them into black mass. Located in Germany, it is the company’s first facility to open outside of North America. The 20,000 square metre space is currently home to one of the company’s shredding lines which has the capacity to process 10,000 tonnes of waste batteries per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":69681,"content":69682},{"textAlign":49},[69683],{"text":69684,"type":596},"Able to take batteries of any format, the line stretches the length of the facility. Three tall shredding hoppers filled with a water-based solution  shred lithium ion batteries without the need for discharging them. The batteries are progressively shredded down until glittery black powder comes out at the end. This is the black mass that is then sent on to Li-Cycle’s centralised hub facilities to be hydrometallurgical processed into battery-grade chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":69686,"content":69687},{"textAlign":49},[69688],{"text":69689,"type":596},"A blocked off area of the German spoke is where a second line is being constructed and Li-Cycle has plans for a third which will bring the capacity up to 30,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":69691,"content":69692},{"textAlign":49},[69693,69695,69700],{"text":69694,"type":596},"Li-Cycle plans to send the black mass produced by the German spoke to a central ‘hub’ facility in Portovesme, Italy where it will be converted into battery grade chemicals. This ",{"text":69696,"type":596,"marks":69697},"facility is being developed in conjunction with Glencore",[69698],{"type":606,"attrs":69699},{"href":63943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69701,"type":596},". The company is also developing a hub in Rochester, New York.",{"type":591,"attrs":69703,"content":69704},{"textAlign":49},[69705],{"text":69706,"type":596},"Redwood Materials operates an integrated facility in Nevada and has another planned in South Carolina. Both are designed to produce battery grade materials including cathode active material and copper anode foils.",{"type":591,"attrs":69708,"content":69709},{"textAlign":49},[69710],{"text":69711,"type":596},"The acquisition of Redux Recycling in Germany is Redwood’s first step into the European market and gives them access to a pre-processing facility. Redwood plans to develop hydrometallurgical operations similar to its US operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":69713,"content":69714},{"textAlign":49},[69715],{"text":69716,"type":596},"“In a perfect world. I think we want to replicate what we’re doing in the United States,” Jackson Switzer, Redwood’s vice president for business development, told Benchmark Source. “We want to learn and dive in and see what works and see what doesn’t work and appreciate the differences between the US and Europe. The Redux acquisition is a great way for us to learn by doing very quickly.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69718,"content":69719},{"textAlign":49},[69720],{"text":69721,"type":596},"Ascend Elements, headquartered in Massachusetts, has a 30,000 tonne per year pre-processing facility in Georgia, US and is planning a hydrometallurgical facility in Kentucky.",{"type":591,"attrs":69723,"content":69724},{"textAlign":49},[69725,69731],{"text":69726,"type":596,"marks":69727},"Mike O’Kronley, Ascend’s chief executive",[69728],{"type":606,"attrs":69729},{"href":69730,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/this-level-of-investment-in-manufacturing-hasnt-happened-in-the-us-in-more-than-half-a-century-qa-with-ascend-elements-ceo-mike-okronley",{"text":69732,"type":596},", told Benchmark Source that the company plans to move into Europe, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":69734,"content":69735},{"textAlign":49},[69736],{"text":69737,"type":596},"“We’re already bringing back and recycling materials in Europe,” he said. “I would expect that within the next several quarters […] we will be making an announcement about what we’re doing in Europe.”",{"type":615,"attrs":69739,"content":69740},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69741],{"text":69742,"type":596},"Funding differences ",{"type":591,"attrs":69744,"content":69745},{"textAlign":49},[69746],{"text":69747,"type":596},"Europe’s more regulatory approach to developing the battery supply chain means the pot of money available is smaller than that of the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":69749,"content":69750},{"textAlign":49},[69751],{"text":69752,"type":596},"“More money is needed from the EU for industrialisation [of battery recycling],” Aman Chitkara, Li-Cycle’s director of government relations for EMEA, told Benchmark Source. “New public finance focused on the scaling and industrialization of processing, refining, and recycling operations in the EU could provide a major boost to critical minerals security in the EU.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69754,"content":69755},{"textAlign":49},[69756],{"text":69757,"type":596},"Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the US bolstered the development of a domestic battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":69759,"content":69760},{"textAlign":49},[69761],{"text":69762,"type":596},"This has helped the recycling industry through improving surety of demand, increasing the size of the scrap pool, and significantly increasing the funding that can be accessed.",{"type":591,"attrs":69764,"content":69765},{"textAlign":49},[69766,69768,69772,69774,69779],{"text":69767,"type":596},"Further to catalysing investment, the ",{"text":28960,"type":596,"marks":69769},[69770],{"type":606,"attrs":69771},{"href":47990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69773,"type":596}," has significant funding at its disposal. It made a conditional commitment for a ",{"text":69775,"type":596,"marks":69776},"$2 billion loan to Redwood",[69777],{"type":606,"attrs":69778},{"href":38796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69780,"type":596}," and $375 million to Li-Cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":69782,"content":69783},{"textAlign":49},[69784],{"text":69785,"type":596},"The EU has the Innovation Fund, which is funded by the EU’s emissions trading scheme which puts a cost on carbon. But Chitkara said accessing this is complicated in comparison to the DoE schemes in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":69787,"content":69788},{"textAlign":49},[69789],{"text":69790,"type":596},"“Current EU incentive opportunities geared towards scale-up and industrialisation can be hard to access for growth companies such as Li-Cycle,” he said. “You need process reform.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69792,"content":69793},{"textAlign":49},[69794,69796,69802],{"text":69795,"type":596},"Li-Cycle, alongside a variety of other players in the battery supply chain including Northvolt and Albemarle, were ",{"text":69797,"type":596,"marks":69798},"co-signatories of a letter to the EU",[69799],{"type":606,"attrs":69800},{"href":69801,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/expansion-of-the-eu-innovation-fund-needed-for-battery-supply-chain/",{"text":69803,"type":596}," calling for an expansion of the Innovation Fund and the development of a European Critical Minerals Fund.",{"type":591,"attrs":69805,"content":69806},{"textAlign":49},[69807],{"text":69808,"type":596},"Switzer said that the regulations and policies coming in Europe will help “seed the localisation of supply chains” and emphasised that incentives should not be the basis of a business model.",{"type":591,"attrs":69810,"content":69811},{"textAlign":49},[69812],{"text":69813,"type":596},"“We’ve got to create a business that is competitive on a global basis irrespective of government subsidies, because eventually those will go away,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":69815,"content":69816},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[69817],{"text":69818,"type":596},"Keeping black mass in Europe’s borders",{"type":591,"attrs":69820,"content":69821},{"textAlign":49},[69822],{"text":69823,"type":596},"Currently, it is often more economical for recyclers in Europe to shred used batteries and export the black mass to Asia according to Benchmark’s Recycling Cost Model.",{"type":591,"attrs":69825,"content":69826},{"textAlign":49},[69827],{"text":69828,"type":596},"Over 60% of the operating recycling facilities in Europe purely process batteries into black mass according to Benchmark’s Battery Recyclers Database. By contrast, just a third of Chinese recycling facilities are dedicated only to producing black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":69830,"content":69831},{"textAlign":49},[69832],{"text":69833,"type":596},"For example, South Korea’s SungEel HiTech operates two shredding facilities in Europe with another three planned. It operates a hydrometallurgical facility, and has a second one planned, in South Korea with no European plans for such a facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":69835,"content":69836},{"textAlign":49},[69837],{"text":69838,"type":596},"A key way Europe could control the loss of valuable black mass is through characterising it as a hazardous waste and harmonising the waste codes that apply to it and waste batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":69840,"content":69841},{"textAlign":49},[69842],{"text":69843,"type":596},"“Industry is calling for Europe to act faster in this space: there have been recent calls to hasten the introduction of waste codes for batteries and black mass, under the European List of Waste, as they set out in the Critical Raw Materials Act for 2024,” Colbourn said.",{"type":591,"attrs":69845,"content":69846},{"textAlign":49},[69847,69848,69854],{"text":37744,"type":596},{"text":69849,"type":596,"marks":69850},"joint letter",[69851],{"type":606,"attrs":69852},{"href":69853,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/europe-needs-to-act-over-black-mass-commission-told/",{"text":69855,"type":596}," from Eurometaux, Recharge, Transport & Environment, and WWF says that recyclers in Europe are struggling to secure supplies of black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":69857,"content":69858},{"textAlign":49},[69859],{"text":69860,"type":596},"“There are currently no restrictions on black mass exports, so our critical metals simply leave Europe unchecked,” the letter says. “China on the other hand, has banned the exports of black mass.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69862,"content":69863},{"textAlign":49},[69864],{"text":69865,"type":596},"Currently, there are multiple possible waste codes that can be applied to used lithium ion batteries and black mass, which Redwood’s Switzer said adds “a bunch of costs” when moving the material within Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":69867,"content":69868},{"textAlign":49},[69869],{"text":69870,"type":596},"“It just adds a lot of administrative burden to a material that at the end of the day, once it is processed and refined has substantial value and is actually a product,” he said.","Li-Cycle and Redwood Materials, both headquartered in North America, have recently made moves into the European market as they look to tap into the demand generated by recent European legislation. Last month, Li-Cycle opened its plant in Germany, while Redwood said it would acquire Redux Recycling, a German recycler, for an undisclosed sum. The deals […]",[69873],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69874},{"job_title":557,"image":69875,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d3c0b47a-febc-409d-b956-845e4553a195\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[69878,69879],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":69881,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":69882,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/98b1d8dd15/bm-2023-08-17-licycle-42.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 18, 2023",{"id":69885,"uuid":69886,"name":69887,"slug":69888,"full_slug":69889,"content":69890},112470613501961,"fa15c928-da2c-4e3b-9965-1e37f1575e84","Albemarle withdraws Liontown bid after Australian billionaire increases stake","albemarle-withdraws-liontown-bid-after-australian-billionaire-increases-stake","article/albemarle-withdraws-liontown-bid-after-australian-billionaire-increases-stake",{"_uid":69891,"date":69892,"tags":69893,"editor":69897,"content":69901,"excerpt":70058,"featured":50,"reporter":70059,"_editable":70063,"component":697,"seo_title":69887,"categories":70064,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70067,"seo_description":70058,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70070},"0446b94e-bd10-4e10-b131-d7beccd318c4","2023-10-17 00:00",[69894,69895,69896],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":44555,"name":44556},{"slug":31098,"name":31099},[69898],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":69899},{"job_title":557,"image":69900,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":69902},[69903,69916,69921,69926,69931,69941,69946,69961,69966,69979,69984,69989,70008,70013,70018,70023,70028,70033,70038,70043,70048,70053],{"type":591,"attrs":69904,"content":69905},{"textAlign":49},[69906,69908,69914],{"text":69907,"type":596},"Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, has withdrawn its A$6.6 billion ($4.18 billion) ",{"text":69909,"type":596,"marks":69910},"bid",[69911],{"type":606,"attrs":69912},{"href":69913,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/albemarle-offers-premium-to-secure-australian-lithium-resources-with-liontown-deal",{"text":69915,"type":596}," to acquire Australian lithium miner Liontown, after the Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart built a large stake in the company. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69917,"content":69918},{"textAlign":49},[69919],{"text":69920,"type":596},"US-based Albemarle cited ‘growing complexities’ linked to the deal as a reason for its decision to withdraw the company, which is developing the Kathleen Valley lithium hardrock lithium project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69922,"content":69923},{"textAlign":49},[69924],{"text":69925,"type":596},"“Our engagement with the Liontown team has been meaningful and productive. We appreciate the level of cooperation we have received, and we thank the entire team for their efforts,” said Kent Masters, CEO of Albemarle. “That said, moving forward with the acquisition, at this time, is not in Albemarle’s best interests.”  ",{"type":591,"attrs":69927,"content":69928},{"textAlign":49},[69929],{"text":69930,"type":596},"The deal would have helped Albemarle further expand in Australia where it already owns stakes in the Greenbushes and Wodgina mines and has plans to double output at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69932,"content":69933},{"textAlign":49},[69934,69936],{"text":69935,"type":596},"Spodumene supply from Australia is set to double up by 2030, with the country accounting for over 30% of global mined lithium supply from any ore type by the end of the decade, according to the ",{"text":69937,"type":596,"marks":69938},"Benchmark Lithium Forecast.",[69939],{"type":606,"attrs":69940},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":69942,"content":69943},{"textAlign":49},[69944],{"text":69945,"type":596},"The Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia has an initial planned nameplate capacity of 500,000 tpa of spodumene concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":69947,"content":69948},{"textAlign":49},[69949,69951,69955,69957,69959],{"text":69950,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have fallen by 68.8% this year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":19758,"type":596,"marks":69952},[69953],{"type":606,"attrs":69954},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":69956,"type":596},", making it an opportune time for acquisitions. Prices for spodumene ",{"text":69958,"type":596},"c",{"text":69960,"type":596},"oncentrate, FOB Australia, 6% Li2O, have fallen by 51.3% to $3,120 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69962,"content":69963},{"textAlign":49},[69964],{"text":69965,"type":596},"Albemarle planned to acquire all of the outstanding shares in Liontown via a cash offer at AUD 3.00 ($1.91) per share. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69967,"content":69968},{"textAlign":49},[69969,69971,69977],{"text":69970,"type":596},"The withdrawal of the bid raises questions about Albemarle’s expansion plans in Australia. Masters said in August that the company plans to ",{"text":69972,"type":596,"marks":69973},"make more acquisitions",[69974],{"type":606,"attrs":69975},{"href":69976,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/albemarle-looks-to-acquire-more-lithium-resources-to-secure-post-2030-supply",{"text":69978,"type":596}," in early stage lithium projects as the company looks to secure resources to meet future demand after 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":69980,"content":69981},{"textAlign":49},[69982],{"text":69983,"type":596},"Albemarle said in its statement that it will “continue to execute its long-term growth strategy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":69985,"content":69986},{"textAlign":49},[69987],{"text":69988,"type":596},"But Kathleen Valley is one of the few new projects due to come into production next year along with the Mt Holland and Mt Ida mines, according to Cameron Perks, an analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":69990,"content":69991},{"textAlign":49},[69992,69994,70000,70001,70006],{"text":69993,"type":596},"In addition Liontown had already signed agreements with ",{"text":69995,"type":596,"marks":69996},"Ford Motor",[69997],{"type":606,"attrs":69998},{"href":69999,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/liontown-resources-signs-binding-agreement-to-supply-spodumene-concentrate-to-ford-benchmark-lithium/?categories=demand,mining,prices,processing-refining&search=liontown",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":2779,"type":596,"marks":70002},[70003],{"type":606,"attrs":70004},{"href":70005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/liontown-sign-agreement-to-supply-spodumene-concentrate-to-tesla-benchmark-lithium/?categories=demand,mining,prices,processing-refining&search=liontown",{"text":70007,"type":596},", and LG Energy Solution to supply spodumene concentrate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70009,"content":70010},{"textAlign":49},[70011],{"text":70012,"type":596},"Other advanced projects include Essential Metals’ Pioneer Dome, but miner MinRes acquired a 19.95% stake in the company earlier this year, blocking a proposed takeover by Tianqi Lithium and IGO. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70014,"content":70015},{"textAlign":49},[70016],{"text":70017,"type":596},"Elsewhere Chilean lithium miner SQM holds a 19.9% stake in Azure Minerals while MinRes also holds around 10% of Global Lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70019,"content":70020},{"textAlign":49},[70021],{"text":70022,"type":596},"“A number of earlier-stage explorers come to mind… But they’re a long way off,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70024,"content":70025},{"textAlign":49},[70026],{"text":70027,"type":596},"Albemarle has already made a series of deals this year including a 4.9% stake in Canadian junior miner Patriot Battery Metals for C$109 million ($82 million) as well as acquiring a 100% stake in Western Lithium, a subsidiary of Lithium Power, in a deal valued at A$30 million ($20 million). ",{"type":615,"attrs":70029,"content":70030},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70031],{"text":70032,"type":596},"Rinehart’s entry",{"type":591,"attrs":70034,"content":70035},{"textAlign":49},[70036],{"text":70037,"type":596},"Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting began building a stake in Liontown last month, just days after Albemarle’s revised proposal of A$3 in cash per share was accepted by Liontown.",{"type":591,"attrs":70039,"content":70040},{"textAlign":49},[70041],{"text":70042,"type":596},"On Oct. 11 Hancock revealed it had acquired a 19.9% share in Liontown and it looked forward to having a “prominent influence in Liontown’s future.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":70044,"content":70045},{"textAlign":49},[70046],{"text":70047,"type":596},"Liontown on Thursday said it secured enough financing to advance Kathleen Valley to first production, via a debt package and an equity raising. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70049,"content":70050},{"textAlign":49},[70051],{"text":70052,"type":596},"The company said it would raise A$365 million via an institutional placement of shares at A$1.80 per share, and A$10.8 million via a placement to Liontown’s chairman, Timothy Goyder. In addition existing shareholders can participate in a share pruchase plan to raise up to a further A$45 million, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70054,"content":70055},{"textAlign":49},[70056],{"text":70057,"type":596},"The company remains focused starting first production from the Kathleen Valley project in mid-2024, the company added. ","Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, has withdrawn its A$6.6 billion ($4.18 billion) bid to acquire Australian lithium miner Liontown, after the Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart built a large stake in the company. US-based Albemarle cited ‘growing complexities’ linked to the deal as a reason for its decision to withdraw the company, which is developing […]",[70060],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70061},{"job_title":557,"image":70062,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0446b94e-bd10-4e10-b131-d7beccd318c4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70065,70066],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70068,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70069,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ef36e3e9ec/bm-liontown-resources-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 17, 2023",{"id":70072,"uuid":70073,"name":70074,"slug":70075,"full_slug":70076,"content":70077},112470632826894,"4d92b0d0-8505-42c8-ab14-776dc49afa2e","Bankruptcy of China’s “manganese king” adds uncertainty to battery supply","bankruptcy-of-chinas-manganese-king-adds-uncertainty-to-battery-supply","article/bankruptcy-of-chinas-manganese-king-adds-uncertainty-to-battery-supply",{"_uid":70078,"date":70079,"tags":70080,"editor":70082,"content":70086,"excerpt":70177,"featured":50,"reporter":70178,"_editable":70182,"component":697,"seo_title":70074,"categories":70183,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70185,"seo_description":70177,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70188},"47212413-f019-4e03-aebc-54208c775282","2023-10-13 00:00",[70081],{"slug":575,"name":576},[70083],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70084},{"job_title":557,"image":70085,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70087},[70088,70093,70098,70108,70113,70118,70130,70135,70140,70145,70150,70157,70162,70167,70172],{"type":591,"attrs":70089,"content":70090},{"textAlign":49},[70091],{"text":70092,"type":596},"The bankruptcy of China’s largest manganese producer adds more uncertainty to the future supply of manganese sulphate for lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70094,"content":70095},{"textAlign":49},[70096],{"text":70097,"type":596},"Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry was unable to pay its debts and filed for bankruptcy last month, according to Chinese media reports. The company was founded in 2003 and led by chairman Jia Tianjiang, the richest man in Ningxia province, who was known as the “manganese king.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":70099,"content":70100},{"textAlign":49},[70101,70103,70107],{"text":70102,"type":596},"There is no indication that the bankruptcy filing has impacted operations, but it could further delay or scupper the company’s planned 1 million tonne gross capacity manganese sulphate project. The project was set to account for around 42% of total potential Chinese processing capacity, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":25883,"type":596,"marks":70104},[70105],{"type":606,"attrs":70106},{"href":56308,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70109,"content":70110},{"textAlign":49},[70111],{"text":70112,"type":596},"TMI, as it is known, is the largest company in China’s Ningxia province with over 10,000 employees. But lower manganese prices in China have left it unable to pay its debts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70114,"content":70115},{"textAlign":49},[70116],{"text":70117,"type":596},"At the end of 2022 it had RMB 142.8 billion ($19.5 billion) in total assets, and total debt of RMB 118.4 billion, according to reports, and additional RMB 36 billion of guaranteed debts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70119,"content":70120},{"textAlign":49},[70121,70123,70128],{"text":70122,"type":596},"Currently over ",{"text":70124,"type":596,"marks":70125},"96% of high-purity manganese sulphate supply for batteries comes from China",[70126],{"type":606,"attrs":70127},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70129,"type":596},", according to Benchmark.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":70131,"content":70132},{"textAlign":49},[70133],{"text":70134,"type":596},"If the project is cancelled or not bought by another company, the manganese sulphate deficit could come two years earlier around 2026 to 2027, according to Anna Fleming, a consultant at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70136,"content":70137},{"textAlign":49},[70138],{"text":70139,"type":596},"“This scenario could see the project, or at least some phases of it cancelled,” she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70141,"content":70142},{"textAlign":49},[70143],{"text":70144,"type":596},"TMI was going to produce manganese sulphate from electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), a process that could make it difficult for any buyer of the asset, since it only potentially makes sense where there is integration with low cost EMM production, Fleming said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70146,"content":70147},{"textAlign":49},[70148],{"text":70149,"type":596},"Still, the company has experienced problems in the past, and has faced bankruptcy at least four times. It’s the most important industrial company in Ningxia, so could see support from the provincial government. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70151,"content":70152},{"textAlign":49},[70153],{"type":836,"attrs":70154},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":70155,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":70156},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/53617fefc0/bm-image-47.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":70158,"content":70159},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70160],{"text":70161,"type":596},"Rising battery demand",{"type":591,"attrs":70163,"content":70164},{"textAlign":49},[70165],{"text":70166,"type":596},"Demand for manganese in lithium ion batteries is increasing as battery producers add the mineral into lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to produce LMFP chemistries, which have higher energy density.",{"type":591,"attrs":70168,"content":70169},{"textAlign":49},[70170],{"text":70171,"type":596},"Manganese is largely consumed in lithium-ion batteries as a manganese sulphate salt in the production of cathode precursor (pCAM) before lithiation and production of cathode active material (CAM).",{"type":591,"attrs":70173,"content":70174},{"textAlign":49},[70175],{"text":70176,"type":596},"Manganese demand from cathodes is set to increase from 225,000 tonnes of manganese contained in 2025 to 708,000 by 2030, according to Benchmark. ","The bankruptcy of China’s largest manganese producer adds more uncertainty to the future supply of manganese sulphate for lithium ion batteries. Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry was unable to pay its debts and filed for bankruptcy last month, according to Chinese media reports. The company was founded in 2003 and led by chairman Jia Tianjiang, the […]",[70179],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70180},{"job_title":557,"image":70181,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"47212413-f019-4e03-aebc-54208c775282\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70184],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70186,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70187,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4ffcfe0ae7/bm-ningxia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 13, 2023",{"id":70190,"uuid":70191,"name":70192,"slug":70193,"full_slug":70194,"content":70195},112470623094795,"3f27cecd-6f0f-457f-95c4-d74332cccf1c","US targets rare earth magnet industry","us-targets-rare-earth-magnet-industry","article/us-targets-rare-earth-magnet-industry",{"_uid":70196,"date":70079,"tags":70197,"editor":70199,"content":70203,"excerpt":70329,"featured":50,"reporter":70330,"_editable":70334,"component":697,"seo_title":70192,"categories":70335,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70339,"seo_description":70329,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70188},"cab2bcb6-af27-4017-ab62-d7b756be43ff",[70198],{"slug":572,"name":573},[70200],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70201},{"job_title":557,"image":70202,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70204},[70205,70210,70215,70220,70230,70235,70240,70245,70250,70255,70260,70265,70277,70282,70294,70299,70304,70309,70314,70319,70324],{"type":591,"attrs":70206,"content":70207},{"textAlign":49},[70208],{"text":70209,"type":596},"The US has been focusing on building its rare earths permanent magnets (REMPs) manufacturing capacity as the country continues to take steps to reduce its reliance on China for the vital defence application components.",{"type":591,"attrs":70211,"content":70212},{"textAlign":49},[70213],{"text":70214,"type":596},"“There’s a lot of companies wanting to build downstream capacity in the US while most upstream sources of supply will likely come from Australia and elsewhere,” said Daan de Jonge, project manager at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70216,"content":70217},{"textAlign":49},[70218],{"text":70219,"type":596},"REPMs are high performance magnets used in F-35 bombers, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and other defence systems. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70221,"content":70222},{"textAlign":49},[70223,70225,70229],{"text":70224,"type":596},"The components are also critical for the energy transition. EV motors and wind turbines are the biggest and fastest growing sources of REPM demand, with their combined share set to grow from 37% in 2023 to 56% in 2032, according to ",{"text":23459,"type":596,"marks":70226},[70227],{"type":606,"attrs":70228},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70231,"content":70232},{"textAlign":49},[70233],{"text":70234,"type":596},"Despite the importance of REPMs to national and economic security, the US does not produce them at scale and relies heavily on imports from geopolitical rival China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70236,"content":70237},{"textAlign":49},[70238],{"text":70239,"type":596},"US policymakers fear China could use its rare earths dominance as a pressure point if tensions between the powers continue to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":70241,"content":70242},{"textAlign":49},[70243],{"text":70244,"type":596},"The national security dimensions of the REPM industry and the subsequent urgency of achieving greater independence from China is one factor focusing attention on the downstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":70246,"content":70247},{"textAlign":49},[70248],{"text":70249,"type":596},"“Building up more mines is something local populations tend not to like and is a very long-term process. There are many other mines in development elsewhere, likely with better cost positions, so it is easier for the US to just build up processing,” said de Jonge.",{"type":615,"attrs":70251,"content":70252},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70253],{"text":70254,"type":596},"US to expand REMP manufacturing capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":70256,"content":70257},{"textAlign":49},[70258],{"text":70259,"type":596},"Two announcements just in the last month promised to expand the US’ REPM pipeline capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70261,"content":70262},{"textAlign":49},[70263],{"text":70264,"type":596},"In September, the Department of Defense entered an agreement to provide $94.1 million to US REPM producer E-VAC Magnetics, which already supplies REPMs to the e-mobility, industrial, aerospace, energy generation, and scientific and medical markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70266,"content":70267},{"textAlign":49},[70268,70270,70275],{"text":70269,"type":596},"“DoD investments into this supply chain, combined with favourable downstream policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), are quickly making the United States the most attractive place for ",{"text":70271,"type":596,"marks":70272},"downstream rare earth investments",[70273],{"type":606,"attrs":70274},{"href":67359,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70276,"type":596},",” said de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":70278,"content":70279},{"textAlign":49},[70280],{"text":70281,"type":596},"The DoD has been actively trying to onshore its rare earths supply chains, having already awarded contracts worth tens of millions since 2021 to domestic rare earths producers MP Materials and Australia’s Lynas to build new processing sites in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":70283,"content":70284},{"textAlign":49},[70285,70287,70293],{"text":70286,"type":596},"The E-VAC investment marks the DoD’s first in rare earth magnet production, but more federal support for local manufacturing may be forthcoming after US representatives reintroduced a bill to Congress in April 2023 ",{"text":70288,"type":596,"marks":70289},"proposing credits for domestic production",[70290],{"type":606,"attrs":70291},{"href":70292,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-rare-earth-magnet-bill-aims-to-boost-domestic-production",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70295,"content":70296},{"textAlign":49},[70297],{"text":70298,"type":596},"With its DoD funding, E-VAC will acquire and install manufacturing equipment, operationalise technical infrastructure, and engineer production lines to begin high volume REPM production by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":70300,"content":70301},{"textAlign":49},[70302],{"text":70303,"type":596},"The DoD investment agreement does not specify where E-VAC’s new operations will source feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":70305,"content":70306},{"textAlign":49},[70307],{"text":70308,"type":596},"In awarding E-VAC with the funds, the DoD has followed its previous rare earths investment strategy of dispensing public financing to companies as a way of stimulating private investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70310,"content":70311},{"textAlign":49},[70312],{"text":70313,"type":596},"“Commercial demand is huge. In order for the market to not implode due to lack of supply, non-state actors need to invest in the market at the same time,” said de Jonge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70315,"content":70316},{"textAlign":49},[70317],{"text":70318,"type":596},"US REPM buildout is also starting to receive impetus from foreign capital too. In early October, South Korean steel giant POSCO holdings was said to be planning for an REPM factory in the US with Korean partner Star Group Industrial, which supplies magnets for Hyuandi’s hybrids, according to the Korean Economic Daily. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70320,"content":70321},{"textAlign":49},[70322],{"text":70323,"type":596},"Their aim is to set an initial production capacity of 3,000 tonnes, with plans to expand to 5,000 tonnes. Target customers will be General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis as well as Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70325,"content":70326},{"textAlign":49},[70327],{"text":70328,"type":596},"POSCO and Star Group are in talks with the state governments of Texas, Tennessee, and Arizona to decide the location of the plant.","The US has been focusing on building its rare earths permanent magnets (REMPs) manufacturing capacity as the country continues to take steps to reduce its reliance on China for the vital defence application components. “There’s a lot of companies wanting to build downstream capacity in the US while most upstream sources of supply will likely […]",[70331],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70332},{"job_title":557,"image":70333,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cab2bcb6-af27-4017-ab62-d7b756be43ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70336,70337,70338],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":70340,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":70340,"source":547,"filename":70341,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70342,"is_external_url":51},"Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II from VMFA-121 'Green Knights'. on runway","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aa21d2c6e9/bm-shutterstock-1296104293.jpg",{"alt":70340,"title":70340,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":70344,"uuid":70345,"name":70346,"slug":70347,"full_slug":70348,"content":70349},112470618277898,"7ae86225-074f-4b44-9768-650f6e9f23d2","Toyota signs $2.2 billion cathode contract with LG Chem as automakers look to secure material","toyota-signs-2-2-billion-cathode-contract-with-lg-chem-as-automakers-look-to-secure-material","article/toyota-signs-2-2-billion-cathode-contract-with-lg-chem-as-automakers-look-to-secure-material",{"_uid":70350,"date":70079,"tags":70351,"editor":70360,"content":70364,"excerpt":70486,"featured":50,"reporter":70487,"_editable":70491,"component":697,"seo_title":70346,"categories":70492,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70495,"seo_description":70486,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70188},"8d2ec2a5-4e7f-403c-8b67-15839956bb38",[70352,70353,70356,70357],{"slug":30730,"name":30731},{"slug":70354,"name":70355},"toyota","Toyota",{"slug":8923,"name":8924},{"slug":70358,"name":70359},"volkswagen","Volkswagen",[70361],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70362},{"job_title":557,"image":70363,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70365},[70366,70379,70392,70397,70402,70419,70424,70437,70442,70447,70458],{"type":591,"attrs":70367,"content":70368},{"textAlign":49},[70369,70371,70377],{"text":70370,"type":596},"Toyota has signed a KRW 2.9 trillion ($2.2 billion) ",{"text":70372,"type":596,"marks":70373},"contract",[70374],{"type":606,"attrs":70375},{"href":70376,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20231010800654",{"text":70378,"type":596}," with LG Chem to supply cathode material to its North American operations until 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":70380,"content":70381},{"textAlign":49},[70382,70384,70390],{"text":70383,"type":596},"The deal comes not long after the Japanese ",{"text":70385,"type":596,"marks":70386},"automaker announced it would secure 20 gigawatt-hours of cells a year",[70387],{"type":606,"attrs":70388},{"href":70389,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lg-energy-solution-to-supply-toyota-20-gwh-of-batteries-from-michigan-with-new-production-lines",{"text":70391,"type":596}," from LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of LG Chem, from its gigafactory in Michigan.",{"type":591,"attrs":70393,"content":70394},{"textAlign":49},[70395],{"text":70396,"type":596},"This comes as automakers are increasingly looking to secure supplies through partnerships and deals across the whole supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":70398,"content":70399},{"textAlign":49},[70400],{"text":70401,"type":596},"“As more and more automakers invest in, and plan, in house cell production, it is inevitable that they will continue to sign large volume contracts with cathode suppliers in order to facilitate this,” Anya Sidhu, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":70403,"content":70404},{"textAlign":49},[70405,70407,70411,70412,70417],{"text":70406,"type":596},"Such deals could be increasingly important as automakers look to diversify their supply chains in response to China’s dominance. This year, China is expected to account for 83% of cathode production according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":70408},[70409],{"type":606,"attrs":70410},{"href":64950,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":70413},[70414],{"type":606,"attrs":70415},{"href":70416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europe-faces-cathode-and-anode-shortage-in-drive-to-evs",{"text":70418,"type":596}," and North America combined are forecast to produce just 1.2%.",{"type":591,"attrs":70420,"content":70421},{"textAlign":49},[70422],{"text":70423,"type":596},"Automakers moving upstream",{"type":591,"attrs":70425,"content":70426},{"textAlign":49},[70427,70429,70435],{"text":70428,"type":596},"Also in October, Ionway, a joint venture between ",{"text":70430,"type":596,"marks":70431},"Volkwagen’s PowerCo and Belgian materials producer Umicore",[70432],{"type":606,"attrs":70433},{"href":70434,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-powerco-umicore-jv-mean-for-europes-cathode-outlook",{"text":70436,"type":596},", announced it would build its first cathode factory in Nysa, Poland next to Umicore’s existing cathode plant. The facility is part of Ionway’s ambition to grow its European production capacity to 160 GWh of battery materials per year by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":70438,"content":70439},{"textAlign":49},[70440],{"text":70441,"type":596},"The facility is supported by €350 million ($370 million) in cash grants from the Polish government through the EU’s Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework.",{"type":591,"attrs":70443,"content":70444},{"textAlign":49},[70445],{"text":70446,"type":596},"“VW’s project with Umicore is the continuation of a global trend in which automakers pursue vertical integration strategies in order to protect themselves against price volatility, and potential material supply shortages,” Sidhu said.",{"type":591,"attrs":70448,"content":70449},{"textAlign":49},[70450,70452,70457],{"text":70451,"type":596},"In August this year, Ford announced that it, too, was looking to secure cathode material. The automaker, along with cathode producer EcoProBM and battery maker SK On plan to jointly invest C$1.2 billion (US $885 million) to ",{"text":70453,"type":596,"marks":70454},"build a cathode plant in Beancour, Canada",[70455],{"type":606,"attrs":70456},{"href":65063,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70459,"content":70460},{"textAlign":49},[70461,70463,70469,70471,70477,70479,70485],{"text":70462,"type":596},"The facility is expected to be operational from 2026 with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes of cathode material annually.US automaker ",{"text":70464,"type":596,"marks":70465},"General Motor has also made moves",[70466],{"type":606,"attrs":70467},{"href":70468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-see-this-as-an-opportunity-to-build-the-supply-chain-from-the-ground-up-the-right-way-qa-with-gms-tanya-skilton",{"text":70470,"type":596}," in the cathode space. Its Ultium Cells is a joint venture with LG Chem and in July last year they signed a deal for ",{"text":70472,"type":596,"marks":70473},"LG Chem to supply 950,000 tonnes of cathode material to the JV",[70474],{"type":606,"attrs":70475},{"href":70476,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-locks-up-lithium-and-cathode-supply-with-livent-and-gm-deals",{"text":70478,"type":596}," over eight years. In the same month, General Motors agreed a $10.6 billion order for cathode material from ",{"text":70480,"type":596,"marks":70481},"South Korea’s Posco Chemicals",[70482],{"type":606,"attrs":70483},{"href":70484,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-steps-up-us-battery-supply-chain-plans-with-posco-cathode-agreement",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Toyota has signed a KRW 2.9 trillion ($2.2 billion) contract with LG Chem to supply cathode material to its North American operations until 2030. The deal comes not long after the Japanese automaker announced it would secure 20 gigawatt-hours of cells a year from LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of LG Chem, from its gigafactory […]",[70488],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70489},{"job_title":557,"image":70490,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8d2ec2a5-4e7f-403c-8b67-15839956bb38\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70493,70494],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70496,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70497,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c9b817b381/bm-operators-working-in-the-cathode-production-in-nysa-poland.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":70499,"uuid":70500,"name":70501,"slug":70502,"full_slug":70503,"content":70504},112470642329616,"68b496f6-0ab3-4acf-b485-813e034f7c8f","Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing nickel pricing to semi-monthly frequency, changes to MHP pricing mechanisms","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-nickel-pricing-to-semi-monthly-frequency-changes-to-mhp-pricing-mechanisms","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-increasing-nickel-pricing-to-semi-monthly-frequency-changes-to-mhp-pricing-mechanisms",{"_uid":70505,"date":70506,"tags":70507,"editor":70510,"content":70514,"excerpt":70611,"featured":50,"reporter":70612,"_editable":70616,"component":697,"seo_title":70501,"categories":70617,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70619,"seo_description":70611,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70621},"d2007562-57ba-4a3f-83c5-73137c926973","2023-10-12 00:00",[70508,70509],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[70511],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70512},{"job_title":557,"image":70513,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70515},[70516,70525,70530,70535,70540,70545,70550,70554,70559,70564,70569,70574,70579,70583,70587,70592,70597,70602,70607],{"type":591,"attrs":70517,"content":70518},{"textAlign":49},[70519,70520,70524],{"text":9922,"type":596},{"text":56065,"type":596,"marks":70521},[70522],{"type":606,"attrs":70523},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":19763,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":70526,"content":70527},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70528],{"text":70529,"type":596},"Increased Frequency",{"type":591,"attrs":70531,"content":70532},{"textAlign":49},[70533],{"text":70534,"type":596},"Growing demand for nickel chemicals from the lithium ion battery industry has increased the volume and frequency of materials being traded, creating more price volatility over a short period of time, allowing for more regular price publication.",{"type":591,"attrs":70536,"content":70537},{"textAlign":49},[70538],{"text":70539,"type":596},"Benchmark proposes to move three of its price assessments from monthly to semi-monthly frequency to give a more comprehensive assessment of price trends.",{"type":591,"attrs":70541,"content":70542},{"textAlign":49},[70543],{"text":70544,"type":596},"Higher frequency publication is considered for nickel sulphate, EXW China basis, nickel sulphate, CIF Asia (normalised) basis, and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), CIF Asia basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":70546,"content":70547},{"textAlign":49},[70548],{"text":70549,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to increase the regularity of its nickel sulphate (Chinese and normalised CIF Asia) and MHP pricing to semi-monthly, to be published on the 15th of the month (or the closest working day following the 15th) and the final working day of the month, by 4pm (London).",{"type":591,"attrs":70551,"content":70552},{"textAlign":49},[70553],{"text":54699,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":70555,"content":70556},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70557],{"text":70558,"type":596},"Evolution of MHP Pricing Mechanisms",{"type":591,"attrs":70560,"content":70561},{"textAlign":49},[70562],{"text":70563,"type":596},"Nickel feedstock for the battery market will continue to move towards MHP and away from class 1 nickel metal due to the increased availability of the prior. As such, the supply-demand dynamics are becoming increasingly estranged from the LME price, which more closely reflects industrial demand than battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":70565,"content":70566},{"textAlign":49},[70567],{"text":70568,"type":596},"This has resulted in an expansion of the pricing mechanisms being applied to MHP in the spot market. The historical mechanism of MHP trading as a payable to the LME nickel price is still a feature in the market but traders have employed alternative pricing mechanisms in recent months, in a bid to better mitigate risk and manage volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":70570,"content":70571},{"textAlign":49},[70572],{"text":70573,"type":596},"Benchmark is proposing changing the language and price inputs considered in its pricing methodology from “MHP transactions are typically negotiated as a percentage payable to the prevailing LME nickel metal price on a metric tonne basis” to “MHP transactions are negotiated via a number of different routes. These include a percentage payable to the LME nickel price, a currency denominated value (usually USD or RMB), a reverse calculation from the nickel sulphate price, and other credible pricing mechanisms utilised by traders”.",{"type":591,"attrs":70575,"content":70576},{"textAlign":49},[70577],{"text":70578,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark is seeking feedback on its plans to publish MHP prices as both a comparative payable level and a USD denominated price. In some cases, payables may be derived from a dollar price and vice versa.",{"type":615,"attrs":70580,"content":70581},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70582],{"text":9999,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70584,"content":70585},{"textAlign":49},[70586],{"text":54728,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":70588,"content":70589},{"textAlign":49},[70590],{"text":70591,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate, EXW China, ≥22% NiSO4",{"type":591,"attrs":70593,"content":70594},{"textAlign":49},[70595],{"text":70596,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate, CIF Asia, ≥22% NiSO4",{"type":591,"attrs":70598,"content":70599},{"textAlign":49},[70600],{"text":70601,"type":596},"Nickel MHP, CIF Asia, ≥35% payable to LME",{"type":591,"attrs":70603,"content":70604},{"textAlign":49},[70605],{"text":70606,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 12 November 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":70608,"content":70609},{"textAlign":49},[70610],{"text":37463,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Nickel Price Assessment Methodology. Increased Frequency Growing demand for nickel chemicals from the lithium ion battery industry has increased the volume and frequency of materials being traded, creating more price volatility over a short period of time, allowing […]",[70613],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70614},{"job_title":557,"image":70615,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d2007562-57ba-4a3f-83c5-73137c926973\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70618],{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":47656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70620,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 12, 2023",{"id":70623,"uuid":70624,"name":70625,"slug":70626,"full_slug":70627,"content":70628},112470651959314,"e179c587-5549-4501-8cb8-3294cf619b02","OEMs and battery makers on alert as lower lithium prices to push into 2024","oems-and-battery-makers-on-alert-as-lower-lithium-prices-to-push-into-2024-benchmark","article/oems-and-battery-makers-on-alert-as-lower-lithium-prices-to-push-into-2024-benchmark",{"_uid":70629,"date":70630,"tags":70631,"editor":70633,"content":70637,"excerpt":70790,"featured":50,"reporter":70791,"_editable":70795,"component":697,"seo_title":70625,"categories":70796,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70799,"seo_description":70790,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70802},"303f4643-cad1-4eab-b7da-f1187a8d1f0d","2023-10-11 00:00",[70632],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[70634],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70635},{"job_title":557,"image":70636,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70638},[70639,70644,70656,70668,70673,70685,70690,70695,70700,70705,70710,70715,70720,70725,70730,70735,70746,70751,70756,70761,70766,70775,70780,70785],{"type":591,"attrs":70640,"content":70641},{"textAlign":49},[70642],{"text":70643,"type":596},"Lithium chemicals prices have continued to fall in China, driven by robust supply being met by slower than expected domestic demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":70645,"content":70646},{"textAlign":49},[70647,70649,70654],{"text":70648,"type":596},"The price environment today is a long way from the highs of 2022 and follows a continued slide over the last 10 months, which saw prices tumble from all-time highs. ",{"text":70650,"type":596,"marks":70651},"Benchmark’s battery grade lithium carbonate",[70652],{"type":606,"attrs":70653},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70655,"type":596},", ≥99.5% Li2CO3 (EXW China), price reached $81,375/tonne in December 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":70657,"content":70658},{"textAlign":49},[70659,70661,70666],{"text":70660,"type":596},"Since then prices have fallen by 71.8% to $22,950/tonne in the most recent assessment on 11 October 2023. ",{"text":70662,"type":596,"marks":70663},"Benchmark’s latest global weighted average lithium price",[70664],{"type":606,"attrs":70665},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70667,"type":596}," is $27,177/tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":70669,"content":70670},{"textAlign":49},[70671],{"text":70672,"type":596},"The only respite from falling prices in the interim was a mostly sentiment-driven price rally in May 2023, which pushed prices up to around $42,000/tonne, but this price level failed to last beyond July.",{"type":591,"attrs":70674,"content":70675},{"textAlign":49},[70676,70678,70683],{"text":70677,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene have followed a similar path, with ",{"text":70679,"type":596,"marks":70680},"Benchmark’s spodumene concentrate",[70681],{"type":606,"attrs":70682},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70684,"type":596},", 6% Li2O (FOB Australia), grade hitting an all-time high of $6,401/tonne in December 2022 which has since fallen by 52.3% to $3,120/tonne.",{"type":615,"attrs":70686,"content":70687},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70688],{"text":70689,"type":596},"Battery slowdown",{"type":591,"attrs":70691,"content":70692},{"textAlign":49},[70693],{"text":70694,"type":596},"Prices were elevated over the second half of 2022 as demand rallied and especially high utilisation rates amongst cell producers led to a raw material supply crunch. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70696,"content":70697},{"textAlign":49},[70698],{"text":70699,"type":596},"Subsequently, during 2023 battery cell makers slowed production rates and were able to delay purchases given the substantial inventories of finished cells at their facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":70701,"content":70702},{"textAlign":49},[70703],{"text":70704,"type":596},"In turn, cathode manufacturers have negotiated lower prices for lithium, opting to procure material on a hand-to-mouth basis, rather than maintain an inventory. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70706,"content":70707},{"textAlign":49},[70708],{"text":70709,"type":596},"For the most part lithium volumes under long term supply contracts were sufficient to satisfy the demand environment, enabling buyers to negotiate lower prices for spot material, amid ample supply of lithium chemicals upstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":70711,"content":70712},{"textAlign":49},[70713],{"text":70714,"type":596},"Expectations amongst some market participants of a restocking cycle heading into the fourth quarter of 2023, which might have supported chemicals prices, have so far failed to materialise. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70716,"content":70717},{"textAlign":49},[70718],{"text":70719,"type":596},"The fourth quarter seasonally tends to be the strongest quarter for EV sales in China, and in 2021 and 2022 midstream procurement activities picked up in anticipation of this demand, supporting lithium prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":70721,"content":70722},{"textAlign":49},[70723],{"text":70724,"type":596},"However, recent macroeconomic headwinds developing in China have slowed the growth of EV sales as consumers have tightened discretionary spending in response. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70726,"content":70727},{"textAlign":49},[70728],{"text":70729,"type":596},"Supply from both brine and hard rock routes has remained robust, and newer supply of lower purity DSO (Direct Shipping Ore) from countries in Africa has also weighed on price sentiment on a perceived rise in available material. ",{"type":615,"attrs":70731,"content":70732},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70733],{"text":70734,"type":596},"Lower lithium prices into 2024",{"type":591,"attrs":70736,"content":70737},{"textAlign":49},[70738,70740,70744],{"text":70739,"type":596},"Looking ahead to the end of 2023, prices are expected to remain mostly stable near current levels. This price stability could continue heading into 2024, when ",{"text":23861,"type":596,"marks":70741},[70742],{"type":606,"attrs":70743},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70745,"type":596}," the market to be more balanced with a small surplus, which could steady price volatility. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70747,"content":70748},{"textAlign":49},[70749],{"text":70750,"type":596},"However, the lithium market balance remains fragile: only a single major project delay could throw this narrow surplus into a deficit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70752,"content":70753},{"textAlign":49},[70754],{"text":70755,"type":596},"Such delays, which have been observed in 2023 already, are typical in the industry and likely to increase in the future as project developers with less technical experience than incumbents are expected to begin to bring capacity online.",{"type":591,"attrs":70757,"content":70758},{"textAlign":49},[70759],{"text":70760,"type":596},"Given that this is the first extended period of low sentiment in more than two years, it may present downstream buyers with the opportunity they have been waiting for, to use the current depressed price environment as an opportunity to lock in better contract terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":70762,"content":70763},{"textAlign":49},[70764],{"text":70765,"type":596},"Although the downstream will need to work quickly to get these terms locked in as this window of weaker sentiment is expected to be relatively short lived.",{"type":591,"attrs":70767,"content":70768},{"textAlign":49},[70769,70773],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":70770},[70771],{"type":606,"attrs":70772},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70774,"type":596},"estimates the market will return to deficit from 2028, with prices expected to react 12 months ahead of the deficit emerging.",{"type":591,"attrs":70776,"content":70777},{"textAlign":49},[70778],{"text":70779,"type":596},"The deficit, under the current supply pipeline, is set to grow year after year, with the deficit in 2030 expected to reach 390,000 tonnes rising to 1,900,000 tonnes by 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":70781,"content":70782},{"textAlign":49},[70783],{"text":70784,"type":596},"Unless substantial new lithium production and refining operations are committed to by majors and projects developers alike the lithium industry will fail to meet surging demand from the lithium ion battery and energy transition supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":70786,"content":70787},{"textAlign":49},[70788],{"text":70789,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessments fill out this form and we will be in touch.","Lithium chemicals prices have continued to fall in China, driven by robust supply being met by slower than expected domestic demand. The price environment today is a long way from the highs of 2022 and follows a continued slide over the last 10 months, which saw prices tumble from all-time highs. Benchmark’s battery grade lithium […]",[70792],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70793},{"job_title":557,"image":70794,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"303f4643-cad1-4eab-b7da-f1187a8d1f0d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70797,70798],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70801,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0bff836b4f/bm-lithium-argentina-1301579d2a28.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 11, 2023",{"id":70804,"uuid":70805,"name":70806,"slug":70807,"full_slug":70808,"content":70809},112470676596759,"62b2880a-7b70-42cb-8517-6412e10ec959","China’s Shanshan to build €1.28 billion synthetic anode plant in Finland","chinas-shanshan-to-build-e1-28-billion-synthetic-anode-plant-in-finland","article/chinas-shanshan-to-build-e1-28-billion-synthetic-anode-plant-in-finland",{"_uid":70810,"date":70811,"tags":70812,"editor":70816,"content":70820,"excerpt":70903,"featured":50,"reporter":70904,"_editable":70908,"component":697,"seo_title":70806,"categories":70909,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":70912,"seo_description":70903,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70915},"1cd8ff14-3423-450e-9680-2c7c670f150d","2023-10-06 00:00",[70813,70814,70815],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":52182,"name":52183},{"slug":1831,"name":67454},[70817],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70818},{"job_title":557,"image":70819,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70821},[70822,70827,70832,70844,70849,70854,70859,70871,70876,70883,70888,70893,70898],{"type":591,"attrs":70823,"content":70824},{"textAlign":49},[70825],{"text":70826,"type":596},"China’s anode producer Shanshan has said it will invest EUR 1.28 billion ($1.35 billion) to build a synthetic graphite anode facility in Finland, the second investment by a Chinese anode company in Europe this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70828,"content":70829},{"textAlign":49},[70830],{"text":70831,"type":596},"The facility is set to have a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year of anodes, constructed in two phases of 50,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":70833,"content":70834},{"textAlign":49},[70835,70837,70842],{"text":70836,"type":596},"The announcement comes five months after China’s ",{"text":70838,"type":596,"marks":70839},"Putailai said",[70840],{"type":606,"attrs":70841},{"href":65795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70843,"type":596}," it would build a SEK 15.7bn ($1.4 billion) synthetic graphite anode facility in Sweden. The two projects account for almost half of the planned anode capacity in Europe, according to the Benchmark Anode Market Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":70845,"content":70846},{"textAlign":49},[70847],{"text":70848,"type":596},"Europe faces a looming shortfall of homegrown anode supply this decade, with demand set to reach 1 million tonnes by 2030, due to the growth in battery factories. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70850,"content":70851},{"textAlign":49},[70852],{"text":70853,"type":596},"Shanshan said that the plant would help expand its operations overseas, satisfying demand from downstream customers, and helping to “cement the company’s leading position.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":70855,"content":70856},{"textAlign":49},[70857],{"text":70858,"type":596},"China’s three largest anode producers, including Shanshan, BTR and Putailai, accounted for over half of global anode production last year, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70860,"content":70861},{"textAlign":49},[70862,70864,70869],{"text":70863,"type":596},"The investment comes amid falling prices for synthetic graphite",{"text":70865,"type":596,"marks":70866}," anodes",[70867],{"type":606,"attrs":70868},{"href":63243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70870,"type":596}," in China, due to new market entrants bringing on new capacity as well as weaker demand. Benchmark’s Anode Price Index has fallen by 18% year-to-date. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70872,"content":70873},{"textAlign":49},[70874],{"text":70875,"type":596},"Prices for high energy synthetic graphite anode have fallen by 17%, according to Benchmark’s Anode Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70877,"content":70878},{"textAlign":49},[70879],{"type":836,"attrs":70880},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":70881,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":70882},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf821edd88/bm-anode-prices-03oct.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":70884,"content":70885},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[70886],{"text":70887,"type":596},"Producing anodes with hydropower",{"type":591,"attrs":70889,"content":70890},{"textAlign":49},[70891],{"text":70892,"type":596},"Finland has a high share of renewable energy in its electricity grid, from biomass, as well as hydopower and wind power. The country has a target to reach “climate neutrality” by 2035. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70894,"content":70895},{"textAlign":49},[70896],{"text":70897,"type":596},"Shanshan cited the country’s supply of renewable electricity as a key reason for choosing the country. Material can also be shipped easily to big battery customers in the rest of Europe, it added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":70899,"content":70900},{"textAlign":49},[70901],{"text":70902,"type":596},"“The site of this project in Finland helps the company rely on local cheap and renewable energy and the advantages of the strategic location,to actively expand its customers in Europe and respond to their demand,” it said.","China’s anode producer Shanshan has said it will invest EUR 1.28 billion ($1.35 billion) to build a synthetic graphite anode facility in Finland, the second investment by a Chinese anode company in Europe this year. The facility is set to have a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year of anodes, constructed in two phases […]",[70905],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70906},{"job_title":557,"image":70907,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1cd8ff14-3423-450e-9680-2c7c670f150d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[70910,70911],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70913,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":70914,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/51e013b859/bm-ningbo-shanshan.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 06, 2023",{"id":70917,"uuid":70918,"name":70919,"slug":70920,"full_slug":70921,"content":70922},112470671345686,"04dd37f0-8c48-4159-adae-e054979a4661","Joe Manchin says Treasury guidance “waters down” Inflation Reduction Act","joe-manchin-says-treasury-guidance-waters-down-inflation-reduction-act","article/joe-manchin-says-treasury-guidance-waters-down-inflation-reduction-act",{"_uid":70923,"date":70811,"tags":70924,"editor":70928,"content":70932,"excerpt":71169,"featured":51,"reporter":71170,"_editable":71174,"component":697,"seo_title":70919,"categories":71175,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":71178,"featured_image":71180,"seo_description":71169,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":70915},"081f290f-eaa3-4de8-88a0-fe9e68b0375b",[70925,70926,70927],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[70929],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":70930},{"job_title":557,"image":70931,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":70933},[70934,70955,70985,70996,71001,71006,71014,71019,71024,71029,71034,71039,71044,71049,71054,71059,71064,71076,71081,71086,71099,71104,71109,71119,71124,71129,71134,71146,71151,71164],{"type":591,"attrs":70935,"content":70936},{"textAlign":49},[70937,70939,70945,70947,70953],{"text":70938,"type":596},"Democrat ",{"text":70940,"type":596,"marks":70941},"senator Joe Manchin",[70942],{"type":606,"attrs":70943},{"href":70944,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/manchin-says-major-strides-made-in-critical-mineral-permitting-after-debt-limit-deal",{"text":70946,"type":596}," warned a committee that China could use critical minerals as “leverage” over the ",{"text":70948,"type":596,"marks":70949},"US as the country ramps up",[70950],{"type":606,"attrs":70951},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-north-america-build-a-battery-supply-chain",{"text":70954,"type":596}," its electric vehicle ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":70956,"content":70957},{"textAlign":49},[70958,70963,70965,70969,70971,70975,70977,70983],{"text":70959,"type":596,"marks":70960},"China dominates in the processing of battery minerals",[70961],{"type":606,"attrs":70962},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70964,"type":596},", forecast to produce 66% of the world’s ",{"text":57042,"type":596,"marks":70966},[70967],{"type":606,"attrs":70968},{"href":47264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70970,"type":596},", 75% of ",{"text":58509,"type":596,"marks":70972},[70973],{"type":606,"attrs":70974},{"href":56687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":70976,"type":596}," and 76% of ",{"text":70978,"type":596,"marks":70979},"refined cobalt",[70980],{"type":606,"attrs":70981},{"href":70982,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt/reports",{"text":70984,"type":596}," this year, according to Benchmark. The US, by contrast produces just 1.5%, 1%, and 0%, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":70986,"content":70987},{"textAlign":49},[70988,70989,70994],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":70990},[70991],{"type":606,"attrs":70992},{"href":70993,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-us-inflation-reduction-act-mean-for-the-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"text":70995,"type":596}," was designed, in part, to incentivise both the purchasing of electric vehicles and to encourage industry to develop domestic supply chains in which critical minerals are extracted or processed in the US and Free Trade Agreement countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":70997,"content":70998},{"textAlign":49},[70999],{"text":71000,"type":596},"However, Manchin argues that the US Treasury guidance on what constitutes a critical raw material extracted or processed in the US or an FTA country “waters down” the sourcing requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":71002,"content":71003},{"textAlign":49},[71004],{"text":71005,"type":596},"“This administration appears to care more about getting EVs on the road than our energy security and competition with China,” he said at the Committee Hearing to Examine Opportunities to Counter the People’s Republic of China’s Control of Critical Mineral Supply Chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":71007,"content":71008},{"textAlign":49},[71009],{"type":836,"attrs":71010},{"id":49,"alt":71011,"src":71012,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71013},"China dominates in the processing of critical minerals","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/599bf5b6f1/bm-fta-supply.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":71015,"content":71016},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71017],{"text":71018,"type":596},"Interpretation of the IRA",{"type":591,"attrs":71020,"content":71021},{"textAlign":49},[71022],{"text":71023,"type":596},"The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 67% of new light-duty vehicles in 2032 will be electric in order to meet its emissions standards for vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":71025,"content":71026},{"textAlign":49},[71027],{"text":71028,"type":596},"The Inflation Reduction Act incentivises the purchase of EVs through a consumer tax credit up to $7,500 on a vehicle, described in section 30D of the act.",{"type":591,"attrs":71030,"content":71031},{"textAlign":49},[71032],{"text":71033,"type":596},"A total of $3,750 of this credit is made available if a certain percentage of the value of the critical raw materials are extracted or processed in the US or a free trade agreement country, or recycled in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":71035,"content":71036},{"textAlign":49},[71037],{"text":71038,"type":596},"The applicable percentage starts at 40% up to 2024 and increases to 80% by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":71040,"content":71041},{"textAlign":49},[71042],{"text":71043,"type":596},"Manchin’s concerns arise from US Treasury’s guidance which states a mineral can be said to have been extracted or processed in the US or FTA country if just 50% of value added to the mineral occurs in that country.",{"type":591,"attrs":71045,"content":71046},{"textAlign":49},[71047],{"text":71048,"type":596},"“Through guidance, the administration is attempting to cut the critical mineral sourcing percentage requirements in the IRA in half,” Manchin said.",{"type":591,"attrs":71050,"content":71051},{"textAlign":49},[71052],{"text":71053,"type":596},"A threshold reduces the sourcing requirements, but it could also help OEMs take full advantage of the credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":71055,"content":71056},{"textAlign":49},[71057],{"text":71058,"type":596},"“The issue is the realities of the supply chain are such that any OEM would find it difficult to get hold of the $7,500 credit in totality,” Manish Dua, an analyst at Benchmark said. “And even then they would still need to ramp up quickly across the supply chain – make investments, find materials and bypass China.”",{"type":615,"attrs":71060,"content":71061},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71062],{"text":71063,"type":596},"Building mines",{"type":591,"attrs":71065,"content":71066},{"textAlign":49},[71067,71069,71074],{"text":71068,"type":596},"Another point raised by Manchin in his address to the committee is that more mines are needed, citing Benchmark’s previous report that over ",{"text":71070,"type":596,"marks":71071},"300 new mines",[71072],{"type":606,"attrs":71073},{"href":59921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71075,"type":596}," are needed to meet the demand for battery minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":71077,"content":71078},{"textAlign":49},[71079],{"text":71080,"type":596},"“However, an insufficient number of new mines are currently in development to meet that demand, while those projects that are under development face long timeframes and considerable risk,” he said. “When we refuse to allow mining and processing here in a timely fashion, we encourage it to occur in countries with lower environmental and labor standards than we would permit at home.”",{"type":591,"attrs":71082,"content":71083},{"textAlign":49},[71084],{"text":71085,"type":596},"The US has awarded grants and loans to projects associated with critical minerals, but the majority of this has been on the processing side, according to Dua.",{"type":591,"attrs":71087,"content":71088},{"textAlign":49},[71089,71091,71097],{"text":71090,"type":596},"Last year, the US Department of Energy awarded ",{"text":71092,"type":596,"marks":71093},"$2.8 billion in grants across 20 companies",[71094],{"type":606,"attrs":71095},{"href":71096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-targets-lithium-graphite-and-nickel-with-2-8-billion-doe-grants-to-take-on-china",{"text":71098,"type":596}," in the battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71100,"content":71101},{"textAlign":49},[71102],{"text":71103,"type":596},"Much of the money that has been awarded for mining projects has come through the Department of Defense, which was given the authority to strengthen domestic mining and processing of critical minerals when the Biden Administration invoked the Defense Production Act Title III authorities.",{"type":591,"attrs":71105,"content":71106},{"textAlign":49},[71107],{"text":71108,"type":596},"Through this, the DoD has awarded funds to lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt projects in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":71110,"content":71111},{"textAlign":49},[71112,71117],{"text":71113,"type":596,"marks":71114},"Albemarle received $90 million",[71115],{"type":606,"attrs":71116},{"href":39962,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71118,"type":596}," to support the reopening of its Kings Mountain lithium mine in North Carolina. Talon Metals received $20.6 million to further explore nickel deposits in Minnesota and Michigan. Graphite One received $37.5 million to expedite its feasibility study for its Graphite Creek mining project. Jervois Mining USA also received $15 million for its feasibility study looking at cobalt extraction in Idaho.",{"type":591,"attrs":71120,"content":71121},{"textAlign":49},[71122],{"text":71123,"type":596},"Recently, the DOE awarded $10.9 million in grants to ten companies working on direct lithium extraction.",{"type":615,"attrs":71125,"content":71126},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71127],{"text":71128,"type":596},"FTAs and Foreign Entities of Concern",{"type":591,"attrs":71130,"content":71131},{"textAlign":49},[71132],{"text":71133,"type":596},"The third aspect to Manchin’s concerns are over the definitions of Foreign Entities of Concern and Free Trade Agreement countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":71135,"content":71136},{"textAlign":49},[71137,71139,71144],{"text":71138,"type":596},"On the former, the Treasury is ",{"text":71140,"type":596,"marks":71141},"yet to release guidance on what exactly one is",[71142],{"type":606,"attrs":71143},{"href":56841,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71145,"type":596}," and what proportion of involvement a company from a country such as China can have in a project before it becomes ineligible for IRA tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":71147,"content":71148},{"textAlign":49},[71149],{"text":71150,"type":596},"Although there is a list of formal FTA countries, Manchin decries the creation of new agreements which he calls “fake”, referring to the FTA-like agreement the US reached with Japan and the proposed agreement with Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":71152,"content":71153},{"textAlign":49},[71154,71156,71162],{"text":71155,"type":596},"In March this year, the ",{"text":71157,"type":596,"marks":71158},"US and Japan signed a critical minerals agreement",[71159],{"type":606,"attrs":71160},{"href":71161,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-japan-call-for-global-collaboration-to-meet-growing-battery-demand",{"text":71163,"type":596}," which effectively afforded Japan FTA-like status with regards to the trade of critical minerals. The UK and EU are in negotiations with the US for a similar deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":71165,"content":71166},{"textAlign":49},[71167],{"text":71168,"type":596},"Indonesia has also proposed a similar deal on the back of its large mined and refined nickel production. Benchmark forecasts that Indonesia will produce 50% of refined nickel this year potentially rising to 66% by 2030.","Democrat senator Joe Manchin warned a committee that China could use critical minerals as “leverage” over the US as the country ramps up its electric vehicle ambitions. China dominates in the processing of battery minerals, forecast to produce 66% of the world’s lithium chemicals, 75% of nickel sulphate and 76% of refined cobalt this year, […]",[71171],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71172},{"job_title":557,"image":71173,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"081f290f-eaa3-4de8-88a0-fe9e68b0375b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[71176,71177],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":71011,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":71011,"source":547,"filename":71012,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71179,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":71011,"title":71011,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":71181,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":71181,"source":547,"filename":71182,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71183,"is_external_url":51},"US Congress dome closeup with background of water fountain splashing, American flag waving in Washington DC, USA closeup on Capital capitol hill, columns, pillars","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d1d41a6a60/bm-us-capitol.jpg",{"alt":71181,"title":71181,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":71185,"uuid":71186,"name":71187,"slug":71188,"full_slug":71189,"content":71190},112470691424282,"935fbe25-803c-42fc-980f-f3a6aa0ec3b2","“The bottleneck in the industry is on the refining capacity.” Q&A with Li-Cycle co-founder Tim Johnston","the-bottleneck-in-the-industry-is-on-the-refining-capacity-qa-with-li-cycle-co-founder-tim-johnston","article/the-bottleneck-in-the-industry-is-on-the-refining-capacity-qa-with-li-cycle-co-founder-tim-johnston",{"_uid":71191,"date":71192,"tags":71193,"editor":71197,"content":71201,"excerpt":71375,"featured":51,"reporter":71376,"_editable":71380,"component":697,"seo_title":71187,"categories":71381,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":71384,"seo_description":71375,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":71388},"46388b9b-8b2e-4224-957c-e0aa851bb6e6","2023-10-04 00:00",[71194,71195,71196],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":29739,"name":28952},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[71198],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71199},{"job_title":557,"image":71200,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":71202},[71203,71208,71213,71225,71230,71235,71240,71245,71250,71255,71260,71265,71270,71275,71288,71293,71305,71310,71315,71320,71325,71330,71335,71340,71345,71350,71355,71360,71365,71370],{"type":591,"attrs":71204,"content":71205},{"textAlign":49},[71206],{"text":71207,"type":596},"Li-Cycle, a Toronto headquartered lithium ion battery recycling company, last week opened a pre-processing facility in Magdeburg, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":71209,"content":71210},{"textAlign":49},[71211],{"text":71212,"type":596},"The company deploys a spoke and hub system, whereby used lithium ion batteries are collected and sent to spokes where they are shredded into black mass. This black mass is then sent to centralised hub facilities which process the material into battery-grade materials such as lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":71214,"content":71215},{"textAlign":49},[71216,71218,71223],{"text":71217,"type":596},"The German spoke is its first operational facility in Europe and will eventually feed black mass to a ",{"text":71219,"type":596,"marks":71220},"proposed hub facility in Portovesme",[71221],{"type":606,"attrs":71222},{"href":63943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71224,"type":596},", Italy, that the company is developing with Glencore.",{"type":591,"attrs":71226,"content":71227},{"textAlign":49},[71228],{"text":71229,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Tim Johnston, Li-Cycle’s executive chairman and co-founder, to talk about the company’s move into Europe.",{"type":615,"attrs":71231,"content":71232},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71233],{"text":71234,"type":596},"How important is the Magdeburg, Germany site to Li-Cycle’s European ambitions?",{"type":591,"attrs":71236,"content":71237},{"textAlign":49},[71238],{"text":71239,"type":596},"This facility here in Magdeburg, Germany is really the cornerstone of our plans for European expansion. At the end of the day, everyone thinks of Europe and they think of the automotive sector within Germany. And where we are here in Magdeburg is right at the heart of automotive manufacturing, which is now becoming the heart of cell manufacturing and the whole ecosystem that surrounds electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":71241,"content":71242},{"textAlign":49},[71243],{"text":71244,"type":596},"Today in Magdeburg, we’re starting with one line. We saw that there was such a strong demand for recycling of lithium battery materials in this part of the world that we accelerated our plans and will actually have a second line operating here by the end of the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":71246,"content":71247},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71248],{"text":71249,"type":596},"What are the biggest challenges for Li-Cycle operating in Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":71251,"content":71252},{"textAlign":49},[71253],{"text":71254,"type":596},"Europe is a very fast growing ecosystem. It’s also relatively complex from a compliance and legislative framework perspective. And so for us, we’ve had to navigate how to actually deploy our assets here in Europe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71256,"content":71257},{"textAlign":49},[71258],{"text":71259,"type":596},"You know, it’s interesting when you look at the fact that we’ve been successful in being able to install and start up a facility here in Germany. It gives us a lot of confidence to be able to now replicate that model in other countries within Europe because Germany has a high standard as you would expect, for the processing of these types of materials, which by the way they should do. But now that we’ve done that here, we have a much better understanding of the framework within Europe, where there’s now similarities that we can now apply in other parts of Europe and so we’re seeing this in Norway, and in France, and now you’re looking further west, into Hungary.",{"type":615,"attrs":71261,"content":71262},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71263],{"text":71264,"type":596},"Can you get iron out of an LFP battery or graphite from anodes?",{"type":591,"attrs":71266,"content":71267},{"textAlign":49},[71268],{"text":71269,"type":596},"When it comes to recycling LFP batteries the key target metal, of course, is the lithium component. The iron, phosphorus and the graphite are all secondary materials. They might have some residual value, but it’s relatively minor.",{"type":615,"attrs":71271,"content":71272},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71273],{"text":71274,"type":596},"So, if LFP becomes more prevalent does that negatively impact Li-Cycle?",{"type":591,"attrs":71276,"content":71277},{"textAlign":49},[71278,71280,71286],{"text":71279,"type":596},"We can’t wait. It’s definitely happening. I mean, our forecasts have really expanded what we see as the LFP portion of the market by the end of the decade. We’re now forecasting that it could be, you know, a third, maybe a little bit more of the ",{"text":71281,"type":596,"marks":71282},"European market by the end of the decade being LFP",[71283],{"type":606,"attrs":71284},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-rise-of-lfp-batteries-outside-of-china",{"text":71287,"type":596}," and one of the key benefits for us is that, of course, we’re focused on the recovery of the lithium units. You know, when I look at an LFP battery, I’m looking at a material that has inherently a grade that’s better than most natural resources that exist in the world and so we see it as a valuable resource and a valuable commodity. It will become even more valuable as the scale of the LFP market grows as well.",{"type":615,"attrs":71289,"content":71290},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71291],{"text":71292,"type":596},"Are you able to sell the battery-grade end products you get from your hub facilities at a premium to traditionally produced materials?",{"type":591,"attrs":71294,"content":71295},{"textAlign":49},[71296,71298,71303],{"text":71297,"type":596},"So we don’t forecast into our models any premiums for recycled material. There’s plenty of people out there that would argue that particularly around 2027, when some of these ",{"text":71299,"type":596,"marks":71300},"minimum recycle content targets",[71301],{"type":606,"attrs":71302},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71304,"type":596}," come into place, that there won’t be enough recycled material, which will ultimately drive a premium for that recycled content. I can definitely see a world where that exists. Do we bank on it? No. Will we work within the framework that exists within the economy then? Absolutely.",{"type":615,"attrs":71306,"content":71307},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71308],{"text":71309,"type":596},"How would you contrast the policy and legislative environments of Europe, the US and China?",{"type":591,"attrs":71311,"content":71312},{"textAlign":49},[71313],{"text":71314,"type":596},"I mean, it’s a good question. Are we actually competing with China? I don’t think that we are here in Europe today. Primarily because the European market, and this is one of the key differences between the North American and the European market, is that the European market is being built on a regulatory framework that is focused on keeping the materials here in Europe to be reprocessed and put back into a local battery supply chain. Whereas in North America, it’s much more of a capitalist driven market, whereby the best price will win.",{"type":591,"attrs":71316,"content":71317},{"textAlign":49},[71318],{"text":71319,"type":596},"And so, here what we see is that lithium ion battery materials, including black mass starting next year, they’ll be classified as hazardous waste materials, and you won’t be able to export them to non-OECD countries. And so if you think about which countries are now going to come off the export list for lithium ion battery materials from Europe, you’re looking at Indonesia, Morocco, some of these traditional countries that, to be frank, there’s been a lot of desire for the from the East to invest in these countries to develop refining style assets. So we see it as ultimately beneficial for Li-Cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":71321,"content":71322},{"textAlign":49},[71323],{"text":71324,"type":596},"In North America, I think one of the key things that is going to continue to shift in that market is the desire for the original owners of the material to have the traceability of where their materials are going and then getting them back into their supply chain and being able to say that they truly are recycled. They’ve been recycled sustainably, because of course not all recycling processes are equal. And so from our perspective, I think there’s a couple of significant tail winds that are really helping the Li-Cycle business.",{"type":615,"attrs":71326,"content":71327},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71328],{"text":71329,"type":596},"Li-Cycle uses a hydrometallurgical process at the hub, and the spokes use a submerged shredding method. Do you have plans to expand into different methods such as direct recycling?",{"type":591,"attrs":71331,"content":71332},{"textAlign":49},[71333],{"text":71334,"type":596},"I’m a fundamental nonbeliever of direct recycling. And that comes back to the same challenge that we’ve been facing as primary producers in the lithium industry for the last two decades. And that is how do you achieve product quality consistently that is actually attainable for putting back into lithium ion batteries to avoid quality issues that would ultimately result in expensive recalls and other problems.",{"type":591,"attrs":71336,"content":71337},{"textAlign":49},[71338],{"text":71339,"type":596},"The issue with direct recycling is that you’re starting with a heavily contaminated material, and you’re relying on separation methods that are imperfect in order to purify the material. When you look at this, it would be the analogy of trying to take the lithium material that we mine and then simply try to do separation and then ultimately separate out and isolate the lithium component or lithium oxide from the deposit. It’s not done that way because you can’t achieve consistently at scale the quality that you need to go back into a lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":71341,"content":71342},{"textAlign":49},[71343],{"text":71344,"type":596},"This is why we leach the materials, why we actually go through hydrogeological refining to get those materials back.",{"type":615,"attrs":71346,"content":71347},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71348],{"text":71349,"type":596},"Within the battery recycling ecosystem, where do you view the bottlenecks? Will spokes be struggling for material, or will the hub capacity be an issue?",{"type":591,"attrs":71351,"content":71352},{"textAlign":49},[71353],{"text":71354,"type":596},"We do look at it as two separate markets. We see the pre-processing on the spoke side of the business. The reality is that business exists in order to service our major most strategic clients and customers that produce waste that is not black mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":71356,"content":71357},{"textAlign":49},[71358],{"text":71359,"type":596},"Ultimately, the bottleneck in the industry is on the refining capacity. There is not enough refining capacity being built to process the amount of black mass that is coming out of the market. This is why we accelerated our plans and Portovesme to bring forward phase one, next year we’ll start processing 11,000 tonnes per year of black mass. We’re going to scale that ultimately to about 70,000 tonnes per year of black mass. That’s twice as big as the facility that we’re building in North America today. Right. So why are we doing that? It’s because we see this gap in the market when it comes to refining black mass.",{"type":615,"attrs":71361,"content":71362},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71363],{"text":71364,"type":596},"Is that the same in all markets?",{"type":591,"attrs":71366,"content":71367},{"textAlign":49},[71368],{"text":71369,"type":596},"We see that definitely in North America and Europe. There’s definitely a lot of money that’s been put into refining assets in Asia, particularly Korea, Indonesia and China. China’s a hard one because China, you can’t technically import black mass into there because of the carbon content, it fails the waste rules. So really, the competition then becomes Korea and Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":71371,"content":71372},{"textAlign":49},[71373],{"text":71374,"type":596},"One of the things that I think is going to become more prevalent is really about what method they’re using in order to process that material when it comes to the automotive industry, in particular, looking down their supply chain and looking for sustainable processes. The reality is, is that there’s aspects of the recycling world today that have not taken an environmentally centred approach to recycling and so those, let’s say, legacy processes and ways of doing things, I think will slowly move to a segment of the market that’s not associated with the tier one automotive sector, which is really our core market.","Li-Cycle, a Toronto headquartered lithium ion battery recycling company, last week opened a pre-processing facility in Magdeburg, Germany. The company deploys a spoke and hub system, whereby used lithium ion batteries are collected and sent to spokes where they are shredded into black mass. This black mass is then sent to centralised hub facilities which […]",[71377],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71378},{"job_title":557,"image":71379,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"46388b9b-8b2e-4224-957c-e0aa851bb6e6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[71382,71383],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":71385,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":71385,"source":547,"filename":71386,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71387,"is_external_url":51},"Photograph of Tim Johnston standing outside.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3ec98988fd/bm-tim-johnston-headshot.jpg",{"alt":71385,"title":71385,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 04, 2023",{"id":71390,"uuid":71391,"name":71392,"slug":71393,"full_slug":71394,"content":71395},112470696228891,"dac65a21-833b-4703-821b-70ae22dd0cc2","China’s latest rare earths quota could sustain weak prices","chinas-latest-rare-earths-quota-could-sustain-weak-prices","article/chinas-latest-rare-earths-quota-could-sustain-weak-prices",{"_uid":71396,"date":71397,"tags":71398,"editor":71403,"content":71407,"excerpt":71565,"featured":51,"reporter":71566,"_editable":71570,"component":697,"seo_title":71392,"categories":71571,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":71575,"featured_image":71577,"seo_description":71580,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":71581},"ee0b009a-a0e6-4e39-871c-852fcc825b00","2023-10-03 00:00",[71399,71400],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":71401,"name":71402},"wind","Wind",[71404],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71405},{"job_title":557,"image":71406,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":71408},[71409,71420,71425,71430,71435,71440,71445,71450,71460,71465,71470,71475,71482,71487,71492,71497,71502,71507,71512,71517,71522,71535,71540,71545,71550,71555,71560],{"type":591,"attrs":71410,"content":71411},{"textAlign":49},[71412,71414,71418],{"text":71413,"type":596},"China’s latest ",{"text":4858,"type":596,"marks":71415},[71416],{"type":606,"attrs":71417},{"href":47696,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":71419,"type":596}," quota has raised the total output limit for 2023 by around 14% over 2022, a move that could entrench low rare earth ore and oxide prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":71421,"content":71422},{"textAlign":49},[71423],{"text":71424,"type":596},"“This 14% year-on-year growth in the quota is quite significant and will ensure that the market is well-supplied,” said Benchmark project manager Daan de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":71426,"content":71427},{"textAlign":49},[71428],{"text":71429,"type":596},"Supply is the biggest downward pressure on rare earths prices at the moment although weak downstream demand is also contributing.",{"type":591,"attrs":71431,"content":71432},{"textAlign":49},[71433],{"text":71434,"type":596},"The latest quota, released on 25 September, limited total production from four major producers to 120,000 tonnes and 115,000 tonnes of mined and refined material respectively. It applies to output for the remainder of 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71436,"content":71437},{"textAlign":49},[71438],{"text":71439,"type":596},"The four entities subject to the quota operate all of China’s legal domestic mines and the majority of its refining capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":71441,"content":71442},{"textAlign":49},[71443],{"text":71444,"type":596},"China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources issue rare earth quotas twice each year. The last quota, released in March, had set output for the first half of the year to 120, 000 tonnes and 115, 000 tonnes for mined and refined material respectively. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71446,"content":71447},{"textAlign":49},[71448],{"text":71449,"type":596},"Although the quota figures were the same in March and September, their combined total marks an overall growth on last year’s output limits.",{"type":591,"attrs":71451,"content":71452},{"textAlign":49},[71453,71458],{"text":71454,"type":596,"marks":71455},"China’s output",[71456],{"type":606,"attrs":71457},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71459,"type":596}," is a major determinant of rare earths prices thanks to its share of global supply, which is forecast to be around 71% in mined praseodymium-neodymium (PrND) and 86% in PrNd oxides in 2023, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":71461,"content":71462},{"textAlign":49},[71463],{"text":71464,"type":596},"Consecutive quotas increases by the Chinese government have been a significant driver of overall rare earths price declines since reaching near-historic peaks in early 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":71466,"content":71467},{"textAlign":49},[71468],{"text":71469,"type":596},"Further pressuring prices, this recent oversupply from China has coincided with weak downstream demand over 2023 from both wind and EVs, the two biggest rare earths end consumers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71471,"content":71472},{"textAlign":49},[71473],{"text":71474,"type":596},"The latest quota increase from China should sustain lower prices, primarily for the light rare earths. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71476,"content":71477},{"textAlign":49},[71478],{"type":836,"attrs":71479},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":71480,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71481},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8190cef2e8/bm-chart-screenshot-39.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":71483,"content":71484},{"textAlign":49},[71485],{"text":71486,"type":596},"The four companies allocated the quotas were China Rare Earth Group, China Northern Rare Earth Group, Xiamen Tungsten, Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group.",{"type":591,"attrs":71488,"content":71489},{"textAlign":49},[71490],{"text":71491,"type":596},"Together, the two rare earth mining and smelting quotas issued for 2023 totaled 240,000 tons and 230,000 tonnes respectively.",{"type":615,"attrs":71493,"content":71494},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71495],{"text":71496,"type":596},"China’s pursuit of ‘rational prices’",{"type":591,"attrs":71498,"content":71499},{"textAlign":49},[71500],{"text":71501,"type":596},"The ongoing price decline for rare earths supports the Chinese government’s objective to lower their market value and achieve what it calls ‘rational prices’.",{"type":591,"attrs":71503,"content":71504},{"textAlign":49},[71505],{"text":71506,"type":596},"The government believes the rare earths price rally over the early 2020s were preventing China’s industry, in particular its growing EV industry, from accessing raw materials at reasonable cost.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":71508,"content":71509},{"textAlign":49},[71510],{"text":71511,"type":596},"“For China, rational prices are ones where the growth is possible across the entire supply chain, from mining to EV manufacturing. Ensuring new capacity is a reasonable investment while maintaining stable input prices for REPM and motor manufacturers is a major objective for China’s MIIT,” explained de Jonge.",{"type":615,"attrs":71513,"content":71514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71515],{"text":71516,"type":596},"Impact on Western capacity building",{"type":591,"attrs":71518,"content":71519},{"textAlign":49},[71520],{"text":71521,"type":596},"China’s concern to achieve lower prices stems from the fact that it presides over a well-developed domestic rare earths supply chain, spanning mines to magnet-making. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71523,"content":71524},{"textAlign":49},[71525,71527,71533],{"text":71526,"type":596},"By contrast, low prices run counter to the interests of the Western governments and producers, whose primary concern as they begin ",{"text":71528,"type":596,"marks":71529},"domestic rare earths buildout",[71530],{"type":606,"attrs":71531},{"href":71532,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/asian-rare-earth-supply-uncertainties-strengthen-case-for-western-capacity",{"text":71534,"type":596}," is developing its upstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":71536,"content":71537},{"textAlign":49},[71538],{"text":71539,"type":596},"“Western miners tend to require higher prices for most investors to take action. This is due to higher cost positions and greater return-on-investment (ROI) targets. In the absence of high prices, it is difficult to ascertain what realistic ROI targets would be in the current market given the persistent uncertainty surrounding longer term price growth,” explained de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":71541,"content":71542},{"textAlign":49},[71543],{"text":71544,"type":596},"The few operating Western rare earths miners have been struggling to maintain cost efficiency under current market conditions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71546,"content":71547},{"textAlign":49},[71548],{"text":71549,"type":596},"Average selling prices per kilogram of material fell 51% year-on-year at US company MP Materials in its quarter two results this year while in August, Australia’s Lynas reported a 51% quarter-on-quarter dip in realised prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":71551,"content":71552},{"textAlign":49},[71553],{"text":71554,"type":596},"This impact of China’s output on Western rare earths mining viability shows the sheer extent of its dominance in this market, as movements within its industry are set to shape even the pace at which other regions can build independent capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71556,"content":71557},{"textAlign":49},[71558],{"text":71559,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast examines supply, demand, prices and costs for rare earth elements out to 2040 with full updates every quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":71561,"content":71562},{"textAlign":49},[71563],{"text":71564,"type":596},"To learn more about this service and to speak to our team, please provide your details here and our team will get back in touch.","China’s latest rare earth quota has raised the total output limit for 2023 by around 14% over 2022, a move that could entrench low rare earth ore and oxide prices. “This 14% year-on-year growth in the quota is quite significant and will ensure that the market is well-supplied,” said Benchmark project manager Daan de Jonge. […]",[71567],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71568},{"job_title":557,"image":71569,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ee0b009a-a0e6-4e39-871c-852fcc825b00\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[71572,71573,71574],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71576},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":71578,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71579,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/shutterstock_2034930392-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"China’s latest rare earth quota has raised the total output limit for 2023 by around 14% over 2022, a move that could entrench low rare earth ore and oxide prices. “This 14% year-on-year growth in the quota is quite significant and will ensure that the ..","Oct 03, 2023",{"id":71583,"uuid":71584,"name":71585,"slug":71586,"full_slug":71587,"content":71588},112470710642719,"af6b98a3-6fea-4ad6-a74f-b9df0861597d","Northvolt picks Quebec for $5 billion gigafactory","northvolt-picks-quebec-for-5-billion-gigafactory","article/northvolt-picks-quebec-for-5-billion-gigafactory",{"_uid":71589,"date":71590,"tags":71591,"editor":71595,"content":71599,"excerpt":71697,"featured":51,"reporter":71698,"_editable":71702,"component":697,"seo_title":71585,"categories":71703,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":71706,"seo_description":71697,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":71709},"0be059aa-9e34-4bb1-8567-f821256b255e","2023-09-29 00:00",[71592,71593,71594],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":22547,"name":22548},[71596],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71597},{"job_title":557,"image":71598,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":71600},[71601,71613,71618,71628,71633,71638,71643,71650,71655,71660,71672,71677,71682,71687,71692],{"type":591,"attrs":71602,"content":71603},{"textAlign":49},[71604,71606,71611],{"text":71605,"type":596},"Sweden’s ",{"text":22548,"type":596,"marks":71607},[71608],{"type":606,"attrs":71609},{"href":71610,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-and-sunwoda-become-tier-one-ev-battery-manufacturers",{"text":71612,"type":596}," has picked Quebec for its first battery gigafactory in North America, securing a site close to local supplies of lithium that will also use hydropower to lower the carbon footprint of battery production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71614,"content":71615},{"textAlign":49},[71616],{"text":71617,"type":596},"The $5 billion plant will initially produce 30 gigawatt hours of cells and cathode materials starting in 2026, ramping up to 60 GWh eventually, Northvolt said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":71619,"content":71620},{"textAlign":49},[71621,71623,71627],{"text":71622,"type":596},"The plant will further push North America’s battery capacity ahead of Europe’s, with the region set to have almost 1.4 terawatt hours of annual production capacity out to 2030, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":71624},[71625],{"type":606,"attrs":71626},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":71629,"content":71630},{"textAlign":49},[71631],{"text":71632,"type":596},"Quebec is emerging as a key cluster for the battery supply chain in North America, in part due to its low-carbon hydropower electricity. General Motors is building a cathode material processing plant in the region, while Livent is developing the Nemaska Lithium project there. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71634,"content":71635},{"textAlign":49},[71636],{"text":71637,"type":596},"“With its unique access to renewable power and raw materials, we see this as the ideal base of operations for Northvolt’s first gigafactory outside of Europe,” said Northvolt co-founder Paolo Cerruti, who will become chief executive of North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":71639,"content":71640},{"textAlign":49},[71641],{"text":71642,"type":596},"Northvolt hopes to eventually produce batteries with a carbon footprint as low as 10 kg CO2/kWh by 2030. Its current production produces around 33 kg CO2e/kWh at the cell level, on a life cycle basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":71644,"content":71645},{"textAlign":49},[71646],{"type":836,"attrs":71647},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":71648,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71649},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ca6fe624da/bm-image-90-1344057928d0.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":71651,"content":71652},{"textAlign":49},[71653],{"text":71654,"type":596},"The Canadian government has also agreed to match the incentives provided by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, with the Canadian and Quebec governments agreeing to each provide $1 billion for the project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71656,"content":71657},{"textAlign":49},[71658],{"text":71659,"type":596},"It is Canada’s second planned battery gigafactory, following plans by Volkswagen to build a plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, with an expected production capacity of 40 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":71661,"content":71662},{"textAlign":49},[71663,71665,71670],{"text":71664,"type":596},"The plant will produce ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":71666},[71667],{"type":606,"attrs":71668},{"href":71669,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-cathode-plant-to-boost-europes-capacity-75-by-2025",{"text":71671,"type":596}," at the site and also recycle batteries, Northvolt said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71673,"content":71674},{"textAlign":49},[71675],{"text":71676,"type":596},"The selection of the 170-hectare site just outside the city of Montréal was made “after an extensive review of locations in North America,” Northvolt said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71678,"content":71679},{"textAlign":49},[71680],{"text":71681,"type":596},"“Quebec hydroelectricity guarantees cell production from 100 percent renewable energy and the region represents an ideal location in the North American automotive value chain,” it said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":71683,"content":71684},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[71685],{"text":71686,"type":596},"Securing financing ",{"type":591,"attrs":71688,"content":71689},{"textAlign":49},[71690],{"text":71691,"type":596},"In August Northvolt raised $1.2 billion to finance its expansion plans in Europe and North America, in the form of a convertible bond. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71693,"content":71694},{"textAlign":49},[71695],{"text":71696,"type":596},"The financing was led by Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), BlackRock, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), as well as OMERS.","Sweden’s Northvolt has picked Quebec for its first battery gigafactory in North America, securing a site close to local supplies of lithium that will also use hydropower to lower the carbon footprint of battery production. The $5 billion plant will initially produce 30 gigawatt hours of cells and cathode materials starting in 2026, ramping up […]",[71699],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71700},{"job_title":557,"image":71701,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0be059aa-9e34-4bb1-8567-f821256b255e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[71704,71705],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":71707,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71708,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c00c82a6ee/bm-northvolt-quebec.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 29, 2023",{"id":71711,"uuid":71712,"name":71713,"slug":71714,"full_slug":71715,"content":71716},112470729639971,"08542713-fdda-425a-93b5-d0b60ad53486","Understanding emissions of lithium ion’s two mainstream chemistries NCM & LFP: New Data","lfp-uptake-threatens-ev-battery-footprint-according-to-new-battery-emissions-analyser","article/lfp-uptake-threatens-ev-battery-footprint-according-to-new-battery-emissions-analyser",{"_uid":71717,"date":71718,"tags":71719,"editor":71721,"content":71725,"excerpt":71898,"featured":50,"reporter":71899,"_editable":71903,"component":697,"seo_title":71713,"categories":71904,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":71915,"seo_description":71898,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":71918},"d60591e4-aea8-43d8-b4e2-beb497688570","2023-09-26 00:00",[71720],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[71722],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71723},{"job_title":557,"image":71724,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":71726},[71727,71732,71737,71742,71753,71758,71763,71774,71779,71784,71789,71796,71801,71806,71811,71816,71823,71828,71833,71838,71843,71850,71856,71861,71866,71871,71876,71888,71893],{"type":591,"attrs":71728,"content":71729},{"textAlign":49},[71730],{"text":71731,"type":596},"Understanding the carbon footprint of producing LFP and NCM cells is becoming central to expanding lithium ion battery capacity for both cell formats. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71733,"content":71734},{"textAlign":49},[71735],{"text":71736,"type":596},"Mid-nickel NCM and LFP cathodes have become the primary lithium ion battery routes of choice as the world expands from a forecasted 1 TWh of production in 2023 to over 6 TWh by 2033. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71738,"content":71739},{"textAlign":49},[71740],{"text":71741,"type":596},"While other battery chemistries will play a part, the vast majority of batteries deployed in this energy storage revolution will be NCM or LFP. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71743,"content":71744},{"textAlign":49},[71745,71746,71751],{"text":47827,"type":596},{"text":71747,"type":596,"marks":71748},"Battery Emissions Analyser (BEA)",[71749],{"type":606,"attrs":71750},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71752,"type":596}," service now sheds new light on the carbon emissions of both chemistries as billions of dollars of investment flow towards new supply chain capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71754,"content":71755},{"textAlign":49},[71756],{"text":71757,"type":596},"Understanding emissions today is key to improving how these new supply chains are built out over the next decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71759,"content":71760},{"textAlign":49},[71761],{"text":71762,"type":596},"This includes new sources of nickel, lithium, and phosphate and new ways to improve or re-invent the way the industry processes these elements.",{"type":591,"attrs":71764,"content":71765},{"textAlign":49},[71766,71767,71772],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":71768,"type":596,"marks":71769},"Battery Emissions Analyser",[71770],{"type":606,"attrs":71771},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71773,"type":596}," shows that the production of NCM mid-nickel has, at present, 4% lower emissions than LFP under the Scenario 1: the best case scenario for each cathode. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71775,"content":71776},{"textAlign":49},[71777],{"text":71778,"type":596},"While LFP cells maintain a cost advantage over the majority of nickel-based  chemistries, the carbon intensity of these variants can in fact prove more carbon intensive than NCM cells, despite the lack of cobalt and nickel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71780,"content":71781},{"textAlign":49},[71782],{"text":71783,"type":596},"LFP batteries require more active and inactive materials than NCM batteries on a kWh basis, due to their lower energy density. That means that to get to the same kWh level, the material intensity is higher resulting in higher emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":71785,"content":71786},{"textAlign":49},[71787],{"text":71788,"type":596},"However, LFP batteries tend to last longer than NCM cells which will play into its lifetime emissions footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":71790,"content":71791},{"textAlign":49},[71792],{"type":836,"attrs":71793},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":71794,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71795},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/14d400896a/bm-image-44.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":71797,"content":71798},{"textAlign":49},[71799],{"text":71800,"type":596},"Nickel sourcing will impact NCM competitiveness",{"type":591,"attrs":71802,"content":71803},{"textAlign":49},[71804],{"text":71805,"type":596},"Deeper analysis shows that within mid and high nickel NCM batteries, the choice of nickel is significant, and can tip the balance of carbon competitiveness.",{"type":591,"attrs":71807,"content":71808},{"textAlign":49},[71809],{"text":71810,"type":596},"Sourcing nickel from RKEF processing (Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace) instead of HPAL (High Pressure Acid Leaching) resulted in an increase of 58% in carbon emissions at battery cell level.",{"type":591,"attrs":71812,"content":71813},{"textAlign":49},[71814],{"text":71815,"type":596},"In addition, the source of energy deployed during the cathode active material (CAM) production process has been shown to have a material impact on the realised carbon intensity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71817,"content":71818},{"textAlign":49},[71819],{"type":836,"attrs":71820},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":71821,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71822},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b54f9f88eb/bm-image-45.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":71824,"content":71825},{"textAlign":49},[71826],{"text":71827,"type":596},"The build out of energy storage capacity will be fundamental to the successful transition of energy generation to cleaner sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":71829,"content":71830},{"textAlign":49},[71831],{"text":71832,"type":596},"However, to date, there has been limited understanding of the impact of this battery production across battery technologies, much less across lithium ion chemistries due to a lack of understanding of real world material intensities and supply chain process routes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71834,"content":71835},{"textAlign":49},[71836],{"text":71837,"type":596},"“With regulatory pressure increasing, identifying risk hotspots is imperative to developing effective supply chain strategies for all downstream participants,” Charlotte Selvey-Miller, head of sustainability at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":71839,"content":71840},{"textAlign":49},[71841],{"text":71842,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Battery Emissions Analyser (BEA) assesses carbon intensity at battery cell level for the most common electric vehicle battery chemistries available today, using robust Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":71844,"content":71845},{"textAlign":49},[71846],{"type":836,"attrs":71847},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":71848,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":71849},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1e906d6d74/bm-image7.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":71851,"content":71852},{"textAlign":49},[71853,71854],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":71855,"type":596},"has merged its extensive battery datasets, cost models and its sustainability knowledge to create the BEA – a service that is updated continuously. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71857,"content":71858},{"textAlign":49},[71859],{"text":71860,"type":596},"The interactive dashboard provides stakeholders instant values with customisable inputs including raw material sources and manufacturing locations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71862,"content":71863},{"textAlign":49},[71864],{"text":71865,"type":596}," “A path to decarbonising supply requires a deep level of understanding not only of the supply chains of today, but how these will develop in the future,” explained Bruna Grossl, Senior LCA practitioner at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71867,"content":71868},{"textAlign":49},[71869],{"text":71870,"type":596},"“Being able to run different scenario analysis provides the foundations for more informed and environmentally conscious sourcing decisions”, Grossl added.",{"type":591,"attrs":71872,"content":71873},{"textAlign":49},[71874],{"text":71875,"type":596},"Benchmark’s new Battery Emissions Analyser service helps companies across the supply chain to analyse the carbon intensity of different battery chemistries and processing locations.",{"type":591,"attrs":71877,"content":71878},{"textAlign":49},[71879,71881,71887],{"text":71880,"type":596},"We will be presenting more analysis in our webinar on Thursday 5 October – ",{"text":71882,"type":596,"marks":71883},"see more information and register here",[71884],{"type":606,"attrs":71885},{"href":71886,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/the-cost-of-decarbonisation-and-the-environmental-impact-of-the-battery-arms-race/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":71889,"content":71890},{"textAlign":49},[71891],{"text":71892,"type":596},"Our Battery Emissions Analyser is one of a wider range of new Benchmark services for the battery supply chain – including our new Lithium Ion Battery Cell Cost Model, Manganese Sulphate Market Outlook and Phosphoric Acid Market Outlook.",{"type":591,"attrs":71894,"content":71895},{"textAlign":49},[71896],{"text":71897,"type":596},"To speak to our experts and learn more about these services – please provide your details here and our team will contact you shortly:","Understanding the carbon footprint of producing LFP and NCM cells is becoming central to expanding lithium ion battery capacity for both cell formats. Mid-nickel NCM and LFP cathodes have become the primary lithium ion battery routes of choice as the world expands from a forecasted 1 TWh of production in 2023 to over 6 TWh […]",[71900],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71901},{"job_title":557,"image":71902,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d60591e4-aea8-43d8-b4e2-beb497688570\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[71905,71906,71907,71908,71909,71910,71911,71912,71913,71914],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":71916,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":71917,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/720a83fef2/bm-pt-qmb.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 26, 2023",{"id":71920,"uuid":71921,"name":71922,"slug":71923,"full_slug":71924,"content":71925},112470724917282,"18d71ad4-530d-4988-9e86-f5b1f36fcaa3","US gigafactory rollout hit by setbacks ","us-gigafactory-rollout-hit-by-setbacks","article/us-gigafactory-rollout-hit-by-setbacks",{"_uid":71926,"date":71718,"tags":71927,"editor":71929,"content":71933,"excerpt":72074,"featured":51,"reporter":72075,"_editable":72079,"component":697,"seo_title":71922,"categories":72080,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":72084,"seo_description":72074,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":71918},"8e7e56f2-507e-4dae-9fa7-6324bd88c39b",[71928],{"slug":572,"name":573},[71930],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":71931},{"job_title":557,"image":71932,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":71934},[71935,71947,71952,71957,71962,71972,71977,71982,71993,71998,72003,72008,72013,72018,72023,72028,72033,72038,72043,72048,72053,72058,72063],{"type":591,"attrs":71936,"content":71937},{"textAlign":49},[71938,71940,71945],{"text":71939,"type":596},"The construction of US battery gigafactories is being hit by setbacks, as Ford announced it would pause development of a 35 gigawatt hour $3.5 billion ",{"text":71941,"type":596,"marks":71942},"plant in Michigan",[71943],{"type":606,"attrs":71944},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71946,"type":596}," to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71948,"content":71949},{"textAlign":49},[71950],{"text":71951,"type":596},"The automaker said it is “pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” without giving details of the delay. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71953,"content":71954},{"textAlign":49},[71955],{"text":71956,"type":596},"The announcement came during the second week of a national strike by unionised auto workers at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis in the US, who are calling for higher pay as well as other benefits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71958,"content":71959},{"textAlign":49},[71960],{"text":71961,"type":596},"It follows reports of delays and cost increases for US gigafactories, following billions of dollars of announced investment over the past year, acclerated in part by the Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":591,"attrs":71963,"content":71964},{"textAlign":49},[71965,71967,71971],{"text":71966,"type":596},"The US battery cell capacity pipeline to 2030 has increased by 74.8% since July, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":71968},[71969],{"type":606,"attrs":71970},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":71973,"content":71974},{"textAlign":49},[71975],{"text":71976,"type":596},"Yet constructing those gigafactories could take longer and cost more than planned, due to the limited experience of construction companies, according to Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71978,"content":71979},{"textAlign":49},[71980],{"text":71981,"type":596},"“There aren’t a wealth of construction companies in the US that have ever built a factory like this,” he said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":71983,"content":71984},{"textAlign":49},[71985,71987,71991],{"text":71986,"type":596},"US battery production capacity is set to almost double by 2025, according to announced plans, to hit almost 500 GWh a year, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":71988},[71989],{"type":606,"attrs":71990},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":71992,"type":596},". By 2030 that’s set to double again to 1,233.6 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71994,"content":71995},{"textAlign":49},[71996],{"text":71997,"type":596},"But automakers are already struggling to increase production of electric vehicles, due to a slower-than-expected ramp up of battery production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":71999,"content":72000},{"textAlign":49},[72001],{"text":72002,"type":596},"General Motors said in July that the ramp up of production of its Ultium batteries was experiencing “unexpected delays,” due to delivery issues with an equipment supplier. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72004,"content":72005},{"textAlign":49},[72006],{"text":72007,"type":596},"Ford also said this summer that it would produce 600,000 EVs in 2024, rather than by the end of 2023, as it had previously forecast. ",{"type":615,"attrs":72009,"content":72010},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72011],{"text":72012,"type":596},"Cell production challenges",{"type":591,"attrs":72014,"content":72015},{"textAlign":49},[72016],{"text":72017,"type":596},"Many battery companies establishing cell production in the region are experiencing challenges with ramping up capacity, such as South Korea’s LG Energy Solution in Warren, Ohio, and in Savannah, Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":72019,"content":72020},{"textAlign":49},[72021],{"text":72022,"type":596},"LGES and Hyundai said this month that their 30 GWh cell plant in Savannah will actually cost $7.6 billion rather than the $4.3bn announced in May.",{"type":591,"attrs":72024,"content":72025},{"textAlign":49},[72026],{"text":72027,"type":596},"The company’s plant with General Motors in Warren, Ohio, has also seen chemical spills that have led to investigations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72029,"content":72030},{"textAlign":49},[72031],{"text":72032,"type":596},"American Battery Factory has also postponed construction of its $1.2 billion lithium phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Tucson, Arizona, until November, according to reports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72034,"content":72035},{"textAlign":49},[72036],{"text":72037,"type":596},"The planned production capacity of US LFP battery cells has increased by 260% this year, to 176.8 GWh of annual production capacity by 2030, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":72039,"content":72040},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72041],{"text":72042,"type":596},"UAW strikes",{"type":591,"attrs":72044,"content":72045},{"textAlign":49},[72046],{"text":72047,"type":596},"Around 18,300 workers of the United Auto Workers (UAW) are on strike at plants owned by General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72049,"content":72050},{"textAlign":49},[72051],{"text":72052,"type":596},"The UAW had originally proposed a 40% pay increase over four years for workers, but has now settled on a 30% increase. Ford has said the union’s demands would make it impossible to invest in EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72054,"content":72055},{"textAlign":49},[72056],{"text":72057,"type":596},"In August, the UAW union reached a deal to increase wages by 25% at General Motors’ Ultium Cells battery joint venture. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72059,"content":72060},{"textAlign":49},[72061],{"text":72062,"type":596},"Taking a 25% increase in labour wages and greater capital investment could lead to a $5/kWh higher battery cell price in the US, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72064,"content":72065},{"textAlign":49},[72066,72068,72073],{"text":72067,"type":596},"It comes as battery cell prices have declined globally, falling below $100 a kWh for the first time in two years ",{"text":72069,"type":596,"marks":72070},"last month",[72071],{"type":606,"attrs":72072},{"href":43541,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"The construction of US battery gigafactories is being hit by setbacks, as Ford announced it would pause development of a 35 gigawatt hour $3.5 billion plant in Michigan to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. The automaker said it is “pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident […]",[72076],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72077},{"job_title":557,"image":72078,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8e7e56f2-507e-4dae-9fa7-6324bd88c39b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72081,72082,72083],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":72085,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72086,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/30f994141c/bm-blue-oval-city-02.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":72088,"uuid":72089,"name":72090,"slug":72091,"full_slug":72092,"content":72093},112470739154981,"1b8222f2-3901-4643-9dd8-c2dba32b8dea","Western Australia awards A$1 billion in contracts for battery energy storage, includes CATL","western-australia-awards-1-billion-in-contracts-for-battery-energy-storage-includes-catl","article/western-australia-awards-1-billion-in-contracts-for-battery-energy-storage-includes-catl",{"_uid":72094,"date":72095,"tags":72096,"editor":72101,"content":72105,"excerpt":72253,"featured":50,"reporter":72254,"_editable":72258,"component":697,"seo_title":72090,"categories":72259,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":72263,"featured_image":72266,"seo_description":72253,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72269},"f40e88c9-2cdb-4ea5-83eb-ce17a6ca3da2","2023-09-22 00:00",[72097,72098,72099,72100],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":2902,"name":2903},[72102],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72103},{"job_title":557,"image":72104,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72106},[72107,72119,72124,72129,72134,72139,72144,72149,72154,72159,72164,72169,72174,72193,72201,72206,72211,72216,72221,72228,72233,72238,72243,72248],{"type":591,"attrs":72108,"content":72109},{"textAlign":49},[72110,72112,72117],{"text":72111,"type":596},"The Western Australian government has awarded A$1 billion ($644 million) in contracts for the building and expansion of ",{"text":2012,"type":596,"marks":72113},[72114],{"type":606,"attrs":72115},{"href":72116,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-technologies-will-meet-the-worlds-need-for-energy-storage",{"text":72118,"type":596}," (BESS) in the state.",{"type":591,"attrs":72120,"content":72121},{"textAlign":49},[72122],{"text":72123,"type":596},"This investment is part of a larger A$2.8 billion ($1.87 billion) commitment from the state government for delivering renewable energy projects, highlighting Australia’s commitment to moving away from a high carbon electricity grid.",{"type":591,"attrs":72125,"content":72126},{"textAlign":49},[72127],{"text":72128,"type":596},"“Australia is aggressively decommissioning its coal peaking capacity, the largest proportion of its energy mix in 2022, and replacing it largely with renewables,” Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “As a result, there is a need for energy storage deployment to provide grid-resiliency and transmission services in lieu of coal peaking capacity, as well as renewable integration services.”",{"type":591,"attrs":72130,"content":72131},{"textAlign":49},[72132],{"text":72133,"type":596},"In 2021, two-fifths of Australia’s renewable electricity generation was from solar which peaks in the middle of the day. Of this, the majority is small-scale solar such as rooftop installations.",{"type":591,"attrs":72135,"content":72136},{"textAlign":49},[72137],{"text":72138,"type":596},"China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, will supply the battery systems for the 200 megawatt/800 megawatt hour Kwinana BESS stage 2 and the 500 MW/2000 MWh Collie BESS.",{"type":591,"attrs":72140,"content":72141},{"textAlign":49},[72142],{"text":72143,"type":596},"Inverters for the projects will be supplied by Power Electronics.",{"type":591,"attrs":72145,"content":72146},{"textAlign":49},[72147],{"text":72148,"type":596},"The two BESS projects are being developed by the state’s energy provider Synergy. Both battery systems offer up to four hours of storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":72150,"content":72151},{"textAlign":49},[72152],{"text":72153,"type":596},"The Collie battery will be the largest such system in Western Australia when it comes online, which Synergy estimates will be 2025. The Kwinana BESS stage 1 began commissioning earlier this year and stage 2 is due to be completed in 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":72155,"content":72156},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72157],{"text":72158,"type":596},"CATL’s BESS offerings",{"type":591,"attrs":72160,"content":72161},{"textAlign":49},[72162],{"text":72163,"type":596},"CATL will provide about 300 EnerC Plus units for Kwinana BESS stage 2 and about 650 for the Collie BESS.",{"type":591,"attrs":72165,"content":72166},{"textAlign":49},[72167],{"text":72168,"type":596},"The EnerC Plus systems are liquid cooled containerised battery systems that CATL first revealed at the World Smart Energy Week in Tokyo in March this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":72170,"content":72171},{"textAlign":49},[72172],{"text":72173,"type":596},"The systems use CATL’s cell-to-pack technology which increases the volumetric energy density of a battery pack by reducing the amount of inactive material taking up space in a pack by eliminating the need for a module.",{"type":591,"attrs":72175,"content":72176},{"textAlign":49},[72177,72179,72184,72186,72191],{"text":72178,"type":596},"The batteries use ",{"text":17981,"type":596,"marks":72180},[72181],{"type":606,"attrs":72182},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-lfp-dominance-could-constrain-us-energy-storage-deployment",{"text":72185,"type":596}," (LFP) chemistry, which is the cathode chemistry of choice for most energy storage systems. ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":72187},[72188],{"type":606,"attrs":72189},{"href":72190,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":72192,"type":596}," shows that 87% of battery demand from the energy storage sector this year is for LFP batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":72194,"content":72195},{"textAlign":49},[72196],{"type":836,"attrs":72197},{"id":49,"alt":72198,"src":72199,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":72200},"LFP dominates the energy storage market","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8516a0c65/bm-lfp-dominates-the-energy-storage-market.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":72202,"content":72203},{"textAlign":49},[72204],{"text":72205,"type":596},"CATL already provides the battery systems for Kwinana BESS stage 1, which is a 100 MW/200 MWh project with up to two hours of storage.",{"type":615,"attrs":72207,"content":72208},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72209],{"text":72210,"type":596},"Australia’s push to renewables",{"type":591,"attrs":72212,"content":72213},{"textAlign":49},[72214],{"text":72215,"type":596},"Australia still has a large dependence on coal and gas for its electricity generation. According to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 51% of electricity generation was from coal and 18% from gas in 2021. Renewables accounted for 29% of electricity generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":72217,"content":72218},{"textAlign":49},[72219],{"text":72220,"type":596},"In Western Australia, the proportion of coal-based electricity generation in 2021 drops to 22% but natural gas rises to 57%. Just 15% of Western Australia’s electricity generation was from renewables.",{"type":591,"attrs":72222,"content":72223},{"textAlign":49},[72224],{"type":836,"attrs":72225},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":72226,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":72227},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/58edd1681b/bm-image-89-1344055146cb.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":72229,"content":72230},{"textAlign":49},[72231],{"text":72232,"type":596},"Both the Collie and Kwinana systems are being built to help cope with the increased renewable energy generation that is a part of Western Australia’s emissions reduction plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":72234,"content":72235},{"textAlign":49},[72236],{"text":72237,"type":596},"Western Australia’s 2023-24 State Budget has allocated A$3 billion ($2.01 billion) to tackle climate change and build climate resilience and A$2.8 billion ($1.87 billion) to the transition to “cleaner, reliable and affordable energy” of which this latest announcement is a part.",{"type":591,"attrs":72239,"content":72240},{"textAlign":49},[72241],{"text":72242,"type":596},"The Collie BESS is being built near the 340 MW Collie Power Station, a coal power station operated by Synergy that is due to be decomissioned in 2027 and replaced with renewable energy generation. The BESS will operate independently of the power station.",{"type":591,"attrs":72244,"content":72245},{"textAlign":49},[72246],{"text":72247,"type":596},"The Kwinana BESS is based near the former Kwinana Power Station which began decommissioning in 2016. The station burned coal, natural gas and oil.",{"type":591,"attrs":72249,"content":72250},{"textAlign":49},[72251],{"text":72252,"type":596},"“Battery energy storage systems will play a key role in our decarbonisation plans, storing excess renewable energy generated in the day and discharging during times of high demand,” Roger Cook, Western Australia’s Premier, said.","The Western Australian government has awarded A$1 billion ($644 million) in contracts for the building and expansion of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the state. This investment is part of a larger A$2.8 billion ($1.87 billion) commitment from the state government for delivering renewable energy projects, highlighting Australia’s commitment to moving away from a […]",[72255],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72256},{"job_title":557,"image":72257,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f40e88c9-2cdb-4ea5-83eb-ce17a6ca3da2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72260,72261,72262],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":72198,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":72198,"source":547,"filename":72264,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72265,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1695388175/www-production/chart-screenshot-46/chart-screenshot-46.png?_i=AA",{"alt":72198,"title":72198,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":72267,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72268,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/49bc0bba14/bm-cabinet-website-photo.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 22, 2023",{"id":72271,"uuid":72272,"name":72273,"slug":72274,"full_slug":72275,"content":72276},112470753405068,"39fc5572-e522-47a4-9cdc-44bca5529b67","Asian rare earth supply uncertainties strengthen case for Western capacity","asian-rare-earth-supply-uncertainties-strengthen-case-for-western-capacity","article/asian-rare-earth-supply-uncertainties-strengthen-case-for-western-capacity",{"_uid":72277,"date":72278,"tags":72279,"editor":72287,"content":72291,"excerpt":72416,"featured":51,"reporter":72417,"_editable":72421,"component":697,"seo_title":72273,"categories":72422,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":72426,"seo_description":72416,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72430},"3099cdd5-7e66-404d-8c0a-98668299dafc","2023-09-21 00:00",[72280,72281,72282,72285,72286],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":13866,"name":13867},{"slug":72283,"name":72284},"malaysia","Malaysia",{"slug":27747,"name":27748},{"slug":572,"name":573},[72288],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72289},{"job_title":557,"image":72290,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72292},[72293,72303,72308,72313,72318,72323,72328,72341,72346,72351,72356,72361,72366,72371,72376,72381,72386,72391,72396,72401,72406,72411],{"type":591,"attrs":72294,"content":72295},{"textAlign":49},[72296,72301],{"text":72297,"type":596,"marks":72298},"Rare earth",[72299],{"type":606,"attrs":72300},{"href":47014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":72302,"type":596}," mining suspensions in Myanmar and news of potential Malaysian export restrictions have highlighted the need for greater Western domestic capacity to shore up supply and ward against price volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":72304,"content":72305},{"textAlign":49},[72306],{"text":72307,"type":596},"“These developments underline the structural risks of the rare earths supply chain: with production highly concentrated in a few key regions globally, localised disruptions can trigger significant supply volatility,” said Benchmark analyst Neha Mukherjee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72309,"content":72310},{"textAlign":49},[72311],{"text":72312,"type":596},"Pre-inspection shutdowns at mining sites in Kachin state in Myanmar led dysprosium oxide prices to hit their highest levels since May 2022 in September. Terbium oxide also rose to July 2023 levels. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72314,"content":72315},{"textAlign":49},[72316],{"text":72317,"type":596},"Terbium and dysprosium oxides are made into alloys for neodymium iron boron rare earths permanent magnet (REPMs) used in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72319,"content":72320},{"textAlign":49},[72321],{"text":72322,"type":596},"Prices for the two metals are highly sensitive to changes in supply from Myanmar, which mines 37% of world supply in dysprosium, according to Benchmark data, second only to China at 57%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72324,"content":72325},{"textAlign":49},[72326],{"text":72327,"type":596},"Although the suspensions that began on September 4 were expected to last just ten days, they were still ongoing by September 15. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72329,"content":72330},{"textAlign":49},[72331,72333,72339],{"text":72332,"type":596},"Myanmar’s mines are especially key to China for obtaining terbium and dysprosium metals, two elements that will be of particular concern to the US and Europe as they ",{"text":72334,"type":596,"marks":72335},"develop domestic capacity",[72336],{"type":606,"attrs":72337},{"href":72338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australia-set-for-rare-earths-expansion-as-it-deepens-ties-with-us-to-build-ex-china-supply-chains",{"text":72340,"type":596}," independent of Chinese inputs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72342,"content":72343},{"textAlign":49},[72344],{"text":72345,"type":596},"China has heavy rare earths reserves of its own but the size of its processing industry means the country relies on supplementary flows from Myanmar. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72347,"content":72348},{"textAlign":49},[72349],{"text":72350,"type":596},"Western countries lack the substantial heavy rare earth ore reserves of China or southeast Asia but the US is making some progress in developing supply chains independent of these regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":72352,"content":72353},{"textAlign":49},[72354],{"text":72355,"type":596},"Lynas Rare Earths, USA Rare Earths, and Ucore are now developing heavy rare earths facilities in the US with the plants expected to source ores from Lynas’ mine in Australia, the Roundtop mine in Texas, and the Bokan mine in Alaska. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72357,"content":72358},{"textAlign":49},[72359],{"text":72360,"type":596},"Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths operates a heavy rare earths processing facility in Belfast using recycled materials and has plans to source ore from the Makuutu mine in Uganda currently under development.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":72362,"content":72363},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72364],{"text":72365,"type":596},"Malaysia mulls restrictions ",{"type":591,"attrs":72367,"content":72368},{"textAlign":49},[72369],{"text":72370,"type":596},"The Myanmar supply disruption is expected to be temporary and unlikely to affect the global market balance of these metals in 2023, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":72372,"content":72373},{"textAlign":49},[72374],{"text":72375,"type":596},"Still, a longer term potential supply impact could come from Malaysia after the government said this month it planned to restrict rare earth exports.",{"type":591,"attrs":72377,"content":72378},{"textAlign":49},[72379],{"text":72380,"type":596},"Malaysia has not specified whether ore or processed oxides will be covered. However, any restrictions could well target the latter, as processing dominates Malaysia’s rare earth industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":72382,"content":72383},{"textAlign":49},[72384],{"text":72385,"type":596},"“This is a signal that more processing facilities should be developed, especially in Australia and the US, because after China these are the two countries that are the biggest mining facilities of rare earth minerals,” Mukherjee said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72387,"content":72388},{"textAlign":49},[72389],{"text":72390,"type":596},"President of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim said that his government would develop a new National Mineral Policy that would limit rare earth raw materials exports to “promote the country’s raw material processing industry and bring extra income to the country” as well as foster sustainable mining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72392,"content":72393},{"textAlign":49},[72394],{"text":72395,"type":596},"Rare earth chemicals production rather than mining is the focal point of Malaysian rare earths industry, with the country on track to supply 6.6% of the world’s total rare earth oxides in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72397,"content":72398},{"textAlign":49},[72399],{"text":72400,"type":596},"Most Malaysian rare earths processing capacity is owned by Australian producer Lynas at Kuantan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72402,"content":72403},{"textAlign":49},[72404],{"text":72405,"type":596},"“Export restrictions would be practically meaningless if Kuantan output is not considered,” Mukherjee said.",{"type":591,"attrs":72407,"content":72408},{"textAlign":49},[72409],{"text":72410,"type":596},"Lynas is a strategically vital producer for the US and EU for being one of the very few non-Chinese rare earth miners and processors globally, meaning that a ban on chemicals export could pose risks for the US’ emerging magnet manufacturing industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72412,"content":72413},{"textAlign":49},[72414],{"text":72415,"type":596},"“Lynas is working on the setup of processing facilities in Texas and Kalgoorlie to ensure their supply chain is not affected because of Kuantan,” said Mukherjee. ","Rare earth mining suspensions in Myanmar and news of potential Malaysian export restrictions have highlighted the need for greater Western domestic capacity to shore up supply and ward against price volatility. “These developments underline the structural risks of the rare earths supply chain: with production highly concentrated in a few key regions globally, localised disruptions […]",[72418],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72419},{"job_title":557,"image":72420,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3099cdd5-7e66-404d-8c0a-98668299dafc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72423,72424,72425],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":72427,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":72427,"source":547,"filename":72428,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72429,"is_external_url":51},"Members of an IAEA international expert team visit Lynas rare earth processing facility near Kuantan in Malaysia on 14 October 2014.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6da84115c3/bm-15363789930-baf8135fd2-o.jpg",{"alt":72427,"title":72427,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 21, 2023",{"id":72432,"uuid":72433,"name":72434,"slug":72435,"full_slug":72436,"content":72437},112470767921295,"657e5736-648f-4d3f-ae42-5fbf13923a58","US, Japan call for global collaboration to meet growing battery demand","us-japan-call-for-global-collaboration-to-meet-growing-battery-demand","article/us-japan-call-for-global-collaboration-to-meet-growing-battery-demand",{"_uid":72438,"date":72439,"tags":72440,"editor":72446,"content":72450,"excerpt":72566,"featured":51,"reporter":72567,"_editable":72571,"component":697,"seo_title":72434,"categories":72572,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":72576,"seo_description":72566,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72579},"836ff084-d32e-46de-87e9-18dcaddb8eee","2023-09-20 00:00",[72441,72444,72445],{"slug":72442,"name":72443},"battery-gigafactories-asia-pacific-2023","Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2023",{"slug":17938,"name":17939},{"slug":572,"name":573},[72447],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72448},{"job_title":557,"image":72449,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72451},[72452,72457,72462,72467,72472,72490,72495,72500,72505,72510,72515,72520,72525,72538,72543,72556,72561],{"type":591,"attrs":72453,"content":72454},{"textAlign":49},[72455],{"text":72456,"type":596},"Global collaboration and partnerships across the supply chain are needed to meet net-zero emission targets, government representatives from the US and Japan said at the opening session of the Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2023 conference on Wednesday.",{"type":591,"attrs":72458,"content":72459},{"textAlign":49},[72460],{"text":72461,"type":596},"Being held in Tokyo, Japan, the event kicked off with a call from the US and Japanese government representatives who stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation given the scale and speed of investments required for the energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":72463,"content":72464},{"textAlign":49},[72465],{"text":72466,"type":596},"“We are fortunate that we have a lot of free trade agreement (FTA) partners that have extensive mineral opportunities and are great partners to us,” said Sarah Bianchi, Deputy United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President.",{"type":591,"attrs":72468,"content":72469},{"textAlign":49},[72470],{"text":72471,"type":596},"“I do think we are going to have to continue to rely on additional partners and additional resources to meet the near term demand,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":72473,"content":72474},{"textAlign":49},[72475,72476,72482,72484,72489],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":72477,"type":596,"marks":72478},"landmark",[72479],{"type":606,"attrs":72480},{"href":72481,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/one-year-on-the-ira-has-changed-the-battery-landscape-in-the-us",{"text":72483,"type":596}," US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which completed a year in August, has already drawn over $110 billion investment worth announcements across the battery supply chain, including 14 new planned gigafactories in the US, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":72485},[72486],{"type":606,"attrs":72487},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":72491,"content":72492},{"textAlign":49},[72493],{"text":72494,"type":596},"The IRA aims to build the North American battery supply chain as the country looks to lower reliance on China, which has for over a decade been building the supply chain and dominates the space. In March, the US and Japan signed an agreement focusing on free trade in critical minerals. Europe too has revealed its own critical material policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":72496,"content":72497},{"textAlign":49},[72498],{"text":72499,"type":596},"“We are very aware that so much of the supply chain runs through China and that any dependence like that can be a risk for all of us. I think it’s a great opportunity to build supply chains that work,” said Bianchi.",{"type":591,"attrs":72501,"content":72502},{"textAlign":49},[72503],{"text":72504,"type":596},"The US currently has FTAs with 20 nations and is looking to add more, including a recent discussion with Indonesia, a country abundant with nickel resources. ",{"type":615,"attrs":72506,"content":72507},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72508],{"text":72509,"type":596},"Japan’s battery capacity plans",{"type":591,"attrs":72511,"content":72512},{"textAlign":49},[72513],{"text":72514,"type":596},"Representatives from Japan’s government echoed this sentiment and called for more global participation towards the energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":72516,"content":72517},{"textAlign":49},[72518],{"text":72519,"type":596},"“Given that the battery supply chain is huge and unfortunately Japan is a resource-poor country we recognise the importance of strengthening global cooperation to secure battery metals, upstream resources, and to make the supply chain more resilient,” said Hidetaka Nishimura, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.",{"type":591,"attrs":72521,"content":72522},{"textAlign":49},[72523],{"text":72524,"type":596},"“To this end, the public and private sectors are currently working together to build global alliances,” Nishimura said, adding that Japan aims to increase its domestic battery capacity from Japanese companies to 150 GWh by 2030. As part of its battery strategy, Japan is targeting 600 GWh of global capacity coming from Japanese companies by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72526,"content":72527},{"textAlign":49},[72528,72530,72536],{"text":72529,"type":596},"Japan’s Panasonic is the world’s fourth largest battery maker and competes with China’s CATL and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation. In North America alone Panasonic ",{"text":72531,"type":596,"marks":72532},"aims",[72533],{"type":606,"attrs":72534},{"href":72535,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/panasonic-to-double-us-battery-production-capacity-with-kansas-plant",{"text":72537,"type":596}," to triple or quadruple its battery capacity by 2029. ",{"type":615,"attrs":72539,"content":72540},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72541],{"text":72542,"type":596},"Scale and speed of investments",{"type":591,"attrs":72544,"content":72545},{"textAlign":49},[72546,72548,72554],{"text":72547,"type":596},"An ",{"text":72549,"type":596,"marks":72550},"analysis",[72551],{"type":606,"attrs":72552},{"href":72553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/financing-the-battery-arms-race-the-514-billion-cost-of-bridging-the-global-ev-supply-chain-divide",{"text":72555,"type":596}," by Benchmark estimates that the battery industry needs to invest at least $514 billion by 2030 across the supply chain and $920 billion by 2035 to meet the expected battery demand. Nearly $200 billion of that capital needs to come into action over the next 2 to 3 years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72557,"content":72558},{"textAlign":49},[72559],{"text":72560,"type":596},"“The ability to scale the supply chain with the right cost basis, which allows these batteries to continue to decrease in cost, is incredibly important,” said Andrew Miller, Chief Operating Officer, Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72562,"content":72563},{"textAlign":49},[72564],{"text":72565,"type":596},"“It’s going to take a multinational effort in order for us to be able to achieve that,” he added. ","Global collaboration and partnerships across the supply chain are needed to meet net-zero emission targets, government representatives from the US and Japan said at the opening session of the Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2023 conference on Wednesday. Being held in Tokyo, Japan, the event kicked off with a call from the US and Japanese government […]",[72568],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72569},{"job_title":557,"image":72570,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"836ff084-d32e-46de-87e9-18dcaddb8eee\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72573,72574,72575],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":72577,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72578,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e71c7e4db8/bm-benchmark-giga-apac-meti-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 20, 2023",{"id":72581,"uuid":72582,"name":72583,"slug":72584,"full_slug":72585,"content":72586},112470772697233,"3c3ddf38-2fe2-4885-b4d8-ddf40a33b547","Chinese cathode margins squeezed as cell makers pressure prices","chinese-cathode-margins-squeezed-as-cell-makers-pressure-prices","article/chinese-cathode-margins-squeezed-as-cell-makers-pressure-prices",{"_uid":72587,"date":72588,"tags":72589,"editor":72598,"content":72602,"excerpt":72732,"featured":51,"reporter":72733,"_editable":72737,"component":697,"seo_title":72583,"categories":72738,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":72743,"seo_description":72732,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72747},"a2e15d4b-b5d0-488b-9c14-20274c8cf010","2023-09-19 00:00",[72590,72591,72594,72596,72597],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":72592,"name":72593},"dynanonic","Dynanonic",{"slug":72595,"name":72595},"midstream",{"slug":8160,"name":8160},{"slug":34217,"name":34218},[72599],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72600},{"job_title":557,"image":72601,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72603},[72604,72614,72619,72624,72642,72647,72652,72657,72662,72667,72672,72677,72682,72687,72692,72697,72702,72707,72712,72717,72722,72727],{"type":591,"attrs":72605,"content":72606},{"textAlign":49},[72607,72608,72612],{"text":31503,"type":596},{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":72609},[72610],{"type":606,"attrs":72611},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":72613,"type":596}," margins are narrowing after months of pressure from cell makers on the prices of their products. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72615,"content":72616},{"textAlign":49},[72617],{"text":72618,"type":596},"Nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 811 cathode materials fell 39% and 41% between January and August 2023 while lithium iron phosphate (LFP) fell 52% on the Chinese markets, as assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":72620,"content":72621},{"textAlign":49},[72622],{"text":72623,"type":596},"Shenzhen Dynanonic, the world’s largest cathode active materials producer, reported it made a net loss of RMB 1 billion ($137 million) in the first half of this year, from a net profit in the same period last year. Ningbo Ronbay, another top five global producer, reported first half net profit was down by 48% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":72625,"content":72626},{"textAlign":49},[72627,72629,72635,72637,72641],{"text":72628,"type":596},"The impetus for ",{"text":72630,"type":596,"marks":72631},"lower cathode prices",[72632],{"type":606,"attrs":72633},{"href":72634,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-cathode-prices-fall-as-cell-makers-squeeze-producers",{"text":72636,"type":596}," stems from the fact that cell makers often base offers to cathode makers based on spot prices for ",{"text":44711,"type":596,"marks":72638},[72639],{"type":606,"attrs":72640},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":72643,"content":72644},{"textAlign":49},[72645],{"text":72646,"type":596},"Since the end of quarter one, cell producers have pushed for cathode prices to fall in line with declines for battery chemicals. Lithium carbonate EXW China and nickel sulphate EXW China prices dropped by 62% and 11% respectively between January and September, as assessed by Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72648,"content":72649},{"textAlign":49},[72650],{"text":72651,"type":596},"Cathode makers have acquiesced to discount demands, keen to retain and expand market share at the expense of their margins in a highly competitive segment where 137 producers currently either operate or plan capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":72653,"content":72654},{"textAlign":49},[72655],{"text":72656,"type":596},"“Cell makers are working to lower cathode prices as much as possible, and the cathode maker is beholden to that,” said Benchmark analyst Cameron Perks.",{"type":591,"attrs":72658,"content":72659},{"textAlign":49},[72660],{"text":72661,"type":596},"Yet cathode makers cannot offset their revenue losses by buying less expensive chemical feedstocks as this would only prompt cell producers to drive cathode prices down further.",{"type":591,"attrs":72663,"content":72664},{"textAlign":49},[72665],{"text":72666,"type":596},"“The key drivers for cathode active material production costs are predominantly raw material prices. If lithium is high then production costs will be high. Same for other raw materials but lithium is key,” said Benchmark analyst Rob Burrell.",{"type":591,"attrs":72668,"content":72669},{"textAlign":49},[72670],{"text":72671,"type":596},"The margin squeeze is likely to push out smaller, recent cathode entrants, giving incumbent cathode producers the opportunity to buy up the production assets of failed companies, according to Benchmark analyst Evan Hartley. ",{"type":615,"attrs":72673,"content":72674},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72675],{"text":72676,"type":596},"Chemicals could slide further",{"type":591,"attrs":72678,"content":72679},{"textAlign":49},[72680],{"text":72681,"type":596},"The dual pressure on cathode makers from raw materials and cathode prices will likely persist for the time being. One indicator of this is that cathode makers have so far held back from restocking battery chemicals inputs over September.",{"type":591,"attrs":72683,"content":72684},{"textAlign":49},[72685],{"text":72686,"type":596},"Cathode makers’ caution around chemical restocking shows they believe lithium prices will keep falling, which will motivate continued downward pressure on cathode prices from cell makers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72688,"content":72689},{"textAlign":49},[72690],{"text":72691,"type":596},"Cathode makers, who began the year expecting a bounceback, initially treated discounts to cell producers as a temporary measure to strengthen market share before the return of stronger EV demand, Hartley said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72693,"content":72694},{"textAlign":49},[72695],{"text":72696,"type":596},"With the end of the third quarter showing no signs that EV demand will recover to last year’s levels and price-cutting measures having lasted much longer than hoped, the strategy is looking increasingly unsustainable for cathode producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72698,"content":72699},{"textAlign":49},[72700],{"text":72701,"type":596},"In a sign of mounting stresses on the midstream, it is becoming more common for cell makers to buy cathode raw materials on the spot market, on behalf of cathode producers, to ease their input costs and sustain production.",{"type":615,"attrs":72703,"content":72704},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72705],{"text":72706,"type":596},"Record capacity expansions",{"type":591,"attrs":72708,"content":72709},{"textAlign":49},[72710],{"text":72711,"type":596},"The conditions for the midstream margin squeeze was laid during the pandemic, when rapid capacity expansion occurred on the back of record demand for EVs between 2021 and 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72713,"content":72714},{"textAlign":49},[72715],{"text":72716,"type":596},"Between August 2021 and August 2023, existing Chinese cathode capacity shot up 76%. Investments came from industry incumbents as well as new players from adjacent industries such as fertilisers and chemicals. These entrants already held the resources needed to produce LFP cathode materials, a cost-effective cathode input with high market share. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72718,"content":72719},{"textAlign":49},[72720],{"text":72721,"type":596},"This made for a crowded segment prone to competition and under-cutting, something that is giving cell makers immense negotiating power over cathode prices today.",{"type":591,"attrs":72723,"content":72724},{"textAlign":49},[72725],{"text":72726,"type":596},"A large portion of recent capacity additions are owned by tier 2 and 3 producers, many of whom are currently not qualified to supply foreign EV markets. This has created a segment dependent on continued high Chinese EV sales growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72728,"content":72729},{"textAlign":49},[72730],{"text":72731,"type":596},"Hartley emphasises that Chinese EV demand is still growing. However, current growth is no longer at levels that would justify the capacity commitments made over the past two years.","Chinese cathode margins are narrowing after months of pressure from cell makers on the prices of their products. Nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 811 cathode materials fell 39% and 41% between January and August 2023 while lithium iron phosphate (LFP) fell 52% on the Chinese markets, as assessed by Benchmark. Shenzhen […]",[72734],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72735},{"job_title":557,"image":72736,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a2e15d4b-b5d0-488b-9c14-20274c8cf010\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72739,72740,72741,72742],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":72744,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":72744,"source":547,"filename":72745,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72746,"is_external_url":51},"Closeup of Electric car lithium battery pack and wiring connections internal between cells","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a434838b0/bm-shutterstock-2100990706.jpg",{"alt":72744,"title":72744,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 19, 2023",{"id":72749,"uuid":72750,"name":72751,"slug":72752,"full_slug":72753,"content":72754},112470787922068,"ec266c3c-d43c-4715-a8e3-7a62500b6ee0","US Department of Defense awards $110 million to boost lithium and nickel mining","us-department-of-defense-awards-110-million-to-boost-lithium-and-nickel-mining","article/us-department-of-defense-awards-110-million-to-boost-lithium-and-nickel-mining",{"_uid":72755,"date":72756,"tags":72757,"editor":72763,"content":72767,"excerpt":72876,"featured":51,"reporter":72877,"_editable":72881,"component":697,"seo_title":72751,"categories":72882,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":72886,"seo_description":72876,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72889},"9a2ee611-7949-4e96-9188-1cc402e2feba","2023-09-15 00:00",[72758,72759,72762],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":72760,"name":72761},"talon-metals","Talon Metals",{"slug":572,"name":573},[72764],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72765},{"job_title":557,"image":72766,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72768},[72769,72774,72779,72784,72789,72794,72799,72804,72809,72814,72819,72824,72836,72841,72846,72851,72856,72861,72866,72871],{"type":591,"attrs":72770,"content":72771},{"textAlign":49},[72772],{"text":72773,"type":596},"The US Department of Defense has approved $110 million in grants to increase domestic lithium and nickel supply, a move that supports the build out of its local lithium ion supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72775,"content":72776},{"textAlign":49},[72777],{"text":72778,"type":596},"Lithium miner Albemarle has received $90 million to continue developing its Kings Mountain mine in North Carolina while nickel-focused Talon Metals was awarded $20.6 million for its Tamarack project in Minnesota. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72780,"content":72781},{"textAlign":49},[72782],{"text":72783,"type":596},"Albemarle’s agreement with the US Department of Defense is under Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authorities and utilises Inflation Reduction Act funds. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72785,"content":72786},{"textAlign":49},[72787],{"text":72788,"type":596},"In 2022, US President Joe Biden invoked the DPA Title III authorities to strengthen the US industrial base for large-capacity batteries. With this move, he gave the Department of Defense the authority to increase domestic mining and processing of critical materials for the large-capacity battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":72790,"content":72791},{"textAlign":49},[72792],{"text":72793,"type":596},"When the DPA Title III was launched a year and a half ago, the idea was to provide initial level funding to projects to get them off the ground, said Manish Dua, principal consultant at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72795,"content":72796},{"textAlign":49},[72797],{"text":72798,"type":596},"“At the end of 2022 a lot of junior critical minerals mining companies in the US and also Canada applied for funding and now the results are slowly coming out,” he told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":72800,"content":72801},{"textAlign":49},[72802],{"text":72803,"type":596},"Last year, the White House earmarked $250 million in DPA funding for US and Canadian companies to mine and process critical minerals for electric vehicle and stationary storage batteries as it pushes to de-risk its supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72805,"content":72806},{"textAlign":49},[72807],{"text":72808,"type":596},"The US currently accounts for only 1 percent of global lithium supply, which makes it heavily dependent on other countries to meet its own demand. As the country continues to provide grants and takes other measures, the US’ share of global lithium supply is expected to grow to about 5%, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":72810,"content":72811},{"textAlign":49},[72812],{"text":72813,"type":596},"Top lithium producer Albemarle will use the funds from the Department of Defense to purchase mining equipment for its Kings Mountain mine. The company is aiming for the hard rock lithium asset to be operational in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":72815,"content":72816},{"textAlign":49},[72817],{"text":72818,"type":596},"Kings Mountain is expected to feed sufficient material for 50,000 tonnes LCE of conversion capacity and support the manufacturing initially of approximately 1.2 million electric vehicles annually, the company said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72820,"content":72821},{"textAlign":49},[72822],{"text":72823,"type":596},"Last year, Albemarle received $149.7 million from the Department of Energy to develop a lithium processing facility also in North Carolina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72825,"content":72826},{"textAlign":49},[72827,72829,72834],{"text":72828,"type":596},"Aside from its operations in the US, Albemarle has lithium brine assets in the Salar de Atacama in Chile and hard rock lithium operations in Australia. The company has recently sweetened its takeover offer for ",{"text":72830,"type":596,"marks":72831},"Australia’s Liontown Resources",[72832],{"type":606,"attrs":72833},{"href":69913,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":72835,"type":596},", with its bid now standing at $4.3 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72837,"content":72838},{"textAlign":49},[72839],{"text":72840,"type":596},"Albemarle has supply agreements with automakers Tesla and Ford. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72842,"content":72843},{"textAlign":49},[72844],{"text":72845,"type":596},"Nickel mining in the US has also received attention from the government, as the country currently has only one operational mine in Michigan, the Eagle mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72847,"content":72848},{"textAlign":49},[72849],{"text":72850,"type":596},"The Department of Defense funds will help Talon Metals to continue exploration activities in Minnesota and Michigan, where the company has recently acquired mineral rights. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72852,"content":72853},{"textAlign":49},[72854],{"text":72855,"type":596},"The company has already inked a deal with Tesla for nickel supply from Tamarack once it reaches commercial production. The asset is being developed in joint venture with major miner Rio Tinto.",{"type":591,"attrs":72857,"content":72858},{"textAlign":49},[72859],{"text":72860,"type":596},"Talon had already received a $114 million award from the US Department of Energy for the development of its battery mineral processing facility in Mercer County last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72862,"content":72863},{"textAlign":49},[72864],{"text":72865,"type":596},"The US currently has an insignificant share of global nickel sulphate supply, a key feedstock used in EV batteries. Global nickel sulphate supply is currently sitting at 557,076 tonnes but it is expected to reach 1,011,950 in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast. The US’ current output stands at 3,306 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":72867,"content":72868},{"textAlign":49},[72869],{"text":72870,"type":596},"The US Department of Defense is not only focused on supporting the development of lithium and nickel mining in the country. Since the start of 2023, it has granted funding to other critical minerals mining companies including $15 million to cobalt developer Jervois and $37.5 million to graphite-focused Graphite One. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72872,"content":72873},{"textAlign":49},[72874],{"text":72875,"type":596},"Last year, rare earths mining and processing company MP Materials received $35 million, while Idaho-based Perpetua Resources, which is developing an antimony asset, was awarded $24.8 million.  ","The US Department of Defense has approved $110 million in grants to increase domestic lithium and nickel supply, a move that supports the build out of its local lithium ion supply chain. Lithium miner Albemarle has received $90 million to continue developing its Kings Mountain mine in North Carolina while nickel-focused Talon Metals was awarded […]",[72878],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72879},{"job_title":557,"image":72880,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9a2ee611-7949-4e96-9188-1cc402e2feba\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[72883,72884,72885],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":72887,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":72888,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/835ca90aaf/bm-core-girls.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 15, 2023",{"id":72891,"uuid":72892,"name":72893,"slug":72894,"full_slug":72895,"content":72896},112470783035539,"617b8c84-9276-4e58-99f2-4b73856c6be2","Chinese lithium prices fall below RMB 200,000 a tonne, putting pressure on domestic mines ","chinese-lithium-prices-fall-below-rmb-200000-a-tonne-putting-pressure-on-domestic-mines","article/chinese-lithium-prices-fall-below-rmb-200000-a-tonne-putting-pressure-on-domestic-mines",{"_uid":72897,"date":72756,"tags":72898,"editor":72901,"content":72905,"excerpt":72993,"featured":51,"reporter":72994,"_editable":72998,"component":697,"seo_title":72893,"categories":72999,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":73002,"seo_description":72993,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":72889},"11bee5ed-82ec-4f95-bf1e-813b2dcd051a",[72899,72900],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[72902],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72903},{"job_title":557,"image":72904,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":72906},[72907,72912,72923,72928,72933,72938,72951,72958,72963,72968,72973,72978,72983,72988],{"type":591,"attrs":72908,"content":72909},{"textAlign":49},[72910],{"text":72911,"type":596},"Chinese lithium prices slipped below RMB 200,000 ($28,810) per tonne mark for the first time in five months, as battery producers seek discounts from suppliers amid worsening sentiment in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":72913,"content":72914},{"textAlign":49},[72915,72917,72921],{"text":72916,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China declined 7.3% in the week ending September 13, from a week earlier, to RMB 196,000 ($26,850) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":19758,"type":596,"marks":72918},[72919],{"type":606,"attrs":72920},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":72922,"type":596},". Chinese lithium carbonate prices are down 63.4% year-to-date.",{"type":591,"attrs":72924,"content":72925},{"textAlign":49},[72926],{"text":72927,"type":596},"Spot prices for Chinese lithium hydroxide fell 7.2% to RMB 181,000 (24,800) during the assessment period and are down 67% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":72929,"content":72930},{"textAlign":49},[72931],{"text":72932,"type":596},"Lower spot lithium prices will put more pressure on higher cost Chinese lepidolite lithium producers, who may have to halt production if prices fall further.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":72934,"content":72935},{"textAlign":49},[72936],{"text":72937,"type":596},"“While margins for producers and converters will be squeezed, especially for producers near the top of the cost curve, such as lepidolite producers in China, the bulk of operations will remain profitable at these price levels,” said Adam Megginson, a Benchmark analyst.",{"type":591,"attrs":72939,"content":72940},{"textAlign":49},[72941,72943,72949],{"text":72942,"type":596},"At the same time, battery producers are pushing for discounts on lithium prices, which could help lower battery cell costs. The global weighted average price for lithium ion cell prices has dropped below $100 per kilowatt-hour for the",{"text":72944,"type":596,"marks":72945},"first time in two years",[72946],{"type":606,"attrs":72947},{"href":72948,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-cell-prices-fall-below-100-kwh-for-first-time-in-two-years?mc_cid=ad17812806&mc_eid=66d4993fb4",{"text":72950,"type":596},", according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":72952,"content":72953},{"textAlign":49},[72954],{"type":836,"attrs":72955},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":72956,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":72957},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2e1b821fcf/bm-lithium-prices-below-200000.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":72959,"content":72960},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72961],{"text":72962,"type":596},"EV rebound",{"type":591,"attrs":72964,"content":72965},{"textAlign":49},[72966],{"text":72967,"type":596},"The latest price decline comes just ahead of the fourth quarter, which is considered the strongest period for electric vehicle production in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72969,"content":72970},{"textAlign":49},[72971],{"text":72972,"type":596},"China’s battery electric vehicle sales reported a rebound in August. China’s battery electric vehicle sales increased 14.4% year-on-year in August to 597,000 units and increased 10.4% over July, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72974,"content":72975},{"textAlign":49},[72976],{"text":72977,"type":596},"“There are some macroeconomic headwinds developing in China which could tighten discretionary spending and may limit how much electric vehicle sales rise — but they are still set to rise in the fourth quarter both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year,” said Megginson.",{"type":615,"attrs":72979,"content":72980},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[72981],{"text":72982,"type":596},"Seaborne market ",{"type":591,"attrs":72984,"content":72985},{"textAlign":49},[72986],{"text":72987,"type":596},"Outside of China, stronger cathode demand from the energy storage sector has led to a $1,000-a-tonne premium for lithium carbonate over lithium hydroxide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":72989,"content":72990},{"textAlign":49},[72991],{"text":72992,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate prices fell more moderately, by 3.2% w-o-w to reach an average of $30,000/tonne (CIF Asia), compared to a 7.2% fall for lithium hydroxide to $29,000/tonne (CIF Asia), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.","Chinese lithium prices slipped below RMB 200,000 ($28,810) per tonne mark for the first time in five months, as battery producers seek discounts from suppliers amid worsening sentiment in China. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China declined 7.3% in the week ending September 13, from a week earlier, to RMB 196,000 ($26,850) a tonne, according […]",[72995],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":72996},{"job_title":557,"image":72997,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"11bee5ed-82ec-4f95-bf1e-813b2dcd051a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73000,73001],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":73003,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73004,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1997c2012a/bm-ganfeng-mahong.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":73006,"uuid":73007,"name":73008,"slug":73009,"full_slug":73010,"content":73011},112470799255702,"206be0f2-3215-45f9-af48-8db265d0e1bc","CMOC could overtake Glencore with cobalt production boost ","cmoc-could-overtake-glencore-with-cobalt-production-boost","article/cmoc-could-overtake-glencore-with-cobalt-production-boost",{"_uid":73012,"date":73013,"tags":73014,"editor":73017,"content":73021,"excerpt":73140,"featured":51,"reporter":73141,"_editable":73145,"component":697,"seo_title":73008,"categories":73146,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":73149,"seo_description":73140,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":73152},"2a640b53-cffa-4d98-b8a2-6e21fcf99927","2023-09-14 00:00",[73015,73016],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[73018],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73019},{"job_title":557,"image":73020,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73022},[73023,73028,73049,73054,73059,73064,73069,73076,73081,73086,73091,73096,73101,73112,73117,73122,73127],{"type":591,"attrs":73024,"content":73025},{"textAlign":49},[73026],{"text":73027,"type":596},"Chinese miner CMOC’s new production target for copper next year is set to significantly lift its cobalt output. This comes at a time when prices for the critical battery material have been falling amid a slower downstream demand recovery and a persistent surplus.",{"type":591,"attrs":73029,"content":73030},{"textAlign":49},[73031,73033,73039,73041,73047],{"text":73032,"type":596},"The move could help the Chinese miner extend its lead over Switzerland’s Glencore as the world’s largest cobalt producer after it potentially overtakes the latter this year. In April, CMOC ",{"text":73034,"type":596,"marks":73035},"ended",[73036],{"type":606,"attrs":73037},{"href":73038,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-stockpile-set-to-enter-market-as-cmoc-gecamines-drc-dispute-resolved",{"text":73040,"type":596}," a dispute with ",{"text":73042,"type":596,"marks":73043},"state-owned Gecamines",[73044],{"type":606,"attrs":73045},{"href":73046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-hydroxide-prices-tumble-as-tenke-mine-in-drc-restarts-exports",{"text":73048,"type":596}," in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and started production at its promising Kisanfu mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73050,"content":73051},{"textAlign":49},[73052],{"text":73053,"type":596},"CMOC said it will raise its copper output in the DRC from the Tenke Fungurume mine (TFM) and the Kisanfu mine (KFM) to 600,000 tonnes in 2024. That means an increase of about 43% to 67% if it meets its guidance of 360,000 to 420,000 tonnes of copper this year. Benchmark expects CMOC’s copper production to be about 374,000 tonnes in 2023.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":73055,"content":73056},{"textAlign":49},[73057],{"text":73058,"type":596},"Jorge Uzcategui, analyst at Benchmark, estimates that for the announced 2024 copper target of 600,000 tonnes, and based on Benchmark’s calculations of CMOC’s current cobalt to copper output ratio, CMOC could produce up to 75,000 tonnes of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":73060,"content":73061},{"textAlign":49},[73062],{"text":73063,"type":596},"However, geological variability, which would influence the copper-cobalt association across the deposit, as well as mine plans and other factors, could mean that the potential cobalt output for 2024 may be quite different. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73065,"content":73066},{"textAlign":49},[73067],{"text":73068,"type":596},"“CMOC is coming in strong and KFM’s ramp-up is exceeding market expectations,” Uzcategui said. “Our estimates show that KFM is bound to achieve the ambitious production guidance set by CMOC for 2023.”",{"type":591,"attrs":73070,"content":73071},{"textAlign":49},[73072],{"type":836,"attrs":73073},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":73074,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":73075},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f693650dc/bm-cobalt-prices.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":73077,"content":73078},{"textAlign":49},[73079],{"text":73080,"type":596},"In its 2023 half-year report, CMOC reiterated plans to produce 45,000 tonnes to 54,000 tonnes of cobalt this year, of which KFM’s share is forecast to be between 24,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes. The Chinese miner produced 14,298 tonnes of cobalt in the first half of the year and Benchmark estimates that it will reach an annual output of about 48,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":73082,"content":73083},{"textAlign":49},[73084],{"text":73085,"type":596},"In contrast, top cobalt miner Glencore produced 21,700 tonnes of cobalt in the first six months of the year and has forecast a production of 38,000 tonnes to 43,000 tonnes in 2023. The Swiss miner is expected to be closer to the lower end of guidance by the end of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":73087,"content":73088},{"textAlign":49},[73089],{"text":73090,"type":596},"For CMOC and rivals, copper is the primary metal of interest, with cobalt being a by-product that can bring in an extra share of revenue and reduce operating costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73092,"content":73093},{"textAlign":49},[73094],{"text":73095,"type":596},"“With the current market dynamics, it will be interesting to see whether CMOC will aggressively push its cobalt output, and what that would mean for the market and other players in the industry,” said Uzcategui.",{"type":591,"attrs":73097,"content":73098},{"textAlign":49},[73099],{"text":73100,"type":596},"In its second quarter report, Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast had estimated the cobalt market to enter an era of deficit from 2027 onwards. This could be pushed back a few years if CMOC decides to produce its TFM and KFM mines at capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":73102,"content":73103},{"textAlign":49},[73104,73106,73110],{"text":73105,"type":596},"“Is CMOC trying to flood the cobalt market in an attempt to control a larger share of the market and oust the marginal producers, giving them more control over ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":73107},[73108],{"type":606,"attrs":73109},{"href":69441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73111,"type":596}," in the medium to long term? That is a possibility,” said Uzcategui.",{"type":615,"attrs":73113,"content":73114},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[73115],{"text":73116,"type":596},"Cobalt prices and profit margin",{"type":591,"attrs":73118,"content":73119},{"textAlign":49},[73120],{"text":73121,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have lately accelerated their bearish trajectory amid recent indications of a slowdown in China and muted downstream demand. CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide prices traded at $16,314 per tonne at the end of August, its lowest point since January 2018. Prices are down 39% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":73123,"content":73124},{"textAlign":49},[73125],{"text":73126,"type":596},"“Prices are unlikely to be affected in the short term as the market is already quite bearish and additional supply in the future isn’t likely to push it either direction,” said Roman Aubry, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":73128,"content":73129},{"textAlign":49},[73130,73132,73138],{"text":73131,"type":596},"“That being said, if CMOC doesn’t ",{"text":73133,"type":596,"marks":73134},"stockpile",[73135],{"type":606,"attrs":73136},{"href":73137,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-to-stockpile-cobalt-metal-after-prices-more-than-halve",{"text":73139,"type":596}," the additional cobalt, we could very well see this add additional pressure to cobalt prices next year,” said Aubury.","Chinese miner CMOC’s new production target for copper next year is set to significantly lift its cobalt output. This comes at a time when prices for the critical battery material have been falling amid a slower downstream demand recovery and a persistent surplus. The move could help the Chinese miner extend its lead over Switzerland’s […]",[73142],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73143},{"job_title":557,"image":73144,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a640b53-cffa-4d98-b8a2-6e21fcf99927\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73147,73148],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":73150,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73151,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/199879f83f/bm-tenke-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 14, 2023",{"id":73154,"uuid":73155,"name":73156,"slug":73157,"full_slug":73158,"content":73159},112470793762965,"9f1d9ecc-ce66-48ea-ae4e-b7a79b0a2002","“We can make a lower carbon product and we can make it as cost-effectively as the Chinese.” Q&A with Calix CEO Phil Hodgson ","we-can-make-a-lower-carbon-product-and-we-can-make-it-as-cost-effectively-as-the-chinese-can-qa-with-calix-ceo-phil-hodgson","article/we-can-make-a-lower-carbon-product-and-we-can-make-it-as-cost-effectively-as-the-chinese-can-qa-with-calix-ceo-phil-hodgson",{"_uid":73160,"date":73013,"tags":73161,"editor":73163,"content":73167,"excerpt":73338,"featured":50,"reporter":73339,"_editable":73343,"component":697,"seo_title":73156,"categories":73344,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":73348,"seo_description":73338,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":73152},"9a77b733-01bc-4975-b719-2e4e896b0e75",[73162],{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[73164],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73165},{"job_title":557,"image":73166,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73168},[73169,73174,73186,73198,73208,73213,73218,73223,73228,73233,73238,73243,73248,73253,73258,73263,73268,73273,73278,73283,73288,73293,73298,73303,73308,73313,73318,73323,73328,73333],{"type":591,"attrs":73170,"content":73171},{"textAlign":49},[73172],{"text":73173,"type":596},"Australia currently exports almost all of its lithium in the form of spodumene concentrate, which contains less than 6% lithium oxide. That is then processed in China into battery chemicals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73175,"content":73176},{"textAlign":49},[73177,73179,73184],{"text":73178,"type":596},"But ",{"text":73180,"type":596,"marks":73181},"that situation is now changing",[73182],{"type":606,"attrs":73183},{"href":44707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73185,"type":596},", with the construction of processing plants in Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73187,"content":73188},{"textAlign":49},[73189,73191,73196],{"text":73190,"type":596},"One route is to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Australia, but that requires ",{"text":73192,"type":596,"marks":73193},"considerable expertise and know-how",[73194],{"type":606,"attrs":73195},{"href":44707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73197,"type":596},". Another is to produce a “mid-stream” lithium product that is less challenging but still allows for more processing in-country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73199,"content":73200},{"textAlign":49},[73201,73203,73207],{"text":73202,"type":596},"Last month Australian technology company Calix agreed to build a demonstration plant with miner Pilbara Minerals to process spodumene at the company’s mine site into lithium phosphate, using its electric kiln technology. The material can then be sent for further processing, producing lithium chemicals as well as phosphate for potential use in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":73204},[73205],{"type":606,"attrs":73206},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":73209,"content":73210},{"textAlign":49},[73211],{"text":73212,"type":596},"The project aims to produce over 3,000 tonnes a year of lithium phosphate from around 27,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":73214,"content":73215},{"textAlign":49},[73216],{"text":73217,"type":596},"The technology could help reduce the carbon emissions associated with the current transport of spodumene to China, as well as the calcination of that material in China using a coal or gas-fired rotary kiln. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73219,"content":73220},{"textAlign":49},[73221],{"text":73222,"type":596},"It comes as Australian miner Mineral Resources also announced it would look at processing spodumene into a mid-stream product, in a deal with Lithium Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73224,"content":73225},{"textAlign":49},[73226],{"text":73227,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Calix’s chief executive Phil Hodgson to learn more. Before joining Calix, Hodgson was a consultant, and before that he worked for Shell for 14 years.",{"type":615,"attrs":73229,"content":73230},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73231],{"text":73232,"type":596},"Can you explain how your electric kiln works?",{"type":591,"attrs":73234,"content":73235},{"textAlign":49},[73236],{"text":73237,"type":596},"So really, all we do is take a large tube. So in the case of the lithium, this will be about 1.8 metres in diameter to about 32 metres high. And we’ll have around the outside, we’ll have these electric elements. And they’ll be embedded in a sort of refractory material that sits around the outside of the tube. Essentially, it’s like adding toaster elements around the tube. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73239,"content":73240},{"textAlign":49},[73241],{"text":73242,"type":596},"And obviously, we run electric power through those elements. They’re resistive, they heat up, and they start to heat the tube up, to about 1,000 degrees centigrade. So it’s absolutely glowing red hot. And then the ultra fines [spodumene] are introduced at the top, basically just dropped. The analogy I use is to imagine holding a cup of flour in your hand and just dropping that to the floor. Just sort of watching all the particles just float there. That’s what we’re doing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73244,"content":73245},{"textAlign":49},[73246],{"text":73247,"type":596},"The particles are floating down. And because the metal is glowing red hot, it just radiates heat into those particles. The particles never see a 1,400-degree flame. We can control it such that the temperature profile on the tube is so precise – we start hitting the particle really hard at the top and it starts to pop, and by the time we’re getting down to the bottom, we don’t want the sintering or melting to occur. We just want to finish off the popping as best as possible. So we may have a temperature profile that heats it hard at the top and then it falls away. We can set up any sort of temperature profile. We’ve had probably 30 zones of temperature control and the rotary kiln has zero – well, it’s got one. Maybe you can turn the flame down a bit.",{"type":615,"attrs":73249,"content":73250},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73251],{"text":73252,"type":596},"How did you choose to produce a lithium phosphate product or is that a result of the technology? ",{"type":591,"attrs":73254,"content":73255},{"textAlign":49},[73256],{"text":73257,"type":596},"We absolutely chose to produce lithium phosphate … lithium phosphate was chosen for a few different reasons. I think lithium hydroxide, which is I guess the gold standard battery-grade material … it’s quite an exact process, and we felt that the phosphate route was more robust in terms of the ability to produce it at a remote mine site. And also more robust in terms of our ability to transport that salt. Lithium hydroxide is less stable. So if you’re in the outback, and it’s 45 degrees, and you’re transferring bags and material around, the phosphate sort of stood up as a much more stable product. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73259,"content":73260},{"textAlign":49},[73261],{"text":73262,"type":596},"And lastly, we felt it just had better utility. In other words, the fastest growing lithium battery chemistry is lithium iron phosphate [LFP]. And so we’re transporting two molecules for the price of one. But in essence, it just brings two useful molecules into a chemical converter and the other thing is phosphate in and of itself is not easy. It’s not as widely available as some of the other reagents to make hydroxide and carbonates. And so if you’re a battery materials producer in Korea, you’d be getting phosphate pretty much from China. So you could argue there’s supplier risk. ",{"type":615,"attrs":73264,"content":73265},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73266],{"text":73267,"type":596},"Can any convertor accept this material? ",{"type":591,"attrs":73269,"content":73270},{"textAlign":49},[73271],{"text":73272,"type":596},"It’s a really good question. It is a new product to market. We’re not hiding from that fact. And so it will have a certain amount of commercial risk attached to it. Will people buy it? Of course, we tested the market before we made our final investment decision to go build this plant. And it was not just chemical converters and cathode makers – it was more participants in the battery chain right down to the end users. And the feedback that we got was highly positive. And so I do acknowledge there still a bit of commercial risk in the lithium phosphate, but we think it’s a low risk. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73274,"content":73275},{"textAlign":49},[73276],{"text":73277,"type":596},"We’ve already produced samples and given those samples to these potential customers. And it was the feedback that gave both us and Pilbara Minerals think that this was actually a fairly low risk in terms of the overall project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73279,"content":73280},{"textAlign":49},[73281],{"text":73282,"type":596},"In the end we’re not trying to produce battery grade material – it’s a concentrated form of lithium in the form of the lithium phosphate salt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73284,"content":73285},{"textAlign":49},[73286],{"text":73287,"type":596},"And so the interesting thing is, a lot of these chemical converters because of where lithium prices got to a couple of years ago, their ability to be flexible in their input acceptance of different lithium sources is quite remarkable. And so I don’t think there’s necessarily a large barrier in terms of infrastructure and processing capability to take these molecule in. I don’t see that as a big barrier.",{"type":615,"attrs":73289,"content":73290},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73291],{"text":73292,"type":596},"You say it can reduce reduce calcination carbon emissions intensity by between 80% to 90% compared to China, how is that achieved? Can you use renewable energy 24/7? ",{"type":591,"attrs":73294,"content":73295},{"textAlign":49},[73296],{"text":73297,"type":596},"So if you have a look at the carbon footprint of lithium derived from spodumene, it’s about twice that of the carbon footprint of lithium derived from solar brines in South America. And this is a big concern of the spodumene producers in Australia as carbon border adjustment mechanisms come into effect and those sorts of things. And one of the single biggest contributors to that footprint is the calcination step only – the heating up of the spodumene to crack it open to extract the lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73299,"content":73300},{"textAlign":49},[73301],{"text":73302,"type":596},"And so, of course, if you can take that and reduce that to zero with renewable energy, then that’s the dramatic change in the carbon footprint that you can achieve. And then of course, there’s other savings. If you do that at the mine site, then you’re not shipping 94% waste. So all of those transportation carbon emissions per tonne of lithium into the final battery are also dramatically reduced. So once you add all those up, that’s where you get to a dramatic reduction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73304,"content":73305},{"textAlign":49},[73306],{"text":73307,"type":596},"Now can you run 24/7? Obviously, if you connect straight into the solar panel grid, no, you won’t have any juice coming down. So you need some sort of storage for the energy, which is one method, and so whether that’s a battery or a heat battery or something like that, obviously that’s the option there. The other thing you can do, and in fact, this is what we’re doing with a couple of projects we’re developing in lime, is you build say double or triple the capital capacity you actually want and you just turn it on, when the sun’s shining and the winds blowing, and you actually just turn it off when it’s not. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73309,"content":73310},{"textAlign":49},[73311],{"text":73312,"type":596},"Anyone who has a traditional kiln would just be pulling their hair out that sort of concept because most kilns are made to start up and you run them 24/7 for as long as you can, because if you cycle them on and off and on and off, all of the internals and the refractory and all these sorts of things start to break down and really quickly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73314,"content":73315},{"textAlign":49},[73316],{"text":73317,"type":596},"Our kiln, because it’s a steel tube, turning it on and turning it off is no issue. So that cycling is in fact not an issue. So what you have with an electric powered kiln is two choices. You can go for your electron storage and then use the juice to run it overnight. Or you go for extra capacity to run when you have the sun shining and the winds blowing and then all when electrons are cheap, you can be on the grid and just suck down really cheap electrons because you know. And when the power gets expensive, you turn it off. So these are the options available.",{"type":615,"attrs":73319,"content":73320},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73321],{"text":73322,"type":596},"Can you compete with China?",{"type":591,"attrs":73324,"content":73325},{"textAlign":49},[73326],{"text":73327,"type":596},"I think on both fronts, I think we can make a lower carbon product, the calcined spodumene product, and we can make it cost effectively as the Chinese can. A rotary kiln … There’s a lot of maintenance on it. It’s refractory-lined – you’ve got to reline every year to three years. And, you know, apart from carbon, those sorts of kilns are quite high [cost] in terms of maintenance. And these are hugely heavy things, they’re fully brick-lined and they’re rotating so they suck up a lot of power. We’re just basically blowing powder out of the top and dropping it. Powder is falling at less than a metre per second. There’s no wear and tear on the inside of the tube. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73329,"content":73330},{"textAlign":49},[73331],{"text":73332,"type":596},"We believe … that we will actually have a lower operating cost and a lower maintenance cost than the standard.",{"type":591,"attrs":73334,"content":73335},{"textAlign":49},[73336],{"text":73337,"type":596},"I think the the only other thing is, if the Chinese have very cheap natural gas, and you’re using renewable electrons and you’ve had to set up a solar farm and maybe you’re not getting access to behind the metre electrons, maybe you’re getting it through the network, your power costs could be higher. That’d be the only difference. However, you know, the advantage of being able to turn the kiln off if electrons get too expensive we think will outweigh that, so ultimately, we feel it will be a better solution, not just from a carbon perspective, but from a cost perspective.","Australia currently exports almost all of its lithium in the form of spodumene concentrate, which contains less than 6% lithium oxide. That is then processed in China into battery chemicals. But that situation is now changing, with the construction of processing plants in Australia. One route is to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Australia, but […]",[73340],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73341},{"job_title":557,"image":73342,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9a77b733-01bc-4975-b719-2e4e896b0e75\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73345,73346,73347],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":73349,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73350,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a84e69d03c/bm-calix-ceo-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":73352,"uuid":73353,"name":73354,"slug":73355,"full_slug":73356,"content":73357},112470823200926,"65a4450c-2bdd-42f8-b810-cb85fbc50b87","Chinese anode producers move ahead with capacity expansion plans despite falling graphite prices","chinese-anode-producers-move-ahead-with-capacity-expansion-plans-despite-falling-graphite-prices","article/chinese-anode-producers-move-ahead-with-capacity-expansion-plans-despite-falling-graphite-prices",{"_uid":73358,"date":73359,"tags":73360,"editor":73364,"content":73368,"excerpt":73511,"featured":51,"reporter":73512,"_editable":73516,"component":697,"seo_title":73354,"categories":73517,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":73520,"seo_description":73511,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":73522},"a47a5172-ae89-45e9-8435-5fd7d901308a","2023-09-08 00:00",[73361,73362,73363],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":575,"name":576},[73365],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73366},{"job_title":557,"image":73367,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73369},[73370,73375,73387,73392,73397,73402,73407,73414,73426,73438,73443,73448,73453,73458,73471,73476,73481,73486,73491,73496,73501,73506],{"type":591,"attrs":73371,"content":73372},{"textAlign":49},[73373],{"text":73374,"type":596},"Chinese anode producers have outlined a spate of capacity expansion plans and inked feedstock partnerships since last month, showing the sector is gearing up for growing EV battery demand despite months of falling prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73376,"content":73377},{"textAlign":49},[73378,73380,73385],{"text":73379,"type":596},"China’s state-owned Minmetals announced in late August it had begun trial production of",{"text":73381,"type":596,"marks":73382}," flake graphite",[73383],{"type":606,"attrs":73384},{"href":43381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73386,"type":596}," concentrate at its 200,000 tonne per year graphite processing facility in Heilongjiang province. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73388,"content":73389},{"textAlign":49},[73390],{"text":73391,"type":596},"And China’s Carbon One New Energy Group said it is also planning to construct a 200,000 tonne per year nameplate capacity natural graphite mining project in Heilongjiang. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73393,"content":73394},{"textAlign":49},[73395],{"text":73396,"type":596},"This expansionary activity shows that the Chinese industry is looking out towards 2030 when demand for natural anode materials from the EV battery segment is forecast to jump 327% globally from 2023 levels, according to Benchmark data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73398,"content":73399},{"textAlign":49},[73400],{"text":73401,"type":596},"The Benchmark Flake Graphite Price Index has fallen by 28% year-to-date, while prices for higher purity -100 mesh flake graphite fell by 7% m-o-m in August to an average of $578/tonne (94-95% C, FOB China).",{"type":591,"attrs":73403,"content":73404},{"textAlign":49},[73405],{"text":73406,"type":596},"Prices for high energy natural graphite anode have fallen by 9.4% this year to an average of RMB 53,000/tonne ($7,261) (DDP China).",{"type":591,"attrs":73408,"content":73409},{"textAlign":49},[73410],{"type":836,"attrs":73411},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":73412,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":73413},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ed90d47032/bm-chart-screenshot-35.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":73415,"content":73416},{"textAlign":49},[73417,73419,73425],{"text":73418,"type":596},"According to Benchmark analyst Tony Alderson, natural graphite anode materials will retain their importance in the lithium ion supply chain long term despite the growing ",{"text":73420,"type":596,"marks":73421},"cost-competitiveness of synthetic anode alternatives",[73422],{"type":606,"attrs":73423},{"href":73424,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/synthetic-graphite-anode-prices-fall-20-this-year-putting-pressure-on-natural-graphite",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":73427,"content":73428},{"textAlign":49},[73429,73431,73436],{"text":73430,"type":596},"Natural graphite should retain market appeal in Western markets for its superior ",{"text":73432,"type":596,"marks":73433},"ESG credentials",[73434],{"type":606,"attrs":73435},{"href":56725,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73437,"type":596}," compared to petrochemicals-based synthetic graphite. Further, manufacturers often mix the natural grade with synthetic materials to improve anode performance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73439,"content":73440},{"textAlign":49},[73441],{"text":73442,"type":596},"Increasing natural graphite output will depend on sourcing enough feedstock, as the global market for flake graphite is due to enter a prolonged deficit from 2029 once demand growth outstrips supply growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73444,"content":73445},{"textAlign":49},[73446],{"text":73447,"type":596},"Over the past month Chinese anode companies have moved to secure supplies of graphite from Africa. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73449,"content":73450},{"textAlign":49},[73451],{"text":73452,"type":596},"Africa could almost double its flake graphite output to around 1.5 million tonnes per year by the end of this decade, according to Benchmark data, and will come to rival China as a major supplier.",{"type":615,"attrs":73454,"content":73455},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73456],{"text":73457,"type":596},"Securing African graphite ",{"type":591,"attrs":73459,"content":73460},{"textAlign":49},[73461,73463,73469],{"text":73462,"type":596},"In July, Carbon One ",{"text":73464,"type":596,"marks":73465},"said it would buy",[73466],{"type":606,"attrs":73467},{"href":73468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-overseas-anode-expansion-accelerates-with-srg-graphite-deal",{"text":73470,"type":596}," a 19.4% stake in Canadian graphite miner SRG Mining, continuing the trend of Chinese flake graphite diversification.",{"type":591,"attrs":73472,"content":73473},{"textAlign":49},[73474],{"text":73475,"type":596},"And then in mid-August, China’s largest anode producer BTR signed a binding offtake agreement with Australian graphite project developer Evolution Energy Minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73477,"content":73478},{"textAlign":49},[73479],{"text":73480,"type":596},"BTR will secure 100% of the fine flake graphite output from Evolutions’ Chilalo project in Tanzania, with an option to extend for a further three years",{"type":591,"attrs":73482,"content":73483},{"textAlign":49},[73484],{"text":73485,"type":596},"The companies also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-develop a new natural graphite anode facility. The focus is on building the site in North America but the companies have also stated they are considering other ex-China locations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73487,"content":73488},{"textAlign":49},[73489],{"text":73490,"type":596},"BTR already mines its own natural graphite at Jixi, Heilongjiang and plans to build a new 200,000 tonne per year capacity flake graphite mine, also in Heilongjiang.",{"type":615,"attrs":73492,"content":73493},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73494],{"text":73495,"type":596},"Syrah’s Mozambique mine to supply China’s Graphex",{"type":591,"attrs":73497,"content":73498},{"textAlign":49},[73499],{"text":73500,"type":596},"Australian miner Syrah Resources also agreed to supply China’s Graphex Technologies’ with an unspecified volume of natural flake graphite from its Balama mine in Mozambique through an offtake agreement announced in early August. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73502,"content":73503},{"textAlign":49},[73504],{"text":73505,"type":596},"The partnership will help with Graphex’s strategy to establish 55,000 tonne per year anode capacity across China and North America by 2026. Its graphite anode materials pipeline capacity currently stands at 30,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":73507,"content":73508},{"textAlign":49},[73509],{"text":73510,"type":596},"Graphex has started construction on a 15,000 tonne per year capacity site at Warren, Michigan, its first overseas anode plant. ","Chinese anode producers have outlined a spate of capacity expansion plans and inked feedstock partnerships since last month, showing the sector is gearing up for growing EV battery demand despite months of falling prices. China’s state-owned Minmetals announced in late August it had begun trial production of flake graphite concentrate at its 200,000 tonne per […]",[73513],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73514},{"job_title":557,"image":73515,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a47a5172-ae89-45e9-8435-5fd7d901308a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73518,73519],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":18336,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73521,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 08, 2023",{"id":73524,"uuid":73525,"name":73526,"slug":73527,"full_slug":73528,"content":73529},112470818461852,"bb52ce5e-634b-4139-b03e-4ccc0637a7c5","Chinese nickel sulphate prices near three-year low amid weak battery demand","chinese-nickel-sulphate-prices-near-three-year-low-amid-weak-battery-demand","article/chinese-nickel-sulphate-prices-near-three-year-low-amid-weak-battery-demand",{"_uid":73530,"date":73359,"tags":73531,"editor":73537,"content":73541,"excerpt":73671,"featured":51,"reporter":73672,"_editable":73676,"component":697,"seo_title":73526,"categories":73677,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":73680,"seo_description":73671,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":73522},"21444911-7382-4a66-a416-730efaa94d64",[73532,73533,73534],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},{"slug":73535,"name":73536},"nickel-refining","nickel refining",[73538],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73539},{"job_title":557,"image":73540,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73542},[73543,73548,73553,73558,73563,73568,73573,73578,73583,73588,73593,73598,73605,73610,73620,73633,73638,73643,73656,73661,73666],{"type":591,"attrs":73544,"content":73545},{"textAlign":49},[73546],{"text":73547,"type":596},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices fell to a near three-year low in August amid a continued weak downstream demand recovery for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathodes used in electric vehicle batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":73549,"content":73550},{"textAlign":49},[73551],{"text":73552,"type":596},"Average prices for nickel sulphate in China declined 5.7% in August to RMB 31,250 ($4,281) per tonne, reaching their lowest level since December 2020, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73554,"content":73555},{"textAlign":49},[73556],{"text":73557,"type":596},"The latest decline follows a brief increase in prices in the previous two months when there was a moderate recovery in demand sentiment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73559,"content":73560},{"textAlign":49},[73561],{"text":73562,"type":596},"Chinese sulphate prices bottomed-out at the RMB 30,000 mark towards the end of August. The NCM market may pick up a bit in September, with prices unlikely to “venture underneath the RMB 30,000 mark,” said Spencer Ingall, an analyst with Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73564,"content":73565},{"textAlign":49},[73566],{"text":73567,"type":596},"A bulk of the battery demand for nickel comes from the NCM cathode segment, where a sustained period of quiet demand has sent prices lower.",{"type":591,"attrs":73569,"content":73570},{"textAlign":49},[73571],{"text":73572,"type":596},"“Currently markets that use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are seeing much higher demand than those which use NCM batteries,” Ingall said.",{"type":591,"attrs":73574,"content":73575},{"textAlign":49},[73576],{"text":73577,"type":596},"The decline in demand and prices has also pushed sulphate producers to sell predominantly to Class I nickel makers instead as nickel cathode still trades at a higher price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), a move aimed at protecting their margins. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73579,"content":73580},{"textAlign":49},[73581],{"text":73582,"type":596},"“Despite high nickel cathode prices, cathode refiners have been placing low sulphate offers,” said Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":73584,"content":73585},{"textAlign":49},[73586],{"text":73587,"type":596},"Nickel cathode is a type of Class 1 metal that is sold on the SHFE. In China, nickel sulphate sells at a significant discount to the SHFE nickel cathode price, implying that Class 1 refiners are able to take advantage of this arbitrage and produce nickel cathode from nickel sulphate while still maintaining a good profit margin. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73589,"content":73590},{"textAlign":49},[73591],{"text":73592,"type":596},"In contrast, outside China the CIF Asia sulphate price trades at a premium to the London Metal Exchange nickel price.",{"type":591,"attrs":73594,"content":73595},{"textAlign":49},[73596],{"text":73597,"type":596},"“Spot traders have been selling to these refineries as they are receiving so few offers from NCM manufacturers,” said Ingall.",{"type":591,"attrs":73599,"content":73600},{"textAlign":49},[73601],{"type":836,"attrs":73602},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":73603,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":73604},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/127e0ed4a0/bm-china-nickel-price-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":73606,"content":73607},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[73608],{"text":73609,"type":596},"Indonesia’s nickel growth",{"type":591,"attrs":73611,"content":73612},{"textAlign":49},[73613,73618],{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":73614},[73615],{"type":606,"attrs":73616},{"href":73617,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-moves-up-the-nickel-value-chain-with-huayou-nickel-sulphate-plant",{"text":73619,"type":596}," is also expected to see increased capacity, with new projects being planned, new projects coming online as well as projects ramping up, Ingall said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73621,"content":73622},{"textAlign":49},[73623,73625,73631],{"text":73624,"type":596},"In August, Chinese miner Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt signed a second ",{"text":73626,"type":596,"marks":73627},"agreement",[73628],{"type":606,"attrs":73629},{"href":73630,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/huayou-and-vale-agree-to-develop-mhp-plant-in-indonesia-benchmark-nickel/",{"text":73632,"type":596}," with Brazilian miner Vale to invest in nickel processing plant in Indonesia. The facility is expected to start production in early 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":73634,"content":73635},{"textAlign":49},[73636],{"text":73637,"type":596},"“Such announcements strengthen confidence in a stable supply so buyers don’t feel the need to have to stockpile,” Ingall added.",{"type":591,"attrs":73639,"content":73640},{"textAlign":49},[73641],{"text":73642,"type":596},"Last year was a record year for capacity additions and expansions for refined nickel production. Benchmark is expecting further growth this year, largely driven by an increase in Indonesia’s nickel output.",{"type":591,"attrs":73644,"content":73645},{"textAlign":49},[73646,73648,73654],{"text":73647,"type":596},"Indonesian nickel production for the ",{"text":73649,"type":596,"marks":73650},"battery industry",[73651],{"type":606,"attrs":73652},{"href":73653,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-demand-for-batteries-to-overtake-stainless-steel-in-late-2030s",{"text":73655,"type":596}," is expected to more than double between 2023 and the end of this decade, thanks to significant Chinese investment in processing plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":73657,"content":73658},{"textAlign":49},[73659],{"text":73660,"type":596},"Most of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity addition is to produce MHP, an intermediate nickel product that needs to be further processed into nickel sulphate for use in batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73662,"content":73663},{"textAlign":49},[73664],{"text":73665,"type":596},"MHP oversupply has grown as Chinese battery manufacturers favour LFP cathodes for the time being, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73667,"content":73668},{"textAlign":49},[73669],{"text":73670,"type":596},"Despite the new capacity additions, nickel demand is expected to overtake supply in early 2028, according to Benchmark. ","Chinese nickel sulphate prices fell to a near three-year low in August amid a continued weak downstream demand recovery for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathodes used in electric vehicle batteries. Average prices for nickel sulphate in China declined 5.7% in August to RMB 31,250 ($4,281) per tonne, reaching their lowest level since December 2020, according […]",[73673],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73674},{"job_title":557,"image":73675,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"21444911-7382-4a66-a416-730efaa94d64\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73678,73679],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":55263,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73681,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":73683,"uuid":73684,"name":73685,"slug":73686,"full_slug":73687,"content":73688},112470827997346,"52319544-39b5-4f79-899c-0a22970fab5d","OPINION: Why sodium ion batteries will take longer than people think","opinion-why-sodium-ion-batteries-will-take-longer-than-people-think","article/opinion-why-sodium-ion-batteries-will-take-longer-than-people-think",{"_uid":73689,"date":73690,"tags":73691,"editor":73695,"content":73699,"excerpt":73868,"featured":51,"reporter":73869,"_editable":73873,"component":697,"seo_title":73685,"categories":73874,"visibility":707,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":73877,"seo_description":73868,"author_full_name":73881,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":73882},"ed3a827e-cc03-4163-ba84-cbfc40fa747d","2023-09-07 00:00",[73692,73693,73694],{"slug":26312,"name":26313},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[73696],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73697},{"job_title":557,"image":73698,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73700},[73701,73714,73719,73724,73737,73742,73750,73755,73760,73765,73770,73783,73788,73793,73798,73806,73811,73816,73821,73826,73831,73836,73841,73846,73851,73856],{"type":591,"attrs":73702,"content":73703},{"textAlign":49},[73704,73706,73712],{"text":73705,"type":596},"Ambitious nameplate capacities and media attention have heralded the sodium-ion battery",{"text":73707,"type":596,"marks":73708}," as",[73709],{"type":606,"attrs":73710},{"href":73711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sodium-ion-2030-pipeline-capacity-hits-150-gwh-as-cathode-trends-emerge",{"text":73713,"type":596}," the next big thing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73715,"content":73716},{"textAlign":49},[73717],{"text":73718,"type":596},"Sodium ion battery raw materials are abundant in nature and the first movers will have the opportunity to secure an advantageous position in the value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":73720,"content":73721},{"textAlign":49},[73722],{"text":73723,"type":596},"China currently dominates commercial progress, and, with low- to mid-range performance electric vehicles being popular in their national market, a strong case can be made for China driving the development of sodium-ion to develop alternative supply chains and hedge against geopolitical uncertainty.",{"type":591,"attrs":73725,"content":73726},{"textAlign":49},[73727,73729,73735],{"text":73728,"type":596},"Furthermore, although the recent drop in ",{"text":73730,"type":596,"marks":73731},"lithium prices",[73732],{"type":606,"attrs":73733},{"href":73734,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-prices-more-than-halve-as-confidence-knocked-by-slowdown",{"text":73736,"type":596}," has lessened the economic advantage of sodium ion, if high lithium prices return, a strong business case for sodium-ion will be rejuvenated.",{"type":591,"attrs":73738,"content":73739},{"textAlign":49},[73740],{"text":73741,"type":596},"However, closer examination of the gap between announced capacity and realised production suggests there is still a long way to go.",{"type":591,"attrs":73743,"content":73744},{"textAlign":49},[73745,73747,73748],{"text":73746,"type":596},"An environment of critical mineral uncertainty and favourably high lithium prices triggered a wave of sodium-ion capacity announcements over the past year, predominantly based in China and backed by state policy initiatives such as the 14",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":73749,"type":596}," five-year plan. At the time of writing, China accounts for >95% of the 241 GWh pipeline capacity announced through to 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":73751,"content":73752},{"textAlign":49},[73753],{"text":73754,"type":596},"However, capacity is a measure of ambition, and the truth of commercial success lies in the dissection of production and the understanding of manufacturing ramp-up timelines. Only with this data can a realistic outlook on the emerging sodium-ion market be attained and a mass market commercialisation timeline established.",{"type":591,"attrs":73756,"content":73757},{"textAlign":49},[73758],{"text":73759,"type":596},"The natural gap between capacity and production is evident in historic lithium ion battery supply data. For next-generation technologies, like the sodium-ion battery, this gap will inevitably be worse.",{"type":615,"attrs":73761,"content":73762},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73763],{"text":73764,"type":596},"Crunching the numbers of capacity vs production",{"type":591,"attrs":73766,"content":73767},{"textAlign":49},[73768],{"text":73769,"type":596},"Of the 10.4 GWh of sodium ion capacity expected to be installed by the end of 2023, Benchmark forecasts a utilisation rate of just 24%, representative of 2.5 GWh of production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73771,"content":73772},{"textAlign":49},[73773,73775,73781],{"text":73774,"type":596},"The majority of this production is associated with Tier 1 cell producers (i.e. ",{"text":73776,"type":596,"marks":73777},"CATL, BYD",[73778],{"type":606,"attrs":73779},{"href":73780,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-lithium-ion-incumbents-back-sodium-batteries-as-byd-makes-move-into-space",{"text":73782,"type":596},", Farasis), defined here as a well-established lithium ion battery manufacturer, a key metric of Benchmark’s new sodium-ion tiering system.",{"type":591,"attrs":73784,"content":73785},{"textAlign":49},[73786],{"text":73787,"type":596},"In 2024, a step-increase in sodium ion capacity is projected, with an additional 63 GWh of capacity set to come online. However, 67% of this is attributed to inexperienced market participants with limited battery manufacturing expertise – ranked as Tier 2 or 3 sodium-ion cell producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":73789,"content":73790},{"textAlign":49},[73791],{"text":73792,"type":596},"It is unrealistic to assume that inexperienced producers will achieve production efficiency anywhere close to that of the established lithium ion battery industry, or a Tier 1 producer, in the short-term. This renders more than half of the announced capacity speculative at best, dispelling the notion of mass market sodium-ion production in 2023 or 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":73794,"content":73795},{"textAlign":49},[73796],{"text":73797,"type":596},"Instead, sodium ion should be considered near-term next-generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":73799,"content":73800},{"textAlign":49},[73801],{"type":836,"attrs":73802},{"id":49,"alt":73803,"src":73804,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":73805},"A graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of a graph of\n\nDescription automatically generated","https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ef1BwynaqsUYFPxBdMARWJmt9s8lAsfbLgll5z_b7BgaM0TIa_HyWfe4X__IrYeT0ywNfxgaO4xFsd6fdcO_mgvlSh34gx2B8CH55CNs4BZu1IDBsrqzT1zrHJIa_TWpIHKBtF49r13qSFp8Fkbvsw",{},{"type":615,"attrs":73807,"content":73808},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73809],{"text":73810,"type":596},"Everyone wants to be first ",{"type":591,"attrs":73812,"content":73813},{"textAlign":49},[73814],{"text":73815,"type":596},"Cell producers in China are in a race to be the ‘first to mass produce’ sodium ion batteries, which is reflected in their ambitious capacity expansion plans. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73817,"content":73818},{"textAlign":49},[73819],{"text":73820,"type":596},"However, Benchmark projects that even the utilisation rate of Tier 1 producers will be slow to ramp-up compared to the timelines of traditional lithium ion manufacturing, as a result of technical and supply chain challenges.",{"type":591,"attrs":73822,"content":73823},{"textAlign":49},[73824],{"text":73825,"type":596},"With this in mind, Benchmark’s base-case and high case sodium-ion supply scenarios forecast cell production to exceed 50 GWh by 2027 and 2028, respectively. Where do you draw the line for ‘mass market commercialisation’?",{"type":591,"attrs":73827,"content":73828},{"textAlign":49},[73829],{"text":73830,"type":596},"Consistent with the dawn of the lithium ion battery industry, the rest of the world outside China has been slow to act, with tentative sodium-ion capacity announcements accounting for \u003C5% of pipeline capacity. Although a more risk-averse appetite is present in these markets, proof and validation of the chemistry could awaken investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":73832,"content":73833},{"textAlign":49},[73834],{"text":73835,"type":596},"Until then, market expansion, growth, and maturation will be largely dominated by Chinese timelines.",{"type":615,"attrs":73837,"content":73838},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73839],{"text":73840,"type":596},"Mass production yet to come",{"type":591,"attrs":73842,"content":73843},{"textAlign":49},[73844],{"text":73845,"type":596},"It’s easy to get caught in the hype of capacity announcements and overlook the next-generation nature of the sodium ion battery. As we have seen with the lithium ion battery, optimising technology, scaling manufacturing, and delivering mass market batteries takes time.",{"type":591,"attrs":73847,"content":73848},{"textAlign":49},[73849],{"text":73850,"type":596},"Whether geopolitical tensions, supply chain nationalisation, or a competitive price environment will win out as the driving force for sodium ion battery development is yet to be determined. ",{"type":591,"attrs":73852,"content":73853},{"textAlign":49},[73854],{"text":73855,"type":596},"But it is possible that China will act regardless, to secure an advantageous position in the sodium ion value chain, or that the rest of the world will see this as an opportunity to level the playing field – if progress is sufficient to attract serious investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":73857,"content":73858},{"textAlign":49},[73859,73861,73866],{"text":73860,"type":596},"Lithium-ion giants, including ",{"text":73862,"type":596,"marks":73863},"CATL and BYD",[73864],{"type":606,"attrs":73865},{"href":73780,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73867,"type":596},", are leading the charge, inspiring an ambitious sodium ion capacity pipeline. However, the challenges of maturing a next-generation battery technology and supply chain, especially through the lens of inexperienced cell producers, paint the picture that mass production won’t be achieved for several years.","Ambitious nameplate capacities and media attention have heralded the sodium-ion battery as the next big thing. Sodium ion battery raw materials are abundant in nature and the first movers will have the opportunity to secure an advantageous position in the value chain. China currently dominates commercial progress, and, with low- to mid-range performance electric vehicles […]",[73870],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73871},{"job_title":557,"image":73872,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ed3a827e-cc03-4163-ba84-cbfc40fa747d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[73875,73876],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":73878,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":73878,"source":547,"filename":73879,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":73880,"is_external_url":51},"Sodium ion battery cells on a pile of salt","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4a0baef41b/bm-sodium-ion-batteries.jpg",{"alt":73878,"title":73878,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rory McNulty and Ethan Williams ","Sep 07, 2023",{"id":73884,"uuid":73885,"name":73886,"slug":73887,"full_slug":73888,"content":73889},112470832769188,"b6b15749-0765-4a3e-a616-8f64a3090879","Global cell prices fall below $100/kWh for first time in two years","global-cell-prices-fall-below-100-kwh-for-first-time-in-two-years","article/global-cell-prices-fall-below-100-kwh-for-first-time-in-two-years",{"_uid":73890,"date":73891,"tags":73892,"editor":73894,"content":73898,"excerpt":74095,"featured":51,"reporter":74096,"_editable":74100,"component":697,"seo_title":73886,"categories":74101,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":74103,"seo_description":74095,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":74106},"0050157e-98b3-469c-bff8-8e8bdebd74c5","2023-09-06 00:00",[73893],{"slug":14423,"name":14424},[73895],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":73896},{"job_title":557,"image":73897,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":73899},[73900,73912,73924,73929,73934,73941,73946,73951,73977,74001,74020,74030,74043,74048,74053,74066,74071,74076,74081,74088],{"type":591,"attrs":73901,"content":73902},{"textAlign":49},[73903,73905,73910],{"text":73904,"type":596},"The global weighted average price for lithium ion cell prices has dropped below $100 per kilowatt-hour for the ",{"text":72944,"type":596,"marks":73906},[73907],{"type":606,"attrs":73908},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ion-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-in-gigafactory-era-automakers-in-negotiations",{"text":73911,"type":596}," on the back of falling raw material prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":73913,"content":73914},{"textAlign":49},[73915,73917,73922],{"text":73916,"type":596},"The latest average price from the ",{"text":34573,"type":596,"marks":73918},[73919],{"type":606,"attrs":73920},{"href":73921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":73923,"type":596}," is $98.2/kWh, a 33% drop from the price in March last year which hit a high of $146.4.",{"type":591,"attrs":73925,"content":73926},{"textAlign":49},[73927],{"text":73928,"type":596},"For electric vehicles to reach price parity with internal combustion engine vehicles, battery pack prices need to reach $100/kWh, not accounting for subsidies. This corresponds to a cell price of around $80/kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":73930,"content":73931},{"textAlign":49},[73932],{"text":73933,"type":596},"“Decreasing cell prices could allow OEMs to sell mass market EVs at comparable prices to ICE vehicles, with the same margin, improving the attractiveness of the EV transition for both consumers and automakers,”  Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":73935,"content":73936},{"textAlign":49},[73937],{"type":836,"attrs":73938},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":73939,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":73940},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3b1277ed13/bm-weekly-price-charts-4-13051941fe19.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":73942,"content":73943},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[73944],{"text":73945,"type":596},"Falling raw material costs",{"type":591,"attrs":73947,"content":73948},{"textAlign":49},[73949],{"text":73950,"type":596},"The largest driver for this price drop is the fall in cost for all raw material inputs.",{"type":591,"attrs":73952,"content":73953},{"textAlign":49},[73954,73956,73961,73963,73969,73970,73975],{"text":73955,"type":596},"Falling prices of battery metals and graphite have followed through into ",{"text":73957,"type":596,"marks":73958},"falling cathode",[73959],{"type":606,"attrs":73960},{"href":72634,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73962,"type":596}," and anode prices. ",{"text":73964,"type":596,"marks":73965},"Benchmark’s Cathode",[73966],{"type":606,"attrs":73967},{"href":73968,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":261,"type":596,"marks":73971},[73972],{"type":606,"attrs":73973},{"href":73974,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/anode",{"text":73976,"type":596}," indices have fallen 41.9% and 17.6% so far this year, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":73978,"content":73979},{"textAlign":49},[73980,73985,73987,73992,73994,73999],{"text":73981,"type":596,"marks":73982},"Lithium prices have more than halved",[73983],{"type":606,"attrs":73984},{"href":73734,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73986,"type":596}," since the start of 2023 with ",{"text":73988,"type":596,"marks":73989},"Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate Price Index",[73990],{"type":606,"attrs":73991},{"href":44585,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":73993,"type":596}," dropping 52% since the start of the year and the ",{"text":73995,"type":596,"marks":73996},"Lithium Hydroxide Price Index",[73997],{"type":606,"attrs":73998},{"href":44585,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74000,"type":596}," dropping 58%.",{"type":591,"attrs":74002,"content":74003},{"textAlign":49},[74004,74006,74011,74013,74018],{"text":74005,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate prices are at their ",{"text":74007,"type":596,"marks":74008},"lowest level",[74009],{"type":606,"attrs":74010},{"href":69441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74012,"type":596}," as recorded by ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":74014},[74015],{"type":606,"attrs":74016},{"href":74017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt",{"text":74019,"type":596}," in the China market. This has helped bring LCO prices to their lowest levels of $100.1/kWh in China and $123.6/kWh in the rest of Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":74021,"content":74022},{"textAlign":49},[74023,74028],{"text":10216,"type":596,"marks":74024},[74025],{"type":606,"attrs":74026},{"href":74027,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel",{"text":74029,"type":596},", too, are in decline with Chinese nickel sulphate prices dropping 25% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":74031,"content":74032},{"textAlign":49},[74033,74035,74041],{"text":74034,"type":596},"The low nickel and cobalt prices, combined with ",{"text":74036,"type":596,"marks":74037},"lithium hydroxide prices falling faster than lithium carbonate prices",[74038],{"type":606,"attrs":74039},{"href":74040,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rising-lithium-carbonate-prices-push-lfp-cell-costs-in-china-above-high-nickel-batteries",{"text":74042,"type":596}," have resulted in modelled prismatic NCM811 cell prices in China dropping to $82.6/kWh, lower than $85.7/kWh price for an equivalent LFP cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":74044,"content":74045},{"textAlign":49},[74046],{"text":74047,"type":596},"These are both increasingly close to the $80/kWh price point needed to reach a $100/kWh pack price.",{"type":615,"attrs":74049,"content":74050},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74051],{"text":74052,"type":596},"Consequences of low prices",{"type":591,"attrs":74054,"content":74055},{"textAlign":49},[74056,74058,74064],{"text":74057,"type":596},"Notably, this is a global average indicating that the downward trend of cell prices is ",{"text":74059,"type":596,"marks":74060},"observed not just in China",[74061],{"type":606,"attrs":74062},{"href":74063,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-cheaper-are-chinese-lithium-ion-battery-cells",{"text":74065,"type":596},", but in Western markets, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":74067,"content":74068},{"textAlign":49},[74069],{"text":74070,"type":596},"“Falling cell prices are of particular concern for companies investing in cell production outside of China,” Hartley said. “Particularly when there is already concern surrounding the profitability of factories in regions such as Europe.”",{"type":591,"attrs":74072,"content":74073},{"textAlign":49},[74074],{"text":74075,"type":596},"Low raw material prices could also alleviate some cost pressures from other aspects of the cell manufacturing process, Hartley said, noting high electricity prices in Europe and increasing labour costs in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":74077,"content":74078},{"textAlign":49},[74079],{"text":74080,"type":596},"“If the cost of the materials to make the batteries is less, these sorts of wider economic concerns are less significant in terms of raising the price of battery production,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":74082,"content":74083},{"textAlign":49},[74084],{"text":74085,"type":596,"marks":74086},"This analysis is drawn from the detail in Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment service – which covers all 7 major chemistries across all formats in each major region, providing transparency within the downstream supply chain.",[74087],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":74089,"content":74090},{"textAlign":49},[74091],{"text":74092,"type":596,"marks":74093},"To learn more about our Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment service – please provide your details here and our team will contact you shortly:",[74094],{"type":1006},"The global weighted average price for lithium ion cell prices has dropped below $100 per kilowatt-hour for the first time in two years on the back of falling raw material prices. The latest average price from the Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment is $98.2/kWh, a 33% drop from the price in March last […]",[74097],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74098},{"job_title":557,"image":74099,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0050157e-98b3-469c-bff8-8e8bdebd74c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[74102],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":74104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":74105,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d8592c3d7b/bm-battery-cells.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 06, 2023",{"id":74108,"uuid":74109,"name":74110,"slug":74111,"full_slug":74112,"content":74113},112470837610662,"05b89fbc-af13-43f1-947e-9db5d1592400","Albemarle offers premium to secure Australian lithium resources with Liontown deal","albemarle-offers-premium-to-secure-australian-lithium-resources-with-liontown-deal","article/albemarle-offers-premium-to-secure-australian-lithium-resources-with-liontown-deal",{"_uid":74114,"date":74115,"tags":74116,"editor":74121,"content":74125,"excerpt":74271,"featured":51,"reporter":74272,"_editable":74276,"component":697,"seo_title":74110,"categories":74277,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":74279,"seo_description":74271,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":74282},"91ab4f59-fc80-4798-866f-c96291c07a20","2023-09-05 00:00",[74117,74118,74119,74120],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":44555,"name":44556},{"slug":31098,"name":31099},[74122],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74123},{"job_title":557,"image":74124,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":74126},[74127,74138,74143,74148,74153,74165,74170,74182,74187,74192,74197,74202,74215,74220,74225,74230,74235,74240,74245,74250,74261,74266],{"type":591,"attrs":74128,"content":74129},{"textAlign":49},[74130,74132,74136],{"text":74131,"type":596},"Albemarle has offered a 20% higher bid for Australia’s Liontown Resources, in a deal that highlights the desire of ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":74133},[74134],{"type":606,"attrs":74135},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74137,"type":596}," majors to acquire additional resources to meet future electric vehicle growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74139,"content":74140},{"textAlign":49},[74141],{"text":74142,"type":596},"Liontown said this week it would recommend a revised A$6.6 billion ($4.3 billion) deal by Albemarle, and allow it to move ahead with due diligence.  That offer is 20% more than its earlier bid in March, which was rejected by Liontown, and is a 14.5% premium to Liontown’s share price on Sept. 1. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74144,"content":74145},{"textAlign":49},[74146],{"text":74147,"type":596},"The deal would help Albemarle gain access to more Australian spodumene to feed its processing plant in the country. It will also help it take advantage of Liontown’s previously announced off-take agreements with Tesla, Ford and LG Energy Solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":74149,"content":74150},{"textAlign":49},[74151],{"text":74152,"type":596},"It comes as more deals take shape in the lithium sector, as the largest companies look to secure growth in supply. Last month Australian miner Azure Minerals rejected a cash takeover bid from Chilean lithium miner SQM.",{"type":591,"attrs":74154,"content":74155},{"textAlign":49},[74156,74158,74163],{"text":74157,"type":596},"In May this year, Livent and Australia’s Allkem said they had agreed to merge, ",{"text":74159,"type":596,"marks":74160},"creating a nearly $11 billion",[74161],{"type":606,"attrs":74162},{"href":66053,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74164,"type":596}," lithium producer that will target large automotive companies and look to accelerate supply growth in Canada and Argentina.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":74166,"content":74167},{"textAlign":49},[74168],{"text":74169,"type":596},"“Obviously the underlying long term fundamentals remain strong for the majors that are trying to do these deals. They aren’t being sidetracked by short term and medium term fluctuations,” said Perks.",{"type":591,"attrs":74171,"content":74172},{"textAlign":49},[74173,74175,74180],{"text":74174,"type":596},"The deal also comes at a time when prices of the critical battery material prices have been falling and Chinese spot lithium prices ",{"text":74176,"type":596,"marks":74177},"have more than halved",[74178],{"type":606,"attrs":74179},{"href":73734,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74181,"type":596}," so far this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74183,"content":74184},{"textAlign":49},[74185],{"text":74186,"type":596},"Despite this Benchmark expects lithium supplies to enter an era of deficit from 2027 onwards with shortages reaching as high as a million tonnes by the end of the decade fuelled mostly by the batteries for the electric vehicle sector. ",{"type":615,"attrs":74188,"content":74189},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74190],{"text":74191,"type":596},"Near-term supply",{"type":591,"attrs":74193,"content":74194},{"textAlign":49},[74195],{"text":74196,"type":596},"Liontown is currently developing the Kathleen Valley mine in Australia, which has a nameplate capacity of 500,000 tpa of spodumene concentrate, with first production expected in mid-2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":74198,"content":74199},{"textAlign":49},[74200],{"text":74201,"type":596},"“It looks like Kathleen Valley Project is on track for production next year; meaning Liontown is a rare near term entrant, in a tier one jurisdiction,” said Perks.",{"type":591,"attrs":74203,"content":74204},{"textAlign":49},[74205,74207,74213],{"text":74206,"type":596},"In May this year, Albemarle said ",{"text":74208,"type":596,"marks":74209},"it will double its lithium hydroxide processing capacity",[74210],{"type":606,"attrs":74211},{"href":74212,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/albemarle-plans-to-double-kemerton-hydroxide-capacity-as-australian-lithium-chemical-production-ramps-up",{"text":74214,"type":596}," at its Kemerton plant in Western Australia by 2026 with an investment of over $1 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74216,"content":74217},{"textAlign":49},[74218],{"text":74219,"type":596},"“It also happens to be within trucking distance of downstream plans; it feels like Albemarle is doubling down, following their recent Kemerton expansion announcements,” said Perks.",{"type":615,"attrs":74221,"content":74222},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74223],{"text":74224,"type":596},"Raising its offer",{"type":591,"attrs":74226,"content":74227},{"textAlign":49},[74228],{"text":74229,"type":596},"Albemarle said its revised proposal of A$3 in cash per share is its best and final offer after three earlier offers to acquire the company were rejected. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74231,"content":74232},{"textAlign":49},[74233],{"text":74234,"type":596},"Liontown said it would allow Albemarle to conduct due diligence. If Albemarle goes ahead with a binding agreement, the company said it will recommend shareholders vote in favour of the proposal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74236,"content":74237},{"textAlign":49},[74238],{"text":74239,"type":596},"But it noted it also remained open to “superior proposals” for the company. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74241,"content":74242},{"textAlign":49},[74243],{"text":74244,"type":596},"“The intention of the Liontown Board is to unanimously recommend shareholders vote in favour of the proposal in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the proposed transaction is in the best interests of shareholders.”",{"type":615,"attrs":74246,"content":74247},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74248],{"text":74249,"type":596},"Albemarle’s deal plans",{"type":591,"attrs":74251,"content":74252},{"textAlign":49},[74253,74255,74259],{"text":74254,"type":596},"Albemarle said last month that it plans to ",{"text":69972,"type":596,"marks":74256},[74257],{"type":606,"attrs":74258},{"href":69976,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74260,"type":596}," in early stage lithium projects as it looks to secure resources to meet future demand after 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74262,"content":74263},{"textAlign":49},[74264],{"text":74265,"type":596},"“M&A is a good way to expand faster and, or, at a lower cost… They get control over a large new near term entrant, modulate supply as required, but use it when needed to feed downstream expansions,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":74267,"content":74268},{"textAlign":49},[74269],{"text":74270,"type":596},"The company has already invested in two other undeveloped lithium projects this year. These include a 4.9% stake in Canadian junior miner Patriot Battery Metals for C$109 million ($82 million), a move that will help it build a supply chain in North America. It has also picked a 100% stake in Western Lithium in a deal valued at A$30 million ($20 million).","Albemarle has offered a 20% higher bid for Australia’s Liontown Resources, in a deal that highlights the desire of lithium majors to acquire additional resources to meet future electric vehicle growth. Liontown said this week it would recommend a revised A$6.6 billion ($4.3 billion) deal by Albemarle, and allow it to move ahead with due […]",[74273],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74274},{"job_title":557,"image":74275,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"91ab4f59-fc80-4798-866f-c96291c07a20\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[74278],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":74280,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":74281,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/efdf060515/bm-kathleen-valley.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 05, 2023",{"id":74284,"uuid":74285,"name":74286,"slug":74287,"full_slug":74288,"content":74289},112470856599725,"b987cc83-c420-4733-b74a-efcfeab8a724","The companies shaping the North American lithium ion recycling ecosystem","the-companies-shaping-the-north-american-lithium-ion-recycling-ecosystem","article/the-companies-shaping-the-north-american-lithium-ion-recycling-ecosystem",{"_uid":74290,"date":74291,"tags":74292,"editor":74302,"content":74306,"excerpt":74496,"featured":51,"reporter":74497,"_editable":74501,"component":697,"seo_title":74286,"categories":74502,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":74506,"seo_description":74496,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":74510},"d70c2a0a-df26-4db4-9572-5453c36c8fa9","2023-08-30 00:00",[74293,74296,74297,74298,74301],{"slug":74294,"name":74295},"cirba-solutions","Cirba Solutions",{"slug":29739,"name":28952},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":74299,"name":74300},"panasonic-corporation-of-north-america","Panasonic Corporation of North America",{"slug":29742,"name":29743},[74303],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74304},{"job_title":557,"image":74305,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":74307},[74308,74313,74318,74323,74328,74339,74344,74349,74352,74357,74362,74367,74379,74384,74389,74394,74399,74404,74409,74414,74426,74431,74436,74441,74446,74451,74456,74461,74466,74471,74476,74481,74486,74491],{"type":591,"attrs":74309,"content":74310},{"textAlign":49},[74311],{"text":74312,"type":596},"Redwood Materials, Cirba Solutions, Ascend Elements, and Li-Cycle are emerging as key players in the North American battery recycling industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74314,"content":74315},{"textAlign":49},[74316],{"text":74317,"type":596},"Since 2019, these four recyclers have entered major strategic partnerships with cathode, cell, and electric vehicle makers for scrap collection and raw materials delivery, including with Toyota, Panasonic, Honda, SK On, and LG Energy Solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":74319,"content":74320},{"textAlign":49},[74321],{"text":74322,"type":596},"This week, Redwood Materials announced it had raised $1 billion in its latest funding round, which it said would be used to continue building its capacity and allowing its customers “to purchase battery materials made in the US for the first time.”",{"type":591,"attrs":74324,"content":74325},{"textAlign":49},[74326],{"text":74327,"type":596},"By firming up their ties to the lithium ion industry, these recyclers are gearing up for the early-to-mid 2030s when the first big wave of batteries will come off the road. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74329,"content":74330},{"textAlign":49},[74331,74333,74338],{"text":74332,"type":596},"The North American end-of-life battery pool is expected to increase from 3,124 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2023 to 146, 541 MWh in 2035, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":74334,"type":596,"marks":74335},"data",[74336],{"type":606,"attrs":74337},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":74340,"content":74341},{"textAlign":49},[74342],{"text":74343,"type":596},"The interest in locally recycled materials in the US and Canada is also driven by incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act. Automakers who use battery materials recycled in North America are eligible for the $3,750 purchase tax credit under the legislation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74345,"content":74346},{"textAlign":49},[74347],{"text":74348,"type":596},"Among the most notable of these partnerships is one between Toyota and Redwood that aims to set up a comprehensive battery ecosystem for Toyota EVs in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":74350,"content":74351},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":74353,"content":74354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74355],{"text":74356,"type":596},"Process scrap ",{"type":591,"attrs":74358,"content":74359},{"textAlign":49},[74360],{"text":74361,"type":596},"For now, North American recyclers mostly work with process scrap, the material byproduct from cell and battery manufacturing. Many of the recent agreements between them and lithium ion producers centre around securing this feedstock type from cell and cathode manufacturing sites around the US and Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":74363,"content":74364},{"textAlign":49},[74365],{"text":74366,"type":596},"“As increasing cell capacity builds in the region, the market will likely continue to see more agreements like these,” said Benchmark analyst Sarah Colbourn. “In a bid for cell manufacturers to maximise the circularity of their process, as well as recyclers looking to secure stable supply for their recycling plants.”",{"type":591,"attrs":74368,"content":74369},{"textAlign":49},[74370,74372,74377],{"text":74371,"type":596},"Despite the coming increase in end-of-life battery stock, North America’s scrap pool, which includes both end-of-life batteries and process scrap, is expected to reach just ",{"text":74373,"type":596,"marks":74374},"13% of the region’s cell demand",[74375],{"type":606,"attrs":74376},{"href":50892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74378,"type":596}," in 2032 under a high case scenario, according to Benchmark data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74380,"content":74381},{"textAlign":49},[74382],{"text":74383,"type":596},"As a result sourcing enough material will remain a key concern as the region attempts to develop an independent battery recycling chain. ",{"type":615,"attrs":74385,"content":74386},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74387],{"text":74388,"type":596},"Redwood builds recycling framework with Toyota ",{"type":591,"attrs":74390,"content":74391},{"textAlign":49},[74392],{"text":74393,"type":596},"Redwood’s choice of Toyota as its partner is guided by the fact that feedstock is one of the biggest limiting factors on the recycling industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74395,"content":74396},{"textAlign":49},[74397],{"text":74398,"type":596},"The small pool of used batteries available today is dominated by those from the Toyota Prius, the world’s first commercial hybrid model when it came out in 1997. Redwood now plans to build operational sites near to Toyota’s new North Carolina battery plant, indicating the importance of this partnership to the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":74400,"content":74401},{"textAlign":49},[74402],{"text":74403,"type":596},"In the last two years, Volvo and Ford also began working with Redwood on a similar programme to create end-of-life pathways for their batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74405,"content":74406},{"textAlign":49},[74407],{"text":74408,"type":596},"Panasonic Energy is Redwood’s oldest cell producer partner. Redwood has been receiving process scrap from the Sparks, Nevada, facility jointly operated by Tesla and Panasonic since 2019. The two stepped up their cooperation in 2022, when the recycler announced it would supply Panasonic’s De Soto, Kansas, facility with recycled high-nickel cathodes once it goes into operation, which is due in 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74410,"content":74411},{"textAlign":49},[74412],{"text":74413,"type":596},"In its latest funding Redwood raised $1 billion with financing co-led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates.",{"type":591,"attrs":74415,"content":74416},{"textAlign":49},[74417,74419,74424],{"text":74418,"type":596},"It also enjoys government support in the form of a $2 billion conditional loan ",{"text":74420,"type":596,"marks":74421},"commitment",[74422],{"type":606,"attrs":74423},{"href":38905,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74425,"type":596}," from the Department of Energy (DOE) in February 2022 that is earmarked for expansion at its Nevada facility.",{"type":615,"attrs":74427,"content":74428},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74429],{"text":74430,"type":596},"Cirba Solutions links up with GM and Honda",{"type":591,"attrs":74432,"content":74433},{"textAlign":49},[74434],{"text":74435,"type":596},"North Carolina-based Cirba Solutions was founded in 1991, making it the oldest company among the big four North American recyclers. It has an operating lithium ion recycling plant in Canada with three more plants planned in the US, as well as expansion plans underway at its Lancaster, Ohio plant. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74437,"content":74438},{"textAlign":49},[74439],{"text":74440,"type":596},"Like Redwood, Cirba has received backing from the US government, which is keen to ramp up domestic recycling to reduce reliance on Chinese critical minerals. In October 2022, it was awarded $75 million in grant funding from the DOE, receiving a further $82 million from the same agency in August 2023. It will use this to expand operations at its Ohio processing facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":74442,"content":74443},{"textAlign":49},[74444],{"text":74445,"type":596},"Cirba Solutions has also secured partnerships with two major automakers in recent years. In November 2022, it extended a 2021 agreement with General Motors to recycle EV batteries and process scrap from select GM manufacturing and research facilities until 2024. In April 2023, Honda and Cirba announced an MoU that commits Honda to deliver scrap for Cirba to process into battery raw materials for the automaker.",{"type":615,"attrs":74447,"content":74448},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74449],{"text":74450,"type":596},"Ascend Elements partners with SK On and Honda",{"type":591,"attrs":74452,"content":74453},{"textAlign":49},[74454],{"text":74455,"type":596},"Another US recycler striking deals with globally significant lithium ion and EV producers is Ascend Elements, founded in 2015. It has one operating and one planned site, at Covington, Georgia, and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, respectively.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":74457,"content":74458},{"textAlign":49},[74459],{"text":74460,"type":596},"In June 2021, Honda became the first automaker to sign an agreement with Ascend Elements to process their EV batteries. In February 2023, Honda signed a basic agreement to procure recycled battery materials from Ascend Elements for Honda’s North American EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":74462,"content":74463},{"textAlign":49},[74464],{"text":74465,"type":596},"In March 2022, Ascend Elements picked up another major partner in SK Battery America, announcing that it will recycle scrap from SK’s battery factory in Georgia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74467,"content":74468},{"textAlign":49},[74469],{"text":74470,"type":596},"SK Battery America is a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK On, which operates one battery factory in Georgia and plans five more in the country. Five months after the deal, another SK subsidiary, SK ecoplant, invested $50 million into the recycler.",{"type":615,"attrs":74472,"content":74473},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74474],{"text":74475,"type":596},"Li-cycle takes Canadian recycling global",{"type":591,"attrs":74477,"content":74478},{"textAlign":49},[74479],{"text":74480,"type":596},"Canada’s Li-Cycle, founded in 2016, holds the largest and most international pipeline capacity of the big four North American players. Its Rochester, New York facility, now under construction, will serve as a ‘hub’ that produces battery materials from black mass made at two ‘spoke’ plants, one in the US and another in Canada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74482,"content":74483},{"textAlign":49},[74484],{"text":74485,"type":596},"South Korean cell maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) chose the firm as its preferred lithium ion recycler in North America as part of a April 2022 agreement that commits Li-Cycle to recycling LGES and LG Chem process scrap while supplying the battery maker with nickel sulphate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74487,"content":74488},{"textAlign":49},[74489],{"text":74490,"type":596},"LGES is Li-Cycle’s biggest partner. It operates two NCM cell plants in the US with five more planned, as well as one in Canada. LG Chem is also building a 120,000 total nameplate capacity cathode facility in Tennessee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74492,"content":74493},{"textAlign":49},[74494],{"text":74495,"type":596},"Another big Li-Cycle partner is China’s EVE Energy, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Li-Cycle in July 2023.  It commits the companies to exploring recycling solutions for EVE products destined for the North American market.","Redwood Materials, Cirba Solutions, Ascend Elements, and Li-Cycle are emerging as key players in the North American battery recycling industry. Since 2019, these four recyclers have entered major strategic partnerships with cathode, cell, and electric vehicle makers for scrap collection and raw materials delivery, including with Toyota, Panasonic, Honda, SK On, and LG Energy Solution. […]",[74498],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74499},{"job_title":557,"image":74500,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d70c2a0a-df26-4db4-9572-5453c36c8fa9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[74503,74504,74505],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":74507,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":74507,"source":547,"filename":74508,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":74509,"is_external_url":51},"Plat worker inspecting a copper foil roll","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4cc708d592/bm-copper-01.jpg",{"alt":74507,"title":74507,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 30, 2023",{"id":74512,"uuid":74513,"name":74514,"slug":74515,"full_slug":74516,"content":74517},112470876084401,"11a9a48f-784f-4287-b914-d2e320d5e57f","Japan’s role in developing the lithium ion battery industry","japans-role-in-developing-the-lithium-ion-battery-industry","article/japans-role-in-developing-the-lithium-ion-battery-industry",{"_uid":74518,"date":74519,"tags":74520,"editor":74532,"content":74536,"excerpt":74786,"featured":51,"reporter":74787,"_editable":74791,"component":697,"seo_title":74514,"categories":74792,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":74799,"seo_description":74786,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":74802},"a4a92148-b9e4-43c2-81cd-442b92f9123d","2023-08-24 00:00",[74521,74522,74525,74528,74531],{"slug":17938,"name":17939},{"slug":74523,"name":74524},"nissan","Nissan",{"slug":74526,"name":74527},"panasonic","Panasonic",{"slug":74529,"name":74530},"sony","Sony",{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[74533],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74534},{"job_title":557,"image":74535,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":74537},[74538,74558,74563,74568,74573,74578,74583,74588,74593,74598,74603,74608,74613,74618,74623,74628,74636,74641,74646,74651,74664,74669,74674,74679,74692,74697,74702,74707,74712,74717,74730,74735,74747,74752,74757,74762,74775],{"type":591,"attrs":74539,"content":74540},{"textAlign":49},[74541,74543,74549,74551,74556],{"text":74542,"type":596},"The modern lithium ion industry originated in Japan in 1985, when Japanese chemist ",{"text":74544,"type":596,"marks":74545},"Dr Akira Yoshino ",[74546],{"type":606,"attrs":74547},{"href":74548,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ions-pioneers-scoop-nobel",{"text":74550,"type":596},"and the team at Asahei Kasei made a prototype lithium cobalt oxide battery (LCO) based on prior work by ",{"text":74552,"type":596,"marks":74553},"M. Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough",[74554],{"type":606,"attrs":74555},{"href":74548,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74557,"type":596}," and Koichi Mizushima.",{"type":591,"attrs":74559,"content":74560},{"textAlign":49},[74561],{"text":74562,"type":596},"In 1991, Sony created the first commercial lithium ion cell. Three years later, Panasonic began producing the model at scale. From there, the battery quickly took hold of the portable devices market, enabling camcorders, laptops and cell phones to become fully portable. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74564,"content":74565},{"textAlign":49},[74566],{"text":74567,"type":596},"Over the nineties and 2000s, Japanese firms gradually widened lithium ion’s applications into power tools, energy storage, and automotives, slowly displacing legacy batteries like nickel metal hydride, nickel-cadmium, and lead acid.",{"type":591,"attrs":74569,"content":74570},{"textAlign":49},[74571],{"text":74572,"type":596},"High demand for portable electronics spurred Japanese manufacturers to explore new chemistries. In 2005, Sony brought out the “Nexelion battery” for camcorders and laptops which added tin, cobalt, and carbon to the graphite of conventional LCO anodes, upping the volumetric energy density of the cell by 20%.",{"type":591,"attrs":74574,"content":74575},{"textAlign":49},[74576],{"text":74577,"type":596},"Moli Energy, a lithium ion manufacturer acquired by Japanese companies in 1994, first commercialised lithium manganese oxide (LMO) battery in 1996. LMO was a cost-effective alternative to LCO and also a much safer device, something at the forefront of Moli’s strategy at the time. The company had originally been bought up after one of its cell phone batteries caught fire, resulting in steep losses.",{"type":615,"attrs":74579,"content":74580},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74581],{"text":74582,"type":596},"Lithium ion hits the road",{"type":591,"attrs":74584,"content":74585},{"textAlign":49},[74586],{"text":74587,"type":596},"Compared to portable devices, automotives were a harder application for the lithium ion industry to crack. Part of the reason were safety concerns about existing battery models, which were too explosion-prone to be accepted by the car industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74589,"content":74590},{"textAlign":49},[74591],{"text":74592,"type":596},"The bigger constraint, however, was that hybrid cars were still experimental novelties at the time. Toyota and Nissan exhibited tentative prototypes at the Tokyo Motor Show over the early nineties but commercial models were still a work in progress. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74594,"content":74595},{"textAlign":49},[74596],{"text":74597,"type":596},"All this meant the battery and automotive industries ran along separate tracks for much of the decade. However, the first step towards mass-market hybrids began in 1994 at Toyota. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74599,"content":74600},{"textAlign":49},[74601],{"text":74602,"type":596},"Then the world’s largest auto company, Toyota began an R&D programme to improve fuel efficiency. It started off by looking at engine improvements but soon switched to developing a hybrid fuel and battery system for its cars.",{"type":591,"attrs":74604,"content":74605},{"textAlign":49},[74606],{"text":74607,"type":596},"In 1997, Toyota unveiled its new hybrid system and installed it into its Prius, which became the world’s first mass-produced hybrid EV.",{"type":591,"attrs":74609,"content":74610},{"textAlign":49},[74611],{"text":74612,"type":596},"Toyota’s marketing catchphrase for the Prius was “just in time for the 21st century”. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74614,"content":74615},{"textAlign":49},[74616],{"text":74617,"type":596},"Yet the range limits of existing battery technology meant pure EVs were still a distant prospect and demand for hybrids remained low into the early 2000s. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74619,"content":74620},{"textAlign":49},[74621],{"text":74622,"type":596},"For the automotive industry to go fully electric, new kinds of batteries were needed. They had to be cheap to produce while offering higher power density and a better safety profile than LCO or LMO.",{"type":591,"attrs":74624,"content":74625},{"textAlign":49},[74626],{"text":74627,"type":596},"At this time, it was not clear that lithium ion technology was up to the task. The car industry was still weighing up the older nickel hydride batteries, an older and heavier cell type that Toyota used in its Prius, as the go-to hybrid option.",{"type":591,"attrs":74629,"content":74630},{"textAlign":49},[74631],{"type":836,"attrs":74632},{"id":49,"alt":74633,"src":74634,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":74635},"Japan's history at the heart of the lithium ion battery industry","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/123f2a5cad/bm-benchmark-japan-infographic-version.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":74637,"content":74638},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74639],{"text":74640,"type":596},"High nickel paves way for pure EVs",{"type":591,"attrs":74642,"content":74643},{"textAlign":49},[74644],{"text":74645,"type":596},"From 1997, new chemistries began to tip the scales in favour of lithium ion as the battery of choice for the automotive sector. In that year, Japanese researchers obtained a patent for a lithiated nickel dioxide cathode, which improved on the standard lithium cobalt oxide mix.",{"type":591,"attrs":74647,"content":74648},{"textAlign":49},[74649],{"text":74650,"type":596},"The 2000s came as a turning point for the EV industry thanks to a burst of R&D into nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NCM) cathode materials. The new chemistry meant a cell that stored a lot of energy in a small mass, offering long runtimes between charges. Finally, a lithium ion battery suitable for automotive applications had arrived.",{"type":591,"attrs":74652,"content":74653},{"textAlign":49},[74654,74656,74662],{"text":74655,"type":596},"Japanese producers began making ",{"text":74657,"type":596,"marks":74658},"NCM cells",[74659],{"type":606,"attrs":74660},{"href":74661,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ncm-811-cathode-production-in-deficit-from-next-year",{"text":74663,"type":596},", with the power tool market providing an important early source of demand. By 2006, sales of lithium ion batteries surpassed nickel metal hydride batteries in power tools for the first time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74665,"content":74666},{"textAlign":49},[74667],{"text":74668,"type":596},"In 2010, Nissan launched the Leaf, a pure EV that used a battery from AESC, a joint venture between Nissan and the Japanese electronics multinational NEC Corp.  By 2017, the model was using NCM cells.",{"type":615,"attrs":74670,"content":74671},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74672],{"text":74673,"type":596},"Panasonic goes West",{"type":591,"attrs":74675,"content":74676},{"textAlign":49},[74677],{"text":74678,"type":596},"The Nissan Leaf was the first pure EV model from a major car manufacturer but Tesla’s 2008 Roadster had been the first commercial car to run fully on battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":74680,"content":74681},{"textAlign":49},[74682,74684,74690],{"text":74683,"type":596},"Over the 2010s, ",{"text":74685,"type":596,"marks":74686},"Tesla presented Japanese car and cell makers",[74687],{"type":606,"attrs":74688},{"href":74689,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-lays-down-2-twh-battery-challenge-to-panasonic",{"text":74691,"type":596}," with an opportunity to tap foreign markets. Panasonic was the first to reach out to the US EV specialist, finalising their first supply agreement in 2010. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74693,"content":74694},{"textAlign":49},[74695],{"text":74696,"type":596},"Thanks to the partnership,Tesla was able to switch from lower energy density batteries to Panasonic’s nickel-based chemistry, which had a higher energy density and a longer life. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74698,"content":74699},{"textAlign":49},[74700],{"text":74701,"type":596},"In 2011, Panasonic invested $30 million into Tesla and acquired a 2% stake in the company. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74703,"content":74704},{"textAlign":49},[74705],{"text":74706,"type":596},"In 2014, the companies built on their existing partnership to develop the world’s first gigawatt hour scale project aimed at producing what was then equivalent to the world’s supply under one roof. The Tesla-Panasonic gigafactory then began production in 2017 with an initial 35 GWh capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":74708,"content":74709},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[74710],{"text":74711,"type":596},"Japanese OEMs continue overseas expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":74713,"content":74714},{"textAlign":49},[74715],{"text":74716,"type":596},"The early 2020s saw Japanese firms diversify into foreign markets while focusing on reducing production costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":74718,"content":74719},{"textAlign":49},[74720,74722,74728],{"text":74721,"type":596},"One example of this was Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES), a ",{"text":74723,"type":596,"marks":74724},"2020 joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic",[74725],{"type":606,"attrs":74726},{"href":74727,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chasing-the-pack-panasonic-toyota-confirm-battery-joint-venture",{"text":74729,"type":596}," to scale lithium ion production. By 2022, half its output supplied Toyota’s hybrids and plug-in hybrids with the remainder going into Tesla EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74731,"content":74732},{"textAlign":49},[74733],{"text":74734,"type":596},"In May 2021, PPES announced it would expand production at its facilities in Himeji, Japan and in Dalian, China. The same year, Toyota laid out plans for a new $1.2 billion gigafactory in North Carolina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74736,"content":74737},{"textAlign":49},[74738,74740,74745],{"text":74739,"type":596},"Panasonic is now ",{"text":74741,"type":596,"marks":74742},"expanding its gigafactory presence in the US",[74743],{"type":606,"attrs":74744},{"href":72535,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74746,"type":596},". In November 2022 it broke ground on a new Kansas facility, due to begin production in 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74748,"content":74749},{"textAlign":49},[74750],{"text":74751,"type":596},"Another Panasonic gigafactory in Oklahoma is also on the cards, with the cellmaker announcing in April 2023 that it had entered an agreement with state authorities there over an incentive package designed to attract investment from major companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":74753,"content":74754},{"textAlign":49},[74755],{"text":74756,"type":596},"Alongside scaling of existing technologies, the Japanese cell and EV industry may now be entering a new phase of battery innovation. In 2023, Toyota announced a breakthrough on solid state batteries, which have higher energy density and a better safety profile than standard lithium ion batteries. It aims to commercialise by 2027. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74758,"content":74759},{"textAlign":49},[74760],{"text":74761,"type":596},"Idemitsu Kosan and Belgium’s Umicore are also co-developing solid state batteries while Nissan is aiming to produce their own solid electrolyte cells by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74763,"content":74764},{"textAlign":49},[74765,74767,74773],{"text":74766,"type":596},"Benchmark is hosting its ",{"text":74768,"type":596,"marks":74769},"Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific",[74770],{"type":606,"attrs":74771},{"href":74772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigaapac",{"text":74774,"type":596}," event in Tokyo, Japan, on 20-21 September. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74776,"content":74777},{"textAlign":49},[74778,74780,74785],{"text":74779,"type":596}," Learn more about the event or secure your ticket ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":74781},[74782],{"type":606,"attrs":74783},{"href":74784,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigaapac/home",{"text":4683,"type":596},"The modern lithium ion industry originated in Japan in 1985, when Japanese chemist Dr Akira Yoshino and the team at Asahei Kasei made a prototype lithium cobalt oxide battery (LCO) based on prior work by M. Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough and Koichi Mizushima. In 1991, Sony created the first commercial lithium ion cell. Three years […]",[74788],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74789},{"job_title":557,"image":74790,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a4a92148-b9e4-43c2-81cd-442b92f9123d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[74793,74794,74795,74796,74797,74798],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":74800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":74801,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/272b6ec284/bm-japan-infographic-background-v1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 24, 2023",{"id":74804,"uuid":74805,"name":74806,"slug":74807,"full_slug":74808,"content":74809},112470880962738,"da8e0a35-225e-46ca-bd39-aa4ecfc8bf8c","Ford, EcoPro and SK On turn to Canada’s EV battery hub for cathode factory","ford-ecopro-and-sk-on-turn-to-canadas-ev-battery-hub-for-cathode-factory","article/ford-ecopro-and-sk-on-turn-to-canadas-ev-battery-hub-for-cathode-factory",{"_uid":74810,"date":74811,"tags":74812,"editor":74816,"content":74820,"excerpt":75010,"featured":50,"reporter":75011,"_editable":75015,"component":697,"seo_title":74806,"categories":75016,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":75019,"seo_description":75010,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75022},"ef27f633-7454-411a-a1da-f01c57279b9d","2023-08-23 00:00",[74813,74814,74815],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":572,"name":573},[74817],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":74818},{"job_title":557,"image":74819,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":74821},[74822,74827,74832,74842,74847,74852,74857,74862,74867,74885,74892,74897,74909,74914,74927,74932,74937,74942,74947,74957,74962,74967,74972,74977,74982,74995,75005],{"type":591,"attrs":74823,"content":74824},{"textAlign":49},[74825],{"text":74826,"type":596},"Ford and its South Korean battery partner SK On and cathode maker EcoProBM have announced plans to invest C$1.2 billion (US $885 million) in a cathode plant in Becancour, Quebec, the latest investment into the city’s battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74828,"content":74829},{"textAlign":49},[74830],{"text":74831,"type":596},"The investment in the Canadian city is part of the automaker’s effort to localise its critical battery raw material supply chain for electric vehicles in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":74833,"content":74834},{"textAlign":49},[74835,74837,74841],{"text":74836,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that by 2030, Becancour will account for 28% of North America’s cathode production, which is set to exceed 500,000 tonnes, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":74838},[74839],{"type":606,"attrs":74840},{"href":64480,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":74843,"content":74844},{"textAlign":49},[74845],{"text":74846,"type":596},"The consortium’s factory is expected to begin production in the first half of 2026 to produce and supply up to 45,000 tonnes of cathode annually, enough to make 225,000 electric vehicles a year, according to Ford.",{"type":591,"attrs":74848,"content":74849},{"textAlign":49},[74850],{"text":74851,"type":596},"“The key takeaway is the commitment to Becancour as a battery hub, from Ford’s perspective and also from EcoPro’s and SK On’s with respect to cathode production at the location,” said Rob Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":74853,"content":74854},{"textAlign":49},[74855],{"text":74856,"type":596},"“It is a big, but a necessary move for Ford to meet their EV ambitions in North America. Ford has apparently been struggling to produce enough electric vehicles recently and a shortage of cathode active material (CAM) supply will only hinder its operations in future, so this is a vital move to solidify its intent and show a forward-looking approach to CAM supply,” Burrell said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74858,"content":74859},{"textAlign":49},[74860],{"text":74861,"type":596},"Ford said in July it now expects to reach the target of producing 600,000 electric vehicles annually by 2024 instead of by the end of this year as it had previously estimated. Ford also expects its electric vehicle business to report an EBIT loss of $4.5 billion this year citing pricing environment, investment in new products and capacity, and other costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":74863,"content":74864},{"textAlign":49},[74865],{"text":74866,"type":596},"“This Becancour facility is clearly an important step, but more must be done if Ford wants a complete domestic supply chain to take advantage of additional tax credits in the future,” said Burrell.",{"type":591,"attrs":74868,"content":74869},{"textAlign":49},[74870,74872,74878,74880,74884],{"text":74871,"type":596},"Ford and SK On ",{"text":74873,"type":596,"marks":74874},"are building three gigafactories",[74875],{"type":606,"attrs":74876},{"href":74877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/fords-battery-jv-gets-9-2-billion-conditional-doe-loan-in-boost-to-us-battery-manufacturing",{"text":74879,"type":596}," in Kentucky and Tennessee with over 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity in the pipeline, data from ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":74881},[74882],{"type":606,"attrs":74883},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":40053,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":74886,"content":74887},{"textAlign":49},[74888],{"type":836,"attrs":74889},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":74890,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":74891},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/529ae69230/bm-cathode-production-chart-rc-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":74893,"content":74894},{"textAlign":49},[74895],{"text":74896,"type":596},"Why Becancour?",{"type":591,"attrs":74898,"content":74899},{"textAlign":49},[74900,74902,74907],{"text":74901,"type":596},"Ford’s move follows a number of similar previous investment announcements in Becancour as US automakers look to keep up with rivals and meet their electric vehicle ambitions. These include ",{"text":74903,"type":596,"marks":74904},"General Motors’ partnership with Posco",[74905],{"type":606,"attrs":74906},{"href":70484,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":74908,"type":596}," that was announced last year to set up a cathode plant in Becancour. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74910,"content":74911},{"textAlign":49},[74912],{"text":74913,"type":596},"In June, GM said it would expand the plant with Posco and invest an additional $1 billion to produce cathode and precursor materials there. Germany’s BASF too is building a cathode plant in Becancour.",{"type":591,"attrs":74915,"content":74916},{"textAlign":49},[74917,74919,74925],{"text":74918,"type":596},"“A big factor is renewables – ",{"text":74920,"type":596,"marks":74921},"hydropower can generate",[74922],{"type":606,"attrs":74923},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/clean-energy-lures-gm-posco-and-basf-cathode-projects-to-quebec",{"text":74926,"type":596}," around 95% of Quebec’s electricity needs, which is therefore a huge incentive to reduce carbon impact of production of battery materials,” said Burrell, adding that the port city also has the required transport infrastructure to support growth of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":74928,"content":74929},{"textAlign":49},[74930],{"text":74931,"type":596},"Burrell also pointed out that the Canadian government’s support for projects is a huge advantage to get them off the ground in as short a time as possible. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74933,"content":74934},{"textAlign":49},[74935],{"text":74936,"type":596},"South Korean players bet on North America",{"type":591,"attrs":74938,"content":74939},{"textAlign":49},[74940],{"text":74941,"type":596},"The move further strengthens US and South Korean partnership and collaborations in building out the lithium ion battery supply chain in North America. Additionally, the tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act further incentivise and facilitate the production of cathode materials and battery cells in North America and also open more doors for operation in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74943,"content":74944},{"textAlign":49},[74945],{"text":74946,"type":596},"“Although South Korea does have a Free Trade Agreement with the US, localising production in North America shortens supply lines and integrates operations to maximise company profits,” said Burrell.",{"type":591,"attrs":74948,"content":74949},{"textAlign":49},[74950,74952,74956],{"text":74951,"type":596},"SK On already has a significant presence in the USA where it currently operates two battery plants and is adding four more plants with its partners Ford and Hyundai. SK On’s lithium ion battery capacity pipeline for 2030 in North America is 196 GWh according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":74953},[74954],{"type":606,"attrs":74955},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":74958,"content":74959},{"textAlign":49},[74960],{"text":74961,"type":596},"“Through the cathode JV, the three companies can have a stable supply of battery raw materials in North America,” said  SK On Chief Commercial Officer Min-suk Sung. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74963,"content":74964},{"textAlign":49},[74965],{"text":74966,"type":596},"For EcoProBM, this is its second overseas expansion after Hungary and marks a foray into North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":74968,"content":74969},{"textAlign":49},[74970],{"text":74971,"type":596},"NCM to flow out of Quebec",{"type":591,"attrs":74973,"content":74974},{"textAlign":49},[74975],{"text":74976,"type":596},"Ford had moved early on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in the US to tap the cost advantage. The latest partnership will however focus on EcoPro producing high nickel NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathodes to tap greater performance levels and range.",{"type":591,"attrs":74978,"content":74979},{"textAlign":49},[74980],{"text":74981,"type":596},"“Another key takeaway is the high nickel investment – it is clear that Ford has recently pushed for LFP for more entry models, but it’s evident that high nickel cells destined for models such as the F150 are vital for applications that demand the performance specs,” said Burrell.",{"type":591,"attrs":74983,"content":74984},{"textAlign":49},[74985,74987,74993],{"text":74986,"type":596},"A key driver behind NCM investment and buildout in the west is that vehicles with NCM cells can achieve longer ranges which are attractive to consumers, particularly in North America. However, LFP unlocks lower vehicle prices for the masses, and as seen with ",{"text":74988,"type":596,"marks":74989},"CATL’s recent announcement",[74990],{"type":606,"attrs":74991},{"href":74992,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catls-faster-charging-battery-could-boost-uptake-of-lfp-cells",{"text":74994,"type":596},", the chemistry can achieve impressive performance specs.",{"type":591,"attrs":74996,"content":74997},{"textAlign":49},[74998,75000,75004],{"text":74999,"type":596},"LFP chemistries are expected to meet nearly 40% of EV battery demand this year while a mix of mid- and high-nickel NCM cells will comprise the rest of the share, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":75001},[75002],{"type":606,"attrs":75003},{"href":58793,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75006,"content":75007},{"textAlign":49},[75008],{"text":75009,"type":596},"Last week, GM led a $60 million funding in US-based battery materials company Mitra Chem. Together they will work on developing iron based cathode chemistries such as LMFP for GM’s electric vehicles.","Ford and its South Korean battery partner SK On and cathode maker EcoProBM have announced plans to invest C$1.2 billion (US $885 million) in a cathode plant in Becancour, Quebec, the latest investment into the city’s battery supply chain. The investment in the Canadian city is part of the automaker’s effort to localise its critical […]",[75012],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75013},{"job_title":557,"image":75014,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ef27f633-7454-411a-a1da-f01c57279b9d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[75017,75018],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75020,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75021,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/52b0acdc79/bm-ford-quebec-z832125.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 23, 2023",{"id":75024,"uuid":75025,"name":75026,"slug":75027,"full_slug":75028,"content":75029},112470885763251,"41ef6931-9a3b-43c9-8e17-710b104a7855","Will midstream go mainstream in Australia?","will-midstream-go-mainstream-in-australia","article/will-midstream-go-mainstream-in-australia",{"_uid":75030,"date":75031,"tags":75032,"editor":75039,"content":75043,"excerpt":75342,"featured":51,"reporter":75343,"_editable":75347,"component":697,"seo_title":75026,"categories":75348,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":75352,"seo_description":75342,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75355},"14b052e6-db30-4067-b43f-f1e121bc812f","2023-08-22 00:00",[75033,75034,75035,75038],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":44555,"name":44556},{"slug":75036,"name":75037},"mineral-resources","Mineral Resources",{"slug":30383,"name":30384},[75040],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75041},{"job_title":557,"image":75042,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":75044},[75045,75065,75084,75095,75100,75105,75110,75115,75123,75128,75133,75138,75143,75148,75153,75158,75176,75181,75186,75191,75196,75206,75211,75216,75221,75238,75243,75255,75260,75265,75270,75275,75280,75285,75298,75303,75308,75327,75332,75337],{"type":591,"attrs":75046,"content":75047},{"textAlign":49},[75048,75050,75055,75057,75063],{"text":75049,"type":596},"A number of lithium miners in ",{"text":75051,"type":596,"marks":75052},"Australia have made moves",[75053],{"type":606,"attrs":75054},{"href":44715,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75056,"type":596}," towards the midstream of ",{"text":75058,"type":596,"marks":75059},"lithium chemical production",[75060],{"type":606,"attrs":75061},{"href":75062,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/who-will-own-lithium-chemical-production-in-2030",{"text":75064,"type":596}," this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":75066,"content":75067},{"textAlign":49},[75068,75070,75076,75078,75083],{"text":75069,"type":596},"Australia is forecast to produce ",{"text":75071,"type":596,"marks":75072},"two-fifths of the world’s mined lithium",[75073],{"type":606,"attrs":75074},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australia-on-course-to-remain-number-one-lithium-producer-to-2030",{"text":75077,"type":596}," year, but only 1.2% of the lithium chemicals, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":75079},[75080],{"type":606,"attrs":75081},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75085,"content":75086},{"textAlign":49},[75087,75089,75094],{"text":75088,"type":596},"Currently most lithium miners in Australia produce spodumene concentrate, a material with around 6% lithium content. This is primarily shipped to China which is forecast to produce 65% of ",{"text":75090,"type":596,"marks":75091},"lithium chemicals globally",[75092],{"type":606,"attrs":75093},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62265,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75096,"content":75097},{"textAlign":49},[75098],{"text":75099,"type":596},"“The two main barriers for Australian companies to enter downstream chemical production would be firstly higher capital costs and second a lack of skilled workforce,” Cameron Perks, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":75101,"content":75102},{"textAlign":49},[75103],{"text":75104,"type":596},"This month, Australian miners Mineral Resources and Pilbara Minerals furthered their plans to produce lithium chemicals in Australia and Liontown Resources looked to develop a lithium supply chain between Australia and Japan.",{"type":591,"attrs":75106,"content":75107},{"textAlign":49},[75108],{"text":75109,"type":596},"This could be a sign that Australia is ready to move beyond lithium mining and into the midstream and bring with it a multitude of benefits.",{"type":591,"attrs":75111,"content":75112},{"textAlign":49},[75113],{"text":75114,"type":596},"“Going downstream doesn’t just help at the corporate level, society and governments alike are set to benefit with a greater level of job creation and eventual royalty revenue as well,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":75116,"content":75117},{"textAlign":49},[75118],{"type":836,"attrs":75119},{"id":49,"alt":75120,"src":75121,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":75122},"Australia's lihtium mining vs lithium chemicals production forecast","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a1d90799fa/bm-mine-v-refine.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":75124,"content":75125},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75126],{"text":75127,"type":596},"Recent moves into lithium chemical production",{"type":591,"attrs":75129,"content":75130},{"textAlign":49},[75131],{"text":75132,"type":596},"Mineral Resources, an Australian spodumene miner, said it will invest up to A$4.5 million ($2.9 million) to develop and operate a pilot plant to investigate a novel method of producing lithium phosphate referred to as LieNa.",{"type":591,"attrs":75134,"content":75135},{"textAlign":49},[75136],{"text":75137,"type":596},"This process, developed by Lithium Australia, uses spodumene fines which are typically sent to tailings deposits as it is a waste product in  traditional spodumene concentration processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":75139,"content":75140},{"textAlign":49},[75141],{"text":75142,"type":596},"Lithium phosphate can be used in the production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material or further processed to lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":75144,"content":75145},{"textAlign":49},[75146],{"text":75147,"type":596},"In China, most LFP cathode production uses a solid-state synthesis process using lithium carbonate as the feedstock. Rob Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark, suggests that some developers may look at using lithium phosphate directly as a promising route.",{"type":591,"attrs":75149,"content":75150},{"textAlign":49},[75151],{"text":75152,"type":596},"Pilbara Minerals is also looking to produce lithium phosphate. A demonstration plant is planned at its Pilgangoora mine site with technology developer Calix. The plant will produce lithium phosphate using Calix’s electric calcination technology. A Financial Investment Decision for the plant was passed this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":75154,"content":75155},{"textAlign":49},[75156],{"text":75157,"type":596},"Also this month, Liontown Resources reached an agreement with Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese conglomerate. Through the partnership, the feasibility of converting spodumene from Liontown’s Kathleen Valley mine site into lithium hydroxide in Japan will be assessed.",{"type":591,"attrs":75159,"content":75160},{"textAlign":49},[75161,75163,75167,75169,75174],{"text":75162,"type":596},"In May, ",{"text":23049,"type":596,"marks":75164},[75165],{"type":606,"attrs":75166},{"href":69976,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75168,"type":596}," announced it planned to invest at least $1 billion to double the capacity of its ",{"text":75170,"type":596,"marks":75171},"Kemerton lithium hydroxide production facility ",[75172],{"type":606,"attrs":75173},{"href":74212,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75175,"type":596},"in Australia to 100,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":75177,"content":75178},{"textAlign":49},[75179],{"text":75180,"type":596},"The facility was operated as a joint venture between Albemarle and Mineral Resources. However, last month the two companies reached an agreement in which Albemarle would take complete ownership of the plant. Mineral Resources will also not invest in any of Albemarle’s Chinese assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":75182,"content":75183},{"textAlign":49},[75184],{"text":75185,"type":596},"There are many factors that can influence whether it is viable for a miner to move downstream: ",{"type":591,"attrs":75187,"content":75188},{"textAlign":49},[75189],{"text":75190,"type":596},"“Spodumene miners and project developers would be wise to at least consider a scoping study downstream to show their investors and offtakers they are covering off all of their bases,” Perks said.",{"type":615,"attrs":75192,"content":75193},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75194],{"text":75195,"type":596},"Competing against China",{"type":591,"attrs":75197,"content":75198},{"textAlign":49},[75199,75201],{"text":75200,"type":596},"Although 41% of mined lithium is forecast to come from Australia this year, the country will account for only 1.2% of lithium chemical production, according to ",{"text":75202,"type":596,"marks":75203},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",[75204],{"type":606,"attrs":75205},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":75207,"content":75208},{"textAlign":49},[75209],{"text":75210,"type":596},"China, by contrast, is forecast to produce just 18% of mined lithium but 65% of lithium chemicals this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":75212,"content":75213},{"textAlign":49},[75214],{"text":75215,"type":596},"Part of the reason China became dominant in the lithium ion battery industry was the generous tax incentives and strong policy direction China gave, and continues to give.",{"type":591,"attrs":75217,"content":75218},{"textAlign":49},[75219],{"text":75220,"type":596},"“In terms of capital cost, I believe that is just a commonly known fact about building in Australia or indeed other western nations, particularly when you consider that Chinese capital is subsidised by the government,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":75222,"content":75223},{"textAlign":49},[75224,75226,75230,75232,75236],{"text":75225,"type":596},"Through the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":75227},[75228],{"type":606,"attrs":75229},{"href":64252,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75231,"type":596},", the US is following in these footsteps offering production tax credits. Europe is pursuing its ",{"text":34023,"type":596,"marks":75233},[75234],{"type":606,"attrs":75235},{"href":63814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75237,"type":596}," to help boost production.",{"type":591,"attrs":75239,"content":75240},{"textAlign":49},[75241],{"text":75242,"type":596},"“In that respect,” Perks said, “Australia probably does need some sort of higher level of government investment tax rebates and so on, to compete.”",{"type":591,"attrs":75244,"content":75245},{"textAlign":49},[75246,75248,75253],{"text":75247,"type":596},"Earlier this year, Australia released its ",{"text":75249,"type":596,"marks":75250},"Critical Minerals Strategy",[75251],{"type":606,"attrs":75252},{"href":44715,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75254,"type":596}," which aims to attract A$500 million ($338 million) of new investments into critical minerals projects, and establish a fund to provide A$1 billion ($676 million) for value-added projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":75256,"content":75257},{"textAlign":49},[75258],{"text":75259,"type":596},"Mineral Resources has been lobbying for tax concessions, according to Perks.",{"type":591,"attrs":75261,"content":75262},{"textAlign":49},[75263],{"text":75264,"type":596},"The partnership between Calix and Pilbara Minerals to investigate the electric calcination technology is supported by A$20 million grant from Australia’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative awarded in May last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":75266,"content":75267},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75268],{"text":75269,"type":596},"Building a workforce",{"type":591,"attrs":75271,"content":75272},{"textAlign":49},[75273],{"text":75274,"type":596},"Through its prolonged dominance of lithium chemical production, China has a highly skilled workforce that is difficult to compete with.",{"type":591,"attrs":75276,"content":75277},{"textAlign":49},[75278],{"text":75279,"type":596},"“Australia has skilled labour of course but it would be a long time before they are trained to a sufficient level so they could compete in terms of knowledge and efficiency,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":75281,"content":75282},{"textAlign":49},[75283],{"text":75284,"type":596},"One way to make the move downstream easier is for Australian companies to partner up with Chinese companies to maximise on their knowhow.",{"type":591,"attrs":75286,"content":75287},{"textAlign":49},[75288,75290,75296],{"text":75289,"type":596},"This is what IGO, an Australian miner, did through ",{"text":75291,"type":596,"marks":75292},"partnering up with China’s Tianqi Lithium",[75293],{"type":606,"attrs":75294},{"href":75295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-majors-tianqi-and-sqm-make-swoop-for-australian-juniors",{"text":75297,"type":596},". However, Tianqi found that what works in China doesn’t necessarily translate to other countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":75299,"content":75300},{"textAlign":49},[75301],{"text":75302,"type":596},"“Tianqi thought that they could simply use their blueprints from China and apply what they know to Australia, including their ability to train staff, but they did not plan for things like [occupational health and safety] laws,” Perks said.",{"type":615,"attrs":75304,"content":75305},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75306],{"text":75307,"type":596},"Competitive on sustainability",{"type":591,"attrs":75309,"content":75310},{"textAlign":49},[75311,75313,75318,75320,75326],{"text":75312,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast and ",{"text":36566,"type":596,"marks":75314},[75315],{"type":606,"attrs":75316},{"href":75317,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/lithium",{"text":75319,"type":596}," show that 54% of Australia’s mined lithium production this year is associated with “Benchmark Approved” producers–that is, producers who meet all of ",{"text":75321,"type":596,"marks":75322},"Benchmark’s ESG criteria",[75323],{"type":606,"attrs":75324},{"href":75325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-ranks-lithium-producers-in-new-esg-report",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75328,"content":75329},{"textAlign":49},[75330],{"text":75331,"type":596},"This compares to 0% in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":75333,"content":75334},{"textAlign":49},[75335],{"text":75336,"type":596},"“[Australia] is competitive when it comes to sustainability and transparency,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":75338,"content":75339},{"textAlign":49},[75340],{"text":75341,"type":596},"Sustainability-minded miners moving into chemical production “may, in some way, also help with conversations with downstream players,” Perks said. “Like OEMs, who want greater level of transparency, simplicity, and lower levels of reliance on China for their lithium procurement.”","A number of lithium miners in Australia have made moves towards the midstream of lithium chemical production this month. Australia is forecast to produce two-fifths of the world’s mined lithium year, but only 1.2% of the lithium chemicals, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Currently most lithium miners in Australia produce spodumene concentrate, a material with […]",[75344],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75345},{"job_title":557,"image":75346,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"14b052e6-db30-4067-b43f-f1e121bc812f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[75349,75350,75351],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75353,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75354,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/50e807439e/bm-kemerton-expansion-project-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 22, 2023",{"id":75357,"uuid":75358,"name":75359,"slug":75360,"full_slug":75361,"content":75362},112470890473652,"f8158772-c9b3-4625-a8af-8f0828622a0e","What could China’s economic slowdown mean for the battery supply chain?","chinas-economic-slowdown-hits-battery-supply-chain","article/chinas-economic-slowdown-hits-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":75363,"date":75364,"tags":75365,"editor":75369,"content":75373,"excerpt":75471,"featured":50,"reporter":75472,"_editable":75476,"component":697,"seo_title":75359,"categories":75477,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":75484,"seo_description":75471,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75487},"f59fdeff-2e25-4323-8d9f-56fb6c66dc80","2023-08-18 00:00",[75366,75367,75368],{"slug":22025,"name":22026},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[75370],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75371},{"job_title":557,"image":75372,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":75374},[75375,75380,75398,75403,75408,75413,75426,75431,75436,75441,75446,75451,75456,75461,75466],{"type":591,"attrs":75376,"content":75377},{"textAlign":49},[75378],{"text":75379,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium carbonate spot prices in China fell by 9% over the past week, the steepest weekly decline since mid-April as indicators in China suggested a slowdown in the country’s economy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75381,"content":75382},{"textAlign":49},[75383,75388,75390,75396],{"text":75384,"type":596,"marks":75385},"Lithium carbonate EXW China (battery)",[75386],{"type":606,"attrs":75387},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75389,"type":596}," prices fell to RMB 241,500 ($33,075) a tonne between 9 and 16 August. Benchmark’s monthly ",{"text":75391,"type":596,"marks":75392},"prices for Chinese cathodes",[75393],{"type":606,"attrs":75394},{"href":75395,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/chart/",{"text":75397,"type":596}," also dipped in August for the first time since May. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75399,"content":75400},{"textAlign":49},[75401],{"text":75402,"type":596},"China’s monthly electric vehicle sales have been growing year-on-year since February 2023, they have fallen short of growth rates that some market players forecasted in the first quarter. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75404,"content":75405},{"textAlign":49},[75406],{"text":75407,"type":596},"In July, China’s EV sales fell 5.6 % month-on-month as the country’s economy tipped into deflation. However, NEV sales in July were still up by over 30% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":75409,"content":75410},{"textAlign":49},[75411],{"text":75412,"type":596},"The month also saw year-on-year BEV sales growth slip to 18.2% from 19.3% in June and 51.5% in May, according to figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":75414,"content":75415},{"textAlign":49},[75416,75418,75424],{"text":75417,"type":596},"Lower demand growth means some Chinese producers now face a worsening ",{"text":75419,"type":596,"marks":75420},"overcapacity",[75421],{"type":606,"attrs":75422},{"href":75423,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-cell-oversupply-hits-tier-3-producers",{"text":75425,"type":596}," issue, precipitated by rapid industry expansion over 2021 and 2022. Overcapacity is greatest among midstream players but is also affecting Tier 2 and 3 cell, cathode, and car makers, who cannot export to Western markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75427,"content":75428},{"textAlign":49},[75429],{"text":75430,"type":596},"For Tier 2 and 3 companies reliant on domestic sales, the outlook could become challenging. China’s Consumer Price Index fell 0.3% in July, from a year earlier, following months of consumer caution and retailer price cuts.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":75432,"content":75433},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75434],{"text":75435,"type":596},"Overcapacity hits midstream ",{"type":591,"attrs":75437,"content":75438},{"textAlign":49},[75439],{"text":75440,"type":596},"The impacts of slower EV sales over summer have varied across supply chain segments and companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":75442,"content":75443},{"textAlign":49},[75444],{"text":75445,"type":596},"Overcapacity and margin losses are mainly hurting the middle of the supply chain, covering cathode and anode makers and pCAM manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":75447,"content":75448},{"textAlign":49},[75449],{"text":75450,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Cathode Price Index fell 6.3% m-o-m in August due to weak demand, in addition to falling raw material feedstock prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":75452,"content":75453},{"textAlign":49},[75454],{"text":75455,"type":596},"Average capacity utilisation among Chinese pCAM manufacturers has fallen to around 50% compared to between 65% and 70% last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75457,"content":75458},{"textAlign":49},[75459],{"text":75460,"type":596},"Tier 2 and 3 cathode and cell makers could also struggle in the face of a slowdown in domestic demand. Benchmark has estimated Chinese Tier 2 and Tier 3 battery cell producers at 60% and 40% capacity utilisation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75462,"content":75463},{"textAlign":49},[75464],{"text":75465,"type":596},"In cathodes, low entry requirements have allowed a stream of new players to move in from other chemical sectors, making this segment of the supply chain highly competitive. The automaker price wars of early 2023 has also put pressure on prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":75467,"content":75468},{"textAlign":49},[75469],{"text":75470,"type":596},"Market perceptions among individual companies are also affecting plant utilisation rates. Some cathode producers are increasing production based on hopes the market will turn later in the year, according to Benchmark analyst Rob Burrell. ","Benchmark’s lithium carbonate spot prices in China fell by 9% over the past week, the steepest weekly decline since mid-April as indicators in China suggested a slowdown in the country’s economy. Lithium carbonate EXW China (battery) prices fell to RMB 241,500 ($33,075) a tonne between 9 and 16 August. Benchmark’s monthly prices for Chinese cathodes […]",[75473],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75474},{"job_title":557,"image":75475,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f59fdeff-2e25-4323-8d9f-56fb6c66dc80\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[75478,75479,75480,75481,75482,75483],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75485,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75486,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f280827cff/bm-china-real-estate.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 18, 2023",{"id":75489,"uuid":75490,"name":75491,"slug":75492,"full_slug":75493,"content":75494},112470904834231,"68f53516-3212-4cc1-b25c-ab8ac6fdd97f","Five things you need to know about manganese and batteries","five-things-you-need-to-know-about-manganese-and-batteries","article/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-manganese-and-batteries",{"_uid":75495,"date":75496,"tags":75497,"editor":75499,"content":75503,"excerpt":75661,"featured":51,"reporter":75662,"_editable":75666,"component":697,"seo_title":75491,"categories":75667,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":75673,"seo_description":75661,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75676},"e8f11ef3-ea30-4926-89c2-635c0b10233c","2023-08-17 00:00",[75498],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},[75500],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75501},{"job_title":557,"image":75502,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":75504},[75505,75510,75523,75528,75533,75538,75543,75554,75559,75566,75571,75576,75581,75586,75591,75596,75601,75606,75613,75618,75623,75633,75646,75651,75656],{"type":591,"attrs":75506,"content":75507},{"textAlign":49},[75508],{"text":75509,"type":596},"Manganese-based lithium-ion batteries have the potential to be used in many applications, including electric vehicles, grid storage, and consumer electronics. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75511,"content":75512},{"textAlign":49},[75513,75515,75521],{"text":75514,"type":596},"In electric vehicles, ",{"text":75516,"type":596,"marks":75517},"manganese-based lithium-ion batteries",[75518],{"type":606,"attrs":75519},{"href":75520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/why-manganese-could-be-the-next-battery-supply-chain-headache",{"text":75522,"type":596}," could be used to power longer-range vehicles at a lower cost than some other lithium-ion chemistries. Manganese demand from battery cathodes is expected to increase eight-fold by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75524,"content":75525},{"textAlign":49},[75526],{"text":75527,"type":596},"The use of high-purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM) has been shown to improve the cycle-life and safety of manganese-based lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":75529,"content":75530},{"textAlign":49},[75531],{"text":75532,"type":596},"Here are five things you need to know about manganese: ",{"type":615,"attrs":75534,"content":75535},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75536],{"text":75537,"type":596},"1. Manganese’s elemental properties make it a promising material for lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":75539,"content":75540},{"textAlign":49},[75541],{"text":75542,"type":596},"Manganese has several properties that make it an attractive candidate for use in lithium-ion batteries. First, manganese is relatively abundant on earth, which makes it a cost-effective material to source (before processing). ",{"type":591,"attrs":75544,"content":75545},{"textAlign":49},[75546,75548,75552],{"text":75547,"type":596},"Second, manganese is non-toxic, which is important for safety considerations. ",{"text":73432,"type":596,"marks":75549},[75550],{"type":606,"attrs":75551},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75553,"type":596}," of batteries are under increased scrutiny and social and environmental aspects of a battery’s deployment and end-of-life management are clearly related. Battery toxicity is particularly important in the event of damage to the cell – such as in an electric vehicle collision or when dropping a mobile phone. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75555,"content":75556},{"textAlign":49},[75557],{"text":75558,"type":596},"Third, manganese has a high theoretical specific capacity which is broadly comparable to that of other lithium-ion battery materials such as cobalt and nickel. The theoretical specific capacity of a battery describes the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from a battery under certain specified conditions. Manganese’s elemental properties provide scientists with options to maximise such capacity while driving down costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":75560,"content":75561},{"textAlign":49},[75562],{"type":836,"attrs":75563},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":75564,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":75565},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4389580673/bm-maganese-demand.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":75567,"content":75568},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75569],{"text":75570,"type":596},"2. HPMSM can improve the cycle life and safety of manganese-based lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":75572,"content":75573},{"textAlign":49},[75574],{"text":75575,"type":596},"One of the main historical challenges with lithium-ion batteries that use manganese in the cathode has been their poorer cycle life. But the use of HPMSM in modern battery chemistries can significantly improve the cycle life of newer-generation lithium-ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75577,"content":75578},{"textAlign":49},[75579],{"text":75580,"type":596},"HPMSM is a more crystalline form of manganese sulphate, which results in a more stable and uniform electrode material. The stability leads to improved cycling performance and a longer battery life, as the battery can charge and discharge more frequently without impairing performance.",{"type":615,"attrs":75582,"content":75583},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75584],{"text":75585,"type":596},"3. Manganese-based lithium-ion batteries could be used in a variety of applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":75587,"content":75588},{"textAlign":49},[75589],{"text":75590,"type":596},"In energy storage (ESS), manganese-based lithium-ion batteries could be increasingly used to store renewable energy and provide backup power during outages. Improved cycling time and performance among manganese-intensive chemistries is driving uptake from the ESS sector as, by definition, they need to intake and output energy regularly and frequently without impaired performance. ",{"type":615,"attrs":75592,"content":75593},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75594],{"text":75595,"type":596},"4. Investment in manganese-based lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow significantly over the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":75597,"content":75598},{"textAlign":49},[75599],{"text":75600,"type":596},"Benchmark expects the global lithium-ion battery value chain to require $514 billion by 2030. Around 43% of that investment needs to be within the critical raw materials stages of that supply chain; and manganese requires at least $500 million specifically, under our base case.",{"type":591,"attrs":75602,"content":75603},{"textAlign":49},[75604],{"text":75605,"type":596},"It’s worth noting that this estimate has risks to the upside as prices and the intensity of manganese use in new chemistries increases (e.g. in lithium-manganese iron phosphate batteries.) But the amount of investment required is unlikely to decrease as wide-spread adoption begins to grow significantly.",{"type":591,"attrs":75607,"content":75608},{"textAlign":49},[75609],{"type":836,"attrs":75610},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":75611,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":75612},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9f82d6c146/bm-benchmark-infographic-investment-needed-in-battery-supply-chain-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":75614,"content":75615},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75616],{"text":75617,"type":596},"5. There are several challenges that need to be addressed before manganese-based lithium-ion batteries can be widely adopted.",{"type":591,"attrs":75619,"content":75620},{"textAlign":49},[75621],{"text":75622,"type":596},"While manganese-based lithium-ion batteries have many potential advantages, there are also challenges that are progressively being solved for. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75624,"content":75625},{"textAlign":49},[75626,75628,75632],{"text":75627,"type":596},"One main challenge for the battery and manganese industries alike is that 96% of current HPMSM refining capacity is in ",{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":75629},[75630],{"type":606,"attrs":75631},{"href":75520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75634,"content":75635},{"textAlign":49},[75636,75638,75644],{"text":75637,"type":596},"But policies in the US and in Europe are becoming increasingly protectionist to encourage domestic industry to build out its ",{"text":75639,"type":596,"marks":75640},"own capacity",[75641],{"type":606,"attrs":75642},{"href":75643,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-backs-first-us-manganese-plant-with-85-million-loan?mc_cid=c75338e548&mc_eid=UNIQID",{"text":75645,"type":596},". As a result Chinese-made battery chemicals may not encounter an easy route for inclusion within Western-made cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":75647,"content":75648},{"textAlign":49},[75649],{"text":75650,"type":596},"A further challenge is with the ESG credentials of the HPMSM industry. Out of the 57 HPMSM facilities that Benchmark assesses (including projects at varying levels of completeness), only four have positive ESG processes in place. A positive grading means that they meet all 12 of Benchmark’s ESG criteria or that they miss just one but have a publicly available ESG report as well as an ESG committee in place. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75652,"content":75653},{"textAlign":49},[75654],{"text":75655,"type":596},"Most of the world’s facilities are of “weak” ESG standing though none of these projects are in North America or Europe. ESG metrics will be increasingly important as the world becomes more carbon-constrained and specific in the values it wants to invest in – as is already happening, particularly within the US and the European Union.",{"type":591,"attrs":75657,"content":75658},{"textAlign":49},[75659],{"text":75660,"type":596},"Manganese is a promising material for lithium-ion batteries, and HPMSM has the potential to significantly improve the cycle life and safety of lithium-ion batteries. We expect manganese-based lithium-ion batteries to be more widely used in a variety of applications as uptake in chemistry increases and investment grows by 2030.","Manganese-based lithium-ion batteries have the potential to be used in many applications, including electric vehicles, grid storage, and consumer electronics. In electric vehicles, manganese-based lithium-ion batteries could be used to power longer-range vehicles at a lower cost than some other lithium-ion chemistries. Manganese demand from battery cathodes is expected to increase eight-fold by the end […]",[75663],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75664},{"job_title":557,"image":75665,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8f11ef3-ea30-4926-89c2-635c0b10233c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[75668,75669,75670,75671,75672],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75674,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75675,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9a831d045c/bm-manganese-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 17, 2023",{"id":75678,"uuid":75679,"name":75680,"slug":75681,"full_slug":75682,"content":75683},112470914603193,"6d9e097a-ad8f-41e4-8842-bc06dc2cf2c6","The role of Life Cycle Assessments in the EU policy landscape","the-role-of-life-cycle-assessments-in-the-eu-policy-landscape","article/the-role-of-life-cycle-assessments-in-the-eu-policy-landscape",{"_uid":75684,"date":75685,"tags":75686,"editor":75691,"content":75695,"excerpt":75977,"featured":51,"reporter":75978,"_editable":75982,"component":697,"seo_title":75680,"categories":75983,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":75985,"featured_image":75987,"seo_description":75990,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75991},"05c84ec5-8e2d-40aa-a0e0-09e20d94eac9","2023-08-16 00:00",[75687,75688,75689,75690],{"slug":15391,"name":15392},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[75692],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75693},{"job_title":557,"image":75694,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":75696},[75697,75708,75720,75725,75729,75734,75739,75744,75755,75760,75765,75770,75775,75780,75792,75797,75802,75807,75812,75823,75828,75833,75845,75850,75855,75860,75865,75870,75875,75880,75885,75890,75895,75907,75914,75925,75932,75937,75949,75954,75962,75967,75972],{"type":591,"attrs":75698,"content":75699},{"textAlign":49},[75700,75702,75707],{"text":75701,"type":596},"As part of the global energy transition to combat climate change, critical raw materials and rechargeable batteries are at the top of the European Union’s agenda. Just this year, the EU has adopted new Batteries Regulations, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and proposed the ",{"text":34023,"type":596,"marks":75703},[75704],{"type":606,"attrs":75705},{"href":75706,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-are-the-esg-implications-of-the-eu-critical-raw-materials-act",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75709,"content":75710},{"textAlign":49},[75711,75713,75718],{"text":75712,"type":596},"An inevitable element of these regulations is ",{"text":75714,"type":596,"marks":75715},"environmental footprint disclosure",[75716],{"type":606,"attrs":75717},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75719,"type":596},". Greenhouse gas emissions disclosure is already an essential reporting requirement under several sustainability reporting standards, for example the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). ",{"type":591,"attrs":75721,"content":75722},{"textAlign":49},[75723],{"text":75724,"type":596},"However, what more do companies need to do on top of their current effort of emissions reporting, and how do the requirements differ between the regulations?",{"type":615,"attrs":75726,"content":75727},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75728],{"text":63789,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75730,"content":75731},{"textAlign":49},[75732],{"text":75733,"type":596},"The EU Batteries Regulation No. 2020/0353 was passed in June 2023, and will enter into force by the end of the year. Proposed in 2020 to replace the Batteries Directive of 2006 and amend Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1020, it aims to modernise the current EU legislative framework for batteries, through greater regulation leading to more sustainable battery production and recycling. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75735,"content":75736},{"textAlign":49},[75737],{"text":75738,"type":596},"According to the EU Batteries Regulation, carbon footprint declaration is mandatory for rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh, batteries for light means of transport, and electric vehicles batteries in the EU market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75740,"content":75741},{"textAlign":49},[75742],{"text":75743,"type":596},"With the regulation anticipated to enter into force in mid-August 2023 and to apply early next year, the carbon footprint declaration is expected as early as 2025. All operators in the battery supply chain are obliged to report the verified life-cycle carbon emissions (excluding the use phase) of each battery model per manufacturing plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":75745,"content":75746},{"textAlign":49},[75747,75749,75754],{"text":75748,"type":596},"The calculation rules for a life-cycle carbon footprint define the scope, functional unit, reference flow, system boundary (i.e. life cycle stages and processes included in the calculation), data requirements and impact assessment method, resembling the requirements of a ",{"text":75750,"type":596,"marks":75751},"life cycle assessment (LCA)",[75752],{"type":606,"attrs":75753},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75756,"content":75757},{"textAlign":49},[75758],{"text":75759,"type":596},"A “battery passport” proposed by the Global Battery Alliance, a group set up in 2017 whose members include companies, NGOs, governments, and academics, will be used to trace and record value chain data for enhancing the traceability and sustainability of the battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75761,"content":75762},{"textAlign":49},[75763],{"text":75764,"type":596},"To allow market differentiation, the EU Batteries Regulation also seeks to establish several performance classes, which is also proposed in the European Critical Raw Materials Act. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75766,"content":75767},{"textAlign":49},[75768],{"text":75769,"type":596},"A comparison tool such as a carbon curve, benchmarking the emissions performance of upstream chemicals operators, can help facilitate informed decision-making for downstream batteries producers and recyclers considering their Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions including those from suppliers and customers.) ",{"type":591,"attrs":75771,"content":75772},{"textAlign":49},[75773],{"text":75774,"type":596},"This will become especially essential when the EU progresses to more aggressive policy options where carbon footprint performance classes and maximum carbon thresholds develop into a condition for the placement of batteries in the EU market. ",{"type":615,"attrs":75776,"content":75777},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75778],{"text":75779,"type":596},"European Critical Raw Materials Act",{"type":591,"attrs":75781,"content":75782},{"textAlign":49},[75783,75785,75790],{"text":75784,"type":596},"The European Commission proposed ",{"text":75786,"type":596,"marks":75787},"The European Critical Raw Materials Act",[75788],{"type":606,"attrs":75789},{"href":75706,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75791,"type":596}," (CRMA) in March 2023 aiming to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) in the EU, in view of the current high-risk reliance on third country (i.e. countries outside the EU and European Free Trade Association) imports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75793,"content":75794},{"textAlign":49},[75795],{"text":75796,"type":596},"Similar to the EU Batteries Regulation, except that it is not only related to CRMs in batteries, CRMA mandates an environmental footprint declaration for all CRMs as a condition for placement in the EU market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75798,"content":75799},{"textAlign":49},[75800],{"text":75801,"type":596},"In addition CRMA requires a third-party verified environmental footprint declaration including other impact categories related to water, soil, air, resources, land use and toxicity, subject to the context of the specific CRMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":75803,"content":75804},{"textAlign":49},[75805],{"text":75806,"type":596},"This would be especially important in the context of nickel, for example. Indonesia, as a hotspot for refining nickel, is also home to a high level of endemic biodiversity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75808,"content":75809},{"textAlign":49},[75810],{"text":75811,"type":596},"According to Benchmark’s Global Nickel LCA, other critical impact categories to consider therefore include marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification and water consumption. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75813,"content":75814},{"textAlign":49},[75815,75817,75821],{"text":75816,"type":596},"Among the six production routes compared, refined nickel produced via high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL), one of the most dominant technologies used in ",{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":75818},[75819],{"type":606,"attrs":75820},{"href":65569,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":75822,"type":596},", has the second lowest carbon emissions yet the second highest terrestrial acidification emission. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75824,"content":75825},{"textAlign":49},[75826],{"text":75827,"type":596},"Assessing the environmental footprint of nickel products should thus extend beyond the frame of GHG emissions with the help of a life cycle assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":75829,"content":75830},{"textAlign":49},[75831],{"text":75832,"type":596},"The CRMA outlines a detailed list of requirements for environmental footprint declaration, including a production-focus system boundary, functional unit, and need for “a sound methodology for impact assessment developed at international level.” A production-focus system boundary, for example, disregards the emissions from downstream transportation and employee commute. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75834,"content":75835},{"textAlign":49},[75836,75838,75843],{"text":75837,"type":596},"These resemble the characteristics of Benchmark’s ",{"text":75839,"type":596,"marks":75840},"Global LCAs",[75841],{"type":606,"attrs":75842},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":75844,"type":596},", which allow producers to benchmark their performances against the industry’s averages.",{"type":591,"attrs":75846,"content":75847},{"textAlign":49},[75848],{"text":75849,"type":596},"Although a specific impact assessment method has not yet been clearly stated, it is expected to be in parallel with that in the EU Batteries Regulation. The CRMA is going to follow “a similar approach to the progressive deployment of obligations on environmental footprints,” which also include the establishment of emissions performance classes and maximum thresholds, it says.",{"type":615,"attrs":75851,"content":75852},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75853],{"text":75854,"type":596},"Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism",{"type":591,"attrs":75856,"content":75857},{"textAlign":49},[75858],{"text":75859,"type":596},"The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a tool established by the European Commission aiming to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, in light of the ineffectiveness of the existing free-allocation European Trading System (ETS) mechanism. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75861,"content":75862},{"textAlign":49},[75863],{"text":75864,"type":596},"EU importers will be asked to purchase a quantity of CBAM certificates, depending on the embedded emissions of their imported goods. As a result, non-EU producers are motivated to reduce the GHG emissions footprint of their products if they plan to import goods into the EU market.",{"type":591,"attrs":75866,"content":75867},{"textAlign":49},[75868],{"text":75869,"type":596},"In the first phase, only seven sectors (i.e. cement, aluminium, fertilizer, electricity, hydrogen, iron and steel) are covered. There is however speculation that the product scope will be expanded to other goods produced in sectors covered by the EU ETS by 2030, including metal ore roasting, production of pig iron, as well as the production or processing of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.",{"type":615,"attrs":75871,"content":75872},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75873],{"text":75874,"type":596},"The role of LCA and carbon intensity curves",{"type":591,"attrs":75876,"content":75877},{"textAlign":49},[75878],{"text":75879,"type":596},"Regulations are not only about carbon emissions anymore. With all the recent movements in the policy landscape, the importance of LCAs is only expanding.",{"type":591,"attrs":75881,"content":75882},{"textAlign":49},[75883],{"text":75884,"type":596},"An asset-by-asset LCA which calculates carbon and non-carbon emissions, is becoming indispensable for those companies in the lithium-ion battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":75886,"content":75887},{"textAlign":49},[75888],{"text":75889,"type":596},"For EU companies, it is therfore essential to disclose and verify the life-cycle environmental footprint of battery materials. To non-EU producers, undertaking an LCA is also necessary to estimate the costs of carbon and facilitate decision-making in meeting EU Batteries Regulation requirements should they plan to import into the EU market. ",{"type":615,"attrs":75891,"content":75892},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[75893],{"text":75894,"type":596},"Indonesian nickel",{"type":591,"attrs":75896,"content":75897},{"textAlign":49},[75898,75900,75905],{"text":75899,"type":596},"Using nickel again as an example, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":40667,"type":596,"marks":75901},[75902],{"type":606,"attrs":75903},{"href":75904,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/nickel/",{"text":75906,"type":596},", Indonesian produced refined nickel constitutes 50% of global supply in 2023, and it is projected to dominate up to 63% of the global market in 2032. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75908,"content":75909},{"textAlign":49},[75910],{"type":836,"attrs":75911},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":75912,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":75913},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f4b162b27/bm-carbon-curve-article.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":75915,"content":75916},{"textAlign":49},[75917,75919,75924],{"text":75918,"type":596},"Among the highest producing nickel assets, Indonesian nickel projects using rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) are the most carbon intensive, as suggested by Benchmark’s ",{"text":75920,"type":596,"marks":75921},"Nickel Carbon Intensity Curve",[75922],{"type":606,"attrs":75923},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75926,"content":75927},{"textAlign":49},[75928],{"type":836,"attrs":75929},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":75930,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":75931},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eb7c9ab1fa/bm-img-20230606-wa0148.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":75933,"content":75934},{"textAlign":49},[75935],{"text":75936,"type":596},"If the proposal of CRMA is adopted, the establishment of maximum emission thresholds and performance classes might become a concern to EU battery producers which source their supply from third countries like Indonesia as well as EU importers which are not performing well on these emission curves.",{"type":591,"attrs":75938,"content":75939},{"textAlign":49},[75940,75942,75947],{"text":75941,"type":596},"The clock is ticking for miners and battery producers. Currently, only 10% of nickel refiners and 7% of nickel sulphate producers publicly disclose that they have ",{"text":75943,"type":596,"marks":75944},"conducted an LCA",[75945],{"type":606,"attrs":75946},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":75948,"type":596},". Among operating lithium converting companies, only 13% disclose their LCA and 25% their carbon footprint. ",{"type":591,"attrs":75950,"content":75951},{"textAlign":49},[75952],{"text":75953,"type":596},"With the CBAM and EU Batteries Regulation coming into force in the near term, CRMs operators and battery manufacturers are expected to speed up their progress in undertaking LCAs for their products to maintain their competitiveness under tightened environmental requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":75955,"content":75956},{"textAlign":49},[75957,75961],{"text":75958,"type":596,"marks":75959},"Olivia Lin is an LCA practitioner and analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",[75960],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":75963,"content":75964},{"textAlign":49},[75965],{"text":75966,"type":596},"Benchmark conducts bespoke LCAs tailored to companies and operations across the lithium ion battery supply chain, from explorative mining companies to battery recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":75968,"content":75969},{"textAlign":49},[75970],{"text":75971,"type":596},"Our bespoke LCAs can be targeted at various stages of a project, as early as preliminary development.",{"type":591,"attrs":75973,"content":75974},{"textAlign":49},[75975],{"text":75976,"type":596},"To speak to Benchmark’s team of LCA experts further about how we can support your business, please provide your details here:","As part of the global energy transition to combat climate change, critical raw materials and rechargeable batteries are at the top of the European Union’s agenda. Just this year, the EU has adopted new Batteries Regulations, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and proposed the Critical Raw Materials Act. An inevitable element of these regulations is […]",[75979],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":75980},{"job_title":557,"image":75981,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"05c84ec5-8e2d-40aa-a0e0-09e20d94eac9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[75984],{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75986},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75988,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":75989,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1c2b260310/bm-eu-commission.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"As part of the global energy transition to combat climate change, critical raw materials and rechargeable batteries are at the top of the European Union’s agenda. ","Aug 16, 2023",{"id":75993,"uuid":75994,"name":75995,"slug":75996,"full_slug":75997,"content":75998},112470909659320,"8b267d28-1ed0-4b57-be91-4fbd1e12fe4a","“This is a lull before a 10 year bull market.” Q&A with TechMet’s CEO Brian Menell","this-is-a-lull-before-a-10-year-bull-market-qa-with-techmets-ceo-brian-menell","article/this-is-a-lull-before-a-10-year-bull-market-qa-with-techmets-ceo-brian-menell",{"_uid":75999,"date":75685,"tags":76000,"editor":76004,"content":76008,"excerpt":76175,"featured":51,"reporter":76176,"_editable":76180,"component":697,"seo_title":75995,"categories":76181,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":76186,"seo_description":76175,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":75991},"77fdb492-6b85-48ce-843f-0faf43b67fc1",[76001,76002,76003],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},{"slug":572,"name":573},[76005],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76006},{"job_title":557,"image":76007,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":76009},[76010,76015,76027,76032,76037,76042,76047,76052,76057,76069,76081,76086,76091,76096,76101,76106,76118,76123,76128,76140,76145,76150,76155,76160,76165,76170],{"type":591,"attrs":76011,"content":76012},{"textAlign":49},[76013],{"text":76014,"type":596},"This week TechMet, an investment company backed by the US government, announced it had raised $200 million in new funding to further develop its critical mineral operations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76016,"content":76017},{"textAlign":49},[76018,76020,76025],{"text":76019,"type":596},"TechMet was founded in 2017 by Brian Menell, a British and South African businessman, to invest in “",{"text":76021,"type":596,"marks":76022},"environmentally responsible",[76023],{"type":606,"attrs":76024},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76026,"type":596}," supply chains for the metals needed for the clean energy transition.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76028,"content":76029},{"textAlign":49},[76030],{"text":76031,"type":596},"The company has invested over $180 million in critical mineral projects over the last year. It holds stakes in companies focused on rare earth separation, lithium extraction, battery manufacturing, recycling, and nickel and cobalt mining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76033,"content":76034},{"textAlign":49},[76035],{"text":76036,"type":596},"Following the funding round, the business is set to have a valuation of over $1 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76038,"content":76039},{"textAlign":49},[76040],{"text":76041,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with the company’s founder and CEO to learn more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76043,"content":76044},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76045],{"text":76046,"type":596},"Where will TechMet invest the new money?",{"type":591,"attrs":76048,"content":76049},{"textAlign":49},[76050],{"text":76051,"type":596},"All of the use of proceeds will be for further expansion of our existing producing assets or late stage development projects. So we haven’t been raising a discretionary fund to invest in new stuff. We have been using the money in this round to further develop Brazilian Nickel, to further develop Energy Source Minerals in the US on the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) side, to further upgrade the vanadium electrolytes and specialty chemical plants in Arkansas, to further expand our tin and tungsten mines in Rwanda – so really across all of our assets, you know, for the acceleration of development.",{"type":615,"attrs":76053,"content":76054},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76055],{"text":76056,"type":596},"It’s the one year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – how much do you worry about the impact of all this capital being invested in projects? ",{"type":591,"attrs":76058,"content":76059},{"textAlign":49},[76060,76062,76067],{"text":76061,"type":596},"I think the level of expertise in some of the key US government agencies that are deploying capital has evolved radically. The ",{"text":76063,"type":596,"marks":76064},"DOE loan program",[76065],{"type":606,"attrs":76066},{"href":47990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76068,"type":596}," and other elements of the Washington DC ecosystem have become pretty well educated and quite well positioned to avoid failures, which they’ve suffered from in some instances in the past with significant political consequences. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76070,"content":76071},{"textAlign":49},[76072,76074,76079],{"text":76073,"type":596},"Obviously they’re investing in a very diverse and rapidly evolving industry and environment and they are under a lot of pressure to deploy capital. And it’s not only ",{"text":76075,"type":596,"marks":76076},"DOE",[76077],{"type":606,"attrs":76078},{"href":47990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76080,"type":596},", it’s DOD [Department of Defense], it’s Exim Bank and the DFC [US International Development Finance Corporation], our shareholders. So clearly there will be some winners and some losers and they’ll be support from US government agencies for companies that don’t succeed as they promised and that will have consequences – but that’s just part of the game and it’s unavoidable. I think the parties deploying capital are generally positioned to do a pretty good job of avoiding that most of the time.",{"type":615,"attrs":76082,"content":76083},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76084],{"text":76085,"type":596},"How much are you concerned about the macro environment with China’s economy slowing down? ",{"type":591,"attrs":76087,"content":76088},{"textAlign":49},[76089],{"text":76090,"type":596},"This is a lull before a 10 year bull market. I mean the energy transition is not stopping the acceleration of demand driven by EV adoption and renewable energy systems is not stopping, maybe it will slow down a bit. But it’s so compelling and so inescapable and a structural short supply of all of our critical minerals – two years, three years, five years out – even within a very depressed economic environment is so severe that the macro tailwind is totally intact. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76092,"content":76093},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76094],{"text":76095,"type":596},"How severe is the crisis the West faces in terms of a critical mineral shortage?",{"type":591,"attrs":76097,"content":76098},{"textAlign":49},[76099],{"text":76100,"type":596},"I think the crisis for the world is very very severe in terms of the structural shortage of supply for critical minerals for the energy transition. And I think it’s a bit less severe for China, who obviously had a 15 year head start to build a dominant position in the global critical minerals supply chains. And therefore they are somewhat better set to supply themselves adequately than the rest of the world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76102,"content":76103},{"textAlign":49},[76104],{"text":76105,"type":596},"However, I think even China is going to really struggle to adequately supply their ecosystem and renewable energy systems with lithium and cobalt and nickel and rare earth metals in the next five to 10 years, let alone continue to supply and support the rest of the world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76107,"content":76108},{"textAlign":49},[76109,76111,76116],{"text":76110,"type":596},"So the first massive challenge is for the world rather than for the West vis-à-vis China and the new Cold War. The second challenge is scaling supply in a way that’s ",{"text":76112,"type":596,"marks":76113},"ESG compliant",[76114],{"type":606,"attrs":76115},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76117,"type":596}," and independent of China to responsibly feed European and US industry, as well as Japan and Korea and India. And that’s a massive challenge that is becoming more severe every day rather than less severe, despite the very considerable contribution of the IRA and other efforts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76119,"content":76120},{"textAlign":49},[76121],{"text":76122,"type":596},"That’s why we as an industry needed to deploy $100 billion four years ago to avoid what is now in my view an inescapable and unavoidable cliff of undersupply in three, four or five years time. And that’s quite apart from the China geopolitical angle. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76124,"content":76125},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76126],{"text":76127,"type":596},"But can we reduce China’s dominance – how successful can we be?",{"type":591,"attrs":76129,"content":76130},{"textAlign":49},[76131,76133,76138],{"text":76132,"type":596},"I think there’s a lot of opportunities to balance China’s dominant position, and reduce China’s dominant position, every month, every year, over the coming years. But to substantially dislodge ",{"text":76134,"type":596,"marks":76135},"China’s dominance",[76136],{"type":606,"attrs":76137},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76139,"type":596}," across these global supply chains is a multi-decade challenge. So the reality is that if we’re going to, as the West, (and by that I mean the US and its economic allies), successfully mitigate climate change and successfully pursue the energy transition, we have to do it in partnership with China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76141,"content":76142},{"textAlign":49},[76143],{"text":76144,"type":596},"We have to rely on China, continue to rely on China to an extent, hopefully to a diminishing extent, for a lot of the inputs and a lot of the components. Because it’s a reality, to turn the tide with respect to that landscape is a very expensive and lengthy process given the rest of the world has been sleeping for 15 years while China saw what was coming before everybody else. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76146,"content":76147},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76148],{"text":76149,"type":596},"Where does the capital need to come from to invest in critical minerals for the energy transition? ",{"type":591,"attrs":76151,"content":76152},{"textAlign":49},[76153],{"text":76154,"type":596},"Very good question because the big global mining companies are continuing to fail the world because it’s really difficult to wean yourself off making massive profits shipping iron ore out of the Pilbara to China and paying massive dividends. And therefore they are way behind and they’re slow and conservative and unimaginative. Even though they should be making a difference in our critical minerals, generally they’re not. So that’s not the answer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76156,"content":76157},{"textAlign":49},[76158],{"text":76159,"type":596},"The big oil companies are looking at lithium and will become big in lithium. It’s a natural fit because they have a lot of money and they know how to manage subsurface fluids and pump fluids and process fluids. So they will be, in my view, big players. And that’ll be really important as they have lots of money and they know how to do big projects. So they’ll make a difference over time, but not quickly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76161,"content":76162},{"textAlign":49},[76163],{"text":76164,"type":596},"Obviously the government support such as the DOE Loan Program and other elements of the Washington ecosystem are all material and pretty sizable, and it will be followed by some efforts, albeit smaller, in Europe and Japan and elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":76166,"content":76167},{"textAlign":49},[76168],{"text":76169,"type":596},"Where we continue to radically underperform as a world, in terms of what’s necessary for metals and mining, is the attention and support of big institutional funders. Who are still wary of the ESG and PR liabilities in metals and mining, even though they are theoretically committed to net zero and energy transition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76171,"content":76172},{"textAlign":49},[76173],{"text":76174,"type":596},"They’re not putting their money where their mouth is in respect to critical mineral supply chains, without which you don’t have climate change mitigation and an energy transition. The big global institutions are nowhere and they need to deploy tens and tens of billions of dollars if we are going to move the needle and do what we need to do as an industry. At the moment that’s not happening and it really needs to happen. Governments need to incentivise that to happen and they’re not.","This week TechMet, an investment company backed by the US government, announced it had raised $200 million in new funding to further develop its critical mineral operations. TechMet was founded in 2017 by Brian Menell, a British and South African businessman, to invest in “environmentally responsible supply chains for the metals needed for the clean […]",[76177],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76178},{"job_title":557,"image":76179,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"77fdb492-6b85-48ce-843f-0faf43b67fc1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[76182,76183,76184,76185],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":76187,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":76188,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/67e85cb4e3/bm-brian-menell.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":76190,"uuid":76191,"name":76192,"slug":76193,"full_slug":76194,"content":76195},112470919559354,"210d690e-52c3-4574-ba74-911486f55c1b","One year on, Biden’s IRA has changed the battery landscape","one-year-on-the-ira-has-changed-the-battery-landscape-in-the-us","article/one-year-on-the-ira-has-changed-the-battery-landscape-in-the-us",{"_uid":76196,"date":76197,"tags":76198,"editor":76202,"content":76206,"excerpt":76423,"featured":51,"reporter":76424,"_editable":76428,"component":697,"seo_title":76192,"categories":76429,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":76435,"seo_description":76423,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76438},"70ec930a-f094-4624-8419-5e8f580c8e58","2023-08-15 00:00",[76199,76200,76201],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[76203],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76204},{"job_title":557,"image":76205,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":76207},[76208,76221,76239,76244,76257,76262,76267,76277,76284,76289,76294,76299,76304,76309,76314,76319,76324,76331,76336,76341,76346,76358,76363,76368,76373,76378,76383,76388,76393,76398,76403,76408,76413,76418],{"type":591,"attrs":76209,"content":76210},{"textAlign":49},[76211,76213,76219],{"text":76212,"type":596},"President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has changed the battery landscape in the US, leading to a ",{"text":76214,"type":596,"marks":76215},"gigafactory building boom",[76216],{"type":606,"attrs":76217},{"href":76218,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ira-supercharges-usas-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-as-it-overtakes-europe-for-first-time",{"text":76220,"type":596}," that has increased forecast battery capacity by two thirds, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76222,"content":76223},{"textAlign":49},[76224,76226,76230,76232,76237],{"text":76225,"type":596},"The landmark climate bill’s tax credits for battery manufacturing has led to the announcement of 14 new planned battery gigafactories since last July, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":76227},[76228],{"type":606,"attrs":76229},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76231,"type":596},". That pushed the US from having less battery capacity in the pipeline to Europe, to being ",{"text":76233,"type":596,"marks":76234},"roughly equal",[76235],{"type":606,"attrs":76236},{"href":76218,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76238,"type":596}," to Europe’s planned buildout. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76240,"content":76241},{"textAlign":49},[76242],{"text":76243,"type":596},"“The IRA has been game changing legislation,” Manish Dua, an analyst with Benchmark, said. “Massive outlay of subsidies and tax credits has boosted private sector participation across the whole cleantech space.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76245,"content":76246},{"textAlign":49},[76247,76249,76255],{"text":76248,"type":596},"Signed into law by President Biden on August 16, the IRA has led to over $110 billion of capital",{"text":76250,"type":596,"marks":76251}," investments",[76252],{"type":606,"attrs":76253},{"href":76254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/08/16/fact-sheet-one-year-in-president-bidens-inflation-reduction-act-is-driving-historic-climate-action-and-investing-in-america-to-create-good-paying-jobs-and-reduce-costs/",{"text":76256,"type":596}," announced for clean energy manufacturing projects, including over $70 billion towards EV and battery supply chains across different parts of the United States.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":76258,"content":76259},{"textAlign":49},[76260],{"text":76261,"type":596},"“Powered by the IRA, the President’s agenda has helped drive a massive boom that is touching every corner of the country,” Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, said this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":76263,"content":76264},{"textAlign":49},[76265],{"text":76266,"type":596},"US gigafactory capacity in the pipeline out to 2030 has risen from 706 gigawatt hours in July 2022, just before the IRA was signed into law, to over 1.2 terawatt hours as of last month, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76268,"content":76269},{"textAlign":49},[76270,76272],{"text":76271,"type":596},"In addition, since the IRA, the North American capacity for cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell production is expected to grow significantly across the decade, with 155.9 GWh of pipeline capacity to 2030, according to the ",{"text":76273,"type":596,"marks":76274},"Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment.",[76275],{"type":606,"attrs":76276},{"href":47645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":76278,"content":76279},{"textAlign":49},[76280],{"type":836,"attrs":76281},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":76282,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":76283},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/93df25b114/bm-month-by-month-ira-pipeline-v5.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":76285,"content":76286},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76287],{"text":76288,"type":596},"The power of tax credits",{"type":591,"attrs":76290,"content":76291},{"textAlign":49},[76292],{"text":76293,"type":596},"The IRA provides tax credits for US based battery production equal to $35 a kilowatt hour for production of battery cells and an additional $10/kWh for battery modules. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76295,"content":76296},{"textAlign":49},[76297],{"text":76298,"type":596},"It also provides 10% credit on costs for mining critical minerals and producing battery materials such as cathodes and anodes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76300,"content":76301},{"textAlign":49},[76302],{"text":76303,"type":596},"In addition, the IRA stimulates demand for electric vehicles by providing up to $7,500 in tax credits for EV purchases, if automakers meet certain critical mineral conditions and manufacture a certain percentage of components in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76305,"content":76306},{"textAlign":49},[76307],{"text":76308,"type":596},"More than 320,000 electric vehicles were sold in the US in the first quarter of 2023, 60% more than the same period in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. Sales of electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, have risen to 25% of new vehicle sales in California. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76310,"content":76311},{"textAlign":49},[76312],{"text":76313,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis shows that automakers and battery producers could get over $140 billion in benefits from the battery production tax credits over the next decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76315,"content":76316},{"textAlign":49},[76317],{"text":76318,"type":596},"Tesla and its battery partner Panasonic are likely to be the main beneficiaries of the tax credits, with Tesla and Panasonic in line to receive $41 billion in tax credits by the end of 2032, according to Benchmark analysis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76320,"content":76321},{"textAlign":49},[76322],{"text":76323,"type":596},"Tesla has said it expects the benefits from the IRA manufacturing incentives to be around $150 million to $250 million per quarter, including a 50-50 sharing of credits for qualified cells with Panasonic. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76325,"content":76326},{"textAlign":49},[76327],{"type":836,"attrs":76328},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":76329,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":76330},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c011d06978/bm-ira-tax-credits.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":76332,"content":76333},{"textAlign":49},[76334],{"text":76335,"type":596},"In November, Panasonic broke ground on a new battery factory in Kansas, which it says will produce 30 GWh of batteries a year for EV manufacturers in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76337,"content":76338},{"textAlign":49},[76339],{"text":76340,"type":596},"The company said it expects operating profit at Panasonic Energy to rise fourfold to 133 billion yen ($916 million) this year, thanks in part to US tax credits as well as increased battery sales. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76342,"content":76343},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76344],{"text":76345,"type":596},"Escalating costs",{"type":591,"attrs":76347,"content":76348},{"textAlign":49},[76349,76351,76356],{"text":76350,"type":596},"Because most of the IRA’s subsidies come in the form of uncapped tax credits the ",{"text":76352,"type":596,"marks":76353},"final cost",[76354],{"type":606,"attrs":76355},{"href":64252,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76357,"type":596}," of the IRA has yet to be determined, and could eventually rise above $1 trillion, according to various estimates. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76359,"content":76360},{"textAlign":49},[76361],{"text":76362,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that just the total estimated cost for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits could reach $150 billion by 2032.",{"type":591,"attrs":76364,"content":76365},{"textAlign":49},[76366],{"text":76367,"type":596},"If the US EV adoption targets were to be fulfilled, by 2031 about a total of 59 million EVs would be eligible for at least half of the $7,500 tax credits on offer. This would translate into $220 billion of cumulative funding by 2031.",{"type":615,"attrs":76369,"content":76370},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76371],{"text":76372,"type":596},"Investment in cathodes and anodes",{"type":591,"attrs":76374,"content":76375},{"textAlign":49},[76376],{"text":76377,"type":596},"The IRA has not only accelerated a buildout of battery factories, but also investment in battery cathode and anode plants. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76379,"content":76380},{"textAlign":49},[76381],{"text":76382,"type":596},"This month chemicals company ICL broke ground on a $400 million plant in St. Louis which will produce 30,000 tonnes a year of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76384,"content":76385},{"textAlign":49},[76386],{"text":76387,"type":596},"And in April, startup 6K Energy announced plans to develop a 13,000 tpa capacity cathode manufacturing facility, in Jackson, Tennessee. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76389,"content":76390},{"textAlign":49},[76391],{"text":76392,"type":596},"North America now has around 915,000 tonnes per year of cathode production capacity in the pipeline, compared with Europe’s 617,500 tpa, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":76394,"content":76395},{"textAlign":49},[76396],{"text":76397,"type":596},"Investment has also accelerated in FTA countries, as critical minerals and battery materials from these countries are eligible for tax credits in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76399,"content":76400},{"textAlign":49},[76401],{"text":76402,"type":596},"Exports of cathode from South Korea rose by 178% in the first seven months of this year, compared to a year earlier, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).",{"type":591,"attrs":76404,"content":76405},{"textAlign":49},[76406],{"text":76407,"type":596},"Still, in anodes, there needs to be a lot more investment. North America is still only set to account for 2% of global anode supply by the end of the decade, according to the Benchmark Anode Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":76409,"content":76410},{"textAlign":49},[76411],{"text":76412,"type":596},"Benchmark’s uniquely comprehensive coverage of midstream markets brings transparency to a particularly opaque part of the lithium ion battery value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":76414,"content":76415},{"textAlign":49},[76416],{"text":76417,"type":596},"This analysis draws from Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment, Cathode Price Assessment service, Anode Forecast service and bespoke consultancy capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":76419,"content":76420},{"textAlign":49},[76421],{"text":76422,"type":596},"To learn more about these services, please leave your contact details below and our team of experts will be in touch.","President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has changed the battery landscape in the US, leading to a gigafactory building boom that has increased forecast battery capacity by two thirds, according to Benchmark. The landmark climate bill’s tax credits for battery manufacturing has led to the announcement of 14 new planned battery gigafactories since last July, […]",[76425],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76426},{"job_title":557,"image":76427,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"70ec930a-f094-4624-8419-5e8f580c8e58\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[76430,76431,76432,76433,76434],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":76436,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":76437,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e089661ddb/bm-blueoval-sk-battery-park-construction-progress-05.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 15, 2023",{"id":76440,"uuid":76441,"name":76442,"slug":76443,"full_slug":76444,"content":76445},112470933678269,"d3f7cbfa-feb2-4e74-9309-a5644df0ab5e","Clock is ticking for ISA as deep sea extraction rules delayed until 2025","clock-is-ticking-for-isa-as-deep-sea-extraction-rules-delayed-until-2025","article/clock-is-ticking-for-isa-as-deep-sea-extraction-rules-delayed-until-2025",{"_uid":76446,"date":76447,"tags":76448,"editor":76451,"content":76455,"excerpt":76698,"featured":51,"reporter":76699,"_editable":76703,"component":697,"seo_title":76442,"categories":76704,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":76708,"seo_description":76698,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76711},"650c8715-0eb3-4484-8659-167dffd6ae53","2023-08-11 00:00",[76449,76450],{"slug":57938,"name":57939},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[76452],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76453},{"job_title":557,"image":76454,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":76456},[76457,76462,76467,76472,76477,76482,76487,76492,76497,76502,76507,76512,76517,76522,76527,76532,76537,76542,76547,76552,76557,76562,76567,76574,76579,76584,76589,76594,76599,76604,76609,76614,76619,76624,76641,76646,76651,76656,76661,76666,76671,76676,76681,76686,76691],{"type":591,"attrs":76458,"content":76459},{"textAlign":49},[76460],{"text":76461,"type":596},"An increasing number of companies are looking to extract the mineral resources found on the sea bed in areas of international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.",{"type":591,"attrs":76463,"content":76464},{"textAlign":49},[76465],{"text":76466,"type":596},"Before extraction can begin, however, exploitation regulations need to be agreed by members of the Kingston, Jamaica-headquartered International Seabed Authority, a United Nations body. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76468,"content":76469},{"textAlign":49},[76470],{"text":76471,"type":596},"At the end of last month ISA ended its most recent meeting, but still did not pass regulations that would allow extraction to go ahead. The body, which was set up in 1994, is tasked with implementing regulations for deep sea mineral extraction in international waters, according to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It has 168 member countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76473,"content":76474},{"textAlign":49},[76475],{"text":76476,"type":596},"The ISA has now set a timeline to agree on regulations at their next meeting in 2024 with the plan to enact them by 2025. The Metals Company, a deep sea minerals developer, plans to hold them to this, announcing plans to submit an application after the 2024 meeting.",{"type":591,"attrs":76478,"content":76479},{"textAlign":49},[76480],{"text":76481,"type":596},"“It can’t go on indefinitely,” Craig Shesky, the chief financial officer at The Metals Company, told Benchmark Source. “We don’t think it will.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76483,"content":76484},{"textAlign":49},[76485],{"text":76486,"type":596},"The clock is once again ticking for the ISA to agree on regulations for the sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":76488,"content":76489},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76490],{"text":76491,"type":596},"What happened at the recent International Seabed Authority meeting in Jamaica?",{"type":591,"attrs":76493,"content":76494},{"textAlign":49},[76495],{"text":76496,"type":596},"The ISA has agreed to keep negotiating rules for deep sea mineral extraction, with a goal of having final rules by 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76498,"content":76499},{"textAlign":49},[76500],{"text":76501,"type":596},"The ISA said that it intends “to continue the work on the exploitation regulations” and laid out a roadmap for deciding on these regulations. However, this is well past the July 2023 deadline for finalising the regulations that was set two years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":76503,"content":76504},{"textAlign":49},[76505],{"text":76506,"type":596},"With that deadline missed, any company wishing to extract minerals from the deep sea in international waters can now enter a work plan that must be considered by the ISA.",{"type":591,"attrs":76508,"content":76509},{"textAlign":49},[76510],{"text":76511,"type":596},"As part of the session that took place last month, members of the ISA agreed that should a plan to exploit deep sea minerals be submitted, the body will meet again to decide how to proceed “as a matter of priority”.",{"type":615,"attrs":76513,"content":76514},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76515],{"text":76516,"type":596},"What is the “two-year rule”?",{"type":591,"attrs":76518,"content":76519},{"textAlign":49},[76520],{"text":76521,"type":596},"In July 2021, the island country Nauru triggered the so-called “two-year rule” in the 1994 agreement to implement the deep sea mining provisions in the Law of the Sea, on the grounds that Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) intended to apply for an exploitation licence.",{"type":591,"attrs":76523,"content":76524},{"textAlign":49},[76525],{"text":76526,"type":596},"At the time of invoking the clause, NORI was wholly owned by DeepGreen which merged with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisitions Corp to become The Metals Company.",{"type":591,"attrs":76528,"content":76529},{"textAlign":49},[76530],{"text":76531,"type":596},"In 2011 the ISA granted a polymetallic nodule exploration contract in the Clarion Clipperton Zone to NORI, which was sponsored by the government of Nauru.",{"type":591,"attrs":76533,"content":76534},{"textAlign":49},[76535],{"text":76536,"type":596},"Specifically, this clause allows a state that intends to apply for an exploitation licence to request the ISA to “elaborate and adopt” the rules and regulations covering deep sea mining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76538,"content":76539},{"textAlign":49},[76540],{"text":76541,"type":596},"The ISA has two years from when a state makes such a request to finalise and adopt these rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":76543,"content":76544},{"textAlign":49},[76545],{"text":76546,"type":596},"The ISA meeting began shortly after the two-year deadline set by the Pacific island nation of Nauru in 2021 expired.",{"type":591,"attrs":76548,"content":76549},{"textAlign":49},[76550],{"text":76551,"type":596},"In effect, the passing of this deadline compels the ISA to begin considering permit applications for deep sea mineral extraction regardless of the status of regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":76553,"content":76554},{"textAlign":49},[76555],{"text":76556,"type":596},"As yet, no such plans of work have been submitted.",{"type":591,"attrs":76558,"content":76559},{"textAlign":49},[76560],{"text":76561,"type":596},"The state of Nauru expressed in a statement to the ISA that it was “extremely disappointed” that the ISA did not finalise the regulations within the two-year timeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":76563,"content":76564},{"textAlign":49},[76565],{"text":76566,"type":596},"“We consider the Council’s failure to adopt such rules, regulations and procedures within the prescribed timeline, constitutes a direct breach of its obligation under the 1994 Agreement,” it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":76568,"content":76569},{"textAlign":49},[76570],{"type":836,"attrs":76571},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":76572,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":76573},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/26ec45c8ca/bm-the-metals-company-2.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":76575,"content":76576},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76577],{"text":76578,"type":596},"Who is calling for a moratorium against deep sea mining?",{"type":591,"attrs":76580,"content":76581},{"textAlign":49},[76582],{"text":76583,"type":596},"Some countries, including France and New Zealand, and NGOs, such as Greenpeace and WWF, are calling for a moratorium on deep sea exploration and development operations until the risks are properly assessed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76585,"content":76586},{"textAlign":49},[76587],{"text":76588,"type":596},"The crux of the argument for a moratorium centres on the lack of understanding of the deep sea ecosystem and the unknown impact of any exploration and extraction activities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76590,"content":76591},{"textAlign":49},[76592],{"text":76593,"type":596},"The Pew Charitable Trust commissioned an independent legal opinion on whether a moratorium should be called.",{"type":591,"attrs":76595,"content":76596},{"textAlign":49},[76597],{"text":76598,"type":596},"“A moratorium or precautionary pause is not only consistent with [the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], but is actually required by it,” the opinion reads. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76600,"content":76601},{"textAlign":49},[76602],{"text":76603,"type":596},"In March 2021, BMW and Volvo announced that they supported a moratorium on deep sea mineral extraction. This was backed by Google and Samsung SDI.",{"type":591,"attrs":76605,"content":76606},{"textAlign":49},[76607],{"text":76608,"type":596},"In June, the European Academies Science Advisory Council released a report assessing deep sea mineral extraction and found a lack of scientific consensus and data “limits the ability of [the] ISA to effectively protect the marine environment” and therefore supports a moratorium.",{"type":591,"attrs":76610,"content":76611},{"textAlign":49},[76612],{"text":76613,"type":596},"Although the exact wording of the various calls for a moratorium can differ, Charlotte Selvey Miller, head of sustainability at Benchmark, says that most are calling for a pause until we know more rather than saying deep sea mineral exploitation should never occur.",{"type":591,"attrs":76615,"content":76616},{"textAlign":49},[76617],{"text":76618,"type":596},"“Moratoriums are important to give that space for scientific exploration,” Selvey Miller said, “but we should see an end to the moratorium once we do have the information we are searching for.”",{"type":615,"attrs":76620,"content":76621},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76622],{"text":76623,"type":596},"Will deep sea mining impact land-based operations? ",{"type":591,"attrs":76625,"content":76626},{"textAlign":49},[76627,76629,76633,76635,76639],{"text":76628,"type":596},"Between 2023 and 2030, Benchmark forecasts demand for ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":76630},[76631],{"type":606,"attrs":76632},{"href":69470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76634,"type":596}," will grow 94% but supply will grow only 47% putting the market into a 66,000 tonne deficit by the end of the decade. ",{"text":150,"type":596,"marks":76636},[76637],{"type":606,"attrs":76638},{"href":50767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76640,"type":596}," is forecast to be in a 630,000 tonne deficit by the same year, highlighting the need for new sources of the minerals critical to the energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":76642,"content":76643},{"textAlign":49},[76644],{"text":76645,"type":596},"The Metals Company plans to extract three million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules from the deep seabed per year. This is equivalent to 30 kilotons of nickel per year, 22 kilotons of copper, 2.4 kilotons of cobalt, and 696 kilotons of manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":76647,"content":76648},{"textAlign":49},[76649],{"text":76650,"type":596},"An argument is that deep sea mineral extraction, while having its own set of different issues, could avoid the bulk of these land based problems.",{"type":591,"attrs":76652,"content":76653},{"textAlign":49},[76654],{"text":76655,"type":596},"“There could be a real possibility to relieve demand needed for Indonesian nickel’s land based mining operations,” Selvey Miller said. “But in regards to deep-sea minerals, the long term risks to ecosystem functioning are somewhat unknown.”",{"type":615,"attrs":76657,"content":76658},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76659],{"text":76660,"type":596},"So, what happens now?",{"type":591,"attrs":76662,"content":76663},{"textAlign":49},[76664],{"text":76665,"type":596},"The Metals Company has said its wholly-owned subsidiary, NORI, has “reiterated its preference to submit an application for a plan of work for exploitation once these [rules, regulations and procedures] are in place”.",{"type":591,"attrs":76667,"content":76668},{"textAlign":49},[76669],{"text":76670,"type":596},"In a further update, it added that NORI intends to submit an application for an exploitation licence after the next meeting of the ISA in July 2024, expecting that the review process will take a year allowing them to start producing from the fourth quarter of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":76672,"content":76673},{"textAlign":49},[76674],{"text":76675,"type":596},"They noted that “NORI reserves its right to submit an application for a plan of work for exploitation […] prior to the ISA’s provisional adoption and approval of the Mining Code.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76677,"content":76678},{"textAlign":49},[76679],{"text":76680,"type":596},"The Metal Company’s Shesky emphasised to Benchmark Source that the language was clear and if it submits a plan the ISA “have to consider it and provisionally approve it based on the rules whether draft or final.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76682,"content":76683},{"textAlign":49},[76684],{"text":76685,"type":596},"He went on to say, “Provisional approval means, until such time as they finalise something else, we’re allowed to begin working on a contract area.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76687,"content":76688},{"textAlign":49},[76689],{"text":76690,"type":596},"According to the rules laid out by the ISA, any company sponsored by an ISA member state can submit an application and expect it to be considered.",{"type":591,"attrs":76692,"content":76693},{"textAlign":49},[76694,76696],{"text":76695,"type":596},"If companies wish to",{"text":76697,"type":596},"extract minerals from the deep seabed then the clock is, once again, ticking for the ISA to finalise its regulations.","An increasing number of companies are looking to extract the mineral resources found on the sea bed in areas of international waters such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Before extraction can begin, however, exploitation regulations need to be agreed by members of the Kingston, Jamaica-headquartered International Seabed Authority, […]",[76700],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76701},{"job_title":557,"image":76702,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"650c8715-0eb3-4484-8659-167dffd6ae53\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[76705,76706,76707],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":76709,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":76710,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/44e207e2b1/bm-the-metals-company-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 11, 2023",{"id":76713,"uuid":76714,"name":76715,"slug":76716,"full_slug":76717,"content":76718},112470938470590,"9f3b77c5-d2db-474e-8449-a83bb5a10ab6","China’s overseas anode expansion could accelerate with SRG graphite deal","chinas-overseas-anode-expansion-accelerates-with-srg-graphite-deal","article/chinas-overseas-anode-expansion-accelerates-with-srg-graphite-deal",{"_uid":76719,"date":76720,"tags":76721,"editor":76724,"content":76728,"excerpt":76832,"featured":51,"reporter":76833,"_editable":76837,"component":697,"seo_title":76715,"categories":76838,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":76842,"seo_description":76832,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76845},"29b9d0e8-c7bc-43b3-9be9-55926f300507","2023-08-10 00:00",[76722,76723],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":52182,"name":52183},[76725],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76726},{"job_title":557,"image":76727,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":76729},[76730,76735,76740,76751,76756,76761,76766,76770,76780,76785,76790,76795,76800,76805,76817,76822,76827],{"type":591,"attrs":76731,"content":76732},{"textAlign":49},[76733],{"text":76734,"type":596},"Tie-ups between Western graphite startups and Chinese anode companies are accelerating, following the investment by a former senior exectuive of Chinese anode giant BTR into Canada’s SRG Mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":76736,"content":76737},{"textAlign":49},[76738],{"text":76739,"type":596},"Carbon One New Energy Group, a company set up last year by Yue Min, a former BTR senior executive, will own 19.4% of SRG after the C$16.9 million ($12.7 million) deal is approved. The two companies plan to develop the company’s Lola graphite project in Guinea and also build an anode plant to supply Europe and North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":76741,"content":76742},{"textAlign":49},[76743,76745,76749],{"text":76744,"type":596},"The deal is a reflection of the technical expertise Chinese companies have in purifying and coating graphite for use in lithium ion battery",{"text":70865,"type":596,"marks":76746},[76747],{"type":606,"attrs":76748},{"href":63243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76750,"type":596},". Carbon One is backed by BYD, China’s largest electric vehicle producer, as well as venture capital firm Sequoia China.",{"type":591,"attrs":76752,"content":76753},{"textAlign":49},[76754],{"text":76755,"type":596},"The company’s 100,000 tonne graphite anode material project in China’s eastern Heilongjiang province started trial production this month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76757,"content":76758},{"textAlign":49},[76759],{"text":76760,"type":596},"Last year Canadian company Graphite One signed an agreement with China’s Sunrise New Energy Material, an anode producer, to “share expertise and technology” for a proposed graphite material manufacturing facility in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":76762,"content":76763},{"textAlign":49},[76764],{"text":76765,"type":596},"Sunrise also has links to China’s Ningbo Shanshan, another large Chinese anode producer. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76767,"content":76768},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76769],{"text":76134,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":76771,"content":76772},{"textAlign":49},[76773,76775,76779],{"text":76774,"type":596},"China produces almost all of the world’s graphite anodes, and is projected to still account for over 94% of total global production by the middle of the decade, according to the ",{"text":52212,"type":596,"marks":76776},[76777],{"type":606,"attrs":76778},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":76781,"content":76782},{"textAlign":49},[76783],{"text":76784,"type":596},"Carbon One will help SRG develop its Lola graphite project in Guinea as part of a technical cooperation agreement.",{"type":591,"attrs":76786,"content":76787},{"textAlign":49},[76788],{"text":76789,"type":596},"Matthieu Bos, chief executive of SRG, told Benchmark the deal was a good model for cooperation with Chinese companies. Bos previously had extensive dealings with China while working for Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe mines. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76791,"content":76792},{"textAlign":49},[76793],{"text":76794,"type":596},"The deal is still subject to approval by the TSX Venture exchange, as well as Chinese regulators.",{"type":615,"attrs":76796,"content":76797},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76798],{"text":76799,"type":596},"Moving overseas",{"type":591,"attrs":76801,"content":76802},{"textAlign":49},[76803],{"text":76804,"type":596},"Chinese anode producers are increasingly investing overseas, in order to benefit from growth in Europe and the US. Tier 1 Chinese anode manufacturers have announced over $1 billion in investments outside China this year, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":76806,"content":76807},{"textAlign":49},[76808,76810,76815],{"text":76809,"type":596},"In May China’s Putailai ",{"text":76811,"type":596,"marks":76812},"announced",[76813],{"type":606,"attrs":76814},{"href":65795,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76816,"type":596}," plans to carry out the construction of a SEK 15.7bn ($1.45bn) integrated anode production and research facility in Sweden. At 100,000 tpa, the facility will become the largest in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":76818,"content":76819},{"textAlign":49},[76820],{"text":76821,"type":596},"SRG said the companies will also build a 100,000 tonne a year capacity anode plant “in a mutually agreeable country that has free trade agreements with key European, North American, or both end-markets,” it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":76823,"content":76824},{"textAlign":49},[76825],{"text":76826,"type":596},"SRG will own the subsidiary for the anode plant, but Carbon One will provide engineers, intellectual property, as well as construction and operating expertise to produce coated, spheroidized and purified graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":76828,"content":76829},{"textAlign":49},[76830],{"text":76831,"type":596},"Carbon One has a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes a year of CSPG and owns several natural flake graphite mines. It also has capacity to produce synthetic graphite and silicon based products.  ","Tie-ups between Western graphite startups and Chinese anode companies are accelerating, following the investment by a former senior exectuive of Chinese anode giant BTR into Canada’s SRG Mining. Carbon One New Energy Group, a company set up last year by Yue Min, a former BTR senior executive, will own 19.4% of SRG after the C$16.9 […]",[76834],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76835},{"job_title":557,"image":76836,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"29b9d0e8-c7bc-43b3-9be9-55926f300507\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[76839,76840,76841],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":76843,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":76844,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aaa1b5648e/bm-lola-graphite-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 10, 2023",{"id":76847,"uuid":76848,"name":76849,"slug":76850,"full_slug":76851,"content":76852},112470957787330,"4483b874-c9ee-40bf-8885-95ec3388708c","US DOE says battery minerals lithium and graphite now considered “critical”","us-doe-says-battery-minerals-lithium-and-graphite-now-considered-critical","article/us-doe-says-battery-minerals-lithium-and-graphite-now-considered-critical",{"_uid":76853,"date":76854,"tags":76855,"editor":76857,"content":76861,"excerpt":76969,"featured":51,"reporter":76970,"_editable":76974,"component":697,"seo_title":76849,"categories":76975,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":76982,"seo_description":76969,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76984},"5b82cf54-01f5-468e-9a56-1cc8f24b3a90","2023-08-08 00:00",[76856],{"slug":572,"name":573},[76858],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76859},{"job_title":557,"image":76860,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":76862},[76863,76873,76878,76883,76888,76895,76900,76905,76910,76915,76922,76927,76939,76944,76949,76954,76959,76964],{"type":591,"attrs":76864,"content":76865},{"textAlign":49},[76866,76867,76871],{"text":65859,"type":596},{"text":39139,"type":596,"marks":76868},[76869],{"type":606,"attrs":76870},{"href":47990,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76872,"type":596}," added lithium and natural graphite to its list of “critical materials” over the next ten years, due to the growth of electric vehicles and stationary storage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76874,"content":76875},{"textAlign":49},[76876],{"text":76877,"type":596},"The DOE said that “materials used in batteries for EVs and stationary storage are now considered to be critical” globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76879,"content":76880},{"textAlign":49},[76881],{"text":76882,"type":596},"The designation could help direct funds towards the sector, as the DOE said the list would also help with eligibility for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act’s manufacturing tax credits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76884,"content":76885},{"textAlign":49},[76886],{"text":76887,"type":596},"The assessment, which was last carried out by the DOE in 2019, looked at which materials are critical to the continued worldwide deployment of clean energy technologies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76889,"content":76890},{"textAlign":49},[76891],{"type":836,"attrs":76892},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":76893,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":76894},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e8da37819/bm-image-35.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":76896,"content":76897},{"textAlign":49},[76898],{"text":76899,"type":596},"In terms of battery minerals, natural graphite and cobalt are both considered “critical” in the short term, between now and 2025, according to the DOE. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76901,"content":76902},{"textAlign":49},[76903],{"text":76904,"type":596},"Between 2025 and 2035, however, lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite are all considered “critical.”",{"type":591,"attrs":76906,"content":76907},{"textAlign":49},[76908],{"text":76909,"type":596},"Materials including aluminium, copper, nickel, and silicon also move from noncritical in the short term to near critical in the medium term due to “their importance in electrification,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76911,"content":76912},{"textAlign":49},[76913],{"text":76914,"type":596},"“Longer term is the big issue for the elements that are crucial to making the energy transition work,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76916,"content":76917},{"textAlign":49},[76918],{"type":836,"attrs":76919},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":76920,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":76921},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0656dde210/bm-image-40.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":76923,"content":76924},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76925],{"text":76926,"type":596},"DOE focus on critical minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":76928,"content":76929},{"textAlign":49},[76930,76932,76937],{"text":76931,"type":596},"The DOE has issued a number of loans and grants to mineral projects. Last year it offered a ",{"text":76933,"type":596,"marks":76934},"conditional commitment",[76935],{"type":606,"attrs":76936},{"href":48016,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":76938,"type":596}," to lend up to $700 million to Ioneer to develop its Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron project in Nevada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76940,"content":76941},{"textAlign":49},[76942],{"text":76943,"type":596},"In July the DOE also announced $10.9 million for 10 projects focused on direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines. ",{"type":591,"attrs":76945,"content":76946},{"textAlign":49},[76947],{"text":76948,"type":596},"In July it also announced $32 million for projects that produce rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal-based resources. ",{"type":615,"attrs":76950,"content":76951},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[76952],{"text":76953,"type":596},"Rare earths remain critical",{"type":591,"attrs":76955,"content":76956},{"textAlign":49},[76957],{"text":76958,"type":596},"Rare earth materials (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium,) used in magnets in EV motors and wind turbine generators continue to be critical, the DOE said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":76960,"content":76961},{"textAlign":49},[76962],{"text":76963,"type":596},"The growth of offshore wind will increase the use of rare earth magnets, it said, due to the use of direct-drive turbines that reduce the maintenance needs for wind turbines.",{"type":591,"attrs":76965,"content":76966},{"textAlign":49},[76967],{"text":76968,"type":596},"The 2023 critical mineral assessment is the fourth update to the reports, which were first released in 2010.","The US Department of Energy added lithium and natural graphite to its list of “critical materials” over the next ten years, due to the growth of electric vehicles and stationary storage. The DOE said that “materials used in batteries for EVs and stationary storage are now considered to be critical” globally. The designation could help […]",[76971],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76972},{"job_title":557,"image":76973,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5b82cf54-01f5-468e-9a56-1cc8f24b3a90\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[76976,76977,76978,76979,76980,76981],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":40008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":76983,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 08, 2023",{"id":76986,"uuid":76987,"name":76988,"slug":76989,"full_slug":76990,"content":76991},112470952843457,"d73fabfa-7b94-4087-92cb-4dbd2c2cf4c5","OPINION: Mineral-rich countries need to be careful about race to move downstream","opinion-mineral-rich-countries-need-to-be-careful-about-race-to-move-downstream","article/opinion-mineral-rich-countries-need-to-be-careful-about-race-to-move-downstream",{"_uid":76992,"date":76854,"tags":76993,"editor":76996,"content":77000,"excerpt":77206,"featured":51,"reporter":77207,"_editable":77211,"component":697,"seo_title":76988,"categories":77212,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":77215,"seo_description":77206,"author_full_name":77218,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76984},"9da2e2a0-e839-407d-a8e4-497ed52506b3",[76994,76995],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[76997],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":76998},{"job_title":557,"image":76999,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":77001},[77002,77014,77025,77030,77035,77040,77045,77050,77055,77060,77065,77070,77075,77080,77085,77090,77095,77107,77112,77117,77122,77127,77132,77137,77142,77147,77152,77157,77162,77167],{"type":591,"attrs":77003,"content":77004},{"textAlign":49},[77005,77007,77012],{"text":77006,"type":596},"Developing economies are beginning to flip the script. From ",{"text":77008,"type":596,"marks":77009},"South America ",[77010],{"type":606,"attrs":77011},{"href":5536,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77013,"type":596},"to Asia and Africa, mineral-rich countries are no longer content with solely exporting raw material. Rather, these countries are beginning to explore avenues to capture more value from their mineral supply chains, particularly those related to electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77015,"content":77016},{"textAlign":49},[77017,77019,77023],{"text":77018,"type":596},"In South America, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia have all adopted different approaches to retain more value from lithium. In Asia, Indonesia has attempted to use export bans to force value addition in nickel, while enacting similar but less successful mandates for copper, bauxite, and tin. And in ",{"text":5694,"type":596,"marks":77020},[77021],{"type":606,"attrs":77022},{"href":59044,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77024,"type":596},", Namibia and Zimbabwe recently prohibited the exports of raw minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77026,"content":77027},{"textAlign":49},[77028],{"text":77029,"type":596},"Value addition is the new centerpiece of economic strategy for mineral-rich countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77031,"content":77032},{"textAlign":49},[77033],{"text":77034,"type":596},"This matters, given that developing economies dominate the upstream stage of many clean energy supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77036,"content":77037},{"textAlign":49},[77038],{"text":77039,"type":596},"Developing economies have good reason to focus on value addition. A significant portion of projected revenue and job creation in clean energy technologies occurs further down the value chain. For instance, studies estimate that only 9% of projected revenue from the lithium ion value chain will occur in mining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77041,"content":77042},{"textAlign":49},[77043],{"text":77044,"type":596},"Furthermore, value addition can serve as a compelling political narrative, providing an alternative to the entrenched colonial economic models that have arguably hindered growth for many of today’s developing nations. ",{"type":615,"attrs":77046,"content":77047},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77048],{"text":77049,"type":596},"The costs and benefits of moving downstream",{"type":591,"attrs":77051,"content":77052},{"textAlign":49},[77053],{"text":77054,"type":596},"While having its merits, however, the contemporary conversation around value addition currently lacks a nuanced analysis of the limitations and benefits of moving further downstream. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77056,"content":77057},{"textAlign":49},[77058],{"text":77059,"type":596},"Many national leaders have been reticent to assess the costs and benefits associated with pursuing value addition, showing little interest in comparing these strategies to the wider range of economic alternatives that can be pursued to achieve national priorities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77061,"content":77062},{"textAlign":49},[77063],{"text":77064,"type":596},"Countries can better assess value addition opportunities by beginning with a more rigorous evaluation of feasibility. There are generally two economic justifications for moving downstream: a country has major cost advantages due to cheaper inputs (arbitrage) or has a significant advantage in capabilities due to its know-how from existing economic activity (complementarities). ",{"type":591,"attrs":77066,"content":77067},{"textAlign":49},[77068],{"text":77069,"type":596},"Without either of these factors, there is little economic rationale for value addition. For instance, a successful farmer would have few advantages to operate a Michelin star restaurant. Rather, the farmer may be better served moving horizontally into the production of other crops or livestock, thus leveraging his or her existing capabilities.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":77071,"content":77072},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77073],{"text":77074,"type":596},"Economic cooercion",{"type":591,"attrs":77076,"content":77077},{"textAlign":49},[77078],{"text":77079,"type":596},"Mandates are also no guarantee for successful value addition. Economic coercion can sometimes play a role in moving downstream, as demonstrated by Indonesia’s ban on nickel exports and the consequent development of its downstream domestic value chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77081,"content":77082},{"textAlign":49},[77083],{"text":77084,"type":596},"However, the Indonesian case study may attest more to Indonesia’s particular context than to the efficacy of coercive mandates, with cheap coal-fired electricity, low-cost labor, proven mining assets, and proximity to China supporting Indonesia’s downstream gambit. On the other hand, countries that have indiscriminately pursued value addition have an overwhelming track record of failure. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77086,"content":77087},{"textAlign":49},[77088],{"text":77089,"type":596},"Governments will also be well served to think explicitly about the benefits of value addition. While state revenue is an obvious benefit, other benefits such as diversification from commodity price volatility and job creation warrant attention. Most crucially, policymakers must consider how to deploy value addition in ways that develop new indigenous capabilities and create scaffolding for high-value economic possibilities in the future. ",{"type":615,"attrs":77091,"content":77092},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77093],{"text":77094,"type":596},"The DRC’s potential ",{"type":591,"attrs":77096,"content":77097},{"textAlign":49},[77098,77100,77106],{"text":77099,"type":596},"We recently applied this framework in ",{"text":77101,"type":596,"marks":77102},"a report on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s prospects for value addition",[77103],{"type":606,"attrs":77104},{"href":77105,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/37376063",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77108,"content":77109},{"textAlign":49},[77110],{"text":77111,"type":596},"Interestingly, our research found that manufacturing of copper products stands out as a clear opportunity for the DRC. This is not due to state revenue — copper products run tight margins and do not generate significant taxable income. But growth into copper product manufacturing would be feasible as it requires few government resources and leverages existing comparative advantages in the short-term. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77113,"content":77114},{"textAlign":49},[77115],{"text":77116,"type":596},"Most importantly, it would open a stream of future manufacturing-based economic opportunities for the DRC. In other words, it would do exactly what value addition should aim to do, but what most national policies currently ignore.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":77118,"content":77119},{"textAlign":49},[77120],{"text":77121,"type":596},"Our analysis also indicated that politically attractive projects, such as mineral refining and development of battery precursors, have a shakier value proposition than commonly perceived. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77123,"content":77124},{"textAlign":49},[77125],{"text":77126,"type":596},"Mineral refining offers promising economic returns, but the DRC’s possibilities are largely constrained by the availability of reliable electricity. This means that the government’s push to grow domestic refining can only realistically take place gradually in established value chains like copper, with limited prospects for greenfield projects in minerals like lithium, tin, and zinc. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77128,"content":77129},{"textAlign":49},[77130],{"text":77131,"type":596},"Precursor production is an even more questionable aim. Producing precursors at a commercial scale would provide the DRC with revenues similar to those generated by a large mine and, contrary to popular narratives, have a small impact on job creation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77133,"content":77134},{"textAlign":49},[77135],{"text":77136,"type":596},"Additionally, producing precursors is difficult and takes significant time and resources, as Australia is discovering. Most importantly, precursors do not provide a meaningful pathway to diversify into other products, including lithium ion batteries, which require a vastly different set of capabilities to commercially manufacture and distribute. ",{"type":615,"attrs":77138,"content":77139},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77140],{"text":77141,"type":596},"Pausing to consider",{"type":591,"attrs":77143,"content":77144},{"textAlign":49},[77145],{"text":77146,"type":596},"The case of the DRC is emblematic of many mineral-rich countries which are rushing headlong to determine how they can pursue value addition, rather than first asking if and where they should prioritize adding value. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77148,"content":77149},{"textAlign":49},[77150],{"text":77151,"type":596},"Given the scarce resources and competing priorities that shape economic decision making in developing nations, asking “why” and “where” is just as important, if not more important, as asking “how”.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":77153,"content":77154},{"textAlign":49},[77155],{"text":77156,"type":596},"The DRC and other mineral producers will be best served by targeting value addition in areas that leverage existing factor endowments and enable the development of future capabilities, rather than those that are most politically expedient.",{"type":591,"attrs":77158,"content":77159},{"textAlign":49},[77160],{"text":77161,"type":596},"Political rhetoric can often stymie the pursuit of sound economics. Chilean President Gabriel Boric recently claimed that lithium “is the best chance we have at transitioning to a sustainable and developed economy”, while the DRC’s Finance Minister, Nicolas Kazadi, stated that “the number of poor are still increasing. The only way to change that is to have transformation, local transformation.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":77163,"content":77164},{"textAlign":49},[77165],{"text":77166,"type":596},"But economic history tells us that there will be no silver bullets to resolve long-standing economic issues. Value addition, if harnessed properly, can help mineral producers take one step forward. Alternatively, approaching value addition indiscriminately, rather than selectively, will lead to the same dismal results that have plagued many developing economies over the better part of the last century. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77168,"content":77169},{"textAlign":49},[77170,77174,77175,77179,77184,77188,77195,77198,77205],{"text":77171,"type":596,"marks":77172},"Abdurrehman Naveed and Cina Vazir are recent graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School",[77173],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":77176,"type":596,"marks":77177},"Their research on the DRC can be found ",[77178],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":77180},[77181,77182],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":77183},{"href":77105,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77185,"type":596,"marks":77186}," and they can be reached for further inquiry at ",[77187],{"type":1006},{"text":77189,"type":596,"marks":77190},"abdurrehman_naveed@hks.harvard.edu",[77191,77192],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":77193},{"href":77194,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:abdurrehman_naveed@hks.harvard.edu",{"text":5886,"type":596,"marks":77196},[77197],{"type":1006},{"text":77199,"type":596,"marks":77200},"cina_vazirzadeh@hks.harvard.edu",[77201,77202],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":77203},{"href":77204,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:cina_vazirzadeh@hks.harvard.edu",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Developing economies are beginning to flip the script. From South America to Asia and Africa, mineral-rich countries are no longer content with solely exporting raw material. Rather, these countries are beginning to explore avenues to capture more value from their mineral supply chains, particularly those related to electric vehicles. In South America, Argentina, Chile, and […]",[77208],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77209},{"job_title":557,"image":77210,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9da2e2a0-e839-407d-a8e4-497ed52506b3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[77213,77214],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77216,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77217,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/69d23274f7/bm-glencore-mutanda-copper-drc.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Abdurrehman Naveed and Cina Vazir",{"id":77220,"uuid":77221,"name":77222,"slug":77223,"full_slug":77224,"content":77225},112470948182208,"c30167cb-2702-4b68-8ba1-9f1a059331ad","Three-quarters of North American gigafactory 2030 pipeline capacity associated with automakers","three-quarters-of-north-american-gigafactory-2030-pipeline-capacity-associated-with-automakers","article/three-quarters-of-north-american-gigafactory-2030-pipeline-capacity-associated-with-automakers",{"_uid":77226,"date":76854,"tags":77227,"editor":77235,"content":77239,"excerpt":77373,"featured":50,"reporter":77374,"_editable":77378,"component":697,"seo_title":77222,"categories":77379,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":77383,"featured_image":77386,"seo_description":77373,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":76984},"0aa99954-0b92-4f63-842e-e53684ed144b",[77228,77229,77230,77231,77232,77233,77234],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":32321,"name":32322},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[77236],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77237},{"job_title":557,"image":77238,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":77240},[77241,77252,77265,77276,77288,77306,77314,77323,77341,77346,77351,77356],{"type":591,"attrs":77242,"content":77243},{"textAlign":49},[77244,77246,77251],{"text":77245,"type":596},"Three-quarters of North America’s 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity is associated with an automaker through either a solo or joint venture, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":77247},[77248],{"type":606,"attrs":77249},{"href":77250,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/market-assessments/gigafactory-assessment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77253,"content":77254},{"textAlign":49},[77255,77257,77263],{"text":77256,"type":596},"This is a significantly higher proportion than the ",{"text":77258,"type":596,"marks":77259},"global 2030 pipeline",[77260],{"type":606,"attrs":77261},{"href":77262,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-gigafactory-plans-accelerate-in-2022-as-planned-capacity-tops-8-twh",{"text":77264,"type":596},", in which only 29% of capacity is associated with an automaker.",{"type":591,"attrs":77266,"content":77267},{"textAlign":49},[77268,77269,77274],{"text":67191,"type":596},{"text":77270,"type":596,"marks":77271},"by far the largest producer of batteries",[77272],{"type":606,"attrs":77273},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77275,"type":596},", notably has the lowest proportion of automaker involvement in its gigafactory pipeline at only 17% of planned capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":77277,"content":77278},{"textAlign":49},[77279,77281,77286],{"text":77280,"type":596},"“Automakers have over the last few years, and will continue to, invest in the lithium ion battery cell production, in order to secure themselves supply, and allow themselves control over cell cost,” ",{"text":58830,"type":596,"marks":77282},[77283],{"type":606,"attrs":77284},{"href":77285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-benchmarks-tiering-system",{"text":77287,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":77289,"content":77290},{"textAlign":49},[77291,77292,77298,77300,77305],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":77293,"type":596,"marks":77294},"average cost of cells for the EV market",[77295],{"type":606,"attrs":77296},{"href":77297,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ev-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-this-year-as-chinas-lithium-prices-rebound",{"text":77299,"type":596}," has fallen 15.1% so far this year to $106.9 per kWh, according to ",{"text":77301,"type":596,"marks":77302},"Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",[77303],{"type":606,"attrs":77304},{"href":73921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77307,"content":77308},{"textAlign":49},[77309],{"type":836,"attrs":77310},{"id":49,"alt":77311,"src":77312,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":77313},"73% of North America's 2030 gigafactory pipeline capacity associated with automakers","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/52ae1373fe/bm-automaker-battery-involvement.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":77315,"content":77316},{"textAlign":49},[77317,77321],{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":77318},[77319],{"type":606,"attrs":77320},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77322,"type":596}," has a 1.3 TWh 2030 pipeline, with 393 GWh coming from automakers alone. Joint ventures between automakers and battery producers account for 547 GWh of pipeline capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":77324,"content":77325},{"textAlign":49},[77326,77332,77334,77340],{"text":77327,"type":596,"marks":77328},"Tesla’s gigafactory",[77329],{"type":606,"attrs":77330},{"href":77331,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/who-is-building-100-gigawatt-hour-battery-plants-not-just-tesla",{"text":77333,"type":596}," in Austin, Texas is the largest planned factory by an automaker at 200 GWh. Two of the largest joint venture gigafactories are also in the US, through the two 50 GWh facilities planned by ",{"text":77335,"type":596,"marks":77336},"GM in collaboration with LG Energy Solution",[77337],{"type":606,"attrs":77338},{"href":77339,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-targets-2-6-billion-third-battery-factory-with-lges",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77342,"content":77343},{"textAlign":49},[77344],{"text":77345,"type":596},"Europe and Asia (excluding China) each have around a third of their capacity associated with automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":77347,"content":77348},{"textAlign":49},[77349],{"text":77350,"type":596},"Earlier this year, Porsche, a German automaker, took complete control of Cellforce which it previously operated as a joint-venture with Customcells. Cellforce produces batteries for high end applications and plans to build a 10-20 GWh gigafactory in Europe or North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":77352,"content":77353},{"textAlign":49},[77354],{"text":77355,"type":596},"Although China has the lowest proportion of automaker involvement in its pipeline, it has the highest total capacity from automakers with 739 GWh from automakers alone and 290 GWh from joint ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":77357,"content":77358},{"textAlign":49},[77359,77364,77366,77371],{"text":1232,"type":596,"marks":77360},[77361],{"type":606,"attrs":77362},{"href":77363,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-battery-kings-diverging-fortunes-of-catl-and-byd-highlight-raw-material-challenge",{"text":77365,"type":596},", a Chinese automaker, is also one of the ",{"text":77367,"type":596,"marks":77368},"world’s largest battery makers",[77369],{"type":606,"attrs":77370},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77372,"type":596}," with 500 GWh of capacity in China’s 2030 pipeline.","Three-quarters of North America’s 2030 pipeline gigafactory capacity is associated with an automaker through either a solo or joint venture, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. This is a significantly higher proportion than the global 2030 pipeline, in which only 29% of capacity is associated with an automaker. China, by far the largest producer of batteries, […]",[77375],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77376},{"job_title":557,"image":77377,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0aa99954-0b92-4f63-842e-e53684ed144b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[77380,77381,77382],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77384,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77385,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1692311644/www-production/automaker-battery-involvement-1/automaker-battery-involvement-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77387,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77388,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d1e3ca388b/bm-automaker-battery-involvement-featured.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":77390,"uuid":77391,"name":77392,"slug":77393,"full_slug":77394,"content":77395},112470967433412,"1402bdac-60b9-40f9-a4ff-aaf98d1cc2f5","Lithium industry needs over $116 billion to meet automaker and policy targets by 2030","lithium-industry-needs-over-116-billion-to-meet-automaker-and-policy-targets-by-2030","article/lithium-industry-needs-over-116-billion-to-meet-automaker-and-policy-targets-by-2030",{"_uid":77396,"date":77397,"tags":77398,"editor":77400,"content":77404,"excerpt":77671,"featured":51,"reporter":77672,"_editable":77676,"component":697,"seo_title":77677,"categories":77678,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":77681,"featured_image":77684,"seo_description":77687,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":77688},"a06f33b1-58ac-4396-ba30-dc7642195998","2023-08-04 00:00",[77399],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[77401],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77402},{"job_title":557,"image":77403,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":77405},[77406,77411,77416,77427,77439,77444,77455,77464,77469,77476,77481,77486,77491,77496,77501,77506,77511,77516,77535,77554,77566,77578,77583,77595,77600,77605,77617,77622,77633,77638,77645,77650,77655,77660,77665],{"type":591,"attrs":77407,"content":77408},{"textAlign":49},[77409],{"text":77410,"type":596},"The lithium industry needs to invest $116 billion by 2030 if the world is to meet the ambitions targets set by governments and the largest automakers, according to a Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":77412,"content":77413},{"textAlign":49},[77414],{"text":77415,"type":596},"This “high case” scenario is based on automakers hitting their targets and electric vehicle penetration increasing on the back of enacted decarbonisation policies from governments around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":77417,"content":77418},{"textAlign":49},[77419,77421,77426],{"text":77420,"type":596},"This is more than double the $54 billion investment needed to meet Benchmark’s base case lithium demand scenario. This is an updated calculation following the ",{"text":77422,"type":596,"marks":77423},"investment analysis Benchmark developed last quarter",[77424],{"type":606,"attrs":77425},{"href":72553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77428,"content":77429},{"textAlign":49},[77430,77432,77437],{"text":77431,"type":596},"This money needs to go into building new mines and refineries, ",{"text":77433,"type":596,"marks":77434},"as well as expanding existing assets",[77435],{"type":606,"attrs":77436},{"href":65050,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77438,"type":596},". Even if every asset in the pipeline came online on time and hit their projected lithium production capacities, the world would still need 1.8 million tonnes on top of that to meet the high case demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":77440,"content":77441},{"textAlign":49},[77442],{"text":77443,"type":596},"The high case scenario, which encompasses data from Rho Motion on automakers’ passenger EV targets as well as data from the International Energy Agency on enacted country-level policies, would require 5.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). This is compared to the 915,000 tonnes LCE production in operation today.",{"type":591,"attrs":77445,"content":77446},{"textAlign":49},[77447,77449,77453],{"text":77448,"type":596},"“It’s almost impossible, and definitely a race against time,” ",{"text":3087,"type":596,"marks":77450},[77451],{"type":606,"attrs":77452},{"href":44601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77454,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark, said. “The big money that needs to be spent takes time to get approval for and to deploy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":77456,"content":77457},{"textAlign":49},[77458,77462],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":77459},[77460],{"type":606,"attrs":77461},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77463,"type":596}," tracks around 400 projects, but Perks is concerned that those with the deepest pockets are not going to rush to invest heavily in even more projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":77465,"content":77466},{"textAlign":49},[77467],{"text":77468,"type":596},"“The players with skin in the game are the least likely to rush their spending,” he said. “They don’t want to flood the market with lithium too quickly. They want to release it slowly to maximise their return.”",{"type":591,"attrs":77470,"content":77471},{"textAlign":49},[77472],{"type":836,"attrs":77473},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":77474,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":77475},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f6e93ed859/bm-lithium-supply-and-investment-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":77477,"content":77478},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77479],{"text":77480,"type":596},"Optimistic automakers invest upstream",{"type":591,"attrs":77482,"content":77483},{"textAlign":49},[77484],{"text":77485,"type":596},"A major driver behind the high case demand scenario are optimistic automaker targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":77487,"content":77488},{"textAlign":49},[77489],{"text":77490,"type":596},"General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, for example, aim to produce only electric vehicles by 2035 and 2030, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":77492,"content":77493},{"textAlign":49},[77494],{"text":77495,"type":596},"Stellantis aims for 100% of its Chinese vehicles to be electric by 2030. The company is also targeting 50% of all its vehicles in the US and 100% of all its passenger vehicles in Europe to be electric by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":77497,"content":77498},{"textAlign":49},[77499],{"text":77500,"type":596},"Tesla is targeting production of 20 million passenger EVs by 2030. In 2022, the company produced just over 1.3 million EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":77502,"content":77503},{"textAlign":49},[77504],{"text":77505,"type":596},"Benchmark’s high case scenario forecasts that 7.0 TWh of batteries will be needed in 2030, compared to 3.9 TWh in the base case scenario.",{"type":591,"attrs":77507,"content":77508},{"textAlign":49},[77509],{"text":77510,"type":596},"But without large increases in the amount of lithium, these targets will be impossible to hit. With the amount of lithium production forecast by Benchmark for 2030, only 3.2 TWh of lithium ion batteries can be produced, highlighting that the mineral is a constraining factor.",{"type":591,"attrs":77512,"content":77513},{"textAlign":49},[77514],{"text":77515,"type":596},"“As a carmaker, consumer, or EV policy maker, should I be alarmed? Yes,” Perks said.",{"type":591,"attrs":77517,"content":77518},{"textAlign":49},[77519,77521,77526,77528,77534],{"text":77520,"type":596},"In order to meet these ambitious targets, ",{"text":77522,"type":596,"marks":77523},"automakers are increasingly cutting out the middlemen",[77524],{"type":606,"attrs":77525},{"href":70476,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77527,"type":596}," and looking to ",{"text":77529,"type":596,"marks":77530},"secure lithium directly",[77531],{"type":606,"attrs":77532},{"href":77533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-signs-five-lithium-deals-to-secure-north-american-and-ira-compliant-supply",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77536,"content":77537},{"textAlign":49},[77538,77540,77546,77547,77552],{"text":77539,"type":596},"In January this year, ",{"text":77541,"type":596,"marks":77542},"GM announced it would invest $650 million",[77543],{"type":606,"attrs":77544},{"href":77545,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gm-commits-650-million-to-secure-us-lithium-production",{"text":25041,"type":596},{"text":10403,"type":596,"marks":77548},[77549],{"type":606,"attrs":77550},{"href":77551,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/this-is-going-to-represent-a-turning-point-qa-with-lithium-americas-ceo-jon-evans",{"text":77553,"type":596}," to help the developer progress their Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":77555,"content":77556},{"textAlign":49},[77557,77559,77565],{"text":77558,"type":596},"Tesla will invest over a billion dollars to build its own lithium hydroxide refinery in Texas which began construction in May this year. Chief executive ",{"text":77560,"type":596,"marks":77561},"Elon Musk cites lithium chemical production as being the bottleneck for the battery industry",[77562],{"type":606,"attrs":77563},{"href":77564,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-why-elon-musk-is-right-about-lithium-refining-being-a-bottleneck",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":77567,"content":77568},{"textAlign":49},[77569,77571,77576],{"text":77570,"type":596},"Last September CATL, the world’s largest cell producer, ",{"text":77572,"type":596,"marks":77573},"established",[77574],{"type":606,"attrs":77575},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":77577,"type":596}," a joint venture with Chinese cathode producer Lopal and lithium producer Tangshan Xinfeng Lithium to build a 30,000 tonne lithium carbonate facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":77579,"content":77580},{"textAlign":49},[77581],{"text":77582,"type":596},"CATL also acquired Yajiang Sinuowei Mining in March this year, following its bankruptcy. The mining junior has a spodumene exploration permit.",{"type":591,"attrs":77584,"content":77585},{"textAlign":49},[77586,77588,77593],{"text":77587,"type":596},"BYD, one of the world’s largest cell and EV producers, announced in ",{"text":77589,"type":596,"marks":77590},"August last year ",[77591],{"type":606,"attrs":77592},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":77594,"type":596},"that it will invest RMB 28.5 billion ($4.2 billion) to build a 30 GWh battery plant and a 100,000 tonne lithium carbonate facility that will process lepidolite.",{"type":591,"attrs":77596,"content":77597},{"textAlign":49},[77598],{"text":77599,"type":596},"BYD is also developing a 30,000 tonne brine project in Qinghai province as part of a joint venture with Qinghai Salt Lake.",{"type":615,"attrs":77601,"content":77602},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77603],{"text":77604,"type":596},"Policy pushing up penetration rates",{"type":591,"attrs":77606,"content":77607},{"textAlign":49},[77608,77610,77615],{"text":77609,"type":596},"Another major driver for the increased demand of the high-case scenario compared to the base case is primarily driven by ambitious ",{"text":77611,"type":596,"marks":77612},"governmental policies",[77613],{"type":606,"attrs":77614},{"href":63814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77616,"type":596}," that aim to reduce the carbon emissions of the transport sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":77618,"content":77619},{"textAlign":49},[77620],{"text":77621,"type":596},"The US is targeting a 50% penetration rate of EVs (battery, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell) in new sales by 2030. The UK will ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in the same year, with hybrids allowed until 2035. The EU has an ICE ban from 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":77623,"content":77624},{"textAlign":49},[77625,77627,77631],{"text":77626,"type":596},"Globally, ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":77628},[77629],{"type":606,"attrs":77630},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":77632,"type":596}," forecasts that 43.7% of new vehicle sales will be electric by 2030. This drastically increases to 82.5% if OEM targets and current policy targets are met. As a result, demand for lithium ion batteries jumps in 2030 from 3.9 TWh in the base case to 6.1 TWh in the high case.",{"type":591,"attrs":77634,"content":77635},{"textAlign":49},[77636],{"text":77637,"type":596},"China, one of the largest EV markets, plans to phase out ICE vehicles by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":77639,"content":77640},{"textAlign":49},[77641],{"type":836,"attrs":77642},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":77643,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":77644},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/149bba5f84/bm-image-88-13440539257a.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":77646,"content":77647},{"textAlign":49},[77648],{"text":77649,"type":596},"A range of subsidies for EVs will also boost demand. Although the US doesn’t have a binding target for when to have out ICE vehicles by, it does have the Inflation Reduction Act which offers up to $7,500 in tax incentives to purchase EVs that meet certain criteria.",{"type":591,"attrs":77651,"content":77652},{"textAlign":49},[77653],{"text":77654,"type":596},"The IRA also offers generous tax incentives for the development of domestic lithium and other critical mineral resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":77656,"content":77657},{"textAlign":49},[77658],{"text":77659,"type":596},"The US’s Department of Energy is also contributing towards the potential $100 billion lithium bill. The department’s Loan Programs Office offered a conditional $700 million loan to Ioneer at the start of this year for its Rhyolite Ridge project which plans to produce lithium carbonate at the mine site in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":77661,"content":77662},{"textAlign":49},[77663],{"text":77664,"type":596},"This analysis is drawn from the detail in Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast service – which provides detailed analysis and forecasts for supply, demand, prices and costs out to 2040.",{"type":591,"attrs":77666,"content":77667},{"textAlign":49},[77668,77670],{"text":77669,"type":596},"To learn more about our Lithium Forecast service – please provide your details here and our team will contact you shortly",{"text":4737,"type":596},"The lithium industry needs to invest $116 billion by 2030 if the world is to meet the ambitions targets set by governments and the largest automakers, according to a Benchmark analysis. This “high case” scenario is based on automakers hitting their targets and electric vehicle penetration increasing on the back of enacted decarbonisation policies from […]",[77673],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77674},{"job_title":557,"image":77675,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a06f33b1-58ac-4396-ba30-dc7642195998\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Lithium industry needs over $116 billion to meet automaker",[77679,77680],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77682,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77683,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1694087715/www-production/Lithium-supply-and-investment-redact/Lithium-supply-and-investment-redact.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77685,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77686,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a607aa808/bm-sdj-2611.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The lithium industry needs to invest $116 billion by 2030 if the world is to meet the ambitions targets set by governments and the largest automakers, according to a Benchmark analysis. ","Aug 04, 2023",{"id":77690,"uuid":77691,"name":77692,"slug":77693,"full_slug":77694,"content":77695},112470962620611,"37a45dd3-caad-4511-b3ad-05f9972641d6","Phosphate concerns drive Chinese battery investments in Morocco","phosphate-concerns-drive-chinese-battery-investments-in-morocco","article/phosphate-concerns-drive-chinese-battery-investments-in-morocco",{"_uid":77696,"date":77397,"tags":77697,"editor":77714,"content":77718,"excerpt":77945,"featured":51,"reporter":77946,"_editable":77950,"component":697,"seo_title":77692,"categories":77951,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":77958,"seo_description":77945,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":77688},"6930ee8d-f804-4a0f-a57a-b4ffa46d15cf",[77698,77699,77700,77701,77702,77703,77706,77707,77708,77711],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":43503,"name":43504},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":13425,"name":13426},{"slug":77704,"name":77705},"guangzhou-tinci-materials","Guangzhou Tinci Materials",{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":27053,"name":27054},{"slug":77709,"name":77710},"north-africa","North Africa",{"slug":77712,"name":77713},"yahua-industrial-group","Yahua Industrial Group",[77715],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77716},{"job_title":557,"image":77717,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":77719},[77720,77731,77736,77748,77760,77765,77770,77775,77780,77785,77790,77797,77802,77814,77819,77824,77829,77834,77839,77844,77849,77854,77859,77864,77869,77874,77885,77890,77895,77900,77905,77910,77915,77920,77925,77930,77935,77940],{"type":591,"attrs":77721,"content":77722},{"textAlign":49},[77723,77725,77729],{"text":77724,"type":596},"Concerns about access to phosphate, a mineral input for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":77726},[77727],{"type":606,"attrs":77728},{"href":64480,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77730,"type":596},", are driving Chinese battery producers to invest in Morocco, where 70% of the known global rock phosphate reserves are located. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77732,"content":77733},{"textAlign":49},[77734],{"text":77735,"type":596},"Cell maker Gotion High Tech and battery chemicals producers Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group and Guangzhou Tinci Materials have all announced plans to build cell or battery chemical facilities in the north African country this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77737,"content":77738},{"textAlign":49},[77739,77741,77746],{"text":77740,"type":596},"China will produce around 99% of this year’s ",{"text":77742,"type":596,"marks":77743},"global supply",[77744],{"type":606,"attrs":77745},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77747,"type":596}," of LFP cells, according to Benchmark. The cathodes of LFPs contain phosphate in the form of iron phosphate, a material which makes up 95.6% of the cathode’s total mass. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77749,"content":77750},{"textAlign":49},[77751,77753,77758],{"text":77752,"type":596},"With inputs that are cheaper than cobalt and nickel, ",{"text":77754,"type":596,"marks":77755},"LFP battery cells",[77756],{"type":606,"attrs":77757},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77759,"type":596}," are a cost-effective alternative to NCA and NCM battery cell chemistries. However, certain producers are nervous that phosphate supplies could become more pressured, according to Benchmark analyst Albert Li.",{"type":591,"attrs":77761,"content":77762},{"textAlign":49},[77763],{"text":77764,"type":596},"Phosphate’s biggest end use is as an ingredient for crop fertiliser. With the Ukraine war disrupting trade in agricultural commodities, LFP producers may find themselves having to compete harder with the fertiliser industry for the mineral. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77766,"content":77767},{"textAlign":49},[77768],{"text":77769,"type":596},"The biggest Chinese lithium ion investment into Morocco this year came in June from Gotion. The company, which mainly manufactures LFPs, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan government to build a $6.5 billion for a 100 gigawatt hour (GWh) electric vehicle battery plant in the country. It would become Africa’s first cell project and Gotion’s largest cell plant by capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":77771,"content":77772},{"textAlign":49},[77773],{"text":77774,"type":596},"In late June, battery chemicals producer Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology announced it would build a MAD 2.8 billion ($282 million) EV battery materials plant in Morocco. In April, South Korea’s LG Energy Solution signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s Yahua Industrial Group to set up a lithium hydroxide plant in the north African country.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":77776,"content":77777},{"textAlign":49},[77778],{"text":77779,"type":596},"According to Li, the new projects will almost certainly source lithium from Chinese mines around the African continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":77781,"content":77782},{"textAlign":49},[77783],{"text":77784,"type":596},"Another draw of Morocco are its free trade agreements with the EU and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":77786,"content":77787},{"textAlign":49},[77788],{"text":77789,"type":596},"“Morocco is a key producer and has an FTA with the US. It can leverage its position across different geographies and different markets,” said Benchmark consultant Manish Dua.",{"type":591,"attrs":77791,"content":77792},{"textAlign":49},[77793],{"type":836,"attrs":77794},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":77795,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":77796},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8b0244c6a6/bm-lfp-cathode.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":77798,"content":77799},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77800],{"text":77801,"type":596},"Rising prices and limited reserves",{"type":591,"attrs":77803,"content":77804},{"textAlign":49},[77805,77807,77812],{"text":77806,"type":596},"China’s LFP cathode production ",{"text":77808,"type":596,"marks":77809},"rose 147% year-on-year",[77810],{"type":606,"attrs":77811},{"href":58806,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77813,"type":596}," in 2022 but its domestic phosphate reserves may not be enough to sustain this growth longer term. The country is the world’s biggest phosphate rock producer but holds only 5% of the global reserve in the mineral. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77815,"content":77816},{"textAlign":49},[77817],{"text":77818,"type":596},"Chinese actors are also aware of the possibility that Morocco may decide to lean its phosphate exports towards agriculture, as global prices for phosphate fertilisers climb in the wake of the Ukraine war, according to Benchmark analyst Li.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":77820,"content":77821},{"textAlign":49},[77822],{"text":77823,"type":596},"By operating within Morocco, Chinese companies would bypass potential Moroccan export restrictions on phosphates. These could follow a similar model to Indonesia’s nickel ban, where raw materials extracted in the country must also be processed there. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77825,"content":77826},{"textAlign":49},[77827],{"text":77828,"type":596},"Worries that Morocco could take its phosphate off the international market are not unfounded. China itself began restricting exports of phosphate products in 2021 in order to lower prices and ensure food security. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77830,"content":77831},{"textAlign":49},[77832],{"text":77833,"type":596},"In addition, food security measures by Morocco could restrict Chinese industry access to phosphates. Morocco’s wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia fell from 24% to 3% in 2022 after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, raising the likelihood it may divert phosphate towards fertiliser for domestic food production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77835,"content":77836},{"textAlign":49},[77837],{"text":77838,"type":596},"The Moroccan prime minister stated in parliament that his government was working to achieve national food sovereignty in the face of inflation, energy and raw material price rises, and disruption to global supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77840,"content":77841},{"textAlign":49},[77842],{"text":77843,"type":596},"In late 2022, the state owned phosphate miner OCP Group launched a $13 billion strategy in 2022 to raise its fertiliser production capacity from 12 million tonnes today to 20 million tonnes by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":77845,"content":77846},{"textAlign":49},[77847],{"text":77848,"type":596},"OCP’s Group’s strategy, which acknowledged the challenge of striking a balance between phosphate use in agriculture and new industries, also outlined a target of producing 20, 000 tonnes of fluorine and 30, 000 tonnes of intermediate products for LFP batteries by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":77850,"content":77851},{"textAlign":49},[77852],{"text":77853,"type":596},"Owning Moroccan capacity would also allow Chinese battery makers to avoid potential regulatory clampdown on industrial phosphate use, which is causing severe environmental pollution in China.",{"type":615,"attrs":77855,"content":77856},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77857],{"text":77858,"type":596},"A gateway to western markets",{"type":591,"attrs":77860,"content":77861},{"textAlign":49},[77862],{"text":77863,"type":596},"Morocco’s geographic and political proximity to Western markets makes it strategically valuable for Chinese producers wanting to establish mid- to downstream facilities overseas.",{"type":591,"attrs":77865,"content":77866},{"textAlign":49},[77867],{"text":77868,"type":596},"First are the obvious logistical efficiencies that come with building supply chains nearer to the European continent. Further, Morocco’s free trade agreements with the EU and US could also place Chinese manufacturers in line for Western green industrial subsidies designed to encourage more battery materials from outside China.",{"type":591,"attrs":77870,"content":77871},{"textAlign":49},[77872],{"text":77873,"type":596},"Yet manufacturing in Morocco could have drawbacks compared to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":77875,"content":77876},{"textAlign":49},[77877,77879,77883],{"text":77878,"type":596},"“Like all the other projects outside China, comparing with China, Morocco has higher labour costs, less developed infrastructure, high environmental standards, and industrial chain disadvantages – in ",{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":77880},[77881],{"type":606,"attrs":77882},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":77884,"type":596},", cathode, anode, graphite, lithium, cobalt, and battery production might be in the same area,” said Benchmark analyst Li.",{"type":615,"attrs":77886,"content":77887},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77888],{"text":77889,"type":596},"China-Morocco relations",{"type":591,"attrs":77891,"content":77892},{"textAlign":49},[77893],{"text":77894,"type":596},"Chinese investments to Morocco are being underpinned by strong diplomatic relations between China and Morocco.",{"type":591,"attrs":77896,"content":77897},{"textAlign":49},[77898],{"text":77899,"type":596},"Gotion signed its memorandum of understanding at the Gitex Africa tech startup event in June with Morocco’s delegate minister for investment, Mohcine Jazouli, who earlier this year visited China to encourage investments into his country.",{"type":591,"attrs":77901,"content":77902},{"textAlign":49},[77903],{"text":77904,"type":596},"Morocco and China’s economic ties intensified in 2016, when the King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited China to secure a strategic partnership between the nations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77906,"content":77907},{"textAlign":49},[77908],{"text":77909,"type":596},"In 2022, Morocco deepened its cooperation with China by becoming the first North African country to sign an agreement to implement the Belt and Road Initiative. ",{"type":615,"attrs":77911,"content":77912},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77913],{"text":77914,"type":596},"Yahua selects Morocco for first plant abroad",{"type":591,"attrs":77916,"content":77917},{"textAlign":49},[77918],{"text":77919,"type":596},"Yahua and LG Energy Solutions’ lithium hydroxide plant in Morocco would become Yahua’s first battery chemicals plant outside of China. Capacity has not yet been announced. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77921,"content":77922},{"textAlign":49},[77923],{"text":77924,"type":596},"Yahua is a major supplier of Tesla. The group is also developing the Damaraland pegmatite lithium mine in Western Namibia. ",{"type":615,"attrs":77926,"content":77927},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[77928],{"text":77929,"type":596},"Tinci continues foreign expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":77931,"content":77932},{"textAlign":49},[77933],{"text":77934,"type":596},"Tinci’s planned Moroccan plant will be developed by its Singapore unit. In its company statement, Tinci cited Morocco’s phosphorite ore resources and the country’s access to the European market as factors in its investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":77936,"content":77937},{"textAlign":49},[77938],{"text":77939,"type":596},"Tinci specialises in battery electrolytes. It also produces LFP cathodes in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":77941,"content":77942},{"textAlign":49},[77943],{"text":77944,"type":596},"Tinci’s Moroccan plant announcement came as it had already started feasibility and environment impact assessment studies for its 200, 000 tonne capacity lithium battery electrolyte factory in Texas, USA.","Concerns about access to phosphate, a mineral input for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathodes, are driving Chinese battery producers to invest in Morocco, where 70% of the known global rock phosphate reserves are located. Cell maker Gotion High Tech and battery chemicals producers Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group and Guangzhou Tinci Materials have all announced […]",[77947],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77948},{"job_title":557,"image":77949,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6930ee8d-f804-4a0f-a57a-b4ffa46d15cf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[77952,77953,77954,77955,77956,77957],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":77959,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":77959,"source":547,"filename":77960,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":77961,"is_external_url":51},"An aerial view of an open pit phosphate mine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fc08177220/bm-shutterstock-175148927-1303816d8d2b.jpg",{"alt":77959,"title":77959,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":77963,"uuid":77964,"name":77965,"slug":77966,"full_slug":77967,"content":77968},112470977313066,"0af8b71f-334e-4ed7-9c99-68ebfb09bc89","Benchmark to publish EXW China cobalt oxide chemical spot prices","benchmark-to-publish-exw-china-cobalt-oxide-chemical-spot-prices","article/benchmark-to-publish-exw-china-cobalt-oxide-chemical-spot-prices",{"_uid":77969,"date":77970,"tags":77971,"editor":77975,"content":77979,"excerpt":78130,"featured":50,"reporter":78131,"_editable":78135,"component":697,"seo_title":77965,"categories":78136,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":78139,"seo_description":78130,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78141},"f24791d2-516f-41d9-99c4-c5504b2983ee","2023-08-03 00:00",[77972,77973,77974],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[77976],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":77977},{"job_title":557,"image":77978,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":77980},[77981,77994,77999,78014,78020,78025,78038,78043,78048,78053,78058,78072,78079,78086,78091,78098,78103,78107,78116,78121,78126],{"type":591,"attrs":77982,"content":77983},{"textAlign":49},[77984,77986,77992],{"text":77985,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish market price assessments for ",{"text":77987,"type":596,"marks":77988},"cobalt oxide",[77989],{"type":606,"attrs":77990},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/",{"text":77993,"type":596},", EXW China spot prices, every two weeks.",{"type":591,"attrs":77995,"content":77996},{"textAlign":49},[77997],{"text":77998,"type":596},"China is the primary market for battery-grade cobalt chemical sales globally and due to supply illiquidity, pricing in cobalt oxide has historically been opaque.",{"type":591,"attrs":78000,"content":78001},{"textAlign":49},[78002,78004,78010,78012],{"text":78003,"type":596},"This evolution allows for expansion of cobalt price assessment coverage within the parameters of Benchmark’s",{"text":78005,"type":596,"marks":78006},"IOSCO-compliant",[78007],{"type":606,"attrs":78008},{"href":78009,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-completes-type-2-iosco-audit-for-lithium-ion-battery-raw-material-prices",{"text":78011,"type":596}," price methodology and underpins Benchmark’s",{"text":78013,"type":596},"role in bringing transparency to opaque markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":78015,"content":78016},{"textAlign":49},[78017,78018],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":78019,"type":596},"prides itself on truly understanding and listening to the cobalt market to guide our Price Assessment practices. ",{"type":615,"attrs":78021,"content":78022},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78023],{"text":78024,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt prices – semi-monthly",{"type":591,"attrs":78026,"content":78027},{"textAlign":49},[78028,78032,78036],{"text":12236,"type":596,"marks":78029},[78030],{"type":606,"attrs":78031},{"href":74017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":62571,"type":596,"marks":78033},[78034],{"type":606,"attrs":78035},{"href":74017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78037,"type":596}," subscribers will now have access to the following cobalt prices on a semi-monthly basis:",{"type":591,"attrs":78039,"content":78040},{"textAlign":49},[78041],{"text":78042,"type":596},"·        Cobalt hydroxide, CIF Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":78044,"content":78045},{"textAlign":49},[78046],{"text":78047,"type":596},"·        Cobalt battery metal, EXW Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":78049,"content":78050},{"textAlign":49},[78051],{"text":78052,"type":596},"·        Cobalt sulphate, EXW China",{"type":591,"attrs":78054,"content":78055},{"textAlign":49},[78056],{"text":78057,"type":596},"·        Cobalt oxide, EXW China",{"type":591,"attrs":78059,"content":78060},{"textAlign":49},[78061,78063,78067,78069,78070],{"text":78062,"type":596},"These four prices will be published for access by subscribers to Benchmark’s",{"text":55357,"type":596,"marks":78064},[78065],{"type":606,"attrs":78066},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78068,"type":596}," on the 15",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":78071,"type":596}," of the month (or the closest workday following the 15th) by 4pm (London) and on the final working day of the month, 4pm (London). Market analysis will be sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":78073,"content":78074},{"textAlign":49},[78075,78077],{"text":78076,"type":596},"“I’m pleased to announce this change to Benchmark’s",{"text":78078,"type":596},"market leading IOSCO compliant Cobalt Price Assessment, as Benchmark continues to evolve its offering to serve its role in providing the most trusted actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":78080,"content":78081},{"textAlign":49},[78082,78084],{"text":78083,"type":596},"“As the cobalt market evolves with the largest industrial shift seen in generations, the energy transition, Benchmark",{"text":78085,"type":596},"works hard to ensure its data reflects current market trends and pricing mechanisms used by active participants in the physical supply chain, to settle long term supply contracts and make critical investment decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":78087,"content":78088},{"textAlign":49},[78089],{"text":78090,"type":596},"“Benchmark is a market-first organisation that evolves its operations and processes on the basis of market needs, and not before. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78092,"content":78093},{"textAlign":49},[78094,78096],{"text":78095,"type":596},"“We continue to work closely with the global cobalt supply chain to ensure that Benchmark’s",{"text":78097,"type":596},"data is the most accurate and reliable in the market and are committed to evolving our Price Assessment processes to meet current market conditions and the needs of our subscribers.”",{"type":615,"attrs":78099,"content":78100},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78101],{"text":78102,"type":596},"Benchmark Price Assessments – contact us: ",{"type":591,"attrs":78104,"content":78105},{"textAlign":49},[78106],{"text":24762,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78108,"content":78109},{"textAlign":49},[78110,78112],{"text":78111,"type":596},"If you would like to provide feedback or become a price submitter for the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment please contact us at ",{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":78113},[78114],{"type":606,"attrs":78115},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":78117,"content":78118},{"textAlign":49},[78119],{"text":78120,"type":596},"We publish weekly and monthly Price Assessments – Lithium, Cobalt, Natural Graphite, Synthetic Graphite, Nickel, Cathode, Anode and Lithium Ion Battery Cells – to the highest IOSCO standard.",{"type":615,"attrs":78122,"content":78123},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78124],{"text":78125,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment service:",{"type":591,"attrs":78127,"content":78128},{"textAlign":49},[78129],{"text":55424,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish market price assessments for cobalt oxide, EXW China spot prices, every two weeks. China is the primary market for battery-grade cobalt chemical sales globally and due to supply illiquidity, pricing in cobalt oxide has historically been opaque. This evolution allows for expansion of cobalt price assessment coverage within the […]",[78132],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78133},{"job_title":557,"image":78134,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f24791d2-516f-41d9-99c4-c5504b2983ee\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[78137,78138],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":78140,"is_external_url":50},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 03, 2023",{"id":78143,"uuid":78144,"name":78145,"slug":78146,"full_slug":78147,"content":78148},112470986955052,"2becad1c-9133-4ad8-ae48-f9c89346305f","Gigafactory investment slows in first half of 2023 as producers focus on existing plans","gigafactory-investment-slows-in-first-half-of-2023-as-producers-focus-on-existing-plans","article/gigafactory-investment-slows-in-first-half-of-2023-as-producers-focus-on-existing-plans",{"_uid":78149,"date":78150,"tags":78151,"editor":78153,"content":78157,"excerpt":78253,"featured":50,"reporter":78254,"_editable":78258,"component":697,"seo_title":78145,"categories":78259,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":78262,"seo_description":78253,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78265},"86330492-b5ff-4e6c-81f8-ac02720a8290","2023-08-02 00:00",[78152],{"slug":575,"name":576},[78154],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78155},{"job_title":557,"image":78156,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":78158},[78159,78164,78169,78174,78193,78198,78203,78210,78215,78220,78225,78238,78243,78248],{"type":591,"attrs":78160,"content":78161},{"textAlign":49},[78162],{"text":78163,"type":596},"The pace of announced investments in new lithium ion gigafactories slowed significantly in the first half of 2023 as producers shift focus to bringing existing projects online instead of investing in new ones and some new entrants were forced to suspend projects due to financial woes.",{"type":591,"attrs":78165,"content":78166},{"textAlign":49},[78167],{"text":78168,"type":596},"Battery producers had until last year raced to invest in new capacity but are now struggling with an uncertain downstream demand from the electric vehicle sector in China which got off to a weak start earlier this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":78170,"content":78171},{"textAlign":49},[78172],{"text":78173,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery cell production capacity pipeline to 2030 grew 986.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the first six months of 2023, according to Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment. In comparison, 1,653 GWh was added in the first six months of 2022 and 1,362.9 GWh in the second half.",{"type":591,"attrs":78175,"content":78176},{"textAlign":49},[78177,78179,78185,78187,78192],{"text":78178,"type":596},"Falling raw ",{"text":78180,"type":596,"marks":78181},"material prices",[78182],{"type":606,"attrs":78183},{"href":78184,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-ev-recovery-fails-to-stir-lithium-prices",{"text":78186,"type":596}," and and robust supply amid an uncertain demand has also contributed to some lithium ion battery cells prices falling lower. Global weighted average lithium ion cell prices have fallen 15.7% so far this year, according to ",{"text":78188,"type":596,"marks":78189},"Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment",[78190],{"type":606,"attrs":78191},{"href":52673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78194,"content":78195},{"textAlign":49},[78196],{"text":78197,"type":596},"“With the US and the EU wanting to reduce reliance on China, it may become harder to export Chinese made cells to these markets in future and with a weakening local demand, there is potentially less need for a ramp up and further investment in local production,” said Aran Waid, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":78199,"content":78200},{"textAlign":49},[78201],{"text":78202,"type":596},"Chinese suppliers may need to make investments to access overseas markets instead but will have to wait for clarity on the definition of foreign entity of concern to know whether they will be Inflation Reduction Act compliant for the US market.",{"type":591,"attrs":78204,"content":78205},{"textAlign":49},[78206],{"type":836,"attrs":78207},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78208,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78209},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5306e44da9/bm-gigafactory-h1-h2-capacity-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78211,"content":78212},{"textAlign":49},[78213],{"text":78214,"type":596},"Slowing pace",{"type":591,"attrs":78216,"content":78217},{"textAlign":49},[78218],{"text":78219,"type":596},"In July, the lithium ion battery pipeline production capacity to 2030 grew by only 115 GWh (GWh) month-on-month to 8,929.9 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78221,"content":78222},{"textAlign":49},[78223],{"text":78224,"type":596},"“Many producers are continuing to focus on developing and bringing online existing projects, rather than investing in new facilities,” Evan Hartley, analyst with Benchmark said.",{"type":591,"attrs":78226,"content":78227},{"textAlign":49},[78228,78230,78236],{"text":78229,"type":596},"The 13.9 GWh pipeline capacity growth in ",{"text":78231,"type":596,"marks":78232},"April was the smallest monthly increase",[78233],{"type":606,"attrs":78234},{"href":78235,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-gigafactory-plans-slow-down-in-april-after-record-2022",{"text":78237,"type":596}," since November 2020, while July marked the third slowest addition this year, according to Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78239,"content":78240},{"textAlign":49},[78241],{"text":78242,"type":596},"Between mid June and early July saw very limited new capacity commitments, with only one project announced in China. Zhejiang headquartered Narada Power Source was the only company to confirm aims to expand cell production plans and target a 20 GWh cell production capacity with an investment of RMB 10 billion ($1.4 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":78244,"content":78245},{"textAlign":49},[78246],{"text":78247,"type":596},"Narada aims to achieve nameplate capacity at the site by 2027 where it will focus on prismatic lithium ion iron phosphate (LFP) cells for use within China’s energy storage (ESS) market. Narada currently supplies LFP cells globally for use within ESS applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":78249,"content":78250},{"textAlign":49},[78251],{"text":78252,"type":596},"The number of plants being tracked increased from 264 at the beginning of 2022 to 399 plants in July this year, according to Benchmark. To be sure, some of the plants are yet to begin operations.","The pace of announced investments in new lithium ion gigafactories slowed significantly in the first half of 2023 as producers shift focus to bringing existing projects online instead of investing in new ones and some new entrants were forced to suspend projects due to financial woes. Battery producers had until last year raced to invest […]",[78255],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78256},{"job_title":557,"image":78257,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"86330492-b5ff-4e6c-81f8-ac02720a8290\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[78260,78261],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":78263,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":78264,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c4ab44146a/bm-hidden-gigafactory-vietnam-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 02, 2023",{"id":78267,"uuid":78268,"name":78269,"slug":78270,"full_slug":78271,"content":78272},112471010687283,"eeb98cf9-37e3-4e35-bd96-8cd0f58eb2e7","Chinese lithium prices continue to fall as miners dismiss demand concerns","chinese-lithium-prices-continue-to-fall-as-miners-dismiss-demand-concerns","article/chinese-lithium-prices-continue-to-fall-as-miners-dismiss-demand-concerns",{"_uid":78273,"date":78274,"tags":78275,"editor":78277,"content":78281,"excerpt":78393,"featured":51,"reporter":78394,"_editable":78398,"component":697,"seo_title":78269,"categories":78399,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":78402,"seo_description":78393,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78405},"38eeae40-792e-441f-8eea-ec58335e8b12","2023-07-28 00:00",[78276],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[78278],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78279},{"job_title":557,"image":78280,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":78282},[78283,78288,78298,78303,78316,78321,78326,78331,78336,78341,78346,78351,78361,78368,78373,78378,78383,78388],{"type":591,"attrs":78284,"content":78285},{"textAlign":49},[78286],{"text":78287,"type":596},"Chinese lithium prices continued to fall over the past week, due to a slowdown in purchases and a rise in domestic supply, but some of the largest mining companies said demand for their products remained strong. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78289,"content":78290},{"textAlign":49},[78291,78293,78297],{"text":78292,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China fell by 4.4% in the week ending July 26, from a week earlier, to RMB 290,500 ($40,675) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":19758,"type":596,"marks":78294},[78295],{"type":606,"attrs":78296},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78299,"content":78300},{"textAlign":49},[78301],{"text":78302,"type":596},"“Some buyers are of the opinion that prices will fall further. So, while they have sufficient inventories, they aren’t pressured to buy extra volumes on the spot market,” said Adam Megginson, an analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":78304,"content":78305},{"textAlign":49},[78306,78308,78314],{"text":78307,"type":596},"The latest declines also coincide with Guangzhou Futures Exchange launching the lithium carbonates ",{"text":78309,"type":596,"marks":78310},"futures",[78311],{"type":606,"attrs":78312},{"href":78313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://finance.sina.com.cn/futures/quotes/LC2407.shtml",{"text":78315,"type":596}," last week. In the first two days of trading, the prices for the January contract at the exchange closed below the daily limit only to rebound on the third day.",{"type":591,"attrs":78317,"content":78318},{"textAlign":49},[78319],{"text":78320,"type":596},"Spot prices for lithium hydroxide in the Chinese domestic market fell by 3% to an average of RMB 278,500 ($39,000) per tonne amid sluggish downstream demand for high nickel cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":78322,"content":78323},{"textAlign":49},[78324],{"text":78325,"type":596},"Dale Henderson, chief executive officer of Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals, dismissed falling lithium prices on the future exchange and told analysts this week that demand remains strong.",{"type":591,"attrs":78327,"content":78328},{"textAlign":49},[78329],{"text":78330,"type":596},"“That contract went lower than expectations … we have seen such outsized responses to small contracts and small volume movements and are encouraged to step back and look at the macro drivers because from our view, they remain very strong,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78332,"content":78333},{"textAlign":49},[78334],{"text":78335,"type":596},"Weak lithium prices however weighed on Pilbara’s quarterly revenue despite a 10% jump in production. The company reported revenue fell 18% from the previous quarter to A$800 million ($533 million) for the quarter ending in June while average realised spodumene concentrate sales price declined 33% to $3,256 per tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":78337,"content":78338},{"textAlign":49},[78339],{"text":78340,"type":596},"Lithium miner Allkem said this week that Chinese EV sales and battery production data have shown strong improvements, and it expected demand to “exhibit a strong uptick during the second half of the year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":78342,"content":78343},{"textAlign":49},[78344],{"text":78345,"type":596},"“The truth remains that market fundamentals are strong,” Christian Barbier, chief sales and market officer at Allkem, said. “We cannot afford to become distracted by short term volatility.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":78347,"content":78348},{"textAlign":49},[78349],{"text":78350,"type":596},"Allkem said third party lithium carbonate sales for its most recent quarter averaged $38,062 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78352,"content":78353},{"textAlign":49},[78354,78355,78359],{"text":53184,"type":596},{"text":35267,"type":596,"marks":78356},[78357],{"type":606,"attrs":78358},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78360,"type":596},", the lithium market will be slightly undersupplied this year, before moving into a balance between supply and demand between 2024 to 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78362,"content":78363},{"textAlign":49},[78364],{"type":836,"attrs":78365},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78366,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78367},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f36ae82d1/bm-lithium-price-chart1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":78369,"content":78370},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78371],{"text":78372,"type":596},"Global lithium prices catch up ",{"type":591,"attrs":78374,"content":78375},{"textAlign":49},[78376],{"text":78377,"type":596},"Lithium chemical prices in the international markets fell as contract prices ticked lower in a slow response to falling spot prices in China at the beginning of the second quarter. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78379,"content":78380},{"textAlign":49},[78381],{"text":78382,"type":596},"Contract prices on a CIF Asia basis fell by 20% to an average of $40,000/tonne in the assessment period 12 July – 26 July 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78384,"content":78385},{"textAlign":49},[78386],{"text":78387,"type":596},"This was in a lagged response to decreasing spot prices in China at the start of Q2 2023, to which many long-term contracts are linked with quarterly pricing readjustment, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78389,"content":78390},{"textAlign":49},[78391],{"text":78392,"type":596},"“Overall, the market is in a short-term equilibrium, where demand is gradually picking up, but supply is rising to meet it. This has not led to any big changes in spot prices. The biggest changes in prices over the last two weeks have been in contracts and that’s because they are now reflecting the lower spot price environment,” said Megginson.","Chinese lithium prices continued to fall over the past week, due to a slowdown in purchases and a rise in domestic supply, but some of the largest mining companies said demand for their products remained strong. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China fell by 4.4% in the week ending July 26, from a week earlier, […]",[78395],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78396},{"job_title":557,"image":78397,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"38eeae40-792e-441f-8eea-ec58335e8b12\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[78400,78401],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":78403,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":78404,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d2e7635f96/bm-argentina-lithium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 28, 2023",{"id":78407,"uuid":78408,"name":78409,"slug":78410,"full_slug":78411,"content":78412},112471032408375,"e6fe1098-c1cf-4529-bcba-8970a81cb952","Cobalt hydroxide prices rise as truck shortages slows freight out of DRC","cobalt-hydroxide-prices-rise-as-truck-shortages-slows-freight-out-of-drc","article/cobalt-hydroxide-prices-rise-as-truck-shortages-slows-freight-out-of-drc",{"_uid":78413,"date":78414,"tags":78415,"editor":78418,"content":78422,"excerpt":78541,"featured":51,"reporter":78542,"_editable":78546,"component":697,"seo_title":78409,"categories":78547,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":78549,"seo_description":78541,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78552},"793bc438-0ea8-4251-9ea9-2cbf383096c4","2023-07-21 00:00",[78416,78417],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[78419],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78420},{"job_title":557,"image":78421,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":78423},[78424,78429,78434,78439,78444,78449,78454,78459,78464,78471,78482,78487,78492,78504,78509,78521,78526,78531,78536],{"type":591,"attrs":78425,"content":78426},{"textAlign":49},[78427],{"text":78428,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide prices have reported a sharp increase in the past six weeks due to logistical constraints at the port of Durban in South Africa, where a shortage of trucks is slowing the flow of battery material out of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ",{"type":591,"attrs":78430,"content":78431},{"textAlign":49},[78432],{"text":78433,"type":596},"Asian cobalt hydroxide prices have risen 18.8% since early June and are up 8.3% to $20,172 per tonne so far in July, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":78435,"content":78436},{"textAlign":49},[78437],{"text":78438,"type":596},"Logistical delays at Durban have been worsening as suppliers prioritise exporting copper from Glencore and CMOC’s Tenke Fungurume mine over cobalt and while there are plenty of trucks at the port, not enough are heading to the DRC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78440,"content":78441},{"textAlign":49},[78442],{"text":78443,"type":596},"“Cobalt prices are very sentiment driven. There is no improvement in mid to downstream demand in line with the price increases. This is purely supply-side, it’s not at all demand driven and this price increase is not sustainable,” said Roman Aubry, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":78445,"content":78446},{"textAlign":49},[78447],{"text":78448,"type":596},"Slow downstream demand from the electric vehicle market, especially the weaker recovery in the NCM market, has kept cobalt prices lower in recent months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78450,"content":78451},{"textAlign":49},[78452],{"text":78453,"type":596},"“There has also been a buildup of logistical problems which has made availability of cobalt hydroxide out of Durban more and more difficult leading to a supply-side tightness that started to form in the spot market since early June,” said Aubry.",{"type":591,"attrs":78455,"content":78456},{"textAlign":49},[78457],{"text":78458,"type":596},"The DRC produces nearly all of the world’s cobalt hydroxide but the bulk of the crude feedstock is tied up in long term contracts, leaving little material available for spot transactions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78460,"content":78461},{"textAlign":49},[78462],{"text":78463,"type":596},"The logistical limitations have also worsened due to an oversupply of sulphuric acid in the DRC, which has reduced the number of incoming trucks available to transport cobalt hydroxide out of the region. There are also seasonal issues such as winter in the southern hemisphere that has further slowed the flow of road freight between the DRC and Durban.",{"type":591,"attrs":78465,"content":78466},{"textAlign":49},[78467],{"type":836,"attrs":78468},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78469,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78470},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/102674403e/bm-cobalt-hydroxide-prices-july-edited-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78472,"content":78473},{"textAlign":49},[78474,78476,78480],{"text":78475,"type":596},"Also, earlier this month, Chinese State Reserve Bureau (SRB) ",{"text":76811,"type":596,"marks":78477},[78478],{"type":606,"attrs":78479},{"href":73137,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78481,"type":596}," plans to buy 5,600 tonnes of cobalt metal over the next six months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78483,"content":78484},{"textAlign":49},[78485],{"text":78486,"type":596},"Despite recent sharp increases, cobalt hydroxide prices are down 25% from the end of 2022 primarily due to weaker downstream demand from the electric vehicle sector compared with last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":78488,"content":78489},{"textAlign":49},[78490],{"text":78491,"type":596},"More supplies are on the way",{"type":591,"attrs":78493,"content":78494},{"textAlign":49},[78495,78497,78502],{"text":78496,"type":596},"CMOC’s Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine had piled up an estimated 16,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide during the 10-month export ban which was ",{"text":78498,"type":596,"marks":78499},"lifted",[78500],{"type":606,"attrs":78501},{"href":73046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78503,"type":596}," in May. Many in the industry had expected volumes from Tenke to enter the market but that did not happen and now the feedstock is expected to reach China until August.",{"type":591,"attrs":78505,"content":78506},{"textAlign":49},[78507],{"text":78508,"type":596},"“There is more additional supply coming to the market in the coming months which will weigh on the spot market. Cobalt exports are not being prioritised from Tenke Fungurume following the lifting of the export ban but some volumes will reach China soon,” said Harry Fisher, analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78510,"content":78511},{"textAlign":49},[78512,78514,78519],{"text":78513,"type":596},"CMOC’s Kisanfu mine is also expected to start production this year where it ",{"text":72531,"type":596,"marks":78515},[78516],{"type":606,"attrs":78517},{"href":78518,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://en.cmoc.com/html/2022/News_0701/60.html",{"text":78520,"type":596}," to produce 30,000 tonnes of cobalt a year upon reaching full production.",{"type":591,"attrs":78522,"content":78523},{"textAlign":49},[78524],{"text":78525,"type":596},"Knock-on effect",{"type":591,"attrs":78527,"content":78528},{"textAlign":49},[78529],{"text":78530,"type":596},"Prices of cobalt metal and cobalt sulphate have shown similar increases due to a combination of improving market sentiment and rising hydroxide prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78532,"content":78533},{"textAlign":49},[78534],{"text":78535,"type":596},"Chinese cobalt sulphate market prices are up 13.8% so far in July, according Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment. Despite the recent increases, cobalt sulphate prices in China are still down 12.5% so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":78537,"content":78538},{"textAlign":49},[78539],{"text":78540,"type":596},"EXW Europe metal prices increased by 22.1% so far in July, helped by drying up of supplies of cheaper material. Metal prices in Europe are down 11% so far this year.","Cobalt hydroxide prices have reported a sharp increase in the past six weeks due to logistical constraints at the port of Durban in South Africa, where a shortage of trucks is slowing the flow of battery material out of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Asian cobalt hydroxide prices have risen 18.8% since early June […]",[78543],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78544},{"job_title":557,"image":78545,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"793bc438-0ea8-4251-9ea9-2cbf383096c4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[78548],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":78550,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":78551,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6af1f07149/bm-drc-cobalt-trucks.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 21, 2023",{"id":78554,"uuid":78555,"name":78556,"slug":78557,"full_slug":78558,"content":78559},112471052388668,"6f90a602-117c-4664-8033-73610cd09867","Tata, Jaguar Land Rover gigafactory more than doubles UK pipeline capacity","tata-jaguar-land-rover-gigafactory-more-than-doubles-uk-pipeline-capacity","article/tata-jaguar-land-rover-gigafactory-more-than-doubles-uk-pipeline-capacity",{"_uid":78560,"date":78561,"tags":78562,"editor":78565,"content":78569,"excerpt":78731,"featured":51,"reporter":78732,"_editable":78736,"component":697,"seo_title":78556,"categories":78737,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":78742,"seo_description":78731,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78746},"9a4960ed-7fb5-44ca-b6be-ceafadf98bee","2023-07-20 00:00",[78563,78564],{"slug":4342,"name":4343},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[78566],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78567},{"job_title":557,"image":78568,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":78570},[78571,78583,78588,78593,78598,78603,78608,78613,78618,78623,78628,78635,78638,78651,78656,78661,78666,78679,78684,78689,78694,78699,78704,78709,78721,78726],{"type":591,"attrs":78572,"content":78573},{"textAlign":49},[78574,78576,78581],{"text":78575,"type":596},"India’s Tata Group is to build a 40GWh capacity electric vehicle battery plant in Somerset, England through its new venture Agratas. The new gigafactory, Britain’s largest cell project so far, will more than double the country’s ",{"text":78577,"type":596,"marks":78578},"EV battery pipeline capacity",[78579],{"type":606,"attrs":78580},{"href":45206,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78582,"type":596}," and could begin producing by 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":78584,"content":78585},{"textAlign":49},[78586],{"text":78587,"type":596},"Tata has promised to invest £4.2 billion ($5.4 billion) in the UK cell project, giving the plant an estimated capital intensity of £87.6 million ($113 million) per GWh, according to Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":78589,"content":78590},{"textAlign":49},[78591],{"text":78592,"type":596},"“The UK is seeking to play catch up as global manufacturing has become highly competitive, particularly in a post-US IRA world,” said Benchmark consultant Ahmed Mehdi.",{"type":591,"attrs":78594,"content":78595},{"textAlign":49},[78596],{"text":78597,"type":596},"The site will become Britain’s second pipeline EV cell project, joining Envision and Nissan’s 35 GWh Sunderland gigafactory that is presently under construction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78599,"content":78600},{"textAlign":49},[78601],{"text":78602,"type":596},"Tata’s gigafactory would manufacture both NCM and LFP batteries, cell types suited for longer and shorter-range vehicles respectively. It would primarily supply Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rovers (JLR), Tata subsidiaries that operate vehicle assembly facilities across the UK. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78604,"content":78605},{"textAlign":49},[78606],{"text":78607,"type":596},"Supply from the site will support JLR’s £15 billion electrification strategy unveiled earlier this year, which includes plans to re-fit its Halewood and Wolverhampton plants for EV manufacturing. The Somerset plant will also provide Jaguar with cells as it moves towards becoming a fully electric brand by 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78609,"content":78610},{"textAlign":49},[78611],{"text":78612,"type":596},"British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described Tata’s decision to set up local cell capacity as “a huge vote of confidence in Britain” that “will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector.”",{"type":591,"attrs":78614,"content":78615},{"textAlign":49},[78616],{"text":78617,"type":596},"Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran commented, “Our multi-billion pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover.”",{"type":591,"attrs":78619,"content":78620},{"textAlign":49},[78621],{"text":78622,"type":596},"Britain still needs more gigafactories to meet energy transition needs, said Benchmark analyst Aran Waid, and has lagged behind its peers on lithium ion build-out. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78624,"content":78625},{"textAlign":49},[78626],{"text":78627,"type":596},"This is partly because Britain does not have a green industrial strategy akin to the US Inflation Reduction Act or the EU Green Deal Industrial Plan that would offer clear incentives for investors to set up there.",{"type":615,"attrs":78629,"content":78630},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78631],{"text":78632,"type":596,"marks":78633},"Watch Benchmark give evidence to UK Business and Trade Committee hearing on batteries and EVs",[78634],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":78636,"content":78637},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":78639,"content":78640},{"textAlign":49},[78641,78643,78649],{"text":78642,"type":596},"As late as last year, Jaguar Land Rover was reportedly in talks with Sweden’s Northvolt AB and China’s SVolt Energy for battery supply and was considering relocating its UK EV production to Slovakia. The Somerset gigafactory deal came only after ",{"text":78644,"type":596,"marks":78645},"months of negotiations",[78646],{"type":606,"attrs":78647},{"href":78648,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-battery-industry-could-see-boost-as-tata-eyes-somerset-for-gigafactory-investment",{"text":78650,"type":596}," between Tata and the British government. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78652,"content":78653},{"textAlign":49},[78654],{"text":78655,"type":596},"Reports indicate Tata’s plant could receive state grants, energy subsidies and other training and research funding to the tune of £500 million, or 15% of the total cost of the project.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":78657,"content":78658},{"textAlign":49},[78659],{"text":78660,"type":596},"The fact that the British government has extended such support for Tata’s venture underlines how a more deliberate green industrial strategy could incentivise further capacity investments, according to Benchmark analyst Aran Waid.",{"type":615,"attrs":78662,"content":78663},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78664],{"text":78665,"type":596},"Britain’s cell capacity still falls short",{"type":591,"attrs":78667,"content":78668},{"textAlign":49},[78669,78671,78673,78678],{"text":78670,"type":596},"With Tata’s gigafactory announcement, Britain’s cell pipeline capacity by 2035 is set to rise to 77 GWh. However, even assuming the unrealistic scenario of full capacity utilisation at all three cell plants, this amounts to just 64% of 2032 demand for UK-produced batteries, as forecast by the Faraday Institute.",{"text":78672,"type":596},"By comparison, forecast European cell output in 2032 is 50% of the region’s projected demand for that year, according to data from Benchmark’s ",{"text":25267,"type":596,"marks":78674},[78675],{"type":606,"attrs":78676},{"href":78677,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium-ion-batteries/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78680,"content":78681},{"textAlign":49},[78682],{"text":78683,"type":596},"Right now, Britain only has one operating cell plant, located in Sunderland, which has a capacity of just 1.9 GWh according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. In January 2023, plans for a 38 GWh factory fell through when the owner Britishvolt collapsed, halving Britain’s battery pipeline capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78685,"content":78686},{"textAlign":49},[78687],{"text":78688,"type":596},"Foreign investment will likely be critical for growing Britain’s lithium ion capacity. All three planned and operating cell projects in Britain so far are owned by Asian companies. Britain’s only producing EV cell plant is owned by China’s Envision AESC, which is now developing another facility with Nissan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78690,"content":78691},{"textAlign":49},[78692],{"text":78693,"type":596},"In Europe too, cell capacity is dominated by foreign companies. 65% of cell output across Europe in 2032 is set to be owned by non-European firms.",{"type":591,"attrs":78695,"content":78696},{"textAlign":49},[78697],{"text":78698,"type":596},"The Tata negotiations could offer an alternative blueprint for Britain to attract lithium ion investments. In future, the government may once again offer support to battery manufacturers on an individual basis, according to Aran Waid, rather than offering blanket subsidies as the US IRA does.",{"type":615,"attrs":78700,"content":78701},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78702],{"text":78703,"type":596},"Raw material constraints",{"type":591,"attrs":78705,"content":78706},{"textAlign":49},[78707],{"text":78708,"type":596},"Regardless of what industrial strategy Britain will adopt, its lack of raw materials still poses the biggest bottleneck to future cell manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":78710,"content":78711},{"textAlign":49},[78712,78714,78719],{"text":78713,"type":596},"Britain does not have a dedicated policy to incentivise raw material production, with its ",{"text":78715,"type":596,"marks":78716},"first ever lithium refinery",[78717],{"type":606,"attrs":78718},{"href":16335,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78720,"type":596}," only announced at the end of last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78722,"content":78723},{"textAlign":49},[78724],{"text":78725,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act has streamlined rules for project permitting and set targets for boosting regional mining and refining in green transition materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":78727,"content":78728},{"textAlign":49},[78729],{"text":78730,"type":596},"The British government is only beginning to formulate its own critical raw materials supply policy. It published the first national critical minerals strategy in July 2022 to investigate “dependencies and vulnerabilities” in current UK supply chains. Between March and June 2023, the Foreign Affairs Committee took evidence on how the UK could develop international partnerships to diversify critical minerals supply away from China.","India’s Tata Group is to build a 40GWh capacity electric vehicle battery plant in Somerset, England through its new venture Agratas. The new gigafactory, Britain’s largest cell project so far, will more than double the country’s EV battery pipeline capacity and could begin producing by 2026. Tata has promised to invest £4.2 billion ($5.4 billion) […]",[78733],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78734},{"job_title":557,"image":78735,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9a4960ed-7fb5-44ca-b6be-ceafadf98bee\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[78738,78739,78740,78741],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":78743,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":78743,"source":547,"filename":78744,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":78745,"is_external_url":51},"While Jaguar i-Pace EV400 Electric SUV car showcased at the Brussels Motor Show 2019 Autosalon.","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ff31b093e2/bm-shutterstock-1288868635.jpg",{"alt":78743,"title":78743,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 20, 2023",{"id":78748,"uuid":78749,"name":78750,"slug":78751,"full_slug":78752,"content":78753},112471047539003,"47d51fc2-a241-446b-8f9a-a9d1fa8e06cb","Why battery raw material prices slumped under pressure in the first half of 2023","why-battery-material-prices-slumped-under-pressure-in-the-first-half-of-2023","article/why-battery-material-prices-slumped-under-pressure-in-the-first-half-of-2023",{"_uid":78754,"date":78561,"tags":78755,"editor":78761,"content":78765,"excerpt":79000,"featured":51,"reporter":79001,"_editable":79005,"component":697,"seo_title":78750,"categories":79006,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":79012,"seo_description":79000,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":78746},"29636c60-3669-4a66-8244-b0c0ccdfcef0",[78756,78757,78758,78759,78760],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":29465,"name":29466},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[78762],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":78763},{"job_title":557,"image":78764,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":78766},[78767,78772,78782,78787,78799,78811,78816,78821,78834,78841,78852,78857,78862,78867,78872,78879,78891,78896,78901,78906,78913,78923,78928,78933,78946,78951,78956,78968,78973,78980,78985,78990,78995],{"type":591,"attrs":78768,"content":78769},{"textAlign":49},[78770],{"text":78771,"type":596},"Prices of critical battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, were under pressure in the first six months of this year as a slowdown in China hit downstream demand and new supplies continued to enter the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78773,"content":78774},{"textAlign":49},[78775,78780],{"text":78776,"type":596,"marks":78777},"Critical battery material prices",[78778],{"type":606,"attrs":78779},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78781,"type":596}," declined between 20% and 40% in the first half of 2023 at a time when cathode and anode makers continued to destock existing inventories or remained cautious with new orders and producers continued to pile up supplies amid an uncertain demand scenario.",{"type":591,"attrs":78783,"content":78784},{"textAlign":49},[78785],{"text":78786,"type":596},"“Following a year of bumper cell production in China in 2022, the first half of 2023 saw a notable softening for battery raw materials in China, with these markets slowing down for the first time in nearly two years as downstream players took a breath in regards to feedstock purchasing whilst working through stockpiled cell inventories,” said Daisy Jennings-Gray, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":78788,"content":78789},{"textAlign":49},[78790,78792,78797],{"text":78791,"type":596},"Demand for electric vehicles in China took a hit at the start of the year following the discontinuation of a decade old New Energy Vehicle subsidy and the incoming Spring Festival. Electric vehicle sales remained weak but picked up pace in February after a Tesla-induced price war that spurred local rivals to offer steep discounts as well. In late June China ",{"text":78793,"type":596,"marks":78794},"extended",[78795],{"type":606,"attrs":78796},{"href":78184,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78798,"type":596}," the sales tax break for electric vehicles until 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":78800,"content":78801},{"textAlign":49},[78802,78804,78809],{"text":78803,"type":596},"The battery material price declines also came at a time as the ",{"text":78805,"type":596,"marks":78806},"US and Europe",[78807],{"type":606,"attrs":78808},{"href":76218,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78810,"type":596}," moved ahead with ambitious plans to build their own critical minerals supply chains to responsibly source battery materials and challenge China’s mid and downstream dominance by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78812,"content":78813},{"textAlign":49},[78814],{"text":78815,"type":596},"According to Benchmark data, this year China alone is forecast to refine 62.5% of the world’s lithium supplies in 2023, 76% of cobalt, mine 65% of the world’s natural graphite and produce 72.5% of synthetic graphite.",{"type":615,"attrs":78817,"content":78818},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78819],{"text":78820,"type":596},"Lithium starts 2023 on the  back foot ",{"type":591,"attrs":78822,"content":78823},{"textAlign":49},[78824,78826,78832],{"text":78825,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices in China had already fallen 64% and 56% respectively in the ",{"text":78827,"type":596,"marks":78828},"first four months",[78829],{"type":606,"attrs":78830},{"href":78831,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-prices-continue-to-slide-in-april-amid-signs-of-demand-improvement",{"text":78833,"type":596}," of the year, slowing down the two-year rally for the critical battery material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78835,"content":78836},{"textAlign":49},[78837],{"type":836,"attrs":78838},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78839,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78840},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ea84d71105/bm-lithium-h1-chart-edited-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78842,"content":78843},{"textAlign":49},[78844,78846,78851],{"text":78845,"type":596},"Prices however recovered some ground in early May as cathode and cell makers accelerated orders despite only a moderate recovery in downstream demand. Still lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices were down 40% and 42.2% overall in the first six months of 2023 data from ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":78847},[78848],{"type":606,"attrs":78849},{"href":78850,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/",{"text":40053,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78853,"content":78854},{"textAlign":49},[78855],{"text":78856,"type":596},"Cell makers started the year with high inventories spurring cathode makers to destock and make limited chemical purchases leading to an inventory build up with lithium producers and a fall in prices. Lithium traders also held back from engaging in market activity, as they waited to see if prices move lower.",{"type":615,"attrs":78858,"content":78859},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78860],{"text":78861,"type":596},"Cobalt bear run continues",{"type":591,"attrs":78863,"content":78864},{"textAlign":49},[78865],{"text":78866,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate and cobalt hydroxide prices fell 21.2% and 30.3% in the first six months of 2023. Cobalt metal prices have declined 51% since peaking in April last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":78868,"content":78869},{"textAlign":49},[78870],{"text":78871,"type":596},"In February the industry had speculated that cobalt metal prices had neared the floor but limited demand from the electric vehicle and the consumer electronics sector stoked negative sentiments and drove prices further down.",{"type":591,"attrs":78873,"content":78874},{"textAlign":49},[78875],{"type":836,"attrs":78876},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78877,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78878},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9fc964186b/bm-cobalt-h1-2023-edited-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78880,"content":78881},{"textAlign":49},[78882,78884,78889],{"text":78883,"type":596},"One of the most significant cobalt developments in the first six months of the year was when China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in the DRC began exports of material in May ",{"text":78885,"type":596,"marks":78886},"after a 10-month ban",[78887],{"type":606,"attrs":78888},{"href":73046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78890,"type":596},". The move pushed prices further down. CMOC had piled up an estimated 16,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide during the ban which could now enter the market for sale.",{"type":615,"attrs":78892,"content":78893},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78894],{"text":78895,"type":596},"Chinese graphite market meets muted downstream demand",{"type":591,"attrs":78897,"content":78898},{"textAlign":49},[78899],{"text":78900,"type":596},"Domestic Chinese -100 mesh 94-95% C flake graphite prices fell 20.8% and those of pre-calcined pet needle coke, the key feedstock for synthetic graphite fell 29% in the first half of the year as new capacity continued to come online despite lacklustre demand from the electric vehicle sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78902,"content":78903},{"textAlign":49},[78904],{"text":78905,"type":596},"On the flake graphite front, supply from Heilongjiang Province in China has remained relatively robust from April onwards. Graphite operations are seasonally suspended from Heilongjiang Province from September to April or May. Prices usually fall in summer when more supply comes in and this year they have fallen even more because of weak demand from the electric vehicle industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":78907,"content":78908},{"textAlign":49},[78909],{"type":836,"attrs":78910},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78911,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78912},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b093de560e/bm-graphite-h1-2023-edited-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78914,"content":78915},{"textAlign":49},[78916,78918,78922],{"text":78917,"type":596},"Heilongjiang is expected to produce 60% of global -100 mesh flake graphite, the grade typically used for battery applications, this year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":35954,"type":596,"marks":78919},[78920],{"type":606,"attrs":78921},{"href":67549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":78924,"content":78925},{"textAlign":49},[78926],{"text":78927,"type":596},"The fall in graphite prices puts increasing pressure on graphite miners, and comes as anode manufacturers report plentiful raw material inventories, especially in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":78929,"content":78930},{"textAlign":49},[78931],{"text":78932,"type":596},"For synthetic graphite, supply of pet coke and pet needle coke remained robust with new capacity continuing to come online and despite less efficient producers halting production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78934,"content":78935},{"textAlign":49},[78936,78938,78944],{"text":78937,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite anode ",{"text":78939,"type":596,"marks":78940},"producers",[78941],{"type":606,"attrs":78942},{"href":78943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/synthetic-graphite-anode-prices-flatten-in-july-as-producers-resist-more-drops",{"text":78945,"type":596}," were also being more lenient with the feedstock they could use – putting downward pressure on low sulphur coke prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":78947,"content":78948},{"textAlign":49},[78949],{"text":78950,"type":596},"China continues to lead global coke production, and by 2030 the country is projected to account for a near 75% share of global supply of coke, according to Benchmark Synthetic Graphite Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":78952,"content":78953},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[78954],{"text":78955,"type":596},"Nickel rally loses steam in first half",{"type":591,"attrs":78957,"content":78958},{"textAlign":49},[78959,78961,78966],{"text":78960,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate prices retreated by 20% in the first half of 2023 due to muted demand from the electric vehicle sector and the weak NCM ",{"text":78962,"type":596,"marks":78963},"demand recovery",[78964],{"type":606,"attrs":78965},{"href":74040,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":78967,"type":596},". Prices did rise in February when producers rushed to buy additional material given the sizable arbitrage between the Chinese and the international prices. Prices also rose slightly in June amid firming downstream demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":78969,"content":78970},{"textAlign":49},[78971],{"text":78972,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate prices have been on a generally bearish trajectory since October 2022. In April Chinese nickel sulphate prices reached their lowest levels since June 2021 only to recover moderately.",{"type":591,"attrs":78974,"content":78975},{"textAlign":49},[78976],{"type":836,"attrs":78977},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":78978,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":78979},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f8b76f5d04/bm-nickel-h1-chart-edited-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":78981,"content":78982},{"textAlign":49},[78983],{"text":78984,"type":596},"For the most of the first half in 2023, nickel demand remained constrained as existing inventories were prioritised over sourcing new feedstock. ",{"type":591,"attrs":78986,"content":78987},{"textAlign":49},[78988],{"text":78989,"type":596},"2022 marked a record year for capacity additions and expansions with refined nickel production increasing by 18% year-on-year to 3.2 million tonnes. This is set to grow by a further 6% in 2023, to 3.4 million tonnes, largely driven by a 50% increase in Indonesia’s nickel output, according to Benchmark Nickel Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":78991,"content":78992},{"textAlign":49},[78993],{"text":78994,"type":596},"Indonesia is emerging as a key nickel producer and Benchmark forecasts that Indonesian nickel production for the battery industry will grow by over 600% this decade, thanks to significant Chinese investment in processing plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":78996,"content":78997},{"textAlign":49},[78998],{"text":78999,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Price Assessment coverage – for lithium, nickel, cobalt, natural and synthetic graphite, cathodes, anodes and battery cells – please provide your details here:","Prices of critical battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, were under pressure in the first six months of this year as a slowdown in China hit downstream demand and new supplies continued to enter the market. Critical battery material prices declined between 20% and 40% in the first half of 2023 at […]",[79002],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79003},{"job_title":557,"image":79004,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"29636c60-3669-4a66-8244-b0c0ccdfcef0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[79007,79008,79009,79010,79011],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":74104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79013,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":79015,"uuid":79016,"name":79017,"slug":79018,"full_slug":79019,"content":79020},112471066487104,"f699b568-7112-4d4d-ab38-1575d8ed082c","China EV recovery fails to stir lithium prices","china-ev-recovery-fails-to-stir-lithium-prices","article/china-ev-recovery-fails-to-stir-lithium-prices",{"_uid":79021,"date":79022,"tags":79023,"editor":79025,"content":79029,"excerpt":79102,"featured":51,"reporter":79103,"_editable":79107,"component":697,"seo_title":79017,"categories":79108,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":79111,"seo_description":79102,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":79113},"8433e734-a964-42d4-902d-f0f9837b2d35","2023-07-14 00:00",[79024],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[79026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79027},{"job_title":557,"image":79028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79030},[79031,79040,79045,79050,79055,79062,79067,79072,79077,79082,79087,79092,79097],{"type":591,"attrs":79032,"content":79033},{"textAlign":49},[79034,79038],{"text":10305,"type":596,"marks":79035},[79036],{"type":606,"attrs":79037},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79039,"type":596}," have held steady this month, despite a recovery in electric vehicle sales, as robust seasonal domestic supply matches gradual demand growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":79041,"content":79042},{"textAlign":49},[79043],{"text":79044,"type":596},"Chinese spot lithium hydroxide prices fell by 4% over the past week to RMB 294,000 a tonne ($41,170), while battery-grade lithium carbonate prices held steady at RMB 306,500 ($42,921) a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79046,"content":79047},{"textAlign":49},[79048],{"text":79049,"type":596},"Lithium prices have failed to build on a recovery in May, when spot lithium hydroxide and carbonate prices in China surged by over 30% due to renewed orders from cathode producers in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79051,"content":79052},{"textAlign":49},[79053],{"text":79054,"type":596},"Carbonate prices have been supported by rising lithium iron phosphate (LFP) demand from the energy storage and electric sectors, while hydroxide prices have fallen on comparatively weaker NCM battery demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79056,"content":79057},{"textAlign":49},[79058],{"type":836,"attrs":79059},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79060,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79061},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/05fdb32204/bm-li-carbonate-exw-china.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":79063,"content":79064},{"textAlign":49},[79065],{"text":79066,"type":596},"China’s production of NCM batteries was 17.7 gigawatt hours in June, down 5% from the previous month, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance. Production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries rose by 12% to 42.2 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79068,"content":79069},{"textAlign":49},[79070],{"text":79071,"type":596},"In the wider Asian market, prices for spot lithium hydroxide material also softened moderately, by 1.1% w-o-w, reaching an average of $46,500/tonne (CIF Asia).",{"type":591,"attrs":79073,"content":79074},{"textAlign":49},[79075],{"text":79076,"type":596},"In addition, buyers’ healthy inventories mean they are not under pressure to make additional spot purchases, slowing spot purchasing activity.",{"type":615,"attrs":79078,"content":79079},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79080],{"text":79081,"type":596},"China’s EV sales rebound",{"type":591,"attrs":79083,"content":79084},{"textAlign":49},[79085],{"text":79086,"type":596},"China is forecast to account for 53% of battery-related lithium demand in 2023, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79088,"content":79089},{"textAlign":49},[79090],{"text":79091,"type":596},"Sales of battery electric vehicles rose by 10 per cent in June from a monther earlier to 573,000 vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79093,"content":79094},{"textAlign":49},[79095],{"text":79096,"type":596},"The latest NEV sales increase follows China’s efforts to stimulate rural demand for electric vehicles and its move last month to extend a sales tax break for electric vehicles until 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":79098,"content":79099},{"textAlign":49},[79100],{"text":79101,"type":596},"Despite the flat prices, the global lithium market is still expected to be undersupplied in 2023. Benchmark expects a slight deficit of around 7,623 tonnes LCE from a previous estimate of 20,840 tonne LCE deficit made in the first quarter. ","Lithium prices have held steady this month, despite a recovery in electric vehicle sales, as robust seasonal domestic supply matches gradual demand growth. Chinese spot lithium hydroxide prices fell by 4% over the past week to RMB 294,000 a tonne ($41,170), while battery-grade lithium carbonate prices held steady at RMB 306,500 ($42,921) a tonne. Lithium […]",[79104],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79105},{"job_title":557,"image":79106,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8433e734-a964-42d4-902d-f0f9837b2d35\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[79109,79110],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79112,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 14, 2023",{"id":79115,"uuid":79116,"name":79117,"slug":79118,"full_slug":79119,"content":79120},112471095236935,"28f0c991-ad33-47af-be10-2133d348d9ab","Nickel demand for batteries to overtake stainless steel in late 2030s","nickel-demand-for-batteries-to-overtake-stainless-steel-in-late-2030s","article/nickel-demand-for-batteries-to-overtake-stainless-steel-in-late-2030s",{"_uid":79121,"date":79122,"tags":79123,"editor":79125,"content":79129,"excerpt":79235,"featured":51,"reporter":79236,"_editable":79240,"component":697,"seo_title":79117,"categories":79241,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":79244,"featured_image":79247,"seo_description":79235,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":79250},"e7dd019b-f457-42cb-b2cb-46e83c3a1b65","2023-07-11 00:00",[79124],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[79126],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79127},{"job_title":557,"image":79128,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79130},[79131,79142,79147,79152,79163,79170,79175,79180,79191,79204,79223,79228],{"type":591,"attrs":79132,"content":79133},{"textAlign":49},[79134,79136,79141],{"text":79135,"type":596},"Nickel demand from the battery industry is expected to grow 27% this year, compared to just 4% from stainless steel, according to ",{"text":57609,"type":596,"marks":79137},[79138],{"type":606,"attrs":79139},{"href":79140,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":79143,"content":79144},{"textAlign":49},[79145],{"text":79146,"type":596},"The stainless steel industry is currently the primary demand driver for refined nickel, accounting for more than 60% of demand this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":79148,"content":79149},{"textAlign":49},[79150],{"text":79151,"type":596},"This is forecast by Benchmark to change in 2036, when batteries will be the largest single market for nickel. In 2020, the battery market became the second largest demand driver for batteries when it overtook the non-ferrous market.",{"type":591,"attrs":79153,"content":79154},{"textAlign":49},[79155,79157,79162],{"text":79156,"type":596},"“Most of the growth is from batteries,” Harry Fisher, a project manager at Benchmark, said. “The total volume growth in NCM [nickel cobalt manganese] battery cells is driving this increase. In particular, most of this volume growth we are seeing is ",{"text":79158,"type":596,"marks":79159},"NCM 811",[79160],{"type":606,"attrs":79161},{"href":74661,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":44193,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":79164,"content":79165},{"textAlign":49},[79166],{"type":836,"attrs":79167},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79168,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79169},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/59a8a0c31c/bm-nickel-demand-by-sector-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":79171,"content":79172},{"textAlign":49},[79173],{"text":79174,"type":596},"Battery demand dominates other minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":79176,"content":79177},{"textAlign":49},[79178],{"text":79179,"type":596},"Demand for other battery minerals have been overtaking their respective incumbent markets over the past few years.",{"type":591,"attrs":79181,"content":79182},{"textAlign":49},[79183,79185,79189],{"text":79184,"type":596},"Although the battery industry has been the largest sector for lithium since Benchmark began tracking the mineral in 2015, it became over 50% of the market for the first time in 2018. ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":79186},[79187],{"type":606,"attrs":79188},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79190,"type":596}," expects the battery industry to be 87% of lithium demand this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":79192,"content":79193},{"textAlign":49},[79194,79196,79202],{"text":79195,"type":596},"Cobalt has a similar story to lithium. The battery sector drove over 50% of demand for the mineral in 2016 and ",{"text":79197,"type":596,"marks":79198},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecas",[79199],{"type":606,"attrs":79200},{"href":79201,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt",{"text":79203,"type":596},"t expects the sector to account for 74% of demand this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":79205,"content":79206},{"textAlign":49},[79207,79209,79215,79217,79222],{"text":79208,"type":596},"The battery industry overtook the stainless steel industry for demand of ",{"text":79210,"type":596,"marks":79211},"flake graphite in 2021",[79212],{"type":606,"attrs":79213},{"href":79214,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-natural-flake-graphites-lithium-ion-moment",{"text":79216,"type":596}," and then reached above 50% of demand for the material in 2022, according to ",{"text":43424,"type":596,"marks":79218},[79219],{"type":606,"attrs":79220},{"href":79221,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/natural-graphite",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":79224,"content":79225},{"textAlign":49},[79226],{"text":79227,"type":596},"Unlike the minerals described above, nickel is a bulk commodity with major applications outside of the battery sector, especially the large stainless steel market. In 2016, the nickel market exceeded two million tonnes, compared to cobalt which was less than 100,000 tonnes in the same year, highlighting the stark difference in the markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":79229,"content":79230},{"textAlign":49},[79231],{"type":836,"attrs":79232},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79233,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79234},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/516be4b98d/bm-battery-demand-by-mineral.png",{},"Nickel demand from the battery industry is expected to grow 27% this year, compared to just 4% from stainless steel, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast. The stainless steel industry is currently the primary demand driver for refined nickel, accounting for more than 60% of demand this year. This is forecast by Benchmark to change in […]",[79237],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79238},{"job_title":557,"image":79239,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e7dd019b-f457-42cb-b2cb-46e83c3a1b65\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[79242,79243],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":79245,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79246,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1692311912/www-production/Nickel-demand-by-sector-1-1/Nickel-demand-by-sector-1-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":79248,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79249,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5784f313f5/bm-nickel-demand-featured-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 11, 2023",{"id":79252,"uuid":79253,"name":79254,"slug":79255,"full_slug":79256,"content":79257},112471100000584,"8c42e7d3-ad8c-4dcd-93cc-88242557ee95","OPINION: Overcoming mining waste issues will be key to Indonesia’s nickel ambitions","opinion-overcoming-mining-waste-issues-will-be-key-to-indonesias-nickel-ambitions","article/opinion-overcoming-mining-waste-issues-will-be-key-to-indonesias-nickel-ambitions",{"_uid":79258,"date":79259,"tags":79260,"editor":79267,"content":79271,"excerpt":79586,"featured":51,"reporter":79587,"component":697,"seo_title":79591,"categories":79592,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"data_vis_image":79596,"featured_image":79598,"seo_description":79601,"author_full_name":79602,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":79603},"e6876d6f-80b2-48c0-b1e9-f23608e1d50a","2023-07-07 00:00",[79261,79264,79265,79266],{"slug":79262,"name":79263},"biodiversity","Biodiversity",{"slug":15391,"name":15392},{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[79268],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79269},{"job_title":557,"image":79270,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79272},[79273,79278,79291,79302,79307,79312,79319,79324,79329,79334,79339,79344,79349,79354,79359,79364,79369,79376,79381,79386,79391,79396,79401,79406,79411,79416,79421,79426,79431,79436,79441,79446,79451,79456,79461,79466,79471,79476,79481,79486,79491,79496,79501,79506,79511,79516,79521,79526,79539,79544,79549,79554,79561,79572,79579],{"type":591,"attrs":79274,"content":79275},{"textAlign":49},[79276],{"text":79277,"type":596},"Benchmark recently travelled to several nickel operations across Indonesia to improve our understanding of the developments in this critical part of the battery supply chain and generate insights to support our analysis of the nickel and cobalt raw material markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79279,"content":79280},{"textAlign":49},[79281,79283,79289],{"text":79282,"type":596},"The country has ambitious plans to capture a ",{"text":79284,"type":596,"marks":79285},"greater share of value",[79286],{"type":606,"attrs":79287},{"href":79288,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-expands-presence-in-ev-supply-chain-with-chinese-cathode-and-anode-plants",{"text":79290,"type":596}," in the battery supply chain and benefit from the wave of nickel demand from batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79292,"content":79293},{"textAlign":49},[79294,79296,79300],{"text":79295,"type":596},"In 2015 Indonesia only produced 2% of the global supply of refined nickel. But by 2023, Benchmark’s ",{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":79297},[79298],{"type":606,"attrs":79299},{"href":75904,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":79301,"type":596}," show Indonesia to account for half of global nickel output. By 2030, Indonesia’s share of supply has the potential to rise to more than 60%.",{"type":591,"attrs":79303,"content":79304},{"textAlign":49},[79305],{"text":79306,"type":596},"Yet how Indonesian nickel projects dispose of their waste products will be key to how large the industry can grow. Waste disposal costs will also add to the cost of production.",{"type":591,"attrs":79308,"content":79309},{"textAlign":49},[79310],{"text":79311,"type":596},"Tonny Gultom, director of HSE and Sustainability at Indonesia’s Harita Nickel, told Benchmark that the placement and re-use of tailings requires special permits from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which “may impact the growth of the nickel industry in Indonesia.”",{"type":591,"attrs":79313,"content":79314},{"textAlign":49},[79315],{"type":836,"attrs":79316},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79317,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79318},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6da21e8feb/bm-indonesia-refined-nickel-growth-2.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":79320,"content":79321},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79322],{"text":79323,"type":596},"The rise of MHP",{"type":591,"attrs":79325,"content":79326},{"textAlign":49},[79327],{"text":79328,"type":596},"A key part of Indonesia’s nickel expansion, particularly for the battery value chain, is the construction of high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) refining capacity, producing mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), containing both nickel and cobalt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79330,"content":79331},{"textAlign":49},[79332],{"text":79333,"type":596},"MHP has already become, and will remain, the key feedstock to produce nickel sulphate for lithium-ion batteries and is therefore the focal point of Indonesia’s role in the value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":79335,"content":79336},{"textAlign":49},[79337],{"text":79338,"type":596},"Production of MHP has started at two locations in Indonesia since late 2021 – Obi Island in North Maluku province in eastern Indonesia and the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Morowali Regency in Central Sulawesi. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79340,"content":79341},{"textAlign":49},[79342],{"text":79343,"type":596},"As well as HPAL, both Obi Island and Morowali host a number of existing nickel mining and refining facilities, as well as stainless steel production. Benchmark visited both of these locations during the research trip.",{"type":615,"attrs":79345,"content":79346},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79347],{"text":79348,"type":596},"Dealing with mining waste  ",{"type":591,"attrs":79350,"content":79351},{"textAlign":49},[79352],{"text":79353,"type":596},"Given its location in an area prone to earthquakes and with high levels of rainfall, companies in Indonesia currently use a method called  “dry stack” tailings, where waste is dried and compacted into a mound. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79355,"content":79356},{"textAlign":49},[79357],{"text":79358,"type":596},"While there are environmental and safety concerns from dry-stack tailings, including risks from earthquakes and runoff into the sea, the tailings can be managed through neutralisation, toxicity treatment and effluent monitoring. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79360,"content":79361},{"textAlign":49},[79362],{"text":79363,"type":596},"They are also looking at a number of ways of reusing tailings, particularly waste with high iron content, which could be used in construction or within the stainless steel production process. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79365,"content":79366},{"textAlign":49},[79367],{"text":79368,"type":596},"But even by backfilling old open pits, space could quickly become an issue. And haulage distances will increase as mining sites become further from processing sites. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79370,"content":79371},{"textAlign":49},[79372],{"type":836,"attrs":79373},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79374,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79375},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e1e4bb20fd/bm-tailings-indonesia.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":79377,"content":79378},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79379],{"text":79380,"type":596},"Trucking mining waste",{"type":591,"attrs":79382,"content":79383},{"textAlign":49},[79384],{"text":79385,"type":596},"Some companies run their own mining operations enabling them to carefully manage the backfill of old pits and subsequent rehabilitation, but those that purchase third party ore have very little control on mine planning, waste and water disposal process, and they will need to agree with the third party mine to dispose of tailings. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79387,"content":79388},{"textAlign":49},[79389],{"text":79390,"type":596},"This will remain a key operational and cost risk for these companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79392,"content":79393},{"textAlign":49},[79394],{"text":79395,"type":596},"If this issue cannot be overcome, or if arrangements change over time, then these companies will be forced to construct tailings storage facilities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79397,"content":79398},{"textAlign":49},[79399],{"text":79400,"type":596},"This will require significant capital expenditure, high management costs and large areas of deforestation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79402,"content":79403},{"textAlign":49},[79404],{"text":79405,"type":596},"This is a particular advantage of the dry-stack tailings process being applied at present as old open pits are refilled, supporting the rehabilitation process and reducing the need for additional land impacts as well as the secondary impacts common with deforestation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":79407,"content":79408},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79409],{"text":79410,"type":596},"Traveling to Obi Island ",{"type":591,"attrs":79412,"content":79413},{"textAlign":49},[79414],{"text":79415,"type":596},"On Obi Island, Benchmark visited several parts of Harita Nickel and PT Lygend’s operations including the HPAL operation and expansion that is in progress, existing and under construction power plants and ferronickel (FeNi) plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":79417,"content":79418},{"textAlign":49},[79419],{"text":79420,"type":596},"In addition to nickel mining and refining, the full operation currently has capacity for up to 60 kt/yr of nickel in MHP, via HPAL, with a further expansion underway to increase total output to 120 kt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79422,"content":79423},{"textAlign":49},[79424],{"text":79425,"type":596},"Benchmark also attended a ceremony for the first production of nickel sulphate. The sulphate, once ramped up, will produce up to 60 kt/yr of nickel sulphate and 6 kt/yr of cobalt sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":79427,"content":79428},{"textAlign":49},[79429],{"text":79430,"type":596},"The operations produce large amounts of waste. PT Lygend’s operations will produce approximately 1.2 tonnes of waste for each tonne of ore consumed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79432,"content":79433},{"textAlign":49},[79434],{"text":79435,"type":596},"This equates to approximately 11 million tonnes of waste each year, even before any expansions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79437,"content":79438},{"textAlign":49},[79439],{"text":79440,"type":596},"And the 20% additional volume will pose problems over time as space becomes limited and old pits become further away. Pits could be filled to higher elevations than the original topography, but this poses runoff risks. ",{"type":615,"attrs":79442,"content":79443},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79444],{"text":79445,"type":596},"Solutions",{"type":591,"attrs":79447,"content":79448},{"textAlign":49},[79449],{"text":79450,"type":596},"Many solutions have been proposed, with dry stack tailings disposal currently being implemented as the best option. Tailings are neutralised and a filter press is used to reduce the water content.",{"type":591,"attrs":79452,"content":79453},{"textAlign":49},[79454],{"text":79455,"type":596},"FeNi slag is used to line the old pits before they are filled with the tailings and compressed by machines. Proper drainage is necessary to collect water from rainfall water contaminated by the tailings.",{"type":591,"attrs":79457,"content":79458},{"textAlign":49},[79459],{"text":79460,"type":596},"Separately, drained water passes through a canal to be treated with ferrous sulphate, which transforms chromium VI, which can cause health problems for humans, into the more benign chromium III. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79462,"content":79463},{"textAlign":49},[79464],{"text":79465,"type":596},"After treatment, the drained water goes to sediment ponds, where the sediment slowly settles in the bottom of the pond. When the pond is filled with water, this is tested and, if it passes the quality control, it is pumped and disposed into the sea. Water quality criteria are set by the Indonesian government. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79467,"content":79468},{"textAlign":49},[79469],{"text":79470,"type":596},"The company is conducting research alongside universities into using tailings for the production of roof tiles (post-treatment) and could also add bacteria to produce material for post-mine rehabilitation. In addition, the iron could be used for stainless steel production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79472,"content":79473},{"textAlign":49},[79474],{"text":79475,"type":596},"They plan to cover the MHP tailings with top soil and plant vegetation once the pit has been filled. After five years and further testing, the land can be reused, with the potential for solar farms to power the operations and reduce the requirement on coal-fired power plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":79477,"content":79478},{"textAlign":49},[79479],{"text":79480,"type":596},"We visited one of the dry stack tailings facilities on Obi Island and found it closely controlled by the company. The workers explained that monitoring was in place to ensure that the final disposal met the environmental thresholds set by the Indonesian government. The tailings management process was robust, unlike some suggestions from other reports on this process in Indonesia.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":79482,"content":79483},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79484],{"text":79485,"type":596},"Morowali Industrial Park",{"type":591,"attrs":79487,"content":79488},{"textAlign":49},[79489],{"text":79490,"type":596},"The IMIP (Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park) site, operated by Tsingshan, covers more than 3,000 hectares on the east coast of Central Sulawesi and is the location for the production of a number of nickel products, including refined nickel (FeNi, NPI and metal), stainless steel and MHP via newly installed HPAL capacity – Benchmark met with both of these producers at IMIP.",{"type":591,"attrs":79492,"content":79493},{"textAlign":49},[79494],{"text":79495,"type":596},"PT Huayue (a joint venture between Tsingshan, Huayou and CMOC) started HPAL production in January 2022 and has fully ramped up MHP capacity for up to 65 kt/yr of nickel, 6 kt/yr of cobalt and 12 kt/yr of manganese. They are also considering nickel and cobalt sulphate production, similarly to PT Lygend, although space restrictions at IMIP will likely mean this is constructed elsewhere in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":79497,"content":79498},{"textAlign":49},[79499],{"text":79500,"type":596},"The tailings are sent to a dry stack site – which is 7.5 kilometres away, increasing the costs of the operation. PT Huayue also source third party ore, which means they are exposed to changes in haulage distances and tailings disposal.",{"type":591,"attrs":79502,"content":79503},{"textAlign":49},[79504],{"text":79505,"type":596},"PT QMB (a joint venture between Tsingshan, GEM, CATL, EcoPro & Hanwa) started two of their HPAL lines in September 2022, which are now ramped up, with the third line starting in May 2023. Upon full ramp up, PT QMB will have three HPAL lines, each with 10 kt/yr of Ni capacity, totalling 30 kt. They have a further three HPAL lines under construction, with an additional 30-60 kt/yr of potential.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":79507,"content":79508},{"textAlign":49},[79509],{"text":79510,"type":596},"Their dry stack tailings site is even further than for PT Huayue, at around 10 to 15 kilometres from the HPAL operation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":79512,"content":79513},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79514],{"text":79515,"type":596},"Other environmental considerations",{"type":591,"attrs":79517,"content":79518},{"textAlign":49},[79519],{"text":79520,"type":596},"Yet by flying over Morowali, it was possible to see one of the most devastating impacts of mining near to the coast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79522,"content":79523},{"textAlign":49},[79524],{"text":79525,"type":596},"Without proper drainage systems, mine runoff reaches the sea and the previous sky blue waters are now brown. The local government is responsible for enforcing controls and closing operations when necessary. However, many factors delay this action such as numerous operators mining in the same area, local and federal government remits, bribes, illegal operations, among others. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79527,"content":79528},{"textAlign":49},[79529,79531,79537],{"text":79530,"type":596},"The toxicity of elements in the ",{"text":79532,"type":596,"marks":79533},"runoff",[79534],{"type":606,"attrs":79535},{"href":79536,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-refiners-in-indonesia-lag-global-peers-on-water-pollution-monitoring",{"text":79538,"type":596}," can impact marine ecosystems. The runoff can darken the sea water and block the sunlight, necessary for the coral reefs and its biosystem. Indonesia is known for its unique coral reef ecosystems.",{"type":591,"attrs":79540,"content":79541},{"textAlign":49},[79542],{"text":79543,"type":596},"Some villagers have moved to other more remote parts of the island, according to local workers, to not be impacted by the nickel operations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79545,"content":79546},{"textAlign":49},[79547],{"text":79548,"type":596},"On the other hand, there are also improvements in the livelihood of local people. Communities now have access to electricity, treated water and education. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79550,"content":79551},{"textAlign":49},[79552],{"text":79553,"type":596},"There was a significant decrease in infant mortality as mothers now have access to more nutritious food and vitamin supplements because of the commercial routes opened by such operations. It is clear that community engagement is essential to preserve the local rights to freshwater water, to fresh food and fish, and to ensure that development does not deprive them of the local cultural heritage.",{"type":591,"attrs":79555,"content":79556},{"textAlign":49},[79557],{"text":79558,"type":596,"marks":79559},"Harry Fisher is a project manager in the consultancy division of Benchmark; Bruna Grossl is a senior LCA practitioner. ",[79560],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":79562,"content":79563},{"textAlign":49},[79564,79568],{"text":79565,"type":596,"marks":79566},"Benchmark has just released the latest edition of our Nickel ESG Report",[79567],{"type":1006},{"text":79569,"type":596,"marks":79570},"– a quarterly service assessing the ESG performance of more than 160 nickel producers worldwide across 62 metrics.",[79571],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":79573,"content":79574},{"textAlign":49},[79575],{"text":79576,"type":596,"marks":79577},"Our Nickel ESG Report is part of Benchmark’s wider Nickel market coverage which includes independent price assessments, forecasts and cost analysis out to 2050, and bespoke consulting expertise.",[79578],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":79580,"content":79581},{"textAlign":49},[79582],{"text":79583,"type":596,"marks":79584},"To learn more about any of our Nickel price and market intelligence services, please provide your details here and our team will contact you shortly:",[79585],{"type":1006},"Benchmark recently travelled to several nickel operations across Indonesia to improve our understanding of the developments in this critical part of the battery supply chain and generate insights to support our analysis of the nickel and cobalt raw material markets. The country has ambitious plans to capture a greater share of value in the battery […]",[79588],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79589},{"job_title":557,"image":79590,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"OPINION: Overcoming mining waste issues will be key ...",[79593,79594,79595],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79597},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":79599,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79600,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6fb50daa6b/bm-dry-stack-tailings-indonesia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark recently travelled to several nickel operations across Indonesia to improve our understanding of the developments in this critical part of the battery supply chain and generate insights to support our analysis of the nickel and cobalt ...","Harry Fisher and Bruna Grossl","Jul 07, 2023",{"id":79605,"uuid":79606,"name":79607,"slug":79608,"full_slug":79609,"content":79610},112471114828108,"9e8527c4-21e7-4e74-b698-93bc47c0ea94","China to stockpile cobalt metal after prices more than halve","china-to-stockpile-cobalt-metal-after-prices-more-than-halve","article/china-to-stockpile-cobalt-metal-after-prices-more-than-halve",{"_uid":79611,"date":79612,"tags":79613,"editor":79615,"content":79619,"excerpt":79705,"featured":51,"reporter":79706,"_editable":79710,"component":697,"seo_title":79607,"categories":79711,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":79716,"seo_description":79705,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":79719},"5dd0e0e4-704e-4608-821d-50ba82ec986b","2023-07-05 00:00",[79614],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[79616],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79617},{"job_title":557,"image":79618,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79620},[79621,79632,79637,79648,79653,79658,79665,79670,79675,79680,79685,79690,79695,79700],{"type":591,"attrs":79622,"content":79623},{"textAlign":49},[79624,79626,79630],{"text":79625,"type":596},"China will buy 5,600 tonnes of cobalt metal in the next six months for its national reserves, according to Benchmark, in a move that could support ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":79627},[79628],{"type":606,"attrs":79629},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79631,"type":596},", which have more than halved over the past year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79633,"content":79634},{"textAlign":49},[79635],{"text":79636,"type":596},"The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration has agreed to buy cobalt metal at a price of 280,000 RMB ($34,507) a tonne from four suppliers, Benchmark understands. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79638,"content":79639},{"textAlign":49},[79640,79642,79646],{"text":79641,"type":596},"Cobalt metal prices have more than halved since peaking in April 2022 and are down 27% so far this year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":62571,"type":596,"marks":79643},[79644],{"type":606,"attrs":79645},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79647,"type":596},". They were last assessed at $14.95 a pound ($32,959 per tonne), according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":79649,"content":79650},{"textAlign":49},[79651],{"text":79652,"type":596},"“While the market anticipated an SRB purchase going into the second half of 2023, the speed and scale of the purchase is unprecedented,” said Roman Aubry, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":79654,"content":79655},{"textAlign":49},[79656],{"text":79657,"type":596},"The wider cobalt market is expected to remain in a supply surplus of 17,000 tonnes this year, according to Benchmark Cobalt Forecast. While the volume includes all cobalt chemistries it is still significant as SRB’s move is expected to take out nearly a third of the wider stockpile. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79659,"content":79660},{"textAlign":49},[79661],{"type":836,"attrs":79662},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79663,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79664},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0f8d98747c/bm-cobalt-prices-chart1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":79666,"content":79667},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79668],{"text":79669,"type":596},"Sustained surplus",{"type":591,"attrs":79671,"content":79672},{"textAlign":49},[79673],{"text":79674,"type":596},"The global cobalt market is expected to be in supply surplus until the end of 2026 due to new supply from Chinese processing projects in Indonesia as well as expansion by China’s CMOC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But battery demand for cobalt will push the surplus to deficit from 2027 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":79676,"content":79677},{"textAlign":49},[79678],{"text":79679,"type":596},"Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo mines over 70% of the world’s cobalt feedstock.",{"type":615,"attrs":79681,"content":79682},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79683],{"text":79684,"type":596},"Previous SRB purchases",{"type":591,"attrs":79686,"content":79687},{"textAlign":49},[79688],{"text":79689,"type":596},"In September 2020, the last time the SRB purchased cobalt, it bought 2,000 tonnes of metal in a move which drove international prices up by 14% according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":79691,"content":79692},{"textAlign":49},[79693],{"text":79694,"type":596},"A price for 280,000 RMB would be above the market price in China of between RMB 260,000 to RMB 270,000 a tonne, making it a good deal for sellers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79696,"content":79697},{"textAlign":49},[79698],{"text":79699,"type":596},"Many cobalt refiners are now buying cobalt sulphate to produce metal due to the profit margin, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79701,"content":79702},{"textAlign":49},[79703],{"text":79704,"type":596},"Still, Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, head of prices at Benchmark, said that while prices may react positively, the “fundamentals don’t lend themselves to a dramatic upward correction.” ","China will buy 5,600 tonnes of cobalt metal in the next six months for its national reserves, according to Benchmark, in a move that could support prices, which have more than halved over the past year. The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration has agreed to buy cobalt metal at a price of 280,000 RMB […]",[79707],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79708},{"job_title":557,"image":79709,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5dd0e0e4-704e-4608-821d-50ba82ec986b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[79712,79713,79714,79715],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":79717,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79718,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bb7cdd80f1/bm-cobalt-photograph-for-source-from-harry.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 05, 2023",{"id":79721,"uuid":79722,"name":79723,"slug":79724,"full_slug":79725,"content":79726},112471110011211,"6f6fedf6-69b9-48a2-83c5-a9eed5c77aba","Rio Tinto considering lithium hydroxide refinery in France","rio-tinto-considering-lithium-hydroxide-refinery-in-france","article/rio-tinto-considering-lithium-hydroxide-refinery-in-france",{"_uid":79727,"date":79612,"tags":79728,"editor":79732,"content":79736,"excerpt":79884,"featured":51,"reporter":79885,"_editable":79889,"component":697,"seo_title":79723,"categories":79890,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":79893,"seo_description":79884,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":79719},"6065826e-b47d-4adb-abed-2c42738a7270",[79729,79730,79731],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":20447,"name":20448},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},[79733],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79734},{"job_title":557,"image":79735,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79737},[79738,79743,79748,79761,79766,79771,79776,79781,79786,79797,79817,79822,79829,79834,79839,79844,79851,79856,79861,79866,79879],{"type":591,"attrs":79739,"content":79740},{"textAlign":49},[79741],{"text":79742,"type":596},"Rio Tinto is considering building a lithium hydroxide refinery in France to process material for the European battery market, Benchmark can confirm. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79744,"content":79745},{"textAlign":49},[79746],{"text":79747,"type":596},"The mining company is looking at building the plant on the site of a borax refinery it currently operates near Dunkirk. Production could begin from 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":79749,"content":79750},{"textAlign":49},[79751,79753,79759],{"text":79752,"type":596},"The refinery would be ",{"text":79754,"type":596,"marks":79755},"Rio Tinto’s",[79756],{"type":606,"attrs":79757},{"href":79758,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-are-seeing-really-strong-interest-from-car-manufacturers-qa-with-rio-tintos-sinead-kaufman",{"text":79760,"type":596}," first move into lithium hydroxide production and will add to France’s growing battery supply chain. The project has the support of the French government, and Rio Tinto is due to make a final decision on it by October, according to La Void du Nord, a French media outlet.",{"type":591,"attrs":79762,"content":79763},{"textAlign":49},[79764],{"text":79765,"type":596},"A spokesperson for Rio Tinto confirmed the report to Benchmark Source, saying: “the proposal is being investigated and no decision has been made at this point.”",{"type":591,"attrs":79767,"content":79768},{"textAlign":49},[79769],{"text":79770,"type":596},"The lithium refinery would be constructed in space currently underutilised at the borax facility, making permitting easy as the site is already industrially active.",{"type":615,"attrs":79772,"content":79773},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79774],{"text":79775,"type":596},"Dunkirk: France’s Battery valley",{"type":591,"attrs":79777,"content":79778},{"textAlign":49},[79779],{"text":79780,"type":596},"Dunkirk is emerging as France’s battery valley. The port city has a strong industrial past, with a lot of land and good electricity infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":79782,"content":79783},{"textAlign":49},[79784],{"text":79785,"type":596},"Several companies across the electric vehicle supply chain are looking to maximise on these attributes.",{"type":591,"attrs":79787,"content":79788},{"textAlign":49},[79789,79795],{"text":79790,"type":596,"marks":79791},"Mercedes-backed Automotive Cells Company",[79792],{"type":606,"attrs":79793},{"href":79794,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-wins-high-nickel-supply-deal-with-mercedes-backed-acc",{"text":79796,"type":596}," opened its first gigafactory in the region earlier this year with plans to reach 40 GWh of capacity by 2030. In 2022, Verkor selected Dunkirk as the site for its 50 GWh gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":79798,"content":79799},{"textAlign":49},[79800,79802,79807,79809,79815],{"text":79801,"type":596},"A joint venture between ",{"text":79803,"type":596,"marks":79804},"China’s XTC and France’s Orano",[79805],{"type":606,"attrs":79806},{"href":37750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79808,"type":596}," to produce cathode material in Dunkirk was announced by President Macron earlier this year. In the same announcement, it was revealed that solid state producer ",{"text":79810,"type":596,"marks":79811},"ProLogium would build a 5.2 billion euro gigafactory",[79812],{"type":606,"attrs":79813},{"href":79814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/prologiums-e5-2-billion-french-plant-advances-commercialisation-of-solid-state-batteries",{"text":79816,"type":596}," in the city.",{"type":591,"attrs":79818,"content":79819},{"textAlign":49},[79820],{"text":79821,"type":596},"The addition of a lithium hydroxide refinery will add upstream supply of battery chemicals to the area.",{"type":591,"attrs":79823,"content":79824},{"textAlign":49},[79825],{"type":836,"attrs":79826},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79827,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79828},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b6abc7bb1d/bm-europe-lithium.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":79830,"content":79831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79832],{"text":79833,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide refining",{"type":591,"attrs":79835,"content":79836},{"textAlign":49},[79837],{"text":79838,"type":596},"As with almost every stage of the battery supply chain, China currently dominates in lithium hydroxide production. This year the country will produce 83% of lithium hydroxide globally, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The second largest producer, Chile, is set to produce just 6.7% globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":79840,"content":79841},{"textAlign":49},[79842],{"text":79843,"type":596},"Europe’s share of global lithium hydroxide production is set to grow from 3.2% this year to 9.7% in 2030. Currently Europe’s lithium hydroxide production capacity is either located in Russia or the UK, through Leverton Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":79845,"content":79846},{"textAlign":49},[79847],{"type":836,"attrs":79848},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79849,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79850},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9dc18c37d/bm-europe-hydroxide.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":79852,"content":79853},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79854],{"text":79855,"type":596},"Rio Tinto’s lithium operations",{"type":591,"attrs":79857,"content":79858},{"textAlign":49},[79859],{"text":79860,"type":596},"Rio Tinto has several lithium operations in its pipeline. Rincon in Argentina is a Brine and Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) project due to begin production next year. It will also produce lithium carbonate on site, with industrial scale production due in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":79862,"content":79863},{"textAlign":49},[79864],{"text":79865,"type":596},"Although the  proposed lithium hydroxide refinery will initially use feedstock from third parties, the aim is to use carbonate from Rincon when both facilities are up and running.",{"type":591,"attrs":79867,"content":79868},{"textAlign":49},[79869,79871,79877],{"text":79870,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate from Jadar could also feed the refinery, though this project is in a state of ",{"text":79872,"type":596,"marks":79873},"political limbo after its licences were revoked",[79874],{"type":606,"attrs":79875},{"href":79876,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-lithium-supply-outlook-worsens-as-serbia-cancels-rio-tintos-plans",{"text":79878,"type":596}," early last year by the Serbian government.",{"type":591,"attrs":79880,"content":79881},{"textAlign":49},[79882],{"text":79883,"type":596},"The mining giant also has lithium projects in development in Western Australia and California, though these are further out than Jadar and Rincon.","Rio Tinto is considering building a lithium hydroxide refinery in France to process material for the European battery market, Benchmark can confirm. The mining company is looking at building the plant on the site of a borax refinery it currently operates near Dunkirk. Production could begin from 2026. The refinery would be Rio Tinto’s first […]",[79886],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79887},{"job_title":557,"image":79888,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6065826e-b47d-4adb-abed-2c42738a7270\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[79891,79892],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":79894,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":79895,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/28d646828a/bm-rt-jadar-banner.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":79897,"uuid":79898,"name":79899,"slug":79900,"full_slug":79901,"content":79902},112471134464336,"25889d3e-0133-4bdb-8e7d-0fc6559ce35d","China’s lithium vulnerability: reliance on imports set to rise this decade","chinas-lithium-vulnerability-reliance-on-imports-set-to-rise-this-decade","article/chinas-lithium-vulnerability-reliance-on-imports-set-to-rise-this-decade",{"_uid":79903,"date":79904,"tags":79905,"editor":79910,"content":79914,"excerpt":80019,"featured":50,"reporter":80020,"_editable":80024,"component":697,"seo_title":79899,"categories":80025,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":80029,"featured_image":80032,"seo_description":80019,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":80035},"21ddb9f7-e782-41a6-9f46-001a50cfb631","2023-06-29 00:00",[79906,79907,79908,79909],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[79911],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":79912},{"job_title":557,"image":79913,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":79915},[79916,79928,79933,79945,79952,79963,79968,79986,79991,79996,80001,80014],{"type":591,"attrs":79917,"content":79918},{"textAlign":49},[79919,79921,79926],{"text":79920,"type":596},"Despite 60% of lithium chemicals globally being ",{"text":79922,"type":596,"marks":79923},"produced in China",[79924],{"type":606,"attrs":79925},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79927,"type":596}," last year, the vast majority of this is not produced from domestic feedstock materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":79929,"content":79930},{"textAlign":49},[79931],{"text":79932,"type":596},"In China, 86% of lithium chemicals, such as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, are derived from hard rock sources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79934,"content":79935},{"textAlign":49},[79936,79938,79944],{"text":79937,"type":596},"In 2030, China is forecast to mine 265,000 tonnes LCE of hard rock domestically, but Chinese converters will demand 1.2 million tonnes LCE of hard rock. Consequently China’s conversion industry is heavily reliant on hard rock imports from other countries, with 90% coming from Australia and an ",{"text":79939,"type":596,"marks":79940},"increasing proportion from Africa",[79941],{"type":606,"attrs":79942},{"href":79943,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":79946,"content":79947},{"textAlign":49},[79948],{"type":836,"attrs":79949},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":79950,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":79951},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b806f7ec9/bm-china-import.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":79953,"content":79954},{"textAlign":49},[79955,79957,79961],{"text":79956,"type":596},"Australia is the world’s largest producer of spodumene and 88% of its output was from projects in which a Chinese company was a top three shareholder, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":79958},[79959],{"type":606,"attrs":79960},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79962,"type":596},". Although China’s presence in Australia is forecast to decrease by 2030, Chinese companies will still have involvement in 64% of Australian spodumene production that year.",{"type":615,"attrs":79964,"content":79965},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[79966],{"text":79967,"type":596},"China in Africa",{"type":591,"attrs":79969,"content":79970},{"textAlign":49},[79971,79976,79978,79984],{"text":79972,"type":596,"marks":79973},"China’s presence in Africa is even stronger",[79974],{"type":606,"attrs":79975},{"href":63667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":79977,"type":596},", in part due to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese companies are associated with 93% of ",{"text":79979,"type":596,"marks":79980},"Africa’s mined lithium",[79981],{"type":606,"attrs":79982},{"href":79983,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-eyes-african-lithium-as-chinese-companies-invest-in-continent",{"text":79985,"type":596}," output. ",{"type":591,"attrs":79987,"content":79988},{"textAlign":49},[79989],{"text":79990,"type":596},"And although an increasing number of Australian and US-owned companies will set up operations in the region by 2030, Benchmark forecasts Chinese involvement to only drop slightly to 83% of the region’s output.",{"type":591,"attrs":79992,"content":79993},{"textAlign":49},[79994],{"text":79995,"type":596},"Africa is forecast to account for 18% of global lithium hard rock mining in 2030, up from 2.3% last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":79997,"content":79998},{"textAlign":49},[79999],{"text":80000,"type":596},"An increasing number of African countries are imposing export bans of direct shipping ore–that is raw mined material that hasn’t been processed–in order to capture a greater share of the lithium value chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80002,"content":80003},{"textAlign":49},[80004,80006,80012],{"text":80005,"type":596},"Namibia this month banned such exports, following in the footsteps of ",{"text":80007,"type":596,"marks":80008},"Zimbabwe, which implemented a ban in December last year",[80009],{"type":606,"attrs":80010},{"href":80011,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/zimbabwes-lithium-ore-export-ban-highlights-africas-lithium-potential",{"text":80013,"type":596},". Zimbabwe accounted for 1.4% of global lithium hard rock mining in 2022 and is forecast to reach 10% of global supply in 2030. However, spodumene concentrate can still be exported from Zimbabwe, which is the form of lithium most Chinese companies in the country intend to produce.",{"type":591,"attrs":80015,"content":80016},{"textAlign":49},[80017],{"text":80018,"type":596},"“It’s pretty unlikely that China is at risk of being cut off from its feedstock supply completely, particularly before lithium chemical production can increase outside of China,” Claudia Cook, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Even when it does increase, there will likely be plenty of non-integrated mines that would happily send lithium products to China.”","Despite 60% of lithium chemicals globally being produced in China last year, the vast majority of this is not produced from domestic feedstock materials. In China, 86% of lithium chemicals, such as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, are derived from hard rock sources. In 2030, China is forecast to mine 265,000 tonnes LCE of hard […]",[80021],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80022},{"job_title":557,"image":80023,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"21ddb9f7-e782-41a6-9f46-001a50cfb631\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[80026,80027,80028],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80030,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80031,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1692312134/www-production/China-import-1/China-import-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80033,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80034,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/09882d2389/bm-china-import-dependence-featured.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 29, 2023",{"id":80037,"uuid":80038,"name":80039,"slug":80040,"full_slug":80041,"content":80042},112471148886355,"301b7528-e869-4ad3-b423-62267f710a79","GM backs first US manganese plant with $85 million loan","gm-backs-first-us-manganese-plant-with-85-million-loan","article/gm-backs-first-us-manganese-plant-with-85-million-loan",{"_uid":80043,"date":80044,"tags":80045,"editor":80047,"content":80051,"excerpt":80173,"featured":51,"reporter":80174,"_editable":80178,"component":697,"seo_title":80039,"categories":80179,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":80183,"seo_description":80173,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":80186},"cd45b2a7-658b-454d-9223-5c7fed82c0c8","2023-06-27 00:00",[80046],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},[80048],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80049},{"job_title":557,"image":80050,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80052},[80053,80058,80063,80084,80089,80096,80101,80106,80111,80116,80121,80126,80131,80136,80141,80146,80151,80156,80161],{"type":591,"attrs":80054,"content":80055},{"textAlign":49},[80056],{"text":80057,"type":596},"General Motors will lend Australia’s Element 25 $85 million to build the first manganese processing plant in the US, as part of a deal that secures seven years of supplies of the battery material.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":80059,"content":80060},{"textAlign":49},[80061],{"text":80062,"type":596},"Perth-based Element 25 will supply GM up to 32,500 tonnes of manganese sulphate a year starting in 2025, enough to meet  GM’s annual production of more than 1 million electric vehicles in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":80064,"content":80065},{"textAlign":49},[80066,80068,80074,80076,80082],{"text":80067,"type":596},"The deal will help reduce GM’s reliance on Chinese processing of manganese, which accounts for around 95% of the market for high-purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM). It is the second ",{"text":80069,"type":596,"marks":80070},"offtake agreement",[80071],{"type":606,"attrs":80072},{"href":80073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/2023-will-be-the-year-the-auto-industry-secures-manganese",{"text":80075,"type":596}," with an automaker for manganese this year, following Stellantis’ ",{"text":80077,"type":596,"marks":80078},"deal with Element 25",[80079],{"type":606,"attrs":80080},{"href":80081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/stellantis-secures-battery-grade-manganese-chemicals-in-first-of-its-kind-offtake-deal-1",{"text":80083,"type":596}," in January. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80085,"content":80086},{"textAlign":49},[80087],{"text":80088,"type":596},"If all precursor and cathode active materials are made in North America, to meet demand by 2030 would require around 400,000 tonnes a year of HPMSM, according to Anna Fleming, an analyst at Benchmark, which is around 130,000 tonnes of manganese contained. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80090,"content":80091},{"textAlign":49},[80092],{"type":836,"attrs":80093},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":80094,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":80095},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/332273e580/bm-na-manganese-demand.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":80097,"content":80098},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80099],{"text":80100,"type":596},"From Australia to Louisiana ",{"type":591,"attrs":80102,"content":80103},{"textAlign":49},[80104],{"text":80105,"type":596},"GM said the manganese will be mined by Element 25 at its Butcherbird mine in Western Australia, before being processed in Louisiana. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80107,"content":80108},{"textAlign":49},[80109],{"text":80110,"type":596},"That will make the material eligible as part of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which requires automakers to source a certain percentage of minerals from the US or free trade agreement countries, in order to receive tax credits for their vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80112,"content":80113},{"textAlign":49},[80114],{"text":80115,"type":596},"GM has made a number of deals to secure supplies of battery materials in North America and US allied countries over the past year, including investing in lithium miner Lithium Americas, and Australia’s Queensland Pacific Metals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80117,"content":80118},{"textAlign":49},[80119],{"text":80120,"type":596},"GM is building a cathode production facility in Quebec as part of a joint venture with South Korea’s Posco, which will process critical minerals into precursors and cathode active materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80122,"content":80123},{"textAlign":49},[80124],{"text":80125,"type":596},"Doug Parks, GM executive vice president for purchasing and supply chain at GM, said the company’s direct investments in battery raw materials and processing were “providing certainty of supply, favourable commercial terms and thousands of new jobs, especially in the US, Canada and free trade agreement countries like Australia.”",{"type":615,"attrs":80127,"content":80128},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80129],{"text":80130,"type":596},"The first US manganese plant ",{"type":591,"attrs":80132,"content":80133},{"textAlign":49},[80134],{"text":80135,"type":596},"Element 25 expects to invest around $289 million to build the first train of its 230,000-square-foot plant in Louisiana. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80137,"content":80138},{"textAlign":49},[80139],{"text":80140,"type":596},"It aims to produce 65,000 t/year of battery grade HPMSM initially, which is around 20,800 tonnes manganese contained. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80142,"content":80143},{"textAlign":49},[80144],{"text":80145,"type":596},"In January automaker Stellantis agreed to support construction of the plant with $30 million in investment in two tranches, as part of an offtake deal for 10,000tpa HPMSM for five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":80147,"content":80148},{"textAlign":49},[80149],{"text":80150,"type":596},"The first tranche of the funding will be an $15 million equity investment into E25, which could be finalised by the end of this month, if conditions are met. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80152,"content":80153},{"textAlign":49},[80154],{"text":80155,"type":596},"In February Element 25 secured a A$30 million ($20 million) financial facility for construction of the plant, in a deal with Acuity Capital.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":80157,"content":80158},{"textAlign":49},[80159],{"text":80160,"type":596},"GM’s loan is a senior secured debt repayable over a seven-year period, for the duration of the offtake agreement. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80162,"content":80163},{"textAlign":49},[80164,80166,80171],{"text":80165,"type":596},"The plant, if built by 2025, will be the first in the US producing high purity manganese. Australian miner South32 also ",{"text":80167,"type":596,"marks":80168},"plans to build",[80169],{"type":606,"attrs":80170},{"href":39331,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80172,"type":596}," a HPMSM facility in southern Arizona.","General Motors will lend Australia’s Element 25 $85 million to build the first manganese processing plant in the US, as part of a deal that secures seven years of supplies of the battery material. Perth-based Element 25 will supply GM up to 32,500 tonnes of manganese sulphate a year starting in 2025, enough to meet […]",[80175],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80176},{"job_title":557,"image":80177,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cd45b2a7-658b-454d-9223-5c7fed82c0c8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[80180,80181,80182],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80184,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80185,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd23d23128/bm-2021-06-15-manganese-concentrate-loading-01.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 27, 2023",{"id":80188,"uuid":80189,"name":80190,"slug":80191,"full_slug":80192,"content":80193},112471144036690,"9b86a22c-b969-4b32-b26b-28997451ecd4","John Goodenough: 1922-2023","john-goodenough-1922-2023","article/john-goodenough-1922-2023",{"_uid":80194,"date":80044,"tags":80195,"editor":80196,"content":80200,"excerpt":80268,"featured":50,"reporter":80269,"component":697,"seo_title":80190,"categories":80273,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":80277,"seo_description":80268,"author_full_name":80280,"author_job_title":80281,"formattedDate":80186},"404cfafb-bbf4-46fa-80fd-15d8df31ad8f",[],[80197],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80198},{"job_title":557,"image":80199,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80201},[80202,80213,80218,80223,80228,80241,80246,80258,80263],{"type":591,"attrs":80203,"content":80204},{"textAlign":49},[80205,80207,80211],{"text":80206,"type":596},"All of us in the ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":80208},[80209],{"type":606,"attrs":80210},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":80212,"type":596}," and electric vehicle industry have stood on the shoulders of giants.",{"type":591,"attrs":80214,"content":80215},{"textAlign":49},[80216],{"text":80217,"type":596},"Those giants: John Goodenough, Stan Whittingham, Akira Yoshino.",{"type":591,"attrs":80219,"content":80220},{"textAlign":49},[80221],{"text":80222,"type":596},"The passing of John Goodenough marks a moment in time for our industry to be thankful.",{"type":591,"attrs":80224,"content":80225},{"textAlign":49},[80226],{"text":80227,"type":596},"Thankful for this genuine pioneer who led the discovery of probably the most powerful technology to change our world and shift us away from fossil fuel dominance.",{"type":591,"attrs":80229,"content":80230},{"textAlign":49},[80231,80233,80239],{"text":80232,"type":596},"It was an absolute joy to see that John saw the beginnings of the mass commercialisation of the ",{"text":80234,"type":596,"marks":80235},"lithium ion",[80236],{"type":606,"attrs":80237},{"href":80238,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nobel-laureate-stanley-whittingham-on-the-future-of-lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":80240,"type":596}," battery, a generation after his groundbreaking discovery at the University of Oxford. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80242,"content":80243},{"textAlign":49},[80244],{"text":80245,"type":596},"He has created a multi-billion dollar industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":80247,"content":80248},{"textAlign":49},[80249,80251,80256],{"text":80250,"type":596},"Over the last eight years, John had got his flowers: taking stages at the biggest industry ",{"text":80252,"type":596,"marks":80253},"events",[80254],{"type":606,"attrs":80255},{"href":29707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":80257,"type":596},", world political forums and, of course, being awarded the Nobel Prize. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80259,"content":80260},{"textAlign":49},[80261],{"text":80262,"type":596},"May he rest in peace and may we all benefit from the man that changed the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":80264,"content":80265},{"textAlign":49},[80266],{"text":80267,"type":596},"Myself and all of Team Benchmark send our deepest condolences.","All of us in the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle industry have stood on the shoulders of giants. Those giants: John Goodenough, Stan Whittingham, Akira Yoshino. The passing of John Goodenough marks a moment in time for our industry to be thankful. Thankful for this genuine pioneer who led the discovery of probably the […]",[80270],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80271},{"job_title":557,"image":80272,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[80274,80275,80276],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80278,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80279,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a518ff7d88/bm-goodenough.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Simon Moores","CEO",{"id":80283,"uuid":80284,"name":80285,"slug":80286,"full_slug":80287,"content":80288},112471168936279,"100cff22-bd0f-4034-8f71-3077073d8531","Australia looks to boost domestic mineral processing industry with $676 million fund","australia-looks-to-boost-domestic-mineral-processing-industry-with-676-million-fund","article/australia-looks-to-boost-domestic-mineral-processing-industry-with-676-million-fund",{"_uid":80289,"date":80290,"tags":80291,"editor":80293,"content":80297,"excerpt":80488,"featured":51,"reporter":80489,"_editable":80493,"component":697,"seo_title":80285,"categories":80494,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":80498,"seo_description":80488,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":80501},"5546961b-1607-4144-b604-031066e92deb","2023-06-21 00:00",[80292],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[80294],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80295},{"job_title":557,"image":80296,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80298},[80299,80316,80321,80341,80352,80357,80363,80373,80378,80383,80388,80393,80398,80403,80410,80415,80420,80425,80430,80435,80452,80457,80462,80467,80472,80477],{"type":591,"attrs":80300,"content":80301},{"textAlign":49},[80302,80304,80308,80310,80315],{"text":80303,"type":596},"Australia aims to boost its processing and refining capabilities this decade, as part of a strategy to reduce its ",{"text":30428,"type":596,"marks":80305},[80306],{"type":606,"attrs":80307},{"href":75295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80309,"type":596}," and boost its economic share of the ",{"text":80311,"type":596,"marks":80312},"global battery supply chain",[80313],{"type":606,"attrs":80314},{"href":72553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":80317,"content":80318},{"textAlign":49},[80319],{"text":80320,"type":596},"The strategy aims to attract A$500 million ($338 million) of new investments into critical minerals projects, and establish a fund to provide A$1 billion ($676 million) for value-added projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80322,"content":80323},{"textAlign":49},[80324,80326,80331,80333,80339],{"text":80325,"type":596},"Australia is the world’s ",{"text":80327,"type":596,"marks":80328},"largest lithium producer",[80329],{"type":606,"attrs":80330},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80332,"type":596},", third-largest cobalt producer, and also mines nickel, ",{"text":80334,"type":596,"marks":80335},"graphite and rare earths",[80336],{"type":606,"attrs":80337},{"href":80338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/australias-a2-billion-critical-minerals-fund-backs-integrated-graphite-anode-projects",{"text":80340,"type":596},". Yet it mainly exports minerals to be processed in China. Increasing processing capability to produce chemicals such as lithium hydroxide and precursor materials will significantly add value, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":80342,"content":80343},{"textAlign":49},[80344,80346,80350],{"text":80345,"type":596},"Australia exports lithium-rich spodumene rock, for example, but relatively few battery grade lithium chemicals. ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":80347},[80348],{"type":606,"attrs":80349},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80351,"type":596}," shows that Australia is expected to mine 394,000 tonnes LCE, but produce only 11,000 tonnes LCE of lithium chemicals in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":80353,"content":80354},{"textAlign":49},[80355],{"text":80356,"type":596},"“We must look to grow our downstream capabilities in areas of competitive advantage by enabling more processing and refining of minerals onshore in Australia, and realise the benefits derived from value-adding to our resources,” Madeleine King, Australia’s Minister for Resources, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":80358,"content":80359},{"textAlign":49},[80360],{"type":836,"attrs":80361},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":75121,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":80362},{},{"type":591,"attrs":80364,"content":80365},{"textAlign":49},[80366,80371],{"text":80367,"type":596,"marks":80368},"Critical mineral mining",[80369],{"type":606,"attrs":80370},{"href":72338,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80372,"type":596}," could add A$71.2 billion to Australia’s gross domestic production by 2040, but that could rise to A$133.5 billion if Australia builds downstream refining and processing capability, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80374,"content":80375},{"textAlign":49},[80376],{"text":80377,"type":596},"Australia will establish a National Reconstruction Fund, which will include A$1 billion for “value-add in resources” and A$3 billion for renewables and low emissions technologies. In addition the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will earmark A$500 million to support critical mineral projects. ",{"type":615,"attrs":80379,"content":80380},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80381],{"text":80382,"type":596}," Foreign support, sovereign supply",{"type":591,"attrs":80384,"content":80385},{"textAlign":49},[80386],{"text":80387,"type":596},"The strategy warned that given much of Australia’s minerals were already secured via offtakes, it could be hard to secure enough domestic resources for processing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80389,"content":80390},{"textAlign":49},[80391],{"text":80392,"type":596},"“Foreign companies are securing ownership and offtake arrangements for a large share of Australian minerals, particularly lithium and rare earth elements,” the strategy states. “In this context, Australian processors and manufacturers may struggle to access supplies of Australian minerals in future.”",{"type":591,"attrs":80394,"content":80395},{"textAlign":49},[80396],{"text":80397,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that 80% of Australia’s mined lithium production this year will have some level of Chinese involvement, though the strategy doesn’t explicitly state that Australia is concerned by Chinese companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":80399,"content":80400},{"textAlign":49},[80401],{"text":80402,"type":596},"Indeed, China is not mentioned once in the critical minerals strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":80404,"content":80405},{"textAlign":49},[80406],{"type":836,"attrs":80407},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":80408,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":80409},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/76522b2248/bm-china-involvement-aus-lithium.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":80411,"content":80412},{"textAlign":49},[80413],{"text":80414,"type":596},"None of the lithium chemical production facilities in Australia’s pipeline are majority-owned by Australian companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":80416,"content":80417},{"textAlign":49},[80418],{"text":80419,"type":596},"Kwinana was the first lithium hydroxide refinery in Australia and is owned by a joint venture of which China’s Tianqi Lithium owns 51% and Australia’s IGO owns 49%. The refinery is associated with the Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":80421,"content":80422},{"textAlign":49},[80423],{"text":80424,"type":596},"“Increasing Australia’s sovereign capability in mineral processing will involve moving beyond exporting ores and undertaking more concentration, separation, refining and smelting onshore,” the strategy states. “The fastest and most efficient way to build our downstream capability and get Australian projects into international supply chains is through investment from like-minded countries and global companies.”",{"type":615,"attrs":80426,"content":80427},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80428],{"text":80429,"type":596},"Global partnerships",{"type":591,"attrs":80431,"content":80432},{"textAlign":49},[80433],{"text":80434,"type":596},"Australia is already partnered with several such countries. It has a Free Trade Agreement with the US, which allows US companies to access tax credits through using Australian minerals in their batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":80436,"content":80437},{"textAlign":49},[80438,80443,80445,80450],{"text":23049,"type":596,"marks":80439},[80440],{"type":606,"attrs":80441},{"href":80442,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/albemarles-3-7-billion-offer-for-aussie-lithium-miner-liontown-rejected-as-opportunistic",{"text":80444,"type":596},", a US-owned company, operates the ",{"text":80446,"type":596,"marks":80447},"Kemerton spodumene to lithium hydroxide refinery in Australia",[80448],{"type":606,"attrs":80449},{"href":74212,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80451,"type":596}," with an 85% stake. Australia-based Mineral Resources owns the other 15%. The refinery is currently undergoing commissioning.",{"type":591,"attrs":80453,"content":80454},{"textAlign":49},[80455],{"text":80456,"type":596},"Australia is also a founding member of the Minerals Security Partnership set up last year between several countries including Australia, the US, the UK and the European Commission which was developed to bring high-demand countries and high-supply countries together in the face of increasing Chinese dominance in the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":80458,"content":80459},{"textAlign":49},[80460],{"text":80461,"type":596},"To further develop its international relations Australia is negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU alongside an economic cooperation agreement with India and an Indo-Pacific economic framework.",{"type":591,"attrs":80463,"content":80464},{"textAlign":49},[80465],{"text":80466,"type":596},"Through working with international partners, Australia hopes to tap into the expertise of foreign companies from countries aligned with its values.",{"type":591,"attrs":80468,"content":80469},{"textAlign":49},[80470],{"text":80471,"type":596},"“Australia can scale up downstream processing and manufacturing by encouraging collaboration with, and attracting investment from, global firms that have developed and proven their IP overseas,” the strategy says.",{"type":591,"attrs":80473,"content":80474},{"textAlign":49},[80475],{"text":80476,"type":596},"Government policy and strategic investment across the EV battery supply chain will be a core focus at this year’s Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2023 in September in Tokyo, Japan.",{"type":591,"attrs":80478,"content":80479},{"textAlign":49},[80480,80482,80487],{"text":80481,"type":596},"Learn more about the agenda at Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2023 and ",{"text":80483,"type":596,"marks":80484},"register to secure your place here",[80485],{"type":606,"attrs":80486},{"href":74772,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Australia aims to boost its processing and refining capabilities this decade, as part of a strategy to reduce its reliance on China and boost its economic share of the global battery supply chain. The strategy aims to attract A$500 million ($338 million) of new investments into critical minerals projects, and establish a fund to provide […]",[80490],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80491},{"job_title":557,"image":80492,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5546961b-1607-4144-b604-031066e92deb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[80495,80496,80497],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80499,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80500,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b37c3894ee/bm-kemerton-expansion-project-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 21, 2023",{"id":80503,"uuid":80504,"name":80505,"slug":80506,"full_slug":80507,"content":80508},112471164066134,"2567cd23-210b-473f-ae0e-5dbedcdf4ffd","Rising lithium carbonate prices push LFP cell costs in China above high nickel batteries","rising-lithium-carbonate-prices-push-lfp-cell-costs-in-china-above-high-nickel-batteries","article/rising-lithium-carbonate-prices-push-lfp-cell-costs-in-china-above-high-nickel-batteries",{"_uid":80509,"date":80290,"tags":80510,"editor":80514,"content":80518,"excerpt":80654,"featured":50,"reporter":80655,"_editable":80659,"component":697,"seo_title":80505,"categories":80660,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":80668,"seo_description":80654,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":80501},"3f82a81f-9e64-4289-80e3-8dc4b4b5d2de",[80511,80512,80513],{"slug":14427,"name":14428},{"slug":43503,"name":43504},{"slug":575,"name":576},[80515],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80516},{"job_title":557,"image":80517,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80519},[80520,80525,80535,80540,80545,80550,80557,80569,80574,80579,80584,80589,80594,80598,80603,80608,80613,80618,80623,80634,80639,80644],{"type":591,"attrs":80521,"content":80522},{"textAlign":49},[80523],{"text":80524,"type":596},"Prices for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells in China rose above high-nickel cells for the first time since January 2021 last month, due to a rapid increase in the price of lithium carbonate, temporarily eroding the cost advantages of the battery technology. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80526,"content":80527},{"textAlign":49},[80528,80530],{"text":80529,"type":596},"Prismatic LFP cell prices in China were 2% higher than prismatic NCM811 cells in the country, at $94 per kilowatt hour, according t",{"text":80531,"type":596,"marks":80532},"o Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment.",[80533],{"type":606,"attrs":80534},{"href":46874,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":80536,"content":80537},{"textAlign":49},[80538],{"text":80539,"type":596},"This is a reversal of the situation in November 2022, when LFP prismatic was priced 19% lower than prismatic NCM811 cells in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":80541,"content":80542},{"textAlign":49},[80543],{"text":80544,"type":596},"The recent crossover between LFP and NCM811 shows how an uneven recovery across Chinese battery inputs is affecting downstream pricing dynamics, with cobalt and nickel prices falling sharply this year while lithium prices rebounded.",{"type":591,"attrs":80546,"content":80547},{"textAlign":49},[80548],{"text":80549,"type":596},"“The trend over the past two years has been a massive growth in LFP cell and cathode capacity announcements, in part because LFP was much cheaper. But since last year, cobalt, nickel, and lithium prices have fallen to a point where the cells are actually much more comparable,” said Evan Hartley, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":80551,"content":80552},{"textAlign":49},[80553],{"type":836,"attrs":80554},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":80555,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":80556},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/12d214f5e1/bm-screenshot-2023-06-22-132249.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":80558,"content":80559},{"textAlign":49},[80560,80562,80567],{"text":80561,"type":596},"The convergence between LFP and NCM was fuelled by a ",{"text":80563,"type":596,"marks":80564},"55.6% price increase",[80565],{"type":606,"attrs":80566},{"href":77297,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80568,"type":596}," in Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate between 26 April and 31 May. The chemical goes into LFP as well as low- to mid-nickel NCM grades whereas high nickel battery chemistries typically use lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":80570,"content":80571},{"textAlign":49},[80572],{"text":80573,"type":596},"The carbonate jump pushed prismatic LFP China prices up 12% between 28 April and 31 May 2023. LFP prices would have gone up further had it not been for a month-on-month decrease in Chinese iron phosphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":80575,"content":80576},{"textAlign":49},[80577],{"text":80578,"type":596},"By contrast, NCM811 feedstocks lithium hydroxide and cobalt saw more modest upswings over the past month. As a result, prices for the nickel-based cell fell 3% between 28 April and 31 May.",{"type":591,"attrs":80580,"content":80581},{"textAlign":49},[80582],{"text":80583,"type":596},"These recent movements have only amplified a longer trend over the past year where LFP has been losing some of its former cost competitiveness against NCM cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":80585,"content":80586},{"textAlign":49},[80587],{"text":80588,"type":596},"However, Benchmark analyst Hartley believes LFP will regain its cost advantage soon when battery feedstock markets recalibrate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80590,"content":80591},{"textAlign":49},[80592],{"text":80593,"type":596},"“It is likely that the market will see NCM811 prices rise again as cobalt sulphate and lithium hydroxide prices tick upwards,” Hartley commented.",{"type":615,"attrs":80595,"content":80596},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80597],{"text":10305,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":80599,"content":80600},{"textAlign":49},[80601],{"text":80602,"type":596},"Lithium is a significant determinant of prismatic NCM811 and LFP China cell prices, making up 29% of the former and around 28% of the latter as of May 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":80604,"content":80605},{"textAlign":49},[80606],{"text":80607,"type":596},"Over the last two years, Chinese manufacturers have scrambled to produce LFP as  a cost-effective alternative to NCM cells. Yet the price gap between the chemistries narrowed when lithium, as well as cobalt and nickel, fell over 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":80609,"content":80610},{"textAlign":49},[80611],{"text":80612,"type":596},"Between the end of March last year and the end of April in 2023, prices for NCM811 prismatic cells fell by 32% compared to 17% for LFP prices in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":80614,"content":80615},{"textAlign":49},[80616],{"text":80617,"type":596},"The pattern of recovery in battery feedstock markets in May 2023 has closed this cell price gap further. Battery lithium carbonate prices picked up more quickly than hydroxide, resulting in a steeper increase for LFP cells relative to NCM811, which rose 57% and 25% respectively between 26 April and 14 June. ",{"type":615,"attrs":80619,"content":80620},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80621],{"text":80622,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate dragging down NCM 811",{"type":591,"attrs":80624,"content":80625},{"textAlign":49},[80626,80628,80633],{"text":80627,"type":596},"NCM811 price rises have also been capped by a relatively weak recovery for ",{"text":80629,"type":596,"marks":80630},"Chinese cobalt sulphate",[80631],{"type":606,"attrs":80632},{"href":50384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":80635,"content":80636},{"textAlign":49},[80637],{"text":80638,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate prices in China slid from a four-year high in March 2022 to a four-year low in mid-May 2023. It then rose 12% between 14 May and 15 June in response to increased midstream demand relative to previous months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80640,"content":80641},{"textAlign":49},[80642],{"text":80643,"type":596},"It is still uncertain whether the market has entered a sustained recovery, particularly after the end of the Chinese 618 shopping festival season on 18 June.",{"type":591,"attrs":80645,"content":80646},{"textAlign":49},[80647,80652],{"text":80648,"type":596,"marks":80649},"Nickel,",[80650],{"type":606,"attrs":80651},{"href":47554,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80653,"type":596}," which makes up the second biggest battery material cost for NCM 811, has also been on a downward trend. Nickel sulphate prices in China fell 13% between February 2022 and February 2023, staying effectively flat since.","Prices for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells in China rose above high-nickel cells for the first time since January 2021 last month, due to a rapid increase in the price of lithium carbonate, temporarily eroding the cost advantages of the battery technology. Prismatic LFP cell prices in China were 2% higher than prismatic NCM811 […]",[80656],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80657},{"job_title":557,"image":80658,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3f82a81f-9e64-4289-80e3-8dc4b4b5d2de\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[80661,80662,80663,80664,80665,80666,80667],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":80669,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80670,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/57696dc1d1/bm-ncm-battery-cells.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":80672,"uuid":80673,"name":80674,"slug":80675,"full_slug":80676,"content":80677},112471173724504,"65c1cfd9-3043-4706-9a9f-d35de5927fa1","China’s lithium price rally slows in June as buyers hold back","chinas-lithium-price-rally-slows-in-june-as-buyers-hold-back","article/chinas-lithium-price-rally-slows-in-june-as-buyers-hold-back",{"_uid":80678,"date":80679,"tags":80680,"editor":80682,"content":80686,"excerpt":80804,"featured":51,"reporter":80805,"_editable":80809,"component":697,"seo_title":80674,"categories":80810,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":80812,"seo_description":80804,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":80814},"f203203a-eab2-4f91-abca-ae9e28a0dd9d","2023-06-20 00:00",[80681],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[80683],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80684},{"job_title":557,"image":80685,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80687},[80688,80700,80705,80712,80717,80722,80727,80732,80737,80742,80747,80754,80759,80764,80769,80774,80779,80784,80789,80794,80799],{"type":591,"attrs":80689,"content":80690},{"textAlign":49},[80691,80693,80698],{"text":80692,"type":596},"China’s ",{"text":80694,"type":596,"marks":80695},"lithium price",[80696],{"type":606,"attrs":80697},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80699,"type":596}," rally has slowed down this month, as cathode producers work through inventories rather than buy new material and traders await signs of further electric vehicle stimulus from Beijing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80701,"content":80702},{"textAlign":49},[80703],{"text":80704,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China rose by 1.4% in the week ending the 21 of June, from a week earlier, to RMB 315,000 ($43,876) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80706,"content":80707},{"textAlign":49},[80708,80710],{"text":80709,"type":596},"“Some buyers were discouraged from purchasing material that had",{"text":80711,"type":596},"surpassed RMB 300,000/tonne, citing uncertainty that upward price trends would continue,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80713,"content":80714},{"textAlign":49},[80715],{"text":80716,"type":596},"That comes after lithium carbonate prices jumped by 61% in May, as electric vehicle sales rebounded in China and sentiment improved following a weak start to the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":80718,"content":80719},{"textAlign":49},[80720],{"text":80721,"type":596},"Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell producers increased production rapidly in response to demand last month, also buoyed by growing activity within the energy storage market.",{"type":591,"attrs":80723,"content":80724},{"textAlign":49},[80725],{"text":80726,"type":596},"But a slowing Chinese economy and uncertainty about demand is weighing on the lithium market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80728,"content":80729},{"textAlign":49},[80730],{"text":80731,"type":596},"Market participants are “increasingly hesitant about purchasing material at higher prices,” according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80733,"content":80734},{"textAlign":49},[80735],{"text":80736,"type":596},"China’s government is trying to stimulate rural demand for electric vehicles, and this week it also extended a sales tax break for EVs until 2027, in a bid to boost demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80738,"content":80739},{"textAlign":49},[80740],{"text":80741,"type":596},"Midstream players are requesting and awaiting discounts, while they work through inventories, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80743,"content":80744},{"textAlign":49},[80745],{"text":80746,"type":596},"“Midstream players have enough inventory to be able to wait for lower offers from sellers,” said Adam Megginson, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":80748,"content":80749},{"textAlign":49},[80750],{"type":836,"attrs":80751},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":80752,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":80753},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ba3637fa7c/bm-lithium-prices-june-2023.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":80755,"content":80756},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80757],{"text":80758,"type":596},"Down from historic highs",{"type":591,"attrs":80760,"content":80761},{"textAlign":49},[80762],{"text":80763,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China fell by 65% in the first fourt months of this year to an average of around RMB 185,250/tonne at the beginning of May, after hitting record highs in late 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":80765,"content":80766},{"textAlign":49},[80767],{"text":80768,"type":596},"Last year they reached a record high of a around RMB 579,000 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80770,"content":80771},{"textAlign":49},[80772],{"text":80773,"type":596},"Demand sentiment in China has improved since the first quarter with contacts reporting to Benchmark that some cell producers were operating at near full utilisation rates in June due to particularly strong orders from end-market customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":80775,"content":80776},{"textAlign":49},[80777],{"text":80778,"type":596},"But that has not yet been enough to support a much higher move in prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":80780,"content":80781},{"textAlign":49},[80782],{"text":80783,"type":596},"Prices for seaborne lithium carbonate material into Asia also experienced a moderate increase of 1.2% w-o-w, reaching $41,000/tonne (CIF Asia), as cathode manufacturers faced minimal urgency to purchase lithium carbonate given their ample inventories. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80785,"content":80786},{"textAlign":49},[80787],{"text":80788,"type":596},"Spot prices for lithium hydroxide in China continued to rise at a steady rate in the week ending 21 June, increasing by 1.6% week-over-week to reach an average of RMB 309,500/tonne ($43,108). ",{"type":591,"attrs":80790,"content":80791},{"textAlign":49},[80792],{"text":80793,"type":596},"A slower recovery in downstream demand from NCM chemistry cathode producers versus lithium iron phosphate (LFP) tempered hydroxide demand versus carbonate, thus slowing price rises in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":80795,"content":80796},{"textAlign":49},[80797],{"text":80798,"type":596},"LFP cell production accounted for 66.8% of Chinese production in May, reaching 37.8 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":80800,"content":80801},{"textAlign":49},[80802],{"text":80803,"type":596},"Despite the recent increases, Chinese battery lithium carbonate prices are still down 41% so far this year. ","China’s lithium price rally has slowed down this month, as cathode producers work through inventories rather than buy new material and traders await signs of further electric vehicle stimulus from Beijing. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China rose by 1.4% in the week ending the 21 of June, from a week earlier, to RMB 315,000 […]",[80806],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80807},{"job_title":557,"image":80808,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f203203a-eab2-4f91-abca-ae9e28a0dd9d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[80811],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":70800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":80813,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 20, 2023",{"id":80816,"uuid":80817,"name":80818,"slug":80819,"full_slug":80820,"content":80821},112471183300954,"5fafaaec-598a-44f0-9a58-c5f1cfe90751","China’s lithium ion incumbents  back sodium batteries as BYD makes move into space","chinas-lithium-ion-incumbents-back-sodium-batteries-as-byd-makes-move-into-space","article/chinas-lithium-ion-incumbents-back-sodium-batteries-as-byd-makes-move-into-space",{"_uid":80822,"date":80823,"tags":80824,"editor":80830,"content":80834,"excerpt":81016,"featured":51,"reporter":81017,"_editable":81021,"component":697,"seo_title":80818,"categories":81022,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":81025,"seo_description":81016,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":81027},"2abdb89e-c9fa-4244-9248-0bdcd41464a8","2023-06-16 00:00",[80825,80826,80827,80828,80829],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[80831],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":80832},{"job_title":557,"image":80833,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":80835},[80836,80857,80869,80882,80895,80900,80912,80917,80922,80927,80938,80943,80955,80960,80965,80976,80981,80986,80991,80996,81001,81006,81011],{"type":591,"attrs":80837,"content":80838},{"textAlign":49},[80839,80841,80847,80849,80855],{"text":80840,"type":596},"Some of the world’s largest companies across the battery supply chain in China are backing sodium ion batteries, which have the potential to ",{"text":80842,"type":596,"marks":80843},"lower costs",[80844],{"type":606,"attrs":80845},{"href":80846,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-potential-cost-advantages-of-sodium-batteries",{"text":80848,"type":596}," for ",{"text":80850,"type":596,"marks":80851},"energy storage",[80852],{"type":606,"attrs":80853},{"href":80854,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sodium-ion-battery-producers-target-the-energy-storage-market",{"text":80856,"type":596},", low-end electric vehicles, and micro-mobility applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":80858,"content":80859},{"textAlign":49},[80860,80862,80867],{"text":80861,"type":596},"CATL and BYD, ",{"text":80863,"type":596,"marks":80864},"two of the world’s largest cell producers,",[80865],{"type":606,"attrs":80866},{"href":77363,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80868,"type":596}," are working on sodium ion cell production while China’s Ronbay and BTR are developing cathode and anode materials to feed into the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":80870,"content":80871},{"textAlign":49},[80872,80874,80880],{"text":80873,"type":596},"China is a leader in sodium ion batteries, with over ",{"text":80875,"type":596,"marks":80876},"100 gigawatt hours of battery production capacity",[80877],{"type":606,"attrs":80878},{"href":80879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/over-100-gwh-of-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-planned-for-2030-as-industry-seeks-alternative-to-lithium",{"text":80881,"type":596}," in the pipeline, far more than any other country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80883,"content":80884},{"textAlign":49},[80885,80887,80893],{"text":80886,"type":596},"The technology was given greater impetus last year as battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China ",{"text":80888,"type":596,"marks":80889},"more than doubled",[80890],{"type":606,"attrs":80891},{"href":80892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/whats-going-on-with-lithium-prices",{"text":80894,"type":596}," to reach record highs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80896,"content":80897},{"textAlign":49},[80898],{"text":80899,"type":596},"This month Huaihai Holding Group said it would work with BYD to build a sodium ion battery production base in the Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80901,"content":80902},{"textAlign":49},[80903,80905,80910],{"text":80904,"type":596},"BYD follows in the steps of ",{"text":7067,"type":596,"marks":80906},[80907],{"type":606,"attrs":80908},{"href":80909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-catls-sodium-ion-cell-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain",{"text":80911,"type":596},", the world’s largest battery producer, which has publicly backed sodium ion batteries and will provide such them to the Chinese EV producer Chery.",{"type":591,"attrs":80913,"content":80914},{"textAlign":49},[80915],{"text":80916,"type":596},"“Nobody in China in the battery and EV industry wants to fall behind each other on sodium ion batteries, including BYD,” Albert Li, principal analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":80918,"content":80919},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80920],{"text":80921,"type":596},"BYD steps into sodium",{"type":591,"attrs":80923,"content":80924},{"textAlign":49},[80925],{"text":80926,"type":596},"The joint venture with Huaihai will be through FinDeams, a subsidiary of BYD.",{"type":591,"attrs":80928,"content":80929},{"textAlign":49},[80930,80932,80937],{"text":80931,"type":596},"Across its lithium ion battery gigafactories, both operational and planned, Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment shows that BYD has 546 GWh in its 2030 pipeline, ",{"text":80933,"type":596,"marks":80934},"placing it third behind CATL and LG Energy Solution",[80935],{"type":606,"attrs":80936},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":80939,"content":80940},{"textAlign":49},[80941],{"text":80942,"type":596},"BYD’s FinDreams and Huaihai Holding Group have now signed a strategic cooperation agreement which says the two companies will work together to develop a sodium ion gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":80944,"content":80945},{"textAlign":49},[80946,80948,80953],{"text":80947,"type":596},"The agreement doesn’t contain any detailed information as to what the ",{"text":80949,"type":596,"marks":80950},"capacity of the gigafactory",[80951],{"type":606,"attrs":80952},{"href":80879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":80954,"type":596}," will be, nor what cathode and anode chemistries will be used, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":80956,"content":80957},{"textAlign":49},[80958],{"text":80959,"type":596},"Huaihai is also invested in Natrium Energy, a Chinese sodium ion developer which also produces cathode material.",{"type":615,"attrs":80961,"content":80962},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[80963],{"text":80964,"type":596},"China’s midstream supports sodium",{"type":591,"attrs":80966,"content":80967},{"textAlign":49},[80968,80970,80975],{"text":80969,"type":596},"Ronbay Technology, a major Chinese cathode producer, is set to be the world’s fourth largest producer of lithium ion cathode materials in 2030 according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast and is working on ",{"text":80971,"type":596,"marks":80972},"sodium cathode materials",[80973],{"type":606,"attrs":80974},{"href":73711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":80977,"content":80978},{"textAlign":49},[80979],{"text":80980,"type":596},"In March this year, the company announced it had 15,000 tonnes per year of sodium ion cathode production capacity and plans to build up to 100,000 tonnes a year of capacity by the end 2024, significantly more than its capacity for NCA and NCM 623 cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":80982,"content":80983},{"textAlign":49},[80984],{"text":80985,"type":596},"“The background of high lithium prices provides a strategic opportunity for the industrialization of sodium ion batteries,” Ronbay said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":80987,"content":80988},{"textAlign":49},[80989],{"text":80990,"type":596},"The company also states that it is working across all sodium ion cathode chemistries with the expectation that layered oxides will provide the fastest commercialisation route.",{"type":591,"attrs":80992,"content":80993},{"textAlign":49},[80994],{"text":80995,"type":596},"On the anode side, China’s BTR is also backing the new battery technology. BTR is the current largest lithium ion anode producer and is expected to remain so into 2030, according to Benchmark’s Anode Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":80997,"content":80998},{"textAlign":49},[80999],{"text":81000,"type":596},"In March BTR signed a technical cooperation agreement with Huayu New Energy Technologies, a new energy battery developer, to jointly work on sodium ion batteries using BTR’s hard carbon anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":81002,"content":81003},{"textAlign":49},[81004],{"text":81005,"type":596},"In May, BTR released its first sodium ion hard carbon anode material based on biomass.",{"type":591,"attrs":81007,"content":81008},{"textAlign":49},[81009],{"text":81010,"type":596},"BTR also works in the cathode space, though isn’t as large a player there as it is for anode materials. It is also developing sodium ion cathode materials based on layered oxides and Prussian white.",{"type":591,"attrs":81012,"content":81013},{"textAlign":49},[81014],{"text":81015,"type":596},"“Everyone wants to take part in the sodium ion battery competition for ESS and low end EV applications,” Li said.","Some of the world’s largest companies across the battery supply chain in China are backing sodium ion batteries, which have the potential to lower costs for energy storage, low-end electric vehicles, and micro-mobility applications. CATL and BYD, two of the world’s largest cell producers, are working on sodium ion cell production while China’s Ronbay and […]",[81018],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81019},{"job_title":557,"image":81020,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2abdb89e-c9fa-4244-9248-0bdcd41464a8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[81023,81024],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61030,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81026,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 16, 2023",{"id":81029,"uuid":81030,"name":81031,"slug":81032,"full_slug":81033,"content":81034},112471192910172,"c208acea-b8f5-4303-873c-4850e42ef75f","$920 billion needed to bridge the ‘great raw material disconnect’: Benchmark CEO Simon Moores","920-billion-needed-to-bridge-the-great-raw-material-disconnect-benchmark-ceo-simon-moores","article/920-billion-needed-to-bridge-the-great-raw-material-disconnect-benchmark-ceo-simon-moores",{"_uid":81035,"date":81036,"tags":81037,"editor":81041,"content":81045,"excerpt":81422,"featured":50,"reporter":81423,"_editable":81427,"component":697,"seo_title":81428,"categories":81429,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":81433,"featured_image":81435,"seo_description":81438,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":81439},"f4f245b4-6e27-458c-881f-6be7b2197a26","2023-06-15 00:00",[81038],{"slug":81039,"name":81040},"battery-gigafactories-usa-2023","Battery Gigafactories USA 2023",[81042],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81043},{"job_title":557,"image":81044,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":81046},[81047,81065,81077,81082,81087,81092,81103,81108,81113,81118,81123,81130,81135,81140,81147,81152,81157,81162,81167,81172,81181,81186,81191,81196,81201,81205,81210,81215,81220,81225,81230,81235,81240,81245,81250,81259,81266,81275,81282,81291,81298,81303,81308,81313,81318,81325,81330,81335,81346,81351,81356,81361,81366,81377,81382,81387,81392,81397,81402,81407,81412,81417],{"type":591,"attrs":81048,"content":81049},{"textAlign":49},[81050,81054,81060,81064],{"text":81051,"type":596,"marks":81052},"The following is a speech given by Benchmark’s chief executive Simon Moores at the opening of the ",[81053],{"type":1006},{"text":81040,"type":596,"marks":81055},[81056,81059],{"type":606,"attrs":81057},{"href":81058,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigausa/agenda",{"type":1006},{"text":81061,"type":596,"marks":81062}," conference in Washington, DC",[81063],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":81066,"content":81067},{"textAlign":49},[81068,81070,81076],{"text":81069,"type":596},"Today, we must recognise that for our industry this is a ",{"text":81071,"type":596,"marks":81072},"moment",[81073],{"type":606,"attrs":81074},{"href":81075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/at-the-heart-of-the-energy-transition-vortex-critical-minerals-and-lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":81078,"content":81079},{"textAlign":49},[81080],{"text":81081,"type":596},"This global battery arms race has arrived on these shores at a pace we could have never imagined, even only 18 months ago. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81083,"content":81084},{"textAlign":49},[81085],{"text":81086,"type":596},"It is especially a moment for the critical mineral explorers, developers, miners, and refiners. That’s the hardest job in the industry – it’s a thankless task for the prospectors, developers and pioneers that actually go around the world and look for these minerals and put in the real hard work to actually attempt to bring them to production.",{"type":591,"attrs":81088,"content":81089},{"textAlign":49},[81090],{"text":81091,"type":596},"It’s the hardest job in the supply chain but it’s absolutely all eyes on that sector now, and it’s deserved. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81093,"content":81094},{"textAlign":49},[81095,81097,81101],{"text":81096,"type":596},"Having been focused on this my whole career – since 2006 and with ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":81098},[81099],{"type":606,"attrs":81100},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81102,"type":596}," since 2014 – I have never seen this level of interest and such a window of opportunity that we have now for building critical mineral mines and refining plants in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81104,"content":81105},{"textAlign":49},[81106],{"text":81107,"type":596},"And we all know this is thanks to the inflation reduction act, which has now been handed a 17-month window, a 17-month bull market to actually make it happen, thanks to the debt ceiling agreement being made. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81109,"content":81110},{"textAlign":49},[81111],{"text":81112,"type":596},"In the last 12 months has turbo charged this lithium ion economy in the US. ",{"type":615,"attrs":81114,"content":81115},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81116],{"text":81117,"type":596},"IRA helps US overtake Europe ",{"type":591,"attrs":81119,"content":81120},{"textAlign":49},[81121],{"text":81122,"type":596},"This first chart here is the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, announced last August … No wonder the European Union are terrified of investment money flowing towards North America and free trade countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81124,"content":81125},{"textAlign":49},[81126],{"type":836,"attrs":81127},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81128,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81129},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a8e0ccfa93/bm-us-europe-giga-overtakes.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81131,"content":81132},{"textAlign":49},[81133],{"text":81134,"type":596},"It’s interesting geopolitical development that those two regions are trying to bridge the gap. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81136,"content":81137},{"textAlign":49},[81138],{"text":81139,"type":596},"But let’s not forget China is 10 times the size of what’s happening and what’s happening in Europe. It’s a different ballgame what’s happening in China. They are the true pioneers of this industry, building the supply chains, building at scale and speed … it’s a huge gulf. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81141,"content":81142},{"textAlign":49},[81143],{"type":836,"attrs":81144},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81145,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81146},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d6edf0ca5a/bm-china-europe-us-giga.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81148,"content":81149},{"textAlign":49},[81150],{"text":81151,"type":596},"It is incredible to see how important geopolitically this industry has become. We kind of scratch ourselves and try and work out how this has gone right to the top of the geopolitical agenda. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81153,"content":81154},{"textAlign":49},[81155],{"text":81156,"type":596},"The geopolitical, industrial and technological tailwinds all now move in the same direction from east to west. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81158,"content":81159},{"textAlign":49},[81160],{"text":81161,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries and electric vehicles are an industrial pillar of the 21st century and they are the centre point of this energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":81163,"content":81164},{"textAlign":49},[81165],{"text":81166,"type":596},"You can talk about other technologies but in terms of building from scratch lithium ion batteries, sit right in the middle, right in the crux of this whole movement.",{"type":591,"attrs":81168,"content":81169},{"textAlign":49},[81170],{"text":81171,"type":596},"The critical mineral supply chains that fuel these industries are as geopolitically important as the oil pipelines of today and in the agendas of governments they are above that industry – that’s how important it’s got. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81173,"content":81174},{"textAlign":49},[81175,81179],{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":81176},[81177],{"type":606,"attrs":81178},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81180,"type":596},", nickel, graphite, cobalt, manganese, copper, rare earths, phosphate, and fluorspar – mastering these supply chains to various degrees will make or break a nation’s industrial direction for this century.",{"type":591,"attrs":81182,"content":81183},{"textAlign":49},[81184],{"text":81185,"type":596},"We’re nearly 25 years into this century – this is a movement that’s going to last a long long time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81187,"content":81188},{"textAlign":49},[81189],{"text":81190,"type":596},"A gigafactory without critical minerals and chemicals is about as useful as grain silo to EV makers. Without a secure raw material pipelines into these gigafactories they’re useless. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81192,"content":81193},{"textAlign":49},[81194],{"text":81195,"type":596},"Battery makers, OEMs, and indeed countries – especially the world’s leading economy here in the US – need joined-up thinking for this.",{"type":591,"attrs":81197,"content":81198},{"textAlign":49},[81199],{"text":81200,"type":596},"If you are a battery or EV maker you need to think like a miner and chemical producer. We’re starting to see this mix of cultures happen now but it’s been a long time coming. ",{"type":615,"attrs":81202,"content":81203},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81204],{"text":76134,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":81206,"content":81207},{"textAlign":49},[81208],{"text":81209,"type":596},"China has led the way for the best part of the last 10 years on this. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81211,"content":81212},{"textAlign":49},[81213],{"text":81214,"type":596},"China’s forward thinking and aggressive industrial strategy to build gigafactories, chemical and critical mineral refining plants has ensured the flow of the world’s key raw materials is towards China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81216,"content":81217},{"textAlign":49},[81218],{"text":81219,"type":596},"As a result, huge downstream value is created. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81221,"content":81222},{"textAlign":49},[81223],{"text":81224,"type":596},"Today, benchmark data shows 80% of the world’s lithium ion batteries are made in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81226,"content":81227},{"textAlign":49},[81228],{"text":81229,"type":596},"Over 80% of cathode is made in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81231,"content":81232},{"textAlign":49},[81233],{"text":81234,"type":596},"90% of anode is made in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81236,"content":81237},{"textAlign":49},[81238],{"text":81239,"type":596},"The most critical part for me is the strategy on critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81241,"content":81242},{"textAlign":49},[81243],{"text":81244,"type":596},"Where these critical minerals are mined aren’t neccsairly where they are refined.",{"type":591,"attrs":81246,"content":81247},{"textAlign":49},[81248],{"text":81249,"type":596},"Now, it might sound like an obvious statement, but I really want to underline this because for so many people coming into the industry, it seems like it’s not an obvious statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":81251,"content":81252},{"textAlign":49},[81253,81257],{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":81254},[81255],{"type":606,"attrs":81256},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81258,"type":596}," – 17% of the lithium coming out of the ground was domestically in China, but 63% of lithium is domestically refined in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81260,"content":81261},{"textAlign":49},[81262],{"type":836,"attrs":81263},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81264,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81265},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a2d02dc3b1/bm-lithium-mining-and-refining-china.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81267,"content":81268},{"textAlign":49},[81269,81273],{"text":115,"type":596,"marks":81270},[81271],{"type":606,"attrs":81272},{"href":60434,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":1251,"linktype":750},{"text":81274,"type":596}," is a DRC story but it’s as much a China story. 74% of the cobalt is mined in the DRC, fueled by Chinese investment. But 78% of cobalt is refined in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81276,"content":81277},{"textAlign":49},[81278],{"type":836,"attrs":81279},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81280,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81281},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/318cbc957b/bm-cobalt-mining-and-refining-china.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81283,"content":81284},{"textAlign":49},[81285,81289],{"text":693,"type":596,"marks":81286},[81287],{"type":606,"attrs":81288},{"href":68395,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81290,"type":596},". 61% is mined in China, it’s an industry that China has both the mining and refining domesticlaly. But actually Chinese companies have been outsourcing htat to countries like Mozambique and Madagascar in recent years. When you have a lock on the flake graphite you have a lock on the anode material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81292,"content":81293},{"textAlign":49},[81294],{"type":836,"attrs":81295},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81296,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81297},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b43f10c41/bm-graphite-mining-and-refining.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81299,"content":81300},{"textAlign":49},[81301],{"text":81302,"type":596},"The crucial thing here for me is building the midstream domestically where you are. Let’s not forget that China produces as many EVs domestically as the rest of the world combined. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81304,"content":81305},{"textAlign":49},[81306],{"text":81307,"type":596},"The question is how does the US and Europe either strategically decouple from China or work with China, as Chinese companies are the leader here.",{"type":615,"attrs":81309,"content":81310},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81311],{"text":81312,"type":596},"Price volatility",{"type":591,"attrs":81314,"content":81315},{"textAlign":49},[81316],{"text":81317,"type":596},"As the critical mineral industries go from the niche to the mainstream, there is simply not enough supply to go round. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81319,"content":81320},{"textAlign":49},[81321],{"type":836,"attrs":81322},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81323,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81324},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d2ae67ef74/bm-great-raw-material-disconnect.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":81326,"content":81327},{"textAlign":49},[81328],{"text":81329,"type":596},"Volatility is here to stay. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81331,"content":81332},{"textAlign":49},[81333],{"text":81334,"type":596},"Volatility of supply and volatility of prices – we’ve seen that in the last number of years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81336,"content":81337},{"textAlign":49},[81338,81340,81344],{"text":81339,"type":596},"One of the most important roles ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":81341},[81342],{"type":606,"attrs":81343},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81345,"type":596}," plays is setting prices for the industry, for you to use in contracts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81347,"content":81348},{"textAlign":49},[81349],{"text":81350,"type":596},"It’s a crucial independent tool to bridge this ‘great raw materials disconnect.’ A disconnect where the mine supply is going about half the pace of battery EV demand. And that gap is going to take a long time to bridge, it’s going to take more than this decade to bridge. ",{"type":615,"attrs":81352,"content":81353},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81354],{"text":81355,"type":596},"$3 trillion opportunity",{"type":591,"attrs":81357,"content":81358},{"textAlign":49},[81359],{"text":81360,"type":596},"And how much will it cost? ",{"type":591,"attrs":81362,"content":81363},{"textAlign":49},[81364],{"text":81365,"type":596},"This is what I want people to mull over. Between now and 2035, $920 billion dollars will be needed to be invested to bridge this great raw material disconnect.",{"type":591,"attrs":81367,"content":81368},{"textAlign":49},[81369,81371,81375],{"text":81370,"type":596},"And that’s pretty conservative demand projections from ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":81372},[81373],{"type":606,"attrs":81374},{"href":25898,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81376,"type":596},". People say we’re too conservative but unless you know what’s happening on the mining side, you cannot predict the scale of the battery and EV side. You have to be completely joined up in your analysis if you’re building infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":81378,"content":81379},{"textAlign":49},[81380],{"text":81381,"type":596},"Most of this is mining, $220 billion for raw materials. It’s probably a $3 trillion dollar challenge over the next twenty years to actually build this infrastructure. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81383,"content":81384},{"textAlign":49},[81385],{"text":81386,"type":596},"The global supply chain base as we know it will still exist yet the US’s strategic decoupling from China, however that looks, will put our industry in the crosshairs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81388,"content":81389},{"textAlign":49},[81390],{"text":81391,"type":596},"The response is to build domestic supply chains that sit alongside this global supply chain base. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81393,"content":81394},{"textAlign":49},[81395],{"text":81396,"type":596},"This makes building mines, chemical plants and gigafactories here – at speed and at scale – of paramount importance regionally and globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81398,"content":81399},{"textAlign":49},[81400],{"text":81401,"type":596},"This is why we are now at the top of the geopolitical agenda, not just here in Washington dc, but worldwide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81403,"content":81404},{"textAlign":49},[81405],{"text":81406,"type":596},"This conference will give you the knowledge, the connections and the platform to build a lithium ion economy here in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81408,"content":81409},{"textAlign":49},[81410],{"text":81411,"type":596},"We are in the midst of a global battery arms race but the US is no longer a bystander. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81413,"content":81414},{"textAlign":49},[81415],{"text":81416,"type":596},"Yet the very deals done in this room will define this country’s industrial direction for generations to come. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81418,"content":81419},{"textAlign":49},[81420],{"text":81421,"type":596},"No pressure, thank you very much. ","The following is a speech given by Benchmark’s chief executive Simon Moores at the opening of the Battery Gigafactories USA 2023 conference in Washington, DC. Today, we must recognise that for our industry this is a moment. This global battery arms race has arrived on these shores at a pace we could have never imagined, […]",[81424],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81425},{"job_title":557,"image":81426,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f4f245b4-6e27-458c-881f-6be7b2197a26\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","$920 billion needed to bridge the ‘great raw material disconnect’",[81430,81431,81432],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4901,"name":4902},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81434},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":81436,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81437,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2dcf038bae/bm-battery-cell-being-handled-e1563796545672-581080a8e75.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The following is a speech given by Benchmark’s chief executive Simon Moores at the opening of the Battery Gigafactories USA 2023 conference in Washington, DC.","Jun 15, 2023",{"id":81441,"uuid":81442,"name":81443,"slug":81444,"full_slug":81445,"content":81446},112471197641053,"e563a3d5-8933-4be8-867b-ac20e9c6523c","EV battery prices rise for first time this year as China’s lithium prices rebound","ev-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-this-year-as-chinas-lithium-prices-rebound","article/ev-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-this-year-as-chinas-lithium-prices-rebound",{"_uid":81447,"date":81448,"tags":81449,"editor":81450,"content":81454,"excerpt":81550,"featured":51,"reporter":81551,"_editable":81555,"component":697,"seo_title":81443,"categories":81556,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":81559,"seo_description":81550,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":81562},"0fe9124c-c6e6-43a9-881a-e3695b752475","2023-06-14 00:00",[],[81451],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81452},{"job_title":557,"image":81453,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":81455},[81456,81461,81472,81483,81488,81493,81498,81503,81510,81515,81520,81525,81530,81540,81545],{"type":591,"attrs":81457,"content":81458},{"textAlign":49},[81459],{"text":81460,"type":596},"Lithium ion battery prices rose in May for the first time this year, according to Benchmark, as Chinese lithium carbonate prices surged by 50%, driven by a recovery in the country’s electric vehicle market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81462,"content":81463},{"textAlign":49},[81464,81465,81470],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":81466,"type":596,"marks":81467},"Benchmark Global Weighted Average Cell Price",[81468],{"type":606,"attrs":81469},{"href":52673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81471,"type":596}," increased to $110.7 a kilowatt hour (kWh), according to Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":81473,"content":81474},{"textAlign":49},[81475,81477,81481],{"text":81476,"type":596},"The increase in Chinese lithium carbonate and hydroxide ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":81478},[81479],{"type":606,"attrs":81480},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81482,"type":596}," over the past month is outweighing any benefit from declining cobalt and nickel prices this year, as lithium makes up around a third of the cost of producing lithium ion battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81484,"content":81485},{"textAlign":49},[81486],{"text":81487,"type":596},"Average prices for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells rose by 3.7%, from a month earlier, to $112.7/kWh, the first average NCM cell price increase this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81489,"content":81490},{"textAlign":49},[81491],{"text":81492,"type":596},"The lithium cost pressure was particularly felt in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistries. Battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China rose by 55.6% in May, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81494,"content":81495},{"textAlign":49},[81496],{"text":81497,"type":596},"As a result average prices for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells rose by 11.2% to an average of $98.5/kWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81499,"content":81500},{"textAlign":49},[81501],{"text":81502,"type":596},"“This increase has largely been driven by the Chinese domestic market, with both lithium hydroxide and battery grade lithium carbonate prices climbing from the lows seen in late April and early May,” said Evan Hartley, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":81504,"content":81505},{"textAlign":49},[81506],{"type":836,"attrs":81507},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81508,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81509},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/51817da617/bm-average-global-cell-prices-chart-vertical.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":81511,"content":81512},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81513],{"text":81514,"type":596},"China’s EV demand ",{"type":591,"attrs":81516,"content":81517},{"textAlign":49},[81518],{"text":81519,"type":596},"China’s EV demand has recovered after a weak start to the year. EV production in China rose by 11.4% m-o-m in May and 53.0% y-o-y to reach 713,000 vehicles, boosting overall EV demand sentiment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81521,"content":81522},{"textAlign":49},[81523],{"text":81524,"type":596},"Some cell producers are operating at near full utilisation rates so far in June due to particularly strong orders from end-market customers, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81526,"content":81527},{"textAlign":49},[81528],{"text":81529,"type":596},"“Despite some recent sluggishness in the electric vehicle production in China, demand for battery cells both domestically and on a global scale is robust,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":81531,"content":81532},{"textAlign":49},[81533,81535,81539],{"text":81534,"type":596},"Spot prices for lithium hydroxide in China continued to rise at a steady rate in the week 7 June – 14 June, increasing by 2.0% w-o-w to reach an average of RMB 304,500/tonne ($42,625) (EXW China) as downstream demand gradually picked up and liquidity in China improved, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":81536},[81537],{"type":606,"attrs":81538},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":81541,"content":81542},{"textAlign":49},[81543],{"text":81544,"type":596},"Still, the Benchmark Global Weighted Average Cell Price is still down 13.2% so far this year due to months of decline in prices for lithium, cobalt and nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":81546,"content":81547},{"textAlign":49},[81548],{"text":81549,"type":596},"Last year prices rose to over $140/kWh as lithium prices touched record highs.","Lithium ion battery prices rose in May for the first time this year, according to Benchmark, as Chinese lithium carbonate prices surged by 50%, driven by a recovery in the country’s electric vehicle market. The Benchmark Global Weighted Average Cell Price increased to $110.7 a kilowatt hour (kWh), according to Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Cell […]",[81552],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81553},{"job_title":557,"image":81554,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0fe9124c-c6e6-43a9-881a-e3695b752475\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[81557,81558],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":81560,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81561,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aadf241777/bm-batteries-11312bf43-1298518e4148.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 14, 2023",{"id":81564,"uuid":81565,"name":81566,"slug":81567,"full_slug":81568,"content":81569},112471211579844,"6a7e440b-b4f2-4652-8007-4a61ae5337b9","US needs to expand scope of eligible critical minerals for EVs, Rivian CEO says","us-needs-to-expand-scope-of-eligible-critical-minerals-for-evs-rivian-ceo-says","article/us-needs-to-expand-scope-of-eligible-critical-minerals-for-evs-rivian-ceo-says",{"_uid":81570,"date":81571,"tags":81572,"editor":81580,"content":81584,"excerpt":81722,"featured":51,"reporter":81723,"_editable":81727,"component":697,"seo_title":81566,"categories":81728,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":81732,"seo_description":81722,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":81735},"677f01aa-90b5-4261-b200-97252ab0d389","2023-06-09 00:00",[81573,81574,81575,81578,81579],{"slug":81039,"name":81040},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":81576,"name":81577},"rivian","Rivian",{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[81581],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81582},{"job_title":557,"image":81583,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":81585},[81586,81591,81596,81601,81606,81611,81616,81623,81628,81633,81638,81643,81655,81660,81670,81675,81682,81687,81692,81697,81702,81707,81712,81717],{"type":591,"attrs":81587,"content":81588},{"textAlign":49},[81589],{"text":81590,"type":596},"The US needs to help automakers source battery raw materials from  countries that are not currently eligible under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the chief executive of electric truck maker Rivian told Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories USA conference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81592,"content":81593},{"textAlign":49},[81594],{"text":81595,"type":596},"At the moment automakers must source critical minerals from countries with which the US has a free trade agreement, in order to receive $3,500 in consumer tax credits for electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81597,"content":81598},{"textAlign":49},[81599],{"text":81600,"type":596},"But a significant amount of critical battery minerals are neither mined nor processed in such countries, chief executive R.J. Scaringe said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81602,"content":81603},{"textAlign":49},[81604],{"text":81605,"type":596},"“I think one of the practical challenges that we have is a lot of materials that are needed for solving scale don’t exist in the United States, and they don’t exist in countries with Free Trade Agreements,” he told the conference. “The reality is we are going to have to get creative with sourcing.”",{"type":591,"attrs":81607,"content":81608},{"textAlign":49},[81609],{"text":81610,"type":596},"President Joe Biden has expanded the scope of countries eligible for IRA subsidies this year, signing agreements with Japan and the European Union in March. This week, he also agreed to begin negotiations with the UK on a critical minerals agreement for battery metals, to make them eligible for electric vehicle tax credits in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81612,"content":81613},{"textAlign":49},[81614],{"text":81615,"type":596},"“Assigning more FTAs is critical,” Donald Davidson, senior manager of public policy and strategy at Volkswagen Group of America, told delegates at Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories USA conference.",{"type":591,"attrs":81617,"content":81618},{"textAlign":49},[81619],{"type":836,"attrs":81620},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81621,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81622},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f711081cf/bm-us-ira-lithium.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":81624,"content":81625},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81626],{"text":81627,"type":596},"The Indonesia problem ",{"type":591,"attrs":81629,"content":81630},{"textAlign":49},[81631],{"text":81632,"type":596},"To access the first $3,750 of the $7,500 30D tax credit in the IRA requires a 40% of the critical minerals in an electric vehicle battery to be extracted or processed in the US or a country with which the US has an FTA. This percentage rises to 80% by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":81634,"content":81635},{"textAlign":49},[81636],{"text":81637,"type":596},"But many of the countries that are vital sources of critical minerals do not have an FTA with the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":81639,"content":81640},{"textAlign":49},[81641],{"text":81642,"type":596},"“What we need to be asking for from our policymakers is to create stability and clarity around how we can source some of these raw materials,”  Scaringe said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81644,"content":81645},{"textAlign":49},[81646,81648,81653],{"text":81647,"type":596},"For example, ",{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":81649},[81650],{"type":606,"attrs":81651},{"href":81652,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/investment-in-indonesian-nickel-diversifies-from-china-as-ford-joins-4-5-billion-project",{"text":81654,"type":596}," is set to supply 59% of refined nickel in 2030 according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast. But it does not have an FTA with the US, making it difficult for automakers using nickel-based battery chemistries to access the consumer tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":81656,"content":81657},{"textAlign":49},[81658],{"text":81659,"type":596},"“The nuance that we need as an industry is for policymakers to understand the complexity of the supply chain,” Scaringe said. “Just because we wish that we had all these raw materials in our backyard, it doesn’t mean this can happen.”",{"type":591,"attrs":81661,"content":81662},{"textAlign":49},[81663,81668],{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":81664},[81665],{"type":606,"attrs":81666},{"href":81667,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/column-does-the-us-ira-give-indonesia-to-china",{"text":81669,"type":596}," has reportedly started discussions with the US about developing a limited FTA focused on critical raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":81671,"content":81672},{"textAlign":49},[81673],{"text":81674,"type":596},"Craig Glidden, vice president at GM, told delegates that “within the ambition of the IRA, we’re hopeful that maybe more free trade agreements will be entered into in the future that could enable some of those places to unlock for us.”",{"type":591,"attrs":81676,"content":81677},{"textAlign":49},[81678],{"type":836,"attrs":81679},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":81680,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":81681},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7c35330968/bm-image-86-13440493a166.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":81683,"content":81684},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81685],{"text":81686,"type":596},"FTA-like relationships",{"type":591,"attrs":81688,"content":81689},{"textAlign":49},[81690],{"text":81691,"type":596},"Senator Joe Manchin told delegates that when he worked on the IRA he didn’t realise that many of the countries with which the US is friendly and allied don’t actually have FTAs with the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":81693,"content":81694},{"textAlign":49},[81695],{"text":81696,"type":596},"Within the text of the IRA, the term “free trade agreement” isn’t strictly defined.",{"type":591,"attrs":81698,"content":81699},{"textAlign":49},[81700],{"text":81701,"type":596},"The EU and US have the world’s largest bilateral trade relationship, but do not have a formal free trade agreement. Following the deal between Japan and the US, discussions between Brussels and Washington for a similar agreement opened up.",{"type":591,"attrs":81703,"content":81704},{"textAlign":49},[81705],{"text":81706,"type":596},"“We are not going to pull minerals out of the ground in the EU, but we could add mid-stream processing,” Volkswagen’s Davidson said.",{"type":615,"attrs":81708,"content":81709},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81710],{"text":81711,"type":596},"Limits of FTAs",{"type":591,"attrs":81713,"content":81714},{"textAlign":49},[81715],{"text":81716,"type":596},"FTA relationships only apply to the critical mineral aspect of the 30D tax credit, and not to component production or final assembly. To be eligible for the full $7,500 tax credits, final assembly must be in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":81718,"content":81719},{"textAlign":49},[81720],{"text":81721,"type":596},"Robert Hood, vice-president of government affairs at Hyundai, expressed disappointment that the FTA the US has with South Korea doesn’t apply to the final assembly stipulations of the tax credit.","The US needs to help automakers source battery raw materials from countries that are not currently eligible under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the chief executive of electric truck maker Rivian told Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories USA conference. At the moment automakers must source critical minerals from countries with which the US has a free […]",[81724],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81725},{"job_title":557,"image":81726,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"677f01aa-90b5-4261-b200-97252ab0d389\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[81729,81730,81731],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":81733,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81734,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8e5538112/bm-img-1207.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 09, 2023",{"id":81737,"uuid":81738,"name":81739,"slug":81740,"full_slug":81741,"content":81742},112471216400837,"18e2292e-6f02-4817-a47c-366a5e41f99b","Automakers await US government guidance on Chinese involvement in battery supply chain","automakers-us-government-guidance-on-chinese-involvement-in-battery-supply-chain","article/automakers-us-government-guidance-on-chinese-involvement-in-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":81743,"date":81744,"tags":81745,"editor":81754,"content":81758,"excerpt":81885,"featured":51,"reporter":81886,"_editable":81890,"component":697,"seo_title":81739,"categories":81891,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":81893,"seo_description":81885,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":81896},"c3a82ad4-6b47-47e8-9595-51ab4ea412ec","2023-06-08 00:00",[81746,81747,81748,81750,81751,81752,81753],{"slug":81039,"name":81040},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":81749,"name":30782},"gm",{"slug":68217,"name":68218},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[81755],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81756},{"job_title":557,"image":81757,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":81759},[81760,81771,81784,81789,81794,81805,81810,81815,81820,81825,81830,81835,81840,81845,81850,81855,81860,81865,81870,81875,81880],{"type":591,"attrs":81761,"content":81762},{"textAlign":49},[81763,81765,81769],{"text":81764,"type":596},"From January next year, access to the $7,500 consumer electric vehicle tax credit in the ",{"text":56805,"type":596,"marks":81766},[81767],{"type":606,"attrs":81768},{"href":64252,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81770,"type":596}," will be withdrawn if any “foreign entities of concern” are involved in the production of the battery components.",{"type":591,"attrs":81772,"content":81773},{"textAlign":49},[81774,81776,81782],{"text":81775,"type":596},"But an exact definition for an ",{"text":81777,"type":596,"marks":81778},"entity of concern",[81779],{"type":606,"attrs":81780},{"href":81781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lg-chem-huayou-cobalts-900-million-precursor-plant-latest-test-of-ira",{"text":81783,"type":596}," has yet to be given. This uncertainty is giving automakers concern as they try to plan their EV production to access the tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":81785,"content":81786},{"textAlign":49},[81787],{"text":81788,"type":596},"“You have to be managing your supply chains with guidance that has not been given to decide whether or not you are going to be eligible,” David Schwietert, chief policy officer at Alliance for Automotive Innovation, told delegates at Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories USA today.",{"type":591,"attrs":81790,"content":81791},{"textAlign":49},[81792],{"text":81793,"type":596},"The entity of concern stipulations will extend to critical mineral supply from January 2025. In both component production and critical mineral processing, China currently dominates in all areas.",{"type":591,"attrs":81795,"content":81796},{"textAlign":49},[81797,81799,81803],{"text":81798,"type":596},"Craig Glidden, executive vice president at ",{"text":27152,"type":596,"marks":81800},[81801],{"type":606,"attrs":81802},{"href":70468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":81804,"type":596},", said the automaker was waiting for more government guidance before it made a decision on expanding into lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81806,"content":81807},{"textAlign":49},[81808],{"text":81809,"type":596},"“I think we’re waiting to get some additional clarity from the Treasury over the next couple of weeks,” he told the Benchmark conference. “We want to see what ultimately the signal from the government is with respect to that … before we decide what we’re going to do.”",{"type":615,"attrs":81811,"content":81812},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81813],{"text":81814,"type":596},"30D tax credit eligibility",{"type":591,"attrs":81816,"content":81817},{"textAlign":49},[81818],{"text":81819,"type":596},"Within the Inflation Reduction Act, 30D is a $7,500 consumer tax credit that is split into two equal parts.",{"type":591,"attrs":81821,"content":81822},{"textAlign":49},[81823],{"text":81824,"type":596},"The first part requires that a percentage of the value of the critical minerals contained in the battery were mined, refined, and processed in North America or in a country with which the US has a Free Trade Agreement. Alternatively the critical minerals may be recycled in North America. This percentage is currently at 40%, rising to 50% next year and will reach a maximum of 80% in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":81826,"content":81827},{"textAlign":49},[81828],{"text":81829,"type":596},"The second half of the credit requires that a percentage of the value of the components (cathodes, anodes, separators, and cells) be made in North America. This percentage is currently 50% and will rise to 60% next year reaching 100% in 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":81831,"content":81832},{"textAlign":49},[81833],{"text":81834,"type":596},"To access any of this credit also requires that the final assembly of the electric vehicle takes place in North America.",{"type":615,"attrs":81836,"content":81837},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81838],{"text":81839,"type":596},"Entities of concern",{"type":591,"attrs":81841,"content":81842},{"textAlign":49},[81843],{"text":81844,"type":596},"Up to now, there have been no “foreign entity of concern” stipulations associated with access to these tax credits. However, from January 2024 these clauses will activate. Access to the 30D credit will be denied if any of the components are produced by such an entity and from January 2025 this will also apply to the extraction, processing, or recycling of critical raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":81846,"content":81847},{"textAlign":49},[81848],{"text":81849,"type":596},"But there has been no strict definition of what an entity of concern actually is. Naturally, it is expected that components and minerals produced in China or Russia will fall into this category, but it is not clear yet what percentage of Chinese ownership would make a company ineligible.",{"type":591,"attrs":81851,"content":81852},{"textAlign":49},[81853],{"text":81854,"type":596},"“A larger issue for us, frankly, is guidance on foreign entities of concern,” Michael Maten, director of EV policy at GM, told delegates. “That guidance is critical to the applicability of the IRA as it is a gating function.”",{"type":615,"attrs":81856,"content":81857},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81858],{"text":81859,"type":596},"Creeping politics",{"type":591,"attrs":81861,"content":81862},{"textAlign":49},[81863],{"text":81864,"type":596},"There is a risk that Chinese involvement in the supply chain could undermine the IRA, according to GM’s Glidden.",{"type":591,"attrs":81866,"content":81867},{"textAlign":49},[81868],{"text":81869,"type":596},"“It can be used as a talking point by those who are opposed to the IRA,” he told delegates.",{"type":591,"attrs":81871,"content":81872},{"textAlign":49},[81873],{"text":81874,"type":596},"In a portent of the potential political wrangling to come, Republicans have already tried to repeal parts of the IRA such as the clean energy tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":81876,"content":81877},{"textAlign":49},[81878],{"text":81879,"type":596},"“The last thing we want is to see these issues become politicised,” Robert R. Hood, vice-president of government affairs at Hyundai Motor Company, told delegates. “I think it would be a lost opportunity to have politics now coming in and overshadow where I think we’re heading and then as we grow, we need to have so but I am very worried about politics.”",{"type":591,"attrs":81881,"content":81882},{"textAlign":49},[81883],{"text":81884,"type":596},"“Investment in the battery supply chain is not just in the red states, not just in the blue states,” Schwietert said. “The benefits to these communities happen across the political spectrum.”","From January next year, access to the $7,500 consumer electric vehicle tax credit in the US Inflation Reduction Act will be withdrawn if any “foreign entities of concern” are involved in the production of the battery components. But an exact definition for an entity of concern has yet to be given. This uncertainty is giving […]",[81887],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81888},{"job_title":557,"image":81889,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c3a82ad4-6b47-47e8-9595-51ab4ea412ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[81892],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":81894,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":81895,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a4c66b0c01/bm-img-9815.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 08, 2023",{"id":81898,"uuid":81899,"name":81900,"slug":81901,"full_slug":81902,"content":81903},112471229725127,"882b66ed-0584-4977-a495-c5df8d9b43ac","Australia set for rare earths expansion as it deepens ties with US to build ex-China supply chains","australia-set-for-rare-earths-expansion-as-it-deepens-ties-with-us-to-build-ex-china-supply-chains","article/australia-set-for-rare-earths-expansion-as-it-deepens-ties-with-us-to-build-ex-china-supply-chains",{"_uid":81904,"date":81905,"tags":81906,"editor":81908,"content":81912,"excerpt":82108,"featured":51,"reporter":82109,"_editable":82113,"component":697,"seo_title":82114,"categories":82115,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":82118,"seo_description":82120,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":82121},"240bd651-bb39-4b5c-ad49-b6e84c5bd9f0","2023-06-07 00:00",[81907],{"slug":71401,"name":71402},[81909],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":81910},{"job_title":557,"image":81911,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":81913},[81914,81926,81931,81936,81941,81946,81951,81956,81961,81966,81971,81976,81981,81986,81991,81996,82001,82006,82011,82016,82021,82026,82031,82036,82041,82046,82051,82056,82061,82073,82078,82083,82088,82093,82098,82103],{"type":591,"attrs":81915,"content":81916},{"textAlign":49},[81917,81919,81924],{"text":81918,"type":596},"Australia is set to see the biggest expansion of ",{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":81920},[81921],{"type":606,"attrs":81922},{"href":81923,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-rare-earths-market-101",{"text":81925,"type":596}," mining projects outside of China, as the country increases cooperation with the US to build new clean energy supply chains not controlled by Beijing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81927,"content":81928},{"textAlign":49},[81929],{"text":81930,"type":596},"Benchmark expects a total of five rare earth projects to come into production before the end of the decade, mostly to produce neodymium and praseodymium-bearing concentrates (NdPr). ",{"type":591,"attrs":81932,"content":81933},{"textAlign":49},[81934],{"text":81935,"type":596},"Output from the new projects are set to drive a significant portion of overall growth in Australian mined rare earths supply, expected to jump 249% between 2022 and 2027. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81937,"content":81938},{"textAlign":49},[81939],{"text":81940,"type":596},"Australia’s rare earths mining expansion is as much a response to rising international tensions as growing demand from the renewable industries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81942,"content":81943},{"textAlign":49},[81944],{"text":81945,"type":596},"China’s overwhelming dominance in rare earths mining, processing, and magnet production is driving the US, Japan, and the European Union to attempt to secure alternative supplies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81947,"content":81948},{"textAlign":49},[81949],{"text":81950,"type":596},"Australia is on course to becoming a major supplier to these markets. Already, the prospect of a rare earths value chain spanning Australia and the US is on the cards after the countries announced a bilateral pact for critical minerals cooperation during the G7 summit last month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81952,"content":81953},{"textAlign":49},[81954],{"text":81955,"type":596},"Markets for key elements are set to go into deficit later this decade as supply will struggle to match rising demand. Demand for NdPr, an alloy of praseodymium and neodymium used to make magnets for EV and wind turbine motors, may climb 93% between 2023 and 2032 while supply in refined NdPr is set to grow only 47%.",{"type":615,"attrs":81957,"content":81958},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81959],{"text":81960,"type":596},"Australian projects ",{"type":591,"attrs":81962,"content":81963},{"textAlign":49},[81964],{"text":81965,"type":596},"The two planned Australian rare earths sites with the largest forecast output are the 650 square km Yangibana project, being developed by Hastings Technology Metals, followed by Nolans, owned by Arafura Resources. Both are scheduled to start in 2025, although Nolans remains at the permitting stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":81967,"content":81968},{"textAlign":49},[81969],{"text":81970,"type":596},"Yangibana is located in Western Australia, already a major metals mining hotspot, including for energy transition metals. Rare earths at at the site are mainly found in monazite, a phosphate mineral. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81972,"content":81973},{"textAlign":49},[81974],{"text":81975,"type":596},"The Nolans project, located in the Northern Territory, is set to include plants for beneficiation, extraction, and separation. Its deposits contain the rare earth-bearing minerals apatite, monazite, and allanite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81977,"content":81978},{"textAlign":49},[81979],{"text":81980,"type":596},"Other planned rare earths mines include the Eneabba stockpile, Browns Range, and Dubbo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81982,"content":81983},{"textAlign":49},[81984],{"text":81985,"type":596},"If all projects come online as scheduled, their combined risked output is forecast to make up 4% of world mined rare earths oxide supply in 2027.",{"type":615,"attrs":81987,"content":81988},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[81989],{"text":81990,"type":596},"Trusted allies",{"type":591,"attrs":81992,"content":81993},{"textAlign":49},[81994],{"text":81995,"type":596},"A rare earths value chain that stretches between Australia and the US is now a possibility under the “Australia-United States Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact” announced at the G7 summit last month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":81997,"content":81998},{"textAlign":49},[81999],{"text":82000,"type":596},"The pact came a month after Nikkei reported that Chinese officials are planning to ban exports in rare earth magnet technologies to limit the US ability to advance in the upstream segment of the value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":82002,"content":82003},{"textAlign":49},[82004],{"text":82005,"type":596},"“Previously, there was not a huge issue with Chinese dominance over the rare earths supply chain due to the lack of criticality in end use applications, and the small size of the market. Now that the market is expanding massively, things are changing and supply is becoming tight,” explained Daan de Jonge, Benchmark project manager.",{"type":591,"attrs":82007,"content":82008},{"textAlign":49},[82009],{"text":82010,"type":596},"The agreement promises to establish a ministerial-level Taskforce on Critical Minerals that will be responsible for securing supply in critical minerals “through the development of a shared energy industrial base”. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82012,"content":82013},{"textAlign":49},[82014],{"text":82015,"type":596},"Australia is no stranger to cooperation with US state and industry over rare earths supply chain development. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82017,"content":82018},{"textAlign":49},[82019],{"text":82020,"type":596},"In 2021, the Pentagon awarded Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths $30 million to build a light rare earths processing facility in Texas. The following summer, the Pentagon gave the company a further $120 million contract to build a commercial heavy rare earths separation facility in the same state through a joint venture with Blue Line Corp, a US firm.",{"type":591,"attrs":82022,"content":82023},{"textAlign":49},[82024],{"text":82025,"type":596},"The recent pact formalises this pre-existing collaboration while extending it into the fields of international climate and energy security. It also creates space for cooperation between more state and private actors across Australia and the US. ",{"type":615,"attrs":82027,"content":82028},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82029],{"text":82030,"type":596},"Linking Australian mines to US processing ",{"type":591,"attrs":82032,"content":82033},{"textAlign":49},[82034],{"text":82035,"type":596},"Because Australia and the US have developed different parts of their rare earths value chain, the agreement offers a way for the countries to pool the respective strengths of their domestic industries and spread the costs of building a complete rare earths sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":82037,"content":82038},{"textAlign":49},[82039],{"text":82040,"type":596},"With only one operating rare earths mine at Mountain Pass and a small pipeline, the US will likely depend on Australian minerals to meet its industrial ambitions without China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82042,"content":82043},{"textAlign":49},[82044],{"text":82045,"type":596},"US mined output for 2023 is forecast to be roughly double Australia’s. However, Australian mined supply may overtake the US’ as early as 2025 if the planned projects start coming online as scheduled.",{"type":591,"attrs":82047,"content":82048},{"textAlign":49},[82049],{"text":82050,"type":596},"“There are some US mines at various early stages of development, but nowhere near as much as in Australia. We don’t really see a lot of greenfield mining capacity there in our forecast,” said de Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":82052,"content":82053},{"textAlign":49},[82054],{"text":82055,"type":596},"Nonetheless, the US is ahead of Australia when it comes to midstream and downstream capacity, according to de Jonge, putting it on course to become the largest non-China market for rare earth processing and manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":82057,"content":82058},{"textAlign":49},[82059],{"text":82060,"type":596},"The US is seeing a lot of midstream and downstream capacity build-out currently. MP Materials, the only US rare earths producer, is constructing a separation facility on-site and a magnet producing facility in Texas. Lynas Rare Earths is still working on constructing a Pentagon-backed separation facility in the same state. Other firms such as Ucore are also looking to build separation facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":82062,"content":82063},{"textAlign":49},[82064,82066,82071],{"text":82065,"type":596},"There could also be US federal stimulus for the very upstream end of the rare earths supply chain. A ",{"text":82067,"type":596,"marks":82068},"bill proposed",[82069],{"type":606,"attrs":82070},{"href":70292,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82072,"type":596}," last month to US Congress would subsidise rare earths magnet production, a sector that was not covered by the Inflation Reduction Act.  There have already been magnet producing projects announced, including in recycling, such as one by Noveon.",{"type":591,"attrs":82074,"content":82075},{"textAlign":49},[82076],{"text":82077,"type":596},"Yet even with access to Australian reserves, it is likely that US rare earths industries will still need China for its supply of heavy rare earths. This sub-group of rare earths are generally bountiful in clays, whereas both Australian and US deposits are mostly hard rock.",{"type":615,"attrs":82079,"content":82080},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82081],{"text":82082,"type":596},"Elements of strategy ",{"type":591,"attrs":82084,"content":82085},{"textAlign":49},[82086],{"text":82087,"type":596},"More formalised cooperation between Australia and the US over rare earths reflects deepening alignment between the two nations over Asia Pacific strategy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82089,"content":82090},{"textAlign":49},[82091],{"text":82092,"type":596},"Offering markets for Australia’s rare earths mining pipeline is one way that the US is integrating the country more closely into its strategic vision for the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82094,"content":82095},{"textAlign":49},[82096],{"text":82097,"type":596},"President Joe Biden’s concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” envisages a US-backed order in the Asia-Pacific centred around open markets, freedom of navigation, and national sovereignty. By enacting these norms, the strategy is intended to function as a bulwark against growing Chinese influence in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":82099,"content":82100},{"textAlign":49},[82101],{"text":82102,"type":596},"The shift in Australia’s outlook has become notable this year. In April 2023, Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong urged her country to diversify its markets away from China, citing differences of interest between the nations.",{"type":591,"attrs":82104,"content":82105},{"textAlign":49},[82106],{"text":82107,"type":596},"In March the US struck an EV critical minerals trade deal with Japan, another important backer of FOIP and the world’s second largest rare earths manufacturer after China.","Australia is set to see the biggest expansion of rare earths mining projects outside of China, as the country increases cooperation with the US to build new clean energy supply chains not controlled by Beijing. Benchmark expects a total of five rare earth projects to come into production before the end of the decade, mostly […]",[82110],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82111},{"job_title":557,"image":82112,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"240bd651-bb39-4b5c-ad49-b6e84c5bd9f0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Australia set for rare earths expansion as it deepens ties ...",[82116,82117],{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":12788,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82119,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Australia is set to see the biggest expansion of rare earths mining projects outside of China, as the country increases cooperation with the US to build new clean energy supply chains not controlled by Beijing. Benchmark expects a total of ...","Jun 07, 2023",{"id":82123,"uuid":82124,"name":82125,"slug":82126,"full_slug":82127,"content":82128},112471238982089,"ebeb4ab6-9e06-489f-843d-feef8bd50168","OPINION: What will be the eventual cost of the US Inflation Reduction Act?","opinion-what-will-be-the-eventual-cost-of-the-us-inflation-reduction-act","article/opinion-what-will-be-the-eventual-cost-of-the-us-inflation-reduction-act",{"_uid":82129,"date":82130,"tags":82131,"editor":82134,"content":82138,"excerpt":82319,"featured":51,"reporter":82320,"_editable":82324,"component":697,"seo_title":82125,"categories":82325,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":82329,"seo_description":82319,"author_full_name":35927,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":82332},"b0f213ac-0968-4663-8e4b-e1bead16e9a5","2023-06-06 00:00",[82132,82133],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[82135],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82136},{"job_title":557,"image":82137,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82139},[82140,82145,82150,82162,82173,82192,82197,82202,82214,82221,82226,82231,82236,82241,82246,82251,82256,82263,82268,82273,82278,82283,82288,82293,82298,82303,82308],{"type":591,"attrs":82141,"content":82142},{"textAlign":49},[82143],{"text":82144,"type":596},"The more we learn about the scope and quantum of the Inflation Reduction Act, the higher the dollar bill goes up.",{"type":591,"attrs":82146,"content":82147},{"textAlign":49},[82148],{"text":82149,"type":596},"But is there a limit on how much money is the US capable of spending? What if the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates made at the time of the IRA’s approval were to become hard spending ceilings?",{"type":591,"attrs":82151,"content":82152},{"textAlign":49},[82153,82155,82160],{"text":82154,"type":596},"What is clear is that the groundbreaking regulation has re-directed the West’s attention to the US as the land of",{"text":82156,"type":596,"marks":82157}," investment and opportunity",[82158],{"type":606,"attrs":82159},{"href":76218,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82161,"type":596}," in the lithium ion value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":82163,"content":82164},{"textAlign":49},[82165,82167,82172],{"text":82166,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that announced gigafactories in the US have increased by nearly 60% since the IRA was passed with total capacity pipeline to 2031 at ",{"text":82168,"type":596,"marks":82169},"1,190 gigawatt hours",[82170],{"type":606,"attrs":82171},{"href":76218,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":82174,"content":82175},{"textAlign":49},[82176,82178,82183,82185,82190],{"text":82177,"type":596},"Several European and South Korean battery groups such as Freyr, ",{"text":32322,"type":596,"marks":82179},[82180],{"type":606,"attrs":82181},{"href":82182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/hyundai-announces-second-us-battery-jv-with-4-3-billion-lges-gigafactory",{"text":82184,"type":596}," and SK On are accelerating investments in North America that were probably distant “growth options” before the IRA was approved. Upstream there is a flurry of ",{"text":82186,"type":596,"marks":82187},"activity",[82188],{"type":606,"attrs":82189},{"href":77533,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82191,"type":596}," from free trade agreement-based companies to take full advantage of the benefits.",{"type":615,"attrs":82193,"content":82194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82195],{"text":82196,"type":596},"How much will be needed",{"type":591,"attrs":82198,"content":82199},{"textAlign":49},[82200],{"text":82201,"type":596},"We have recently run an analysis on how much funding will be needed if everyone and every project along the value chain that qualifies for funding was to apply for it. To do this we use Benchmark’s proprietary forecasts on production, operating costs and capital expenditure along the value chain that would be located in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":82203,"content":82204},{"textAlign":49},[82205,82207,82212],{"text":82206,"type":596},"The chart below depicts the estimated demand for funds under the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, known as Section 13502, which are meant to be a contribution on eligible operating costs for US-based facilities that produce batteries and its core components upstream (",{"text":7885,"type":596,"marks":82208},[82209],{"type":606,"attrs":82210},{"href":82211,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-inflation-reduction-act-puts-oem-raw-material-supply-deals-in-focus",{"text":82213,"type":596},", cathode and anode).",{"type":591,"attrs":82215,"content":82216},{"textAlign":49},[82217],{"type":836,"attrs":82218},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82219,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82220},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2b207fed72/bm-cumulative-demand-for-13502-credit.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":82222,"content":82223},{"textAlign":49},[82224],{"text":82225,"type":596},"The total estimated cost for this provision could reach $150 billion by 2032, which is almost a fifth of the total IRA cost estimate, and, five times higher than the CBO estimated to be the demand for this benefit at the time of its approval. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82227,"content":82228},{"textAlign":49},[82229],{"text":82230,"type":596},"In other words, the CBO estimate would only cover a fraction of the 1,910 GWh that could be built by 2031. Demand for funding is also expected to continue to grow as more gigafactories are announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":82232,"content":82233},{"textAlign":49},[82234],{"text":82235,"type":596},"This issue is repeated across the IRA provisions, including for one of the most coveted benefits: the demand-side clean vehicle credit (CVC).",{"type":591,"attrs":82237,"content":82238},{"textAlign":49},[82239],{"text":82240,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysis indicates that if the US EV adoption targets were to be fulfilled, by 2031 about a total of 59 million EVs would be eligible for at least half of the $7,500 tax credits on offer. This would translate into $220 billion of cumulative funding by 2031. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82242,"content":82243},{"textAlign":49},[82244],{"text":82245,"type":596},"The CBO estimate, at a meagre $7.5 billion, would be enough for only 380,000 EVs in total, each with a credit of $3,750, during the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":82247,"content":82248},{"textAlign":49},[82249],{"text":82250,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates for the main provisions – and only the ones related to lithium ion value chain, are almost twice as much as the IRA total clean energy estimate at the time of approval. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82252,"content":82253},{"textAlign":49},[82254],{"text":82255,"type":596},"And while we believe that lithium ion applications are likely to have a dominant role in the applications for funding, the IRA is clear that other non-lithium ion technologies such as solar, hydrogen, carbon storage and many more, are also eligible, and will therefore compete, for the same funding pool.",{"type":591,"attrs":82257,"content":82258},{"textAlign":49},[82259],{"type":836,"attrs":82260},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82261,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82262},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eb48fade3c/bm-ira-approved-estimates-versus-benchmark.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":82264,"content":82265},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82266],{"text":82267,"type":596},"The reality of uncapped tax credits ",{"type":591,"attrs":82269,"content":82270},{"textAlign":49},[82271],{"text":82272,"type":596},"Unfortunately, trying to answer the question on how much is actually going to be available is an impossibility. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82274,"content":82275},{"textAlign":49},[82276],{"text":82277,"type":596},"Most provisions relevant to the lithium ion value chain do not have a ceiling which leads supporters of the legislation to say “as much as is needed, there is no limit.” In practice though, we all know that it cannot be a bottomless pit with no fiscal implications.",{"type":591,"attrs":82279,"content":82280},{"textAlign":49},[82281],{"text":82282,"type":596},"Trying to estimate a middle ground figure requires having a view on what the US Congress will do over the next 10 years – and the recent discussion on debt ceiling have made clear that the two main political parties remain quite far apart on fiscal matters.",{"type":591,"attrs":82284,"content":82285},{"textAlign":49},[82286],{"text":82287,"type":596},"The only thing that is clear at this stage is that the level of actual funds available will be uncertain. Investors and participants looking to secure IRA funds will need to factor this uncertainty in their business plans with proper risk assessment and risk management practices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82289,"content":82290},{"textAlign":49},[82291],{"text":82292,"type":596},"Some emerging themes and trade-offs in this area include:",{"type":591,"attrs":82294,"content":82295},{"textAlign":49},[82296],{"text":82297,"type":596},"·        Speed is essential, but if companies try too hard to get every penny from the IRA they may be too late to the party. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82299,"content":82300},{"textAlign":49},[82301],{"text":82302,"type":596},"·        Accelerating development investment will increase the chances of being on time, but it will also increase the dollar value of investment at risk",{"type":591,"attrs":82304,"content":82305},{"textAlign":49},[82306],{"text":82307,"type":596},"·        No-one can accurately predict what the US Congress will do so developing IRA scenarios and implementing (or enhancing) a portfolio-driven investment approach may be essential.",{"type":591,"attrs":82309,"content":82310},{"textAlign":49},[82311,82315],{"text":82312,"type":596,"marks":82313},"Benchmark’s Consultancy division advises market participants across the supply chain on a range of strategic development and investment areas as global policies and regulations evolve.",[82314],{"type":1006},{"text":82316,"type":596,"marks":82317},"Please provide your details below to speak to our global team of experts on the opportunities and challenges facing your business.",[82318],{"type":1006},"The more we learn about the scope and quantum of the Inflation Reduction Act, the higher the dollar bill goes up. But is there a limit on how much money is the US capable of spending? What if the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates made at the time of the IRA’s approval were to become […]",[82321],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82322},{"job_title":557,"image":82323,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b0f213ac-0968-4663-8e4b-e1bead16e9a5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[82326,82327,82328],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":82330,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82331,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f31162cbf0/bm-top-10-cell-producers-2022-cover-image-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 06, 2023",{"id":82334,"uuid":82335,"name":82336,"slug":82337,"full_slug":82338,"content":82339},112471250401739,"ce0ea7bb-4115-4a79-825a-6298f5a3c59b","IRA supercharges USA’s gigafactory capacity pipeline as it overtakes Europe for first time","ira-supercharges-usas-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-as-it-overtakes-europe-for-first-time","article/ira-supercharges-usas-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-as-it-overtakes-europe-for-first-time",{"_uid":82340,"date":82341,"tags":82342,"editor":82347,"content":82351,"excerpt":82421,"featured":51,"reporter":82422,"_editable":82426,"component":697,"seo_title":82336,"categories":82427,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":82430,"featured_image":82434,"seo_description":82421,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":82437},"abf092b4-dc57-43fb-a198-5c3918e2b36d","2023-06-02 00:00",[82343,82344,82345,82346],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[82348],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82349},{"job_title":557,"image":82350,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82352},[82353,82358,82369,82374,82386,82393,82398,82403,82408],{"type":591,"attrs":82354,"content":82355},{"textAlign":49},[82356],{"text":82357,"type":596},"The US battery capacity pipeline has overtaken Europe’s for the first time, as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates the country’s clean energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":82359,"content":82360},{"textAlign":49},[82361,82363,82367],{"text":82362,"type":596},"A total of 436 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity has been added to the US pipeline since the IRA was passed, a jump of 57.9%, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":82364},[82365],{"type":606,"attrs":82366},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82368,"type":596},". The USA’s battery capacity pipeline to 2031 now sits at 1,190 GWh. In comparison, Europe’s battery capacity pipeline has increased only 3%, or 35 GWh, over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":82370,"content":82371},{"textAlign":49},[82372],{"text":82373,"type":596},"“Since the inception of the IRA last year, the US battery cell production capacity pipeline has experienced a growth rate significantly higher than Europe, and even China, highlighting the attraction the country now has for cell producers,” said Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":82375,"content":82376},{"textAlign":49},[82377,82379,82384],{"text":82378,"type":596},"“The majority of announcements are coming from globally ",{"text":82380,"type":596,"marks":82381},"renowned automakers and Tier 1 cell producers",[82382],{"type":606,"attrs":82383},{"href":82182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82385,"type":596}," seeking to establish and develop their place in the North American EV supply chain, however, the IRA has also prompted capacity commitments from numerous smaller producers and start ups,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":82387,"content":82388},{"textAlign":49},[82389],{"type":836,"attrs":82390},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82391,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82392},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/22c4ff9045/bm-us-v-europe-ira.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":82394,"content":82395},{"textAlign":49},[82396],{"text":82397,"type":596},"The US had a total of 22 announced gigafactory projects until August last year. That number has now grown to 34 as of May as the country added 12 new projects to its pipeline. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82399,"content":82400},{"textAlign":49},[82401],{"text":82402,"type":596},"In contrast, Europe added only three new projects to bring its gigafactory pipeline to 34, matching that of the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82404,"content":82405},{"textAlign":49},[82406],{"text":82407,"type":596},"However, both the USA and Europe continue to trail China’s capacity expansions. China announced 41 gigafactories during the period to bring its latest tally to 283.",{"type":591,"attrs":82409,"content":82410},{"textAlign":49},[82411,82413,82419],{"text":82412,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories USA conference takes place this week in Washington DC on 8-9 June – ",{"text":82414,"type":596,"marks":82415},"register here",[82416],{"type":606,"attrs":82417},{"href":82418,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/gigausa/home",{"text":82420,"type":596}," and secure your place from the last remaining tickets.","The US battery capacity pipeline has overtaken Europe’s for the first time, as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates the country’s clean energy transition. A total of 436 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity has been added to the US pipeline since the IRA was passed, a jump of 57.9%, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. […]",[82423],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82424},{"job_title":557,"image":82425,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"abf092b4-dc57-43fb-a198-5c3918e2b36d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[82428,82429],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":82431,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":82431,"source":547,"filename":82432,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82433,"is_external_url":51},"The IRA impact: US gigafactory capacity pipeline overtakes Europe for first time","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1685710302/www-production/US-Europe-GWh-Graph-2/US-Europe-GWh-Graph-2.png?_i=AA",{"alt":82431,"title":82431,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":82435,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82436,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ce415b37f0/bm-usa-eu-flag-surkovdimitri-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 02, 2023",{"id":82439,"uuid":82440,"name":82441,"slug":82442,"full_slug":82443,"content":82444},112471243749834,"40265a15-142d-439c-90f2-9dede22f1fdc","Chinese lithium prices rebound further as cathode, cell makers add inventory","chinese-lithium-prices-rebound-further-as-cathode-cell-makers-add-inventory","article/chinese-lithium-prices-rebound-further-as-cathode-cell-makers-add-inventory",{"_uid":82445,"date":82341,"tags":82446,"editor":82449,"content":82453,"excerpt":82542,"featured":51,"reporter":82543,"_editable":82547,"component":697,"seo_title":82441,"categories":82548,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":82551,"seo_description":82542,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":82437},"c37d6bc9-87fe-4ca3-8c83-360eafd8f537",[82447,82448],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[82450],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82451},{"job_title":557,"image":82452,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82454},[82455,82460,82470,82475,82480,82485,82490,82495,82502,82507,82512,82517,82522,82527,82532,82537],{"type":591,"attrs":82456,"content":82457},{"textAlign":49},[82458],{"text":82459,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China increased for a fourth straight week as cathode and cell makers increased orders despite subdued demand from the electric vehicle industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82461,"content":82462},{"textAlign":49},[82463,82465,82469],{"text":82464,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China increased 5.3% week-on-week to an average of RMB 298,500 per tonne ($42,100) as sellers held back material to simulate market tightness, pushing buyers to pay higher prices, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":82466},[82467],{"type":606,"attrs":82468},{"href":78850,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":82471,"content":82472},{"textAlign":49},[82473],{"text":82474,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices have increased 60% in the past month, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":82476,"content":82477},{"textAlign":49},[82478],{"text":82479,"type":596},"“Downstream demand hasn’t picked up yet but the price rises show some market participants expect demand to pick up soon. As a result, we have seen some restocking activity, but sellers have been withholding material which has accelerated price rises,” said Adam Megginson, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":82481,"content":82482},{"textAlign":49},[82483],{"text":82484,"type":596},"Cathode makers producing lithium iron phosphate chemistries continued to increase inventories to about four weeks from two in anticipation of further increases in carbonate prices. Cell makers also increased orders but on a short-term basis due to  the lingering uncertainty over downstream cell demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":82486,"content":82487},{"textAlign":49},[82488],{"text":82489,"type":596},"Megginson pointed out that cell makers have begun to submit orders to cathode makers under speculation that downstream demand will pick up soon. The initial price increases were speculative and driven  by traders and sellers followed by cathode makers who resumed buying to  increase their inventories.",{"type":591,"attrs":82491,"content":82492},{"textAlign":49},[82493],{"text":82494,"type":596},"“Overall in China the sentiment is still gloomy since most players expected downstream demand to pick up sooner, and in turn for prices to rise sooner too,” Megginson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":82496,"content":82497},{"textAlign":49},[82498],{"type":836,"attrs":82499},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82500,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82501},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cdcc6e4141/bm-chinese-lithium-price-recory-continues-in-may-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":82503,"content":82504},{"textAlign":49},[82505],{"text":82506,"type":596},"Despite recent increases, battery grade lithium carbonate prices are down 39% year-to-date. The latest price recovery follows about seven months of decline in lithium prices driven by factors including China stopping electric vehicle subsidies in January 2023, leading to a decline in demand. Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices hit a record of over $80,000 a tonne in December 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":82508,"content":82509},{"textAlign":49},[82510],{"text":82511,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium hydroxide prices have increased 6.6% week-on-week to RMB 291,500 per tonne ($41,100) and rises have slowed in China as some buyers avoid accepting offers for the material as it nears the psychological barrier of RMB 300,000 a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":82513,"content":82514},{"textAlign":49},[82515],{"text":82516,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium hydroxide prices have increased 23.5% in the past month, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":82518,"content":82519},{"textAlign":49},[82520],{"text":82521,"type":596},"Investors keep a close eye on lithium traded in Chinese exchanges as they account for a significant proportion of global electric vehicle production.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":82523,"content":82524},{"textAlign":49},[82525],{"text":82526,"type":596},"Further, the Benchmark Lithium Price Index rose 17.4% during the assessment period and is down 37.7% year-to-date.",{"type":615,"attrs":82528,"content":82529},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82530],{"text":82531,"type":596},"Price Increase Outside China",{"type":591,"attrs":82533,"content":82534},{"textAlign":49},[82535],{"text":82536,"type":596},"Outside China markets have followed a similar trend but with a lag with CIF Asia first, followed by Europe, North America and South America. CIF Asia spot prices jumped 11.9% week-on-week to between $33,800 a tonne to $42,000 a tonne in a lagged response to climbing Chinese domestic prices, according to the Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":82538,"content":82539},{"textAlign":49},[82540],{"text":82541,"type":596},"European and North American prices increased 5.3% during the assessment period to reach an average of $50,000 a tonne. Carbonate prices in South America were also up 5.3% in the assessment period to reach an average of $49,875 per tonne.","Lithium prices in China increased for a fourth straight week as cathode and cell makers increased orders despite subdued demand from the electric vehicle industry. Battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China increased 5.3% week-on-week to an average of RMB 298,500 per tonne ($42,100) as sellers held back material to simulate market tightness, pushing buyers […]",[82544],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82545},{"job_title":557,"image":82546,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c37d6bc9-87fe-4ca3-8c83-360eafd8f537\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[82549,82550],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":82552,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82553,"is_external_url":51},"https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/Lithium-prices-Photograph-scaled.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":82555,"uuid":82556,"name":82557,"slug":82558,"full_slug":82559,"content":82560},112471255497164,"ecd7a09e-49b9-4e48-bdd0-3e8592ae37e5","Hyundai announces second US battery JV with $4.3 billion LGES gigafactory","hyundai-announces-second-us-battery-jv-with-4-3-billion-lges-gigafactory","article/hyundai-announces-second-us-battery-jv-with-4-3-billion-lges-gigafactory",{"_uid":82561,"date":82562,"tags":82563,"editor":82566,"content":82570,"excerpt":82684,"featured":51,"reporter":82685,"_editable":82689,"component":697,"seo_title":82557,"categories":82690,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":82695,"seo_description":82684,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":82699},"b920652b-fb37-4ef6-bf85-c1e72977a802","2023-06-01 00:00",[82564,82565],{"slug":50869,"name":50869},{"slug":572,"name":573},[82567],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82568},{"job_title":557,"image":82569,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82571},[82572,82577,82582,82587,82592,82597,82602,82607,82612,82617,82624,82629,82634,82639,82644,82649,82654,82659,82664,82669,82674,82679],{"type":591,"attrs":82573,"content":82574},{"textAlign":49},[82575],{"text":82576,"type":596},"Hyundai has moved to secure battery supplies in the US, striking a deal with LG Energy Solution to build a $4.3 billion (KRW 5.7 trillion) battery plant next to its upcoming electric vehicle factory in Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":82578,"content":82579},{"textAlign":49},[82580],{"text":82581,"type":596},"The LGES-Hyundai joint battery plant in Georgia will have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours and is estimated to be enough to power production of 300,000 electric vehicles a year, the companies said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82583,"content":82584},{"textAlign":49},[82585],{"text":82586,"type":596},"The deal could enable Hyundai to be eligible for electric vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires that a certain percentage of battery components are produced in North America and a certain percentage of critical minerals mined or processed in the US or free trade agreement countries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82588,"content":82589},{"textAlign":49},[82590],{"text":82591,"type":596},"LGES said in April that its batteries produced in the US are compliant and it would focus on localising the battery supply chain in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82593,"content":82594},{"textAlign":49},[82595],{"text":82596,"type":596},"This is Hyundai’s second such battery joint venture in the US. In April the automaker announced plans to partner with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation to build a $5 billion battery plant in Georgia, with an annual capacity of 35 GWh and close to its upcoming Metaplant for electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":82598,"content":82599},{"textAlign":49},[82600],{"text":82601,"type":596},"“Hyundai has now committed to establishing 65 GWh of cell production capacity in the US through JV projects, highlighting its significant North American EV strategy,” said Evan Hartley, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":82603,"content":82604},{"textAlign":49},[82605],{"text":82606,"type":596},"South Korean automakers were caught by surprise by the IRA since automakers who don’t yet assemble their vehicles in the US are ineligible for electric vehicle tax credits in the legislation.",{"type":591,"attrs":82608,"content":82609},{"textAlign":49},[82610],{"text":82611,"type":596},"Last October Hyundai started construction of a $5.5 billion electric vehicle and battery plant named Metaplant in Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":82613,"content":82614},{"textAlign":49},[82615],{"text":82616,"type":596},"The new adjacent battery plant with LGES will further ensure Hyundai can be eligible for the full $7,500 electric vehicle tax credits under the IRA. The plant will also be eligible for the $45 a kilowatt hour production tax credits under the legislation for battery production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82618,"content":82619},{"textAlign":49},[82620],{"type":836,"attrs":82621},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82622,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82623},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6baa87a112/bm-lges-v-sk-on.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":82625,"content":82626},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82627],{"text":82628,"type":596},"LGES speeds up localisation",{"type":591,"attrs":82630,"content":82631},{"textAlign":49},[82632],{"text":82633,"type":596},"The announcement follows LGES’ decision in March to invest $5.5 billion to build a battery plant in Arizona. It is also another automaker tie-up for LGES following the cancellation of a fourth plant with General Motors in January.",{"type":591,"attrs":82635,"content":82636},{"textAlign":49},[82637],{"text":82638,"type":596},"Seoul-headquartered LGES’ battery capacity pipeline in North America is forecast to reach 198 GWh by 2025 and 293 GWh by 2030, representing a share of 36.6% and 23.3% of the total North American capacity pipeline, according to Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":82640,"content":82641},{"textAlign":49},[82642],{"text":82643,"type":596},"The battery maker said in April that localising manufacturing and assembly of battery components is of “crucial importance” to leverage the subsidy benefits from the IRA.",{"type":591,"attrs":82645,"content":82646},{"textAlign":49},[82647],{"text":82648,"type":596},"LGES reported robust first quarter earnings and partially attributed the tax credits from the US IRA to have boosted its estimated profit. The company had then said the batteries that it made and sold this year already fulfil the IRA requirement for battery components and critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":82650,"content":82651},{"textAlign":49},[82652],{"text":82653,"type":596},"LGES, SK On and Samsung SDI are building at least a dozen plants in North America individually or in collaboration with US automakers.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":82655,"content":82656},{"textAlign":49},[82657],{"text":82658,"type":596},"South Korea’s battery pipeline capacity in North America is set to grow from 23.8 GWh last year to 313.5 GWh in 2025 and 551.6 GWh in 2030, according to Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":615,"attrs":82660,"content":82661},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82662],{"text":82663,"type":596},"Georgia calling",{"type":591,"attrs":82665,"content":82666},{"textAlign":49},[82667],{"text":82668,"type":596},"Georgia has been one of the biggest winners from the IRA in terms of clean energy investments with announcements from Ford, SK On, anode maker Anovion, battery maker Freyr and more all announced recently.",{"type":591,"attrs":82670,"content":82671},{"textAlign":49},[82672],{"text":82673,"type":596},"The construction of the joint plant will begin in the second half of this year and battery production will start at the end of 2025, the companies said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82675,"content":82676},{"textAlign":49},[82677],{"text":82678,"type":596},"“The new facility will help create a stable supply of batteries in the region and allow the Group to respond fast to the soaring EV demand in the US market,” the companies said.",{"type":591,"attrs":82680,"content":82681},{"textAlign":49},[82682],{"text":82683,"type":596},"Hyundai’s car parts subsidiary Hyundai Mobis will assemble battery packs using cells from the plant, then supply them to the automaker’s US manufacturing facilities that make the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis electric vehicle models.","Hyundai has moved to secure battery supplies in the US, striking a deal with LG Energy Solution to build a $4.3 billion (KRW 5.7 trillion) battery plant next to its upcoming electric vehicle factory in Georgia. The LGES-Hyundai joint battery plant in Georgia will have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours and is […]",[82686],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82687},{"job_title":557,"image":82688,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b920652b-fb37-4ef6-bf85-c1e72977a802\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[82691,82692,82693,82694],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":82696,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":82696,"source":547,"filename":82697,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82698,"is_external_url":51},"Hyundai-LG Energy Solution to build joint battery plant in the US","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/98e9d9ed91/bm-hyundai-lges-us.jpg",{"alt":82696,"title":82696,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 01, 2023",{"id":82701,"uuid":82702,"name":82703,"slug":82704,"full_slug":82705,"content":82706},112471265810894,"3c5fa231-59dc-4fd9-8e7c-09009cae732e","$2 billion Xinjiang lithium investments to double region’s supply","2-billion-xinjiang-lithium-investments-to-double-regions-supply","article/2-billion-xinjiang-lithium-investments-to-double-regions-supply",{"_uid":82707,"date":82708,"tags":82709,"editor":82713,"content":82717,"excerpt":82924,"featured":51,"reporter":82925,"_editable":82929,"component":697,"seo_title":82703,"categories":82930,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":82933,"seo_description":82924,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":82936},"b68c520c-7ac9-4735-a9cd-90150aada7a6","2023-05-31 00:00",[82710,82711,82712],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[82714],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82715},{"job_title":557,"image":82716,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82718},[82719,82724,82733,82738,82743,82748,82753,82758,82763,82768,82773,82778,82783,82788,82793,82800,82805,82810,82815,82820,82825,82830,82835,82840,82850,82855,82867,82872,82877,82882,82895,82900,82905,82910,82915],{"type":591,"attrs":82720,"content":82721},{"textAlign":49},[82722],{"text":82723,"type":596},"China’s Xinjiang region is emerging as a significant lithium producer following $2 billion of investments into lithium mines and refineries.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":82725,"content":82726},{"textAlign":49},[82727,82731],{"text":8,"type":596,"marks":82728},[82729],{"type":606,"attrs":82730},{"href":45276,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82732,"type":596}," supply from Xinjiang could almost double to 65,000 LCE by 2028 from around 24,000 tonnes LCE in 2024, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82734,"content":82735},{"textAlign":49},[82736],{"text":82737,"type":596},"The Xinjiang plants plan to use spodumene deposits in the province, which are set to ramp up production next year, giving them a local source of feedstock, rather than relying on Australian imports. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82739,"content":82740},{"textAlign":49},[82741],{"text":82742,"type":596},"But the plants are raising concerns about the presence of Xinjiang lithium in global supply chains, especially in the US, where the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act effectively prevents imports from the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82744,"content":82745},{"textAlign":49},[82746],{"text":82747,"type":596},"“EV makers importing Chinese cars to EU and US markets may encounter difficulties in context of the recently passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which requires clear and convincing evidence that the supply chain of the imported product is free of forced labour,” according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":615,"attrs":82749,"content":82750},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82751],{"text":82752,"type":596},"Breaking ground",{"type":591,"attrs":82754,"content":82755},{"textAlign":49},[82756],{"text":82757,"type":596},"Zhicun Lithium, which used to count CATL as a shareholder, said in February it would invest RMB 6 billion ($847 million) to construct a lithium carbonate plant in Xinjiang. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82759,"content":82760},{"textAlign":49},[82761],{"text":82762,"type":596},"CATL said it had sold its stake in the company in March*. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82764,"content":82765},{"textAlign":49},[82766],{"text":82767,"type":596},"The same month Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Group, which used to be China’s largest lithium producer, started construction of a 100,000 tonne per annum LCE integrated lithium chemical and mining project in Xinjiang, which aims to produce 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in its first phase.",{"type":591,"attrs":82769,"content":82770},{"textAlign":49},[82771],{"text":82772,"type":596},"Zhicun’s plant in Ruoqiang county is initially running at a capacity of 60,000 tonnes LCE per annum, with a total planned capacity of 120,000 tonnes. There are plans for a further 200,000 tonnes capacity expansion.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":82774,"content":82775},{"textAlign":49},[82776],{"text":82777,"type":596},"Zhicun said it will also invest RMB5bn ($373m) to construct a cathode facility with a nameplate capacity of 200,000 tpa at the site. It also plans for another processing plant in Xinjiang, in Hotan.",{"type":615,"attrs":82779,"content":82780},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82781],{"text":82782,"type":596},"US and EU target forced labour supply chains",{"type":591,"attrs":82784,"content":82785},{"textAlign":49},[82786],{"text":82787,"type":596},"Xinjiang’s lithium industry is emerging in the context of reports about human rights abuses by the Chinese government against the province’s Uyghurs, an ethnic group that comprises almost half its population.",{"type":591,"attrs":82789,"content":82790},{"textAlign":49},[82791],{"text":82792,"type":596},"A 2022 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed to “systematic human rights violations” against Uyghurs, including forced labour.",{"type":591,"attrs":82794,"content":82795},{"textAlign":49},[82796,82798],{"text":82797,"type":596},"The 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act came into force on 21 June 2022. The act assumes any goods “mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part” in Xinjiang were produced with forced labour and are therefore banned from entry to the US.",{"text":82799,"type":596},"The legislation makes exceptions for cases where the importer can present “clear and convincing evidence that the good, ware, article, or merchandise was not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labour.” But this is hard to prove in practice. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82801,"content":82802},{"textAlign":49},[82803],{"text":82804,"type":596},"“The extent of Chinese government surveillance and threats to workers and auditors in Xinjiang currently make it impossible for companies to provide credible evidence that they or their suppliers in the region are free of forced labour,” said Jim Wormington, senior researcher and advocate of corporate accountability at Human Rights Watch. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82806,"content":82807},{"textAlign":49},[82808],{"text":82809,"type":596},"The European Union proposed a similar law on 14 September 2022 that would allow member states to withdraw any products made using forced labour from its markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82811,"content":82812},{"textAlign":49},[82813],{"text":82814,"type":596},"Xinjiang exports may face barriers at the European national level too. Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which went into effect on 1 January 2023,  requires companies with at least 3000 employees – including non-German companies that have a branch in the country – to identify, prevent, and remedy human rights abuses committed by supply chain third parties.",{"type":591,"attrs":82816,"content":82817},{"textAlign":49},[82818],{"text":82819,"type":596},"Laws mandating human rights due diligence across certain corporate supply chains will be implemented by every EU member state if the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive goes into effect. The European Parliament plans a final vote on the directive in June 2023, although formal adoption is not expected before 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":82821,"content":82822},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82823],{"text":82824,"type":596},"Xinjiang projects to boost China’s domestic spodumene",{"type":591,"attrs":82826,"content":82827},{"textAlign":49},[82828],{"text":82829,"type":596},"The plants in Xinjiang plan to source lithium from local mines. This would make them among the very few integrated spodumene refinery projects in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82831,"content":82832},{"textAlign":49},[82833],{"text":82834,"type":596},"If the mining projects attached to each plant go online, Benchmark estimates around 65,000 of lithium will come from Xinjiang in 2028. This will be almost 54% of the total mined spodumene expected to come out of China in that year.",{"type":591,"attrs":82836,"content":82837},{"textAlign":49},[82838],{"text":82839,"type":596},"Integrated projects are an effective way for China to increase its lithium chemical production since sourcing rather than refinery construction is typically the limiting factor for its industry.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":82841,"content":82842},{"textAlign":49},[82843,82848],{"text":82844,"type":596,"marks":82845},"Spodumene sites are especially sought after",[82846],{"type":606,"attrs":82847},{"href":63416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82849,"type":596}," since a large portion of the ore used by Chinese processors currently comes from Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82851,"content":82852},{"textAlign":49},[82853],{"text":82854,"type":596},"Only 14% of China’s operating lithium mines are spodumene projects. Brine deposits, concentrated in Qinghai province, make up the majority of China’s lithium mines but these have proved to be of low quality and difficult to scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82856,"content":82857},{"textAlign":49},[82858,82859,82865],{"text":62647,"type":596},{"text":82860,"type":596,"marks":82861},"falling lithium prices",[82862],{"type":606,"attrs":82863},{"href":82864,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-fall-32-easing-pressure-on-lithium-refiners",{"text":82866,"type":596}," since November 2022 have put pressure on buyers of Xinjiang ores. Zhicun Lithium’s rights to exploit a Xinjiang mine may also be in question. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82868,"content":82869},{"textAlign":49},[82870],{"text":82871,"type":596},"The company’s subsidiary Zhite won exploitation rights to a mine in February 2023 with a bid of RMB 6.1 billion ($885 million), 400 times the starting price. Yet on April 23, Xinjiang’s natural resources department claimed that Zhite did not sign the contract to the exploitation rights transfer deal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82873,"content":82874},{"textAlign":49},[82875],{"text":82876,"type":596},"Zhite’s largest shareholder is Zhicun Lithium Group, which owns 49% of the miner. ",{"type":615,"attrs":82878,"content":82879},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[82880],{"text":82881,"type":596},"Tesla under pressure",{"type":591,"attrs":82883,"content":82884},{"textAlign":49},[82885,82887,82893],{"text":82886,"type":596},"Tesla is ",{"text":82888,"type":596,"marks":82889},"almost wholly reliant on CATL",[82890],{"type":606,"attrs":82891},{"href":82892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-takes-on-byds-crown-with-100-gwh-nevada-expansion",{"text":82894,"type":596}," and a few other companies for its battery cell supply, admitting in its 2022 annual report that it has “limited flexibility in changing suppliers” and that any disruptions to these relationships could limit vehicle and energy storage production.",{"type":591,"attrs":82896,"content":82897},{"textAlign":49},[82898],{"text":82899,"type":596},"Tesla, along with other major car companies, is already being subject to an ongoing Senate Finance Committee inquiry investigating possible use of components made using forced labour in Xinjiang.",{"type":591,"attrs":82901,"content":82902},{"textAlign":49},[82903],{"text":82904,"type":596},"In April 2023, a group of Tesla shareholders expressed concern that the company’s current “sourcing policies and practices,” including potential ties to Xinjiang supply, “expose the Company to significant material risk” in an internal letter.",{"type":591,"attrs":82906,"content":82907},{"textAlign":49},[82908],{"text":82909,"type":596},"At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on 16 May 2023, shareholders rejected a floor proposal that pushed for independent audits of child and forced labour in Africa and China. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, did nonetheless agreed to Tesla conducting a third party audit of its cobalt suppliers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82911,"content":82912},{"textAlign":49},[82913],{"text":82914,"type":596},"Unions are also calling for action on forced labour supply chains. In December 2022, the US United Auto Workers Union demanded that carmakers move all supply chains out of Xinjiang, citing a report penned by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University on human rights abuses in the region. The union’s president Ray Curry also called on the US government to identify and ban imports of forced labour products.",{"type":591,"attrs":82916,"content":82917},{"textAlign":49},[82918,82920],{"text":82919,"type":596},"*",{"text":82921,"type":596,"marks":82922},"Corrects story to add that CATL sold its stake in Zhicun Lithium in March. ",[82923],{"type":1006},"China’s Xinjiang region is emerging as a significant lithium producer following $2 billion of investments into lithium mines and refineries. Lithium supply from Xinjiang could almost double to 65,000 LCE by 2028 from around 24,000 tonnes LCE in 2024, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The Xinjiang plants plan to use spodumene deposits in the province, […]",[82926],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82927},{"job_title":557,"image":82928,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b68c520c-7ac9-4735-a9cd-90150aada7a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[82931,82932],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":82934,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":82935,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1b32294195/bm-urumqi-china-september-6th-2019-capital-of-the-xinjiang-uygur-autonomous-region.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 31, 2023",{"id":82938,"uuid":82939,"name":82940,"slug":82941,"full_slug":82942,"content":82943},112471285189074,"fcea5d54-e27e-4ae7-aeaa-6adc5550573a","Cobalt hydroxide prices tumble as Tenke mine in DRC restarts exports","cobalt-hydroxide-prices-tumble-as-tenke-mine-in-drc-restarts-exports","article/cobalt-hydroxide-prices-tumble-as-tenke-mine-in-drc-restarts-exports",{"_uid":82944,"date":82945,"tags":82946,"editor":82948,"content":82952,"excerpt":83099,"featured":51,"reporter":83100,"_editable":83104,"component":697,"seo_title":82940,"categories":83105,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":83108,"seo_description":83099,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":83110},"49c96961-d84a-40a1-a1be-702aad4e389d","2023-05-26 00:00",[82947],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[82949],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":82950},{"job_title":557,"image":82951,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":82953},[82954,82959,82969,82981,82986,82991,82998,83003,83008,83013,83026,83031,83036,83049,83054,83059,83064,83069,83074,83079,83084,83089,83094],{"type":591,"attrs":82955,"content":82956},{"textAlign":49},[82957],{"text":82958,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide prices have fallen by four-fifths since last April, due to large stockpiles in the supply chain and weaker demand in China this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82960,"content":82961},{"textAlign":49},[82962,82964,82968],{"text":82963,"type":596},"Asian cobalt hydroxide prices have fallen 78% to $16,446 per tonne as of mid-May 2023 from $76,145 per tonne at their peak in April 2022, according to ",{"text":42469,"type":596,"marks":82965},[82966],{"type":606,"attrs":82967},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":82970,"content":82971},{"textAlign":49},[82972,82974,82979],{"text":82973,"type":596},"The fall comes as China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in the DRC begins ",{"text":82975,"type":596,"marks":82976},"exports of material this month after a 10-month ban was lifted",[82977],{"type":606,"attrs":82978},{"href":73038,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":82980,"type":596}," by the DRC government. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82982,"content":82983},{"textAlign":49},[82984],{"text":82985,"type":596},"The estimated 16,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide that CMOC had amassed during the export ban is now able to sell into the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82987,"content":82988},{"textAlign":49},[82989],{"text":82990,"type":596},"The company’s Kisanfu mine is also set to start production this year, with supply expected to be around 10,000 tonnes, according to Benchmark. The smaller Somika mine in the DRC is also expected to restart production this summer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":82992,"content":82993},{"textAlign":49},[82994],{"type":836,"attrs":82995},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":82996,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":82997},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/286a93ecb5/bm-cobalt-prices-social-chart-180523-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":82999,"content":83000},{"textAlign":49},[83001],{"text":83002,"type":596},"The lower prices will put further pressure on mining companies, as copper prices have also fallen this year. Prices for copper have fallen to their lowest level since November, at $8,080 a tonne, according to the London Metal Exchange. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83004,"content":83005},{"textAlign":49},[83006],{"text":83007,"type":596},"At such low costs, higher-cost producers are likely to lose money and may be forced to mothball capacity to cut costs.",{"type":615,"attrs":83009,"content":83010},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83011],{"text":83012,"type":596},"DRC supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":83014,"content":83015},{"textAlign":49},[83016,83018,83024],{"text":83017,"type":596},"Between July last year and April, exports of cobalt hydroxide from the ",{"text":83019,"type":596,"marks":83020},"Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in the DRC",[83021],{"type":606,"attrs":83022},{"href":83023,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-340-million-stockpile-weighing-on-the-global-cobalt-market",{"text":83025,"type":596}," were suspended by the Congolese government over a royalty dispute between China’s CMOC and the DRC state-owned Gécamines.",{"type":591,"attrs":83027,"content":83028},{"textAlign":49},[83029],{"text":83030,"type":596},"Despite this, production of cobalt hydroxide at the mine and across the DRC remained high with stocks continuing to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":83032,"content":83033},{"textAlign":49},[83034],{"text":83035,"type":596},"In addition, after cobalt prices hit record highs in April last year, cobalt hydroxide producers also amassed large stockpiles of the material.",{"type":591,"attrs":83037,"content":83038},{"textAlign":49},[83039,83041,83047],{"text":83040,"type":596},"But when ",{"text":83042,"type":596,"marks":83043},"demand from electric vehicle batteries fell",[83044],{"type":606,"attrs":83045},{"href":83046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-tick-up-4-in-march-but-lack-of-battery-demand-weighs-on-market",{"text":83048,"type":596},", so did demand for cobalt leaving producers with fewer places to sell their material and leading to prices to drop significantly, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment.",{"type":615,"attrs":83050,"content":83051},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83052],{"text":83053,"type":596},"By-product of copper",{"type":591,"attrs":83055,"content":83056},{"textAlign":49},[83057],{"text":83058,"type":596},"For the most part, cobalt is a by-product of copper mining in the DRC or of nickel mining elsewhere in the world, meaning copper prices may have to fall further before supply is curtailed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83060,"content":83061},{"textAlign":49},[83062],{"text":83063,"type":596},"Still, with cobalt prices so low, producers are dumping the cobalt into their mine tailings with the plan to process it at a later date to produce cobalt hydroxide when the price recovers, according to Roman Aubry, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":83065,"content":83066},{"textAlign":49},[83067],{"text":83068,"type":596},"“No one minded whilst cobalt prices were high because the risk was minimal,” Aubry said.",{"type":591,"attrs":83070,"content":83071},{"textAlign":49},[83072],{"text":83073,"type":596},"“They wanted to have the tonnage available to sell, when they could, to capitalise on the high-margin environment,” Aubry said.",{"type":615,"attrs":83075,"content":83076},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83077],{"text":83078,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate demand lower than expected",{"type":591,"attrs":83080,"content":83081},{"textAlign":49},[83082],{"text":83083,"type":596},"Lithium prices have recovered this month, with cathode makers purchasing more of the critical battery material.",{"type":591,"attrs":83085,"content":83086},{"textAlign":49},[83087],{"text":83088,"type":596},"Market participants had expected this to also drive up demand for cobalt sulphate, a feedstock material for cathode production, thus pushing up Chinese sulphate prices. However, this is not the case and cobalt sulphate prices also remain low.",{"type":591,"attrs":83090,"content":83091},{"textAlign":49},[83092],{"text":83093,"type":596},"Aubry explained that cathode makers may still be oversupplied with cobalt so haven’t needed to purchase additional feedstock as they have with lithium which has historically been the supply bottleneck.",{"type":591,"attrs":83095,"content":83096},{"textAlign":49},[83097],{"text":83098,"type":596},"As a result of the low appetite for cobalt sulphate from cathode makers, Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment concludes that the “general sentiment is that prices will remain subdued” at least into the third quarter this year.","Cobalt hydroxide prices have fallen by four-fifths since last April, due to large stockpiles in the supply chain and weaker demand in China this year. Asian cobalt hydroxide prices have fallen 78% to $16,446 per tonne as of mid-May 2023 from $76,145 per tonne at their peak in April 2022, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price […]",[83101],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83102},{"job_title":557,"image":83103,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"49c96961-d84a-40a1-a1be-702aad4e389d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83106,83107],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":5941,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83109,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 26, 2023",{"id":83112,"uuid":83113,"name":83114,"slug":83115,"full_slug":83116,"content":83117},112471271012815,"3adc3817-695f-4779-8dbf-71b4dbc7a113","Tsingshan-backed REPT signs 10 GWh Energy Vault energy storage deal as it expands overseas","tsingshan-backed-rept-signs-10-gwh-energy-vault-energy-storage-deal-as-it-expands-overseas","article/tsingshan-backed-rept-signs-10-gwh-energy-vault-energy-storage-deal-as-it-expands-overseas",{"_uid":83118,"date":82945,"tags":83119,"editor":83121,"content":83125,"excerpt":83209,"featured":51,"reporter":83210,"_editable":83214,"component":697,"seo_title":83114,"categories":83215,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":83219,"seo_description":83209,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":83110},"d7b924af-a013-4885-a525-e5cc83a6eeb1",[83120],{"slug":2902,"name":2903},[83122],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83123},{"job_title":557,"image":83124,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83126},[83127,83132,83137,83147,83152,83157,83162,83167,83172,83177,83182,83187,83194,83199,83204],{"type":591,"attrs":83128,"content":83129},{"textAlign":49},[83130],{"text":83131,"type":596},"Chinese battery maker REPT signed a deal to supply 10 gigawatt hours of lithium ion batteries to the US energy storage company Energy Vault, as the Tsingshan-backed company looks to expand its presence in the energy storage market to take on bigger rivals such as CATL and BYD.",{"type":591,"attrs":83133,"content":83134},{"textAlign":49},[83135],{"text":83136,"type":596},"The development comes as more Chinese battery makers are entering the energy storage space and also turning to overseas markets to gain market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":83138,"content":83139},{"textAlign":49},[83140,83142,83146],{"text":83141,"type":596},"REPT, which has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong, say its annual cell production capacity is set to exceed 70 gigawatt hours by the end of this year. That pipeline is expected to grow to 226 GWh by 2030, according to ",{"text":32530,"type":596,"marks":83143},[83144],{"type":606,"attrs":83145},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":83148,"content":83149},{"textAlign":49},[83150],{"text":83151,"type":596},"“Overseas markets are becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to tap into in order to secure orders to support future production ramp up plans and the ESS market has emerged in recent years as the fastest growing demand market for lithium-ion battery demand,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":83153,"content":83154},{"textAlign":49},[83155],{"text":83156,"type":596},"While the electric vehicles have been the key driver for lithium ion demand globally, the energy storage market has been catching up fast, driven primarily by China.",{"type":591,"attrs":83158,"content":83159},{"textAlign":49},[83160],{"text":83161,"type":596},"The global energy storage demand is set to grow six fold by 2030 to 345.7 GWh from 61.9 GWh last year, according to the Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Database. Demand from China is expected to remain dominant even as North America and Europe catch up.",{"type":615,"attrs":83163,"content":83164},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83165],{"text":83166,"type":596},"REPT’s bet on ESS",{"type":591,"attrs":83168,"content":83169},{"textAlign":49},[83170],{"text":83171,"type":596},"REPT is expected to begin initial deliveries to Energy Vault in the third quarter of this year. The battery maker plans to deliver smaller 280Ah batteries first followed by the larger capacities to meet the short and long duration energy storage requirements of Energy Vault, which provides utility-scale energy storage solutions.",{"type":591,"attrs":83173,"content":83174},{"textAlign":49},[83175],{"text":83176,"type":596},"The move will also help REPT, a subsidiary of Chinese steel and nickel major Tsingshan, make a foray overseas with its energy storage unit. REPT’s ESS unit contributed nearly half of the company’s sales in 2022 and was more than that from electric vehicle batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":83178,"content":83179},{"textAlign":49},[83180],{"text":83181,"type":596},"The news also follows REPT’s announcement in April for a partnership with Chinese ​​battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator Powin for a smaller 3GWh deal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83183,"content":83184},{"textAlign":49},[83185],{"text":83186,"type":596},"“Historically ESS developers have struggled to secure supply as the EV market has taken priority for cell supply, but we are now seeing battery manufacturers recognise ESS market potential. REPT’s deals could be a clear indication of manufacturers intentions to become a known supplier of cells for ESS developers and gain market share in this space,” said Waid.",{"type":615,"attrs":83188,"content":83189},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83190,83192],{"text":83191,"type":596},"Overseas ",{"text":83193,"type":596},"energy storage demand",{"type":591,"attrs":83195,"content":83196},{"textAlign":49},[83197],{"text":83198,"type":596},"Chinese battery companies are the largest suppliers to the global energy storage market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83200,"content":83201},{"textAlign":49},[83202],{"text":83203,"type":596},"The world’s largest battery maker CATL and UK’s Gresham House Energy Storage Holdings in December signed  a long-term agreement on the supply of up to 7.5 GWh of battery energy storage systems. Both parties will aim to increase the scope to 10 GWh of BESS for use in grid scale applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":83205,"content":83206},{"textAlign":49},[83207],{"text":83208,"type":596},"US-based Primergy Solar (Primergy), a developer and operator of utility scale solar and storage, in October agreed for a battery supply from CATL for the $1.2 billion Gemini Solar +Storage Project outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.","Chinese battery maker REPT signed a deal to supply 10 gigawatt hours of lithium ion batteries to the US energy storage company Energy Vault, as the Tsingshan-backed company looks to expand its presence in the energy storage market to take on bigger rivals such as CATL and BYD. The development comes as more Chinese battery […]",[83211],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83212},{"job_title":557,"image":83213,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d7b924af-a013-4885-a525-e5cc83a6eeb1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83216,83217,83218],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":83220,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83221,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e7f06fe07/bm-rept-battero-inks-supply-agreement-energy-vault.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":83223,"uuid":83224,"name":83225,"slug":83226,"full_slug":83227,"content":83228},112471290010067,"bc8502bf-1b59-41ab-a50f-b83a03ec82bf","Why the UK auto industry is worried about “rules of origin” regulations in EU trade ","why-the-uk-auto-industry-is-worried-about-rules-of-origin-regulations-in-eu-trade","article/why-the-uk-auto-industry-is-worried-about-rules-of-origin-regulations-in-eu-trade",{"_uid":83229,"date":83230,"tags":83231,"editor":83238,"content":83242,"excerpt":83381,"featured":51,"reporter":83382,"_editable":83386,"component":697,"seo_title":83225,"categories":83387,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":83393,"seo_description":83381,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":83396},"58427684-1104-4dca-8d83-20c05f3e2ffd","2023-05-25 00:00",[83232,83233,83234,83237],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":83235,"name":83236},"rules-of-origin","Rules of origin",{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[83239],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83240},{"job_title":557,"image":83241,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83243},[83244,83249,83254,83267,83280,83285,83290,83295,83300,83305,83310,83327,83332,83337,83342,83347,83352,83357,83369],{"type":591,"attrs":83245,"content":83246},{"textAlign":49},[83247],{"text":83248,"type":596},"Starting next year, 45% of the value of an electric vehicle traded between the UK and European Union must come from either side, according to “rules of origin” stipulations agreed as part of the post-Brexit trade arrangement.",{"type":591,"attrs":83250,"content":83251},{"textAlign":49},[83252],{"text":83253,"type":596},"For a battery to be considered local within this framework, 60% of its value must also be derived from the UK or EU. Failure to meet these rules will result in a 10% tariff being imposed.",{"type":591,"attrs":83255,"content":83256},{"textAlign":49},[83257,83259,83265],{"text":83258,"type":596},"Several automakers with operations in the UK have expressed alarm about these rules, suggesting it could threaten the growth of the ",{"text":83260,"type":596,"marks":83261},"UK EV industry",[83262],{"type":606,"attrs":83263},{"href":83264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-strategy-needs-to-align-with-battery-ambitions",{"text":83266,"type":596},". The German auto industry has also called for the imposition of the more stringent regulations to be delayed.",{"type":591,"attrs":83268,"content":83269},{"textAlign":49},[83270,83272,83278],{"text":83271,"type":596},"“Much stricter rules will create significant challenges to bilateral trade of Electric Vehicles and batteries and with unachievable regional value content targets,” Stellantis said in a submission to a ",{"text":83273,"type":596,"marks":83274},"Committee Inquiry on the topic",[83275],{"type":606,"attrs":83276},{"href":83277,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/benchmark-contributes-to-uk-business-and-trade-committee-discussion-on-batteries-and-evs",{"text":83279,"type":596}," by the UK’s Business and Trade Committee. “We are in danger of limiting affordable access to mobility.”",{"type":591,"attrs":83281,"content":83282},{"textAlign":49},[83283],{"text":83284,"type":596},"Tim Slatter, Ford’s UK chairman, echoed the concerns, saying that “tightening the trade rules at this point risks undermining the switch to EVs with tariffs and adding pointless cost to customers wanting to go green.”",{"type":615,"attrs":83286,"content":83287},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83288],{"text":83289,"type":596},"What are the Rules of Origin?",{"type":591,"attrs":83291,"content":83292},{"textAlign":49},[83293],{"text":83294,"type":596},"As part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement set out during the negotiations after the UK left the EU, rules of origin were included to allow tariff-free trade between the EU and UK, so long as a certain proportion of the value of the goods traded were derived from either side.",{"type":591,"attrs":83296,"content":83297},{"textAlign":49},[83298],{"text":83299,"type":596},"For non-electric vehicles, this was 55%. Given the nascent state of both the UK and European EV industries, electric vehicles were exempt from these rules.",{"type":591,"attrs":83301,"content":83302},{"textAlign":49},[83303],{"text":83304,"type":596},"From 2024 this exemption is due to expire, and EVs traded between the UK and EU must have 45% of their value sourced locally. This will increase to 55% in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":83306,"content":83307},{"textAlign":49},[83308],{"text":83309,"type":596},"The battery pack represents the largest single contribution to the value of an EV. The rules of origin have a separate clause that states from 2024, 60% of the value of the pack must come from within the EU or UK for the battery to be considered locally produced, and therefore count towards the local value target for EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":83311,"content":83312},{"textAlign":49},[83313,83315,83321,83322,83326],{"text":83314,"type":596},"Manish Dua, an analyst at Benchmark, suggests that a final decision on whether the rules will be changed shouldn’t be expected soon given how much legislation the EU is pushing through at the moment with the ",{"text":83316,"type":596,"marks":83317},"Net Zero Industry Act",[83318],{"type":606,"attrs":83319},{"href":83320,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/key-points-from-the-eus-green-deal-industrial-plan",{"text":9866,"type":596},{"text":34023,"type":596,"marks":83323},[83324],{"type":606,"attrs":83325},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":83328,"content":83329},{"textAlign":49},[83330],{"text":83331,"type":596},"The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said in evidence to the UK parliament that exports of battery and hybrid electric vehicles to the EU in 2022 were worth £4.7 billion, double that of the end of 2020. Imports from EU had also grown to £9.3 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":83333,"content":83334},{"textAlign":49},[83335],{"text":83336,"type":596},"But the Society also warned that “given the lack of production capabilities of critical parts, including cathode active materials, the provision for a change of tariff heading cannot be met by 2024.”",{"type":615,"attrs":83338,"content":83339},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83340],{"text":83341,"type":596},"Importance of cathode production",{"type":591,"attrs":83343,"content":83344},{"textAlign":49},[83345],{"text":83346,"type":596},"It is not sufficient to just assemble the battery pack in the UK or EU to meet the 60% value target for batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":83348,"content":83349},{"textAlign":49},[83350],{"text":83351,"type":596},"Given that cathode active material is the biggest contributor to the value of a battery, this material must be sourced domestically to meet the requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":83353,"content":83354},{"textAlign":49},[83355],{"text":83356,"type":596},"Dua explained that although the cathode active material production will need to be domestic, the precursor material and lithium feeding the CAM producers can still be from elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":83358,"content":83359},{"textAlign":49},[83360,83362,83367],{"text":83361,"type":596},"Regardless, the ",{"text":83363,"type":596,"marks":83364},"UK has no mid-stream cathode production ",[83365],{"type":606,"attrs":83366},{"href":16335,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83368,"type":596},"in the pipeline. Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast says there’s the potential for 38 GWh of cathode production in the EU in 2024, but demand will be an order of magnitude above this.",{"type":591,"attrs":83370,"content":83371},{"textAlign":49},[83372,83374,83379],{"text":83373,"type":596},"“Unfortunately, it is foreseeable that, in particular, the necessary localization of ",{"text":83375,"type":596,"marks":83376},"active cathode material ",[83377],{"type":606,"attrs":83378},{"href":70416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83380,"type":596},"within the EU or the United Kingdom will not be completed by the end of 2023,” Hildegard Müller, president of the German Associated of the Automotive Industry, said last week. “The entire EU supply chain, also including EU (battery) suppliers, will be negatively affected if the rules of origin come into force unchanged in 2024.”","Starting next year, 45% of the value of an electric vehicle traded between the UK and European Union must come from either side, according to “rules of origin” stipulations agreed as part of the post-Brexit trade arrangement. For a battery to be considered local within this framework, 60% of its value must also be derived […]",[83383],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83384},{"job_title":557,"image":83385,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"58427684-1104-4dca-8d83-20c05f3e2ffd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83388,83389,83390,83391,83392],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":83394,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83395,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e678c5411f/bm-shutterstock-1285308130-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 25, 2023",{"id":83398,"uuid":83399,"name":83400,"slug":83401,"full_slug":83402,"content":83403},112471299566037,"ede4322a-f2ea-49f4-8af0-2b1e2d1f7a3d","US rare earth magnet bill aims to boost domestic production","us-rare-earth-magnet-bill-aims-to-boost-domestic-production","article/us-rare-earth-magnet-bill-aims-to-boost-domestic-production",{"_uid":83404,"date":83405,"tags":83406,"editor":83409,"content":83413,"excerpt":83551,"featured":50,"reporter":83552,"_editable":83556,"component":697,"seo_title":83400,"categories":83557,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":83561,"seo_description":83563,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":83564},"8cb17ece-6792-4fe3-82dd-20447af808c8","2023-05-24 00:00",[83407,83408],{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"slug":71401,"name":71402},[83410],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83411},{"job_title":557,"image":83412,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83414},[83415,83427,83432,83437,83449,83454,83459,83464,83469,83474,83481,83486,83491,83496,83501,83506,83511,83516,83521,83526,83531,83536,83541,83546],{"type":591,"attrs":83416,"content":83417},{"textAlign":49},[83418,83420,83425],{"text":83419,"type":596},"US Representatives Eric Swalwell and Guy Reschenthaler last month reintroduced a bill to Congress that aims to stimulate the domestic production of ",{"text":4858,"type":596,"marks":83421},[83422],{"type":606,"attrs":83423},{"href":83424,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/rare-earths/",{"text":83426,"type":596}," magnets.",{"type":591,"attrs":83428,"content":83429},{"textAlign":49},[83430],{"text":83431,"type":596},"The Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing Production Tax Credit Act proposes a tax credit for the production of rare earth magnets, which are not currently manufactured domestically at large scale, as part of the clean-energy transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":83433,"content":83434},{"textAlign":49},[83435],{"text":83436,"type":596},"The bill is an effort to provide further support for production of US rare earth magnets, which were not mentioned in the Inflation Reduction Act. While the IRA does provide support for rare earth mining, without domestic magnet production that material will be sent abroad. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83438,"content":83439},{"textAlign":49},[83440,83442,83447],{"text":83441,"type":596},"“This act will be crucial in making magnet manufacturing by the US more competitive domestically and internationally,” Benchmark analyst ",{"text":83443,"type":596,"marks":83444},"Daan de Jonge",[83445],{"type":606,"attrs":83446},{"href":83424,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83448,"type":596}," said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83450,"content":83451},{"textAlign":49},[83452],{"text":83453,"type":596},"US currently relies on imports for rare earth magnets, with low-cost, high-quality magnets from China making it difficult for US producers to compete. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83455,"content":83456},{"textAlign":49},[83457],{"text":83458,"type":596},"China dominates rare earth magnet production via companies such as Hong Kong-listed JL Mag, which supplies most of the major automakers including Tesla. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83460,"content":83461},{"textAlign":49},[83462],{"text":83463,"type":596},"JL Mag plans to double production capacity of rare earth permanent magnets by 2025 from its current capacity of 23,000 tonnes a year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83465,"content":83466},{"textAlign":49},[83467],{"text":83468,"type":596},"Chinese producers often obtain regional energy subsidies and VAT rebates on feedstock costs, which are the most significant cost of producing a magnet, de Jonge said. This, combined with lower labour costs and high build-up of intellectual property, allows China to out-compete most competitors across the globe.",{"type":591,"attrs":83470,"content":83471},{"textAlign":49},[83472],{"text":83473,"type":596},"“If America wants to be a global leader in electric vehicles, we can’t let other nations, like China, control production of vital materials and components,” Swalwell said. “By encouraging domestic production of rare earth magnets, we’re shoring up our supply chain, protecting national security, and combating climate change.”",{"type":591,"attrs":83475,"content":83476},{"textAlign":49},[83477],{"type":836,"attrs":83478},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":83479,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":83480},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6e492bdeb4/bm-screenshot-2023-05-30-at-105613.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":83482,"content":83483},{"textAlign":49},[83484],{"text":83485,"type":596},"The magnets are used in everyday items including cell phones, computer hard drives, and MRI scanners. They are needed to drive motors in electric vehicles, offshore wind turbines and increasingly within robotics. ",{"type":615,"attrs":83487,"content":83488},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83489],{"text":83490,"type":596},"Building a US magnet industry",{"type":591,"attrs":83492,"content":83493},{"textAlign":49},[83494],{"text":83495,"type":596},"The bill proposes a $20 per kilogram production tax credit for magnets manufactured in the US, or $30 per kilogram for magnets for which all component rare earth material is produced and recycled wholly within the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83497,"content":83498},{"textAlign":49},[83499],{"text":83500,"type":596},"It defines rare earth magnets as permanent magnets made of an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron, or an alloy of samarium and cobalt, which may also include other materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":83502,"content":83503},{"textAlign":49},[83504],{"text":83505,"type":596},"Demand for neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) as well as dysprosium is driven by their use in permanent magnets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83507,"content":83508},{"textAlign":49},[83509],{"text":83510,"type":596},"To be eligible, the magnets may not include any component rare earth magnet material produced in non-allied foreign nations such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.",{"type":591,"attrs":83512,"content":83513},{"textAlign":49},[83514],{"text":83515,"type":596},"The credit is planned to be phased out by 2036.",{"type":615,"attrs":83517,"content":83518},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83519],{"text":83520,"type":596},"Industry support",{"type":591,"attrs":83522,"content":83523},{"textAlign":49},[83524],{"text":83525,"type":596},"The bill has been endorsed by industry groups including MP Materials, USA Rare Earths, National Mining Association, and Zero Emission Transportation Association. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83527,"content":83528},{"textAlign":49},[83529],{"text":83530,"type":596},"MP Materials runs the only US rare earths mine, the Mountain Pass mine in California, and is building a plant to produce alloys and magnets in Fort Worth, Texas. The plant will have the capacity to produce around 1,000 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":83532,"content":83533},{"textAlign":49},[83534],{"text":83535,"type":596},"USA Rare Earth is also hoping to build a plant capable of producing 2,000 tonnes of high performance magnets per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":83537,"content":83538},{"textAlign":49},[83539],{"text":83540,"type":596},"In January Germany’s Vacuumschmelze (VAC) said it would build a factory in North America to make rare earth permanent magnets for General Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":83542,"content":83543},{"textAlign":49},[83544],{"text":83545,"type":596},"“This effort directly encourages domestic rare earth magnet production at a time of surging global demand,” said Tom Schneberger, chief executive of USA Rare Earth. “Rare earth permanent magnets are critical to the US economy and national security. The tax incentives will help make a re-emerging sector for magnet and metal production competitive with China, where production is currently concentrated.”",{"type":591,"attrs":83547,"content":83548},{"textAlign":49},[83549],{"text":83550,"type":596},"Swalwell and Reschenthaler launched the bipartisan Congressional Critical Materials Caucus in 2021 to help develop the production of a sustainable supply of energy-critical elements such as rare earth magnets.","US Representatives Eric Swalwell and Guy Reschenthaler last month reintroduced a bill to Congress that aims to stimulate the domestic production of rare earth magnets. The Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing Production Tax Credit Act proposes a tax credit for the production of rare earth magnets, which are not currently manufactured domestically at large scale, as […]",[83553],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83554},{"job_title":557,"image":83555,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8cb17ece-6792-4fe3-82dd-20447af808c8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83558,83559,83560],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":56574,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83562,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"US Representatives Eric Swalwell and Guy Reschenthaler last month reintroduced a bill to Congress that aims to stimulate the domestic production of rare earth magnets. The Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing ...","May 24, 2023",{"id":83566,"uuid":83567,"name":83568,"slug":83569,"full_slug":83570,"content":83571},112471309003224,"f8f68e51-6077-40c6-a0b8-e5570d00ab47","OPINION: Mining companies need to look at new ways to reduce biodiversity impacts","opinion-mining-companies-need-to-look-at-new-ways-to-reduce-biodiversity-impacts","article/opinion-mining-companies-need-to-look-at-new-ways-to-reduce-biodiversity-impacts",{"_uid":83572,"date":83573,"tags":83574,"editor":83578,"content":83582,"excerpt":83759,"featured":51,"reporter":83760,"_editable":83764,"component":697,"seo_title":83568,"categories":83765,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":83768,"seo_description":83759,"author_full_name":49893,"author_job_title":83771,"formattedDate":83772},"6ad075cd-a76a-42e7-acf0-346986e9ae57","2023-05-22 00:00",[83575,83576,83577],{"slug":79262,"name":79263},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[83579],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83580},{"job_title":557,"image":83581,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83583},[83584,83595,83600,83605,83618,83623,83628,83633,83638,83651,83663,83668,83673,83678,83683,83694,83699,83706,83717,83722,83727,83732,83737,83742,83747,83752],{"type":591,"attrs":83585,"content":83586},{"textAlign":49},[83587,83589,83593],{"text":83588,"type":596},"Critical mineral deposits crucial to the clean energy transition can be found across the globe. As mining companies cannot control where geological deposits form, they are forced to tackle whatever challenges are present in the location of which they are found. One of the largest challenges within the environmental “E” of ",{"text":15392,"type":596,"marks":83590},[83591],{"type":606,"attrs":83592},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83594,"type":596}," is how to prevent biodiversity loss due to company operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":83596,"content":83597},{"textAlign":49},[83598],{"text":83599,"type":596},"It is crucial that biodiversity is considered and appropriately monitored at all stages, from  acquisition through to mine closure and rehabilitation. Strategies for biodiversity management of a mine site should begin with an environmental impact assessment and mitigation strategies and targets set.",{"type":591,"attrs":83601,"content":83602},{"textAlign":49},[83603],{"text":83604,"type":596},"Mining operations that neglect their local environment can have serious adverse impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems due to habitat destruction and pollution.",{"type":591,"attrs":83606,"content":83607},{"textAlign":49},[83608,83610,83616],{"text":83609,"type":596},"Tracking biodiversity impacts is vital to minimising them. Benchmark’s ",{"text":83611,"type":596,"marks":83612},"Nickel ESG report ",[83613],{"type":606,"attrs":83614},{"href":83615,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/esg/nickel/",{"text":83617,"type":596},"finds that in jurisdictions where no net loss of biodiversity is a legal requirement, 60% of nickel refiners track their biodiversity, compared to less than a fifth where it is not.",{"type":615,"attrs":83619,"content":83620},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83621],{"text":83622,"type":596},"The importance of biodiversity",{"type":591,"attrs":83624,"content":83625},{"textAlign":49},[83626],{"text":83627,"type":596},"Biodiversity encompasses all of the living life on earth including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. The relationship between biodiversity, climate, and water should be seen as a closely interlinked nexus, where the neglect of one has serious impacts on the others, resulting in ecological degradation.",{"type":591,"attrs":83629,"content":83630},{"textAlign":49},[83631],{"text":83632,"type":596},"It is not only the environmental dimensions of biodiversity that are of importance. It is also significant in the social and cultural connotations it holds for communities. Indigenous people and communities local to a mine site often have strong cultural connections to the land and rely on biodiversity for their livelihoods, food security, and traditional practices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83634,"content":83635},{"textAlign":49},[83636],{"text":83637,"type":596},"Mining companies looking to operate sustainably should, as part of their engagement with local community stakeholders, demonstrate how they intend to protect biodiversity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83639,"content":83640},{"textAlign":49},[83641,83643,83649],{"text":83642,"type":596},"In 2022, Rio Tinto had mining licences ",{"text":83644,"type":596,"marks":83645},"revoked",[83646],{"type":606,"attrs":83647},{"href":83648,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=rio+tinto+jadar+benchmark+source",{"text":83650,"type":596}," for its Jadar lithium project in Serbia due to sizeable local community opposition on a number of issues, including the impact the project would have on biodiversity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83652,"content":83653},{"textAlign":49},[83654,83656,83661],{"text":83655,"type":596},"Despite the known biodiversity impacts of mining, research across Benchmark’s ",{"text":83657,"type":596,"marks":83658},"Lithium, Cobalt and Nickel ESG reports",[83659],{"type":606,"attrs":83660},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83662,"type":596}," shows that just a third of operating companies disclose having biodiversity monitoring in place. For operating nickel sulphate producers this falls even lower, with just 10% stating they monitor biodiversity.",{"type":615,"attrs":83664,"content":83665},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83666],{"text":83667,"type":596},"A “no net loss” strategy",{"type":591,"attrs":83669,"content":83670},{"textAlign":49},[83671],{"text":83672,"type":596},"Ambatovy, a nickel and cobalt miner majority owned by the Sumitomo Corporation, deployed a biodiversity strategy known as “no net loss” for their nickel and cobalt mining operation in Madagascar. Last year the mine produced 41,000 tonnes of nickel and 3,500 tonnes of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":83674,"content":83675},{"textAlign":49},[83676],{"text":83677,"type":596},"The “no net loss” strategy aims to prevent biodiversity loss through increased conservation and mitigation efforts. The concept is based on the idea that some habitat destruction and harm to species is “unavoidable” in the context of human development. Yet, despite this harm caused, companies can still have a positive impact resulting in overall “net gain” by restoring and protecting biodiversity in other areas.",{"type":591,"attrs":83679,"content":83680},{"textAlign":49},[83681],{"text":83682,"type":596},"Madagascar is a highly endemic country with over 85% of all its mammals, reptiles and plants only existing in the country. The Ambatovy mine is situated in the eastern rainforest region of the island, thus providing numerous biodiversity obstacles.",{"type":591,"attrs":83684,"content":83685},{"textAlign":49},[83686,83688,83692],{"text":83687,"type":596},"Research published in the journal ",{"text":83689,"type":596,"marks":83690},"Nature Sustainability",[83691],{"type":1006},{"text":83693,"type":596}," analysed Ambatovy’s efforts to offset their biodiversity impacts. The study showed that Ambatovy’s local offsets at four different sites via ecological monitoring, community forest management, environmental education programs and alternative income-generating activities are on track to avert as much deforestation as was caused by the mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83695,"content":83696},{"textAlign":49},[83697],{"text":83698,"type":596},"This is cautiously encouraging and potentially sets an example for other mining companies to follow.",{"type":591,"attrs":83700,"content":83701},{"textAlign":49},[83702],{"type":836,"attrs":83703},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":83704,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":83705},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/207afebeac/bm-image-13.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":83707,"content":83708},{"textAlign":49},[83709,83711,83715],{"text":83710,"type":596},"Data from Benchmark’s ",{"text":40683,"type":596,"marks":83712},[83713],{"type":606,"attrs":83714},{"href":55132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83716,"type":596}," shows that 60% of operating refined nickel producers located in Australia and Canada, where no net loss provisions are in place, track their impact on biodiversity. In Indonesia, on the other hand, which does not require no net loss, only 16% have biodiversity indicators, despite having the greatest species richness of the top nickel producing countries.",{"type":615,"attrs":83718,"content":83719},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83720],{"text":83721,"type":596},"Biodiversity rises up the agenda",{"type":591,"attrs":83723,"content":83724},{"textAlign":49},[83725],{"text":83726,"type":596},"Biodiversity is starting to be viewed with increasing importance on the global policy agenda. The recent United Nations Biodiversity Conference held in Canada last December concluded with a landmark agreement titled the “Global Biodiversity Framework” comprising several targets with the flagship being to place 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83728,"content":83729},{"textAlign":49},[83730],{"text":83731,"type":596},"Similarly, the investment community is beginning to take a greater interest in the biodiversity impacts of projects prior to making decisions.",{"type":591,"attrs":83733,"content":83734},{"textAlign":49},[83735],{"text":83736,"type":596},"The soon-to-be-released Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is set to create a framework for how organisations can address environmental risks and opportunities and disclose what steps they are taking to mitigate biodiversity loss. The TNFD has been welcomed by investors and lenders in that it allows decisions that can be made with clarity and confidence concerning nature-related risks. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83738,"content":83739},{"textAlign":49},[83740],{"text":83741,"type":596},"TNFD disclosures will be voluntary at first, however it is likely that in time they will become mandatory, in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) requirements in a number of jurisdictions.",{"type":591,"attrs":83743,"content":83744},{"textAlign":49},[83745],{"text":83746,"type":596},"In light of this, BHP, an Australian mining company, recently published a pilot case study on the application of natural capital accounting principles at one of its operations as part of its commitment to the TNFD framework. BHP shows leadership through being the first to implement such accounting mechanisms and bring nature to the forefront of financial decision-making.     ",{"type":591,"attrs":83748,"content":83749},{"textAlign":49},[83750],{"text":83751,"type":596},"Biodiversity conservation is a key concept to sustainable development as is the move away from fossil fuels to the use of critical minerals to power the clean energy transition. Mining companies must collaborate with biodiversity practitioners and scientists to continually develop novel ways to extract these minerals with the smallest possible impact on biodiversity.",{"type":591,"attrs":83753,"content":83754},{"textAlign":49},[83755],{"text":83756,"type":596,"marks":83757},"Fill in the form below to learn about Benchmark’s Nickel, Cobalt, and Lithium ESG reports",[83758],{"type":1006},"Critical mineral deposits crucial to the clean energy transition can be found across the globe. As mining companies cannot control where geological deposits form, they are forced to tackle whatever challenges are present in the location of which they are found. One of the largest challenges within the environmental “E” of ESG is how to […]",[83761],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83762},{"job_title":557,"image":83763,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6ad075cd-a76a-42e7-acf0-346986e9ae57\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83766,83767],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":83769,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83770,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/82baccdaef/bm-madagascar-biodiversity.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"ESG Analyst","May 22, 2023",{"id":83774,"uuid":83775,"name":83776,"slug":83777,"full_slug":83778,"content":83779},112471323298268,"2e3cb363-9a3f-4180-ab9f-d30320eaa6f9","China’s XTC and Orano strike €1.5 billion deal for France’s first cathode production","chinas-xtc-and-orano-strike-e1-5-billion-deal-for-frances-first-cathode-production","article/chinas-xtc-and-orano-strike-e1-5-billion-deal-for-frances-first-cathode-production",{"_uid":83780,"date":83781,"tags":83782,"editor":83784,"content":83788,"excerpt":83919,"featured":50,"reporter":83920,"_editable":83924,"component":697,"seo_title":83776,"categories":83925,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":83928,"seo_description":83919,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":83930},"efa25b47-ce38-42f3-b83b-1c6fd2210a24","2023-05-19 00:00",[83783],{"slug":20447,"name":20448},[83785],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83786},{"job_title":557,"image":83787,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83789},[83790,83801,83806,83811,83822,83827,83832,83837,83847,83852,83857,83862,83867,83879,83884,83889,83894,83899,83904,83909,83914],{"type":591,"attrs":83791,"content":83792},{"textAlign":49},[83793,83795,83799],{"text":83794,"type":596},"France is set to build its first lithium ",{"text":31492,"type":596,"marks":83796},[83797],{"type":606,"attrs":83798},{"href":64480,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83800,"type":596}," plant thanks to a joint venture signed between Chinese battery materials supplier XTC New Energy Materials and French nuclear fuel cycle specialist Orano.",{"type":591,"attrs":83802,"content":83803},{"textAlign":49},[83804],{"text":83805,"type":596},"The companies have announced they will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) into a cathode active material and precursor factory, both to be located on the same site in Dunkirk. Orano also intends to set up a battery recycling plant nearby. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83807,"content":83808},{"textAlign":49},[83809],{"text":83810,"type":596},"Ownership across the whole project will be split evenly between the companies. XTC is expected to own 51 percent of the cathode active material plant and 49 percent of the battery precursor plant with Orano holding the rest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83812,"content":83813},{"textAlign":49},[83814,83816,83821],{"text":83815,"type":596},"The deal is only the latest in a string of Chinese investments into Europe’s lithium ion midstream sector as the region tries to expand ",{"text":83817,"type":596,"marks":83818},"domestic capacity",[83819],{"type":606,"attrs":83820},{"href":70416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":83823,"content":83824},{"textAlign":49},[83825],{"text":83826,"type":596},"‘This is going to be the trend: more Chinese companies coming into Europe,” said Benchmark analyst Albert Li.",{"type":591,"attrs":83828,"content":83829},{"textAlign":49},[83830],{"text":83831,"type":596},"Battery technologies are listed as a strategic net-zero technology under the EU’s March 2023 Net-Zero Industry Act. The act says that regional manufacturing capacity should hit at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs by 2030. ",{"type":615,"attrs":83833,"content":83834},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83835],{"text":83836,"type":596},"Falling behind North America",{"type":591,"attrs":83838,"content":83839},{"textAlign":49},[83840,83842],{"text":83841,"type":596},"Europe has so far lagged behind North America in terms of planned cathode announcements. Pipeline capacity across all planned Europe-based active cathode materials projects is now 617,000 tonnes a year, compared to 915,000 tpa for North America, according to ",{"text":83843,"type":596,"marks":83844},"Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, which doesn’t include the Orano/XTC plant.",[83845],{"type":606,"attrs":83846},{"href":57095,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":83848,"content":83849},{"textAlign":49},[83850],{"text":83851,"type":596},"“Europe lags behind China and North America for domestic anode and cathode capacity and Chinese investment is one way to try to catch up,” Benchmark analyst Rob Burrell said.",{"type":615,"attrs":83853,"content":83854},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83855],{"text":83856,"type":596},"Relying on Chinese expertise",{"type":591,"attrs":83858,"content":83859},{"textAlign":49},[83860],{"text":83861,"type":596},"Building out Europe-based capacity may require partnerships with Chinese producers who have a head-start on construction expertise. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83863,"content":83864},{"textAlign":49},[83865],{"text":83866,"type":596},"Chinese producers see Europe as an attractive target of investment because the region has little domestic capacity but offers guaranteed demand. With superior know-how in capacity-building, they could quickly become a dominant force in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83868,"content":83869},{"textAlign":49},[83870,83872,83877],{"text":83871,"type":596},"Just days before news of XTC and Orano’s cathode joint venture, China’s Prologium ",{"text":83873,"type":596,"marks":83874},"announced a 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion) investment",[83875],{"type":606,"attrs":83876},{"href":79814,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83878,"type":596}," into a new French solid-state gigafactory. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83880,"content":83881},{"textAlign":49},[83882],{"text":83883,"type":596},"In Finland, Chinese maker Easpring Material Technology is planning its first European cathode manufacturing plant while Putailai plans to build a $1.5 billion 19,500tpa anode plant in Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":83885,"content":83886},{"textAlign":49},[83887],{"text":83888,"type":596},"However, Europe’s domestic output is still expected to fall short of regional demand by more than 80% at the end of this decade.",{"type":615,"attrs":83890,"content":83891},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[83892],{"text":83893,"type":596},"European domestic supply to fall short of demand",{"type":591,"attrs":83895,"content":83896},{"textAlign":49},[83897],{"text":83898,"type":596},"Planned capacity at the XTC-Orano site has not yet been announced. However, Orano said that the joint venture would contribute towards developing the French value chain in EV battery production and recycling, as well as to “French autonomy in the supply of strategic materials.”",{"type":591,"attrs":83900,"content":83901},{"textAlign":49},[83902],{"text":83903,"type":596},"Europe-based plants will supply just 3% of world supply in active cathode materials by the end of 2023, according to Benchmark’s weighted estimates. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83905,"content":83906},{"textAlign":49},[83907],{"text":83908,"type":596},"European companies fare better on the world stage. Around 4% of 2023’s world supply in active cathode materials will come from European companies, with big names like Umicore already operating cathode material plants in Asia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83910,"content":83911},{"textAlign":49},[83912],{"text":83913,"type":596},"However, Europe’s supply security depends on increasing output from facilities within its own borders, as plants tend to sell into the markets where they are based. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83915,"content":83916},{"textAlign":49},[83917],{"text":83918,"type":596},"Europe-based active cathode material supply is set to reach only 17% of total European demand in 2030, according to Benchmark data.","France is set to build its first lithium cathode material plant thanks to a joint venture signed between Chinese battery materials supplier XTC New Energy Materials and French nuclear fuel cycle specialist Orano. The companies have announced they will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) into a cathode active material and precursor factory, both to […]",[83921],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83922},{"job_title":557,"image":83923,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"efa25b47-ce38-42f3-b83b-1c6fd2210a24\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[83926,83927],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":52734,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":83929,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 19, 2023",{"id":83932,"uuid":83933,"name":83934,"slug":83935,"full_slug":83936,"content":83937},112471318514139,"812839ce-d5b7-4372-9d53-8009498cd0ce","South32 could become key battery manganese supplier as Arizona project receives permitting boost","south32-could-become-key-battery-manganese-supplier-as-arizona-project-receives-permitting-boost","article/south32-could-become-key-battery-manganese-supplier-as-arizona-project-receives-permitting-boost",{"_uid":83938,"date":83781,"tags":83939,"editor":83941,"content":83945,"excerpt":84066,"featured":51,"reporter":84067,"_editable":84071,"component":697,"seo_title":83934,"categories":84072,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":84074,"seo_description":84066,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":83930},"49a70cfb-3d60-49fb-a84c-55c0e42dd95f",[83940],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},[83942],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":83943},{"job_title":557,"image":83944,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":83946},[83947,83958,83963,83976,83988,83993,83998,84003,84008,84015,84020,84025,84030,84035,84040,84045,84056,84061],{"type":591,"attrs":83948,"content":83949},{"textAlign":49},[83950,83952,83956],{"text":83951,"type":596},"South32 could become the largest supplier of ",{"text":4907,"type":596,"marks":83953},[83954],{"type":606,"attrs":83955},{"href":75520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83957,"type":596}," to the North American battery industry, after its Arizona mine was included in a federal program that aims to improve the government permitting process. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83959,"content":83960},{"textAlign":49},[83961],{"text":83962,"type":596},"South32 said that being included in the US government’s FAST-41 process, which was introduced by President Obama in 2015 to speed up critical infrastructure projects,“is expected to create a more efficient and transparent process, supporting the attainment of federal permits.”",{"type":591,"attrs":83964,"content":83965},{"textAlign":49},[83966,83968,83974],{"text":83967,"type":596},"The process could increase the speed at which Hermosa, a manganese and zinc mine, comes into production. It would be the biggest ex-China producer of ",{"text":83969,"type":596,"marks":83970},"high purity manganese",[83971],{"type":606,"attrs":83972},{"href":83973,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-manganeses-role-in-the-battery-supply-chain",{"text":83975,"type":596}," for batteries, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83977,"content":83978},{"textAlign":49},[83979,83981,83986],{"text":83980,"type":596},"The project would be able to meet about 10% of global demand in 2035, according to ",{"text":83982,"type":596,"marks":83983},"Anna Fleming",[83984],{"type":606,"attrs":83985},{"href":83973,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":83987,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83989,"content":83990},{"textAlign":49},[83991],{"text":83992,"type":596},"The FAST-41 process aims to improve the “transparency and predictability of the Federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects,” according to the Permitting Council, which was set up to administer the process. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83994,"content":83995},{"textAlign":49},[83996],{"text":83997,"type":596},"Projects are placed on a “permitting dashboard” where authorities can view each stage of the permitting process. ",{"type":591,"attrs":83999,"content":84000},{"textAlign":49},[84001],{"text":84002,"type":596},"South32 said it’s also “assessing opportunities to access grant funding from the US Department of Defense and US Department of Energy to advance our battery-grade manganese supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":84004,"content":84005},{"textAlign":49},[84006],{"text":84007,"type":596},"The Hermosa project includes a zinc-lead-silver sulphide mine deposit called Taylor and a zinc-manganese-silver oxide deposit called Clark.",{"type":591,"attrs":84009,"content":84010},{"textAlign":49},[84011],{"type":836,"attrs":84012},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":84013,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84014},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/313b165b76/bm-manganese-market-balance.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":84016,"content":84017},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84018],{"text":84019,"type":596},"Targeting the battery market ",{"type":591,"attrs":84021,"content":84022},{"textAlign":49},[84023],{"text":84024,"type":596},"South32 said the company will build a plant in Santa Cruz County to produce high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) for the electric vehicle supply chain in North America using ore from the Clark mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84026,"content":84027},{"textAlign":49},[84028],{"text":84029,"type":596},"A pilot plant has already started production of HPMSM, it said, with a target to initially produce between 2 and 10kt per annum of HPMSM, for product qualification. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84031,"content":84032},{"textAlign":49},[84033],{"text":84034,"type":596},"Eventually, the plant may be capable of producing around 60,000 tonnes a year of battery-grade manganese (~185kt of HPMSM), over a sixty year period. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84036,"content":84037},{"textAlign":49},[84038],{"text":84039,"type":596},"The current ex-China market for HPMSM is only around 4kt a year, according to Benchmark’s Fleming. ",{"type":615,"attrs":84041,"content":84042},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84043],{"text":84044,"type":596},"Increased use of manganese battery chemistries ",{"type":591,"attrs":84046,"content":84047},{"textAlign":49},[84048,84050,84055],{"text":84049,"type":596},"Rising battery demand and a shift in battery chemistries is increasing the market for ",{"text":84051,"type":596,"marks":84052},"high-purity manganese chemicals",[84053],{"type":606,"attrs":84054},{"href":75520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":84057,"content":84058},{"textAlign":49},[84059],{"text":84060,"type":596},"Alternative cathode chemistries, such as lithium manganese nickel oxide (LMNO), lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP), or nickel manganese-based cathodes (NMX) are increasing in popularity as end-users look to cut cobalt out of their supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84062,"content":84063},{"textAlign":49},[84064],{"text":84065,"type":596},"“Demand for battery-grade manganese is anticipated to further benefit from the adoption of manganese-rich chemistries that provide EV users with substantial cost, performance and sustainable sourcing benefits,” South32 said.","South32 could become the largest supplier of manganese to the North American battery industry, after its Arizona mine was included in a federal program that aims to improve the government permitting process. South32 said that being included in the US government’s FAST-41 process, which was introduced by President Obama in 2015 to speed up critical […]",[84068],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84069},{"job_title":557,"image":84070,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"49a70cfb-3d60-49fb-a84c-55c0e42dd95f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84073],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84075,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84076,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6a1c258b43/bm-hermosa-project-south32.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":84078,"uuid":84079,"name":84080,"slug":84081,"full_slug":84082,"content":84083},112471328033245,"b406a091-48e2-410e-9906-6688d7da9c02","Chinese lithium prices rebound by 19% as SQM says destocking is at an end","chinese-lithium-prices-rebound-by-19-as-sqm-says-destocking-is-at-an-end","article/chinese-lithium-prices-rebound-by-19-as-sqm-says-destocking-is-at-an-end",{"_uid":84084,"date":84085,"tags":84086,"editor":84089,"content":84093,"excerpt":84179,"featured":51,"reporter":84180,"_editable":84184,"component":697,"seo_title":84080,"categories":84185,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":84188,"seo_description":84179,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":84191},"2c526975-73ad-4cba-80ea-48675c7a7782","2023-05-18 00:00",[84087,84088],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":49525,"name":47299},[84090],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84091},{"job_title":557,"image":84092,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84094},[84095,84107,84117,84122,84127,84132,84137,84142,84147,84152,84159,84164,84169,84174],{"type":591,"attrs":84096,"content":84097},{"textAlign":49},[84098,84100,84105],{"text":84099,"type":596},"Lithium ",{"text":84101,"type":596,"marks":84102},"chemical prices",[84103],{"type":606,"attrs":84104},{"href":45750,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84106,"type":596}," rebounded in China over the past week, as cathode producers started to buy again and Chilean producer SQM said a period of destocking in the supply chain had come to an end. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84108,"content":84109},{"textAlign":49},[84110,84112,84116],{"text":84111,"type":596},"The prices for battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 19% to an average of RMB 235,000/tonne ($33,600) as cathode manufacturers increased purchasing activity of small volumes, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":84113},[84114],{"type":606,"attrs":84115},{"href":78850,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":84118,"content":84119},{"textAlign":49},[84120],{"text":84121,"type":596},"The price increase is an indication that a seven month decline in lithium prices, driven by uncertainty over demand in China, may be coming to an end. Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices hit a record of over $80,000 a tonne in December, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84123,"content":84124},{"textAlign":49},[84125],{"text":84126,"type":596},"Chilean lithium producer SQM said that total lithium demand likely fell by around 20% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 due to high inventories and weak demand in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84128,"content":84129},{"textAlign":49},[84130],{"text":84131,"type":596},"The company said its sales of lithium products fell by 15% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, in volume terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":84133,"content":84134},{"textAlign":49},[84135],{"text":84136,"type":596},"Still, the company, the world’s largest lithium chemicals producer, said it expected global lithium demand to rise by at least 20% this year, as global electric vehicle sales increase by 30%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84138,"content":84139},{"textAlign":49},[84140],{"text":84141,"type":596},"“Based on the recent increase in customer activity, we believe that the destocking period has concluded and anticipate our sales volumes to recover in the upcoming quarters,” it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":84143,"content":84144},{"textAlign":49},[84145],{"text":84146,"type":596},"“With the demand recovery seen in the last month and this strong growth ahead of us, we expect to see our sales volumes increase in the coming quarters.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":84148,"content":84149},{"textAlign":49},[84150],{"text":84151,"type":596},"US lithium producer Albemarle said earlier this month it expects lithium sales in 2023 to increase by between 30% to 40% from last year, in volume terms. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84153,"content":84154},{"textAlign":49},[84155],{"type":836,"attrs":84156},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":84157,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84158},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c453fb2b1a/bm-screenshot-2023-05-18-at-144733.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":84160,"content":84161},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84162],{"text":84163,"type":596},"Reasons for caution",{"type":591,"attrs":84165,"content":84166},{"textAlign":49},[84167],{"text":84168,"type":596},"Still, some of the recent price rise could be down to sellers on the domestic Chinese carbonate market withholding material, contributing to perceived spot market tightness in an attempt to accelerate upward price pressure in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":84170,"content":84171},{"textAlign":49},[84172],{"text":84173,"type":596},"Sales of Chinese new energy vehicles, which includes battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, fell by 2.6% in April, compared to a month earlier, according to official data. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84175,"content":84176},{"textAlign":49},[84177],{"text":84178,"type":596},"EV manufacturers remain cautious about making bulk purchases should the uptick in prices not be sustained, according to Benchmark. ","Lithium chemical prices rebounded in China over the past week, as cathode producers started to buy again and Chilean producer SQM said a period of destocking in the supply chain had come to an end. The prices for battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 19% to an average of RMB 235,000/tonne ($33,600) as cathode manufacturers […]",[84181],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84182},{"job_title":557,"image":84183,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2c526975-73ad-4cba-80ea-48675c7a7782\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84186,84187],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84189,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84190,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/731173ecd3/bm-img-20180503-125529-effects.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 18, 2023",{"id":84193,"uuid":84194,"name":84195,"slug":84196,"full_slug":84197,"content":84198},112471352064483,"fd85d1c7-9da0-4c55-981a-b8d8fae7c7d9","Cobalt market may need new pricing mechanisms for EV era","cobalt-market-may-need-new-pricing-mechanisms-for-ev-era","article/cobalt-market-may-need-new-pricing-mechanisms-for-ev-era",{"_uid":84199,"date":84200,"tags":84201,"editor":84202,"content":84206,"excerpt":84360,"featured":51,"reporter":84361,"_editable":84365,"component":697,"seo_title":84195,"categories":84366,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":84369,"seo_description":84360,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":84371},"169402f1-7cf5-4947-8113-afefe961d6e3","2023-05-12 00:00",[],[84203],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84204},{"job_title":557,"image":84205,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84207},[84208,84220,84225,84230,84241,84246,84251,84258,84263,84268,84273,84278,84283,84288,84301,84306,84311,84316,84321,84326,84331,84336,84341,84346,84353],{"type":591,"attrs":84209,"content":84210},{"textAlign":49},[84211,84213,84218],{"text":84212,"type":596},"The cobalt market may need to switch to new ",{"text":84214,"type":596,"marks":84215},"pricing mechanisms",[84216],{"type":606,"attrs":84217},{"href":77991,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84219,"type":596}," to reflect the growth of the battery markets, industry participants at the Cobalt Institute conference in Istanbul said this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":84221,"content":84222},{"textAlign":49},[84223],{"text":84224,"type":596},"The growth of the battery market in recent years has facilitated a shift in cobalt market pricing as traditional mechanisms become less relevant to the overall market.",{"type":591,"attrs":84226,"content":84227},{"textAlign":49},[84228],{"text":84229,"type":596},"“The share of battery demand, primarily using cobalt sulphate, is rising in importance for the entire cobalt market and as a result the metal market is becoming less important,” said Harry Fisher, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":84231,"content":84232},{"textAlign":49},[84233,84235,84239],{"text":84234,"type":596},"Global cobalt demand is set to double by the end of the decade, driven by battery applications in electric vehicles. Battery demand for cobalt is expected to reach more than 320kt tonnes by 2030, or about 84% of the total cobalt demand, according to the ",{"text":36153,"type":596,"marks":84236},[84237],{"type":606,"attrs":84238},{"href":69470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84240,"type":596},", up from 75% this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84242,"content":84243},{"textAlign":49},[84244],{"text":84245,"type":596},"The EV sector is the largest cobalt consumer and accounts for 44% of total demand. Demand from the EV sector reached 74,000 tonnes in 2022, an increase of 33% year-on-year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84247,"content":84248},{"textAlign":49},[84249],{"text":84250,"type":596},"The rising demand for electric vehicle batteries will require conversion of cobalt hydroxide (the primary product from the DRC) to cobalt sulphate, thus increasing the need to assess the prices of cobalt chemicals instead to better reflect the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84252,"content":84253},{"textAlign":49},[84254],{"type":836,"attrs":84255},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":84256,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84257},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1ff4e41aa5/bm-cobalt-prices-social-chart-180523.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":84259,"content":84260},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84261],{"text":84262,"type":596},"Cobalt metal share Vs chemicals",{"type":591,"attrs":84264,"content":84265},{"textAlign":49},[84266],{"text":84267,"type":596},"Currently the cobalt market benchmark is based on European cobalt metal prices, with payables calculated for cobalt hydroxide as a percent of the metal price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84269,"content":84270},{"textAlign":49},[84271],{"text":84272,"type":596},"But this doesn’t reflect the form used in lithium ion batteries, which is mainly cobalt sulphate produced from cobalt hydroxide. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84274,"content":84275},{"textAlign":49},[84276],{"text":84277,"type":596},"“The battery industry feels the need that something else should be the price structure. The choices are hydroxide – 70% of the market – or sulphate which is where most of that hydroxide is going,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer of Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84279,"content":84280},{"textAlign":49},[84281],{"text":84282,"type":596},"Metal production accounts for about 18% of the cobalt market currently. Of this, only 10% to 15% is traded on the spot market, implying that the metal reference price represents a minority share of the cobalt market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84284,"content":84285},{"textAlign":49},[84286],{"text":84287,"type":596},"Moreover, as the EV battery industry continues to expand, whilst demand from metal consuming sectors remains relatively flat, this share will decrease further.",{"type":591,"attrs":84289,"content":84290},{"textAlign":49},[84291,84293,84299],{"text":84292,"type":596},"“There has been significant growth in the chemicals market over the last decade, whilst the mature metal market’s growth has been marginal,” according to a Cobalt Institute ",{"text":84294,"type":596,"marks":84295},"report",[84296],{"type":606,"attrs":84297},{"href":84298,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.cobaltinstitute.org/news/ev-demand-growth-indonesia-production-ramp-up-drive-cobalt-market-in-2022/",{"text":84300,"type":596}," prepared by Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84302,"content":84303},{"textAlign":49},[84304],{"text":84305,"type":596},"Fundamentals for the chemical and metal markets have been diverging overthe past year due to a tight metal market and oversupply of intermediate materials. As a result the metal price has failed to represent the overall market balance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84307,"content":84308},{"textAlign":49},[84309],{"text":84310,"type":596},"Recently, hydroxide has been regularly transacted using a fixed dollar price to avoid the use of the metal reference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84312,"content":84313},{"textAlign":49},[84314],{"text":84315,"type":596},"In fact, all of Benchmark’s hydroxide price assessments recorded in April were on a fixed price basis. In China and elsewhere too, hydroxide prices have been calculated using a cobalt sulphate formula excluding the refining costs for hydroxide to sulphate production.",{"type":591,"attrs":84317,"content":84318},{"textAlign":49},[84319],{"text":84320,"type":596},"Further, Benchmark expects cobalt in MHP — an intermediate nickel product produced from laterite nickel ore and which contains both nickel and a small percentage of cobalt— from Indonesia to begin influencing pricing trends. ",{"type":615,"attrs":84322,"content":84323},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84324],{"text":84325,"type":596},"Indonesia becomes second-largest producer ",{"type":591,"attrs":84327,"content":84328},{"textAlign":49},[84329],{"text":84330,"type":596},"Indonesia became the second largest cobalt producer last year, behind the Democratic Republic Of Congo, the world’s top producer, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84332,"content":84333},{"textAlign":49},[84334],{"text":84335,"type":596},"The Southeast Asian country has the potential to increase cobalt supply by 10 times by 2030, with new projects being announced on a regular basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":84337,"content":84338},{"textAlign":49},[84339],{"text":84340,"type":596},"Indonesia’s share of global cobalt supply has the potential to increase from 7% this year to 22% by the end of 2030, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84342,"content":84343},{"textAlign":49},[84344],{"text":84345,"type":596},"DRC’s share, in contrast, could fall to 57% by the end of the decade from 72% this year, even as the overall market grows.",{"type":591,"attrs":84347,"content":84348},{"textAlign":49},[84349],{"text":84350,"type":596,"marks":84351},"Benchmark is the leading PRA and market intelligence provider for cobalt and other battery raw materials, anodes and cathodes and battery cells.",[84352],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":84354,"content":84355},{"textAlign":49},[84356],{"text":84357,"type":596,"marks":84358},"To talk to our experts and see a sample report for our price assessments and analysis, please provide your details here and we will contact you shortly.",[84359],{"type":1006},"The cobalt market may need to switch to new pricing mechanisms to reflect the growth of the battery markets, industry participants at the Cobalt Institute conference in Istanbul said this week. The growth of the battery market in recent years has facilitated a shift in cobalt market pricing as traditional mechanisms become less relevant to […]",[84362],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84363},{"job_title":557,"image":84364,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"169402f1-7cf5-4947-8113-afefe961d6e3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84367,84368],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":8902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84370,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 12, 2023",{"id":84373,"uuid":84374,"name":84375,"slug":84376,"full_slug":84377,"content":84378},112471347206626,"afbbf561-5d01-437e-b24f-116dc07792be","Glencore and Li-Cycle plan to build Europe’s largest battery recycling hub in Italy","glencore-and-li-cycle-plan-to-build-europes-largest-battery-recycling-hub-in-italy","article/glencore-and-li-cycle-plan-to-build-europes-largest-battery-recycling-hub-in-italy",{"_uid":84379,"date":84200,"tags":84380,"editor":84385,"content":84389,"excerpt":84535,"featured":50,"reporter":84536,"_editable":84540,"component":697,"seo_title":84375,"categories":84541,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":84544,"seo_description":84535,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":84371},"7db067ef-ff5c-4fc5-9317-39b76c588e37",[84381,84382,84383,84384],{"slug":10037,"name":373},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":5837,"name":5838},{"slug":29739,"name":28952},[84386],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84387},{"job_title":557,"image":84388,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84390},[84391,84402,84407,84420,84446,84451,84464,84469,84474,84479,84490,84495,84500,84505,84510,84515,84520,84525,84530],{"type":591,"attrs":84392,"content":84393},{"textAlign":49},[84394,84396,84401],{"text":84395,"type":596},"Glencore and Li-Cycle have joined forces to build Europe’s largest battery recycling plant in Italy, with enough planned capacity to process the equivalent of nearly half of Europe’s forecast 2030 battery scrap pool, according to ",{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":84397},[84398],{"type":606,"attrs":84399},{"href":84400,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/recycling",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":84403,"content":84404},{"textAlign":49},[84405],{"text":84406,"type":596},"The two companies said the plant would have the capacity to process between 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of black mass (35 gigawatt-hours of batteries).",{"type":591,"attrs":84408,"content":84409},{"textAlign":49},[84410,84412,84418],{"text":84411,"type":596},"The plant is planned to be built at ",{"text":84413,"type":596,"marks":84414},"Glencore’s",[84415],{"type":606,"attrs":84416},{"href":84417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-and-the-circular-economy-qa-with-kunal-sinha",{"text":84419,"type":596}," existing lead-nickel facility in Portovesme and leverage Li-Cycle’s hydrometallurgical technology to recover lithium, nickel, and cobalt from black mass. The companies say it will be the largest producer of recycled lithium battery chemicals in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":84421,"content":84422},{"textAlign":49},[84423,84425,84430,84432,84437,84439,84444],{"text":84424,"type":596},"The partnership comes as the European Union looks to ",{"text":84426,"type":596,"marks":84427},"encourage battery recycling within the bloc",[84428],{"type":606,"attrs":84429},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84431,"type":596}," as part of its ",{"text":84433,"type":596,"marks":84434},"European Green Deal",[84435],{"type":606,"attrs":84436},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84438,"type":596}," and compete against the ",{"text":84440,"type":596,"marks":84441},"US’s Inflation Reduction Act",[84442],{"type":606,"attrs":84443},{"href":38778,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84445,"type":596},". Indeed, the facility has the potential to fulfil 35% of Europe’s 2031 demand for recycled lithium, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":84447,"content":84448},{"textAlign":49},[84449],{"text":84450,"type":596},"“The establishment of projects like the ones we announced will help [Europe] compete,” Charles Watenphul, spokesperson for Glencore, told Benchmark Source.",{"type":591,"attrs":84452,"content":84453},{"textAlign":49},[84454,84456,84462],{"text":84455,"type":596},"Last year, ",{"text":84457,"type":596,"marks":84458},"Glencore purchased $200 million in Li-Cycle’s convertible debt",[84459],{"type":606,"attrs":84460},{"href":84461,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-expands-battery-recycling-reach-with-200-million-li-cycle-investment-and-supply-agreements",{"text":84463,"type":596}," which can be converted to around a 10% stake in Li-Cycle. The definitive feasibility study into developing the Portovesme recycling hub is due to begin in mid-2023 and complete a year later, with commissioning of the hub due for late 2026 or early 2027.",{"type":615,"attrs":84465,"content":84466},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84467],{"text":84468,"type":596},"Hub and Spoke model",{"type":591,"attrs":84470,"content":84471},{"textAlign":49},[84472],{"text":84473,"type":596},"Li-Cycle uses what it calls a “Hub and Spoke” approach to managing the supply chain of scrap batteries through to battery-grade chemicals. Battery scrap is collected and processed into black mass at one of several Spoke facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":84475,"content":84476},{"textAlign":49},[84477],{"text":84478,"type":596},"The black mass is then transported to a central plant where it is converted into battery-grade chemicals through a hydrometallurgical process.",{"type":591,"attrs":84480,"content":84481},{"textAlign":49},[84482,84484,84488],{"text":84483,"type":596},"The advantage of this approach is that black mass is safer to transport than scrap batteries, reducing the distance the scrap needs to travel, according to ",{"text":69624,"type":596,"marks":84485},[84486],{"type":606,"attrs":84487},{"href":69628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84489,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":84491,"content":84492},{"textAlign":49},[84493],{"text":84494,"type":596},"The Portovesme plant will repurpose Glencore’s Sardinian metallurgical complex in Portovesme. Since the complex currently consists of a lead-zinc smelter and hydrometallurgical facility that has been operating since 1929, the site already has much of the infrastructure and access to the skilled workforce needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":84496,"content":84497},{"textAlign":49},[84498],{"text":84499,"type":596},"Li-Cycle’s growing network of “Spokes” in Europe will feed the Portovesme plant alongside black mass from Glencore’s “commercial network”.",{"type":591,"attrs":84501,"content":84502},{"textAlign":49},[84503],{"text":84504,"type":596},"Crucially, this means black mass from European battery scrap can be retained in the region. Much European black mass is currently processed into battery-grade materials in China. Prior to this announcement, Li-Cycle had planned to ship European black mass to its Rochester Hub in New York.",{"type":591,"attrs":84506,"content":84507},{"textAlign":49},[84508],{"text":84509,"type":596},"However, although the planned Glencore plant will have a large capacity, this may not be fully utilised unless it can get sufficient throughput.",{"type":591,"attrs":84511,"content":84512},{"textAlign":49},[84513],{"text":84514,"type":596},"“Supplies of recycling feedstock will become significant around the early- to mid-2030s, becoming a meaningful supply source when end-of-life EV batteries return in volume,” Colbourn said. “Until then, there will be limited supplies of recyclable material, posing challenges for recyclers to secure feed for their pretreatment and recovery facilities in the short term.”",{"type":615,"attrs":84516,"content":84517},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84518],{"text":84519,"type":596},"Hydrometallurgical processing",{"type":591,"attrs":84521,"content":84522},{"textAlign":49},[84523],{"text":84524,"type":596},"Although the metallurgical complex already has hydrometallurgical facilities, these aren’t designed to recover the materials needed for modern lithium ion batteries. Li-Cycle has advanced hydrometallurgical technologies that can recover lithium as well as nickel, cobalt and other battery metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":84526,"content":84527},{"textAlign":49},[84528],{"text":84529,"type":596},"Lithium is notoriously difficult to recover from scrap batteries. Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast explains that an advantage of hydrometallurgical processes compared to the more prevalent pyrometallurgical processes is that lithium can be more easily recovered.",{"type":591,"attrs":84531,"content":84532},{"textAlign":49},[84533],{"text":84534,"type":596},"The hydrometallurgical processing of black mass produces battery-grade materials that can be used by cathode makers. Pyrometallurgical processing, by comparison, produces alloys which require further purification and separation steps.","Glencore and Li-Cycle have joined forces to build Europe’s largest battery recycling plant in Italy, with enough planned capacity to process the equivalent of nearly half of Europe’s forecast 2030 battery scrap pool, according to Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast. The two companies said the plant would have the capacity to process between 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes […]",[84537],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84538},{"job_title":557,"image":84539,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7db067ef-ff5c-4fc5-9317-39b76c588e37\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84542,84543],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84545,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84546,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0294833799/bm-licy-worker-sorting-batteries-scaled-1.webp",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":84548,"uuid":84549,"name":84550,"slug":84551,"full_slug":84552,"content":84553},112471366515174,"e676319f-a579-4d15-b8e3-2605e82a7398","Emerging solid-state industry has 9% utilisation rate as production ramps up","emerging-solid-state-industry-has-9-utilisation-rate-as-production-ramps-up","article/emerging-solid-state-industry-has-9-utilisation-rate-as-production-ramps-up",{"_uid":84554,"date":84555,"tags":84556,"editor":84559,"content":84563,"excerpt":84644,"featured":51,"reporter":84645,"_editable":84649,"component":697,"seo_title":84550,"categories":84650,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":84654,"featured_image":84657,"seo_description":84644,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":84660},"21c682e1-f49b-4d05-a4a4-fd4fc3ba9a47","2023-05-11 00:00",[84557,84558],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[84560],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84561},{"job_title":557,"image":84562,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84564},[84565,84577,84589,84601,84606,84614,84619,84631,84636],{"type":591,"attrs":84566,"content":84567},{"textAlign":49},[84568,84570,84575],{"text":84569,"type":596},"Although the solid-state battery industry is expected to break the ",{"text":84571,"type":596,"marks":84572},"two gigawatt-hour (GWh) production barrier this year",[84573],{"type":606,"attrs":84574},{"href":63079,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84576,"type":596},", the total nameplate capacity will be over 25 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":84578,"content":84579},{"textAlign":49},[84580,84582,84588],{"text":84581,"type":596},"This effectively gives the emerging solid-state battery industry a nine per cent utilisation rate, far lower than the more mature lithium ion industry, ",{"text":84583,"type":596,"marks":84584},"highlighting the importance of looking beyond just announced capacities",[84585],{"type":606,"attrs":84586},{"href":84587,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ambition-versus-reality-why-battery-production-capacity-does-not-equal-supply",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":84590,"content":84591},{"textAlign":49},[84592,84594,84599],{"text":84593,"type":596},"This low utilisation rate is a product of the naturally lower ramp-up rates for a solid-state battery gigafactory compared to a lithium ion gigafactory, as manufacturers focus on ",{"text":84595,"type":596,"marks":84596},"overcoming technical hurdles",[84597],{"type":606,"attrs":84598},{"href":63117,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84600,"type":596}," and standardisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":84602,"content":84603},{"textAlign":49},[84604],{"text":84605,"type":596},"“Critically, these cells must pass qualification for their desired application before considerable ramp-up is initiated,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Facility ramp-up really begins four to six years from the initiation of that qualification procedure.”",{"type":591,"attrs":84607,"content":84608},{"textAlign":49},[84609],{"type":836,"attrs":84610},{"id":49,"alt":84611,"src":84612,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84613},"Solid-state production capacity doesn't tell the whole story","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/28e3e4b475/bm-solid-state-stacked-chart.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":84615,"content":84616},{"textAlign":49},[84617],{"text":84618,"type":596},"The effective utilisation is forecast by Benchmark to increase throughout the decade as solid-state battery makers work their way through the qualification process and the manufacturing of next-generation technologies matures.",{"type":591,"attrs":84620,"content":84621},{"textAlign":49},[84622,84623,84629],{"text":60979,"type":596},{"text":84624,"type":596,"marks":84625},"Benchmark’s Solid-state and Lithium Metal Forecast",[84626],{"type":606,"attrs":84627},{"href":84628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state",{"text":84630,"type":596}," expects 44% of nameplate capacity to be utilised, far closer to that of the incumbent lithium ion industry with which it aims to co-exist.",{"type":591,"attrs":84632,"content":84633},{"textAlign":49},[84634],{"text":84635,"type":596},"“In the long-term, Benchmark anticipates that these ramp-up timelines will eventually reach parity with current lithium ion battery technologies,” McNulty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":84637,"content":84638},{"textAlign":49},[84639],{"type":836,"attrs":84640},{"id":49,"alt":84641,"src":84642,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84643},"Forecast solid-state battery production as a percentage of nameplate capacity","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4a45f1262d/bm-utilisation-rate.png",{},"Although the solid-state battery industry is expected to break the two gigawatt-hour (GWh) production barrier this year, the total nameplate capacity will be over 25 GWh. This effectively gives the emerging solid-state battery industry a nine per cent utilisation rate, far lower than the more mature lithium ion industry, highlighting the importance of looking beyond […]",[84646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84647},{"job_title":557,"image":84648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"21c682e1-f49b-4d05-a4a4-fd4fc3ba9a47\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84651,84652,84653],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84655,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84656,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1692312647/www-production/Solid-state-stacked-chart-1_1304504f4259/Solid-state-stacked-chart-1_1304504f4259.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84658,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84659,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92be9af475/bm-solid-state-stacked-chart-featured.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 11, 2023",{"id":84662,"uuid":84663,"name":84664,"slug":84665,"full_slug":84666,"content":84667},112471361636837,"41d82b2b-2b97-41f7-9b89-1f7a908f9e2e","Myanmar protests may put Chinese rare earth mining on hold","myanmar-protests-may-put-chinese-rare-earth-mining-on-hold","article/myanmar-protests-may-put-chinese-rare-earth-mining-on-hold",{"_uid":84668,"date":84555,"tags":84669,"editor":84673,"content":84677,"excerpt":84847,"featured":51,"reporter":84848,"_editable":84852,"component":697,"seo_title":84664,"categories":84853,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":84857,"seo_description":84860,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":84660},"b03d5aad-d7e9-4cd3-96e7-669e1c8d41e7",[84670,84671,84672],{"slug":27747,"name":27748},{"slug":71401,"name":71402},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[84674],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84675},{"job_title":557,"image":84676,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84678},[84679,84689,84694,84706,84711,84722,84727,84732,84737,84742,84747,84752,84757,84762,84767,84772,84777,84782,84787,84792,84797,84802,84809,84816,84830],{"type":591,"attrs":84680,"content":84681},{"textAlign":49},[84682,84687],{"text":84683,"type":596,"marks":84684},"Rare earths",[84685],{"type":606,"attrs":84686},{"href":81923,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84688,"type":596}," extraction in one of Myanmar’s most mineral-rich regions may be suspended in response to local anti-mining protests, which could threaten supplies of heavy rare earths for wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84690,"content":84691},{"textAlign":49},[84692],{"text":84693,"type":596},"More than 1,000 residents protested last month in Kachin State, near Mynamar’s border with China, according to Voice of America. As a result, Chinese companies have promised to stop mining, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84695,"content":84696},{"textAlign":49},[84697,84699,84704],{"text":84698,"type":596},"Chinese miners have been exploiting Kachin’s reserves with increasing intensity over the past several years, making the region a key node in the global ",{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":84700},[84701],{"type":606,"attrs":84702},{"href":84703,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/search/category/rare-earths?categories[]=rare-earths&items_per_page=12&page_offset=0",{"text":84705,"type":596}," supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84707,"content":84708},{"textAlign":49},[84709],{"text":84710,"type":596},"The protesters say the rare earth industry has damaged water quality, soils, wildlife, and agricultural yields there.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":84712,"content":84713},{"textAlign":49},[84714,84716,84720],{"text":84715,"type":596},"Although China is the world’s biggest producer of rare earth ores, supplying just under 65% of all mined material in the first quarter, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":84717},[84718],{"type":606,"attrs":84719},{"href":81923,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":84721,"type":596},", it depends on Myanmar for a scarcer sub-group of the elements known as heavy rare earths. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84723,"content":84724},{"textAlign":49},[84725],{"text":84726,"type":596},"The most valuable of these are the dysprosium and terbium mined from Kachin’s ionic clays and used in permanent magnets for wind turbines and EV motors. In 2022, total demand for the oxides of these elements was 84%  higher than in 2015. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84728,"content":84729},{"textAlign":49},[84730],{"text":84731,"type":596},"China has struggled to achieve the self-sufficiency in heavy rare earths of the kind it has managed for light rare earths. Offshoring to Myanmar has opened up a source of low cost supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":84733,"content":84734},{"textAlign":49},[84735],{"text":84736,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates that Myanmar supplied 42% of the world’s total dysprosium in 2022, forecasting that China will process 99% of global supply in the element this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":84738,"content":84739},{"textAlign":49},[84740],{"text":84741,"type":596},"China dominates over 90% of all rare earths processing worldwide, estimates Benchmark analyst Daan de Jonge, including the manufacture of export goods such as oxides, magnets, and motors.",{"type":615,"attrs":84743,"content":84744},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84745],{"text":84746,"type":596},"Protest outcomes still unclear ",{"type":591,"attrs":84748,"content":84749},{"textAlign":49},[84750],{"text":84751,"type":596},"It is unclear whether Chinese companies will follow through on their pledge to halt operations and for how long this will last.",{"type":591,"attrs":84753,"content":84754},{"textAlign":49},[84755],{"text":84756,"type":596},"At least some mines earmarked for suspension appear to have continued operating since the announcement, with one local official telling Voice of America that it is difficult for companies to abruptly halt projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":84758,"content":84759},{"textAlign":49},[84760],{"text":84761,"type":596},"Moreover, since Kachin rare earths mines are illegal, it is difficult to quantify output losses that would result from any interruptions.",{"type":591,"attrs":84763,"content":84764},{"textAlign":49},[84765],{"text":84766,"type":596},"“There is not a great desire for these transactions and deals to be very public,” de Jonge explains. “We likely won’t ever really know which companies are linked to these operations, or their output”.",{"type":591,"attrs":84768,"content":84769},{"textAlign":49},[84770],{"text":84771,"type":596},"Myanmar’s rare earths industry has long been tied to human rights abuses and ecological damage and previous anti-mining protests in Kachin state have often been met with repression from authorities.",{"type":615,"attrs":84773,"content":84774},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84775],{"text":84776,"type":596},"Local pushback ",{"type":591,"attrs":84778,"content":84779},{"textAlign":49},[84780],{"text":84781,"type":596},"This latest wave of anti-mining resistance began in December 2022, culminating in March 2023 demonstrations where protestors destroyed Chinese mining equipment.",{"type":591,"attrs":84783,"content":84784},{"textAlign":49},[84785],{"text":84786,"type":596},"However, villagers and church leaders around Kachin have been opposing Chinese rare earth mining in the region for at least a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":84788,"content":84789},{"textAlign":49},[84790],{"text":84791,"type":596},"The protests have coincided with a period of intensified rare earths mining in Kachin. Chinese miners have increasingly set up in Myanmar’s border region as their government clamps down on illegal mines back home.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":84793,"content":84794},{"textAlign":49},[84795],{"text":84796,"type":596},"The political instability following Myanmar’s military coup in 2021 have given Chinese miners further opportunities to increase production in the area, often in concert with local militia groups keen to profit from extractive deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":84798,"content":84799},{"textAlign":49},[84800],{"text":84801,"type":596},"The Kachin Independence Organisation, a rebel group with a strong presence in northeastern Myanmar, had initially been greenlighting mining operations but recently may have backtracked in response to protests.",{"type":591,"attrs":84803,"content":84804},{"textAlign":49},[84805],{"text":84806,"type":596,"marks":84807},"Benchmark is soon launching a new Rare Earths Forecast service to provide a comprehensive long-term market outlook for supply, demand, prices and costs for rare earth elements (REEs) out to 2040.",[84808],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":84810,"content":84811},{"textAlign":49},[84812],{"text":84813,"type":596,"marks":84814},"To learn more about this upcoming addition to Benchmark’s market intelligence, provide your details below and our team will be in touch.",[84815],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":84817,"content":84818},{"textAlign":49},[84819,84823,84827],{"text":84820,"type":596,"marks":84821},"Or to gain an exclusive preview of the analysis provided in Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast, join our upcoming webinar on Thursday 25 May – ",[84822],{"type":1006},{"text":84824,"type":596,"marks":84825},"Beyond the Battery: Rare Earths in the Energy Transition",[84826],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":84828},[84829],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":84831,"content":84832},{"textAlign":49},[84833,84840],{"text":84834,"type":596,"marks":84835},"Register for the 08:00 (GMT+1) session",[84836,84839],{"type":606,"attrs":84837},{"href":84838,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8216814840264/WN_ZrTBU7vASJaHb2xYRhTVHA",{"type":1006},{"text":84841,"type":596,"marks":84842},"Register for the 15:00 (GMT+1) session",[84843,84846],{"type":606,"attrs":84844},{"href":84845,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1316817452318/WN__J_H2TEpQRqtGROoFKar8w",{"type":1006},"Rare earths extraction in one of Myanmar’s most mineral-rich regions may be suspended in response to local anti-mining protests, which could threaten supplies of heavy rare earths for wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. More than 1,000 residents protested last month in Kachin State, near Mynamar’s border with China, according to Voice of America. As […]",[84849],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84850},{"job_title":557,"image":84851,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b03d5aad-d7e9-4cd3-96e7-669e1c8d41e7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[84854,84855,84856],{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":84858,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":84859,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/94c0de2fc0/bm-myanmar.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rare earths extraction in one of Myanmar’s most mineral-rich regions may be suspended in response to local anti-mining protests, which could threaten supplies of heavy rare earths for wind turbines and electric vehicle moto...",{"id":84862,"uuid":84863,"name":84864,"slug":84865,"full_slug":84866,"content":84867},112471371299303,"bb23acfd-6b14-4e69-b526-6cefa68ec8ad","Livent and Allkem merger to create $10.6 billion lithium producer","livent-and-allkem-merger-to-create-10-6-billion-lithium-producer","article/livent-and-allkem-merger-to-create-10-6-billion-lithium-producer",{"_uid":84868,"date":84869,"tags":84870,"editor":84878,"content":84882,"excerpt":85061,"featured":51,"reporter":85062,"_editable":85066,"component":697,"seo_title":84864,"categories":85067,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85070,"seo_description":85061,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85073},"55e7a0d2-7125-491e-94e4-77637c6bd8ec","2023-05-10 00:00",[84871,84874,84877],{"slug":84872,"name":84873},"allkem","Allkem",{"slug":84875,"name":84876},"livent","Livent",{"slug":31098,"name":31099},[84879],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":84880},{"job_title":557,"image":84881,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":84883},[84884,84889,84894,84899,84904,84916,84921,84926,84931,84936,84949,84954,84959,84964,84969,84974,84981,84986,84991,84996,85001,85006,85013,85018,85023,85028,85033,85038,85043,85048],{"type":591,"attrs":84885,"content":84886},{"textAlign":49},[84887],{"text":84888,"type":596},"US lithium producer Livent and Australia’s Allkem said they had agreed to merge, creating a $10.6 billion producer that will target large automotive companies and look to accelerate supply growth in Canada and Argentina. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84890,"content":84891},{"textAlign":49},[84892],{"text":84893,"type":596},"The merger will allow the combined company to “serve customers with a more resilient supply chain” and accelerate growth plans already underway, Livent said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84895,"content":84896},{"textAlign":49},[84897],{"text":84898,"type":596},"At a market capitalisation of $10.6 billion it would be the fifth largest lithium producer, behind Albemarle, SQM, Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84900,"content":84901},{"textAlign":49},[84902],{"text":84903,"type":596},"“As a combined company, we will have the enhanced scale, product range, geographic coverage, and execution capabilities to meet our customers’ rapidly growing demand for lithium chemicals,” Paul Graves, chief executive of Livent, who will be CEO of the combined company, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84905,"content":84906},{"textAlign":49},[84907,84909,84914],{"text":84908,"type":596},"The deal creates a third large Western ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":84910},[84911],{"type":606,"attrs":84912},{"href":84913,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/first-week-on-week-increase-in-domestic-chinese-lithium-carbonate-prices-since-november-2022",{"text":84915,"type":596}," producer at a time when governments in Europe and the US are looking to localise the battery supply chain to reduce reliance on China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84917,"content":84918},{"textAlign":49},[84919],{"text":84920,"type":596},"With mining and processing projects in Canada, Australia, Argentina and Japan, the combined company will better be able to meet those goals, executives said, by reducing the risks of developing new projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84922,"content":84923},{"textAlign":49},[84924],{"text":84925,"type":596},"It gives the company “more clout with customers, bigger contracts, bigger deals, more pricing power, more clout against Chinese competitors especially,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84927,"content":84928},{"textAlign":49},[84929],{"text":84930,"type":596},"Graves said a larger, vertically integrated company would allow the combined company to better supply large automotive companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84932,"content":84933},{"textAlign":49},[84934],{"text":84935,"type":596},"“That scale … is really where the conversation changes with customers,” Graves said. “It gives them more security of supply, no matter which way you measure it.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":84937,"content":84938},{"textAlign":49},[84939,84941,84947],{"text":84940,"type":596},"The deal comes as lithium prices start to recover after more than halving this year. L",{"text":84942,"type":596,"marks":84943},"ithium carbonate prices",[84944],{"type":606,"attrs":84945},{"href":84946,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-lithium-market-shows-faint-signs-of-improvement-as-technical-grade-lithium-prices-rise",{"text":84948,"type":596}," in China have fallen by 63% this year to an average of RMB 197,500/tonne ($28,488), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":84950,"content":84951},{"textAlign":49},[84952],{"text":84953,"type":596},"They rose by 7% between the 3 and 10 May, according to Benchmark’s latest price assessment.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":84955,"content":84956},{"textAlign":49},[84957],{"text":84958,"type":596},"Still, the sentiment has impacted the share prices of the largest lithium companies, which have all fallen around 10% year-to-date. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84960,"content":84961},{"textAlign":49},[84962],{"text":84963,"type":596},"Allkem and Livent said that the combined entity would have adjusted earnings before interest, tax and other items (EBITDA) of around $1.2 billion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84965,"content":84966},{"textAlign":49},[84967],{"text":84968,"type":596},"That compares with Albemarle’s adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion for its lithium business in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84970,"content":84971},{"textAlign":49},[84972],{"text":84973,"type":596},"The two companies will have enough production capacity to produce 90,000 tonnes LCE this year and 250,000 LCE by 2027, they said. That would make them the third largest producer by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":84975,"content":84976},{"textAlign":49},[84977],{"type":836,"attrs":84978},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":84979,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":84980},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ff4aba332a/bm-image-39.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":84982,"content":84983},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[84984],{"text":84985,"type":596},"Combining lithium assets",{"type":591,"attrs":84987,"content":84988},{"textAlign":49},[84989],{"text":84990,"type":596},"The deal combines both companies’ operating brine projects in Argentina and also their projects under construction in Quebec, Canada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":84992,"content":84993},{"textAlign":49},[84994],{"text":84995,"type":596},"Livent’s Hombre Muerto and Allkem’s Olaroz operations in Argentina will produce 32kt tonnes LCE and 20.5kt LCE respectively in 2023, following the completion of advanced stage expansion projects, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":84997,"content":84998},{"textAlign":49},[84999],{"text":85000,"type":596},"Allkem said that it could use Livent’s expertise in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) on its own brine projects, while Livent said Allkem had experience in conventional processing, via its Mt Cattlin spodumene mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85002,"content":85003},{"textAlign":49},[85004],{"text":85005,"type":596},"“We think there’s good opportunity to cross-fertilise both operations with what we know,” Martín Pérez de Solay, chief executive of Allkem, said. “We see high complementarity between both businesses and the knowledge.”",{"type":591,"attrs":85007,"content":85008},{"textAlign":49},[85009],{"type":836,"attrs":85010},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85011,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85012},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/76b6b995e5/bm-image-38-1299421ed2f9.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":85014,"content":85015},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85016],{"text":85017,"type":596},"Accelerating new projects ",{"type":591,"attrs":85019,"content":85020},{"textAlign":49},[85021],{"text":85022,"type":596},"The deal gives the combined company new sources of lithium production and processing capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85024,"content":85025},{"textAlign":49},[85026],{"text":85027,"type":596},"Graves said the deal would accelerate the delivery of new projects and “reduce the risk” of developing them. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85029,"content":85030},{"textAlign":49},[85031],{"text":85032,"type":596},"Allkem is developing the James Bay spodumene project in Quebec and is also building a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Japan with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85034,"content":85035},{"textAlign":49},[85036],{"text":85037,"type":596},"Livent owns 50% of Nemaska Lithium, which is building an integrated mine and lithium hydroxide facility in Quebec. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85039,"content":85040},{"textAlign":49},[85041],{"text":85042,"type":596},"Allkem has received approval for its James Bay mine, stated to commence 2024, while Livent’s Whabouchi mine is expected to commence in 2025 and will feed the company’s nearby Becancour lithium hydroxide plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":85044,"content":85045},{"textAlign":49},[85046],{"text":85047,"type":596},"The combined company will maintain Livent’s primary listing on the New York Stock exchange and also have a “foreign exempt listing” in Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85049,"content":85050},{"textAlign":49},[85051,85053,85059],{"text":85052,"type":596},"Both Allkem and Livent will speak at",{"text":85054,"type":596,"marks":85055}," Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s  Battery Gigafactories USA",[85056],{"type":606,"attrs":85057},{"href":85058,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://events.benchmarkminerals.com/event/ce11722f-0ee0-471e-b061-5bacbe4ea036/summary",{"text":85060,"type":596},"event in Washington DC, on Thursday 8 June – Friday 9 June 2023.","US lithium producer Livent and Australia’s Allkem said they had agreed to merge, creating a $10.6 billion producer that will target large automotive companies and look to accelerate supply growth in Canada and Argentina. The merger will allow the combined company to “serve customers with a more resilient supply chain” and accelerate growth plans already […]",[85063],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85064},{"job_title":557,"image":85065,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"55e7a0d2-7125-491e-94e4-77637c6bd8ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85068,85069],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85071,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85072,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6ab04222c1/bm-livent-bc-ribbon-cutting-scaled-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 10, 2023",{"id":85075,"uuid":85076,"name":85077,"slug":85078,"full_slug":85079,"content":85080},112471390349803,"72618845-87d8-42c9-9a74-88b9e258196a","First week-on-week increase in domestic Chinese lithium technical grade prices since November 2022","first-week-on-week-increase-in-domestic-chinese-lithium-carbonate-prices-since-november-2022","article/first-week-on-week-increase-in-domestic-chinese-lithium-carbonate-prices-since-november-2022",{"_uid":85081,"date":85082,"tags":85083,"editor":85085,"content":85089,"excerpt":85181,"featured":50,"reporter":85182,"_editable":85186,"component":697,"seo_title":85077,"categories":85187,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85190,"seo_description":85181,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85193},"6da658e1-874d-42e4-88df-07cd35c30d52","2023-05-05 00:00",[85084],{"slug":575,"name":576},[85086],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85087},{"job_title":557,"image":85088,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85090},[85091,85096,85101,85106,85111,85116,85121,85126,85131,85136,85141,85146,85151,85156,85161,85166,85171,85176],{"type":591,"attrs":85092,"content":85093},{"textAlign":49},[85094],{"text":85095,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment registered the first week-on-week increase in Chinese domestic technical grade lithium carbonate since November 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":85097,"content":85098},{"textAlign":49},[85099],{"text":85100,"type":596},"The rise sharpens hopes for lithium producers that the market may be in the earliest stages of exiting its six-month slump. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85102,"content":85103},{"textAlign":49},[85104],{"text":85105,"type":596},"Owing to impurities, technical-grade lithium carbonate needs to be processed before it can be used in batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85107,"content":85108},{"textAlign":49},[85109],{"text":85110,"type":596},"However, the grade can sometimes act as a bellwether for wider lithium market shifts because small volumes are bought and sold by sentiment-driven traders.",{"type":591,"attrs":85112,"content":85113},{"textAlign":49},[85114],{"text":85115,"type":596},"However, Benchmark analyst Adam Megginson says the signal should be interpreted with caution, commenting that, “a lot of bulk midstream buyers aren’t convinced this is the bottom, so we can’t be sure the trend will continue.”",{"type":591,"attrs":85117,"content":85118},{"textAlign":49},[85119],{"text":85120,"type":596},"Prices for technical-grade carbonate increased 8.1% week-on-week between 26 April and 3 May 2023, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. The grade stood at RMB 167,500/tonne ($24,300) on 3 May.",{"type":591,"attrs":85122,"content":85123},{"textAlign":49},[85124],{"text":85125,"type":596},"Trader optimism dominates, supply chain buying still weak",{"type":591,"attrs":85127,"content":85128},{"textAlign":49},[85129],{"text":85130,"type":596},"The rise in technical carbonate owed partly to Chinese traders snapping up volumes before the Labour Day holidays between 1 and 5 May, which usually marks an informal halt to trading.",{"type":591,"attrs":85132,"content":85133},{"textAlign":49},[85134],{"text":85135,"type":596},"However, the grade had been recovering independently of pre-holiday buying, with a small uptick beginning in the previous week. This marked the first time any Chinese lithium grade as assessed by Benchmark had risen since November 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":85137,"content":85138},{"textAlign":49},[85139],{"text":85140,"type":596},"So far, the trend in technical carbonate has reflected positive trader sentiment rather than any turnaround in demand along the lithium supply chain. Cell and cathode manufacturers remain cautious about purchasing large volumes given uncertainty around further price falls.",{"type":591,"attrs":85142,"content":85143},{"textAlign":49},[85144],{"text":85145,"type":596},"“Most people still seem pretty uncertain about a continued rise – it doesn’t sound like downstream demand has fully recovered and there’s still some cell inventory to get through,” commented Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray.",{"type":591,"attrs":85147,"content":85148},{"textAlign":49},[85149],{"text":85150,"type":596},"Alongside improved trader sentiment, there have been hints of improving demand downstream. Cell and cathode manufacturers have reported destocking and lower inventory levels, with many stating that orders have exceeded production.",{"type":591,"attrs":85152,"content":85153},{"textAlign":49},[85154],{"text":85155,"type":596},"Midstream players say they may start replenishing inventories later in May. Their downstream customers are seeing end-product stocks dwindle and will likely need fresh inputs even before final consumer demand hits levels that would get lithium products moving more consistently through the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":85157,"content":85158},{"textAlign":49},[85159],{"text":85160,"type":596},"Overall market down",{"type":591,"attrs":85162,"content":85163},{"textAlign":49},[85164],{"text":85165,"type":596},"Prices internationally continue to decline in a lagged response to the downtrend in China across Q1, and whilst seaborne Asia spot prices are still falling, they remain at a premium to the domestic market.",{"type":591,"attrs":85167,"content":85168},{"textAlign":49},[85169],{"text":85170,"type":596},"The latest Benchmark Lithium Price Index decreased 12.9% compared to the previous two-week assessment period, as international prices continue to fall in line with downward trends in the Chinese markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":85172,"content":85173},{"textAlign":49},[85174],{"text":85175,"type":596},"In the wider Asian markets, spot carbonate prices remained stable week-on-week after subdued trading activity while CIF Asia contract prices fell by 2.8% over 19 April to 3 May.",{"type":591,"attrs":85177,"content":85178},{"textAlign":49},[85179],{"text":85180,"type":596},"European and North American average carbonate prices fell in response to China and ex-China buyers capitalising on lower Chinese domestic pricing.Chinese technical lithium carbonate is still down 61% compared to 11 May 2022, standing roughly at September 2021 levels.","Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment registered the first week-on-week increase in Chinese domestic technical grade lithium carbonate since November 2022. The rise sharpens hopes for lithium producers that the market may be in the earliest stages of exiting its six-month slump. Owing to impurities, technical-grade lithium carbonate needs to be processed before it can be used […]",[85183],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85184},{"job_title":557,"image":85185,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6da658e1-874d-42e4-88df-07cd35c30d52\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85188,85189],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85191,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85192,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ed2b955ee0/bm-xi-jinping-china-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 05, 2023",{"id":85195,"uuid":85196,"name":85197,"slug":85198,"full_slug":85199,"content":85200},112471385602538,"60ba00b3-2801-4d15-8feb-c9b0a674512d","Sodium ion 2030 pipeline capacity hits 150 GWh as cathode trends emerge","sodium-ion-2030-pipeline-capacity-hits-150-gwh-as-cathode-trends-emerge","article/sodium-ion-2030-pipeline-capacity-hits-150-gwh-as-cathode-trends-emerge",{"_uid":85201,"date":85082,"tags":85202,"editor":85206,"content":85210,"excerpt":85331,"featured":51,"reporter":85332,"_editable":85336,"component":697,"seo_title":85197,"categories":85337,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":85341,"featured_image":85344,"seo_description":85331,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85193},"029f2b29-2ee8-493d-a835-ac4999e90008",[85203,85204,85205],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[85207],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85208},{"job_title":557,"image":85209,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85211},[85212,85224,85229,85234,85239,85244,85254,85261,85266,85271,85276,85281,85286,85291,85296,85301,85306,85311,85316,85321,85326],{"type":591,"attrs":85213,"content":85214},{"textAlign":49},[85215,85217,85222],{"text":85216,"type":596},"As the 2030 pipeline for ",{"text":85218,"type":596,"marks":85219},"sodium ion gigafactories continues to grow",[85220],{"type":606,"attrs":85221},{"href":80879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85223,"type":596},", layered metal oxides are emerging as the cathode family of choice for the fledgling industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":85225,"content":85226},{"textAlign":49},[85227],{"text":85228,"type":596},"Sodium ion’s 2030 pipeline capacity is now at 152 gigawatt-hours, and layered metal oxides will be used as the cathode for 76% of this, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":85230,"content":85231},{"textAlign":49},[85232],{"text":85233,"type":596},"Although polyanionic and analogues of Prussian Blue are also being developed as cathodes for sodium ion batteries, layered metal oxides are similar to those used in traditional lithium ion batteries and tend to have the highest capacities.",{"type":591,"attrs":85235,"content":85236},{"textAlign":49},[85237],{"text":85238,"type":596},"“[Layered metal oxides] have the most flexibility and show the most promise,” Scott Lilley, project manager at NEXGENNA–a Faraday Institution project researching and developing sodium ion battery technology–told Benchmark Source.",{"type":615,"attrs":85240,"content":85241},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85242],{"text":85243,"type":596},"Layered metal oxides have flexible structures",{"type":591,"attrs":85245,"content":85246},{"textAlign":49},[85247,85249],{"text":85248,"type":596},"Layered metal oxides are a similar structure to the lithium nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathodes used in ",{"text":85250,"type":596,"marks":85251},"traditional lithium ion batteries.",[85252],{"type":606,"attrs":85253},{"href":80846,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":85255,"content":85256},{"textAlign":49},[85257],{"type":836,"attrs":85258},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85259,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85260},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8ae60d15e7/bm-sodium-ion-cathode-split.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":85262,"content":85263},{"textAlign":49},[85264],{"text":85265,"type":596},"As sodium ions are larger than lithium ions, fewer of them can be stored in between the layers of metal oxide. This reduces the capacity of the sodium ion battery compared to a traditional lithium ion battery using a similar cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":85267,"content":85268},{"textAlign":49},[85269],{"text":85270,"type":596},"However, Lilley said that the larger sodium ion also results in a greater range of possible structures for the layered oxides to take.",{"type":591,"attrs":85272,"content":85273},{"textAlign":49},[85274],{"text":85275,"type":596},"“The advantage of that is you’ve got more things to play with, more levers to pull,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":85277,"content":85278},{"textAlign":49},[85279],{"text":85280,"type":596},"Layered metal oxides can also assemble in different ways, known as phases. Lilley explained that some phases are better for supplying energy whereas others are better for providing power.",{"type":591,"attrs":85282,"content":85283},{"textAlign":49},[85284],{"text":85285,"type":596},"“So if you engineer your synthesis to get the right blend [of phases] you can get a better battery,” he said, noting that this approach is used by Faradion, a UK-based sodium ion developer, and other sodium ion developers using this family of cathode.",{"type":615,"attrs":85287,"content":85288},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85289],{"text":85290,"type":596},"Philosophy of sustainability",{"type":591,"attrs":85292,"content":85293},{"textAlign":49},[85294],{"text":85295,"type":596},"The raw materials feeding into layered metal oxide production are metal carbonates similar to those used for NCM production. However, Lilley noted that almost all producers are avoiding cobalt and many aim to minimise nickel usage.",{"type":591,"attrs":85297,"content":85298},{"textAlign":49},[85299],{"text":85300,"type":596},"Instead, many of the layered metal oxide chemistries use copper, iron, manganese and titanium–metals generally considered better from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standpoint.",{"type":591,"attrs":85302,"content":85303},{"textAlign":49},[85304],{"text":85305,"type":596},"“The whole philosophy is to use something more available, more sustainable,” Lilley said. “Almost everyone that’s engaged in the field realises that they have to maintain that philosophy if they’re going to have a commercial product.”",{"type":615,"attrs":85307,"content":85308},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85309],{"text":85310,"type":596},"Other sodium ion cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":85312,"content":85313},{"textAlign":49},[85314],{"text":85315,"type":596},"The other two major sodium ion cathode families are the polyanionics and the Prussian Blue analogues which make up 16% and 8% of the 2030 sodium ion 2030 pipeline, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":85317,"content":85318},{"textAlign":49},[85319],{"text":85320,"type":596},"Lilley explained that polyanionics generally have lower energy densities, but can supply much higher powers. This means they are good for use in power tools and for cold-starting cars. Tiamat, a French developer which uses polyanionic cathodes for their sodium ion cells, recently announced it was the first to produce sodium ion cells for use in power tools.",{"type":591,"attrs":85322,"content":85323},{"textAlign":49},[85324],{"text":85325,"type":596},"Prussian Blue Analogues (PBAs) have the potential to be the cheapest cathode material, with sodium and iron being the primary constituents. Natron, a US-based sodium ion developer, is looking at this family of cathodes in its cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":85327,"content":85328},{"textAlign":49},[85329],{"text":85330,"type":596},"The downside of PBAs is that they are extremely moisture sensitive and so need to be handled in specialised manufacturing environments.","As the 2030 pipeline for sodium ion gigafactories continues to grow, layered metal oxides are emerging as the cathode family of choice for the fledgling industry. Sodium ion’s 2030 pipeline capacity is now at 152 gigawatt-hours, and layered metal oxides will be used as the cathode for 76% of this, according to Benchmark data. Although […]",[85333],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85334},{"job_title":557,"image":85335,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"029f2b29-2ee8-493d-a835-ac4999e90008\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85338,85339,85340],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85342,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85343,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1694089614/www-production/sodium-cathode-split-redact/sodium-cathode-split-redact.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85345,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85346,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f4db88afdf/bm-sodium-ion-cathode-split-featured.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":85348,"uuid":85349,"name":85350,"slug":85351,"full_slug":85352,"content":85353},112471414438384,"b6a2ac5a-80c4-42a0-9ed6-bed40a4e6c18","Who will own lithium chemical production in 2030?","who-will-own-lithium-chemical-production-in-2030","article/who-will-own-lithium-chemical-production-in-2030",{"_uid":85354,"date":85355,"tags":85356,"editor":85361,"content":85365,"excerpt":85447,"featured":50,"reporter":85448,"_editable":85452,"component":697,"seo_title":85350,"categories":85453,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85456,"seo_description":85447,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85459},"054681fb-335f-4093-8f38-c33dc6a6c00a","2023-05-03 00:00",[85357,85358,85359,85360],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},{"slug":4623,"name":4624},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":572,"name":573},[85362],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85363},{"job_title":557,"image":85364,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85366},[85367,85384,85391,85412,85417,85424,85435],{"type":591,"attrs":85368,"content":85369},{"textAlign":49},[85370,85372,85377,85379,85383],{"text":85371,"type":596},"Two-thirds of forecasted lithium chemical production in 2030 will be owned by ",{"text":85373,"type":596,"marks":85374},"Chinese companies",[85375],{"type":606,"attrs":85376},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85378,"type":596}," (assigned proportionally by ownership share), despite just half of production taking place in the country in the same year, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":85380},[85381],{"type":606,"attrs":85382},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":85385,"content":85386},{"textAlign":49},[85387],{"type":836,"attrs":85388},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85389,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85390},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/457b6d6df9/bm-who-owns-lithium-chemical-production.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":85392,"content":85393},{"textAlign":49},[85394,85396,85402,85404,85410],{"text":85395,"type":596},"Second to China is the US, with companies from the ",{"text":85397,"type":596,"marks":85398},"country forecast to own 17% of lithium chemical production",[85399],{"type":606,"attrs":85400},{"href":85401,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-refining-outside-china-gathers-pace-with-tesla-amg-plants",{"text":85403,"type":596}," at the end of the decade. US-headquartered companies are involved in projects across the Americas, but also in ",{"text":85405,"type":596,"marks":85406},"China where Albemarle and Livent",[85407],{"type":606,"attrs":85408},{"href":85409,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-majors-expand-in-china-despite-geopolitical-tensions",{"text":85411,"type":596}," have at least 50% stakes in 11 projects expected to be operational in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":85413,"content":85414},{"textAlign":49},[85415],{"text":85416,"type":596},"Chilean and Argentinian companies will own much less production in 2030 than will be located in their respective countries. Argentinian companies are forecast to control just 0.09% of global lithium chemical production in 2030 even though 13% of global production is expected to take place in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":85418,"content":85419},{"textAlign":49},[85420],{"type":836,"attrs":85421},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85422,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85423},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/33c99e9cf7/bm-image-84.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":85425,"content":85426},{"textAlign":49},[85427,85429,85433],{"text":85428,"type":596},"“Countries like Argentina have become a battleground for companies from other countries,” ",{"text":3087,"type":596,"marks":85430},[85431],{"type":606,"attrs":85432},{"href":44601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85434,"type":596},", an analyst at Benchmark, said. “In 2030, around 50% of supply from [Argentina] will be from projects which have some sort of Chinese involvement.”",{"type":591,"attrs":85436,"content":85437},{"textAlign":49},[85438,85440,85445],{"text":85439,"type":596},"Earlier this month, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric announced plans to develop ",{"text":85441,"type":596,"marks":85442},"public-private partnerships with state participation",[85443],{"type":606,"attrs":85444},{"href":49575,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85446,"type":596}," to take control of the country’s lithium mining. Given that many Chilean brine operations are integrated with carbonate production, this has the potential to increase Chile’s share of global chemical production ownership from the 3% it is currently forecast to have in 2030.","Two-thirds of forecasted lithium chemical production in 2030 will be owned by Chinese companies (assigned proportionally by ownership share), despite just half of production taking place in the country in the same year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Second to China is the US, with companies from the country forecast to own 17% of lithium […]",[85449],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85450},{"job_title":557,"image":85451,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"054681fb-335f-4093-8f38-c33dc6a6c00a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85454,85455],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85457,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85458,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/53c6f2288d/bm-who-owns-lithium-chemical-production-featured-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 03, 2023",{"id":85461,"uuid":85462,"name":85463,"slug":85464,"full_slug":85465,"content":85466},112471419161073,"77db20e3-cd92-430c-aaca-ad68955affe2","Moses Lake: The USA’s silicon anode hub","moses-lake-the-usas-silicon-anode-hub","article/moses-lake-the-usas-silicon-anode-hub",{"_uid":85467,"date":85468,"tags":85469,"editor":85477,"content":85481,"excerpt":85654,"featured":51,"reporter":85655,"_editable":85659,"component":697,"seo_title":85463,"categories":85660,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85665,"seo_description":85654,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85667},"54e43be8-5c60-4df5-a4cd-5ca225d4b16f","2023-05-02 00:00",[85470,85471,85474,85475,85476],{"slug":13313,"name":13314},{"slug":85472,"name":85473},"moses-lake","Moses Lake",{"slug":13316,"name":13317},{"slug":13319,"name":13320},{"slug":572,"name":573},[85478],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85479},{"job_title":557,"image":85480,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85482},[85483,85488,85501,85506,85511,85522,85535,85542,85547,85552,85557,85562,85567,85572,85584,85589,85594,85599,85604,85609,85614,85619,85624,85629,85634,85639,85644,85649],{"type":591,"attrs":85484,"content":85485},{"textAlign":49},[85486],{"text":85487,"type":596},"The city of Moses Lake in Washington state is quickly emerging as a hub for US silicon anode battery materials, due to its renewable energy and access to raw materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85489,"content":85490},{"textAlign":49},[85491,85493,85499],{"text":85492,"type":596},"Last month, Group14 Technologies began construction of its second Washington-based battery active materials factory in the city, which will produce silicon-carbon composite anode materials. The ",{"text":85494,"type":596,"marks":85495},"Porsche-backed company",[85496],{"type":606,"attrs":85497},{"href":85498,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-silicon-anode-scene-gathers-pace-with-porsche-backed-400-million-investment-in-group14",{"text":85500,"type":596}," expects its production lines to come online in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":85502,"content":85503},{"textAlign":49},[85504],{"text":85505,"type":596},"Also in Moses Lake, Sila Nano is another silicon-based anode developer hoping to come online in 2024. Backed by Mercedes-Benz, Sila recently announced a nano-silicon composite material that the company claims could boost an electric vehicle’s range by 20%.",{"type":591,"attrs":85507,"content":85508},{"textAlign":49},[85509],{"text":85510,"type":596},"Moses Lake has an attractive combination of access to renewables, suppliers and local government that welcomes industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":85512,"content":85513},{"textAlign":49},[85514,85516,85520],{"text":85515,"type":596},"The need for more silicon-based anode material is evident from ",{"text":34682,"type":596,"marks":85517},[85518],{"type":606,"attrs":85519},{"href":55859,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85521,"type":596}," which shows the silicon-graphite anode market entered a deficit last year, and this is expected to grow through to the next decade unless more capacity comes online.",{"type":591,"attrs":85523,"content":85524},{"textAlign":49},[85525,85527,85533],{"text":85526,"type":596},"“We are seeing stronger demand for higher energy densities and ",{"text":85528,"type":596,"marks":85529},"graphite-silicon anodes",[85530],{"type":606,"attrs":85531},{"href":85532,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-what-role-do-silicon-anode-materials-play-in-lithium-ion-batteries",{"text":85534,"type":596}," can provide that as a current-generation technology that can be deployed immediately,” Robert Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":85536,"content":85537},{"textAlign":49},[85538],{"type":836,"attrs":85539},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85540,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85541},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/67f93de75e/bm-silicon-graphite-demand.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":85543,"content":85544},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85545],{"text":85546,"type":596},"Silicon State",{"type":591,"attrs":85548,"content":85549},{"textAlign":49},[85550],{"text":85551,"type":596},"It is no coincidence that Group14 and Sila both operate in Washington State. Nor that they are in Moses Lake. Indeed, OneD Battery Sciences, another silicon-based anode developer, plans to produce its silicon-nanowire-graphite hybrid anode in the city, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":85553,"content":85554},{"textAlign":49},[85555],{"text":85556,"type":596},"The primary reason given by these companies for locating in Washington state is access to a well-developed renewable energy grid.",{"type":591,"attrs":85558,"content":85559},{"textAlign":49},[85560],{"text":85561,"type":596},"“For us to be working on next-generation battery materials and being powered by fossil fuels wouldn’t be quite the direction we’re wanting to go,” Grant Ray, global market strategy vice president at Group14, told Benchmark Source. “Being able to build in renewable power to be able to manufacture these products is absolutely crucial to us.”",{"type":591,"attrs":85563,"content":85564},{"textAlign":49},[85565],{"text":85566,"type":596},"But the draw of Moses Lake is more than just renewable energy. REC Silicon, a Norwegian company that is one of the world’s leading producers of the silane gas used as a precursor in some silicon anode production, has a production facility in the city.",{"type":591,"attrs":85568,"content":85569},{"textAlign":49},[85570],{"text":85571,"type":596},"Ray said that this was another key reason they chose Moses Lake as the location of their large-scale battery anode material plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":85573,"content":85574},{"textAlign":49},[85575,85577,85582],{"text":85576,"type":596},"Both Group14 and Sila received $100 million of federal funding through ",{"text":85578,"type":596,"marks":85579},"Department of Energy grants",[85580],{"type":606,"attrs":85581},{"href":71096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":85583,"type":596}," awarded as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in October last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":85585,"content":85586},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85587],{"text":85588,"type":596},"From wearable to driveable",{"type":591,"attrs":85590,"content":85591},{"textAlign":49},[85592],{"text":85593,"type":596},"Both Sila and Group14 have experience producing anode material for portable applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":85595,"content":85596},{"textAlign":49},[85597],{"text":85598,"type":596},"Sila, which was co-founded by Tesla alumnus Gene Berdichevsky, has its silicon anode material in the Whoop 4.0, a wearable fitness tracker.",{"type":591,"attrs":85600,"content":85601},{"textAlign":49},[85602],{"text":85603,"type":596},"Group14 this year announced that it was supplying ATL, a Chinese battery maker which was a Series A investor in Group14, with its silicon-carbon composite anode active material SCC55 for use in smartphone batteries. The material is produced in Woodinville, Washington where the company’s first anode active material plant is located.",{"type":591,"attrs":85605,"content":85606},{"textAlign":49},[85607],{"text":85608,"type":596},"Moving from portable technology to an anode material suitable for use in an electric vehicle is not as simple as just producing more material. The qualification process is more stringent, and the demands of an EV on the battery are different to that of a portable.",{"type":591,"attrs":85610,"content":85611},{"textAlign":49},[85612],{"text":85613,"type":596},"“One of the main differences between shifting silicon technology from the portables and wearables sector to the EV market is the lifetime requirements of the cell,” Burrell said. “For portables and wearables, a cycle life of a few years is an acceptable length as it is easier to replace the battery, or more likely, purchase a new portable. EVs are expected to last 10 to 15 years or more.”",{"type":591,"attrs":85615,"content":85616},{"textAlign":49},[85617],{"text":85618,"type":596},"Porsche led a $614 million series C investment round into Group14 last year with the plan for Group14’s anodes to be in their cars by 2024. Ray told Benchmark that Group14 is also at various stages of talks with other OEMs as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":85620,"content":85621},{"textAlign":49},[85622],{"text":85623,"type":596},"Sila is backed by Mercedes-Benz and this month announced that their Titan Silicon anode material will be in the EQG G Wagon. Sila claims this will be the first car to feature a silicon anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":85625,"content":85626},{"textAlign":49},[85627],{"text":85628,"type":596},"Last September, GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of GM, invested $25 million in OneD’s series C investment round. The two companies will work together on the research and development needed to bring OneD’s Sinanoode technology to the EV market, potentially through GM’s Ultium battery.",{"type":615,"attrs":85630,"content":85631},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85632],{"text":85633,"type":596},"Silicon supplies",{"type":591,"attrs":85635,"content":85636},{"textAlign":49},[85637],{"text":85638,"type":596},"The presence of REC Silicon in Moses Lake is a big reason for the emergence of silicon anode producers in the city. REC Silicon is the world’s largest silane gas producer and has operated its silane production facility in the city since 1984.",{"type":591,"attrs":85640,"content":85641},{"textAlign":49},[85642],{"text":85643,"type":596},"“They are basically in our backyard,” Ray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":85645,"content":85646},{"textAlign":49},[85647],{"text":85648,"type":596},"The importance of silane to silicon anode producers is evidenced by Group14’s decision to partner with SK Materials, a South Korean speciality chemicals producer, for its South Korean anode material facility. SK led Group14’s Series B funding round.",{"type":591,"attrs":85650,"content":85651},{"textAlign":49},[85652],{"text":85653,"type":596},"SK Materials is the second largest silane gas producer globally and will construct a silane gas production facility to support the joint venture with Group14.","The city of Moses Lake in Washington state is quickly emerging as a hub for US silicon anode battery materials, due to its renewable energy and access to raw materials. Last month, Group14 Technologies began construction of its second Washington-based battery active materials factory in the city, which will produce silicon-carbon composite anode materials. The […]",[85656],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85657},{"job_title":557,"image":85658,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54e43be8-5c60-4df5-a4cd-5ca225d4b16f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85661,85662,85663,85664],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":13403,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85666,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 02, 2023",{"id":85669,"uuid":85670,"name":85671,"slug":85672,"full_slug":85673,"content":85674},112471433275892,"7301aa31-ecf7-424b-934e-334bb0cb624c","Global lithium supply forecast to hit 1 million tonnes for first time","global-lithium-supply-forecast-to-hit-1-million-tonnes-for-first-time","article/global-lithium-supply-forecast-to-hit-1-million-tonnes-for-first-time",{"_uid":85675,"date":85676,"tags":85677,"editor":85678,"content":85682,"excerpt":85836,"featured":51,"reporter":85837,"_editable":85841,"component":697,"seo_title":85671,"categories":85842,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85845,"seo_description":85836,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85848},"79840d1a-82a8-4e73-99d7-5db63055dc8d","2023-04-28 00:00",[],[85679],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85680},{"job_title":557,"image":85681,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85683},[85684,85689,85699,85704,85709,85714,85719,85737,85744,85749,85754,85759,85764,85769,85774,85781,85786,85791,85796,85801,85806,85811,85821,85826,85831],{"type":591,"attrs":85685,"content":85686},{"textAlign":49},[85687],{"text":85688,"type":596},"Global lithium supply is set to pass one million tonnes for the first time this year, Benchmark forecasts, driven by growth in existing projects as well as new supply in China, Africa and the Americas.",{"type":591,"attrs":85690,"content":85691},{"textAlign":49},[85692,85694,85698],{"text":85693,"type":596},"By the end of 2023, world supply of lithium will be more than double 2021’s output and more than total produced between 2015 and 2018, in terms of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":85695},[85696],{"type":606,"attrs":85697},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":85700,"content":85701},{"textAlign":49},[85702],{"text":85703,"type":596},"The million-tonne milestone reflects how quickly lithium production has increased over the past few years due to expansions in Chile and Australia. This year new projects in Brazil, Quebec and Australia are also set to boost supply of the battery raw material. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85705,"content":85706},{"textAlign":49},[85707],{"text":85708,"type":596},"Between 2020 and 2023, the lithium sector struggled to meet rising demand from the electric vehicle industry, causing Chinese battery-grade lithium prices to double last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85710,"content":85711},{"textAlign":49},[85712],{"text":85713,"type":596},"Global supply grew 25% in 2020 compared to 9% in 2019 and growth will likely peak at 49% this year, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85715,"content":85716},{"textAlign":49},[85717],{"text":85718,"type":596},"This productive surge, coupled with the drawdown of EV subsidies in China earlier this year as well as uncertain consumer demand, is behind the ongoing lithium price decline that began in November 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":85720,"content":85721},{"textAlign":49},[85722,85724,85730,85732,85736],{"text":85723,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade lithium prices have more ",{"text":85725,"type":596,"marks":85726},"than halved",[85727],{"type":606,"attrs":85728},{"href":85729,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lithium-prices-almost-halve-from-november-peak-as-demand-weakens",{"text":85731,"type":596}," this year, according to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":85733},[85734],{"type":606,"attrs":85735},{"href":78850,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":85738,"content":85739},{"textAlign":49},[85740],{"type":836,"attrs":85741},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85742,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85743},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2396a0bad2/bm-image-37.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":85745,"content":85746},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85747],{"text":85748,"type":596},"Moving to a balanced market ",{"type":591,"attrs":85750,"content":85751},{"textAlign":49},[85752],{"text":85753,"type":596},"The rapid build out in mine-capacity by Chinese companies in Jiangxi, Xinjiang, and Zimbabwe alongside a strong pipeline of projects expected to enter the market in 2024, means that the market is now expected to be balanced by the second half of next year, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":85755,"content":85756},{"textAlign":49},[85757],{"text":85758,"type":596},"This year new projects include Sigma Lithium’s Grota do Cirilo mine in Brazil, Sayona Mining’s Authier mine in Quebec, and Wesfarmers/SQM’s Mt Holland mine in Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85760,"content":85761},{"textAlign":49},[85762],{"text":85763,"type":596},"Yet forecast market figures suggest that the current slowdown should not foster complacency around long term lithium supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85765,"content":85766},{"textAlign":49},[85767],{"text":85768,"type":596},"Lithium supply will need to double again to reach two million tonnes LCE demand as soon as 2027, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":85770,"content":85771},{"textAlign":49},[85772],{"text":85773,"type":596},"Annual growth in lithium supply will ease in 2024 to 27%, fading to single figures by 2028. This is before a prolonged market deficit sets in from 2029 until at least 2040, according to Benchmark’s base case forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85775,"content":85776},{"textAlign":49},[85777],{"type":836,"attrs":85778},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85779,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85780},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/13bc7155cf/bm-image-36.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":85782,"content":85783},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85784],{"text":85785,"type":596},"From minor metal to critical resource",{"type":591,"attrs":85787,"content":85788},{"textAlign":49},[85789],{"text":85790,"type":596},"Traditionally, lithium was used by the glass, enamel, ceramics, pharmaceuticals and aluminium industries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85792,"content":85793},{"textAlign":49},[85794],{"text":85795,"type":596},"By 2015, batteries were the largest single end use for the metal. The following year, EVs overtook portables as the largest source of lithium demand within the battery segment.",{"type":591,"attrs":85797,"content":85798},{"textAlign":49},[85799],{"text":85800,"type":596},"It was only in 2019 that demand from batteries finally exceeded total demand from traditional markets like ceramics, fuelling steep growth in overall lithium production. ",{"type":615,"attrs":85802,"content":85803},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85804],{"text":85805,"type":596},"Rock versus brine lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":85807,"content":85808},{"textAlign":49},[85809],{"text":85810,"type":596},"Australia dominates lithium supply today and into the 2030s, the country is set to produce around 26% of the world’s mined output.",{"type":591,"attrs":85812,"content":85813},{"textAlign":49},[85814,85816,85820],{"text":85815,"type":596},"China, however, is set to overtake Chile to become the second biggest lithium producer this decade, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":85817},[85818],{"type":606,"attrs":85819},{"href":50775,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":85822,"content":85823},{"textAlign":49},[85824],{"text":85825,"type":596},"The geography of mined lithium supply can influence market prices for lithium chemicals as regional ore types can affect the economics of mining and processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":85827,"content":85828},{"textAlign":49},[85829],{"text":85830,"type":596},"An oversupply is more likely to occur in lithium hydroxide in the near-term because spodumene mines and Chinese conversion facilities are faster to build and ramp up compared to brine, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":85832,"content":85833},{"textAlign":49},[85834],{"text":85835,"type":596},"“The balance between carbonate and hydroxide may temporarily be an issue but could ultimately balance out because there is flexibility to convert carbonate to hydroxide and vice versa, particularly in China,” said Benchmark analyst Cameron Perks.","Global lithium supply is set to pass one million tonnes for the first time this year, Benchmark forecasts, driven by growth in existing projects as well as new supply in China, Africa and the Americas. By the end of 2023, world supply of lithium will be more than double 2021’s output and more than total […]",[85838],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85839},{"job_title":557,"image":85840,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"79840d1a-82a8-4e73-99d7-5db63055dc8d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85843,85844],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85846,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85847,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8105008e12/bm-sayona-mining.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 28, 2023",{"id":85850,"uuid":85851,"name":85852,"slug":85853,"full_slug":85854,"content":85855},112471428635123,"82e1c6ae-967f-4041-9ed5-0fb8ebc401c4","Chinese LFP cathode prices hit 17-month low as producers cut prices due to weak demand","chinese-lfp-cathode-prices-hit-17-month-low-as-producers-cut-prices-due-to-weak-demand","article/chinese-lfp-cathode-prices-hit-17-month-low-as-producers-cut-prices-due-to-weak-demand",{"_uid":85856,"date":85676,"tags":85857,"editor":85858,"content":85862,"excerpt":85944,"featured":51,"reporter":85945,"_editable":85949,"component":697,"seo_title":85852,"categories":85950,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":85956,"seo_description":85944,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":85848},"ec6209fa-525e-4947-a4bb-80aee04b3a82",[],[85859],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85860},{"job_title":557,"image":85861,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85863},[85864,85869,85882,85887,85892,85897,85902,85907,85914,85919,85924,85929,85934,85939],{"type":591,"attrs":85865,"content":85866},{"textAlign":49},[85867],{"text":85868,"type":596},"The price of lithium iron phosphate cathode material in China fell to a 17-month low in mid-April due to falling lithium prices and price cuts from producers who are battling for market share amid a slowdown in demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85870,"content":85871},{"textAlign":49},[85872,85874,85880],{"text":85873,"type":596},"The price of LFP cathodes in China has fallen 42.1% so far this year, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":85875,"type":596,"marks":85876},"Cathode Market Assessment",[85877],{"type":606,"attrs":85878},{"href":85879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cathode/",{"text":85881,"type":596},".   ",{"type":591,"attrs":85883,"content":85884},{"textAlign":49},[85885],{"text":85886,"type":596},"Many cathode material manufacturers in China invested in new LFP cathode production lines last year, which are now coming online. As a result they are increasingly selling material on the spot market at low prices in order to gain customers and remain competitive.",{"type":591,"attrs":85888,"content":85889},{"textAlign":49},[85890],{"text":85891,"type":596},"Last year Chinese LFP battery cell production rose by 147% compared to the previous year, but this year demand has been more muted. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85893,"content":85894},{"textAlign":49},[85895],{"text":85896,"type":596},"Falling raw material feedstock prices and weak downstream demand as cell producers look to clear existing inventories have also helped cause the decline, said Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":85898,"content":85899},{"textAlign":49},[85900],{"text":85901,"type":596},"Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate prices have declined 65% since hitting an all-time high in late November last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":85903,"content":85904},{"textAlign":49},[85905],{"text":85906,"type":596},"The average price of LFP cathode has fallen to RMB 97,000 ($14,027) per tonne by mid-April, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85908,"content":85909},{"textAlign":49},[85910],{"type":836,"attrs":85911},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":85912,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":85913},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a5c0072572/bm-chinese-lfp-prices.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":85915,"content":85916},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[85917],{"text":85918,"type":596},"Cheapest battery chemistry gets even cheaper",{"type":591,"attrs":85920,"content":85921},{"textAlign":49},[85922],{"text":85923,"type":596},"The price declines make LFP battery cell chemistry even more cost competitive compared with cobalt manganese chemistries (NCM). ",{"type":591,"attrs":85925,"content":85926},{"textAlign":49},[85927],{"text":85928,"type":596},"High-nickel battery cathode prices have fallen less than LFP in part due to the higher price of lithium hydroxide compared to lithium carbonate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85930,"content":85931},{"textAlign":49},[85932],{"text":85933,"type":596},"NCM523 and NCM622 average prices have fallen by 36% and 33% year-to-date to RMB 225,000/tonne ($32,850) and RMB 250,000/tonne ($36,500) respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":85935,"content":85936},{"textAlign":49},[85937],{"text":85938,"type":596},"High-nickel NCM 811 cathode prices have fallen by 25.9% year-to-date, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85940,"content":85941},{"textAlign":49},[85942],{"text":85943,"type":596},"Hartley said, however, that the rate of decline in LFP prices will slow down in the near future as many producers are unable to sustain the subsequent losses.","The price of lithium iron phosphate cathode material in China fell to a 17-month low in mid-April due to falling lithium prices and price cuts from producers who are battling for market share amid a slowdown in demand. The price of LFP cathodes in China has fallen 42.1% so far this year, according to Benchmark’s […]",[85946],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85947},{"job_title":557,"image":85948,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ec6209fa-525e-4947-a4bb-80aee04b3a82\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[85951,85952,85953,85954,85955],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":9894,"name":9895},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":85957,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":85958,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/03e4f2c4a3/bm-lfp-batteries.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":85960,"uuid":85961,"name":85962,"slug":85963,"full_slug":85964,"content":85965},112471437990389,"52ae1d29-569a-427f-9fa6-aba17c40963f","Battery gigafactory plans slow down in April after record 2022","battery-gigafactory-plans-slow-down-in-april-after-record-2022","article/battery-gigafactory-plans-slow-down-in-april-after-record-2022",{"_uid":85966,"date":85967,"tags":85968,"editor":85969,"content":85973,"excerpt":86044,"featured":51,"reporter":86045,"_editable":86049,"component":697,"seo_title":85962,"categories":86050,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86053,"seo_description":86044,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86056},"754a8671-2633-4999-a9a0-711cb84ad215","2023-04-26 00:00",[],[85970],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":85971},{"job_title":557,"image":85972,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":85974},[85975,85980,85989,85994,85999,86004,86009,86019,86024,86029,86034,86039],{"type":591,"attrs":85976,"content":85977},{"textAlign":49},[85978],{"text":85979,"type":596},"The pace of announced investments in new battery gigafactories has slowed down this month, in a sign that battery producers are focusing on building out existing capacity following a rush of investments last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85981,"content":85982},{"textAlign":49},[85983,85985],{"text":85984,"type":596},"The latest lithium ion battery pipeline production capacity to 2030 grew by only 13.9 gigawatt hours (GWh) month-on-month, the smallest monthly increase since November 2020, according to ",{"text":76273,"type":596,"marks":85986},[85987],{"type":606,"attrs":85988},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":85990,"content":85991},{"textAlign":49},[85992],{"text":85993,"type":596},"Over the past year battery producers have raced to invest in new battery capacity in anticipation of strong electric vehicle sales growth. A total of 1.4 terawatt hours of new battery capacity was announced in just the last six months, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":85995,"content":85996},{"textAlign":49},[85997],{"text":85998,"type":596},"The number of plants being tracked more than doubled to 379 in April from 174 plants in November 2020, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":86000,"content":86001},{"textAlign":49},[86002],{"text":86003,"type":596},"“The 1.4 terawatt hours (TWh) of capacity committed to the pipeline in the past six months will require significant capital investment and resource allocation from companies looking to efficiently scale up new projects,” Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86005,"content":86006},{"textAlign":49},[86007],{"text":86008,"type":596},"“With the pipeline dominated by Tier 1 and key Tier 2 producers, a short pause on new capacity commitments may be the result of a collective push to get new projects online successfully.”",{"type":591,"attrs":86010,"content":86011},{"textAlign":49},[86012,86014],{"text":86013,"type":596},"The pipeline production capacity is now expected to reach 8.5 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030, an increase of just 0.2% over March, ",{"text":86015,"type":596,"marks":86016},"according to Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment.",[86017],{"type":606,"attrs":86018},{"href":72488,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":86020,"content":86021},{"textAlign":49},[86022],{"text":86023,"type":596},"The total number of gigafactories being tracked is down 0.5% month-on-month to 379 plants, due to the removal of two battery factories planned by the embattled Chinese real estate group Evergrande. ",{"type":615,"attrs":86025,"content":86026},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[86027],{"text":86028,"type":596},"April slow down",{"type":591,"attrs":86030,"content":86031},{"textAlign":49},[86032],{"text":86033,"type":596},"The only announcement in early April was a decision by South Korean Tier 1 producer, LGES, to expand nameplate capacity to 43 GWh at its planned battery plant in Arizona, targeting both NCM and LFP battery production at the site.",{"type":591,"attrs":86035,"content":86036},{"textAlign":49},[86037],{"text":86038,"type":596},"The last time monthly capacity additions were as low as this was in November 2020, Hartley said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86040,"content":86041},{"textAlign":49},[86042],{"text":86043,"type":596},"China is expected to remain the largest producer of lithium ion batteries by 2030 with 69% of planned capacity followed by North America and Europe with 14.3% and 13.3%, respectively, according to Benchmark.","The pace of announced investments in new battery gigafactories has slowed down this month, in a sign that battery producers are focusing on building out existing capacity following a rush of investments last year. The latest lithium ion battery pipeline production capacity to 2030 grew by only 13.9 gigawatt hours (GWh) month-on-month, the smallest monthly […]",[86046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86047},{"job_title":557,"image":86048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"754a8671-2633-4999-a9a0-711cb84ad215\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86051,86052],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86054,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86055,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bcd365dbc8/bm-ultium-cells-battery-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 26, 2023",{"id":86058,"uuid":86059,"name":86060,"slug":86061,"full_slug":86062,"content":86063},112471456418397,"08fd7766-d8e1-4f7a-9110-8dfb04b5ab59","UK puts mining and critical minerals at forefront of energy transition; Benchmark on new taskforce","uk-puts-mining-and-critical-minerals-at-forefront-of-energy-transition-benchmark-on-new-taskforce","article/uk-puts-mining-and-critical-minerals-at-forefront-of-energy-transition-benchmark-on-new-taskforce",{"_uid":86064,"date":86065,"tags":86066,"editor":86068,"content":86072,"excerpt":86130,"featured":50,"reporter":86131,"_editable":86135,"component":697,"seo_title":86060,"categories":86136,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86139,"seo_description":86130,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86142},"278795f7-5e5f-45ea-895e-cfe69c7619dc","2023-04-24 00:00",[86067],{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[86069],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86070},{"job_title":557,"image":86071,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86073},[86074,86085,86090,86095,86100,86105,86110,86115,86120,86125],{"type":591,"attrs":86075,"content":86076},{"textAlign":49},[86077,86079,86084],{"text":86078,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has been invited to join the UK’s newly formed critical minerals taskforce, which will look at ensuring supply of the minerals needed for a ",{"text":86080,"type":596,"marks":86081},"green transition",[86082],{"type":606,"attrs":86083},{"href":83264,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":86086,"content":86087},{"textAlign":49},[86088],{"text":86089,"type":596},"The Department for Business and Trade said experts on the committee will help build “resilient supply chains” to support green industries and jobs in the UK. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86091,"content":86092},{"textAlign":49},[86093],{"text":86094,"type":596},"The taskforce was announced as part of the March update to the UK’s critical minerals strategy, which was first published in July 2022. The update said the committee will “investigate the critical mineral dependencies and vulnerabilities across UK industry sectors.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":86096,"content":86097},{"textAlign":49},[86098],{"text":86099,"type":596},"“The committee has been tasked to create and action a critical minerals blueprint for the energy transition,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":86101,"content":86102},{"textAlign":49},[86103],{"text":86104,"type":596},"“It is a clear message to the world that the UK is readying itself for the energy transition with joined up thinking on the critical minerals and mining that will power a shift away from fossil fuels.”",{"type":591,"attrs":86106,"content":86107},{"textAlign":49},[86108],{"text":86109,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries and their critical mineral inputs are at the centre of this challenge, Moores added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86111,"content":86112},{"textAlign":49},[86113],{"text":86114,"type":596},"“Benchmark will add real impetus to the highest level of UK decision making on the energy transition and our invitation to join the committee is an honour,” he said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":86116,"content":86117},{"textAlign":49},[86118],{"text":86119,"type":596},"“Moments like this is what Benchmark was built for, something we have led other countries with, and are ready to provide the world’s most trusted market prices, data and advice to this decision making process. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86121,"content":86122},{"textAlign":49},[86123],{"text":86124,"type":596},"“I would like to thank Minister Nusrat Ghani and Katherine Bennett CBE for their leadership on one of the most crucial industrial growth engines of our time.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":86126,"content":86127},{"textAlign":49},[86128],{"text":86129,"type":596},"If you are industry participant and would like to connect with the UK government on this subject, please email: contact@benchmarkminerals.com ","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has been invited to join the UK’s newly formed critical minerals taskforce, which will look at ensuring supply of the minerals needed for a green transition. The Department for Business and Trade said experts on the committee will help build “resilient supply chains” to support green industries and jobs in the UK. […]",[86132],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86133},{"job_title":557,"image":86134,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"278795f7-5e5f-45ea-895e-cfe69c7619dc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86137,86138],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86140,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86141,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c5b343ccc9/bm-uk-ev-charging.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 24, 2023",{"id":86144,"uuid":86145,"name":86146,"slug":86147,"full_slug":86148,"content":86149},112471470828128,"10cfd6de-dcc0-4f27-8f90-b80ddf6409a5","LG Chem, Huayou Cobalt’s $900 million precursor plant latest test of IRA","lg-chem-huayou-cobalts-900-million-precursor-plant-latest-test-of-ira","article/lg-chem-huayou-cobalts-900-million-precursor-plant-latest-test-of-ira",{"_uid":86150,"date":86151,"tags":86152,"editor":86159,"content":86163,"excerpt":86285,"featured":51,"reporter":86286,"_editable":86290,"component":697,"seo_title":86146,"categories":86291,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86295,"seo_description":86285,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86298},"a1580915-e29a-4bfc-85fb-9fc978e4be83","2023-04-21 00:00",[86153,86154,86157,86158],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":86155,"name":86156},"huayou-cobalt","Huayou Cobalt",{"slug":30730,"name":30731},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[86160],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86161},{"job_title":557,"image":86162,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86164},[86165,86170,86175,86188,86193,86205,86210,86217,86222,86227,86232,86245,86250,86255,86260,86265,86270,86275,86280],{"type":591,"attrs":86166,"content":86167},{"textAlign":49},[86168],{"text":86169,"type":596},"LG Chem said it will invest 1.2 trillion won ($900 million) with Huayou Cobalt in a new joint venture to build a pCAM plant for the electric vehicle supply chain in South Korea, a move that that could test be another test of the partnership’s eligibility for the US Inflation Reduction Act. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86171,"content":86172},{"textAlign":49},[86173],{"text":86174,"type":596},"While the investment will help LG Chem refine metals at home and lower reliance on importing the precursor material from China, it would also likely test whether such a joint venture could qualify the requirements to secure subsidies under the IRA,  especially the provision against “foreign entities of concern” being involved in the battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86176,"content":86177},{"textAlign":49},[86178,86180,86186],{"text":86179,"type":596},"The move also highlights the deepening relations between LG Chem and Huayou Cobalt as they look to expand presence in the higher-value cathode supply chain. The Chinese company had last year said it would ",{"text":86181,"type":596,"marks":86182},"acquire a 49% stake",[86183],{"type":606,"attrs":86184},{"href":86185,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-huayou-expands-to-south-korea-with-lg-cathode-stake",{"text":86187,"type":596}," in LG Chem’s cathode plant in South Korea. For LG Chem, ties with Huayou also ensures it has enough supplies of battery raw materials such as cobalt and nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":86189,"content":86190},{"textAlign":49},[86191],{"text":86192,"type":596},"IRA concerns",{"type":591,"attrs":86194,"content":86195},{"textAlign":49},[86196,86198,86203],{"text":86197,"type":596},"The announcement from the world’s second largest battery maker follows the US Treasury’s finalised rules announced ",{"text":72069,"type":596,"marks":86199},[86200],{"type":606,"attrs":86201},{"href":86202,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1379",{"text":86204,"type":596}," on the IRA’s tax credits and how they should be implemented. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86206,"content":86207},{"textAlign":49},[86208],{"text":86209,"type":596},"Starting 2025 eligible electric vehicles will not have any critical minerals that were extracted, processed, or recycled by a foreign entity of concern, according to the US Department of the Treasury. The department plans to issue a subsequent guidance to define foreign entities of concern. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86211,"content":86212},{"textAlign":49},[86213],{"type":836,"attrs":86214},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":86215,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":86216},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3ae02a677d/bm-lg-chem-forecast.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":86218,"content":86219},{"textAlign":49},[86220],{"text":86221,"type":596},"The US Department of Commerce however interprets under the CHIPS and Science Act a partner as a foreign entity of concern if it owns 25% or more of equity in a joint venture. While South Korea has a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, a joint venture with a Chinese firm could still be seen as a foreign entity of concern.",{"type":591,"attrs":86223,"content":86224},{"textAlign":49},[86225],{"text":86226,"type":596},"The IRA requires electric vehicle makers to extract or process a certain percentage of the value of the critical battery minerals from countries with which the US has a FTA to obtain $3,750 in electric vehicle tax credits. To obtain the other $3,750 a certain percentage of the battery components have to be manufactured in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86228,"content":86229},{"textAlign":49},[86230],{"text":86231,"type":596},"Growing South Korean, Chinese partnership",{"type":591,"attrs":86233,"content":86234},{"textAlign":49},[86235,86237,86243],{"text":86236,"type":596},"A similar venture was announced last month for a ",{"text":86238,"type":596,"marks":86239},"battery precursor plant in South Korea",[86240],{"type":606,"attrs":86241},{"href":86242,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-gem-aims-for-us-ira-compliance-with-sk-ecopro-south-korea-precursor-plant",{"text":86244,"type":596}," with SK On, EcoPro and China’s largest battery recycling company GEM.",{"type":591,"attrs":86246,"content":86247},{"textAlign":49},[86248],{"text":86249,"type":596},"Shenzhen-listed GEM however agreed to lower its equity ownership in the venture to satisfy the requirements to obtain tax credits under the US IRA. GEM initially aimed to have a 49% stake in the project, with SK On and EcoPro each owning a 25.5% stake. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86251,"content":86252},{"textAlign":49},[86253],{"text":86254,"type":596},"Further, a joint venture between South Korean steel maker Posco’s subsidiary Posco HY Clean Metal and Huayou Cobalt for battery recycling began operations recently. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86256,"content":86257},{"textAlign":49},[86258],{"text":86259,"type":596},"At present, South Korea imports the bulk of its precursor materials (PCAM) from China where 69% of the world’s nickel sulphate and 65% of the world’s cobalt is refined, according to Benchmark estimates. South Korea is also heavily reliant on the Chinese supply chain for raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":86261,"content":86262},{"textAlign":49},[86263],{"text":86264,"type":596},"South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to take up the issue with his US counterpart Joe Biden during his official visit to Washington on April 26. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86266,"content":86267},{"textAlign":49},[86268],{"text":86269,"type":596},"LG Chem’s precursor plan",{"type":591,"attrs":86271,"content":86272},{"textAlign":49},[86273],{"text":86274,"type":596},"LG Chem said the new plant will be built in Saemangeum, Gunsan, a port city based in southwest of Seoul. The construction will begin this year and have an annual precursor production of 50,000 tonnes by 2026 in the first phase, enough to make cathodes to power half a million electric vehicles. The company plans to ramp up production to 100,000 tonnes in the second phase.",{"type":591,"attrs":86276,"content":86277},{"textAlign":49},[86278],{"text":86279,"type":596},"The Saemangeum plant will also be equipped with a metal refiner to produce metal sulphates, which are the key ingredients for precursor production.",{"type":591,"attrs":86281,"content":86282},{"textAlign":49},[86283],{"text":86284,"type":596},"Precursors are compounds consisting of nickel, cobalt and manganese and are critical for making cathodes for use within electric vehicle batteries. ","LG Chem said it will invest 1.2 trillion won ($900 million) with Huayou Cobalt in a new joint venture to build a pCAM plant for the electric vehicle supply chain in South Korea, a move that that could test be another test of the partnership’s eligibility for the US Inflation Reduction Act. While the investment […]",[86287],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86288},{"job_title":557,"image":86289,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a1580915-e29a-4bfc-85fb-9fc978e4be83\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86292,86293,86294],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86296,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86297,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd692e7363/bm-lg-towers-2-2-e1579274709383.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 21, 2023",{"id":86300,"uuid":86301,"name":86302,"slug":86303,"full_slug":86304,"content":86305},112471465957983,"09a4c71f-d842-4fb4-9bed-9f3e195e7870","Chile plans to take control of lithium mining via public-private partnership","chile-plans-to-take-control-of-lithium-mining-via-public-private-partnership","article/chile-plans-to-take-control-of-lithium-mining-via-public-private-partnership",{"_uid":86306,"date":86151,"tags":86307,"editor":86309,"content":86313,"excerpt":86462,"featured":51,"reporter":86463,"_editable":86467,"component":697,"seo_title":86302,"categories":86468,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86472,"seo_description":86462,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86298},"37d370a5-a3a7-40b4-8c5b-3385d3ce4ebc",[86308],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},[86310],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86311},{"job_title":557,"image":86312,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86314},[86315,86336,86341,86346,86351,86356,86361,86366,86371,86388,86395,86400,86412,86417,86422,86427,86432,86437,86442,86447,86452,86457],{"type":591,"attrs":86316,"content":86317},{"textAlign":49},[86318,86320,86326,86328,86334],{"text":86319,"type":596},"Chile’s President Gabriel Boric on Thursday announced a ",{"text":86321,"type":596,"marks":86322},"long awaited formal strategy",[86323],{"type":606,"attrs":86324},{"href":86325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chiles-lithium-growth-challenged-by-political-uncertainty",{"text":86327,"type":596}," to tap the country’s vast lithium reserves including trying out ",{"text":86329,"type":596,"marks":86330},"public-private partnerships",[86331],{"type":606,"attrs":86332},{"href":86333,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-byd-wins-chile-lithium-tender-incoming-president-pushes-nationalisation",{"text":86335,"type":596}," with state control, a move aimed to claw back the country’s control over lithium production amid a global race to secure critical battery materials and resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":86337,"content":86338},{"textAlign":49},[86339],{"text":86340,"type":596},"Boric, who had campaigned on pledges to create a state-owned lithium company and achieve that goal in three years, said the state would participate in the country’s national lithium strategy and that future lithium contracts would only be issued as public-private partnerships with state control.",{"type":591,"attrs":86342,"content":86343},{"textAlign":49},[86344],{"text":86345,"type":596},"“Chile has one of the largest reserves of lithium in the world, a mineral that is used in storage batteries of electric cars and buses and is key in the fight against climate crisis and an opportunity for economic growth,” Boric said in a televised address.",{"type":591,"attrs":86347,"content":86348},{"textAlign":49},[86349],{"text":86350,"type":596},"Boric did not spell out the details on percentage stake held by public and private entities.",{"type":591,"attrs":86352,"content":86353},{"textAlign":49},[86354],{"text":86355,"type":596},"“Chile have been talking about nationalising their lithium assets for some while, and we already see a similar structure for their copper and gold output,” said Daisy Jennings-Gray, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":86357,"content":86358},{"textAlign":49},[86359],{"text":86360,"type":596},"“There is no clarity yet because the approach the state-owned company will take hasn’t been fully outlined, but it sounds like there will remain space for private investors,” said Gray.",{"type":591,"attrs":86362,"content":86363},{"textAlign":49},[86364],{"text":86365,"type":596},"Still, the announcement which comes just a year after Boric joined office could lend policy stability and make way for expansion and investments beyond lithium mining giants SQM and Albemarle in Chile’s lithium industry albeit with more state control.",{"type":591,"attrs":86367,"content":86368},{"textAlign":49},[86369],{"text":86370,"type":596},"The world’s second largest producer could still fall behind neighbour Argentina by 2030 in terms of lithium production if all planned capacity comes online.",{"type":591,"attrs":86372,"content":86373},{"textAlign":49},[86374,86376,86380,86382,86386],{"text":86375,"type":596},"Argentina is forecast to see a more than ten-fold increase in supply by 2030 according to ",{"text":40761,"type":596,"marks":86377},[86378],{"type":606,"attrs":86379},{"href":75082,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86381,"type":596},", thanks to investments from Chinese players as well as mining giant ",{"text":15831,"type":596,"marks":86383},[86384],{"type":606,"attrs":86385},{"href":79758,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86387,"type":596}," among others.",{"type":591,"attrs":86389,"content":86390},{"textAlign":49},[86391],{"type":836,"attrs":86392},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":86393,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":86394},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7950715f4d/bm-argentina-challenges-chile-dominance.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":86396,"content":86397},{"textAlign":49},[86398],{"text":86399,"type":596},"Eye on environmental aspects",{"type":591,"attrs":86401,"content":86402},{"textAlign":49},[86403,86405,86411],{"text":86404,"type":596},"The 36-year old Boric also pledged to address the environmental aspects by using new extraction technologies to minimise the ",{"text":86406,"type":596,"marks":86407},"impact on ecosystems of the salt flats",[86408],{"type":606,"attrs":86409},{"href":86410,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/hard-rock-vs-brine-how-do-their-carbon-curves-compare",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":86413,"content":86414},{"textAlign":49},[86415],{"text":86416,"type":596},"“We will promote research to know how to take better care of them. For this we will establish a network of protection of salt flats. Complying with this the commitment of 30% of ecosystems protected by 2030,” Boric said.",{"type":591,"attrs":86418,"content":86419},{"textAlign":49},[86420],{"text":86421,"type":596},"Boric laid emphasis on extraction, preservation as well as generation of value-added lithium products. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86423,"content":86424},{"textAlign":49},[86425],{"text":86426,"type":596},"“A responsible ownership and a responsible development of natural resources is a good thing. But such rules that are focused on ESG will deter investment. But at the same time, they have some world class brine that should sort of cancel that out,” said Cameron Perks, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":86428,"content":86429},{"textAlign":49},[86430],{"text":86431,"type":596},"“They’re acting in a national self-interest and they want to do value-added lithium products. It may be naive as they don’t understand the risks and the difficulties involved,” said Perks. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86433,"content":86434},{"textAlign":49},[86435],{"text":86436,"type":596},"Chile plans to use direct lithium extraction (DLE) rather than large evaporation ponds, using technology from China’s SunResin. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86438,"content":86439},{"textAlign":49},[86440],{"text":86441,"type":596},"SQM, Albemarle’s role",{"type":591,"attrs":86443,"content":86444},{"textAlign":49},[86445],{"text":86446,"type":596},"Both Albemarle and SQM currently control the lithium production in Chile. Benchmark forecasts that output from their operations in Chile will account for  24% of the global lithium market this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":86448,"content":86449},{"textAlign":49},[86450],{"text":86451,"type":596},"Boric, without naming the companies, said his government does not plan to cancel any contracts and expects they would participate in public-private partnerships when the time comes.",{"type":591,"attrs":86453,"content":86454},{"textAlign":49},[86455],{"text":86456,"type":596},"SQM has a contract with Chile until 2030 and Albemarle until 2043. Last year, SQM contributed more than $5 billion to Chile’s treasury, thanks to higher lithium prices. Albemarle paid a commission of 40% per tonne of lithium, according to regulatory documents.",{"type":591,"attrs":86458,"content":86459},{"textAlign":49},[86460],{"text":86461,"type":596},"Chile’s government already operates Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer. The state-owned copper mining company contributed $482 million towards the Chilean treasury in 2022, regulatory documents show. Codelco owns 28% in Chilean copper mines while the rest is owned and operated by private mining companies. ","Chile’s President Gabriel Boric on Thursday announced a long awaited formal strategy to tap the country’s vast lithium reserves including trying out public-private partnerships with state control, a move aimed to claw back the country’s control over lithium production amid a global race to secure critical battery materials and resources. Boric, who had campaigned on […]",[86464],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86465},{"job_title":557,"image":86466,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"37d370a5-a3a7-40b4-8c5b-3385d3ce4ebc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86469,86470,86471],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86473,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86474,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b180ee117c/bm-shutterstock-47402794-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":86476,"uuid":86477,"name":86478,"slug":86479,"full_slug":86480,"content":86481},112471461177950,"0d1b9eb0-c994-4309-a724-57e737121ad8","China’s biggest cell makers back sodium ion for auto industry","chinas-biggest-cell-makers-back-sodium-ion-for-auto-industry","article/chinas-biggest-cell-makers-back-sodium-ion-for-auto-industry",{"_uid":86482,"date":86151,"tags":86483,"editor":86490,"content":86494,"excerpt":86615,"featured":50,"reporter":86616,"_editable":86620,"component":697,"seo_title":86478,"categories":86621,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86625,"seo_description":86615,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86298},"34f866eb-aa75-4d4e-ad4f-bcdd3804bf5d",[86484,86485,86486,86487,86488,86489],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[86491],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86492},{"job_title":557,"image":86493,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86495},[86496,86501,86513,86518,86530,86535,86540,86545,86550,86555,86560,86572,86584,86589,86594,86605,86610],{"type":591,"attrs":86497,"content":86498},{"textAlign":49},[86499],{"text":86500,"type":596},"CATL and BYD, China’s leading lithium ion cell producers, both announced sodium ion batteries for electric vehicles at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show.",{"type":591,"attrs":86502,"content":86503},{"textAlign":49},[86504,86506,86511],{"text":86505,"type":596},"Sodium ion batteries have the potential to be ",{"text":86507,"type":596,"marks":86508},"lower cost than lithium ion batteries once production is scaled up",[86509],{"type":606,"attrs":86510},{"href":80846,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86512,"type":596},", but generally have lower energy densities meaning they have shorter ranges.",{"type":591,"attrs":86514,"content":86515},{"textAlign":49},[86516],{"text":86517,"type":596},"CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, will supply its sodium ion batteries to Chinese automaker Chery. Meanwhile, BYD, China’s leading electric car maker and second largest battery producer, will produce its own sodium ion batteries for its entry-level EV, the Seagull.",{"type":591,"attrs":86519,"content":86520},{"textAlign":49},[86521,86523,86528],{"text":86522,"type":596},"“The promotion and planned commercial production of sodium ion cells for EV applications by the two largest global cell producers by capacity represents a ",{"text":86524,"type":596,"marks":86525},"huge step forward for the development of the market",[86526],{"type":606,"attrs":86527},{"href":80879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86529,"type":596},",” Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":86531,"content":86532},{"textAlign":49},[86533],{"text":86534,"type":596},"CATL and BYD enter sodium space",{"type":591,"attrs":86536,"content":86537},{"textAlign":49},[86538],{"text":86539,"type":596},"The two incumbents are not the first to put a sodium ion battery in a car.",{"type":591,"attrs":86541,"content":86542},{"textAlign":49},[86543],{"text":86544,"type":596},"Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle, a Chinese automaker majority owned by Renault, has a model in the pipeline powered by sodium ion batteries produced by Farasis due to go on sale later this year. JAC Motors also has a prototype EV using sodium batteries produced by HiNa Battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":86546,"content":86547},{"textAlign":49},[86548],{"text":86549,"type":596},"But the backing of such large players in the battery space sends strong signals to the market that sodium ion batteries are coming for EV applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":86551,"content":86552},{"textAlign":49},[86553],{"text":86554,"type":596},"Given the size of CATL, it is likely that it will be able to produce sodium ion batteries at a lower cost compared to Farasis and HiNa, according to Nicole Peng, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":86556,"content":86557},{"textAlign":49},[86558],{"text":86559,"type":596},"“Companies such as CATL have the market share and influence in the supply chain to advance the downstream uptake of sodium ion cells, and will contribute significantly towards maturing the sodium ion battery supply chain,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":86561,"content":86562},{"textAlign":49},[86563,86565,86570],{"text":86564,"type":596},"A notable component of BYD’s announcement at the Shanghai Auto Show was the price. Starting at just $11,300, the Seagull is targeting the ",{"text":86566,"type":596,"marks":86567},"low end of the EV market",[86568],{"type":606,"attrs":86569},{"href":67806,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86571,"type":596},". The car is a compact hatchback available with 30 or 38 kilowatt-hour batteries. Although the larger battery will be lithium ion, the 30 kWh battery will be a sodium ion battery and have a range of 306 km (190 miles).",{"type":591,"attrs":86573,"content":86574},{"textAlign":49},[86575,86577,86582],{"text":86576,"type":596},"CATL’s sodium ion batteries were ",{"text":86578,"type":596,"marks":86579},"first announced in 2021",[86580],{"type":606,"attrs":86581},{"href":80909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86583,"type":596},", and will be used in the Chery’s iCar brand, though it is as yet unknown which model this will be for.",{"type":591,"attrs":86585,"content":86586},{"textAlign":49},[86587],{"text":86588,"type":596},"Both BYD and CATL say they will begin mass production later this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":86590,"content":86591},{"textAlign":49},[86592],{"text":86593,"type":596},"CATL asserts next gen commitment",{"type":591,"attrs":86595,"content":86596},{"textAlign":49},[86597,86599,86604],{"text":86598,"type":596},"At the Shanghai Auto Show, CATL also firmly staked its ambitions for another next-generation battery technology: ",{"text":86600,"type":596,"marks":86601},"solid state batteries",[86602],{"type":606,"attrs":86603},{"href":63117,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":86606,"content":86607},{"textAlign":49},[86608],{"text":86609,"type":596},"At the show, CATL announced a 500 Wh/kg semi-solid state battery that could power civil aircraft. This level of mass energy density is unprecedented.",{"type":591,"attrs":86611,"content":86612},{"textAlign":49},[86613],{"text":86614,"type":596},"“The most important point is there’s innovation in the cathode, anode and electrolyte for this technology if it is hitting the performance that they’re claiming,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark, said.","CATL and BYD, China’s leading lithium ion cell producers, both announced sodium ion batteries for electric vehicles at this year’s Shanghai Auto Show. Sodium ion batteries have the potential to be lower cost than lithium ion batteries once production is scaled up, but generally have lower energy densities meaning they have shorter ranges. CATL, the […]",[86617],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86618},{"job_title":557,"image":86619,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"34f866eb-aa75-4d4e-ad4f-bcdd3804bf5d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86622,86623,86624],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86626,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86627,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/616f80da57/bm-chery-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":86629,"uuid":86630,"name":86631,"slug":86632,"full_slug":86633,"content":86634},112471486782055,"58ca3f7f-a0ae-41a9-94ee-f1ed1b0eeadd","China’s proposed export ban could threaten rare earth producer JL Mag’s Mexico recycling plant","chinas-proposed-export-ban-could-threaten-rare-earth-producer-jl-mags-mexico-recycling-plant","article/chinas-proposed-export-ban-could-threaten-rare-earth-producer-jl-mags-mexico-recycling-plant",{"_uid":86635,"date":86636,"tags":86637,"editor":86639,"content":86643,"excerpt":86750,"featured":51,"reporter":86751,"_editable":86755,"component":697,"seo_title":86631,"categories":86756,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86762,"seo_description":86750,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86765},"b2fa4026-0029-4f11-91a6-bddb6c1794d6","2023-04-20 00:00",[86638],{"slug":575,"name":576},[86640],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86641},{"job_title":557,"image":86642,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86644},[86645,86650,86655,86660,86665,86670,86675,86680,86685,86690,86695,86700,86705,86710,86715,86720,86725,86730,86735,86740,86745],{"type":591,"attrs":86646,"content":86647},{"textAlign":49},[86648],{"text":86649,"type":596},"Rare earth producer JL Mag’s plans to build a $100m recycling plant in Mexico may be threatened by a proposed ban on exporting certain magnet technologies out of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":86651,"content":86652},{"textAlign":49},[86653],{"text":86654,"type":596},"The Ganzhou, southeastern Jiangxi province-headquartered firm said last September it will construct a facility in Monterrey, Nuevo León state to process waste neodymium (NdFeB) magnetic material. It expects the volume of waste neodymium to increase globally as demand for rare earth permanent magnetic materials grows.",{"type":591,"attrs":86656,"content":86657},{"textAlign":49},[86658],{"text":86659,"type":596},"Rare earth magnets are permanent magnets made from rare earth alloys.",{"type":591,"attrs":86661,"content":86662},{"textAlign":49},[86663],{"text":86664,"type":596},"The plant, which would be first built by a Chinese rare earth producer outside of China, will have an annual recycling capacity of 5,000 tons of scrap alloy and a production output of 3,000 tons of high-performance neodymium magnet products a year, according to the company. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86666,"content":86667},{"textAlign":49},[86668],{"text":86669,"type":596},"Construction is planned to be completed in 2025. JL Mag has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Monterrey that has been operational since 13 January, according to its end of year earnings report. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86671,"content":86672},{"textAlign":49},[86673],{"text":86674,"type":596},"However, as demand grows for rare-earth metals, used in electric cars, wind turbines and other machinery, China is looking to continue to dominate processing by maintaining its technological advantage.",{"type":591,"attrs":86676,"content":86677},{"textAlign":49},[86678],{"text":86679,"type":596},"In the fourth quarter of 2022, the country accounted for 68% of rare earth mining and 94% of downstream processing according to Benchmark’s analysis. Minimal amounts of materials were processed elsewhere, principally in Malaysia and Estonia. Japan leads in making high-performance magnets from rare earths outside of China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86681,"content":86682},{"textAlign":49},[86683],{"text":86684,"type":596},"Diversifying rare earths supply chains ",{"type":591,"attrs":86686,"content":86687},{"textAlign":49},[86688],{"text":86689,"type":596},"The US produces products that use rare earth magnets, such as electric motors, robots, aeroplanes, and mobile phones. It is looking to create a supply chain for rare earth metals within its sphere of influence, and preferably within its borders. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86691,"content":86692},{"textAlign":49},[86693],{"text":86694,"type":596},"The US’s single rare earth producer, MP Materials, was up until recently selling its concentrate to China, but is due to start processing its own material. Last year they produced north of 40,000 tonnes of rare earth oxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":86696,"content":86697},{"textAlign":49},[86698],{"text":86699,"type":596},"The US Department of Defense has awarded two high-profile contracts to MP Materials and Lynas Rare Earths, at $35 million and $120 million respectively, to expand rare earth oxide (REO) separation capacity. Additionally, bill H.R. 5033 proposes to support magnet producers in the US to help them compete with their Chinese counterparts. In the long term, Benchmark forecasts active production from multiple REPM facilities in the US, notably by MP Materials in Texas and USA Rare Earths in Oklahoma. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86701,"content":86702},{"textAlign":49},[86703],{"text":86704,"type":596},"A more diversified and regionally scaled rare earth processing market will begin to take shape after 2025, particularly in Europe, North America and Australia, according to Benchmark forecasts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":86706,"content":86707},{"textAlign":49},[86708],{"text":86709,"type":596},"On Tuesday, Canada-based rare earth producer Neo Performance Materials, announced it bought the controlling interest in SG Technologies, a European manufacturer of rare-earth-based and other high-performance magnets. Neo plans to begin sintered rare earth magnet manufacturing in Estonia in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":86711,"content":86712},{"textAlign":49},[86713],{"text":86714,"type":596},"However, environmental protections and economic concerns, such as high capex requirements and low Chinese costs, together with considerable project lead times, may impact capacity addition.",{"type":591,"attrs":86716,"content":86717},{"textAlign":49},[86718],{"text":86719,"type":596},"These developments may have prompted China to update its technology export restriction list, which was last amended in 2020. In 2010, China blocked the export of rare earth metals to Japan because of a dispute over the Senkaku Islands.",{"type":591,"attrs":86721,"content":86722},{"textAlign":49},[86723],{"text":86724,"type":596},"The amendments, which could be finalised this year, would ban or limit exports of technology to process and refine rare-earth elements. Alloy tech for making high-performance magnets derived from rare earths is also expected to be included in the ban.",{"type":591,"attrs":86726,"content":86727},{"textAlign":49},[86728],{"text":86729,"type":596},"“The impact of the ban is of course dependent on the exact wording of the legislation that may come into force, but it is important to keep the structure of the global magnet market in consideration,” said Benchmark analyst Daan De Jonge.",{"type":591,"attrs":86731,"content":86732},{"textAlign":49},[86733],{"text":86734,"type":596},"“Although specialist vacuum-sintering and other magnet production equipment will likely be the focus of these export restrictions, these are readily available elsewhere. The concern surrounding the ban is therefore regarding its impact on the spread of the intellectual property itself.",{"type":591,"attrs":86736,"content":86737},{"textAlign":49},[86738],{"text":86739,"type":596},"“Banning the export of specific intellectual property would seriously complicate investments by Chinese magnet manufacturers outside of China if they look to maintain top-of-the-line manufacturing methods and standards.”",{"type":591,"attrs":86741,"content":86742},{"textAlign":49},[86743],{"text":86744,"type":596},"JL Mag’s high-performance neodymium magnet materials are mainly used in electric vehicles, permanent magnet wind motors and energy-saving inverter air conditioners.",{"type":591,"attrs":86746,"content":86747},{"textAlign":49},[86748],{"text":86749,"type":596},"“The Company plans to expand its global footprint and grasp the strategic opportunity period of upward development of the industry to proactively lay out its business in overseas markets,” it said in its 2022 earnings report.","Rare earth producer JL Mag’s plans to build a $100m recycling plant in Mexico may be threatened by a proposed ban on exporting certain magnet technologies out of China. The Ganzhou, southeastern Jiangxi province-headquartered firm said last September it will construct a facility in Monterrey, Nuevo León state to process waste neodymium (NdFeB) magnetic material. […]",[86752],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86753},{"job_title":557,"image":86754,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b2fa4026-0029-4f11-91a6-bddb6c1794d6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86757,86758,86759,86760,86761],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":86763,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86764,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ac49c43a63/bm-china-rare-earths-proposed-export-ban-benchmark.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 20, 2023",{"id":86767,"uuid":86768,"name":86769,"slug":86770,"full_slug":86771,"content":86772},112471492242026,"fdf0a66d-07d8-4cfb-bca5-ee89d25ae2f8","Cobalt stockpile set to enter market as CMOC-Gecamines DRC dispute resolved","cobalt-stockpile-set-to-enter-market-as-cmoc-gecamines-drc-dispute-resolved","article/cobalt-stockpile-set-to-enter-market-as-cmoc-gecamines-drc-dispute-resolved",{"_uid":86773,"date":86774,"tags":86775,"editor":86779,"content":86783,"excerpt":86932,"featured":51,"reporter":86933,"_editable":86937,"component":697,"seo_title":86769,"categories":86938,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":86942,"seo_description":86932,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":86946},"7e9f3b68-740a-48cc-802e-4d23b9a3add1","2023-04-19 00:00",[86776,86777,86778],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[86780],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86781},{"job_title":557,"image":86782,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86784},[86785,86790,86809,86814,86819,86827,86832,86845,86850,86855,86860,86865,86870,86875,86888,86896,86901,86912,86917,86922,86927],{"type":591,"attrs":86786,"content":86787},{"textAlign":49},[86788],{"text":86789,"type":596},"The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government has lifted its export ban on China’s CMOC ending the ten-month dispute over royalty payments between CMOC and the DRC state-owned Gécamines.",{"type":591,"attrs":86791,"content":86792},{"textAlign":49},[86793,86795,86800,86802,86807],{"text":86794,"type":596},"CMOC continued to operate the mine during the export ban leading to a stockpile of at least ",{"text":86796,"type":596,"marks":86797},"16,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide",[86798],{"type":606,"attrs":86799},{"href":83023,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86801,"type":596}," Benchmark estimates. With the dispute resolved, this material is now able to ",{"text":86803,"type":596,"marks":86804},"enter the cobalt market",[86805],{"type":606,"attrs":86806},{"href":83046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86808,"type":596}," which is already expected to be in surplus until 2026, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":86810,"content":86811},{"textAlign":49},[86812],{"text":86813,"type":596},"This quantity of cobalt will take at least a year to clear and is likely to put downward pressure on cobalt prices which have already dropped 75% from their peak last April.",{"type":591,"attrs":86815,"content":86816},{"textAlign":49},[86817],{"text":86818,"type":596},"“On the one hand, this pending tsunami of product has already been baked into today’s bearish prices,” Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, head of prices, data and indices at Benchmark, said. “However, further price erosion through quarter two is likely as suppliers race to offload tonnage before CMOC fully resumes exports.”",{"type":591,"attrs":86820,"content":86821},{"textAlign":49},[86822],{"type":836,"attrs":86823},{"id":49,"alt":86824,"src":86825,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":86826},"Cobalt market is in surplus for next few years","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/444584225f/bm-cobalt-market-balance.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":86828,"content":86829},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[86830],{"text":86831,"type":596},"Resolved dispute",{"type":591,"attrs":86833,"content":86834},{"textAlign":49},[86835,86837,86843],{"text":86836,"type":596},"In July last year, the DRC government banned CMOC from exporting copper and cobalt from Tenke Fungurume, accusing CMOC of misrepresenting the size of the ",{"text":86838,"type":596,"marks":86839},"reserves at its mine",[86840],{"type":606,"attrs":86841},{"href":86842,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/congo-court-ejects-china-moly-from-tenke-cobalt-mine",{"text":86844,"type":596},", thus impacting the royalty payments to Gécamines–the state-owned company with a 20% stake in the mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":86846,"content":86847},{"textAlign":49},[86848],{"text":86849,"type":596},"There have been growing concerns from within the DRC that Chinese companies have undue influence over mining in the country. Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast shows that Chinese firms have stakes in 18 of the 27 operating cobalt producing assets in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":86851,"content":86852},{"textAlign":49},[86853],{"text":86854,"type":596},"This move highlighted the seriousness with which the DRC government is addressing concerns that Chinese companies have disproportionately large amounts of influence over mining in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":86856,"content":86857},{"textAlign":49},[86858],{"text":86859,"type":596},"“I think part of it is setting an example to other producers in the region, saying ‘don’t mess with us’,” Harry Fisher, a project manager at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":86861,"content":86862},{"textAlign":49},[86863],{"text":86864,"type":596},"A note on the Hong Kong Exchange published by CMOC yesterday said that the dispute had been resolved and that the company planned to begin exporting again later this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":86866,"content":86867},{"textAlign":49},[86868],{"text":86869,"type":596},"The DRC accounted for 73% of the total mined supply of cobalt in 2022. Of this, 13% came from the Tenke Fungurume mine, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":86871,"content":86872},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[86873],{"text":86874,"type":596},"Downward pressure on cobalt prices",{"type":591,"attrs":86876,"content":86877},{"textAlign":49},[86878,86880,86886],{"text":86879,"type":596},"Last April, ",{"text":86881,"type":596,"marks":86882},"cobalt hydroxide prices hit a three-year high",[86883],{"type":606,"attrs":86884},{"href":86885,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-fall-by-a-third-since-april-ending-two-year-price-rally",{"text":86887,"type":596}," of $76,145 per tonne ($34.54 per pound), according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment. Since then, they have dropped 75% to just $18,519 per tonne ($8.40 per pound) this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":86889,"content":86890},{"textAlign":49},[86891],{"type":836,"attrs":86892},{"id":49,"alt":86893,"src":86894,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":86895},"Cobalt prices have been falling since April last year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/095a24817f/bm-cobal-hydrxide-price-graph.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":86897,"content":86898},{"textAlign":49},[86899],{"text":86900,"type":596},"“Pricing sentiment today really is bearish,” Fletcher-Manuel said. “None of the industry players we’ve spoken to in recent days expect any meaningful uptick in values until later in the year at the earliest”",{"type":591,"attrs":86902,"content":86903},{"textAlign":49},[86904,86906,86910],{"text":86905,"type":596},"If prices do fall further, then this could cause difficulty for all but the largest players such as CMOC and ",{"text":5838,"type":596,"marks":86907},[86908],{"type":606,"attrs":86909},{"href":84417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86911,"type":596},", which had the largest cobalt production in the DRC last year. Such companies are able to supplement their revenue stream from other business areas that aren’t accessible to the smaller players.",{"type":591,"attrs":86913,"content":86914},{"textAlign":49},[86915],{"text":86916,"type":596},"“Even with current hydroxide prices, middle tier producers will be making little to no margin,” Fletcher-Manuel said. “Of course, if enough higher cost producers are forced to cut output then this could mean that in six months, eight months, nine months, you’ll have a bit of a rebalancing of the supply-demand dynamic, which could support some price firming.”",{"type":591,"attrs":86918,"content":86919},{"textAlign":49},[86920],{"text":86921,"type":596},"There’s also an opportunity for arbitrage, according to Fletcher-Manuel. Cobalt metal prices are still relatively high, so the few Chinese cobalt processors with the capability to do so could buy cheap cobalt hydroxide and convert it into cobalt metal with strong margins.",{"type":591,"attrs":86923,"content":86924},{"textAlign":49},[86925],{"text":86926,"type":596},"The low price could also be a boon for cobalt sulphate and cathode producers who are likely to buy large quantities of cheap material, further impacting supply-demand dynamics.",{"type":591,"attrs":86928,"content":86929},{"textAlign":49},[86930],{"text":86931,"type":596},"“It would be logical for cobalt sulphate and cathode manufacturers with sufficient warehousing capacity and cashflow to buy ahead,” Fletcher-Manuel said. “However, growing inventories in the midstream would hurt spot sales later in the year, and producers know this. Therefore, where the market ends up is really down to whether major suppliers maintain a level of price discipline or adopt a ‘volume over prices’ sales strategy.”","The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government has lifted its export ban on China’s CMOC ending the ten-month dispute over royalty payments between CMOC and the DRC state-owned Gécamines. CMOC continued to operate the mine during the export ban leading to a stockpile of at least 16,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide Benchmark estimates. With the dispute […]",[86934],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86935},{"job_title":557,"image":86936,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7e9f3b68-740a-48cc-802e-4d23b9a3add1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[86939,86940,86941],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":86943,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":86943,"source":547,"filename":86944,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":86945,"is_external_url":51},"Puzzle with flags of China and the DRC","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/de0103c04c/bm-shutterstock-370655918-1.jpg",{"alt":86943,"title":86943,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 19, 2023",{"id":86948,"uuid":86949,"name":86950,"slug":86951,"full_slug":86952,"content":86953},112471506917999,"1a224b03-eaeb-404e-b648-a8c5d4a9d341","NCM 811 cathode production in deficit from next year","ncm-811-cathode-production-in-deficit-from-next-year","article/ncm-811-cathode-production-in-deficit-from-next-year",{"_uid":86954,"date":86955,"tags":86956,"editor":86959,"content":86963,"excerpt":87080,"featured":51,"reporter":87081,"_editable":87085,"component":697,"seo_title":86950,"categories":87086,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":87089,"featured_image":87092,"seo_description":87080,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":87095},"bf4f0420-68c6-4e22-bc46-2c11ad3cde24","2023-04-14 00:00",[86957,86958],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":9121,"name":9122},[86960],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":86961},{"job_title":557,"image":86962,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":86964},[86965,86978,87014,87019,87027,87032,87037,87044,87056],{"type":591,"attrs":86966,"content":86967},{"textAlign":49},[86968,86970,86976],{"text":86969,"type":596},"High nickel cathode chemistries have seen robust growth in recent years and are forecast to continue to grow in popularity, as ",{"text":86971,"type":596,"marks":86972},"demand for more powerful electric vehicle batteries",[86973],{"type":606,"attrs":86974},{"href":86975,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/manganese-demand-rising-as-alternative-cathode-chemistries-gain-popularity",{"text":86977,"type":596}," continues to increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":86979,"content":86980},{"textAlign":49},[86981,86983,86987,86988,86993,86994,86998,87000,87006,87008,87013],{"text":86982,"type":596},"But production of the lithium, ",{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":86984},[86985],{"type":606,"attrs":86986},{"href":81652,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":4907,"type":596,"marks":86989},[86990],{"type":606,"attrs":86991},{"href":86992,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/umicore-to-introduce-manganese-rich-high-lithium-cathode-by-2026",{"text":9014,"type":596},{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":86995},[86996],{"type":606,"attrs":86997},{"href":83023,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":86999,"type":596}," (NCM) cathode chemistry with the highest nickel content, NCM 811, is not expected to keep up with ",{"text":87001,"type":596,"marks":87002},"this demand.",[87003],{"type":606,"attrs":87004},{"href":87005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-how-ev-choice-affects-lithium-nickel-and-cobalt-demand",{"text":87007,"type":596}," Next year is forecast to be the first time NCM 811 production will be lower than demand, according to ",{"text":19064,"type":596,"marks":87009},[87010],{"type":606,"attrs":87011},{"href":87012,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cathode-prices-fall-for-first-time-since-may-on-weaker-demand",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":87015,"content":87016},{"textAlign":49},[87017],{"text":87018,"type":596},"“Demand for NCM 811 is growing rapidly, particularly in the EV market where the high-nickel chemistry can provide higher energy densities for longer ranges,” Rob Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Although NCM 811 production capacity buildout is strong, it can’t keep up with the soaring demand.”",{"type":591,"attrs":87020,"content":87021},{"textAlign":49},[87022],{"type":836,"attrs":87023},{"id":49,"alt":87024,"src":87025,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87026},"NCM811 to enter deficit next year","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ebe02cd82d/bm-ncm-market-balance.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":87028,"content":87029},{"textAlign":49},[87030],{"text":87031,"type":596},"In 2020, just 4.3% of global cathode demand was for NCM 811. This year it will be 18%, making it the second most in demand cathode chemistry after lithium iron phosphate (LFP).",{"type":591,"attrs":87033,"content":87034},{"textAlign":49},[87035],{"text":87036,"type":596},"By 2030, NCM 811 is expected to make up a third of global cathode demand but just 22% of global cathode production. This will put the NCM 811 market almost a million tonnes in deficit that year.",{"type":591,"attrs":87038,"content":87039},{"textAlign":49},[87040],{"type":836,"attrs":87041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":87042,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87043},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4898404979/bm-image-123-1344134d5b4a.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":87045,"content":87046},{"textAlign":49},[87047,87049,87054],{"text":87048,"type":596},"This year, China produced 77% of NCM 811 globally, with South Korea producing the majority of the rest. In 2030, ",{"text":76134,"type":596,"marks":87050},[87051],{"type":606,"attrs":87052},{"href":87053,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-stronghold-grip-on-cathodes-set-to-near-90-by-2030",{"text":87055,"type":596}," will subside somewhat but still make up the majority of production at 52%.",{"type":591,"attrs":87057,"content":87058},{"textAlign":49},[87059,87061,87066,87067,87071,87073,87079],{"text":87060,"type":596},"“China currently has the largest supply pipeline for NCM 811 globally, but even this won’t cope with demand from other regions,” Burrell said. “",{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":87062},[87063],{"type":606,"attrs":87064},{"href":87065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lg-chem-tennessee-cathode-plant-could-double-north-american-production",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":87068},[87069],{"type":606,"attrs":87070},{"href":70416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87072,"type":596},", therefore, need a more immediate ramp-up schedule if they are to ",{"text":87074,"type":596,"marks":87075},"keep up with domestic demand",[87076],{"type":606,"attrs":87077},{"href":87078,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-looming-us-and-europe-cathode-shortage",{"text":44193,"type":596},"High nickel cathode chemistries have seen robust growth in recent years and are forecast to continue to grow in popularity, as demand for more powerful electric vehicle batteries continues to increase. But production of the lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NCM) cathode chemistry with the highest nickel content, NCM 811, is not expected to keep […]",[87082],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87083},{"job_title":557,"image":87084,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bf4f0420-68c6-4e22-bc46-2c11ad3cde24\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[87087,87088],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87090,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87091,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1692313056/www-production/NCM-market-balance-1024x822-1/NCM-market-balance-1024x822-1.png?_i=AA",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87093,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87094,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3325e5a9dd/bm-ncm-market-balance-no-axis-129817079262.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 14, 2023",{"id":87097,"uuid":87098,"name":87099,"slug":87100,"full_slug":87101,"content":87102},112471525911157,"722744cb-fb07-47e3-b684-516900c26806","Chinese cell oversupply hits Tier 3 producers","chinese-cell-oversupply-hits-tier-3-producers","article/chinese-cell-oversupply-hits-tier-3-producers",{"_uid":87103,"date":87104,"tags":87105,"editor":87108,"content":87112,"excerpt":87256,"featured":51,"reporter":87257,"_editable":87261,"component":697,"seo_title":87099,"categories":87262,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":87265,"featured_image":87267,"seo_description":87256,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":87270},"aa40f47a-9e97-4556-97d4-1392c09934ef","2023-04-12 00:00",[87106,87107],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[87109],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87110},{"job_title":557,"image":87111,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":87113},[87114,87135,87140,87161,87173,87181,87186,87199,87219,87224,87231,87238,87247],{"type":591,"attrs":87115,"content":87116},{"textAlign":49},[87117,87119,87125,87127,87133],{"text":87118,"type":596},"Continued ",{"text":87120,"type":596,"marks":87121},"investment in China’s battery production scene",[87122],{"type":606,"attrs":87123},{"href":87124,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/investment-in-battery-gigafactories-nears-300-billion-since-2019-as-china-extends-battery-dominance",{"text":87126,"type":596}," is increasingly pushing its market into oversupply, putting strain on Tier 3 producers who are unable to access ",{"text":87128,"type":596,"marks":87129},"large global EV markets",[87130],{"type":606,"attrs":87131},{"href":87132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/shortage-of-top-tier-battery-supply-expected-this-decade",{"text":87134,"type":596}," and are forced to compete in the saturated domestic space.",{"type":591,"attrs":87136,"content":87137},{"textAlign":49},[87138],{"text":87139,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Database shows the Chinese market’s surplus will continue to grow to at least 2030. This makes the non-Chinese market vital for producers in the country to find customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":87141,"content":87142},{"textAlign":49},[87143,87145,87151,87153,87159],{"text":87144,"type":596},"But the only markets that Tier 3 producers can access globally are for ",{"text":87146,"type":596,"marks":87147},"portables",[87148],{"type":606,"attrs":87149},{"href":87150,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-fall-40-as-weak-global-economy-hits-smartphone-sales",{"text":87152,"type":596}," and some ",{"text":87154,"type":596,"marks":87155},"energy stationary storage",[87156],{"type":606,"attrs":87157},{"href":87158,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/energy-storage-is-fastest-growing-battery-market-as-government-policy-boosts-installations",{"text":87160,"type":596}," applications. Importantly, such producers cannot supply the huge, and ever-growing, electric vehicle market.",{"type":591,"attrs":87162,"content":87163},{"textAlign":49},[87164,87166,87171],{"text":87165,"type":596},"Total Chinese Tier 3 production next year is forecast to be 2% larger than the demand for Tier 3 batteries globally. By 2026, Benchmark forecasts Tier 3 production to be 31% higher than demand, even accounting for producers using ",{"text":87167,"type":596,"marks":87168},"less of their installed capacity",[87169],{"type":606,"attrs":87170},{"href":84587,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87172,"type":596}," as a result.",{"type":591,"attrs":87174,"content":87175},{"textAlign":49},[87176],{"type":836,"attrs":87177},{"id":49,"alt":87178,"src":87179,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87180},"Chinese Tier 3 producers under pressure","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c3a0a55906/bm-tier-3-china-supply-v-demand-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":87182,"content":87183},{"textAlign":49},[87184],{"text":87185,"type":596},"“Capacity continues to be added and although demand is growing in China, capacity expansions seem to be outpacing demand,” Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “The overseas market will become even more important for China to export to so they can keep production levels going, but Tier 3 producers may struggle to access export markets in the same way as Tier 1 and 2 producers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":87187,"content":87188},{"textAlign":49},[87189,87191,87197],{"text":87190,"type":596},"This is a concern for China’s president, Xi Jinping, who said regulation could be needed to prevent the Chinese battery industry from suffering “a ",{"text":87192,"type":596,"marks":87193},"boom and a headlong rush",[87194],{"type":606,"attrs":87195},{"href":87196,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/mining-investment-needs-to-catch-up-with-gigafactory-arms-race-benchmark-delegates-warn",{"text":87198,"type":596}," that would dissipate in the end.”",{"type":591,"attrs":87200,"content":87201},{"textAlign":49},[87202,87204,87210,87212,87217],{"text":87203,"type":596},"In order to remain competitive, Tier 3 producers need to qualify their cells for the global EV market and ",{"text":87205,"type":596,"marks":87206},"reach Tier 1",[87207],{"type":606,"attrs":87208},{"href":87209,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/do-automakers-face-a-tier-one-battery-supply-problem",{"text":87211,"type":596},". But this process is difficult, and even if they succeed they need to compete against the ",{"text":87213,"type":596,"marks":87214},"large battery incumbents",[87215],{"type":606,"attrs":87216},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87218,"type":596},", such as CATL, which are able to offer preferential pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":87220,"content":87221},{"textAlign":49},[87222],{"text":87223,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysts will be taking a closer look at the battery market in our upcoming webinar on Thursday 20 April – Lithium Ion Battery Economics and the Race to 1 TWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":87225,"content":87226},{"textAlign":49},[87227],{"text":87228,"type":596,"marks":87229},"Join our experts as they explore the evolution of the battery industry, key trends shaping the path to 1 TWh production and factors underpinning the long-term market outlook.",[87230],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":87232,"content":87233},{"textAlign":49},[87234],{"text":87235,"type":596,"marks":87236},"This webinar will draw from Benchmark’s first-of-its-kind Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment, as well as our comprehensive Battery Database Forecast.",[87237],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":87239,"content":87240},{"textAlign":49},[87241],{"text":87242,"type":596,"marks":87243},"Register here for the 08:00-09:00 (GMT+1) session",[87244],{"type":606,"attrs":87245},{"href":87246,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7016795048136/WN_ET1J6NJHSyWM4mYGTttQdQ",{"type":591,"attrs":87248,"content":87249},{"textAlign":49},[87250],{"text":87251,"type":596,"marks":87252},"Register here for the 15:00-16:00 (GMT+1) session",[87253],{"type":606,"attrs":87254},{"href":87255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3216795046307/WN_wMqyOEAQT5i7zH48xF11aA","Continued investment in China’s battery production scene is increasingly pushing its market into oversupply, putting strain on Tier 3 producers who are unable to access large global EV markets and are forced to compete in the saturated domestic space. Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Database shows the Chinese market’s surplus will continue to grow to […]",[87258],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87259},{"job_title":557,"image":87260,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aa40f47a-9e97-4556-97d4-1392c09934ef\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[87263,87264],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":87178,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":87178,"source":547,"filename":87179,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87266,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":87178,"title":87178,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87268,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87269,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/22bff4da87/bm-china-tier-3-featured-image-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 12, 2023",{"id":87272,"uuid":87273,"name":87274,"slug":87275,"full_slug":87276,"content":87277},112471521200755,"f01693e0-580f-4574-bdab-8df59b946b09","“We are seeing really strong interest from car manufacturers.” Q&A with Rio Tinto’s Sinead Kaufman","we-are-seeing-really-strong-interest-from-car-manufacturers-qa-with-rio-tintos-sinead-kaufman","article/we-are-seeing-really-strong-interest-from-car-manufacturers-qa-with-rio-tintos-sinead-kaufman",{"_uid":87278,"date":87104,"tags":87279,"editor":87282,"content":87286,"excerpt":87517,"featured":51,"reporter":87518,"_editable":87522,"component":697,"seo_title":87274,"categories":87523,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":87526,"seo_description":87517,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":87270},"822a815e-6daf-44ff-85d2-db5644ac851e",[87280,87281],{"slug":4347,"name":4348},{"slug":15830,"name":15831},[87283],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87284},{"job_title":557,"image":87285,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":87287},[87288,87300,87305,87325,87330,87335,87340,87345,87350,87355,87360,87365,87370,87375,87380,87385,87390,87395,87400,87405,87410,87415,87420,87425,87430,87435,87440,87445,87450,87455,87467,87472,87477,87482,87487,87492,87497,87502,87507,87512],{"type":591,"attrs":87289,"content":87290},{"textAlign":49},[87291,87293,87299],{"text":87292,"type":596},"Rio Tinto is the only large western mining company with investments in the ",{"text":87294,"type":596,"marks":87295},"lithium sector",[87296],{"type":606,"attrs":87297},{"href":87298,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-and-sk-on-outline-lithium-plans-as-shortage-fears-weigh-across-supply-chain",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":87301,"content":87302},{"textAlign":49},[87303],{"text":87304,"type":596},"The company began recovering lithium from its boron mine in California in 2019, and last March completed its acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina for $825 million. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87306,"content":87307},{"textAlign":49},[87308,87310,87316,87318,87323],{"text":87309,"type":596},"It also wants to develop the ",{"text":87311,"type":596,"marks":87312},"Jadar lithium project",[87313],{"type":606,"attrs":87314},{"href":87315,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-commits-2-4bn-to-arrive-at-lithiums-main-stage",{"text":87317,"type":596}," in Serbia, but faced a setback in January 2022 when the government ",{"text":87319,"type":596,"marks":87320},"revoked its licences",[87321],{"type":606,"attrs":87322},{"href":79876,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87324,"type":596}," to the project following widespread protests in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87326,"content":87327},{"textAlign":49},[87328],{"text":87329,"type":596},"Sinead Kaufman, chief executive of minerals at Rio Tinto, answered questions from Benchmark Source. ",{"type":615,"attrs":87331,"content":87332},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87333],{"text":87334,"type":596},"Could you give us an update on the Jadar lithium project in Serbia, what’s the latest on how to move forward with the project? ",{"type":591,"attrs":87336,"content":87337},{"textAlign":49},[87338],{"text":87339,"type":596},"We believe the Jadar Project has the potential to be a world-class asset that could support the development of other future industries in Serbia, acting as a catalyst for tens of thousands of jobs for current and future generations.",{"type":591,"attrs":87341,"content":87342},{"textAlign":49},[87343],{"text":87344,"type":596},"Rio Tinto has now been in Serbia for over 20 years and since the discovery of lithium near the town of Loznica in 2004, we are proud to have built a fantastic workforce of extremely talented Serbian people.",{"type":591,"attrs":87346,"content":87347},{"textAlign":49},[87348],{"text":87349,"type":596},"We have a great team who are listening to the community and addressing the concerns about the project while also working on an updated approach to lithium mining that would show how Serbia’s natural environment, land, air, water and soil quality, and the health and safety of local communities, would be protected. This is our focus right now.",{"type":591,"attrs":87351,"content":87352},{"textAlign":49},[87353],{"text":87354,"type":596},"Lithium presents Serbia with an opportunity to place itself at the heart of a new green industrial movement. Serbia could become an international centre for electric vehicle, battery and green energy manufacturing and innovation.",{"type":591,"attrs":87356,"content":87357},{"textAlign":49},[87358],{"text":87359,"type":596},"Should the Government of Serbia decide to reconsider its position on the project, we understand that we need to prove our commitment to delivering for all Serbians. We would work with Serbian and international partners to make Jadar the world’s best, most environmentally friendly, safe lithium project.",{"type":615,"attrs":87361,"content":87362},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87363],{"text":87364,"type":596},"You’ve said the Rincon project in Argentina will produce lithium in 2024. When will you expand production of battery-grade lithium carbonate at the site beyond the starter plant? ",{"type":591,"attrs":87366,"content":87367},{"textAlign":49},[87368],{"text":87369,"type":596},"Following completion of the $825 million Rincon acquisition, the Rio Tinto Board approved $194 million to develop a small starter battery-grade lithium carbonate plant with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year. The investment includes early works to support a full-scale operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":87371,"content":87372},{"textAlign":49},[87373],{"text":87374,"type":596},"The small starter plant is advancing . The first steps include a ramp up of camp facilities.  The new camp, needed to house the incoming workers, has made swift progress with accommodation, recreation and office areas completed. When all related services are in place, the camp will ultimately house around 500 workers.",{"type":591,"attrs":87376,"content":87377},{"textAlign":49},[87378],{"text":87379,"type":596},"The existing pilot plant has been working throughout producing battery grade lithium carbonate to enable us to test different alternatives. The pilot plant is vital to allow us to move along the learning curve providing the tools for training, testing the market variables and understanding the technology, the cornerstone of the lithium production process.",{"type":591,"attrs":87381,"content":87382},{"textAlign":49},[87383],{"text":87384,"type":596},"Another milestone in the project is the construction of an airstrip for which permits have been received and contractors mobilised, with early works in place. We are hoping to turn this improvement into a real breakthrough for the project:  whereas travelling to the remote Rincon site from Salta by car might take around five or six hours, a plane will shorten that travel time to around 40 minutes.",{"type":591,"attrs":87386,"content":87387},{"textAlign":49},[87388],{"text":87389,"type":596},"Significant progress is also being made in other areas of the project. Exploration is continuing the drilling campaign to acquire the necessary information to improve the existing knowledge of the salt flat, its brine and water resources. This is crucial to get a better picture of the whole area and resource availability.",{"type":591,"attrs":87391,"content":87392},{"textAlign":49},[87393],{"text":87394,"type":596},"There is still a lot of work ahead to optimise the development strategy, including the recovery rates and final production. We will continue to engage with local communities, the Province of Salta and the Government of Argentina to ensure open and transparent dialogue on the work plans.",{"type":615,"attrs":87396,"content":87397},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87398],{"text":87399,"type":596},"How does Rio Tinto become a meaningful player in the lithium market – will you make more acquisitions? ",{"type":591,"attrs":87401,"content":87402},{"textAlign":49},[87403],{"text":87404,"type":596},"The market fundamentals for battery grade lithium are strong with long term electric vehicle and lithium demand forecasts projecting double digit growth with a significant supply deficit from the second half of this decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":87406,"content":87407},{"textAlign":49},[87408],{"text":87409,"type":596},"We are seeing really strong interest from car manufacturers – as that awareness of supply chains and shortages comes in – wanting to talk to us about lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":87411,"content":87412},{"textAlign":49},[87413],{"text":87414,"type":596},"Diversity, security and sustainability of supply are important criteria in terms of meeting the supply gap for lithium.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":87416,"content":87417},{"textAlign":49},[87418],{"text":87419,"type":596}," Any investment we make will have to add value to the battery materials portfolio. We have clear parameters and as with any growth project around the world, no matter where it is located, Rio Tinto will assess it on its own merits and will need to demonstrate it is the best use of cash delivering the highest risk adjusted returns.",{"type":591,"attrs":87421,"content":87422},{"textAlign":49},[87423],{"text":87424,"type":596},"Finally, many of the techniques for creating a sustainable supply of lithium still need to be invented. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87426,"content":87427},{"textAlign":49},[87428],{"text":87429,"type":596},"So the big opportunity for the mining industry is to invest in technology and in doing so create new tools for: exploration, production and recovery including direct extraction technologies;  treating the leftover material from mining as a resource instead of waste; and engineering effective recycling procedures.",{"type":615,"attrs":87431,"content":87432},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87433],{"text":87434,"type":596},"How is inflation impacting costs for building Rincon and other projects?",{"type":591,"attrs":87436,"content":87437},{"textAlign":49},[87438],{"text":87439,"type":596},"Inflation is an industry-wide phenomenon and we are feeling it across the whole business.",{"type":591,"attrs":87441,"content":87442},{"textAlign":49},[87443],{"text":87444,"type":596},"Labour market pressure is acute, placing strain on skilled labour availability and retention. Labour market pressures in key Rio Tinto regions are more pronounced than what the official data releases reveal given high levels of competition for similar roles from other mining companies, geographic locations and similarly skilled competitor industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":87446,"content":87447},{"textAlign":49},[87448],{"text":87449,"type":596},"We are also proactively incurring new costs as we build up teams to successfully deliver on our strategy, to protect heritage, drive value-added growth and de-risk the business as we decarbonise in the years to come.",{"type":591,"attrs":87451,"content":87452},{"textAlign":49},[87453],{"text":87454,"type":596},"We recognise that higher costs are not going away overnight. We will remain vigilant, focussing on what we can control and the resilience of our operations .",{"type":615,"attrs":87456,"content":87457},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87458,87460,87465],{"text":87459,"type":596},"The EU has set a ",{"text":87461,"type":596,"marks":87462},"target",[87463],{"type":606,"attrs":87464},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87466,"type":596}," of meeting 10% of its critical mineral demand from within its borders – is this ambitious enough?",{"type":591,"attrs":87468,"content":87469},{"textAlign":49},[87470],{"text":87471,"type":596},"We welcome the publication of the target, but there is a long way to go. This is only the start of an essential journey.",{"type":591,"attrs":87473,"content":87474},{"textAlign":49},[87475],{"text":87476,"type":596},"Anticipated growth in demand for critical raw materials far exceeds existing supply and in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Critical minerals are fundamental to the energy transition and governments around the world are focusing efforts on securing steady and consistent critical mineral supplies, in order to achieve their economic and climate-change related goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":87478,"content":87479},{"textAlign":49},[87480],{"text":87481,"type":596},"Europe will need to recycle more, import more as well as extract more of its own resources. It is not one or the other.",{"type":591,"attrs":87483,"content":87484},{"textAlign":49},[87485],{"text":87486,"type":596},"Serbia could be one of the first European countries to mine lithium at scale and Serbian lithium can set the global benchmark for how a lithium industry can deliver country-wide benefits, without damaging the country’s natural environment and heritage.",{"type":615,"attrs":87488,"content":87489},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87490],{"text":87491,"type":596},"Can you talk about the role of nature-based solutions and carbon credits for Rio Tinto? You’ve said it forms an “integral part” of Rio Tinto’s decarbonization journey. How does this help you reach your net zero targets? ",{"type":591,"attrs":87493,"content":87494},{"textAlign":49},[87495],{"text":87496,"type":596},"Offsets will also play a role in our decarbonisation strategy and we are developing nature-based solutions at and near our sites.",{"type":591,"attrs":87498,"content":87499},{"textAlign":49},[87500],{"text":87501,"type":596},"We currently have access to more than four million hectares of land globally – that’s roughly the size of France, Germany and Turkey combined – and with natural climate solutions we can use it for not only carbon offsets, but significant biodiversity and local social and economic benefits as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":87503,"content":87504},{"textAlign":49},[87505],{"text":87506,"type":596},"There are two parts to our approach – the first relates to developing nature-based solutions at or near our assets and the second is to secure high quality carbon credits in the regions we operate in.",{"type":591,"attrs":87508,"content":87509},{"textAlign":49},[87510],{"text":87511,"type":596},"Last year, we completed studies at five high-potential landholdings within our portfolio, focused on Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, and Guinea.",{"type":591,"attrs":87513,"content":87514},{"textAlign":49},[87515],{"text":87516,"type":596}," The scale of these projects is significant, with the potential for about 500,000 hectares of land under conservation, restoration, or sustainable management – with this first round of projects generating up to 1mt CO2 offsets per year by 2030, with further reductions available in future projects.","Rio Tinto is the only large western mining company with investments in the lithium sector. The company began recovering lithium from its boron mine in California in 2019, and last March completed its acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina for $825 million. It also wants to develop the Jadar lithium project in Serbia, […]",[87519],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87520},{"job_title":557,"image":87521,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"822a815e-6daf-44ff-85d2-db5644ac851e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[87524,87525],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87527,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87528,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f1e7fdb4d/bm-sinead-kaufman.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":87530,"uuid":87531,"name":87532,"slug":87533,"full_slug":87534,"content":87535},112471530723958,"336fa504-0fdf-4db0-8401-561f0bf4c875","China’s NEV sales rise by 24% in March as price cuts stoke demand","chinas-nev-sales-rise-by-24-in-march-as-price-wars-stoke-demand","article/chinas-nev-sales-rise-by-24-in-march-as-price-wars-stoke-demand",{"_uid":87536,"date":87537,"tags":87538,"editor":87540,"content":87544,"excerpt":87611,"featured":51,"reporter":87612,"_editable":87616,"component":697,"seo_title":87532,"categories":87617,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":87619,"seo_description":87611,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":87622},"afd02471-6d22-44ce-a8c0-406486d4e142","2023-04-11 00:00",[87539],{"slug":575,"name":576},[87541],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87542},{"job_title":557,"image":87543,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":87545},[87546,87559,87564,87569,87574,87581,87586,87591,87596,87601,87606],{"type":591,"attrs":87547,"content":87548},{"textAlign":49},[87549,87551,87557],{"text":87550,"type":596},"Sales of ",{"text":87552,"type":596,"marks":87553},"new energy vehicles",[87554],{"type":606,"attrs":87555},{"href":87556,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-nev-sales-fall-by-48-in-january-hitting-battery-raw-material-prices",{"text":87558,"type":596}," in China rose by 24% in March from a month earlier as an escalating price war between leading automakers helped accelerate sales in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.",{"type":591,"attrs":87560,"content":87561},{"textAlign":49},[87562],{"text":87563,"type":596},"For the first quarter, sales of new energy vehicles rose by 27% from the same period last year to 1.59 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). ",{"type":591,"attrs":87565,"content":87566},{"textAlign":49},[87567],{"text":87568,"type":596},"The rebound in new energy vehicle sales reflects the impact of significant price cuts and discounts offered by leading automakers such as BYD, Tesla and others in recent months as well as declining battery costs due to falling prices of critical battery materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":87570,"content":87571},{"textAlign":49},[87572],{"text":87573,"type":596},"The price cuts and other promotions have created “volatility” in the market, however, CAAM warned, saying the “economic operation of the auto industry is facing great pressure.”",{"type":591,"attrs":87575,"content":87576},{"textAlign":49},[87577],{"type":836,"attrs":87578},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":87579,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87580},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aa2939d59d/bm-image-122-134413178df5.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":87582,"content":87583},{"textAlign":49},[87584],{"text":87585,"type":596},"Overall passenger car sales rose by 9.7 percent year-on-year in March to 2.45 million units, CAAM said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87587,"content":87588},{"textAlign":49},[87589],{"text":87590,"type":596},"Some automakers in China have cut prices for internal combustion engine vehicles, by as much as 50% for some models, in order to shift excess inventory, particularly in advance of new emissions standards expected to come into effect on 1 July.",{"type":591,"attrs":87592,"content":87593},{"textAlign":49},[87594],{"text":87595,"type":596},"Still overall passenger car sales fell by 7% in the first quarter to 6.08 million units, CAAM said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":87597,"content":87598},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87599],{"text":87600,"type":596},"The rise of BYD",{"type":591,"attrs":87602,"content":87603},{"textAlign":49},[87604],{"text":87605,"type":596},"China’s largest electric vehicle producer BYD continued to strengthen its position this year, selling 102,670 battery electric vehicles in March, an increase of  91% year-on-year and 13% over February.",{"type":591,"attrs":87607,"content":87608},{"textAlign":49},[87609],{"text":87610,"type":596},"Sales of new energy vehicles, which includes plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, rose by 35% in March compared to the same period a year earlier to 653,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Tuesday. The number also includes exports of electric vehicles. ","Sales of new energy vehicles in China rose by 24% in March from a month earlier as an escalating price war between leading automakers helped accelerate sales in the world’s largest electric vehicle market. For the first quarter, sales of new energy vehicles rose by 27% from the same period last year to 1.59 million […]",[87613],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87614},{"job_title":557,"image":87615,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"afd02471-6d22-44ce-a8c0-406486d4e142\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[87618],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87620,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87621,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e82758b0f7/bm-li-auto.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 11, 2023",{"id":87624,"uuid":87625,"name":87626,"slug":87627,"full_slug":87628,"content":87629},112471540492920,"7e689260-042a-4c15-8587-3f139aa5ad23","Five reasons why falling Chinese lithium prices don’t tell the whole story","five-reasons-why-falling-chinese-lithium-prices-dont-tell-the-whole-story","article/five-reasons-why-falling-chinese-lithium-prices-dont-tell-the-whole-story",{"_uid":87630,"date":87631,"tags":87632,"editor":87634,"content":87638,"excerpt":87790,"featured":51,"reporter":87791,"_editable":87795,"component":697,"seo_title":87626,"categories":87796,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":87799,"seo_description":87790,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":87802},"5def0d30-32ff-46f0-bbe4-aa340e636125","2023-04-06 00:00",[87633],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[87635],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87636},{"job_title":557,"image":87637,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":87639},[87640,87653,87658,87663,87668,87673,87678,87685,87690,87695,87700,87705,87710,87715,87720,87725,87730,87735,87740,87745,87750,87755,87760,87765,87770,87783],{"type":591,"attrs":87641,"content":87642},{"textAlign":49},[87643,87645,87651],{"text":87644,"type":596},"Chinese spot market battery-grade ",{"text":87646,"type":596,"marks":87647},"lithium carbonate prices",[87648],{"type":606,"attrs":87649},{"href":87650,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-prices/",{"text":87652,"type":596}," have more than halved this year, ending an almost two-year record run that helped push up the cost of electric vehicle batteries for the first time in decades. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87654,"content":87655},{"textAlign":49},[87656],{"text":87657,"type":596},"But this doesn’t tell the whole story.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":87659,"content":87660},{"textAlign":49},[87661],{"text":87662,"type":596},"For starters, lithium is still relatively expensive. Benchmark’s average lithium carbonate prices are still four times higher than the average price between 2016 and 2021. They were last assessed at $45,274 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87664,"content":87665},{"textAlign":49},[87666],{"text":87667,"type":596},"Prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China have fallen by 56% this year to RMB 245,000 ($35,621) a tonne, while prices for lithium hydroxide are down by 37% to RMB 345,000 a tonne ($50,161.) ",{"type":591,"attrs":87669,"content":87670},{"textAlign":49},[87671],{"text":87672,"type":596},"Contract pricing in the CIF Asia lithium market is also starting to correct more noticeably as lagged contract terms react to spot pricing movement in recent months. Yet these prices are less volatile. CIF Asia contract prices were last assessed at $57,500 a tonne by Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87674,"content":87675},{"textAlign":49},[87676],{"text":87677,"type":596},"Here are five reasons why the speed of the price correction in China is not emblematic of the entire market.",{"type":591,"attrs":87679,"content":87680},{"textAlign":49},[87681],{"type":836,"attrs":87682},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":87683,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87684},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d9880d3bea/bm-lithium-price.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":87686,"content":87687},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87688],{"text":87689,"type":596},"1. Spodumene feedstock prices are still high  ",{"type":591,"attrs":87691,"content":87692},{"textAlign":49},[87693],{"text":87694,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene feedstock from Australia have not fallen nearly as fast as spot-market Chinese lithium prices, due to a shortage of supply and delays in new projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87696,"content":87697},{"textAlign":49},[87698],{"text":87699,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene are down by 16% year-to-date to $5,395 a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. Higher price spot transactions have also been recorded, highlighting strong demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":87701,"content":87702},{"textAlign":49},[87703],{"text":87704,"type":596},"For converters, at current prices, that equates to a price of $40,000 a tonne for lithium hydroxide. Adding in conversion costs means prices of around $44,000 a tonne are needed before converters are losing money. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87706,"content":87707},{"textAlign":49},[87708],{"text":87709,"type":596},"“The supply of spodumene concentrate is expected to remain tight in the short term,” Ganfeng Lithium, China’s largest lithium producer, said in its annual report this month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87711,"content":87712},{"textAlign":49},[87713],{"text":87714,"type":596},"In addition, due to the lag time in spodumene contracts, some contract prices will still be increasing. ",{"type":615,"attrs":87716,"content":87717},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87718],{"text":87719,"type":596},"2. Downstream inventories are low and cathode manufacturers will need to buy soon",{"type":591,"attrs":87721,"content":87722},{"textAlign":49},[87723],{"text":87724,"type":596},"Cathode manufacturers have continued to destock lithium inventories throughout this year amid weak customer demand, while inventories have built up at converters. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87726,"content":87727},{"textAlign":49},[87728],{"text":87729,"type":596},"At some point, however, they will need to start buying again, and will look to restock if they believe the lithium market has reached a bottom. That should eventually feed through to lithium prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87731,"content":87732},{"textAlign":49},[87733],{"text":87734,"type":596},"While lithium converters can sit on lithium carbonate inventories, lithium hydroxide needs to be sold, so these inventories cannot last forever, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":87736,"content":87737},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87738],{"text":87739,"type":596},"3. EV sales are increasing ",{"type":591,"attrs":87741,"content":87742},{"textAlign":49},[87743],{"text":87744,"type":596},"Chinese EV sales have had a slower start to the year, but momentum may pick up again. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association said this month that he expects sales of New Energy Vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) to rise by 30% this year to around 8.5 million. Sales in the US are also expected to pick up, as up to $7,500 of EV consumer tax credits become available under the Inflation Reduction Act. Benchmark’s base case forecasts EV sales to increase by 46% in 2023 from last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":87746,"content":87747},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87748],{"text":87749,"type":596},"4. Energy storage demand is adding to lithium demand ",{"type":591,"attrs":87751,"content":87752},{"textAlign":49},[87753],{"text":87754,"type":596},"Energy storage is starting to take off due to supportive policies in China and the US. Demand for batteries from the energy storage sector is forecast to increase 460% between 2022 and 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":615,"attrs":87756,"content":87757},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87758],{"text":87759,"type":596},"5. Prices below $22,000 a tonne could make Chinese lepidolite uneconomic  ",{"type":591,"attrs":87761,"content":87762},{"textAlign":49},[87763],{"text":87764,"type":596},"Many Chinese domestic lepidolite mines need a higher lithium price than mines in Australia to make money, restricting the level to which lithium prices can fall to some extent. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87766,"content":87767},{"textAlign":49},[87768],{"text":87769,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that around 65,000 tonnes LCE comes from Chinese lepidolite production this year, rising to 107,000 tonnes in 2024 – but this could struggle with lithium prices below $18,000 to $22,000 a tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87771,"content":87772},{"textAlign":49},[87773,87775,87781],{"text":87774,"type":596},"Smaller lepidolite operations in China may already be struggling, according to a report in the Chinese publication ",{"text":87776,"type":596,"marks":87777},"The Paper",[87778],{"type":606,"attrs":87779},{"href":87780,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_22587528",{"text":87782,"type":596},", with some halting operations, although these reports have yet to be fully corroborated.",{"type":591,"attrs":87784,"content":87785},{"textAlign":49},[87786],{"type":836,"attrs":87787},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":87788,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87789},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/363e6e036b/bm-lithiums-volatile-journey.jpg",{},"Chinese spot market battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have more than halved this year, ending an almost two-year record run that helped push up the cost of electric vehicle batteries for the first time in decades. But this doesn’t tell the whole story. For starters, lithium is still relatively expensive. Benchmark’s average lithium carbonate prices are […]",[87792],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87793},{"job_title":557,"image":87794,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5def0d30-32ff-46f0-bbe4-aa340e636125\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[87797,87798],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":87800,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":87801,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a879a200d6/bm-lithium-nevada-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 06, 2023",{"id":87804,"uuid":87805,"name":87806,"slug":87807,"full_slug":87808,"content":87809},112471545207417,"c04fd33d-6dc0-4da3-8eca-699b843b40d3","Falling lithium prices challenge potential cost advantages of sodium batteries","falling-lithium-prices-challenge-potential-cost-advantages-of-sodium-batteries","article/falling-lithium-prices-challenge-potential-cost-advantages-of-sodium-batteries",{"_uid":87810,"date":87811,"tags":87812,"editor":87816,"content":87820,"excerpt":88016,"featured":51,"reporter":88017,"_editable":88021,"component":697,"seo_title":87806,"categories":88022,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88026,"seo_description":88016,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88029},"77de253b-6848-44d3-8abf-bc11b6ab2d36","2023-04-05 00:00",[87813,87814,87815],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[87817],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":87818},{"job_title":557,"image":87819,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":87821},[87822,87827,87832,87844,87849,87855,87868,87879,87884,87889,87894,87899,87904,87909,87914,87919,87924,87929,87934,87944,87949,87954,87959,87964,87969,87977,87982,87987,87999,88006,88011],{"type":591,"attrs":87823,"content":87824},{"textAlign":49},[87825],{"text":87826,"type":596},"This year, two Chinese automakers unveiled the first electric cars using sodium ion batteries, which promise lower costs than traditional lithium ion cell chemistries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87828,"content":87829},{"textAlign":49},[87830],{"text":87831,"type":596},"The EV3 electric sedan produced by Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle, a Chinese automaker majority owned by Renault, is set to go on sale later this year, while the E10X, a test vehicle produced by Chinese automaker JAC Motors, was unveiled in February.",{"type":591,"attrs":87833,"content":87834},{"textAlign":49},[87835,87837,87842],{"text":87836,"type":596},"Since then, however, lithium prices have continued to fall, which could challenge the potential of sodium ion technology to reduce battery costs versus lithium ion technologies. Chinese spot market battery-grade ",{"text":87838,"type":596,"marks":87839},"lithium carbonate prices have almost halved this year",[87840],{"type":606,"attrs":87841},{"href":85729,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87843,"type":596},", according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":87845,"content":87846},{"textAlign":49},[87847],{"text":87848,"type":596},"That has lowered the costs of the cheapest lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistries. Prices for LFP battery cells have fallen by 15.5% year-on-year to $90.1 a kilowatt hour, as assessed by Benchmark in February.",{"type":591,"attrs":87850,"content":87851},{"textAlign":49},[87852],{"type":836,"attrs":87853},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":87683,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87854},{},{"type":591,"attrs":87856,"content":87857},{"textAlign":49},[87858,87860,87866],{"text":87859,"type":596},"Given that lithium accounts for around two-fifths of the LFP cell price, if ",{"text":87861,"type":596,"marks":87862},"lithium prices fall further",[87863],{"type":606,"attrs":87864},{"href":87865,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lfp-battery-prices-fall-to-12-month-low-as-lithium-prices-slump",{"text":87867,"type":596},", sodium ion’s main attraction for automakers could diminish.",{"type":591,"attrs":87869,"content":87870},{"textAlign":49},[87871,87873,87878],{"text":87872,"type":596},"“The business case for investment in sodium ion is definitely set back when lithium is cheaper,” Iola Hughes, research manager at Rho Motion explained at ",{"text":87874,"type":596,"marks":87875},"Benchmark’s Gigafactories Europe event last week",[87876],{"type":606,"attrs":87877},{"href":87158,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":87880,"content":87881},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87882],{"text":87883,"type":596},"Sodium ion energy density challenge",{"type":591,"attrs":87885,"content":87886},{"textAlign":49},[87887],{"text":87888,"type":596},"Sodium is heavier than lithium, which means that sodium ion batteries have a lower energy density than most lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87890,"content":87891},{"textAlign":49},[87892],{"text":87893,"type":596},"This limits its use in EVs to shorter-range vehicles compared to high-nickel NCM chemistries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87895,"content":87896},{"textAlign":49},[87897],{"text":87898,"type":596},"HiNa Battery, which is supplying batteries to Sehol’s E10X test vehicle, says its cells have energy densities of 145 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). ",{"type":591,"attrs":87900,"content":87901},{"textAlign":49},[87902],{"text":87903,"type":596},"Victoria Hugill, a research analyst at Rho Motion, suggests the next generation will have energy densities on par with LFP cells which is upwards of 160 Wh/kg.",{"type":591,"attrs":87905,"content":87906},{"textAlign":49},[87907],{"text":87908,"type":596},"If battery pack innovation such as cell-to-pack engineering is used vehicles using sodium ion could theoretically travel 160–240 miles (using the WLTP standard), according to an article published by researchers at sodium ion company Faradion last month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87910,"content":87911},{"textAlign":49},[87912],{"text":87913,"type":596},"“These are not unrealistic targets,” they said.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":87915,"content":87916},{"textAlign":49},[87917],{"text":87918,"type":596},"Sodium ion EVs “should be cheaper than LFP-based EVs with similar/slightly inferior driving range,” the article published in Nature Energy said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":87920,"content":87921},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87922],{"text":87923,"type":596},"Sodium ion production capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":87925,"content":87926},{"textAlign":49},[87927],{"text":87928,"type":596},"Still, reaching that target will require a lot more investment in battery capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87930,"content":87931},{"textAlign":49},[87932],{"text":87933,"type":596},"In 2022, there was just 3.1 gigawatt hours of sodium ion production capacity globally meaning the economies of scale enjoyed by lithium ion aren’t available. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87935,"content":87936},{"textAlign":49},[87937,87942],{"text":87938,"type":596,"marks":87939},"Benchmark is tracking 107 GWh of sodium ion battery capacity",[87940],{"type":606,"attrs":87941},{"href":80879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87943,"type":596}," in the pipeline to 2035 across 28 facilities, compared to 9.2 TWh for all lithium ion chemistries, and 2.9 TWh for LFP cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":87945,"content":87946},{"textAlign":49},[87947],{"text":87948,"type":596},"“Compared with lithium ion battery production, sodium ion battery’s current pipeline capacity is still very small,” Nicole Peng, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":87950,"content":87951},{"textAlign":49},[87952],{"text":87953,"type":596},"Rho Motion forecasts sodium ion costs could fall below $70 a kilowatt hour – but only if production is scaled up. That compares with $93.6 a kWh for LFP battery cells, as reported in Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Price Assessment in February.",{"type":591,"attrs":87955,"content":87956},{"textAlign":49},[87957],{"text":87958,"type":596},"“LFP would be slightly cheaper, I would say, at present just given the huge scale of LFP production,” Hugill told Benchmark Source. “At the moment, just because of the scale, we probably won’t see that much of a saving [switching to sodium ion.]”",{"type":615,"attrs":87960,"content":87961},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[87962],{"text":87963,"type":596},"Growing from a low base",{"type":591,"attrs":87965,"content":87966},{"textAlign":49},[87967],{"text":87968,"type":596},"Globally, demand for sodium ion batteries for the EV market is expected to grow over five-fold from 21 MWh this year to 109 MWh next year and then 262 GWh by 2040, according to data from Rho Motion and Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":87970,"content":87971},{"textAlign":49},[87972],{"type":836,"attrs":87973},{"id":49,"alt":87974,"src":87975,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":87976},"Demand for sodium ion batteries is growing","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1c553e09c6/bm-sodium-ion-ev-market-size.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":87978,"content":87979},{"textAlign":49},[87980],{"text":87981,"type":596},"But this represents 3.7% of the global EV battery market in that year, which Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database forecasts will be over seven terawatt-hours. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) will make up 30% of the EV market in that year, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":87983,"content":87984},{"textAlign":49},[87985],{"text":87986,"type":596},"Some markets, however, may see greater penetration of sodium ion technology. ",{"type":591,"attrs":87988,"content":87989},{"textAlign":49},[87990,87992,87997],{"text":87991,"type":596},"India is expected to have the largest share of sodium ion batteries in its EV fleet, with 5.9% market penetration by 2040, according to Rho Motion. This is similar to China, which has 5.6% penetration. Both countries have a ",{"text":87993,"type":596,"marks":87994},"high demand for cheap EVs",[87995],{"type":606,"attrs":87996},{"href":67806,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":87998,"type":596}," with consumers less concerned about range.",{"type":591,"attrs":88000,"content":88001},{"textAlign":49},[88002],{"type":836,"attrs":88003},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":88004,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":88005},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e0f10aa059/bm-sdium-penetration-by-market.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":88007,"content":88008},{"textAlign":49},[88009],{"text":88010,"type":596},"Overall, however, sodium ion battery technology is at the very early stages of commercialisation and is currently in its first generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":88012,"content":88013},{"textAlign":49},[88014],{"text":88015,"type":596},"“It will take a certain amount of time to improve energy density, safety testing, and industrial commercialization for sodium ion batteries in the EV market,” Peng said.","This year, two Chinese automakers unveiled the first electric cars using sodium ion batteries, which promise lower costs than traditional lithium ion cell chemistries. The EV3 electric sedan produced by Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle, a Chinese automaker majority owned by Renault, is set to go on sale later this year, while the E10X, a test […]",[88018],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88019},{"job_title":557,"image":88020,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"77de253b-6848-44d3-8abf-bc11b6ab2d36\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88023,88024,88025],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88027,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88028,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f582f1712/bm-sehol-e10x-003.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 05, 2023",{"id":88031,"uuid":88032,"name":88033,"slug":88034,"full_slug":88035,"content":88036},112471554751099,"bbe27926-6322-4b7c-b27c-d165c1bc0b8a","“We believe Africa will be the next good opportunity for lithium.” Q&A with Wang Xiaoshen of Ganfeng Lithium.","we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium","article/we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium",{"_uid":88037,"date":88038,"tags":88039,"editor":88043,"content":88047,"excerpt":88220,"featured":51,"reporter":88221,"_editable":88225,"component":697,"seo_title":88033,"categories":88226,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88229,"seo_description":88220,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88232},"a8b37ee8-20d2-4e42-a889-93ac032b7647","2023-04-04 00:00",[88040,88041,88042],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":27485,"name":27486},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[88044],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88045},{"job_title":557,"image":88046,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88048},[88049,88054,88059,88064,88076,88081,88088,88093,88098,88103,88108,88113,88118,88123,88128,88133,88138,88143,88150,88157,88162,88167,88172,88177,88188,88193,88198,88203,88208,88213],{"type":591,"attrs":88050,"content":88051},{"textAlign":49},[88052],{"text":88053,"type":596},"Last month Ganfeng Lithium reported that its net profit for 2022 rose by 292% to 20.5 billion RMB ($3 billion) – the highest in its history, thanks to record high lithium prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88055,"content":88056},{"textAlign":49},[88057],{"text":88058,"type":596},"The company is the most integrated in the sector, from lithium extraction all the way to production of next-generation solid-state batteries. It also recycles old batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88060,"content":88061},{"textAlign":49},[88062],{"text":88063,"type":596},"By the end of the decade it aims to have the capacity to produce 600,000 tonnes LCE a year of lithium products, including lithium from recycling. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88065,"content":88066},{"textAlign":49},[88067,88069,88074],{"text":88068,"type":596},"This year Chinese spot market battery-grade lithium prices ",{"text":88070,"type":596,"marks":88071},"have almost halved",[88072],{"type":606,"attrs":88073},{"href":85729,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88075,"type":596},", due to uncertainty in the market and slower electric vehicle sales. Battery-grade spot market lithium traded at RMB 289,500 ($42,075) a tonne at the end of March, according to the Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88077,"content":88078},{"textAlign":49},[88079],{"text":88080,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Wang Xiaoshen, president of Ganfeng, to talk about lithium prices, Chinese lepidolite, Africa, and sodium ion batteries. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88082,"content":88083},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88084,88086],{"text":88085,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China keep falling.",{"text":88087,"type":596},"How do you see the market at the moment? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88089,"content":88090},{"textAlign":49},[88091],{"text":88092,"type":596},"Last year was booming … Lots of battery companies and OEMs were very aggressive about expansion so they gave big numbers for requirements for upstream resources like lithium, encouraging everyone to expand, especially lepidolite and DSO [Direct Shipping Ore] coming from Africa. So I think that the market needs to have an adjustment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88094,"content":88095},{"textAlign":49},[88096],{"text":88097,"type":596},"And also, earlier this year Tesla made the first move – they announced they would reduce the price significantly. And so consumers are expecting everyone to follow them. So the consumer postponed their purchase of EVs. And so this month, actually, there will be a big auto show in Shanghai. So many people believe that after this auto show probably consumers will start to buy.",{"type":591,"attrs":88099,"content":88100},{"textAlign":49},[88101],{"text":88102,"type":596},"There’s also some unexpected or additional factors. For gasoline cars there are new standards for emissions starting from the second half. So some of the OEMs want to get rid of their inventories before July 1. So this is another reason why now the car market is becoming a big mess.",{"type":615,"attrs":88104,"content":88105},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88106],{"text":88107,"type":596},"What is happening with inventories in the market? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88109,"content":88110},{"textAlign":49},[88111],{"text":88112,"type":596},"I think everyone in the last couple of months tried to reduce their inventories to the minimum level. But nobody knows when the market is going to recover. And also the supply chain also still has some inventories. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88114,"content":88115},{"textAlign":49},[88116],{"text":88117,"type":596},"The cathode company probably has the minimum volume of the inventories. There are some in the form of batteries. Some battery companies have some inventories. And some probably are in the form of cars. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88119,"content":88120},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88121],{"text":88122,"type":596},"How low can lithium prices get? Some people in China are talking about 100,000 RMB a tonne now.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":88124,"content":88125},{"textAlign":49},[88126],{"text":88127,"type":596},"It’s hard to say. These days people are looking at 150,000 RMB ($21,807 a tonne), that has a bigger chance to be achieved, but 100,000 RMB I’m not sure. This depends on the demand side. If everyone comes back to the car market it could recover from May and June. So it’s hard to say and also downstream in the energy storage sector the customers are waiting until the lithium price becomes stabilised… Everyone holds their order and waits to see when the lithium price will be stabilised. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88129,"content":88130},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88131],{"text":88132,"type":596},"Won’t Chinese domestic lepidolite resources be uneconomic below a certain level?",{"type":591,"attrs":88134,"content":88135},{"textAlign":49},[88136],{"text":88137,"type":596},"Below 100,000 RMB only a few and smaller volume [mines] can be justified. But we believe the big volume that everyone was expecting would probably be in trouble.",{"type":615,"attrs":88139,"content":88140},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88141],{"text":88142,"type":596},"Do you think the lithium market will be tightly balanced in the next few years? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88144,"content":88145},{"textAlign":49},[88146,88148],{"text":88147,"type":596},"I think that in 2024, 2025 it will be tightly balanced,",{"text":88149,"type":596},"but this year is different. There’s lots of uncertainty this year so nobody knows. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88151,"content":88152},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88153,88155],{"text":88154,"type":596},"Everyone outside of China is wondering how much lithium can come from domestic lepidolite resources in China. What do you think about the potential of domestic Chinese production? ",{"text":88156,"type":596},"Is it viable?",{"type":591,"attrs":88158,"content":88159},{"textAlign":49},[88160],{"text":88161,"type":596},"Yes it’s viable. We believe in the long-run the market still needs all kinds of resources into the supply chain because there will be big demand in the coming years. But of course depending on each individual mine’s cost. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88163,"content":88164},{"textAlign":49},[88165],{"text":88166,"type":596},"In the long-run there will be some incremental supply from lepidolite in China and also in Africa actually. In Africa there are some lithium hard rock mines that are lepidolite or petalite. So this could also become a part of the supply in the future. Not only from China, but also from Africa as well.",{"type":615,"attrs":88168,"content":88169},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88170],{"text":88171,"type":596},"Will you look to invest more in Chinese lithium projects? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88173,"content":88174},{"textAlign":49},[88175],{"text":88176,"type":596},"Well, looking at we’re looking at Chinese deposits but also we will probably spend more time and energy and resources in Africa. We already invested in Goulamina in Mali, and we are now speeding up the construction. We have also invested in some smaller, earlier stage projects in Africa. We’re going to do exploration. We think there’s good opportunities in Africa.",{"type":591,"attrs":88178,"content":88179},{"textAlign":49},[88180,88182,88186],{"text":88181,"type":596},"We believe ",{"text":5694,"type":596,"marks":88183},[88184],{"type":606,"attrs":88185},{"href":80011,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88187,"type":596}," will be the next good opportunity for lithium. We are looking to extend Goulamina for the second stage. We’re also working with other exploration companies to do more exploration work in Africa.",{"type":615,"attrs":88189,"content":88190},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88191],{"text":88192,"type":596},"Are environmental issues a concern for Chinese lithium? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88194,"content":88195},{"textAlign":49},[88196],{"text":88197,"type":596},"Yes … especially those projects using open-pit mining…. The [Chinese] government environment department will be very serious about this. But local governments sometimes want to promote business, sometimes over promise to the companies. We have multiple projects in China and everywhere we find that it’s not that easy to handle environmental issues, if there’s any environmental issues it will be very complicated.",{"type":591,"attrs":88199,"content":88200},{"textAlign":49},[88201],{"text":88202,"type":596},"We have an Inner Mongolia project and a lepidolite project in Jiangxi. Both projects will be underground mining as we think with open-pit the environmental impact will be too big. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88204,"content":88205},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88206],{"text":88207,"type":596},"Are sodium ion batteries a threat to lithium ion at all? ",{"type":591,"attrs":88209,"content":88210},{"textAlign":49},[88211],{"text":88212,"type":596},"We believe that sodium is currently not cheaper than lithium. There’s the theory that people believe that because they don’t use lithium it might be cheaper. But they forgot that the other parts of the sodium batteries are more expensive, like anode, like electrolyte … So overall if you only look at theory cost, if the lithium price was $80 per kilo that’s true. But if it’s $10 a kilo, then that scenario is changed completely. Sodium ion batteries all depend on the lithium prices. It’s like a backup.",{"type":591,"attrs":88214,"content":88215},{"textAlign":49},[88216],{"type":836,"attrs":88217},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":88218,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":88219},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/24861bf9dd/bm-ganfengs-global-footprint.jpg",{},"Last month Ganfeng Lithium reported that its net profit for 2022 rose by 292% to 20.5 billion RMB ($3 billion) – the highest in its history, thanks to record high lithium prices. The company is the most integrated in the sector, from lithium extraction all the way to production of next-generation solid-state batteries. It also […]",[88222],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88223},{"job_title":557,"image":88224,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a8b37ee8-20d2-4e42-a889-93ac032b7647\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88227,88228],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88230,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88231,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d184a701f9/bm-wang-xiaoshen.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 04, 2023",{"id":88234,"uuid":88235,"name":88236,"slug":88237,"full_slug":88238,"content":88239},112471549971066,"cff9d32f-4e9d-4b6b-9cd6-63c7439215f5","Ford signs third Chinese agreement this year with Canmax lithium hydroxide deal","ford-signs-third-chinese-agreement-this-year-with-canmax-lithium-hydroxide-deal","article/ford-signs-third-chinese-agreement-this-year-with-canmax-lithium-hydroxide-deal",{"_uid":88240,"date":88038,"tags":88241,"editor":88243,"content":88247,"excerpt":88350,"featured":51,"reporter":88351,"_editable":88355,"component":697,"seo_title":88236,"categories":88356,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88359,"seo_description":88350,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88232},"71cd99d0-fdf8-4340-9702-0d1d6e6b1df7",[88242],{"slug":575,"name":576},[88244],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88245},{"job_title":557,"image":88246,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88248},[88249,88254,88259,88264,88276,88281,88293,88305,88310,88315,88320,88325,88330,88335,88340,88345],{"type":591,"attrs":88250,"content":88251},{"textAlign":49},[88252],{"text":88253,"type":596},"Ford has signed its third agreement with a Chinese company in the electric vehicle supply chain this year, securing supplies of lithium hydroxide from subsidiaries of Suzhou-based Canmax Technologies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88255,"content":88256},{"textAlign":49},[88257],{"text":88258,"type":596},"The company, which was previously called Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology, said it could supply around 72,500 tonnes of lithium hydroxide to Ford until the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88260,"content":88261},{"textAlign":49},[88262],{"text":88263,"type":596},"At current Chinese lithium hydroxide prices the deal would be worth almost $4 billion, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88265,"content":88266},{"textAlign":49},[88267,88269,88274],{"text":88268,"type":596},"The agreement is the latest move from a large global automaker to secure supplies of lithium, and also highlights the ",{"text":88270,"type":596,"marks":88271},"dominance of Chinese companie",[88272],{"type":606,"attrs":88273},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88275,"type":596},"s in the electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88277,"content":88278},{"textAlign":49},[88279],{"text":88280,"type":596},"China is expected to produce almost 80% of global lithium hydroxide supply in 2023, with that percentage set to fall to under 40% by the end of the decade, according to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88282,"content":88283},{"textAlign":49},[88284,88286,88291],{"text":88285,"type":596},"It comes just after Ford agreed last month ",{"text":88287,"type":596,"marks":88288},"to invest in a",[88289],{"type":606,"attrs":88290},{"href":81652,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88292,"type":596}," nickel processing project in Indonesia alongside China’s Huayou Cobalt and Brazilian miner Vale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88294,"content":88295},{"textAlign":49},[88296,88298,88303],{"text":88297,"type":596},"In February Ford also ",{"text":88299,"type":596,"marks":88300},"agreed to licence",[88301],{"type":606,"attrs":88302},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88304,"type":596}," lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology from China’s largest battery company CATL. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88306,"content":88307},{"textAlign":49},[88308],{"text":88309,"type":596},"It’s not clear how Ford will use the lithium from Canmax, or which region will be supplied with batteries containing the Chinese supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88311,"content":88312},{"textAlign":49},[88313],{"text":88314,"type":596},"The agreement is for an initial three years, but can then be extended until the end of 2029, Canmax said.",{"type":591,"attrs":88316,"content":88317},{"textAlign":49},[88318],{"text":88319,"type":596},"It comes despite requirements in the US Inflation Reduction Act that say critical minerals for batteries cannot be extracted, processed or processed by a “foreign entity of concern” by 2025 if automakers want to be eligible for electric vehicle subsidies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88321,"content":88322},{"textAlign":49},[88323],{"text":88324,"type":596},"Last week the US Treasury said it would not issue further guidance on the provision. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88326,"content":88327},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88328],{"text":88329,"type":596},"Building capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":88331,"content":88332},{"textAlign":49},[88333],{"text":88334,"type":596},"In January Canmax’s subsidiary, Sichuan Tianhua, announced that it had begun pilot production at its lithium hydroxide project in Meishan, Sichuan province, which has a capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes a year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88336,"content":88337},{"textAlign":49},[88338],{"text":88339,"type":596},"CATL, China’s largest battery producer, owns a stake in Canmax as well as its subsidiary Yibin Tianyi Lithium. The two companies are also building a 100,000 tpa lithium carbonate project in Yichun, Jiangxi province.",{"type":591,"attrs":88341,"content":88342},{"textAlign":49},[88343],{"text":88344,"type":596},"Canmax previously signed a spodumene supply agreement with AMG in Brazil and has also invested in AVZ, which is developing a lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88346,"content":88347},{"textAlign":49},[88348],{"text":88349,"type":596},"It also owns a stake in Australian lithium company Global Lithium Resources.","Ford has signed its third agreement with a Chinese company in the electric vehicle supply chain this year, securing supplies of lithium hydroxide from subsidiaries of Suzhou-based Canmax Technologies. The company, which was previously called Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology, said it could supply around 72,500 tonnes of lithium hydroxide to Ford until the end […]",[88352],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88353},{"job_title":557,"image":88354,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"71cd99d0-fdf8-4340-9702-0d1d6e6b1df7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88357,88358],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88360,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88361,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b124190c8a/bm-ford-f-150.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":88363,"uuid":88364,"name":88365,"slug":88366,"full_slug":88367,"content":88368},114847177915496,"f281fba8-e68f-4560-a5ec-2fdb732f2576","Inefficient lithium supply chains could “hinder” energy transition, Livent warns","inefficient-lithium-supply-chains-could-hinder-energy-transition-livent-warns","article/inefficient-lithium-supply-chains-could-hinder-energy-transition-livent-warns",{"_uid":88369,"date":88370,"tags":88371,"editor":88375,"content":88379,"excerpt":88473,"featured":50,"reporter":88474,"_editable":88478,"component":697,"seo_title":88365,"categories":88479,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88481,"seo_description":88473,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88484},"904e9b9a-ef64-4b87-a2b8-65a1414013cc","2023-03-29 00:00",[88372],{"slug":88373,"name":88374},"battery-gigafactories-europe-2023","Battery Gigafactories Europe 2023",[88376],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88377},{"job_title":557,"image":88378,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88380},[88381,88386,88391,88396,88401,88406,88418,88423,88428,88433,88438,88443,88448,88453,88458,88463,88468],{"type":591,"attrs":88382,"content":88383},{"textAlign":49},[88384],{"text":88385,"type":596},"Onshoring lithium processing capacity in Europe and the US risks creating inefficient supply chains that could add unnecessary costs to the energy transition, according to US producer Livent. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88387,"content":88388},{"textAlign":49},[88389],{"text":88390,"type":596},"A lot of government policy is trying to replicate the existing model, whereby lithium in spodumene rock is shipped from Australia to China to be processed, Sarah Maryssael, chief strategy officer of Livent, told the Benchmark Gigafactories conference in Budapest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88392,"content":88393},{"textAlign":49},[88394],{"text":88395,"type":596},"“We’re adding even more costs by creating inefficient supply chains that just simply do not make sense. We’re not enabling the transition by hindering it,” she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88397,"content":88398},{"textAlign":49},[88399],{"text":88400,"type":596},"This month the European Union set a target of processing 40% of the critical minerals needed for clean energy technologies by the end of the decade with a goal to secure supplies from mineral-rich countries such as Australia, Chile and Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88402,"content":88403},{"textAlign":49},[88404],{"text":88405,"type":596},"Yet Maryssael said that might not be the right approach, as it can add an extra processing step that adds to costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88407,"content":88408},{"textAlign":49},[88409,88411,88416],{"text":88410,"type":596},"“That’s really a legacy of ",{"text":88412,"type":596,"marks":88413},"Australian mining",[88414],{"type":606,"attrs":88415},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88417,"type":596},", it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how the supply chain should be built,” she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88419,"content":88420},{"textAlign":49},[88421],{"text":88422,"type":596},"Rather than shipping lithium sulphate from Australia to consuming countries it might be more efficient to produce the lithium hydroxide closer to the mine, she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88424,"content":88425},{"textAlign":49},[88426],{"text":88427,"type":596},"In addition, building more processing capacity in mineral-rich countries also helps to share value with those countries, she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":88429,"content":88430},{"textAlign":49},[88431],{"text":88432,"type":596},"“How do we help countries like the DRC, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil derive more value from the minerals and provide more skilled jobs to enable a greater share of the population to have upward mobility opportunities?” she said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88434,"content":88435},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88436],{"text":88437,"type":596},"The need for speed ",{"type":591,"attrs":88439,"content":88440},{"textAlign":49},[88441],{"text":88442,"type":596},"If supply chains become too inefficient, that could delay the production of critical minerals needed for batteries, Maryssael said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88444,"content":88445},{"textAlign":49},[88446],{"text":88447,"type":596},"“We don’t have time to waste. We don’t have time for trials and failures. We have to get this done as quickly as possible,” she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88449,"content":88450},{"textAlign":49},[88451],{"text":88452,"type":596},"If companies try to become too vertically integrated they risk moving beyond areas of their core expertise, she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88454,"content":88455},{"textAlign":49},[88456],{"text":88457,"type":596},"“What is unique about the battery supply chain versus other component supply chains is the high degree of specialty know-how and IP at each single step of the value chain,” she added. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88459,"content":88460},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88461],{"text":88462,"type":596},"A top priority for the auto industry ",{"type":591,"attrs":88464,"content":88465},{"textAlign":49},[88466],{"text":88467,"type":596},"Securing lithium for batteries had become a top concern for automakers,  Maryssael said, highlighted by General Motors investing in Lithium America’s Thacker Pass project in Nevada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88469,"content":88470},{"textAlign":49},[88471],{"text":88472,"type":596},"“I can tell you this from my previous experience this has become without doubt the biggest single risk to the survival of the automotive industry,” she said.","Onshoring lithium processing capacity in Europe and the US risks creating inefficient supply chains that could add unnecessary costs to the energy transition, according to US producer Livent. A lot of government policy is trying to replicate the existing model, whereby lithium in spodumene rock is shipped from Australia to China to be processed, Sarah […]",[88475],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88476},{"job_title":557,"image":88477,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"904e9b9a-ef64-4b87-a2b8-65a1414013cc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88480],{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88482,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88483,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d2ef5c401f/bm-img-6737.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 29, 2023",{"id":88486,"uuid":88487,"name":88488,"slug":88489,"full_slug":88490,"content":88491},112471574035071,"a27852aa-f458-42b8-9e95-2160b468e079","Energy storage is “fastest growing battery market” as government policy boosts installations","energy-storage-is-fastest-growing-battery-market-as-government-policy-boosts-installations","article/energy-storage-is-fastest-growing-battery-market-as-government-policy-boosts-installations",{"_uid":88492,"date":88370,"tags":88493,"editor":88495,"content":88499,"excerpt":88617,"featured":50,"reporter":88618,"_editable":88622,"component":697,"seo_title":88488,"categories":88623,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88626,"seo_description":88617,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88484},"6ffe380f-09d2-493e-a7b7-f82e857d956a",[88494],{"slug":88373,"name":88374},[88496],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88497},{"job_title":557,"image":88498,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88500},[88501,88511,88516,88521,88526,88531,88536,88541,88548,88555,88560,88565,88570,88575,88580,88592,88597,88602,88607,88612],{"type":591,"attrs":88502,"content":88503},{"textAlign":49},[88504,88509],{"text":2903,"type":596,"marks":88505},[88506],{"type":606,"attrs":88507},{"href":88508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-do-europes-energy-storage-incentives-compare-to-the-usas-ira",{"text":88510,"type":596}," demand could double again this year as government policy support in the US, China, and Europe boosts installations, Rho Motion told the Benchmark Gigafactories conference in Budapest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88512,"content":88513},{"textAlign":49},[88514],{"text":88515,"type":596},"Energy storage installations globally almost doubled in 2022 from a year earlier to 75 gigawatt hours, according to Rho Motion. This includes grid as well as behind-the-metre energy storage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88517,"content":88518},{"textAlign":49},[88519],{"text":88520,"type":596},"Increasing renewables penetration into the electricity mix necessitates the deployment of energy storage. Lithium ion batteries will play a major role in both behind-the-metre as well as grid-scale energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":88522,"content":88523},{"textAlign":49},[88524],{"text":88525,"type":596},"Demand for batteries from the energy storage sector is forecast to increase 460% between 2022 and 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":88527,"content":88528},{"textAlign":49},[88529],{"text":88530,"type":596},"“It really comes down to policy,”  Iola Hughes, an analyst at Rho Motion, said at Benchmark’s Gigafactories Europe event in Budapest. “Since 2020 the market has experienced a 50% annual growth rate.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88532,"content":88533},{"textAlign":49},[88534],{"text":88535,"type":596},"Although energy storage demand is still only around 10% of EV battery demand, the share of the market taken by energy storage could rise beyond 15% this decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":88537,"content":88538},{"textAlign":49},[88539],{"text":88540,"type":596},"“Energy storage is the fastest growing battery market right now,” Hughes said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88542,"content":88543},{"textAlign":49},[88544],{"type":836,"attrs":88545},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":88546,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":88547},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/44c742f12e/bm-image-119-1344124c10bc.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":88549,"content":88550},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88551,88553],{"text":88552,"type":596},"Policy ",{"text":88554,"type":596},"steps up a gear",{"type":591,"attrs":88556,"content":88557},{"textAlign":49},[88558],{"text":88559,"type":596},"Governments around the world have approached the challenge of increasing the deployment of energy storage with a variety of approaches. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88561,"content":88562},{"textAlign":49},[88563],{"text":88564,"type":596},"China has direct legislation in which at least 5-20% (depending on province) of renewable energy project capacity must be matched with two to four hour duration energy storage, the ideal use case for lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":88566,"content":88567},{"textAlign":49},[88568],{"text":88569,"type":596},"Installations of energy storage for the grid in China grew by close to ten times last year, according to Rho Motion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88571,"content":88572},{"textAlign":49},[88573],{"text":88574,"type":596},"In the US, the Biden government has massively boosted the energy storage industry through the Inflation Reduction Act. Standalone energy storage can receive up to 30% of the investment back as tax credits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88576,"content":88577},{"textAlign":49},[88578],{"text":88579,"type":596},"There are also production tax credits worth up to $45 per kilowatt-hour for battery cells and battery packs which has the potential to significantly reduce production costs and increase price competitiveness when compared to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":88581,"content":88582},{"textAlign":49},[88583,88585,88590],{"text":88584,"type":596},"Europe has been ",{"text":88586,"type":596,"marks":88587},"slower to act on energy storage policy",[88588],{"type":606,"attrs":88589},{"href":88508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88591,"type":596},", and has some roadblocks to its deployment, such as double taxation, Hughes said.",{"type":591,"attrs":88593,"content":88594},{"textAlign":49},[88595],{"text":88596,"type":596},"“In Europe, an issue that has persisted for a number of years now has been double taxation,” she said. “[Energy storage] is classified as both the consumer and the distributor, resulting in a double tax.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88598,"content":88599},{"textAlign":49},[88600],{"text":88601,"type":596},"However, the electricity market reforms included in the Green Deal Industrial Plan attempt to address this problem of taxing for energy stored and resold.",{"type":591,"attrs":88603,"content":88604},{"textAlign":49},[88605],{"text":88606,"type":596},"“So number one on the 10 Point Plan [in the reforms] is the removal of double taxation, which should have a big impact on Europe,” Hughes said.",{"type":591,"attrs":88608,"content":88609},{"textAlign":49},[88610],{"text":88611,"type":596},"The money available to incentivise the deployment of energy storage in Europe through the Green Deal seems to be far lower than that available through the IRA, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":88613,"content":88614},{"textAlign":49},[88615],{"text":88616,"type":596},"“A lot of the money behind it is a reshuffling of money that already existed,” Hughes explained, adding that later in the year the European Sovereignty Fund is expected to be announced which should add clarity to how the plan will be financed.","Energy storage demand could double again this year as government policy support in the US, China, and Europe boosts installations, Rho Motion told the Benchmark Gigafactories conference in Budapest. Energy storage installations globally almost doubled in 2022 from a year earlier to 75 gigawatt hours, according to Rho Motion. This includes grid as well as […]",[88619],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88620},{"job_title":557,"image":88621,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6ffe380f-09d2-493e-a7b7-f82e857d956a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88624,88625],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88627,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88628,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bc1e876272/bm-iola.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":88630,"uuid":88631,"name":88632,"slug":88633,"full_slug":88634,"content":88635},112471569160830,"2c5770b1-6555-4f19-8967-6e08c71a7aa3","Mining investment needs to catch up with gigafactory arms race, Benchmark delegates warn","mining-investment-needs-to-catch-up-with-gigafactory-arms-race-benchmark-delegates-warn","article/mining-investment-needs-to-catch-up-with-gigafactory-arms-race-benchmark-delegates-warn",{"_uid":88636,"date":88370,"tags":88637,"editor":88640,"content":88644,"excerpt":88754,"featured":51,"reporter":88755,"_editable":88759,"component":697,"seo_title":88632,"categories":88760,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88763,"seo_description":88754,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88484},"06891b22-7d2b-4aa8-b223-3528fa0d1427",[88638,88639],{"slug":88373,"name":88374},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[88641],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88642},{"job_title":557,"image":88643,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88645},[88646,88651,88656,88661,88673,88684,88689,88694,88701,88706,88711,88716,88721,88726,88731,88736,88741],{"type":591,"attrs":88647,"content":88648},{"textAlign":49},[88649],{"text":88650,"type":596},"Investment in the mining industry needs to catch up to that of the battery industry to avoid a shortfall in supply, according to delegates at Benchmark’s European Gigafactories conference in Budapest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88652,"content":88653},{"textAlign":49},[88654],{"text":88655,"type":596},"Efforts by the European Union to reduce reliance on China and match generous climate legislation passed by the US could be hindered by permitting as well as a lack of investment, they warned. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88657,"content":88658},{"textAlign":49},[88659],{"text":88660,"type":596},"“It seems to be easier to raise money if you are a gigafactory than if you are a mine,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. “At the moment gigafactory investment is about three to four times the pace of the upstream.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":88662,"content":88663},{"textAlign":49},[88664,88666,88671],{"text":88665,"type":596},"This month the European Union responded to the passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act with ",{"text":88667,"type":596,"marks":88668},"its own suite of proposals",[88669],{"type":606,"attrs":88670},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88672,"type":596}," in the form of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, which includes proposed legislation covering critical material sourcing, clean technology production, and electricity market reforms.",{"type":591,"attrs":88674,"content":88675},{"textAlign":49},[88676,88678,88682],{"text":88677,"type":596},"The proposed ",{"text":34023,"type":596,"marks":88679},[88680],{"type":606,"attrs":88681},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88683,"type":596}," says Europe should meet 10% of its demand for critical minerals by 2030 from mining within the bloc, and 40% of the demand for processed minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88685,"content":88686},{"textAlign":49},[88687],{"text":88688,"type":596},"But delegates warned that more needed to be done to invest in new mining and processing technologies, and the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act lacked ambition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88690,"content":88691},{"textAlign":49},[88692],{"text":88693,"type":596},"“Without critical raw materials, green technology like wind, solar, geothermal energy, and solid state storage can’t be built,” Colin Mackey, the managing director for Jadar and European operations at Rio Tinto, said. “The crunch is coming.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88695,"content":88696},{"textAlign":49},[88697,88699],{"text":88698,"type":596},"Ilka von Dalwigk, policy manager at InnoEnergy,",{"text":88700,"type":596},"said mining in Europe was held back by “permitting and a lack of finance.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88702,"content":88703},{"textAlign":49},[88704],{"text":88705,"type":596},"“It is a vicious circle really holding up this upstream industry,” she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88707,"content":88708},{"textAlign":49},[88709],{"text":88710,"type":596},"“A lot of the legislative proposals we have seen recently are very good first steps . But at the same time you could say what Europe wants is competitiveness but what they got is more bureaucracy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88712,"content":88713},{"textAlign":49},[88714],{"text":88715,"type":596},"Anton du Plesssis, chief executive of Zinnwald Lithium, said the Critical Raw Materials Act “lacks ambition.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88717,"content":88718},{"textAlign":49},[88719],{"text":88720,"type":596},"“It can always be more ambitious,” Stefan Bernstein, chief executive of GreenRoc Mining, added. “I think we can achieve more than the 10% supply that is set out and the 40% processing target. I mean, nothing should hold us back to do more than that.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88722,"content":88723},{"textAlign":49},[88724],{"text":88725,"type":596},"Growth in lithium supply cannot rely on traditional means of financing, Sarah Maryssael, chief strategy officer from Livent, said. Instead it needs “investment from all actors across the supply chain.”",{"type":615,"attrs":88727,"content":88728},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88729],{"text":88730,"type":596},"Race to close the raw material disconnect",{"type":591,"attrs":88732,"content":88733},{"textAlign":49},[88734],{"text":88735,"type":596},"“Batteries are moving from startup to scale up,” Moores explained. “But the mines aren’t being built quick enough to fuel this growth.”",{"type":591,"attrs":88737,"content":88738},{"textAlign":49},[88739],{"text":88740,"type":596},"Up to 60 million tonnes of raw material a year has to be put through the battery industry, according to Moores. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88742,"content":88743},{"textAlign":49},[88744,88746,88752],{"text":88745,"type":596},"The vice president of the European Commission, ",{"text":88747,"type":596,"marks":88748},"Maroš Šefčovič",[88749],{"type":606,"attrs":88750},{"href":88751,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europe-needs-to-step-up-its-game-to-compete-in-global-battery-industry-sefcovic-says",{"text":88753,"type":596},", told Gigafactories Europe that the region is responsible for just 1% of global critical battery material production.","Investment in the mining industry needs to catch up to that of the battery industry to avoid a shortfall in supply, according to delegates at Benchmark’s European Gigafactories conference in Budapest. Efforts by the European Union to reduce reliance on China and match generous climate legislation passed by the US could be hindered by permitting […]",[88756],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88757},{"job_title":557,"image":88758,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"06891b22-7d2b-4aa8-b223-3528fa0d1427\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88761,88762],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88764,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88765,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a2a3edb1be/bm-img-6167-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":88767,"uuid":88768,"name":88769,"slug":88770,"full_slug":88771,"content":88772},112471587412609,"1dd655f3-5d2f-4973-a86b-cc7da8c7fbb5","Albemarle’s $3.7 billion offer for Australian lithium developer Liontown rejected as “opportunistic”","albemarles-3-7-billion-offer-for-aussie-lithium-miner-liontown-rejected-as-opportunistic","article/albemarles-3-7-billion-offer-for-aussie-lithium-miner-liontown-rejected-as-opportunistic",{"_uid":88773,"date":88774,"tags":88775,"editor":88779,"content":88783,"excerpt":88885,"featured":50,"reporter":88886,"_editable":88890,"component":697,"seo_title":88769,"categories":88891,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":88894,"seo_description":88885,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":88897},"7f11b9d8-cfd9-43cb-a4a9-584ba2c2ca9c","2023-03-28 00:00",[88776,88777,88778],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":44555,"name":44556},[88780],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88781},{"job_title":557,"image":88782,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88784},[88785,88790,88795,88808,88813,88818,88823,88828,88833,88845,88850,88855,88860,88865,88870,88875,88880],{"type":591,"attrs":88786,"content":88787},{"textAlign":49},[88788],{"text":88789,"type":596},"Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, has made a A$5.5 billion ($3.7) billion bid for Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources, which was rejected by the company on Tuesday as “opportunistic.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":88791,"content":88792},{"textAlign":49},[88793],{"text":88794,"type":596},"The offer from Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle comes as lithium prices continue to fall, with Chinese spot lithium carbonate prices down by almost half since November.",{"type":591,"attrs":88796,"content":88797},{"textAlign":49},[88798,88800,88806],{"text":88799,"type":596},"The deal would boost Albemarle’s access to spodumene to produce battery grade materials at its lithium hydroxide refineries in Australia or China, and allow it to leverage Liontown’s previously announced ",{"text":88801,"type":596,"marks":88802},"off-take agreements",[88803],{"type":606,"attrs":88804},{"href":88805,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-follows-tesla-playbook-with-liontown-lithium-deal",{"text":88807,"type":596}," with Tesla, Ford and LG Energy Solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":88809,"content":88810},{"textAlign":49},[88811],{"text":88812,"type":596},"Liontown is developing the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Australia, which is set to have capacity to produce around 500,000 tonnes a year of spodumene, with first production due next year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88814,"content":88815},{"textAlign":49},[88816],{"text":88817,"type":596},"The company has already secured customers for 90% of its future supply, through the offtake agreements. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88819,"content":88820},{"textAlign":49},[88821],{"text":88822,"type":596},"“It is cheaper to buy an advanced asset now than to develop one, particularly with inflation,” Cameron Perks, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":88824,"content":88825},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88826],{"text":88827,"type":596},"Liontown rejects “opportunistic” deal ",{"type":591,"attrs":88829,"content":88830},{"textAlign":49},[88831],{"text":88832,"type":596},"Liontown said Albemarle’s offer “substantially undervalues” the company and is opportunistic given the recent fall in lithium equity prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":88834,"content":88835},{"textAlign":49},[88836,88838,88843],{"text":88837,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade ",{"text":88839,"type":596,"marks":88840},"lithium carbonate prices have fallen",[88841],{"type":606,"attrs":88842},{"href":85729,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":88844,"type":596}," 43% since hitting an all time high of RMB 569,000 ($81,965) a tonne in November, according to Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88846,"content":88847},{"textAlign":49},[88848],{"text":88849,"type":596},"It also said it doesn’t take into account the “significant de-risking” that has occurred at the Kathleen Valley lithium project in recent months, as well as the future growth potential of the project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88851,"content":88852},{"textAlign":49},[88853],{"text":88854,"type":596},"“There are few other lithium assets of this scale, quality and mine life this close to production in Australia, one of the most attractive mining jurisdictions in the world,” it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88856,"content":88857},{"textAlign":49},[88858],{"text":88859,"type":596},"Albemarle, however, said the offer was a 63% premium to Liontown’s closing share price on Monday. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88861,"content":88862},{"textAlign":49},[88863],{"text":88864,"type":596},"It allowed Liontown shareholders to “avoid future risks associated with project development and operations,” the company said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88866,"content":88867},{"textAlign":49},[88868],{"text":88869,"type":596},"“Albemarle believes this is a compelling opportunity for Liontown shareholders and that Liontown’s board should immediately engage with Albemarle to facilitate a binding offer to be put to its shareholders for their consideration,” Albemarle said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":88871,"content":88872},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[88873],{"text":88874,"type":596},"Third time lucky ",{"type":591,"attrs":88876,"content":88877},{"textAlign":49},[88878],{"text":88879,"type":596},"Albemarle has previously made two advances to buy Liontown, according to the company. The lithium producer on Tuesday made a fresh all-cash offer of A$2.5 a share, slightly higher than the A$2.35 a share offer on March 3 and A$2.2 a share offer made in October. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88881,"content":88882},{"textAlign":49},[88883],{"text":88884,"type":596},"Liontown said that it had become aware that Liontown RT Lithium, a subsidiary of Albemarle, has been building a stake in Liontown through on-market purchase and owns 2.2% of Liontown’s issued shares.","Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer, has made a A$5.5 billion ($3.7) billion bid for Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources, which was rejected by the company on Tuesday as “opportunistic.” The offer from Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle comes as lithium prices continue to fall, with Chinese spot lithium carbonate prices down by almost half since […]",[88887],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88888},{"job_title":557,"image":88889,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7f11b9d8-cfd9-43cb-a4a9-584ba2c2ca9c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[88892,88893],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":88895,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":88896,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7f714d64d/bm-liontown-resources.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 28, 2023",{"id":88899,"uuid":88900,"name":88901,"slug":88902,"full_slug":88903,"content":88904},112471582632576,"31e353ef-df6b-4278-878e-e43f0e7c29bd","Going local: sourcing rare earths for wind energy from regional supply chains ","going-local-sourcing-rare-earths-for-wind-energy-from-regional-supply-chains","article/going-local-sourcing-rare-earths-for-wind-energy-from-regional-supply-chains",{"_uid":88905,"date":88774,"tags":88906,"editor":88908,"content":88912,"excerpt":89017,"featured":51,"reporter":89018,"component":697,"seo_title":89022,"categories":89023,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"featured_image":89027,"seo_description":89029,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":88897},"f20b0a4f-49ab-473b-a0b3-bb2bc1cd9e07",[88907],{"slug":71401,"name":71402},[88909],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":88910},{"job_title":557,"image":88911,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":88913},[88914,88931,88936,88941,88948,88953,88958,88963,88970,88975,88980,88990,88995,89003,89010],{"type":591,"attrs":88915,"content":88916},{"textAlign":49},[88917,88919,88923,88925,88929],{"text":88918,"type":596},"The increasingly ambitious wind energy targets being set to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources – both in terms of geographical and material dependence – present a challenge from a ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":88920},[88921],{"type":606,"attrs":88922},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":88924,"type":596}," perspective. This is particularly true for ",{"text":20580,"type":596,"marks":88926},[88927],{"type":606,"attrs":88928},{"href":4862,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":88930,"type":596}," (REEs), with top policymakers increasingly calling for de-risked supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":88932,"content":88933},{"textAlign":49},[88934],{"text":88935,"type":596},"Wind energy uses large amounts of rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs), contributing significantly to global demand. Wind energy OEMs have faced challenges in obtaining the quantities of REPMs they need, despite supply growing at record speed and demand softening thanks to ‘hybrid’ wind energy technologies increasingly replacing standard direct drive (DD) turbines over the past five years. Hybrid systems (medium-speed drivetrains) use just one-tenth of the REPMs needed in a DD drivetrain.",{"type":591,"attrs":88937,"content":88938},{"textAlign":49},[88939],{"text":88940,"type":596},"In the fourth quarter of 2022, China accounted for 68% of rare earth mining and 94% of downstream processing. Only a meagre amount of materials was processed elsewhere, principally in Malaysia and Estonia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88942,"content":88943},{"textAlign":49},[88944],{"type":836,"attrs":88945},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":88946,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":88947},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/56e1e508f4/bm-china-dominated-ree-mining-and-processing.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":88949,"content":88950},{"textAlign":49},[88951],{"text":88952,"type":596},"Because the wind industry is exposed to the impacts of geopolitical tensions  – and following a toughening of China’s export restrictions of rare earth-related technologies – there is growing policy and industrial concern in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88954,"content":88955},{"textAlign":49},[88956],{"text":88957,"type":596},"While sourcing enough REPMs for wind energy generation can be difficult, the greatest challenge for the industry is being able to source them domestically or from a de-risked supply chain. In major markets such as Europe, the US and Australia, demand for REPMs in wind energy is substantially larger than local supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88959,"content":88960},{"textAlign":49},[88961],{"text":88962,"type":596},"Policymakers have made some efforts to bridge this gap, for example in the US, the UK and Australia, where Benchmark expects to see rapid processing capacity growth by 2024-2025:",{"type":591,"attrs":88964,"content":88965},{"textAlign":49},[88966],{"type":836,"attrs":88967},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":88968,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":88969},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ec8f52e6e9/bm-wind-turbine-repm-use.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":88971,"content":88972},{"textAlign":49},[88973],{"text":88974,"type":596},"While the pipeline of processing facilities in North America, Australia and Europe is significant, it will take time for the first inputs to be converted into saleable material, and to fund and construct the required facilities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88976,"content":88977},{"textAlign":49},[88978],{"text":88979,"type":596},"The availability of locally processed and manufactured REPMs may be further limited, in the short and medium term, by offtakes securing sizable portions of planned production for EV manufacturers. Whereas a facility such as Solvay’s La Rochelle, in France, may be able to scale up fast thanks to existing knowledge and experience, other parts of the puzzle need to align. Before a diversified, de-risked and sizable local supply chain is established, more than 300 GW of additional wind power capacity may already have been built. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88981,"content":88982},{"textAlign":49},[88983,88984,88988],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":88985},[88986],{"type":606,"attrs":88987},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":88989,"type":596}," a more diversified and regionally scaled rare earth processing market beginning to take shape after 2025, particularly in Europe, North America and Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":88991,"content":88992},{"textAlign":49},[88993],{"text":88994,"type":596},"Environmental protections and economic concerns, such as high capex requirements and low Chinese costs, together with considerable project lead times, cast a shadow on capacity addition forecasts, however. A large part of the wind industry will, as a result, have to rely on sourcing REPMs from China in order to meet clean energy demand in the short term.",{"type":591,"attrs":88996,"content":88997},{"textAlign":49},[88998,89002],{"text":88999,"type":596,"marks":89000},"This Benchmark analysis was also published in the Global Wind Energy Council’s Global Wind Report 2023",[89001],{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":89004,"content":89005},{"textAlign":49},[89006],{"text":89007,"type":596,"marks":89008},"Benchmark is launching a new Rare Earths Forecast to provide a detailed long term outlook for supply, demand, prices and costs for rare earth elements (REEs).",[89009],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":89011,"content":89012},{"textAlign":49},[89013],{"text":89014,"type":596,"marks":89015},"If you and your colleagues would like to speak to our team for more on this service, please provide your details here and we’ll contact you shortly.",[89016],{"type":1006},"The increasingly ambitious wind energy targets being set to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources – both in terms of geographical and material dependence – present a challenge from a supply chain perspective. This is particularly true for rare earth elements (REEs), with top policymakers increasingly calling for de-risked supply chains. Wind energy uses large […]",[89019],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89020},{"job_title":557,"image":89021,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"Going local: sourcing rare earths for wind energy from ..",[89024,89025,89026],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":27879,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89028,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The increasingly ambitious wind energy targets being set to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources – both in terms of geographical and material dependence – present a challenge from a supply chain perspective. ",{"id":89031,"uuid":89032,"name":89033,"slug":89034,"full_slug":89035,"content":89036},112471616014985,"b68ef05e-124d-4986-a800-d9234f8fe5ee","US planned LFP battery production capacity soars past Europe with LGES and Gotion plants","us-planned-lfp-battery-production-capacity-soars-past-europe-with-lges-and-gotion-plants","article/us-planned-lfp-battery-production-capacity-soars-past-europe-with-lges-and-gotion-plants",{"_uid":89037,"date":89038,"tags":89039,"editor":89042,"content":89046,"excerpt":89172,"featured":50,"reporter":89173,"_editable":89177,"component":697,"seo_title":89033,"categories":89178,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":89181,"seo_description":89172,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89184},"3497e80e-2f49-46aa-9a3e-7c757bada679","2023-03-24 00:00",[89040,89041],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[89043],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89044},{"job_title":557,"image":89045,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89047},[89048,89060,89065,89070,89075,89086,89091,89096,89108,89115,89120,89125,89137,89142,89147,89152,89157,89162,89167],{"type":591,"attrs":89049,"content":89050},{"textAlign":49},[89051,89053,89058],{"text":89052,"type":596},"US capacity to produce cheaper ",{"text":89054,"type":596,"marks":89055},"lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells",[89056],{"type":606,"attrs":89057},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89059,"type":596}," could increase by two-thirds this decade, far surpassing Europe’s planned buildout, following decisions by China’s Gotion High-Tech and LG Energy Solution to invest in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89061,"content":89062},{"textAlign":49},[89063],{"text":89064,"type":596},"LGES announced it would invest $5.5 billion to build a battery plant in Arizona, including $2.3 billion for a factory with capacity to produce 16 gigawatt hours of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems (ESS).",{"type":591,"attrs":89066,"content":89067},{"textAlign":49},[89068],{"text":89069,"type":596},"Gotion also plans to build a 50 GWh LFP cell plant in the US, Benchmark understands. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89071,"content":89072},{"textAlign":49},[89073],{"text":89074,"type":596},"The deals significantly increase the potential supply of LFP cells for the US market, which are needed for cheaper electric vehicles as well as energy storage installations. Automakers including Ford and Tesla are increasingly switching to LFP cells, in order to lower the costs of vehicles and increase their margins. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89076,"content":89077},{"textAlign":49},[89078,89080,89085],{"text":89079,"type":596},"The US is also reliant on LFP cells for energy storage systems, which are set to grow quickly following ",{"text":89081,"type":596,"marks":89082},"the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year",[89083],{"type":606,"attrs":89084},{"href":88508,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":89087,"content":89088},{"textAlign":49},[89089],{"text":89090,"type":596},"The North American LFP pipeline is now on track to reach 164.1 GWh of cell capacity in 2030, according to the Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment. That compares to 24.5 GWh of planned LFP battery production capacity for Europe by the end of the decade and 98.1 GWh before the two announcements.",{"type":615,"attrs":89092,"content":89093},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89094],{"text":89095,"type":596},"China is the LFP King",{"type":591,"attrs":89097,"content":89098},{"textAlign":49},[89099,89101,89106],{"text":89100,"type":596},"China currently ",{"text":89102,"type":596,"marks":89103},"dominates",[89104],{"type":606,"attrs":89105},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89107,"type":596}," LFP battery cell and cathode production, led by CATL and BYD, and is forecast to produce 99.5% of the LFP cells and 99% of LFP cathode material this year, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89109,"content":89110},{"textAlign":49},[89111],{"type":836,"attrs":89112},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":89113,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":89114},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9bcdf63b89/bm-china-dominates-lfp-production-129689139d52.webp",{},{"type":591,"attrs":89116,"content":89117},{"textAlign":49},[89118],{"text":89119,"type":596},"LFP batteries accounted for 34% of global battery cell demand last year, according to the Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":89121,"content":89122},{"textAlign":49},[89123],{"text":89124,"type":596},"But US automakers are increasingly switching to the technology, in order to produce cheaper vehicles and increase their margins. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89126,"content":89127},{"textAlign":49},[89128,89130,89135],{"text":89129,"type":596},"In February Ford ",{"text":89131,"type":596,"marks":89132},"agreed",[89133],{"type":606,"attrs":89134},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89136,"type":596}," to licence CATL’s technology to build an LFP plant in Michigan.",{"type":591,"attrs":89138,"content":89139},{"textAlign":49},[89140],{"text":89141,"type":596},"The automaker said initial production is scheduled to start in 2026 and will add about 35 GWh a year of new battery capacity in the US initially, enough to supply 400,000 electric vehicles.",{"type":615,"attrs":89143,"content":89144},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89145],{"text":89146,"type":596},"Gotion advances in the US ",{"type":591,"attrs":89148,"content":89149},{"textAlign":49},[89150],{"text":89151,"type":596},"The largest US LFP battery plant is set to be built by Gotion, and is scheduled to begin production in 2025 with full capacity expected to be brought online by 2028. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89153,"content":89154},{"textAlign":49},[89155],{"text":89156,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates Gotion will establish an initial capacity of 10 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89158,"content":89159},{"textAlign":49},[89160],{"text":89161,"type":596},"Gotion’s undisclosed site for the US cell plant includes plans to produce prismatic LFP cells that would cater to the North American electric vehicle and the energy storage market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89163,"content":89164},{"textAlign":49},[89165],{"text":89166,"type":596},"The plant is expected to source cathode material from the company’s planned 150,000 tonnes a year capacity from an upcoming base near Big Rapids, Michigan, that is scheduled to begin production in 2025.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":89168,"content":89169},{"textAlign":49},[89170],{"text":89171,"type":596},"Gotion’s global cell capacity reached 93 GWh in 2022 and the pipeline is expected to reach 301 GWh by the end of 2030, according to the Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment. A total of 18% of Gotion’s pipeline capacity is now planned for development outside of China.","US capacity to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells could increase by two-thirds this decade, far surpassing Europe’s planned buildout, following decisions by China’s Gotion High-Tech and LG Energy Solution to invest in the country. LGES announced it would invest $5.5 billion to build a battery plant in Arizona, including $2.3 billion for a […]",[89174],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89175},{"job_title":557,"image":89176,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3497e80e-2f49-46aa-9a3e-7c757bada679\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[89179,89180],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":89182,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89183,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/567a02e9b3/bm-gotion.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 24, 2023",{"id":89186,"uuid":89187,"name":89188,"slug":89189,"full_slug":89190,"content":89191},112471625509515,"69dbbb8d-cb0d-44bf-bc91-c44157cd9946","Synthetic graphite prices close gap with natural as tolling fees fall","synthetic-graphite-prices-close-gap-with-natural-as-tolling-fees-fall","article/synthetic-graphite-prices-close-gap-with-natural-as-tolling-fees-fall",{"_uid":89192,"date":89193,"tags":89194,"editor":89196,"content":89200,"excerpt":89302,"featured":50,"reporter":89303,"_editable":89307,"component":697,"seo_title":89188,"categories":89308,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":89311,"seo_description":89302,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89314},"00695fc5-acae-45b3-8b0e-4524bab63b78","2023-03-23 00:00",[89195],{"slug":575,"name":576},[89197],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89198},{"job_title":557,"image":89199,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89201},[89202,89207,89212,89224,89229,89234,89239,89250,89255,89260,89265,89270,89275,89280,89287,89292,89297],{"type":591,"attrs":89203,"content":89204},{"textAlign":49},[89205],{"text":89206,"type":596},"Prices for high energy synthetic graphite anodes have fallen by 8% this year, making them more competitive against natural graphite products, and helping to further lower battery cell costs for automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89208,"content":89209},{"textAlign":49},[89210],{"text":89211,"type":596},"Continued investment into production capacity, falling feedstock costs, and a 59% fall in graphitisation tolling fees since last summer has all hit prices for synthetic graphite anodes used in electric vehicles, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89213,"content":89214},{"textAlign":49},[89215,89217,89222],{"text":89216,"type":596},"The premium for high energy ",{"text":69122,"type":596,"marks":89218},[89219],{"type":606,"attrs":89220},{"href":89221,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/could-flake-graphite-bottlenecks-push-automakers-to-synthetic",{"text":89223,"type":596}," over natural graphite anodes has fallen to just RMB 10,000 a tonne ($1,453) from RMB 17,500 a tonne ($2,543) in December 2021. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89225,"content":89226},{"textAlign":49},[89227],{"text":89228,"type":596},"The fall in synthetic graphite prices is likely to put further pressure on anode producers, as battery cell manufacturers work through inventory amid weak EV demand, or look to negotiate lower purchasing prices under cost pressure from automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89230,"content":89231},{"textAlign":49},[89232],{"text":89233,"type":596},"Coming alongside cheaper lithium, cobalt and nickel prices, it will also help lower overall lithium ion battery cell costs. Anodes can account for around 6% of the bill of materials costs of lithium ion batteries. ",{"type":615,"attrs":89235,"content":89236},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89237],{"text":89238,"type":596},"Rush to build capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":89240,"content":89241},{"textAlign":49},[89242,89243,89248],{"text":21025,"type":596},{"text":89244,"type":596,"marks":89245},"dominates global anode production",[89246],{"type":606,"attrs":89247},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89249,"type":596},", and is set to produce 90% of supply by the end of this decade, mostly from synthetic graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89251,"content":89252},{"textAlign":49},[89253],{"text":89254,"type":596},"But the anode market in the country is becoming increasingly saturated with Tier 2 and Tier 3 producers, increasing competition and pushing down prices, especially for low and medium energy synthetic graphite anodes used in ESS and consumer electronics.",{"type":591,"attrs":89256,"content":89257},{"textAlign":49},[89258],{"text":89259,"type":596},"That capacity buildout has continued this year, on hopes of a recovery in China’s EV market this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89261,"content":89262},{"textAlign":49},[89263],{"text":89264,"type":596},"While production from Tier 3 anode producers in China grew by 18% year-over-year between 2021 and 2022, it is expected to increase by 385% this year compared to 2022, according to Benchmark’s Anode Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89266,"content":89267},{"textAlign":49},[89268],{"text":89269,"type":596},"“The resulting downstream pressure on synthetic graphite production costs, combined with lower coke feedstock prices and falling graphitisation tolling fees, has weighed on synthetic graphite anode pricing more substantially than natural graphite anode pricing,” Adam Megginson, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89271,"content":89272},{"textAlign":49},[89273],{"text":89274,"type":596},"A number of players have developed their own in-house graphitisation capacity following tight availability of third-party capacity throughout 2021 and early 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89276,"content":89277},{"textAlign":49},[89278],{"text":89279,"type":596},"These companies are also increasingly using high sulphur coke as feedstock, which is cheaper. ",{"type":615,"attrs":89281,"content":89282},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89283,89285],{"text":89284,"type":596},"Graphitisation ",{"text":89286,"type":596},"fees fall",{"type":591,"attrs":89288,"content":89289},{"textAlign":49},[89290],{"text":89291,"type":596},"Anode producers without their own graphitisation plants need to pay others to carry out the energy-intensive process, but there is currently overcapacity in the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89293,"content":89294},{"textAlign":49},[89295],{"text":89296,"type":596},"Tolling fees for graphitisation have tumbled since reaching record highs last May, as anode producers have moved to develop their own in-house capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89298,"content":89299},{"textAlign":49},[89300],{"text":89301,"type":596},"They fell by 19% in March from a month earlier to an average of RMB 11,000/tonne ($1,599), according to Benchmark, the lowest price since 2020.","Prices for high energy synthetic graphite anodes have fallen by 8% this year, making them more competitive against natural graphite products, and helping to further lower battery cell costs for automakers. Continued investment into production capacity, falling feedstock costs, and a 59% fall in graphitisation tolling fees since last summer has all hit prices for […]",[89304],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89305},{"job_title":557,"image":89306,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"00695fc5-acae-45b3-8b0e-4524bab63b78\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[89309,89310],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":89312,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89313,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b3e65efb38/bm-battery-anode-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 23, 2023",{"id":89316,"uuid":89317,"name":89318,"slug":89319,"full_slug":89320,"content":89321},112471635171981,"9a8c02e8-5108-46f9-bc42-7195cbc6ee25","Over 100 GWh of sodium ion battery capacity planned for 2030 as industry seeks alternative to lithium","over-100-gwh-of-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-planned-for-2030-as-industry-seeks-alternative-to-lithium","article/over-100-gwh-of-sodium-ion-battery-capacity-planned-for-2030-as-industry-seeks-alternative-to-lithium",{"_uid":89322,"date":89323,"tags":89324,"editor":89327,"content":89331,"excerpt":89531,"featured":51,"reporter":89532,"_editable":89536,"component":697,"seo_title":89318,"categories":89537,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":89540,"seo_description":89531,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89543},"3cb2a3e9-b3b8-4293-9fea-eb5d11e7ac29","2023-03-22 00:00",[89325,89326],{"slug":40022,"name":40023},{"slug":4350,"name":4351},[89328],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89329},{"job_title":557,"image":89330,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89332},[89333,89345,89350,89355,89360,89372,89384,89389,89394,89399,89404,89409,89414,89419,89424,89429,89434,89439,89444,89449,89454,89459,89463,89468,89476,89481,89486,89491,89496,89501,89506,89511,89516,89521,89526],{"type":591,"attrs":89334,"content":89335},{"textAlign":49},[89336,89338,89343],{"text":89337,"type":596},"Plans to produce sodium ion batteries, which use no ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":89339},[89340],{"type":606,"attrs":89341},{"href":89342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-slip-again-in-february-as-weak-ev-demand-slows-two-year-rally",{"text":89344,"type":596},", are accelerating, with over 100 gigawatt-hours of production capacity in the pipeline, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89346,"content":89347},{"textAlign":49},[89348],{"text":89349,"type":596},"There are a total of 28 plants operating, planned or under construction, as tracked by Benchmark, almost all of them in China. There is currently already around 3.1 GWh of sodium ion battery capacity in the country.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":89351,"content":89352},{"textAlign":49},[89353],{"text":89354,"type":596},"Sodium ion batteries could help reduce the battery industry’s reliance on lithium, and also eventually lower the cost of storing energy. They are already beginning to penetrate the electric bike and battery energy storage market, and this year were tested in electric vehicles in China for the first time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89356,"content":89357},{"textAlign":49},[89358],{"text":89359,"type":596},"Rho Motion forecasts sodium ion chemistries will make up 6% of the energy storage space by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":89361,"content":89362},{"textAlign":49},[89363,89365,89371],{"text":89364,"type":596},"However, the nascent industry has a long way to go to catch up to lithium ion. Current plans are set to see sodium production capacity in 2030 be just 1.3% of that forecast by Benchmark for ",{"text":89366,"type":596,"marks":89367},"lithium ion gigafactories",[89368],{"type":606,"attrs":89369},{"href":89370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-production-set-to-pass-1-twh-in-2023",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":89373,"content":89374},{"textAlign":49},[89375,89377,89382],{"text":89376,"type":596},"In addition, a ",{"text":89378,"type":596,"marks":89379},"falling lithium price",[89380],{"type":606,"attrs":89381},{"href":89342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89383,"type":596}," may erode the advantages of sodium ion technology, Albert Li, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89385,"content":89386},{"textAlign":49},[89387],{"text":89388,"type":596},"“There’s still a long way to go,” Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer at Benchmark, said. “An announcement you can write in two hours, developing a plant takes years.”",{"type":615,"attrs":89390,"content":89391},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89392],{"text":89393,"type":596},"Energy density tradeoffs",{"type":591,"attrs":89395,"content":89396},{"textAlign":49},[89397],{"text":89398,"type":596},"Due to the relatively larger size of the sodium ion, the energy density of sodium ion batteries is lower than their lithium counterparts.",{"type":591,"attrs":89400,"content":89401},{"textAlign":49},[89402],{"text":89403,"type":596},"However, for energy storage applications, energy density is less important than cost–which is expected to be significantly lower than lithium-based batteries due to the abundance of sodium.",{"type":591,"attrs":89405,"content":89406},{"textAlign":49},[89407],{"text":89408,"type":596},"HiNa Battery, a Chinese sodium ion battery developer, has signed an agreement to supply sodium ion batteries for a 30 MW / 60 MWh battery energy storage system in Anhui, China. The system is due to be commissioned in June this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":89410,"content":89411},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89412],{"text":89413,"type":596},"Can sodium ion be used in electric vehicles? ",{"type":591,"attrs":89415,"content":89416},{"textAlign":49},[89417],{"text":89418,"type":596},"However, it is not just stationary storage where sodium ion chemistry is making moves. The technology is also being deployed in electric vehicles as a low cost alternative to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for lower range models, especially in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":89420,"content":89421},{"textAlign":49},[89422],{"text":89423,"type":596},"Last month, through a collaboration with Sehol, a joint venture between carmakers Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC) and Volkswagen, HiNa produced the world’s first sodium ion battery-powered test EV.",{"type":591,"attrs":89425,"content":89426},{"textAlign":49},[89427],{"text":89428,"type":596},"Farasis Energy, a Chinese battery maker that is moving into sodium ion production, also has 1 GWh of capacity already built. At the start of this month, it announced it would supply Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle with sodium ion battery packs for its EV3 electric sedan.",{"type":615,"attrs":89430,"content":89431},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89432],{"text":89433,"type":596},"Using the same manufacturing lines ",{"type":591,"attrs":89435,"content":89436},{"textAlign":49},[89437],{"text":89438,"type":596},"The first generation of sodium ion batteries will have a large overlap with the chemistries used for lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":89440,"content":89441},{"textAlign":49},[89442],{"text":89443,"type":596},"However, an advantage of this technological overlap is that existing lithium ion battery production lines can be converted to sodium ion and established supply chains can be tapped into.",{"type":591,"attrs":89445,"content":89446},{"textAlign":49},[89447],{"text":89448,"type":596},"Currently, 40% of the 2030 pipeline for sodium ion production capacity is from converted lines rather than new factories.",{"type":591,"attrs":89450,"content":89451},{"textAlign":49},[89452],{"text":89453,"type":596},"For example, Farasis operates a lithium ion gigafactory in Ganzhou, China. The company has converted some of its lithium ion battery production lines at the factory to sodium ion in order to produce batteries for Jiangling Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":89455,"content":89456},{"textAlign":49},[89457],{"text":89458,"type":596},"“This strategy not only saves costs, but reduces risk for many companies, in the event of weak sodium ion cell demand,” Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":89460,"content":89461},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89462],{"text":76134,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":89464,"content":89465},{"textAlign":49},[89466],{"text":89467,"type":596},"Just as it does for the production of lithium ion batteries, China is in a dominating position in the 2030 capacity pipeline for sodium ion battery production.",{"type":591,"attrs":89469,"content":89470},{"textAlign":49},[89471],{"type":836,"attrs":89472},{"id":49,"alt":89473,"src":89474,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":89475},"China dominates in sodium ion battery capacity","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7e8eec6459/bm-sodium-ion-capacity.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":89477,"content":89478},{"textAlign":49},[89479],{"text":89480,"type":596},"China was the only country to have any sodium ion battery production capacity last year, according to Benchmark, with a total of 3.1 GWh. This is expected to grow to 15.4 GW this year, and 93.8 GWh by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":89482,"content":89483},{"textAlign":49},[89484],{"text":89485,"type":596},"Of all the sodium ion capacity tracked by Benchmark, the top five plants by forecast 2030 capacity are all based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":89487,"content":89488},{"textAlign":49},[89489],{"text":89490,"type":596},"“The surge in sodium ion capacity commitments over the past year has been led almost exclusively by Chinese companies planning domestic facilities,” Hartley said. “Sodium ion cell plants outside of China are primarily being run by battery start-ups, with no major western automakers or cell producers backing sodium ion as of yet.”",{"type":591,"attrs":89492,"content":89493},{"textAlign":49},[89494],{"text":89495,"type":596},"HiNa Battery Technology, a Chinese sodium-ion battery maker, leads the pack, with 1 GWh of capacity already operating. It is expected to reach 10 GWh of capacity by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":89497,"content":89498},{"textAlign":49},[89499],{"text":89500,"type":596},"The largest pipeline capacity comes from Jiangsu Transimage Technology, which has a planned 12.5 GWh facility due to begin operations in 2024. In a statement earlier this month, the company said the first phase was already built and would begin trial production soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":89502,"content":89503},{"textAlign":49},[89504],{"text":89505,"type":596},"CATL, the world’s largest lithium ion battery producer, is also targeting 10 GWh of production at its planned sodium ion facility. Its sodium ion battery cells supposedly boast the highest energy density of any first-generation sodium ion battery at 160 watt-hours per kilogram, compared to 155 Wh/kg for HiNa’s battery cells, similar to that of LFP.",{"type":615,"attrs":89507,"content":89508},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89509],{"text":89510,"type":596},"Rest of world plays catchup",{"type":591,"attrs":89512,"content":89513},{"textAlign":49},[89514],{"text":89515,"type":596},"Outside of China, Benchmark tracks just four facilities being developed by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":89517,"content":89518},{"textAlign":49},[89519],{"text":89520,"type":596},"In the near term, only one non-Chinese facility is expected to come online this year: Natron Energy’s 0.6 GWh plant in Michigan, US.",{"type":591,"attrs":89522,"content":89523},{"textAlign":49},[89524],{"text":89525,"type":596},"The largest non-Chinese production capacity in the 2030 pipeline is being developed by Tiamat Energy in France. Its 6 GWh facility in France is expected to begin operations in 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89527,"content":89528},{"textAlign":49},[89529],{"text":89530,"type":596},"In December 2018, Tiamat received €50,000 in funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, aiming to accelerate the progression of sodium ion technology from academia to industry.","Plans to produce sodium ion batteries, which use no lithium, are accelerating, with over 100 gigawatt-hours of production capacity in the pipeline, according to Benchmark. There are a total of 28 plants operating, planned or under construction, as tracked by Benchmark, almost all of them in China. There is currently already around 3.1 GWh of […]",[89533],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89534},{"job_title":557,"image":89535,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3cb2a3e9-b3b8-4293-9fea-eb5d11e7ac29\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[89538,89539],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":89541,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89542,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0728d0c7d9/bm-wechat-image-20230322071114.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 22, 2023",{"id":89545,"uuid":89546,"name":89547,"slug":89548,"full_slug":89549,"content":89550},112471650388624,"e6a9d5df-5f1a-4992-ab91-d15fc3f2b821","What are the ESG implications of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act?","what-are-the-esg-implications-of-the-eu-critical-raw-materials-act","article/what-are-the-esg-implications-of-the-eu-critical-raw-materials-act",{"_uid":89551,"date":89552,"tags":89553,"editor":89558,"content":89562,"excerpt":89751,"featured":50,"reporter":89752,"_editable":89756,"component":697,"seo_title":89547,"categories":89757,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":89760,"seo_description":89751,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89764},"41f5eb9e-5723-4bfe-b590-c24b51b172de","2023-03-17 00:00",[89554,89555,89556,89557],{"slug":34022,"name":34023},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},[89559],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89560},{"job_title":557,"image":89561,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89563},[89564,89574,89586,89593,89598,89603,89608,89615,89620,89625,89630,89635,89640,89645,89650,89662,89669,89681,89686,89691,89696,89701,89706,89711,89716,89721,89726,89731,89736,89741,89746],{"type":591,"attrs":89565,"content":89566},{"textAlign":49},[89567,89572],{"text":89568,"type":596,"marks":89569},"The EU Critical Raw Materials Act",[89570],{"type":606,"attrs":89571},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89573,"type":596}," aims to create “strong, resilient and sustainable” value chains for minerals by encouraging the development of mining and processing within Europe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89575,"content":89576},{"textAlign":49},[89577,89579,89584],{"text":89578,"type":596},"It also includes a number of ",{"text":89580,"type":596,"marks":89581},"proposals",[89582],{"type":606,"attrs":89583},{"href":57817,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89585,"type":596}," to strengthen ESG oversight of the sector. Here’s a breakdown of some of the proposals: ",{"type":615,"attrs":89587,"content":89588},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89589,89591],{"text":89590,"type":596},"Speeding up mine",{"text":89592,"type":596}," permitting",{"type":591,"attrs":89594,"content":89595},{"textAlign":49},[89596],{"text":89597,"type":596},"The act aims to cut permitting for selected projects to 24 months for mining permits and 12 months for processing and recycling permits. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89599,"content":89600},{"textAlign":49},[89601],{"text":89602,"type":596},"That would be a significant reduction in the amount of time needed to permit a mine, which can take years currently. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89604,"content":89605},{"textAlign":49},[89606],{"text":89607,"type":596},"However, the act also notes that strategic projects should be “implemented in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":89609,"content":89610},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89611,89613],{"text":89612,"type":596},"Stimulating more",{"text":89614,"type":596}," recycling ",{"type":591,"attrs":89616,"content":89617},{"textAlign":49},[89618],{"text":89619,"type":596},"The act says that EU countries will take measures to improve the collection of waste containing critical raw materials and “ensure its recycling into secondary critical raw materials.”  ",{"type":591,"attrs":89621,"content":89622},{"textAlign":49},[89623],{"text":89624,"type":596},"The act acknowledges that today, recycling rates remain low for most critical raw materials, as well as capacities and technologies being insufficient. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89626,"content":89627},{"textAlign":49},[89628],{"text":89629,"type":596},"However it also sets a specific target for the EU to reach 15% of its annual consumption of CRMs via recycling by 2030, giving the bloc ~7 years to build out recycling capabilities for lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese recovery. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89631,"content":89632},{"textAlign":49},[89633],{"text":89634,"type":596},"Broadly, the act seeks to bolster circularity, citing that efforts to facilitate this are critical across all CRMs, both in the EU and globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89636,"content":89637},{"textAlign":49},[89638],{"text":89639,"type":596},"The Commission states that in 2024 they will seek to propose waste codes for lithium ion batteries and intermediate products of recycling, i.e., black mass. This will have impacts on the movement of recycling feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":89641,"content":89642},{"textAlign":49},[89643],{"text":89644,"type":596},"“This is an important step in advancing the LiB recycling ecosystem given the increasing movement of end-of-life batteries and black mass within EU, and globally,” Sarah Colbourn, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":89646,"content":89647},{"textAlign":49},[89648],{"text":89649,"type":596},"For rare earth permanent magnets it also aims to incentivise “large-scale recycling” by setting requirements on recyclability and recycled content.",{"type":591,"attrs":89651,"content":89652},{"textAlign":49},[89653,89655,89660],{"text":89654,"type":596},"Currently China produces almost all the world’s permanent ",{"text":89656,"type":596,"marks":89657},"rare earth magnets",[89658],{"type":606,"attrs":89659},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89661,"type":596}," used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. The inclusion of rare earth elements in magnet alloys allows for incredibly powerful magnets.",{"type":615,"attrs":89663,"content":89664},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89665,89667],{"text":89666,"type":596},"Pushing ",{"text":89668,"type":596},"international ESG standards ",{"type":591,"attrs":89670,"content":89671},{"textAlign":49},[89672,89674,89679],{"text":89673,"type":596},"The act proposes to set up a global critical raw materials “club” for interested countries and says the EU will work with members on the “development of international ",{"text":89675,"type":596,"marks":89676},"ESG principles",[89677],{"type":606,"attrs":89678},{"href":45046,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89680,"type":596},".” ",{"type":591,"attrs":89682,"content":89683},{"textAlign":49},[89684],{"text":89685,"type":596},"“These ESG principles could then pave the way to the development of international ESG norms, preferably through international bodies such as ISO, ILO, UN or the OECD and, wherever possible, building on existing international initiative,” it said.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":89687,"content":89688},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89689],{"text":89690,"type":596},"Supply chain auditing ",{"type":591,"attrs":89692,"content":89693},{"textAlign":49},[89694],{"text":89695,"type":596},"The push for supply chain auditing to go from a voluntary process to a mandatory requirement for some larger companies is a welcome one, that is likely to ratchet up ambition across the industry if companies want to keep complying with necessary regulations in the EU market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89697,"content":89698},{"textAlign":49},[89699],{"text":89700,"type":596},"The document states that existing certification schemes, both public and private, will be recognised, given that they “cover a broad range of sustainability aspects, including environmental protection, human rights including labour rights and business transparency, and which contain provisions for independent third party verification and monitoring of compliance.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":89702,"content":89703},{"textAlign":49},[89704],{"text":89705,"type":596},"It will be interesting to monitor which auditing schemes will qualify and be certified by the Union, given the current fragmentation and the plethora of existing standards that exist, which is a roadblock for effective reporting at present. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89707,"content":89708},{"textAlign":49},[89709],{"text":89710,"type":596},"It is important that the mining industry converges around standards and definitions and encourages sustainability reporting/responsible sourcing that is comparable and consistent and promotes best practice.",{"type":615,"attrs":89712,"content":89713},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89714],{"text":89715,"type":596},"EU Taxonomy",{"type":591,"attrs":89717,"content":89718},{"textAlign":49},[89719],{"text":89720,"type":596},"The document also confirms our sense that although mining and refining does not yet come under the EU Taxonomy, this is something that is in the works for its next edition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89722,"content":89723},{"textAlign":49},[89724],{"text":89725,"type":596},"The EU Taxonomy is a classification system that establishes a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89727,"content":89728},{"textAlign":49},[89729],{"text":89730,"type":596},"The act says the “Commission will ask the Platform on Sustainable Finance 2.0 to develop taxonomy criteria for mining and refining under the EU Taxonomy.”  ",{"type":591,"attrs":89732,"content":89733},{"textAlign":49},[89734],{"text":89735,"type":596},"If it is approved this will be a great step towards defining and setting higher and more consistent sustainability standards across the industry, and stimulate greater investment into the industry by giving downstream players greater confidence that they are making sustainable, Taxonomy-compliant investments.",{"type":615,"attrs":89737,"content":89738},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[89739],{"text":89740,"type":596},"The need for skills",{"type":591,"attrs":89742,"content":89743},{"textAlign":49},[89744],{"text":89745,"type":596},"Having the right skills is the prerequisite to make a “just transition” happen, as skills gaps can create a bottleneck. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89747,"content":89748},{"textAlign":49},[89749],{"text":89750,"type":596},"This is emphasised in the document as they have proposed to “establish a Raw Materials Academy as part of the Net Zero Academies, to develop and offer training and education programmes to reskill and upskill a workforce for the upscaling of the critical raw material value chain in Europe”","The EU Critical Raw Materials Act aims to create “strong, resilient and sustainable” value chains for minerals by encouraging the development of mining and processing within Europe. It also includes a number of proposals to strengthen ESG oversight of the sector. Here’s a breakdown of some of the proposals: Speeding up mine permitting The act aims […]",[89753],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89754},{"job_title":557,"image":89755,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"41f5eb9e-5723-4bfe-b590-c24b51b172de\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[89758,89759],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":89761,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":89761,"source":547,"filename":89762,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89763,"is_external_url":51},"EU Parliment","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f3e6b47490/bm-eu-parliment1.png",{"alt":89761,"title":89761,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 17, 2023",{"id":89766,"uuid":89767,"name":89768,"slug":89769,"full_slug":89770,"content":89771},112471674710777,"f1267736-0546-48c9-9880-400688a655ef","US loosens IRA requirements with EU mineral supply deal","us-loosens-ira-requirements-with-eu-mineral-supply-deal","article/us-loosens-ira-requirements-with-eu-mineral-supply-deal",{"_uid":89772,"date":89773,"tags":89774,"editor":89777,"content":89781,"excerpt":89859,"featured":50,"reporter":89860,"_editable":89864,"component":697,"seo_title":89768,"categories":89865,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":89869,"seo_description":89859,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89872},"c7e70072-a3c2-4d3b-8e97-8272a5fe10b4","2023-03-16 00:00",[89775,89776],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[89778],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89779},{"job_title":557,"image":89780,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89782},[89783,89795,89800,89805,89810,89815,89820,89832,89837,89844,89849,89854],{"type":591,"attrs":89784,"content":89785},{"textAlign":49},[89786,89788,89793],{"text":89787,"type":596},"The US agreed that European Union minerals can be eligible for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, in a step that could herald a further loosening of the climate bill’s ",{"text":50869,"type":596,"marks":89789},[89790],{"type":606,"attrs":89791},{"href":89792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ira-lifts-us-battery-pipeline-growth-in-second-half-of-the-year-outpacing-europe",{"text":89794,"type":596}," requirements. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89796,"content":89797},{"textAlign":49},[89798],{"text":89799,"type":596},"European carmakers and raw material producers will “get access to US tax breaks,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said following a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington.",{"type":591,"attrs":89801,"content":89802},{"textAlign":49},[89803],{"text":89804,"type":596},"“The aim is to ensure that critical raw materials for electric vehicle batteries, extracted or processed in the EU, are treated in the same way as if they came from the US,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":89806,"content":89807},{"textAlign":49},[89808],{"text":89809,"type":596},"The deal could lead to further tweaks to the IRA’s strict critical raw material provisions, to allow other countries such as Japan, Argentina, Indonesia or even Chinese companies to be eligible for subsidies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89811,"content":89812},{"textAlign":49},[89813],{"text":89814,"type":596},"The settlement comes as German automaker Volkswagen said it would build its first North American gigafactory in Canada, in a bid to take advantage of the IRA subsidies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89816,"content":89817},{"textAlign":49},[89818],{"text":89819,"type":596},"The US IRA specifies that for automakers to get electric vehicle tax credits at least 40% of the value of the critical minerals contained in a vehicle battery must be extracted or processed in a free trade agreement country. That rises to 80% by 2027. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89821,"content":89822},{"textAlign":49},[89823,89825,89830],{"text":89824,"type":596},"That’s put increasing ",{"text":89826,"type":596,"marks":89827},"pressure on US automakers",[89828],{"type":606,"attrs":89829},{"href":82211,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89831,"type":596}," to actively secure lithium and other materials from free trade agreement countries or from domestic sources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89833,"content":89834},{"textAlign":49},[89835],{"text":89836,"type":596},"But meeting the IRA’s target for lithium would require 75% of lithium supply from free trade agreement countries such as Chile and Australia, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89838,"content":89839},{"textAlign":49},[89840],{"type":836,"attrs":89841},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":89842,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":89843},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2c39b38c60/bm-us-ira-requirements.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":89845,"content":89846},{"textAlign":49},[89847],{"text":89848,"type":596},"Biden and von der Leyen said they would “immediately begin negotiations on a targeted critical minerals agreement for the purpose of enabling relevant critical minerals extracted or processed in the European Union to count toward requirements for clean vehicles in the Section 30D clean vehicle tax credit of the Inflation Reduction Act.”",{"type":591,"attrs":89850,"content":89851},{"textAlign":49},[89852],{"text":89853,"type":596},"The deal comes as global critical mineral partnerships are accelerating, as governments around the world look to reduce reliance on China for key raw materials used in clean energy technologies and military applications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89855,"content":89856},{"textAlign":49},[89857],{"text":89858,"type":596},"This month India and Australia have vowed to increase cooperation on critical minerals. ","The US agreed that European Union minerals can be eligible for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, in a step that could herald a further loosening of the climate bill’s battery requirements. European carmakers and raw material producers will “get access to US tax breaks,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said […]",[89861],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89862},{"job_title":557,"image":89863,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c7e70072-a3c2-4d3b-8e97-8272a5fe10b4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[89866,89867,89868],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":89870,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":89871,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/da0a2232f7/bm-usa-eu-flag-surkovdimitri.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 16, 2023",{"id":89874,"uuid":89875,"name":89876,"slug":89877,"full_slug":89878,"content":89879},112471669873300,"93555ebb-0d15-42c7-aa00-114505f6a006","Volkswagen confirms Canada battery entry with plan for gigafactory","volkswagen-confirms-canada-battery-entry-with-plan-for-gigafactory","article/volkswagen-confirms-canada-battery-entry-with-plan-for-gigafactory",{"_uid":89880,"date":89773,"tags":89881,"editor":89884,"content":89888,"excerpt":90007,"featured":50,"reporter":90008,"_editable":90012,"component":697,"seo_title":89876,"categories":90013,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":90016,"seo_description":90007,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":89872},"9fd3d33f-72a8-4893-84d2-30952ac53b2b",[89882,89883],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":70358,"name":70359},[89885],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":89886},{"job_title":557,"image":89887,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":89889},[89890,89895,89900,89905,89910,89915,89920,89925,89937,89942,89947,89952,89965,89970,89975,89980,89985,89990,90002],{"type":591,"attrs":89891,"content":89892},{"textAlign":49},[89893],{"text":89894,"type":596},"Volkswagen plans to spend €15 billion ($16 billion) over the next five years on battery plants and to secure critical raw materials, a move that includes setting up its first cell making gigafactory outside of Europe in Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":89896,"content":89897},{"textAlign":49},[89898],{"text":89899,"type":596},"The German automaker’s latest plan is part of its bigger push to spend €180 billion ($192 billion) towards electrification by 2027 to get a stronger foothold in the battery supply chain including cell production and access to critical battery raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89901,"content":89902},{"textAlign":49},[89903],{"text":89904,"type":596},"“VW is diversifying its battery manufacturing strategy outside of Europe and China to capture significant market incentives originating from the IRA. Specific legislative financial support is available in the US, which is not offered in Europe,” said James Mills, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":89906,"content":89907},{"textAlign":49},[89908],{"text":89909,"type":596},"Volkswagen has set an ambitious target of 50% electric vehicle sales globally by 2030. To meet the high demand for battery cells, Volkswagen, with its partners, aims to build six gigafactories in Europe alone with a production capacity totaling 240 GWh by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":89911,"content":89912},{"textAlign":49},[89913],{"text":89914,"type":596},"Canada calling",{"type":591,"attrs":89916,"content":89917},{"textAlign":49},[89918],{"text":89919,"type":596},"A gigafactory in Canada would help Volkswagen tap subsidies from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States that is aimed at building local supply chains and lowering reliance on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":89921,"content":89922},{"textAlign":49},[89923],{"text":89924,"type":596},"The IRA incentivises automakers to source or process critical battery minerals in the US or in a country with which it has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) such as Canada in order to receive tax credits. It also demands that the majority of the components of a battery such as cathodes are made in North America starting in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":89926,"content":89927},{"textAlign":49},[89928,89930,89935],{"text":89929,"type":596},"“The business case for Canada is driven by access to IRA credits, low cost, renewable ",{"text":89931,"type":596,"marks":89932},"hydroelectric power",[89933],{"type":606,"attrs":89934},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":89936,"type":596}," to support manufacturing cost reduction, a roadmap for carbon reduction and local availability of cathode and critical minerals,” said Mills.",{"type":591,"attrs":89938,"content":89939},{"textAlign":49},[89940],{"text":89941,"type":596},"Vokswagen’s battery subsidiary PowerCo and Belgium’s Umicore had in December extended a collaboration for cathode and precursor material into the North American market. The two companies had in September announced a $2.9 billion battery parts joint venture to supply the German automaker’s battery subsidiary battery cell factories in Europe 2025 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":89943,"content":89944},{"textAlign":49},[89945],{"text":89946,"type":596},"Umicore’s Ontario cathode plant is expected to begin production at the end of 2025 with the potential to supply up to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year by 2030, enough for over half a million electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":89948,"content":89949},{"textAlign":49},[89950],{"text":89951,"type":596},"Umicore’s Ontario plant has a 95,000 tonnes a year high nickel cathode capacity in the making and Canada’s cathode capacity is set to reach ~260,000 tonnes a year by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89953,"content":89954},{"textAlign":49},[89955,89957,89963],{"text":89956,"type":596},"Further, Volkswagen also ",{"text":89958,"type":596,"marks":89959},"signed agreements",[89960],{"type":606,"attrs":89961},{"href":89962,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vw-mercedes-head-to-canada-seeking-raw-materials-but-can-it-meet-automaker-demand",{"text":89964,"type":596}," with Canada last year for developing and sourcing critical minerals. ",{"type":591,"attrs":89966,"content":89967},{"textAlign":49},[89968],{"text":89969,"type":596},"Building a North American supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":89971,"content":89972},{"textAlign":49},[89973],{"text":89974,"type":596},"Production at Volkswagen’s Ontario cell factory is expected to begin in 2027. The automaker also announced an electric vehicle assembly facility in South Carolina earlier this month and has been offered $1.3 billion from the state government. The steps indicate Volkswagen’s commitment to establish a complete North American EV supply chain.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":89976,"content":89977},{"textAlign":49},[89978],{"text":89979,"type":596},"“And for the upcoming years, we will decide where we want to build new battery plants. And that depends a lot on the industrial framework we are getting in the regions, which support we are getting on the financial level and what the big row is the energy pricing,” Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, told investors at the company’s annual day earlier this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":89981,"content":89982},{"textAlign":49},[89983],{"text":89984,"type":596},"“And turning to North America, the decision we have taken for the Canada plant provides all these aspects, a very positive industrial framework, and guarantees for energy pricing. And beside of this, the opportunity for cooperation and value chain energy and raw materials and that makes this decision so attractive,” said Blume.",{"type":591,"attrs":89986,"content":89987},{"textAlign":49},[89988],{"text":89989,"type":596},"Volkswagen is Europe’s largest traditional automaker and also has a strong presence in China but North America has historically not played a significant role in revenue share for Volkswagen globally. The German automaker aims to change that and is prioritising North America as it expands presence in the electric vehicle space to take on Tesla and other Chinese EV makers.",{"type":591,"attrs":89991,"content":89992},{"textAlign":49},[89993,89995,90000],{"text":89994,"type":596},"“Canada has potential for a strong upstream and midstream supply chain with ",{"text":89996,"type":596,"marks":89997},"cathode majors",[89998],{"type":606,"attrs":89999},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90001,"type":596}," BASF, Posco and EcoPro have all announced plans for cathode production facilities in the region but there has been a lack of investment downstream,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":90003,"content":90004},{"textAlign":49},[90005],{"text":90006,"type":596},"“This announcement may start opening the doors to further downstream investment in Canada, particularly as more cathode and anode players enter the Canadian market,” said Waid.","Volkswagen plans to spend €15 billion ($16 billion) over the next five years on battery plants and to secure critical raw materials, a move that includes setting up its first cell making gigafactory outside of Europe in Canada. The German automaker’s latest plan is part of its bigger push to spend €180 billion ($192 billion) […]",[90009],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90010},{"job_title":557,"image":90011,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9fd3d33f-72a8-4893-84d2-30952ac53b2b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90014,90015],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90017,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90018,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf95e781fd/bm-vw-powerco-canada.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":90020,"uuid":90021,"name":90022,"slug":90023,"full_slug":90024,"content":90025},112471684188923,"d544ef58-576b-40a1-add2-bdaecbe83168","Japan secures rare earths outside China with Lynas, MP Materials deals","japan-secures-rare-earths-outside-china-with-lynas-mp-materials-deals","article/japan-secures-rare-earths-outside-china-with-lynas-mp-materials-deals",{"_uid":90026,"date":90027,"tags":90028,"editor":90030,"content":90034,"excerpt":90134,"featured":50,"reporter":90135,"_editable":90139,"component":697,"seo_title":90140,"categories":90141,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":90143,"seo_description":90146,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":90147},"9fe3c95f-21f0-4486-9a89-d54e0e243b16","2023-03-15 00:00",[90029],{"slug":71401,"name":71402},[90031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90032},{"job_title":557,"image":90033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90035},[90036,90047,90052,90057,90062,90067,90072,90079,90084,90089,90094,90099,90104,90109,90114,90119,90124,90129],{"type":591,"attrs":90037,"content":90038},{"textAlign":49},[90039,90041,90045],{"text":90040,"type":596},"Japan has moved to secure ",{"text":4858,"type":596,"marks":90042},[90043],{"type":606,"attrs":90044},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90046,"type":596}," supplies for its magnet industry by investing A$200 million ($134 million) into Australian producer Lynas and signing an agreement with US miner MP Materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90048,"content":90049},{"textAlign":49},[90050],{"text":90051,"type":596},"This month JOGMEC and Sojitz Corporation, through a special purpose vehicle, said they would buy A$200 million worth of shares of Lynas and also forgo $11.5 million of historical interest due on a loan in 2016. Last month Sumitomo Corporation said it would become the exclusive distributor of rare earth oxides produced by MP Materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90053,"content":90054},{"textAlign":49},[90055],{"text":90056,"type":596},"The deals highlight the importance of rare earths to Japanese industry and the desire to reduce reliance on China, which produces the majority of the world’s rare earth magnets. Japan is the second-largest producer of rare earth magnets behind China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90058,"content":90059},{"textAlign":49},[90060],{"text":90061,"type":596},"“Access to MP Materials’ US-produced rare earths will stabilise, diversify, and strengthen a supply chain of critical importance to Japan’s manufacturing sector,” Sumitomo said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90063,"content":90064},{"textAlign":49},[90065],{"text":90066,"type":596},"Lynas said the money will help it expand production at its mine in Australia by more than 50% by 2024 to meet increased market demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90068,"content":90069},{"textAlign":49},[90070],{"text":90071,"type":596},"“Japanese magnet producers have significant exposure to a single source (China) for the majority of their required NdPr and DyTb material. Their deals with Lynas and MP Materials demonstrate they are actively looking to de-risk their supply chains without sacrificing output volumes,” Daan de Jonge, project manager at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90073,"content":90074},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90075,90077],{"text":90076,"type":596},"Securing ",{"text":90078,"type":596},"Lynas supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":90080,"content":90081},{"textAlign":49},[90082],{"text":90083,"type":596},"In return for their investment JOGMEC and Sojitz will receive priority rights over Lynas’s output until 2038, with at least 7,200 tonnes a year of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) for magnets, with the right to negotiate for more once Lynas’ production surpasses 9,600 tonnes a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":90085,"content":90086},{"textAlign":49},[90087],{"text":90088,"type":596},"The deal provides further support to Lynas, which is racing to displace their concentrate processing operations to Kalgoorlie in order to meet a Malaysian government deadline by July of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":90090,"content":90091},{"textAlign":49},[90092],{"text":90093,"type":596},"“The new agreements will further strengthen the Lynas balance sheet and support funding of capital projects designed to meet accelerating global demand for rare earth materials,” it said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90095,"content":90096},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90097],{"text":90098,"type":596},"Growing an Australian champion ",{"type":591,"attrs":90100,"content":90101},{"textAlign":49},[90102],{"text":90103,"type":596},"JOGMEC and Sojitz have backed Lynas since 2011, when they lent $250 million to the company to secure rare earths following a dispute with China that led Beijing to cut off supplies to the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90105,"content":90106},{"textAlign":49},[90107],{"text":90108,"type":596},"Lynas is currently the second biggest producer of rare earths outside of China, with production of 5,119 tonnes of NdPr in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90110,"content":90111},{"textAlign":49},[90112],{"text":90113,"type":596},"It plans to invest A$500 million to increase NdPr production at its Mt Weld mine in Australia by more than 50% to over 12,000tpa by 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90115,"content":90116},{"textAlign":49},[90117],{"text":90118,"type":596},"The Japanese companies will also receive “priority of supply” of up to 65% of the supply of heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium from the Mt Weld mine, Lynas said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90120,"content":90121},{"textAlign":49},[90122],{"text":90123,"type":596},"Japan is heavily reliant on China for dysprosium and terbium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90125,"content":90126},{"textAlign":49},[90127],{"text":90128,"type":596},"Though this is “subject to any agreement with the US government and to the extent that no opportunity loss will be suffered by Lynas.”",{"type":591,"attrs":90130,"content":90131},{"textAlign":49},[90132],{"text":90133,"type":596},"In June Lynas was awarded $120 million from the US Department of Defense to build a heavy rare earths separation facility in the US, to be co-located with its planned light rare earth separation plant, which will also be partially funded by the DoD.","Japan has moved to secure rare earth supplies for its magnet industry by investing A$200 million ($134 million) into Australian producer Lynas and signing an agreement with US miner MP Materials. This month JOGMEC and Sojitz Corporation, through a special purpose vehicle, said they would buy A$200 million worth of shares of Lynas and also […]",[90136],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90137},{"job_title":557,"image":90138,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9fe3c95f-21f0-4486-9a89-d54e0e243b16\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","Japan secures rare earths outside China with Lynas",[90142],{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90144,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90145,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bb1abcf83f/bm-rare-earths-ndpr.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Japan has moved to secure rare earth supplies for its magnet industry by investing A$200 million ($134 million) into Australian producer Lynas and signing an agreement with US miner MP Materials...","Mar 15, 2023",{"id":90149,"uuid":90150,"name":90151,"slug":90152,"full_slug":90153,"content":90154},112471679458042,"154931d7-cd6b-4e7b-81bb-ea43ae466359","Ex-China lithium premium highlights a market still short of supply","ex-china-lithium-premium-highlights-a-market-still-short-of-supply","article/ex-china-lithium-premium-highlights-a-market-still-short-of-supply",{"_uid":90155,"date":90027,"tags":90156,"editor":90158,"content":90162,"excerpt":90262,"featured":51,"reporter":90263,"_editable":90267,"component":697,"seo_title":90151,"categories":90268,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":90271,"seo_description":90262,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90147},"b02db7f7-56ed-4f31-89e2-2d8854652c81",[90157],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[90159],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90160},{"job_title":557,"image":90161,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90163},[90164,90176,90181,90193,90198,90203,90211,90216,90221,90226,90231,90239,90244,90257],{"type":591,"attrs":90165,"content":90166},{"textAlign":49},[90167,90169,90174],{"text":90168,"type":596},"Lithium prices have ",{"text":90170,"type":596,"marks":90171},"slumped in China this year",[90172],{"type":606,"attrs":90173},{"href":89342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90175,"type":596},", but outside of the country they are holding up much better, an indication that the battery raw material is still in short supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90177,"content":90178},{"textAlign":49},[90179],{"text":90180,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide CIF Asia spot prices were last assessed by Benchmark at a $9,625 premium to the price in China, while for battery-grade lithium carbonate the premium is around $12,000. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90182,"content":90183},{"textAlign":49},[90184,90186,90191],{"text":90185,"type":596},"Because the spot market for lithium outside China is much smaller, international buyers remain willing to purchase lithium at higher price levels. In Japan and South Korea, battery demand for lithium remains stable but strong, and non-battery consumers in North America and Europe are happier to accept less significant discounts than ",{"text":90187,"type":596,"marks":90188},"those seen in China",[90189],{"type":606,"attrs":90190},{"href":80892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90192,"type":596}," to secure material.",{"type":591,"attrs":90194,"content":90195},{"textAlign":49},[90196],{"text":90197,"type":596},"“Essentially there is stable demand outside of China while the Chinese market has become a lot more sentiment driven. In some cases, falling prices in China have encouraged non-battery consumers in Europe and North America to bid for material at lower pricing levels, but these prices are still well above the Chinese domestic market,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “It does indicate that the market is still tight – nothing much has changed in terms of the availability of material.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":90199,"content":90200},{"textAlign":49},[90201],{"text":90202,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have fallen by 34% year-to-date, as sentiment in the Chinese market has turned more cautious. In contrast, spot prices in Asia are down by 19%.",{"type":591,"attrs":90204,"content":90205},{"textAlign":49},[90206],{"type":836,"attrs":90207},{"id":49,"alt":90208,"src":90209,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":90210},"Asian lithium carbonate premium against China grows","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e936129f8/bm-lithium-carbonate.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":90212,"content":90213},{"textAlign":49},[90214],{"text":90215,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate in China was last assessed at RMB 352,500 ($51,125) a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":90217,"content":90218},{"textAlign":49},[90219],{"text":90220,"type":596},"The Chinese lithium market, however, always acts as a bellwether in the lithium industry, so international prices may fall further if prices continue to decline in China, Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":615,"attrs":90222,"content":90223},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90224],{"text":90225,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide premium",{"type":591,"attrs":90227,"content":90228},{"textAlign":49},[90229],{"text":90230,"type":596},"The price disparity between battery grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in China has also widened, increasing to RMB 60,500/tonne ($8,775) this week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90232,"content":90233},{"textAlign":49},[90234],{"type":836,"attrs":90235},{"id":49,"alt":90236,"src":90237,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":90238},"Asian lithium hydroxide premium against China","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1922344af6/bm-lithium-hydroxide-12962991fc33.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":90240,"content":90241},{"textAlign":49},[90242],{"text":90243,"type":596},"This is being driven by opposing feedstock supply dynamics, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90245,"content":90246},{"textAlign":49},[90247,90249,90255],{"text":90248,"type":596},"Lithium brine operations in Qinghai Province have continued to ramp up production of carbonate following the winter period, while on the other hand ",{"text":90250,"type":596,"marks":90251},"supply of spodumene concentrate",[90252],{"type":606,"attrs":90253},{"href":90254,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-yahua-deepens-presence-in-south-koreas-battery-supply-chain",{"text":90256,"type":596}," into China continues to remain constrained, limiting pricing downside for lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":90258,"content":90259},{"textAlign":49},[90260],{"text":90261,"type":596},"This significant hydroxide premium has been observed over a longer period outside of China, with international markets feeling the squeeze on hydroxide availability since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, given how limited ex-China hydroxide production capacity already is.","Lithium prices have slumped in China this year, but outside of the country they are holding up much better, an indication that the battery raw material is still in short supply. Lithium hydroxide CIF Asia spot prices were last assessed by Benchmark at a $9,625 premium to the price in China, while for battery-grade lithium […]",[90264],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90265},{"job_title":557,"image":90266,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b02db7f7-56ed-4f31-89e2-2d8854652c81\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90269,90270],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90272,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90273,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5e06636cf8/bm-salar-de-atacama.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":90275,"uuid":90276,"name":90277,"slug":90278,"full_slug":90279,"content":90280},112471693867773,"9b376d80-dff8-46ff-9617-5729520f4aba","China NEV sales rebound 29% from January as automakers start price war","china-nev-sales-rebound-29-from-january-as-automakers-start-price-war","article/china-nev-sales-rebound-29-from-january-as-automakers-start-price-war",{"_uid":90281,"date":90282,"tags":90283,"editor":90285,"content":90289,"excerpt":90365,"featured":51,"reporter":90366,"_editable":90370,"component":697,"seo_title":90277,"categories":90371,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":90373,"seo_description":90365,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90376},"4207f29a-50ad-489e-b6b5-19ac5f335077","2023-03-14 00:00",[90284],{"slug":575,"name":576},[90286],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90287},{"job_title":557,"image":90288,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90290},[90291,90302,90307,90312,90317,90322,90327,90332,90337,90350,90355,90360],{"type":591,"attrs":90292,"content":90293},{"textAlign":49},[90294,90296,90301],{"text":90295,"type":596},"Sales of new energy vehicles in China rose by 29% in February from a month earlier, as a number of automakers cut prices in the world’s largest electric vehicle market following a ",{"text":90297,"type":596,"marks":90298},"weak start to the year",[90299],{"type":606,"attrs":90300},{"href":87556,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":90303,"content":90304},{"textAlign":49},[90305],{"text":90306,"type":596},"Wholesale sales of new energy vehicles rose 56% year-on-year to 525,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said last week. The jump was about 28.7% over January.",{"type":591,"attrs":90308,"content":90309},{"textAlign":49},[90310],{"text":90311,"type":596},"The rebound reflects the impact of a acclerating price war among automakers, which is helping to compensate for the end of government subsidies in January. Tesla was first to cut prices in China in January, while this week Volkswagen also announced it was cutting sales prices for some Chinese models. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90313,"content":90314},{"textAlign":49},[90315],{"text":90316,"type":596},"“Sales in February were pulled up because OEMs decided to have a price discount following Tesla’s price cuts,” said Albert Li, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":90318,"content":90319},{"textAlign":49},[90320],{"text":90321,"type":596},"Sales in January and February rose by 22% compared to the first two months of last year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90323,"content":90324},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90325],{"text":90326,"type":596},"On track for 9 million units ",{"type":591,"attrs":90328,"content":90329},{"textAlign":49},[90330],{"text":90331,"type":596},"Electric passenger car and electric light duty vehicle sales in China are forecast to reach 9 million units by the end of 2023, compared to 6.2 million units last year, according to Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":90333,"content":90334},{"textAlign":49},[90335],{"text":90336,"type":596},"“People are still buying NEVs for sure and the NEV is taking over traditional ICE market share. Subsidy was retired in phases and the phase-out plan was announced and expected. In addition, the price war will eliminate the impact of subsidy cuts,” said Frank Du, analyst at Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":90338,"content":90339},{"textAlign":49},[90340,90342,90348],{"text":90341,"type":596},"CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, has also ",{"text":90343,"type":596,"marks":90344},"contributed to the escalating price wars",[90345],{"type":606,"attrs":90346},{"href":90347,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/catl-starts-battery-price-war-with-low-cost-lithium-offer",{"text":90349,"type":596}," with plans to offer select electric vehicle makers discounts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90351,"content":90352},{"textAlign":49},[90353],{"text":90354,"type":596},"The battery maker had in February offered select automakers batteries containing lithium priced as low as RMB 200,000 a tonne ($29,146) in turn for them placing at least 80% of their future orders with the company in the next three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":90356,"content":90357},{"textAlign":49},[90358],{"text":90359,"type":596},"However, Li said that producers of internal combustion engine cars are also offering price discounts to consumers, increasing competition for electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90361,"content":90362},{"textAlign":49},[90363],{"text":90364,"type":596},"“It is difficult to predict what cars consumers will consider to buy but it is obvious that 2023 will be a year full of fierce competition, not just among NEV brands, but also between NEV and ICE cars,” Li said.","Sales of new energy vehicles in China rose by 29% in February from a month earlier, as a number of automakers cut prices in the world’s largest electric vehicle market following a weak start to the year. Wholesale sales of new energy vehicles rose 56% year-on-year to 525,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers […]",[90367],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90368},{"job_title":557,"image":90369,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4207f29a-50ad-489e-b6b5-19ac5f335077\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90372],{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90374,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90375,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39e3ab04a1/bm-byd-han.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 14, 2023",{"id":90378,"uuid":90379,"name":90380,"slug":90381,"full_slug":90382,"content":90383},112471688997628,"669af1b7-17b5-4ca1-af6d-7b42e20fbee1","“What the battery industry needs at the moment is more transparency of price.” Q&A with Sucden CEO Marc Bailey on nickel and the LME.","what-the-battery-industry-needs-at-the-moment-is-more-transparency-of-price-qa-with-sucden-ceo-marc-bailey-on-nickel-and-the-lme","article/what-the-battery-industry-needs-at-the-moment-is-more-transparency-of-price-qa-with-sucden-ceo-marc-bailey-on-nickel-and-the-lme",{"_uid":90384,"date":90282,"tags":90385,"editor":90389,"content":90393,"excerpt":90542,"featured":50,"reporter":90543,"_editable":90547,"component":697,"seo_title":90380,"categories":90548,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":90552,"seo_description":90542,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90376},"ebd1f327-c77b-4bc8-9397-68e0a4366f89",[90386,90387,90388],{"slug":37815,"name":37816},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[90390],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90391},{"job_title":557,"image":90392,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90394},[90395,90415,90420,90425,90430,90435,90440,90445,90450,90455,90460,90465,90470,90475,90480,90485,90490,90495,90500,90505,90510,90522,90527,90532,90537],{"type":591,"attrs":90396,"content":90397},{"textAlign":49},[90398,90400,90406,90408,90413],{"text":90399,"type":596},"Last year’s ",{"text":90401,"type":596,"marks":90402},"sudden spike in nickel prices",[90403],{"type":606,"attrs":90404},{"href":90405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/historic-nickel-rally-shuts-down-lme-and-places-tsingshan-in-the-spotlight",{"text":90407,"type":596}," and the decision by the London Metal Exchange to cancel billions of dollars of trades left the ",{"text":90409,"type":596,"marks":90410},"nickel market",[90411],{"type":606,"attrs":90412},{"href":64406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90414,"type":596}," without a clear price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90416,"content":90417},{"textAlign":49},[90418],{"text":90419,"type":596},"Marc Bailey had a front row seat to the drama as chief executive of Sucden, which is a top-tier Category 1 broker on the London Metal Exchange. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90421,"content":90422},{"textAlign":49},[90423],{"text":90424,"type":596},"A veteran of the commodity markets, Bailey started his career as a trader on the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange.",{"type":591,"attrs":90426,"content":90427},{"textAlign":49},[90428],{"text":90429,"type":596},"He answered questions from Benchmark Source. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90431,"content":90432},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90433],{"text":90434,"type":596},"Is there a continuing lack of trust in the LME’s nickel contract? ",{"type":591,"attrs":90436,"content":90437},{"textAlign":49},[90438],{"text":90439,"type":596},"I think that the word “continuing” is a good one actually. Because I do think that over the last year we’ve been through various phases, particularly when the market reopened and I think that during the early weeks, maybe even the early months, I think there was a lot of loss of trust. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90441,"content":90442},{"textAlign":49},[90443],{"text":90444,"type":596},"I think what’s been quite helpful is the market has now migrated down to a price which is perhaps more recognisable by those people that asked for live trading in the physical market. And I think that the lack of trust was largely based on the fact that there was sort of a dislocated price, and therefore we had lost its kind of meaning as a reference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90446,"content":90447},{"textAlign":49},[90448],{"text":90449,"type":596},"So I think ahead of the Asia reopening [re-opening of Asian trading hours for nickel], which I think is still planned for next Monday. It’s interesting how the market has also been trading in relatively tight trading ranges of $1,000 or even less … So I think that shows that there is some confidence coming back into the average daily volume.",{"type":591,"attrs":90451,"content":90452},{"textAlign":49},[90453],{"text":90454,"type":596},"We definitely see that people are now prepared to price on the buy-side. So whereas before, when we were up at the $30,000 a tonne mark, nobody really wanted to price the buy side so you had these sort of producers shorts but no, no real consumer appetite. Now at this level, people are prepared to take some pricing at this level. And that’s added to the ADV [average daily volume] and I think that’s added to a little bit of confidence. So I think the next milestone is the Asian reopening.",{"type":615,"attrs":90456,"content":90457},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90458],{"text":90459,"type":596},"In terms of capturing the battery market for nickel, does the LME need to approve new brands? ",{"type":591,"attrs":90461,"content":90462},{"textAlign":49},[90463],{"text":90464,"type":596},"I think any new brands at the moment will be welcomed by the LME. And it’s certainly I think one of the shifts that I’ve seen talking to clients is that they don’t ever, strangely enough, they don’t ever want to be caught in the position they were caught in this time last year. And everybody accepts that there was the inability to deliver Class 1 nickel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90466,"content":90467},{"textAlign":49},[90468],{"text":90469,"type":596},"So I think what the Chinese market is doing, which is quite interesting, is that some people are pricing on SHFE [Shanghai Futures Exchange.] I think the truth of the matter is that the volumes are very small as well. So it’s kind of like ‘can everybody please work together to get a decent benchmark?’ ",{"type":591,"attrs":90471,"content":90472},{"textAlign":49},[90473],{"text":90474,"type":596},"And I think one of the things that the market seems to have gravitated towards is if I have got some Class 1 metal to deliver, it doesn’t need to be everything of my position, or everything of my production. Say for argument’s sake, you’ve got 100 units of production and you’re hedging 15% of that. As long as I’ve got 15% of Class 1 lying around somewhere then the worst comes to worst I can just deliver it. And I think that is the mindset that I’m beginning to see. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90476,"content":90477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90478],{"text":90479,"type":596},"We’ve heard Chinese nickel companies are looking at producing more Class 1 nickel, how will that impact the market? ",{"type":591,"attrs":90481,"content":90482},{"textAlign":49},[90483],{"text":90484,"type":596},"It seems that from what we’re hearing is that there seems to have been quite a bit of investment going on in converting matte to Class 1. And chemical plants can make it possible. And some of these producers are claiming they can do it within days. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90486,"content":90487},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90488],{"text":90489,"type":596},"Many Chinese companies are pricing their nickel products based on a Chinese nickel sulphate price, could this be a new pricing mechanism? ",{"type":591,"attrs":90491,"content":90492},{"textAlign":49},[90493],{"text":90494,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate is very difficult to transport. It’s highly toxic. Nobody really wants to take responsibility to move it from A to B. So it’s almost like a non deliverable product in that sense. So it kind of seems to sit close to factories and it seems to then trade in the supply chain. So it doesn’t seem to trade between people, if that makes sense. So I think in terms of what the price of sulphate is, it’s not an easy story to tell on any one day. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90496,"content":90497},{"textAlign":49},[90498],{"text":90499,"type":596},"So whilst people might be doing that, for the sake of convenience, I don’t think they would do that as their first choice. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90501,"content":90502},{"textAlign":49},[90503],{"text":90504,"type":596},"I think you’ve got to have the trades committed to almost some sort of index process, where you take reference prices and then throughout the period of a time you agree that that is the average price of the week and you use that to settle a futures contract or something like that. But I don’t think price discovery is going to come easy in this stuff.",{"type":591,"attrs":90506,"content":90507},{"textAlign":49},[90508],{"text":90509,"type":596},"I think that everybody was putting on a brave face and looking for immediate solutions. And I don’t think anybody found immediate solutions. Pricing nickel sulphate works China to China, but it’s not something that you know, you see many European consumers doing?",{"type":591,"attrs":90511,"content":90512},{"textAlign":49},[90513,90515,90520],{"text":90514,"type":596},"I think the trade wants different ",{"text":90516,"type":596,"marks":90517},"price discovery mechanisms",[90518],{"type":606,"attrs":90519},{"href":64406,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90521,"type":596},", if only to give them a surety over a price… I think that the spot price, the very physical cash price at the moment – I think that the industry wants that and they want to price this not distorted by speculation, because rightly or wrongly they think that part of what happened was speculation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90523,"content":90524},{"textAlign":49},[90525],{"text":90526,"type":596},"The reason why they are still happy to look at the LME Ring is because they see the Ring as devoid of speculation – they see it as a pure trade price. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90528,"content":90529},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90530],{"text":90531,"type":596},"What do you think the battery industry wants? ",{"type":591,"attrs":90533,"content":90534},{"textAlign":49},[90535],{"text":90536,"type":596},"I think what the battery industry needs at the moment is they just want more transparency of price. Because when they trade with each other, the thing they’ve really struggled with was when the LME price was up to $30,000 a tonne … So I think anything that can give proper transparency and trust so the physical contract can be struck in confidence between two counterparties is the answer to the question.",{"type":591,"attrs":90538,"content":90539},{"textAlign":49},[90540],{"text":90541,"type":596},"And that to me is the secret. If you can create a reference price with lower transaction volume, then I think that would add a lot of value right now. And I think it would add liquidity to the LME. ","Last year’s sudden spike in nickel prices and the decision by the London Metal Exchange to cancel billions of dollars of trades left the nickel market without a clear price. Marc Bailey had a front row seat to the drama as chief executive of Sucden, which is a top-tier Category 1 broker on the London […]",[90544],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90545},{"job_title":557,"image":90546,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ebd1f327-c77b-4bc8-9397-68e0a4366f89\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90549,90550,90551],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90553,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90554,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ae9c818b49/bm-marc-bailey-0011.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":90556,"uuid":90557,"name":90558,"slug":90559,"full_slug":90560,"content":90561},112471698709246,"974dbb14-130e-4f8e-a7b7-6912136cf3ee","A year after LME nickel chaos, battery supply chain seeks alternative prices","a-year-after-lme-nickel-chaos-battery-supply-chain-seeks-alternative-prices","article/a-year-after-lme-nickel-chaos-battery-supply-chain-seeks-alternative-prices",{"_uid":90562,"date":90563,"tags":90564,"editor":90567,"content":90571,"excerpt":90821,"featured":51,"reporter":90822,"_editable":90826,"component":697,"seo_title":90558,"categories":90827,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":90830,"seo_description":90821,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90833},"8d411122-3f8b-4a85-ab11-e5c8d4035f32","2023-03-10 00:00",[90565,90566],{"slug":37815,"name":37816},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[90568],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90569},{"job_title":557,"image":90570,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90572},[90573,90585,90603,90608,90613,90620,90625,90638,90643,90648,90661,90674,90679,90684,90689,90702,90714,90719,90724,90729,90734,90739,90744,90749,90754,90759,90764,90769,90774,90779,90784,90789,90794,90799,90804,90809],{"type":591,"attrs":90574,"content":90575},{"textAlign":49},[90576,90578,90583],{"text":90577,"type":596},"A year after the London Metal Exchange suspended trading in nickel following a ",{"text":90579,"type":596,"marks":90580},"dramatic price spike",[90581],{"type":606,"attrs":90582},{"href":90405,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90584,"type":596},", the lithium ion battery industry has sought out alternative pricing mechanisms to better reflect the form of metal needed for electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90586,"content":90587},{"textAlign":49},[90588,90594,90596,90601],{"text":90589,"type":596,"marks":90590},"Chinese producers of nickel",[90591],{"type":606,"attrs":90592},{"href":90593,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-supplier-sumitomo-to-exit-indonesia-as-huayou-targets-500-nickel-increase",{"text":90595,"type":596}," are increasingly using Chinese renminbi prices linked to nickel sulphate prices for the large volumes of supply being ",{"text":90597,"type":596,"marks":90598},"produced by Indonesia",[90599],{"type":606,"attrs":90600},{"href":62379,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90602,"type":596}," for the electric vehicle industry, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90604,"content":90605},{"textAlign":49},[90606],{"text":90607,"type":596},"The shift has helped move pricing power away from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing-owned LME to China, and also prompted greater volatility in LME prices, potentially putting western nickel producers at a disadvantage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90609,"content":90610},{"textAlign":49},[90611],{"text":90612,"type":596},"“There has been a significant loss in trust in the exchange which has made market participants cautious of using it, particularly in China,” Cameron Hughes, a Benchmark analyst said.",{"type":591,"attrs":90614,"content":90615},{"textAlign":49},[90616],{"type":836,"attrs":90617},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":90618,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":90619},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5620a5a713/bm-lme-one-year-on-graph.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":90621,"content":90622},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90623],{"text":90624,"type":596},"The limits of LME-approved nickel",{"type":591,"attrs":90626,"content":90627},{"textAlign":49},[90628,90630,90636],{"text":90629,"type":596},"Last March, ",{"text":90631,"type":596,"marks":90632},"prices for nickel soared by 250% over a day",[90633],{"type":606,"attrs":90634},{"href":90635,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickels-volatile-year-2022-in-review",{"text":90637,"type":596}," due to a large short position held by the world’s largest stainless steel producer Tsingshan, who has large processing operations in Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90639,"content":90640},{"textAlign":49},[90641],{"text":90642,"type":596},"Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that only nickel which is an approved brand of the LME can be delivered into the exchange to be settled against its contracts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90644,"content":90645},{"textAlign":49},[90646],{"text":90647,"type":596},"This approved nickel is mostly Class 1 high-purity nickel produced by large western and Russian producers such as Vale, Glencore, BHP and Norilsk Nickel, a small portion of the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90649,"content":90650},{"textAlign":49},[90651,90653,90659],{"text":90652,"type":596},"This does not cover the ",{"text":90654,"type":596,"marks":90655},"nickel coming from Indonesia",[90656],{"type":606,"attrs":90657},{"href":90658,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-esg-woes-grow-over-indonesian-nickel",{"text":90660,"type":596},", which is the form of nickel pig iron, ferronickel, nickel matte and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a common form of nickel feedstock used by the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":90662,"content":90663},{"textAlign":49},[90664,90666,90672],{"text":90665,"type":596},"Indonesia is set to account for more than half of the ",{"text":90667,"type":596,"marks":90668},"total refined nickel market",[90669],{"type":606,"attrs":90670},{"href":90671,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-will-the-new-lithium-cobalt-and-nickel-supply-come-from-in-2023",{"text":90673,"type":596}," by 2025, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90675,"content":90676},{"textAlign":49},[90677],{"text":90678,"type":596},"“The exchange is not representative of the nickel market,” Hughes said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90680,"content":90681},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90682],{"text":90683,"type":596},"Alternative pricing mechanisms emerge ",{"type":591,"attrs":90685,"content":90686},{"textAlign":49},[90687],{"text":90688,"type":596},"MHP for the battery industry was typically priced as a payable to the LME nickel price.",{"type":591,"attrs":90690,"content":90691},{"textAlign":49},[90692,90694,90700],{"text":90693,"type":596},"But over the past year, some players are pricing ",{"text":90695,"type":596,"marks":90696},"MHP on the basis of the Chinese nickel sulphate price",[90697],{"type":606,"attrs":90698},{"href":90699,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/faltering-trust-in-the-lme-leads-to-new-mhp-nickel-pricing-methods",{"text":90701,"type":596},", minus the cost to convert MHP to sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":90703,"content":90704},{"textAlign":49},[90705,90706,90712],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":90707,"type":596,"marks":90708},"bulk of nickel supply from Indonesia",[90709],{"type":606,"attrs":90710},{"href":90711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-set-for-five-fold-increase-in-battery-nickel-supply",{"text":90713,"type":596}," is converted to sulphate by Chinese companies. This makes it relatively straightforward for producers to shift to mechanisms based on Chinese prices rather than the LME.",{"type":591,"attrs":90715,"content":90716},{"textAlign":49},[90717],{"text":90718,"type":596},"The LME told Benchmark it “recognises the ongoing structural shift in the nickel market, driven by the dramatic growth in class 2 output.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":90720,"content":90721},{"textAlign":49},[90722],{"text":90723,"type":596},"“We are committed to working with the industry to ensure that the LME’s offering meets the industry’s evolving pricing and risk management needs,” it said. “Our current focus is on rebuilding liquidity in our class 1 nickel contract and we continue to explore ways in which we might enhance the contract specifications, as well as how to best serve the needs of the expanding class 2 nickel market.”   ",{"type":591,"attrs":90725,"content":90726},{"textAlign":49},[90727],{"text":90728,"type":596},"The LME said it will start Asian trading hours again for the nickel market this month, in order to increase liquidity. It is also set to announce an “action plan” later this month on nickel, in response to an independent review carried out by Oliver Wyman in the wake of last March’s price spike, it said.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":90730,"content":90731},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90732],{"text":90733,"type":596},"Premiums becoming discounts",{"type":591,"attrs":90735,"content":90736},{"textAlign":49},[90737],{"text":90738,"type":596},"Benchmark’s nickel sulphate price (on a contained nickel basis) traded at between a 20% and 46% premium to the LME’s nickel metal price in the year leading up to the nickel chaos.",{"type":591,"attrs":90740,"content":90741},{"textAlign":49},[90742],{"text":90743,"type":596},"In March 2022, this premium turned into a 3% discount following the short squeeze. Although the premium returned in May, it was significantly smaller than before at just 9%.",{"type":591,"attrs":90745,"content":90746},{"textAlign":49},[90747],{"text":90748,"type":596},"Low nickel demand in recent months has led to the prices once again shifting into a discount. In January this year, Benchmark’s nickel sulphate price was at an unprecedented 16% discount to the LME’s nickel price.",{"type":591,"attrs":90750,"content":90751},{"textAlign":49},[90752],{"text":90753,"type":596},"This has led to some nickel companies converting nickel sulphate into nickel metal to then sell into the exchange.",{"type":591,"attrs":90755,"content":90756},{"textAlign":49},[90757],{"text":90758,"type":596},"“The LME’s liquidity and stocks are far lower than usual, meaning it represents an even smaller share of the market than it did previous to the short squeeze,” according to Hughes. “This means the price can be moved by one to two trades and, since the LME trades futures as well as spot on one platform, it often doesn’t reflect the spot market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":90760,"content":90761},{"textAlign":49},[90762],{"text":90763,"type":596},"The lower the liquidity of the exchange, the more volatile the exchange price making it even less attractive to use as a benchmark price.",{"type":615,"attrs":90765,"content":90766},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90767],{"text":90768,"type":596},"Western caution and Chinese dominance",{"type":591,"attrs":90770,"content":90771},{"textAlign":49},[90772],{"text":90773,"type":596},"But however much some Western players may distrust the LME, this is counterbalanced by their reluctance to move to Chinese pricing mechanisms leading to a dissatisfactory impasse.",{"type":591,"attrs":90775,"content":90776},{"textAlign":49},[90777],{"text":90778,"type":596},"“At the moment there still isn’t an alternative that can rival the LME,” Hughes said. “It’s more of a situation where a lot of the market is dissatisfied, but there still isn’t that kind of alternative that’s viable.”",{"type":591,"attrs":90780,"content":90781},{"textAlign":49},[90782],{"text":90783,"type":596},"However, some non-China-based mechanisms are starting to emerge. US commodity exchange CME plans to launch a nickel contract based on prices from Global Commodities Holdings (GCH), a UK-based online brokerage.",{"type":591,"attrs":90785,"content":90786},{"textAlign":49},[90787],{"text":90788,"type":596},"In addition, some Chinese operators in Indonesia are building refining capacity to start delivering into the LME, which may be a solution to the disconnect between the LME nickel and battery nickel markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90790,"content":90791},{"textAlign":49},[90792],{"text":90793,"type":596},"Last month Huayou Cobalt met with the LME to discuss an application to register the company’s nickel for delivery on the exchange, Bloomberg News reported. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90795,"content":90796},{"textAlign":49},[90797],{"text":90798,"type":596},"That would allow them to deliver metal into the LME, giving China “greater influence over nickel prices,” according to Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark. “It would allow the likes of Tsingshan and Huayou to effectively control the nickel price.”",{"type":615,"attrs":90800,"content":90801},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90802],{"text":90803,"type":596},"Request a Benchmark Source trial",{"type":591,"attrs":90805,"content":90806},{"textAlign":49},[90807],{"text":90808,"type":596},"This is a Benchmark Source article.",{"type":591,"attrs":90810,"content":90811},{"textAlign":49},[90812,90814,90819],{"text":90813,"type":596},"To access more insights, data visualisations, analysis, and opinion on the lithium ion battery supply chain request a Benchmark Source trial ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":90815},[90816],{"type":606,"attrs":90817},{"href":90818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/request-a-trial",{"text":90820,"type":596}," or contact us with the form below:","A year after the London Metal Exchange suspended trading in nickel following a dramatic price spike, the lithium ion battery industry has sought out alternative pricing mechanisms to better reflect the form of metal needed for electric vehicles. Chinese producers of nickel are increasingly using Chinese renminbi prices linked to nickel sulphate prices for the […]",[90823],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90824},{"job_title":557,"image":90825,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8d411122-3f8b-4a85-ab11-e5c8d4035f32\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90828,90829],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90831,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90832,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5e9ee06535/bm-15099264329-4bed747792-5k-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 10, 2023",{"id":90835,"uuid":90836,"name":90837,"slug":90838,"full_slug":90839,"content":90840},112471719938818,"47cc947e-a183-4697-b139-8128d097f061","Battery powered: 20 years of lithium demand","battery-powered-20-years-of-lithium-demand","article/battery-powered-20-years-of-lithium-demand",{"_uid":90841,"date":90842,"tags":90843,"editor":90845,"content":90849,"excerpt":90899,"featured":50,"reporter":90900,"_editable":90904,"component":697,"seo_title":90837,"categories":90905,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":90908,"featured_image":90911,"seo_description":90899,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90913},"161c9849-855f-49e9-a2dc-706c8c7323f4","2023-03-09 00:00",[90844],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[90846],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90847},{"job_title":557,"image":90848,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90850},[90851,90862,90867,90872,90877,90884,90889,90894],{"type":591,"attrs":90852,"content":90853},{"textAlign":49},[90854,90856,90860],{"text":90855,"type":596},"The battery industry is set to extend its dominance of the ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":90857},[90858],{"type":606,"attrs":90859},{"href":89342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90861,"type":596}," market this decade, with Benchmark forecasting that by 2026 it will account for 90% of lithium demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90863,"content":90864},{"textAlign":49},[90865],{"text":90866,"type":596},"Rapid growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption has seen the battery industry develop from a relatively small consumer of lithium to become the market’s primary driver within twenty years.",{"type":591,"attrs":90868,"content":90869},{"textAlign":49},[90870],{"text":90871,"type":596},"In 2006, lithium was primarily used by the glass, ceramics, and grease industries whereas batteries, which were mostly used in portable electronic devices, accounted for only 22% of the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90873,"content":90874},{"textAlign":49},[90875],{"text":90876,"type":596},"Since then growing demand for electric vehicles saw a steady shift and in 2016 batteries used 38% of the world’s lithium. By 2018, for the first time, the battery industry accounted for 51% of lithium demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":90878,"content":90879},{"textAlign":49},[90880],{"type":836,"attrs":90881},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":90882,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":90883},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8dba1d00bc/bm-battery-powered-20-years-of-lithium-demand-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":90885,"content":90886},{"textAlign":49},[90887],{"text":90888,"type":596},"This year Benchmark forecasts lithium ion batteries, driven largely by electric vehicle demand, will consume 85% of all lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90890,"content":90891},{"textAlign":49},[90892],{"text":90893,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that in 2023 lithium demand will reach 900,000 tonnes, a jump of 27% year-over-year, according to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast. Lithium demand is forecast to reach 1.5 million tonnes in 2026. ",{"type":615,"attrs":90895,"content":90896},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90897],{"text":90898,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast please fill in the form below. ","The battery industry is set to extend its dominance of the lithium market this decade, with Benchmark forecasting that by 2026 it will account for 90% of lithium demand. Rapid growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption has seen the battery industry develop from a relatively small consumer of lithium to become the market’s primary driver […]",[90901],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90902},{"job_title":557,"image":90903,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"161c9849-855f-49e9-a2dc-706c8c7323f4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[90906,90907],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90909,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90910,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d8850cd6b6/bm-battery-powered-20-years-of-lithium-demand.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90909,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":90912,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 09, 2023",{"id":90915,"uuid":90916,"name":90917,"slug":90918,"full_slug":90919,"content":90920},112471714777857,"8e92d6cb-2d60-4d2a-9ccd-e3c27ad39e04","Madagascar to boost supply of ex-China graphite for batteries","madagascar-to-boost-supply-of-ex-china-graphite-for-batteries","article/madagascar-to-boost-supply-of-ex-china-graphite-for-batteries",{"_uid":90921,"date":90842,"tags":90922,"editor":90925,"content":90929,"excerpt":91083,"featured":50,"reporter":91084,"_editable":91088,"component":697,"seo_title":90917,"categories":91089,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":91092,"seo_description":91083,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":90913},"a33e1730-b932-4cab-b3d1-e30ffa6f5e1e",[90923],{"slug":90924,"name":56734},"madagascar",[90926],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":90927},{"job_title":557,"image":90928,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":90930},[90931,90943,90948,90958,90963,90968,90973,90980,90985,91004,91009,91014,91019,91024,91029,91034,91041,91046,91051,91056,91063,91068,91073,91078],{"type":591,"attrs":90932,"content":90933},{"textAlign":49},[90934,90936,90941],{"text":90935,"type":596},"Madagascar is set to become a key supplier of graphite for electric vehicles, with supply set to double in the next six years from new mining projects, helping to reduce China’s ",{"text":90937,"type":596,"marks":90938},"dominance",[90939],{"type":606,"attrs":90940},{"href":56753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90942,"type":596}," of production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90944,"content":90945},{"textAlign":49},[90946],{"text":90947,"type":596},"Last month Tirupati Graphite began processing flake graphite at its Sahamamy facility in the country, while Canadian-listed NextSource Materials said it had completed construction of a graphite processing plant at its Molo project.",{"type":591,"attrs":90949,"content":90950},{"textAlign":49},[90951,90953,90957],{"text":90952,"type":596},"The announcements highlight the accelerated development of the graphite value chain in Madagascar, which has become an increasingly important source of flake graphite material ",{"text":27193,"type":596,"marks":90954},[90955],{"type":606,"attrs":90956},{"href":56753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":90959,"content":90960},{"textAlign":49},[90961],{"text":90962,"type":596},"Flake graphite supply from the country is expected to more than double from 2023 to 2028 to over 30,000 tpa, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":90964,"content":90965},{"textAlign":49},[90966],{"text":90967,"type":596},"“This is the beginning of a new wave of graphite mines entering the market,” George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “These mines are no longer being built with the refractory and foundry industry in mind but instead being oriented towards the battery industry to feed the lithium ion growth story.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":90969,"content":90970},{"textAlign":49},[90971],{"text":90972,"type":596},"“It’s really the beginning of a new growth cycle for graphite in Madagascar, which is crucial to bringing new supply to feed the rapidly growing anode value chain,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":90974,"content":90975},{"textAlign":49},[90976],{"type":836,"attrs":90977},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":90978,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":90979},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6bf671ccf6/bm-africas-big-three-graphite.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":90981,"content":90982},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[90983],{"text":90984,"type":596},"Wanted: graphite outside of China",{"type":591,"attrs":90986,"content":90987},{"textAlign":49},[90988,90990,90995,90997,91002],{"text":90989,"type":596},"China currently dominates the current ",{"text":90991,"type":596,"marks":90992},"flake graphite and anode markets",[90993],{"type":606,"attrs":90994},{"href":79214,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90996,"type":596},", producing three fifths of the world’s flake graphite ",{"text":62533,"type":596,"marks":90998},[90999],{"type":606,"attrs":91000},{"href":91001,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/thriving-battery-anode-market-drives-demand-for-natural-flake-graphite-2022-in-review",{"text":91003,"type":596},", according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91005,"content":91006},{"textAlign":49},[91007],{"text":91008,"type":596},"But the country became a net importer in 2019 and its imports from Africa are growing, rising by 200% between January and October 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":91010,"content":91011},{"textAlign":49},[91012],{"text":91013,"type":596},"In addition, automakers outside of China are keen to lock in supply from Africa amid limited availability, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91015,"content":91016},{"textAlign":49},[91017],{"text":91018,"type":596},"Last month Australian graphite project developer, Magnis Energy, signed a binding offtake agreement with Tesla, for the supply of natural graphite anode material for a minimum of three years at a fixed price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91020,"content":91021},{"textAlign":49},[91022],{"text":91023,"type":596},"Under the agreement, Tesla plans to buy a minimum of 17,500 tpa of active anode material starting from February 2025, with an option to increase the supply agreement volume up to 35,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":91025,"content":91026},{"textAlign":49},[91027],{"text":91028,"type":596},"Companies such as NextSource are aiming to produce graphite anode material “decoupled from Asian supply chains.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":91030,"content":91031},{"textAlign":49},[91032],{"text":91033,"type":596},"Output of flake graphite from Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania, is set to reach over 730kt by 2025, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":91035,"content":91036},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91037,91039],{"text":91038,"type":596},"Tirupati advances",{"text":91040,"type":596}," Madagascar project",{"type":591,"attrs":91042,"content":91043},{"textAlign":49},[91044],{"text":91045,"type":596},"UK-listed Tirupati Graphite said last month the newly built Sahamamy project has an annual capacity to produce 18,000 tonnes a year of flake graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91047,"content":91048},{"textAlign":49},[91049],{"text":91050,"type":596},"Along with the capacity it has at its Vatomina project in the country, Tirupati’s Madagascan operations have a total flake concentrate nameplate production capacity of 30,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":91052,"content":91053},{"textAlign":49},[91054],{"text":91055,"type":596},"Tirupati has further plans to vertically integrate its operations through its graphite processing plant in Patalganga, India.",{"type":615,"attrs":91057,"content":91058},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91059,91061],{"text":91060,"type":596},"NextSource ",{"text":91062,"type":596},"targets ex-China value chain",{"type":591,"attrs":91064,"content":91065},{"textAlign":49},[91066],{"text":91067,"type":596},"Canada’s NextSource said last month it has completed the construction of the processing plant and mining camp for the it’s Molo Graphite Mine in Madagascar and it is fast approaching first production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91069,"content":91070},{"textAlign":49},[91071],{"text":91072,"type":596},"The company aims to have a nameplate production capacity of 17,000 tonnes a year of flake graphite in the first phase.",{"type":591,"attrs":91074,"content":91075},{"textAlign":49},[91076],{"text":91077,"type":596},"Last month, NextSource Materials also announced plans to vertically integrate its operations through the development of an anode material facility, located in Mauritius. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91079,"content":91080},{"textAlign":49},[91081],{"text":91082,"type":596},"Mauritius would be the first of such plants and expected to produce commercial volumes of coated, spherical and purified graphite (CSPG), primarily targeting supply to Japanese and South Korean customers, as well as qualification material to global automakers.","Madagascar is set to become a key supplier of graphite for electric vehicles, with supply set to double in the next six years from new mining projects, helping to reduce China’s dominance of production. Last month Tirupati Graphite began processing flake graphite at its Sahamamy facility in the country, while Canadian-listed NextSource Materials said it […]",[91085],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91086},{"job_title":557,"image":91087,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a33e1730-b932-4cab-b3d1-e30ffa6f5e1e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[91090,91091],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":91093,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":91094,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/911a0e51e1/bm-tirupati-graphite-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":91096,"uuid":91097,"name":91098,"slug":91099,"full_slug":91100,"content":91101},112471730789124,"7586688f-b304-47c5-8a21-7fc42237bd65","Women make up less than a third of lithium mining boards","women-make-up-less-than-a-third-of-lithium-mining-boards","article/women-make-up-less-than-a-third-of-lithium-mining-boards",{"_uid":91102,"date":91103,"tags":91104,"editor":91112,"content":91116,"excerpt":91247,"featured":51,"reporter":91248,"_editable":91252,"component":697,"seo_title":91098,"categories":91253,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":91257,"seo_description":91247,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":91260},"3384c2b1-0a50-4f80-8077-0559f6ff6273","2023-03-08 00:00",[91105,91108,91111],{"slug":91106,"name":91107},"gender-equality","Gender equality",{"slug":91109,"name":91110},"international-womens-day","International Women's Day",{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[91113],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91114},{"job_title":557,"image":91115,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":91117},[91118,91123,91134,91147,91152,91157,91169,91174,91181,91186,91191,91196,91201,91206,91211,91216,91221,91226,91237,91242],{"type":591,"attrs":91119,"content":91120},{"textAlign":49},[91121],{"text":91122,"type":596},"Three-fifths of lithium miners have no female representation at all at the board level, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":91124,"content":91125},{"textAlign":49},[91126,91128,91133],{"text":91127,"type":596},"A total of 58% of lithium conversion companies and 34% of lithium mining companies have entirely male boards, according to ",{"text":91129,"type":596,"marks":91130},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG report",[91131],{"type":606,"attrs":91132},{"href":86410,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91135,"content":91136},{"textAlign":49},[91137,91139,91145],{"text":91138,"type":596},"Gender equality at the board level and across companies is increasingly relevant to investors, and also helps attract women to the sector, according to ",{"text":91140,"type":596,"marks":91141},"Charlotte Selvey Miller",[91142],{"type":606,"attrs":91143},{"href":91144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/unpacking-esg-for-lithium-ion-battery-and-ev-supply-chain",{"text":91146,"type":596},", head of the ESG division at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":91148,"content":91149},{"textAlign":49},[91150],{"text":91151,"type":596},"“The more diversity at the board, the more voices are heard in order to make a company a better environment to work within,” she said. “Progress in encouraging and safeguarding women in the workplace, at the moment, can only be made when taken seriously and if discussed and implemented at board level.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91153,"content":91154},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91155],{"text":91156,"type":596},"Miners vs Converters",{"type":591,"attrs":91158,"content":91159},{"textAlign":49},[91160,91162,91167],{"text":91161,"type":596},"Under a third of ",{"text":91163,"type":596,"marks":91164},"lithium mining companies",[91165],{"type":606,"attrs":91166},{"href":91144,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91168,"type":596}," who disclosed the information had 20% or more female representation on their board.",{"type":591,"attrs":91170,"content":91171},{"textAlign":49},[91172],{"text":91173,"type":596},"Although the proportion of companies reporting at least 20% female representation increases to 46% in the lithium conversion industry, 51 out of 112 lithium conversion companies do not report the gender makeup of their boards.",{"type":591,"attrs":91175,"content":91176},{"textAlign":49},[91177],{"type":836,"attrs":91178},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":91179,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91180},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3808621956/bm-image-117-134411805002.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":91182,"content":91183},{"textAlign":49},[91184],{"text":91185,"type":596},"Beyond the board level, efforts are needed to ensure the workforce across the sector approaches a representative gender balance.",{"type":591,"attrs":91187,"content":91188},{"textAlign":49},[91189],{"text":91190,"type":596},"Just 22% of operating miners and 15% of operating converters report the gender breakdown of their workforce, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report.",{"type":591,"attrs":91192,"content":91193},{"textAlign":49},[91194],{"text":91195,"type":596},"“There has been progress to address gender-based discrimination in recent years,” Elizaveta Kremer-Nidzelskaya, an ESG analyst at Benchmark, said. “However a lack of detailed data on female participation in the mining industry obstructs existing efforts to attract women to the sector.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91197,"content":91198},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91199],{"text":91200,"type":596},"Importance of gender balance",{"type":591,"attrs":91202,"content":91203},{"textAlign":49},[91204],{"text":91205,"type":596},"The United Nations laid out 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015, as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Each goal is further broken down into several targets which should be met to achieve the overall goal.",{"type":591,"attrs":91207,"content":91208},{"textAlign":49},[91209],{"text":91210,"type":596},"Benchmark has linked each metric within its materiality assessments in its ESG reports to the relevant SDGs. Benchmark’s ‘Diversity and inclusion’ and ‘Management structure and board diversity’ metrics are linked to the Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities, and Decent Work and Economic Growth goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":91212,"content":91213},{"textAlign":49},[91214],{"text":91215,"type":596},"But beyond such goals, gender equality at the board level and across companies is increasingly relevant to investors.",{"type":591,"attrs":91217,"content":91218},{"textAlign":49},[91219],{"text":91220,"type":596},"“Long-term sustainability includes ensuring the safety of women who work within a company or in the surrounding areas of a company’s facility locations,” Selvey Miller said. “Not taking such factors into consideration could lead to company reputational risks if correct policies or programmes have not been implemented and monitored to help reduce such risks.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91222,"content":91223},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91224],{"text":91225,"type":596},"Benchmark’s flagship indicators",{"type":591,"attrs":91227,"content":91228},{"textAlign":49},[91229,91231,91236],{"text":91230,"type":596},"Benchmark ranks lithium miners and converters for their ESG credentials in each issue of the Lithium ESG Report. This ranking takes into account ",{"text":91232,"type":596,"marks":91233},"seven flagship indicators",[91234],{"type":606,"attrs":91235},{"href":75325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91238,"content":91239},{"textAlign":49},[91240],{"text":91241,"type":596},"To be a Benchmark Approved lithium miner or converter, a company must fulfil all of the criteria, including having at least 20% female representation at the board level.",{"type":591,"attrs":91243,"content":91244},{"textAlign":49},[91245],{"text":91246,"type":596},"“We include this metric as an overarching flagship indicator to tier companies as we see this as a forward-thinking, high level and future-proofing strategy for a company to have, especially those at the forefront of this clean energy transition,” Selvey Miller said. ","Three-fifths of lithium miners have no female representation at all at the board level, according to Benchmark. A total of 58% of lithium conversion companies and 34% of lithium mining companies have entirely male boards, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ESG report. Gender equality at the board level and across companies is increasingly relevant to investors, […]",[91249],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91250},{"job_title":557,"image":91251,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3384c2b1-0a50-4f80-8077-0559f6ff6273\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[91254,91255,91256],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":91258,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":91259,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ef5244dbf3/bm-shutterstock-293087096-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 08, 2023",{"id":91262,"uuid":91263,"name":91264,"slug":91265,"full_slug":91266,"content":91267},112471740562182,"5442110d-ce96-4d77-9797-aff0571a916d","How do Europe’s energy storage incentives compare to the USA’s IRA?","how-do-europes-energy-storage-incentives-compare-to-the-usas-ira","article/how-do-europes-energy-storage-incentives-compare-to-the-usas-ira",{"_uid":91268,"date":91269,"tags":91270,"editor":91290,"content":91294,"excerpt":91466,"featured":51,"reporter":91467,"_editable":91471,"component":697,"seo_title":91264,"categories":91472,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":91477,"seo_description":91466,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":91481},"cd419055-2bb7-4540-b727-e1260f765d0f","2023-03-06 00:00",[91271,91272,91275,91276,91279,91280,91281,91284,91287],{"slug":2902,"name":2903},{"slug":91273,"name":91274},"eolian","Eolian",{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":91277,"name":91278},"european-association-for-storage-of-energy","European Association for Storage of Energy",{"slug":16998,"name":16999},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":91282,"name":91283},"kontrolmatik-technologies","Kontrolmatik Technologies",{"slug":91285,"name":91286},"pomega","Pomega",{"slug":91288,"name":91289},"powertis","Powertis",[91291],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91292},{"job_title":557,"image":91293,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":91295},[91296,91301,91320,91325,91330,91335,91340,91353,91358,91363,91375,91380,91385,91390,91395,91400,91412,91417,91422,91429,91434,91446,91451,91456,91461],{"type":591,"attrs":91297,"content":91298},{"textAlign":49},[91299],{"text":91300,"type":596},"The US threw down an incentive-laden gauntlet when it launched the Inflation Reduction Act last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":91302,"content":91303},{"textAlign":49},[91304,91306,91312,91314,91319],{"text":91305,"type":596},"Europe has a range of energy storage incentives, but none of them are at the same scale as the IRA, meaning ",{"text":91307,"type":596,"marks":91308},"Europe could be losing out",[91309],{"type":606,"attrs":91310},{"href":91311,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/opinion-europe-is-on-a-mission-to-secure-critical-minerals-heres-three-things-it-should-do",{"text":91313,"type":596}," as its ",{"text":91315,"type":596,"marks":91316},"homegrown companies move across the pond",[91317],{"type":606,"attrs":91318},{"href":89792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91321,"content":91322},{"textAlign":49},[91323],{"text":91324,"type":596},"In the US, these incentives are already being utilised. The first example of a standalone energy storage project using the credits came online earlier this year in Texas.",{"type":591,"attrs":91326,"content":91327},{"textAlign":49},[91328],{"text":91329,"type":596},"“The IRA is really changing the pace,” Julian Jansen, growth and market development director at energy storage provider Fluence, told attendees at Solar Media’s Energy Storage Summit last month. “There is a really easy-to-access incentive.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91331,"content":91332},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91333],{"text":91334,"type":596},"IRA credits",{"type":591,"attrs":91336,"content":91337},{"textAlign":49},[91338],{"text":91339,"type":596},"Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, energy storage developers could get tax credits towards the cost of a system, but only if the storage was directly linked to a solar project.",{"type":591,"attrs":91341,"content":91342},{"textAlign":49},[91343,91345,91351],{"text":91344,"type":596},"Now, ",{"text":91346,"type":596,"marks":91347},"energy storage developers",[91348],{"type":606,"attrs":91349},{"href":91350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-energy-storage-revolution-has-arrived-but-who-will-have-dominion-over-the-megatrend-of-our-times",{"text":91352,"type":596}," can get investment tax credits worth up to 30% of the cost of installing a system. A bonus 10% is available if the project uses entirely domestic iron and steel and if two-fifths of the manufactured products used are domestically sourced. A further 10% bonus is available for projects developed in so-called energy communities.",{"type":591,"attrs":91354,"content":91355},{"textAlign":49},[91356],{"text":91357,"type":596},"The first project not linked to a solar project to make use of these credits is operated by Eolian, an energy projects portfolio company. Eolian began operation of its 200-megawatt, multi-hour battery energy storage facility in Texas in February this year and will be fully operational later in the year.",{"type":615,"attrs":91359,"content":91360},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91361],{"text":91362,"type":596},"European incentives",{"type":591,"attrs":91364,"content":91365},{"textAlign":49},[91366,91368,91374],{"text":91367,"type":596},"European countries have also developed a wide range of incentive schemes to ",{"text":91369,"type":596,"marks":91370},"encourage the development of energy storage",[91371],{"type":606,"attrs":91372},{"href":91373,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/should-europe-follow-uks-lead-to-enable-successful-grid-energy-storage-deployment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91376,"content":91377},{"textAlign":49},[91378],{"text":91379,"type":596},"“Italy, Portugal, Ireland have set up interesting incentives regarding behind-the-meter storage,” Lidia Tamellini, a policy officer at the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE), told Benchmark. “So-called Superbonus in Italy focused on tax rebates, an interesting grid fees framework for self-consumption in Portugal, and the Irish Microgeneration Support Scheme.”",{"type":591,"attrs":91381,"content":91382},{"textAlign":49},[91383],{"text":91384,"type":596},"Spain also has incentives for energy storage deployment. In December last year, the Spanish government announced a €150 million (US$161 million) scheme through which it will cover between 40% and 65% of the investment cost of energy storage systems over 1 MWh with at least two hours of storage. However, unlike the US, these projects must be co-located with power generation, through a shared grid connection.",{"type":591,"attrs":91386,"content":91387},{"textAlign":49},[91388],{"text":91389,"type":596},"The latest Spanish project to access this subsidy package is Enel Green’s €33 million 30 MW / 60 MWh battery storage project colocated with a 44 MW solar storage project in Badajoz, Extremadura.",{"type":615,"attrs":91391,"content":91392},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91393],{"text":91394,"type":596},"Competing with the IRA",{"type":591,"attrs":91396,"content":91397},{"textAlign":49},[91398],{"text":91399,"type":596},"Despite efforts from European countries, the scale of the incentives can’t compete with the might, and pulling power, of the USA’s IRA.",{"type":591,"attrs":91401,"content":91402},{"textAlign":49},[91403,91405,91410],{"text":91404,"type":596},"Pomega, a Turkish energy storage and cell developer, plans for its energy storage systems (ESS) factory in Ankara, Turkey to begin operations later this year. But it also recently broke ground on an ",{"text":91406,"type":596,"marks":91407},"LFP plant",[91408],{"type":606,"attrs":91409},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91411,"type":596}," in the US. The size of this plant was increased from two to three GWh in light of the incentives available through the IRA.",{"type":591,"attrs":91413,"content":91414},{"textAlign":49},[91415],{"text":91416,"type":596},"“IRA incentives were thorough, strong and solid, and we need to emphasise that they are helping a lot to realise our investment,” Kontrolmatik Technologies, the parent company of Pomega, told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":91418,"content":91419},{"textAlign":49},[91420],{"text":91421,"type":596},"“Europe is forecasted to only make up 11% of the ESS market over the next decade whilst North America is expected to make up around 20% of the market,” Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “This is due to there being greater grid deployments in the US on account of the IRA which is pushing investment towards larger scale projects thanks to the investment and production tax credits on offer.”",{"type":591,"attrs":91423,"content":91424},{"textAlign":49},[91425],{"type":836,"attrs":91426},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":91427,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91428},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/54c42c467a/bm-na-vs-eu-bess-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":91430,"content":91431},{"textAlign":49},[91432],{"text":91433,"type":596},"“The EU can and ‘should be able to’ compete with similar incentives such as IRA’s,” Kontrolmatik Technologies said. “However, if the EU wants to compete with both US and China, they should act faster.”",{"type":591,"attrs":91435,"content":91436},{"textAlign":49},[91437,91439,91444],{"text":91438,"type":596},"Later this month, the EU is expected to release its response to the IRA in the form of the ",{"text":91440,"type":596,"marks":91441},"Green Deal Industrial Plan",[91442],{"type":606,"attrs":91443},{"href":83320,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91445,"type":596}," and Net-Zero Industry Act. As yet, it is unclear what the scale of the incentives for energy storage will be.",{"type":615,"attrs":91447,"content":91448},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91449],{"text":91450,"type":596},"Plan beyond incentives",{"type":591,"attrs":91452,"content":91453},{"textAlign":49},[91454],{"text":91455,"type":596},"Although incentives are important, they won’t always be there. Many IRA tax credits associated with energy storage will be in place until at least 2033, with some phasing out four years after the US’s greenhouse emissions fall to 25% or less than the emissions in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":91457,"content":91458},{"textAlign":49},[91459],{"text":91460,"type":596},"“Subsidies don’t tend to make good business models,” Pablo Otin, co-founder of solar developer Powertis, said at the Energy Storage Summit. “You want to make sure it works long-term.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91462,"content":91463},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91464],{"text":91465,"type":596},"Battery Gigafactories Europe & USA 2023","The US threw down an incentive-laden gauntlet when it launched the Inflation Reduction Act last year. Europe has a range of energy storage incentives, but none of them are at the same scale as the IRA, meaning Europe could be losing out as its homegrown companies move across the pond. In the US, these incentives […]",[91468],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91469},{"job_title":557,"image":91470,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cd419055-2bb7-4540-b727-e1260f765d0f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[91473,91474,91475,91476],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":91478,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":91478,"source":547,"filename":91479,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":91480,"is_external_url":51},"US and EU flags flying one in front of the other","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c4d4e62b58/bm-shutterstock-1133991383-1.jpg",{"alt":91478,"title":91478,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 06, 2023",{"id":91483,"uuid":91484,"name":91485,"slug":91486,"full_slug":91487,"content":91488},112471745313543,"adc8e4a6-4a55-46b2-b4a2-d057a538cf4d","Hard rock lithium vs. brine – how do their carbon curves compare?","hard-rock-vs-brine-how-do-their-carbon-curves-compare","article/hard-rock-vs-brine-how-do-their-carbon-curves-compare",{"_uid":91489,"date":91490,"tags":91491,"editor":91497,"content":91501,"excerpt":91769,"featured":51,"reporter":91770,"_editable":91774,"component":697,"seo_title":91485,"categories":91775,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":91779,"seo_description":91769,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":91782},"43854f96-f0ba-4034-a0d3-ffe63cd01268","2023-03-03 00:00",[91492,91495,91496],{"slug":91493,"name":91494},"carbon-curve","Carbon curve",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[91498],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91499},{"job_title":557,"image":91500,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":91502},[91503,91508,91513,91526,91531,91539,91544,91556,91561,91574,91579,91584,91594,91599,91604,91612,91617,91622,91627,91632,91637,91649,91654,91666,91671,91676,91684,91689,91694,91699,91704,91716,91721,91726,91731,91736,91743,91750,91757],{"type":591,"attrs":91504,"content":91505},{"textAlign":49},[91506],{"text":91507,"type":596},"Lithium chemicals derived from hard rock sources such as spodumene can be over three times as carbon-intensive as that from brine sources, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report.",{"type":591,"attrs":91509,"content":91510},{"textAlign":49},[91511],{"text":91512,"type":596},"Hard rock sources of lithium currently make up 60% of global mined lithium supply and are forecast to continue to do so through to 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":91514,"content":91515},{"textAlign":49},[91516,91518,91524],{"text":91517,"type":596},"The top 20 ",{"text":91519,"type":596,"marks":91520},"lithium chemical producers",[91521],{"type":606,"attrs":91522},{"href":91523,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south-koreas-lg-chem-expands-north-america-footprint-with-lithium-investment-and-offtake",{"text":91525,"type":596}," who use hard rock sources all have higher carbon emissions than those using brine sources, as shown in Benchmark’s new lithium carbon intensity curve.",{"type":591,"attrs":91527,"content":91528},{"textAlign":49},[91529],{"text":91530,"type":596},"“Processing hard rock is a much more energy-intensive process than brine,” Olivia Lin, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":91532,"content":91533},{"textAlign":49},[91534],{"type":836,"attrs":91535},{"id":49,"alt":91536,"src":91537,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91538},"Hard rock lithium sources are three time as carbon intensive as brine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8419e09df7/bm-carbon-curves.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":91540,"content":91541},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91542],{"text":91543,"type":596},"Carbon intensity",{"type":591,"attrs":91545,"content":91546},{"textAlign":49},[91547,91548,91554],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":91549,"type":596,"marks":91550},"carbon intensity of the electricity grids",[91551],{"type":606,"attrs":91552},{"href":91553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/twin-power-crises-hit-chinas-synthetic-graphite-producers",{"text":91555,"type":596}," where the raw material is mined and concentrated and where the lithium chemical is produced strongly impacts the overall carbon intensity of the process.",{"type":591,"attrs":91557,"content":91558},{"textAlign":49},[91559],{"text":91560,"type":596},"The majority of spodumene is mined in Australia where it is processed into spodumene concentrate. This concentrate is then shipped to China where it is processed into lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":91562,"content":91563},{"textAlign":49},[91564,91566,91572],{"text":91565,"type":596},"Over half of the emissions associated with producing lithium hydroxide from spodumene come from China’s electricity grid (27%) or from the energy-intensive production of spodumene concentrate (29%). Both the Australian and the ",{"text":91567,"type":596,"marks":91568},"Chinese electricity grids",[91569],{"type":606,"attrs":91570},{"href":91571,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-impact-will-the-sichuan-power-cuts-have-on-chinas-battery-supply-chain",{"text":91573,"type":596}," are highly dependent on fossil fuels with a large amount of coal power.",{"type":591,"attrs":91575,"content":91576},{"textAlign":49},[91577],{"text":91578,"type":596},"For lithium carbonate produced from brine sources, only 6% of the carbon emissions are associated with the Chilean electricity grid. The largest single contributor to the carbon emissions is the production of soda ash (29%) used to precipitate out lithium carbonate from the brine solution.",{"type":615,"attrs":91580,"content":91581},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91582],{"text":91583,"type":596},"More than just carbon",{"type":591,"attrs":91585,"content":91586},{"textAlign":49},[91587,91592],{"text":91588,"type":596,"marks":91589},"Benchmark’s life cycle assessment",[91590],{"type":606,"attrs":91591},{"href":75325,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91593,"type":596}," considers more than just the carbon intensity of the process, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":91595,"content":91596},{"textAlign":49},[91597],{"text":91598,"type":596},"Processing hard rock lithium sources is more water-intensive than that of brines.",{"type":591,"attrs":91600,"content":91601},{"textAlign":49},[91602],{"text":91603,"type":596},"“Even though brine-based producers encounter media pressures surrounding water consumption, it is clear that, based on life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis for processing needs, water use, and impact, are higher for spodumene,” according to Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report.",{"type":591,"attrs":91605,"content":91606},{"textAlign":49},[91607],{"type":836,"attrs":91608},{"id":49,"alt":91609,"src":91610,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91611},"Environmental impacts of spodumene vs brine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e75c44aa5/bm-screenshot-2023-03-03-142015.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":91613,"content":91614},{"textAlign":49},[91615],{"text":91616,"type":596},"In almost every metric, lithium chemicals from hard rock sources are more environmentally damaging than those from brine sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":91618,"content":91619},{"textAlign":49},[91620],{"text":91621,"type":596},"Benchmark’s LCA finds that the production of the chemicals used in the extraction and conversion processes for both brine and hard rock sources are major contributors to many environmental metrics.",{"type":591,"attrs":91623,"content":91624},{"textAlign":49},[91625],{"text":91626,"type":596},"The soda ash needed in brine processing, for example, is the most significant contributor to many impact categories assessed by Benchmark’s LCA. Similarly, the sulphuric acid needed in lithium hydroxide production from spodumene contributes 56% towards the ecotoxicity of the process and 39% to human toxicity.",{"type":591,"attrs":91628,"content":91629},{"textAlign":49},[91630],{"text":91631,"type":596},"“Both brine and spodumene have serious burdens and risks that need to be mitigated in order to reduce overall environmental burden,” Benchmark’s report finds.",{"type":615,"attrs":91633,"content":91634},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91635],{"text":91636,"type":596},"Future sources",{"type":591,"attrs":91638,"content":91639},{"textAlign":49},[91640,91642,91647],{"text":91641,"type":596},"Currently, hard rock sources of lithium account for 60% of the ",{"text":91643,"type":596,"marks":91644},"global supply of mined lithium",[91645],{"type":606,"attrs":91646},{"href":90671,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91648,"type":596},". In part, this is a consequence of geography and geology.",{"type":591,"attrs":91650,"content":91651},{"textAlign":49},[91652],{"text":91653,"type":596},"Although lithium chemicals from brine sources are better across the board environmentally, there are strong limitations on where such projects can be developed.",{"type":591,"attrs":91655,"content":91656},{"textAlign":49},[91657,91659,91664],{"text":91658,"type":596},"“There is actually a limited geographical location in which you can develop a traditional brine project with the right temperature, evaporation rate, and precipitation rate,” ",{"text":91660,"type":596,"marks":91661},"Cameron Perks, an analyst at Benchmark",[91662],{"type":606,"attrs":91663},{"href":44601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91665,"type":596},", said. “You’re looking at a year or two just to evaporate your first product.”",{"type":591,"attrs":91667,"content":91668},{"textAlign":49},[91669],{"text":91670,"type":596},"Direct lithium extraction (DLE) is a new technology being developed to more efficiently extract lithium from brine sources. Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast suggest the deployment of DLE will encroach on the market share of traditional brine sources over the coming decade and reach over 16% of the total mined lithium market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":91672,"content":91673},{"textAlign":49},[91674],{"text":91675,"type":596},"“DLE has a good chance of being a significant component of supply by 2030,” according to Perks.",{"type":591,"attrs":91677,"content":91678},{"textAlign":49},[91679],{"type":836,"attrs":91680},{"id":49,"alt":91681,"src":91682,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91683},"DLE sources encroaching on traditional brine by the end of the decade","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e97ba5ee8f/bm-dle-sources.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":91685,"content":91686},{"textAlign":49},[91687],{"text":91688,"type":596},"However, given the nascent state of DLE technologies, the environmental credentials compared to traditional brine sources are not currently assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":91690,"content":91691},{"textAlign":49},[91692],{"text":91693,"type":596},"“Employing DLE does not necessarily mean that the whole production is cleaner given the variations in DLE methods and project designs, which bring about uncertainties in its environmental impact such as the actual energy and water usage,” Lin said. “It is therefore important to carry out LCAs for DLE too for a fairer and more accurate comparison with the conventional evaporitic technology.”",{"type":615,"attrs":91695,"content":91696},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91697],{"text":91698,"type":596},"Importance of Life Cycle Assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":91700,"content":91701},{"textAlign":49},[91702],{"text":91703,"type":596},"Life cycle assessments form a vital component of a company’s overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. They can be carried out at a company level or be more granular and focus on individual processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":91705,"content":91706},{"textAlign":49},[91707,91709,91715],{"text":91708,"type":596},"“LCAs are used to identify environmental risks so you can mitigate them in the future,” Bruna Grossl, an LCA practitioner at Benchmark, said in a ",{"text":91710,"type":596,"marks":91711},"video for Benchmark Source",[91712],{"type":606,"attrs":91713},{"href":91714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-life-cycle-assessments-in-the-battery-supply-chain",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91717,"content":91718},{"textAlign":49},[91719],{"text":91720,"type":596},"An LCA takes into account not only the impacts directly associated with a project, but Scope 2 and Scope 3 impacts as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":91722,"content":91723},{"textAlign":49},[91724],{"text":91725,"type":596},"For example, Scope 2 accounts for electricity purchased by a converter from the grid of the country they are operating in. If a country has a highly fossil-dependent grid, Scope 2 emissions can be significant. Scope 3 accounts for the production of the chemical reagents required by the processes (such as sulphuric acid and soda ash) as well as transportation.",{"type":591,"attrs":91727,"content":91728},{"textAlign":49},[91729],{"text":91730,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report found that although the top five miners and the top five converters all produce publicly available ESG reports, only a third of all operating lithium miners and converters do. This highlights a major lack of transparency in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":91732,"content":91733},{"textAlign":49},[91734],{"text":91735,"type":596},"“Disclosure of numbers is something that we see as a critical thing to be improved,” Grossl said. “Transparency is key.”",{"type":591,"attrs":91737,"content":91738},{"textAlign":49},[91739],{"text":91740,"type":596,"marks":91741},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report provides an independent and detailed assessment of the ESG performance and approach of more than 250 lithium producers worldwide.",[91742],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":91744,"content":91745},{"textAlign":49},[91746],{"text":91747,"type":596,"marks":91748},"Our Lithium ESG Report is part of our suite of services analysing sustainability issues in the lithium ion battery supply chain, along with our Cobalt and Nickel ESG Reports and our Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) work.",[91749],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":91751,"content":91752},{"textAlign":49},[91753],{"text":91754,"type":596,"marks":91755},"If you’d like to see more information about our ESG analysis services, please provide your details here and our team will contact you to discuss further.",[91756],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":91758,"content":91759},{"textAlign":49},[91760,91762,91768],{"text":91761,"type":596},"And join us on Thursday 23 March for our ESG webinar – ",{"text":91763,"type":596,"marks":91764},"Sustainability of the Lithium Ion Battery Supply Chain",[91765],{"type":606,"attrs":91766},{"href":91767,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/webinar-sign-up/?webinar=2023_Mar_ESG",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Lithium chemicals derived from hard rock sources such as spodumene can be over three times as carbon-intensive as that from brine sources, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ESG Report. Hard rock sources of lithium currently make up 60% of global mined lithium supply and are forecast to continue to do so through to 2030, according to […]",[91771],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91772},{"job_title":557,"image":91773,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"43854f96-f0ba-4034-a0d3-ffe63cd01268\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[91776,91777,91778],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":91780,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":91781,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9eb59d3a8/bm-argentina-brine-1-e1642525912906.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 03, 2023",{"id":91784,"uuid":91785,"name":91786,"slug":91787,"full_slug":91788,"content":91789},112471755012873,"6d7c789c-1ca2-41ec-b3fb-ebe4d6197037","Tesla charts a battery-powered future: key takeaways from 2023 Investor Day","tesla-charts-a-battery-powered-future-key-takeaways-from-2023-investor-day","article/tesla-charts-a-battery-powered-future-key-takeaways-from-2023-investor-day",{"_uid":91790,"date":91791,"tags":91792,"editor":91794,"content":91798,"excerpt":92103,"featured":51,"reporter":92104,"_editable":92108,"component":697,"seo_title":91786,"categories":92109,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":92114,"seo_description":92103,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92117},"eeaf90fd-3c4a-4092-aa9d-2f1686a259d3","2023-03-02 00:00",[91793],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[91795],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":91796},{"job_title":557,"image":91797,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":91799},[91800,91813,91832,91837,91842,91847,91852,91857,91862,91867,91872,91883,91888,91893,91898,91905,91916,91921,91926,91931,91936,91941,91946,91951,91956,91961,91966,91971,91983,91988,91995,92000,92005,92010,92015,92020,92032,92037,92047,92052,92057,92069,92081,92086,92090,92094],{"type":591,"attrs":91801,"content":91802},{"textAlign":49},[91803,91805,91811],{"text":91804,"type":596},"Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk told investors the world needed ",{"text":91806,"type":596,"marks":91807},"240 terawatt hours",[91808],{"type":606,"attrs":91809},{"href":91810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-can-the-world-meet-elon-musks-300-twh-battery-capacity-target",{"text":91812,"type":596}," (TWh) of batteries and $10 trillion of investment to transition to a sustainable energy economy, but failed to detail how the automaker would scale-up its own production and supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91814,"content":91815},{"textAlign":49},[91816,91818,91822,91824,91830],{"text":91817,"type":596},"Musk revealed at the company’s Investor Day that Tesla would build a plant in Mexico, cut ",{"text":7871,"type":596,"marks":91819},[91820],{"type":606,"attrs":91821},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91823,"type":596}," from its vehicles and build a ",{"text":91825,"type":596,"marks":91826},"lithium refinery",[91827],{"type":606,"attrs":91828},{"href":91829,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/everything-we-know-about-teslas-planned-lithium-refinery",{"text":91831,"type":596}," in Texas this year, but offered few details on a new mass market vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":91833,"content":91834},{"textAlign":49},[91835],{"text":91836,"type":596},"While Musk disappointed expectations for a more detailed “Master Plan”, the move to refine lithium and eliminate rare earths highlight its intention to control every aspect of its supply chain and lower costs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91838,"content":91839},{"textAlign":49},[91840],{"text":91841,"type":596},"Musk reiterated the company’s plans to sell 20 million vehicles by 2030, a feat that would require 1.2 million tonnes of lithium chemicals – more than the entire market last year. It also wants to produce 1 TWh a year of energy storage batteries. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91843,"content":91844},{"textAlign":49},[91845],{"text":91846,"type":596},"“Tesla’s Investor Day lacked in many ways: major headlines, supply chain detail, timelines,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. “What it did show is how far Tesla has come in every arena of developing an EV which I think will be an eye opener to investors and competitors alike.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":91848,"content":91849},{"textAlign":49},[91850],{"text":91851,"type":596},"Benchmark looks at each of the announcements from the three-hour event: ",{"type":615,"attrs":91853,"content":91854},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91855],{"text":91856,"type":596},"Lack of a new lower priced Tesla  ",{"type":591,"attrs":91858,"content":91859},{"textAlign":49},[91860],{"text":91861,"type":596},"The lack of a ‘next generation’ EV was the stand our disappointment among an investor day designed to introduce all departments and R&D happenings. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91863,"content":91864},{"textAlign":49},[91865],{"text":91866,"type":596},"While a number of references to a new sub $30,000 EV, or what Wall Street has referred to as the Model 2, there was no announcement as to when we can expect the Model 3’s true successor. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91868,"content":91869},{"textAlign":49},[91870],{"text":91871,"type":596},"It felt like the Mexico Gigafactory and the introduction to costs reductions in many areas was a teaser to the final reveal that never happened. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91873,"content":91874},{"textAlign":49},[91875,91877,91882],{"text":91876,"type":596},"Any new sub-$30k offering will have to wait for a number of macro economic factors to subside – especially battery cell prices, which remain high due to ",{"text":91878,"type":596,"marks":91879},"battery raw material prices",[91880],{"type":606,"attrs":91881},{"href":87012,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":91884,"content":91885},{"textAlign":49},[91886],{"text":91887,"type":596},"The low end EV would need to be LFP, would need to travel at least 200 miles and would probably have to be built in a lower cost jurisdiction (Mexico, China, a new gigafactory in South East Asia?). ",{"type":591,"attrs":91889,"content":91890},{"textAlign":49},[91891],{"text":91892,"type":596},"To push the selling price of any Tesla below the $30k mark, the company would also need most of its vertical integration announcements to succeed and imbed into the company workflow. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91894,"content":91895},{"textAlign":49},[91896],{"text":91897,"type":596},"On that the launch party can wait. ",{"type":615,"attrs":91899,"content":91900},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91901,91903],{"text":91902,"type":596},"First",{"text":91904,"type":596},"Lithium Refinery ",{"type":591,"attrs":91906,"content":91907},{"textAlign":49},[91908,91910,91914],{"text":91909,"type":596},"Tesla said it would start production at its 50 GWh a year ",{"text":91825,"type":596,"marks":91911},[91912],{"type":606,"attrs":91913},{"href":91829,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91915,"type":596}," in Corpus Christi, Texas, this year, marking its first foray into chemical engineering. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91917,"content":91918},{"textAlign":49},[91919],{"text":91920,"type":596},"It would also start production at one line of its planned 60 GWh a year cathode facility at the Texas gigafactory next quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":91922,"content":91923},{"textAlign":49},[91924],{"text":91925,"type":596},"The lithium refinery output would translate into around 40,000 tonnes a year of LCE, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91927,"content":91928},{"textAlign":49},[91929],{"text":91930,"type":596},"Reaching a target of 20 million EVs by 2030 would require around 1.2m tonnes of lithium chemicals and the industry last year was less than 1 million tonnes in size. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91932,"content":91933},{"textAlign":49},[91934],{"text":91935,"type":596},"Tesla said the plant will use a “direct soda ash leach” process to convert spodumene without the need for acid roasting. Benchmark understands that Tesla intends to use a hydro-metallurgical process which eliminates the need for sulphuric acid.",{"type":591,"attrs":91937,"content":91938},{"textAlign":49},[91939],{"text":91940,"type":596},"The plan is “a big step into the unknown for Tesla – a shift from ‘physical’ engineering that has come to define the business culture to chemical engineering,” according to Moores.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":91942,"content":91943},{"textAlign":49},[91944],{"text":91945,"type":596},"“No matter how simple Tesla may make these challenges sound, scaling speciality chemical supply – especially lithium – is probably the hardest thing to do in the battery supply chain,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91947,"content":91948},{"textAlign":49},[91949],{"text":91950,"type":596},"However, the most important factor to Tesla being in the lithium refining business could be the sway it gives it in contract negotiations for future volumes of lithium from external suppliers, Moores added. ",{"type":615,"attrs":91952,"content":91953},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91954],{"text":91955,"type":596},"Betting big on LFP ",{"type":591,"attrs":91957,"content":91958},{"textAlign":49},[91959],{"text":91960,"type":596},"Musk doubled down on Tesla’s bet on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, saying they could be used to electrifty almost all forms transport. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91962,"content":91963},{"textAlign":49},[91964],{"text":91965,"type":596},"“You only need nickel for aircrafts or boats or long range cars or trucks. The vast majority of heavy lifting for electrification would be done by iron based chemistry,” Musk said.",{"type":591,"attrs":91967,"content":91968},{"textAlign":49},[91969],{"text":91970,"type":596},"LFP batteries are currently up to 30% cheaper than the high nickel NCM and NCA cells also used by Tesla as they don’t require nickel and cobalt, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":91972,"content":91973},{"textAlign":49},[91974,91976,91981],{"text":91975,"type":596},"But their production is ",{"text":91977,"type":596,"marks":91978},"concentrated in China",[91979],{"type":606,"attrs":91980},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":91982,"type":596},", creating a geopolitical risk for automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91984,"content":91985},{"textAlign":49},[91986],{"text":91987,"type":596},"There is also the question of whether customers will accept passenger vehicles with a mid-200 mile range. ",{"type":591,"attrs":91989,"content":91990},{"textAlign":49},[91991],{"type":836,"attrs":91992},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":91993,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":91994},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/473da49bbe/bm-image-24.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":91996,"content":91997},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[91998],{"text":91999,"type":596},"A Mexican gigafactory ",{"type":591,"attrs":92001,"content":92002},{"textAlign":49},[92003],{"text":92004,"type":596},"Musk also revealed plans to set up a gigafactory in Mexico but did not provide details, highlighting how revealing new plants is not what it was a few years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":92006,"content":92007},{"textAlign":49},[92008],{"text":92009,"type":596},"Benchmark is currently tracking 372 gigafactories globally. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92011,"content":92012},{"textAlign":49},[92013],{"text":92014,"type":596},"“We are going to build a gigafactory in Mexico. Gigafactory Mexico will supplement the output from other factories. It will build the next generation vehicle which we will do in our other plants as well,” said Musk.",{"type":615,"attrs":92016,"content":92017},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92018],{"text":92019,"type":596},"Eliminating Rare Earths ",{"type":591,"attrs":92021,"content":92022},{"textAlign":49},[92023,92025,92030],{"text":92024,"type":596},"Perhaps of biggest interest for raw materials was Tesla’s announcement that it would ",{"text":92026,"type":596,"marks":92027},"eliminate rare earths",[92028],{"type":606,"attrs":92029},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92031,"type":596}," from its electric motors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92033,"content":92034},{"textAlign":49},[92035],{"text":92036,"type":596},"The move is back to the future for Tesla, which was quite vocal about the fact it did not need rare earths in Model S and X before it changed tack for the Model 3. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92038,"content":92039},{"textAlign":49},[92040,92042,92046],{"text":92041,"type":596},"The market implications remain to be seen, however, and will depend principally on the ability of Tesla’s new fleet of EVs to compete with major competitors on vehicle efficiency and cost, according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":92043},[92044],{"type":606,"attrs":92045},{"href":13599,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92048,"content":92049},{"textAlign":49},[92050],{"text":92051,"type":596},"“Eliminating rare earths from new future Tesla EVs is important for scale,” Moores said. “Rare earths is the most extreme of all critical minerals with over 85% mined and refined in China.”  ",{"type":615,"attrs":92053,"content":92054},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92055],{"text":92056,"type":596},"Master Plan 3",{"type":591,"attrs":92058,"content":92059},{"textAlign":49},[92060,92062,92067],{"text":92061,"type":596},"Musks’ forecast of total installed battery storage of 240 TWh would translate into a lithium ion battery production of ",{"text":92063,"type":596,"marks":92064},"16 TWh a year",[92065],{"type":606,"attrs":92066},{"href":91810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92068,"type":596},", sixteen times today’s industry in terms of output in 2023, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":92070,"content":92071},{"textAlign":49},[92072,92074,92079],{"text":92073,"type":596},"The global battery production is set to surpass one terawatt-hour for the ",{"text":92075,"type":596,"marks":92076},"first time in 2023",[92077],{"type":606,"attrs":92078},{"href":89370,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92080,"type":596},", and reach 4 TWh in 2030, according to the Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery database.",{"type":591,"attrs":92082,"content":92083},{"textAlign":49},[92084],{"text":92085,"type":596},"“Considering the battery cell industry has scaled ten times in seven years, this is a achievable goal albeit the focus moves to building the mining and refining infrastructure to support this,” Moores said.  “It will take a short generation (15-20 years) to get this right.”",{"type":615,"attrs":92087,"content":92088},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92089],{"text":90803,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92091,"content":92092},{"textAlign":49},[92093],{"text":90808,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92095,"content":92096},{"textAlign":49},[92097,92098,92102],{"text":90813,"type":596},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":92099},[92100],{"type":606,"attrs":92101},{"href":90818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":90820,"type":596},"Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk told investors the world needed 240 terawatt hours (TWh) of batteries and $10 trillion of investment to transition to a sustainable energy economy, but failed to detail how the automaker would scale-up its own production and supply chain. Musk revealed at the company’s Investor Day that Tesla would build a plant […]",[92105],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92106},{"job_title":557,"image":92107,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"eeaf90fd-3c4a-4092-aa9d-2f1686a259d3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[92110,92111,92112,92113],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":92115,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":92116,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f3b266e921/bm-0x0-megapack-02.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 02, 2023",{"id":92119,"uuid":92120,"name":92121,"slug":92122,"full_slug":92123,"content":92124},112471764917003,"a0146df7-2773-41c8-9538-7cc5c983bc2b","Could flake graphite bottlenecks push automakers to synthetic?","could-flake-graphite-bottlenecks-push-automakers-to-synthetic","article/could-flake-graphite-bottlenecks-push-automakers-to-synthetic",{"_uid":92125,"date":92126,"tags":92127,"editor":92134,"content":92138,"excerpt":92314,"featured":51,"reporter":92315,"_editable":92319,"component":697,"seo_title":92121,"categories":92320,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":92323,"seo_description":92314,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92326},"29d4b9ea-4ad3-4019-9dfa-40d0e51c64ec","2023-02-27 00:00",[92128,92129,92130,92133],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":67448,"name":67449},{"slug":92131,"name":92132},"nextsource-materials","NextSource Materials",{"slug":1831,"name":67454},[92135],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92136},{"job_title":557,"image":92137,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":92139},[92140,92145,92150,92174,92179,92187,92192,92197,92205,92210,92222,92227,92232,92237,92245,92250,92255,92260,92265,92278,92291,92296,92304,92309],{"type":591,"attrs":92141,"content":92142},{"textAlign":49},[92143],{"text":92144,"type":596},"The -100 natural flake graphite deficit is forecast by Benchmark to more than double this year, despite supply increasing by 15%.",{"type":591,"attrs":92146,"content":92147},{"textAlign":49},[92148],{"text":92149,"type":596},"The synthetic graphite market, by contrast, is forecast by Benchmark to be in a surplus until 2028, with this year’s surplus growing 23% on last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":92151,"content":92152},{"textAlign":49},[92153,92158,92160,92165,92167,92172],{"text":92154,"type":596,"marks":92155},"Flake graphite is generally preferred by Western automakers",[92156],{"type":606,"attrs":92157},{"href":79214,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92159,"type":596}," over synthetic graphite as it gives a higher capacity anode material, lower cost and typically has better ",{"text":92161,"type":596,"marks":92162},"environmental credentials owing to the lower energy use in its production",[92163],{"type":606,"attrs":92164},{"href":56725,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92166,"type":596},". But synthetic graphite and related coke feedstocks are set to maintain a supply surplus, making it the chemistry of choice for new ",{"text":92168,"type":596,"marks":92169},"anode manufacturers",[92170],{"type":606,"attrs":92171},{"href":62279,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92173,"type":596}," entering the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":92175,"content":92176},{"textAlign":49},[92177],{"text":92178,"type":596},"“In the near term we are likely to see greater deployment of synthetic anode material over natural graphite anode material, and a higher proportion of synthetic in blended anode material because of the restricted availability of natural graphite anode feedstock” George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":92180,"content":92181},{"textAlign":49},[92182],{"type":836,"attrs":92183},{"id":49,"alt":92184,"src":92185,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92186},"Flake graphite deficit set to increase through to 2030","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/Flake-graphite-and-synthetic-market-balance--1024x918.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":92188,"content":92189},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92190],{"text":92191,"type":596},"Alternative graphite options",{"type":591,"attrs":92193,"content":92194},{"textAlign":49},[92195],{"text":92196,"type":596},"The lack of -100 mesh sized graphite could be compensated for by the other mesh sizes which can be ground down. The downside of this is that material is lost as fines during the grinding process and adds extra costs to the process of producing anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":92198,"content":92199},{"textAlign":49},[92200],{"type":836,"attrs":92201},{"id":49,"alt":92202,"src":92203,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92204},"-100 mesh flake graphite deficit to grow rapidly","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eba1f4c944/bm-nat-flake-market-balance.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92206,"content":92207},{"textAlign":49},[92208],{"text":92209,"type":596},"“Will the minus 100 mesh deficit push automakers to mill down large mesh sizes of flake graphite? It’s possible it will,” Miller said. “But as long as costs are lower than using synthetic graphite anodes.”",{"type":591,"attrs":92211,"content":92212},{"textAlign":49},[92213,92215,92220],{"text":92214,"type":596},"Despite the ",{"text":92216,"type":596,"marks":92217},"preference for natural graphite anode material",[92218],{"type":606,"attrs":92219},{"href":91001,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92221,"type":596}," outside of China, automakers are not necessarily the ones willing to drive change in anode feedstock availability, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":92223,"content":92224},{"textAlign":49},[92225],{"text":92226,"type":596},"“I don’t think auto-OEMs currently have much of a feedstock consideration within the anode value chain, as of yet because prices haven’t been volatile and because anodes aren’t a big proportion of overall cell costs,” Miller said.",{"type":591,"attrs":92228,"content":92229},{"textAlign":49},[92230],{"text":92231,"type":596},"Brent Nykoliation, the executive vice president of Next Source Materials, a natural graphite developer entering commissioning at its Molo project in Madagascar, told Benchmark that all the OEMs they are dealing with will be using a majority of synthetic graphite feedstock rather than natural flake graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":92233,"content":92234},{"textAlign":49},[92235],{"text":92236,"type":596},"“[Automakers] don’t have a lot of options to find natural graphite from a reliable source from a country that’s not an issue or a foreign concern and in the quantities and in the quality that you need it so that’s what’s hampering it,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":92238,"content":92239},{"textAlign":49},[92240],{"type":836,"attrs":92241},{"id":49,"alt":92242,"src":92243,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92244},"Natural flake graphite supply by region","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3da24f2c04/bm-flake-graphite-production.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92246,"content":92247},{"textAlign":49},[92248],{"text":92249,"type":596},"“All these car companies realise they need huge amounts [of graphite],” Nykoliation said. “But there’s no plan really to fund the projects in order to get them up and running because it’s going to take anywhere between three to seven years to develop these projects.”",{"type":615,"attrs":92251,"content":92252},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92253],{"text":92254,"type":596},"The geography of processing",{"type":591,"attrs":92256,"content":92257},{"textAlign":49},[92258],{"text":92259,"type":596},"China’s dominance grows stronger in both the synthetic and natural graphite supply chains when the processing steps are considered.",{"type":591,"attrs":92261,"content":92262},{"textAlign":49},[92263],{"text":92264,"type":596},"Once natural graphite is mined, it is converted into spherical graphite before it can be used in an anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":92266,"content":92267},{"textAlign":49},[92268,92270,92276],{"text":92269,"type":596},"All of the capacity to carry out this process last year was in China. This year, with ",{"text":92271,"type":596,"marks":92272},"spherical graphite facilities",[92273],{"type":606,"attrs":92274},{"href":92275,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/panasonics-canadian-graphite-deal-highlights-north-american-opportunity",{"text":92277,"type":596}," from companies such as Syrah and Westwater in the US and Nouveau Monde in Canada due to begin coming online, China’s control of the market will fall slightly to 98%, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":92279,"content":92280},{"textAlign":49},[92281,92283,92289],{"text":92282,"type":596},"Production of anode-quality synthetic graphite from ",{"text":92284,"type":596,"marks":92285},"coke feedstocks",[92286],{"type":606,"attrs":92287},{"href":92288,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-makes-steps-towards-reducing-reliance-on-needle-coke-imports",{"text":92290,"type":596}," is also mostly in China. Just 4.5% of anode-grade synthetic graphite in 2023 is expected to be produced outside of China according to Benchmark’s Synthetic Graphite Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":92292,"content":92293},{"textAlign":49},[92294],{"text":92295,"type":596},"By 2030, this will have increased slightly to 9.7%, mostly driven by US producers Anovion and Novonix.",{"type":591,"attrs":92297,"content":92298},{"textAlign":49},[92299],{"type":836,"attrs":92300},{"id":49,"alt":92301,"src":92302,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92303},"Chinese spherical graphite dominance set to remain this decade","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/SPG-1024x939.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92305,"content":92306},{"textAlign":49},[92307],{"text":92308,"type":596},"Although the production of spherical graphite is energy-intensive, it is significantly less energy intensive than the production of synthetic graphite. Energy intensity is important from both cost and environmental perspectives and is one reason why many western automakers prefer natural graphite to synthetic.",{"type":591,"attrs":92310,"content":92311},{"textAlign":49},[92312],{"text":92313,"type":596},"“Synthetic is winning now and for the near term on good availability,” Miller said. “But in the long term, natural graphite anode material has the potential to win on ESG and cost considerations.”","The -100 natural flake graphite deficit is forecast by Benchmark to more than double this year, despite supply increasing by 15%. The synthetic graphite market, by contrast, is forecast by Benchmark to be in a surplus until 2028, with this year’s surplus growing 23% on last year. Flake graphite is generally preferred by Western automakers […]",[92316],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92317},{"job_title":557,"image":92318,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"29d4b9ea-4ad3-4019-9dfa-40d0e51c64ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[92321,92322],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":92324,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":92325,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/033b50adbc/bm-conveyor-and-plant-12-12-22-reduced.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 27, 2023",{"id":92328,"uuid":92329,"name":92330,"slug":92331,"full_slug":92332,"content":92333},112471794301713,"ebeb7de1-349e-4685-9bce-99665f1bbcf5","China takes steps towards reducing reliance on needle coke imports","china-makes-steps-towards-reducing-reliance-on-needle-coke-imports","article/china-makes-steps-towards-reducing-reliance-on-needle-coke-imports",{"_uid":92334,"date":92335,"tags":92336,"editor":92338,"content":92342,"excerpt":92421,"featured":50,"reporter":92422,"_editable":92426,"component":697,"seo_title":92330,"categories":92427,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":92431,"seo_description":92421,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92434},"6a6c13b9-da2e-42b8-b0be-c5205d3843e8","2023-02-21 00:00",[92337],{"slug":1831,"name":67454},[92339],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92340},{"job_title":557,"image":92341,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":92343},[92344,92349,92354,92359,92364,92369,92374,92379,92386,92391,92396,92401,92406,92411,92416],{"type":591,"attrs":92345,"content":92346},{"textAlign":49},[92347],{"text":92348,"type":596},"China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on importing low sulphur needle coke will see it cement its position as the world’s largest producer of the synthetic anode feedstock this year, Benchmark data shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":92350,"content":92351},{"textAlign":49},[92352],{"text":92353,"type":596},"The country is forecast to produce 670,000 tonnes of low-sulphur petroleum needle coke, known as super-premium and premium quality coke this year, according to the Benchmark Synthetic Graphite Forecast, more than the rest of the world combined. Despite this growth in production the country will remain reliant on foreign imports to support its synthetic anode supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":92355,"content":92356},{"textAlign":49},[92357],{"text":92358,"type":596},"“China is looking to lower reliance on high quality needle coke imports because it is expensive to purchase outright, and cheaper to manufacture in-house. China knows that the best way to acquire larger margins in the battery supply chain is to capture more value at every stage of the supply chain by vertically integrating,” said George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":92360,"content":92361},{"textAlign":49},[92362],{"text":92363,"type":596},"Just last year for the first time on record, China produced more low sulphur coke than the rest of the world combined. High quality needle coke production in China totalled 645,000 in 2022, more than the rest of the world’s production volume of 639,000 tonnes, Benchmark data shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":92365,"content":92366},{"textAlign":49},[92367],{"text":92368,"type":596},"“A lot of this material comes from the UK, Japan and North America. In the past, this is where the highest quality coke has been produced and now China is establishing its own high quality needle coke supply to compete and feed into its battery anode industry,” added Miller.",{"type":591,"attrs":92370,"content":92371},{"textAlign":49},[92372],{"text":92373,"type":596},"Historically, high quality needle coke has been used in the steelmaking industry but its use by the battery industry has grown thanks to a booming electric vehicle sector, where synthetic graphite anode materials hold a majority share. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92375,"content":92376},{"textAlign":49},[92377],{"text":92378,"type":596},"Global electric vehicle passenger car and light duty vehicle sales reached 10.3 million units in 2022, an year-on-year jump of 58.5%, according to EV market analysis firm Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":92380,"content":92381},{"textAlign":49},[92382],{"type":836,"attrs":92383},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92384,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92385},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5637f4bfae/bm-china-needle-coke-production-chart.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":92387,"content":92388},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92389],{"text":92390,"type":596},"Growing fast",{"type":591,"attrs":92392,"content":92393},{"textAlign":49},[92394],{"text":92395,"type":596},"China is set to nearly double its high quality needle coke production by the end of this year from 2020 amid efforts to increase its high quality needle coke capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":92397,"content":92398},{"textAlign":49},[92399],{"text":92400,"type":596},"“Rest of the world supplies [high quality needle coke] are not growing nearly as fast as China’s,” Miller said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92402,"content":92403},{"textAlign":49},[92404],{"text":92405,"type":596},"Currently, a conservative forecast estimates China to produce ~900,000 tonnes of high quality needle coke by the end of the decade while the rest of the world supply is expected to be ~700,000 tonnes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92407,"content":92408},{"textAlign":49},[92409],{"text":92410,"type":596},"Given a shift from traditional blast furnaces in steel making to less-emissive electric arc furnaces however, which consume the same high quality synthetic graphite as electrodes, competition between the two end-markets is starting to drive the battery anode industry to experiment with lower quality feedstocks in periods of high pricing or low availability. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92412,"content":92413},{"textAlign":49},[92414],{"text":92415,"type":596},"While high quality needle coke prices peaked at ~$1,800 a tonne last year and have come down to ~$1,400 levels, cheaper cokes can be priced anywhere between $500 to $800 a tonne depending on the grade, according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":92417,"content":92418},{"textAlign":49},[92419],{"text":92420,"type":596},"“This should keep both markets well supplied, compounded by China’s drive to build out a leading global position in refining high quality, low sulphur cokes,” said Miller. ","China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on importing low sulphur needle coke will see it cement its position as the world’s largest producer of the synthetic anode feedstock this year, Benchmark data shows. The country is forecast to produce 670,000 tonnes of low-sulphur petroleum needle coke, known as super-premium and premium quality coke this year, […]",[92423],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92424},{"job_title":557,"image":92425,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6a6c13b9-da2e-42b8-b0be-c5205d3843e8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[92428,92429,92430],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":92432,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":92433,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f0fd957cc4/bm-china-ev-charging-small.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 21, 2023",{"id":92436,"uuid":92437,"name":92438,"slug":92439,"full_slug":92440,"content":92441},112471813716758,"54d55631-45b4-4a05-99ef-ffc84e12ad47","North America’s recycling capacity set to overtake Europe this year","north-americas-recycling-capacity-set-to-overtake-europe-this-year","article/north-americas-recycling-capacity-set-to-overtake-europe-this-year",{"_uid":92442,"date":92443,"tags":92444,"editor":92450,"content":92454,"excerpt":92627,"featured":50,"reporter":92628,"_editable":92632,"component":697,"seo_title":92438,"categories":92633,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":92637,"seo_description":92627,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92639},"057361a2-1efe-4fc8-991b-7ae60f51b9cf","2023-02-15 00:00",[92445,92446,92447,92448,92449],{"slug":28851,"name":28852},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[92451],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92452},{"job_title":557,"image":92453,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":92455},[92456,92461,92471,92483,92493,92500,92505,92510,92521,92526,92549,92554,92573,92578,92583,92588,92593,92598,92603,92608,92613,92618,92623],{"type":591,"attrs":92457,"content":92458},{"textAlign":49},[92459],{"text":92460,"type":596},"North America’s battery recycling capacity is expected to overtake Europe this year, as President Joe Biden’t Inflation Reduction Act spurs a wave of investment in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92462,"content":92463},{"textAlign":49},[92464,92469],{"text":28867,"type":596,"marks":92465},[92466],{"type":606,"attrs":92467},{"href":92468,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-to-expect-for-the-battery-recycling-market-in-2023",{"text":92470,"type":596}," shows that North American recycling capacity is set to increase 270% compared to last year. Europe, however, is only expected to grow 40%, allowing the region to fall behind to North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":92472,"content":92473},{"textAlign":49},[92474,92476,92481],{"text":92475,"type":596},"The divergence highlights the impact of President Joe Biden’s IRA, which ",{"text":92477,"type":596,"marks":92478},"Europe has said risks distorting global markets via subsidie",[92479],{"type":606,"attrs":92480},{"href":91311,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92482,"type":596},"s. The landmark climate deal includes minerals recycled in North America as an eligible source for automakers looking to receive electric vehicle tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":92484,"content":92485},{"textAlign":49},[92486,92491],{"text":92487,"type":596,"marks":92488},"Europe is hoping that new legislation",[92489],{"type":606,"attrs":92490},{"href":56631,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92492,"type":596}," mandating how much material in a new battery comes from recycled sources and how efficiently recyclers operate will spur investment in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":92494,"content":92495},{"textAlign":49},[92496],{"type":836,"attrs":92497},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92498,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92499},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/90c4905c53/bm-carrots-v-sticks.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92501,"content":92502},{"textAlign":49},[92503],{"text":92504,"type":596},"“[Legislation] is going to be a major driver of where the where the recycling infrastructure is put in,” Roger Lin, vice president of Ascend Elements, a US-based battery recycler, told Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":92506,"content":92507},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92508],{"text":92509,"type":596},"The US’s carrot",{"type":591,"attrs":92511,"content":92512},{"textAlign":49},[92513,92514,92519],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":92515,"type":596,"marks":92516},"IRA awards up to $7,500 in tax credits",[92517],{"type":606,"attrs":92518},{"href":82211,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92520,"type":596}," against the purchase of an electric vehicle. Part of the eligibility criteria for these credits is to have 80% of the value of the critical raw materials contained within the battery sourced from the US or a Free Trade Agreement country or to have been recycled in North America by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":92522,"content":92523},{"textAlign":49},[92524],{"text":92525,"type":596},"Further incentivising the development of recycling capacity in the US are production tax credits towards the production of cathode and anode active materials or critical minerals such as lithium carbonate or hydroxide. Section 45X of the IRA, for example, gives a tax credit equal to 10% of the cost of the production of such material.",{"type":591,"attrs":92527,"content":92528},{"textAlign":49},[92529,92530,92535,92537,92541,92543,92548],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":92531,"type":596,"marks":92532},"IRA is widely acknowledged",[92533],{"type":606,"attrs":92534},{"href":70993,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92536,"type":596}," to be a direct response to China’s ever-increasing stronghold on much of the lithium ion battery supply chain from the production of high-purity chemicals through to ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":92538},[92539],{"type":606,"attrs":92540},{"href":38905,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92542,"type":596},", anode and ",{"text":92544,"type":596,"marks":92545},"cell production",[92546],{"type":606,"attrs":92547},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92550,"content":92551},{"textAlign":49},[92552],{"text":92553,"type":596},"“The United States has really focused on creating market demand and then driving domestic content. Supply chain security issues are driving that kind of legislation.” Lin said. “Recyclers in the US are acting as a strategic minerals, strategic elements concentration point. Those materials that end up being sold into the US through batteries will end up staying there.”",{"type":591,"attrs":92555,"content":92556},{"textAlign":49},[92557,92559,92564,92566,92571],{"text":92558,"type":596},"Additionally, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the ",{"text":92560,"type":596,"marks":92561},"Department of Energy has given out several billion dollars",[92562],{"type":606,"attrs":92563},{"href":38796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92565,"type":596}," in grants across the supply chain including, ",{"text":92567,"type":596,"marks":92568},"Ascend Elements which received a $3.16 million grant",[92569],{"type":606,"attrs":92570},{"href":71096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92572,"type":596}," to produce pre-cathode active materials from used batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":92574,"content":92575},{"textAlign":49},[92576],{"text":92577,"type":596},"“The US with the IRA and the BIL that was passed recently are leaping forward very very quickly,” Lin said. “There is probably more of a shift in lithium ion battery manufacturing and ancillary industries towards the US because of that.”",{"type":615,"attrs":92579,"content":92580},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92581],{"text":92582,"type":596},"Europe’s stick",{"type":591,"attrs":92584,"content":92585},{"textAlign":49},[92586],{"text":92587,"type":596},"The European Union’s proposed battery recycling legislation to replace the 2006 Batteries Directive was approved by the Council in January this year and now needs to be formally approved by the Parliament before coming into force.",{"type":591,"attrs":92589,"content":92590},{"textAlign":49},[92591],{"text":92592,"type":596},"The proposed legislation sets out mandates for the minimum amount of recycled minerals contained lithium ion batteries sold in the EU. These will start at 6% for lithium and nickel and 16% for cobalt in 2031, if the legislation is passed this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":92594,"content":92595},{"textAlign":49},[92596],{"text":92597,"type":596},"The targets will rise to 12% for lithium, 15% for nickel and 26% for cobalt in 2036 (or 13 years after the legislation is passed).",{"type":591,"attrs":92599,"content":92600},{"textAlign":49},[92601],{"text":92602,"type":596},"It also sets out targets for the recovery efficiency of the recycling processes. By 2031, recyclers will need to recover at least 80% of the lithium in the batteries they recycle and 95% of the contained cobalt and nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":92604,"content":92605},{"textAlign":49},[92606],{"text":92607,"type":596},"Lin said Ascend Elements would consider building facilities in Europe and the UK, but would need further understanding on exactly how these mandates would be enforced.",{"type":591,"attrs":92609,"content":92610},{"textAlign":49},[92611],{"text":92612,"type":596},"“Once we understand what the implications are for, you know, not able not being able to meet those recycled content requirements over time, it’ll help us gauge what the market reaction would be,” Lin said. “It’s not as certain as an incentive or a credit would be.”",{"type":591,"attrs":92614,"content":92615},{"textAlign":49},[92616],{"text":92617,"type":596},"“It has more of an ESG or sustainability goal to it [than the IRA],” Lin said, going on to say that the EU approach is more of a penalty whereas the IRA is an incentive.",{"type":591,"attrs":92619,"content":92620},{"textAlign":49},[92621],{"text":92622,"type":596},"“I think they can both be successful,” he said. “In my opinion, I think the [IRA] is probably the more powerful because it’s more economically driven.”",{"type":615,"attrs":92624,"content":92625},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92626],{"text":91465,"type":596},"North America’s battery recycling capacity is expected to overtake Europe this year, as President Joe Biden’t Inflation Reduction Act spurs a wave of investment in the country. Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast shows that North American recycling capacity is set to increase 270% compared to last year. Europe, however, is only expected to grow 40%, allowing the […]",[92629],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92630},{"job_title":557,"image":92631,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"057361a2-1efe-4fc8-991b-7ae60f51b9cf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[92634,92635,92636],{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":26558,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":92638,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 15, 2023",{"id":92641,"uuid":92642,"name":92643,"slug":92644,"full_slug":92645,"content":92646},112471823559448,"8d1e9ba5-785c-4156-a81c-a84d1373aaa8","The rise of LFP batteries outside of China","the-rise-of-lfp-batteries-outside-of-china","article/the-rise-of-lfp-batteries-outside-of-china",{"_uid":92647,"date":92648,"tags":92649,"editor":92651,"content":92655,"excerpt":92820,"featured":51,"reporter":92821,"_editable":92825,"component":697,"seo_title":92643,"categories":92826,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":92832,"seo_description":92820,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92835},"94a3ce5f-1aa2-434f-8722-a8ecf17ff33c","2023-02-14 00:00",[92650],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[92652],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92653},{"job_title":557,"image":92654,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":92656},[92657,92675,92680,92685,92690,92695,92702,92707,92712,92717,92722,92727,92732,92737,92741,92746,92751,92756,92763,92770,92775,92780,92787,92792,92797,92802,92815],{"type":591,"attrs":92658,"content":92659},{"textAlign":49},[92660,92662,92667,92669,92674],{"text":92661,"type":596},"Ford’s ",{"text":92663,"type":596,"marks":92664},"decision",[92665],{"type":606,"attrs":92666},{"href":48549,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92668,"type":596}," to build a plant in the US to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries significantly advances production of the chemistry ",{"text":27193,"type":596,"marks":92670},[92671],{"type":606,"attrs":92672},{"href":92673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/west-needs-to-build-lfp-battery-capacity-for-technology-to-go-global",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92676,"content":92677},{"textAlign":49},[92678],{"text":92679,"type":596},"LFP chemistry was invented and developed in North America, with patents held until recently by a consortium including Hydro-Québec, the University of Montreal, the National Centre for Scientific Research in Canada, and Johnson Matthey. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92681,"content":92682},{"textAlign":49},[92683],{"text":92684,"type":596},"But efforts to produce LFP cells in the US failed over a decade ago when battery startup A123 Systems went bankrupt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92686,"content":92687},{"textAlign":49},[92688],{"text":92689,"type":596},"Today China dominates production of LFP battery cells, led by BYD and CATL, as well as production of LFP cathode. LFP batteries accounted for 62% of batteries installed in vehicles last year, according to government figures.",{"type":591,"attrs":92691,"content":92692},{"textAlign":49},[92693],{"text":92694,"type":596},"Companies outside of China “underestimated” the potential of LFP over the past few years and focused on NCM and NCA chemistries, according to Albert Li, an analyst at Benchmark. At the same time, the Chinese government has promoted the chemistry due to its safety. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92696,"content":92697},{"textAlign":49},[92698],{"type":836,"attrs":92699},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92700,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92701},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b3d1adfe1d/bm-image-109-134410143c64.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":92703,"content":92704},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92705],{"text":92706,"type":596},"It’s cheaper ",{"type":591,"attrs":92708,"content":92709},{"textAlign":49},[92710],{"text":92711,"type":596},"Automakers in the West are increasingly adopting the chemistry, however, since it is cheaper, longer-lasting and does not require nickel and cobalt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92713,"content":92714},{"textAlign":49},[92715],{"text":92716,"type":596},"LFP cells are also becoming the most popular choice for energy storage systems (ESS.)",{"type":591,"attrs":92718,"content":92719},{"textAlign":49},[92720],{"text":92721,"type":596},"Tesla already uses LFP cells from CATL, while Stellantis, Volkswagen, Mercedes and Hyundai are also adopting the chemistry. Tata Motors in India is also using LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":92723,"content":92724},{"textAlign":49},[92725],{"text":92726,"type":596},"Ford said last year LFP cells would give it a 10 to 15% cost savings for materials compared to nickel cobalt manganese batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":92728,"content":92729},{"textAlign":49},[92730],{"text":92731,"type":596},"Prices for NCM622 lithium ion cells were assessed at $145.2/kWh in January compared to $95 a kWh for LFP cells, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Cell Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92733,"content":92734},{"textAlign":49},[92735],{"text":92736,"type":596},"In January LFP cathode prices fell for the first time since May 2022, decreasing 4.5% to RMB 160,000/tonne ($23,475), whereas prices for NCM 622 cathode traded at an average price of RMB 344,000/tonne ($50,471). ",{"type":615,"attrs":92738,"content":92739},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92740],{"text":56926,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92742,"content":92743},{"textAlign":49},[92744],{"text":92745,"type":596},"In terms of LFP cathode China has a 99% share of the global market, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast. At the moment, that’s not expected to change much by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92747,"content":92748},{"textAlign":49},[92749],{"text":92750,"type":596},"As the LFP industry has grown in China so has the supply chain, from raw materials to cathode, according to Li. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92752,"content":92753},{"textAlign":49},[92754],{"text":92755,"type":596},"“You can establish one new LFP cell factory outside China, but what about its supply chain? This supply chain will be new too,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92757,"content":92758},{"textAlign":49},[92759],{"type":836,"attrs":92760},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92761,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92762},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/006f28bc9f/bm-image-110-1344102e9701.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92764,"content":92765},{"textAlign":49},[92766],{"type":836,"attrs":92767},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92768,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92769},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a4f5577c07/bm-image-111-1344103bd5f9.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":92771,"content":92772},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92773],{"text":92774,"type":596},"Rise of ex-China LFP battery plants",{"type":591,"attrs":92776,"content":92777},{"textAlign":49},[92778],{"text":92779,"type":596},"However, LFP battery plants are starting to be built in Vietnam, India, Norway, and the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92781,"content":92782},{"textAlign":49},[92783],{"type":836,"attrs":92784},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":92785,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92786},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/302081402e/bm-lfp-battery-capacity-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92788,"content":92789},{"textAlign":49},[92790],{"text":92791,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution, the world’s second-largest battery producer, said last year it will start producing LFP batteries in China this year and at its plant in Michigan next year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92793,"content":92794},{"textAlign":49},[92795],{"text":92796,"type":596},"Gotion, another big Chinese producer of LFP cells, said it wants to have 100 GWh of battery capacity overseas by 2025. This month it signed an agreement with Slovakia-based InoBat to consider building a gigafactory with 40 GWh of cell capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":92798,"content":92799},{"textAlign":49},[92800],{"text":92801,"type":596},"Last November Norwegian startup Freyr said it would build a LFP battery plant in the US state of Georgia with a capacity of 34 GWh for $1.7 billion.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":92803,"content":92804},{"textAlign":49},[92805,92807,92813],{"text":92806,"type":596},"Battery startup ",{"text":92808,"type":596,"marks":92809},"Our Next Energy",[92810],{"type":606,"attrs":92811},{"href":92812,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bmw-to-trial-dual-chemistry-lfp-lmo-battery-from-our-next-energy",{"text":92814,"type":596}," has also announced a plan to invest $1.6 billion in a 20 GWh battery factory in Michigan. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92816,"content":92817},{"textAlign":49},[92818],{"text":92819,"type":596},"Yet catching up to China in terms of total forecast capacity will take a lot more investment. At the moment China accounts for over 90% of planned LFP battery capacity out to 2030, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. ","Ford’s decision to build a plant in the US to produce cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries significantly advances production of the chemistry outside of China. LFP chemistry was invented and developed in North America, with patents held until recently by a consortium including Hydro-Québec, the University of Montreal, the National Centre for Scientific Research […]",[92822],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92823},{"job_title":557,"image":92824,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"94a3ce5f-1aa2-434f-8722-a8ecf17ff33c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[92827,92828,92829,92830,92831],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":92833,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":92834,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/801bfb7af8/bm-batteries-11312bf43.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 14, 2023",{"id":92837,"uuid":92838,"name":92839,"slug":92840,"full_slug":92841,"content":92842},112471818611479,"0d8f5d8e-2c11-4081-9b51-be0148d41e45","Umicore to introduce manganese-rich high lithium cathode by 2026","umicore-to-introduce-manganese-rich-high-lithium-cathode-by-2026","article/umicore-to-introduce-manganese-rich-high-lithium-cathode-by-2026",{"_uid":92843,"date":92648,"tags":92844,"editor":92846,"content":92850,"excerpt":93019,"featured":51,"reporter":93020,"_editable":93024,"component":697,"seo_title":92839,"categories":93025,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93028,"seo_description":93019,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":92835},"96f453df-807c-4768-9fb4-4b47f9777de5",[92845],{"slug":8923,"name":8924},[92847],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":92848},{"job_title":557,"image":92849,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":92851},[92852,92857,92869,92879,92891,92896,92901,92916,92924,92935,92940,92945,92950,92955,92960,92965,92970,92975,92980,92985,92990,92995,93007],{"type":591,"attrs":92853,"content":92854},{"textAlign":49},[92855],{"text":92856,"type":596},"Belgian battery materials manufacturer Umicore said it aimed to get its manganese-rich, high lithium cathode material into an electric vehicle by 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":92858,"content":92859},{"textAlign":49},[92860,92862,92867],{"text":92861,"type":596},"The new cathode material is designed to ",{"text":92863,"type":596,"marks":92864},"compete with lithium iron phosphate",[92865],{"type":606,"attrs":92866},{"href":71285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92868,"type":596}," (LFP) cathodes through increased range and better “total cost of ownership,” according to Umicore. The company also says the material will be more recyclable than LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":92870,"content":92871},{"textAlign":49},[92872,92877],{"text":92873,"type":596,"marks":92874},"Manganese-rich cathode chemistries",[92875],{"type":606,"attrs":92876},{"href":86975,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92878,"type":596}," are increasingly playing a role in the lower end of the battery market as the mineral brings enhanced stability and performance to cathodes for relatively little extra cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":92880,"content":92881},{"textAlign":49},[92882,92884,92889],{"text":92883,"type":596},"“Many cathode producers have been devoting significant R&D to the commercialisation of cobalt-free, ",{"text":92885,"type":596,"marks":92886},"manganese-rich cathode",[92887],{"type":606,"attrs":92888},{"href":80073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92890,"type":596},", pursuing technology that both balances both improved performance, and the reduction of reliance on scarce and costly minerals,” Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Umicore may be the first of many Tier 1 NCM cathode manufacturers announcing success in the industrialisation of similar strategies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":92892,"content":92893},{"textAlign":49},[92894],{"text":92895,"type":596},"The cathode material is currently in “product development programs with car and cell manufacturers” according to Umicore.",{"type":615,"attrs":92897,"content":92898},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92899],{"text":92900,"type":596},"Umicore’s cathode presence",{"type":591,"attrs":92902,"content":92903},{"textAlign":49},[92904,92909,92911,92915],{"text":92905,"type":596,"marks":92906},"Umicore is the largest cathode producer",[92907],{"type":606,"attrs":92908},{"href":70434,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92910,"type":596}," headquartered in ",{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":92912},[92913],{"type":606,"attrs":92914},{"href":70416,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":92917,"content":92918},{"textAlign":49},[92919],{"type":836,"attrs":92920},{"id":49,"alt":92921,"src":92922,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":92923},"Who owns the cathode scene?","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e65bf8db7e/bm-cathodes.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":92925,"content":92926},{"textAlign":49},[92927,92928,92933],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":92929,"type":596,"marks":92930},"Brussels-based company",[92931],{"type":606,"attrs":92932},{"href":79794,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":92934,"type":596}," has facilities operating in China, Poland, and South Korea. Benchmark forecasts the company produced ~44,000 tonnes of cathode materials in 2022, making it the fourteenth largest cathode materials producer in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":92936,"content":92937},{"textAlign":49},[92938],{"text":92939,"type":596},"The majority (61%) of its production in 2022 was located in South Korea and 36% in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":92941,"content":92942},{"textAlign":49},[92943],{"text":92944,"type":596},"Although its Polish operations only produced ~900 tonnes of cathode material last year, this equated to a third of all of Europe’s production and was second only to Northvolt which accounted for 57% of Europe’s cathode production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92946,"content":92947},{"textAlign":49},[92948],{"text":92949,"type":596},"Benchmark also tracks facilities in Umicore’s pipeline which are at various stages of development including expansions to its Nysa, Poland operations and a new development in Ontario, Canada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":92951,"content":92952},{"textAlign":49},[92953],{"text":92954,"type":596},"By 2030, Benchmark forecasts that Umicore’s cathode production could increase almost six-fold to 255,000 tonnes per year making it the eleventh largest producer if its plans come to fruition.",{"type":591,"attrs":92956,"content":92957},{"textAlign":49},[92958],{"text":92959,"type":596},"With the exception of two facilities producing lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) for portable applications, all of Umicore’s existing and planned facilities tracked by Benchmark are designed for the production of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) cathode chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":92961,"content":92962},{"textAlign":49},[92963],{"text":92964,"type":596},"Umicore said that it plans to produce its manganese-rich, high lithium cathode material (HLM) in its existing plants in Korea and Poland as well as in its upcoming Canadian plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":92966,"content":92967},{"textAlign":49},[92968],{"text":92969,"type":596},"The HLM cathode will contain ~10% more lithium by mass compared to LFP, according to Umicore, and cost around the same.",{"type":591,"attrs":92971,"content":92972},{"textAlign":49},[92973],{"text":92974,"type":596},"“Pricing depends on the metals used in the battery technology with HLM and LFP being cheaper than [NCM] which serves the high-end EV segment. HLM and LFP are roughly in the same order of magnitude,” Umicore told Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":92976,"content":92977},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[92978],{"text":92979,"type":596},"Recyclability of cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":92981,"content":92982},{"textAlign":49},[92983],{"text":92984,"type":596},"Umicore states that its new cathode material is more recyclable than LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":92986,"content":92987},{"textAlign":49},[92988],{"text":92989,"type":596},"“Recycling of LFP, which today is produced in China, would not cover the cost which means it would increase the overall cost picture for car manufacturers,” Umicore told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":92991,"content":92992},{"textAlign":49},[92993],{"text":92994,"type":596},"In 2022, the company had modest recycling facilities with 7,000 tonnes of capacity. However, in 2026 the company hopes to open a 150,000-tonne-per-year recycling facility. If this comes online, Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast shows that Umicore could be the largest battery recycler in Europe by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":92996,"content":92997},{"textAlign":49},[92998,93000,93005],{"text":92999,"type":596},"In February last year, ",{"text":93001,"type":596,"marks":93002},"Umicore signed a deal to provide lithium ion battery recycling services to Automotive Cells Company",[93003],{"type":606,"attrs":93004},{"href":80081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93006,"type":596},", a Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, and Saft joining venture developing gigafactories in France and Germany. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93008,"content":93009},{"textAlign":49},[93010,93012,93017],{"text":93011,"type":596},"Globally, pyrometallurgical techniques dominate the recycling market, but these generally have ",{"text":93013,"type":596,"marks":93014},"low rates of recovery for lithium",[93015],{"type":606,"attrs":93016},{"href":69628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93018,"type":596},". Benchmark’s Recycling Forecast shows that Umicore uses a combination of pyrometallurgical pretreatment and hydrometallurgical processing to recover lithium as well as nickel and cobalt.","Belgian battery materials manufacturer Umicore said it aimed to get its manganese-rich, high lithium cathode material into an electric vehicle by 2026. The new cathode material is designed to compete with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes through increased range and better “total cost of ownership,” according to Umicore. The company also says the material will […]",[93021],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93022},{"job_title":557,"image":93023,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"96f453df-807c-4768-9fb4-4b47f9777de5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93026,93027],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":93029,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93030,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db8d1ab665/bm-16931-charging-car-at-umicore-in-nysa-highres.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":93032,"uuid":93033,"name":93034,"slug":93035,"full_slug":93036,"content":93037},112471838010139,"3a7c54d9-4950-4c02-a867-69e6be8c9c76","China’s Yahua deepens lithium presence in South Korea’s battery supply chain","chinas-yahua-deepens-presence-in-south-koreas-battery-supply-chain","article/chinas-yahua-deepens-presence-in-south-koreas-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":93038,"date":93039,"tags":93040,"editor":93042,"content":93046,"excerpt":93112,"featured":50,"reporter":93113,"_editable":93117,"component":697,"seo_title":93034,"categories":93118,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93121,"seo_description":93112,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":93123},"1e1b464a-9bf9-452a-904f-75020f8af190","2023-02-10 00:00",[93041],{"slug":575,"name":576},[93043],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93044},{"job_title":557,"image":93045,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93047},[93048,93053,93058,93063,93076,93087,93092,93097,93102,93107],{"type":591,"attrs":93049,"content":93050},{"textAlign":49},[93051],{"text":93052,"type":596},"China’s Sichuan Yahua has deepened its presence in South Korea’s battery supply chain, signing three deals in the last few months to supply over 80,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide, enough for around 1.4 million electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93054,"content":93055},{"textAlign":49},[93056],{"text":93057,"type":596},"This week, Yahua said it had signed a deal with LG Chem to supply 30,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide until 2026, following an agreement signed in December to supply its battery producing subsidiary LG Energy Solution with 30,000 tonnes by 2025. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93059,"content":93060},{"textAlign":49},[93061],{"text":93062,"type":596},"In November Yahua also signed an agreement with battery producer SK On to supply between 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":93064,"content":93065},{"textAlign":49},[93066,93068,93074],{"text":93067,"type":596},"The deals come despite ",{"text":93069,"type":596,"marks":93070},"efforts by Korea’s battery companies",[93071],{"type":606,"attrs":93072},{"href":93073,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-ira-poses-challenges-for-south-korean-companies-as-they-build-out-north-american-battery-capacity",{"text":93075,"type":596}," to diversify away from China in order to meet the requirements of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to reduce the country’s presence in the electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93077,"content":93078},{"textAlign":49},[93079,93081,93086],{"text":93080,"type":596},"Chinese companies such as Huayou Cobalt are already ",{"text":93082,"type":596,"marks":93083},"large suppliers of cobalt and nickel precursor materials to LG Chem",[93084],{"type":606,"attrs":93085},{"href":86185,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":93088,"content":93089},{"textAlign":49},[93090],{"text":93091,"type":596},"This month Chinese LFP cathode producer Changzhou Liyuan New Energy Technology also signed a deal with LGES for cathode supply, according to Chinese media. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93093,"content":93094},{"textAlign":49},[93095],{"text":93096,"type":596},"Yahua is also a supplier to Tesla, having struck a deal in 2020 to supply the automaker with $630 million to $880 million worth of lithium hydroxide for five years.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":93098,"content":93099},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93100],{"text":93101,"type":596},"Yahua’s quest to secure lithium feedstock ",{"type":591,"attrs":93103,"content":93104},{"textAlign":49},[93105],{"text":93106,"type":596},"Yahua has secured lithium feedstock from a number of different sources to satisfy its capacity and reach a target of 50% lithium feedstock self-reliance.",{"type":591,"attrs":93108,"content":93109},{"textAlign":49},[93110],{"text":93111,"type":596},"These include the Lijiagou spodumene mine in China, as well as Core Lithium, Eastern Iron and Galaxy Lithium in Australia. In Africa, it’s also invested in Abyssinian Metals, which has a project in Ethiopia, as well as in mines in Zimbabwe and Namibia. ","China’s Sichuan Yahua has deepened its presence in South Korea’s battery supply chain, signing three deals in the last few months to supply over 80,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide, enough for around 1.4 million electric vehicles. This week, Yahua said it had signed a deal with LG Chem to supply 30,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide […]",[93114],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93115},{"job_title":557,"image":93116,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e1b464a-9bf9-452a-904f-75020f8af190\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93119,93120],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":61948,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93122,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 10, 2023",{"id":93125,"uuid":93126,"name":93127,"slug":93128,"full_slug":93129,"content":93130},112471833193242,"54d8b222-a29d-4ae9-8b1a-4737e883ec9d","$2 billion Redwood DOE loan advances US battery materials complex","2-billion-redwood-doe-loan-advances-us-cathode-production","article/2-billion-redwood-doe-loan-advances-us-cathode-production",{"_uid":93131,"date":93039,"tags":93132,"editor":93137,"content":93141,"excerpt":93302,"featured":51,"reporter":93303,"_editable":93307,"component":697,"seo_title":93127,"categories":93308,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93313,"seo_description":93302,"author_full_name":93316,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":93123},"ab328a68-0de7-4021-81dc-e2ef2fa6ebe2",[93133,93134,93135,93136],{"slug":39138,"name":39139},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":29742,"name":29743},{"slug":572,"name":573},[93138],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93139},{"job_title":557,"image":93140,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93142},[93143,93154,93159,93171,93188,93193,93203,93208,93213,93220,93225,93230,93235,93240,93245,93250,93255,93262,93267,93272,93277,93282,93287,93292,93297],{"type":591,"attrs":93144,"content":93145},{"textAlign":49},[93146,93148,93152],{"text":93147,"type":596},"The US Department of Energy announced its largest loan for battery materials, with a $2 billion conditional loan to Redwood Materials to accelerate the domestic production of ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":93149},[93150],{"type":606,"attrs":93151},{"href":38905,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93153,"type":596}," and anode materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93155,"content":93156},{"textAlign":49},[93157],{"text":93158,"type":596},"The loan will fund the expansion of Redwood Materials’ facility near Reno, Nevada, to produce anode copper foil and cathode active materials using a mix of both new and recycled feedstock. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93160,"content":93161},{"textAlign":49},[93162,93164,93169],{"text":93163,"type":596},"“America is deploying at scale again. Though the United States has significant accessible deposits of many critical minerals, today we account for negligible shares of ",{"text":93165,"type":596,"marks":93166},"extraction and processing",[93167],{"type":606,"attrs":93168},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93170,"type":596},". This can and will change” Jigar Shah, director of the Loan Programs Office at the DOE, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":93172,"content":93173},{"textAlign":49},[93174,93176,93181,93183,93187],{"text":93175,"type":596},"The announcement comes six months after the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes significant incentives for US-based ",{"text":93177,"type":596,"marks":93178},"cathode production",[93179],{"type":606,"attrs":93180},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93182,"type":596},". It is also part of a push by President Joe Biden’s administration to reduce the country’s reliance on ",{"text":576,"type":596,"marks":93184},[93185],{"type":606,"attrs":93186},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":93189,"content":93190},{"textAlign":49},[93191],{"text":93192,"type":596},"Biden has also set an ambitious target of making half of all new vehicle sales in the US to electric vehicles by 2030. US electric vehicles made up 5.8% of sales in 2022, up from 3.1% a year earlier.",{"type":591,"attrs":93194,"content":93195},{"textAlign":49},[93196,93197,93201],{"text":21025,"type":596},{"text":89102,"type":596,"marks":93198},[93199],{"type":606,"attrs":93200},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93202,"type":596}," the global cathode and anode production supply chains. China accounted for 77% of global cathode production in 2022, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast. Including Japan and South Korea, the share was at 99.6% last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":93204,"content":93205},{"textAlign":49},[93206],{"text":93207,"type":596},"While the US accounted for less than 0.5% of the world’s cathode material in 2022, it consumed 15% of cathode material. By 2030 US cathode production is to increase to 3.5% of the global market, without further investment, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93209,"content":93210},{"textAlign":49},[93211],{"text":93212,"type":596},"“In order to meet the needs of the rapidly growing EV market, the United States will need to expand battery recycling capabilities, as well as grow our domestic capacity for producing battery precursor materials,” Shah said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93214,"content":93215},{"textAlign":49},[93216],{"type":836,"attrs":93217},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":93218,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":93219},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/caa36496ec/bm-us-doe-loans.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":93221,"content":93222},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93223],{"text":93224,"type":596},"New and Recycled Feedstock",{"type":591,"attrs":93226,"content":93227},{"textAlign":49},[93228],{"text":93229,"type":596},"Redwood said it would be the first domestic project to produce cathode materials at scale for battery cell manufacturing and would produce enough for 1 million electric vehicles a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":93231,"content":93232},{"textAlign":49},[93233],{"text":93234,"type":596},"The DOE said it will produce around 36,000 tonnes a year of ultra-thin battery-grade copper foil for use as the anode current collector, and around 100,000 tonnes a year of cathode active materials",{"type":591,"attrs":93236,"content":93237},{"textAlign":49},[93238],{"text":93239,"type":596},"Redwood said it began producing anode copper foil in Nevada last month and expects to begin cathode qualification later this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":93241,"content":93242},{"textAlign":49},[93243],{"text":93244,"type":596},"The DOE said the project will use recycled materials from end-of-life batteries as well as production scrap. Redwood can recover on average more than 95% of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper from end-of-life batteries, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93246,"content":93247},{"textAlign":49},[93248],{"text":93249,"type":596},"Still, Redwood will likely need to use both mined materials as well as recycled materials this decade, due to lack of supply of end-of-life batteries in the US, according to Sarah Colbourn, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":93251,"content":93252},{"textAlign":49},[93253],{"text":93254,"type":596},"“This in fact is reflective of the limited supply of recycling feedstock today, particularly outside of China and in regions like North America. It’s out of absolute necessity because there is a finite source of feedstock for recycling,” Colbourn said.",{"type":591,"attrs":93256,"content":93257},{"textAlign":49},[93258],{"type":836,"attrs":93259},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":93260,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":93261},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8e4d50322/bm-recycling-scrap-outlook-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":93263,"content":93264},{"textAlign":49},[93265],{"text":93266,"type":596},"In the early to mid-2030s there will be an inflection point when end of life batteries take over process scrap, she said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93268,"content":93269},{"textAlign":49},[93270],{"text":93271,"type":596},"“That’s when the supply pool will really grow into quite a meaningful source of supply for recyclers,” Colbourn said.",{"type":615,"attrs":93273,"content":93274},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93275],{"text":93276,"type":596},"Reshoring boost",{"type":591,"attrs":93278,"content":93279},{"textAlign":49},[93280],{"text":93281,"type":596},"Redwood estimated the US battery makers would offshore more than  $150 billion worth of anode and cathode components by 2030 without domestic production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93283,"content":93284},{"textAlign":49},[93285],{"text":93286,"type":596},"In November Redwood said Panasonic will source cathode material from the companhy for its Kansas battery plant that is scheduled to come online in 2025. Panasonic will also use its copper foil at its Nevada gigafactory, which is a joint venture with Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":93288,"content":93289},{"textAlign":49},[93290],{"text":93291,"type":596},"Besides Redwood, last October the DOE provided two grants worth $480 million to Ascend Elements to produce cathodes from recycled materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93293,"content":93294},{"textAlign":49},[93295],{"text":93296,"type":596},"It’s also provided a recent loan commitment to Ioneer to produce lithium in Nevada as well as to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, to produce battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93298,"content":93299},{"textAlign":49},[93300],{"text":93301,"type":596},"“To meet the minerals demand from the announced battery gigafactories we would need a more than ten-fold increase in the supply of key minerals like graphite, cobalt, nickel, and lithium. This scale-up will require intentional effort to build up domestic production capacity,” Shah said.","The US Department of Energy announced its largest loan for battery materials, with a $2 billion conditional loan to Redwood Materials to accelerate the domestic production of cathode and anode materials. The loan will fund the expansion of Redwood Materials’ facility near Reno, Nevada, to produce anode copper foil and cathode active materials using a mix […]",[93304],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93305},{"job_title":557,"image":93306,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ab328a68-0de7-4021-81dc-e2ef2fa6ebe2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93309,93310,93311,93312],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":93314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93315,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6828680d60/bm-redwood-cathode.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rachit Vats",{"id":93318,"uuid":93319,"name":93320,"slug":93321,"full_slug":93322,"content":93323},112471852419873,"1aae6401-e6e7-41ba-967b-60f787e4e774","China NEV sales fall by 48% in January, hitting battery raw material prices","china-nev-sales-fall-by-48-in-january-hitting-battery-raw-material-prices","article/china-nev-sales-fall-by-48-in-january-hitting-battery-raw-material-prices",{"_uid":93324,"date":93325,"tags":93326,"editor":93328,"content":93332,"excerpt":93468,"featured":51,"reporter":93469,"_editable":93473,"component":697,"seo_title":93320,"categories":93474,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93477,"seo_description":93468,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":93480},"8283eb4c-d22a-470b-9fe5-e02ef2d87d2d","2023-02-09 00:00",[93327],{"slug":575,"name":576},[93329],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93330},{"job_title":557,"image":93331,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93333},[93334,93353,93358,93363,93368,93375,93387,93392,93397,93406,93413,93418,93423,93428,93433,93438,93443,93448,93453,93458,93463],{"type":591,"attrs":93335,"content":93336},{"textAlign":49},[93337,93339,93344,93346,93351],{"text":93338,"type":596},"Sales of new energy vehicles in China fell by 48% in January compared to December, highlighting the weak start to the year in the world’s largest car market, which has hit prices for ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":93340},[93341],{"type":606,"attrs":93342},{"href":93343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-what-is-happening-in-the-lithium-market",{"text":93345,"type":596},", nickel and ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":93347},[93348],{"type":606,"attrs":93349},{"href":93350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-cobalt-supply-and-demand-dynamics",{"text":93352,"type":596},".    ",{"type":591,"attrs":93354,"content":93355},{"textAlign":49},[93356],{"text":93357,"type":596},"Retail sales of new energy vehicles, which includes plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, fell 6% compared to the same period a year earlier to 332,000 units, the China Passenger Car Association said this week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93359,"content":93360},{"textAlign":49},[93361],{"text":93362,"type":596},"The official China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said sales of NEVS fell by 50% from December to 408,000 vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93364,"content":93365},{"textAlign":49},[93366],{"text":93367,"type":596},"A combination of an early Lunar New Year festival and the scrapping of long-standing Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles has led to both the reduced demand for cars and a ramp-down in new production as factories close for the holiday.",{"type":591,"attrs":93369,"content":93370},{"textAlign":49},[93371],{"type":836,"attrs":93372},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":93373,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":93374},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a544cf5745/bm-image-107-13440959399b.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":93376,"content":93377},{"textAlign":49},[93378,93380,93385],{"text":93379,"type":596},"China’s largest EV manufacutrer, ",{"text":1232,"type":596,"marks":93381},[93382],{"type":606,"attrs":93383},{"href":93384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-rival-byd-leads-chinas-electric-vehicle-sales-rebound",{"text":93386,"type":596},", said sales for its battery electric vehicles dropped 36% last month from December.",{"type":591,"attrs":93388,"content":93389},{"textAlign":49},[93390],{"text":93391,"type":596},"Reduced and uncertain demand over recent months has been reflected in the prices of the critical raw materials needed for lithium ion batteries. Cobalt and nickel sulphate prices in China dropped 4.5% and 10.8% in January owing to low and uncertain demand. Chinese lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices also fell by 10.4% and 10.2% in January.",{"type":591,"attrs":93393,"content":93394},{"textAlign":49},[93395],{"text":93396,"type":596},"Benchmark’s latest Lithium Price Assessment found prices are continuing to fall this month as uncertainty remains over the recovery of the EV market after January.",{"type":591,"attrs":93398,"content":93399},{"textAlign":49},[93400,93402,93404],{"text":93401,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate prices in the Chinese domestic market continued",{"text":93403,"type":596},"to fall in the week to 8 February, with technical grade material down",{"text":93405,"type":596},"2.7% week-on-week and battery grade down 2.2% week-on-week.",{"type":591,"attrs":93407,"content":93408},{"textAlign":49},[93409],{"type":836,"attrs":93410},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":93411,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":93412},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/610dadd652/bm-image-7.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":93414,"content":93415},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93416],{"text":93417,"type":596},"EV price war",{"type":591,"attrs":93419,"content":93420},{"textAlign":49},[93421],{"text":93422,"type":596},"The percentage drop in electric vehicle sales in China is greater than the 38% drop seen for passenger vehicle sales of all types in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":93424,"content":93425},{"textAlign":49},[93426],{"text":93427,"type":596},"In response to the drop in demand due to the end of subsidies, many automakers have lowered the prices of their EVs in China. This is one reason Tesla actually saw an 18% rise in sales in January compared to December despite the general downward trend seen across China.",{"type":591,"attrs":93429,"content":93430},{"textAlign":49},[93431],{"text":93432,"type":596},"Tesla sold 66,051 vehicles in January, according to the CPCA. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93434,"content":93435},{"textAlign":49},[93436],{"text":93437,"type":596},"“Most OEMs have reduced their selling price of EVs, and many local governments have started their own stimulating policies for EV sales,” Albert Li, an analyst at Benchmark, said, suggesting that the downward trend could be shortlived.",{"type":615,"attrs":93439,"content":93440},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93441],{"text":93442,"type":596},"The coming rebound?",{"type":591,"attrs":93444,"content":93445},{"textAlign":49},[93446],{"text":93447,"type":596},"December saw a rise in EV sales as buyers looked to purchase the vehicle ahead of the planned end of government subsidies at the start of 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":93449,"content":93450},{"textAlign":49},[93451],{"text":93452,"type":596},"“There is still a potential that the central government will continue to make new policies to stimulate EV industry with new subsidies or new supporting incentives,” Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":93454,"content":93455},{"textAlign":49},[93456],{"text":93457,"type":596},"Compared to last January, Chinese NEV sales are down 6.3%, but Rho Motion forecasts that Chinese passenger EV sales will increase 54% in 2023 compared to 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":93459,"content":93460},{"textAlign":49},[93461],{"text":93462,"type":596},"The CPCA said it expected sales could hit 8.5 million units this year, from 6.5 million in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93464,"content":93465},{"textAlign":49},[93466],{"text":93467,"type":596},"The rate of growth in EV sales is expected to slow, however. Between 2021 and 2022 Rho Motion reported a 76% increase in sales and a 140% increase between 2020 and 2021.","Sales of new energy vehicles in China fell by 48% in January compared to December, highlighting the weak start to the year in the world’s largest car market, which has hit prices for lithium, nickel and cobalt. Retail sales of new energy vehicles, which includes plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, fell 6% compared to […]",[93470],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93471},{"job_title":557,"image":93472,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8283eb4c-d22a-470b-9fe5-e02ef2d87d2d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93475,93476],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":93478,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93479,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/473bad142d/bm-shutterstock-2193908381.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 09, 2023",{"id":93482,"uuid":93483,"name":93484,"slug":93485,"full_slug":93486,"content":93487},112471847590687,"ab4ab3d9-60ad-4099-bd9c-78f651543b1b","Will oil and gas companies invest in the battery supply chain? Q&A with Ahmed Mehdi","will-oil-and-gas-companies-invest-in-the-battery-supply-chain-qa-with-ahmed-mehdi","article/will-oil-and-gas-companies-invest-in-the-battery-supply-chain-qa-with-ahmed-mehdi",{"_uid":93488,"date":93325,"tags":93489,"editor":93494,"content":93498,"excerpt":93645,"featured":50,"reporter":93646,"_editable":93650,"component":697,"seo_title":93484,"categories":93651,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93657,"seo_description":93645,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":93480},"5df21e87-27ba-4339-a81d-851dc762121a",[93490,93493],{"slug":93491,"name":93492},"oil","Oil",{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[93495],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93496},{"job_title":557,"image":93497,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93499},[93500,93505,93510,93522,93527,93532,93537,93542,93547,93558,93563,93568,93573,93578,93585,93590,93595,93600,93605,93610,93615,93620,93625,93630,93635,93640],{"type":591,"attrs":93501,"content":93502},{"textAlign":49},[93503],{"text":93504,"type":596},"The five largest Western oil companies including ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, have just reported record profits of more than $196 billion for 2022 due to high oil and gas prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93506,"content":93507},{"textAlign":49},[93508],{"text":93509,"type":596},"But will they use some of this money to become involved in the lithium ion battery supply chain? And where will they invest? ",{"type":591,"attrs":93511,"content":93512},{"textAlign":49},[93513,93515,93520],{"text":93514,"type":596},"From Schlumberger’s move to build a lithium extraction pilot plant in Nevada to Shell’s agreement to supply sulphur to ",{"text":93516,"type":596,"marks":93517},"lithium developer Ioneer",[93518],{"type":606,"attrs":93519},{"href":48016,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93521,"type":596}," in the US, we have seen tentative signs of involvement. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93523,"content":93524},{"textAlign":49},[93525],{"text":93526,"type":596},"Many teams inside oil companies are busy screening opportunities in both lithium and the anode value chain. Outside western oil company boardrooms, ambitious players such as Saudi Arabia are also seeking to play a role in the supply chain, ensuring they have a seat at the table in one of the fastest growing industries this century.",{"type":591,"attrs":93528,"content":93529},{"textAlign":49},[93530],{"text":93531,"type":596},"Benchmark Source spoke to Ahmed Mehdi, Principal at Benchmark leading the company’s work with the global energy industry, to find out more. ",{"type":615,"attrs":93533,"content":93534},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93535],{"text":93536,"type":596},"We’ve just seen oil companies report a record haul for 2022 yet there is talk from some oil companies that they will focus on oil and gas more than renewables now, does this represent a setback? ",{"type":591,"attrs":93538,"content":93539},{"textAlign":49},[93540],{"text":93541,"type":596},"I think that it’s simplistic to say that it’s a retreat from low carbon projects, actually. So BP when I looked at the numbers, they had record profits of $28 billion last year, but actually they said they’re going to spend $8 billion more on on low carbon portfolio businesses – that’s biofuels, renewables, wind, hydrogen and also ventures that they’ve already made in the battery supply chain like downstream charging … But the reality is when they announced a 40% cut in oil production [by 2030] shareholders punished them for that … It’s win-win the margins you get from fossil fuel production go towards building out and scaling out your low carbon ventures and actually last year was a record year for oil and gas companies investments in renewable projects. And the pipeline will become even bigger over the next decade. Particularly, you know, you’re already seeing companies like Eni moving into hydrogen, BP and Shell moving into things like renewable gas acquisitions, but then also into the battery supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":93543,"content":93544},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93545],{"text":93546,"type":596},"We’ve seen oil companies investing in downstream charging as you mentioned – will we see them move upstream at all?",{"type":591,"attrs":93548,"content":93549},{"textAlign":49},[93550,93552,93556],{"text":93551,"type":596},"I think so. I think that one of the trends that I’ve seen in the last year or two has been basically oil majors examining routes for upstream involvement, primarily in ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":93553},[93554],{"type":606,"attrs":93555},{"href":93343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93557,"type":596},". And the reality is that you know, the next generation of lithium supply will require developing asset types not yet tested on a major commercial scale. So, sedimentary, geothermal brines, oilfield brines, these kinds of things, and actually the oil industry sees that it can bring a lot to the table. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93559,"content":93560},{"textAlign":49},[93561],{"text":93562,"type":596},"It already has experience in scaling technologies that were pretty transformational for the oil and gas market, like hydraulic fracturing in the US shale patch, a source of unconventional supply that really transformed oil and gas markets the past decade. In the last few years they’ve launched Net Zero targets so they have a lot of experience in decarbonizing their upstream operations, which is obviously becoming a bigger issue in the battery supply chain with ESG rising and carbon intensity credentials basically being questioned. And actually carbon intensity is a growing focus for the oil industry and that plays into their portfolio selection. And also when you look at the capital intensities for new lithium chemical projects, they’re actually pretty low. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93564,"content":93565},{"textAlign":49},[93566],{"text":93567,"type":596},"The lithium industry only really needs around $45 to $50 billion to meet 2030 demand. So, compare that to the oil and gas industry, which needs about $400 billion to $500 billion per year, just to meet its demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93569,"content":93570},{"textAlign":49},[93571],{"text":93572,"type":596},"So the biggest interest is in unconventional lithium supply and what role next generation DLE technologies can play. And that’s what the oil majors have been really busy looking at – studying flow sheets, conventional flow sheets, and then how they can be involved. There’s a lot of interest in licensing DLE technology and applying the experiences that the US may just had with hydraulic fracking technologies to apply to these unconventional lithium asset types.",{"type":615,"attrs":93574,"content":93575},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93576],{"text":93577,"type":596},"Is needle coke or synthetic graphite an area of interest, given that needle coke comes from oil refining? ",{"type":591,"attrs":93579,"content":93580},{"textAlign":49},[93581,93583],{"text":93582,"type":596},"I think the anode value chain is often neglected and not talked about enough when talking about both commercial opportunities, but also constraints in the battery supply chain. It’s also not necessarily an area where China has full leverage [due to its need to import low-sulphur needle coke.] Needle coke’s importance is just going to grow over the next decade. Because it’s about very specific grades of needle coke that are required for high performance EVs, particularly for Western OEMs. The key is that",{"text":93584,"type":596},"the quality of needle coke has a direct impact on the structure of the finished graphite material, with higher quality feedstocks produced by the likes of P66 being the most preferred due to higher crystallinity and how this improves thermal conductivity. Whilst China is the largest needle coke supplier globally, it’s not all premium quality. In fact, sulphur quality of needle coke is becoming a bigger problem and blending strategies are now being deployed to try and manage this issue.",{"type":591,"attrs":93586,"content":93587},{"textAlign":49},[93588],{"text":93589,"type":596},"The reality is, is that you know, from the balances that we have developed, basically the planned supply growth at the moment is going to be outweighed by the demand and actually you’re going to start to see deficits build up significantly, from about 2026 onwards. The drivers are not only from the battery industry but also the steel industry as the world shifts from traditional blast furnace method of steel making to lower-emission electric arc furnace methods. This will drive needle coke demand from the Ultra High Power (UHP) graphite electode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":93591,"content":93592},{"textAlign":49},[93593],{"text":93594,"type":596},"So there’s a growing interest now by downstream divisions at major oil companies to examine how they can convert cokers to produce needle coke. What makes the economics of needle coke attractive is not only the demand drivers that I talked about and the projected need for new supply in terms of the balances but also the fact that there’s really quite valuable byproducts involved with needle coke production. So you’ve got naphtha and gasoil. For petrochemical players, this offers a direct value integration play to both hedge product volatility and have direct exposure to the battery market. So it’s a nice kind of diversification play for them.",{"type":615,"attrs":93596,"content":93597},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93598],{"text":93599,"type":596},"What role does the Middle East play in the energy transition? We think of the region as a possible loser from a shift to clean energy but could they be a winner? How is Saudi Arabia positioning itself to benefit? ",{"type":591,"attrs":93601,"content":93602},{"textAlign":49},[93603],{"text":93604,"type":596},"This idea of putting sort of winners and losers I think is a bit unhelpful because at the end of the day why would you get rid of your biggest low cost, biggest margin type business? The trade off is not such that you have to give that up and move on to something else. Instead, it’s about resilience. How do you basically make your portfolio resilient for the energy transition? ",{"type":591,"attrs":93606,"content":93607},{"textAlign":49},[93608],{"text":93609,"type":596},"So there’s a lot of focus on trying to ensure that your upstream portfolio has a low carbon intensity, which basically means cutting flaring, reducing methane emissions, and integrating renewables into your production process. This explains the strong interest in Carbon Capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies in the region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93611,"content":93612},{"textAlign":49},[93613],{"text":93614,"type":596},"The reality is that the Middle East’s market power in global energy markets will only grow this decade. But there is nothing contradictory with, for example, Saudi increasing maximum capacity to 13m b/d by mid-2020s or the UAE increasing oil production capacity and also having aggressive renewable energy targets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93616,"content":93617},{"textAlign":49},[93618],{"text":93619,"type":596},"Displacing liquids from your power mix, for example, allows you to increase crude exports…which means higher margins to invest in low-carbon projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93621,"content":93622},{"textAlign":49},[93623],{"text":93624,"type":596},"For LNG, the story is similar: Qatar’s leadership in the global gas business is now a reality and there is some anxiety in the region that cutting fossil fuels from the energy transition debate actually marks a step backward, not forward. Without your baseload gas, renewables can’t grow. Likewise, cutting oil supply before demand just makes decarbonisation pathways more challenging. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93626,"content":93627},{"textAlign":49},[93628],{"text":93629,"type":596},"So, I think these points are now being heard and the UAE – the climate leader in the region – is hosting the COP [climate conference] this year and have already made some excellent strides. They also announced a strategic partnership with the United States to mobilise about $100 billion to finance clean energy projects globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":93631,"content":93632},{"textAlign":49},[93633],{"text":93634,"type":596},"In terms of the battery supply chain in Saudi they look at some of the success stories historically, like for example, Maaden [state mining company] and Alcoa which allowed them to actually build an aluminium industry in the Kingdom. And then so that’s why the kind of model that they’re applying now – it’s going to be Maaden and PIF to put actual dollars into overseas projects. And they’ve already announced a sort of a spending plan to bring material also potentially into the Kingdom. So it’s still early days, but I think eventually they want to basically have a seat at the table in the battery supply chain. They don’t want to miss the boat on this. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93636,"content":93637},{"textAlign":49},[93638],{"text":93639,"type":596},"EV Metals has plans to build a lithium hydroxide refinery in Yanbu. What would probably make sense eventually is to have a kind of hub where you’ve got someone like EV Metals supplying a cathode plant. Lucid is also currently working with a cell manufacturer to set up in the Kingdom. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93641,"content":93642},{"textAlign":49},[93643],{"text":93644,"type":596},"The problem is with the IRA coming into play and with Australia being an FTA country, the flows [of lithium] are incentivized to move to the US before it does to Saudi Arabia. ","The five largest Western oil companies including ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, have just reported record profits of more than $196 billion for 2022 due to high oil and gas prices. But will they use some of this money to become involved in the lithium ion battery supply chain? And where will they invest? From Schlumberger’s […]",[93647],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93648},{"job_title":557,"image":93649,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5df21e87-27ba-4339-a81d-851dc762121a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93652,93653,93654,93655,93656],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":93658,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93659,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e9148751bc/bm-headshot.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":93661,"uuid":93662,"name":93663,"slug":93664,"full_slug":93665,"content":93666},112471842773789,"0632f03d-7a74-425b-b69c-03a58c006325","What to expect for the battery recycling market in 2023?","what-to-expect-for-the-battery-recycling-market-in-2023","article/what-to-expect-for-the-battery-recycling-market-in-2023",{"_uid":93667,"date":93325,"tags":93668,"editor":93669,"content":93673,"excerpt":93766,"featured":50,"reporter":93767,"_editable":93771,"component":697,"seo_title":93663,"categories":93772,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":93776,"seo_description":93766,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":93480},"26432e12-4805-48f6-b202-2446beb3a463",[],[93670],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93671},{"job_title":557,"image":93672,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93674},[93675,93687,93692,93697,93702,93707,93712,93717,93724,93729,93734,93739,93744,93756,93761],{"type":591,"attrs":93676,"content":93677},{"textAlign":49},[93678,93680,93685],{"text":93679,"type":596},"Government regulations on both side of the Atlantic are likely to drive the ",{"text":93681,"type":596,"marks":93682},"battery recycling market",[93683],{"type":606,"attrs":93684},{"href":69628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93686,"type":596}," this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93688,"content":93689},{"textAlign":49},[93690],{"text":93691,"type":596},"The effects of the US Inflation Reduction Act, crucially the eligibility of materials recycled in North America, are beginning to be felt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93693,"content":93694},{"textAlign":49},[93695],{"text":93696,"type":596},"The fourth quarter of 2022 saw significant investment –both private and public – into the North American battery recycling ecosystem.",{"type":591,"attrs":93698,"content":93699},{"textAlign":49},[93700],{"text":93701,"type":596},"Increased announcements of expanding recycling capabilities can be expected to continue into 2023 given the financial incentive for downstream players to source secondary battery materials from North American recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":93703,"content":93704},{"textAlign":49},[93705],{"text":93706,"type":596},"From a European standpoint, the end of 2022 saw the provisional agreement on the European Commission’s battery directive proposal from 2020. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93708,"content":93709},{"textAlign":49},[93710],{"text":93711,"type":596},"Critically, this will introduce mandatory levels of minimum recycled contents in batteries: these targets will initially sit at 6% for lithium, 6% for nickel and 16% for cobalt in 2031 (or 8 years after legislation comes into force), increasing to 12%, 15% and 26%, respectively in 2036 (or 13 years legislation comes into force).",{"type":591,"attrs":93713,"content":93714},{"textAlign":49},[93715],{"text":93716,"type":596},"Beyond these mandates, recovery rates are also covered in the regulation, introducing ambitious targets for lithium recovery starting at 50% in 2027, increasing to 80% in 2031. These upcoming targets put time pressure on the battery recycling ecosystem to have the infrastructure, capacity, and technological ability in place to achieving them.",{"type":591,"attrs":93718,"content":93719},{"textAlign":49},[93720],{"type":836,"attrs":93721},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":93722,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":93723},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4083ee153a/bm-image-108-13440983c851.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":93725,"content":93726},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93727],{"text":93728,"type":596},"From pryo to hydro",{"type":591,"attrs":93730,"content":93731},{"textAlign":49},[93732],{"text":93733,"type":596},"There has been a global shift towards adopting hydrometallurgy recycling processes that offer promising recovery rates for lithium, unlike pyrometallurgical processes, where lithium is lost to the waste slag. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93735,"content":93736},{"textAlign":49},[93737],{"text":93738,"type":596},"Considering the upcoming regulations in Europe and North America that will are looking to advance the recycling and recyclability of lithium-ion batteries, either through financial incentives or mandatory requirements, there will be a continuing move towards recyclers opting for hydrometallurgical processes.",{"type":615,"attrs":93740,"content":93741},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93742],{"text":93743,"type":596},"New entrants ",{"type":591,"attrs":93745,"content":93746},{"textAlign":49},[93747,93749,93754],{"text":93748,"type":596},"Given ",{"text":93750,"type":596,"marks":93751},"policy actions",[93752],{"type":606,"attrs":93753},{"href":69628,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":93755,"type":596}," pushing the buildout of global and regional battery recycling markets, it is to be expected that we will see more newcomers to the space developing recycling processes, as well as existing recyclers with established technologies expanding their capacities – and perhaps into new regions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93757,"content":93758},{"textAlign":49},[93759],{"text":93760,"type":596},"Last year saw a flux of activity and announcements from incumbent Asian recyclers expanding capabilities to both Europe and North America – including SungEel Hi Tech, Botree Cycling and Korea Zinc. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93762,"content":93763},{"textAlign":49},[93764],{"text":93765,"type":596},"With the North American and European recycling markets being relatively infant at present, there remain significant opportunities for established recyclers with proven processes to expand their footprint globally.","Government regulations on both side of the Atlantic are likely to drive the battery recycling market this year. The effects of the US Inflation Reduction Act, crucially the eligibility of materials recycled in North America, are beginning to be felt. The fourth quarter of 2022 saw significant investment –both private and public – into the […]",[93768],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93769},{"job_title":557,"image":93770,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"26432e12-4805-48f6-b202-2446beb3a463\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[93773,93774,93775],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":93777,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":93778,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bc6bfb8df0/bm-vw-battery-recycling.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":93780,"uuid":93781,"name":93782,"slug":93783,"full_slug":93784,"content":93785},112471867165476,"f44ae5b2-2647-4df7-b01d-c4b60eebd7f5","Benchmark raises the bar with EV industry’s most detailed IOSCO audit for lithium ion battery raw material prices","benchmark-completes-type-2-iosco-audit-for-lithium-ion-battery-raw-material-prices","article/benchmark-completes-type-2-iosco-audit-for-lithium-ion-battery-raw-material-prices",{"_uid":93786,"date":93787,"tags":93788,"editor":93791,"content":93795,"excerpt":94078,"featured":50,"reporter":94079,"_editable":94083,"component":697,"seo_title":93782,"categories":94084,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":94086,"seo_description":94078,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":94089},"7a8c2346-0efc-4466-8373-73f129272210","2023-02-06 00:00",[93789,93790],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":6575,"name":6576},[93792],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":93793},{"job_title":557,"image":93794,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":93796},[93797,93802,93813,93818,93823,93828,93833,93844,93849,93854,93859,93864,93869,93874,93879,93884,93889,93894,93899,93903,93908,93913,93918,93923,93928,93933,93938,93943,93948,93953,93958,93962,93967,93972,93977,93982,93987,93992,93997,94002,94007,94012,94017,94022,94027,94031,94036,94041,94046,94050,94055,94060,94065],{"type":591,"attrs":93798,"content":93799},{"textAlign":49},[93800],{"text":93801,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce the successful completion of an independent Type 2 audit of its policies, processes and controls implemented to adhere to the IOSCO Principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRA). The audit was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”).",{"type":591,"attrs":93803,"content":93804},{"textAlign":49},[93805,93807,93811],{"text":93806,"type":596},"In an EV industry first, the PwC audit provides ",{"text":93808,"type":596,"marks":93809},"reasonable assurance ",[93810],{"type":1006},{"text":93812,"type":596},"– the highest level available for an audit – over our activities between 1 November 2021 to 30 September 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93814,"content":93815},{"textAlign":49},[93816],{"text":93817,"type":596},"This audited each key raw material price assessment of lithium, nickel, cobalt, flake graphite/uncoated spherical graphite, and how, throughout this time period, Benchmark adhered to its stated methodology and procedures, as required by the IOSCO Principles using its market-specific price assessment methodologies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93819,"content":93820},{"textAlign":49},[93821],{"text":93822,"type":596},"Benchmark’s unique approach to price assessments means each raw material has a tailored methodology. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93824,"content":93825},{"textAlign":49},[93826],{"text":93827,"type":596},"The audit challenged whether Benchmark internally followed its own rigorous, IOSCO-related procedures and adhered to methodologies designed specifically for each key battery raw material market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93829,"content":93830},{"textAlign":49},[93831],{"text":93832,"type":596},"This successful audit focused on lithium, flake graphite / uncoated spherical graphite, cobalt, and nickel and demonstrates Benchmark’s mission to provide the most robust and reliable lithium ion battery supply chain price data for its subscribers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93834,"content":93835},{"textAlign":49},[93836,93838,93843],{"text":93837,"type":596},"A copy of the report can be requested ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":93839},[93840],{"type":606,"attrs":93841},{"href":93842,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/independent-practitioners-assurance-report/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":93845,"content":93846},{"textAlign":49},[93847],{"text":93848,"type":596},"Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":93850,"content":93851},{"textAlign":49},[93852],{"text":93853,"type":596},"“The PwC audit of our lithium, cobalt, nickel, flake graphite and uncoated spherical graphite prices is the industry’s most detailed and rigorous prices, doubling down on our number one position in the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93855,"content":93856},{"textAlign":49},[93857],{"text":93858,"type":596},"“PwC is the market leader in IOSCO auditsand we are so very proud of our PRA division in reaching this milestone for both our business and the lithium ion battery and EV industry as a whole. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93860,"content":93861},{"textAlign":49},[93862],{"text":93863,"type":596},"“Benchmark was founded on the principle of collecting and assessing market price data for the battery supply chain and doing so to a level that has never been done before. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93865,"content":93866},{"textAlign":49},[93867],{"text":93868,"type":596},"“We pioneered the evolution of battery raw material price assessments from journalistic methods, to the Benchmark industry-first, data-first approach.",{"type":591,"attrs":93870,"content":93871},{"textAlign":49},[93872],{"text":93873,"type":596},"“Nine years on from our inception, we remain true to these principles and continue to raise the price reporting bar for the battery and EV supply chain that rely on our data to settle contracts.”",{"type":591,"attrs":93875,"content":93876},{"textAlign":49},[93877],{"text":93878,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles, Chief Data Officer, Benchmark said:",{"type":591,"attrs":93880,"content":93881},{"textAlign":49},[93882],{"text":93883,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s ethos is to provide the most accurate and reliable battery supply chain price data, and this most detailed form of external audit confirms that we remain true to our word to our subscribers.",{"type":591,"attrs":93885,"content":93886},{"textAlign":49},[93887],{"text":93888,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s price data is used to determine the value of billions of dollars worth of battery supply chain contracts and we do not take that responsibility lightly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":93890,"content":93891},{"textAlign":49},[93892],{"text":93893,"type":596},"“Everything we do is focussed on our market specific price assessment methodologies, unique for the industry, and the overriding principle to publish accurate price data for those active in the lithium ion battery supply chain.”",{"type":615,"attrs":93895,"content":93896},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93897],{"text":93898,"type":596},"Which Benchmark prices were included within the scope of the audit? ",{"type":615,"attrs":93900,"content":93901},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93902],{"text":8,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":93904,"content":93905},{"textAlign":49},[93906],{"text":93907,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, ≥99.0%, FOB South America, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93909,"content":93910},{"textAlign":49},[93911],{"text":93912,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, ≥99.0%, CIF North America, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93914,"content":93915},{"textAlign":49},[93916],{"text":93917,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, ≥99.0%, CIF Europe, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93919,"content":93920},{"textAlign":49},[93921],{"text":93922,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, ≥99.2%, CIF Asia, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93924,"content":93925},{"textAlign":49},[93926],{"text":93927,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, ≥99.5%, EXW China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93929,"content":93930},{"textAlign":49},[93931],{"text":93932,"type":596},"• Lithium Carbonate, Technical Grade, ≥99.0%, EXW China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93934,"content":93935},{"textAlign":49},[93936],{"text":93937,"type":596},"• Lithium Hydroxide, ≥55.0%, FOB North America, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93939,"content":93940},{"textAlign":49},[93941],{"text":93942,"type":596},"• Lithium Hydroxide, ≥56.5%, CIF Asia, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93944,"content":93945},{"textAlign":49},[93946],{"text":93947,"type":596},"• Lithium Hydroxide, ≥55.0%, CIF Europe, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93949,"content":93950},{"textAlign":49},[93951],{"text":93952,"type":596},"• Lithium Hydroxide, ≥56.5%, EXW China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93954,"content":93955},{"textAlign":49},[93956],{"text":93957,"type":596},"• Spodumene Concentrate, 6%, FOB Australia",{"type":615,"attrs":93959,"content":93960},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[93961],{"text":693,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":93963,"content":93964},{"textAlign":49},[93965],{"text":93966,"type":596},"Flake graphite – lithium ion battery anode feedstock:",{"type":591,"attrs":93968,"content":93969},{"textAlign":49},[93970],{"text":93971,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 90-93% C, -100 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93973,"content":93974},{"textAlign":49},[93975],{"text":93976,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 90-93% C, +100 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93978,"content":93979},{"textAlign":49},[93980],{"text":93981,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, -100 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93983,"content":93984},{"textAlign":49},[93985],{"text":93986,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, +100 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93988,"content":93989},{"textAlign":49},[93990],{"text":93991,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, +80 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93993,"content":93994},{"textAlign":49},[93995],{"text":93996,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, +50 mesh, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":93998,"content":93999},{"textAlign":49},[94000],{"text":94001,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, -100 mesh DDP China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94003,"content":94004},{"textAlign":49},[94005],{"text":94006,"type":596},"• Flake Graphite, 94-95% C, +100 mesh DDP China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94008,"content":94009},{"textAlign":49},[94010],{"text":94011,"type":596},"Uncoated Spherical Graphite – The lithium ion battery anode precursor:",{"type":591,"attrs":94013,"content":94014},{"textAlign":49},[94015],{"text":94016,"type":596},"• Spherical Uncoated, 99.95% C, 10 microns, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94018,"content":94019},{"textAlign":49},[94020],{"text":94021,"type":596},"• Spherical Uncoated, 99.95% C, 15 microns, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94023,"content":94024},{"textAlign":49},[94025],{"text":94026,"type":596},"• Spherical Uncoated, 99.95% C, 20 microns, FOB China, USD/tonne",{"type":615,"attrs":94028,"content":94029},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94030],{"text":115,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":94032,"content":94033},{"textAlign":49},[94034],{"text":94035,"type":596},"• Cobalt Sulphate, >20.5%, EXW China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94037,"content":94038},{"textAlign":49},[94039],{"text":94040,"type":596},"• Cobalt Battery Metal, Min 99.8%, EXW Europe, USD/lb",{"type":591,"attrs":94042,"content":94043},{"textAlign":49},[94044],{"text":94045,"type":596},"• Cobalt Hydroxide, 100% Co Contained basis, CIF Asia, USD/tonne",{"type":615,"attrs":94047,"content":94048},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94049],{"text":150,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":94051,"content":94052},{"textAlign":49},[94053],{"text":94054,"type":596},"• Nickel Sulphate, >22.0%, EXW China, RMB/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94056,"content":94057},{"textAlign":49},[94058],{"text":94059,"type":596},"• Nickel Sulphate, >22.0% Ni, CIF Asia, USD/tonne",{"type":591,"attrs":94061,"content":94062},{"textAlign":49},[94063],{"text":94064,"type":596},"• MHP payable, CIF Asia, % payable to LME nickel",{"type":591,"attrs":94066,"content":94067},{"textAlign":49},[94068,94070,94076],{"text":94069,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Price Assessments fill out this ",{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":94072},"form",[94073],{"type":606,"attrs":94074},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/contact",{"text":94077,"type":596}," and we will be in touch.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce the successful completion of an independent Type 2 audit of its policies, processes and controls implemented to adhere to the IOSCO Principles for Price Reporting Agencies (PRA). The audit was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”). In an EV industry first, the PwC audit provides reasonable assurance – the […]",[94080],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94081},{"job_title":557,"image":94082,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7a8c2346-0efc-4466-8373-73f129272210\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94085],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":94087,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94088,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/476a8e14d8/bm-price-graph.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 06, 2023",{"id":94091,"uuid":94092,"name":94093,"slug":94094,"full_slug":94095,"content":94096},112471862295331,"c461b704-b890-4337-a9be-9a7b8dfda7f0","BMW accelerates Mexico’s EV shift with $860 million battery assembly plant","bmw-accelerates-mexicos-ev-shift-with-860-million-battery-plant","article/bmw-accelerates-mexicos-ev-shift-with-860-million-battery-plant",{"_uid":94097,"date":93787,"tags":94098,"editor":94100,"content":94104,"excerpt":94188,"featured":50,"reporter":94189,"_editable":94193,"component":697,"seo_title":94093,"categories":94194,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":94198,"seo_description":94188,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":94089},"ca2fbe42-b490-45eb-a471-3adc56b045b0",[94099],{"slug":25460,"name":25461},[94101],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94102},{"job_title":557,"image":94103,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":94105},[94106,94111,94116,94121,94126,94131,94136,94148,94153,94158,94163,94168,94173,94178,94183],{"type":591,"attrs":94107,"content":94108},{"textAlign":49},[94109],{"text":94110,"type":596},"German car manufacturer BMW announced plans to invest €800 million ($857 million) in electric vehicle production in Mexico, in a boost to the country’s shift towards manufacturing battery-powered vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":94112,"content":94113},{"textAlign":49},[94114],{"text":94115,"type":596},"The majority of the funding, €500mn, will be used to build a 85,000-square-metre lithium-ion battery assembly centre at an existing BMW plant in San Luis Potosí, which could assemble cells from BMW’s Chinese battery suppliers CATL and EVE Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":94117,"content":94118},{"textAlign":49},[94119],{"text":94120,"type":596},"Mexico is the largest exporter of auto parts to the US, thanks to its shared border with the country, its lower wages, and the North American Free Trade Agreement’s removal of most trade restrictions within the bloc.",{"type":591,"attrs":94122,"content":94123},{"textAlign":49},[94124],{"text":94125,"type":596},"President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act also provides tax credits for automakers if their electric vehicles if they and a certain percentage of their battery’s components are assembled in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94127,"content":94128},{"textAlign":49},[94129],{"text":94130,"type":596},"Several leading automakers are investing in electric vehicles in Mexico. General Motors intends to manufacture two EV models at its Ramos Arizpe plant, while Ford is set to start producing an electric version of the Mustang at its Cuautitlán plant next month. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94132,"content":94133},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94134],{"text":94135,"type":596},"BMW’s Battery cell suppliers ",{"type":591,"attrs":94137,"content":94138},{"textAlign":49},[94139,94141,94146],{"text":94140,"type":596},"BMW did not specify where the battery cells for the Mexican plant will come from but it has battery cell agreements with ",{"text":94142,"type":596,"marks":94143},"Chinese companies CATL",[94144],{"type":606,"attrs":94145},{"href":48316,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94147,"type":596}," and EVE Energy, as well as Envision AESC. It has also signed deals with Samsung SDI and Northvolt.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":94149,"content":94150},{"textAlign":49},[94151],{"text":94152,"type":596},"It has said it intends to build two battery cell factories in North America with its partners, each with a capacity of up to 20 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94154,"content":94155},{"textAlign":49},[94156],{"text":94157,"type":596},"Last year, BMW said it would invest $1.7 billion to build electric vehicles in South Carolina, including a plant to assemble batteries made by China’s Envision AESC at a new 30 GWh battery cell plant to be built in the state. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94159,"content":94160},{"textAlign":49},[94161],{"text":94162,"type":596},"In Mexico, BMW said 500 workers at the battery plant would assemble batteries that would be “integrated directly into” its Neue Klasse electric vehicle platform. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94164,"content":94165},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94166],{"text":94167,"type":596},"Mexico’s transistion ",{"type":591,"attrs":94169,"content":94170},{"textAlign":49},[94171],{"text":94172,"type":596},"Mexico could play an increasingly important role in the battery supply chain, as it also has potential supplies of lithium. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94174,"content":94175},{"textAlign":49},[94176],{"text":94177,"type":596},"Ganfeng Lithium is developing the Sonora lithium clay project, which aims to have a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide in the first phase.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":94179,"content":94180},{"textAlign":49},[94181],{"text":94182,"type":596},"President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has previously expressed support for fossil fuels, welcomed the investment by BMW.",{"type":591,"attrs":94184,"content":94185},{"textAlign":49},[94186],{"text":94187,"type":596},"“The future is in lithium, in batteries, in chips, in electric cars , that is the future and it is good that you are moving forward, that you have that vision and it is doubly good that this new stage begins here in San Luis Potosí, in Mexico,” he said.","German car manufacturer BMW announced plans to invest €800 million ($857 million) in electric vehicle production in Mexico, in a boost to the country’s shift towards manufacturing battery-powered vehicles. The majority of the funding, €500mn, will be used to build a 85,000-square-metre lithium-ion battery assembly centre at an existing BMW plant in San Luis Potosí, […]",[94190],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94191},{"job_title":557,"image":94192,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ca2fbe42-b490-45eb-a471-3adc56b045b0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94195,94196,94197],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":94199,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94200,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5d7f4f8e4d/bm-bmw-mexico.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":94202,"uuid":94203,"name":94204,"slug":94205,"full_slug":94206,"content":94207},112471881800487,"c45e4f74-907d-49c9-84da-fa6fb3e589f4","“This is going to represent a turning point.” Q&A with Lithium Americas’ CEO Jon Evans","this-is-going-to-represent-a-turning-point-qa-with-lithium-americas-ceo-jon-evans","article/this-is-going-to-represent-a-turning-point-qa-with-lithium-americas-ceo-jon-evans",{"_uid":94208,"date":94209,"tags":94210,"editor":94213,"content":94217,"excerpt":94379,"featured":51,"reporter":94380,"_editable":94384,"component":697,"seo_title":94204,"categories":94385,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":94388,"seo_description":94379,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":94391},"66af5f80-767c-424d-b354-4fc0b2f1290d","2023-02-03 00:00",[94211,94212],{"slug":10402,"name":10403},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[94214],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94215},{"job_title":557,"image":94216,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":94218},[94219,94222,94234,94239,94244,94249,94254,94259,94264,94269,94274,94279,94284,94289,94294,94299,94304,94309,94314,94319,94324,94329,94334,94339,94344,94349,94354,94359,94364,94369,94374],{"type":591,"attrs":94220,"content":94221},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":94223,"content":94224},{"textAlign":49},[94225,94227,94232],{"text":94226,"type":596},"This week General Motors made the largest investment by an automaker into the lithium sector, with ",{"text":94228,"type":596,"marks":94229},"an agreement to invest",[94230],{"type":606,"attrs":94231},{"href":77545,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94233,"type":596}," $650 million into Lithium Americas to help advance its Thacker Pass project in Nevada. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94235,"content":94236},{"textAlign":49},[94237],{"text":94238,"type":596},"Benchmark Source sat down with Lithium Americas’ chief executive Jonathan Evans to discuss the deal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94240,"content":94241},{"textAlign":49},[94242],{"text":94243,"type":596},"The deal comes before a final Nevada district court ruling on an appeal over the Record of Decision for the Thacker Pass mine that was granted in 2021 – can we read this as a sign of confidence in the outcome? ",{"type":591,"attrs":94245,"content":94246},{"textAlign":49},[94247],{"text":94248,"type":596},"I think obviously they’ve [GM] done their own due diligence, and they’re a very sophisticated big company. So I think we both feel and we’ve said that before that … we’ll be able to move ahead and GM feels the same way. I’m not gonna speak for them, of course, but I have a huge amount of respect. And of course, they are pretty sophisticated in this space as well now. I’m happy because that’s a sign of a true partner, right? You have somebody who believes in this project, has done their due diligence, and wants to move forward and stand beside you.",{"type":591,"attrs":94250,"content":94251},{"textAlign":49},[94252],{"text":94253,"type":596},"Does this say anything about President Joe Biden’s approach to permitting?",{"type":591,"attrs":94255,"content":94256},{"textAlign":49},[94257],{"text":94258,"type":596},"I do believe there is strong bipartisan support for optimising or modifying the permitting regime in the US and the president himself has said that we need to do that.",{"type":591,"attrs":94260,"content":94261},{"textAlign":49},[94262],{"text":94263,"type":596},"The administration and everybody is happy that we have GM as a partner – it links in with the work they’re [GM] doing building gigafactories in the Midwest and Ontario … It all fits together. I haven’t spoken to the president obviously but the White House is well aware of this and they’re quite pleased.",{"type":591,"attrs":94265,"content":94266},{"textAlign":49},[94267],{"text":94268,"type":596},"Does this deal help secure Department of Energy loan funding for the project? ",{"type":591,"attrs":94270,"content":94271},{"textAlign":49},[94272],{"text":94273,"type":596},"Their [loan] ranges are usually between the low end 50% and 75% of the debt … Look at the Ioneer loan that $700 million represents about half their project of $1.5 billion that’s 24,000 tonnes … we have a $2.3 billion project that’s 40,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":94275,"content":94276},{"textAlign":49},[94277],{"text":94278,"type":596},"I’ve been in touch with the DOE office. Obviously GM is motivated and sees us as an important action as well and they have experience. Their [DOE] loan for their gigafactory is $2.5 billion dollars.",{"type":591,"attrs":94280,"content":94281},{"textAlign":49},[94282],{"text":94283,"type":596},"You plan to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate – will GM further process that into hydroxide?",{"type":591,"attrs":94285,"content":94286},{"textAlign":49},[94287],{"text":94288,"type":596},"They could and there’s an opportunity for us to assist them with that as well. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94290,"content":94291},{"textAlign":49},[94292],{"text":94293,"type":596},"We are permitted in Nevada for hydroxide but we also have done the engineering for greenfield or brownfield [projects] … To think about something in the Midwest or even Canada where you can feed that facility with carbonate from Thacker Pass… If you have it off the resource yourself you can feed it from anywhere. They [GM] understand very well that going from carbonate to hydroxide is pretty low risk and is a simple process versus building a fit for purpose hydroxide facility for spodumene. You’re looking at a cost of around $300 to $400 million for a conversion version facility that makes 25,000 tonnes of hydroxide a year – they’re fairly simple.",{"type":591,"attrs":94295,"content":94296},{"textAlign":49},[94297],{"text":94298,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate is like the Swiss Army knife – it is the tradeable commodity that will be the basis of the industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94300,"content":94301},{"textAlign":49},[94302],{"text":94303,"type":596},"What stake will GM have after Lithium Americas is split into two companies? ",{"type":591,"attrs":94305,"content":94306},{"textAlign":49},[94307],{"text":94308,"type":596},"Somewhere between 20% to 30% … It’s almost like Tianqi’s investment in SQM. It’s a significant shareholder which is good – they’re aligned with our success.",{"type":591,"attrs":94310,"content":94311},{"textAlign":49},[94312],{"text":94313,"type":596},"You said the deal also supports the company’s previously announced plan to separate into two entities – with one company holding the US assets and the other the assets in Argentina. What do you mean by this? ",{"type":591,"attrs":94315,"content":94316},{"textAlign":49},[94317],{"text":94318,"type":596},"We have a path to fully fund Nevada now and you have a blue chip stakeholder and shareholder and customer with General Motors who has a long term vision and very aggressive vision to grow in the EV space. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94320,"content":94321},{"textAlign":49},[94322],{"text":94323,"type":596},"It completes the strategy for the North American business – you can go lots of different directions. They’re [GM] are going to need lots more capacity, whether that’s Phase 2 together, or lithium hydroxide processing which they’re quite interested in … You’ve got the North American business really set now. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94325,"content":94326},{"textAlign":49},[94327],{"text":94328,"type":596},"Will China’s Ganfeng Lithium be forced to divest from the US entity?",{"type":591,"attrs":94330,"content":94331},{"textAlign":49},[94332],{"text":94333,"type":596},"No, I don’t think so. GM will take over as the largest shareholder… Ganfeng will still be a shareholder post split – they will retain their respective equity percentage; you’re simply just splitting the company in half. That ownership stake will remain the same in both entities.",{"type":591,"attrs":94335,"content":94336},{"textAlign":49},[94337],{"text":94338,"type":596},"In the Canadian business they [GM] will do their second tranche which will bring their shareholding up. There’s a requirement under Canadian tax rules where there’s a holding period … Ganfeng in the US will end up getting diluted even further.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":94340,"content":94341},{"textAlign":49},[94342],{"text":94343,"type":596},"Even right out of the gate I don’t see a big difference between us and MP Materials [US rare earth producer] and even Tesla, which has Tencent as a shareholder. There is a quite extensive investor rights agreement that they [Ganfeng] have.",{"type":591,"attrs":94345,"content":94346},{"textAlign":49},[94347],{"text":94348,"type":596},"You have a relationship like Albemarle with Tianqi [in Australia]. There’s all sorts of examples. And longer term maybe Ganfeng will want to redeploy their capital. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94350,"content":94351},{"textAlign":49},[94352],{"text":94353,"type":596},"The world’s changed now … it will be a different strategy and different shareholder registry going forward to reflect the realities of business nowadays.",{"type":591,"attrs":94355,"content":94356},{"textAlign":49},[94357],{"text":94358,"type":596},"How important was the Inflation Reduction Act for GM in making this transaction?",{"type":591,"attrs":94360,"content":94361},{"textAlign":49},[94362],{"text":94363,"type":596},"It’s huge – it’s a competitive advantage if they’re guaranteed IRA compliance with a US asset. It’s also helping us as we get a production tax credit that doesn’t sunset.",{"type":591,"attrs":94365,"content":94366},{"textAlign":49},[94367],{"text":94368,"type":596},"Your opex gets down to little less than $6,000 a tonne with that production tax credit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94370,"content":94371},{"textAlign":49},[94372],{"text":94373,"type":596},"Senator Joe Manchin said to the Senate that this project is what the IRA is all about.",{"type":591,"attrs":94375,"content":94376},{"textAlign":49},[94377],{"text":94378,"type":596},"I think it will drive similar types of actions like this. This is going to represent a turning point. I can bet automakers are looking and saying ‘maybe we need to do this.’","This week General Motors made the largest investment by an automaker into the lithium sector, with an agreement to invest $650 million into Lithium Americas to help advance its Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Benchmark Source sat down with Lithium Americas’ chief executive Jonathan Evans to discuss the deal. The deal comes before a final […]",[94381],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94382},{"job_title":557,"image":94383,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"66af5f80-767c-424d-b354-4fc0b2f1290d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94386,94387],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":94389,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94390,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/414f5077d5/bm-evans1hres.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 03, 2023",{"id":94393,"uuid":94394,"name":94395,"slug":94396,"full_slug":94397,"content":94398},112471896701838,"aaf3de7b-e406-40ce-bff0-d1037d910155","GM commits $650 million to secure US lithium production","gm-commits-650-million-to-secure-us-lithium-production","article/gm-commits-650-million-to-secure-us-lithium-production",{"_uid":94399,"date":94400,"tags":94401,"editor":94402,"content":94406,"excerpt":94538,"featured":51,"reporter":94539,"_editable":94543,"component":697,"seo_title":94395,"categories":94544,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":94548,"seo_description":94538,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":94551},"69ff2b19-1360-44a0-82f8-2a02165fd414","2023-01-31 00:00",[],[94403],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94404},{"job_title":557,"image":94405,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":94407},[94408,94413,94418,94423,94436,94441,94446,94451,94456,94461,94473,94478,94483,94488,94493,94498,94503,94508,94513,94518,94523,94528,94533],{"type":591,"attrs":94409,"content":94410},{"textAlign":49},[94411],{"text":94412,"type":596},"General Motors has become the first automaker to make a sizable investment in a US lithium project, agreeing to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas to help bring its Thacker Pass project in Nevada into production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94414,"content":94415},{"textAlign":49},[94416],{"text":94417,"type":596},"The automaker said the equity investment and binding supply agreement with the company would provide it with “exclusive access” to the first phase of production at Thacker Pass for at least ten years. It also has the right of first refusal on a second expansion phase of the mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94419,"content":94420},{"textAlign":49},[94421],{"text":94422,"type":596},"The deal is the most significant move by a large automaker to secure supplies of lithium, which is set to struggle to keep up with rising demand this decade. GM said the deal could provide enough lithium for 1 million electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94424,"content":94425},{"textAlign":49},[94426,94428,94434],{"text":94427,"type":596},"The industry ",{"text":94429,"type":596,"marks":94430},"needs to invest",[94431],{"type":606,"attrs":94432},{"href":94433,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/analysis-lithium-industry-needs-42-billion-to-meet-2030-demand",{"text":94435,"type":596}," $42 billion in new supply to meet demand by 2030, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94437,"content":94438},{"textAlign":49},[94439],{"text":94440,"type":596},"“As the battery and EV space begins to scale, financing needs to do so with it. This is a much needed big step up for our industry,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94442,"content":94443},{"textAlign":49},[94444],{"text":94445,"type":596},"“To have the ultimate sway of industrial power you need to own the mines, in part or in full.”",{"type":591,"attrs":94447,"content":94448},{"textAlign":49},[94449],{"text":94450,"type":596},"Lithium Americas said it would use the money from GM to fund part of the estimated $4 billion capital costs of the project. GM will also become the largest shareholder in the company. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94452,"content":94453},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94454],{"text":94455,"type":596},"Scramble for US lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":94457,"content":94458},{"textAlign":49},[94459],{"text":94460,"type":596},"The US Inflation Reduction Act has accelerated the search for supplies of battery minerals from the US, by stipulating that minerals must be mined or processed in North America or free trade agreement countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":94462,"content":94463},{"textAlign":49},[94464,94466,94471],{"text":94465,"type":596},"Last year GM ",{"text":94467,"type":596,"marks":94468},"agreed to prepay",[94469],{"type":606,"attrs":94470},{"href":70476,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94472,"type":596}," US lithium producer Livent $198 million for six years supply of lithium hydroxide starting in 2025, with most of it to be processed in North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94474,"content":94475},{"textAlign":49},[94476],{"text":94477,"type":596},"Ford has also secured 7,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate from Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":94479,"content":94480},{"textAlign":49},[94481],{"text":94482,"type":596},"“Direct sourcing critical EV raw materials and components from suppliers in North America and free-trade-agreement countries helps make our supply chain more secure, helps us manage cell costs, and creates jobs,” GM’s chief executive Mary Barra said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94484,"content":94485},{"textAlign":49},[94486],{"text":94487,"type":596},"The US hosts around 24% of global lithium resources but is forecast to represent just 3% of global supply requirements in 2030. Even if all the potential projects were to progress as planned, the country would only represent 12% of global requirements by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94489,"content":94490},{"textAlign":49},[94491],{"text":94492,"type":596},"The investment by GM is a vote of confidence in Thacker Pass, which is still awaiting a ruling on an appeal of the Record of Decision from the US Department of the Interior made during the final days of President Donald Trump’s administration in January 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":94494,"content":94495},{"textAlign":49},[94496],{"text":94497,"type":596},"Lithium Americas said it had also applied for a loan from the Department of Energy for the project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94499,"content":94500},{"textAlign":49},[94501],{"text":94502,"type":596},"Lithium Americas said the deal with GM positions the company “as a model candidate to receive the maximum potential benefit” of the DOE’s loan program. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94504,"content":94505},{"textAlign":49},[94506],{"text":94507,"type":596},"“The proceeds from the DOE’s … loan are expected to contribute a significant portion of the initial capital costs for Thacker Pass Phase One,” it said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94509,"content":94510},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94511],{"text":94512,"type":596},"Largest US lithium mine",{"type":591,"attrs":94514,"content":94515},{"textAlign":49},[94516],{"text":94517,"type":596},"Lithium Americas said Thacker Pass is set to come into production in 2026. It aims to have a capacity to produce 40,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate in its first phase and 40,000 tonnes in the second phase. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94519,"content":94520},{"textAlign":49},[94521],{"text":94522,"type":596},"Production will average 70,000 tonnes a year in the first 25 years of the mine starting at around 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate in its first year, it said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":94524,"content":94525},{"textAlign":49},[94526],{"text":94527,"type":596},"The investment will be in two tranches, with the first $320 million to be invested in Lithium Americas for a 10% stake, pending the decision of the judge from the US District Court on the legal appeal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94529,"content":94530},{"textAlign":49},[94531],{"text":94532,"type":596},"The second tranche will be invested in Lithium Americas’ new US entity following the planned separation of its US and Argentinian assets. It is also contingent on Lithium Americas securing enough capital to develop Thacker Pass. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94534,"content":94535},{"textAlign":49},[94536],{"text":94537,"type":596},"Lithium Americas is expected to separate the businesses by the middle of this year, it said.","General Motors has become the first automaker to make a sizable investment in a US lithium project, agreeing to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas to help bring its Thacker Pass project in Nevada into production. The automaker said the equity investment and binding supply agreement with the company would provide it with “exclusive access” […]",[94540],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94541},{"job_title":557,"image":94542,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"69ff2b19-1360-44a0-82f8-2a02165fd414\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94545,94546,94547],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":94549,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94550,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/06e0828e09/bm-gm-hummer.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 31, 2023",{"id":94553,"uuid":94554,"name":94555,"slug":94556,"full_slug":94557,"content":94558},112471915596690,"eea20d62-e55a-4f8d-8ba7-293033215253","OPINION: Albemarle’s turbo-charged demand data showcases lithium’s growing supply problem","opinion-albemarles-turbo-charged-demand-data-showcases-lithiums-growing-supply-problem","article/opinion-albemarles-turbo-charged-demand-data-showcases-lithiums-growing-supply-problem",{"_uid":94559,"date":94560,"tags":94561,"editor":94565,"content":94569,"excerpt":94868,"featured":51,"reporter":94869,"_editable":94873,"component":697,"seo_title":94555,"categories":94874,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":94877,"seo_description":94868,"author_full_name":80280,"author_job_title":80281,"formattedDate":94879},"7679f272-970a-47d2-a118-80458c040259","2023-01-26 00:00",[94562,94563,94564],{"slug":23048,"name":23049},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[94566],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94567},{"job_title":557,"image":94568,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":94570},[94571,94583,94588,94605,94610,94615,94622,94627,94638,94643,94648,94655,94660,94665,94674,94679,94697,94704,94709,94714,94719,94724,94729,94734,94741,94752,94757,94762,94767,94772,94777,94788,94793,94798,94803,94808,94813,94818,94823,94828,94833,94838,94843,94848,94853,94858,94863],{"type":591,"attrs":94572,"content":94573},{"textAlign":49},[94574,94576,94581],{"text":94575,"type":596},"The revealing of a new ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":94577},[94578],{"type":606,"attrs":94579},{"href":94580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-lithium-lag-why-battery-costs-wont-fall-immediately",{"text":94582,"type":596}," demand number by Albemarle in this week’s strategy update saw a big shift upwards in the data and a ramping up of rhetoric that sparked a number of talking points. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94584,"content":94585},{"textAlign":49},[94586],{"text":94587,"type":596},"The world’s third biggest lithium chemical producer by output and biggest by market cap, Albemarle said it expected lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) demand to reach 3.7 million tonnes by 2030 – a significant revision upwards in its projections. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94589,"content":94590},{"textAlign":49},[94591,94593,94597,94599,94604],{"text":94592,"type":596},"The driver behind the new demand data is the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":94594},[94595],{"type":606,"attrs":94596},{"href":89792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94598,"type":596}," (IRA), which has turbo-charged battery supply chain initiatives and electric vehicle ",{"text":94600,"type":596,"marks":94601},"plans in North America",[94602],{"type":606,"attrs":94603},{"href":82892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":94606,"content":94607},{"textAlign":49},[94608],{"text":94609,"type":596},"It demonstrates what specific government policy can do to an industry already struggling to fulfil existing demand growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94611,"content":94612},{"textAlign":49},[94613],{"text":94614,"type":596},"“The reality is that the EV revolution is here to stay,” Eric Norris, president of lithium at Albemarle, said this week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94616,"content":94617},{"textAlign":49},[94618],{"type":836,"attrs":94619},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":94620,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":94621},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a20bff216b/bm-image-22-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":94623,"content":94624},{"textAlign":49},[94625],{"text":94626,"type":596},"The new demand number was a stand out statistic: it was a rallying call from Albemarle and its leadership team that the rate of demand is far outpacing the supply response and that it is getting worse not better. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94628,"content":94629},{"textAlign":49},[94630,94632,94636],{"text":94631,"type":596},"Yet with this great raw material disconnect between ",{"text":50771,"type":596,"marks":94633},[94634],{"type":606,"attrs":94635},{"href":93343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94637,"type":596}," and real, existing demand, not going to be truly solved this decade, are new demand data and concepts becoming irrelevant?",{"type":591,"attrs":94639,"content":94640},{"textAlign":49},[94641],{"text":94642,"type":596},"With this in mind, how should we view these new (and any) demand numbers? ",{"type":591,"attrs":94644,"content":94645},{"textAlign":49},[94646],{"text":94647,"type":596},"A good way to frame all lithium supply and demand data points, in a world flooded with information, is put all data into three categories:",{"type":615,"attrs":94649,"content":94650},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94651,94653],{"text":94652,"type":596},"1. ",{"text":94654,"type":596},"Total pipeline lithium demand (everything added up) ",{"type":591,"attrs":94656,"content":94657},{"textAlign":49},[94658],{"text":94659,"type":596},"The demand for EVs, all planned ESS installations, and all technology are satisfied by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94661,"content":94662},{"textAlign":49},[94663],{"text":94664,"type":596},"Considering the wide variety of forecasts out there, this number could sit anywhere between 3m tonnes and 4m tonnes LCE. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94666,"content":94667},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94668,94670,94672],{"text":94669,"type":596},"2. ",{"text":94671,"type":596},"Benchmark Base Lithium Demand",{"text":94673,"type":596}," (a reality) ",{"type":591,"attrs":94675,"content":94676},{"textAlign":49},[94677],{"text":94678,"type":596},"This is Benchmark’s calculation of how much lithium will be required by the market at that time – i.e. how many batteries and how much lithium will really be needed by active products in the market (EVs, ESS installations, and portable technology). ",{"type":591,"attrs":94680,"content":94681},{"textAlign":49},[94682,94684,94689,94691,94695],{"text":94683,"type":596},"This stands at 2.4m tonnes LCE as of our latest ",{"text":40761,"type":596,"marks":94685},[94686],{"type":606,"attrs":94687},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/#lithium",{"text":94690,"type":596}," service and can be viewed as a ",{"text":94692,"type":596,"marks":94693},"base demand forecast ",[94694],{"type":1006},{"text":94696,"type":596},"– what is likely to come to pass. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94698,"content":94699},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94700,94702],{"text":94701,"type":596},"3. ",{"text":94703,"type":596},"The intersect between supply and demand",{"type":591,"attrs":94705,"content":94706},{"textAlign":49},[94707],{"text":94708,"type":596},"What ultimately matters is where supply and demand intersect. If demand is not fulfilled at that point in time it either shifts into the near term future or dissolves.",{"type":591,"attrs":94710,"content":94711},{"textAlign":49},[94712],{"text":94713,"type":596},"What can only be certain is how much lithium is produced and whether this is all absorbed in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":94715,"content":94716},{"textAlign":49},[94717],{"text":94718,"type":596},"So a way to view this is: how big can the lithium supply number really get as things stand? ",{"type":615,"attrs":94720,"content":94721},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94722],{"text":94723,"type":596},"Lithium supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":94725,"content":94726},{"textAlign":49},[94727],{"text":94728,"type":596},"Right now, Benchmark’s base case lithium supply by 2030 is 2.1m tonnes (Q4 2022 Benchmark Lithium Forecast service). ",{"type":591,"attrs":94730,"content":94731},{"textAlign":49},[94732],{"text":94733,"type":596},"Wider projections can range from 1.8m to 2.8m tonnes, however. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94735,"content":94736},{"textAlign":49},[94737],{"type":836,"attrs":94738},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":94739,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":94740},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d4161fd8de/bm-lithium-demand-scenarios-2030.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":94742,"content":94743},{"textAlign":49},[94744,94746,94750],{"text":94745,"type":596},"This would be ",{"text":94747,"type":596,"marks":94748},"44% less ",[94749],{"type":1006},{"text":94751,"type":596},"than Albemarle’s demand projection of 3.7m tonnes by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94753,"content":94754},{"textAlign":49},[94755],{"text":94756,"type":596},"Even Benchmark’s Base Lithium demand number results in a 12.5% supply deficit – the equivalent of at least six lithium mines, and 50% the size of the entire industry in 2022.",{"type":615,"attrs":94758,"content":94759},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94760],{"text":94761,"type":596},"Not on course",{"type":591,"attrs":94763,"content":94764},{"textAlign":49},[94765],{"text":94766,"type":596},"As things stand, the lithium industry is not on course to even meet the most modest of demand projections, let alone the dream scenarios that are growing by the day as a result of the IRA. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94768,"content":94769},{"textAlign":49},[94770],{"text":94771,"type":596},"Albemarle’s 3.7m tonnes demand projection is 54% higher than Benchmark’s base case forecast of 2.4m tonnes in 2030 – the difference between automotive EV dreams and the reality of what the industry can likely achieve.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":94773,"content":94774},{"textAlign":49},[94775],{"text":94776,"type":596},"Financiers need to now think in the billions of dollars of investment not the hundreds of millions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94778,"content":94779},{"textAlign":49},[94780,94782,94784],{"text":94781,"type":596},"Permitting for mines and chemical plants in North America and Europe will need to be reformed to",{"text":94783,"type":596},"half the process time at a ",{"text":94785,"type":596,"marks":94786},"minimum. ",[94787],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":94789,"content":94790},{"textAlign":49},[94791],{"text":94792,"type":596},"Governments can no longer claim to be serious about Net Zero and EVs if they are not serious about reforming permitting for critical minerals that are central to these goals. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94794,"content":94795},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94796],{"text":94797,"type":596},"The world needs new mines",{"type":591,"attrs":94799,"content":94800},{"textAlign":49},[94801],{"text":94802,"type":596},"The challenge now lies firmly on bringing new lithium mines to production and massively expanding existing operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":94804,"content":94805},{"textAlign":49},[94806],{"text":94807,"type":596},"Even Tesla’s Elon Musk is beginning to come round to the opinion that lithium supply is an issue after decade of publicly declaring it a non-issue: ",{"type":591,"attrs":94809,"content":94810},{"textAlign":49},[94811],{"text":94812,"type":596},"“Lithium refinement needs to increase dramatically, but lithium ore itself is extremely common throughout Earth,” Musk said on 22 January 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94814,"content":94815},{"textAlign":49},[94816],{"text":94817,"type":596},"Adding to this comment six months earlier: ",{"type":591,"attrs":94819,"content":94820},{"textAlign":49},[94821],{"text":94822,"type":596},"“It is basically like minting money right now. There’s, like, software margins in lithium processing right now. So I would really like to encourage, once again, entrepreneurs to enter the lithium refining business. You can’t lose.”",{"type":591,"attrs":94824,"content":94825},{"textAlign":49},[94826],{"text":94827,"type":596},"Albemarle is stepping up as much as a publicly listed company can and said it plans to triple its conversion capacity to around 600,000 tonnes LCE to help cover the shortfall.",{"type":591,"attrs":94829,"content":94830},{"textAlign":49},[94831],{"text":94832,"type":596},"Yet meeting that demand will require major new entrants to enter lithium with bold plans and the rest of the industry to accelerate their production plans far beyond anyone’s comfort zone. ",{"type":615,"attrs":94834,"content":94835},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94836],{"text":94837,"type":596},"A game of scale",{"type":591,"attrs":94839,"content":94840},{"textAlign":49},[94841],{"text":94842,"type":596},"It is not just a numbers game any more – in terms of new lithium projects making it through the pipeline from discovery to first production –  but also now a scale game, where new mines and existing expansions need to be planned longer term and ten-times bigger than they are today. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94844,"content":94845},{"textAlign":49},[94846],{"text":94847,"type":596},"New lithium producers have to build into a market in excess of 2m tonnes LCE a year, not the  640,000 tonne LCE market that we saw in 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94849,"content":94850},{"textAlign":49},[94851],{"text":94852,"type":596},"The lithium industry now needs to think in the millions of tonnes not the hundreds of thousands of tonnes when building operations or mining and refining ecosystems. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94854,"content":94855},{"textAlign":49},[94856],{"text":94857,"type":596},"Are EVs becoming an improbable dream?",{"type":591,"attrs":94859,"content":94860},{"textAlign":49},[94861],{"text":94862,"type":596},"Not quite and not yet: this is a gap that can be bridged, but capital will need to start rapidly increasing the speed of supply expansions in the near-term to make this a reality.",{"type":591,"attrs":94864,"content":94865},{"textAlign":49},[94866],{"text":94867,"type":596},"The next three years will be the most telling as the EV revolution moves from startup phase to scaling up. ","The revealing of a new lithium demand number by Albemarle in this week’s strategy update saw a big shift upwards in the data and a ramping up of rhetoric that sparked a number of talking points. The world’s third biggest lithium chemical producer by output and biggest by market cap, Albemarle said it expected lithium […]",[94870],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94871},{"job_title":557,"image":94872,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7679f272-970a-47d2-a118-80458c040259\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94875,94876],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":90272,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94878,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 26, 2023",{"id":94881,"uuid":94882,"name":94883,"slug":94884,"full_slug":94885,"content":94886},112471930149784,"1165c87a-b55b-46ae-a682-9d47c5ad9974","What to expect for the cathode and anode markets this year?","what-to-expect-for-the-cathode-and-anode-markets-this-year","article/what-to-expect-for-the-cathode-and-anode-markets-this-year",{"_uid":94887,"date":94888,"tags":94889,"editor":94890,"content":94894,"excerpt":94979,"featured":51,"reporter":94980,"_editable":94984,"component":697,"seo_title":94883,"categories":94985,"visibility":707,"author_company":14040,"featured_image":94989,"seo_description":94979,"author_full_name":94991,"author_job_title":94992,"formattedDate":94993},"5a6e031b-707d-428e-8488-683a53058980","2023-01-25 00:00",[],[94891],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94892},{"job_title":557,"image":94893,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":94895},[94896,94901,94906,94911,94916,94921,94926,94931,94936,94941,94946,94951,94956,94961,94966,94971,94976],{"type":591,"attrs":94897,"content":94898},{"textAlign":49},[94899],{"text":94900,"type":596},"Anode production remained overwhelmingly concentrated in China last year, but 2023 promises to usher in a new wave of ex-China project developments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94902,"content":94903},{"textAlign":49},[94904],{"text":94905,"type":596},"In the US the Inflation Reduction Act is stimulating the development of new anode projects, as the country looks to reduce reliance on Chinese production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94907,"content":94908},{"textAlign":49},[94909],{"text":94910,"type":596},"The planned EU Critical Raw Materials Act is also likely to lead to a raft of investment into the European battery value chain from both domestic and overseas investors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94912,"content":94913},{"textAlign":49},[94914],{"text":94915,"type":596},"It is estimated that natural anodes will dominate European supply and demand over time as they typically have a lower carbon footprint of production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94917,"content":94918},{"textAlign":49},[94919],{"text":94920,"type":596},"However, these production volumes will likely be supplemented by lower-emission synthetic anode projects powered by renewable energy sources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94922,"content":94923},{"textAlign":49},[94924],{"text":94925,"type":596},"Nevertheless, Europe is currently facing the same issue as North America, in that neither region has any top-tier domestic supply, which may pose a threat to rapidly rising electric vehicle demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":94927,"content":94928},{"textAlign":49},[94929],{"text":94930,"type":596},"As OEMs become increasingly concerned about meeting their ESG requirements, attention will be shifted towards natural anodes with a lower carbon production footprint. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94932,"content":94933},{"textAlign":49},[94934],{"text":94935,"type":596},"Yet the supply deficit for natural anodes is expected to extend into 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":94937,"content":94938},{"textAlign":49},[94939],{"text":94940,"type":596},"Far more investment is needed in both natural anode and renewable-powered synthetic process routes if environmental targets are to be satisfied.",{"type":615,"attrs":94942,"content":94943},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[94944],{"text":94945,"type":596},"The rise of LMFP – Cathode preview ",{"type":591,"attrs":94947,"content":94948},{"textAlign":49},[94949],{"text":94950,"type":596},"Lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP) cathodes are expected to grab the headlines this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94952,"content":94953},{"textAlign":49},[94954],{"text":94955,"type":596},"An increase in real-world production volumes and continued announcements from large producers of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes will propel this promising chemistry into more mainstream applications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94957,"content":94958},{"textAlign":49},[94959],{"text":94960,"type":596},"LMFP is estimated to increase energy density by 10-20% over LFP with just a 5-20% increase in production costs, resulting in favourable $/kWh values. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94962,"content":94963},{"textAlign":49},[94964],{"text":94965,"type":596},"We expect LMFP cathodes to start making their way into EVs later this year, with the most established LFP producers catering for this market initially. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94967,"content":94968},{"textAlign":49},[94969],{"text":94970,"type":596},"There is still a level of ambiguity surrounding LMFP production volumes as some producers finalise technical adjustments to allow LFP production lines to be converted to LMFP production lines. ",{"type":591,"attrs":94972,"content":94973},{"textAlign":49},[94974],{"text":94975,"type":596},"In addition new and dedicated LMFP lines are being added from new and existing producers. Combined, this will lead to higher and more promising supply from Tier One, Two and Three producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":94977,"content":94978},{"textAlign":49},[],"Anode production remained overwhelmingly concentrated in China last year, but 2023 promises to usher in a new wave of ex-China project developments. In the US the Inflation Reduction Act is stimulating the development of new anode projects, as the country looks to reduce reliance on Chinese production. The planned EU Critical Raw Materials Act is […]",[94981],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":94982},{"job_title":557,"image":94983,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5a6e031b-707d-428e-8488-683a53058980\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[94986,94987,94988],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":89312,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":94990,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Rob Burrell","Analyst","Jan 25, 2023",{"id":94995,"uuid":94996,"name":94997,"slug":94998,"full_slug":94999,"content":95000},112471940774810,"85fbb1d6-1d45-4950-a952-f642c284ca37","Where will the new lithium, cobalt and nickel supply come from in 2023?","where-will-the-new-lithium-cobalt-and-nickel-supply-come-from-in-2023","article/where-will-the-new-lithium-cobalt-and-nickel-supply-come-from-in-2023",{"_uid":95001,"date":95002,"tags":95003,"editor":95005,"content":95009,"excerpt":95308,"featured":51,"reporter":95309,"_editable":95313,"component":697,"seo_title":94997,"categories":95314,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":95319,"seo_description":95308,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":95322},"2a6e8aad-6a63-48a2-b994-e5a6f0a3c2f1","2023-01-24 00:00",[95004],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[95006],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95007},{"job_title":557,"image":95008,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95010},[95011,95016,95021,95028,95040,95045,95050,95055,95067,95074,95086,95091,95096,95107,95121,95132,95144,95156,95161,95166,95179,95186,95191,95196,95208,95213,95218,95223,95236,95241,95246,95259,95266,95271,95276,95281,95286,95291,95296],{"type":591,"attrs":95012,"content":95013},{"textAlign":49},[95014],{"text":95015,"type":596},"Investment in new mines as well as expansions to existing assets are set to increase the supply of battery minerals this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95017,"content":95018},{"textAlign":49},[95019],{"text":95020,"type":596},"Lithium supply is expected to have the biggest increase, rising by over 40% compared to 2022, while production of cobalt and nickel is expected to grow at more modest rates of 9% and 7%, respectively, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":95022,"content":95023},{"textAlign":49},[95024],{"type":836,"attrs":95025},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95026,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95027},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f1c9f14dc4/bm-mined-lithium-to-grow-faster-than-other-metals-in-2023.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95029,"content":95030},{"textAlign":49},[95031,95033,95038],{"text":95032,"type":596},"While the lithium market is set to be in a ",{"text":95034,"type":596,"marks":95035},"small deficit,",[95036],{"type":606,"attrs":95037},{"href":65050,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95039,"type":596}," cobalt and nickel are set for a surplus of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":95041,"content":95042},{"textAlign":49},[95043],{"text":95044,"type":596},"For lithium, the expansion of production is spread between Australia, South America and China. However, for cobalt and nickel, the growth is more concentrated with the vast majority being from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":95046,"content":95047},{"textAlign":49},[95048],{"text":95049,"type":596},"We take a look at where the supply growth is coming from for each of the three battery cathode minerals which Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":615,"attrs":95051,"content":95052},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95053],{"text":95054,"type":596},"Lithium’s supply growth",{"type":591,"attrs":95056,"content":95057},{"textAlign":49},[95058,95060,95065],{"text":95059,"type":596},"Lithium is set for the largest year-on-year percentage growth in supply since 2016, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, due to expansions by the ",{"text":95061,"type":596,"marks":95062},"largest producers SQM",[95063],{"type":606,"attrs":95064},{"href":75295,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95066,"type":596}," and Albemarle, as well as by new entrants in Africa and China.",{"type":591,"attrs":95068,"content":95069},{"textAlign":49},[95070],{"type":836,"attrs":95071},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95072,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95073},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8b28b4583e/bm-2023-lithium.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95075,"content":95076},{"textAlign":49},[95077,95079,95084],{"text":95078,"type":596},"About two-fifths of this year’s ",{"text":95080,"type":596,"marks":95081},"supply growth is set to come from Australia",[95082],{"type":606,"attrs":95083},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95085,"type":596},", which could see over 100,000 tonnes (LCE) of additional spodumene concentrate production, led by the Greenbushes lithium mine. Benchmark forecasts Greenbushes will grow its output by 16% this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":95087,"content":95088},{"textAlign":49},[95089],{"text":95090,"type":596},"In terms of new mines, SQM and Wesfarmers are set to start production at the Mt Holland mine this year, while Core Lithium sent out its first shipment of 1.4% lithium oxide direct shipping ore (DSO) on January 5th this year from its Finniss mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95092,"content":95093},{"textAlign":49},[95094],{"text":95095,"type":596},"Outside of Australia the single largest new lithium project to come online this year is expected to be Sigma Lithium’s mine in Brazil. It is expected to begin commercial production in April of this year with an initial production of 12,500 tonnes LCE.",{"type":591,"attrs":95097,"content":95098},{"textAlign":49},[95099,95105],{"text":95100,"type":596,"marks":95101},"Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Americas’",[95102],{"type":606,"attrs":95103},{"href":95104,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/exclusive-ganfeng-eyes-us-oems-for-strategic-stake-in-mexican-lithium-project",{"text":95106,"type":596}," Salar de Cauchari mine in the Jujuy province of Argentina is also expected to come online in 2023, with an initial production of 10,000 tonnes LCE.",{"type":591,"attrs":95108,"content":95109},{"textAlign":49},[95110,95114,95115,95119],{"text":924,"type":596,"marks":95111},[95112],{"type":606,"attrs":95113},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":5694,"type":596,"marks":95116},[95117],{"type":606,"attrs":95118},{"href":79983,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95120,"type":596}," will see the largest proportional increase in their mined lithium production growing 375% and 276%, respectively, albeit from a small base.",{"type":591,"attrs":95122,"content":95123},{"textAlign":49},[95124,95130],{"text":95125,"type":596,"marks":95126},"In Canada",[95127],{"type":606,"attrs":95128},{"href":95129,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/canada-puts-breaks-on-chinas-4-billion-lithium-acquisition-spree",{"text":95131,"type":596},", Sayona Mining’s mine in Quebec is expected to start this year and Sinomine’s Tanco mine in Manitoba will continue to ramp up with its production increasing five-fold compared to 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":95133,"content":95134},{"textAlign":49},[95135,95137,95142],{"text":95136,"type":596},"In Africa, China’s Xinfeng is forecast to increase its ",{"text":95138,"type":596,"marks":95139},"direct shipment ore",[95140],{"type":606,"attrs":95141},{"href":80011,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95143,"type":596}," exports out of Namibia five-fold this year while in Zimbabwe Chinese miners Sinomine and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt are both forecast to begin production in their respective mines.",{"type":591,"attrs":95145,"content":95146},{"textAlign":49},[95147,95149,95154],{"text":95148,"type":596},"“These new sources of supply will likely take some time to ramp up and may not really be operating at full capacity until 2024 or beyond,” Daisy ",{"text":95150,"type":596,"marks":95151},"Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said",[95152],{"type":606,"attrs":95153},{"href":93343,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95155,"type":596},". “Even if we do see new projects come to market, the time that it will take for that material to be qualified with customers […] may be longer than a lot of people would expect from surface-level announcements.”",{"type":615,"attrs":95157,"content":95158},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95159],{"text":95160,"type":596},"Cobalt and the DRC",{"type":591,"attrs":95162,"content":95163},{"textAlign":49},[95164],{"text":95165,"type":596},"Benchmark’s cobalt forecast shows that the 2023 production of mined cobalt is expected to grow by 9% compared to 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95167,"content":95168},{"textAlign":49},[95169,95171,95177],{"text":95170,"type":596},"Almost 40% of this growth is from the ",{"text":95172,"type":596,"marks":95173},"Democratic Republic of the Congo",[95174],{"type":606,"attrs":95175},{"href":95176,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/drc-needs-to-improve-esg-of-cobalt-to-become-key-to-climate-crisis",{"text":95178,"type":596},", which will continue to command the lion’s share of cobalt production globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":95180,"content":95181},{"textAlign":49},[95182],{"type":836,"attrs":95183},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95184,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95185},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c365dc0e99/bm-cobalt-2023.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95187,"content":95188},{"textAlign":49},[95189],{"text":95190,"type":596},"Supply from the DRC is expected to increase by nearly 5% this year, led by expansions at Glencore’s Katanga and Mutanda mines, Eurasian Resource Group’s (ERG) Roan Tailings Reclamation (RTR) mine and CMOC’s Tenke Fungurume mine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95192,"content":95193},{"textAlign":49},[95194],{"text":95195,"type":596},"With supply growth outstripping demand-side growth in the near term, a growing surplus of supply is set to drive further negative pressure on prices in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":95197,"content":95198},{"textAlign":49},[95199,95201,95206],{"text":95200,"type":596},"However, China’s CMOC remains locked in a legal dispute with the DRC government over royalty payments at the ",{"text":95202,"type":596,"marks":95203},"Tenke mine",[95204],{"type":606,"attrs":95205},{"href":86842,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95207,"type":596},", with exports having been stopped in July 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":95209,"content":95210},{"textAlign":49},[95211],{"text":95212,"type":596},"“With no immediate settlement to this legal wrangling in sight, there is a real possibility that the world’s second-largest cobalt mine may have to stop production this year,” Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95214,"content":95215},{"textAlign":49},[95216],{"text":95217,"type":596},"This year CMOC was set to begin production on its Kisanfu project in the DRC, which Benchmark forecasts would be the largest new addition to mined cobalt supply in 2023 if it goes ahead.",{"type":591,"attrs":95219,"content":95220},{"textAlign":49},[95221],{"text":95222,"type":596},"The shakedown of Chinese entities has not been limited to CMOC. The DRC government has also targeted the Sicomines joint venture it has with two Chinese state-owned companies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95224,"content":95225},{"textAlign":49},[95226,95228,95234],{"text":95227,"type":596},"Outside of the DRC, ",{"text":95229,"type":596,"marks":95230},"Indonesia will account for about 37%",[95231],{"type":606,"attrs":95232},{"href":95233,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/indonesia-cobalt-supply-to-push-market-into-surplus-this-decade",{"text":95235,"type":596}," of the cobalt growth in 2023, almost doubling its market share to 6.5%. All of Indonesia’s pipeline cobalt production is from nickel processing plants.",{"type":615,"attrs":95237,"content":95238},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95239],{"text":95240,"type":596},"Nickel’s Indonesian growth",{"type":591,"attrs":95242,"content":95243},{"textAlign":49},[95244],{"text":95245,"type":596},"Indonesia is set to dominate growth in refined nickel supply this year, with the ocuntry set to increase production by 25%.",{"type":591,"attrs":95247,"content":95248},{"textAlign":49},[95249,95251,95257],{"text":95250,"type":596},"Globally, however,",{"text":95252,"type":596,"marks":95253}," refined nickel production ",[95254],{"type":606,"attrs":95255},{"href":95256,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/whats-in-store-for-cobalt-and-nickel-in-2023",{"text":95258,"type":596},"is set to increase only modestly, rising 6.7% compared to 2022, about half the growth rate seen between 2021 and 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":95260,"content":95261},{"textAlign":49},[95262],{"type":836,"attrs":95263},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95264,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95265},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1bd075d654/bm-nickel-2023.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95267,"content":95268},{"textAlign":49},[95269],{"text":95270,"type":596},"In 2020, Indonesia banned the export of nickel ore to stimulate value-added investment in the country. This meant China could no longer import ore from the region to produce nickel pig iron (NPI) to produce stainless steel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95272,"content":95273},{"textAlign":49},[95274],{"text":95275,"type":596},"This stimulated value-added investment in Indonesia, where Chinese companies have built large-scale industrial parks centred on refined nickel and stainless steel production.",{"type":591,"attrs":95277,"content":95278},{"textAlign":49},[95279],{"text":95280,"type":596},"With lithium ion batteries representing the fastest-growing end-use market, Chinese companies have also built a number of high-pressure acid leach plants to process nickel ore into a semi-refined nickel product suited to battery precursor production.",{"type":591,"attrs":95282,"content":95283},{"textAlign":49},[95284],{"text":95285,"type":596},"The largest nameplate capacity refinery to come online in 2023 is expected to be Huayou Cobalt’s Weda Bay high-pressure acid leaching nickel and cobalt project, which is jointly owned by Huayou and battery producer EVE Energy, along with Yongrui, Glaucous International, and Lindo Investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":95287,"content":95288},{"textAlign":49},[95289],{"text":95290,"type":596},"When fully operational, the plant will have a capacity of 120,000 tonnes of nickel and 15,000 tonnes of cobalt. Benchmark forecasts it will produce 10,000 tonnes of contained nickel in 2023 in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate.",{"type":591,"attrs":95292,"content":95293},{"textAlign":49},[95294],{"text":95295,"type":596},"In total, Benchmark forecasts seven new projects could begin operation in Weda Bay this year, with overall production in the industrial park increasing by nearly 40% compared to last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":95297,"content":95298},{"textAlign":49},[95299,95301,95306],{"text":95300,"type":596},"That will cement ",{"text":95302,"type":596,"marks":95303},"Indonesia’s position as the key supplier",[95304],{"type":606,"attrs":95305},{"href":90658,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95307,"type":596}," of nickel to the global battery market.","Investment in new mines as well as expansions to existing assets are set to increase the supply of battery minerals this year. Lithium supply is expected to have the biggest increase, rising by over 40% compared to 2022, while production of cobalt and nickel is expected to grow at more modest rates of 9% and […]",[95310],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95311},{"job_title":557,"image":95312,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a6e8aad-6a63-48a2-b994-e5a6f0a3c2f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[95315,95316,95317,95318],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95320,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":95321,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c1b4a53c46/bm-spodumene5.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 24, 2023",{"id":95324,"uuid":95325,"name":95326,"slug":95327,"full_slug":95328,"content":95329},112471945956251,"08189451-9ea4-4dc2-861b-a6ac03df970f","Bolivia chooses Chinese consortium led by CATL for $1 billion lithium investment","bolivia-chooses-chinese-consortium-led-by-catl-for-1-billion-lithium-investment","article/bolivia-chooses-chinese-consortium-led-by-catl-for-1-billion-lithium-investment",{"_uid":95330,"date":95331,"tags":95332,"editor":95337,"content":95341,"excerpt":95503,"featured":51,"reporter":95504,"_editable":95508,"component":697,"seo_title":95326,"categories":95509,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":95513,"seo_description":95503,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":95516},"8285f431-add3-46ad-977a-c600ad44ceec","2023-01-23 00:00",[95333,95336],{"slug":95334,"name":95335},"bolivia","Bolivia",{"slug":7066,"name":7067},[95338],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95339},{"job_title":557,"image":95340,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95342},[95343,95356,95361,95366,95371,95376,95381,95393,95398,95403,95408,95413,95418,95423,95428,95433,95436,95468,95475],{"type":591,"attrs":95344,"content":95345},{"textAlign":49},[95346,95348,95354],{"text":95347,"type":596},"Bolivia selected China’s largest battery producer CATL and largest cobalt miner China Molybdenum to help develop its ",{"text":95349,"type":596,"marks":95350},"giant lithium resources",[95351],{"type":606,"attrs":95352},{"href":95353,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bolivia-selects-lithium-partners-as-it-chooses-dle-route-to-tap-battery-boom",{"text":95355,"type":596},", in a step forward towards production after three decades of failed attempts.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":95357,"content":95358},{"textAlign":49},[95359],{"text":95360,"type":596},"The country’s state-owned producer Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) said the group would invest around $1 billion to build plants to produce lithium using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) in the Salar De Uyuni and Salar de Coipasa. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95362,"content":95363},{"textAlign":49},[95364],{"text":95365,"type":596},"The consortium, which also includes CATL’s recycling subsidiary Brunp, will produce 25,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate by 2024 and 100,000 tonnes by 2028, using direct lithium extraction (DLE) rather than large evaporation ponds. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95367,"content":95368},{"textAlign":49},[95369],{"text":95370,"type":596},"CATL will hold 66% of shares in the entity, which is called CBC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95372,"content":95373},{"textAlign":49},[95374],{"text":95375,"type":596},"“Bolivia’s world leading lithium resources are vast and unquestionable,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. “But to turn this into reserves that can be extracted processed into the right grade and used in EVs around the world is no easy feat.”",{"type":591,"attrs":95377,"content":95378},{"textAlign":49},[95379],{"text":95380,"type":596},"Bolivia has struggled to commercially produce lithium, falling behind Chile and Argentina and missing out on a record-breaking price rally over the past two years. The country’s president Luis Arce, who was elected in 2020, has promised to back new technologies that promise more efficient extraction to try to catch up.",{"type":591,"attrs":95382,"content":95383},{"textAlign":49},[95384,95386,95391],{"text":95385,"type":596},"Bolivia ",{"text":95387,"type":596,"marks":95388},"originally selected eight companies",[95389],{"type":606,"attrs":95390},{"href":95353,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95392,"type":596}," to test its brine, which is high in impurities such as magnesium, and last year selected six to move forward. These included Citic Guoan, Xinjiang TBEA Group, Fusion Enertech, Uranium One from Russia, and Lilac Solutions from the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95394,"content":95395},{"textAlign":49},[95396],{"text":95397,"type":596},"While the country’s brine is more difficult to extract than that found in Argentina or Chile, due to the impurities, Chinese companies have a lot of processing experience and technical skills, Ricardo Morales, consulting director for Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95399,"content":95400},{"textAlign":49},[95401],{"text":95402,"type":596},"“If anyone can do it it’s China,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95404,"content":95405},{"textAlign":49},[95406],{"text":95407,"type":596},"The agreement comes after a more than 700% increase in prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China over the past two years, which has put pressure on leading battery producers such as CATL. ",{"type":615,"attrs":95409,"content":95410},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95411],{"text":95412,"type":596},"CATL’s quest for lithium ",{"type":591,"attrs":95414,"content":95415},{"textAlign":49},[95416],{"text":95417,"type":596},"For CATL, the deal is a way of securing future lithium supplies it needs to maintain its market-leading share in the battery market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95419,"content":95420},{"textAlign":49},[95421],{"text":95422,"type":596},"Chinese companies face increasing difficulties securing lithium resources, following Canada’s decision in November to force Chinese companies to divest from three Canadian-listed lithium companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":95424,"content":95425},{"textAlign":49},[95426],{"text":95427,"type":596},"In 2021 CATL made a bid for Argentina’s Millennial Lithium but lost out to Canadian lithium producer Lithium Americas. Since then the company has invested in production of lithium within China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95429,"content":95430},{"textAlign":49},[95431],{"text":95432,"type":596},"CATL is also the second largest shareholder in CMOC, which is the second largest producer of cobalt behind Glencore. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95434,"content":95435},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":95437,"content":95438},{"textAlign":49},[95439,95443,95447,95451,95455,95458,95465],{"text":95440,"type":596,"marks":95441},"Benchmark will provide further insight into lithium market developments in our ",[95442],{"type":1006},{"text":95444,"type":596,"marks":95445},"free to attend webinar",[95446],{"type":1006},{"text":95448,"type":596,"marks":95449}," on ",[95450],{"type":1006},{"text":95452,"type":596,"marks":95453},"Thursday 2 March",[95454],{"type":1006},{"text":39278,"type":596,"marks":95456},[95457],{"type":1006},{"text":95459,"type":596,"marks":95460},"Lithium: The Multi-Billion Dollar Question",[95461,95464],{"type":606,"attrs":95462},{"href":95463,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/webinar-sign-up/?webinar=2023_Mar&ref=article",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":95466},[95467],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":95469,"content":95470},{"textAlign":49},[95471],{"text":95472,"type":596,"marks":95473},"Our experts will be analysing the drivers behind recent price volatility, as well as critical factors impacting the long term outlook, including supply, demand, costs, investment and more.",[95474],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":95476,"content":95477},{"textAlign":49},[95478,95482,95489,95495,95499],{"text":95479,"type":596,"marks":95480},"To secure your place at this webinar, please ",[95481],{"type":1006},{"text":95483,"type":596,"marks":95484},"register with your",[95485,95488],{"type":606,"attrs":95486},{"href":95487,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.benchmarkminerals.com/webinar-sign-up/?webinar%3D2023_Mar%26ref%3Darticle&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1674744171707117&usg=AOvVaw3W_S9VP1LLwaV__85jRj-Q",{"type":1006},{"text":95490,"type":596,"marks":95491}," business email address",[95492,95494],{"type":606,"attrs":95493},{"href":95487,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":95496,"type":596,"marks":95497}," –",[95498],{"type":1006},{"text":95500,"type":596,"marks":95501}," personal email registrants will need to be verified by our team.",[95502],{"type":1006},"Bolivia selected China’s largest battery producer CATL and largest cobalt miner China Molybdenum to help develop its giant lithium resources, in a step forward towards production after three decades of failed attempts. The country’s state-owned producer Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) said the group would invest around $1 billion to build plants to produce lithium […]",[95505],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95506},{"job_title":557,"image":95507,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8285f431-add3-46ad-977a-c600ad44ceec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[95510,95511,95512],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95514,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":95515,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/01fb73c4dc/bm-bolivia-lithium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 23, 2023",{"id":95518,"uuid":95519,"name":95520,"slug":95521,"full_slug":95522,"content":95523},112471956257693,"529421c7-441e-43fb-9489-1bc5af9a79b9","2023 will be the year the auto industry secures manganese","2023-will-be-the-year-the-auto-industry-secures-manganese","article/2023-will-be-the-year-the-auto-industry-secures-manganese",{"_uid":95524,"date":95525,"tags":95526,"editor":95527,"content":95531,"excerpt":95662,"featured":51,"reporter":95663,"_editable":95667,"component":697,"seo_title":95520,"categories":95668,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":95671,"seo_description":95662,"author_full_name":83982,"author_job_title":94992,"formattedDate":95674},"f4bb1337-f798-4a8d-b178-dec718316af1","2023-01-20 00:00",[],[95528],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95529},{"job_title":557,"image":95530,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95532},[95533,95538,95550,95555,95566,95571,95578,95583,95594,95599,95604,95609,95614,95619,95624,95629,95636,95641,95646,95651],{"type":591,"attrs":95534,"content":95535},{"textAlign":49},[95536],{"text":95537,"type":596},"Only a few weeks into 2023 and interest is already building in the battery manganese market.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":95539,"content":95540},{"textAlign":49},[95541,95543,95548],{"text":95542,"type":596},"Offtake discussions were bubbling behind closed doors during 2022 before Element 25 and Euro Manganese ",{"text":95544,"type":596,"marks":95545},"publicly announced",[95546],{"type":606,"attrs":95547},{"href":80081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95549,"type":596}," tie-ins with Stellantis and Verkor, respectively, in early January 2023.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":95551,"content":95552},{"textAlign":49},[95553],{"text":95554,"type":596},"Until these recent announcements there were no public supply arrangements for battery-grade manganese products, which left manganese an ‘odd one out’ amongst battery raw material peers.",{"type":591,"attrs":95556,"content":95557},{"textAlign":49},[95558,95559,95564],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":95560,"type":596,"marks":95561},"announcements",[95562],{"type":606,"attrs":95563},{"href":80081,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95565,"type":596}," came as no surprise given the steady progress of a small handful of prospective new entrants and extensive downstream investment in NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) cathodes outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":95567,"content":95568},{"textAlign":49},[95569],{"text":95570,"type":596},"Benchmark expects more manganese partnerships and deals to be a key theme of 2023 as OEMs and cell producers zero-in on securing future manganese supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":95572,"content":95573},{"textAlign":49},[95574],{"type":836,"attrs":95575},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95576,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95577},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4db30ea4c1/bm-manganese-image.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":95579,"content":95580},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95581],{"text":95582,"type":596},"A pivotal year ahead for high-manganese cathode chemistries",{"type":591,"attrs":95584,"content":95585},{"textAlign":49},[95586,95588,95593],{"text":95587,"type":596},"In 2023 close attention will also be paid to the progress of new ",{"text":95589,"type":596,"marks":95590},"high-manganese cathode chemistries",[95591],{"type":606,"attrs":95592},{"href":86975,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":95595,"content":95596},{"textAlign":49},[95597],{"text":95598,"type":596},"Alternative cathode chemistries, such as lithium manganese nickel oxide (LMNO), lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP), or nickel manganese-based cathodes (NMX) with similar structures to NCM are increasing in popularity as end-users look to cut cobalt out of their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":95600,"content":95601},{"textAlign":49},[95602],{"text":95603,"type":596},"NMx and LMFP are now in commercial production and successful testing and deployment of these chemistries in vehicles could pave the way for the cell and cathode manufacturers eying up a similar path.   ",{"type":591,"attrs":95605,"content":95606},{"textAlign":49},[95607],{"text":95608,"type":596},"Question marks remain about which manganese product will be in demand for consumption in the new cathode variations, however. Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) is used in the production of LMO cathodes.  EMD and a range of other manganese products are being utilised in LMFP development and production in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":95610,"content":95611},{"textAlign":49},[95612],{"text":95613,"type":596},"The development of LMNO remains underway, however. With a manganese intensity of around ten times that of high nickel NCM 811 cathodes and three times that of LMFP it will be a key chemistry to watch for the future of manganese in batteries. ",{"type":615,"attrs":95615,"content":95616},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95617],{"text":95618,"type":596},"A growing project pipeline outside China",{"type":591,"attrs":95620,"content":95621},{"textAlign":49},[95622],{"text":95623,"type":596},"Additional production of high-purity manganese is due to be brought online this year by existing producers Vibranz Technologies (Mexico) and Manganese Metal Company (South Africa). ",{"type":591,"attrs":95625,"content":95626},{"textAlign":49},[95627],{"text":95628,"type":596},"However, with small tonnages in comparison to future forecast demand, new projects will be much needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":95630,"content":95631},{"textAlign":49},[95632],{"type":836,"attrs":95633},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95634,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95635},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/86fb169462/bm-manganese-supply.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95637,"content":95638},{"textAlign":49},[95639],{"text":95640,"type":596},"Benchmark is tracking a growing list of over 30 high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) projects around the world, of which 24 are located outside of China. However, the majority are at very early scoping stages and include mine and plant construction. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95642,"content":95643},{"textAlign":49},[95644],{"text":95645,"type":596},"As is true of the entire lithium ion battery supply chain, the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is influencing decision-making in the battery manganese sector. Meeting US manganese sulphate demand without material from China will be impossible unless new sources of supply come to fruition and many prospective new entrants are keen to supply the growing US market.",{"type":591,"attrs":95647,"content":95648},{"textAlign":49},[95649],{"text":95650,"type":596},"Only four countries with US free trade agreements – Australia, Canada, Mexico and Morocco – have the potential to supply manganese ore, metal or sulphate. Therefore forthcoming IRA clarifications regarding extraction/processing location and definition of free trade agreement will be key for the build out of the battery manganese supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95652,"content":95653},{"textAlign":49},[95654,95656,95661],{"text":95655,"type":596},"Benchmark consultants provide insight and clarity into manganese prices, the outlook for the industry and strategic advice to support market entry and strategy. ",{"text":95657,"type":596,"marks":95658},"Talk to our experts for more information",[95659],{"type":606,"attrs":95660},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Only a few weeks into 2023 and interest is already building in the battery manganese market. Offtake discussions were bubbling behind closed doors during 2022 before Element 25 and Euro Manganese publicly announced tie-ins with Stellantis and Verkor, respectively, in early January 2023. Until these recent announcements there were no public supply arrangements for battery-grade […]",[95664],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95665},{"job_title":557,"image":95666,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f4bb1337-f798-4a8d-b178-dec718316af1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[95669,95670],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95672,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":95673,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d7eadab5b3/bm-south-africa-manganese.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 20, 2023",{"id":95676,"uuid":95677,"name":95678,"slug":95679,"full_slug":95680,"content":95681},112471965916063,"bd2f2064-ec29-4940-a593-aa407f7b00ee","Shortage of top-tier battery supply expected this decade  ","shortage-of-top-tier-battery-supply-expected-this-decade","article/shortage-of-top-tier-battery-supply-expected-this-decade",{"_uid":95682,"date":95683,"tags":95684,"editor":95685,"content":95689,"excerpt":95774,"featured":51,"reporter":95775,"_editable":95779,"component":697,"seo_title":95678,"categories":95780,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":95783,"seo_description":95774,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":95785},"00a1e978-779d-4277-8692-65e046a3b4b9","2023-01-17 00:00",[],[95686],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95687},{"job_title":557,"image":95688,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95690},[95691,95696,95701,95706,95711,95716,95721,95726,95733,95738,95743,95748,95753,95758,95763,95768,95771],{"type":591,"attrs":95692,"content":95693},{"textAlign":49},[95694],{"text":95695,"type":596},"A shortage of the highest quality, top-tier battery supply is expected this decade and beyond, despite significant expansion plans by the biggest producers, as soaring demand for electric vehicles swamps manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":95697,"content":95698},{"textAlign":49},[95699],{"text":95700,"type":596},"This year, a 83 gigawatt hours (GWh) deficit is expected from tier one lithium ion battery producers, according to Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":95702,"content":95703},{"textAlign":49},[95704],{"text":95705,"type":596},"The deficit is set to continue to 2025 before the market enters a brief surplus in 2026 and 2027. However, the market is expected to reenter a deficit in 2028 which is forecast to increase for the test of the decade, exceeding 400 GWh in 2030 and 1.1 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2033.",{"type":591,"attrs":95707,"content":95708},{"textAlign":49},[95709],{"text":95710,"type":596},"Benchmark defines tier one battery gigafactories as those with more than 10 GWh of annual production capacity and that are qualified to supply more than one multinational electric vehicle (EV) producer outside of China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95712,"content":95713},{"textAlign":49},[95714],{"text":95715,"type":596},"The category includes manufacturers such as CATL, Panasonic, Samsung and LG Chem. These producers follow a more stringent qualification process for sourcing raw materials, resulting in higher quality and specification requirements, large sample sizes, and longer qualification times.",{"type":591,"attrs":95717,"content":95718},{"textAlign":49},[95719],{"text":95720,"type":596},"In contrast, a surplus from tier two and three producers is expected by the end over the same time period. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95722,"content":95723},{"textAlign":49},[95724],{"text":95725,"type":596},"“This deficit demonstrates market reliance on today’s top-tier cell manufacturers as they expand production in coming years,” said Aran Waid, senior analyst at Benchmark. “There is a requirement for further expansion from these manufacturers, as well as a need for more suppliers to qualify for tier one status to meet demand after 2027.”",{"type":591,"attrs":95727,"content":95728},{"textAlign":49},[95729],{"type":836,"attrs":95730},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95731,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95732},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a271fe692b/bm-tier-1-cell-shortage.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95734,"content":95735},{"textAlign":49},[95736],{"text":95737,"type":596},"The expected battery shortfall is a reflection of an expected, continual increase in demand for EVs, particularly in Europe and North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":95739,"content":95740},{"textAlign":49},[95741],{"text":95742,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that battery demand in Europe and North America will more than triple between 2022 and 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":95744,"content":95745},{"textAlign":49},[95746],{"text":95747,"type":596},"China is the biggest EV market, but a lot of European countries have the highest EV penetration rates, added Waid. Benchmark also expects the Inflation Reduction Act to boost EV demand in the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95749,"content":95750},{"textAlign":49},[95751],{"text":95752,"type":596},"The expanding deficit comes despite producers boosting investment in the final quarter of 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95754,"content":95755},{"textAlign":49},[95756],{"text":95757,"type":596},"Sunwoda confirmed plans for two cell facilities in China. It aims to produce 30 GWh in Yichang, Hefei, and 50 GWh in Yiwu, Zhejiang, with a combined investment plan of RMB 33.3bn ($4.7bn). CATL announced an RMB 14bn ($1.9bn) investment in a facility in Luoyang, Henan with a capacity of 26 GWh, Envision said it plans to develop a 30 GWh cell project in Cangzhou, Hebei.",{"type":591,"attrs":95759,"content":95760},{"textAlign":49},[95761],{"text":95762,"type":596},"In the US, Envision confirmed plans for a 30 GWh cell facility in South Carolina.",{"type":591,"attrs":95764,"content":95765},{"textAlign":49},[95766],{"text":95767,"type":596},"“We expect producers to take several years to hit full production capacity when they first come online,” said Waid. “Initially, there will be lower utilisation rates. Once they qualify one production line, they might be able to do the whole process faster next time by finding efficiencies in the manufacturing process.”",{"type":591,"attrs":95769,"content":95770},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":95772,"content":95773},{"textAlign":49},[],"A shortage of the highest quality, top-tier battery supply is expected this decade and beyond, despite significant expansion plans by the biggest producers, as soaring demand for electric vehicles swamps manufacturers. This year, a 83 gigawatt hours (GWh) deficit is expected from tier one lithium ion battery producers, according to Benchmark forecasts. The deficit is […]",[95776],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95777},{"job_title":557,"image":95778,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"00a1e978-779d-4277-8692-65e046a3b4b9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[95781,95782],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":51665,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":95784,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 17, 2023",{"id":95787,"uuid":95788,"name":95789,"slug":95790,"full_slug":95791,"content":95792},112471975435171,"11bb901f-d30c-4f24-88fd-5bf16443da61","What’s in store for cobalt and nickel in 2023?","whats-in-store-for-cobalt-and-nickel-in-2023","article/whats-in-store-for-cobalt-and-nickel-in-2023",{"_uid":95793,"date":95794,"tags":95795,"editor":95796,"content":95800,"excerpt":95911,"featured":51,"reporter":95912,"_editable":95916,"component":697,"seo_title":95789,"categories":95917,"visibility":707,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":95921,"seo_description":95911,"author_full_name":95924,"author_job_title":95925,"formattedDate":95926},"1e2401df-eb8c-4913-b3b5-9168e95c0cc4","2023-01-16 00:00",[],[95797],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95798},{"job_title":557,"image":95799,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95801},[95802,95815,95820,95825,95830,95835,95840,95845,95850,95857,95862,95867,95874,95881,95886,95891,95896,95901,95906],{"type":591,"attrs":95803,"content":95804},{"textAlign":49},[95805,95807,95813],{"text":95806,"type":596},"A cloud of pessimism hangs over the cobalt market entering the new year, following a ",{"text":95808,"type":596,"marks":95809},"challenging end ",[95810],{"type":606,"attrs":95811},{"href":95812,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-down-despite-bullish-start-to-the-year-2022-in-review",{"text":95814,"type":596},"to 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95816,"content":95817},{"textAlign":49},[95818],{"text":95819,"type":596},"The second half of last year marked a dramatic reversal in the fortunes for a battery metal that had previously appeared to be moving from strength to strength. A lockdown-induced downturn in battery demand in China in conjunction with supply-side additions outpacing previous projections, culminated in the market flipping into surplus and prices collapsing correspondingly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95821,"content":95822},{"textAlign":49},[95823],{"text":95824,"type":596},"With this surplus forecast to be structural, sustaining late into the decade, it would be reasonable to conclude that there is little to be positive about from a cobalt perspective.",{"type":591,"attrs":95826,"content":95827},{"textAlign":49},[95828],{"text":95829,"type":596},"As ever with cobalt, however, the reality of the market is far more nuanced than any headline number would suggest. This year is set to be a landmark year in US and European Union lawmakers’ efforts to counteract Chinese hegemony over critical mineral supply chains, with legislation steadily altering the foundations of the cobalt industry, ushering in an era of alternative trade flows and investment beyond the DRC/China axis. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95831,"content":95832},{"textAlign":49},[95833],{"text":95834,"type":596},"The requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are set to be supportive for cobalt prices in 2023, as western automakers and cell makers alike scramble to secure cobalt from a limited pool of qualifying supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":95836,"content":95837},{"textAlign":49},[95838],{"text":95839,"type":596},"Moreover, an ongoing legal dispute between the DRC government and China Molybdenum over the latter’s royalty payments from Tenke Fungurume adds further uncertainty. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95841,"content":95842},{"textAlign":49},[95843],{"text":95844,"type":596},"While a ban on the mine’s exports since July has yet to have a material impact on the market, a forced stoppage to production at the world’s second largest mine remains a real prospect as negotiations appear to have reached stalemate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95846,"content":95847},{"textAlign":49},[95848],{"text":95849,"type":596},"As uncertainty lingers, any such development could dramatically alter cobalt’s course over the coming 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":95851,"content":95852},{"textAlign":49},[95853],{"type":836,"attrs":95854},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95855,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95856},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/910b805a97/bm-cobalt-graphic.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":95858,"content":95859},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95860],{"text":95861,"type":596},"What to expect for nickel? ",{"type":591,"attrs":95863,"content":95864},{"textAlign":49},[95865],{"text":95866,"type":596},"Last year will be remembered as perhaps the most dramatic and turbulent period of nickel’s history as a commodity. Volatility and uncertainty reigned in a market that had been deemed the most mature and stable of the battery metals, as prices jumped by 250% in a little over a day on the London Metal Exchange. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95868,"content":95869},{"textAlign":49},[95870,95872],{"text":95871,"type":596},"Beyond the theatre of London, however, 2022 was a supply-side story, marking a critical juncture in Indonesia’s emergence at the heart of the lithium-ion supply chain. Several new projects entered operations and investment in new nickel supply surged. The Benchmark Nickel Forecast",{"text":95873,"type":596},"tracked 15 new battery focused nickel plants in the region in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":95875,"content":95876},{"textAlign":49},[95877],{"type":836,"attrs":95878},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":95879,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":95880},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f3ed0a633f/bm-nickel-graphic.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":95882,"content":95883},{"textAlign":49},[95884],{"text":95885,"type":596},"As we bid farewell to a defining year for the industry, the long shadow of last March’s dramatic events on the LME continues to hang over the industry and dominate headlines. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95887,"content":95888},{"textAlign":49},[95889],{"text":95890,"type":596},"There is a ubiquitous sense that LME nickel prices have become entirely disconnected from underlying market fundamentals, a situation that will only be compounded as the volume of non-exchange tradable nickel continues to grow. The industry is pushing for alternative price benchmarks to be utilised – although there remains little agreement on the best way to proceed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95892,"content":95893},{"textAlign":49},[95894],{"text":95895,"type":596},"Chinese buyers have reportedly pressed for China-based reference prices, while those in the west remain extremely reluctant to utilise such benchmarks in their contracts. What is clear however is that evolution of pricing dynamics will be a critical and developing story over the coming 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":95897,"content":95898},{"textAlign":49},[95899],{"text":95900,"type":596},"A second key trend that we anticipate in 2023 is a surge in ex-China investment within Indonesia’s mining sector, as western players seek to leverage the region’s vast nickel resources. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95902,"content":95903},{"textAlign":49},[95904],{"text":95905,"type":596},"Volkswagen became the first western automaker to commit to a project in the region in early 2022, though it was believed at the time that nickel from this project would be destined for the Chinese market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95907,"content":95908},{"textAlign":49},[95909],{"text":95910,"type":596},"There is now growing confidence that Indonesian nickel will qualify for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act, if it is processed in the US or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) economy, which if proven correct will most likely spark a stream of ex-China investments in the region.","A cloud of pessimism hangs over the cobalt market entering the new year, following a challenging end to 2022. The second half of last year marked a dramatic reversal in the fortunes for a battery metal that had previously appeared to be moving from strength to strength. A lockdown-induced downturn in battery demand in China […]",[95913],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95914},{"job_title":557,"image":95915,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1e2401df-eb8c-4913-b3b5-9168e95c0cc4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[95918,95919,95920],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95922,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":95923,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c9d862bd7/bm-nickel-smelter-indonesia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Gregory Miller ","Senior Analyst","Jan 16, 2023",{"id":95928,"uuid":95929,"name":95930,"slug":95931,"full_slug":95932,"content":95933},112471999568808,"3251770e-db61-4ffa-97fb-854de0a203c3","Lithium majors Tianqi and SQM make swoop for Australian juniors","lithium-majors-tianqi-and-sqm-make-swoop-for-australian-juniors","article/lithium-majors-tianqi-and-sqm-make-swoop-for-australian-juniors",{"_uid":95934,"date":95935,"tags":95936,"editor":95937,"content":95941,"excerpt":96079,"featured":51,"reporter":96080,"_editable":96084,"component":697,"seo_title":95930,"categories":96085,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":96088,"seo_description":96079,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":96091},"981739bd-cab3-436e-83a0-e38edbfe9f14","2023-01-13 00:00",[],[95938],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":95939},{"job_title":557,"image":95940,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":95942},[95943,95955,95960,95965,95970,95975,95980,95990,95995,96000,96005,96010,96015,96020,96025,96030,96035,96040,96045,96052,96057,96062,96067,96072],{"type":591,"attrs":95944,"content":95945},{"textAlign":49},[95946,95948,95953],{"text":95947,"type":596},"Two of the world’s largest lithium producers, China’s Tianqi Lithium and Chile’s SQM, moved to secure future feedstock supply in ",{"text":95949,"type":596,"marks":95950},"Western Australia",[95951],{"type":606,"attrs":95952},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95954,"type":596}," this week, with over $100 million worth of investments in two lithium explorers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95956,"content":95957},{"textAlign":49},[95958],{"text":95959,"type":596},"Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, which is owned by Tianqi and Australian miner IGO, made a A$136 million ($94 million) offer for all of Essential Metals, which owns the Pioneer Dome lithium project. SQM also offered to invest up to A$20 million ($14 million) in Azure Minerals in return for a 20% stake in the company, which owns the Andover project. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95961,"content":95962},{"textAlign":49},[95963],{"text":95964,"type":596},"The investments highlight the need for the two lithium majors to secure future supply, which could feed their investments in lithium hydroxide refineries in Australia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95966,"content":95967},{"textAlign":49},[95968],{"text":95969,"type":596},"Tianqi’s Kwinana refinery outside Perth is set to ramp up production of lithium hydroxide this year, while SQM’s refinery, being developed in joint venture with Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers in a similar location is set to start in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95971,"content":95972},{"textAlign":49},[95973],{"text":95974,"type":596},"Spodumene prices have risen by 150% over the past year to $6,000 a tonne (FOB Australia), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. ",{"type":615,"attrs":95976,"content":95977},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[95978],{"text":95979,"type":596},"Australia’s lithium dominance",{"type":591,"attrs":95981,"content":95982},{"textAlign":49},[95983,95988],{"text":95984,"type":596,"marks":95985},"Australia is set to remain the world’s largest lithium producer",[95986],{"type":606,"attrs":95987},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":95989,"type":596}," this decade, accounting for around 28% of global lithium supply by 2032, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, due to its deposits of lithium-containing spodumene. ",{"type":591,"attrs":95991,"content":95992},{"textAlign":49},[95993],{"text":95994,"type":596},"There are over 30 exploration projects in the country, mostly in Western Australia and Northern Territory.",{"type":591,"attrs":95996,"content":95997},{"textAlign":49},[95998],{"text":95999,"type":596},"The Tianqi JV already owns a 51% stake in Australia’s largest lithium mine, the Greenbushes mine, while SQM owns a stake in the Mt Holland lithium mine along with Wesfarmers. The Mt Holland lithium mine is set to start production this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96001,"content":96002},{"textAlign":49},[96003],{"text":96004,"type":596},"Currently almost all of Australia’s spodumene is sent to China to be processed, but the start of refineries to produce lithium hydroxide in the country could mean more of this material is kept within Australian borders.",{"type":591,"attrs":96006,"content":96007},{"textAlign":49},[96008],{"text":96009,"type":596}," In addition, Australia has a free trade agreement with the US, making the material eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act and as such may see more feedstock shipped to other nations. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96011,"content":96012},{"textAlign":49},[96013],{"text":96014,"type":596},"Australia is forecast to produce 419,000 tonnes LCE of spodumene concentrate in 2023, up from 302,000 LCE in 2022, as the Mt Holland mine starts production, amongst others. Production is set to grow by 300,000 tonnes LCE by 2026 due to expansions and new projects. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96016,"content":96017},{"textAlign":49},[96018],{"text":96019,"type":596},"The Greenbushes mine will produce 44% of this year’s forecast production, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, highlighting the mine’s dominant share of Australia’s production. ",{"type":615,"attrs":96021,"content":96022},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96023],{"text":96024,"type":596},"Tianqi’s move on Pioneer Dome",{"type":591,"attrs":96026,"content":96027},{"textAlign":49},[96028],{"text":96029,"type":596},"Tianqi and IGO’s offer for Essential Metals was at a 45% premium to the company’s share price before the deal was announced.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":96031,"content":96032},{"textAlign":49},[96033],{"text":96034,"type":596},"Tianqi said the deal is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory approval. Tianqi said it was uncertain whether it needed to be submitted to Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for approval and it could not “rule out” intervention by the board.    ",{"type":591,"attrs":96036,"content":96037},{"textAlign":49},[96038],{"text":96039,"type":596},"In early 2020 Australia rejected an investment from China’s Yibin Tianyi in AVZ Minerals, which has a lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96041,"content":96042},{"textAlign":49},[96043],{"text":96044,"type":596},"The project covers 450 square metres and has total lithium resources of 11.2 million tonnes at 1.16% lithium oxide, with a mining life of 6.19 years. It is around 130 kilometers south of Kalgoorlie and 275 kilometers north of the Port of Esperance.",{"type":615,"attrs":96046,"content":96047},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96048,96050],{"text":96049,"type":596},"SQM expands Australia presenc",{"text":96051,"type":596},"e",{"type":591,"attrs":96053,"content":96054},{"textAlign":49},[96055],{"text":96056,"type":596},"Unlike Tianqi’s cash offer, SQM chose to make only an initial investment A$4.2 million in Azure Minerals. It will invest a further A$15.8 million for a 19.99% stake in the ASX-listed company, subject to certain conditions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96058,"content":96059},{"textAlign":49},[96060],{"text":96061,"type":596},"These include an offtake agreement for 25% of all lithium produced by Azure on “commercially competitive” terms. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96063,"content":96064},{"textAlign":49},[96065],{"text":96066,"type":596},"The company said that the investment will allow Azure to “to draw upon SQM’s technical expertise in pegmatite-hosted lithium exploration, project development, production and marketing.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":96068,"content":96069},{"textAlign":49},[96070],{"text":96071,"type":596},"Azure said last year that exploration had identified “widespread lithium-bearing pegmatites across the Andover project,” in the West Pilbara region.",{"type":591,"attrs":96073,"content":96074},{"textAlign":49},[96075],{"text":96076,"type":596,"marks":96077},"Edit (17/01/23): Corrected SQM’s initial investment to A$4.2 million. ",[96078],{"type":1006},"Two of the world’s largest lithium producers, China’s Tianqi Lithium and Chile’s SQM, moved to secure future feedstock supply in Western Australia this week, with over $100 million worth of investments in two lithium explorers. Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, which is owned by Tianqi and Australian miner IGO, made a A$136 million ($94 million) offer […]",[96081],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96082},{"job_title":557,"image":96083,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"981739bd-cab3-436e-83a0-e38edbfe9f14\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96086,96087],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":96089,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96090,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a93bf1c228/bm-australian-lithium-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 13, 2023",{"id":96093,"uuid":96094,"name":96095,"slug":96096,"full_slug":96097,"content":96098},112471994727335,"b2d73e1f-36fa-4621-9c76-b4b8e9e1c724","What to expect for the lithium ion battery market in 2023","what-to-expect-for-the-lithium-ion-battey-market-in-2023","article/what-to-expect-for-the-lithium-ion-battey-market-in-2023",{"_uid":96099,"date":95935,"tags":96100,"editor":96101,"content":96105,"excerpt":96255,"featured":51,"reporter":96256,"_editable":96260,"component":697,"seo_title":96095,"categories":96261,"visibility":707,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":96264,"seo_description":96255,"author_full_name":96267,"author_job_title":95925,"formattedDate":96091},"f4fc40fd-7d4a-4382-8911-99e93a3334f1",[],[96102],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96103},{"job_title":557,"image":96104,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96106},[96107,96119,96124,96136,96143,96148,96153,96158,96163,96168,96181,96186,96198,96205,96210,96223,96235,96240,96245,96250],{"type":591,"attrs":96108,"content":96109},{"textAlign":49},[96110,96112,96117],{"text":96111,"type":596},"Last year, the US passed the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has already boosted ",{"text":96113,"type":596,"marks":96114},"battery investments",[96115],{"type":606,"attrs":96116},{"href":89792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96118,"type":596}," in the North American market as manufacturers and developers looked to access the Investment Tax Credits (ITC) and Production Tax Credits (PTC) on offer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96120,"content":96121},{"textAlign":49},[96122],{"text":96123,"type":596},"In 2022, there were 12 new gigafactories announced in the US, adding 343 gigawatt hours of capacity to the US pipeline. LG Energy Solutions and Stellantis also shared plans for Canada’s first gigafactory with a nameplate capacity of 45 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96125,"content":96126},{"textAlign":49},[96127,96129,96134],{"text":96128,"type":596},"This year, we expect more announcements in the US due ",{"text":96130,"type":596,"marks":96131},"to the IRA",[96132],{"type":606,"attrs":96133},{"href":70993,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96135,"type":596},", and also in Canada, which offers availability of clean energy to drive lower-emission operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":96137,"content":96138},{"textAlign":49},[96139],{"type":836,"attrs":96140},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96141,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96142},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a43e86bf9f/bm-image-20-129396379fd0.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":96144,"content":96145},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96146],{"text":96147,"type":596},"China’s booming EV market",{"type":591,"attrs":96149,"content":96150},{"textAlign":49},[96151],{"text":96152,"type":596},"In 2022, we’ve seen rapid growth in China’s EV market, with year-on-year growth reaching almost 80%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96154,"content":96155},{"textAlign":49},[96156],{"text":96157,"type":596},"While electric vehicle subsidies will end in 2023 we anticipate the overall impact to be fairly muted. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96159,"content":96160},{"textAlign":49},[96161],{"text":96162,"type":596},"The market responded better than predicted in 2022, despite lockdowns and price increases due to rising raw materials costs, which is likely to continue this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96164,"content":96165},{"textAlign":49},[96166],{"text":96167,"type":596},"Subsidies ending and potential increases in lithium prices are expected to slow the rate of growth but we still forecast a 50% growth in China’s EV market in 2023. The extension to tax exemption for EVs will also help stimulate growth in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":96169,"content":96170},{"textAlign":49},[96171,96173,96179],{"text":96172,"type":596},"In 2023, we expect China’s OEMs to accelerate overseas plans, as the likes of BYD, Nio, Xpeng and Great Wall Motors partner with local dealers or open their own showrooms to facilitate exported EVs for sale in the European and Asian markets. We also predict ",{"text":96174,"type":596,"marks":96175},"further global expansion",[96176],{"type":606,"attrs":96177},{"href":96178,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-makers-bet-on-europes-ev-market",{"text":96180,"type":596}," of Chinese battery manufacturers in these regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":96182,"content":96183},{"textAlign":49},[96184],{"text":96185,"type":596},"Due to the growth of the Chinese EV market and OEMs entering overseas markets, we estimate the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) share of battery demand to increase globally from 34% in 2022 to 40% in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96187,"content":96188},{"textAlign":49},[96189,96191,96196],{"text":96190,"type":596},"The growth of the Energy Stationary Storage (ESS) market will also contribute to this increase, ",{"text":96192,"type":596,"marks":96193},"with LFP being the chosen chemistry",[96194],{"type":606,"attrs":96195},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96197,"type":596}," for this market.",{"type":591,"attrs":96199,"content":96200},{"textAlign":49},[96201],{"type":836,"attrs":96202},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96203,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96204},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ba1ed56124/bm-image-19-12939644737b.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":96206,"content":96207},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96208],{"text":96209,"type":596},"Energy storage market to acclerate",{"type":591,"attrs":96211,"content":96212},{"textAlign":49},[96213,96215,96221],{"text":96214,"type":596},"Within the ",{"text":96216,"type":596,"marks":96217},"ESS space",[96218],{"type":606,"attrs":96219},{"href":96220,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/the-demand-side-sizing-up-the-ev-and-bess-market",{"text":96222,"type":596},", we foresee growth in grid level applications this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96224,"content":96225},{"textAlign":49},[96226,96228,96234],{"text":96227,"type":596},"China is likely to maintain its position as the largest ESS market, with local policies requiring ESS paired with renewable projects, while the IRA will push ",{"text":96229,"type":596,"marks":96230},"investment in North America",[96231],{"type":606,"attrs":96232},{"href":96233,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-gotion-targets-us-energy-storage-market-as-battery-shortages-hinder-deployments",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":96236,"content":96237},{"textAlign":49},[96238],{"text":96239,"type":596},"The extension of ITCs for standalone storage, having previously been eligible for paired storage only, will open opportunities for developers to maximise profits and consider locations that best support the grid. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96241,"content":96242},{"textAlign":49},[96243],{"text":96244,"type":596},"Europe lags behind these regions but there will be opportunities for greater ESS deployment at grid level as the European Union looks to move away from its reliance on gas from Russia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96246,"content":96247},{"textAlign":49},[96248],{"text":96249,"type":596},"The RePower EU directive increases its 2030 target for renewables from 40% to 45% and has voted on amendments to expand accelerated permitting for renewable projects to include standalone energy storage. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96251,"content":96252},{"textAlign":49},[96253],{"text":96254,"type":596},"This is expected to boost the growth of European ESS demand, as ESS will become increasingly important to integrate and regulate a more diversified and variable energy mix.","Last year, the US passed the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has already boosted battery investments in the North American market as manufacturers and developers looked to access the Investment Tax Credits (ITC) and Production Tax Credits (PTC) on offer. In 2022, there were 12 new gigafactories announced in the US, adding 343 gigawatt […]",[96257],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96258},{"job_title":557,"image":96259,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f4fc40fd-7d4a-4382-8911-99e93a3334f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96262,96263],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":96265,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96266,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/46270288e5/bm-china-ev-shanghai.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aran Waid",{"id":96269,"uuid":96270,"name":96271,"slug":96272,"full_slug":96273,"content":96274},112472009108395,"c4f00e92-c10c-4ef3-834c-c88887ee61ae","OPINION: to be a battery leader the UK needs to act quickly","opinion-to-be-a-battery-leader-the-uk-needs-to-act-quickly","article/opinion-to-be-a-battery-leader-the-uk-needs-to-act-quickly",{"_uid":96275,"date":96276,"tags":96277,"editor":96280,"content":96284,"excerpt":96407,"featured":51,"reporter":96408,"_editable":96412,"component":697,"seo_title":96271,"categories":96413,"visibility":707,"author_company":96417,"featured_image":96418,"seo_description":96407,"author_full_name":96420,"author_job_title":96421,"formattedDate":96422},"bdd76646-710c-4bba-b071-263f96ef5713","2023-01-11 00:00",[96278,96279],{"slug":26312,"name":26313},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[96281],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96282},{"job_title":557,"image":96283,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96285},[96286,96291,96296,96301,96306,96311,96316,96321,96326,96331,96336,96349,96354,96359,96364,96377,96382,96387,96392,96397,96402],{"type":591,"attrs":96287,"content":96288},{"textAlign":49},[96289],{"text":96290,"type":596},"The UK and the European Union have set targets for the abolition of internal combustion engines in new cars sold from 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":96292,"content":96293},{"textAlign":49},[96294],{"text":96295,"type":596},"In November 2020, the UK government confirmed that the government was bringing the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars forward to 2030, though hybrids will be unaffected until 2035, provided they’re capable of achieving “significant” zero-emissions distances.",{"type":591,"attrs":96297,"content":96298},{"textAlign":49},[96299],{"text":96300,"type":596},"What do we know about car making in the UK?",{"type":591,"attrs":96302,"content":96303},{"textAlign":49},[96304],{"text":96305,"type":596},"Using data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) we can see that until 2019 and the impact of Covid-19 and chip shortages the UK made on average 1.5m cars and 80,000 light commercial vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":96307,"content":96308},{"textAlign":49},[96309],{"text":96310,"type":596},"If you assume that “significant” zero-emissions distance is 50 miles we know that a ballpark figure for EV performance is 4 miles per kWh, resulting in a 12.5 kWh battery. Allowing for winter a figure of 15kWh will be used.",{"type":591,"attrs":96312,"content":96313},{"textAlign":49},[96314],{"text":96315,"type":596},"If all 1.5m cars are PHEV (plug-in hybrid) with a 15kWh battery and supplied from within the UK, then the battery supply chain requirement will be – 22.5GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":96317,"content":96318},{"textAlign":49},[96319],{"text":96320,"type":596},"The current capacity in the UK is just under 2GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":96322,"content":96323},{"textAlign":49},[96324],{"text":96325,"type":596},"If all vehicles go to full BEV with a 50kWh battery and supplied from within the UK, then the battery supply chain requirement will be – 75GWh. The trend is to use larger batteries at 60/70kWh requiring 90GWh/105GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":96327,"content":96328},{"textAlign":49},[96329],{"text":96330,"type":596},"What do we actually know is being installed in the way of capacity?",{"type":615,"attrs":96332,"content":96333},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96334],{"text":96335,"type":596},"UK battery capacity ",{"type":591,"attrs":96337,"content":96338},{"textAlign":49},[96339,96341,96347],{"text":96340,"type":596},"Currently ",{"text":96342,"type":596,"marks":96343},"Envision AESC",[96344],{"type":606,"attrs":96345},{"href":96346,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nissan-envision-aesc-to-spearhead-uk-lithium-ion-economy-with-25-gwh-battery-gigafactory",{"text":96348,"type":596}," is installing 12 GWh in Sunderland and Britishvolt has announced the intention to install 30GWh in three stages. It is also an assumption that Nissan will move all 500,000 capacity to BEV and Envision AESC will supply that capacity (i.e. 60GWh x 500,000 = 30GWh.)",{"type":591,"attrs":96350,"content":96351},{"textAlign":49},[96352],{"text":96353,"type":596},"This leaves about one million vehicles with no battery supply from the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":96355,"content":96356},{"textAlign":49},[96357],{"text":96358,"type":596},"This does not include light commercial vehicles, large commercial vehicles, buses, trains and energy storage. The National Grid says the UK could need 13GW of energy storage by 2030 to enable net zero future.",{"type":591,"attrs":96360,"content":96361},{"textAlign":49},[96362],{"text":96363,"type":596},"It takes three to four years from announcement to a battery plant being in full volume with trained staff.",{"type":591,"attrs":96365,"content":96366},{"textAlign":49},[96367,96369,96375],{"text":96368,"type":596},"If the UK is to be self-sufficient in batteries for cars alone in 2030 we need 90GWh of confirmed installation by 2027 at the latest and currently we have 14 GWh with a possible total of 44 GWh if ",{"text":96370,"type":596,"marks":96371},"Britishvolt goes ahead",[96372],{"type":606,"attrs":96373},{"href":96374,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/britishvolt-secures-government-funding-for-uk-gigafactory",{"text":96376,"type":596},". Plus, any further announcements by Nissan/AESC.",{"type":591,"attrs":96378,"content":96379},{"textAlign":49},[96380],{"text":96381,"type":596},"What else needs to happen? Some 35,000 people will have to be trained. A supply chain has to be created. Manufacturing will have to be low carbon and low cost enough to ensure business viability.",{"type":615,"attrs":96383,"content":96384},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96385],{"text":96386,"type":596},"UK needs to act fast",{"type":591,"attrs":96388,"content":96389},{"textAlign":49},[96390],{"text":96391,"type":596},"To supply the whole UK car industry from the UK we will need between 22.5GWh and 90GWh with currently 2GWh installed and a 12GWh plant physically under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":96393,"content":96394},{"textAlign":49},[96395],{"text":96396,"type":596},"In terms of value 1 kWh = circa £100 so 1 GWh = £100m product value plus salaries and supply chain values.",{"type":591,"attrs":96398,"content":96399},{"textAlign":49},[96400],{"text":96401,"type":596},"If there is no replacement for Britishvolt found, the UK could be left importing around 40 GWh of batteries by the end of the decade, at a cost of £4 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":96403,"content":96404},{"textAlign":49},[96405],{"text":96406,"type":596},"The UK needs to decide if it wants to be a battery assembler or a battery leader, and it needs to do it quickly. The prize is clear but we need a clear implementation plan to achieve it.","The UK and the European Union have set targets for the abolition of internal combustion engines in new cars sold from 2035. In November 2020, the UK government confirmed that the government was bringing the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars forward to 2030, though hybrids will be unaffected until 2035, provided […]",[96409],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96410},{"job_title":557,"image":96411,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bdd76646-710c-4bba-b071-263f96ef5713\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96414,96415,96416],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},"School of Engineering, Newcastle University",{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":1048,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96419,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Colin Herron","Professor","Jan 11, 2023",{"id":96424,"uuid":96425,"name":96426,"slug":96427,"full_slug":96428,"content":96429},112472004299690,"f685ff05-957d-44a3-bdec-614f9ce4e565","What to expect for graphite in 2023?","what-to-expect-for-graphite-in-2023","article/what-to-expect-for-graphite-in-2023",{"_uid":96430,"date":96276,"tags":96431,"editor":96432,"content":96436,"excerpt":96553,"featured":51,"reporter":96554,"_editable":96558,"component":697,"seo_title":96426,"categories":96559,"visibility":1043,"author_company":6576,"featured_image":96562,"seo_description":96553,"author_full_name":96565,"author_job_title":95925,"formattedDate":96422},"b20f486c-3827-46d9-b5ee-ed2b0ad81cd5",[],[96433],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96434},{"job_title":557,"image":96435,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96437},[96438,96443,96448,96453,96458,96463,96468,96473,96478,96485,96490,96495,96500,96505,96510,96517,96522,96527,96532,96537,96542],{"type":591,"attrs":96439,"content":96440},{"textAlign":49},[96441],{"text":96442,"type":596},"Last year the battery anode market experienced significant growth, with supply of natural graphite struggling to keep pace.",{"type":591,"attrs":96444,"content":96445},{"textAlign":49},[96446],{"text":96447,"type":596},"This supply/demand imbalance during 2022 caused prices for -100 mesh flake graphite to rise by 25%, a trend which Benchmark anticipates to continue into 2023 on the back of incremental supply-side expansions in comparison to surging demand from the anode sector. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96449,"content":96450},{"textAlign":49},[96451],{"text":96452,"type":596},"Demand for anodes grew by 46% in 2022, compared to a 14% growth in supply for flake graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":96454,"content":96455},{"textAlign":49},[96456],{"text":96457,"type":596},"In 2022, the lithium-ion battery anode market became the biggest end-market for natural flake graphite, overtaking the traditional industrial applications including refractory and foundry industries, which will see graphite market fundamentals and pricing increasingly be controlled and guided by the battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":96459,"content":96460},{"textAlign":49},[96461],{"text":96462,"type":596},"Rising prices on strong anode demand are expected to incentivise new supply in 2023, where four new mines are anticipated to join the flake graphite market. Alongside expansions at current mines in both China and Africa, supply is set to grow by around 15%.",{"type":591,"attrs":96464,"content":96465},{"textAlign":49},[96466],{"text":96467,"type":596},"Given sharply rising demand in the face of restricted supply, the graphite market is on track to undergo a deficit in its -100 mesh market, the preferred mesh size for anode manufacturing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96469,"content":96470},{"textAlign":49},[96471],{"text":96472,"type":596},"That deficit may see developments in the types of anode feedstock. This might include milling of larger mesh sizes to suit the battery market or the use of different mesh sizes to stymie a supply deficit.  Sustaining a raw material shortage in the natural graphite anode value chain risks curtailing natural graphite anode market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":96474,"content":96475},{"textAlign":49},[96476],{"text":96477,"type":596},"Finally, ESG is set to play more of a role within the industry in 2023. More stringent ESG standards globally began to impact the anode supply chain in 2022, and the supply chain is expected to receive even more scrutiny in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96479,"content":96480},{"textAlign":49},[96481],{"type":836,"attrs":96482},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96483,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96484},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7126f9c5a8/bm-image-17.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":96486,"content":96487},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96488],{"text":96489,"type":596},"What to expect for synthetic graphite? ",{"type":591,"attrs":96491,"content":96492},{"textAlign":49},[96493],{"text":96494,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite project development took centre stage in China during 2022, with swathes of new anode aspirants deciding to join the synthetic side of an increasingly competitive domestic anode value chain. This was on the back of widespread availability of pre-calcined coke as synthetic graphite feedstock in comparison to dwindling natural graphite availability.",{"type":591,"attrs":96496,"content":96497},{"textAlign":49},[96498],{"text":96499,"type":596},"Looking forward to 2023, Benchmark anticipates a similar focus of near-term anode development within China, with Tier two and three producers and newcomers in China likely to favour synthetic graphite anode production given the more readily accessible anode feedstock. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96501,"content":96502},{"textAlign":49},[96503],{"text":96504,"type":596},"Notably, they may in turn have to cope with rising coke prices, where the six grades assessed by Benchmark rose by an average of nearly 16% during 2022, as a result of strong demand from both battery and traditional end-markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":96506,"content":96507},{"textAlign":49},[96508],{"text":96509,"type":596},"Prices for pre-calcined pet needle coke, a commonly used feedstock within the battery anode industry, rose by over 25% last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96511,"content":96512},{"textAlign":49},[96513],{"type":836,"attrs":96514},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96515,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96516},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/422bbd35af/bm-image-18.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":96518,"content":96519},{"textAlign":49},[96520],{"text":96521,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite anode supply grew by more than 30% during 2022, and is anticipated to even surpass that in 2023, given a supply deficit developing for natural graphite feedstock, pushing more producers to utilise synthetic graphite. There is also a preference from anode manufacturers to work with synthetic graphite in China, given plentiful feedstock availability, reliable quality, and a more consistent end-product.",{"type":591,"attrs":96523,"content":96524},{"textAlign":49},[96525],{"text":96526,"type":596},"Competition between battery manufacturers and anode producers for the highest quality coke feedstock increased during 2022, encouraging pre-calcined pet needle coke prices to rise sharply. This has led battery anode manufacturers to begin to search beyond the highest quality feedstock to use other low-sulphur pet and pitch cokes, and even consider the use of cheaper feedstocks with higher sulphur levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":96528,"content":96529},{"textAlign":49},[96530],{"text":96531,"type":596},"Looking forward, this trend is expected to continue into 2023. The steel industry’s shift towards electric arc furnaces is set to increase prices for high-quality coke feedstock and synthetic graphite, forcing anode producers to widen the pool of usable feedstock. That is set to expand feedstock availability for the synthetic graphite anode value chain, especially within China.",{"type":591,"attrs":96533,"content":96534},{"textAlign":49},[96535],{"text":96536,"type":596},"Outside of China, ever more stringent ESG standards will continue to encourage ex-China synthetic graphite anode aspirants to develop integrated operations powered by renewable energy in an effort to reduce their emissions and attempt to bring environmental externalities closer to natural graphite anode production. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96538,"content":96539},{"textAlign":49},[96540],{"text":96541,"type":596},"Increased demand for anode material will see new ex-China synthetic graphite anode production capacity built by these players during 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":96543,"content":96544},{"textAlign":49},[96545,96547,96552],{"text":96546,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Natural Graphite and Synthetic Graphite Forecast services provide in-depth market outlooks for supply, demand, prices and costs out to 2040 – ",{"text":96548,"type":596,"marks":96549},"speak to our team for more",[96550],{"type":606,"attrs":96551},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Last year the battery anode market experienced significant growth, with supply of natural graphite struggling to keep pace. This supply/demand imbalance during 2022 caused prices for -100 mesh flake graphite to rise by 25%, a trend which Benchmark anticipates to continue into 2023 on the back of incremental supply-side expansions in comparison to surging demand […]",[96555],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96556},{"job_title":557,"image":96557,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b20f486c-3827-46d9-b5ee-ed2b0ad81cd5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96560,96561],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":96563,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96564,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c526d70734/bm-nmg-matawine-mine-site-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"George Miller",{"id":96567,"uuid":96568,"name":96569,"slug":96570,"full_slug":96571,"content":96572},112472023616430,"a742c78b-3f25-4b49-b9b0-891a9519cd5e","What’s going on with lithium prices?","whats-going-on-with-lithium-prices","article/whats-going-on-with-lithium-prices",{"_uid":96573,"date":96574,"tags":96575,"editor":96577,"content":96581,"excerpt":96719,"featured":51,"reporter":96720,"_editable":96724,"component":697,"seo_title":96569,"categories":96725,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":96728,"seo_description":96719,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":96731},"86984d2d-f3a3-426a-954d-d005329f34db","2023-01-06 00:00",[96576],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[96578],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96579},{"job_title":557,"image":96580,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96582},[96583,96596,96608,96613,96618,96623,96629,96634,96645,96651,96656,96663,96670,96683,96690,96695,96708],{"type":591,"attrs":96584,"content":96585},{"textAlign":49},[96586,96588,96594],{"text":96587,"type":596},"Lithium prices have recently ",{"text":96589,"type":596,"marks":96590},"ticked down",[96591],{"type":606,"attrs":96592},{"href":96593,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-soften-for-first-time-in-seven-months-amid-demand-uncertainty",{"text":96595,"type":596}," in the Chinese spot market, ahead of the Chinese lunar new year this month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96597,"content":96598},{"textAlign":49},[96599,96601,96606],{"text":96600,"type":596},"This has led to fears about a market downturn and a significant change in the direction of lithium prices. ",{"text":96602,"type":596,"marks":96603},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices",[96604],{"type":606,"attrs":96605},{"href":87650,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96607,"type":596}," fell by 6% in December in Renminbi, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96609,"content":96610},{"textAlign":49},[96611],{"text":96612,"type":596},"Despite this change in direction, here are five reasons why the lithium market is likely to remain tightly balanced between supply and demand this year. ",{"type":615,"attrs":96614,"content":96615},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96616],{"text":96617,"type":596},"1. Contract prices will continue to move upwards. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96619,"content":96620},{"textAlign":49},[96621],{"text":96622,"type":596},"Prices for battery-grade lithium in China doubled in 2022 to RMB 536,000 ($78,135) a tonne. Older lithium supply contracts are still being renegotiated to reflect recent market price moves, meaning that recent high lithium prices may still not be reflected in the prices that cathode producers and battery makers are paying today. Some contracts still lag spot market prices by up to six months. As they are renegotiated, producers will try to remove previous floor and ceiling price conditions and increase the frequency of pricing breaks, leading contract prices to more quickly catch up to spot market prices.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":96624,"content":96625},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96626,96627],{"text":94669,"type":596},{"text":96628,"type":596},"Spodumene prices are still rising.",{"type":591,"attrs":96630,"content":96631},{"textAlign":49},[96632],{"text":96633,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene lithium feedstock are still increasing. Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals announced that its contracts for 2023 have been revised upwards to an average of $6,300 a tonne CIF. Contacts have reported to Benchmark that other contract renegotiations have been completed, shifting up prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96635,"content":96636},{"textAlign":49},[96637,96639,96643],{"text":96638,"type":596},"Prices for spodumene rose by 167% in 2022 and 8% in December, according to Benchmark, to $6,401 a tonne. Benchmark anticipates that the ongoing renegotiation of spodumene offtake contracts will see feedstock prices continue to rise through the first quarter. That will pressure margins at converters, who in turn may raise lithium chemical prices after the Chinese New Year. There is a lag between when lithium is mined and shipped from ",{"text":7853,"type":596,"marks":96640},[96641],{"type":606,"attrs":96642},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96644,"type":596}," to when it is turned into a battery-grade chemical. In addition, for automakers the impact of lithium prices is not felt until about six to nine months after lithium is first mined, or sometimes longer. ",{"type":615,"attrs":96646,"content":96647},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96648,96649],{"text":94701,"type":596},{"text":96650,"type":596},"New supply in 2023 will take time to come to the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":96652,"content":96653},{"textAlign":49},[96654],{"text":96655,"type":596},"This year, mined lithium supply is set to increase by 42% from last year, according to Benchmark, driven by expansions at existing mines in Australia and Chile as well as new projects coming into production. Yet lithium supply growth remains limited in the short term, with the market not expected to be balanced between supply and demand until 2025. New greenfield projects such as the Mt Holland mine in Australia, the Cauchari-Olaroz brine project in Argentina, Sigma Lithium’s project in Brazil, and North American Lithium in Canada, will all take time to come to full production. Converting these units to battery-grade lithium chemicals may take even longer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96657,"content":96658},{"textAlign":49},[96659],{"type":836,"attrs":96660},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96661,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96662},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ee8e50f15b/bm-lithium-2022-2023.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":96664,"content":96665},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96666,96668],{"text":96667,"type":596},"4.",{"text":96669,"type":596}," Chinese lithium will be high-cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":96671,"content":96672},{"textAlign":49},[96673,96675,96681],{"text":96674,"type":596},"Chinese companies announced investments of $5.4 billion in ",{"text":96676,"type":596,"marks":96677},"domestic lithium resources",[96678],{"type":606,"attrs":96679},{"href":96680,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/river-pollution-in-chinese-lithium-hub-could-threaten-domestic-production",{"text":96682,"type":596}," in the fourth quarter, most of it in Jiangxi province. Supply from domestic lepidolite mines is forecast to rise by 69% this year from 2022. But China’s domestic lepidolite reserves are very low-grade and higher-cost. In addition new projects globally face higher costs due to rising equipment and labour costs. As a result lithium prices are unlikely to go back to where they were in 2019 as long term incentive prices have moved higher. ",{"type":615,"attrs":96684,"content":96685},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96686,96688],{"text":96687,"type":596},"5. ",{"text":96689,"type":596},"Demand outlook remains robust.",{"type":591,"attrs":96691,"content":96692},{"textAlign":49},[96693],{"text":96694,"type":596},"China is currently grappling with the consequences of the sudden reversal of President Xi Jinping’s “Zero-Covid” policy, as the virus spreads around the country. A seasonal slow down in electric vehicle sales is expected as Chinese EV subsidies are also removed this month. Yet demand could rebound once the situation settles down. In addition, electric vehicle purchase tax credit incentives in the US in the Inflation Reduction Act could boost sales in the country. Benchmark forecasts that lithium demand will rise to over 900,000 tonnes LCE in 2023 from just over 600,000 tonnes in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":96696,"content":96697},{"textAlign":49},[96698,96700,96705,96707],{"text":96699,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast service provides a comprehensive view of lithium supply, demand, prices and costs out 2040 which is fully-updated every quarter. ",{"text":96701,"type":596,"marks":96702},"Speak to our team",[96703],{"type":606,"attrs":96704},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96706,"type":596}," for more information on the service",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":96709,"content":96710},{"textAlign":49},[96711,96713,96718],{"text":96712,"type":596},"And join us on Thursday 2 March for our webinar – Lithium: The Multi-Billion Dollar Question. Please register with your business email ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":96714},[96715],{"type":606,"attrs":96716},{"href":96717,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://www.benchmarkminerals.com/webinar-sign-up/?webinar=2023_Mar&ref=article",{"text":1280,"type":596},"Lithium prices have recently ticked down in the Chinese spot market, ahead of the Chinese lunar new year this month. This has led to fears about a market downturn and a significant change in the direction of lithium prices. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices fell by 6% in December in Renminbi, according to Benchmark. Despite this […]",[96721],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96722},{"job_title":557,"image":96723,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"86984d2d-f3a3-426a-954d-d005329f34db\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96726,96727],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":96729,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96730,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2cdc671404/bm-north-american-lithium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 06, 2023",{"id":96733,"uuid":96734,"name":96735,"slug":96736,"full_slug":96737,"content":96738},112472028789679,"4a1cde23-ce12-4040-9996-4350df8a6a8c","Can the EU meet its proposed battery metals recycling targets?","can-the-eu-meet-its-proposed-battery-metals-recycling-targets","article/can-the-eu-meet-its-proposed-battery-metals-recycling-targets",{"_uid":96739,"date":96740,"tags":96741,"editor":96745,"content":96749,"excerpt":96965,"featured":51,"reporter":96966,"_editable":96970,"component":697,"seo_title":96735,"categories":96971,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":96974,"seo_description":96965,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":96977},"c017ad4d-2f24-4fc7-b9c3-9edcfb65d391","2023-01-05 00:00",[96742,96743,96744],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},[96746],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96747},{"job_title":557,"image":96748,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96750},[96751,96756,96761,96779,96784,96789,96800,96805,96810,96815,96820,96825,96830,96835,96842,96847,96852,96857,96869,96874,96881,96886,96891,96896,96901,96906,96911,96916,96921,96926,96931,96950,96955,96960],{"type":591,"attrs":96752,"content":96753},{"textAlign":49},[96754],{"text":96755,"type":596},"Towards the end of 2022, the European Parliament and Council provisionally agreed on legislation to regulate the full lifecycle of a battery to improve circularity and sustainability.",{"type":591,"attrs":96757,"content":96758},{"textAlign":49},[96759],{"text":96760,"type":596},"Included in the regulations are recovery and collection targets, and mandatory minimum targets for how much of a new battery’s raw materials should come from recycled sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":96762,"content":96763},{"textAlign":49},[96764,96765,96770,96772,96777],{"text":65882,"type":596},{"text":96766,"type":596,"marks":96767},"Europe may struggle",[96768],{"type":606,"attrs":96769},{"href":91311,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96771,"type":596}," to produce sufficient recycled lithium or cobalt by the end of the decade to meet these targets, according to an analysis by Benchmark, without an increased build-out of recycling capacity and ",{"text":96773,"type":596,"marks":96774},"improvements in the technology",[96775],{"type":606,"attrs":96776},{"href":84417,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96778,"type":596}," to recover lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":96780,"content":96781},{"textAlign":49},[96782],{"text":96783,"type":596},"“I think it’s ambitious,” Sarah Colbourn, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “But it’s a necessary step to incentivise recyclers and investors into this space.”",{"type":615,"attrs":96785,"content":96786},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96787],{"text":96788,"type":596},"Meeting mandates",{"type":591,"attrs":96790,"content":96791},{"textAlign":49},[96792,96794,96799],{"text":96793,"type":596},"The regulations are part of the European Green Deal and were updated in December 2022 to make some of the targets more ambitious than ",{"text":96795,"type":596,"marks":96796},"previously proposed",[96797],{"type":606,"attrs":96798},{"href":59682,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":96801,"content":96802},{"textAlign":49},[96803],{"text":96804,"type":596},"The new mandated targets for recycled lithium, nickel, and cobalt contained in lithium ion batteries sold in the EU will start at 6% for lithium and nickel and 16% for cobalt in 2031, if the legislation is passed this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":96806,"content":96807},{"textAlign":49},[96808],{"text":96809,"type":596},"These will rise to 12% for lithium, 15% for nickel and 26% for cobalt in 2036 (or 13 years after the legislation is passed).",{"type":591,"attrs":96811,"content":96812},{"textAlign":49},[96813],{"text":96814,"type":596},"By 2031, Benchmark forecasts Europe’s battery cell demand to be 958 gigawatt hours. To meet the mandatory 6% target will require around 42,000 tonnes of recycled lithium (lithium carbonate equivalents).",{"type":591,"attrs":96816,"content":96817},{"textAlign":49},[96818],{"text":96819,"type":596},"Globally, recycled lithium is set to make up around 10% of the lithium supply in 2031, rising to over 20% in 2036, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":96821,"content":96822},{"textAlign":49},[96823],{"text":96824,"type":596},"However, Benchmark’s Recycling Report forecasts that Europe will only produce just over three-quarters of the required recycled lithium to meet this mandate in 2031. For cobalt, the region is expected to produce just under 70% of the required recycled material.",{"type":591,"attrs":96826,"content":96827},{"textAlign":49},[96828],{"text":96829,"type":596},"Nickel is the only recycled metal currently forecast by Benchmark to be produced in sufficient quantities to meet Europe’s target.",{"type":591,"attrs":96831,"content":96832},{"textAlign":49},[96833],{"text":96834,"type":596},"In 2036, Benchmark forecasts that Europe is not on track to produce enough of any of the metals to meet the increased minimum requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":96836,"content":96837},{"textAlign":49},[96838],{"type":836,"attrs":96839},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96840,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96841},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60cf2dee2b/bm-eu-recycled-content-targets-are-ambitious.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":96843,"content":96844},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96845],{"text":96846,"type":596},"Improving recovery rates",{"type":591,"attrs":96848,"content":96849},{"textAlign":49},[96850],{"text":96851,"type":596},"That is not to say the targets are impossible.",{"type":591,"attrs":96853,"content":96854},{"textAlign":49},[96855],{"text":96856,"type":596},"Beyond the minimum recycled content targets, the new regulations also set out targets that recyclers should recover 50% of the lithium in a battery in 2027, increasing to 80% in 2031. For nickel and cobalt, this target is 95%.",{"type":591,"attrs":96858,"content":96859},{"textAlign":49},[96860,96862,96867],{"text":96861,"type":596},"If the EU’s recycling industry hits these targets, Benchmark’s analysis shows there is sufficient lithium, nickel and cobalt contained in the bloc’s end-of-life and ",{"text":96863,"type":596,"marks":96864},"process scrap",[96865],{"type":606,"attrs":96866},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":96868,"type":596}," pools to meet the minimum recycled metal targets. This will require more capacity to be brought online.",{"type":591,"attrs":96870,"content":96871},{"textAlign":49},[96872],{"text":96873,"type":596},"“Looking to the early 2030s, Europe’s scrap pool will have grown significantly in comparison to today’s pool,” Colbourn said. “This offers Europe the availability of recycling feedstock required to meet targets for lithium, nickel, and cobalt.”",{"type":591,"attrs":96875,"content":96876},{"textAlign":49},[96877],{"type":836,"attrs":96878},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":96879,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":96880},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9dc57b38e2/bm-image-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":96882,"content":96883},{"textAlign":49},[96884],{"text":96885,"type":596},"However, the majority of recycling in Europe currently uses pyrometallurgical processes. Colbourn explained that this is good for recovering nickel and cobalt, but the lithium ends up in the waste slag.",{"type":591,"attrs":96887,"content":96888},{"textAlign":49},[96889],{"text":96890,"type":596},"Achieving an average of 80% lithium recovery by 2031 will require significantly more capacity to be built using hydrometallurgical technologies which can recover lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":96892,"content":96893},{"textAlign":49},[96894],{"text":96895,"type":596},"“There are drives in technology to improve lithium recovery, with more recyclers advancing hydrometallurgical processes that promise higher recovery rates for the material,” Colbourn said.",{"type":591,"attrs":96897,"content":96898},{"textAlign":49},[96899],{"text":96900,"type":596},"Many European facilities in the recycling value chain in Europe currently focus on the pretreatment of scrap batteries at the moment, producing black mass as an intermediate product, rather than battery-grade material, Colbourn said.",{"type":615,"attrs":96902,"content":96903},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[96904],{"text":96905,"type":596},"Developing a collection ecosystem",{"type":591,"attrs":96907,"content":96908},{"textAlign":49},[96909],{"text":96910,"type":596},"The legislation also introduces collection rates for end-of-life batteries, with the EU targeting the collection of 73% of used portable batteries by 2030 and 61% of used batteries used for light mobility applications such as e-scooters by 2031.",{"type":591,"attrs":96912,"content":96913},{"textAlign":49},[96914],{"text":96915,"type":596},"Cesar Santos, a policy officer at the European Commission, said in September at the 2022 International Congress for Battery Recycling that the legislation contains an implicit target of 100% collection of end-of-life EV batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":96917,"content":96918},{"textAlign":49},[96919],{"text":96920,"type":596},"“End-of-life battery collection is one of the challenges that the recycling industry faces, requiring coordination from policymakers, through to battery producers and end consumers,” Colbourn said. “Recent moves from governments, including the EU, to introduce extended producer responsibility rules, which define who is responsible for lithium ion battery recycling, is critical for building out a recycling ecosystem.”",{"type":591,"attrs":96922,"content":96923},{"textAlign":49},[96924],{"text":96925,"type":596},"Currently, the collection of portable batteries is a long way off the EU target, according to Colbourn.",{"type":591,"attrs":96927,"content":96928},{"textAlign":49},[96929],{"text":96930,"type":596},"The majority of end-of-life battery waste will come from electric vehicles. An ecosystem needs to develop if the EU is to source all the end-of-life batteries required to meet its targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":96932,"content":96933},{"textAlign":49},[96934,96936,96942,96943,96949],{"text":96935,"type":596},"One way for recyclers to get hold of end-of-life batteries is to ",{"text":96937,"type":596,"marks":96938},"partner with an automaker",[96939],{"type":606,"attrs":96940},{"href":96941,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/bmw-teams-up-with-huayou-to-recycle-batteries",{"text":10939,"type":596},{"text":96944,"type":596,"marks":96945},"battery producer",[96946],{"type":606,"attrs":96947},{"href":96948,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-britishvolt-to-build-uk-battery-recycling-plant",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":96951,"content":96952},{"textAlign":49},[96953],{"text":96954,"type":596},"“Utilising existing networks of automakers to collect EV batteries, and partnering with lithium ion battery recyclers, helps overcome some of the hurdles associated with the logistical challenges of battery recycling,” Colbourn said.",{"type":591,"attrs":96956,"content":96957},{"textAlign":49},[96958],{"text":96959,"type":596},"Analysis by Benchmark shows that the mandated minimum recycled metal targets can be met if both the overall collection rate of batteries and the recovery rates of metals in the recycling processes are improved, assuming there is sufficient capacity to process the end-of-life batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":96961,"content":96962},{"textAlign":49},[96963],{"text":96964,"type":596},"“Meeting these targets is dependent on collection infrastructure, recycling capacity, and technology capabilities all being in place to facilitate substantial recovery of metals,” Colbourn said.","Towards the end of 2022, the European Parliament and Council provisionally agreed on legislation to regulate the full lifecycle of a battery to improve circularity and sustainability. Included in the regulations are recovery and collection targets, and mandatory minimum targets for how much of a new battery’s raw materials should come from recycled sources. Yet […]",[96967],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96968},{"job_title":557,"image":96969,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c017ad4d-2f24-4fc7-b9c3-9edcfb65d391\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[96972,96973],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":96975,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":96976,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c31afce037/bm-lithium-ion-waste-batteries.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 05, 2023",{"id":96979,"uuid":96980,"name":96981,"slug":96982,"full_slug":96983,"content":96984},112472038489009,"ca5e99b0-ed4c-4fe5-a3c5-5baf566a7260","Benchmark to publish CIF Asia lithium chemical spot and contract prices and increase frequency of all monthly grades","benchmark-to-publish-cif-asia-lithium-chemical-spot-and-contract-prices-and-increase-frequency-of-all-monthly-grades","article/benchmark-to-publish-cif-asia-lithium-chemical-spot-and-contract-prices-and-increase-frequency-of-all-monthly-grades",{"_uid":96985,"date":96986,"tags":96987,"editor":96990,"content":96994,"excerpt":97264,"featured":51,"reporter":97265,"_editable":97269,"component":697,"seo_title":96981,"categories":97270,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97273,"seo_description":97264,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97276},"a4aabf7e-b2ce-4ba3-a962-3106b477699d","2023-01-03 00:00",[96988,96989],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[96991],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":96992},{"job_title":557,"image":96993,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":96995},[96996,97005,97010,97015,97020,97025,97032,97037,97042,97047,97052,97057,97062,97075,97080,97085,97092,97097,97102,97109,97114,97119,97124,97129,97134,97139,97144,97149,97154,97159,97164,97169,97174,97179,97184,97189,97194,97199,97207,97212,97217,97221,97226,97236,97240,97245,97250,97255],{"type":591,"attrs":96997,"content":96998},{"textAlign":49},[96999,97003],{"text":6576,"type":596,"marks":97000},[97001],{"type":606,"attrs":97002},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":97004,"type":596},"will now publish weekly market price assessments of its newly separated Benchmark CIF Asia lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide spot price assessments beginning 4 January 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97006,"content":97007},{"textAlign":49},[97008],{"text":97009,"type":596},"Japan and South Korea – the primary markets for battery-grade lithium chemical sales in Asia (ex-China) – saw rising liquidity in lithium spot transactions throughout 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97011,"content":97012},{"textAlign":49},[97013],{"text":97014,"type":596},"More frequent transactions and higher volumes traded on a one-off settlement basis has resulted in greater lithium price volatility in shorter time spans.",{"type":591,"attrs":97016,"content":97017},{"textAlign":49},[97018],{"text":97019,"type":596},"However, the bulk of lithium volumes into Asia remain transacted under long term supply contracts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97021,"content":97022},{"textAlign":49},[97023],{"text":97024,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark will now separate its Benchmark CIF Asia lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide grades to publish spot and contract prices, to allow subscribers greater granularity over landed prices into Asia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97026,"content":97027},{"textAlign":49},[97028],{"type":836,"attrs":97029},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97030,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97031},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/718425dcb2/bm-lpa-january-2023.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":97033,"content":97034},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97035],{"text":97036,"type":596},"CIF Asia lithium spot prices ",{"type":591,"attrs":97038,"content":97039},{"textAlign":49},[97040],{"text":97041,"type":596},"The newly separated Benchmark CIF Asia lithium spot prices will be published weekly, with this increased frequency allowing subscribers more regular updates to the latest transactional price data.",{"type":591,"attrs":97043,"content":97044},{"textAlign":49},[97045],{"text":97046,"type":596},"Spot transactions will be defined as a single settlement at a negotiated price for delivery within 60 days. ",{"type":615,"attrs":97048,"content":97049},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97050],{"text":97051,"type":596},"All lithium grades move to price assessment every two weeks ",{"type":591,"attrs":97053,"content":97054},{"textAlign":49},[97055],{"text":97056,"type":596},"Moreover, all lithium grades assessed by Benchmark on a monthly basis will move to a publishing cycle of every two weeks, including the newly separated Benchmark CIF Asia contract prices. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97058,"content":97059},{"textAlign":49},[97060],{"text":97061,"type":596},"Benchmark will also publish a combined Benchmark CIF Asia price for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate every two weeks, which will consider the extent of the range for Benchmark’s CIF Asia contract and spot prices for the previous two weeks, allowing for continuity of the current price grade as it is published today.",{"type":591,"attrs":97063,"content":97064},{"textAlign":49},[97065,97067,97073],{"text":97066,"type":596},"This evolution allows for the facilitation of more frequent lithium price assessments within the parameters of Benchmark’s ",{"text":97068,"type":596,"marks":97069},"IOSCO compliant",[97070],{"type":606,"attrs":97071},{"href":97072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-pra-completes-iosco-world-first-tailored-audit-for-lithium-prices-ev-battery-raw-materials",{"text":97074,"type":596}," and lithium-first price methodology.",{"type":591,"attrs":97076,"content":97077},{"textAlign":49},[97078],{"text":97079,"type":596},"Benchmark prides itself on truly understanding and listening to the lithium market to guide our Price Assessment practices. ",{"type":615,"attrs":97081,"content":97082},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97083],{"text":97084,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium prices – every week ",{"type":591,"attrs":97086,"content":97087},{"textAlign":49},[97088,97090],{"text":97089,"type":596},"New",{"text":97091,"type":596}," – Benchmark will now publish weekly prices for:",{"type":591,"attrs":97093,"content":97094},{"textAlign":49},[97095],{"text":97096,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, CIF Asia (Spot), ≥99.2% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97098,"content":97099},{"textAlign":49},[97100],{"text":97101,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, CIF Asia (Spot), ≥56.5% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97103,"content":97104},{"textAlign":49},[97105,97107],{"text":97106,"type":596},"Active",{"text":97108,"type":596}," – Benchmark will continue to publish weekly prices for:",{"type":591,"attrs":97110,"content":97111},{"textAlign":49},[97112],{"text":97113,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3 (Battery grade)",{"type":591,"attrs":97115,"content":97116},{"textAlign":49},[97117],{"text":97118,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, ≥99.0% Li2CO3 (Technical grade)",{"type":591,"attrs":97120,"content":97121},{"textAlign":49},[97122],{"text":97123,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, EXW China, ≥56.5% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97125,"content":97126},{"textAlign":49},[97127],{"text":97128,"type":596},"These five prices are available to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment Subscribers every Wednesday by 4pm (London), starting from 4 January 2023.  ",{"type":615,"attrs":97130,"content":97131},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97132],{"text":97133,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium prices – every two weeks ",{"type":591,"attrs":97135,"content":97136},{"textAlign":49},[97137],{"text":97138,"type":596},"Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment Subscribers will now have access to the following lithium prices every two weeks:",{"type":591,"attrs":97140,"content":97141},{"textAlign":49},[97142],{"text":97143,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, CIF Asia (Contract), ≥99.2% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97145,"content":97146},{"textAlign":49},[97147],{"text":97148,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, CIF Asia (Combined), ≥99.2% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97150,"content":97151},{"textAlign":49},[97152],{"text":97153,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, FOB South America, ≥99.0% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97155,"content":97156},{"textAlign":49},[97157],{"text":97158,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, CIF Europe, ≥99.0% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97160,"content":97161},{"textAlign":49},[97162],{"text":97163,"type":596},"·       Lithium Carbonate, CIF North America, ≥99.0% Li2CO3",{"type":591,"attrs":97165,"content":97166},{"textAlign":49},[97167],{"text":97168,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, CIF Asia (Contract), ≥56.5% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97170,"content":97171},{"textAlign":49},[97172],{"text":97173,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, CIF Asia (Combined), ≥56.5% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97175,"content":97176},{"textAlign":49},[97177],{"text":97178,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, CIF Europe, ≥55.0% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97180,"content":97181},{"textAlign":49},[97182],{"text":97183,"type":596},"·       Lithium Hydroxide, FOB North America, ≥55.0% LiOH",{"type":591,"attrs":97185,"content":97186},{"textAlign":49},[97187],{"text":97188,"type":596},"·       Spodumene Concentrate, FOB Australia, 6% Li20",{"type":591,"attrs":97190,"content":97191},{"textAlign":49},[97192],{"text":97193,"type":596},"These 10 prices will be published for access by subscribers to Benchmark’s website every alternate Wednesday by 4pm (London) starting from 11 January 2023, with market analysis sent out to subscribers soon after.",{"type":591,"attrs":97195,"content":97196},{"textAlign":49},[97197],{"text":97198,"type":596},"Benchmark will publish a combined Benchmark CIF Asia price simultaneously, to consider the extent of the range for the contract and spot prices for the previous two weeks.",{"type":591,"attrs":97200,"content":97201},{"textAlign":49},[97202,97205],{"text":2936,"type":596,"marks":97203},[97204],{"type":1006},{"text":97206,"type":596},"These latest changes to Benchmark’s market leading, IOSCO compliant Lithium Price Assessments reconfirm our commitment to providing the most trusted actionable intelligence on the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97208,"content":97209},{"textAlign":49},[97210],{"text":97211,"type":596},"“As the lithium market evolves with the largest industrial shift seen in generations, Benchmark works hard to ensure its data reflects current market trends and pricing mechanisms used by active participant in the physical supply chain” ",{"type":591,"attrs":97213,"content":97214},{"textAlign":49},[97215],{"text":97216,"type":596},"“This evolution in the way we collect and assess our CIF Asia lithium prices gives greater granularity for our customer base – the world’s lithium ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain – to use to settle contracts and plan major investments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97218,"content":97219},{"textAlign":49},[97220],{"text":78090,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":97222,"content":97223},{"textAlign":49},[97224],{"text":97225,"type":596},"“As the world’s lithium market matures further, Benchmark is committed to evolving is Price Assessment processes to ensure to most accurate and reliable data for its subscribers.”",{"type":615,"attrs":97227,"content":97228},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97229,97231],{"text":97230,"type":596},"Benchmark Price Assessments – ",{"text":97232,"type":596,"marks":97233},"contact us:",[97234],{"type":606,"attrs":97235},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":97237,"content":97238},{"textAlign":49},[97239],{"text":15120,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":97241,"content":97242},{"textAlign":49},[97243],{"text":97244,"type":596},"We publish weekly and monthly Price Assessments – Lithium, Cobalt, Natural Graphite, Synthetic Graphite, Nickel, Cathodes, Anodes – to the highest IOSCO standard. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97246,"content":97247},{"textAlign":49},[97248],{"text":97249,"type":596},"Our lithium-first price assessments are created by senior management and price analysts that truly understand the market they are assessing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97251,"content":97252},{"textAlign":49},[97253],{"text":97254,"type":596},"They are the world’s most trusted lithium price assessments and used to settle contracts and guide major investment decisions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97256,"content":97257},{"textAlign":49},[97258,97259,97263],{"text":21377,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":97260},[97261],{"type":606,"attrs":97262},{"href":94075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will now publish weekly market price assessments of its newly separated Benchmark CIF Asia lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide spot price assessments beginning 4 January 2023. Japan and South Korea – the primary markets for battery-grade lithium chemical sales in Asia (ex-China) – saw rising liquidity in lithium spot transactions throughout 2022. […]",[97266],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97267},{"job_title":557,"image":97268,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a4aabf7e-b2ce-4ba3-a962-3106b477699d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[97271,97272],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":97274,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97275,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/163a329ed0/bm-bolivia-lithium-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 03, 2023",{"id":97278,"uuid":97279,"name":97280,"slug":97281,"full_slug":97282,"content":97283},112472048122805,"30408142-cefa-4a5f-abbd-e10062096caa","Zimbabwe’s lithium ore export ban highlights Africa’s lithium potential","zimbabwes-lithium-ore-export-ban-highlights-africas-lithium-potential","article/zimbabwes-lithium-ore-export-ban-highlights-africas-lithium-potential",{"_uid":97284,"date":97285,"tags":97286,"editor":97293,"content":97297,"excerpt":97410,"featured":51,"reporter":97411,"_editable":97415,"component":697,"seo_title":97280,"categories":97416,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97420,"seo_description":97410,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97423},"5e937ff4-69ef-4d92-8880-1ef2f0bea5a0","2022-12-23 00:00",[97287,97288,97289,97292],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":97290,"name":97291},"sinomine","Sinomine",{"slug":60735,"name":27503},[97294],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97295},{"job_title":557,"image":97296,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97298},[97299,97304,97309,97314,97319,97324,97329,97334,97339,97346,97351,97358,97363,97368,97373,97378,97383,97395,97400,97405],{"type":591,"attrs":97300,"content":97301},{"textAlign":49},[97302],{"text":97303,"type":596},"This week Zimbabwe’s government banned the export of unprocessed lithium ores, citing concerns over increased trade by artisanal miners.",{"type":591,"attrs":97305,"content":97306},{"textAlign":49},[97307],{"text":97308,"type":596},"Beyond artisanal mining, the ban will also encourage lithium developers in the country to process the raw lithium ore into a concentrated form before exporting it to China or elsewhere to produce battery-grade lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":97310,"content":97311},{"textAlign":49},[97312],{"text":97313,"type":596},"All of Zimbabwe’s official mined lithium is produced by a single Chinese company, with many projects in the pipeline in the country also under Chinese ownership. The ban should ensure Zimbabwe captures more of the value of its resources before they are exported, with the concentrated lithium products being taxable, whereas unprocessed ore is exempt.",{"type":591,"attrs":97315,"content":97316},{"textAlign":49},[97317],{"text":97318,"type":596},"“It forces Chinese-owned companies to develop at least some processing capacity in Africa,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":97320,"content":97321},{"textAlign":49},[97322],{"text":97323,"type":596},"Jennings-Gray explained that this ban will have minimal impact on the lithium supply forecast from the country, given that the planned projects in Zimbabwe are set to produce concentrate for export, but is indicative of changing strategies within Africa to ensure more value is captured, and also a heavier focus on environmental, social and governance concerns.",{"type":591,"attrs":97325,"content":97326},{"textAlign":49},[97327],{"text":97328,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium forecast suggests less than 10% of Zimbabwe’s mined lithium came from artisanal sources in 2022.",{"type":615,"attrs":97330,"content":97331},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97332],{"text":97333,"type":596},"Zimbabwe dominates African lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":97335,"content":97336},{"textAlign":49},[97337],{"text":97338,"type":596},"In 2022, the Al Hayat mine in the Masvingo province of Zimbabwe was the only commercial lithium mine operating in Africa. Operated by Chinese state-owned mining company Sinomine, the mine is forecast to produce just over 0.7% of global mined lithium this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":97340,"content":97341},{"textAlign":49},[97342],{"type":836,"attrs":97343},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97344,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97345},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1e0ae262f7/bm-zimbabwe-dominates-african-lithium-in-2030.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":97347,"content":97348},{"textAlign":49},[97349],{"text":97350,"type":596},"By 2030, Africa’s share of the world’s mined lithium production is forecast by Benchmark to rise to just under 11%. Zimbabwe is expected to account for over 60% of this, with its production growing over 25-fold between now and the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":97352,"content":97353},{"textAlign":49},[97354],{"type":836,"attrs":97355},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97356,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97357},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/61450d2c7b/bm-image-1-12937512142c.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":97359,"content":97360},{"textAlign":49},[97361],{"text":97362,"type":596},"Although Sinomine’s currently operating mine will be one of the smallest in the country by that year, it has plans to develop two far larger mines this decade. If it comes to fruition, its Bikita mine in Masvingo province in Zimbabwe could be the second-largest lithium mine on the continent.",{"type":615,"attrs":97364,"content":97365},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97366],{"text":97367,"type":596},"Direct-shipping ore",{"type":591,"attrs":97369,"content":97370},{"textAlign":49},[97371],{"text":97372,"type":596},"The direct shipping of ore from lithium mines remains a relatively uncommon practice, only typically becoming economic amid a very high-price environment, according to Jennings-Gray.",{"type":591,"attrs":97374,"content":97375},{"textAlign":49},[97376],{"text":97377,"type":596},"The advantage of shipping ore directly from a mine is that deliveries can begin quickly once a mine is developed, however, refineries which are able to deal with this ore are limited, Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":97379,"content":97380},{"textAlign":49},[97381],{"text":97382,"type":596},"Shipments of direct shipping ore (DSO) have been recorded out of other African nations in 2022, but the continent’s official production figures remain minimal.",{"type":591,"attrs":97384,"content":97385},{"textAlign":49},[97386,97388,97393],{"text":97387,"type":596},"Sinomine, like many other mine operators in Africa, is a ",{"text":97389,"type":596,"marks":97390},"Chinese-owned company",[97391],{"type":606,"attrs":97392},{"href":79983,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":97394,"type":596},". Although the company won’t be affected by the ban as it already processes the ore into concentrate, Jennings-Gray explained that China’s large presence in the region is not without risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":97396,"content":97397},{"textAlign":49},[97398],{"text":97399,"type":596},"Xingfeng, a Chinese lithium developer in Namibia, exports around 50,000 tonnes of DSO per month from the country. If Namibia were to enact a similar ban to Zimbabwe, the company would have to concentrate the ore before shipping out, potentially keeping a greater proportion of the added value in Namibia.",{"type":591,"attrs":97401,"content":97402},{"textAlign":49},[97403],{"text":97404,"type":596},"Africa’s lithium industry remains nascent, and with foreign investment beginning to be pumped into the nation, particularly from Chinese companies, the continent still has a number of geopolitical and environmental issues to iron out.",{"type":591,"attrs":97406,"content":97407},{"textAlign":49},[97408],{"text":97409,"type":596},"“These African nations are at risk of not capturing some of the value that Chinese companies enjoy,” Jennings-Gray said. “[This ban] is cracking down on ensuring that some of the value-add goes back to the country where the material is mined and also allows for more stringent ESG standards.”","This week Zimbabwe’s government banned the export of unprocessed lithium ores, citing concerns over increased trade by artisanal miners. Beyond artisanal mining, the ban will also encourage lithium developers in the country to process the raw lithium ore into a concentrated form before exporting it to China or elsewhere to produce battery-grade lithium chemicals. All […]",[97412],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97413},{"job_title":557,"image":97414,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5e937ff4-69ef-4d92-8880-1ef2f0bea5a0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[97417,97418,97419],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":97421,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97422,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65b4a8a208/bm-shutterstock-603910874-1293753d04d9.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 23, 2022",{"id":97425,"uuid":97426,"name":97427,"slug":97428,"full_slug":97429,"content":97430},112472057740216,"fe9793fb-d431-4c48-a482-8588a4cdcd2f","Increasing synthetic graphite feedstock prices squeeze anode producer margins – 2022 in review","increasing-synthetic-graphite-feedstock-prices-squeeze-anode-producer-margins-2022-in-review","article/increasing-synthetic-graphite-feedstock-prices-squeeze-anode-producer-margins-2022-in-review",{"_uid":97431,"date":97432,"tags":97433,"editor":97436,"content":97440,"excerpt":97530,"featured":51,"reporter":97531,"_editable":97535,"component":697,"seo_title":97427,"categories":97536,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97539,"seo_description":97530,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97542},"973d9c9a-878e-4eab-9348-ac88e95b0630","2022-12-21 00:00",[97434,97435],{"slug":29465,"name":29466},{"slug":1831,"name":67454},[97437],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97438},{"job_title":557,"image":97439,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97441},[97442,97447,97452,97457,97462,97469,97474,97479,97484,97496,97508,97513,97518,97523],{"type":591,"attrs":97443,"content":97444},{"textAlign":49},[97445],{"text":97446,"type":596},"Pricing for synthetic graphite feedstock had a turbulent year throughout 2022 on the back of macroeconomic developments in the oil and coal markets and ongoing Covid-19 disruptions, with overall coke feedstock prices in China rising throughout the year, squeezing margins for synthetic graphite anode producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":97448,"content":97449},{"textAlign":49},[97450],{"text":97451,"type":596},"In the first quarter of 2022, coke prices rose under low consumer inventories and strong anode demand, compounded by wider disruption to the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":97453,"content":97454},{"textAlign":49},[97455],{"text":97456,"type":596},"In February, contacts reported to Benchmark that pet-based coke producers were concerned about future feedstock supply amid soaring oil prices in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pushing up pricing for pet-based coke.",{"type":591,"attrs":97458,"content":97459},{"textAlign":49},[97460],{"text":97461,"type":596},"Within China, pet needle coke pricing saw a notable uptick in February amid a decrease in oil refinery operations in Shandong province due to the Spring Festival holiday.",{"type":591,"attrs":97463,"content":97464},{"textAlign":49},[97465],{"type":836,"attrs":97466},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97467,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97468},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c4b326a14a/bm-rising-synthetic-graphite-feedstock-prices-squeeze-anode-market.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":97470,"content":97471},{"textAlign":49},[97472],{"text":97473,"type":596},"In March, Covid-19 outbreaks in China disrupted Chinese transport logistics, especially in Shandong province, a major hub for pet needle coke production, resulting in delayed deliveries for end users.",{"type":591,"attrs":97475,"content":97476},{"textAlign":49},[97477],{"text":97478,"type":596},"In April, further sporadic Covid-19 lockdowns across China limited road use and restricted transport between provinces, decreasing petroleum demand and in turn squeezing the profit margins of domestic oil refineries. This curbed oil production and directly reduced output of oil refining by-products such as pet coke and pet needle coke, significantly driving up low sulphur pet coke and pet needle coke prices during the summer months.",{"type":591,"attrs":97480,"content":97481},{"textAlign":49},[97482],{"text":97483,"type":596},"Throughout May and June, prices continued to rise despite ramping production at coke facilities, which continued to lag behind demand growth from the anode value chain, leading to supply tightness. During this period, prices for all synthetic graphite grades as assessed by Benchmark reached their peak for the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":97485,"content":97486},{"textAlign":49},[97487,97489,97494],{"text":97488,"type":596},"In July, pricing for synthetic graphite feedstock material fell marginally under declining coal and oil prices, compounded by pressure on coke suppliers to reduce prices from ",{"text":97490,"type":596,"marks":97491},"battery anode customers with integrated graphitisation capacity",[97492],{"type":606,"attrs":97493},{"href":69126,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":97495,"type":596}," looking to reduce costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":97497,"content":97498},{"textAlign":49},[97499,97501,97506],{"text":97500,"type":596},"Towards the end of the third quarter anode producers largely employed a watch-and-wait strategy, keeping prices high but stable. ",{"text":97502,"type":596,"marks":97503},"Electricity shutdowns in Sichuan province",[97504],{"type":606,"attrs":97505},{"href":91553,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":97507,"type":596}," amid a heatwave in August limited operations at many integrated synthetic graphite anode facilities in the region, restricting market activity further. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97509,"content":97510},{"textAlign":49},[97511],{"text":97512,"type":596},"However, coke pricing began to decline again, with China’s steel industry waning and anode producers beginning to apply pressure on feedstock suppliers to reduce prices amid high raw material prices for cell manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":97514,"content":97515},{"textAlign":49},[97516],{"text":97517,"type":596},"Nonetheless, given existing high oil and coal prices, combined with disruption from Covid-19 restrictions creeping back towards the end of the year, coke producers began to express concerns that profit margins were being squeezed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97519,"content":97520},{"textAlign":49},[97521],{"text":97522,"type":596},"Given robust demand from the battery anode market, with the synthetic graphite anode sector set to continue to dominate in China in 2023, a positive price outlook for coke feedstock can be expected. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97524,"content":97525},{"textAlign":49},[97526],{"text":97527,"type":596,"marks":97528},"Tony Alderson is an analyst at Benchmark. ",[97529],{"type":1006},"Pricing for synthetic graphite feedstock had a turbulent year throughout 2022 on the back of macroeconomic developments in the oil and coal markets and ongoing Covid-19 disruptions, with overall coke feedstock prices in China rising throughout the year, squeezing margins for synthetic graphite anode producers. In the first quarter of 2022, coke prices rose under […]",[97532],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97533},{"job_title":557,"image":97534,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"973d9c9a-878e-4eab-9348-ac88e95b0630\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[97537,97538],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":97540,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97541,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1edc84deec/bm-qingdao-port-china-scaled-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 21, 2022",{"id":97544,"uuid":97545,"name":97546,"slug":97547,"full_slug":97548,"content":97549},112472072399805,"19ad62f8-14c7-48bb-9753-ac21915e751e","Thriving battery anode market drives demand for natural flake graphite – 2022 in review","thriving-battery-anode-market-drives-demand-for-natural-flake-graphite-2022-in-review","article/thriving-battery-anode-market-drives-demand-for-natural-flake-graphite-2022-in-review",{"_uid":97550,"date":97551,"tags":97552,"editor":97554,"content":97558,"excerpt":97655,"featured":51,"reporter":97656,"_editable":97660,"component":697,"seo_title":97546,"categories":97661,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97664,"seo_description":97655,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97666},"5f5d9aac-4e51-4210-a3f5-d67d3d5714c5","2022-12-19 00:00",[97553],{"slug":29465,"name":29466},[97555],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97556},{"job_title":557,"image":97557,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97559},[97560,97565,97570,97575,97582,97587,97592,97597,97602,97615,97620,97632,97643,97648],{"type":591,"attrs":97561,"content":97562},{"textAlign":49},[97563],{"text":97564,"type":596},"Natural flake graphite prices increased in 2022 driven by mounting demand from the anode industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":97566,"content":97567},{"textAlign":49},[97568],{"text":97569,"type":596},"Despite a temporary softening in flake graphite prices over the summer months, as graphite mines from Heilongjiang Province brought robust seasonal supply back online, pricing increased year-on-year, with prices for -100 mesh (94-95% C) (DDP China) up by 22.3% between January and November 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":97571,"content":97572},{"textAlign":49},[97573],{"text":97574,"type":596},"The first quarter of 2022 saw flake graphite prices rise, as supply was constrained under winter mine closures in Heilongjiang Province. This was followed by China’s Spring Festival in February, which stymied market activity. There were also resurging Covid-19 cases in Jixi Heilongjiang Province and a cyclone in Madagascar, which caused logistical disruptions and delivery delays.",{"type":591,"attrs":97576,"content":97577},{"textAlign":49},[97578],{"type":836,"attrs":97579},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97580,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97581},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5bea753407/bm-flake-graphite-prices-followed-seasonal-trends-in-2022.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":97583,"content":97584},{"textAlign":49},[97585],{"text":97586,"type":596},"Meanwhile, throughout the quarter, the Chinese government carried out environmental inspections of graphite producers in Luobei County and uncovered a number of environmental transgressions. This led to RMB 5,422,000 ($777,228) of fines being imposed in the region, and temporarily shut down refining and mining operations to meet regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":97588,"content":97589},{"textAlign":49},[97590],{"text":97591,"type":596},"Elsewhere, concerns over the security of European regional supply arose in February as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with a potential to restrict approximately 30,000 tonnes per annum of local supply from Europe’s graphite market.",{"type":591,"attrs":97593,"content":97594},{"textAlign":49},[97595],{"text":97596,"type":596},"In March, Covid-19 outbreaks across China disrupted the domestic graphite market, particularly in Shandong Province, which is a key graphite processing and transport hub, and produces most of the world’s spherical graphite. As such, prices for uncoated spherical graphite (USPG) 15 microns decreased to $2,800/tonne, the lowest price seen in 2022 up to that point.",{"type":591,"attrs":97598,"content":97599},{"textAlign":49},[97600],{"text":97601,"type":596},"In April and May market activity in China remained subdued on the back of virus regulations. Pricing still increased amid continued strong demand for battery anode feedstock and ongoing concern over domestic supply due to the ongoing environmental investigations in Luobei.",{"type":591,"attrs":97603,"content":97604},{"textAlign":49},[97605,97607,97613],{"text":97606,"type":596},"Generally, across this period, pricing for larger flake material was less volatile than finer flakes, which are typically used as battery anode feedstock, given ",{"text":97608,"type":596,"marks":97609},"weak industrial demand",[97610],{"type":606,"attrs":97611},{"href":97612,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/natural-graphite-prices-ease-from-eight-year-high-as-chinas-economy-cools",{"text":97614,"type":596}," from the steel sector in particular.",{"type":591,"attrs":97616,"content":97617},{"textAlign":49},[97618],{"text":97619,"type":596},"By June, the supply-side picture in the Chinese domestic market improved, as Luobei mines in Heilongjiang Province fully reopened, dampening graphite prices despite continued robust demand. Prices fell by an average of 3.1% month-on-month for all grades of flake concentrate assessed by Benchmark, with this downward pricing trend continuing through to October.",{"type":591,"attrs":97621,"content":97622},{"textAlign":49},[97623,97625,97630],{"text":97624,"type":596},"Elsewhere in June, ",{"text":97626,"type":596,"marks":97627},"insurgent attacks in Mozambique",[97628],{"type":606,"attrs":97629},{"href":56725,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":97631,"type":596}," affected Syrah Resources’ Balama mine, disrupting transport of flake graphite out of the country and delaying shipments.",{"type":591,"attrs":97633,"content":97634},{"textAlign":49},[97635,97641],{"text":97636,"type":596,"marks":97637},"Entering the winter months",[97638],{"type":606,"attrs":97639},{"href":97640,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/graphite-inventories-in-china-shrink-ahead-of-winter-shutdowns",{"text":97642,"type":596},", flake graphite prices began to rise in November, on the back of seasonal graphite mine closures in Heilongjiang Province and tightening supply and further disruptions in Mozambique.",{"type":591,"attrs":97644,"content":97645},{"textAlign":49},[97646],{"text":97647,"type":596},"Prices for higher purity -100 mesh increased by 6.1% from October to November alone to $812/tonne (94-95% C), as battery anode demand continued to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":97649,"content":97650},{"textAlign":49},[97651],{"text":97652,"type":596,"marks":97653},"Tony Alderson is an analyst at Benchmark",[97654],{"type":1006},"Natural flake graphite prices increased in 2022 driven by mounting demand from the anode industry. Despite a temporary softening in flake graphite prices over the summer months, as graphite mines from Heilongjiang Province brought robust seasonal supply back online, pricing increased year-on-year, with prices for -100 mesh (94-95% C) (DDP China) up by 22.3% between […]",[97657],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97658},{"job_title":557,"image":97659,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5f5d9aac-4e51-4210-a3f5-d67d3d5714c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[97662,97663],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":67621,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":67621,"source":547,"filename":67622,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97665,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":67621,"title":67621,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 19, 2022",{"id":97668,"uuid":97669,"name":97670,"slug":97671,"full_slug":97672,"content":97673},112472082189247,"e0ac912a-5bb3-4a0c-8879-7a77a79969b1","Nickel’s volatile year – 2022 in review","nickels-volatile-year-2022-in-review","article/nickels-volatile-year-2022-in-review",{"_uid":97674,"date":97675,"tags":97676,"editor":97678,"content":97682,"excerpt":97766,"featured":51,"reporter":97767,"_editable":97771,"component":697,"seo_title":97670,"categories":97772,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97775,"seo_description":97766,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97777},"2e0dc3fd-ec9e-4e2a-86ca-c3bd632c5454","2022-12-16 00:00",[97677],{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[97679],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97680},{"job_title":557,"image":97681,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97683},[97684,97689,97694,97699,97707,97712,97717,97722,97727,97732,97737,97742,97747,97754,97759],{"type":591,"attrs":97685,"content":97686},{"textAlign":49},[97687],{"text":97688,"type":596},"The nickel market navigated a stormy year in 2022, as an unprecedented short squeeze in the first quarter resulted in a 250% surge in prices for the metal on the London Metal Exchange in the space of twenty-four hours.",{"type":591,"attrs":97690,"content":97691},{"textAlign":49},[97692],{"text":97693,"type":596},"Early in the year, nickel prices were on the rise as demand in most nickel consuming sectors continued to recover from widespread Covid-19 disruptions two years earlier, whilst bullish sentiment in the lithium ion battery industry helped to drive price increases for nickel sulphate and nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP). ",{"type":591,"attrs":97695,"content":97696},{"textAlign":49},[97697],{"text":97698,"type":596},"However, the nickel market was rocked in late-February as Russia invaded Ukraine. Fears over potential sanctions on Russian nickel created anxiety over the availability of class 1 material, causing prices on the LME to increase at unprecedented pace in late February and early March.",{"type":591,"attrs":97700,"content":97701},{"textAlign":49},[97702,97704,97705],{"text":97703,"type":596},"Just over a week later a short squeeze on LME nickel began, briefly driving prices to over $100,000/tonne from just over $23,000/tonne a month earlier. Subsequently, nickel trading on the LME was suspended and trades executed on March 8",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":97706,"type":596}," were cancelled. The LME nickel benchmark was then brought back to the previous close and trading resumed almost two weeks later.",{"type":615,"attrs":97708,"content":97709},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97710],{"text":97711,"type":596},"State of paralysis ",{"type":591,"attrs":97713,"content":97714},{"textAlign":49},[97715],{"text":97716,"type":596},"The nickel market then entered a state of paralysis, with limited material being traded given concerns over further price volatility and distrust of the LME. This was compounded in April by the start of widespread Covid-19 lockdowns in China, limiting demand from the battery sector as mid-stream production ground to a halt.",{"type":591,"attrs":97718,"content":97719},{"textAlign":49},[97720],{"text":97721,"type":596},"As such, battery grade nickel prices began to retreat in the second quarter amidst limited demand and continued to do so month on month through to August. Although Chinese Covid-19 lockdowns ended in early-June, and mid-stream production began to increase, demand for battery grade nickel remained tepid in June and July, as consumers worked through existing inventories accumulated earlier in 2022.",{"type":615,"attrs":97723,"content":97724},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97725],{"text":97726,"type":596},"EV demand begins to pick up ",{"type":591,"attrs":97728,"content":97729},{"textAlign":49},[97730],{"text":97731,"type":596},"In the third quarter, demand from the electric vehicle sector began to pick up as inventories were worked through and restocking began. Robust demand continued throughout the quarter and into the fourth quarter, causing sulphate prices to rise steadily, whilst higher payables and the rising underlying LME nickel prices helped to drive MHP pricing in dollar terms.",{"type":615,"attrs":97733,"content":97734},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97735],{"text":97736,"type":596},"All quiet before the Chinese New Year",{"type":591,"attrs":97738,"content":97739},{"textAlign":49},[97740],{"text":97741,"type":596},"However, heading towards the end of the year, spot demand for nickel from the EV industry is set to decrease as mid-stream producers avoid restocking in the lead up to Chinese New Year in late-January 2023. Market participants will look to avoid holding significant stock over the Chinese New Year, especially sulphate which has a relatively short shelf life. As such, there is likely to be more aggressive sell offers due to destocking, causing downward pressure on prices towards year end.",{"type":591,"attrs":97743,"content":97744},{"textAlign":49},[97745],{"text":97746,"type":596},"On the supply-side of the industry, the primary driver of growth was huge investment into Indonesian nickel processing projects throughout the year, including two projects anticipated to produce at least 120,000 tonnes of nickel contained in MHP at nameplate capacity and two more at 60,00 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":97748,"content":97749},{"textAlign":49},[97750],{"type":836,"attrs":97751},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97752,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97753},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/83ef06ead2/bm-indonesias-refined-nickel-production-surge.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":97755,"content":97756},{"textAlign":49},[97757],{"text":97758,"type":596},"The supply growth was crucial in feeding growing demand from the lithium ion battery industry. Monthly Chinese EV battery production alone increased by 24.3 GWh on average in 2022, a 132.7% increase. Meanwhile the shift towards high-nickel cathode technology continued, further increasing nickel consumption in the battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":97760,"content":97761},{"textAlign":49},[97762],{"text":97763,"type":596,"marks":97764},"Cameron Hughes is an analyst at Benchmark.",[97765],{"type":1006},"The nickel market navigated a stormy year in 2022, as an unprecedented short squeeze in the first quarter resulted in a 250% surge in prices for the metal on the London Metal Exchange in the space of twenty-four hours. Early in the year, nickel prices were on the rise as demand in most nickel consuming […]",[97768],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97769},{"job_title":557,"image":97770,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2e0dc3fd-ec9e-4e2a-86ca-c3bd632c5454\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[97773,97774],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95922,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97776,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 16, 2022",{"id":97779,"uuid":97780,"name":97781,"slug":97782,"full_slug":97783,"content":97784},112472091884482,"8698c91c-e23a-4248-82d0-499fed8e8c1d","Lithium prices hit record high as market pricing takes hold – 2022 in review","lithium-prices-hit-record-high-as-market-pricing-takes-hold-2022-in-review","article/lithium-prices-hit-record-high-as-market-pricing-takes-hold-2022-in-review",{"_uid":97785,"date":97786,"tags":97787,"editor":97789,"content":97793,"excerpt":97954,"featured":51,"reporter":97955,"component":697,"seo_title":97781,"categories":97959,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":97962,"seo_description":97954,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":97965},"1ad80b04-ebd9-4b0d-ada8-08d58328facc","2022-12-14 00:00",[97788],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[97790],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97791},{"job_title":557,"image":97792,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97794},[97795,97806,97811,97816,97834,97839,97844,97849,97854,97861,97866,97871,97876,97881,97886,97891,97896,97901,97906,97911,97916,97921,97932,97937,97942,97947],{"type":591,"attrs":97796,"content":97797},{"textAlign":49},[97798,97800,97804],{"text":97799,"type":596},"2022 was the year when market-led contracting mechanisms took hold in the ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":97801},[97802],{"type":606,"attrs":97803},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":97805,"type":596}," market.",{"type":591,"attrs":97807,"content":97808},{"textAlign":49},[97809],{"text":97810,"type":596},"The first quarter of 2022 saw a record-breaking price rally in the Chinese domestic lithium market, with battery grade lithium carbonate soaring by 101.4% between January and March, as a result of a widening supply deficit.",{"type":591,"attrs":97812,"content":97813},{"textAlign":49},[97814],{"text":97815,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide followed this trend, driven by similar fears over tightness in the structurally smaller hydroxide chemical market.",{"type":591,"attrs":97817,"content":97818},{"textAlign":49},[97819,97821,97826,97828,97832],{"text":97820,"type":596},"However carbonate held a price premium over the former throughout the first quarter on the back of rising downstream demand from lithium iron ",{"text":9894,"type":596,"marks":97822},[97823],{"type":606,"attrs":97824},{"href":97825,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/phosphate",{"text":97827,"type":596}," (LFP) ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":97829},[97830],{"type":606,"attrs":97831},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":97833,"type":596}," manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":97835,"content":97836},{"textAlign":49},[97837],{"text":97838,"type":596},"Meanwhile in the international market, the first quarter also saw a strong upward revision in pricing for lithium chemical volumes delivered under supply contracts. This came as a result of a shift in late 2021 towards producers restructuring contracting mechanisms to contain more frequent price breaks, in a bid to move sales towards more market-led pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":97840,"content":97841},{"textAlign":49},[97842],{"text":97843,"type":596},"By February, pricing in the international spot market reached near parity with the domestic market in China, which typically acts as a bellwether for international trading, as a result of the lagged impact of the Chinese price rally on ex-China sentiment.",{"type":591,"attrs":97845,"content":97846},{"textAlign":49},[97847],{"text":97848,"type":596},"Particularly in Europe and North America, spot market pricing for small volumes of lithium hydroxide rose sharply in the first quarter, in response to tightening availability amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This saw Russian hydroxide volumes being severely restricted for delivery into Europe due to trade and transport sanctions.",{"type":591,"attrs":97850,"content":97851},{"textAlign":49},[97852],{"text":97853,"type":596},"Towards the end of the first quarter, the price rally in the Chinese domestic market began to decelerate on the back of market participants’ hesitance to surpass the RMB 500,000/tonne price threshold, with this stability compounded by comments from Chinese government ministries that pricing should be encouraged back down to more normalised levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":97855,"content":97856},{"textAlign":49},[97857],{"type":836,"attrs":97858},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":97859,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":97860},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87a0e1ccc0/bm-lithium-2022-in-review.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":97862,"content":97863},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97864],{"text":97865,"type":596},"A subdued second quarter",{"type":591,"attrs":97867,"content":97868},{"textAlign":49},[97869],{"text":97870,"type":596},"The second quarter started with a quieter period of activity in the Chinese domestic market and temporary softening of prices, on the back of localised Covid-19 restrictions, particularly in Shanghai, halting or severely limiting operations for many automakers and consequently weighing on downstream demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":97872,"content":97873},{"textAlign":49},[97874],{"text":97875,"type":596},"Meanwhile in the international market, activity was also subdued, as is typical in Europe and North America during the summer months. However, this illiquidity was exacerbated by consumers employing a cautious watch-and-wait strategy before purchasing material whilst virus developments in China played out.",{"type":591,"attrs":97877,"content":97878},{"textAlign":49},[97879],{"text":97880,"type":596},"Following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Shanghai in early June, market activity in the Chinese domestic market recovered. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97882,"content":97883},{"textAlign":49},[97884],{"text":97885,"type":596},"Seasonal domestic supply from Qinghai brine projects, coupled with uncertainly over whether tighter virus restrictions would return, meant pricing for both carbonate and hydroxide remained relatively stable throughout June and July, however.",{"type":615,"attrs":97887,"content":97888},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[97889],{"text":97890,"type":596},"Demand recovers",{"type":591,"attrs":97892,"content":97893},{"textAlign":49},[97894],{"text":97895,"type":596},"As demand from downstream cathode and cell manufacturers began to recover towards the end of the third quarter, prices for lithium chemicals in the Chinese domestic market began another rally, with increasing feedstock prices, particularly for spodumene from Australia, squeezing converter margins.",{"type":591,"attrs":97897,"content":97898},{"textAlign":49},[97899],{"text":97900,"type":596},"In Japan and South Korea, demand remained robust throughout this period, with spot market pricing surpassing domestic China pricing, as consumers competed for any available volumes.",{"type":591,"attrs":97902,"content":97903},{"textAlign":49},[97904],{"text":97905,"type":596},"During this time, pricing for spodumene concentrate also increased dramatically, with feedstock availability increasingly becoming a focal bottleneck in the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97907,"content":97908},{"textAlign":49},[97909],{"text":97910,"type":596},"As a result of many spodumene contracts being directly tied to the rallying lithium chemicals market, Benchmark saw concentrate prices rising by 113.7% from January to November 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97912,"content":97913},{"textAlign":49},[97914],{"text":97915,"type":596},"Additionally, the smaller volumes sold in Pilbara Minerals’ BMX auctions, whilst not wholly representative of the prevailing market price, settled at multiple record highs throughout the year, clearly indicating the extreme supply tightness.",{"type":591,"attrs":97917,"content":97918},{"textAlign":49},[97919],{"text":97920,"type":596},"Nonetheless, lithium chemical market activity outside of Asia remained stymied through the second half of 2022, as non-battery consumers showed resistance to paying such high prices for lithium products, amid rising costs for other raw materials and energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":97922,"content":97923},{"textAlign":49},[97924,97926,97930],{"text":97925,"type":596},"As Chinese automakers looked to accelerate production rates into the fourth quarter of 2022, to boost sales ahead of the discontinuation of China’s ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":97927},[97928],{"type":606,"attrs":97929},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":97931,"type":596}," subsidies on 1 January 2023, the domestic price rally was supported before tightening Covid-19 restrictions once again saw pricing level off towards the beginning of December.",{"type":591,"attrs":97933,"content":97934},{"textAlign":49},[97935],{"text":97936,"type":596},"As such, prices for battery grade carbonate climbed by 20.8% from the end of July through to the start of December, with hydroxide pricing increasing by 19.5% in the same period, both recording fresh highs of over RMB 575,000/tonne ($82,225).",{"type":591,"attrs":97938,"content":97939},{"textAlign":49},[97940],{"text":97941,"type":596},"Following the price rally at the beginning of the fourth quarter, prices in the Chinese domestic market began to stabilise, then soften marginally, in early December on the back of cathode manufacturers adopting a watch-and-wait strategy towards purchasing material amid the Covid-19 disruptions in China. Cathode producers instead worked through raw material inventories built up throughout November.",{"type":591,"attrs":97943,"content":97944},{"textAlign":49},[97945],{"text":97946,"type":596},"Despite Covid-19 restrictions being eased in the second week of December, uncertainty still remained with mixed signals from the market regarding the demand picture for the final few weeks of 2022 and ahead of 2023’s notably early Spring Festival in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97948,"content":97949},{"textAlign":49},[97950],{"text":97951,"type":596,"marks":97952},"Tony Alderson is an analyst at Benchmark.",[97953],{"type":1006},"2022 was the year when market-led contracting mechanisms took hold in the lithium market. The first quarter of 2022 saw a record-breaking price rally in the Chinese domestic lithium market, with battery grade lithium carbonate soaring by 101.4% between January and March, as a result of a widening supply deficit. Lithium hydroxide followed this trend, […]",[97956],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97957},{"job_title":557,"image":97958,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[97960,97961],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":97963,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":97964,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7da1373c25/bm-millenial-lithium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 14, 2022",{"id":97967,"uuid":97968,"name":97969,"slug":97970,"full_slug":97971,"content":97972},112472111361068,"880f7b08-890d-42e7-b86d-1712a86d910b","India is “far behind” in race to build battery supply chain, Epsilon says","india-is-far-behind-in-race-to-build-battery-supply-chain-epsilon-says","article/india-is-far-behind-in-race-to-build-battery-supply-chain-epsilon-says",{"_uid":97973,"date":97974,"tags":97975,"editor":97977,"content":97981,"excerpt":98110,"featured":51,"reporter":98111,"_editable":98115,"component":697,"seo_title":97969,"categories":98116,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98121,"seo_description":98110,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98124},"dd1dfc42-cb02-434c-96dc-9c0763f0cd04","2022-12-09 00:00",[97976],{"slug":4342,"name":4343},[97978],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":97979},{"job_title":557,"image":97980,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":97982},[97983,97995,98000,98005,98010,98015,98020,98025,98030,98035,98040,98045,98050,98055,98060,98065,98070,98075,98088,98093,98098,98101,98104,98107],{"type":591,"attrs":97984,"content":97985},{"textAlign":49},[97986,97988,97993],{"text":97987,"type":596},"India needs to speed up the development of a battery raw material supply chain to meet the country’s ambitious ",{"text":766,"type":596,"marks":97989},[97990],{"type":606,"attrs":97991},{"href":97992,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tata-10000-ev-set-to-boost-india-ev-market-but-domestic-battery-supply-lags",{"text":97994,"type":596}," targets, according to the country’s top battery anode producer Epsilon Advanced Materials. ",{"type":591,"attrs":97996,"content":97997},{"textAlign":49},[97998],{"text":97999,"type":596},"India is likely to build only around 100 giga-watt hours (GWh) of battery capacity by the end of the decade, enough for around 2.5 million electric vehicles, as global battery producers from Japan and South Korea focus on the US and Europe, Vikram Handa, managing director of Epsilon, told Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98001,"content":98002},{"textAlign":49},[98003],{"text":98004,"type":596},"“I think India is far behind. Even the US was far behind…but the Inflation Reduction Act changes everything. It makes them leapfrog even Europe. But today where we are, the sector is not getting the boost that it needs,” according to Handa.",{"type":591,"attrs":98006,"content":98007},{"textAlign":49},[98008],{"text":98009,"type":596},"India has set a target of having 30% of its passenger car sales electric by 2030, from less than 1% last year. NITI Aayog, India’s policy think tank, has estimated the country could have 80 million electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98011,"content":98012},{"textAlign":49},[98013],{"text":98014,"type":596},"The world’s fourth largest automotive market’s battery supply chain will need to catch up significantly to meet that target, however. Based on current plans, India will account for less than half a percent of global battery capacity in 2030, according to Benchmark assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":98016,"content":98017},{"textAlign":49},[98018],{"text":98019,"type":596},"“Indian companies will start with one or two GWhs, stabilise it and then scale up. By 2025, we should have close to 15 GWh to 20 GWh of capacity in India. By 2030 it should be north of a hundred gigawatts,” Handa said.",{"type":591,"attrs":98021,"content":98022},{"textAlign":49},[98023],{"text":98024,"type":596},"Last month Epsilon, a producer of needle coke and synthetic graphite, said it would invest Rs 9,000 crore ($1.1 billion) in India’s southern state Karnataka to set up a battery anode materials facility. A month earlier the company signed an agreement with the Finnish Minerals Group to look at building a synthetic graphite anode material production plant in Finland with a capacity of about 50,000 tonnes of anode material a year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98026,"content":98027},{"textAlign":49},[98028],{"text":98029,"type":596},"The projects would be a significant boost to the supply of synthetic graphite anode materials outside of China. Currently, less than 40% of the pipeline anode capacity in construction and planning outside of China is set to be synthetic graphite-based, compared with nearly 80% in China, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98031,"content":98032},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98033],{"text":98034,"type":596},"Expanding anode production",{"type":591,"attrs":98036,"content":98037},{"textAlign":49},[98038],{"text":98039,"type":596},"Epsilon will focus on supplying global battery manufacturers before demand in India materialises later in the decade, Handa said.",{"type":591,"attrs":98041,"content":98042},{"textAlign":49},[98043],{"text":98044,"type":596},"“I don’t think we will sell more than 2,000 tonnes or 3,500 tonnes in India as that kind of offtake won’t be there. The idea is to qualify with all Korean and European customers and automotive OEMs as well,” Handa said, adding that he expects Indian demand for battery grade anode to pick up by 2026-27 timeframe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98046,"content":98047},{"textAlign":49},[98048],{"text":98049,"type":596},"The company currently manufactures 2,500 tonnes of coke, which it mainly sells to anode makers in China. The company said it will have 17,500 tonnes of coke capacity by March 2023, a volume that can make about 12,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite, Handa said.",{"type":591,"attrs":98051,"content":98052},{"textAlign":49},[98053],{"text":98054,"type":596},"Eventually the company is targeting 300,000 tonnes of anode materials capacity, made up of around 25% natural graphite and 75% synthetic graphite, he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":98056,"content":98057},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98058],{"text":98059,"type":596},"Relying on imports ",{"type":591,"attrs":98061,"content":98062},{"textAlign":49},[98063],{"text":98064,"type":596},"India currently does not have any active cell manufacturing for electric vehicles and mostly relies on imports from China, Taiwan and South Korea for its battery needs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98066,"content":98067},{"textAlign":49},[98068],{"text":98069,"type":596},"Earlier this year, India allocated subsidies to three players under the government’s $2.5 billion Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for battery manufacturing. These include Rajesh Exports, Ola Electric and Reliance New Solar.",{"type":591,"attrs":98071,"content":98072},{"textAlign":49},[98073],{"text":98074,"type":596},"While Ola, a startup backed by Softbank, was allocated 20 GWh capacity under the PLI bid for advanced chemistry cells, it is reportedly planning a 50 GWh gigafactory to support its own two-wheeler and four-wheeler plans. The company also plans to launch an electric vehicle in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":98076,"content":98077},{"textAlign":49},[98078,98080,98086],{"text":98079,"type":596},"In September the country’s largest battery maker Exide began construction of a lithium ion cell manufacturing plant in the southern state of Karnataka in collaboration with ",{"text":98081,"type":596,"marks":98082},"China’s SVOLT",[98083],{"type":606,"attrs":98084},{"href":98085,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/svolt-files-2-1-billion-ipo-as-it-looks-to-fund-battery-capacity-expansions",{"text":98087,"type":596},". This month rival battery maker Amara Raja announced an agreement with neighbouring state of Telangana to build a lithium ion gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":98089,"content":98090},{"textAlign":49},[98091],{"text":98092,"type":596},"The Indian government should also focus on its own supplies of domestic resources to satisfy the rising demand for battery materials such as graphite for anodes, Handa said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98094,"content":98095},{"textAlign":49},[98096],{"text":98097,"type":596},"“India has a lot of graphite reserves but the government has never put them up for auction because there have been no takers and it is a net importer of graphite. There is a need for a policy shift where such resources come up for auction just like coal, iron ore and other minerals. That kind of focus for flake graphite can be explored in India,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":98099,"content":98100},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98102,"content":98103},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98105,"content":98106},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98108,"content":98109},{"textAlign":49},[],"India needs to speed up the development of a battery raw material supply chain to meet the country’s ambitious electric vehicle targets, according to the country’s top battery anode producer Epsilon Advanced Materials. India is likely to build only around 100 giga-watt hours (GWh) of battery capacity by the end of the decade, enough for […]",[98112],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98113},{"job_title":557,"image":98114,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dd1dfc42-cb02-434c-96dc-9c0763f0cd04\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98117,98118,98119,98120],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98122,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98123,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/17a6f16a95/bm-india-ev-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 09, 2022",{"id":98126,"uuid":98127,"name":98128,"slug":98129,"full_slug":98130,"content":98131},112472106486727,"0e85014e-fbe7-4073-bb13-6204848cf1b8","Cobalt prices fall 40% as weak global economy hits smartphone sales","cobalt-prices-fall-40-as-weak-global-economy-hits-smartphone-sales","article/cobalt-prices-fall-40-as-weak-global-economy-hits-smartphone-sales",{"_uid":98132,"date":97974,"tags":98133,"editor":98135,"content":98139,"excerpt":98256,"featured":51,"reporter":98257,"_editable":98261,"component":697,"seo_title":98128,"categories":98262,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98266,"seo_description":98256,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98124},"abcf4a8a-dc66-4882-8aee-1559db671235",[98134],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[98136],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98137},{"job_title":557,"image":98138,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98140},[98141,98146,98151,98156,98161,98166,98171,98176,98181,98186,98191,98196,98201,98206,98211,98216,98221,98226,98231,98236,98241,98246,98251],{"type":591,"attrs":98142,"content":98143},{"textAlign":49},[98144],{"text":98145,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have fallen by two-fifths since April, as a weakening global economy has hit demand for consumer electronics such as smartphones, which contain the metal in their batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":98147,"content":98148},{"textAlign":49},[98149],{"text":98150,"type":596},"Cobalt metal prices have fallen by 42% to $22.95 a pound since reaching a four year high in April, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment. Prices fell by 9% in November compared to the prevoius month. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98152,"content":98153},{"textAlign":49},[98154],{"text":98155,"type":596},"“Cobalt prices are very much driven by sentiment,” said Cameron Hughes, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":98157,"content":98158},{"textAlign":49},[98159],{"text":98160,"type":596},"Global smartphone sales have shrunk this year as consumers have struggled with rising inflation due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and continuing Covid-19 restrictions in China. The type of lithium ion batteries used in smartphones contain more cobalt per kilogram than those used in electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98162,"content":98163},{"textAlign":49},[98164],{"text":98165,"type":596},"In 2022 global battery demand from the portable electronics sector is set to reach 66.8 GWh, a decline of 4% year-on-year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database. The decline is driven by laptops and consumer electronics. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98167,"content":98168},{"textAlign":49},[98169],{"text":98170,"type":596},"“A lot of people bought smartphones during the Covid lockdowns and haven’t replaced them this year and the impacts of Covid in China are continuing to linger along with the darkening global economic outlook,” Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98172,"content":98173},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98174],{"text":98175,"type":596},"EVs replace phones as driver of cobalt demand ",{"type":591,"attrs":98177,"content":98178},{"textAlign":49},[98179],{"text":98180,"type":596},"Cobalt demand from the electric vehicles sector has now overtaken that of the portable sector due to the slowdown in the consumer electronics sector, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":98182,"content":98183},{"textAlign":49},[98184],{"text":98185,"type":596},"The share of lithium cobalt oxide batteries (LCO), typically used in consumer electronics, is expected to slip to just about 9% of the total lithium ion battery market by the end of this year, from 13.2% in 2021, according to Benchmark Cobalt Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":98187,"content":98188},{"textAlign":49},[98189],{"text":98190,"type":596},"That share is expected to retreat to just about 2% by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":98192,"content":98193},{"textAlign":49},[98194],{"text":98195,"type":596},"In addition, while electric vehicle batteries now make up the majority of global cobalt demand, automakers are switching to using more lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, which use no cobalt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98197,"content":98198},{"textAlign":49},[98199],{"text":98200,"type":596},"In China, where LFP has the biggest market share, as of November 38.6% of batteries produced were NCM/NCA and 61.4% were LFP. The average market share for LFP this year is 60.1% and it was 54.7% last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":98202,"content":98203},{"textAlign":49},[98204],{"text":98205,"type":596},"Cobalt supply increases",{"type":591,"attrs":98207,"content":98208},{"textAlign":49},[98209],{"text":98210,"type":596},"The weakening in consumer demand comes as supply of cobalt has increased this year, following the restart of Glencore’s Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98212,"content":98213},{"textAlign":49},[98214],{"text":98215,"type":596},"The London-listed company is set to produce around 45,000 tonnes of cobalt this year, a jump of 44% over 2021. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98217,"content":98218},{"textAlign":49},[98219],{"text":98220,"type":596},"China’s CMOC, the world’s second largest cobalt producer, has also increased production this year, although its exports have been blocked for five months due to a dispute with the state-owned mining company Gecamines over royalty payments. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98222,"content":98223},{"textAlign":49},[98224],{"text":98225,"type":596},"Gecamines believes that CMOC understated the amount of reserves at its Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine and is seeking between $2 billion to $2.5 billion in cash and an enlarged stake of between 49% and 51% in Tenke Fungurume Mining, Reuters reported this week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98227,"content":98228},{"textAlign":49},[98229],{"text":98230,"type":596},"CMOC has said it may take legal action against Gecamines due to the restrictions on its exports, Reuters separately reported. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98232,"content":98233},{"textAlign":49},[98234],{"text":98235,"type":596},"Both Glencore and CMOC have mines in the DRC and together account for about 37% of the global production.",{"type":591,"attrs":98237,"content":98238},{"textAlign":49},[98239],{"text":98240,"type":596},"Further, in Indonesia, significant investment into developing high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) projects in 2022 has made mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide precipitate (MHP) a cost-effective, alternative source of cobalt to DRC hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":98242,"content":98243},{"textAlign":49},[98244],{"text":98245,"type":596},"Two operating HPAL nickel processing projects are forecast to produce more than 6,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in MHP this year, further adding to the surplus in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":98247,"content":98248},{"textAlign":49},[98249],{"text":98250,"type":596},"“While the prices are not driven by supply alone, there was obviously more material that was produced this year. There was quite a big increase,” Hughes said.",{"type":591,"attrs":98252,"content":98253},{"textAlign":49},[98254],{"text":98255,"type":596},"Cobalt supply is forecast to increase to 170,000 tonnes this year, a growth of 10% year-on-year. In contrast, Benchmark forecasts cobalt demand will reach 165,000 tonnes by the end of the year, implying the cobalt market would return to a surplus of about 5,000 tonnes. A supply surplus is forecast until the end of the decade.","Cobalt prices have fallen by two-fifths since April, as a weakening global economy has hit demand for consumer electronics such as smartphones, which contain the metal in their batteries. Cobalt metal prices have fallen by 42% to $22.95 a pound since reaching a four year high in April, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment. Prices […]",[98258],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98259},{"job_title":557,"image":98260,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"abcf4a8a-dc66-4882-8aee-1559db671235\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98263,98264,98265],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98267,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98268,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2b94e8b0b3/bm-glencore-ktanaga-copper-mine-drc1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":98270,"uuid":98271,"name":98272,"slug":98273,"full_slug":98274,"content":98275},112472155819061,"3a2dc673-bcff-4e0d-9949-2609301b608f","Chinese battery makers bet on Europe’s EV market","chinese-battery-makers-bet-on-europes-ev-market","article/chinese-battery-makers-bet-on-europes-ev-market",{"_uid":98276,"date":98277,"tags":98278,"editor":98281,"content":98285,"excerpt":98399,"featured":51,"reporter":98400,"_editable":98404,"component":697,"seo_title":98272,"categories":98405,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98409,"seo_description":98399,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98412},"b805f06a-1d02-413c-8496-b3e9a3021945","2022-12-02 00:00",[98279,98280],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[98282],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98283},{"job_title":557,"image":98284,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98286},[98287,98292,98297,98309,98314,98319,98326,98331,98336,98341,98346,98351,98357,98362,98367,98372,98384,98389,98394],{"type":591,"attrs":98288,"content":98289},{"textAlign":49},[98290],{"text":98291,"type":596},"Chinese companies are set to produce almost a third of Europe’s batteries by the end of the decade, as they look to benefit from the continent’s growing sales of electric vehicles.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":98293,"content":98294},{"textAlign":49},[98295],{"text":98296,"type":596},"The share of Chinese involvement in cell production in Europe is set to increase from 8% by the end of this year to 22% of production by 2025 and to 29% of production by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":98298,"content":98299},{"textAlign":49},[98300,98302,98307],{"text":98301,"type":596}," Chinese battery companies have received a friendlier reception in Europe than in the US, where President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act seeks to restrict the involvement of Chinese companies. They have already become key suppliers to Europe’s largest automakers, with Volkswagen owning a stake in ",{"text":13426,"type":596,"marks":98303},[98304],{"type":606,"attrs":98305},{"href":98306,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/gotion-targets-100-gwh-overseas-expansion-as-it-launches-german-battery-pack-plant/",{"text":98308,"type":596},", and CATL supplying Mercedes-Benz. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98310,"content":98311},{"textAlign":49},[98312],{"text":98313,"type":596},"Europe’s EV penetration rate is at 18% year-to-date, while the US is at 6% and China at 24%, according to data from Rho Motion. By the end of the decade EV sales are set to rise to 60% new sales in Europe, compared to 32% for the US. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98315,"content":98316},{"textAlign":49},[98317],{"text":98318,"type":596},"“Europe is seemingly preferred over North America. Within Northern Europe in particular, there’s greater EV adoption already,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":98320,"content":98321},{"textAlign":49},[98322],{"type":836,"attrs":98323},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":98324,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":98325},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/41d3229c19/bm-chinese-batteries-europe-12928243d8ce.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":98327,"content":98328},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98329],{"text":98330,"type":596},"China OEMs plug into Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":98332,"content":98333},{"textAlign":49},[98334],{"text":98335,"type":596},"A number of Chinese electric vehicle makers have begun making inroads into Europe, including BYD, Nio and Xpeng. Geely, the owner of Volvo, is expected to launch its Zeekr electric vehicle in Europe next year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98337,"content":98338},{"textAlign":49},[98339],{"text":98340,"type":596},"It is still early days, however, and Chinese OEMs sold only about 82,000 EVs in Europe so far this year, representing about 5% of total European EV sales of 1.7 million units, according to Rho Motion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98342,"content":98343},{"textAlign":49},[98344],{"text":98345,"type":596},"“We do expect Chinese OEMs to continue to build on this, particularly on the back of impacted European production,” said Lola Hughes, Research Manager at Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":98347,"content":98348},{"textAlign":49},[98349],{"text":98350,"type":596},"Still Chinese OEMs have to build brand awareness and localise the supply chain, she said. They also have to build up production sites in Europe. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98352,"content":98353},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98354,98355],{"text":31503,"type":596},{"text":98356,"type":596},"Battery makers line up investments",{"type":591,"attrs":98358,"content":98359},{"textAlign":49},[98360],{"text":98361,"type":596},"This year investments worth at least $15 billion have been announced for five Chinese-operated cell production projects in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":98363,"content":98364},{"textAlign":49},[98365],{"text":98366,"type":596},"The investments come despite surging energy prices in Europe, which have been caused by the cut-off of Russian gas supplies to the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":98368,"content":98369},{"textAlign":49},[98370],{"text":98371,"type":596},"Tier 1 cell maker and the world’s largest battery maker CATL said this year it planned to invest $7.6 billion for a 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) battery factory in Debrecen, Hungary. Mercedes has already secured supply of cells from the plant once it starts production.",{"type":591,"attrs":98373,"content":98374},{"textAlign":49},[98375,98377,98382],{"text":98376,"type":596},"Tier 2 cell makers China Aviation Lithium Battery (CALB) and",{"text":98378,"type":596,"marks":98379}," SVOLT",[98380],{"type":606,"attrs":98381},{"href":98085,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":98383,"type":596}," also announced plans for a 45 GWh cell production base in Sines, Portugal and 16 GWh of capacity in Brandenburg, Germany, respectively. Envision AESC revealed plans to build an up to 50 GWh cell plant with an investment of $1.1 billion in Extremadura, Spain.",{"type":615,"attrs":98385,"content":98386},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98387],{"text":98388,"type":596},"China’s cathode push in Europe ",{"type":591,"attrs":98390,"content":98391},{"textAlign":49},[98392],{"text":98393,"type":596},"Chinese companies are also targeting cathode production in Europe. Beijing Easpring Material Technology and Finnish Minerals Group (FMG) are expected to lead the race, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98395,"content":98396},{"textAlign":49},[98397],{"text":98398,"type":596},"The two companies have partnered to build a cathode active material plant in Finland and plan to establish a joint venture in which Easpring will hold 70% and FMG 30%. ","Chinese companies are set to produce almost a third of Europe’s batteries by the end of the decade, as they look to benefit from the continent’s growing sales of electric vehicles. The share of Chinese involvement in cell production in Europe is set to increase from 8% by the end of this year to 22% […]",[98401],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98402},{"job_title":557,"image":98403,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b805f06a-1d02-413c-8496-b3e9a3021945\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98406,98407,98408],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98410,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98411,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/aafd39422d/bm-nio-europe.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 02, 2022",{"id":98414,"uuid":98415,"name":98416,"slug":98417,"full_slug":98418,"content":98419},112472145243187,"686e75ef-e870-4a79-a94e-f22e335d0803","Weekly Roundup: VW looks for Canadian gigafactory, Chinese battery producers eye Europe, and all eyes on lithium prices","weekly-roundup-vw-looks-for-canadian-gigafactory-chinese-battery-producers-eye-europe-and-all-eyes-on-lithium-prices","article/weekly-roundup-vw-looks-for-canadian-gigafactory-chinese-battery-producers-eye-europe-and-all-eyes-on-lithium-prices",{"_uid":98420,"date":98277,"tags":98421,"editor":98425,"content":98429,"excerpt":98467,"featured":50,"reporter":98468,"component":697,"seo_title":98416,"categories":98472,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98475,"seo_description":98467,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98412},"3b49e35e-da5f-4239-8faa-1da0d7cdda07",[98422],{"slug":98423,"name":98424},"weekly-roundup","Weekly Roundup",[98426],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98427},{"job_title":557,"image":98428,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98430},[98431,98442,98447,98457,98462],{"type":591,"attrs":98432,"content":98433},{"textAlign":49},[98434,98436,98440],{"text":98435,"type":596},"In this week’s roundup: VW looks for a site for its battery production in Canada, and all eyes are on ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":98437},[98438],{"type":606,"attrs":98439},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":98441,"type":596}," prices as China’s economy cools. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98443,"content":98444},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98445],{"text":98446,"type":596},"Batteries ",{"type":615,"attrs":98448,"content":98449},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98450,98456],{"text":98451,"type":596,"marks":98452},"Critical minerals",[98453],{"type":606,"attrs":98454},{"href":98455,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/key-takeaways-for-evs-batteries-and-critical-minerals-at-cop30",{"text":6312,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":98458,"content":98459},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98460],{"text":98461,"type":596},"Benchmark analysis highlights ",{"type":591,"attrs":98463,"content":98464},{"textAlign":49},[98465],{"text":98466,"type":596},"Send your company news and announcements to the Benchmark Source team: source@benchmarkminerals.com.","In this week’s roundup: VW looks for a site for its battery production in Canada, and all eyes are on lithium prices as China’s economy cools. Batteries Volkswagen and its battery company PowerCo said they were looking to build a battery gigafactory in Canada. Its partner Umicore also plans a plant in Canada to make […]",[98469],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98470},{"job_title":557,"image":98471,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[98473,98474],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98476,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98477,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d932f1b42c/bm-modular-electric-e1557388103269.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":98479,"uuid":98480,"name":98481,"slug":98482,"full_slug":98483,"content":98484},112472161172534,"0353ec20-43a8-4b8c-99c8-5d441179cb48","OPINION: Europe is on a mission to secure critical minerals. Here’s three things it should do","opinion-europe-is-on-a-mission-to-secure-critical-minerals-heres-three-things-it-should-do","article/opinion-europe-is-on-a-mission-to-secure-critical-minerals-heres-three-things-it-should-do",{"_uid":98485,"date":98486,"tags":98487,"editor":98489,"content":98493,"excerpt":98636,"featured":51,"reporter":98637,"_editable":98641,"component":697,"seo_title":98481,"categories":98642,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98647,"seo_description":98636,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98650},"37a91d23-b843-4214-b341-d389ce1292bb","2022-11-30 00:00",[98488],{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[98490],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98491},{"job_title":557,"image":98492,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98494},[98495,98502,98507,98512,98517,98522,98527,98532,98535,98540,98545,98550,98553,98558,98570,98583,98588,98601,98606,98609,98614,98619,98624,98629],{"type":591,"attrs":98496,"content":98497},{"textAlign":49},[98498,98500],{"text":98499,"type":596},"“Lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas,”",{"text":98501,"type":596},"EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her recent annual address to the European Parliament.",{"type":591,"attrs":98503,"content":98504},{"textAlign":49},[98505],{"text":98506,"type":596},"This marks a sea of change for Europe as just months ago its leaders were flying around the world to secure oil and gas. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98508,"content":98509},{"textAlign":49},[98510],{"text":98511,"type":596},"The twin priorities of a green and digital transformation of Europe relies on metals such as copper and lithium, not fossil fuels. Demand for critical materials is rising rapidly- at least 384 new mines for graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt are required to meet electric vehicle and energy storage battery demand by 2035, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":98513,"content":98514},{"textAlign":49},[98515],{"text":98516,"type":596},"Europe is neither first nor alone in its scramble to secure critical metals. China began as far back as the 1980s and today refines 85% of rare earths found in electric cars and wind turbines, and 65% of all lithium found in batteries. Though, with little transparency, the labour and environmental conditions under which these metals are sourced are difficult to track. For example, China refines almost half of the world’s lithium supply, but only 10% of lithium converters produce a carbon footprint assessment compared to more than 40% of converters in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":98518,"content":98519},{"textAlign":49},[98520],{"text":98521,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act is taking US industrial policy to a different level. Only electric cars with batteries and raw materials procured in North America or friendly countries will get tax credits. This has unleashed a wave of domestic investment – over $13 bln announced in less than three months – that will help to reduce world’s dependency on China and improve transparency. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98523,"content":98524},{"textAlign":49},[98525],{"text":98526,"type":596},"But Europe must not lag behind.",{"type":615,"attrs":98528,"content":98529},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98530],{"text":98531,"type":596},"Europe’s answer to Biden’s IRA",{"type":591,"attrs":98533,"content":98534},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98536,"content":98537},{"textAlign":49},[98538],{"text":98539,"type":596},"The EU’s answer to the metal supply challenge is the new Critical Raw Materials Act. At its core, the law will create a list of strategic projects in processing, mining and recycling at home that would benefit from lean permitting and extra funding.",{"type":591,"attrs":98541,"content":98542},{"textAlign":49},[98543],{"text":98544,"type":596},"But mining has long been out of favor with European communities and civil society organisations which are concerned about the impact on water, land and people’s livelihoods. Unless something changes, we could expect a repeat of the protests that halted Rio Tinto’s planned Jadar lithium project in Serbia earlier this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":98546,"content":98547},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98548],{"text":98549,"type":596},"How to speed up new projects ",{"type":591,"attrs":98551,"content":98552},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98554,"content":98555},{"textAlign":49},[98556],{"text":98557,"type":596},"For it to work, the new raw materials act must tackle the problems that are particular to Europe in its race to secure responsibly sourced raw materials. This European way should be based on three pillars.",{"type":591,"attrs":98559,"content":98560},{"textAlign":49},[98561,98563,98569],{"text":98562,"type":596},"First, European projects – whether a mine, a recycling plant or a refinery – must consistently meet the high standards they tout publicly. With extractive industries in decline for decades, some of Europe’s standards are outdated. Waste, for example, is one of the core challenges associated with mining, but Europe’s requirements around tailings management are ",{"text":98564,"type":596,"marks":98565},"behind those in Brazil, Ecuador and China",[98566],{"type":606,"attrs":98567},{"href":98568,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/243324/Hearing%2002.12.2021%20testimony%20Emerman.pdf",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":98571,"content":98572},{"textAlign":49},[98573,98575,98581],{"text":98574,"type":596},"This means that scrapping or watering down environmental requirements to speed up permitting for strategic projects – as the renewables legislation ",{"text":98576,"type":596,"marks":98577},"has done",[98578],{"type":606,"attrs":98579},{"href":98580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.ft.com/content/870d9b43-f4c1-4b8d-a1ec-384de654120c",{"text":98582,"type":596}," – is a no go. It will only bring more protest. The outdated requirements should be updated.",{"type":591,"attrs":98584,"content":98585},{"textAlign":49},[98586],{"text":98587,"type":596},"The strategic project badge should be conditional upon consistent application of best practice in waste, water and pollution control, underpinned by engagement with and consent from local communities. Doing things right is the fastest way to get project approvals in Europe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98589,"content":98590},{"textAlign":49},[98591,98593,98599],{"text":98592,"type":596},"Second, even if the end game must be urban mining, or recycling, Europe will rely on global imports for years to come. This means that transparent and diverse markets, underpinned by strong sustainability standards such as ",{"text":98594,"type":596,"marks":98595},"IRMA",[98596],{"type":606,"attrs":98597},{"href":98598,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://responsiblemining.net/",{"text":98600,"type":596},", are key to guaranteeing responsible supply.",{"type":615,"attrs":98602,"content":98603},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98604],{"text":98605,"type":596},"The battery passport ",{"type":591,"attrs":98607,"content":98608},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":98610,"content":98611},{"textAlign":49},[98612],{"text":98613,"type":596},"Europe will soon require a “battery passport” that traces where and under what conditions battery minerals were produced, and will mandate requirements for batteries sold on the EU market, such as carbon footprints and percentage of recycled content in batteries. Europe should work with like-minded countries like the US, Japan and South Korea to turn this into a joint standard across some of the largest electric vehicle markets. This will bring the scale to change practices globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":98615,"content":98616},{"textAlign":49},[98617],{"text":98618,"type":596},"Creating a similar track and trace standard for all raw materials will take time. But the Critical Raw Materials Act can already require all suppliers to measure and report their carbon emissions. This will reward those who have invested in better technology, as well as recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":98620,"content":98621},{"textAlign":49},[98622],{"text":98623,"type":596},"Finally, someone should be responsible for making all this happen. Recognising the importance of nuclear fuel, Europe created the EURATOM agency in 1957. We need a critical metals authority in 2022. This should coordinate the 27 EU governments’ efforts, ensure high standards are met and oversee joint purchasing or stockpiling across the Union.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":98625,"content":98626},{"textAlign":49},[98627],{"text":98628,"type":596},"Europe can’t do it alone. Global markets, including China, will be needed for scale, innovation and competition. But we should not be naive. The Critical Raw Materials Act, if done right, can ensure resilient and sustainable supply for the green transition. It should also help improve the way in which we source metals and bring us closer to the responsible global supply chains we all want.",{"type":591,"attrs":98630,"content":98631},{"textAlign":49},[98632],{"text":98633,"type":596,"marks":98634},"Julia Poliscanova is senior director at green transport group Transport & Environment. She is also on the board of directors of the Global Battery Alliance and is an advisor to the board of the Vulcan Energy Resources.",[98635],{"type":1006},"“Lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her recent annual address to the European Parliament. This marks a sea of change for Europe as just months ago its leaders were flying around the world to secure oil and gas. The […]",[98638],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98639},{"job_title":557,"image":98640,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"37a91d23-b843-4214-b341-d389ce1292bb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98643,98644,98645,98646],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98648,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98649,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c71059049a/bm-european-commission-flags-e1649948622413.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 30, 2022",{"id":98652,"uuid":98653,"name":98654,"slug":98655,"full_slug":98656,"content":98657},112472166431799,"26c464c9-0363-4324-aeaa-d974d13790de","Everything we know about Tesla’s planned lithium refinery","everything-we-know-about-teslas-planned-lithium-refinery","article/everything-we-know-about-teslas-planned-lithium-refinery",{"_uid":98658,"date":98659,"tags":98660,"editor":98663,"content":98667,"excerpt":98831,"featured":51,"reporter":98832,"_editable":98836,"component":697,"seo_title":98654,"categories":98837,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":98840,"seo_description":98831,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":98843},"cc5bd5ab-07ab-4dd2-8ec0-9231ab254675","2022-11-29 00:00",[98661,98662],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},{"slug":572,"name":573},[98664],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98665},{"job_title":557,"image":98666,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98668},[98669,98674,98679,98684,98689,98694,98699,98704,98709,98714,98721,98726,98731,98736,98741,98746,98751,98756,98761,98766,98771,98776,98781,98786,98791,98796,98801,98806,98811,98816,98821,98826],{"type":591,"attrs":98670,"content":98671},{"textAlign":49},[98672],{"text":98673,"type":596},"In 2020, Benchmark confirmed that Tesla will build a lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Texas in what was the first move by an automotive company into lithium chemical production.",{"type":591,"attrs":98675,"content":98676},{"textAlign":49},[98677],{"text":98678,"type":596},"Two years on, what more do we know about the electric vehicle maker’s ambitious plans to shore up its supply chain?",{"type":615,"attrs":98680,"content":98681},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98682],{"text":98683,"type":596},"Is it still happening?",{"type":591,"attrs":98685,"content":98686},{"textAlign":49},[98687],{"text":98688,"type":596},"Almost certainly.",{"type":591,"attrs":98690,"content":98691},{"textAlign":49},[98692],{"text":98693,"type":596},"In October, Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk confirmed the facility was going ahead in the company’s third-quarter conference call with analysts.",{"type":591,"attrs":98695,"content":98696},{"textAlign":49},[98697],{"text":98698,"type":596},"Tesla is building cathode production at its Austin, Texas, gigafactory and is “also building a lithium refinery,” Musk said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98700,"content":98701},{"textAlign":49},[98702],{"text":98703,"type":596},"The automaker is ramping up production of its own 4680 battery cell, with the aim of lowering battery costs by improving the manufacturing and processing steps. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98705,"content":98706},{"textAlign":49},[98707],{"text":98708,"type":596},"Musk said that Tesla was “moving as fast as possible” to achieve 1,000 GWh of battery capacity in the US that was “vertically integrated – anode, cathode, lithium refining.”",{"type":591,"attrs":98710,"content":98711},{"textAlign":49},[98712],{"text":98713,"type":596},"“Like many automakers, Tesla is trying to control battery costs, which are spiralling at the moment due to the cost of raw materials,” says Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark. “Many automakers are trying to vertically integrate their supply chains, but Tesla is going one step further by looking to refine its own raw materials.”",{"type":591,"attrs":98715,"content":98716},{"textAlign":49},[98717],{"type":836,"attrs":98718},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":98719,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":98720},"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GO3PYDl0EuYR0CQMWmGVLSkrIR5sLcrAsVBbFAXrJSlxl2a8o7NFdwH-o_uvVGS6VrP5yCW9WiiTCdaDYE84YDLzAtWdgP77U0_XlY-9q5bahFOMfBr6kHx-DGKeNcSlw45NWp8OEJRuTpRIyYrBEsQJeElq4VG0ADQtdz2x1PGMEHfLiK0Y9wVIwl9ZYw",{},{"type":615,"attrs":98722,"content":98723},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98724],{"text":98725,"type":596},"Where will the refinery be?",{"type":591,"attrs":98727,"content":98728},{"textAlign":49},[98729],{"text":98730,"type":596},"In September, Tesla applied for a property tax break for a site in Robstown, Nueces county, Texas, which is about 16 miles west of Corpus Christi. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98732,"content":98733},{"textAlign":49},[98734],{"text":98735,"type":596},"The application said Tesla would “process raw ore material into a usable state for battery production.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":98737,"content":98738},{"textAlign":49},[98739],{"text":98740,"type":596},"The lithium hydroxide would then be shipped by truck and rail to various Tesla battery manufacturing sites, it said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98742,"content":98743},{"textAlign":49},[98744],{"text":98745,"type":596},"The site is under 20 miles from the Port of Corpus Christi. It is less than 200 miles from Tesla’s new headquarters in Austin.",{"type":615,"attrs":98747,"content":98748},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98749],{"text":98750,"type":596},"What stage is the project at?",{"type":591,"attrs":98752,"content":98753},{"textAlign":49},[98754],{"text":98755,"type":596},"The Robstown refinery is currently being reviewed by various local authorities for approval. A decision could be made as soon as 7 December, when Nueces County will consider approval of the agreement.",{"type":591,"attrs":98757,"content":98758},{"textAlign":49},[98759],{"text":98760,"type":596},"If the project is approved, construction of the $365 million project could start before the end of the year. Tesla said operations could begin in the fourth quarter of 2024. The facility will create 250 construction jobs and another 162 high-paying permanent jobs in the area, according to the tax filing.",{"type":591,"attrs":98762,"content":98763},{"textAlign":49},[98764],{"text":98765,"type":596},"On 10 November and 17 November respectively, Tesla shared job listings for an Area Construction Manager and Area Superintendent. The positions, undoubtedly for the project, will play “a critical role in construction of novel battery chemical plant(s) near Corpus Christi, TX.”",{"type":615,"attrs":98767,"content":98768},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98769],{"text":98770,"type":596},"What do we know about the refinery?",{"type":591,"attrs":98772,"content":98773},{"textAlign":49},[98774],{"text":98775,"type":596},"Benchmark understands the refining plant will turn spodumene concentrate into lithium hydroxide for use in Tesla’s battery cells. This process usually takes place in China using Australia-sourced spodumene.",{"type":591,"attrs":98777,"content":98778},{"textAlign":49},[98779],{"text":98780,"type":596},"According to the tax filing, Tesla will build “supporting infrastructure and lithium refining equipment.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":98782,"content":98783},{"textAlign":49},[98784],{"text":98785,"type":596},"Still, Tesla will need to secure supplies of spodumene to feed the refinery. Its deal with Australian producer Core Lithium fell apart in October, with no offtake signed between the companies. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98787,"content":98788},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98789],{"text":98790,"type":596},"Are any other automakers producing their own lithium?",{"type":591,"attrs":98792,"content":98793},{"textAlign":49},[98794],{"text":98795,"type":596},"Tesla would be the first automaker to build its own refinery, although Chinese electric vehicle makers have been attempting to secure access to upstream supplies for some time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98797,"content":98798},{"textAlign":49},[98799],{"text":98800,"type":596},"China’s largest electric vehicle producer BYD this year bought a stake in Chengxin Lithium, while its also working with Qinghai Salt Lake Industry on a lithium carbonate plant. ",{"type":615,"attrs":98802,"content":98803},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[98804],{"text":98805,"type":596},"Is the 2024 completion date realistic?",{"type":591,"attrs":98807,"content":98808},{"textAlign":49},[98809],{"text":98810,"type":596},"There’s still a long way to go before Tesla will start producing battery-grade lithium, however, according to Rawles.",{"type":591,"attrs":98812,"content":98813},{"textAlign":49},[98814],{"text":98815,"type":596},"“Two years would be a quick time frame for a company with experience, and refining is not a core competency for Tesla,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98817,"content":98818},{"textAlign":49},[98819],{"text":98820,"type":596},"In addition, there are only a limited number of manufacturers of the really specialised equipment needed to mine and refine lithium, he said. Lead times can be as long as four years at the moment because there just isn’t enough supply to meet booming demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98822,"content":98823},{"textAlign":49},[98824],{"text":98825,"type":596},"“Even if Tesla manages to build the refinery by the end of 2024, they might find they don’t have the equipment to bring it online,” he said. “It would be well into 2025 before they get stable products out, which is a long way off, considering they will want that lithium as soon as possible.”",{"type":591,"attrs":98827,"content":98828},{"textAlign":49},[98829],{"text":98830,"type":596},"Benchmark also understands that Tesla still intends to use a hydrometallurgical process to turn its spodumene concentrate into lithium hydroxide, eliminating the use of sulphuric acid. This process has not yet been built at commercial scale so will provide an additional hurdle for Tesla.","In 2020, Benchmark confirmed that Tesla will build a lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Texas in what was the first move by an automotive company into lithium chemical production. Two years on, what more do we know about the electric vehicle maker’s ambitious plans to shore up its supply chain? Is it still happening? Almost […]",[98833],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98834},{"job_title":557,"image":98835,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cc5bd5ab-07ab-4dd2-8ec0-9231ab254675\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98838,98839],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98841,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":98842,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/70c690335e/bm-tesla-photo.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 29, 2022",{"id":98845,"uuid":98846,"name":98847,"slug":98848,"full_slug":98849,"content":98850},112472171768889,"39458f9e-cc37-4754-9e2d-c5f8358287ce","Glencore and  the circular economy: Q&A with Kunal Sinha","glencore-and-the-circular-economy-qa-with-kunal-sinha","article/glencore-and-the-circular-economy-qa-with-kunal-sinha",{"_uid":98851,"date":98852,"tags":98853,"editor":98856,"content":98860,"excerpt":98990,"featured":51,"reporter":98991,"_editable":98995,"component":697,"seo_title":98847,"categories":98996,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99000,"seo_description":98990,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99003},"d2187945-80a9-4294-b220-6b9c08072a2b","2022-11-28 00:00",[98854,98855],{"slug":5837,"name":5838},{"slug":4347,"name":4348},[98857],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98858},{"job_title":557,"image":98859,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":98861},[98862,98867,98872,98879,98884,98889,98894,98899,98904,98911,98916,98921,98928,98933,98938,98943,98948,98953,98960,98965,98970,98975,98980,98985],{"type":591,"attrs":98863,"content":98864},{"textAlign":49},[98865],{"text":98866,"type":596},"Glencore is one of the world’s largest mining companies, and the biggest producer of cobalt, a key battery metal. But the company has also been recycling metals for decades, and is expanding into battery recycling, signing recent deals with Li-Cycle in the US and Britishvolt in the UK. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98868,"content":98869},{"textAlign":49},[98870],{"text":98871,"type":596},"Benchmark Source spoke to Kunal Sinha, global head of recycling at Glencore to find out more. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98873,"content":98874},{"textAlign":49},[98875],{"text":98876,"type":596,"marks":98877},"What is the advantage of a miner going into recycling rather than a pure recycling company?",[98878],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":98880,"content":98881},{"textAlign":49},[98882],{"text":98883,"type":596},"We are not a miner that is looking to go into recycling. We are a miner who is one of the longest standing recycler of some of these streams for 30-40 years. We are the largest e-waste and copper scrap recycler in North America and one of the largest recyclers of batteries in the world. So from that experience, we think that when you combine primary and recycled streams of material at scale, like hundreds of thousands of tonnes scale, that’s when you get the true advantages for both sides, the primary side and the recycling side. Our recycling business supports our ambition to be a net zero total emissions (scope 1,2,3) company by 2050.",{"type":591,"attrs":98885,"content":98886},{"textAlign":49},[98887],{"text":98888,"type":596},"If you look at just the recycled supply of input materials, (I’m intentionally not calling it scrap or waste because I think that connotation is not a good one going forward.) They are very unpredictable in terms of their quantity and quality. Because you’re collecting through several channels and you never know exactly what you will get each month. Second, the actual chemistry of what you get, whether we are talking of lithium ion batteries or e-waste or lead acid batteries, anything that you’re collecting, you have no idea and you can’t dictate it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98890,"content":98891},{"textAlign":49},[98892],{"text":98893,"type":596},"So what happens is, if you’re a pure recycler your outputs are going to be dependent on what your input is, which means your output is going to be more variable. And any industry whether it’s the pCAM chain [precursor and cathode active materials ] for batteries or whether it is semiconductors or lead acid batteries – that industry eventually cannot accept this variability and that quality, so you have to expend probably a lot of capital to deal with it. When you combine the mining and recycling streams, as we are doing, together: you can take care of some of this variability. So if I have less copper or less nickel from the recycling stream I can always add more from primary. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98895,"content":98896},{"textAlign":49},[98897],{"text":98898,"type":596},"The converse is also true if you think about it: if people want to produce a particular precursor, let’s say NCM 811 going forward, they need high nickel, and low cobalt in their output. But if you look at the stock of batteries that have been put out for recycling, they are all from 10-20 years ago. Which means probably they are high cobalt chemistries. Hence the pure recycler will be short nickel but long cobalt and not able to produce 811 precursor. And then the same situation will repeat itself in 20 years as battery chemistries evolve. So somebody like us can take care of these imbalances by combining primary and recycling streams.",{"type":591,"attrs":98900,"content":98901},{"textAlign":49},[98902],{"text":98903,"type":596},"It’s about truly closing that loop. Closing the loop responsibly means going all the way from that primary production of that molecule at the very first instance of when you produce it, to making sure that no matter what life event happens to that molecule, in whatever form it is, it can be captured in proper channels and either repurposed or reused.",{"type":591,"attrs":98905,"content":98906},{"textAlign":49},[98907],{"text":98908,"type":596,"marks":98909},"So do you think a lot of the pure recycling companies will struggle and there will be overcapacity?",[98910],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":98912,"content":98913},{"textAlign":49},[98914],{"text":98915,"type":596},"If anyone wants to go beyond shredding batteries and making black mass, to further refining into battery grade sulphates, and if they are solely reliant on recycled feed, it’s likely they will struggle.",{"type":591,"attrs":98917,"content":98918},{"textAlign":49},[98919],{"text":98920,"type":596},"If you go to the next step, you will start to interact with primary production in order to produce an end product that is marketable. So whether that becomes more partnerships, like we have with Li-Cycle, and a few others, or it’s just a relationship where you want to buy some primary raw materials to counter the deficit of those metals in your recycling fields. It has to happen. We can already see certain recyclers looking for it, which is logical. There’s nothing wrong with it.",{"type":591,"attrs":98922,"content":98923},{"textAlign":49},[98924],{"text":98925,"type":596,"marks":98926},"In terms of your future strategy, will you be looking to partner more with recycling companies? What can we expect from Glencore going forward?",[98927],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":98929,"content":98930},{"textAlign":49},[98931],{"text":98932,"type":596},"Yes, we will look at more partnerships. We are currently working on some. What we are working on is what I would call a global battery circularity platform. And recycling is part of it. Second Life [for batteries] is part of it. Working with OEMs and gigafactories is part of it. We are already working with a lot of these counterparties from our primary business perspective as well as some of our recycling businesses. So really the role we see Glencore playing is to catalyse this sort of circularity platform. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98934,"content":98935},{"textAlign":49},[98936],{"text":98937,"type":596},"We are also looking at what you do after you have recovered these battery metals as salts – you have achieved metal recovery as a sulphate or a carbonate, but it’s not yet battery grade. Whether it’s nickel, cobalt, lithium, sulphate or carbonate or another chemical form, to actually get into a cathode plant it needs to go through further steps. In the case of nickel and cobalt, that would be precursor and in the case of lithium, that would be upgrading to battery grade hydroxide or carbonate. So we are exploring partnerships in that space too. And then the more you achieve localisation you achieve closing of the loop.",{"type":591,"attrs":98939,"content":98940},{"textAlign":49},[98941],{"text":98942,"type":596},"What we hear from OEMs now is that on top of recycled content, localization of supply chains, and a stellar ESG / carbon footprint, increasingly they also want traceability. Once we put all parts of this circularity platform together, you can then enable traceability. You certainly need traceability to unlock some of the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] benefits.",{"type":591,"attrs":98944,"content":98945},{"textAlign":49},[98946],{"text":98947,"type":596},"Another thing to point out if you look at EVs and end-of-life of EVs. It’s a few years away, but we interact very heavily with the end of life of ICE [internal combustion engine] cars. We are talking to the key players and figuring out how we should interact with the end of life vehicles. The battery is only one part of it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98949,"content":98950},{"textAlign":49},[98951],{"text":98952,"type":596},"I think we are a climate transition company. Mining is one part of achieving that. We are helping to enable the energy transition. From a Glencore perspective, our net zero plans include some very defined work streams, one of which is circular economy. We will always need more primary supply, but enabling the circular economy for many many sectors is also very important in terms of getting to responsible consumption, and hence net zero. So we are very keen on accelerating our circular economy business to a substantially different level. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98954,"content":98955},{"textAlign":49},[98956],{"text":98957,"type":596,"marks":98958},"How does the Inflation Reduction Act impact the battery recycling business in the US?",[98959],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":98961,"content":98962},{"textAlign":49},[98963],{"text":98964,"type":596},"I think it’s a large game changer for recycling. I think the fact is, we are at a bit of a gridlock in terms of bringing more mining supply in America from a policy regulatory perspective. So you start to view recycling companies more as domestic sources of critical minerals. So I think that incentive structure is certainly helping accelerate and validate this business model. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98966,"content":98967},{"textAlign":49},[98968],{"text":98969,"type":596},"Countries need to start looking at scrap, any kind of scrap as resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":98971,"content":98972},{"textAlign":49},[98973],{"text":98974,"type":596},"The moment you call something waste it gets into a regulatory category that has a lot of paperwork, a lot of insurance and other requirements: it becomes ten times more complicated, more expensive and more difficult. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98976,"content":98977},{"textAlign":49},[98978],{"text":98979,"type":596},"I think the regulatory landscape has to make it easier for you to responsibly close the loop without sacrificing the controls that you very much need. I think there needs to be some rational thinking of what’s practical if you want to drive the circular economy. You need to make it easier to comply with these requirements for post consumer and post-manufacturing waste to get to places it needs to get to in order for it to be properly recycled",{"type":591,"attrs":98981,"content":98982},{"textAlign":49},[98983],{"text":98984,"type":596},"Most countries haven’t looked at their scrap as a natural resource. And so what ends up happening with any kind of scrap is it basically goes wherever is cheapest to ship it to, usually on the back haul of a container ship. ",{"type":591,"attrs":98986,"content":98987},{"textAlign":49},[98988],{"text":98989,"type":596},"So it’s logical for countries to say ‘wait a minute, these are resources that I’m short on. Why am I spending billions trying to localise the primary supply chain, and then letting the same raw materials, now in discarded products, leave the region to get recycled. Maybe I should, but certainly, I should figure out how I can recycle these things right here.","Glencore is one of the world’s largest mining companies, and the biggest producer of cobalt, a key battery metal. But the company has also been recycling metals for decades, and is expanding into battery recycling, signing recent deals with Li-Cycle in the US and Britishvolt in the UK. Benchmark Source spoke to Kunal Sinha, global […]",[98992],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":98993},{"job_title":557,"image":98994,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d2187945-80a9-4294-b220-6b9c08072a2b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[98997,98998,98999],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":99001,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99002,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/916ec1595f/bm-21-08-24-glencore-kunalsinha-0455.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 28, 2022",{"id":99005,"uuid":99006,"name":99007,"slug":99008,"full_slug":99009,"content":99010},112472181562427,"6d348861-fc83-4abf-b093-763631ff01a2","Cathode prices rise by a third this year as lithium prices hit record highs","benchmark-cathode-price-index-rises-by-32-4-year-to-date-as-lithium-prices-hit-record-highs","article/benchmark-cathode-price-index-rises-by-32-4-year-to-date-as-lithium-prices-hit-record-highs",{"_uid":99011,"date":99012,"tags":99013,"editor":99015,"content":99019,"excerpt":99095,"featured":51,"reporter":99096,"_editable":99100,"component":697,"seo_title":99007,"categories":99101,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99104,"seo_description":99095,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99107},"d085dc99-779b-4716-ab12-cb161694ecd8","2022-11-25 00:00",[99014],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[99016],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99017},{"job_title":557,"image":99018,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99020},[99021,99026,99031,99036,99041,99046,99051,99056,99063,99068,99073,99078,99083],{"type":591,"attrs":99022,"content":99023},{"textAlign":49},[99024],{"text":99025,"type":596},"Prices for battery cathodes have risen by a third this year and have more than doubled since January 2021 as lithium prices continue to hit new highs, putting upward pressure on battery prices.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":99027,"content":99028},{"textAlign":49},[99029],{"text":99030,"type":596},"The Benchmark Cathode Price Index, which tracks all cathode chemistries, is up 32.4% year-to-date and rose by 4% in November. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99032,"content":99033},{"textAlign":49},[99034],{"text":99035,"type":596},"The sustained price increases come amid reports that cathode manufacturers are struggling to secure physical supplies of lithium and are turning to the spot market to meet rising demand from battery manufacturers and automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99037,"content":99038},{"textAlign":49},[99039],{"text":99040,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China rose further last week to touch a record high of RMB 569,000 a tonne ($79,650). Since January, prices of Chinese battery grade lithium hydroxide, which is used in high nickel cathodes, are up 150% year-to-date, while battery-grade lithium carbonate prices are up by 145%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99042,"content":99043},{"textAlign":49},[99044],{"text":99045,"type":596},"“The cathode price index’s uptick over the past few months is indicative of rising raw material costs, and will inevitably result in increased cell costs further along in the supply chain,” said Evan Hartley, analyst with Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":99047,"content":99048},{"textAlign":49},[99049],{"text":99050,"type":596},"“It isn’t just the rising lithium prices themselves that are impacting cathode pricing, but the fact that with cathode plants failing to receive deliveries of lithium carbonate and hydroxide agreed under long term supply contracts, producers have resorted to the spot market to secure supply, where material availability is tight as well,” said Hartley. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99052,"content":99053},{"textAlign":49},[99054],{"text":99055,"type":596},"Besides lithium, other key raw material inputs have also increased this year with Chinese nickel sulphate prices up by 3.2% and cobalt sulphate prices by 1.6% in October.",{"type":591,"attrs":99057,"content":99058},{"textAlign":49},[99059],{"type":836,"attrs":99060},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99061,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99062},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f60a3b665/bm-benchmark-cathode-price-index.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":99064,"content":99065},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99066],{"text":99067,"type":596},"Cathode price data snapshot",{"type":591,"attrs":99069,"content":99070},{"textAlign":49},[99071],{"text":99072,"type":596},"NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode prices saw increases from late October through to mid-November in the Chinese domestic market, according to data from Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99074,"content":99075},{"textAlign":49},[99076],{"text":99077,"type":596},"Below we highlight the key increases:",{"type":615,"attrs":99079,"content":99080},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99081],{"text":99082,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":99084,"content":99085},{"textAlign":49},[99086,99088,99093],{"text":99087,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment ",{"text":99089,"type":596,"marks":99090},"fill in this form",[99091],{"type":606,"attrs":99092},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99094,"type":596}," and our team will be in touch. ","Prices for battery cathodes have risen by a third this year and have more than doubled since January 2021 as lithium prices continue to hit new highs, putting upward pressure on battery prices. The Benchmark Cathode Price Index, which tracks all cathode chemistries, is up 32.4% year-to-date and rose by 4% in November. The sustained […]",[99097],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99098},{"job_title":557,"image":99099,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d085dc99-779b-4716-ab12-cb161694ecd8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99102,99103],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":99105,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99106,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d463160d4a/bm-battery-production-jiangxi.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 25, 2022",{"id":99109,"uuid":99110,"name":99111,"slug":99112,"full_slug":99113,"content":99114},112472186444860,"c9ef5097-48d3-405f-8e53-51c346e78c05","LG Chem Tennessee cathode plant could double North American production","lg-chem-tennessee-cathode-plant-could-double-north-american-production","article/lg-chem-tennessee-cathode-plant-could-double-north-american-production",{"_uid":99115,"date":99116,"tags":99117,"editor":99121,"content":99125,"excerpt":99256,"featured":51,"reporter":99257,"_editable":99261,"component":697,"seo_title":99111,"categories":99262,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99265,"seo_description":99256,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99267},"194f96f0-a07c-458d-a48c-32c965c50f2e","2022-11-24 00:00",[99118,99119,99120],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":30730,"name":30731},{"slug":572,"name":573},[99122],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99123},{"job_title":557,"image":99124,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99126},[99127,99132,99137,99156,99168,99173,99180,99185,99190,99197,99202,99207,99212,99219,99224,99229,99234,99246,99251],{"type":591,"attrs":99128,"content":99129},{"textAlign":49},[99130],{"text":99131,"type":596},"LG Chem’s decision to build a $3.2 billion battery cathode facility in Tennessee could more than double North American cathode production in five years, highlighting the scale of new investments in the US following the passing of landmark climate legislation this summer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99133,"content":99134},{"textAlign":49},[99135],{"text":99136,"type":596},"The South Korean company said the 120,000 tonnes per year plant is scheduled for completion in 2027, enough for 1.2 million electric vehicles. Benchmark currently forecasts North American cathode production in that year to potentially be just under 100,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":99138,"content":99139},{"textAlign":49},[99140,99142,99148,99150,99154],{"text":99141,"type":596},"The announcement comes following the provision of generous tax incentives for US producers of ",{"text":99143,"type":596,"marks":99144},"battery materials such as cathodes",[99145],{"type":606,"attrs":99146},{"href":99147,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-us-meet-the-critical-mineral-requirements-of-the-climate-bill",{"text":99149,"type":596}," in the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":99151},[99152],{"type":606,"attrs":99153},{"href":70993,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99155,"type":596},", which was passed in August. The bill provides tax credits of up to 10% of production costs a year for cathode producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":99157,"content":99158},{"textAlign":49},[99159,99161,99166],{"text":99160,"type":596},"That’s helped accelerate the development of the US battery supply chain, with the US overtaking Europe ",{"text":99162,"type":596,"marks":99163},"in the second half of this year",[99164],{"type":606,"attrs":99165},{"href":89792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99167,"type":596}," in terms of announced new battery capacity, according to Benchmark.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":99169,"content":99170},{"textAlign":49},[99171],{"text":99172,"type":596},"LG Chem’s investment in the cathode production facility is the single largest announced foreign direct investment in Tennessee’s history, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.",{"type":591,"attrs":99174,"content":99175},{"textAlign":49},[99176],{"type":836,"attrs":99177},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99178,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99179},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/15d71cf38e/bm-tennessee-attracts-billions-of-dollars.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":99181,"content":99182},{"textAlign":49},[99183],{"text":99184,"type":596},"The plant could supply 18% of North America’s 2030 cathode demand if it operated at its full announced capacity. This would be a significant boon to the region’s currently lacking midstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":99186,"content":99187},{"textAlign":49},[99188],{"text":99189,"type":596},"LG said the plant would start production in the second half of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":99191,"content":99192},{"textAlign":49},[99193],{"type":836,"attrs":99194},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99195,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99196},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b6254ab726/bm-lg-vs-2027-1.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":99198,"content":99199},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99200],{"text":99201,"type":596},"Tennessee Battery Hub",{"type":591,"attrs":99203,"content":99204},{"textAlign":49},[99205],{"text":99206,"type":596},"The deal also consolidates Tennessee’s position as one of the hubs for America’s battery supply chain development, with several facilities in the state under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":99208,"content":99209},{"textAlign":49},[99210],{"text":99211,"type":596},"“LG Chem’s decision to locate its new cathode manufacturing facility in Clarksville underscores Tennessee’s growing profile as a hub for US and global companies,” Stuart McWhorter, Tennessee’s commissioner for the Department of Economic and Community Development, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":99213,"content":99214},{"textAlign":49},[99215],{"type":836,"attrs":99216},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99217,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99218},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/34e37aa114/bm-tennessee-map-3.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":99220,"content":99221},{"textAlign":49},[99222],{"text":99223,"type":596},"LG Chem said Tennessee was the location of choice for the cathode facility in part because of its proximity to key customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":99225,"content":99226},{"textAlign":49},[99227],{"text":99228,"type":596},"Benchmark tracks four gigafactories in the state, including a plant being built by LG Energy Solution, a battery spin-off from LG Chem, with GM. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99230,"content":99231},{"textAlign":49},[99232],{"text":99233,"type":596},"A total of $9 billion has been invested in Tennessean gigafactories with a total capacity of 77 gigawatt-hours. A joint venture between Ford and SK On provided the largest chunk of this with $5.6 billion for their 43 GWh Blue Oval City plant in Stanton, Tennessee, which is under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":99235,"content":99236},{"textAlign":49},[99237,99239,99244],{"text":99238,"type":596},"There have also been other investments in the midstream of the battery supply chain. Novonix has a synthetic graphite anode production facility under construction in the state. Novonix recently received $150 million from the ",{"text":99240,"type":596,"marks":99241},"Department of Energy’s battery materials opportunity fund",[99242],{"type":606,"attrs":99243},{"href":71096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99245,"type":596},", and matched that with over $877 million.",{"type":591,"attrs":99247,"content":99248},{"textAlign":49},[99249],{"text":99250,"type":596},"The state is also home to the US’s only nickel sulphate production facility, operated by Umicore.",{"type":591,"attrs":99252,"content":99253},{"textAlign":49},[99254],{"text":99255,"type":596},"Piedmont Lithium is developing a lithium hydroxide production facility in Etowah, Tennessee due to begin operations in 2026, according to Benchmark. The company said it plans to invest $600 million on the plant and recently received a grant of over $140 million from the Department of Energy towards this.","LG Chem’s decision to build a $3.2 billion battery cathode facility in Tennessee could more than double North American cathode production in five years, highlighting the scale of new investments in the US following the passing of landmark climate legislation this summer. The South Korean company said the 120,000 tonnes per year plant is scheduled […]",[99258],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99259},{"job_title":557,"image":99260,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"194f96f0-a07c-458d-a48c-32c965c50f2e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99263,99264],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":30866,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99266,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 24, 2022",{"id":99269,"uuid":99270,"name":99271,"slug":99272,"full_slug":99273,"content":99274},112472201227328,"dc6af2d6-c31b-4731-a758-5d6e11cb07a2","IRA lifts US battery pipeline growth in second half of the year, outpacing Europe ","ira-lifts-us-battery-pipeline-growth-in-second-half-of-the-year-outpacing-europe","article/ira-lifts-us-battery-pipeline-growth-in-second-half-of-the-year-outpacing-europe",{"_uid":99275,"date":99276,"tags":99277,"editor":99282,"content":99286,"excerpt":99364,"featured":51,"reporter":99365,"_editable":99369,"component":697,"seo_title":99271,"categories":99370,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99374,"seo_description":99364,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99377},"af7eaea5-d8f9-46f2-88d1-63f0eb910f6b","2022-11-23 00:00",[99278,99279,99280,99281],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},[99283],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99284},{"job_title":557,"image":99285,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99287},[99288,99299,99304,99309,99314,99319,99326,99331,99344,99349,99354,99359],{"type":591,"attrs":99289,"content":99290},{"textAlign":49},[99291,99293,99297],{"text":99292,"type":596},"The US announced more battery capacity and gigafactories to its pipeline than Europe in the second half of the year, following the unveiling of tax incentives in President Joe Biden’s ",{"text":32480,"type":596,"marks":99294},[99295],{"type":606,"attrs":99296},{"href":70952,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99298,"type":596}," in August. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99300,"content":99301},{"textAlign":49},[99302],{"text":99303,"type":596},"A total of 242 giga-watt hours (GWh) of battery capacity was added to the US pipeline in the second half of the year, an increase of 34.3% since July, according to Benchmark’s Lithium on Battery Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":99305,"content":99306},{"textAlign":49},[99307],{"text":99308,"type":596},"In comparison, Europe’s battery capacity pipeline has increased by 16.7% or 170 GWh over the same period, with Chinese companies responsible for all new gigafactories. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99310,"content":99311},{"textAlign":49},[99312],{"text":99313,"type":596},"“The IRA announcement can be clearly seen within the announced North American pipeline, and whilst the European pipeline has increased, that growth is more stable, continuing the trend seen throughout the year,” said Evan Hartley, an analyst with Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99315,"content":99316},{"textAlign":49},[99317],{"text":99318,"type":596},"“Additionally the major announcements within Europe since the IRA have been led by Chinese producers, who may now be increasingly drawn to the European market, as a result of reduced North American market access.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99320,"content":99321},{"textAlign":49},[99322],{"type":836,"attrs":99323},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99324,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99325},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/82b7a27fc2/bm-the-ira-effect-us-gigafactory-pipeline-nears-1-twh.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":99327,"content":99328},{"textAlign":49},[99329],{"text":99330,"type":596},"The data shows Europe risks falling behind the US in terms of battery cell developments as companies look to benefit from the incentives to quickly scale up operations in North America provided by the IRA. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99332,"content":99333},{"textAlign":49},[99334,99336,99342],{"text":99335,"type":596},"The developments come at a time when ",{"text":99337,"type":596,"marks":99338},"Europe has been forecast to struggle",[99339],{"type":606,"attrs":99340},{"href":99341,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europe-set-for-battery-supply-shortage-this-decade-as-us-asia-expand-production/",{"text":99343,"type":596}," to keep pace with rising demand for electric vehicles this decade, as the region falls behind the US and Asia in terms of becoming self-sufficient in lithium ion battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":99345,"content":99346},{"textAlign":49},[99347],{"text":99348,"type":596},"The European Union raised serious concerns about the IRA earlier this month, calling it discriminatory, and saying it risks causing economic damage to both the US and its closest trading partners leading to a “global subsidy race to the bottom on key technologies and inputs for the green transition.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":99350,"content":99351},{"textAlign":49},[99352],{"text":99353,"type":596},"The USA’s pipeline grew by less than 5 GWh in the first six months of the year while Europe’s pipeline increased by 18.8% or 161 GWh, according to Benchmark Lithium Ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":99355,"content":99356},{"textAlign":49},[99357],{"text":99358,"type":596},"However, on a year-to-date basis, Europe’s battery capacity growth outpaced that of the US as the latter increased its battery pipeline by 35.2% or 247 GWh. In contrast Europe’s pipeline has increased by 38.7% or 331 GWh year-to-date. Chinese producers have added over 220 GWh of capacity to Europe’s pipeline this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":99360,"content":99361},{"textAlign":49},[99362],{"text":99363,"type":596},"“Since the IRA announcement, CATL, CALB, and SVOLT have all made further European capacity commitments. Whether that is as a direct result of the IRA is pretty debatable but it is notable that with Chinese producers blocked from setting up cell production in the US…the European market may see further Chinese investment from companies trying to develop an international presence,” Hartley said.","The US announced more battery capacity and gigafactories to its pipeline than Europe in the second half of the year, following the unveiling of tax incentives in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August. A total of 242 giga-watt hours (GWh) of battery capacity was added to the US pipeline in the second […]",[99366],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99367},{"job_title":557,"image":99368,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"af7eaea5-d8f9-46f2-88d1-63f0eb910f6b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99371,99372,99373],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":99375,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99376,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c3bbfde28b/bm-bmw-us-plant.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 23, 2022",{"id":99379,"uuid":99380,"name":99381,"slug":99382,"full_slug":99383,"content":99384},112472211213378,"85e36ffe-e012-4aac-99e9-46c0c368f6f9","Which technologies can help meet the world’s need for energy storage?","what-technologies-will-meet-the-worlds-need-for-energy-storage","article/what-technologies-will-meet-the-worlds-need-for-energy-storage",{"_uid":99385,"date":99386,"tags":99387,"editor":99402,"content":99406,"excerpt":99565,"featured":51,"reporter":99566,"_editable":99570,"component":697,"seo_title":99381,"categories":99571,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99575,"seo_description":99565,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99578},"9fe86a60-39c7-47ae-b3cc-ef398303c268","2022-11-22 00:00",[99388,99391,99392,99393,99396,99399],{"slug":99389,"name":99390},"compressed-air-energy-storage","Compressed air energy storage",{"slug":2902,"name":2903},{"slug":91277,"name":91278},{"slug":99394,"name":99395},"hydrogen","Hydrogen",{"slug":99397,"name":99398},"storelectric","Storelectric",{"slug":99400,"name":99401},"hydrogen-fuel-cell","Hydrogen Fuel Cell",[99403],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99404},{"job_title":557,"image":99405,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99407},[99408,99420,99425,99430,99435,99440,99447,99452,99457,99462,99467,99472,99484,99489,99493,99498,99503,99508,99513,99518,99523,99528,99533,99538,99543,99548,99560],{"type":591,"attrs":99409,"content":99410},{"textAlign":49},[99411,99413,99418],{"text":99412,"type":596},"With the installation of renewable energy set to ",{"text":99414,"type":596,"marks":99415},"expand rapidly between now and 2050",[99416],{"type":606,"attrs":99417},{"href":91350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99419,"type":596},", new challenges will start to face the world’s electricity and energy networks. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99421,"content":99422},{"textAlign":49},[99423],{"text":99424,"type":596},"A major concern is that renewable energy is currently curtailed when generation outstrips demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":99426,"content":99427},{"textAlign":49},[99428],{"text":99429,"type":596},"Energy storage is needed to capture this energy to later feedback into the grid when demand rises and generation falls. Storage can also provide a number of grid-level services, from frequency regulation to shifting energy from periods low demand to peak demand, helping electricity grids to function smoothly. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99431,"content":99432},{"textAlign":49},[99433],{"text":99434,"type":596},"Each application has a distinct set of needs, requiring a wide range of technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":99436,"content":99437},{"textAlign":49},[99438],{"text":99439,"type":596},"“We do not necessarily see winners and losers,” Jacopo Tosoni, a policy officer at the European Association for Storage of Energy, told Benchmark. “We will see more and more technologies competing, but in different timeframes and for different services.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99441,"content":99442},{"textAlign":49},[99443],{"type":836,"attrs":99444},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99445,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99446},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/693034f831/bm-energy-storage-applications.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":99448,"content":99449},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99450],{"text":99451,"type":596},"The role of batteries",{"type":591,"attrs":99453,"content":99454},{"textAlign":49},[99455],{"text":99456,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries can economically store energy from seconds to hours. They can react within milliseconds of being called upon by the electricity grid, allowing them to be used for a variety of grid services.",{"type":591,"attrs":99458,"content":99459},{"textAlign":49},[99460],{"text":99461,"type":596},"Depending on the power and capacity of the battery system deployed, the stored energy can be used to regulate the frequency of electricity grids and smooth out the energy generated by renewables to help them better integrate into the network.",{"type":591,"attrs":99463,"content":99464},{"textAlign":49},[99465],{"text":99466,"type":596},"Battery demand for energy storage in 2030 is likely to be five times what it is today and account for just over 9% of all battery demand, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":99468,"content":99469},{"textAlign":49},[99470],{"text":99471,"type":596},"“Lithium ion is the fastest growing energy storage sector,” Tosoni told Benchmark. “But they tend to provide a very specific service–very fast response, but also have only a few hours [of storage].”",{"type":591,"attrs":99473,"content":99474},{"textAlign":49},[99475,99477,99482],{"text":99476,"type":596},"Over 80% of ",{"text":99478,"type":596,"marks":99479},"lithium ion battery systems for energy storage",[99480],{"type":606,"attrs":99481},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99483,"type":596}," have between two and five hours of storage, according to data from Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":99485,"content":99486},{"textAlign":49},[99487],{"text":99488,"type":596},"Tosoni said that lithium ion batteries also cover the vast majority of the market for behind-the-meter applications such as backup power for commercial and residential properties.",{"type":615,"attrs":99490,"content":99491},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99492],{"text":99390,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":99494,"content":99495},{"textAlign":49},[99496],{"text":99497,"type":596},"For longer timescales than batteries can provide, compressed air energy storage is gaining interest. Surplus energy is used to compress air into underground salt caverns. When energy is required, the air expands through a turbine to generate electricity.",{"type":591,"attrs":99499,"content":99500},{"textAlign":49},[99501],{"text":99502,"type":596},"“It is naturally adapted to scale and duration,” Mark Howitt, co-founder of compressed air energy storage developer Storelectric, told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":99504,"content":99505},{"textAlign":49},[99506],{"text":99507,"type":596},"The more mature form of compressed air energy storage, known as diabatic, requires burning natural gas to heat up the air as it expands. Howitt explained that Storelectric has developed a hydrogen-ready diabatic compressed air energy storage system that can burn hydrogen instead of natural gas, reducing the emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":99509,"content":99510},{"textAlign":49},[99511],{"text":99512,"type":596},"A more efficient, but less mature form, is known as adiabatic. This form stores the heat generated during the air compression and uses this to then heat up the air on expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":99514,"content":99515},{"textAlign":49},[99516],{"text":99517,"type":596},"Howitt said compressed air energy storage in salt caverns can provide 12 hours of storage, and that multi-week storage could be possible with new geologies.",{"type":615,"attrs":99519,"content":99520},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99521],{"text":99522,"type":596},"Hydrogen for seasonal storage ",{"type":591,"attrs":99524,"content":99525},{"textAlign":49},[99526],{"text":99527,"type":596},"Hydropower currently accounts for the majority of the world’s energy storage. Water is pumped up to a reservoir and then released downhill to generate energy when needed. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99529,"content":99530},{"textAlign":49},[99531],{"text":99532,"type":596},"Beyond hydropower, there are limited commercially viable options for storing energy beyond a number of weeks and for seasons.",{"type":591,"attrs":99534,"content":99535},{"textAlign":49},[99536],{"text":99537,"type":596},"Hydrogen production and storage can fill this gap. Renewable electricity can electrolyse water to create green hydrogen which can be stored geologically in salt caverns.",{"type":591,"attrs":99539,"content":99540},{"textAlign":49},[99541],{"text":99542,"type":596},"“Hydrogen is one of the few technologies with pumped hydro […] that is able to store significant amounts and for longer periods,” Tosoni said. “And while doing that, it’s also able to provide this kind of strategic or seasonal storage that is quite unique.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99544,"content":99545},{"textAlign":49},[99546],{"text":99547,"type":596},"Tosoni said that as electrolysers need a “relatively stable influx” of energy to operate efficiently, hydrogen won’t be able to provide the fast response services that batteries can.",{"type":591,"attrs":99549,"content":99550},{"textAlign":49},[99551,99553,99558],{"text":99552,"type":596},"Once generated the hydrogen can be fed through a fuel cell to generate electricity with only water as a byproduct. However, one advantage of hydrogen is that it does not necessarily need to be reconverted back into electricity: it can be used by industry as a chemical feedstock or as an ",{"text":99554,"type":596,"marks":99555},"alternative to natural gas",[99556],{"type":606,"attrs":99557},{"href":16335,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99559,"type":596}," for heating.",{"type":591,"attrs":99561,"content":99562},{"textAlign":49},[99563],{"text":99564,"type":596},"“Hydrogen is quite important because you’re able to integrate the electricity and gas sectors, and you have so many industrial applications,” Tosoni said. “That’s why it is getting so much attention from policymakers.”","With the installation of renewable energy set to expand rapidly between now and 2050, new challenges will start to face the world’s electricity and energy networks. A major concern is that renewable energy is currently curtailed when generation outstrips demand. Energy storage is needed to capture this energy to later feedback into the grid when […]",[99567],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99568},{"job_title":557,"image":99569,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9fe86a60-39c7-47ae-b3cc-ef398303c268\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99572,99573,99574],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":99576,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99577,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7fcd9685c5/bm-hornsdale-power-reserve-at-sunset.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 22, 2022",{"id":99580,"uuid":99581,"name":99582,"slug":99583,"full_slug":99584,"content":99585},112472206097473,"6567820b-d1c9-4129-814f-784c2d678254","Why manganese could be the next battery supply chain headache","why-manganese-could-be-the-next-battery-supply-chain-headache","article/why-manganese-could-be-the-next-battery-supply-chain-headache",{"_uid":99586,"date":99386,"tags":99587,"editor":99593,"content":99597,"excerpt":99759,"featured":51,"reporter":99760,"_editable":99764,"component":697,"seo_title":99582,"categories":99765,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99768,"seo_description":99759,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99578},"dc4cae80-44f4-4dd3-bbc2-bccaf7bf101c",[99588,99590],{"slug":99589,"name":39334},"element-25",{"slug":99591,"name":99592},"euro-manganese","Euro Manganese",[99594],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99595},{"job_title":557,"image":99596,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99598},[99599,99604,99616,99621,99626,99631,99636,99641,99646,99651,99656,99661,99668,99673,99678,99691,99696,99701,99706,99711,99716,99721,99726,99731,99736,99754],{"type":591,"attrs":99600,"content":99601},{"textAlign":49},[99602],{"text":99603,"type":596},"Rising demand for lithium ion batteries is leading to increased demand for high-purity manganese chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":99605,"content":99606},{"textAlign":49},[99607,99609,99614],{"text":99608,"type":596},"Although the majority of manganese mines are in South Africa, over ",{"text":99610,"type":596,"marks":99611},"95% of high-purity sulphate conversion capacity is in China",[99612],{"type":606,"attrs":99613},{"href":51345,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99615,"type":596},". Currently, only two plants outside of China are in production, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":99617,"content":99618},{"textAlign":49},[99619],{"text":99620,"type":596},"Euro Manganese, a Canada-headquartered manganese developer, said this month it was looking at a site in Bécancour, Québec for a high-purity manganese chemicals facility. The company plans to feed the plant with high-purity manganese metal produced at its planned facility in the Czech Republic.",{"type":591,"attrs":99622,"content":99623},{"textAlign":49},[99624],{"text":99625,"type":596},"“There’s no shortage of ore in the industry,” Matt James, chief executive of Euro Manganese, told Benchmark. “What there’s a shortage of is high purity processing.”",{"type":615,"attrs":99627,"content":99628},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99629],{"text":99630,"type":596},"Batteries vs Steel",{"type":591,"attrs":99632,"content":99633},{"textAlign":49},[99634],{"text":99635,"type":596},"Manganese ore, generally oxide or carbonate, is a bulk commodity and mining companies typically need deposits with high concentrations of the mineral in large volumes for consumption in the production of manganese ferroalloys to feed the steel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":99637,"content":99638},{"textAlign":49},[99639],{"text":99640,"type":596},"However, rising battery demand is increasing the market for high-purity manganese chemicals which can sell at a premium. The market outside of China, however, has been slow to develop. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99642,"content":99643},{"textAlign":49},[99644],{"text":99645,"type":596},"Manganese is a core ingredient of nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99647,"content":99648},{"textAlign":49},[99649],{"text":99650,"type":596},"“It’s been overlooked,” James Fraser, commercial vice president for Euro Manganese, told Benchmark. “Not only is demand going up significantly, people have ignored it because they’ve assumed that supply will just match that but they’re looking at the iron and steel industry volumes rather than the high-purity battery volumes of supply, and that’s where the crunch is going to come.”",{"type":615,"attrs":99652,"content":99653},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99654],{"text":99655,"type":596},"Developing supply outside of China ",{"type":591,"attrs":99657,"content":99658},{"textAlign":49},[99659],{"text":99660,"type":596},"Nippon Denko in Japan produces a small quantity of high-purity manganese sulphate using imported ore. Vibrantz Technologies operates in Belgium and sources its manganese ore from South Africa, Gabon, and Brazil. Combined these two facilities produce around 5% of the global high-purity manganese sulphate supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":99662,"content":99663},{"textAlign":49},[99664],{"type":836,"attrs":99665},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99666,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99667},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f03c7ffd19/bm-manganese-map.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":99669,"content":99670},{"textAlign":49},[99671],{"text":99672,"type":596},"Euro Manganese’s primary asset is a tailings deposit from an old mine in Chvaletice, Czech Republic. The deposit has a relatively high concentration of manganese carbonate. The company plans to convert the carbonate to high-purity manganese metal and sulphate. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99674,"content":99675},{"textAlign":49},[99676],{"text":99677,"type":596},"The high-purity metal will be sent to Euro Manganese’s planned processing facility in Quebec where it will be converted into a liquid sulphate. The site is adjacent to two proposed cathode plants allowing the liquid sulphate to be piped directly into the cathode production processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":99679,"content":99680},{"textAlign":49},[99681,99683,99689],{"text":99682,"type":596},"Euro Manganese recently signed an agreement to supply the materials to ",{"text":99684,"type":596,"marks":99685},"NanoOne",[99686],{"type":606,"attrs":99687},{"href":99688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-takes-stake-in-nano-one-to-build-north-america-battery-midstream",{"text":99690,"type":596},", a Canadian cathode producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":99692,"content":99693},{"textAlign":49},[99694],{"text":99695,"type":596},"Anna Fleming, a consultant at Benchmark, said high-purity manganese metal can also be used by cathode producers which have sulphate conversion facilities onsite, though this is mostly only seen in Japan.",{"type":615,"attrs":99697,"content":99698},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99699],{"text":99700,"type":596},"Battery demand stirs interest in smaller deposits",{"type":591,"attrs":99702,"content":99703},{"textAlign":49},[99704],{"text":99705,"type":596},"Fleming said the battery market gives developers the “potential to capitalise on deposits that were previously not attractive to ferroalloy producers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99707,"content":99708},{"textAlign":49},[99709],{"text":99710,"type":596},"In Canada, Manganese X Energy and Canadian Manganese are both developing manganese mines with relatively smaller ore reserves than most of the manganese mines currently operating. The concentration of manganese in these deposits would not necessarily attract miners looking to sell to the steel industry, Fleming said.",{"type":591,"attrs":99712,"content":99713},{"textAlign":49},[99714],{"text":99715,"type":596},"Element 25, an Australian manganese developer, has been developing Butcherbird, a manganese resource in Western Australia, for the last ten years.",{"type":591,"attrs":99717,"content":99718},{"textAlign":49},[99719],{"text":99720,"type":596},"It wasn’t until 2017 that Element 25 considered processing the ore into high-purity sulphate after the federal government suggested it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99722,"content":99723},{"textAlign":49},[99724],{"text":99725,"type":596},"“In 2017 the EV battery space was quite nascent,” Justin Brown, Element 25’s managing director, told Benchmark. “The conversations with EV companies were tricky as they didn’t really know how much lithium or manganese they needed. It made putting a business plan together quite difficult.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99727,"content":99728},{"textAlign":49},[99729],{"text":99730,"type":596},"Although the Butcherbird resource is in Australia, the refinery likely won’t be built there.",{"type":591,"attrs":99732,"content":99733},{"textAlign":49},[99734],{"text":99735,"type":596},"“The problem with Australia is we’re very good at shipping out bulk commodities, but we aren’t very good at shipping in chemical reagents,” Brown said. “It makes more sense to take the ore concentrate through a bulk port to somewhere to be converted nearer the endpoint.”",{"type":591,"attrs":99737,"content":99738},{"textAlign":49},[99739,99741,99745,99747,99752],{"text":99740,"type":596},"Currently, Element 25 is considering Malaysia. However, with the ",{"text":21909,"type":596,"marks":99742},[99743],{"type":606,"attrs":99744},{"href":99147,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99746,"type":596}," in the US only providing tax credits to EV batteries made using ",{"text":99748,"type":596,"marks":99749},"critical minerals from North America or Free-Trade Agreement countries",[99750],{"type":606,"attrs":99751},{"href":82211,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":99753,"type":596},", it’s not clear whether sulphate produced in Malaysia would qualify.",{"type":591,"attrs":99755,"content":99756},{"textAlign":49},[99757],{"text":99758,"type":596},"“The interpretation for most people is that if you have Australian manganese you can take it to Malaysia and then send it to North America,” Brown said. “We are getting a lot of interest for a facility to be built in North America so that the manganese sulphate clearly ticks the boxes for the IRA.”","Rising demand for lithium ion batteries is leading to increased demand for high-purity manganese chemicals. Although the majority of manganese mines are in South Africa, over 95% of high-purity sulphate conversion capacity is in China. Currently, only two plants outside of China are in production, according to Benchmark. Euro Manganese, a Canada-headquartered manganese developer, said […]",[99761],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99762},{"job_title":557,"image":99763,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dc4cae80-44f4-4dd3-bbc2-bccaf7bf101c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99766,99767],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":75674,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99769,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":99771,"uuid":99772,"name":99773,"slug":99774,"full_slug":99775,"content":99776},112472216132675,"8e45ffd0-5ae8-425f-bcfe-7e00819f313b","Lithium majors expand in China despite geopolitical tensions","lithium-majors-expand-in-china-despite-geopolitical-tensions","article/lithium-majors-expand-in-china-despite-geopolitical-tensions",{"_uid":99777,"date":99778,"tags":99779,"editor":99782,"content":99786,"excerpt":99929,"featured":51,"reporter":99930,"_editable":99934,"component":697,"seo_title":99773,"categories":99935,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":99939,"seo_description":99929,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":99942},"f10e531f-56ca-46d1-8cc3-de65550db9ec","2022-11-21 00:00",[99780,99781],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[99783],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99784},{"job_title":557,"image":99785,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99787},[99788,99793,99798,99803,99808,99815,99820,99825,99830,99835,99842,99847,99852,99857,99862,99867,99872,99877,99882,99887,99892,99897,99904,99909,99914,99919,99924],{"type":591,"attrs":99789,"content":99790},{"textAlign":49},[99791],{"text":99792,"type":596},"The three biggest lithium producers outside of China are continuing to invest in Chinese production assets, despite mounting geopolitical tensions and efforts by the US to build a domestic supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99794,"content":99795},{"textAlign":49},[99796],{"text":99797,"type":596},"Albemarle, Livent and SQM have all announced new processing plants in China this year to produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, with production set to dwarf that from North America. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99799,"content":99800},{"textAlign":49},[99801],{"text":99802,"type":596},"The investments reflect the reality of China’s dominance in the electric vehicle market, with Chinese sales likely to account for over half of global EV figures this year. Currently, over 70% of the revenue for producers such as Livent comes from Asia, while for SQM it is over 90%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99804,"content":99805},{"textAlign":49},[99806],{"text":99807,"type":596},"China’s experience building lithium conversion plants makes investing in the country quicker and cheaper than building in North America. Albemarle is building two conversion plants in China, with total capacity set to be greater than that planned for the US by the end of 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99809,"content":99810},{"textAlign":49},[99811],{"type":836,"attrs":99812},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99813,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99814},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/677e5c785d/bm-chart-1-us-majors-china-v-n-america.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":99816,"content":99817},{"textAlign":49},[99818],{"text":99819,"type":596},"China is too big to ignore for major lithium producers, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99821,"content":99822},{"textAlign":49},[99823],{"text":99824,"type":596},"“They may not particularly want a decoupling because so much of their downstream demand is in China, where it looks set to remain for at least the next decade,” she said. “It is easier and more affordable to get operations up and running in China, and it is helpful to have regional hubs to feed the demand in different areas and meet different customers’ needs.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":99826,"content":99827},{"textAlign":49},[99828],{"text":99829,"type":596},"Benchmark expects lithium chemical supply from North America could increase to 70,000 tonnes LCE by 2025 if all capacity announcements come to market successfully, representing an ambitious four-fold increase on 2022 supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99831,"content":99832},{"textAlign":49},[99833],{"text":99834,"type":596},"That, however, is far less than forecasts for China, where production is set to top 847,000 tonnes LCE by that date if facilities from all producers are considered. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99836,"content":99837},{"textAlign":49},[99838],{"type":836,"attrs":99839},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99840,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99841},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/83657077e0/bm-chart-2-us-majors-china-v-usa-fta.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":99843,"content":99844},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[99845],{"text":99846,"type":596},"Albemarle expands in China",{"type":591,"attrs":99848,"content":99849},{"textAlign":49},[99850],{"text":99851,"type":596},"Livent, Albemarle and SQM are set to own over 145,000 tonnes LCE of production capacity in China over the next few years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99853,"content":99854},{"textAlign":49},[99855],{"text":99856,"type":596},"In October, US producer Albemarle completed the acquisition of Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials, a Chinese converter, for around $200 million. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99858,"content":99859},{"textAlign":49},[99860],{"text":99861,"type":596},"The conversion plant near the port of Qinzhou in Guangxi province has a designed annual conversion capacity of up to 25,000 tonnes and can produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":99863,"content":99864},{"textAlign":49},[99865],{"text":99866,"type":596},"A few months earlier Albemarle held a ceremony for the groundbreaking of a lithium conversion plant in Meishan, Sichuan province, that will have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year of lithium hydroxide. Its other Chinese plant under construction is in Zhangjiagang in eastern Jiangsu province.",{"type":591,"attrs":99868,"content":99869},{"textAlign":49},[99870],{"text":99871,"type":596},"By 2030, Albemarle is likely to increase production in China from 41,600 tonnes LCE to 171,600, according to Benchmark, while in the US, this will rise from 7,500 tonnes to 53,900 tonnes. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99873,"content":99874},{"textAlign":49},[99875],{"text":99876,"type":596},"Albemarle plans to build a conversion facility in the southeast of the US with a capacity to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium a year, yet a location has yet to be determined. It is set to be completed by 2029, according to the company. ",{"type":615,"attrs":99878,"content":99879},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99880],{"text":99881,"type":596},"Livent’s expansion plans",{"type":591,"attrs":99883,"content":99884},{"textAlign":49},[99885],{"text":99886,"type":596},"Livent mines lithium in Argentina that is then processed in North Carolina. This month the company held a ceremony for the completion of a 5,000 tonne capacity expansion of its lithium hydroxide facility located in Bessemer City.",{"type":591,"attrs":99888,"content":99889},{"textAlign":49},[99890],{"text":99891,"type":596},"The company aims to double its lithium hydroxide production capacity by the end of 2025 to 55,000 tonnes, excluding its share of Nemaska Lithium, a mining and refining project in Quebec that Livent owns half of. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99893,"content":99894},{"textAlign":49},[99895],{"text":99896,"type":596},"Yet most of that growth in capacity will come from China, where Livent is building a new 15,000 tonne capacity lithium hydroxide plant in Zhejiang province that is set to start production in 2023. ",{"type":591,"attrs":99898,"content":99899},{"textAlign":49},[99900],{"type":836,"attrs":99901},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":99902,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":99903},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cfdc7dbaa8/bm-chart-3-american-majors-us-fta-v-china-1.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":99905,"content":99906},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99907],{"text":99908,"type":596},"Regionalisation of lithium supply chains",{"type":591,"attrs":99910,"content":99911},{"textAlign":49},[99912],{"text":99913,"type":596},"Global lithium producers will likely use their North American assets to supply their customers in North America, and their Chinese assets to supply their customers in Asia, which should enable a  shorter supply chain, Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":99915,"content":99916},{"textAlign":49},[99917],{"text":99918,"type":596},"As concern grows over China’s control of almost 60% of the world’s capacity for processing raw lithium products into battery-grade chemicals, governments in the West are offering incentives to boost domestic production.",{"type":591,"attrs":99920,"content":99921},{"textAlign":49},[99922],{"text":99923,"type":596},"Last month Albemarle said it was awarded a $150 million grant from the Department of Energy to build a spodumene concentrator facility at its Kings Mountain mine in North Carolina.",{"type":591,"attrs":99925,"content":99926},{"textAlign":49},[99927],{"text":99928,"type":596},"Yet China is still where the vast majority of battery quality lithium supply will come from by the end of the decade, she said, “because it is in such a position to quickly build capacity.” ","The three biggest lithium producers outside of China are continuing to invest in Chinese production assets, despite mounting geopolitical tensions and efforts by the US to build a domestic supply chain. Albemarle, Livent and SQM have all announced new processing plants in China this year to produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, with production set […]",[99931],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99932},{"job_title":557,"image":99933,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f10e531f-56ca-46d1-8cc3-de65550db9ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[99936,99937,99938],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":99940,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":99941,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65898acf46/bm-china.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 21, 2022",{"id":99944,"uuid":99945,"name":99946,"slug":99947,"full_slug":99948,"content":99949},112472220937285,"21f0ca8a-b164-44c6-bb6b-86a08dd9f70e","Weekly Roundup: Benchmark Week 2022, EV makers eye lower cell prices, flake graphite at a tipping point, and more","weekly-roundup-benchmark-week-2022-ev-makers-eye-lower-cell-prices-flake-graphite-at-a-tipping-point-and-more","article/weekly-roundup-benchmark-week-2022-ev-makers-eye-lower-cell-prices-flake-graphite-at-a-tipping-point-and-more",{"_uid":99950,"date":99951,"tags":99952,"editor":99954,"content":99958,"excerpt":100021,"featured":50,"reporter":100022,"_editable":100026,"component":697,"seo_title":99946,"categories":100027,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100030,"seo_description":100021,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100033},"8cb04798-81c2-4e71-b3f0-e1cb9699d58f","2022-11-18 00:00",[99953],{"slug":98423,"name":98424},[99955],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":99956},{"job_title":557,"image":99957,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":99959},[99960,99969,99974,99979,99983,99988,99993,100005,100010],{"type":591,"attrs":99961,"content":99962},{"textAlign":49},[99963,99965,99967],{"text":99964,"type":596},"In this week’s roundup we explore the key talking points from ",{"text":99966,"type":596},"Benchmark Week 2022",{"text":99968,"type":596},", EV manufacturers’ hopes of a lower-cost future, raw material developments globally, and North America’s supply chain weaknesses. ",{"type":615,"attrs":99970,"content":99971},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99972],{"text":99973,"type":596},"Flake graphite’s lithium ion shift",{"type":615,"attrs":99975,"content":99976},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99977],{"text":99978,"type":596},"EV manufacturers eye lower costs",{"type":615,"attrs":99980,"content":99981},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99982],{"text":98461,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":99984,"content":99985},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99986],{"text":99987,"type":596},"Nickel volatility, lithium demand, recycling in the USA",{"type":615,"attrs":99989,"content":99990},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[99991],{"text":99992,"type":596},"Mercedes, BMW’s China strategy, CATL deepens Indonesia ties",{"type":591,"attrs":99994,"content":99995},{"textAlign":49},[99996,99998,100004],{"text":99997,"type":596},"Send your company news and announcements to the Benchmark Source team: ",{"text":99999,"type":596,"marks":100000},"source@benchmarkminerals.com",[100001],{"type":606,"attrs":100002},{"href":100003,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:source@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":100006,"content":100007},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100008],{"text":100009,"type":596},"Arrange a Benchmark Source trial",{"type":591,"attrs":100011,"content":100012},{"textAlign":49},[100013,100015,100020],{"text":100014,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark Source or arrange a ",{"text":100016,"type":596,"marks":100017},"free trial here",[100018],{"type":606,"attrs":100019},{"href":90818,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"In this week’s roundup we explore the key talking points from Benchmark Week 2022, EV manufacturers’ hopes of a lower-cost future, raw material developments globally, and North America’s supply chain weaknesses. Flake graphite’s lithium ion shift Andrew Miller, Benchmark’s chief operating officer, said that lithium ion batteries are set to become the main driver of […]",[100023],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100024},{"job_title":557,"image":100025,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8cb04798-81c2-4e71-b3f0-e1cb9699d58f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100028,100029],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100031,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100032,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/75ac659319/bm-gm-hummerev-roundup1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 18, 2022",{"id":100035,"uuid":100036,"name":100037,"slug":100038,"full_slug":100039,"content":100040},112472250285131,"55308268-848c-48ec-833d-caeedc750a57","Benchmark begins public consultation to increase frequency of monthly lithium grades and to commence publication of spot and contract pricing for CIF Asia grades","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-to-increase-frequency-of-monthly-lithium-grades-and-to-commence-publication-of-spot-and-contract-pricing-for-cif-asia-grades","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-to-increase-frequency-of-monthly-lithium-grades-and-to-commence-publication-of-spot-and-contract-pricing-for-cif-asia-grades",{"_uid":100041,"date":100042,"tags":100043,"editor":100045,"content":100049,"excerpt":100086,"featured":50,"reporter":100087,"_editable":100091,"component":697,"seo_title":100037,"categories":100092,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100095,"seo_description":100086,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100098},"c3d58e9c-1ab2-4e67-b006-5a3bd3e535cb","2022-11-16 00:00",[100044],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[100046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100047},{"job_title":557,"image":100048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100050},[100051,100056,100061,100066,100071,100076],{"type":591,"attrs":100052,"content":100053},{"textAlign":49},[100054],{"text":100055,"type":596},"London, UK (16 November 2022) – Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (“Benchmark”), the world’s leading independent provider of actionable price assessments, data, and analysis for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":591,"attrs":100057,"content":100058},{"textAlign":49},[100059],{"text":100060,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes the following changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology:",{"type":591,"attrs":100062,"content":100063},{"textAlign":49},[100064],{"text":100065,"type":596},"Should the proposed changes to Benchmark’s CIF Asia lithium grades be implemented, Benchmark will publish a spot, a contract and a “combined” grade with the latter allowing for continuity of the existing price where it is tied into long term supply contracts",{"type":591,"attrs":100067,"content":100068},{"textAlign":49},[100069],{"text":100070,"type":596},"This comes after a sustained period of increased volatility, liquidity, and transaction volumes, which Benchmark believes will be a permanent feature of the growing global market moving forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":100072,"content":100073},{"textAlign":49},[100074],{"text":100075,"type":596},"Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by latest 16 December 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":100077,"content":100078},{"textAlign":49},[100079,100081,100085],{"text":100080,"type":596},"Please contact any Benchmark team member with feedback or email ",{"text":16734,"type":596,"marks":100082},[100083],{"type":606,"attrs":100084},{"href":16738,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"London, UK (16 November 2022) – Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (“Benchmark”), the world’s leading independent provider of actionable price assessments, data, and analysis for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology. Following feedback and discussion with […]",[100088],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100089},{"job_title":557,"image":100090,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c3d58e9c-1ab2-4e67-b006-5a3bd3e535cb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100093,100094],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100096,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100097,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6fc61b8dc9/bm-lithium-ion-cells.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 16, 2022",{"id":100100,"uuid":100101,"name":100102,"slug":100103,"full_slug":100104,"content":100105},112472235330632,"d8607d8c-91c7-407a-aedd-8600918311b9","China’s Gotion targets US energy storage market as battery shortages hinder deployments","chinas-gotion-targets-us-energy-storage-market-as-battery-shortages-hinder-deployments","article/chinas-gotion-targets-us-energy-storage-market-as-battery-shortages-hinder-deployments",{"_uid":100106,"date":100042,"tags":100107,"editor":100111,"content":100115,"excerpt":100194,"featured":51,"reporter":100195,"_editable":100199,"component":697,"seo_title":100102,"categories":100200,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100204,"seo_description":100194,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100098},"966863a3-4b6a-4f08-b617-ed516accdd0f",[100108,100110],{"slug":100109,"name":99966},"benchmark-week-2022",{"slug":572,"name":573},[100112],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100113},{"job_title":557,"image":100114,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100116},[100117,100122,100127,100132,100137,100142,100154,100159,100164,100169,100174,100179,100184,100189],{"type":591,"attrs":100118,"content":100119},{"textAlign":49},[100120],{"text":100121,"type":596},"Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech (Guoxuan) said it aims to be a leading provider of energy storage batteries in the US, as it looks for locations for a battery cell plant in the country. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100123,"content":100124},{"textAlign":49},[100125],{"text":100126,"type":596},"The Volkswagen-backed producer is still evaluating production locations in the US and aims to have a third of the market by the end of the decade, Vikash Venkataramana, vice president of energy storage systems at Gotion, told the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles.",{"type":591,"attrs":100128,"content":100129},{"textAlign":49},[100130],{"text":100131,"type":596},"Chinese battery companies have become major suppliers of batteries to US energy storage projects, which are set to acclerate following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100133,"content":100134},{"textAlign":49},[100135],{"text":100136,"type":596},"Last month China’s CATL said it would provide batteries for the $1.2 billion Gemini solar and storage project outside of Las Vegas. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100138,"content":100139},{"textAlign":49},[100140],{"text":100141,"type":596},"Gotion is a leading producer of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells, which have become the leading chemistry for energy storage projects due to its lower cost and longer cycle life. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100143,"content":100144},{"textAlign":49},[100145,100147,100152],{"text":100146,"type":596},"The company is rapidly expanding ",{"text":100148,"type":596,"marks":100149},"production outside of China",[100150],{"type":606,"attrs":100151},{"href":91810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":100153,"type":596},", with plants in Vietnam with VinFast and in Germany. The company aims to have 100 gigawatt-hours of cell production outside of China by 2025, out of a total of 300 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":100155,"content":100156},{"textAlign":49},[100157],{"text":100158,"type":596},"Gotion aims to have 40% of its revenues come from energy storage by the end of the decade, from 15% today, Venkataramanan said. As soon as 2024 it could reach 30%, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100160,"content":100161},{"textAlign":49},[100162],{"text":100163,"type":596},"Last month Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Gotion’s could spend $2.36 billion in a battery plant in Big Rapids, but the company has yet to officially confirm the location. ",{"type":615,"attrs":100165,"content":100166},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[100167],{"text":100168,"type":596},"No batteries, no storage",{"type":591,"attrs":100170,"content":100171},{"textAlign":49},[100172],{"text":100173,"type":596},"Installations of energy storage in the US, which help integrate renewable energy by storing it for short periods of time, have lagged behind China this year, due to lack of battery supplies. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100175,"content":100176},{"textAlign":49},[100177],{"text":100178,"type":596},"The US and Canadian energy storage markets are only expected to grow to 17 GWh this year, from 13 GWh, according to Rho Motion. Next year, however, that could reach 30 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100180,"content":100181},{"textAlign":49},[100182],{"text":100183,"type":596},"China’s installations, in contrast, are expected to triple this year, to 43 GWh, Rho Motion forecasts. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100185,"content":100186},{"textAlign":49},[100187],{"text":100188,"type":596},"Gotion aims to build a total of 40 GWh of battery production capacity in the US, Venkataramana said. The 10 GWh of initial capacity would be for energy storage batteries, and an additional 10 GWh for EVs. The company has still not decided on the remaining 20 GWh, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100190,"content":100191},{"textAlign":49},[100192],{"text":100193,"type":596},"Battery demand from energy storage applications is expected to increase by 355% between now and 2030, according Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. By 2030 79% of battery energy storage demand will be met by LFP batteries.","Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech (Guoxuan) said it aims to be a leading provider of energy storage batteries in the US, as it looks for locations for a battery cell plant in the country. The Volkswagen-backed producer is still evaluating production locations in the US and aims to have a third of the market by […]",[100196],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100197},{"job_title":557,"image":100198,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"966863a3-4b6a-4f08-b617-ed516accdd0f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100201,100202,100203],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":2878,"name":2879},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100205,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100206,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ea1eff3d08/bm-gotion-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":100208,"uuid":100209,"name":100210,"slug":100211,"full_slug":100212,"content":100213},112472264805454,"081224fb-6eb3-4f82-a36b-aff2dbfa6dc0","Graphite industry sounds alarm over lack of supply outside China for batteries","graphite-industry-sounds-alarm-over-lack-of-supply-outside-china-for-batteries","article/graphite-industry-sounds-alarm-over-lack-of-supply-outside-china-for-batteries",{"_uid":100214,"date":100215,"tags":100216,"editor":100218,"content":100222,"excerpt":100304,"featured":51,"reporter":100305,"_editable":100309,"component":697,"seo_title":100210,"categories":100310,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100313,"seo_description":100304,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100316},"cc325544-e9ed-481f-b866-1ef7c9559f93","2022-11-15 00:00",[100217],{"slug":100109,"name":99966},[100219],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100220},{"job_title":557,"image":100221,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100223},[100224,100229,100234,100239,100244,100249,100254,100259,100264,100269,100274,100279,100284,100289,100294,100299],{"type":591,"attrs":100225,"content":100226},{"textAlign":49},[100227],{"text":100228,"type":596},"The auto industry faces a critical shortage of graphite production outside of China over the next few years, executives warned at the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100230,"content":100231},{"textAlign":49},[100232],{"text":100233,"type":596},"Mines and integrated anode projects need to accelerate financing to enter production to meet the rising demand for graphite in electric vehicle batteries, they said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100235,"content":100236},{"textAlign":49},[100237],{"text":100238,"type":596},"“The industry needs more volume and high quality projects with a strong ESG focus but it is hard work and it takes time,” Stephen Wells, chief financial officer of Syrah Resources, said. “The idea there is a whole lot of easy projects in simple jurisdictions that can be brought in in a couple of years is a fallacy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100240,"content":100241},{"textAlign":49},[100242],{"text":100243,"type":596},"The graphite market faces a looming shortage by the end of this decade as electric vehicle sales expand globally. China mines almost two-thirds of the world’s natural graphite yet production in the country is stagnating, Wells said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100245,"content":100246},{"textAlign":49},[100247],{"text":100248,"type":596},"Yet projects outside of China will take years to develop and bring into production – and even longer to build integrated anode facilities, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100250,"content":100251},{"textAlign":49},[100252],{"text":100253,"type":596},"“The issue is the timeframe to bring that new material to market.. . money needs to go in urgently now to meet the future issues the industry is facing,” Andrew Miller, chief operating officer of Benchmark, said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":100255,"content":100256},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100257],{"text":100258,"type":596},"Where will the product come from?",{"type":591,"attrs":100260,"content":100261},{"textAlign":49},[100262],{"text":100263,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that by 2030, North America will produce only 10% of the world’s natural flake graphite. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100265,"content":100266},{"textAlign":49},[100267],{"text":100268,"type":596},"Brent Nykoliation, executive vice president at NextSource Materials, said 30 of the world’s 45 graphite mines are in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":100270,"content":100271},{"textAlign":49},[100272],{"text":100273,"type":596},"“The [graphite] industry has a big problem – all the car companies are saying ‘where will the product come from?’ … The market is not ready,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":100275,"content":100276},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100277],{"text":100278,"type":596},"Higher prices",{"type":591,"attrs":100280,"content":100281},{"textAlign":49},[100282],{"text":100283,"type":596},"Higher incentive prices for graphite will be needed to ensure a diversified and sustainable graphite supply chain is built out for the coming demand, Miller said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100285,"content":100286},{"textAlign":49},[100287],{"text":100288,"type":596},"Graphite demand is forecast to grow by 10.5% a year out to 2032, while graphite supply is only expected to grow by 5.7% a year over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":100290,"content":100291},{"textAlign":49},[100292],{"text":100293,"type":596},"Adding to the strain China – by far the largest graphite producer and processor globally – is increasingly keeping more graphite within its borders for its domestic anode and battery markets. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100295,"content":100296},{"textAlign":49},[100297],{"text":100298,"type":596},"China’s anode production has doubled over the past year, according to Albert Li, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100300,"content":100301},{"textAlign":49},[100302],{"text":100303,"type":596},"“We’re now moving into phase two in the evolution of the graphite industry in the battery sector,” stated Miller. “We’re seeing an increasingly finely balanced graphite market with not so much flexibility as in the past. We’re expecting some serious structural issues in natural graphite supply in the coming decade.”","The auto industry faces a critical shortage of graphite production outside of China over the next few years, executives warned at the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles. Mines and integrated anode projects need to accelerate financing to enter production to meet the rising demand for graphite in electric vehicle batteries, they said. “The industry […]",[100306],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100307},{"job_title":557,"image":100308,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cc325544-e9ed-481f-b866-1ef7c9559f93\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100311,100312],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100314,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100315,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6013415d94/bm-graphite-picture.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 15, 2022",{"id":100318,"uuid":100319,"name":100320,"slug":100321,"full_slug":100322,"content":100323},112472274963536,"d6549af6-4e92-4c1c-8ee2-cb666086ae5d","Fisker says battery prices to fall next year as new producers enter market","fisker-says-battery-prices-to-fall-next-year-as-new-producers-enter-market","article/fisker-says-battery-prices-to-fall-next-year-as-new-producers-enter-market",{"_uid":100324,"date":100325,"tags":100326,"editor":100329,"content":100333,"excerpt":100425,"featured":51,"reporter":100426,"_editable":100430,"component":697,"seo_title":100320,"categories":100431,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100433,"seo_description":100425,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100436},"c9a8e84b-929b-439a-94d3-5be5cad97d90","2022-11-14 00:00",[100327,100328],{"slug":14423,"name":14424},{"slug":100109,"name":99966},[100330],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100331},{"job_title":557,"image":100332,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100334},[100335,100340,100345,100350,100355,100360,100365,100370,100375,100380,100385,100390,100395,100400,100405,100410,100415,100420],{"type":591,"attrs":100336,"content":100337},{"textAlign":49},[100338],{"text":100339,"type":596},"Henrik Fisker, chief executive of electric vehicle startup Fisker, said that battery prices would fall next year as new producers tried to capture market share. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100341,"content":100342},{"textAlign":49},[100343],{"text":100344,"type":596},"Fisker said there will be a “dramatic change” in the volumes of batteries and raw materials next year due to “fierce competition” from new battery producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100346,"content":100347},{"textAlign":49},[100348],{"text":100349,"type":596},"“There is a breaking point when cars become so expensive that you won’t be able to sell vehicles,” he told the Benchmark Week conference in Los Angeles.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":100351,"content":100352},{"textAlign":49},[100353],{"text":100354,"type":596},"The comments come following a significant rise in battery prices over the past year due to rising raw material prices. Battery cell prices ($/kWh) have increased by 30.1% in the past twelve months for prismatic NCM 622 in China according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100356,"content":100357},{"textAlign":49},[100358],{"text":100359,"type":596},"The cost increases have been driven by a sharp increase in battery raw material prices – especially of lithium. Benchmark’s mid-nickel battery raw material price index has increased by 62% over the past year, while the lithium iron phosphate index is up by 100%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100361,"content":100362},{"textAlign":49},[100363],{"text":100364,"type":596},"“The smart suppliers will actually lower the price and increase their volumes to take more market share,” Fisker said. “The high prices was a factor of being easier to make a profit margin versus trying to invest in the middle of a crisis and raising volumes and keeping prices low.”  ",{"type":615,"attrs":100366,"content":100367},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100368],{"text":100369,"type":596},"Securing battery supplies before production",{"type":591,"attrs":100371,"content":100372},{"textAlign":49},[100373],{"text":100374,"type":596},"Fisker said his company had committed money up front to make sure that a battery line would be available when needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":100376,"content":100377},{"textAlign":49},[100378],{"text":100379,"type":596},"Last year Fisker signed an agreement with China’s CATL for over 5 gigawatt-hours of annual battery capacity for its Fisker Ocean SUV, which started production this week in Austria. The company has committed to using both LFP and NCM battery cells, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100381,"content":100382},{"textAlign":49},[100383],{"text":100384,"type":596},"The company settles its battery prices each quarter for delivery, Fisker said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":100386,"content":100387},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100388],{"text":100389,"type":596},"Battery producers doing more “due diligence” on OEMs",{"type":591,"attrs":100391,"content":100392},{"textAlign":49},[100393],{"text":100394,"type":596},"Fisker also said that the relationship between battery producers and automakers has changed, and battery producers are now doing “due diligence” on OEMs prior to committing to cell supply contracts, rather than the other way around. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100396,"content":100397},{"textAlign":49},[100398],{"text":100399,"type":596},"This was in response to earlier EV market trends whereby OEM production numbers had failed to meet company forecasts, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100401,"content":100402},{"textAlign":49},[100403],{"text":100404,"type":596},"Fisker noted that the company had opened reservations two years ago in order to prove to cell makers that there was strong demand for the range.",{"type":591,"attrs":100406,"content":100407},{"textAlign":49},[100408],{"text":100409,"type":596},"“We wanted 62,000 reservations and we are now sold out through to Q1 2024,” Fisker said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100411,"content":100412},{"textAlign":49},[100413],{"text":100414,"type":596},"“This gives Fisker and our suppliers lots of confidence.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100416,"content":100417},{"textAlign":49},[100418],{"text":100419,"type":596},"Fisker’s comments also illustrate the shifting of power within the battery supply chain, reflecting the tightness in tier 1 battery cell availability for the EV market. With Tier 1 battery supply/demand balances expected to shift into a 26GWh deficit in 2023, battery cell makers are carefully selecting which companies they choose to partner with.",{"type":591,"attrs":100421,"content":100422},{"textAlign":49},[100423],{"text":100424,"type":596},"Fisker is also looking at options for US production, Fisker said. It also has an agreement with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn for production at its Lordstown, Ohio plant.","Henrik Fisker, chief executive of electric vehicle startup Fisker, said that battery prices would fall next year as new producers tried to capture market share. Fisker said there will be a “dramatic change” in the volumes of batteries and raw materials next year due to “fierce competition” from new battery producers. “There is a breaking […]",[100427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100428},{"job_title":557,"image":100429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c9a8e84b-929b-439a-94d3-5be5cad97d90\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100432],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100434,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100435,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a6c0de6ab9/bm-fisker-ocean-suv.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 14, 2022",{"id":100438,"uuid":100439,"name":100440,"slug":100441,"full_slug":100442,"content":100443},112472269679695,"c4dc9d1e-8164-442f-ab83-e4f635076b23","Lithium ion batteries to become the primary driver of graphite demand in 2023","lithium-ion-batteries-to-become-the-primary-driver-of-graphite-demand-in-2023","article/lithium-ion-batteries-to-become-the-primary-driver-of-graphite-demand-in-2023",{"_uid":100444,"date":100325,"tags":100445,"editor":100448,"content":100452,"excerpt":100545,"featured":51,"reporter":100546,"_editable":100550,"component":697,"seo_title":100440,"categories":100551,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100554,"seo_description":100545,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100436},"9c08fa18-0df4-4450-a2b6-2c522d782c99",[100446,100447],{"slug":100109,"name":99966},{"slug":29465,"name":29466},[100449],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100450},{"job_title":557,"image":100451,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100453},[100454,100459,100464,100469,100474,100479,100486,100491,100496,100500,100505,100510,100517,100522,100527,100532,100537,100542],{"type":591,"attrs":100455,"content":100456},{"textAlign":49},[100457],{"text":100458,"type":596},"The flake graphite industry is nearing a new dawn where lithium ion batteries become the primary driver of market demand, Benchmark Week 2022 heard today in Los Angeles.",{"type":591,"attrs":100460,"content":100461},{"textAlign":49},[100462],{"text":100463,"type":596},"Andy Miller, chief operating officer of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told the conference that the industry should now prepare for a time when electric vehicles, rather than heavy industry, drives prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":100465,"content":100466},{"textAlign":49},[100467],{"text":100468,"type":596},"“We saw batteries become more than 50% of the cobalt market back in 2016. We saw batteries become more than 50% of the lithium market in 2018,” Miller explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":100470,"content":100471},{"textAlign":49},[100472],{"text":100473,"type":596},"“We’re now projecting that by the end of next year batteries will be the number one leading market for graphite as well. So this is a turning point for the industry.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100475,"content":100476},{"textAlign":49},[100477],{"text":100478,"type":596},"The development will have significant implications for a market that has historically been dominated by demand from the steel industry. It will require further investment in new mines outside of China to meet rapidly growing electric vehicle demand, speakers at Benchmark Week said.",{"type":591,"attrs":100480,"content":100481},{"textAlign":49},[100482],{"type":836,"attrs":100483},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100484,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100485},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7402c8e645/bm-graphite-demand-by-end-use-in-2022-2.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":100487,"content":100488},{"textAlign":49},[100489],{"text":100490,"type":596},"“The idea there is a whole lot of feasible projects … is a fallacy,” Stephen Wells, chief financial officer of Syrah Resources, said.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":100492,"content":100493},{"textAlign":49},[100494],{"text":100495,"type":596},"Brent Nykoliation, executive vice president at NextSource Materials, said 30 of the world’s 45 graphite mines are in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100497,"content":100498},{"textAlign":49},[100499],{"text":100273,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":100501,"content":100502},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100503],{"text":100504,"type":596},"Gigafactories need 92,000 tonnes a year of graphite",{"type":591,"attrs":100506,"content":100507},{"textAlign":49},[100508],{"text":100509,"type":596},"By 2025, the battery industry is set to consume 67% of the world’s flake graphite, increasing to 79% in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Natural Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":100511,"content":100512},{"textAlign":49},[100513],{"type":836,"attrs":100514},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100515,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100516},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d128fd77a5/bm-graphite-demand-by-end-use-in-2030.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":100518,"content":100519},{"textAlign":49},[100520],{"text":100521,"type":596},"One 35 gigawatt-hour gigafactory using anode derived from 100% flake graphite could require as much as 92,000 tonnes of material each year as a feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":100523,"content":100524},{"textAlign":49},[100525],{"text":100526,"type":596},"That is the equivalent of two new mines worth of material each year, with Benchmark’s global average graphite mine size in 2022 standing at 56,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":100528,"content":100529},{"textAlign":49},[100530],{"text":100531,"type":596},"Yet despite graphite’s importance in the electric vehicle mega-trend, flake graphite prices have not had the same price movements as its lithium and cobalt counterparts.",{"type":591,"attrs":100533,"content":100534},{"textAlign":49},[100535],{"text":100536,"type":596},"Prices for -100 mesh, 94-95% purity flake material, which is the preferred anode feedstock, have risen about 18% year-to-date to $765 per tonne, according to Benchmark Flake Graphite Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":100538,"content":100539},{"textAlign":49},[100540],{"text":100541,"type":596},"By contrast, prices for Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have risen by 126% year-to-date. ",{"type":591,"attrs":100543,"content":100544},{"textAlign":49},[],"The flake graphite industry is nearing a new dawn where lithium ion batteries become the primary driver of market demand, Benchmark Week 2022 heard today in Los Angeles. Andy Miller, chief operating officer of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told the conference that the industry should now prepare for a time when electric vehicles, rather than heavy […]",[100547],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100548},{"job_title":557,"image":100549,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9c08fa18-0df4-4450-a2b6-2c522d782c99\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100552,100553],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100555,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100556,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3a95317aa0/bm-miller-129186158ba0.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":100558,"uuid":100559,"name":100560,"slug":100561,"full_slug":100562,"content":100563},112472284650578,"8a1c13e7-7ff2-459d-aa39-56a7501ce29d","COLUMN: Golden age for Chinese lithium companies may be coming to an end","column-golden-age-for-chinese-lithium-companies-may-be-coming-to-an-end","article/column-golden-age-for-chinese-lithium-companies-may-be-coming-to-an-end",{"_uid":100564,"date":100565,"tags":100566,"editor":100569,"content":100573,"excerpt":100705,"featured":51,"reporter":100706,"_editable":100710,"component":697,"seo_title":100560,"categories":100711,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100715,"seo_description":100705,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100718},"5ecd2880-42f8-4622-84aa-894dd52f448e","2022-11-11 00:00",[100567,100568],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[100570],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100571},{"job_title":557,"image":100572,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100574},[100575,100580,100585,100590,100595,100600,100605,100610,100617,100622,100627,100632,100637,100642,100647,100652,100657,100664,100669,100674,100679,100684,100689,100696],{"type":591,"attrs":100576,"content":100577},{"textAlign":49},[100578],{"text":100579,"type":596},"The last decade was open season for Chinese lithium companies: from Australia to Chile they invested in some of the best global assets with little pushback or competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":100581,"content":100582},{"textAlign":49},[100583],{"text":100584,"type":596},"In 2012 Tianqi Lithium bought the Greenbushes lithium mine in Australia – the world’s largest hard rock lithium deposit. Australian authorities approved the deal. A few years later, it acquired shares in Chile’s SQM from a Canadian fertiliser company.",{"type":591,"attrs":100586,"content":100587},{"textAlign":49},[100588],{"text":100589,"type":596},"That welcome attitude lasted until relatively recently: in January, Canada’s Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne welcomed Zijin Mining’s $737 million deal for Neo Lithium saying “that no national security harm could arise” from it.",{"type":591,"attrs":100591,"content":100592},{"textAlign":49},[100593],{"text":100594,"type":596},"Yet Canada’s decision last week to force three Chinese companies to divest from three Canadian-based lithium companies has changed the game. It was a clear and stark message that the geopolitical terrain has changed. The Chinese companies were given 90 days to sell down their stakes.",{"type":591,"attrs":100596,"content":100597},{"textAlign":49},[100598],{"text":100599,"type":596},"As the US advances with its plan to create clean energy supply chains that don’t involve China via the Inflation Reduction Act, Chinese lithium companies can expect more competition globally – and more scrutiny.",{"type":591,"attrs":100601,"content":100602},{"textAlign":49},[100603],{"text":100604,"type":596},"Why wouldn’t western lithium companies now overpay for lithium assets in free trade agreement countries, given the tax credits their customers will get from the Inflation Reduction Act? And will other countries follow Canada’s lead to align with the US?",{"type":591,"attrs":100606,"content":100607},{"textAlign":49},[100608],{"text":100609,"type":596},"Investors already predict the tide may be turning. US lithium producer Albemarle now has a market capitalisation greater than either Tianqi and Ganfeng, at $37 billion. In 2021, Ganfeng’s market cap alone surpassed that of Albemarle’s.",{"type":591,"attrs":100611,"content":100612},{"textAlign":49},[100613],{"type":836,"attrs":100614},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100615,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100616},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/405fbabed9/bm-china-europe-us-competition-lithium.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":100618,"content":100619},{"textAlign":49},[100620],{"text":100621,"type":596},"If Chinese companies find it more difficult to acquire global assets, it will make the country ever more reliant on Australia for lithium feedstock, just as China is reliant on the country for supplies of iron ore.",{"type":591,"attrs":100623,"content":100624},{"textAlign":49},[100625],{"text":100626,"type":596},"China may have a dominant position in the production of batteries and electric vehicles but it relies on imports of lithium to make that possible. Just as imports of iron ore sustain the country’s industrial economy, so lithium sustains its gigantic clean energy industry and the jobs and growth that come from it.",{"type":591,"attrs":100628,"content":100629},{"textAlign":49},[100630],{"text":100631,"type":596},"For all of Xi Jinping’s talk of self-sufficiency and self-reliance at the recent 20th Communist Party Congress this is a fundamental strategic weakness for China.",{"type":591,"attrs":100633,"content":100634},{"textAlign":49},[100635],{"text":100636,"type":596},"China will need to continue to heavily invest in African and domestic resources to fill the gap. You can bet that the internal political pressure for Chinese lithium companies to invest in domestic mines has now gone up another notch. Given they are low grade, this will make Chinese lithium companies less attractive to investors.",{"type":591,"attrs":100638,"content":100639},{"textAlign":49},[100640],{"text":100641,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that lithium supply from China and Africa is set to grow by 360% this decade, thanks mostly to Chinese investment. Argentina is also likely to be open to Chinese investment – one country where Xi’s diplomacy as well as his Belt and Road Initiative looks successful.",{"type":591,"attrs":100643,"content":100644},{"textAlign":49},[100645],{"text":100646,"type":596},"Yet that won’t be enough – just like iron ore, China will likely rely almost completely on Australia for supplies of lithium this decade. Today Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer and China the biggest buyer and refiner.",{"type":591,"attrs":100648,"content":100649},{"textAlign":49},[100650],{"text":100651,"type":596},"Given the lithium refining capacity it is set to have by 2030, China is likely to require all of Australia’s supplies of lithium feedstock, according to Cameron Perks, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":100653,"content":100654},{"textAlign":49},[100655],{"text":100656,"type":596},"China’s reliance on Australia for iron ore has been a headache for years in Beijing. In lithium, the problem may just be getting started.",{"type":591,"attrs":100658,"content":100659},{"textAlign":49},[100660],{"type":836,"attrs":100661},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100662,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100663},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/39702354ac/bm-china-feedstock.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":100665,"content":100666},{"textAlign":49},[100667],{"text":100668,"type":596},"For Australia, it will be hard to replace China as a big customer, just as in iron ore. Sales of lithium to China, while much less than iron ore, still benefits the Australian economy. Who will replace that demand in the near-term? Processing capacity outside of China will take time to build up as will cathode production.",{"type":591,"attrs":100670,"content":100671},{"textAlign":49},[100672],{"text":100673,"type":596},"Such interdependence between China and Australia is uneasy but as a recent paper by Richard McGregor at the Lowy Institute points out it’s also a form of leverage – think of the power Russia has commanded from being a key supplier of gas to Europe. “It makes sense, then, for Australia to nurture this interdependence, both to benefit the Australian economy and to maintain leverage of its own,” he wrote.",{"type":591,"attrs":100675,"content":100676},{"textAlign":49},[100677],{"text":100678,"type":596},"China produces over 78% of the world’s battery cathodes and that’s not likely to change anytime soon, rising to 87% in 2030, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":100680,"content":100681},{"textAlign":49},[100682],{"text":100683,"type":596},"Canada’s action has closed off one potential avenue for China to acquire new lithium resources. The US will also try to influence other countries to do the same.",{"type":591,"attrs":100685,"content":100686},{"textAlign":49},[100687],{"text":100688,"type":596},"As China’s options narrow globally it looks increasingly like the country is being driven ever closer into Australia’s arms.",{"type":591,"attrs":100690,"content":100691},{"textAlign":49},[100692],{"text":100693,"type":596,"marks":100694},"By Henry Sanderson",[100695],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":100697,"content":100698},{"textAlign":49},[100699],{"text":100700,"type":596,"marks":100701},"hsanderson@benchmarkminerals.com",[100702],{"type":606,"attrs":100703},{"href":100704,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:hsanderson@benchmarkminerals.com","The last decade was open season for Chinese lithium companies: from Australia to Chile they invested in some of the best global assets with little pushback or competition. In 2012 Tianqi Lithium bought the Greenbushes lithium mine in Australia – the world’s largest hard rock lithium deposit. Australian authorities approved the deal. A few years […]",[100707],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100708},{"job_title":557,"image":100709,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ecd2880-42f8-4622-84aa-894dd52f448e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100712,100713,100714],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100716,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100717,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/61c580cd5a/bm-chinese-lithium-image-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 11, 2022",{"id":100720,"uuid":100721,"name":100722,"slug":100723,"full_slug":100724,"content":100725},112472279964753,"45b9475b-74ed-429d-9f31-862b06f94ca8","The missing middle: UK’s first lithium refinery highlights need for domestic battery materials","the-missing-middle-uks-first-lithium-refinery-highlights-need-for-domestic-battery-materials","article/the-missing-middle-uks-first-lithium-refinery-highlights-need-for-domestic-battery-materials",{"_uid":100726,"date":100565,"tags":100727,"editor":100734,"content":100738,"excerpt":100877,"featured":51,"reporter":100878,"_editable":100882,"component":697,"seo_title":100722,"categories":100883,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":100885,"seo_description":100877,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":100718},"b55c9360-7ef6-4a0d-ba80-c17b5fa96d4a",[100728,100731,100732,100733],{"slug":100729,"name":100730},"britishvolt","Britishvolt",{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":16220,"name":16221},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[100735],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100736},{"job_title":557,"image":100737,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100739},[100740,100755,100762,100767,100772,100777,100782,100787,100792,100797,100802,100807,100812,100817,100822,100827,100832,100837,100842,100847,100852,100857,100862,100867,100872],{"type":591,"attrs":100741,"content":100742},{"textAlign":49},[100743,100745,100747,100749,100751,100753],{"text":100744,"type":596},"Plans for the UK’s first lithium refinery were announced to guests on a blustery day at a port in north-east Teesside this week, in a step forward for the country’s battery supply chain.",{"text":100746,"type":596},"Green Lithium said the £600 million refinery would produce around 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide starting in 2025, enough for around 1 million electric vehicles. The project is backed by commodity trader Trafigura, who will also help source feedstock for the plant.",{"text":100748,"type":596},"It comes as the UK battery industry is struggling to expand production to meet the demand for electric vehicles, following reports last month that homegrown battery startup Britishvolt may enter administration unless it secures further funding.",{"text":100750,"type":596},"Britishvolt planned to build a battery gigafactory 60 miles away in Blyth, starting in 2023, but delays to its multi-billion pound plant mean it is now struggling for cash.",{"text":100752,"type":596},"Yet even if Britishvolt and the new lithium refinery succeeds, the UK is missing a key component: the midstream cathode and anode production.",{"text":100754,"type":596},"“The UK needs to create the right environment to encourage the establishment of cathode active material production in the UK,” Guy Hatcher, technical director at Green Lithium, told Benchmark. “Not to do so would be a missed opportunity.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100756,"content":100757},{"textAlign":49},[100758],{"type":836,"attrs":100759},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100760,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100761},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/448f4d8ee7/bm-uk-battery-scene-updated-3.jpg",{},{"type":615,"attrs":100763,"content":100764},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[100765],{"text":100766,"type":596},"The missing middle",{"type":591,"attrs":100768,"content":100769},{"textAlign":49},[100770],{"text":100771,"type":596},"There are no UK-based anode or cathode production facilities in Benchmark’s forecasts. The only production associated with the UK was Johnson Matthey’s pilot cathode active material plant in the UK and commercial production facilities in Poland. Earlier this year the company exited the battery industry, and the plants and patents were bought by EV Metals for £50m.",{"type":591,"attrs":100773,"content":100774},{"textAlign":49},[100775],{"text":100776,"type":596},"“Without any UK-based active material production, the materials will have to be processed elsewhere, likely Europe,” Robert Burrell, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":100778,"content":100779},{"textAlign":49},[100780],{"text":100781,"type":596},"But Europe doesn’t have enough production to meet its own needs, so the UK could struggle to depend on the continent for its anodes and cathodes, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":100783,"content":100784},{"textAlign":49},[100785],{"text":100786,"type":596},"“Although there is a lot of movement in Europe, there will still be a supply deficit in the region so it needs additional manufacturing facilities and expansions,” Burell said. “Although the UK could tap into that, it won’t be enough.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100788,"content":100789},{"textAlign":49},[100790],{"text":100791,"type":596},"Hatcher from Green Lithium said partnerships in Europe “will be fundamental if we’re going to develop strong and resilient battery metal supply chains fit for the decades ahead.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100793,"content":100794},{"textAlign":49},[100795],{"text":100796,"type":596},"The only place without a deficit of cathode and anode material production going into the next decade is China. But Burrell said it is unlikely the UK will want to send its lithium chemicals to, nor import active materials from, China.",{"type":591,"attrs":100798,"content":100799},{"textAlign":49},[100800],{"text":100801,"type":596},"Burrell explained that the key for the UK to avoid reliance on China would be for Tier One cathode and anode producers to develop rapidly in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":100803,"content":100804},{"textAlign":49},[100805],{"text":100806,"type":596},"A potential source of cathode material in the UK could be through the recycling of end-of-life batteries and process scrap. Recently, Altilium Metals also chose Teesside as the location of its new recycling facility with the aim to directly recycle the feedstock into cathode active material.",{"type":615,"attrs":100808,"content":100809},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[100810],{"text":100811,"type":596},"Giga Britain",{"type":591,"attrs":100813,"content":100814},{"textAlign":49},[100815],{"text":100816,"type":596},"The UK lacks significant battery production capacity to support a battery materials industry domestically.",{"type":591,"attrs":100818,"content":100819},{"textAlign":49},[100820],{"text":100821,"type":596},"The UK currently has just one gigafactory, operated by Envision AESC in Sunderland. The 1.9 GWh factory produces pouch cells for Nissan. The company plans to expand its Sunderland operations in collaboration with Nissan with 11 GWh of capacity due to begin in 2024, eventually growing to 38 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":100823,"content":100824},{"textAlign":49},[100825],{"text":100826,"type":596},"Britishvolt had planned to build a 38 GWh gigafactory with operations beginning around 2024. The company was promised £100 million in government funding earlier this year, but has been unable to access this capital as it has so far failed to meet the agreed milestones needed to unlock the funds.",{"type":591,"attrs":100828,"content":100829},{"textAlign":49},[100830],{"text":100831,"type":596},"Glencore, a mining giant and early investor in Britishvolt, provided the battery maker a £5 million lifeline to keep the company afloat, but this funding will last around five weeks as Britishvolt look for more funds.",{"type":591,"attrs":100833,"content":100834},{"textAlign":49},[100835],{"text":100836,"type":596},"Britishvolt’s public plight could spook others from investing in the UK. If gigafactories are struggling to be built in the country, then companies are unlikely to want to build midstream processing there.",{"type":591,"attrs":100838,"content":100839},{"textAlign":49},[100840],{"text":100841,"type":596},"Earlier this year, the company entered an arrangement with Posco for the supply of cathode and anode active materials with the intention of securing a localised supply chain in Europe.",{"type":615,"attrs":100843,"content":100844},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[100845],{"text":100846,"type":596},"Upstream growth",{"type":591,"attrs":100848,"content":100849},{"textAlign":49},[100850],{"text":100851,"type":596},"Cornwall, in the southwest of the UK, has several resources under exploration by Cornish Lithium and British Lithium. The former hopes to use direct lithium extraction to produce lithium hydroxide, though both the resource and the technology have yet to be proven at a commercial scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":100853,"content":100854},{"textAlign":49},[100855],{"text":100856,"type":596},"Leverton Lithium has long produced lithium chemicals in the country, though many of its products are not destined for the battery market. At the start of the year, the company joined forces with European chemical producer Helm to expand its production capacity to 20,000 tonnes a year of “high-quality lithium chemicals.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100858,"content":100859},{"textAlign":49},[100860],{"text":100861,"type":596},"Green Lithium said it would produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Teesport with less than 50% of the carbon emissions seen in refineries in Asia. It also plans to use hydrogen instead of natural gas in the calcination step and deploy carbon capture to further reduce emissions. It expects to commission the plant around 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":100863,"content":100864},{"textAlign":49},[100865],{"text":100866,"type":596},"The freeport in Teesside has strong connections to renewable electricity sources, green and blue hydrogen production, and connections to Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":100868,"content":100869},{"textAlign":49},[100870],{"text":100871,"type":596},"Tees Valley Lithium also plans on building a facility in Teesside to produce lithium hydroxide from lithium sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":100873,"content":100874},{"textAlign":49},[100875],{"text":100876,"type":596},"“There is a lot of interest for a secure supply of local, low-carbon lithium chemicals in Europe,” Hatcher said.","Plans for the UK’s first lithium refinery were announced to guests on a blustery day at a port in north-east Teesside this week, in a step forward for the country’s battery supply chain.Green Lithium said the £600 million refinery would produce around 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide starting in 2025, enough for around 1 […]",[100879],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100880},{"job_title":557,"image":100881,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b55c9360-7ef6-4a0d-ba80-c17b5fa96d4a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[100884],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":100886,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":100887,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/62df966f4d/bm-green-lithium-071122-58-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":100889,"uuid":100890,"name":100891,"slug":100892,"full_slug":100893,"content":100894},112472289487955,"b12fd6f6-b8af-4faa-983a-9577fef53c64","DRC needs to improve “ESG” of cobalt to become key to climate crisis","drc-needs-to-improve-esg-of-cobalt-to-become-key-to-climate-crisis","article/drc-needs-to-improve-esg-of-cobalt-to-become-key-to-climate-crisis",{"_uid":100895,"date":100896,"tags":100897,"editor":100900,"content":100904,"excerpt":101045,"featured":51,"reporter":101046,"_editable":101050,"component":697,"seo_title":100891,"categories":101051,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":101055,"seo_description":101045,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":101058},"ad790975-3ead-4663-bed2-fdee5d47cb58","2022-11-10 00:00",[100898,100899],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[100901],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":100902},{"job_title":557,"image":100903,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":100905},[100906,100911,100916,100921,100928,100933,100938,100943,100948,100953,100958,100963,100968,100973,100978,100985,100990,100995,101000,101005,101010,101015,101020,101025,101036],{"type":591,"attrs":100907,"content":100908},{"textAlign":49},[100909],{"text":100910,"type":596},"The Democratic Republic of the Congo positioned itself ahead of the COP27 meeting in Egypt as a “solution country” to the climate crisis, due to its rich carbon-absorbing forests, abundant freshwater resources, biodiversity and wealth of strategic metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":100912,"content":100913},{"textAlign":49},[100914],{"text":100915,"type":596},"The Congo Basin is one of the last regions in the world to absorb more carbon than it emits. Its forest, the second largest in the world, absorbs nearly 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year, equivalent to 4% of global emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":100917,"content":100918},{"textAlign":49},[100919],{"text":100920,"type":596},"The country is also key to the energy transition due to rich resources of cobalt and copper, key battery minerals. This year the Congo is set to produce 71% of the world’s cobalt, according to Benchmark, 75% of which is refined in China. By the end of the decade, the DRC’s dominance is only set to fall to 63%.",{"type":591,"attrs":100922,"content":100923},{"textAlign":49},[100924],{"type":836,"attrs":100925},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100926,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100927},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/764ff9695e/bm-drc-cobalt-supply.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":100929,"content":100930},{"textAlign":49},[100931],{"text":100932,"type":596},"While recycled sources of supply are set to grow five times between 2022 and 2030, mined supplies of cobalt will remain the predominant source for decades.",{"type":591,"attrs":100934,"content":100935},{"textAlign":49},[100936],{"text":100937,"type":596},"To meet the global target of net zero emissions by midcentury, electric vehicle sales need to be 60% of global car sales by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.",{"type":591,"attrs":100939,"content":100940},{"textAlign":49},[100941],{"text":100942,"type":596},"But the industry in the DRC needs to improve its disclosure of ESG issues to meet the needs of the energy transition – a key opportunity to work with the battery supply chain to ensure good practice going forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":100944,"content":100945},{"textAlign":49},[100946],{"text":100947,"type":596},"Cobalt mining activities negatively affect biodiversity and exacerbate the quality and availability of freshwater resources, two of the factors identified by Benchmark’s inaugural Cobalt ESG report as “critically important.”",{"type":591,"attrs":100949,"content":100950},{"textAlign":49},[100951],{"text":100952,"type":596},"The report found 17% of miners in operation were using water pollution monitoring systems, signifying improvement in reporting and transparency is needed, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":100954,"content":100955},{"textAlign":49},[100956],{"text":100957,"type":596},"The processing of cobalt in the DRC also contributes to the freshwater eutrophication impact, the accumulation of nutrients in the water which creates an overgrowth of toxic algae in freshwater bodies and pollutes drinking water supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":100959,"content":100960},{"textAlign":49},[100961],{"text":100962,"type":596},"Benchmark also found that 33% of operating mining companies employ some biodiversity indicators, a figure which again could be improved upon.",{"type":591,"attrs":100964,"content":100965},{"textAlign":49},[100966],{"text":100967,"type":596},"On the social side, resettlement is also an issue when it comes to cobalt mining in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":100969,"content":100970},{"textAlign":49},[100971],{"text":100972,"type":596},"Large-scale relocations often take place due to copper-cobalt mining – in 2019, 10,000 families were relocated due to a cobalt site in DRC. Such resettlement information is scarcely disclosed in ESG reporting and therefore a major risk area identified on the social and ethical side of ESG for cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":100974,"content":100975},{"textAlign":49},[100976],{"text":100977,"type":596},"Managing resettlement requires disclosure on the number of workers originating from the local community. Benchmark’s report found that 1% of cobalt miners, and no converters, disclose this, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":100979,"content":100980},{"textAlign":49},[100981],{"type":836,"attrs":100982},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":100983,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":100984},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65dcb02bd0/bm-cobalt-map.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":100986,"content":100987},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[100988],{"text":100989,"type":596},"The DRC’s climate opportunity",{"type":591,"attrs":100991,"content":100992},{"textAlign":49},[100993],{"text":100994,"type":596},"The DRC committed to improving its resource management policies in the run up to COP27. It pledged to cap forest cover loss at its 2014-2018 average and ensure that deforestation continues to decline.",{"type":591,"attrs":100996,"content":100997},{"textAlign":49},[100998],{"text":100999,"type":596},"It’s also said it will promote the regeneration of 8 million hectares of degraded land and forests, and place 30% of national areas under a protection status, including areas where local communities undertake efforts to manage forests sustainably.",{"type":591,"attrs":101001,"content":101002},{"textAlign":49},[101003],{"text":101004,"type":596},"In mining, the country has said it will implement new social and environmental standards to reduce the impact of mining and oil investments on forests and biodiversity, with reinforced measures in high value forests and peatlands.",{"type":591,"attrs":101006,"content":101007},{"textAlign":49},[101008],{"text":101009,"type":596},"The DRC leaders emphasised at a pre-COP27 meeting in early October that they are committed to improving the governance of strategic minerals in order to help with the ecological transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":101011,"content":101012},{"textAlign":49},[101013],{"text":101014,"type":596},"The onus at the COP27 meeting is on G20 countries to financially support climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, due to their historical role in causing the climate crisis.",{"type":591,"attrs":101016,"content":101017},{"textAlign":49},[101018],{"text":101019,"type":596},"But the Western world and consumers should also push companies downstream to encourage change by demanding greater transparency and disclosure on key issues within cobalt mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":101021,"content":101022},{"textAlign":49},[101023],{"text":101024,"type":596},"The DRC remains a critical piece of the lithium ion supply chain and without the significant volumes of cobalt forecasted to be produced by the country, there will likely be no transition to electric vehicles and clean energy. As cobalt supply rushes to scale up to keep pace with growing demand, there is a window of opportunity to make sure this is done sustainably, minimising harm to climate, nature and people.",{"type":591,"attrs":101026,"content":101027},{"textAlign":49},[101028,101030,101035],{"text":101029,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s ESG analysis services for Cobalt, Lithium, Nickel and Graphite, please fill out the following ",{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":101031},[101032],{"type":606,"attrs":101033},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"/contact",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":101037,"content":101038},{"textAlign":49},[101039,101041],{"text":101040,"type":596},"By ",{"text":101042,"type":596,"marks":101043},"Elizaveta Kremer-Nidzelskaya",[101044],{"type":1006},"The Democratic Republic of the Congo positioned itself ahead of the COP27 meeting in Egypt as a “solution country” to the climate crisis, due to its rich carbon-absorbing forests, abundant freshwater resources, biodiversity and wealth of strategic metals. The Congo Basin is one of the last regions in the world to absorb more carbon than […]",[101047],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101048},{"job_title":557,"image":101049,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ad790975-3ead-4663-bed2-fdee5d47cb58\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[101052,101053,101054],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":101056,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":101057,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f7e1250e23/bm-artisinal-cobalt-e1668093135158.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 10, 2022",{"id":101060,"uuid":101061,"name":101062,"slug":101063,"full_slug":101064,"content":101065},112472299174997,"43a72962-4e41-4d02-8263-8db9f369d886","What’s the difference between trade statistics and PRA pricing?","whats-the-difference-between-trade-statistics-and-pra-pricing","article/whats-the-difference-between-trade-statistics-and-pra-pricing",{"_uid":101066,"date":101067,"tags":101068,"editor":101076,"content":101080,"excerpt":101210,"featured":51,"reporter":101211,"_editable":101215,"component":697,"seo_title":101062,"categories":101216,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":101218,"seo_description":101210,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":101220},"26d65247-2438-426a-b897-7e47e6faf5cd","2022-11-04 00:00",[101069,101070,101073,101074,101075],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},{"slug":101071,"name":101072},"comment","Comment",{"slug":29465,"name":29466},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[101077],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101078},{"job_title":557,"image":101079,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":101081},[101082,101087,101092,101097,101102,101107,101112,101117,101122,101127,101132,101137,101142,101147,101152,101157,101162,101167,101172,101177,101182,101189,101199],{"type":591,"attrs":101083,"content":101084},{"textAlign":49},[101085],{"text":101086,"type":596},"What is the difference between trade statistics and PRA (price reporting agency) pricing?",{"type":591,"attrs":101088,"content":101089},{"textAlign":49},[101090],{"text":101091,"type":596},"Trade statistics are a set of codes used by shipping companies and governments to track what is imported and exported. They are primarily used to determine taxes.",{"type":591,"attrs":101093,"content":101094},{"textAlign":49},[101095],{"text":101096,"type":596},"They are, however, inadequate for trying to determine the value of specialty chemicals, with varying grades and impurities destined for the lithium ion supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":101098,"content":101099},{"textAlign":49},[101100],{"text":101101,"type":596},"Trade statistics are rife with issues in determining market value but I have highlighted some of the key ones below:",{"type":591,"attrs":101103,"content":101104},{"textAlign":49},[101105],{"text":101106,"type":596},"❌ usually delayed by at least one but up to several months – by the time they are published the market could have turned",{"type":591,"attrs":101108,"content":101109},{"textAlign":49},[101110],{"text":101111,"type":596},"❌ no accounting for grade – you can’t tell if product is off-spec or battery grade",{"type":591,"attrs":101113,"content":101114},{"textAlign":49},[101115],{"text":101116,"type":596},"❌ mislabelling: some products get incorrectly labelled so may not even be the product listed under the HS code",{"type":591,"attrs":101118,"content":101119},{"textAlign":49},[101120],{"text":101121,"type":596},"❌ internal transfer pricing is often used, which can be mis-leading and very different to current market price",{"type":591,"attrs":101123,"content":101124},{"textAlign":49},[101125],{"text":101126,"type":596},"❌ no way of knowing what currency conversion or base currency was used for the original transaction – this can create issues as shown above",{"type":591,"attrs":101128,"content":101129},{"textAlign":49},[101130],{"text":101131,"type":596},"❌ publication risk – on occasion countries will stop releasing/publishing the data for specific codes, this has happened for battery minerals in China several times, this can go on for months. This would mean very out of date (on top of the inaccuracies when it as published listed above) pricing would need to be used until the embargo on publication is lifted",{"type":591,"attrs":101133,"content":101134},{"textAlign":49},[101135],{"text":101136,"type":596},"IOSCO-assured pricing, with expert analysts speaking directly with the market, provides a far more accurate set of price data rather than relying on trade statistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":101138,"content":101139},{"textAlign":49},[101140],{"text":101141,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s IOSCO Compliant Price Assessment methodologies ensure:",{"type":591,"attrs":101143,"content":101144},{"textAlign":49},[101145],{"text":101146,"type":596},"✅ Prices for transactions at fair market value are recorded for use in the assessment process",{"type":591,"attrs":101148,"content":101149},{"textAlign":49},[101150],{"text":101151,"type":596},"✅ Prices are published in a timely manner for transactions within the assessment window",{"type":591,"attrs":101153,"content":101154},{"textAlign":49},[101155],{"text":101156,"type":596},"✅ Prices for transactions outside of the specifications for each grade within the methodology are discounted from the assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":101158,"content":101159},{"textAlign":49},[101160],{"text":101161,"type":596},"✅ Only arms length transactions qualify for assessment – no internal transfer pricing",{"type":591,"attrs":101163,"content":101164},{"textAlign":49},[101165],{"text":101166,"type":596},"✅ Prices are published in the currency they are traded in (or where there is a currency conversion the rate used is made available to subscribers)",{"type":591,"attrs":101168,"content":101169},{"textAlign":49},[101170],{"text":101171,"type":596},"✅ Benchmark has strict process and back up system to ensure publication of prices for the given assessment window",{"type":591,"attrs":101173,"content":101174},{"textAlign":49},[101175],{"text":101176,"type":596},"And perhaps most importantly:",{"type":591,"attrs":101178,"content":101179},{"textAlign":49},[101180],{"text":101181,"type":596},"✅ We also provide the context through Benchmarks’ marketing leading analysis and market commentary",{"type":591,"attrs":101183,"content":101184},{"textAlign":49},[101185],{"text":101186,"type":596,"marks":101187},"By Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence ",[101188],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":101190,"content":101191},{"textAlign":49},[101192,101194,101198],{"text":101193,"type":596},"Read about Benchmark’s IOSCO-compliant Price Assessment methodologies ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":101195},[101196],{"type":606,"attrs":101197},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":101200,"content":101201},{"textAlign":49},[101202,101204,101208],{"text":101203,"type":596},"To learn more, please fill out this ",{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":101205},[101206],{"type":606,"attrs":101207},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":101209,"type":596}," to get in contact with Benchmark.","What is the difference between trade statistics and PRA (price reporting agency) pricing? Trade statistics are a set of codes used by shipping companies and governments to track what is imported and exported. They are primarily used to determine taxes. They are, however, inadequate for trying to determine the value of specialty chemicals, with varying […]",[101212],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101213},{"job_title":557,"image":101214,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"26d65247-2438-426a-b897-7e47e6faf5cd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[101217],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":9762,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":101219,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 04, 2022",{"id":101222,"uuid":101223,"name":101224,"slug":101225,"full_slug":101226,"content":101227},112472303905878,"c4cb7646-8ae6-405c-a51b-df4d638a6ef4","Panasonic’s Canadian graphite deal highlights North American opportunity","panasonics-canadian-graphite-deal-highlights-north-american-opportunity","article/panasonics-canadian-graphite-deal-highlights-north-american-opportunity",{"_uid":101228,"date":101229,"tags":101230,"editor":101234,"content":101238,"excerpt":101483,"featured":51,"reporter":101484,"_editable":101488,"component":697,"seo_title":101224,"categories":101489,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":101492,"seo_description":101483,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":101495},"9ccae9b0-310e-4d8d-9de6-eaafcc17ff03","2022-11-02 00:00",[101231,101232,101233],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":74526,"name":74527},[101235],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101236},{"job_title":557,"image":101237,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":101239},[101240,101245,101257,101262,101275,101282,101287,101292,101297,101316,101329,101334,101339,101344,101349,101354,101359,101364,101384,101389,101394,101406,101411,101416,101421,101426,101431,101436,101441,101460,101473,101478],{"type":591,"attrs":101241,"content":101242},{"textAlign":49},[101243],{"text":101244,"type":596},"North America is set to produce less than half of the spherical graphite it needs by 2030, highlighting the opportunity for companies to scale-up production of the anode material as battery producers look to localise supply chains. ",{"type":591,"attrs":101246,"content":101247},{"textAlign":49},[101248,101250,101256],{"text":101249,"type":596},"Last month Panasonic Energy signed an offtake agreement with Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG), a graphite developer operating in Canada, for its anode active material, as the battery maker is set to start construction of a new ",{"text":101251,"type":596,"marks":101252},"30 gigawatt-hour battery gigafactory in Kansas this month",[101253],{"type":606,"attrs":101254},{"href":101255,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/panasonic-to-double-us-battery-production-capacity-with-kansas-plant/",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":101258,"content":101259},{"textAlign":49},[101260],{"text":101261,"type":596},"“The localisation and shortening of the supply chain is the most important thing,” Eric Desaulniers, chief executive of Nouveau Monde, told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":101263,"content":101264},{"textAlign":49},[101265,101267,101273],{"text":101266,"type":596},"Panasonic’s move shows the need for North America to develop a domestic graphite supply chain. Without it, the region will ",{"text":101268,"type":596,"marks":101269},"remain reliant on China",[101270],{"type":606,"attrs":101271},{"href":101272,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/graphite-inventories-in-china-shrink-ahead-of-winter-shutdowns/",{"text":101274,"type":596}," which currently has a monopoly on spherical graphite production and is forecast to remain dominant also in anode production through to the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":101276,"content":101277},{"textAlign":49},[101278],{"type":836,"attrs":101279},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":101280,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":101281},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e3fccf4f65/bm-spg-production.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":101283,"content":101284},{"textAlign":49},[101285],{"text":101286,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that North America will only produce enough spherical graphite to meet 40% of its needs by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":101288,"content":101289},{"textAlign":49},[101290],{"text":101291,"type":596},"“Sourcing materials for battery production in the US from Canada will … shorten supply chain distances and significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the logistics process,” Panasonic said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":101293,"content":101294},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101295],{"text":101296,"type":596},"Free money for the industry ",{"type":591,"attrs":101298,"content":101299},{"textAlign":49},[101300,101301,101306,101308,101314],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":56805,"type":596,"marks":101302},[101303],{"type":606,"attrs":101304},{"href":101305,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-inflation-reduction-act-puts-oem-raw-material-supply-deals-in-focus/",{"text":101307,"type":596},", which was passed into law in August, provides tax credits for North American-made electric vehicles which have a certain proportion of the battery critical minerals sourced domestically or from countries with which the US has a Free Trade Agreement. The ",{"text":101309,"type":596,"marks":101310},"IRA also gives production tax credits",[101311],{"type":606,"attrs":101312},{"href":101313,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-the-us-inflation-reduction-act-mean-for-the-ev-battery-supply-chain/",{"text":101315,"type":596}," to US-based companies processing or producing materials needed for battery production.",{"type":591,"attrs":101317,"content":101318},{"textAlign":49},[101319,101321,101327],{"text":101320,"type":596},"As a Canadian producer, NMG can enable US-based automakers to access the ",{"text":101322,"type":596,"marks":101323},"$3,750 tax credit for critical raw material sourcing",[101324],{"type":606,"attrs":101325},{"href":101326,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-us-meet-the-critical-mineral-requirements-of-the-climate-bill/",{"text":101328,"type":596},", and help bolster the currently lacking North American anode production scene.",{"type":591,"attrs":101330,"content":101331},{"textAlign":49},[101332],{"text":101333,"type":596},"“There are not many options for being IRA compliant by 2025. There are not many alternatives to China,” Desaulniers said. “Even if we are executing our project perfectly, then there still isn’t enough North American or Free Trade Agreement supply to fulfil the demand that is expected.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101335,"content":101336},{"textAlign":49},[101337],{"text":101338,"type":596},"Desaulniers believes the difficulty of developing IRA-compliant supply is not a failure of the act, however. ",{"type":591,"attrs":101340,"content":101341},{"textAlign":49},[101342],{"text":101343,"type":596},"“[The US Government] shouldn’t be too gentle with the industry. They are not doing it to stimulate demand for EVs,” he said, adding: “Not everyone should expect to get their rebate.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101345,"content":101346},{"textAlign":49},[101347],{"text":101348,"type":596},"Another graphite developer looking to fulfil the growing demand for graphite is US-based Graphite One. They are developing a graphite mine in Alaska, with the plan to supply their own facility in Washington state where it will process, spheroidise, and coat the graphite to produce anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":101350,"content":101351},{"textAlign":49},[101352],{"text":101353,"type":596},"Anthony Huston, Graphite One’s chief executive, is also hopeful the IRA will help bolster the US’s graphite supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":101355,"content":101356},{"textAlign":49},[101357],{"text":101358,"type":596},"“The IRA is definitely encouraging the development of domestic supply chains,” Huston said. “There is no other way to bring it on as quickly as possible than to give the carrot and give the 10%.”",{"type":615,"attrs":101360,"content":101361},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101362],{"text":101363,"type":596},"Money, Money, Money",{"type":591,"attrs":101365,"content":101366},{"textAlign":49},[101367,101369,101375,101377,101382],{"text":101368,"type":596},"The US recently announced the awardees of $2.8 billion of ",{"text":101370,"type":596,"marks":101371},"Department of Energy funding",[101372],{"type":606,"attrs":101373},{"href":101374,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-targets-lithium-graphite-and-nickel-with-2-8-billion-doe-grants-to-take-on-china/",{"text":101376,"type":596},", including nearly $220 million to ",{"text":27276,"type":596,"marks":101378},[101379],{"type":606,"attrs":101380},{"href":101381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-doe-awards-first-battery-supply-chain-loan-to-syrah-anode-project/",{"text":101383,"type":596}," to further develop the third phase of their US-based integrated active anode production facility in Vidalia, Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":101385,"content":101386},{"textAlign":49},[101387],{"text":101388,"type":596},"Although in favour of the grants, Huston explained more than just money was needed to develop the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":101390,"content":101391},{"textAlign":49},[101392],{"text":101393,"type":596},"“They need to go one step further with permitting reform in order to allow an actual domestic supply chain to be built and to be up and running by 2029-2032,” Huston said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101395,"content":101396},{"textAlign":49},[101397,101399,101405],{"text":101398,"type":596},"In Canada, the Strategic Innovation Fund was created to spur investment in Canada and build up the country’s competitiveness in innovative industries. The fund includes C$8 billion (US$ 6.33 billion) for the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative, part of which aims to create a domestic ",{"text":101400,"type":596,"marks":101401},"Canadian battery supply chain",[101402],{"type":606,"attrs":101403},{"href":101404,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vw-mercedes-head-to-canada-seeking-raw-materials-but-can-it-meet-automaker-demand/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":101407,"content":101408},{"textAlign":49},[101409],{"text":101410,"type":596},"“It really depends on the political push to make things happen quickly,” Desaulniers said. He said the fund was slow and the level of due diligence “can be a bit painful.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101412,"content":101413},{"textAlign":49},[101414],{"text":101415,"type":596},"Desaulniers went on to say “it is not the job of the governments to create projects and decide who is competitive and who is not,” and that the grants were currently at a fair balance.",{"type":591,"attrs":101417,"content":101418},{"textAlign":49},[101419],{"text":101420,"type":596},"“What we need is customers today to commit to buying from us in the future,” he said. “Then we can finance and build the projects.”",{"type":615,"attrs":101422,"content":101423},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101424],{"text":101425,"type":596},"Green Power",{"type":591,"attrs":101427,"content":101428},{"textAlign":49},[101429],{"text":101430,"type":596},"The spheroidisation of natural flake graphite to the spherical form needed can account for 20% of carbon emissions associated with natural graphite anode production in China according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Lifecycle Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":101432,"content":101433},{"textAlign":49},[101434],{"text":101435,"type":596},"By cutting down those emissions, North American spherical graphite not only has a geographical advantage but an environmental one too.",{"type":591,"attrs":101437,"content":101438},{"textAlign":49},[101439],{"text":101440,"type":596},"Panasonic said that using graphite made in Canada from clean energy “is a major step” towards its goal of halving its carbon footprint by 2031.",{"type":591,"attrs":101442,"content":101443},{"textAlign":49},[101444,101446,101451,101452,101458],{"text":101445,"type":596},"Although located in different countries, there is a common rationale behind where NMG and Graphite One have set up their processing facilities: ",{"text":101447,"type":596,"marks":101448},"Quebec",[101449],{"type":606,"attrs":101450},{"href":101404,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":101453,"type":596,"marks":101454},"Washington state",[101455],{"type":606,"attrs":101456},{"href":101457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-silicon-anode-scene-gathers-pace-with-porsche-backed-400-million-investment-in-group14/",{"text":101459,"type":596}," both have an abundance of some of the world’s cheapest hydropower to tap into.",{"type":591,"attrs":101461,"content":101462},{"textAlign":49},[101463,101465,101471],{"text":101464,"type":596},"Graphite One is also looking to develop its synthetic graphite capabilities using green energy. ",{"text":101466,"type":596,"marks":101467},"Typically synthetic graphite has high carbon emissions",[101468],{"type":606,"attrs":101469},{"href":101470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/twin-power-crises-hit-chinas-synthetic-graphite-producers/",{"text":101472,"type":596}," due to the amount of graphitisation that occurs in Inner Mongolia which runs on coal power.",{"type":591,"attrs":101474,"content":101475},{"textAlign":49},[101476],{"text":101477,"type":596},"“We believe the future is more bright for natural graphite for carbon footprint and cost,” Desaulniers said, with NMG currently wholly focused on natural graphite supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":101479,"content":101480},{"textAlign":49},[101481],{"text":101482,"type":596},"Regardless of form, Huston believes graphite is an underlooked part of the battery supply chain. “Graphite needs its day in the sun,” he said.","North America is set to produce less than half of the spherical graphite it needs by 2030, highlighting the opportunity for companies to scale-up production of the anode material as battery producers look to localise supply chains. Last month Panasonic Energy signed an offtake agreement with Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG), a graphite developer operating in […]",[101485],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101486},{"job_title":557,"image":101487,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9ccae9b0-310e-4d8d-9de6-eaafcc17ff03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[101490,101491],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":101493,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":101494,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b09546007f/bm-nmg-becancour-site-view-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 02, 2022",{"id":101497,"uuid":101498,"name":101499,"slug":101500,"full_slug":101501,"content":101502},112472313719897,"8c9b3eb8-f504-4780-aed1-a8727c7c0d5e","Graphite inventories in China shrink ahead of winter shutdowns","graphite-inventories-in-china-shrink-ahead-of-winter-shutdowns","article/graphite-inventories-in-china-shrink-ahead-of-winter-shutdowns",{"_uid":101503,"date":101504,"tags":101505,"editor":101507,"content":101511,"excerpt":101633,"featured":51,"reporter":101634,"_editable":101638,"component":697,"seo_title":101499,"categories":101639,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":101642,"seo_description":101633,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":101645},"46ccbf89-3636-4ddc-a0c7-0c32bb78a198","2022-10-28 00:00",[101506],{"slug":575,"name":576},[101508],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101509},{"job_title":557,"image":101510,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":101512},[101513,101518,101523,101528,101533,101538,101543,101548,101555,101560,101565,101570,101575,101580,101585,101590,101595,101600,101613,101618,101623,101628],{"type":591,"attrs":101514,"content":101515},{"textAlign":49},[101516],{"text":101517,"type":596},"Chinese inventories of natural graphite are at unseasonably low levels, ahead of the winter season when production in Heiliongjiang shuts down due to cold temperatures, raising concerns about shortages of the critical battery anode feedstock material.",{"type":591,"attrs":101519,"content":101520},{"textAlign":49},[101521],{"text":101522,"type":596},"The industry normally has inventories of up to four or five months in the run up to the winter but industry sources have reported to Benchmark that these have fallen to just two months this time of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":101524,"content":101525},{"textAlign":49},[101526],{"text":101527,"type":596},"The lack of inventories has been driven by extensive government environmental inspections in China’s Heilongjiang province earlier this year, shortening the operating season in 2022 and delaying a ramp up in production capacity against surging electric vehicle demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":101529,"content":101530},{"textAlign":49},[101531],{"text":101532,"type":596},"“There seems to be a storm brewing, depending on how high demand gets and how tight the supply this winter turns out to be,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101534,"content":101535},{"textAlign":49},[101536],{"text":101537,"type":596},"Prices for  94-95% C, -100 mesh flake material graphite have risen by 19% this year, due to increased demand from the electric vehicle industry for finer mesh material, according to Benchmark’s Graphite Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":101539,"content":101540},{"textAlign":49},[101541],{"text":101542,"type":596},"In September, prices for this higher purity -100 mesh saw a marginal increase of 0.7% m-o-m to an average of $770/tonne (FOB China), according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":101544,"content":101545},{"textAlign":49},[101546],{"text":101547,"type":596},"In the Chinese domestic market, the price for 94-95% C, -100 mesh flake increased by 3.8% m-o-m to an average of RMB 5,450/tonne ($751) (DDP China).",{"type":591,"attrs":101549,"content":101550},{"textAlign":49},[101551],{"type":836,"attrs":101552},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":101553,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":101554},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f6a52c0791/bm-graphite-winter-shortages.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":101556,"content":101557},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101558],{"text":101559,"type":596},"China turns to Africa",{"type":591,"attrs":101561,"content":101562},{"textAlign":49},[101563],{"text":101564,"type":596},"Imports of graphite from Africa have been picking up into China, indicating that domestic supply alone is struggling to keep up with rising anode demand. China saw a near record volume of flake graphite imports from Mozambique in August, which rose nearly three-fold from July, to 14,262 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":101566,"content":101567},{"textAlign":49},[101568],{"text":101569,"type":596},"Australia’s graphite producer Syrah Resources said this month that there was “very strong demand and forward contracting” with end-users for their own product ahead of this winter period, with almost 70,000 tonnes of forward sales orders.",{"type":591,"attrs":101571,"content":101572},{"textAlign":49},[101573],{"text":101574,"type":596},"Imports from Mozambique and Madagascar are “are likely to be required to satisfy demand ahead of the winter period of lower Chinese production,” the company’s chief executive Shaun Verner, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101576,"content":101577},{"textAlign":49},[101578],{"text":101579,"type":596},"The company said this week that it had restarted production at its Balama Graphite Operation in Mozambique weeks after halting operations due to “illegal industrial action.” The mine produced 38,000 tonnes of natural graphite in the third quarter, down from 44,000 tonnes in the previous quarter due to the shutdown.",{"type":615,"attrs":101581,"content":101582},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101583],{"text":101584,"type":596},"All roads lead to Heilongjiang ",{"type":591,"attrs":101586,"content":101587},{"textAlign":49},[101588],{"text":101589,"type":596},"China’s Heilongjiang province is the country’s largest graphite producing region and mines the bulk of global graphite supply. Heilongjiang alone mined 615,000 tonnes of flake graphite in 2021, or about 58% of the global supply, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":101591,"content":101592},{"textAlign":49},[101593],{"text":101594,"type":596},"The area is also seeing continued investment into graphite projects. In September anode producer BTR said it would construct a RMB 1.8 billion ($253 million) flake graphite project in Heilongjiang, with plans to produce 400,000 tonnes a year of natural flake graphite concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":101596,"content":101597},{"textAlign":49},[101598],{"text":101599,"type":596},"But the government has been tightening environmental inspections at graphite operations in the province, which impacted production earlier this year, prolonging the return to mining following the winter period.",{"type":591,"attrs":101601,"content":101602},{"textAlign":49},[101603,101605,101611],{"text":101604,"type":596},"Last month, Benchmark ",{"text":101606,"type":596,"marks":101607},"reported",[101608],{"type":606,"attrs":101609},{"href":101610,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/natural-graphite-prices-ease-from-eight-year-high-as-chinas-economy-cools/",{"text":101612,"type":596}," that follow-up inspections may continue to impact natural graphite producers in Luobei county, Heilongjiang province, throughout September, which could lead to a restricted production as seen in the first half of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":101614,"content":101615},{"textAlign":49},[101616],{"text":101617,"type":596},"“Availability of domestic supply is set to be much worse this winter, as a lot of the mines started up quite late due to a number of environmental inspections that lasted beyond last winter,” Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101619,"content":101620},{"textAlign":49},[101621],{"text":101622,"type":596},"As the region’s seasonal supply wanes and demand from the lithium ion value chain typically peaks, anode producers are becoming concerned about the availability of flake supply in the fourth quarter, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":101624,"content":101625},{"textAlign":49},[101626],{"text":101627,"type":596},"Moreover, demand is set to exceed normal seasonal uplift given Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are accelerating production ahead of the discontinuation of China’s electric vehicle subsidies in January.",{"type":591,"attrs":101629,"content":101630},{"textAlign":49},[101631],{"text":101632,"type":596},"In September electric vehicle production and sales figures in China continued to break monthly records, both surpassing the 700,000 threshold for the first time.","Chinese inventories of natural graphite are at unseasonably low levels, ahead of the winter season when production in Heiliongjiang shuts down due to cold temperatures, raising concerns about shortages of the critical battery anode feedstock material. The industry normally has inventories of up to four or five months in the run up to the winter […]",[101635],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101636},{"job_title":557,"image":101637,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"46ccbf89-3636-4ddc-a0c7-0c32bb78a198\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[101640,101641],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":101643,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":101644,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c61409a77/bm-graphite-china-esg-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 28, 2022",{"id":101647,"uuid":101648,"name":101649,"slug":101650,"full_slug":101651,"content":101652},112472308784216,"2f84fb4e-5253-4ddd-b4d9-2dfbdd98c70a","COLUMN: Does the US IRA give Indonesia to China?","column-does-the-us-ira-give-indonesia-to-china","article/column-does-the-us-ira-give-indonesia-to-china",{"_uid":101653,"date":101504,"tags":101654,"editor":101659,"content":101663,"excerpt":101799,"featured":51,"reporter":101800,"_editable":101804,"component":697,"seo_title":101649,"categories":101805,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":101808,"seo_description":101799,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":101645},"21ad6cef-fe5b-4bbd-aae5-2f1604d5e547",[101655,101656,101657,101658],{"slug":5954,"name":5955},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},{"slug":572,"name":573},[101660],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101661},{"job_title":557,"image":101662,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":101664},[101665,101670,101675,101680,101685,101690,101695,101700,101705,101710,101715,101720,101725,101738,101743,101748,101761,101766,101771,101776,101781,101786,101792],{"type":591,"attrs":101666,"content":101667},{"textAlign":49},[101668],{"text":101669,"type":596},"President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is already spurring the development of more localised electric vehicle battery supply chains in North America, as well as new global trade routes that bypass China or Chinese companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":101671,"content":101672},{"textAlign":49},[101673],{"text":101674,"type":596},"Given the current state of the US-China relationship it’s a safe bet that any tweaks in the implementation of the IRA are still likely to include prohibitions on the use of Chinese companies as “foreign entities of concern.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101676,"content":101677},{"textAlign":49},[101678],{"text":101679,"type":596},"Yet in its requirement that critical minerals be sourced from North America or free trade agreement countries, the IRA also risks handing China free access to resource-rich countries such as Indonesia that don’t have FTAs with the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":101681,"content":101682},{"textAlign":49},[101683],{"text":101684,"type":596},"That could further embed China’s dominance in certain sections of the battery supply chain, making it even harder for the West to catch up and negating some of the aims of the IRA.",{"type":591,"attrs":101686,"content":101687},{"textAlign":49},[101688],{"text":101689,"type":596},"That’s because Indonesia is key to the energy transition – it not only will provide all the growth in nickel this decade, but it’s also set to be the world’s second-largest cobalt produced behind the Democratic Republic of Congo.",{"type":591,"attrs":101691,"content":101692},{"textAlign":49},[101693],{"text":101694,"type":596},"Indonesia’s exports of critical minerals are set to reach $30 billion by 2030, overtaking its mainstay coal, according to the International Energy Agency.",{"type":591,"attrs":101696,"content":101697},{"textAlign":49},[101698],{"text":101699,"type":596},"Does the US really want to give those resources to China and bow out of the country? And what does that mean for broader US goals of limiting China’s rise in South-East Asia and creating a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”?",{"type":615,"attrs":101701,"content":101702},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101703],{"text":101704,"type":596},"No EVs without Indonesia",{"type":591,"attrs":101706,"content":101707},{"textAlign":49},[101708],{"text":101709,"type":596},"It will be difficult to meet North America’s nickel demand without Indonesia, which is set to produce over 1.3 million tonnes of nickel by the end of the decade thanks to around $30 billion of Chinese investment in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":101711,"content":101712},{"textAlign":49},[101713],{"text":101714,"type":596},"While Canadian nickel could theoretically meet half of North American battery demand by 2030, the battery industry will be competing with the plating industry and other premium end use markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":101716,"content":101717},{"textAlign":49},[101718],{"text":101719,"type":596},"Deshnee Naidoo, Vale’s executive vice president of base metals, told the Financial Times Mining Summit last week that automakers “won’t have a choice” but to buy from Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":101721,"content":101722},{"textAlign":49},[101723],{"text":101724,"type":596},"Yet that puts US automakers in a bind – they will not be supported in buying from Indonesia by the IRA and US government, yet they may not be able to produce enough batteries to meet their goals if they don’t.",{"type":591,"attrs":101726,"content":101727},{"textAlign":49},[101728,101730,101736],{"text":101729,"type":596},"Indonesia is becoming a key node in the battery supply chain – and increasingly looking like a forward operating base for Chinese companies, with its industrial parks home to nickel processing, anode manufacturing, and ",{"text":101731,"type":596,"marks":101732},"lithium refining",[101733],{"type":606,"attrs":101734},{"href":101735,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lopal-first-chinese-company-to-build-lfp-battery-cathode-plant-outside-of-china/",{"text":101737,"type":596},". China is recreating its model at home in a foreign country.",{"type":591,"attrs":101739,"content":101740},{"textAlign":49},[101741],{"text":101742,"type":596},"Indonesia has been probably the most successful country in promoting a value-added strategy to maximise its nickel resources to become a “world production hub for electric vehicles,” as the country’s Ministry of Investment said in London this week. That’s been achieved by instituting export bans on the metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":101744,"content":101745},{"textAlign":49},[101746],{"text":101747,"type":596},"Yet if incentivised by the US, Korean companies and others could also set up processing facilities in Indonesia to serve the North American battery market, with access to local nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":101749,"content":101750},{"textAlign":49},[101751,101753,101759],{"text":101752,"type":596},"Without a broader range of players in the country, Indonesia could potentially lose out on new ",{"text":101754,"type":596,"marks":101755},"ESG-friendly",[101756],{"type":606,"attrs":101757},{"href":101758,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-esg-woes-grow-over-indonesian-nickel/",{"text":101760,"type":596}," processing or production technologies, as well as clean energy investments to clean up its grid.",{"type":591,"attrs":101762,"content":101763},{"textAlign":49},[101764],{"text":101765,"type":596},"Instead, US investments may go elsewhere, as seen with the recent GM investment into Queensland Pacific Metals for nickel supply from Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":101767,"content":101768},{"textAlign":49},[101769],{"text":101770,"type":596},"While many large western miners are unwilling to enter Indonesia due to what they see as high risks, companies including Eramet, Vale and BASF all have investments there.",{"type":591,"attrs":101772,"content":101773},{"textAlign":49},[101774],{"text":101775,"type":596},"Yet many are JVs with Chinese companies, including Eramet’s agreement with Tsingshan, and Vale’s with Huayou Cobalt. Even if Indonesia can be brought into the IRA-fold, will that align with its anti-China provisions?",{"type":591,"attrs":101777,"content":101778},{"textAlign":49},[101779],{"text":101780,"type":596},"As it currently stands Indonesia will want its resources to go to local battery production to serve local markets as well as Indonesian demand for electric vehicles. But beyond that the nickel will likely go to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":101782,"content":101783},{"textAlign":49},[101784],{"text":101785,"type":596},"That would be a missed opportunity for the West to not only help a developing country deal with climate change and benefit from the energy transistion, but also integrate the world’s fourth most populous country into Western supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":101787,"content":101788},{"textAlign":49},[101789],{"text":100693,"type":596,"marks":101790},[101791],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":101793,"content":101794},{"textAlign":49},[101795],{"text":100700,"type":596,"marks":101796},[101797],{"type":606,"attrs":101798},{"href":100704,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is already spurring the development of more localised electric vehicle battery supply chains in North America, as well as new global trade routes that bypass China or Chinese companies. Given the current state of the US-China relationship it’s a safe bet that any tweaks in the implementation of the […]",[101801],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101802},{"job_title":557,"image":101803,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"21ad6cef-fe5b-4bbd-aae5-2f1604d5e547\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[101806,101807],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":101809,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":101810,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fcbe1e1447/bm-credit-imo-e1571740886342.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":101812,"uuid":101813,"name":101814,"slug":101815,"full_slug":101816,"content":101817},112472324025435,"9874398f-4ca1-42ca-af9b-0bd34ecabdf9","Chinese ceramic producers move into lithium industry as prices hit new highs","chinese-ceramic-producers-move-into-lithium-industry-as-prices-hit-new-highs","article/chinese-ceramic-producers-move-into-lithium-industry-as-prices-hit-new-highs",{"_uid":101818,"date":101819,"tags":101820,"editor":101822,"content":101826,"excerpt":102004,"featured":51,"reporter":102005,"_editable":102009,"component":697,"seo_title":101814,"categories":102010,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102013,"seo_description":102004,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102016},"46ef8212-4aa3-4d26-833f-764b3d2e3109","2022-10-25 00:00",[101821],{"slug":575,"name":576},[101823],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":101824},{"job_title":557,"image":101825,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":101827},[101828,101833,101838,101843,101856,101861,101866,101871,101876,101881,101894,101899,101904,101909,101914,101919,101924,101937,101942,101947,101952,101957,101962,101967,101972,101977,101982,101987,101992,101997],{"type":591,"attrs":101829,"content":101830},{"textAlign":49},[101831],{"text":101832,"type":596},"Ceramic producers in China are starting to process lithium, as prices in the country hit new record highs.",{"type":591,"attrs":101834,"content":101835},{"textAlign":49},[101836],{"text":101837,"type":596},"Around 15% of the production lines in the Gao’an city of Jiangxi province have been switched from ceramics production to lithium slag processing, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":101839,"content":101840},{"textAlign":49},[101841],{"text":101842,"type":596},"The ceramics industry can take lithium slag waste and turn it into a useful stock to be further converted into lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":101844,"content":101845},{"textAlign":49},[101846,101848,101854],{"text":101847,"type":596},"“It just shows how ",{"text":101849,"type":596,"marks":101850},"desperately lithium is needed",[101851],{"type":606,"attrs":101852},{"href":101853,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/more-than-300-new-mines-required-to-meet-battery-demand-by-2035/",{"text":101855,"type":596},",” Albert Li, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “And at this existing lithium price in China it is economically doable.”",{"type":615,"attrs":101857,"content":101858},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101859],{"text":101860,"type":596},"From waste to feedstock",{"type":591,"attrs":101862,"content":101863},{"textAlign":49},[101864],{"text":101865,"type":596},"Jiangxi province is home to the majority of the world’s lepidolite mining capacity, with over 90% of global lepidolite mining occurring in the province last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":101867,"content":101868},{"textAlign":49},[101869],{"text":101870,"type":596},"After being mined, the lithium-containing lepidolite mineral is concentrated. This lepidolite concentrate is converted into lithium carbonate by lithium convertors in a process which generates lithium slag waste.",{"type":591,"attrs":101872,"content":101873},{"textAlign":49},[101874],{"text":101875,"type":596},"The slag contains around 0.5% lithium, which is too low a concentration to be used by the lithium convertors. As such it is either neutralised and disposed of, or given to local ceramic and cement companies to use as a base material for their processes.",{"type":591,"attrs":101877,"content":101878},{"textAlign":49},[101879],{"text":101880,"type":596},"However, with lithium prices as they are, it is now economically viable to process the waste from lithium slag to lithium slag base which has a higher concentration of lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":101882,"content":101883},{"textAlign":49},[101884,101886,101892],{"text":101885,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China have risen ",{"text":101887,"type":596,"marks":101888},"115% since the start of the year",[101889],{"type":606,"attrs":101890},{"href":101891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-touch-record-high-in-china-as-ev-sales-momentum-remains/",{"text":101893,"type":596},", breaking RMB 540,000 ($74,000) a tonne this week at the upper end, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":101895,"content":101896},{"textAlign":49},[101897],{"text":101898,"type":596},"The ceramics companies take the lithium slag, mix in a binder and calcine it, then grind it down and press the powder into bricks. These bricks, called lithium slag base, can then be sold back to the lithium converters who can incorporate it into the production of lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":101900,"content":101901},{"textAlign":49},[101902],{"text":101903,"type":596},"This process uses the same kind of equipment already used by the ceramics industry, such as the rotary kilns used for calcination.",{"type":591,"attrs":101905,"content":101906},{"textAlign":49},[101907],{"text":101908,"type":596},"Li estimated that between 200 and 300 tonnes of lithium slag is needed to produce one tonne of lithium carbonate.",{"type":615,"attrs":101910,"content":101911},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101912],{"text":101913,"type":596},"China pushing ceramics switch",{"type":591,"attrs":101915,"content":101916},{"textAlign":49},[101917],{"text":101918,"type":596},"Part of the driving force behind the switch of lines from ceramics production to lithium slag base production is the Chinese government, who are implementing policies to prevent ceramic producers switching back to ceramics in the future due to its high energy use.",{"type":591,"attrs":101920,"content":101921},{"textAlign":49},[101922],{"text":101923,"type":596},"“Because of the overcapacity problem and high energy consumption problems, the government doesn’t want more ceramic producers,” Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101925,"content":101926},{"textAlign":49},[101927,101929,101935],{"text":101928,"type":596},"Overall the ceramics industry is contributing little to economic growth but causing a headache from an ",{"text":101930,"type":596,"marks":101931},"environmental and carbon emissions",[101932],{"type":606,"attrs":101933},{"href":101934,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-ranks-lithium-producers-in-new-esg-report/",{"text":101936,"type":596}," policy perspective, Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101938,"content":101939},{"textAlign":49},[101940],{"text":101941,"type":596},"Beyond government intervention, some lithium producers are pushing for ceramic lines to be converted as well. Some of the ceramics companies are being paid by the lithium companies to upgrade their lines when they agree to rent them, Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":101943,"content":101944},{"textAlign":49},[101945],{"text":101946,"type":596},"The total investment across the ceramics producers making technical upgrades to the lines has been around RMB 780 million ($111 million), according to Li.",{"type":591,"attrs":101948,"content":101949},{"textAlign":49},[101950],{"text":101951,"type":596},"The cost to the lithium converters to rent the upgraded lines can be recouped within a couple of months, as the lithium business is so strong, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":101953,"content":101954},{"textAlign":49},[101955],{"text":101956,"type":596},"The lithium carbonate companies would need to invest heavily to add this capability to their own production facilities, so it makes economic sense to simply rent the lines, he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":101958,"content":101959},{"textAlign":49},[101960],{"text":101961,"type":596},"Li emphasised that these ceramic line upgrades won’t massively boost lithium supply, however.",{"type":615,"attrs":101963,"content":101964},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[101965],{"text":101966,"type":596},"Primed for conversion",{"type":591,"attrs":101968,"content":101969},{"textAlign":49},[101970],{"text":101971,"type":596},"Although there are ceramic industrial bases all over China, the one in the Gao’an district is particularly primed for upgrading to lithium slag processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":101973,"content":101974},{"textAlign":49},[101975],{"text":101976,"type":596},"Gao’an is located within Yichun city. Yichun has a thriving lithium ion battery scene owing to its lepidolite production base.",{"type":591,"attrs":101978,"content":101979},{"textAlign":49},[101980],{"text":101981,"type":596},"Other industries could also move into lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":101983,"content":101984},{"textAlign":49},[101985],{"text":101986,"type":596},"“In China when a business is thriving, all the players want part of it,” Li said. “Lithium is the same. All kinds of powerful companies that have never done any lithium business now want to step into this, including real estate, medical, entertainment, iron ore mining, fertiliser, etc, by acquiring old factories or establishing new ones.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101988,"content":101989},{"textAlign":49},[101990],{"text":101991,"type":596},"However, unlike the ceramics scene in Gao’an, not all industries are so well placed to move into lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":101993,"content":101994},{"textAlign":49},[101995],{"text":101996,"type":596},"“The difficulty is to get enough feedstock for production,” Li said. “But if the lithium price drops in future then this new business is over.”",{"type":591,"attrs":101998,"content":101999},{"textAlign":49},[102000],{"text":102001,"type":596,"marks":102002},"Edited 01/11/2022 to clarify RMB 780 million is the investment across all the ceramics producers which have made the switch.",[102003],{"type":1006},"Ceramic producers in China are starting to process lithium, as prices in the country hit new record highs. Around 15% of the production lines in the Gao’an city of Jiangxi province have been switched from ceramics production to lithium slag processing, according to Benchmark. The ceramics industry can take lithium slag waste and turn it […]",[102006],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102007},{"job_title":557,"image":102008,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"46ef8212-4aa3-4d26-833f-764b3d2e3109\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102011,102012],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":102014,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102015,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4a4488ae3e/bm-dsc-0347-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 25, 2022",{"id":102018,"uuid":102019,"name":102020,"slug":102021,"full_slug":102022,"content":102023},112472338635970,"acb29fed-3fe2-4a1d-ba67-3f6cd4d364a6","Europe set for battery supply shortage this decade as US, Asia expand production","europe-set-for-battery-supply-shortage-this-decade-as-us-asia-expand-production","article/europe-set-for-battery-supply-shortage-this-decade-as-us-asia-expand-production",{"_uid":102024,"date":102025,"tags":102026,"editor":102030,"content":102034,"excerpt":102156,"featured":51,"reporter":102157,"_editable":102161,"component":697,"seo_title":102020,"categories":102162,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102165,"seo_description":102156,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102168},"d8af11fb-eb56-4e2a-bf54-9451a2d33b3d","2022-10-20 00:00",[102027,102028,102029],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":572,"name":573},[102031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102032},{"job_title":557,"image":102033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102035},[102036,102041,102046,102051,102056,102061,102068,102073,102078,102083,102096,102101,102106,102111,102116,102121,102126,102131,102136,102141,102146,102151],{"type":591,"attrs":102037,"content":102038},{"textAlign":49},[102039],{"text":102040,"type":596},"Europe’s battery industry will struggle to keep pace with rising demand for electric vehicles this decade, as the region falls behind the US and Asia in terms of becoming self-sufficient in lithium ion battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":102042,"content":102043},{"textAlign":49},[102044],{"text":102045,"type":596},"The region’s supply deficit is set to grow from a 66 GWh in 2022, to almost 270 GWh deficit in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":102047,"content":102048},{"textAlign":49},[102049],{"text":102050,"type":596},"The data highlights how Europe needs to accelerate the build-out of a battery supply chain, as the US and China rapidly expand capacity to meet their own demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":102052,"content":102053},{"textAlign":49},[102054],{"text":102055,"type":596},"The EU’s climate change proposals include a ban on the sale of new fossil-fuel vehicles from 2035, but the bloc has yet to launch a large-scale stimulus policy targeted at clean energy supply chains similar to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":591,"attrs":102057,"content":102058},{"textAlign":49},[102059],{"text":102060,"type":596},"“There are investments coming in Europe at cell capacity level, but the issue is that there’s no point building these gigafactories if you’ve not got the supply chain to feed them,” said Aran Waid, analyst at Benchmark. “The biggest issue for them is building that midstream capacity and sourcing that raw material.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102062,"content":102063},{"textAlign":49},[102064],{"type":836,"attrs":102065},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102066,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102067},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c15f48956d/bm-regional-market-balances-aran.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":102069,"content":102070},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102071],{"text":102072,"type":596},"European battery factories ",{"type":591,"attrs":102074,"content":102075},{"textAlign":49},[102076],{"text":102077,"type":596},"European battery demand for electric vehicles is set to grow by 600% by the end of the decade to over 735 GWh, according to Benchmark. That compares to 436 GWh of battery EV demand for the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":102079,"content":102080},{"textAlign":49},[102081],{"text":102082,"type":596},"“Europe is leading in battery development outside of China but it still retains a deficit because we expect the demand to be much higher as it has such high EV penetration rates as well,” Waid said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102084,"content":102085},{"textAlign":49},[102086,102088,102094],{"text":102087,"type":596},"European OEMs including Volvo, Nissan and Renault have invested in joint ventures with battery manufacturers to construct European gigafactories while ",{"text":102089,"type":596,"marks":102090},"VW is taking the path of Tesla",[102091],{"type":606,"attrs":102092},{"href":102093,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vw-spins-out-battery-business-as-it-eyes-north-american-gigafactory/",{"text":102095,"type":596},", investing in its own battery cell production facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":102097,"content":102098},{"textAlign":49},[102099],{"text":102100,"type":596},"VW currently has three cell plants in planning across Europe, with an announced pipeline cell capacity of 120 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":102102,"content":102103},{"textAlign":49},[102104],{"text":102105,"type":596},"Leading battery producers such as CATL, LG Chem, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI are also investing in European based operations while Swedish startup Northvolt has two factories planned in Sweden and one in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":102107,"content":102108},{"textAlign":49},[102109],{"text":102110,"type":596},"Yet European battery materials production is also expected to lag forecast demand, according to Benchmark. Despite 800 GWh of European demand for anodes forecasted in 2030, Benchmark is tracking just over 300 GWh of pipeline anode capacity in planning and construction in Europe, highlighting the significant investment needed to localise a supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":102112,"content":102113},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102114],{"text":102115,"type":596},"US growth ",{"type":591,"attrs":102117,"content":102118},{"textAlign":49},[102119],{"text":102120,"type":596},"The passing of the IRA in the US this summer has significantly boosted battery investment in the country this year compared to Europe, however. The legislation provides tax credits to electric vehicle producers if they produce battery components in North America and source critical minerals from free trade agreement countries. It also provides production tax credits for battery cells and components.",{"type":591,"attrs":102122,"content":102123},{"textAlign":49},[102124],{"text":102125,"type":596},"Already, the move has seen $13 billion announced for domestic EV manufacturing and  $24 billion in batteries, according to the White House. This week Chinese battery company Envision AESC said it would invest in a new 30GWh battery manufacturing plant in South Carolina to supply BMW.",{"type":591,"attrs":102127,"content":102128},{"textAlign":49},[102129],{"text":102130,"type":596},"“In that sense, the IRA is a good piece of legislation as it puts that focus and investment on the rest of the supply chain further upstream with the raw material targets and the battery component. If Europe wants to be self-reliant, I do feel there needs to be a piece of legislation similar to the IRA,” Waid said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102132,"content":102133},{"textAlign":49},[102134],{"text":102135,"type":596},"As a result North America is forecast to reach cell surplus from 2027 to 2030, as 16 gigafactories are expected to come online by 2025, however further expansions will be needed to serve demand deficits post-2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":102137,"content":102138},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102139],{"text":102140,"type":596},"China’s dominance ",{"type":591,"attrs":102142,"content":102143},{"textAlign":49},[102144],{"text":102145,"type":596},"Of all regions China is forecast to  maintain the largest battery production surplus until 2033, according to Benchmark. China has consistently been ramping up its capabilities ranging from refining to manufacturing and all aspects of the EV supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":102147,"content":102148},{"textAlign":49},[102149],{"text":102150,"type":596},"China’s battery production is set to grow from 562 GWh in 2022 to 2.2TWh by 2030. China is expected to have enough surplus cells to serve supply deficits in other regions until 2033, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":102152,"content":102153},{"textAlign":49},[102154],{"text":102155,"type":596},"Asia (excluding China) is also expected to meet its own lithium ion battery demand until 2026, according to Benchmark.","Europe’s battery industry will struggle to keep pace with rising demand for electric vehicles this decade, as the region falls behind the US and Asia in terms of becoming self-sufficient in lithium ion battery cells. The region’s supply deficit is set to grow from a 66 GWh in 2022, to almost 270 GWh deficit in […]",[102158],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102159},{"job_title":557,"image":102160,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d8af11fb-eb56-4e2a-bf54-9451a2d33b3d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102163,102164],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":102166,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102167,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd694743ac/bm-saltzigger-e1666269459877.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 20, 2022",{"id":102170,"uuid":102171,"name":102172,"slug":102173,"full_slug":102174,"content":102175},112472333737153,"586c0440-2f73-42f4-9f6f-4fe0e1c17ffc","Benchmark launches cathode and anode price assessments","benchmark-launches-cathode-and-anode-price-assessments","article/benchmark-launches-cathode-and-anode-price-assessments",{"_uid":102176,"date":102025,"tags":102177,"editor":102179,"content":102183,"excerpt":102326,"featured":51,"reporter":102327,"_editable":102331,"component":697,"seo_title":102172,"categories":102332,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102336,"seo_description":102326,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102168},"16227cc4-c91f-4a24-a367-42099f8a7960",[102178],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[102180],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102181},{"job_title":557,"image":102182,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102184},[102185,102190,102195,102200,102205,102210,102215,102222,102227,102237,102247,102252,102257,102262,102267,102274,102279,102284,102294,102306,102311,102316],{"type":591,"attrs":102186,"content":102187},{"textAlign":49},[102188],{"text":102189,"type":596},"Benchmark has launched price assessments for anodes and cathodes, to provide price transparency for this critical part of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":102191,"content":102192},{"textAlign":49},[102193],{"text":102194,"type":596},"The new price assessments complement the regular analysis of market developments in Benchmark’s Anode and Cathode Market Assessments.",{"type":591,"attrs":102196,"content":102197},{"textAlign":49},[102198],{"text":102199,"type":596},"The latest price assessments show cathode prices rising 40% since October last year, with the primary driver for this being the raw material feedstock costs. For anodes, prices have increased by 8.4% over the same time period, though have been relatively flat over the past few months. ",{"type":591,"attrs":102201,"content":102202},{"textAlign":49},[102203],{"text":102204,"type":596},"The prices are assessed by Benchmark’s expert analysts on a DDP China spot basis, and are based on primary data collected directly from active market participants in the supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":102206,"content":102207},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102208],{"text":102209,"type":596},"Benchmark Cathode Price Assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":102211,"content":102212},{"textAlign":49},[102213],{"text":102214,"type":596},"The new Cathode Price Assessment tracks seven cathode grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":102216,"content":102217},{"textAlign":49},[102218],{"type":836,"attrs":102219},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102220,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102221},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9d415512d/bm-benchmark-cathode-price-assessment.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":102223,"content":102224},{"textAlign":49},[102225],{"text":102226,"type":596},"The prices across all grades have risen substantially on a year-on-year basis. Cathode prices are intimately connected to the raw material feedstock costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":102228,"content":102229},{"textAlign":49},[102230,102235],{"text":102231,"type":596,"marks":102232},"Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices",[102233],{"type":606,"attrs":102234},{"href":101891,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102236,"type":596}," have had the biggest influence on cathode prices in recent months, with prices for the feedstock rising 8% and 1.5%, respectively, since September.",{"type":591,"attrs":102238,"content":102239},{"textAlign":49},[102240,102245],{"text":102241,"type":596,"marks":102242},"Strong demand",[102243],{"type":606,"attrs":102244},{"href":101404,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102246,"type":596}," has also helped drive up cathode prices. That, combined with rising lithium carbonate costs, led LFP prices to rise by over 3% this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":102248,"content":102249},{"textAlign":49},[102250],{"text":102251,"type":596},"Cobalt prices had a particular impact on lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathodes. Cobalt hydroxide prices rose nearly 10% in Asia, leading to the 3% increase in LCO prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":102253,"content":102254},{"textAlign":49},[102255],{"text":102256,"type":596},"Overall, Benchmark’s cathode price index rose 0.8% this month and 40% since October last year.",{"type":615,"attrs":102258,"content":102259},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102260],{"text":102261,"type":596},"Benchmark Anode Price Assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":102263,"content":102264},{"textAlign":49},[102265],{"text":102266,"type":596},"The new Anode Price Assessment tracks six anode grades:",{"type":591,"attrs":102268,"content":102269},{"textAlign":49},[102270],{"type":836,"attrs":102271},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102272,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102273},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1b31e17c57/bm-benchmark-anode-price-assessment-1.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":102275,"content":102276},{"textAlign":49},[102277],{"text":102278,"type":596},"Unlike the cathode prices, Benchmark reports that anode prices have been relatively stable over recent months. Throughout October the anode price index has dropped only 0.1%, though it has risen 8.4% since October last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":102280,"content":102281},{"textAlign":49},[102282],{"text":102283,"type":596},"For synthetic graphite anodes, this price stability has occurred despite pressure from the downstream to reduce prices. Synthetic graphite anode suppliers have resisted lowering their prices owing to strong demand from electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":102285,"content":102286},{"textAlign":49},[102287,102292],{"text":102288,"type":596,"marks":102289},"In-house graphitisation capability",[102290],{"type":606,"attrs":102291},{"href":101470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102293,"type":596},", which allows synthetic graphite anode makers to produce their own synthetic graphite, has led to cost reductions in the anode production processes. This may lead to an anode price decrease next quarter, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":102295,"content":102296},{"textAlign":49},[102297,102299,102304],{"text":102298,"type":596},"For natural graphite the combination of ",{"text":102300,"type":596,"marks":102301},"falling feedstock prices",[102302],{"type":606,"attrs":102303},{"href":101610,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102305,"type":596}," coupled with strong downstream demand has led natural graphite anode prices to remain relatively stable over the past few months.",{"type":591,"attrs":102307,"content":102308},{"textAlign":49},[102309],{"text":102310,"type":596},"The new cathode and anode price assessments reflect Benchmark’s ongoing commitment to deliver critical data and insights across the whole lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":102312,"content":102313},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102314],{"text":102315,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Cathode and Anode Price Assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":102317,"content":102318},{"textAlign":49},[102319,102321,102325],{"text":102320,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Cathode and Anode Price Assessments fill out this ",{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":102322},[102323],{"type":606,"attrs":102324},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":94077,"type":596},"Benchmark has launched price assessments for anodes and cathodes, to provide price transparency for this critical part of the supply chain. The new price assessments complement the regular analysis of market developments in Benchmark’s Anode and Cathode Market Assessments. The latest price assessments show cathode prices rising 40% since October last year, with the primary […]",[102328],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102329},{"job_title":557,"image":102330,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"16227cc4-c91f-4a24-a367-42099f8a7960\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102333,102334,102335],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":102337,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102338,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cb02881774/bm-db2022al00467-large-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":102340,"uuid":102341,"name":102342,"slug":102343,"full_slug":102344,"content":102345},112472343424195,"6685adc6-9fa1-4800-8c2b-d7be6f88930f","US IRA poses challenges for South Korean companies as they build out North American battery capacity","us-ira-poses-challenges-for-south-korean-companies-as-they-build-out-north-american-battery-capacity","article/us-ira-poses-challenges-for-south-korean-companies-as-they-build-out-north-american-battery-capacity",{"_uid":102346,"date":102347,"tags":102348,"editor":102352,"content":102356,"excerpt":102530,"featured":51,"reporter":102531,"_editable":102535,"component":697,"seo_title":102342,"categories":102536,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102540,"seo_description":102530,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102542},"c2a5c884-ec6b-49b6-97a8-f1580d9dc21e","2022-10-18 00:00",[102349,102350,102351],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},{"slug":572,"name":573},[102353],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102354},{"job_title":557,"image":102355,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102357},[102358,102363,102368,102373,102378,102383,102388,102393,102398,102403,102410,102415,102420,102425,102430,102435,102440,102445,102450,102455,102460,102465,102470,102475,102480,102485,102490,102495,102500,102505,102510,102515,102520,102525],{"type":591,"attrs":102359,"content":102360},{"textAlign":49},[102361],{"text":102362,"type":596},"South Korean companies are set to account for half of US battery production by the end of the decade as they expand to meet demand from the country’s automakers, increasing the pressure for a resolution of concerns about provisions in President Biden’s recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":591,"attrs":102364,"content":102365},{"textAlign":49},[102366],{"text":102367,"type":596},"South Korean battery plants in the US are set to reach a production of 338 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year by 2030 and 355 GWh by 2040, which accounts for about 53% and 48% of the total future planned US cell production, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":102369,"content":102370},{"textAlign":49},[102371],{"text":102372,"type":596},"The forecast highlights the reliance of US automakers on South Korean companies, which are set to not only produce batteries but also supply battery materials to the North American market.  LGES, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI are building at least a dozen plants in North America individually or in collaboration with US automobile companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":102374,"content":102375},{"textAlign":49},[102376],{"text":102377,"type":596},"Yet the passing of the IRA has led to a backlash from Seoul, who says it disadvantages Korean carmakers, who don’t assemble their vehicles in the US. Hyundai and its sister concern Kia make their electric vehicles overseas and are thus ineligible for electric vehicle tax credits in the legislation.",{"type":591,"attrs":102379,"content":102380},{"textAlign":49},[102381],{"text":102382,"type":596},"In addition, Korean companies heavily rely on the Chinese supply chain for raw materials which could fall foul of the IRA’s provisions that no “entities of foreign concern” be included in the supply chain, if automakers want to receive tax credits.",{"type":591,"attrs":102384,"content":102385},{"textAlign":49},[102386],{"text":102387,"type":596},"“The companies will have to set up separate trade routes and supply chains for the US market,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer of Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102389,"content":102390},{"textAlign":49},[102391],{"text":102392,"type":596},"Currently China refines 69% of the nickel sulphate and 65% of the world’s cobalt, according to Benchmark. South Korea imports the bulk of its precursor materials (PCAM) from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":102394,"content":102395},{"textAlign":49},[102396],{"text":102397,"type":596},"Last week the US Department of Energy held meetings with Korean companies including LGES, SK Innovation, Samsung SDI, Lotte Chemical and Posco Chemical, to discuss the IRA, according to South Korean media.",{"type":591,"attrs":102399,"content":102400},{"textAlign":49},[102401],{"text":102402,"type":596},"“Regarding the future implication of IRA, as its specific ordinances are due later this year, it is difficult to discuss the potential impact of IRA in a detailed manner at the time,” a spokesperson for LGES told  Benchmark. “Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution is coming up with a variety of initiatives to maintain its strong competitiveness in the North American market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102404,"content":102405},{"textAlign":49},[102406],{"type":836,"attrs":102407},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102408,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102409},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/35cdac14be/bm-south-korea-batteries-us-ira.png",{},{"type":615,"attrs":102411,"content":102412},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102413],{"text":102414,"type":596},"The Koreans are coming ",{"type":591,"attrs":102416,"content":102417},{"textAlign":49},[102418],{"text":102419,"type":596},"LGES is expected to be the dominant Korean battery producer in North America this decade, with a 61% market share by 2030, followed by SK Innovation and Samsung SDI, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":102421,"content":102422},{"textAlign":49},[102423],{"text":102424,"type":596},"LGES and GM have plans to build four gigafactories, as part of their Ultium Cells joint venture. Earlier this month Ultium Cells began production at its first factory in Warren, Ohio.",{"type":591,"attrs":102426,"content":102427},{"textAlign":49},[102428],{"text":102429,"type":596},"Japan’s Honda and LGES on Tuesday also confirmed Ohio as the site of their planned $4.4 billion joint-venture EV battery plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":102431,"content":102432},{"textAlign":49},[102433],{"text":102434,"type":596},"Stellantis has also partnered with Samsung SDI for a gigafactory in Indiana while SK Innovation subsidiary SK On and Ford have three planned gigafactories under their “BlueOval SK” joint venture.",{"type":615,"attrs":102436,"content":102437},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102438],{"text":102439,"type":596},"Raw material challenge ",{"type":591,"attrs":102441,"content":102442},{"textAlign":49},[102443],{"text":102444,"type":596},"Yet securing the raw materials without China will be a challenge.",{"type":591,"attrs":102446,"content":102447},{"textAlign":49},[102448],{"text":102449,"type":596},"The IRA requires electric vehicle makers to extract or process a certain percentage of the value of the critical EV battery minerals from countries with which the US has a free trade agreement (FTA) to obtain $3,750 in EV tax credits. By 2024 a total of 40% of the value of the critical minerals in the battery needs to come from the US or a free trade agreement country. That contribution rises by 10% a year to reach 80% by 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":102451,"content":102452},{"textAlign":49},[102453],{"text":102454,"type":596},"In addition, no companies from China should be involved in extracting, processing or recycling the materials, according to the bill.",{"type":591,"attrs":102456,"content":102457},{"textAlign":49},[102458],{"text":102459,"type":596},"While Korea is a free trade agreement country, most of the battery minerals Korea uses come from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":102461,"content":102462},{"textAlign":49},[102463],{"text":102464,"type":596},"Both LGES and Posco have joint ventures with Chinese cobalt and nickel producer Huayou Cobalt, while China’s CNGR supplies LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK On. Korea’s cathode producer EcoPro also has a joint venture with China’s Gem Co.",{"type":591,"attrs":102466,"content":102467},{"textAlign":49},[102468],{"text":102469,"type":596},"Posco’s 65:35 joint-venture with Huayou, Posco Hy Clean Metal, is building a plant that will recycle battery materials in South Korea, importing black mass from its recycling plant in Poland and elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":102471,"content":102472},{"textAlign":49},[102473],{"text":102474,"type":596},"“The devil will be in the details to what extent JVs with Chinese companies are eligible,” Rawles said.",{"type":615,"attrs":102476,"content":102477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102478],{"text":102479,"type":596},"Re-orientating supply chains ",{"type":591,"attrs":102481,"content":102482},{"textAlign":49},[102483],{"text":102484,"type":596},"This month LGES signed an agreement with South Korea’s Posco on cathode and anode materials to help strengthen long term collaboration, in part to deal with the challenges posed by the IRA, the two companies said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102486,"content":102487},{"textAlign":49},[102488],{"text":102489,"type":596},"Posco would “acclerate” its regional production following the IRA, Posco said. The company has started construction of a nickel refining plant in South Korea and also said it would import lithium from Argentina to process into lithium hydroxide in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":102491,"content":102492},{"textAlign":49},[102493],{"text":102494,"type":596},"“With Posco and LG Energy Solution cooperating closely now as in the past, the two companies can protect themselves from various issues such as the US IRA,” Young-soo Kwon, the chief executive of LGES, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102496,"content":102497},{"textAlign":49},[102498],{"text":102499,"type":596},"This week LGES also signed a non-binding agreement with Syrah Resources to test its natural graphite from its Vidalia production facility in Louisiana, which is due to start production in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":102501,"content":102502},{"textAlign":49},[102503],{"text":102504,"type":596},"The battery company also has an agreement with Canada-based Electra Battery Materials for supplies of cobalt sulfate from North America.",{"type":615,"attrs":102506,"content":102507},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102508],{"text":102509,"type":596},"Political backlash",{"type":591,"attrs":102511,"content":102512},{"textAlign":49},[102513],{"text":102514,"type":596},"The passing of the IRA caught South Korea by surprise in August. Just three months earlier Hyundai had announced that it would invest $5.54 billion to build factories in Georgia for electric vehicles and battery manufacturing during Biden’s visit to  South Korea.",{"type":591,"attrs":102516,"content":102517},{"textAlign":49},[102518],{"text":102519,"type":596},"Following the passing of the IRA Seoul asked Washington to postpone the new rules until Hyundai completed its Georgia factory in 2025. Seoul is also reportedly considering filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":102521,"content":102522},{"textAlign":49},[102523],{"text":102524,"type":596},"The reaction from Korea has seen a host of US politicians including governors from Arizona and Indiana travel to South Korea. Last month President Joe Biden also wrote to Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol saying he understood their concerns about the IRA, according to Korean media.",{"type":591,"attrs":102526,"content":102527},{"textAlign":49},[102528],{"text":102529,"type":596},"That’s led to hopes that clarifications around Chinese involvement and other provisions in the legislation could come out later this year.","South Korean companies are set to account for half of US battery production by the end of the decade as they expand to meet demand from the country’s automakers, increasing the pressure for a resolution of concerns about provisions in President Biden’s recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. South Korean battery plants in the US are […]",[102532],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102533},{"job_title":557,"image":102534,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c2a5c884-ec6b-49b6-97a8-f1580d9dc21e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102537,102538,102539],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":53744,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102541,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 18, 2022",{"id":102544,"uuid":102545,"name":102546,"slug":102547,"full_slug":102548,"content":102549},112472353299654,"617afcf7-e7b3-4799-8169-f1bef3d95897","Lithium has to scale twenty times by 2050 as automakers face generational challenge","lithium-has-to-scale-twenty-times-by-2050-as-automakers-face-generational-challenge","article/lithium-has-to-scale-twenty-times-by-2050-as-automakers-face-generational-challenge",{"_uid":102550,"date":102551,"tags":102552,"editor":102554,"content":102558,"excerpt":102728,"featured":51,"reporter":102729,"_editable":102733,"component":697,"seo_title":102546,"categories":102734,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102737,"seo_description":102728,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102740},"6329bc6e-f4f0-4ae0-b974-b29d3d057264","2022-10-13 00:00",[102553],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[102555],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102556},{"job_title":557,"image":102557,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102559},[102560,102565,102570,102582,102587,102592,102597,102602,102607,102619,102624,102629,102642,102647,102652,102657,102662,102667,102690,102695,102706,102711,102716,102721],{"type":591,"attrs":102561,"content":102562},{"textAlign":49},[102563],{"text":102564,"type":596},"The world will need more than twenty times the amount of lithium than was mined last year to meet demand by mid-century, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, driven by growth in energy storage and electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":102566,"content":102567},{"textAlign":49},[102568],{"text":102569,"type":596},"Annual production of 11.2 million tonnes LCE will be needed by 2050 with energy storage making up two-thirds of battery demand by that date, due to the growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. ",{"type":591,"attrs":102571,"content":102572},{"textAlign":49},[102573,102575,102581],{"text":102574,"type":596},"This is one of the core themes of Benchmark Week 2022, which will held on the 14 to 18 November in Los Angeles. ",{"text":102576,"type":596,"marks":102577},"Join us here",[102578],{"type":606,"attrs":102579},{"href":102580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://events.benchmarkminerals.com/event/759109c6-9999-459c-aba5-bd4a47153714/summary",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":102583,"content":102584},{"textAlign":49},[102585],{"text":102586,"type":596},"The data highlights the challenge of scaling up lithium production from new mining projects, which can take over five years to bring online. Near-term, a total of 2.9 million tonnes LCE will be needed by 2032, more than the 2.7 million tonnes of cumulative global production of lithium between 2015 and 2022, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":102588,"content":102589},{"textAlign":49},[102590],{"text":102591,"type":596},"“The long term path for lithium is set, yet the supply chain scaling challenge has just begun,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, explained. “What this data shows is that we are at just the beginning of a generational challenge, not one that’s going to be solved in the 2020s.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102593,"content":102594},{"textAlign":49},[102595],{"text":102596,"type":596},"By 2040, all of the lithium mined last year will only meet one month’s demand, even with the supply from recycled batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":102598,"content":102599},{"textAlign":49},[102600],{"text":102601,"type":596},"“Lithium miners and refiners not only have to sensitively scale their supply base within the economics of today and near term future,” Moores said. “But they also attempt to plan for a world lithium ion economy that is an order of magnitude bigger than today.”",{"type":615,"attrs":102603,"content":102604},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102605],{"text":102606,"type":596},"Recycling’s role",{"type":591,"attrs":102608,"content":102609},{"textAlign":49},[102610,102612,102617],{"text":102611,"type":596},"Without recycling, we will need ",{"text":102613,"type":596,"marks":102614},"234 new lithium mines by 2050",[102615],{"type":606,"attrs":102616},{"href":101853,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102618,"type":596}," to meet this staggering demand. Today, Benchmark tracks just 40 mines which produced lithium this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":102620,"content":102621},{"textAlign":49},[102622],{"text":102623,"type":596},"This highlights how important recycling will be for meeting the lithium demand of the future. ",{"type":591,"attrs":102625,"content":102626},{"textAlign":49},[102627],{"text":102628,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that in 2040, nearly 20% of lithium chemicals will be produced from recycled batteries or process scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":102630,"content":102631},{"textAlign":49},[102632,102634,102640],{"text":102633,"type":596},"In the near term, ",{"text":102635,"type":596,"marks":102636},"most recyclable materials will be sourced from process scrap",[102637],{"type":606,"attrs":102638},{"href":102639,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-production-scrap-to-be-main-source-of-recyclable-material-this-decade/",{"text":102641,"type":596},". Though from the mid-2030s onwards an ever increasing majority of material will be sourced from end-of-life batteries.",{"type":615,"attrs":102643,"content":102644},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102645],{"text":102646,"type":596},"Sustainable growth",{"type":591,"attrs":102648,"content":102649},{"textAlign":49},[102650],{"text":102651,"type":596},"Leading up to 2050, an increasing number of countries will transition their fleets to EVs. This has been the primary driver of growth in recent years. In 2015, EV’s represented just 39% of battery demand increasing to 79% this year, as assessed by Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":102653,"content":102654},{"textAlign":49},[102655],{"text":102656,"type":596},"The US and European Union have both pledged to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while China has  set a goal of reaching that date by 2060. As part of that goal, the EU has pledged to ban sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, while China has said it wants only “new-energy vehicles,” which includes hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, to be sold by that date.",{"type":591,"attrs":102658,"content":102659},{"textAlign":49},[102660],{"text":102661,"type":596},"“It’s crucial that legacy OEMs, EV producers, and battery cell makers make the big and at times uncomfortable decisions in investing in long term generational critical minerals supply, especially for lithium,” Moores said. “If not, Automakers won’t hit their EVs, governments won’t achieve Net Zero by 2050, and market volatility will be here to stay for much longer.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102663,"content":102664},{"textAlign":49},[102665],{"text":102666,"type":596},"By 2050 Benchmark expects about a third of battery demand will be from EVs and the rest from energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":102668,"content":102669},{"textAlign":49},[102670,102672,102677,102683,102688],{"text":102671,"type":596},"For a sustainable future, Moores said ",{"text":102673,"type":596,"marks":102674},"energy ",[102675],{"type":606,"attrs":102676},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102678,"type":596,"marks":102679},"storage ",[102680],{"type":606,"attrs":102681},{"href":102682,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-lfp-dominance-could-constrain-us-energy-storage-deployment/",{"text":102684,"type":596,"marks":102685},"will be the biggest growth sector",[102686],{"type":606,"attrs":102687},{"href":72183,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102689,"type":596}," up to 2050. These will be needed to balance the electricity grid as ever more intermittent renewable sources are added to it.",{"type":615,"attrs":102691,"content":102692},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102693],{"text":102694,"type":596},"Join Benchmark Week 2022",{"type":591,"attrs":102696,"content":102697},{"textAlign":49},[102698,102700,102704],{"text":102699,"type":596},"To delve further into the challenges faced by the lithium ion battery supply chain, Benchmark’s flagship event returns in person this year. ",{"text":66193,"type":596,"marks":102701},[102702],{"type":606,"attrs":102703},{"href":102580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":102705,"type":596}," sees back-to-back conferences covering the entire supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":102707,"content":102708},{"textAlign":49},[102709],{"text":102710,"type":596},"Benchmark CEO Simon Moores will chart how we can reach a net-zero future by 2050 and the demands on the lithium supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":102712,"content":102713},{"textAlign":49},[102714],{"text":102715,"type":596},"Alongside Benchmark’s expert analysts, speakers from Rio Tinto and Allkem will deliver keynote talks and active players from across the supply chain will be involved in panel discussions all week.",{"type":591,"attrs":102717,"content":102718},{"textAlign":49},[102719],{"text":102720,"type":596},"For more in-depth discussion on lithium, the expert panels on Wednesday 16th November will explore hard rock and brine lithium mining as well as new extraction technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":102722,"content":102723},{"textAlign":49},[102724],{"type":836,"attrs":102725},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102726,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102727},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4d20c79a3d/bm-benchmark-week.png",{},"The world will need more than twenty times the amount of lithium than was mined last year to meet demand by mid-century, according to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, driven by growth in energy storage and electric vehicles. Annual production of 11.2 million tonnes LCE will be needed by 2050 with energy storage making […]",[102730],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102731},{"job_title":557,"image":102732,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6329bc6e-f4f0-4ae0-b974-b29d3d057264\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102735,102736],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":102738,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102739,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/78df57e7d9/bm-olaroz-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 13, 2022",{"id":102742,"uuid":102743,"name":102744,"slug":102745,"full_slug":102746,"content":102747},112472348462277,"edbbbf60-6d9b-4ca3-a0de-a6ff55d94dd2","Lithium prices touch record high in China as EV sales momentum remains","lithium-prices-touch-record-high-in-china-as-ev-sales-momentum-remains","article/lithium-prices-touch-record-high-in-china-as-ev-sales-momentum-remains",{"_uid":102748,"date":102551,"tags":102749,"editor":102751,"content":102755,"excerpt":102860,"featured":51,"reporter":102861,"_editable":102865,"component":697,"seo_title":102744,"categories":102866,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":102869,"seo_description":102860,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":102740},"6bfae428-bcf5-4555-a55d-a9a8eaad863e",[102750],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[102752],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102753},{"job_title":557,"image":102754,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102756},[102757,102762,102767,102772,102785,102795,102802,102807,102812,102825,102830,102835,102840,102845,102850,102855],{"type":591,"attrs":102758,"content":102759},{"textAlign":49},[102760],{"text":102761,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China touched an all-time high on Wednesday, continuing a record-breaking streak that is putting increasing pressure on automakers and battery producers to secure supply from mining companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":102763,"content":102764},{"textAlign":49},[102765],{"text":102766,"type":596},"The price of Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 1.7% in the past week following the country’s National Day holiday to reach a record high of RMB 532,000 per tonne ($74,475), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. The price has risen by 108% year-to-date.",{"type":591,"attrs":102768,"content":102769},{"textAlign":49},[102770],{"text":102771,"type":596},"Prices for lithium hydroxide, which is used in high nickel batteries, rose by 1% to RMB 528,000 ($73,925), a jump of 147% this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":102773,"content":102774},{"textAlign":49},[102775,102777,102783],{"text":102776,"type":596},"Lithium prices have followed an almost consistent upward trajectory for 24 straight months fuelled by growing ",{"text":102778,"type":596,"marks":102779},"demand",[102780],{"type":606,"attrs":102781},{"href":102782,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-has-to-scale-twenty-times-by-2050-as-automakers-face-generational-challenge/",{"text":102784,"type":596}," for electric vehicles in China as well as the rest of the world. Global sales of electric vehicles hit one million for the first time in September, an increase of 18% compared to August, according to Rho Motion. Year-to-date just under seven million electric vehicles have been sold globally, led by BYD and Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":102786,"content":102787},{"textAlign":49},[102788,102793],{"text":10057,"type":596,"marks":102789},[102790],{"type":606,"attrs":102791},{"href":102792,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-chinas-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-dominance/",{"text":102794,"type":596}," EV sales have led the world this year and remained robust despite continued Covid-19 lockdowns across the country. Sales of battery electric vehicles have risen by 102% this year compared to 2021, according to official statistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":102796,"content":102797},{"textAlign":49},[102798],{"type":836,"attrs":102799},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":102800,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":102801},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ec1041535f/bm-lithium-prices-to-4-october-1.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":102803,"content":102804},{"textAlign":49},[102805],{"text":102806,"type":596},"The higher prices in China’s spot lithium market will feed through to longer-term pricing contracts between automakers and lithium producers, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, increasing pricing pressures across the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":102808,"content":102809},{"textAlign":49},[102810],{"text":102811,"type":596},"“There’s still some catching up to do in long-term pricing contracts,” she said. “How the spot market is behaving now might not necessarily be the prices being absorbed by much of the downstream but they will be soon for most consumers given the restructuring of pricing mechanisms we have seen in lithium supply contracts over the last year, putting further pressure on automakers and adding to cost difficulties in achieving their electrification targets.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102813,"content":102814},{"textAlign":49},[102815,102817,102823],{"text":102816,"type":596},"The high prices have pushed ",{"text":102818,"type":596,"marks":102819},"battery producers",[102820],{"type":606,"attrs":102821},{"href":102822,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-and-sk-on-outline-lithium-plans-as-shortage-fears-weigh-across-supply-chain/",{"text":102824,"type":596}," to sign supply agreements with emerging lithium producers, in the hope of securing future supplies. This week Argentina-focused lithium producer Lake Resources said it had signed an agreement with South Korean battery producer SK On to supply up to 25,000 tonnes a year of lithium from its Kachi project.",{"type":615,"attrs":102826,"content":102827},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[102828],{"text":102829,"type":596},"WHY TRADE PRICES AREN’T RELIABLE ",{"type":591,"attrs":102831,"content":102832},{"textAlign":49},[102833],{"text":102834,"type":596},"The price increases come despite a report by Morgan Stanley on Thursday that triggered a broad sell-off among Australia-listed lithium mining companies. The bank said September trade data showed Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM) was exporting less to China in September at lower prices than the spot market. This could be a “yellow flag” for the lithium market, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102836,"content":102837},{"textAlign":49},[102838],{"text":102839,"type":596},"Morgan Stanley speculated that SQM could be “holding part of its capacity increase, to sustain spot prices in China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":102841,"content":102842},{"textAlign":49},[102843],{"text":102844,"type":596},"SQM is expected to produce 160,000 tonnes of LCE this year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, accounting for 23% of the global market.",{"type":591,"attrs":102846,"content":102847},{"textAlign":49},[102848],{"text":102849,"type":596},"But Caspar Rawles, chief data officer of Benchmark, said trade data was not a reliable indicator of lithium pricing, since there was no accounting for grade, and some products could be incorrectly labelled when exported. Some companies also use internal transfer pricing, rather than market pricing that would be paid by their customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":102851,"content":102852},{"textAlign":49},[102853],{"text":102854,"type":596},"In general, trade statistics show the value of the product linked to the date of shipment, rather than sale, meaning due to shipping delays this could be a price agreed many weeks if not months ago, Rawles said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102856,"content":102857},{"textAlign":49},[102858],{"text":102859,"type":596},"“IOSCO assured pricing, with expert analysts speaking directly with the market, provides a far more accurate set of price data rather than relying on trade stats,” he said.","Lithium prices in China touched an all-time high on Wednesday, continuing a record-breaking streak that is putting increasing pressure on automakers and battery producers to secure supply from mining companies. The price of Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 1.7% in the past week following the country’s National Day holiday to reach a record […]",[102862],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102863},{"job_title":557,"image":102864,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6bfae428-bcf5-4555-a55d-a9a8eaad863e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[102867,102868],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":102870,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":102871,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8518ea82a/bm-lithium-chile-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":102873,"uuid":102874,"name":102875,"slug":102876,"full_slug":102877,"content":102878},112472383126732,"2e52934a-4a25-44bb-a083-3afadc623ca4","Inflation Reduction Act to drive North American cobalt processing as US engages with DRC","inflation-reduction-act-to-drive-north-american-cobalt-processing-as-us-engages-with-drc","article/inflation-reduction-act-to-drive-north-american-cobalt-processing-as-us-engages-with-drc",{"_uid":102879,"date":102880,"tags":102881,"editor":102886,"content":102890,"excerpt":103027,"featured":51,"reporter":103028,"_editable":103032,"component":697,"seo_title":102875,"categories":103033,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103038,"seo_description":103027,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103041},"552fa1e5-afc9-45a7-813d-e71cd942cb56","2022-09-30 00:00",[102882,102883,102884,102885],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[102887],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":102888},{"job_title":557,"image":102889,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":102891},[102892,102897,102902,102907,102912,102917,102922,102927,102932,102937,102942,102947,102952,102957,102962,102967,102972,102977,102982,102987,102992,102997,103002,103007,103012,103017,103022],{"type":591,"attrs":102893,"content":102894},{"textAlign":49},[102895],{"text":102896,"type":596},"North American cobalt refining is expected to gain pace following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this summer, as the legislation spurs efforts to reduce Chinese dominance in the sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":102898,"content":102899},{"textAlign":49},[102900],{"text":102901,"type":596},"Last week the South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution signed a three-year deal to secure battery grade cobalt from a Canadian refinery owned by Electra Battery Materials, the only cobalt sulphate plant in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":102903,"content":102904},{"textAlign":49},[102905],{"text":102906,"type":596},"The IRA specifies that automakers need to secure a certain percentage of the value of the critical minerals in electric vehicle batteries from North America or countries with which the US has a free trade agreement to obtain half of the $7,500 electric vehicle purchase tax credit.",{"type":591,"attrs":102908,"content":102909},{"textAlign":49},[102910],{"text":102911,"type":596},"While the DRC is not a free trade agreement country, processing the metal in North America makes the critical material eligible for tax credits under the IRA, according to Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":102913,"content":102914},{"textAlign":49},[102915],{"text":102916,"type":596},"The legislation says the minerals can either be “extracted or processed” in any country with which the US has a free trade agreement, or recycled in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":102918,"content":102919},{"textAlign":49},[102920],{"text":102921,"type":596},"Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo mines over 70% of the world’s cobalt feedstock, but two-thirds of that is processed in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":102923,"content":102924},{"textAlign":49},[102925],{"text":102926,"type":596},"“The midstream refining stage is where we’ll likely see the most activity in North America, particularly in the US,” Miller said.",{"type":615,"attrs":102928,"content":102929},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[102930],{"text":102931,"type":596},"Canadian refining ",{"type":591,"attrs":102933,"content":102934},{"textAlign":49},[102935],{"text":102936,"type":596},"LGES, which is the world’s second largest EV battery maker after China’s CATL, said it  would secure 7,000 tonnes of battery grade cobalt from 2023 to 2025 from Electra’s cobalt sulphate refinery north of Toronto.",{"type":591,"attrs":102938,"content":102939},{"textAlign":49},[102940],{"text":102941,"type":596},"Electra, formerly known as First Cobalt, would supply 1,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in a cobalt sulphate product in 2023 and a further 3,000 tonnes in each of 2024 and 2025 under an agreed pricing mechanism.",{"type":591,"attrs":102943,"content":102944},{"textAlign":49},[102945],{"text":102946,"type":596},"The contract would see Electra produce enough cobalt to power up to 1.5 million electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":102948,"content":102949},{"textAlign":49},[102950],{"text":102951,"type":596},"“The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act underscores the importance of creating a domestic EV battery supply chain by extending a $7,500 tax credit for vehicles that do not contain critical minerals sourced from China and Russia,” Electra said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102953,"content":102954},{"textAlign":49},[102955],{"text":102956,"type":596},"Electra sources the cobalt feedstock from Glencore’s Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) mine in Kolwezi, DRC, as well as CMOC’s Tenke Fungurume mine which represent 90% of the projected capacity of the company’s refinery.",{"type":591,"attrs":102958,"content":102959},{"textAlign":49},[102960],{"text":102961,"type":596},"“Although it may be more expensive to refine in North America because of the cost of the labor, electricity and so on, once you factor in the IRA subsidy then the incentive price is likely much lower for the different minerals,” Benchmark’s Miller said.",{"type":615,"attrs":102963,"content":102964},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[102965],{"text":102966,"type":596},"DRC re-engagement ",{"type":591,"attrs":102968,"content":102969},{"textAlign":49},[102970],{"text":102971,"type":596},"The Electra deal comes at the same time as Biden’s administration is stepping up its political engagement with the DRC, the world’s largest producer of cobalt, where a number of Chinese companies have invested in copper and cobalt projects over the past decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":102973,"content":102974},{"textAlign":49},[102975],{"text":102976,"type":596},"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the DRC in August. The State Departement said it supports the DRC’s government’s decision to review mining contracts in the country, many of which are with Chinese companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":102978,"content":102979},{"textAlign":49},[102980],{"text":102981,"type":596},"Last week Blinken also met with representatives of mineral rich nations including Argentina, Brazil, the DRC, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia as part of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) initiative that was announced in June.",{"type":591,"attrs":102983,"content":102984},{"textAlign":49},[102985],{"text":102986,"type":596},"“We aim to make sure that minerals-rich countries benefit from all stages of the value chain, from extraction to processing to recycling,” Blinken said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102988,"content":102989},{"textAlign":49},[102990],{"text":102991,"type":596},"“For some projects, it could mean that the United States or a partner country helps with reducing the risk of the project, including by providing a loan guarantee or debt financing,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":102993,"content":102994},{"textAlign":49},[102995],{"text":102996,"type":596},"Other MSP partner countries include Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.",{"type":615,"attrs":102998,"content":102999},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[103000],{"text":103001,"type":596},"Cobalt Supply, Production And Demand",{"type":591,"attrs":103003,"content":103004},{"textAlign":49},[103005],{"text":103006,"type":596},"Growth in cobalt demand through the end of the decade will be almost entirely dominated by the battery sector, fuelled mostly by increased EV adoption, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103008,"content":103009},{"textAlign":49},[103010],{"text":103011,"type":596},"Cobalt battery demand is expected to reach about 110,000 tonnes by the end of this year and jump to 248,000 tonnes by the end of 2030, according to Benchmark’s Q2 2022 Cobalt Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":103013,"content":103014},{"textAlign":49},[103015],{"text":103016,"type":596},"The share of nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM) battery chemistries is expected to increase to 66% by the end of 2030 from 49% this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":103018,"content":103019},{"textAlign":49},[103020],{"text":103021,"type":596},"The DRC is set to remain the largest supplier this decade, according to Benchmark, and China the largest refiner.",{"type":591,"attrs":103023,"content":103024},{"textAlign":49},[103025],{"text":103026,"type":596},"Only 11,000 tonnes of refined cobalt will be produced annually in North America by 2030, less than 4.0% of forecasted refined cobalt globally, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast.","North American cobalt refining is expected to gain pace following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this summer, as the legislation spurs efforts to reduce Chinese dominance in the sector. Last week the South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution signed a three-year deal to secure battery grade cobalt from a Canadian refinery […]",[103029],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103030},{"job_title":557,"image":103031,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"552fa1e5-afc9-45a7-813d-e71cd942cb56\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103034,103035,103036,103037],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103039,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103040,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/098f227518/bm-etoile-mine-cobalt.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 30, 2022",{"id":103043,"uuid":103044,"name":103045,"slug":103046,"full_slug":103047,"content":103048},112472387988686,"573b6a9a-a24b-4912-8cf2-12bebe93cd9d","Solid state needs lithium metal production to gear up to meet future demand","solid-state-needs-lithium-metal-production-to-gear-up-to-meet-future-demand","article/solid-state-needs-lithium-metal-production-to-gear-up-to-meet-future-demand",{"_uid":103049,"date":103050,"tags":103051,"editor":103053,"content":103057,"excerpt":103218,"featured":51,"reporter":103219,"_editable":103223,"component":697,"seo_title":103045,"categories":103224,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103227,"seo_description":103218,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103230},"4e82f549-170a-4ad1-a3ed-b8839ed86f8e","2022-09-29 00:00",[103052],{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[103054],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103055},{"job_title":557,"image":103056,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103058},[103059,103072,103077,103082,103087,103092,103097,103102,103107,103112,103117,103122,103135,103140,103145,103150,103153,103158,103163,103168,103173,103178,103183,103188,103193,103198,103203,103208,103213],{"type":591,"attrs":103060,"content":103061},{"textAlign":49},[103062,103064,103070],{"text":103063,"type":596},"Production of lithium metal for ",{"text":103065,"type":596,"marks":103066},"solid-state batteries",[103067],{"type":606,"attrs":103068},{"href":103069,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-solid-state-batteries-compete-with-traditional-lithium-ion-on-cost/",{"text":103071,"type":596}," could be a $2.7 billion a year market by the end of the decade as supply increases three-fold to meet projected demand for the new technology, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103073,"content":103074},{"textAlign":49},[103075],{"text":103076,"type":596},"The industry could need around 7,700 tonnes a year of battery-grade lithium metal to meet forecast demand, which currently sells for around $300 to $400 a kilogram, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103078,"content":103079},{"textAlign":49},[103080],{"text":103081,"type":596},"That demand increase is likely to worsen a forecast deficit of lithium chemicals, as high purity lithium metal uses five times more lithium than lithium carbonate. Lithium chloride (LiCl) is the required chemical precursor for lithium metal production, which can be produced from brine or spodumene.",{"type":591,"attrs":103083,"content":103084},{"textAlign":49},[103085],{"text":103086,"type":596},"“Solid-state battery scale-up will shift the lithium market balance drastically, and the supply chain capacity needed to satisfy this demand will increase,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103088,"content":103089},{"textAlign":49},[103090],{"text":103091,"type":596},"Solid-state batteries promise lower cost and more powerful electric vehicles by increasing the energy density and safety of current lithium ion batteries by using lithium metal instead of graphite in the anode and replacing the liquid electrolyte with a polymer or ceramic material.",{"type":591,"attrs":103093,"content":103094},{"textAlign":49},[103095],{"text":103096,"type":596},"The use of lithium metal anodes can increase the battery cell’s energy density by two to three times, when paired with a traditional lithium ion cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":103098,"content":103099},{"textAlign":49},[103100],{"text":103101,"type":596},"Some companies are also looking to pair lithium metal with liquid electrolytes, reducing the risk of thermal runaway compared to traditional carbonate-based liquid electrolytes.",{"type":591,"attrs":103103,"content":103104},{"textAlign":49},[103105],{"text":103106,"type":596},"Automakers from Volkswagen to Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz have invested in solid-state battery companies, while solid-state batteries from France’s Blue Solutions are already used in electric buses.",{"type":591,"attrs":103108,"content":103109},{"textAlign":49},[103110],{"text":103111,"type":596},"Yet lithium metal supply is currently highly concentrated in China, where Ganfeng Lithium is the dominant producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":103113,"content":103114},{"textAlign":49},[103115],{"text":103116,"type":596},"“With the transportation of lithium metal being a key challenge, global capacity will need to be developed to ensure the localisation of this supply chain,” Rory McNulty, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103118,"content":103119},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103120],{"text":103121,"type":596},"Building capacity ",{"type":591,"attrs":103123,"content":103124},{"textAlign":49},[103125,103127,103133],{"text":103126,"type":596},"Currently there is around 2 GWh of solid-state battery production across Europe, North America, and China. But producers are building ",{"text":103128,"type":596,"marks":103129},"GWh-scale plants",[103130],{"type":606,"attrs":103131},{"href":103132,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-enters-gigawatt-hour-era-as-new-capacity-comes-online-in-2022/",{"text":103134,"type":596}," to ramp up manufacturing to a level capable of initiating formal automotive qualification.",{"type":591,"attrs":103136,"content":103137},{"textAlign":49},[103138],{"text":103139,"type":596},"In July Ganfeng Lithium broke ground on the construction of a 10 GWh solid-state battery production facility in Chongqing. The site is set to be the largest solid-state battery focused manufacturing site in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":103141,"content":103142},{"textAlign":49},[103143],{"text":103144,"type":596},"Production of lithium metal batteries could reach the 270 gigawatt-hour level by 2030 based on company announcements. That would require 23,100 tonnes of battery-grade lithium metal, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103146,"content":103147},{"textAlign":49},[103148],{"text":103149,"type":596},"Yet even 5 GWh of solid state lithium metal battery production would exceed the current supply of lithium metal, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103151,"content":103152},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":103154,"content":103155},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103156],{"text":103157,"type":596},"Lithium metal production ",{"type":591,"attrs":103159,"content":103160},{"textAlign":49},[103161],{"text":103162,"type":596},"Total global lithium metal capacity is around 7150 tonnes a year, but only a small proportion is classified as battery grade. Current producers include Livent, Albemarle, Tianqi Lithium, Ganfeng Lithium, Xinghua Lithium and Jin Kunlun.",{"type":591,"attrs":103164,"content":103165},{"textAlign":49},[103166],{"text":103167,"type":596},"Over 90% of this current production capacity is in China, led by Ganfeng. That dominance is expected to continue to 2030, due to expansion plans announced by the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":103169,"content":103170},{"textAlign":49},[103171],{"text":103172,"type":596},"The lithium industry is hesitant to expand capacity before solid state battery technology has been proven, however, according to McNulty. Ramping up battery-grade lithium metal production capacity before a technology is ready could yield enormous capital losses, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103174,"content":103175},{"textAlign":49},[103176],{"text":103177,"type":596},"Conversely, waiting too long may result in competitors consuming supply contracts and exploiting the economies of scale to gain significant price advantages, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103179,"content":103180},{"textAlign":49},[103181],{"text":103182,"type":596},"“To de-risk this process, it is critical that lithium majors and lithium metal battery technology developers communicate throughout the process of commercialisation to ensure a balance of supply and demand,” McNulty said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103184,"content":103185},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103186],{"text":103187,"type":596},"Blue Solutions ",{"type":591,"attrs":103189,"content":103190},{"textAlign":49},[103191],{"text":103192,"type":596},"Blue Solutions is the only company to have successfully commercialised an all-solid-state lithium metal battery for transportation purposes. The company told Benchmark it buys in lithium metal ingots from three partners and produces all of its own lithium metal film for its batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":103194,"content":103195},{"textAlign":49},[103196],{"text":103197,"type":596},"The company estimates current global lithium metal production at 5,000 tonnes a year and expects this to grow to 15,000 tonnes a year by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":103199,"content":103200},{"textAlign":49},[103201],{"text":103202,"type":596},"To ensure long term stability of supply, Blue Solutions said it will look to secure offtake agreements of lithium carbonate and hydroxide and work directly with converters to ensure consistent high-quality supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":103204,"content":103205},{"textAlign":49},[103206],{"text":103207,"type":596},"Blue Solutions has developed an all-solid-state battery consisting of a lithium metal anode, a solid polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based polymer electrolyte, and a lithium iron phosphate cathode.",{"type":591,"attrs":103209,"content":103210},{"textAlign":49},[103211],{"text":103212,"type":596},"Blue Solutions is targeting entry to the consumer EV market in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":103214,"content":103215},{"textAlign":49},[103216],{"text":103217,"type":596},"“After 2025 there will be larger demand than the already known and installed capacity and our strategy here is to work with partners to develop the supply chain,” Francois Mouton, purchasing director at Blue Solutions, said.","Production of lithium metal for solid-state batteries could be a $2.7 billion a year market by the end of the decade as supply increases three-fold to meet projected demand for the new technology, according to Benchmark. The industry could need around 7,700 tonnes a year of battery-grade lithium metal to meet forecast demand, which currently […]",[103220],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103221},{"job_title":557,"image":103222,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4e82f549-170a-4ad1-a3ed-b8839ed86f8e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103225,103226],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103228,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103229,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/450ecd8cdc/bm-solid-state-scaled-1.webp",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 29, 2022",{"id":103232,"uuid":103233,"name":103234,"slug":103235,"full_slug":103236,"content":103237},112472392875216,"1629cdac-eba9-4d11-b430-4d83eb901960","What does the PowerCo-Umicore JV mean for Europe’s cathode outlook?","what-does-the-powerco-umicore-jv-mean-for-europes-cathode-outlook","article/what-does-the-powerco-umicore-jv-mean-for-europes-cathode-outlook",{"_uid":103238,"date":103239,"tags":103240,"editor":103243,"content":103247,"excerpt":103356,"featured":51,"reporter":103357,"_editable":103361,"component":697,"seo_title":103234,"categories":103362,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103365,"seo_description":103356,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103368},"39fbac07-92b7-4a46-8261-0d0c1ef9dc1e","2022-09-28 00:00",[103241,103242],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":8923,"name":8924},[103244],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103245},{"job_title":557,"image":103246,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103248},[103249,103262,103267,103272,103277,103282,103287,103292,103297,103302,103307,103312,103317,103322,103327,103332,103344],{"type":591,"attrs":103250,"content":103251},{"textAlign":49},[103252,103254,103260],{"text":103253,"type":596},"A 3 billion euro joint venture between Volkswagen’s battery company ",{"text":103255,"type":596,"marks":103256},"PowerCo",[103257],{"type":606,"attrs":103258},{"href":103259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vw-spins-out-battery-business-as-it-eyes-north-american-gigafactory",{"text":103261,"type":596}," and Umicore could add an extra 50% to Europe’s cathode capacity by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103263,"content":103264},{"textAlign":49},[103265],{"text":103266,"type":596},"The joint venture will have a production capacity of 160 gigawatt-hours a year of cathode materials by 2030, the two companies said, enough for 2.2 million electric vehicles. Current forecast cathode capacity for Europe is 325 GWh by that date, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103268,"content":103269},{"textAlign":49},[103270],{"text":103271,"type":596},"Thomas Schmall, chief technical officer at PowerCo, described the joint venture with Umicore as the “start of a new era of vertical integration.”",{"type":591,"attrs":103273,"content":103274},{"textAlign":49},[103275],{"text":103276,"type":596},"China currently dominates battery cathode production, and is set to produce 78% of the global supply this year, according to Benchmark. This is set to increase to 87% by 2030, unless there is further investment from companies in Europe and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":103278,"content":103279},{"textAlign":49},[103280],{"text":103281,"type":596},"Europe has started to develop legislation to cut its reliance on China and control more of its own supply of battery materials. Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced the Critical Raw Materials Act, which will introduce targets for local sourcing of raw and refined materials for the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":103283,"content":103284},{"textAlign":49},[103285],{"text":103286,"type":596},"A suggested target could be 30% of the refined lithium used in batteries be sourced from within the EU.",{"type":591,"attrs":103288,"content":103289},{"textAlign":49},[103290],{"text":103291,"type":596},"Schmall said that that “laws and decisions will force everyone to invest in local regions.”",{"type":591,"attrs":103293,"content":103294},{"textAlign":49},[103295],{"text":103296,"type":596},"“We are looking more and more for local-for-local,” he said, “EU-for-EU, China-for-China, and North America for North America.”",{"type":615,"attrs":103298,"content":103299},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103300],{"text":103301,"type":596},"Dash for growth in Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":103303,"content":103304},{"textAlign":49},[103305],{"text":103306,"type":596},"Umicore is rapidly expanding capacity in Europe. Last week the company began operations at a new cathode materials plant in Nysa, Poland which will have 40 GWh capacity in 2024. The company says it could reach up to 200 GWh in the second half of the decade, providing enough cathode materials for 3 million electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":103308,"content":103309},{"textAlign":49},[103310],{"text":103311,"type":596},"The first 60 gigawatt hours equivalent of refined metals required by the joint venture with PowerCo will be exclusively provided by Umicore, it said. The two companies will then collaborate on sourcing the remainder of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":103313,"content":103314},{"textAlign":49},[103315],{"text":103316,"type":596},"“We are working closely with PowerCo to see how we can locally source from the EU within the second half of the decade,” Mathias Miedreich, chief executive of Umicore, said at a press conference on Monday.",{"type":591,"attrs":103318,"content":103319},{"textAlign":49},[103320],{"text":103321,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast shows that in 2022 Umicore will produce 10,000 tonnes of refined cobalt, about 8% of global demand from batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":103323,"content":103324},{"textAlign":49},[103325],{"text":103326,"type":596},"It also will produce just under 20,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate in Europe this year, fulfilling around 5% of the global demand from batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":103328,"content":103329},{"textAlign":49},[103330],{"text":103331,"type":596},"Refining and recycling may be added to the JV at a later date, utilising Umiore’s intellectual property that will be shared between the two companies, the companies said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103333,"content":103334},{"textAlign":49},[103335,103337,103342],{"text":103336,"type":596},"Umicore, which has operated ",{"text":103338,"type":596,"marks":103339},"recycling facilities",[103340],{"type":606,"attrs":103341},{"href":38922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":103343,"type":596}," since 2011, recently announced plans to build the largest recycling facility in Europe, with 150,000 tpa capacity. PowerCo will process scrap in house at the recycling facilities at its Salzgitter gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":103345,"content":103346},{"textAlign":49},[103347,103349,103354],{"text":103348,"type":596},"Launched ",{"text":103350,"type":596,"marks":103351},"in July",[103352],{"type":606,"attrs":103353},{"href":103259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":103355,"type":596},", VW’s PowerCo aims to eventually operate six battery cell factories in Europe along with partners such as Northvolt. It began construction of its first plant in Salzgitter, Germany, in July, which is expected to reach 40 GWh of annual capacity, enough for 500,000 vehicles.","A 3 billion euro joint venture between Volkswagen’s battery company PowerCo and Umicore could add an extra 50% to Europe’s cathode capacity by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark. The joint venture will have a production capacity of 160 gigawatt-hours a year of cathode materials by 2030, the two companies said, enough for […]",[103358],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103359},{"job_title":557,"image":103360,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"39fbac07-92b7-4a46-8261-0d0c1ef9dc1e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103363,103364],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103366,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103367,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9954e276a4/bm-16242-rbm-cathode-materials-plant-in-nysa-highres.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 28, 2022",{"id":103370,"uuid":103371,"name":103372,"slug":103373,"full_slug":103374,"content":103375},112472407624917,"b46e9824-e1cb-4319-b3f5-2284db9ed297","Nine companies control half of gigafactory capacity as pipeline exceeds 7 TWh","nine-companies-control-half-of-gigafactory-capacity-as-pipeline-exceeds-7-twh","article/nine-companies-control-half-of-gigafactory-capacity-as-pipeline-exceeds-7-twh",{"_uid":103376,"date":103377,"tags":103378,"editor":103380,"content":103384,"excerpt":103543,"featured":51,"reporter":103544,"_editable":103548,"component":697,"seo_title":103372,"categories":103549,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103552,"seo_description":103543,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103555},"b218d13b-d1c6-4ac8-8372-63c0be9e08fc","2022-09-21 00:00",[103379],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[103381],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103382},{"job_title":557,"image":103383,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103385},[103386,103398,103403,103408,103413,103418,103423,103428,103431,103436,103441,103452,103455,103467,103472,103477,103482,103498,103510,103523,103535,103540],{"type":591,"attrs":103387,"content":103388},{"textAlign":49},[103389,103391,103397],{"text":103390,"type":596},"The global capacity of lithium ion battery gigafactories is set to surpass seven terawatt hours (TWh) by 2031, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. This milestone comes just four months after the ",{"text":103392,"type":596,"marks":103393},"ten-year pipeline exceeded six TWh in April",[103394],{"type":606,"attrs":103395},{"href":103396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ion-battery-pipeline-breaks-the-6twh-barrier",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":103399,"content":103400},{"textAlign":49},[103401],{"text":103402,"type":596},"BYD last month announced a 30 GWh gigafactory in Yichun, China, tipping the pipeline capacity for the next decade past the milestone.",{"type":591,"attrs":103404,"content":103405},{"textAlign":49},[103406],{"text":103407,"type":596},"Gigafactories are being built at an ever rapid pace, with the ten-year pipeline growing quickly. However, despite the growing number of companies operating in the space, relatively few control the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":103409,"content":103410},{"textAlign":49},[103411],{"text":103412,"type":596},"“The growth is led by the increasing demand for EVs, and encouraged by monetary, and land-based subsidies offered by multiple national and provincial governments,”  Evan Hartley, an analyst at Benchmark said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103414,"content":103415},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103416],{"text":103417,"type":596},"Many companies, few big winners",{"type":591,"attrs":103419,"content":103420},{"textAlign":49},[103421],{"text":103422,"type":596},"In 2021, there were 82 companies (including their joint ventures) which Benchmark assessed as having active production capacity. Of those, just six companies were responsible for 51% of capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":103424,"content":103425},{"textAlign":49},[103426],{"text":103427,"type":596},"Benchmark tracks 118 companies which will be operating gigafactories in 2031. The top nine of these will be responsible for 52% of the pipeline capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":103429,"content":103430},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":103432,"content":103433},{"textAlign":49},[103434],{"text":103435,"type":596},"“The number of companies involved in EV focused cell production continues to grow steadily, but it is those top Tier 1 producers that are key to the supply chain,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103437,"content":103438},{"textAlign":49},[103439],{"text":103440,"type":596},"CATL has been the number one cell producer since 2019, when it overtook Panasonic and LG Energy Solution. It remains in this spot in 2031, when it will have over 1.4 times the capacity of second place LGES.",{"type":591,"attrs":103442,"content":103443},{"textAlign":49},[103444,103450],{"text":103445,"type":596,"marks":103446},"BYD currently ranks third for capacity",[103447],{"type":606,"attrs":103448},{"href":103449,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-to-supply-tesla-with-batteries-as-it-looks-to-become-key-industry-producer",{"text":103451,"type":596}," in the 2031 pipeline. Like CATL, the vast majority of its capacity is from plants it wholly owns. About 90% of each companies’ capacity comes from wholly owned-plants. This contrasts with LGES, which has 45% of its capacity associated with joint ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":103453,"content":103454},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":103456,"content":103457},{"textAlign":49},[103458,103460,103465],{"text":103459,"type":596},"BYD’s latest announcement tipped the 2031 pipeline over the 7 TWh threshold. The new plant is an example of the company’s ",{"text":103461,"type":596,"marks":103462},"vertical integration strategy",[103463],{"type":606,"attrs":103464},{"href":103449,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":103466,"type":596},". The $4.2 billion investment is for both a 30 GWh gigafactory and a lithium carbonate processing base with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":103468,"content":103469},{"textAlign":49},[103470],{"text":103471,"type":596},"“BYD enacts a strategy of vertical integration in the lithium ion battery supply chain, having control both downstream and upstream of its cell production, allowing it to absorb hikes in raw material prices and secure a regular supply of battery materials,” Hartley said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103473,"content":103474},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103475],{"text":103476,"type":596},"China leads; Europe and North America building steam",{"type":591,"attrs":103478,"content":103479},{"textAlign":49},[103480],{"text":103481,"type":596},"Most of the growth in the 2031 pipeline capacity this year has been in China, the pipeline capacity for which has expanded 40% since January. According to the Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment, the country accounts for 67% of the global 2031 capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":103483,"content":103484},{"textAlign":49},[103485,103490,103492,103497],{"text":898,"type":596,"marks":103486},[103487],{"type":606,"attrs":103488},{"href":103489,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-ev-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-grows-6-fold-to-789-2gwh-to-2030-berlin-summit-to-dissect-battery-megatrend",{"text":103491,"type":596},", which accounts for 16% of the 2031 capacity, has expanded at a similar rate to China, ",{"text":103493,"type":596,"marks":103494},"having grown 39% this year so far",[103495],{"type":606,"attrs":103496},{"href":71669,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":103499,"content":103500},{"textAlign":49},[103501,103502,103508],{"text":2936,"type":596},{"text":103503,"type":596,"marks":103504},"North America saw multiple high profile capacity commitments",[103505],{"type":606,"attrs":103506},{"href":103507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/15-billion-us-gigafactory-push-accelerates-north-american-capacity-growth",{"text":103509,"type":596}," in August 2022 which brought its pipeline capacity growth in line with Europe and China, with a 37% increase in 2022,” Hartley said. The region is set to have 13% of the global gigafactory capacity in 2031.",{"type":591,"attrs":103511,"content":103512},{"textAlign":49},[103513,103515,103521],{"text":103514,"type":596},"In North America and Asia, excluding China, 70% and 87% of capacity in the 2031 pipeline is from ",{"text":103516,"type":596,"marks":103517},"Tier One producers",[103518],{"type":606,"attrs":103519},{"href":103520,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ford-could-require-fifth-of-2026-tier-1-battery-supply-to-meet-2-million-ev-goal",{"text":103522,"type":596},", in contrast to 36% in China. Nearly half of Europe’s capacity is from this tier.",{"type":591,"attrs":103524,"content":103525},{"textAlign":49},[103526,103528,103533],{"text":103527,"type":596},"Despite the lowest proportion of capacity from the top tier, China has more ",{"text":103529,"type":596,"marks":103530},"Tier One production capacity in the pipeline",[103531],{"type":606,"attrs":103532},{"href":87209,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":103534,"type":596}," than the rest of the world combined.",{"type":591,"attrs":103536,"content":103537},{"textAlign":49},[103538],{"text":103539,"type":596},"“The quickly increasing growth in capacity commitments comes from both existing Tier One and Tier Two cell majors looking to fortify and grow their global market share, buoyed by successes in the past year, and new market entrants seeking to gain a foothold,” Hartley said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103541,"content":103542},{"textAlign":49},[],"The global capacity of lithium ion battery gigafactories is set to surpass seven terawatt hours (TWh) by 2031, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. This milestone comes just four months after the ten-year pipeline exceeded six TWh in April. BYD last month announced a 30 GWh gigafactory in Yichun, China, tipping the pipeline capacity for the […]",[103545],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103546},{"job_title":557,"image":103547,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b218d13b-d1c6-4ac8-8372-63c0be9e08fc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103550,103551],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103553,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103554,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/06e69686d6/bm-7twh-pipeline-1-12867419cf3d.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 21, 2022",{"id":103557,"uuid":103558,"name":103559,"slug":103560,"full_slug":103561,"content":103562},112472412519638,"e3dbc9f7-afb1-4ace-a7af-7d776f936144","Natural graphite prices ease from eight-year high as China’s economy cools","natural-graphite-prices-ease-from-eight-year-high-as-chinas-economy-cools","article/natural-graphite-prices-ease-from-eight-year-high-as-chinas-economy-cools",{"_uid":103563,"date":103564,"tags":103565,"editor":103567,"content":103571,"excerpt":103671,"featured":51,"reporter":103672,"_editable":103676,"component":697,"seo_title":103559,"categories":103677,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103680,"seo_description":103671,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103683},"25ce15c0-36ee-46fc-9666-8ae63ed65dde","2022-09-14 00:00",[103566],{"slug":575,"name":576},[103568],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103569},{"job_title":557,"image":103570,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103572},[103573,103578,103583,103588,103593,103598,103603,103608,103613,103618,103623,103628,103633,103638,103643,103646,103651,103656,103661,103666],{"type":591,"attrs":103574,"content":103575},{"textAlign":49},[103576],{"text":103577,"type":596},"Natural flake graphite prices fell for a third straight month in August as strong seasonal supply and weakness in China’s steel sector impacted flake graphite market pricing, according to Benchmark’s Graphite Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":103579,"content":103580},{"textAlign":49},[103581],{"text":103582,"type":596},"The price of higher purity -100 mesh flake graphite, the preferred feedstock material for electric vehicle anodes, is down by 8.4% since hitting an eight-year high in late May, ending a rally that began a year ago, driven by seasonal shutdowns and government environmental inspections that halted  operations in Luobei county, located in the hub of graphite production and processing in China, Heilongjiang province.",{"type":591,"attrs":103584,"content":103585},{"textAlign":49},[103586],{"text":103587,"type":596},"Sustained and rising battery demand from the electric vehicle supply chain, however, is replacing lost steel demand and preventing natural graphite prices from falling further, according to Benchmark. Graphite anodes make up around 6% of the cost of the materials in a lithium ion cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":103589,"content":103590},{"textAlign":49},[103591],{"text":103592,"type":596},"Prices for uncoated spherical graphite used in lithium ion battery anodes have fallen only 3% since hitting their highest levels since late 2019 in June, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103594,"content":103595},{"textAlign":49},[103596],{"text":103597,"type":596},"“There is potential for market tightness in the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of 2023 on rising anode demand,” George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “The polarisation in downstream demand trajectories from the two largest end markets for natural graphite became more apparent in August.”",{"type":591,"attrs":103599,"content":103600},{"textAlign":49},[103601],{"text":103602,"type":596},"Producers in Heilongjiang normally reach peak production in the summer months, with excess seasonal supply being compounded by the weakening of China’s steel market due to a slowing real estate market and efforts by the Chinese government to limit emissions-heavy industries. Chinese crude steel production in the first half of 2022 fell by 7% compared to the same period a year earlier.",{"type":615,"attrs":103604,"content":103605},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103606],{"text":103607,"type":596},"Prices head lower",{"type":591,"attrs":103609,"content":103610},{"textAlign":49},[103611],{"text":103612,"type":596},"Higher levels of seasonal supply from graphite mines in Heilongjiang province’s Luobei and Jixi helped place downward pressure on the overall Benchmark Flake Graphite Price Index, down by 2.2% month-on-month.",{"type":591,"attrs":103614,"content":103615},{"textAlign":49},[103616],{"text":103617,"type":596},"Prices for higher purity -100 mesh natural graphite fell by 3.8% in August from a month earlier to an average of $765 a tonne, according to Benchmark. In May they averaged $835 a tonne, with transactions at the top of the monthly range peaking at $900/tonne.",{"type":615,"attrs":103619,"content":103620},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103621],{"text":103622,"type":596},"All eyes on Heilongjiang",{"type":591,"attrs":103624,"content":103625},{"textAlign":49},[103626],{"text":103627,"type":596},"But environmental concerns could limit Chinese supply in the near-term. Environmental inspections in Luobei county, Heilongjiang province, in the first half of 2022 discovered transgressions which producers were forced to remedy, delaying the restart of production following typical winter seasonal closures.",{"type":591,"attrs":103629,"content":103630},{"textAlign":49},[103631],{"text":103632,"type":596},"Follow-up inspections may continue to impact graphite producers in Luobei throughout September, which could lead to a restricted natural graphite production as seen in the first half of the year, industry contacts told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":103634,"content":103635},{"textAlign":49},[103636],{"text":103637,"type":596},"As a result, contacts stated that companies are currently reluctant to sell their graphite inventories, in an effort to stock material as reserves should they be forced to shut down operations temporarily during, or as a result of, inspections.",{"type":591,"attrs":103639,"content":103640},{"textAlign":49},[103641],{"text":103642,"type":596},"Heilongjiang, China’s largest graphite producing region, mined 615,000 tonnes of flake graphite in 2021, or about 58% of the global supply, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":103644,"content":103645},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":103647,"content":103648},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103649],{"text":103650,"type":596},"Batteries to become dominant demand source",{"type":591,"attrs":103652,"content":103653},{"textAlign":49},[103654],{"text":103655,"type":596},"The demand for flake graphite is expected to exceed 1 million tonnes this year, as per the Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Demand Forecast. Of this the demand from the lithium ion batteries makes up nearly 46% of the overall volume and refractory and foundry about 38%.",{"type":591,"attrs":103657,"content":103658},{"textAlign":49},[103659],{"text":103660,"type":596},"Flake graphite is heavily used in refractory applications and the foundry industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":103662,"content":103663},{"textAlign":49},[103664],{"text":103665,"type":596},"By the end of 2030 the overall demand for flake graphite is expected to rise to reach over 4 million tonnes, an increase of 288% over 2022. By then, demand from the lithium ion battery volume is expected to gain a much larger share of 82% even as the share of refractory and foundry falls to 13%.",{"type":591,"attrs":103667,"content":103668},{"textAlign":49},[103669],{"text":103670,"type":596},"Demand from the refractory and foundry industry is expected to grow by 30% during that period while that of the lithium ion batteries increases by almost six-fold.","Natural flake graphite prices fell for a third straight month in August as strong seasonal supply and weakness in China’s steel sector impacted flake graphite market pricing, according to Benchmark’s Graphite Price Assessment. The price of higher purity -100 mesh flake graphite, the preferred feedstock material for electric vehicle anodes, is down by 8.4% since […]",[103673],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103674},{"job_title":557,"image":103675,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"25ce15c0-36ee-46fc-9666-8ae63ed65dde\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103678,103679],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103681,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103682,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a8e419510/bm-madagasgar-graphite-mine-e1663151995485.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 14, 2022",{"id":103685,"uuid":103686,"name":103687,"slug":103688,"full_slug":103689,"content":103690},112472422124760,"56b304ba-4bb6-4859-aa5d-0930c2a309d8","LMFP cathodes advance as Chinese producers test material with automakers","lmfp-cathodes-advance-as-chinese-producers-test-material-with-automakers","article/lmfp-cathodes-advance-as-chinese-producers-test-material-with-automakers",{"_uid":103691,"date":103692,"tags":103693,"editor":103697,"content":103701,"excerpt":103806,"featured":51,"reporter":103807,"_editable":103811,"component":697,"seo_title":103687,"categories":103812,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":103815,"seo_description":103806,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":103817},"68da4366-6201-4a3f-a307-45389715b789","2022-09-13 00:00",[103694],{"slug":103695,"name":103696},"lmfp","LMFP",[103698],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103699},{"job_title":557,"image":103700,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103702},[103703,103708,103713,103718,103723,103728,103733,103738,103743,103748,103753,103758,103763,103768,103773,103781,103786,103791,103796,103801],{"type":591,"attrs":103704,"content":103705},{"textAlign":49},[103706],{"text":103707,"type":596},"A cathode chemistry that adds manganese to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) has entered the qualification processes at several automakers, as they look to enhance battery performance and lower costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":103709,"content":103710},{"textAlign":49},[103711],{"text":103712,"type":596},"Chinese cathode material producers including Shenzhen Dynanonic and Ronbay have developed lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) to a sufficiently advanced level that automakers are starting to test the material for their EV batteries, they said this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":103714,"content":103715},{"textAlign":49},[103716],{"text":103717,"type":596},"LMFP can increase the energy density of battery cells compared to LFP while also lowering costs compared to nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells, since it reduces the need for cobalt and nickel. It can also be mixed with NCM cathode battery chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":103719,"content":103720},{"textAlign":49},[103721],{"text":103722,"type":596},"“Cost is the main driver for the development of LMFP,” Albert Li, a Benchmark analyst, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103724,"content":103725},{"textAlign":49},[103726],{"text":103727,"type":596},"Dynanonic said this month that in the future it believed LFP will be used for energy storage applications, while LMFP will be used in vehicle batteries. LMFP cathodes can increase energy density by 15% to 20% compared to LFP, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103729,"content":103730},{"textAlign":49},[103731],{"text":103732,"type":596},"“It can satisfy the needs of middle and high-end vehicles,” the company said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103734,"content":103735},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103736],{"text":103737,"type":596},"Chinese cathode producers",{"type":591,"attrs":103739,"content":103740},{"textAlign":49},[103741],{"text":103742,"type":596},"While there is some LMFP capacity already online from suppliers to the electric two-wheeler market, as yet the material is not commonly used in electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":103744,"content":103745},{"textAlign":49},[103746],{"text":103747,"type":596},"Ronbay, which supplies battery producers such as CATL, said this month it was “actively cooperating” with automakers on its LMFP material and the progress was “advanced.” It said its NCM cathode mixed with LMFP material was likely to be certified by automakers this year and be used in some vehicles next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":103749,"content":103750},{"textAlign":49},[103751],{"text":103752,"type":596},"Blending LMFP with nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode materials can lower the cost of the battery cathode with only a small drop in performance. LMFP is also safer than NCM cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":103754,"content":103755},{"textAlign":49},[103756],{"text":103757,"type":596},"Dynanonic, which has capacity to produce 265,000 tonnes of LFP cathode, said it plans to have 440,000 tonnes a year of LMFP capacity by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":103759,"content":103760},{"textAlign":49},[103761],{"text":103762,"type":596},"It said its “core customers” were verifying its LMFP material and the results were good and the progress was “quite quick.” Dynanomic’s biggest customers are CATL, BYD, and EVE Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":103764,"content":103765},{"textAlign":49},[103766],{"text":103767,"type":596},"“Dynanonic can make a real impact on the market now due to its experience in LFP, stable customers and production technique,” Li said.",{"type":615,"attrs":103769,"content":103770},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103771],{"text":103772,"type":596},"Mix and match cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":103774,"content":103775},{"textAlign":49},[103776,103778,103779],{"text":103777,"type":596},"From a chemistry perspective, LFP and LMFP are similar as both have an ‘olivine’ crystal structure. ",{"text":72593,"type":596},{"text":103780,"type":596}," said its LMFP production lines can be used to make LFP and vice versa.",{"type":591,"attrs":103782,"content":103783},{"textAlign":49},[103784],{"text":103785,"type":596},"However, the two chemistries cannot be blended together as the voltages they can withstand are different.",{"type":591,"attrs":103787,"content":103788},{"textAlign":49},[103789],{"text":103790,"type":596},"The voltage LMFP can go to is similar to that of NCM cathodes, however, which allows the two chemistries to be blended together to create a hybrid cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":103792,"content":103793},{"textAlign":49},[103794],{"text":103795,"type":596},"“LMFP can be used on its own or mixed with other cathodes based on the cell producer’s technical route and requirements,” Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103797,"content":103798},{"textAlign":49},[103799],{"text":103800,"type":596},"Although LMFP offers performance enhancements compared to LFP, more development will be needed before more producers will use the chemistry on its own, Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103802,"content":103803},{"textAlign":49},[103804],{"text":103805,"type":596},"“LMFP is a transition product that won’t replace LFP but will work as a supplement,” Li said.","A cathode chemistry that adds manganese to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) has entered the qualification processes at several automakers, as they look to enhance battery performance and lower costs. Chinese cathode material producers including Shenzhen Dynanonic and Ronbay have developed lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) to a sufficiently advanced level that automakers are starting to […]",[103808],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103809},{"job_title":557,"image":103810,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"68da4366-6201-4a3f-a307-45389715b789\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[103813,103814],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":57559,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":103816,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 13, 2022",{"id":103819,"uuid":103820,"name":103821,"slug":103822,"full_slug":103823,"content":103824},112472426925273,"36c83e99-ec5f-48c8-be74-3ba2d270e557","Lithium refining outside China gathers pace with Tesla, AMG plants","lithium-refining-outside-china-gathers-pace-with-tesla-amg-plants","article/lithium-refining-outside-china-gathers-pace-with-tesla-amg-plants",{"_uid":103825,"date":103826,"tags":103827,"editor":103828,"content":103832,"excerpt":104014,"featured":51,"reporter":104015,"_editable":104019,"component":697,"seo_title":103821,"categories":104020,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":104023,"seo_description":104014,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":104026},"b87d748e-de2d-4aef-9ae8-7125cf790f59","2022-09-09 00:00",[],[103829],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":103830},{"job_title":557,"image":103831,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":103833},[103834,103839,103852,103857,103862,103867,103872,103877,103882,103887,103892,103897,103902,103907,103912,103923,103928,103933,103938,103951,103956,103961,103966,103971,103976,103981,103984,103989,103994,103999,104004,104009],{"type":591,"attrs":103835,"content":103836},{"textAlign":49},[103837],{"text":103838,"type":596},"Efforts to build lithium refining capacity outside China and reduce reliance on the country for battery chemicals are gathering pace, with recent announcements by Tesla and AMG Lithium in the US and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":103840,"content":103841},{"textAlign":49},[103842,103844,103850],{"text":103843,"type":596},"Tesla said it was “evaluating the possible development of a battery-grade lithium hydroxide ",{"text":103845,"type":596,"marks":103846},"refining facility",[103847],{"type":606,"attrs":103848},{"href":103849,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/exclusive-tesla-becomes-first-automaker-to-enter-lithium-supply-chain-reshapes-foundations-of-china-dominated-spodumene-2",{"text":103851,"type":596},",” in the Texas Gulf Coast, according to a filing with the Comptroller’s Office in Texas. This week AMG also said it had said it will supply Korean cathode producer EcoPro with battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its plant under construction in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":103853,"content":103854},{"textAlign":49},[103855],{"text":103856,"type":596},"The announcements could help reduce US and European’s reliance on China for processing of lithium chemicals used in batteries. Benchmark forecasts that between 2021 and 2031, the rest of the world will increase its lithium chemical output by over 25 times, accounting for a little over a quarter of global supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":103858,"content":103859},{"textAlign":49},[103860],{"text":103861,"type":596},"Currently almost all lithium chemical supply comes from China, Chile, and Argentina. A lot of Chile and Argentina’s output is then sent to China to be further processed into battery-grade chemicals, Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103863,"content":103864},{"textAlign":49},[103865],{"text":103866,"type":596},"“More plans will come about especially with the high price environment we are in,” Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103868,"content":103869},{"textAlign":49},[103870],{"text":103871,"type":596},"Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk said during an earnings call earlier this year  that lithium refining is “a license to print money.”",{"type":615,"attrs":103873,"content":103874},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103875],{"text":103876,"type":596},"Texas Gulf Coast lithium refinery ",{"type":591,"attrs":103878,"content":103879},{"textAlign":49},[103880],{"text":103881,"type":596},"Tesla said that it will process “raw ore material into a usable state for battery production, at its refinery, using less “hazardous reagents” than current processes. The final lithium hydroxide will be shipped by truck and rail to Tesla’s battery manufacturing sites, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103883,"content":103884},{"textAlign":49},[103885],{"text":103886,"type":596},"The project could begin construction in the fourth quarter of this year and start operations by the fourth quarter of 2024, Tesla said. It is, however, also evaluating another site in Louisiana, and cautioned that it is “still evaluating the feasibility of this project.”",{"type":591,"attrs":103888,"content":103889},{"textAlign":49},[103890],{"text":103891,"type":596},"“This project could be located anywhere with access to the Gulf Coast shipping channel,” Tesla said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103893,"content":103894},{"textAlign":49},[103895],{"text":103896,"type":596},"This year Tesla signed agreements with Australian producers Core Lithium and Liontown Resources for supplies of spodumene lithium. The automaker is also building a cathode plant at its gigafactory in Austin, Texas,",{"type":591,"attrs":103898,"content":103899},{"textAlign":49},[103900],{"text":103901,"type":596},"North America is currently forecast to account for 8.5% of the global lithium chemical supply in 2031, up from 3% last year. In contrast to Europe, North America has more of a focus on integrated facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":103903,"content":103904},{"textAlign":49},[103905],{"text":103906,"type":596},"Livent is currently expanding its refining operations in Bessemer City, North Carolina, and said the 5,000 tonne expansion would start production in the fourth quarter. Livent also owns 50% of Nemaska Lithium, which is building an integrated mine and processing facility in Quebec.",{"type":615,"attrs":103908,"content":103909},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103910],{"text":103911,"type":596},"European lithium refining ",{"type":591,"attrs":103913,"content":103914},{"textAlign":49},[103915,103921],{"text":103916,"type":596,"marks":103917},"AMG Lithium is currently building a lithium refinery",[103918],{"type":606,"attrs":103919},{"href":103920,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/amg-move-to-bolster-europes-fledgling-lithium-pipeline",{"text":103922,"type":596}," in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany which it says will begin operating in late 2023. The plant will initially produce 20,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year with ambitions to expand to 100,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":103924,"content":103925},{"textAlign":49},[103926],{"text":103927,"type":596},"EcoPro, a Korean cathode producer, has a planned cathode production facility in Debrecen, Hungary. The company signed a binding offtake agreement with AGM Lithium for at least 5,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":103929,"content":103930},{"textAlign":49},[103931],{"text":103932,"type":596},"Europe has over 300 GWh of cathode capacity in planning and construction, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment. This will lead to accelerating demand in the region for lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":103934,"content":103935},{"textAlign":49},[103936],{"text":103937,"type":596},"Partnerships and offtake agreements are forming which will help increase Europe’s lithium chemical supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":103939,"content":103940},{"textAlign":49},[103941,103943,103949],{"text":103942,"type":596},"The oil company Galp is also looking to get in on lithium refining, through a joint venture with Northvolt ",{"text":103944,"type":596,"marks":103945},"announced at the end of last year",[103946],{"type":606,"attrs":103947},{"href":103948,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/northvolt-moves-upstream-with-galp-lithium-hydroxide-jv",{"text":103950,"type":596},". The companies plan to build a lithium refinery in Poland producing up to 35,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":103952,"content":103953},{"textAlign":49},[103954],{"text":103955,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts Europe to account for nine percent of global lithium chemical supply in 2031. On the basis of current announcements, Europe won’t be able to supply its cathode production capacity with local lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":103957,"content":103958},{"textAlign":49},[103959],{"text":103960,"type":596},"“It is difficult to get a refining facility online with consistent battery grade lithium output,” Jennings-Gray said. “It’s not something Europe’s done before.”",{"type":591,"attrs":103962,"content":103963},{"textAlign":49},[103964],{"text":103965,"type":596},"“The producers need to get their raw material from somewhere, and it looks like it will be China for some time,” she added.",{"type":615,"attrs":103967,"content":103968},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[103969],{"text":103970,"type":596},"China dominance ",{"type":591,"attrs":103972,"content":103973},{"textAlign":49},[103974],{"text":103975,"type":596},"Other regions are starting to catch up, but it is unlikely they will be able to challenge the strength of the big three countries, Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103977,"content":103978},{"textAlign":49},[103979],{"text":103980,"type":596},"In addition the projects in the pipeline are not sufficient to meet the projected North American and European demand, Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103982,"content":103983},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":103985,"content":103986},{"textAlign":49},[103987],{"text":103988,"type":596},"“There is some domestication of lithium refining, but this is not going to take over China, Chile, and Argentina,” Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":103990,"content":103991},{"textAlign":49},[103992],{"text":103993,"type":596},"If a refinery isn’t integrated with a mine, “getting your hands on the feedstock becomes more of a challenge,” she added.",{"type":591,"attrs":103995,"content":103996},{"textAlign":49},[103997],{"text":103998,"type":596},"Some of this growth is in Australia, which despite its dominance in spodumene mining currently does none of the refining itself; in 2021, 100% of spodumene processing was carried out in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":104000,"content":104001},{"textAlign":49},[104002],{"text":104003,"type":596},"Tianqi Lithium said this month that its newly built lithium hydroxide refinery in Perth was still testing its battery-grade product with customers and it was likely to take another 4 to 8 months before commercial production. The project was originally set to start production in 2018, highlighting the difficulties of building processing facilities outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":104005,"content":104006},{"textAlign":49},[104007],{"text":104008,"type":596},"“The actual schedule of completion is still uncertain due to the higher requirements of downstream high-end lithium battery manufacturers on lithium hydroxide products from the suppliers,” Tianqi said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104010,"content":104011},{"textAlign":49},[104012],{"text":104013,"type":596},"Based on current announcements, Benchmark forecasts Australia to account for six percent of lithium chemical supply in 2031, up from none last year.","Efforts to build lithium refining capacity outside China and reduce reliance on the country for battery chemicals are gathering pace, with recent announcements by Tesla and AMG Lithium in the US and Europe. Tesla said it was “evaluating the possible development of a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility,” in the Texas Gulf Coast, according to […]",[104016],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104017},{"job_title":557,"image":104018,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b87d748e-de2d-4aef-9ae8-7125cf790f59\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[104021,104022],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104024,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":104025,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9a3e78127e/bm-livent-bessemer-city.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 09, 2022",{"id":104028,"uuid":104029,"name":104030,"slug":104031,"full_slug":104032,"content":104033},112472455814367,"aee6fed1-aef9-418d-a110-8d602453bd8f","VW, Mercedes head to Canada seeking raw materials but can it meet automaker demand?","vw-mercedes-head-to-canada-seeking-raw-materials-but-can-it-meet-automaker-demand","article/vw-mercedes-head-to-canada-seeking-raw-materials-but-can-it-meet-automaker-demand",{"_uid":104034,"date":104035,"tags":104036,"editor":104043,"content":104047,"excerpt":104254,"featured":50,"reporter":104255,"_editable":104259,"component":697,"seo_title":104030,"categories":104260,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":104269,"seo_description":104254,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":104272},"ab471eba-8703-4802-82b1-38d48f0df402","2022-08-26 00:00",[104037,104038,104039,104042],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":104040,"name":104041},"mercedes-benz","Mercedes Benz",{"slug":70358,"name":70359},[104044],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104045},{"job_title":557,"image":104046,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":104048},[104049,104054,104059,104070,104082,104093,104098,104101,104106,104111,104116,104121,104126,104131,104136,104141,104146,104151,104156,104161,104166,104171,104176,104181,104186,104191,104196,104207,104212,104217,104222,104227,104232,104237,104242],{"type":591,"attrs":104050,"content":104051},{"textAlign":49},[104052],{"text":104053,"type":596},"Canada is a key target for automakers looking to secure battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel for the North American market. This week Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz signed agreements with the government of prime minister Justin Trudeau, announcing their intention to source and produce battery materials in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":104055,"content":104056},{"textAlign":49},[104057],{"text":104058,"type":596},"The high-level visit highlights the strategic importance the world’s largest automakers are placing on localising battery raw materials and reducing reliance on China. Volkswagen said there were “significant prospects” to “ramp up cathode material production together with partners and to offer Canadian suppliers an opportunity to act as raw material suppliers, refiners and processors.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104060,"content":104061},{"textAlign":49},[104062,104064,104068],{"text":104063,"type":596},"The recently passed ",{"text":56805,"type":596,"marks":104065},[104066],{"type":606,"attrs":104067},{"href":99147,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104069,"type":596}," incentivises automakers to source or process critical battery minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite, in the US or in a country with which it has a Free Trade Agreement such as Canada in order to receive tax credits. It also stipulates that the majority of the components of a battery such as cathodes are made in North America starting in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":104071,"content":104072},{"textAlign":49},[104073,104075,104080],{"text":104074,"type":596},"“Not only does Canada have access to a wide range of raw materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt, but it also has the industrial basis and infrastructure and most importantly the energy is ",{"text":104076,"type":596,"marks":104077},"CO2 free",[104078],{"type":606,"attrs":104079},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104081,"type":596},",” Hebert Diess, Volkswagen’s chief executive, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104083,"content":104084},{"textAlign":49},[104085,104087,104091],{"text":104086,"type":596},"Yet Canada may struggle to produce enough raw materials and ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":104088},[104089],{"type":606,"attrs":104090},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104092,"type":596}," this decade to meet expected demand for electric vehicles, according to Benchmark, without significant further investment. While lithium and graphite could meet up to half of North American demand, it could be harder for nickel and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":104094,"content":104095},{"textAlign":49},[104096],{"text":104097,"type":596},"“If there’s a bifurcation of supply chains between the West and China and automakers are willing to pay a premium to have that nickel from an allied country, which will help them meet the requirements of the IRA then new mines could come on,” Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “But it’s still a bit of a long shot.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104099,"content":104100},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":104102,"content":104103},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104104],{"text":104105,"type":596},"Nickel ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":104107,"content":104108},{"textAlign":49},[104109],{"text":104110,"type":596},"Canada currently accounts for 4% of global refined nickel production, which is set to fall to 3% by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark. While new projects are under development in Canada, no new operations are expected to begin before 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":104112,"content":104113},{"textAlign":49},[104114],{"text":104115,"type":596},"Canada hosts two major nickel refiners – Vale and Sherritt. Vale refines nickel sulphides from its Subdury, Manitoba and Long Harbor operations, while Sherritt refines intermediates imported from Moa Bay (Cuba) at its Fort Saskatchewan facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":104117,"content":104118},{"textAlign":49},[104119],{"text":104120,"type":596},"Vale already has a long-term contract with Tesla to supply nickel to the US from its operations in Canada. It’s also looking at building a nickel sulphate plant in Quebec designed to process 25,000 tonnes of contained nickel into nickel sulphate a year for batteries, near the site of a planned cathode plant being built by Posco and GM.",{"type":591,"attrs":104122,"content":104123},{"textAlign":49},[104124],{"text":104125,"type":596},"While Canada could satisfy half of North American battery demand for nickel by 2030, the battery industry will compete with the plating industry and other premium end use markets, according to Miller.",{"type":591,"attrs":104127,"content":104128},{"textAlign":49},[104129],{"text":104130,"type":596},"In addition, a glut of supply from Indonesia will likely lower nickel prices making it less attractive to start new mines in the country, according to Miller.",{"type":615,"attrs":104132,"content":104133},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104134],{"text":104135,"type":596},"Cobalt refining capacity  ",{"type":591,"attrs":104137,"content":104138},{"textAlign":49},[104139],{"text":104140,"type":596},"On the cobalt front, Canada is forecast to grow its mining volume share to 8,600 tonnes in 2030, from 6,000 tonnes this year, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Forecast. That’s about 15% of the forecast North American demand by that date.",{"type":591,"attrs":104142,"content":104143},{"textAlign":49},[104144],{"text":104145,"type":596},"Canada’s share of global cobalt mining is expected to be just about 2% by 2030, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo expected to maintain its dominance in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":104147,"content":104148},{"textAlign":49},[104149],{"text":104150,"type":596},"Since the DRC is not a free trade agreement country another option is to process or refine cobalt in Canada. Electra is building a refinery in Ontario that is due to start production at the end of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":104152,"content":104153},{"textAlign":49},[104154],{"text":104155,"type":596},"“Our recent travels to potential downstream clients across North America tell us that all stakeholders are getting behind an onshoring strategy. It’s a marked change in tone from two years ago where it was a stepped approach,” Trent Mell, chief executive of Electra, said this month. “Today, it’s all hands on deck and this bill [the IRA] is only going to help further that.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104157,"content":104158},{"textAlign":49},[104159],{"text":104160,"type":596},"Cobalt refining in Canada is expected to be slightly higher at 11,000 tonnes in 2030, or about 3.8% of the global supply then.",{"type":615,"attrs":104162,"content":104163},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104164],{"text":104165,"type":596},"Canada’s lithium prospects ",{"type":591,"attrs":104167,"content":104168},{"textAlign":49},[104169],{"text":104170,"type":596},"Canada’s lithium supply outlook is perhaps the brightest due to new projects such as the James Bay mine in Quebec being built by Allkem as well as revived projects such as Nemaska Lithium, in which Livent holds a 50% stake.",{"type":591,"attrs":104172,"content":104173},{"textAlign":49},[104174],{"text":104175,"type":596},"Allkem says the James Bay mine will be completed by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":104177,"content":104178},{"textAlign":49},[104179],{"text":104180,"type":596},"In April Chinese lithium producer Yahua agreed to invest CAD 5m ($4m) in Canadian lithium explorer Ultra Lithium, in exchange for a 13.2% stake. It also bought a 60% stake in the Forgan Lake and Georgia Lake pegmatite lithium projects in Ontario, Canada",{"type":591,"attrs":104182,"content":104183},{"textAlign":49},[104184],{"text":104185,"type":596},"Canada’s lithium supply is forecast to rise to 137,992 tonnes LCE in 2030 from 2,256 tonnes this year, according to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast. That would be about 40% of North America’s forecast battery demand by that date.",{"type":591,"attrs":104187,"content":104188},{"textAlign":49},[104189],{"text":104190,"type":596},"Mercedes said it is exploring a strategic partnership with Rock Tech Lithium under which the Vancouver-based company would supply 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually, starting in 2026. Rock Tech is expected to supply Mercedes with lithium from a processing facility in Guben, Brandenburg. The company is also developing a mine in Georgia Lake, Canada, however.",{"type":615,"attrs":104192,"content":104193},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104194],{"text":104195,"type":596},"Cathode opportunities ",{"type":591,"attrs":104197,"content":104198},{"textAlign":49},[104199,104201,104205],{"text":104200,"type":596},"There have been a significant number of ",{"text":95560,"type":596,"marks":104202},[104203],{"type":606,"attrs":104204},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104206,"type":596}," to build cathode plants in Canada over the past year, including plans by BASF, Umicore and Posco. Quebec’s abundant hydropower is a key attraction for these companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":104208,"content":104209},{"textAlign":49},[104210],{"text":104211,"type":596},"Belgium-based Umicore says it will combine “cathode and precursor materials manufacturing at a large industrial scale” at its plant in Loyalist, Ontario, which is set to start production at the end of 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":104213,"content":104214},{"textAlign":49},[104215],{"text":104216,"type":596},"In March GM and Posco also said they will build a $400 million cathode plant in Bécancour, Quebec, to provide material for GM’s Ultium batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":104218,"content":104219},{"textAlign":49},[104220],{"text":104221,"type":596},"Canada currently accounts for 0.02% of global cathode production capacity, which is set to rise to 2% by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":104223,"content":104224},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104225],{"text":104226,"type":596},"Where’s the graphite? ",{"type":591,"attrs":104228,"content":104229},{"textAlign":49},[104230],{"text":104231,"type":596},"Neither VW nor Mercedes mentioned graphite in their agreements, but Canada is home to a growing supply of natural flake graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":104233,"content":104234},{"textAlign":49},[104235],{"text":104236,"type":596},"Canada is set to produce 322,000 tonnes of natural graphite in 2030, around 43% of North America’s forecast demand by that date.",{"type":591,"attrs":104238,"content":104239},{"textAlign":49},[104240],{"text":104241,"type":596},"Currently, the only graphite production in Canada comes from Northern Graphite’s Lac des Iles graphite mine, which it agreed to purchase from Imerys at the end of 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":104243,"content":104244},{"textAlign":49},[104245,104247,104252],{"text":104246,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that Nouveau Monde is set to be Canada’s largest natural flake graphite producer where it is developing the Matawinie mine in Quebec, which Benchmark anticipates will enter commercial production in 2023. It also aims to process feedstock from Matawinie at its battery-grade spherical ",{"text":706,"type":596,"marks":104248},[104249],{"type":606,"attrs":104250},{"href":104251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/western-ev-makers-face-up-to-chinas-grip-on-graphite-market",{"text":104253,"type":596}," purification facility in Bécancour.","Canada is a key target for automakers looking to secure battery raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel for the North American market. This week Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz signed agreements with the government of prime minister Justin Trudeau, announcing their intention to source and produce battery materials in the country. The high-level visit highlights […]",[104256],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104257},{"job_title":557,"image":104258,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ab471eba-8703-4802-82b1-38d48f0df402\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[104261,104262,104263,104264,104265,104266,104267,104268],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104270,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":104271,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fb2064ceb6/bm-quebec-hydro-power-e1661528411907.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 26, 2022",{"id":104274,"uuid":104275,"name":104276,"slug":104277,"full_slug":104278,"content":104279},112472460524768,"0e09e7d1-596c-495a-9408-11518e5505eb","What is driving lithium prices in 2022 and beyond?","what-is-driving-lithium-prices-in-2022-and-beyond","article/what-is-driving-lithium-prices-in-2022-and-beyond",{"_uid":104280,"date":104281,"tags":104282,"editor":104284,"content":104288,"excerpt":104511,"featured":51,"reporter":104512,"_editable":104516,"component":697,"seo_title":104276,"categories":104517,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":104520,"seo_description":104511,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":104523},"b2526e41-3604-4af1-ad5a-7aebc9602004","2022-08-25 00:00",[104283],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[104285],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104286},{"job_title":557,"image":104287,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":104289},[104290,104302,104313,104318,104323,104328,104333,104338,104343,104346,104351,104356,104361,104366,104371,104376,104381,104386,104397,104402,104407,104412,104417,104422,104425,104430,104435,104440,104445,104450,104455,104460,104465,104468,104473,104478,104490,104495,104500],{"type":591,"attrs":104291,"content":104292},{"textAlign":49},[104293,104295,104300],{"text":104294,"type":596},"It’s been almost a year since lithium prices hit an inflection point to all time highs and three months since a controversial Goldman Sachs research note ",{"text":104296,"type":596,"marks":104297},"predicting",[104298],{"type":606,"attrs":104299},{"href":65050,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104301,"type":596}," a price crash on increased lithium supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":104303,"content":104304},{"textAlign":49},[104305,104307,104311],{"text":104306,"type":596},"Yet Benchmark’s global average lithium ",{"text":8160,"type":596,"marks":104308},[104309],{"type":606,"attrs":104310},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104312,"type":596}," have held steady since April’s record high levels, with Chinese technical and battery-grade lithium carbonate prices continuing to increase. That’s in stark contrast to other battery metals such as cobalt and nickel, where prices have fallen this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":104314,"content":104315},{"textAlign":49},[104316],{"text":104317,"type":596},"Since the beginning of June Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have increased marginally but year-to-date Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have risen by 90% while lithium hydroxide is up by 127%.",{"type":591,"attrs":104319,"content":104320},{"textAlign":49},[104321],{"text":104322,"type":596},"At the same time competition for future lithium has only intensified as automakers from Ford to Stellantis sign agreements to lock up supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":104324,"content":104325},{"textAlign":49},[104326],{"text":104327,"type":596},"Government policy is also kicking demand into a new gear with the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US which will only accelerate the need for automakers to secure lithium sources, especially in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":104329,"content":104330},{"textAlign":49},[104331],{"text":104332,"type":596},"This week Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen both announced they would look to secure battery raw materials such as lithium in Canada, as part of an agreement with the Canadian government.",{"type":591,"attrs":104334,"content":104335},{"textAlign":49},[104336],{"text":104337,"type":596},"“Government sway is now in play and we are seeing it in full force in the USA and just the beginning in Canada,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. “The lithium ion battery is now geopolitical. And if EVs mean lithium ion batteries, then EVs mean mining.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104339,"content":104340},{"textAlign":49},[104341],{"text":104342,"type":596},"So, what are the short and long-term drivers of the current market?",{"type":591,"attrs":104344,"content":104345},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":104347,"content":104348},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104349],{"text":104350,"type":596},"Short-term: A record year for lithium and battery demand continues ",{"type":591,"attrs":104352,"content":104353},{"textAlign":49},[104354],{"text":104355,"type":596},"Demand for lithium ion batteries is on track to grow 36% this year to 610 gigawatt-hours, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. Lithium supply is set to expand 33%, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":104357,"content":104358},{"textAlign":49},[104359],{"text":104360,"type":596},"In the short-term, continued robust electric vehicle demand globally and record-breaking heat and drought in the southwest of China are the key drivers for the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":104362,"content":104363},{"textAlign":49},[104364],{"text":104365,"type":596},"Chinese electric vehicle sales have recovered from April, when Shanghai was placed in strict lock-down to combat the spread of Covid-19. Chinese sales of electric vehicles rose by 25% in June compared to a month earlier.",{"type":591,"attrs":104367,"content":104368},{"textAlign":49},[104369],{"text":104370,"type":596},"Globally sales of electric vehicles rose by 34% in June compared to a month earlier, according to Rho Motion.",{"type":591,"attrs":104372,"content":104373},{"textAlign":49},[104374],{"text":104375,"type":596},"At the same time supply of lithium is also being impacted by China’s worst heatwave in 60 years. Authorities in Sichuan province ordered factories in most cities to shut down production until August 25 to cope with a power shortage caused by a lack of hydropower generation due to a drought.",{"type":591,"attrs":104377,"content":104378},{"textAlign":49},[104379],{"text":104380,"type":596},"The shutdowns could impact around a quarter of China’s lithium production capacity, according to Benchmark. Companies including Yahua and Tianqi Lithium produce lithium in the province.",{"type":591,"attrs":104382,"content":104383},{"textAlign":49},[104384],{"text":104385,"type":596},"Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China rose by 1.4% in the period 17-24 August, the largest week-on-week increase since Benchmark began reporting weekly EXW China lithium prices on 4 May 2022, due in part to concerns over the power shortages.",{"type":591,"attrs":104387,"content":104388},{"textAlign":49},[104389,104391,104395],{"text":104390,"type":596},"Also driving prices are the sustained high prices for spodumene feedstock from ",{"text":7853,"type":596,"marks":104392},[104393],{"type":606,"attrs":104394},{"href":75075,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104396,"type":596},". Prices for spodumene (6% Li2O) have risen by 189% year-to-date according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104398,"content":104399},{"textAlign":49},[104400],{"text":104401,"type":596},"“We hear from the market that converter inventories are low – this is buoying demand for carbonate and will eventually have a knock on effect in hydroxide pricing,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104403,"content":104404},{"textAlign":49},[104405],{"text":104406,"type":596},"Internationally, lithium hydroxide is still trading at very high levels, around $80,000 a tonne for small spot market volumes in Europe and North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":104408,"content":104409},{"textAlign":49},[104410],{"text":104411,"type":596},"Prices used in contracts between lithium miners and buyers are still catching up to Chinese spot market prices as they are renegotiated, and it will likely take another six to 12 months for this process to be fully realised in all contracted prices, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104413,"content":104414},{"textAlign":49},[104415],{"text":104416,"type":596},"Chilean lithium miner SQM said its average sales price for lithium was $54,000 a tonne during the second quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":104418,"content":104419},{"textAlign":49},[104420],{"text":104421,"type":596},"“So even if the spot market were to fall, contract pricing has still got some chasing to do well into 2023,” Jennings-Gray said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104423,"content":104424},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":104426,"content":104427},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104428],{"text":104429,"type":596},"Long term: lithium supply short for some time ",{"type":591,"attrs":104431,"content":104432},{"textAlign":49},[104433],{"text":104434,"type":596},"There is very little additional lithium production capacity coming online before late 2023 and early 2024, according to Benchmark, and many projects are still being delayed.",{"type":591,"attrs":104436,"content":104437},{"textAlign":49},[104438],{"text":104439,"type":596},"That’s in contrast to the view of Goldman Sachs, which predicted that the market would enter a “prolonged phase of surplus” starting this year, due to supply from new lithium projects in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":104441,"content":104442},{"textAlign":49},[104443],{"text":104444,"type":596},"“A shock to the system will bring prices down but the shock won’t be significant oversupply from China,” Moores, CEO of Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104446,"content":104447},{"textAlign":49},[104448],{"text":104449,"type":596},"Longer-term, the lithium market is likely to remain tight this decade but become more balanced by around 2026, pushing prices to more stable levels, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":104451,"content":104452},{"textAlign":49},[104453],{"text":104454,"type":596},"“High prices are incentivising accelerated capital spending which will bring forward the timeline for a number of development stage projects, however the speed of these expansions are struggling to keep pace with growing demand,” Andrew Miller, chief operating officer at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":104456,"content":104457},{"textAlign":49},[104458],{"text":104459,"type":596},"“The industry is facing a decade of perpetual change. A broader range of assets across a more diverse group of producing regions will be needed to meet the structural constraints facing the industry, and the increased geopolitical importance being placed on strategic supply chains.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104461,"content":104462},{"textAlign":49},[104463],{"text":104464,"type":596},"The supply deficit is expected to worsen from 2030 onwards, as demand grows by another 1 million tonnes LCE in a few years.",{"type":591,"attrs":104466,"content":104467},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":104469,"content":104470},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104471],{"text":104472,"type":596},"How are Benchmark’s prices used in supply contracts? ",{"type":591,"attrs":104474,"content":104475},{"textAlign":49},[104476],{"text":104477,"type":596},"Benchmark’s lithium prices are used in supply contracts between lithium producers and the downstream and midstream supply chain, including automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":104479,"content":104480},{"textAlign":49},[104481,104483,104488],{"text":104482,"type":596},"As contract agreements have shifted away from fixed price deals due to greater pricing volatility, buyers and sellers have looked to introduce market-led mechanisms into contracts, using Benchmark’s ",{"text":104484,"type":596,"marks":104485},"IOSCO certified",[104486],{"type":606,"attrs":104487},{"href":97072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104489,"type":596}," lithium prices, or a basket of reported prices including Benchmark’s published grades. That allows them to price contracts in a way which accounts for increased price volatility in recent years and improves market transparency.",{"type":591,"attrs":104491,"content":104492},{"textAlign":49},[104493],{"text":104494,"type":596},"The frequency of Benchmark’s published prices also allows contracts that are tied to them to be renegotiated more frequently, meaning contract pricing can move in a more similar timeframe to significant upturns or downturns in spot market pricing.",{"type":615,"attrs":104496,"content":104497},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104498],{"text":104499,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":104501,"content":104502},{"textAlign":49},[104503,104505,104509],{"text":104504,"type":596},"To learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, fill in the ",{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":104506},[104507],{"type":606,"attrs":104508},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":104510,"type":596}," and we’ll be in touch.","It’s been almost a year since lithium prices hit an inflection point to all time highs and three months since a controversial Goldman Sachs research note predicting a price crash on increased lithium supply. Yet Benchmark’s global average lithium prices have held steady since April’s record high levels, with Chinese technical and battery-grade lithium carbonate […]",[104513],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104514},{"job_title":557,"image":104515,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b2526e41-3604-4af1-ad5a-7aebc9602004\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[104518,104519],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104521,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":104522,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/959a4ef156/bm-lithium-story.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 25, 2022",{"id":104525,"uuid":104526,"name":104527,"slug":104528,"full_slug":104529,"content":104530},112472475004133,"92783c77-207c-4934-bdc0-786f0f4f28cd","Can the US meet the critical mineral requirements of the climate bill?","can-the-us-meet-the-critical-mineral-requirements-of-the-climate-bill","article/can-the-us-meet-the-critical-mineral-requirements-of-the-climate-bill",{"_uid":104531,"date":104532,"tags":104533,"editor":104538,"content":104542,"excerpt":104698,"featured":50,"reporter":104699,"_editable":104703,"component":697,"seo_title":104527,"categories":104704,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":104711,"seo_description":104698,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":104714},"653e28bc-05b1-47ac-ae55-5cc6d48931fa","2022-08-16 00:00",[104534,104535,104536,104537],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[104539],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104540},{"job_title":557,"image":104541,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":104543},[104544,104549,104554,104559,104564,104567,104572,104577,104582,104587,104592,104597,104602,104607,104612,104617,104622,104627,104638,104643,104648,104653,104658,104663,104668,104673,104678,104683,104688,104693],{"type":591,"attrs":104545,"content":104546},{"textAlign":49},[104547],{"text":104548,"type":596},"US critical mineral supply chains are unlikely to meet the targets set in the Inflation Reduction Act in order for automakers to receive tax credits on sales of new electric vehicles, according to an analysis by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104550,"content":104551},{"textAlign":49},[104552],{"text":104553,"type":596},"The act, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, stipulates that a certain percentage of the value of critical minerals in a battery be mined or processed in the US or in a country with which it has a Free Trade Agreement. In addition, there are restrictions on minerals or components from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":104555,"content":104556},{"textAlign":49},[104557],{"text":104558,"type":596},"The strict requirements mean US automakers will have to invest considerably in mines and refineries this decade, or increase the deployment of recycled components in their vehicles to make their EVs eligible for the tax credit.",{"type":591,"attrs":104560,"content":104561},{"textAlign":49},[104562],{"text":104563,"type":596},"“There are other good elements in the Act, but there’s a little bit of an oversight on the tax credits for the EVs,” George Miller, a senior analyst at Benchmark, said. “I don’t see any car that is going to get the full credit.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104565,"content":104566},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":104568,"content":104569},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104570],{"text":104571,"type":596},"Meeting the requirements",{"type":591,"attrs":104573,"content":104574},{"textAlign":49},[104575],{"text":104576,"type":596},"For the first half of the tax credit, worth $3,750, a certain percentage of the value of critical minerals in a battery must be mined or processed in the US or in a country with which it has a Free Trade Agreement.",{"type":591,"attrs":104578,"content":104579},{"textAlign":49},[104580],{"text":104581,"type":596},"The percentage starts at 40% before January 2024, rising to 50% in 2024, 60% in 2025, 70% in 2026 and to 80% in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":104583,"content":104584},{"textAlign":49},[104585],{"text":104586,"type":596},"On its own, the US lacks both the mining and the processing capacity to approach the requirements. Although some lithium mining capacity is forecast to be online by 2030, this represents just a third of the lithium required to enable all EVs in the country to be eligible for the credit.",{"type":591,"attrs":104588,"content":104589},{"textAlign":49},[104590],{"text":104591,"type":596},"To meet the demands of the tax credit will require the US to use around half of Australia’s and Chile’s lithium output suited for battery applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":104593,"content":104594},{"textAlign":49},[104595],{"text":104596,"type":596},"Without access to cobalt mined in the DRC and processed in China, the US will struggle to produce EVs eligible for the tax credit. Similarly, without Indonesia as a source of nickel, there will be insufficient nickel available to fulfil the 2030 requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":104598,"content":104599},{"textAlign":49},[104600],{"text":104601,"type":596},"Even less nickel and cobalt is further processed in eligible countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":104603,"content":104604},{"textAlign":49},[104605],{"text":104606,"type":596},"Flake graphite of a suitable mesh size for battery applications mined from the US or FTA countries is just 52% of the supply required to produce EV batteries eligible for the credit, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104608,"content":104609},{"textAlign":49},[104610],{"text":104611,"type":596},"To build up the required domestic mining and refining capacity within the timeframe set out by the IRA may therefore be difficult.",{"type":615,"attrs":104613,"content":104614},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104615],{"text":104616,"type":596},"Homemade Components",{"type":591,"attrs":104618,"content":104619},{"textAlign":49},[104620],{"text":104621,"type":596},"The other half of the tax credit comes from having a certain value of the battery components (cathodes and anodes) made or assembled in North America. Up to 2024, this value needs to be 50%, reaching 80% by 2028 and 100% by 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":104623,"content":104624},{"textAlign":49},[104625],{"text":104626,"type":596},"Initially, the cathode will be the focus of this aspect of the credit. The cathode is around 58% of the cost of the cell, compared to the anode which is just 3%. By 2029, however, all of the value of the cell needs to originate from North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":104628,"content":104629},{"textAlign":49},[104630,104632,104634,104636],{"text":104631,"type":596},"The region, however, is currently unprepared to meet its own demand. ",{"text":104633,"type":596}," North America is on track to have enough capacity to produce enough anode materials for 1m EVs by 2025 and less than ",{"text":104635,"type":596},"100,000 EVs in terms of cathode ",{"text":104637,"type":596},"by 2025, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104639,"content":104640},{"textAlign":49},[104641],{"text":104642,"type":596},"By 2030 North American cathode production is forecast to be around 0.3% of global production without further investment, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":104644,"content":104645},{"textAlign":49},[104646],{"text":104647,"type":596},"North American anode production is basically zero, forecast to rise to 0.6% of global supply by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":104649,"content":104650},{"textAlign":49},[104651],{"text":104652,"type":596},"However, automakers may be able to assemble their battery components in the US via joint ventures with Korean battery companies such as LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI.",{"type":615,"attrs":104654,"content":104655},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104656],{"text":104657,"type":596},"No China or Russia, please",{"type":591,"attrs":104659,"content":104660},{"textAlign":49},[104661],{"text":104662,"type":596},"A notable exclusion contained in the Act is that none of the materials contained within the battery can come from “Foreign Entities of Concern”, which include Chinese and Russian companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":104664,"content":104665},{"textAlign":49},[104666],{"text":104667,"type":596},"China processes around 73% of the world’s cobalt for batteries, and 59% of the lithium, according to Benchmark, making it difficult for automakers to produce EVs eligible for any of the tax credit.",{"type":591,"attrs":104669,"content":104670},{"textAlign":49},[104671],{"text":104672,"type":596},"China also currently produces 91% of the world’s battery cathodes and 92% of the anodes, according to Benchmark’s cathode and anode forecasts.",{"type":615,"attrs":104674,"content":104675},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104676],{"text":104677,"type":596},"How to get there?",{"type":591,"attrs":104679,"content":104680},{"textAlign":49},[104681],{"text":104682,"type":596},"Automakers will now need to invest along the entire supply chain if they are to receive the benefits afforded by the Act. Initially, processing minerals in North America might be easier than building new mines.",{"type":591,"attrs":104684,"content":104685},{"textAlign":49},[104686],{"text":104687,"type":596},"In addition, batteries recycled in North America could be a source of the critical minerals without needing to build new mines. Benchmark expects supply of recycled lithium in North America to increase by 300% by 2025 to 7,227 tonnes and recycled nickel to increase by 269% to 7,419 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":104689,"content":104690},{"textAlign":49},[104691],{"text":104692,"type":596},"Miller noted that the rest of the Act contains many important provisions for stimulating build-out of the US supply chain such as production tax credits for the production of batteries, electrodes, and processing of minerals. Miners could be eligible for a credit equivalent to 10% of the “costs incurred by the taxpayer with respect to production of such mineral.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104694,"content":104695},{"textAlign":49},[104696],{"text":104697,"type":596},"“Ultimately, this is bigger than the EV tax credit,” he said.","US critical mineral supply chains are unlikely to meet the targets set in the Inflation Reduction Act in order for automakers to receive tax credits on sales of new electric vehicles, according to an analysis by Benchmark. The act, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, stipulates that a certain […]",[104700],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104701},{"job_title":557,"image":104702,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"653e28bc-05b1-47ac-ae55-5cc6d48931fa\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[104705,104706,104707,104708,104709,104710],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104712,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":104713,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0e120af5f9/bm-the-white-house-1-e1660644407470.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 16, 2022",{"id":104716,"uuid":104717,"name":104718,"slug":104719,"full_slug":104720,"content":104721},112472479911142,"0429071c-6dfa-4c53-80ac-404cec54db3f","Cobalt prices fall by a third since April ending two year price rally","cobalt-prices-fall-by-a-third-since-april-ending-two-year-price-rally","article/cobalt-prices-fall-by-a-third-since-april-ending-two-year-price-rally",{"_uid":104722,"date":104723,"tags":104724,"editor":104725,"content":104729,"excerpt":104832,"featured":50,"reporter":104833,"_editable":104837,"component":697,"seo_title":104718,"categories":104838,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":104841,"seo_description":104832,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":104844},"1de7aabe-27c9-4552-bc5b-3129d60f5506","2022-08-12 00:00",[],[104726],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104727},{"job_title":557,"image":104728,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":104730},[104731,104736,104741,104746,104751,104756,104761,104766,104771,104776,104781,104790,104795,104800,104812,104817,104822,104827],{"type":591,"attrs":104732,"content":104733},{"textAlign":49},[104734],{"text":104735,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have fallen by a third since April as the Chinese market struggles to recover from China’s Covid-19 lockdowns, ending a two-year price rally for the metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":104737,"content":104738},{"textAlign":49},[104739],{"text":104740,"type":596},"Prices for cobalt metal are down by 28.6% since April when cobalt reached $39.85 a pound, the highest level since June 2018, ending a price rally that began in the middle of 2020, the latest data from Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment shows. In July metal prices fell by 15% from a month earlier.",{"type":591,"attrs":104742,"content":104743},{"textAlign":49},[104744],{"text":104745,"type":596},"“Expectations are that cobalt prices will continue to fall. Market participants are holding off buying as they wait for more favourable prices,” said Cameron Hughes, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104747,"content":104748},{"textAlign":49},[104749],{"text":104750,"type":596},"The slump in cobalt prices reflects the lingering impact of China’s strict Covid-19 lockdowns, which led to a rise in inventories this year as cities such as Shanghai were completely shut down. While Chinese electric vehicle and battery production has recovered, refiners have had sufficient inventory on hand to meet demand and have sold any spare material at substantial discounts to improve cash flow.",{"type":591,"attrs":104752,"content":104753},{"textAlign":49},[104754],{"text":104755,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts the cobalt market to return to a marginal surplus in 2022 and remain well balanced until 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":104757,"content":104758},{"textAlign":49},[104759],{"text":104760,"type":596},"“Demand has been curtailed so much because of the China lockdowns, a lot of refiners have surplus inventory that they want to offload and improve their cash flow,” Greg Miller, a senior price analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":104762,"content":104763},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104764],{"text":104765,"type":596},"Supply increase",{"type":591,"attrs":104767,"content":104768},{"textAlign":49},[104769],{"text":104770,"type":596},"Cobalt supply is forecast to increase to 177,000 tonnes this year, a growth of 10% year-on-year. In contrast, Benchmark forecasts cobalt demand will reach 176,000 tonnes in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":104772,"content":104773},{"textAlign":49},[104774],{"text":104775,"type":596},"Output in the DRC, the world’s leading cobalt producer, is forecast to climb to 142,000 tonnes this year driven by the restart of Glencore’s Mutanda mine last year and capacity expansions at operational mines. Glencore’s cobalt production rose by 40% in the first of this year to 20,700 tonnes, compared to the same period a year earlier.",{"type":591,"attrs":104777,"content":104778},{"textAlign":49},[104779],{"text":104780,"type":596},"In Indonesia, two operating HPAL nickel processing projects are forecast to produce more than 6,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in MHP this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":104782,"content":104783},{"textAlign":49},[104784,104786,104788],{"text":104785,"type":596},"Still, exports from China Moly’s Tenke Fungurume mine in the DRC were halted in July due to a dispute between the company and the country’s state-owned miner ",{"text":104787,"type":596},"Gécamines",{"text":104789,"type":596},", which could limit supply from the country if the ban is maintained.",{"type":615,"attrs":104791,"content":104792},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104793],{"text":104794,"type":596},"Heading lower",{"type":591,"attrs":104796,"content":104797},{"textAlign":49},[104798],{"text":104799,"type":596},"In July, cobalt metal prices fell to $28.55 per pound at the midpoint of the range, a decrease of 15.4% month-on-month.",{"type":591,"attrs":104801,"content":104802},{"textAlign":49},[104803,104805,104807,104811],{"text":104804,"type":596},"The decline was even steeper in cobalt sulphate and hydroxide prices, which fell by 24.4% and 21.4% respectively in July compared to a month earlier. Cobalt sulphate prices are trading at their lowest levels since ",{"text":104806,"type":596},"January 2021, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":62571,"type":596,"marks":104808},[104809],{"type":606,"attrs":104810},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4665,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":104813,"content":104814},{"textAlign":49},[104815],{"text":104816,"type":596},"The combination of poor demand and limited spot market activity pushed cobalt hydroxide payables to their lowest levels recorded by Benchmark, trading between 55% and 66%.",{"type":591,"attrs":104818,"content":104819},{"textAlign":49},[104820],{"text":104821,"type":596},"Hughes said demand for electric vehicles in China, the world’s biggest EV market, is yet to bounce back to levels before the near two-months lockdowns that began in late March and was a key trigger for the sell off.",{"type":591,"attrs":104823,"content":104824},{"textAlign":49},[104825],{"text":104826,"type":596},"“Once prices started falling, everyone went into a bearish mindset,” Hughes said, adding that prices in the Chinese domestic metal continue to push down prices in Europe and are often trading $4 to $5 a pound lower than the international benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104828,"content":104829},{"textAlign":49},[104830],{"text":104831,"type":596},"Cobalt metal prices last touched an all-time high in April 2018 followed by a significant correction.","Cobalt prices have fallen by a third since April as the Chinese market struggles to recover from China’s Covid-19 lockdowns, ending a two-year price rally for the metal. Prices for cobalt metal are down by 28.6% since April when cobalt reached $39.85 a pound, the highest level since June 2018, ending a price rally that […]",[104834],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104835},{"job_title":557,"image":104836,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1de7aabe-27c9-4552-bc5b-3129d60f5506\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[104839,104840],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104842,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":104843,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/19a4024684/bm-glencore-ktanaga-copper-mine-drc41.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 12, 2022",{"id":104846,"uuid":104847,"name":104848,"slug":104849,"full_slug":104850,"content":104851},112472499035370,"eb579df0-50b2-4830-ae24-74f53778e951","What does the US Inflation Reduction Act mean for the EV battery supply chain?","what-does-the-us-inflation-reduction-act-mean-for-the-ev-battery-supply-chain","article/what-does-the-us-inflation-reduction-act-mean-for-the-ev-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":104852,"date":104853,"tags":104854,"editor":104858,"content":104862,"excerpt":105038,"featured":50,"reporter":105039,"_editable":105043,"component":697,"seo_title":104848,"categories":105044,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105049,"seo_description":105038,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105051},"e9d9f7c2-85e2-427e-b757-7355364815ec","2022-08-04 00:00",[104855,104856,104857],{"slug":31798,"name":21909},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[104859],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":104860},{"job_title":557,"image":104861,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":104863},[104864,104869,104878,104883,104888,104893,104898,104903,104908,104913,104918,104923,104928,104933,104938,104943,104948,104953,104958,104963,104968,104973,104978,104983,104988,104993,104998,105013,105021,105028,105033],{"type":591,"attrs":104865,"content":104866},{"textAlign":49},[104867],{"text":104868,"type":596},"The proposed US Inflation Reduction Act promises $369 billion for climate and clean energy policies, but also sets an ambitious target to extract and process key battery minerals locally.",{"type":591,"attrs":104870,"content":104871},{"textAlign":49},[104872,104874,104876],{"text":104873,"type":596},"The Senator Joe Manchin led change t",{"text":104875,"type":596},"o the Build Back Better Act",{"text":104877,"type":596}," zeroes in on the lithium ion battery to EV supply chain with tax incentives and efforts to drive localisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":104879,"content":104880},{"textAlign":49},[104881],{"text":104882,"type":596},"Here we outline the main policy changes to the act that could impact the lithium ion battery supply chain. ",{"type":615,"attrs":104884,"content":104885},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104886],{"text":104887,"type":596},"$7,500 EV Tax Credit Extension Beyond 200k",{"type":591,"attrs":104889,"content":104890},{"textAlign":49},[104891],{"text":104892,"type":596},"The bill includes an extension of the $7,500 tax credit relief for new electric vehicles beyond the current 200,000 vehicle cap. But it stipulates they have to be built with North America or trade agreement critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and manganese. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104894,"content":104895},{"textAlign":49},[104896],{"text":104897,"type":596},"The bill says not less than two-fifths of the critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries should be extracted and processed locally in the US or with a free trade agreement (FTA) partner, or recycled in North America. It includes provisions to ramp up this requirement to 80% in 2026. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104899,"content":104900},{"textAlign":49},[104901],{"text":104902,"type":596},"“To be eligible, batteries have to contain a level of critical minerals extracted or processed in any country the US has a free trade agreement with or recycled in North America,” it says. ",{"type":615,"attrs":104904,"content":104905},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104906],{"text":104907,"type":596},"10% tax break across the supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":104909,"content":104910},{"textAlign":49},[104911],{"text":104912,"type":596},"The bill also includes a 10% Advanced Manufacturing production tax credit across the breadth of the lithium ion supply chain, which would help ease the cost burdens facing battery manufacturers and automakers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104914,"content":104915},{"textAlign":49},[104916],{"text":104917,"type":596},"This 10% tax credit begins with the production of critical minerals and extends midstream for cathode and anode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":104919,"content":104920},{"textAlign":49},[104921],{"text":104922,"type":596},"An investment tax credit is also included for the energy storage and production tax credit for battery cell manufacturing with a cost of $35 a kilowatt-hour. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104924,"content":104925},{"textAlign":49},[104926],{"text":104927,"type":596},"President Joe Biden had earlier this year invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to step up US production of minerals for electric vehicle and storage batteries and lower the nation’s reliance on foreign supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104929,"content":104930},{"textAlign":49},[104931],{"text":104932,"type":596},"Separately, the US Department of Energy (DOE) dedicated $3.16 billion of funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to develop the country’s battery supply chain. The funding will be allocated across the supply chain, with the bulk of it being made available to mid-stream processing to cathode, anode and battery cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":104934,"content":104935},{"textAlign":49},[104936],{"text":104937,"type":596},"“The proposed bill does seem to be a step in the right direction,” said Manish Dua, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":104939,"content":104940},{"textAlign":49},[104941],{"text":104942,"type":596},"“At the heart of it, the intent is to localise the critical minerals supply chain and components that go into making lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles generating local value addition, to create jobs and eventually to gain pace in the goal of working towards climate change mitigation efforts.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":104944,"content":104945},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[104946],{"text":104947,"type":596},"Building a US battery supply chain will take best part of decade",{"type":591,"attrs":104949,"content":104950},{"textAlign":49},[104951],{"text":104952,"type":596},"While the proposal is a major step forward for the US as it zeroes on specific battery supply chain issues, it does face issues around its practical application. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104954,"content":104955},{"textAlign":49},[104956],{"text":104957,"type":596},"“Considering it takes seven years to build a mine and refining plant but only 24 months to build a battery plant, the best part of this decade is needed to establish an entirely new industry in the United States,” said Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104959,"content":104960},{"textAlign":49},[104961],{"text":104962,"type":596},"Moores shed doubt on the EV tax credit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104964,"content":104965},{"textAlign":49},[104966],{"text":104967,"type":596},"“The presently proposed $7,500 credit for those EVs that do not contain any critical minerals from China or Russia will effectively be made redundant, considering the proposal ends in 2024 just when a domestic supply chain is beginning to gain momentum.",{"type":591,"attrs":104969,"content":104970},{"textAlign":49},[104971],{"text":104972,"type":596},"“It is almost impossible that any Fair Trade Alliance countries – of which Australia and Chile are the stand out – could fill China’s raw material gap for the USA’s EV demand between now and 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104974,"content":104975},{"textAlign":49},[104976],{"text":104977,"type":596},"“This is considering the basic lack of raw material supply in many markets and the fact that most future raw material has already been contracted and accounted for.”",{"type":591,"attrs":104979,"content":104980},{"textAlign":49},[104981],{"text":104982,"type":596},"“If the US wants the incentive to really work, it needs to extend this by 4 years to 2028 so the battery supply chain builds into the incentive,” he added. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104984,"content":104985},{"textAlign":49},[104986],{"text":104987,"type":596},"China is currently the largest refiner of battery minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite – a dominance that is not likely to end this decade, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":104989,"content":104990},{"textAlign":49},[104991],{"text":104992,"type":596},"Benchmark data shows that China currently has 81% of the world’s cathode manufacturing capacity, 91% of the world’s anode capacity and 79% of the world’s lithium ion battery capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104994,"content":104995},{"textAlign":49},[104996],{"text":104997,"type":596},"In contrast, the U.S. currently has 0.16% of the global cathode manufacturing capacity, 0.27% of the world’s anode capacity and 5.5% of the world’s lithium ion battery capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":104999,"content":105000},{"textAlign":49},[105001,105003,105005,105007,105009,105011],{"text":105002,"type":596},"China also dominates global lithium refining and processing. ",{"text":105004,"type":596},"The US and Canada currently refine only 3% and ",{"text":105006,"type":596},"3.5% ",{"text":105008,"type":596},"of the world’s lithium and cobalt and compared to 59% an",{"text":105010,"type":596},"d 75% ",{"text":105012,"type":596},"for China, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. By 2030 the US and Canada will contribute about 7% and China 46%.",{"type":591,"attrs":105014,"content":105015},{"textAlign":49},[105016,105018,105019],{"text":105017,"type":596},"New lithium mines are set to be developed in the US, but their supply will be limited. According to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast",{"text":68823,"type":596},{"text":105020,"type":596}," lithium chemical supply from North America is set to increase to nearly 60,000 tonnes LCE in 2025, underlining almost a four-fold increase on 2022 supply. But that is enough for only around 1 million electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105022,"content":105023},{"textAlign":49},[105024,105026],{"text":105025,"type":596},"The bill could be a near-to-medium term boost for automakers that ",{"text":105027,"type":596},"already have or plan to tie up the upstream and midstream portion of their supply chains in countries which have a free trade agreement with the USA, such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico. It would however be a negative for the Indonesian nickel supply planning to enter the North American market.",{"type":591,"attrs":105029,"content":105030},{"textAlign":49},[105031],{"text":105032,"type":596},"Indonesia, which is set to be the largest producer of nickel for batteries, is also not on the list of eligible suppliers. Benchmark forecasts that Indonesia’s share of global refined nickel production will increase from a forecast 41% in 2022 to 59% in 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":105034,"content":105035},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105036],{"text":105037,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark Membership today","The proposed US Inflation Reduction Act promises $369 billion for climate and clean energy policies, but also sets an ambitious target to extract and process key battery minerals locally. The Senator Joe Manchin led change to the Build Back Better Act zeroes in on the lithium ion battery to EV supply chain with tax incentives […]",[105040],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105041},{"job_title":557,"image":105042,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e9d9f7c2-85e2-427e-b757-7355364815ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105045,105046,105047,105048],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":36193,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105050,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 04, 2022",{"id":105053,"uuid":105054,"name":105055,"slug":105056,"full_slug":105057,"content":105058},112472513354991,"a9b98eb3-9b85-4fec-8714-77863120cc98","$200 billion needed to meet battery cell demand by 2030","200-billion-needed-to-meet-battery-cell-demand-by-2030","article/200-billion-needed-to-meet-battery-cell-demand-by-2030",{"_uid":105059,"date":105060,"tags":105061,"editor":105062,"content":105066,"excerpt":105213,"featured":50,"reporter":105214,"_editable":105218,"component":697,"seo_title":105055,"categories":105219,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105222,"seo_description":105213,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105225},"ca79c746-d0d8-4cfa-9ac6-6de6c622fac5","2022-07-29 00:00",[],[105063],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105064},{"job_title":557,"image":105065,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105067},[105068,105073,105078,105083,105088,105093,105098,105103,105108,105113,105118,105123,105128,105133,105138,105143,105148,105153,105158,105163,105168,105173,105178,105183,105188,105193,105198,105203,105208],{"type":591,"attrs":105069,"content":105070},{"textAlign":49},[105071],{"text":105072,"type":596},"The battery industry needs to invest $200 billion in gigafactories to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage by 2030, according to an analysis by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":105074,"content":105075},{"textAlign":49},[105076],{"text":105077,"type":596},"The demand for lithium ion batteries is expected to increase six-fold by the end of the decade compared to 2021. Given that a factory takes at least two to three years to build, the $200 billion equates to nearly $29 billion every year to 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":105079,"content":105080},{"textAlign":49},[105081],{"text":105082,"type":596},"Automakers from Tesla to Rivian have warned of an impending shortage of batteries, as sales of electric vehicles have remained strong this year despite Covid-19 lockdowns in China and rising energy prices globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":105084,"content":105085},{"textAlign":49},[105086],{"text":105087,"type":596},"Global EV penetration is set to climb to 21% in 2025 from 13% this year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":105089,"content":105090},{"textAlign":49},[105091],{"text":105092,"type":596},"Last year over $150 billion of investments were announced in battery gigafactories over a range of timescales. Yet without further investments in battery gigafactories in Europe and North America, these regions will remain dependent on imports from China to meet demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":105094,"content":105095},{"textAlign":49},[105096],{"text":105097,"type":596},"“If Europe and North America want to become the centralised hubs for battery production then they will need to invest the majority of this amount,” Hanisha Tirumalasetty, an analyst at Benchmark said.",{"type":615,"attrs":105099,"content":105100},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105101],{"text":105102,"type":596},"Cost Variations ",{"type":591,"attrs":105104,"content":105105},{"textAlign":49},[105106],{"text":105107,"type":596},"By 2030, Benchmark forecasts that Europe will represent 27% of battery demand, but supply just 14% of the world’s batteries. For North America, the forecast is for 21% of demand and 13% of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":105109,"content":105110},{"textAlign":49},[105111],{"text":105112,"type":596},"This year Europe is expected to supply 7% of the market and North America 6%.",{"type":591,"attrs":105114,"content":105115},{"textAlign":49},[105116],{"text":105117,"type":596},"European and North American gigafactories are, on average, 24% more expensive to build per gigawatt-hour than Chinese gigafactories, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":105119,"content":105120},{"textAlign":49},[105121],{"text":105122,"type":596},"If Europe and North America wanted to meet all of their demand with their own battery capacity, they would need to invest an additional $76 billion and $70 billion by 2028, respectively, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":105124,"content":105125},{"textAlign":49},[105126],{"text":105127,"type":596},"“Both regions will look into making it completely domestic, and allow niche companies to rise up that are homegrown,” Tirumalasetty said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105129,"content":105130},{"textAlign":49},[105131],{"text":105132,"type":596},"Automakers in both Europe and the US are increasingly becoming involved in investing in battery cell production. Gigafactories with automaker involvement are forecast to make up 42% of EU cell production and 76% of North American production by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":105134,"content":105135},{"textAlign":49},[105136],{"text":105137,"type":596},"However, to grow their gigafactory capacities rapidly may require the involvement of Chinese partners with existing expertise, Tirumalasetty said. It will also require investment in upstream capacities and raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":105139,"content":105140},{"textAlign":49},[105141],{"text":105142,"type":596},"“There is more talk about ambition to meet battery production demand but the major issue is going to be how to secure the raw materials,” she said.",{"type":615,"attrs":105144,"content":105145},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105146],{"text":105147,"type":596},"China’s Dominance ",{"type":591,"attrs":105149,"content":105150},{"textAlign":49},[105151],{"text":105152,"type":596},"China builds battery gigafactories at the lowest costs, according to Benchmark. Nine out of the ten cheapest gigafactories, as measured by dollars per GWh, are in China, as assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":105154,"content":105155},{"textAlign":49},[105156],{"text":105157,"type":596},"CATL, China’s biggest producer, builds factories around 5% to 10% cheaper than the Chinese average.",{"type":591,"attrs":105159,"content":105160},{"textAlign":49},[105161],{"text":105162,"type":596},"China is set to supply 69% of the global battery market in 2030, despite accounting for 35% of demand, suggesting Chinese batteries will be exported to other markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":105164,"content":105165},{"textAlign":49},[105166],{"text":105167,"type":596},"Gigafactories elsewhere in Asia are, on average, 58% more expensive than their Chinese counterparts.",{"type":591,"attrs":105169,"content":105170},{"textAlign":49},[105171],{"text":105172,"type":596},"“Japan and Korea tend to be more expensive to build in,” Caspar Rawles, Benchmark’s chief data officer, said. “The wages are high, land cost is high, and they need to be earthquake proof.”",{"type":615,"attrs":105174,"content":105175},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105176],{"text":105177,"type":596},"Size Matters",{"type":591,"attrs":105179,"content":105180},{"textAlign":49},[105181],{"text":105182,"type":596},"Economies of scale mean larger plants generally enjoy lower capital intensities than smaller plants. One of the largest plants tracked by Benchmark in the gigafactory pipeline is Baofeng Energy’s 200 GWh Yinchuan plant. It also has one of the lowest capital intensities, 13% lower than the Chinese average.",{"type":591,"attrs":105184,"content":105185},{"textAlign":49},[105186],{"text":105187,"type":596},"For CATL, the trend is clear. Their largest factories are the most capital efficient, with some costing just 60% the Chinese average. Generally their smallest plants as less capital efficient costing 1.5 times the average.",{"type":591,"attrs":105189,"content":105190},{"textAlign":49},[105191],{"text":105192,"type":596},"In China, the size of battery gigafactories has risen in recent years. The average gigafactory in China that began operating prior to 2021 had a capacity under 20 GWh. But for those due to begin operating in 2022, this capacity is 26 GWh, rising to over 40 GWh by 2025.",{"type":615,"attrs":105194,"content":105195},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105196],{"text":105197,"type":596},"Capacity utilisation",{"type":591,"attrs":105199,"content":105200},{"textAlign":49},[105201],{"text":105202,"type":596},"Although China is cheaper per GWh of capacity built, Chinese operators tend to use less of the installed capacity. “China builds capacities, they don’t focus on utilisation rates,” said Tirumalasetty.",{"type":591,"attrs":105204,"content":105205},{"textAlign":49},[105206],{"text":105207,"type":596},"Chinese gigafactories tend to reach utilisation rates of around 65% after five years of operation, compared to around 80% for those built elsewhere. A slight increase in utilisation is expected for Tier 1 suppliers compared to Tier 2 and 3.",{"type":591,"attrs":105209,"content":105210},{"textAlign":49},[105211],{"text":105212,"type":596},"Even accounting for the lower utilisation rates, China remains cheaper than the rest of the world per GWh of output.","The battery industry needs to invest $200 billion in gigafactories to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage by 2030, according to an analysis by Benchmark. The demand for lithium ion batteries is expected to increase six-fold by the end of the decade compared to 2021. Given that a factory takes at […]",[105215],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105216},{"job_title":557,"image":105217,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ca79c746-d0d8-4cfa-9ac6-6de6c622fac5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105220,105221],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105223,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105224,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/67f0f5490f/bm-tesla-fremont-gigafactory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 29, 2022",{"id":105227,"uuid":105228,"name":105229,"slug":105230,"full_slug":105231,"content":105232},112472523341042,"49d39746-96cd-4231-90b0-ea7938248e01","Ford could require fifth of 2026 Tier 1 battery supply to meet 2 million EV goal","ford-could-require-fifth-of-2026-tier-1-battery-supply-to-meet-2-million-ev-goal","article/ford-could-require-fifth-of-2026-tier-1-battery-supply-to-meet-2-million-ev-goal",{"_uid":105233,"date":105234,"tags":105235,"editor":105236,"content":105240,"excerpt":105409,"featured":50,"reporter":105410,"_editable":105414,"component":697,"seo_title":105229,"categories":105415,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105418,"seo_description":105409,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105421},"0dd6cbdc-c834-4568-8955-9d81f74d7a1f","2022-07-22 00:00",[],[105237],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105238},{"job_title":557,"image":105239,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105241},[105242,105247,105252,105257,105262,105267,105272,105277,105280,105285,105290,105295,105300,105305,105310,105315,105320,105332,105337,105342,105347,105352,105357,105362,105367,105372,105377,105382,105394,105399,105404],{"type":591,"attrs":105243,"content":105244},{"textAlign":49},[105245],{"text":105246,"type":596},"Ford could need almost a fifth of the projected supply of Tier One global battery capacity by 2026, if it is to meet its goal of selling over 2 million electric vehicles, according to a Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":105248,"content":105249},{"textAlign":49},[105250],{"text":105251,"type":596},"The legacy automaker said it had secured 60 gigawatt hours of annual battery capacity to enable it to produce 600,000 electric vehicles by 2023 and 70% of the battery capacity to support the 2026 goal.",{"type":591,"attrs":105253,"content":105254},{"textAlign":49},[105255],{"text":105256,"type":596},"Assuming the 2 million are full electric vehicles with a 100 kWh battery pack this equates to around 200 GWh of cells a year by 2026. That is around 20% of the 971 GWh of forecast supply of Tier One cells produced by the likes of BYD, CATL, SK Innovation, and LG Chem.",{"type":591,"attrs":105258,"content":105259},{"textAlign":49},[105260],{"text":105261,"type":596},"In addition, Ford wil increase the forecast market deficit by a further 60% as it needs to secure an extra 60 GWh of batteries out of a market that is expected to have a 96 GWh deficit of Tier One batteries by that date. That deficit of Tier One cells rises to 695 GWh by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":105263,"content":105264},{"textAlign":49},[105265],{"text":105266,"type":596},"Ford’s ambitions highlight the potential looming battery shortage as the world’s largest automakers from Tesla to Volkswagen all rapidly expand their lineup of electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":105268,"content":105269},{"textAlign":49},[105270],{"text":105271,"type":596},"Tesla’s Elon Musk said this week he wanted the company’s external suppliers to “to grow their battery output as fast as they possibly can” to meet Tesla’s demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":105273,"content":105274},{"textAlign":49},[105275],{"text":105276,"type":596},"Benchmark defines Tier One battery producers as those that supply more than one multinational OEM/EV producer outside of China, with more than 5 GWh of annual cumulative capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":105278,"content":105279},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":105281,"content":105282},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105283],{"text":105284,"type":596},"Multiple Tieups",{"type":591,"attrs":105286,"content":105287},{"textAlign":49},[105288],{"text":105289,"type":596},"Ford said on Thursday it is adding lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry to its portfolio and that China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) would supply the full LFP battery packs for two  of its electric vehicles currently on sale.",{"type":591,"attrs":105291,"content":105292},{"textAlign":49},[105293],{"text":105294,"type":596},"Separately, the automaker signed a non-binding MOU with CATL to explore a cooperation for supplying batteries in Ford’s markets across China, Europe and North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":105296,"content":105297},{"textAlign":49},[105298],{"text":105299,"type":596},"Ford also said its plans to localise and use 40 GWh of LFP capacity in North America starting in 2026, without specifying who will build the plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":105301,"content":105302},{"textAlign":49},[105303],{"text":105304,"type":596},"The automaker also plans to use South Korean battery suppliers LG Energy Solution (LGES) as well its strategic partner SK On, a unit of Sk Innovation, to meet its battery capacity target for late 2023, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105306,"content":105307},{"textAlign":49},[105308],{"text":105309,"type":596},"Ford and SK had in September  announced a $11.4 billion investment plan to construct three battery plants and an assembly plant for F-series electric trucks in Tennessee and Kentucky, the largest investment in the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker’s history.",{"type":591,"attrs":105311,"content":105312},{"textAlign":49},[105313],{"text":105314,"type":596},"The company’s BlueOval joint venture will have a total battery production capacity of 129 GWh starting in 2025 and 2026.",{"type":615,"attrs":105316,"content":105317},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105318],{"text":105319,"type":596},"New Chemistry ",{"type":591,"attrs":105321,"content":105322},{"textAlign":49},[105323,105325,105330],{"text":105324,"type":596},"Ford, which currently uses the nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) mix for its ",{"text":743,"type":596,"marks":105326},[105327],{"type":606,"attrs":105328},{"href":105329,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/fords-nickel-heavy-electric-f-150-pick-up-truck-off-to-a-good-start-in-june",{"text":105331,"type":596},", said the two chemistries will coexist and create more capacity for high-demand products with minimal range loss, a move similar to that of Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":105333,"content":105334},{"textAlign":49},[105335],{"text":105336,"type":596},"Ford said the LFP chemistry would lower costs by 10% to 15% over the NCM battery option besides reducing reliance on nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":105338,"content":105339},{"textAlign":49},[105340],{"text":105341,"type":596},"Still, Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said that would require Ford to invest in lithium to control the costs of LFP, which is dominated by lithium carbonate. Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have risen by over 400% over the past year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":105343,"content":105344},{"textAlign":49},[105345],{"text":105346,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates that LFP cells are around 3% cheaper than NCM 811 battery cells, in terms of dollars per KWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":105348,"content":105349},{"textAlign":49},[105350],{"text":105351,"type":596},"“To achieve that Ford will need to get a grip on the price of lithium. The price of LFP is almost as volatile as lithium itself,” Moores said.",{"type":615,"attrs":105353,"content":105354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105355],{"text":105356,"type":596},"Mining Tieups",{"type":591,"attrs":105358,"content":105359},{"textAlign":49},[105360],{"text":105361,"type":596},"Ford said it has sourced most of the nickel it needed through 2026 and beyond and has signed non-binding MOUs with Vale Canada Ltd, PT Vale Indonesia and Huayou Cobalt for a host of collaborations across the electric vehicle value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":105363,"content":105364},{"textAlign":49},[105365],{"text":105366,"type":596},"The automaker said it is exploring a three-way nickel processing project and, separately, an off-take agreement with Huayou that collectively will provide Ford with rights to the equivalent of 84,000 tonnes a year of nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":105368,"content":105369},{"textAlign":49},[105370],{"text":105371,"type":596},"If the nickel is from Vale and Huayou’s Pomalaa project it would be around 70% of its planned 120,000 tonne capacity, according to Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark. It could be enough nickel for around 1 million electric vehicles, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105373,"content":105374},{"textAlign":49},[105375],{"text":105376,"type":596},"“It’s another vote of confidence from a Western OEM about the suitability and sustainability of Indonesian HPAL,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105378,"content":105379},{"textAlign":49},[105380],{"text":105381,"type":596},"It has also signed agreements with BHP for nickel supply from the company’s Nickel West operations in Australia. The targeted multi-year agreement could start as early as 2025 and may involve additional commodities over time.",{"type":591,"attrs":105383,"content":105384},{"textAlign":49},[105385,105387,105392],{"text":105386,"type":596},"Ford said it has locked several key ",{"text":105388,"type":596,"marks":105389},"lithium contracts",[105390],{"type":606,"attrs":105391},{"href":88805,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":105393,"type":596}," including a bind supply agreement with Ioneer for supply from its project in Nevada. The 5-year binding agreement is for a total of 7,000 tpa of lithium carbonate from Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge project, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105395,"content":105396},{"textAlign":49},[105397],{"text":105398,"type":596},"The automaker also signed non-binding MOUs with Rio Tinto and Compass Minerals. It was exploring a “significant lithium off-take agreement” with Rio Tinto for supply from its Rincon project in Argentina, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105400,"content":105401},{"textAlign":49},[105402],{"text":105403,"type":596},"To produce 2 million electric vehicles would require between 125,000-175,000 tonnes LCE, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark. If Ford is successful in going on to sign binding offtake agreements that actually come into fruition, the automaker could approach that number based on the latest non-binding announcements, but not easily by 2026, she said",{"type":591,"attrs":105405,"content":105406},{"textAlign":49},[105407],{"text":105408,"type":596},"“We will move fast in the key markets and regions where critical supplies are available, meeting with government officials, mining companies and processors and signing MOUs and agreements that reflect Ford’s ESG expectations and underpin Ford’s plan to bring EVs to millions,” said Lisa Drake, Ford Model e vice president, EV Industrialization.","Ford could need almost a fifth of the projected supply of Tier One global battery capacity by 2026, if it is to meet its goal of selling over 2 million electric vehicles, according to a Benchmark analysis. The legacy automaker said it had secured 60 gigawatt hours of annual battery capacity to enable it to […]",[105411],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105412},{"job_title":557,"image":105413,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0dd6cbdc-c834-4568-8955-9d81f74d7a1f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105416,105417],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105419,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105420,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e838d1db1f/bm-ford-electric-vehicle-owners-benefit-from-further-charge-network-expansion1-e1658499558376.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 22, 2022",{"id":105423,"uuid":105424,"name":105425,"slug":105426,"full_slug":105427,"content":105428},112472528055539,"83b44631-7907-43d5-876b-15cd7a61829b","Elon Musk’s call for more lithium refining highlights reliance on China","elon-musks-call-for-more-lithium-refining-highlights-reliance-on-china","article/elon-musks-call-for-more-lithium-refining-highlights-reliance-on-china",{"_uid":105429,"date":105430,"tags":105431,"editor":105433,"content":105437,"excerpt":105522,"featured":50,"reporter":105523,"_editable":105527,"component":697,"seo_title":105425,"categories":105528,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105532,"seo_description":105522,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105535},"d6e624ab-2929-4bed-afab-2d60b4e1831f","2022-07-21 00:00",[105432],{"slug":575,"name":576},[105434],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105435},{"job_title":557,"image":105436,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105438},[105439,105444,105449,105454,105459,105464,105469,105474,105479,105484,105489,105494,105499,105504,105509],{"type":591,"attrs":105440,"content":105441},{"textAlign":49},[105442],{"text":105443,"type":596},"Elon Musk’s call for entrepreneurs to go into the lithium refining business highlights the lack of capacity outside of China, Benchmark data shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":105445,"content":105446},{"textAlign":49},[105447],{"text":105448,"type":596},"Musk said there were likely to be “constraints in the refining of the materials necessary for lithium ion batteries” since refining was “much harder” than mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":105450,"content":105451},{"textAlign":49},[105452],{"text":105453,"type":596},"“The processing of lithium is insane,” Musk told analysts during a post earnings call. “The mining is relatively easy, the refining is much harder…you have to refine the lithium into battery grade carbonate and hydroxide which has extremely high purity. It’s like software margins in lithium processing right now. It’s a licence to print money.”",{"type":591,"attrs":105455,"content":105456},{"textAlign":49},[105457],{"text":105458,"type":596},"The US and Canada currently refine only 3% of the global lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) compared to 59% for China, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. By 2030 the US and Canada will contribute about 7% and China 46%.",{"type":591,"attrs":105460,"content":105461},{"textAlign":49},[105462],{"text":105463,"type":596},"Europe refined less than 1% of the world’s LCE last year, and by 2030 is expected to refine 7%, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":105465,"content":105466},{"textAlign":49},[105467],{"text":105468,"type":596},"Chinese refiners are getting better at processing different sorts of spodumene and will be difficult to compete against, Cameron Perks, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105470,"content":105471},{"textAlign":49},[105472],{"text":105473,"type":596},"Chinese lithium refining majors Ganfeng and Tianqi last week forecast a significant jump in first half net profits due to record high lithium prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":105475,"content":105476},{"textAlign":49},[105477],{"text":105478,"type":596},"Chengdu-based Tianqi said it expects first half net profit to be between $1.44 billion and $1.74 billion, an increase of between 11,089% to 13,420% year-on-year. Rival Ganfeng has forecast net profit to be between $1.08 billion and $1.35 billion for the first six months of the year, an increase of between 408.25% to 535.3% year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":105480,"content":105481},{"textAlign":49},[105482],{"text":105483,"type":596},"“Refining capacity in China is massive,” Perks said. “The pipeline is huge, there’s no shortage of companies. If Elon Musk wants to secure supplies outside of China then it may not be economical.”",{"type":615,"attrs":105485,"content":105486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105487],{"text":105488,"type":596},"Processing outside China ",{"type":591,"attrs":105490,"content":105491},{"textAlign":49},[105492],{"text":105493,"type":596},"While lithium refining capacity is growing outside of China, it is more expensive and has suffered from delays.",{"type":591,"attrs":105495,"content":105496},{"textAlign":49},[105497],{"text":105498,"type":596},"Tianqi announced it would build its Kwinana lithium refinery, its first outside China, in Western Australia, in 2016. The first phase of the plant started to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in May this year, and cost A$770 million ($510 million) in total.",{"type":591,"attrs":105500,"content":105501},{"textAlign":49},[105502],{"text":105503,"type":596},"US lithium producer Albemarle’s lithium processing plant in Australia, Kemerton, also suffered from delays and the costs went above the initial estimate of $1.2 billion. The plant was originally due to start production in 2020 but started this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":105505,"content":105506},{"textAlign":49},[105507],{"text":105508,"type":596},"Tesla’s senior vice president Drew Baglino said the world’s largest electric vehicle maker is working with its suppliers to ramp their capabilities as quickly as possible and also making its own investments as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":105510,"content":105511},{"textAlign":49},[105512,105514,105520],{"text":105513,"type":596},"“We are building a ",{"text":105515,"type":596,"marks":105516},"cathode facility",[105517],{"type":606,"attrs":105518},{"href":105519,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/teslas-cathode-supply-chain-integration-plans-in-context",{"text":105521,"type":596}," here in Texas…we are working on a lithium refining activity as well ourselves because the best way to learn how to accelerate something is to do it yourself. So, these are the things we are doing to move it all forward,” he said.","Elon Musk’s call for entrepreneurs to go into the lithium refining business highlights the lack of capacity outside of China, Benchmark data shows. Musk said there were likely to be “constraints in the refining of the materials necessary for lithium ion batteries” since refining was “much harder” than mining. “The processing of lithium is insane,” […]",[105524],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105525},{"job_title":557,"image":105526,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d6e624ab-2929-4bed-afab-2d60b4e1831f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105529,105530,105531],{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105533,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105534,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/463a06fba0/bm-kwinana-tianqi-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 21, 2022",{"id":105537,"uuid":105538,"name":105539,"slug":105540,"full_slug":105541,"content":105542},112472532892916,"463c53ac-dfc6-4737-aadd-418430ad94c0","Tesla lays down 2 TWh battery challenge to Panasonic","tesla-lays-down-2-twh-battery-challenge-to-panasonic","article/tesla-lays-down-2-twh-battery-challenge-to-panasonic",{"_uid":105543,"date":105544,"tags":105545,"editor":105548,"content":105552,"excerpt":105622,"featured":50,"reporter":105623,"_editable":105627,"component":697,"seo_title":105539,"categories":105628,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105631,"seo_description":105622,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105634},"1f450d14-05f8-4a41-aa63-0bd57439890d","2022-07-15 00:00",[105546,105547],{"slug":74526,"name":74527},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[105549],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105550},{"job_title":557,"image":105551,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105553},[105554,105559,105564,105569,105574,105579,105584,105589,105594,105599,105604,105609,105612,105617],{"type":591,"attrs":105555,"content":105556},{"textAlign":49},[105557],{"text":105558,"type":596},"Panasonic Energy is building a pipeline of 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of battery and raw material supplies for Tesla as part of a new mandate from the Elon Musk-led company, according to Chief Technology Officer Shoichiro Watanabe.",{"type":591,"attrs":105560,"content":105561},{"textAlign":49},[105562],{"text":105563,"type":596},"Panasonic will need to build up its battery supply chain including mining to meet the goal, Watanabe said at the Sydney Energy Forum.",{"type":591,"attrs":105565,"content":105566},{"textAlign":49},[105567],{"text":105568,"type":596},"The move comes as Panasonic plans to spend $4 billion to build a second gigafactory in Kansas to target growth in the US auto market. The Japanese battery producer is Tesla’s largest supplier due to the Nevada gigafactory, a joint venture with Tesla that has a capacity of 44 GWh, as assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":105570,"content":105571},{"textAlign":49},[105572],{"text":105573,"type":596},"Tesla has said it wants to produce 20 million electric vehicles by the end of the decade, as it aims to become a mass market auto producer. While Tesla aims to make its own batteries, Elon Musk has said that it will still rely on external suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":105575,"content":105576},{"textAlign":49},[105577],{"text":105578,"type":596},"“Our experience with Tesla is 15 years of experience for battery manufacturing,” Watanabe said. “Firstly, Elon Musk wanted to have 100 gigawatt-hours at that time. It was an amazing challenge for us. So we took the challenge in the Nevada gigafactory where we hired 3,000 people and introduced new  manufacturing.”",{"type":591,"attrs":105580,"content":105581},{"textAlign":49},[105582],{"text":105583,"type":596},"“For the next challenge, Tesla wants two terawatt hours of battery manufacturing. It’s an unbelievable scale, so we have to build up more supply chains, mining, everything.”",{"type":591,"attrs":105585,"content":105586},{"textAlign":49},[105587],{"text":105588,"type":596},"The executive did not say when Panasonic, Tesla’s first battery supplier, will be able to build the pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":105590,"content":105591},{"textAlign":49},[105592],{"text":105593,"type":596},"Panasonic said in June it wants to triple or quadruple its capacity in North America by 2029 as it looks to capture some of the growth in the US auto market outside of Tesla.",{"type":615,"attrs":105595,"content":105596},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105597],{"text":105598,"type":596},"More lithium, nickel and cobalt ",{"type":591,"attrs":105600,"content":105601},{"textAlign":49},[105602],{"text":105603,"type":596},"Assuming the 2 TWh mix will be 50% lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (NCA) and 50% NCM high nickel, the raw material implications would be considerable.",{"type":591,"attrs":105605,"content":105606},{"textAlign":49},[105607],{"text":105608,"type":596},"On a combined basis would equal 170,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide, 1,630,000 tonnes of LCE, 1,660,000 tonnes of nickel and 2,400,000 tonnes of graphite anode, according to Benchmark’s assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":105610,"content":105611},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":105613,"content":105614},{"textAlign":49},[105615],{"text":105616,"type":596},"Panasonic said last month it plans to begin commercial production of Tesla’s larger-format 4680-type cells starting next year at the Wakayama factory in Japan and supply them to the North American market from fiscal year 2024 before it moves production to North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":105618,"content":105619},{"textAlign":49},[105620],{"text":105621,"type":596},"Panasonic already has a plant in Spark, Nevada which currently makes the 2170-type cells for Tesla. It has a production capacity of 44 GWh, as assessed by Benchmark.","Panasonic Energy is building a pipeline of 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of battery and raw material supplies for Tesla as part of a new mandate from the Elon Musk-led company, according to Chief Technology Officer Shoichiro Watanabe. Panasonic will need to build up its battery supply chain including mining to meet the goal, Watanabe said at […]",[105624],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105625},{"job_title":557,"image":105626,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1f450d14-05f8-4a41-aa63-0bd57439890d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105629,105630],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105632,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105633,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/19ccaf3907/bm-giga-nevada.webp",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 15, 2022",{"id":105636,"uuid":105637,"name":105638,"slug":105639,"full_slug":105640,"content":105641},112472547290463,"dcc32d21-9f70-4f68-9c87-c808a1848b1f","Lower cobalt and nickel prices to ease battery cell price jump","lower-cobalt-and-nickel-prices-to-ease-battery-cell-price-jump","article/lower-cobalt-and-nickel-prices-to-ease-battery-cell-price-jump",{"_uid":105642,"date":105643,"tags":105644,"editor":105645,"content":105649,"excerpt":105734,"featured":51,"reporter":105735,"_editable":105739,"component":697,"seo_title":105638,"categories":105740,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105744,"seo_description":105734,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105747},"26488cd8-6d0c-4f0c-ad91-cd215ca16d64","2022-07-14 00:00",[],[105646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105647},{"job_title":557,"image":105648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105650},[105651,105656,105661,105666,105671,105676,105681,105686,105691,105696,105701,105704,105709,105714,105719,105724,105729],{"type":591,"attrs":105652,"content":105653},{"textAlign":49},[105654],{"text":105655,"type":596},"Falling cobalt, nickel and copper prices could ease battery pricing pressures this year for automakers, as fears of a global recession and resurgence of Covid-19 in China weigh on raw material markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":105657,"content":105658},{"textAlign":49},[105659],{"text":105660,"type":596},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices fell by 11.2% in June from a month earlier, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment, while cobalt sulphate prices fell by 10% from May. Meanwhile, copper prices are trading at their lowest levels in 19 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":105662,"content":105663},{"textAlign":49},[105664],{"text":105665,"type":596},"The lower prices may offer some reprieve for automakers, who have had to pay more for battery cells over the past year due to rising raw material prices, especially of lithium. The costs for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) 622 battery cells have risen by 45% since the first quarter of 2021, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":105667,"content":105668},{"textAlign":49},[105669],{"text":105670,"type":596},"While lithium prices remain high, limited demand for cobalt and nickel on the Chinese spot market following Shanghai’s lockdown in March and April has driven weaker prices, according to Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark. China has reported an uptick of Covid-19 cases in recent days, raising fears that Shanghai could again be put into lockdown.",{"type":591,"attrs":105672,"content":105673},{"textAlign":49},[105674],{"text":105675,"type":596},"In addition, due to new supply, both markets are set to be in surplus this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":105677,"content":105678},{"textAlign":49},[105679],{"text":105680,"type":596},"“There could be price relief for automakers in the second half of this year,” Miller said. “China’s EV sales haven’t translated yet into upstream demand, there’s still fears of Covid-19, no one buys loads more material if there’s a concern about potential lockdowns.”",{"type":615,"attrs":105682,"content":105683},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105684],{"text":105685,"type":596},"Surplus markets",{"type":591,"attrs":105687,"content":105688},{"textAlign":49},[105689],{"text":105690,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts the cobalt and nickel market will be in surplus this year, due to new processing projects in Indonesia, which produce primarily nickel but also cobalt. Indonesian nickel output is forecast to grow by 48% this year from a year earlier, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":105692,"content":105693},{"textAlign":49},[105694],{"text":105695,"type":596},"There are a total of 15 high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel projects being developed in Indonesia, according to Benchmark. As a result, nickel is set to be in a surplus until 2031, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":105697,"content":105698},{"textAlign":49},[105699],{"text":105700,"type":596},"“My government’s energy transition roadmap prioritises increasing the added value of nickel and cobalt as raw materials for making batteries for electric vehicles and storage,” Arifin Tasrif, Indonesia’s Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, told the Syndey Energy Forum this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":105702,"content":105703},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":105705,"content":105706},{"textAlign":49},[105707],{"text":105708,"type":596},"Cobalt supply from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has also increased this year, with the world’s second-largest producer CMOC reporting cobalt production rose by 48% in the first half of the year to 10,368 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":105710,"content":105711},{"textAlign":49},[105712],{"text":105713,"type":596},"Benchmark cobalt metal prices have fallen from $40 a pound in April – the highest level since 2018 – to less than $30 a pound now, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment.",{"type":615,"attrs":105715,"content":105716},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105717],{"text":105718,"type":596},"Battery costs",{"type":591,"attrs":105720,"content":105721},{"textAlign":49},[105722],{"text":105723,"type":596},"While lithium currently accounts for over 20% of the cost of a lithium ion battery cell, for some automakers nickel and cobalt are still significant.",{"type":591,"attrs":105725,"content":105726},{"textAlign":49},[105727],{"text":105728,"type":596},"Nickel makes up around 24% of the cost of a high-nickel 811 nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cell, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database, while cobalt makes up around 7% of the costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":105730,"content":105731},{"textAlign":49},[105732],{"text":105733,"type":596},"Cobalt containing batteries are set to make up 68% of total battery demand this year, Benchmark estimates, equivalent to around 121,000 tonnes of cobalt.","Falling cobalt, nickel and copper prices could ease battery pricing pressures this year for automakers, as fears of a global recession and resurgence of Covid-19 in China weigh on raw material markets. Chinese nickel sulphate prices fell by 11.2% in June from a month earlier, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment, while cobalt sulphate prices […]",[105736],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105737},{"job_title":557,"image":105738,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"26488cd8-6d0c-4f0c-ad91-cd215ca16d64\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105741,105742,105743],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105745,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105746,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/13fcbdadae/bm-nickel-new-caledonia-e1657785595723.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 14, 2022",{"id":105749,"uuid":105750,"name":105751,"slug":105752,"full_slug":105753,"content":105754},112472542571770,"8442cfb8-bbfd-4098-b28d-8e0dac4065b0","Do automakers face a Tier One battery supply problem?","do-automakers-face-a-tier-one-battery-supply-problem","article/do-automakers-face-a-tier-one-battery-supply-problem",{"_uid":105755,"date":105643,"tags":105756,"editor":105758,"content":105762,"excerpt":105905,"featured":50,"reporter":105906,"_editable":105910,"component":697,"seo_title":105751,"categories":105911,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":105915,"seo_description":105905,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":105747},"5ae9163f-7c59-42c6-a8a0-1120c22e243f",[105757],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[105759],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105760},{"job_title":557,"image":105761,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105763},[105764,105769,105774,105779,105789,105794,105799,105802,105807,105812,105817,105822,105827,105832,105837,105842,105847,105852,105863,105868,105873,105878,105883,105888,105900],{"type":591,"attrs":105765,"content":105766},{"textAlign":49},[105767],{"text":105768,"type":596},"The automotive industry could face a global shortage of high quality “Tier One” battery cells by the end of the decade, without investment by the leading battery companies in further capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105770,"content":105771},{"textAlign":49},[105772],{"text":105773,"type":596},"By 2030, Benchmark forecasts a Tier One cell supply deficit of 695 gigawatt hours, up from 22 GWh this year. Tier One suppliers are defined as those with more than 5 GWh of annual cumulative production capacity who are also qualified to supply more than one multinational OEM/EV producer outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":105775,"content":105776},{"textAlign":49},[105777],{"text":105778,"type":596},"The chief executives of both Rivian and Tesla have recently warned about a looming shortage of battery cells, as demand outpaces supply. Rivian’s chief executive RJ Scaringe said in April that the shortage of battery cells would make the semiconductor shortage look like a “small appetizer.”  ",{"type":591,"attrs":105780,"content":105781},{"textAlign":49},[105782,105787],{"text":105783,"type":596,"marks":105784},"Last month Benchmark promoted Europe’s Northvolt and China’s Sunwoda to Tier One status",[105785],{"type":606,"attrs":105786},{"href":71610,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":105788,"type":596},". That reduced the 2030 deficit from 840 GWh to 695 GWh. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105790,"content":105791},{"textAlign":49},[105792],{"text":105793,"type":596},"“You can really see the difference from just having two large producers promoted,” said Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":105795,"content":105796},{"textAlign":49},[105797],{"text":105798,"type":596},"To qualify as a Tier One supplier, a producer needs to supply more than one multinational OEM outside of China and have 5 GWh of production capacity or more. Tier Two producers are able to supply the domestic Chinese EV market, and Tier Three are not yet supplying any EV markets, but do have over one GWh of capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":105800,"content":105801},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":105803,"content":105804},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105805],{"text":105806,"type":596},"Tier One Woes",{"type":591,"attrs":105808,"content":105809},{"textAlign":49},[105810],{"text":105811,"type":596},"Supply of batteries from Tier Two producers is currently in surplus and is expected to remain so until 2035, Benchmark forecasts. Benchmark forecasts Tier Three will be in surplus past 2040. However, 2022 is the first time Tier Three will be in surplus since Benchmark began collecting data.",{"type":591,"attrs":105813,"content":105814},{"textAlign":49},[105815],{"text":105816,"type":596},"Benchmark does not forecast an overall deficit in cell production until 2030 due to the oversupply of Tier Two and Three cells in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105818,"content":105819},{"textAlign":49},[105820],{"text":105821,"type":596},"However, there will be a deficit of Tier One cells until past 2040, unless extra supply is brought online.",{"type":591,"attrs":105823,"content":105824},{"textAlign":49},[105825],{"text":105826,"type":596},"Tier One cells are primarily destined for EV producers outside of China, and for the global energy storage system (ESS) market, Waid said. Some Tier One producers will supply car factories in China, such as those operated by Tesla and other Western automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":105828,"content":105829},{"textAlign":49},[105830],{"text":105831,"type":596},"The ESS market, including that located in China, will be primarily supplied from Tier One producers. This is due to safety concerns requiring a very high standard of production, Waid said.",{"type":615,"attrs":105833,"content":105834},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105835],{"text":105836,"type":596},"China’s Surplus",{"type":591,"attrs":105838,"content":105839},{"textAlign":49},[105840],{"text":105841,"type":596},"China’s abundance of Tier Two producers means that it has a surplus of battery production. Benchmark forecasts that China’s supply will outstrip its demand unil the late 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":105843,"content":105844},{"textAlign":49},[105845],{"text":105846,"type":596},"Despite Tier Two being defined by the ability to sell into the Chinese EV market, Tier One producers have a strong presence in the country, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":105848,"content":105849},{"textAlign":49},[105850],{"text":105851,"type":596},"Of the 108 Tier One gigafactories tracked by Benchmark, 56% are in China. The majority of these are operated by CATL and BYD, a Chinese automaker which produces its own batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":105853,"content":105854},{"textAlign":49},[105855,105856,105861],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":105857,"type":596,"marks":105858},"promotion of Sunwoda",[105859],{"type":606,"attrs":105860},{"href":71610,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":105862,"type":596}," added an extra nine Tier One Chinese gigafactories.",{"type":615,"attrs":105864,"content":105865},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[105866],{"text":105867,"type":596},"Closing the gap",{"type":591,"attrs":105869,"content":105870},{"textAlign":49},[105871],{"text":105872,"type":596},"”To close the Tier One deficit will need further expansions from existing Tier One suppliers,” Waid said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105874,"content":105875},{"textAlign":49},[105876],{"text":105877,"type":596},"Expanding the capacity of a gigafactory will only ease the deficit if that expansion is used, however. “They should improve their utilisation rates as well,” Waid said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105879,"content":105880},{"textAlign":49},[105881],{"text":105882,"type":596},"“Chinese producers will start off with a higher utilisation rate in years one to three, as Chinese manufacturers tend to be more experienced,” Waid said. “But after years four and five, we see a shift so the rest of the world ends up with higher utilisation rates than China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":105884,"content":105885},{"textAlign":49},[105886],{"text":105887,"type":596},"Part of the reason for China’s lower utilisation rates in later years is the country’s faster rate of adding capacity onto the plants, Waid noted.",{"type":591,"attrs":105889,"content":105890},{"textAlign":49},[105891,105893,105898],{"text":105892,"type":596},"Beyond capacity and utilisation, Waid said that more Tier One producers are needed. “New ",{"text":105894,"type":596,"marks":105895},"startups",[105896],{"type":606,"attrs":105897},{"href":96374,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":105899,"type":596}," need to accelerate their qualification roadmap,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105901,"content":105902},{"textAlign":49},[105903],{"text":105904,"type":596},"When Northvolt and Sunwoda were promoted to Tier One status they collectively added 148 GWh of supply. This accounted for about 10% of the total Tier One supply available.","The automotive industry could face a global shortage of high quality “Tier One” battery cells by the end of the decade, without investment by the leading battery companies in further capacity. By 2030, Benchmark forecasts a Tier One cell supply deficit of 695 gigawatt hours, up from 22 GWh this year. Tier One suppliers are […]",[105907],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105908},{"job_title":557,"image":105909,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ae9163f-7c59-42c6-a8a0-1120c22e243f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[105912,105913,105914],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105916,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":105917,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fd436652eb/bm-northvolt-ett.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":105919,"uuid":105920,"name":105921,"slug":105922,"full_slug":105923,"content":105924},112472552168800,"c98b3d9b-0748-4a9d-a38d-9d46f8d39e49","Australia on course to remain number one lithium producer to 2030","australia-on-course-to-remain-number-one-lithium-producer-to-2030","article/australia-on-course-to-remain-number-one-lithium-producer-to-2030",{"_uid":105925,"date":105926,"tags":105927,"editor":105929,"content":105933,"excerpt":106085,"featured":51,"reporter":106086,"_editable":106090,"component":697,"seo_title":105921,"categories":106091,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106094,"seo_description":106085,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106097},"7cef09e1-a337-4c0a-b732-6d358b1cfeba","2022-07-12 00:00",[105928],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[105930],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":105931},{"job_title":557,"image":105932,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":105934},[105935,105945,105950,105955,105960,105965,105970,105975,105980,105985,105992,105997,106002,106007,106012,106017,106022,106027,106032,106037,106042,106052,106057,106062,106073],{"type":591,"attrs":105936,"content":105937},{"textAlign":49},[105938,105940,105944],{"text":105939,"type":596},"Australia is set to maintain its dominance in mined lithium production this decade, as supply is set to double by 2030, data from ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":105941},[105942],{"type":606,"attrs":105943},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":50213,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":105946,"content":105947},{"textAlign":49},[105948],{"text":105949,"type":596},"The country is set to mine nearly half of the world’s lithium this year as growing demand for electric vehicles in China, Europe and the US pushed prices to record highs, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105951,"content":105952},{"textAlign":49},[105953],{"text":105954,"type":596},"Australia accounted for around 59% of the total supply from the Indo-Pacific region. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105956,"content":105957},{"textAlign":49},[105958],{"text":105959,"type":596},"The country is set to remain the world’s leading producer due to expansion from large mines such as Greenbushes as well as new hard rock projects that have been supported by automakers including Ford and Tesla. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105961,"content":105962},{"textAlign":49},[105963],{"text":105964,"type":596},"It is also expected to enter the lithium chemicals production industry despite delays experienced with its first ever lithium hydroxide plants from Tianqi and Albemarle. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105966,"content":105967},{"textAlign":49},[105968],{"text":105969,"type":596},"Supply from Australia is expected to double to 600,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105971,"content":105972},{"textAlign":49},[105973],{"text":105974,"type":596},"In real terms this translates to 13 lithium mines from spodumene hard rock sources, over 75% of which will be refined in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105976,"content":105977},{"textAlign":49},[105978],{"text":105979,"type":596},"A lithium exploration rush since 2016 has resulted in at least 30 other exploration projects in Australia all vying for funding. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105981,"content":105982},{"textAlign":49},[105983],{"text":105984,"type":596},"Australia is on course to account for 25% of the world’s lithium supply by the end of the decade, making it the number one producer, according to Benchmark, compared to 15% for Chile in second place. ",{"type":591,"attrs":105986,"content":105987},{"textAlign":49},[105988,105990],{"text":105989,"type":596},"“Australia looks to be dominant in the region for the foreseeable future,” Cameron Perks, ",{"text":105991,"type":596},"analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":105993,"content":105994},{"textAlign":49},[105995],{"text":105996,"type":596},"“Western Australia and Northern Territory are so far the main hot spots for exploration, whereas the rest of the country is relatively quiet. I think there’s a lot of potential to increase supply from where we are forecasting.” ",{"type":615,"attrs":105998,"content":105999},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106000],{"text":106001,"type":596},"Australia Speeds Ahead",{"type":591,"attrs":106003,"content":106004},{"textAlign":49},[106005],{"text":106006,"type":596},"Most of Australia’s spodumene is processed in China, but the country has made moves to reduce that reliance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106008,"content":106009},{"textAlign":49},[106010],{"text":106011,"type":596},"In March Tianqi Lithium said it had produced its first battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its processing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, four years after its initial start up target. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106013,"content":106014},{"textAlign":49},[106015],{"text":106016,"type":596},"Albemarle has also constructed a processing plant in Kemerton along with Mineral Resources, with production starting this year following delays to its original timeline. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106018,"content":106019},{"textAlign":49},[106020],{"text":106021,"type":596},"Still, Benchmark expects Australia’s downstream processing is likely to be “limited” due to the cost of importing reagents and the problems of waste disposal. That could make it more costly than converters in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106023,"content":106024},{"textAlign":49},[106025],{"text":106026,"type":596},"The Greenbushes mine in Western Australia is the biggest operating lithium mine in the world and will produce half of the country’s spodumene concentrate this year, according to Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106028,"content":106029},{"textAlign":49},[106030],{"text":106031,"type":596},"Located about 155 miles south of Perth Greenbushes is a large-scale, long life, low cost, and the highest ore reserve grade of any hard rock lithium mine globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":106033,"content":106034},{"textAlign":49},[106035],{"text":106036,"type":596},"Core Lithium’s Finniss project will be the only other new greenfield addition in 2022 that Benchmark anticipated. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106038,"content":106039},{"textAlign":49},[106040],{"text":106041,"type":596},"This is expected to be followed by SQM and Wesfarmers’ joint venture, Mt Holland, and Liontown’s Kathleen Valley mine in 2024. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106043,"content":106044},{"textAlign":49},[106045,106047,106051],{"text":106046,"type":596},"Global battery demand for lithium is estimated to grow to over 2 million tonnes of LCE in 2030, from 540,000 tonnes this year, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":106048},[106049],{"type":606,"attrs":106050},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":106053,"content":106054},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106055],{"text":106056,"type":596},"BENCHMARK’S GIGA-ASIA PACIFIC 2022 COMES TO PERTH, AUSTRALIA, 27-29 SEPTEMBER 2022",{"type":591,"attrs":106058,"content":106059},{"textAlign":49},[106060],{"text":106061,"type":596},"Join Benchmark’s inaugural Battery Gigafactories Asia Pacific 2022 event which aligns government with industry to build lithium ion battery supply chains in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":106063,"content":106064},{"textAlign":49},[106065,106067,106068],{"text":106066,"type":596},"Sign up as a delegate here",{"text":24817,"type":596},{"text":106069,"type":596,"marks":106070},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-gigafactories-asia-pacific-2022/register/",[106071],{"type":606,"attrs":106072},{"href":106069,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":106074,"content":106075},{"textAlign":49},[106076,106078,106079],{"text":106077,"type":596},"Inquire about being a sponsor",{"text":24817,"type":596},{"text":106080,"type":596,"marks":106081},"sponsor@benchmarkminerals.com",[106082],{"type":606,"attrs":106083},{"href":106084,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:sponsor@benchmarkminerals.com","Australia is set to maintain its dominance in mined lithium production this decade, as supply is set to double by 2030, data from Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows. The country is set to mine nearly half of the world’s lithium this year as growing demand for electric vehicles in China, Europe and the US pushed prices […]",[106087],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106088},{"job_title":557,"image":106089,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7cef09e1-a337-4c0a-b732-6d358b1cfeba\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106092,106093],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106095,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106096,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f4f3453a01/bm-lithium-australia.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 12, 2022",{"id":106099,"uuid":106100,"name":106101,"slug":106102,"full_slug":106103,"content":106104},112472556965218,"15bf8946-cfe3-47f5-bef5-8a2c538a954d","Australia hosts geopolitical summit on critical mineral supply chains, Benchmark invited to speak","australia-hosts-geopolitical-summit-on-critical-mineral-supply-chains-benchmark-invited-to-speak","article/australia-hosts-geopolitical-summit-on-critical-mineral-supply-chains-benchmark-invited-to-speak",{"_uid":106105,"date":106106,"tags":106107,"editor":106109,"content":106113,"excerpt":106326,"featured":51,"reporter":106327,"_editable":106331,"component":697,"seo_title":106101,"categories":106332,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106334,"seo_description":106326,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106337},"5cac1138-e791-42cb-8137-7486b28f655e","2022-07-11 00:00",[106108],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[106110],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106111},{"job_title":557,"image":106112,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106114},[106115,106120,106133,106142,106147,106153,106156,106161,106166,106171,106176,106181,106186,106191,106196,106201,106206,106211,106216,106221,106226,106231,106236,106241,106246,106249,106254,106259,106264,106269,106273,106278,106285,106290,106297,106304,106311,106317,106323],{"type":591,"attrs":106116,"content":106117},{"textAlign":49},[106118],{"text":106119,"type":596},"The Australian government will host a geopolitical summit this week that, for the first time, places critical minerals and their supply chains at the centre of the federal government discussion both for the country and the Indo-Pacific region.",{"type":591,"attrs":106121,"content":106122},{"textAlign":49},[106123,106125,106131],{"text":106124,"type":596},"Co-hosted with the International Energy Agency, ",{"text":106126,"type":596,"marks":106127},"The Sydney Energy Forum",[106128],{"type":606,"attrs":106129},{"href":106130,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.sydneyenergyforum.gov.au/about",{"text":106132,"type":596}," will focus on the key technologies to decarbonisation and zeroes in on building supply chains for electric vehicles, lithium ion batteries and critical minerals, especially lithium, nickel, rare earths, graphite, manganese, and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":106134,"content":106135},{"textAlign":49},[106136,106138,106140],{"text":106137,"type":596},"The summit will open with an address from Australia’s new Prime Minister, ",{"text":106139,"type":596},"The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP",{"text":106141,"type":596}," and hear from key political figures in the region including:",{"type":591,"attrs":106143,"content":106144},{"textAlign":49},[106145],{"text":106146,"type":596},"Delegates from 28 countries in the Indo-Pacific region will meet in Sydney with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and BP the only invitees from the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":106148,"content":106149},{"textAlign":49},[106150,106151],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":106152,"type":596},"’s CEO, Simon Moores, has been invited to speak on batteries and critical minerals on day one together with Lynas CEO, Amanda Lacaze, Panasonic Energy’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr Shoichiro Watanabe, and Dr Alan Bye, Managing Director, Imvelo.",{"type":591,"attrs":106154,"content":106155},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":106157,"content":106158},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106159],{"text":106160,"type":596},"Dr Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of co-host, International Energy Agency said:",{"type":591,"attrs":106162,"content":106163},{"textAlign":49},[106164],{"text":106165,"type":596},"“…the Indo-Pacific has an important role to play in the clean energy transition. The region is the home of significant emerging economies with fast-growing energy demand, as well as the vast majority of the world’s solar PV module and battery manufacturing and assembly.",{"type":591,"attrs":106167,"content":106168},{"textAlign":49},[106169],{"text":106170,"type":596},"The region is also a major resource holder and producer of the critical minerals that clean energy transitions will rely on – including lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":106172,"content":106173},{"textAlign":49},[106174],{"text":106175,"type":596},"If critical minerals are to be an enabler, and not a bottleneck, to energy transitions, governments in the Indo-Pacific must work together with producers and consumers to ensure supply chains are able to expand to meet growing demand, consistent with net zero ambitions.”",{"type":615,"attrs":106177,"content":106178},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106179],{"text":106180,"type":596},"Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark stated:",{"type":591,"attrs":106182,"content":106183},{"textAlign":49},[106184],{"text":106185,"type":596},"“We are now in a world where geopolitical instability is making governments question their global supply chains and the very building blocks on which their economies have been built.",{"type":591,"attrs":106187,"content":106188},{"textAlign":49},[106189],{"text":106190,"type":596},"Forward looking governments have quickly realised that to get a grip on decarbonisation and invest in future industries, the supply chains for key technologies must be rebuilt.",{"type":591,"attrs":106192,"content":106193},{"textAlign":49},[106194],{"text":106195,"type":596},"As we have stressed time and again, the lithium ion battery and rise of gigafactories is the megatrend of our times.",{"type":591,"attrs":106197,"content":106198},{"textAlign":49},[106199],{"text":106200,"type":596},"Without lithium ion battery cells, at low cost, at scale and that are readily available, governments will not be able to achieve their decarbonisation goals and they would forgo a major role in future economic engines of electric vehicles and energy storage systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":106202,"content":106203},{"textAlign":49},[106204],{"text":106205,"type":596},"If electric vehicles are lithium ion batteries, then lithium ion batteries are mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":106207,"content":106208},{"textAlign":49},[106209],{"text":106210,"type":596},"Those that plan ambitious decarbonisation goals must align with those that build the technology and, crucially, the key actors that are building these new supply chains from scratch.",{"type":591,"attrs":106212,"content":106213},{"textAlign":49},[106214],{"text":106215,"type":596},"Those that most effectively bridge this great raw material disconnect between mine and market will be the quickest and most significant beneficiaries of the energy storage revolution, both in environmental and economic terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":106217,"content":106218},{"textAlign":49},[106219],{"text":106220,"type":596},"This is the message we will carry into The Sydney Energy Forum.",{"type":591,"attrs":106222,"content":106223},{"textAlign":49},[106224],{"text":106225,"type":596},"I have been in the critical minerals business since 2006, and this is the first time I have seen such a high level geopolitical gathering that is so specifically focused on decarbonisation technologies and the critical minerals that create them.",{"type":591,"attrs":106227,"content":106228},{"textAlign":49},[106229],{"text":106230,"type":596},"It is our honour at Benchmark to be invited to speak by Prime Minister Albanese’s Australian government.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106232,"content":106233},{"textAlign":49},[106234],{"text":106235,"type":596},"———",{"type":615,"attrs":106237,"content":106238},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106239],{"text":106240,"type":596},"Benchmark Stats: Indo-Asia-Pacific",{"type":615,"attrs":106242,"content":106243},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106244],{"text":106245,"type":596},"87.6% of lithium ion battery capacity is in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region",{"type":591,"attrs":106247,"content":106248},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":106250,"content":106251},{"textAlign":49},[106252],{"text":106253,"type":596},"China is the dominant producer of lithium ion battery cells through both production by domestic majors and partnerships with Japanese and Korean producers. China accounts for 79.1% of cell capacity, while South Korea was 4% and Japan was 3.4%.",{"type":591,"attrs":106255,"content":106256},{"textAlign":49},[106257],{"text":106258,"type":596},"Benchmark anticipates the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to maintain a leading position in lithium ion battery cells over the decade, albeit heavily relying on China.",{"type":591,"attrs":106260,"content":106261},{"textAlign":49},[106262],{"text":106263,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark’s Lithium ion battery cell capacity (Assessed June 2022)",{"type":615,"attrs":106265,"content":106266},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[106267],{"text":106268,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Giga-Asia Pacific 2022 comes to Perth, Australia, 27-29 September 2022",{"type":591,"attrs":106270,"content":106271},{"textAlign":49},[106272],{"text":106061,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":106274,"content":106275},{"textAlign":49},[106276],{"text":106277,"type":596},"Following on from the success of our Giga Europe and Giga USA events – both of which sold out – we are excited to bring this new forum to Asia Pacific, the home of the lithium ion battery and crucial raw material hubs.",{"type":591,"attrs":106279,"content":106280},{"textAlign":49},[106281,106283],{"text":106282,"type":596},"Location",{"text":106284,"type":596},": Ritz Carlton Perth, Perth, WA",{"type":591,"attrs":106286,"content":106287},{"textAlign":49},[106288],{"text":106289,"type":596},"Agenda at a glance",{"type":591,"attrs":106291,"content":106292},{"textAlign":49},[106293,106295],{"text":106294,"type":596},"Tuesday 27 September 2022",{"text":106296,"type":596},": 1pm Registration Opens, 2pm to 4pm Benchmark Workshops, 430pm to 6pm #GigaAPAC Welcome Reception",{"type":591,"attrs":106298,"content":106299},{"textAlign":49},[106300,106302],{"text":106301,"type":596},"Wednesday 28 September 2022",{"text":106303,"type":596},": 730am Breakfast Networking, 830am #GigaAPAC Day One, 6pm to 8pm Day 1 GigaAPAC",{"type":591,"attrs":106305,"content":106306},{"textAlign":49},[106307,106309],{"text":106308,"type":596},"Thursday 29 September 2022",{"text":106310,"type":596},": 7.30am Breakfast Networking, 830am to 4pm #GigaAPAC Day Two – Critical Minerals Day",{"type":591,"attrs":106312,"content":106313},{"textAlign":49},[106314,106315],{"text":106066,"type":596},{"text":106316,"type":596},": https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-gigafactories-asia-pacific-2022/register/",{"type":591,"attrs":106318,"content":106319},{"textAlign":49},[106320,106321],{"text":106077,"type":596},{"text":106322,"type":596},": sponsor@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":106324,"content":106325},{"textAlign":49},[],"The Australian government will host a geopolitical summit this week that, for the first time, places critical minerals and their supply chains at the centre of the federal government discussion both for the country and the Indo-Pacific region. Co-hosted with the International Energy Agency, The Sydney Energy Forum will focus on the key technologies to […]",[106328],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106329},{"job_title":557,"image":106330,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5cac1138-e791-42cb-8137-7486b28f655e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106333],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106335,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106336,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/14eece93ff/bm-sydney-energy-forum-1024x373-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 11, 2022",{"id":106339,"uuid":106340,"name":106341,"slug":106342,"full_slug":106343,"content":106344},112472577412455,"98933d6f-cfa6-49e5-bc83-bb5519234702","Solid-state battery race picks up speed as Vietnam’s VinFast takes stake in ProLogium","solid-state-battery-race-picks-up-speed-as-vietnams-vinfast-takes-stake-in-prologium","article/solid-state-battery-race-picks-up-speed-as-vietnams-vinfast-takes-stake-in-prologium",{"_uid":106345,"date":106346,"tags":106347,"editor":106348,"content":106352,"excerpt":106434,"featured":51,"reporter":106435,"_editable":106439,"component":697,"seo_title":106341,"categories":106440,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106443,"seo_description":106434,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106446},"d24ee341-2cbb-44cf-9bf3-0766671d60fb","2022-07-07 00:00",[],[106349],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106350},{"job_title":557,"image":106351,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106353},[106354,106359,106364,106377,106382,106387,106404,106409,106414,106419,106424,106429],{"type":591,"attrs":106355,"content":106356},{"textAlign":49},[106357],{"text":106358,"type":596},"Vietnam’s VinFast has invested “tens of millions” of dollars in Taiwanese solid-state battery startup ProLogium Technology and will secure battery cell supplies starting in 2024, as it bets on a technology that promises more range for electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":106360,"content":106361},{"textAlign":49},[106362],{"text":106363,"type":596},"The electric vehicle maker said ProLogium’ will devote a significant portion of production capacity at its new solid state battery plant to VinFast. The two companies may also establish a joint-venture solid-state battery factory in Vietnam, VinFast said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106365,"content":106366},{"textAlign":49},[106367,106369,106375],{"text":106368,"type":596},"Automakers are increasingly targeting ",{"text":106370,"type":596,"marks":106371},"solid-state battery technology",[106372],{"type":606,"attrs":106373},{"href":106374,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-solid-state-batteries-compete-with-traditional-lithium-ion-on-cost",{"text":106376,"type":596}," as they promise greater safety, more range, faster-charging capability, and lower costs for electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":106378,"content":106379},{"textAlign":49},[106380],{"text":106381,"type":596},"VinFast’s investment comes six months after Germany’s Mercedes-Benz made a “high double-digit” million euro investment in ProLogium and took a seat on the startup’s board. The Taipei-based company said the investment would be used towards establishing production capacity in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":106383,"content":106384},{"textAlign":49},[106385],{"text":106386,"type":596},"Mercedes, which plans to go all electric by 2030, said it will introduce test vehicles equipped with solid-state batteries co-developed with ProLogium in the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":106388,"content":106389},{"textAlign":49},[106390,106396,106398,106403],{"text":106391,"type":596,"marks":106392},"Production capacity",[106393],{"type":606,"attrs":106394},{"href":106395,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/solid-state-enters-gigawatt-hour-era-as-new-capacity-comes-online-in-2022",{"text":106397,"type":596}," of solid-state batteries is expected to reach over 250 GWh by 2030, according to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s ",{"text":106399,"type":596,"marks":106400},"Solid-state and Lithium Metal Batteries report",[106401],{"type":606,"attrs":106402},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":106405,"content":106406},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106407],{"text":106408,"type":596},"Race For Solid-State Tech",{"type":591,"attrs":106410,"content":106411},{"textAlign":49},[106412],{"text":106413,"type":596},"ProLogium said in June its upcoming solid-state lithium ceramic battery plant will go online in early 2023 and will commence mass production by the second half of the year, followed by capacity global expansion plans in key markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":106415,"content":106416},{"textAlign":49},[106417],{"text":106418,"type":596},"France’s Blue Solutions, South Korea’s Samsung SDI are some of ProLogium’s key rivals. Quantumscape, a company backed by Volkswagen and Bill Gates, is another contender in solid-state battery development.",{"type":591,"attrs":106420,"content":106421},{"textAlign":49},[106422],{"text":106423,"type":596},"VinFast aims to build 150,000 electric vehicles and batteries from its North Carolina factory where it is expected to begin construction this year and production will begin in July 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":106425,"content":106426},{"textAlign":49},[106427],{"text":106428,"type":596},"In November the company revealed the first two of its electric vehicles — VF 9, a seven-seater electric SUV and VF 8, a five-seater electric mid-size SUV — at the Los Angeles Auto Show.",{"type":591,"attrs":106430,"content":106431},{"textAlign":49},[106432],{"text":106433,"type":596},"VinFast said it also plans to enter into commercial agreements to develop battery pack designs using Prologium’s proprietary solid-state battery technology.","Vietnam’s VinFast has invested “tens of millions” of dollars in Taiwanese solid-state battery startup ProLogium Technology and will secure battery cell supplies starting in 2024, as it bets on a technology that promises more range for electric vehicles. The electric vehicle maker said ProLogium’ will devote a significant portion of production capacity at its new […]",[106436],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106437},{"job_title":557,"image":106438,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d24ee341-2cbb-44cf-9bf3-0766671d60fb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106441,106442],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106444,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106445,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6b6d1dffee/bm-prologium.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 07, 2022",{"id":106448,"uuid":106449,"name":106450,"slug":106451,"full_slug":106452,"content":106453},112472572538214,"975ceea0-b6bb-44f5-a873-ea4b21fb57dc","VW spins out battery business as it eyes North American gigafactory","vw-spins-out-battery-business-as-it-eyes-north-american-gigafactory","article/vw-spins-out-battery-business-as-it-eyes-north-american-gigafactory",{"_uid":106454,"date":106346,"tags":106455,"editor":106456,"content":106460,"excerpt":106537,"featured":51,"reporter":106538,"_editable":106542,"component":697,"seo_title":106450,"categories":106543,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106546,"seo_description":106537,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106446},"33a71f9c-4b0a-4a00-900b-5bc3dbc4bb90",[],[106457],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106458},{"job_title":557,"image":106459,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106461},[106462,106467,106472,106477,106482,106487,106492,106497,106502,106507,106512,106517,106522,106527,106532],{"type":591,"attrs":106463,"content":106464},{"textAlign":49},[106465],{"text":106466,"type":596},"Volkswagen began construction of its first global battery plant at Salzgitter in Germany on Thursday, as the automaker launched a new battery business that will expand across Europe and into North America,  as part of a plan to produce its own batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":106468,"content":106469},{"textAlign":49},[106470],{"text":106471,"type":596},"The legacy automaker said its new battery company, PowerCo, would invest more than €20 billion together with partners by 2030 into the battery supply chain, as part of a move to increase vertical integration to help lower costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":106473,"content":106474},{"textAlign":49},[106475],{"text":106476,"type":596},"“Salzgitter will become our power centre, from here we start and control the worldwide battery strategy,” Herbert Diess, chief executive of VW, said. “Apart from software, the battery will be the value-driver within the car, this is why we want to keep control.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106478,"content":106479},{"textAlign":49},[106480],{"text":106481,"type":596},"Volkswagen, which currently runs a battery pilot line and recycling facility in Salzgitter, said the plant would eventually produce 40 gigawatt-hours of batteries, enough for 500,000 electric vehicles. PowerCo will also build a plant in Valencia in Spain as well as in North America to supply local production of electric vehicles, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106483,"content":106484},{"textAlign":49},[106485],{"text":106486,"type":596},"“Today is a good day for the automotive industry in Germany and Europe,” German chancellor Olaf Scholz, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":106488,"content":106489},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106490],{"text":106491,"type":596},"Becoming a battery player",{"type":591,"attrs":106493,"content":106494},{"textAlign":49},[106495],{"text":106496,"type":596},"Salzgitter, which makes over 40 models for all of Volkswagen Group, will begin cell production in 2025. The Salzgitter gigafactory will manufacture unified prismatic cells for the volume segment of the Volkswagen Group, which it said can help lower battery costs by 50%.",{"type":591,"attrs":106498,"content":106499},{"textAlign":49},[106500],{"text":106501,"type":596},"VW said the plant would be the blueprint for others in Europe and will use renewable energy and recycle 90% of its raw materials. The production of its large “unified cell” prismatic format would bring down the ramp-up time for a battery factory from three years to 18 months, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106503,"content":106504},{"textAlign":49},[106505],{"text":106506,"type":596},"The German automaker is planning to establish six gigafactories in Europe with a total capacity of 240 GWh along with partners such as Northvolt to cover its growing demand for battery cells. Sites are currently “being identified” for three further cell factories in Europe, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106508,"content":106509},{"textAlign":49},[106510],{"text":106511,"type":596},"VW is also the largest shareholder in Chinese battery company Gotion High-Tech.",{"type":591,"attrs":106513,"content":106514},{"textAlign":49},[106515],{"text":106516,"type":596},"“PowerCo will become a global battery player. The company’s major strength will be vertical integration from raw materials and the cell right through to recycling,” Thomas Schmall, a member of VW’s board in charge of technology, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":106518,"content":106519},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106520],{"text":106521,"type":596},"Tesla Pressure ",{"type":591,"attrs":106523,"content":106524},{"textAlign":49},[106525],{"text":106526,"type":596},"Volkswagen and other European automakers are coming under increasing pressure after Tesla started commercial production at its Giga Berlin factory this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":106528,"content":106529},{"textAlign":49},[106530],{"text":106531,"type":596},"Tesla is aiming to produce its own large-format 4680 battery cells at its new Texas gigafactory as well as eventually in Berlin.",{"type":591,"attrs":106533,"content":106534},{"textAlign":49},[106535],{"text":106536,"type":596},"Salzgitter is about three hours away from Tesla’s first European gigafactory that opened in March in Grünheide, Berlin. Giga Berlin can produce 500,000 electric vehicles a year once it is ramped up to full capacity.","Volkswagen began construction of its first global battery plant at Salzgitter in Germany on Thursday, as the automaker launched a new battery business that will expand across Europe and into North America, as part of a plan to produce its own batteries. The legacy automaker said its new battery company, PowerCo, would invest more than […]",[106539],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106540},{"job_title":557,"image":106541,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"33a71f9c-4b0a-4a00-900b-5bc3dbc4bb90\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106544,106545],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106548,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/40c945bd15/bm-db2022al00326-medium1-e1657209573787.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":106550,"uuid":106551,"name":106552,"slug":106553,"full_slug":106554,"content":106555},112472587599209,"4c6e2fb1-e6ce-4470-bf57-42756647e2f3","China’s BTR says 4680 cell demand to drive silicon anode growth","chinas-btr-says-4680-cell-demand-to-drive-silicon-anode-growth","article/chinas-btr-says-4680-cell-demand-to-drive-silicon-anode-growth",{"_uid":106556,"date":106557,"tags":106558,"editor":106559,"content":106563,"excerpt":106654,"featured":51,"reporter":106655,"_editable":106659,"component":697,"seo_title":106552,"categories":106660,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106665,"seo_description":106654,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106668},"12a7d10d-1bde-440b-920f-3b7454f32d92","2022-07-06 00:00",[],[106560],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106561},{"job_title":557,"image":106562,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106564},[106565,106570,106575,106594,106599,106604,106609,106614,106619,106624,106629,106634,106639,106644,106649],{"type":591,"attrs":106566,"content":106567},{"textAlign":49},[106568],{"text":106569,"type":596},"China’s leading anode producer BTR New Material said that the roll-out of larger 4680 battery cells pioneered by Tesla would drive demand for silicon anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":106571,"content":106572},{"textAlign":49},[106573],{"text":106574,"type":596},"Chinese anode producers such as BTR, Shanshan and Zichen are all expanding into silicon anode production as battery producers target the more powerful and faster-charging battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":106576,"content":106577},{"textAlign":49},[106578,106580,106585,106587,106592],{"text":106579,"type":596},"The world’s largest battery producers including ",{"text":6051,"type":596,"marks":106581},[106582],{"type":606,"attrs":106583},{"href":106584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-supplier-lges-to-build-4680-battery-production-capacity",{"text":106586,"type":596}," and Panasonic are all scaling up production of 4680 cylindrical cells, following Tesla’s ",{"text":6572,"type":596,"marks":106588},[106589],{"type":606,"attrs":106590},{"href":106591,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-begins-shift-to-new-ev-battery-as-musk-expects-supply-chain-shortages-to-flip-from-chips-to-cells",{"text":106593,"type":596}," of the new format in September 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":106595,"content":106596},{"textAlign":49},[106597],{"text":106598,"type":596},"Tesla has said that the use of silicon in the cell anode can boost the range of its vehicles by 20% as silicon can store nine times more lithium than graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":106600,"content":106601},{"textAlign":49},[106602],{"text":106603,"type":596},"“Mass production of 4680 battery cells will have a definite pull on demand for silicon anodes,” BTR said in a research briefing.",{"type":591,"attrs":106605,"content":106606},{"textAlign":49},[106607],{"text":106608,"type":596},"Currently only around 1% of global anode production capacity is devoted to silicon anodes, according to Benchmark’s Anode Market Assessment. But the market in China is set to see rapid growth this decade, as more electric vehicles use silicon anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":106610,"content":106611},{"textAlign":49},[106612],{"text":106613,"type":596},"China dominantes global production of silicon anodes, with around 9,900 tonnes of production capacity out of 11,500 tpa globally, according to Benchmark. China’s production is expected to grow to around 470,000 tpa in 2030, according to Benchmark’s Graphite Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":106615,"content":106616},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106617],{"text":106618,"type":596},"China’s largest producer",{"type":591,"attrs":106620,"content":106621},{"textAlign":49},[106622],{"text":106623,"type":596},"BTR said it currently had around 3000 tonnes a year of silicon anode production but was building an additional 2,000 tonnes by the end of this year. In addition, it is building a 40,000 tpa silicon anode project which is set to start by the end of 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":106625,"content":106626},{"textAlign":49},[106627],{"text":106628,"type":596},"Silicon anodes are difficult to produce since silicon expands much more than graphite when the battery cell is charged. BTR said that harnessing their potential depends on the technology of the battery cell factory.",{"type":591,"attrs":106630,"content":106631},{"textAlign":49},[106632],{"text":106633,"type":596},"BTR is “continuously improving the performance of the product through technical improvement and innovation,” it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106635,"content":106636},{"textAlign":49},[106637],{"text":106638,"type":596},"BTR plans to raise 5 billion RMB ($745 million) on the Beijing Stock Exchange to fund its expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":106640,"content":106641},{"textAlign":49},[106642],{"text":106643,"type":596},"Last month Ningbo Shanshan said it would invest RMB 5 billion ($746 million) to build an integrated 40,000 tpa silicon anode project in Ningbo.",{"type":591,"attrs":106645,"content":106646},{"textAlign":49},[106647],{"text":106648,"type":596},"Last year China produced around 3,500 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes of silicon based anode, according to Benchmark. The total output of graphite-based anode materials was around 750,000 tonnes to 800,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":106650,"content":106651},{"textAlign":49},[106652],{"text":106653,"type":596},"In April, China’s leading electric vehicle producer BYD agreed to invest RMB 100 million ($15.7 million) into anode producer Geruifen, which is planning to build silicon anode capacity.","China’s leading anode producer BTR New Material said that the roll-out of larger 4680 battery cells pioneered by Tesla would drive demand for silicon anodes. Chinese anode producers such as BTR, Shanshan and Zichen are all expanding into silicon anode production as battery producers target the more powerful and faster-charging battery cells. The world’s largest […]",[106656],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106657},{"job_title":557,"image":106658,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"12a7d10d-1bde-440b-920f-3b7454f32d92\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106661,106662,106663,106664],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106666,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106667,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/778eb402b2/bm-shutterstock-21325412231.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 06, 2022",{"id":106670,"uuid":106671,"name":106672,"slug":106673,"full_slug":106674,"content":106675},112472582253928,"24260de3-b0ce-4c6e-84cd-23aa3ad55b9c","Ford’s nickel heavy electric F-150 pick-up truck off to a good start in June","fords-nickel-heavy-electric-f-150-pick-up-truck-off-to-a-good-start-in-june","article/fords-nickel-heavy-electric-f-150-pick-up-truck-off-to-a-good-start-in-june",{"_uid":106676,"date":106557,"tags":106677,"editor":106678,"content":106682,"excerpt":106764,"featured":51,"reporter":106765,"_editable":106769,"component":697,"seo_title":106672,"categories":106770,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106774,"seo_description":106764,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106668},"2b1acb6b-a79f-4578-af71-c95001ac5b50",[],[106679],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106680},{"job_title":557,"image":106681,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106683},[106684,106689,106694,106699,106704,106709,106714,106719,106724,106729,106734,106739,106744,106749,106754,106759],{"type":591,"attrs":106685,"content":106686},{"textAlign":49},[106687],{"text":106688,"type":596},"Ford said on Tuesday it sold 1,837 units of the electric variant of its best selling F-150 pick-up truck in June, adding that the nickel-heavy-battery powered Lightning is positioned for an even stronger sales this month amid higher dealer stock.",{"type":591,"attrs":106690,"content":106691},{"textAlign":49},[106692],{"text":106693,"type":596},"The legacy automaker began selling the Lightning trucks in the last week of May and has since sold 2,296 units.",{"type":591,"attrs":106695,"content":106696},{"textAlign":49},[106697],{"text":106698,"type":596},"Priced from $40,000 onwards, the F-150 Lightning is expected to play a key role in Ford’s ambitious electrification strategy as it looks to achieve zero emissions for all its vehicles by 2035 or earlier. It will also increase demand for nickel, which is used in its batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":106700,"content":106701},{"textAlign":49},[106702],{"text":106703,"type":596},"The Lightning’s battery’s cathode has up to 90% nickel composition, the highest in the industry. The extended range has a 131 KWh battery pack, which would contain around 150 kilograms of nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":106705,"content":106706},{"textAlign":49},[106707],{"text":106708,"type":596},"Domestic Chinese and international nickel sulphate prices fell by 11.2% and 6.4% respectively last month from May as Chinese Covid-19 lockdowns restricted demand, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":106710,"content":106711},{"textAlign":49},[106712],{"text":106713,"type":596},"Ford’s electric pickup truck competes with Rivian’s R1T and the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado from General Motors and Tesla’s Cybertruck. Ford offers the Lightning in a standard range and an “extended range pack,” batteries for which are supplied by South Korea’s SK Innovation.",{"type":591,"attrs":106715,"content":106716},{"textAlign":49},[106717],{"text":106718,"type":596},"Besides Lightning, Ford’s passenger electric vehicle portfolio currently includes Mustang Mach-E, which it began selling in December 2020 as an electric vehicle extension of its iconic pony car Mustang.",{"type":591,"attrs":106720,"content":106721},{"textAlign":49},[106722],{"text":106723,"type":596},"“Going into July, both F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E dealer stock is higher than last month, positioning both for a stronger July sales month,” Ford said.",{"type":615,"attrs":106725,"content":106726},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106727],{"text":106728,"type":596},"Powered by Nickel",{"type":591,"attrs":106730,"content":106731},{"textAlign":49},[106732],{"text":106733,"type":596},"Seoul-based SK has specialised in high-nickel NCM battery technology and developed the world’s first NCM-811 battery in 2016 as well as the first NCM9 battery that powers the F-150 Lightning.",{"type":591,"attrs":106735,"content":106736},{"textAlign":49},[106737],{"text":106738,"type":596},"Ford and SK Innovation had in September announced a $11.4 billion plan to construct three battery plants and an assembly plant for F-series electric trucks in Tennessee and Kentucky.",{"type":591,"attrs":106740,"content":106741},{"textAlign":49},[106742],{"text":106743,"type":596},"The automaker expects EVs to account for 30% of its global sales within five years and a half by 2030 and is spending $50 billion on electric vehicles until 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":106745,"content":106746},{"textAlign":49},[106747],{"text":106748,"type":596},"Ford has set a target of making over 2 million electric vehicles annually and generating a 10% adjusted operating profit margin by 2026. The company recently announced it is separating its electric and internal combustion engine businesses into different units.",{"type":591,"attrs":106750,"content":106751},{"textAlign":49},[106752],{"text":106753,"type":596},"Tesla sold just under a million electric vehicles last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":106755,"content":106756},{"textAlign":49},[106757],{"text":106758,"type":596},"Lightning’s first full month of sales also lifted Ford’s total electric vehicles volume in June to 4,353 units, a jump of 76.6% year-on-year but a decline of 30.4% over May.",{"type":591,"attrs":106760,"content":106761},{"textAlign":49},[106762],{"text":106763,"type":596},"Mach-E sales fell 20.6% year-on-year to 1,957 units in June and plunged 62% over May. Sales of the electric crossover in the first six months of the year however grew 36% year-on-year to 17,675 units.","Ford said on Tuesday it sold 1,837 units of the electric variant of its best selling F-150 pick-up truck in June, adding that the nickel-heavy-battery powered Lightning is positioned for an even stronger sales this month amid higher dealer stock. The legacy automaker began selling the Lightning trucks in the last week of May and […]",[106766],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106767},{"job_title":557,"image":106768,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2b1acb6b-a79f-4578-af71-c95001ac5b50\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106771,106772,106773],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106775,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106776,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b825a01d06/bm-f-150-lightning1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":106778,"uuid":106779,"name":106780,"slug":106781,"full_slug":106782,"content":106783},112472609246574,"51daf9bf-eda9-42db-85ae-e5249ca9c0d4","UK warns on gigafactories as Britishvolt signs Posco deal","uk-warns-on-gigafactories-as-britishvolt-signs-posco-deal","article/uk-warns-on-gigafactories-as-britishvolt-signs-posco-deal",{"_uid":106784,"date":106785,"tags":106786,"editor":106787,"content":106791,"excerpt":106891,"featured":51,"reporter":106892,"_editable":106896,"component":697,"seo_title":106780,"categories":106897,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":106901,"seo_description":106891,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":106904},"93bfdbc2-3fbf-4d5c-add0-21affa7150e8","2022-06-30 00:00",[],[106788],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106789},{"job_title":557,"image":106790,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106792},[106793,106798,106803,106808,106813,106818,106823,106828,106833,106838,106843,106846,106851,106856,106861,106866,106871,106876,106881,106886],{"type":591,"attrs":106794,"content":106795},{"textAlign":49},[106796],{"text":106797,"type":596},"The UK must significantly increase the number of domestic battery gigafactories if it is to meet its climate change targets, an official report warned, as startup Britishvolt signed a deal with South Korea’s Posco to shore up supplies of battery materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":106799,"content":106800},{"textAlign":49},[106801],{"text":106802,"type":596},"To minimise the risk of electric vehicle automakers moving overseas, the UK needs 140 gigawatt hours of capacity in domestic gigafactories by 2040, a report published this week by the UK Climate Change Committee said. This will require significant investment as only 68 GWh has been announced up to 2028, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":106804,"content":106805},{"textAlign":49},[106806],{"text":106807,"type":596},"This warning comes as Britishvolt, a battery startup, said it signed a deal with Posco for supply for anode and cathode active material to its gigafactory under construction in Northumberland. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106809,"content":106810},{"textAlign":49},[106811],{"text":106812,"type":596},"The CCC report acknowledged that the UK was on track to meet its electric passenger vehicles targets. However, it suggested the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport “work with the UK car industry to ensure that, where viable, EV supply chains are localised within the UK.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106814,"content":106815},{"textAlign":49},[106816],{"text":106817,"type":596},"To do this will require 140 GWh of gigafactories, the report said. The Faraday Institution, a UK-based government-backed body, said last week the UK would need ten gigafactories with 200 GWh of production capacity by 2040. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106819,"content":106820},{"textAlign":49},[106821],{"text":106822,"type":596},"Benchmark, however, assesses that the UK will have only 70 GWh of domestic production capacity by 2040. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106824,"content":106825},{"textAlign":49},[106826],{"text":106827,"type":596},"“It’s not unachievable,” said Evan Hartley, a Benchmark analyst. “But, it’s not currently looking likely that the 140 GWh will be achieved by 2040.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106829,"content":106830},{"textAlign":49},[106831],{"text":106832,"type":596},"In 2021, the UK had just 1.9 GWh of capacity. That came entirely from the Envision Sunderland plant which China’s Envision acquired when it bought Nissan’s AESC subsidiary in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":106834,"content":106835},{"textAlign":49},[106836],{"text":106837,"type":596},"By 2035, this will increase to 70 GWh with the addition of two more plants, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment. The first, by Envision AESC/Nissan, is an additional 38 GWh gigafactory in Sunderland that’s expected to go online by 2024. The second is Britishvolt’s 30 GWh factory in Blyth which Benchmark forecasts also go online in 2024, reaching maximum capacity in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":106839,"content":106840},{"textAlign":49},[106841],{"text":106842,"type":596},"Compared to its European counterparts, the UK’s gigafactory capacity forecast is falling behind. Germany is set to increase its capacity from 0.3 GWh in 2021 to 448 GWh by 2035, helped, in part, by Tesla’s 200 GWh Berlin gigafactory due to begin operating next year, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":106844,"content":106845},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":106847,"content":106848},{"textAlign":49},[106849],{"text":106850,"type":596},"“To attract more gigafactories to the UK will require stronger EV commitments from the UK auto industry such as JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) and Rolls Royce,” Hartley said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":106852,"content":106853},{"textAlign":49},[106854],{"text":106855,"type":596},"“If in the next 2-3 years BritishVolt is seen as successful,” Hartley added, “it could start a knock on effect to help grow the UK gigafactory industry.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106857,"content":106858},{"textAlign":49},[106859],{"text":106860,"type":596},"Orral Nadjari, chief executive of Britishvolt, said the deal with Posco “paves the way to providing Britishvolt with a secure supply of active battery materials as we start to ramp up pilot production prior to switching to volume manufacture of battery cells at our Gigaplant facility in Northumberland, United Kingdom, in the coming years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106862,"content":106863},{"textAlign":49},[106864],{"text":106865,"type":596},"Although Posco doesn’t have any UK-based active material production plants, it is currently constructing an NCM811 plant in Poland due to begin production in 2025, that may be able to provide Britishvolt with European material in line with the battery maker’s plans for a local supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":106867,"content":106868},{"textAlign":49},[106869],{"text":106870,"type":596},"This is just the latest in a string of agreements signed by Britishvolt. In March, they signed an agreement with Indonesia’s VKTR, a division of Bakrie Autoparts, to develop a nickel sulphate plant in Indonesia that would eventually supply Britishvolt’s gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":106872,"content":106873},{"textAlign":49},[106874],{"text":106875,"type":596},"And earlier in June this year it signed a non-binding agreement with US company ENTEK to develop and supply battery separator technologies. The plan envisioned ENTEK collocating at Britishvolt’s Northumberland site.",{"type":591,"attrs":106877,"content":106878},{"textAlign":49},[106879],{"text":106880,"type":596},"“They are one of the most promising startups,” Hartley said. “If they are making these moves then they are going in the right direction.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106882,"content":106883},{"textAlign":49},[106884],{"text":106885,"type":596},"All of the current and planned UK gigafactories are in the North East of the country. In part, this has been aided by the government’s plan to ‘level up’ the region. However, other regions are looking to attract gigafactories, too.",{"type":591,"attrs":106887,"content":106888},{"textAlign":49},[106889],{"text":106890,"type":596},"A joint venture between Coventry’s city council and Coventry Airport is hoping to build a battery gigafactory in the West Midlands. As yet, no manufacturer has been named for the site which the JV says will have a capacity of 60 GWh.","The UK must significantly increase the number of domestic battery gigafactories if it is to meet its climate change targets, an official report warned, as startup Britishvolt signed a deal with South Korea’s Posco to shore up supplies of battery materials. To minimise the risk of electric vehicle automakers moving overseas, the UK needs 140 […]",[106893],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106894},{"job_title":557,"image":106895,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"93bfdbc2-3fbf-4d5c-add0-21affa7150e8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[106898,106899,106900],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106902,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":106903,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d64eb18e2f/bm-britishvolt-posco.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 30, 2022",{"id":106906,"uuid":106907,"name":106908,"slug":106909,"full_slug":106910,"content":106911},112472614047087,"107454e5-b41b-43e6-8604-2c0fdb08506d","Ford follows Tesla playbook with Liontown lithium deal","ford-follows-tesla-playbook-with-liontown-lithium-deal","article/ford-follows-tesla-playbook-with-liontown-lithium-deal",{"_uid":106912,"date":106913,"tags":106914,"editor":106915,"content":106919,"excerpt":107016,"featured":50,"reporter":107017,"_editable":107021,"component":697,"seo_title":106908,"categories":107022,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107025,"seo_description":107016,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107028},"d190958d-d63c-4845-b6fa-56d115a3c785","2022-06-29 00:00",[],[106916],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":106917},{"job_title":557,"image":106918,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":106920},[106921,106934,106939,106944,106949,106954,106959,106964,106969,106974,106979,106984,106996,107001,107006,107011],{"type":591,"attrs":106922,"content":106923},{"textAlign":49},[106924,106926,106932],{"text":106925,"type":596},"Ford has agreed to help fund and also buy lithium from a proposed mine in Australia, four months after a ",{"text":106927,"type":596,"marks":106928},"similiar deal",[106929],{"type":606,"attrs":106930},{"href":106931,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-taps-australia-for-future-lithium-supply-as-prices-hit-record-highs",{"text":106933,"type":596}," by Tesla, in a sign the auto industry is becoming increasingly concerned about supplies of the battery raw material.",{"type":591,"attrs":106935,"content":106936},{"textAlign":49},[106937],{"text":106938,"type":596},"Ford said it would buy a total of 650,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate over five years and also lend A$300 million ($207 million) to Australian-listed Liontown Resources, helping to fund the construction of the Kathleen Valley mine in Western Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":106940,"content":106941},{"textAlign":49},[106942],{"text":106943,"type":596},"The deal is the second by a western automaker this month, following an agreement by Stellantis to invest 50 million euros ($52 million) for a stake in Vulcan Energy, which is developing a geothermal lithium project in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":106945,"content":106946},{"textAlign":49},[106947],{"text":106948,"type":596},"“The agreements highlight increasing efforts by automakers to be actively involved in securing battery raw materials supply to meet their electrification ambitions,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":106950,"content":106951},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106952],{"text":106953,"type":596},"Catching up with Tesla",{"type":591,"attrs":106955,"content":106956},{"textAlign":49},[106957],{"text":106958,"type":596},"Ford plans to spend $50 billion on electric vehicles between now and 2026 as it looks to catch up to Tesla, the market leader.",{"type":591,"attrs":106960,"content":106961},{"textAlign":49},[106962],{"text":106963,"type":596},"“Ford continues working to source more deeply into the battery supply chain to meet our goals of delivering more than 2 million EVs annually for our customers by 2026,” Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of EV Industrialization, said. “This is one of several agreements we’re working on to help us secure raw materials to support our plan to deliver EVs for customers around the world and meet our environmental, social and governance commitments.”",{"type":591,"attrs":106965,"content":106966},{"textAlign":49},[106967],{"text":106968,"type":596},"The deal comes as Benchmark forecasts the lithium sector is set to be short of supply for the next few years. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China have risen by over 400% over the past year, adding costs to battery producers. They last traded at around RMB 469,000 a tonne ($69,875), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":106970,"content":106971},{"textAlign":49},[106972],{"text":106973,"type":596},"The high prices are already encouraging producers to increase supply. This week Pilbara Minerals said it would produce an additional 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to meet demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":106975,"content":106976},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[106977],{"text":106978,"type":596},"Funding secured",{"type":591,"attrs":106980,"content":106981},{"textAlign":49},[106982],{"text":106983,"type":596},"Liontown’s Kathleen Valley mine is set to start production in the second quarter of 2024 and produce 500,000 tonnes a year of 6% spodumene concentrate, rising to 700,000 tonnes a year in 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":106985,"content":106986},{"textAlign":49},[106987,106989,106994],{"text":106988,"type":596},"Ford’s deal follows closely in the ",{"text":106990,"type":596,"marks":106991},"footsteps of Tesla",[106992],{"type":606,"attrs":106993},{"href":106931,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":106995,"type":596},", which signed its own agreement with Liontown in February for a total of 700,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from the mine over a five year period starting in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":106997,"content":106998},{"textAlign":49},[106999],{"text":107000,"type":596},"Including a prior supply agreement with LG Energy Solution, 90% of Kathleen Valley’s planned production is committed under offtake agreements for the first five years, Liontown said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107002,"content":107003},{"textAlign":49},[107004],{"text":107005,"type":596},"Ford said it will buy 75,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the first year, rising to 125,000 tonnes in the second year and 150,000 for the final three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":107007,"content":107008},{"textAlign":49},[107009],{"text":107010,"type":596},"Liontown said that along with its A$463 million capital raise in December, it was fully funded to begin construction of the mine. It revised the construction costs upwards from A$473 million to A$545 million, in part due to “general cost escalation.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107012,"content":107013},{"textAlign":49},[107014],{"text":107015,"type":596},"“We remain on track to deliver first spodumene concentrate by the second quarter 2024,” Tony Ottaviano, Liontown’s chief executive, said.","Ford has agreed to help fund and also buy lithium from a proposed mine in Australia, four months after a similiar deal by Tesla, in a sign the auto industry is becoming increasingly concerned about supplies of the battery raw material. Ford said it would buy a total of 650,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate over […]",[107018],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107019},{"job_title":557,"image":107020,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d190958d-d63c-4845-b6fa-56d115a3c785\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107023,107024],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107026,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107027,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/20a9724b6b/bm-2022-ford-f-150-lightning-alaska-bft-testing-031-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 29, 2022",{"id":107030,"uuid":107031,"name":107032,"slug":107033,"full_slug":107034,"content":107035},112472623611249,"9fc98fc3-30ad-4cb8-a76d-4ad34d54fa71","G7 launches $600 billion global infrastructure investment plan including battery spend","g7-launches-600-billion-global-infrastructure-investment-plan-including-battery-spend","article/g7-launches-600-billion-global-infrastructure-investment-plan-including-battery-spend",{"_uid":107036,"date":107037,"tags":107038,"editor":107041,"content":107045,"excerpt":107119,"featured":50,"reporter":107120,"_editable":107124,"component":697,"seo_title":107032,"categories":107125,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107129,"seo_description":107119,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107132},"b1e177f3-d1e8-4aba-bbfb-0a7a26aed997","2022-06-27 00:00",[107039,107040],{"slug":10715,"name":10716},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[107042],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107043},{"job_title":557,"image":107044,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107046},[107047,107052,107057,107062,107067,107072,107077,107082,107087,107099,107104,107109,107114],{"type":591,"attrs":107048,"content":107049},{"textAlign":49},[107050],{"text":107051,"type":596},"Leaders of the G7 democracies launched a $600 billion plan to invest in global infrastructure in low and middle income countries over the next five years, including in projects relating to the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":107053,"content":107054},{"textAlign":49},[107055],{"text":107056,"type":596},"The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) said it will advance four priorities: climate and energy security, digital connectivity, health and health security, and gender equality and equity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107058,"content":107059},{"textAlign":49},[107060],{"text":107061,"type":596},"The G7 said the initiative would focus on democratic values and transparency, in a move clearly designed to counter China’s growing influence in emerging economies. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which was launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, has helped to fund infrastructure across South America and South-East Asia, including nickel projects in Indonesia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107063,"content":107064},{"textAlign":49},[107065],{"text":107066,"type":596},"US President Joe Biden said the PGII was an opportunity for communities around the world to “see for themselves the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107068,"content":107069},{"textAlign":49},[107070],{"text":107071,"type":596},"“It’ll boost all of our economies,” he said in a speech at the launch of PGII at the G7 conference in Germany. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107073,"content":107074},{"textAlign":49},[107075],{"text":107076,"type":596},"The bulk of $600 billion investment will come from the US and European Union who will contribute $200 billion and $317 billion, respectively, over the next five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":107078,"content":107079},{"textAlign":49},[107080],{"text":107081,"type":596},"Investments will also come from the other G7 partners along with “additional capital from other like-minded partners, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and more,” according to the statement. The investments are expected to help mobilise further funds.",{"type":591,"attrs":107083,"content":107084},{"textAlign":49},[107085],{"text":107086,"type":596},"For the climate and energy security priority area, some of the investment will go to projects that “develop clean energy supply chains across the full integrated life cycle,” from mining of metals and minerals to refining, processing, and battery manufacturing sites as well as zero-emission transportation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107088,"content":107089},{"textAlign":49},[107090,107092,107097],{"text":107091,"type":596},"PGII is the second partnership associated with green energy announced for several of the involved countries in recent weeks, with several involved in the ",{"text":25004,"type":596,"marks":107093},[107094],{"type":606,"attrs":107095},{"href":107096,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/us-and-partners-establish-critical-minerals-security-pact-in-face-of-chinese-lithium-ion-dominance",{"text":107098,"type":596}," which focused on domestic critical mineral supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":107100,"content":107101},{"textAlign":49},[107102],{"text":107103,"type":596},"The focus of PGII on clean energy brings it inline with China’s ambition to bring its Belt and Road Initiative into alignment with the Paris climate change agreement. China plans to achieve this by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":107105,"content":107106},{"textAlign":49},[107107],{"text":107108,"type":596},"An example of a small battery-related project within the PGII, spearheaded by the US, is a $3 million grant for a local energy developer to build a utility-scale battery energy storage system at a Vietnamese solar farm.",{"type":591,"attrs":107110,"content":107111},{"textAlign":49},[107112],{"text":107113,"type":596},"PGII is largely a relaunch of the Build Back Better World that was launched at last year’s G7 conference in Cornwall, UK. At the time, the EU and UK also had competing projects with Global Gateway and Clean Green Initiative. By working collectively, the G7 nations hope to better utilise their investments than could be achieved separately.",{"type":591,"attrs":107115,"content":107116},{"textAlign":49},[107117],{"text":107118,"type":596},"“We are building on strong national and regional initiatives,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech at the G7.","Leaders of the G7 democracies launched a $600 billion plan to invest in global infrastructure in low and middle income countries over the next five years, including in projects relating to the battery supply chain. The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) said it will advance four priorities: climate and energy security, digital connectivity, […]",[107121],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107122},{"job_title":557,"image":107123,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b1e177f3-d1e8-4aba-bbfb-0a7a26aed997\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107126,107127,107128],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107130,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107131,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d6d384c605/bm-g7-flags.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 27, 2022",{"id":107134,"uuid":107135,"name":107136,"slug":107137,"full_slug":107138,"content":107139},112472628370803,"2e27d6c8-51ef-41dc-8870-17cbea5b3552","The energy storage revolution has arrived… but who will have dominion over the megatrend of our times?","the-energy-storage-revolution-has-arrived-but-who-will-have-dominion-over-the-megatrend-of-our-times","article/the-energy-storage-revolution-has-arrived-but-who-will-have-dominion-over-the-megatrend-of-our-times",{"_uid":107140,"date":107141,"tags":107142,"editor":107143,"content":107147,"excerpt":107337,"featured":51,"reporter":107338,"_editable":107342,"component":697,"seo_title":107136,"categories":107343,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107352,"seo_description":107337,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107355},"abdcc4cb-3e68-4714-b88c-5f5152d41d17","2022-06-23 00:00",[],[107144],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107145},{"job_title":557,"image":107146,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107148},[107149,107156,107161,107166,107171,107176,107179,107184,107189,107194,107202,107210,107215,107220,107225,107230,107233,107238,107244,107251,107258,107265,107270,107275,107278,107283,107288,107293,107298,107303,107308,107313,107318,107323,107328],{"type":591,"attrs":107150,"content":107151},{"textAlign":49},[107152],{"text":107153,"type":596,"marks":107154},"Comment by Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark ",[107155],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":107157,"content":107158},{"textAlign":49},[107159],{"text":107160,"type":596},"Megatrends are macroeconomic, geostrategic and geopolitical forces that shape our long-term futures on a global scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107162,"content":107163},{"textAlign":49},[107164],{"text":107165,"type":596},"They do not come along often and are usually discussed from the perspective of what is to come rather than what is actually playing out in front of us today. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107167,"content":107168},{"textAlign":49},[107169],{"text":107170,"type":596},"Yet we can say with confidence now that the megatrend of our times, the energy storage revolution, has arrived.",{"type":591,"attrs":107172,"content":107173},{"textAlign":49},[107174],{"text":107175,"type":596},"And it is lithium ion battery powered.",{"type":591,"attrs":107177,"content":107178},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":107180,"content":107181},{"textAlign":49},[107182],{"text":107183,"type":596},"Pure electric vehicles on our roads are now a part of our daily lives. Battery storage backup utilising solar energy, while in its infancy, is no longer a rare sight or an abstract discussion.",{"type":591,"attrs":107185,"content":107186},{"textAlign":49},[107187],{"text":107188,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries are now a mainstay of the political discourse around the world. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107190,"content":107191},{"textAlign":49},[107192],{"text":107193,"type":596},"Senators are talking about them, the White House has made them policy and the gigafactory has become a symbol of a country’s economic ambition. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107195,"content":107196},{"textAlign":49},[107197,107199,107200],{"text":107198,"type":596},"We have come so far since 2015 when ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":107201,"type":596}," was formed with the mission to create and maintain supply chain prices and data on the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107203,"content":107204},{"textAlign":49},[107205,107207,107208],{"text":107206,"type":596},"In the last eight years, ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":107209,"type":596},"and the industry have moved from being niche to being now firmly in the mainstream. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107211,"content":107212},{"textAlign":49},[107213],{"text":107214,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery market has grown an order of magnitude in this time period from 70 GWh in 2015 to a 614 GWh market in 2022 to a market now worth one hundred billion dollars this year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107216,"content":107217},{"textAlign":49},[107218],{"text":107219,"type":596},"Powered by the rise of the gigafactories, we have witnessed these super-sized battery plants go from just the Tesla Gigafactory in 2014 to 314 at various stages of production, construction and planning assessed as of May 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107221,"content":107222},{"textAlign":49},[107223],{"text":107224,"type":596},"In 2022, lithium ion battery demand is growing at its fastest ever rate and is on course for 50% year-on-year growth. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107226,"content":107227},{"textAlign":49},[107228],{"text":107229,"type":596},"While EVs remain the driver of this growth accounting for 79% of lithium ion battery demand, we are for the first time seeing energy storage systems (ESS) really start to make a demand side impact, doubling to over 30GWh/year. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107231,"content":107232},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":107234,"content":107235},{"textAlign":49},[107236],{"text":107237,"type":596},"The raw materials fuelling these gigafactories have also witnessed a coming of age moment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107239,"content":107240},{"textAlign":49},[107241,107242],{"text":94723,"type":596},{"text":107243,"type":596},"has increased nearly three-and-a-half times and will be over a 600,000 tonne industry in 2022 –  the first time it has topped the half a million tonne mark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107245,"content":107246},{"textAlign":49},[107247,107249],{"text":107248,"type":596},"Cobalt ",{"text":107250,"type":596},"demand from the battery industry will reach over 70% of total global volume in 2022, the highest proportion of demand of any of the battery minerals, followed closely by lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":107252,"content":107253},{"textAlign":49},[107254,107256],{"text":107255,"type":596},"Nickel ",{"text":107257,"type":596},"sulphate supply, the battery chemical needed by the lithium ion battery industry, will approach 500,000 tonnes in 2022, more than a 3.5x increase over a 5 year period.",{"type":591,"attrs":107259,"content":107260},{"textAlign":49},[107261,107263],{"text":107262,"type":596},"Graphite ",{"text":107264,"type":596},"remains the highest intensity mineral in the lithium ion battery by weight with over 570,000 tonnes of natural flake to be consumed in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":107266,"content":107267},{"textAlign":49},[107268],{"text":107269,"type":596},"Yet, consumer demand for electric vehicles surpasses our ability to supply them.",{"type":591,"attrs":107271,"content":107272},{"textAlign":49},[107273],{"text":107274,"type":596},"Waiting times for EVs are lengthening, a lithium ion battery shortage is hitting many automakers, and, most crucially, key raw material prices are at all time highs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107276,"content":107277},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":107279,"content":107280},{"textAlign":49},[107281],{"text":107282,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries are becoming harder for EV makers to get their hands on for the first time in the Giga-era and the problem is not going away anytime soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":107284,"content":107285},{"textAlign":49},[107286],{"text":107287,"type":596},"This has left EV makers revising a supply chain strategy that has served the auto industry for two generations and leaving majors to consider whether they need to invest all the way upstream into mining. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107289,"content":107290},{"textAlign":49},[107291],{"text":107292,"type":596},"More solid investments into raw material refining have recently occurred through General Motors and VW, but a trend is yet to emerge. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107294,"content":107295},{"textAlign":49},[107296],{"text":107297,"type":596},"For the next decade, physical supply of key battery raw materials is king – it will make or break automakers’ trillion dollar EV plans. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107299,"content":107300},{"textAlign":49},[107301],{"text":107302,"type":596},"If you do not physically own the raw material mine level assets, you simply will not have complete control over your EV destiny for at least the next 10 years. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107304,"content":107305},{"textAlign":49},[107306],{"text":107307,"type":596},"Once the automotive industry realises that it not only lacks dominion over the battery supply chain but is, at present, subordinate to it, then the energy storage revolution will come of age. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107309,"content":107310},{"textAlign":49},[107311],{"text":107312,"type":596},"Until then we can celebrate the fact that it has arrived but must take note that the greatest challenges of scaling the supply chain, from mine to cell, are just beginning. ",{"type":615,"attrs":107314,"content":107315},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107316],{"text":107317,"type":596},"GigaUSA in Washington DC this week",{"type":591,"attrs":107319,"content":107320},{"textAlign":49},[107321],{"text":107322,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Battery Gigafactories 2022 event in Washington DC takes place this Thursday 24 and Friday 25 June 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107324,"content":107325},{"textAlign":49},[107326],{"text":107327,"type":596},"The event is sold out but presentations from Senators, Government, and Industry will be available, once cleared, to Benchmark’s Members via our Streaming Service.",{"type":591,"attrs":107329,"content":107330},{"textAlign":49},[107331,107333],{"text":107332,"type":596},"Enquire ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":107334},[107335],{"type":606,"attrs":107336},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Comment by Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Megatrends are macroeconomic, geostrategic and geopolitical forces that shape our long-term futures on a global scale. They do not come along often and are usually discussed from the perspective of what is to come rather than what is actually playing out in front of us today. Yet we can […]",[107339],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107340},{"job_title":557,"image":107341,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"abdcc4cb-3e68-4714-b88c-5f5152d41d17\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107344,107345,107346,107347,107348,107349,107350,107351],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1823,"name":1824},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107353,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107354,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b240894d44/bm-captiol-washington-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 23, 2022",{"id":107357,"uuid":107358,"name":107359,"slug":107360,"full_slug":107361,"content":107362},112472633179508,"0ea48ce2-b430-44d6-a876-30f616eafebd","China’s Battery Kings: Diverging fortunes of CATL and BYD highlight raw material challenge","chinas-battery-kings-diverging-fortunes-of-catl-and-byd-highlight-raw-material-challenge","article/chinas-battery-kings-diverging-fortunes-of-catl-and-byd-highlight-raw-material-challenge",{"_uid":107363,"date":107364,"tags":107365,"editor":107366,"content":107370,"excerpt":107515,"featured":51,"reporter":107516,"_editable":107520,"component":697,"seo_title":107359,"categories":107521,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107524,"seo_description":107515,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107527},"4cd3a050-597c-40b4-91c9-a5d0b6d222fd","2022-06-22 00:00",[],[107367],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107368},{"job_title":557,"image":107369,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107371},[107372,107377,107382,107387,107392,107397,107402,107407,107412,107417,107422,107427,107432,107437,107442,107447,107452,107457,107460,107465,107470,107475,107480,107485,107490,107495,107500,107505,107510],{"type":591,"attrs":107373,"content":107374},{"textAlign":49},[107375],{"text":107376,"type":596},"This year is panning out quite differently for China’s two electric vehicle kingpins: CATL and BYD.",{"type":591,"attrs":107378,"content":107379},{"textAlign":49},[107380],{"text":107381,"type":596},"BYD has seen its vehicle sales soar despite continued lockdowns in China, and has confirmed it will soon sell batteries to Tesla. CATL, however, has suffered due to investor concerns about falling margins because of its exposure to higher raw material prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":107383,"content":107384},{"textAlign":49},[107385],{"text":107386,"type":596},"Share prices for CATL have fallen by 11% this year, while BYD, by contrast, is up by 25%.",{"type":591,"attrs":107388,"content":107389},{"textAlign":49},[107390],{"text":107391,"type":596},"The performance highlights the benefits of vertical integration to automakers as well some of the downsides battery producers face as they struggle to pass on rising raw material costs to automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":107393,"content":107394},{"textAlign":49},[107395],{"text":107396,"type":596},"CATL is dominant in the Chinese battery market but its margins have been squeezed between higher raw material prices and the prices it can sell its batteries at. Its gross margins fell to their lowest level since 2014 in the first half of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":107398,"content":107399},{"textAlign":49},[107400],{"text":107401,"type":596},"While BYD also feels the impact of high lithium prices, because it makes its own batteries it can incorporate the battery margin and pass on the costs to its customers via higher vehicle prices. It has raised prices for its electric vehicles twice this year, by as much as $1,000 on some models, without any noticeable impact on demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":107403,"content":107404},{"textAlign":49},[107405],{"text":107406,"type":596},"BYD’s vertically integrated model is one that foreign automakers will be looking at closely as they decide whether to make their own batteries, enter into joint-ventures with battery manufacturers or merely buy on the open market.",{"type":591,"attrs":107408,"content":107409},{"textAlign":49},[107410],{"text":107411,"type":596},"As the battery market expands and competition increases, CATL could continue to get squeezed.",{"type":615,"attrs":107413,"content":107414},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107415],{"text":107416,"type":596},"Is capacity still king?",{"type":591,"attrs":107418,"content":107419},{"textAlign":49},[107420],{"text":107421,"type":596},"Lithium prices have risen by 400% in China over the past year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, putting pressure on battery producers after years of battery price declines. Nickel prices have increased by around 8% this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":107423,"content":107424},{"textAlign":49},[107425],{"text":107426,"type":596},"Rising raw material prices led CATL to report a 24% fall in first quarter net income from a year earlier, with its gross margin hitting 15%, its lowest level since 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":107428,"content":107429},{"textAlign":49},[107430],{"text":107431,"type":596},"CATL has said that it expects its margins to improve in the second quarter as it raises prices for customers and renegotiates contracts. It also added that it expects raw material prices to return to more “reasonable” levels.",{"type":591,"attrs":107433,"content":107434},{"textAlign":49},[107435],{"text":107436,"type":596},"But lithium prices show little signs of significantly cooling down. Prices for lithium carbonate on the Chinese domestic market continued to tick up this month as downstream demand recovers as COVID-19 restrictions eased in Shanghai.",{"type":591,"attrs":107438,"content":107439},{"textAlign":49},[107440],{"text":107441,"type":596},"Increasing its battery prices too much, however, may be difficult for CATL. It faces a crop of homegrown competitors, who may be lowering their prices to gain market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":107443,"content":107444},{"textAlign":49},[107445],{"text":107446,"type":596},"Rivals CALB and SVOLT plan to add 257 GWh and 240 GWh of battery capacity respectively by 2030, which would move them both into the top 5 manufacturers by capacity in China, as assessed by Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":107448,"content":107449},{"textAlign":49},[107450],{"text":107451,"type":596},"CATL can build gigafactories much cheaper than anyone else at the moment. Its capital cost is around RMB 350 million ($52 million) a gigawatt-hour, much lower than the average of $70-75 million for China, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":107453,"content":107454},{"textAlign":49},[107455],{"text":107456,"type":596},"But the difference in quality between CATL and these other challengers may be narrowing, making it harder to charge a premium.",{"type":591,"attrs":107458,"content":107459},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":107461,"content":107462},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107463],{"text":107464,"type":596},"Lithium race",{"type":591,"attrs":107466,"content":107467},{"textAlign":49},[107468],{"text":107469,"type":596},"One solution – for both CATL and BYD – is to invest in lithium projects, in an effort to secure supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":107471,"content":107472},{"textAlign":49},[107473],{"text":107474,"type":596},"CATL has invested in mining in Yichun in Jiangxi province, while BYD acquired 5% of Chengxin Lithium. It is also said to be close to acquiring six lithium mines in Africa, though the company has not officially commented.",{"type":591,"attrs":107476,"content":107477},{"textAlign":49},[107478],{"text":107479,"type":596},"The other way for CATL to maintain its lead is to relentlessly innovate. Its share price picked up this month after it announced its new Qilin battery, which it claims has 13% more energy density than Tesla’s 4680 cell, using a cell-to-pack structure. CATL says it has a system-level energy density of 255 watt-hours per kilogram.",{"type":591,"attrs":107481,"content":107482},{"textAlign":49},[107483],{"text":107484,"type":596},"The company has always stressed R&D and employs some 10,000 researchers. Whether it can translate that into continual breakthroughs will be a true test of its future.",{"type":615,"attrs":107486,"content":107487},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107488],{"text":107489,"type":596},"Vertical integration",{"type":591,"attrs":107491,"content":107492},{"textAlign":49},[107493],{"text":107494,"type":596},"Western automakers will be following what happens in China closely. It’s in their interest for more battery producers to challenge CATL’s dominance. Tesla’s deal with BYD will help it reduce its reliance on the battery giant example.",{"type":591,"attrs":107496,"content":107497},{"textAlign":49},[107498],{"text":107499,"type":596},"But copying BYD’s vertical integration model, which is enviable, is not easy.",{"type":591,"attrs":107501,"content":107502},{"textAlign":49},[107503],{"text":107504,"type":596},"It requires lots of capital and expertise, something that BYD has built up over decades since it started making mobile phone batteries in the 1990s. It is this experience that led to its unique Blade battery, which increases the energy density of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, boosting vehicle range.",{"type":591,"attrs":107506,"content":107507},{"textAlign":49},[107508],{"text":107509,"type":596},"Even Tesla, which is more vertical integrated than most western automakers, is struggling to make its own cells in Texas and Berlin.",{"type":591,"attrs":107511,"content":107512},{"textAlign":49},[107513],{"text":107514,"type":596},"That could leave BYD a winner, at least in China. BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu put it well this month: “Whoever has more resources, healthy supply chain and great product advantages can win more market,” he said.","This year is panning out quite differently for China’s two electric vehicle kingpins: CATL and BYD. BYD has seen its vehicle sales soar despite continued lockdowns in China, and has confirmed it will soon sell batteries to Tesla. CATL, however, has suffered due to investor concerns about falling margins because of its exposure to higher […]",[107517],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107518},{"job_title":557,"image":107519,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4cd3a050-597c-40b4-91c9-a5d0b6d222fd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107522,107523],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107525,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107526,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cfe34ee2b5/bm-byd-electric-car.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 22, 2022",{"id":107529,"uuid":107530,"name":107531,"slug":107532,"full_slug":107533,"content":107534},112472637984117,"be4f82b0-65bd-4d9a-a977-68286f1e1067","Tianqi Lithium aims for $1 billion HK IPO as it looks to repay SQM debt","tianqi-lithium-aims-for-1-billion-hk-ipo-as-it-looks-to-repay-sqm-debt","article/tianqi-lithium-aims-for-1-billion-hk-ipo-as-it-looks-to-repay-sqm-debt",{"_uid":107535,"date":107536,"tags":107537,"editor":107538,"content":107542,"excerpt":107622,"featured":51,"reporter":107623,"_editable":107627,"component":697,"seo_title":107531,"categories":107628,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107631,"seo_description":107622,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107634},"145869e7-5c10-43a6-bd79-93fe46bf0558","2022-06-21 00:00",[],[107539],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107540},{"job_title":557,"image":107541,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107543},[107544,107549,107554,107559,107564,107569,107574,107579,107584,107589,107594,107599,107608,107613],{"type":591,"attrs":107545,"content":107546},{"textAlign":49},[107547],{"text":107548,"type":596},"Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium is looking to raise $1 billion in a Hong Kong listing, as it looks to capitalise on strong lithium pricing to repay $1.13 billion of debt taken on to acquire a stake in rival SQM.",{"type":591,"attrs":107550,"content":107551},{"textAlign":49},[107552],{"text":107553,"type":596},"The Chengdu-based producer got approval for its listing from the Hong Kong stock exchange this week, according to a notice on the exchange’s website.",{"type":591,"attrs":107555,"content":107556},{"textAlign":49},[107557],{"text":107558,"type":596},"The listing will help Tianqi repay the remaining debt used to fund its $4 billion purchase of a 23% stake in SQM in 2018, and also allow it to build a lithium carbonate plant in Suining in Sichuan province, according to the listing prospectus.",{"type":591,"attrs":107560,"content":107561},{"textAlign":49},[107562],{"text":107563,"type":596},"Tianqi borrowed $3.5 billion from banks led by China’s Citic Bank to pay for the acquisition, leaving it struggling to pay its debts as lithium prices fell the following year.",{"type":591,"attrs":107565,"content":107566},{"textAlign":49},[107567],{"text":107568,"type":596},"Last year Tianqi sold a 25% stake in the Greenbushes lithium mine to Australian miner IGO, as well as a 49% stake in its Kwinana lithium hydroxide processing operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":107570,"content":107571},{"textAlign":49},[107572],{"text":107573,"type":596},"In May Tianqi secured and then drew down a RMB 600 million ($90 million) credit line for repayment of the SQM debt, backed by shares and its exploration rights for the Yajiang Cuola lithium mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":107575,"content":107576},{"textAlign":49},[107577],{"text":107578,"type":596},"The total remaining debt is $1.13 billion under the facility, which is expected to be fully repaid by the IPO, Tianqi said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107580,"content":107581},{"textAlign":49},[107582],{"text":107583,"type":596},"Tianqi defended the SQM purchase in its IPO document, however, calling it “strategic.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107585,"content":107586},{"textAlign":49},[107587],{"text":107588,"type":596},"“From a strategic perspective, we believe that our investment in SQM will strengthen our ability to capitalize on the strong growth prospects of the lithium-ion battery and EV markets,” it said.",{"type":615,"attrs":107590,"content":107591},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107592],{"text":107593,"type":596},"High lithium prices",{"type":591,"attrs":107595,"content":107596},{"textAlign":49},[107597],{"text":107598,"type":596},"The listing comes after Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose over 400% over the past year. In the first quarter of the year Tianqi reported that its net profit rose by 1,443% from a year earlier to 3.3 billion RMB.",{"type":591,"attrs":107600,"content":107601},{"textAlign":49},[107602,107604,107606],{"text":107603,"type":596},"Tianqi supplies “",{"text":107605,"type":596},"three of the five ",{"text":107607,"type":596},"largest manufacturers of large-cell lithium-ion batteries in the world,” according to its IPO prospectus. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107609,"content":107610},{"textAlign":49},[107611],{"text":107612,"type":596},"The IPO will allow Tianqi to progress on its lithium carbonate plant in Anju district in Suining after years of delay. The plant is expected to have a capacity of 20,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate. In May the mayor of Suining visited the site of the project to inspect progress.",{"type":591,"attrs":107614,"content":107615},{"textAlign":49},[107616,107618,107620],{"text":107617,"type":596},"Along with expansion ",{"text":107619,"type":596}," at its ",{"text":107621,"type":596},"Tongliang plant in Chongqing, Tianqi aims to be able to produce over 110,000 tonnes a year of lithium compounds, it said. ","Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium is looking to raise $1 billion in a Hong Kong listing, as it looks to capitalise on strong lithium pricing to repay $1.13 billion of debt taken on to acquire a stake in rival SQM. The Chengdu-based producer got approval for its listing from the Hong Kong stock exchange this […]",[107624],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107625},{"job_title":557,"image":107626,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"145869e7-5c10-43a6-bd79-93fe46bf0558\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107629,107630],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107632,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107633,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0adcd12239/bm-greenbushes-e1655831404108.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 21, 2022",{"id":107636,"uuid":107637,"name":107638,"slug":107639,"full_slug":107640,"content":107641},112472652705144,"74cd6282-defe-416f-bc64-3326e857cf33","LFP cooldown: Huayou exits LFP cathodes as competition mounts","lfp-cooldown-huayou-exits-lfp-cathodes-as-competition-mounts","article/lfp-cooldown-huayou-exits-lfp-cathodes-as-competition-mounts",{"_uid":107642,"date":107643,"tags":107644,"editor":107645,"content":107649,"excerpt":107711,"featured":51,"reporter":107712,"_editable":107716,"component":697,"seo_title":107638,"categories":107717,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107720,"seo_description":107711,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107723},"07e7fc60-f8ec-419d-991a-4e26074ddca3","2022-06-17 00:00",[],[107646],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107647},{"job_title":557,"image":107648,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107650},[107651,107656,107661,107666,107671,107676,107681,107686,107691,107696,107701,107706],{"type":591,"attrs":107652,"content":107653},{"textAlign":49},[107654],{"text":107655,"type":596},"Huayou Cobalt has decided to withdraw from producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes, in a sign of the mounting competition in the sector as the cheaper battery material grows in popularity.",{"type":591,"attrs":107657,"content":107658},{"textAlign":49},[107659],{"text":107660,"type":596},"China’s largest cobalt producer said it would focus on producing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode “to further improve the concentration of competitive resources and improve the efficiency of capital use.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107662,"content":107663},{"textAlign":49},[107664],{"text":107665,"type":596},"The decision comes after a number of new players decided to enter the LFP business in China over the past year, including titanium dioxide producers, as well as companies involved in real estate, fertiliser, and even cashmere. That’s added further pressure on margins in the sector, which is also battling with record high lithium prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":107667,"content":107668},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107669],{"text":107670,"type":596},"Fierce competition",{"type":591,"attrs":107672,"content":107673},{"textAlign":49},[107674],{"text":107675,"type":596},"Around two-thirds of current cathode capacity under construction is for LFP cathodes, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":107677,"content":107678},{"textAlign":49},[107679],{"text":107680,"type":596},"“This shows the fierce competition in the LFP business,” Albert Li, China analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107682,"content":107683},{"textAlign":49},[107684],{"text":107685,"type":596},"The use of cheaper LFP batteries has surged in China as battery producers CATL and BYD have improved the technology and increased battery pack energy density. LFP cells accounted for 59% of the batteries installed in electric vehicles in China this year, according to official data.",{"type":591,"attrs":107687,"content":107688},{"textAlign":49},[107689],{"text":107690,"type":596},"Still, Benchmark expects LFP cathodes to make up 27% of the market by 2030, due to the lack of LFP cell production outside of China. Almost all LFP battery production is currently based in China and only 4% of LFP batteries are forecasted to be produced outside of China by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":107692,"content":107693},{"textAlign":49},[107694],{"text":107695,"type":596},"Huayou said as a result of its decision it would no longer acquire all of the shares of LFP producer Inner Mongolia Shengfan Technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":107697,"content":107698},{"textAlign":49},[107699],{"text":107700,"type":596},"Shengfan is set to invest RMB 13.5bn ($2.0bn) to build a 300,000 tonnes a year LFP cathode plant within the Ordos Zero-Carbon Industrial Park in Inner Mongolia. It currently has an operational capacity of 15,000 tpa from its plant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.",{"type":591,"attrs":107702,"content":107703},{"textAlign":49},[107704],{"text":107705,"type":596},"Huayou is a leading producer of NCM battery materials, which it supplies to LG Chem among others. It wanted to enter the LFP business because they are already qualified to produce NCM cathodes, Li said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107707,"content":107708},{"textAlign":49},[107709],{"text":107710,"type":596},"Leading cathode producers such as CNGR and Easpring have also decided to enter the LFP cathode business, he said.","Huayou Cobalt has decided to withdraw from producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes, in a sign of the mounting competition in the sector as the cheaper battery material grows in popularity. China’s largest cobalt producer said it would focus on producing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode “to further improve the concentration of competitive resources and […]",[107713],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107714},{"job_title":557,"image":107715,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"07e7fc60-f8ec-419d-991a-4e26074ddca3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107718,107719],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107721,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107722,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92f718df1f/bm-huayou.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 17, 2022",{"id":107725,"uuid":107726,"name":107727,"slug":107728,"full_slug":107729,"content":107730},112472647806327,"0734c7c6-51ac-4132-b8f6-07d52e970980","US and partners establish critical minerals security pact in face of Chinese lithium ion dominance","us-and-partners-establish-critical-minerals-security-pact-in-face-of-chinese-lithium-ion-dominance","article/us-and-partners-establish-critical-minerals-security-pact-in-face-of-chinese-lithium-ion-dominance",{"_uid":107731,"date":107643,"tags":107732,"editor":107734,"content":107738,"excerpt":107842,"featured":51,"reporter":107843,"_editable":107847,"component":697,"seo_title":107727,"categories":107848,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":107851,"seo_description":107842,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107723},"bd3ee0d8-5cfe-4cc9-8883-09114eeb2a36",[107733],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[107735],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107736},{"job_title":557,"image":107737,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107739},[107740,107745,107750,107755,107760,107765,107770,107775,107780,107794,107799,107804,107807,107812,107817,107822,107827,107832,107837],{"type":591,"attrs":107741,"content":107742},{"textAlign":49},[107743],{"text":107744,"type":596},"A Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) between the United States, Canada, and several other countries has been formed to bolster critical mineral supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":107746,"content":107747},{"textAlign":49},[107748],{"text":107749,"type":596},"As demand for critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy sources increases, governments globally are concerned about how these materials are sourced.",{"type":591,"attrs":107751,"content":107752},{"textAlign":49},[107753],{"text":107754,"type":596},"China has become a dominant supplier for many of these critical minerals. As such, this partnership aims to develop robust supply chains with reduced reliance on Chinese imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":107756,"content":107757},{"textAlign":49},[107758],{"text":107759,"type":596},"“The goal of the MSP is to ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled in a manner that supports the ability of countries to realise the full economic development benefit of their geological endowments,” a press release from the US Department of State said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107761,"content":107762},{"textAlign":49},[107763],{"text":107764,"type":596},"The MSP was established by Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the UK, the US, and the European Commission at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention.",{"type":591,"attrs":107766,"content":107767},{"textAlign":49},[107768],{"text":107769,"type":596},"“It draws countries with larger EV end markets closer to those with high geological abundance of critical minerals,” George Miller, a senior analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":107771,"content":107772},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107773],{"text":107774,"type":596},"China’s share of the lithium ion pie",{"type":591,"attrs":107776,"content":107777},{"textAlign":49},[107778],{"text":107779,"type":596},"The partnership covers a range of minerals, including those critical for lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":107781,"content":107782},{"textAlign":49},[107783,107785,107787,107792],{"text":107784,"type":596},"While China does not entirely control the mined supply of battery raw materials, it dominates in their processing. ",{"text":107786,"type":596},"For lithium, China accounted for just over 13% of supply in 2021, but 57% of lithium chemical supply, as assessed in Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The reverse story is seen for",{"text":107788,"type":596,"marks":107789}," Australia which supplied 46% of lithium",[107790],{"type":606,"attrs":107791},{"href":106931,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":107793,"type":596}," but 0% of chemical supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":107795,"content":107796},{"textAlign":49},[107797],{"text":107798,"type":596},"With cobalt, China mines less than 1% of supply domestically but controlled 73% of refined supply. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107800,"content":107801},{"textAlign":49},[107802],{"text":107803,"type":596},"“China has gained such a competitive advantage over the countries in the MSP that they are about a decade ahead,” Miller said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107805,"content":107806},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":107808,"content":107809},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107810],{"text":107811,"type":596},"Partnership goals",{"type":591,"attrs":107813,"content":107814},{"textAlign":49},[107815],{"text":107816,"type":596},"The MSP looks to build on the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals that the US and Canada collaborated on in 2020, Miller said. The two countries had further discussions earlier in June about developing joint supply chains for such minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":107818,"content":107819},{"textAlign":49},[107820],{"text":107821,"type":596},"The new international MSP is “focused on the up and midstream of the supply chain with an added recycling angle,” Miller said.",{"type":591,"attrs":107823,"content":107824},{"textAlign":49},[107825],{"text":107826,"type":596},"“It doesn’t have a cathode or anode focus which is an underdeveloped area in these countries,” Miller noted. “Without this, it will lead to dependency on China for the processing into cathode, anode, and batteries.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107828,"content":107829},{"textAlign":49},[107830],{"text":107831,"type":596},"As yet, details on how the partnership will operate are light. Miller said he expects it will “facilitate investment and trade, which likely will be done by removing barriers and encouraging foreign investment in projects.”",{"type":591,"attrs":107833,"content":107834},{"textAlign":49},[107835],{"text":107836,"type":596},"The makeup of the MSP brings consumer-centric countries such as the UK, Germany, and the US closer to countries with larger geological deposits such as Canada and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":107838,"content":107839},{"textAlign":49},[107840],{"text":107841,"type":596},"The inclusion of recycling will also provide opportunities to countries without natural mineral deposits. Miller added that “The OEMs and automakers in developed end markets are very keen to bring the supply chain for key minerals in line with reducing emissions and their own ESG aims, which recycling could help with.”","A Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) between the United States, Canada, and several other countries has been formed to bolster critical mineral supply chains. As demand for critical minerals essential for clean energy technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy sources increases, governments globally are concerned about how these materials are sourced. China has […]",[107844],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107845},{"job_title":557,"image":107846,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bd3ee0d8-5cfe-4cc9-8883-09114eeb2a36\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[107849,107850],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107852,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":107853,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4b01217f89/bm-shutterstock-196805378-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":107855,"uuid":107856,"name":107857,"slug":107858,"full_slug":107859,"content":107860},112472642809206,"e59465fe-7fda-4dff-a549-12172a2b00c6","Northvolt & Sunwoda reach Benchmark Tier One status for EV lithium ion battery output","northvolt-and-sunwoda-become-tier-one-ev-battery-manufacturers","article/northvolt-and-sunwoda-become-tier-one-ev-battery-manufacturers",{"_uid":107861,"date":107643,"tags":107862,"editor":107863,"content":107867,"excerpt":107993,"featured":51,"reporter":107994,"_editable":107998,"component":697,"seo_title":107857,"categories":107999,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108003,"seo_description":107993,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":107723},"1c11736f-dfc0-488d-8a82-649892f8f354",[],[107864],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107865},{"job_title":557,"image":107866,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":107868},[107869,107874,107883,107888,107893,107898,107903,107908,107913,107918,107923,107928,107937,107950,107955,107960,107965,107970,107975,107980,107983],{"type":591,"attrs":107870,"content":107871},{"textAlign":49},[107872],{"text":107873,"type":596},"Swedish startup Northvolt and China’s Sunwoda have reached Benchmark’s Tier One electric vehicle battery cell manufacturer status, as assessed by Benchmark in its Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment, as they expand capacity to challenge established producers such as CATL, BYD and LG Energy Solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":107875,"content":107876},{"textAlign":49},[107877,107881],{"text":22548,"type":596,"marks":107878},[107879],{"type":606,"attrs":107880},{"href":71669,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":107882,"type":596},", which was founded in 2016, shipped its first cells to customers from its factory in Skellefteå in the north of Sweden last month while Sunwoda has also started to supply global automakers with battery cells, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":107884,"content":107885},{"textAlign":49},[107886],{"text":107887,"type":596},"Northvolt is the first homegrown European Tier One battery company, entering a market dominated for decades by Chinese, Japanese and Korean companies. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Ikea, Scania and Volkswagen, among others, Northvolt aims to challenge incumbents by making batteries using renewable energy and recycled materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":107889,"content":107890},{"textAlign":49},[107891],{"text":107892,"type":596},"Last December Northvolt assembled its first cell at its gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden. The company is also building a battery plant in Gothenburg, in a joint venture with Volvo, and another in Heide in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":107894,"content":107895},{"textAlign":49},[107896],{"text":107897,"type":596},"Northvolt currently has 16 GWh of battery capacity, expanding to 75 GWh by 2026 and 170 GWh by 2031, according to data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":107899,"content":107900},{"textAlign":49},[107901],{"text":107902,"type":596},"The company will be a key supplier to Volkswagen and has $14 billion worth of deals with the German carmaker.",{"type":615,"attrs":107904,"content":107905},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107906],{"text":107907,"type":596},"A Shenzhen battery champion",{"type":591,"attrs":107909,"content":107910},{"textAlign":49},[107911],{"text":107912,"type":596},"Founded in 1997 Shenzhen-based Sunwoda is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange with a market value of RMB 50.96 billion ($7.6 billion). It started producing electric vehicle batteries in 2008.",{"type":591,"attrs":107914,"content":107915},{"textAlign":49},[107916],{"text":107917,"type":596},"Sunwoda supplies domestic auto producers such as Dongfeng, Geely, and BAIC Motor, as well as two major foreign automotive manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":107919,"content":107920},{"textAlign":49},[107921],{"text":107922,"type":596},"The company has 42.5 GWh of current battery production capacity in China, with plans to expand that to 97 GWh by 2026 and 177 GWh to 2031. Its biggest plant is in Nanjing, eastern China.",{"type":591,"attrs":107924,"content":107925},{"textAlign":49},[107926],{"text":107927,"type":596},"The company produces nickel cobalt manganese (NCM), lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cells, mainly in the prismatic format.",{"type":591,"attrs":107929,"content":107930},{"textAlign":49},[107931,107933,107935],{"text":107932,"type":596},"In June the company recently announced it would start producing cylindrical NCM cells at a ",{"text":107934,"type":596},"RMB ",{"text":107936,"type":596},"2.3bn ($344m) 3 GWh facility in Lanxi, Zhejiang province. ",{"type":591,"attrs":107938,"content":107939},{"textAlign":49},[107940,107942,107944,107946,107948],{"text":107941,"type":596},"Construction of the facility is scheduled ",{"text":107943,"type":596},"to begin in August 2022, with final ",{"text":107945,"type":596},"installation of the nameplate 3 GWh of ",{"text":107947,"type":596},"cell capacity projected for December ",{"text":107949,"type":596},"2023.",{"type":615,"attrs":107951,"content":107952},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[107953],{"text":107954,"type":596},"Ranking the world’s leading producers of battery cells for electric vehicles ",{"type":591,"attrs":107956,"content":107957},{"textAlign":49},[107958],{"text":107959,"type":596},"Not all lithium ion batteries can be used in all electric vehicles. For industry, there is a fine balance of what Benchmark calls the ‘Three Qs’ of quality, quantity and qualification.",{"type":591,"attrs":107961,"content":107962},{"textAlign":49},[107963],{"text":107964,"type":596},"Every three months, Benchmark assesses each lithium ion battery cell producer into the following three tiers:",{"type":591,"attrs":107966,"content":107967},{"textAlign":49},[107968],{"text":107969,"type":596},"Tier 1:",{"type":591,"attrs":107971,"content":107972},{"textAlign":49},[107973],{"text":107974,"type":596},"Tier 2:",{"type":591,"attrs":107976,"content":107977},{"textAlign":49},[107978],{"text":107979,"type":596},"Tier 3:",{"type":591,"attrs":107981,"content":107982},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":107984,"content":107985},{"textAlign":49},[107986,107988,107992],{"text":107987,"type":596},"Benchmark has assessed the global build out of lithium ion battery production capacity globally since 2015 with data available via its monthly Lithium Ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment, for further details fill in the ",{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":107989},[107990],{"type":606,"attrs":107991},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Swedish startup Northvolt and China’s Sunwoda have reached Benchmark’s Tier One electric vehicle battery cell manufacturer status, as assessed by Benchmark in its Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment, as they expand capacity to challenge established producers such as CATL, BYD and LG Energy Solution. Northvolt, which was founded in 2016, shipped its first cells to […]",[107995],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":107996},{"job_title":557,"image":107997,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1c11736f-dfc0-488d-8a82-649892f8f354\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108000,108001,108002],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108004,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108005,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e6044e0949/bm-northvolt-ett-october-2021-11.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":108007,"uuid":108008,"name":108009,"slug":108010,"full_slug":108011,"content":108012},112472657513849,"d8df588e-eaf4-4b96-bc57-7edfa9eacd78","Bolivia selects lithium partners as it chooses DLE route to tap battery boom","bolivia-selects-lithium-partners-as-it-chooses-dle-route-to-tap-battery-boom","article/bolivia-selects-lithium-partners-as-it-chooses-dle-route-to-tap-battery-boom",{"_uid":108013,"date":108014,"tags":108015,"editor":108016,"content":108020,"excerpt":108122,"featured":51,"reporter":108123,"_editable":108127,"component":697,"seo_title":108009,"categories":108128,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108132,"seo_description":108122,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108134},"7f50f5fa-5d85-4618-beb8-ee56cd79a82d","2022-06-16 00:00",[],[108017],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108018},{"job_title":557,"image":108019,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108021},[108022,108027,108032,108037,108042,108047,108052,108057,108062,108067,108072,108077,108082,108087,108092,108097,108102,108107,108112,108117],{"type":591,"attrs":108023,"content":108024},{"textAlign":49},[108025],{"text":108026,"type":596},"Bolivia has short-listed six companies to help it extract lithium, in a step that could eventually open up the world’s largest potential resource of the battery metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":108028,"content":108029},{"textAlign":49},[108030],{"text":108031,"type":596},"The country’s state-owned lithium producer said it would test direct-lithium extraction (DLE) technologies from the six companies on three different brine resources in the country. Four of the companies are from China, while one is from Russia and one from the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":108033,"content":108034},{"textAlign":49},[108035],{"text":108036,"type":596},"Bolivia has struggled to commercially produce lithium from its giant 4,000 square mile salar de Uyuni salt flats, falling behind neighbours Chile and Argentina. The country’s president Luis Arce, who was elected in 2020, has promised to back new technologies that promise more efficient extraction to try to catch up.",{"type":591,"attrs":108038,"content":108039},{"textAlign":49},[108040],{"text":108041,"type":596},"But almost all of the six companies have yet to produce lithium on a commerical scale from brine deposits, and the technologies are still not proven.",{"type":591,"attrs":108043,"content":108044},{"textAlign":49},[108045],{"text":108046,"type":596},"Benchmark does not expect meaningful supply from Bolivia using DLE to come to the market until 2030, slowing ramping up to 15,000 tonnes of LCE by 2033.",{"type":591,"attrs":108048,"content":108049},{"textAlign":49},[108050],{"text":108051,"type":596},"“It’s a long term play: view this as a good for R&D but far from any meaningful production,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark, said. “If Bolivia is going to be successful, they need the best technical lithium brains in the business that will help build a local ecosystem and knowledge base. They need lithium majors that have been there and done it. They still haven’t got that.”",{"type":615,"attrs":108053,"content":108054},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108055],{"text":108056,"type":596},"A question of chemistry",{"type":591,"attrs":108058,"content":108059},{"textAlign":49},[108060],{"text":108061,"type":596},"Bolivia has struggled to produce lithium in part due to the presence of impurities in the brine beneath its salt flats such as magnesium. DLE technologies, however, promise to be able to process the brine cost effectively into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, without the need for large evaporation ponds used in Chile and Argentina.",{"type":591,"attrs":108063,"content":108064},{"textAlign":49},[108065],{"text":108066,"type":596},"“Conventional technology for lithium production will not work at scale in Bolivia. Too high magnesium for ponds and too little water available for absorbents,” David Snydacker, chief executive of Lilac Solutions, said on Twitter.",{"type":591,"attrs":108068,"content":108069},{"textAlign":49},[108070],{"text":108071,"type":596},"Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos Corporación (YLB), the state-owned lithium producer, said all six companies had achieved 80% lithium recovery or more from brine.",{"type":591,"attrs":108073,"content":108074},{"textAlign":49},[108075],{"text":108076,"type":596},"Shenzhen-based Fusion Enertech, one of the winners, says it can process brines with high magnesium-to-lithium ratios, and has produced around 30,000 tonnes per year of high-purity lithium from the Qarhan salt flat in China. It wants to build a plant in Bolivia with a capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate, it said in February.",{"type":591,"attrs":108078,"content":108079},{"textAlign":49},[108080],{"text":108081,"type":596},"Bolivia has three different brine resources: Salar de Uyuni, Salar de Coipasa, and Salar de Pastos Grandes. Some technologies work better on different brines, YLB said.",{"type":615,"attrs":108083,"content":108084},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108085],{"text":108086,"type":596},"The winning bids",{"type":591,"attrs":108088,"content":108089},{"textAlign":49},[108090],{"text":108091,"type":596},"YLB said it may eventually choose more than one of the six and will retain rights over the country’s lithium reserves.",{"type":591,"attrs":108093,"content":108094},{"textAlign":49},[108095],{"text":108096,"type":596},"The Chinese winners are state-owned Citic Guoan, battery producer CATL Brunp and miner CMOC, Xinjiang TBEA Group, and Fusion Enertech.",{"type":591,"attrs":108098,"content":108099},{"textAlign":49},[108100],{"text":108101,"type":596},"Uranium One from Russia also was successful, as was the startup Lilac Solutions from the US. Lilac is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as well as BMW.",{"type":615,"attrs":108103,"content":108104},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108105],{"text":108106,"type":596},"Ten minutes too late",{"type":591,"attrs":108108,"content":108109},{"textAlign":49},[108110],{"text":108111,"type":596},"Texan startup Energy X and Argentinian energy company Tecpetrol did not make the final selection, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":108113,"content":108114},{"textAlign":49},[108115],{"text":108116,"type":596},"Energy X said in a statement it was ten minutes late in submitting its final report for the tender.",{"type":591,"attrs":108118,"content":108119},{"textAlign":49},[108120],{"text":108121,"type":596},"“EnergyX respects Bolivia’s sovereignty and final choice for whichever DLE company they want to ultimately work with, for any reason or no reason at all,” it said.","Bolivia has short-listed six companies to help it extract lithium, in a step that could eventually open up the world’s largest potential resource of the battery metal. The country’s state-owned lithium producer said it would test direct-lithium extraction (DLE) technologies from the six companies on three different brine resources in the country. Four of the […]",[108124],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108125},{"job_title":557,"image":108126,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7f50f5fa-5d85-4618-beb8-ee56cd79a82d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108129,108130,108131],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95514,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108133,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 16, 2022",{"id":108136,"uuid":108137,"name":108138,"slug":108139,"full_slug":108140,"content":108141},112472662576507,"b6cb865a-f1a9-421e-afb3-56c04d8e3f9c","Tesla supplier LGES to build 4680 battery production capacity","tesla-supplier-lges-to-build-4680-battery-production-capacity","article/tesla-supplier-lges-to-build-4680-battery-production-capacity",{"_uid":108142,"date":108143,"tags":108144,"editor":108146,"content":108150,"excerpt":108220,"featured":51,"reporter":108221,"_editable":108225,"component":697,"seo_title":108138,"categories":108226,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108229,"seo_description":108220,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108231},"ff101145-2f66-48e1-9784-7163839b3d69","2022-06-15 00:00",[108145],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[108147],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108148},{"job_title":557,"image":108149,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108151},[108152,108157,108162,108167,108172,108177,108182,108187,108192,108205,108210,108215],{"type":591,"attrs":108153,"content":108154},{"textAlign":49},[108155],{"text":108156,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution said this week it would spend $451 million to expand its production of larger format cylindrical cells used by Tesla. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108158,"content":108159},{"textAlign":49},[108160],{"text":108161,"type":596},"The South Korean battery producer said it would add 9 gigawatt-hours of capacity to its Ochang plant to produce 4680 lithium ion cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":108163,"content":108164},{"textAlign":49},[108165],{"text":108166,"type":596},"The expansion could cement LG’s supply relationship with Tesla, and help it catch up to Panasonic, which is also building capacity to produce the cells. The cell format is becoming increasingly popular with battery producers as it becomes clear Tesla’s own internal production is unlikely to be enough to meet its forecast demand. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108168,"content":108169},{"textAlign":49},[108170],{"text":108171,"type":596},"China’s EVE Energy has said it is working on similar-sized cells, while the UK’s Britishvolt is also eyeing a move to produce the same format. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108173,"content":108174},{"textAlign":49},[108175],{"text":108176,"type":596},"Tesla is producing 4680 cells at its Kato road facility in California and at its gigafactory in Texas but progress has been slower than first anticipated. In February Tesla said it had produced one million cells. The cells are being installed in some Model Y midsize SUV produced in Texas.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":108178,"content":108179},{"textAlign":49},[108180],{"text":108181,"type":596},"The 4680 battery cell format, so named for being 46 mm wide and 80 mm tall, boasts around five times the energy of the smaller 2170 cell format. Tesla said at its Battery Day event in 2020 that they would increase the range of its vehicles by 16%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108183,"content":108184},{"textAlign":49},[108185],{"text":108186,"type":596},"“LGES is likely trying to introduce production lines focused on the cell type to possibly supply Tesla,” Hanisha Tirumalasetty, an analyst at Benchmark, said. LGES already supplies Tesla with 2170 cells using NCM battery chemistries. However, a deal to supply 4680 cells to Tesla has not been formally announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":108188,"content":108189},{"textAlign":49},[108190],{"text":108191,"type":596},"Kwon Young-soo, the Vice Chairman of LGES, said the expansion was in response to global automakers increasingly adopting cylindrical batteries, without naming Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":108193,"content":108194},{"textAlign":49},[108195,108197,108203],{"text":108196,"type":596},"The news follows ",{"text":108198,"type":596,"marks":108199},"LGES’ recent expansion into North America",[108200],{"type":606,"attrs":108201},{"href":108202,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lges-expands-north-america-footprint-with-canada-and-arizona-gigafactories",{"text":108204,"type":596},", with an 11 GWh plant in Arizona which also produces the cylindrical cells required by North American automakers such as Tesla and Lucid.",{"type":591,"attrs":108206,"content":108207},{"textAlign":49},[108208],{"text":108209,"type":596},"LGES said it would spend $451 million for the 9 GWh upgrade to the Ochang Plant 2 to produce 4680 battery cells, and $115 million for a 4 GWh upgrade to Ochang Plant 1 to produce 2170 battery cells. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108211,"content":108212},{"textAlign":49},[108213],{"text":108214,"type":596},"Both projects are due to be operational in the second half of 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":108216,"content":108217},{"textAlign":49},[108218],{"text":108219,"type":596},"Panasonic, Tesla’s main battery partner, began pilot production of 4680 battery cells at its Wakayama factory in Japan in May, and has sent samples to Tesla for testing, according to a report by Reuters. The company plans to commercialise the format in 2023, it said in a financial forecast presentation in June this year. ","LG Energy Solution said this week it would spend $451 million to expand its production of larger format cylindrical cells used by Tesla. The South Korean battery producer said it would add 9 gigawatt-hours of capacity to its Ochang plant to produce 4680 lithium ion cells. The expansion could cement LG’s supply relationship with Tesla, […]",[108222],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108223},{"job_title":557,"image":108224,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ff101145-2f66-48e1-9784-7163839b3d69\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108227,108228],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":106666,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108230,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 15, 2022",{"id":108233,"uuid":108234,"name":108235,"slug":108236,"full_slug":108237,"content":108238},112472686873984,"ce0e98b4-6ae9-40f7-9a5f-c7acaba48d17","Lithium oversupply? Not likely – five main reasons why","lithium-oversupply-not-likely-five-main-reasons-why","article/lithium-oversupply-not-likely-five-main-reasons-why",{"_uid":108239,"date":108240,"tags":108241,"editor":108242,"content":108246,"excerpt":108453,"featured":51,"reporter":108454,"_editable":108458,"component":697,"seo_title":108235,"categories":108459,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108462,"seo_description":108453,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108465},"1447df04-a6bb-4b74-9182-9ecbf83a2776","2022-06-09 00:00",[],[108243],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108244},{"job_title":557,"image":108245,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108247},[108248,108253,108258,108263,108268,108273,108285,108290,108295,108300,108305,108310,108315,108320,108325,108330,108335,108340,108345,108350,108355,108360,108371,108376,108381,108386,108391,108396,108401,108406,108411,108416,108421,108426,108431,108436],{"type":591,"attrs":108249,"content":108250},{"textAlign":49},[108251],{"text":108252,"type":596},"Last week Goldman Sachs published a research note entitled “Battery Metals Watch: The End of the beginning.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108254,"content":108255},{"textAlign":49},[108256],{"text":108257,"type":596},"While it is not Benchmark Mineral Intelligence policy to comment on other reports, we felt the note sent incorrect signals to the market and, therefore, we are pleased to outline our view as has been requested by industry and investors alike.",{"type":591,"attrs":108259,"content":108260},{"textAlign":49},[108261],{"text":108262,"type":596},"Goldman Sachs said it expected the lithium market “to pivot towards a prolonged phase of surplus starting this year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108264,"content":108265},{"textAlign":49},[108266],{"text":108267,"type":596},"Due to the shock to the investment markets and many requests for a response, Benchmark is outlining its reasons why we believe the call on lithium was wrong.",{"type":615,"attrs":108269,"content":108270},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108271],{"text":108272,"type":596},"The industry cannot rely on China feedstock meeting the market ",{"type":591,"attrs":108274,"content":108275},{"textAlign":49},[108276,108278,108283],{"text":108277,"type":596},"Goldman sees the most “significant” new ",{"text":50771,"type":596,"marks":108279},[108280],{"type":606,"attrs":108281},{"href":108282,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-will-new-lithium-supply-come-from-in-2022",{"text":108284,"type":596}," as coming from China, where companies have invested in new hard rock and brine projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":108286,"content":108287},{"textAlign":49},[108288],{"text":108289,"type":596},"But known domestic Chinese spodumene and other hard rock resources are low quality, a key reason why there has been an increasing reliance by Chinese converters on Australia for supply instead.",{"type":591,"attrs":108291,"content":108292},{"textAlign":49},[108293],{"text":108294,"type":596},"Chinese brine resources are also low quality and have always struggled to produce meaningful volumes of lithium into the market, let alone of battery-grade quality.",{"type":591,"attrs":108296,"content":108297},{"textAlign":49},[108298],{"text":108299,"type":596},"Production of lithium from China’s Qinghai province has struggled to ramp up production despite over a decade of efforts, including by electric car maker BYD.",{"type":591,"attrs":108301,"content":108302},{"textAlign":49},[108303],{"text":108304,"type":596},"China’s deposits of lepidolite, which Goldman expects to add significant new supply volumes, may have the potential to help bridge the deficit in coming years, but are unlikely to lead to oversupply. Chinese lepidolite processing has a high waste-to-ore ratio of 20:1, subsequent high waste-disposal costs, and high processing costs, all of which make it a marginal source of lithium. Associated opex and ramp up times are also commonly underestimated.",{"type":615,"attrs":108306,"content":108307},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108308],{"text":108309,"type":596},"Capacity does not equal supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":108311,"content":108312},{"textAlign":49},[108313],{"text":108314,"type":596},"Building capacity in the lithium market does not equal supply, particularly in China, where companies often need to separate designed capacity from effective capacity. Of that capacity, recovery rates apply – the rock you dig out of the ground will not all make it into a car.",{"type":591,"attrs":108316,"content":108317},{"textAlign":49},[108318],{"text":108319,"type":596},"Even outside of China, planning does not always equal reality, with recent efforts to build lithium processing facilities suffering from rising costs and delays.",{"type":591,"attrs":108321,"content":108322},{"textAlign":49},[108323],{"text":108324,"type":596},"Tianqi Lithium’s Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in Western Australia was announced in late 2016 and set to start at the end of 2018. Instead, first production occurred in the second quarter of this year, with full production targeted for 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":108326,"content":108327},{"textAlign":49},[108328],{"text":108329,"type":596},"“Building upstream of the EV battery supply chain takes time and rarely goes to plan,” Simon Moores, chief executive of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said. “For Tianqi it’s been the best part of a decade.”",{"type":615,"attrs":108331,"content":108332},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108333],{"text":108334,"type":596},"New lithium supply comes at a higher cost base ",{"type":591,"attrs":108336,"content":108337},{"textAlign":49},[108338],{"text":108339,"type":596},"As demand for lithium grows, deposits with unconventional mineralogy, lower grades, and higher strip ratios will be developed. But at the same time, the advent of new, often smaller and inexperienced converters with unintegrated feedstock sources will mean that the costs of conversion increases, and recovery rates stagnate.",{"type":591,"attrs":108341,"content":108342},{"textAlign":49},[108343],{"text":108344,"type":596},"In the last two years, higher inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and cost-blowouts have pushed incentive prices higher. Some new lithium supply also relies on new technologies which will add higher costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":108346,"content":108347},{"textAlign":49},[108348],{"text":108349,"type":596},"As a result it’s unlikely that lithium prices will drop back down to previous lows.",{"type":615,"attrs":108351,"content":108352},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108353],{"text":108354,"type":596},"Contract pricing is important as the market balances ",{"type":591,"attrs":108356,"content":108357},{"textAlign":49},[108358],{"text":108359,"type":596},"Benchmark tracks the volume of lithium under contracts and spot prices, and forecasts prices accordingly. A large portion of the market is under long term fixed price contracts, and an equally significant portion is under contract with variable prices. These must be taken into account when balancing global prices in the current market, but also forecasting for the next two to three years.",{"type":591,"attrs":108361,"content":108362},{"textAlign":49},[108363,108365,108369],{"text":108364,"type":596},"Combined with existing contracting arrangements set in 2022, prices are very unlikely to crash in 2023 and 2024, according to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":108366},[108367],{"type":606,"attrs":108368},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":108370,"type":596},". Benchmark’s view is that contract prices are likely to continue to rise as a lagged effect of the major step-change in spot pricing over late 2021 and 2022 while spot prices will fall, with the two prices coming into more of an equilibrium than they are now.",{"type":591,"attrs":108372,"content":108373},{"textAlign":49},[108374],{"text":108375,"type":596},"It’s important to remember that there is no one single lithium price.",{"type":615,"attrs":108377,"content":108378},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108379],{"text":108380,"type":596},"Understanding how lithium chemical capacity is used is crucial ",{"type":591,"attrs":108382,"content":108383},{"textAlign":49},[108384],{"text":108385,"type":596},"A lot of lithium chemical capacity is being used to reprocess material that does not meet downstream specifications. This eats up existing capacity and merely represents lower efficiency production rather than the introduction of new lithium units to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":108387,"content":108388},{"textAlign":49},[108389],{"text":108390,"type":596},"When the rest of the world slowed its lithium investment in the trough of the previous price cycle, China remained aggressively committed to adding conversion capacity; often from relative newcomers to the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":108392,"content":108393},{"textAlign":49},[108394],{"text":108395,"type":596},"Not only will a lot of this new capacity operate at a low utilisation rate in the initial years of production (if not, indefinitely), a significant proportion of capacity that does find its way to market is locked into reprocessing or tolling arrangements which will not address the underlying market shortfall.",{"type":615,"attrs":108397,"content":108398},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108399],{"text":108400,"type":596},"Conclusion: Lithium market remains in structural shortage until 2025",{"type":591,"attrs":108402,"content":108403},{"textAlign":49},[108404],{"text":108405,"type":596},"The lithium market will balance over the next few years, but it’s unlikely that an unprecedented rampup of marginal, unconventional feedstock will fill the deficit. It is also unlikely that demand will weaken significantly.",{"type":591,"attrs":108407,"content":108408},{"textAlign":49},[108409],{"text":108410,"type":596},"It will be a touch-and-go market balance; but there will not be the structural oversupply that Goldman Sachs is predicting.",{"type":591,"attrs":108412,"content":108413},{"textAlign":49},[108414],{"text":108415,"type":596},"In a period when we’ve seen prices top record highs persistently over the past 10 months, a correction in the lofty spot market prices seen in China is likely. End-users can only absorb so much cost pass through before it has an unsustainable impact on their electric vehicle ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":108417,"content":108418},{"textAlign":49},[108419],{"text":108420,"type":596},"However, the spot market price in China does not represent the true price of lithium in the market, and is often not the true price being paid by western battery majors.",{"type":591,"attrs":108422,"content":108423},{"textAlign":49},[108424],{"text":108425,"type":596},"In these markets we expect to see a gradual ramp up in contract deals being settled with increasingly flexible, and more frequent, pricing mechanisms.",{"type":591,"attrs":108427,"content":108428},{"textAlign":49},[108429],{"text":108430,"type":596},"As the market wrestles between long-term supply security to fuel the lithium ion economy, and increasingly market-led pricing mechanisms to incentivise supply growth, the era of lithium market volatility is likely just beginning.",{"type":615,"attrs":108432,"content":108433},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108434],{"text":108435,"type":596},"UNDERSTAND THE SUPPLY CHAIN, FROM LITHIUM MINE TO BATTERY CELL",{"type":591,"attrs":108437,"content":108438},{"textAlign":49},[108439,108441,108445,108447,108451],{"text":108440,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast provides you with analysis, data, and our forecast on the full lithium supply chain, from the mine through to the battery cell. Fill in the ",{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":108442},[108443],{"type":606,"attrs":108444},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":108446,"type":596}," to subscribe to ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":108448},[108449],{"type":606,"attrs":108450},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":108452,"type":596}," today.","Last week Goldman Sachs published a research note entitled “Battery Metals Watch: The End of the beginning.” While it is not Benchmark Mineral Intelligence policy to comment on other reports, we felt the note sent incorrect signals to the market and, therefore, we are pleased to outline our view as has been requested by industry […]",[108455],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108456},{"job_title":557,"image":108457,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1447df04-a6bb-4b74-9182-9ecbf83a2776\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108460,108461],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108463,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108464,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/06e3542861/bm-benchmark-lithium-chile.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 09, 2022",{"id":108467,"uuid":108468,"name":108469,"slug":108470,"full_slug":108471,"content":108472},112472682139007,"57f2d3b0-665b-4965-a059-b8dce07144dd","Benchmark commences consultation period for changes to its Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment methodology","benchmark-commences-consultation-period-for-changes-to-its-lithium-ion-battery-gigafactory-assessment-methodology","article/benchmark-commences-consultation-period-for-changes-to-its-lithium-ion-battery-gigafactory-assessment-methodology",{"_uid":108473,"date":108240,"tags":108474,"editor":108475,"content":108479,"excerpt":108575,"featured":50,"reporter":108576,"_editable":108580,"component":697,"seo_title":108469,"categories":108581,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108584,"seo_description":108575,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108465},"2a92b25a-5671-46fd-a98d-28153e9a1a01",[],[108476],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108477},{"job_title":557,"image":108478,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108480},[108481,108490,108498,108518,108524,108529,108543,108548,108557],{"type":591,"attrs":108482,"content":108483},{"textAlign":49},[108484,108485,108487,108488],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":108486,"type":596}," (",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":108489,"type":596},"), the world’s leading, IOSCO certified, independent provider of actionable price assessments, data, and analysis for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, has launched a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment Methodology.",{"type":591,"attrs":108491,"content":108492},{"textAlign":49},[108493,108495,108496],{"text":108494,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion on the accelerated growth of lithium ion battery capacities observed globally and the recent commissioning of cell projects and expansions by cell producers, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":108497,"type":596}," proposes to revise the definitions of its tier ranking system applied to evaluate the qualification level of battery producers in the assessment as follows:",{"type":591,"attrs":108499,"content":108500},{"textAlign":49},[108501,108503,108508,108513],{"text":108502,"type":596},"You can find the current version of ",{"text":35570,"type":596,"marks":108504},[108505],{"type":606,"attrs":108506},{"href":108507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/wp-content/uploads/Benchmark-Gigafactory-Assessment-Methodology.pdf?v=2022-06-08_1",{"text":108509,"type":596,"marks":108510},"Lithium ion Battery Cell Methodology ",[108511],{"type":606,"attrs":108512},{"href":108507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":108514,"type":596,"marks":108515},"here.",[108516],{"type":606,"attrs":108517},{"href":108507,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":108519,"content":108520},{"textAlign":49},[108521,108522],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":108523,"type":596}," invites feedback from active market participants by 9 July 2022 at the latest.",{"type":591,"attrs":108525,"content":108526},{"textAlign":49},[108527],{"text":108528,"type":596},"Benchmark will review all comments and seek to make public all non-confidential responses within 10 working days of the closure of the consultation period.",{"type":591,"attrs":108530,"content":108531},{"textAlign":49},[108532,108534,108535,108537],{"text":108533,"type":596},"Please contact any ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":108536,"type":596}," team member with feedback or email: ",{"text":108538,"type":596,"marks":108539},"Prices@benchmarkminerals.com",[108540],{"type":606,"attrs":108541},{"href":108542,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:Prices@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":108544,"content":108545},{"textAlign":49},[108546],{"text":108547,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Response to Public Consultation Feedback",{"type":591,"attrs":108549,"content":108550},{"textAlign":49},[108551,108552,108553],{"text":101072,"type":596},{"text":24817,"type":596},{"text":108554,"type":596,"marks":108555},"What is the reason to loosen the Tier 3 standard to include most start-ups?",[108556],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":108558,"content":108559},{"textAlign":49},[108560,108561,108563,108564,108568,108571],{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":108562,"type":596},"response",{"text":24817,"type":596},{"text":108565,"type":596,"marks":108566},"Expanding the Tier 3 definition to include battery start-ups allows ",[108567],{"type":1006},{"text":14040,"type":596,"marks":108569},[108570],{"type":1006},{"text":108572,"type":596,"marks":108573}," to more clearly define and track these new potential cell manufacturers whilst reflecting these operators have limited or no prior cell production experience and will likely need to go through the process of cell product development, testing and qualification to supply lithium ion battery end markets.",[108574],{"type":1006},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (Benchmark), the world’s leading, IOSCO certified, independent provider of actionable price assessments, data, and analysis for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, has launched a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment Methodology. Following feedback and discussion on the accelerated growth of lithium ion […]",[108577],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108578},{"job_title":557,"image":108579,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a92b25a-5671-46fd-a98d-28153e9a1a01\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108582,108583],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108585,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108586,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60efc607c7/bm-benchmark-gigafactory-methodology-design-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":108588,"uuid":108589,"name":108590,"slug":108591,"full_slug":108592,"content":108593},112472691719553,"a63cd18a-cd88-4023-897c-61d125b9dac8","BYD to supply Tesla with batteries as it looks to become key producer","byd-to-supply-tesla-with-batteries-as-it-looks-to-become-key-industry-producer","article/byd-to-supply-tesla-with-batteries-as-it-looks-to-become-key-industry-producer",{"_uid":108594,"date":108595,"tags":108596,"editor":108599,"content":108603,"excerpt":108645,"featured":51,"reporter":108646,"_editable":108650,"component":697,"seo_title":108590,"categories":108651,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108655,"seo_description":108645,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108658},"b15fe2b7-9412-4d4b-9493-a9bc42e1db8f","2022-06-08 00:00",[108597,108598],{"slug":1231,"name":1232},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[108600],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108601},{"job_title":557,"image":108602,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108604},[108605,108610,108615,108620,108625,108630,108635,108640],{"type":591,"attrs":108606,"content":108607},{"textAlign":49},[108608],{"text":108609,"type":596},"Chinese electric carmaker BYD will supply batteries to Tesla in a deal that could bolster its ambitions to become a key supplier to the wider auto industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":108611,"content":108612},{"textAlign":49},[108613],{"text":108614,"type":596},"The company is going to supply Tesla batteries “very soon,” Lian Yubo, executive vice president at BYD, told the state-owned television, describing the relationship between the two companies as “friendly.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108616,"content":108617},{"textAlign":49},[108618],{"text":108619,"type":596},"“We really respect Tesla, and we are good friends with Elon Musk,” he said. “We are preparing very soon to supply Tesla batteries, everyone is friends.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108621,"content":108622},{"textAlign":49},[108623],{"text":108624,"type":596},"The deal helps cement BYD’s ambitions to build a separate battery business and list it on the stock exchange. It’s also a vote of confidence in BYD’s “blade” lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which uses a long and thin design to boost pack-level energy density.",{"type":615,"attrs":108626,"content":108627},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108628],{"text":108629,"type":596},"BYD’s rising fortunes",{"type":591,"attrs":108631,"content":108632},{"textAlign":49},[108633],{"text":108634,"type":596},"BYD is now the world’s third-most valuable automaker following a 55% increase in its share price over the past year. Its battery production capacity is expected to expand three-fold by 2025, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":108636,"content":108637},{"textAlign":49},[108638],{"text":108639,"type":596},"For Tesla the deal will help reduce its reliance on CATL for LFP batteries. Tesla was CATL’s single biggest customer, accounting for 13 billion RMB ($2 billion) in sales last year, 10% of the total, according to its annual report.",{"type":591,"attrs":108641,"content":108642},{"textAlign":49},[108643],{"text":108644,"type":596},"Tesla said that half of its cars produced in the first quarter used LFP battery cells from CATL. Tesla’s other major battery supplier, LG Energy Solution, is also reportedly working on LFP batteries to supply to Tesla.","Chinese electric carmaker BYD will supply batteries to Tesla in a deal that could bolster its ambitions to become a key supplier to the wider auto industry. The company is going to supply Tesla batteries “very soon,” Lian Yubo, executive vice president at BYD, told the state-owned television, describing the relationship between the two companies […]",[108647],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108648},{"job_title":557,"image":108649,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b15fe2b7-9412-4d4b-9493-a9bc42e1db8f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108652,108653,108654],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108657,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c4bed4f685/bm-byd-pic.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 08, 2022",{"id":108660,"uuid":108661,"name":108662,"slug":108663,"full_slug":108664,"content":108665},112472748985742,"83358e18-a8ed-4b6c-84b3-a7a9ef3791f4","DRC to push ahead with government control of small-scale mining, presidential advisor says","drc-to-push-ahead-with-government-control-of-small-scale-mining-presidential-advisor-says","article/drc-to-push-ahead-with-government-control-of-small-scale-mining-presidential-advisor-says",{"_uid":108666,"date":108667,"tags":108668,"editor":108670,"content":108674,"excerpt":108772,"featured":51,"reporter":108773,"_editable":108777,"component":697,"seo_title":108662,"categories":108778,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108781,"seo_description":108772,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108784},"be542179-8401-4e6c-95db-1709a43d40a9","2022-05-18 00:00",[108669],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[108671],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108672},{"job_title":557,"image":108673,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108675},[108676,108681,108686,108691,108696,108701,108714,108719,108724,108729,108734,108739,108752,108757,108762,108767],{"type":591,"attrs":108677,"content":108678},{"textAlign":49},[108679],{"text":108680,"type":596},"The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will push ahead with government plans to control all of the cobalt produced by small-scale miners, a presidential adviser said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108682,"content":108683},{"textAlign":49},[108684],{"text":108685,"type":596},"The country is looking for more foreign companies to agree to purchase the metal, which will be sold via the state-controlled Entreprise Generale du Cobalt (EGC), Vidiye Tshimanga Tshipanda, president Felix Tshikidei’s special adviser on Strategic Matters, told Benchmark. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108687,"content":108688},{"textAlign":49},[108689],{"text":108690,"type":596},"The comments come a week after the DRC’s Mining Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said she is looking to cancel a 2019 presidential decree that gave EGC the legal right to purchase all the cobalt dug up by thousands of artisanal miners in the country and re-sell it. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108692,"content":108693},{"textAlign":49},[108694],{"text":108695,"type":596},"But Vidiye Tshimanga told the Cobalt Institute conference in Zurich this week that “whether EGC is a monopoly or not should not be an impediment to progress.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":108697,"content":108698},{"textAlign":49},[108699],{"text":108700,"type":596},"“What matters is that all actors are held to account,” he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108702,"content":108703},{"textAlign":49},[108704,108706,108712],{"text":108705,"type":596},"The DRC accounts for around ",{"text":108707,"type":596,"marks":108708},"70% of the world’s supply of cobalt",[108709],{"type":606,"attrs":108710},{"href":108711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-prices-hit-three-year-high-as-ev-growth-boosts-demand",{"text":108713,"type":596}," as assessed by Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast, yet around 10% or more comes from small-scale artisanal miners, who dig for the metal by hand often without any safety equipment. Most of the cobalt is then bought by individual buying houses, many of them Chinese. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108715,"content":108716},{"textAlign":49},[108717],{"text":108718,"type":596},"Congolese officials have complained that miners are cheated by buyers and paid less than the market price. EGC was launched to rectify this by purchasing all of the cobalt itself.",{"type":591,"attrs":108720,"content":108721},{"textAlign":49},[108722],{"text":108723,"type":596},"Vidiye Tshimanga said individual miners would be paid a fair price for their cobalt by EGC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108725,"content":108726},{"textAlign":49},[108727],{"text":108728,"type":596},"“It is unacceptable that international buyers cheat Congolese and the country out of revenues,” he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":108730,"content":108731},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108732],{"text":108733,"type":596},"A just transition",{"type":591,"attrs":108735,"content":108736},{"textAlign":49},[108737],{"text":108738,"type":596},"The global energy transition would not be a fair and “just transition” without the improvement of the lives of artisanal cobalt miners, he said. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108740,"content":108741},{"textAlign":49},[108742,108744,108750],{"text":108743,"type":596},"In 2020 Swiss commodity trader ",{"text":108745,"type":596,"marks":108746},"Trafigura agreed to buy cobalt from EGC",[108747],{"type":606,"attrs":108748},{"href":108749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/trafigura-and-drc-agree-deal-in-push-to-formalise-artisanal-cobalt-mining",{"text":108751,"type":596}," and help formalise artisanal mining sites, but Vidiye Tshimanga said the company would not be the only international buyer.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":108753,"content":108754},{"textAlign":49},[108755],{"text":108756,"type":596},"“Trafigura will not have a monopoly,” over the cobalt, he told Benchmark at the Cobalt Institute conference. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108758,"content":108759},{"textAlign":49},[108760],{"text":108761,"type":596},"The EGC plans to formalise current artisanal mining sites, in order to make them safer and eliminate the risk of child labour. The sites will be monitored by local committees to a set of EGC-created standards with the help of the NGO Pact. The cobalt will then be sent to a central buying centre at Musompo outside of Kolwezi. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108763,"content":108764},{"textAlign":49},[108765],{"text":108766,"type":596},"Tshimanga said the ore would be weighed and tagged with a QR code, allowing the cobalt to be tracked. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108768,"content":108769},{"textAlign":49},[108770],{"text":108771,"type":596},"The cobalt will also be certified according to sustainability standards set by Germany’s DMT Mining Consulting & Engineering, according to Eddy Kioni, chief executive of the Sud South Group, which is helping with the process.","The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will push ahead with government plans to control all of the cobalt produced by small-scale miners, a presidential adviser said. The country is looking for more foreign companies to agree to purchase the metal, which will be sold via the state-controlled Entreprise Generale du Cobalt (EGC), Vidiye Tshimanga Tshipanda, […]",[108774],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108775},{"job_title":557,"image":108776,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"be542179-8401-4e6c-95db-1709a43d40a9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108779,108780],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108782,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108783,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5accba2b74/bm-artisinal-cobalt.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 18, 2022",{"id":108786,"uuid":108787,"name":108788,"slug":108789,"full_slug":108790,"content":108791},112472753651087,"784eb5da-73b0-4fea-8123-6f4fbb044fc9","Analysis: Lithium industry needs $42 billion to meet 2030 demand","analysis-lithium-industry-needs-42-billion-to-meet-2030-demand","article/analysis-lithium-industry-needs-42-billion-to-meet-2030-demand",{"_uid":108792,"date":108793,"tags":108794,"editor":108795,"content":108799,"excerpt":108959,"featured":51,"reporter":108960,"_editable":108964,"component":697,"seo_title":108788,"categories":108965,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":108968,"seo_description":108959,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":108971},"373936ed-2aaa-4082-a85e-27f0b69a0404","2022-05-13 00:00",[],[108796],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108797},{"job_title":557,"image":108798,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108800},[108801,108806,108812,108821,108826,108831,108836,108848,108859,108864,108869,108882,108895,108900,108917,108922,108927,108934,108939,108944,108949,108954],{"type":591,"attrs":108802,"content":108803},{"textAlign":49},[108804],{"text":108805,"type":596},"The lithium industry needs $42 billion of investment if it is to meet 2030 demand, according to Benchmark analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":108807,"content":108808},{"textAlign":49},[108809,108810],{"text":18501,"type":596},{"text":108811,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts lithium demand will reach 2.4 million tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent). This is almost 1.8 million tonnes more than the 600,000 tonnes of lithium Benchmark forecasts will be produced in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":108813,"content":108814},{"textAlign":49},[108815,108817,108819],{"text":108816,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates that the lithium industry needs $7 billion of investment each year from now until 2028 to meet the 2030 lithium demand",{"text":108818,"type":596},". These requirements come as Europe",{"text":108820,"type":596}," and North America look to reduce their reliance on foreign supply and improve sustainability by developing local lithium production.",{"type":615,"attrs":108822,"content":108823},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108824],{"text":108825,"type":596},"How much is needed?",{"type":591,"attrs":108827,"content":108828},{"textAlign":49},[108829],{"text":108830,"type":596},"A major factor determining the capital required for a lithium extraction operation is the form of lithium being mined.",{"type":591,"attrs":108832,"content":108833},{"textAlign":49},[108834],{"text":108835,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates brine has a capital requirement of $18,000 to $20,000 per tonne LCE , whereas spodumene typically ranges between $10,000 and $35,000, but can reach as high as $50,000. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108837,"content":108838},{"textAlign":49},[108839,108841,108846],{"text":108840,"type":596},"The capital requirement for novel technologies such as ",{"text":8940,"type":596,"marks":108842},[108843],{"type":606,"attrs":108844},{"href":108845,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal",{"text":108847,"type":596}," (DLE), or unconventional resources such as clay are difficult to estimate, but are likely to have higher costs of around $20,000 to $40,000 according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":108849,"content":108850},{"textAlign":49},[108851,108852,108857],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":108853,"type":596,"marks":108854},"largest lithium operation due to become operational this year",[108855],{"type":606,"attrs":108856},{"href":108282,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":108858,"type":596}," is Lithium Americas’ Caucharí-Olaroz brine project in Argentina. The capex for the 40,000 tpa LCE project is $741 million, which Lithium Americas describes as ‘low cost’. ",{"type":591,"attrs":108860,"content":108861},{"textAlign":49},[108862],{"text":108863,"type":596},"While lithium’s major producers have large investments planned, these alone will not be sufficient and new mines are needed. Development stage miners are “cashed up right now, and optimistic about the situation,” Benchmark analyst Cameron Perks says, “but will need a lot more cash to build mines.”",{"type":615,"attrs":108865,"content":108866},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108867],{"text":108868,"type":596},"Will EV makers step in?",{"type":591,"attrs":108870,"content":108871},{"textAlign":49},[108872,108874,108880],{"text":108873,"type":596},"This is where ",{"text":108875,"type":596,"marks":108876},"automakers can step in",[108877],{"type":606,"attrs":108878},{"href":108879,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/ev-and-battery-big-talk-must-now-switch-to-mining-as-supply-chain-bites",{"text":108881,"type":596},", says Simon Moores, Benchmark’s CEO. “Battery raw material availability is the limiting factor in the production of electric vehicles,” says Moores. “The EV makers have to get involved in mining if they want to make EVs at scale,” he says.",{"type":591,"attrs":108883,"content":108884},{"textAlign":49},[108885,108887,108893],{"text":108886,"type":596},"To date, automakers have secured lithium supply by signing offtake agreements without investing in mines, such as ",{"text":108888,"type":596,"marks":108889},"Tesla’s recent spodumene deals with Liontown Resources and Core Lithium",[108890],{"type":606,"attrs":108891},{"href":108892,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-price-assessment-portal/liontown-sign-agreement-to-supply-spodumene-concentrate-to-tesla-benchmark-lithium/",{"text":108894,"type":596},". Moores says, however, that “off-takes with no active mines are not enough.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":108896,"content":108897},{"textAlign":49},[108898],{"text":108899,"type":596},"Perks says that between them, automakers have the budgets required to alleviate the lithium gap. Perks notes that Volkwagen, Daimler, Ford and GM had a combined 2021 R&D budget of around $40 billion. But he says, “OEMs aren’t used to solving the problem of mining. They don’t know how it works.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108901,"content":108902},{"textAlign":49},[108903,108905,108907,108913,108915],{"text":108904,"type":596},"In Chin",{"text":108906,"type":596},"a, Great Wall Motors were the first automaker to own a stake in a lithium miner when the company bought a 3.5% stake in then developer Pilbara Minerals for $28 million in 2017. More recently, ",{"text":108908,"type":596,"marks":108909},"BYD invested RMB 3 billion",[108910],{"type":606,"attrs":108911},{"href":108912,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-secures-lithium-discount-after-buying-stake-in-chinese-lithium-miner",{"text":108914,"type":596}," (US$471 million)  for 5% of lithium major Chengxin Lithium. Such investm",{"text":108916,"type":596},"ents will help provide the capital required to expand mining operations.",{"type":615,"attrs":108918,"content":108919},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108920],{"text":108921,"type":596},"China’s cost advantage",{"type":591,"attrs":108923,"content":108924},{"textAlign":49},[108925],{"text":108926,"type":596},"In 2022, 56% of refining capacity was concentrated in China, despite the country only having 14% of the global mining capacity for lithium. China has the experience, low labour costs, and cheap electricity required to develop refining facilities at a far lower cost than the rest of the world. In China, a 30,000 tonne mining and refinery setup can cost as low as $300 million, Perks says.",{"type":591,"attrs":108928,"content":108929},{"textAlign":49},[108930,108932],{"text":108931,"type":596},"Europe and North America are looking to reduce their reliance on Chinese imports and so would need to develop their own capacity",{"text":108933,"type":596},". However, this could require twice as much capital. Northvolt expects to invest over US$700 million into its Setúbal lithium conversion facility which will have a capacity of up to 32,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide.",{"type":615,"attrs":108935,"content":108936},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[108937],{"text":108938,"type":596},"Capex pressures",{"type":591,"attrs":108940,"content":108941},{"textAlign":49},[108942],{"text":108943,"type":596},"Development stage operations outside of China face additional pressures compared to the majors. “The incumbents have an added advantage as they have already started long term investments,” Perks says. This means new players are less protected from the “capex inflation of approximately 10-15% increase for long lead items.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108945,"content":108946},{"textAlign":49},[108947],{"text":108948,"type":596},"At the start of 2022, capex requirements for the Caucharí-Olaroz project increased 16% from Lithium America’s previous estimate, due to “additional resources and manpower, engineering modifications and inflationary cost pressures.”",{"type":591,"attrs":108950,"content":108951},{"textAlign":49},[108952],{"text":108953,"type":596},"Rising costs also affected lithium major Tianqi, which faced significant capex rises at its Kwinana refinery in Australia. In 2016, it planned to invest around US$300 million into the first 24,000 tonnes LCE phase of the project, but this increased to over US$500 million in 2019. The company plans to build a second phase for US$241 million, but Benchmark does not expect this to become operational until 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":108955,"content":108956},{"textAlign":49},[108957],{"text":108958,"type":596},"Without focusing on domestic supply chains, Perks suggests the lithium requirements could be met with as low as $23 billion of capital investment. But he argues the upper estimate of $42 billion is more likely saying, “if you want a localised supply chain, it is going to cost more.”","The lithium industry needs $42 billion of investment if it is to meet 2030 demand, according to Benchmark analysis. In 2030, Benchmark forecasts lithium demand will reach 2.4 million tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent). This is almost 1.8 million tonnes more than the 600,000 tonnes of lithium Benchmark forecasts will be produced in 2022. Benchmark […]",[108961],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108962},{"job_title":557,"image":108963,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"373936ed-2aaa-4082-a85e-27f0b69a0404\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[108966,108967],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":108969,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":108970,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/17bc4b53ed/bm-shutterstock-643398625-2-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 13, 2022",{"id":108973,"uuid":108974,"name":108975,"slug":108976,"full_slug":108977,"content":108978},112472792264188,"5875ab78-9082-4ef5-8cdc-89719cada34f","Tier 1 battery makers CATL and LG profits hit by raw material costs","tesla-suppliers-catl-and-lg-profits-hit-by-raw-material-costs","article/tesla-suppliers-catl-and-lg-profits-hit-by-raw-material-costs",{"_uid":108979,"date":108980,"tags":108981,"editor":108985,"content":108989,"excerpt":109077,"featured":51,"reporter":109078,"_editable":109082,"component":697,"seo_title":108975,"categories":109083,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":109085,"seo_description":109077,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":109088},"06212a1d-0306-46f5-8444-9d7caa6f06b1","2022-04-29 00:00",[108982,108983,108984],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},{"slug":32321,"name":32322},{"slug":1063,"name":1064},[108986],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":108987},{"job_title":557,"image":108988,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":108990},[108991,108996,109008,109020,109033,109038,109043,109048,109053,109058,109063,109072],{"type":591,"attrs":108992,"content":108993},{"textAlign":49},[108994],{"text":108995,"type":596},"Tesla suppliers CATL and LG Energy Solution said this week that net profits fell shaprly in the first quarter due to rising battery raw material costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":108997,"content":108998},{"textAlign":49},[108999,109001,109006],{"text":109000,"type":596},"China’s largest battery maker CATL said on Friday that its net profit fell 24% in the quarter to 1.49 billion RMB ($226 million) while South Korea’s ",{"text":32322,"type":596,"marks":109002},[109003],{"type":606,"attrs":109004},{"href":109005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lges-aims-to-surpass-catl-with-10-8-billion-battery-ipo",{"text":109007,"type":596}," reported a 48% drop to 226.6 billion won ($180 million) earlier in the week.",{"type":591,"attrs":109009,"content":109010},{"textAlign":49},[109011,109013,109018],{"text":109012,"type":596},"The results highlight the significant impact of higher ",{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":109014},[109015],{"type":606,"attrs":109016},{"href":109017,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-catl-targets-domestic-lithium-resources-and-recycling-as-prices-soar",{"text":109019,"type":596},", nickel and cobalt prices on battery producers, which is likely to lead to even higher battery prices for electric vehicles. In addition, Covid-19 lockdowns across China have also impacted demand as well as production at automakers such as Tesla and Nio this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":109021,"content":109022},{"textAlign":49},[109023,109025,109031],{"text":109024,"type":596},"Benchmark’s NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) High-Nickel ",{"text":109026,"type":596,"marks":109027},"Raw Material Index",[109028],{"type":606,"attrs":109029},{"href":109030,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-ion-battery-raw-material-index/",{"text":109032,"type":596}," has risen by 84% year-to-date, mainly due to rising lithium and nickel prices. The lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) index is also up by 90% over the same time period.",{"type":591,"attrs":109034,"content":109035},{"textAlign":49},[109036],{"text":109037,"type":596},"CATL said “rapidly rising prices” of some upstream raw materials caused its costs to rise by 199% in the quarter from a year earlier to 42 billion RMB ($6.3 billion). Its net cash flow from operations also fell by 35% in the quarter due to funding required to “enhance supply chain security” for battery raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":109039,"content":109040},{"textAlign":49},[109041],{"text":109042,"type":596},"CATL said revenues rose by 154% in the first quarter to 48.68 billion RMB, but fell by 15% from the previous quarter. The company also reported 1.79 RMB ($271 million) of derivative financial liabilities, without giving further details.",{"type":591,"attrs":109044,"content":109045},{"textAlign":49},[109046],{"text":109047,"type":596},"LGES said on Tuesday that “rising costs of raw materials, ongoing global semiconductor shortage and supply chain disruption caused by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and periodic COVID lockdowns,” impacted its revenues in the first quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":109049,"content":109050},{"textAlign":49},[109051],{"text":109052,"type":596},"LGES, which listed on the South Korea stock exchange in January, said revenues rose by 2% from the same quarter last year to KRW 4.34 trillion ($3.4 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":109054,"content":109055},{"textAlign":49},[109056],{"text":109057,"type":596},"The company said that it had instigated a “cost pass-through mechanism” to cover the rising prices of lithium, cobalt and nickel, as well as copper, aluminium and manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":109059,"content":109060},{"textAlign":49},[109061],{"text":109062,"type":596},"In addition LGES said it will secure raw materials through long-term agreements and strategic equity investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":109064,"content":109065},{"textAlign":49},[109066,109068,109070],{"text":109067,"type":596},"The company said it was confident of meeting its sales target of ",{"text":109069,"type":596},"KRW 19.2 trillion this year",{"text":109071,"type":596},", an increase of 8% from 2021, as “major partnering automakers plan to expand their EV lineups.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109073,"content":109074},{"textAlign":49},[109075],{"text":109076,"type":596},"LGES said its annual production capacity would expand from 200 GWh this year to 520 GWh by 2025.","Tesla suppliers CATL and LG Energy Solution said this week that net profits fell shaprly in the first quarter due to rising battery raw material costs. China’s largest battery maker CATL said on Friday that its net profit fell 24% in the quarter to 1.49 billion RMB ($226 million) while South Korea’s LGES reported a […]",[109079],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109080},{"job_title":557,"image":109081,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"06212a1d-0306-46f5-8444-9d7caa6f06b1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[109084],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":109086,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":109087,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e81149be5/bm-catl-headquarters-2-e1651235886273.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 29, 2022",{"id":109090,"uuid":109091,"name":109092,"slug":109093,"full_slug":109094,"content":109095},112472797076989,"f6ea8e24-62bc-4f1f-b255-b41456dc1eb3","Umicore wins high-nickel cathode supply deal with Mercedes-backed ACC","umicore-wins-high-nickel-supply-deal-with-mercedes-backed-acc","article/umicore-wins-high-nickel-supply-deal-with-mercedes-backed-acc",{"_uid":109096,"date":109097,"tags":109098,"editor":109104,"content":109108,"excerpt":109172,"featured":51,"reporter":109173,"_editable":109177,"component":697,"seo_title":109092,"categories":109178,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":109181,"seo_description":109172,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":109184},"6d10f7ad-7978-4599-a72b-719274e3095a","2022-04-27 00:00",[109099,109102,109103],{"slug":109100,"name":109101},"acc","ACC",{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":8923,"name":8924},[109105],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109106},{"job_title":557,"image":109107,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":109109},[109110,109115,109120,109132,109137,109142,109147,109152,109157,109162,109167],{"type":591,"attrs":109111,"content":109112},{"textAlign":49},[109113],{"text":109114,"type":596},"Umicore has secured a deal to supply high-nickel battery materials to European battery startup ACC, in a boost to its battery cathode business.",{"type":591,"attrs":109116,"content":109117},{"textAlign":49},[109118],{"text":109119,"type":596},"The Belgium-based company said it will supply ACC’s planned battery factories with 13 gigawatt-hours of high nickel cathode materials starting in 2024 from its new plant in Poland. ACC is owned by TotalEnergies, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz.",{"type":591,"attrs":109121,"content":109122},{"textAlign":49},[109123,109125,109130],{"text":109124,"type":596},"The deal helps secure ",{"text":102778,"type":596,"marks":109126},[109127],{"type":606,"attrs":109128},{"href":109129,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/vw-boosts-europe-battery-supply-chain-with-umicore-jv",{"text":109131,"type":596}," for Umicore’s high nickel battery cathode, following delays in scaling up production of the battery material over the last few years. Chinese cathode producers have significantly expanded high-nickel cathode production as automakers switch to using more energy dense battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":109133,"content":109134},{"textAlign":49},[109135],{"text":109136,"type":596},"In December Umicore admitted it had been too slow in developing high nickel battery chemistries and forecast lower earnings this year as a result.",{"type":591,"attrs":109138,"content":109139},{"textAlign":49},[109140],{"text":109141,"type":596},"The deal “will provide Umicore secured access to substantial demand for its cathode materials and further diversify its exposure to major and diverse players in the EV value chain,” the company said.",{"type":591,"attrs":109143,"content":109144},{"textAlign":49},[109145],{"text":109146,"type":596},"At 13 GWh, or around 20,000 tonnes of cathode, the offtake represents around a third of the initial output of Umicore’s Nysa plant in Poland. Umicore and ACC said the supply agreement could grow to at least 46 GWh by 2030, which would be enough for around 500,000 electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":109148,"content":109149},{"textAlign":49},[109150],{"text":109151,"type":596},"The Nysa plant is set to start production in the middle of this year, supplying material to battery maker Samsung SDI.",{"type":591,"attrs":109153,"content":109154},{"textAlign":49},[109155],{"text":109156,"type":596},"ACC was set up in August 2020 by Stellantis and TotalEnergies with the support of the French and German governments. In March, Mercedes-Benz became an equal shareholder of the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":109158,"content":109159},{"textAlign":49},[109160],{"text":109161,"type":596},"ACC plans to build three gigafactories in Europe. The first of these is in France and is due to come online in 2023, followed by its German factory in 2024, and finally its Italian facility in 2025, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Ion Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":109163,"content":109164},{"textAlign":49},[109165],{"text":109166,"type":596},"By 2030, ACC says it aims to have 120 GWh of cell capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":109168,"content":109169},{"textAlign":49},[109170],{"text":109171,"type":596},"Umicore’s Polish production facility has a planned cathode production capacity of 40 GWh in 2024, with the potential to ramp up to over 200 GWh. The factory is powered by 100% renewable energy.","Umicore has secured a deal to supply high-nickel battery materials to European battery startup ACC, in a boost to its battery cathode business. The Belgium-based company said it will supply ACC’s planned battery factories with 13 gigawatt-hours of high nickel cathode materials starting in 2024 from its new plant in Poland. ACC is owned by […]",[109174],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109175},{"job_title":557,"image":109176,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6d10f7ad-7978-4599-a72b-719274e3095a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[109179,109180],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":109182,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":109183,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/86dfc3374e/bm-umicore-korea-1024x683-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 27, 2022",{"id":109186,"uuid":109187,"name":109188,"slug":109189,"full_slug":109190,"content":109191},112472830082563,"204f6595-ba92-47c9-8c85-53f9504a10d9","What does Europe need to meet EU battery recycling targets?","what-does-europe-need-to-meet-eu-battery-recycling-targets","article/what-does-europe-need-to-meet-eu-battery-recycling-targets",{"_uid":109192,"date":109193,"tags":109194,"editor":109198,"content":109202,"excerpt":109355,"featured":51,"reporter":109356,"_editable":109360,"component":697,"seo_title":109188,"categories":109361,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":109364,"seo_description":109355,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":109366},"f044fd84-d73f-4980-89ba-ddb01675e040","2022-04-14 00:00",[109195,109196,109197],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},[109199],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109200},{"job_title":557,"image":109201,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":109203},[109204,109209,109214,109219,109224,109229,109234,109239,109244,109249,109254,109257,109262,109267,109272,109277,109282,109287,109292,109297,109302,109307,109312,109317,109322,109327,109332,109337,109342],{"type":591,"attrs":109205,"content":109206},{"textAlign":49},[109207],{"text":109208,"type":596},"The European Union’s proposed battery recycling targets could require a more than thirty-fold increase in recycled lithium supply from Europe by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark’s analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":109210,"content":109211},{"textAlign":49},[109212],{"text":109213,"type":596},"That could leave battery producers struggling to meet the EU legislation with recycled materials produced at home, forcing them to turn to suppliers outside of the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":109215,"content":109216},{"textAlign":49},[109217],{"text":109218,"type":596},"The EU legislation, which is under discussion in Brussels, would require lithium ion batteries to use a mandated amount of recycled material by 2030 and 2035. The proposed regulation forms part of the EU’s Green Deal and will “promote the development of sustainable and safe battery production chains throughout their life cycle and create a level playing field on the internal market,” according to the Council of the EU.",{"type":591,"attrs":109220,"content":109221},{"textAlign":49},[109222],{"text":109223,"type":596},"The new regulations propose that by 2030, the recycled content of cobalt, nickel, and lithium in lithium ion cells should account for a minimum of 12%, 4%, and 4% of the total used, respectively. This will rise to 20%, 12%, and 10% by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":109225,"content":109226},{"textAlign":49},[109227],{"text":109228,"type":596},"The proposals have divided the industry, with some worrying it will apply too much pressure on battery producers in Europe who already have to compete against larger and more established Chinese rivals to secure raw materials. In addition, the legislation could benefit suppliers of recycled materials outside of the region who have more experience.",{"type":591,"attrs":109230,"content":109231},{"textAlign":49},[109232],{"text":109233,"type":596},"Automaker BMW said last year the targets were “required and achievable” but Swedish battery producer Northvolt has said the mandatory recycling targets risked “hampering the growth of battery production and hence the overall electrification in society.” Umicore, Europe’s largest recycler, told Benchmark there should be a greater focus on the quality of recycling rather than just the quantity.",{"type":615,"attrs":109235,"content":109236},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109237],{"text":109238,"type":596},"EU SELF-SUFFICIENCY",{"type":591,"attrs":109240,"content":109241},{"textAlign":49},[109242],{"text":109243,"type":596},"If the targets are met from within the EU they could significantly improve Europe’s self-sufficiency in battery materials. Europe is set to account for almost 30% of global battery cell demand by 2030 whereas Benchmark forecasts Europe (excluding Russia) will only mine 6% and 0.5% of global lithium and cobalt, and produce 7% of refined nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":109245,"content":109246},{"textAlign":49},[109247],{"text":109248,"type":596},"The bloc’s 2035 recycled lithium target would be 126 times the lithium produced from recycled sources in Europe in 2021. If it all comes from within the EU, it will almost equal the 115,000 tonnes of mined lithium supply Benchmark forecasts will be produced on the continent in 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":109250,"content":109251},{"textAlign":49},[109252],{"text":109253,"type":596},"Still, meeting the targets will be a challenge. European battery cell demand is forecast to rise from 85 gigawatt hours in 2021 to over 700 GWh in 2030, rising to nearly 1.5 TWh by 2035 according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database. To meet this demand and conform to the regulation’s minimum targets will require over 100,000 tonnes of recycled lithium, 94,000 tonnes of recycled nickel, and 24,000 tonnes of recycled cobalt in 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":109255,"content":109256},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":109258,"content":109259},{"textAlign":49},[109260],{"text":109261,"type":596},"That will require a significant build-out of recycling capacity in the EU, especially the technologies that target lithium recovery.",{"type":615,"attrs":109263,"content":109264},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109265],{"text":109266,"type":596},"LOST LITHIUM",{"type":591,"attrs":109268,"content":109269},{"textAlign":49},[109270],{"text":109271,"type":596},"The European Parliamentary Research Service notes that “almost no lithium is recovered in the EU because it is deemed not cost-effective compared with primary supplies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109273,"content":109274},{"textAlign":49},[109275],{"text":109276,"type":596},"This could change, however, with higher lithium prices and improvements from newer and more efficient recycling techniques.",{"type":591,"attrs":109278,"content":109279},{"textAlign":49},[109280],{"text":109281,"type":596},"The regulations lay out requirements for improving the efficiency of the recycling process. Recycling lithium ion batteries under the new legislation should be 70% efficient by 2030. This is broken down further into targets for the recovery of specific metals: 95% recovery efficiency for cobalt and nickel, and 70% recovery efficiency for lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":109283,"content":109284},{"textAlign":49},[109285],{"text":109286,"type":596},"However, Umicore told Benchmark that there should be a focus on the quality of the recycling, not only the quantity. The recycled materials needed to be high enough quality to be reused in a battery cell, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":109288,"content":109289},{"textAlign":49},[109290],{"text":109291,"type":596},"“Umicore’s recycling process is developed with the aim to produce high-quality ‘battery-grade’ end-products, which are indistinguishable from the fine chemicals produced from virgin raw materials and which can be re-used in the production of new lithium-ion batteries,” it said.",{"type":615,"attrs":109293,"content":109294},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109295],{"text":109296,"type":596},"BURNING BATTERY WASTE",{"type":591,"attrs":109298,"content":109299},{"textAlign":49},[109300],{"text":109301,"type":596},"Cobalt and nickel recycling has historically been more cost-effective than lithium recycling as those metals are easier to extract using pyrometallurgical techniques, which involves burning batteries in a furnace.",{"type":591,"attrs":109303,"content":109304},{"textAlign":49},[109305],{"text":109306,"type":596},"The technology is mature as similar processes are already in use by refining companies to process metal ores, according to Benchmark analyst Luke Sweeney.",{"type":591,"attrs":109308,"content":109309},{"textAlign":49},[109310],{"text":109311,"type":596},"However, lithium is lost in the waste slag along with aluminium. Some companies, such as Umicore, combine pyrometallurgy with hydrometallurgical processes that produce lithium carbonate, but many do not. Recyclers cannot continue to use pyrometallurgical processes else “we will permanently lose a lot of critical materials,” Sweeney said.",{"type":615,"attrs":109313,"content":109314},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109315],{"text":109316,"type":596},"BATTERY COLLECTION",{"type":591,"attrs":109318,"content":109319},{"textAlign":49},[109320],{"text":109321,"type":596},"Despite rapid growth of the European EV market the regulations also do not include specific targets for the collection of end-of-life EV batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":109323,"content":109324},{"textAlign":49},[109325],{"text":109326,"type":596},"For the regulations to succeed in helping secure supply chains, it is important that Europe doesn’t lose its recycling inputs to other regions, according to Sweeney. There is “nothing to stop larger companies collecting these resources and exporting elsewhere,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":109328,"content":109329},{"textAlign":49},[109330],{"text":109331,"type":596},"Emma Nehrenheim, chief environmental officer at Northvolt, said hazardous waste was being exported from the EU, including batteries and electronic scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":109333,"content":109334},{"textAlign":49},[109335],{"text":109336,"type":596},"“I’m a little bit concerned by what I see,” she told Benchmark. “There’s a slight part of me that is worried about material slipping to Asia, where you can pick and choose among the material and where you might not have to recycle everything. It should not be allowed to export hazardous waste out of Europe.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109338,"content":109339},{"textAlign":49},[109340],{"text":109341,"type":596},"Last year the Korean recycler Sungeel Hitech opened a battery recycling plant in Hungary. However, the facility shreds end-of-life batteries before exporting the scrap to South Korea to be processed.",{"type":591,"attrs":109343,"content":109344},{"textAlign":49},[109345,109347,109353],{"text":109346,"type":596},"Europe will need to invest in its own recycling infrastructure so that it can process the increasing amount of end-of-life batteries it will generate. Until this capacity is operational, non-European recyclers such as ",{"text":109348,"type":596,"marks":109349},"GEM Co. in China",[109350],{"type":606,"attrs":109351},{"href":109352,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-gem-co-eyes-move-into-europes-battery-recycling-market",{"text":109354,"type":596}," may have an advantage in helping EU battery producers meet the recycling targets.","The European Union’s proposed battery recycling targets could require a more than thirty-fold increase in recycled lithium supply from Europe by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark’s analysis. That could leave battery producers struggling to meet the EU legislation with recycled materials produced at home, forcing them to turn to suppliers outside of […]",[109357],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109358},{"job_title":557,"image":109359,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f044fd84-d73f-4980-89ba-ddb01675e040\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[109362,109363],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98648,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":109365,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 14, 2022",{"id":109368,"uuid":109369,"name":109370,"slug":109371,"full_slug":109372,"content":109373},112472834911748,"8b140240-5780-4421-b3a4-1c1fffe7bdf6","China’s GEM Co. eyes move into Europe’s battery recycling market","chinas-gem-co-eyes-move-into-europes-battery-recycling-market","article/chinas-gem-co-eyes-move-into-europes-battery-recycling-market",{"_uid":109374,"date":109375,"tags":109376,"editor":109382,"content":109386,"excerpt":109527,"featured":51,"reporter":109528,"_editable":109532,"component":697,"seo_title":109370,"categories":109533,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":109536,"seo_description":109527,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":109539},"bca09759-39ba-4b7d-8db5-29c6fca7646b","2022-04-13 00:00",[109377,109378,109379],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10712,"name":10713},{"slug":109380,"name":109381},"gem-co","GEM Co.",[109383],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109384},{"job_title":557,"image":109385,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":109387},[109388,109393,109398,109403,109408,109413,109418,109423,109428,109433,109438,109443,109448,109452,109457,109462,109467,109472,109477,109482,109487,109492,109497,109502,109507,109512,109517,109522],{"type":591,"attrs":109389,"content":109390},{"textAlign":49},[109391],{"text":109392,"type":596},"GEM Co, China’s largest battery recycling company, plans to invest in Europe’s battery supply chain, as it looks to help customers meet proposed European Union rules that will mandate the use of recycled battery raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":109394,"content":109395},{"textAlign":49},[109396],{"text":109397,"type":596},"The Shenzhen-listed company will consider buying stakes in battery recyclers or battery materials producers in Europe, Zhang Yuping, head of battery recycling at the company, told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":109399,"content":109400},{"textAlign":49},[109401],{"text":109402,"type":596},"“Europe is a cluster for the development of the world’s new energy industry. We definitely have a plan to invest in Europe,” Zhang said. “Europe urgently needs this link in the supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109404,"content":109405},{"textAlign":49},[109406],{"text":109407,"type":596},"The comments come as the European Union is set to introduce targets that will mandate the amount of recycled content lithium ion batteries must use by the end of this decade. The revisions to the European Union’s 2006 Battery Directive aim to encourage the development of battery recycling facilities in Europe and reduce the region’s reliance on foreign suppliers of critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":109409,"content":109410},{"textAlign":49},[109411],{"text":109412,"type":596},"By 2030 the EU will require that lithium ion batteries in the bloc are made up of at least 12% recycled cobalt, 4% nickel, and 4% lithium. By 2035, that will rise to 20%, 12%, and 10% of the total amount of materials used.",{"type":615,"attrs":109414,"content":109415},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109416],{"text":109417,"type":596},"Coming to Europe",{"type":591,"attrs":109419,"content":109420},{"textAlign":49},[109421],{"text":109422,"type":596},"The strong policy mandates, as well as the expected growth in the European electric vehicle market, are attracting Chinese companies like GEM, who have years of recycling experience.",{"type":591,"attrs":109424,"content":109425},{"textAlign":49},[109426],{"text":109427,"type":596},"GEM said in January that the proposed European Union regulations will “promote automobile companies to make clear statements and take action on battery recycling and the use of recycled materials.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109429,"content":109430},{"textAlign":49},[109431],{"text":109432,"type":596},"Founded in 2001 GEM is a leading recycler of electronic waste, what it calls “urban mining,” and also a large producer of nickel cathode battery materials. Its clients include Toyota, CATL, Samsung and BYD, among others.",{"type":591,"attrs":109434,"content":109435},{"textAlign":49},[109436],{"text":109437,"type":596},"Zhang said the company wants to follow these companies’ global expansions and build a presence “step by step” in Europe, Japan, Korea, America and South-east Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":109439,"content":109440},{"textAlign":49},[109441],{"text":109442,"type":596},"Last year, GEM built a battery recycling plant in Pohang, South Korea, which can process 20,000 tonnes a year of waste batteries. It also owns 63% of a nickel processing project in Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park, along with Chinese steel maker Tsingshan and South Korea’s EcoPro.",{"type":591,"attrs":109444,"content":109445},{"textAlign":49},[109446],{"text":109447,"type":596},"“The whole area of new energy batteries is still at an early stage of growth and so the volume is not particularly large,” Zhang said. “So we should gradually do this expansion and investment.”",{"type":615,"attrs":109449,"content":109450},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109451],{"text":38831,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109453,"content":109454},{"textAlign":49},[109455],{"text":109456,"type":596},"GEM, which produces NCM precursor materials, aims to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of recycled cobalt, 45,000 tonnes of recycled nickel and 6,300 tonnes of recycled lithium by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":109458,"content":109459},{"textAlign":49},[109460],{"text":109461,"type":596},"That would equate to around 6% of forecast battery demand for cobalt and nickel, according to Benchmark. The nickel would be enough for around 60 gigawatt-hours of batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":109463,"content":109464},{"textAlign":49},[109465],{"text":109466,"type":596},"This year it wants to double the amount of nickel it gets from recycled sources to 20,000 tonnes – almost the same amount as it recycled in the past decade. It will supplement that with 30,000 tonnes of nickel sourced from Trafigura, Tsingshan, and others.",{"type":591,"attrs":109468,"content":109469},{"textAlign":49},[109470],{"text":109471,"type":596},"Between 2010 and 2020 GEM recycled 36,000 tonnes of cobalt, 30,000 tonnes of nickel, and 1,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate, according to the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":109473,"content":109474},{"textAlign":49},[109475],{"text":109476,"type":596},"GEM processes around 10% of China’s total waste batteries, and recovers over 90% of the materials it recycles, Zhang said. Zhang said that about half of the batteries it currently recycles are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) as many early electric vehicles in China used LFP batteries, as well as electric buses.",{"type":615,"attrs":109478,"content":109479},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109480],{"text":109481,"type":596},"Mountains of waste",{"type":591,"attrs":109483,"content":109484},{"textAlign":49},[109485],{"text":109486,"type":596},"China’s battery waste is set to grow significantly over the next few years as more battery factories start production, he said. By 2025 GEM believes the amount of waste batteries could reach 1 million tonnes in China, given the expansion plans from large battery players such as CATL, CALB and BYD, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":109488,"content":109489},{"textAlign":49},[109490],{"text":109491,"type":596},"Battery production is not 100% efficient, meaning these battery companies will also produce waste from the time new plants begin operations. Zhang said production scrap currently makes up a third of its source material, but this could rise to 50%.",{"type":591,"attrs":109493,"content":109494},{"textAlign":49},[109495],{"text":109496,"type":596},"Overall, recycled lithium ion batteries could meet between 40% to 50% of China’s battery demand by as early as 2025, Zhang said.",{"type":615,"attrs":109498,"content":109499},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109500],{"text":109501,"type":596},"China’s booming battery market",{"type":591,"attrs":109503,"content":109504},{"textAlign":49},[109505],{"text":109506,"type":596},"China’s battery market will experience rapid growth over the next three years, Zhang said, due to electric vehicles, energy storage and new demand sectors such as construction machinery and robots. Electric vehicle sales are likely to surpass 5 million this year, while energy storage would receive a boost from President Xi Jinping’s carbon neutrality goals, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":109508,"content":109509},{"textAlign":49},[109510],{"text":109511,"type":596},"Rising battery raw material prices were both positive and negative for the industry, Zhang said. On the one hand it benefits recycling companies as recycled material can help alleviate the shortage. On the other hand, it could limit demand by increasing the prices of electric vehicles for consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":109513,"content":109514},{"textAlign":49},[109515],{"text":109516,"type":596},"“Right now, no matter if it’s China or the rest of the world, the cobalt and nickel resources are quite scarce,” Zhang said. “So we cannot be comforted by the previous linear model of growth to manage consumption … so this is big positive for battery recycling.”",{"type":591,"attrs":109518,"content":109519},{"textAlign":49},[109520],{"text":109521,"type":596},"GEM, whose headquarters is in Hubei province, was hit hard by the outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhuan in early 2020. But profits rebounded last year, and the company said last month net profit likely rose by between 110% to 140% last year to between 866 million to 990 million RMB.",{"type":591,"attrs":109523,"content":109524},{"textAlign":49},[109525],{"text":109526,"type":596},"GEM is China’s oldest battery recycler, and started recycling batteries in 2003 and electric car batteries in 2015. It has built a network of battery recycling collection centres across 11 provinces in China.","GEM Co, China’s largest battery recycling company, plans to invest in Europe’s battery supply chain, as it looks to help customers meet proposed European Union rules that will mandate the use of recycled battery raw materials. The Shenzhen-listed company will consider buying stakes in battery recyclers or battery materials producers in Europe, Zhang Yuping, head […]",[109529],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109530},{"job_title":557,"image":109531,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bca09759-39ba-4b7d-8db5-29c6fca7646b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[109534,109535],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":109537,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":109538,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a52f9995e4/bm-gem-benchmark.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 13, 2022",{"id":109541,"uuid":109542,"name":109543,"slug":109544,"full_slug":109545,"content":109546},112472853990921,"473d658f-c94d-4dee-8b4b-5605913d0f75","EV and battery big talk must now switch to mining as supply chain bites","ev-and-battery-big-talk-must-now-switch-to-mining-as-supply-chain-bites-2","article/ev-and-battery-big-talk-must-now-switch-to-mining-as-supply-chain-bites-2",{"_uid":109547,"date":109548,"tags":109549,"editor":109552,"content":109556,"excerpt":109792,"featured":50,"reporter":109793,"_editable":109797,"component":697,"seo_title":109798,"categories":109799,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":109801,"seo_description":109804,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":109805},"f70d1582-1317-431b-aeb1-4bde14bc4aa8","2022-04-08 00:00",[109550,109551],{"slug":5701,"name":924},{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[109553],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109554},{"job_title":557,"image":109555,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":109557},[109558,109563,109568,109578,109583,109595,109600,109605,109610,109615,109620,109625,109630,109635,109640,109645,109650,109655,109660,109665,109670,109675,109680,109685,109690,109702,109707,109712,109717,109722,109727,109732,109737,109742,109747,109760,109765,109770,109775,109780,109785],{"type":591,"attrs":109559,"content":109560},{"textAlign":49},[109561],{"text":109562,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery is in the midst of its transition from niche industry to mainstream platform technology for the 21st century.",{"type":591,"attrs":109564,"content":109565},{"textAlign":49},[109566],{"text":109567,"type":596},"The coming of age of electric vehicles has seen demand for these batteries surge from 59 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2015 to 400 GWh in 2021. This is forecast to grow by a significant 50% to 600 GWh in 2022, according to analysis by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":109569,"content":109570},{"textAlign":49},[109571,109573,109576],{"text":109572,"type":596},"This sheer scale of battery output has been made possible through the rise of so called ",{"text":1040,"type":596,"marks":109574},[109575],{"type":1006},{"text":109577,"type":596},", battery plants an order of magnitude bigger than their predecessors.",{"type":591,"attrs":109579,"content":109580},{"textAlign":49},[109581],{"text":109582,"type":596},"Sparked by Elon Musk’s first Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada in 2017, the rest of the world has now followed in building super-sized battery plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":109584,"content":109585},{"textAlign":49},[109586,109588,109593],{"text":109587,"type":596},"From 3 such plants in 2015, we now have 285 ",{"text":1040,"type":596,"marks":109589},[109590],{"type":606,"attrs":109591},{"href":109592,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-battery-arms-race-200-gigafactories-china-leads-2",{"text":109594,"type":596}," globally at various stages of planning and construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":109596,"content":109597},{"textAlign":49},[109598],{"text":109599,"type":596},"This has allowed output to increase exponentially and costs to fall significantly from $280/kWh in 2015 to $115/kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":109601,"content":109602},{"textAlign":49},[109603],{"text":109604,"type":596},"However, for the last few years these cell costs have been flatlining and last year experienced their first increase in this giga-era.",{"type":591,"attrs":109606,"content":109607},{"textAlign":49},[109608],{"text":109609,"type":596},"Why? Because the critical raw material inputs have been neglected.",{"type":615,"attrs":109611,"content":109612},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109613],{"text":109614,"type":596},"Neglect at your peril",{"type":591,"attrs":109616,"content":109617},{"textAlign":49},[109618],{"text":109619,"type":596},"In 2015, 40% of the cost of a lithium ion battery was raw materials, the critical minerals that get transformed into chemicals to make a battery’s main components, the cathodes and anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":109621,"content":109622},{"textAlign":49},[109623],{"text":109624,"type":596},"At less than half of the cost of the whole battery, cathode and anode raw materials were deemed not worthy of priority attention.",{"type":591,"attrs":109626,"content":109627},{"textAlign":49},[109628],{"text":109629,"type":596},"In 2022, the dynamics have shifted: raw materials now account for upwards of 80% of the cost of a lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":109631,"content":109632},{"textAlign":49},[109633],{"text":109634,"type":596},"Therefore, if EVs mean lithium ion batteries, EVs must now mean critical minerals and mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":109636,"content":109637},{"textAlign":49},[109638],{"text":109639,"type":596},"As a result of surging EV battery demand and a lack of new supply, pressure on the critical minerals that fuel lithium ion battery production have been increasing.",{"type":591,"attrs":109641,"content":109642},{"textAlign":49},[109643],{"text":109644,"type":596},"Since January 2020, Benchmark’s lithium prices have increased by over 700%, nickel by 250%, cobalt and manganese by 100%, and graphite by over 25%.",{"type":591,"attrs":109646,"content":109647},{"textAlign":49},[109648],{"text":109649,"type":596},"And right now, there is not enough of these raw materials in the pipeline to take the majority of EV makers beyond 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":109651,"content":109652},{"textAlign":49},[109653],{"text":109654,"type":596},"While upwards of $500bn has flowed into building the 285 gigafactories around the world – and $150bn last year alone – critical mineral mines and mid stream processing plants have not seen anywhere like this type of investment.",{"type":615,"attrs":109656,"content":109657},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109658],{"text":109659,"type":596},"The great raw material disconnect",{"type":591,"attrs":109661,"content":109662},{"textAlign":49},[109663],{"text":109664,"type":596},"This great EV raw material disconnect has OEMs, the ultimate end users of these battery cells, concerned.",{"type":591,"attrs":109666,"content":109667},{"textAlign":49},[109668],{"text":109669,"type":596},"An industry that is used to dominating a supply chain is suddenly coming to the realisation that it has to build these new energy supply chains from scratch after the capital markets failure to step up.",{"type":591,"attrs":109671,"content":109672},{"textAlign":49},[109673],{"text":109674,"type":596},"It’s a similar realisation that automakers had around 2018 when they were forced to get involved in battery cell making.",{"type":591,"attrs":109676,"content":109677},{"textAlign":49},[109678],{"text":109679,"type":596},"A handful of EV makers are taking the supply chain strategy a few steps further but the examples are isolated.",{"type":591,"attrs":109681,"content":109682},{"textAlign":49},[109683],{"text":109684,"type":596},"Tesla wants to build its own cathode, nickel chemical and lithium hydroxide plants in Austin, Texas, feeding its new 4680 battery cell factory.",{"type":591,"attrs":109686,"content":109687},{"textAlign":49},[109688],{"text":109689,"type":596},"VW announced only a few weeks ago that it wants to begin nickel and cobalt refining in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":109691,"content":109692},{"textAlign":49},[109693,109695,109700],{"text":109694,"type":596},"General Motors has ",{"text":109696,"type":596,"marks":109697},"committed $400m to build cathode material",[109698],{"type":606,"attrs":109699},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":109701,"type":596}," in Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":109703,"content":109704},{"textAlign":49},[109705],{"text":109706,"type":596},"But to have the ultimate sway of industrial power you need to own the mines, in part or in full.",{"type":591,"attrs":109708,"content":109709},{"textAlign":49},[109710],{"text":109711,"type":596},"This is the only way to guarantee the raw material to make your batteries and EVs.",{"type":615,"attrs":109713,"content":109714},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109715],{"text":109716,"type":596},"Echoes of Henry Ford",{"type":591,"attrs":109718,"content":109719},{"textAlign":49},[109720],{"text":109721,"type":596},"OEMs are right to be fearful and hesitant to want to “become miners”.",{"type":591,"attrs":109723,"content":109724},{"textAlign":49},[109725],{"text":109726,"type":596},"Echoes of an ill-fated venture by Henry Ford to build rubber plantations in Brazil in the 1920s after the industry ran out of rubber tyres loom large.",{"type":591,"attrs":109728,"content":109729},{"textAlign":49},[109730],{"text":109731,"type":596},"One hundred years on the industry faces an eerily similar problem.",{"type":591,"attrs":109733,"content":109734},{"textAlign":49},[109735],{"text":109736,"type":596},"The reality is that this global EV blueprint is yet to be built out to a scale needed to reach surging consumer demand and increasing aggressive OEM and government targets… We are nowhere close.",{"type":591,"attrs":109738,"content":109739},{"textAlign":49},[109740],{"text":109741,"type":596},"Critical mineral mines will need to be built, existing mines expanded, stockpiles and waste heaps revisited, and battery recycling needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":109743,"content":109744},{"textAlign":49},[109745],{"text":109746,"type":596},"The significance of the situation is not lost on global leaders.",{"type":591,"attrs":109748,"content":109749},{"textAlign":49},[109750,109752,109758],{"text":109751,"type":596},"Only last week, The White House ",{"text":109753,"type":596,"marks":109754},"enacted the Defense Production Act Title III",[109755],{"type":606,"attrs":109756},{"href":109757,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/biden-uses-defense-production-act-in-bid-to-transform-us-battery-supply-chain",{"text":109759,"type":596}," to zero in on domestic battery minerals production of lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":109761,"content":109762},{"textAlign":49},[109763],{"text":109764,"type":596},"The most recent DPA determination focused on the covid pandemic and it had previously been used for metals during times of war.",{"type":591,"attrs":109766,"content":109767},{"textAlign":49},[109768],{"text":109769,"type":596},"This clearly shows the US government becoming actively involved in investing in its domestic battery raw materials production both via co-production and to help fund bankable feasibility studies for exploration stage miners – a major bottleneck for institutional money.",{"type":591,"attrs":109771,"content":109772},{"textAlign":49},[109773],{"text":109774,"type":596},"This is a major step forward for US production of critical battery minerals and a move that it hopes will drag the finance community into 21st century mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":109776,"content":109777},{"textAlign":49},[109778],{"text":109779,"type":596},"Big talk on EVs must now mean equally as big statements on mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":109781,"content":109782},{"textAlign":49},[109783],{"text":109784,"type":596},"After all, a gigafactory without secure raw materials is as useful to an OEM as a grain silo.",{"type":591,"attrs":109786,"content":109787},{"textAlign":49},[109788],{"text":109789,"type":596,"marks":109790},"Simon Moores is CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Morgan Bazilian is Director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines.",[109791],{"type":1006},"The lithium ion battery is in the midst of its transition from niche industry to mainstream platform technology for the 21st century. The coming of age of electric vehicles has seen demand for these batteries surge from 59 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2015 to 400 GWh in 2021. This is forecast to grow by a significant […]",[109794],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109795},{"job_title":557,"image":109796,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f70d1582-1317-431b-aeb1-4bde14bc4aa8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","EV and battery big talk must now switch to mining as supply ...",[109800],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":109802,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":109803,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7b4e5ddd48/bm-istock-961759958-e1548706413503.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The lithium ion battery is in the midst of its transition from niche industry to mainstream platform technology for the 21st century. The coming of age of electric vehicles has seen demand for these batteries surge from 59 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in ...","Apr 08, 2022",{"id":109807,"uuid":109808,"name":109543,"slug":109809,"full_slug":109810,"content":109811},112472849210887,"df725f2b-e193-435e-8a24-78718f0fee20","ev-and-battery-big-talk-must-now-switch-to-mining-as-supply-chain-bites","article/ev-and-battery-big-talk-must-now-switch-to-mining-as-supply-chain-bites",{"_uid":109812,"date":109548,"tags":109813,"editor":109816,"content":109820,"excerpt":110068,"featured":51,"reporter":110069,"_editable":110073,"component":697,"seo_title":110074,"categories":110075,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":110077,"seo_description":110079,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":109805},"7fb13ce6-37a9-40bb-b395-ece855fbb4d6",[109814,109815],{"slug":101071,"name":101072},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[109817],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":109818},{"job_title":557,"image":109819,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":109821},[109822,109829,109833,109837,109845,109849,109858,109862,109866,109870,109874,109878,109882,109886,109890,109894,109898,109902,109906,109910,109914,109918,109922,109926,109930,109934,109943,109947,109951,109955,109959,109963,109967,109971,109975,109979,109988,109992,109996,110000,110004,110008,110014,110019,110032,110037,110047],{"type":591,"attrs":109823,"content":109824},{"textAlign":49},[109825],{"text":109826,"type":596,"marks":109827},"By Simon Moores and Morgan Bazilian",[109828],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":109830,"content":109831},{"textAlign":49},[109832],{"text":109562,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109834,"content":109835},{"textAlign":49},[109836],{"text":109567,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109838,"content":109839},{"textAlign":49},[109840,109841,109844],{"text":109572,"type":596},{"text":1040,"type":596,"marks":109842},[109843],{"type":1006},{"text":109577,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109846,"content":109847},{"textAlign":49},[109848],{"text":109582,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109850,"content":109851},{"textAlign":49},[109852,109853,109857],{"text":109587,"type":596},{"text":1040,"type":596,"marks":109854},[109855],{"type":606,"attrs":109856},{"href":109592,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":109594,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109859,"content":109860},{"textAlign":49},[109861],{"text":109599,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109863,"content":109864},{"textAlign":49},[109865],{"text":109604,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109867,"content":109868},{"textAlign":49},[109869],{"text":109609,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":109871,"content":109872},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109873],{"text":109614,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109875,"content":109876},{"textAlign":49},[109877],{"text":109619,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109879,"content":109880},{"textAlign":49},[109881],{"text":109624,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109883,"content":109884},{"textAlign":49},[109885],{"text":109629,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109887,"content":109888},{"textAlign":49},[109889],{"text":109634,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109891,"content":109892},{"textAlign":49},[109893],{"text":109639,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109895,"content":109896},{"textAlign":49},[109897],{"text":109644,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109899,"content":109900},{"textAlign":49},[109901],{"text":109649,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109903,"content":109904},{"textAlign":49},[109905],{"text":109654,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":109907,"content":109908},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109909],{"text":109659,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109911,"content":109912},{"textAlign":49},[109913],{"text":109664,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109915,"content":109916},{"textAlign":49},[109917],{"text":109669,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109919,"content":109920},{"textAlign":49},[109921],{"text":109674,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109923,"content":109924},{"textAlign":49},[109925],{"text":109679,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109927,"content":109928},{"textAlign":49},[109929],{"text":109684,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109931,"content":109932},{"textAlign":49},[109933],{"text":109689,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109935,"content":109936},{"textAlign":49},[109937,109938,109942],{"text":109694,"type":596},{"text":109696,"type":596,"marks":109939},[109940],{"type":606,"attrs":109941},{"href":74924,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":109701,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109944,"content":109945},{"textAlign":49},[109946],{"text":109706,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109948,"content":109949},{"textAlign":49},[109950],{"text":109711,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":109952,"content":109953},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[109954],{"text":109716,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109956,"content":109957},{"textAlign":49},[109958],{"text":109721,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109960,"content":109961},{"textAlign":49},[109962],{"text":109726,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109964,"content":109965},{"textAlign":49},[109966],{"text":109731,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109968,"content":109969},{"textAlign":49},[109970],{"text":109736,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109972,"content":109973},{"textAlign":49},[109974],{"text":109741,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109976,"content":109977},{"textAlign":49},[109978],{"text":109746,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109980,"content":109981},{"textAlign":49},[109982,109983,109987],{"text":109751,"type":596},{"text":109753,"type":596,"marks":109984},[109985],{"type":606,"attrs":109986},{"href":109757,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":109759,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109989,"content":109990},{"textAlign":49},[109991],{"text":109764,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109993,"content":109994},{"textAlign":49},[109995],{"text":109769,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":109997,"content":109998},{"textAlign":49},[109999],{"text":109774,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":110001,"content":110002},{"textAlign":49},[110003],{"text":109779,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":110005,"content":110006},{"textAlign":49},[110007],{"text":109784,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":110009,"content":110010},{"textAlign":49},[110011],{"text":109789,"type":596,"marks":110012},[110013],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":110015,"content":110016},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110017],{"text":110018,"type":596},"JOIN BATTERY GIGAFACTORIES USA 2022",{"type":591,"attrs":110020,"content":110021},{"textAlign":49},[110022,110024,110030],{"text":110023,"type":596},"Benchmark will be hosting its ",{"text":110025,"type":596,"marks":110026},"Battery Gigafactories USA 2022",[110027],{"type":606,"attrs":110028},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-gigafactories-usa-2022/register/",{"text":110031,"type":596}," in Washington DC, Thursday 23-24 June.",{"type":591,"attrs":110033,"content":110034},{"textAlign":49},[110035],{"text":110036,"type":596},"It brings together government, industry and financiers of the electric vehicle revolution with a specific focus on the rise of these supersized lithium ion battery plants in the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":110038,"content":110039},{"textAlign":49},[110040,110042,110046],{"text":110041,"type":596},"Register to attend ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":110043},[110044],{"type":606,"attrs":110045},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":110048,"content":110049},{"textAlign":49},[110050,110052,110058,110060,110066],{"text":110051,"type":596},"To speak or sponsor contact Ben Ash (",{"text":110053,"type":596,"marks":110054},"bash@benchmarkminerals.com",[110055],{"type":606,"attrs":110056},{"href":110057,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:bash@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":110059,"type":596},") or Craig Middleton (",{"text":110061,"type":596,"marks":110062},"cmiddleton@benchmarkminerals.com",[110063],{"type":606,"attrs":110064},{"href":110065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:cmiddleton@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":110067,"type":596},").","By Simon Moores and Morgan Bazilian The lithium ion battery is in the midst of its transition from niche industry to mainstream platform technology for the 21st century. The coming of age of electric vehicles has seen demand for these batteries surge from 59 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2015 to 400 GWh in 2021. This is […]",[110070],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110071},{"job_title":557,"image":110072,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7fb13ce6-37a9-40bb-b395-ece855fbb4d6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","EV and battery big talk must now switch to mining as supply chain",[110076],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":71181,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":71181,"source":547,"filename":71182,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110078,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":71181,"title":71181,"source":547,"copyright":547},"By Simon Moores and Morgan Bazilian The lithium ion battery is in the midst of its transition from niche industry to mainstream platform technology for the 21st century. The coming of age of electric vehicles has seen demand for these batteries surge ...",{"id":110081,"uuid":110082,"name":110083,"slug":110084,"full_slug":110085,"content":110086},112472844475910,"6a0c4b85-9746-4089-b711-783c1074f49a","Exclusive: Ganfeng eyes US OEMs for “strategic” stake in Mexican lithium project","exclusive-ganfeng-eyes-us-oems-for-strategic-stake-in-mexican-lithium-project","article/exclusive-ganfeng-eyes-us-oems-for-strategic-stake-in-mexican-lithium-project",{"_uid":110087,"date":109548,"tags":110088,"editor":110092,"content":110096,"excerpt":110193,"featured":51,"reporter":110194,"_editable":110198,"component":697,"seo_title":110083,"categories":110199,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":110201,"seo_description":110193,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":109805},"f7aba20b-abb6-4cd3-a85f-db516c612a5a",[110089,110090,110091],{"slug":27485,"name":27486},{"slug":25460,"name":25461},{"slug":5701,"name":924},[110093],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110094},{"job_title":557,"image":110095,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110097},[110098,110103,110108,110113,110118,110123,110128,110133,110138,110143,110148,110153,110158,110163,110168,110173,110178,110183,110188],{"type":591,"attrs":110099,"content":110100},{"textAlign":49},[110101],{"text":110102,"type":596},"China’s Ganfeng Lithium says major US automakers could make a “strategic” investment in the Sonora lithium mine in Mexico, as they seek to create a North American supply chain for battery raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":110104,"content":110105},{"textAlign":49},[110106],{"text":110107,"type":596},"China’s largest lithium producer said that an investment by Ford, GM or Tesla would help provide automakers with reliable supplies of lithium that can be easily shipped across the border to plants in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":110109,"content":110110},{"textAlign":49},[110111],{"text":110112,"type":596},"“We are open to having strategic investors in our Mexico project, together with investment we could have an offtake agreement with them,” Wang Xiaoshen, vice chairman of Ganfeng, told Benchmark. “They are also interested in having a local supply chain that is closer, a logistically more reliable supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110114,"content":110115},{"textAlign":49},[110116],{"text":110117,"type":596},"Ganfeng, which supplies Tesla and BMW, has been the most acquisitive global lithium company over the past decade, investing in projects in Argentina, Mali and Australia. This week the company said it is looking to more than double its lithium chemicals production capacity by 2025 to 300,000 tonnes LCE a year. By the end of the decade it aims to double that to 600,000 tonnes LCE a year, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110119,"content":110120},{"textAlign":49},[110121],{"text":110122,"type":596},"Listed on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges, Ganfeng has a market capitalisation of $26 billion, compared to $25 billion for US producer Albemarle.",{"type":591,"attrs":110124,"content":110125},{"textAlign":49},[110126],{"text":110127,"type":596},"The Sonora lithium project in Mexico is set to start production in the middle of 2024, producing lithium from clay deposits. Ganfeng is also looking at building battery recycling there, and eventually solar power, Wang said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110129,"content":110130},{"textAlign":49},[110131],{"text":110132,"type":596},"Ganfeng currently owns 50% of Sonora, but last May made an offer to acquire all of the shares of UK-listed Bacanora Lithium, which holds the remainder of the project. The transaction is still being finalised.",{"type":591,"attrs":110134,"content":110135},{"textAlign":49},[110136],{"text":110137,"type":596},"Ganfeng says extracting lithium from clay at Sonora will be quicker than lithium produced in South America from brine but the process will have a similar cost. The project is set to have capacity to produce up to 35,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":110139,"content":110140},{"textAlign":49},[110141],{"text":110142,"type":596},"Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that the country should nationalise its lithium resources but Wang said it would be too risky for the state to develop lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":110144,"content":110145},{"textAlign":49},[110146],{"text":110147,"type":596},"“Lithium is not oil, it’s a very complicate process … You need the knowhow, the investment, you need the technology, only all those things put together can you make lithium,” he said. “There will be risk for the state using public money to make lithium for batteries.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110149,"content":110150},{"textAlign":49},[110151],{"text":110152,"type":596},"Mexico could also become a key battery hub for the US market, Wang said. Ganfeng could consider investing in battery production or recycling in the country, he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":110154,"content":110155},{"textAlign":49},[110156],{"text":110157,"type":596},"“Gradually you will have the base to attract more downstream supply chain companies to invest in Mexico,” Wang said. “If you don’t have enough or competitive lithium supply in Mexico it will be difficult for other downstream companies to come to Mexico.”",{"type":615,"attrs":110159,"content":110160},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110161],{"text":110162,"type":596},"Investing in juniors",{"type":591,"attrs":110164,"content":110165},{"textAlign":49},[110166],{"text":110167,"type":596},"Ganfeng will continue to invest in junior lithium miners to support exploration and future supply of lithium, Wang said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110169,"content":110170},{"textAlign":49},[110171],{"text":110172,"type":596},"“We believe the lithium industry needs to invest more in exploration rather than just buy existing projects,” he said. “We need to create or build more incremental resources to supply to the market. That’s also our responsibility as a lithium company.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110174,"content":110175},{"textAlign":49},[110176],{"text":110177,"type":596},"Ganfeng has signed lithium offtake agreements with junior lithium miners Core Lithium in Australia and AVZ in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.",{"type":591,"attrs":110179,"content":110180},{"textAlign":49},[110181],{"text":110182,"type":596},"While the company will invest in new supply, the biggest factor this year is the uncertainty around the demand for electric vehicles, Wang said. China is grappling with the spread of Covid-19 while automakers have increased prices for electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":110184,"content":110185},{"textAlign":49},[110186],{"text":110187,"type":596},"Many major automakers have also yet to sign new agreements with battery producers, which could lead to higher battery prices, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110189,"content":110190},{"textAlign":49},[110191],{"text":110192,"type":596},"“Everybody is watching what does this all mean for the end consumer market,” he said. “It’s still too early to tell.”","China’s Ganfeng Lithium says major US automakers could make a “strategic” investment in the Sonora lithium mine in Mexico, as they seek to create a North American supply chain for battery raw materials. China’s largest lithium producer said that an investment by Ford, GM or Tesla would help provide automakers with reliable supplies of lithium […]",[110195],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110196},{"job_title":557,"image":110197,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f7aba20b-abb6-4cd3-a85f-db516c612a5a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110200],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110202,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110203,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/75eedd6545/bm-ganfeng.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":110205,"uuid":110206,"name":110207,"slug":110208,"full_slug":110209,"content":110210},112472863497739,"3cffc391-9da0-4af6-90f0-37426f75231f","IPCC report: What role can lithium ion batteries play?","ipcc-report-what-role-can-lithium-ion-batteries-play","article/ipcc-report-what-role-can-lithium-ion-batteries-play",{"_uid":110211,"date":110212,"tags":110213,"editor":110218,"content":110222,"excerpt":110387,"featured":51,"reporter":110388,"_editable":110392,"component":697,"seo_title":110207,"categories":110393,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":110395,"seo_description":110398,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":110399},"0bac8e00-228f-454b-9e70-7ebea0f53140","2022-04-07 00:00",[110214,110215],{"slug":14427,"name":14428},{"slug":110216,"name":110217},"climate-change","Climate change",[110219],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110220},{"job_title":557,"image":110221,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110223},[110224,110229,110234,110239,110244,110249,110262,110267,110272,110277,110282,110287,110292,110297,110302,110314,110317,110322,110327,110332,110337,110342,110347,110352,110357,110362,110367,110372,110377,110382],{"type":591,"attrs":110225,"content":110226},{"textAlign":49},[110227],{"text":110228,"type":596},"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III released its latest report on the mitigation of climate change this week, highlighting the key role electric vehicles have to play in reducing global emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":110230,"content":110231},{"textAlign":49},[110232],{"text":110233,"type":596},"Action is needed “now or never” if global warming is to be limited to under 1.5 °C, the report said. To achieve this requires greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 with a 43% reduction by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":110235,"content":110236},{"textAlign":49},[110237],{"text":110238,"type":596},"In all the pathways considered by the IPCC that keep warming to below 1.5 °C or 2 °C deep decarbonisation across all sectors is required, the report said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110240,"content":110241},{"textAlign":49},[110242],{"text":110243,"type":596},"The report noted that “electric vehicles powered by low emissions electricity offer the largest decarbonisation potential for land-based transport, on a life cycle basis.”",{"type":615,"attrs":110245,"content":110246},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110247],{"text":110248,"type":596},"Transport’s contribution ",{"type":591,"attrs":110250,"content":110251},{"textAlign":49},[110252,110254,110260],{"text":110253,"type":596},"In order to keep warming to under 1.5 °C, transport-related CO2 emissions need to drop by 59%, the report said. The decarbonisation of ",{"text":110255,"type":596,"marks":110256},"transport",[110257],{"type":606,"attrs":110258},{"href":110259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-auto-industry-meet-ambitious-cop26-pledges",{"text":110261,"type":596}," will depend heavily on the deployment of electric vehicles, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110263,"content":110264},{"textAlign":49},[110265],{"text":110266,"type":596},"The maturity and commercial availability of lithium ion battery technology has enabled the recent widespread electrification of transport from e-bikes to rickshaws to buses, the report said. Advances in batteries could also facilitate the electrification of heavy-duty trucks, though hydrogen and synthetic fuels could also play a role, it added.",{"type":591,"attrs":110268,"content":110269},{"textAlign":49},[110270],{"text":110271,"type":596},"“Recent advances in battery storage make electric vehicles the most attractive alternative for light-duty transport,” it said. “However, fuel cell technology could complement electric vehicles in supporting the decarbonisation of heavy-duty transport segments.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110273,"content":110274},{"textAlign":49},[110275],{"text":110276,"type":596},"A major requirement for the deployment of EVs is to switch global electricity generation to renewable energy, it noted. The report showed a battery EV charged using coal-based electricity can have higher life-time greenhouse emissions than a diesel or petrol vehicle. It is only when renewable and low-carbon electricity sources are used that the carbon intensity of an EV is guaranteed to be lower than a car burning fossil fuels, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110278,"content":110279},{"textAlign":49},[110280],{"text":110281,"type":596},"In addition, the report said maximising the mitigation potential of electric vehicles required further efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions footprint of battery production.",{"type":615,"attrs":110283,"content":110284},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110285],{"text":110286,"type":596},"Critical mineral concerns",{"type":591,"attrs":110288,"content":110289},{"textAlign":49},[110290],{"text":110291,"type":596},"The report noted that many of the required technological solutions already exist and have been falling in cost since 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, solar and wind energy fell in cost by 85% and 55%, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":110293,"content":110294},{"textAlign":49},[110295],{"text":110296,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries have seen similar dramatic falls in cost. Benchmark data shows that between 2014 and 2021 lithium ion battery prices (large contract automotive, NCM) fell by 65%.",{"type":591,"attrs":110298,"content":110299},{"textAlign":49},[110300],{"text":110301,"type":596},"Yet the report also notes that “there are growing concerns about critical minerals needed for batteries.” These include “concerns about resource availability, labour rights, non-climate environmental impacts, and costs of critical minerals needed for lithium ion batteries”.",{"type":591,"attrs":110303,"content":110304},{"textAlign":49},[110305,110307,110312],{"text":110306,"type":596},"Prices for lithium ion batteries started to increase this year for the",{"text":110308,"type":596,"marks":110309}," first time since entering the gigafactory era",[110310],{"type":606,"attrs":110311},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110313,"type":596},", rising by 9.5% to $115 a kilowatt hour for NCM-523 batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":110315,"content":110316},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":110318,"content":110319},{"textAlign":49},[110320],{"text":110321,"type":596},"A number of supply chain disruptions are already slowing the roll out of new EV models, and automakers have begun to increase prices due to higher raw material costs. Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have risen by over 500% over the past year, as global production is expected to fall short of demand by 65,000 tonnes of LCE this year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":110323,"content":110324},{"textAlign":49},[110325],{"text":110326,"type":596},"The market for natural flake graphite, used in battery anodes, is also set to move into a deficit by 2026, while supply for nickel for batteries could be in short supply by the end of the decade, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":110328,"content":110329},{"textAlign":49},[110330],{"text":110331,"type":596},"For batteries to truly aid in the decarbonisation of transport and in the deployment of renewables, concerns about critical minerals must be mitigated, the report said. Next-generation batteries such as sodium-ion and solid-state batteries could aid in this.",{"type":615,"attrs":110333,"content":110334},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110335],{"text":110336,"type":596},"Recycling opportunities",{"type":591,"attrs":110338,"content":110339},{"textAlign":49},[110340],{"text":110341,"type":596},"Another route to overcoming the issues associated with mining is to recycle used batteries, it said. The report says that although innovation is enabling a greater proportion of the lithium ion battery to be recycled, not all materials can be recycled.",{"type":591,"attrs":110343,"content":110344},{"textAlign":49},[110345],{"text":110346,"type":596},"Reducing the quantity of the difficult to recycle materials should be explored in combination with increasing the quantity of recycled materials used, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110348,"content":110349},{"textAlign":49},[110350],{"text":110351,"type":596},"“Material and supply diversification strategies, energy and material efficiency improvements, and circular material flows can reduce the environmental footprint and material supply risks for battery production,” it said.",{"type":615,"attrs":110353,"content":110354},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110355],{"text":110356,"type":596},"Boost for energy storage",{"type":591,"attrs":110358,"content":110359},{"textAlign":49},[110360],{"text":110361,"type":596},"The IPCC said the largest greenhouse gas reductions can be achieved by increasing the quantity of deployed solar and wind energy, and through the sequestration of carbon through agriculture and other ecosystems.",{"type":591,"attrs":110363,"content":110364},{"textAlign":49},[110365],{"text":110366,"type":596},"A greater utilisation of renewables will necessitate the deployment of energy storage systems. The IPCC found that lithium ion batteries are suitable for all storage requirements except seasonal storage. For that application, reversible hydrogen fuel cells and other power-to-fuel technologies are more suitable, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110368,"content":110369},{"textAlign":49},[110370],{"text":110371,"type":596},"Data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database shows that in 2022 energy storage systems (ESS) accounted for 5% of battery demand. This is forecast to grow to 12% by 2040 a thirtyfold increase.",{"type":615,"attrs":110373,"content":110374},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110375],{"text":110376,"type":596},"Government policies failing to deilver ",{"type":591,"attrs":110378,"content":110379},{"textAlign":49},[110380],{"text":110381,"type":596},"However, despite the availability of many essential technological solutions, the report highlighted that government policies fall far too short. Even if all the policies enacted by the end of 2020 were fully implemented, the world will be on track for 3.2 °C of warming by 2100, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110383,"content":110384},{"textAlign":49},[110385],{"text":110386,"type":596},"“Human activities got us into this problem. Human agency can get us out of it. It is not all lost. We really have the chance to do something,” Jim Skea, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group, said this week.","The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III released its latest report on the mitigation of climate change this week, highlighting the key role electric vehicles have to play in reducing global emissions. Action is needed “now or never” if global warming is to be limited to under 1.5 °C, the report said. […]",[110389],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110390},{"job_title":557,"image":110391,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0bac8e00-228f-454b-9e70-7ebea0f53140\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110394],{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110396,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110397,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ef18593118/bm-smokestacks1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III released its latest report on the mitigation of climate change this week, highlighting the key role electric vehicles have to play in reducing global emissions. Action is needed...","Apr 07, 2022",{"id":110401,"uuid":110402,"name":110403,"slug":110404,"full_slug":110405,"content":110406},112472878317070,"bcf7166b-e2ae-475b-acf1-0a36e02e3914","“Auto OEMs will need to become miners” – Gigafactories Europe Berlin event; Benchmark launches Giga USA","auto-oems-will-need-to-become-miners-gigafactories-europe-berlin-event-benchmark-launches-giga-usa","article/auto-oems-will-need-to-become-miners-gigafactories-europe-berlin-event-benchmark-launches-giga-usa",{"_uid":110407,"date":110408,"tags":110409,"editor":110411,"content":110415,"excerpt":110573,"featured":51,"reporter":110574,"_editable":110578,"component":697,"seo_title":110403,"categories":110579,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":110582,"seo_description":110573,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":110585},"ebd8ec9b-3152-477c-9272-0757c4abbc3b","2022-03-31 00:00",[110410],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[110412],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110413},{"job_title":557,"image":110414,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110416},[110417,110422,110435,110440,110445,110450,110455,110460,110471,110476,110481,110486,110491,110496,110505,110510,110520,110532,110550,110555,110560],{"type":591,"attrs":110418,"content":110419},{"textAlign":49},[110420],{"text":110421,"type":596},"Benchmark’s inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2022 event in Berlin was an outstanding success that zeroed in on a number of pertinent points for the continent’s EV and battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110423,"content":110424},{"textAlign":49},[110425,110427,110433],{"text":110426,"type":596},"Here we share some of these insights as we look forward to our inaugural ",{"text":110428,"type":596,"marks":110429},"Battery Gigafactories USA",[110430],{"type":606,"attrs":110431},{"href":110432,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-gigafactories-usa-2022/",{"text":110434,"type":596}," 23-24 June in Washington DC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110436,"content":110437},{"textAlign":49},[110438],{"text":110439,"type":596},"Here are some of the key takeaways from our Berlin event:",{"type":615,"attrs":110441,"content":110442},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110443],{"text":110444,"type":596},"Raw materials enter the realm of impossible",{"type":615,"attrs":110446,"content":110447},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110448],{"text":110449,"type":596},"OEMs will need to take drastic upstream action ",{"type":615,"attrs":110451,"content":110452},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110453],{"text":110454,"type":596},"The global battery arms race shows no signs of slowing down ",{"type":615,"attrs":110456,"content":110457},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110458],{"text":110459,"type":596},"Join Battery Gigafactories USA 2022, Thursday 23- Friday 24 June 2022, Grand Hyatt, Washington DC ",{"type":591,"attrs":110461,"content":110462},{"textAlign":49},[110463,110465,110469],{"text":110464,"type":596},"After the outstanding success of our inaugural European event, Benchmark is excited to announce the launch of ",{"text":110025,"type":596,"marks":110466},[110467],{"type":606,"attrs":110468},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110470,"type":596}," in Washington DC. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110472,"content":110473},{"textAlign":49},[110474],{"text":110475,"type":596},"These events are key enablers in building the EV supply chains of today and tomorrow. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110477,"content":110478},{"textAlign":49},[110479],{"text":110480,"type":596},"It brings together government, industry and financiers of the electric vehicle revolution with a specific focus on the rise of the these supersized lithium ion battery plants in the USA.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":110482,"content":110483},{"textAlign":49},[110484],{"text":110485,"type":596},"This event replaces The Benchmark Summit – Washington DC for 2022 only. ",{"type":615,"attrs":110487,"content":110488},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110489],{"text":110490,"type":596},"Government Representatives attend for free",{"type":591,"attrs":110492,"content":110493},{"textAlign":49},[110494],{"text":110495,"type":596},"All US government affiliated organisations can attend for free including government departments and senatorial and congressional representatives. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110497,"content":110498},{"textAlign":49},[110499,110504],{"text":110500,"type":596,"marks":110501},"Click here to apply",[110502],{"type":606,"attrs":110503},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":110506,"content":110507},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110508],{"text":110509,"type":596},"Buy delegate passes here: ",{"type":591,"attrs":110511,"content":110512},{"textAlign":49},[110513,110515,110519],{"text":110514,"type":596},"As a commercial event, all non governmental attendees can purchase delegate passes to the 2 day event ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":110516},[110517],{"type":606,"attrs":110518},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":110521,"content":110522},{"textAlign":49},[110523,110525,110530],{"text":110524,"type":596},"Our European event sold out and we had to reject attendees because of overcapacity, so please ",{"text":110526,"type":596,"marks":110527},"act early",[110528],{"type":606,"attrs":110529},{"href":110029,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110531,"type":596}," to have a better chance of attending. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110533,"content":110534},{"textAlign":49},[110535,110537,110539,110543,110544,110548],{"text":110536,"type":596},"To Speak or Sponsor ",{"text":110538,"type":596},"contact Ben Ash (",{"text":110053,"type":596,"marks":110540},[110541],{"type":606,"attrs":110542},{"href":110057,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110059,"type":596},{"text":110061,"type":596,"marks":110545},[110546],{"type":606,"attrs":110547},{"href":110065,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110549,"type":596},") ",{"type":615,"attrs":110551,"content":110552},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110553],{"text":110554,"type":596},"No Media permitted, Chatham House Rules",{"type":591,"attrs":110556,"content":110557},{"textAlign":49},[110558],{"text":110559,"type":596},"Unfortunately we cannot allow media to attend this event. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110561,"content":110562},{"textAlign":49},[110563,110565,110571],{"text":110564,"type":596},"If there is interest in having a media briefing morning with key analysis and some speakers, please email ",{"text":110566,"type":596,"marks":110567},"press@benchmarkminerals.com. ",[110568],{"type":606,"attrs":110569},{"href":110570,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:press@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":110572,"type":596},"Please outline your main areas of interest.","Benchmark’s inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2022 event in Berlin was an outstanding success that zeroed in on a number of pertinent points for the continent’s EV and battery supply chain. Here we share some of these insights as we look forward to our inaugural Battery Gigafactories USA 23-24 June in Washington DC. Here are some […]",[110575],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110576},{"job_title":557,"image":110577,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ebd8ec9b-3152-477c-9272-0757c4abbc3b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110580,110581],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110583,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110584,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1770a805ea/bm-brandenburg-gate.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 31, 2022",{"id":110587,"uuid":110588,"name":110589,"slug":110590,"full_slug":110591,"content":110592},112472887987728,"96e2b9da-94f9-4aea-a548-11527d5f2749","BYD secures lithium discount after buying stake in Chinese lithium miner","byd-secures-lithium-discount-after-buying-stake-in-chinese-lithium-miner","article/byd-secures-lithium-discount-after-buying-stake-in-chinese-lithium-miner",{"_uid":110593,"date":110594,"tags":110595,"editor":110598,"content":110602,"excerpt":110678,"featured":51,"reporter":110679,"_editable":110683,"component":697,"seo_title":110589,"categories":110684,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":110686,"seo_description":110678,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":110689},"0be63de5-a4c1-424b-9daa-534a1904f589","2022-03-25 00:00",[110596,110597],{"slug":5693,"name":5694},{"slug":1231,"name":1232},[110599],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110600},{"job_title":557,"image":110601,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110603},[110604,110609,110614,110619,110624,110629,110634,110639,110644,110649,110654,110659,110664,110669],{"type":591,"attrs":110605,"content":110606},{"textAlign":49},[110607],{"text":110608,"type":596},"BYD has become the second automaker to take a stake in a major lithium miner, with a RMB 3 billion deal to acquire 5% of Shenzhen-listed Chengxin Lithium, in a move that secures supplies of the battery raw material following a surge in prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":110610,"content":110611},{"textAlign":49},[110612],{"text":110613,"type":596},"China’s largest electric carmaker said the deal was made after it failed to secure “stable” lithium supplies from the market due to rapidly rising lithium prices last year. Following the investment Chengxin said it would provide lithium to BYD at “the most preferential prices.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110615,"content":110616},{"textAlign":49},[110617],{"text":110618,"type":596},"Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate prices have risen over 500% over the past year according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, which is putting increasing pressure on the entire Chinese electric vehicle industry. BYD raised prices for its vehicles this month for the second time this year, citing rising raw material costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":110620,"content":110621},{"textAlign":49},[110622],{"text":110623,"type":596},"“Gaining preferential lithium pricing through investment should allow BYD to keep its costs under control, given that automakers, including BYD, Tesla, and XPeng, have recently been pushed to announce price increases for their EV models due to rising raw material prices,” Maynie Yang, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":110625,"content":110626},{"textAlign":49},[110627],{"text":110628,"type":596},"Chinese electric vehicle startup Nio, one of the few companpies to not raise its prices, said on Friday that the prices for lithium were due to “opportunistic price hikes” by lithium companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":110630,"content":110631},{"textAlign":49},[110632],{"text":110633,"type":596},"BYD, a leading producer of lithium iron phosphate batteries that use lithium carbonate,  has a dominant position in China’s EV market. It sold 43,173 pure electric vehicles in February, a 451% increase from last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":110635,"content":110636},{"textAlign":49},[110637],{"text":110638,"type":596},"BYD’s strategic investment in Chengxin will provide the carmaker with security of lithium supply for at least three years at discounted prices, Chengxin said.",{"type":615,"attrs":110640,"content":110641},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110642],{"text":110643,"type":596},"Rising EV prices",{"type":591,"attrs":110645,"content":110646},{"textAlign":49},[110647],{"text":110648,"type":596},"Chengxin will guarantee priority supply of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium metal products, with preferential discounts, to BYD, it said. The two companies will also collaborate on upstream lithium development.",{"type":591,"attrs":110650,"content":110651},{"textAlign":49},[110652],{"text":110653,"type":596},"It’s the second Chinese automaker to invest in a major lithium miner after Great Wall Motor bought a stake in Pilbara Minerals in 2017. While General Motors has invested in the California-based lithium startup Controlled Thermal Resources, the company is not yet in production.",{"type":591,"attrs":110655,"content":110656},{"textAlign":49},[110657],{"text":110658,"type":596},"The deal is BYD’s third in the lithium sector after investments in Qinghai Salt Lake and Tibet Zabuye Lithium. Chinese company Youngy Co, which is building a lithium plant in Sichuan province, is also a shareholder in BYD.",{"type":591,"attrs":110660,"content":110661},{"textAlign":49},[110662],{"text":110663,"type":596},"Chengxin said that BYD’s surplus lithium feedstock that requires third-party processing will be sent to Chengxin as a priority.",{"type":591,"attrs":110665,"content":110666},{"textAlign":49},[110667],{"text":110668,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, latest price is at RMB 488,500/tonne ($76,700).",{"type":591,"attrs":110670,"content":110671},{"textAlign":49},[110672,110674,110676],{"text":110673,"type":596},"Chengxin has said its net profit for 2021 is likely to rise by between 2,954% to 3,285.5% year-over-year due to higher lithium prices. BYD will pay RMB ",{"text":110675,"type":596},"4",{"text":110677,"type":596},"2.99 a share for the stake in Chengxin. Shares closed on Friday at RMB 56 a share. ","BYD has become the second automaker to take a stake in a major lithium miner, with a RMB 3 billion deal to acquire 5% of Shenzhen-listed Chengxin Lithium, in a move that secures supplies of the battery raw material following a surge in prices. China’s largest electric carmaker said the deal was made after it […]",[110680],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110681},{"job_title":557,"image":110682,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0be63de5-a4c1-424b-9daa-534a1904f589\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110685],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110687,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110688,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2bc3e3c83d/bm-byd-taxis-credit-nikada.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 25, 2022",{"id":110691,"uuid":110692,"name":110693,"slug":110694,"full_slug":110695,"content":110696},112472883125775,"58515e36-19f5-4316-8983-15de097e34db","LGES expands North America footprint with Canada and Arizona gigafactories","lges-expands-north-america-footprint-with-canada-and-arizona-gigafactories","article/lges-expands-north-america-footprint-with-canada-and-arizona-gigafactories",{"_uid":110697,"date":110594,"tags":110698,"editor":110701,"content":110705,"excerpt":110802,"featured":51,"reporter":110803,"_editable":110807,"component":697,"seo_title":110693,"categories":110808,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":110810,"seo_description":110802,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":110689},"191d8c39-e1ff-485b-b9a6-3dbe8d8db3eb",[110699,110700],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":572,"name":573},[110702],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110703},{"job_title":557,"image":110704,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110706},[110707,110712,110717,110729,110734,110739,110744,110749,110754,110759,110764,110769,110772,110784,110789,110794,110799],{"type":591,"attrs":110708,"content":110709},{"textAlign":49},[110710],{"text":110711,"type":596},"LG Energy Solution (LGES) this week announced over $5 billion of investment into two battery production plants in North America, including its first Canadian gigafactory, as the South Korean company cements its position as a leading supplier to the US automotive industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110713,"content":110714},{"textAlign":49},[110715],{"text":110716,"type":596},"The company said a $4.1 billion joint venture with Stellantis will build Canada’s first large-scale battery facility in Windsor, Ontario. Due to be operational by 2024, the plant has a planned production capacity of 45 gigawatt hours, making it the largest capacity plant LGES has announced in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":110718,"content":110719},{"textAlign":49},[110720,110722,110727],{"text":110721,"type":596},"The deals increase LGES’ lead over rival SK On (the battery subsidiary of SK Innovation) in North America and also put the company in a strong position to supply fast growing startups such as Lucid Motors with batteries. It comes following ",{"text":110723,"type":596,"marks":110724},"LGES’ IPO on the South Korean stock exchange in January",[110725],{"type":606,"attrs":110726},{"href":109005,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110728,"type":596},", where the company raised $11 billion to expand global capacity to catch up to China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery producer.",{"type":615,"attrs":110730,"content":110731},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110732],{"text":110733,"type":596},"NORTH AMERICAN EXPANSION",{"type":591,"attrs":110735,"content":110736},{"textAlign":49},[110737],{"text":110738,"type":596},"“LG has been expanding in North America for a while,” says Hanisha Tirumalasetty, an analyst at Benchmark. “They have a very strong presence there and are building on that.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110740,"content":110741},{"textAlign":49},[110742],{"text":110743,"type":596},"Stellantis is already Windor’s largest employer and the new facility will create 2,500 jobs, the company said. Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, said the plant will help put “Canada on the cutting edge of the clean economy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":110745,"content":110746},{"textAlign":49},[110747],{"text":110748,"type":596},"LGES said it would use Canada’s extensive renewable electricity infrastructure to help “position itself as a critical player in building green energy value chains in the region,” according to Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LGES.",{"type":591,"attrs":110750,"content":110751},{"textAlign":49},[110752],{"text":110753,"type":596},"Canada is emerging as a key battery supply chain cluster due to its cheap and abundant hydropower. GM and Posco said this month that they plan to build a battery cathode plant in Quebec, where hydropower provides over 90% of the region’s electricity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":110755,"content":110756},{"textAlign":49},[110757],{"text":110758,"type":596},"This week LGES also announced a $1.4 billion investment to build a battery factory in Arizona. This facility, also due to be operational in 2024, has a planned production capacity of 11 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":110760,"content":110761},{"textAlign":49},[110762],{"text":110763,"type":596},"The facility will manufacture cylindrical battery cells, the format used by automakers such as Lucid and Tesla. LGES said the facility will supply “prominent startups” alongside other North American companies in the EV and power tools market.",{"type":615,"attrs":110765,"content":110766},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110767],{"text":110768,"type":596},"COMPETING GLOBALLY AND LOCALLY",{"type":591,"attrs":110770,"content":110771},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":110773,"content":110774},{"textAlign":49},[110775,110777,110782],{"text":110776,"type":596},"The two new facilities are close to existing battery hubs in the US. The Ontario plant is adjacent to LGES’ “midwest hub.” The company recently announced it would invest $1.7 billion into expanding its Michigan plant in this hub to quintuple its output. LGES is also operating a ",{"text":110778,"type":596,"marks":110779},"joint venture with General Motors in Ohio",[110780],{"type":606,"attrs":110781},{"href":77339,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110783,"type":596},", expected to be operational by 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":110785,"content":110786},{"textAlign":49},[110787],{"text":110788,"type":596},"In 2021, LGES had 5 GWh of production capacity. These latest announcements along with previously released plans, will help secure LGES’ position as a key player in the region with nearly 200 GWh of capacity planned by 2031.",{"type":591,"attrs":110790,"content":110791},{"textAlign":49},[110792],{"text":110793,"type":596},"Despite growth by LGES in North America, the global battery production market leader is CATL. In 2021, CATL had 37% more production capacity than LGES, globally. This lead will grow to 68% by 2031 as CATL rapidly expands in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":110795,"content":110796},{"textAlign":49},[110797],{"text":110798,"type":596},"The lead LGES has in North America could change, however, if CATL starts developing capacity in the region. Although no official figures have been announced, Bloomberg reported the company plans to build an 80 GWh battery facility in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":110800,"content":110801},{"textAlign":49},[],"LG Energy Solution (LGES) this week announced over $5 billion of investment into two battery production plants in North America, including its first Canadian gigafactory, as the South Korean company cements its position as a leading supplier to the US automotive industry. The company said a $4.1 billion joint venture with Stellantis will build Canada’s […]",[110804],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110805},{"job_title":557,"image":110806,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"191d8c39-e1ff-485b-b9a6-3dbe8d8db3eb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110809],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110811,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110812,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/90b9bc6c0c/bm-01-hp-1-all-new-2022-jeep-grand-cherokee-4xe-plug-in-hybrid.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":110814,"uuid":110815,"name":110816,"slug":110817,"full_slug":110818,"content":110819},112472892751377,"8fa363e5-47a0-4e3c-8a9b-116447d36969","Vale strikes Northvolt deal as uncertainty surrounds Russian nickel","vale-strikes-northvolt-deal-as-uncertainty-surrounds-russian-nickel","article/vale-strikes-northvolt-deal-as-uncertainty-surrounds-russian-nickel",{"_uid":110820,"date":110821,"tags":110822,"editor":110829,"content":110833,"excerpt":110939,"featured":50,"reporter":110940,"_editable":110944,"component":697,"seo_title":110816,"categories":110945,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":110947,"seo_description":110939,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":110950},"d7b6f981-4d26-470d-8b27-e5d8078203d8","2022-03-24 00:00",[110823,110824,110825,110826],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":22547,"name":22548},{"slug":17656,"name":17657},{"slug":110827,"name":110828},"vale","Vale",[110830],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110831},{"job_title":557,"image":110832,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110834},[110835,110840,110845,110850,110855,110860,110865,110876,110881,110886,110891,110896,110901,110906,110911,110924,110929,110934],{"type":591,"attrs":110836,"content":110837},{"textAlign":49},[110838],{"text":110839,"type":596},"European battery startup Northvolt said it would buy nickel for its batteries from Vale in Canada, in a move that secures low carbon supplies of the metal in the face of a potential shortage following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.",{"type":591,"attrs":110841,"content":110842},{"textAlign":49},[110843],{"text":110844,"type":596},"Vale said it had signed a “multi-year” supply agreement with Northvolt for nickel from its Long Harbour refinery in Newfoundland, Canada, saying the metal had one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":110846,"content":110847},{"textAlign":49},[110848],{"text":110849,"type":596},"The deal comes amid turbulence in the nickel market following the decision by the London Metal Exchange to suspend trading in its nickel contract earlier this month due to a rapid rise in prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.",{"type":591,"attrs":110851,"content":110852},{"textAlign":49},[110853],{"text":110854,"type":596},"The invasion has created uncertainty about whether automakers will accept nickel from Norilsk Nickel, which has a deal to supply metal for electric vehicles to German cathode maker BASF. The company, which is led by billionaire Vladimir Potanin, has not been sanctioned by any government.",{"type":591,"attrs":110856,"content":110857},{"textAlign":49},[110858],{"text":110859,"type":596},"Norilsk accounts for around 17% of the world’s production of high purity class 1 nickel, according to Benchmark. It is also one of the few providers of low-carbon nickel globally.",{"type":615,"attrs":110861,"content":110862},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110863],{"text":110864,"type":596},"Indonesia’s carbon conundrum ",{"type":591,"attrs":110866,"content":110867},{"textAlign":49},[110868,110870,110874],{"text":110869,"type":596},"Most of the growth in nickel supply is set to come from ",{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":110871},[110872],{"type":606,"attrs":110873},{"href":90711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":110875,"type":596}," this decade, but the carbon footprint can be up to five times that produced in Russia and Canada, according to Benchmark ESG.",{"type":591,"attrs":110877,"content":110878},{"textAlign":49},[110879],{"text":110880,"type":596},"Vale said its nickel plating rounds from the Long Harbour processing plant, which is a hydrometallurgical facility, has a carbon dioxide equivalent footprint of 4.4 tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of nickel. This includes  scope 1 and 2 emissions as well as scope 3 (upstream) emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":110882,"content":110883},{"textAlign":49},[110884],{"text":110885,"type":596},"That compares with around 8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of nickel cathode for Nornickel, according to the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":110887,"content":110888},{"textAlign":49},[110889],{"text":110890,"type":596},"The amount of CO2 produced for a tonne of nickel from Indonesia can be as high as 97 tonnes, according to Bruna Grossl, an LCA practitioner at Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":110892,"content":110893},{"textAlign":49},[110894],{"text":110895,"type":596},"Vale said the carbon footprint of its nickel was likely to fall further as it aims to cut absolute carbon emissions company-wide by 33% by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":110897,"content":110898},{"textAlign":49},[110899],{"text":110900,"type":596},"Vale’s Canadian operations have a capacity of around 113,000 tonnes of nickel. However this is dwarfed by the increasing amount of supply from Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":110902,"content":110903},{"textAlign":49},[110904],{"text":110905,"type":596},"Tsingshan is set to produce 50,000 tonnes of nickel matte for batteries this year, rising to 75,000 tonnes next year, according to Benchmark. Nickel matte from Indonesia has the highest carbon footprint of all nickel for batteries as it is produced from the same furnaces used to produce nickel pig-iron, a metal used to make stainless steel.",{"type":591,"attrs":110907,"content":110908},{"textAlign":49},[110909],{"text":110910,"type":596},"Many automakers may face no choice but to secure supplies of nickel from Indonesia, according to Socrates Economou, chief nickel and cobalt trader at Trafigura, which will increase the carbon footpring of electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":110912,"content":110913},{"textAlign":49},[110914,110916,110922],{"text":110915,"type":596},"This week Volkswagen China said it ",{"text":110917,"type":596,"marks":110918},"had signed an agreement",[110919],{"type":606,"attrs":110920},{"href":110921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/volkswagen-set-to-enter-high-nickel-cathode-production-as-it-agrees-nickel-cobalt-supply-deal-with-huayou-and-tsingshan",{"text":110923,"type":596}," with Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan to develop nickel and cobalt resources in Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":110925,"content":110926},{"textAlign":49},[110927],{"text":110928,"type":596},"The three companies said they will form a joint venture to develop annual production of 120,000 tonnes of nickel and 15,000 tonnes of cobalt in Indonesia – enough for 160 gigawatt-hours of batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":110930,"content":110931},{"textAlign":49},[110932],{"text":110933,"type":596},"Huayou and Volkswagen said the project would be “sustainable” without giving more details.",{"type":591,"attrs":110935,"content":110936},{"textAlign":49},[110937],{"text":110938,"type":596},"“Volkswagen Group China intends to tap deeper into the battery raw material supplier chain, to drive NEV growth cost-efficiently, securely and sustainably,” Volkswagen China’s chief executive Stephan Wöllenstein, said.","European battery startup Northvolt said it would buy nickel for its batteries from Vale in Canada, in a move that secures low carbon supplies of the metal in the face of a potential shortage following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vale said it had signed a “multi-year” supply agreement with Northvolt for nickel from its Long […]",[110941],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110942},{"job_title":557,"image":110943,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d7b6f981-4d26-470d-8b27-e5d8078203d8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[110946],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110948,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":110949,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c924a938f6/bm-long-harbour-operations-electrowinning-2-e1648125833480.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 24, 2022",{"id":110952,"uuid":110953,"name":110954,"slug":110955,"full_slug":110956,"content":110957},112472907316786,"54333f76-4c3e-48fd-a7db-06662409b336","China’s CALB files for IPO as it looks to challenge CATL’s battery dominance","chinas-calb-files-for-ipo-as-it-looks-to-challenge-catls-battery-dominance","article/chinas-calb-files-for-ipo-as-it-looks-to-challenge-catls-battery-dominance",{"_uid":110958,"date":110959,"tags":110960,"editor":110963,"content":110967,"excerpt":111104,"featured":50,"reporter":111105,"_editable":111109,"component":697,"seo_title":110954,"categories":111110,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":111112,"seo_description":111104,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111115},"fc20c60c-f24b-426c-90e1-2b391ac4cebe","2022-03-17 00:00",[110961,110962],{"slug":13417,"name":13418},{"slug":575,"name":576},[110964],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":110965},{"job_title":557,"image":110966,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":110968},[110969,110974,110979,110984,110989,110994,110999,111004,111024,111029,111034,111039,111044,111049,111054,111059,111064,111069,111074,111079,111084,111089,111094,111099],{"type":591,"attrs":110970,"content":110971},{"textAlign":49},[110972],{"text":110973,"type":596},"CALB, one of China’s largest lithium ion battery manufacturers, plans to raise $1.5 billion through a Hong Kong listing as it gears up to challenge  CATL’s dominance of the Chinese market.",{"type":591,"attrs":110975,"content":110976},{"textAlign":49},[110977],{"text":110978,"type":596},"The company, which has ties to China’s leading arms manufacturer, said it wants to use the money to double manufacturing capacity over the next twelve months to 55 GWh, as well as for research and development.",{"type":591,"attrs":110980,"content":110981},{"textAlign":49},[110982],{"text":110983,"type":596},"The fundraise comes as a number of second-tier Chinese battery companies have announced ambitious expansion plans, with the aim of challenging Ningde-based CATL’s dominant share of the Chinese battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":110985,"content":110986},{"textAlign":49},[110987],{"text":110988,"type":596},"Svolt, a spin-off from China’s Great Wall, has said it is looking to go public on the Shanghai stock market this year. Volkswagen’s Chinese battery partner Gotion also said this week that it will issue shares on the Swiss stock exchange.",{"type":591,"attrs":110990,"content":110991},{"textAlign":49},[110992],{"text":110993,"type":596},"“We’re seeing tier 2 players having to access capital markets in order to remain competitive in what is a very high capital intensity and low margin business,” Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, said.",{"type":615,"attrs":110995,"content":110996},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[110997],{"text":110998,"type":596},"Terawatt hour ambitions",{"type":591,"attrs":111000,"content":111001},{"textAlign":49},[111002],{"text":111003,"type":596},"CALB’s gross profit margins for EV batteries was 5.5% last year, according to its prospectus.",{"type":591,"attrs":111005,"content":111006},{"textAlign":49},[111007,111009,111015,111017,111022],{"text":111008,"type":596},"CALB lags behind both ",{"text":111010,"type":596,"marks":111011},"BYD, ",[111012],{"type":606,"attrs":111013},{"href":111014,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/byd-becomes-benchmarks-7th-tier-one-ev-battery-manufacturer-2nd-china-cell-maker-2",{"text":111016,"type":596},"CATL and Sunwoda in terms of Chinese production capacity with 24.5 GWh of current capacity, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":29670,"type":596,"marks":111018},[111019],{"type":606,"attrs":111020},{"href":111021,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/gigafactories/",{"text":111023,"type":596},". It has five major customers including EV startups Xpeng and Leapmotor as well as carmakers GAC Aion and Changan NEV.",{"type":591,"attrs":111025,"content":111026},{"textAlign":49},[111027],{"text":111028,"type":596},"The company, which is led by chairwoman Liu Jingyu, has set an ambitious target of having 500 gigawatt-hours of battery production capacity by 2025 and 1TWh by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":111030,"content":111031},{"textAlign":49},[111032],{"text":111033,"type":596},"The cell supplier currently has a total pipeline capacity of 172 GWh to 2025, according to the Benchmark Gigafactory Assessment, which is less than CATL’s projected capacity of over 500 GWh. As a result, CALB is likely to make further large-scale capacity announcements in the coming months, Benchmark believes.",{"type":591,"attrs":111035,"content":111036},{"textAlign":49},[111037],{"text":111038,"type":596},"This year CALB already unveiled plans for two 50 GWh battery projects in the cities of Guangzhou and Jiangmen in southern Guangdong province. Benchmark expects the Guangzhou plant to be completed in two phases, with 25 GWh to be commissioned by 2025 and 50 GWh by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":111040,"content":111041},{"textAlign":49},[111042],{"text":111043,"type":596},"Benchmark understands that both plants will follow CALB’s existing production format with a focus on both lithium iron phosphate and high nickel cathode, to cater to CALB’s customer base.",{"type":591,"attrs":111045,"content":111046},{"textAlign":49},[111047],{"text":111048,"type":596},"CALB primarily produces prismatic cells, as well as limited volumes of pouch cells for both EV and ESS customers in the Chinese domestic market.",{"type":591,"attrs":111050,"content":111051},{"textAlign":49},[111052],{"text":111053,"type":596},"CALB says its “magazine battery” is one of the few to have passed a “nail penetration test” for safety in China. The battery uses nano-scale coating and doping technology of the cathode materials to improve the thermal stability and prevent thermal runaway, as well as a heat-insulated battery safety compartment.",{"type":591,"attrs":111055,"content":111056},{"textAlign":49},[111057],{"text":111058,"type":596},"The company says its “minimalist” battery pack design also reduces the weight of structural components by 40% compared to that of a traditional battery structure. CALB says that enables LFP packs with an energy density of between 140Wh/kg-150Wh/kg that can provide a driving range of 600 kilometres.",{"type":591,"attrs":111060,"content":111061},{"textAlign":49},[111062],{"text":111063,"type":596},"CALB said it swung to a profit of 111.5 million RMB ($18 million) last year, from a loss of 18.3 million RMB a year earlier.",{"type":615,"attrs":111065,"content":111066},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111067],{"text":111068,"type":596},"Military connection",{"type":591,"attrs":111070,"content":111071},{"textAlign":49},[111072],{"text":111073,"type":596},"CALB said it will also “seek opportunities to expand overseas,” following the creation of subsidiaries in Germany and the US, the company said in its IPO prospectus.",{"type":591,"attrs":111075,"content":111076},{"textAlign":49},[111077],{"text":111078,"type":596},"But the company’s military ties may raise questions for international customers, amid growing geopolitical tensions between China and the US over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":111080,"content":111081},{"textAlign":49},[111082],{"text":111083,"type":596},"CALB was founded in 2015 in Changzhou, eastern Jiangsu province, with the backing of Luoyang Company, which was wholly owned by the Missile Academy, an institution set up by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China’s leading arms manufacturer. Luoyang Company is involved in manufacturing and sales of EV batteries for military industrial use.",{"type":591,"attrs":111085,"content":111086},{"textAlign":49},[111087],{"text":111088,"type":596},"CALB, which had bought 73% of Luoyang Company in 2019, said it had now sold its stake “in order to minimize the impact and potential risk which could be resulted from the military industrial business engaged by Luoyang Company and to implement our Group’s globalization strategy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111090,"content":111091},{"textAlign":49},[111092],{"text":111093,"type":596},"But many of CALB’s current executives have a background working for AVIC, and the company retains a 10% shareholding in CALB via a subsidiary Chengfei Integration. CALB also said it will also use Luoyang Company for “processing services” as it scales up production.",{"type":591,"attrs":111095,"content":111096},{"textAlign":49},[111097],{"text":111098,"type":596},"AVIC is on the US Treasury Department’s list of Non-Sanctioned Chinese Military Industrial Companies, which means US persons cannot invest in the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":111100,"content":111101},{"textAlign":49},[111102],{"text":111103,"type":596},"CALB flagged the risks of also being added to the list, saying if it was “any U.S. persons that hold our H Shares would be prohibited from selling those shares after the end of a one-year period following the addition of the Company to such list.”","CALB, one of China’s largest lithium ion battery manufacturers, plans to raise $1.5 billion through a Hong Kong listing as it gears up to challenge CATL’s dominance of the Chinese market. The company, which has ties to China’s leading arms manufacturer, said it wants to use the money to double manufacturing capacity over the next […]",[111106],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111107},{"job_title":557,"image":111108,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fc20c60c-f24b-426c-90e1-2b391ac4cebe\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[111111],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":111113,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111114,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6db66197d3/bm-aion-car.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 17, 2022",{"id":111117,"uuid":111118,"name":111119,"slug":111120,"full_slug":111121,"content":111122},112472912084531,"5ab8ff3b-32d4-4a8c-bbbc-5133cee2660d","Benchmark statement: Vincent Mascolo, Atlantic Lithium","benchmark-statement-vincent-mascolo-atlantic-lithium","article/benchmark-statement-vincent-mascolo-atlantic-lithium",{"_uid":111123,"date":111124,"tags":111125,"editor":111127,"content":111131,"excerpt":111185,"featured":50,"reporter":111186,"component":697,"seo_title":111119,"categories":111190,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":111191,"featured_image":111193,"seo_description":111196,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111197},"ef4d06a8-2e19-4b6a-8752-2619c185fe0a","2022-03-11 00:00",[111126],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[111128],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111129},{"job_title":557,"image":111130,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":111132},[111133,111138,111143,111148,111153,111158,111163,111168,111173,111178,111183],{"type":615,"attrs":111134,"content":111135},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[111136],{"text":111137,"type":596},"Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence:",{"type":591,"attrs":111139,"content":111140},{"textAlign":49},[111141],{"text":111142,"type":596},"“It’s with great sadness we hear of this news.",{"type":591,"attrs":111144,"content":111145},{"textAlign":49},[111146],{"text":111147,"type":596},"“Vincent was a true professional and a genuine pleasure to work with.",{"type":591,"attrs":111149,"content":111150},{"textAlign":49},[111151],{"text":111152,"type":596},"“His energy and sincere enthusiasm was a credit to the company and clear for the entire industry to see.",{"type":591,"attrs":111154,"content":111155},{"textAlign":49},[111156],{"text":111157,"type":596},"“It is now embedded in the fabric that I am sure will continue to take the company and Vincent’s vision forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":111159,"content":111160},{"textAlign":49},[111161],{"text":111162,"type":596},"“We are sending thoughts and strength to the Atlantic Lithium team.”",{"type":615,"attrs":111164,"content":111165},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[111166],{"text":111167,"type":596},"Ben Ash, Director – Events, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence:",{"type":591,"attrs":111169,"content":111170},{"textAlign":49},[111171],{"text":111172,"type":596},"“I am really shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Vincent. He was a real gentleman with great wit, which made working with him and Atlantic Lithium a true joy.",{"type":591,"attrs":111174,"content":111175},{"textAlign":49},[111176],{"text":111177,"type":596},"“On a personal and professional note I will miss him.",{"type":591,"attrs":111179,"content":111180},{"textAlign":49},[111181],{"text":111182,"type":596},"“Our thoughts are with the entire team, friends and family.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111184},{"textAlign":49},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence statement on the passing of Atlantic Lithium Limited founder and chief executive, Vincent Mascolo. Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: “It’s with great sadness we hear of this news. “Vincent was a true professional and a genuine pleasure to work with. “His energy and sincere enthusiasm was a credit to the company […]",[111187],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111188},{"job_title":557,"image":111189,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[],{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111192},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":111194,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111195,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b95dbb4d2/bm-fdb416f4-7be6-4b11-868d-d378024e5ca1.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence statement on the passing of Atlantic Lithium Limited founder and chief executive, Vincent Mascolo. Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: “It’s with great sadness we hear of this news. […]","Mar 11, 2022",{"id":111199,"uuid":111200,"name":111201,"slug":111202,"full_slug":111203,"content":111204},112472916917812,"95f1afda-bc05-49a3-bf35-cd32ac6000e1","Clean energy lures GM-Posco and BASF cathode projects to Quebec","clean-energy-lures-gm-posco-and-basf-cathode-projects-to-quebec","article/clean-energy-lures-gm-posco-and-basf-cathode-projects-to-quebec",{"_uid":111205,"date":111206,"tags":111207,"editor":111212,"content":111216,"excerpt":111351,"featured":50,"reporter":111352,"_editable":111356,"component":697,"seo_title":111201,"categories":111357,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":111360,"seo_description":111351,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111362},"b4fa4528-230d-4e4c-bf4a-04b6ebb3dbcc","2022-03-10 00:00",[111208,111209,111210,111211],{"slug":46353,"name":46354},{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":81749,"name":30782},{"slug":29331,"name":29332},[111213],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111214},{"job_title":557,"image":111215,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":111217},[111218,111223,111236,111241,111246,111251,111256,111261,111266,111271,111276,111281,111286,111289,111294,111299,111316,111321,111326,111331,111336,111341,111346],{"type":591,"attrs":111219,"content":111220},{"textAlign":49},[111221],{"text":111222,"type":596},"Quebec is emerging as a key hub for the North American battery supply chain following announcements by a GM-Posco joint venture and BASF to build cathode plants in the province, attracted by the region’s abundant hydropower.",{"type":591,"attrs":111224,"content":111225},{"textAlign":49},[111226,111228,111234],{"text":111227,"type":596},"If the new plants come to fruition, they could become a key part of efforts by US President Joe Biden to build a ",{"text":111229,"type":596,"marks":111230},"local supply chain",[111231],{"type":606,"attrs":111232},{"href":111233,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/biden-backs-us-critical-minerals-projects-but-is-it-enough",{"text":111235,"type":596}," for electric vehicles in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":111237,"content":111238},{"textAlign":49},[111239],{"text":111240,"type":596},"Biden has said electric vehicles should make up 50% of new vehicle sales in 2030, a push that has been accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, which has sent oil and gas prices sharply higher.",{"type":591,"attrs":111242,"content":111243},{"textAlign":49},[111244],{"text":111245,"type":596},"“This crisis is a stark reminder that to protect our economy over the long term, we need to become energy independent,” Biden said this week. “It should motivate us to accelerate the transition to clean energy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111247,"content":111248},{"textAlign":49},[111249],{"text":111250,"type":596},"North American battery demand is expected to grow from 86 gigawatt-hours last year to 241 GWh by 2025, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":591,"attrs":111252,"content":111253},{"textAlign":49},[111254],{"text":111255,"type":596},"Benchmark expects total planned cathode capacity in North America to reach nearly 225,000 tonnes in 2025, or around enough for 140 gigawatt-hours of batteries, most of it in Quebec.",{"type":615,"attrs":111257,"content":111258},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111259],{"text":111260,"type":596},"Cheap and green energy",{"type":591,"attrs":111262,"content":111263},{"textAlign":49},[111264],{"text":111265,"type":596},"As global energy prices skyrocket following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Quebec’s hydropower could be a key benefit for companies in the province. It also helps lower the carbon footprint of cathode materials produced there.",{"type":591,"attrs":111267,"content":111268},{"textAlign":49},[111269],{"text":111270,"type":596},"Quebec’s electricity grid has a current carbon intensity of around 26 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour, compared to 278 grams for Germany, where BASF is also building a cathode plant, according to ElectricityMap.",{"type":591,"attrs":111272,"content":111273},{"textAlign":49},[111274],{"text":111275,"type":596},"BASF said the site for its cathode plant between Montreal and Quebec City “would rely on competitive hydropower to further reduce the carbon footprint of its products compared to the industry average.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111277,"content":111278},{"textAlign":49},[111279],{"text":111280,"type":596},"Posco said Quebec’s port city of Bécancour had advantages “in raw material supply chain and logistics facilities adjacent to mines, abundant hydro and renewable energy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111282,"content":111283},{"textAlign":49},[111284],{"text":111285,"type":596},"Quebec is the fourth largest producer globally of electricity from hydropower, and renewable energy supplies 99% of its grid power, according to the government.",{"type":591,"attrs":111287,"content":111288},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":111290,"content":111291},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111292],{"text":111293,"type":596},"Next comes the mining",{"type":591,"attrs":111295,"content":111296},{"textAlign":49},[111297],{"text":111298,"type":596},"Quebec is also attracting mining companies, who could provide the raw materials for the cathode plants. Brazilian miner Vale has said it is looking at Quebec for its nickel sulphate plant, which would process nickel for batteries. The miner already has nickel mines in Sudbury and Manitoba.",{"type":591,"attrs":111300,"content":111301},{"textAlign":49},[111302,111308,111310,111314],{"text":111303,"type":596,"marks":111304},"Nemaska Lithium",[111305],{"type":606,"attrs":111306},{"href":111307,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/livent-looks-north-for-its-spodumene-ambitions",{"text":111309,"type":596}," is set to build a lithium chemical conversion facility in Bécancour, while Nouveau Monde is also building a battery-grade spherical ",{"text":706,"type":596,"marks":111311},[111312],{"type":606,"attrs":111313},{"href":104251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111315,"type":596}," purification facility, where it will process natural flake graphite from its Matawinie mine for the anode supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":111317,"content":111318},{"textAlign":49},[111319],{"text":111320,"type":596},"Still, it’s likely that the plants in Quebec will have to import raw materials from elsewhere for the cathodes – at least in the near-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":111322,"content":111323},{"textAlign":49},[111324],{"text":111325,"type":596},"At current typical utilisation rates for cathode production, Benchmark estimates the regional pipeline would demand over 70,000 tonnes a year LCE of lithium chemicals feedstock, dwarfing North America’s domestic lithium production in 2025 of around 4,500 tonnes a year LCE, according to the Benchmark Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":111327,"content":111328},{"textAlign":49},[111329],{"text":111330,"type":596},"“Increasing investment into the region’s midstream battery supply chain, driven by North American players seeking to reduce reliance on Asian producers, has therefore continued to expand the raw material disconnect between limited plans in North America for mined raw material supply and significant demand from proposed midstream facilities,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111332,"content":111333},{"textAlign":49},[111334],{"text":111335,"type":596},"BASF said last week that it had secured land in Bécancour for its planned cathode materials and battery recycling facility, targeting commissioning in 2025. It plans to produce up to 100,000 tonnes a year of cathode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":111337,"content":111338},{"textAlign":49},[111339],{"text":111340,"type":596},"Posco said it and GM would invest $400 million to build a cathode plant making high-nickel NCMA cathode in Bécancour starting from next year. The material will supply GM’s Ultium battery cell factories that it is building with LG Chem in the US, starting in 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":111342,"content":111343},{"textAlign":49},[111344],{"text":111345,"type":596},"“GM and our supplier partners are creating a new, more secure and more sustainable ecosystem for EVs, built on a foundation of North American resources, technology and manufacturing expertise,” Doug Parks, GM’s executive vice president for global product development, purchasing and supply chain, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111347,"content":111348},{"textAlign":49},[111349],{"text":111350,"type":596},"The deal with GM is part of Posco’s strategy to expand its global footprint with plants in Korea, China and Europe. It is targeting increasing its production capacity of cathode materials from 105,000 tonnes this year to 280,000 tonnes by 2025 and 420,000 tonnes by 2030.","Quebec is emerging as a key hub for the North American battery supply chain following announcements by a GM-Posco joint venture and BASF to build cathode plants in the province, attracted by the region’s abundant hydropower. If the new plants come to fruition, they could become a key part of efforts by US President Joe […]",[111353],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111354},{"job_title":557,"image":111355,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b4fa4528-230d-4e4c-bf4a-04b6ebb3dbcc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[111358,111359],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":104270,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111361,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 10, 2022",{"id":111364,"uuid":111365,"name":111366,"slug":111367,"full_slug":111368,"content":111369},112472921992757,"adfae333-b3d9-4108-bc7b-5fb2beedd2f9","Historic nickel rally shuts down LME and places Tsingshan in the spotlight","historic-nickel-rally-shuts-down-lme-and-places-tsingshan-in-the-spotlight","article/historic-nickel-rally-shuts-down-lme-and-places-tsingshan-in-the-spotlight",{"_uid":111370,"date":111371,"tags":111372,"editor":111375,"content":111379,"excerpt":111514,"featured":50,"reporter":111515,"_editable":111519,"component":697,"seo_title":111366,"categories":111520,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":111523,"seo_description":111514,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111526},"864486d0-a258-42ed-85c5-2a868e69258d","2022-03-08 00:00",[111373,111374],{"slug":37815,"name":37816},{"slug":34315,"name":34316},[111376],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111377},{"job_title":557,"image":111378,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":111380},[111381,111386,111391,111396,111401,111406,111411,111422,111427,111432,111437,111442,111447,111450,111455,111460,111465,111470,111475,111480,111485,111490],{"type":591,"attrs":111382,"content":111383},{"textAlign":49},[111384],{"text":111385,"type":596},"A record-breaking rally in nickel prices that led the London Metal Exchange to halt trading on Tuesday is putting increased pressure on the Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan and its billionaire co-founder.",{"type":591,"attrs":111387,"content":111388},{"textAlign":49},[111389],{"text":111390,"type":596},"Tsingshan, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, is rumoured to have built a big short position in nickel before a 250% rally in the price of the metal this week, which saw prices top $100,000 a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":111392,"content":111393},{"textAlign":49},[111394],{"text":111395,"type":596},"That could put the company in a difficult position, as it is not approved to deliver nickel metal into the London Metal Exchange to close out its position. It also raises questions about the LME’s trading structure, especially as more nickel production is geared towards use in electric vehicle batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":111397,"content":111398},{"textAlign":49},[111399],{"text":111400,"type":596},"“It can’t deliver against the LME because of the confines of the exchange structure which is not geared for the EV revolution,” Caspar Rawles, head of data at Benchmark, said. “Tsingshan’s recent investments have been in battery nickel projects but the exchange is rigid in requiring high purity Class 1 metal.” ",{"type":591,"attrs":111402,"content":111403},{"textAlign":49},[111404],{"text":111405,"type":596},"Tsingshan, which has operating revenues of around 352 billion RMB ($56 billion), not only produces stainless steel but is also a producer of nickel for the battery market via projects with Huayou Cobalt and Gem Co, as well as its own capacity to convert nickel pig iron into matte.",{"type":591,"attrs":111407,"content":111408},{"textAlign":49},[111409],{"text":111410,"type":596},"Tsingshan is led by Xiang Guangda, a billionaire who started the company as one of China’s first private steel mills in 1992.",{"type":591,"attrs":111412,"content":111413},{"textAlign":49},[111414,111416,111420],{"text":111415,"type":596},"Nickel supply for batteries from ",{"text":5955,"type":596,"marks":111417},[111418],{"type":606,"attrs":111419},{"href":90711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111421,"type":596},", where Tsingshan is a big investor, is set to increase more than fivefold this year, as Chinese-backed projects come into production. That was set to ease concerns about a shortage of nickel this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":111423,"content":111424},{"textAlign":49},[111425],{"text":111426,"type":596},"But the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month upended that consensus by raising fears that Russian metal will become untouchable due to sanctions risk. That’s had a knock-on effect on the market, leading to fears of a shortage of supply.",{"type":615,"attrs":111428,"content":111429},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111430],{"text":111431,"type":596},"London Metal Exchange shuts down",{"type":591,"attrs":111433,"content":111434},{"textAlign":49},[111435],{"text":111436,"type":596},"The LME said on Tuesday that trading in its nickel contract would be halted after prices rose above a record high of $100,000 a tonne in Asian trading. Recent trades would also be cancelled, it said. The exchange was considering a “multi-day” closure, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111438,"content":111439},{"textAlign":49},[111440],{"text":111441,"type":596},"In addition, the LME said it would defer delivery of all physically settled nickel contracts due for delivery on 9 March and any subsequent dates.",{"type":591,"attrs":111443,"content":111444},{"textAlign":49},[111445],{"text":111446,"type":596},"“The current events are unprecedented. The LME is committed to working with market participants to ensure the continued orderly functioning of the market,” the LME said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111448,"content":111449},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":111451,"content":111452},{"textAlign":49},[111453],{"text":111454,"type":596},"As nickel prices rose this week Tsingshan would have had to meet high margin calls or close out its short position. Last Friday the LME raised margin requirements for nickel contracts by 12.5% to $2,250 a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":111456,"content":111457},{"textAlign":49},[111458],{"text":111459,"type":596},"Delivering metal into the exchange to settle the position is also difficult because the company is not an approved brand of the LME.",{"type":591,"attrs":111461,"content":111462},{"textAlign":49},[111463],{"text":111464,"type":596},"The LME requires nickel that is 99.80% purity and in the form of cathodes, pellets, briquettes and rounds. Tsingshan’s nickel matte, however, has a 70% to 75% nickel purity.",{"type":591,"attrs":111466,"content":111467},{"textAlign":49},[111468],{"text":111469,"type":596},"The only Chinese companies eligible to deliver metal into the LME’s warehouses include Yantai Cash and state-owned mining giant Jinchuan.",{"type":591,"attrs":111471,"content":111472},{"textAlign":49},[111473],{"text":111474,"type":596},"Tsingshan is rumoured to be short 200,000 tonnes of nickel, according to Chinese media. If it was forced to close its short positions it could make a loss of $12 billion, according to reports.",{"type":591,"attrs":111476,"content":111477},{"textAlign":49},[111478],{"text":111479,"type":596},"In a statement to Chinese media on Wednesday the company suggested it would swap some of its nickel matte for nickel metal to settle its short position.",{"type":591,"attrs":111481,"content":111482},{"textAlign":49},[111483],{"text":111484,"type":596},"“There are indeed some actions overseas, and we are actively coordinating them,” Xiang, chairman of the board, told Chinese media on Tuesday. “Today, we have received many calls, and relevant state departments and leaders are very supportive of Tsingshan. Tsingshan is an excellent Chinese enterprise. There are no problems with positions and operations.”",{"type":615,"attrs":111486,"content":111487},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111488],{"text":111489,"type":596},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment and Forecast services",{"type":591,"attrs":111491,"content":111492},{"textAlign":49},[111493,111495,111499,111501,111507,111508,111513],{"text":111494,"type":596},"Fill in the ",{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":111496},[111497],{"type":606,"attrs":111498},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111500,"type":596}," to learn more about Benchmark’s",{"text":111502,"type":596,"marks":111503}," Nickel Price Assessment",[111504],{"type":606,"attrs":111505},{"href":111506,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/#nickel",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":40667,"type":596,"marks":111509},[111510],{"type":606,"attrs":111511},{"href":111512,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/#nickel",{"text":1280,"type":596},"A record-breaking rally in nickel prices that led the London Metal Exchange to halt trading on Tuesday is putting increased pressure on the Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan and its billionaire co-founder. Tsingshan, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, is rumoured to have built a big short position in nickel before a 250% rally in […]",[111516],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111517},{"job_title":557,"image":111518,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"864486d0-a258-42ed-85c5-2a868e69258d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[111521,111522],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":111524,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111525,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cefc68f5b4/bm-morowali.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 08, 2022",{"id":111528,"uuid":111529,"name":111530,"slug":111531,"full_slug":111532,"content":111533},112472931618359,"15fb8bf6-cf37-4c64-ae5b-91aee179bbfd","Europe’s EV gigafactory capacity pipeline grows 6-fold to 789.2GWh to 2030; Berlin summit to dissect battery megatrend","europes-ev-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-grows-6-fold-to-789-2gwh-to-2030-berlin-summit-to-dissect-battery-megatrend","article/europes-ev-gigafactory-capacity-pipeline-grows-6-fold-to-789-2gwh-to-2030-berlin-summit-to-dissect-battery-megatrend",{"_uid":111534,"date":111535,"tags":111536,"editor":111539,"content":111543,"excerpt":111824,"featured":50,"reporter":111825,"_editable":111829,"component":697,"seo_title":111530,"categories":111830,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":111833,"seo_description":111824,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111836},"ac14683d-c536-4ba0-9144-729638c4334c","2022-03-07 00:00",[111537,111538],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":1354,"name":898},[111540],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111541},{"job_title":557,"image":111542,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":111544},[111545,111550,111555,111563,111568,111573,111587,111596,111601,111608,111613,111623,111637,111642,111647,111652,111657,111662,111665,111681,111686,111691,111696,111701,111712,111717,111722,111727,111732,111737,111742,111747,111752,111762,111767,111772,111777,111780,111791,111796,111799,111811,111821],{"type":591,"attrs":111546,"content":111547},{"textAlign":49},[111548],{"text":111549,"type":596},"Europe has become the fastest growing region for new electric vehicle (EV) lithium ion battery capacity outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":111551,"content":111552},{"textAlign":49},[111553],{"text":111554,"type":596},"As the energy storage revolution and demand for lithium ion battery cells continues to rocket, plans for gigafactories – super-sized battery plants that are an order of magnitude bigger than their predecessors – are being developed in parallel. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111556,"content":111557},{"textAlign":49},[111558,111560,111561],{"text":111559,"type":596},"Just three and a half years ago, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":111562,"type":596},"’s Lithium ion Battery Gigafactory Assessment (September 2018) reported Europe’s battery cell capacity to be at 120GWh by 2030 – enough cells for 2.2m EVs. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111564,"content":111565},{"textAlign":49},[111566],{"text":111567,"type":596},"Now this planned annual capacity figure stands at 789.2GWh in 2030, more than a 6-fold increase and enough to produce almost 15 million pure EVs as this global battery arms race takes hold in Europe. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111569,"content":111570},{"textAlign":49},[111571],{"text":111572,"type":596},"But the question remains how much of this capacity will come onstream and in what quality?",{"type":591,"attrs":111574,"content":111575},{"textAlign":49},[111576,111577,111579,111585],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":111578,"type":596}," puts this subject under the microscope at its first in person event since the pandemic began: ",{"text":111580,"type":596,"marks":111581},"Battery Megafactories Europe 2022",[111582],{"type":606,"attrs":111583},{"href":111584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-megafactories-europe-2022/",{"text":111586,"type":596},", 22-23 March, Berlin, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":111588,"content":111589},{"textAlign":49},[111590,111592,111594],{"text":111591,"type":596},"Our guest of honour is former Tesla Senior Director – Battery Technology,  ",{"text":111593,"type":596},"Kurt Kelty",{"text":111595,"type":596}," and now VP Commercialisation at Sila Nanotechnology. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111597,"content":111598},{"textAlign":49},[111599],{"text":111600,"type":596},"Mr Kelty is a true pioneer, responsible for building the original supply chains for the first ever super sized battery plant, the Tesla Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":111602,"content":111603},{"textAlign":49},[111604,111606],{"text":111605,"type":596},"Industry Speakers include",{"text":111607,"type":596},": SVolt, Envision AESC, InnoENERGY, Northvolt, Umicore, Livent, Britishvolt, and ElevenES (LFP). ",{"type":591,"attrs":111609,"content":111610},{"textAlign":49},[111611],{"text":111612,"type":596},"Each event session is underpinned by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence keynote analysis for each link in the EV battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":111614,"content":111615},{"textAlign":49},[111616,111618,111622],{"text":111617,"type":596},"Join us ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":111619},[111620],{"type":606,"attrs":111621},{"href":111584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":111624,"content":111625},{"textAlign":49},[111626,111628,111630,111632,111636],{"text":111627,"type":596},"To speak and sponsor, contact our Director of Events, ",{"text":111629,"type":596},"Ben Ash",{"text":111631,"type":596}," at ",{"text":110053,"type":596,"marks":111633},[111634],{"type":606,"attrs":111635},{"href":110057,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":111638,"content":111639},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111640],{"text":111641,"type":596},"Rise of the battery gigafactories in Europe: 2022 v 2030 ",{"type":591,"attrs":111643,"content":111644},{"textAlign":49},[111645],{"text":111646,"type":596},"By end-2022, Europe is set to have 7 active lithium ion battery producers of which the top five by capacity (and gigafactory location) are: ",{"type":591,"attrs":111648,"content":111649},{"textAlign":49},[111650],{"text":111651,"type":596},"In terms of quality, Europe has 4 of the world’s 7 tier one lithium ion battery makers and once Northvolt’s gigafactory in Sweden is active Benchmark anticipates this will also become a tier one producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":111653,"content":111654},{"textAlign":49},[111655],{"text":111656,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Tier One producers of Automotive-grade lithium ion battery cells, as of our February 2022 assessment, are (HQ): Panasonic (Japan); Samsung SDI and SK Innovation (South Korea); Envision AESC, CATL, and BYD (China). ",{"type":615,"attrs":111658,"content":111659},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111660],{"text":111661,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Tiers of Automotive Lithium ion Battery Producer",{"type":591,"attrs":111663,"content":111664},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":111666,"content":111667},{"textAlign":49},[111668,111672,111678],{"text":111669,"type":596,"marks":111670},"Understand the Benchmark Methodology for our Tier System for Automotive-grade Lithium ion Battery Cells ",[111671],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":111673},[111674,111677],{"type":606,"attrs":111675},{"href":111676,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmarks-lithium-ion-battery-megafactory-assessment-methodology",{"type":1006},{"text":4683,"type":596,"marks":111679},[111680],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":111682,"content":111683},{"textAlign":49},[111684],{"text":111685,"type":596},"By 2030, this top five landscape will be reshaped as Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment (February 2022) shows Europe to be on track for 27 gigafactories from 18 battery cell producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111687,"content":111688},{"textAlign":49},[111689],{"text":111690,"type":596},"A more recent trend with Europe’s lithium ion battery build out is the emergence of auto majors as pseudo-battery producers seeking to secure cell supply through joint-venture plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":111692,"content":111693},{"textAlign":49},[111694],{"text":111695,"type":596},"In 2030, of the 17 gigafactories with a minimum annual capacity of 1 GWh in Europe, 8 of these plants are through automotive partnerships such as VW Group, Stellantis (the company created from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group merger), Nissan, Volvo and Renault. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111697,"content":111698},{"textAlign":49},[111699],{"text":111700,"type":596},"Of most significance is Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory which is expected to officially commission commercial cell production in 2023 but reach a capacity of 75 GWh by 2026 and be operating at 125 GWh by 2030. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111702,"content":111703},{"textAlign":49},[111704,111706,111710],{"text":111705,"type":596},"As a result, ",{"text":111707,"type":596,"marks":111708},"Giga-Berlin",[111709],{"type":1006},{"text":111711,"type":596}," is on course to be Europe’s largest gigafactory by some way and the world’s second largest lithium ion battery plant behind its counterpart in Austin,Texas. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111713,"content":111714},{"textAlign":49},[111715],{"text":111716,"type":596},"An expanded Northvolt is forecasted to be the region’s second second largest producer with 92 GWh of capacity through plans in Skellefteå, Sweden and a new joint-operation with Volvo, in Gothenburg, Sweden. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111718,"content":111719},{"textAlign":49},[111720],{"text":111721,"type":596},"CATL, Erfurt will be third largest battery producer in Europe with 80 GWh by 2030",{"type":591,"attrs":111723,"content":111724},{"textAlign":49},[111725],{"text":111726,"type":596},"LG Energy Solutions (formerly LG Chem) is expected to be fourth with 67 GWh from Poland with no new gigafactory locations yet announced from the traditionally more conservative South Korean producer. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111728,"content":111729},{"textAlign":49},[111730],{"text":111731,"type":596},"Meanwhile, ACC (Total/Stellantis) is expected to be operating three plants in France, Germany and Italy with a combined capacity of 64 GWh by 2030 with Verkor’s new Dunkirk-based Gigafactory to be at 50 GWh as the sixth largest producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":111733,"content":111734},{"textAlign":49},[111735],{"text":111736,"type":596},"By 2030, Benchmark anticipates Europe’s top five battery makers by capacity to be:",{"type":591,"attrs":111738,"content":111739},{"textAlign":49},[111740],{"text":111741,"type":596},"Overall, Benchmark is forecasting Europe to have a capacity of 789.2GWh by 2030, little over 14% of the global total of 5,454GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":111743,"content":111744},{"textAlign":49},[111745],{"text":111746,"type":596},"This is a more than 6-fold increase on what we expect for 2022, yet for comparison China is growing by 220% in the same period, while the USA is forecast to grow its battery capacity by 575%.",{"type":591,"attrs":111748,"content":111749},{"textAlign":49},[111750],{"text":111751,"type":596},"Is critical to note this data is Benchmark’s assessment in February 2022 yet the data is continually evolving. This is why Benchmark created its Gigafactory Assessment from scratch, to create world class data sets that the biggest decisions of the energy storage revolution rely upon. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111753,"content":111754},{"textAlign":49},[111755,111757,111761],{"text":111756,"type":596},"To keep up to date with one of the most fast paced industries in the world, subscribe to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":111758},[111759],{"type":606,"attrs":111760},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":111763,"content":111764},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111765],{"text":111766,"type":596},"Battery capacity does not necessarily equal EV-ready supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":111768,"content":111769},{"textAlign":49},[111770],{"text":111771,"type":596},"It is crucial to note however that capacity does not necessarily equal reliable supply for the EV industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111773,"content":111774},{"textAlign":49},[111775],{"text":111776,"type":596},"There are a number of bottlenecks in building and operating these super-sized battery plants that can take five-years to build and fully ramp up. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111778,"content":111779},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":111781,"content":111782},{"textAlign":49},[111783,111785,111789],{"text":111784,"type":596},"A number of topics under discussion at ",{"text":111580,"type":596,"marks":111786},[111787],{"type":606,"attrs":111788},{"href":111584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111790,"type":596},", 22-23 March in Berlin are: ",{"type":615,"attrs":111792,"content":111793},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111794],{"text":111795,"type":596},"Sign up for Benchmark’s Battery Megafactories Europe 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":111797,"content":111798},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":111800,"content":111801},{"textAlign":49},[111802,111804,111810],{"text":111803,"type":596},"For multi-delegate discounts, contact Luke Bouchet – ",{"text":111805,"type":596,"marks":111806},"lbouchet@benchmarkminerals.com",[111807],{"type":606,"attrs":111808},{"href":111809,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:lbouchet@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":111812,"content":111813},{"textAlign":49},[111814,111816,111820],{"text":111815,"type":596},"For speaker and sponsorship opportunities contact Ben Ash – ",{"text":110053,"type":596,"marks":111817},[111818],{"type":606,"attrs":111819},{"href":110057,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":111822,"content":111823},{"textAlign":49},[],"Europe has become the fastest growing region for new electric vehicle (EV) lithium ion battery capacity outside of China. As the energy storage revolution and demand for lithium ion battery cells continues to rocket, plans for gigafactories – super-sized battery plants that are an order of magnitude bigger than their predecessors – are being developed […]",[111826],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111827},{"job_title":557,"image":111828,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ac14683d-c536-4ba0-9144-729638c4334c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[111831,111832],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":111834,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111835,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf619b8374/bm-europe.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 07, 2022",{"id":111838,"uuid":111839,"name":111840,"slug":111841,"full_slug":111842,"content":111843},112472926846518,"a8da0683-048c-4f19-960b-8f3c28e512d0","Nickel price surges by 60% as Russia’s invasion deals further blow to battery costs","nickel-price-surges-by-60-as-russias-invasion-deals-further-blow-to-battery-costs","article/nickel-price-surges-by-60-as-russias-invasion-deals-further-blow-to-battery-costs",{"_uid":111844,"date":111535,"tags":111845,"editor":111852,"content":111856,"excerpt":111984,"featured":50,"reporter":111985,"_editable":111989,"component":697,"seo_title":111840,"categories":111990,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":111993,"seo_description":111984,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":111836},"511a3445-193f-4719-bc43-12f29e7bc8c4",[111846,111847,111848,111851],{"slug":37815,"name":37816},{"slug":10215,"name":10216},{"slug":111849,"name":111850},"norilsk","Norilsk",{"slug":17656,"name":17657},[111853],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111854},{"job_title":557,"image":111855,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":111857},[111858,111871,111882,111887,111892,111897,111902,111907,111912,111917,111922,111927,111932,111937,111942,111947,111959,111964,111969,111974,111979],{"type":591,"attrs":111859,"content":111860},{"textAlign":49},[111861,111863,111869],{"text":111862,"type":596},"Nickel prices surged by a record 60% on Monday as fears deepened that buyers will avoid Russian metal following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, in a dramatic move that could further increase the ",{"text":111864,"type":596,"marks":111865},"cost",[111866],{"type":606,"attrs":111867},{"href":111868,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/russian-invasion-risks-raising-costs-for-europes-auto-industry",{"text":111870,"type":596}," of electric vehicle batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":111872,"content":111873},{"textAlign":49},[111874,111876,111880],{"text":111875,"type":596},"Nickel traded on the London Metal Exchange closed at $48,078 a tonne, its highest level in fifteen years, as Russia’s invasion entered its 12th day. That’s likely to translate into higher prices for ",{"text":58509,"type":596,"marks":111877},[111878],{"type":606,"attrs":111879},{"href":90711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111881,"type":596},", the form of the metal used in batteries, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":111883,"content":111884},{"textAlign":49},[111885],{"text":111886,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate prices have risen by 44% this year, according to Benchmark’s February Nickel Price Assessment, with premiums over the LME price trading at around $2,025 to $2,700 a tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":111888,"content":111889},{"textAlign":49},[111890],{"text":111891,"type":596},"Russia is a key producer of class 1 nickel metal, accounting for roughly 20% of global supply, most of it from Norilsk Nickel. While Russian nickel is primarily in the form of cathode, which doesn’t lend itself to direct use in the battery industry, the threat of possible sanctions is having a knock-on effect on the market.",{"type":615,"attrs":111893,"content":111894},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111895],{"text":111896,"type":596},"Russian nickel for European EVs",{"type":591,"attrs":111898,"content":111899},{"textAlign":49},[111900],{"text":111901,"type":596},"Russian nickel was set to be a key source of metal for the European battery supply chain. Germany’s BASF, which is building a precursor plant in Finland next to Nornickel’s refinery, has a long-term supply agreement for cobalt and nickel from the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":111903,"content":111904},{"textAlign":49},[111905],{"text":111906,"type":596},"The precursor material will be sent to Germany to be made into battery cathodes at a newly built cathode plant, which is set to start production this year. Last month BASF said that its initial 24,000 tonnes of cathode capacity had already been “fully contracted to strategic customers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111908,"content":111909},{"textAlign":49},[111910],{"text":111911,"type":596},"“Effective immediately, BASF will only conduct business in Russia and Belarus to fulfil its existing commitments in line with applicable laws, regulations and international rules,” a spokesperson for BASF said on Monday. “New business opportunities in Russia and Belarus will not be pursued, the sole exception being related to food production in the context of humanitarian efforts.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111913,"content":111914},{"textAlign":49},[111915],{"text":111916,"type":596},"“BASF will evaluate these decisions and other matters related to this evolving situation on an ongoing basis,” it added.",{"type":591,"attrs":111918,"content":111919},{"textAlign":49},[111920],{"text":111921,"type":596},"Just after Russia’s invasion last month, Dr Martin Brudermüller, BASF’s chief executive, said the company had a “long-standing” relationship with Norilsk Nickel. The company was unlikely to be sanctioned, he said.",{"type":615,"attrs":111923,"content":111924},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111925],{"text":111926,"type":596},"Norilsk Nickel was “one of the very strong, if not the only significant European nickel and cobalt suppliers,” BASF’s CEO said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111928,"content":111929},{"textAlign":49},[111930],{"text":111931,"type":596},"Norilsk Nickel was “one of the very strong, if not the only significant European nickel and cobalt suppliers,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111933,"content":111934},{"textAlign":49},[111935],{"text":111936,"type":596},"If something were to happen with Norilsk, BASF would “have to reshuffle and use the network globally which we have established fo the raw materials,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":111938,"content":111939},{"textAlign":49},[111940],{"text":111941,"type":596},"BASF has a battery materials joint venture with Chinese cathode maker Shanshan, as well as a deal with Eramet to look for nickel in Indonesia.",{"type":615,"attrs":111943,"content":111944},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[111945],{"text":111946,"type":596},"Rising battery material prices",{"type":591,"attrs":111948,"content":111949},{"textAlign":49},[111950,111952,111957],{"text":111951,"type":596},"The nickel price rise comes amid already record high lithium prices, and as cobalt trades at its highest level in three years. That’s likely to ",{"text":111953,"type":596,"marks":111954},"increase the costs of battery cells this year",[111955],{"type":606,"attrs":111956},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":111958,"type":596},", reversing decades of cost declines in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":111960,"content":111961},{"textAlign":49},[111962],{"text":111963,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Cathode Price Index, based on a NCM 523 battery cell, has already more than doubled over the past year.",{"type":591,"attrs":111965,"content":111966},{"textAlign":49},[111967],{"text":111968,"type":596},"Nickel is a key raw material for more powerful nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries used in electric vehicles. Benchmark expects NCM cathodes to make up the majority of the market by 2025, due to the production of longer range vehicles in Europe and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":111970,"content":111971},{"textAlign":49},[111972],{"text":111973,"type":596},"While nickel sulphate buyers are currently consuming from inventories, accumulated during the second half of 2021, that’s likely to change in the near future as stock levels diminish, pushing up prices, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":111975,"content":111976},{"textAlign":49},[111977],{"text":111978,"type":596},"“Benchmark expects further upward momentum for sulphate prices in March,” Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Which should see increased restocking activity from precursor operations on lower inventories and supportive price pressure stemming from supply concerns related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.”",{"type":591,"attrs":111980,"content":111981},{"textAlign":49},[111982],{"text":111983,"type":596},"“Many consumers in the west will either be unable or highly reluctant to accept Russian nickel into their supply chains,” Miller added. “Benchmark expects that the majority of Russian nickel will make its way into China in the near term, strengthening ties between the two countries.”","Nickel prices surged by a record 60% on Monday as fears deepened that buyers will avoid Russian metal following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, in a dramatic move that could further increase the cost of electric vehicle batteries. Nickel traded on the London Metal Exchange closed at $48,078 a tonne, its highest level in fifteen […]",[111986],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":111987},{"job_title":557,"image":111988,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"511a3445-193f-4719-bc43-12f29e7bc8c4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[111991,111992],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":111994,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":111995,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/438556f3be/bm-norilsk-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":111997,"uuid":111998,"name":111999,"slug":112000,"full_slug":112001,"content":112002},112472950636091,"a78123bd-b14a-454e-8f92-44115f9bcb2d","Russia’s invasion risks raising costs for Europe’s auto industry","russian-invasion-risks-raising-costs-for-europes-auto-industry","article/russian-invasion-risks-raising-costs-for-europes-auto-industry",{"_uid":112003,"date":112004,"tags":112005,"editor":112007,"content":112011,"excerpt":112146,"featured":50,"reporter":112147,"_editable":112151,"component":697,"seo_title":111999,"categories":112152,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112157,"seo_description":112146,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112160},"3f55a55b-c7e3-47ec-9c8c-039326fcfd6f","2022-02-25 00:00",[112006],{"slug":17656,"name":17657},[112008],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112009},{"job_title":557,"image":112010,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112012},[112013,112018,112029,112034,112039,112044,112049,112054,112059,112064,112069,112074,112079,112084,112094,112099,112104,112109,112114,112121,112126,112131,112136,112141],{"type":591,"attrs":112014,"content":112015},{"textAlign":49},[112016],{"text":112017,"type":596},"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to increase costs for Europe’s vehicle industry, which is already struggling with record high lithium prices and a shortage of semiconductor chips. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112019,"content":112020},{"textAlign":49},[112021,112022,112027],{"text":57040,"type":596},{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":112023},[112024],{"type":606,"attrs":112025},{"href":112026,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-hits-seven-year-high-2021-in-review",{"text":112028,"type":596},", a key battery material, rose to their highest levels since 2011 this week following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine. Oil prices rose to a seven-year high above $100 a barrel, while palladium, used in catalytic converters, also hit a seven-month high.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":112030,"content":112031},{"textAlign":49},[112032],{"text":112033,"type":596},"While US, Japanese and European sanctions don’t target Russian commodities directly, the increased uncertainty over the conflict’s outcome is likely to push up global metal prices at a time when battery producers are already facing higher lithium and other material prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":112035,"content":112036},{"textAlign":49},[112037],{"text":112038,"type":596},"Nickel is a key ingredient for most European electric vehicle nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries, while palladium is used in autocatalysts for petrol vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112040,"content":112041},{"textAlign":49},[112042],{"text":112043,"type":596},"In addition, higher oil and gas prices will impact the costs of production for the entire battery supply chain in Europe, which relies on Russian gas for around 40% of its supplies. ",{"type":615,"attrs":112045,"content":112046},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112047],{"text":112048,"type":596},"RUSSIA’S BATTERY PUSH",{"type":591,"attrs":112050,"content":112051},{"textAlign":49},[112052],{"text":112053,"type":596},"Russia’s largest miner Nornickel produces around 20% of the world’s supplies of high purity class 1 nickel, which is used in electric vehicle batteries. Its Harjavalta refinery in Finland is set to become a key supplier to the European battery supply chain, via its agreement with German cathode maker BASF. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112055,"content":112056},{"textAlign":49},[112057],{"text":112058,"type":596},"“As Europe is looking to build out a local supply chain, with locally sourced raw materials, this is a big headache for European automakers and cell producers,” Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark said. “Who will be forced to look further afield.”",{"type":591,"attrs":112060,"content":112061},{"textAlign":49},[112062],{"text":112063,"type":596},"Nornickel has portrayed its Harjavalta refinery as a key supplier of low-carbon nickel for the electric vehicle industry. The plant is increasing production from 65,000 tonnes of nickel to 75,000 tons in 2023, with an eventual target to reach 100,000 tonnes by the beginning of 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":112065,"content":112066},{"textAlign":49},[112067],{"text":112068,"type":596},"BASF makes precursor cathode active materials in Harjavalta next to Nornickel’s refinery, and then cathode active materials in Schwarzheide, Germany. In 2018 BASF and Nornickel signed a “long-term, market-based supply agreement” for nickel and cobalt from Nornickel’s refinery. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112070,"content":112071},{"textAlign":49},[112072],{"text":112073,"type":596},"“Nornickel is an important producer and supplier of nickel and cobalt, which are used by BASF to produce cathode active materials. In addition, Nornickel has been supplying BASF for many years with palladium and platinum,” a spokesperson for BASF said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112075,"content":112076},{"textAlign":49},[112077],{"text":112078,"type":596},"Shares in Nornickel fell by 14% in Moscow this week as Russian troops entered the Ukraine. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112080,"content":112081},{"textAlign":49},[112082],{"text":112083,"type":596},"Nornickel’s nickel could always be redirected to China, Miller said, strengthening ties between the two countries. China has refused to condemn the invasion, while signalling its desire to help Russia. On Friday Beijing lifted all wheat import restrictions from Russia. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112085,"content":112086},{"textAlign":49},[112087,112092],{"text":112088,"type":596,"marks":112089},"Chinese nickel",[112090],{"type":606,"attrs":112091},{"href":90711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112093,"type":596}," imports from Russia surged in 2015 and 2016 after sanctions were placed on Russia following its annexation of Crimea. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112095,"content":112096},{"textAlign":49},[112097],{"text":112098,"type":596},"“It brings China and Russia ever closer together,” Miller said. ",{"type":615,"attrs":112100,"content":112101},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112102],{"text":112103,"type":596},"RISING COSTS AT THE PUMP",{"type":591,"attrs":112105,"content":112106},{"textAlign":49},[112107],{"text":112108,"type":596},"The Russian invasion is also raising costs for petrol vehicles, which could further incentivise sales of electric vehicles. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112110,"content":112111},{"textAlign":49},[112112],{"text":112113,"type":596},"Russia is the second largest crude producer globally, after the US. Fears that sanctions on Russia would cripple this supply led to Brent crude reaching a 7-year high at over $105 a barrel on Thursday. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112115,"content":112116},{"textAlign":49},[112117,112119],{"text":112118,"type":596},"The price has since dropped to just under $95 a barrel after sanctions by the US and Europe steered clear of Russia’s oil and gas. ",{"text":112120,"type":596},"The price fall was also helped by president Biden confirming the US was working with other countries on releasing global strategic crude reserves.",{"type":591,"attrs":112122,"content":112123},{"textAlign":49},[112124],{"text":112125,"type":596},"Still, if there are any further sanctions or an escalation of the conflict, the oil price could reach $110 a barrel, according to Ahmed Mehdi, a consultant for Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":112127,"content":112128},{"textAlign":49},[112129],{"text":112130,"type":596},"In the UK the rising oil prices are already being felt at the pump by consumers. The RAC and AA reported the average petrol price on Wednesday was 149.5p (compared with 122.5p this time last year), with an RAC spokesperson suggesting the price will go above 150p very soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":112132,"content":112133},{"textAlign":49},[112134],{"text":112135,"type":596},"Russia also dominates the supply of palladium with around half of global mining capacity. Almost all of the precious metal is used as an autocatalyst in catalytic convertors. The price of the metal hit a 7-month high on Thursday, reaching $2692.96 an ounce.",{"type":591,"attrs":112137,"content":112138},{"textAlign":49},[112139],{"text":112140,"type":596},"Around 0.125 ounces of palladium is used in the average ICE car which would cost $337 at yesterday’s high, compared to $229 at the start of the year, according to analysts at Wells Fargo. ",{"type":591,"attrs":112142,"content":112143},{"textAlign":49},[112144],{"text":112145,"type":596},"“This is adding to the other mounting material and input cost pressures the industry is facing,” the bank said.","Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to increase costs for Europe’s vehicle industry, which is already struggling with record high lithium prices and a shortage of semiconductor chips. Prices for nickel, a key battery material, rose to their highest levels since 2011 this week following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine. Oil prices […]",[112148],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112149},{"job_title":557,"image":112150,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3f55a55b-c7e3-47ec-9c8c-039326fcfd6f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112153,112154,112155,112156],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":112158,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112159,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf3023e82c/bm-norilsk.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 25, 2022",{"id":112162,"uuid":112163,"name":112164,"slug":112165,"full_slug":112166,"content":112167},112472974626468,"38b72b1b-d156-4c7d-a65b-4d4ede0eff6a","Rising lithium prices push LFP battery cell costs above high-nickel","rising-lithium-prices-push-lfp-battery-cell-costs-above-high-nickel","article/rising-lithium-prices-push-lfp-battery-cell-costs-above-high-nickel",{"_uid":112168,"date":112169,"tags":112170,"editor":112174,"content":112178,"excerpt":112290,"featured":50,"reporter":112291,"_editable":112295,"component":697,"seo_title":112164,"categories":112296,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112299,"seo_description":112290,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112302},"5ed81d66-52f7-4aea-8b5c-6a4f863ea75c","2022-02-09 00:00",[112171,112172,112173],{"slug":4345,"name":451},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":9121,"name":9122},[112175],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112176},{"job_title":557,"image":112177,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112179},[112180,112192,112197,112210,112215,112220,112233,112238,112243,112248,112253,112258,112270,112275,112280,112285],{"type":591,"attrs":112181,"content":112182},{"textAlign":49},[112183,112185,112190],{"text":112184,"type":596},"Record high Chinese lithium carbonate prices have pushed the ",{"text":112186,"type":596,"marks":112187},"costs of lithium iron phosphate cells",[112188],{"type":606,"attrs":112189},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112191,"type":596}," above those using mostly nickel, in a reversal of a decade-long trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":112193,"content":112194},{"textAlign":49},[112195],{"text":112196,"type":596},"The costs of LFP cells are at least 5% higher than high-nickel cells, on a dollar per kilowatt-hour basis, according to Benchmark’s analysis, due to surging prices for lithium carbonate in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":112198,"content":112199},{"textAlign":49},[112200,112202,112208],{"text":112201,"type":596},"The turnaround highlights the acute ",{"text":112203,"type":596,"marks":112204},"pricing pressures",[112205],{"type":606,"attrs":112206},{"href":112207,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-to-push-up-lfp-electric-vehicle-batteries-by-16-in-2022",{"text":112209,"type":596}," facing producers of LFP battery cells in China, which could translate into higher prices for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":112211,"content":112212},{"textAlign":49},[112213],{"text":112214,"type":596},"The use of LFP batteries, which contain no cobalt or nickel, has been pioneered by Chinese electric car maker BYD and battery producer CATL, whose batteries have enabled cheaper electric vehicles for the Chinese market. In 2020 Tesla started using LFP cells in their standard range Model 3 vehicles produced in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":112216,"content":112217},{"textAlign":49},[112218],{"text":112219,"type":596},"LFP cells have also become the standard choice for large energy storage batteries used to store energy from wind and solar power.",{"type":591,"attrs":112221,"content":112222},{"textAlign":49},[112223,112225,112231],{"text":112224,"type":596},"But much of the Chinese supply chain for LFP is now exposed to shorter-term lithium carbonate prices, which have skyrocketed. Chinese",{"text":112226,"type":596,"marks":112227}," battery-grade lithium carbonate prices",[112228],{"type":606,"attrs":112229},{"href":112230,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-grade-lithium-prices-surge-21-in-first-half-of-january-battery-makers-move-to-secure-supplies",{"text":112232,"type":596}," have risen by 479% over the past year to a record high average of RMB 348,500 a tonne ($54,725), putting increased pressure on LFP cell prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":112234,"content":112235},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112236],{"text":112237,"type":596},"No longer dirt cheap",{"type":591,"attrs":112239,"content":112240},{"textAlign":49},[112241],{"text":112242,"type":596},"In contrast, higher-nickel battery cells produced by Korean and Japanese battery producers are more tied to longer-term lithium hydroxide prices outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":112244,"content":112245},{"textAlign":49},[112246],{"text":112247,"type":596},"Average pricing for each of Benchmark’s ex-China lithium hydroxide grades is trading at $29,500/tonne, ranging between $15,000/tonne under contracts at the lower end of the range and $44,000/tonne for spot market transactions at the upper end of trading.",{"type":591,"attrs":112249,"content":112250},{"textAlign":49},[112251],{"text":112252,"type":596},"That’s made LFP cells around 5% more expensive than high nickel NCM 811 battery cells which use lithium hydroxide, according to Benchmark. In the past LFP cells were up to 20% cheaper than high nickel battery cells.",{"type":615,"attrs":112254,"content":112255},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112256],{"text":112257,"type":596},"BYD raises prices",{"type":591,"attrs":112259,"content":112260},{"textAlign":49},[112261,112263,112268],{"text":112262,"type":596},"This month BYD",{"text":112264,"type":596,"marks":112265}," raised prices",[112266],{"type":606,"attrs":112267},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112269,"type":596}," for some models by an extra Rmb 1,000 to Rmb 7,000 due in part to higher raw material prices. CATL is also said to be passing on the higher lithium costs to its customers, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":112271,"content":112272},{"textAlign":49},[112273],{"text":112274,"type":596},"In contrast to lithium, which is facing a growing shortage of supply, the nickel market is likely to be well supplied this year, as Chinese-backed processing projects in Indonesia start production. Chinese nickel sulphate prices have risen by 17% over the past year, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":112276,"content":112277},{"textAlign":49},[112278],{"text":112279,"type":596},"China’s GEM Co, a leading produer of high nickel battery materials, said on Wednesday that its project to produce 60,000 tonnes of nickel metal in Indonesia would start in the first half of this year. Along with supply of metal from recycled batteries as well as existing nickel producers, the company said it had enough supply to meet demand for its products this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":112281,"content":112282},{"textAlign":49},[112283],{"text":112284,"type":596},"Still, the cost benefits of lithium hydroxide could also narrow as long-term contracts catch up to the spot lithium price. In addition, there are other benefits to LFP that are likely to make it a popular choice for automakers. LFP cells typically can have a longer cycle life and lack the stability issues associated with some other cathode chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":112286,"content":112287},{"textAlign":49},[112288],{"text":112289,"type":596},"CATL and BYD have also managed to increase the amount of energy LFP batteries can store by reducing the amount of packaging in the battery pack, something enabled by the greater safety of LFP cells.","Record high Chinese lithium carbonate prices have pushed the costs of lithium iron phosphate cells above those using mostly nickel, in a reversal of a decade-long trend. The costs of LFP cells are at least 5% higher than high-nickel cells, on a dollar per kilowatt-hour basis, according to Benchmark’s analysis, due to surging prices for […]",[112292],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112293},{"job_title":557,"image":112294,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ed81d66-52f7-4aea-8b5c-6a4f863ea75c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112297,112298],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":112300,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112301,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d7b03578d8/bm-shutterstock-20731051461.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 09, 2022",{"id":112304,"uuid":112305,"name":112306,"slug":112307,"full_slug":112308,"content":112309},112472979558053,"0eb75b7b-4ae1-4b81-ac13-1cbb8fa1d222","Benchmark Week 2021: Battery Sustainability Summit highlights","benchmark-week-2021-battery-sustainability-summit-highlights","article/benchmark-week-2021-battery-sustainability-summit-highlights",{"_uid":112310,"date":112311,"tags":112312,"editor":112316,"content":112320,"excerpt":112402,"featured":50,"reporter":112403,"_editable":112407,"component":697,"seo_title":112306,"categories":112408,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112411,"seo_description":112402,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112413},"e91901a9-816c-4584-90d5-57dc0669e429","2022-02-08 00:00",[112313],{"slug":112314,"name":112315},"benchmark-week-2021","Benchmark Week 2021",[112317],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112318},{"job_title":557,"image":112319,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112321},[112322,112327,112332,112344,112347,112350,112353,112356,112359,112362,112365,112368,112371,112376,112392],{"type":591,"attrs":112323,"content":112324},{"textAlign":49},[112325],{"text":112326,"type":596},"Watch selected highlights and download industry presentations given during the Battery Sustainability Summit – which formed part of Benchmark Week 2021 – on demand below.",{"type":591,"attrs":112328,"content":112329},{"textAlign":49},[112330],{"text":112331,"type":596},"In Benchmark Week 2021 we brought together three of Benchmark’s world class lithium ion battery supply chain conferences in three days featuring Benchmark’s analysts and leading voices of the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":112333,"content":112334},{"textAlign":49},[112335,112337,112343],{"text":112336,"type":596},"Watch highlights from Benchmark’s Battery Sustainability Summit 2021 below. Benchmark Membership subscribers can view all sessions from Benchmark Week 2021 on demand through ",{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":112339},"Benchmark Video Streaming",[112340],{"type":606,"attrs":112341},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/video-library/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":112345,"content":112346},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112348,"content":112349},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112351,"content":112352},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112354,"content":112355},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112357,"content":112358},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112360,"content":112361},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112363,"content":112364},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112366,"content":112367},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112369,"content":112370},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":112372,"content":112373},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112374],{"text":112375,"type":596},"SUBSCRIBE TO BENCHMARK MEMBERSHIP FOR FULL ACCESS",{"type":591,"attrs":112377,"content":112378},{"textAlign":49},[112379,112385,112387,112391],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":112381},"Benchmark Membership",[112382],{"type":606,"attrs":112383},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/membership-subscription/",{"text":112386,"type":596}," subscribers have access to all sessions from Benchmark Week 2021 on demand through ",{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":112388},[112389],{"type":606,"attrs":112390},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":112393,"content":112394},{"textAlign":49},[112395,112397,112401],{"text":112396,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark Membership ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":112398},[112399],{"type":606,"attrs":112400},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Watch selected highlights and download industry presentations given during the Battery Sustainability Summit – which formed part of Benchmark Week 2021 – on demand below. In Benchmark Week 2021 we brought together three of Benchmark’s world class lithium ion battery supply chain conferences in three days featuring Benchmark’s analysts and leading voices of the industry. Watch […]",[112404],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112405},{"job_title":557,"image":112406,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e91901a9-816c-4584-90d5-57dc0669e429\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112409,112410],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112412,"is_external_url":50},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 08, 2022",{"id":112415,"uuid":112416,"name":112417,"slug":112418,"full_slug":112419,"content":112420},112473014390445,"35cd3bfa-5700-42b3-b00a-987d001cf133","Benchmark begins public consultation on moving China domestic Lithium Price Assessments to weekly frequency","benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-moving-china-domestic-lithium-price-assessment-to-weekly-frequency","article/benchmark-begins-public-consultation-on-moving-china-domestic-lithium-price-assessment-to-weekly-frequency",{"_uid":112421,"date":112422,"tags":112423,"editor":112426,"content":112430,"excerpt":112547,"featured":50,"reporter":112548,"_editable":112552,"component":697,"seo_title":112417,"categories":112553,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112556,"seo_description":112547,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112559},"2a2f1897-dcb8-4e50-ab56-e4fa229c1db6","2022-01-28 00:00",[112424,112425],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":575,"name":576},[112427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112428},{"job_title":557,"image":112429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112431},[112432,112443,112451,112459,112467,112474,112480,112494,112505,112510,112515,112520,112532,112537,112542],{"type":591,"attrs":112433,"content":112434},{"textAlign":49},[112435,112437,112438,112440,112441],{"text":112436,"type":596},"London, UK (28 January 2022) – ",{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":112439,"type":596},"(“",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112442,"type":596},"”), the world’s leading independent provider of actionable price assessments, data, and analysis for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology.",{"type":591,"attrs":112444,"content":112445},{"textAlign":49},[112446,112448,112449],{"text":112447,"type":596},"Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112450,"type":596}," proposes to increase the regularity of its Chinese domestic lithium prices to once weekly.",{"type":591,"attrs":112452,"content":112453},{"textAlign":49},[112454,112456,112457],{"text":112455,"type":596},"This comes after a sustained period of increased liquidity and transaction volumes over recent months, which ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112458,"type":596}," believes will be a permanent feature in the Chinese market moving forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":112460,"content":112461},{"textAlign":49},[112462,112464,112465],{"text":112463,"type":596},"China is the most reactive market to changing supply and demand dynamics in lithium, often understood as a bellwether for global lithium market pricing. In turn, increasing the frequency of our price reporting within the framework of the ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112466,"type":596}," Lithium Price Assessment Methodology will provide a valuable and frequent price reference for industry participants.",{"type":591,"attrs":112468,"content":112469},{"textAlign":49},[112470,112472,112473],{"text":112471,"type":596},"The proposed changes would impact three grades currently collected by ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":4737,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":112475,"content":112476},{"textAlign":49},[112477,112478],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112479,"type":596}," invites feedback from active market participants by latest (28 February 2022)",{"type":591,"attrs":112481,"content":112482},{"textAlign":49},[112483,112484,112485,112487,112493],{"text":108533,"type":596},{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":112486,"type":596}," team member with feedback or email ",{"text":112488,"type":596,"marks":112489},"subscriptions@benchmarkminerals.com",[112490],{"type":606,"attrs":112491},{"href":112492,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:subscriptions@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":112495,"content":112496},{"textAlign":49},[112497,112499,112504],{"text":112498,"type":596},"Read more about ",{"text":112500,"type":596,"marks":112501},"Benchmark’s IOSCO audit here",[112502],{"type":606,"attrs":112503},{"href":97072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":112506,"content":112507},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[112508],{"text":112509,"type":596},"CASPAR RAWLES, CHIEF DATA OFFICER AT BENCHMARK SAID:",{"type":591,"attrs":112511,"content":112512},{"textAlign":49},[112513],{"text":112514,"type":596},"“As an integral part of the energy storage revolution, Benchmark evolves its battery focussed raw material price assessment methodologies in line with the constantly evolving supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":112516,"content":112517},{"textAlign":49},[112518],{"text":112519,"type":596},"“As such, the increased liquidity in the Chinese domestic lithium supply chain now allows Team Benchmark to provide the worlds most trusted and used lithium price on a more frequent basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":112521,"content":112522},{"textAlign":49},[112523,112525,112530],{"text":112524,"type":596},"“This update to ",{"text":112526,"type":596,"marks":112527},"Benchmark’s IOSCO compliant lithium methodology",[112528],{"type":606,"attrs":112529},{"href":97072,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112531,"type":596}," follows a similar change initiated in February 2021 where prices were moved to semi-monthly.",{"type":591,"attrs":112533,"content":112534},{"textAlign":49},[112535],{"text":112536,"type":596},"“As liquidity and market activity has grown in China, across both lithium carbonate and hydroxide, transaction volume has increased to the point that there is an opportunity to again revise the frequency of Benchmark’s EXW China lithium grades.",{"type":591,"attrs":112538,"content":112539},{"textAlign":49},[112540],{"text":112541,"type":596},"“As demand for lithium and other battery raw materials grows, updates to Benchmark’s market specific price assessment methodologies, will continue to ensure our subscribers have access to the most accurate prices and data in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":112543,"content":112544},{"textAlign":49},[112545],{"text":112546,"type":596},"“We welcome feedback as Benchmark continues to add additional depth and detail to its price assessment process in response to the lithium industry’s evolution.”","Volatility in the Chinese domestic lithium market has increased, with more frequent transactions and higher traded volumes relative to other regions, underpinning greater price volatility in shorter time periods Benchmark proposes to move three of its price assessments from bi-monthly to weekly frequency; heightened liquidity allows for increased price data collection and will facilitate more […]",[112549],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112550},{"job_title":557,"image":112551,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2a2f1897-dcb8-4e50-ab56-e4fa229c1db6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112554,112555],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":112557,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112558,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/79b76911f1/bm-benchmark-rgb-e1567438624404.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 28, 2022",{"id":112561,"uuid":112562,"name":112563,"slug":112564,"full_slug":112565,"content":112566},112473039482550,"0d096bee-6042-446e-8bbb-e5e394f86555","Britishvolt secures government funding for UK gigafactory","britishvolt-secures-government-funding-for-uk-gigafactory","article/britishvolt-secures-government-funding-for-uk-gigafactory",{"_uid":112567,"date":112568,"tags":112569,"editor":112572,"content":112576,"excerpt":112667,"featured":50,"reporter":112668,"_editable":112672,"component":697,"seo_title":112563,"categories":112673,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112675,"seo_description":112667,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112678},"251e1504-42c3-4748-9e84-8e4e5864772c","2022-01-21 00:00",[112570,112571],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":10539,"name":10540},[112573],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112574},{"job_title":557,"image":112575,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112577},[112578,112583,112588,112593,112598,112603,112615,112620,112625,112630,112635,112640,112645,112650,112662],{"type":591,"attrs":112579,"content":112580},{"textAlign":49},[112581],{"text":112582,"type":596},"Britishvolt has secured UK government funding for its first battery gigafactory, marking a step forward for the company’s plans to build a homegrown battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":112584,"content":112585},{"textAlign":49},[112586],{"text":112587,"type":596},"Investment company Abrdn, its real estate funding arm Tritax, and the UK government will contribute to a £1.7 billion fundraising, which will go towards the construction of the 45 gigawatt-hours (GWh) factory in Northumberland, Britishvolt said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112589,"content":112590},{"textAlign":49},[112591],{"text":112592,"type":596},"“This announcement is a major step in putting the UK at the forefront of the global energy transition, unlocking huge private sector investment that will develop the technology and skills required for Britain to play its part in the next industrial revolution,” Peter Rolton, executive chairman of Britishvolt, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112594,"content":112595},{"textAlign":49},[112596],{"text":112597,"type":596},"Britishvolt, which was founded in 2019, said it would need a total of £3.8 billion for the factory, which will be able to produce enough battery cells for over 300,000 electric vehicles every year.",{"type":591,"attrs":112599,"content":112600},{"textAlign":49},[112601],{"text":112602,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that the UK would need 175 GWh of battery capacity to supply its electric vehicle market.",{"type":591,"attrs":112604,"content":112605},{"textAlign":49},[112606,112608,112613],{"text":112607,"type":596},"Britishvolt’s fundraising comes six months after China’s Envision ",{"text":112609,"type":596,"marks":112610},"announced plans for a new battery factory in Sunderland",[112611],{"type":606,"attrs":112612},{"href":96346,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112614,"type":596},", near to its existing battery plant, which was formerly owned by Nissan. Envision is a Tier 1 battery manufacturer, according to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":112616,"content":112617},{"textAlign":49},[112618],{"text":112619,"type":596},"While Nissan developed the world’s first integrated battery cell manufacturing plant in the UK the country has been lagging behind its European peers in developing a capacity pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":112621,"content":112622},{"textAlign":49},[112623],{"text":112624,"type":596},"Britishvolt remains a development company and a Tier 3 producer according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":112626,"content":112627},{"textAlign":49},[112628],{"text":112629,"type":596},"“Making lithium ion batteries isn’t easy and getting qualified by the leading EV makers in Europe isn’t easier either,” Rob Colbourn, head of Benchmark Membership, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112631,"content":112632},{"textAlign":49},[112633],{"text":112634,"type":596},"The UK government is understood to be providing £100 million for the plant, through the Automotive Transition Fund.",{"type":591,"attrs":112636,"content":112637},{"textAlign":49},[112638],{"text":112639,"type":596},"“Britishvolt’s plan to build a new gigafactory in Northumberland is a strong testament to the skilled workers of the North East and the UK’s place at the helm of the global green industrial revolution,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112641,"content":112642},{"textAlign":49},[112643],{"text":112644,"type":596},"Britishvolt said in the next few weeks it would announce more details of its customers as well as its planned battery technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":112646,"content":112647},{"textAlign":49},[112648],{"text":112649,"type":596},"Britishvolt aims to build the factory in sages on the 93-hectare site of the former Blyth power station. It says the site has access to low-carbon electricity, including hydropower via an interconnector with Norway.",{"type":591,"attrs":112651,"content":112652},{"textAlign":49},[112653,112655,112661],{"text":112654,"type":596},"Rolton said the company wanted to attract other sections of the battery supply chain such as refining or recycling businesses to co-locate with it on the site. ",{"text":112656,"type":596,"marks":112657},"Swiss miner Glencore has already agreed to supply the site with cobalt",[112658],{"type":606,"attrs":112659},{"href":112660,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/glencore-takes-stake-in-uk-battery-developer-britishvolt-agrees-long-term-cobalt-supply-deal",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":112663,"content":112664},{"textAlign":49},[112665],{"text":112666,"type":596},"“This not only shortens supply chains but also allows for partners to access the abundance of renewable energy on site to truly power low carbon, sustainable battery production,” he said.","Britishvolt has secured UK government funding for its first battery gigafactory, marking a step forward for the company’s plans to build a homegrown battery supply chain. Investment company Abrdn, its real estate funding arm Tritax, and the UK government will contribute to a £1.7 billion fundraising, which will go towards the construction of the 45 […]",[112669],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112670},{"job_title":557,"image":112671,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"251e1504-42c3-4748-9e84-8e4e5864772c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112674],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":112676,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112677,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/47abdc99f7/bm-britishvolt-factory-renders-v1.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 21, 2022",{"id":112680,"uuid":112681,"name":112682,"slug":112683,"full_slug":112684,"content":112685},112473044270777,"20e0190b-9095-4598-a959-6a9023cf49c6","Trafigura strikes $600 million deal for DRC cobalt and copper supply","trafigura-strikes-600-million-deal-for-drc-cobalt-and-copper-supply","article/trafigura-strikes-600-million-deal-for-drc-cobalt-and-copper-supply",{"_uid":112686,"date":112687,"tags":112688,"editor":112691,"content":112695,"excerpt":112757,"featured":50,"reporter":112758,"_editable":112762,"component":697,"seo_title":112682,"categories":112763,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112766,"seo_description":112757,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112768},"eda7c2db-8a2e-4b75-9336-4e746b2ed1bf","2022-01-19 00:00",[112689,112690],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[112692],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112693},{"job_title":557,"image":112694,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112696},[112697,112702,112707,112719,112724,112729,112732,112737,112742,112747,112752],{"type":591,"attrs":112698,"content":112699},{"textAlign":49},[112700],{"text":112701,"type":596},"Commodity trader Trafigura has agreed to finance the construction of a Congolese copper and cobalt mine as part of a $600 million deal to secure supplies of the battery metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":112703,"content":112704},{"textAlign":49},[112705],{"text":112706,"type":596},"The Geneva-based company said the financing would enable the completion of Chemaf’s Mutoshi mine, which is set to start production in 2023. It would also help fund a nearby processing facility, it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112708,"content":112709},{"textAlign":49},[112710,112712,112717],{"text":112711,"type":596},"The deal comes as cobalt metal prices trade at ",{"text":112713,"type":596,"marks":112714},"their highest levels in three years",[112715],{"type":606,"attrs":112716},{"href":108711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112718,"type":596},", in part due to rising demand for electric vehicles, many of which use the metal in their batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":112720,"content":112721},{"textAlign":49},[112722],{"text":112723,"type":596},"Supply of cobalt from the DRC is set to grow by 65% by 2025 due to investment in new projects to meet rising demand from the battery sector, according to Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast. Glencore’s Mutanda copper and cobalt mine is also set to restart production this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":112725,"content":112726},{"textAlign":49},[112727],{"text":112728,"type":596},"“The transaction will facilitate new supply of high-grade cobalt hydroxide and copper cathode at a time of growing global demand,” Trafigura said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112730,"content":112731},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112733,"content":112734},{"textAlign":49},[112735],{"text":112736,"type":596},"The Geneva-based trading company has become a key player in the cobalt market. Last year it struck a deal to buy all the cobalt produced by artisanal miners in the country and channeled through a new government entity, the Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC).",{"type":591,"attrs":112738,"content":112739},{"textAlign":49},[112740],{"text":112741,"type":596},"The Mutoshi mine is set to be a fully mechanised mine that will start producing by the third quarter of 2023, Trafigura said. Trafigura said it would market all of the cobalt hydroxide produced by the assets until 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":112743,"content":112744},{"textAlign":49},[112745],{"text":112746,"type":596},"Chemaf is a DRC-based company founded by Shiraz Virji, a long-term resident who opened a pharmacy in the country in 1981. It has struggled for years to finance Mutoshi’s processing plant, briefly taking Trafigura to court in 2020, according to Africa Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":112748,"content":112749},{"textAlign":49},[112750],{"text":112751,"type":596},"Trafigura previously signed a deal with Chemaf and its parent Shalina Resources for supplies of cobalt in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":112753,"content":112754},{"textAlign":49},[112755],{"text":112756,"type":596},"The Geneva-based company said it intends to syndicate the majority of the $600 million financing to international banks. The money would also be used to expand Chemaf’s existing Etoile processing plant in Lubumbashi, it said.","Commodity trader Trafigura has agreed to finance the construction of a Congolese copper and cobalt mine as part of a $600 million deal to secure supplies of the battery metal. The Geneva-based company said the financing would enable the completion of Chemaf’s Mutoshi mine, which is set to start production in 2023. It would also […]",[112759],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112760},{"job_title":557,"image":112761,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"eda7c2db-8a2e-4b75-9336-4e746b2ed1bf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112764,112765],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":103039,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112767,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 19, 2022",{"id":112770,"uuid":112771,"name":112772,"slug":112773,"full_slug":112774,"content":112775},112473049120443,"967f458f-ca6e-48e3-ae9e-5cdcccc4bd3b","Chinese battery-grade lithium prices surge 21% in first half of January; battery makers move to secure supplies","chinese-battery-grade-lithium-prices-surge-21-in-first-half-of-january-battery-makers-move-to-secure-supplies","article/chinese-battery-grade-lithium-prices-surge-21-in-first-half-of-january-battery-makers-move-to-secure-supplies",{"_uid":112776,"date":112777,"tags":112778,"editor":112780,"content":112784,"excerpt":112862,"featured":50,"reporter":112863,"_editable":112867,"component":697,"seo_title":112772,"categories":112868,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":112871,"seo_description":112862,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":112873},"2423f765-644b-4f56-a0e3-828af1c891d4","2022-01-18 00:00",[112779],{"slug":575,"name":576},[112781],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112782},{"job_title":557,"image":112783,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112785},[112786,112791,112803,112815,112820,112825,112830,112835,112840,112845,112850],{"type":591,"attrs":112787,"content":112788},{"textAlign":49},[112789],{"text":112790,"type":596},"Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose by 21% in the first two weeks of January, adding further cost pressures to battery makers who are moving to secure their own supplies of the key raw material.",{"type":591,"attrs":112792,"content":112793},{"textAlign":49},[112794,112796,112801],{"text":112795,"type":596},"China battery-grade ",{"text":3760,"type":596,"marks":112797},[112798],{"type":606,"attrs":112799},{"href":112800,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-carbonate-prices-break-through-40-kg-barrier",{"text":112802,"type":596}," hit a record high average of RMB 302,500 ($47,500) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, bringing prices up by 495.9% compared to the end of January 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":112804,"content":112805},{"textAlign":49},[112806,112808,112813],{"text":112807,"type":596},"Rising lithium prices ",{"text":112809,"type":596,"marks":112810},"threaten to reverse a multi-decade-long decline in EV battery costs",[112811],{"type":606,"attrs":112812},{"href":73909,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112814,"type":596},", putting further pressure on automakers and battery producers. That’s prompted some of China’s largest companies to invest in securing their own lithium supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":112816,"content":112817},{"textAlign":49},[112818],{"text":112819,"type":596},"This week China’s EVE Energy (EVE), announced two investments into domestic lithium brine resources. Earlier in the month CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, said it had established a joint venture based in Yichun city with lithium producer Jiangxi Zhicun Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":112821,"content":112822},{"textAlign":49},[112823],{"text":112824,"type":596},"“It’s anticipated that lithium ion battery producers and EV manufacturers will continue to play a more active role in sourcing lithium chemicals and spodumene concentrate in 2022 through direct investments and long-term purchase agreements,” Christian Cortes, chief sales officer at Australian lithium producer Allkem, said on Monday.",{"type":591,"attrs":112826,"content":112827},{"textAlign":49},[112828],{"text":112829,"type":596},"With the majority of spodumene supply currently controlled by lithium majors for in-house conversion, and limited additional supply set to come online during 2022, Benchmark forecasts a deficit of over 25,000 tonnes LCE in mined lithium supply during 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":112831,"content":112832},{"textAlign":49},[112833],{"text":112834,"type":596},"China reported a record 518,000 sales of new energy vehicles in December, taking full-year sales to over 3.5 million units. Sales of new energy vehicles (which includes plug-in hybrids) are set to rise to over 5.5 million units this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.",{"type":591,"attrs":112836,"content":112837},{"textAlign":49},[112838],{"text":112839,"type":596},"“Downstream demand remains robust for both hydroxide and carbonate, with reports of limited producer inventories and tight availability expected to keep prices on an upward trajectory ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112841,"content":112842},{"textAlign":49},[112843],{"text":112844,"type":596},"Allkem said this week that it expected international lithium carbonate prices to rise to $20,000 a tonne in the first half of this year, from $12,491 in the fourth quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":112846,"content":112847},{"textAlign":49},[112848],{"text":112849,"type":596},"“It’s a very, very tight supply market and as a result of this we’re seeing this very very rapid increase in pricing,” Allkem’s Cortes said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112851,"content":112852},{"textAlign":49},[112853,112855,112860],{"text":112854,"type":596},"Adding to concerns about future lithium supply Rio Tinto said on Tuesday that the timeline for its ",{"text":112856,"type":596,"marks":112857},"Jadar lithium project in Serbia",[112858],{"type":606,"attrs":112859},{"href":87315,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112861,"type":596}," would be delayed by one year to 2027, following widespread protests against the mine. The project is expected to produce 2.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate over a 40-year mine life.","Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose by 21% in the first two weeks of January, adding further cost pressures to battery makers who are moving to secure their own supplies of the key raw material. China battery-grade lithium carbonate hit a record high average of RMB 302,500 ($47,500) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price […]",[112864],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112865},{"job_title":557,"image":112866,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2423f765-644b-4f56-a0e3-828af1c891d4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[112869,112870],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77685,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":112872,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 18, 2022",{"id":112875,"uuid":112876,"name":112877,"slug":112878,"full_slug":112879,"content":112880},112473068388033,"788bc60d-f9d9-4c6f-87f4-983bf9a1bbc9","Tesla and BHP back nickel projects to develop supply outside of Indonesia","tesla-and-bhp-back-nickel-projects-to-develop-supply-outside-of-indonesia","article/tesla-and-bhp-back-nickel-projects-to-develop-supply-outside-of-indonesia",{"_uid":112881,"date":112882,"tags":112883,"editor":112886,"content":112890,"excerpt":112998,"featured":50,"reporter":112999,"_editable":113003,"component":697,"seo_title":112877,"categories":113004,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113007,"seo_description":112998,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113010},"510768b6-4dbc-47b3-add9-3ec74b80b647","2022-01-11 00:00",[112884,112885],{"slug":30625,"name":30626},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[112887],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":112888},{"job_title":557,"image":112889,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":112891},[112892,112897,112902,112907,112912,112933,112938,112950,112955,112960,112963,112968,112973,112978,112983,112988,112993],{"type":591,"attrs":112893,"content":112894},{"textAlign":49},[112895],{"text":112896,"type":596},"Tesla has agreed to buy nickel from Talon Metals’ mine in Minnesota, in its first deal to secure supplies of US metal for its batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":112898,"content":112899},{"textAlign":49},[112900],{"text":112901,"type":596},"The automaker said the project, which is due to produce nickel in 2026, had the “promise to accelerate the production of sustainable energy products in North America.”",{"type":591,"attrs":112903,"content":112904},{"textAlign":49},[112905],{"text":112906,"type":596},"The deal comes a day after the world’s largest miner BHP said it would invest up to $100 million in the Kabanga nickel project in Tanzania, which is due to come into production in 2025. The investments reflect efforts to develop nickel supply outside of Indonesia, which is set to account for the majority of the market by the end of this decade, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":112908,"content":112909},{"textAlign":49},[112910],{"text":112911,"type":596},"Last year Sibanye Stillwater agreed to buy the Santa Rita nickel mine in Brazil for $1bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":112913,"content":112914},{"textAlign":49},[112915,112917,112923,112925,112931],{"text":112916,"type":596},"Automakers such as Tesla ",{"text":112918,"type":596,"marks":112919},"are wary of nickel supply from Indonesia",[112920],{"type":606,"attrs":112921},{"href":112922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/elon-musks-green-nickel-crusade",{"text":112924,"type":596}," since it is ",{"text":112926,"type":596,"marks":112927},"processed using coal-fired power",[112928],{"type":606,"attrs":112929},{"href":112930,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-tsingshans-nickel-matte-deal-mean-for-lithium-ion-and-the-nickel-industry",{"text":112932,"type":596}," and is also mined in sensitive environmental habitats.",{"type":591,"attrs":112934,"content":112935},{"textAlign":49},[112936],{"text":112937,"type":596},"Tesla has already agreed to buy nickel from the Goro mine in New Caledonia as well as from BHP’s Nickel West project in Australia, among others.",{"type":591,"attrs":112939,"content":112940},{"textAlign":49},[112941,112943,112948],{"text":112942,"type":596},"While Tesla has begun to use ",{"text":112944,"type":596,"marks":112945},"lithium iron phosphate batteries",[112946],{"type":606,"attrs":112947},{"href":92673,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":112949,"type":596},", which don’t contain nickel, for its standard range cars, it still needs nickel for its longer range vehicles, as well as its planned electric truck.",{"type":591,"attrs":112951,"content":112952},{"textAlign":49},[112953],{"text":112954,"type":596},"The deal with Talon allows Tesla to acquire nickel probably at a discount, while providing support for Talon to finance the mine through to production, Greg Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112956,"content":112957},{"textAlign":49},[112958],{"text":112959,"type":596},"“Tesla’s involvement will also allow them to secure capital easier,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112961,"content":112962},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":112964,"content":112965},{"textAlign":49},[112966],{"text":112967,"type":596},"Talon Metals said it is “committed to meeting the highest standards of responsible production that is fully traceable and that has the lowest embedded CO2 footprint in the industry.” It also said it wants to develop a “responsible processing capability in the US.”",{"type":591,"attrs":112969,"content":112970},{"textAlign":49},[112971],{"text":112972,"type":596},"The company is also exploring using future mine tailings waste to store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which could lower the project’s carbon footprint even further. Last year Talon signed an agreement with startup Carbon Capture to assess the opportunity.",{"type":591,"attrs":112974,"content":112975},{"textAlign":49},[112976],{"text":112977,"type":596},"“The Talon team has taken an innovative approach to the discovery, development and production of battery materials, including to permanently store carbon as part of mine operations and the investigation of the novel extraction of battery materials,” Drew Baglino, senior vice president of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":112979,"content":112980},{"textAlign":49},[112981],{"text":112982,"type":596},"Tesla has agreed to buy 75,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate from Talon’s Tamarack project, with a preferential right to negotiate to buy more metal in the future. The agreement lasts for six years or until 75,000 tonnes is delivered.",{"type":591,"attrs":112984,"content":112985},{"textAlign":49},[112986],{"text":112987,"type":596},"It is conditional upon Talon increasing its interest in the project to 60% from 51% and commencing production. The project is currently a joint venture with Rio Tinto.",{"type":591,"attrs":112989,"content":112990},{"textAlign":49},[112991],{"text":112992,"type":596},"Talon and Tesla will work together to optimise nickel concentrate grades and metal recoveries, Talon said. The purchase price will be linked to the London Metals Exchange (LME) official cash settlement price for nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":112994,"content":112995},{"textAlign":49},[112996],{"text":112997,"type":596},"It is unclear, however, where the nickel concentrate will be refined into a form suitable for batteries such as nickel sulphate.","Tesla has agreed to buy nickel from Talon Metals’ mine in Minnesota, in its first deal to secure supplies of US metal for its batteries. The automaker said the project, which is due to produce nickel in 2026, had the “promise to accelerate the production of sustainable energy products in North America.” The deal comes […]",[113000],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113001},{"job_title":557,"image":113002,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"510768b6-4dbc-47b3-add9-3ec74b80b647\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113005,113006],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113008,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113009,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/98b3241898/bm-0x0-supercharger-01.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 11, 2022",{"id":113012,"uuid":113013,"name":113014,"slug":113015,"full_slug":113016,"content":113017},112473077862083,"299f7938-d68e-45e4-9f9f-26f1946666fe","The west needs to build LFP battery capacity for technology to go global","west-needs-to-build-lfp-battery-capacity-for-technology-to-go-global","article/west-needs-to-build-lfp-battery-capacity-for-technology-to-go-global",{"_uid":113018,"date":113019,"tags":113020,"editor":113022,"content":113026,"excerpt":113028,"featured":50,"reporter":113029,"_editable":113033,"component":697,"seo_title":113014,"categories":113034,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113038,"seo_description":113028,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113041},"aaa9a9b2-712f-4c23-8a1b-cc6ab14d1752","2022-01-07 00:00",[113021],{"slug":4345,"name":451},[113023],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113024},{"job_title":557,"image":113025,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113027},[],"Tesla’s embrace of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries has propelled the chemistry into the mainstream of the automotive industry. Automakers including Volkswagen, Daimler, and Ford have also adopted the cost-effective technology in their lower-range EVs. But a global shortage of cell capacity outside of China could hinder wider adoption by western automakers. Over 90% of […]",[113030],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113031},{"job_title":557,"image":113032,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aaa9a9b2-712f-4c23-8a1b-cc6ab14d1752\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113035,113036,113037],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113039,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113040,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e0ba6d8fd6/bm-db2021al00401-medium1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 07, 2022",{"id":113043,"uuid":113044,"name":113045,"slug":113046,"full_slug":113047,"content":113048},112473073045186,"f7434cef-fff8-4a14-a634-1791dbcfa785","Scale up of cobalt production needs ESG commitments to match","how-the-scale-up-of-cobalt-production-needs-esg-commitments-to-match","article/how-the-scale-up-of-cobalt-production-needs-esg-commitments-to-match",{"_uid":113049,"date":113019,"tags":113050,"editor":113053,"content":113057,"excerpt":113145,"featured":50,"reporter":113146,"_editable":113150,"component":697,"seo_title":113045,"categories":113151,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113155,"seo_description":113145,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113041},"eb7eeae6-18a6-465c-9811-401b3f077feb",[113051,113052],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[113054],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113055},{"job_title":557,"image":113056,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113058},[113059,113070,113082,113095,113100,113108,113113,113118,113123,113128,113133],{"type":591,"attrs":113060,"content":113061},{"textAlign":49},[113062,113064,113069],{"text":113063,"type":596},"The long-term trend of increased electric vehicle (EV) sales creates opportunities for the whole lithium ion battery supply chain. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecast a 13% compound annual growth rate in demand for cobalt for the next ten years.  Increased demand is being reflected in cobalt prices ",{"text":113065,"type":596,"marks":113066},"which are now at their highest levels in three years",[113067],{"type":606,"attrs":113068},{"href":108711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":113071,"content":113072},{"textAlign":49},[113073,113075,113080],{"text":113074,"type":596},"With the tagline “cash, coal, cars and trees”, the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November strengthened national and international action to decarbonise our global economy, ",{"text":113076,"type":596,"marks":113077},"with a particular focus on transport",[113078],{"type":606,"attrs":113079},{"href":110259,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113081,"type":596},". At the same time, a critical part of COP26 discussions stressed the importance of ensuring a green and just transition. This requires supporting the sustainable scaling-up of these industries and calls for responsible sourcing and transparency across supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":113083,"content":113084},{"textAlign":49},[113085,113087,113093],{"text":113086,"type":596},"Consistent growth in the demand for cobalt necessitates a rapid development in the infrastructure for raw material extraction and processing. Consequently, there is a greater need for transparent and verifiable ESG reporting. The first step in transparency is engagement. If you are producing in the cobalt space, you can be part of enhancing its sustainability by engaging with ",{"text":113088,"type":596,"marks":113089},"Benchmark’s Cobalt ESG survey",[113090],{"type":606,"attrs":113091},{"href":113092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:esg@benchmarkminerals.com",{"text":113094,"type":596},", which will feed into Benchmark’s industry assessment in the first independent ESG Cobalt Report for the EV industry, as it stands today.",{"type":615,"attrs":113096,"content":113097},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113098],{"text":113099,"type":596},"The Congo’s dominance",{"type":591,"attrs":113101,"content":113102},{"textAlign":49},[113103,113105,113106],{"text":113104,"type":596},"The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest source among the world’s top cobalt-producing countries, accounting for around 70% of global production",{"text":4683,"type":596},{"text":113107,"type":596},"As Henry Sanderson, Executive Editor at Benchmark highlights, “when we talk about cobalt we have to talk about the DRC”.",{"type":591,"attrs":113109,"content":113110},{"textAlign":49},[113111],{"text":113112,"type":596},"Amnesty International’s 2016 Report on Child Labour in the cobalt mining industry in the DRC altered the strategy of stakeholders, namely that of automotive companies.  The initial reaction was to move away from the DRC as companies feared sourcing cobalt and copper from there. The potential economic and social devastation this shift away could cause in livelihoods has since been better understood. Increasingly, the sector is focused on improving working conditions and supporting communities. However, an understanding of the ongoing ESG issues, such as water contamination, wider impacts on human health, and impact of mining on critically endangered flora and fauna are pertinent. These are all issues that must be confronted in both the cobalt mining industry, and the mining industry more broadly.",{"type":615,"attrs":113114,"content":113115},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113116],{"text":113117,"type":596},"Different ESG concerns",{"type":591,"attrs":113119,"content":113120},{"textAlign":49},[113121],{"text":113122,"type":596},"It is important when assessing ESG that we avoid the mistake of seeing the cobalt industry as a single entity. There are differences in ESG materiality concerns when it comes to operating regions and operators (large-scale and artisanal miners). As cobalt prices rise, so too does the rate of artisanal mined cobalt. The need to better regulate and safeguard those in the artisanal sector has led to the Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), establishing the responsible sourcing standard. It was brought out this year to support the establishment and maintenance of safe and strictly controlled artisanal mining zones in the DRC. However, it is yet to be seen what impact this will have on the ground.",{"type":591,"attrs":113124,"content":113125},{"textAlign":49},[113126],{"text":113127,"type":596},"Despite this focus on cobalt from the DRC, it is important not to overlook other countries supplying or looking to scale up mining: Russia, Australia, Philippines, Cuba, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea. They all have known cobalt reserves, and there will be national and local unique risks that should be engaged with as part of ESG conversations so as to stay ahead of regulation.",{"type":591,"attrs":113129,"content":113130},{"textAlign":49},[113131],{"text":113132,"type":596},"Fundamental to improving ESG in the cobalt industry is engaging all stakeholders in discussions regarding all risks in the industry: those that have gained much attention to date, as well as others that will require more focus. The complexities of these issues and supply chains require honest, multi-stakeholder consultations.",{"type":591,"attrs":113134,"content":113135},{"textAlign":49},[113136,113138,113143],{"text":113137,"type":596},"Please get in contact with Benchmark’s ESG division at ",{"text":113139,"type":596,"marks":113140},"esg@benchmarkminerals.com",[113141],{"type":606,"attrs":113142},{"href":113092,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113144,"type":596}," to learn more about our cobalt industry survey and independent assessment.   ","The long-term trend of increased electric vehicle (EV) sales creates opportunities for the whole lithium ion battery supply chain. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecast a 13% compound annual growth rate in demand for cobalt for the next ten years. Increased demand is being reflected in cobalt prices which are now at their highest levels in three […]",[113147],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113148},{"job_title":557,"image":113149,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"eb7eeae6-18a6-465c-9811-401b3f077feb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113152,113153,113154],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113156,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113157,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c0c7d0aa63/bm-drc-artisanal-cobalt-mining-e1641557832549.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":113159,"uuid":113160,"name":113161,"slug":113162,"full_slug":113163,"content":113164},112473082678980,"dae843eb-934b-4ab5-8530-a61fb2266dd3","Lithium carbonate prices break through $40/kg barrier","lithium-carbonate-prices-break-through-40-kg-barrier","article/lithium-carbonate-prices-break-through-40-kg-barrier",{"_uid":113165,"date":113166,"tags":113167,"editor":113169,"content":113173,"excerpt":113235,"featured":50,"reporter":113236,"_editable":113240,"component":697,"seo_title":113161,"categories":113241,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":113244,"seo_description":113247,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":113248},"e2ba26c1-6a38-4d4f-9937-2f141507c018","2022-01-01 00:00",[113168],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[113170],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113171},{"job_title":557,"image":113172,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113174},[113175,113180,113185,113190,113195,113200,113205,113210,113215,113220,113225,113230],{"type":591,"attrs":113176,"content":113177},{"textAlign":49},[113178],{"text":113179,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China price has exceeded $40/kg or $40,000/tonne for the first time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":113181,"content":113182},{"textAlign":49},[113183],{"text":113184,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s latest Lithium Price Assessment on 31 December 2021 saw the high point of its lithium carbonate price range within China reach $41,925/tonne. ",{"type":591,"attrs":113186,"content":113187},{"textAlign":49},[113188],{"text":113189,"type":596},"The mid point of the assessment for this specific grade settled at $39,250/tonne, up by 485.8% on prices a year prior. ",{"type":591,"attrs":113191,"content":113192},{"textAlign":49},[113193],{"text":113194,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Global Weighted Average Lithium Carbonate price finished 2021 at $27,327/tonne, showing the aggressive nature of price increases within China versus the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":113196,"content":113197},{"textAlign":49},[113198],{"text":113199,"type":596},"This latest assessment represents a huge 25% m-o-m increase in Chinese carbonate prices driven primarily by strong demand from the electric vehicle battery sector throughout 2021, compounded by seasonal restocking of lithium carbonate inventories ahead of Spring Festival 2022 in China. ",{"type":591,"attrs":113201,"content":113202},{"textAlign":49},[113203],{"text":113204,"type":596},"Meanwhile lithium carbonate producer inventories have been depleted on continued high demand and remain at low to non-existent levels. Further upstream spodumene feedstock stockpiles have been reduced from an average of 6 months of material, to only 1-2 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":113206,"content":113207},{"textAlign":49},[113208],{"text":113209,"type":596},"The re-emergence of domestic Chinese LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode has pushed lithium carbonate prices to all time highs in 2021, a trend that is expected to continue as the market enters 2022. ",{"type":591,"attrs":113211,"content":113212},{"textAlign":49},[113213],{"text":113214,"type":596},"The new price levels saw a domestic China premium of lithium carbonate over lithium hydroxide of $6,600/tonne, as ongoing demand for carbonate continues to invert the historical price relationship between the two chemicals.",{"type":615,"attrs":113216,"content":113217},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113218],{"text":113219,"type":596},"Get Access to Benchmark’s Lithium Prices today!",{"type":591,"attrs":113221,"content":113222},{"textAlign":49},[113223],{"text":113224,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is the world’s leading and most trusted provider of independent lithium price assessments to the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":113226,"content":113227},{"textAlign":49},[113228],{"text":113229,"type":596},"Used to negotiate and settle contracts the world over, Benchmark assesses domestic Chinese Lithium Carbonate and Lithium Hydroxide prices every two weeks, and spodumene prices every month.",{"type":591,"attrs":113231,"content":113232},{"textAlign":49},[113233],{"text":113234,"type":596},"We are IOSCO regulated to the highest standards by PwC.","Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China price has exceeded $40/kg or $40,000/tonne for the first time. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s latest Lithium Price Assessment on 31 December 2021 saw the high point of its lithium carbonate price range within China reach $41,925/tonne. The mid point of the assessment for this specific grade settled at $39,250/tonne, […]",[113237],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113238},{"job_title":557,"image":113239,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e2ba26c1-6a38-4d4f-9937-2f141507c018\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113242,113243],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113245,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113246,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d8695507a/bm-benchmark-lithium-prices.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China price has exceeded $40/kg or $40,000/tonne for the first time. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s latest Lithium Price Assessment on 31 December 2021 saw the high point of its lithium ...","Jan 01, 2022",{"id":113250,"uuid":113251,"name":113252,"slug":113253,"full_slug":113254,"content":113255},112473092415175,"2394b057-d23d-4d1e-9d3a-400b67ab031b","Chinese lithium prices soar – 2021 in review","chinese-lithium-prices-soar-2021-in-review","article/chinese-lithium-prices-soar-2021-in-review",{"_uid":113256,"date":113257,"tags":113258,"editor":113260,"content":113264,"excerpt":113320,"featured":50,"reporter":113321,"_editable":113325,"component":697,"seo_title":113252,"categories":113326,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113329,"seo_description":113320,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113332},"54878b2d-1b66-47dc-a346-ad9754ff644e","2021-12-31 00:00",[113259],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[113261],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113262},{"job_title":557,"image":113263,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113265},[113266,113278,113283,113288,113293,113305,113310,113315],{"type":591,"attrs":113267,"content":113268},{"textAlign":49},[113269,113271,113276],{"text":113270,"type":596},"The Chinese domestic lithium market had a bullish start to 2021, with battery grade carbonate rising by 91.8% in the first quarter, writes Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray. This was underpinned by increasing ",{"text":113272,"type":596,"marks":113273},"demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material",[113274],{"type":606,"attrs":113275},{"href":112207,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113277,"type":596}," against the backdrop of limited investment into the supply-side of the industry during three years of falling prices prior to 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":113279,"content":113280},{"textAlign":49},[113281],{"text":113282,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide soon followed suit, driven by fears over tightness in the structurally smaller chemical market. Lithium hydroxide recorded rapid price increases through early Q2, but failed to regain its historical premium to carbonate until Q3.",{"type":591,"attrs":113284,"content":113285},{"textAlign":49},[113286],{"text":113287,"type":596},"Late Q2 and early Q3 saw a quieter period of market activity in the Chinese domestic market, with production from Qinghai brine projects increasing in the warmer summer months due to higher evaporation rates, easing supply-side worries.",{"type":591,"attrs":113289,"content":113290},{"textAlign":49},[113291],{"text":113292,"type":596},"Meanwhile, prices in ex-China markets saw a steady, but significant, uptick through the first half of 2021, as the Chinese rally, and tightening chemical supply, had a lagged impact on sentiment internationally. Whilst prices at the lower end of the range in South America, North America, Asia and Europe stayed fairly steady through the year, given annual fixed price deals that were settled at low prices in late 2020, smaller volume spot purchases at the upper end of the range pulled up average prices as transactions trended towards Chinese prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":113294,"content":113295},{"textAlign":49},[113296,113298,113303],{"text":113297,"type":596},"Late Q3 and early Q4 saw the rally in the Chinese domestic market reboot due to waning production in Qinghai province and growing demand, underpinned by record-high EV sales in China. ",{"text":113299,"type":596,"marks":113300},"As such, prices for battery grade carbonate climbed by 116.1% from the end of July through to the end of October",[113301],{"type":606,"attrs":113302},{"href":4963,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113304,"type":596},", with hydroxide pricing increasing by 88.1% in the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":113306,"content":113307},{"textAlign":49},[113308],{"text":113309,"type":596},"The relationship between hydroxide and carbonate prices in China remained volatile in the second half of the year, with a much tighter, and interchangeable, margin between the two chemicals. Similarly, pricing in international markets reached parity for both chemicals across most jurisdictions, given buyers’ willingness to pay spot-level pricing for any available material amid extreme supply tightness.",{"type":591,"attrs":113311,"content":113312},{"textAlign":49},[113313],{"text":113314,"type":596},"In particular, transactions at the upper end of the price range in the rest of Asia, outside of China, began to exceed $30,000/tonne in Q4, with buyers in the region forced to compete with Chinese consumers in spot-based trading given extremely limited availability, despite a strong historical preference for long term contract agreements.",{"type":591,"attrs":113316,"content":113317},{"textAlign":49},[113318],{"text":113319,"type":596},"Meanwhile, transacted prices in China began to breach the RMB 200,000/tonne ($31,509) mark for both carbonate and hydroxide in November, marking a historical milestone for lithium pricing and setting a precedent for expectations of global lithium prices going into 2022.","The Chinese domestic lithium market had a bullish start to 2021, with battery grade carbonate rising by 91.8% in the first quarter, writes Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray. This was underpinned by increasing demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material against the backdrop of limited investment into the supply-side of the industry during three years […]",[113322],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113323},{"job_title":557,"image":113324,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54878b2d-1b66-47dc-a346-ad9754ff644e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113327,113328],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113330,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113331,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8165402dbb/bm-shutterstock-2930870961-e1640951049807.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 31, 2021",{"id":113334,"uuid":113335,"name":113336,"slug":113337,"full_slug":113338,"content":113339},112473101999817,"6b6b32ed-091a-48ea-ac25-e342034dc828","Nickel hits seven year high – 2021 in review","nickel-hits-seven-year-high-2021-in-review","article/nickel-hits-seven-year-high-2021-in-review",{"_uid":113340,"date":113341,"tags":113342,"editor":113344,"content":113348,"excerpt":113414,"featured":50,"reporter":113415,"_editable":113419,"component":697,"seo_title":113336,"categories":113420,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113423,"seo_description":113414,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113425},"5102955a-fcd5-4cb0-a1a1-21cba7288b97","2021-12-30 00:00",[113343],{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[113345],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113346},{"job_title":557,"image":113347,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113349},[113350,113355,113360,113365,113370,113382,113394,113399,113404,113409],{"type":591,"attrs":113351,"content":113352},{"textAlign":49},[113353],{"text":113354,"type":596},"Nickel climbed to seven-year highs in 2021, as a series of supply curtailments, in tandem with a stronger-than-expected recovery in stainless-steel production and robust growth in the battery sector led the market to swing into a deficit, writes Benchmark analyst Greg Miller.",{"type":591,"attrs":113356,"content":113357},{"textAlign":49},[113358],{"text":113359,"type":596},"Whilst much of the  discourse in 2021 centred around the growing utilisation of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries  in China and the potential impact on the future uptake of NCM technologies in EVs, battery sector nickel demand continued to perform robustly throughout the year, recording a 42% y-o-y increase according to the Benchmark Nickel Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":113361,"content":113362},{"textAlign":49},[113363],{"text":113364,"type":596},"The scene was set early in the year, as prices across all grades assessed by Benchmark recorded significant gains in Q1, on the back of a rapid uptick in battery sector demand in late 2020 and unexpected supply side disruptions – most notably the suspension of Prony Resources in New Caledonia.",{"type":591,"attrs":113366,"content":113367},{"textAlign":49},[113368],{"text":113369,"type":596},"EXW China nickel sulphate prices reached their highest level ever recorded by the Benchmark Price Assessment during the first quarter of the year, with sulphate’s premium over exchange nickel prices peaking at $4,500/tonne during this period. Likewise, CIF Asia nickel sulphate premiums saw substantial upward pressure, as Chinese consumers looked abroad to secure units amid tight supply in the domestic market.",{"type":591,"attrs":113371,"content":113372},{"textAlign":49},[113373,113375,113380],{"text":113374,"type":596},"The nickel market was then rocked by ",{"text":113376,"type":596,"marks":113377},"the announcement in March that China’s Tsingshan was intending to convert some of its Indonesian NPI output to nickel matte to supply to CNGR and Huayou Cobalt",[113378],{"type":606,"attrs":113379},{"href":112930,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113381,"type":596},". The announcement sent shockwaves around the market, leading exchange prices to fall by 11% m-o-m in March.",{"type":591,"attrs":113383,"content":113384},{"textAlign":49},[113385,113387,113392],{"text":113386,"type":596},"The price decline proved temporary, however. And with little improvement in supply side dynamics by the summer – Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP)",{"text":113388,"type":596,"marks":113389}," payables climbed steadily throughout the first half of the year, reaching highs of 95% in August",[113390],{"type":606,"attrs":113391},{"href":21076,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113393,"type":596}," – prices once again rallied on strong market fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":113395,"content":113396},{"textAlign":49},[113397],{"text":113398,"type":596},"Amidst a shortage of battery suitable intermediates, class 1 metal dissolution acted as a balancer for the supply shortfall, fuelling a rapid drawdown in exchange inventories throughout the second half of the year. LME stocks were 139,000 tonnes lower y-t-d by early December – one of several converging factors that helped nickel prices break the $21,000/tonne mark in October for the first time since 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":113400,"content":113401},{"textAlign":49},[113402],{"text":113403,"type":596},"These shifting procurement patterns led EXW China nickel sulphate prices to dwindle from highs in the second half of the year, due to the more favourable economics of metal dissolution. This downtrend was accelerated by restrictions on power consumption in China in late Q3, as well as cooling battery sector demand growth through the remainder of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":113405,"content":113406},{"textAlign":49},[113407],{"text":113408,"type":596},"Following a year characterised by the failure of the supply side to match surging end-use consumption, the availability of battery suitable nickel is projected to see tangible improvements in 2022, driven by the launch and ramp up of new and existing HPAL projects in Indonesia, the introduction of new NPI- matte conversion capacity, and recently commissioned nickel sulphate plants in Australia and Finland.",{"type":591,"attrs":113410,"content":113411},{"textAlign":49},[113412],{"text":113413,"type":596},"Nevertheless, as 2021 proved, there is little margin for error.","Nickel climbed to seven-year highs in 2021, as a series of supply curtailments, in tandem with a stronger-than-expected recovery in stainless-steel production and robust growth in the battery sector led the market to swing into a deficit, writes Benchmark analyst Greg Miller. Whilst much of the discourse in 2021 centred around the growing utilisation of […]",[113416],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113417},{"job_title":557,"image":113418,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5102955a-fcd5-4cb0-a1a1-21cba7288b97\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113421,113422],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":62486,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113424,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 30, 2021",{"id":113427,"uuid":113428,"name":113429,"slug":113430,"full_slug":113431,"content":113432},112473106808522,"eca2326a-3132-4d01-a5ac-fc5558fce0c0","Cobalt back in the spotlight – 2021 in review","cobalt-back-in-the-spotlight-2021-in-review","article/cobalt-back-in-the-spotlight-2021-in-review",{"_uid":113433,"date":113434,"tags":113435,"editor":113437,"content":113441,"excerpt":113517,"featured":50,"reporter":113518,"_editable":113522,"component":697,"seo_title":113429,"categories":113523,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113526,"seo_description":113517,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113529},"1ff60367-1a31-44e3-81fa-ccca9b65ef13","2021-12-29 00:00",[113436],{"slug":6842,"name":6843},[113438],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113439},{"job_title":557,"image":113440,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113442},[113443,113448,113461,113466,113471,113476,113481,113486,113491,113496,113501,113512],{"type":591,"attrs":113444,"content":113445},{"textAlign":49},[113446],{"text":113447,"type":596},"2021 was the year that hype turned to reality for the cobalt market, writes Benchmark analyst Greg Miller.",{"type":591,"attrs":113449,"content":113450},{"textAlign":49},[113451,113453,113459],{"text":113452,"type":596},"The ground ",{"text":113454,"type":596,"marks":113455},"was set in late December 2020, when China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) initiated a second round of stockpiling",[113456],{"type":606,"attrs":113457},{"href":113458,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-starts-2021-with-a-bang-but-does-this-spell-the-end-of-low-prices-2",{"text":113460,"type":596}," – taking an estimated 3,000 tonnes of cobalt metal out of the market over the first six months of 2021. This occurred just when surging demand from the battery industry and seasonal restocking ahead of the Chinese New Year were already starting to drive prices upwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":113462,"content":113463},{"textAlign":49},[113464],{"text":113465,"type":596},"The situation was compounded by the disruption to global logistics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which constrained the flow of cobalt hydroxide out of South Africa to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":113467,"content":113468},{"textAlign":49},[113469],{"text":113470,"type":596},"As metal producers in China shifted their production towards cobalt sulphate, amidst a substantial premium for the battery-focused product, refiners that had eschewed long-term supply contracts in late 2020, in the hope of securing preferable pricing terms on the spot market, were forced secure cobalt metal from traders in Europe as supplementary feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":113472,"content":113473},{"textAlign":49},[113474],{"text":113475,"type":596},"Under these conditions of aggravated feedstock tightness, cobalt hydroxide and metal prices recorded their largest ever monthly gains in the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment in February. Indeed, cobalt hydroxide reached uncharted territory in Q1, as fixed price transactions concluded at 100% of the prevailing metal price at points during the quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":113477,"content":113478},{"textAlign":49},[113479],{"text":113480,"type":596},"The rally did cool by late Q1, however, with prices experiencing corrections across the board throughout the second quarter, as inventory accumulated during January and February weighed on the market and constrained consumer buying appetite.",{"type":591,"attrs":113482,"content":113483},{"textAlign":49},[113484],{"text":113485,"type":596},"Nevertheless, a new normal had been established. Producers across the industry reported being well sold on long term contracts, with almost no material on hand to sell into the spot market – a situation they did not anticipate changing substantially over the remainder of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":113487,"content":113488},{"textAlign":49},[113489],{"text":113490,"type":596},"As demand from the battery industry rebounded from the Q2 slowdown, and industrial restocking showed initial signs of improvement late in the summer, prices started to rally once again. Although buying activity was someway off replicating the frenzy of Q1, subsequent tightness helped the cobalt metal price rally pick up pace by mid Q3.",{"type":591,"attrs":113492,"content":113493},{"textAlign":49},[113494],{"text":113495,"type":596},"The uptrend in metal pricing was underpinned by several converging factors, including the recovery in demand from industrial sectors, disruption to supply chains globally, surplus inventory held predominantly in the hands of traders, limited metal production in China throughout the year, and the bullish outlook for battery demand in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":113497,"content":113498},{"textAlign":49},[113499],{"text":113500,"type":596},"Moreover, limited cobalt hydroxide availability sustained elevated payable levels from Q1 onwards, which, in conjunction with the metal price rally, elevated feedstock prices across the board.",{"type":591,"attrs":113502,"content":113503},{"textAlign":49},[113504,113506,113511],{"text":113505,"type":596},"As the industry concluded annual contract negotiations late in the year, producers and traders alike reported substantial year-over-year increases in demand from the battery sector. That ",{"text":113507,"type":596,"marks":113508},"turbocharged the market’s bullish outlook and pushed metal prices beyond the $30/lb mark for the first time since late 2018",[113509],{"type":606,"attrs":113510},{"href":108711,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":113513,"content":113514},{"textAlign":49},[113515],{"text":113516,"type":596},"Whilst for now the rally is showing little sign of slowing down, what is for certain is that cobalt is back in the spotlight and automakers will be watching the market closely.","2021 was the year that hype turned to reality for the cobalt market, writes Benchmark analyst Greg Miller. The ground was set in late December 2020, when China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) initiated a second round of stockpiling – taking an estimated 3,000 tonnes of cobalt metal out of the market over the first six […]",[113519],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113520},{"job_title":557,"image":113521,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1ff60367-1a31-44e3-81fa-ccca9b65ef13\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113524,113525],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113527,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113528,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/066ca9132e/bm-222104-drc-artisanal-cobalt-mining-e1640797277414.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 29, 2021",{"id":113531,"uuid":113532,"name":113533,"slug":113534,"full_slug":113535,"content":113536},112473116573388,"1a7311f9-5a6b-4f09-8eda-8af866fcaabf","Rio bets on direct lithium extraction in $825 million Argentina deal","rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal","article/rio-bets-on-direct-lithium-extraction-in-825-million-argentina-deal",{"_uid":113537,"date":113538,"tags":113539,"editor":113541,"content":113545,"excerpt":113646,"featured":50,"reporter":113647,"_editable":113651,"component":697,"seo_title":113533,"categories":113652,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113655,"seo_description":113646,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113658},"c30175be-6eb0-44fc-b31b-1ab7fd793b27","2021-12-22 00:00",[113540],{"slug":18350,"name":18351},[113542],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113543},{"job_title":557,"image":113544,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113546},[113547,113558,113563,113568,113573,113578,113583,113588,113593,113598,113603,113608,113628,113633,113638,113643],{"type":591,"attrs":113548,"content":113549},{"textAlign":49},[113550,113552,113557],{"text":113551,"type":596},"Rio Tinto has agreed to buy a lithium brine project in Argentina for $825 million, in a deal that expands its presence in the battery supply chain just as mass protests have cast uncertainty over",{"text":113553,"type":596,"marks":113554}," its planned lithium mine in Serbia",[113555],{"type":606,"attrs":113556},{"href":87315,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":113559,"content":113560},{"textAlign":49},[113561],{"text":113562,"type":596},"The Anglo Australian iron ore miner said the purchase of the Salar del Rincón project in Salta province from the private equity group Sentient Equity Partners showed its “commitment to build its battery materials business.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113564,"content":113565},{"textAlign":49},[113566],{"text":113567,"type":596},"It comes as Rio’s $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project in Serbia faces possible delays following a wave of protests across the country in recent weeks. Thousands of people have blocked roads and bridges to protest against the project, which Rio says will produce up to 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate by the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":113569,"content":113570},{"textAlign":49},[113571],{"text":113572,"type":596},"The Rincon purchase gives Rio access to a potentially low-cost source of lithium with a lower carbon footprint than other mining operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":113574,"content":113575},{"textAlign":49},[113576],{"text":113577,"type":596},"“The Rincon project holds the potential to deliver a significant new supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate, to capture the opportunity offered by the rising demand driven by the global energy transition,” Rio’s chief executive Jakob Stausholm said.",{"type":615,"attrs":113579,"content":113580},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113581],{"text":113582,"type":596},"Rincon says can recover over 90% lithium with its technology",{"type":591,"attrs":113584,"content":113585},{"textAlign":49},[113586],{"text":113587,"type":596},"The deal is also a bet on a new lithium extraction technology being trialed at Rincon, which can produce lithium carbonate from brine with relatively low concentrations of lithium and high levels of impurities such as magnesium.",{"type":591,"attrs":113589,"content":113590},{"textAlign":49},[113591],{"text":113592,"type":596},"Rincon says it uses an absorbent resin to extract lithium from brine pumped from wells in the salt flats. The company says it can recover over 90% of the lithium in the brine. The lithium solution is further concentrated via reverse osmosis, and reagents are used to remove impurities such as magnesium and calcium, which are then dissolved in hydrochloric acid.",{"type":591,"attrs":113594,"content":113595},{"textAlign":49},[113596],{"text":113597,"type":596},"Rincon has built a pilot plant on the site to test the technology and says the results have been “positive.” The company has said a commercial plant could produce over 50,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate at a cost of $770 million to build.",{"type":591,"attrs":113599,"content":113600},{"textAlign":49},[113601],{"text":113602,"type":596},"The Rincon brine has a grade of less than 400 milligrams of lithium per liter which is on the lower end for Argentina. The concentration of magnesium is almost ten times the amount of lithium per litre, according to the mineral reserve estimates.",{"type":591,"attrs":113604,"content":113605},{"textAlign":49},[113606],{"text":113607,"type":596},"The Rio deal brings western mining capital into the battery supply chain, and follows China’s Zijin Mining’s $712 million purchase of Neo Lithium, which is developing a lithium project in Argentina’s Catamarca province, in October.",{"type":591,"attrs":113609,"content":113610},{"textAlign":49},[113611,113613,113619,113621,113627],{"text":113612,"type":596},"This year over $1 billion has already been invested in lithium projects in Argentina. Canadian miner Lithium Americas agreed to acquire ",{"text":113614,"type":596,"marks":113615},"Argentina-focused developer Millennial Lithium",[113616],{"type":606,"attrs":113617},{"href":113618,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/millennial-lithium-bidding-war-shows-scramble-for-argentinian-lithium",{"text":113620,"type":596}," for $400 million in November while ",{"text":113622,"type":596,"marks":113623},"China’s Tsingshan agreed to invest $375 million to build a lithium plant with France’s Eramet",[113624],{"type":606,"attrs":113625},{"href":113626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-tsingshan-expands-battery-footprint-with-eramet-lithium-deal",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":113629,"content":113630},{"textAlign":49},[113631],{"text":113632,"type":596},"Benchmark expects Argentina to produce almost as much lithium as its neighbor Chile by the end of the decade, due to the wave of investment into the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":113634,"content":113635},{"textAlign":49},[113636],{"text":113637,"type":596},"Rio said once it had acquired Rincon it would work to secure updates to existing Environmental Impact Assessment Permits to allow development and production. It would also “undertake ongoing engagement with communities, the province of Salta and the Government of Argentina.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113639,"content":113640},{"textAlign":49},[113641],{"text":113642,"type":596},"“This consultation process will ensure we build a world class operation in the province of Salta,” it said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113644,"content":113645},{"textAlign":49},[],"Rio Tinto has agreed to buy a lithium brine project in Argentina for $825 million, in a deal that expands its presence in the battery supply chain just as mass protests have cast uncertainty over its planned lithium mine in Serbia. The Anglo Australian iron ore miner said the purchase of the Salar del Rincón […]",[113648],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113649},{"job_title":557,"image":113650,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c30175be-6eb0-44fc-b31b-1ab7fd793b27\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113653,113654],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113656,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113657,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b7642588d0/bm-shutterstock-5743710221.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 22, 2021",{"id":113660,"uuid":113661,"name":113662,"slug":113663,"full_slug":113664,"content":113665},112473126301391,"5ae83e1f-6179-4cc2-ba19-c2fed193fa6f","Western EV makers face up to China’s grip on graphite market","western-ev-makers-face-up-to-chinas-grip-on-graphite-market","article/western-ev-makers-face-up-to-chinas-grip-on-graphite-market",{"_uid":113666,"date":113667,"tags":113668,"editor":113671,"content":113675,"excerpt":113817,"featured":50,"reporter":113818,"_editable":113822,"component":697,"seo_title":113662,"categories":113823,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113826,"seo_description":113817,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113829},"5ab6ff76-d67e-456f-a8bb-ea98893218c4","2021-12-10 00:00",[113669,113670],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[113672],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113673},{"job_title":557,"image":113674,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113676},[113677,113690,113695,113707,113712,113717,113729,113734,113739,113744,113749,113754,113759,113764,113769,113774,113779,113784,113787,113792,113797,113802,113807,113812],{"type":591,"attrs":113678,"content":113679},{"textAlign":49},[113680,113682,113688],{"text":113681,"type":596},"China’s dominance of ",{"text":113683,"type":596,"marks":113684},"the graphite market",[113685],{"type":606,"attrs":113686},{"href":113687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/#graphite",{"text":113689,"type":596}," could pose problems for western automakers as demand for anode material is set to rise by over seven times this decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":113691,"content":113692},{"textAlign":49},[113693],{"text":113694,"type":596},"Automakers will need to diversify their sources of graphite to reduce the risks of relying on one country for a critical battery material, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":113696,"content":113697},{"textAlign":49},[113698,113700,113705],{"text":113699,"type":596},"“China has become the central participant in all steps of this anode supply chain,” George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"text":113701,"type":596,"marks":113702}," told Benchmark Week",[113703],{"type":606,"attrs":113704},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113706,"type":596},". “It presents a geopolitical and supply security risk for any other region that intends to participate in this energy transition and manufacture anode material.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113708,"content":113709},{"textAlign":49},[113710],{"text":113711,"type":596},"Tesla and Korean battery producer SK Innovation told the US government this month that it was impossible to source both synthetic and natural graphite for batteries outside of China. Tesla said that no company in the US was capable of producing graphite “to the required specifications and capacity needed for Tesla’s production.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113713,"content":113714},{"textAlign":49},[113715],{"text":113716,"type":596},"The remarks were part of a request to the Biden administration to extend an exclusion for graphite from a 25% tariff imposed on Chinese imports by former President Donald Trump. The previous extension ended at the end of last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":113718,"content":113719},{"textAlign":49},[113720,113722,113727],{"text":113721,"type":596},"China mines 69% of the world’s natural flake graphite and dominates the next step in the value chain where it produces 100% of global spherical graphite production, according to ",{"text":113723,"type":596,"marks":113724},"Benchmark’s Natural Flake Graphite Forecast",[113725],{"type":606,"attrs":113726},{"href":113687,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113728,"type":596},". The bulk of synthetic anode production is also located in China. The current trend in the EV lithium ion market is a shift towards a blend of synthetic and natural graphite anodes to take advantage of their different properties.",{"type":591,"attrs":113730,"content":113731},{"textAlign":49},[113732],{"text":113733,"type":596},"“When looking at events over the past two years including the chips shortage … the risk in embuing one country with a hefty majority of the processing power in a supply chain as critical of this becomes evident,” Miller said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113735,"content":113736},{"textAlign":49},[113737],{"text":113738,"type":596},"SK Innovation, which has a partnership with Ford in the US to produce batteries, said that “presently, it is not feasible for SK Battery and its subsidiary BlueOvalSK to obtain graphite from other sources outside of China due to the uniqueness of the product, the incredible risk of entering the graphite industry, and the lack of suppliers that can meet our present needs.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113740,"content":113741},{"textAlign":49},[113742],{"text":113743,"type":596},"“A renewed exclusion will allow SK to manufacture quality breakthrough electric vehicle components at competitive prices for American OEMs,” it said.",{"type":615,"attrs":113745,"content":113746},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113747],{"text":113748,"type":596},"‘The Western world needs some time to catch up.’ ",{"type":591,"attrs":113750,"content":113751},{"textAlign":49},[113752],{"text":113753,"type":596},"There are only a handful of mines outside of China that produce natural flake graphite. According to Benchmark’s Natural Flake Graphite Forecast, China will produce over 700,000 tonnes of flake graphite in 2021, which accounts for 70% of global flake graphite production.",{"type":591,"attrs":113755,"content":113756},{"textAlign":49},[113757],{"text":113758,"type":596},"“Significant localised supply of anode material will be required from a zero base,” Shaun Verner, chief executive of Syrah Resources, told Benchmark Week.",{"type":591,"attrs":113760,"content":113761},{"textAlign":49},[113762],{"text":113763,"type":596},"Syrah Resources is building a plant to produce graphite anodes in Louisiana using graphite from their mine in Mozambique while Nouveau Monde Graphite also aims to produce graphite for batteries from an integrated facility in Quebec.",{"type":591,"attrs":113765,"content":113766},{"textAlign":49},[113767],{"text":113768,"type":596},"“The western world needs some time to catch up to China but production is coming,” Julie Paquet, a vice president at Nouveau Monde Graphite, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113770,"content":113771},{"textAlign":49},[113772],{"text":113773,"type":596},"Last week the French company Imerys said it had sold its Lac des Iles graphite mine in Quebec as well as a mothballed mine in Namibia to Canadian company Northern Graphite for €40 million. The Lac des Iles mine is the only producing graphite mine in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":113775,"content":113776},{"textAlign":49},[113777],{"text":113778,"type":596},"The mine will produce up to 15,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually over the next three years, Northern Graphite said. It would look for opportunities to expand production, it added.",{"type":591,"attrs":113780,"content":113781},{"textAlign":49},[113782],{"text":113783,"type":596},"“We will be the only North American producer,” Greg Bowes, of Northern Graphite, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113785,"content":113786},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":113788,"content":113789},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113790],{"text":113791,"type":596},"Demand for synthetic graphite set to reach 1.25 million tonnes by 2030",{"type":591,"attrs":113793,"content":113794},{"textAlign":49},[113795],{"text":113796,"type":596},"While a few companies outside China produce synthetic graphite, their costs are much higher due to China’s supplies of needle coke feedstock, according to Manish Dua, senior analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":113798,"content":113799},{"textAlign":49},[113800],{"text":113801,"type":596},"In November, Australian-listed battery materials company, Novonix, started construction of its new synthetic graphite anode facility, near the VW assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a target capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year by 2023 and 40,000 tpa by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":113803,"content":113804},{"textAlign":49},[113805],{"text":113806,"type":596},"Chris Burns, managing director of Novonix, said this week the company would apply for some of the $6 billion available in President Biden’s US Infrastructure bill for the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":113808,"content":113809},{"textAlign":49},[113810],{"text":113811,"type":596},"Demand for synthetic graphite in batteries is set to reach 1.25 million tonnes by 2030, Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":113813,"content":113814},{"textAlign":49},[113815],{"text":113816,"type":596},"“It’s colossal growth and should really put a strain on graphite producers to scale to that level in that amount of time,” Miller said.","China’s dominance of the graphite market could pose problems for western automakers as demand for anode material is set to rise by over seven times this decade. Automakers will need to diversify their sources of graphite to reduce the risks of relying on one country for a critical battery material, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. […]",[113819],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113820},{"job_title":557,"image":113821,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ab6ff76-d67e-456f-a8bb-ea98893218c4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113824,113825],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113827,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113828,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/43842d30c1/bm-dsc-02181.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 10, 2021",{"id":113831,"uuid":113832,"name":113833,"slug":113834,"full_slug":113835,"content":113836},112473131318992,"620a7c36-583b-4c56-b72f-a4a5e0e29fa4","VW boosts Europe battery supply chain with Umicore cathode JV","vw-boosts-europe-battery-supply-chain-with-umicore-jv","article/vw-boosts-europe-battery-supply-chain-with-umicore-jv",{"_uid":113837,"date":113838,"tags":113839,"editor":113841,"content":113845,"excerpt":113971,"featured":50,"reporter":113972,"_editable":113976,"component":697,"seo_title":113833,"categories":113977,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":113981,"seo_description":113971,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":113984},"3e7ad95a-1de3-40fd-ab18-5a9cc0f93f31","2021-12-08 00:00",[113840],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[113842],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113843},{"job_title":557,"image":113844,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":113846},[113847,113852,113857,113869,113874,113879,113884,113889,113894,113899,113904,113909,113914,113919,113924,113929,113941,113946,113951,113956,113961,113966],{"type":591,"attrs":113848,"content":113849},{"textAlign":49},[113850],{"text":113851,"type":596},"Volkswagen (VW) has agreed to form a joint venture with Umicore to produce cathode materials for its electric vehicles, in a deal that would double Europe’s planned production capacity by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":113853,"content":113854},{"textAlign":49},[113855],{"text":113856,"type":596},"The German automaker said the JV would start producing enough material for 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries in 2025, scaling up to 160 GWh by the end of the decade, which would supply about 2.2 million electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":113858,"content":113859},{"textAlign":49},[113860,113862,113867],{"text":113861,"type":596},"The agreement ",{"text":113863,"type":596,"marks":113864}," is the latest tie-up between automakers and cathode producers, ",[113865],{"type":606,"attrs":113866},{"href":70484,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113868,"type":596},"following a deal between General Motors and South Korea’s Posco this month. It highlights how cathode makers are positioning themselves to be closer to battery and car production.",{"type":591,"attrs":113870,"content":113871},{"textAlign":49},[113872],{"text":113873,"type":596},"Such deals allow automakers to secure supplies of battery cathode, while giving cathode makers greater insight over the development of battery chemistries, Umicore’s chief executive Mathias Miedreich said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113875,"content":113876},{"textAlign":49},[113877],{"text":113878,"type":596},"“The OEMS are stepping more into the battery value chain,” Miedrich said. “Security of supply is the first reason … no one wants to repeat the painful experience of the semiconductor shortage.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113880,"content":113881},{"textAlign":49},[113882],{"text":113883,"type":596},"VW plans to build six battery factories in Europe this decade as it aims to surpass Tesla as the world’s predominant maker of electric vehicles. Starting in 2025, production of its own battery cells will start in Salzgitter, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":113885,"content":113886},{"textAlign":49},[113887],{"text":113888,"type":596},"“This is the next logical step towards vertical integration of the supply chain, having already decided to set-up large-scale, in-house production of the unified [battery] cell,” Volkswagen said about the JV with Umicore.",{"type":615,"attrs":113890,"content":113891},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113892],{"text":113893,"type":596},"Deal would require 135,000 tonnes of nickel per year",{"type":591,"attrs":113895,"content":113896},{"textAlign":49},[113897],{"text":113898,"type":596},"A target of 160 GWh would equate to around 250,000 tonnes of cathode material, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. At the moment Europe is set to have just over 250,000 tonnes of cathode production by 2030, excluding any additional plans from the Umicore-VW JV, according to Benchmark’s Cathode Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":113900,"content":113901},{"textAlign":49},[113902],{"text":113903,"type":596},"Metting the target would require 135,000 tonnes per year of nickel, 20,000 tonnes of cobalt, 20,000 tonnes of manganese and 150,000 tonnes of lithium a year, assuming a high nickel chemistry, Benchmark calculates.",{"type":591,"attrs":113905,"content":113906},{"textAlign":49},[113907],{"text":113908,"type":596},"VW said it would also work with Umicore to secure sustainable and “responsibly sourced” raw materials at “competitive prices.”",{"type":615,"attrs":113910,"content":113911},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[113912],{"text":113913,"type":596},"Shares in Umicore fall by 9%",{"type":591,"attrs":113915,"content":113916},{"textAlign":49},[113917],{"text":113918,"type":596},"Umicore said the JV would target “next-generation technologies” including high-nickel chemistries. The company admitted it had been too slow in developing high nickel battery chemistries and forecast lower earnings for this year and next from the battery materials business as a result.",{"type":591,"attrs":113920,"content":113921},{"textAlign":49},[113922],{"text":113923,"type":596},"Shares in Umicore fell by 9% on Wednesday to finish the day at €40.75.",{"type":591,"attrs":113925,"content":113926},{"textAlign":49},[113927],{"text":113928,"type":596},"“We should have been faster in providing this technology to the market,” Meidreich, who started as CEO in October, said. “We did not react fast enough on the changing trend.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113930,"content":113931},{"textAlign":49},[113932,113934,113939],{"text":113933,"type":596},"Last month Johnson Matthey",{"text":113935,"type":596,"marks":113936}," said it would exit its high nickel cathode business due to rising competition",[113937],{"type":606,"attrs":113938},{"href":4381,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":113940,"type":596},", calling it a “high volume, commoditised market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":113942,"content":113943},{"textAlign":49},[113944],{"text":113945,"type":596},"Miedreich denied that the market had become commoditised, however, saying it would be “very difficult” for other customers to compete with the JV as the cathode product would be specifically designed for VW.",{"type":591,"attrs":113947,"content":113948},{"textAlign":49},[113949],{"text":113950,"type":596},"Anthony Kim, president of South Korea’s EcoPro Innovation, told Benchmark on Tuesday that joint ventures between car makers and cathode manufacturers would increase, as it allowed them to cooperate to secure raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":113952,"content":113953},{"textAlign":49},[113954],{"text":113955,"type":596},"Umicore said the two companies have not yet decided on a location for the JV, although an expansion of Umicore’s cathode plant in Poland is a possibility.",{"type":591,"attrs":113957,"content":113958},{"textAlign":49},[113959],{"text":113960,"type":596},"Umicore has said its Polish plant, which is set to start production next year, would be able to produce “all grades” of nickel manganese cobalt chemistries (NCM), including high manganese chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":113962,"content":113963},{"textAlign":49},[113964],{"text":113965,"type":596},"European automakers would prefer to use high manganese chemistries rather than lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) for their lower-cost vehicles since they were easier to recycle, he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":113967,"content":113968},{"textAlign":49},[113969],{"text":113970,"type":596},"Umicore said it was also in “advanced planning” to build a cathode plant in North America, with Canada a likely location due to its supplies of renewable energy.","Volkswagen (VW) has agreed to form a joint venture with Umicore to produce cathode materials for its electric vehicles, in a deal that would double Europe’s planned production capacity by 2030. The German automaker said the JV would start producing enough material for 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries in 2025, scaling up to 160 GWh […]",[113973],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113974},{"job_title":557,"image":113975,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3e7ad95a-1de3-40fd-ab18-5a9cc0f93f31\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[113978,113979,113980],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":113982,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":113983,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8e5d54924c/bm-db2021nr00451-small-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 08, 2021",{"id":113986,"uuid":113987,"name":113988,"slug":113989,"full_slug":113990,"content":113991},112473160306391,"d2a421e0-8f58-435d-866e-3bf935c04b84","Koch takes energy storage spend to over $500 million with Standard Lithium","koch-takes-energy-storage-spend-to-over-500-million-with-standard-lithium","article/koch-takes-energy-storage-spend-to-over-500-million-with-standard-lithium",{"_uid":113992,"date":113993,"tags":113994,"editor":113995,"content":113999,"excerpt":114084,"featured":50,"reporter":114085,"_editable":114089,"component":697,"seo_title":113988,"categories":114090,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114093,"seo_description":114084,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114096},"365aaaa3-590b-4405-bea6-394aac695254","2021-11-24 00:00",[],[113996],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":113997},{"job_title":557,"image":113998,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114000},[114001,114006,114011,114016,114021,114026,114039,114044,114049,114054,114059,114064,114069,114074,114079],{"type":591,"attrs":114002,"content":114003},{"textAlign":49},[114004],{"text":114005,"type":596},"Koch Strategic Platforms will invest $100 million into lithium developer Standard Lithium, in the latest investment into the battery value chain by the subsidiary of the giant fossil fuel conglomerate.",{"type":591,"attrs":114007,"content":114008},{"textAlign":49},[114009],{"text":114010,"type":596},"The deal will help the company move towards first commercial production of lithium from brine deposits in south Arkansas, in a boost to efforts to develop US production of the battery raw material.",{"type":591,"attrs":114012,"content":114013},{"textAlign":49},[114014],{"text":114015,"type":596},"The deal expands Wichita-based Koch Industries’ investments in the clean energy space, following investments in lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle and zinc battery startup Eos Energy. The company has now invested over $500 million in the energy storage sector, according to calculations by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":114017,"content":114018},{"textAlign":49},[114019],{"text":114020,"type":596},"In October Koch entered into a joint venture with the Norwegian battery startup Freyr to explore the construction of a 50 gigawatt-hour battery factory in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":114022,"content":114023},{"textAlign":49},[114024],{"text":114025,"type":596},"“Koch has been increasingly investing in energy transformation with a particular focus on the battery value chain,” Jeremy Bezdek, managing director of Koch Strategic Platforms, said. “We are working to meet the growing demand for diverse forms of energy and are bringing mutual benefit to our investment partners with more than just capital, but capabilities. That is why we are excited to partner with Standard Lithium as we believe their Arkansas projects are a bold step towards domestic lithium production.”",{"type":591,"attrs":114027,"content":114028},{"textAlign":49},[114029,114031,114037],{"text":114030,"type":596},"The investment comes as the administration of President Biden seeks to ",{"text":114032,"type":596,"marks":114033},"encourage domestic production and processing of battery raw materials such as lithium",[114034],{"type":606,"attrs":114035},{"href":114036,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-usa-begins-to-develop-its-lithium-ion-supply-chain-strategy",{"text":114038,"type":596},", in an effort to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.",{"type":615,"attrs":114040,"content":114041},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114042],{"text":114043,"type":596},"US produces less than 1% of the world’s lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":114045,"content":114046},{"textAlign":49},[114047],{"text":114048,"type":596},"Currently, the only production of lithium in the US is from a small mine in Silver Peak, Nevada, operated by Albemarle, which is less than 1% of global supply, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. US lithium production is set to expand to 5% of global supply by 2030 as new projects start production.",{"type":591,"attrs":114050,"content":114051},{"textAlign":49},[114052],{"text":114053,"type":596},"Koch Strategic Platforms is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, which is better known for its investments in fossil fuels. With annual revenues of over $100 billion, the company is bigger than the entire lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":114055,"content":114056},{"textAlign":49},[114057],{"text":114058,"type":596},"Standard Lithium said the deal will also give it an opportunity to work with other Koch companies, such as with the Koch Minerals & Trading group, which trades raw materials including lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":114060,"content":114061},{"textAlign":49},[114062],{"text":114063,"type":596},"Standard Lithium will sell 13 million shares in the company to Koch in a private placement at a price of $7.42 a share. Shares of Standard Lithium have risen by over 300% this year to trade at $9.24, valuing the company at $1.38 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":114065,"content":114066},{"textAlign":49},[114067],{"text":114068,"type":596},"Standard Lithium has built a demonstration plant to extract lithium from oil field brine that is pumped to the surface by the German chemical company Lanxess. Lanxess uses the brine to produce bromine.",{"type":591,"attrs":114070,"content":114071},{"textAlign":49},[114072],{"text":114073,"type":596},"Standard Lithium says the plant, which opened last year, produces between 100 to 150 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year. It hopes to expand this to 20,900 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, and eventually 70,000 tonnes a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":114075,"content":114076},{"textAlign":49},[114077],{"text":114078,"type":596},"Standard Lithium says it has developed a proprietary “direct lithium extraction” method that can absorb lithium from the hot brine using a solid ceramic material. The lithium chloride can then be converted into lithium carbonate, which is used in batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":114080,"content":114081},{"textAlign":49},[114082],{"text":114083,"type":596},"The company says it can recover over 90% of the lithium contained in the brine and turn it into lithium carbonate using its process.","Koch Strategic Platforms will invest $100 million into lithium developer Standard Lithium, in the latest investment into the battery value chain by the subsidiary of the giant fossil fuel conglomerate. The deal will help the company move towards first commercial production of lithium from brine deposits in south Arkansas, in a boost to efforts to […]",[114086],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114087},{"job_title":557,"image":114088,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"365aaaa3-590b-4405-bea6-394aac695254\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114091,114092],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114094,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114095,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3cf4c08315/bm-standard-lithium-koch.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 24, 2021",{"id":114098,"uuid":114099,"name":114100,"slug":114101,"full_slug":114102,"content":114103},112473204170564,"e9614c98-2038-4b8e-a256-3f8ffab0f4f7","SES’s Shanghai gigafactory plan underlines lithium metal’s battery future","sess-shanghai-gigafactory-plan-underlines-lithium-metals-battery-future","article/sess-shanghai-gigafactory-plan-underlines-lithium-metals-battery-future",{"_uid":114104,"date":114105,"tags":114106,"editor":114109,"content":114113,"excerpt":114186,"featured":50,"reporter":114187,"_editable":114191,"component":697,"seo_title":114100,"categories":114192,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114195,"seo_description":114186,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114198},"09789888-8014-4a29-aaac-cb18219d79fb","2021-11-03 00:00",[114107,114108],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":12284,"name":12285},[114110],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114111},{"job_title":557,"image":114112,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114114},[114115,114120,114125,114130,114135,114140,114145,114150,114155,114160,114165,114170,114175,114180],{"type":591,"attrs":114116,"content":114117},{"textAlign":49},[114118],{"text":114119,"type":596},"Battery startup SES, which is backed by GM and Hyundai, says it will build the world’s first lithium metal battery factory in Shanghai.",{"type":591,"attrs":114121,"content":114122},{"textAlign":49},[114123],{"text":114124,"type":596},"The company, which is set to list on the New York stock exchange via a reverse merger, said the 300,000 square foot factory would produce over 1 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":114126,"content":114127},{"textAlign":49},[114128],{"text":114129,"type":596},"“There is a global race to put next generation lithium metal inside a car,” SES founder Qichao Hu, said.",{"type":591,"attrs":114131,"content":114132},{"textAlign":49},[114133],{"text":114134,"type":596},"SES has developed what it calls a “hybrid lithium metal battery” that uses a conventional liquid electrolyte paired with a lithium metal anode, which boosts the amount of energy the battery can store.",{"type":591,"attrs":114136,"content":114137},{"textAlign":49},[114138],{"text":114139,"type":596},"The company is working with GM and Hyundai to commercialise production of lithium metal batteries in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":114141,"content":114142},{"textAlign":49},[114143],{"text":114144,"type":596},"SES says its large 107 amp-hour Apollo battery has an energy density of 417 watt-hours per kilogram and 935 watt-hours per litre.",{"type":591,"attrs":114146,"content":114147},{"textAlign":49},[114148],{"text":114149,"type":596},"SES says the use of a liquid electrolyte rather than a solid one makes the batteries easier to manufacture. Other startups such as QuantumScape are developing lithium metal batteries with solid electrolytes.",{"type":591,"attrs":114151,"content":114152},{"textAlign":49},[114153],{"text":114154,"type":596},"“The use of a liquid electrolyte with lithium metal has the advantage of allowing for higher energy densities than a solid-state electrolyte, only if the dangers associated with using a lithium metal and liquid electrolyte (thermal runaway/electrolyte degradation) can be overcome,” according to Benchmark’s forthcoming Solid State Battery report.",{"type":591,"attrs":114156,"content":114157},{"textAlign":49},[114158],{"text":114159,"type":596},"SES says it has overcome the safety issues associated with using a liquid electrolyte by using a novel electrolyte that is “self-extinguishing.”",{"type":591,"attrs":114161,"content":114162},{"textAlign":49},[114163],{"text":114164,"type":596},"SES is due to merge with Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp, a vehicle backed by billionaire mining executive Robert Friedland.",{"type":591,"attrs":114166,"content":114167},{"textAlign":49},[114168],{"text":114169,"type":596},"SES said it is working with GM on a weekly basis to develop large format battery cells that can be put in hundreds of thousands of vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":114171,"content":114172},{"textAlign":49},[114173],{"text":114174,"type":596},"“Now we have to figure out how to scale,” Kent Helfrich, chief technology officer at GM, said on Wednesday.",{"type":591,"attrs":114176,"content":114177},{"textAlign":49},[114178],{"text":114179,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Solid State Battery report is tracking more than 180 GWh of lithium metal battery expansions which are in the pipeline for 2028. While this figure represents planned capacity, and not forecast production figures, it illustrates how the lithium metal market will need to scale up to meet the growing demand of next-generation batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":114181,"content":114182},{"textAlign":49},[114183],{"text":100693,"type":596,"marks":114184},[114185],{"type":1006},"Battery startup SES, which is backed by GM and Hyundai, says it will build the world’s first lithium metal battery factory in Shanghai. The company, which is set to list on the New York stock exchange via a reverse merger, said the 300,000 square foot factory would produce over 1 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries in […]",[114188],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114189},{"job_title":557,"image":114190,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"09789888-8014-4a29-aaac-cb18219d79fb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114193,114194],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114196,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114197,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/030c1438e0/bm-ses-shanghai-giga.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 03, 2021",{"id":114200,"uuid":114201,"name":114202,"slug":114203,"full_slug":114204,"content":114205},112473225002824,"86261f81-5e68-457f-b4d3-8fced9986e0c","Benchmark to join UK’s Critical Minerals Expert Committee as EV supply chain focus intensifies","benchmark-to-join-uks-critical-minerals-expert-committee-as-ev-supply-chain-focus-intensifies","article/benchmark-to-join-uks-critical-minerals-expert-committee-as-ev-supply-chain-focus-intensifies",{"_uid":114206,"date":114207,"tags":114208,"editor":114210,"content":114214,"excerpt":114327,"featured":50,"reporter":114328,"_editable":114332,"component":697,"seo_title":114202,"categories":114333,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114335,"seo_description":114327,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114338},"2b4c921a-5153-403f-a9d9-447cb54d1430","2021-10-29 00:00",[114209],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[114211],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114212},{"job_title":557,"image":114213,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114215},[114216,114221,114226,114231,114236,114241,114246,114251,114256,114261,114266,114271,114276,114281,114295,114300,114309,114318],{"type":591,"attrs":114217,"content":114218},{"textAlign":49},[114219],{"text":114220,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to accept an invitation to join the UK’s first ever Critical Minerals Expert Committee.",{"type":591,"attrs":114222,"content":114223},{"textAlign":49},[114224],{"text":114225,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Benchmark’s CEO, will join a handful of experts from industry and academia to advise UK government decisions on building secure and responsible supply chains for the energy transition, including for lithium ion batteries and electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":114227,"content":114228},{"textAlign":49},[114229],{"text":114230,"type":596},"The Critical Minerals Expert Committee is led by The Right Honourable Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who commented:",{"type":591,"attrs":114232,"content":114233},{"textAlign":49},[114234],{"text":114235,"type":596},"“As this Government backs long-term growth, tackles climate change and unleashes innovation, we are seized of the importance of ensuring the UK’s long-term security of supply of critical minerals, and in mitigating risks to that supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":114237,"content":114238},{"textAlign":49},[114239],{"text":114240,"type":596},"“As we continue to develop our activity in this area – including via work currently underway on a cross- government, cross-sector critical minerals strategy – it will be essential to draw on expertise from across industry, academia and wider society.”",{"type":615,"attrs":114242,"content":114243},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114244],{"text":114245,"type":596},"Simon Moores, CEO, Benchmark said:",{"type":591,"attrs":114247,"content":114248},{"textAlign":49},[114249],{"text":114250,"type":596},"“Understanding the unbreakable connection between mining, chemicals and the platform technologies that are driving the energy transition is crucial for any economy that wants to prosper in the 21st century.",{"type":591,"attrs":114252,"content":114253},{"textAlign":49},[114254],{"text":114255,"type":596},"“Without lithium ion batteries, you can’t make electric vehicles. Yet without lithium, in the right quantities and specific qualities, delivered on time, you won’t be making the lithium ion batteries needed and the entire movement falls apart.",{"type":591,"attrs":114257,"content":114258},{"textAlign":49},[114259],{"text":114260,"type":596},"“The same can be said for other key platform technologies such as solar photovoltaics, permanent rare earth magnets, and semiconductors.",{"type":591,"attrs":114262,"content":114263},{"textAlign":49},[114264],{"text":114265,"type":596},"“In the energy transition, most of these supply chains need to be built and scaled from scratch.",{"type":591,"attrs":114267,"content":114268},{"textAlign":49},[114269],{"text":114270,"type":596},"“A true understanding from mine to platform technologies is needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":114272,"content":114273},{"textAlign":49},[114274],{"text":114275,"type":596},"“The UK’s Critical Minerals Expert Committee is a crucial and most welcome focus on these challenges.",{"type":591,"attrs":114277,"content":114278},{"textAlign":49},[114279],{"text":114280,"type":596},"“It is an honour for me and Benchmark to be invited to be on the committee and to be able to guide UK government decisions.”",{"type":591,"attrs":114282,"content":114283},{"textAlign":49},[114284,114288],{"text":114285,"type":596,"marks":114286},"Contact us with questions or input: ",[114287],{"type":1006},{"text":114289,"type":596,"marks":114290},"UK@benchmarkminerals.com",[114291,114292],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":114293},{"href":114294,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:UK@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":615,"attrs":114296,"content":114297},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114298],{"text":114299,"type":596},"Further reading",{"type":591,"attrs":114301,"content":114302},{"textAlign":49},[114303],{"text":114304,"type":596,"marks":114305},"Benchmark Minerals’ Simon Moores warns Senate US a ‘bystander’ in battery arms race | February 2019",[114306],{"type":606,"attrs":114307},{"href":114308,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv0PHIo1zzo",{"type":591,"attrs":114310,"content":114311},{"textAlign":49},[114312],{"text":114313,"type":596,"marks":114314},"“A new global lithium ion economy is being created” – Benchmark’s Simon Moores US Senate testimony transcript | June 2020",[114315],{"type":606,"attrs":114316},{"href":114317,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/a-new-global-lithium-ion-economy-is-being-created-benchmarks-simon-moores-us-senate-testimony-transcript",{"type":591,"attrs":114319,"content":114320},{"textAlign":49},[114321],{"text":114322,"type":596,"marks":114323},"“Canada can create upstream EV battery blueprint” Benchmark’s Moores tells parliament | February 2021",[114324],{"type":606,"attrs":114325},{"href":114326,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/canada-can-create-upstream-ev-battery-blueprint-benchmarks-moores-tells-parliament-2","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to accept an invitation to join the UK’s first ever Critical Minerals Expert Committee. Simon Moores, Benchmark’s CEO, will join a handful of experts from industry and academia to advise UK government decisions on building secure and responsible supply chains for the energy transition, including for lithium ion batteries and […]",[114329],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114330},{"job_title":557,"image":114331,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2b4c921a-5153-403f-a9d9-447cb54d1430\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114334],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114336,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114337,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/59201a4aef/bm-10-downing-street.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 29, 2021",{"id":114340,"uuid":114341,"name":114342,"slug":114343,"full_slug":114344,"content":114345},112473236057930,"eb279df9-b84f-4fcf-9566-c2f21a79121a","Lithium ion battery prices rise for first time in gigafactory era; automakers in negotiations","lithium-ion-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-in-gigafactory-era-automakers-in-negotiations","article/lithium-ion-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-in-gigafactory-era-automakers-in-negotiations",{"_uid":114346,"date":114347,"tags":114348,"editor":114350,"content":114354,"excerpt":114472,"featured":50,"reporter":114473,"_editable":114477,"component":697,"seo_title":114342,"categories":114478,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114480,"seo_description":114472,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114483},"a6e90036-fefd-44e5-917a-ea41c34a8429","2021-10-27 00:00",[114349],{"slug":43503,"name":43504},[114351],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114352},{"job_title":557,"image":114353,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114355},[114356,114361,114366,114371,114376,114381,114386,114391,114396,114401,114406,114411,114416,114421,114426,114431,114444,114449,114454,114457],{"type":591,"attrs":114357,"content":114358},{"textAlign":49},[114359],{"text":114360,"type":596},"Battery producers have begun to increase lithium ion cell prices following a period of consistent raw material price rises throughout 2021, particularly for lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":114362,"content":114363},{"textAlign":49},[114364],{"text":114365,"type":596},"Several of China’s major lithium ion battery makers have written to customers setting out intentions of new pricing structures, citing the rise in cathode and anode raw material prices as well as higher costs more generally, including for non-active materials such as PVDF binder, foils, and energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":114367,"content":114368},{"textAlign":49},[114369],{"text":114370,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate has been singled out as a major driver behind the battery cell price increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":114372,"content":114373},{"textAlign":49},[114374],{"text":114375,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate Price EXW China (battery) has increased 313.33% since this time last year, reaching RMB 185,000/tonne ($28,675) in mid-October. Lithium carbonate prices are presently at all-time highs and set to continue on their upward trajectory as demand continues to outstrip supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":114377,"content":114378},{"textAlign":49},[114379],{"text":114380,"type":596},"Battery makers appear set to pass on lithium price increases to the automotive OEMs and other downstream customers which could have a major impact on electric vehicles coming to market between 2022 and 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":114382,"content":114383},{"textAlign":49},[114384],{"text":114385,"type":596},"Other key battery raw materials have also been adding to lithium ion battery’s pain.",{"type":591,"attrs":114387,"content":114388},{"textAlign":49},[114389],{"text":114390,"type":596},"The core set of cathode raw material prices have been increasing over the past 12 months, with Benchmark’s Nickel Sulphate EXW China and Benchmark’s Cobalt Hydroxide prices up 33.9% and 81.7% respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":114392,"content":114393},{"textAlign":49},[114394],{"text":114395,"type":596},"These price pressures have led to the significant increases seen in the Benchmark Cathode Price Index, as shown in the chart below, with the index having increased by 62.4% over the course of 2021.",{"type":615,"attrs":114397,"content":114398},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114399],{"text":114400,"type":596},"Falling battery costs no longer guaranteed",{"type":591,"attrs":114402,"content":114403},{"textAlign":49},[114404],{"text":114405,"type":596},"Reports have been circulating in China that several lithium ion battery makers have looked to increase the price of their battery cells in response to rising raw material costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":114407,"content":114408},{"textAlign":49},[114409],{"text":114410,"type":596},"There have also been reports that Chinese battery producers have written to consumers looking to renegotiate contracts and, in some cases, setting out new pricing structures that are no longer fixed.",{"type":591,"attrs":114412,"content":114413},{"textAlign":49},[114414],{"text":114415,"type":596},"A broader shift away from fixed, long-term contracts, would mean that downstream cell consumers would become more exposed to the fluctuations in input costs, particularly upstream raw material prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":114417,"content":114418},{"textAlign":49},[114419],{"text":114420,"type":596},"Since its inception, Benchmark has warned of the looming battery raw material deficit which could lead to volatile and rising prices and curtail automakers’ electrification plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":114422,"content":114423},{"textAlign":49},[114424],{"text":114425,"type":596},"While lithium prices have increased dramatically over the past year, it’s worth noting that the true lithium supply shortage will not materialise until next year and is set to continue through the mid 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":114427,"content":114428},{"textAlign":49},[114429],{"text":114430,"type":596},"These raw material price rises have only just begun to factor into battery cell prices, and it is inevitable that we will see further price increases in 2022, initially from lower tier producers and ultimately from leading tier 1 battery manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":114432,"content":114433},{"textAlign":49},[114434,114436,114442],{"text":114435,"type":596},"Battery makers are being buffeted by rising raw material cathode and anode raw material costs, which represent the largest share of a cell’s bill of materials, but also by ",{"text":114437,"type":596,"marks":114438},"price rises for peripheral battery cell components",[114439],{"type":606,"attrs":114440},{"href":114441,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/price-rises-hit-peripheral-battery-components",{"text":114443,"type":596}," such as binder materials, and copper and aluminium foils used in electrode production.",{"type":591,"attrs":114445,"content":114446},{"textAlign":49},[114447],{"text":114448,"type":596},"The market is having to reposition itself for a period of rising battery cell prices, a new phenomena for an industry conditioned to expect year-on-year $/kWh price falls, a trend which should further prioritise raw material sourcing strategy for a greater swathe of the lithium ion supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":114450,"content":114451},{"textAlign":49},[114452],{"text":114453,"type":596},"Ultimately raw material price rises mean rising battery cell costs for automakers. This is now beginning to play out.",{"type":591,"attrs":114455,"content":114456},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":114458,"content":114459},{"textAlign":49},[114460,114464,114469],{"text":114461,"type":596,"marks":114462},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment Methodology ",[114463],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":114465},[114466,114468],{"type":606,"attrs":114467},{"href":111676,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":114470},[114471],{"type":1006},"Battery producers have begun to increase lithium ion cell prices following a period of consistent raw material price rises throughout 2021, particularly for lithium. Several of China’s major lithium ion battery makers have written to customers setting out intentions of new pricing structures, citing the rise in cathode and anode raw material prices as well […]",[114474],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114475},{"job_title":557,"image":114476,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a6e90036-fefd-44e5-917a-ea41c34a8429\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114479],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114481,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114482,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2aa0d3b8c9/bm-chart-cell-price-falls-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 27, 2021",{"id":114485,"uuid":114486,"name":114487,"slug":114488,"full_slug":114489,"content":114490},112473240891211,"a27f7078-cd56-4366-a170-540ef244be21","China’s energy crisis hits domestic cathode and anode production","chinas-energy-crisis-hits-domestic-cathode-and-anode-production","article/chinas-energy-crisis-hits-domestic-cathode-and-anode-production",{"_uid":114491,"date":114492,"tags":114493,"editor":114495,"content":114499,"excerpt":114566,"featured":50,"reporter":114567,"_editable":114571,"component":697,"seo_title":114487,"categories":114572,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114576,"seo_description":114566,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114579},"9f93c1e6-d3ad-4776-89e4-f7b365aedd7a","2021-10-22 00:00",[114494],{"slug":575,"name":576},[114496],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114497},{"job_title":557,"image":114498,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114500},[114501,114506,114511,114516,114521,114526,114531,114536,114541,114546,114551,114556,114561],{"type":591,"attrs":114502,"content":114503},{"textAlign":49},[114504],{"text":114505,"type":596},"China’s ongoing energy shortage, which has seen local governments enforce intermittent power cuts since July 2021, has begun to affect domestic anode and cathode production as several producers were forced to scale back production in late Q3.",{"type":591,"attrs":114507,"content":114508},{"textAlign":49},[114509],{"text":114510,"type":596},"Hunan and Inner Mongolia are among the most affected areas of the battery supply chain, with the former a production hub for cathodes and the latter a hub for synthetic graphite anode graphitisation processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":114512,"content":114513},{"textAlign":49},[114514],{"text":114515,"type":596},"Restrictions in Inner Mongolia have exacerbated graphitisation capacity constraints, which began in early 2021, driving up synthetic anode production costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":114517,"content":114518},{"textAlign":49},[114519],{"text":114520,"type":596},"Outside of the most affected regions, flake graphite production in Heilongjiang province has also been impacted as producers faced difficulties using some equipment, pushing up production costs for natural graphite anode feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":114522,"content":114523},{"textAlign":49},[114524],{"text":114525,"type":596},"Despite the restrictions Benchmark estimates less than 20% of overall anode market capacity has been affected.  While 20% represents a sizeable proportion of companies along the entire anode supply chain, the impact of energy shortages is yet to be fully realised, as production costs continue to rise under uncertainties surrounding government policy and coal supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":114527,"content":114528},{"textAlign":49},[114529],{"text":114530,"type":596},"Cathode production has also been hit with Benchmark receiving reports that in Hunan and Jiangsu provinces several precursor and cathode producers were forced to cut production by between 50-70% from mid-September.",{"type":591,"attrs":114532,"content":114533},{"textAlign":49},[114534],{"text":114535,"type":596},"In the cathode sector, the energy restrictions contributed to a fall in Chinese capacity utilisation rates, with the two provinces home to a large number of mid-stream producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":114537,"content":114538},{"textAlign":49},[114539],{"text":114540,"type":596},"Benchmark understands that due to the energy crisis, cathode and precursor suppliers are holding off accepting new orders from customers, with only paid orders currently being delivered.",{"type":615,"attrs":114542,"content":114543},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114544],{"text":114545,"type":596},"No immediate fix",{"type":591,"attrs":114547,"content":114548},{"textAlign":49},[114549],{"text":114550,"type":596},"The country’s trade war with Australia, which has coincided with industrial expansions this year, has led to a coal shortage, which fuels much of China’s electricity supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":114552,"content":114553},{"textAlign":49},[114554],{"text":114555,"type":596},"During China’s National Energy Commission meeting in mid-October, Premier Keqiang Li emphasised that extreme electricity cuts need to be corrected to ensure that the northern regions have secure usage of electricity for the winter, signifying that electricity restrictions within China might be relaxed at some stage in Q4.",{"type":591,"attrs":114557,"content":114558},{"textAlign":49},[114559],{"text":114560,"type":596},"In the long-term, China seeks to guarantee resource security by addressing the structural issues behind the current electricity supply shortage. The government is pushing for an upgrade in coal-powered electricity infrastructure, diversification of energy sources, and mass adoption of energy storage technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":114562,"content":114563},{"textAlign":49},[114564],{"text":114565,"type":596},"There is not currently widespread concern that these energy restrictions will have a dramatic impact on the overall production of battery materials in the country. However, this is another pressure on a supply chain already facing rising raw material costs.","China’s ongoing energy shortage, which has seen local governments enforce intermittent power cuts since July 2021, has begun to affect domestic anode and cathode production as several producers were forced to scale back production in late Q3. Hunan and Inner Mongolia are among the most affected areas of the battery supply chain, with the former […]",[114568],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114569},{"job_title":557,"image":114570,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9f93c1e6-d3ad-4776-89e4-f7b365aedd7a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114573,114574,114575],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114577,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114578,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6b02f8590b/bm-china-power-plant.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 22, 2021",{"id":114581,"uuid":114582,"name":114583,"slug":114584,"full_slug":114585,"content":114586},112473250778958,"91362bc3-dc23-4776-a16a-8930b8604b14","The pushes and pulls of ESG","the-pushes-and-pulls-of-esg","article/the-pushes-and-pulls-of-esg",{"_uid":114587,"date":114588,"tags":114589,"editor":114591,"content":114595,"excerpt":114835,"featured":50,"reporter":114836,"_editable":114840,"component":697,"seo_title":114583,"categories":114841,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114843,"seo_description":114835,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114846},"4383680b-d2af-4e33-8ed6-e3f783b2f457","2021-10-15 00:00",[114590],{"slug":15391,"name":15392},[114592],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114593},{"job_title":557,"image":114594,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114596},[114597,114602,114607,114612,114617,114622,114627,114632,114637,114642,114647,114652,114657,114662,114667,114672,114677,114682,114687,114692,114697,114702,114707,114715,114718,114723,114728,114733,114738,114743,114748,114753,114758,114763,114768,114773,114778,114786,114791,114796,114801,114806,114811,114820,114825],{"type":591,"attrs":114598,"content":114599},{"textAlign":49},[114600],{"text":114601,"type":596},"As the world seeks to respond to net zero, we are seeing the rapid growth in green technologies, especially in the rapidly moving electric vehicle (EV) market. The climate benefits of a technology shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) to EVs are clear, but rapid market growth means growing demand for critical materials that are vital for the highest value component in an EV: the lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":114603,"content":114604},{"textAlign":49},[114605],{"text":114606,"type":596},"Eyes are on the EV market and its supply chain; whether it be an investor looking to the industry as a capital venture, or an upstream operator sourcing their raw materials. There is a need from these market players to understand what risks are present to inform decision making. Increasingly, looking at risk does not just mean looking at a company’s financial sustainability. More than ever, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues form an integral part of risk management and corporate strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":114608,"content":114609},{"textAlign":49},[114610],{"text":114611,"type":596},"Sustainability reporting is not new, having emerged initially to help investors. However, ESG now underpins a range of frameworks and disclosure requirements, and provides a tangible, universal, and transparent means of reporting on impact and risk. Investor requirements on ESG have pulled companies they invest in into the ESG space. There is awareness and recognition, across industries and the globe, that ESG reporting and criteria is currently in the spotlight and it is likely to remain this way.",{"type":591,"attrs":114613,"content":114614},{"textAlign":49},[114615],{"text":114616,"type":596},"The term ESG was coined in the early 2000s when the then United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, invited 20 of the world’s largest institutional investors to join a process to develop the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to incorporate ESG issues into investment practice.",{"type":591,"attrs":114618,"content":114619},{"textAlign":49},[114620],{"text":114621,"type":596},"A fundamental part of ESG reporting is assessing the materiality of a company: this is determining the material topics that are most relevant and important to address to make a business sustainable. Defining, prioritising and managing these material topics and risks varies across different industries, sectors and individual companies. Although the ESG reporting landscape is in some ways complex, because of the varying standards and frameworks, what these methodologies seek to do is provide clarity and a way to consider data holistically and strategically.",{"type":591,"attrs":114623,"content":114624},{"textAlign":49},[114625],{"text":114626,"type":596},"The pushes and pulls for the industry to engage with ESG is growing. The push has come from evolving consumer habits, developments at policy level, nudges from the corporate world, changing political landscapes, and from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.",{"type":615,"attrs":114628,"content":114629},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114630],{"text":114631,"type":596},"Changing habits, shifting landscapes ",{"type":591,"attrs":114633,"content":114634},{"textAlign":49},[114635],{"text":114636,"type":596},"We are inarguably entering what is described as the ‘Anthropocene epoch’. Humans are now the dominant influence on our planet through our impact on natural environments, biodiversity, and changes to the climate.",{"type":591,"attrs":114638,"content":114639},{"textAlign":49},[114640],{"text":114641,"type":596},"Consequently, there are changes in business and consumer behaviour, as well as efforts by lawmakers to stop damaging activities, or nudge behaviours in a sustainable direction. We are seeing a collaborative approach, across governments, businesses, and other institutions, to address these issues. For example in an initiative to increase nature and biodiversity, the EU banned neonicotinoids as a plant spray as they impacted pollinators, such as bees, and farm support programmes encouraged farmers to put aside land to encourage wildflowers.",{"type":591,"attrs":114643,"content":114644},{"textAlign":49},[114645],{"text":114646,"type":596},"At the consumer level there is change too. Whether it be abandoning single-use plastic, the adoption of solar panels on roofs, or the global shift away from finite resources and towards renewables. As the rapid uptake of EVs shows, policymakers can use regulation and incentives to encourage change, harnessing consumer demand for new technologies like EVs to accelerate action to address climate change.",{"type":591,"attrs":114648,"content":114649},{"textAlign":49},[114650],{"text":114651,"type":596},"Beyond the environment; social movements are continually emerging and drawing attention to issues regarding gender, race, labour rights, and other areas of concern. Companies now have responsibilities to their employees and wider society to address potential social and governance issues head on. For example, in the Atacama Desert – one of the world’s major sources of lithium – companies based their need to continually manage with the view to ultimately mitigate a set of complex challenges relating to environmental impact, indigenous land rights and local development alongside their day-to-day management of their activities.",{"type":591,"attrs":114653,"content":114654},{"textAlign":49},[114655],{"text":114656,"type":596},"Pulling these topics together, whether they are environmental, social or governance related, we can see how they interact with one another. Individuals and communities who are often most affected by environmental issues are also among the most vulnerable groups of society. The blurring of the ‘E’ and ‘S’ in ESG demonstrates the complex nature of addressing sustainability as a whole and signals the need to think of these issues in tandem with one another, rather than separating them from each other.",{"type":591,"attrs":114658,"content":114659},{"textAlign":49},[114660],{"text":114661,"type":596},"Shifts in politics are shaping the ESG landscape too. In the US, the change in administration has resulted in significant changes in terms of environmental policies. The Trump administration stalled various measures aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and direct air pollutants, whereas, since coming into power, Biden has ordered his administration to help accelerate the rollout of clean energy and has vowed to turn the federal fleet electric.",{"type":591,"attrs":114663,"content":114664},{"textAlign":49},[114665],{"text":114666,"type":596},"Most recently, at the G7 in Cornwall this June, climate change was among the key issues at the top of the agenda. G7 finance ministers backed the creation of an International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to write ‘baseline’ rules for disclosures on how climate change will affect companies’ performance. The ISSB is set to be launched ahead of the UN COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November to inject global consistency and comparability in disclosures. We can anticipate further climate and sustainability-reporting related developments to emerge from this event.",{"type":615,"attrs":114668,"content":114669},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114670],{"text":114671,"type":596},"Pushes from policy momentum",{"type":591,"attrs":114673,"content":114674},{"textAlign":49},[114675],{"text":114676,"type":596},"The EU has also been active on sustainability reporting, with EU Financial Services Chief, Mairead McGuiness, pushing for sustainability reporting to be held up to the same standards as financial reporting. We are reaching a watershed moment – international institutions, governments and bodies are investing time and money into sustainability and ESG reporting and cannot backtrack.",{"type":591,"attrs":114678,"content":114679},{"textAlign":49},[114680],{"text":114681,"type":596},"Proposals and regulations introduced by the European Commission in recent years have fuelled activity here. In 2018, the EC announced the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), an initiative which seeks to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a ‘cap and trade’ carbon market. Launched in 2005, and now entering its ‘fourth trading phase’ for 2021-2030, the ETS has proven to be a productive framework by which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":114683,"content":114684},{"textAlign":49},[114685],{"text":114686,"type":596},"The EC’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan published updated guidelines on corporate climate-related information reporting in June 2019, giving companies direction on how to report the environmental impact their operations most diligently. These guidelines are set to encourage ‘green investing’ and confront greenwashing. We are starting to see a drive to address the ‘S’ and ‘G’ in ESG too, with the EU releasing expert reports that include a standard of ESG disclosures.",{"type":591,"attrs":114688,"content":114689},{"textAlign":49},[114690],{"text":114691,"type":596},"Beyond regulations focused on guidelines for disclosures and ESG reporting, the EU and EC are paying significant attention to the lithium ion battery supply chain. March 2020 saw the EC introduce their Circular Economy Action Plan – one of the main building blocks for the European Green Deal. In December 2020, as part of the plan’s first initiative, the EC proposed changes to the 2006 Batteries Directive. These amendments seek to ensure that the batteries placed on the EU market are sustainable throughout their entire life cycle and cooperate with the European Green Deal’s goal of zero pollution.",{"type":591,"attrs":114693,"content":114694},{"textAlign":49},[114695],{"text":114696,"type":596},"The amendments seek to encourage companies operating within the lithium ion battery market to confront any social, economic, and environmental risks linked to these batteries, giving the supply chain a legislative push to engage with sustainability and ESG.",{"type":591,"attrs":114698,"content":114699},{"textAlign":49},[114700],{"text":114701,"type":596},"Upon the announcement of the EC’s proposals to the Batteries Directive, Frans Timmermans, Executive VP for the European Green Deal, made clear that a shift from ICE to EVs and batteries must not be compromised by environmental harm. Considering these policy and regulation developments in the last few years – whether addressing disclosure guidelines or the lithium ion battery supply specifically – it is clear that ESG materiality and reporting is a vital tool for this sector to demonstrate its responsibility.",{"type":591,"attrs":114703,"content":114704},{"textAlign":49},[114705],{"text":114706,"type":596},"To report on actual impact, sustainability reporting must be transparent, reliable, and backed up by robust data and risk management plans, at a minimum. Some companies have used it as an opportunity to systematically incorporate wider policy, such as catastrophic hazard strategies, supply chain due diligence, and land stewardship. Examples of this include a community initiative which funds infrastructure projects, including a new sewage system for the local communities.",{"type":591,"attrs":114708,"content":114709},{"textAlign":49},[114710,114711,114713],{"text":35170,"type":596},{"text":114712,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ESG ",{"text":114714,"type":596},"report shows, ESG momentum is building rapidly across the lithium supply chain. Policy changes and questions from investors are a major driver in this rapid adoption. With more policy changes coming down the track in the next few years, this means continued adaptation and evolution in how the lithium supply chain reports on and manages its impacts is vital.",{"type":591,"attrs":114716,"content":114717},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":114719,"content":114720},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114721],{"text":114722,"type":596},"Corporate world pulls",{"type":591,"attrs":114724,"content":114725},{"textAlign":49},[114726],{"text":114727,"type":596},"Within the corporate world it has been widely acknowledged that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals ratified by the United Nations cannot be achieved by the public sector alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":114729,"content":114730},{"textAlign":49},[114731],{"text":114732,"type":596},"ESG raters and rankers (companies which position organisations based on their ESG performance) often use artificial intelligence (AI) to data-mine companies’ public documents, media coverage, either in the formal press or in social media. In turn this applies pressure on companies to engage in ESG. The cobalt supply chain, for example, has high profile media coverage: Amnesty’s 2016 report on labour and human rights issues within the industry, brought the supply chain under scrutiny. The awareness in this sector amongst companies has resulted in some real ESG gains regarding these complex and sensitive issues. This is also an example of the media focusing on one issue, whilst underplaying or ignoring other issues that are important to address. Despite this, the cobalt industry is addressing environmental issues that are not in the spotlight.",{"type":591,"attrs":114734,"content":114735},{"textAlign":49},[114736],{"text":114737,"type":596},"Other stakeholders like governments and NGOs want, and expect, a company to act as a ‘good’ corporate citizen, making it equally important for companies to cooperate with ESG and sustainability reporting. There is an increasing desire to cooperate with, and be part of, companies who act in the interests of the environment and communities.",{"type":591,"attrs":114739,"content":114740},{"textAlign":49},[114741],{"text":114742,"type":596},"Although time consuming, and potentially exposing, a company filing an annual ESG report aids several stakeholders. ESG activity is a type of risk management tool, and it is commonly known that by acting responsibly and consciously, a company minimises the likelihood of them being caught up in an event that could put their business at risk. Complying with ESG standards and completing an annual ESG report in alignment with specific frameworks is therefore beneficial to a company, and in turn makes them more attractive to potential investors. This is where we are seeing definite ‘pulls’ for companies to enter into the world of ESG.",{"type":591,"attrs":114744,"content":114745},{"textAlign":49},[114746],{"text":114747,"type":596},"As ESG develops, companies are responding to the increasing attention being paid to supply chain due diligence processes within ESG reporting. This has in part been pushed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence. First adopted in 2012 and further revised in April 2016, it sets common approaches for undertaking environmental and social due diligence to identify, consider, and address the potential environmental and social impacts and risks. Although not legally binding, it is generally accepted that it is important for political commitment to OECD membership, and as such is a driver in the battery value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":114749,"content":114750},{"textAlign":49},[114751],{"text":114752,"type":596},"The International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) is set to introduce new standards for ESG raters to improve comparability and reliability of sustainability reporting in order to eliminate any concerns over ESG greenwashing. This type of regulatory guidance and standards will certainly frame many discussions in company board meetings, putting ESG at the top of the agenda.",{"type":615,"attrs":114754,"content":114755},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114756],{"text":114757,"type":596},"The COVID-19 effect",{"type":591,"attrs":114759,"content":114760},{"textAlign":49},[114761],{"text":114762,"type":596},"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that global issues need both a local and global response. The need to take action to address climate change will intensify as countries prepare for, and then deliver on, commitments made at COP26 in November. COVID-19 brought global lockdowns resulting in a temporary cut of 7% in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2020. There is a widespread desire to ‘build back better’ following the pandemic in a way that confronts the climate crisis. Attitudes were changing pre-COVID-19, but there is certainly another dimension to these movements now.",{"type":591,"attrs":114764,"content":114765},{"textAlign":49},[114766],{"text":114767,"type":596},"The pandemic has changed our behaviours, and perhaps our attitude to new technologies and global issues like climate change. It is now the norm to take meetings from home. Online webinars and conferences have built momentum within the industry, rather than slowing it down, keeping the industry and their supply chains connected through a virtual space where the sharing of knowledge and information is critical to relationships. This virtual space has given room to discuss ESG properly, pushing the issue up everyone’s agenda. Raised awareness of our global interconnections has also pushed the issue into the limelight, with media coverage on EVs andsupply chain issues moving out of business or environment pages and onto the front page. At Benchmark we have felt this shift too and see the sense of urgency for the industry to demonstrate the many ways it is taking action, through better reporting and transparency.",{"type":615,"attrs":114769,"content":114770},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114771],{"text":114772,"type":596},"How are we responding?",{"type":591,"attrs":114774,"content":114775},{"textAlign":49},[114776],{"text":114777,"type":596},"Given the role that the lithium ion battery industry is set to play in the future, there is an opportunity for all players involved to make a real difference to society and the planet. There is significant momentum at policy level to mandate companies to operate in an environmentally responsible and socially conscious manner.",{"type":591,"attrs":114779,"content":114780},{"textAlign":49},[114781,114783,114784],{"text":114782,"type":596},"Responding to the pushes and pulls of the ESG landscape and the need for sound science and insight in the industry, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":114785,"type":596}," set up its ESG division in January 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":114787,"content":114788},{"textAlign":49},[114789],{"text":114790,"type":596},"Our approach is to use quantitative data alongside qualitative criteria to fill the void in many ESG frameworks and to better address and explain materiality and other key ESG components. These core topics differ by raw material, supply chain and stakeholder. Plotting trends and discovering where and why materiality differs so much in the industry is part of Benchmark ESG division’s expertise.",{"type":591,"attrs":114792,"content":114793},{"textAlign":49},[114794],{"text":114795,"type":596},"Rigid frameworks can oversimplify data or miss out on qualitative points, our goal is to provide an opportunity to gather data and expertise to tell the sector’s story through case studies and inputs from industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":114797,"content":114798},{"textAlign":49},[114799],{"text":114800,"type":596},"As part of our ESG reports for all key materials, we will be publishing a matrix – an up-to-date datasheet, providing an overview of where each company is with their ESG reporting and implementation. Another key component of our division which is an important parallel of ESG, is our Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) work. Our unique ability to gather accurate data from experts across the industry has allowed us to create global LCA averages for all the key lithium ion battery materials, for companies to compare against. The supply chain is set to play a fundamental role in the road to electrification and the green revolution, and in bringing together discussions surrounding this industry and ESG, our division is here to navigate this landscape diligently.",{"type":591,"attrs":114802,"content":114803},{"textAlign":49},[114804],{"text":114805,"type":596},"Rather than incorporating everything that is going on in the ESG space for the lithium ion battery industry, this article has sought to provide a snapshot in time whilst the ESG forum gathers momentum. There is constant evolution and adaptation in this sphere, in terms of regulations and requirements, standards and frameworks, and how these varying methodologies are used in practice. The pushes and pulls are getting stronger and this is only fitting as the demands on our environment, and society, are getting more urgent.",{"type":615,"attrs":114807,"content":114808},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[114809],{"text":114810,"type":596},"Benchmark launches Lithium ESG report",{"type":591,"attrs":114812,"content":114813},{"textAlign":49},[114814,114816,114818],{"text":114815,"type":596},"Industry-specific ESG intelligence is essential for stakeholders across the lithium supply chain. The ",{"text":114817,"type":596},"Benchmark Lithium ESG Report",{"text":114819,"type":596},", launched this week, provides expert analysis and insight to support those working on the delivery of a sustainable future in the face of the climate crisis.",{"type":591,"attrs":114821,"content":114822},{"textAlign":49},[114823],{"text":114824,"type":596},"Subscribers receive:",{"type":591,"attrs":114826,"content":114827},{"textAlign":49},[114828,114829,114833],{"text":111494,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":114830},[114831],{"type":606,"attrs":114832},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":114834,"type":596}," to learn more.","As the world seeks to respond to net zero, we are seeing the rapid growth in green technologies, especially in the rapidly moving electric vehicle (EV) market. The climate benefits of a technology shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) to EVs are clear, but rapid market growth means growing demand for critical materials that are […]",[114837],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114838},{"job_title":557,"image":114839,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4383680b-d2af-4e33-8ed6-e3f783b2f457\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114842],{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":114844,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114845,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/652e6fa21f/bm-benchmark-esg-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 15, 2021",{"id":114848,"uuid":114849,"name":114850,"slug":114851,"full_slug":114852,"content":114853},112473261174609,"8c36e559-2696-4e20-9b13-6de41b4338dd","Spodumene up 86% in September. What does this mean for lithium chemical prices?","spodumene-up-86-in-september-what-does-this-mean-for-lithium-chemical-prices","article/spodumene-up-86-in-september-what-does-this-mean-for-lithium-chemical-prices",{"_uid":114854,"date":114855,"tags":114856,"editor":114859,"content":114863,"excerpt":114900,"featured":50,"reporter":114901,"_editable":114905,"component":697,"seo_title":114850,"categories":114906,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":114909,"seo_description":114900,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114911},"d45757cd-51a1-413e-b06e-ccfe382e341c","2021-10-06 00:00",[114857,114858],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[114860],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114861},{"job_title":557,"image":114862,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114864},[114865,114870,114875,114880,114885,114890,114895],{"type":591,"attrs":114866,"content":114867},{"textAlign":49},[114868],{"text":114869,"type":596},"Spodumene prices registered an 86% increase in September (FOB Australia) against a backdrop of tight raw material supply and surging chemical prices in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":114871,"content":114872},{"textAlign":49},[114873],{"text":114874,"type":596},"Pilbara Minerals’ mid-September digital auction was the latest catalyst in the ongoing spodumene price rally when it received a record-high bid of $2,240/tonne (FOB Australia) for 8,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate (SC 5.5%), which follows the recent previous record-high price of $1,250/tonne in late July 2021, also achieved at a Pilbara auction.",{"type":591,"attrs":114876,"content":114877},{"textAlign":49},[114878],{"text":114879,"type":596},"While Pilbara’s September and July auctions set record-breaking prices, the total volume of spodumene involved in the two transactions combined was 18,000 dmt, which represents approximately 1% of forecasted spodumene exports from Australia this year, with the majority of spodumene supply already secured under offtake agreements or long-term contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":114881,"content":114882},{"textAlign":49},[114883],{"text":114884,"type":596},"Bullish pricing sentiment was already clear in the first two weeks of September with Chinese battery grade carbonate and lithium hydroxide up 22.2% and 14.2% (EXW China), respectively, ahead of Pilbara’s second online auction.",{"type":591,"attrs":114886,"content":114887},{"textAlign":49},[114888],{"text":114889,"type":596},"The average spodumene price as at the end of September was $1,445/tonne on an FOB Australia basis according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":114891,"content":114892},{"textAlign":49},[114893],{"text":114894,"type":596},"Currently, the majority of spodumene being delivered under long-term agreement remains under $1,000/tonne. However, these prices are unlikely to remain this low and are expected to rise in future as contracts are renegotiated, and pricing terms in contracts adjust for rising chemical prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":114896,"content":114897},{"textAlign":49},[114898],{"text":114899,"type":596},"While spodumene price rises have risen sharply, lithium chemical prices have followed suit and saw accelerated rises in August and September due to rising feedstock costs and limited supply under surging demand. Battery grade lithium carbonate prices shifted up by 55% over the period on an EXW China basis, reasserting its premium over lithium hydroxide which rose by 32.7% in the same period (EXW China).","Spodumene prices registered an 86% increase in September (FOB Australia) against a backdrop of tight raw material supply and surging chemical prices in China. Pilbara Minerals’ mid-September digital auction was the latest catalyst in the ongoing spodumene price rally when it received a record-high bid of $2,240/tonne (FOB Australia) for 8,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) […]",[114902],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114903},{"job_title":557,"image":114904,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d45757cd-51a1-413e-b06e-ccfe382e341c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[114907,114908],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":95320,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":114910,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 06, 2021",{"id":114913,"uuid":114914,"name":114915,"slug":114916,"full_slug":114917,"content":114918},112473255898959,"8fc446b1-a5a6-4502-b5f4-ff1bb532400d","Benchmark’s lithium carbonate prices reach new all-time highs","benchmarks-lithium-carbonate-prices-reach-new-all-time-highs","article/benchmarks-lithium-carbonate-prices-reach-new-all-time-highs",{"_uid":114919,"date":114855,"tags":114920,"editor":114923,"content":114927,"excerpt":115072,"featured":50,"reporter":115073,"_editable":115077,"component":697,"seo_title":114915,"categories":115078,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115081,"seo_description":115072,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":114911},"ff7297e8-ddce-4839-9aa3-f4ba5b7842ff",[114921,114922],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[114924],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":114925},{"job_title":557,"image":114926,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":114928},[114929,114937,114948,114953,114965,114977,114982,114987,114992,115005,115016,115021,115026,115031,115036,115041,115046,115051,115062],{"type":591,"attrs":114930,"content":114931},{"textAlign":49},[114932,114934,114935],{"text":114933,"type":596},"Prices of lithium carbonate assessed by ",{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":114936,"type":596},"have reached new all-time highs on the back of limited supply and high and sustained lithium ion battery demand in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":114938,"content":114939},{"textAlign":49},[114940,114946],{"text":114941,"type":596,"marks":114942},"Benchmark’s EXW China (Battery) grade of lithium carbonate",[114943],{"type":606,"attrs":114944},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/#lithium",{"text":114947,"type":596}," rose by 26.5% to RMB 160,000/tonne ($24,800) in the final two weeks of September 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":114949,"content":114950},{"textAlign":49},[114951],{"text":114952,"type":596},"This surpasses the previous high of $24,750/tonne for battery grade lithium carbonate assessed on 30 March 2018, and marks a new era for the lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":114954,"content":114955},{"textAlign":49},[114956,114958,114963],{"text":114957,"type":596},"The highest end of ",{"text":114959,"type":596,"marks":114960},"Benchmark’s published range for our EXW China",[114961],{"type":606,"attrs":114962},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":114964,"type":596}," grade in September reached RMB 180,000/tonne ($27,900).",{"type":591,"attrs":114966,"content":114967},{"textAlign":49},[114968,114970,114975],{"text":114969,"type":596},"During the month, ",{"text":114971,"type":596,"marks":114972},"Benchmark’s EXW China (Technical) grade",[114973],{"type":606,"attrs":114974},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":114976,"type":596}," of lithium carbonate increased by 29.5%, marking some of the largest price jumps ever experienced in the lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":114978,"content":114979},{"textAlign":49},[114980],{"text":114981,"type":596},"Looking forward, record high spot transactions are likely to incentivise a strong upward revision of contract prices in Q4 as new deals and pricing breaks are negotiated for the start of 2022. Historically, supply contracts are negotiated in Q4 and can be influenced by sentiment in the spot market. It is this revision that sparked the surge in lithium chemicals pricing in 2015, indicating that the start of 2022 could see further momentum in price rises.",{"type":591,"attrs":114983,"content":114984},{"textAlign":49},[114985],{"text":114986,"type":596},"Market contacts have also reported to Benchmark that they expect a larger proportion of the supply chain may look to implement monthly, rather than quarterly, price breaks, fuelling the surge further if typically discounted contracted volumes become more regularly based on escalating spot deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":114988,"content":114989},{"textAlign":49},[114990],{"text":114991,"type":596},"Limited available supply within the domestic China market has served to push lithium carbonate prices to these new levels with lithium ion battery demand remaining high and steady after a year of significant growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":114993,"content":114994},{"textAlign":49},[114995,114997,115003],{"text":114996,"type":596},"Surging prices in the chemical market have not only been driven by tight supply and strong downstream demand, but also rapidly increasing feedstock costs as ",{"text":114998,"type":596,"marks":114999},"Benchmark’s Lithium Spodumene (FOB Australia) grade was assessed up 86% in September",[115000],{"type":606,"attrs":115001},{"href":115002,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-up-86-in-september-what-does-this-mean-for-lithium-chemical-prices",{"text":115004,"type":596}," as lithium chemical converters scramble to secure available spot material.",{"type":591,"attrs":115006,"content":115007},{"textAlign":49},[115008,115009,115014],{"text":55515,"type":596},{"text":115010,"type":596,"marks":115011},"Benchmark’s EXW China hydroxide price",[115012],{"type":606,"attrs":115013},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115015,"type":596}," has also seen unprecedented upward movement, rising by 68.4% over Q3 to an average of RMB 157,500/tonne ($24,425), robust demand for LFP chemistry cathodes in China has once again placed carbonate at a historically unusual price premium over hydroxide.",{"type":615,"attrs":115017,"content":115018},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115019],{"text":115020,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate v hydroxide, LFP’s role",{"type":591,"attrs":115022,"content":115023},{"textAlign":49},[115024],{"text":115025,"type":596},"High-nickel cathode chemistries, which require lithium hydroxide, have not been deployed as quickly as expected, at the same time lower energy density, but cheaper, LFP cathodes have dominated the Chinese cell production industry in recent months.",{"type":591,"attrs":115027,"content":115028},{"textAlign":49},[115029],{"text":115030,"type":596},"Cells with LFP cathodes have held an average market share of 51.1% so far in 2021, compared to 42.6% in 2020, showing a step-change in demand as a result of technological improvements to the cathode chemistry and indirect policy support from the Chinese government for applications most suited to LFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":115032,"content":115033},{"textAlign":49},[115034],{"text":115035,"type":596},"Carbonate’s rare premium over hydroxide was also seen in Q1 and Q2 2021 in the Chinese domestic market, when carbonate price growth outpaced hydroxide on the back of fears over supply tightness. Hydroxide narrowly regained its premium in late Q2 and into Q3 as additional seasonal carbonate supply from Chinese Qinghai Province brine producers provided some relief to upward carbonate price pressure, before the relationship again flipped at the end of September.",{"type":591,"attrs":115037,"content":115038},{"textAlign":49},[115039],{"text":115040,"type":596},"With newer Chinese conversion facilities now able to directly produce lithium hydroxide from spodumene feedstock, as well as having the flexibility to alternate production to favour the premium product, Benchmark expects the pricing relationship between the chemicals to exhibit more volatility in the future, dependent on demand dynamics.",{"type":591,"attrs":115042,"content":115043},{"textAlign":49},[115044],{"text":115045,"type":596},"Fundamentally, with little foreseeable downside price risk to carbonate or hydroxide pricing in the near term, as demand continues to outstrip raw material and chemical supply, the lithium industry is well and truly in the throes of its latest price rally, with further record prices expected in the coming months.",{"type":615,"attrs":115047,"content":115048},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115049],{"text":115050,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":115052,"content":115053},{"textAlign":49},[115054,115056,115060],{"text":115055,"type":596},"Subscribe to ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":115057},[115058],{"type":606,"attrs":115059},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115061,"type":596}," for full access to Benchmark’s lithium carbonate, hydroxide, and spodumene pricing data.",{"type":591,"attrs":115063,"content":115064},{"textAlign":49},[115065,115066,115070],{"text":111494,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":115067},[115068],{"type":606,"attrs":115069},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115071,"type":596}," to subscribe or to learn more.","Prices of lithium carbonate assessed by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have reached new all-time highs on the back of limited supply and high and sustained lithium ion battery demand in China. Benchmark’s EXW China (Battery) grade of lithium carbonate rose by 26.5% to RMB 160,000/tonne ($24,800) in the final two weeks of September 2021. This surpasses the previous […]",[115074],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115075},{"job_title":557,"image":115076,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ff7297e8-ddce-4839-9aa3-f4ba5b7842ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115079,115080],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115082,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115083,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b3e28b592d/bm-lithium-carbonate-all-time-highs-modified.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":115085,"uuid":115086,"name":115087,"slug":115088,"full_slug":115089,"content":115090},112473265934162,"3339bb29-e677-44df-b2a6-b06fa723dac2","Benchmark to implement annual public consultation season for comment on its market leading price assessment methodologies","benchmark-to-implement-annual-public-consultation-season-for-comment-on-its-market-leading-price-assessment-methodologies","article/benchmark-to-implement-annual-public-consultation-season-for-comment-on-its-market-leading-price-assessment-methodologies",{"_uid":115091,"date":115092,"tags":115093,"editor":115095,"content":115099,"excerpt":115170,"featured":50,"reporter":115171,"_editable":115175,"component":697,"seo_title":115087,"categories":115176,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115178,"seo_description":115170,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115181},"a0dcfa00-f58b-483f-8da0-62547c18bef9","2021-09-22 00:00",[115094],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[115096],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115097},{"job_title":557,"image":115098,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115100},[115101,115106,115111,115120,115125,115130,115140,115145,115150,115155,115160,115165],{"type":591,"attrs":115102,"content":115103},{"textAlign":49},[115104],{"text":115105,"type":596},"Following the continued evolution of the lithium ion battery supply chain, and as part of its rolling methodology review process, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will incorporate an annual period of public consultation for comment on Benchmark’s market-leading Price Assessment Methodologies for lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":115107,"content":115108},{"textAlign":49},[115109],{"text":115110,"type":596},"This consultation period will allow stakeholders in the lithium ion battery supply chain and all members of the public to directly comment and give feedback on Benchmark’s mineral specific price methodologies, the basis for its market leading Price Assessments.",{"type":591,"attrs":115112,"content":115113},{"textAlign":49},[115114,115116],{"text":115115,"type":596},"You can find the latest updated versions of Benchmark’s methodologies here: ",{"text":43961,"type":596,"marks":115117},[115118],{"type":606,"attrs":115119},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":115121,"content":115122},{"textAlign":49},[115123],{"text":115124,"type":596},"The consultation period will begin immediately from publication of this article, extending for no less than 28 days from commencement, and then will occur annually moving forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":115126,"content":115127},{"textAlign":49},[115128],{"text":115129,"type":596},"Benchmark will review all comments and seek to make public all non-confidential responses within 10 working days of the closure of the open season.",{"type":591,"attrs":115131,"content":115132},{"textAlign":49},[115133,115134],{"text":16732,"type":596},{"text":115135,"type":596,"marks":115136},"comment@benchmarkminerals.com",[115137],{"type":606,"attrs":115138},{"href":115139,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:comment@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":115141,"content":115142},{"textAlign":49},[115143],{"text":115144,"type":596},"We ask that you include the following:",{"type":591,"attrs":115146,"content":115147},{"textAlign":49},[115148],{"text":115149,"type":596},"a) Bullet Pointed Comment",{"type":591,"attrs":115151,"content":115152},{"textAlign":49},[115153],{"text":115154,"type":596},"Please outline:",{"type":591,"attrs":115156,"content":115157},{"textAlign":49},[115158],{"text":115159,"type":596},"b) Full Name ",{"type":591,"attrs":115161,"content":115162},{"textAlign":49},[115163],{"text":115164,"type":596},"c) Position within your Company ",{"type":591,"attrs":115166,"content":115167},{"textAlign":49},[115168],{"text":115169,"type":596},"d) Your company ","Following the continued evolution of the lithium ion battery supply chain, and as part of its rolling methodology review process, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will incorporate an annual period of public consultation for comment on Benchmark’s market-leading Price Assessment Methodologies for lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite. This consultation period will allow stakeholders in the lithium ion […]",[115172],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115173},{"job_title":557,"image":115174,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a0dcfa00-f58b-483f-8da0-62547c18bef9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115177],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115179,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115180,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/29a83a0b3b/bm-benchmark-logo-text.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 22, 2021",{"id":115183,"uuid":115184,"name":115185,"slug":115186,"full_slug":115187,"content":115188},112473285328727,"94c2c114-a7fb-46b4-8ccb-22ac5165478a","China’s cathode expansions surge as producers target 1 million tpa capacity","chinas-cathode-expansions-surge-as-producers-target-1-million-tpa-capacity","article/chinas-cathode-expansions-surge-as-producers-target-1-million-tpa-capacity",{"_uid":115189,"date":115190,"tags":115191,"editor":115194,"content":115198,"excerpt":115371,"featured":50,"reporter":115372,"_editable":115376,"component":697,"seo_title":115185,"categories":115377,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115380,"seo_description":115371,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115382},"0641fe2f-9a5a-4c12-9f51-2155c3409ba7","2021-08-26 00:00",[115192,115193],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[115195],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115196},{"job_title":557,"image":115197,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115199},[115200,115205,115210,115215,115220,115225,115238,115243,115248,115253,115258,115263,115268,115273,115278,115283,115288,115293,115298,115303,115308,115313,115318,115331,115336,115341,115346,115351,115356,115361,115366],{"type":591,"attrs":115201,"content":115202},{"textAlign":49},[115203],{"text":115204,"type":596},"Following a series of major expansion announcements in 2021, China’s cathode industry has moved closer to having its first producer with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum (tpa).",{"type":591,"attrs":115206,"content":115207},{"textAlign":49},[115208],{"text":115209,"type":596},"With battery cell producers worldwide undertaking huge expansion plans and battery capacity in the pipeline for 2030 reaching 4,100.1 GWh in Benchmark’s August Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment, the supply chain’s midstream is having to enact its own expansions to meet this growing demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":115211,"content":115212},{"textAlign":49},[115213],{"text":115214,"type":596},"Nowhere else is this more keenly felt than in China’s cathode industry, where incumbents and new developers alike have set out expansion plans with unprecedented scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":115216,"content":115217},{"textAlign":49},[115218],{"text":115219,"type":596},"The bulk of the large scale expansions in 2021 have been for LFP cathodes, with several producers now targeting the one million tonnes capacity mark, which would equate to over 425 GWh of lithium ion battery cell capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":115221,"content":115222},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115223],{"text":115224,"type":596},"Ambitious new entrants, emboldened incumbents",{"type":591,"attrs":115226,"content":115227},{"textAlign":49},[115228,115230,115236],{"text":115229,"type":596},"The growing demand for LFP cathodes has driven one of the more interesting developments in the cathode market this year, which has seen ",{"text":115231,"type":596,"marks":115232},"titanium dioxide producers with no experience in the battery supply chain",[115233],{"type":606,"attrs":115234},{"href":115235,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions",{"text":115237,"type":596}," announce some of the largest LFP capacity construction plans to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":115239,"content":115240},{"textAlign":49},[115241],{"text":115242,"type":596},"China’s titanium dioxide producers typically use a sulphuric acid leaching process, which generates large volumes of sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphate. Both materials are costly to dispose of and have poor environmental records, however, they can also be used to produce iron phosphate, a key input material for LFP cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":115244,"content":115245},{"textAlign":49},[115246],{"text":115247,"type":596},"With demand for LFP materials increasing dramatically, and due to continue to grow considerably, titanium dioxide producers are willing to risk entering an unknown industry due to favourable economics.",{"type":591,"attrs":115249,"content":115250},{"textAlign":49},[115251],{"text":115252,"type":596},"In Q1 this year, CNNC Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co (CNNC) announced its plans to invest RMB 12.1bn ($1.9bn) to construct a 500,000 tpa LFP cathode production facility in Baiyin, Gansu province, beginning with an initial 100,000 tpa of capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":115254,"content":115255},{"textAlign":49},[115256],{"text":115257,"type":596},"This was followed by fellow titanium dioxide producer, Lomon Billions, announcing it would enter the LFP industry by teaming up with established LFP producer Hubei Wanrun to develop a 100,000 tpa LFP feedstock (iron phosphor) project.",{"type":591,"attrs":115259,"content":115260},{"textAlign":49},[115261],{"text":115262,"type":596},"The growth prospects of the LFP industry have also attracted players from across the cathode divide, with Huayou Cobalt — which has been focused on developing a vertically integrated NCM supply chain — eying its first moves into the LFP market in July.",{"type":591,"attrs":115264,"content":115265},{"textAlign":49},[115266],{"text":115267,"type":596},"Aware of growth prospects, and the scramble for market share, existing LFP producers have also announced major expansion plans and doubled down on existing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":115269,"content":115270},{"textAlign":49},[115271],{"text":115272,"type":596},"Dynanonic, which Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment forecasts will be the largest cathode producer in 2021, has announced major expansion plans this year. In Q1, Dynanonic set out its plans to increase production capacity to 220,000 tpa in 2022, increasing its capacity from 50,000 tpa last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":115274,"content":115275},{"textAlign":49},[115276],{"text":115277,"type":596},"In total, the company’s aggressive expansion plans have increased its cathode capacity pipeline to 370,000 tpa. But even Dynanonic’s capacity commitments, which would have been unprecedented until this year, have been overshadowed.",{"type":591,"attrs":115279,"content":115280},{"textAlign":49},[115281],{"text":115282,"type":596},"In July 2021, leading LFP producer Hunan Yuneng New Energy Battery Materials (Yuneng) a subsidiary of Xiangtan Electric, announced the cathode market’s largest investment to date when it promised to invest US$2 billion to develop 650,000 tpa of LFP cathode capacity and 650,000 tpa of LFP iron phosphor capacity at two sites in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.",{"type":591,"attrs":115284,"content":115285},{"textAlign":49},[115286],{"text":115287,"type":596},"According to data from Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment this investment would increase Yuneng’s capacity to over 780,000 tpa, the largest capacity pipeline of any cathode company.",{"type":591,"attrs":115289,"content":115290},{"textAlign":49},[115291],{"text":115292,"type":596},"It is worth noting that although the company’s customers include leading cell producers BYD and CATL, Benchmark anticipates that the capacity is unlikely to come online in the medium term.",{"type":591,"attrs":115294,"content":115295},{"textAlign":49},[115296],{"text":115297,"type":596},"While major expansions such as Yuneng’s may not materialise in the near term, the plans afoot across the cathode industry show how producers are preparing for a new era of demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":115299,"content":115300},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115301],{"text":115302,"type":596},"What is driving China’s LFP cathode surge?",{"type":591,"attrs":115304,"content":115305},{"textAlign":49},[115306],{"text":115307,"type":596},"LFP’s resurgence, which came to prominence in early 2020, has seen several global announce plans to include LFP cells in their electric vehicle offerings. This has been followed by a further surge in LFP cell production in 2021, which saw installed LFP cells in electric vehicles in China overtake that of NCM for the first time this July.",{"type":591,"attrs":115309,"content":115310},{"textAlign":49},[115311],{"text":115312,"type":596},"While NCM and NCA chemistries are more prevalent in premium EV markets, LFP typically caters for the low-to-middle market EV offerings. However, with market leaders CATL and BYD demonstrating how energy density improvements can be achieved at a battery pack level using LFP cells, the LFP narrative has been strengthened.",{"type":591,"attrs":115314,"content":115315},{"textAlign":49},[115316],{"text":115317,"type":596},"There is also a regional aspect at play here. Demand for LFP cathodes is predominantly coming from China’s domestic cell producers, which tend to have shorter and lower qualification requirements than cells destined for western markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":115319,"content":115320},{"textAlign":49},[115321,115323,115329],{"text":115322,"type":596},"EVs are driving the major demand growth for LFP cathodes, but the technology’s use in other applications, particularly energy storage systems (ESS), is further boosting demand. This began to materialise last year with the massive ",{"text":115324,"type":596,"marks":115325},"buildout of China’s 5G infrastructure",[115326],{"type":606,"attrs":115327},{"href":115328,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/5g-technology-to-expand-lithium-ions-battery-empire",{"text":115330,"type":596},", which saw lithium ion energy storage systems installed at base stations across the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":115332,"content":115333},{"textAlign":49},[115334],{"text":115335,"type":596},"From the supply side, a key reason for the surge in LFP announcements is down to raw material availability. LFP players in China have relatively easy access to raw materials, such as iron phosphor, whereas NCM or NCA cathode makers face a more challenging raw material environment, with nickel and cobalt supply chains the most obvious.",{"type":591,"attrs":115337,"content":115338},{"textAlign":49},[115339],{"text":115340,"type":596},"But it iss worth noting that the narrative in China switches quickly. It was only three years ago that the market was signalling that the major developments would be for NCM 811, but today we see entire swathes of the industry focused on LFP chemistries. Regardless of chemistry, the scale of recent cathode expansions is unprecedented and demonstrates a new phase in the buildout of the electric vehicle supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":115342,"content":115343},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115344],{"text":115345,"type":596},"What next for China’s cathode industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":115347,"content":115348},{"textAlign":49},[115349],{"text":115350,"type":596},"This year there have been extraordinary expansions in the cathode market, particularly for LFP cathodes. This has seen the cathode capacity pipeline — existing, under construction and planned capacity — increase by 49% between December 2020 and July 2020 as shown by Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":115352,"content":115353},{"textAlign":49},[115354],{"text":115355,"type":596},"For those producers that successfully deliver large scale capacity plans there will be significant cost production advantages. This is likely to lead to consolidation in the cathode sector as some small-to-medium producers become uncompetitive. This has already begun to play out in the battery industry with the rise of giga-scale facilities driving down costs for the largest producers and leading to consolidation of smaller battery companies unable to compete.",{"type":591,"attrs":115357,"content":115358},{"textAlign":49},[115359],{"text":115360,"type":596},"LFP expansions have been made on the back of improved market demand fundamentals but there are several near-term headwinds which could slow growth. The global semiconductor shortage is already beginning to affect LCO cathode demand, which is primarily destined for portables markets, and this is likely to extend to LFP cathodes if EV production is materially impacted.",{"type":591,"attrs":115362,"content":115363},{"textAlign":49},[115364],{"text":115365,"type":596},"Despite these potential headwinds, LFP cathode producers’ large scale capacity expansions are supported by the market’s growth prospects, with Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database forecasting a 22.27% compound annual growth rate for LFP cell demand between 2021 and 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":115367,"content":115368},{"textAlign":49},[115369],{"text":115370,"type":596},"While the expansion story has been focused on LFP this year, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database forecasts that EV demand for NCM cathodes demand will be five times greater than for LFP in 2030. With these growth prospects, the industry can expect even more unprecedented capacity expansions in other segments of the cathode supply chain.","Following a series of major expansion announcements in 2021, China’s cathode industry has moved closer to having its first producer with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum (tpa). With battery cell producers worldwide undertaking huge expansion plans and battery capacity in the pipeline for 2030 reaching 4,100.1 GWh in Benchmark’s August Lithium ion […]",[115373],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115374},{"job_title":557,"image":115375,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0641fe2f-9a5a-4c12-9f51-2155c3409ba7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115378,115379],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110687,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115381,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 26, 2021",{"id":115384,"uuid":115385,"name":115386,"slug":115387,"full_slug":115388,"content":115389},112473294970713,"b4a86043-afff-448e-893b-e9d7171b623f","Benchmark in-person events 2021 update","benchmark-in-person-events-2021-update","article/benchmark-in-person-events-2021-update",{"_uid":115390,"date":115391,"tags":115392,"editor":115394,"content":115398,"excerpt":115494,"featured":50,"reporter":115495,"_editable":115499,"component":697,"seo_title":115386,"categories":115500,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115501,"seo_description":115494,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115504},"621a8d6c-1fb0-48bf-a57a-dbd589c6ea37","2021-08-20 00:00",[115393],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[115395],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115396},{"job_title":557,"image":115397,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115399},[115400,115405,115410,115415,115436,115441,115446,115451,115456,115461,115466,115471,115483],{"type":591,"attrs":115401,"content":115402},{"textAlign":49},[115403],{"text":115404,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will not be hosting any in person events in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":115406,"content":115407},{"textAlign":49},[115408],{"text":115409,"type":596},"The following in-person events  will now take place free and online:",{"type":591,"attrs":115411,"content":115412},{"textAlign":49},[115413],{"text":115414,"type":596},"We will also continue to host subject-specific online webinars which have been so brilliantly received around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":115416,"content":115417},{"textAlign":49},[115418,115420,115426,115428,115434],{"text":115419,"type":596},"Make sure to visit our ",{"text":115421,"type":596,"marks":115422},"Webinar Portal",[115423],{"type":606,"attrs":115424},{"href":115425,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/webinars/",{"text":115427,"type":596}," and subscribe to the ",{"text":115429,"type":596,"marks":115430},"Benchmark Newsletter",[115431],{"type":606,"attrs":115432},{"href":115433,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://com.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4bff972445c3d36015be2ef8e&id=f9d4e750cf",{"text":115435,"type":596}," to keep posted on our upcoming events.",{"type":615,"attrs":115437,"content":115438},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115439],{"text":115440,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":115442,"content":115443},{"textAlign":49},[115444],{"text":115445,"type":596},"“Due to the continuing global pandemic, it would be irresponsible of us to host in-person events where we could not guarantee the full safety of our delegates nor the diversity that our international audience brings.",{"type":591,"attrs":115447,"content":115448},{"textAlign":49},[115449],{"text":115450,"type":596},"“There continues to be a global disparity and unpredictability of vaccination rates, travel restrictions, and new Covid variants.",{"type":591,"attrs":115452,"content":115453},{"textAlign":49},[115454],{"text":115455,"type":596},"“Yet we do not want any of the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle supply chain to miss out on our world class platform and the business critical information we share at such events.",{"type":591,"attrs":115457,"content":115458},{"textAlign":49},[115459],{"text":115460,"type":596},"“We are therefore delighted to continue to offer these events free and online for our rapidly growing community as the energy storage revolution gathers pace.",{"type":591,"attrs":115462,"content":115463},{"textAlign":49},[115464],{"text":115465,"type":596},"“We are planning for the return of in-person events in 2022 and have many exciting plans ahead for our global audience.",{"type":591,"attrs":115467,"content":115468},{"textAlign":49},[115469],{"text":115470,"type":596},"“We thank everyone for their unbelievable support and can’t wait to get on the road and meet face to face as quickly and as safely as is possible.”",{"type":591,"attrs":115472,"content":115473},{"textAlign":49},[115474,115476,115481],{"text":115475,"type":596},"Make sure to subscribe to our ",{"text":115477,"type":596,"marks":115478},"newsletter",[115479],{"type":606,"attrs":115480},{"href":115433,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115482,"type":596}," to keep track of all of our online and in-person events.",{"type":591,"attrs":115484,"content":115485},{"textAlign":49},[115486,115488],{"text":115487,"type":596},"For more information on speaker and sponsor opportunities at our upcoming events email Ben Ash, Head of Sales and Sponsorship, at",{"text":115489,"type":596,"marks":115490},"bash@benchmarminerals.com",[115491],{"type":606,"attrs":115492},{"href":115493,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:bash@benchmarminerals.com","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will not be hosting any in person events in 2021. The following in-person events will now take place free and online: Benchmark Week 2021 (Cathodes 2021, Anodes 2021, Sustainability Summit 2021) Benchmark Summit 2021 – Washington DC We will also continue to host subject-specific online webinars which have been so brilliantly received […]",[115496],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115497},{"job_title":557,"image":115498,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"621a8d6c-1fb0-48bf-a57a-dbd589c6ea37\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[],{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115502,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115503,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2a276b6b6b/bm-cathodes-2019.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 20, 2021",{"id":115506,"uuid":115507,"name":115508,"slug":115509,"full_slug":115510,"content":115511},112473299951450,"e03fe61a-d446-45be-b580-f12410f5d15c","Price rises hit peripheral battery components","price-rises-hit-peripheral-battery-components","article/price-rises-hit-peripheral-battery-components",{"_uid":115512,"date":115513,"tags":115514,"editor":115516,"content":115520,"excerpt":115613,"featured":50,"reporter":115614,"_editable":115618,"component":697,"seo_title":115508,"categories":115619,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115621,"seo_description":115613,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115624},"772ee12f-b9b7-48bd-9529-2b8542e17586","2021-08-19 00:00",[115515],{"slug":43503,"name":43504},[115517],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115518},{"job_title":557,"image":115519,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115521},[115522,115527,115532,115537,115542,115547,115552,115557,115583,115588,115593,115598,115603,115608],{"type":591,"attrs":115523,"content":115524},{"textAlign":49},[115525],{"text":115526,"type":596},"Sharp price rises and supply shortages for non-active materials used in lithium ion cells are adding pressure to battery manufacturers already facing a rise in battery raw material prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":115528,"content":115529},{"textAlign":49},[115530],{"text":115531,"type":596},"Prices for binder and separator materials, and solvents, began trending upwards in late-2020 and have since seen sustained higher prices and constrained supply, with expansions limited to smaller Chinese operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":115533,"content":115534},{"textAlign":49},[115535],{"text":115536,"type":596},"The supply of the binder material polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has been particularly constrained and prices have risen dramatically since mid-Q2 2021.  Price rises are a potential issue for cell makers, but a major area of concern is the lack of PVDF currently available to the market, with Benchmark understanding that major suppliers of the chemical had sold out in June 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":115538,"content":115539},{"textAlign":49},[115540],{"text":115541,"type":596},"There are several barriers to commercial PVDF production and expanding supply to meet growing demand is relatively inflexible. In July 2021, Japanese PVDF producer Kureha announced plans to develop a PVDF 10,000 tpa production facility in Changshu, Jiangsu province, China, which would double Kureha’s current capacity of approximately 11,000 tpa. However, this new capacity is not due to enter production until 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":115543,"content":115544},{"textAlign":49},[115545],{"text":115546,"type":596},"A large proportion of the battery supply chain relies on PVDF as it is currently the only binder material qualified at high voltage tolerances for LCO, NCM, NCA and LMO cathode chemistries. However, lower voltage LFP cathodes can use other binder materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":115548,"content":115549},{"textAlign":49},[115550],{"text":115551,"type":596},"There are ongoing efforts to develop alternative chemistries to PVDF. The threat of a changing regulatory environment in Europe, where the European Commission is working towards tightening chemicals regulations, could also drive a shift away from PVDF if substitute materials were to be successfully qualified. But for now, PVDF remains a crucial binder material.",{"type":591,"attrs":115553,"content":115554},{"textAlign":49},[115555],{"text":115556,"type":596},"While price rises and supply constraints in the PVDF market are among the starkest, recent price rises for other components, such as NMP solvent, could add further pressure on manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":115558,"content":115559},{"textAlign":49},[115560,115562,115567,115569,115573,115575,115581],{"text":115561,"type":596},"While cell makers face pricing pressure from these peripheral materials, critical raw material prices have increased considerably since late 2020, with ",{"text":115563,"type":596,"marks":115564},"Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate",[115565],{"type":606,"attrs":115566},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115568,"type":596}," Index up 111.6%, ",{"text":28733,"type":596,"marks":115570},[115571],{"type":606,"attrs":115572},{"href":111506,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115574,"type":596}," (EXW China) up 25.6%, and ",{"text":115576,"type":596,"marks":115577},"cobalt hydroxide",[115578],{"type":606,"attrs":115579},{"href":115580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/#cobalt",{"text":115582,"type":596}," prices up 64.2% year-to-date in July 2021.",{"type":615,"attrs":115584,"content":115585},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115586],{"text":115587,"type":596},"What do non-active material price rises mean for cell costs?",{"type":591,"attrs":115589,"content":115590},{"textAlign":49},[115591],{"text":115592,"type":596},"Most Japanese and Korean cell producers are insulated from recent non-active material price rises by annual or long-term contracts. However, Chinese producers typically prefer purchasing these materials on the spot market where price rises initially develop. Usually, any sustained increase in spot market prices will eventually be seen in cell makers’ long-term contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":115594,"content":115595},{"textAlign":49},[115596],{"text":115597,"type":596},"Traditionally, these price rises would not substantially affect cell cost reductions, but manufacturers now need to pay close attention to the bill of materials which plays a greater role than ever in total production costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":115599,"content":115600},{"textAlign":49},[115601],{"text":115602,"type":596},"Between 2014 and 2020, battery cell prices fell from $290/kWh in 2014 to $110/kWh (large contract automotive). These declines were largely driven by two factors: economies of scale and technological improvements. Due the success of these cost reductions the bill of materials now accounts for a much greater share of total production costs than before.",{"type":591,"attrs":115604,"content":115605},{"textAlign":49},[115606],{"text":115607,"type":596},"Battery makers are therefore more exposed to battery material price volatility, whether for the cathode and anode supply chains or the non-active materials. The main pricing risks are in the cathode and anode, which represent the largest inputs to the bill of materials, but non-active materials still contribute significantly enough to the overall cost of production that any price increases can eat into a cell maker’s or automaker’s margins.",{"type":591,"attrs":115609,"content":115610},{"textAlign":49},[115611],{"text":115612,"type":596},"The bill of materials is now a battery manufacturer’s main obstacle to reducing costs. In this environment, even these peripheral materials represent important marginal gains when looking to continue the downward trend in cell prices.","Sharp price rises and supply shortages for non-active materials used in lithium ion cells are adding pressure to battery manufacturers already facing a rise in battery raw material prices. Prices for binder and separator materials, and solvents, began trending upwards in late-2020 and have since seen sustained higher prices and constrained supply, with expansions limited […]",[115615],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115616},{"job_title":557,"image":115617,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"772ee12f-b9b7-48bd-9529-2b8542e17586\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115620],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115622,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115623,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7cebea2041/bm-battery-cell-being-handled-e1563796545672.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 19, 2021",{"id":115626,"uuid":115627,"name":115628,"slug":115629,"full_slug":115630,"content":115631},112473304846171,"96335bbc-29f5-4492-840c-1b0128416dc3","Tesla highlights tier one battery bottleneck and semiconductor shortage as 4680 cell nears green light","tesla-highlights-tier-one-battery-bottleneck-and-semiconductor-shortage-as-4680-cell-nears-green-light","article/tesla-highlights-tier-one-battery-bottleneck-and-semiconductor-shortage-as-4680-cell-nears-green-light",{"_uid":115632,"date":115633,"tags":115634,"editor":115636,"content":115640,"excerpt":115788,"featured":50,"reporter":115789,"_editable":115793,"component":697,"seo_title":115628,"categories":115794,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115796,"seo_description":115788,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115799},"df208306-2bc8-49a5-b2a2-cc248cee3683","2021-08-13 00:00",[115635],{"slug":43503,"name":43504},[115637],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115638},{"job_title":557,"image":115639,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115641},[115642,115647,115652,115657,115669,115682,115687,115692,115697,115702,115715,115720,115725,115730,115743,115748,115753,115758,115763,115768,115773,115778,115783],{"type":591,"attrs":115643,"content":115644},{"textAlign":49},[115645],{"text":115646,"type":596},"Tesla is feeling the combined effects of an ongoing global semiconductor shortage and a limited supply of tier one lithium battery cells, writing in its Q2 2021 earnings presentation that “due to the limited availability of battery cells and global supply chain challenges, we have shifted the launch of the Semi truck program to 2022.”",{"type":591,"attrs":115648,"content":115649},{"textAlign":49},[115650],{"text":115651,"type":596},"Tesla’s 4680 cells, which are not yet at commercial production levels, are the likely route of the battery bottleneck which is delaying bringing the Semi to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":115653,"content":115654},{"textAlign":49},[115655],{"text":115656,"type":596},"Tesla had originally used 2170 cells in the Semi prototype, but plans to use 4680 cells in production to ensure there remains a sufficient supply of 2170 cells for the Model 3 at Gigafactory 1.",{"type":591,"attrs":115658,"content":115659},{"textAlign":49},[115660,115661,115667],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":115662,"type":596,"marks":115663},"4680 cells are currently under development",[115664],{"type":606,"attrs":115665},{"href":115666,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/teslas-quest-for-battery-cell-superiority-continues",{"text":115668,"type":596}," at the company’s 10 GWh pilot plant but are edging closer to commercial production as the company recently set out in its Q2 earnings call. Drew Baglino – SVP, Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla said, “we have successfully validated performance and lifetime of our 4680 cells produced at our Kato facility in California. We are nearing the end of manufacturing validation…our focus is now on improving the 10% of manufacturing processes that currently bottleneck production output.”",{"type":591,"attrs":115670,"content":115671},{"textAlign":49},[115672,115674,115680],{"text":115673,"type":596},"While constrained 4680 battery cell supply is delaying bringing the Semi to market, Tesla explained that for the remainder of 2021 the ",{"text":115675,"type":596,"marks":115676},"global semiconductor shortage",[115677],{"type":606,"attrs":115678},{"href":115679,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/does-the-global-chip-shortage-threaten-the-ev-production-ramp-up",{"text":115681,"type":596}," will be the core factor limiting the company’s overall production numbers.",{"type":615,"attrs":115683,"content":115684},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115685],{"text":115686,"type":596},"Tier one cell shortage risks",{"type":591,"attrs":115688,"content":115689},{"textAlign":49},[115690],{"text":115691,"type":596},"While Tesla’s battery cell supply constraints are only affecting the production of the Tesla Semi, the issue illustrates how a failure to source suitable lithium ion cells can upend an automaker’s production plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":115693,"content":115694},{"textAlign":49},[115695],{"text":115696,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment is tracking 4,100 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030, yet only 39% of this capacity is held by tier 1 battery cell producers capable of meeting the qualification standards set by Tesla and other global electric vehicle (EV) makers.",{"type":591,"attrs":115698,"content":115699},{"textAlign":49},[115700],{"text":115701,"type":596},"As such, while headline numbers show that cell production can meet demand, the reality is that EV producers can only make use of a proportion of the cells produced globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":115703,"content":115704},{"textAlign":49},[115705,115707,115713],{"text":115706,"type":596},"The cell supply risks facing automakers were ",{"text":115708,"type":596,"marks":115709},"highlighted in early 2020",[115710],{"type":606,"attrs":115711},{"href":115712,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-automotive-battery-shortage-is-all-about-quality-not-quantity",{"text":115714,"type":596},", when several European companies, including Daimler, Jaguar Land Rover and Audi, suggested that supply bottlenecks were affecting EV production.",{"type":591,"attrs":115716,"content":115717},{"textAlign":49},[115718],{"text":115719,"type":596},"Outside of these isolated issues, there has not been a widespread cell supply shortage at the scale of the current semiconductor shortage, but as automakers ramp up EV production the risks of small bottlenecks developing into structural deficits are magnified. Based on current developments, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Database is forecasting a battery deficit emerging in the mid-2020s.",{"type":615,"attrs":115721,"content":115722},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115723],{"text":115724,"type":596},"LFP vs nickel cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":115726,"content":115727},{"textAlign":49},[115728],{"text":115729,"type":596},"In Tesla’s earnings call, CEO Elon Musk once again entered the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) vs nickel-based (NCM and NCA) cathode chemistry debate, estimating that the company could move to two-thirds LFP and one-third nickel based in the long-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":115731,"content":115732},{"textAlign":49},[115733,115735,115741],{"text":115734,"type":596},"LFP production today is centred in China, but with ",{"text":115736,"type":596,"marks":115737},"key patents opening up at the end of this year",[115738],{"type":606,"attrs":115739},{"href":115740,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/basf-umicore-patent-agreement-shows-importance-of-ip-in-cathode-industry",{"text":115742,"type":596}," it is increasingly likely that other regions will establish LFP production capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":115744,"content":115745},{"textAlign":49},[115746],{"text":115747,"type":596},"But any global shift to LFP will be a long-term trend as the bulk of battery cell plants in the pipeline outside of China are set to use nickel chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":115749,"content":115750},{"textAlign":49},[115751],{"text":115752,"type":596},"Benchmark’s view is that NCM chemistries will remain the predominant cathode of choice. This is reflected in Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database, which forecasts LFP to hold a market share of 17% in 2025 compared with 73% for NCM/NCA chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":115754,"content":115755},{"textAlign":49},[115756],{"text":115757,"type":596},"The use of LFP or high nickel chemistries ultimately depends on the final application. Within Tesla’s EV offerings, lower-range, lower-cost vehicles, are the most likely candidates to use LFP cathodes whereas for higher range vehicles high nickel cathodes will be more appropriate. In the Chinese market Tesla currently uses LFP cathodes in its standard range Model 3 and is in the early stages of extending this to the Model Y.",{"type":591,"attrs":115759,"content":115760},{"textAlign":49},[115761],{"text":115762,"type":596},"Away from EVs, LFP chemistries are well suited to energy storage applications and Musk suggested that all of Tesla’s stationary storage applications could eventually move to LFP chemistries. The buildout of 5G base station infrastructure in China over the past 18 months is a prime example of the role LFP chemistries can play in the energy storage market.",{"type":615,"attrs":115764,"content":115765},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[115766],{"text":115767,"type":596},"Tesla vs Apple: who uses the most cobalt?",{"type":591,"attrs":115769,"content":115770},{"textAlign":49},[115771],{"text":115772,"type":596},"Musk also drew attention to Apple’s use of cobalt, saying “there’s somehow a misconception that Tesla uses a lot of cobalt, but we actually don’t. Apple uses I think almost 100% cobalt in their batteries in cellphones and laptops….on a weighted average basis, we might use 2% cobalt”",{"type":591,"attrs":115774,"content":115775},{"textAlign":49},[115776],{"text":115777,"type":596},"While the battery cells used by Apple in its portable products will not contain 100% cobalt, it is certainly true that these cells will contain a greater proportion of cobalt than in Tesla’s vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":115779,"content":115780},{"textAlign":49},[115781],{"text":115782,"type":596},"Portables, which includes mobile telephones and laptops, typically use LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) cathodes which contain significantly higher volumes of cobalt than NCM/NCA cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":115784,"content":115785},{"textAlign":49},[115786],{"text":115787,"type":596},"Benchmark data suggests that in 2020 Apple consumed more than double the volume of cobalt than Tesla did, but this dynamic will reverse in coming years as ramping EV production will see Tesla’s cobalt use overtake Apple’s.","Tesla is feeling the combined effects of an ongoing global semiconductor shortage and a limited supply of tier one lithium battery cells, writing in its Q2 2021 earnings presentation that “due to the limited availability of battery cells and global supply chain challenges, we have shifted the launch of the Semi truck program to 2022.” […]",[115790],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115791},{"job_title":557,"image":115792,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"df208306-2bc8-49a5-b2a2-cc248cee3683\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115795],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115797,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115798,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f14066e3d/bm-tesla-coming-soon-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 13, 2021",{"id":115801,"uuid":115802,"name":115803,"slug":115804,"full_slug":115805,"content":115806},112473309622108,"169d0605-c3a3-4df2-8acc-3d4cf4982f87","What does CATL’s sodium ion cell mean for the battery supply chain?","what-does-catls-sodium-ion-cell-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain","article/what-does-catls-sodium-ion-cell-mean-for-the-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":115807,"date":115808,"tags":115809,"editor":115811,"content":115815,"excerpt":115895,"featured":50,"reporter":115896,"_editable":115900,"component":697,"seo_title":115803,"categories":115901,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":115903,"seo_description":115895,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":115906},"94810122-02fc-44a3-b099-1ed5c1c4712b","2021-08-03 00:00",[115810],{"slug":43503,"name":43504},[115812],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115813},{"job_title":557,"image":115814,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115816},[115817,115822,115827,115832,115837,115842,115847,115852,115857,115862,115867,115872,115877,115882,115887],{"type":591,"attrs":115818,"content":115819},{"textAlign":49},[115820],{"text":115821,"type":596},"China’s CATL has introduced its first-generation sodium ion battery technology, alongside its AB battery pack solution, during its online launch event Tech Zone.",{"type":591,"attrs":115823,"content":115824},{"textAlign":49},[115825],{"text":115826,"type":596},"The tier 1 battery producer is hoping the sodium ion cell technology can provide a sustainable alternative to the volatile raw material market that dictates the lithium ion battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":115828,"content":115829},{"textAlign":49},[115830],{"text":115831,"type":596},"According to CATL, the sodium ion battery has a similar working principle to a lithium ion battery but by utilising sodium as opposed to lithium it is a potentially lower cost alternative.",{"type":591,"attrs":115833,"content":115834},{"textAlign":49},[115835],{"text":115836,"type":596},"While specific details of its composition were not made available, CATL will use a “Prussian white” cathode in a layered oxide structure, which the company claimed has a capacity equivalent to lithium ion battery cathode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":115838,"content":115839},{"textAlign":49},[115840],{"text":115841,"type":596},"In addition, the company is developing a new anode material, due to the constricted movement of sodium ions between traditional graphite anode layers, which it described as a hard carbon material with a porous structure. CATL also stated that the company has developed its own electrolyte system suitable for the cathode and anode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":115843,"content":115844},{"textAlign":49},[115845],{"text":115846,"type":596},"According to CATL, its sodium ion battery performs well in low temperatures, is well suited to fast charging, and exhibits strong thermal stability properties. However, due to the large volume of sodium ion, the battery has a higher requirement for structural stability which has historically been tied to increased battery degradation, something CATL claimed to have resolved.",{"type":591,"attrs":115848,"content":115849},{"textAlign":49},[115850],{"text":115851,"type":596},"CATL suggested that while the first generation of sodium ion batteries have reached 160Wh/kg, a similar level to current LFP batteries, they can be expected to exceed 200Wh/kg in future developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":115853,"content":115854},{"textAlign":49},[115855],{"text":115856,"type":596},"The company also presented its AB battery system solution, which integrates sodium ion and lithium ion battery cells together into one battery pack. The goal of this system is to allow the different cells to compensate for each other in varied environmental conditions.",{"type":591,"attrs":115858,"content":115859},{"textAlign":49},[115860],{"text":115861,"type":596},"The company also suggested that the new sodium ion technology can be produced on existing lithium ion production equipment and would slot into existing supply chains rapidly.",{"type":591,"attrs":115863,"content":115864},{"textAlign":49},[115865],{"text":115866,"type":596},"Benchmark’s view",{"type":591,"attrs":115868,"content":115869},{"textAlign":49},[115870],{"text":115871,"type":596},"CATL is seemingly confident that sodium ion batteries have the potential for large scale adoption, particularly due to the low cost advantages but also because of the ability to function in low temperature environments, which LFP cells have traditionally struggled with.",{"type":591,"attrs":115873,"content":115874},{"textAlign":49},[115875],{"text":115876,"type":596},"While the claims made by CATL are promising, the technology appears to still be in the developmental stage and it remains unclear if it will live up to the standards CATL has outlined in its announcements.",{"type":591,"attrs":115878,"content":115879},{"textAlign":49},[115880],{"text":115881,"type":596},"Furthermore, as a new technology, sodium ion cells would need to pass a rigorous qualification process before being deployed to the EV or ESS markets, which in some cases could take several years for commercial deployment.",{"type":591,"attrs":115883,"content":115884},{"textAlign":49},[115885],{"text":115886,"type":596},"Moreover, with the accelerated buildout of lithium ion capacities globally and future commitments made to meet rising EV demand, a shift to a new chemistry would be unlikely to take hold in the short-to-mid-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":115888,"content":115889},{"textAlign":49},[115890,115892,115893],{"text":115891,"type":596},"As such, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":115894,"type":596}," views sodium ion as an early stage, yet tentatively promising technology and something we continue to monitor closely.","China’s CATL has introduced its first-generation sodium ion battery technology, alongside its AB battery pack solution, during its online launch event Tech Zone. The tier 1 battery producer is hoping the sodium ion cell technology can provide a sustainable alternative to the volatile raw material market that dictates the lithium ion battery industry. According to […]",[115897],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115898},{"job_title":557,"image":115899,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"94810122-02fc-44a3-b099-1ed5c1c4712b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[115902],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":115904,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":115905,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/77a812b14d/bm-catl.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 03, 2021",{"id":115908,"uuid":115909,"name":115910,"slug":115911,"full_slug":115912,"content":115913},114849996403647,"09b88937-4d9d-4f1b-a071-7f12211352de","The battery megafactories are mainstream","the-megafactories-are-mainstream","article/the-megafactories-are-mainstream",{"_uid":115914,"date":115915,"tags":115916,"editor":115918,"content":115922,"excerpt":116158,"featured":50,"reporter":116159,"component":697,"seo_title":115910,"categories":116163,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":116166,"seo_description":116158,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":116169},"073be5c5-d351-4535-88a2-c4d5bda16c05","2021-07-27 00:00",[115917],{"slug":26312,"name":26313},[115919],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":115920},{"job_title":557,"image":115921,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":115923},[115924,115929,115939,115950,115955,115965,115977,115982,115987,115992,115997,116002,116007,116012,116017,116022,116027,116032,116037,116042,116047,116052,116057,116062,116067,116078,116083,116088,116093,116100,116105,116110,116121,116126,116131,116136,116141,116146,116151],{"type":591,"attrs":115925,"content":115926},{"textAlign":49},[115927],{"text":115928,"type":596},"It was on the first Benchmark World Tour in Toronto, 2015, that I first mentioned the phrase “battery arms race”.",{"type":591,"attrs":115930,"content":115931},{"textAlign":49},[115932,115934,115938],{"text":115933,"type":596},"It was picked up by top industry journalist, Simon Rees, who cemented those words when writing for Mining Weekly with the article: ",{"text":115935,"type":596,"marks":115936},"Megafactory trend sparks ‘arms race’ in battery sector",[115937],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":115940,"content":115941},{"textAlign":49},[115942,115944,115948],{"text":115943,"type":596},"At the time, Benchmark was tracking seven ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":115945},[115946],{"type":606,"attrs":115947},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":115949,"type":596}," megafactories (or gigafactories), five of which came to fruition and are producing cells for electric vehicles (EVs) today.",{"type":591,"attrs":115951,"content":115952},{"textAlign":49},[115953],{"text":115954,"type":596},"It was a phrase I believed was apt at the time.",{"type":591,"attrs":115956,"content":115957},{"textAlign":49},[115958,115960,115964],{"text":115959,"type":596},"It was in the wake of Tesla’s Gigafactory announcement which had rapidly entered construction, which saw an immediate reaction from battery incumbents of LG Chem and Samsung SDI to expand existing facilities and establish new plants in China – the heartland of the first wave of ",{"text":2193,"type":596,"marks":115961},[115962],{"type":606,"attrs":115963},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":115966,"content":115967},{"textAlign":49},[115968,115970,115975],{"text":115969,"type":596},"To say many mining industry participants were sceptical about Tesla, the ",{"text":115971,"type":596,"marks":115972},"Gigafactory",[115973],{"type":606,"attrs":115974},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":115976,"type":596},", and EVs in general, would be generous. After all, any one plant that would require the equivalent of a new lithium and graphite mine was unheard of.",{"type":591,"attrs":115978,"content":115979},{"textAlign":49},[115980],{"text":115981,"type":596},"Little over two years later, I was invited to give a testimony to the US Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources led by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.",{"type":591,"attrs":115983,"content":115984},{"textAlign":49},[115985],{"text":115986,"type":596},"I explained to the committee that “huge battery plants are now being constructed that are an order of magnitude larger than their predecessors”.",{"type":591,"attrs":115988,"content":115989},{"textAlign":49},[115990],{"text":115991,"type":596},"At this point in time, Benchmark’s megafactory tracker had now risen to 17 super sized battery plants worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":115993,"content":115994},{"textAlign":49},[115995],{"text":115996,"type":596},"While excitement in the industry was growing, the message at US government level beyond the committee was not really landing during what was the first year of President Trump’s Administration.",{"type":591,"attrs":115998,"content":115999},{"textAlign":49},[116000],{"text":116001,"type":596},"This is despite Team Benchmark being consistent with our message: the world is undergoing a mass expansion of lithium ion battery cell production to fuel an energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":116003,"content":116004},{"textAlign":49},[116005],{"text":116006,"type":596},"One year and four months later, Senator Murkowski invited me back to present for a second time to the US Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":116008,"content":116009},{"textAlign":49},[116010],{"text":116011,"type":596},"The megafactory trend had not changed; in fact it had intensified in the short time since my last testimony. We were now at 70 lithium ion battery megafactories worldwide, 53 additional plants than a little over a year before.",{"type":591,"attrs":116013,"content":116014},{"textAlign":49},[116015],{"text":116016,"type":596},"My speech was already written in earnest from the first testimony, it just needed a retune.",{"type":591,"attrs":116018,"content":116019},{"textAlign":49},[116020],{"text":116021,"type":596},"Knowing what to expect this time round in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, helped me focus on not just what to say but how to say it.",{"type":591,"attrs":116023,"content":116024},{"textAlign":49},[116025],{"text":116026,"type":596},"Addressing senators that are juggling numerous hearings on even more expansive subjects every day, and for some that walk in and out of the room mid-hearing, is a challenge.",{"type":591,"attrs":116028,"content":116029},{"textAlign":49},[116030],{"text":116031,"type":596},"So as I took my seat, it was simple… stick to the Benchmark ethos of ‘say what you see’: “We are in the midst of a global battery arms race in which the US is presently a bystander.”",{"type":591,"attrs":116033,"content":116034},{"textAlign":49},[116035],{"text":116036,"type":596},"The message landed, and did so “clearly and directly,” said Senator Murkowski.",{"type":591,"attrs":116038,"content":116039},{"textAlign":49},[116040],{"text":116041,"type":596},"What follows would be the true battery arms race.",{"type":591,"attrs":116043,"content":116044},{"textAlign":49},[116045],{"text":116046,"type":596},"From this testimony to being invited to address the US Senate once again in June 2020, the build out of lithium ion battery cell capacity had entered a new gear. Benchmark was now tracking 142 battery megafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":116048,"content":116049},{"textAlign":49},[116050],{"text":116051,"type":596},"The comparative inactivity in the US versus what was happening in Europe and China was becoming more and more stark. My headline message for this speech was as follows:",{"type":591,"attrs":116053,"content":116054},{"textAlign":49},[116055],{"text":116056,"type":596},"“China is building the equivalent of one battery megafactory a week, the United States one every four months.”",{"type":591,"attrs":116058,"content":116059},{"textAlign":49},[116060],{"text":116061,"type":596},"Back in 2015, I saw the unfolding story as a race for dominance in what will be a mainstream industrial cog of the 21st century – the automotive industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":116063,"content":116064},{"textAlign":49},[116065],{"text":116066,"type":596},"It was clear to me back then that with lithium ion batteries getting better, lower cost and at same time as supply availability increasing, EVs would represent a large proportion of the future auto industry – more than most people expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":116068,"content":116069},{"textAlign":49},[116070,116072,116076],{"text":116071,"type":596},"The probabilities of success were strongly on lithium ion’s side. And coming from a base of almost zero, the opportunities for the early movers both in EV production all the way up the ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":116073},[116074],{"type":606,"attrs":116075},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":116077,"type":596}," to mining companies was clear and present.",{"type":591,"attrs":116079,"content":116080},{"textAlign":49},[116081],{"text":116082,"type":596},"So I envisioned it as a race for dominance in the auto space and, for similar reasons, the energy and utility industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":116084,"content":116085},{"textAlign":49},[116086],{"text":116087,"type":596},"Since 2019, with this trend taking hold and the world becoming more bullish on EVs as a mainstream technology, it was also clear this was a race to shift technology from ICE to EV. This has been bolstered in 2021 with Volkswagen Group’s Herbert Diess and President Joe Biden both playing major roles to push this global battery arms race to yet a new level.",{"type":591,"attrs":116089,"content":116090},{"textAlign":49},[116091],{"text":116092,"type":596},"VW revealed in March that it is going all in on building its own EV ecosystem and with it announcing 6 battery megafactories in Europe in a bid to produce the 240GWh* it will need by the mid-2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":116094,"content":116095},{"textAlign":49},[116096],{"text":116097,"type":596,"marks":116098},"*A reminder that back in 2015 the world’s entire lithium ion battery market was 70GWh.",[116099],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":116101,"content":116102},{"textAlign":49},[116103],{"text":116104,"type":596},"President Biden ensured US political sentiment and will was fully behind domestic EV and battery production with two major actions. The first occurred in February through the signing of Executive Order 14017: a 100 day review focusing on a number of strategic technologies, including lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":116106,"content":116107},{"textAlign":49},[116108],{"text":116109,"type":596},"The second was by stepping into a multi-billion dollar dispute on US soil between South Korea’s two biggest battery makers, LG Chem and SK Innovation, to spark a resolution ensuring a competitive US lithium ion battery industry going forward – something Benchmark advised on.",{"type":591,"attrs":116111,"content":116112},{"textAlign":49},[116113,116115,116119],{"text":116114,"type":596},"Both ",{"text":80252,"type":596,"marks":116116},[116117],{"type":606,"attrs":116118},{"href":29707,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":116120,"type":596}," marked the first time that lithium ion batteries were at the top of the geopolitical agenda in the USA. Both Diess and President Biden are only the second and third people to appear on the cover of the Benchmark Quarterly magazine after Elon Musk.",{"type":591,"attrs":116122,"content":116123},{"textAlign":49},[116124],{"text":116125,"type":596},"Our first ever cover featured Musk in 2015 – “The megafactories are coming” – followed again in 2018 with “The megafactories are here”.",{"type":591,"attrs":116127,"content":116128},{"textAlign":49},[116129],{"text":116130,"type":596},"All three can both take some credit for making these battery megafactories or gigafactories mainstream and building the platform technology to the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":116132,"content":116133},{"textAlign":49},[116134],{"text":116135,"type":596},"Be under no illusions that this is a moment.",{"type":591,"attrs":116137,"content":116138},{"textAlign":49},[116139],{"text":116140,"type":596},"The battery arms race trend was set in motion in 2015, but we can now comfortably say: “the megafactories are mainstream”. The journey has taken Benchmark to the top of world governance including The White House, The Pentagon and The G7.",{"type":591,"attrs":116142,"content":116143},{"textAlign":49},[116144],{"text":116145,"type":596},"The world’s governments are listening. And with this political will adding to industry commitment, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment now reads 225 plants and rising.",{"type":591,"attrs":116147,"content":116148},{"textAlign":49},[116149],{"text":116150,"type":596},"And the USA is no longer a bystander.",{"type":591,"attrs":116152,"content":116153},{"textAlign":49},[116154],{"text":116155,"type":596,"marks":116156},"By Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",[116157],{"type":1006},"It was on the first Benchmark World Tour in Toronto, 2015, that I first mentioned the phrase “battery arms race”. It was picked up by top industry journalist, Simon Rees, who cemented those words when writing for Mining Weekly with the article: Megafactory trend sparks ‘arms race’ in battery sector. At the time, Benchmark was […]",[116160],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116161},{"job_title":557,"image":116162,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[116164,116165],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":116167,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":116168,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/82f38b4681/bm-q2-2021-benchmark-magazine-25.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 27, 2021",{"id":116171,"uuid":116172,"name":116173,"slug":116174,"full_slug":116175,"content":116176},114850004657090,"307cd0f3-1ebe-4047-87a7-1075cb1b0686","Supply disruption leaves MHP nickel refiners high and dry","supply-disruption-leaves-mhp-nickel-refiners-high-and-dry","article/supply-disruption-leaves-mhp-nickel-refiners-high-and-dry",{"_uid":116177,"date":116178,"tags":116179,"editor":116180,"content":116184,"excerpt":116362,"featured":50,"reporter":116363,"_editable":116367,"component":697,"seo_title":116173,"categories":116368,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":116371,"seo_description":116362,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":116373},"12d1ba75-f83b-443e-8e7f-fe2a11983ac4","2021-07-23 00:00",[],[116181],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116182},{"job_title":557,"image":116183,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":116185},[116186,116191,116196,116201,116206,116226,116238,116243,116248,116253,116258,116263,116268,116273,116278,116283,116288,116299,116310,116315,116320,116325,116330,116338,116343,116348,116353],{"type":591,"attrs":116187,"content":116188},{"textAlign":49},[116189],{"text":116190,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery industry has long viewed mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), an intermediate product of nickel laterite ore which is processed via a hydrometallurgical route, as the key source of battery suitable nickel to feed surging demand from electric vehicles (EVs).",{"type":591,"attrs":116192,"content":116193},{"textAlign":49},[116194],{"text":116195,"type":596},"Its prominence as the future of nickel supply for the battery industry was sparked in 2018 when several Chinese companies, including Tsingshan, GEM, CATL and Lygend Mining, confirmed plans to develop a host of new high pressure acid leach (HPAL) operations in Indonesia, outlining significantly lower capital outlays and substantially quicker timelines to production than previous projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":116197,"content":116198},{"textAlign":49},[116199],{"text":116200,"type":596},"Whilst these announcements were met with widespread scepticism within the mining industry, considering HPAL’s long and tarnished history of capex blowouts and failures to reach nameplate capacity, it was hard to completely write off the ingenuity of Chinese company’s on delivering these promises.",{"type":591,"attrs":116202,"content":116203},{"textAlign":49},[116204],{"text":116205,"type":596},"Exemplified by Tsingshan, which had seen considerable success in commercialising nickel pig iron (NPI) for the stainless-steel industry in the mid 2000s, a process route which had long been viewed in the West as uneconomical.",{"type":591,"attrs":116207,"content":116208},{"textAlign":49},[116209,116211,116217,116219,116224],{"text":116210,"type":596},"Since 2018, ",{"text":116212,"type":596,"marks":116213},"a growing number of new HPAL operations have been announced in Indonesia",[116214],{"type":606,"attrs":116215},{"href":116216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-makers-high-nickel-ambitions-rest-on-the-success-of-hpal-as-2020-sees-new-wave-of-projects-approach-production",{"text":116218,"type":596}," to feed mounting demand projections, with ",{"text":116220,"type":596,"marks":116221},"Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast ",[116222],{"type":606,"attrs":116223},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116225,"type":596},"now tracking nine potential projects in the pipeline out to 2030, equivalent to up to 600,000 tonnes of nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":116227,"content":116228},{"textAlign":49},[116229,116231,116236],{"text":116230,"type":596},"Indeed, it is not only Chinese companies that have been trying to secure a piece of the pie. ",{"text":116232,"type":596,"marks":116233},"First Quantum Minerals brought the Ravensthorpe mine in Western Australia",[116234],{"type":606,"attrs":116235},{"href":116216,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116237,"type":596}," – idled in 2017 in response to nickel’s low-price environment – back into operation in May 2020, as the company looked to ride the wave of growing demand from the battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":116239,"content":116240},{"textAlign":49},[116241],{"text":116242,"type":596},"Moreover, Vale announced that as part of plans to offload the Goro mine in New Caledonia it would be streamlining the operations flowsheet towards MHP to target the lithium ion battery industry, making the mine more attractive proposition to potential suitors. This process was successfully completed in H2 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":116244,"content":116245},{"textAlign":49},[116246],{"text":116247,"type":596},"As additional supply entered the market from mid-2020 onwards, MHP payables slipped below historical levels in Q3 2020, averaging at 78%, as new operations moved to undercut pricing to secure greater market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":116249,"content":116250},{"textAlign":49},[116251],{"text":116252,"type":596},"For consumers, the benefits of utilising MHP as opposed to traditional nickel metal were clear: it costs less to convert to nickel sulphate, it has the presence of cobalt as a by-product, and it is set to benefit from a significant growth in supply over the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":116254,"content":116255},{"textAlign":49},[116256],{"text":116257,"type":596},"However, as the battery supply chain geared up to begin receiving greater quantities of MHP in 2021, the short-term supply outlook changed dramatically in a matter of weeks in late 2020.",{"type":615,"attrs":116259,"content":116260},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116261],{"text":116262,"type":596},"Goro closure adds to COVID-19 woes",{"type":591,"attrs":116264,"content":116265},{"textAlign":49},[116266],{"text":116267,"type":596},"The first signs of trouble came in November 2020, as Lygend Resources officially confirmed the much-rumoured news that commissioning of the PT Halmahera Persada HPAL plant in Indonesia would be delayed by a further six months.",{"type":591,"attrs":116269,"content":116270},{"textAlign":49},[116271],{"text":116272,"type":596},"Whilst the delay had long been expected in the market, caused by COVID-19 related disruption and a change in tailings management at the HPAL projects in Indonesia, its confirmation was quickly followed by a forced, unexpected closure of the Goro operation in New Caledonia in December, which was rocked by widespread protests after Vale announced it had reached an agreement to sell its controlling stake in the operation to Prony Resources – a consortium which includes Trafigura as minority shareholder.",{"type":591,"attrs":116274,"content":116275},{"textAlign":49},[116276],{"text":116277,"type":596},"The sale has proved to be a political flashpoint in New Caledonia, with pro-independence groups -backing a rival takeover bid – expressing aggrievances over the tender process, which spilled over into violence in the aftermath of the announcement.",{"type":591,"attrs":116279,"content":116280},{"textAlign":49},[116281],{"text":116282,"type":596},"Supply disruption came as nickel demand from the battery industry began to skyrocket in response to surging EV sales globally, leaving consumers scrambling for alternative feed to fulfil their contractual obligations.",{"type":591,"attrs":116284,"content":116285},{"textAlign":49},[116286],{"text":116287,"type":596},"Several refiners in China reported being forced to scale back nickel sulphate production in response to a lack of available feed, creating a further drag on the avalaibility of nickel sulphate supply domestically.",{"type":591,"attrs":116289,"content":116290},{"textAlign":49},[116291,116293,116297],{"text":116292,"type":596},"With neither operation able to bring substantial volumes to market during the first half of 2021, the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":116294},[116295],{"type":606,"attrs":116296},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116298,"type":596}," assessed MHP payables (the percentage payable for the nickel content of MHP to the prevailing LME nickel metal price on a metric tonne basis) as rising substantially on supply tightness.",{"type":591,"attrs":116300,"content":116301},{"textAlign":49},[116302,116304,116308],{"text":116303,"type":596},"Over the first half of 2021 MHP payable were assessed as averaging close to 88%, an increase of 11% on the latter half of 2020. More specifically the most recent June issue of the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":116305},[116306],{"type":606,"attrs":116307},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116309,"type":596}," saw prices average 90% for the month.",{"type":615,"attrs":116311,"content":116312},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116313],{"text":116314,"type":596},"Tightness set to persist despite new supply ",{"type":591,"attrs":116316,"content":116317},{"textAlign":49},[116318],{"text":116319,"type":596},"Despite confirmation in June that Lygend Resources started shipping MHP to China from its newly commissioned plant in Indonesia, and reports that Prony Resources have now restarted production at Goro in New Caledonia, it appears doubtful that supply tightness will be abated in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":116321,"content":116322},{"textAlign":49},[116323],{"text":116324,"type":596},"As China’s battery cell production reached a record 15.2 GWh in June, surging demand from the lithium ion battery has helped fuel a dramatic increase in nickel metal imports into China in recent months, with new MHP volumes unlikely to be able to offset this demand step change.",{"type":591,"attrs":116326,"content":116327},{"textAlign":49},[116328],{"text":116329,"type":596},"Further to this, the next wave of Indonesian HPAL plants in Indonesia, PT QMB New Materials (majority owned by GEM) and Huayue Nickel & Cobalt (joint venture between Huayou Cobalt and Tsinghshan), are not expected to begin commissioning before 2022 at the earliest.",{"type":591,"attrs":116331,"content":116332},{"textAlign":49},[116333,116335,116336],{"text":116334,"type":596},"Indeed, as new MHP supply has flowed into Chinese ports in recent weeks, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":116337,"type":596}," has heard reports that suppliers have pressed consumers for payables close to 100% on spot transactions, indicating a robust sellers’ market.",{"type":591,"attrs":116339,"content":116340},{"textAlign":49},[116341],{"text":116342,"type":596},"Although these payables are unlikely to be achieved due to strong consumer reluctance to accept such pricing terms, current dynamics indicate that that MHP prices are set to undergo further upward pressure throughout the remainder of 2021.",{"type":615,"attrs":116344,"content":116345},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116346],{"text":116347,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment",{"type":591,"attrs":116349,"content":116350},{"textAlign":49},[116351],{"text":116352,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Nickel Price assessment for full access to Benchmark’s MHP payables and nickel sulphate price data.",{"type":591,"attrs":116354,"content":116355},{"textAlign":49},[116356,116357,116361],{"text":111494,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":116358},[116359],{"type":606,"attrs":116360},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115071,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery industry has long viewed mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), an intermediate product of nickel laterite ore which is processed via a hydrometallurgical route, as the key source of battery suitable nickel to feed surging demand from electric vehicles (EVs). Its prominence as the future of nickel supply for the battery industry was […]",[116364],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116365},{"job_title":557,"image":116366,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"12d1ba75-f83b-443e-8e7f-fe2a11983ac4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[116369,116370],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":105745,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":116372,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 23, 2021",{"id":116375,"uuid":116376,"name":116377,"slug":116378,"full_slug":116379,"content":116380},114850012861379,"ad85e5e6-40dd-4802-a5b6-cc1e330fb2bc","Tesla & BHP strike major deal in race for ‘sustainable nickel’","tesla-bhp-strike-major-deal-in-race-for-sustainable-nickel-2","article/tesla-bhp-strike-major-deal-in-race-for-sustainable-nickel-2",{"_uid":116381,"date":116382,"tags":116383,"editor":116384,"content":116388,"excerpt":116747,"featured":50,"reporter":116748,"_editable":116752,"component":697,"seo_title":116377,"categories":116753,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"featured_image":116755,"seo_description":116758,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":116759},"7e9f8234-df62-455a-9f8f-89adc25b0049","2021-07-22 00:00",[],[116385],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116386},{"job_title":557,"image":116387,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":116389},[116390,116395,116400,116405,116410,116415,116420,116425,116430,116433,116442,116447,116452,116457,116468,116473,116476,116484,116487,116492,116497,116502,116507,116512,116517,116522,116527,116532,116537,116542,116554,116562,116567,116572,116577,116582,116587,116592,116597,116602,116607,116612,116617,116622,116627,116632,116637,116642,116647,116652,116657,116662,116667,116672,116677,116682,116687,116692,116697,116702,116707,116712,116717,116722,116727,116732,116737,116742],{"type":591,"attrs":116391,"content":116392},{"textAlign":49},[116393],{"text":116394,"type":596},"BHP Billiton has agreed a long-term supply contract for class 1 nickel with one of the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage producers, Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":116396,"content":116397},{"textAlign":49},[116398],{"text":116399,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates that the contract is worth up to 18,000 tonnes of nickel per year starting in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":116401,"content":116402},{"textAlign":49},[116403],{"text":116404,"type":596},"It adds to two more nickel supply deals that Tesla has likely secured to lock up its expected demand from 2022 onwards with Prony Resources and Vale.",{"type":591,"attrs":116406,"content":116407},{"textAlign":49},[116408],{"text":116409,"type":596},"Tesla has acted early to secure significant volumes of nickel to fuel its lithium ion demand with cell partner LG Energy solution (LGES) for vehicles produced in China in the near term and its own upcoming lithium ion battery cell production in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":116411,"content":116412},{"textAlign":49},[116413],{"text":116414,"type":596},"Benchmark estimates that as of 2022 onwards 50% of Tesla’s lithium ion battery chemistry will be high nickel cathode (NCM and NCA). The other half will be LFP based chemistry, primarily focused around cell and vehicle production in China with cell partner Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).",{"type":591,"attrs":116416,"content":116417},{"textAlign":49},[116418],{"text":116419,"type":596},"The disconnect between supply of suitable key battery raw materials and demand is growing ever greater Benchmark forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":116421,"content":116422},{"textAlign":49},[116423],{"text":116424,"type":596},"To date the battery demand on the nickel supply chain has been limited compared to the total market size, with demand set to reach 184,000 tonnes in 2021 versus a total market demand of 2.4m tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":116426,"content":116427},{"textAlign":49},[116428],{"text":116429,"type":596},"But this relationship is set to change with Benchmark forecasting that nickel demand from the battery sector will surge to 1.7m tonnes by the end of the decade, with the battery supply chain representing 35% of total demand, up from a little over 5% today.",{"type":591,"attrs":116431,"content":116432},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":116434,"content":116435},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[116436],{"text":116437,"type":596,"marks":116438},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast",[116439,116441],{"type":606,"attrs":116440},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":116443,"content":116444},{"textAlign":49},[116445],{"text":116446,"type":596},"Whilst the nickel market appears to remain balanced through to the mid-2020s, only a limited amount of this supply can be accepted by the battery industry, based on the form it is mined and produced, but also environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns associated with its production.",{"type":591,"attrs":116448,"content":116449},{"textAlign":49},[116450],{"text":116451,"type":596},"These concerns have seen fears grow about long-term security of nickel supply increase amongst automakers, initiating a scramble to lock up suitable supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":116453,"content":116454},{"textAlign":49},[116455],{"text":116456,"type":596},"These sourcing concerns are only heightened as the battery industry’s demand for nickel ramps with Benchmark nickel sulphate prices having spent the best part of 2021 increasing.",{"type":591,"attrs":116458,"content":116459},{"textAlign":49},[116460,116462,116466],{"text":116461,"type":596},"Prices have risen from RMB 29,250/tonne ($4,450) as of the December 2020 issue of the ",{"text":21100,"type":596,"marks":116463},[116464],{"type":606,"attrs":116465},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116467,"type":596}," to RMB 34,000/tonne ($5,270) on an EXW China basis in the latest June Assessment, an increase of 16.2%.",{"type":591,"attrs":116469,"content":116470},{"textAlign":49},[116471],{"text":116472,"type":596},"Not only have nickel sulphate prices increased, but payables for nickel contained in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), the preferred feedstock of the battery industry, have also risen to an average of 91% in Benchmark’s June 2021 Assessment up from 84% in December 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":116474,"content":116475},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":116477,"content":116478},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[116479],{"text":116347,"type":596,"marks":116480},[116481,116483],{"type":606,"attrs":116482},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":116485,"content":116486},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":116488,"content":116489},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116490],{"text":116491,"type":596},"Enough nickel for 1.25m Tesla Model 3s annually ",{"type":591,"attrs":116493,"content":116494},{"textAlign":49},[116495],{"text":116496,"type":596},"The BHP deal, which is the first public deal of its kind for a major western automaker, will see volumes of coarse metal powder and/or sulphate delivered to Tesla’s supply chain partners from BHP’s Nickel West operations in Australia, although the announcement did not reveal specific volumes.",{"type":591,"attrs":116498,"content":116499},{"textAlign":49},[116500],{"text":116501,"type":596},"Whilst the announcement marks a significant milestone for the nickel market, Benchmark believes that the supply contract with BHP makes up the last of three rapid succession deals made by the automaker in 2021, potentially securing enough nickel to produce cells for up to 1.25 million standard range Model 3s annually.",{"type":591,"attrs":116503,"content":116504},{"textAlign":49},[116505],{"text":116506,"type":596},"The Nickel West operation, which BHP had previously intended to offload, has become the leading asset of its energy transition assault as the company has looked to ride the wave of growing demand from the battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":116508,"content":116509},{"textAlign":49},[116510],{"text":116511,"type":596},"Nickel West, which produces 90,000 tonnes of nickel annually, has long been a focal point of future battery ready nickel supply for the industry after BHP began work on converting its Kwinana refinery away from nickel briquette and powder to battery-focused nickel sulphate in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":116513,"content":116514},{"textAlign":49},[116515],{"text":116516,"type":596},"Since then, BHP has acquired several nickel sulphide deposits in close proximity to the Nickel West plant in Western Australia to enhance its access to suitable feed for the operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":116518,"content":116519},{"textAlign":49},[116520],{"text":116521,"type":596},"However, with commercial production initially pencilled in for 2019, development work at the Kwinana refinery has been slow to proceed, as the operation has suffered numerous delays after being plagued with rumours of technical and quality issues.",{"type":591,"attrs":116523,"content":116524},{"textAlign":49},[116525],{"text":116526,"type":596},"BHP’s most recent announcements suggest that commercial production of nickel sulphate is due to begin in the second half of 2021. Previously the company had outlined a planned capacity of 100,00tpa of sulphate, equivalent to 22,000 tonnes of nickel content or about 25% of Nickel West’s total capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":116528,"content":116529},{"textAlign":49},[116530],{"text":116531,"type":596},"This suggests that Tesla may receive roughly 75% of the material as nickel metal powder with the balance as sulphate, although the operation could provide 100% metal should this have been agreed by both counterparties.",{"type":615,"attrs":116533,"content":116534},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116535],{"text":116536,"type":596},"Tesla secures sustainable nickel in suitable form ",{"type":591,"attrs":116538,"content":116539},{"textAlign":49},[116540],{"text":116541,"type":596},"For Tesla, the deal makes a lot of sense, as it provides the company with a secure supply of sustainable nickel, primarily in a form that is well suited to dissolution and conversion to nickel sulphate, whilst largely avoiding the additional transport costs associated with sulphate, which contains about one fifth the nickel content of the metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":116543,"content":116544},{"textAlign":49},[116545,116547,116552],{"text":116546,"type":596},"Tesla’s nickel ",{"text":116548,"type":596,"marks":116549},"concerns have been well documented as far back as July 2020",[116550],{"type":606,"attrs":116551},{"href":112922,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116553,"type":596},", when CEO Elon Musk famously stated “Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way” during an earnings call.",{"type":591,"attrs":116555,"content":116556},{"textAlign":49},[116557,116559,116560],{"text":116558,"type":596},"Concerns over the availability of nickel for the battery industry are well founded, with ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":116561,"type":596},"forecasting demand for the mineral to increase from 184,000 tonnes in 2021 to in excess of 1.7m tonnes by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":116563,"content":116564},{"textAlign":49},[116565],{"text":116566,"type":596},"To put this into context, the entire global market for nickel in 2020 reached 2.4m tonnes, so the challenge of scaling suitable battery ready supply is evident, particularly once you factor in competing demand from the growing stainless-steel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":116568,"content":116569},{"textAlign":49},[116570],{"text":116571,"type":596},"Concerns over tight nickel supply were seemingly eased in March 2021, when Tsingshan, the worlds’ largest nickel producer, announced it would supply nickel matte derived from nickel pig iron (NPI) produced in Indonesia to Huayou and CNGR.",{"type":591,"attrs":116573,"content":116574},{"textAlign":49},[116575],{"text":116576,"type":596},"Whilst NPI is not new to the global nickel supply chain, converting it to high grade matte marked a new route to the production of battery grade nickel sulphate, and with easily scalable volumes of NPI available – Tsingshan alone outlined plans to increase production capacity from 600,000 tonnes in 2021 to 1.1m by 2023 largely from NPI – supply concerns temporarily abated.",{"type":591,"attrs":116578,"content":116579},{"textAlign":49},[116580],{"text":116581,"type":596},"However, many have since questioned whether this as a plausible supply source due to the energy intensive nature of the NPI to sulphate conversion route, with consensus so far that the material will not meet ESG and LCA emissions requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":116583,"content":116584},{"textAlign":49},[116585],{"text":116586,"type":596},"The other emerging supply option for Musk was mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from high pressure acid leach (HPAL) operations, with a number of new projects expected to enter production in the coming years, largely located in Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":116588,"content":116589},{"textAlign":49},[116590],{"text":116591,"type":596},"MHP is an intermediate product of nickel laterite ore processed via a hydrometallurgical route, typically containing >35% nickel, and has grown to be the nickel feedstock of choice for the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":116593,"content":116594},{"textAlign":49},[116595],{"text":116596,"type":596},"Indonesian MHP, whilst being more favourable on an emission standpoint than nickel matte, is not without its controversy.",{"type":591,"attrs":116598,"content":116599},{"textAlign":49},[116600],{"text":116601,"type":596},"Originally the slew of Indonesian HPAL nickel operations in the pipeline had planned to utilise deep-sea tailings, the process of disposing of mine spoil in the ocean, but this is thought to be harmful for the environment, compiled with little understanding of the long-term impacts of such a practice on the deep sea environment. Following widespread concern, the Indonesian Government announced they would not issue the permits needed for deep-sea tailings.",{"type":591,"attrs":116603,"content":116604},{"textAlign":49},[116605],{"text":116606,"type":596},"As such, new operations would need to use either a tailings dam, which poses substantial, although better understood risks in a region susceptible to seismic activity, or a process known as dry-stack tailings, a way of backfilling the mine, albeit at higher cost which can also require the clearing of primary rainforest.",{"type":591,"attrs":116608,"content":116609},{"textAlign":49},[116610],{"text":116611,"type":596},"Whilst the intention may be to move these operations to dry stack tailings, it remains unclear whether this will be a reality for those operations already in construction and fundamentally hard for the auto supply chain to commit to a long-term supply agreement without proof tailings management would align with the ESG requirements of the downstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":116613,"content":116614},{"textAlign":49},[116615],{"text":116616,"type":596},"To further complicate the issue, dry stack tailings can add significant cost to operations, with estimates running into hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars depending on size. Whilst this is a necessary step, it will further push up the incentive price (the price required to incentivise the investment in new supply) for these Indonesian HPAL projects which risks delaying new supply coming to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":116618,"content":116619},{"textAlign":49},[116620],{"text":116621,"type":596},"Further to mine level management, ESG concerns have also stemmed from the fact that Indonesia’s energy mix is set to remain reliant on thermal coal and that the construction of new mines or renewable power in the region often involves clearing of primary rainforest.",{"type":591,"attrs":116623,"content":116624},{"textAlign":49},[116625],{"text":116626,"type":596},"Due to the issues outlined above, downstream consumers and the auto supply chain have had long running concerns over where to source sustainable nickel, in a suitable form for conversion to nickel chemicals needed for lithium ion batteries.",{"type":615,"attrs":116628,"content":116629},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116630],{"text":116631,"type":596},"Tesla’s nickel assault",{"type":591,"attrs":116633,"content":116634},{"textAlign":49},[116635],{"text":116636,"type":596},"Until this latest public deal with BHP, by joining the dots it appears Tesla has worked quietly behind the scenes to mitigate these issues through a number of unannounced deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":116638,"content":116639},{"textAlign":49},[116640],{"text":116641,"type":596},"The first deal was quietly revealed as part of a wider announcement of the Prony Resources consortium takeover of Vale’s New Caledonian operation, Goro in March 2021, in which Tesla joined the group in a technical advisory role, prioritising sustainable development.",{"type":591,"attrs":116643,"content":116644},{"textAlign":49},[116645],{"text":116646,"type":596},"Whilst not widely picked up on by mainstream media, local reports confirm that as part of the advisory role played by Tesla a long-term supply agreement was reached.",{"type":591,"attrs":116648,"content":116649},{"textAlign":49},[116650],{"text":116651,"type":596},"The mine produces MHP via a HPAL process and utilises dry stack tailings, and whilst the operation was placed on care and maintenance during the process of the sale, it has now been restarted and first production is expected to be exported in July 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":116653,"content":116654},{"textAlign":49},[116655],{"text":116656,"type":596},"The second of Tesla’s potential nickel deals is harder to spot, and has not been publicly confirmed, and so has been drawn from indications by the two companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":116658,"content":116659},{"textAlign":49},[116660],{"text":116661,"type":596},"The first indication was nestled within the Vale Q1 2021 earnings call held in April of that year where Mark Travers, Executive Vice President of Base Metals stated the company “recently signed a significant multi-year contract with an OEM… it represents about 5% of our class 1 nickel”.",{"type":591,"attrs":116663,"content":116664},{"textAlign":49},[116665],{"text":116666,"type":596},"Vale’s class 1 nickel products include metal rounds, pellets and ultra-fine powder, with the powder being the most suitable form for use in the battery supply chain due to the slower dissolution rates of pellets and rounds.",{"type":591,"attrs":116668,"content":116669},{"textAlign":49},[116670],{"text":116671,"type":596},"Whilst the ultra-fine powder can be used by the battery supply chain it usually attracts a significant premium meaning it can be too costly to use for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":116673,"content":116674},{"textAlign":49},[116675],{"text":116676,"type":596},"To link this to Tesla, it is necessary to go back to its Battery Day in September 2020 where one of the key milestones the company looked to achieve was a direct metal to cathode process, where in one processing step metal powder could be converted directly to cathode material, cutting out much of the current industry standard multi-step process to reduce costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":116678,"content":116679},{"textAlign":49},[116680],{"text":116681,"type":596},"Vale is the only company to produce ultra-fine nickel metal powder at its Clydach Nickel Refinery in the UK and Copper Cliff Refinery in Ontario, Canada, which is the best suited product for the metal to cathode process outlined by Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":116683,"content":116684},{"textAlign":49},[116685],{"text":116686,"type":596},"With Tesla being one of the few Western automakers directly sourcing battery raw materials, it is the most likely candidate for the supply deal mentioned by Travers.",{"type":615,"attrs":116688,"content":116689},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116690],{"text":116691,"type":596},"Sustainability focus",{"type":591,"attrs":116693,"content":116694},{"textAlign":49},[116695],{"text":116696,"type":596},"As part of the most recent supply deal, BHP announced it will work with Tesla on sustainability “with a focus on end-to-end raw material traceability using blockchain; technical exchange for battery raw materials production; and promotion of the importance of sustainability in the resources sector, including identifying partners who are most aligned with BHP and Tesla Inc.’s principles and battery value chains”.",{"type":591,"attrs":116698,"content":116699},{"textAlign":49},[116700],{"text":116701,"type":596},"Whilst the above criteria are quite far ranging, it highlights the continued significance of sustainability across the supply chain as EV manufacturers look to reduce total life cycle emissions associated with production of EVs, with BHP stating as part of the announcement that Nickel West is “one of the most sustainable and lowest carbon emission nickel producers in the world”.",{"type":615,"attrs":116703,"content":116704},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116705],{"text":116706,"type":596},"Supply chain security",{"type":591,"attrs":116708,"content":116709},{"textAlign":49},[116710],{"text":116711,"type":596},"Between the three nickel deals outlined in this article Benchmark estimates that Tesla could have secured up to 55,000 tonnes of nickel, enough to produce up to 1.25m standard range Model 3 vehicles annually, using high nickel NCM cathode technology, equivalent to 2.5 times the company’s entire production in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":116713,"content":116714},{"textAlign":49},[116715],{"text":116716,"type":596},"Should all of the deals be confirmed they would likely cover a significant proportion of Tesla’s forecasted nickel requirements through to the mid-2020s and beyond.",{"type":591,"attrs":116718,"content":116719},{"textAlign":49},[116720],{"text":116721,"type":596},"The agreements mark another proactive step from the company in securing battery raw materials directly at the mine level, which is viewed by Benchmark as the most robust supply chain strategy for automakers. Prior to the BHP deal Tesla had entered into a number of direct sourcing deals for other minerals including lithium hydroxide supply from China’s Ganfeng Lithium and Livent, and a widely rumoured, but unconfirmed, cobalt supply deal with Glencore.",{"type":591,"attrs":116723,"content":116724},{"textAlign":49},[116725],{"text":116726,"type":596},"Alongside guaranteeing security of supply, the company has targeted credible suppliers with a focus on ESG and sustainability credentials, something which some alternative supply sources may not be able to achieve.",{"type":591,"attrs":116728,"content":116729},{"textAlign":49},[116730],{"text":116731,"type":596},"Furthermore, with political tensions rising between the US and China, the choice of non-Chinese suppliers is probably not a coincidence either, with much of the new Indonesian HPAL operations under Chinese ownership.",{"type":591,"attrs":116733,"content":116734},{"textAlign":49},[116735],{"text":116736,"type":596},"As the amount of suitable nickel supply available to the battery industry dwindles there is a decreasing window of opportunity for other automakers to secure long-term agreements of the nature that Tesla has managed.",{"type":591,"attrs":116738,"content":116739},{"textAlign":49},[116740],{"text":116741,"type":596},"Not only will this leave those slow to act with a smaller volume of material to bid for, but the nickel that is left will likely come from less credible and potentially less sustainable sources, under less favourable contract terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":116743,"content":116744},{"textAlign":49},[116745],{"text":116746,"type":596},"This is nothing new for the battery supply chain, with this already playing out across the cobalt and lithium markets as consumers scramble to secure the remaining units available for long term supply.","BHP Billiton has agreed a long-term supply contract for class 1 nickel with one of the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage producers, Tesla. Benchmark estimates that the contract is worth up to 18,000 tonnes of nickel per year starting in 2022. It adds to two more nickel supply deals that Tesla has […]",[116749],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116750},{"job_title":557,"image":116751,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7e9f8234-df62-455a-9f8f-89adc25b0049\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[116754],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":116756,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":116757,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ebed457193/bm-tesla-shanghai-e1662110109893.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"BHP Billiton has agreed a long-term supply contract for class 1 nickel with one of the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage producers, Tesla. Benchmark estimates that the contract is worth up to 18,000 tonnes of nickel per year ...","Jul 22, 2021",{"id":116761,"uuid":116762,"name":116763,"slug":116764,"full_slug":116765,"content":116766},112473342549856,"09736ce1-de8a-4927-8af0-d844fd691f32","Nissan & Envision AESC to spearhead UK lithium ion economy with 25 GWh battery gigafactory","nissan-envision-aesc-to-spearhead-uk-lithium-ion-economy-with-25-gwh-battery-gigafactory","article/nissan-envision-aesc-to-spearhead-uk-lithium-ion-economy-with-25-gwh-battery-gigafactory",{"_uid":116767,"date":116768,"tags":116769,"editor":116771,"content":116775,"excerpt":116915,"featured":50,"reporter":116916,"_editable":116920,"component":697,"seo_title":116763,"categories":116921,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":116924,"seo_description":116915,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":116927},"c8e927e7-3608-4cf3-94f6-52b416834e90","2021-07-02 00:00",[116770],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[116772],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116773},{"job_title":557,"image":116774,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":116776},[116777,116782,116787,116792,116797,116802,116807,116812,116824,116829,116834,116837,116860,116865,116870,116875,116880,116891,116896,116905],{"type":591,"attrs":116778,"content":116779},{"textAlign":49},[116780],{"text":116781,"type":596},"Nissan and Envision AESC have committed to building an electric vehicle “ecosystem” in Sunderland, UK, with a 25 GWh battery megafactory at the heart of the plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":116783,"content":116784},{"textAlign":49},[116785],{"text":116786,"type":596},"Through an initial investment of £450 million, Envision AESC will build its second UK megafactory in Sunderland, while Nissan is committing £423 million into electric vehicle production in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":116788,"content":116789},{"textAlign":49},[116790],{"text":116791,"type":596},"The first phase will see the development of a 9 GWh capacity battery cell plant, which Benchmark estimates could supply 160,000-170,000 electric vehicles. There is opportunity to expand this to 25 GWh capacity through an additional £1.8 billion investment from Envision AESC, with a current timeframe of 2030 and the potential to increase to 35 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":116793,"content":116794},{"textAlign":49},[116795],{"text":116796,"type":596},"This builds on Nissan’s  experience in developing what was one of the world’s first integrated battery cell manufacturing plants in Sunderland, UK, in 2012. The 1.9 GWh facility was originally developed by Nissan’s battery division AESC before being sold to Envision Group in 2018, forming Envision AESC.",{"type":591,"attrs":116798,"content":116799},{"textAlign":49},[116800],{"text":116801,"type":596},"The facility initially produced battery packs for the Nissan LEAF, which were much smaller than those used in today’s electric vehicles. Since then, pure electric vehicles battery cell requirements have grown with larger packs requiring a greater quantity of cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":116803,"content":116804},{"textAlign":49},[116805],{"text":116806,"type":596},"“This is a major step forward for the UK, marking the beginning of the country’s lithium ion economy” explained Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":116808,"content":116809},{"textAlign":49},[116810],{"text":116811,"type":596},"“The lithium ion battery is a core platform technology of the 21st, enabling billions of pounds worth of downstream revenue and potential for hundreds of thousands of jobs through electric vehicles and energy storage industries”",{"type":591,"attrs":116813,"content":116814},{"textAlign":49},[116815,116816,116822],{"text":2936,"type":596},{"text":116817,"type":596,"marks":116818},"The UK will need to build 175GWh of battery cell capacity that is ramped and ready by 2035 at a cost of £15bn",[116819],{"type":606,"attrs":116820},{"href":116821,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-calls-last-orders-on-combustion-engine-but-needs-to-spend-20bn-on-four-ev-battery-gigafactories-by-2027-benchmark-comment",{"text":116823,"type":596},". But the real key to success is building the supply chain, from mine to battery cell, and the ecosystem to support long term growth,” Moores added.",{"type":615,"attrs":116825,"content":116826},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116827],{"text":116828,"type":596},"Building the UK’s lithium ion economy ",{"type":591,"attrs":116830,"content":116831},{"textAlign":49},[116832],{"text":116833,"type":596},"During this June’s G7 Summit, Benchmark presented on what the UK needs to do to build a lithium ion economy, outlining its battery cell and raw material needs. Watch Benchmark’s presentation here:",{"type":591,"attrs":116835,"content":116836},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":116838,"content":116839},{"textAlign":49},[116840,116844,116850,116854],{"text":116841,"type":596,"marks":116842},"This video is taken from Benchmark Video Streaming, available to all ",[116843],{"type":1006},{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":116845},[116846,116849],{"type":606,"attrs":116847},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/membership-subscription",{"type":1006},{"text":116851,"type":596,"marks":116852}," subscribers. Not a ",[116853],{"type":1006},{"text":116855,"type":596,"marks":116856},"Benchmark Member? Learn more here.",[116857,116859],{"type":606,"attrs":116858},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":116861,"content":116862},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116863],{"text":116864,"type":596},"The UK and the rise of the battery megafactories",{"type":591,"attrs":116866,"content":116867},{"textAlign":49},[116868],{"text":116869,"type":596},"While the UK had its first integrated cell-to-EV plant back in 2012, the country has since then fallen behind the world’s leading economies in battery capacity buildout. Looking out to 2030, the country holds less than 1% of global battery capacity in the pipeline according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":116871,"content":116872},{"textAlign":49},[116873],{"text":116874,"type":596},"This is spread across two megafactories, Envision AESC’s existing 1.9 GWh megafactory cell plant in Sunderland, which is the UK’s only operational megafactory and Britishvolt’s 30 GWh plant which remains at a development stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":116876,"content":116877},{"textAlign":49},[116878],{"text":116879,"type":596},"The new Nissan and Envision AESC megafactory is a major boost to the UK’s fledgling lithium ion economy, almost doubling the country’s battery capacity pipeline to 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":116881,"content":116882},{"textAlign":49},[116883,116885,116890],{"text":116884,"type":596},"While this is a significant step for the UK, ",{"text":116886,"type":596,"marks":116887},"it still needs to build further lithium ion cell production capacity and develop its battery raw material, chemical, cathode, and anode supply to support these advances",[116888],{"type":606,"attrs":116889},{"href":116821,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":116892,"content":116893},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116894],{"text":116895,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark Membership",{"type":591,"attrs":116897,"content":116898},{"textAlign":49},[116899,116903],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":116900},[116901],{"type":606,"attrs":116902},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116904,"type":596}," is your must-have subscription for the electric vehicle and lithium ion battery supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":116906,"content":116907},{"textAlign":49},[116908,116909,116913],{"text":111494,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":116910},[116911],{"type":606,"attrs":116912},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116914,"type":596}," to subscribe or learn more.","Nissan and Envision AESC have committed to building an electric vehicle “ecosystem” in Sunderland, UK, with a 25 GWh battery megafactory at the heart of the plan. Through an initial investment of £450 million, Envision AESC will build its second UK megafactory in Sunderland, while Nissan is committing £423 million into electric vehicle production in […]",[116917],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116918},{"job_title":557,"image":116919,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c8e927e7-3608-4cf3-94f6-52b416834e90\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[116922,116923],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":116925,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":116926,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/122c1dc79e/bm-envision-aesc-uk.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 02, 2021",{"id":116929,"uuid":116930,"name":116931,"slug":116932,"full_slug":116933,"content":116934},112473352204230,"055b2146-526f-40f5-ad22-a3e2bc509f50","Northvolt-Volvo battery plant increases Europe’s pipeline to 23 gigafactories","northvolt-volvo-battery-plant-increases-europes-pipeline-to-23-gigafactories","article/northvolt-volvo-battery-plant-increases-europes-pipeline-to-23-gigafactories",{"_uid":116935,"date":116936,"tags":116937,"editor":116939,"content":116943,"excerpt":117075,"featured":50,"reporter":117076,"_editable":117080,"component":697,"seo_title":116931,"categories":117081,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117084,"seo_description":117075,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117087},"cdb6160a-656a-4717-84e6-86f59e8efd04","2021-06-25 00:00",[116938],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[116940],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":116941},{"job_title":557,"image":116942,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":116944},[116945,116950,116955,116960,116965,116970,116975,116980,116985,116990,116995,117000,117005,117010,117015,117020,117025,117030,117035,117040,117045,117050,117055,117060,117065,117070],{"type":591,"attrs":116946,"content":116947},{"textAlign":49},[116948],{"text":116949,"type":596},"Volvo Car Group and Northvolt have announced a 50/50 joint venture to build a megafactory in Europe, taking the number of megafactories in the pipeline on the continent to 23.",{"type":591,"attrs":116951,"content":116952},{"textAlign":49},[116953],{"text":116954,"type":596},"The partnership will see the two companies establish a megafactory with up to 50 GWh of capacity, aiming to start production in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":116956,"content":116957},{"textAlign":49},[116958],{"text":116959,"type":596},"Volvo also announced that it would source 15 GWh of lithium ion cells from the Northvolt Ett plant which is under development in Skellefteå, Sweden, and due to come online at the end of this year with a planned final capacity of 60 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":116961,"content":116962},{"textAlign":49},[116963],{"text":116964,"type":596},"In the first steps of the JV the two companies will set up a research and development centre in Sweden which is due to begin operating in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":116966,"content":116967},{"textAlign":49},[116968],{"text":116969,"type":596},"Volvo is aiming for pure electric vehicles to account for 50% of sales by 2025 and 100% by the end of the decade, as such it will be heavily reliant on cell supply ramping from both Northvolt Ett and the newly announced megafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":116971,"content":116972},{"textAlign":49},[116973],{"text":116974,"type":596},"Northvolt’s rapid rise to prominence in Europe has seen the company secure billions of dollars in funding – its latest equity raise this month secured $2.75 billion to fund the expansion of Northvolt Ett from 40 GWh to 60 GWh capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":116976,"content":116977},{"textAlign":49},[116978],{"text":116979,"type":596},"The company has also developed close ties with Europe’s automakers, particularly Volkswagen which committed to a $14 billion supply deal with Northvolt in Q1 this year and owns a stake in the company.",{"type":615,"attrs":116981,"content":116982},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[116983],{"text":116984,"type":596},"Volvo’s Chinese connection",{"type":591,"attrs":116986,"content":116987},{"textAlign":49},[116988],{"text":116989,"type":596},"Volvo is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, which has been building out its lithium ion cell capacity considerably on the Chinese mainland and is one of the country’s leading integrated automakers behind BYD and Great Wall Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":116991,"content":116992},{"textAlign":49},[116993],{"text":116994,"type":596},"Including its joint ventures with CATL, LG Chem, and Farasis, Geely has 88 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030 in China according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":116996,"content":116997},{"textAlign":49},[116998],{"text":116999,"type":596},"However, this capacity is unlikely to be utilised for Volvo’s European operations which will need to operate under the EU’s rules of origin and in a European market with increased focus on life cycle and localisation of the lithium ion supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":117001,"content":117002},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117003],{"text":117004,"type":596},"Europe’s pipeline",{"type":591,"attrs":117006,"content":117007},{"textAlign":49},[117008],{"text":117009,"type":596},"Volvo joins automakers Tesla, Volkswagen, Stellantis (Fiat Chrysler and PSA merger), and Opel with pipeline capacity in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":117011,"content":117012},{"textAlign":49},[117013],{"text":117014,"type":596},"Prior to the Volvo-Northvolt JV announcement, Europe had 22 lithium ion plants with 641.2 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030. By the end of 2021 six of these plants will be operational, including Northvolt Ett which is expected to come online later this year, with European capacity reaching 79.6 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":117016,"content":117017},{"textAlign":49},[117018],{"text":117019,"type":596},"This ramp up in cell capacity will require significant midstream and upstream developments if European end-market manufacturers intend to localise their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":117021,"content":117022},{"textAlign":49},[117023],{"text":117024,"type":596},"While Europe has limited raw material supply, it is beginning to build out this downstream capacity. Europe does not currently have commercial scale cathode production capacity, but Johnson Matthey, BASF, and Umicore are all developing plants which will go some way to change this.",{"type":591,"attrs":117026,"content":117027},{"textAlign":49},[117028],{"text":117029,"type":596},"European OEMs will increasingly look to localise aspects of their supply chains to meet the Rules of Origin set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement established between the EU and UK, which are being phased in between 2021 and 2026, before becoming permanent in 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":117031,"content":117032},{"textAlign":49},[117033],{"text":117034,"type":596},"To qualify for tariff free trade within the EU and UK from 2027, 55% of the value of electric vehicles must be made up of EU or UK parts, for the battery this rises to 65%.",{"type":591,"attrs":117036,"content":117037},{"textAlign":49},[117038],{"text":117039,"type":596},"Further incentive to localise lithium ion supply chains in Europe comes from the European Commission’s updates to existing battery directives, which will place additional scrutiny on the life cycle and carbon footprint of battery cells sold on the continent.",{"type":615,"attrs":117041,"content":117042},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117043],{"text":117044,"type":596},"The battery blueprint",{"type":591,"attrs":117046,"content":117047},{"textAlign":49},[117048],{"text":117049,"type":596},"The Volvo-Northvolt announcement is the latest in a long line of auto-battery alliances which have come to shape the transition to electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":117051,"content":117052},{"textAlign":49},[117053],{"text":117054,"type":596},"This blueprint forged by Tesla and Panasonic with the development of the Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada, has since been followed by the automotive industry’s major players.",{"type":591,"attrs":117056,"content":117057},{"textAlign":49},[117058],{"text":117059,"type":596},"This model of vertical integration has become standard approach for any legacy automaker with electric vehicle ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":117061,"content":117062},{"textAlign":49},[117063],{"text":117064,"type":596},"This blueprint is beginning to evolve and some automakers are moving directly into in-house battery production, without the backing of established battery producers. Tesla announced this step during its 2020 Battery Day and Volkswagen followed suit with Q1 2021’s Power Day.",{"type":591,"attrs":117066,"content":117067},{"textAlign":49},[117068],{"text":117069,"type":596},"From there the move is further upstream. Tesla is already making this move with the development of a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Texas, while Volkswagen has made several public statements on the need to look further upstream to secure raw material supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":117071,"content":117072},{"textAlign":49},[117073],{"text":117074,"type":596},"As downstream cell plans from legacy automakers continue to gather pace, the pressures on battery raw material supply are further magnified.","Volvo Car Group and Northvolt have announced a 50/50 joint venture to build a megafactory in Europe, taking the number of megafactories in the pipeline on the continent to 23. The partnership will see the two companies establish a megafactory with up to 50 GWh of capacity, aiming to start production in 2026. Volvo also […]",[117077],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117078},{"job_title":557,"image":117079,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cdb6160a-656a-4717-84e6-86f59e8efd04\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117082,117083],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117085,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117086,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7678c5da5b/bm-northvolt-volvo-battery.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 25, 2021",{"id":117089,"uuid":117090,"name":117091,"slug":117092,"full_slug":117093,"content":117094},112473347215201,"281ba441-49cc-4d0d-9bce-ee6e51017e5e","Ganfeng Lithium prepares for electric vehicle upsurge with aggressive expansions","ganfeng-lithium-prepares-for-electric-vehicle-upsurge-with-aggressive-expansions","article/ganfeng-lithium-prepares-for-electric-vehicle-upsurge-with-aggressive-expansions",{"_uid":117095,"date":116936,"tags":117096,"editor":117097,"content":117101,"excerpt":117248,"featured":50,"reporter":117249,"_editable":117253,"component":697,"seo_title":117091,"categories":117254,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117257,"seo_description":117248,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117087},"3484633d-f821-4f98-b1e6-aebdbf1edd03",[],[117098],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117099},{"job_title":557,"image":117100,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117102},[117103,117108,117113,117118,117123,117128,117133,117138,117143,117148,117153,117158,117163,117168,117173,117178,117183,117188,117193,117198,117203,117208,117213,117218,117223,117228,117233,117238,117243],{"type":591,"attrs":117104,"content":117105},{"textAlign":49},[117106],{"text":117107,"type":596},"China’s Ganfeng Lithium has announced considerable plans to extend its reach in the lithium supply chain throughout the first half of 2021, remaining one of the most active players in targeting large commitments to build out its production capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":117109,"content":117110},{"textAlign":49},[117111],{"text":117112,"type":596},"Indications of growing investment momentum came in early May, when the lithium major put forward a possible offer to purchase the remaining shares it does not own in UK-listed Bacanora Lithium, in a deal worth up to $264.5m.",{"type":591,"attrs":117114,"content":117115},{"textAlign":49},[117116],{"text":117117,"type":596},"This follows an investment earlier in February when Ganfeng announced it would raise its stake in Bacanora to 28.88%; a final decision on the firm intention to make an offer for the complete acquisition is due by the beginning of July, with Bacanora’s independent directors saying the offer was attractive and that they intended to recommend it once the proposal is formalised by Chinese authorities.",{"type":591,"attrs":117119,"content":117120},{"textAlign":49},[117121],{"text":117122,"type":596},"In June the company announced plans to set up a 50,000 tpa lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) spodumene conversion plant in Fengcheng, Jiangxi province in cooperation with the municipal government, with phase 1 nameplate capacity confirmed by the company as 25,000tpa of hydroxide, with an as yet unspecified second stage plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":117124,"content":117125},{"textAlign":49},[117126],{"text":117127,"type":596},"The company also announced in June it would pay $130m for a 50% stake in Firefinch’s Goulamina Lithium project in Mali. Additionally, Ganfeng is set to arrange debt funding of up to $64 million to develop the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":117129,"content":117130},{"textAlign":49},[117131],{"text":117132,"type":596},"As part of the deal, Ganfeng has agreed to enter into an offtake agreement for 50% of spodumene produced across the life of the mine, with potential to increase to 100% if Ganfeng provides debt funding and ensures the project — which the company’s DFS envisaged producing 64,700 tpa LCE — reaches commercial production within four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":117134,"content":117135},{"textAlign":49},[117136],{"text":117137,"type":596},"Ganfeng also has a five-year offtake agreement with AVZ Minerals for 160ktpy spodumene concentrate from the Manono operation in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":117139,"content":117140},{"textAlign":49},[117141],{"text":117142,"type":596},"In a bold fundraising move, Ganfeng announced in mid-June that it would sell approximately $630m in new shares to support these growing expansion and investment plans.",{"type":615,"attrs":117144,"content":117145},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117146],{"text":117147,"type":596},"Expansions adding to array of existing assets",{"type":591,"attrs":117149,"content":117150},{"textAlign":49},[117151],{"text":117152,"type":596},"These aggressive expansion plans only add to Ganfeng’s already extensive portfolio of assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":117154,"content":117155},{"textAlign":49},[117156],{"text":117157,"type":596},"The company currently owns 50% of the Mt Marion spodumene mine in Western Australia, which Benchmark forecasts will produce approximately 45,000 tonnes LCE in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":117159,"content":117160},{"textAlign":49},[117161],{"text":117162,"type":596},"Additionally, Ganfeng holds a 51% stake in its joint venture with Lithium Americas. This includes the Argentinian Cauchari-Olaroz lithium carbonate plant, which Benchmark expects to begin production in 2022 and ramp to a nameplate capacity of 40,000tpa. The Chinese major also owns 87.209% of the Mariana brine project in Salta province, Argentina as a partner in a joint venture, Litio Minera Argentina, with International Lithium, which has a estimated recovery of 3.8Mt LCE according to the latest technical report from International Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":117164,"content":117165},{"textAlign":49},[117166],{"text":117167,"type":596},"In another announcement in June, Ganfeng said it would invest $580m in a solar-powered lithium extraction plant in Salar de Llullaillaco, where the Mariana brine project is based, with construction beginning this year, as well as a lithium carbonate production facility in nearby Guemes industrial park with a nameplate capacity of 20,000tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":117169,"content":117170},{"textAlign":49},[117171],{"text":117172,"type":596},"Also in Argentina, the company exercised its project participation right in Sal de la Puna brine project in June, meaning Ganfeng will acquire 35% of the operation by funding some of the acquisition costs for developer Arena Minerals, who is set to purchase the asset from Centaur Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":117174,"content":117175},{"textAlign":49},[117176],{"text":117177,"type":596},"Within China, Ganfeng owns a 49% stake in one of the Qinghai salt lake projects, Yiliping, and operates the Mahong, Xinyu and Ningdu chemical conversion facilities, which produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate from spodumene feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":117179,"content":117180},{"textAlign":49},[117181],{"text":117182,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that Ganfeng will produce 48,000 tonnes LCE of lithium chemicals in 2021, which is around 20% of total Chinese chemical capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":117184,"content":117185},{"textAlign":49},[117186],{"text":117187,"type":596},"Based on Benchmark’s forecasts of Ganfeng’s existing chemical capacity, if the newly planned investments go ahead then the company’s pipeline production capacity could increase to more than 230,000tpa LCE by 2030, nearly 40% of total Chinese chemical production capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":117189,"content":117190},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117191],{"text":117192,"type":596},"Developing the entire battery supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":117194,"content":117195},{"textAlign":49},[117196],{"text":117197,"type":596},"Ganfeng has also indicated strong interest in the rest of the lithium ion battery and EV supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":117199,"content":117200},{"textAlign":49},[117201],{"text":117202,"type":596},"In June 2020, the company took a 6.9% stake in Chinese cobalt firm Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material.",{"type":591,"attrs":117204,"content":117205},{"textAlign":49},[117206],{"text":117207,"type":596},"Additionally, Ganfeng have established themselves in the battery production industry by developing five battery-manufacturing subsidiaries since 2016, including one, Zhejiang Fengli, specialising in solid-state cell R&D.",{"type":591,"attrs":117209,"content":117210},{"textAlign":49},[117211],{"text":117212,"type":596},"The lithium major has also invested in battery recycling efforts, creating a subsidiary named Ganfeng Circulation in 2017 in Xinyu, Jiangxi with a nameplate recycling capacity of 34,000tpa and a nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode precursor capacity of 4,500tpa. The company is also rumoured to be developing a battery recycling plant in Mexico.",{"type":591,"attrs":117214,"content":117215},{"textAlign":49},[117216],{"text":117217,"type":596},"Ganfeng has also inked a deal to explore setting up a batteries plant in Jujuy province, Argentina, near to its Cauchari-Olaroz asset.",{"type":615,"attrs":117219,"content":117220},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117221],{"text":117222,"type":596},"Rest of world falling behind",{"type":591,"attrs":117224,"content":117225},{"textAlign":49},[117226],{"text":117227,"type":596},"Ganfeng’s aggressive expansion plans in the rising lithium price environment since the beginning of 2021 highlights a maintenance of China’s long-held dominance in the EV value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":117229,"content":117230},{"textAlign":49},[117231],{"text":117232,"type":596},"Importantly, the company’s development of South American and African projects serves to highlight a rapid expansion into upstream assets outside of China, allowing Ganfeng to ensure global supply in an increasing tight market.",{"type":591,"attrs":117234,"content":117235},{"textAlign":49},[117236],{"text":117237,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the US and Europe continue to fall behind in bringing lithium, and other key electric vehicle raw materials, projects online.",{"type":591,"attrs":117239,"content":117240},{"textAlign":49},[117241],{"text":117242,"type":596},"This issue is even more stark when looking at chemical processing; Benchmark expects 58% of lithium chemicals supply to come from China in 2023, and as such rest of the world capacity is set to remain under half of Chinese output in the medium term.",{"type":591,"attrs":117244,"content":117245},{"textAlign":49},[117246],{"text":117247,"type":596},"Given its home advantage, including low costs of labour, reagents, and energy within China, Ganfeng can utilise its domestic margins to make international acquisitions, bolstering its stronghold within the global lithium supply chain, with the rest of the world needing to catch up to secure raw materials and meet surging demand if they want to localise supply and reduce reliance on Chinese operations.","China’s Ganfeng Lithium has announced considerable plans to extend its reach in the lithium supply chain throughout the first half of 2021, remaining one of the most active players in targeting large commitments to build out its production capabilities. Indications of growing investment momentum came in early May, when the lithium major put forward a […]",[117250],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117251},{"job_title":557,"image":117252,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3484633d-f821-4f98-b1e6-aebdbf1edd03\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117255,117256],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":110202,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117258,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":117260,"uuid":117261,"name":117262,"slug":117263,"full_slug":117264,"content":117265},112473361858513,"60a02c52-0847-4335-8268-fc81c9cd0b47","What does Australia’s labour shortage mean for lithium expansions?","what-does-australias-labour-shortage-mean-for-lithium-expansions","article/what-does-australias-labour-shortage-mean-for-lithium-expansions",{"_uid":117266,"date":117267,"tags":117268,"editor":117270,"content":117274,"excerpt":117336,"featured":50,"reporter":117337,"_editable":117341,"component":697,"seo_title":117262,"categories":117342,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117345,"seo_description":117336,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117348},"03467cea-25f6-46d9-9680-7a4e3ff2eb0a","2021-06-21 00:00",[117269],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[117271],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117272},{"job_title":557,"image":117273,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117275},[117276,117281,117286,117291,117296,117301,117306,117311,117316,117321,117326,117331],{"type":591,"attrs":117277,"content":117278},{"textAlign":49},[117279],{"text":117280,"type":596},"A labour shortage in Australia’s mining sector could hinder efforts to bring expanding or dormant battery raw material mining projects online to meet rising demand from the EV and energy storage supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":117282,"content":117283},{"textAlign":49},[117284],{"text":117285,"type":596},"The ongoing commodities price rally suggests demand for Australia’s natural resources – and raw materials for lithium ion batteries – is only set to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":117287,"content":117288},{"textAlign":49},[117289],{"text":117290,"type":596},"However, Covid-19 border closures and limits on fly-in-fly-out employment (FIFO) due to interstate pandemic measures has left the Australian mining industry increasingly short of the skilled labour required to keep mines operating at full run rate. The shortages range from truck drivers to experienced mineral exploration geologists, with Rio Tinto already reporting a 2% decrease in their iron ore output for Q1 2021 in part attributed to limited work force availability disrupting maintenance alongside poor weather.",{"type":591,"attrs":117292,"content":117293},{"textAlign":49},[117294],{"text":117295,"type":596},"According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian mining sector employs 250,000 people as of February 2021, however the rising prices and growing demand broadly across the commodity sector post-pandemic means more and more workers are required for mines to operate at their capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":117297,"content":117298},{"textAlign":49},[117299],{"text":117300,"type":596},"While this labour shortage is impacting all of Australia’s raw materials, the stress placed on battery raw materials by the situation only serves to pressure an already increasingly deficit facing industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":117302,"content":117303},{"textAlign":49},[117304],{"text":117305,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that 47% of mined lithium supply will come from Australian spodumene ore in 2021, so any small disruption to Australia’s production capacity, and planned expansions, could have a huge impact on worldwide lithium availability.",{"type":591,"attrs":117307,"content":117308},{"textAlign":49},[117309],{"text":117310,"type":596},"Additionally, there are also three Australian lithium mines currently in care and maintenance after struggling to operate economically during the low-price environment from 2018 through to the start of 2021, which could potentially be brought online if the bullish market momentum continues.",{"type":591,"attrs":117312,"content":117313},{"textAlign":49},[117314],{"text":117315,"type":596},"These operations are Pilbara’s Ngungaju plant (previously Altura’s Pilgangoora asset), Austroid’s Bald Hill site and the Wodgina mine operated as a joint venture by Albemarle and Mineral Resources, with Benchmark expecting all of them to recommence production in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":117317,"content":117318},{"textAlign":49},[117319],{"text":117320,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that these mines’ production output will make up 12% of total Australian spodumene production in 2022 if operations are resumed, rising to 27% by 2025 as production gains momentum. However, this ramp up in supply could be hindered by a lack of available workforce.",{"type":591,"attrs":117322,"content":117323},{"textAlign":49},[117324],{"text":117325,"type":596},"Prices have already begun to rise in the sector according to Benchmark’s most recent May Lithium Price Assessment, where spodumene prices FOB Australia have risen 47.4% year-to-date as demand from lithium chemicals surges due to the rapid expansion of EV production.",{"type":591,"attrs":117327,"content":117328},{"textAlign":49},[117329],{"text":117330,"type":596},"With this backdrop of rapidly increasing demand requirements from the downstream supply chain and therefore the need for further supply expansions, market participants have reported to Benchmark that the industry is struggling with the labour shortage.",{"type":591,"attrs":117332,"content":117333},{"textAlign":49},[117334],{"text":117335,"type":596},"Should the shortage continue, in the near term it could delay bringing capacity back to the market from dormant and expanding assets if there are simply not enough skilled workers to build, operate, and maintain the mines.","A labour shortage in Australia’s mining sector could hinder efforts to bring expanding or dormant battery raw material mining projects online to meet rising demand from the EV and energy storage supply chain. The ongoing commodities price rally suggests demand for Australia’s natural resources – and raw materials for lithium ion batteries – is only […]",[117338],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117339},{"job_title":557,"image":117340,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"03467cea-25f6-46d9-9680-7a4e3ff2eb0a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117343,117344],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117346,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117347,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7138c7c0b7/bm-kwinana-tianqi.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 21, 2021",{"id":117350,"uuid":117351,"name":117352,"slug":117353,"full_slug":117354,"content":117355},114850076599241,"cd37404b-cb5c-47c6-bd87-13afcdb3ba74","Chinese lithium hydroxide price restores its premium over carbonate","chinese-lithium-hydroxide-price-restores-its-premium-over-carbonate-2","article/chinese-lithium-hydroxide-price-restores-its-premium-over-carbonate-2",{"_uid":117356,"date":117357,"tags":117358,"editor":117361,"content":117365,"excerpt":117530,"featured":50,"reporter":117531,"component":697,"seo_title":117535,"categories":117536,"visibility":1043,"author_company":547,"featured_image":117539,"seo_description":117542,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":117543},"26922156-6834-4c36-9791-4ce067608131","2021-06-07 00:00",[117359,117360],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[117362],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117363},{"job_title":557,"image":117364,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117366},[117367,117379,117390,117402,117407,117412,117417,117422,117427,117438,117443,117448,117460,117465,117470,117475,117480,117485,117490,117495,117500,117505,117510,117515,117520],{"type":591,"attrs":117368,"content":117369},{"textAlign":49},[117370,117372,117377],{"text":117371,"type":596},"Benchmark’s May 2021 Lithium Price Assessment saw ",{"text":117373,"type":596,"marks":117374},"lithium hydroxide",[117375],{"type":606,"attrs":117376},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":117378,"type":596}," restore its historical premium to lithium carbonate in the Chinese domestic market after the traditional price relationship between the chemicals inverted at the beginning of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":117380,"content":117381},{"textAlign":49},[117382,117384,117388],{"text":117383,"type":596},"In January 2021, carbonate prices rallied on strong demand from LFP ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":117385},[117386],{"type":606,"attrs":117387},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":117389,"type":596}," manufacturers, inverting the historical relationship as hydroxide pricing moved to a discount on battery-grade carbonate; with hydroxide sitting firmly below both battery and technical grade carbonate in Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessments from February through to April.",{"type":591,"attrs":117391,"content":117392},{"textAlign":49},[117393,117395,117400],{"text":117394,"type":596},"At its strongest premium through this period, Chinese battery-grade carbonate sat RMB 19,500/tonne ($3000) above hydroxide in the Benchmark mid-March 2021 ",{"text":117396,"type":596,"marks":117397},"price assessment",[117398],{"type":606,"attrs":117399},{"href":6716,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":117401,"type":596},", with battery-grade carbonate prices at RMB 82,000/tonne ($12,625) and hydroxide prices at 62,500/tonne ($9,625), as assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":117403,"content":117404},{"textAlign":49},[117405],{"text":117406,"type":596},"However, hydroxide prices in the Chinese domestic market began to play catch-up in recent months, eventually exceeding carbonate, gaining 33.8% (EXW China) across April and May, compared to Chinese battery-grade carbonate gains of 5.3% (EXW China) in the same period; a significant slowing down from the rally in Q1.",{"type":615,"attrs":117408,"content":117409},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117410],{"text":117411,"type":596},"Hydroxide’s historic premium",{"type":591,"attrs":117413,"content":117414},{"textAlign":49},[117415],{"text":117416,"type":596},"Historically, lithium hydroxide has held a premium over carbonate in both the Chinese and international markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":117418,"content":117419},{"textAlign":49},[117420],{"text":117421,"type":596},"Hydroxide has typically sat above carbonate in international and Chinese market, due to the chemical’s traditional production method of being a product processed from lithium carbonate, rather than directly produced from spodumene feedstock as is common in today’s market. Consequently, a conversion cost of $1000-1500/tonne has historically been priced into hydroxide throughout the market’s history.",{"type":591,"attrs":117423,"content":117424},{"textAlign":49},[117425],{"text":117426,"type":596},"Changing feedstock supply, use dynamics and cathode evolution has seen this historic price relationship weakened in recent years.",{"type":591,"attrs":117428,"content":117429},{"textAlign":49},[117430,117432,117436],{"text":117431,"type":596},"Additionally, hydroxide production capacity has been scanter as a result of previous market trends which have driven for higher consumption of low-",{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":117433},[117434],{"type":606,"attrs":117435},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":117437,"type":596}," and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes. As such, the chemical is at a higher risk of supply tightness as processors struggle to meet soaring demand from the battery industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":117439,"content":117440},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117441],{"text":117442,"type":596},"Q1 2021 role reversal ",{"type":591,"attrs":117444,"content":117445},{"textAlign":49},[117446],{"text":117447,"type":596},"Whilst this historic price relationship remained the case in international markets throughout early 2021, carbonate rallied to a premium to hydroxide in the Chinese domestic market through Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":117449,"content":117450},{"textAlign":49},[117451,117453,117458],{"text":117452,"type":596},"This Q1 carbonate rally was largely driven by strong demand as the global ",{"text":117454,"type":596,"marks":117455},"EV market",[117456],{"type":606,"attrs":117457},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":117459,"type":596},", buoyed by widespread stimulus and incentives put in place by governments, recovered post-COVID. This demand was even further boosted in China by resurging LFP cathode demand which utilises lithium carbonate in its production.",{"type":591,"attrs":117461,"content":117462},{"textAlign":49},[117463],{"text":117464,"type":596},"Meanwhile, demand for high-nickel cathode chemistries, which use lithium hydroxide for feedstock, had not taken off as quickly as expected, keeping price gains for lithium hydroxide limited in late 2020 and into early 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":117466,"content":117467},{"textAlign":49},[117468],{"text":117469,"type":596},"Additionally, in a bullish market carbonate prices become very sensitive to shifts in demand, where small imbalances can have an outsized effect on pricing due to the relative volume of the carbonate market and the number of active players vying for material.",{"type":591,"attrs":117471,"content":117472},{"textAlign":49},[117473],{"text":117474,"type":596},"In late 2017 and early 2018, Chinese hydroxide also found itself at a discount to carbonate, highlighting that although the two chemicals rely on common feedstocks, the individual supply-demand balance of these products has always been distinct enough to invert the price relationship if market trends support this.",{"type":615,"attrs":117476,"content":117477},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117478],{"text":117479,"type":596},"Chinese hydroxide restores its position above carbonate",{"type":591,"attrs":117481,"content":117482},{"textAlign":49},[117483],{"text":117484,"type":596},"However, demand for lithium hydroxide continues to rise as production of high-nickel cathode cells has begun to climb, alongside processors preferentially sourcing hydroxide – where possible taking advantage of the comparatively cheaper chemical – boosting demand for hydroxide and reversing this short-lived discount to carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":117486,"content":117487},{"textAlign":49},[117488],{"text":117489,"type":596},"Chinese domestic hydroxide prices assessed by Benchmark at the end of May sat at an average of RMB 91,000/tonne ($14,275), compared to RMB 82,500/tonne ($12,950) and RMB 89,000/tonne ($13,975), for technical and battery grade carbonate respectively, on an EXW China basis",{"type":591,"attrs":117491,"content":117492},{"textAlign":49},[117493],{"text":117494,"type":596},"So far in 2021, demand for nickel containing chemistries has gone from strength to strength with an average of 6.1GWh of NCM and NCA cathode cells produced every month in China, compared to the two-year average across 2019 and 2020 of 4.3GWh per month.",{"type":591,"attrs":117496,"content":117497},{"textAlign":49},[117498],{"text":117499,"type":596},"Downstream demand from Japan and South Korea supports this notion, with lithium hydroxide exports out of China to the rest of Asia increasing by an average of 5% per month so far in 2021 compared to average monthly exports in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":117501,"content":117502},{"textAlign":49},[117503],{"text":117504,"type":596},"On the flip side, carbonate price increases have tailed off as the market holds off buying further inventory at elevated prices and added supply from Qinghai brine projects in China has begun to filter through to the market. As such, supply tightness is now being eased by additional carbonate supply, whereas the same is not happening for hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":117506,"content":117507},{"textAlign":49},[117508],{"text":117509,"type":596},"Looking forward, the historic price relationship between hydroxide and carbonate may not be as clear cut as it has been in the past, primarily due to newer Chinese conversion facilities being able to produce hydroxide directly from the rapidly expanding spodumene feedstock market, therefore removing the some of the additional conversion cost by skipping the carbonate step and theoretically reducing the premium over carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":117511,"content":117512},{"textAlign":49},[117513],{"text":117514,"type":596},"In addition, whilst there will always been a price relationship between the two chemicals due to their reliance on common feedstocks, the hydroxide premium may narrow over time, especially as newer Chinese conversion capacity is flexible and therefore able to favour the premium product and bring prices back to parity by adding additional supply to the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":117516,"content":117517},{"textAlign":49},[117518],{"text":117519,"type":596},"Benchmark forecast NCM cathodes to represent over 75% of cathode market share by 2030, with well over half of these being the 811 high-nickel variety, meaning demand for lithium hydroxide is only set to rise further and challenge the already delicate supply-demand balance, supporting Benchmark’s expectations of further rising prices in the Chinese domestic hydroxide market.",{"type":591,"attrs":117521,"content":117522},{"textAlign":49},[117523,117525,117529],{"text":117524,"type":596},"Ultimately, whilst the higher price environment has started to incentivise supply investments, there is still a long way to go to meet the looming deficit that is already becoming evident in the market today. As such both hydroxide and carbonate prices are set to rise in as the market tightens against surging ",{"text":2239,"type":596,"marks":117526},[117527],{"type":606,"attrs":117528},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"Benchmark’s May 2021 Lithium Price Assessment saw lithium hydroxide restore its historical premium to lithium carbonate in the Chinese domestic market after the traditional price relationship between the chemicals inverted at the beginning of the year. In January 2021, carbonate prices rallied on strong demand from LFP cathode manufacturers, inverting the historical relationship as hydroxide […]",[117532],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117533},{"job_title":557,"image":117534,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"Chinese lithium hydroxide price restores its premium over ...",[117537,117538],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117540,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117541,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4d3f10333f/bm-benchmark-lithium-prices-black-and-white.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Benchmark’s May 2021 Lithium Price Assessment saw lithium hydroxide restore its historical premium to lithium carbonate in the Chinese domestic market after the traditional price relationship between the chemicals inverted at the beginning of the year...","Jun 07, 2021",{"id":117545,"uuid":117546,"name":117352,"slug":117547,"full_slug":117548,"content":117549},112473370574837,"0b2c7a92-8d2f-4361-b6ca-e16ec99b5cdc","chinese-lithium-hydroxide-price-restores-its-premium-over-carbonate","article/chinese-lithium-hydroxide-price-restores-its-premium-over-carbonate",{"_uid":117550,"date":117357,"tags":117551,"editor":117554,"content":117558,"excerpt":117530,"featured":50,"reporter":117666,"_editable":117670,"component":697,"seo_title":117352,"categories":117671,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117674,"seo_description":117530,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117543},"d35c4163-2972-408c-8224-d1b6f855a369",[117552,117553],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[117555],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117556},{"job_title":557,"image":117557,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117559},[117560,117565,117570,117575,117579,117583,117587,117591,117595,117600,117604,117608,117613,117617,117621,117625,117629,117633,117637,117641,117645,117649,117653,117657,117661],{"type":591,"attrs":117561,"content":117562},{"textAlign":49},[117563],{"text":117564,"type":596},"Benchmark’s May 2021 Lithium Price Assessment saw lithium hydroxide restore its historical premium to lithium carbonate in the Chinese domestic market after the traditional price relationship between the chemicals inverted at the beginning of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":117566,"content":117567},{"textAlign":49},[117568],{"text":117569,"type":596},"In January 2021, carbonate prices rallied on strong demand from LFP cathode manufacturers, inverting the historical relationship as hydroxide pricing moved to a discount on battery-grade carbonate; with hydroxide sitting firmly below both battery and technical grade carbonate in Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessments from February through to April.",{"type":591,"attrs":117571,"content":117572},{"textAlign":49},[117573],{"text":117574,"type":596},"At its strongest premium through this period, Chinese battery-grade carbonate sat RMB 19,500/tonne ($3000) above hydroxide in the Benchmark mid-March 2021 price assessment, with battery-grade carbonate prices at RMB 82,000/tonne ($12,625) and hydroxide prices at 62,500/tonne ($9,625), as assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":117576,"content":117577},{"textAlign":49},[117578],{"text":117406,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":117580,"content":117581},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117582],{"text":117411,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117584,"content":117585},{"textAlign":49},[117586],{"text":117416,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117588,"content":117589},{"textAlign":49},[117590],{"text":117421,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117592,"content":117593},{"textAlign":49},[117594],{"text":117426,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117596,"content":117597},{"textAlign":49},[117598],{"text":117599,"type":596},"Additionally, hydroxide production capacity has been scanter as a result of previous market trends which have driven for higher consumption of low-nickel and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes. As such, the chemical is at a higher risk of supply tightness as processors struggle to meet soaring demand from the battery industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":117601,"content":117602},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117603],{"text":117442,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117605,"content":117606},{"textAlign":49},[117607],{"text":117447,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117609,"content":117610},{"textAlign":49},[117611],{"text":117612,"type":596},"This Q1 carbonate rally was largely driven by strong demand as the global EV market, buoyed by widespread stimulus and incentives put in place by governments, recovered post-COVID. This demand was even further boosted in China by resurging LFP cathode demand which utilises lithium carbonate in its production.",{"type":591,"attrs":117614,"content":117615},{"textAlign":49},[117616],{"text":117464,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117618,"content":117619},{"textAlign":49},[117620],{"text":117469,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117622,"content":117623},{"textAlign":49},[117624],{"text":117474,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":117626,"content":117627},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117628],{"text":117479,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117630,"content":117631},{"textAlign":49},[117632],{"text":117484,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117634,"content":117635},{"textAlign":49},[117636],{"text":117489,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117638,"content":117639},{"textAlign":49},[117640],{"text":117494,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117642,"content":117643},{"textAlign":49},[117644],{"text":117499,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117646,"content":117647},{"textAlign":49},[117648],{"text":117504,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117650,"content":117651},{"textAlign":49},[117652],{"text":117509,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117654,"content":117655},{"textAlign":49},[117656],{"text":117514,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117658,"content":117659},{"textAlign":49},[117660],{"text":117519,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117662,"content":117663},{"textAlign":49},[117664],{"text":117665,"type":596},"Ultimately, whilst the higher price environment has started to incentivise supply investments, there is still a long way to go to meet the looming deficit that is already becoming evident in the market today. As such both hydroxide and carbonate prices are set to rise in as the market tightens against surging battery demand.",[117667],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117668},{"job_title":557,"image":117669,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d35c4163-2972-408c-8224-d1b6f855a369\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117672,117673],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117675,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117676,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4f849e8332/bm-benchmark-lithium-prices-black-and-white-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":117678,"uuid":117679,"name":117680,"slug":117681,"full_slug":117682,"content":117683},114850093347787,"d25c5545-4367-4088-ac49-6f962185e24a","POSCO expands battery raw material supply with stake in First Quantum’s Ravensthorpe nickel operation","posco-expands-battery-raw-material-supply-with-stake-in-first-quantums-ravensthorpe-nickel-operation","article/posco-expands-battery-raw-material-supply-with-stake-in-first-quantums-ravensthorpe-nickel-operation",{"_uid":117684,"date":117685,"tags":117686,"editor":117689,"content":117693,"excerpt":117775,"featured":50,"reporter":117776,"_editable":117780,"component":697,"seo_title":117680,"categories":117781,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117784,"seo_description":117775,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117787},"3b1f281a-ba8a-49ea-9ca9-e0be125bc673","2021-06-04 00:00",[117687,117688],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},{"slug":29331,"name":29332},[117690],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117691},{"job_title":557,"image":117692,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117694},[117695,117700,117705,117710,117715,117720,117725,117730,117735,117740,117745,117750,117755,117760,117765,117770],{"type":591,"attrs":117696,"content":117697},{"textAlign":49},[117698],{"text":117699,"type":596},"South Korean anode and cathode major POSCO is set to take a 30% stake in First Quantum Minerals’ (FQM) Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation in Western Australia for $240 million. FQM will continue to operate the plant and retain 70% ownership of the operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":117701,"content":117702},{"textAlign":49},[117703],{"text":117704,"type":596},"As part of the deal, which still requires approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review, the two parties have agreed a 7,500 tpa offtake deal for mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":117706,"content":117707},{"textAlign":49},[117708],{"text":117709,"type":596},"A memorandum of understanding was also established for the two companies to assess developing a partnership to produce battery cathode precursor using MHP from Ravensthorpe.",{"type":591,"attrs":117711,"content":117712},{"textAlign":49},[117713],{"text":117714,"type":596},"FQM has ramped up production of MHP at Ravensthorpe in 2021 having brought production for the project back online in H1 2020 following its closure in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":117716,"content":117717},{"textAlign":49},[117718],{"text":117719,"type":596},"MHP is an intermediate product of nickel metallurgy derived from laterite ores, which over recent years has risen to prominence as a potential source of nickel sulphate feedstock growth in battery cathode applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":117721,"content":117722},{"textAlign":49},[117723],{"text":117724,"type":596},"Despite challenges in expanding this area of the supply chain, Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast shows that MHP intermediate supply from the Western Australian site is due to increase to approximately 30,000 tpa by 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":117726,"content":117727},{"textAlign":49},[117728],{"text":117729,"type":596},"This remains only a small fraction of the country’s total nickel capabilities. Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast data shows that in 2021 Australia will produce 5% of global refined nickel supply, the equivalent of approximately 155,000 tonnes, largely from two leading refiners – BHP’s Nickel West and Glencore’s Murrin Murrin – which produce metals, largely in the form of briquettes.",{"type":615,"attrs":117731,"content":117732},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117733],{"text":117734,"type":596},"Growing anode and cathode raw material requirements",{"type":591,"attrs":117736,"content":117737},{"textAlign":49},[117738],{"text":117739,"type":596},"POSCO’s investment into FQM its latest foray into the upstream segments of the lithium ion battery supply chain. The company’s raw material demands are set to increase significantly to meet its ambitious plans to ramp up production of its cathode and anode materials to meet the growing demand of its tier 1 battery customers, which includes LG Energy Solution and General Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":117741,"content":117742},{"textAlign":49},[117743],{"text":117744,"type":596},"POSCO has placed vertical integration and a secure supply of raw materials at the core of its expansion strategy, with the Ravensthorpe investment the latest addition to its raw material arsenal.",{"type":591,"attrs":117746,"content":117747},{"textAlign":49},[117748],{"text":117749,"type":596},"The company currently has 60,000 tpa of cathode production capacity and 43,700 tpa of anode capacity, but it also has an additional 26,000 tpa of cathode and 50,000 tpa of anode capacity in the pipeline, according to Benchmark’s Cathode and Anode Market Assessments.",{"type":591,"attrs":117751,"content":117752},{"textAlign":49},[117753],{"text":117754,"type":596},"This additional capacity will be in Gwangyang, South Korea, which is where the company completed the construction of its high nickel NCM cathode plant in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":117756,"content":117757},{"textAlign":49},[117758],{"text":117759,"type":596},"In April 2021, the company’s board approved the development of a lithium hydroxide facility, which will be built close to its existing and planned cathode production in Gwangyang.",{"type":591,"attrs":117761,"content":117762},{"textAlign":49},[117763],{"text":117764,"type":596},"The company broke ground on the hydroxide project, which will have a nameplate capacity of 43,000 tpa, this May. The operation will process spodumene from Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project, which it has an existing offtake agreement in place with.",{"type":591,"attrs":117766,"content":117767},{"textAlign":49},[117768],{"text":117769,"type":596},"The company has further lithium interests in Argentina where it is due to begin construction of a brine operation near the Salar del Hombre Muerto later this year, which will have a 25,000 tpa nameplate capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":117771,"content":117772},{"textAlign":49},[117773],{"text":117774,"type":596},"In January this year POSCO agreed a $7.5 million investment for a 15% stake in Black Rock Mining, which owns the Mahenge graphite project in Tanzania. The project is still under development and the companies are in the process of negotiating an offtake agreement and therefore is a longer-term supply prospect for POSCO’s anode business.","South Korean anode and cathode major POSCO is set to take a 30% stake in First Quantum Minerals’ (FQM) Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation in Western Australia for $240 million. FQM will continue to operate the plant and retain 70% ownership of the operation. As part of the deal, which still requires approval by the Australian Foreign […]",[117777],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117778},{"job_title":557,"image":117779,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3b1f281a-ba8a-49ea-9ca9-e0be125bc673\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117782,117783],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117785,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117786,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/546d3b17e9/bm-posco-flag.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 04, 2021",{"id":117789,"uuid":117790,"name":117791,"slug":117792,"full_slug":117793,"content":117794},112473379369058,"9bee2a12-2bda-4f81-85d1-83efe30bc5f2","Benchmark to present at G7 Summit on building a UK lithium ion economy","benchmark-to-present-at-g7-summit-on-building-a-uk-lithium-ion-economy","article/benchmark-to-present-at-g7-summit-on-building-a-uk-lithium-ion-economy",{"_uid":117795,"date":117685,"tags":117796,"editor":117799,"content":117803,"excerpt":117935,"featured":50,"reporter":117936,"_editable":117940,"component":697,"seo_title":117791,"categories":117941,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":117943,"seo_description":117935,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":117787},"50882d1e-422f-41e2-a651-52907f3158d9",[117797,117798],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[117800],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117801},{"job_title":557,"image":117802,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117804},[117805,117811,117816,117821,117826,117831,117836,117841,117846,117851,117856,117861,117867,117880,117892,117897,117902,117914,117918,117926],{"type":591,"attrs":117806,"content":117807},{"textAlign":49},[117808,117809],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":117810,"type":596}," is delighted to confirm that our Managing Director, Simon Moores, will present at the upcoming G7 Summit taking place this month in Cornwall, UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":117812,"content":117813},{"textAlign":49},[117814],{"text":117815,"type":596},"The presentation will keynote a summit organised with the G7 Summit and Cornwall House that discusses UK mining potential in the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chain and the need to establish domestic production bases.",{"type":591,"attrs":117817,"content":117818},{"textAlign":49},[117819],{"text":117820,"type":596},"The G7 is an annual gathering of the world’s top seven advanced economies and their leaders, with the UK holding the presidency this year. The UK has also invited Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa as guest countries to this year’s G7.",{"type":591,"attrs":117822,"content":117823},{"textAlign":49},[117824],{"text":117825,"type":596},"The potential to unlocking domestic UK resources of critical minerals for the battery, EV and emerging green technology industry will be in focus.",{"type":615,"attrs":117827,"content":117828},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117829],{"text":117830,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said:",{"type":591,"attrs":117832,"content":117833},{"textAlign":49},[117834],{"text":117835,"type":596},"“The UK needs to build domestic lithium ion battery cell capacity and its ecosystem for what is a platform technology for the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":117837,"content":117838},{"textAlign":49},[117839],{"text":117840,"type":596},"“As we have long testified at Benchmark: we are in the midst of a global battery arms race.",{"type":591,"attrs":117842,"content":117843},{"textAlign":49},[117844],{"text":117845,"type":596},"“Without lithium ion batteries you won’t have rapid mass adoption of EVs or energy storage. And without the lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite anode and manganese supply chains to feed these battery plants, you won’t have lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":117847,"content":117848},{"textAlign":49},[117849],{"text":117850,"type":596},"“Lithium ion batteries are of geopolitical strategic importance and are top of the agenda for China, the USA and the European Union – complacency can no longer be a strategy for the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":117852,"content":117853},{"textAlign":49},[117854],{"text":117855,"type":596},"“Myself and Team Benchmark are delighted to be able to carry this message into the G7 Summit. I especially would like to thank Jeremy Wrathall, CEO of Cornish Lithium, who has led this discussion from day one within the UK. ”",{"type":615,"attrs":117857,"content":117858},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117859],{"text":117860,"type":596},"UK needs at least four gigafactories",{"type":591,"attrs":117862,"content":117863},{"textAlign":49},[117864,117865],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":117866,"type":596}," has tracked the number of the world’s battery megafactories – or gigafactories – either active, being planned or built, from only three in 2015 to 211 as of June 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":117868,"content":117869},{"textAlign":49},[117870,117872,117878],{"text":117871,"type":596},"China and Europe have led this trend while ",{"text":117873,"type":596,"marks":117874},"US President Biden issued a rallying call for more gigafactories",[117875],{"type":606,"attrs":117876},{"href":117877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/president-biden-issues-rallying-call-for-more-ev-battery-gigafactories",{"text":117879,"type":596}," only last month.",{"type":591,"attrs":117881,"content":117882},{"textAlign":49},[117883,117885,117890],{"text":117884,"type":596},"In November 2020, Benchmark outlined how ",{"text":117886,"type":596,"marks":117887},"the UK should establish a lithium ion economy",[117888],{"type":606,"attrs":117889},{"href":116821,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":117891,"type":596}," including the founding of a Lithium ion Economic Task Force.",{"type":591,"attrs":117893,"content":117894},{"textAlign":49},[117895],{"text":117896,"type":596},"At least four gigafactories need to be established by 2027 at an investment cost of at least $20bn with at least 175GWh of ramped and ready cell production going into the 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":117898,"content":117899},{"textAlign":49},[117900],{"text":117901,"type":596},"Investments in the corresponding supply chain to feed these plants and downstream battery recycling would more than double this figure.",{"type":591,"attrs":117903,"content":117904},{"textAlign":49},[117905,117907,117912],{"text":117906,"type":596},"Benchmark Members will be able to view Simon Moores’ address in Benchmark’s ",{"text":117908,"type":596,"marks":117909},"video library",[117910],{"type":606,"attrs":117911},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":117913,"type":596}," next week.",{"type":615,"attrs":117915,"content":117916},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117917],{"text":116895,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117919,"content":117920},{"textAlign":49},[117921,117925],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":117922},[117923],{"type":606,"attrs":117924},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":116904,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":117927,"content":117928},{"textAlign":49},[117929,117930,117934],{"text":111494,"type":596},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":117931},[117932],{"type":606,"attrs":117933},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":115071,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to confirm that our Managing Director, Simon Moores, will present at the upcoming G7 Summit taking place this month in Cornwall, UK. The presentation will keynote a summit organised with the G7 Summit and Cornwall House that discusses UK mining potential in the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) […]",[117937],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117938},{"job_title":557,"image":117939,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"50882d1e-422f-41e2-a651-52907f3158d9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[117942],{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117944,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":117945,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/45fb220ece/bm-g7-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":117947,"uuid":117948,"name":117949,"slug":117950,"full_slug":117951,"content":117952},112473384210697,"b0086946-b646-4939-a3c3-131c47a80d1b","Does the global chip shortage threaten the EV production ramp up?","does-the-global-chip-shortage-threaten-the-ev-production-ramp-up","article/does-the-global-chip-shortage-threaten-the-ev-production-ramp-up",{"_uid":117953,"date":117954,"tags":117955,"editor":117956,"content":117960,"excerpt":118092,"featured":50,"reporter":118093,"_editable":118097,"component":697,"seo_title":117949,"categories":118098,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118101,"seo_description":118092,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118104},"c80ae8d4-df0a-4e73-ad36-cefb1d7113ec","2021-06-03 00:00",[],[117957],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":117958},{"job_title":557,"image":117959,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":117961},[117962,117967,117972,117977,117982,117987,117992,117997,118002,118007,118012,118017,118022,118027,118032,118037,118042,118047,118052,118057,118062,118067,118072,118077,118082,118087],{"type":591,"attrs":117963,"content":117964},{"textAlign":49},[117965],{"text":117966,"type":596},"A shortage of semiconductors, vital microchips used in vehicles and various household technologies, is impacting vehicle production, with the scarcity set to continue into at least the second half of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":117968,"content":117969},{"textAlign":49},[117970],{"text":117971,"type":596},"Cancelled chip orders on expectations of limited demand have resulted in a shortage of supply after the faster-than-expected bounce back of the auto industry in the months following the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.",{"type":591,"attrs":117973,"content":117974},{"textAlign":49},[117975],{"text":117976,"type":596},"On top of this, a fire which damaged 23 semiconductor machines at a Renesas factory in Hitachinaka, Japan, has caused further supply setbacks since March 2021, with the company holding a 30% stake in global microchip production.",{"type":591,"attrs":117978,"content":117979},{"textAlign":49},[117980],{"text":117981,"type":596},"Additionally, the strong storms that hit Texas near the beginning of the year had a notable impact on chip production, where a large portion of US semiconductors are made.",{"type":591,"attrs":117983,"content":117984},{"textAlign":49},[117985],{"text":117986,"type":596},"The sensitivity of chip production to shortages illustrates how exposed the auto supply chain is to vulnerabilities, with supply issues in the electric vehicle sector only set to worsen as demand for electrification continues to soar.",{"type":615,"attrs":117988,"content":117989},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[117990],{"text":117991,"type":596},"How long will the chip shortage last?",{"type":591,"attrs":117993,"content":117994},{"textAlign":49},[117995],{"text":117996,"type":596},"There is no global consensus on how long the chip shortage could last or the extent of its impact.",{"type":591,"attrs":117998,"content":117999},{"textAlign":49},[118000],{"text":118001,"type":596},"Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng predicts that the scarcity could last for at least another 3 months, whilst various other sources report the shortage could extend anywhere between another 6 months to 2 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":118003,"content":118004},{"textAlign":49},[118005],{"text":118006,"type":596},"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest chipmaker, is expected to be able to put extra capacity online from 2022 to try and help ease issue in the supply-demand balance but building the delicate machinery and ensuring ultra-sanitary conditions in their fabrication plants takes time.",{"type":615,"attrs":118008,"content":118009},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118010],{"text":118011,"type":596},"Impact on EVs could grow",{"type":591,"attrs":118013,"content":118014},{"textAlign":49},[118015],{"text":118016,"type":596},"Tesla initially claimed that they were able to avoid significant impact by the chip shortage through switching to microcontrollers and developing firmware that works with new chips from different suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":118018,"content":118019},{"textAlign":49},[118020],{"text":118021,"type":596},"However, in May, CEO Elon Musk announced that the price of the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be raised on the back of the shortage, with the company not shying away from admitting that the scarcity could continue to impact them in the near future, if the issue persists.",{"type":591,"attrs":118023,"content":118024},{"textAlign":49},[118025],{"text":118026,"type":596},"Chinese EV maker BYD has reportedly been largely unaffected by the chip shortage as its self-made spinoff chips, insulated gate bipolar transistors, are being made in enough capacity to meet their own demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":118028,"content":118029},{"textAlign":49},[118030],{"text":118031,"type":596},"Conversely, Chinese Tesla rival Nio announced that its monthly production would be reduced to 7,500 vehicles in the second quarter of 2021, after they had only just ramped up production to 10,000 vehicles per month in the first quarter of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":118033,"content":118034},{"textAlign":49},[118035],{"text":118036,"type":596},"Various other automakers which produce both electric and ICE vehicles have announced reductions in production and factory operations pauses owed to the shortage.",{"type":591,"attrs":118038,"content":118039},{"textAlign":49},[118040],{"text":118041,"type":596},"However, some OEMs have suggested that, so far, the chip crisis has only hit ICE models, with Volkswagen reporting that, despite cutting production by at least 100,000 vehicles this year, its carbon emissions target has not been impacted due to continued roll out of EV models.",{"type":591,"attrs":118043,"content":118044},{"textAlign":49},[118045],{"text":118046,"type":596},"To date, we have largely seen automakers look to ringfence EV production from the impact of the chip shortage, as they look to grow their EV business. This is particularly important in Europe where automakers need to meet fleet emissions targets and will need to prioritise EV production to avoid fines.",{"type":591,"attrs":118048,"content":118049},{"textAlign":49},[118050],{"text":118051,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that demand for electric vehicles will reach 220,000 MWh in 2021, with sales figures continuing to show significant growth m-o-m in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":118053,"content":118054},{"textAlign":49},[118055],{"text":118056,"type":596},"Nonetheless, many auto majors have pointed out that the situation remains volatile.",{"type":615,"attrs":118058,"content":118059},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118060],{"text":118061,"type":596},"Not the only vulnerability in the EV supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":118063,"content":118064},{"textAlign":49},[118065],{"text":118066,"type":596},"The chip shortage is not the only potential weakness in the electric vehicle supply chain, with Benchmark forecasting considerable looming deficits in all of the critical raw materials required for lithium ion batteries in the coming decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":118068,"content":118069},{"textAlign":49},[118070],{"text":118071,"type":596},"For example, demand for lithium alone is forecast by Benchmark to exceed 2 million tonnes LCE by 2030: nearly a six-fold increase from 2021 demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":118073,"content":118074},{"textAlign":49},[118075],{"text":118076,"type":596},"Significant investments in mining projects, chemical processing and through to battery production and recycling facilities are going to be needed to close this exposure to supply issues.",{"type":591,"attrs":118078,"content":118079},{"textAlign":49},[118080],{"text":118081,"type":596},"One potential option is for automakers to further vertically-integrate into the battery supply chain, which to date has largely been limited to cell production, with OEMs potentially investing in upstream raw material and chemical production projects to meet their own demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":118083,"content":118084},{"textAlign":49},[118085],{"text":118086,"type":596},"However, developing raw material extraction projects takes time, with downstream production facilities also taking some years to build. Automakers will need to take steps now in order to offset some of the risk they will be exposed to at each stage of the supply chain, from raw material production, to chemical processing and cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":118088,"content":118089},{"textAlign":49},[118090],{"text":118091,"type":596},"Consequently, the impact of the chip shortage will likely act as a wake up call to the EV industry, as supply chain players begin to experience the consequences supply disruptions can have on operations.","A shortage of semiconductors, vital microchips used in vehicles and various household technologies, is impacting vehicle production, with the scarcity set to continue into at least the second half of this year. Cancelled chip orders on expectations of limited demand have resulted in a shortage of supply after the faster-than-expected bounce back of the auto […]",[118094],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118095},{"job_title":557,"image":118096,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c80ae8d4-df0a-4e73-ad36-cefb1d7113ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118099,118100],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118102,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118103,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ef876a4352/bm-computer-circuit.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 03, 2021",{"id":118106,"uuid":118107,"name":118108,"slug":118109,"full_slug":118110,"content":118111},114850141115346,"8a45c385-3346-4691-83dc-001095d7e4e6","Benchmark’s lithium ion battery megafactory assessment methodology","benchmarks-lithium-ion-battery-megafactory-assessment-methodology","article/benchmarks-lithium-ion-battery-megafactory-assessment-methodology",{"_uid":118112,"date":118113,"tags":118114,"editor":118118,"content":118122,"excerpt":118318,"featured":50,"reporter":118319,"_editable":118323,"component":697,"seo_title":118108,"categories":118324,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118327,"seo_description":118318,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118330},"f725540d-3017-47f6-9795-227ee765f131","2021-05-19 00:00",[118115],{"slug":118116,"name":118117},"methodology","Methodology",[118119],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118120},{"job_title":557,"image":118121,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118123},[118124,118129,118134,118139,118151,118156,118161,118166,118183,118188,118201,118206,118211,118216,118219,118223,118227,118231,118235,118240,118245,118248,118253,118258,118263,118268,118273,118278,118283,118288,118293,118298,118303],{"type":591,"attrs":118125,"content":118126},{"textAlign":49},[118127],{"text":118128,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence created the industry’s first tiering system to assess the suitability of lithium ion battery cell supply for the automotive / electric vehicle (EV) market.",{"type":591,"attrs":118130,"content":118131},{"textAlign":49},[118132],{"text":118133,"type":596},"Since 2014, Benchmark has been collecting and assessing lithium ion battery cell production capacity following a shift in the scale of such facilities moving from megawatt-hour to gigawatt-hour capacity initiated by the Tesla/Panasonic Gigafactory in February 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":118135,"content":118136},{"textAlign":49},[118137],{"text":118138,"type":596},"As the world’s leading specialists in the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain, the need for trusted, accurate and methodologically collected data was paramount for use in multi-billion-dollar investment decisions for the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":118140,"content":118141},{"textAlign":49},[118142,118144,118149],{"text":118143,"type":596},"Following on from the success of Benchmark’s creation of the ",{"text":118145,"type":596,"marks":118146},"lithium industry’s reference price",[118147],{"type":606,"attrs":118148},{"href":87650,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":118150,"type":596},", and the adoption of other key raw material inputs into the industry’s decision making workflow and contract negotiations, we decided to formalise our market data collection for lithium ion battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":118152,"content":118153},{"textAlign":49},[118154],{"text":118155,"type":596},"In 2017 Benchmark created its market specific Lithium ion Battery Cell Data Methodology which includes the company’s ranking of lithium ion battery producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":118157,"content":118158},{"textAlign":49},[118159],{"text":118160,"type":596},"The data and analysis is presented each month in two subscription services:",{"type":591,"attrs":118162,"content":118163},{"textAlign":49},[118164],{"text":118165,"type":596},"Monthly assessment of the current capacity and forecasted outlook of lithium ion battery capacity on a global basis; tracking all lithium ion cell production facility (greater than 1 GWh) on a plant by plant basis that is active, under construction and in planning.",{"type":591,"attrs":118167,"content":118168},{"textAlign":49},[118169,118171,118175,118177],{"text":118170,"type":596},"Trial or subscribe ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":118172},[118173],{"type":606,"attrs":118174},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":118176,"type":596},". Or email ",{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":118179},"info@benchmarkminerals.com",[118180],{"type":606,"attrs":118181},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":118184,"content":118185},{"textAlign":49},[118186],{"text":118187,"type":596},"Our most comprehensive database and analysis service for lithium ion batteries detailing the forecasted supply, format and chemistry of every battery cell plant globally and our most comprehensive cell demand forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":118189,"content":118190},{"textAlign":49},[118191,118192,118196,118197],{"text":118170,"type":596},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":118193},[118194],{"type":606,"attrs":118195},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":118176,"type":596},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":118198},[118199],{"type":606,"attrs":118200},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":118202,"content":118203},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[118204],{"text":118205,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Cell Data Methodology",{"type":591,"attrs":118207,"content":118208},{"textAlign":49},[118209],{"text":118210,"type":596},"We assess a lithium ion battery producer’s ability to supply lithium ion battery cells to the electric vehicle (EV) / automotive OEM industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":118212,"content":118213},{"textAlign":49},[118214],{"text":118215,"type":596},"Benchmark’s ranking system is used by the automotive industry, institutional investors and governments in their workflow and decision-making process.",{"type":591,"attrs":118217,"content":118218},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":118220,"content":118221},{"textAlign":49},[118222],{"text":107964,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":118224,"content":118225},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118226],{"text":107969,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":118228,"content":118229},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118230],{"text":107974,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":118232,"content":118233},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118234],{"text":107979,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":118236,"content":118237},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[118238],{"text":118239,"type":596},"2. Collecting and assessing the data ",{"type":591,"attrs":118241,"content":118242},{"textAlign":49},[118243],{"text":118244,"type":596},"Benchmark collects proprietary lithium ion battery cell data from a global network of industry contacts and uses its in-house expertise to qualify and assess the data before publishing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":118246,"content":118247},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":118249,"content":118250},{"textAlign":49},[118251],{"text":118252,"type":596},"The 4-step process is as follows: ",{"type":615,"attrs":118254,"content":118255},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118256],{"text":118257,"type":596},"Step 1: Transforming analyst resource and high value industry contacts into proprietary data sets",{"type":591,"attrs":118259,"content":118260},{"textAlign":49},[118261],{"text":118262,"type":596},"Benchmark’s unique, number one position in the global lithium ion battery supply chain ensures a continuous feed of first hand and second hand data inputs into step one of our methodology.",{"type":615,"attrs":118264,"content":118265},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118266],{"text":118267,"type":596},"Step 2: Asking the question: How accurate is the data?",{"type":591,"attrs":118269,"content":118270},{"textAlign":49},[118271],{"text":118272,"type":596},"Benchmark’s expertise and a rigorous qualification process combine to qualify and verify the data in order to identify capacities, utlisation rates, ramp rates, chemistry technology, cell formats for every lithium ion battery cell plant (megafactory or gigafactory) in the world",{"type":615,"attrs":118274,"content":118275},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118276],{"text":118277,"type":596},"Step 3: Peer Review Finalisation",{"type":591,"attrs":118279,"content":118280},{"textAlign":49},[118281],{"text":118282,"type":596},"Our peer-review step in this process is a final expert cross check on the validity and accuracy of the data. This includes cross-referencing and triangulation processes to eliminate any inaccurate or misleading data and remove outliers",{"type":615,"attrs":118284,"content":118285},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118286],{"text":118287,"type":596},"Step 4: Publishing to Market",{"type":591,"attrs":118289,"content":118290},{"textAlign":49},[118291],{"text":118292,"type":596},"Once the assessment is complete the process is signed of by at least two senior team members and cleared for immediate publication online into Benchmark’s Battery Cell Database and delivered directly to customers via email.",{"type":591,"attrs":118294,"content":118295},{"textAlign":49},[118296],{"text":118297,"type":596},"The data feeds two subscription services:",{"type":615,"attrs":118299,"content":118300},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118301],{"text":118302,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s lithium ion supply chain market assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":118304,"content":118305},{"textAlign":49},[118306,118309,118314],{"text":111494,"type":596,"marks":118307},[118308],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":118310},[118311,118313],{"type":606,"attrs":118312},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":118315,"type":596,"marks":118316}," to learn more about Benchmark’s lithium ion battery supply chain market assessments and forecasts, including:",[118317],{"type":1006},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence created the industry’s first tiering system to assess the suitability of lithium ion battery cell supply for the automotive / electric vehicle (EV) market. Since 2014, Benchmark has been collecting and assessing lithium ion battery cell production capacity following a shift in the scale of such facilities moving from megawatt-hour to gigawatt-hour […]",[118320],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118321},{"job_title":557,"image":118322,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f725540d-3017-47f6-9795-227ee765f131\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118325,118326],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118328,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118329,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2c2e0957c3/bm-benchmark-tiers.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 19, 2021",{"id":118332,"uuid":118333,"name":118334,"slug":118335,"full_slug":118336,"content":118337},114850132878289,"e9b5bc7c-337b-48f2-a6a5-952a8aa97f31","President Biden issues rallying call for more EV battery gigafactories","president-biden-issues-rallying-call-for-more-ev-battery-gigafactories","article/president-biden-issues-rallying-call-for-more-ev-battery-gigafactories",{"_uid":118338,"date":118113,"tags":118339,"editor":118341,"content":118345,"excerpt":118525,"featured":50,"reporter":118526,"_editable":118530,"component":697,"seo_title":118334,"categories":118531,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118534,"seo_description":118525,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118330},"554309ca-b617-4143-9631-410928499a7f",[118340],{"slug":572,"name":573},[118342],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118343},{"job_title":557,"image":118344,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118346},[118347,118352,118357,118362,118369,118374,118379,118384,118389,118394,118399,118404,118409,118424,118429,118434,118439,118444,118449,118454,118465,118470,118475,118480,118485,118490,118497,118504,118511],{"type":591,"attrs":118348,"content":118349},{"textAlign":49},[118350],{"text":118351,"type":596},"President Biden yesterday launched his latest assault to expand the USA’s electric vehicle and lithium ion battery industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":118353,"content":118354},{"textAlign":49},[118355],{"text":118356,"type":596},"Visiting the Ford’s historic Dearborn plant, President Biden announced more details on the America Jobs Plan that is set to see a significant expansion in the production of lithium ion batteries in the USA and with it more gigafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":118358,"content":118359},{"textAlign":49},[118360],{"text":118361,"type":596},"At present, Benchmark is tracking 211 lithium ion battery megafactories but only 12 are in the US while 156 are in a China and 22 in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":118363,"content":118364},{"textAlign":49},[118365,118366,118367],{"text":63577,"type":596},{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":118368,"type":596}," outlines the pertinent points for our industry from what The White House titled: “The American Jobs Plan Supercharges the Future of Transportation and Manufacturing”.",{"type":615,"attrs":118370,"content":118371},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118372],{"text":118373,"type":596},"On the state of play:",{"type":591,"attrs":118375,"content":118376},{"textAlign":49},[118377],{"text":118378,"type":596},"“Increasingly, the global market is shifting to electric vehicles (EVs) – tapping into EVs’ potential to save families thousands of dollars, lower carbon pollution, and make the air we breathe cleaner.",{"type":591,"attrs":118380,"content":118381},{"textAlign":49},[118382],{"text":118383,"type":596},"“Yet, despite pioneering the technology, the United States is behind in the race to manufacture these vehicles and the batteries that go in them.”",{"type":615,"attrs":118385,"content":118386},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118387],{"text":118388,"type":596},"On building the USA’s lithium ion battery capacity:",{"type":591,"attrs":118390,"content":118391},{"textAlign":49},[118392],{"text":118393,"type":596},"“Securing the domestic production of EV parts, like batteries, also represents an opportunity to shore up U.S competitiveness in a growing market, bolster our domestic supply chain, and create good-paying jobs in the U.S. — union jobs.”",{"type":591,"attrs":118395,"content":118396},{"textAlign":49},[118397],{"text":118398,"type":596},"“ [The American Jobs Plan will] Incentivize the start-up of new battery production facilities: The President’s plan proposes cost-sharing grants to support new high capacity battery facilities in the United States, recognizing that new businesses may not be able to access tax credits but can pitch in their fair share as they scale their operations.”",{"type":615,"attrs":118400,"content":118401},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118402],{"text":118403,"type":596},"How many battery plants does the USA have right now?",{"type":591,"attrs":118405,"content":118406},{"textAlign":49},[118407],{"text":118408,"type":596},"In 2021 the USA has the following battery plants in production:",{"type":591,"attrs":118410,"content":118411},{"textAlign":49},[118412,118418],{"text":118413,"type":596,"marks":118414},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment for extensive data and ",[118415,118416],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":118417},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":118419,"type":596,"marks":118420},"analysis on global battery cell capacity. ",[118421,118422],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":118423},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":118425,"content":118426},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118427],{"text":118428,"type":596},"How many are in the pipeline?",{"type":591,"attrs":118430,"content":118431},{"textAlign":49},[118432],{"text":118433,"type":596},"Including the five plants in production, the USA has 12 gigafactories in the pipeline. The bulk of these plants are concentrated in three domestic regions identified by Benchmark as:",{"type":591,"attrs":118435,"content":118436},{"textAlign":49},[118437],{"text":118438,"type":596},"Tesla West leads the way, with the Gigafactory 1 already among the largest battery factories by capacity globally. This hub has been further strengthened by Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory and the hub has already shown the need for upstream capacity, with Tesla’s plans to develop a spodumene conversion operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":118440,"content":118441},{"textAlign":49},[118442],{"text":118443,"type":596},"Behind Tesla West, LG Chem is establishing growing capacity in the New Detroit hub, which will largely be supportive of GM’s electric ambitions. Finally, the development of the third US Hub – EV South – is being driven by LG Chem’s Korean rival SK Innovation, with two plants in the pipeline in Commerce, Georgia.",{"type":615,"attrs":118445,"content":118446},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118447],{"text":118448,"type":596},"How many tier one lithium ion battery makers in USA?",{"type":591,"attrs":118450,"content":118451},{"textAlign":49},[118452],{"text":118453,"type":596},"The good news for the US is that four of the 6 tier one lithium ion battery makers are already operating in the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":118455,"content":118456},{"textAlign":49},[118457,118459,118464],{"text":118458,"type":596},"Read ",{"text":118460,"type":596,"marks":118461},"this article on Benchmark’s tier system and its methodology for assessing lithium ion battery megafactories",[118462],{"type":606,"attrs":118463},{"href":111676,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":118466,"content":118467},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118468],{"text":118469,"type":596},"How many more battery plants can we expect?",{"type":591,"attrs":118471,"content":118472},{"textAlign":49},[118473],{"text":118474,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores, explained to Politico in April:",{"type":591,"attrs":118476,"content":118477},{"textAlign":49},[118478],{"text":118479,"type":596},"“Between now and 2030, the U.S. needs to build 20 more battery plants, maybe 10 if they’re really big,” to serve automotive demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":118481,"content":118482},{"textAlign":49},[118483],{"text":118484,"type":596},"“That means you need them established by 2027, which means you have to start work on them in 2023.”",{"type":615,"attrs":118486,"content":118487},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118488],{"text":118489,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s lithium ion battery supply chain market assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":118491,"content":118492},{"textAlign":49},[118493],{"text":118494,"type":596,"marks":118495},"Benchmark has been tracking the build out of large scale (>1GWh) battery production facilities since 2014.",[118496],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":118498,"content":118499},{"textAlign":49},[118500],{"text":118501,"type":596,"marks":118502},"We were the first in the industry to track these developments and we maintain the most detailed dataset of actionable intelligence for the energy storage revolution.",[118503],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":118505,"content":118506},{"textAlign":49},[118507],{"text":118508,"type":596,"marks":118509},"Benchmark maintains similar datasets for anode and cathode production, as well as forecasting services for this full supply chain.",[118510],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":118512,"content":118513},{"textAlign":49},[118514,118517,118522],{"text":111494,"type":596,"marks":118515},[118516],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":118518},[118519,118521],{"type":606,"attrs":118520},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":118315,"type":596,"marks":118523},[118524],{"type":1006},"President Biden yesterday launched his latest assault to expand the USA’s electric vehicle and lithium ion battery industries. Visiting the Ford’s historic Dearborn plant, President Biden announced more details on the America Jobs Plan that is set to see a significant expansion in the production of lithium ion batteries in the USA and with it […]",[118527],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118528},{"job_title":557,"image":118529,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"554309ca-b617-4143-9631-410928499a7f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118532,118533],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118535,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118536,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f719195e38/bm-joe-biden-car.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":118538,"uuid":118539,"name":118540,"slug":118541,"full_slug":118542,"content":118543},112473420865906,"b9ae5aee-e0ed-4629-8617-80ab8e73c0d9","AMG move to bolster Europe’s fledgling lithium pipeline","amg-move-to-bolster-europes-fledgling-lithium-pipeline","article/amg-move-to-bolster-europes-fledgling-lithium-pipeline",{"_uid":118544,"date":118545,"tags":118546,"editor":118548,"content":118552,"excerpt":118679,"featured":50,"reporter":118680,"_editable":118684,"component":697,"seo_title":118540,"categories":118685,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118688,"seo_description":118679,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118691},"e713a091-88f7-414a-8c35-1274a1978dbd","2021-05-10 00:00",[118547],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[118549],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118550},{"job_title":557,"image":118551,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118553},[118554,118559,118564,118569,118574,118579,118584,118589,118594,118599,118604,118609,118614,118619,118624,118629,118634,118639,118644,118649,118654,118659,118664,118669,118674],{"type":591,"attrs":118555,"content":118556},{"textAlign":49},[118557],{"text":118558,"type":596},"AMG Lithium announced in April that it would be developing a processing plant for battery grade lithium hydroxide on the premises of Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Germany after the successful acquisition of a plot of land on the site.",{"type":591,"attrs":118560,"content":118561},{"textAlign":49},[118562],{"text":118563,"type":596},"The plant is set to be a significant producer of lithium hydroxide within Europe and may set the stage for accelerated development in the lithium industry on the continent incentivised by a rising price environment amid tightening supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":118565,"content":118566},{"textAlign":49},[118567],{"text":118568,"type":596},"AMG’s intentions to build a refinery were originally announced in November 2019, but the recent lithium price recovery, following three years of low prices, likely provided the push needed to finalise the development.",{"type":591,"attrs":118570,"content":118571},{"textAlign":49},[118572],{"text":118573,"type":596},"So far 2021 has seen prices increase rapidly across the lithium supply chain with Benchmark’s April 2021 Lithium Price Assessment tracking the global weighted average lithium hydroxide price up over 32% y-t-d. The picture is starker for lithium carbonate with domestic battery grade prices up 104% y-t-d on an EXW China basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":118575,"content":118576},{"textAlign":49},[118577],{"text":118578,"type":596},"The facility is expected to have an initial nameplate capacity of 20,000tpa, with operations scheduled to start in 2023. Additionally, there is potential at the site for expansion to a capacity of 100,000tpa in subsequent years if further modules are developed.",{"type":591,"attrs":118580,"content":118581},{"textAlign":49},[118582],{"text":118583,"type":596},"Currently, AMG operate the hard-rock Mibra mine in Brazil, with their spodumene concentrate plant which has a nameplate capacity of 90,000tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":118585,"content":118586},{"textAlign":49},[118587],{"text":118588,"type":596},"AMG could utilise their resources at Mibra to supply the feedstock for the new hydroxide plant, which would prove beneficial as a low-cost source of feed in the ongoing and forecasted tight market environment.",{"type":615,"attrs":118590,"content":118591},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118592],{"text":118593,"type":596},"Europe’s underdeveloped lithium scene",{"type":591,"attrs":118595,"content":118596},{"textAlign":49},[118597],{"text":118598,"type":596},"Currently, Europe’s lithium chemical capacity is severely underdeveloped, with only a handful of converters across the continent operating as refineries of existing chemical material, and there are currently no active spodumene conversion plants in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":118600,"content":118601},{"textAlign":49},[118602],{"text":118603,"type":596},"CMP operate the JSC plant in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, which produces lithium hydroxide from carbonate and upgrades technical grade lithium carbonate to battery grade carbonate. Also in Russia, TD Halmek produce lithium hydroxide from brine feedstock at their plant in Pervomayskoe, Tula.",{"type":591,"attrs":118605,"content":118606},{"textAlign":49},[118607],{"text":118608,"type":596},"Additionally, Albemarle run the Langelsheim plant in Germany which produces chemical derivatives from lithium carbonate and Leverton’s plant in Basingstoke in the UK also produces derivatives from lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":118610,"content":118611},{"textAlign":49},[118612],{"text":118613,"type":596},"There are multiple lithium hydroxide projects on the cards in Europe, however, it is not expected that significant production will come from these facilities until midway through the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":118615,"content":118616},{"textAlign":49},[118617],{"text":118618,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts that European lithium chemical supply will grow to exceed 20,000tpa LCE by 2025, but this is only set to account for 2% of expected global capacity. Comparatively, China is expected to produce over 480,000tpa LCE by 2025, while total global lithium demand is forecast to reach nearly 1.1 million tonnes LCE in the same year.",{"type":591,"attrs":118620,"content":118621},{"textAlign":49},[118622],{"text":118623,"type":596},"Further upstream, at the raw material extraction and mining stage, any major European production projects are not expected to come online for a number of years.",{"type":591,"attrs":118625,"content":118626},{"textAlign":49},[118627],{"text":118628,"type":596},"Key projects include Rio Tinto’s development at the Jadar mine in Serbia expected from 2027, with European Metal Holdings also anticipated to begin production at the Cinovec mine in the Czech Republic from 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":118630,"content":118631},{"textAlign":49},[118632],{"text":118633,"type":596},"Multiple other mined supply sources from development projects could come online from 2025, including operations in Finland, Germany, Portugal and Spain.",{"type":591,"attrs":118635,"content":118636},{"textAlign":49},[118637],{"text":118638,"type":596},"From these players, Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows that mined lithium supply from Europe by 2030 will be just over 184,000tpa LCE, making up less than 10% of global capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":118640,"content":118641},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118642],{"text":118643,"type":596},"Europe set to go local ",{"type":591,"attrs":118645,"content":118646},{"textAlign":49},[118647],{"text":118648,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment forecasts that 208 megafactories will be in operation by 2030, with nearly 75% of these to be built in China and just 11% in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":118650,"content":118651},{"textAlign":49},[118652],{"text":118653,"type":596},"However, European end-market manufacturers are going to be increasingly required to localise their supply in order to meet standards for subsidised electric vehicle incentives.",{"type":591,"attrs":118655,"content":118656},{"textAlign":49},[118657],{"text":118658,"type":596},"Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, 55% of EV parts need to be built in the UK or EU to qualify for preferential tariff rates from 2027.",{"type":591,"attrs":118660,"content":118661},{"textAlign":49},[118662],{"text":118663,"type":596},"Along the length of the electric vehicle supply chain, Europe struggles with self-sufficiency. Under current cathode production plans as assessed by Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, Europe will have the capacity to supply less than 5% of its domestic cathode needs, signalling the need for significant further investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":118665,"content":118666},{"textAlign":49},[118667],{"text":118668,"type":596},"This drive towards supply localisation, coupled with a bullish price environment, provides strong fundamentals to accelerate Europe towards increased supply chain self-sufficiency.",{"type":591,"attrs":118670,"content":118671},{"textAlign":49},[118672],{"text":118673,"type":596},"Developments in Q2 2021 already acted as an indicator towards this changing picture, with British chemicals company Johnson Matthey announcing a partnership with Finnish Minerals Group to support development of a cathode plant in Finland, establishing offtake agreements with Nornickel for cobalt and nickel supply and with SQM for lithium hydroxide supply to the facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":118675,"content":118676},{"textAlign":49},[118677],{"text":118678,"type":596},"With battery demand increasing exponentially and European automakers rapidly developing electric vehicles for their fleet, supply localisation will be the key to Europe’s success.","AMG Lithium announced in April that it would be developing a processing plant for battery grade lithium hydroxide on the premises of Chemiepark Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Germany after the successful acquisition of a plot of land on the site. The plant is set to be a significant producer of lithium hydroxide within Europe and may set […]",[118681],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118682},{"job_title":557,"image":118683,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e713a091-88f7-414a-8c35-1274a1978dbd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118686,118687],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118689,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118690,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eba261dd74/bm-amg-chemiepark.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 10, 2021",{"id":118693,"uuid":118694,"name":118695,"slug":118696,"full_slug":118697,"content":118698},112473426485619,"7af0fb85-4d82-4af0-ac85-f366e7b42a91","Chinese lithium carbonate premiums narrow as hydroxide price rises accelerate","chinese-lithium-carbonate-premiums-narrow-as-hydroxide-price-rises-accelerate","article/chinese-lithium-carbonate-premiums-narrow-as-hydroxide-price-rises-accelerate",{"_uid":118699,"date":118700,"tags":118701,"editor":118703,"content":118707,"excerpt":118824,"featured":50,"reporter":118825,"_editable":118829,"component":697,"seo_title":118695,"categories":118830,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118833,"seo_description":118824,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118836},"933e29d3-bfa6-45ce-af08-c68d22e03de3","2021-05-07 00:00",[118702],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[118704],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118705},{"job_title":557,"image":118706,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118708},[118709,118714,118724,118729,118734,118739,118744,118749,118754,118759,118764,118769,118774,118779,118784,118788,118803,118808,118814,118819],{"type":591,"attrs":118710,"content":118711},{"textAlign":49},[118712],{"text":118713,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate’s premium over lithium hydroxide in the Chinese domestic market, seen in the first quarter of 2021, is beginning to narrow, as shifting cathode chemistry demand continues to support hydroxide prices in China whilst carbonate gains soften amid limited spot transactions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":118715,"content":118716},{"textAlign":49},[118717,118719,118723],{"text":118718,"type":596},"Chinese lithium hydroxide prices a saw 15.5% (EXW China) increase month-on-month in April according to Benchmark’s most recent ",{"text":19758,"type":596,"marks":118720},[118721],{"type":606,"attrs":118722},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":4683,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":118725,"content":118726},{"textAlign":49},[118727],{"text":118728,"type":596},"Meanwhile, battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose by just 6.6% (EXW China) across the same period, with a flattening of movement in the second half of the month caused by extremely limited supply capping spot liquidity, compared to previous gains of 14.2% m-o-m in March and 19.1% m-o-m in February. ",{"type":591,"attrs":118730,"content":118731},{"textAlign":49},[118732],{"text":118733,"type":596},"Whilst lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode chemistry take-up has surged beyond expectation in China this year impacting demand for lithium carbonate, the market has also started to see rising demand for the previously little utilised high nickel chemistries, primarily NCM 811, as the product undergoes commercial deployment following an extended period of R&D.",{"type":591,"attrs":118735,"content":118736},{"textAlign":49},[118737],{"text":118738,"type":596},"As such this has seen hydroxide use increase in the Chinese market and has begun to push up domestic prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":118740,"content":118741},{"textAlign":49},[118742],{"text":118743,"type":596},"Additionally, because of the more restricted supply structure for hydroxide due to more limited conversion capacity the chemical is more susceptible to supply tightness with more modest increases in market demand driving the chemical into deficit.",{"type":591,"attrs":118745,"content":118746},{"textAlign":49},[118747],{"text":118748,"type":596},"Furthermore, carbonate prices at premium to hydroxide are unlikely to be sustained in China, as newer hydroxide conversion facilities have the flexibility to switch to carbonate production if prices are elevated, meaning capacity can be increased in a carbonate premium environment such as the current one should the company have access to feedstock.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":118750,"content":118751},{"textAlign":49},[118752],{"text":118753,"type":596},"The sustained upward momentum of Chinese hydroxide prices could see the chemical regain its premium over domestically traded lithium carbonate, restoring the historical market relationship seen prior to the carbonate price rally in Q1 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":118755,"content":118756},{"textAlign":49},[118757],{"text":118758,"type":596},"Outside of China, both lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate prices continue to surge upward as international market pricing moves to catch up with Chinese domestic prices amid tightening global supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":118760,"content":118761},{"textAlign":49},[118762],{"text":118763,"type":596},"Many of the long-term contracts in these regions have integrated price breaks, where prices are renegotiated quarterly, bringing up the bottom-end of lithium chemical price ranges in April as the Q1 2021 rally began to be priced into these contracts.",{"type":591,"attrs":118765,"content":118766},{"textAlign":49},[118767],{"text":118768,"type":596},"In the Asian, North American, and European markets, hydroxide remains as the higher-value chemical, due to the longer-term nature of contracts and the cost structure associated with converting carbonate to hydroxide, which is the historical conversion process, as opposed to producing hydroxide directly from spodumene feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":118770,"content":118771},{"textAlign":49},[118772],{"text":118773,"type":596},"The global lithium supply chain is grounded in complicated inter-market relationships, with Chinese prices often being the early warning system for market sentiment in the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":118775,"content":118776},{"textAlign":49},[118777],{"text":118778,"type":596},"Understanding the relationship between these markets is key to predicting and interpreting price movements in the lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":118780,"content":118781},{"textAlign":49},[118782],{"text":118783,"type":596},"Benchmark offers 6 lithium carbonate, 4 lithium hydroxide and 1 spodumene price in its Lithium Price Assessment to subscribers, with thorough analysis provided in our pricing reports to underpin drivers in the market and give a forward-looking, integrated evaluation of the lithium market and other materials in the electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":615,"attrs":118785,"content":118786},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118787],{"text":115050,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":118789,"content":118790},{"textAlign":49},[118791,118794,118799],{"text":111494,"type":596,"marks":118792},[118793],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":118795},[118796,118798],{"type":606,"attrs":118797},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":118800,"type":596,"marks":118801}," to learn more about Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment service.",[118802],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":118804,"content":118805},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118806],{"text":118807,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium price grades",{"type":615,"attrs":118809,"content":118811},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},5,[118812],{"text":118813,"type":596},"LITHIUM CARBONATE",{"type":615,"attrs":118815,"content":118816},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[118817],{"text":118818,"type":596},"LITHIUM HYDROXIDE",{"type":615,"attrs":118820,"content":118821},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[118822],{"text":118823,"type":596},"LITHIUM FEEDSTOCK","Lithium carbonate’s premium over lithium hydroxide in the Chinese domestic market, seen in the first quarter of 2021, is beginning to narrow, as shifting cathode chemistry demand continues to support hydroxide prices in China whilst carbonate gains soften amid limited spot transactions. Chinese lithium hydroxide prices a saw 15.5% (EXW China) increase month-on-month in April according to Benchmark’s most recent Lithium Price Assessment. Meanwhile, battery-grade lithium […]",[118826],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118827},{"job_title":557,"image":118828,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"933e29d3-bfa6-45ce-af08-c68d22e03de3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118831,118832],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118834,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118835,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fae3a743d1/bm-china-cathode-lfp-copy.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 07, 2021",{"id":118838,"uuid":118839,"name":118840,"slug":118841,"full_slug":118842,"content":118843},112473447277075,"6a686513-864a-4a81-bc4f-929cb07664d9","China’s booming LFP market draws TiO2 attentions","chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions","article/chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions",{"_uid":118844,"date":118845,"tags":118846,"editor":118848,"content":118852,"excerpt":118964,"featured":50,"reporter":118965,"_editable":118969,"component":697,"seo_title":118840,"categories":118970,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":118974,"seo_description":118964,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":118977},"01c05a53-f6d5-443d-8a98-639598090428","2021-04-16 00:00",[118847],{"slug":4345,"name":451},[118849],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118850},{"job_title":557,"image":118851,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118853},[118854,118859,118864,118869,118874,118879,118884,118889,118894,118899,118904,118909,118914,118919,118924,118929,118934,118939,118944,118949,118954,118959],{"type":591,"attrs":118855,"content":118856},{"textAlign":49},[118857],{"text":118858,"type":596},"A number of Chinese titanium dioxide producers have signalled their plans to enter the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode market in 2021, drawn in by China’s booming battery industry, where the new capacity pipeline has strengthened further throughout Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":118860,"content":118861},{"textAlign":49},[118862],{"text":118863,"type":596},"In Q1, CNNC Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co (CNNC), a listed titanium dioxide producer, announced plans to invest RMB 12.1bn ($1.9bn) to construct a 500,000 tpa LFP cathode production facility in Baiyin, Gansu province, built in three stages (100,000, 200,000, 200,000 tpa respectively).",{"type":591,"attrs":118865,"content":118866},{"textAlign":49},[118867],{"text":118868,"type":596},"Despite the commitment to develop what would be the world’s second largest cathode project, CNNC has no prior experience in the battery supply chain, a factor which saw the company come under intense scrutiny from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on which it is listed.",{"type":591,"attrs":118870,"content":118871},{"textAlign":49},[118872],{"text":118873,"type":596},"Despite misgivings within China, the company continued to progress its project, having reportedly started processing land permits with local authorities and having hired a technical team specialising in LFP cathode production, although no production timeline has yet been provided.",{"type":591,"attrs":118875,"content":118876},{"textAlign":49},[118877],{"text":118878,"type":596},"Another major titanium dioxide producer, The Lomon Billions Group (Lomon) has also signified its intentions to enter the battery supply chain. In March, it held a signing ceremony with the Qinyang Municipal Government of Henan Province, promising a RMB 2bn ($307m) investment into a ‘battery material industrial project’ in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":118880,"content":118881},{"textAlign":49},[118882],{"text":118883,"type":596},"While Lomon has yet to confirm specific details of the project, the plan reportedly includes a 150,000 tpa new energy battery materials project. Benchmark expects that Lomon will follow CNNC’s lead and focus on LFP cathode development.",{"type":615,"attrs":118885,"content":118886},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118887],{"text":118888,"type":596},"Why are China’s TiO2 producers pivoting to the lithium ion supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":118890,"content":118891},{"textAlign":49},[118892],{"text":118893,"type":596},"The majority of China’s titanium dioxide producers use a sulphuric acid leaching process. This process generates large volumes of sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphate as waste, which are costly to deal with and have significant environmental impacts. However, both sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphate can also be utilised to produce iron phosphate – a material central to the production of LFP cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":118895,"content":118896},{"textAlign":49},[118897],{"text":118898,"type":596},"Titanium dioxide producers face high costs to deal with sulphuric acid waste and while ferrous sulphate waste can be sold in east China, and occasionally the west, producers will often incur costs in the process.",{"type":591,"attrs":118900,"content":118901},{"textAlign":49},[118902],{"text":118903,"type":596},"CNNC’s plans to repurpose this waste to produce iron phosphate, and ultimately LFP cathodes, provides a way to offset this cost and potentially create a valuable new revenue stream.",{"type":591,"attrs":118905,"content":118906},{"textAlign":49},[118907],{"text":118908,"type":596},"CNNC’s planned 500,000 tpa LFP capacity is based on the amount of waste it is expected to produce from its 300,000 tpa titanium dioxide production plant, which is soon to enter production. It is reported that this amount of titanium dioxide capacity will produce 1.2 million tpa of sulphuric acid and 1.05 million tpa of ferrous sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":118910,"content":118911},{"textAlign":49},[118912],{"text":118913,"type":596},"It is worth noting that outside of China a different titanium dioxide processing route is used – an advanced chloride method – which is considered more environmentally and does not have the same waste products. As such, without the significant supply of sulphuric acid available to many of China’s titanium dioxide producers, Benchmark expects titanium dioxide producers entering the LFP market to be limited to China.",{"type":615,"attrs":118915,"content":118916},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118917],{"text":118918,"type":596},"China’s LFP boom",{"type":591,"attrs":118920,"content":118921},{"textAlign":49},[118922],{"text":118923,"type":596},"Tesla’s announcement in 2020 that it planned to use LFP batteries in its standard range Model 3s in China drew attention to LFP’s central role as a cathode material for Chinese passenger EVs. BYD’s announcement this month that its EVs will exclusively use LFP cathodes further illustrates the faith that LFP incumbents have in the technology and belief that energy density improvments can be made that will make the technology competitive beyond heavy-duty EV applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":118925,"content":118926},{"textAlign":49},[118927],{"text":118928,"type":596},"LFP’s renaissance has not been limited to its growing use in electric vehicles and it has benefited from the build out of energy storage systems (ESS) in China in the past year, particularly for 5G base stations, which primarily use LFP batteries as backup power sources. Between January and October 2020 over 700,000 5G base stations were built in China according to a white paper published by China’s Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).",{"type":591,"attrs":118930,"content":118931},{"textAlign":49},[118932],{"text":118933,"type":596},"With this backdrop of EV and ESS demand growth, existing LFP producers in China have significantly ramped up expansion plans this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":118935,"content":118936},{"textAlign":49},[118937],{"text":118938,"type":596},"In February, Dynanonic, China’s leading LFP cathode producer according to the Benchmark Cathode Market Assessment, outlined its ambitions to expand its LFP production capacity from 50,000 tpa in 2020 to 140,000 tpa in 2021, ramping up to 220,000 tpa in 2022. In March, Yuneng New Energy, which currently operates 50,000 tpa of LFP capacity, announced an additional 50,000 tpa of LFP cathode capacity in Suining, Sichuan province.",{"type":615,"attrs":118940,"content":118941},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[118942],{"text":118943,"type":596},"LFP’s future ",{"type":591,"attrs":118945,"content":118946},{"textAlign":49},[118947],{"text":118948,"type":596},"While LFP’s growth story is currently dominated by China, Western automakers continue to signal their intentions to make use of LFP cathodes, such as Volkswagen which outlined plans in March to use LFP outside of China and Elon Musk’s continued hints that Tesla intends to expand its use of LFP to new regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":118950,"content":118951},{"textAlign":49},[118952],{"text":118953,"type":596},"These efforts will be supported by any capacity expansions which lower the cost basis of LFP production and will add momentum to the use of varying cathode chemistries for different tiers of passenger EVs further afield than China.",{"type":591,"attrs":118955,"content":118956},{"textAlign":49},[118957],{"text":118958,"type":596},"LFP’s recent performance and future growth prospects are now incentivising major capacity expansions from established cathode producers and new entrants within China.",{"type":591,"attrs":118960,"content":118961},{"textAlign":49},[118962],{"text":118963,"type":596},"However, despite the overall momentum towards LFP, Benchmark still anticipates that the majority of passenger EVs deployed outside China will remain focused on nickel-based cathode technologies, due to the continued emphasis on energy density improvements.","A number of Chinese titanium dioxide producers have signalled their plans to enter the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode market in 2021, drawn in by China’s booming battery industry, where the new capacity pipeline has strengthened further throughout Q1. In Q1, CNNC Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co (CNNC), a listed titanium dioxide producer, announced plans to […]",[118966],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118967},{"job_title":557,"image":118968,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"01c05a53-f6d5-443d-8a98-639598090428\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[118971,118972,118973],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118975,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":118976,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/550625d81e/bm-titanium-dioxide.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 16, 2021",{"id":118979,"uuid":118980,"name":118981,"slug":118982,"full_slug":118983,"content":118984},112473456976616,"554cfbcd-c27f-4830-97e8-c5f11257b7c2","US EV Battery Battle Settlement: White House, SK Innovation & LG Chem Statements in Full","us-ev-battery-battle-settlement-white-house-sk-innovation-lg-chem-statements-in-full","article/us-ev-battery-battle-settlement-white-house-sk-innovation-lg-chem-statements-in-full",{"_uid":118985,"date":118986,"tags":118987,"editor":118989,"content":118993,"excerpt":119259,"featured":50,"reporter":119260,"component":697,"seo_title":118981,"categories":119264,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119268,"seo_description":119259,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119271},"9dff91f1-39c9-42ff-833b-349680659c2a","2021-04-11 00:00",[118988],{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[118990],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":118991},{"job_title":557,"image":118992,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":118994},[118995,119006,119011,119016,119021,119032,119044,119050,119058,119071,119082,119089,119094,119099,119102,119107,119112,119117,119128,119133,119138,119143,119146,119151,119156,119161,119166,119171,119176,119181,119186,119191,119198,119204,119210,119215,119220,119225,119228,119233,119236,119248,119251,119256],{"type":591,"attrs":118996,"content":118997},{"textAlign":49},[118998,119000,119004],{"text":118999,"type":596},"South Korea’s two leading ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":119001},[119002],{"type":606,"attrs":119003},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119005,"type":596}," cell producers have agreed to end their legal battle on US soil with a $1.8bn settlement plus an undisclosed “running royalty” agreement for the domestic production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).",{"type":591,"attrs":119007,"content":119008},{"textAlign":49},[119009],{"text":119010,"type":596},"Both battery majors have also agreed “to withdraw all pending disputes in the United States and Korea, and not assert new claims for the next ten years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":119012,"content":119013},{"textAlign":49},[119014],{"text":119015,"type":596},"It is a move that sees emerging US-based EV producers breathe a sigh of relief after LG Chem claimed SK Innovation misappropriated trade secrets from the company, a claim which the International Trade Commission (ITC) sided with LG Chem on.",{"type":591,"attrs":119017,"content":119018},{"textAlign":49},[119019],{"text":119020,"type":596},"The ITC, a US-trade body which monitors import and exports of goods in order to protect domestic American industry, had issued a 10-year ban on SK Innovation for the import of equipment and raw materials, and processed battery grade chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":119022,"content":119023},{"textAlign":49},[119024,119026,119030],{"text":119025,"type":596},"However, due to the non-existent domestic lithium ion battery supply chain within the USA, the ban would have seen SK Innovation have to import all of its battery grade critical raw materials, ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":119027},[119028],{"type":606,"attrs":119029},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119031,"type":596}," and anode inputs in order to make their cells – something the ITC would have forbidden.",{"type":591,"attrs":119033,"content":119034},{"textAlign":49},[119035,119037,119042],{"text":119036,"type":596},"As a result, SK Innovation would have been forced to shutter the country’s newest battery megafactory (",{"text":119038,"type":596,"marks":119039},"gigafactory",[119040],{"type":606,"attrs":119041},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119043,"type":596},") in Commerce, Georgia, which is set to begin production in Q4 at an annual capacity of 10GWh and halt construction of a second 10GWh cell facility next door – a total investment of $2.6bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":119045,"content":119046},{"textAlign":49},[119047,119048],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":119049,"type":596}," data shows this would have left the USA bereft of 47% of its free market lithium ion battery cells going into 2022 for emerging EV producers that do not have joint-venture plants, such as the Tesla-Panasonic Gigafactory and the LG Chem – General Motors Ohio plant, at a time when President Biden is seeking to ramp up EV production.",{"type":591,"attrs":119051,"content":119052},{"textAlign":49},[119053,119055,119056],{"text":119054,"type":596},"It would have also resulted in the US losing one of the world’s only six tier one lithium ion battery cell manufacturers according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":119057,"type":596},"‘s ranking of cell producers for the automotive market.",{"type":591,"attrs":119059,"content":119060},{"textAlign":49},[119061,119063,119064,119065,119069],{"text":119062,"type":596},"This comes as new plants in China are surging, taking Benchmark’s global total to 200 battery megafactories of which 144 are within China but only 10 in the US by 2030, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":6312,"type":596},{"text":4281,"type":596,"marks":119066},[119067],{"type":606,"attrs":119068},{"href":4285,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119070,"type":596}," as we stand today.",{"type":591,"attrs":119072,"content":119073},{"textAlign":49},[119074,119076,119080],{"text":119075,"type":596},"The decision would have also set the US on course to losing 35% of its free market cell capacity by end-2030 considering the lead times it takes to build and ramp these super sized ",{"text":2307,"type":596,"marks":119077},[119078],{"type":606,"attrs":119079},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119081,"type":596}," plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":119083,"content":119084},{"textAlign":49},[119085],{"type":836,"attrs":119086},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":119087,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":119088},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d3aba3e1e/bm-benchmarks-tiers-of-lithium-ion-battery-producers-for-the-automotive-industry.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":119090,"content":119091},{"textAlign":49},[119092],{"text":119093,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Ranking the world’s leading producers of battery cells for electric vehicles",{"type":591,"attrs":119095,"content":119096},{"textAlign":49},[119097],{"text":119098,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark publishes the statements of each party in full.",{"type":591,"attrs":119100,"content":119101},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":119103,"content":119104},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[119105],{"text":119106,"type":596},"President of the United States of America, Joe Biden said:",{"type":591,"attrs":119108,"content":119109},{"textAlign":49},[119110],{"text":119111,"type":596},"“This settlement agreement is a win for American workers and the American auto industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":119113,"content":119114},{"textAlign":49},[119115],{"text":119116,"type":596},"“A key part of my plan to Build Back Better is to have the electric vehicles and batteries of the future built here in America, all across America, by American workers.",{"type":591,"attrs":119118,"content":119119},{"textAlign":49},[119120,119122,119126],{"text":119121,"type":596},"“We need a strong, diversified and resilient U.S.-based electric vehicle battery ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":119123},[119124],{"type":606,"attrs":119125},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119127,"type":596},", so we can supply the growing global demand for these vehicles and components – creating good-paying jobs here at home, and laying the groundwork for the jobs of tomorrow.",{"type":591,"attrs":119129,"content":119130},{"textAlign":49},[119131],{"text":119132,"type":596},"“Today’s settlement is a positive step in that direction, which will bring some welcome relief to workers in Georgia and new opportunity for workers across the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":119134,"content":119135},{"textAlign":49},[119136],{"text":119137,"type":596},"“I want to thank Ambassador Katherine Tai for her tireless work to resolve this dispute and facilitate a settlement that is good for America’s future in the electric vehicle industry, and good for job creation.",{"type":591,"attrs":119139,"content":119140},{"textAlign":49},[119141],{"text":119142,"type":596},"“My American Jobs Plan will help build on this momentum, creating millions of new jobs, supporting a stronger American auto industry and making sure that we win the electric vehicle markets of the future.”",{"type":591,"attrs":119144,"content":119145},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":119147,"content":119148},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[119149],{"text":119150,"type":596},"Joint Statement: SK Innovation’s CEO and President, Jun Kim, and Jong Hyun Kim, CEO and President of LG Energy Solution (LG Chem subsidiary) said:",{"type":591,"attrs":119152,"content":119153},{"textAlign":49},[119154],{"text":119155,"type":596},"“We have decided to settle and to compete in an amicable way, all for the future of the U.S. and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":119157,"content":119158},{"textAlign":49},[119159],{"text":119160,"type":596},"“In particular, we will work together to strengthen an EV battery domestic supply chain and support the U.S. Biden Administration’s effort to advance green energy policies and environmental responsibility.",{"type":591,"attrs":119162,"content":119163},{"textAlign":49},[119164],{"text":119165,"type":596},"“Lastly, we sincerely appreciate the Korean and U.S. government officials for their great efforts to reach an agreement.”",{"type":615,"attrs":119167,"content":119168},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[119169],{"text":119170,"type":596},"SK Innovation said:",{"type":591,"attrs":119172,"content":119173},{"textAlign":49},[119174],{"text":119175,"type":596},"“SK Innovation is grateful to the Korean and U.S. administrations and stakeholders for their efforts to resolve the battery dispute.",{"type":591,"attrs":119177,"content":119178},{"textAlign":49},[119179],{"text":119180,"type":596},"“We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Georgia residents, Governor Brian Kemp, Senators Warnock and Ossoff, the Georgia congressional leadership including Georgia’s state Senate and House of Representatives, as well as Jackson County and the city of Commerce for their steadfast support.",{"type":591,"attrs":119182,"content":119183},{"textAlign":49},[119184],{"text":119185,"type":596},"“SK Innovation has made an important decision to move forward to lead the market based on our unique technological competitiveness in the fast-growing electric vehicle and electric vehicle battery industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":119187,"content":119188},{"textAlign":49},[119189],{"text":119190,"type":596},"“We are committed to the green policies and environmental responsibility pursued by the Biden Administration, as well as to the growth of the Georgia economy and job creation.",{"type":591,"attrs":119192,"content":119193},{"textAlign":49},[119194,119196],{"text":119195,"type":596}," “",{"text":119197,"type":596},"First and foremost, we are pleased to continue and further strengthen an on-going partnership with our customers including Ford and Volkswagen. We look forward to working with our customers, and once again thank them for their unwavering support. ",{"type":591,"attrs":119199,"content":119200},{"textAlign":49},[119201,119202],{"text":119195,"type":596},{"text":119203,"type":596},"As the agreement eliminates uncertainty about the operation and expansion of the U.S. battery business, SK Innovation plans to accelerate the stable operation of Plant 1 and construction of Plant 2 in Georgia. Also, in addition to our U.S. investments, SK Innovation plans to invest worldwide to reinforce the global electric vehicle industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":119205,"content":119206},{"textAlign":49},[119207,119208],{"text":119195,"type":596},{"text":119209,"type":596},"SK Innovation will continue emphasizing ESG principles, and we look forward making a positive contribution to the local community.”",{"type":615,"attrs":119211,"content":119212},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[119213],{"text":119214,"type":596},"More Reading from Benchmark:  ",{"type":615,"attrs":119216,"content":119217},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[119218],{"text":119219,"type":596},"Videos to Watch",{"type":591,"attrs":119221,"content":119222},{"textAlign":49},[119223],{"text":119224,"type":596},"“We are in the midst of a global battery arms race” Benchmark’s Moores tells Senate (February 2019) ",{"type":591,"attrs":119226,"content":119227},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119229,"content":119230},{"textAlign":49},[119231],{"text":119232,"type":596},"CNBC Mini Documentary: The US is facing a lithium-ion battery shortage as electric vehicle production ramps up (April 2021) ",{"type":591,"attrs":119234,"content":119235},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119237,"content":119238},{"textAlign":49},[119239,119241,119246],{"text":119240,"type":596},"CNBC Mini Documentary: ",{"text":119242,"type":596,"marks":119243},"Battery Recycling",[119244],{"type":606,"attrs":119245},{"href":21301,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":119247,"type":596}," – How Tesla’s Battery Mastermind Is Tackling EVs Biggest Problem (April 2021) ",{"type":591,"attrs":119249,"content":119250},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119252,"content":119253},{"textAlign":49},[119254],{"text":119255,"type":596},"“Lithium ion batteries – a core platform technology” Benchmark tells US Senate (June 2020) ",{"type":591,"attrs":119257,"content":119258},{"textAlign":49},[],"South Korea’s two leading lithium ion battery cell producers have agreed to end their legal battle on US soil with a $1.8bn settlement plus an undisclosed “running royalty” agreement for the domestic production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Both battery majors have also agreed “to withdraw all pending disputes in the United States and […]",[119261],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119262},{"job_title":557,"image":119263,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[119265,119266,119267],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119269,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119270,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6969b7ec86/bm-lg-ski-white-house.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 11, 2021",{"id":119273,"uuid":119274,"name":119275,"slug":119276,"full_slug":119277,"content":119278},112473462100948,"5a5818fd-0c09-44e8-921e-353554201de0","Stream Benchmark’s Africa Day Highlights","benchmarks-africa-day-highlights","article/benchmarks-africa-day-highlights",{"_uid":119279,"date":119280,"tags":119281,"editor":119282,"content":119286,"excerpt":119361,"featured":50,"reporter":119362,"_editable":119366,"component":697,"seo_title":119275,"categories":119367,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119369,"seo_description":119361,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119372},"bb40a0f4-0c46-4167-8b5e-aa533e91647f","2021-04-01 00:00",[],[119283],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119284},{"job_title":557,"image":119285,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119287},[119288,119293,119307,119317,119320,119323,119326,119329,119332],{"type":591,"attrs":119289,"content":119290},{"textAlign":49},[119291],{"text":119292,"type":596},"Watch selected highlights from Benchmark’s Africa Day below.",{"type":591,"attrs":119294,"content":119295},{"textAlign":49},[119296,119300,119302,119306],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":119297},[119298],{"type":606,"attrs":119299},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":119301,"type":596}," subscribers have full access to videos from Benchmark’s Africa Day and our other events through ",{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":119303},[119304],{"type":606,"attrs":119305},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":119308,"content":119309},{"textAlign":49},[119310,119312,119316],{"text":119311,"type":596},"Learn more or subscribe ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":119313},[119314],{"type":606,"attrs":119315},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":119318,"content":119319},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119321,"content":119322},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119324,"content":119325},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119327,"content":119328},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119330,"content":119331},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":119333,"content":119334},{"textAlign":49},[119335,119340,119344,119349,119353,119358],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":119336},[119337,119339],{"type":606,"attrs":119338},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":119341,"type":596,"marks":119342}," subscribers have full access to videos from our Africa Day  on demand through ",[119343],{"type":1006},{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":119345},[119346,119348],{"type":606,"attrs":119347},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":119350,"type":596,"marks":119351},". Learn more or subscribe ",[119352],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":119354},[119355,119357],{"type":606,"attrs":119356},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":119359},[119360],{"type":1006},"Watch selected highlights from Benchmark’s Africa Day below. Benchmark Membership subscribers have full access to videos from Benchmark’s Africa Day and our other events through Benchmark Video Streaming. Learn more or subscribe here. Benchmark Membership subscribers have full access to videos from our Africa Day on demand through Benchmark Video Streaming. Learn more or subscribe […]",[119363],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119364},{"job_title":557,"image":119365,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bb40a0f4-0c46-4167-8b5e-aa533e91647f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[119368],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119370,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119371,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c343eb3a4d/bm-africa-day.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 01, 2021",{"id":119374,"uuid":119375,"name":119376,"slug":119377,"full_slug":119378,"content":119379},112473481684628,"637f6820-7601-4e39-a7a4-00d7e79eee6c","VW Power Day unwrapped: 6 battery plants, unified cell format, cathode chemistry roadmap, anode materials, and supply chain strategy","vw-power-day-unwrapped-6-battery-plants-unified-cell-format-cathode-chemistry-roadmap-anode-materials-and-supply-chain-strategy","article/vw-power-day-unwrapped-6-battery-plants-unified-cell-format-cathode-chemistry-roadmap-anode-materials-and-supply-chain-strategy",{"_uid":119380,"date":119381,"tags":119382,"editor":119385,"content":119389,"excerpt":119556,"featured":50,"reporter":119557,"_editable":119561,"component":697,"seo_title":119376,"categories":119562,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119564,"seo_description":119556,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119567},"39b832a1-29ed-4c94-b4c8-b3704574290d","2021-03-22 00:00",[119383,119384],{"slug":1354,"name":898},{"slug":70358,"name":70359},[119386],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119387},{"job_title":557,"image":119388,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119390},[119391,119396,119401,119406,119411,119416,119421,119426,119431,119436,119441,119446,119451,119456,119461,119466,119471,119476,119481,119486,119491,119496,119501,119506,119511,119516,119521,119526,119531,119536,119541,119546,119551],{"type":591,"attrs":119392,"content":119393},{"textAlign":49},[119394],{"text":119395,"type":596},"Volkswagen’s (VW) Power Day saw the German automaker take its first major step in the battery arms race, committing to bring 240 GWh of capacity to Europe, outlining its cell format and chemistry plans and giving a glimpse of its supply chain strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":119397,"content":119398},{"textAlign":49},[119399],{"text":119400,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark assesses the key discussion points from VW’s announcements (and omissions) below.",{"type":615,"attrs":119402,"content":119403},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119404],{"text":119405,"type":596},"VW enters the battery arms race with 240 GWh plans for 2030",{"type":591,"attrs":119407,"content":119408},{"textAlign":49},[119409],{"text":119410,"type":596},"VW outlined a road map to have six 40 GWh cell manufacturing plants with a total of 240 GWh of capacity by 2030. The company made clear that these plants could be operated either in partnership with battery cell manufacturers or directly by themselves, although it has yet to provide full details.",{"type":591,"attrs":119412,"content":119413},{"textAlign":49},[119414],{"text":119415,"type":596},"We know that two of the plants included in the 240 GWh figure are already under development through VW’s partnership with Northvolt – which it also holds an ownership share in.",{"type":591,"attrs":119417,"content":119418},{"textAlign":49},[119419],{"text":119420,"type":596},"The first of these plants — the Northvolt Ett facility in Skellefteå, Sweden —  is due to enter first production in late 2021. As part of its Power Day announcements VW increased its commitment to a 10-year, $14 billion offtake from the facility for up to 40 GWh of cells annually beginning in 2023. It was confirmed that VW would increase its ownership share in Northvolt, which was previously estimated to be 20%.",{"type":591,"attrs":119422,"content":119423},{"textAlign":49},[119424],{"text":119425,"type":596},"Northvolt has also sold its joint venture share of the Salzgitter, Germany, project to VW, due to come online in 2025. The Salzgitter project is therefore expected to be fully operated by VW, making it the company’s first step into battery production.",{"type":591,"attrs":119427,"content":119428},{"textAlign":49},[119429],{"text":119430,"type":596},"VW’s 240 GWh capacity plan will require four additional plants not already in the pipeline. One of the new plants is set to be located in Western Europe, which Benchmark expects to be located in Spain, slated to enter operation in 2026.",{"type":591,"attrs":119432,"content":119433},{"textAlign":49},[119434],{"text":119435,"type":596},"VW will also be establishing an Eastern European factory due to enter production a year later. VW have yet to confirm locations for the two additional 40 GWh facilities but it is targeting production to begin before 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":119437,"content":119438},{"textAlign":49},[119439],{"text":119440,"type":596},"On the back of VW’s announcements, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment is now tracking 21 plants with 613 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030.",{"type":615,"attrs":119442,"content":119443},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119444],{"text":119445,"type":596},"VW’s ‘unified cell’ and cathode chemistry plans ",{"type":591,"attrs":119447,"content":119448},{"textAlign":49},[119449],{"text":119450,"type":596},"Another key takeaway from Power Day were VW’s plans to establish a unified cell, pictures of which suggested it would be a prismatic format.",{"type":591,"attrs":119452,"content":119453},{"textAlign":49},[119454],{"text":119455,"type":596},"This could have implications for VW’s existing suppliers, particularly as two of the company’s main suppliers outside of China are LG Energy Solutions and SK Innovation – neither of which currently supply prismatic cells. VW suggested that its unified cell could be used in approximately 80% of its electric vehicles by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":119457,"content":119458},{"textAlign":49},[119459],{"text":119460,"type":596},"The company outlined plans to use LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode technology for its entry level unified cells used in low-cost EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":119462,"content":119463},{"textAlign":49},[119464],{"text":119465,"type":596},"The past 18 months has seen the use and discussion of LFP technology resurge, particularly after Tesla announced its intention to use the chemistry in its standard range Model 3s in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":119467,"content":119468},{"textAlign":49},[119469],{"text":119470,"type":596},"LFP offers a lower-cost and safer alternative to high nickel cathode technologies. The cost advantages and safety benefits of LFP, however, come at the expense of energy density at the cell level. But with improvements in cell-to-pack technology, and potentially cell-to-car in the future, LFP’s performance at a system level is making it a more competitive proposition for entry-level, lower-range electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":119472,"content":119473},{"textAlign":49},[119474],{"text":119475,"type":596},"VW also indicated plans to use high manganese, cobalt-free, cathode as the mainstream chemistry for use in its unified cell. However, high manganese technologies still remain under development and unqualified, and as such Benchmark does not expect these to be used by VW until the second part of the decade at the earliest, if they meet qualification expectations.",{"type":591,"attrs":119477,"content":119478},{"textAlign":49},[119479],{"text":119480,"type":596},"In the long term, VW suggested that 20% of its vehicles would use ‘specific solutions’ which would VW said could be any cell format. The cathode chemistry of choice will be NCM (nickel cathode manganese), which Benchmark expects to be a high nickel chemistry.",{"type":615,"attrs":119482,"content":119483},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119484],{"text":119485,"type":596},"Anode materials ",{"type":591,"attrs":119487,"content":119488},{"textAlign":49},[119489],{"text":119490,"type":596},"Power Day saw VW announce plans to use synthetic graphite anodes and to use silicon as an additive in some of its cells. While VW did not provide great detail, its synthetic graphite announcement suggests a different approach to the prevailing EV trend in anode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":119492,"content":119493},{"textAlign":49},[119494],{"text":119495,"type":596},"Today, many automakers use a blend of natural and synthetic graphite, maximising on the differences in cost and performance between the two materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":119497,"content":119498},{"textAlign":49},[119499],{"text":119500,"type":596},"Synthetic anode is currently the dominant anode material, with Benchmark’s graphite forecasts showing that in 2020 synthetic graphite had a 58% market share, compared with natural graphite’s 38.5%",{"type":591,"attrs":119502,"content":119503},{"textAlign":49},[119504],{"text":119505,"type":596},"However, by the end of the decade this balance will shift with Benchmark forecasts showing that natural anodes will account for 49% of the market compared with 41% of synthetic anodes by 2030, while the market grows in absolute terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":119507,"content":119508},{"textAlign":49},[119509],{"text":119510,"type":596},"VW’s silicon plans reflect its role as an anode material today. Currently silicon is used as an additive in some auto cells – ranging from 3-6% in content.",{"type":591,"attrs":119512,"content":119513},{"textAlign":49},[119514],{"text":119515,"type":596},"With the energy density benefits provided by silicon anodes, and the potential for supply chain diversification, there is a growing push to increase its use as an anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":119517,"content":119518},{"textAlign":49},[119519],{"text":119520,"type":596},"Benchmark forecasts silicon’s anode market share to increase from less than 1% in 2020 to 5% in 2030, but there are still hurdles to wider adoption with degradation and expansion issues associated with increasing silicon content in the anode.",{"type":615,"attrs":119522,"content":119523},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119524],{"text":119525,"type":596},"Raw materials and supply chain strategy",{"type":591,"attrs":119527,"content":119528},{"textAlign":49},[119529],{"text":119530,"type":596},"A notable omission from VW’s Power Day was a reference to battery raw materials. The company focused on the buildout of its downstream capacity and its plans to enter battery production but did not focus on raw material implications.",{"type":591,"attrs":119532,"content":119533},{"textAlign":49},[119534],{"text":119535,"type":596},"Tesla, in comparison, placed much more focus on raw material supply during its Battery Day – which also coincided with the company announcing plans to build a lithium hydroxide refinery in Texas.",{"type":591,"attrs":119537,"content":119538},{"textAlign":49},[119539],{"text":119540,"type":596},"While Volkswagen acknowledged the cost that raw materials play in the battery and the benefits of vertical integration, it did not detail a raw material strategy to support its plans to bring 240 GWh of capacity to Europe this decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":119542,"content":119543},{"textAlign":49},[119544],{"text":119545,"type":596},"With 240 GWh of annual capacity requiring over 200,000 tonnes of LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent), and approximately 150,000 tonnes of nickel based on prevailing cathode technologies, VW – and all other EV makers – will be exposed to significant raw material risks going forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":119547,"content":119548},{"textAlign":49},[119549],{"text":119550,"type":596},"With insufficient investment into upstream raw material production, raw material pricing risks will become a starker reality for all auto OEMs. Benchmark’s forecasts show that battery raw materials are facing supply shortfalls from the mid 2020s onwards. Price volatility is therefore a growing risk to automakers’ cost-cutting plans. This year lithium carbonate prices in China have almost doubled, cobalt hydroxide prices have increased 65.5%, and nickel sulphate prices in China up 18.5%.",{"type":591,"attrs":119552,"content":119553},{"textAlign":49},[119554],{"text":119555,"type":596},"VW’s recycling plans will support battery raw material sourcing in the long term but this will not tackle their near-terms supply issues. A recycling strategy is something all EV makers will consider – particularly those operating in the European Union, where the European Commission (EC) recently outlined requirements for battery cells to used recycled materials. But recycling will not mitigate for the reality of supply constraints in the 2020s and remains a long-term and partial solution to VW’s raw material needs.","Volkswagen’s (VW) Power Day saw the German automaker take its first major step in the battery arms race, committing to bring 240 GWh of capacity to Europe, outlining its cell format and chemistry plans and giving a glimpse of its supply chain strategy. Here, Benchmark assesses the key discussion points from VW’s announcements (and omissions) […]",[119558],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119559},{"job_title":557,"image":119560,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"39b832a1-29ed-4c94-b4c8-b3704574290d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[119563],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119565,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119566,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ac5a8dea96/bm-vw-power-day-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 22, 2021",{"id":119569,"uuid":119570,"name":119571,"slug":119572,"full_slug":119573,"content":119574},112473486591837,"4ee350d4-9b44-45a8-891a-cee8eda61004","Nickel sulphate price rises in the double digits amid market tightness and battery demand growth","nickel-sulphate-price-rises-in-the-double-digits-amid-market-tightness-and-battery-demand-growth","article/nickel-sulphate-price-rises-in-the-double-digits-amid-market-tightness-and-battery-demand-growth",{"_uid":119575,"date":119576,"tags":119577,"editor":119579,"content":119583,"excerpt":119629,"featured":50,"reporter":119630,"_editable":119634,"component":697,"seo_title":119571,"categories":119635,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119638,"seo_description":119629,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119641},"4c626f90-891d-4d26-ac83-5ac527803be7","2021-03-16 00:00",[119578],{"slug":10215,"name":10216},[119580],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119581},{"job_title":557,"image":119582,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119584},[119585,119592,119597,119602,119607,119612,119617,119624],{"type":591,"attrs":119586,"content":119587},{"textAlign":49},[119588,119590,119591],{"text":119589,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate prices have seen sustained upward pressure in early 2021, with EXW China and CIF Asia prices recording 18.5% and 11.9% increases YTD respectively – according to the February issue of the ",{"text":21100,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":119593,"content":119594},{"textAlign":49},[119595],{"text":119596,"type":596},"These price increases are linked to an acceleration in lithium ion industry demand for nickel, in conjunction with the Chinese domestic market seeing a tightening availability of nickel sulphate and class 1 nickel feedstock suitable feedstock suitable for chemical conversion.",{"type":591,"attrs":119598,"content":119599},{"textAlign":49},[119600],{"text":119601,"type":596},"A tight supply of nickel intermediates, namely MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate), has proven particularly challenging as demand has scaled, forcing refiners to either seek either alternative feedstocks – such as CNGR’s and Huayou Cobalt’s nickel matte supply agreement with Tsingshan –  or scale back nickel sulphate production altogether.",{"type":591,"attrs":119603,"content":119604},{"textAlign":49},[119605],{"text":119606,"type":596},"MHP has quickly become the preferred raw material feedstock for the battery supply chain, due to its lower cost and the significant growth in available supply expected from Indonesian HPAL projects in coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":119608,"content":119609},{"textAlign":49},[119610],{"text":119611,"type":596},"With growing demands from the battery industry, nickel refiners have been increasingly switching production lines towards the utilisation of MHP. These pressures, in addition to supply disruption caused by the closure of the VNC mine in New Caledonia, has fuelled MHP tightness.",{"type":591,"attrs":119613,"content":119614},{"textAlign":49},[119615],{"text":119616,"type":596},"As a result of tight availability of nickel sulphate and raw material supply for chemical conversion in the Chinese domestic market, Chinese buyers have moved to secure alternative nickel sulphate supply from producers across Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":119618,"content":119619},{"textAlign":49},[119620,119622,119623],{"text":119621,"type":596},"This has driven a 24.6% increase in nickel sulphate premiums (the premium negotiated over prevailing metal prices) in the international market – a premium Chinese consumers have been willing to accept. CIF Asia nickel sulphate premiums ranged between $1,575-2,475/tonne of nickel according to the February issue of the ",{"text":21100,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":119625,"content":119626},{"textAlign":49},[119627],{"text":119628,"type":596},"To date market tightness has been concentrated in China, with Japanese and Korean buyers continuing to consume feedstock from long term contracts. Price increases seen in the Chinese market have had little impact to date, although concerns have mounted over the potential for raw material shortages in Q2 on the strength of activity in the Chinese market activity.","Nickel sulphate prices have seen sustained upward pressure in early 2021, with EXW China and CIF Asia prices recording 18.5% and 11.9% increases YTD respectively – according to the February issue of the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment. These price increases are linked to an acceleration in lithium ion industry demand for nickel, in conjunction with […]",[119631],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119632},{"job_title":557,"image":119633,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4c626f90-891d-4d26-ac83-5ac527803be7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[119636,119637],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119639,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119640,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6eb6aa979e/bm-nickel-cobalt-pic.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 16, 2021",{"id":119643,"uuid":119644,"name":119645,"slug":119646,"full_slug":119647,"content":119648},112473496684636,"49c62897-a5c0-488b-a99b-e47da6098f73","What does Tsingshan’s nickel matte deal mean for lithium ion and the nickel industry?","what-does-tsingshans-nickel-matte-deal-mean-for-lithium-ion-and-the-nickel-industry","article/what-does-tsingshans-nickel-matte-deal-mean-for-lithium-ion-and-the-nickel-industry",{"_uid":119649,"date":119650,"tags":119651,"editor":119654,"content":119658,"excerpt":119785,"featured":50,"reporter":119786,"_editable":119790,"component":697,"seo_title":119645,"categories":119791,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119794,"seo_description":119785,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119797},"7303ad46-67f2-4fa7-94ca-2687e4364262","2021-03-10 00:00",[119652,119653],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":34315,"name":34316},[119655],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119656},{"job_title":557,"image":119657,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119659},[119660,119665,119670,119675,119680,119685,119690,119697,119702,119707,119712,119717,119722,119727,119732,119737,119745,119750,119755,119760,119765,119770,119775,119780],{"type":591,"attrs":119661,"content":119662},{"textAlign":49},[119663],{"text":119664,"type":596},"Chinese stainless-steel producer Tsinghsan has signed an agreement to supply 100,000 tonnes of nickel matte converted from nickel pig iron (NPI) —equivalent to 75,000 tonnes of nickel contained— to midstream majors CNGR and Huayou Cobalt for nickel sulphate production, beginning in October 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":119666,"content":119667},{"textAlign":49},[119668],{"text":119669,"type":596},"The announcement sent shockwaves around the market, with LME nickel prices closing 13% down on Friday 8 March compared with the previous week.",{"type":591,"attrs":119671,"content":119672},{"textAlign":49},[119673],{"text":119674,"type":596},"Tsingshan confirmed that it had started trialling production of nickel matte from NPI in July 2020 at the Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Indonesia, a process which was reportedly successfully completed at the end of last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":119676,"content":119677},{"textAlign":49},[119678],{"text":119679,"type":596},"Further to this, the stainless-steel producer confirmed that it would be ramping up nickel production from 600,000 tonnes in 2021 to 1.1 million tonnes by 2023; switching a portion of its production between NPI and matte ‘according to market demand and price changes.’",{"type":591,"attrs":119681,"content":119682},{"textAlign":49},[119683],{"text":119684,"type":596},"Whilst the conversion of ‘class 2’ nickel into an intermediate product such as matte is not a new process, Tsingshan’s move looks set to have near and longer term consequences for the nickel market and the battery supply chain, which Benchmark assesses below.",{"type":615,"attrs":119686,"content":119687},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119688],{"text":119689,"type":596},"Short term impact ",{"type":591,"attrs":119691,"content":119692},{"textAlign":49},[119693,119695],{"text":119694,"type":596},"The announcement comes amidst tightness in the availability of both nickel sulphate, and ‘class 1’ raw material supply suitable for chemical conversion in the Chinese market; with Chinese nickel sulphate prices having undergone an 18.5% increase since the start of the year according to the February issue of ",{"text":119696,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":119698,"content":119699},{"textAlign":49},[119700],{"text":119701,"type":596},"The tightening of nickel sulphate and raw material supply has been fuelled by a substantial increase in nickel demand from the battery industry beginning in earnest in H2 2020, linked to surging EV sales globally, coupled with residual disruption at key raw material suppliers for the battery supply chain – notably the ongoing closure of the VNC mine in New Caledonia.",{"type":591,"attrs":119703,"content":119704},{"textAlign":49},[119705],{"text":119706,"type":596},"Tight nickel sulphate and ‘class 1’ nickel supply has forced Chinese buyers to seek alternative sources to bridge supply gaps. Alongside procuring lower cost nickel sulphate from the international market in recent months, Chinese refiners have also started exploring the utilisation of ‘class 2’ nickel units, namely NPI and Ferronickel (FeNi), as feedstock for nickel sulphate production.",{"type":591,"attrs":119708,"content":119709},{"textAlign":49},[119710],{"text":119711,"type":596},"To date, the utilisation of ‘class 2’ nickel units has been largely avoided to due to higher conversion costs, loss of cobalt as a by-product, and an elevated carbon footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":119713,"content":119714},{"textAlign":49},[119715],{"text":119716,"type":596},"However, with battery demand expected to continue accelerating this year, and a raft of new Indonesian NPI supply coming to market across 2020 and 2021, the utilisation of ‘class 2’ units to bridge emerging supply gaps has come closer to a reality.",{"type":591,"attrs":119718,"content":119719},{"textAlign":49},[119720],{"text":119721,"type":596},"The scale of new NPI supply from Indonesia has fuelled a growing discount to prevailing LME nickel prices, and with Chinese nickel sulphate now trading at significant premium to metal prices, current pricing dictates that the NPI is now an economical feedstock for nickel sulphate production.",{"type":591,"attrs":119723,"content":119724},{"textAlign":49},[119725],{"text":119726,"type":596},"Nevertheless, whilst the news has eased some near-term supply concerns, it remains to be seen how quickly Chinese refiners can upgrade their production lines to start utilising matte for nickel sulphate production.",{"type":591,"attrs":119728,"content":119729},{"textAlign":49},[119730],{"text":119731,"type":596},"Furthermore, with CNGR and Huayou only set to start taking delivery of matte from Tsingshan in October, ‘class 1’ raw material avalaibility for chemical conversion is expected to remain tight for the next six months.",{"type":615,"attrs":119733,"content":119734},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[119735],{"text":119736,"type":596},"Long term impact",{"type":591,"attrs":119738,"content":119739},{"textAlign":49},[119740,119742,119743],{"text":119741,"type":596},"It is ",{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":119744,"type":596}," view that rather than signifying a move away from, or a displacement of more traditional ‘class 1’ nickel units in the production of nickel sulphate, the conversion of NPI to nickel matte is likely to be used to balance the market when ‘class 1’ supply is tight.",{"type":591,"attrs":119746,"content":119747},{"textAlign":49},[119748],{"text":119749,"type":596},"Intermediates, such as MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate), produced via the HPAL process will remain preferable due to a number of fundamental cost advantages, including lower conversion costs into nickel sulphate, the presence of cobalt as a by-product, and being less carbon intensive to produce.",{"type":591,"attrs":119751,"content":119752},{"textAlign":49},[119753],{"text":119754,"type":596},"In the longer term, for larger players in the supply chain, investments in HPAL are still preferable due to MHP’s aforementioned benefits.",{"type":591,"attrs":119756,"content":119757},{"textAlign":49},[119758],{"text":119759,"type":596},"This has been demonstrated over the past year, with Chinese cathode material producer GEM extending its control over the PMB New Material HPAL project in January. The company had also reached an 8-year offtake agreement with developer PT Lygend, which most recently established a long-term supply agreement with Beijing Easpring.",{"type":591,"attrs":119761,"content":119762},{"textAlign":49},[119763],{"text":119764,"type":596},"However, for smaller players in the supply chain, who are often unable to take on the risk associated with investing in HPAL plants, the conversion of NPI to matte increases the range of feedstocks available to them for utilisation in nickel sulphate production, allowing them to secure nickel supply without significant capital investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":119766,"content":119767},{"textAlign":49},[119768],{"text":119769,"type":596},"As such, it is expected that an increasing number of ‘class 2’ nickel producers will install nickel matte conversion capacity to capitalise on potential demand from the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":119771,"content":119772},{"textAlign":49},[119773],{"text":119774,"type":596},"In this sense, NPI can function as a ‘swing supply’ in times of market tightness and help bridge supply gaps for the battery industry, easing concerns in the market about the potential for future supply shortages.",{"type":591,"attrs":119776,"content":119777},{"textAlign":49},[119778],{"text":119779,"type":596},"However, the conversion of NPI to matte is a carbon intensive process, and with the ESG spotlight firmly fixed on the battery supply chain, it remains to be seen whether Western automakers will utilise nickel from such sources in their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":119781,"content":119782},{"textAlign":49},[119783],{"text":119784,"type":596},"A  situation may develop where the NPI to matte route is used solely in the Chinese market, whilst more traditional ‘class 1’ nickel sources are utilised by Western automakers and cell producers alike.","Chinese stainless-steel producer Tsinghsan has signed an agreement to supply 100,000 tonnes of nickel matte converted from nickel pig iron (NPI) —equivalent to 75,000 tonnes of nickel contained— to midstream majors CNGR and Huayou Cobalt for nickel sulphate production, beginning in October 2021. The announcement sent shockwaves around the market, with LME nickel prices closing […]",[119787],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119788},{"job_title":557,"image":119789,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7303ad46-67f2-4fa7-94ca-2687e4364262\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[119792,119793],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119795,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119796,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7e6312dd93/bm-tsingshan-holding-group.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 10, 2021",{"id":119799,"uuid":119800,"name":119801,"slug":119802,"full_slug":119803,"content":119804},112473506851193,"327ae296-a001-49c2-9512-3aac66ce6890","Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate prices surge 68% in first 2 months of 2021","chinese-battery-grade-lithium-carbonate-prices-surge-68-in-first-2-months-of-2021","article/chinese-battery-grade-lithium-carbonate-prices-surge-68-in-first-2-months-of-2021",{"_uid":119805,"date":119806,"tags":119807,"editor":119809,"content":119813,"excerpt":119875,"featured":50,"reporter":119876,"_editable":119880,"component":697,"seo_title":119801,"categories":119881,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":119884,"seo_description":119875,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":119887},"c7570d0d-bdd8-4056-aeb5-f6f12a92148f","2021-03-04 00:00",[119808],{"slug":10304,"name":10305},[119810],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119811},{"job_title":557,"image":119812,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119814},[119815,119824,119833,119838,119850,119855,119860,119865,119870],{"type":591,"attrs":119816,"content":119817},{"textAlign":49},[119818,119820,119822],{"text":119819,"type":596},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices (",{"text":119821,"type":596},"Benchmark Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3",{"text":119823,"type":596},") increased by 68% in the first 2 months of 2021 in China on the back of high battery demand, particularly for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, and a slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":119825,"content":119826},{"textAlign":49},[119827,119829,119831],{"text":119828,"type":596},"Surging Chinese lithium carbonate prices, which now hold a premium over hydroxide prices for the first time since April 2018, helped push the ",{"text":119830,"type":596},"Benchmark Lithium Price Index ",{"text":119832,"type":596},"up by 14.4% in February 2021, its second largest move on record after January 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":119834,"content":119835},{"textAlign":49},[119836],{"text":119837,"type":596},"Due to the slow roll out of higher nickel cathode chemistries, NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode production for the EV supply chain remains focused on NCM 523, which in combination with strong LFP demand, has helped to sustain higher levels of demand for lithium carbonate in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":119839,"content":119840},{"textAlign":49},[119841,119843,119848],{"text":119842,"type":596},"Although the greatest price increases have been mostly constrained to Chinese lithium carbonate, ",{"text":119844,"type":596,"marks":119845},"Benchmark’s global weighted average lithium hydroxide prices",[119846],{"type":606,"attrs":119847},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":119849,"type":596}," up 8% year-to-date as prices have increased this year on the back of improving EV demand sentiments.",{"type":591,"attrs":119851,"content":119852},{"textAlign":49},[119853],{"text":119854,"type":596},"In fact, all 11 of Benchmark’s lithium prices registered increases in February 2021 as producers of both spodumene and lithium chemicals worldwide have begun to sell out inventories and fill order books through until the end of Q2 2021. While large price rises have so far been limited to China, pricing in the rest of the world has begun to move upwards towards Chinese levels with ex-Chinese carbonate prices up by an average of 17.1% in February.",{"type":591,"attrs":119856,"content":119857},{"textAlign":49},[119858],{"text":119859,"type":596},"With demand from China continuing to mount lithium producers have doubled down on raising finance to support expansions, anticipating further demand increases. In the past month Albemarle undertook a $1.5 billion public equity offering and SQM’s board approved a $700 million investment decision to develop the Mt Holland project jointly owned by Wesfarmers.",{"type":591,"attrs":119861,"content":119862},{"textAlign":49},[119863],{"text":119864,"type":596},"While lithium’s majors are beginning to reengage in expansion plans, three years of falling lithium prices have failed to incentivise sufficient investment into the supply chain, leading to greater risks of price volatility as battery demand ramps up.",{"type":591,"attrs":119866,"content":119867},{"textAlign":49},[119868],{"text":119869,"type":596},"The growing emphasis on a green economic recovery in Europe, which saw EV sales increase 42.5% in January 2021 compared with 2020, and North America, and with China continuing to rapidly electrify, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there is a sustained increase in EV demand following COVID-19.",{"type":591,"attrs":119871,"content":119872},{"textAlign":49},[119873],{"text":119874,"type":596},"With battery raw material prices accounting for a greater proportion of lithium ion cell production costs, battery and automakers should be watching lithium’s new price environment closely.","Battery grade lithium carbonate prices (Benchmark Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3) increased by 68% in the first 2 months of 2021 in China on the back of high battery demand, particularly for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, and a slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries. Surging Chinese lithium carbonate prices, which now […]",[119877],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119878},{"job_title":557,"image":119879,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c7570d0d-bdd8-4056-aeb5-f6f12a92148f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[119882,119883],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":119885,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":119886,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60bb1fd64d/bm-benchmark-lithium-prices-feb-2021-2-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 04, 2021",{"id":119889,"uuid":119890,"name":119891,"slug":119892,"full_slug":119893,"content":119894},112473511782819,"d25f4c16-e748-4f3a-bd0d-a3b56665e7e2","How scale reduced battery costs but exposed auto companies to greater raw material pricing risks","how-scale-reduced-battery-costs-but-exposed-auto-companies-to-greater-raw-material-pricing-risks","article/how-scale-reduced-battery-costs-but-exposed-auto-companies-to-greater-raw-material-pricing-risks",{"_uid":119895,"date":119896,"tags":119897,"editor":119898,"content":119902,"excerpt":120012,"featured":50,"reporter":120013,"_editable":120017,"component":697,"seo_title":119891,"categories":120018,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120020,"seo_description":120012,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120023},"050a82dc-e711-4d24-a3ec-2719b2813413","2021-02-25 00:00",[],[119899],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":119900},{"job_title":557,"image":119901,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":119903},[119904,119913,119918,119923,119928,119939,119944,119969,119974,119979,119992,119997,120002],{"type":591,"attrs":119905,"content":119906},{"textAlign":49},[119907,119909,119910,119911],{"text":119908,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s",{"text":108486,"type":596},{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":119912,"type":596},") data shows that the average price of a lithium ion cell decreased at an annual rate of -17.8% between 2010 and 2020, from $780/kWh in 2010 to $110/kWh (large contract automotive) in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":119914,"content":119915},{"textAlign":49},[119916],{"text":119917,"type":596},"With the global expansion of battery megafactories and the subsequent scaling up of battery production capacity, cell costs have consistently fallen.",{"type":591,"attrs":119919,"content":119920},{"textAlign":49},[119921],{"text":119922,"type":596},"But the cost savings provided by economies of scale have been diminishing. While there are still cost benefits in scaling up production capacity, with the average plant size continuing to increase, the reduction in processing costs achieved by economies of scale will only go so far.",{"type":591,"attrs":119924,"content":119925},{"textAlign":49},[119926],{"text":119927,"type":596},"The success of battery manufacturers in scaling up production and driving down costs has exposed them to greater raw material risks. As cell prices near the $100/kWh mark, the bill of materials now takes up a greater share of total battery cell production costs. As such, any shift in raw material prices will now have a greater impact on the costs of production than ever before.",{"type":591,"attrs":119929,"content":119930},{"textAlign":49},[119931,119933,119937],{"text":119932,"type":596},"Data from ",{"text":25238,"type":596,"marks":119934},[119935],{"type":606,"attrs":119936},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":119938,"type":596}," shows that cathode and anode raw materials for NCM/NCA cells account for over 55% of the bill of materials (modelled on a 10 GWh non-integrated plant). Any significant price increases for lithium, cobalt, nickel or graphite anode would therefore translate into notably higher battery cell costs and prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":119940,"content":119941},{"textAlign":49},[119942],{"text":119943,"type":596},"Auto majors have been insulated from raw material price risks in recent years as falling raw material costs between 2018 to 2020 have helped to sustain the trend of falling lithium ion cell prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":119945,"content":119946},{"textAlign":49},[119947,119948,119954,119956,119961,119962,119967],{"text":62064,"type":596},{"text":119949,"type":596,"marks":119950},"low price environment for battery raw materials will not continue forever",[119951],{"type":606,"attrs":119952},{"href":119953,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-battery-raw-material-class-of-2021-prices-rise-as-ev-upturn-and-commodity-supercycle-loom",{"text":119955,"type":596}," – both the ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":119957},[119958],{"type":606,"attrs":119959},{"href":119960,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-starts-2021-with-a-bang-but-does-this-spell-the-end-of-low-prices",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":3102,"type":596,"marks":119963},[119964],{"type":606,"attrs":119965},{"href":119966,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-lithium-prices-rise-over-40-in-january-2021-as-lfp-electric-vehicle-demand-goes-back-to-the-future",{"text":119968,"type":596}," markets have already undergone recent price increases amid rising demand from the battery sector, without an equal supply response.",{"type":591,"attrs":119970,"content":119971},{"textAlign":49},[119972],{"text":119973,"type":596},"The greatest risk to lithium ion cell costs and the transition to electric vehicles, for which the battery makes up over a quarter of total costs, is therefore battery raw material price volatility, which could reverse a decades-long trend of falling prices for lithium ion battery cells",{"type":591,"attrs":119975,"content":119976},{"textAlign":49},[119977],{"text":119978,"type":596},"For lithium ion cell prices to continue their downward trend, but also to mitigate for raw material pricing risks, auto majors and battery manufacturers must look at the whole value chain, from raw material sourcing to battery pack architecture to achieve further cost reductions.",{"type":591,"attrs":119980,"content":119981},{"textAlign":49},[119982,119984,119990],{"text":119983,"type":596},"This is the approach outlined by ",{"text":119985,"type":596,"marks":119986},"Tesla during its Battery Day in September",[119987],{"type":606,"attrs":119988},{"href":119989,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-silicon-anodes-terafactory-watch-benchmarks-reaction-to-teslas-battery-day-free",{"text":119991,"type":596},", with the company looking to execute cost cutting initiatives by integrating its supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":119993,"content":119994},{"textAlign":49},[119995],{"text":119996,"type":596},"EV makers have already begun forming upstream partnerships in pursuit of this. The tie ups between auto and battery companies, such as Tesla-Panasonic, Volkswagen-Northvolt, and General Motors-LG Chem, have dominated these supply chain integrations to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":119998,"content":119999},{"textAlign":49},[120000],{"text":120001,"type":596},"In order to reduce price risk, and to continue to push down cell costs, the next step will be for battery and auto majors to look further upstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":120003,"content":120004},{"textAlign":49},[120005,120010],{"text":120006,"type":596,"marks":120007},"Tesla’s plans to develop its lithium hydroxide plant in Texas",[120008],{"type":606,"attrs":120009},{"href":103849,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":120011,"type":596},", while still in its infancy, outline the vertical integration model downstream companies need to follow to maintain cost reductions and to protect themselves from raw material price volatility. Unfortunately, with insufficient investment into ramping up supply, this volatility is effectively baked in for the mid-2020s.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s (Benchmark) data shows that the average price of a lithium ion cell decreased at an annual rate of -17.8% between 2010 and 2020, from $780/kWh in 2010 to $110/kWh (large contract automotive) in 2020. With the global expansion of battery megafactories and the subsequent scaling up of battery production capacity, cell costs […]",[120014],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120015},{"job_title":557,"image":120016,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"050a82dc-e711-4d24-a3ec-2719b2813413\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120019],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120021,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120022,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/56a00e9a7d/bm-tesla-gigafactory-2-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 25, 2021",{"id":120025,"uuid":120026,"name":120027,"slug":120028,"full_slug":120029,"content":120030},112473516538277,"f88700fe-0b0c-400c-bc5f-24d93408666d","‘Canada can create upstream EV battery blueprint’ Benchmark’s Moores tells Parliament","canada-can-create-upstream-ev-battery-blueprint-benchmarks-moores-tells-parliament","article/canada-can-create-upstream-ev-battery-blueprint-benchmarks-moores-tells-parliament",{"_uid":120031,"date":120032,"tags":120033,"editor":120034,"content":120038,"excerpt":120201,"featured":50,"reporter":120202,"_editable":120206,"component":697,"seo_title":120027,"categories":120207,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120209,"seo_description":120201,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120212},"42017498-9f21-4120-8602-4463ec1b5b00","2021-02-23 00:00",[],[120035],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120036},{"job_title":557,"image":120037,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120039},[120040,120051,120056,120061,120066,120071,120076,120081,120086,120091,120096,120101,120106,120111,120116,120121,120126,120131,120136,120141,120146,120151,120156,120161,120166,120171,120176,120181,120186,120191,120196],{"type":591,"attrs":120041,"content":120042},{"textAlign":49},[120043,120047],{"text":120044,"type":596,"marks":120045},"On Monday 22 February 2021, Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, spoke to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, House of Commons, Canada. ",[120046],{"type":1006},{"text":120048,"type":596,"marks":120049},"This is the transcript of his opening statement:",[120050],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":120052,"content":120053},{"textAlign":49},[120054],{"text":120055,"type":596},"We are in the middle of a global battery arms race where the world’s major economies are building a base to the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":120057,"content":120058},{"textAlign":49},[120059],{"text":120060,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery is the platform technology to unlocking the vast potential that energy storage holds for our world through electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":120062,"content":120063},{"textAlign":49},[120064],{"text":120065,"type":596},"This race to build global battery capacity has seen the number of megafactories or gigafactories in the pipeline go from 3 in 2015 to 192 today.",{"type":591,"attrs":120067,"content":120068},{"textAlign":49},[120069],{"text":120070,"type":596},"China and Europe have led this charge but North America is just beginning its journey.",{"type":591,"attrs":120072,"content":120073},{"textAlign":49},[120074],{"text":120075,"type":596},"The importance of these battery megafactories cannot be underestimated.",{"type":591,"attrs":120077,"content":120078},{"textAlign":49},[120079],{"text":120080,"type":596},"They not only provided the necessary lithium ion battery cells at the scale and low cost to tap into this megatrend, but these super-sized battery plants are becoming physical embodiments of a country’s industrial and technological ambition.",{"type":591,"attrs":120082,"content":120083},{"textAlign":49},[120084],{"text":120085,"type":596},"Due to significant investments made today, by 2030 China and Europe will hold the sway of this industrial power accounting for 67% and 18% of the world’s battery capacity, respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":120087,"content":120088},{"textAlign":49},[120089],{"text":120090,"type":596},"North America will presently hold just 12%, a fraction of what it will need and a number that is at odds with its global energy and automotive position today.",{"type":591,"attrs":120092,"content":120093},{"textAlign":49},[120094],{"text":120095,"type":596},"Access to low cost, high quality lithium ion batteries will be one of the factors in determining which economies come out on top in the race to decarbonise the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":120097,"content":120098},{"textAlign":49},[120099],{"text":120100,"type":596},"However, this is not just a battery game but one of supply chain dominance.",{"type":591,"attrs":120102,"content":120103},{"textAlign":49},[120104],{"text":120105,"type":596},"As is known to all of our Canadian customers and friends, this begins in the ground at mine level.",{"type":591,"attrs":120107,"content":120108},{"textAlign":49},[120109],{"text":120110,"type":596},"While 25% of the cost of an electric vehicle is the lithium ion battery, 80% of the cost of a battery is the minerals, metals and chemicals that go into it.",{"type":591,"attrs":120112,"content":120113},{"textAlign":49},[120114],{"text":120115,"type":596},"So in the end the fundamental limiting factor is the access to the quality raw materials and chemicals at a stable long term price.",{"type":591,"attrs":120117,"content":120118},{"textAlign":49},[120119],{"text":120120,"type":596},"While the world’s governments and auto majors focus on building EVs and battery plants, a true leader is yet to emerge in building the supply chains that feed them.",{"type":591,"attrs":120122,"content":120123},{"textAlign":49},[120124],{"text":120125,"type":596},"At Benchmark, we call this The Great Raw Material Disconnect between those making EVs and the miners and chemists building the speciality materials that go into them.",{"type":591,"attrs":120127,"content":120128},{"textAlign":49},[120129],{"text":120130,"type":596},"Canada is a country built on understanding the importance of these supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":120132,"content":120133},{"textAlign":49},[120134],{"text":120135,"type":596},"Your country has some of the world’s richest resources of EV minerals and metals of lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, copper and rare earths.",{"type":591,"attrs":120137,"content":120138},{"textAlign":49},[120139],{"text":120140,"type":596},"And just as importantly, you have the people, the knowhow and the technology to be able to access these resources in a responsible, economic way.",{"type":591,"attrs":120142,"content":120143},{"textAlign":49},[120144],{"text":120145,"type":596},"As a result, Canada holds the potential to create the upstream blueprint for this global energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":120147,"content":120148},{"textAlign":49},[120149],{"text":120150,"type":596},"While the world looks one way to build EVs and battery cells, Canada should look the other way, upstream, to not only ensure the basic supply of raw materials for this revolution, but add the value and make the chemicals, anodes, cathodes and even, maybe, your own 100% Canadian lithium ion batteries, from mine to cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":120152,"content":120153},{"textAlign":49},[120154],{"text":120155,"type":596},"This has been China’s approach.",{"type":591,"attrs":120157,"content":120158},{"textAlign":49},[120159],{"text":120160,"type":596},"China has built dominance in this supply chain through more than a decade of investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":120162,"content":120163},{"textAlign":49},[120164],{"text":120165,"type":596},"Despite the common misnomer, only 23% of all battery raw materials are mined in China but 80% of battery chemicals are refined there.",{"type":591,"attrs":120167,"content":120168},{"textAlign":49},[120169],{"text":120170,"type":596},"Having huge midstream capacity ensures these key raw materials flow into China to be value added. It also translates to creating trillions of dollars of value in downstream industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":120172,"content":120173},{"textAlign":49},[120174],{"text":120175,"type":596},"This is a game of raw material musical chairs and with no country willing to yet take a leadership position, the music will stop and with it the electric cars and energy storage systems needed to decarbonise the world will grind to a halt.",{"type":591,"attrs":120177,"content":120178},{"textAlign":49},[120179],{"text":120180,"type":596},"Canada holds all the ingredients to solve this problem.",{"type":591,"attrs":120182,"content":120183},{"textAlign":49},[120184],{"text":120185,"type":596},"To make this happen, Canada needs to align policy, legislation and funding at both a federal and provincial level.",{"type":591,"attrs":120187,"content":120188},{"textAlign":49},[120189],{"text":120190,"type":596},"The European Union recently invested 3 billion euros into the battery supply chain which will spark three times the amount of private investment. The United States investing 20 billion dollars into the semiconductor supply chain last year is also an apt example.",{"type":591,"attrs":120192,"content":120193},{"textAlign":49},[120194],{"text":120195,"type":596},"The world’s major economies are rapidly realising that economic security is national security, and the lithium ion battery supply chain is the battleground.",{"type":591,"attrs":120197,"content":120198},{"textAlign":49},[120199],{"text":120200,"type":596},"I would like to thank Chairman James Maloney and Vice Chair Greg Mclean for inviting me to speak and for their leadership on this subject.","On Monday 22 February 2021, Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, spoke to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, House of Commons, Canada. This is the transcript of his opening statement: We are in the middle of a global battery arms race where the world’s major economies are building a base to the energy […]",[120203],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120204},{"job_title":557,"image":120205,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"42017498-9f21-4120-8602-4463ec1b5b00\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120208],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120210,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120211,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9c39fe9625/bm-candanian-parliament.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 23, 2021",{"id":120214,"uuid":120215,"name":120216,"slug":120217,"full_slug":120218,"content":120219},112473527171706,"15337cb9-2248-41e4-917d-5a838aa241bb","Ford and Jaguar Land Rover set new EV targets as European battery demand growth accelerates","ford-and-jaguar-land-rover-set-new-ev-targets-as-european-battery-demand-growth-accelerates","article/ford-and-jaguar-land-rover-set-new-ev-targets-as-european-battery-demand-growth-accelerates",{"_uid":120220,"date":120221,"tags":120222,"editor":120224,"content":120228,"excerpt":120410,"featured":50,"reporter":120411,"_editable":120415,"component":697,"seo_title":120216,"categories":120416,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120418,"seo_description":120410,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120421},"01c8b1ed-0e8e-493e-938c-7191acb94740","2021-02-19 00:00",[120223],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[120225],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120226},{"job_title":557,"image":120227,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120229},[120230,120235,120240,120245,120250,120255,120260,120265,120270,120275,120280,120285,120290,120295,120300,120305,120310,120315,120320,120325,120330,120335,120340,120345,120350,120355,120360,120365,120370,120375,120380,120385,120390,120395,120400,120405],{"type":591,"attrs":120231,"content":120232},{"textAlign":49},[120233],{"text":120234,"type":596},"Following a strong recovery in H2 2020, Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) momentum has continued into Q1 2021 with Ford of Europe and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) setting out new electrification targets this week.",{"type":591,"attrs":120236,"content":120237},{"textAlign":49},[120238],{"text":120239,"type":596},"As automakers expand their electric offerings, the 2020s will see European battery demand enter a new phase, with data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database showing that battery demand in Europe is set to increase at an annualised rate of 40.1% between 2020 and 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":120241,"content":120242},{"textAlign":49},[120243],{"text":120244,"type":596},"With these additional demand pressures there is a growing need for investment into the supply chain. This year the EU has promised an additional €2.9 billion of funding and SK Innovation added another battery megafactory to its European pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":120246,"content":120247},{"textAlign":49},[120248],{"text":120249,"type":596},"But is this enough to support Europe’s growing EV market?",{"type":615,"attrs":120251,"content":120252},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120253],{"text":120254,"type":596},"JLR and Ford of Europe set out electrification targets",{"type":591,"attrs":120256,"content":120257},{"textAlign":49},[120258],{"text":120259,"type":596},"JLR’s new electrification target puts its Jaguar brand on a path to being fully electric by 2025, however, it anticipates that approximately only 60% of Land Rovers sold by 2030 will be full electric. The company has been behind the curve in the move to electrification to date – it paid a €35 million fine to the EU for failing to meet carbon targets in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":120261,"content":120262},{"textAlign":49},[120263],{"text":120264,"type":596},"Following the JLR announcement, Ford of Europe’s president Stuart Rowley, said that the company plans to go fully electric in Europe by 2030. As part of these efforts the company has outlined plans to invest $1 billion in converting an existing assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, into an EV production site.",{"type":591,"attrs":120266,"content":120267},{"textAlign":49},[120268],{"text":120269,"type":596},"The announcements from Ford and JLR did not pay significant attention to the battery requirements dictated by their electrification targets, but both companies will need to establish a secure lithium ion cell supply to meet their goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":120271,"content":120272},{"textAlign":49},[120273],{"text":120274,"type":596},"Cell demand on the continent grew at an average rate of 22% between 2015 and 2019 but demand growth rates are only set to accelerate with greater EV penetration.",{"type":591,"attrs":120276,"content":120277},{"textAlign":49},[120278],{"text":120279,"type":596},"Between 2020 and 2025, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database model is forecasting European cell demand to increase at an average of 40.1% each year, from approximately 40 GWh of demand in 2020 to almost 200 GWh in 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":120281,"content":120282},{"textAlign":49},[120283],{"text":120284,"type":596},"To meet this challenging demand trajectory, continued private and public investment and policy support will be key to scaling up Europe’s supply chain, with secure raw material supply critical to meet this demand, which to date has been insufficient.",{"type":615,"attrs":120286,"content":120287},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120288],{"text":120289,"type":596},"EU sets out its latest battery supply chain project ",{"type":591,"attrs":120291,"content":120292},{"textAlign":49},[120293],{"text":120294,"type":596},"Investment into the European battery supply chain has not been neglected altogether as the EU’s January announcement shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":120296,"content":120297},{"textAlign":49},[120298],{"text":120299,"type":596},"The latest EU project, ‘European Battery Innovation’, is backed by seven EU members states including Germany and France, and provides €2.9 billion of funding to the battery supply chain, which the EU expects to unlock a further €9 billion in private investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":120301,"content":120302},{"textAlign":49},[120303],{"text":120304,"type":596},"The project covers the full supply chain —from raw materials, to battery cells, and finally recycling— with 42 participants involved, including major electric vehicle (EV) producers such as BMW and Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":120306,"content":120307},{"textAlign":49},[120308],{"text":120309,"type":596},"This follows on from EU funding at the end of 2019, with €3.2 billion of investment promised into a European-wide research and innovation project covering all segments of the supply chain, which the EU hoped to deliver an extra €5 billion from the private sector investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":120311,"content":120312},{"textAlign":49},[120313],{"text":120314,"type":596},"Altogether, if the expected private investment materialises, both of these projects would amount to €20 billion of EU-led investment promised for the battery supply chain over the past 18 months.",{"type":615,"attrs":120316,"content":120317},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120318],{"text":120319,"type":596},"SK Innovation to expand Hungary cell production ",{"type":591,"attrs":120321,"content":120322},{"textAlign":49},[120323],{"text":120324,"type":596},"Shortly after the EU’s announcement, SK Innovation announced plans to invest a reported €1.9 billion ($2.3 billion) to build its third Hungarian megafactory, with a target 30 GWh of capacity and commercial production set for 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":120326,"content":120327},{"textAlign":49},[120328],{"text":120329,"type":596},"With the latest investment Hungary now has four megafactories in the pipeline, with Samsung’s Göd megafactory and three SK Innovation plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":120331,"content":120332},{"textAlign":49},[120333],{"text":120334,"type":596},"This new plant, to be located in Iváncsa, Fejér County will add to SK Innovation’s existing 17 GWh of capacity in the pipeline in the country as shown by the latest data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":120336,"content":120337},{"textAlign":49},[120338],{"text":120339,"type":596},"With the EU, Eastern Europe in particular has emerged as a critical cog for current and future lithium ion cell production – with SK Innovation’s rival LG Chem operating the largest European megafactory in production today in Wroclaw, Poland, with 24 GWh of capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":120341,"content":120342},{"textAlign":49},[120343],{"text":120344,"type":596},"Not only is Eastern Europe developing downstream cell capacity, but the first major steps in of Europe’s mid-stream supply chain buildout are also coming from with Eastern Europe, with development of Umicore’s Nysa cathode plant in Poland already underway.",{"type":591,"attrs":120346,"content":120347},{"textAlign":49},[120348],{"text":120349,"type":596},"EU financial support has played a key role in the development of the Nysa project, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) providing Umicore with a €125 million loan in June 2020, covering approximately half of the project’s initial costs.",{"type":615,"attrs":120351,"content":120352},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120353],{"text":120354,"type":596},"Germany now the centre of future European cell capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":120356,"content":120357},{"textAlign":49},[120358],{"text":120359,"type":596},"While Eastern Europe first emerged as Europe’s centre of battery production, recent developments in Germany have set the country on the path to being at the heart of future European lithium ion cell production.",{"type":591,"attrs":120361,"content":120362},{"textAlign":49},[120363],{"text":120364,"type":596},"While the country does not yet have operational production capacity, Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment shows that in 2020 alone Germany’s pipeline capacity to 2030 doubled to 298 GWh, the greatest percentage increase for any country during the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":120366,"content":120367},{"textAlign":49},[120368],{"text":120369,"type":596},"While EU efforts have driven the development of the EU’s lithium ion cell plans, Germany has also undertaken its own state support to attract and buildout its battery supply chain within its borders.",{"type":591,"attrs":120371,"content":120372},{"textAlign":49},[120373],{"text":120374,"type":596},"In August last year, the German government gave Northvolt a $525 million loan guarantee, as part of the debt funding for the development of the Northvolt Zwei / Volkswagen factory in Salzgitter in Lower Saxony. It was also recently reported by Business Insider that Tesla would receive at least €1 billion in public funding for its Berlin Gigafactory.",{"type":615,"attrs":120376,"content":120377},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120378],{"text":120379,"type":596},"Europe’s Imbalanced supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":120381,"content":120382},{"textAlign":49},[120383],{"text":120384,"type":596},"The buildout of Europe’s supply chain to date has been centred on building downstream lithium ion cell capacity – there are now 18 megafactories with 566 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030 according to the latest data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessent.",{"type":591,"attrs":120386,"content":120387},{"textAlign":49},[120388],{"text":120389,"type":596},"However, there are a number of cathode projects in the pipeline — BASF in Germany, Umicore and Johnson Matthey in Poland — which are due to come online in the first half of the 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":120391,"content":120392},{"textAlign":49},[120393],{"text":120394,"type":596},"Data from Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment shows that Europe now has 47,000 tonnes of cathode capacity under construction and 90,000 tonnes in the pipeline, which, although trailing China, Japan and South Korea, marks the next step in building out Europe’s supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":120396,"content":120397},{"textAlign":49},[120398],{"text":120399,"type":596},"While Europe has made significant steps in building out its lithium ion cell capacity and tentative cathode developments, its upstream raw material supply and processing capacity remains lacking.",{"type":591,"attrs":120401,"content":120402},{"textAlign":49},[120403],{"text":120404,"type":596},"There is a focus from the European Battery Alliance on raw materials, and the recent formation of the European Raw Material Alliance (ERMA) illustrates a willingness to look further upstream to raw material sourcing and processing on the continent, but these efforts have yet to translate into concrete investments for the upstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":120406,"content":120407},{"textAlign":49},[120408],{"text":120409,"type":596},"In the near term, Europe continues to build out its battery cell pipeline but it does not yet have the capacity to source or process raw materials at a scale to support this domestically.","Following a strong recovery in H2 2020, Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) momentum has continued into Q1 2021 with Ford of Europe and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) setting out new electrification targets this week. As automakers expand their electric offerings, the 2020s will see European battery demand enter a new phase, with data from Benchmark’s Lithium […]",[120412],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120413},{"job_title":557,"image":120414,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"01c8b1ed-0e8e-493e-938c-7191acb94740\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120417],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120419,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120420,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6ef1a16947/bm-2021-ford-cgn-electrification-24-low.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 19, 2021",{"id":120423,"uuid":120424,"name":120425,"slug":120426,"full_slug":120427,"content":120428},112473537289230,"3a62fa77-c87d-4517-88de-5d9188f5b31a","SK Innovation’s 10-year import ban risks US lithium ion battery shortage","sk-innovations-10-year-import-ban-risks-us-lithium-ion-battery-shortage","article/sk-innovations-10-year-import-ban-risks-us-lithium-ion-battery-shortage",{"_uid":120429,"date":120430,"tags":120431,"editor":120434,"content":120438,"excerpt":120566,"featured":50,"reporter":120567,"_editable":120571,"component":697,"seo_title":120425,"categories":120572,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120576,"seo_description":120566,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120579},"80c46c68-0eb8-4fd9-bb42-5a8131053ba4","2021-02-12 00:00",[120432,120433],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[120435],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120436},{"job_title":557,"image":120437,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120439},[120440,120445,120450,120455,120460,120465,120470,120475,120480,120485,120490,120495,120500,120505,120510,120515,120520,120525,120530,120535,120539,120548,120557],{"type":591,"attrs":120441,"content":120442},{"textAlign":49},[120443],{"text":120444,"type":596},"The United States International Trade Commission’s (ITC) decision to place a 10-year import ban on SK Innovation (SKI) could throttle the USA’s battery industry, with SKI’s first Georgia plant set to provide almost half of the country’s free market capacity by the end of 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":120446,"content":120447},{"textAlign":49},[120448],{"text":120449,"type":596},"While there are exemptions to protect SKI’s existing US customers, the decision limits the supply of lithium ion cells open to the US market in the near term, but also threatens the buildout of the country’s supply chain through the 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":120451,"content":120452},{"textAlign":49},[120453],{"text":120454,"type":596},"The ITC will allow SKI to continue importing materials needed to repair EV batteries for Kia which have already been sold. It will also allow SKI to continue importing components to manufacturer lithium ion batteries for Volkswagen for two years, and for Ford for four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":120456,"content":120457},{"textAlign":49},[120458],{"text":120459,"type":596},"Excluding these caveats SKI will be banned from importing “certain lithium-ion batteries, battery cells, battery modules, battery packs and components” relating the trade secrets dispute with LG Chem, which could effectively end SKI’s ability to operate in the USA.",{"type":615,"attrs":120461,"content":120462},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120463],{"text":120464,"type":596},"What does this mean for the USA’s battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":120466,"content":120467},{"textAlign":49},[120468],{"text":120469,"type":596},"While the ITC decision provides Ford and VW with a grace period to continue sourcing its batteries from SKI, the prospect of SKI’s cell capacity pipeline disappearing from the USA will have tangible consequences for EV makers looking to source cells in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":120471,"content":120472},{"textAlign":49},[120473],{"text":120474,"type":596},"Data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment shows that SKI’s Georgia plant, which is due to come online in 2021, would represent 14% of the USA’s lithium ion cell capacity at the end of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":120476,"content":120477},{"textAlign":49},[120478],{"text":120479,"type":596},"However, by removing US cell capacity numbers from Tesla-Panasonic’s Gigafactory 1 and Tesla’s Fremont factory, both of which will only supply Tesla, the SKI Georgia plant represents 47% of US lithium ion cell production capacity available to the market by the end of 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":120481,"content":120482},{"textAlign":49},[120483],{"text":120484,"type":596},"While SK Innovation will be able to honour its existing customers in the near-term, its operations represent a critical long-term proportion of US battery capacity. Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment shows that by 2025, SKI is on track to account for 30% of US cell capacity not tied to an automaker, rising to 35% in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":120486,"content":120487},{"textAlign":49},[120488],{"text":120489,"type":596},"The decision from the ITC will therefore limit the growth of the USA’s battery cell capacity pipeline, excluding Tesla’s and GM’s dedicated megafactories, which will be critical for President Biden’s climate change and electric vehicle ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":120491,"content":120492},{"textAlign":49},[120493],{"text":120494,"type":596},"SK Innovation drew attention to these implications in a statement following the ITC’s decision, saying that the “ruling could have a serious adverse impact on President Biden’s policies to combat climate change and expand the electrification of the US auto fleet in coming years.”",{"type":615,"attrs":120496,"content":120497},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120498],{"text":120499,"type":596},"What does this mean for SK Innovation?",{"type":591,"attrs":120501,"content":120502},{"textAlign":49},[120503],{"text":120504,"type":596},"The consequences of the ban, which could in theory could be vetoed by President Biden, brings into question SKI’s ongoing operation within the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":120506,"content":120507},{"textAlign":49},[120508],{"text":120509,"type":596},"SK Innovation has emerged as one of the upstarts in the lithium ion battery scene, quickly establishing itself as a Tier 1 battery manufacturer. The USA has been central to the company’s rise, with two US megafactories in the pipeline in Commerce, Georgia, forming part of the USA’s “EV South” battery hub identified by Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":120511,"content":120512},{"textAlign":49},[120513],{"text":120514,"type":596},"The two megafactories are not yet in production, but the first is expected to come online in 2021 and the second in 2023. Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment show that SKI’s US plants have 32 GWh of capacity in the pipeline, forming a third of its global battery capacity pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":120516,"content":120517},{"textAlign":49},[120518],{"text":120519,"type":596},"While these megafactories can still enter production to support existing customer agreements, the long-term future of SK Innovation’s operations within the USA are therefore in doubt.",{"type":591,"attrs":120521,"content":120522},{"textAlign":49},[120523],{"text":120524,"type":596},"Not only is this damaging to SK Innovation’s reputation as a future Tier 1 supplier within the USA but it may also affect its wider battery business, with customers in the rest of the world potentially unsettled by the decision.",{"type":591,"attrs":120526,"content":120527},{"textAlign":49},[120528],{"text":120529,"type":596},"For LG Chem, however, which remains open to a settlement with SKI, the import ban gives the world’s largest lithium ion battery cell producer the upper hand in the US and worldwide with its competitor significantly weakened.",{"type":591,"attrs":120531,"content":120532},{"textAlign":49},[120533],{"text":120534,"type":596},"However, this saga is not over just yet as SKI has the right to appeal the ITC’s decision, LG Chem remains willing to settle, and Biden could veto the ban although this remains unlikely.",{"type":615,"attrs":120536,"content":120537},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120538],{"text":114299,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":120540,"content":120541},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[120542],{"text":120543,"type":596,"marks":120544},"GLOBAL BATTERY ARMS RACE: THE USA’S THREE EV TO BATTERY HUBS TO WATCH",[120545],{"type":606,"attrs":120546},{"href":120547,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/global-battery-arms-race-the-usas-three-ev-to-battery-hubs-to-watch",{"type":615,"attrs":120549,"content":120550},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[120551],{"text":120552,"type":596,"marks":120553},"WHAT DOES BIDEN’S PROMISE TO ELECTRIFY THE US GOVERNMENT FLEET MEAN FOR BATTERY AND RAW MATERIAL DEMAND?",[120554],{"type":606,"attrs":120555},{"href":120556,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-does-bidens-promise-to-electrify-the-us-government-fleet-mean-for-battery-and-raw-material-demand",{"type":615,"attrs":120558,"content":120559},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[120560],{"text":120561,"type":596,"marks":120562},"SILA NANOTECHNOLOGIES’ HALF A BILLION DOLLAR RAISE PUTS ANODES AT THE CENTRE OF BATTERY AND EV DIALOGUE",[120563],{"type":606,"attrs":120564},{"href":120565,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/sila-nanotechnologies-half-a-billion-dollar-raise-puts-anodes-at-the-centre-of-battery-and-ev-dialogue","The United States International Trade Commission’s (ITC) decision to place a 10-year import ban on SK Innovation (SKI) could throttle the USA’s battery industry, with SKI’s first Georgia plant set to provide almost half of the country’s free market capacity by the end of 2021. While there are exemptions to protect SKI’s existing US customers, […]",[120568],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120569},{"job_title":557,"image":120570,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"80c46c68-0eb8-4fd9-bb42-5a8131053ba4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120573,120574,120575],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120577,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120578,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b2bf4a06e2/bm-sk-innovation-megafactory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 12, 2021",{"id":120581,"uuid":120582,"name":120583,"slug":120584,"full_slug":120585,"content":120586},112473558441447,"b4d6e745-2934-4bf3-b55a-02c93baa88f1","What does Biden’s promise to electrify the US government fleet mean for battery and raw material demand?","what-does-bidens-promise-to-electrify-the-us-government-fleet-mean-for-battery-and-raw-material-demand","article/what-does-bidens-promise-to-electrify-the-us-government-fleet-mean-for-battery-and-raw-material-demand",{"_uid":120587,"date":120588,"tags":120589,"editor":120591,"content":120595,"excerpt":120699,"featured":50,"reporter":120700,"_editable":120704,"component":697,"seo_title":120583,"categories":120705,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120708,"seo_description":120699,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120710},"8b6a6c7e-de68-4df5-b818-d267d6cd2d06","2021-02-01 00:00",[120590],{"slug":572,"name":573},[120592],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120593},{"job_title":557,"image":120594,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120596},[120597,120602,120607,120612,120617,120622,120627,120632,120637,120647,120652,120657,120662,120669,120674,120679,120684,120689,120694],{"type":591,"attrs":120598,"content":120599},{"textAlign":49},[120600],{"text":120601,"type":596},"US President Joe Biden has announced his intention to replace the US government’s federal fleet with “clean electric vehicles (EV) made right in in America, by American workers,” with promises of a million jobs across the auto supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":120603,"content":120604},{"textAlign":49},[120605],{"text":120606,"type":596},"Details and timelines of Biden’s federal EV transition remain unclear but with a government fleet of 645,000 vehicles, according to 2019 data from the Federal Fleet Report, it would represent a significant upsurge in US cell demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":120608,"content":120609},{"textAlign":49},[120610],{"text":120611,"type":596},"Benchmark’s analysis – based on the assumption that the full US government fleet converted to 100% battery electric vehicles – shows it would require approximately 69 GWh of battery cells, should the government choose emissions-free, 100% BEVs rather than hybrids.",{"type":591,"attrs":120613,"content":120614},{"textAlign":49},[120615],{"text":120616,"type":596},"This places the average battery pack size well in excess of the global average of 55 kWh at over 100 kWh. However, this large average pack size can be attributed to the US fleet having a significant number of larger vehicles, particularly trucks, which Benchmark estimates would account for over 70% of cell requirements needed for the transition.",{"type":615,"attrs":120618,"content":120619},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120620],{"text":120621,"type":596},"US government’s cell & raw material requirements",{"type":591,"attrs":120623,"content":120624},{"textAlign":49},[120625],{"text":120626,"type":596},"An additional 69 GWh of battery cell demand would be a shot in the arm for battery and raw material demand. However, with Biden pushing for American-made products, this would place significant pressures on the US battery supply chain, which remains in its infancy.",{"type":591,"attrs":120628,"content":120629},{"textAlign":49},[120630],{"text":120631,"type":596},"For these cells to be US-made, the country would have to transform its battery supply chain to cater for the additional demand. According to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database, US EV battery demand in 2020 was only 24 GWh, with total worldwide demand of 134 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":120633,"content":120634},{"textAlign":49},[120635],{"text":120636,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database shows that in 2020, North American cell supply – all based in the USA – was just shy of 40 GWh, whereas total battery cell demand (including portables and energy storage) was almost 42 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":120638,"content":120639},{"textAlign":49},[120640,120645],{"text":120641,"type":596,"marks":120642},"The USA has nine Gigafactory scale battery plants in the pipeline",[120643],{"type":606,"attrs":120644},{"href":120547,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":120646,"type":596},", of which only three were operational in 2020: Tesla-Panasonic’s Gigafactory 1, LG Chem’s Michigan plant supplying GM and AESC Envision’s factory in Tennessee.",{"type":591,"attrs":120648,"content":120649},{"textAlign":49},[120650],{"text":120651,"type":596},"However, even with additional cell plants in the pipeline, it will be a challenge for US-based lithium ion cell production to support both the electrification of the US fleet and growing private EV demand in the near-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":120653,"content":120654},{"textAlign":49},[120655],{"text":120656,"type":596},"There are of course major implications for battery raw material demand, which is where the biggest supply chain risks lie.",{"type":591,"attrs":120658,"content":120659},{"textAlign":49},[120660],{"text":120661,"type":596},"Using Benchmark’s proprietary data, based on current cathode and anode raw material requirements, 69 GWh of cell demand would equate to:",{"type":591,"attrs":120663,"content":120664},{"textAlign":49},[120665],{"text":120666,"type":596,"marks":120667},"Source: Benchmark’s Cobalt, Natural Flake Graphite, Synthetic Graphite, Nickel, Lithium and Manganese Forecasts.",[120668],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":120670,"content":120671},{"textAlign":49},[120672],{"text":120673,"type":596},"As noted above, these raw material figures assume the US government transitions its entire federal fleet to 100% battery electric vehicles based on prevailing battery technology. In reality, the 69 GWh of cell demand, and the raw materials demand outlined, will be lower than this if the government decides against a fully electric transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":120675,"content":120676},{"textAlign":49},[120677],{"text":120678,"type":596},"The demand numbers from Benchmark’s analysis — while not a forecast — are illustrative of the challenges posed by a full transition of a government fleet to electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":120680,"content":120681},{"textAlign":49},[120682],{"text":120683,"type":596},"This would be particularly challenging for the US supply chain, which would rely on external sources for its battery materials, from the mine to the cathode and anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":120685,"content":120686},{"textAlign":49},[120687],{"text":120688,"type":596},"For the Biden administration to fully transition the US federal fleet to BEVs while also ensuring much of the components are American-made, will also require significant investment in all stages of the lithium ion supply chain and will take some time to achieve.",{"type":591,"attrs":120690,"content":120691},{"textAlign":49},[120692],{"text":120693,"type":596},"While details of the strategy are yet to be unveiled, the announcement signifiesthe new administration’s intentions to address climate change and electrify transport with support from the state.",{"type":591,"attrs":120695,"content":120696},{"textAlign":49},[120697],{"text":120698,"type":596},"The success of the EV industry in China, and Europe’s recent uptick in EV demand, is testament to how quickly EV demand can increase when policies are in place to support it.","US President Joe Biden has announced his intention to replace the US government’s federal fleet with “clean electric vehicles (EV) made right in in America, by American workers,” with promises of a million jobs across the auto supply chain. Details and timelines of Biden’s federal EV transition remain unclear but with a government fleet of […]",[120701],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120702},{"job_title":557,"image":120703,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8b6a6c7e-de68-4df5-b818-d267d6cd2d06\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120706,120707],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118535,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120709,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 01, 2021",{"id":120712,"uuid":120713,"name":120714,"slug":120715,"full_slug":120716,"content":120717},112473553415490,"a9bcae5e-f479-4fe6-88ff-ba385742c787","Global battery arms race: the USA’s three EV to battery hubs to watch","global-battery-arms-race-the-usas-three-ev-to-battery-hubs-to-watch","article/global-battery-arms-race-the-usas-three-ev-to-battery-hubs-to-watch",{"_uid":120718,"date":120588,"tags":120719,"editor":120722,"content":120726,"excerpt":120838,"featured":50,"reporter":120839,"_editable":120843,"component":697,"seo_title":120714,"categories":120844,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120846,"seo_description":120838,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120710},"cddeef75-5fb6-40d8-97e3-3a954a6e54e8",[120720,120721],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},{"slug":572,"name":573},[120723],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120724},{"job_title":557,"image":120725,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120727},[120728,120733,120752,120757,120763,120770,120783,120790,120795,120801,120814],{"type":591,"attrs":120729,"content":120730},{"textAlign":49},[120731],{"text":120732,"type":596},"The USA is fighting back in the global battery arms race with a number of new supply chain developments already this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":120734,"content":120735},{"textAlign":49},[120736,120738,120743,120745,120750],{"text":120737,"type":596},"In the past week alone, ",{"text":120739,"type":596,"marks":120740},"President Biden set out plans to electrify the US government fleet",[120741],{"type":606,"attrs":120742},{"href":120556,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":120744,"type":596}," of approximately 645,000 vehicles, ",{"text":120746,"type":596,"marks":120747},"Sila Nanotechnologies raised a record $590 million of funding and plans to build a 100 GWh silicon anode plant",[120748],{"type":606,"attrs":120749},{"href":120565,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":120751,"type":596},", and General Motors (GM) pledged to eliminate the internal combustion engine (ICE) light-duty vehicles from its portfolio by 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":120753,"content":120754},{"textAlign":49},[120755],{"text":120756,"type":596},"But behind the headlines, three EV-to-battery hubs have emerged in the USA which will be critical to the next phase of the country’s EV development.",{"type":591,"attrs":120758,"content":120759},{"textAlign":49},[120760,120761],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":120762,"type":596}," has identified and named these domestic regions as:",{"type":591,"attrs":120764,"content":120765},{"textAlign":49},[120766,120768],{"text":120767,"type":596},"Tesla West ",{"text":120769,"type":596},"leads the way, with the Gigafactory 1 already among the largest battery factories by capacity globally. This hub has been further strengthened by Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory and the hub has already shown the need for upstream capacity, with Tesla’s plans to develop a spodumene conversion operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":120771,"content":120772},{"textAlign":49},[120773,120775,120777,120779,120781],{"text":120774,"type":596},"Behind Tesla West, LG Chem is establishing growing capacity in the ",{"text":120776,"type":596},"New Detroit",{"text":120778,"type":596}," hub, which will largely be supportive of GM’s electric ambitions. Finally, the development of the third US Hub – ",{"text":120780,"type":596},"EV South",{"text":120782,"type":596}," – is being driven by LG Chem’s Korean rival SK Innovation, with two plants in the pipeline in Commerce, Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":120784,"content":120785},{"textAlign":49},[120786],{"text":120787,"type":596,"marks":120788},"UPDATE: On 10 February 2021 The US International Trade Commission imposed a 10-year import ban on South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation.",[120789],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":120791,"content":120792},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[120793],{"text":120794,"type":596},"Download Benchmark’s EV Hubs Map:",{"type":591,"attrs":120796,"content":120797},{"textAlign":49},[120798,120799],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":120800,"type":596}," has mapped out the USA’s three EV hubs using data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":120802,"content":120803},{"textAlign":49},[120804,120806,120812],{"text":120805,"type":596},"Fill in ",{"text":120807,"type":596,"marks":120808},"this form",[120809],{"type":606,"attrs":120810},{"href":120811,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/downloadform/download-usas-three-ev-to-battery-hubs-map/",{"text":120813,"type":596}," to download a copy of Benchmark’s map showing the USA’s future EV hubs.",{"type":591,"attrs":120815,"content":120816},{"textAlign":49},[120817,120822,120824,120830,120832,120837],{"text":120818,"type":596,"marks":120819},"Benchmark Members",[120820],{"type":606,"attrs":120821},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":120823,"type":596}," can download a more detailed version of the map from ",{"text":120825,"type":596,"marks":120826},"Benchmark’s Presentation Archive",[120827],{"type":606,"attrs":120828},{"href":120829,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/archive/",{"text":120831,"type":596}," or directly ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":120833},[120834],{"type":606,"attrs":120835},{"href":120836,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1271310/",{"text":1280,"type":596},"The USA is fighting back in the global battery arms race with a number of new supply chain developments already this year. In the past week alone, President Biden set out plans to electrify the US government fleet of approximately 645,000 vehicles, Sila Nanotechnologies raised a record $590 million of funding and plans to build […]",[120840],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120841},{"job_title":557,"image":120842,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cddeef75-5fb6-40d8-97e3-3a954a6e54e8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120845],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120847,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120848,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/91b5946a7c/bm-gm-ultium-platform-e1660747859940.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":120850,"uuid":120851,"name":120852,"slug":120853,"full_slug":120854,"content":120855},112473548143758,"86c5edfd-2a97-4169-9d1a-82ea7462cc20","Freyr looks to Glencore’s cobalt cut cathode for its battery needs","freyr-looks-to-glencore-cobalt-cut-cathode-for-its-battery-needs","article/freyr-looks-to-glencore-cobalt-cut-cathode-for-its-battery-needs",{"_uid":120856,"date":120588,"tags":120857,"editor":120859,"content":120863,"excerpt":120986,"featured":50,"reporter":120987,"_editable":120991,"component":697,"seo_title":120852,"categories":120992,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":120995,"seo_description":120986,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":120710},"20488406-2329-48bb-bdf0-8c7137354d14",[120858],{"slug":5837,"name":5838},[120860],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120861},{"job_title":557,"image":120862,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":120864},[120865,120870,120875,120880,120885,120890,120898,120903,120911,120916,120921,120926,120931,120936,120941,120946,120951,120956,120961,120966,120971,120976,120981],{"type":591,"attrs":120866,"content":120867},{"textAlign":49},[120868],{"text":120869,"type":596},"29 January 2021 saw Norwegian battery start up Freyr announce plans to list on the NYSE via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) as part of a business combination agreement with Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp. (Alussa) at a valuation of $1.4bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":120871,"content":120872},{"textAlign":49},[120873],{"text":120874,"type":596},"The deal included a number of strategic investment partners, notably the world’s largest cobalt producer Glencore.",{"type":591,"attrs":120876,"content":120877},{"textAlign":49},[120878],{"text":120879,"type":596},"This was followed on 1 February 2021 with Glencore announcing that the company had entered into a letter of intent (LOI) with Freyr to supply cobalt for its planned battery operations in Mo i Rana, Nordland, Norway.",{"type":591,"attrs":120881,"content":120882},{"textAlign":49},[120883],{"text":120884,"type":596},"Freyr intends to build up to 43 GWh of lithium ion cell production capacity at the site – considerable plans from the new battery entrant, which could require up to 10,000 tonnes per year of cobalt battery chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":120886,"content":120887},{"textAlign":49},[120888],{"text":120889,"type":596},"Whilst the exact timeline that the deal would follow was not made clear by the announcement, it did state a volume of 3,700 tonnes of cobalt metal to be supplied by Glencore’s Nikkelverk operation in Norway, roughly equivalent to just under a typical year of production at the operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":120891,"content":120892},{"textAlign":49},[120893,120895,120896],{"text":120894,"type":596},"The deal is not significant in volume terms if it runs for a number of years, which ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":120897,"type":596}," expects it will, and is dwarfed by the 10-year deal inked in December 2020 between Glencore and Chinese refiner GEM, totalling up to 150,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide over the period.",{"type":591,"attrs":120899,"content":120900},{"textAlign":49},[120901],{"text":120902,"type":596},"It should be remembered the Freyr deal is not yet certain as the project is still under development and the company has no prior experience in cell manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":120904,"content":120905},{"textAlign":49},[120906,120908,120909],{"text":120907,"type":596},"However, from ",{"text":35570,"type":596},{"text":120910,"type":596}," perspective, one of the most interesting things about this battery supply chain deal is the product it is for – cobalt metal in cut cathode form.",{"type":591,"attrs":120912,"content":120913},{"textAlign":49},[120914],{"text":120915,"type":596},"This form of metal has been little utilised by the battery supply chain and has largely been seen as a last resort for conversion to cobalt chemical. This is due to the preference for cobalt hydroxide, and the extended time taken for acid dissolution compared with other forms of metal with a larger surface area.",{"type":591,"attrs":120917,"content":120918},{"textAlign":49},[120919],{"text":120920,"type":596},"As such the announcement may have surprised many in the industry, who are aware of the challenges typically faced around dissolution of cut cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":120922,"content":120923},{"textAlign":49},[120924],{"text":120925,"type":596},"The deal, should it be formalised, will mark the first public long term cobalt supply agreement using cobalt metal cut cathode in the battery industry, something that could potentially cause concern amongst superalloy consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":120927,"content":120928},{"textAlign":49},[120929],{"text":120930,"type":596},"To date, superalloy consumers, particularly those supplying aviation, have highlighted concerns about general cobalt market tightness linked to battery demand but have had a degree of protection, believing that cut cathode (the form generally needed by the industry) would not be consumed by the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":120932,"content":120933},{"textAlign":49},[120934],{"text":120935,"type":596},"With demand for cobalt metal from the aviation sector depressed due to limited activity as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain has seen growing stocks of cut cathode recently, particularly for producers outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":120937,"content":120938},{"textAlign":49},[120939],{"text":120940,"type":596},"This will have given the superalloy sector some comfort knowing that feed should be available in the coming years despite the ongoing tightness for cobalt hydroxide linked to battery demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":120942,"content":120943},{"textAlign":49},[120944],{"text":120945,"type":596},"But should the battery sector begin to consume cut cathode, the superalloy industry will see direct competition for limited supply that it can ill afford to lose.",{"type":591,"attrs":120947,"content":120948},{"textAlign":49},[120949],{"text":120950,"type":596},"With hyper-strict qualification requirements from superalloy consumers for materials used, particularly in aviation, the process to accept new material from alternative suppliers can take a number of years for approval, meaning cut cathode supply from particular producers or “brands” in many cases can be a requirement, not just a preference.",{"type":591,"attrs":120952,"content":120953},{"textAlign":49},[120954],{"text":120955,"type":596},"And with much of the new cobalt supply dedicated to cobalt hydroxide and supplying the battery sector, metal supply is only expected to see limited growth in the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":120957,"content":120958},{"textAlign":49},[120959],{"text":120960,"type":596},"Fears over this competition may also see superalloy consumers move from typically 1-2 year supply deals to longer contracts, in order to secure the brands needed for their products, locking up yet more cobalt in increasingly long deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":120962,"content":120963},{"textAlign":49},[120964],{"text":120965,"type":596},"For Freyr, not only does this deal lock in a local dependable supply of high purity cobalt, avoiding the need for DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) sourcing, it would also contain a large proportion of recycled content from Glencore’s US based recycling operations which in part feed Nikkelverk.",{"type":591,"attrs":120967,"content":120968},{"textAlign":49},[120969],{"text":120970,"type":596},"With greater scrutiny on life cycle emissions associated with battery production, particularly in Europe, this is a highly prized selling point when negotiating contracts with OEMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":120972,"content":120973},{"textAlign":49},[120974],{"text":120975,"type":596},"Whilst the deal between Freyr and Glencore is not yet certain and will require significant project development from Freyr to become a guaranteed deal, it highlights a potential other avenue for cobalt in the battery supply chain under an increasingly tight cobalt hydroxide outlook.",{"type":591,"attrs":120977,"content":120978},{"textAlign":49},[120979],{"text":120980,"type":596},"It is not without its issues though, as the increased dissolution time typically associated with cut cathodes could increase costs to Freyr, something the downstream will likely struggle to accept, even with its green credentials.",{"type":591,"attrs":120982,"content":120983},{"textAlign":49},[120984],{"text":120985,"type":596},"Should the deal be confirmed, it may see a shift in the sourcing strategies of superalloy producers, who may choose to move to lock in the units they need rather than risk potentially losing them to battery consumers.","29 January 2021 saw Norwegian battery start up Freyr announce plans to list on the NYSE via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) as part of a business combination agreement with Alussa Energy Acquisition Corp. (Alussa) at a valuation of $1.4bn. The deal included a number of strategic investment partners, notably the world’s largest cobalt […]",[120988],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":120989},{"job_title":557,"image":120990,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"20488406-2329-48bb-bdf0-8c7137354d14\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[120993,120994],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":120996,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":120997,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/26d137ab54/bm-freyr-contact.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":120999,"uuid":121000,"name":121001,"slug":121002,"full_slug":121003,"content":121004},112473568636668,"e18a988a-7077-42bd-9a06-050098e48fea","Sila Nanotechnologies’ half a billion dollar raise puts anodes at the centre of battery and EV dialogue","sila-nanotechnologies-half-a-billion-dollar-raise-puts-anodes-at-the-centre-of-battery-and-ev-dialogue","article/sila-nanotechnologies-half-a-billion-dollar-raise-puts-anodes-at-the-centre-of-battery-and-ev-dialogue",{"_uid":121005,"date":121006,"tags":121007,"editor":121009,"content":121013,"excerpt":121155,"featured":50,"reporter":121156,"_editable":121160,"component":697,"seo_title":121001,"categories":121161,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":121166,"seo_description":121155,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":121169},"cf0a1d87-7125-46bd-aa29-9721dd15cf65","2021-01-28 00:00",[121008],{"slug":572,"name":573},[121010],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":121011},{"job_title":557,"image":121012,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":121014},[121015,121020,121025,121030,121035,121040,121045,121050,121055,121060,121065,121070,121075,121080,121085,121090,121095,121100,121105,121110,121115,121120,121125,121130,121135,121140,121145,121150],{"type":591,"attrs":121016,"content":121017},{"textAlign":49},[121018],{"text":121019,"type":596},"Sila Nanotechnologies (Sila Nano) – a Silicon Valley-based company developing silicon anode technology – announced this week that it has raised an additional $590 million in funding, valuing the advanced battery materials company at $3.3 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":121021,"content":121022},{"textAlign":49},[121023],{"text":121024,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence understands that this is the biggest fundraising achievement for the battery supply chain – from mine to cathode and anodes – in a single raise ever.",{"type":591,"attrs":121026,"content":121027},{"textAlign":49},[121028],{"text":121029,"type":596},"The latest investment boosts prospects of new anode technology commercialisation and further cements Silicon Valley at the heart of these developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":121031,"content":121032},{"textAlign":49},[121033],{"text":121034,"type":596},"Sila Nano announced that it will use the funds to begin development of a North American 100 GWh silicon anode plant, which far outstrips any anode expansion targets outside of China. The company is targeting production at the plant by 2024, with initial sales into portable electronic markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":121036,"content":121037},{"textAlign":49},[121038],{"text":121039,"type":596},"By scaling up with a 100 GWh plant, Sila Nano will be looking to bring commercial production costs down to a competitive level with graphite-dominant anode materials. This will also support the route to EV commercialisation of the company’s silicon anode technology, which it aims to achieve by as early as 2025. Qualification into western OEM supply chains will require consistent production at scale to allow for sufficient testing.",{"type":615,"attrs":121041,"content":121042},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121043],{"text":121044,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Simon Moores, Managing Director, said:",{"type":591,"attrs":121046,"content":121047},{"textAlign":49},[121048],{"text":121049,"type":596},"“Raising way over half a billion dollars is an incredible achievement but is exactly the level of investment innovators in the battery supply chain should be receiving.",{"type":591,"attrs":121051,"content":121052},{"textAlign":49},[121053],{"text":121054,"type":596},"“It also shows big institutional investors are beginning to understand the importance of the midstream of the battery supply chain and opportunities in developing anode technology which has been neglected to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":121056,"content":121057},{"textAlign":49},[121058],{"text":121059,"type":596},"“This will no doubt intensify focus on new cathode technologies as well.”",{"type":615,"attrs":121061,"content":121062},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121063],{"text":121064,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Product Director, Andy Miller, explained:",{"type":591,"attrs":121066,"content":121067},{"textAlign":49},[121068],{"text":121069,"type":596},"“Silicon has long been seen as the next evolution in anode technology, initially through increasing its use as an additive, but eventually moving towards more silicon-dominant technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":121071,"content":121072},{"textAlign":49},[121073],{"text":121074,"type":596},"“Sila’s raise will enhance the prospects for their technology, but also likely see more financing secured for other alternative silicon-dominant anode chemistries. Graphite will not be displaced overnight, but if Sila and others can effectively show that they have overcome some of the safety and reliability issues faced by silicon anodes in the past, then they will present an exciting new frontier for battery performance.”",{"type":591,"attrs":121076,"content":121077},{"textAlign":49},[121078],{"text":121079,"type":596},"With partnerships in place with BMW and Daimler, and ex-Tesla alumni at the helm with CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, and VP – Automotive, Kurt Kelty; the company is well placed to scale and commercialise its battery technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":121081,"content":121082},{"textAlign":49},[121083],{"text":121084,"type":596},"Speaking at Benchmark’s EV Fest in 2020 Kelty, explained the company’s path to EV-scale production: “We plan to be producing about 10 GWh of material over the next three years, from then on it’s a matter of replication. Once we have that auto scale plant in production, it’s the cookie cutter approach and we will be putting these factories around the world, stamping out 100 GWh factories, that’s our intention.”",{"type":591,"attrs":121086,"content":121087},{"textAlign":49},[121088],{"text":121089,"type":596},"The route to commercialisation will begin with consumer products before Sila Nano scales up to serve EV consumers. In the medium-term these initial efforts are expected to be limited to niche, high-end applications, with graphite dominant anode technologies accounting for the bulk of passenger EV demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":121091,"content":121092},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121093],{"text":121094,"type":596},"Silicon vs graphite ",{"type":591,"attrs":121096,"content":121097},{"textAlign":49},[121098],{"text":121099,"type":596},"The investment into Sila Nano and its silicon anode technology is a critical step in building the future US supply chain, but in the near-term graphite will remain the dominant anode of choice worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":121101,"content":121102},{"textAlign":49},[121103],{"text":121104,"type":596},"From a safety and cost perspective graphite will be difficult to displace, but the growing pressure to improve battery technology, and in turn energy density, and to diversify supply chains works in favour of silicon adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":121106,"content":121107},{"textAlign":49},[121108],{"text":121109,"type":596},"While pure silicon anodes are not yet a commercial reality, silicon is already included in EV batteries where it is added to graphite anodes as an additive, typically in the range of 3-6%.",{"type":591,"attrs":121111,"content":121112},{"textAlign":49},[121113],{"text":121114,"type":596},"Looking forward, silicon anode materials have massive growth prospects with Benchmark’s Battery Database forecasting demand for silicon anode materials to grow 94x in the coming decade, increasing silicon’s market share from less than 1% today to 5% in 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":121116,"content":121117},{"textAlign":49},[121118],{"text":121119,"type":596},"However, for now graphite-dominant blends of synthetic and natural graphite will be the dominant technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":121121,"content":121122},{"textAlign":49},[121123],{"text":121124,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Natural Flake and Synthetic Graphite forecasts show that synthetic and natural flake graphite accounted for 96.5% of the anode market in 2020, falling to approximately 90% at the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":121126,"content":121127},{"textAlign":49},[121128],{"text":121129,"type":596},"However, while the market share of graphite anode materials is set to fall, in absolute terms demand is forecast to grow 10x, with these materials critical for delivering the first phase of EV adoption.",{"type":615,"attrs":121131,"content":121132},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121133],{"text":121134,"type":596},"Diversifying the anode supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":121136,"content":121137},{"textAlign":49},[121138],{"text":121139,"type":596},"With supply chain security of growing importance for both OEMs and governments alike, Sila Nano’s planned 100 GWh plant represents a major step in building out anode capacity outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":121141,"content":121142},{"textAlign":49},[121143],{"text":121144,"type":596},"North America does not have sufficient existing or capacity under development to meet its growing domestic EV supply chain and Sila Nano’s plant offers both a diversification in material and geography, which will help ease the burden on the anode supply chain in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":121146,"content":121147},{"textAlign":49},[121148],{"text":121149,"type":596},"However, in the short-term there remains a lack of investment into the existing graphite anode supply chain in North America. The majority of global anode capacity is currently located in Asia, in particular China, which Benchmark’s Anode Market Assessment shows held 86% of global anode capacity in 2020. China’s dominance of the anode supply chain is on set to increase further and by 2025 the country is set to be home to 91% of the global anode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":121151,"content":121152},{"textAlign":49},[121153],{"text":121154,"type":596},"This round of investment into Sila Nano which enables its large-scale anode plant shows that there is appetite to realign the battery supply chain of the future, in which the US will have a greater role. However, in the near-term there remains a lack of investment into the anode supply chain outside of China, which means that security and diversity of supply will remain for the US and beyond in the coming years.","Sila Nanotechnologies (Sila Nano) – a Silicon Valley-based company developing silicon anode technology – announced this week that it has raised an additional $590 million in funding, valuing the advanced battery materials company at $3.3 billion. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence understands that this is the biggest fundraising achievement for the battery supply chain – from mine […]",[121157],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":121158},{"job_title":557,"image":121159,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf0a1d87-7125-46bd-aa29-9721dd15cf65\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[121162,121163,121164,121165],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":121167,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":121168,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8a1db81d9e/bm-sila-nano-technologies-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 28, 2021",{"id":121171,"uuid":121172,"name":121173,"slug":121174,"full_slug":121175,"content":121176},112473573674851,"01f64caf-2b1c-48df-bfbc-556827982195","The battery raw material class of 2021: prices rise, as EV upturn and commodity supercycle loom","the-battery-raw-material-class-of-2021-prices-rise-as-ev-upturn-and-commodity-supercycle-loom","article/the-battery-raw-material-class-of-2021-prices-rise-as-ev-upturn-and-commodity-supercycle-loom",{"_uid":121177,"date":121178,"tags":121179,"editor":121180,"content":121184,"excerpt":121425,"featured":50,"reporter":121426,"_editable":121430,"component":697,"seo_title":121173,"categories":121431,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":121433,"seo_description":121425,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":121435},"072598a0-e71f-405b-bd7d-f02861eeca08","2021-01-22 00:00",[],[121181],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":121182},{"job_title":557,"image":121183,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":121185},[121186,121191,121202,121207,121216,121221,121226,121231,121236,121239,121257,121264,121279,121292,121304,121309,121314,121319,121324,121329,121334,121339,121344,121349,121354,121359,121364,121369,121374,121379,121396,121413],{"type":591,"attrs":121187,"content":121188},{"textAlign":49},[121189],{"text":121190,"type":596},"The class of lithium ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) raw materials are all undergoing price rises as the industry braces for a demand jump in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":121192,"content":121193},{"textAlign":49},[121194,121195,121200],{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":121196,"type":596,"marks":121197},"price data collected in our last assessment period",[121198],{"type":606,"attrs":121199},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":121201,"type":596}," in December 2020 shows price increases for the mainstream battery raw materials of lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, with the increases focussed around and largely driven by the Chinese market.",{"type":615,"attrs":121203,"content":121204},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121205],{"text":121206,"type":596},"The biggest movers from Benchmark’s Price Assessments in December 2020:",{"type":591,"attrs":121208,"content":121209},{"textAlign":49},[121210],{"text":121211,"type":596,"marks":121212},"Learn more about Benchmark’s Price Assessments",[121213,121214],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":121215},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":121217,"content":121218},{"textAlign":49},[121219],{"text":121220,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores explained:",{"type":591,"attrs":121222,"content":121223},{"textAlign":49},[121224],{"text":121225,"type":596},"“For this suite of battery raw materials, China acts as an early warning system for the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":121227,"content":121228},{"textAlign":49},[121229],{"text":121230,"type":596},"“Historically, price rises that occur in China are usually experienced in the rest of the world 3 to 6 months later.”",{"type":591,"attrs":121232,"content":121233},{"textAlign":49},[121234],{"text":121235,"type":596},"While rises remain in their infancy, there is growing evidence that the low-price environment for many battery raw materials is beginning to change.",{"type":591,"attrs":121237,"content":121238},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121240,"content":121241},{"textAlign":49},[121242,121246,121253],{"text":121243,"type":596,"marks":121244},"Benchmark is excited to host its first ",[121245],{"type":1006},{"text":121247,"type":596,"marks":121248},"Africa Day",[121249,121252],{"type":606,"attrs":121250},{"href":121251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SkFAaFsDQYmqHPNr3PeKVg?mc_cid=b693391985&mc_eid=UNIQID&mc_cid=298e12cf37&mc_eid=UNIQID",{"type":1006},{"text":121254,"type":596,"marks":121255}," with a special focus on the battery raw materials opportunity on the continent.",[121256],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":121258,"content":121259},{"textAlign":49},[121260],{"text":121261,"type":596,"marks":121262},"Cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, vanadium and manganese will all be under focus as well as the little discussed end market opportunity of making battery cells and EVs in Africa.",[121263],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":121265,"content":121266},{"textAlign":49},[121267,121271,121276],{"text":121268,"type":596,"marks":121269},"Sign up ",[121270],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":121272},[121273,121275],{"type":606,"attrs":121274},{"href":121251,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":121277},[121278],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":121280,"content":121281},{"textAlign":49},[121282,121284,121290],{"text":121283,"type":596},"Lithium prices in China flatted in the second half of 2020 and then showed",{"text":121285,"type":596,"marks":121286}," their first sustained price rises in three years",[121287],{"type":606,"attrs":121288},{"href":121289,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-see-first-sustained-rise-in-3-years",{"text":121291,"type":596}," during the final quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":121293,"content":121294},{"textAlign":49},[121295,121297,121302],{"text":121296,"type":596},"While for cobalt, spurred by news of a further Chinese government purchase in late December, ",{"text":121298,"type":596,"marks":121299},"2021 began with an upward price surge",[121300],{"type":606,"attrs":121301},{"href":119960,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":121303,"type":596},", and although this does not necessarily signify sustained higher cobalt prices in 2021, tightening supply and stronger fundamentals suggest that better times for cobalt are ahead.",{"type":591,"attrs":121305,"content":121306},{"textAlign":49},[121307],{"text":121308,"type":596},"Key to all of this is the growth of electric vehicle and battery demand, which is creating a fundamental shift in the pricing dynamics of these raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":121310,"content":121311},{"textAlign":49},[121312],{"text":121313,"type":596},"China has been leading the way with strong government support for the EV industry and its value chain. But as Moores explains, where China leads the rest of the world tends to follow.",{"type":591,"attrs":121315,"content":121316},{"textAlign":49},[121317],{"text":121318,"type":596},"With China’s and Europe’s EV markets defying fears of an extended coronavirus slump with a resurgence through H2 2020 which has continued into this year, Benchmark is expecting 2021 to be the strongest year yet for the lithium ion battery space since the prices rises of 2016 and 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":121320,"content":121321},{"textAlign":49},[121322],{"text":121323,"type":596},"EV makers are continuing to ramp up production to meet new demand, only added to by the new Biden administration in the USA which is expected to focus on promoting EV growth to support its climate change ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":121325,"content":121326},{"textAlign":49},[121327],{"text":121328,"type":596},"The changes brought about by early EV adoption has already leading to a boom in demand for raw materials that feed into these supply chains, but the demand growth of the 2010s will look minor compared to the increases we will see this decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":121330,"content":121331},{"textAlign":49},[121332],{"text":121333,"type":596},"Lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, copper, and the rare earth oxides of neodymium and praseodymium are all directly tied to the growth of electric vehicles either via their use as a feedstock or a battery grade chemical.",{"type":615,"attrs":121335,"content":121336},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121337],{"text":121338,"type":596},"Commodity supercycle",{"type":591,"attrs":121340,"content":121341},{"textAlign":49},[121342],{"text":121343,"type":596},"It appears this class of raw materials are set to have a “double boost” in 2021 after Goldman Sachs declared the start of a new commodity super supercycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":121345,"content":121346},{"textAlign":49},[121347],{"text":121348,"type":596},"In a research note, extracts of which were published in this Reuters comment, Goldman said the wider commodity industry was at the “beginning of a much longer structural bull market”.",{"type":591,"attrs":121350,"content":121351},{"textAlign":49},[121352],{"text":121353,"type":596},"The report added: “Looking at the 2020s, we believe that similar structural forces to those which drove commodities in the 2000s could be at play.”",{"type":591,"attrs":121355,"content":121356},{"textAlign":49},[121357],{"text":121358,"type":596},"Driving this, any new supercycle would need strong recoveries from the world’s two biggest economies following the coronavirus crisis, China, which has already begun to bounce back, and the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":121360,"content":121361},{"textAlign":49},[121362],{"text":121363,"type":596},"As part of their recoveries, both countries will be looking to fast-track a form of green industrial revolution for which the lithium ion battery and electric vehicles are a central platform.",{"type":591,"attrs":121365,"content":121366},{"textAlign":49},[121367],{"text":121368,"type":596},"Moores explained: “The rarity of a commodity supercycle, together with a once in a generation growth for the electric vehicle and lithium ion battery blueprint around the world is a perfect storm for the suite of battery raw materials,” Moores said.",{"type":591,"attrs":121370,"content":121371},{"textAlign":49},[121372],{"text":121373,"type":596},"“18 months ago both were not being discussed in the same sentence. If Goldman Sachs is correct, this would coincide with the biggest growth spurt for the EV supply chain yet.”",{"type":615,"attrs":121375,"content":121376},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[121377],{"text":121378,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Price Assessments",{"type":591,"attrs":121380,"content":121381},{"textAlign":49},[121382,121386,121392],{"text":121383,"type":596,"marks":121384},"Benchmark is the leading ",[121385],{"type":1006},{"text":121387,"type":596,"marks":121388},"price reporting agency (PRA)",[121389,121391],{"type":606,"attrs":121390},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":121393,"type":596,"marks":121394}," for materials used in lithium ion batteries, EVs and energy storage.",[121395],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":121397,"content":121398},{"textAlign":49},[121399,121403,121409],{"text":121400,"type":596,"marks":121401},"Our specialist focus on the lithium ion battery supply chain and unrivalled network of industry contacts make ",[121402],{"type":1006},{"text":121404,"type":596,"marks":121405},"Benchmark Minerals’ Price Assessments",[121406,121408],{"type":606,"attrs":121407},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":121410,"type":596,"marks":121411}," the world’s most trusted source of battery raw material price data, regularly referenced in negotiations and increasingly used in supply chain contracts.",[121412],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":121414,"content":121415},{"textAlign":49},[121416,121420],{"text":121417,"type":596,"marks":121418},"To subscribe now or register your interest fill in this ",[121419],{"type":1006},{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":121421},[121422,121424],{"type":606,"attrs":121423},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},"The class of lithium ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) raw materials are all undergoing price rises as the industry braces for a demand jump in 2021. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence price data collected in our last assessment period in December 2020 shows price increases for the mainstream battery raw materials of lithium, cobalt, nickel and […]",[121427],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":121428},{"job_title":557,"image":121429,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"072598a0-e71f-405b-bd7d-f02861eeca08\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[121432],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":109802,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":121434,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 22, 2021",{"id":121437,"uuid":121438,"name":121439,"slug":121440,"full_slug":121441,"content":121442},112473607947139,"716c6cb3-6edb-41eb-ba9d-6d7533540b09","Benchmark Week 2020 Highlights: Graphite+Anodes","benchmark-week-2020-highlights-graphiteanodes","article/benchmark-week-2020-highlights-graphiteanodes",{"_uid":121443,"date":121444,"tags":121445,"editor":121446,"content":121450,"excerpt":121630,"featured":50,"reporter":121631,"_editable":121635,"component":697,"seo_title":121439,"categories":121636,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":121639,"seo_description":121630,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":121641},"eac43426-209c-4786-a931-0dadd2f58f30","2021-01-20 00:00",[],[121447],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":121448},{"job_title":557,"image":121449,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":121451},[121452,121457,121476,121479,121488,121491,121500,121503,121512,121515,121524,121527,121536,121539,121548,121551,121554,121557,121566,121569,121578,121581,121590,121593,121602],{"type":591,"attrs":121453,"content":121454},{"textAlign":49},[121455],{"text":121456,"type":596},"Watch selected highlights and download industry presentations given on Graphite+Anodes Day of Benchmark Week 2020 below.",{"type":591,"attrs":121458,"content":121459},{"textAlign":49},[121460,121464,121466,121470,121471,121475],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":121461},[121462],{"type":606,"attrs":121463},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":121465,"type":596}," subscribers have full access to videos from our Graphite+Anodes event and all five days of Benchmark Week 2020 on demand through ",{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":121467},[121468],{"type":606,"attrs":121469},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":119350,"type":596},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":121472},[121473],{"type":606,"attrs":121474},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":121477,"content":121478},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121480,"content":121481},{"textAlign":49},[121482],{"text":121483,"type":596,"marks":121484},"Download Mineral Commodities presentation",[121485],{"type":606,"attrs":121486},{"href":121487,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269794/",{"type":591,"attrs":121489,"content":121490},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121492,"content":121493},{"textAlign":49},[121494],{"text":121495,"type":596,"marks":121496},"Download Mason Graphite’s Presentation",[121497],{"type":606,"attrs":121498},{"href":121499,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269736/",{"type":591,"attrs":121501,"content":121502},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121504,"content":121505},{"textAlign":49},[121506],{"text":121507,"type":596,"marks":121508},"Download Northern Graphite’s presentation",[121509],{"type":606,"attrs":121510},{"href":121511,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1270887/",{"type":591,"attrs":121513,"content":121514},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121516,"content":121517},{"textAlign":49},[121518],{"text":121519,"type":596,"marks":121520},"Download Syrah Resources’ presentation",[121521],{"type":606,"attrs":121522},{"href":121523,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1270036/",{"type":591,"attrs":121525,"content":121526},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121528,"content":121529},{"textAlign":49},[121530],{"text":121531,"type":596,"marks":121532},"Download BlackEarth Minerals’ presentation",[121533],{"type":606,"attrs":121534},{"href":121535,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269778/",{"type":591,"attrs":121537,"content":121538},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121540,"content":121541},{"textAlign":49},[121542],{"text":121543,"type":596,"marks":121544},"Download Superior Graphite’s Presentation ",[121545],{"type":606,"attrs":121546},{"href":121547,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269754/",{"type":591,"attrs":121549,"content":121550},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121552,"content":121553},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121555,"content":121556},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121558,"content":121559},{"textAlign":49},[121560],{"text":121561,"type":596,"marks":121562},"Download Novonix’s presentation",[121563],{"type":606,"attrs":121564},{"href":121565,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269746/",{"type":591,"attrs":121567,"content":121568},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121570,"content":121571},{"textAlign":49},[121572],{"text":121573,"type":596,"marks":121574},"Download Elkem’s presentation",[121575],{"type":606,"attrs":121576},{"href":121577,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1270865/",{"type":591,"attrs":121579,"content":121580},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121582,"content":121583},{"textAlign":49},[121584],{"text":121585,"type":596,"marks":121586},"Download OneD Material’s presentation",[121587],{"type":606,"attrs":121588},{"href":121589,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269771/",{"type":591,"attrs":121591,"content":121592},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":121594,"content":121595},{"textAlign":49},[121596],{"text":121597,"type":596,"marks":121598},"Download Talga’s presentation",[121599],{"type":606,"attrs":121600},{"href":121601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1269803/",{"type":591,"attrs":121603,"content":121604},{"textAlign":49},[121605,121610,121614,121619,121622,121627],{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":121606},[121607,121609],{"type":606,"attrs":121608},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":121611,"type":596,"marks":121612}," subscribers have full access to videos from our Graphite+Anodes event and Benchmark Week 2020 on demand through 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Download Elkem’s presentation Download Infinity Lithium’s […]",[122132],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122133},{"job_title":557,"image":122134,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fa40e3f3-59c9-4667-9693-5c90d6a0f8c1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[122137],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":122139,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":122140,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a8f8209191/bm-battery-megafactories.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":122142,"uuid":122143,"name":122144,"slug":122145,"full_slug":122146,"content":122147},112473612755844,"824ad5d4-823f-4bce-ae6e-4e6d653e5a56","Cobalt starts 2021 with a bang – but does this spell the end of low prices?","cobalt-starts-2021-with-a-bang-but-does-this-spell-the-end-of-low-prices","article/cobalt-starts-2021-with-a-bang-but-does-this-spell-the-end-of-low-prices",{"_uid":122148,"date":122149,"tags":122150,"editor":122152,"content":122156,"excerpt":122429,"featured":50,"reporter":122430,"_editable":122434,"component":697,"seo_title":122144,"categories":122435,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":122438,"seo_description":122429,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":122441},"4ec93bd5-2185-43f4-8505-7ff12f581bd8","2021-01-11 00:00",[122151],{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[122153],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122154},{"job_title":557,"image":122155,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":122157},[122158,122163,122168,122173,122178,122183,122188,122200,122205,122210,122215,122220,122225,122230,122235,122240,122245,122250,122255,122260,122265,122270,122275,122280,122285,122290,122302,122307,122310,122315,122318,122323,122328,122333,122338,122343,122348,122353,122365,122370,122381,122386,122391,122396,122399,122409,122414,122419,122424],{"type":591,"attrs":122159,"content":122160},{"textAlign":49},[122161],{"text":122162,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have started 2021 with a bang, with price increases observed across the supply chain, particularly for battery-focused feedstocks and chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":122164,"content":122165},{"textAlign":49},[122166],{"text":122167,"type":596},"The ground was set for a strong start to 2021 with the Chinese State Reserve Bureau (SRB) and its approved Chinese suppliers quietly agreeing a deal to acquire cobalt metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":122169,"content":122170},{"textAlign":49},[122171],{"text":122172,"type":596},"In late December, behind closed doors the SRB initiated its second round of cobalt metal purchasing in 4 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":122174,"content":122175},{"textAlign":49},[122176],{"text":122177,"type":596},"Whilst the deal has not yet been officially confirmed and may never be publicly disclosed, it is estimated the purchase could amount to up to 3,000 tonnes of metal delivered over the first half of 2021 on a fixed price basis – with the potential for more later in the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":122179,"content":122180},{"textAlign":49},[122181],{"text":122182,"type":596},"This adds to the recent purchase already reported by Benchmark in September 2020, with an estimated volume of 2,200 tonnes, delivered over the remainder of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":122184,"content":122185},{"textAlign":49},[122186],{"text":122187,"type":596},"At the time, the purchase went largely under the radar outside of China, in part due to the festive shutdown for much of the industry, but in China prices for cobalt products began to react quickly.",{"type":591,"attrs":122189,"content":122190},{"textAlign":49},[122191,122193,122198],{"text":122192,"type":596},"Cobalt sulphate, which had otherwise been stable for the month of December began to climb with ",{"text":122194,"type":596,"marks":122195},"Benchmark’s December Cobalt Price Assessment",[122196],{"type":606,"attrs":122197},{"href":115580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122199,"type":596}," tracking an average price increase of 3.2% for the month on an EXW China basis, with the high end of transactions reaching RMB 58,000/tonne ($8,900) by month end.",{"type":591,"attrs":122201,"content":122202},{"textAlign":49},[122203],{"text":122204,"type":596},"The purchase by the SRB not only took material out of the market, it gave confidence to the industry that prices were expected to rise.",{"type":591,"attrs":122206,"content":122207},{"textAlign":49},[122208],{"text":122209,"type":596},"It also calmed fears of an oversupplied metal market in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":122211,"content":122212},{"textAlign":49},[122213],{"text":122214,"type":596},"Metal demand from industrial markets continues to be stifled by the impacts of the pandemic, particularly on the superalloy industry linked to aviation.",{"type":591,"attrs":122216,"content":122217},{"textAlign":49},[122218],{"text":122219,"type":596},"This was expected to be compounded by additional supply from the anticipated return to production of the Ambatovy operation in Madagascar, which spent much of 2020 on care and maintenance.",{"type":615,"attrs":122221,"content":122222},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122223],{"text":122224,"type":596},"Coronavirus still impacting China cobalt operations",{"type":591,"attrs":122226,"content":122227},{"textAlign":49},[122228],{"text":122229,"type":596},"By the start of January 2021, as the global industry returned to work, the cobalt price increases of late December continued.",{"type":591,"attrs":122231,"content":122232},{"textAlign":49},[122233],{"text":122234,"type":596},"These were driven not only by the SRB news but a confluence of factors that helped further fuel the flames lit by the government purchase, under a backdrop of rapidly increasing demand from the battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":122236,"content":122237},{"textAlign":49},[122238],{"text":122239,"type":596},"Whilst China has largely overcome the pandemic, with very few cases reported domestically, it is still having an impact on operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":122241,"content":122242},{"textAlign":49},[122243],{"text":122244,"type":596},"With the Chinese New Year celebrations expected in late January and early February, the country largely grinds to a halt, with an extended closure for domestic logistics in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":122246,"content":122247},{"textAlign":49},[122248],{"text":122249,"type":596},"This year the impact of that closure is widened as truck drivers will need to isolate before returning to their families for the holiday period, resulting in a lack of logistics and a scramble by the domestic cobalt industry to ensure it has the material needed on hand to see through the period until after the celebrations.",{"type":591,"attrs":122251,"content":122252},{"textAlign":49},[122253],{"text":122254,"type":596},"Not only are domestic Chinese logistics a concern, but also supply chain contacts have reported increasing concerns over interruptions to the export of cobalt from Africa.",{"type":591,"attrs":122256,"content":122257},{"textAlign":49},[122258],{"text":122259,"type":596},"The concerns arise not only from the worsening coronavirus situation across the continent, potentially disrupting the flow of material, but also from the challenges in securing limited available shipping capacity to transport material to consumers in Asia, primarily in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":122261,"content":122262},{"textAlign":49},[122263],{"text":122264,"type":596},"These concerns have further driven prices rises in the first week of January with Benchmark observing an increase of more than 6.0% in the high end of cobalt sulphate transactions, the highest transacted price for the salt since March 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":122266,"content":122267},{"textAlign":49},[122268],{"text":122269,"type":596},"Cobalt hydroxide, the feedstock for cobalt sulphate production, has also seen an increase in observed payables (the value of cobalt contained in hydroxide compared to metal), which reached the highest level since March 2018 – the high of the most recent price spike.",{"type":591,"attrs":122271,"content":122272},{"textAlign":49},[122273],{"text":122274,"type":596},"Cobalt metal has also reacted, with Benchmark observing the high end of transactions in January to date to have increased by almost 8.0% on December averages on an EXW Europe basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":122276,"content":122277},{"textAlign":49},[122278],{"text":122279,"type":596},"But how much should the supply chain read into this January price action?",{"type":615,"attrs":122281,"content":122282},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122283],{"text":122284,"type":596},"What does it mean for the EV and battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":122286,"content":122287},{"textAlign":49},[122288],{"text":122289,"type":596},"Prices for cobalt sulphate in January typically perform well as Chinese refiners purchase increased inventories to see them through the closures and logistics shutdowns tied to Chinese New Year.",{"type":591,"attrs":122291,"content":122292},{"textAlign":49},[122293,122295,122300],{"text":122294,"type":596},"In January 2020 average ",{"text":122296,"type":596,"marks":122297},"cobalt sulphate prices (EXW China), as assessed by Benchmark",[122298],{"type":606,"attrs":122299},{"href":115580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122301,"type":596}," increased by 10.3% despite significant price decreases in the preceding months and shortly thereafter in March as the virus took hold.",{"type":615,"attrs":122303,"content":122304},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[122305],{"text":122306,"type":596},"The January effect – average change in cobalt sulphate prices in China around the month of January",{"type":591,"attrs":122308,"content":122309},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122311,"content":122312},{"textAlign":49},[122313],{"text":122314,"type":596},"In January 2019 the recorded increase was more muted but still significant considering the falling market, rising by 3.8%",{"type":591,"attrs":122316,"content":122317},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122319,"content":122320},{"textAlign":49},[122321],{"text":122322,"type":596},"Equally, closures in China for the new year towards the end of January and in early February may provide some respite for cobalt prices, allowing things to cool off whilst the industry takes stock and prepares for the remainder of 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":122324,"content":122325},{"textAlign":49},[122326],{"text":122327,"type":596},"So perhaps it is too early to call the end to low pricing in cobalt and the return to a bull market.",{"type":591,"attrs":122329,"content":122330},{"textAlign":49},[122331],{"text":122332,"type":596},"Ultimately, rapidly increasing prices are bad for the cobalt industry in the longer term, with the mineral already having a negative reputation with the downstream industry for high price volatility and high cost, driving substitution.",{"type":591,"attrs":122334,"content":122335},{"textAlign":49},[122336],{"text":122337,"type":596},"It should also be noted that prices are coming from a relatively low base, with average cobalt metal prices in December assessed at $15.45/lb ($34,050/tonne) sitting below the long-term average, and so positive news like that of a further SRB purchase and rising demand should naturally see prices increase to a slightly higher range anyway.",{"type":615,"attrs":122339,"content":122340},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122341],{"text":122342,"type":596},"Tight cobalt supply in 2021 the differentiator",{"type":591,"attrs":122344,"content":122345},{"textAlign":49},[122346],{"text":122347,"type":596},"The one thing that 2021 does have that the preceding two years did not have is tight cobalt supply, particularly for the battery feedstock of choice, cobalt hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":122349,"content":122350},{"textAlign":49},[122351],{"text":122352,"type":596},"Cobalt stocks have been whittled down due to the strengthening, real demand from the lithium ion battery sector due to electric vehicle (EV) sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":122354,"content":122355},{"textAlign":49},[122356,122358,122363],{"text":122357,"type":596},"The most recent cobalt price spike, which came to a head in April 2018 and saw ",{"text":122359,"type":596,"marks":122360},"Benchmark’s average prices for cobalt metal reach $43.63/lb ($96,200/tonne)",[122361],{"type":606,"attrs":122362},{"href":115580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122364,"type":596},", was primarily driven by bullish sentiment for cobalt due to excitement about the growing demand for the mineral from the EV sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":122366,"content":122367},{"textAlign":49},[122368],{"text":122369,"type":596},"Whilst the sentiment was real, true demand was not, as rising EV sales in China began to slow due to a decreasing subsidy regime and the rest of the world’s auto industry still gearing up for EV manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":122371,"content":122372},{"textAlign":49},[122373,122375,122380],{"text":122374,"type":596},"With ample supply for cobalt in 2018 and 2019, due in part to expansions driven by high sentiment and higher prices, the market took a tumble with average prices for cobalt metal reaching a low of",{"text":122376,"type":596,"marks":122377}," $12.85/lb ($28,300/tonne) in July 2019, as assessed by Benchmark",[122378],{"type":606,"attrs":122379},{"href":115580,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":122382,"content":122383},{"textAlign":49},[122384],{"text":122385,"type":596},"But as EV sales reached record highs in late 2020, totalling nearly 400,000 units globally in November 2020 alone, this current price rise is backed by real demand, as the world’s governments get behind the green revolution with financial stimulus and policy frameworks favouring emissions free transport.",{"type":591,"attrs":122387,"content":122388},{"textAlign":49},[122389],{"text":122390,"type":596},"Not only is demand increasing, but the cobalt market is set to transition into undersupply imminently as demand begins to outstrip supply, due to a lack of investment in the upstream following nearly 3 years of low or falling prices.",{"type":615,"attrs":122392,"content":122393},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122394],{"text":122395,"type":596},"Cobalt’s fall from grace",{"type":591,"attrs":122397,"content":122398},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122400,"content":122401},{"textAlign":49},[122402,122407],{"text":122403,"type":596,"marks":122404},"Benchmark forecasts the cobalt market will fall into marginal deficit by late 2021",[122405],{"type":606,"attrs":122406},{"href":50619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122408,"type":596},", with this growing from 2022 and beyond. This has come about due to a number of factors but primarily the rapid acceleration in demand following the virus recovery, particularly in the European and Chinese auto markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":122410,"content":122411},{"textAlign":49},[122412],{"text":122413,"type":596},"Further to this the delayed transition to high nickel, low cobalt cathodes has meant cobalt demand on a per unit basis has not fallen to the levels some in the supply chain expected, as automakers continue to wrestle with the technical challenges associated with high nickel cathode use.",{"type":591,"attrs":122415,"content":122416},{"textAlign":49},[122417],{"text":122418,"type":596},"Finally, the delay to new supply, for example the closure and subsequent delays to Chemaf’s Mutoshi operation in the DRC and Glencore’s Mutanda being placed on care and maintenance has taken a toll on hydroxide availability.",{"type":591,"attrs":122420,"content":122421},{"textAlign":49},[122422],{"text":122423,"type":596},"Does the January price action so far mean a reversal in fortunes for the cobalt market, with prices rallying back to 2018 highs? Almost certainly not – but the outlook for cobalt is as strong as it has been since the last price spike.",{"type":591,"attrs":122425,"content":122426},{"textAlign":49},[122427],{"text":122428,"type":596},"Whilst it is too early to say this is the start of sustained higher cobalt prices in 2021, better fundamentals and therefore better times for cobalt do appear to be on the horizon.","Cobalt prices have started 2021 with a bang, with price increases observed across the supply chain, particularly for battery-focused feedstocks and chemicals. The ground was set for a strong start to 2021 with the Chinese State Reserve Bureau (SRB) and its approved Chinese suppliers quietly agreeing a deal to acquire cobalt metal. In late December, behind closed […]",[122431],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122432},{"job_title":557,"image":122433,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4ec93bd5-2185-43f4-8505-7ff12f581bd8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[122436,122437],{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":122439,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":122440,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/426f20170a/bm-vale-nickel-cobalt-mine.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 11, 2021",{"id":122443,"uuid":122444,"name":122445,"slug":122446,"full_slug":122447,"content":122448},112473622451119,"2366848a-a466-4166-8b90-938f3c154b7b","ESG and political-industrial collaboration central to EU’s lithium ion battery strategy","esg-and-political-industrial-collaboration-central-to-eus-lithium-ion-battery-strategy","article/esg-and-political-industrial-collaboration-central-to-eus-lithium-ion-battery-strategy",{"_uid":122449,"date":122450,"tags":122451,"editor":122453,"content":122457,"excerpt":122554,"featured":50,"reporter":122555,"_editable":122559,"component":697,"seo_title":122445,"categories":122560,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":122563,"seo_description":122554,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":122565},"e32f9ab3-9a85-4b38-a8be-8a3f3a0fe017","2021-01-08 00:00",[122452],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[122454],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122455},{"job_title":557,"image":122456,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":122458},[122459,122464,122469,122474,122479,122484,122489,122494,122499,122504,122509,122514,122519,122524,122529,122534,122539,122544,122549],{"type":591,"attrs":122460,"content":122461},{"textAlign":49},[122462],{"text":122463,"type":596},"The European Commission’s (EC) proposal to update to its existing battery legislation, outlined in December, is set to form a part of the European Union’s (EU) Green New Deal and focus on creating more sustainable batteries produced within and sold into the EU.",{"type":591,"attrs":122465,"content":122466},{"textAlign":49},[122467],{"text":122468,"type":596},"However, with the EU already facing an uphill climb to meet its growing electric vehicle ambitions, the extra hurdle of sustainability, which is necessary to ensure the clean energy transition remains clean, will add to the challenges of scaling up battery production on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":122470,"content":122471},{"textAlign":49},[122472],{"text":122473,"type":596},"Discussing the legislation Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefčovič said: “The Commission puts forward a new future-proof regulatory framework on batteries to ensure that only the greenest, best performing and safest batteries make it onto the EU market. This ambitious framework on transparent and ethical sourcing of raw materials, carbon-footprint of batteries, and recycling is an essential element to achieve open strategic autonomy in this critical sector and accelerate our work under the European Battery Alliance.”",{"type":591,"attrs":122475,"content":122476},{"textAlign":49},[122477],{"text":122478,"type":596},"The proposed regulations would develop an EU framework for quantifying the carbon footprint of batteries, which would see lithium ion cells sold in the EU requiring a carbon footprint declaration from July 2024 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":122480,"content":122481},{"textAlign":49},[122482],{"text":122483,"type":596},"These regulations would then become more stringent from January 2026, with electric vehicle (EV) batteries needing to show a carbon intensity performance label and from July 2027 onwards having to comply with carbon footprint thresholds.",{"type":591,"attrs":122485,"content":122486},{"textAlign":49},[122487],{"text":122488,"type":596},"Anticipating the growth in EV battery cell demand this decade, which Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database forecasts will increase 23x in Europe between 2020 and 2030, the legislation also proposes a formal threshold for battery recycling to come into effect at the start of the 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":122490,"content":122491},{"textAlign":49},[122492],{"text":122493,"type":596},"Beginning in January 2027, batteries in the EU will also have to declare the content of recycled cobalt, lithium and nickel. From 2030 onwards this will see minimum requirements for some recycled battery materials: 12% cobalt, 4% lithium and 4% nickel. By 2035, this would increase to increase to: 20% cobalt, 10% lithium and 12% nickel.",{"type":615,"attrs":122495,"content":122496},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122497],{"text":122498,"type":596},"Developing the EU’s supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":122500,"content":122501},{"textAlign":49},[122502],{"text":122503,"type":596},"The latest move to modernise the EU’s battery regulations reflects the rapid changes the industry is undergoing.",{"type":591,"attrs":122505,"content":122506},{"textAlign":49},[122507],{"text":122508,"type":596},"It also builds on the EU’s recent efforts to support the buildout of Europe’s battery supply chain through efforts such as the European Battery Alliance (EBA). The EBA has already played a key role in major supply chain developments to date, such as the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) €350 million funding in Northvolt’s Skellefteå megafactory in Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":122510,"content":122511},{"textAlign":49},[122512],{"text":122513,"type":596},"Backing from both the French and German governments was also critical to the PSA Group and Total joint venture that established the 40GWh of capacity in the pipeline in France and Germany last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":122515,"content":122516},{"textAlign":49},[122517],{"text":122518,"type":596},"Needless to say, political and industrial collaborations over the past 2 years have put Europe on track to become the world’s second lithium ion hub after China. Data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment shows that it has 16 megafactories in the pipeline for 2029, with 503.2 GWh of capacity set to be online in that time.",{"type":591,"attrs":122520,"content":122521},{"textAlign":49},[122522],{"text":122523,"type":596},"However, while investment has been flowing into Europe’s cell capacity, and to a lesser extent cathode capacity, it’s evident that Europe’s upstream supply chain is ill prepared to meet its future cell requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":122525,"content":122526},{"textAlign":49},[122527],{"text":122528,"type":596},"The continent has a number of battery raw material projects under development – but to date investment into these projects has not been sufficient to develop sustainable supply. The establishment of the European Raw Materials Alliance indicates the EU’s desire to support this buildout, but this is yet to translate into significant upstream developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":122530,"content":122531},{"textAlign":49},[122532],{"text":122533,"type":596},"It’s worth noting that even if Europe’s raw material projects under development came online, the EU would still need to look outside of its borders to source its battery raw materials from the ground.",{"type":591,"attrs":122535,"content":122536},{"textAlign":49},[122537],{"text":122538,"type":596},"The EU’s efforts to develop its own recycling capacity, while important for the sustainability of the battery supply chain, therefore also recognise the raw material risks the continent faces – something it hopes to alleviate in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":122540,"content":122541},{"textAlign":49},[122542],{"text":122543,"type":596},"With its new sustainability targets, the EU is looking to incentivise the buildout of its supply chain by promoting localisation and domestic battery recycling capacity. This supports the efforts to minimise the battery supply chain’s footprint while also supporting the EU’s strategic effort to develop an advantage in raw material sourcing in the long-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":122545,"content":122546},{"textAlign":49},[122547],{"text":122548,"type":596},"By defining recycled raw material requirements and formalising the display of carbon footprints it is also outlining the future standards required of tier 1 battery producers looking to supply the EU’s EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":122550,"content":122551},{"textAlign":49},[122552],{"text":122553,"type":596},"However, despite its long-term thinking Europe’s OEMs and governments still face near-term raw material shortages throughout the 2020s that will be critical to meet growing EV demand.","The European Commission’s (EC) proposal to update to its existing battery legislation, outlined in December, is set to form a part of the European Union’s (EU) Green New Deal and focus on creating more sustainable batteries produced within and sold into the EU. However, with the EU already facing an uphill climb to meet its […]",[122556],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122557},{"job_title":557,"image":122558,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e32f9ab3-9a85-4b38-a8be-8a3f3a0fe017\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[122561,122562],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98648,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":122564,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 08, 2021",{"id":122567,"uuid":122568,"name":122569,"slug":122570,"full_slug":122571,"content":122572},112473651450943,"09dfb1d1-4c10-4a2f-9ae7-7a0046ed8b3b","Australia’s IGO looks to take stake in Tianqi’s Greenbushes & Kwinana lithium operations in $1.4 billion deal","australias-igo-looks-to-take-stake-in-tianqis-greenbushes-kwinana-lithium-operations-in-us1-4-billion-deal","article/australias-igo-looks-to-take-stake-in-tianqis-greenbushes-kwinana-lithium-operations-in-us1-4-billion-deal",{"_uid":122573,"date":122574,"tags":122575,"editor":122577,"content":122581,"excerpt":122714,"featured":50,"reporter":122715,"_editable":122719,"component":697,"seo_title":122569,"categories":122720,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":122723,"seo_description":122714,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":122725},"e8f4a5c7-a260-4b6f-b08b-b67c517303f0","2020-12-16 00:00",[122576],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[122578],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122579},{"job_title":557,"image":122580,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":122582},[122583,122588,122593,122598,122603,122608,122613,122618,122623,122628,122633,122638,122643,122652,122663,122668,122673,122678,122683,122692,122709],{"type":591,"attrs":122584,"content":122585},{"textAlign":49},[122586],{"text":122587,"type":596},"Australia’s IGO Ltd is set to take a stake in Tianqi Lithium’s operations, securing a 25% stake in the Greenbushes lithium mine and 49% share in the downstream lithium hydroxide Kwinana project in a US$1.4 billion deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":122589,"content":122590},{"textAlign":49},[122591],{"text":122592,"type":596},"This comes following extended negotiations between Tianqi and China’s state-owned Citibank regarding a $1.8 billion loan repayment due in late November. IGO’s investment would provide Tianqi with a financial reprieve at the expense of its majority share in Greenbushes and full ownership of Kwinana (now 51%).",{"type":591,"attrs":122594,"content":122595},{"textAlign":49},[122596],{"text":122597,"type":596},"The new Greenbushes ownership structure would see IGO holding a 24.99% interest in the operation, Tianqi 26.01% and Albemarle 49%.",{"type":591,"attrs":122599,"content":122600},{"textAlign":49},[122601],{"text":122602,"type":596},"However, IGO’s financing for the deal, which will come from a mixture of equity raising and debt, has yet to be secured.",{"type":591,"attrs":122604,"content":122605},{"textAlign":49},[122606],{"text":122607,"type":596},"The investment will also need to be approved by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. Tianqi’s knowledge of the need for Australian approval may swayed their decision in the buyer they selected for Greenbushes, knowing that further Chinese investment in such a strategic asset would have likely been rejected.",{"type":591,"attrs":122609,"content":122610},{"textAlign":49},[122611],{"text":122612,"type":596},"If these hurdles are overcome, IGO’s investment sees it take a stake in the world’s largest and lowest-cost hard rock lithium asset, which Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows produced 23% of global lithium supply in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":122614,"content":122615},{"textAlign":49},[122616],{"text":122617,"type":596},"The deal also sets up IGO to be a vertically integrated producer of lithium chemicals with an interest in the suspended downstream lithium hydroxide Kwinana project. The 24,000 tpa operation was due to begin operations in H1 2020, however, this was postponed in March with Tianqi citing coronavirus issues.",{"type":591,"attrs":122619,"content":122620},{"textAlign":49},[122621],{"text":122622,"type":596},"Tianqi’s expansions in recent years have stretched it financially. In particular the decision to purchase a 23.8% stake in Chilean lithium producer SQM for $4.1 billion in 2018, back when lithium prices were at their peak, is now haunting Tianqi.",{"type":591,"attrs":122624,"content":122625},{"textAlign":49},[122626],{"text":122627,"type":596},"Financially troubled and suffering under the pressures of poor market conditions, it was no secret that Tianqi was looking to offload a share of Greenbushes – and IGO are set to capitalise on this.",{"type":591,"attrs":122629,"content":122630},{"textAlign":49},[122631],{"text":122632,"type":596},"Historically, IGO has been focused on gold and copper assets but its investment in Greenbushes and Kwinana highlights the company’s increased focus on the battery supply chain, with it already producing nickel, cobalt and copper through its Nova asset.",{"type":615,"attrs":122634,"content":122635},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122636],{"text":122637,"type":596},"Lithium’s turbulent market conditions",{"type":591,"attrs":122639,"content":122640},{"textAlign":49},[122641],{"text":122642,"type":596},"While Tianqi has stretched itself, unforgiving market conditions have exacerbated its problems, which continues to affect other producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":122644,"content":122645},{"textAlign":49},[122646,122650],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":122647},[122648],{"type":606,"attrs":122649},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122651,"type":596}," shows that at the end of 2019 the lithium market had approximately 25,000-50,000 tonnes LCE of excess material carried over into 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":122653,"content":122654},{"textAlign":49},[122655,122657,122661],{"text":122656,"type":596},"In turn, as ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":122658},[122659],{"type":606,"attrs":122660},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122662,"type":596}," shows, spodumene prices continued to fall throughout the first half of 2020, reaching lows of USD $375/tonne (6% Li2O, FOB Australia) between August and October.",{"type":591,"attrs":122664,"content":122665},{"textAlign":49},[122666],{"text":122667,"type":596},"With a supply backlog and falling prices majors have delayed and cut expansion plans while wider investment into the sector and development stage companies has been limited.",{"type":591,"attrs":122669,"content":122670},{"textAlign":49},[122671],{"text":122672,"type":596},"Producers and developers alike continue to feel the effects of these conditions, with consolidation in the hard rock supply chain is already under way. This year we have seen Pilbara Minerals purchase Altura Lithium’s operations and Livent take a stake in Nemaska Lithium’s Whabouchi operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":122674,"content":122675},{"textAlign":49},[122676],{"text":122677,"type":596},"Not only has this sustained period of falling prices forced developers and producers out of the market, it has failed to incentivise new production.",{"type":591,"attrs":122679,"content":122680},{"textAlign":49},[122681],{"text":122682,"type":596},"As such, the likelihood of lithium supply bottlenecks emerging are only going to grow as new capacity fails to materialise.",{"type":591,"attrs":122684,"content":122685},{"textAlign":49},[122686,122690],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":122687},[122688],{"type":606,"attrs":122689},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122691,"type":596}," shows that while the lithium market has been in surplus, it will tighten in the coming 18 months and we forecast that from 2022 the market will move into deficit. The coronavirus outbreak and the resilience of electric vehicle (EV) demand in China and Europe illustrates how many auto manufacturers have underestimated the growth prospects ahead for battery raw material demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":122693,"content":122694},{"textAlign":49},[122695,122697,122701,122703,122707],{"text":122696,"type":596},"It’s also worth nothing, that while ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":122698},[122699],{"type":606,"attrs":122700},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122702,"type":596}," shows that lithium prices across the board are down considerably from their mid-2018 peaks, there are tentative signs of this pricing environment changing. Since falling to the lowest point of this bear market in Q3, spodumene prices were flat between August and October and, as at the end of November, ",{"text":16874,"type":596,"marks":122704},[122705],{"type":606,"attrs":122706},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":122708,"type":596}," showed the first uptick in prices since the end of 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":122710,"content":122711},{"textAlign":49},[122712],{"text":122713,"type":596},"IGO’s move is certainly a positive sign for a battered lithium market. However, as it is yet to secure funding for the project, the success of its capital raising efforts will serve as a barometer to measure the financial community’s sentiments.","Australia’s IGO Ltd is set to take a stake in Tianqi Lithium’s operations, securing a 25% stake in the Greenbushes lithium mine and 49% share in the downstream lithium hydroxide Kwinana project in a US$1.4 billion deal. This comes following extended negotiations between Tianqi and China’s state-owned Citibank regarding a $1.8 billion loan repayment due […]",[122716],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122717},{"job_title":557,"image":122718,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8f4a5c7-a260-4b6f-b08b-b67c517303f0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[122721,122722],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":117346,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":122724,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 16, 2020",{"id":122727,"uuid":122728,"name":122729,"slug":122730,"full_slug":122731,"content":122732},112473680565691,"b2dcdb35-68d6-44ea-8e02-a356b69a48c8","Benchmark Week 2020: Glencore, Albemarle, Umicore, Easpring, Northvolt-Volkswagen, Rio Tinto, BTR, Breakthrough Energy, SVolt +","benchmark-week-2020-glencore-albemarle-umicore-easpring-northvolt-volkswagen-rio-tinto-btr-breakthrough-energy-svolt","article/benchmark-week-2020-glencore-albemarle-umicore-easpring-northvolt-volkswagen-rio-tinto-btr-breakthrough-energy-svolt",{"_uid":122733,"date":122734,"tags":122735,"editor":122737,"content":122741,"excerpt":123001,"featured":50,"reporter":123002,"_editable":123006,"component":697,"seo_title":122729,"categories":123007,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":123009,"seo_description":123001,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":123012},"4702bbfb-bb38-4bdd-b174-e9290b8cd9ed","2020-11-30 00:00",[122736],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[122738],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":122739},{"job_title":557,"image":122740,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":122742},[122743,122756,122763,122770,122777,122785,122792,122800,122807,122815,122822,122829,122837,122844,122849,122856,122864,122871,122879,122886,122894,122899,122904,122907,122915,122920,122925,122928,122936,122941,122946,122949,122956,122961,122966,122969,122976,122981,122986,122989,122996],{"type":591,"attrs":122744,"content":122745},{"textAlign":49},[122746,122748,122754],{"text":122747,"type":596},"In 7 days, ",{"text":122749,"type":596,"marks":122750},"Benchmark Week 2020",[122751],{"type":606,"attrs":122752},{"href":122753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/benchmark-week-2020/",{"text":122755,"type":596}," will take place, free and online for the first time. ",{"type":591,"attrs":122757,"content":122758},{"textAlign":49},[122759,122761],{"text":122760,"type":596},"Experience five of Benchmark’s world class lithium ion battery supply chain conferences in 5 days featuring the leading voices of the industry,",{"text":122762,"type":596}," some of which have been selected below for you to join. ",{"type":591,"attrs":122764,"content":122765},{"textAlign":49},[122766],{"text":122767,"type":596,"marks":122768},"All Times London GMT ",[122769],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":122771,"content":122772},{"textAlign":49},[122773,122775],{"text":122774,"type":596},"BTR & Superior Graphite (Graphite + Anodes 2020) – ",{"text":122776,"type":596},"4pm, Monday 7 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122778,"content":122779},{"textAlign":49},[122780],{"text":122781,"type":596,"marks":122782},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S7EZJFPRQUe3gDC04srfSw",[122783],{"type":606,"attrs":122784},{"href":122781,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122786,"content":122787},{"textAlign":49},[122788,122790],{"text":122789,"type":596},"SVolt & Easpring (Cathodes 2020) – ",{"text":122791,"type":596}," 8am, Tuesday 8 Dec",{"type":591,"attrs":122793,"content":122794},{"textAlign":49},[122795],{"text":122796,"type":596,"marks":122797},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wdCo8u6sRnKAqDPw9cJSBA",[122798],{"type":606,"attrs":122799},{"href":122796,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122801,"content":122802},{"textAlign":49},[122803,122805],{"text":122804,"type":596},"Northvolt – Volkswagen (Battery Megafactories Europe) – ",{"text":122806,"type":596}," 8am Weds 9 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122808,"content":122809},{"textAlign":49},[122810],{"text":122811,"type":596,"marks":122812},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JXTL-9XuSBibMVQYCXEfHQ",[122813],{"type":606,"attrs":122814},{"href":122811,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122816,"content":122817},{"textAlign":49},[122818,122820],{"text":122819,"type":596},"Dr Andy Palmer (Battery Megafactories UK) – ",{"text":122821,"type":596},"2pm Weds 9 Dec  ",{"type":591,"attrs":122823,"content":122824},{"textAlign":49},[122825],{"text":122826,"type":596,"marks":122827},"Dr Palmer is the former CEO Aston Martin and EV pioneer who was crucial in developing the Nissan LEAF and the automakers’ supply chain strategy including integrated lithium ion battery cell capacity. ",[122828],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":122830,"content":122831},{"textAlign":49},[122832],{"text":122833,"type":596,"marks":122834},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XNMsmv2uTxyYRZGBy0LMgg",[122835],{"type":606,"attrs":122836},{"href":122833,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122838,"content":122839},{"textAlign":49},[122840,122842],{"text":122841,"type":596},"Rio Tinto (Lithium Conference 2020)  – ",{"text":122843,"type":596},"4pm Thurs 10 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122845,"content":122846},{"textAlign":49},[122847],{"text":122848,"type":596},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7cfXWUzdQUud0lEGvZ_C7A",{"type":591,"attrs":122850,"content":122851},{"textAlign":49},[122852,122854],{"text":122853,"type":596},"BP, Total, IEA (Lithium Conference 2020) – ",{"text":122855,"type":596},"11am Thurs 10 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122857,"content":122858},{"textAlign":49},[122859],{"text":122860,"type":596,"marks":122861},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YdyjGA2CT7-BGfOJ8r3HWw",[122862],{"type":606,"attrs":122863},{"href":122860,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122865,"content":122866},{"textAlign":49},[122867,122869],{"text":122868,"type":596},"Albemarle, Breakthrough Energy (Lithium Conference 2020) – ",{"text":122870,"type":596}," 8pm Thurs 10 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122872,"content":122873},{"textAlign":49},[122874],{"text":122875,"type":596,"marks":122876},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rXAF-SwdS5mObVMTHIc9lg",[122877],{"type":606,"attrs":122878},{"href":122875,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122880,"content":122881},{"textAlign":49},[122882,122884],{"text":122883,"type":596},"Rare earths special – ",{"text":122885,"type":596},"8pm Fri 11 Dec ",{"type":591,"attrs":122887,"content":122888},{"textAlign":49},[122889],{"text":122890,"type":596,"marks":122891},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pqXRpl32SueTZDuslbC4tA",[122892],{"type":606,"attrs":122893},{"href":122890,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":122895,"content":122896},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[122897],{"text":122898,"type":596},"Don’t miss Benchmark’s State of the Industry Keynotes ",{"type":615,"attrs":122900,"content":122901},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122902],{"text":122903,"type":596},"Graphite + Anodes 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":122905,"content":122906},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122908,"content":122909},{"textAlign":49},[122910],{"text":122911,"type":596,"marks":122912},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_huvOfX0CSCijgfsZtGmz6A",[122913],{"type":606,"attrs":122914},{"href":122911,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122916,"content":122917},{"textAlign":49},[122918],{"text":122919,"type":596},"Andrew Miller, Product Director, Benchmark – Monday 7 Dec @ 7pm ",{"type":615,"attrs":122921,"content":122922},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122923],{"text":122924,"type":596},"Cathodes 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":122926,"content":122927},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122929,"content":122930},{"textAlign":49},[122931],{"text":122932,"type":596,"marks":122933},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__iKsAXwLSyijZvHvbNTMpQ",[122934],{"type":606,"attrs":122935},{"href":122932,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122937,"content":122938},{"textAlign":49},[122939],{"text":122940,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark – Tuesday 8 Dec @ 8pm ",{"type":615,"attrs":122942,"content":122943},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122944],{"text":122945,"type":596},"Battery Megafactories Europe 2020 ",{"type":591,"attrs":122947,"content":122948},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122950,"content":122951},{"textAlign":49},[122952],{"text":122811,"type":596,"marks":122953},[122954],{"type":606,"attrs":122955},{"href":122811,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122957,"content":122958},{"textAlign":49},[122959],{"text":122960,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles, Head of Price & Data Assessments – Weds 9 Dec @ 8am ",{"type":615,"attrs":122962,"content":122963},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122964],{"text":122965,"type":596},"Battery Megafactories UK 2020 ",{"type":591,"attrs":122967,"content":122968},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122970,"content":122971},{"textAlign":49},[122972],{"text":122833,"type":596,"marks":122973},[122974],{"type":606,"attrs":122975},{"href":122833,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122977,"content":122978},{"textAlign":49},[122979],{"text":122980,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark – Weds 9 Dec @ 2pm ",{"type":615,"attrs":122982,"content":122983},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[122984],{"text":122985,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium Conference 2020 ",{"type":591,"attrs":122987,"content":122988},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":122990,"content":122991},{"textAlign":49},[122992],{"text":122875,"type":596,"marks":122993},[122994],{"type":606,"attrs":122995},{"href":122875,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":122997,"content":122998},{"textAlign":49},[122999],{"text":123000,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark – Thursday 10 Dec @ 8pm ","In 7 days, Benchmark Week 2020 will take place, free and online for the first time. Experience five of Benchmark’s world class lithium ion battery supply chain conferences in 5 days featuring the leading voices of the industry, some of which have been selected below for you to join. All Times London GMT BTR & […]",[123003],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123004},{"job_title":557,"image":123005,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4702bbfb-bb38-4bdd-b174-e9290b8cd9ed\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[123008],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":123010,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":123011,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/81ec83f38f/bm-week-2020-update.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 30, 2020",{"id":123014,"uuid":123015,"name":123016,"slug":123017,"full_slug":123018,"content":123019},112473690351082,"793469ad-4364-406b-b700-356d0fa0ff06","UK calls last orders on combustion engine, but needs to spend $20bn on four EV battery gigafactories by 2027 – Benchmark Comment","uk-calls-last-orders-on-combustion-engine-but-needs-to-spend-20bn-on-four-ev-battery-gigafactories-by-2027-benchmark-comment","article/uk-calls-last-orders-on-combustion-engine-but-needs-to-spend-20bn-on-four-ev-battery-gigafactories-by-2027-benchmark-comment",{"_uid":123020,"date":123021,"tags":123022,"editor":123025,"content":123029,"excerpt":123335,"featured":50,"reporter":123336,"_editable":123340,"component":697,"seo_title":123016,"categories":123341,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":123343,"seo_description":123335,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":123346},"cf20b1c7-c4ba-488c-b4e4-500dcb9b47d5","2020-11-23 00:00",[123023,123024],{"slug":110216,"name":110217},{"slug":1066,"name":1067},[123026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123027},{"job_title":557,"image":123028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":123030},[123031,123037,123042,123047,123053,123058,123066,123071,123076,123081,123086,123091,123096,123101,123106,123111,123116,123121,123126,123131,123139,123144,123149,123152,123155,123160,123165,123170,123175,123180,123183,123188,123193,123198,123204,123209,123214,123219,123227,123232,123237,123242,123247,123250,123256,123270,123275,123280,123293,123298,123303,123308,123313,123318,123323,123328],{"type":591,"attrs":123032,"content":123033},{"textAlign":49},[123034],{"text":116155,"type":596,"marks":123035},[123036],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":123038,"content":123039},{"textAlign":49},[123040],{"text":123041,"type":596},"The UK has placed electric vehicles (EV) and lithium ion batteries at the heart of a new “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution” and with it announced intentions to ban new sales of the internal combustion engine by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":123043,"content":123044},{"textAlign":49},[123045],{"text":123046,"type":596},"This aggressive move on climate change is setting the tone for COP26 in Glasgow next year, but the lack of progress on a mass-scale, commercial battery industrialisation plan risks the collapse of a major pillar in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s UK decarbonisation plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":123048,"content":123049},{"textAlign":49},[123050,123051],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":123052,"type":596}," anticipates that the UK will need at least four gigafactories / battery megafactories to be built in the next 6 years at a cost of $20bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":123054,"content":123055},{"textAlign":49},[123056],{"text":123057,"type":596},"The Prime Ministers’ Office said: “[The UK intends to commit] nearly £500 million to be spent in the next four years for the development and mass-scale production of electric vehicle batteries, as part of our commitment to provide up to £1 billion, boosting international investment into our strong manufacturing bases including in the Midlands and North East.”",{"type":591,"attrs":123059,"content":123060},{"textAlign":49},[123061,123063,123064],{"text":123062,"type":596},"In a conservative forecast, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":123065,"type":596}," expects these four battery cell plants will need to be a combined capacity of 175GWh and to be ready and ramped up to full capacity by 2035. This will be enough to build little over 3m pure EVs a year with zero additional cells for energy storage systems and any new EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":123067,"content":123068},{"textAlign":49},[123069],{"text":123070,"type":596},"With significant battery production, the UK needs to ensure the supply chains of critical raw materials are secured. After all, 175GWh will require 155,000 tonnes of lithium, 210,000 tonnes of graphite anode, 18,000 tonnes of cobalt, and 140,000 tonnes of nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":123072,"content":123073},{"textAlign":49},[123074],{"text":123075,"type":596},"In an ever increasing competitive landscape for raw materials, this is some challenge for what are specialist, engineered chemicals and materials and not commodities.",{"type":615,"attrs":123077,"content":123078},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[123079],{"text":123080,"type":596},"UK needs half of the world’s 2020 lithium supply to meet future battery capacity challenge ",{"type":591,"attrs":123082,"content":123083},{"textAlign":49},[123084],{"text":123085,"type":596},"The UK’s demand for raw materials from four Gigafactories at a capacity of 175GWh would equate to:",{"type":615,"attrs":123087,"content":123088},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123089],{"text":123090,"type":596},"Half of the world’s lithium chemicals (LCE) produced in 2020",{"type":615,"attrs":123092,"content":123093},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123094],{"text":123095,"type":596},"More than the entire world’s supply of anode in 2020",{"type":615,"attrs":123097,"content":123098},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123099],{"text":123100,"type":596},"30% of the world’s total cobalt supply that was destined for battery end markets in 2020",{"type":615,"attrs":123102,"content":123103},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123104],{"text":123105,"type":596},"61% of total nickel sulphate supply in 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":123107,"content":123108},{"textAlign":49},[123109],{"text":123110,"type":596},"Geologically speaking, the UK does have these raw materials domestically and should be encouraging new supply bases, and most critically, new extraction techniques.",{"type":591,"attrs":123112,"content":123113},{"textAlign":49},[123114],{"text":123115,"type":596},"However, for the sheer volume needed, the UK will also need to strike partnerships with countries such as Canada, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo – strategic suppliers which will be crucial for at least 75% of the UK’s demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":123117,"content":123118},{"textAlign":49},[123119],{"text":123120,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery is the platform technology on which the UK is to build a lithium ion economy, the bedrock to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Ten Point Plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":123122,"content":123123},{"textAlign":49},[123124],{"text":123125,"type":596},"Yet, while the European Union, USA and China plan these lithium ion mega-projects, the UK is yet to attract a Tier One lithium ion battery producer – the likes of LG Chem, CATL, Panasonic, Tesla, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation and Envision AESC to build new domestically or begin construction on even one battery megafactory.",{"type":615,"attrs":123127,"content":123128},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[123129],{"text":123130,"type":596},"Global Battery Arms Race enters new gear post pandemic",{"type":591,"attrs":123132,"content":123133},{"textAlign":49},[123134,123136,123137],{"text":123135,"type":596},"Since 2015, we have witnessed a global battery arms race that has seen the number of super-sized battery plants increase from 3 to 175 according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":123138,"type":596}," data.",{"type":591,"attrs":123140,"content":123141},{"textAlign":49},[123142],{"text":123143,"type":596},"Of this 175, 58 battery gigafactories have been added this year – a clear acceleration in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.",{"type":591,"attrs":123145,"content":123146},{"textAlign":49},[123147],{"text":123148,"type":596},"In 2020 alone, China has announced 38 battery plants, Europe 2 and, 3 in the US but zero in the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":123150,"content":123151},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":123153,"content":123154},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":123156,"content":123157},{"textAlign":49},[123158],{"text":123159,"type":596},"This is a leadership position that the UK has failed to build upon despite hosting EV battery manufacturing in Sunderland for the Nissan LEAF since 2014 – the first automaker outside of China to understand the importance of in-house production.",{"type":591,"attrs":123161,"content":123162},{"textAlign":49},[123163],{"text":123164,"type":596},"The UK has also not yet attracted a tier one lithium ion battery producer that has the track record of producing battery cells in quality and quantity to EV makers.",{"type":591,"attrs":123166,"content":123167},{"textAlign":49},[123168],{"text":123169,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Tiers of Automotive Grade Battery Producers ranks global producers of lithium ion battery cells into three levels. The UK will need a wide variety of producers for its EV and energy storage ambitions but can not do without the quality supply base from Tier One battery makers: LG Chem, Panasonic-Tesla, Samsung SDI, CATL, SK Innovation and Envision AESC.",{"type":591,"attrs":123171,"content":123172},{"textAlign":49},[123173],{"text":123174,"type":596},"Interestingly, Envision AESC own the UK’s only battery megafactory in Sunderland, a plant that is geared for manufacturing cells for the Nissan LEAF.",{"type":591,"attrs":123176,"content":123177},{"textAlign":49},[123178],{"text":123179,"type":596},"However, a new or revamped plant design will be needed to scale into the tens of gigawatt hours on a single site. At present, Envision AESC’s capacity is 1.9GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":123181,"content":123182},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":123184,"content":123185},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[123186],{"text":123187,"type":596},"Building a Lithium ion Economy in the UK: What does it need to do?",{"type":615,"attrs":123189,"content":123190},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123191],{"text":123192,"type":596},"1. Lithium ion battery manufacturing at high volume, high quality and speed",{"type":591,"attrs":123194,"content":123195},{"textAlign":49},[123196],{"text":123197,"type":596},"Speed, Scale and Quality.",{"type":591,"attrs":123199,"content":123200},{"textAlign":49},[123201,123202],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":123203,"type":596}," has always advised the global battery supply chain, investors and governments that lithium ion battery production needs to have these three attributes at the centre of any plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":123205,"content":123206},{"textAlign":49},[123207],{"text":123208,"type":596},"Firstly, Tier One lithium ion battery production by the industry’s experts that know how to make and evolve high quality cells for electric vehicles is crucial. Battery making is where physical and chemical engineering crosses over.",{"type":591,"attrs":123210,"content":123211},{"textAlign":49},[123212],{"text":123213,"type":596},"The UK is a leader on the chemistry side, yet it needs large scale industrialists to turn this knowledge into commercial reality.",{"type":615,"attrs":123215,"content":123216},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123217],{"text":123218,"type":596},"2. Building an ecosystem to support this lithium ion economy",{"type":591,"attrs":123220,"content":123221},{"textAlign":49},[123222,123224,123225],{"text":123223,"type":596},"A lithium ion economy – a term created by ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":123226,"type":596}," – is not just about battery production but the ecosystem to support it.",{"type":591,"attrs":123228,"content":123229},{"textAlign":49},[123230],{"text":123231,"type":596},"It is critical that the UK builds the upstream and downstream of the battery cells to ensure that the industry scales and has the infrastructure to support continued growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":123233,"content":123234},{"textAlign":49},[123235],{"text":123236,"type":596},"The UK can take lessons from the combustion engine success: the making of actual cars has migrated elsewhere over the decades, yet a high quality knowledge pool offering services and manufacturing of high specification components has remained.",{"type":591,"attrs":123238,"content":123239},{"textAlign":49},[123240],{"text":123241,"type":596},"This blueprint has to be recreated but instead of for engines, it has to be centred on:",{"type":591,"attrs":123243,"content":123244},{"textAlign":49},[123245],{"text":123246,"type":596},"It is a challenge that every major economy in the world needs to tackle and one that Benchmark has testified to the US Senate on three times in two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":123248,"content":123249},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":123251,"content":123252},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123253,123254],{"text":94701,"type":596},{"text":123255,"type":596},"Establishing a UK ‘Lithium ion Economic Task Force’  ",{"type":591,"attrs":123257,"content":123258},{"textAlign":49},[123259,123261,123262,123263,123265,123266,123268],{"text":123260,"type":596},"The UK government needs to ensure its ",{"text":2899,"type":596},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":123264,"type":596},"legislation",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":123267,"type":596},"funding",{"text":123269,"type":596}," all align to meet the same goals: to build a domestic lithium ion economy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123271,"content":123272},{"textAlign":49},[123273],{"text":123274,"type":596},"All too often, these three components sit in silos and do not talk to each other: usually a symptom of political interest over the national interest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123276,"content":123277},{"textAlign":49},[123278],{"text":123279,"type":596},"The EU has taken a leadership role here with the creation of the Battery Alliance that brings together government, industry and money to ensure everyone is talking from the same playbook. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123281,"content":123282},{"textAlign":49},[123283,123285,123291],{"text":123284,"type":596},"Much like the UK has ",{"text":123286,"type":596,"marks":123287},"SAGE",[123288],{"type":606,"attrs":123289},{"href":123290,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response-membership/list-of-participants-of-sage-and-related-sub-groups",{"text":123292,"type":596}," (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) and COBR (Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms), the UK will need to establish its own Lithium ion Economic Task Force to ensure the path forward is as straight as possible. ",{"type":615,"attrs":123294,"content":123295},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[123296],{"text":123297,"type":596},"Is it too late for the UK?  ",{"type":591,"attrs":123299,"content":123300},{"textAlign":49},[123301],{"text":123302,"type":596},"Is it too late for the UK? Certainly not. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123304,"content":123305},{"textAlign":49},[123306],{"text":123307,"type":596},"However, the government and industry needs to understand that the first act has now been played out on a global scale – this global battery arms race is no longer a secret and it is scaling faster than the present pace of domestic development.",{"type":591,"attrs":123309,"content":123310},{"textAlign":49},[123311],{"text":123312,"type":596},"The second act has begun and it is about speed, scale and quality. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123314,"content":123315},{"textAlign":49},[123316],{"text":123317,"type":596},"The UK is not only playing catch up on Act One but also needs to get up to speed or ahead of the game in Act Two: building a rock solid base for a 21st century lithium ion economy in the UK, the enabling technology of any Green Industrial Revolution. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123319,"content":123320},{"textAlign":49},[123321],{"text":123322,"type":596},"And the UK Government and industry have to work in unison to have any chance of competing in the industry’s top echelons. ",{"type":591,"attrs":123324,"content":123325},{"textAlign":49},[123326],{"text":123327,"type":596},"—————————",{"type":591,"attrs":123329,"content":123330},{"textAlign":49},[123331],{"text":123332,"type":596,"marks":123333},"Simon Moores is managing director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading price reporting agency, data and advisory firm for the lithium ion battery to EV supply chain. ",[123334],{"type":1006},"By Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence The UK has placed electric vehicles (EV) and lithium ion batteries at the heart of a new “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution” and with it announced intentions to ban new sales of the internal combustion engine by 2030. This aggressive move on climate change […]",[123337],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123338},{"job_title":557,"image":123339,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf20b1c7-c4ba-488c-b4e4-500dcb9b47d5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[123342],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":123344,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":123345,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/103e7f9f16/bm-number-10.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 23, 2020",{"id":123348,"uuid":123349,"name":123350,"slug":123351,"full_slug":123352,"content":123353},112473700214252,"c1fb35a8-a66a-4ee0-b431-f51073ed5424","Livent looks north for its spodumene ambitions","livent-looks-north-for-its-spodumene-ambitions","article/livent-looks-north-for-its-spodumene-ambitions",{"_uid":123354,"date":123355,"tags":123356,"editor":123360,"content":123364,"excerpt":123484,"featured":50,"reporter":123485,"_editable":123489,"component":697,"seo_title":123350,"categories":123490,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":123492,"seo_description":123484,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":123495},"425853f1-de72-498d-97e4-ffdd236a798c","2020-11-20 00:00",[123357,123358,123359],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},{"slug":84875,"name":84876},{"slug":23547,"name":23548},[123361],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123362},{"job_title":557,"image":123363,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":123365},[123366,123371,123376,123381,123386,123391,123396,123401,123406,123411,123416,123421,123426,123431,123442,123447,123460,123470,123475],{"type":591,"attrs":123367,"content":123368},{"textAlign":49},[123369],{"text":123370,"type":596},"Livent and The Pallinghurst Group have formed a joint venture to acquire assets from Nemaska Lithium, and will own 50% of the newly named project, New Nemaska. The remaining 50% will be held by Investissement Quebec.",{"type":591,"attrs":123372,"content":123373},{"textAlign":49},[123374],{"text":123375,"type":596},"Nemaska Lithium had stretched itself with capital expenditure overruns as it pursued its vertically integrated spodumene-hydroxide Whabouchi project in Quebec, which had a nameplate capacity of 37,000 tpa of lithium hydroxide. However, the company faced growing financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2019, and the project ultimately changed ownership this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":123377,"content":123378},{"textAlign":49},[123379],{"text":123380,"type":596},"Livent was previously set to receive material from the project, having agreed an offtake agreement with Nemaska in 2016 for 8,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate. However, at the start of 2019 Nemaska announced it had terminated this agreement and relations soured as Livent confirmed it would take legal action over the disputed supply deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":123382,"content":123383},{"textAlign":49},[123384],{"text":123385,"type":596},"Four years on and Livent is again set to source lithium from the Whabouchi project. But this represents a very different structure to its previous offtake agreement with Nemaska Lithium, with greater potential risks as it takes a direct stake in the hard rock operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":123387,"content":123388},{"textAlign":49},[123389],{"text":123390,"type":596},"Livent will bring its established hydroxide expertise to the project and, along with Pallinghurst and Investissement Quebec, will be hoping to avoid the issues that Nemaska Lithium faced in developing the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":123392,"content":123393},{"textAlign":49},[123394],{"text":123395,"type":596},"The investment community has been hesitant to invest in projects during lithium’s bear market, which has persisted since June 2018. But if Livent and its partners successfully bring this project online ready for the next growth stage in the lithium market it will place them in a strong position, ahead of any price rises.",{"type":591,"attrs":123397,"content":123398},{"textAlign":49},[123399],{"text":123400,"type":596},"Livent’s move follows the path of the larger brine majors that have looked to hard rock sources of lithium to support their hydroxide aspirations.",{"type":591,"attrs":123402,"content":123403},{"textAlign":49},[123404],{"text":123405,"type":596},"Albemarle holds a share of the Greenbushes mine with Tianqi and the Wodgina project with Mineral Resources, while SQM has a joint share of the Mt Holland Mine with Wesfarmers.",{"type":591,"attrs":123407,"content":123408},{"textAlign":49},[123409],{"text":123410,"type":596},"Unlike its peers, which are sourcing their hard rock supply from Western Australia and processing in China, Livent’s spodumene operation is set to be closer to home in Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":123412,"content":123413},{"textAlign":49},[123414],{"text":123415,"type":596},"This sits more comfortably in the localisation playbook, which is becoming increasingly important as western OEMs look to minimise their supply chain’s footprints.",{"type":615,"attrs":123417,"content":123418},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123419],{"text":123420,"type":596},"Expansions scaled back",{"type":591,"attrs":123422,"content":123423},{"textAlign":49},[123424],{"text":123425,"type":596},"While this move shows Livent’s plans to secure feedstock, the company has not been immune to the pressures facing lithium producers. It carried over approximately 4,000 tonnes of inventory into 2020 on the back of slower than expected demand growth, which was approximately 10% of its total output in 2019 according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":123427,"content":123428},{"textAlign":49},[123429],{"text":123430,"type":596},"In response to these oversupply pressures, and in an attempt to mitigate for the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Livent announced a slowdown in both its Argentinian lithium carbonate expansion and its hydroxide expansion plans in North Carolina.",{"type":591,"attrs":123432,"content":123433},{"textAlign":49},[123434,123436,123440],{"text":123435,"type":596},"But Livent’s investment in New Nemaska, indicates its confidence for the future dynamics of the lithium market, which ",{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":123437},[123438],{"type":606,"attrs":123439},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":123441,"type":596}," shows is set to move into deficit in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":123443,"content":123444},{"textAlign":49},[123445],{"text":123446,"type":596},"With Livent having positioned itself as a major producer of lithium hydroxide for the battery market, much of which it produces using feedstock from its brine operation at Hombre Muerto, Argentina, it hopes to benefit from upward trajectory of lithium hydroxide in high nickel cathode cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":123448,"content":123449},{"textAlign":49},[123450,123452,123458],{"text":123451,"type":596},"However, the hydroxide story has taken a knock this year, as the ",{"text":123453,"type":596,"marks":123454},"resurgence of LFP cathodes",[123455],{"type":606,"attrs":123456},{"href":123457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfps-resurgence-illustrates-the-nuances-of-the-electric-vehicle-supply-chain",{"text":123459,"type":596}," and the ever-growing role of energy storage systems have shown carbonate will remain a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries. Recent reports of electric vehicle recalls have also drawn attention to the greater safety risks associated with high nickel (NCM 811) cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":123461,"content":123462},{"textAlign":49},[123463,123468],{"text":123464,"type":596,"marks":123465},"News of Tesla’s plans for a lithium hydroxide processing facility in Texas",[123466],{"type":606,"attrs":123467},{"href":103849,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":123469,"type":596}," will have also been a warning for Livent, potentially setting a precedent where automakers look to enter the chemical refining stage of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":123471,"content":123472},{"textAlign":49},[123473],{"text":123474,"type":596},"Regardless of these developments, Livent and other established lithium producers will remain critical for the next stage of the lithium market’s development, with large-scale ramping up of carbonate and hydroxide chemical production capacity required by the end of the 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":123476,"content":123477},{"textAlign":49},[123478,123482],{"text":13135,"type":596,"marks":123479},[123480],{"type":606,"attrs":123481},{"href":94688,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":123483,"type":596}," is showing that hydroxide is set to eclipse carbonate in terms of supply in 2028, with lithium carbonate supply growing 2.8x during this time and hydroxide 8.6x.","Livent and The Pallinghurst Group have formed a joint venture to acquire assets from Nemaska Lithium, and will own 50% of the newly named project, New Nemaska. The remaining 50% will be held by Investissement Quebec. Nemaska Lithium had stretched itself with capital expenditure overruns as it pursued its vertically integrated spodumene-hydroxide Whabouchi project in […]",[123486],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123487},{"job_title":557,"image":123488,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"425853f1-de72-498d-97e4-ffdd236a798c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[123491],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":123493,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":123494,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f35b021e0/bm-whabouchi-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 20, 2020",{"id":123497,"uuid":123498,"name":123499,"slug":123500,"full_slug":123501,"content":123502},112473710106094,"4ae5db5d-8499-4bba-be4e-8ee9630fee2c","EVs & lithium ion batteries at centre of UK’s Green Industrial Revolution","evs-lithium-ion-batteries-at-centre-of-uks-green-industrial-revolution","article/evs-lithium-ion-batteries-at-centre-of-uks-green-industrial-revolution",{"_uid":123503,"date":123504,"tags":123505,"editor":123507,"content":123511,"excerpt":123673,"featured":50,"reporter":123674,"_editable":123678,"component":697,"seo_title":123499,"categories":123679,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":123681,"seo_description":123673,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":123684},"e8faa2ae-41cb-4480-a258-f2f2bfb2ad6f","2020-11-18 00:00",[123506],{"slug":110216,"name":110217},[123508],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123509},{"job_title":557,"image":123510,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":123512},[123513,123518,123523,123528,123533,123538,123543,123548,123553,123558,123563,123568,123573,123578,123583,123588,123593,123598,123603,123608,123613,123618,123623,123649],{"type":591,"attrs":123514,"content":123515},{"textAlign":49},[123516],{"text":123517,"type":596},"The UK government has outlined a ten-point plan, together with £12bn, for developing domestic new energy industries which it hopes will usher in a green industrial revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":123519,"content":123520},{"textAlign":49},[123521],{"text":123522,"type":596},"As many expected, electric vehicles and lithium ion batteries are a major focus of the government’s efforts, bringing forward its electric vehicle (EV) plans",{"type":591,"attrs":123524,"content":123525},{"textAlign":49},[123526],{"text":123527,"type":596},"A UK government statement said: “Following extensive consultation with car manufacturers and sellers, the Prime Minister has confirmed that the UK will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, ten years earlier than planned.”",{"type":591,"attrs":123529,"content":123530},{"textAlign":49},[123531],{"text":123532,"type":596},"However, Prime Minister Johnson acknowledged that the UK government would continue to allow the sale of hybrid vehicles until 2035.",{"type":591,"attrs":123534,"content":123535},{"textAlign":49},[123536],{"text":123537,"type":596},"The UK’s new and ambitious 2030 combustion engine ban target, which is ten years earlier than originally planned, is set to make the country one of the pioneers of electric vehicle adoption, phasing out ICE vehicles much earlier than other major markets globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":123539,"content":123540},{"textAlign":49},[123541],{"text":123542,"type":596},"To support this accelerated roadmap the UK has announced £2.6 billion of investments for the UK’s electric vehicle industry: £1.3 billion to support charging rollout, £582 million in financial incentives for zero and ultra-low emission vehicles, and £500 million to be spent on developing mass-scale production of lithium ion batteries for the EV industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":123544,"content":123545},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123546],{"text":123547,"type":596},"$20bn needed for UK cell production",{"type":591,"attrs":123549,"content":123550},{"textAlign":49},[123551],{"text":123552,"type":596},"While the UK is a hub of battery and automotive expertise, the country’s lithium ion supply chain capabilities are currently ill prepared to meet these ambitious targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":123554,"content":123555},{"textAlign":49},[123556],{"text":123557,"type":596},"To meet its domestic lithium ion battery cell requirements, Benchmark anticipates that the UK will need to build battery cell production capacity of 175GWh, at a cost of US$20 billion (approximately £15.05 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":123559,"content":123560},{"textAlign":49},[123561],{"text":123562,"type":596},"In an interview with The Telegraph newspaper, Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores, outlined the mismatch between the UK’s ambition and its supply chain capabilities at present.",{"type":591,"attrs":123564,"content":123565},{"textAlign":49},[123566],{"text":123567,"type":596},"“If you’re going to be a major player in electric vehicles, you need batteries at scale, at quality, and at low cost. As a result I think at least four battery gigafactories will need to be built in the next six years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":123569,"content":123570},{"textAlign":49},[123571],{"text":123572,"type":596},"Moores explained further: “In a pre-corona world we could have been forgiven the UK being slow on building gigafactories here domestically. However, since Covid-19 the rest of the world has surged ahead while Britain has done nothing”",{"type":591,"attrs":123574,"content":123575},{"textAlign":49},[123576],{"text":123577,"type":596},"According to data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment, in 2020 China has announced 38 new battery megafactories, Europe has announced three (with SVolt confirming a new German factory this week) and two new Tesla operations were announced in the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":123579,"content":123580},{"textAlign":49},[123581],{"text":123582,"type":596},"While the UK does have gigawatt hour scale production at the Envision AESC facility in Sunderland, this is inadequate to meet its own domestic cell requirements if it is to scale up production.",{"type":615,"attrs":123584,"content":123585},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123586],{"text":123587,"type":596},"The UK’s missing raw material strategy",{"type":591,"attrs":123589,"content":123590},{"textAlign":49},[123591],{"text":123592,"type":596},"To support growing lithium ion cell demand, and to scale up its own domestic industry, the UK needs to establish an effective raw material and advanced material strategy. The raw material implications 175GWh of battery cell production would require approximately 155,000 tonnes of lithium, 210,000 tonnes of graphite anode, 18,000 tonnes of cobalt, and 140,000 tonnes of nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":123594,"content":123595},{"textAlign":49},[123596],{"text":123597,"type":596},"Boris Johnson’s statement, while progressive in terms of new energy ambitions, failed to acknowledge the supply chain constraints facing the battery and electric vehicle supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":123599,"content":123600},{"textAlign":49},[123601],{"text":123602,"type":596},"While Benchmark understands it is difficult to address these nuances, it is critical the UK government outlines its own strategy for raw material sourcing if it is to effectively meet these targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":123604,"content":123605},{"textAlign":49},[123606],{"text":123607,"type":596},"The UK has some potential capacity for its own domestic supply of battery raw materials, such as lithium, however the bulk of battery minerals will need to be sourced internationally. As such, Benchmark would expect the government to develop its existing relationships and build new partnerships with battery raw material producing countries to guarantee an adequate supply of raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":123609,"content":123610},{"textAlign":49},[123611],{"text":123612,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium, Cobalt, Graphite, Nickel and Manganese forecasts all show a looming supply deficit, and by the mid-2020s as industry and government’s ramp up electric vehicle demand, supply bottlenecks will become amplified, particularly for non-producing countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":123614,"content":123615},{"textAlign":49},[123616],{"text":123617,"type":596},"Although the UK is limited by geography in terms of raw material extraction, it could establish its own operations for processing, refining or manufacturing of advanced battery materials such as anode and cathode. Currently it has minimal capacity in these areas, but it would be a wise strategy for the country to develop these capabilities, which are currently concentrated in the lithium ion belt of China, South Korea and Japan.",{"type":591,"attrs":123619,"content":123620},{"textAlign":49},[123621],{"text":123622,"type":596},"The UK government’s new target illustrates the upward trajectory of the lithium ion and electric vehicle industries. But this is where the hard work begins, and for the UK to succeed in meeting these targets it will need to get its strategy correct across the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":123624,"content":123625},{"textAlign":49},[123626,123630,123635,123639,123645],{"text":123627,"type":596,"marks":123628},"Join us during ",[123629],{"type":1006},{"text":122749,"type":596,"marks":123631},[123632,123634],{"type":606,"attrs":123633},{"href":122753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":123636,"type":596,"marks":123637}," for our ",[123638],{"type":1006},{"text":123640,"type":596,"marks":123641},"Battery Megafactories UK session",[123642,123644],{"type":606,"attrs":123643},{"href":122833,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":123646,"type":596,"marks":123647}," (Wednesday 9 December, 2pm) where we will address how the UK can build out its lithium ion supply chain.",[123648],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":123650,"content":123651},{"textAlign":49},[123652,123656,123661,123665,123670],{"text":123653,"type":596,"marks":123654},"One week, five events, 30+ hours of sessions: ",[123655],{"type":1006},{"text":122749,"type":596,"marks":123657},[123658,123660],{"type":606,"attrs":123659},{"href":122753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":123662,"type":596,"marks":123663}," brings together the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain. Learn more and sign up for sessions ",[123664],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":123666},[123667,123669],{"type":606,"attrs":123668},{"href":122753,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":123671},[123672],{"type":1006},"The UK government has outlined a ten-point plan, together with £12bn, for developing domestic new energy industries which it hopes will usher in a green industrial revolution. As many expected, electric vehicles and lithium ion batteries are a major focus of the government’s efforts, bringing forward its electric vehicle (EV) plans A UK government statement […]",[123675],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123676},{"job_title":557,"image":123677,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e8faa2ae-41cb-4480-a258-f2f2bfb2ad6f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[123680],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":123682,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":123683,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cf2c9025f2/bm-boris-johnson-e1605714064901.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 18, 2020",{"id":123686,"uuid":123687,"name":123688,"slug":123689,"full_slug":123690,"content":123691},112473714980335,"7891a7f2-1575-49bf-b398-7c562dbd1490","How a President Biden could boost the USA’s lithium ion supply chain","how-a-president-biden-could-boost-the-usas-lithium-ion-supply-chain","article/how-a-president-biden-could-boost-the-usas-lithium-ion-supply-chain",{"_uid":123692,"date":123693,"tags":123694,"editor":123697,"content":123701,"excerpt":123871,"featured":50,"reporter":123872,"_editable":123876,"component":697,"seo_title":123688,"categories":123877,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":123880,"seo_description":123871,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":123883},"a4a18af8-41f0-4509-b74e-7d5434dda74b","2020-11-09 00:00",[123695,123696],{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[123698],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123699},{"job_title":557,"image":123700,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":123702},[123703,123708,123713,123718,123723,123728,123733,123738,123743,123748,123753,123758,123763,123768,123773,123778,123790,123795,123800,123805,123810,123821,123826,123831,123847],{"type":591,"attrs":123704,"content":123705},{"textAlign":49},[123706],{"text":123707,"type":596},"Following days of uncertainty and while the total numbers remain to be fully confirmed, Joe Biden is set to be the next president of the United States of America. With Biden and Trump diametrically opposed on so many topics, what does a President Biden mean for the lithium ion battery supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":123709,"content":123710},{"textAlign":49},[123711],{"text":123712,"type":596},"In an obvious boost for new energy industries, the Biden has already announced that he intends for the USA to re-join the Paris Agreement, which the country only formally withdrew from on 4 November.",{"type":591,"attrs":123714,"content":123715},{"textAlign":49},[123716],{"text":123717,"type":596},"In his election campaign, Biden also outlined his climate plan which the battery supply chain – particular for the downstream stages — will benefit from.",{"type":591,"attrs":123719,"content":123720},{"textAlign":49},[123721],{"text":123722,"type":596},"In his plan, Biden has detailed his intention for the USA to achieve 100% clean energy economy (net zero emissions) by 2050 and for the country to become a “clean energy superpower”.",{"type":591,"attrs":123724,"content":123725},{"textAlign":49},[123726],{"text":123727,"type":596},"To achieve this, he has promised unprecedented federal spending of $1.7 trillion over the next ten years to support the buildout of the USA’s clean energy infrastructure.",{"type":591,"attrs":123729,"content":123730},{"textAlign":49},[123731],{"text":123732,"type":596},"Vehicle emissions will be at the core of this and Biden also announced he wants to use the Federal government procurement system, which spends $500 billion per year, to support the drive towards clean energy and zero-emission vehicles, which can only serve as a boost for the US battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":123734,"content":123735},{"textAlign":49},[123736],{"text":123737,"type":596},"We would not expect Biden to neglect the upstream either – at the end of October the Biden campaign made it clear that it supported boosting domestic mining to support the electric vehicles and other renewables critical to Biden’s climate plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":123739,"content":123740},{"textAlign":49},[123741],{"text":123742,"type":596},"But how a Biden administration will seek to support a buildout of the supply chain remains unclear and a more detailed strategy has yet to be set out.",{"type":591,"attrs":123744,"content":123745},{"textAlign":49},[123746],{"text":123747,"type":596},"It’s also worth nothing that while the Democrats look to have taken the House of Representatives, the race for the US Senate remains open and Republican success would be a limiting factor on many of Team Biden’s climate policies.",{"type":615,"attrs":123749,"content":123750},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123751],{"text":123752,"type":596},"Battery powered upward trajectory ",{"type":591,"attrs":123754,"content":123755},{"textAlign":49},[123756],{"text":123757,"type":596},"Regardless of policy and politics, as costs fall, the adoption of renewable energy technology and the battery supply chain is on an upward trajectory.",{"type":591,"attrs":123759,"content":123760},{"textAlign":49},[123761],{"text":123762,"type":596},"Solar energy is now cheaper than many fossil fuels, battery prices have fallen ten-fold in 10 years, the oil sector has been devastated by the coronavirus demand destruction while electric vehicles have shown much less fragility as a nascent industry entering a growth spurt.",{"type":591,"attrs":123764,"content":123765},{"textAlign":49},[123766],{"text":123767,"type":596},"Industry is already pivoting to take advantage of and drive these economic trends.",{"type":591,"attrs":123769,"content":123770},{"textAlign":49},[123771],{"text":123772,"type":596},"“However big the political divide, the USA’s wheels are turning on building a lithium ion economy, and with it, electric vehicle and energy stories industries,” Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":123774,"content":123775},{"textAlign":49},[123776],{"text":123777,"type":596},"“Whether this is the GOP view of creating new, hi-tech manufacturing jobs, the Democrat’s view to push forward green energy agendas or the cross-party view to compete with China and build in the USA.",{"type":591,"attrs":123779,"content":123780},{"textAlign":49},[123781,123782,123788],{"text":2936,"type":596},{"text":123783,"type":596,"marks":123784},"Building a domestic lithium ion economy is a true bipartisan issue",[123785],{"type":606,"attrs":123786},{"href":123787,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/watch-highlights-from-benchmark-summit-2020-washington-dc",{"text":123789,"type":596},", and one of the biggest industrial challenges of our times.",{"type":591,"attrs":123791,"content":123792},{"textAlign":49},[123793],{"text":123794,"type":596},"“And it is entirely necessary for the USA to take action to compete with China, a country that has led the way in both building mass-scale battery megafactories and electric vehicle industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":123796,"content":123797},{"textAlign":49},[123798],{"text":123799,"type":596},"“The election outcome has only impacted the rate of change, which is expected to now increase, but not the upward direction of our industry.” Moores added.",{"type":591,"attrs":123801,"content":123802},{"textAlign":49},[123803],{"text":123804,"type":596},"Nonetheless, additional government support will only accelerate these trends and that has already become clear in the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":123806,"content":123807},{"textAlign":49},[123808],{"text":123809,"type":596},"This is why China —the country providing the most support to the supply chain— has 130 megafactories in the pipeline or in operation, Europe has 16 and the USA currently has 10.",{"type":591,"attrs":123811,"content":123812},{"textAlign":49},[123813,123815,123820],{"text":123814,"type":596},"To date, China’s supply chain buildout has been heavily supported by government policy and subsidies, Europe’s recent plans have been supported by European Commission funding and policy, whereas the USA’s ",{"text":123816,"type":596,"marks":123817},"buildout has been led by Tesla",[123818],{"type":606,"attrs":123819},{"href":103849,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":123822,"content":123823},{"textAlign":49},[123824],{"text":123825,"type":596},"Neither the USA nor Europe has significant raw material or downstream processing capacity, neither does it have sufficient capacity in the pipeline to support their domestic battery supply chains. Both regions have made efforts in expanding their downstream lithium ion capacity, however, as things stand, the raw materials to feed this will still largely be coming from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":123827,"content":123828},{"textAlign":49},[123829],{"text":123830,"type":596},"Subsidising EVs has been central to China’s battery supply chain strategy, if the US wants to catch up with its rival, then perhaps it should consider supporting its domestic industry in a similar way. The USA has a chance to change this, and while the market will go some way to achieve these things eventually, the helping hand of Uncle Sam would go a long way.",{"type":591,"attrs":123832,"content":123833},{"textAlign":49},[123834,123838,123843],{"text":123835,"type":596,"marks":123836},"This is a ",[123837],{"type":1006},{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":123839},[123840,123842],{"type":606,"attrs":123841},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":123844,"type":596,"marks":123845}," article.",[123846],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":123848,"content":123849},{"textAlign":49},[123850,123854,123859,123863,123868],{"text":123851,"type":596,"marks":123852},"Not a subscriber? Subscribe and learn more ",[123853],{"type":1006},{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":123855},[123856,123858],{"type":606,"attrs":123857},{"href":116848,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":123860,"type":596,"marks":123861},", or fill in the ",[123862],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":123864},[123865,123867],{"type":606,"attrs":123866},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":99094,"type":596,"marks":123869},[123870],{"type":1006},"Following days of uncertainty and while the total numbers remain to be fully confirmed, Joe Biden is set to be the next president of the United States of America. With Biden and Trump diametrically opposed on so many topics, what does a President Biden mean for the lithium ion battery supply chain? In an obvious […]",[123873],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123874},{"job_title":557,"image":123875,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a4a18af8-41f0-4509-b74e-7d5434dda74b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[123878,123879],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":123881,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":123882,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/81c0241aee/bm-biden-president.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 09, 2020",{"id":123885,"uuid":123886,"name":123887,"slug":123888,"full_slug":123889,"content":123890},112473724855793,"15ce7559-d455-4ff0-83be-d790d577b46e","Nickel in the EV limelight","nickel-in-the-ev-limelight","article/nickel-in-the-ev-limelight",{"_uid":123891,"date":123892,"tags":123893,"editor":123894,"content":123898,"excerpt":124128,"featured":50,"reporter":124129,"_editable":124133,"component":697,"seo_title":123887,"categories":124134,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":124137,"seo_description":124128,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":124140},"b746ec25-59df-4bb3-ae56-b0354a775b34","2020-11-04 00:00",[],[123895],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":123896},{"job_title":557,"image":123897,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":123899},[123900,123905,123910,123913,123918,123923,123928,123933,123938,123943,123948,123955,123958,123963,123968,123973,123978,123988,123993,123998,124003,124008,124013,124018,124023,124028,124033,124038,124043,124046,124051,124056,124061,124066,124071,124076,124081,124086,124091,124096,124101,124106,124111,124116,124121],{"type":591,"attrs":123901,"content":123902},{"textAlign":49},[123903],{"text":123904,"type":596},"Nickel has often been the overlooked raw material for batteries with much attention focused on lithium and cobalt. For the nickel industry, batteries are still a relatively minor end-use, accounting for around 5% of end-use demand with demand still dominated by stainless steel demand, which was 70% of demand in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":123906,"content":123907},{"textAlign":49},[123908],{"text":123909,"type":596},"While the nickel industry is gearing up to meet expected major strong growth in demand from the battery market, particularly after 2025, many in the industry have been disappointed by lacklustre demand progress in 2019 and 2020 which are being referred by industry insiders as the two “lost years” in market development. The industry is also nervously watching the renewed growth in lithium iron phosphate (LFP – no Ni, no Co) battery demand in China, worried that it potentially could further dent growth prospects outside China in the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":123911,"content":123912},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":123914,"content":123915},{"textAlign":49},[123916],{"text":123917,"type":596},"Nickel came into renewed and intense focus in July 2020 with widespread reporting and reaction to the following comments from Elon Musk in Tesla’s second-quarter earnings conference call: “…Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. So, hopefully this message goes out to all mining companies. Please get nickel.”",{"type":591,"attrs":123919,"content":123920},{"textAlign":49},[123921],{"text":123922,"type":596},"He asked the industry to invest now and not wait for higher prices. Musk’s comment were made in the context that Tesla has decided to use a LFP battery in its Model 3 for sales in the Chinese market, following improvements in efficiencies, which will give this battery a range of “almost” 300 miles between charges. We think that he wanted to reassure the nickel industry that Tesla would run two electric vehicle supply chains in future: LFP (for cheaper, shorter range passenger vehicles and storage applications) and nickel-rich batteries (for higher -performance passenger vehicles and semis). This was confirmed at the Tesla Battery Day with a further division of the nickel rich batteries into Ni-Mn and 100% Ni batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":123924,"content":123925},{"textAlign":49},[123926],{"text":123927,"type":596},"While it is by no means unusual for a buyer to ask for more supply, the reaction to Musk’s comments were felt in the LME nickel price, which rallied immediately on speculative buying, and also in a major spike in the share prices of some Canadian nickel juniors seeking finance for their “low-carbon” and “clean” nickel from their concentrate mining projects involving mineral carbonation.",{"type":591,"attrs":123929,"content":123930},{"textAlign":49},[123931],{"text":123932,"type":596},"While Tesla may be using less nickel in some of its models, the same cannot be said for its competitors, particularly in Europe, where there appears to be a race to use of high-nickel chemistries in the next generation of EVs. It still looks like that there is a bright outlook for nickel demand growth in batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":123934,"content":123935},{"textAlign":49},[123936],{"text":123937,"type":596},"Current industry consensus remains that nickel usage in batteries could grow from around 150ktpa to 400-500kt by mid-decade and then to 1mt+ by the early 2030s. These are big numbers in the context of a total nickel market of 2.3mt in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":123939,"content":123940},{"textAlign":49},[123941],{"text":123942,"type":596},"Where will that nickel come from?",{"type":615,"attrs":123944,"content":123945},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[123946],{"text":123947,"type":596},"From mine to EV",{"type":591,"attrs":123949,"content":123950},{"textAlign":49},[123951,123953],{"text":123952,"type":596},"Nickel is mined from two types of ores, sulphides, and laterites. Sulphides are mined from hard rock that has formed from crystallization of magma and often occurs with copper, cobalt and PGMs and are normally concentrated, smelted and refined into class 1 nickel metal. Laterites are formed by the weathering of olivine-rich ultramafic",{"text":123954,"type":596},"rocks under by rainfall, drainage, temperature, and slope and are found mainly in the tropics.",{"type":591,"attrs":123956,"content":123957},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":123959,"content":123960},{"textAlign":49},[123961],{"text":123962,"type":596},"The upper layer of a laterite ore body is called the limonite zone and these ores are typically processed by hydrometallurgy into class1 nickel products (some are also smelted in a blast furnace to make low-grade nickel pig iron). The lower layer is the saprolitic zone and these ores are typically smelted into ferronickel or nickel pig iron, products that are used to make stainless steel. Both ferronickel and nickel pig iron can also be converted into a nickel matte by addition of sulphur in a converter and then can be refined into class 1 nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":123964,"content":123965},{"textAlign":49},[123966],{"text":123967,"type":596},"A common misunderstanding, repeated ad nauseum, is that the only form of nickel suitable for nickel sulphate production is “class 1” nickel, implying metallic, LME deliverable nickel. It is also asserted incorrectly that class1 can only be made from sulphide ores.",{"type":591,"attrs":123969,"content":123970},{"textAlign":49},[123971],{"text":123972,"type":596},"The reality is that multiple forms of nickel are currently used to make nickel sulphate for the industry including:",{"type":591,"attrs":123974,"content":123975},{"textAlign":49},[123976],{"text":123977,"type":596},"A number of sulphide nickel miners have stated that they are developing technologies to make nickel sulphate directly from nickel concentrate, but none have yet to demonstrate that this is economically feasible, especially since payables for nickel in concentrates to produce nickel matte and make refined nickel metal are very attractive at the moment.",{"type":591,"attrs":123979,"content":123980},{"textAlign":49},[123981,123983,123985,123986],{"text":123982,"type":596},"The reality is that dissolving class 1 nickel in sulphuric acid is the most expensive way of making nickel sulphate since the cost of product is the raw material cost of LME price plus metal premium topped up with",{"text":123984,"type":596},"conversion costs. The other products (non-class 1) typically sell at a discount to LME (",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":123987,"type":596},"’s new assessment of MHP was that it is selling at 75-81% of the LME price) and this leaves room to convert into nickel sulphate in many instances at a total cost lower than the LME nickel price.",{"type":591,"attrs":123989,"content":123990},{"textAlign":49},[123991],{"text":123992,"type":596},"Virtually all the known projects to supply additional nickel units to the market are based on laterite nickel ores and will mostly make intermediate nickel-cobalt products which can then be leached and refined directly into nickel sulphate, by-passing the need to make class 1 nickel metal or briquettes.",{"type":591,"attrs":123994,"content":123995},{"textAlign":49},[123996],{"text":123997,"type":596},"Tesla reported a novel technology at its Battery Day to make precursors directly from nickel metal powders, by-passing the step to make nickel sulphate. It is not clear when this will be introduced, and it is unlikely that its competitors will adopt this technology any time soon. This would probably lead to the refining the nickel intermediates into metal instead of sulphate, a more expensive process route for nickel producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":123999,"content":124000},{"textAlign":49},[124001],{"text":124002,"type":596},"Most of the projects plan to use the high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) process, which has a history of significant technical challenges, construction delays and major capital cost over-runs. Until the first plant rolls out in early 2021 (PT Halmahera Persada Lygend), there remain some doubts about whether a smooth ramp up will be achieved. One of the plants in our list, VNC, is a high-cost plant that recently converted from producing mostly nickel oxide to an intermediate product for nickel sulphate producers. It is currently under a cloud and could close unless a new owner is found.",{"type":591,"attrs":124004,"content":124005},{"textAlign":49},[124006],{"text":124007,"type":596},"Figure 3 gives our estimates and projections of the sourcing of nickel units to make nickel sulphate out to 2025. Class 1 type nickel metal/powder units used would rise from 60kt this year to around 120kt by 2025 (assuming nickel sulphate remains the only raw material to make precursors), when they would represent around a quarter of total nickel used to market nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":124009,"content":124010},{"textAlign":49},[124011],{"text":124012,"type":596},"This incremental demand could largely be met from the displacement of class 1 nickel units currently used in stainless steel production by rapidly growing nickel pig iron production in Indonesia. As the marginal high-cost source of nickel sulphate, their conversion costs from an LME deliverable product will most likely determine the minimum medium term premium of nickel sulphate prices over LME nickel price.",{"type":615,"attrs":124014,"content":124015},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124016],{"text":124017,"type":596},"EV’s nickel challenges",{"type":591,"attrs":124019,"content":124020},{"textAlign":49},[124021],{"text":124022,"type":596},"The path to supplying nickel for the battery market is not that simple, however. Many challenges remain. The first is the dominance of Chinese-controlled projects in Indonesia to meet the bulk of incremental demand growth, something that sits uneasily with the current geopolitical environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":124024,"content":124025},{"textAlign":49},[124026],{"text":124027,"type":596},"Over 60% of supply chain, from nickel sulphate through to battery cells will be in China (before factoring in Tesla’s Battery Day ambitions).",{"type":591,"attrs":124029,"content":124030},{"textAlign":49},[124031],{"text":124032,"type":596},"Nickel projects that are outside of the control of China, may still gain support by the battery/auto industry, even if they are not as competitive as the Chinese controlled supply sources (including Indonesia). There may well be a premium paid to diversify supply sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":124034,"content":124035},{"textAlign":49},[124036],{"text":124037,"type":596},"The second issue, which grows in importance, seemingly by the day, relates to the second element of Elon Musk’s challenge, which was to produce nickel that is “environmentally friendly”. Many commentators (and competing nickel producers) have been quick to highlight the environmental challenges in the nickel project line-up for the battery market, particularly the Indonesian projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":124039,"content":124040},{"textAlign":49},[124041],{"text":124042,"type":596},"Some non-nickel sulphate products in nickel have even more impact on the environment (see Fig 6 for some broad-brush averages). There is a considerable range of CO2 impacts even within the product categories and the crystallisation and transportation of NiSO4 (as opposed to using it in liquid form to directly make precursors onsite) will increase its CO2 footprint. The CO2 generation from the Indonesian nickel pig iron projects, while not listed in the charts, is thought to be substantially higher than for ferronickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":124044,"content":124045},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":124047,"content":124048},{"textAlign":49},[124049],{"text":124050,"type":596},"The main “objections” to Indonesian-produced nickel include issues with mining rehabilitation (as does the Philippines), the use of coal-fired power and the proposed disposal of tailings from the HPAL process by in the deep ocean by some of the projects (known as DSTP – deep sea tailings placement).",{"type":591,"attrs":124052,"content":124053},{"textAlign":49},[124054],{"text":124055,"type":596},"Some auto buyers have already stated that they will not accept batteries made with nickel made using DSTP. The EU Commission is also proposing to impose a CO2 import tax for products with a high-carbon footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":124057,"content":124058},{"textAlign":49},[124059],{"text":124060,"type":596},"The solving of the DSTP issue is easier than removing coal from power stations, particularly in Indonesia, which is the world’s largest coal exporter. The use of fossil fuels to make electricity, of course, is not just an issue with Indonesian nickel but with most metal products made in China and many other countries. It is not going to be “solved” any time soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":124062,"content":124063},{"textAlign":49},[124064],{"text":124065,"type":596},"The HPAL process generates substantial waste production with a 50ktpa nickel project generating 10mt of waste a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":124067,"content":124068},{"textAlign":49},[124069],{"text":124070,"type":596},"Tailings can be treated by one of three methods: a tailing dam, dry-stacking of waste (DST) and DSTP.",{"type":591,"attrs":124072,"content":124073},{"textAlign":49},[124074],{"text":124075,"type":596},"None of the methods are without issues. Tailings dams have been in focus recently with the recent tragic dam ruptures in Brazil and China (in iron ore and molybdenum); Indonesia is a county of high seismic activity and is not necessarily an ideal location to build tailings dams, particularly near villages and towns.",{"type":591,"attrs":124077,"content":124078},{"textAlign":49},[124079],{"text":124080,"type":596},"DSTP runs the risk of leakages in pipelines to the ocean and upwelling of tailings from the ocean. The only nickel plant to currently practice this, Ramu in Papua New Guinea, had a well-publicised leakage last year, although it should be added that all three solutions have pipelines that potentially could leak and all three involve some disposal of waste in the ocean.",{"type":591,"attrs":124082,"content":124083},{"textAlign":49},[124084],{"text":124085,"type":596},"Dry stack tailings incur a significantly higher capital and operating cost (VNC in New Caledonia is spending $500m to convert its operation from a tailings dam solution to DST) and there are potential environmental issues with stack stability and erosion.",{"type":591,"attrs":124087,"content":124088},{"textAlign":49},[124089],{"text":124090,"type":596},"The use of dry stack tailings or tailings dams appear to be the likely solutions to making this process acceptable to the battery and auto producers and we believe DST will ultimately be adopted by most Indonesian producers. Indeed, we have now heard that all three projects in Indonesia currently under construction have recently dropped their plans to use DSTP, presumably in favour of DST.",{"type":591,"attrs":124092,"content":124093},{"textAlign":49},[124094],{"text":124095,"type":596},"There are two Indonesian projects that currently propose to convert nickel pig iron into nickel sulphate by making a nickel matte product that can be refined into class 1 nickel or nickel sulphate. This is an expensive route relative to HPAL (due mainly to low cobalt recovery) and is very energy intensive with coal the fuel used to make electricity. It has a high carbon footprint and it is still not clear whether this will be acceptable to the auto industry outside China. It may be necessary, however, if the demand for nickel in battery grows even faster than current consensus forecasts.",{"type":591,"attrs":124097,"content":124098},{"textAlign":49},[124099],{"text":124100,"type":596},"Another issue affecting most laterite projects is deforestation to access ores, erosion, and potentially inadequate rehabilitation after mining (many of the miners are small scale and simply “disappear” at the end of mining). These issues require strict government regulation and enforcement and best practice (such as at Sumitomo Metal Mining’s two operations in the Philippines) suggests that the challenges can be overcome.",{"type":591,"attrs":124102,"content":124103},{"textAlign":49},[124104],{"text":124105,"type":596},"There are few realistic alternatives to Indonesia at current nickel prices if the large volume growth targets for the battery market are to be met. There are no other countries with the reserve base and grade of laterites to match Indonesia. However, like lithium, there is a lot of low-grade nickel laterites in the earth’s crust. Higher nickel prices could potentially incentivise the development of laterite ore bodies elsewhere, including the Philippines, the South Pacific, South America, Africa, and Cuba.",{"type":591,"attrs":124107,"content":124108},{"textAlign":49},[124109],{"text":124110,"type":596},"Another medium-term development, at the right price, could be the mining of nickel from polymetallic nodules on the sea floor. However, this also has environmental challenges.",{"type":591,"attrs":124112,"content":124113},{"textAlign":49},[124114],{"text":124115,"type":596},"Globally, nickel production from sulphide ores has been declining over the past decade and most new mines are needed to replace existing ore bodies where reserves will be depleted in the coming years. Many of the junior mining projects in North America and Australia can justifiably claim to have a lower carbon and environmental footprint that the Indonesian projects but they are significantly more expensive in capital and operating costs that planned Indonesian projects and realistically can only make a marginal contribution to the growth requirement of approaching 1mtpa of new nickel units over the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":124117,"content":124118},{"textAlign":49},[124119],{"text":124120,"type":596},"These smaller projects will no doubt get some traction from their environmental credentials but ultimately the market requires Indonesia to get it “right” if a nickel shortage in the second half of this decade is to be avoided.",{"type":591,"attrs":124122,"content":124123},{"textAlign":49},[124124],{"text":124125,"type":596,"marks":124126},"This article was written by Jim Lennon, Managing Director of Red Door Research Ltd and Senior Commodities Consultant to Macquarie Commodities Strategy.",[124127],{"type":1006},"Nickel has often been the overlooked raw material for batteries with much attention focused on lithium and cobalt. For the nickel industry, batteries are still a relatively minor end-use, accounting for around 5% of end-use demand with demand still dominated by stainless steel demand, which was 70% of demand in 2019. While the nickel industry […]",[124130],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124131},{"job_title":557,"image":124132,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b746ec25-59df-4bb3-ae56-b0354a775b34\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[124135,124136],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":124138,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":124139,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d3153c6c18/bm-nickel-in-the-limelight.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 04, 2020",{"id":124142,"uuid":124143,"name":124144,"slug":124145,"full_slug":124146,"content":124147},112473750959824,"e3dce8f2-9394-428f-94bd-c4c84c136f31","Lithium in 2020: Prices, coronavirus and Tesla","lithium-in-2020-prices-coronavirus-and-tesla","article/lithium-in-2020-prices-coronavirus-and-tesla",{"_uid":124148,"date":124149,"tags":124150,"editor":124155,"content":124159,"excerpt":124311,"featured":50,"reporter":124312,"_editable":124316,"component":697,"seo_title":124144,"categories":124317,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":124320,"seo_description":124311,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":124322},"35f2d46d-0dcd-4462-aec1-5a00046be91e","2020-10-23 00:00",[124151,124152],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":124153,"name":124154},"covid","COVID",[124156],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124157},{"job_title":557,"image":124158,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":124160},[124161,124166,124171,124184,124189,124194,124199,124204,124209,124214,124225,124230,124237,124242,124247,124260,124265,124270,124278,124283,124288,124293,124298,124303,124308],{"type":615,"attrs":124162,"content":124163},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124164],{"text":124165,"type":596},"Coronavirus Response: Battery demand delayed, but not derailed",{"type":591,"attrs":124167,"content":124168},{"textAlign":49},[124169],{"text":124170,"type":596},"The unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has affected markets globally and lithium is no exception. However, while the trajectory of battery demand in the near-term has been impacted by the fallout from the outbreak, in the medium and long-term the demand prospects for lithium continue to show growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":124172,"content":124173},{"textAlign":49},[124174,124176,124182],{"text":124175,"type":596},"China’s electric vehicle recovery is already underway — ",{"text":124177,"type":596,"marks":124178},"with sales figures in July, August, and September all showing year-on-year growth for the first time since 2019",[124179],{"type":606,"attrs":124180},{"href":124181,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-doubles-down-on-electric-vehicle-ambitions",{"text":124183,"type":596}," — and Europe outperformed Q2 and Q3 expectations.",{"type":591,"attrs":124185,"content":124186},{"textAlign":49},[124187],{"text":124188,"type":596},"As a consequence of the outbreak, Benchmark expects 2020 lithium demand to be lower than that of 2019, but we expect to see demand ramp up in the last months of the year in preparation for 2021.",{"type":615,"attrs":124190,"content":124191},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124192],{"text":124193,"type":596},"Price pressures persist",{"type":591,"attrs":124195,"content":124196},{"textAlign":49},[124197],{"text":124198,"type":596},"Coming into 2020 lithium was already in a low-price environment which had persisted since the price falls of 2018 and 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":124200,"content":124201},{"textAlign":49},[124202],{"text":124203,"type":596},"The market was set to move into a balance in H2 2020, but with the negative impacts of coronavirus, combined with significant backlogs of spodumene inventories, this will be delayed until 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":124205,"content":124206},{"textAlign":49},[124207],{"text":124208,"type":596},"As such, we expect the low price environment to continue and we will see a further convergence in pricing towards Chinese levels in the next 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":124210,"content":124211},{"textAlign":49},[124212],{"text":124213,"type":596},"This low-price environment has put pressures on a new generation of producers that have come online, tasked to meet market growth, and there have already been casualties among Australia’s spodumene producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":124215,"content":124216},{"textAlign":49},[124217,124219,124224],{"text":124218,"type":596},"Rising spodumene prices incentivised a number of new producers to come online in 2017 and 2018, but since then spodumene prices have more than halved from their $915/tonne (6% Li2O, FOB Australia) peak in June 2018 to an average of $375/tonne in September 2020 as assessed by the ",{"text":124220,"type":596,"marks":124221},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Price Assessment",[124222],{"type":606,"attrs":124223},{"href":114945,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":124226,"content":124227},{"textAlign":49},[124228],{"text":124229,"type":596},"This low-price environment is insufficient to incentivise new production and this will likely translate into increased price volatility in the medium-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":124231,"content":124232},{"textAlign":49},[124233],{"type":836,"attrs":124234},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":124235,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":124236},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b9369399aa/bm-benchmark-li-prices.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":124238,"content":124239},{"textAlign":49},[124240],{"text":124241,"type":596},"Source:Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment",{"type":615,"attrs":124243,"content":124244},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124245],{"text":124246,"type":596},"Cutbacks today, bottlenecks tomorrow",{"type":591,"attrs":124248,"content":124249},{"textAlign":49},[124250,124252,124258],{"text":124251,"type":596},"Benchmark is forecasting that lithium demand will grow 3.5x between 2019 and 2025 (Source: Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast), but",{"text":124253,"type":596,"marks":124254}," despite these strong fundamentals, cutbacks from majors and the slowdown in expansion plans have continued",[124255],{"type":606,"attrs":124256},{"href":124257,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/casualties-mount-in-lithiums-spodumene-bear-market",{"text":124259,"type":596},". With persistent low prices in the lithium market as outlined above, bringing new supply online continues to be an issue in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":124261,"content":124262},{"textAlign":49},[124263],{"text":124264,"type":596},"While Benchmark expects the lithium market to remain in a surplus moving into 2021, we forecast a structural deficit from 2022 onwards as insufficient supply is due to come online to meet the battery industry’s growing needs.",{"type":615,"attrs":124266,"content":124267},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124268],{"text":124269,"type":596},"Lithium’s looming supply shortage",{"type":591,"attrs":124271,"content":124272},{"textAlign":49},[124273],{"type":836,"attrs":124274},{"id":49,"alt":124275,"src":124276,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":124277},"Lithium's looming supply shortage","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cbfe2f01fa/bm-benchmark-li-supply-demand.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":124279,"content":124280},{"textAlign":49},[124281],{"text":124282,"type":596},"Source: Benchmark Lithium Forecast",{"type":615,"attrs":124284,"content":124285},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124286],{"text":124287,"type":596},"Tesla’s move upstream sets a new OEM precedent",{"type":591,"attrs":124289,"content":124290},{"textAlign":49},[124291],{"text":124292,"type":596},"Tesla’s plans to build a lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Texas marks the first move by an automotive company into lithium chemical production.",{"type":591,"attrs":124294,"content":124295},{"textAlign":49},[124296],{"text":124297,"type":596},"Controlling the lithium conversion to battery grade chemicals from the raw material — spodumene concentrate — will enable Tesla to reduce its overall costs but also control the quality of its lithium hydroxide output more closely.",{"type":591,"attrs":124299,"content":124300},{"textAlign":49},[124301],{"text":124302,"type":596},"With other OEMs already looking upstream to battery cell production —such as Volkswagen with its joint venture with Northvolt and investment in Chinese cell producer Gotion — we would expect other auto manufacturers to look further upstream to take control of advanced materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":124304,"content":124305},{"textAlign":49},[124306],{"text":124307,"type":596},"Tesla has set this new precedent and if successful other automakers will in time likely follow.",{"type":591,"attrs":124309,"content":124310},{"textAlign":49},[],"Coronavirus Response: Battery demand delayed, but not derailed The unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has affected markets globally and lithium is no exception. However, while the trajectory of battery demand in the near-term has been impacted by the fallout from the outbreak, in the medium and long-term the demand prospects for lithium continue to […]",[124313],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124314},{"job_title":557,"image":124315,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"35f2d46d-0dcd-4462-aec1-5a00046be91e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[124318,124319],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":124235,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":124321,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 23, 2020",{"id":124324,"uuid":124325,"name":124326,"slug":124327,"full_slug":124328,"content":124329},112473755682613,"357ce397-3426-4ecd-94bf-ab244f9edb7d","Stream Benchmark’s Battery Recycling Special","stream-benchmarks-battery-recycling-special","article/stream-benchmarks-battery-recycling-special",{"_uid":124330,"date":124331,"tags":124332,"editor":124333,"content":124337,"excerpt":124455,"featured":50,"reporter":124456,"_editable":124460,"component":697,"seo_title":124326,"categories":124461,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":124464,"seo_description":124455,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":124467},"feb62103-795a-4ba8-babf-ed41f6bd0590","2020-10-22 00:00",[],[124334],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124335},{"job_title":557,"image":124336,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":124338},[124339,124344,124349,124363,124368,124371,124380,124385,124388,124397,124402,124405,124414,124419,124422,124427,124430,124439],{"type":591,"attrs":124340,"content":124341},{"textAlign":49},[124342],{"text":124343,"type":596},"Highlights from Benchmark’s Battery Recycling Special are now available to watch on demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":124345,"content":124346},{"textAlign":49},[124347],{"text":124348,"type":596},"With presentations from Neometals, Li-Cycle, EcoGraf, American Batter Technology Company, and Lithion we hear how the industry is scaling up to meet lithium ion recycling demand for both cathode and anode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":124350,"content":124351},{"textAlign":49},[124352,124356,124358,124362],{"text":120818,"type":596,"marks":124353},[124354],{"type":606,"attrs":124355},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":124357,"type":596}," have access to all presentations and can watch the full session on ",{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":124359},[124360],{"type":606,"attrs":124361},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":124364,"content":124365},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124366],{"text":124367,"type":596},"Chris Reed, Managing Director, Neometals",{"type":591,"attrs":124369,"content":124370},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124372,"content":124373},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124374],{"text":124375,"type":596,"marks":124376},"Download Neometals’ Presentation",[124377],{"type":606,"attrs":124378},{"href":124379,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199630/",{"type":615,"attrs":124381,"content":124382},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124383],{"text":124384,"type":596},"Ajay Kochhar, President & CEO, Li-Cycle",{"type":591,"attrs":124386,"content":124387},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124389,"content":124390},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124391],{"text":124392,"type":596,"marks":124393},"Download Li-Cycle’s Presentation",[124394],{"type":606,"attrs":124395},{"href":124396,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199615/",{"type":615,"attrs":124398,"content":124399},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124400],{"text":124401,"type":596},"Andrew Spinks, Managing Director, EcoGraf",{"type":591,"attrs":124403,"content":124404},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124406,"content":124407},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124408],{"text":124409,"type":596,"marks":124410},"Download EcoGraf’s Presentation",[124411],{"type":606,"attrs":124412},{"href":124413,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199650/",{"type":615,"attrs":124415,"content":124416},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124417],{"text":124418,"type":596},"Ryan Melsert, CTO, American Battery Technology Company",{"type":591,"attrs":124420,"content":124421},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124423,"content":124424},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124425],{"text":124426,"type":596},"Benoit Couture, President & CEO, Lithion",{"type":591,"attrs":124428,"content":124429},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124431,"content":124432},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124433],{"text":124434,"type":596,"marks":124435},"Download Lithion’s Presentation",[124436],{"type":606,"attrs":124437},{"href":124438,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199662/",{"type":591,"attrs":124440,"content":124441},{"textAlign":49},[124442,124446,124451],{"text":124443,"type":596,"marks":124444},"Subscribe to Benchmark Membership for full access to Benchmark Video Streaming and Presentation Downloads or fill in the ",[124445],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":124447},[124448,124450],{"type":606,"attrs":124449},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":124452,"type":596,"marks":124453}," to register your interest",[124454],{"type":1006},"Highlights from Benchmark’s Battery Recycling Special are now available to watch on demand. With presentations from Neometals, Li-Cycle, EcoGraf, American Batter Technology Company, and Lithion we hear how the industry is scaling up to meet lithium ion recycling demand for both cathode and anode materials. Benchmark Members have access to all presentations and can watch […]",[124457],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124458},{"job_title":557,"image":124459,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"feb62103-795a-4ba8-babf-ed41f6bd0590\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[124462,124463],{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":124465,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":124466,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ffbfd0b994/bm-neometals-battery-recycling.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 22, 2020",{"id":124469,"uuid":124470,"name":124471,"slug":124472,"full_slug":124473,"content":124474},112473766066152,"64a07d7b-1803-4cbd-a72e-8c7548f88cc5","How the USA can build a lithium ion and electric vehicle economy: Benchmark Summit 2020, Washington DC","how-the-usa-can-build-a-lithium-ion-and-electric-vehicle-economy-benchmark-summit-2020-washington-dc","article/how-the-usa-can-build-a-lithium-ion-and-electric-vehicle-economy-benchmark-summit-2020-washington-dc",{"_uid":124475,"date":124476,"tags":124477,"editor":124479,"content":124483,"excerpt":124731,"featured":50,"reporter":124732,"_editable":124736,"component":697,"seo_title":124471,"categories":124737,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":124741,"seo_description":124731,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":124744},"e27c25fb-d598-4799-9504-50c5449555e2","2020-10-21 00:00",[124478],{"slug":572,"name":573},[124480],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124481},{"job_title":557,"image":124482,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":124484},[124485,124490,124501,124506,124511,124516,124521,124526,124531,124536,124541,124546,124553,124558,124563,124568,124573,124578,124583,124588,124593,124598,124605,124610,124615,124620,124625,124630,124635,124640,124647,124652,124659,124664,124675,124690,124695,124703,124708,124713],{"type":615,"attrs":124486,"content":124487},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124488],{"text":124489,"type":596},"ON TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020, BENCHMARK MINERAL INTELLIGENCE HOSTED ITS BENCHMARK SUMMIT 2020 – WASHINGTON DC, THE ANNUAL MEETING PLACE CONNECTING GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY. ",{"type":615,"attrs":124491,"content":124492},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124493,124495,124497,124499],{"text":124494,"type":596},"THE BENCHMARK SUMMIT OPENED WITH SPEECHES FROM ",{"text":124496,"type":596},"SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-ALASKA), CHAIRMAN OF ",{"text":124498,"type":596},"US SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE, AND ",{"text":124500,"type":596},"SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WEST VIRGINIA), RANKING MEMBER OF THE SAME COMMITTEE, AND SIMON MOORES, MD OF BENCHMARK. ",{"type":615,"attrs":124502,"content":124503},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124504],{"text":124505,"type":596},"VIVAS KUMAR, PRINCIPAL, BENCHMARK, GAVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH OUTLINING A PATH FORWARD FOR THE US GOVERNMENT IN BUILDING A DOMESTIC LITHIUM ION ECONOMY. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124507,"content":124508},{"textAlign":49},[124509],{"text":124510,"type":596},"Thank you Simon, Senator Murkowski and Senator Manchin for your leadership on this important strategic topic at the highest level of US Government. Seeing your strong bipartisan support towards our country’s technology and industrial leadership makes me proud to be American.",{"type":591,"attrs":124512,"content":124513},{"textAlign":49},[124514],{"text":124515,"type":596},"The lithium-ion battery will go down in history as one of the most important platform technologies of our current century. Platform technologies are not like others. They are the technologies:",{"type":591,"attrs":124517,"content":124518},{"textAlign":49},[124519],{"text":124520,"type":596},"Since the first Industrial Revolution, the USA has built a dominant advantage from a sustained long-term commitment to platform investments. A few examples of the platforms where the USA has historically led are: ",{"type":591,"attrs":124522,"content":124523},{"textAlign":49},[124524],{"text":124525,"type":596},"And finally, the one platform technology sector that is being transformed by incorporating all of the elements of the 3 we just mentioned: automotive.",{"type":591,"attrs":124527,"content":124528},{"textAlign":49},[124529],{"text":124530,"type":596},"Every passing year brings an entire lifetime of changes to the automotive industry. The primary trend underlying all others is a rapid trend towards electrification away from fossil fuels and internal combustion. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124532,"content":124533},{"textAlign":49},[124534],{"text":124535,"type":596},"This fundamental shift is not just economically advantageous, but a stark necessity in a world complicated by the effects of climate change. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124537,"content":124538},{"textAlign":49},[124539],{"text":124540,"type":596},"I am pleased that my former employer Tesla has become the world leader in the electric vehicle race. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124542,"content":124543},{"textAlign":49},[124544],{"text":124545,"type":596},"But as we have discussed, the USA is widely exposed in its dependence on foreign parties and companies for the essential elements needed to build the lithium-ion batteries that power these vehicles. To solve that challenge, I propose a framework for an advanced American supply chain industrial strategy with 3 core elements:",{"type":591,"attrs":124547,"content":124548},{"textAlign":49},[124549,124551],{"text":124550,"type":596},"All 3 are interconnected. ",{"text":124552,"type":596},"All 3 are necessary. All 3 result in an important capitalistic outcome: incentivising the private sector to innovate, commercialise, and lead.",{"type":615,"attrs":124554,"content":124555},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[124556],{"text":124557,"type":596},"On US Policy:",{"type":591,"attrs":124559,"content":124560},{"textAlign":49},[124561],{"text":124562,"type":596},"On policy, President Trump’s declaration of a National Emergency on Rare Earths is a positive step forward. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124564,"content":124565},{"textAlign":49},[124566],{"text":124567,"type":596},"In a time of continued trade tensions with China, an increased focus on the fragility of industrial supply chains, and heightened security requirements, this emphasis on developing a domestic source for an irreplaceable element of our technology systems is well received. We need the same kind of definitive national level action on the elements of powering our energy future: lithium, nickel, cobalt. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124569,"content":124570},{"textAlign":49},[124571],{"text":124572,"type":596},"On legislation, the US Mineral Security Act that originated from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is a crucial first step. We need more. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124574,"content":124575},{"textAlign":49},[124576],{"text":124577,"type":596},"We could ask, what more could be done at the level of individual states or counties? Arkansas, North Carolina, California, and Nevada are examples of states with economic reserves of lithium which could be used to feed into the domestic battery supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124579,"content":124580},{"textAlign":49},[124581],{"text":124582,"type":596},"Beyond lithium, what more can be done to develop a supply chain hub around core manufacturing assets such as the Tesla Gigafactories in Nevada and Texas, or the General Motors Lordstown plant in Ohio?",{"type":591,"attrs":124584,"content":124585},{"textAlign":49},[124586],{"text":124587,"type":596},"Could the National Act lead to individual state-sponsored directives around shortened permitting pathways? ",{"type":591,"attrs":124589,"content":124590},{"textAlign":49},[124591],{"text":124592,"type":596},"Could it lead to increased state-level subsidies for infrastructure development to spur mining development? I am sure through the conversations we have today with this diverse audience, we can generate some interesting ideas.",{"type":591,"attrs":124594,"content":124595},{"textAlign":49},[124596],{"text":124597,"type":596},"On funding, we can look to allies in Europe for a great example of words and action being translated into government-led financing initiatives. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124599,"content":124600},{"textAlign":49},[124601],{"type":836,"attrs":124602},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":124603,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":124604},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ebb5ca3c8e/bm-image-2019-11-03-10-46-37-906.jpeg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":124606,"content":124607},{"textAlign":49},[124608],{"text":124609,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Team briefs The White House & The Pentagon; (Left-Right: Vivas Kumar, Principal Consultant; Simon Moores, Managing Director; Ty Dinwoodie, Advisor)",{"type":615,"attrs":124611,"content":124612},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[124613],{"text":124614,"type":596},"Identifying strategic assets, lessons from semiconductors",{"type":591,"attrs":124616,"content":124617},{"textAlign":49},[124618],{"text":124619,"type":596},"In August 2020, the German Government offered a $525M state guarantee for the construction of Swedish company Northvolt’s factories. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124621,"content":124622},{"textAlign":49},[124623],{"text":124624,"type":596},"These are strategic assets in maintaining the long-term employment prospects and economic value of the German auto industry. The industry hopes that more Western governments follows suit. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124626,"content":124627},{"textAlign":49},[124628],{"text":124629,"type":596},"Capital markets by themselves are not enough to solve the challenge of securing the upstream supply chains. The same level of government action on subsidising downstream electric vehicle growth is sorely needed in the upstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":124631,"content":124632},{"textAlign":49},[124633],{"text":124634,"type":596},"The USA has applied this type of 3-pronged approach in other platform technology industries as well. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124636,"content":124637},{"textAlign":49},[124638],{"text":124639,"type":596},"Let’s take semiconductors. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124641,"content":124642},{"textAlign":49},[124643,124645],{"text":124644,"type":596},"The USA has >50% of the world’s semiconductor market share. Around ",{"text":124646,"type":596},"44% of American companies’ wafer fabrication capacity is within US borders. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124648,"content":124649},{"textAlign":49},[124650],{"text":124651,"type":596},"Many of the largest buyers of semiconductors in the world are in the USA. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124653,"content":124654},{"textAlign":49},[124655,124657],{"text":124656,"type":596},"The USA has won this game for many decades, and other industrialised economies are envious of our lead. ",{"text":124658,"type":596},"None more so than China for whom semiconductors represent the largest segment of yearly negative trade balance. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124660,"content":124661},{"textAlign":49},[124662],{"text":124663,"type":596},"To bolster the next half-century of American dominance in semiconductors, Congress passed the CHIPS Act in June 2020 with overwhelming bipartisan support. This act incorporates all 3 prongs of our strategy:",{"type":591,"attrs":124665,"content":124666},{"textAlign":49},[124667,124669,124673],{"text":124668,"type":596},"We need to adopt this same vigilance on the question of lithium-ion batteries so that in the future, ",{"text":124670,"type":596,"marks":124671},"we",[124672],{"type":1006},{"text":124674,"type":596}," are not the ones looking at other countries with envy as they overtake us in today’s industrial revolution. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124676,"content":124677},{"textAlign":49},[124678,124680,124683,124685,124688],{"text":124679,"type":596},"So that ",{"text":124670,"type":596,"marks":124681},[124682],{"type":1006},{"text":124684,"type":596}," are not the ones playing futile catch-up. Or worse, so that ",{"text":124670,"type":596,"marks":124686},[124687],{"type":1006},{"text":124689,"type":596}," are not the ones losing high-skilled high-paying industrial supply chain jobs to other countries who had greater foresight in this critical moment.",{"type":591,"attrs":124691,"content":124692},{"textAlign":49},[124693],{"text":124694,"type":596},"The lithium-ion battery will go down in history as one of the most important platform technologies of our current century. There is no time like now for our nation to invest in its full supply chain – from mining to chemicals to batteries to vehicles to the grid to recycling. ",{"type":591,"attrs":124696,"content":124697},{"textAlign":49},[124698,124700,124701],{"text":124699,"type":596},"We at ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":124702,"type":596},", and I as a proud American, are pleased to play our role in developing this industry to create new energy jobs, clean our air, bolster our national security, and strengthen American technology leadership.",{"type":591,"attrs":124704,"content":124705},{"textAlign":49},[124706],{"text":124707,"type":596},"Thank you.",{"type":591,"attrs":124709,"content":124710},{"textAlign":49},[124711],{"text":124712,"type":596},"End.",{"type":615,"attrs":124714,"content":124715},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124716,124718,124723,124725,124729],{"text":124717,"type":596},"To view The Benchmark Summit 2020 – Washington DC on on our streaming service, become a ",{"text":124719,"type":596,"marks":124720},"Benchmark Member",[124721],{"type":606,"attrs":124722},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":124724,"type":596}," here or fill in the ",{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":124726},[124727],{"type":606,"attrs":124728},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":124730,"type":596}," and we will be in touch","ON TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020, BENCHMARK MINERAL INTELLIGENCE HOSTED ITS BENCHMARK SUMMIT 2020 – WASHINGTON DC, THE ANNUAL MEETING PLACE CONNECTING GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY. THE BENCHMARK SUMMIT OPENED WITH SPEECHES FROM SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-ALASKA), CHAIRMAN OF US SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE, AND SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WEST VIRGINIA), RANKING MEMBER OF THE SAME COMMITTEE, […]",[124733],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124734},{"job_title":557,"image":124735,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e27c25fb-d598-4799-9504-50c5449555e2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[124738,124739,124740],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":124742,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":124743,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1137905f19/bm-dc-background.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 21, 2020",{"id":124746,"uuid":124747,"name":124748,"slug":124749,"full_slug":124750,"content":124751},112473770907633,"702f7ec9-83d1-4999-b22b-fdb04b6955c9","Lithium ion’s unsung hero? Manganese and the battery supply chain","lithium-ions-unsung-hero-manganese-and-the-battery-supply-chain","article/lithium-ions-unsung-hero-manganese-and-the-battery-supply-chain",{"_uid":124752,"date":124753,"tags":124754,"editor":124756,"content":124760,"excerpt":124904,"featured":50,"reporter":124905,"_editable":124909,"component":697,"seo_title":124748,"categories":124910,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":124913,"seo_description":124904,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":124916},"cad09fc7-3703-4f18-8a1d-8f41df81f159","2020-10-16 00:00",[124755],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},[124757],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124758},{"job_title":557,"image":124759,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":124761},[124762,124767,124776,124784,124792,124797,124804,124809,124814,124819,124824,124829,124834,124841,124849,124860,124865,124870,124881,124886,124893],{"type":591,"attrs":124763,"content":124764},{"textAlign":49},[124765],{"text":124766,"type":596},"Of the ‘forgotten’ battery chemicals and metals manganese is one of the better-known. Nonetheless, it rarely grabs the headlines of its cathode siblings – cobalt and nickel – as its cost component to the cathode is relatively low, but it remains a critical material for OEM’s ambitions for higher-range electric vehicles for markets across Western Europe and North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":124768,"content":124769},{"textAlign":49},[124770,124772,124774],{"text":124771,"type":596},"Manganese is one of the largest traded commodities with ",{"text":124773,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Manganese Forecast ",{"text":124775,"type":596},"showing 19 million tonnes of contained manganese ore production in 2019. Approximately 90% of the manganese market is used in the steel industry, with 10% or two million tonnes used in special grades of manganese – manganese metal, manganese dioxide, and manganese sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":124777,"content":124778},{"textAlign":49},[124779,124781,124782],{"text":124780,"type":596},"While the industry is today dominated by ferroalloys, a small but growing share of manganese supply is entering the lithium ion battery supply chain. The numbers look small relative to the size of the overall manganese market — ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124783,"type":596},"forecasts that battery grade market will represent approximately 0.5% of total manganese consumption in 2020, with lithium ion demand accounting for 0.2% of demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":124785,"content":124786},{"textAlign":49},[124787,124789,124790],{"text":124788,"type":596},"While lithium ion batteries represent a seemingly tiny 1/1000th of overall manganese demand, the growth in demand is set to soar, with ",{"text":124773,"type":596},{"text":124791,"type":596},"showing a 10x increase in lithium ion demand from batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":124793,"content":124794},{"textAlign":49},[124795],{"text":124796,"type":596},"Manganese is a critical material in a number of lithium ion batteries and is also used in non-rechargeable primary batteries. It is used in many cathodes as high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), for which there are two key processing routes.",{"type":591,"attrs":124798,"content":124799},{"textAlign":49},[124800,124802],{"text":124801,"type":596},"The most common is from ore in terms of",{"text":124803,"type":596},"consumption in batteries. This processing route has developed mainly due to the prevalence of this market in China. The other route is from refined high purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM), which is dissolved in sulphuric acid to give the require manganese sulphate material, which cathode producers can undertake themselves.",{"type":591,"attrs":124805,"content":124806},{"textAlign":49},[124807],{"text":124808,"type":596},"The ore processing route for battery grade material has historically used carbonate ore due to its abundance in China. However, oxide ore is increasingly being imported into China for conversion due to depleted domestic carbonate resources. Currently, based on the current processing methods commercially available, carbonate ore is the most economical and the least environmentally damaging route to developing battery suitable manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":124810,"content":124811},{"textAlign":49},[124812],{"text":124813,"type":596},"However, new technology has emerged which enables oxide ore to be processed without the need for calcination, which would improve the economics of the oxide ore processing route. But these technologies are not yet proven commercially and major Chinese producers still utilise the established calcining route for oxide ores.",{"type":591,"attrs":124815,"content":124816},{"textAlign":49},[124817],{"text":124818,"type":596},"The refined processing route — which processes HPMSM from HPEMM — is typically undertaken by cathode manufacturers that can dissolve the material in-house to produce HPMSM. The benefits to these producers are that they have more control over the parameters used for processing the material, such as the sulphuric acid used and the specific source of HPEMM.",{"type":591,"attrs":124820,"content":124821},{"textAlign":49},[124822],{"text":124823,"type":596},"This added step of quality control helps cathode producers reduce the risk of producing cathodes which need to be recalled. This is an area of concern for cathode producers who are liable for defects in cells using their materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":124825,"content":124826},{"textAlign":49},[124827],{"text":124828,"type":596},"Another battery suitable manganese material used by the battery industry is EMD (electrolytic manganese dioxide), which is primarily used in primary batteries. However, it is also used in lithium ion battery cathodes in the production of LMO (lithium manganese oxide) cathodes, which can use EMD directly in the cathode material without any additional processing route.",{"type":615,"attrs":124830,"content":124831},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124832],{"text":124833,"type":596},"Manganese in the cathode",{"type":591,"attrs":124835,"content":124836},{"textAlign":49},[124837,124839],{"text":124838,"type":596},"This brings us on to manganese’s role in lithium ion cathodes, which is critical to a number of cathode chemistries. However, the",{"text":124840,"type":596},"amount of manganese used in lithium ion cell varies greatly depending on the cathode chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":124842,"content":124843},{"textAlign":49},[124844,124846,124848],{"text":124845,"type":596},"For instance, at a cell level, LMO batteries have a significantly higher intensity of manganese useage than other cathode materials. LMO was also the leading cathode in terms of manganese demand up until the recent growth in NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathodes. In 2015 LMO accounted for 85% of manganese demand from lithium ion batteries according to ",{"text":124847,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Manganese Forecast",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":124850,"content":124851},{"textAlign":49},[124852,124854,124855,124857,124858],{"text":124853,"type":596},"However, its share of demand has fallen off dramatically since then and ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124856,"type":596},"is forecasting that in 2020 its share of manganese’s lithium ion demand will be 10%. LMO cathodes play a niche role in the battery market and are best suited to applications requiring a high discharge rate. ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124859,"type":596},"is forecasting LMO’s share of the cathode market to fall to 0.3% by 2025 – compared with 5.9% in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":124861,"content":124862},{"textAlign":49},[124863],{"text":124864,"type":596},"However, while the share of demand attributed to LMO will fall, demand from LMO for manganese will grow in absolute terms as the entire lithium ion battery market continues to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":124866,"content":124867},{"textAlign":49},[124868],{"text":124869,"type":596},"While demand for manganese materials will continue to grow thanks to LMO – and the closely related LMNO (lithium manganese nickel oxide) battery cathodes, the major growth story for manganese will be tied to the growing demands for NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) cathodes. With many western OEMs basing their future electric vehicle offerings on NCM technology, manganese is set to be a key beneficiary.",{"type":591,"attrs":124871,"content":124872},{"textAlign":49},[124873,124875,124876,124878,124879],{"text":124874,"type":596},"The cathode market is rapidly progressing towards an NCM dominated market. ",{"text":124773,"type":596},{"text":124877,"type":596},"shows that in 2015 NCM accounting for 4.6% of the market, but by the 2030s ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124880,"type":596},"is forecasting this to rise to over 80% of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":124882,"content":124883},{"textAlign":49},[124884],{"text":124885,"type":596},"There are, however, a number of strands to the NCM story. Demand for NCM cathodes is transitioning towards those with higher nickel content – moving from NCM 111 (equal parts nickel, cobalt, and manganese) to the other end of the spectrum, NCM 811 (eight parts nickel, one part cobalt, one part manganese). The trend towards higher nickel cells – which is being pursued by many western OEMs – will see the demand for manganese at a battery cell level decrease as the proportion of manganese used in each cell falls relative to the increasing nickel content.",{"type":591,"attrs":124887,"content":124888},{"textAlign":49},[124889,124891],{"text":124890,"type":596},"However, in absolute terms, manganese demand will grow dramatically, despite lower manganese intensity in higher nickel NCM",{"text":124892,"type":596},"cells, as battery production and demand increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":124894,"content":124895},{"textAlign":49},[124896,124898,124899,124901,124902],{"text":124897,"type":596},"In 2020, ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124900,"type":596},"is forecasting that the majority of NCM’s market share is in NCM 523 and NCM 622 cathodes, whereas five years ago a similar share of the market was held by NCM 111. By the end of the decade ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":124903,"type":596},"forecasts that the NCM market will be dominated by NCM 811, but there will still be a sizeable role – greater than today in absolute terms – for the lower-nickel, higher-manganese NCM chemistries.","Of the ‘forgotten’ battery chemicals and metals manganese is one of the better-known. Nonetheless, it rarely grabs the headlines of its cathode siblings – cobalt and nickel – as its cost component to the cathode is relatively low, but it remains a critical material for OEM’s ambitions for higher-range electric vehicles for markets across Western […]",[124906],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124907},{"job_title":557,"image":124908,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cad09fc7-3703-4f18-8a1d-8f41df81f159\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[124911,124912],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":124914,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":124915,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f7216f4398/bm-manganese.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 16, 2020",{"id":124918,"uuid":124919,"name":124920,"slug":124921,"full_slug":124922,"content":124923},112473785432080,"ec3c2d9b-0a60-499a-b6dd-6cc8543fd009","Stream Benchmark’s Battery Day Nickel Special","stream-benchmarks-battery-day-nickel-special","article/stream-benchmarks-battery-day-nickel-special",{"_uid":124924,"date":124925,"tags":124926,"editor":124927,"content":124931,"excerpt":125044,"featured":50,"reporter":125045,"_editable":125049,"component":697,"seo_title":124920,"categories":125050,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125053,"seo_description":125044,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125055},"d66e9072-3c34-40d3-a8f3-0124ba7edff1","2020-10-08 00:00",[],[124928],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":124929},{"job_title":557,"image":124930,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":124932},[124933,124938,124952,124957,124962,124967,124976,124979,124984,124993,124996,125001,125009,125012,125017,125026,125029],{"type":591,"attrs":124934,"content":124935},{"textAlign":49},[124936],{"text":124937,"type":596},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour West – Nickel Special from Benchmark’s Battery Day are now available to watch on demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":124939,"content":124940},{"textAlign":49},[124941,124945,124946,124950],{"text":120818,"type":596,"marks":124942},[124943],{"type":606,"attrs":124944},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":124357,"type":596},{"text":112338,"type":596,"marks":124947},[124948],{"type":606,"attrs":124949},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":124951,"type":596},", which includes presentations from Benchmark’s analysts covering:",{"type":591,"attrs":124953,"content":124954},{"textAlign":49},[124955],{"text":124956,"type":596},"The full session covers the impact of COVID-19 on the nickel market, a nickel price update, supply and demand outlooks, nickel’s growing role in battery cathode materials and more.",{"type":591,"attrs":124958,"content":124959},{"textAlign":49},[124960],{"text":124961,"type":596},"Presentations from Clean Teq, Altilium, Blackstone Minerals and Talon Metals are all free to watch and download below.",{"type":615,"attrs":124963,"content":124964},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124965],{"text":124966,"type":596},"Sam Riggall, CEO, Clean Teq",{"type":615,"attrs":124968,"content":124969},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124970],{"text":124971,"type":596,"marks":124972},"Download Clean Teq’s presentation",[124973],{"type":606,"attrs":124974},{"href":124975,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199555/",{"type":591,"attrs":124977,"content":124978},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124980,"content":124981},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124982],{"text":124983,"type":596},"Andrew Vickerman, Chairman, & Chris Gower, CEO, Altilium",{"type":615,"attrs":124985,"content":124986},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[124987],{"text":124988,"type":596,"marks":124989},"Download Altilium’s presentation",[124990],{"type":606,"attrs":124991},{"href":124992,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199567/",{"type":591,"attrs":124994,"content":124995},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":124997,"content":124998},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[124999],{"text":125000,"type":596},"Scott Williamson, Blackstone Minerals",{"type":615,"attrs":125002,"content":125003},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125004],{"text":121787,"type":596,"marks":125005},[125006],{"type":606,"attrs":125007},{"href":125008,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199587/",{"type":591,"attrs":125010,"content":125011},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125013,"content":125014},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125015],{"text":125016,"type":596},"Sean Werger, President, & Henri van Rooyen, CEO, Talon Metals",{"type":615,"attrs":125018,"content":125019},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125020],{"text":125021,"type":596,"marks":125022},"Download Talon Metals’ presentation",[125023],{"type":606,"attrs":125024},{"href":125025,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1199599/",{"type":591,"attrs":125027,"content":125028},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":125030,"content":125031},{"textAlign":49},[125032,125035,125040],{"text":124443,"type":596,"marks":125033},[125034],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":125036},[125037,125039],{"type":606,"attrs":125038},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":125041,"type":596,"marks":125042}," to register your interest. ",[125043],{"type":1006},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour West – Nickel Special from Benchmark’s Battery Day are now available to watch on demand. Benchmark Members have access to all presentations and can watch the full session on Benchmark Video Streaming, which includes presentations from Benchmark’s analysts covering: Nickel: from mine to cathode – how is the market evolving? Nickel-intensive […]",[125046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125047},{"job_title":557,"image":125048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d66e9072-3c34-40d3-a8f3-0124ba7edff1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125051,125052],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125054,"is_external_url":50},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 08, 2020",{"id":125057,"uuid":125058,"name":125059,"slug":125060,"full_slug":125061,"content":125062},112473795856686,"ba833b0a-12ef-4a59-8761-dd10b3bcf637","Tesla’s quest for battery cell superiority continues","teslas-quest-for-battery-cell-superiority-continues","article/teslas-quest-for-battery-cell-superiority-continues",{"_uid":125063,"date":125064,"tags":125065,"editor":125067,"content":125071,"excerpt":125148,"featured":50,"reporter":125149,"_editable":125153,"component":697,"seo_title":125059,"categories":125154,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125156,"seo_description":125148,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125159},"0aaa59ad-3c14-4fb2-9b39-01a5ad28ce20","2020-10-01 00:00",[125066],{"slug":43503,"name":43504},[125068],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125069},{"job_title":557,"image":125070,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125072},[125073,125078,125083,125089,125094,125099,125104,125109,125118,125123,125128,125133,125138,125143],{"type":591,"attrs":125074,"content":125075},{"textAlign":49},[125076],{"text":125077,"type":596},"Tesla’s battery cell journey continues after Elon Musk confirmed Tesla’s new 4680 cylindrical cell format at Tesla’s Battery Day, also confirming that in-house production was already underway at the company’s pilot plant in Fremont.",{"type":591,"attrs":125079,"content":125080},{"textAlign":49},[125081],{"text":125082,"type":596},"This marks a significant point in Tesla’s battery strategy as it moves into direct battery production, having been supported to date by Panasonic for production in the USA and LG Chem and CATL in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":125084,"content":125085},{"textAlign":49},[125086,125087],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":125088,"type":596}," had expected that Tesla would eventually move into its own lithium ion cell production, however, while Tesla is now producing its own cells it’s important to note that the company will continue to source from its existing partners.",{"type":591,"attrs":125090,"content":125091},{"textAlign":49},[125092],{"text":125093,"type":596},"While Musk suggested that the new 4680 cells would use cobalt free cathodes, Benchmark expects the high nickel cathode technology to still use low levels of cobalt. Significant developments are still required before high nickel-manganese cathodes could be used without cobalt — which remains a critical material in the cell to provide stability — particularly in higher-nickel cathode chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":125095,"content":125096},{"textAlign":49},[125097],{"text":125098,"type":596},"Previously there have also been thermal management issues for cells any larger than the 21700 format developed by Panasonic and Tesla. However, it seems that Tesla has been able to overcome this in its latest innovation.",{"type":591,"attrs":125100,"content":125101},{"textAlign":49},[125102],{"text":125103,"type":596},"While the 4680 cell itself will offer a number of improvements at a cell level through its tab-less design and greater active material, the new cell will also provide improvements at a battery pack level with the prospect of moving towards ‘cell-to-pack’ design. Discussions surrounding $/ kWh are often focused at the cell level but these innovations – eliminating modules and sub-modules – will further reduce $/ kWh at a pack level.",{"type":591,"attrs":125105,"content":125106},{"textAlign":49},[125107],{"text":125108,"type":596},"From a development perspective, Tesla’s timeline for mass-scale commercialisation of the 4680 is ambitious and may take longer than suggested. Having said that, Tesla is already producing 4680 cells at scale and is ramping up production at the Fremont pilot plant rapidly. In future, as it looks to scale up production further, it may also involve its battery manufacturing partners in the production of the new format cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":125110,"content":125111},{"textAlign":49},[125112,125114,125116],{"text":125113,"type":596},"The scale of Tesla’s pilot plant, in which the 4680 is being produced, is also a significant step and illustrates the extent of its battery ambitions. The company outlined a timeline for Fremont to be at 10 GWh of production capacity within the year. To put that in context, if it were in production today it would be the 13",{"text":125115,"type":596},"th ",{"text":125117,"type":596},"largest battery factory in the world according to the Benchmark Minerals Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":615,"attrs":125119,"content":125120},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125121],{"text":125122,"type":596},"Tesla’s cell journey",{"type":591,"attrs":125124,"content":125125},{"textAlign":49},[125126],{"text":125127,"type":596},"Tesla began its battery cell journey with standard, readily available 18650 cylindrical cells that were easy to source as they were typically used in laptop batteries. The company utilised the 18650 cell format for a number of years from the launch of the Tesla Roadster through to the Model X era.",{"type":591,"attrs":125129,"content":125130},{"textAlign":49},[125131],{"text":125132,"type":596},"Tesla is largely alone in its use of cylindrical cells and other auto companies have since looked at the use of more efficient pouch or prismatic cells. The company’s early decision to use 18650 cylindrical cells — which as noted above was based primarily on availability— have meant that it has maintained their use ever since due to the constraints of its battery pack technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":125134,"content":125135},{"textAlign":49},[125136],{"text":125137,"type":596},"Having developed scale and proven the concept of the Gigafactory, Tesla looked to achieve further efficiencies at a cell level. Limited to cylindrical cells, in collaboration with Panasonic, it looked to alter the size of the cells, which led to the innovation of the 21700.",{"type":591,"attrs":125139,"content":125140},{"textAlign":49},[125141],{"text":125142,"type":596},"Today, Panasonic and LG Chem will have optimised their production of 21700 cells, and as Musk noted they will continue to source cells from these existing relationships. Both of these suppliers have committed significant efforts to the production of 21700 cells, as such to change this format again in the short term would be a large undertaking.",{"type":591,"attrs":125144,"content":125145},{"textAlign":49},[125146],{"text":125147,"type":596},"The 4680 therefore represents Tesla’s first solo effort at battery cell production, but with its intention to achieve terawatt hour production by the end of the decade it will likely engage its battery partners as it ramps up production of the new cell format.","Tesla’s battery cell journey continues after Elon Musk confirmed Tesla’s new 4680 cylindrical cell format at Tesla’s Battery Day, also confirming that in-house production was already underway at the company’s pilot plant in Fremont. This marks a significant point in Tesla’s battery strategy as it moves into direct battery production, having been supported to date […]",[125150],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125151},{"job_title":557,"image":125152,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0aaa59ad-3c14-4fb2-9b39-01a5ad28ce20\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125155],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125157,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125158,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/343d7b107b/bm-tesla-new.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 01, 2020",{"id":125161,"uuid":125162,"name":125163,"slug":125164,"full_slug":125165,"content":125166},112473805482442,"24ef0a37-020b-4288-9843-01d9d53b02e2","Stream Highlights from Benchmark’s High Purity Alumina Special","stream-highlights-from-benchmarks-high-purity-alumina-special","article/stream-highlights-from-benchmarks-high-purity-alumina-special",{"_uid":125167,"date":125168,"tags":125169,"editor":125173,"content":125177,"excerpt":125245,"featured":50,"reporter":125246,"_editable":125250,"component":697,"seo_title":125163,"categories":125251,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125253,"seo_description":125245,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125256},"acee0a31-9cd0-4116-96a7-e64e776d520b","2020-09-29 00:00",[125170],{"slug":125171,"name":125172},"hpa","HPA",[125174],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125175},{"job_title":557,"image":125176,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125178},[125179,125196,125203,125212,125215,125222,125231,125234,125242],{"type":591,"attrs":125180,"content":125181},{"textAlign":49},[125182,125184,125188,125190,125195],{"text":125183,"type":596},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour High Purity Alumina Special are now available to stream below. Subscribe to ",{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":125185},[125186],{"type":606,"attrs":125187},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":125189,"type":596}," to view Benchmark’s full High Purity Alumina Special and for full access to ",{"text":125191,"type":596,"marks":125192},"Benchmark’s Video Streaming service",[125193],{"type":606,"attrs":125194},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":125197,"content":125198},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125199,125201],{"text":125200,"type":596},"Roland Hill, Managing Director, ",{"text":125202,"type":596},"FYI Resources",{"type":615,"attrs":125204,"content":125205},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125206],{"text":125207,"type":596,"marks":125208},"Download FYI Resources’ presentation",[125209],{"type":606,"attrs":125210},{"href":125211,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1163315/",{"type":591,"attrs":125213,"content":125214},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125216,"content":125217},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125218,125220],{"text":125219,"type":596},"Rimas Kairaitis, Managing Director, ",{"text":125221,"type":596},"Alpha HPA Limited",{"type":615,"attrs":125223,"content":125224},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125225],{"text":125226,"type":596,"marks":125227},"Download Alpha HPA’s presentation",[125228],{"type":606,"attrs":125229},{"href":125230,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1163285/",{"type":591,"attrs":125232,"content":125233},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125235,"content":125236},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125237],{"text":125238,"type":596,"marks":125239},"CLICK HERE FOR FULL ACCESS TO BENCHMARK’S VIDEO STREAMING SERVICE",[125240],{"type":606,"attrs":125241},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":125243,"content":125244},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[],"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour High Purity Alumina Special are now available to stream below. Subscribe to Benchmark Membership to view Benchmark’s full High Purity Alumina Special and for full access to Benchmark’s Video Streaming service. Roland Hill, Managing Director, FYI Resources Download FYI Resources’ presentation Rimas Kairaitis, Managing Director, Alpha HPA Limited Download Alpha HPA’s presentation CLICK […]",[125247],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125248},{"job_title":557,"image":125249,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"acee0a31-9cd0-4116-96a7-e64e776d520b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125252],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125254,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125255,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8c8631ee18/bm-world-tour-1-1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 29, 2020",{"id":125258,"uuid":125259,"name":125260,"slug":125261,"full_slug":125262,"content":125263},112473815108423,"1f821511-259d-4c29-b2b4-bde1354ef26e","Benchmark launches upgraded Graphite Price Index","benchmark-launches-upgraded-graphite-price-index","article/benchmark-launches-upgraded-graphite-price-index",{"_uid":125264,"date":125265,"tags":125266,"editor":125268,"content":125272,"excerpt":125375,"featured":50,"reporter":125376,"_editable":125380,"component":697,"seo_title":125260,"categories":125381,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125384,"seo_description":125375,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125387},"ae1ab276-ab9a-4995-a172-42a1bd70c046","2020-09-28 00:00",[125267],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[125269],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125270},{"job_title":557,"image":125271,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125273},[125274,125280,125285,125290,125295,125300,125305,125310,125315,125320,125325,125330,125335,125340,125351],{"type":591,"attrs":125275,"content":125276},{"textAlign":49},[125277,125278],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":125279,"type":596},", the lithium-ion supply chain’s leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA), is pleased to announce that it has launched an upgraded flake graphite price index on the back of the addition of new domestic Chinese prices which were launched in February 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":125281,"content":125282},{"textAlign":49},[125283],{"text":125284,"type":596},"Prices now included in the graphite price index are:",{"type":591,"attrs":125286,"content":125287},{"textAlign":49},[125288],{"text":125289,"type":596},"-100 mesh, 90-93% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125291,"content":125292},{"textAlign":49},[125293],{"text":125294,"type":596},"-100 mesh, 94-95% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125296,"content":125297},{"textAlign":49},[125298],{"text":125299,"type":596},"+100 mesh, 90-93% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125301,"content":125302},{"textAlign":49},[125303],{"text":125304,"type":596},"+100 mesh, 94-95% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125306,"content":125307},{"textAlign":49},[125308],{"text":125309,"type":596},"+80 mesh, 94-95% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125311,"content":125312},{"textAlign":49},[125313],{"text":125314,"type":596},"+50 mesh, 94-95% C, FOB China",{"type":591,"attrs":125316,"content":125317},{"textAlign":49},[125318],{"text":125319,"type":596},"-100 mesh, 90-93% C, DDP China",{"type":591,"attrs":125321,"content":125322},{"textAlign":49},[125323],{"text":125324,"type":596},"-100 mesh, 94-95% C, DDP China",{"type":591,"attrs":125326,"content":125327},{"textAlign":49},[125328],{"text":125329,"type":596},"Incorporating these new prices into the flake graphite index will provide a deeper insight into the global supply chain, particularly for feedstock material being traded into the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125331,"content":125332},{"textAlign":49},[125333],{"text":125334,"type":596},"The new DDP China pricing tracks the price of material being traded within the Chinese domestic market – the world’s leading market for flake graphite – adding to our FOB price assessments which provide a global reference.",{"type":591,"attrs":125336,"content":125337},{"textAlign":49},[125338],{"text":125339,"type":596},"Coinciding with the upgrade of the graphite Index, Benchmark has also updated the base month to January 2015. This was to ensure the index was more reflective of the market and current products traded.",{"type":591,"attrs":125341,"content":125342},{"textAlign":49},[125343,125345,125350],{"text":125344,"type":596},"Further information can be found on the DDP prices launched earlier this year ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":125346},[125347],{"type":606,"attrs":125348},{"href":125349,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-minerals-launches-new-flake-graphite-price-assessments-for-domestic-china-grades",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":125352,"content":125353},{"textAlign":49},[125354,125358,125363,125367,125372],{"text":125355,"type":596,"marks":125356},"For more information on Benchmark Minerals Graphite Price Assessments, please contact ",[125357],{"type":1006},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":125359},[125360,125361],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":125362},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":125364,"type":596,"marks":125365}," or fill in the ",[125366],{"type":1006},{"text":21379,"type":596,"marks":125368},[125369,125371],{"type":606,"attrs":125370},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":125373},[125374],{"type":1006},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the lithium-ion supply chain’s leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA), is pleased to announce that it has launched an upgraded flake graphite price index on the back of the addition of new domestic Chinese prices which were launched in February 2020. Prices now included in the graphite price index are: -100 mesh, 90-93% […]",[125377],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125378},{"job_title":557,"image":125379,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ae1ab276-ab9a-4995-a172-42a1bd70c046\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125382,125383],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125385,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125386,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5068128ac9/bm-benchmark-graphite-price-e1601285322691.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 28, 2020",{"id":125389,"uuid":125390,"name":125391,"slug":125392,"full_slug":125393,"content":125394},112473810201243,"6688a7b2-390d-4bea-8c22-1224fa165ccd","Stream highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour West – Lithium Brines in Argentina Special","stream-highlights-from-benchmarks-lithium-brines-in-argentina-special","article/stream-highlights-from-benchmarks-lithium-brines-in-argentina-special",{"_uid":125395,"date":125265,"tags":125396,"editor":125397,"content":125401,"excerpt":125484,"featured":50,"reporter":125485,"_editable":125489,"component":697,"seo_title":125391,"categories":125490,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125492,"seo_description":125484,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125387},"b4bc9845-893a-4877-913a-3f4a5c1005a7",[],[125398],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125399},{"job_title":557,"image":125400,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125402},[125403,125419,125424,125432,125435,125440,125449,125452,125455,125462,125471,125474,125477],{"type":591,"attrs":125404,"content":125405},{"textAlign":49},[125406,125408,125412,125414,125418],{"text":125407,"type":596},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour Lithium Brines in Argentina Special are available to stream below. Subscribe to ",{"text":112380,"type":596,"marks":125409},[125410],{"type":606,"attrs":125411},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":125413,"type":596}," for full access to ",{"text":125191,"type":596,"marks":125415},[125416],{"type":606,"attrs":125417},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":125420,"content":125421},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125422],{"text":125423,"type":596},"Waldo Perez, CEO, Neo Lithium",{"type":615,"attrs":125425,"content":125426},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125427],{"text":121712,"type":596,"marks":125428},[125429],{"type":606,"attrs":125430},{"href":125431,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1163506/",{"type":591,"attrs":125433,"content":125434},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125436,"content":125437},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125438],{"text":125439,"type":596},"Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, Lake Resources",{"type":615,"attrs":125441,"content":125442},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125443],{"text":125444,"type":596,"marks":125445},"Download Lake Resource’s presentation",[125446],{"type":606,"attrs":125447},{"href":125448,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1163486/",{"type":591,"attrs":125450,"content":125451},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":125453,"content":125454},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125456,"content":125457},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125458,125460],{"text":125459,"type":596},"JP Vargas de la Vega, Managing Director, ",{"text":125461,"type":596},"Galan Lithium",{"type":615,"attrs":125463,"content":125464},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125465],{"text":125466,"type":596,"marks":125467},"Download Galan Lithium’s presentation",[125468],{"type":606,"attrs":125469},{"href":125470,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1163434/",{"type":591,"attrs":125472,"content":125473},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":125475,"content":125476},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":125478,"content":125479},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[125480],{"text":125238,"type":596,"marks":125481},[125482],{"type":606,"attrs":125483},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour Lithium Brines in Argentina Special are available to stream below. Subscribe to Benchmark Membership for full access to Benchmark’s Video Streaming service. Waldo Perez, CEO, Neo Lithium Download Neo Lithium’s presentation Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, Lake Resources Download Lake Resource’s presentation JP Vargas de la Vega, Managing Director, Galan Lithium […]",[125486],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125487},{"job_title":557,"image":125488,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b4bc9845-893a-4877-913a-3f4a5c1005a7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125491],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125493,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125494,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2c89fcf895/bm-world-tour.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":125496,"uuid":125497,"name":125498,"slug":125499,"full_slug":125500,"content":125501},112473824668495,"eb924147-5a83-4e8d-8b0b-acbf5499cf4d","Tesla’s silicon battery anode tease stands out, but what is the commercial reality?","teslas-silicon-battery-anode-tease-stands-out-but-what-is-the-commercial-reality","article/teslas-silicon-battery-anode-tease-stands-out-but-what-is-the-commercial-reality",{"_uid":125502,"date":125503,"tags":125504,"editor":125505,"content":125509,"excerpt":125709,"featured":50,"reporter":125710,"_editable":125714,"component":697,"seo_title":125498,"categories":125715,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125717,"seo_description":125709,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125720},"96f45164-da61-4de3-a1b0-8a8ab11f89d1","2020-09-25 00:00",[],[125506],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125507},{"job_title":557,"image":125508,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125510},[125511,125516,125521,125526,125533,125538,125543,125548,125553,125558,125563,125568,125573,125578,125583,125589,125594,125599,125604,125609,125614,125619,125624,125629,125634,125639,125644,125649,125654,125659,125664,125669,125674,125679,125684,125689,125694,125699,125704],{"type":591,"attrs":125512,"content":125513},{"textAlign":49},[125514],{"text":125515,"type":596},"“By leveraging the silicon to its potential we can increase the range of our vehicles by 20%,” Tesla’s Senior Vice President, Drew Baglino of Powertrain and Energy Engineering explained at the long awaited Battery Day 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":125517,"content":125518},{"textAlign":49},[125519],{"text":125520,"type":596},"It was one of the headline grabbers on an evening in California that witnessed nine major claims or innovations across the lithium ion battery supply chain, which if all came true, would drop cell costs by nearly 50%.",{"type":591,"attrs":125522,"content":125523},{"textAlign":49},[125524],{"text":125525,"type":596},"Yet while the potential of silicon anodes is and has been huge since research began in the early 1990s, the commercial advent of pure (100%) silicon anodes in the lithium ion battery is still far from certain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125527,"content":125528},{"textAlign":49},[125529,125530,125531],{"text":63577,"type":596},{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":125532,"type":596}," looks at why this is still the case, digs deeper into Tesla’s claims and the potential future anode landscape.",{"type":615,"attrs":125534,"content":125535},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125536],{"text":125537,"type":596},"Ambiguity shone through ",{"type":591,"attrs":125539,"content":125540},{"textAlign":49},[125541],{"text":125542,"type":596},"The first thing we should note is the ambiguity that clouded Tesla’s silicon anode announcement.",{"type":591,"attrs":125544,"content":125545},{"textAlign":49},[125546],{"text":125547,"type":596},"The principle benefits of silicon were first outlined by Baglino:",{"type":591,"attrs":125549,"content":125550},{"textAlign":49},[125551],{"text":125552,"type":596},"“Why is silicon awesome? It’s awesome because it’s the most abundant element in the earth’s crust after oxygen…which means it’s everywhere, it’s sand.”",{"type":591,"attrs":125554,"content":125555},{"textAlign":49},[125556],{"text":125557,"type":596},"“And it happens to store nine times more lithium than graphite which is the typical anode material today.”",{"type":591,"attrs":125559,"content":125560},{"textAlign":49},[125561],{"text":125562,"type":596},"The capacity benefits of silicon were made clear. The draw backs were also outlined with clarity for a mainstream audience:",{"type":591,"attrs":125564,"content":125565},{"textAlign":49},[125566],{"text":125567,"type":596},"“The main reason it expands four-times when fully charged with lithium” Baglino said.",{"type":591,"attrs":125569,"content":125570},{"textAlign":49},[125571],{"text":125572,"type":596},"“With silicon the cookie crumbles and gets gooey,” Tesla CEO, Elon Musk added in more simplistic terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":125574,"content":125575},{"textAlign":49},[125576],{"text":125577,"type":596},"The Tesla executives then went on to explain how they were aiming to solve this expansion issue and make it last in an electric vehicle battery, which until now has evaded the world’s battery academics.",{"type":591,"attrs":125579,"content":125580},{"textAlign":49},[125581],{"text":125582,"type":596},"The base solution outlined by Baglino and Musk was the coating of a silicon anode particle with what Tesla described as a “an elastic ion conducting polymer”, a jacket that wraps around the silicon particle limiting the four-times expansion it experiences on charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":125584,"content":125585},{"textAlign":49},[125586,125587],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":125588,"type":596},"believes this is the resulting IP from a quiet acquisition Tesla made in Q1 2020 of silicon anode researcher, SilLion.",{"type":591,"attrs":125590,"content":125591},{"textAlign":49},[125592],{"text":125593,"type":596},"Should that be the case early studies in 2013 academic literature by SiLion’s founder, Daniela Molina Piper, show this coating to be a commercially available chemical known as polyacrylonitrile used in the manufacture of synthetic textiles.",{"type":591,"attrs":125595,"content":125596},{"textAlign":49},[125597],{"text":125598,"type":596},"Tesla did not give any insight into whether this was laboratory scale, at pilot stage – like their new 4680 tab-less lithium ion battery cell – or in commercial production, leaving more questions than answers.",{"type":591,"attrs":125600,"content":125601},{"textAlign":49},[125602],{"text":125603,"type":596},"What stood out was the lack of a big number: the percentage of silicon will be used in the anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":125605,"content":125606},{"textAlign":49},[125607],{"text":125608,"type":596},"The audience was led to believe that Tesla had cracked the code and developed 100% silicon anodes for commercial use today.",{"type":591,"attrs":125610,"content":125611},{"textAlign":49},[125612],{"text":125613,"type":596},"Benchmark’s MD, Simon Moores, described Musk and Baglino’s approach as “sensibly cryptic”.",{"type":591,"attrs":125615,"content":125616},{"textAlign":49},[125617],{"text":125618,"type":596},"Silicon has been added to graphite anodes for the last five years in the range of 3-6%. Since the commercial advent of this, this range has not really shifted due to the issues the world’s lithium ion battery producers have faced with expansion and resulting degradation.",{"type":591,"attrs":125620,"content":125621},{"textAlign":49},[125622],{"text":125623,"type":596},"Prior to Tesla’s Battery Day, Benchmark Analyst expected Tesla to push the boundaries with 10-15% silicon which would still represent a breakthrough and leap forward for lithium ion capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":125625,"content":125626},{"textAlign":49},[125627],{"text":125628,"type":596},"This may still prove to be the case should Tesla reveal more details in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":125630,"content":125631},{"textAlign":49},[125632],{"text":125633,"type":596},"Benchmark’s expectation is that Tesla is still at prototype stage, focusing on getting various percentages of silicon and graphite anodes working at Fremont with its new 4680 cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":125635,"content":125636},{"textAlign":49},[125637],{"text":125638,"type":596},"This is one to watch closely.",{"type":615,"attrs":125640,"content":125641},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125642],{"text":125643,"type":596},"“Graphite ain’t going nowhere” ",{"type":591,"attrs":125645,"content":125646},{"textAlign":49},[125647],{"text":125648,"type":596},"While silicon’s role in the anode has increased, and Tesla’s suggestion of a breakthrough in silicon anodes has drawn plenty of attention, today’s lithium ion battery anodes are predominantly made up of graphite, both natural and synthetic.",{"type":591,"attrs":125650,"content":125651},{"textAlign":49},[125652],{"text":125653,"type":596},"“Graphite ain’t going nowhere: both natural and synthetic will be the dominant anode for the next decade [with] >90% market share” Benchmark’s Moores tweeted.",{"type":591,"attrs":125655,"content":125656},{"textAlign":49},[125657],{"text":125658,"type":596},"Graphite is so good as an anode both because of its reasonable cost, ranging from $6/kg to $12/kg, and because it is structurally stable in a lithium ion battery – it has generally never been the top of the lists of problems for battery makers with nickel, cobalt and lithium usually higher.",{"type":591,"attrs":125660,"content":125661},{"textAlign":49},[125662],{"text":125663,"type":596},"There has been ongoing debate over which form of graphite is the best suited for anode material, the trend is for a blend of natural and synthetic graphite to be used to maximise cost savings, performance, capacity and life cycle benefits.",{"type":591,"attrs":125665,"content":125666},{"textAlign":49},[125667],{"text":125668,"type":596},"Blending anodes also allows battery makers to generally overcome consistency issues by just using one source of material.",{"type":591,"attrs":125670,"content":125671},{"textAlign":49},[125672],{"text":125673,"type":596},"While this makes scaling different, this trend is set to remain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125675,"content":125676},{"textAlign":49},[125677],{"text":125678,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Graphite Forecast is showing that in 2020 graphite materials accounted for 97% of the market — 58% synthetic graphite, 39% natural flake graphite, whereas silicon materials represented less than 1% of this.",{"type":591,"attrs":125680,"content":125681},{"textAlign":49},[125682],{"text":125683,"type":596},"Benchmark is forecasting silicon’s share of the market to increase – to 5% of anode materials in 2020 – but graphite will remain the dominant anode material through the 2020s and will hold more than 90% of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":125685,"content":125686},{"textAlign":49},[125687],{"text":125688,"type":596},"In particular, flake graphite’s role in the market will increase dramatically, both in terms of market share – from 39% of the market today to a forecast 49% in 2020 – and volume, scaling from 170,000 tonnes of battery demand to 2.6 million tonnes by the end of the decade, which is over 3.5x times the size of the total industry today.",{"type":591,"attrs":125690,"content":125691},{"textAlign":49},[125692],{"text":125693,"type":596},"While silicon’s role has remained steady yet benefitted from the overall anode market, Benchmark expects natural and synthetic graphite to continue to be the main technology used in anode materials as there are a number of obstacles on the path to commercialisation of pure silicon anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":125695,"content":125696},{"textAlign":49},[125697],{"text":125698,"type":596},"As an additive, silicon’s role in the anode will continue to grow and Benchmark’s models show this growing to over 5% of the market by the end of the decade. Benchmark’s latest Anode Market Assessment showed that silicon accounted for 3% of the 685,000 tonnes per annum of anode capacity currently under construction globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":125700,"content":125701},{"textAlign":49},[125702],{"text":125703,"type":596},"The statements made by Tesla during its battery day need further clarification. For now, Benchmark expects that Tesla will work on a pure silicon anode prototype, but will focus its efforts on increasing the silicon additives to above the Benchmark target of 10%.",{"type":591,"attrs":125705,"content":125706},{"textAlign":49},[125707],{"text":125708,"type":596},"But for the wider supply chain – and still for Tesla – graphite must remain the focus to ramp up lithium ion cell production.","“By leveraging the silicon to its potential we can increase the range of our vehicles by 20%,” Tesla’s Senior Vice President, Drew Baglino of Powertrain and Energy Engineering explained at the long awaited Battery Day 2020. It was one of the headline grabbers on an evening in California that witnessed nine major claims or innovations […]",[125711],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125712},{"job_title":557,"image":125713,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"96f45164-da61-4de3-a1b0-8a8ab11f89d1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125716],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125718,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125719,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e73b935d45/bm-tesla-presentation-silicon-anodes-2-e1601035566171.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 25, 2020",{"id":125722,"uuid":125723,"name":125724,"slug":125725,"full_slug":125726,"content":125727},112473834335212,"ac0bf4e6-b729-4030-87f5-c3ba490e99f1","Lithium centre stage in CATL’s multi-billion dollar supply chain offensive","lithium-centre-stage-in-catls-multi-billion-dollar-supply-chain-offensive","article/lithium-centre-stage-in-catls-multi-billion-dollar-supply-chain-offensive",{"_uid":125728,"date":125729,"tags":125730,"editor":125732,"content":125736,"excerpt":125813,"featured":50,"reporter":125814,"_editable":125818,"component":697,"seo_title":125724,"categories":125819,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125821,"seo_description":125813,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125824},"dd6233dc-32a2-4f3b-a23a-413f5485dad5","2020-09-16 00:00",[125731],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},[125733],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125734},{"job_title":557,"image":125735,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125737},[125738,125743,125748,125753,125758,125763,125768,125773,125778,125783,125788,125793,125798,125803,125808],{"type":591,"attrs":125739,"content":125740},{"textAlign":49},[125741],{"text":125742,"type":596},"Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has taken a stake in lithium developer Neo Lithium as it begins its latest foray into the lithium ion supply chain in what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar spending spree.",{"type":591,"attrs":125744,"content":125745},{"textAlign":49},[125746],{"text":125747,"type":596},"The deal sees CATL take a C8.5$million, 8% stake in Neo Lithium — which owns the Tres Quebradas Lithium Project (3Q Project) in Catamarca, Argentina. The investment brings Neo Lithium a step closer to finishing its definitive feasibility study for the project, which has a nameplate capacity of 20,000 tpa of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), with the potential to expand to 40,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":125749,"content":125750},{"textAlign":49},[125751],{"text":125752,"type":596},"Argentinian brine is forecast to play a growing role in the supply of lithium through the next five years, with a number of projects in development. Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows that in 2019 Argentina produced approximately 34,900 tonnes of LCE – 10% of global production. Benchmark is forecasting this to increase by 3.8x by 2025, and Argentina’s share of production to increase to 14% of global production as a number of projects come online and existing projects ramp up production.",{"type":615,"attrs":125754,"content":125755},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125756],{"text":125757,"type":596},"CATL’s latest spending spree",{"type":591,"attrs":125759,"content":125760},{"textAlign":49},[125761],{"text":125762,"type":596},"In August, CATL announced plans to invest up to CNY 19 billion (approximately $2.75 billion USD) – equal to 50% of its net assets in 2019 — in companies across both downstream and upstream segments of the supply chain over the next 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":125764,"content":125765},{"textAlign":49},[125766],{"text":125767,"type":596},"While the investment in Neo Lithium is the first in an expected 12-month flurry of supply chain spending from CATL, in reality it represents an extension of the company’s aggressive deal-making efforts since 2018. During that time CATL has signed a host of supply agreements, established joint ventures and taken equity in various companies across the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125769,"content":125770},{"textAlign":49},[125771],{"text":125772,"type":596},"CATL’s investment in Neo Lithium reflects how securing battery raw materials sits at the core of the company’s strategy. Lithium has been at the heart of this — 2020 marks the third year in a row in which CATL has taken stakes in overseas lithium projects having previously invested in North American Lithium in 2018, and taken an 8.5% holding in Pilbara Minerals in September last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":125774,"content":125775},{"textAlign":49},[125776],{"text":125777,"type":596},"These investments are key to the company securing a future supply of raw materials ahead of expected tightening supply and demand dynamics. Following the investment in Pilbara, Chinese lithium producer Yibin Tianyi – a joint venture company backed by CATL – announced a five-year 75,000 tonnes per annum offtake agreement from the operation, which would ultimately be destined for CATL battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":125779,"content":125780},{"textAlign":49},[125781],{"text":125782,"type":596},"These developments are not limited to lithium and CATL has also made strides in developing its other raw material supply. In 2018, a joint venture (JV) was announced that saw CATL take a 25% stake in a battery-grade nickel project in Morowali, Indonesia. The JV sees CATL collaborating with Chinese stainless-steel manufacturer Tsingshan and battery materials producer GEM to establish a nickel high pressure acid leach (HPAL) project.",{"type":591,"attrs":125784,"content":125785},{"textAlign":49},[125786],{"text":125787,"type":596},"While CATL has been proactive in securing supply of battery raw materials it is not alone and this reflects the wider trend of OEMs securing raw materials, such as Tesla’s offtake deal with Kidman Resources and production from the Mount Holland mine in 2018, or Volkswagen’s supply MoU with Ganfeng Lithium announced in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":125789,"content":125790},{"textAlign":49},[125791],{"text":125792,"type":596},"Mid-stream cathode companies are also undertaking similar strategies. Last year, Ningbo Shanshan – one of China’s leading producer of anode and cathode materials, invested in Australian spodumene producer Altura Mining, in which it currently holds a 15% stake. This strategic investment was followed up on in June of this year when the two companies announced a five-year offtake agreement to supply Shanshan’s lithium chemical plant, which is under development in Changsha, Hunan, China.",{"type":615,"attrs":125794,"content":125795},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125796],{"text":125797,"type":596},"Megafactory expansions underway",{"type":591,"attrs":125799,"content":125800},{"textAlign":49},[125801],{"text":125802,"type":596},"CATL’s investments across the supply chain will support its massive battery megafactory expansions. It’s taken the company less than a decade to build itself into the world’s leading lithium ion battery manufacturer in terms of production capacity. According to data from Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment, as it stands CATL will have 423 GWh of production capacity in 2029 based on its plans in the pipeline, extending its battery cell production dominance out through to the 2030s.",{"type":591,"attrs":125804,"content":125805},{"textAlign":49},[125806],{"text":125807,"type":596},"The company has continued to make inroads into the supply chain and in Q1 this year it was announced that it would be supplying Tesla with new prismatic LFP cells for the standard range Model 3s made in China for Chinese consumers. However, the bulk of CATL’s expansions are in China – with only one megafactory to be located overseas: its Erfurt factory in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":125809,"content":125810},{"textAlign":49},[125811],{"text":125812,"type":596},"With 12 megafactories in the pipeline, CATL will need more than just lithium and this week it was also confirmed that the company had invested CNY 2.5 billion (US $37 million) in Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co a leading battery equipment company based in China.","Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has taken a stake in lithium developer Neo Lithium as it begins its latest foray into the lithium ion supply chain in what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar spending spree. The deal sees CATL take a C8.5$million, 8% stake in Neo Lithium — which owns the Tres Quebradas Lithium […]",[125815],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125816},{"job_title":557,"image":125817,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dd6233dc-32a2-4f3b-a23a-413f5485dad5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125820],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125822,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125823,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b199b342b/bm-neo-lithium-catl.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 16, 2020",{"id":125826,"uuid":125827,"name":125828,"slug":125829,"full_slug":125830,"content":125831},112473839373293,"490d502d-9295-42a9-bce2-7fab98e426d2","China’s SRB reignites cobalt stockpiling","chinas-srb-reignites-cobalt-stockpiling","article/chinas-srb-reignites-cobalt-stockpiling",{"_uid":125832,"date":125833,"tags":125834,"editor":125836,"content":125840,"excerpt":125894,"featured":50,"reporter":125895,"_editable":125899,"component":697,"seo_title":125828,"categories":125900,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125902,"seo_description":125894,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125905},"64b8b9ac-1226-44af-8772-82e5014f6180","2020-09-11 00:00",[125835],{"slug":575,"name":576},[125837],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125838},{"job_title":557,"image":125839,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125841},[125842,125850,125858,125863,125869,125874,125879,125884,125889],{"type":591,"attrs":125843,"content":125844},{"textAlign":49},[125845,125847,125848],{"text":125846,"type":596},"China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) is undertaking a significant purchase of cobalt as the Chinese government establishes a stockpile ahead of an expected uptick in cobalt prices, according to ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":125849,"type":596},"sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":125851,"content":125852},{"textAlign":49},[125853,125855,125856],{"text":125854,"type":596},"While there has been no official confirmation, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":125857,"type":596}," understands that the tender process is ongoing and we expect purchase details, including price and volume, to be released next week.",{"type":591,"attrs":125859,"content":125860},{"textAlign":49},[125861],{"text":125862,"type":596},"The purpose of the SRB stockpiling development is driven by the needs of military and industrial applications in China. The material being purchased is unlikely to be destined for battery applications, but the decision to stockpile – which has been rumoured since the start of 2020 – will have been affected by the expectations of a tightening cobalt market, with battery consumption being key to this.",{"type":591,"attrs":125864,"content":125865},{"textAlign":49},[125866,125867],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":125868,"type":596}," is anticipating a minimum of 2,000 tonnes of cobalt metal to be purchased by the SRB, with an upper range of 5,000 tonnes. Although some estimates have stated as much as 10,000 tonnes could be acquired, Benchmark believes this is unlikely.",{"type":591,"attrs":125870,"content":125871},{"textAlign":49},[125872],{"text":125873,"type":596},"The cobalt metal market is approximately 30,000 tonnes per year — the purchase is therefore likely to represent a sizeable portion of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":125875,"content":125876},{"textAlign":49},[125877],{"text":125878,"type":596},"The rumours of SRB stockpiling have circled since the start of the year, and as such Chinese companies are believed to have stockpiled some material in anticipation.",{"type":591,"attrs":125880,"content":125881},{"textAlign":49},[125882],{"text":125883,"type":596},"Nonetheless, the decision will almost certainly impact cobalt prices in the short-term. The consequences for the medium- and long-term are, however, potentially more significant.",{"type":591,"attrs":125885,"content":125886},{"textAlign":49},[125887],{"text":125888,"type":596},"The SRB stockpiling signals to the wider cobalt market that the Chinese government expects a sustained period of market tightness and subsequent price rises. The move to build reserves will only perpetuate this trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":125890,"content":125891},{"textAlign":49},[125892],{"text":125893,"type":596},"This is not the first time the country’s state reserve bureau has bought and stockpiled cobalt. In 2014 it stockpiled 1,000 tonnes, in 2015 it stockpiled 2,250 tonnes and in 2016 it stockpiled 2,800 tonnes. The link between all of these recent cobalt stockpiling efforts is that the purchases were all taken in a low-price environment, as such this could mark a point where cobalt prices begin a sustained rise.","China’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) is undertaking a significant purchase of cobalt as the Chinese government establishes a stockpile ahead of an expected uptick in cobalt prices, according to Benchmark sources. While there has been no official confirmation, Benchmark understands that the tender process is ongoing and we expect purchase details, including price and volume, to be released […]",[125896],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125897},{"job_title":557,"image":125898,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"64b8b9ac-1226-44af-8772-82e5014f6180\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[125901],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125903,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125904,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d79c2375d/bm-14116776-67f30da8de-c.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 11, 2020",{"id":125907,"uuid":125908,"name":125909,"slug":125910,"full_slug":125911,"content":125912},112473849154560,"8c5a6e10-17ee-42ec-b109-0127a3e470c9","Battery Megafactories Europe 2020 cancelled","battery-megafactories-europe-2020-cancelled","article/battery-megafactories-europe-2020-cancelled",{"_uid":125913,"date":125914,"tags":125915,"editor":125917,"content":125921,"excerpt":125923,"featured":50,"reporter":125924,"_editable":125928,"component":697,"seo_title":125909,"categories":125929,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":125930,"seo_description":125923,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125933},"a88c8a58-90c7-4843-9fe1-d470c917b54b","2020-09-09 00:00",[125916],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[125918],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125919},{"job_title":557,"image":125920,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125922},[],"A statement from Benchmark’s Managing Director, Simon Moores: “It is with regret that we have decided to cancel our inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2020. Our team has worked tirelessly to turn an great concept into a reality, however due to continued coronavirus / COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainty with international travel, we have decided to cancel […]",[125925],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125926},{"job_title":557,"image":125927,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a88c8a58-90c7-4843-9fe1-d470c917b54b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[],{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":125931,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":125932,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/71b87171ab/bm-screenshot-2020-09-05-at-163429.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 09, 2020",{"id":125935,"uuid":125936,"name":125937,"slug":125938,"full_slug":125939,"content":125940},112473844161518,"716fb784-c441-464f-920c-0ce7848c0487","European Commission recognises lithium as critical raw material","european-commission-recognises-lithium-as-critical-raw-material","article/european-commission-recognises-lithium-as-critical-raw-material",{"_uid":125941,"date":125914,"tags":125942,"editor":125944,"content":125948,"excerpt":126012,"featured":50,"reporter":126013,"_editable":126017,"component":697,"seo_title":125937,"categories":126018,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126020,"seo_description":126012,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":125933},"cbf6869b-da69-492b-b334-69cb2ffa1fda",[125943],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[125945],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":125946},{"job_title":557,"image":125947,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":125949},[125950,125955,125960,125965,125977,125982,125987,125992,125997,126002,126007],{"type":591,"attrs":125951,"content":125952},{"textAlign":49},[125953],{"text":125954,"type":596},"In its latest review of the European Union (EU) critical raw materials list, the European Commission has included lithium as it also outlined an action plan to look at current and future challenges facing Europe’s critical minerals supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125956,"content":125957},{"textAlign":49},[125958],{"text":125959,"type":596},"The EU critical minerals list has been updated every three years since 2011, growing from 14 materials in its first iteration to 30 materials in the 2020 update. The list takes into account the economic importance and supply risk of raw materials, and lithium has now been recognised by the Commission as a critical raw material, given the role it plays in the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":125961,"content":125962},{"textAlign":49},[125963],{"text":125964,"type":596},"This recognition of lithium’s growing importance to the EU comes at a time when electric vehicle production on the continent is ramping up to meet the demands of a rapidly expanding electric vehicle market. However, while battery production increases Europe’s domestic production of lithium currently represents less than 1% of global supply according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. Benchmark’s forecast shows that Europe’s share of production is set to increase to 3% of global supply in 2025 and 9% by 2030 but the continent still needs to take major steps to improve its supply chain security.",{"type":591,"attrs":125966,"content":125967},{"textAlign":49},[125968,125970,125976],{"text":125969,"type":596},"The European Commission also announced that it would be establishing a European Raw Materials Alliance. In its first stage of the alliance, efforts will be focused on rare earths and magnets supply chain risk, but it has the potential to expand to other raw materials over time. This follows the ongoing successes of the European Battery Alliance, which has been pivotal in developing battery megafactories such as the ",{"text":125971,"type":596,"marks":125972},"twin PSA-Total plants in France and Germany",[125973],{"type":606,"attrs":125974},{"href":125975,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/total-saft-psa-europes-fourth-largest-ev-battery-producer-if-e5bn-mega-project-executes",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":125978,"content":125979},{"textAlign":49},[125980],{"text":125981,"type":596},"Discussing the latest developments Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight said: “A secure and sustainable supply of raw materials is a prerequisite for a resilient economy. For e-car batteries and energy storage alone, Europe will for instance need up to 18 times more lithium by 2030 and up to 60 times more by 2050. As our foresight shows, we cannot allow to replace current reliance on fossil fuels with dependency on critical raw materials. This has been magnified by the coronavirus disruptions in our strategic value chains. We will therefore build a strong alliance to collectively shift from high dependency to diversified, sustainable and socially-responsible sourcing, circularity and innovation”.",{"type":591,"attrs":125983,"content":125984},{"textAlign":49},[125985],{"text":125986,"type":596},"The EU also outlined an action plan on critical minerals, in which it acknowledged the importance of building domestic raw material capacity but also noted that Europe could not rely on domestic supply alone and should also look to fostering relationships with third countries.",{"type":615,"attrs":125988,"content":125989},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[125990],{"text":125991,"type":596},"Europe’s battery supply chain imbalance     ",{"type":591,"attrs":125993,"content":125994},{"textAlign":49},[125995],{"text":125996,"type":596},"The latest European efforts to shore up its raw material supply chains draws further attention to the imbalances in European supply chain security. This could not be clearer in the battery sector, into which there has been significant investment into downstream lithium ion cell production capabilities while swathes of the upstream supply chain still need funding.",{"type":591,"attrs":125998,"content":125999},{"textAlign":49},[126000],{"text":126001,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory assessment is tracking 16 European facilities in the pipeline, which will account for 16% of global battery capacity in 2029. But the continent currently has less than 1% of cathode production capacity, and only 5% of cathode projects under construction according to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":126003,"content":126004},{"textAlign":49},[126005],{"text":126006,"type":596},"Battery raw material production and processing capacity on the continent is woefully under-equipped to support any of Europe’s future battery cell demand. Less than 1% of the world’s lithium is produced in Europe and it currently has no processing capacity to produce lithium chemicals for the battery sector. There are, however, a number of battery raw material projects on the continent which will be hoping to gain further support from efforts such as the European Raw Materials Alliance. Support from the European Battery Alliance has begun to trickle into European projects. For instance, in June this year, Infinity Lithium received funding from EIT InnoEnergy – a public-private partnership supported by the European Commission – to build a pilot plant for its San Jose project in Spain.",{"type":591,"attrs":126008,"content":126009},{"textAlign":49},[126010],{"text":126011,"type":596},"To effectively support the buildout of electric vehicles on the continent both industry and government need to look upstream to raw material supply and processing. The potential for supply shortfalls and bottlenecks has already been illustrated earlier this year in Q1 when a number of OEMs reported Tier 1 battery cell shortages, highlighting how critical it is for Europe to build out its supply chain infrastructure as electric vehicle adoption increases.","In its latest review of the European Union (EU) critical raw materials list, the European Commission has included lithium as it also outlined an action plan to look at current and future challenges facing Europe’s critical minerals supply chain. The EU critical minerals list has been updated every three years since 2011, growing from 14 […]",[126014],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126015},{"job_title":557,"image":126016,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cbf6869b-da69-492b-b334-69cb2ffa1fda\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126019],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":126021,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126022,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3c66d27180/bm-maro-efovi-1-european-union-2014-european-parliament.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":126024,"uuid":126025,"name":126026,"slug":126027,"full_slug":126028,"content":126029},112473854036993,"b922219e-37ca-4d26-8420-c2065bf49a13","5G technology to expand lithium ion’s battery empire","5g-technology-to-expand-lithium-ions-battery-empire","article/5g-technology-to-expand-lithium-ions-battery-empire",{"_uid":126030,"date":126031,"tags":126032,"editor":126034,"content":126038,"excerpt":126121,"featured":50,"reporter":126122,"_editable":126126,"component":697,"seo_title":126026,"categories":126127,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126129,"seo_description":126121,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126132},"0a6da758-b18a-4033-8d5a-1151cabc96f1","2020-09-03 00:00",[126033],{"slug":575,"name":576},[126035],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126036},{"job_title":557,"image":126037,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126039},[126040,126045,126050,126055,126060,126065,126070,126075,126084,126089,126094,126106,126111,126116],{"type":591,"attrs":126041,"content":126042},{"textAlign":49},[126043],{"text":126044,"type":596},"As the global transition to 5G technology gathers pace, growth in non-EV markets has significant potential to expand across two fronts: portables and energy storage systems (ESS).",{"type":591,"attrs":126046,"content":126047},{"textAlign":49},[126048],{"text":126049,"type":596},"China in particular, which is leading the way in 5G developments, has demonstrated significant growth in not just portable device battery requirements but also the associated infrastructure which is turning to lithium ion solutions for stationary storage needs.",{"type":591,"attrs":126051,"content":126052},{"textAlign":49},[126053],{"text":126054,"type":596},"As a result, Benchmark expects a two-fold uptick in demand for lithium ion battery cells off the back off global 5G adoption: increased mobile phone battery capacity requirements, and lithium ion installations in 5G base stations.",{"type":591,"attrs":126056,"content":126057},{"textAlign":49},[126058],{"text":126059,"type":596},"While there are currently a limited number of mobile models capable of using 5G technology available on the market, Benchmark’s analysis shows that among major manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola and Huawei) the battery capacity of 5G handsets is 21% greater than 4G models. This also reflects the growing demands from consumers for improved battery life in mobile phones regardless of the 5G transition.",{"type":591,"attrs":126061,"content":126062},{"textAlign":49},[126063],{"text":126064,"type":596},"The greatest beneficiary of an increase in energy density in mobile phone batteries – and thus raw material requirements – would be LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) cathode technology. LCO is the preferred cathode of choice in the portable electronic market – with Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast showing LCO accounting for 72% of the portable electronic market in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":126066,"content":126067},{"textAlign":49},[126068],{"text":126069,"type":596},"The stability, density and available of LCO cathodes has made this the primary cathode of choice for mobile phones. However, due to the higher intensity of cobalt used in LCO cells, there is an increased cost-risk associated with the technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":126071,"content":126072},{"textAlign":49},[126073],{"text":126074,"type":596},"While lithium ion demand growth rates from portable electronics have gradually slowed since the mid-2000s, these products will remain a fundamental niche in the market and Benchmark forecasts this market to grow by 4.7% per annum for the next 10 years. The apparent greater energy requirements of 5G – combined with consumer expectations of improved battery life – will help to sustain growth in battery demand from the mobile phone market going forward.",{"type":615,"attrs":126076,"content":126077},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126078,126080,126082],{"text":126079,"type":596},"A second",{"text":126081,"type":596}," stream",{"text":126083,"type":596}," of 5G battery needs",{"type":591,"attrs":126085,"content":126086},{"textAlign":49},[126087],{"text":126088,"type":596},"Another interesting aspect of how the 5G transition is contributing to growing lithium ion demand is the surge in the use of ESS in China in 2020. The power required to operate a 5G base station is significantly greater than that of previous generations and is stretching China’s power grid — according to data from Huawei a 5G base tower consumes 70% more power than a base tower servicing a mixture of 2G/3G/4G radios.",{"type":591,"attrs":126090,"content":126091},{"textAlign":49},[126092],{"text":126093,"type":596},"With increased pressure on China’s grid, which is relatively immature and unstable, many of these base stations are being deployed with ESS. Previously much of China’s base stations used lead acid batteries in their ESS, but in the latest infrastructure buildout mobile operators are replacing these with more energy dense lithium ion batteries, which also offer a longer cycle life and lower maintenance requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":126095,"content":126096},{"textAlign":49},[126097,126099,126104],{"text":126098,"type":596},"The major cathode of choice in these systems is ",{"text":126100,"type":596,"marks":126101},"lithium iron phosphate (LFP)",[126102],{"type":606,"attrs":126103},{"href":123457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":126105,"type":596},", which has seen a resurgence in production in 2020, with 5G demand a key contributing factor.",{"type":591,"attrs":126107,"content":126108},{"textAlign":49},[126109],{"text":126110,"type":596},"The telecommunications base station market has grown rapidly through 2020 following infrastructure investment in 5G driven by the Chinese government. The first half of the year has already seen a massive buildout of base stations – according to data from its Ministry of Information Technology (MIIT) the country built 257,000 new 5G base stations in H1 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":126112,"content":126113},{"textAlign":49},[126114],{"text":126115,"type":596},"As other countries look to develop their own 5G infrastructure, China’s approach of installing storage systems at base stations could also be adopted by other countries with questionable power grids.",{"type":591,"attrs":126117,"content":126118},{"textAlign":49},[126119],{"text":126120,"type":596},"The ESS sector is often overshadowed by electric vehicles, which tend to receive more headlines because of the scale of the industry, but the demand for lithium ion stationary storage is accelerating at a much faster rate than many might expect. Demand growth rates for ESS have already overtaken EV growth rates, albeit starting from much a lower base, and Benchmark forecasts stationary storage demand to grow by 35% per annum through the 2020s.","As the global transition to 5G technology gathers pace, growth in non-EV markets has significant potential to expand across two fronts: portables and energy storage systems (ESS). China in particular, which is leading the way in 5G developments, has demonstrated significant growth in not just portable device battery requirements but also the associated infrastructure which […]",[126123],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126124},{"job_title":557,"image":126125,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0a6da758-b18a-4033-8d5a-1151cabc96f1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126128],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":126130,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126131,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/85b1cda76c/bm-huawei-5g.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 03, 2020",{"id":126134,"uuid":126135,"name":126136,"slug":126137,"full_slug":126138,"content":126139},112473863470119,"30a5d5a2-e1ac-447c-b552-f16bf1d28a92","Benchmark launches nickel industry’s first mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) price","benchmark-launches-nickel-industrys-first-mixed-hydroxide-precipitate-mhp-price","article/benchmark-launches-nickel-industrys-first-mixed-hydroxide-precipitate-mhp-price",{"_uid":126140,"date":126141,"tags":126142,"editor":126144,"content":126148,"excerpt":126339,"featured":50,"reporter":126340,"_editable":126344,"component":697,"seo_title":126136,"categories":126345,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126348,"seo_description":126339,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126351},"ac640318-2ad2-4668-ad39-f8a1a6697b1c","2020-08-25 00:00",[126143],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[126145],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126146},{"job_title":557,"image":126147,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126149},[126150,126162,126167,126172,126177,126182,126187,126192,126197,126202,126207,126212,126217,126222,126227,126232,126237,126242,126247,126252,126257,126266,126271,126276,126281,126286,126291,126296,126301,126306,126311,126318],{"type":591,"attrs":126151,"content":126152},{"textAlign":49},[126153,126155,126157,126159,126161],{"text":126154,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading price reporting agency (PRA) and market data provider for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, is excited to confirm the launch of the industry’s first ever ",{"text":126156,"type":596},"Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) ",{"text":126158,"type":596},"price as part of our ",{"text":126160,"type":596},"Nickel Price Assessment ",{"text":35543,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":126163,"content":126164},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126165],{"text":126166,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles, Head of Price Assessments, Benchmark said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":126168,"content":126169},{"textAlign":49},[126170],{"text":126171,"type":596},"“To date the nickel industry and available price data has been dominated and driven by nickel metal and stainless steel, yet the growing demand from lithium ion batteries has seen the nickel industry come to us and ask for further evolution in nickel pricing through the value chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":126173,"content":126174},{"textAlign":49},[126175],{"text":126176,"type":596},"“A true understanding of the entire lithium ion battery supply chain is central to being able to accurately assess a nickel chemical price, and this is where Benchmark is uniquely positioned as the world’s only publisher to specialise in this space. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126178,"content":126179},{"textAlign":49},[126180],{"text":126181,"type":596},"“We are proud to be able to launch this new MHP price with the nickel industry.”",{"type":591,"attrs":126183,"content":126184},{"textAlign":49},[126185],{"text":126186,"type":596},"“MHP nickel is rapidly becoming a focal point as a raw material input to the nickel chemical industry and is set to see further uptake as supply from new projects enters the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126188,"content":126189},{"textAlign":49},[126190],{"text":126191,"type":596},"“The new nickel MHP price from Benchmark will for the first time offer trusted, accurate prices for this part of a supply chain that is becoming more geared towards lithium ion batteries and electric vehicles.”",{"type":615,"attrs":126193,"content":126194},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126195],{"text":126196,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":126198,"content":126199},{"textAlign":49},[126200],{"text":126201,"type":596},"“The nickel industry is aware it has to think in lithium ion terms and has come to Benchmark for help on pricing benchmarks, data and for advice. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126203,"content":126204},{"textAlign":49},[126205],{"text":126206,"type":596},"“Our price assessment and data team have been working hard for many years now to launch new price references and benchmarks for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126208,"content":126209},{"textAlign":49},[126210],{"text":126211,"type":596},"“This new MHP nickel price reference is the latest in our suite of raw material and chemical price offerings which include lithium, cobalt, and graphite that the industry uses to negotiate contracts and for infrastructure investment. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126213,"content":126214},{"textAlign":49},[126215],{"text":126216,"type":596},"“Caspar is leading this team into a new era as we hire new members, expand into new jurisdictions and launch new price references as the world’s number one publisher in this industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126218,"content":126219},{"textAlign":49},[126220],{"text":126221,"type":596},"“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with this fantastic industry to develop these new price mechanisms that are key to a maturing and evolving EV supply chain. ",{"type":615,"attrs":126223,"content":126224},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126225],{"text":126226,"type":596},"What is MHP?",{"type":591,"attrs":126228,"content":126229},{"textAlign":49},[126230],{"text":126231,"type":596},"Mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) is an intermediate product of nickel metallurgy derived from laterite ores, which contains both nickel (typically 34-55% Ni content) and a small amount of cobalt (typically 1-4.5% Co content). ",{"type":591,"attrs":126233,"content":126234},{"textAlign":49},[126235],{"text":126236,"type":596},"The intermediate is produced primarily at operations that utilise high pressure acid leach (HPAL) to extract nickel and cobalt from low-grade laterite ores.",{"type":615,"attrs":126238,"content":126239},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126240],{"text":126241,"type":596},"How is Benchmark’s MHP Nickel priced?",{"type":591,"attrs":126243,"content":126244},{"textAlign":49},[126245],{"text":126246,"type":596},"The nickel content within MHP is calculated as a payable to a metal price – which in the case of MHP is the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash settled nickel price. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126248,"content":126249},{"textAlign":49},[126250],{"text":126251,"type":596},"Benchmark will be publishing a monthly payable range collected directly from transactions between buyers and sellers in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":126253,"content":126254},{"textAlign":49},[126255],{"text":126256,"type":596},"The payable will be calculated using a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) Asia incoterm, which represents the most widely used delivered price in the market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126258,"content":126259},{"textAlign":49},[126260,126264],{"text":126261,"type":596,"marks":126262},"Subscribe to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment and view our MHP Prices Today – email: info@benchmarkminerals.com",[126263],{"type":1006},{"text":126265,"type":596},"more",{"type":615,"attrs":126267,"content":126268},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126269],{"text":126270,"type":596},"Crucial to a growing lithium ion battery and electric vehicle industry ",{"type":591,"attrs":126272,"content":126273},{"textAlign":49},[126274],{"text":126275,"type":596},"Nickel demand from lithium ion batteries set to scale rapidly over the next 10 years with Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast shows lithium ion battery’s share of total nickel demand will increase from 2.3% in 2020 to 30%. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126277,"content":126278},{"textAlign":49},[126279],{"text":126280,"type":596},"Trusted price data from Benchmark is crucial to scaling this supply chain and giving additional confidence to an opaque nickel chemical market. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126282,"content":126283},{"textAlign":49},[126284],{"text":126285,"type":596},"The intermediate is quickly becoming the preferred raw material feedstock for the battery supply chain as opposed to traditional nickel metal, due to its lower cost and the significant growth in available supply expected over the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":126287,"content":126288},{"textAlign":49},[126289],{"text":126290,"type":596},"Indeed, as the industry transitions towards more nickel intensive chemistries (NCM 811 / NCA), and cell production costs move ever closer towards the $100/KWh target as the tier one lithium ion battery average, raw materials become a larger percentage of the cell costs, nickel especially. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126292,"content":126293},{"textAlign":49},[126294],{"text":126295,"type":596},"The security of long term nickel supply is becoming an increasingly acute issue for cell producers and automakers alike and managing both supply and price is key to the success of all battery or EV producers. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126297,"content":126298},{"textAlign":49},[126299],{"text":126300,"type":596},"Whilst there are relatively few producers selling MHP directly into the market today, the majority of new nickel HPAL operations, primarily located in Indonesia, are targeting production of this intermediate product, and these plants will play a central role in supplying the growing demand for nickel from the battery industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126302,"content":126303},{"textAlign":49},[126304],{"text":126305,"type":596},"However, the use of MHP is not without complications. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126307,"content":126308},{"textAlign":49},[126309],{"text":126310,"type":596},"Environmental issues associated with HPAL operations is of major concern for stakeholders in the supply chain particularly at plants which utilise deep-sea tailings as a means of waste disposal. ",{"type":591,"attrs":126312,"content":126313},{"textAlign":49},[126314,126316],{"text":126315,"type":596},"A spill at the Ramu ",{"text":126317,"type":596},"plant in Papua New Guinea last year drew the attention of many end-users to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks linked to the processing of MHP.",{"type":591,"attrs":126319,"content":126320},{"textAlign":49},[126321,126325,126330,126334],{"text":126322,"type":596,"marks":126323},"For further information or to subscribe to the Benchmark Minerals Nickel Price Assessment, or for any questions relating to the new MHP price please contact ",[126324],{"type":1006},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":126326},[126327,126329],{"type":606,"attrs":126328},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":126331,"type":596,"marks":126332}," or fill out this ",[126333],{"type":1006},{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":126335},[126336,126338],{"type":606,"attrs":126337},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading price reporting agency (PRA) and market data provider for the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, is excited to confirm the launch of the industry’s first ever Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) price as part of our Nickel Price Assessment service. Caspar Rawles, Head of Price Assessments, Benchmark […]",[126341],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126342},{"job_title":557,"image":126343,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ac640318-2ad2-4668-ad39-f8a1a6697b1c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126346,126347],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":126349,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126350,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f310c5ab90/bm-benchmark-minerals-logo.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 25, 2020",{"id":126353,"uuid":126354,"name":126355,"slug":126356,"full_slug":126357,"content":126358},112473868823673,"a3a9823a-3408-4449-98f7-4f2035319533","Glencore joins new DR Congo cobalt alliance focused on artisanal formalisation","glencore-joins-new-dr-congo-cobalt-alliance-focused-on-artisanal-formalisation","article/glencore-joins-new-dr-congo-cobalt-alliance-focused-on-artisanal-formalisation",{"_uid":126359,"date":126360,"tags":126361,"editor":126362,"content":126366,"excerpt":126433,"featured":50,"reporter":126434,"_editable":126438,"component":697,"seo_title":126355,"categories":126439,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126441,"seo_description":126433,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126443},"6e232644-c745-4828-935c-db637a524c8e","2020-08-24 00:00",[],[126363],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126364},{"job_title":557,"image":126365,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126367},[126368,126373,126378,126383,126388,126393,126398,126403,126408,126413,126418,126423,126428],{"type":591,"attrs":126369,"content":126370},{"textAlign":49},[126371],{"text":126372,"type":596},"Glencore has joined a new cobalt alliance which is focused on improving responsible mining practices and formalising the artisanal mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).",{"type":591,"attrs":126374,"content":126375},{"textAlign":49},[126376],{"text":126377,"type":596},"As the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, Glencore has joined Fairphone, Signify, The Impact Facility  and Huayou Cobalt—China’s largest cobalt refiner—in supporting the Fair Cobalt Alliance (FCA). The Responsible Cobalt Initiative (RCI), Sono Motors and Lifesaver will also join the FCA alongside Glencore.",{"type":591,"attrs":126379,"content":126380},{"textAlign":49},[126381],{"text":126382,"type":596},"The alliance looks to end forced and child labour, formalise artisanal and small-scale mine (ASM) sites, reduce other harmful practices and alleviate poverty in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":126384,"content":126385},{"textAlign":49},[126386],{"text":126387,"type":596},"“Responsible industrial and artisanal mining both play a critical role in the DRC’s economy, as well as providing consumers with the battery minerals needed to power a greener economy,” said David Brocas, Head of Cobalt Marketing and Trading at Glencore, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Cobalt Institute.",{"type":591,"attrs":126389,"content":126390},{"textAlign":49},[126391],{"text":126392,"type":596},"He added: “The FCA is a vehicle for businesses all along the supply chain to collaborate with the DRC government and civil society to transform the artisanal mining sector into a source of fair, safe and responsibly mined cobalt. FCA’s work on the ground complements the efforts of the cobalt industry in implementing the CIRAF (Cobalt Industry Risk Assessment Framework) programme developed by the Cobalt Institute, and the Responsible Minerals Initiative Cobalt Refiner Supply Chain Due Diligence Standard.”",{"type":591,"attrs":126394,"content":126395},{"textAlign":49},[126396],{"text":126397,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Head of Price Assessments Caspar Rawles commented on the announcement “The addition of Glencore and the other new members to the FCA is a major milestone in the growth of the alliance, furthermore it could be a key step for the acceptance of traceable artisanal cobalt in the supply chain. With Glencore’s experience in the region, alongside its large downstream customer base composed of major players, this could help boost wider acceptance by the downstream supply chain of this new formalised artisanal sector—something which has been a point of concern for the industry to date”",{"type":591,"attrs":126399,"content":126400},{"textAlign":49},[126401],{"text":126402,"type":596},"The DRC is critical to the cobalt supply chain, as Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast shows that it produced 74% of the world’s mined supply of cobalt in 2019. Although cobalt’s artisanal mining sector gathers significant headlines, Benchmark estimates that currently over 85% of the DRC’s cobalt production comes from non-artisanal sources and that artisanal cobalt from the DRC represents less than 10% of the world’s supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":126404,"content":126405},{"textAlign":49},[126406],{"text":126407,"type":596},"Nonetheless, concerns surrounding the ethical supply of artisanal cobalt have driven initiatives such as the FCA and the World Economic Forum’s Global Battery Alliance into working with the ASM sector in the DRC to develop improved practices.",{"type":591,"attrs":126409,"content":126410},{"textAlign":49},[126411],{"text":126412,"type":596},"These concerns are shared by stakeholders from across the supply chain as headlines continue to shine a light on this small but damaging sector of the industry. A lawsuit in December 2019 saw downstream companies such as Apple, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Dell and Tesla sued by the human rights group International Rights Advocates on behalf of families of impacted children in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":126414,"content":126415},{"textAlign":49},[126416],{"text":126417,"type":596},"As the world’s leading producer of cobalt, Glencore’s support is a boost for the FCA and also reflects wider efforts from the industry to clean up the cobalt supply chain. Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast shows that last year the company produced 33% of the world’s supply —46,300 tonnes of cobalt — the majority of which came from its Katanga and the now suspended Mutanda mining operation in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":126419,"content":126420},{"textAlign":49},[126421],{"text":126422,"type":596},"While artisanal cobalt currently accounts for less than 10% of global supply, its share of production typically correlates with cobalt prices. With Benchmark’s Cobalt hydroxide (100% Co contained basis), CIF Asia, USD/tonne prices down by over 70% from April 2018 peaks to date, cobalt’s current low-price environment has seen the share of artisanal production decrease.",{"type":591,"attrs":126424,"content":126425},{"textAlign":49},[126426],{"text":126427,"type":596},"However, with a looming deficit forecasted in the cobalt market by Benchmark from 2022 onwards, this shortfall is likely going to see the industry move to a higher price environment in 2021. Higher prices are typically associated with an increase in migratory artisanal workers looking to capitalise on the rising market.",{"type":591,"attrs":126429,"content":126430},{"textAlign":49},[126431],{"text":126432,"type":596},"It is therefore an opportune moment for continued efforts from the cobalt supply chain to focus on improving and reforming aspects of the ASM sector now before another boom in artisanal production, with a shortage of cobalt supply expected through the 2020s.","Glencore has joined a new cobalt alliance which is focused on improving responsible mining practices and formalising the artisanal mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, Glencore has joined Fairphone, Signify, The Impact Facility and Huayou Cobalt—China’s largest cobalt refiner—in supporting the Fair Cobalt Alliance […]",[126435],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126436},{"job_title":557,"image":126437,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6e232644-c745-4828-935c-db637a524c8e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126440],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77216,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126442,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 24, 2020",{"id":126445,"uuid":126446,"name":126447,"slug":126448,"full_slug":126449,"content":126450},112473873493114,"cc79544f-a5a0-4979-a80c-a6b1b89c149f","SQM’s regulatory saga continues as further scrutiny of Atacama operations expected","sqms-regulatory-saga-continues-as-further-scrutiny-of-atacama-operations-expected","article/sqms-regulatory-saga-continues-as-further-scrutiny-of-atacama-operations-expected",{"_uid":126451,"date":126452,"tags":126453,"editor":126454,"content":126458,"excerpt":126535,"featured":50,"reporter":126536,"_editable":126540,"component":697,"seo_title":126447,"categories":126541,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126543,"seo_description":126535,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126545},"a7100c5d-0e7c-44d9-a796-c8fdd333803c","2020-08-20 00:00",[],[126455],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126456},{"job_title":557,"image":126457,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126459},[126460,126465,126470,126475,126480,126485,126490,126495,126500,126505,126510,126515,126520,126525,126530],{"type":591,"attrs":126461,"content":126462},{"textAlign":49},[126463],{"text":126464,"type":596},"SQM’s regulatory problems have re-emerged as Chile’s Environmental Superintendent (SMA) withdrew from the legal actions at the country’s supreme court to defend SQM’s $25 million environmental compliance plan, in order to pursue a for a more comprehensive initiative.",{"type":591,"attrs":126466,"content":126467},{"textAlign":49},[126468],{"text":126469,"type":596},"The SMA had initially accepted SQM’s plan in December 2019 but this was blocked by the regional First Environmental Court of Antofagasta. In response the SMA had announced plans to defend SQM’s compliance plan in the country’s supreme court. However, the SMA’s latest decision sees it renege on its previous stance, forcing SQM back to the drawing board.",{"type":591,"attrs":126471,"content":126472},{"textAlign":49},[126473],{"text":126474,"type":596},"SQM has plans in place to expand its operations in the Atacama, which Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows 55,400 tonnes of production in 2019, from 70,000 tonnes nameplate capacity to 120,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.",{"type":591,"attrs":126476,"content":126477},{"textAlign":49},[126478],{"text":126479,"type":596},"The company had been targeting completion of these expansions in H2 2021, but with the latest developments we expect the timelines of these expansions to be further delayed. Benchmark does not expect SQM’s current production to be affected by the decision.",{"type":591,"attrs":126481,"content":126482},{"textAlign":49},[126483],{"text":126484,"type":596},"Discussing the SMA’s decision and what that means for SQM, Benchmark’s Jose Hofer, Senior Analyst – Forecasting, based in Santiago, explained: “A stricter compliance plan might trigger new enforcement actions for SQM, but only to Salar de Atacama operations. However, the bottleneck today for the expansions lies in the chemical plant in Salar del Carmen, closer to Antofagasta. The reason behind that is the way lithium chloride production has been set up in Salar de Atacama. Today SQM continues to expand capacity in Salar del Carmen in line with a more aggressive strategy despite current market conditions.”",{"type":591,"attrs":126486,"content":126487},{"textAlign":49},[126488],{"text":126489,"type":596},"Hofer added, “the permit to ramp up capacity to 180,000 tpa in Salar del Carmen was approved in 2019, which is quite positive. However, the Chilean environmental regulator is becoming increasingly strict. Not only in terms of enforcement, but in terms of granting new permits. The withdrawal from the legal actions at the supreme court by the SMA also involves the participation of new government actors and the review of environmental compliance plans by other mining operations in the region.”",{"type":615,"attrs":126491,"content":126492},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126493],{"text":126494,"type":596},"Chile’s difficult regulatory environment",{"type":591,"attrs":126496,"content":126497},{"textAlign":49},[126498],{"text":126499,"type":596},"The latest decision from the SMA reflects the historical regulatory difficulties which have affected both SQM and Albemarle’s expansion plans in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":126501,"content":126502},{"textAlign":49},[126503],{"text":126504,"type":596},"Prior to SQM’s environmental dispute with the SMA it had been involved in a dispute with state development agency Corfo over lease payment fees. SQM and Corfo had been engaged in arbitration proceedings from Q2 2014 until January 2018, during which time SQM could not increase its production quota, ultimately limiting its expansion plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":126506,"content":126507},{"textAlign":49},[126508],{"text":126509,"type":596},"Albemarle has also previously clashed with Corfo, beginning in July 2018, over domestic pricing outlined in the terms of Albemarle’s 2016 expansion agreement with the agency. The two parties agreed a deal in January 2019, which saw them ultimately avoid arbitration, but the dispute saw Albemarle’s expansion plans temporarily put on hold.",{"type":591,"attrs":126511,"content":126512},{"textAlign":49},[126513],{"text":126514,"type":596},"Chilean lithium from the Atacama remains low-cost, but the political and regulatory uncertainty outlined above has slowed Chilean brine expansions while supply diversification into hard rock sources elsewhere has grown. There have been expansions for both brine and hard rock projects, most of this growth has come from hard rock production, which saw Australia’s production increase by 2.7x between 2015 and 2019 compared with Chile’s, which grew by 1.4x as shown in Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":615,"attrs":126516,"content":126517},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126518],{"text":126519,"type":596},"The Atacama’s environmental question",{"type":591,"attrs":126521,"content":126522},{"textAlign":49},[126523],{"text":126524,"type":596},"The SMA’s decision could be viewed as a victory by the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta, however, Benchmark understands it represents a wider effort from the SMA to build a comprehensive plan, in collaboration with other government agencies, to focus on operations of other raw material producers in the Atacama. The decision will therefore also likely see Albemarle face increased scrutiny, as the other lithium major operating in the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":126526,"content":126527},{"textAlign":49},[126528],{"text":126529,"type":596},"SQM’s environmental battle has been ongoing since 2016, when the company was sanctioned for environmental infringements relating to brine-flow at its operations in the Atacama. Since then the company has been working on its now-rejected $25 million compliance plan. The plan proposed a number of additional responsibilities for SQM, including increasing its hydrogeological monitoring systems and wells and bringing in to play a remediation plan.",{"type":591,"attrs":126531,"content":126532},{"textAlign":49},[126533],{"text":126534,"type":596},"Away from Chile’s regulatory agencies, there is a wider focus on sustainability in the battery supply chains from OEMs — as illustrated by Elon Musk’s recent plea for environmentally sensitive nickel. Major OEMs’ sustainability concerns also extend to water usage in the Atacama as in Q1 this year it was reported that German automakers Daimler and Volkswagen had launched studies looking into the sustainability of lithium mining in Chile.","SQM’s regulatory problems have re-emerged as Chile’s Environmental Superintendent (SMA) withdrew from the legal actions at the country’s supreme court to defend SQM’s $25 million environmental compliance plan, in order to pursue a for a more comprehensive initiative. The SMA had initially accepted SQM’s plan in December 2019 but this was blocked by the regional […]",[126537],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126538},{"job_title":557,"image":126539,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a7100c5d-0e7c-44d9-a796-c8fdd333803c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126542],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":49678,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126544,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 20, 2020",{"id":126547,"uuid":126548,"name":126549,"slug":126550,"full_slug":126551,"content":126552},112473878228108,"973da3b5-0487-4043-b22a-fd0c3bfd71f7","LFP’s resurgence illustrates the nuances of the electric vehicle supply chain","lfps-resurgence-illustrates-the-nuances-of-the-electric-vehicle-supply-chain","article/lfps-resurgence-illustrates-the-nuances-of-the-electric-vehicle-supply-chain",{"_uid":126553,"date":126554,"tags":126555,"editor":126557,"content":126561,"excerpt":126673,"featured":50,"reporter":126674,"_editable":126678,"component":697,"seo_title":126549,"categories":126679,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126681,"seo_description":126673,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126684},"8aab5006-633c-4030-b007-133e5d93e32f","2020-08-19 00:00",[126556],{"slug":4345,"name":451},[126558],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126559},{"job_title":557,"image":126560,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126562},[126563,126568,126573,126578,126583,126588,126593,126598,126603,126608,126613,126618,126623,126628,126633,126638,126643,126648,126653,126658,126663,126668],{"type":591,"attrs":126564,"content":126565},{"textAlign":49},[126566],{"text":126567,"type":596},"In 2020 there seems to have been a resurgence of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in the battery supply chain. So, why is this and what are the implications for raw materials?",{"type":591,"attrs":126569,"content":126570},{"textAlign":49},[126571],{"text":126572,"type":596},"Firstly, we should note that LFP never went away. According to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, production of LFP cathodes has increased 8.1x between 2013 and 2019. Overall, this level of growth is comparable to that of NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode materials, production of which has increased by 9.2x over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":126574,"content":126575},{"textAlign":49},[126576],{"text":126577,"type":596},"The majority of growth for NCM has come from NCM 622 and 811 chemistries, both of which have a smaller market share than LFP. In fact, last year only NCM 523 production reached the levels of LFP. Between 2013 and 2019 LFP’s share of total cathode material production increased from approximately 13% to 18% in 2019, although it had peaked above 22% in 2016 and 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":126579,"content":126580},{"textAlign":49},[126581],{"text":126582,"type":596},"For the past couple of years LFP may have been overshadowed by increases in current and future NCA and NCM 811 cathode capacity, but in volume terms LFP production has benefited from tailwinds that will be key in the ascendancy of EVs globally: adoption in heavy-duty vehicles and less range-conscious passenger vehicle markets.",{"type":615,"attrs":126584,"content":126585},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126586],{"text":126587,"type":596},"LFP’s mainstream moment",{"type":591,"attrs":126589,"content":126590},{"textAlign":49},[126591],{"text":126592,"type":596},"In addition to these mainstays in demand, the narrative around LFP received a major boost in February when Tesla confirmed that it would be using CATL’s cells LFP cells in its standard range model 3s in the Chinese domestic market. The announcement that Volkswagen was taking a share in Guoxuan/Gotion High Tech at the end of May also boosted prospects with LFP the leading input to Gotion’s production capabilities, with comparably limited NCM capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":126594,"content":126595},{"textAlign":49},[126596],{"text":126597,"type":596},"While pressures to work with domestic suppliers in China may have guided Tesla’s partnership with CATL, the technological improvements to increase energy density have been attributed as the driving factor behind an LFP offering.",{"type":591,"attrs":126599,"content":126600},{"textAlign":49},[126601],{"text":126602,"type":596},"Elon Musk noted this in Tesla’s recent earnings call, in which he said “our total vehicle efficiency has gotten good enough with Model 3, for example, that we actually are comfortable having an iron phosphate [LFP] battery pack in Model 3 in China.”",{"type":591,"attrs":126604,"content":126605},{"textAlign":49},[126606],{"text":126607,"type":596},"While there have been improvements at the cathode level, wider technological improvements across the battery cell, at the pack and other improvements in the electric vehicle have increased LFP’s overall range, and Musk explained that Tesla could be “getting a range of almost 300 miles with an iron phosphate pack, taking into account a whole bunch of powertrain and other vehicle efficiencies.”",{"type":591,"attrs":126609,"content":126610},{"textAlign":49},[126611],{"text":126612,"type":596},"The wider improvements available with LFP, such as the possibility of cell-to-pack technology, has moved the technology closer to the ranges offered by NCM 523 and 622 at the battery pack level.",{"type":591,"attrs":126614,"content":126615},{"textAlign":49},[126616],{"text":126617,"type":596},"While technological improvements have made LFP more attractive to Western OEMs operating in China, it is the Chinese domestic market which remains the most appropriate region for LFP technology in passenger electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":126619,"content":126620},{"textAlign":49},[126621],{"text":126622,"type":596},"Chinese consumers are seemingly less range-conscious than their European and Northern American counterparts, which have much more established expectations on how far a passenger vehicle should travel, thus the lower-priced, but also lower-range, passenger EVs using LFP are less likely to put off a Chinese consumer than a Western one. Similarly, LFP will also fit well into other non-Western markets, such as India, with different range expectations and a higher proportion of two-wheelers.",{"type":615,"attrs":126624,"content":126625},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126626],{"text":126627,"type":596},"LFP in Western markets",{"type":591,"attrs":126629,"content":126630},{"textAlign":49},[126631],{"text":126632,"type":596},"Currently, the prospect for LFP to make indents into Western EV markets is low. OEMs in North America and Europe remain focused on using high nickel cathode improvements to deliver higher energy density for passenger EVs than is offered by NCM 523/622 technologies. In turn, cathode producers are aligning their expansion plans to meet OEMs’ plans. Western OEMs also have a particularly long lead time that would need to be followed for qualification of different technologies and materials, which also makes it less likely for these OEMs to change tack in the near future.",{"type":591,"attrs":126634,"content":126635},{"textAlign":49},[126636],{"text":126637,"type":596},"However, with LFP’s technological improvements and the opening up of its associated patents, there may be an opportunity for higher quality cathode producers to compete in part of Western markets that would be serviced by NCM 523/622 technologies and ex-EV applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":126639,"content":126640},{"textAlign":49},[126641],{"text":126642,"type":596},"LFP has a lot of potential in the use in heavy duty and electric bus applications, which don’t have the same power and kWh-to-weight requirements as passenger EVs, while the cost is more of an issue — both of which LFP caters for well. This is already playing out, as this August German company Trailer Dynamics signed a supply contract with CATL for LFP batteries to be used in its Newton eTrailer semi, which will be launched in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":126644,"content":126645},{"textAlign":49},[126646],{"text":126647,"type":596},"While LFP might not develop to take a large share of the passenger EV market in Europe, it will likely feature in EU vehicles at some stage in the future, particularly in the low-budget end of the passenger market. As the EV market grows, between them European automakers will offer hundreds of different models and it would be naïve to expect only one cell technology to be used.",{"type":615,"attrs":126649,"content":126650},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126651],{"text":126652,"type":596},"What does LFP’s resurgence mean for raw materials?",{"type":591,"attrs":126654,"content":126655},{"textAlign":49},[126656],{"text":126657,"type":596},"While the resurgence of LFP is not about the price of lithium, the technology’s resurgence holds a number of implications for raw materials markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":126659,"content":126660},{"textAlign":49},[126661],{"text":126662,"type":596},"With lithium hydroxide forecast to take a greater share from the increased demand of high nickel cathode technologies, lithium carbonate’s market share is set to steadily decline. However, in absolute terms demand for carbonate will continue to grow and LFP’s input will be critical to this as Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows demand for carbonate from LFP is to increase by 3.5x between 2020 and 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":126664,"content":126665},{"textAlign":49},[126666],{"text":126667,"type":596},"The lower cost of LFP is tied to low input costs of iron and phosphate as raw materials, which when comparted to its NCM cousin — reliant on nickel and cobalt — which gives LFP its fundamental cost advantage.",{"type":591,"attrs":126669,"content":126670},{"textAlign":49},[126671],{"text":126672,"type":596},"Growing demand for LFP also implications for anode materials, as typically higher natural graphite intensity anodes are paired with LFP cathodes.","In 2020 there seems to have been a resurgence of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in the battery supply chain. So, why is this and what are the implications for raw materials? Firstly, we should note that LFP never went away. According to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, production of LFP cathodes has increased 8.1x between […]",[126675],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126676},{"job_title":557,"image":126677,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8aab5006-633c-4030-b007-133e5d93e32f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[126680],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":126682,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126683,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/11fda42d40/bm-gse-15.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 19, 2020",{"id":126686,"uuid":126687,"name":126688,"slug":126689,"full_slug":126690,"content":126691},112473883057294,"18467fa7-07e0-496a-bc28-fece3da50224","Benchmark Events Schedule 2020/2021","benchmark-events-schedule-2020-2021","article/benchmark-events-schedule-2020-2021",{"_uid":126692,"date":126693,"tags":126694,"editor":126696,"content":126700,"excerpt":126946,"featured":50,"reporter":126947,"_editable":126951,"component":697,"seo_title":126688,"categories":126952,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":126953,"seo_description":126946,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":126956},"9e80eb11-69e1-4dec-a588-aac176a0c004","2020-08-14 00:00",[126695],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[126697],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126698},{"job_title":557,"image":126699,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126701},[126702,126709,126714,126725,126732,126737,126748,126762,126772,126777,126782,126792,126803,126810,126823,126828,126833,126838,126843,126848,126853,126861,126866,126871,126876,126884,126888,126893,126898,126903,126908,126913,126918,126923,126928,126932,126937,126942],{"type":591,"attrs":126703,"content":126704},{"textAlign":49},[126705],{"text":126706,"type":596,"marks":126707},"Updated 11 September. ",[126708],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":126710,"content":126711},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126712],{"text":126713,"type":596},"AUGUST 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":126715,"content":126716},{"textAlign":49},[126717,126723],{"text":126718,"type":596,"marks":126719},"Join the webinar here",[126720],{"type":606,"attrs":126721},{"href":126722,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WULa05poS_yuwODO07dsyw",{"text":126724,"type":596},".  A high value, speciality chemical, HPA has flown under the lithium ion battery radar yet is a critical chemical used to coat separators. This webinar will explore the similarities and differences of HPA with other speciality chemicals for lithium ion batteries such as lithium and cobalt and its growth potential in this new lithium ion economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":126726,"content":126727},{"textAlign":49},[126728,126730],{"text":126729,"type":596},"Confirmed Speakers:",{"text":126731,"type":596}," Roland Hill – FYI Resources, Simon Moores & James Clark of Benchmark. To join as a speaker email Ben Ash – bash@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":615,"attrs":126733,"content":126734},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126735],{"text":126736,"type":596},"SEPTEMBER 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":126738,"content":126739},{"textAlign":49},[126740,126746],{"text":126741,"type":596,"marks":126742},"Join the webinar here.",[126743],{"type":606,"attrs":126744},{"href":126745,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AbmYUGPOTHiFHfcWveLWHQ",{"text":126747,"type":596}," Listen to Benchmark’s analysts and guest speakers dissect the nickel to cathode to lithium ion battery supply chain. To join as a speaker email Ben Ash – bash@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":126749,"content":126750},{"textAlign":49},[126751,126756,126758],{"text":126718,"type":596,"marks":126752},[126753],{"type":606,"attrs":126754},{"href":126755,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wSStlp_GSbS9pK8kVwigaw",{"text":126757,"type":596}," // The Benchmark Battery Day will be a discussion on Tesla’s long anticipated Battery Day featuring Benchmark’s world class analysts and special guests. This webinar will focus on the supply chain, opportunities and innovation in battery recycling and environmental, social & governance developments. ",{"text":126759,"type":596,"marks":126760},"To join as a speaker email info@benchmarkminerals.com",[126761],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":126763,"content":126764},{"textAlign":49},[126765,126770],{"text":126718,"type":596,"marks":126766},[126767],{"type":606,"attrs":126768},{"href":126769,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FDx3RvoLR1yww01JyKRTqQ",{"text":126771,"type":596}," // The Benchmark Battery Day will be a discussion on Tesla’s long anticipated Battery Day featuring Benchmark’s world class analysts and special guests. This webinar will be feature reactions from Tesla’s Battery Day and what it means for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":126773,"content":126774},{"textAlign":49},[126775],{"text":126776,"type":596},"The session chair will be Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark with analysis and reaction from Benchmark’s Andrew Miller, Product Director ; Vivas Kumar, Principal, & Caspar Rawles, Head of Price Assessments & Data.",{"type":615,"attrs":126778,"content":126779},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126780],{"text":126781,"type":596},"OCTOBER 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":126783,"content":126784},{"textAlign":49},[126785,126790],{"text":126718,"type":596,"marks":126786},[126787],{"type":606,"attrs":126788},{"href":126789,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_98yed-M9TCm-fOSSrxAP8w",{"text":126791,"type":596}," // Benchmark is launching a new initiative – Battery Megafactories UK, a in-person conference for 2021 bringing together government and industry to build a domestic lithium ion economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":126793,"content":126794},{"textAlign":49},[126795,126801],{"text":126796,"type":596,"marks":126797},"Join the webinar her",[126798],{"type":606,"attrs":126799},{"href":126800,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xr2xRCYyQtCISXmDnmzw6w",{"text":126802,"type":596},"e // Benchmark’s annual summit in Washington DC will this year take place online. Bringing together stakeholders in the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle and energy storage supply chains and US government representatives. To join as a speaker email info@benchmarkminerals.com. Join the webinar.",{"type":591,"attrs":126804,"content":126805},{"textAlign":49},[126806,126808],{"text":126807,"type":596},"Keynote Speakers: ",{"text":126809,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark; More TBA",{"type":591,"attrs":126811,"content":126812},{"textAlign":49},[126813,126815,126817,126819,126821],{"text":126814,"type":596},"Industry Speakers:",{"text":126816,"type":596},"\nUrbix Resources – Nico Cuevas Gomez, Executive Chairmand & Co-Founder",{"text":126818,"type":596},"\nPiedmont Lithium – Keith Phillips, Managing Director",{"text":126820,"type":596},"\nioneer – Bernard Rowe, Managing Director",{"text":126822,"type":596},"\nStandard Lithium – Robert Mintak, CEO & Director",{"type":615,"attrs":126824,"content":126825},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126826],{"text":126827,"type":596},"NOVEMBER 2020",{"type":615,"attrs":126829,"content":126830},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126831],{"text":126832,"type":596},"DECEMBER 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":126834,"content":126835},{"textAlign":49},[126836],{"text":126837,"type":596},"Join Europe’s first ever commercial conference on the rise of the lithium ion battery megafactories on the continent. Email info@benchmarkminerals.com for more",{"type":615,"attrs":126839,"content":126840},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126841],{"text":126842,"type":596},"JANUARY 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126844,"content":126845},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126846],{"text":126847,"type":596},"FEBRUARY 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126849,"content":126850},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126851],{"text":126852,"type":596},"MARCH 2021",{"type":591,"attrs":126854,"content":126855},{"textAlign":49},[126856],{"text":126857,"type":596,"marks":126858},"Join the launch webinar on Tuesday 13 October here for free. ",[126859],{"type":606,"attrs":126860},{"href":126789,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":615,"attrs":126862,"content":126863},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126864],{"text":126865,"type":596},"APRIL 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126867,"content":126868},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126869],{"text":126870,"type":596},"MAY 2021",{"type":591,"attrs":126872,"content":126873},{"textAlign":49},[126874],{"text":126875,"type":596},"Register your interest in attending and sponsoring – email info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":126877,"content":126878},{"textAlign":49},[126879],{"text":126880,"type":596,"marks":126881},"Join the 2020 webinar for free here.",[126882],{"type":606,"attrs":126883},{"href":126800,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":126885,"content":126886},{"textAlign":49},[126887],{"text":126875,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":126889,"content":126890},{"textAlign":49},[126891],{"text":126892,"type":596},"Register your interest in sponsoring – email info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":615,"attrs":126894,"content":126895},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126896],{"text":126897,"type":596},"JUNE 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126899,"content":126900},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126901],{"text":126902,"type":596},"JULY 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126904,"content":126905},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126906],{"text":126907,"type":596},"AUGUST 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126909,"content":126910},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126911],{"text":126912,"type":596},"SEPTEMBER 2021",{"type":591,"attrs":126914,"content":126915},{"textAlign":49},[126916],{"text":126917,"type":596},"Register your interest in speaking or sponsoring – email info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":615,"attrs":126919,"content":126920},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[126921],{"text":126922,"type":596},"OCTOBER 2021",{"type":615,"attrs":126924,"content":126925},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126926],{"text":126927,"type":596},"NOVEMBER 2021",{"type":591,"attrs":126929,"content":126930},{"textAlign":49},[126931],{"text":126917,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":126933,"content":126934},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[126935],{"text":126936,"type":596},"DECEMBER 2021",{"type":591,"attrs":126938,"content":126939},{"textAlign":49},[126940],{"text":126941,"type":596},"Register your interest in being a host city / hosting field trips to your operations, email info@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":591,"attrs":126943,"content":126944},{"textAlign":49},[126945],{"text":126917,"type":596},"Updated 11 September. Please note if any event changes we will give at least 60 days notice. We appreciate your continued support and understanding, especially during these pandemic times. If you would like to attend any events as a delegate, please email info@benchmarkminerals.com If you would like to speak or sponsor at any of our […]",[126948],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126949},{"job_title":557,"image":126950,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9e80eb11-69e1-4dec-a588-aac176a0c004\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[],{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":126954,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":126955,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e340ac5392/bm-events-set-up.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 14, 2020",{"id":126958,"uuid":126959,"name":126960,"slug":126961,"full_slug":126962,"content":126963},112473903209752,"63571f72-7cae-4a19-a99b-5fa0e98b814a","China to promote electric vehicles in rural markets as it looks for further to boost electric vehicle industry","china-to-promote-electric-vehicled-to-rural-markets-as-it-looks-for-further-to-boost-electric-vehicle-industry","article/china-to-promote-electric-vehicled-to-rural-markets-as-it-looks-for-further-to-boost-electric-vehicle-industry",{"_uid":126964,"date":126965,"tags":126966,"editor":126968,"content":126972,"excerpt":127024,"featured":50,"reporter":127025,"_editable":127029,"component":697,"seo_title":126960,"categories":127030,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127033,"seo_description":127024,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127035},"e11aedab-ad55-4585-b6b3-9cb0062eb682","2020-07-24 00:00",[126967],{"slug":575,"name":576},[126969],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":126970},{"job_title":557,"image":126971,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":126973},[126974,126979,126984,126989,126994,126999,127004,127009,127014,127019],{"type":591,"attrs":126975,"content":126976},{"textAlign":49},[126977],{"text":126978,"type":596},"China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has this month announced a promotional push to increase new energy vehicle (NEV) sales in rural areas through the second half of 2020. The notice will require all local governments to coordinate and publish their own promotional policies, with ten Chinese NEV OEMs expected to publish measures in support of the policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":126980,"content":126981},{"textAlign":49},[126982],{"text":126983,"type":596},"The latest move reflects a change in the Chinese government’s approach to building out and supporting the electric vehicle (EV) industry brought about by the economic impacts of the coronavirus.",{"type":591,"attrs":126985,"content":126986},{"textAlign":49},[126987],{"text":126988,"type":596},"Previously China’s plan was to steadily reduce subsidies – removing them altogether in 2020 – as part of its efforts to push the industry towards higher quality batteries with higher energy density.",{"type":591,"attrs":126990,"content":126991},{"textAlign":49},[126992],{"text":126993,"type":596},"However, the coronavirus has forced Beijing to pullback its subsidy reduction and it has extended the national subsidies program by two years to the end of 2022. The altered subsidy regime, announced at the end of April, will see subsidies reduced by 10% in 2020, 20% in 2021 and 30% in 2022 before being removed altogether for the start of 2023. Subsidies will be more generous in areas that will encourage electrification of public transport, which will see no change in 2020, but will reduce by 10% in 2021 and 20% in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":126995,"content":126996},{"textAlign":49},[126997],{"text":126998,"type":596},"National government support has been phased out completely for vehicles with less than 300km range, whereas vehicles with a range in excess of 300km receive increasing levels of subsidies depending on the range bracket in which they sit.",{"type":591,"attrs":127000,"content":127001},{"textAlign":49},[127002],{"text":127003,"type":596},"While the removal of subsidies has been delayed, the government’s goal remains the same, which is to transition the battery industry towards higher quality batteries rather than focusing on quantity, which is why vehicles with a higher range receive greater subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":127005,"content":127006},{"textAlign":49},[127007],{"text":127008,"type":596},"But with the phasing out of subsidies at a national level the central government is expecting regional governments to extend subsidies through local subsidy initiatives, which have already begun to develop. In April, Guangzhou announced CNY 10,000 (approximately $1,400 USD) per person a subsidy for NEV buyers for the rest of 2020. A number of other provinces — including Shandong, Jilin, and Hainan — have already introduced new subsidies and it is expected for this to be followed by other regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":127010,"content":127011},{"textAlign":49},[127012],{"text":127013,"type":596},"While Beijing is pushing for local governments to promote privately owned electric vehicles it is also encouraging them to focus on areas that can have a big short-term impact, such as public transportation, taxi fleets, and government vehicles, which as noted already benefit from higher government subsidies. For instance, Guangzhou has also announced that it is planning to add 5,000 new NEV taxis and share ride vehicles to its fleet during 2020, all of which will qualify for the local subsidy.",{"type":591,"attrs":127015,"content":127016},{"textAlign":49},[127017],{"text":127018,"type":596},"The latest promotional push into rural areas supports the Chinese government’s wider aim of expanding its domestic NEV markets outside of major cities and into other regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":127020,"content":127021},{"textAlign":49},[127022],{"text":127023,"type":596},"Discussing China’s latest NEV rural push, Albert Li, Senior Analyst — China, gave his take on the latest developments: “China can push NEV sales using these latest policies to offset the negative impacts from COVID-19 and previous subsidy reductions. Though the models in the latest promotion are all cheap — below 100,000 CNY ($14,300 USD) — they range from 120-420km and use both NCM and LFP battery cathodes. Together with subsidies from local government, discounts from OEMs and the support of central government, NEV sales should be boosted by this, which in turn should boost suppliers across the supply chain — including battery producers such as CATL, BYD and Gotion.”","China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has this month announced a promotional push to increase new energy vehicle (NEV) sales in rural areas through the second half of 2020. The notice will require all local governments to coordinate and publish their own promotional policies, with ten Chinese NEV OEMs expected to publish measures […]",[127026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127027},{"job_title":557,"image":127028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e11aedab-ad55-4585-b6b3-9cb0062eb682\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127031,127032],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":107525,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127034,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 24, 2020",{"id":127037,"uuid":127038,"name":127039,"slug":127040,"full_slug":127041,"content":127042},112473922903458,"d6b24e3e-b9c4-4502-982a-d9e8ce0a0317","Stream highlights from Benchmark World Tour East & West and Graphite Anode Benchmark Briefing","stream-highlights-from-benchmark-world-tour-east-west-and-graphite-anode-benchmark-briefing","article/stream-highlights-from-benchmark-world-tour-east-west-and-graphite-anode-benchmark-briefing",{"_uid":127043,"date":127044,"tags":127045,"editor":127046,"content":127050,"excerpt":127204,"featured":50,"reporter":127205,"_editable":127209,"component":697,"seo_title":127039,"categories":127210,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127212,"seo_description":127204,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127215},"19a3428b-2b54-4415-bdd6-5b9ef41e4a32","2020-07-07 00:00",[],[127047],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127048},{"job_title":557,"image":127049,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127051},[127052,127061,127066,127071,127088,127093,127098,127101,127110,127115,127118,127126,127131,127135,127138,127146,127151,127154,127162,127167,127170,127178,127183,127186,127194],{"type":591,"attrs":127053,"content":127054},{"textAlign":49},[127055,127057,127059],{"text":127056,"type":596},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour East & West and Benchmark Briefing: Graphite Anodes: Building a 21",{"text":127058,"type":596},"st ",{"text":127060,"type":596},"Century Supply Chain in Europe are now available to stream for free below.",{"type":591,"attrs":127062,"content":127063},{"textAlign":49},[127064],{"text":127065,"type":596},"The World Tour East & West lithium specials had industry presentations from Pilbara Minerals, Lake Resources, ioneer, Galan Lithium and Lepidico, with keynote presentations from Benchmark and SQM. Our latest Benchmark Briefing focused on Europe’s lithium ion anode supply chain, with an industry presentation from Talga Resources and two keynote presentations from Benchmark.",{"type":615,"attrs":127067,"content":127068},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[127069],{"text":127070,"type":596},"HIGHLIGHTS FROM WORLD TOUR EAST & WEST AND GRAPHITE ANODES: BUILDING A 21ST CENTURY SUPPLY CHAIN IN EUROPE",{"type":591,"attrs":127072,"content":127073},{"textAlign":49},[127074,127076,127080,127082,127086],{"text":127075,"type":596},"The full sessions are available for ",{"text":120818,"type":596,"marks":127077},[127078],{"type":606,"attrs":127079},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":127081,"type":596}," to stream on demand through Benchmark Video Streaming ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":127083},[127084],{"type":606,"attrs":127085},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":127087,"type":596},", and keynote presentations can be downloaded from the Benchmark Presentation Archive.",{"type":591,"attrs":127089,"content":127090},{"textAlign":49},[127091],{"text":127092,"type":596},"Watch industry presentations from Benchmark’s June events below for free.",{"type":615,"attrs":127094,"content":127095},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127096],{"text":127097,"type":596},"Mark Thompson, Managing Director, Talga Resources",{"type":591,"attrs":127099,"content":127100},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127102,"content":127103},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127104],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127106},"Download presentation",[127107],{"type":606,"attrs":127108},{"href":127109,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053854/",{"type":615,"attrs":127111,"content":127112},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127113],{"text":127114,"type":596},"Ken Brinsden, MD & CEO, Pilbara Minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":127116,"content":127117},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127119,"content":127120},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127121],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127122},[127123],{"type":606,"attrs":127124},{"href":127125,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053845/",{"type":615,"attrs":127127,"content":127128},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127129],{"text":127130,"type":596},"Steve Promnitz, MD, Lake Resources",{"type":615,"attrs":127132,"content":127134},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},6,[],{"type":591,"attrs":127136,"content":127137},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127139,"content":127140},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127141],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127142},[127143],{"type":606,"attrs":127144},{"href":127145,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053820/",{"type":615,"attrs":127147,"content":127148},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127149],{"text":127150,"type":596},"Bernard Rowe, MD, ioneer",{"type":591,"attrs":127152,"content":127153},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127155,"content":127156},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127157],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127158},[127159],{"type":606,"attrs":127160},{"href":127161,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053813/",{"type":615,"attrs":127163,"content":127164},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127165],{"text":127166,"type":596},"JP Vargas de la Vega, MD, Galan Lithium",{"type":591,"attrs":127168,"content":127169},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127171,"content":127172},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127173],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127174},[127175],{"type":606,"attrs":127176},{"href":127177,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053801/",{"type":615,"attrs":127179,"content":127180},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127181],{"text":127182,"type":596},"Joe Walsh, MD, Lepidico",{"type":591,"attrs":127184,"content":127185},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127187,"content":127188},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127189],{"text":127105,"type":596,"marks":127190},[127191],{"type":606,"attrs":127192},{"href":127193,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/download/1053827/",{"type":615,"attrs":127195,"content":127196},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[127197,127199],{"text":127198,"type":596},"Subscribe to Benchmark Membership for full access to Benchmark’s Presentation Archive and Video Streaming Service. ",{"text":127200,"type":596,"marks":127201},"Click here to learn more or to subscribe today. ",[127202],{"type":606,"attrs":127203},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Highlights from Benchmark’s World Tour East & West and Benchmark Briefing: Graphite Anodes: Building a 21st Century Supply Chain in Europe are now available to stream for free below. The World Tour East & West lithium specials had industry presentations from Pilbara Minerals, Lake Resources, ioneer, Galan Lithium and Lepidico, with keynote presentations from Benchmark and SQM. Our latest […]",[127206],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127207},{"job_title":557,"image":127208,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"19a3428b-2b54-4415-bdd6-5b9ef41e4a32\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127211],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127213,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127214,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/25b516aab4/bm-screen-shot-2020-07-07-at-155614.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 07, 2020",{"id":127217,"uuid":127218,"name":127219,"slug":127220,"full_slug":127221,"content":127222},112473932471833,"8c00b153-e9a8-46f3-a43c-18066ada83a0","Mercedes-Benz outlines battery localisation strategy as it buys into China-based battery maker Farasis","mercedes-benz-outlines-battery-localisation-strategy-as-it-buys-into-china-based-battery-maker-farasis","article/mercedes-benz-outlines-battery-localisation-strategy-as-it-buys-into-china-based-battery-maker-farasis",{"_uid":127223,"date":127224,"tags":127225,"editor":127226,"content":127230,"excerpt":127406,"featured":50,"reporter":127407,"_editable":127411,"component":697,"seo_title":127219,"categories":127412,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127414,"seo_description":127406,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127417},"2818bac9-96fa-42e2-a49e-fdb395bd53ac","2020-07-03 00:00",[],[127227],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127228},{"job_title":557,"image":127229,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127231},[127232,127237,127242,127247,127252,127257,127262,127267,127272,127277,127282,127287,127292,127297,127302,127307,127312,127317,127322,127327,127332,127337,127342,127347,127352,127357,127362,127367,127372,127377,127382,127390,127395],{"type":591,"attrs":127233,"content":127234},{"textAlign":49},[127235],{"text":127236,"type":596},"Mercedes-Benz has purchased a 3% equity stake in China-based Tier Two lithium ion battery cell producer, Farasis Energy as part of an expected investment for the battery makers $480m IPO later this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":127238,"content":127239},{"textAlign":49},[127240],{"text":127241,"type":596},"Mercedes Benz said it was “investing a multi-million euro amount” which Benchmark estimates to be €13m into Farasis which in return gives parent company Daimler a seat on the board.",{"type":591,"attrs":127243,"content":127244},{"textAlign":49},[127245],{"text":127246,"type":596},"The deal comes at a time when Daimler is ramping up the production and development of its “Electric First” strategy that expects to yield five pure electric vehicles (EVs) and 20 plug-in hybrids by the end of 2020 in addition to its existing pure EV Mercedes-Benz EQC range.",{"type":591,"attrs":127248,"content":127249},{"textAlign":49},[127250],{"text":127251,"type":596},"What was most interesting about the announcement was the focus on buying lithium ion batteries where the vehicles are made -— a localisation strategy that has been a telling trend in the lithium ion battery and electric vehicle industry for the last five years and one Benchmark continually discusses.",{"type":591,"attrs":127253,"content":127254},{"textAlign":49},[127255],{"text":127256,"type":596},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/coronavirus-supply-chain-shift-was-already-underway-in-battery-industry-2",{"type":591,"attrs":127258,"content":127259},{"textAlign":49},[127260],{"text":127261,"type":596},"“Local battery production is also an important success factor for the company’s electrification strategy,” Daimler said.",{"type":591,"attrs":127263,"content":127264},{"textAlign":49},[127265],{"text":127266,"type":596},"“[Localisation is the] key element in being able to flexibly and efficiently meet the global demand for electric vehicles.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127268,"content":127269},{"textAlign":49},[127270],{"text":127271,"type":596},"“Within its global production network, Mercedes-Benz focuses on the production of highly efficient battery systems and the establishment of a global battery production network. In the future, it will consist of nine factories at seven locations on three continents.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127273,"content":127274},{"textAlign":49},[127275],{"text":127276,"type":596},"“Mercedes-Benz buys battery cells from various partners in the world market, to secure access to the latest technologies as well as ensure the supply to its global production network,” it added.",{"type":591,"attrs":127278,"content":127279},{"textAlign":49},[127280],{"text":127281,"type":596},"This deal is yet another example of an automotive OEM buying into lithium ion battery capacity with major recent examples including:",{"type":591,"attrs":127283,"content":127284},{"textAlign":49},[127285],{"text":127286,"type":596},"Farasis operates one lithium ion battery cell plant in Ganzhou, China  with a 10GWh capacity specialising in nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) pouch cells for electric vehicles (EVs).",{"type":591,"attrs":127288,"content":127289},{"textAlign":49},[127290],{"text":127291,"type":596},"Daimler has been the primary consumer of Farasis batteries outside of China together with major Chinese EV producers including Great Wall Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":127293,"content":127294},{"textAlign":49},[127295],{"text":127296,"type":596},"The deal makes sense for Daimler both for its domestic China strategy — to expand EV production and further ingrain Farasis’ battery cell output into Daimler’s vehicle production — and for longer term EV production in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":127298,"content":127299},{"textAlign":49},[127300],{"text":127301,"type":596},"“By taking a stake in a Chinese battery cell manufacturer for the first time, we will further leverage the potential of advanced technology partners in the market, enabling us to pursue our electric strategy globally,” explained Hubertus Troska, a Daimler AG board member, responsible for Greater China.",{"type":591,"attrs":127303,"content":127304},{"textAlign":49},[127305],{"text":127306,"type":596},"“In the future, we will continue to strengthen our activities in research and development, production and purchasing in China,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":127308,"content":127309},{"textAlign":49},[127310],{"text":127311,"type":596},"The automaker highlighted Farasis’ plans to build a lithium ion cell plant in Anhalt, Germany as a key part of its investment decision.",{"type":591,"attrs":127313,"content":127314},{"textAlign":49},[127315],{"text":127316,"type":596},"According to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Database, Farasis is planning to have 10GWh of cell capacity within Germany by end-2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":127318,"content":127319},{"textAlign":49},[127320],{"text":127321,"type":596},"This is in addition to another new plant in Zhenjiang, China and an anticipated venture within the USA.",{"type":615,"attrs":127323,"content":127324},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127325],{"text":127326,"type":596},"Daimler investment gives Farasis path to Tier One status",{"type":591,"attrs":127328,"content":127329},{"textAlign":49},[127330],{"text":127331,"type":596},"The further integration of both Daimler and Farasis turbo charges the battery maker’s push to becoming a Tier One lithium ion battery producer on Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Tier Ranking Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":127333,"content":127334},{"textAlign":49},[127335],{"text":127336,"type":596},"“Farasis are on the cusp of making it to the top tier of battery cell production globally,” said Caspar Rawles, Benchmark’s lead on battery cell data collection.",{"type":591,"attrs":127338,"content":127339},{"textAlign":49},[127340],{"text":127341,"type":596},"“Farasis is a company that has one of the best prospects for promotion to Benchmark’s Tier One status.",{"type":591,"attrs":127343,"content":127344},{"textAlign":49},[127345],{"text":127346,"type":596},"“The company meets requirements for capacity and currently, whilst geographically confined to China, operates 10 GWh of capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":127348,"content":127349},{"textAlign":49},[127350],{"text":127351,"type":596},"“To reach Tier One Status Benchmark requires the battery maker to not only have above 5GWh of capacity a year but also be qualified by two automotive majors outside of China. Our present Tier One producers are: LG Chem, Panasonic-Tesla, SK Innovation, CATL, SK Innovation and Envision AESC.",{"type":591,"attrs":127353,"content":127354},{"textAlign":49},[127355],{"text":127356,"type":596},"“Farasis’ deal with Daimler puts it on this tier one path with a multi-continental battery strategy. The battery maker has new expansions on the horizon in Germany and the USA, alongside China which is set to see company-wide capacity expand to 55 GWh by 2024.",{"type":615,"attrs":127358,"content":127359},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127360],{"text":127361,"type":596},"The importance of understanding lithium ion",{"type":591,"attrs":127363,"content":127364},{"textAlign":49},[127365],{"text":127366,"type":596},"Daimler also, interestingly, took the time to outline the importance of understanding the lithium ion battery cell not only from an chemistry perspective but also a supply chain one.",{"type":591,"attrs":127368,"content":127369},{"textAlign":49},[127370],{"text":127371,"type":596},"This is quite a rarity for an automotive OEM to be so public about these crucial pillars of the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":127373,"content":127374},{"textAlign":49},[127375],{"text":127376,"type":596},"“The cell is at the very heart of the battery and mastering its chemistry is therefore critical,” the OEM major said.",{"type":591,"attrs":127378,"content":127379},{"textAlign":49},[127380],{"text":127381,"type":596},"“The clear development goal is to significantly increase the range of future batteries through advances in energy density, to advance the production maturity of future battery technologies and, last but not least, to significantly reduce charging times.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127383,"content":127384},{"textAlign":49},[127385,127387,127388],{"text":127386,"type":596},"“The increased efficiency of future batteries will further improve the sustainability of electric vehicles. This starts with the reduction of the use of critical materials and the CO",{"text":41732,"type":596},{"text":127389,"type":596},"-neutral production of the cells, and goes through the efficiency in operation to recycling and a closed raw material cycle,” it added.",{"type":615,"attrs":127391,"content":127392},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127393],{"text":127394,"type":596},"HOW CAN I GET ACCESS TO BENCHMARK’S BATTERY CELL DATABASE AND ANALYSIS?",{"type":591,"attrs":127396,"content":127397},{"textAlign":49},[127398,127399,127401],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127400,"type":596}," assesses lithium ion cell capacity in its Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment – a subscription service analysing all of the world’s lithium ion battery plants. ",{"text":127402,"type":596,"marks":127403},"Click here to subscribe to the database.",[127404],{"type":606,"attrs":127405},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Mercedes-Benz has purchased a 3% equity stake in China-based Tier Two lithium ion battery cell producer, Farasis Energy as part of an expected investment for the battery makers $480m IPO later this year. Mercedes Benz said it was “investing a multi-million euro amount” which Benchmark estimates to be €13m into Farasis which in return gives […]",[127408],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127409},{"job_title":557,"image":127410,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2818bac9-96fa-42e2-a49e-fdb395bd53ac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127413],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127415,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127416,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/dd668abf41/bm-daimler.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 03, 2020",{"id":127419,"uuid":127420,"name":127421,"slug":127422,"full_slug":127423,"content":127424},112473927744931,"c8778760-48a4-4d7a-9802-ec866310e678","Benchmark outlines its charitable giving strategy; St George’s University Hospital & Plus You selected for Q2 2020","benchmark-outlines-its-charitable-giving-strategy-st-georges-university-hospital-plus-you-selected-for-q2-2020","article/benchmark-outlines-its-charitable-giving-strategy-st-georges-university-hospital-plus-you-selected-for-q2-2020",{"_uid":127425,"date":127224,"tags":127426,"editor":127428,"content":127432,"excerpt":127590,"featured":50,"reporter":127591,"component":697,"seo_title":127421,"categories":127595,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127596,"seo_description":127590,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127417},"e18b002e-64ae-46c5-9781-6d8862cae842",[127427],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[127429],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127430},{"job_title":557,"image":127431,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127433},[127434,127440,127446,127451,127456,127459,127464,127469,127474,127479,127484,127489,127492,127497,127502,127507,127512,127517,127522,127527,127532,127537,127542,127547,127562,127570,127578,127585],{"type":591,"attrs":127435,"content":127436},{"textAlign":49},[127437,127438],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127439,"type":596}," is pleased to confirm the following charitable organisations it has donated to this quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":127441,"content":127442},{"textAlign":49},[127443,127444],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127445,"type":596},"‘s charitable giving to date has been internal but we have now decided to make this pubic, explain the rationale behind our decisions and give some profile to the causes we select.",{"type":591,"attrs":127447,"content":127448},{"textAlign":49},[127449],{"text":127450,"type":596},"Below are the two organisations we have selected this quarter together with some background from the team member that recommended the cause and a statement from our managing director.",{"type":615,"attrs":127452,"content":127453},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127454],{"text":127455,"type":596},"St George’s University Hospitals (NHS), Tooting, London, UK ",{"type":591,"attrs":127457,"content":127458},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127460,"content":127461},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127462],{"text":127463,"type":596},"Ben Ash, Head of Sales & Sponsorship, Benchmark explained: ",{"type":591,"attrs":127465,"content":127466},{"textAlign":49},[127467],{"text":127468,"type":596},"“St George’s University Hospital in Tooting was my recommendation, not only from a personal point of view but because they are also on the front-line of current emergency advanced coronavirus cases and is the main hospital for emergency trauma in South London. It’s one of the busiest in the UK.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127470,"content":127471},{"textAlign":49},[127472],{"text":127473,"type":596},"“St Georges’ surgeons performed an emergency operation on my father at 4am to stem the flow of a severe brain bleed. I was told he would unlikely make it but they performed a miracle.",{"type":591,"attrs":127475,"content":127476},{"textAlign":49},[127477],{"text":127478,"type":596},"“Thereafter, the care he received from the selfless nurses to the tea ladies was a sight to behold. I’ve never come across people like that before and I witnessed first hand the care they showed people with relatives that were in really dire circumstances.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127480,"content":127481},{"textAlign":49},[127482],{"text":127483,"type":596},"“I can imagine now that anyone ending up in there with any severe affliction – the staff will be going above and beyond.”",{"type":615,"attrs":127485,"content":127486},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127487],{"text":127488,"type":596},"Plus You Limited, Southampton, UK",{"type":591,"attrs":127490,"content":127491},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127493,"content":127494},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127495],{"text":127496,"type":596},"Derrick Allott, Subscription Sales Associate, Benchmark explained:",{"type":591,"attrs":127498,"content":127499},{"textAlign":49},[127500],{"text":127501,"type":596},"“My recommendation was for a little known charity called Plus You Ltd that my father works for in Southampton, UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":127503,"content":127504},{"textAlign":49},[127505],{"text":127506,"type":596},"“This charity is based in one of the most deprived areas in the south of England and offers children in poverty a free, two course meal to each child during the school holidays. Over 60% of children in this area receive free school meals in times of holiday.",{"type":591,"attrs":127508,"content":127509},{"textAlign":49},[127510],{"text":127511,"type":596},"“In the UK there are an estimated 4m children living in poverty with over 1.5m of those claiming free school meals during term time. During the school holidays children lose the right to their one guaranteed meal a day. That is 175 days per year where children live without knowing where their next meal will come from.",{"type":591,"attrs":127513,"content":127514},{"textAlign":49},[127515],{"text":127516,"type":596},"“Due to my father’s long term involvement with this charity I have seen first-hand how the work this charity does makes a substantial difference to peoples’ lives. During my childhood I grew up in this area and I am aware of many families that were helped by the incredible work that Plus You ltd do.",{"type":591,"attrs":127518,"content":127519},{"textAlign":49},[127520],{"text":127521,"type":596},"“Families can often find themselves in this position through no fault of their own.",{"type":591,"attrs":127523,"content":127524},{"textAlign":49},[127525],{"text":127526,"type":596},"Benchmark have made a donation to Plus You Ltd that will provide 1,600 meals to some of the UK’s most in need children.”",{"type":615,"attrs":127528,"content":127529},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127530],{"text":127531,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark said:  ",{"type":591,"attrs":127533,"content":127534},{"textAlign":49},[127535],{"text":127536,"type":596},"“Each quarter, we ask our team members to suggest charitable organisations with which they have a personal connection and a reason for wanting to help.",{"type":591,"attrs":127538,"content":127539},{"textAlign":49},[127540],{"text":127541,"type":596},"“This could be for a cause they have been directly affected by, for an institution like a hospital that has helped them, their family or friends, or for a cause they feel strongly about.",{"type":591,"attrs":127543,"content":127544},{"textAlign":49},[127545],{"text":127546,"type":596},"“We put no limitations on what organisations people can suggest but favour smaller organisations that are locally focused on a specific set of goals and ones that can outline, where possible, the impact of the donation.",{"type":591,"attrs":127548,"content":127549},{"textAlign":49},[127550,127551,127557,127559,127560],{"text":25155,"type":596},{"text":127552,"type":596,"marks":127553},"coronavirus pandemic",[127554],{"type":606,"attrs":127555},{"href":127556,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/benchmark-postpones-all-events-in-person-gatherings-in-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic",{"text":127558,"type":596}," has magnified the strength of ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127561,"type":596}," as a business and the selfless community spirit of our entire team.",{"type":591,"attrs":127563,"content":127564},{"textAlign":49},[127565,127567,127568],{"text":127566,"type":596},"“If people close to the ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127569,"type":596}," community are in need, quite simply, if we are in a position to do something, we must.",{"type":591,"attrs":127571,"content":127572},{"textAlign":49},[127573,127575,127576],{"text":127574,"type":596},"“Therefore, I am pleased that this will be a consistent part of what we do at ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":127577,"type":596}," and welcome any suggestions from our clients, friends and followers of causes in need of help around the world.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127579,"content":127580},{"textAlign":49},[127581],{"text":127582,"type":596,"marks":127583},"Please contact us at info@benchmarkminerals.com with the subject line “Charity” if you have suggestions for our next round of charitable giving. Deadline 15 September 2020. ",[127584],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":127586,"content":127587},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127588],{"text":127589,"type":596},"Previous Causes:","Benchmark is pleased to confirm the following charitable organisations it has donated to this quarter. Benchmark‘s charitable giving to date has been internal but we have now decided to make this pubic, explain the rationale behind our decisions and give some profile to the causes we select. Below are the two organisations we have selected […]",[127592],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127593},{"job_title":557,"image":127594,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[],{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127597,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127598,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a8958021a9/bm-charity-q2-benchmark.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":127600,"uuid":127601,"name":127602,"slug":127603,"full_slug":127604,"content":127605},112473942089243,"2b573682-9aea-4bbb-90ad-f24bc81af914","Chinese supply resurgence amid graphite market’s evolution","chinas-graphite-resurgence","article/chinas-graphite-resurgence",{"_uid":127606,"date":127607,"tags":127608,"editor":127610,"content":127614,"excerpt":127716,"featured":50,"reporter":127717,"_editable":127721,"component":697,"seo_title":127602,"categories":127722,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127724,"seo_description":127716,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127727},"130073b1-c9d1-4b9a-af66-1be43fc2b1cc","2020-06-26 00:00",[127609],{"slug":575,"name":576},[127611],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127612},{"job_title":557,"image":127613,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127615},[127616,127621,127626,127631,127636,127641,127646,127651,127656,127661,127666,127671,127676,127681,127686,127691,127696,127701,127706,127711],{"type":591,"attrs":127617,"content":127618},{"textAlign":49},[127619],{"text":127620,"type":596},"The start of the year saw Covid pressures bring shutdowns to Chinese flake graphite as the country was battling the initial outbreak of the disease. There had limited activity in the flake graphite market, as many Chinese producers kept factories closed, or operated at low utilisation rates, following the winter shutdown and mandated extension to Spring Festival closures linked to Covid.",{"type":591,"attrs":127622,"content":127623},{"textAlign":49},[127624],{"text":127625,"type":596},"However, since the start of the year we have seen a reversal in the supply picture and a recovery in China’s natural flake graphite production capacity as the country’s share of global supply increased, while African supply diminished with the suspension of operations at Syrah Resource’s Balama project.",{"type":615,"attrs":127627,"content":127628},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127629],{"text":127630,"type":596},"Supply shift delayed",{"type":591,"attrs":127632,"content":127633},{"textAlign":49},[127634],{"text":127635,"type":596},"The natural flake graphite industry had been undergoing a massive shift which led to China becoming a net importer of natural flake graphite for the first time in a generation last year. This marked a significant evolution in the industry as China was no longer the sole low-cost supplier, with African supply promising to upend the status quo.",{"type":591,"attrs":127637,"content":127638},{"textAlign":49},[127639],{"text":127640,"type":596},"However, the prices at which African producers had to sell at to compete with domestic Chinese supply have proved to be unsustainable. This sustained low-price environment, coupled with the fallout from Covid, have set back this transition to further non-Chinese sources of supply. While China was a net importer of graphite only a year ago, the latest data shows imports of flake graphite into China have dramatically decreased, falling to 1,484 tonnes in April, down 31% on March figures and 90% y-o-y.",{"type":591,"attrs":127642,"content":127643},{"textAlign":49},[127644],{"text":127645,"type":596},"The bulk of Chinese graphite imports had come from Syrah Resources which announced the suspension of operations at its Balama graphite mine in Mozambique at the end of March. The closure was declared in response to quarantine measures for international arrivals in Mozambique, leading Syrah to temporarily suspend production.",{"type":591,"attrs":127647,"content":127648},{"textAlign":49},[127649],{"text":127650,"type":596},"The shutdown of operations at Balama has continued throughout Q2, although the company continued to ship small quantities of existing inventory to non-Chinese customers during this time. Syrah has seen an uptick in the average sales price in this period, which it reported at $478/tonne. However, the bulk of its sales prior to the shutdown had been into China where it competed with low-cost Chinese domestic production.",{"type":591,"attrs":127652,"content":127653},{"textAlign":49},[127654],{"text":127655,"type":596},"The Balama operation accounted for over 85% of African flake graphite production last year, with Benchmark’s Graphite Forecast estimating the company produced 150,000 tonnes in 2019. With the project offline, the share of production from Africa has fallen significantly.",{"type":591,"attrs":127657,"content":127658},{"textAlign":49},[127659],{"text":127660,"type":596},"Despite this production coming offline in the near-term, there still remains the need for low-cost sources of natural flake graphite —both imported and domestically produced — for China’s burgeoning downstream industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":127662,"content":127663},{"textAlign":49},[127664],{"text":127665,"type":596},"There is a huge focus on value-added processing in the country which will require much more low-cost feedstock. China’s strategy continues to focus on building out these value-added capabilities while also increasing sources of supply from outside of the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":127667,"content":127668},{"textAlign":49},[127669],{"text":127670,"type":596},"To secure this supply, Chinese companies have been critical in bringing online ex-Chinese supply, with Syrah’s Balama project funded off the back of partnerships with Chinese offtakers, including anode producers BTR and Zhanjiang Juxin New Energy Materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":127672,"content":127673},{"textAlign":49},[127674],{"text":127675,"type":596},"Downstream companies are still keen to team up with raw material producers from outside of China as shown by deals agreed with project developers in the space during Q2.",{"type":591,"attrs":127677,"content":127678},{"textAlign":49},[127679],{"text":127680,"type":596},"For instance, NextSource Materials signed a letter of intent with two unnamed offtake partners — a Japanese trading company and a downstream Chinese spheronised and purified graphite processor — to collaborate on the construction of its spherical graphite plant near its Molo graphite mine in Madagascar. The Molo mine is expected to ramp up to 17,000 tpa of battery-grade flake graphite concentrate by October 2020, with plans to expand up to 45,000 tpa of capacity by October 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":127682,"content":127683},{"textAlign":49},[127684],{"text":127685,"type":596},"Black Rock Mining signed a strategic alliance and MoU with Korean anode producer POSCO to develop the Mahenge Graphite Project in Tanzania. The deal, which requires the completion of due diligence, will see POSCO invest US$10 million in the first phase and in the second phase an offtake agreement of 40,000 tonnes per annum.",{"type":591,"attrs":127687,"content":127688},{"textAlign":49},[127689],{"text":127690,"type":596},"In June EcoGraf announced a partnership with Thyssenkrupp AG for the future sale of EcoGraf’s spherical graphite from its Kwinana Facility, Western Australia. EcoGraf is also developing the Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania which would provide feedstock to the Kwinana plant.",{"type":615,"attrs":127692,"content":127693},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[127694],{"text":127695,"type":596},"Chinese supply boom",{"type":591,"attrs":127697,"content":127698},{"textAlign":49},[127699],{"text":127700,"type":596},"While there is notable capacity in the pipeline developing outside of China, within the country the buildout of graphite’s downstream industry and the need for low-cost feedstock is driving increased domestic supply. This is currently being led by regional governments which are aggressively building capacity, further contributing to the low-price environment and impacting the competitiveness of ex-China producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":127702,"content":127703},{"textAlign":49},[127704],{"text":127705,"type":596},"While Chinese supply was curtailed at the start of the year with Covid shutdowns, by the start of Q2 operations in Heilongjiang province returned to normal and production in Luobei and Jixi resumed by early April.",{"type":591,"attrs":127707,"content":127708},{"textAlign":49},[127709],{"text":127710,"type":596},"While utilisation of existing capacity has increased, new graphite expansions linked to state-owned Minmetals will be key for bringing on new supply. Minmetals have confirmed RMB 1bn ($141m) of further investment into graphite production in Luobei. The Minmetals investment will lead to new flake graphite, spherical graphite and anode projects as the region looks to buildout its capabilities across the graphite value chain. The projects are planned to have a combined capacity of 100ktpa spherical and 50kpta of anode capacity when complete. In this environment, further pressure is also mounting on domestic producers with consolidation in the sector becoming increasingly likely.",{"type":591,"attrs":127712,"content":127713},{"textAlign":49},[127714],{"text":127715,"type":596},"Within China the focus continues to be on building out the value-added capabilities while also increasing sources of supply from outside of the country. For now, the bulk of natural flake graphite supply used in China’s downstream industry will be domestically produced and in the long-term China will still remain the leading producer. But there still remains the need for low-cost, non-Chinese supply to meet growing Chinese downstream demand, despite the sudden reversal of graphite imports into China.","The start of the year saw Covid pressures bring shutdowns to Chinese flake graphite as the country was battling the initial outbreak of the disease. There had limited activity in the flake graphite market, as many Chinese producers kept factories closed, or operated at low utilisation rates, following the winter shutdown and mandated extension to […]",[127718],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127719},{"job_title":557,"image":127720,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"130073b1-c9d1-4b9a-af66-1be43fc2b1cc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127723],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127725,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127726,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a3da9045ed/bm-blackdragongraphitemine.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 26, 2020",{"id":127729,"uuid":127730,"name":127731,"slug":127732,"full_slug":127733,"content":127734},112473966919354,"bcbe8ce2-c417-4dbf-962a-00ac73bb2c75","World Tour launches online next week; Australia & Asia in-person cancelled due to coronavirus risk","world-tour-launches-online-next-week-australia-asia-in-person-events-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus-risk","article/world-tour-launches-online-next-week-australia-asia-in-person-events-cancelled-due-to-coronavirus-risk",{"_uid":127735,"date":127736,"tags":127737,"editor":127739,"content":127743,"excerpt":127860,"featured":50,"reporter":127861,"_editable":127865,"component":697,"seo_title":127731,"categories":127866,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127869,"seo_description":127860,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127872},"0a84aa25-ad45-4321-94d8-d85d09757946","2020-06-16 00:00",[127738],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[127740],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127741},{"job_title":557,"image":127742,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127744},[127745,127750,127755,127760,127765,127768,127773,127778,127783,127787,127792,127797,127802,127807,127812,127817,127822,127833,127843,127846,127851],{"type":591,"attrs":127746,"content":127747},{"textAlign":49},[127748],{"text":127749,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce that after the success of our first World Tour Online seminars featured during EVFest, we will be officially expanding the World Tour online starting next week. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127751,"content":127752},{"textAlign":49},[127753],{"text":127754,"type":596},"We have designed the Benchmark World Tour Online Eastern and Western Hemisphere time zones, enabling  the span of the globe to tune in for free at a reasonable time.",{"type":591,"attrs":127756,"content":127757},{"textAlign":49},[127758],{"text":127759,"type":596},"World Tour Online launches next week with:",{"type":615,"attrs":127761,"content":127762},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127763],{"text":127764,"type":596},"World Tour East on Tuesday 23 June @ 8am UK ",{"type":591,"attrs":127766,"content":127767},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":127769,"content":127770},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127771],{"text":127772,"type":596},"World Tour West on Wednesday 24 June @ 4pm UK  ",{"type":615,"attrs":127774,"content":127775},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127776],{"text":127777,"type":596},"World Tour In-Person cancelled for Australia & Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":127779,"content":127780},{"textAlign":49},[127781],{"text":127782,"type":596},"Benchmark can also confirm that the World Tour 2020 in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Seoul and Tokyo have been cancelled for this year due to the coronavirus risk. ",{"type":615,"attrs":127784,"content":127785},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127786],{"text":115440,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":127788,"content":127789},{"textAlign":49},[127790],{"text":127791,"type":596},"“It is with great pleasure to continue our World Tour series online after the huge success of our first two events which we broadcast on Zoom and Twitter during #EVFest. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127793,"content":127794},{"textAlign":49},[127795],{"text":127796,"type":596},"The experience is very different from our focused in-person events – with a reach across different hemispheres and viewers into the thousands in many countries worldwide. This is a unique and 21st century way to tell the many stories of this vibrant and ever changing industry. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127798,"content":127799},{"textAlign":49},[127800],{"text":127801,"type":596},"It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of the physical World Tour 2020 events for Australia and Asia this year scheduled for September. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127803,"content":127804},{"textAlign":49},[127805],{"text":127806,"type":596},"We feel it would be irresponsible to host in person gatherings of the World Tour’s size while the global uncertainty and fear of the coronavirus pandemic still surrounds us. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127808,"content":127809},{"textAlign":49},[127810],{"text":127811,"type":596},"Australia, Japan and South Korea are integral hubs for this lithium ion revolution and this will be the first time we have missed travelling to these fantastic and welcoming countries since the first World Tour in 2015. ",{"type":591,"attrs":127813,"content":127814},{"textAlign":49},[127815],{"text":127816,"type":596},"There is no doubt we will return with World Tour 2021 along with new, fresh ideas and initiatives to connect the global supply chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":127818,"content":127819},{"textAlign":49},[127820],{"text":127821,"type":596},"——-",{"type":615,"attrs":127823,"content":127824},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127825,127827],{"text":127826,"type":596},"Visit World Tour Online ",{"text":127828,"type":596,"marks":127829},"here ",[127830],{"type":606,"attrs":127831},{"href":127832,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/world-tour-online/",{"type":615,"attrs":127834,"content":127835},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[127836,127838],{"text":127837,"type":596},"Visit World Tour In Person ",{"text":127828,"type":596,"marks":127839},[127840],{"type":606,"attrs":127841},{"href":127842,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/world-tour-2020/",{"type":615,"attrs":127844,"content":127845},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":127847,"content":127848},{"textAlign":49},[127849],{"text":127850,"type":596},"—-",{"type":591,"attrs":127852,"content":127853},{"textAlign":49},[127854,127856],{"text":127855,"type":596},"To become a speaker / sponsor on the Benchmark World Tour contact Ben Ash on ",{"text":110053,"type":596,"marks":127857},[127858],{"type":606,"attrs":127859},{"href":110057,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce that after the success of our first World Tour Online seminars featured during EVFest, we will be officially expanding the World Tour online starting next week. We have designed the Benchmark World Tour Online Eastern and Western Hemisphere time zones, enabling the span of the globe to tune […]",[127862],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127863},{"job_title":557,"image":127864,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0a84aa25-ad45-4321-94d8-d85d09757946\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127867,127868],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127870,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127871,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3c77a14711/bm-world-tour-online-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 16, 2020",{"id":127874,"uuid":127875,"name":127876,"slug":127877,"full_slug":127878,"content":127879},112473971764923,"fac0cc75-a953-4f60-8f02-e6d16ce46ef2","European battery demand set for boost as France & Germany lead way with electric vehicle stimulus packages","european-battery-demand-set-for-boost-as-france-germany-lead-the-way-with-electric-vehicle-stimulus-packages","article/european-battery-demand-set-for-boost-as-france-germany-lead-the-way-with-electric-vehicle-stimulus-packages",{"_uid":127880,"date":127881,"tags":127882,"editor":127884,"content":127888,"excerpt":127945,"featured":50,"reporter":127946,"_editable":127950,"component":697,"seo_title":127876,"categories":127951,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":127953,"seo_description":127945,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":127956},"9fefe389-bcf5-499c-85a9-6048dd80104e","2020-06-12 00:00",[127883],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[127885],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127886},{"job_title":557,"image":127887,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127889},[127890,127895,127900,127905,127910,127915,127920,127925,127930,127935,127940],{"type":591,"attrs":127891,"content":127892},{"textAlign":49},[127893],{"text":127894,"type":596},"The past two weeks has seen both France and Germany announce post-coronavirus economic stimulus packages, with a particular focus on boosting their domestic electric vehicle (EV) industries. With both countries’ auto manufacturers suffering falls in output and demand as a consequence of COVID-19 and economic shutdowns, both states are looking to secure an advantage in Europe’s nascent electric vehicle industry while also protecting their existing automobile industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":127896,"content":127897},{"textAlign":49},[127898],{"text":127899,"type":596},"The fallout from COVID-19 has seen auto sales crashing in the region and has arguably forced the hand of both the French and German governments to intervene. The fall in sales have been drastic, for instance France’s Peugeot and Citroen parent, PSA Group, reported sharp falls in sales with PSA’s global sales in April were 53,602 units, down from 299,628 in the previous year.",{"type":591,"attrs":127901,"content":127902},{"textAlign":49},[127903],{"text":127904,"type":596},"President Macron’s support package in response to France’s ailing auto industry will see €8 billion in state aid going to the sector. The state subsidy on electric vehicles is set to increase from €6,000 to €7,000 for list price vehicles up to €45,000. Other measures also include a scrappage scheme with additional incentives for switching to electric vehicles and a buildout of charging infrastructure across the country. The bulk of the aid package is made up of a €5bn loan to French automaker Renault, with caveats to ensure that EV production for the group is set up on French soil.",{"type":591,"attrs":127906,"content":127907},{"textAlign":49},[127908],{"text":127909,"type":596},"As part of the package Renault will join the cross-country European battery cell production joint venture Automotive Cell Company (ACC) headed by Total battery arm, Saft and PSA. ACC is in the process of developing two lithium ion battery megafactories with a target capacity of 24 GWh, initially set to commission by 2023 in Douvrin in France, with the second to commission a year later in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The 24 GWh capacity may be extended with the addition of Renault to the joint venture as European governments push for increasing penetration rates of electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":127911,"content":127912},{"textAlign":49},[127913],{"text":127914,"type":596},"The two ACC megafactories were first announced earlier this year and the initial investment decision was triggered by the approval of €3.2 billion in funding from the European Commission to support the wider European battery supply chain. European Commission support will play a central role in these projects as the ACC plants are expected to receive up to €1.3 billion of public money.",{"type":591,"attrs":127916,"content":127917},{"textAlign":49},[127918],{"text":127919,"type":596},"Shortly following the announcement of France’s EV support package, Germany issued its own stimulus package with €2.5 billion support for electric vehicles in response to the economic fallout from COVID-19. This package includes a doubling of incentives for electric vehicles — €6,000 for a pure electric vehicle priced under €40,000 — this is in addition to manufacturers receiving €3,000 per vehicle. Following on from this announcement it has also been reported that €1.5 billion of spending would be focused on the support of domestic battery cell production in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":127921,"content":127922},{"textAlign":49},[127923],{"text":127924,"type":596},"Germany is already leading the way in Europe in terms of lithium ion battery cell production in the pipeline, with 173 GWh and 6 megafactories of capacity in the pipeline for 2029 according to the latest Benchmark Lithium ion Megafactory Assessment. The biggest announcement of the past 12 months was Tesla’s announcement of the Gigafactory 4 in Berlin, but China’s Tier 1 battery manufacturer CATL also has a megafactory in the pipeline, which Benchmark’s assessment showing a capacity in the pipeline of 70GWh by 2029. Volkswagen, which is the leading much of Germany’s electrification drive, has also set out plans for a megafactory in Salzgitter, Germany, through a joint venture with Sweden’s Nortvholt.",{"type":591,"attrs":127926,"content":127927},{"textAlign":49},[127928],{"text":127929,"type":596},"While incentives and support on the increase are on the increase, European automakers are also having to lower their carbon emissions as European CO2 emission targets are phased in before full implementation in 2021. Failure to meet these targets will see automakers hit with potentially billions of euros of fines, which gives European automakers little choice but to continue introducing electric and hybrid vehicles to bring their average emissions down.",{"type":591,"attrs":127931,"content":127932},{"textAlign":49},[127933],{"text":127934,"type":596},"To effectively support the buildout of electric vehicles on the continent both industry and governments need to look upstream to battery cell and raw material supply. The potential for supply shortfalls and bottlenecks has already been illustrated in 2020 when during Q1 a number of OEMs reported Tier 1 battery cell shortages, highlighting how critical it is to manage supply chain risk.",{"type":591,"attrs":127936,"content":127937},{"textAlign":49},[127938],{"text":127939,"type":596},"Outside of China, Europe is emerging as the leading battery megafactory region with 16 megafactories and 413GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2029. Europe’s leading position is double that of North America, which is set to be the third largest region behind Europe and China with 8 megafactories and 217 GWh in the pipeline over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":127941,"content":127942},{"textAlign":49},[127943],{"text":127944,"type":596},"But Europe still has a long way to go in building out its supply chain capabilities. Outside of lithium ion cell capacity in the pipeline it has little upstream capacity located or set to be located in the region. There are moves to develop this capacity in Europe as companies like BASF and Umicore are in the process of developing cathode production capacity on the continent. Despite these developments Europe only accounts for 5% of global cathode capacity in construction and 5% of capacity in the planning phase according to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment. Benchmark’s Anode Market Assessment also shows that anode manufacturing capacity is non-existent in Europe with no capacity in construction and only 3% of global capacity being planned on the continent.","The past two weeks has seen both France and Germany announce post-coronavirus economic stimulus packages, with a particular focus on boosting their domestic electric vehicle (EV) industries. With both countries’ auto manufacturers suffering falls in output and demand as a consequence of COVID-19 and economic shutdowns, both states are looking to secure an advantage in […]",[127947],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127948},{"job_title":557,"image":127949,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9fefe389-bcf5-499c-85a9-6048dd80104e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[127952],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127954,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":127955,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9dc1a53a4e/bm-europe-map.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 12, 2020",{"id":127958,"uuid":127959,"name":127960,"slug":127961,"full_slug":127962,"content":127963},112473981923022,"f843680f-170e-4cd8-9afd-0c7714ada6ab","Building the original Gigafactory, lessons from Nissan LEAF: Colin Herron Live","building-the-original-gigafactory-lessons-from-nissan-leaf-colin-herron-live","article/building-the-original-gigafactory-lessons-from-nissan-leaf-colin-herron-live",{"_uid":127964,"date":127965,"tags":127966,"editor":127967,"content":127971,"excerpt":128031,"featured":50,"reporter":128032,"_editable":128036,"component":697,"seo_title":127960,"categories":128037,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128039,"seo_description":128031,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128042},"cc1b086b-170f-4cad-be52-f7897a53e3ff","2020-06-07 00:00",[],[127968],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":127969},{"job_title":557,"image":127970,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":127972},[127973,127982,127987,127992,127997,128002,128007,128018,128028],{"type":591,"attrs":127974,"content":127975},{"textAlign":49},[127976,127978,127980],{"text":127977,"type":596},"We are delighted to announce that UK electric vehicle (EV) pioneer, ",{"text":127979,"type":596},"Colin Herron CBE",{"text":127981,"type":596},", will join Benchmark’s In Conversation on Thursday 18 June at 6pm Berlin / 5pm UK / 12pm New York / 9am San Francisco & Los Angeles.",{"type":591,"attrs":127983,"content":127984},{"textAlign":49},[127985],{"text":127986,"type":596},"Colin was awarded a CBE, the second highest possible award in the British Honours System and given in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for his work on leading the UK into electric vehicles and low carbon transport.",{"type":591,"attrs":127988,"content":127989},{"textAlign":49},[127990],{"text":127991,"type":596},"Colin has spent 45 years in the automotive industry but his 17 year career at Nissan saw him become integral in building and launching the Nissan LEAF and the lithium ion battery plant and strategy in the UK.",{"type":591,"attrs":127993,"content":127994},{"textAlign":49},[127995],{"text":127996,"type":596},"From the inception of the LEAF in 2009 – the world’s first mass market electric vehicle – to building Europe’s first EV battery megafactory in 2013 and launching Zero Carbon Futures to guide industry and government decisions, we are delighted to have Colin join Benchmark In Conversation.",{"type":591,"attrs":127998,"content":127999},{"textAlign":49},[128000],{"text":128001,"type":596},"“There are very few true pioneers in our young and evolving industry and Colin is most definitely one of those. Not only has his electric vehicle achievements been recognised by the Queen, Colin was at the heart of the lithium ion battery strategy for the world’s first truly mass market EV, the Nissan LEAF,” Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said.",{"type":591,"attrs":128003,"content":128004},{"textAlign":49},[128005],{"text":128006,"type":596},"“Colin was integral in not only the LEAF’s launch but the strategy to build lithium ion batteries in-house at Europe’s first Gigafactory in Sunderland, UK – this predates the Tesla Gigafactory and has become the blueprint for every major OEM that is evolving into electric vehicles,” Moores added.",{"type":615,"attrs":128008,"content":128009},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128010,128012,128017],{"text":128011,"type":596},"Benchmark’s In Conversation is live and online on Thursday 18 June @ 5pm UK, free for all Benchmark subscribers. You can join us ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":128013},[128014],{"type":606,"attrs":128015},{"href":128016,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8015915278386/WN_OUDjZXb-QI-4nfkOX1sHLw",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":128019,"content":128020},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128021,128023,128027],{"text":128022,"type":596},"To gain access to this discussion and Benchmark’s Streaming Service, including all 30+ hours of EVFest, click ",{"text":13153,"type":596,"marks":128024},[128025],{"type":606,"attrs":128026},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128029,"content":128030},{"textAlign":49},[],"We are delighted to announce that UK electric vehicle (EV) pioneer, Colin Herron CBE, will join Benchmark’s In Conversation on Thursday 18 June at 6pm Berlin / 5pm UK / 12pm New York / 9am San Francisco & Los Angeles. Colin was awarded a CBE, the second highest possible award in the British Honours System […]",[128033],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128034},{"job_title":557,"image":128035,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cc1b086b-170f-4cad-be52-f7897a53e3ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[128038],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":128040,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128041,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5704d547f9/bm-colin-herron.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 07, 2020",{"id":128044,"uuid":128045,"name":128046,"slug":128047,"full_slug":128048,"content":128049},112473986875187,"617ef7f0-12a3-4cec-8d21-f2fd307f85c1","Daimler could soon follow Volkswagen’s path as it reportedly considers investment in battery cell manufacturer Farasis Energy","daimler-could-soon-follow-volkswagens-path-as-it-reportedly-considers-investment-in-battery-manufacturer-farasis-energy","article/daimler-could-soon-follow-volkswagens-path-as-it-reportedly-considers-investment-in-battery-manufacturer-farasis-energy",{"_uid":128050,"date":128051,"tags":128052,"editor":128054,"content":128058,"excerpt":128095,"featured":50,"reporter":128096,"_editable":128100,"component":697,"seo_title":128046,"categories":128101,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128103,"seo_description":128095,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128106},"2de47b7b-4187-4e18-983e-ca1d125fa836","2020-06-04 00:00",[128053],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[128055],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128056},{"job_title":557,"image":128057,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":128059},[128060,128065,128070,128075,128080,128085,128090],{"type":591,"attrs":128061,"content":128062},{"textAlign":49},[128063],{"text":128064,"type":596},"While Volkswagen caught most attention at the end of May with news of its €1.1 billion investment in Chinese Guoxuan High Tech Co. (also known as Gotion) it was reported that Daimler is considering an investment in Chinese-American battery manufacturer Farasis Energy (Farasis).",{"type":591,"attrs":128066,"content":128067},{"textAlign":49},[128068],{"text":128069,"type":596},"Farasis initially announced at the start of Q2 2020 that it was preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the Shanghai Stock Exchange to raise RMB 3.4bn ($480m), which would value the company at RMB 30bn ($4.2bn).",{"type":591,"attrs":128071,"content":128072},{"textAlign":49},[128073],{"text":128074,"type":596},"Daimler’s reported interest in the tier 2 battery manufacturer would mark further OEM involvement in the lithium ion supply chain as a secure supply of battery cells becomes increasingly of concern to automakers, particularly European OEMs looking to meet stringent carbon emission targets.",{"type":591,"attrs":128076,"content":128077},{"textAlign":49},[128078],{"text":128079,"type":596},"Daimler already has an existing relationship with Farasis, having agreed in 2019 to purchase cells from the company’s European megafactory, which is currently under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":128081,"content":128082},{"textAlign":49},[128083],{"text":128084,"type":596},"Farasis’s European megafactory, announced in May 2019, is to be located in Anhalt, Germany, and is expected to commence production in 2022, with a phase 1 capacity 10 GWh of production capacity according to Benchmark Minerals Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment. Benchmark expects Farasis to focus on NCM cells when the plant reaches production, primarily NCM 622 and 811.",{"type":591,"attrs":128086,"content":128087},{"textAlign":49},[128088],{"text":128089,"type":596},"Farasis has four megafactories in the pipeline in total with 75 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2029 as assessed by Benchmark Minerals. The company has been mirroring the ambitions of tier 1 providers such as LG Chem, SK Innovation and recent tier 1 addition CATL in looking to expand its production base across different regions. It has two megafactories in China, one of which already has 10 GWh of production capacity, and a further megafactory in the USA for which a location is yet to be confirmed.",{"type":591,"attrs":128091,"content":128092},{"textAlign":49},[128093],{"text":128094,"type":596},"It is becoming increasingly important to automakers to have more influence on their supply of lithium ion cells and as shown by Volkswagen’s investment in Guoxuan. We have already seen a number reports of European automakers facing tier 1 battery cell bottlenecks this year, and while this is not a material issue now, as production ramps up through the 2020s this issue will likely become magnified. Daimler’s reported interest in Farasis is further evidence of how critical battery supply will be to auto producers through the 2020s and onwards.","While Volkswagen caught most attention at the end of May with news of its €1.1 billion investment in Chinese Guoxuan High Tech Co. (also known as Gotion) it was reported that Daimler is considering an investment in Chinese-American battery manufacturer Farasis Energy (Farasis). Farasis initially announced at the start of Q2 2020 that it was […]",[128097],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128098},{"job_title":557,"image":128099,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2de47b7b-4187-4e18-983e-ca1d125fa836\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[128102],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":128104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128105,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/62712a1782/bm-daimler-farasis-benchmark.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 04, 2020",{"id":128108,"uuid":128109,"name":128110,"slug":128111,"full_slug":128112,"content":128113},112474016141249,"341d3482-af2d-42fb-af31-bfcbbbb8ce71","We are over Elon Musk’s 100 Gigafactory target for sustainable energy: Do we need a Terafactory?","we-are-over-elon-musks-100-gigafactory-target-for-sustainable-energy-do-we-need-a-terafactory","article/we-are-over-elon-musks-100-gigafactory-target-for-sustainable-energy-do-we-need-a-terafactory",{"_uid":128114,"date":128115,"tags":128116,"editor":128117,"content":128121,"excerpt":128363,"featured":50,"reporter":128364,"_editable":128368,"component":697,"seo_title":128110,"categories":128369,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128371,"seo_description":128363,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128374},"6b51636c-b6c4-474c-9c69-4868c80874ff","2020-05-17 00:00",[],[128118],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128119},{"job_title":557,"image":128120,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":128122},[128123,128128,128133,128140,128145,128152,128159,128166,128172,128178,128184,128190,128199,128208,128213,128218,128223,128228,128233,128238,128243,128248,128253,128258,128263,128268,128273,128278,128283,128288,128293,128298,128303,128308,128315,128320,128326,128331,128336,128341,128351,128354],{"type":591,"attrs":128124,"content":128125},{"textAlign":49},[128126],{"text":128127,"type":596},"In a 2016 National Geographic documentary, Before The Flood, Leo DiCaprio looked at an array of technologies that could move the world to a low carbon future.",{"type":591,"attrs":128129,"content":128130},{"textAlign":49},[128131],{"text":128132,"type":596},"The documentary led DiCaprio to meet Elon Musk at a Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada that was under construction. They had the following exchange:",{"type":591,"attrs":128134,"content":128135},{"textAlign":49},[128136,128138],{"text":128137,"type":596},"Elon Musk",{"text":128139,"type":596},": “Batteries are critical to a sustainable energy future.",{"type":591,"attrs":128141,"content":128142},{"textAlign":49},[128143],{"text":128144,"type":596},"“We did calculations…what would it take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy, what kind of [battery cell] throughput would you actually need… You would need 100 gigafactories…",{"type":591,"attrs":128146,"content":128147},{"textAlign":49},[128148,128150],{"text":128149,"type":596},"Leo DiCaprio",{"text":128151,"type":596},": “100 of these…that would make the United States…",{"type":591,"attrs":128153,"content":128154},{"textAlign":49},[128155,128157],{"text":128156,"type":596},"EM",{"text":128158,"type":596},": No, the whole world",{"type":591,"attrs":128160,"content":128161},{"textAlign":49},[128162,128164],{"text":128163,"type":596},"LDC",{"text":128165,"type":596},": The whole world?",{"type":591,"attrs":128167,"content":128168},{"textAlign":49},[128169,128170],{"text":128156,"type":596},{"text":128171,"type":596},": All energy",{"type":591,"attrs":128173,"content":128174},{"textAlign":49},[128175,128176],{"text":128163,"type":596},{"text":128177,"type":596},": That’s it?",{"type":591,"attrs":128179,"content":128180},{"textAlign":49},[128181,128182],{"text":128156,"type":596},{"text":128183,"type":596},": Yeah",{"type":591,"attrs":128185,"content":128186},{"textAlign":49},[128187,128188],{"text":128163,"type":596},{"text":128189,"type":596},": That sounds manageable",{"type":591,"attrs":128191,"content":128192},{"textAlign":49},[128193,128195,128197],{"text":128194,"type":596},"We are now at 136 lithium ion battery gigafactories / megafactories — i.e super-sized gigawatt (GWh) scale battery cell plants — in the pipeline out to 2029 in ",{"text":128196,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals’ Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessmen",{"text":128198,"type":596},"t.",{"type":591,"attrs":128200,"content":128201},{"textAlign":49},[128202,128204,128206],{"text":128203,"type":596},"The proprietary data Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has been collecting since the day of Tesla’s Gigafactory announcement is published each month in our ",{"text":128205,"type":596},"Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment",{"text":128207,"type":596}," – the world’s most extensive database of lithium ion battery plants that forecasts out a decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":128209,"content":128210},{"textAlign":49},[128211],{"text":128212,"type":596},"We are now well over Elon Musk’s target of 100 gigafactories, but a question we get asked a lot at Benchmark is, if Elon is right, why are we still building battery plants?",{"type":591,"attrs":128214,"content":128215},{"textAlign":49},[128216],{"text":128217,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark answers that question and mulls whether a Terafactory is the next logical step.",{"type":615,"attrs":128219,"content":128220},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128221],{"text":128222,"type":596},"If we have exceeded Elon Musk’s 100 gigafactory target, why are we still building battery plants?",{"type":591,"attrs":128224,"content":128225},{"textAlign":49},[128226],{"text":128227,"type":596},"Elon Musk’s target in the conversation with Leo DiCaprio was 100 gigafactories based on 35GWh of lithium ion battery cell production, equating to 3,500GWh of battery capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":128229,"content":128230},{"textAlign":49},[128231],{"text":128232,"type":596},"Right now, Benchmark’s total lithium ion battery capacity in the pipeline is 2,491.7GWh by 2029 assuming 100% of these megafactories come onstream and operate at 100% of capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":128234,"content":128235},{"textAlign":49},[128236],{"text":128237,"type":596},"Of course, these assumptions will not happen so more capacity will be needed to have enough supply of battery cells for the burgeoning electric vehicle and energy storage markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":128239,"content":128240},{"textAlign":49},[128241],{"text":128242,"type":596},"The average size of an operational lithium ion battery megafactory / gigafactory around the world today is 7.28GWh/year.",{"type":591,"attrs":128244,"content":128245},{"textAlign":49},[128246],{"text":128247,"type":596},"Yet this is figure growing. Benchmark forecasts the average capacity of these super-sized battery plants to be 18.9GWh in 2029 — still some way short of Tesla’s 37GWh Gigafactory 1 which is operational today.",{"type":591,"attrs":128249,"content":128250},{"textAlign":49},[128251],{"text":128252,"type":596},"Taking into account future failed projects and successful battery plants running at lower capacity utilisation rates, the pipeline number will need to be at least 4,000GWh or 4TWh to translate to 3,500GWh of actual battery cell production. ",{"type":615,"attrs":128254,"content":128255},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128256],{"text":128257,"type":596},"Do we need a Terafactory?",{"type":591,"attrs":128259,"content":128260},{"textAlign":49},[128261],{"text":128262,"type":596},"In theory, the the potential market size for lithium ion batteries in ten years time could accommodate four Terafactories and it is a trend that fits in with the rise of the battery megafactories thematic we have seen since 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":128264,"content":128265},{"textAlign":49},[128266],{"text":128267,"type":596},"In 5 years, lithium ion battery plants have grown an order of magnitude: from 500MWH (0.5GWh) plants geared to making cells for laptops and power tools, to an average plant size of 7.89GWh in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":128269,"content":128270},{"textAlign":49},[128271],{"text":128272,"type":596},"The largest lithium ion battery plant in the world is Tesla’s Gigafactory which had an operational capacity of 37GWh in 2019 and is on track to reach 60-70GWh capacity within the next three years — the next step in the orders of magnitude scale. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128274,"content":128275},{"textAlign":49},[128276],{"text":128277,"type":596},"Therefore, the logical progression is to have at least one Terawatt (TWh) capacity battery plant or a Terafactory. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128279,"content":128280},{"textAlign":49},[128281],{"text":128282,"type":596},"This would be classified as any single site battery cell facility over 1TWh or 1,000GWh of annual capacity. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128284,"content":128285},{"textAlign":49},[128286],{"text":128287,"type":596},"Of course, this capacity would far exceed any internal use for Tesla or any electric vehicle producer and would have to be supplying multiple domestic automotive OEMs and energy storage facilities to even come close to making sense. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128289,"content":128290},{"textAlign":49},[128291],{"text":128292,"type":596},"This also of course, completely depends on the economics and logistics of such operations, but from a market demand perspective it is justifiable. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128294,"content":128295},{"textAlign":49},[128296],{"text":128297,"type":596},"Ten years ago in 2010, onlookers would have looked at the Gigafactory with the same awe and doubt : a battery plant big enough to fit the entire world’s production of batteries — then 30GWh — under one roof. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128299,"content":128300},{"textAlign":49},[128301],{"text":128302,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery market has since grown 6.2 times to 187GWh in 2019. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128304,"content":128305},{"textAlign":49},[128306],{"text":128307,"type":596},"Should Elon Musk aim to do the same thing again — put the entire lithium ion battery industry under one roof in ten years time by 2030 — then a Terafactory project is the answer:",{"type":591,"attrs":128309,"content":128310},{"textAlign":49},[128311],{"text":128312,"type":596,"marks":128313},"187GWh x 6.2 = 1,159GWh = 1.15TWh ",[128314],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":128316,"content":128317},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128318],{"text":128319,"type":596},"Back to the rest of the conversation with Leo DiCaprio: ",{"type":591,"attrs":128321,"content":128322},{"textAlign":49},[128323,128324],{"text":128137,"type":596},{"text":128325,"type":596},": “So Tesla can’t build 100 gigafactories. The thing that’s really going to make the difference is if companies much bigger than Tesla do the same thing. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128327,"content":128328},{"textAlign":49},[128329],{"text":128330,"type":596},"“If the big industrial companies in China, US and Europe… the big car companies… if they also do this then collectively we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. ",{"type":591,"attrs":128332,"content":128333},{"textAlign":49},[128334],{"text":128335,"type":596},"And if the government sets the rules to favour sustainable energy, we can get there really quickly.”",{"type":615,"attrs":128337,"content":128338},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128339],{"text":128340,"type":596},"Bigger than Giga: Are the Terafactories coming?",{"type":591,"attrs":128342,"content":128343},{"textAlign":49},[128344,128346],{"text":128345,"type":596},"Join our free online seminar, Friday 29 May 2020, 6pm London | 1pm New York | 10am LA / San Francisco: ",{"text":127828,"type":596,"marks":128347},[128348],{"type":606,"attrs":128349},{"href":128350,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fmp41nXKSCeFRStRZwqHZQ",{"type":615,"attrs":128352,"content":128353},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":128355,"content":128356},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128357],{"text":128358,"type":596,"marks":128359},"#EVFest 2020: Over 25 hours of online seminars free, next week, join us here ",[128360],{"type":606,"attrs":128361},{"href":128362,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/ev-festival/","In a 2016 National Geographic documentary, Before The Flood, Leo DiCaprio looked at an array of technologies that could move the world to a low carbon future. The documentary led DiCaprio to meet Elon Musk at a Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada that was under construction. They had the following exchange: Elon Musk: “Batteries are critical […]",[128365],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128366},{"job_title":557,"image":128367,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6b51636c-b6c4-474c-9c69-4868c80874ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[128370],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":128372,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128373,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3d02ce538a/bm-musk-leo-ngeo.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 17, 2020",{"id":128376,"uuid":128377,"name":128378,"slug":128379,"full_slug":128380,"content":128381},112474021183543,"bbae2cc6-e1bf-49ba-929d-e54609ca21ab","Battery makers’ high nickel ambitions rest on the success of HPAL as 2020 sees new wave of projects approach production","battery-makers-high-nickel-ambitions-rest-on-the-success-of-hpal-as-2020-sees-new-wave-of-projects-approach-production","article/battery-makers-high-nickel-ambitions-rest-on-the-success-of-hpal-as-2020-sees-new-wave-of-projects-approach-production",{"_uid":128382,"date":128383,"tags":128384,"editor":128385,"content":128389,"excerpt":128434,"featured":50,"reporter":128435,"_editable":128439,"component":697,"seo_title":128378,"categories":128440,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128442,"seo_description":128434,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128445},"dcc2a2d6-dffc-4ffb-b8bc-21643c778ce0","2020-05-11 00:00",[],[128386],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128387},{"job_title":557,"image":128388,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":128390},[128391,128396,128401,128406,128409,128414,128419,128424,128429],{"type":591,"attrs":128392,"content":128393},{"textAlign":49},[128394],{"text":128395,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals’ Nickel forecast shows a wave of new HPAL (high pressure acid leach) production coming online in the 2020s as the industry ramps up production routes for MHP and nickel sulphate to meet the demands of battery producers chasing higher energy-density cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":128397,"content":128398},{"textAlign":49},[128399],{"text":128400,"type":596},"In April, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) confirmed it continues to work towards production at its Ravensthorpe nickel laterite HPAL project in Western Australia, with first shipment expected in H1 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":128402,"content":128403},{"textAlign":49},[128404],{"text":128405,"type":596},"While nickel sulphides would typically be the preferred choice of raw material from a battery supply chain perspective — due to higher grades and lower-costs — a lack of new resources has shifted the market’s expansion focus towards laterites.",{"type":591,"attrs":128407,"content":128408},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":128410,"content":128411},{"textAlign":49},[128412],{"text":128413,"type":596},"FQM restarted its acid plant and atmospheric leaching operations in March 2020, and the first HPAL circuit was brought online in mid-April, with the second scheduled to come online in by H2 2020. Product drying and containerising of MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate) was also commenced at the project in April.",{"type":591,"attrs":128415,"content":128416},{"textAlign":49},[128417],{"text":128418,"type":596},"MHP, an intermediate product of nickel laterite ore, is an increasingly important feedstock in nickel sulphate production, with the majority of expansions coming from laterite deposits, particularly as nickel consumption from the lithium ion supply chain increases. Downstream lithium ion supply chain cathode producers looking to secure their nickel supply to match long term capacity expansions are increasingly looking to source MHP directly rather than purchasing nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":128420,"content":128421},{"textAlign":49},[128422],{"text":128423,"type":596},"This supply chain is not without risks, however, with HPAL projects demonstrating a number of technical challenges that have hindered growth in these projects over recent years.",{"type":591,"attrs":128425,"content":128426},{"textAlign":49},[128427],{"text":128428,"type":596},"While, at present, nickel intermediates from Indonesia do not commonly enter the battery supply chain, Benchmark Minerals’ Nickel Forecast shows that 3,000 tonnes of nickel in MHP from new HPAL projects will come online in 2020, as several Indonesian projects, including PT Halmahera Persada Lygend on Obi Island and Tsingshan-GEM-CATL project at Morowali industrial park, are set to begin commissioning in late 2020. However, as Indonesia struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus these timelines may be pushed back into 2021 and capex increases at these projects are likely.",{"type":591,"attrs":128430,"content":128431},{"textAlign":49},[128432],{"text":128433,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Nickel Forecast shows 220,000 per annum of new nickel supply, across six projects, coming from Indonesia’s HPAL projects by 2025. Indonesia’s share of global nickel production is set to increase from 16% in 2019 to 38% in 2025 as the country takes a more prominent role in the wider nickel market and battery supply chain.","Benchmark Minerals’ Nickel forecast shows a wave of new HPAL (high pressure acid leach) production coming online in the 2020s as the industry ramps up production routes for MHP and nickel sulphate to meet the demands of battery producers chasing higher energy-density cathodes. In April, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) confirmed it continues to work towards production […]",[128436],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128437},{"job_title":557,"image":128438,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"dcc2a2d6-dffc-4ffb-b8bc-21643c778ce0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[128441],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":128443,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128444,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db80bbbb22/bm-fqm-ravensthorpe.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 11, 2020",{"id":128447,"uuid":128448,"name":128449,"slug":128450,"full_slug":128451,"content":128452},112474026016841,"a637c7b9-681c-42f1-a0a3-2f732cea76fb","What can the lithium ion supply chain expect in the 2020s?","2020-vision-what-can-we-expect-in-this-decade-for-the-lithium-ion-supply-chain","article/2020-vision-what-can-we-expect-in-this-decade-for-the-lithium-ion-supply-chain",{"_uid":128453,"date":128454,"tags":128455,"editor":128456,"content":128460,"excerpt":128781,"featured":50,"reporter":128782,"_editable":128786,"component":697,"seo_title":128449,"categories":128787,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128789,"seo_description":128781,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128792},"3b346304-951c-4d90-82a8-c16d3c0e2137","2020-05-08 00:00",[],[128457],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128458},{"job_title":557,"image":128459,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":128461},[128462,128467,128472,128477,128482,128487,128492,128496,128501,128506,128511,128516,128519,128523,128528,128533,128538,128543,128548,128552,128563,128568,128573,128578,128581,128585,128590,128595,128600,128605,128610,128615,128620,128625,128630,128634,128639,128644,128648,128653,128658,128662,128667,128672,128676,128683,128688,128693,128696,128701,128706,128711,128716,128721,128726,128731,128736,128741,128746,128751,128756,128761,128766,128771,128776],{"type":591,"attrs":128463,"content":128464},{"textAlign":49},[128465],{"text":128466,"type":596},"In this deep-dive Q&A into the lithium ion battery supply chain Benchmark Minerals’ Product Director, Andrew Miller, provides a detailed look into how raw material markets adapted to the new supply chain realities through the 2010s and the changes we can expect in the 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":128468,"content":128469},{"textAlign":49},[128470],{"text":128471,"type":596},"In this new environment how have markets changed for lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel? What can we expect in battery raw materials for the rest of 2020? How has the coronavirus affected Benchmark’s medium-term and longer-term forecasts? What are the major cathode and anode trends that will shape the future of these markets?",{"type":591,"attrs":128473,"content":128474},{"textAlign":49},[128475],{"text":128476,"type":596},"Read on as Andrew Miller explains the critical development drawing on Benchmark’s extensive forecasting sets and proprietary data.",{"type":615,"attrs":128478,"content":128479},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128480],{"text":128481,"type":596},"What have the major supply and demand trends been in battery raw materials over the last 5 years?",{"type":591,"attrs":128483,"content":128484},{"textAlign":49},[128485],{"text":128486,"type":596},"Across the board you’ve started to see the emergence of battery demand disrupting some of the traditional industrial applications for lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel. To different degrees you’ve also seen a period of price volatility that’s come off the back of that.",{"type":591,"attrs":128488,"content":128489},{"textAlign":49},[128490],{"text":128491,"type":596},"These changes from battery consumption have come from relatively low demand growth compared with what we’ll see over the next few years. But it’s disrupted what was quite an inflexible supply structure in each of these markets and exposed the fact that to bring new resources into production can take a very long time and can’t be achieved as rapidly as battery demand would dictate.",{"type":615,"attrs":128493,"content":128494},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128495],{"text":8,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128497,"content":128498},{"textAlign":49},[128499],{"text":128500,"type":596},"The big development on the lithium supply side is that to bring new supply to the market quickly, you’ve seen the emergence of hard rock resources as the quicker source of new supply. The speed to bring that to market is a lot quicker than brine resources and it’s also typically been located in more mining-friendly jurisdictions – so you haven’t had some of the permitting issues that you’ve had in areas like Chile for the brine side of things. Australia has been more accommodating and elsewhere lithium mining has also opened up, for instance in Brazil.",{"type":591,"attrs":128502,"content":128503},{"textAlign":49},[128504],{"text":128505,"type":596},"Over the past few years we’ve therefore seen a shift in the balance of supply away from brine as the primary source of feedstock into the lithium market, which was widely accepted to be the lower cost source of material.",{"type":591,"attrs":128507,"content":128508},{"textAlign":49},[128509],{"text":128510,"type":596},"On the back of increasing battery demand, there was a need to bring supplies to the market more quickly, which boosted new spodumene operations and we’ve seen spodumene becoming the leading feedstock into the lithium market today.",{"type":591,"attrs":128512,"content":128513},{"textAlign":49},[128514],{"text":128515,"type":596},"You’ve also seen some development on the cost curve as new demand has been created and the shift in battery technology has developed. With these technological shifts there tends to be favour towards high nickel cathodes from western OEMs and that means there is the need for a higher proportion of lithium hydroxide required. That’s important in cost terms because the common theory that brine is the lower cost source for lithium chemicals was largely tied to the production of lithium carbonate. If you can produce lithium hydroxide directly from spodumene it becomes more cost competitive with brine. So, in terms of new supply and how that’s emerged, you’ve really seen these two supply chains diverging from each other and start to position themselves to supply different subsections of the battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":128517,"content":128518},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":128520,"content":128521},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128522],{"text":693,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128524,"content":128525},{"textAlign":49},[128526],{"text":128527,"type":596},"For graphite, the biggest development story for supply is that there has finally been some diversification of supply from outside of China. Historically China has supplied upwards of 70% of global production. With the emergence of operations outside of China, particularly with Syrah Resources mine in Mozambique, we are seeing a new competitive, low-cost, and high-volume source of flake graphite material. The competition for that new material has led China to look to maximise its own resources as well as looking to import material from elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":128529,"content":128530},{"textAlign":49},[128531],{"text":128532,"type":596},"The key thing in flake graphite now, which is different from five years ago, is that the market is becoming centred around value-add applications rather than traditional flake graphite concentrate markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":128534,"content":128535},{"textAlign":49},[128536],{"text":128537,"type":596},"While these markets still take up the majority of flake graphite demand, that is going to be very quickly eclipsed by demand from the battery market and high-value markets such as expandable graphite for instance, and different types of specialist applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":128539,"content":128540},{"textAlign":49},[128541],{"text":128542,"type":596},"The evolution of China’s role in the market has seen them move from being a low-cost exporter to the rest of the world’s value-added industries; to a point where it’s developed of its own domestic value-added market. More flake graphite than before is staying within China and it’s also starting to require more material from outside of its borders.",{"type":591,"attrs":128544,"content":128545},{"textAlign":49},[128546],{"text":128547,"type":596},"What that ultimately means is the rest of the world will no longer be able to rely solely on China for the source of low cost material for its value-added own purposes, and because of that we’re going to see a push for diversification and more mines will need to be developed outside of China.",{"type":615,"attrs":128549,"content":128550},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128551],{"text":115,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128553,"content":128554},{"textAlign":49},[128555,128557,128559,128561],{"text":128556,"type":596},"There hasn’t been a huge evolution in supply terms in the cobalt market. You’ve seen the need to develop new resources and you’ve also seen that bringing new supply to the cobalt market has possibly been the most challenging tasks in the whole battery supply chain. Ultimately because you’re dependent on the production of cobalt as a by-product and with the composition of different resources around the world that have cobalt assets, the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is ultimately the central player in that supply chain and in ",{"text":128558,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Cobalt",{"text":128560,"type":596},"Forecast ",{"text":128562,"type":596},"is going to remain the central player.",{"type":591,"attrs":128564,"content":128565},{"textAlign":49},[128566],{"text":128567,"type":596},"Other areas of development in terms of the supply structure for cobalt is how companies can grasp and get control of the sustainability of their supply chains. That has been a huge issue over the past five years, especially following the fallout following Amnesty International’s report which highlighted the involvement of artisanal sourced cobalt in the supply chains of a number of major tech and auto companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":128569,"content":128570},{"textAlign":49},[128571],{"text":128572,"type":596},"Since the Amnesty report, a huge amount of effort has gone into understanding the supply chains in the DRC. Now you have big international bodies, such as the World Economic Forum, as well as leading end-users such as Samsung, Volkswagen and BMW, who are now looking at how to make the DRC supply chain more sustainable while trying to add some diversification of supply outside of the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":128574,"content":128575},{"textAlign":49},[128576],{"text":128577,"type":596},"It’s not that there is no production outside the DRC, but to meet the type of growth levels that are going to be needed from cobalt over the coming years, there’s going to have to be more production from the DRC and more recycled sources of cobalt coming back into the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":128579,"content":128580},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":128582,"content":128583},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128584],{"text":150,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128586,"content":128587},{"textAlign":49},[128588],{"text":128589,"type":596},"The big development in nickel has been that any expansions at a raw material level have been centred around laterite expansions. That is important because from a battery supply chain perspective, you’d typically like to source your nickel from nickel sulphides, as these would be higher-quality and lower-cost sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":128591,"content":128592},{"textAlign":49},[128593],{"text":128594,"type":596},"But sulphide resources aren’t being developed or aren’t available, so laterites and particularly those in Indonesia, have been and will continue to be central going forward in bringing volumes to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":128596,"content":128597},{"textAlign":49},[128598],{"text":128599,"type":596},"At a refined nickel level the role of Indonesia and the role of laterites is going to be central and will be the driving force of expansions in the nickel market.",{"type":591,"attrs":128601,"content":128602},{"textAlign":49},[128603],{"text":128604,"type":596},"The big question when you work down the nickel supply chain is what is the favoured type of feedstock for nickel sulphate production? It’s not impossible to produce sulphate from laterites, there is just some additional cost, but if you can start to process some of the intermediates in that supply chain — depending on whether they’re trading at a premium or a discount to the metal price — it will ultimately dictate the economics of taking nickel from that side of the supply chain and producing nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":128606,"content":128607},{"textAlign":49},[128608],{"text":128609,"type":596},"The issue with nickel is less at a mining level and more at a refining level and how you can develop supply chains for the various different types of refined nickel products and how the costs of using each one of those products stacks up when you talk about taking it to nickel sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":128611,"content":128612},{"textAlign":49},[128613],{"text":128614,"type":596},"Nickel is slightly different from the rest of the battery raw materials industry in that it is from a much bigger commodity market. But what you really want to focus on and the area under the most scrutiny and under the most pressure from the rise of battery demand is nickel sulphate and the various supply chains into that part of the market.",{"type":615,"attrs":128616,"content":128617},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128618],{"text":128619,"type":596},"What can we expect in battery raw materials for the rest of 2020?",{"type":591,"attrs":128621,"content":128622},{"textAlign":49},[128623],{"text":128624,"type":596},"We’re seeing more of an impact from the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on the demand side rather than the supply side. We expect that demand this year is going to be derailed to a certain extent. That’s not going to impact the longer-term trajectory of the battery industry but it will impact the shape of that demand escalation particularly through 2020 and likely through into 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":128626,"content":128627},{"textAlign":49},[128628],{"text":128629,"type":596},"From a raw materials standpoint —and it differs across different geographies and different parts of the market —we haven’t seen operations impacted to the extent that there will be a material deficit in terms of supply of raw material. The bigger issue at the moment is how quickly can operations be ramped up given that there’s likely to be a continued low-price environment across battery raw materials. This could make it incredibly difficult to fund and develop new resources in the timeframes that are going to be needed over the next three to four years.",{"type":615,"attrs":128631,"content":128632},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128633],{"text":8,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128635,"content":128636},{"textAlign":49},[128637],{"text":128638,"type":596},"For lithium, a low-price environment was already in place after the fall off in pricing during 2018 and 2019. Coming into this year a lot of higher-cost operations had already come offline, as a lot of new spodumene operations were struggling under the operations on the market. This environment will put continued pressure on those projects and likely force more of them to remain closed for a longer period of time.",{"type":591,"attrs":128640,"content":128641},{"textAlign":49},[128642],{"text":128643,"type":596},"That will ultimately impact the lithium market balance because you had a backlog in the raw material end of the lithium supply chain at the tail-end of 2019. We were expecting that backlog to be worked by the middle of this year, but it looks likely that will linger in the market for longer because you’re not going to have the ramp-up of converters in China that suspended operations. You’ll also have Australian spodumene suppliers who’ll have to maintain some production and cashflow to remain in business, so you’ll continue to see shipments from those new spodumene operations even though there’s not huge demand growth in the Chinese market this year.",{"type":615,"attrs":128645,"content":128646},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128647],{"text":693,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128649,"content":128650},{"textAlign":49},[128651],{"text":128652,"type":596},"China is developing its own domestic graphite industry in response to its new value-added capacity that I mentioned before. It has also been keen to maintain a dominant position in the graphite market despite the development of new resources elsewhere in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":128654,"content":128655},{"textAlign":49},[128656],{"text":128657,"type":596},"When you look at the ramp-up of those operations following a period in Q1, when production typically is offline anyway, you’re not seeing too much material impact on the targets China are setting for their production in 2020. What that’s ultimately going to mean is that you’re likely to see an overhang of supply in the market again in 2020, particularly if battery demand doesn’t grow at the rate that was expected. More importantly, some of those traditional industrial end markets could fare badly over the coming 12-18 months due to the wider macro environment. That will increase the oversupply in the market for 2020 unless you see significant cutbacks in Chinese production.",{"type":615,"attrs":128659,"content":128660},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128661],{"text":115,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128663,"content":128664},{"textAlign":49},[128665],{"text":128666,"type":596},"There hasn’t been a huge impact from a supply side on the cobalt market from a mining perspective. But the important area to look at is the distribution of the raw material from the DRC and the supply chains from out of the DRC for that material to be refined and to make its way into the battery supply chain. The cobalt market has shown over the past few years that it’s pretty flexible to changes in demand and you’re likely to see more cutbacks in the cobalt market — you’ve already seen some come offline and reduce their volumes.",{"type":591,"attrs":128668,"content":128669},{"textAlign":49},[128670],{"text":128671,"type":596},"We expect the cobalt market to be in oversupply this year but it’s looking slightly more balanced than other raw materials because of its flexibility of supply. In the short-term, it’s more a logistics issue in getting material out of the DRC. In terms of our forecast numbers for this year, the cobalt market will likely respond to demand drop offs by lowering output from some of the major producers in the DRC, but also other parts of the world.",{"type":615,"attrs":128673,"content":128674},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[128675],{"text":150,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":128677,"content":128678},{"textAlign":49},[128679,128681],{"text":128680,"type":596},"The big thing in terms of our nickel numbers and where we’re expecting to see most disruption is the development of HPAL (high pressure acid leaching) projects in Indonesia. These projects are going to be central to nickel’s expansion in the next few years and there were some very encouraging signs at the start of the year with some of the permits being given and there were hopes that some",{"text":128682,"type":596},"of those projects would be pushed forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":128684,"content":128685},{"textAlign":49},[128686],{"text":128687,"type":596},"But if you look historically at HPAL projects they don’t have a huge degree of success and some of the challenges — both technically and ramping up to the volumes they are targeting — will likely be delayed by coronavirus shutdowns.",{"type":591,"attrs":128689,"content":128690},{"textAlign":49},[128691],{"text":128692,"type":596},"Shutdowns haven’t been prominent so far but are likely to kick in during Q2. You’re also going to see the wider macro pressures slowing capital going into new projects, and that will hinder some of the new developments in the market that are going to be needed to meet nickel sulphate demand by 2023 and 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":128694,"content":128695},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":128697,"content":128698},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128699],{"text":128700,"type":596},"How has the coronavirus affected medium- and long-term forecasts?",{"type":591,"attrs":128702,"content":128703},{"textAlign":49},[128704],{"text":128705,"type":596},"Broadly, where we’re expecting the biggest impact in short-term is logistics of material to market. Not a huge bottle neck in terms of volumes. What we’re really projecting and what are forecast models are showing is that the medium-term outlook for demand growth from the battery sector across all these markets will be disrupted. The positive of that is that China is still a large part of demand and we expect to see more positive signs from the Chinese in the second half of the year from the Chinese market.",{"type":591,"attrs":128707,"content":128708},{"textAlign":49},[128709],{"text":128710,"type":596},"But that diversification of demand from a China-centric story, moving to Europe and China for instance will be delayed as a result of this.",{"type":591,"attrs":128712,"content":128713},{"textAlign":49},[128714],{"text":128715,"type":596},"You will have other factors on the demand side, like I say demand from those industrial markets not growing and some of them contracting for this year. And that will impact the market balance for all four minerals for this year and into next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":128717,"content":128718},{"textAlign":49},[128719],{"text":128720,"type":596},"On the battery demand side, we are still projecting an upward correction in the market that is likely to bring battery demand growth back on track to where it was likely to be by the 2023-2024 sort of time frame.",{"type":591,"attrs":128722,"content":128723},{"textAlign":49},[128724],{"text":128725,"type":596},"The bigger issue from the supply side is that if you look longer term. The bigger impact on our models is what do the wider macro-economic constraints mean for the funding of new projects. We were already at a more volatile time for each of these minerals in the sense that you needed a huge amount of investment over the next 12-18 months to start meeting the demand we’re projecting for that 2023 and 2024 time horizon. If those growth rates stay in place then the industry has an even bigger job to do to meet growing demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":128727,"content":128728},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128729],{"text":128730,"type":596},"Looking further downstream, what are the major anode trends you expect going forward?",{"type":591,"attrs":128732,"content":128733},{"textAlign":49},[128734],{"text":128735,"type":596},"The trend we’re still projecting long-term from our forecasts is that you’re going to have a higher proportion of natural graphite being used in your anode blends. Where we are today, which is where we’ve been for the past few years, is that China has been a very dominant force in terms of demand and the rise of Chinese anode production capabilities have meant that the industry has tended towards using synthetic graphite. The key reason behind that is because of the stability of material allows Chinese producers to produce a more consistent product and a more reliable anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":128737,"content":128738},{"textAlign":49},[128739],{"text":128740,"type":596},"Now that’s not to say that it’s the optimum requirement for the anode. You have energy density requirements, performance requirements and of course life cycle requirements. What leading anode producers in the industry have today discovered is that by using a blend of those two materials —synthetic and natural graphite and in some cases with additives like silicon — has been shown to get the optimal performance depending on which application you’re talking about.",{"type":591,"attrs":128742,"content":128743},{"textAlign":49},[128744],{"text":128745,"type":596},"So longer term we see that blending being common place across the market. And ultimately that blend tending towards — particularly for your western OEMs — a more natural dominant blend in your anode. Longer-term we’re still forecasting a more even split in the market and we’re really only expecting the widespread emergence of other types of materials like pure silicon, like lithium anodes, really from post 2030. There’s going to be a huge lead time to develop those technologies, whether they’re going to be silicon or lithium dominant anode types.",{"type":591,"attrs":128747,"content":128748},{"textAlign":49},[128749],{"text":128750,"type":596},"We expect in the shorter-term China’s dominance in the anode space to continue, and therefore the prevalence of synthetic graphite anodes will continue and for the transition to the blend of natural and synthetic graphite to be delayed.",{"type":615,"attrs":128752,"content":128753},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128754],{"text":128755,"type":596},"Likewise, what are the major cathode trends you expect going forward?",{"type":591,"attrs":128757,"content":128758},{"textAlign":49},[128759],{"text":128760,"type":596},"The biggest trend over the past 18 months or so has been the slower than expected growth in high nickel cathodes and the more robust growth of LFP (lithium iron phosphate) which many thought would be transitioned out of the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":128762,"content":128763},{"textAlign":49},[128764],{"text":128765,"type":596},"We have always been more conservative on our outlook for high nickel cathodes, predominantly because of the additional capital required to introduce that production capacity and the technological constraints that still have to be worked through before you can have widespread implementation of high nickel, NCM 811 (nickel, cobalt, manganese) or NCA (nickel, cathode, aluminium) cathode types. That’s not to say there hasn’t been growth in that part of the market, but it’s been limited to a small group of suppliers who are able to execute production of those type of cathode chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":128767,"content":128768},{"textAlign":49},[128769],{"text":128770,"type":596},"Where we’ve seen more growth is obviously with the growth for demand in passenger electric vehicles. There is still a huge amount of growth in the NCM cathode variations but this will typically be in lower nickel cathodes such as 622 or 523, so working towards those mid-nickel cathode variations. As I mentioned before, LFP has played a really important role in the past couple of years and has got a lot of attention in terms of some of improved energy density capabilities that have been demonstrated by companies like BYD and CATL more recently.",{"type":591,"attrs":128772,"content":128773},{"textAlign":49},[128774],{"text":128775,"type":596},"We’re forecasting that the shift towards high nickel will be a slow transition – that’s something we’d always forecast and been in line with. Where we’ve increased some of our numbers is on the LFP side of the market. Although we were always confident LFP would play a big role in certain transportation capabilities – particularly in heavy duty and e-buses.",{"type":591,"attrs":128777,"content":128778},{"textAlign":49},[128779],{"text":128780,"type":596},"LFP is also benefitting from the emergence of ESS (energy storage systems) where you don’t have the same type of requirements as you do for a vehicle. LFP is likely to be a very prominent cathode type for the lithium ion that’s used in those applications. With the greater than expected rise in ESS projects and systems across the world over the past 12 months or so, and where we expect that to continue going the next couple of years, we will see a boost to LFP demand and see it hold a much larger proportion of the market than many were expecting. It’s still a small part of the market when you talk about stationary but it’s an important driver in terms of the cathode split.","In this deep-dive Q&A into the lithium ion battery supply chain Benchmark Minerals’ Product Director, Andrew Miller, provides a detailed look into how raw material markets adapted to the new supply chain realities through the 2010s and the changes we can expect in the 2020s. In this new environment how have markets changed for lithium, […]",[128783],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128784},{"job_title":557,"image":128785,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3b346304-951c-4d90-82a8-c16d3c0e2137\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[128788],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":128790,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128791,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e7b3399633/bm-benchmarks-2020-vision.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 08, 2020",{"id":128794,"uuid":128795,"name":128796,"slug":128797,"full_slug":128798,"content":128799},112474030952523,"9cd93f4a-1ed3-46e4-981b-9abb05b061a8","China controls sway of electric vehicle power through battery chemicals, cathode and anode production","china-controls-sway-of-electric-vehicle-power-through-battery-chemicals-cathode-and-anode-production","article/china-controls-sway-of-electric-vehicle-power-through-battery-chemicals-cathode-and-anode-production",{"_uid":128800,"date":128801,"tags":128802,"editor":128804,"content":128808,"excerpt":128981,"featured":50,"reporter":128982,"component":697,"seo_title":128796,"categories":128986,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":128988,"seo_description":128981,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":128992},"4d7d36f6-171c-46f4-b50f-d89cf87ebc25","2020-05-06 00:00",[128803],{"slug":575,"name":576},[128805],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128806},{"job_title":557,"image":128807,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":128809},[128810,128817,128824,128847,128852,128857,128862,128880,128885,128889,128894,128899,128904,128909,128914,128925,128936,128941,128946,128951,128956,128961,128965,128970,128973,128978],{"type":591,"attrs":128811,"content":128812},{"textAlign":49},[128813],{"text":128814,"type":596,"marks":128815},"Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will present the keynote: The Global Battery Arms Race: What next? On the World Tour East & World Tour West – a new online expansion of the Benchmark World Tour.",[128816],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":128818,"content":128819},{"textAlign":49},[128820],{"text":128821,"type":596,"marks":128822},"Join us for free here:",[128823],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":128825,"content":128826},{"textAlign":49},[128827,128829,128831,128833,128835,128839,128841,128845],{"text":128828,"type":596},"—–",{"text":128830,"type":596},"\nNew data from",{"text":128832,"type":596}," Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"text":128834,"type":596}," shows, for the first time, the story behind how China came to dominate the ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":128836},[128837],{"type":606,"attrs":128838},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":128840,"type":596}," to electric vehicle (EV) ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":128842},[128843],{"type":606,"attrs":128844},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":128846,"type":596}," by building out significant capacity in metal refining, battery grade chemicals production and cathode and anode making.",{"type":591,"attrs":128848,"content":128849},{"textAlign":49},[128850],{"text":128851,"type":596},"The chart below shows, in percentage terms, China’s share of global total production in 2019 for each stage of the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":128853,"content":128854},{"textAlign":49},[128855],{"text":128856,"type":596},"It combines proprietary data collected by Benchmark for:",{"type":615,"attrs":128858,"content":128859},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128860],{"text":128861,"type":596},"Upstream",{"type":591,"attrs":128863,"content":128864},{"textAlign":49},[128865,128867,128871,128873,128878],{"text":128866,"type":596},"Key battery raw materials of lithium, ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":128868},[128869],{"type":606,"attrs":128870},{"href":4844,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":128872,"type":596},", nickel, graphite, ",{"text":4907,"type":596,"marks":128874},[128875],{"type":606,"attrs":128876},{"href":128877,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/manganese",{"text":128879,"type":596}," and where they are extracted from the ground (traditional mining or brine operations); This is based on location of extraction and does not include the origin country of the operator – something also to consider.",{"type":615,"attrs":128881,"content":128882},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128883],{"text":128884,"type":596},"Midstream",{"type":615,"attrs":128886,"content":128887},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128888],{"text":128884,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":128890,"content":128891},{"level":118810,"textAlign":49},[128892],{"text":128893,"type":596},"Downstream",{"type":591,"attrs":128895,"content":128896},{"textAlign":49},[128897],{"text":128898,"type":596},"While there is a common misconception that China hosts the vast majority of natural resources, this is not the case with only 23% of global supply of all battery raw materials coming from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":128900,"content":128901},{"textAlign":49},[128902],{"text":128903,"type":596},"Meanwhile, its dominance in chemical production of battery grade raw materials stands at 80% of total global production.",{"type":591,"attrs":128905,"content":128906},{"textAlign":49},[128907],{"text":128908,"type":596},"A quite astonishing achievement for a country that has invested significantly in its lithium carbonate and hydroxide, cobalt sulphate, manganese and uncoated spherical graphite refining, for example.",{"type":591,"attrs":128910,"content":128911},{"textAlign":49},[128912],{"text":128913,"type":596},"Capacity ownership of this crucial chemical conversion refining step ensures the global raw material flows point towards China for value-added production.",{"type":591,"attrs":128915,"content":128916},{"textAlign":49},[128917,128919,128923],{"text":128918,"type":596},"Meanwhile, the core building blocks of the lithium ion battery – ",{"text":43166,"type":596,"marks":128920},[128921],{"type":606,"attrs":128922},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":128924,"type":596}," and anodes – are similarly dominant at a combined 66% of global production in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":128926,"content":128927},{"textAlign":49},[128928,128930,128934],{"text":128929,"type":596},"This breaks down as 61% for cathodes, but significantly higher for anodes: 86% of all anodes (natural and ",{"text":4820,"type":596,"marks":128931},[128932],{"type":606,"attrs":128933},{"href":4824,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":128935,"type":596},") are produced in China while 100% of all natural graphite anode is made in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":128937,"content":128938},{"textAlign":49},[128939],{"text":128940,"type":596},"Taking one step further down the value chain and we arrive at lithium ion battery cell manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":128942,"content":128943},{"textAlign":49},[128944],{"text":128945,"type":596},"The rise of the battery megafactories, so often discussed by Benchmark, has predominantly been taking place in mainland China therefore it comes as little surprise that 73% of production last year was within China.",{"type":591,"attrs":128947,"content":128948},{"textAlign":49},[128949],{"text":128950,"type":596},"Of the 136 lithium ion battery plants in the pipeline to 2029, 101 are based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":128952,"content":128953},{"textAlign":49},[128954],{"text":128955,"type":596},"Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, China’s supply chain dominance puts it in the driving seat for the future of the automotive industry as EV investments scale and legacy ICE technologies falter.",{"type":591,"attrs":128957,"content":128958},{"textAlign":49},[128959],{"text":128960,"type":596},"The Benchmark data in this chart shows its dominance from last year, a picture that is set to grow in favour of China out to 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":128962,"content":128963},{"textAlign":49},[128964],{"text":127850,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":128966,"content":128967},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128968],{"text":128969,"type":596},"Hear the keynote on The Benchmark World Tour – Online…",{"type":591,"attrs":128971,"content":128972},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":128974,"content":128975},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[128976],{"text":128977,"type":596},"Where’s does China’s dominance of the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain lie?",{"type":591,"attrs":128979,"content":128980},{"textAlign":49},[],"Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will present the keynote: The Global Battery Arms Race: What next? On the World Tour East & World Tour West – a new online expansion of the Benchmark World Tour. Join us for free here: World Tour East, Tuesday 26 May, 8am London World Tour West, Wednesday […]",[128983],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":128984},{"job_title":557,"image":128985,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[128987],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":128989,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":128989,"source":547,"filename":128990,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":128991,"is_external_url":51},"China lithium ion battery EV electric vehicle supply chain","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/41d0303b96/bm-china-and-lithium-ion-battery-to-ev-supply-chain.png",{"alt":128989,"title":128989,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 06, 2020",{"id":128994,"uuid":128995,"name":128996,"slug":128997,"full_slug":128998,"content":128999},112474045399304,"97e20820-1b0b-458e-9591-f33b81df297e","Benchmark launches EV Supply Chain Festival, 26-29 May 2020: Join us here","benchmark-launches-ev-supply-chain-festival-26-29-may-2020-join-here","article/benchmark-launches-ev-supply-chain-festival-26-29-may-2020-join-here",{"_uid":129000,"date":129001,"tags":129002,"editor":129004,"content":129008,"excerpt":129094,"featured":50,"reporter":129095,"_editable":129099,"component":697,"seo_title":128996,"categories":129100,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129103,"seo_description":129094,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129106},"a57965ef-014e-4806-b0de-7993a49837ff","2020-05-01 00:00",[129003],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[129005],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129006},{"job_title":557,"image":129007,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129009},[129010,129015,129025,129036,129041,129046,129051,129056,129061,129066,129071,129076,129081,129091],{"type":591,"attrs":129011,"content":129012},{"textAlign":49},[129013],{"text":129014,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce the world’s first online electric vehicle festival, catering for every one of the world’s time zones.  ",{"type":591,"attrs":129016,"content":129017},{"textAlign":49},[129018,129023],{"text":129019,"type":596,"marks":129020},"EV Supply Chain Festival 2020",[129021],{"type":606,"attrs":129022},{"href":128362,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":129024,"type":596}," will take place over four days starting at 8am London (5pm Sydney and Melbourne, 4pm Japan and South Korea, 3pm Perth). ",{"type":591,"attrs":129026,"content":129027},{"textAlign":49},[129028,129030,129034],{"text":129029,"type":596},"The festival will kick off with the WORLD TOUR EAST, a new two-hour, online expansion of our famous series of investment seminars that began in 2015. This will take place at 8am GMT on Tuesday 26 May (",{"text":102576,"type":596,"marks":129031},[129032],{"type":606,"attrs":129033},{"href":112384,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":129035,"type":596},"). ",{"type":591,"attrs":129037,"content":129038},{"textAlign":49},[129039],{"text":129040,"type":596},"What follows will be a four day extravaganza of online presentations and seminars including WORLD TOUR WEST, BENCHMARK BRIEFINGS and curated one-hour conversations with VIPs and some of the industry’s most innovative companies in our IN CONVERSATION, and IN FOCUS sessions. ",{"type":591,"attrs":129042,"content":129043},{"textAlign":49},[129044],{"text":129045,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Benchmark’s Managing Director, explained: ",{"type":591,"attrs":129047,"content":129048},{"textAlign":49},[129049],{"text":129050,"type":596},"“Isolation may be a necessity at this time but that will not stop the momentum of the EV supply chain. ",{"type":591,"attrs":129052,"content":129053},{"textAlign":49},[129054],{"text":129055,"type":596},"“So at Team Benchmark we have developed a virtual way of bringing together the high-class presentations and interactions that our events have become known for: a festival of over 25 online webinars, connecting our supply chain during a period of separation. ",{"type":591,"attrs":129057,"content":129058},{"textAlign":49},[129059],{"text":129060,"type":596},"“Benchmark’s EV Supply Chain Festival 2020 seemed like the perfect challenge for our world-class, creative team to profile many critically important developments and mark the start of the summer months for many.”",{"type":591,"attrs":129062,"content":129063},{"textAlign":49},[129064],{"text":129065,"type":596},"“The world may feel like it has stopped, but our industry is a 21st century foundation stone. Getting as many people listening to these stories and sparking conversation between the industry’s most influential actors is the only way we continue to push on.",{"type":591,"attrs":129067,"content":129068},{"textAlign":49},[129069],{"text":129070,"type":596},"“It is why we made the EV Supply Chain Festival 2020 free for everyone to view. ",{"type":591,"attrs":129072,"content":129073},{"textAlign":49},[129074],{"text":129075,"type":596},"“In addition, a proportion of our revenue will be going directly to global Covid-19 based charities and we will be asking our festival-goers from around the world for their input.",{"type":591,"attrs":129077,"content":129078},{"textAlign":49},[129079],{"text":129080,"type":596},"“Stay hydrated, stay informed”",{"type":591,"attrs":129082,"content":129083},{"textAlign":49},[129084,129086],{"text":129085,"type":596},"Join the festival for free! Choose your seminar ",{"text":129087,"type":596,"marks":129088},"here… ",[129089],{"type":606,"attrs":129090},{"href":128362,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":129092,"content":129093},{"textAlign":49},[],"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce the world’s first online electric vehicle festival, catering for every one of the world’s time zones. EV Supply Chain Festival 2020 will take place over four days starting at 8am London (5pm Sydney and Melbourne, 4pm Japan and South Korea, 3pm Perth). The festival will kick off with […]",[129096],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129097},{"job_title":557,"image":129098,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a57965ef-014e-4806-b0de-7993a49837ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129101,129102],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129104,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129105,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5beee8a8cb/bm-zoom-header.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 01, 2020",{"id":129108,"uuid":129109,"name":129110,"slug":129111,"full_slug":129112,"content":129113},112474055098692,"3c9a3ab7-af9f-4f11-a100-2116ceb8498e","Lithium ion vs Oil: What the energy crisis means for the battery sector | Stream on demand","lithium-vs-oil-what-the-price-crash-crisis-means-for-the-battery-sector","article/lithium-vs-oil-what-the-price-crash-crisis-means-for-the-battery-sector",{"_uid":129114,"date":129115,"tags":129116,"editor":129117,"content":129121,"excerpt":129182,"featured":50,"reporter":129183,"_editable":129187,"component":697,"seo_title":129110,"categories":129188,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129190,"seo_description":129182,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129194},"847e34b6-b22d-488b-9a32-f6ffe9fd8fbd","2020-04-23 00:00",[],[129118],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129119},{"job_title":557,"image":129120,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129122},[129123,129138,129150,129158,129163,129168,129179],{"type":591,"attrs":129124,"content":129125},{"textAlign":49},[129126,129128,129130,129132,129137],{"text":129127,"type":596},"The Benchmark Briefing on ",{"text":129129,"type":596},"Lithium ion versus Oil",{"text":129131,"type":596},":  What the price crash means for the battery sector is ",{"text":129133,"type":596,"marks":129134},"available to watch on demand now",[129135],{"type":606,"attrs":129136},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129139,"content":129140},{"textAlign":49},[129141,129143,129148],{"text":129142,"type":596},"This seminar marked the second of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s series of online events and is available for Benchmark Membership subscribers to stream on demand through ",{"text":129144,"type":596,"marks":129145},"Benchmark’s Video Streaming",[129146],{"type":606,"attrs":129147},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":129149,"type":596}," service.",{"type":615,"attrs":129151,"content":129152},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[129153],{"text":129154,"type":596,"marks":129155},"Lithium ion versus oil: a watershed moment: Stream on demand",[129156],{"type":606,"attrs":129157},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":129159,"content":129160},{"textAlign":49},[129161],{"text":129162,"type":596},"Benchmark’s Andy Leyland, Head of Strategic Advisory and Ahmed Mehdi, Principal, looked into the implications of an oil price crashing into the negative, the evaporation of gasoline demand and what this means for the lithium ion battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":129164,"content":129165},{"textAlign":49},[129166],{"text":129167,"type":596},"The seminar covers:",{"type":591,"attrs":129169,"content":129170},{"textAlign":49},[129171,129173,129178],{"text":129172,"type":596},"Watch the seminar ",{"text":129174,"type":596,"marks":129175},"on demand here",[129176],{"type":606,"attrs":129177},{"href":112342,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129180,"content":129181},{"textAlign":49},[],"The Benchmark Briefing on Lithium ion versus Oil: What the price crash means for the battery sector is available to watch on demand now. This seminar marked the second of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s series of online events and is available for Benchmark Membership subscribers to stream on demand through Benchmark’s Video Streaming service. Lithium ion […]",[129184],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129185},{"job_title":557,"image":129186,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"847e34b6-b22d-488b-9a32-f6ffe9fd8fbd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129189],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":129191,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":129191,"source":547,"filename":129192,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129193,"is_external_url":51},"oil versus lithium","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a6dc3c7c52/bm-oil-v-lithium.png",{"alt":129191,"title":129191,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 23, 2020",{"id":129196,"uuid":129197,"name":129198,"slug":129199,"full_slug":129200,"content":129201},112474070290876,"462771f9-c563-4e81-ae2e-1572e15123a5","Coronavirus supply chain shift was already underway in battery industry","coronavirus-supply-chain-shift-was-already-underway-in-battery-industry","article/coronavirus-supply-chain-shift-was-already-underway-in-battery-industry",{"_uid":129202,"date":129203,"tags":129204,"editor":129205,"content":129209,"excerpt":129409,"featured":50,"reporter":129410,"_editable":129414,"component":697,"seo_title":129198,"categories":129415,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129417,"seo_description":129409,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129420},"78d39429-033b-4312-ab76-085c8ad0d99c","2020-04-20 00:00",[],[129206],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129207},{"job_title":557,"image":129208,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129210},[129211,129216,129221,129226,129234,129239,129244,129249,129254,129259,129264,129269,129274,129279,129284,129289,129294,129299,129304,129309,129314,129319,129324,129329,129334,129339,129344,129349,129354,129359,129364,129369,129374,129379,129384,129389,129397,129402],{"type":591,"attrs":129212,"content":129213},{"textAlign":49},[129214],{"text":129215,"type":596},"The coronavirus / Covid-19 global emergency is ramping up and is fundamentally changing the way people, business and industries operate.",{"type":591,"attrs":129217,"content":129218},{"textAlign":49},[129219],{"text":129220,"type":596},"Having to move all physical operations into a virtual space may appear to be temporary but will have a lasting impact on the centralisation versus decentralisation of operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":129222,"content":129223},{"textAlign":49},[129224],{"text":129225,"type":596},"It has thrown into doubt the certainty of truly global supply chains, a phenomenon that has seamlessly integrated into our lives over the last 15 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":129227,"content":129228},{"textAlign":49},[129229,129231,129232],{"text":129230,"type":596},"Just-in-time supply chain models which 21",{"text":127058,"type":596},{"text":129233,"type":596},"century trade has been reliant upon are now suffering in a major way.",{"type":591,"attrs":129235,"content":129236},{"textAlign":49},[129237],{"text":129238,"type":596},"This is something I tweeted about on 5 March 2020: “The coronavirus could well be the final straw for truly global supply chains. The weaknesses are too great at a times great change.",{"type":591,"attrs":129240,"content":129241},{"textAlign":49},[129242],{"text":129243,"type":596},"“Expect to move to local-global supply chains where centralising most critical components on the ultimate end user location.”",{"type":591,"attrs":129245,"content":129246},{"textAlign":49},[129247],{"text":129248,"type":596},"Yet, while most industries scramble to quickly evolve their own mature supply chains, the lithium ion battery industry has found itself in a unique position of being ahead of the pack.",{"type":591,"attrs":129250,"content":129251},{"textAlign":49},[129252],{"text":129253,"type":596},"For the last two years, the rise of the lithium ion battery megafactories has seen super-sized battery cell plants established continent by continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":129255,"content":129256},{"textAlign":49},[129257],{"text":129258,"type":596},"Driven by the advent of pure electric vehicles, the next decade will see Europe build 16 battery megafactories, North America construct at least 7 and China to have 93 operation plants according to current plans in the pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":129260,"content":129261},{"textAlign":49},[129262],{"text":129263,"type":596},"Electric vehicle demand has shifted the lithium ion battery industry on its axis: from supplying a battery the size of a mobile phone to producing a battery pack and enough cells to be the size of a car.",{"type":591,"attrs":129265,"content":129266},{"textAlign":49},[129267],{"text":129268,"type":596},"It is an order of magnitude shift that has forced a complete rethink in the way the traditionally fragmented battery supply chain operates.",{"type":591,"attrs":129270,"content":129271},{"textAlign":49},[129272],{"text":129273,"type":596},"What the megafactories trend has underlined is the need for some form of localisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":129275,"content":129276},{"textAlign":49},[129277],{"text":129278,"type":596},"The initial reason for this was cost reduction.",{"type":591,"attrs":129280,"content":129281},{"textAlign":49},[129282],{"text":129283,"type":596},"Not only via scale but also through supply chain integration, by reducing as many links in the chain and as many participants as possible to make battery cells — and ultimately electric vehicles — cheaper to produce.",{"type":591,"attrs":129285,"content":129286},{"textAlign":49},[129287],{"text":129288,"type":596},"The second tailwind driving localisation is the safety of shipping lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":129290,"content":129291},{"textAlign":49},[129292],{"text":129293,"type":596},"You may have experienced the issues with taking your mobile phone or smart suitcase into an airplane in recent years.",{"type":591,"attrs":129295,"content":129296},{"textAlign":49},[129297],{"text":129298,"type":596},"The issue of transporting lithium ion cells long distances is set to become more regulated as the industry grows.",{"type":591,"attrs":129300,"content":129301},{"textAlign":49},[129302],{"text":129303,"type":596},"On the 1 January 2020, for example, the United Nations introduced new regulation which forces manufacturers of cells to make available the test results for their products.",{"type":591,"attrs":129305,"content":129306},{"textAlign":49},[129307],{"text":129308,"type":596},"It is additional paper work that acts as a further roadblock to shipping vast quantities of cells across our oceans.",{"type":591,"attrs":129310,"content":129311},{"textAlign":49},[129312],{"text":129313,"type":596},"As a result of this trend, the need to build battery plants on every major automotive-producing continent has become paramount.",{"type":591,"attrs":129315,"content":129316},{"textAlign":49},[129317],{"text":129318,"type":596},"In what is a global supply chain today (with lithium ion’s epicentre in Asia), becomes a localised or continental supply chain tomorrow.",{"type":591,"attrs":129320,"content":129321},{"textAlign":49},[129322],{"text":129323,"type":596},"And in this case ‘tomorrow’ means by the early 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":129325,"content":129326},{"textAlign":49},[129327],{"text":129328,"type":596},"These factors forced the entire battery to electric vehicle supply chain to rethink everything – something the coronavirus is doing to everyone else now.",{"type":591,"attrs":129330,"content":129331},{"textAlign":49},[129332],{"text":129333,"type":596},"Tesla sparked this cultural shift in thinking between 2014 and 2016 when the Gigafactory blueprint became a reality, forcing a sea change in the volumes of raw materials being consumed by electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":129335,"content":129336},{"textAlign":49},[129337],{"text":129338,"type":596},"While you can stipulate where much of the supply is located, the hard reality is that you cannot shift the highest quality and lowest cost sources of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":129340,"content":129341},{"textAlign":49},[129342],{"text":129343,"type":596},"As a result, the lithium ion battery supply chain is evolving into a local-global hybrid where the raw materials travel the furthest distance but the majority of the supply chain, including cathode production, anode finishing, battery cell and pack manufacturing, EV assembly, and battery recycling happens continentally, locally, or maybe even on one site.",{"type":591,"attrs":129345,"content":129346},{"textAlign":49},[129347],{"text":129348,"type":596},"It is important to recognise that the raw materials to battery cell section of the supply chain was not established for this way of operating.",{"type":591,"attrs":129350,"content":129351},{"textAlign":49},[129352],{"text":129353,"type":596},"Lithium for, example, has been built on a blueprint of ceramics and glass; natural graphite on a blueprint of steel and industrial uses in refractories, foundries and recarburiser; and, cobalt for superalloys used in aviation.",{"type":591,"attrs":129355,"content":129356},{"textAlign":49},[129357],{"text":129358,"type":596},"This has dictated where global material trade flows and the direction is towards China even though most of the battery raw materials are not located there.",{"type":591,"attrs":129360,"content":129361},{"textAlign":49},[129362],{"text":129363,"type":596},"For example, in 2019, China mined 1% of the world’s cobalt but refined 68% of cobalt chemicals and, similarly with lithium, only accounted for 9% of extraction but 59% of global chemical production.",{"type":591,"attrs":129365,"content":129366},{"textAlign":49},[129367],{"text":129368,"type":596},"The lesson? If you do not own the resource, ensure you are a major direct customer of the resource.",{"type":591,"attrs":129370,"content":129371},{"textAlign":49},[129372],{"text":129373,"type":596},"What both Europe and the USA need to do is ensure the majority of these supply chain arrows either point towards or are located on their continent. No longer can they rely on value added material production in Asia for finished components made in the USA or the European Union.",{"type":591,"attrs":129375,"content":129376},{"textAlign":49},[129377],{"text":129378,"type":596},"It will force companies and domestic industries to critically think about whether they have the resources or skills to perform a function such as cathode or separator making.",{"type":591,"attrs":129380,"content":129381},{"textAlign":49},[129382],{"text":129383,"type":596},"And this has been the thinking for some time which sparked the likes of BASF to build an EV cathode plant in Germany or for Northvolt to build a second battery Megafactory in partnership with VW.",{"type":591,"attrs":129385,"content":129386},{"textAlign":49},[129387],{"text":129388,"type":596},"The cost savings of both localisation and vertical integration may outweigh importing just-in-time products from around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":129390,"content":129391},{"textAlign":49},[129392,129394,129395],{"text":129393,"type":596},"However, most critically now, the supply security benefits in a post-coronavirus world will no doubt push these plans over the line and give Europe and the US confidence that they can bring 21",{"text":127058,"type":596},{"text":129396,"type":596},"century high-tech manufacturing to their economies on a mass scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":129398,"content":129399},{"textAlign":49},[129400],{"text":129401,"type":596},"Instead of continuing the discussion or launching sporadic plans, the lithium ion battery supply chain must now enact on building an EV supply chain ecosystem on each of the world’s major continents while the rest of the world waits to dust to settle.",{"type":591,"attrs":129403,"content":129404},{"textAlign":49},[129405],{"text":129406,"type":596,"marks":129407},"This is a Benchmark Membership article, written by Simon Moores — Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. ",[129408],{"type":1006},"The coronavirus / Covid-19 global emergency is ramping up and is fundamentally changing the way people, business and industries operate. Having to move all physical operations into a virtual space may appear to be temporary but will have a lasting impact on the centralisation versus decentralisation of operations. It has thrown into doubt the certainty […]",[129411],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129412},{"job_title":557,"image":129413,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"78d39429-033b-4312-ab76-085c8ad0d99c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129416],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129418,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129419,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ee35d3d1da/bm-benchmark-visit-tesla-gigafactory-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 20, 2020",{"id":129422,"uuid":129423,"name":129424,"slug":129425,"full_slug":129426,"content":129427},112474084946437,"9e1235a5-2351-454a-9832-fed231113526","New lithium ion battery supply chain data exposes manganese weaknesses","new-lithium-on-battery-supply-chain-data-exposes-manganese-weaknesses","article/new-lithium-on-battery-supply-chain-data-exposes-manganese-weaknesses",{"_uid":129428,"date":129429,"tags":129430,"editor":129432,"content":129436,"excerpt":129536,"featured":50,"reporter":129537,"_editable":129541,"component":697,"seo_title":129424,"categories":129542,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129545,"seo_description":129536,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129548},"3843b152-7344-4e87-8587-04a870190638","2020-04-15 00:00",[129431],{"slug":4907,"name":4908},[129433],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129434},{"job_title":557,"image":129435,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129437},[129438,129444,129449,129460,129466,129476,129479,129484,129489,129494,129499,129504,129509,129514,129519,129524,129531],{"type":591,"attrs":129439,"content":129440},{"textAlign":49},[129441,129442],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":129443,"type":596}," has released its latest lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain chart with new data that highlights the manganese weakness for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":129445,"content":129446},{"textAlign":49},[129447],{"text":129448,"type":596},"In 2019, we introduced a chart outlining the control that China exerted on the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in a testimony to the US Senate in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":129450,"content":129451},{"textAlign":49},[129452,129458],{"text":129453,"type":596,"marks":129454},"This statement",[129455],{"type":606,"attrs":129456},{"href":129457,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/benchmarks-minerals-simon-moores-warns-senate-us-a-bystander-in-battery-raw-materials/",{"text":129459,"type":596}," to the US Senate Committee for Natural Resources was the first time the market share break down of the entire supply chain, from mine to battery cell, was laid out in such start statistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":129461,"content":129462},{"textAlign":49},[129463,129464],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129465,"type":596},"‘s proprietary data showed the significant sway of industrial power that China holds in every step of the chain for key input materials of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":129467,"content":129468},{"textAlign":49},[129469,129470,129472,129474],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129471,"type":596}," has now updated this chart with the following:",{"text":129473,"type":596},"\n• 2019 data for the full annual year",{"text":129475,"type":596},"\n• Inclusion of manganese, a key input to NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":129477,"content":129478},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":129480,"content":129481},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[129482],{"text":129483,"type":596},"Manganese imbalance worse than cobalt",{"type":591,"attrs":129485,"content":129486},{"textAlign":49},[129487],{"text":129488,"type":596},"Manganese has flown under the radar compared to its battery raw material peers, yet its distribution of production capacity across the battery supply chain is just as precarious as the highest risk raw materials of lithium and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":129490,"content":129491},{"textAlign":49},[129492],{"text":129493,"type":596},"In 2019, manganese was not mined in any significant quantities in the main jurisdictions for cathode, battery cell or EV production.",{"type":591,"attrs":129495,"content":129496},{"textAlign":49},[129497],{"text":129498,"type":596},"In fact, North America produced zero tonnes of manganese and Europe fractional tonnes, via a small operation in Ukraine, yet is unsuitable for battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":129500,"content":129501},{"textAlign":49},[129502],{"text":129503,"type":596},"Meanwhile, China only produced 6% of global total output relying on primary producers such as South Africa, Australia and Gabon.",{"type":591,"attrs":129505,"content":129506},{"textAlign":49},[129507],{"text":129508,"type":596},"Those familiar with the supply chains for lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel will understand that similar rules apply here: not all manganese can be used to produce the manganese sulphate monohydrate used in lithium ion battery cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":129510,"content":129511},{"textAlign":49},[129512],{"text":129513,"type":596},"And it is this manganese chemical refining step in the supply chain where China has the significant advantage with 93% of production in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":129515,"content":129516},{"textAlign":49},[129517],{"text":129518,"type":596},"To reiterate: China only produces 6% of mined manganese but chemically refines 93%.",{"type":591,"attrs":129520,"content":129521},{"textAlign":49},[129522],{"text":129523,"type":596},"This is is a larger imbalance than cobalt of which China similarly mines a fraction, 1% of global supply, but chemically refines 82%.",{"type":591,"attrs":129525,"content":129526},{"textAlign":49},[129527,129528,129529],{"text":35170,"type":596},{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129530,"type":596}," has always advised, you do not need to own the raw material sources to control the global flow of trade in the lithium ion battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":129532,"content":129533},{"textAlign":49},[129534],{"text":129535,"type":596},"It is these chemical links in the supply chain that both Europe and North America are sorely missing and could yet act as another road block to creating a 21st century EV ecosystem on their respective continents should the situation continue unchecked.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has released its latest lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain chart with new data that highlights the manganese weakness for the industry. In 2019, we introduced a chart outlining the control that China exerted on the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in a testimony to the […]",[129538],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129539},{"job_title":557,"image":129540,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3843b152-7344-4e87-8587-04a870190638\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129543,129544],{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":4907,"name":4908},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129546,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129547,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e3627cdc89/bm-090417-mn-outcrop-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 15, 2020",{"id":129550,"uuid":129551,"name":129552,"slug":129553,"full_slug":129554,"content":129555},112474089751133,"5559750c-bcf4-407e-b08c-e61c54365dea","Lithium ion battery cells braced for up to 25% decline from coronavirus / COVID-19 shockwave","lithium-ion-battery-cells-braced-for-15-decline-from-coronavirus-covid-19-shockwave","article/lithium-ion-battery-cells-braced-for-15-decline-from-coronavirus-covid-19-shockwave",{"_uid":129556,"date":129557,"tags":129558,"editor":129560,"content":129564,"excerpt":129601,"featured":50,"reporter":129602,"_editable":129606,"component":697,"seo_title":129552,"categories":129607,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129609,"seo_description":129601,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129612},"bb5279a2-04ad-40fd-86c2-053ce7cc5f41","2020-04-10 00:00",[129559],{"slug":124153,"name":124154},[129561],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129562},{"job_title":557,"image":129563,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129565},[129566,129571,129577,129585,129590,129595,129598],{"type":591,"attrs":129567,"content":129568},{"textAlign":49},[129569],{"text":129570,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery industry is braced for a demand decline of 15-25% in 2020 following the evaporation of electric vehicle (EV) demand in the last month due to the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic.",{"type":591,"attrs":129572,"content":129573},{"textAlign":49},[129574,129575],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":129576,"type":596}," can confirm that Tier 1 cell producers in Asia are preparing for a minimum decrease in shipments of 15% in 2020 as producers adjust their medium term business plans to the fluid situation that has the potential to change on a weekly basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":129578,"content":129579},{"textAlign":49},[129580,129582,129583],{"text":129581,"type":596},"Should this global economic shutdown continue beyond June, the data ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129584,"type":596}," is collecting is pointing to a ‘lost quarter’ of demand in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":129586,"content":129587},{"textAlign":49},[129588],{"text":129589,"type":596},"Should it persist beyond September, the size of any rebound will be curtailed as the long term economic implications take hold and the world will again look to China to drive any medium term battery cell and EV gains.",{"type":591,"attrs":129591,"content":129592},{"textAlign":49},[129593],{"text":129594,"type":596},"While the numbers should come as no surprise to the battery supply chain that has witnessed the auto industry — its ultimate major end user — shut down its operations across the globe, the unique potential impact of the coronavirus is beginning to be quantified.",{"type":591,"attrs":129596,"content":129597},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":129599,"content":129600},{"textAlign":49},[],"The lithium ion battery industry is braced for a demand decline of 15-25% in 2020 following the evaporation of electric vehicle (EV) demand in the last month due to the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence can confirm that Tier 1 cell producers in Asia are preparing for a minimum decrease in shipments of […]",[129603],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129604},{"job_title":557,"image":129605,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bb5279a2-04ad-40fd-86c2-053ce7cc5f41\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129608],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129610,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129611,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87dc69e744/bm-credit-renato-gizzi.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 10, 2020",{"id":129614,"uuid":129615,"name":129616,"slug":129617,"full_slug":129618,"content":129619},112474113930147,"4d9030ee-b452-45a4-a8bf-b6cb025506e0","Electric vehicles face long-term Tier One battery bottleneck","electric-vehicles-face-long-term-tier-one-battery-bottleneck","article/electric-vehicles-face-long-term-tier-one-battery-bottleneck",{"_uid":129620,"date":129621,"tags":129622,"editor":129623,"content":129627,"excerpt":129757,"featured":50,"reporter":129758,"_editable":129762,"component":697,"seo_title":129616,"categories":129763,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129765,"seo_description":129757,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129768},"764a1386-cf26-4683-8343-96a2200d3075","2020-03-25 00:00",[],[129624],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129625},{"job_title":557,"image":129626,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129628},[129629,129640,129648,129674,129679,129707,129712,129717,129722,129727,129735,129740,129743,129748],{"type":591,"attrs":129630,"content":129631},{"textAlign":49},[129632,129634,129639],{"text":129633,"type":596},"The electric vehicle (EV) industry faces a long term lithium ion battery ",{"text":129635,"type":596,"marks":129636},"bottleneck for the highest quality of cells",[129637],{"type":606,"attrs":129638},{"href":115712,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129641,"content":129642},{"textAlign":49},[129643,129645,129646],{"text":129644,"type":596},"New data from ",{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":129647,"type":596},"shows that while forecast demand for lithium ion batteries only begins to exceed capacity in 2029, Tier One cells are going to be in the shortest supply throughout this period, especially as we enter 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":129649,"content":129650},{"textAlign":49},[129651,129653,129656,129658,129659,129661,129665,129667,129668,129670,129673],{"text":129652,"type":596},"The chart below maps forecasted lithium ion battery cell ",{"text":63031,"type":596,"marks":129654},[129655],{"type":1006},{"text":129657,"type":596},"tracked by ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129660,"type":596},"’s ",{"text":129662,"type":596,"marks":129663},"Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment ",[129664],{"type":1006},{"text":129666,"type":596},"against ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129669,"type":596},"’s forecast battery ",{"text":102778,"type":596,"marks":129671},[129672],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129675,"content":129676},{"textAlign":49},[129677],{"text":129678,"type":596},"On the surface, it appears there will not be any oversupply of battery cells at any point until 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":129680,"content":129681},{"textAlign":49},[129682,129684,129690,129692,129696,129697,129699,129700,129702,129703,129705],{"text":129683,"type":596},"However, not all lithium ion batteries can be used in all EVs which is why Benchmark introduced its ",{"text":129685,"type":596,"marks":129686},"EV tiering system ",[129687],{"type":606,"attrs":129688},{"href":129689,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-megafactory-giant-catl-reaches-tier-1-status",{"text":129691,"type":596},"to assess each producer on",{"text":129693,"type":596,"marks":129694}," the three Qs",[129695],{"type":1006},{"text":24817,"type":596},{"text":129698,"type":596},"quality",{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":129701,"type":596},"quantity",{"text":5886,"type":596},{"text":129704,"type":596},"qualification",{"text":129706,"type":596}," for automotive uses.",{"type":591,"attrs":129708,"content":129709},{"textAlign":49},[129710],{"text":129711,"type":596},"It is an issue that has already been faced by European auto OEMs especially in the last 6 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":129713,"content":129714},{"textAlign":49},[129715],{"text":129716,"type":596},"The industry will be looking to Tier Two cell manufacturers to step up and meet the burgeoning demands of the EV industry, but this is not as straight forward as it may seem.",{"type":591,"attrs":129718,"content":129719},{"textAlign":49},[129720],{"text":129721,"type":596},"Not only do these Tier Two manufacturers need to qualify with the major automakers — a lengthy and high specification process — but they will also need to ensure they can grow their capacity at an increasingly rapid rate without compromising quality.",{"type":591,"attrs":129723,"content":129724},{"textAlign":49},[129725],{"text":129726,"type":596},"This speed of expansion is something that Tier One battery makers in Europe have struggled with so far this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":129728,"content":129729},{"textAlign":49},[129730,129732,129733],{"text":129731,"type":596},"With the increasing capacity commitments seen since 2014, ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":129734,"type":596}," is now tracking 123 battery plants (megafactories) totalling 2,272.5 GWh total capacity by 2029 (as of February 2020 assessment).",{"type":615,"attrs":129736,"content":129737},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[129738],{"text":129739,"type":596},"Tier One Battery Bottleneck: Quality and Quantity remain an issue for electric vehicle makers (Units: GWh)",{"type":591,"attrs":129741,"content":129742},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":129744,"content":129745},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[129746],{"text":129747,"type":596},"Get Access to Benchmark’s EV battery Tier Rankings Database",{"type":591,"attrs":129749,"content":129750},{"textAlign":49},[129751,129753],{"text":129752,"type":596},"Fill out this ",{"text":94071,"type":596,"marks":129754},[129755],{"type":606,"attrs":129756},{"href":101034,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"The electric vehicle (EV) industry faces a long term lithium ion battery bottleneck for the highest quality of cells. New data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence shows that while forecast demand for lithium ion batteries only begins to exceed capacity in 2029, Tier One cells are going to be in the shortest supply throughout this period, especially as […]",[129759],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129760},{"job_title":557,"image":129761,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"764a1386-cf26-4683-8343-96a2200d3075\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129764],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129766,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129767,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e1694cf8d7/bm-vw-id3.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 25, 2020",{"id":129770,"uuid":129771,"name":129772,"slug":129773,"full_slug":129774,"content":129775},112474128389110,"d3243c8b-bc6e-4fe2-b8ac-000876ba8a17","What does Showa Denko’s purchase of Hitachi Chemicals mean for the battery anode market?","what-does-showa-denkos-purchase-of-hitachi-chemicals-mean-for-the-battery-anode-market","article/what-does-showa-denkos-purchase-of-hitachi-chemicals-mean-for-the-battery-anode-market",{"_uid":129776,"date":129777,"tags":129778,"editor":129779,"content":129783,"excerpt":129864,"featured":50,"reporter":129865,"_editable":129869,"component":697,"seo_title":129772,"categories":129870,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":129872,"seo_description":129864,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":129875},"6c7d929a-058d-4d31-a88e-23941a8a81b9","2020-03-06 00:00",[],[129780],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129781},{"job_title":557,"image":129782,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129784},[129785,129790,129798,129803,129808,129813,129818,129823,129828,129835],{"type":591,"attrs":129786,"content":129787},{"textAlign":49},[129788],{"text":129789,"type":596},"It was announced at the end of 2019 that Showa Denko, one of Japan’s largest chemical companies, would be purchasing Hitachi’s anode-producing chemical unit in what would be the company’s largest ever acquisition. The deal is still subject to completion and is expected to be finalised in March 2020 at the earliest.",{"type":591,"attrs":129791,"content":129792},{"textAlign":49},[129793,129795,129797],{"text":129794,"type":596},"Hitachi Chemicals is the leading Japanese producer of anode materials, producing an estimated 33,200 tonnes of anode material in 2019—representing approximately 50% of Japanese anode production according to the ",{"text":129796,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Anode Market Assessment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129799,"content":129800},{"textAlign":49},[129801],{"text":129802,"type":596},"Between 2013 and 2019 the company tripled its anode output, and the company had planned to further expand its capacity to 100,000 tpa at one stage. However, Hitachi Chemicals had become more conservative with its expansions plans in the months leading up to the announcement of Showa Denko’s acquisition.",{"type":591,"attrs":129804,"content":129805},{"textAlign":49},[129806],{"text":129807,"type":596},"Showa Denko is already active in the anode materials space with the company operating a 2,000 tpa synthetic graphite anode line. However, in February it announced plans to close this unit by the end of 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":129809,"content":129810},{"textAlign":49},[129811],{"text":129812,"type":596},"It is unclear whether Showa Denko’s closure of its existing unit represents a complete shift away from the anode space, where Chinese producers have extended their dominance in recent years, or whether it will simply shift efforts to Hitachi Chemical’s operations. However, it is understood that the focus of Showa Denko’s acquisition is on the semiconductor and display businesses rather than Hitachi Chemical’s anode unit.",{"type":591,"attrs":129814,"content":129815},{"textAlign":49},[129816],{"text":129817,"type":596},"If these developments do represent a wholesale move away from anode production across both businesses, it could have worrying implications for the security of supply into western supply chains. With major auto companies planning dramatic increases in electric vehicle production, anode production could prove to be another supply chain bottleneck in the pursuit of high quality lithium ion battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":129819,"content":129820},{"textAlign":49},[129821],{"text":129822,"type":596},"Hitachi and other Japanese anode manufacturers are in an increasingly challenging cost environment, in the shadow of China’s massive, lower-cost anode production capacity expansions. When Hitachi announced its plans to extend capacity to 100,000 tpa in 2016, it was understood to be as part of a strategy take on increased Chinese competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":129824,"content":129825},{"textAlign":49},[129826],{"text":129827,"type":596},"However, Chinese dominance has only increased since then, with non-Chinese anode producers have been struggling to compete.",{"type":591,"attrs":129829,"content":129830},{"textAlign":49},[129831,129833,129834],{"text":129832,"type":596},"The current trajectory of future anode production is now focused in China, as currently 92% of anode capacity construction projects and 93% of planned capacity expansions are located on the Chinese mainland according to the ",{"text":129796,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":129836,"content":129837},{"textAlign":49},[129838,129842,129845,129849,129855,129859],{"text":129839,"type":596,"marks":129840},"Data in this article is taken from the ",[129841],{"type":1006},{"text":129796,"type":596,"marks":129843},[129844],{"type":1006},{"text":129846,"type":596,"marks":129847},". For more details or to subscribe ",[129848],{"type":1006},{"text":129850,"type":596,"marks":129851},"fill in this contact form",[129852,129854],{"type":606,"attrs":129853},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":129856,"type":596,"marks":129857}," or email ",[129858],{"type":1006},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":129860},[129861,129863],{"type":606,"attrs":129862},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},"It was announced at the end of 2019 that Showa Denko, one of Japan’s largest chemical companies, would be purchasing Hitachi’s anode-producing chemical unit in what would be the company’s largest ever acquisition. The deal is still subject to completion and is expected to be finalised in March 2020 at the earliest. Hitachi Chemicals is […]",[129866],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129867},{"job_title":557,"image":129868,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6c7d929a-058d-4d31-a88e-23941a8a81b9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[129871],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":129873,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":129874,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/041e097105/bm-23024546754-c19816c241-k.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Mar 06, 2020",{"id":129877,"uuid":129878,"name":129879,"slug":129880,"full_slug":129881,"content":129882},112474143065251,"96e2cd8f-4d1f-4c93-9283-fb20cc86ab3e","China to oversee LFP resurgence as it doubles down on EV battery cathode expansions","china-to-oversee-lfp-resurgence-as-it-doubles-down-on-ev-battery-cathode-expansions","article/china-to-oversee-lfp-resurgence-as-it-doubles-down-on-ev-battery-cathode-expansions",{"_uid":129883,"date":129884,"tags":129885,"editor":129887,"content":129891,"excerpt":130025,"featured":50,"reporter":130026,"_editable":130030,"component":697,"seo_title":129879,"categories":130031,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130034,"seo_description":130025,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130036},"4b788795-62b5-453a-8441-0b513dcf7c53","2020-02-21 00:00",[129886],{"slug":575,"name":576},[129888],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":129889},{"job_title":557,"image":129890,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":129892},[129893,129906,129911,129924,129929,129934,129939,129944,129949,129954,129959,129971,129976,129981,129986,129991,130004,130009,130014],{"type":591,"attrs":129894,"content":129895},{"textAlign":49},[129896,129898,129904],{"text":129897,"type":596},"With the news that ",{"text":129899,"type":596,"marks":129900},"Tesla will be using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode cells in standard range Model 3 electric vehicles in China",[129901],{"type":606,"attrs":129902},{"href":129903,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lfp-prismatic-cells-at-core-of-teslas-china-strategy",{"text":129905,"type":596},", questions have been raised: what does the future of the cathode market look like?",{"type":591,"attrs":129907,"content":129908},{"textAlign":49},[129909],{"text":129910,"type":596},"Tesla’s dominant battery cells are cylindrical and NCA (nickel, cobalt, aluminium) cathode chemistry, which it produces at the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada in partnership with Panasonic.",{"type":591,"attrs":129912,"content":129913},{"textAlign":49},[129914,129916,129922],{"text":129915,"type":596},"What also went under the radar in this discussion is that Tesla is moving to ",{"text":129917,"type":596,"marks":129918},"NCM811 cells produced by LG Chem",[129919],{"type":606,"attrs":129920},{"href":129921,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-eyes-lg-chems-811-for-chinese-made-evs",{"text":129923,"type":596}," for its long-range Model 3s in China, increasing the company’s cobalt intensity and nickel demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":129925,"content":129926},{"textAlign":49},[129927],{"text":129928,"type":596},"Yet it is China’s CATL that will likely be the rainmaker for Tesla’s new LFP venture as it develops a specific prismatic cell for the Model 3, one that many believe will be Tesla’s first cell-to-pack design, cutting out the module step in the EV production process.",{"type":591,"attrs":129930,"content":129931},{"textAlign":49},[129932],{"text":129933,"type":596},"Considering the size and format shape of prismatic battery cells, this is the likely future for the Model 3 in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":129935,"content":129936},{"textAlign":49},[129937],{"text":129938,"type":596},"The move also shows that many have underestimated the chemistry’s future, which many was purported to lie in stationary storage only.",{"type":615,"attrs":129940,"content":129941},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[129942],{"text":129943,"type":596},"Cost is King",{"type":591,"attrs":129945,"content":129946},{"textAlign":49},[129947],{"text":129948,"type":596},"The clearest advantage of LFP over NCA and NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) chemistries is that it is a significant lower-cost technology. With the expansion to LFP fundamentally driven by this.",{"type":591,"attrs":129950,"content":129951},{"textAlign":49},[129952],{"text":129953,"type":596},"LFP for example can sell for as low as $8/kWh with an average large contract range in the $10-12/kWh, offering a 60% cost saving compared with NCA cathode which is on average sells for $26-30/kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":129955,"content":129956},{"textAlign":49},[129957],{"text":129958,"type":596},"LFP also offers greater thermal stability and cycle life than NCM and NCA batteries. But this comes at the expense of lower energy density than its cathode rivals, which is not as attractive to western automotive OEMs which are continually looking to increase the energy density of their batteries and thus range of their electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":129960,"content":129961},{"textAlign":49},[129962,129964,129970],{"text":129963,"type":596},"However, Tesla’s approach to the Chinese market shows that it is a ‘horses-for-courses’ situation for the world’s more nuanced EV markets like China and, one would expect, a future strategy for the ",{"text":129965,"type":596,"marks":129966},"Indian EV market",[129967],{"type":606,"attrs":129968},{"href":129969,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/electric-india",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":615,"attrs":129972,"content":129973},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[129974],{"text":129975,"type":596},"LFP Signals Were Visible",{"type":591,"attrs":129977,"content":129978},{"textAlign":49},[129979],{"text":129980,"type":596},"Despite NCM taking the cathode limelight since 2016, there have been signs of an LFP resurgence.",{"type":591,"attrs":129982,"content":129983},{"textAlign":49},[129984],{"text":129985,"type":596},"During 2017 and 2018 demand for NCM and NCA increased on the back of preferential subsidies, whereas LFP demand increased but at a lesser rate.",{"type":591,"attrs":129987,"content":129988},{"textAlign":49},[129989],{"text":129990,"type":596},"However, LFP has benefited from China’s 2019 subsidy reduction as its lower costs and recent improvements in energy density have again made it an attractive proposition for OEMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":129992,"content":129993},{"textAlign":49},[129994,129996,129997,129999,130003],{"text":129995,"type":596},"In this environment, ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":129998,"type":596},"is forecasting LFP production capacity in 2020 to increase by 12% from last year, with all expansions located in China. Looking at the longer-term picture LFP currently accounts for 38% worldwide cathode capacity expansion plans, all of which are also located in China ",{"text":130000,"type":596,"marks":130001},"[Data: Benchmark Minerals Cathode Market Assessment]",[130002],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":130005,"content":130006},{"textAlign":49},[130007],{"text":130008,"type":596},"These expansions have been driven by significant investments made globally over the last 12 months and is a trend that is set to continue throughout the 2020s. These expansions will of course be tied to the fortunes of EV demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":130010,"content":130011},{"textAlign":49},[130012],{"text":130013,"type":596},"Despite many market participants believing LFP’s day had come and gone, its recent resurgence underlines the space for which the many different cathode chemistries can cater to multiple emerging EV models and markets around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":130015,"content":130016},{"textAlign":49},[130017,130019,130024],{"text":130018,"type":596},"Data in this article was taken from the Benchmark Minerals Cathode Market Assessment. ",{"text":130020,"type":596,"marks":130021},"Fill in this contact form to subscribe",[130022],{"type":606,"attrs":130023},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596},"With the news that Tesla will be using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode cells in standard range Model 3 electric vehicles in China, questions have been raised: what does the future of the cathode market look like? Tesla’s dominant battery cells are cylindrical and NCA (nickel, cobalt, aluminium) cathode chemistry, which it produces at the […]",[130027],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130028},{"job_title":557,"image":130029,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4b788795-62b5-453a-8441-0b513dcf7c53\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130032,130033],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":118834,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130035,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 21, 2020",{"id":130038,"uuid":130039,"name":130040,"slug":130041,"full_slug":130042,"content":130043},112474152682861,"2bbc9468-510c-4176-bc3e-49706253133d","LFP & prismatic battery cells at core of Tesla’s China strategy","lfp-prismatic-cells-at-core-of-teslas-china-strategy","article/lfp-prismatic-cells-at-core-of-teslas-china-strategy",{"_uid":130044,"date":130045,"tags":130046,"editor":130049,"content":130053,"excerpt":130098,"featured":50,"reporter":130099,"_editable":130103,"component":697,"seo_title":130040,"categories":130104,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130107,"seo_description":130098,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130110},"a4f1fe41-e86f-42db-8d8a-192b3aa68dc3","2020-02-19 00:00",[130047,130048],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":4345,"name":451},[130050],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130051},{"job_title":557,"image":130052,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130054},[130055,130060,130065,130076,130081,130086,130092],{"type":591,"attrs":130056,"content":130057},{"textAlign":49},[130058],{"text":130059,"type":596},"In an interesting development for the lithium ion battery industry, Reuters publicly revealed the use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode cells in Tesla vehicles made in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":130061,"content":130062},{"textAlign":49},[130063],{"text":130064,"type":596},"There were a number of different reactions on the back of the commonly mistaken trend that LFP was on the way out and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) — especially the 811 chemistry — was here to take its market share.",{"type":591,"attrs":130066,"content":130067},{"textAlign":49},[130068,130070,130075],{"text":130069,"type":596},"The reality is more nuanced, ",{"text":28057,"type":596,"marks":130071},[130072],{"type":606,"attrs":130073},{"href":130074,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-to-oversee-lfp-resurgence-as-it-doubles-down-on-ev-battery-cathode-expansions",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":130077,"content":130078},{"textAlign":49},[130079],{"text":130080,"type":596},"What Tesla’s LFP move shows is a China-centric strategy to take market share in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market, but one that is unlikely to be replicated outside of its borders.",{"type":591,"attrs":130082,"content":130083},{"textAlign":49},[130084],{"text":130085,"type":596},"Interestingly, it also shows more flexibility from Tesla than many thought.",{"type":591,"attrs":130087,"content":130088},{"textAlign":49},[130089,130090],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":130091,"type":596}," can confirm that the standard range Model 3 made in China, for Chinese consumers, will use new prismatic LFP cells tailored for Tesla by CATL — a first for the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer which has traditionally used 18650 and 2170 cylindrical cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":130093,"content":130094},{"textAlign":49},[130095,130096],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":130097,"type":596},"is pleased to present its analysis and thoughts on Tesla’s strategy within China:","In an interesting development for the lithium ion battery industry, Reuters publicly revealed the use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode cells in Tesla vehicles made in China. There were a number of different reactions on the back of the commonly mistaken trend that LFP was on the way out and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) […]",[130100],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130101},{"job_title":557,"image":130102,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a4f1fe41-e86f-42db-8d8a-192b3aa68dc3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130105,130106],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":130108,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130109,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4692411bc5/bm-lfp-prismatic-cells-at-core-of-teslas-china-strategy-e1582106960108.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 19, 2020",{"id":130112,"uuid":130113,"name":130114,"slug":130115,"full_slug":130116,"content":130117},112474157442614,"0f96060a-677f-4852-94ad-90c95cc5b609","Kurt Kelty announced as Guest of Honour at Battery Megafactories Europe 2020","kurt-kelty-announced-as-guest-of-honour-at-battery-megafactories-europe-2020","article/kurt-kelty-announced-as-guest-of-honour-at-battery-megafactories-europe-2020",{"_uid":130118,"date":130119,"tags":130120,"editor":130122,"content":130126,"excerpt":130244,"featured":50,"reporter":130245,"_editable":130249,"component":697,"seo_title":130114,"categories":130250,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130252,"seo_description":130244,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130255},"d21d7de2-5e40-4fdc-90c8-0c19d2d043cd","2020-02-17 00:00",[130121],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[130123],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130124},{"job_title":557,"image":130125,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130127},[130128,130137,130143,130148,130153,130158,130163,130172,130177,130182,130186,130191,130196,130201,130206,130212,130219,130224,130232,130241],{"type":591,"attrs":130129,"content":130130},{"textAlign":49},[130131],{"text":130132,"type":596,"marks":130133},"Register as a Super Early Bird Delegate for Battery Megafactories Europe 2020",[130134],{"type":606,"attrs":130135},{"href":130136,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-megafactories-2020/register",{"type":591,"attrs":130138,"content":130139},{"textAlign":49},[130140,130141],{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":130142,"type":596}," is delighted to announce that Kurt Kelty will be our Guest of Honour for the inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2020, 17-18 June 2020, Berlin, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":130144,"content":130145},{"textAlign":49},[130146],{"text":130147,"type":596},"After spending nearly 15 years as Panasonic’s Director of Business Development, Kurt moved to Tesla in 2006 where he was integral in creating the battery supply chains that the company now relies upon.",{"type":591,"attrs":130149,"content":130150},{"textAlign":49},[130151],{"text":130152,"type":596},"This included setting Tesla’s battery cell usage strategy, sourcing cells, negotiating supply contracts and managing international relationships. Kurt’s efforts directly led to the success of the Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3 and the foundations of the Tesla Gigafactory 1 in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":130154,"content":130155},{"textAlign":49},[130156],{"text":130157,"type":596},"Kurt is now responsible for the automotive energy storage initiatives for Sila Nanotechnologies that is developing 21st century silicon anode technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":130159,"content":130160},{"textAlign":49},[130161],{"text":130162,"type":596},"He is also an Advisory Board Member at BP and between 2017 and 2019 was Senior Vice President – Operations at indoor farming innovator, Plenty Inc, a firm backed by Amazon’s Jeff-Bezos.",{"type":615,"attrs":130164,"content":130165},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130166,130168,130170],{"text":130167,"type":596},"Kurt Kelty, Vice ",{"text":130169,"type":596},"President",{"text":130171,"type":596},"– Automotive, Sila Nanotechnologies said: ",{"type":591,"attrs":130173,"content":130174},{"textAlign":49},[130175],{"text":130176,"type":596},"“Building and scaling battery megafactories is critical to meet the future power needs of our devices, vehicles and the grid.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130178,"content":130179},{"textAlign":49},[130180],{"text":130181,"type":596},"“I’ve been on the front lines of this throughout my career, and look forward to sharing my experiences and lessons with others who are leading similar efforts around the world.”",{"type":615,"attrs":130183,"content":130184},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130185],{"text":117830,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":130187,"content":130188},{"textAlign":49},[130189],{"text":130190,"type":596},"“Kurt is quite simply one of the most influential professionals in the lithium ion battery industry to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":130192,"content":130193},{"textAlign":49},[130194],{"text":130195,"type":596},"“The experience Kurt has gathered from his 15 years at Panasonic in Tokyo was the foundation for Tesla and the resulting success of the Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model 3 and, finally, the original Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130197,"content":130198},{"textAlign":49},[130199],{"text":130200,"type":596},"“The supply chain blueprints that Kurt and his teams have created, all the way from the raw materials through to the final battery cell, are what the industry is building upon today.”",{"type":615,"attrs":130202,"content":130203},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130204],{"text":130205,"type":596},"Battery Megafactories Europe 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":130207,"content":130208},{"textAlign":49},[130209,130210],{"text":106282,"type":596},{"text":130211,"type":596},": The Westin Grand, 17-18 June 2020, Berlin, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":130213,"content":130214},{"textAlign":49},[130215,130217],{"text":130216,"type":596},"Brief",{"text":130218,"type":596},": Join the world’s first commercial conference on the scaling of super-sized lithium ion battery plants. Hear from Tesla, Northvolt – VW Group, Fluence (Siemens – AES), and more together with lithium, cobalt, anode and cathode makers.",{"type":591,"attrs":130220,"content":130221},{"textAlign":49},[130222],{"text":130223,"type":596},"This two day event brings together the entire lithium ion battery supply chain and policy makers all focused on building out Europe’s 21st Century EV blueprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":130225,"content":130226},{"textAlign":49},[130227],{"text":130228,"type":596,"marks":130229},"Register as a delegate here ",[130230],{"type":606,"attrs":130231},{"href":130136,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":130233,"content":130234},{"textAlign":49},[130235],{"text":130236,"type":596,"marks":130237},"Sponsorship has all but sold out. Register to be our lead sponsor here. ",[130238],{"type":606,"attrs":130239},{"href":130240,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://staging.benchmarkminerals.com/events/battery-megafactories-2020/sponsors",{"type":591,"attrs":130242,"content":130243},{"textAlign":49},[],"Register as a Super Early Bird Delegate for Battery Megafactories Europe 2020 Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is delighted to announce that Kurt Kelty will be our Guest of Honour for the inaugural Battery Megafactories Europe 2020, 17-18 June 2020, Berlin, Germany. After spending nearly 15 years as Panasonic’s Director of Business Development, Kurt moved to Tesla […]",[130246],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130247},{"job_title":557,"image":130248,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d21d7de2-5e40-4fdc-90c8-0c19d2d043cd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130251],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":130253,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130254,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bc5e5f7ffa/bm-goh-bme-2020.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 17, 2020",{"id":130257,"uuid":130258,"name":130259,"slug":130260,"full_slug":130261,"content":130262},112474176378923,"86a84676-d62c-4cc8-bb5c-dea1bd356d6d","Chasing the Pack: Panasonic & Toyota Confirm Battery Joint Venture","chasing-the-pack-panasonic-toyota-confirm-battery-joint-venture","article/chasing-the-pack-panasonic-toyota-confirm-battery-joint-venture",{"_uid":130263,"date":130264,"tags":130265,"editor":130266,"content":130270,"excerpt":130358,"featured":50,"reporter":130359,"_editable":130363,"component":697,"seo_title":130259,"categories":130364,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130367,"seo_description":130358,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130370},"a8b23fda-4e86-4cdf-a08c-a86ac9983043","2020-02-06 00:00",[],[130267],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130268},{"job_title":557,"image":130269,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130271},[130272,130277,130282,130287,130296,130301,130313,130321,130326,130331,130336,130341,130346],{"type":591,"attrs":130273,"content":130274},{"textAlign":49},[130275],{"text":130276,"type":596},"Panasonic and Toyota’s ongoing collaboration continues as the two companies have confirmed the establishment of a battery joint venture (JV), initially announced last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":130278,"content":130279},{"textAlign":49},[130280],{"text":130281,"type":596},"Having explored the feasibility of an automotive battery JV together since December 2017, the latest announcement has formally confirmed the deal. Toyota will have a 51% controlling share in the JV – Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc – with Panasonic taking the remaining 49%. Approximately 5,100 employees from both companies will be involved in the project, of which 2,400 are based in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":130283,"content":130284},{"textAlign":49},[130285],{"text":130286,"type":596},"The JV’s primary goal is the production of prismatic cells for use in electric vehicles (EV), but there is also scope for solid state and next-generation automotive battery development.",{"type":591,"attrs":130288,"content":130289},{"textAlign":49},[130290,130292,130294],{"text":130291,"type":596},"Mitsuhiro Mori, Principal Consultant – Asia, at ",{"text":130293,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals ",{"text":130295,"type":596},"said of the deal: “With the majority share in this joint venture, the initiative sits with Toyota to operate the battery business, which will see resources and products allocated to Toyota’s electric vehicles. In the short-term at least, we can expect this to affect Panasonic’s other OEM customers negatively, such as Honda and Nissan.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130297,"content":130298},{"textAlign":49},[130299],{"text":130300,"type":596},"Having previously relied on Tesla for production at scale, the Toyota JV provides Panasonic opportunities to produce at high volumes elsewhere, while also giving Toyota a rapid route into an EV space where it has slipped behind competitors in the push towards fully-electric models.",{"type":591,"attrs":130302,"content":130303},{"textAlign":49},[130304,130306,130312],{"text":130305,"type":596},"Outside of its collaboration with Tesla at the Gigafactory 1, Panasonic currently has five battery megafactories which totalled 25 GWh of capacity in 2019. While Panasonic has made little ground in terms of GWh expansions in recent years, many of its competitors have forged ahead with battery megafactory plans. Panasonic is now dwarfed by China’s CATL and Korea’s LG Chem, which had 77 GWh and 66 GWh respectively of battery capacity in 2019 according to the latest ",{"text":130307,"type":596,"marks":130308},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment",[130309],{"type":606,"attrs":130310},{"href":130311,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/megafactories/",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":130314,"content":130315},{"textAlign":49},[130316,130318,130319],{"text":130317,"type":596},"As things stand, and with its competitors’ plans in the pipeline, Panasonic’s megafactories are trailing behind both today and through to the end of the 2020s given their current plans. In 2019, excluding the Gigafactory, not one of Panasonic’s battery megafactories was in the top ten in terms of capacity (the first Panasonic entry comes in at 11",{"text":14500,"type":596},{"text":130320,"type":596},"place).",{"type":615,"attrs":130322,"content":130323},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130324],{"text":130325,"type":596},"Different cell formats, diverging approaches ",{"type":591,"attrs":130327,"content":130328},{"textAlign":49},[130329],{"text":130330,"type":596},"Discussing battery cell format within OEM supply chains, Mori said: “Panasonic has experience supplying two cell types for EVs, one being the large format prismatic cells which will be produced as part of the Toyota JV. The other is cylindrical cells which it had supplied to Tesla exclusively. However, their share of this supply chain is now changing as LG Chem has recently joined the Tesla supply chain, and CATL is also a candidate to provide Tesla cells for the Gigafactory 3.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130332,"content":130333},{"textAlign":49},[130334],{"text":130335,"type":596},"Working together with Tesla, Panasonic has played a defining role in creating the new battery megafactory model. Despite the successes in scaling up the production at Gigafactory 1, Panasonic only just announced its first quarterly profit from the operation on the back of increased production output from Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":130337,"content":130338},{"textAlign":49},[130339],{"text":130340,"type":596},"Recent developments from OEMs have seen diverging themes play out, as Mori noted: “We’ve seen two approaches to the battery supply chain emerging from OEMs’ perspectives. Some have attempted to incorporate battery technology production into their own group whereas others are relying on cell manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":130342,"content":130343},{"textAlign":49},[130344],{"text":130345,"type":596},"“For instance, Tesla’s focus on capturing battery technologies is shown through its acquisition of Maxwell Technologies and Hibar Systems. Whereas Nissan sold AESC – its joint venture with NEC – to the Chinese Enivision Group in 2019, stating that it would concentrate its efforts on producing electric vehicles while sourcing its cells from Enivision,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":130347,"content":130348},{"textAlign":49},[130349,130351,130356],{"text":130350,"type":596},"This article uses data from January 2020’s Benchmark Minerals Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment. Fill in ",{"text":130352,"type":596,"marks":130353},"this contact form",[130354],{"type":606,"attrs":130355},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":130357,"type":596}," to arrange for us to send you a sample copy.","Panasonic and Toyota’s ongoing collaboration continues as the two companies have confirmed the establishment of a battery joint venture (JV), initially announced last year. Having explored the feasibility of an automotive battery JV together since December 2017, the latest announcement has formally confirmed the deal. Toyota will have a 51% controlling share in the JV […]",[130360],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130361},{"job_title":557,"image":130362,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a8b23fda-4e86-4cdf-a08c-a86ac9983043\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130365,130366],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":130368,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130369,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1c2a027fba/bm-05-toyota0019-s-e1581000520857.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 06, 2020",{"id":130372,"uuid":130373,"name":130374,"slug":130375,"full_slug":130376,"content":130377},112474181294259,"4088cb3e-e472-42f7-b51f-469341a9f1ea","Benchmark Minerals Launches New Flake Graphite Price Assessments for Domestic China Grades","benchmark-minerals-launches-new-flake-graphite-price-assessments-for-domestic-china-grades","article/benchmark-minerals-launches-new-flake-graphite-price-assessments-for-domestic-china-grades",{"_uid":130378,"date":130379,"tags":130380,"editor":130382,"content":130386,"excerpt":130722,"featured":50,"reporter":130723,"_editable":130727,"component":697,"seo_title":130374,"categories":130728,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130731,"seo_description":130722,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130734},"76fb72f6-39b0-43e3-92db-de94f197805f","2020-02-04 00:00",[130381],{"slug":6572,"name":6573},[130383],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130384},{"job_title":557,"image":130385,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130387},[130388,130393,130398,130403,130410,130415,130420,130425,130430,130435,130440,130445,130450,130464,130469,130474,130479,130484,130489,130494,130499,130511,130516,130521,130526,130531,130536,130541,130546,130551,130556,130561,130566,130571,130576,130581,130584,130589,130594,130599,130602,130607,130612,130617,130640,130657,130662,130669,130678,130687,130696,130704,130713],{"type":591,"attrs":130389,"content":130390},{"textAlign":49},[130391],{"text":130392,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain’s leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA), is pleased to announce that it has launched two new flake graphite prices for its Graphite Price Assessment service.",{"type":591,"attrs":130394,"content":130395},{"textAlign":49},[130396],{"text":130397,"type":596},"The two new prices are:",{"type":591,"attrs":130399,"content":130400},{"textAlign":49},[130401],{"text":130402,"type":596},"The new prices, which are true to the IOSCO principles at the heart of Benchmark Minerals, were launched after a market consultation to reflect the industry’s changing flows of trade and provide further insights on feedstock pricing for lithium ion battery anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":130404,"content":130405},{"textAlign":49},[130406,130408],{"text":130407,"type":596},"Andrew Miller, Product Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"text":130409,"type":596},", said: “China’s recent shift to become a net importer of flake graphite for the first time in a generation has seen increased attention on the prices required to compete with domestic suppliers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130411,"content":130412},{"textAlign":49},[130413],{"text":130414,"type":596},"“Our new prices will provide another layer of insight into the global supply chain, and in particular the supply chain from raw material to battery anode graphite,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":130416,"content":130417},{"textAlign":49},[130418],{"text":130419,"type":596},"As a result of the evolution in the industry, and our understanding of the market’s nuances, Benchmark has added the following prices to its monthly Graphite Price Assessment:",{"type":591,"attrs":130421,"content":130422},{"textAlign":49},[130423],{"text":130424,"type":596},"The two grades we will publish are the most representative of the bulk of traded volume in the Chinese market, at a 94-95% C purity.",{"type":591,"attrs":130426,"content":130427},{"textAlign":49},[130428],{"text":130429,"type":596},"The +100 mesh price will be representative of what still remains the biggest driver of the flake graphite market – industrial applications such as refractories, foundries, lubricants and other niche applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":130431,"content":130432},{"textAlign":49},[130433],{"text":130434,"type":596},"Our -100 mesh price will represent the biggest area of growth for the market, sales into the lithium ion battery anode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":130436,"content":130437},{"textAlign":49},[130438],{"text":130439,"type":596},"Both prices will be assessed on a DDP basis to provide the most consistent comparison for increasing volumes that will be shipped into China, adding a new layer of insight to the assessments Benchmark Minerals already provides on international pricing out of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":130441,"content":130442},{"textAlign":49},[130443],{"text":130444,"type":596},"The move reflects our commitment to evolve our methodologies in response to changes in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":130446,"content":130447},{"textAlign":49},[130448],{"text":130449,"type":596},"Rather than apply a generic commodity methodology to what is a niche, speciality mineral market, we continue to work with the industry to provide the most representative and accurate prices available for what is an increasingly complex and intricate supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":130451,"content":130452},{"textAlign":49},[130453,130456,130461],{"text":125355,"type":596,"marks":130454},[130455],{"type":1006},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":130457},[130458,130459],{"type":1006},{"type":606,"attrs":130460},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":130462},[130463],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130465,"content":130466},{"textAlign":49},[130467],{"text":130468,"type":596},"Below we outline the rationale behind these new prices and explain how the intricacies of the graphite market require a nuanced approach to price assessments.",{"type":615,"attrs":130470,"content":130471},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130472],{"text":130473,"type":596},"Flake foundations",{"type":591,"attrs":130475,"content":130476},{"textAlign":49},[130477],{"text":130478,"type":596},"For a generation, China has been the leading force in the flake graphite market; the largest producer and consumer, as well as the biggest supplier to international markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":130480,"content":130481},{"textAlign":49},[130482],{"text":130483,"type":596},"As recently as 2016, China accounted for over 80% of global flake graphite production, leveraging a wealth of resources to take the position of price setter in the global market.",{"type":591,"attrs":130485,"content":130486},{"textAlign":49},[130487],{"text":130488,"type":596},"The material which was not produced in China, was often priced against comparable offers from the rest of the world and when contract negotiations took place, the China price was always at the forefront of discussion.",{"type":591,"attrs":130490,"content":130491},{"textAlign":49},[130492],{"text":130493,"type":596},"Whether the market was moving up or down, China was (and still is) the leading indicator.",{"type":591,"attrs":130495,"content":130496},{"textAlign":49},[130497],{"text":130498,"type":596},"From the finer flake grades produced in vast quantities in the country’s north, to the larger flake distribution found in the mines of Shandong and Inner Mongolia, China dominates across the graphite spectrum.",{"type":591,"attrs":130500,"content":130501},{"textAlign":49},[130502,130504,130509],{"text":130503,"type":596},"As a result, it is pricing out of China (on an FOB basis) that has formed the foundation of ",{"text":130505,"type":596,"marks":130506},"Benchmark Minerals’ monthly assessments",[130507],{"type":606,"attrs":130508},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"text":130510,"type":596}," to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":130512,"content":130513},{"textAlign":49},[130514],{"text":130515,"type":596},"However, with the graphite market entering a period of change that will see China’s supply position challenged and a new high-tech driver of growth emerge, far removed from the industrial foundation of the industry, Benchmark Minerals has chosen to expand the prices it publishes in line with changes in the market.",{"type":615,"attrs":130517,"content":130518},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130519],{"text":130520,"type":596},"A shifting landscape",{"type":591,"attrs":130522,"content":130523},{"textAlign":49},[130524],{"text":130525,"type":596},"The biggest development in flake graphite supply has come about through the emergence of a number of new flake graphite operations in Africa since the early 2010s, with the continent vying with China as a source of low-cost material.",{"type":591,"attrs":130527,"content":130528},{"textAlign":49},[130529],{"text":130530,"type":596},"Leading this charge has been Syrah Resources which produced 100,000 tonnes of flake concentrate in its first full year of production alone, the equivalent of 11% of global supply in 2018 and making the company the largest single producer in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":130532,"content":130533},{"textAlign":49},[130534],{"text":130535,"type":596},"The company’s goal to displace higher-cost and less-efficient operations in China has seen major volumes imported into China for the first time in a generation, and in 2019 – supported by growing domestic consumption –  the country became a net importer for the first time in a generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":130537,"content":130538},{"textAlign":49},[130539],{"text":130540,"type":596},"Where the price out of China was the market’s leading indicator, now the price into China is having a more substantial bearing on international markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":130542,"content":130543},{"textAlign":49},[130544],{"text":130545,"type":596},"The differential between China’s domestic pricing and China’s export pricing is important for two key reasons.",{"type":591,"attrs":130547,"content":130548},{"textAlign":49},[130549],{"text":130550,"type":596},"Firstly, with China as the leading consumer of graphite – particularly for finer mesh grades – new suppliers outside of China will increasingly have to compete with what domestic suppliers can offer.",{"type":591,"attrs":130552,"content":130553},{"textAlign":49},[130554],{"text":130555,"type":596},"Secondly, and most importantly, China controls the supply chain into lithium-ion batteries, and while at one time much of this supply chain was internalised, the market for battery feedstocks is becoming increasingly liquid in China.",{"type":615,"attrs":130557,"content":130558},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130559],{"text":130560,"type":596},"Graphite’s nuances",{"type":591,"attrs":130562,"content":130563},{"textAlign":49},[130564],{"text":130565,"type":596},"In any price assessment of the flake graphite industry, it is important to understand that it is not just one market, but rather up to 10 different markets each with their own sub-segments, demand profiles, and product specifications.",{"type":591,"attrs":130567,"content":130568},{"textAlign":49},[130569],{"text":130570,"type":596},"No graphite deposit allows you to supply just one of these markets, so producers have to be able to sell into a cross-section of end markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":130572,"content":130573},{"textAlign":49},[130574],{"text":130575,"type":596},"The industrial foundations of flake graphite demand require a spectrum of flake sizes and purities but historically higher purity and larger flake has equalled higher prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":130577,"content":130578},{"textAlign":49},[130579],{"text":130580,"type":596},"The future growth of the market is however coming from non-industrial applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":130582,"content":130583},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":130585,"content":130586},{"textAlign":49},[130587],{"text":130588,"type":596},"Value-added applications have risen from small, niche parts of the industry to major drivers of demand, using flake feedstocks to produce higher-value derivatives.",{"type":591,"attrs":130590,"content":130591},{"textAlign":49},[130592],{"text":130593,"type":596},"Nowhere is this more the case than in the spherical graphite market where flake concentrates are used to produce a battery anode feedstock material which is due for over 10-fold growth over the coming decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":130595,"content":130596},{"textAlign":49},[130597],{"text":130598,"type":596},"While this application is not new, until recently supply was controlled by a small group of suppliers that owned (or had stakes in) resources directly, so flake feedstocks were not commonly traded.",{"type":591,"attrs":130600,"content":130601},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":130603,"content":130604},{"textAlign":49},[130605],{"text":130606,"type":596},"The evolution in the market over the past 1-2 years has been a rapid expansion in the number of processors in the battery anode supply chain, and the layers that support this industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":130608,"content":130609},{"textAlign":49},[130610],{"text":130611,"type":596},"Today, in addition to flake concentrate processors, there are companies that have established independent spherical graphite mills, purification plants, and coating furnaces – all crucial steps in taking flake graphite from a mined product to advanced anode material.",{"type":591,"attrs":130613,"content":130614},{"textAlign":49},[130615],{"text":130616,"type":596},"And at the centre of each of these supply chains is China, heading up an increasingly liquid and important sector at the heart of global battery ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":130618,"content":130619},{"textAlign":49},[130620,130624,130629,130632,130637],{"text":130621,"type":596,"marks":130622},"To access Benchmark Minerals’ Graphite Price Assessments, please contact ",[130623],{"type":1006},{"text":118178,"type":596,"marks":130625},[130626,130628],{"type":606,"attrs":130627},{"href":118182,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":10939,"type":596,"marks":130630},[130631],{"type":1006},{"text":99089,"type":596,"marks":130633},[130634,130636],{"type":606,"attrs":130635},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":130638},[130639],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130641,"content":130642},{"textAlign":49},[130643,130647,130654],{"text":130644,"type":596,"marks":130645},"For any other questions regarding our Price Assessments contact Caspar Rawles, Head of Price Assessments, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence – ",[130646],{"type":1006},{"text":130648,"type":596,"marks":130649},"crawles@benchmarkminerals.com",[130650,130653],{"type":606,"attrs":130651},{"href":130652,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"mailto:crawles@benchmarkminerals.com",{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596,"marks":130655},[130656],{"type":1006},{"type":615,"attrs":130658,"content":130659},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130660],{"text":130661,"type":596},"Further insight into the lithium ion battery supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":130663,"content":130664},{"textAlign":49},[130665],{"text":130259,"type":596,"marks":130666},[130667],{"type":606,"attrs":130668},{"href":74727,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":130670,"content":130671},{"textAlign":49},[130672],{"text":130673,"type":596,"marks":130674},"Chile, Argentina and Bolivia: The Lithium Triangle Heats Up",[130675],{"type":606,"attrs":130676},{"href":130677,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chile-argentina-and-bolivia-the-lithium-triangle-heats-up",{"type":591,"attrs":130679,"content":130680},{"textAlign":49},[130681],{"text":130682,"type":596,"marks":130683},"China Suggests No Significant NEV Subsidy Cut in 2020, but the Industry Must Prepare Regardless",[130684],{"type":606,"attrs":130685},{"href":130686,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-suggests-no-significant-nev-subsidy-cut-in-2020-but-the-industry-must-prepare-regardless",{"type":591,"attrs":130688,"content":130689},{"textAlign":49},[130690],{"text":130691,"type":596,"marks":130692},"Korean Battery Rivals Look to Expand Global Influence",[130693],{"type":606,"attrs":130694},{"href":130695,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/korean-battery-rivals-look-to-expand-global-influence",{"type":591,"attrs":130697,"content":130698},{"textAlign":49},[130699],{"text":130700,"type":596,"marks":130701},"Electric India",[130702],{"type":606,"attrs":130703},{"href":129969,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":591,"attrs":130705,"content":130706},{"textAlign":49},[130707],{"text":130708,"type":596,"marks":130709},"Cobalt From the Congo: an Ongoing Crisis? ",[130710],{"type":606,"attrs":130711},{"href":130712,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalt-from-the-congo-an-ongoing-crisis",{"type":591,"attrs":130714,"content":130715},{"textAlign":49},[130716],{"text":130717,"type":596,"marks":130718},"Europe Builds on Megafactory Momentum",[130719],{"type":606,"attrs":130720},{"href":130721,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europe-builds-on-megafactory-momentum","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the lithium ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain’s leading Price Reporting Agency (PRA), is pleased to announce that it has launched two new flake graphite prices for its Graphite Price Assessment service. The two new prices are: Flake, +100 mesh, 94-95% C, DDP China Flake, -100 mesh, 94-95% C, DDP China […]",[130724],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130725},{"job_title":557,"image":130726,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"76fb72f6-39b0-43e3-92db-de94f197805f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130729,130730],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":130732,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130733,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/99e4316b5f/bm-img-2021-e1539459465264-1-e1571999462933.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 04, 2020",{"id":130736,"uuid":130737,"name":130738,"slug":130739,"full_slug":130740,"content":130741},112474215116143,"19a96712-e770-46bb-9cd9-0138c3a4c419","China suggests no significant NEV subsidy cut in 2020, but the industry must prepare regardless","china-suggests-no-significant-nev-subsidy-cut-in-2020-but-the-industry-must-prepare-regardless","article/china-suggests-no-significant-nev-subsidy-cut-in-2020-but-the-industry-must-prepare-regardless",{"_uid":130742,"date":130743,"tags":130744,"editor":130746,"content":130750,"excerpt":130877,"featured":50,"reporter":130878,"_editable":130882,"component":697,"seo_title":130738,"categories":130883,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":130886,"seo_description":130877,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":130889},"a4d36844-09d7-4121-aa98-050a5fb06c81","2020-01-14 00:00",[130745],{"slug":575,"name":576},[130747],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130748},{"job_title":557,"image":130749,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130751},[130752,130757,130762,130765,130770,130775,130780,130785,130790,130795,130800,130809,130816,130824,130833,130838,130845,130854,130866],{"type":591,"attrs":130753,"content":130754},{"textAlign":49},[130755],{"text":130756,"type":596},"Having slashed subsidies in July 2019, this week Miao Wei from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) indicated that the ministry would not make a significant reduction in NEV subsidies during 2020. However, it is important to note that this does not represent official policy, which has yet to be confirmed.",{"type":591,"attrs":130758,"content":130759},{"textAlign":49},[130760],{"text":130761,"type":596},"NEV subsidies in China have been steadily reduced since 2016. The table below shows the reductions made from 2017 to 2019, when the latest subsidy cuts came into effect.",{"type":591,"attrs":130763,"content":130764},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":130766,"content":130767},{"textAlign":49},[130768],{"text":130769,"type":596},"The July 2019 reduction had an immediate effect on electric vehicle sales in China, which saw falls in year-on-year sales in July and August when compared with 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":130771,"content":130772},{"textAlign":49},[130773],{"text":130774,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals’ Senior Analyst for China, Albert Li, explains the significance of this announcement: “China NEV sales in 2019 dropped 4%, which is the first time we’ve seen a fall since China began to promote the NEV industry. The latest subsidy announcement from a government official – though not a completely official government announcement – still boosts confidence across the whole NEV industrial chain.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130776,"content":130777},{"textAlign":49},[130778],{"text":130779,"type":596},"Li added, “meanwhile, the industry knows that the subsidy will be removed completely sooner or later, and companies in the supply chain are therefore focused on technical advancements, rather than falling back on the subsidy programme in order to survive in the fiercely competitive Chinese market.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130781,"content":130782},{"textAlign":49},[130783],{"text":130784,"type":596},"As 2019 data is being released, both at the company and state-wide level, it has become increasingly evident that China’s EV industry struggled last year. Established companies such as BYD and BAIC have struggled relative to previous years, with the former reporting 229,506 NEV sales during 2019, down 7.39% on 2018, and the latter reporting NEV sales of 150,600, down 4.69% for the year before.",{"type":591,"attrs":130786,"content":130787},{"textAlign":49},[130788],{"text":130789,"type":596},"Li also commented on the Chinese government’s wider EV strategy: “In time, the official subsidy policy will be announced. The Chinese government’s target remains to ensure the NEV industry’s healthy and sustainable development, and also more importantly to dominate the global NEV industry high-ground. China wants to capitalise on an auto market where each country comes from effectively the same starting point, in contrast to traditional car production where Europe and the US already dominate.”",{"type":615,"attrs":130791,"content":130792},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130793],{"text":130794,"type":596},"What does this mean for the upstream? ",{"type":591,"attrs":130796,"content":130797},{"textAlign":49},[130798],{"text":130799,"type":596},"“For the entire Chinese supply chain, this leading position in EV production is critical. This latest news boosts the confidence in the industry across the supply chain, but at the same time stakeholders understand that they can’t rely on the NEV subsidy to survive. They need technological advancement at their core – improving material and battery performance – to maintain competitiveness.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130801,"content":130802},{"textAlign":49},[130803,130805,130807],{"text":130804,"type":596},"The NEV subsidy programme has also allowed China’s value chain to build up to a dominant position internationally as the latest ",{"text":130806,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals",{"text":130808,"type":596}," data on the supply chain shows.",{"type":591,"attrs":130810,"content":130811},{"textAlign":49},[130812,130814],{"text":130813,"type":596},"The country is seeing a massive supply chain expansion to feed the country’s 83 lithium ion battery megafactories in the pipeline, which are set to have a production capacity of 1,526 GWh in 2029, according to the latest data from the ",{"text":130815,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":130817,"content":130818},{"textAlign":49},[130819,130821,130823],{"text":130820,"type":596},"Currently, China accounts for approximately 74% of cathode capacity globally. China is also leading cathode production expansions worldwide; it is responsible for 91% of cathode capacity in construction and 85% of planned capacity according to the ",{"text":130822,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Cathode Market Assessment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":130825,"content":130826},{"textAlign":49},[130827,130829,130831],{"text":130828,"type":596},"The strength of China’s anode supply chain mirrors this; data from the ",{"text":130830,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Anode Market Assessment ",{"text":130832,"type":596},"show the country accounting for 79% of existing capacity, 92% of capacity in construction and 96% of anode capacity in the planning phase.",{"type":591,"attrs":130834,"content":130835},{"textAlign":49},[130836],{"text":130837,"type":596},"The official announcement on the government’s subsidy position for 2020 will provide more colour, but regardless of this the Chinese industry is preparing itself for a future without subsidies.",{"type":615,"attrs":130839,"content":130840},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[130841],{"text":130842,"type":596,"marks":130843},"Sources",[130844],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130846,"content":130847},{"textAlign":49},[130848],{"text":130849,"type":596,"marks":130850},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment",[130851,130853],{"type":606,"attrs":130852},{"href":130311,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130855,"content":130856},{"textAlign":49},[130857,130862],{"text":130822,"type":596,"marks":130858},[130859,130861],{"type":606,"attrs":130860},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":130863,"type":596,"marks":130864}," (contact form)",[130865],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130867,"content":130868},{"textAlign":49},[130869,130874],{"text":129796,"type":596,"marks":130870},[130871,130873],{"type":606,"attrs":130872},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":130863,"type":596,"marks":130875},[130876],{"type":1006},"Having slashed subsidies in July 2019, this week Miao Wei from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) indicated that the ministry would not make a significant reduction in NEV subsidies during 2020. However, it is important to note that this does not represent official policy, which has yet to be confirmed. NEV subsidies […]",[130879],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130880},{"job_title":557,"image":130881,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a4d36844-09d7-4121-aa98-050a5fb06c81\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[130884,130885],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":130887,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":130888,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fba4ed660c/bm-16944874090-d467d843c4-k-e1579013500422.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 14, 2020",{"id":130891,"uuid":130892,"name":130893,"slug":130894,"full_slug":130895,"content":130896},112474224873217,"fb5a5e10-22cd-4cbe-9830-322cbdd2a37c","Livent reviewing lithium hydroxide capacity expansions","livent-reviewing-capacity-expansions","article/livent-reviewing-capacity-expansions",{"_uid":130897,"date":130898,"tags":130899,"editor":130901,"content":130905,"excerpt":130998,"featured":50,"reporter":130999,"_editable":131003,"component":697,"seo_title":130893,"categories":131004,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131007,"seo_description":130998,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131009},"933b5610-a74c-4c42-a363-517a6ffa58ff","2020-01-10 00:00",[130900],{"slug":84875,"name":84876},[130902],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":130903},{"job_title":557,"image":130904,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":130906},[130907,130912,130917,130922,130927,130932,130937,130942,130947,130952,130957,130962,130969,130977,130989],{"type":591,"attrs":130908,"content":130909},{"textAlign":49},[130910],{"text":130911,"type":596},"Livent announced that it was reviewing its plans for capacity expansions with slower than anticipated lithium hydroxide demand growth which has left the company with inventories moving into the new year.",{"type":591,"attrs":130913,"content":130914},{"textAlign":49},[130915],{"text":130916,"type":596},"The company announced it would be carrying 4,000 tonnes of inventory into 2020, the equivalent of just over 10% of its total 2019 output according to the Benchmark Minerals Lithium Forecast.",{"type":591,"attrs":130918,"content":130919},{"textAlign":49},[130920],{"text":130921,"type":596},"The company is still confident in its 2020 guidance, forecasting hydroxide volumes of up to 26,000 tonnes and also confirmed plans to purchase 7,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate to support its hydroxide targets for next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":130923,"content":130924},{"textAlign":49},[130925],{"text":130926,"type":596},"The NASDAQ-listed company – one of the leading suppliers of lithium hydroxide – has been gradually increasing its lithium hydroxide capacity over recent years with a three-phase expansion into China. It was also recently confirmed that additional lithium hydroxide processing facilities were being installed in North Carolina in Q4 2019, which will increase capacity by 5,000 tonnes per annum.",{"type":591,"attrs":130928,"content":130929},{"textAlign":49},[130930],{"text":130931,"type":596},"The latest announcement, and the ongoing tensions in the cathode supply chain, could see further delays in these capacity increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":130933,"content":130934},{"textAlign":49},[130935],{"text":130936,"type":596},"While there is an acceptance that high-nickel, hydroxide-based cathode chemistries will be more prominent in the future, growth in 2019 was limited and cost pressures are likely to stunt growth again in 2020. According to the Benchmark Minerals Cathode Assessment NCM 811 accounted for only 4% of the market in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":130938,"content":130939},{"textAlign":49},[130940],{"text":130941,"type":596},"With Livent’s hydroxide growth strategy centred around the rapid growth in these types of chemistries the company may be forced to modify its medium-term strategy in response.",{"type":591,"attrs":130943,"content":130944},{"textAlign":49},[130945],{"text":130946,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Product Director, Andrew Miller commented: “Livent is an industry leader in the lithium hydroxide space and recent investments have been aimed at providing scale and maintaining market share. As the battery industry transitions to high-nickel chemistries Livent are an established high-quality producer that will be strategically important to several cathode producers’ growth plans.”",{"type":591,"attrs":130948,"content":130949},{"textAlign":49},[130950],{"text":130951,"type":596},"In Q4, Livent also announced a memorandum of understanding with LG Chem to which it will supply lithium hydroxide starting in 2020. The battery producer only just announced a joint venture megafactory with GM in Q4 – added to Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment in December – however this will not affect demand in the short term as we do not expect it begin producing batteries until the mid 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":130953,"content":130954},{"textAlign":49},[130955],{"text":130956,"type":596},"Lithium price pressures for producers have increased over the past year, after the second half of 2018 saw falls across the board for lithium prices. The Benchmark Minerals FOB North America Lithium Hydroxide Price has fallen 25% in the 12 months to December 2019. However, the falls have not been as sharp as with the Benchmark Minerals’ ex-works China Lithium Hydroxide Price, which is down 48% over the same period as the Chinese market has seen a number of converters trying to offload excess lower-spec supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":130958,"content":130959},{"textAlign":49},[130960],{"text":130961,"type":596},"—",{"type":591,"attrs":130963,"content":130964},{"textAlign":49},[130965],{"text":130966,"type":596,"marks":130967},"Sources:",[130968],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130970,"content":130971},{"textAlign":49},[130972],{"text":124220,"type":596,"marks":130973},[130974,130976],{"type":606,"attrs":130975},{"href":43961,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130978,"content":130979},{"textAlign":49},[130980,130985],{"text":130822,"type":596,"marks":130981},[130982,130984],{"type":606,"attrs":130983},{"href":13157,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},{"text":130986,"type":596,"marks":130987}," (fill in the contact form for details)",[130988],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":130990,"content":130991},{"textAlign":49},[130992],{"text":130993,"type":596,"marks":130994},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Forecast",[130995,130997],{"type":606,"attrs":130996},{"href":50619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},{"type":1006},"Livent announced that it was reviewing its plans for capacity expansions with slower than anticipated lithium hydroxide demand growth which has left the company with inventories moving into the new year. The company announced it would be carrying 4,000 tonnes of inventory into 2020, the equivalent of just over 10% of its total 2019 output […]",[131000],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131001},{"job_title":557,"image":131002,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"933b5610-a74c-4c42-a363-517a6ffa58ff\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131005,131006],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":91780,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131008,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 10, 2020",{"id":131011,"uuid":131012,"name":131013,"slug":131014,"full_slug":131015,"content":131016},112474229591911,"6ad3cd97-0460-408b-a7d7-b30ad567c4c2","General Motors & LG Chem to build US Megafactory","general-motors-lg-chem-to-build-us-megafactory","article/general-motors-lg-chem-to-build-us-megafactory",{"_uid":131017,"date":131018,"tags":131019,"editor":131020,"content":131024,"excerpt":131121,"featured":50,"reporter":131122,"_editable":131126,"component":697,"seo_title":131013,"categories":131127,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131130,"seo_description":131121,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131133},"801d3d95-c572-489b-a5a7-86e18b280c10","2019-12-06 00:00",[],[131021],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131022},{"job_title":557,"image":131023,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131025},[131026,131031,131036,131041,131046,131051,131056,131064,131070,131075,131080,131090,131099,131104,131109],{"type":591,"attrs":131027,"content":131028},{"textAlign":49},[131029],{"text":131030,"type":596},"In December, the USA’s General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s LG Chem announced they would be forming a joint venture to create a US-based megafactory to produce battery cells destined for electric vehicles. The proposed battery factory will be based in Ohio and will reportedly have a capacity of 30 GWh with the potential to expand this further.",{"type":591,"attrs":131032,"content":131033},{"textAlign":49},[131034],{"text":131035,"type":596},"The companies will invest $2.3 billion in the joint venture which sees closer collaboration between the two, as GM already purchases LG Chem’s battery cells for use in its Chevy Bolt. The latest deal will bring GM and LG Chem into partnership, producing cells in the same facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":131037,"content":131038},{"textAlign":49},[131039],{"text":131040,"type":596},"“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":131042,"content":131043},{"textAlign":49},[131044],{"text":131045,"type":596},"“Our joint venture with the No. 1 American automaker will further prepare us for the anticipated growth of the North American EV market, while giving us insights into the broader EV ecosystem,” said LG Chem Vice Chairman & CEO Hak-Cheol Shin. “Our long-standing history with General Motors has proven our collective expertise in this space, and we look forward to continuing this drive for zero emissions.”",{"type":591,"attrs":131047,"content":131048},{"textAlign":49},[131049],{"text":131050,"type":596},"The GM-LG Chem announcement comes on the back of an ongoing dispute between GM and the United Autoworkers Union (UAW). The dispute surrounded the closure of a vehicle production facility in Lordstown.",{"type":591,"attrs":131052,"content":131053},{"textAlign":49},[131054],{"text":131055,"type":596},"GM initially announced its plans for a major restructuring in November 2018 as it named five North American plants at risk of closure and stated it would cut nearly 15,000 jobs. GM have suggested that the Lordstown megafactory will add an extra 1,100 jobs to the local area, however, this is unlikely to make up for losses attributed to the pivot away from its traditional form of production.",{"type":591,"attrs":131057,"content":131058},{"textAlign":49},[131059,131061,131062],{"text":131060,"type":596},"The new plant is targeting a capacity of 30 GWh but as a greenfield site has the option of expansion beyond this as demand dictates. ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131063,"type":596},"forecasts that the plant will be commissioned in 2023 and focus on high nickel NCM cathodes – producing both NCM 622 and 811 cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":131065,"content":131066},{"textAlign":49},[131067,131068],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":131069,"type":596},"understands that GM is already sourcing batteries from LG Chem’s Holland, Michigan, battery plant for use in the Chevy Bolt. The Holland, Michigan, megafactory has been producing batteries since 2013 and currently has a capacity just shy of 10 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":131071,"content":131072},{"textAlign":49},[131073],{"text":131074,"type":596},"The decision to build the Lordstown megafactory sees GM and LG Chem follow the blueprint set out by Tesla and Panasonic in Gigafactory 1.",{"type":591,"attrs":131076,"content":131077},{"textAlign":49},[131078],{"text":131079,"type":596},"For OEMs without the knowledge to produce their own batteries in house, this has become the preferred production method. This trend has continued to develop throughout 2019 as Volkswagen partnered up with Northvolt and Toyota with Panasonic.",{"type":591,"attrs":131081,"content":131082},{"textAlign":49},[131083,131085,131086,131088],{"text":131084,"type":596},"This latest announcement takes LG Chem’s global footprint to seven megafactories, enhancing their US production base. As at the end of 2019 LG Chem had 66 GWh of battery capacity, according to the ",{"text":130849,"type":596},{"text":131087,"type":596},", across 5 different battery plants. As things currently stand, in 2029 LG Chem is expected to",{"text":131089,"type":596},"have 265 GWh of capacity across seven plants located in China, Korea, Poland and the USA. This places LG Chem behind only CATL in terms of scale of lithium ion capacity out to 2029.",{"type":591,"attrs":131091,"content":131092},{"textAlign":49},[131093,131095,131097],{"text":131094,"type":596},"GM’s announcement is important to the USA’s electric vehicle industry, which is lacking in battery megafactory capacity in the pipeline compared with Europe and particularly China, which has over 7 times more capacity in the pipeline than the USA for 2029. As things stood at the end of December 2019, the ",{"text":131096,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory Assessment ",{"text":131098,"type":596},"showed the USA has 206 GWh in the pipeline for 2029, Europe has 367GWh and China has 1,526 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":131100,"content":131101},{"textAlign":49},[131102],{"text":131103,"type":596},"Whereas there have been a number of megafactories added to Europe and China in 2019, the USA has only added the GM-LG Chem megafactory and a Farasis megafactory, for which the final location is yet to be confirmed.",{"type":591,"attrs":131105,"content":131106},{"textAlign":49},[131107],{"text":131108,"type":596},"In a year which has seen increased governmental and industry focus on the weakness of the US critical mineral supply chain and an ongoing trade dispute with China, these developments are vital for the US to establish its own localised lithium ion supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":131110,"content":131111},{"textAlign":49},[131112,131114,131115,131117,131119],{"text":131113,"type":596},"But as we at ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":131116,"type":596},"have repeatedly warned, there still needs to be further investment in the upstream portion of the supply chain. As things stand, the US has negligible key battery raw material production. Downstream, anode production is non-existent and the ",{"text":131118,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals Cathode Assessment ",{"text":131120,"type":596},"estimates the US is responsible for less than 1% of global cathode production and capacity in 2019.","In December, the USA’s General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s LG Chem announced they would be forming a joint venture to create a US-based megafactory to produce battery cells destined for electric vehicles. The proposed battery factory will be based in Ohio and will reportedly have a capacity of 30 GWh with the potential to […]",[131123],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131124},{"job_title":557,"image":131125,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"801d3d95-c572-489b-a5a7-86e18b280c10\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131128,131129],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":131131,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131132,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf90e75cfc/bm-chevy-bolt-2.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Dec 06, 2019",{"id":131135,"uuid":131136,"name":131137,"slug":131138,"full_slug":131139,"content":131140},112474234372144,"47b54534-1e39-4ed1-b987-d5e7903e0ef5","What does the post-subsidy China EV market look like?","what-does-the-post-subsidy-china-ev-market-look-like","article/what-does-the-post-subsidy-china-ev-market-look-like",{"_uid":131141,"date":131142,"tags":131143,"editor":131144,"content":131148,"excerpt":131259,"featured":50,"reporter":131260,"_editable":131264,"component":697,"seo_title":131137,"categories":131265,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131268,"seo_description":131259,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131271},"7ae0726a-bfce-44df-9895-3c34e45b6a6d","2019-10-31 00:00",[],[131145],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131146},{"job_title":557,"image":131147,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131149},[131150,131155,131166,131171,131176,131181,131186,131191,131196,131201,131206,131211,131216,131221,131226,131231,131236,131241,131246],{"type":591,"attrs":131151,"content":131152},{"textAlign":49},[131153],{"text":131154,"type":596},"China has dominated the electric vehicle market for the majority of the period that there has been a market to speak of, the rate of market development there outstrips any other region both in terms of penetration and volumes, and this trend has not abated in 2019. The first chart shows Battery Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (BEV & PHEV) penetration by regional market and the total volume of sales for the first 9 months of 2019, and highlights the extent of this dominance, with sales in China alone greater than the rest of the world combined.",{"type":591,"attrs":131156,"content":131157},{"textAlign":49},[131158,131160,131164],{"text":131159,"type":596},"Consequently the market in China is monitored closely as any loss of momentum in the market would have implications for the entire EV & battery supply chain, from raw materials to charging infrastructure. As such the recent reduction is the size and scope of the government subsidy which has undoubtedly had an impact on the market since its came into effect in July, was always going to generate headlines in a market that has hitherto only seen growth. In this article we provide our analysis of the medium and long-term impact of this change in the subsidy regime, drawing on research from our ",{"text":131161,"type":596,"marks":131162},"EV & Battery Quarterly Outlook",[131163],{"type":1006},{"text":131165,"type":596},", the Q4 2019 iteration of which is released at the end of October.",{"type":591,"attrs":131167,"content":131168},{"textAlign":49},[131169],{"text":131170,"type":596},"What happened when the subsidy was removed, and what has happened since?",{"type":591,"attrs":131172,"content":131173},{"textAlign":49},[131174],{"text":131175,"type":596},"Earlier this year the government announced an incremental phase-down and eventual elimination of EV subsidies in order to reduce market dependence on fiscal support. From July 2019, BEV’s with a range of 400 km or more had their subsidies halved from RMB50,000 to RMB25,000, BEV’s with a range less than 250 km will receive no subsidy.",{"type":591,"attrs":131177,"content":131178},{"textAlign":49},[131179],{"text":131180,"type":596},"The second chart shows passenger car and light duty vehicle (PC &LDV) BEV & PHEV sales in China on a monthly basis for the period 2017-2019 ytd. Tracking for 2019, it can be seen that there was a marked increase in June sales ahead of the subsidies removal. There was then a subsequent 50% month-on-month fall in the market in July, and a 16% rise in sales in August, but fell back again in September.",{"type":591,"attrs":131182,"content":131183},{"textAlign":49},[131184],{"text":131185,"type":596},"Probably the most interesting thing to note about the sales figures since the subsidy has been curtailed, is the fact that monthly sales in July, August and September were lower than their respective months in 2018. In a market that has known nothing but exponential growth for several years this is quite a turnaround, but is it part of an ongoing trend? And if the market can be moved by the lack of subsides, does it signal a shift in technological focus to fuel cell vehicles where subsidies are, for now, being preserved?",{"type":591,"attrs":131187,"content":131188},{"textAlign":49},[131189],{"text":131190,"type":596},"Our view is that this is unlikely on both counts. The first reason for this relates to short-term vehicle market dynamics. On a year-to-date basis for the 9 months to August, sales of BEV & PHEVs are up 26% on the same period in 2018, for PC & LDVs, so the relative slowdown since July should be viewed in the perspective of a very strong first half of the year. Further, there was clearly a strong pre-buy effect in June, which was always likely to hit sales in subsequent months. In addition, sales of all vehicles in China typically increase into the final quarter as well, as can be seen in the chart, so it is likely that the market will continue to recover as the year draws to a close.",{"type":591,"attrs":131192,"content":131193},{"textAlign":49},[131194],{"text":131195,"type":596},"The second reason why do not see this as part of major shift in the market is one of longer-term government and OEM strategy. In all markets EV adoption is essentially driven by the interaction between government intervention, in the form of either emissions legislation or subsidies and incentives, and OEMs response in terms of their model line-ups and choice of battery pack size and chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":131197,"content":131198},{"textAlign":49},[131199],{"text":131200,"type":596},"In the first instance, despite the reduction in the subsidy, the government continues to support EV adoption through more stringent emissions legislation and other incentives. At a national level on the legislation side, the introduction of China 6 (Euro 6 equivalent) legislation puts pressure on OEMs to resolve issues around an inefficient gasoline fleet in terms of fuel consumption and NOx emissions. These measures will only become more stringent over time, and pressure on OEMs to reduce fleet average emissions will become more intense, especially with the introduction of more rigorous WLTP test cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":131202,"content":131203},{"textAlign":49},[131204],{"text":131205,"type":596},"In addition incentives remain in place, the Ministry of Finance announced that New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) purchased from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 shall remain exempt from vehicle purchase tax. At a local level, significant restrictions on the purchase of new ICE vehicles in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, continue to push EV adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":131207,"content":131208},{"textAlign":49},[131209],{"text":131210,"type":596},"The government has policy targets for OEMs as well. The NEV mandate specifies credit targets for two years, replacing subsidies with a credit-trading system, which among other targets, specifies that a carmaker must have bought or earned NEV credits equal to 10% of its ICE sales in 2019 and 12% in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":131212,"content":131213},{"textAlign":49},[131214],{"text":131215,"type":596},"All of which means that both local and international OEMs looking to operate in China will continue to develop zero emissions vehicles as part of their overall strategy in the coming years. As it stands, Chinese OEMs are well ahead of their peers in other markets in this regard, as illustrated in the third chart, which plots EV sales volumes and penetration by OEM for the first six months of 2019. Chinese OEMs as a whole are pushing ahead more quickly towards electrification than automakers anywhere else in the world, and this shows no sign of this slowing down.",{"type":591,"attrs":131217,"content":131218},{"textAlign":49},[131219],{"text":131220,"type":596},"Looking at some of the larger Chinese OEMs in turn. At BYD, BEV & PHEV sales already account for well over half of its vehicles sales for the first half of this year, and as a major battery manufacturer its strategic interest is a further push towards electrification over the coming years, across its all of its vehicle classes, including buses and coaches where it is by far the world’s leading manufacturer. BAIC is looking towards 100% EV penetration by 2025, when it will end production of ICEs, Chery is aiming to produce 200,000 vehicles per year by 2020, and Geely plans to electrify 90% of its range by 2020, targeting 30 electric and hybrid models. It is also looking to develop a fuel cell vehicle by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":131222,"content":131223},{"textAlign":49},[131224],{"text":131225,"type":596},"SAIC Motor, China’s largest carmaker and the local partner for Volkswagen and General Motors, has a strategy focussed on NEVs and intelligent connected cars as well as overseas expansion. SAIC Volkswagen is moving forward with new EV plant Shanghai, and is scheduled to start operation in October 2020, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles. SAIC announced it plans to install 50,000 public charging points with an investment of $3 billion by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":131227,"content":131228},{"textAlign":49},[131229],{"text":131230,"type":596},"So how will a change in the subsidy regime affect OEM strategy?",{"type":591,"attrs":131232,"content":131233},{"textAlign":49},[131234],{"text":131235,"type":596},"To deal with the issue of whether OEMs will now pivot towards fuel cell vehicles (FCV) owing to a continued subsidy structure for those vehicles, we make the following points. Firstly, the only reason the subsidy for FCV remains in place is because uptake, and therefore fiscal outlay, has been minimal, and it may still be removed shortly anyway. Second, it would seem imprudent for the OEMs and the government to move away from a lithium-ion battery and EV industry where they have a strategic advantage, and where significant investments have already been made, to one where neither of those things is true.",{"type":591,"attrs":131237,"content":131238},{"textAlign":49},[131239],{"text":131240,"type":596},"Given that subsidies have to date been range based, their removal is more likely to have an impact on both the type of vehicles coming onto the market and their battery chemistry. As there is no longer an overriding incentive to produce longer range vehicles to qualify for subsidies, we expect that there will be a move towards an increased proliferation of lower range urban focused vehicles, which will be targeted at a market where durability and cost are key, which suggests that an uptick in LFP market share in the battery mix is likely over the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":131242,"content":131243},{"textAlign":49},[131244],{"text":131245,"type":596},"As such, the curtailment of subsidies both this year, and into the future, is more a sign of EV market maturity and health over the longer-term, and a transition to an industry to one that will need to sustain itself through scale, efficiency and ongoing innovation, in this regard China is likely setting a template for other markets to follow.",{"type":591,"attrs":131247,"content":131248},{"textAlign":49},[131249,131253],{"text":131250,"type":596,"marks":131251},"By Adam Panayi, Managing Director, ",[131252],{"type":1006},{"text":20451,"type":596,"marks":131254},[131255,131258],{"type":606,"attrs":131256},{"href":131257,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://rhomotion.com",{"type":1006},"China has dominated the electric vehicle market for the majority of the period that there has been a market to speak of, the rate of market development there outstrips any other region both in terms of penetration and volumes, and this trend has not abated in 2019. The first chart shows Battery Electric and Plug-in […]",[131261],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131262},{"job_title":557,"image":131263,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7ae0726a-bfce-44df-9895-3c34e45b6a6d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131266,131267],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":131269,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131270,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9bc049e3ab/bm-byton-credit-rennett-stowe-e1572524035649.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 31, 2019",{"id":131273,"uuid":131274,"name":131275,"slug":131276,"full_slug":131277,"content":131278},112474273379558,"6823f1e0-6bcb-45d9-85e0-22d503705ce6","NICKEL SUPPLY SHOCK","nickel-supply-shock","article/nickel-supply-shock",{"_uid":131279,"date":131280,"tags":131281,"editor":131282,"content":131286,"excerpt":131386,"featured":50,"reporter":131387,"_editable":131391,"component":697,"seo_title":131275,"categories":131392,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131396,"seo_description":131386,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131399},"49af59ce-01bb-474e-a91a-88e52533c8d9","2019-10-25 00:00",[],[131283],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131284},{"job_title":557,"image":131285,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131287},[131288,131293,131298,131303,131308,131315,131322,131327,131334,131339,131344,131349,131356,131361,131366,131371,131376,131381],{"type":615,"attrs":131289,"content":131290},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131291],{"text":131292,"type":596},"The nickel market was shocked by Indonesia’s announcement of an earlier than expected nickel ore export ban. Here, Benchmark looks at the key points and the implications for the battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":131294,"content":131295},{"textAlign":49},[131296],{"text":131297,"type":596},"Indonesia shocked the market in September 2019 as it brought forward its plan to ban exports of nickel ore to January 2020 – two years earlier than it had previously announced – in its drive to promote more downstream domestic processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":131299,"content":131300},{"textAlign":49},[131301],{"text":131302,"type":596},"The nickel market is dominated by stainless steel production and much of nickel ore produced in Indonesia is bound for China’s stainless-steel industry. Last year exports from Indonesia accounted for approximately a third of nickel entering China and 11% of global supply. Indonesia’s share of global supply was forecast to increase significantly out to the 2020s, however, the latest news is likely to curtail these capacity increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":131304,"content":131305},{"textAlign":49},[131306],{"text":131307,"type":596},"Luhut Pandjaitan, a coordinating minister overseeing mining, said of the government’s decision, “now (exports) may be at $7.8 billion, in 2020 they will reach $12 billion and in 2024 they may exceed $30 billion, including exports of lithium batteries” highlighting how the country hopes to cement a downstream role in the electric vehicle supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":131309,"content":131310},{"textAlign":49},[131311,131313],{"text":131312,"type":596},"Although the decision to bring the ban",{"text":131314,"type":596},"forward is a shock, Indonesia’s recent history illustrates that shock decisions related to its mining industry are not a new phenomenon. Only ten years ago Indonesia passed the Mining Law, which led to a 2014 ore export ban mandating that companies must process ore before exporting it.",{"type":591,"attrs":131316,"content":131317},{"textAlign":49},[131318,131320],{"text":131319,"type":596},"Similar to the latest export ban, the government is looking to restructure the economy and develop the downstream industries associated with mining and processing. The original policy seemed to be having positive effects as processed nickel exports were on the rise, however, to the surprise of many the ban was short-lived and by Q1 2017 it had been overturned. It only took",{"text":131321,"type":596},"three years and another shock for the decision to be effectively reversed again.",{"type":591,"attrs":131323,"content":131324},{"textAlign":49},[131325],{"text":131326,"type":596},"The effects of the ore ban were potentially compounded with the news that a mining operation based in the Philippines’ southern Tawi-Tawi province was set to cease operations soon as its ore resources have almost depleted. The two countries are a hub of nickel production, thus a drop in supply from the two could have far reaching effects.",{"type":591,"attrs":131328,"content":131329},{"textAlign":49},[131330,131332],{"text":131331,"type":596},"Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, it was reported that a nickel processing plant owned by the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) could face closure following the spillage of mine waste in Papua New Guinea. How mining operations manage waste is already under more scrutiny",{"text":131333,"type":596},"following the recent Vale disaster in Brazil. MCC could face a range of punishments for the incident at its Ramu mine, ranging from compensation, legal action and ultimately to mine closure. The outcome of this decision is yet to be seen but if the operation were to close it would act as a further supply shock.",{"type":591,"attrs":131335,"content":131336},{"textAlign":49},[131337],{"text":131338,"type":596},"With lithium ion batteries using ever higher nickel content nickel’s role in the electric vehicle supply chain is set to grow exponentially. However, demand for battery grade nickel sulphate from the lithium ion battery industry currently represents a small proportion of the wider nickel market which is dominated by stainless-steel production.",{"type":615,"attrs":131340,"content":131341},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131342],{"text":131343,"type":596},"How do these developments impact the battery market?",{"type":591,"attrs":131345,"content":131346},{"textAlign":49},[131347],{"text":131348,"type":596},"Within the nickel market, “class 1” nickel has typically been used in the battery sector, either produced directly as a sulphate or converted from a metal product. Indonesian ore usually follows the “class 2” route, ultimately producing nickel pig iron (NPI) destined for the stainless-steel sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":131350,"content":131351},{"textAlign":49},[131352,131354],{"text":131353,"type":596},"While the supply shock does not directly",{"text":131355,"type":596},"affect the supply of class 1 nickel, it’s likely that we will see a greater share of class 1 nickel consumed by the stainless-steel industry in 2020. Much of the ore exported from Indonesia and the Philippines is smelted into NPI for stainless steel and some of this supply will have to come from elsewhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":131357,"content":131358},{"textAlign":49},[131359],{"text":131360,"type":596},"While Indonesian nickel exporters will be feeling the burn from the export-ban, producers with downstream projects in the country will have a head start and add further incentive to ramp up operations and bring them online.",{"type":591,"attrs":131362,"content":131363},{"textAlign":49},[131364],{"text":131365,"type":596},"One of the boldest downstream Indonesian projects is led by Chinese stainless-steel manufacturer Tsingshan, in partnership with GEM and CATL. The processing plant was announced in Q3 2018 with capex costs of $700 million. The operation is being developed to use a high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) process and will reportedly target 131,000 tonnes per annum of nickel sulphate. Production is expected to begin in 2021 and operations are expected to ramp up to capacity in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":131367,"content":131368},{"textAlign":49},[131369],{"text":131370,"type":596},"However, there has been much scepticism within the industry surrounding both the proposed capex and timelines to production.",{"type":591,"attrs":131372,"content":131373},{"textAlign":49},[131374],{"text":131375,"type":596},"There were even reports over the quarter that the total costs of the project could more than double to $1.5 billion, although this was denied by GEM.",{"type":591,"attrs":131377,"content":131378},{"textAlign":49},[131379],{"text":131380,"type":596},"The route to battery grade nickel sulphate from laterite ores using HPAL is energy intensive and uses chemical heavy processing. HPAL projects are also typically capital intensive and the space is littered with a number of projects failing to meet their nameplate capacity. The consortium backing the Morowali project hopes it can set a new standard for the electric vehicle supply chain looking to meet growing nickel sulphate demand from battery producers, however, it looks like its initial goals were too optimistic.",{"type":591,"attrs":131382,"content":131383},{"textAlign":49},[131384],{"text":131385,"type":596},"The Indonesian government hopes their nickel export ban will spur the development of its nascent downstream industry. The immediate consequence of the decision has been an uptick in nickel pricing. With Indonesia’s history of reversing decisions there is no certainty that this policy will prevail in the long-term but as the nickel market transforms with the ascendancy of the battery supply chain Indonesia will continue to play a role regardless of its position in the value chain.","The nickel market was shocked by Indonesia’s announcement of an earlier than expected nickel ore export ban. Here, Benchmark looks at the key points and the implications for the battery market. Indonesia shocked the market in September 2019 as it brought forward its plan to ban exports of nickel ore to January 2020 – two […]",[131388],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131389},{"job_title":557,"image":131390,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"49af59ce-01bb-474e-a91a-88e52533c8d9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131393,131394,131395],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":131397,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131398,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2dadbfe914/bm-credit-imo-e1571740886342-711253b6c0c.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 25, 2019",{"id":131401,"uuid":131402,"name":131403,"slug":131404,"full_slug":131405,"content":131406},112474258060115,"269cf80d-aa4b-4352-9af7-b28eef1e3c4e","GLENCORE-GEM REVAMPED DEAL COULD LEAVE EV MAKERS SHORT OF SUSTAINABLE COBALT","glencore-gem-move-sparks-cobalt-fears","article/glencore-gem-move-sparks-cobalt-fears",{"_uid":131407,"date":131280,"tags":131408,"editor":131410,"content":131414,"excerpt":131586,"featured":50,"reporter":131587,"_editable":131591,"component":697,"seo_title":131403,"categories":131592,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131595,"seo_description":131586,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131399},"38df314d-159c-4a9c-a1ed-96dd59434e72",[131409],{"slug":5837,"name":5838},[131411],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131412},{"job_title":557,"image":131413,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131415},[131416,131421,131426,131432,131437,131442,131450,131455,131461,131466,131471,131476,131481,131489,131494,131499,131513,131520,131528,131533,131541,131549,131554,131559,131564,131569,131574,131581],{"type":591,"attrs":131417,"content":131418},{"textAlign":49},[131419],{"text":131420,"type":596},"Glencore’s revamped deal with GEM could leave electric vehicle makers short of sustainable cobalt. Benchmark looks at what this deal means to the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":131422,"content":131423},{"textAlign":49},[131424],{"text":131425,"type":596},"In October Glencore announced a revamped deal with the world’s largest precursor producer, GEM Co Ltd, for cobalt hydroxide that equates to 61,200 tonnes of contained cobalt for a five-year period between 2020 and 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":131427,"content":131428},{"textAlign":49},[131429,131430],{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":131431,"type":596},"estimates that the deal is for 25% of Glencore’s forecasted cobalt hydroxide production in the contracted time period, and it comes on the back of the commodity group’s closure of one of its Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mines, Mutanda, amid a depressed cobalt price environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":131433,"content":131434},{"textAlign":49},[131435],{"text":131436,"type":596},"This renewed deal trumps the previous contract that China-based GEM walked away from in 2018 and rekindles the long-term strategic relationship between the two groups.",{"type":591,"attrs":131438,"content":131439},{"textAlign":49},[131440],{"text":131441,"type":596},"As with any deal of significance in the EV supply chain, understanding the context is key.",{"type":591,"attrs":131443,"content":131444},{"textAlign":49},[131445,131446,131448],{"text":63577,"type":596},{"text":131447,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals presents ",{"text":131449,"type":596},"the most critical implications of this latest Glencore and GEM deal for the cobalt industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":131451,"content":131452},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131453],{"text":131454,"type":596},"INDUSTRY SHORTAGES",{"type":591,"attrs":131456,"content":131457},{"textAlign":49},[131458,131459],{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131460,"type":596},"estimates that the deal will account for 25% of Glencore’s total cobalt hydroxide output in that time frame locking up a significant portion of ‘sustainable’ or traceable cobalt that is not at risk of association with artisanal or illegal sources within the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":131462,"content":131463},{"textAlign":49},[131464],{"text":131465,"type":596},"Glencore is the world’s largest cobalt producer and we forecast that it will account for 31% of total supply in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":131467,"content":131468},{"textAlign":49},[131469],{"text":131470,"type":596},"Having such a large proportion of its supply base being used by one customer will get the attention of those battery and automakers that are not locked into the Glencore-GEM supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":131472,"content":131473},{"textAlign":49},[131474],{"text":131475,"type":596},"Glencore’s Mutanda and Katanga Mining operations in the DRC are expected to produce 37,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide in 2019. In recent years, the cobalt industry has put much emphasis on having sustainable supply chains to give automakers confidence that its cobalt is not linked to child labour in the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":131477,"content":131478},{"textAlign":49},[131479],{"text":131480,"type":596},"Despite child labour-linked cobalt affecting fractions of actual cobalt supply, the reputation is particularly damaging to automakers EV brands.",{"type":591,"attrs":131482,"content":131483},{"textAlign":49},[131484,131486,131487],{"text":131485,"type":596},"This is compounded by the fact that Umicore – which is set to be the new owner of the Kokkola cobalt refinery in Finland after the acquisition from Freeport Cobalt completes later this year – will receive up to 12,000 tonnes a year of this material, ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131488,"type":596},"estimates.",{"type":591,"attrs":131490,"content":131491},{"textAlign":49},[131492],{"text":131493,"type":596},"This means over 50% of Glencore’s cobalt production is tied up in long-term contracts with two major customers.",{"type":615,"attrs":131495,"content":131496},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131497],{"text":131498,"type":596},"GEM’S 20% DOMINANCE",{"type":591,"attrs":131500,"content":131501},{"textAlign":49},[131502,131504,131505,131507,131508,131510,131511],{"text":131503,"type":596},"The 61,200 tonne cobalt deal will run over a 5 year period and in 2020 ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131506,"type":596},"expects GEM could handle up to 20% of all cobalt consumed in lithium ion batteries in 2020.",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131509,"type":596},"forecasts cobalt demand in lithium ion batteries to increase from 75,000 tonnes in 2019 to 152,000 tonnes in 2024, with a total market size for all end uses of 213,000 tonnes. As a result of rapidly changing supply and demand dynamics in the cobalt to EV supply chain, ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131512,"type":596},"publishes its Cobalt Forecast each quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":131514,"content":131515},{"textAlign":49},[131516,131518],{"text":131517,"type":596},"While the industry has watched with curiosity how Glencore closed its Mutanda cobalt mine",{"text":131519,"type":596},"in August only to then sign the new GEM deal, the reality is that Glencore is by far still the most influential factor in the cobalt industry, at least until EV demand and battery technology enters a new gear in the mid-2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":131521,"content":131522},{"textAlign":49},[131523,131525,131526],{"text":131524,"type":596},"The announcement of the Mutanda closure caused a upward price reaction and saw the ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":131527,"type":596},"’ Cobalt Hydroxide CIF Asia Assessed Price increase by 17% in August and a further 20% in September.",{"type":591,"attrs":131529,"content":131530},{"textAlign":49},[131531],{"text":131532,"type":596},"Mid-point cobalt hydroxide prices as of July 2019 rose from $17,050/tonne to $24,175 in September, a significant increase after 15 straight months of declining prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":131534,"content":131535},{"textAlign":49},[131536,131538,131539],{"text":131537,"type":596},"It also had a significant impact on ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":131540,"type":596},"’ Cobalt Forecast, shifting the market into structural undersupply by as early as 2020, three years sooner than expected such is the size of the Mutanda operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":131542,"content":131543},{"textAlign":49},[131544,131546,131547],{"text":131545,"type":596},"Over the past 18 months, however, ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131548,"type":596},"has seen significant cobalt stockpiles grow in the DRC and elsewhere in Africa which will be sufficient to feed the market in 2020 and soften the short term blow. Doubts still remain over whether cobalt’s ex-Glencore supply base can or is willing to expand supply in time for 2021 onwards, especially considering how difficult the industry finds predicting the leading producer’s strategy.",{"type":615,"attrs":131550,"content":131551},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131552],{"text":131553,"type":596},"LONG-TERM CONTRACTS ARE KING",{"type":591,"attrs":131555,"content":131556},{"textAlign":49},[131557],{"text":131558,"type":596},"This development also continues the trend of large long-term contracts in the cobalt industry as the precursor, cathode and lithium ion battery cell manufacturers ramp up significantly to supply Auto OEMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":131560,"content":131561},{"textAlign":49},[131562],{"text":131563,"type":596},"The structure of these contracts and relationships becomes even more critical as volumes increase and purchasers have limited financial instruments to hedge their exposure.",{"type":591,"attrs":131565,"content":131566},{"textAlign":49},[131567],{"text":131568,"type":596},"Present-day financial instruments such the London Metal Exchange (LME) physical cobalt contract have not gained any liquidity within cobalt and the EV supply chain continues to look to other mechanisms and exchanges for options.",{"type":591,"attrs":131570,"content":131571},{"textAlign":49},[131572],{"text":131573,"type":596},"Understanding the nuances of each link in this supply chain is key to forecasting.",{"type":591,"attrs":131575,"content":131576},{"textAlign":49},[131577,131579,131580],{"text":131578,"type":596},"Considering it takes 12-15 months to extract cobalt out of the ground and make its way into an electric vehicle, understanding the stock-in-process (cobalt locked up within the supply chain) and the consumer ramp up is crucial to our forecasting services at ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":131582,"content":131583},{"textAlign":49},[131584],{"text":131585,"type":596},"There is little doubt that in times of a tight market, Glencore will look more favourable towards long term contracted customers than the smaller volume spot market.","Glencore’s revamped deal with GEM could leave electric vehicle makers short of sustainable cobalt. Benchmark looks at what this deal means to the market. In October Glencore announced a revamped deal with the world’s largest precursor producer, GEM Co Ltd, for cobalt hydroxide that equates to 61,200 tonnes of contained cobalt for a five-year period […]",[131588],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131589},{"job_title":557,"image":131590,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"38df314d-159c-4a9c-a1ed-96dd59434e72\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131593,131594],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":77216,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131596,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":131598,"uuid":131599,"name":131600,"slug":131601,"full_slug":131602,"content":131603},112474248725028,"c74216f0-767d-495e-be96-90ed8fec84e6","CATL NEARING TIER ONE","catl-nearing-tier-one","article/catl-nearing-tier-one",{"_uid":131604,"date":131280,"tags":131605,"editor":131607,"content":131611,"excerpt":131765,"featured":50,"reporter":131766,"_editable":131770,"component":697,"seo_title":131600,"categories":131771,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":131774,"seo_description":131765,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":131399},"58602196-2674-443b-9366-4aab2e5f37f9",[131606],{"slug":7066,"name":7067},[131608],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131609},{"job_title":557,"image":131610,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131612},[131613,131618,131623,131628,131633,131638,131643,131648,131653,131658,131663,131668,131673,131678,131683,131688,131695,131700,131705,131710,131715,131720,131731,131736,131742,131750,131755,131760],{"type":591,"attrs":131614,"content":131615},{"textAlign":49},[131616],{"text":131617,"type":596},"CATL took a stake in Pilbara Minerals in September as the Chinese battery maker makes inroads across the supply chain. Here we look at CATL’s rise to being on the cusp of attaining tier-one battery manufacturer status",{"type":591,"attrs":131619,"content":131620},{"textAlign":49},[131621],{"text":131622,"type":596},"September saw a flurry of activity from battery cell manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) as it secured an 8.5% stake in Pilbara Minerals, agreed to develop batteries in collaboration with Bosch, reached an agreement to supply Daimler’s trucks and buses and launched a new recycling joint venture (JV) with its subsidiary Brunp. In Q3 2019 alone, CATL announced deals seven deals covering the full supply chain – with OEMs, cathode producers and raw material suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":131624,"content":131625},{"textAlign":49},[131626],{"text":131627,"type":596},"Since being founded in 2011 the company has grown to be one of the biggest names in the lithium ion cell space. Outside of China it has offices, manufacturing facilities and R&D centres in the USA, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.",{"type":591,"attrs":131629,"content":131630},{"textAlign":49},[131631],{"text":131632,"type":596},"It has also been one of the most active battery manufacturers in the supply chain in terms of supply agreements and joint ventures during that time period, and particularly over the past two years.",{"type":615,"attrs":131634,"content":131635},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131636],{"text":131637,"type":596},"RAW MATERIALS",{"type":591,"attrs":131639,"content":131640},{"textAlign":49},[131641],{"text":131642,"type":596},"Looking at recent activity, amongst the biggest news in relation to CATL and the lithium ion supply chain was arguably its purchase of a stake in Australian spodumene miner Pilbara Minerals in Q3 2019. The equity raising saw CATL pay AUS $55 million to Pilbara Minerals, to be paid in two tranches, for an 8.5% stake in the Australian lithium miner.",{"type":591,"attrs":131644,"content":131645},{"textAlign":49},[131646],{"text":131647,"type":596},"Pilbara’s Managing Director, Ken Brinsden, said of the deal: “while there has been commentary talking down the current state of lithium markets, it has belied the significant interest we have continued to see from the strategic players in the lithium ion supply chain and their focus on lithium raw material supply.”",{"type":591,"attrs":131649,"content":131650},{"textAlign":49},[131651],{"text":131652,"type":596},"Pilbara will use the capital raised from the CATL deal to strengthen its balance sheets and working capital, while supporting the ramp-up of the company’s Pilgangoora Project to its stage one nameplate capacity production of 330,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of spodumene concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":131654,"content":131655},{"textAlign":49},[131656],{"text":131657,"type":596},"Pilbara also made downstream processing progress during the quarter Pilbara as it agreed to a 21% stake in a POSCO JV, which plans to build and operate a 40ktpa primary lithium hydroxide processing chemical processing facility in South Korea.",{"type":591,"attrs":131659,"content":131660},{"textAlign":49},[131661],{"text":131662,"type":596},"Aware of the relatively weak lithium market and particularly the pressures facing spodumene producers, CATL took the opportunity to invest in Pilbara. As lithium market sentiment moves from fears of oversupply to fears of structural undersupply – which could be expected in the next couple of years – we will see how well this deal plays out.",{"type":591,"attrs":131664,"content":131665},{"textAlign":49},[131666],{"text":131667,"type":596},"This isn’t CATL’s first move in lithium, for instance it took a controlling stake in Canadian lithium producer North American Lithium back in March 2018. However, operations were suspended in February 2019 as the producer came under pressure from falling spodumene prices and in September 2019 there were reports of other companies bidding for North American Lithium’s assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":131669,"content":131670},{"textAlign":49},[131671],{"text":131672,"type":596},"Closer to home CATL also recently took a 15% position in a JV with Canmax. The proposed JV will establish a lithium processing plant which is expected to produce 20,000 tpa of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in phase one, ramping up to 40,000 tpa in phase two.",{"type":591,"attrs":131674,"content":131675},{"textAlign":49},[131676],{"text":131677,"type":596},"Cobalt is on all battery-makers radars, and in 2017 it was reported that CATL had struck a deal to source cobalt 20,000 tonnes of cobalt from Glencore, with Volkswagen ultimately agreeing to purchase batteries produced by CATL to support the deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":131679,"content":131680},{"textAlign":49},[131681],{"text":131682,"type":596},"CATL, like other battery manufacturers, has announced it is moving towards higher-nickel cathodes at the expense of cobalt. Earlier this year, the company’s chairman announced that the company was mass producing NCM 811 (eight parts nickel, one part cobalt, one part manganese). However, 811 production remains in its early stages and securing cobalt supply will still be an important goal on CATL’s radar today and looking forward into the early 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":131684,"content":131685},{"textAlign":49},[131686],{"text":131687,"type":596},"In April 2018 CATL took a 25% share in Canada-based North American Nickel. The company is at an early stage of development, which also reflects the timing of moves to higher nickel cathodes such as NCM 811.",{"type":591,"attrs":131689,"content":131690},{"textAlign":49},[131691,131693],{"text":131692,"type":596},"CATL has also made strides elsewhere in the nickel market. Last year a JV was announced that saw CATL take a 25% stake in a bold battery-grade nickel project in Morowali, Indonesia. The JV sees CATL collaborating with Chinese stainless-steel manufacturer Tsingshan and battery materials",{"text":131694,"type":596},"producer GEM to establish a nickel processing plant using high pressure acid leaching (HPAL).",{"type":591,"attrs":131696,"content":131697},{"textAlign":49},[131698],{"text":131699,"type":596},"However, the route to battery grade nickel sulphate from laterite ores using HPAL is energy intensive and uses chemical heavy processing. The timelines and costs proposed for the Morowali plant have received a sceptical response from the nickel industry and there have been reports of cost overruns.",{"type":591,"attrs":131701,"content":131702},{"textAlign":49},[131703],{"text":131704,"type":596},"In a move to expand its source of raw materials, September 2019 also saw CATL establish a new recycling JV with its subsidiary Brunp. The JV – Ningbo Brunp CATL New Energy – based in Ningbo, Zhejiang. This forward-looking move will provide CATL with another potential source of raw materials for production, which will become particularly relevant when we see end-of life taking more of a prominent role in the supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":131706,"content":131707},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131708],{"text":131709,"type":596},"OEMS",{"type":591,"attrs":131711,"content":131712},{"textAlign":49},[131713],{"text":131714,"type":596},"While CATL has been executing its raw material strategy it has been forming closer ties with its ultimate customers: OEMS.",{"type":591,"attrs":131716,"content":131717},{"textAlign":49},[131718],{"text":131719,"type":596},"In the past two years CATL has agreed supply deals with some of the auto industry’s key players including Daimler, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan-Renault. In addition, CATL has numbers joint ventures with Chinese automakers for cell production including SAIC, GAC, FAW and Dongfeng Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":131721,"content":131722},{"textAlign":49},[131723,131725,131727,131729],{"text":131724,"type":596},"However, despite these deals CATL remains a tier 2 battery producer on the ",{"text":131726,"type":596},"Benchmark Minerals’ ",{"text":131728,"type":596},"Lithium Ion Battery Megafactory",{"text":131730,"type":596},"Assessment. Whilst the company possesses the significant scale needed to secure large automotive cell contracts the company has struggled to match the quality of its fierce Korean and Japanese rivals.",{"type":591,"attrs":131732,"content":131733},{"textAlign":49},[131734],{"text":131735,"type":596},"For CATL to reach tier 1 status the company needs to finalise qualification to supply multi-national electric vehicle producers outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":131737,"content":131738},{"textAlign":49},[131739,131740],{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131741,"type":596},"believe this critical qualification step is just around the corner for CATL, and once received it will see the company reach the upper echelon of cell suppliers globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":131743,"content":131744},{"textAlign":49},[131745,131747,131748],{"text":131746,"type":596},"CATL already has nine battery megafactories in the pipeline in ",{"text":131726,"type":596},{"text":131749,"type":596},"Lithium Ion Megafactory Assessment, three producing facilities in 2018 with the remainder expected to be in production by 2023. Looking forward to 2028, CATL has over 300 GWh of production capacity forecasted, which accounts for just over 15% of the pipeline globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":131751,"content":131752},{"textAlign":49},[131753],{"text":131754,"type":596},"Despite this activity, expansions have largely been domestically focussed with eight of nine of the megafactories located in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":131756,"content":131757},{"textAlign":49},[131758],{"text":131759,"type":596},"However, with its growing base of Western OEM clients, the company may soon add further capacity outside of China, with the company reportedly eyeing North America for the next expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":131761,"content":131762},{"textAlign":49},[131763],{"text":131764,"type":596},"CATL is homing in on tier 1 battery production and Western OEMs qualify and use its batteries in global markets, we will soon see it mixing with incumbents in the battery industry’s top-tier.","CATL took a stake in Pilbara Minerals in September as the Chinese battery maker makes inroads across the supply chain. Here we look at CATL’s rise to being on the cusp of attaining tier-one battery manufacturer status September saw a flurry of activity from battery cell manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) as it […]",[131767],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131768},{"job_title":557,"image":131769,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"58602196-2674-443b-9366-4aab2e5f37f9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[131772,131773],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":131775,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":131776,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d50d7be4f3/bm-daimler-trucks-and-buses-e1571741349754.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":131778,"uuid":131779,"name":131780,"slug":131781,"full_slug":131782,"content":131783},112474292586307,"3aa61c09-42bf-4dec-a927-ef196256e63f","CONDITION: CRITICAL","condition-critical","article/condition-critical",{"_uid":131784,"date":131785,"tags":131786,"editor":131787,"content":131791,"excerpt":132108,"featured":50,"reporter":132109,"_editable":132113,"component":697,"seo_title":131780,"categories":132114,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":132117,"seo_description":132108,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132120},"93839162-a01d-423b-bbce-0da42f3f0ac4","2019-10-22 00:00",[],[131788],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":131789},{"job_title":557,"image":131790,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":131792},[131793,131798,131803,131808,131813,131822,131827,131832,131839,131844,131849,131854,131859,131866,131871,131876,131881,131888,131893,131898,131903,131908,131913,131920,131925,131930,131935,131940,131945,131950,131955,131960,131965,131970,131975,131980,131985,131990,131995,132000,132005,132010,132015,132022,132027,132032,132039,132044,132049,132054,132061,132066,132071,132076,132081,132086,132091,132096,132101],{"type":615,"attrs":131794,"content":131795},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131796],{"text":131797,"type":596},"Critical raw material supply is back on the agenda in the US as Lisa Murkowski introduced the American Mineral Security Act bill this year. Here, Paul Harris looks at the history and latest developments in US raw material security ",{"type":591,"attrs":131799,"content":131800},{"textAlign":49},[131801],{"text":131802,"type":596},"In May 2019, US Republican senator Lisa Murkowski introduced the American Mineral Security Act bill, which aims to rebuild a domestic mineral supply chain, particularly for battery minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt to reduce US reliance on foreign sources. With lithium-ion batteries seen as a key element in the future of transportation and energy storage, there is a feeling the US has been caught napping while China acquired a leading position over global materials supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":131804,"content":131805},{"textAlign":49},[131806],{"text":131807,"type":596},"“Unless we take significant steps, we’re at risk of ceding major economic drivers to other countries,” said senator Murkowski, chair of the US Senate Committee of Energy and Natural Resources. “Our nation’s mineral security is a significant, urgent and often ignored challenge…our reliance on China and other nations for critical minerals costs us jobs…and leaves us at a geopolitical disadvantage,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":131809,"content":131810},{"textAlign":49},[131811],{"text":131812,"type":596},"Other observers agree. “The challenge…is ensuring that the US does not exchange a dependence on OPEC’s oil for a dependence on China’s batteries and critical minerals,” said Robbie Diamond of Securing America’s Future Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":131814,"content":131815},{"textAlign":49},[131816,131817,131819,131820],{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":131818,"type":596},"assisted in the genesis of the bill by highlighting the realities of material supply in the battery space. Speaking at the US senate this year, ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":131821,"type":596},"’ Managing Director Simon Moores said “the US produces 1% of global lithium supply and 7% of refined lithium chemical supply, while China produces 51%. For cobalt, the US has zero mining or chemicals capacity whilst China controls 80% of this second stage. For graphite, the US has no flake graphite mining or anode production compared to China’s 51% and 100% of the world’s total, and the situation for nickel sulphate is similar.",{"type":591,"attrs":131823,"content":131824},{"textAlign":49},[131825],{"text":131826,"type":596},"“We are in the midst of a global battery arms race that is intensifying. Lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel are the key enablers of the lithium ion battery and, in turn, the lithium ion battery is the key enabler of the energy storage revolution. … The US has been a bystander in building domestic supply chain capacity. … These supply chains are the oil pipelines of tomorrow. The lithium ion battery is to the 21st century is what the oil barrel was to the 20th century,” said Moores.",{"type":591,"attrs":131828,"content":131829},{"textAlign":49},[131830],{"text":131831,"type":596},"The bill comes within a zeitgeist which sees US president Donald Trump forge an increasingly nationalist agenda focusing on US interests and reeling-in decades of Internationalism which the US formerly spearheaded. “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots,” he said during a speech to the United Nations on September 24th. In-sourcing of jobs and industry is part of Trump’s agenda, and minerals",{"type":591,"attrs":131833,"content":131834},{"textAlign":49},[131835],{"type":836,"attrs":131836},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":131837,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":131838},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5779fa8fba/bm-credit-arctic-circle.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":131840,"content":131841},{"textAlign":49},[131842],{"text":131843,"type":596},"US Senator Lisa Murkowski",{"type":591,"attrs":131845,"content":131846},{"textAlign":49},[131847],{"text":131848,"type":596},"production is within that. In June 2019, president Trump signed an Executive Order to push this along. A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals tasked the US Secretaries of Interior and Defense to prepare a list of critical minerals and develop a strategy for reducing foreign dependence on metals and minerals deemed critical. This followed the December 2017 Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply US Geological Survey report which listed 23 metals and minerals—including cobalt and graphite—critical to the US national economy and national security.",{"type":615,"attrs":131850,"content":131851},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131852],{"text":131853,"type":596},"How did we get here?",{"type":591,"attrs":131855,"content":131856},{"textAlign":49},[131857],{"text":131858,"type":596},"A focus on strategic minerals represents a return to the past. The 1939 Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act which sought to “provide for common defense by acquiring stocks of strategic and critical materials essential to the needs of industry for the manufacture of supplies for the armed forces and the civilian population in time of a national emergency, and to encourage, as far as possible, the further development of strategic and critical materials within the United States for common defense.” This saw the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) manage the National Defense Stockpile of various metals and minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":131860,"content":131861},{"textAlign":49},[131862,131864,131865],{"text":131863,"type":596},"“The strategic stockpile never worked as a concept until the late 1940s after Russia detonated a hydrogen bomb. In 1956, the stockpile had a value of $10.3 billion. At the end of the George Bush administration in 1993 it was worth $1.2 billion. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 the US Department of Defense decided it had no existential threat from Communism anymore and therefore no threat of having mineral dependence cut off, and so it started selling down the stockpile,” Micky Fulp of MercenaryGeologist.com told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":131867,"content":131868},{"textAlign":49},[131869],{"text":131870,"type":596},"The post-Soviet world of free trade agreements saw mineral-rich China emerge as a market economy and saw the production of many minerals in the US cease because it was easier and cheaper to buy them elsewhere as global trade barriers fell. Thirty years after the Cold War ended, China and Russia are increasingly seen as military and economic threats to the Western world, a context in which global supply chains that supply the exotic mineral elements our digital world requires present strategic vulnerabilities. “Technology is changing, materials science is changing, innovation is changing but the laws are what they were. This is going to have a drag on the economy, on technology development and defence platforms. Law and permitting regimes have to catch up to where we need them to be with innovation and technologies,” said McGroarty.",{"type":615,"attrs":131872,"content":131873},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131874],{"text":131875,"type":596},"Supply chains",{"type":591,"attrs":131877,"content":131878},{"textAlign":49},[131879],{"text":131880,"type":596},"What is critical: the raw mineral, the refined mineral or the final technology? President Trump wants US businesses to onshore production, but does this make sense if inputs are sourced overseas? “Is an iPhone made in China or California? Is it necessary to have greater domestic lithium and cobalt supplies if we buy an iPhone from China? How much end-to-end supply chain will be in the US if the mineral supply is there and will manufacturing shift back because of this?” asked Denis Laviolette, president and CEO Goldspot Discoveries.",{"type":591,"attrs":131882,"content":131883},{"textAlign":49},[131884,131886,131887],{"text":131885,"type":596},"Rather than the minerals themselves per se, the debate is centred on supply chains, according to Patrick Highsmith, former president and CEO of Pure Energy Minerals. “China doesn’t control the lithium resources, but it has converters who buy it. Once lithium arrives in China and is converted, will it come out again? The conversion technology in Japan and South Korea is better than in China while the US is on the side-lines of this part of the value chain. What is being done to encourage the development of a lithium supply chain in the US? This is not a government issue but a business issue,” he told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":131889,"content":131890},{"textAlign":49},[131891],{"text":131892,"type":596},"Government has the tools to stimulate a domestic minerals industry, but under what conditions is it prepared to use them? The evidence is mixed.",{"type":591,"attrs":131894,"content":131895},{"textAlign":49},[131896],{"text":131897,"type":596},"The US Department of Commerce (DOC) investigated the effects of uranium imports on US national security under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act after Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy argued the loss of a viable US uranium mining industry would have a detrimental impact on the country’s national, energy and economic security and its ability to sustain an independent nuclear fuel cycle. They sought a quota to limit imports to effectively reserve 25% of the market for domestic production and a buy American policy for federal entities. But although the US imports 93% of its uranium, president Trump declined to countenance this even though Russia and former Soviet states represent the bulk of world production. “At this time, I do not concur with the Secretary’s finding that uranium imports threaten to impair the national security of the United States,” he said in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":131899,"content":131900},{"textAlign":49},[131901],{"text":131902,"type":596},"While president Trump backed away from assisting the uranium industry, he adopted a more supportive stance for rare earth elements (REE). In July, he triggered a Defense Title III action under section 303 of the 1950 Defense Production Act. “I hereby determine … that the domestic production capability for rare earth metals and alloys is essential to the national defense. Without presidential action under section 303 of the Act, US industry cannot reasonably be expected to provide the production capability for rare earth metals and alloys adequately and in a timely manner. Further, purchases, purchase commitments or other action pursuant to section 303 of the Act are the most cost-effective, expedient and practical alternative method for meeting the need for this critical capability,” he stated.",{"type":591,"attrs":131904,"content":131905},{"textAlign":49},[131906],{"text":131907,"type":596},"This means, in effect, that the domestic production of REEs are eligible for defence support. “Defence Title III allows for federal investment in the material identified which means the material can be bought for the National Defence Stockpile, the government can enter into purchase commitment (off-take) agreements, it could finance the facilities related to producing more of the material and invest in facilities to improve the processes to improve the material. This puts the full weight of the Pentagon purchasing power behind it,” said McGroarty.",{"type":615,"attrs":131909,"content":131910},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131911],{"text":131912,"type":596},"What is there?",{"type":591,"attrs":131914,"content":131915},{"textAlign":49},[131916,131918,131919],{"text":131917,"type":596},"Forcing the Pentagon to buy local is one thing but this assumes there are minerals for it to buy. Determining this is one of the aims of the Murkowski bill. Section 5 requires a quantitative and qualitative assessment of undiscovered critical mineral resources throughout the US, including, “probability estimates of tonnage and grade, using all available public and private information and datasets, including exploration histories.” For Jonathan Evans, president and CEO of Lithium Americas, “the government is focused on having robust supply chains and understanding where the resources are and how they work. The nature of supply chains is not lost on the government anymore and they want stable supply chains for the supply of critical industries,” he told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":131921,"content":131922},{"textAlign":49},[131923],{"text":131924,"type":596},"Compiling information within the US to have a greater understanding of the country’s minerals potential is no mean feat given that the pertinent information in many states is in private hands. “One of the barriers to this is that in certain states such as Nevada, Arizona and Idaho a lot of the data is privately held and the owners do not need to provide it to the government,” said Laviolette.",{"type":591,"attrs":131926,"content":131927},{"textAlign":49},[131928],{"text":131929,"type":596},"Where there is a data vacuum, government could step in to generate information using cutting edge exploration tools. “There is innovation in ways of generating information that could bypass [information held privately] such as generating multi-spectral data over an entire state. An explorer cannot fly over land held by another company, but the government can. States or government could generate new data rather than trying to piece together historical data, and this could be made publicly available to attract exploration investment,” said Laviolette.",{"type":591,"attrs":131931,"content":131932},{"textAlign":49},[131933],{"text":131934,"type":596},"The drive for better information is not limited to the national territory and is arguably one of the rare moments of the Trump administration engaging in Internationalism. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with foreign ministers from nine countries (Australia, Botswana, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, the Philippines and Zambia) which joined the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) to help discover and develop minerals used to make EVs on the side-lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. ERGI is a US Department of State, Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR)‐led effort to promote sound mining sector governance and resilient energy mineral supply chains.",{"type":615,"attrs":131936,"content":131937},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[131938],{"text":131939,"type":596},"Financing",{"type":591,"attrs":131941,"content":131942},{"textAlign":49},[131943],{"text":131944,"type":596},"The key challenge for mineral explorers and developers will always be access to capital. Many companies in this space are publicly traded and rely on capital markets to raise funds. The cyclical nature of mineral and capital markets sees funding windows open and close as minerals oscillates, which is of little use for a government seeking to advance on strategic goals. Prevailing market conditions have a huge impact on mineral markets as the stultification of the copper price this year due to the US-China trade dispute shows, even though the copper market is heading towards a structural supply deficit. Lithium, cobalt and other battery minerals are in the same boat.",{"type":591,"attrs":131946,"content":131947},{"textAlign":49},[131948],{"text":131949,"type":596},"Three years ago, investor interest in lithium rocketed and it was relatively easy for lithium explorers to raise equity. Lithium prices have since plunged on the back of a flood of new mines coming into production and it is almost impossible for lithium juniors to raise equity. Most cobalt is produced as a by-product of nickel and with nickel prices near all-time lows, much capacity has been mothballed. When nickel prices increase, by-product cobalt will come back into the market and weaken the pricing primary cobalt projects require to develop and sustain their operations. “The problem is the long-term viability of a small market. The lithium price fell from $19,500/t to under $12,000/t. Cobalt prices skyrocketed but then fell 70% over the last year. You need a sustainable price for any mineral development,” said Fulp.",{"type":591,"attrs":131951,"content":131952},{"textAlign":49},[131953],{"text":131954,"type":596},"For Keith Phillips, president and CEO of Piedmont Lithium, this presents “an interesting dichotomy” in that lithium equities are poorly valued although there is strong hydroxide demand approaching. “There are periods when it is very hard to raise money and periods when it is easier. Now we are in a period where it is hard to raise equity and so money will have to come from Asian banks and traders,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":131956,"content":131957},{"textAlign":49},[131958],{"text":131959,"type":596},"“The biggest issue is how to solve the financing question. Minerals exploration and development is a capital intensive high-risk cyclical industry. We look with envy at every dollar the government is throwing at EVs. There are no similar measures helping the industry secure miners domestically. We need to drill [our property in Idaho] and this is what costs the big dollars, so we need a stronger market to raise money,” said Mell.",{"type":591,"attrs":131961,"content":131962},{"textAlign":49},[131963],{"text":131964,"type":596},"The fickleness of capital markets means they are unlikely to be the main source of funds to take battery minerals projects into production, with many juniors instead looking along the value chain to find funding partners among the processors, battery manufacturers and even automakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":131966,"content":131967},{"textAlign":49},[131968],{"text":131969,"type":596},"“When we come out with a pre-feasibility study that shows our Graphite Creek project in Alaska is economically feasible it will open the doors to companies relying on graphite from China. I see an end-user potentially stepping in to finance the end goal,” said Anthony Huston, president and CEO of Graphite One, who thinks the project will need $300-400 million to build a mine and plant to produce 60,000-70,000tpy of graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":131971,"content":131972},{"textAlign":49},[131973],{"text":131974,"type":596},"Direct government funding or subsidies to companies could be a possibility to increase the supply of critical minerals, but observers give the idea short shrift. “Giving subsidies or tax credits is a legitimate way to help finance this sector but backing junior explorers in this way is never going to happen,” said Fulp. “The government hasn’t provided loan guarantees in a long time, so I don’t know if that is realistic,” said Lithium Americas’ Jonathan Evans.",{"type":591,"attrs":131976,"content":131977},{"textAlign":49},[131978],{"text":131979,"type":596},"Bernard Rowe, Managing Director of Ioneer, proposes a number of government efforts to give impetus to raw material supply, saying: “incentives could include tax abatements, income tax credits, designated opportunity zones and low-interest loans to underpin the funding required to develop domestic mines that will produce the key battery ingredients such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.”",{"type":591,"attrs":131981,"content":131982},{"textAlign":49},[131983],{"text":131984,"type":596},"Whereas Bruce Richardson, Executive Chairman & CEO of Anson Resources, suggests the US government could create new departments, explaining “an inter-government agency should be established to establish a road map of how government can assist the development of industry with a focus on eliminating red tape and out-dated regulations reducing imports and developing export markets for mineral resources, batteries and electric vehicles.”",{"type":591,"attrs":131986,"content":131987},{"textAlign":49},[131988],{"text":131989,"type":596},"However, Robert Mintak, CEO & Director of Standard Lithium, points out that the USA has a number of domestic political hurdles to overcome to take a more prominent role in the supply chain, “it is hard for western governments, particularly the US to look past partisanship and short-termism when it comes to creating a national strategy for a nascent and polarising industry like energy storage – lithium-ion batteries,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":131991,"content":131992},{"textAlign":49},[131993],{"text":131994,"type":596},"Beyond that, the federal and state governments could help bring entire districts into production through the development of general infrastructure such as roads and power, argues Laviolette. “Subsidies would have to be on infrastructure to open up new areas for production and there is a section of the [Murkowski] act that directly speaks to this, to open access by bringing in roads and power. Geology is very precise at a macro level, in identifying a high-potential district. You don’t need to know which individual project is best in order to run infrastructure into a region,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":131996,"content":131997},{"textAlign":49},[131998],{"text":131999,"type":596},"As the profile of the mineral’s security issue increases, it may enable mineral companies to appeal to investors on patriotic grounds, particularly those who help fund initiatives such as mining the oceans or mining asteroids and are concerned about US mineral dependence on China and Russia. “It becomes a political, philosophical issue so you need to find people that support America First causes,” said Fulp. “If this issue [strategic minerals security] is driven into the limelight, made very public and promoted properly, it will result in more retail investors making their way into the space. Retail investors look for optionality and that is exploration,” said Laviolette.",{"type":615,"attrs":132001,"content":132002},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132003],{"text":132004,"type":596},"Permitting",{"type":591,"attrs":132006,"content":132007},{"textAlign":49},[132008],{"text":132009,"type":596},"In the absence of subsidies, what can government do to create a more attractive environment for mineral investors? The government could help create greater certainty for investors by improving the line-of-sight on project permitting timelines, which both helps to reduce investment risk as well as giving a greater indication of when investors can expect to see a return on their investments. Reducing permitting red-tape to improve process times is something the Trump administration has strongly advanced and is also including in the Mineral Securities Act bill. “If legislative initiatives about critical minerals are successful in reducing permitting times, that would help the investment case for minerals projects and provide greater certainty on timelines for investors,” said Phillips.",{"type":591,"attrs":132011,"content":132012},{"textAlign":49},[132013],{"text":132014,"type":596},"Murkowski’s bill seeks to implement permitting reforms for the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture",{"type":591,"attrs":132016,"content":132017},{"textAlign":49},[132018,132020,132021],{"text":132019,"type":596},"Forest Service to reduce delays. “Projects in the US need to be competitive, and what has slowed them down has been uncertainty related to permitting,” said Evans. “Permitting processes have become more Byzantine, less transparent and less predictable, which adds a lot of time and therefore cost to minerals projects. If you don’t remove the obstacles in permitting projects companies are not going to bring them into production,” Dan McGroarty, Graphite One advisor and who has testified in the US House and Senate on critical minerals issue, told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132023,"content":132024},{"textAlign":49},[132025],{"text":132026,"type":596},"Executive Order 13807 of August 2017 Establishing discipline and accountability in the environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure projects which put timelines on NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) to change behaviour of public agencies for permitting. “The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) used to take five years to review an EIS and now the government is looking at the process taking 12 months,” said Evans.",{"type":591,"attrs":132028,"content":132029},{"textAlign":49},[132030],{"text":132031,"type":596},"To help this, the Trump administration relocated the BLM headquarters from Washington to Colorado along with 85 jobs, putting the administrators in the heart of the territory they have to administer, although it has also successively cut the BLM budget: the 2019 budget is US$1 billion, down from $1.1 in 2018, $1.3 in 2017 and $1.2 billion in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":132033,"content":132034},{"textAlign":49},[132035,132037,132038],{"text":132036,"type":596},"Miners have perceived a positive change in attitudes towards permitting. “There has been a pretty big shift of focus, but it doesn’t turn on a dime. We see the field offices trying to do the right thing by the American taxpayer to make things more efficient. We are seeing improvements, but it is still important to do the right work and follow the process, so the outcome is defendable and supportable by the community,” John DeCooman, VP business development and strategy at precious metals miner SSR Mining told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132040,"content":132041},{"textAlign":49},[132042],{"text":132043,"type":596},"High up on the miners wish-list of possible changes which would have positive impacts is greater coordination between government agencies. “it is helpful having a policy of endorsement by the government that rallies public agencies around a cause. It can be tough to understand who to talk to at times because there is a lack of coordination,” said Evans.",{"type":591,"attrs":132045,"content":132046},{"textAlign":49},[132047],{"text":132048,"type":596},"For Fulp, the attention on mineral security exposes the dysfunctional nature of government and lack of coordination between different agencies. “You have the Department of Defense selling the stockpiles as another part of government is putting [the stockpiled minerals] on the critical list. It makes no sense,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":132050,"content":132051},{"textAlign":49},[132052],{"text":132053,"type":596},"Lack of coordination could be a barrier to the development of lithium brine projects, said Highsmith. “The water lithium is dissolved in is subject to state administration of water rights, but lithium is a federally locatable mineral, which raises the question of how do you get access to it? State law can be overruled if the state is using its statutes to regulate a federally authorised mineral. Lithium in Nevada is all about water rights and it shouldn’t be,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":132055,"content":132056},{"textAlign":49},[132057,132059,132060],{"text":132058,"type":596},"Lack of policy coordination could also stifle the development of the cobalt belt in Idaho. “The growing concern on economic or military grounds contrasts with the bureaucracy minerals developers have to deal with [with public officials] who haven’t received that message and are going contrary to the executive order. The deposits in the Idaho cobalt belt are under threat as the US Forestry Service is looking to protect the area. A consultation is going on and if the White House had any idea of its implications they would be shocked,” Trent Mell, president and CEO of First Cobalt, told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132062,"content":132063},{"textAlign":49},[132064],{"text":132065,"type":596},"Curiously, coordination mechanisms exist within a similar facet of government. Title 41 of 2015’s Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act was designed to improve the timeliness, predictability and transparency of the Federal environmental review and authorisation process for infrastructure projects, and established procedures to standardise interagency consultation and coordination practices. It also codified into law the use of the permitting dashboard to track project timelines, address the project delivery process and track environmental review and permitting milestones. “FAST 41 created a dashboard where you can see where your project is and what stage it is at, but it stopped short of including mining projects,” said McGroarty.",{"type":615,"attrs":132067,"content":132068},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132069],{"text":132070,"type":596},"Political ping pong",{"type":591,"attrs":132072,"content":132073},{"textAlign":49},[132074],{"text":132075,"type":596},"The attention on minerals supply security is positive for the minerals sector but it also faces legislative threats as Democrats try to revise the 1872 Mining Law and put in large royalties.",{"type":591,"attrs":132077,"content":132078},{"textAlign":49},[132079],{"text":132080,"type":596},"“If Hardrock Mining Reform legislation by Chair Grijalva and senator Udall is signed into law by a Democrat president it will destroy the US mining industry. It seeks to put an oil and gas royalty regime of 12.5% on all new mining projects and an 8% royalty on existing operations,” said Fulp.",{"type":591,"attrs":132082,"content":132083},{"textAlign":49},[132084],{"text":132085,"type":596},"While mining has taken giant strides to improve its image and environmental performance in recent years, being pro-mining is still widely perceived as being anti-environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":132087,"content":132088},{"textAlign":49},[132089],{"text":132090,"type":596},"While president Trump works to open more the of US to mineral exploration and exploitation, such as opening the Alaskan Arctic Reserve for oil exploration and opening some national forests, the forces opposing him are pro-environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":132092,"content":132093},{"textAlign":49},[132094],{"text":132095,"type":596},"A subsequent administration could remove any legislation Trump puts in place as he is doing by methodically winding back legislation his predecessor Barrack Obama put in place to protect the environment or mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.",{"type":591,"attrs":132097,"content":132098},{"textAlign":49},[132099],{"text":132100,"type":596},"“The kinds of measures that Trump is putting in for the mining sector are easy to dismantle for a future president,” said Laviolette.",{"type":591,"attrs":132102,"content":132103},{"textAlign":49},[132104],{"text":132105,"type":596,"marks":132106},"By Paul Harris",[132107],{"type":1006},"Critical raw material supply is back on the agenda in the US as Lisa Murkowski introduced the American Mineral Security Act bill this year. Here, Paul Harris looks at the history and latest developments in US raw material security In May 2019, US Republican senator Lisa Murkowski introduced the American Mineral Security Act bill, which […]",[132110],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132111},{"job_title":557,"image":132112,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"93839162-a01d-423b-bbce-0da42f3f0ac4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[132115,132116],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":132118,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":132119,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/98efa694a5/bm-istock-989624498-copy-1-e1571747808981.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 22, 2019",{"id":132122,"uuid":132123,"name":132124,"slug":132125,"full_slug":132126,"content":132127},112474297493516,"2e045efb-6816-410b-8775-2f2a4888192a","Cobalt earthquake sends shockwaves to automakers","cobalt-earthquake-sends-shockwaves-to-automakers","article/cobalt-earthquake-sends-shockwaves-to-automakers",{"_uid":132128,"date":132129,"tags":132130,"editor":132131,"content":132135,"excerpt":132279,"featured":50,"reporter":132280,"_editable":132284,"component":697,"seo_title":132124,"categories":132285,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":132289,"seo_description":132279,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132292},"66978538-9a75-460b-b016-d8aded981bc7","2019-09-09 00:00",[],[132132],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132133},{"job_title":557,"image":132134,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":132136},[132137,132142,132147,132152,132157,132163,132168,132173,132178,132186,132191,132196,132201,132206,132211,132216,132221,132226,132231,132236,132241,132246,132254,132259,132264,132269,132274],{"type":615,"attrs":132138,"content":132139},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132140],{"text":132141,"type":596},"August 2019 saw Glencore announce that it would close its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and China’s Huayou Cobalt’s announcement that it plans to pull out of a deal to invest in a DRC cobalt operation. Here we look at the seismic developments that have shifted the cobalt market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132143,"content":132144},{"textAlign":49},[132145],{"text":132146,"type":596},"The pressures of the 15-month price slump on cobalt producers was cited by Glencore as one of the driving forces for its decision to place the world’s biggest cobalt mine by production – its Mutanda operation, responsible for 20% of global supply – on care and maintenance from 2020 as it effectively suspends cobalt production from the site.",{"type":591,"attrs":132148,"content":132149},{"textAlign":49},[132150],{"text":132151,"type":596},"The company’s 2019 half-year report stated that “at Mutanda, we are planning to transition the operation to temporary care and maintenance by year end, reflecting its reduced economic viability in the current market environment, primarily in response to low cobalt prices.”",{"type":591,"attrs":132153,"content":132154},{"textAlign":49},[132155],{"text":132156,"type":596},"There had been warning signs that a closure of the Mutanda mine was on the cards during the first half of 2019. In February, Glencore announced a cut of 2,000 expatriate workers from the mine which had prompted fears of falling cobalt volumes from the copper-cobalt operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":132158,"content":132159},{"textAlign":49},[132160,132161],{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":132162,"type":596},"also understands that oxide ores at the mine had been depleting earlier than expected. To continue long-term production at the mine would have required Glencore to invest in new sulphide processing facilities to transition from its oxide operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":132164,"content":132165},{"textAlign":49},[132166],{"text":132167,"type":596},"The new facilities would have needed significant investment and in an environment of depressed cobalt prices, increased DRC royalty payments and DRC political uncertainty will have weighed heavily on any decision made.",{"type":591,"attrs":132169,"content":132170},{"textAlign":49},[132171],{"text":132172,"type":596},"Glencore hasn’t entirely closed the door on transitioning from oxide deposits, stating that it continues “to progress studies on the sulphide project, having the potential to extend operations for many years” with the company anticipating it will provide an update in December.",{"type":591,"attrs":132174,"content":132175},{"textAlign":49},[132176],{"text":132177,"type":596},"With the decision to place Mutanda on care and maintenance Glencore’s Katanga asset will become the company’s main producing cobalt operation. However, the project has delayed exports due to elevated levels of uranium and revised annual production guidance for 2019 a number of times, initially down from 34,000 tonnes to 26,000 and finally 14,000 tonnes in their latest report.",{"type":591,"attrs":132179,"content":132180},{"textAlign":49},[132181,132183,132184],{"text":132182,"type":596},"As we have noted before, ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":132185,"type":596},"does not expect large volumes of material to be exported to market until 2020 when the new ion exchange processing circuit is commissioned.",{"type":591,"attrs":132187,"content":132188},{"textAlign":49},[132189],{"text":132190,"type":596},"Glencore had originally stated the new equipment would be operational at the end of 2019 but in their most recent announcement the company gave a timeline of commissioning in mid-2020. With the planned suspension of operations at Mutanda this would suggest that the company will use up stockpiles held from the Mutanda operation for the first half of 2020.",{"type":615,"attrs":132192,"content":132193},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132194],{"text":132195,"type":596},"Huayou Cobalt pulls out of DRC investment",{"type":591,"attrs":132197,"content":132198},{"textAlign":49},[132199],{"text":132200,"type":596},"Huayou Cobalt’s announcement that it would pull out of a deal to invest in a DRC-based cobalt development will not have the seismic effect on the industry of Glencore’s Mutanda decision, but it shows the consequences of cobalt’s recent downturn.",{"type":591,"attrs":132202,"content":132203},{"textAlign":49},[132204],{"text":132205,"type":596},"In a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing Huayou announced that it was terminating its 51% investment in Lucky Resources, which holds 100% of New Minerals Investment – the company responsible for the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":132207,"content":132208},{"textAlign":49},[132209],{"text":132210,"type":596},"Huayou Cobalt explained that “the market environment has undergone major changes, the price of cobalt products has fallen sharply, and the profitability has fallen sharply.” The company’s profits have been hit dramatically by the cobalt slump as its year-on-year profits at the end of Q1 2019 were down 98%.",{"type":591,"attrs":132212,"content":132213},{"textAlign":49},[132214],{"text":132215,"type":596},"The DRC project was at an early stage but it highlights the challenges faced by cobalt producers. It also shows the issues that a low-price environment creates for bringing new supply to the market, especially to meet demand in the early 2020s and beyond.",{"type":615,"attrs":132217,"content":132218},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132219],{"text":132220,"type":596},"What is happening to supply and prices?",{"type":591,"attrs":132222,"content":132223},{"textAlign":49},[132224],{"text":132225,"type":596},"Right now, the supply-side remains unaffected as the closure of the Mutanda mine does not come into effect until 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":132227,"content":132228},{"textAlign":49},[132229],{"text":132230,"type":596},"Looking at Glencore’s other cobalt operation, Katanga Mining, production figures are lower than previously forecast. This, however, is not a surprise as Glencore had warned it was going to reduce the guidance in its last quarterly update. Aside from this, the material was not expected to reach the market until 2020 due to the uranium issue outlined above.",{"type":591,"attrs":132232,"content":132233},{"textAlign":49},[132234],{"text":132235,"type":596},"Prior to the Mutanda news, the cobalt market was widely forecast to be in oversupply until 2022 or beyond, which had weighed heavily on prices, in part driving the downward trend for the previous 12-18 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":132237,"content":132238},{"textAlign":49},[132239],{"text":132240,"type":596},"Removal of such significant tonnage from the market could see structural undersupply by as soon as 2020, although stockpiles accumulating in Africa will help balance the market until 2021 and possibly further.",{"type":591,"attrs":132242,"content":132243},{"textAlign":49},[132244],{"text":132245,"type":596},"Looking to 2020, continued production and stockpiles accumulated since early 2018 should provide enough feedstock to supply the market over the course of the year. Depending on the speed at which other operators ramp up supply, something that maybe accelerated in in response to the Mutanda closure, the market could see shortages in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":132247,"content":132248},{"textAlign":49},[132249,132251,132252],{"text":132250,"type":596},"The Mutanda announcement has caused an immediate and notable effect on prices. Prior to the news, prices had been falling for 15 months and saw the ",{"text":131726,"type":596},{"text":132253,"type":596},"cobalt hydroxide, cobalt sulphate and cobalt metal prices fall 79%, 76% and 71% respectively between April 2018 and July 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":132255,"content":132256},{"textAlign":49},[132257],{"text":132258,"type":596},"But Glencore’s announcement saw cobalt price rises across the board with cobalt hydroxide up 17.3%, sulphate up 21.2% and metal rising 16.7% over the course of August.",{"type":591,"attrs":132260,"content":132261},{"textAlign":49},[132262],{"text":132263,"type":596},"In percentage terms these price increases seem significant but it should be noted that these price increases have come from very low levels back to within historic average ranges, which represents a healthier market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132265,"content":132266},{"textAlign":49},[132267],{"text":132268,"type":596},"Whether this news is enough to sustain higher prices to the end of the year is yet to be seen, but the announcement has changed sentiment within the supply chain and has moved the looming cobalt deficit closer.",{"type":591,"attrs":132270,"content":132271},{"textAlign":49},[132272],{"text":132273,"type":596},"There will of course be consequences for cathode, battery and electric vehicle producers further down the supply chain but these will not come to fruition immediately. With the increased uncertainty regarding supply, we might see increased efforts to secure material directly at the mine level from cathode producers, which is something larger producers have already been undertaking.",{"type":591,"attrs":132275,"content":132276},{"textAlign":49},[132277],{"text":132278,"type":596},"This latest news is another knock to cobalt’s image. The challenges of securing sustainable sources of cobalt remain firmly on battery and automakers agendas but this is no simple task and we continue to see efforts from manufacturers to reduce the amount of cobalt used in next generation batteries.","August 2019 saw Glencore announce that it would close its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and China’s Huayou Cobalt’s announcement that it plans to pull out of a deal to invest in a DRC cobalt operation. Here we look at the seismic developments that have shifted the cobalt market. The pressures […]",[132281],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132282},{"job_title":557,"image":132283,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"66978538-9a75-460b-b016-d8aded981bc7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[132286,132287,132288],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":132290,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":132291,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/adc068d260/bm-glencore-offices-e1568042098678.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Sep 09, 2019",{"id":132294,"uuid":132295,"name":132296,"slug":132297,"full_slug":132298,"content":132299},112474336328600,"f0f48c09-d425-4f0b-92ff-a1c9491eabdf","THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKET IN 2019 AND BEYOND","ev-market-in-2019-and-beyond","article/ev-market-in-2019-and-beyond",{"_uid":132300,"date":132301,"tags":132302,"editor":132303,"content":132307,"excerpt":132488,"featured":50,"reporter":132489,"_editable":132493,"component":697,"seo_title":132296,"categories":132494,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":132497,"seo_description":132488,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132500},"7489907f-3a67-4dee-b6ba-f681e42b27bc","2019-07-22 00:00",[],[132304],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132305},{"job_title":557,"image":132306,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":132308},[132309,132316,132321,132326,132337,132342,132347,132354,132359,132364,132369,132374,132387,132392,132397,132402,132409,132413,132418,132423,132428,132435,132439,132444,132449,132454,132459,132464,132471,132475],{"type":591,"attrs":132310,"content":132311},{"textAlign":49},[132312],{"text":132313,"type":596,"marks":132314},"By Adam Panayi, Managing Director, Rho Motion",[132315],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":132317,"content":132318},{"textAlign":49},[132319],{"text":132320,"type":596},"Since the start of the year we’ve been on the road speaking at various events about the outlook for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, and what this means for the lithium-ion battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":132322,"content":132323},{"textAlign":49},[132324],{"text":132325,"type":596},"We’ve also had the opportunity to listen to the thoughts of numerous industry participants along the entire EV supply chain, enabling us to draw a rounded perspective on the opportunities and challenges faced by the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132327,"content":132328},{"textAlign":49},[132329,132331,132335],{"text":132330,"type":596},"In this article we will summarise our main thinking on the factors driving the EV market both at present and into the future, utilising the research from our ",{"text":132332,"type":596,"marks":132333},"EV and Battery Quarterly Outlook, ",[132334],{"type":1006},{"text":132336,"type":596},"the Q3 2019 iteration of which is published this month.",{"type":591,"attrs":132338,"content":132339},{"textAlign":49},[132340],{"text":132341,"type":596},"As an update of where we are now, in the year to June 2019 passenger car and light duty vehicle Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) sales were up 40% on the same period in 2018, at just over 1 million units, with a little over half of the sales in China (see chart 1). In 2018, full year sales stood at roughly 2 million units, again half of which were in China.",{"type":615,"attrs":132343,"content":132344},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[132345],{"text":132346,"type":596},"Chart 1",{"type":591,"attrs":132348,"content":132349},{"textAlign":49},[132350],{"type":836,"attrs":132351},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":132352,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":132353},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/71c74a6e13/bm-half-year-2019-bev-phev-sales.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":132355,"content":132356},{"textAlign":49},[132357],{"text":132358,"type":596},"Source: Rho Motion",{"type":591,"attrs":132360,"content":132361},{"textAlign":49},[132362],{"text":132363,"type":596},"One big unknown, however, is the impact of the reduction of Chinese subsidies on the market there when they hit in the second half of this year. Chinese sales for the year to June are up 60% on the same period in 2018, and while the reduction in the subsidy will undoubtedly impact on vehicle sales in the short-run, we expect that this will be mitigated somewhat by lower VAT rates.",{"type":591,"attrs":132365,"content":132366},{"textAlign":49},[132367],{"text":132368,"type":596},"It is important to note also that the EV market is heavily concentrated in a few key countries, with the top five markets for BEV & PHEV accounting for over 80% of total sales, suggesting that adoption still has a long way to go in most markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":132370,"content":132371},{"textAlign":49},[132372],{"text":132373,"type":596},"Looking forward it is reasonable to expect that subsidies will be reduced further as the market gains scale, and it becomes fiscally untenable for governments to support an ever increasing levels of sales. However we do expect that incentives will persist in the form of tax rebates, and as a corollary of penalties for owning and operating ICE vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":132375,"content":132376},{"textAlign":49},[132377,132379,132381,132383,132385],{"text":132378,"type":596},"Emissions legislation, particularly at a local level, is set to tighten further in an effort to ameliorate the immediate impact on public health from NO",{"text":132380,"type":596},"x ",{"text":132382,"type":596},"and particulate matter emissions. In addition, upcoming OEM fleet average CO",{"text":132384,"type":596},"2  ",{"text":132386,"type":596},"targets in most major markets are not possible to meet without some form of electrification of  model offerings.",{"type":591,"attrs":132388,"content":132389},{"textAlign":49},[132390],{"text":132391,"type":596},"As such there are a number of other developments that will start to play a larger role in the market in the coming years. Foremost among these are the investments being made by major auto-manufacturers for the introduction or expansion of electrification in their model offerings.",{"type":591,"attrs":132393,"content":132394},{"textAlign":49},[132395],{"text":132396,"type":596},"The world’s largest automaker, the Volkswagen group, has been leading the field in its efforts to move towards electrification. Its strategy is focussed on the development of BEVs with the release of its Modular Electric Drive Construction Kit, from which it plans to produce 50 pure BEV models, beginning with the ID-Neo in 2020. GM has also looked towards the BEV route, with its BEV3 platform from which it plans to launch 20 BEV models.",{"type":615,"attrs":132398,"content":132399},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[132400],{"text":132401,"type":596},"Chart 2",{"type":591,"attrs":132403,"content":132404},{"textAlign":49},[132405],{"type":836,"attrs":132406},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":132407,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":132408},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/31be1ea007/bm-bev-phev-share-of-sales.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":132410,"content":132411},{"textAlign":49},[132412],{"text":132358,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132414,"content":132415},{"textAlign":49},[132416],{"text":132417,"type":596},"At present the global split of BEV versus PHEV stands 76% (see chart 2), and has been rising over time. Enthusiasm for a wholesale shift to BEV is not universally shared, however. Ford, for example, is planning 40 electrified vehicles by 2022, of which only 16 will be full BEV, while BMW has designed a vehicle platform to accommodate both BEV and PHEV.",{"type":591,"attrs":132419,"content":132420},{"textAlign":49},[132421],{"text":132422,"type":596},"Honda has stated that while its entire model line up with be electrified by 2025, most of these will be hybrids. This hybridisation strategy is being pursued in order to mitigate issues around battery cell and raw material supply, as well as consumer acceptance and charging infrastructure roll out.",{"type":591,"attrs":132424,"content":132425},{"textAlign":49},[132426],{"text":132427,"type":596},"In our view the longer term strategy will remain a transition to BEV, and ultimately we expect that full-electrification will offer a lower cost option to the both the OEM and the consumer.",{"type":591,"attrs":132429,"content":132430},{"textAlign":49},[132431],{"type":836,"attrs":132432},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":132433,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":132434},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c50802ef8e/bm-ice-ev-parity.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":132436,"content":132437},{"textAlign":49},[132438],{"text":132358,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132440,"content":132441},{"textAlign":49},[132442],{"text":132443,"type":596},"This also in part because battery costs are likely to continue to come down on a per kWh basis, as cell manufacturing scale grows, and production efficiency improves. As a result, according to our estimates we expect purchase price parity by 2024/25 for new BEV models, although this calculation accounts for losses at OEMs while they build scale in production of these vehicles, with profitability coming later as volumes grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":132445,"content":132446},{"textAlign":49},[132447],{"text":132448,"type":596},"Equivalent purchase prices for EVs compared to ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles will be the major driver of EV adoption, and we expect that this will prove a critical turning point in the evolution of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132450,"content":132451},{"textAlign":49},[132452],{"text":132453,"type":596},"Significant risks for EV adoption remain however, and these principally relate to the battery supply chain itself.",{"type":591,"attrs":132455,"content":132456},{"textAlign":49},[132457],{"text":132458,"type":596},"The availability of key raw materials, and the chemical processing capacity to convert them into useful products, is a key area of concern. There will need to be sustained capital investment in the upstream areas of the supply chain, in order that the much larger investments being made in battery and vehicle manufacturing are not hindered by a paucity of raw material.",{"type":591,"attrs":132460,"content":132461},{"textAlign":49},[132462],{"text":132463,"type":596},"This could hold-up the development of commercial scale manufacturing of vehicles, as well as inhibiting the reductions in costs that will be needed to make EVs competitive in the vehicle market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132465,"content":132466},{"textAlign":49},[132467],{"type":836,"attrs":132468},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":132469,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":132470},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e0680d7b16/bm-opportunities-risks-for-ev-adoption.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":132472,"content":132473},{"textAlign":49},[132474],{"text":132358,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132476,"content":132477},{"textAlign":49},[132478,132480,132486],{"text":132479,"type":596},"If you have any questions or comments on this article, or for more information about our services go to ",{"text":132481,"type":596,"marks":132482},"www.rhomotion.com/get-started",[132483],{"type":606,"attrs":132484},{"href":132485,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"http://www.rhomotion.com/get-started",{"text":132487,"type":596},", or contact us on tel: +44 (0) 203 286 8936, email: info@rhomotion.com","By Adam Panayi, Managing Director, Rho Motion Since the start of the year we’ve been on the road speaking at various events about the outlook for electric vehicle (EV) adoption, and what this means for the lithium-ion battery industry. We’ve also had the opportunity to listen to the thoughts of numerous industry participants along the […]",[132490],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132491},{"job_title":557,"image":132492,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7489907f-3a67-4dee-b6ba-f681e42b27bc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[132495,132496],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":132498,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":132499,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/082cb9a46a/bm-ev-new-analysis-nissan-leaf-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 22, 2019",{"id":132502,"uuid":132503,"name":132504,"slug":132505,"full_slug":132506,"content":132507},112474326825678,"32c2f75c-f757-453a-8b31-2414cd91b0b8","UMICORE’S EUROPEAN EXPANSION UNDERWAY","umicores-european-expansion-underway","article/umicores-european-expansion-underway",{"_uid":132508,"date":132301,"tags":132509,"editor":132511,"content":132515,"excerpt":132714,"featured":50,"reporter":132715,"_editable":132719,"component":697,"seo_title":132504,"categories":132720,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":132723,"seo_description":132714,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132500},"05ae8b18-7e46-48c5-b593-e68df7fd8a1f",[132510],{"slug":8923,"name":8924},[132512],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132513},{"job_title":557,"image":132514,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":132516},[132517,132522,132527,132532,132539,132544,132549,132554,132564,132569,132574,132579,132584,132591,132596,132601,132606,132611,132622,132629,132634,132639,132644,132649,132654,132659,132669,132674,132679,132684,132689,132694,132699,132704,132709],{"type":615,"attrs":132518,"content":132519},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132520],{"text":132521,"type":596},"In its latest European move, Umicore agrees to purchase Freeport Cobalt’s refining and precursor operations for $150 million at its operation in Kokkola Finland",{"type":591,"attrs":132523,"content":132524},{"textAlign":49},[132525],{"text":132526,"type":596},"The end of May saw Umicore announce that it would purchase Freeport Cobalt’s refining and precursor operations in Kokkola, Finland. The $150 million deal has to go through regulatory approvals but is expected to be finalised at the end of the year.",{"type":591,"attrs":132528,"content":132529},{"textAlign":49},[132530],{"text":132531,"type":596},"The deal will see Umicore take on the refinery and battery precursor operations, including coarse cobalt powders, from Freeport Cobalt while the cobalt fine powders, ceramics, pigments, chemicals and catalysts activities will continue to be operated onsite by Freeport Cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":132533,"content":132534},{"textAlign":49},[132535,132537],{"text":132536,"type":596},"Since the owner of Freeport Cobalt, Freeport McMoRan, agreed the sale of the Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM) in the Democractic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – which they majority owned as part of a joint venture with Lundin Mining Corporation and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) – to China Molybdenum",{"text":132538,"type":596},"for $2.65 billion in 2016, a deal to sell the refinery has been a likelihood.",{"type":591,"attrs":132540,"content":132541},{"textAlign":49},[132542],{"text":132543,"type":596},"Whilst Freeport have been keen to sell the refinery since 2016, they had, up until recently, not found a suitable buyer.",{"type":591,"attrs":132545,"content":132546},{"textAlign":49},[132547],{"text":132548,"type":596},"Initially, as part of the sale of the TFM, China Molybdenum had the exclusive right to purchase the refinery for $100m prior to 31 December 2016, the deadline for the purchase was extened while talks continued into 2017 but the chances of a deal were ended later that year.",{"type":591,"attrs":132550,"content":132551},{"textAlign":49},[132552],{"text":132553,"type":596},"As part of the sale of TFM Freeport Cobalt retained the right to cobalt raw material supply from the mine as part of a long-term contract.",{"type":591,"attrs":132555,"content":132556},{"textAlign":49},[132557,132559,132560,132562],{"text":132558,"type":596},"This long-term contract had been reported to be a major sticking point for the sale of the refinery as it was understood that a sale would void the deal that saw Tenke Fungurume supply the refinery. It was therefore expected that the new owners of the refinery would have to find new source material to feed the refinery, which ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":132561,"type":596},"estimates consumed 13,000 tonnes of cobalt in",{"text":132563,"type":596},"2018, which was just under 10% of global supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":132565,"content":132566},{"textAlign":49},[132567],{"text":132568,"type":596},"However, the latest supply deal announced this quarter between Umicore and Glencore (read on for details), will likely affect the source of feedstock for Kokkola.",{"type":615,"attrs":132570,"content":132571},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132572],{"text":132573,"type":596},"UMICORE’S EUROPEAN SUPPLY CHAIN",{"type":591,"attrs":132575,"content":132576},{"textAlign":49},[132577],{"text":132578,"type":596},"The Kokkola operation is the only large-scale cobalt refinery outside of China and the purchase is key for Umicore to achieve its battery supply chain plans in Europe, which the company began outlining last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":132580,"content":132581},{"textAlign":49},[132582],{"text":132583,"type":596},"Umicore announced that Kokkola will supply lithium ion battery precursor (the feestock material to make cathode) to its cathode materials production facility in Nysa, Poland, which is currently under construction with a plan to begin production in the second half of 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":132585,"content":132586},{"textAlign":49},[132587,132589],{"text":132588,"type":596},"The development of Europe’s lithium ion battery supply chain has been disproportionately focussed on battery megafactory cell capacity. There are",{"text":132590,"type":596},"now 12 European megafactories in the pipeline, 3 of which are in production today and 11 of which should be in production by 2023, by 2028 the annual capacity for these 12 megafactories is set to be over 300 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":132592,"content":132593},{"textAlign":49},[132594],{"text":132595,"type":596},"Umicore’s recent announcements are amongst the first major steps in building the supply chain upstream of battery cell production in Europe and significant to the company on its journey to building its own vertically integrated approach.",{"type":615,"attrs":132597,"content":132598},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132599],{"text":132600,"type":596},"HEADWINDS FACING PROCESSORS",{"type":591,"attrs":132602,"content":132603},{"textAlign":49},[132604],{"text":132605,"type":596},"However, it hasn’t been plain sailing for Umicore over the quarter. In April, the company announced it was downgrading its EBIT guidance for 2019. In a press release the company cited a deterioration in demand for cathode materials, particularly in China and Korea, as China’s electric vehicle subsidies have decreased.",{"type":591,"attrs":132607,"content":132608},{"textAlign":49},[132609],{"text":132610,"type":596},"Another factor for which Umicore is attributing to its lowered profit guidance is depressed cobalt prices and an inflow of artisanal cobalt, which the company claims, has allowed its competitors to sell cobalt-containing products at discounted prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":132612,"content":132613},{"textAlign":49},[132614,132616,132617,132619,132620],{"text":132615,"type":596},"Prices for cobalt products are down across the board, with the ",{"text":131726,"type":596},{"text":132618,"type":596},"cobalt hydroxide and cobalt battery metal prices down -50% year to date, and ",{"text":131726,"type":596},{"text":132621,"type":596},"cobalt sulphate prices down -39%.",{"type":591,"attrs":132623,"content":132624},{"textAlign":49},[132625,132627],{"text":132626,"type":596},"Consequently, Umicore has also delayed its cathode material production targets by 12 to 18 months. As part of its €660 million investment into its battery materials business across China and Europe the company had previously announced targets of 100,000 tonnes of cathode material",{"text":132628,"type":596},"production in 2019 and 175,000 tonnes by 2021.",{"type":615,"attrs":132630,"content":132631},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132632],{"text":132633,"type":596},"PRESSURES ACROSS INDUSTRY",{"type":591,"attrs":132635,"content":132636},{"textAlign":49},[132637],{"text":132638,"type":596},"One of Umicore’s main competitors, Huayou Cobalt, is also facing margin pressures as it announced a 98% decrease in its year-on-year profits for Q1 2019, citing falling cobalt prices as the main cause.",{"type":591,"attrs":132640,"content":132641},{"textAlign":49},[132642],{"text":132643,"type":596},"Furthermore, in Q2 2019 the company announced they had significantly reduced production of cobalt sulphate following price falls and had moved some production over to nickel sulphate due to better margins.",{"type":591,"attrs":132645,"content":132646},{"textAlign":49},[132647],{"text":132648,"type":596},"However, despite these dramatic falls in profitability the company moved to increase its supply chain dominance as it outlined plans to acquire Tianjin Bamo, a large-scale cathode manufacturer, in which Huayou already had a large stake.",{"type":591,"attrs":132650,"content":132651},{"textAlign":49},[132652],{"text":132653,"type":596},"The challenges faced by Umicore and Huayou highlight the competitive nature within the cobalt and cathode markets. As margins are depleting, investments in expansions and R&D are becoming more challenging – at a time when they are most critical to remain at the top tier of the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":132655,"content":132656},{"textAlign":49},[132657],{"text":132658,"type":596},"Despite the pressures facing the cathode market recently, investments continue and production capacities are increasing. H1 2019 saw Brunp, a CATL subsidiary, announced plans for a 100,000 tpa precursor and 100,000 tpa cathode plant located close to the company’s headquarters in Fujian province.",{"type":591,"attrs":132660,"content":132661},{"textAlign":49},[132662,132664,132665,132667],{"text":132663,"type":596},"Brunp plan to build the project in two stages over 5 years and will invest RMB 9.13b ($1.4b). ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":132666,"type":596},"estimates this facility alone could consume up to 12,000 tpa of cobalt",{"text":132668,"type":596},"depending on the exact breakdown of cell chemistries produced at the facility.",{"type":615,"attrs":132670,"content":132671},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132672],{"text":132673,"type":596},"UPSTREAM OVERSUPPLY?",{"type":591,"attrs":132675,"content":132676},{"textAlign":49},[132677],{"text":132678,"type":596},"Looking upstream, Glencore announced two key supply deals during the quarter.",{"type":591,"attrs":132680,"content":132681},{"textAlign":49},[132682],{"text":132683,"type":596},"Glencore and Umicore agreed a global supply partnership for cobalt. Glencore will supply cobalt hydroxide from its Katanga and Mutanda mining operations in the DRC to Umicore’s global refining sites. This will include Umicore’s newly acquired Kokkola facility once the purchase of the refinery is complete, which is expected in late 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":132685,"content":132686},{"textAlign":49},[132687],{"text":132688,"type":596},"The partnership will help to reduce pressure on Glencore which is likely struggling with the financial strain of a growing stockpile of cobalt hydroxide in the DRC in the currently oversupplied market, particularly with such rapid price decreases seen in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":132690,"content":132691},{"textAlign":49},[132692],{"text":132693,"type":596},"As mentioned previously, the Kokkola facility’s feedstock was supplied by TFM which is owned by China Molybdenum. The new deal suggests that a significant portion of the refinery’s feed will now come from Glencore. China Molybdenum will continue to supply some material at reduced volumes – likely to the remaining business in Freeport Cobalt’s hands. While the arrangement is expected to have little impact on the industry’s supply-demand balance, it will shift power within the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132695,"content":132696},{"textAlign":49},[132697],{"text":132698,"type":596},"Once the Kokkola deal is complete and Umicore begins to receive production from Glencore, China Molybdenum will need to market its TFM product to new customers, most likely in China. This adds to growing competition in the cobalt hydroxide market, and is likely to have a negative impact on pricing in the near term during this current period of oversupply.",{"type":591,"attrs":132700,"content":132701},{"textAlign":49},[132702],{"text":132703,"type":596},"In addition to the Umicore deal, Glencore signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with cobalt project developer First Cobalt Corp (FCC) to supply the First Cobalt refinery located in Ontario, Canada. Glencore will provide feedstock to the refinery which will allow the plant to produce up to 2,000-2,500 tonnes of cobalt contained in sulphate per annum.",{"type":591,"attrs":132705,"content":132706},{"textAlign":49},[132707],{"text":132708,"type":596},"If formalised, the agreement could see cobalt sulphate production from the refinery within 18-24 months. Glencore is currently evaluating the option to provide a loan to fund recommissioning the facility which would enable production in this time frame.",{"type":591,"attrs":132710,"content":132711},{"textAlign":49},[132712],{"text":132713,"type":596},"The current terms of the MOU state that FCC will toll Glencore’s feed material, the sulphate produced will then be marketed by Glencore giving the company more direct downstream access to the battery supply chain.","In its latest European move, Umicore agrees to purchase Freeport Cobalt’s refining and precursor operations for $150 million at its operation in Kokkola Finland The end of May saw Umicore announce that it would purchase Freeport Cobalt’s refining and precursor operations in Kokkola, Finland. The $150 million deal has to go through regulatory approvals but […]",[132716],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132717},{"job_title":557,"image":132718,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"05ae8b18-7e46-48c5-b593-e68df7fd8a1f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[132721,132722],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":132724,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":132725,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/42017a23dc/bm-screen-shot-2019-07-22-at-124248.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":132727,"uuid":132728,"name":132729,"slug":132730,"full_slug":132731,"content":132732},112474321947241,"28b31504-1702-43d0-993c-108c7f1fc773","VW TURNS ITS FOCUS TO THE MEGAFACTORY","vw-turns-its-focus-to-the-megafactory","article/vw-turns-its-focus-to-the-megafactory",{"_uid":132733,"date":132301,"tags":132734,"editor":132735,"content":132739,"excerpt":132877,"featured":50,"reporter":132878,"_editable":132882,"component":697,"seo_title":132729,"categories":132883,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":132886,"seo_description":132877,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132500},"aabc5ec0-0436-423f-ab4a-1fd400ff42c0",[],[132736],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132737},{"job_title":557,"image":132738,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":132740},[132741,132746,132751,132756,132761,132771,132776,132781,132786,132791,132798,132803,132808,132813,132820,132825,132830,132835,132842,132852,132857,132862,132867,132872],{"type":591,"attrs":132742,"content":132743},{"textAlign":49},[132744],{"text":132745,"type":596},"Volkswagen’s plans for its own megafactory and recent investment in Northvolt is further evidence of Europe’s burgeoning battery megafactory scene",{"type":591,"attrs":132747,"content":132748},{"textAlign":49},[132749],{"text":132750,"type":596},"The second quarter of 2019 saw Volkswagen make significant moves into the lithium ion battery supply chain as it began securing raw material supplies in a deal with Ganfeng lithium, established its own domestic battery megafactory plans, and announced that it had taken a 20% stake in the Swedish battery developer Northvolt.",{"type":591,"attrs":132752,"content":132753},{"textAlign":49},[132754],{"text":132755,"type":596},"Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs led a US$1 billion equity raise for Northvolt, along with AMF, Folksam Group and IMAS Foundation. Notably, BMW also took a stake in the deal raising, which could be the sign of a cooperative approach the auto industry’s incumbents are taking to adapt to changes facing the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":132757,"content":132758},{"textAlign":49},[132759],{"text":132760,"type":596},"The deal saw Northvolt raise enough funding through debt and equity financing to begin construction in August of its megafactory, Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå, Sweden, which has an initial capacity of 16GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":132762,"content":132763},{"textAlign":49},[132764,132766,132767,132769],{"text":132765,"type":596},"It is expected that battery cell production will begin at the plant in 2021. ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":132768,"type":596},"understands the focus will be on cylindrical and prismatic cell production using the cathode",{"text":132770,"type":596},"chemistry NCM 811 (eight parts nickel, one part cobalt, one part manganese), but also NCA (nickel, cobalt, aluminium) technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":132772,"content":132773},{"textAlign":49},[132774],{"text":132775,"type":596},"The €900m million Volkswagen investment in Northvolt also saw the two companies establish a 50/50 joint venture company to develop VW’s cell manufacturing facility in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":132777,"content":132778},{"textAlign":49},[132779],{"text":132780,"type":596},"VW is investing €1 billion into its Salzgitter plant, which expects to enter production in late 2023 or early 2024, and are aiming for an initial capacity of 16GWh but have also suggested expanding to a capacity of 24GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":132782,"content":132783},{"textAlign":49},[132784],{"text":132785,"type":596},"By the time the plant is commissioned we would expect Northvolt to focus on high nickel NCM, predominantly 622 and 811 chemistries. Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Construction Kit (MEB) will be the architecture on which it builds out its electric car offering, and is tipped to become the basis for all full EV models in the future. The MEB can use both prismatic and cylindrical cells – which would suit Northvolt’s production focus.",{"type":615,"attrs":132787,"content":132788},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132789],{"text":132790,"type":596},"EUROPEAN BATTERY ALLIANCE",{"type":591,"attrs":132792,"content":132793},{"textAlign":49},[132794,132796],{"text":132795,"type":596},"Not only has Northvolt gained the backing of auto majors but in May it also received backing",{"text":132797,"type":596},"from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The deal, pending due diligence and negotiations, will see the EIB loan Northvolt €350 million, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":132799,"content":132800},{"textAlign":49},[132801],{"text":132802,"type":596},"On the Nortvholt deal Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice-President for the Energy Union, said: “The EIB and the Commission are strategic partners under the EU Battery Alliance. I welcome the significant support proposed by the EIB to Northvolt gigafactory as a stepping-stone towards building a competitive, sustainable and innovative value chain, with battery cells manufactured at scale, here, in Europe.”",{"type":591,"attrs":132804,"content":132805},{"textAlign":49},[132806],{"text":132807,"type":596},"The European Battery Alliance, launched in October 2017 and backed by the European Commission, pledged €6 billion in funding during the quarter to go towards battery cell development.",{"type":591,"attrs":132809,"content":132810},{"textAlign":49},[132811],{"text":132812,"type":596},"While France and Germany have led development of the alliance, it was confirmed that other member states have expressed interest in joining the group, including Italy, Belgium, Poland, Austria and Finland.",{"type":591,"attrs":132814,"content":132815},{"textAlign":49},[132816,132818],{"text":132817,"type":596},"Alongside government investment the group plans to raise the bulk of the capital from",{"text":132819,"type":596},"European companies with Saft (owned by French oil major Total) and automaker PSA (Peugeot and Citroën) named.",{"type":591,"attrs":132821,"content":132822},{"textAlign":49},[132823],{"text":132824,"type":596},"A pilot scale production facility in France will be opened this year, with the ultimate goal of opening two production sites in Germany following development of the project.",{"type":615,"attrs":132826,"content":132827},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132828],{"text":132829,"type":596},"PROJECTS ANNOUNCED ACROSS EUROPE",{"type":591,"attrs":132831,"content":132832},{"textAlign":49},[132833],{"text":132834,"type":596},"There were further announcements during the quarter adding to Europe’s megafactory list. Farasis Energy has chosen Germany as its first European location for cell production. The plant will be located in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt, north of Leipzig. Initial plans state that the company will have a phase 1 capacity target of 6 to 10 GWh when production commences, expected in 2022, but will further expand the plant as customer demand dictates.",{"type":591,"attrs":132836,"content":132837},{"textAlign":49},[132838,132840],{"text":132839,"type":596},"US-owned Farasis currently operates",{"text":132841,"type":596},"production capacity in China but has chosen Germany, rather than the US, for a foothold as it looks to Europe for production expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":132843,"content":132844},{"textAlign":49},[132845,132847,132848,132850],{"text":132846,"type":596},"With production at the new plant expected to commence in 2022, ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":132849,"type":596},"expects Farasis, which currently produces NCM cells for the EV market, to focus on high nickel NCM 523, 622 and 811 when the plant reaches production.",{"text":132851,"type":596},"The company will invest more than €600m in the site for initial production of battery cells, module and packs; this figure is expected to rise considerably with continued expansion planned for the plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":132853,"content":132854},{"textAlign":49},[132855],{"text":132856,"type":596},"The choice by Farasis to locate in Germany sees the country begin to emerge at the centre of a new European lithium ion battery production hub. With this addition to German capacity alongside VW’s plant, also announced in May, and CATL’s significant plans for the country, this brings capacity in the pipeline to 126 GWh by 2028",{"type":591,"attrs":132858,"content":132859},{"textAlign":49},[132860],{"text":132861,"type":596},"Magna Energy Storage (MES) is constructing a lithium ion battery megafactory in Horní Suchá, in the east of Czech Republic close to the Polish border. The plant will have an initial capacity of 1.2 GWh with production expected to begin in late 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":132863,"content":132864},{"textAlign":49},[132865],{"text":132866,"type":596},"Plans at the site allow for the facility to be extended to up to 30 GWh yet there are no finalised plans at this stage on the expansion, which will follow as market demand dictates.",{"type":591,"attrs":132868,"content":132869},{"textAlign":49},[132870],{"text":132871,"type":596},"The cells produced at MES will be a large prismatic format, with individual cells of up 1 kWh capacity initially using NCM 111 cathode technology primarily targeting the ESS market.",{"type":591,"attrs":132873,"content":132874},{"textAlign":49},[132875],{"text":132876,"type":596},"The MES facility will licence cell production techniques and technology developed by HE3DA, another Czech firm and major shareholder of MES which developed its cell architecture at the company’s pilot scale production facility and lab in Prague, Czech Republic.","Volkswagen’s plans for its own megafactory and recent investment in Northvolt is further evidence of Europe’s burgeoning battery megafactory scene The second quarter of 2019 saw Volkswagen make significant moves into the lithium ion battery supply chain as it began securing raw material supplies in a deal with Ganfeng lithium, established its own domestic battery […]",[132879],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132880},{"job_title":557,"image":132881,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aabc5ec0-0436-423f-ab4a-1fd400ff42c0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[132884,132885],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":132887,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":132888,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6f2f93972c/bm-istock-459399903-copy.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":132890,"uuid":132891,"name":132892,"slug":132893,"full_slug":132894,"content":132895},112474311784863,"05edaee3-823f-40f4-b632-c2a29337725f","Silicon’s Rally","silicons-rally","article/silicons-rally",{"_uid":132896,"date":132301,"tags":132897,"editor":132898,"content":132902,"excerpt":133194,"featured":50,"reporter":133195,"_editable":133199,"component":697,"seo_title":132892,"categories":133200,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":133206,"seo_description":133194,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":132500},"4f3e7020-ac8f-41c6-a03c-e3f67ec5cb0d",[],[132899],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":132900},{"job_title":557,"image":132901,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":132903},[132904,132909,132914,132919,132924,132933,132940,132945,132950,132955,132962,132967,132972,132979,132989,132994,132999,133004,133011,133016,133021,133026,133033,133038,133045,133052,133057,133062,133067,133072,133079,133084,133091,133098,133103,133108,133113,133118,133123,133128,133133,133138,133143,133148,133155,133160,133165,133172,133177,133182,133189],{"type":615,"attrs":132905,"content":132906},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132907],{"text":132908,"type":596},"Battery anode materials are made predominantly from natural graphite or synthetic graphite. But battery technology rarely stands still and pure silicon anodes promises to offer greater energy density in batteries. Paul Harris explores the advances in silicon anode technology, the companies developing them, and the obstacles to adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":132910,"content":132911},{"textAlign":49},[132912],{"text":132913,"type":596},"The quest to improve lithium-ion battery performance seeks to produce batteries that can hold a greater charge to increase the time between charges, to decrease charging times, cost and other performance parameters. While much of the news has focused on cathode formulations and how much nickel or cobalt they will have, the next leap in battery performance looks set to come from changing the anode material from graphite to silicon.",{"type":591,"attrs":132915,"content":132916},{"textAlign":49},[132917],{"text":132918,"type":596},"With lithium-ion batteries using essentially the same chemistry as Sony developed in 1991, moving from graphite to silicon represents a fundamental transformation in battery chemistry and an opportunity to increase energy density in a cell as silicon can store much more energy than carbon sources such as graphite or graphene. In traditional lithium-ion batteries, the anode is made of graphite with lithium stored as LiC6 (one lithium atom surrounded by six carbon atoms). Silicon combines with lithium to form Li15Si4. This 15:4 ratio means a smaller amount of anode material can store a lot more lithium and thus provide much larger capacities.",{"type":591,"attrs":132920,"content":132921},{"textAlign":49},[132922],{"text":132923,"type":596},"To put this another way, a commercially available graphite anode has a gravimetric capacity of 372 mAh/g (milliamp-hours per gram). Silicon has a much higher theoretical gravimetric capacity of 4,200 mAh/g. “Theoretically, silicon is the best material for anodes in batteries. It can store up to ten times more energy than graphite anodes in conventional lithium-ion batteries,” according to Kiel University materials scientist Dr Sandra Hansen.",{"type":591,"attrs":132925,"content":132926},{"textAlign":49},[132927,132929,132931,132932],{"text":132928,"type":596},"However, what is practically achievable is often overlooked in the glare of the 10x theoretical possibility. “While silicon can have 10x more lithium per gram than graphite, on a volumetric basis it is 3x better, but that only applies to the anode itself. The 10x figure can never apply to the whole lithium-ion battery. Our anode is 5x better than graphite on a weight basis, but we are talking about a 20% energy improvement at the whole cell level. The most credible mathematical estimate is to make a battery 40% better than the state-of-the-art battery available today using graphite. This is also the limit of lithium metal technology too,” Gene Berdichevsky, CEO",{"text":132930,"type":596},"of Sila Nanotechnologies told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":132934,"content":132935},{"textAlign":49},[132936],{"type":836,"attrs":132937},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":132938,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":132939},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6e9e473f9a/bm-gene-sila-tg-0100-e1563548841174.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":132941,"content":132942},{"textAlign":49},[132943],{"text":132944,"type":596},"Gene Berdichevsky, CEO, Sila Nanotechnologies",{"type":591,"attrs":132946,"content":132947},{"textAlign":49},[132948],{"text":132949,"type":596},"A rule of thumb is that about 1kg of graphite is needed per kWh of battery capacity so for example, about 80kg of graphite is needed for an 80kWh EV battery and about 30g for a 30Wh tablet battery. To get the same performance with silicon requires the use of a smaller amount of material allowing you to have a smaller battery. Or you could maintain the same battery size and increase the amount of power you have.",{"type":591,"attrs":132951,"content":132952},{"textAlign":49},[132953],{"text":132954,"type":596},"Projections from Persistence Market Research see lithium-silicon batteries growing in dominance through 2024 and beyond. It said the global silicon anode battery market was valued at US$90 million in 2015 and is anticipated to register a compound annual growth rate of 21.5% in the 2016–2024 period.",{"type":591,"attrs":132956,"content":132957},{"textAlign":49},[132958,132960],{"text":132959,"type":596},"By application, the silicon anode battery",{"text":132961,"type":596},"market is segmented into consumer electronics, automotive, industrial and grid & renewable energy. Consumer electronics currently represents the largest market but EVs are expected to be a key growth segment. Geographically, North America leads the market followed by Asia Pacific.",{"type":615,"attrs":132963,"content":132964},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132965],{"text":132966,"type":596},"Markets",{"type":591,"attrs":132968,"content":132969},{"textAlign":49},[132970],{"text":132971,"type":596},"Portable consumer devices like smartwatches, smartphones and tablets will be the first products to benefit from the commercialisation of silicon anodes, as they are less price sensitive. “We are focused on wearables, smartphones and notebooks where we can have a significant impact on performance and establish ourselves and work on bringing our production costs down. These are less price sensitive markets compared to EVs,” said Bruce Pharr, senior director of marketing at Enovix.",{"type":591,"attrs":132973,"content":132974},{"textAlign":49},[132975,132977],{"text":132976,"type":596},"The tipping point for widespread consumer",{"text":132978,"type":596},"uptake of EVs is widely perceived to be cost over and above other factors, specifically when EVs are the same cost as internal combustion-engine vehicles (ICE). Battery pack costs (anode, cathode and separator, packaging, electrolyte, safety features and final testing) fell to around $200 per kWh in 2018 from around $1,000 per kWh in 2010, with Tesla claiming it is close to reaching a battery cell (anode, cathode and separator) cost of $100/kWh this year with its battery pack costs expected to reach that level in 2020. The $100 per kWh price tag for a battery pack is thought to be the tipping point where EVs and ICE costs are similar to each other.",{"type":591,"attrs":132980,"content":132981},{"textAlign":49},[132982,132984,132985,132987],{"text":132983,"type":596},"Silicon is a widely available material and silicon anodes have the potential to bring EVs closer towards the tipping point, especially since the cost of silicon could be set to fall if HPQ Silicon Resources is successful in developing its Purevap quartz reduction reactor plasma technology as an alternative to the traditional Siemens silicon metal furnace. “A full-size plant using our technology to produce solar grade silicon could cost US$70-100 million and produce silicon at $3,000-4,000 per tonne,” president and COO Patrick Levasseur told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":132986,"type":596},", who is building a pilot plant in Montreal, Canada to produce 50 tonnes a year. This compares to",{"text":132988,"type":596},"a $1 billion price tag on a Siemen’s furnace which makes a product for $11,000-12,000/t.",{"type":615,"attrs":132990,"content":132991},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[132992],{"text":132993,"type":596},"Simple but not easy",{"type":591,"attrs":132995,"content":132996},{"textAlign":49},[132997],{"text":132998,"type":596},"If silicon anodes promise such great benefits, why are people still using graphite? Silicon has not yet blown away graphite because of mechanical limitations engineers are working to resolve, which have so far limited its penetration.",{"type":591,"attrs":133000,"content":133001},{"textAlign":49},[133002],{"text":133003,"type":596},"When silicon accommodates lithium ions into its structure in the lithiation process it expands by up to 400%, which graphite does not. However, during discharge, it then shrinks again which causes some silicon particles to lose contact with the current collector. This causes the current collector to demand greater discharge from the silicon it is in contact with and these silicon particles then over discharge and crack. This cracking, or mechanical instability, can destroy a battery in just 20-30 cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":133005,"content":133006},{"textAlign":49},[133007],{"type":836,"attrs":133008},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":133009,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":133010},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ed9fd649ac/bm-silanano-production.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":133012,"content":133013},{"textAlign":49},[133014],{"text":133015,"type":596},"Sila Nanotechnologies recently teamed up with Daimler",{"type":591,"attrs":133017,"content":133018},{"textAlign":49},[133019],{"text":133020,"type":596},"Scientists are looking at three different solutions to crack the silicon cracking problem: dilution, nanowires and architecture with much of the leading research being performed in California’s Silicon Valley.",{"type":591,"attrs":133022,"content":133023},{"textAlign":49},[133024],{"text":133025,"type":596},"Dilution solutions stick with a graphite anode but introduce small amounts of silicon—typically 3-5%—to get some performance benefits while limiting silicon’s expansion issue so it doesn’t start breaking. This approach has been around for many years and is the basis of the Tesla battery, which contains about 5% silicon. “Adding silicon oxide to graphite is limited to only 5% because the oxygen is highly detrimental to the battery. It is used because the cathode carries extra lithium that reacts with the oxygen and makes it inert,” said Berdichevsky. While an enhancement over straight graphite, dilution fails to capture much of the potential benefit of silicon due to the low amount used.",{"type":591,"attrs":133027,"content":133028},{"textAlign":49},[133029,133031],{"text":133030,"type":596},"A second approach is to use silicon in the form of nanowires or nanoparticles, the idea being that when the small silicon thickness expands the stress created will not be high enough to cause breakage. This approach has also been under investigation for years and typically uses a graphite or graphene anode with a silicon coating. Many companies are researching this solution, which has the potential to increase the energy density of lithium batteries by 40%. “The challenge is that the silicon may be mechanically stable,",{"text":133032,"type":596},"but it is not electrochemically stable. No one has been able to show this. It is the unsolved problem,” said Berdichevsky.",{"type":591,"attrs":133034,"content":133035},{"textAlign":49},[133036],{"text":133037,"type":596},"Amprius, a manufacturer of high-energy lithium-ion batteries demonstrated a high-volume manufacturing tool for inline, continuous and roll-to-roll production of three-dimensional silicon nanowire anodes in May 2016. The company believes this will allow it to scale manufacturing and deliver lightweight and long-lasting batteries for EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":133039,"content":133040},{"textAlign":49},[133041,133043],{"text":133042,"type":596},"Developed in partnership with Meyer Burger of the Netherlands, a leader in high-throughput deposition systems and processes, the tool uses a multi-step, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process to produce",{"text":133044,"type":596},"silicon nanowire anodes. The company said its batteries achieve energies per unit volume of 800–1,000Wh/L depending on cell capacity and form-factor, and energies per unit weight of 325–400Wh/kg. “Inline, continuous, and roll-to-roll manufacturing will enable Amprius to transition high-energy batteries from lab to market, and from batch processing to pilot production,” said Amprius CEO Dr Kang Sun in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":133046,"content":133047},{"textAlign":49},[133048,133050],{"text":133049,"type":596},"Nanotubes are also the focus of researchers from the Institute for Materials Science at Kiel University in Germany in cooperation with RENA Technologies. Kiel’s Dr Hansen said silicon behaves more flexibly when it is produced in the form of a thin wire. Porous",{"text":133051,"type":596},"silicon has more free volume which leaves more space for expansion to prevent contact with the electrode from breaking, Hansen co-developed and patented a method for a stable connection between the two, using a sulphur cathode to, “combine two materials that promise really high performance from the battery,” she said in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":133053,"content":133054},{"textAlign":49},[133055],{"text":133056,"type":596},"OneD Material is also following this route with its SiNANOde anode material where silicon nanowires are grown on graphite particles in CVD furnaces using silane gas. It has scaled its process to increase production capacity from 10 tonnes a year to over 100tpy in grades ranging from 4% to 32% silicon to carbon weight ratio. Its 10% Si/C SiNANOde product can store an amount of energy per kg which is twice that stored in graphite while its 20% Si/C SiNANOde is three times greater.",{"type":591,"attrs":133058,"content":133059},{"textAlign":49},[133060],{"text":133061,"type":596},"While the silicon doesn’t break, this method has the disadvantage of the silicon having to sit on something else which increases the surface area and causes other issues, and as with the dilution solution, it fails to deliver the full potential energy density benefit that silicon promises.",{"type":615,"attrs":133063,"content":133064},{"level":3543,"textAlign":49},[133065],{"text":133066,"type":596},"Architecture",{"type":591,"attrs":133068,"content":133069},{"textAlign":49},[133070],{"text":133071,"type":596},"Instead of looking at the materials per se, Enovix has looked at reworking battery architecture to overcome the mechanical issues of silicon that way. Murali Ramasubramanian, Enovix co-founder and vice president of research and development, and other company co-founders had previously used 3D architecture to increase density for read-write heads of high-density disc drives and high-density semiconductor test products and thought it could be applied to batteries to increase energy density. It has developed products that it is now bringing to market in consumer electronics.",{"type":591,"attrs":133073,"content":133074},{"textAlign":49},[133075],{"type":836,"attrs":133076},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":133077,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":133078},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2bccec5b11/bm-murali-ramasubramanian-bmi-article.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":133080,"content":133081},{"textAlign":49},[133082],{"text":133083,"type":596},"Murali Ramasubramanian, Enovix",{"type":591,"attrs":133085,"content":133086},{"textAlign":49},[133087,133089,133090],{"text":133088,"type":596},"“We solved the issue by adding an integrated constraint to the cell. We add a stainless-steel constraint that prevents silicon in the anode from cracking. This provides pressure which limits expansion and maintains the silicon’s contact with the collector, which stops over discharge and breakage,” he told ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":133092,"content":133093},{"textAlign":49},[133094,133096],{"text":133095,"type":596},"The constraint applies pressure to inhibit silicon swelling. A square millimetre of silicon needs about 1 kilogram-force (kgf) to push",{"text":133097,"type":596},"back the expansion and maintain connection during discharge.",{"type":591,"attrs":133099,"content":133100},{"textAlign":49},[133101],{"text":133102,"type":596},"This created another issue. “A 20x20mm conventional lithium-ion battery needs 400 kilogram-force and a cell phone battery needs over 2,000 kilogram-force,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":133104,"content":133105},{"textAlign":49},[133106],{"text":133107,"type":596},"To apply force without overly adding to the weight and size of a device, Enovix again looked at the architecture. “Instead of building batteries with electrode and separator sheets layered bottom to top we structure them left to right. The 90-degree change in orientation allows this to work as the anode has a smaller surface area. It is an elegant solution that looks really obvious in hindsight,” said Ramasubramanian.",{"type":591,"attrs":133109,"content":133110},{"textAlign":49},[133111],{"text":133112,"type":596},"While the constraint takes up some volume, high-capacity silicon provides an anode with 97% active material (3% is binder and conductive aids), which more than makes up for the constraint volume.",{"type":591,"attrs":133114,"content":133115},{"textAlign":49},[133116],{"text":133117,"type":596},"Unlike graphite anodes, silicon needs to be pre-lithiated for first-cycle formation efficiency.",{"type":591,"attrs":133119,"content":133120},{"textAlign":49},[133121],{"text":133122,"type":596},"Enovix uses an unmodified 3-5-micron commercially available silicon powder such as silicon oxide or metallurgical grade silicon. Silicon oxide is what other companies use to add to graphite anodes. Metallurgical grade is used in photovoltaic solar cells. “We are experimenting with lower cost silicon grades which would be more cost effective. We believe there will be opportunities to use cheaper grades rather than using semiconductor grade silicon,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":133124,"content":133125},{"textAlign":49},[133126],{"text":133127,"type":596},"Enovix says its EX1 wearable cell gets a 46% increase in energy density and 38% for its smartphone cell over a conventional lithium-ion cell and is achieving around 600 cycles for its wearable watch cell and is confident it can get above 1,000 in the future. “We see less than 2% swelling after 500 cycles. Even graphite swells 6-7% at the end of its life, so silicon is much better than graphite cells because of the constraint. We have done enough testing to know that our EX2 and EX3 cells [due for production in 2020 and 2021, respectively] will get 74-105% more energy density,” said Ramasubramanian.",{"type":591,"attrs":133129,"content":133130},{"textAlign":49},[133131],{"text":133132,"type":596},"“To put this in context, since 1992, there has been about a 5% per year increase in energy density in lithium-ion batteries. With Enovix technology we can get 30 to 50 to 100% increases over the next few years,” said Enovix’s Pharr.",{"type":591,"attrs":133134,"content":133135},{"textAlign":49},[133136],{"text":133137,"type":596},"Also bringing an architectural-type solution to a silicon anode-based battery is Sila Nanotechnologies. Sila makes a structurally engineered material to replace graphite from commodity precursors in liquids and gases. “We synthesize and convert these through a series of chemical transformations in a vertically integrated production chain that has been through thousands of design iterations. You could say the silicon is encaged in a structure which has a porous scaffolding for the silicon to expand into within the internal structure, so the outside of the particle doesn’t change shape or size during charging with an outer surface impermeable to the electrolyte.”",{"type":591,"attrs":133139,"content":133140},{"textAlign":49},[133141],{"text":133142,"type":596},"Sila’s material can achieve 500-800 cycles, works existing battery infrastructure and will provide an initial 20% energy gain as it starts the process of commercialisation, which it will subsequently seek to push up to 40%.",{"type":591,"attrs":133144,"content":133145},{"textAlign":49},[133146],{"text":133147,"type":596},"“We have an R&D line that we have developed over the last eight years. We developed a pilot line in the last year or so with which we have started to qualify material with battery manufacturers. We are commissioning a commercial production line and will have that running by the end of the year which will provide material to get into small consumer devices and we will have product selling later this year or early next,” said Berdichevsky.",{"type":591,"attrs":133149,"content":133150},{"textAlign":49},[133151,133153],{"text":133152,"type":596},"Berdichevsky says the consumer markets are very profitable and will give the company",{"text":133154,"type":596},"time to scale up its production and finance the tens of millions building new factory capacity will cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":133156,"content":133157},{"textAlign":49},[133158],{"text":133159,"type":596},"“We plan to take this production line and scale it up further for larger factories. We will supply the consumer market for the next two to four years. It is all to do with volume. The amount of material we need to produce for one EV is the same as for 10,000 cell phones. It won’t be until the mid-2020s that we can produce for hundreds of thousands of cars. We have a lot of production scaling to do. It takes two years to build a large-scale factory. We will take it in steps to get there,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":133161,"content":133162},{"textAlign":49},[133163],{"text":133164,"type":596},"Sila has caught the attention of German automakers who are keen to see its benefits in batteries for their EVs. In March 2018, Sila announced a partnership with BMW which is keen to start deploying its silicon anodes in its EVs from 2023 with the expectation of obtaining a 10 to 15% increase in the amount of energy packed into its battery cells. “The conventional chemistry (graphite anodes, lithium metal oxide cathodes) which has been thoroughly optimized, is reaching a technological limit. Achieving dramatic performance improvements while ensuring high levels of safety requires moving to a new generation of materials chemistry,” Sila said in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":133166,"content":133167},{"textAlign":49},[133168,133170],{"text":133169,"type":596},"Sila followed this in April 2019 announcing Daimler—which owns the Mercedes-Benz brand—had acquired a minority stake in the",{"text":133171,"type":596},"company. “We are on our way to a carbon free future mobility. While our all-new EQC model enters the markets this year we are already preparing the way for the next generation of powerful battery electric vehicles,” said Sajjad Khan, EVP for connected, autonomous, shared & electric mobility at Daimler in a statement.",{"type":591,"attrs":133173,"content":133174},{"textAlign":49},[133175],{"text":133176,"type":596},"Berdichevsky expects Sila to begin supplying the EV market in the mid-2020s. “It will initially take a tiny portion of the market, then we see five years of massive growth. The beauty is that for any battery factory, using our materials immediately upgrades the factory capacity. A 5GWh factory will still make the same number of batteries but it will produce 6GWh and then 7GWh without adding any new equipment,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":133178,"content":133179},{"textAlign":49},[133180],{"text":133181,"type":596},"For Enovix, the auto industry still needs to provide guidance of where it wants to be and what it wants to achieve. “There is a lot of excitement about the EV market and it is going to be the biggest. But, unlike with mobile devices, the battery manufacturers and auto manufacturers have not yet worked out exactly where they want to be in terms of packaging, size, weight, cost, duration and other factors. This will need to be jointly determined and developed. There is a tipping point in 2024-2025 but what that is going to look like is still not clear to the industry,” said Enovix’s Pharr.",{"type":591,"attrs":133183,"content":133184},{"textAlign":49},[133185,133187],{"text":133186,"type":596},"The target to drive mass-market adoption could be something like an average, compact SUV costing US$28,000 which gets 350-400",{"text":133188,"type":596},"miles on a charge and can fully recharge in 1-2 hours.",{"type":591,"attrs":133190,"content":133191},{"textAlign":49},[133192],{"text":133193,"type":596},"For Berdichevsky, car manufacturers are more focused on cost than on having more power. “Batteries can already achieve a 300-mile range. They want the same amount of energy in a smaller pack so they can use fewer cells and reduce the cost of the vehicle. They want to reduce the cost of the system; not by using cheaper materials but by making the performance of the device much better. Dollars per kWh is the key. We can get 20% more energy in a battery which means we need 20% fewer cells. We improve costs and make a cheaper battery even if the materials cost more because the power increases more than the cost,” he said.","Battery anode materials are made predominantly from natural graphite or synthetic graphite. But battery technology rarely stands still and pure silicon anodes promises to offer greater energy density in batteries. Paul Harris explores the advances in silicon anode technology, the companies developing them, and the obstacles to adoption. The quest to improve lithium-ion battery performance […]",[133196],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133197},{"job_title":557,"image":133198,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4f3e7020-ac8f-41c6-a03c-e3f67ec5cb0d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[133201,133202,133203,133204,133205],{"slug":701,"name":261},{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":1820,"name":1821},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":13400,"name":13401},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":133207,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":133208,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/91494250ce/bm-silicon-valley-vector.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":133210,"uuid":133211,"name":133212,"slug":133213,"full_slug":133214,"content":133215},112474350799771,"d023ba74-c782-43a5-a481-787c9b2b0727","Cathodes in the cold","cathodes-in-the-cold","article/cathodes-in-the-cold",{"_uid":133216,"date":133217,"tags":133218,"editor":133219,"content":133223,"excerpt":133419,"featured":50,"reporter":133420,"component":697,"seo_title":133212,"categories":133424,"visibility":1043,"author_company":49,"featured_image":133428,"seo_description":133419,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":133431},"90c04cbe-8d9a-41f0-9587-2ca9cec57c9e","2019-05-20 00:00",[],[133220],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133221},{"job_title":557,"image":133222,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":133224},[133225,133242,133249,133254,133259,133264,133271,133282,133287,133298,133309,133314,133321,133326,133342,133347,133352,133357,133362,133367,133372,133377,133384,133389,133394,133399,133404,133409,133414],{"type":591,"attrs":133226,"content":133227},{"textAlign":49},[133228,133230,133234,133236,133240],{"text":133229,"type":596},"Volkswagen (VW) now looks to be progressing its very own ",{"text":3520,"type":596,"marks":133231},[133232],{"type":606,"attrs":133233},{"href":3524,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133235,"type":596}," megafactory and Tesla is shortlisting battery partners for its Shanghai ",{"text":115971,"type":596,"marks":133237},[133238],{"type":606,"attrs":133239},{"href":2243,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133241,"type":596}," 3.",{"type":591,"attrs":133243,"content":133244},{"textAlign":49},[133245,133246,133247],{"text":26980,"type":596},{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":133248,"type":596},"’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment now stands at 72 plants and 1.59TWh of pipeline capacity by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":133250,"content":133251},{"textAlign":49},[133252],{"text":133253,"type":596},"With little fanfare we have quickly progressed from the Rise of the Battery Megafactories to the Dawn of the Battery Megafactories (in Planet of the Apes terms), especially considering that over half of these battery plants are now operational at multi-gigawatt-hour capacities.",{"type":591,"attrs":133255,"content":133256},{"textAlign":49},[133257],{"text":133258,"type":596},"The world’s biggest car producers and battery companies are becoming increasingly aligned.",{"type":591,"attrs":133260,"content":133261},{"textAlign":49},[133262],{"text":133263,"type":596},"VW have publicly stated that three of Korea’s Big Four of LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation are on their “preferred suppliers” list along with China’s champion, CATL.",{"type":591,"attrs":133265,"content":133266},{"textAlign":49},[133267,133269],{"text":133268,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Tesla is going through a similar selection process for its Gigafactory 3 in China to add to its close relationship with Panasonic at",{"text":133270,"type":596},"the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, the world’s biggest battery plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":133272,"content":133273},{"textAlign":49},[133274,133276,133280],{"text":133275,"type":596},"For further evidence that gaps in the downstream links of the ",{"text":874,"type":596,"marks":133277},[133278],{"type":606,"attrs":133279},{"href":880,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133281,"type":596}," are narrowing, you could look at Panasonic’s effort to diversify from its Tesla-focused automotive battery business to create a similar looking partnership with Toyota.",{"type":591,"attrs":133283,"content":133284},{"textAlign":49},[133285],{"text":133286,"type":596},"This also marks Toyota’s lurch towards lithium ion battery propulsion, perhaps a private admission that fuel cell commercialisation is not happening as quickly as the auto-juggernaut would like.",{"type":591,"attrs":133288,"content":133289},{"textAlign":49},[133290,133292,133296],{"text":133291,"type":596},"Over in the south-east US, a quiet but very important downstream ",{"text":3400,"type":596,"marks":133293},[133294],{"type":606,"attrs":133295},{"href":749,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133297,"type":596}," hub has been developing after Alabama secured Mercedes investment to build a $1bn EV plant and battery pack facility in Tuscaloosa. This inspired SK Innovation to build a 5GWh battery cell manufacturing facility in the adjacent state of Georgia.",{"type":591,"attrs":133299,"content":133300},{"textAlign":49},[133301,133303,133307],{"text":133302,"type":596},"With these holy alliances being built between the larger corporations in the supply chain, the question remains: what does this mean for the guys in the middle… the ",{"text":3105,"type":596,"marks":133304},[133305],{"type":606,"attrs":133306},{"href":2083,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133308,"type":596}," makers?",{"type":591,"attrs":133310,"content":133311},{"textAlign":49},[133312],{"text":133313,"type":596},"The industry’s leading cathode manufacturers have quietly gone about their business, enacting significant expansions in preparation for this battery arms race that the world is in the midst of.",{"type":591,"attrs":133315,"content":133316},{"textAlign":49},[133317,133319],{"text":133318,"type":596},"After all, Sumitomo had to keep pace with Tesla, Umicore had to",{"text":133320,"type":596},"lay the gauntlet down for the rest of the industry with significant expansions over the last 2 years, such as its plans for European cathode production in Nysa, Poland, due to begin in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":133322,"content":133323},{"textAlign":49},[133324],{"text":133325,"type":596},"The cathode makers are the supply chain’s soldiers of speciality.",{"type":591,"attrs":133327,"content":133328},{"textAlign":49},[133329,133331,133335,133336,133340],{"text":133330,"type":596},"By carefully selecting certain grades of lithium, ",{"text":4840,"type":596,"marks":133332},[133333],{"type":606,"attrs":133334},{"href":4844,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":2860,"type":596},{"text":3719,"type":596,"marks":133337},[133338],{"type":606,"attrs":133339},{"href":3626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":610,"linktype":750},{"text":133341,"type":596},", manganese and aluminium to mix in specific ratios of NCM and NCA, and in some cases blend, they are able to gain superior energy density and longevity properties for the lithium ion battery way beyond what the industry expected only a handful of years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":133343,"content":133344},{"textAlign":49},[133345],{"text":133346,"type":596},"This R&D step is the enabler of the 21st century lithium ion battery and EV performance.",{"type":591,"attrs":133348,"content":133349},{"textAlign":49},[133350],{"text":133351,"type":596},"Yet the problem still remains: cathode makers are the smaller fish in a sea that is rapidly becoming an ocean – they do not hold the sway of industrial power in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":133353,"content":133354},{"textAlign":49},[133355],{"text":133356,"type":596},"No cathode maker yet owns significant raw material resources of their own, they rely on the miners and chemical refiners for their supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":133358,"content":133359},{"textAlign":49},[133360],{"text":133361,"type":596},"While it is true that Panasonic makes small amounts of its own cathode, this an anomaly more than a trend. It also accounts for only a fraction of its annual needs and is not a core strength of the electronics group.",{"type":591,"attrs":133363,"content":133364},{"textAlign":49},[133365],{"text":133366,"type":596},"One possible and more immediate future is for the big cathode producers to get bigger.",{"type":591,"attrs":133368,"content":133369},{"textAlign":49},[133370],{"text":133371,"type":596},"It is perhaps the only way to protect their industrial power as we see the EV blueprint build out over the next 5 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":133373,"content":133374},{"textAlign":49},[133375],{"text":133376,"type":596},"The next step in cathode’s evolution is likely to be integration with the chemical producers, particularly lithium chemical makers that would like more exposure to the EV battery trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":133378,"content":133379},{"textAlign":49},[133380,133382],{"text":133381,"type":596},"Cathode manufacturing after-all is the key step in turning cobalt,",{"text":133383,"type":596},"nickel and manganese (or aluminium oxide) into the material that the battery producers crave. It is the key to unlocking long range and energy dense EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":133385,"content":133386},{"textAlign":49},[133387],{"text":133388,"type":596},"Owning this capacity at scale would be an ace card for those lithium chemical producers outside of the largest suppliers that have not yet locked up tier one resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":133390,"content":133391},{"textAlign":49},[133392],{"text":133393,"type":596},"It would also be a way for the biggest lithium producers to increase their influence across the supply chain, albeit at the risk of shifting focus from a volume to a speciality approach.",{"type":591,"attrs":133395,"content":133396},{"textAlign":49},[133397],{"text":133398,"type":596},"Conversely, a cathode major could spend big to buy up key battery raw material resources – especially lithium and cobalt – and begin the supply chain integration from the middle to the source.",{"type":591,"attrs":133400,"content":133401},{"textAlign":49},[133402],{"text":133403,"type":596},"One thing is for certain, if cathode makers stand still, they will at best see their margins erode at the hands of the most powerful in the supply chain – the automakers demanding cheaper lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":133405,"content":133406},{"textAlign":49},[133407],{"text":133408,"type":596},"At worst, smaller cathode producers will struggle to compete and likely go bust.",{"type":591,"attrs":133410,"content":133411},{"textAlign":49},[133412],{"text":133413,"type":596},"Therefore, expect these supply chain specialists to begin their fight back soon and not slip quietly into becoming a proxy-toll-processor for the downstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":133415,"content":133416},{"textAlign":49},[133417],{"text":133418,"type":596},"But don’t expect them to do it with much fanfare.","Volkswagen (VW) now looks to be progressing its very own lithium ion battery megafactory and Tesla is shortlisting battery partners for its Shanghai Gigafactory 3. Meanwhile, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Lithium ion Battery Megafactory Assessment now stands at 72 plants and 1.59TWh of pipeline capacity by 2028. With little fanfare we have quickly progressed from the […]",[133421],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133422},{"job_title":557,"image":133423,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},[133425,133426,133427],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":133429,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":133430,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/113316b222/bm-screen-shot-2019-05-20-at-083551.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 20, 2019",{"id":133433,"uuid":133434,"name":133435,"slug":133436,"full_slug":133437,"content":133438},112474374630304,"2bedaf3e-8953-43f4-9d6b-0005848fa380","THE NTH DEGREE","the-nth-degree","article/the-nth-degree",{"_uid":133439,"date":133440,"tags":133441,"editor":133442,"content":133446,"excerpt":133680,"featured":50,"reporter":133681,"_editable":133685,"component":697,"seo_title":133435,"categories":133686,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":133689,"seo_description":133680,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":133692},"3a836515-d51f-48b3-beff-ce4d3e3731a0","2019-05-12 00:00",[],[133443],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133444},{"job_title":557,"image":133445,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":133447},[133448,133455,133460,133467,133472,133479,133484,133489,133494,133501,133508,133515,133520,133527,133532,133537,133543,133550,133555,133560,133566,133571,133577,133582,133587,133594,133599,133606,133611,133616,133622,133627,133632,133638,133643,133648,133653,133659,133664,133669,133675],{"type":591,"attrs":133449,"content":133450},{"textAlign":49},[133451],{"text":133452,"type":596,"marks":133453},"In the last issue of the Benchmark Quarterly Review we covered the increasing use of high purity alumina (HPA) – characterised by purity levels such as 99.99% (4N) and 99.999% (5N) – in LEDs and its latest role as a separator material in lithium ion batteries. Here we speak to Roland Hill, Managing Director of FYI Resources, about the HPA market and the company’s plans.",[133454],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":133456,"content":133457},{"textAlign":49},[133458],{"text":133459,"type":596},"Benchmark: Many of Benchmark’s readers will be new to high purity alumina (HPA). Please could you provide an overview of HPA’s properties and the types of applications it is best used for?",{"type":591,"attrs":133461,"content":133462},{"textAlign":49},[133463,133465],{"text":133464,"type":596},"Roland Hill: ",{"text":133466,"type":596},"High purity alumina is referenced as alumina having a purity of 99.99% Al2O3 or higher. Apart from the ultra-pure grade, HPA has a combination of properties and characteristics that makes the mineral unique and ideally suited to certain traditional applications as well as an increasing amount of various ‘new age’ technology applications that require certain high-quality material specifications.",{"type":591,"attrs":133468,"content":133469},{"textAlign":49},[133470],{"text":133471,"type":596},"The more traditional applications usage is in items such as substrates for LED lights, scratch resistant glass for watch faces, smart phone screens and other electric devices, for example, however, the more exciting areas that are demonstrating higher demand growth are in the electric vehicle (EV), battery and static power storage markets where it has a faultless specific.",{"type":591,"attrs":133473,"content":133474},{"textAlign":49},[133475],{"type":836,"attrs":133476},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":133477,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":133478},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/db9a1d85df/bm-arseni-mourzenko-strip-light.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":133480,"content":133481},{"textAlign":49},[133482],{"text":133483,"type":596},"HPA is traditionally used in LED lights but has a growing role in battery separators. Credit: Arseni Mourzenko.",{"type":591,"attrs":133485,"content":133486},{"textAlign":49},[133487],{"text":133488,"type":596},"The properties that make HPA an ideal component in specific applications include its hardness and wear resistance, high thermal temperature resistance (up to 14000C), corrosion resistance and excellent electrical insulation performance (up to 8,000v per mm thickness). These properties make HPA an excellent component in the production of industrial synthetic sapphire glass and an integral element in the role of battery separators.",{"type":591,"attrs":133490,"content":133491},{"textAlign":49},[133492],{"text":133493,"type":596},"Benchmark: LEDs have been a boom market for HPA over recent years, but its use in battery separators is set to increase. How has the HPA market developed in recent years and what developments can we see going forward?",{"type":591,"attrs":133495,"content":133496},{"textAlign":49},[133497,133499],{"text":133498,"type":596},"RH: ",{"text":133500,"type":596},"Certainly the traditional applications such as LED and sapphire glass have underpinned the demand for HPA, however, the forecast increase in demand has largely been brought about by the increasing market requirement for both performance and safety of batteries with a heavy duty, such as mobile phones and electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":133502,"content":133503},{"textAlign":49},[133504,133506],{"text":133505,"type":596},"The battery cell technology has evolved quickly in recent times; so too has the development of the battery separator and",{"text":133507,"type":596},"now the examination of HPA in the use of lining the anode, cathode and even the cell lining. HPA is quickly becoming the go-to material as the primary use in the separator for both performance and safety. HPA is becoming an integral part in the battery due to its unique properties.",{"type":591,"attrs":133509,"content":133510},{"textAlign":49},[133511,133513],{"text":133512,"type":596},"For example, the objective of battery manufacturers is to minimise the size and weight of batteries whilst trying to increase the power output and longevity. The price metrics of each unit is also an economic constraint that needs to be considered. With the exceptionally high level of thermodynamic and exothermic heat being generated by the units, it is critical that the components preserve mechanical integrity at high temperatures. The separator plays a critical role in obtaining optimum cell performance and the inherent safety of",{"text":133514,"type":596},"the cell in preventing a catastrophic cell thermal runaway. HPA is playing a major role in the gradual in improvement in battery technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":133516,"content":133517},{"textAlign":49},[133518],{"text":133519,"type":596},"Benchmark: FYI Resources successfully completed a PFS for its Cadoux Kaolin project in Western Australia in September 2018. Can you let us know what you found?",{"type":591,"attrs":133521,"content":133522},{"textAlign":49},[133523,133525],{"text":133524,"type":596},"RH",{"text":133526,"type":596},": The Cadoux PFS was a substantive economic review with very positive results, demonstrating a superior investment case project. We are building upon this with our current BFS. In summary, the PFS delivered a high margin project with a 50-year mine life and an after-tax US$506m NPV (at a 10% discount), after-tax IRR of 46%, an annual EBITDA of US$128m and a project payback period of 3.6 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":133528,"content":133529},{"textAlign":49},[133530],{"text":133531,"type":596},"These results place FYI at the forefront of the HPA production asset class and suggest FYI will be a supplier of choice due to the quality and purity of the HPA that we intend to produce under our production strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":133533,"content":133534},{"textAlign":49},[133535],{"text":133536,"type":596},"Benchmark: After the PFS what can we expect next for FYI Resources?",{"type":591,"attrs":133538,"content":133539},{"textAlign":49},[133540,133541],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133542,"type":596},"FYI has a very active 6 – 12 months ahead.",{"type":591,"attrs":133544,"content":133545},{"textAlign":49},[133546,133548],{"text":133547,"type":596},"Following the positive results in the PFS, we recognised that our proposed integrated HPA strategy demonstrated all the hallmarks of a potential world class project. As a result, we have assembled a very capable and experienced study team to deliver a high class BFS that is defensible with quality product delivered from a pilot plant to help real end customers qualify our HPA product. This is a key de-risking element to FYI’s investment",{"text":133549,"type":596},"proposition.",{"type":591,"attrs":133551,"content":133552},{"textAlign":49},[133553],{"text":133554,"type":596},"From the completion of the BFS in September, we have set a detailed schedule focusing on the delivery of the project including project financing, which we have progressed significantly already, followed by the implementation of the detailed project construction commencing by March next year. It will be a busy yet exciting and rewarding next 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":133556,"content":133557},{"textAlign":49},[133558],{"text":133559,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are FYI Resources long-term goals?",{"type":591,"attrs":133561,"content":133562},{"textAlign":49},[133563,133564],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133565,"type":596},"FYI has a goal to position ourselves as a material producer of branded and sought-after high quality HPA produced from our 100% owned and fully integrated production and refining operations. We aim to achieve this by firstly establishing world class operations and becoming a material supplier of HPA. Secondly, producing high quality, sought after product reliably and efficiently, and to deliver on our stated strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":133567,"content":133568},{"textAlign":49},[133569],{"text":133570,"type":596},"Benchmark: HPA production has typically been associated with high costs of production. What are the reasons for this?",{"type":591,"attrs":133572,"content":133573},{"textAlign":49},[133574,133575],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133576,"type":596},"Historically, alumina’s predominate feedstock source has been from bauxite. The process and refining route from bauxite is complex and costly as it requires a number of different process phases of mining, beneficiation, refining, smelting and then hydrolysing of the resulting aluminium metal back to alumina crystal.",{"type":591,"attrs":133578,"content":133579},{"textAlign":49},[133580],{"text":133581,"type":596},"This prolonged production is very capital intensive and in an operational sense very high cost per tonne. There are also additional issues with the traditional process route as well which include the environmental impact of bauxite mining and the huge energy demand and large greenhouse gas output from the smelting phase.",{"type":591,"attrs":133583,"content":133584},{"textAlign":49},[133585],{"text":133586,"type":596},"A further cost consideration is that traditional alumina is notorious for its excessive wear factor. This is particularly evident in the refining process and its effect on wear and tear and high maintenance on equipment which is expensive in terms of replacing equipment continuously.",{"type":591,"attrs":133588,"content":133589},{"textAlign":49},[133590,133592],{"text":133591,"type":596},"FYI has refined a flowsheet and production model that is based on a non-traditional feedstock, being aluminous rich clay or",{"text":133593,"type":596},"kaolin. The key reason for this is to provide an alternative HPA production source that is very competitive against the traditional bauxite supply, both in terms of capital and operating costs. FYI’s production model is essentially only two phases of operation, which in essence reduces the capital required, depending on scale of output, by 80% and operating costs by 60%.",{"type":591,"attrs":133595,"content":133596},{"textAlign":49},[133597],{"text":133598,"type":596},"Other advantages in this technology route include constant steady state production and tremendous processing efficiencies with recovery rates greater than 95%.",{"type":591,"attrs":133600,"content":133601},{"textAlign":49},[133602],{"type":836,"attrs":133603},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":133604,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":133605},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6e25d08105/bm-pq-drilling-cadoux-april-2019-87.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":133607,"content":133608},{"textAlign":49},[133609],{"text":133610,"type":596},"FYI Resources Cadoux project, Western Australia. Credit:FYI Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":133612,"content":133613},{"textAlign":49},[133614],{"text":133615,"type":596},"Benchmark: Can you talk us through FYI’s HPA processing flowsheet?",{"type":591,"attrs":133617,"content":133618},{"textAlign":49},[133619,133620],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133621,"type":596},"The basis of our process is an in-house revision and refinement from a 1940s R&D development program. The flowsheet is essentially a hydrochloric acid (HCl) leaching and precipitation process – quite commonly used in other commodities; we have just refined it to produce an ultra-high quality and purity product to meet new age specifications that are emerging as growth markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":133623,"content":133624},{"textAlign":49},[133625],{"text":133626,"type":596},"We have adapted a flowsheet to suit our particular feedstock (Cadoux kaolin) which has particular geological and chemistry characteristics that make it very amenable to our developed refining process, as evidenced by the recoveries we are experiencing, around 97%, and in achieving the remarkable 99.999% purity on a regular basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":133628,"content":133629},{"textAlign":49},[133630],{"text":133631,"type":596},"Benchmark: We understand you’re targeting 99.99% (4N) HPA. After your PFS results would you consider producing 99.999% (5N) HPA?",{"type":591,"attrs":133633,"content":133634},{"textAlign":49},[133635,133636],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133637,"type":596},"The 4N market will be our primary focus as it constitutes the largest segment within the HPA industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":133639,"content":133640},{"textAlign":49},[133641],{"text":133642,"type":596},"5N HPA is estimated to be growing at a compound annual growth rate of 22%, but this is from a small base of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes per annum. As it stands the 5N market is niche, but is increasingly becoming an important target market.",{"type":591,"attrs":133644,"content":133645},{"textAlign":49},[133646],{"text":133647,"type":596},"We will do our research, however, it is likely that we will direct a portion of our production to the lucrative 5N market. We will be able to service the demand without additional capital, changing our flowsheet, or impacting on our underlying forecast production.",{"type":591,"attrs":133649,"content":133650},{"textAlign":49},[133651],{"text":133652,"type":596},"Benchmark: Are there any particular areas of the HPA market you’ll be targeting? (i.e LED applications over battery separators)",{"type":591,"attrs":133654,"content":133655},{"textAlign":49},[133656,133657],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133658,"type":596},"Yes, certainly. Apart from the separator market, the traditional markets for HPA are quite broad. We will look to servicing and supplying various HPA products to a range of customers that are engaged in different applications whom will require different specifications.",{"type":591,"attrs":133660,"content":133661},{"textAlign":49},[133662],{"text":133663,"type":596},"The variety of different markets requiring a slightly different end product include sapphire glass, electronics, aeronautics, space, specialty ceramics etc.",{"type":591,"attrs":133665,"content":133666},{"textAlign":49},[133667],{"text":133668,"type":596},"Benchmark: Are you looking into off-take agreements? If so, could you provide details of your approach to this and the type of partners your looking at?",{"type":591,"attrs":133670,"content":133671},{"textAlign":49},[133672,133673],{"text":133498,"type":596},{"text":133674,"type":596},"HPA is a specialty market and is traded predominantly on contract. Having off-take agreements is key to de-risking our project and financing. Whilst there is approximately a 17% year-on-year growth forecast for HPA, with new markets and products emerging rapidly it is important to be aligned with offtake partners.",{"type":591,"attrs":133676,"content":133677},{"textAlign":49},[133678],{"text":133679,"type":596},"We are engaged with several customers and traders and are developing commercial arrangements, which we will continue to progress as we finalise our BFS.","In the last issue of the Benchmark Quarterly Review we covered the increasing use of high purity alumina (HPA) – characterised by purity levels such as 99.99% (4N) and 99.999% (5N) – in LEDs and its latest role as a separator material in lithium ion batteries. Here we speak to Roland Hill, Managing Director of […]",[133682],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133683},{"job_title":557,"image":133684,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3a836515-d51f-48b3-beff-ce4d3e3731a0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[133687,133688],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":133690,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":133691,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/988a89c23b/bm-99999-hpa.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 12, 2019",{"id":133694,"uuid":133695,"name":133696,"slug":133697,"full_slug":133698,"content":133699},112474355555228,"a33bda57-2890-4edd-b697-f7fd1e7cd9a0","COBALT UNDER SIEGE","cobalt-under-siege","article/cobalt-under-siege",{"_uid":133700,"date":133440,"tags":133701,"editor":133702,"content":133706,"excerpt":133844,"featured":50,"reporter":133845,"_editable":133849,"component":697,"seo_title":133696,"categories":133850,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":133854,"seo_description":133844,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":133692},"e5a0bc07-63a9-4a69-827e-6fb24e6517fc",[],[133703],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133704},{"job_title":557,"image":133705,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":133707},[133708,133713,133718,133723,133728,133733,133738,133744,133751,133756,133761,133766,133771,133776,133781,133784,133789,133794,133802,133807,133812,133817,133822,133827,133832,133839],{"type":591,"attrs":133709,"content":133710},{"textAlign":49},[133711],{"text":133712,"type":596},"Cobalt is under siege as production targets are not met and prices continue to fall following a 65% y-o-y plummet in the battery metal price during the past 12 months",{"type":591,"attrs":133714,"content":133715},{"textAlign":49},[133716],{"text":133717,"type":596},"In February ERG announced it would place its Boss Mining operation on care and maintenance and suspend the company’s Chambishi refinery in Zambia.",{"type":591,"attrs":133719,"content":133720},{"textAlign":49},[133721],{"text":133722,"type":596},"The suspension of ERG’s Chambishi refinery in Zambia came shortly after the Zambian government imposed a 5% import tax on copper and cobalt concentrates.",{"type":591,"attrs":133724,"content":133725},{"textAlign":49},[133726],{"text":133727,"type":596},"Although this sounds dramatic, the suspension of the Chambishi refinery had been expected for some time and will have a limited impact on production numbers, having produced 2,000 tonnes of cobalt metal in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":133729,"content":133730},{"textAlign":49},[133731],{"text":133732,"type":596},"Although there has been no official confirmation of how long the suspension will last, at the time of the suspension it was understood that ERG were continuing to pay workers, which suggests it will not be for an extended period.",{"type":591,"attrs":133734,"content":133735},{"textAlign":49},[133736],{"text":133737,"type":596},"The Chambishi refinery uses feedstock from ERG’s Boss Mining operation which went on care and maintenance at the end of Q1 2019. Care and maintenance is a costly undertaking but a cheaper option than closing the mine altogether. The mine is expected to reopen although a timeframe has yet to be set out.",{"type":591,"attrs":133739,"content":133740},{"textAlign":49},[133741,133742],{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":133743,"type":596},"estimates that in 2018 ERG’s Boss project produced approximately 2,500 tonnes of cobalt contained in concentrate which represents less than 2% of the global market.",{"type":591,"attrs":133745,"content":133746},{"textAlign":49},[133747,133749],{"text":133748,"type":596},"The Boss mine is known to have been running low on oxide ore for some time. With only sulphide deposits remaining at the mine the project will require newly installed equipment to process it,",{"text":133750,"type":596},"which will require both capital and time to put into action.",{"type":591,"attrs":133752,"content":133753},{"textAlign":49},[133754],{"text":133755,"type":596},"However, with the recent imposition of higher royalties introduced to the new 2018 mining code in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which increased from 3% to 10%, an investment decision will have to be made as to whether the Boss mine will transition to sulphide.",{"type":591,"attrs":133757,"content":133758},{"textAlign":49},[133759],{"text":133760,"type":596},"As the DRC forms a new coalition between Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC) and President Tshisekedi’s Cap pour le Changement (Coalition for Change, CACH), the cobalt market remains politically exposed.",{"type":591,"attrs":133762,"content":133763},{"textAlign":49},[133764],{"text":133765,"type":596},"Significant lobbying of the government from the country’s mining community is expected to continue, however, for the moment the government has said there will be no more debate on this mining royalty.",{"type":591,"attrs":133767,"content":133768},{"textAlign":49},[133769],{"text":133770,"type":596},"Having suspended the mine and postponed their investment decision on the transition from oxide to sulphide, ERG could use their position to bargain an improved deal with the DRC government.",{"type":591,"attrs":133772,"content":133773},{"textAlign":49},[133774],{"text":133775,"type":596},"ERG will now rely on its DRC RTR project for new cobalt supply for 2019. ERG have previously stated intentions to ramp production to the full phase 1 capacity 14,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide as quickly as possible, although this may be under question in the current pricing environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":133777,"content":133778},{"textAlign":49},[133779],{"text":133780,"type":596},"However, the RTR mine is not yet producing commercial volumes of cobalt as it’s understood that it began commissioning of its uranium removal circuit in February. Assuming this operates without issues then commercial volumes of cobalt from the project should be expected towards the end of Q2 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":133782,"content":133783},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":133785,"content":133786},{"textAlign":49},[133787],{"text":133788,"type":596},"GLENCORE PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTY",{"type":591,"attrs":133790,"content":133791},{"textAlign":49},[133792],{"text":133793,"type":596},"ERG’s Boss Mining outfit is not the only DRC producer failing to meet expectations. Katanga Mining (KCC), a Glencore subsidiary, was initially expected to produce 34,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in hydroxide in 2019, but has yet to export any commercial volumes to the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":133795,"content":133796},{"textAlign":49},[133797,133799,133800],{"text":133798,"type":596},"The project has delayed exports due to elevated levels of uranium in the product and will need to undertake uranium removal following the commissioning of the project’s ion exchange system before it can export. ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":133801,"type":596},"therefore doesn’t expect Katanga’s material to reach the market before 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":133803,"content":133804},{"textAlign":49},[133805],{"text":133806,"type":596},"Glencore’s main DRC asset, the Mutanda mine – the world’s largest cobalt mine in 2018 – made a significant cut of approximately 2,000 expatriate workers in February, which has prompted fears of falling cobalt volumes from the project.",{"type":591,"attrs":133808,"content":133809},{"textAlign":49},[133810],{"text":133811,"type":596},"Oxide ores at the mine are known to have been prematurely depleting for some time. As with ERG’s Boss Mining the project will need to invest in sulphide processing facilities at Mutanda to transition from oxide to sulphide. Increased royalty payments, downward pressure on cobalt prices and political uncertainty in the DRC will weigh heavily on this decision.",{"type":591,"attrs":133813,"content":133814},{"textAlign":49},[133815],{"text":133816,"type":596},"In their preliminary results call at the end of February, Glencore confirmed copper production at the mine would be reduced by 50% to 100,000 tonnes in 2019 but suggested cobalt production would only fall by 2,300 tonnes from 2018 production to 25,000 tonnes. It is still unclear how Glencore will maintain relatively stable cobalt numbers when copper production and processing is set to drop so dramatically.",{"type":591,"attrs":133818,"content":133819},{"textAlign":49},[133820],{"text":133821,"type":596},"NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM",{"type":591,"attrs":133823,"content":133824},{"textAlign":49},[133825],{"text":133826,"type":596},"It isn’t all bad news for the cobalt market, however, as towards the end of the quarter there were signs that the bottom of the market was being reached as cobalt metal prices began to recover slightly under increased trading activity.",{"type":591,"attrs":133828,"content":133829},{"textAlign":49},[133830],{"text":133831,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have had a torrid 12 months, with the year-on-year cobalt battery metal price down by 65% during the period. However, there were tentative signs of a recovery in the final week of the quarter with market players noting more enquiries and price increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":133833,"content":133834},{"textAlign":49},[133835,133837],{"text":133836,"type":596},"It is still too early to tell whether these reported",{"text":133838,"type":596},"price increases will be sustained and continue into a full recovery but it appears to be a chance for the market to stabilise, with the prospect of slightly higher prices as pent up buying activity increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":133840,"content":133841},{"textAlign":49},[133842],{"text":133843,"type":596},"Although this is not to say there are no headwinds likely to further affect prices, as there are large reserves of feedstock in the DRC and South Africa that will likely hamper any price increases in the near-term.","Cobalt is under siege as production targets are not met and prices continue to fall following a 65% y-o-y plummet in the battery metal price during the past 12 months In February ERG announced it would place its Boss Mining operation on care and maintenance and suspend the company’s Chambishi refinery in Zambia. The suspension […]",[133846],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133847},{"job_title":557,"image":133848,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e5a0bc07-63a9-4a69-827e-6fb24e6517fc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[133851,133852,133853],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":133855,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":133856,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d406e04075/bm-hill-houses-credit-teseum.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":133858,"uuid":133859,"name":133860,"slug":133861,"full_slug":133862,"content":133863},112474393672612,"5073ef53-e4d4-498c-9a6e-778a3bcaf11f","THE ROAD TO ADOPTION","the-road-to-adoption","article/the-road-to-adoption",{"_uid":133864,"date":133865,"tags":133866,"editor":133867,"content":133871,"excerpt":133970,"featured":50,"reporter":133971,"_editable":133975,"component":697,"seo_title":133860,"categories":133976,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":133979,"seo_description":133970,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":133981},"9f924283-231b-4e8c-b42f-684f775426aa","2019-05-09 00:00",[],[133868],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133869},{"job_title":557,"image":133870,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":133872},[133873,133878,133883,133888,133893,133898,133905,133912,133919,133924,133931,133938,133943,133948,133953,133960,133965],{"type":591,"attrs":133874,"content":133875},{"textAlign":49},[133876],{"text":133877,"type":596},"In this article, Adam Panayi, Managing Director of Rho Motion, analyses the obstacles to mass adoption of electric vehicles, current battery trends, and how increasing energy density will propel electric vehicles into the mainstream.",{"type":591,"attrs":133879,"content":133880},{"textAlign":49},[133881],{"text":133882,"type":596},"News of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution is everywhere, with government targets being set to reduce the number of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles on the road over the coming decades, and pledged investment in electrification by major automakers amounting to US$300Bn to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":133884,"content":133885},{"textAlign":49},[133886],{"text":133887,"type":596},"As it stands, however, only 2% of new vehicles sold in 2018 were battery electric vehicles (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). This amounts to just over 2 million units, with China accounting for half the market, as shown in chart one.",{"type":591,"attrs":133889,"content":133890},{"textAlign":49},[133891],{"text":133892,"type":596},"OBSTACLES",{"type":591,"attrs":133894,"content":133895},{"textAlign":49},[133896],{"text":133897,"type":596},"The two main obstacles to mass adoption of EVs to date have been concerns over vehicle range and cost. The primary solution to both is increasing effective energy density in the vehicle battery. EV batteries are composed of individual battery cells, housed in a battery module, which are combined and managed in a battery pack, and all of these components play a role in achieving this aim.",{"type":591,"attrs":133899,"content":133900},{"textAlign":49},[133901,133903],{"text":133902,"type":596},"In chart two we show weighted average battery pack sizes and vehicle ranges for BEVs. Due to the proliferation of smaller EVs in China average pack sizes globally are lower than those in Europe and the US. As can be seen, there is a clear relationship between pack size expressed in kWh and KM range, with a ratio of 5-7 Km per kWh depending on the battery chemistry and",{"text":133904,"type":596},"pack management.",{"type":591,"attrs":133906,"content":133907},{"textAlign":49},[133908,133910],{"text":133909,"type":596},"Increasing energy density is crucial to extending vehicle range, and by extension the growth of the EV market. Auto and battery manufacturers cannot simply add more battery cells and modules to the battery pack; due to constraints on space, weight and cost, it is vital to",{"text":133911,"type":596},"get more from these components.",{"type":591,"attrs":133913,"content":133914},{"textAlign":49},[133915,133917],{"text":133916,"type":596},"The second, and more important, issue is vehicle cost. At present the purchase price for BEVs is typically around a third more than an equivalent ICE vehicle, and the battery is a significant part of that additional cost. It is our view that in the consumer driven passenger car",{"text":133918,"type":596},"segment, purchase costs are a more important factor than total cost of ownership – which accounts for running costs – and will be the main determinant of the technology’s success over time.",{"type":591,"attrs":133920,"content":133921},{"textAlign":49},[133922],{"text":133923,"type":596},"How do we move to a world with 30% EV sales penetration by 2030, as proposed by many government targets, and to 70% by 2040 as forecast by Rho Motion?",{"type":591,"attrs":133925,"content":133926},{"textAlign":49},[133927,133929],{"text":133928,"type":596},"We assert that increasing the energy density of EV’s batteries is the key to overcoming both",{"text":133930,"type":596},"the range and cost issues, and that this will come from improvements in both the battery cell, and from vehicle design and battery pack management.",{"type":591,"attrs":133932,"content":133933},{"textAlign":49},[133934,133936],{"text":133935,"type":596},"Looking at battery cells first. Outside of North America, major OEMs and battery makers have in large part settled on the use of the lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode formulation, owing to its high energy density relative to its cost. The current iteration of that formulation, NCM 622, has facilitated",{"text":133937,"type":596},"the development of larger pack sizes and has reduced battery costs significantly from its predecessors. The next generation, NCM 811, will see both further gains in energy density and lower costs, due to its increasing nickel content with its high specific energy, and the thrifting of relatively expensive cobalt (see chart three). NCM 811 is likely to be available for commercial adoption from 2022 given the current rate of progress in R&D, and this will be a major boost for the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":133939,"content":133940},{"textAlign":49},[133941],{"text":133942,"type":596},"There are also anode technology developments that are helping to increase energy density in the cell. At present these focus on the inclusion of silicon, which helps boost the energy density in the anode. At present, anodes in commercial EV batteries are composed of a blend of synthetic and natural graphite, and increasingly feature an average of 4-6% of silicon additives.",{"type":591,"attrs":133944,"content":133945},{"textAlign":49},[133946],{"text":133947,"type":596},"There are a number of firms at R&D stage working on a silicon dominant anode, which could boost energy density in the cell by 20%. This is an early stage technology however, and commercialisation is still several years away. Similarly, R&D work is ongoing for solid state batteries, which offer a theoretical improvement in energy density of 70% over current lithium-ion technology, and faster charging times. Again this is an early stage technology with commercialisation from 2030 onwards a realistic timeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":133949,"content":133950},{"textAlign":49},[133951],{"text":133952,"type":596},"There are equally important developments underway in the vehicle which will improve battery performance and lower costs. Firstly, the increasing sophistication of battery pack management systems (BMS). The BMS governs the way in which the vehicle interacts with the cells and modules in the battery pack, including thermal management and charge and discharge rates, and can have a large impact on final vehicle performance.",{"type":591,"attrs":133954,"content":133955},{"textAlign":49},[133956,133958],{"text":133957,"type":596},"The second is the development of pure EV platforms by automakers. To date there have been very few vehicles specifically designed for a fully electric powertrain, however, major",{"text":133959,"type":596},"automakers are now making solid plans for the rollout of dedicated EV platforms. A key announcement by VW is indicative of this, it is developing its Modular Electric Drive Construction Kit (MEB), from which it is planning to develop 70 EV models on the same platform. This will offer greater homogeneity of battery pack and component configurations, and major cost savings as a result. The first of these vehicles will be rolling off the production line from 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":133961,"content":133962},{"textAlign":49},[133963],{"text":133964,"type":596},"Taken together, battery cell and battery pack management improvements, as well as the mass roll-out of dedicated EV platforms mean that we should see parity in cost and range in EVs relative to ICE vehicles by the mid-2020s, with significant increases in adoption rates as a result.",{"type":591,"attrs":133966,"content":133967},{"textAlign":49},[133968],{"text":133969,"type":596},"Then there will be further issues to consider, including the development of charging infrastructure, and the impact of all these EVs on the grid.","In this article, Adam Panayi, Managing Director of Rho Motion, analyses the obstacles to mass adoption of electric vehicles, current battery trends, and how increasing energy density will propel electric vehicles into the mainstream. News of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution is everywhere, with government targets being set to reduce the number of new internal […]",[133972],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133973},{"job_title":557,"image":133974,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9f924283-231b-4e8c-b42f-684f775426aa\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[133977,133978],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":98476,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":133980,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 09, 2019",{"id":133983,"uuid":133984,"name":133985,"slug":133986,"full_slug":133987,"content":133988},112474388949923,"fdd2d6dd-51fa-4c8c-92b8-75e3946bfce0","BATTERY METAL SOURCING TOPS AGENDA","battery-metal-sourcing-tops-agenda","article/battery-metal-sourcing-tops-agenda",{"_uid":133989,"date":133865,"tags":133990,"editor":133991,"content":133995,"excerpt":134113,"featured":50,"reporter":134114,"_editable":134118,"component":697,"seo_title":133985,"categories":134119,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134122,"seo_description":134113,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":133981},"43d2a4fd-43d8-47a5-bfe7-595cf6b0c5c5",[],[133992],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":133993},{"job_title":557,"image":133994,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":133996},[133997,134002,134007,134012,134017,134022,134027,134032,134039,134044,134051,134056,134061,134066,134071,134076,134081,134088,134093,134098,134103,134108],{"type":591,"attrs":133998,"content":133999},{"textAlign":49},[134000],{"text":134001,"type":596},"BY RCS GLOBAL",{"type":591,"attrs":134003,"content":134004},{"textAlign":49},[134005],{"text":134006,"type":596},"While cobalt sourcing remains a critical risk, Vale’s dam disaster in January 2019 spurred a profound change in mining practices.",{"type":591,"attrs":134008,"content":134009},{"textAlign":49},[134010],{"text":134011,"type":596},"The launch of the RCS Global Group Responsible Commodities Monitor earlier this year coincided with major evolutions in responsible sourcing of raw materials and particularly battery metals. This new intelligence tool, developed by responsible sourcing advisory firm RCS Global Group, offers in-depth insights into an ever-changing and highly technical field. So what are the responsible sourcing trends in minerals for the past quarter?",{"type":591,"attrs":134013,"content":134014},{"textAlign":49},[134015],{"text":134016,"type":596},"COBALT SOURCING RISKS IN THE CONGO AND MITIGATION ACTIONS",{"type":591,"attrs":134018,"content":134019},{"textAlign":49},[134020],{"text":134021,"type":596},"As the focus on sustainable cobalt production remains, the metal has been the topic of an increasing number of news articles and has also seen the establishment of new collaborative initiatives designed to tackle risks linked to sourcing cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In January, the Cobalt Institute",{"type":591,"attrs":134023,"content":134024},{"textAlign":49},[134025],{"text":134026,"type":596},"(CI) launched the Cobalt Industry Responsible Sourcing Framework (CIRAF), a good practice management tool to identify and manage risks in the cobalt supply chain in line with industry good practice and international standards including the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.",{"type":591,"attrs":134028,"content":134029},{"textAlign":49},[134030],{"text":134031,"type":596},"After almost two years of development, the CIRAF goes beyond traditional issues linked to human rights abuses to also include environmental, business ethics and occupational health and safety topics. The interest in cobalt, spurred by Amnesty International’s reports and wider NGO scrutiny, is likely to grow as non-profits broaden the scope of their research to include environmental and corruption risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":134033,"content":134034},{"textAlign":49},[134035,134037],{"text":134036,"type":596},"On an individual company level, downstream companies that are users of cobalt, notably from the automotive and technology industry sectors, are increasingly undertaking due diligence on their cobalt supply chain and engaging in",{"text":134038,"type":596},"upstream projects. Daimler’s work to assess its cobalt suppliers beyond the first tier against human rights requirements, and its partnership with Good Shepherd International, is one example of such company action.",{"type":591,"attrs":134040,"content":134041},{"textAlign":49},[134042],{"text":134043,"type":596},"Efforts to integrate traceability throughout the cobalt supply chain have also leapt forward with the implementation of a blockchain-based system for cobalt sourcing. Partnering on this project, Huayou Cobalt, LGChem, Ford, IBM and RCS Global will create an immutable audit trail, which will include corresponding data to provide evidence of the cobalt production and handling from mine to end manufacturer.",{"type":591,"attrs":134045,"content":134046},{"textAlign":49},[134047,134049],{"text":134048,"type":596},"Nevertheless, sourcing cobalt from the DRC remains highly unstable and will not be solved by the simplest of solutions. As seen over the past few months, actors across the supply chain have shown their willingness to act in the interest of sustainability. However, many also adopt measures that, in RCS Global’s view, appear counterproductive such as not sourcing from",{"text":134050,"type":596},"the DRC at all. Additionally, the newly elected President, Felix Tshisekedi, is currently engaging with both upstream and downstream companies to establish the country as a trusted and attractive partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":134052,"content":134053},{"textAlign":49},[134054],{"text":134055,"type":596},"The DRC President has recently met with brand companies to discuss responsible sourcing issues, and supports the organisation of a mining conference in Kolwezi, despite the controversial 2016 Mining Code likely remaining intact. This strategy of the Congolese government also resonates with the increasing de facto consideration of cobalt as a conflict mineral and as a material risk for global supply chains. The European Union’s proposal requiring disclosure of quantities of cobalt used in ICT products is the latest development in this trend and highlights the likely inclusion of the mineral in the EU Regulation 2017/821 after its three-year period assessment.",{"type":591,"attrs":134057,"content":134058},{"textAlign":49},[134059],{"text":134060,"type":596},"The London Metals Exchange (LME)’s plans to ban cobalt tainted by human rights abuses is one of the most significant decisions of these past months. However, as shown by the criticisms faced by this proposition, including by NGO groups, taking action requires a good understanding of the issues at stake, including for local communities that are at the centre of these measures.",{"type":591,"attrs":134062,"content":134063},{"textAlign":49},[134064],{"text":134065,"type":596},"BEYOND COBALT TO OTHER BATTERY MATERIALS",{"type":591,"attrs":134067,"content":134068},{"textAlign":49},[134069],{"text":134070,"type":596},"Beyond cobalt, stakeholder interest and scrutiny has also increasingly shifted to responsible sourcing risks in lithium, manganese, copper, nickel and graphite. Despite the absence of any formal industry scheme to address responsible sourcing issues in lithium, brand companies and news outlets appears to increasingly focus on this mineral.",{"type":591,"attrs":134072,"content":134073},{"textAlign":49},[134074],{"text":134075,"type":596},"Volkswagen’s op-ed on lithium uses and supply chain organisation reflects growing corporate interest in lithium sourcing risks. This follows the publication of multiple press articles in the mainstream media on human rights and environmental risks linked to lithium extraction in the South American “lithium triangle”.",{"type":591,"attrs":134077,"content":134078},{"textAlign":49},[134079],{"text":134080,"type":596},"Countries in the region are already starting to act, with Chile implementing water protection policies impacting large-scale lithium and copper miners. Incident monitoring also highlighted the specific risks inherent to other minerals including manganese, nickel, and copper, and their geographical specificity, for example, the Andes region.",{"type":591,"attrs":134082,"content":134083},{"textAlign":49},[134084,134086],{"text":134085,"type":596},"Such an analysis also underlines the difficulties for companies, particularly in the downstream sector, to adopt a narrow approach to supply",{"text":134087,"type":596},"chain due diligence, and the need to integrate multiple risk categories as part of their responsible sourcing strategies. While human rights abuses are widespread in emerging economies, including child labour and adverse impacts on indigenous rights, developed countries are not deprived of risks, the most prominent of which include occupational health and safety and social and political demands.",{"type":591,"attrs":134089,"content":134090},{"textAlign":49},[134091],{"text":134092,"type":596},"RISKS REMAIN HIGH ACROSS THE MINERALS INDUSTRY",{"type":591,"attrs":134094,"content":134095},{"textAlign":49},[134096],{"text":134097,"type":596},"Looking at the wider minerals industry, the Vale dam disaster in January 2019 led to profound changes in environmental practices of mining companies, particularly on water stewardship and tailings. The largest mining conference in Africa, Investing in African Mining Indaba, has been a catalyst for the conversation around additional measures to safeguard communities from another disaster.",{"type":591,"attrs":134099,"content":134100},{"textAlign":49},[134101],{"text":134102,"type":596},"The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) announced the establishment of an independent panel on tailing dams, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) added a protocol on water stewardship to its Toward Sustainability in Mining (TSM) framework, the Global Professional Mineral Alliance launched a global action on tailings and the partnership between the ICMM, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to create a new standard highlighted the links between sustainable mining practices and the investing community.",{"type":591,"attrs":134104,"content":134105},{"textAlign":49},[134106],{"text":134107,"type":596},"Responsible sourcing and corporate responsibility in mining has also been impacted by global regulation against modern slavery. Following the introduction in 2015 of the UK Modern Slavery Act, many countries adopted similar laws, including France (Sapin II), Australia (Modern Slavery Act of 2018), and the Netherlands (Child Labour Due Diligence Bill). Over the past few months, this trend expanded: Germany, through its National Action Plan (NAP), the United States (H.R 7089) and Switzerland (“Initiative populaire fédérale ‘Entreprises responsables– pour protéger l’être humain et l’environnement’”) are on the verge of adopting similar mandatory requirements on companies to conduct due diligence on their supply chains for modern slavery.",{"type":591,"attrs":134109,"content":134110},{"textAlign":49},[134111],{"text":134112,"type":596},"To conclude, the evolution of the mining industry and supply chain sustainability regulatory frameworks illustrate the increased attention to the responsible sourcing and production issues, not only from consumers but also from brand companies, regulators and investors.","BY RCS GLOBAL While cobalt sourcing remains a critical risk, Vale’s dam disaster in January 2019 spurred a profound change in mining practices. The launch of the RCS Global Group Responsible Commodities Monitor earlier this year coincided with major evolutions in responsible sourcing of raw materials and particularly battery metals. This new intelligence tool, developed […]",[134115],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134116},{"job_title":557,"image":134117,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"43d2a4fd-43d8-47a5-bfe7-595cf6b0c5c5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134120,134121],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134123,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134124,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fa9ba337f6/bm-atacama-brigitte-djajasasmita-e1557388909818.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":134126,"uuid":134127,"name":134128,"slug":134129,"full_slug":134130,"content":134131},112474452106164,"051fd88c-511c-48f8-b25e-7a1f4c5e52f9","WHAT IS THE REAL LITHIUM PRICE TREND OF 2018?","what-is-the-real-lithium-price-trend-of-2018","article/what-is-the-real-lithium-price-trend-of-2018",{"_uid":134132,"date":134133,"tags":134134,"editor":134135,"content":134139,"excerpt":134209,"featured":50,"reporter":134210,"_editable":134214,"component":697,"seo_title":134128,"categories":134215,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134219,"seo_description":134209,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":134222},"123530a4-6bae-49cf-b835-ea3f36982ca4","2019-01-28 00:00",[],[134136],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134137},{"job_title":557,"image":134138,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":134140},[134141,134146,134151,134158,134163,134168,134173,134180,134185,134190,134196,134201],{"type":591,"attrs":134142,"content":134143},{"textAlign":49},[134144],{"text":134145,"type":596},"From the previous upward trajectory of 2016 and 2017, it’s been a sobering year for lithium prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":134147,"content":134148},{"textAlign":49},[134149],{"text":134150,"type":596},"After taking a hit in H1 2018 – or as many within China saw as a return to fairer lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices – lithium prices held up in the second half of 2018 despite bank analysts and some commentators alike expecting a continued downward spiral to the $8,000/tonne mark.",{"type":591,"attrs":134152,"content":134153},{"textAlign":49},[134154,134156],{"text":134155,"type":596},"The second half of last year saw a relative stabilisation of nearly all lithium chemical prices tracked by ",{"text":134157,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":134159,"content":134160},{"textAlign":49},[134161],{"text":134162,"type":596},"There have been two distinct trends for lithium carbonate prices in 2018: China and China-linked prices versus the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":134164,"content":134165},{"textAlign":49},[134166],{"text":134167,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate",{"type":591,"attrs":134169,"content":134170},{"textAlign":49},[134171],{"text":134172,"type":596},"To explain this trend, take a look at the chart below that maps the highest and lowest assessed prices in China / Asia versus the rest of the world (FOB South America, CIF North America, CIF EU). This shows the spread of prices within these regions.",{"type":591,"attrs":134174,"content":134175},{"textAlign":49},[134176,134178],{"text":134177,"type":596},"It is clear that the lithium carbonate price decline has been significant in China (see China & Asia in yellow) yet only small decreases have been",{"text":134179,"type":596},"experienced in the ROW (see Americas & EU in red). In fact, China’s lithium carbonate prices started the year well above ROW prices and finished below.",{"type":591,"attrs":134181,"content":134182},{"textAlign":49},[134183],{"text":134184,"type":596},"Another interesting trend is how China’s lithium carbonate prices have remained relatively stable since August 2018 and how there has been little movement from the $12,000 mark since September.",{"type":591,"attrs":134186,"content":134187},{"textAlign":49},[134188],{"text":134189,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide",{"type":591,"attrs":134191,"content":134192},{"textAlign":49},[134193,134194],{"text":46808,"type":596},{"text":134195,"type":596},"assess 4 lithium hydroxide prices each month and the trend with these grades has been similar to that of carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":134197,"content":134198},{"textAlign":49},[134199],{"text":134200,"type":596},"Most movement has been seen in the China-linked grades, our EXW China and CIF Asia prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":134202,"content":134203},{"textAlign":49},[134204,134206,134207],{"text":134205,"type":596},"The clear downturn in Chinese lithium carbonate price has had a direct impact on the hydroxide it is used to produce. The chart below shows this decrease compared with the rest of the world grades assessed by ",{"text":130293,"type":596},{"text":134208,"type":596},"– our FOB North America and CIF EU – which had remained stable throughout most of 2018, until a dip began in Q3 2018.","From the previous upward trajectory of 2016 and 2017, it’s been a sobering year for lithium prices. After taking a hit in H1 2018 – or as many within China saw as a return to fairer lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices – lithium prices held up in the second half of 2018 despite bank […]",[134211],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134212},{"job_title":557,"image":134213,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"123530a4-6bae-49cf-b835-ea3f36982ca4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134216,134217,134218],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134220,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134221,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/067680daa5/bm-dsc-0202.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 28, 2019",{"id":134224,"uuid":134225,"name":134226,"slug":134227,"full_slug":134228,"content":134229},112474447219634,"69833117-a14a-4e13-8e39-c189ecb8fdfa","LITHIUM-ION BATTERY RECYCLING: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN RAMPING UP TO MEGA SCALE RECYCLING","lithium-ion-battery-recycling-challenges-and-opportunities-in-ramping-up-to-mega-scale-recycling","article/lithium-ion-battery-recycling-challenges-and-opportunities-in-ramping-up-to-mega-scale-recycling",{"_uid":134230,"date":134133,"tags":134231,"editor":134232,"content":134236,"excerpt":134540,"featured":50,"reporter":134541,"_editable":134545,"component":697,"seo_title":134226,"categories":134546,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134552,"seo_description":134540,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":134222},"c4c07f07-152a-46d5-b1e8-67f381f5748f",[],[134233],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134234},{"job_title":557,"image":134235,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":134237},[134238,134243,134248,134253,134258,134263,134268,134273,134278,134283,134288,134295,134300,134305,134312,134317,134322,134327,134332,134339,134344,134349,134354,134361,134366,134371,134376,134381,134386,134391,134396,134403,134408,134413,134418,134423,134428,134433,134438,134443,134450,134455,134460,134465,134470,134475,134480,134485,134490,134495,134500,134505,134510,134515,134520,134525,134530,134535],{"type":591,"attrs":134239,"content":134240},{"textAlign":49},[134241],{"text":134242,"type":596},"As the costs of producing lithium ion batteries have dropped their use has increased dramatically. But it’s estimated that only 5% of lithium ion batteries are currently recycled. In this feature Ajay Kochhar, Co-founder, President and CEO of Li-Cycle, explores the barriers to lithium ion recycling and developments in processing technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":134244,"content":134245},{"textAlign":49},[134246],{"text":134247,"type":596},"As the world trends towards electrification, exponential growth continues in the use of lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries, from the automotive industry, stationary energy storage (e.g. for renewables), and consumer electronics.",{"type":591,"attrs":134249,"content":134250},{"textAlign":49},[134251],{"text":134252,"type":596},"The consistent improvement and cost reduction of li-ion battery technology has strengthened the momentum behind electro-mobility. Li-ion batteries are electrifying modern transportation from e-bikes and e-scooters, to passenger vehicles, semi-trailer trucks, and even planes in some cases.",{"type":591,"attrs":134254,"content":134255},{"textAlign":49},[134256],{"text":134257,"type":596},"Rapidly falling unit costs ($/kWh) are also increasingly enabling the use of li-ion batteries in grid energy storage and renewable energy projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":134259,"content":134260},{"textAlign":49},[134261],{"text":134262,"type":596},"Considering the multitude of li-ion battery megafactories being developed globally and the current and near-term limitations on li-ion battery life, the world will be faced with a growing ‘tsunami’ of spent li-ion batteries that will need to be appropriately handled. Driven by electro-mobility applications, the volume of li-ion battery cells being sold is set to surge.",{"type":615,"attrs":134264,"content":134265},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[134266],{"text":134267,"type":596},"Barriers, Challenges, and Opportunities to Battery Recycling",{"type":591,"attrs":134269,"content":134270},{"textAlign":49},[134271],{"text":134272,"type":596},"Presently, there are a multitude of challenges existing within the li-ion battery recycling industry which historically have prevented the widespread of implementation of a safe, sustainable, and economically attractive recycling solution for li-ion batteries across the globe.",{"type":591,"attrs":134274,"content":134275},{"textAlign":49},[134276],{"text":134277,"type":596},"COLLECTION RATES",{"type":591,"attrs":134279,"content":134280},{"textAlign":49},[134281],{"text":134282,"type":596},"To understand what drives an inefficient or efficient end-of-lifecycle supply chain, the electronic waste industry is an important benchmark. It is also important to assess if there are any parallels with spent li-ion batteries, which are a subset of e-waste products and a rapidly growing product stream in other uses (e.g. in electric vehicles).",{"type":591,"attrs":134284,"content":134285},{"textAlign":49},[134286],{"text":134287,"type":596},"During the next 7-10 years, portable batteries are projected to comprise the majority of the end-of-life li-ion batteries in need of recycling globally, with EV batteries becoming a larger portion of the market from approximately 2028 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":134289,"content":134290},{"textAlign":49},[134291,134293],{"text":134292,"type":596},"Due to the significant differences in collections between portable consumer electronic batteries and EV/high voltage li-ion batteries, understanding the supply chain and end-of-life pathways",{"text":134294,"type":596},"currently associated with small format batteries is critical in the years preceding the EV takeover of global li-ion battery recycling market share, given that these small format batteries will provide the majority of the value available in end-of-life li-ion batteries in the near and medium term.",{"type":591,"attrs":134296,"content":134297},{"textAlign":49},[134298],{"text":134299,"type":596},"Roughly three quarters of individuals in North America now own a smartphone. According to a study by Business Insider, American consumers use their mobile phones for approximately 23 months before upgrading. Thereafter, used mobile phones have a variety of end-of-lifecycle fates.",{"type":591,"attrs":134301,"content":134302},{"textAlign":49},[134303],{"text":134304,"type":596},"According to Fairphone, approximately 1.6 billion phones are estimated to be simply left at home and not enter end-of-lifecycle supply chains. There is also a substantial reuse market globally where these products are modified, refurbished, and sold to make a profit. In some cases (e.g. depending on the device condition), smartphones can enter into formal and informal e-waste supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":134306,"content":134307},{"textAlign":49},[134308,134310],{"text":134309,"type":596},"It is estimated that the total value of all raw material present in e-waste globally was USD $55 billion in 2016. According to a study by ArsTechnica, approximately 20% of the e-waste in 2016 was documented to be collected and",{"text":134311,"type":596},"properly recycled. The balance 80% included e-waste that was traded, recycled, or dumped under inferior conditions.",{"type":591,"attrs":134313,"content":134314},{"textAlign":49},[134315],{"text":134316,"type":596},"The graph above illustrates the value, distinguished by metal or material, that is lost each year because of improper disposal of electronic waste.",{"type":591,"attrs":134318,"content":134319},{"textAlign":49},[134320],{"text":134321,"type":596},"Mapping to the li-ion battery recycling industry, there are some important takeaways from the data surrounding the e-waste industry. The historical problems within the e-waste industry have been driven by incentives for financial gain via undesirable end-of-lifecycle pathways (i.e. resulting in negative environmental and/or human health impacts) and a lack of consistent regulation.",{"type":591,"attrs":134323,"content":134324},{"textAlign":49},[134325],{"text":134326,"type":596},"As a result, the e-waste industry has often followed the cheapest disposal pathways in the past. However, developing nations are now implementing more stringent legislation and enforcement to limit the hazards associated with improper e-waste disposal.",{"type":591,"attrs":134328,"content":134329},{"textAlign":49},[134330],{"text":134331,"type":596},"Currently, it is estimated that approximately 5% of li-ion batteries are collected for recycling (i.e. not reuse) globally, with some jurisdictions (e.g. some member states of the European Union) having more efficient portable battery collection rates of >20%.",{"type":591,"attrs":134333,"content":134334},{"textAlign":49},[134335,134337],{"text":134336,"type":596},"Similar to the trends",{"text":134338,"type":596},"identified in the e-waste industry, these inefficient collection rates are indicative of substantial gaps existing in the li-ion supply chain, specifically when batteries reach the end-of-lifecycle stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":134340,"content":134341},{"textAlign":49},[134342],{"text":134343,"type":596},"In the context of li-ion battery recycling, it is imperative that generators have low cost, proximal, and technologically advanced recycling methods, in order to avoid the historical challenges in the e-waste industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":134345,"content":134346},{"textAlign":49},[134347],{"text":134348,"type":596},"RESOURCE RECOVERY TECHNOLOGY AND RECOVERY RATES",{"type":591,"attrs":134350,"content":134351},{"textAlign":49},[134352],{"text":134353,"type":596},"Once li-ion batteries reach recycling facilities today, the incumbent recycling technology uses high-temperature processing (i.e. >1,000°C, also known as smelting, a pyrometallurgical method) to recycle li-ion batteries. Smelting typically recovers 30-40% of the constituent materials in li-ion batteries. The residual 60-70% is either volatilised, cleaned and emitted to the atmosphere, or ends up in solid waste (i.e. slag).",{"type":591,"attrs":134355,"content":134356},{"textAlign":49},[134357,134359],{"text":134358,"type":596},"Smelting",{"text":134360,"type":596},"specifically targets the recovery of the base metals in li-ion batteries – cobalt, nickel and copper – with only proportions recovered thereof. Critical materials such as lithium are not economically recoverable via smelting. Low recoveries result in an impartially closed li-ion battery supply chain loop.",{"type":591,"attrs":134362,"content":134363},{"textAlign":49},[134364],{"text":134365,"type":596},"Counter to the existing pyrometallurgical technology typically used in the processing of end-of-life li-ion batteries today, there is a proprietary, patent-pending mechanical and hydrometallurgical (wet-chemistry) process that allows for recovery rates of 80-100% of all battery constituent materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":134367,"content":134368},{"textAlign":49},[134369],{"text":134370,"type":596},"SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY",{"type":591,"attrs":134372,"content":134373},{"textAlign":49},[134374],{"text":134375,"type":596},"The need for recycling li-ion batteries at ‘mega’ scale is further compounded by the opportunity to recovery critical materials such as cobalt and lithium that may otherwise experience both extensive supply deficits in the near term as well as serious concerns regarding the transparency of their production and supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":134377,"content":134378},{"textAlign":49},[134379],{"text":134380,"type":596},"For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for more than 60% of global cobalt supplies. Some of the artisanal stream of cobalt production in the DRC has been documented to involve child labour and some of it controlled by insurgent militias. Moreover, 98% of cobalt is mined as a by-product of copper and nickel, and hence cobalt supply is often unable to respond to rapid changes in demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":134382,"content":134383},{"textAlign":49},[134384],{"text":134385,"type":596},"Vehicle and battery manufacturers committed to the transition towards electrification are looking to secure a long-term supply of cobalt; however, the DRC-centric and inelastic supply dynamics of cobalt are difficult challenges to overcome.",{"type":591,"attrs":134387,"content":134388},{"textAlign":49},[134389],{"text":134390,"type":596},"By 2020, li-ion batteries are forecast to account for 60% of annual global production of cobalt. As battery and vehicle manufacturers ramp up their operations globally, cobalt supply has had trouble rapidly responding to demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":134392,"content":134393},{"textAlign":49},[134394],{"text":134395,"type":596},"Although there are a variety of companies exploring new primary mining sources of cobalt, it will likely take years to bring any new discovery into production. Manufacturers have sought long-term supplies of cobalt; however, the inelastic supply dynamics of cobalt have proven difficult to overcome.",{"type":591,"attrs":134397,"content":134398},{"textAlign":49},[134399,134401],{"text":134400,"type":596},"To mitigate risks and ensure high standards of social responsibility, manufacturers are actively looking to ensure provenance associated with DRC-sourced cobalt supply,",{"text":134402,"type":596},"while some are looking to diversify away from the region.",{"type":591,"attrs":134404,"content":134405},{"textAlign":49},[134406],{"text":134407,"type":596},"Could the recycling of li-ion batteries mitigate the current and near-term cobalt supply challenges? In short, yes – by 2025, li-ion battery recycling could meet approximately 20% of the forecasted global demand for cobalt. In turn, li-ion battery recycling will reduce the social and environmental impacts of artisanal mining in the DRC. Moreover, recycling can mitigate drastic price swings in cobalt and other critical materials, as well as the reliance on mining and refining into the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":134409,"content":134410},{"textAlign":49},[134411],{"text":134412,"type":596},"ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS",{"type":591,"attrs":134414,"content":134415},{"textAlign":49},[134416],{"text":134417,"type":596},"Recycling li-ion batteries at scale is a fundamental step in preventing them from reaching landfills and averting artisanal/small-scale recycling from causing even more negative environmental and human health impacts.",{"type":591,"attrs":134419,"content":134420},{"textAlign":49},[134421],{"text":134422,"type":596},"With an estimated 5% of li-ion batteries currently reaching recycling facilities globally, many are either being dangerously stockpiled or often become landfilled waste. Landfilled batteries have a greater opportunity to leach toxic heavy metals (e.g. nickel, manganese) into the surrounding environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":134424,"content":134425},{"textAlign":49},[134426],{"text":134427,"type":596},"These heavy metals can eventually make their way into our water systems and through the food chain, if left unaddressed. Artisanal recycling approaches (e.g. burning, uncontrolled washing with acid) typically lack environmental controls and are unsafe. Small-scale and informal recycling frequently pollutes the environment and causes serious human health risks in the process.",{"type":591,"attrs":134429,"content":134430},{"textAlign":49},[134431],{"text":134432,"type":596},"Relative to the incumbent resource technology for li-ion batteries (i.e smelting and refining), mechanical and hydrometallurgical (wet-chemistry) processing has a net environmental benefit due to reduced and cleaner air emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":134434,"content":134435},{"textAlign":49},[134436],{"text":134437,"type":596},"This process produces no primary off-gas/effluent gas streams that require significant cleaning prior to emission. Effluent gas streams from this process do not contain any heavy metals nor potentially harmful constituents such as SOx, which is typically produced by the same base smelters that are utilized to recycle li-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":134439,"content":134440},{"textAlign":49},[134441],{"text":134442,"type":596},"LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES HEALTH AND SAFETY",{"type":591,"attrs":134444,"content":134445},{"textAlign":49},[134446,134448],{"text":134447,"type":596},"Since 1991, 225 separate incidents occurred involving the combustion of lithium batteries",{"text":134449,"type":596},"on airlines. Thermal runaway, which is a term for an uncontrollable exothermic reaction that emits large amounts of heat, can occur in li-ion batteries when damaged or short circuited.",{"type":591,"attrs":134451,"content":134452},{"textAlign":49},[134453],{"text":134454,"type":596},"Disasters from uncontrolled thermal runaway can be devastating, even when caused by portable/small format li-ion batteries. For example, Rumpke’s recycling facility in Cincinnati (a general materials recovery facility/MRF) experienced 6 fires in 2016 alone due to consumers disposing of their batteries improperly.",{"type":591,"attrs":134456,"content":134457},{"textAlign":49},[134458],{"text":134459,"type":596},"LITHIUM-ION BATTERY AND THERMAL RUNAWAY FUNDAMENTALS",{"type":591,"attrs":134461,"content":134462},{"textAlign":49},[134463],{"text":134464,"type":596},"When considering the dangers of a li-ion battery cell, its fundamental workings and structure must be understood. A li-ion battery cell consists of the following:",{"type":591,"attrs":134466,"content":134467},{"textAlign":49},[134468],{"text":134469,"type":596},"To produce electricity, an oxidation reaction at the anode, releasing electrons. Simultaneously, a reduction reaction occurs at the cathode, allowing the cathode to receive the electrons released by the anode, forming an electrical circuit.",{"type":591,"attrs":134471,"content":134472},{"textAlign":49},[134473],{"text":134474,"type":596},"The anode and the cathode are isolated from each other via the separator, but over time, separators have the potential to wear down. Breaching of the separator causes high amounts of current to flow directly between the anode and cathode, short-circuiting the cell and producing tremendous amounts of trapped thermal energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":134476,"content":134477},{"textAlign":49},[134478],{"text":134479,"type":596},"At the onset of thermal runaway, battery cells heat in seconds from room temperature to approximately 700°C, eventually breaking down the components of the electrolyte, such as methane, ethane, and ethene, into flammable and toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen gas.",{"type":591,"attrs":134481,"content":134482},{"textAlign":49},[134483],{"text":134484,"type":596},"The cathode begins to decompose, releasing oxygen. When the flammable electrolyte gases react with oxygen in the presence of heat, combustion occurs. The risk for explosion increases as the pressure in the cell builds.",{"type":591,"attrs":134486,"content":134487},{"textAlign":49},[134488],{"text":134489,"type":596},"Li-ion batteries have a dual chemical and electrical hazard, including the chemical hazards listed in the table above.",{"type":591,"attrs":134491,"content":134492},{"textAlign":49},[134493],{"text":134494,"type":596},"The United Nations classifies li-ion batteries as Class 9 Dangerous Goods, due to the dual hazard properties associated with their chemical and electrical properties. When handled without the proper controls, the risk of li-ion battery thermal runaway (i.e. leading to fire and possibly explosion) increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":134496,"content":134497},{"textAlign":49},[134498],{"text":134499,"type":596},"Similarly, stockpiling li-ion batteries in an uncontrolled environment can increase the risk of thermal runaway. Complying with the recycling legislation and regulations that surround li-ion batteries is essential to ensure their safe transport and disposition. Therefore, the appropriate handling of spent li-ion batteries through robust recycling supply chains at scale is necessary to ensure public safety.",{"type":591,"attrs":134501,"content":134502},{"textAlign":49},[134503],{"text":134504,"type":596},"LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SAFETY COMPARED TO OTHER ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY",{"type":591,"attrs":134506,"content":134507},{"textAlign":49},[134508],{"text":134509,"type":596},"Although it is important to be aware of the specific safety risks associated with li-ion batteries, technology cannot be assessed in a vacuum. The graph below puts into perspective the relative energy density between example energy storage mediums. Evidently, li-ion batteries have a much lower energy release potential compared to fuel that powers most of our current vehicles (i.e. gasoline).",{"type":591,"attrs":134511,"content":134512},{"textAlign":49},[134513],{"text":134514,"type":596},"Additionally, the wide use of li-ion batteries has led to continuous advancements of the mechanical and electrical design of the battery. Protection systems such as current control, heat protection, and temperature management have been implemented, and li-ion battery standards are enforced to prevent and mitigate hazards by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), International Electrochemical Commission (IEC), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).",{"type":591,"attrs":134516,"content":134517},{"textAlign":49},[134518],{"text":134519,"type":596},"LITHIUM ION RECYCLING ROLE IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY",{"type":591,"attrs":134521,"content":134522},{"textAlign":49},[134523],{"text":134524,"type":596},"Li-ion batteries will continue to electrify our world, now and into the foreseeable future. As a key driver of the transition away from a carbon-based economy, li-ion batteries are integral to the opportunity to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.",{"type":591,"attrs":134526,"content":134527},{"textAlign":49},[134528],{"text":134529,"type":596},"However, to ensure a truly positive impact over the lifecycle of li-ion batteries, we must ensure a closed-loop system is in place to safely handle and recycle spent li-ion batteries at scale. This will enable the reintegration of critical battery materials into the li-ion battery supply chain and the broader economy, while preventing negative environmental and safety impacts.",{"type":591,"attrs":134531,"content":134532},{"textAlign":49},[134533],{"text":134534,"type":596},"Li-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, industrial/utility/residential energy storage, and consumer electronic applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better recycle these batteries, and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":134536,"content":134537},{"textAlign":49},[134538],{"text":134539,"type":596},"Mechanical and hydrometallurgical processing used to recycle li-ion batteries will maximise the recovery of cobalt and other critical materials through recycling li-ion batteries, due to unparalleled recovery rate of up to 100% of all materials. Going forward, li-ion recycling will be a key element of the growing international movement towards zero carbon technologies as part of the circular economy.","As the costs of producing lithium ion batteries have dropped their use has increased dramatically. But it’s estimated that only 5% of lithium ion batteries are currently recycled. In this feature Ajay Kochhar, Co-founder, President and CEO of Li-Cycle, explores the barriers to lithium ion recycling and developments in processing technology. As the world trends […]",[134542],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134543},{"job_title":557,"image":134544,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c4c07f07-152a-46d5-b1e8-67f381f5748f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134547,134548,134549,134550,134551],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134553,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134554,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/56f283edf6/bm-istock-526918827-e1548683948453.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":134556,"uuid":134557,"name":134558,"slug":134559,"full_slug":134560,"content":134561},112474418023338,"d798897d-1799-47ce-ae15-bc637e0d8f76","China’s spherical graphite demand surges","chinas-spherical-graphite-demand-surges","article/chinas-spherical-graphite-demand-surges",{"_uid":134562,"date":134133,"tags":134563,"editor":134565,"content":134569,"excerpt":134654,"featured":50,"reporter":134655,"_editable":134659,"component":697,"seo_title":134558,"categories":134660,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134664,"seo_description":134654,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":134222},"87066004-e659-439a-b7e5-7d20c77a19d9",[134564],{"slug":575,"name":576},[134566],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134567},{"job_title":557,"image":134568,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":134570},[134571,134576,134581,134588,134593,134598,134604,134609,134614,134619,134626,134631,134639,134644,134649],{"type":591,"attrs":134572,"content":134573},{"textAlign":49},[134574],{"text":134575,"type":596},"China’s 2018 spherical graphite exports increased by 36% year-on-year as of the end of November 2018 as electric vehicle battery demand surges.",{"type":591,"attrs":134577,"content":134578},{"textAlign":49},[134579],{"text":134580,"type":596},"During October, Heilongjiang, China’s largest graphite producing region, reported production of over 90,000 tonnes of spherical graphite from Hegang, a number it seeks to increase to over 100,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) by 2020, with an additional 80,000 tpa targeted for anode supply. Expansion of this scale in one of the country’s key producing regions will further cement China’s dominance in the battery-grade graphite market. These figures should, however, be treated with caution as official numbers are often overstated.",{"type":591,"attrs":134582,"content":134583},{"textAlign":49},[134584,134586],{"text":134585,"type":596},"Heilongjiang’s provincial government announced updated figures for production from the Hegang region in October, reporting",{"text":134587,"type":596},"flake concentrate production increases of 23% for the year, and a 117% increase in uncoated spherical graphite production. The region is reportedly aiming to increase its flake graphite concentrate production capacity to over 500,000 tpa by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":134589,"content":134590},{"textAlign":49},[134591],{"text":134592,"type":596},"In reality the situation in Heilongjiang has been under significant pressure from environmental restrictions through 2018 and processing has been restricted, often seeing low-carbon material being transported to other regions for processing which can often lead to double-counting.",{"type":591,"attrs":134594,"content":134595},{"textAlign":49},[134596],{"text":134597,"type":596},"There has undoubtedly been a push towards value-added processing and, in particular, anode precursor production. Production expansions have been supported in 2018 by rapidly increasing prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":134599,"content":134600},{"textAlign":49},[134601,134602],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":134603,"type":596},"saw a sharp price increase for spherical graphite during 2018, during which 15 micron",{"type":591,"attrs":134605,"content":134606},{"textAlign":49},[134607],{"text":134608,"type":596},"uncoated material (99.95%) prices were up 20% for the calendar year, on average. However, the rapid price increases seen for spherical graphite grades through 2018 occurred mostly in the first half of the year and by mid-Q3 the majority of prices stabilised within existing ranges.",{"type":591,"attrs":134610,"content":134611},{"textAlign":49},[134612],{"text":134613,"type":596},"1m EV target in sight",{"type":591,"attrs":134615,"content":134616},{"textAlign":49},[134617],{"text":134618,"type":596},"Battery demand growth was further underlined as China closed in on its 1m target for EV production this year. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported production of 1.27 million and sales of 1.256 million electric vehicles, up 59.9% and 61.7% for the year respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":134620,"content":134621},{"textAlign":49},[134622,134624],{"text":134623,"type":596},"In 2018, battery output was reported as 22.86 GWh, up over 50% year-on-year. However, utilisation rates are significantly lower than capacity and are becoming a growing concern considering that in H1 2018",{"text":134625,"type":596},"capacity was recorded as 91.87 GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":134627,"content":134628},{"textAlign":49},[134629],{"text":134630,"type":596},"This escalation in Chinese battery capacity output comes despite the transition period for subsidies in H1 2018. An adjustment in subsidy policy is set to be implemented again moving into 2019, with an announcement from the government expected in early-Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":134632,"content":134633},{"textAlign":49},[134634,134636,134637],{"text":134635,"type":596},"However, there have been tentative signs of the Chinese NEV boom slowing as the rate of growth has declined, but with China set to lead both the battery megafactory and EV stories, ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":134638,"type":596},"expects that demand for anode materials will continue to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":134640,"content":134641},{"textAlign":49},[134642],{"text":134643,"type":596},"Although supply and demand for spherical graphite is China-centric, the implications for international consumers is that securing anode materials may become increasingly challenging. Outside of China there is limited uncoated spherical graphite production in Japan and Korea but the volumes are negligible.",{"type":591,"attrs":134645,"content":134646},{"textAlign":49},[134647],{"text":134648,"type":596},"Further afield, Syrah Resources announced that it had achieved first production of spherical graphite at its Battery Anode Material (BAM) facility in Louisiana, USA. The BAM plant will initially have 5,000 tpa of capacity and in Q1 2019 will finalise their set up for batched processing of purified spherical graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":134650,"content":134651},{"textAlign":49},[134652],{"text":134653,"type":596},"The BAM project forms part of Syrah’s long-term strategy to develop spherical graphite outside of Asia as the supply chain expands to adapt to increased EV production. However, in the short-term it remains focused on low-cost flake graphite production. Its Balama mine in Mozambique produced 104,000 tonnes of flake graphite in 2018, with recovery rates increasing to 70% in Q4 2018 up from 53% in Q3. These updated figures follow on from a fire at the Balama project – the largest operation outside China – which led to the company falling short of its original 1 year target of between 140,000-160,000 tonnes of flake graphite production.","China’s 2018 spherical graphite exports increased by 36% year-on-year as of the end of November 2018 as electric vehicle battery demand surges. During October, Heilongjiang, China’s largest graphite producing region, reported production of over 90,000 tonnes of spherical graphite from Hegang, a number it seeks to increase to over 100,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) by […]",[134656],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134657},{"job_title":557,"image":134658,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"87066004-e659-439a-b7e5-7d20c77a19d9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134661,134662,134663],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134665,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134666,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b0bce0bfa9/bm-spherical-graphite-china.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":134668,"uuid":134669,"name":134670,"slug":134671,"full_slug":134672,"content":134673},112474413259689,"e8657528-9ad0-4ab1-bec7-ef6b76f4402b","SK Innovation plans new battery plant in Georgia: is N America catching up?","sk-innovation-plans-new-battery-plant-in-georgia-is-n-america-catching-up","article/sk-innovation-plans-new-battery-plant-in-georgia-is-n-america-catching-up",{"_uid":134674,"date":134133,"tags":134675,"editor":134676,"content":134680,"excerpt":134805,"featured":50,"reporter":134806,"_editable":134810,"component":697,"seo_title":134670,"categories":134811,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134814,"seo_description":134805,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":134222},"be06d55e-5c6e-41a0-a957-a7679b02cb54",[],[134677],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134678},{"job_title":557,"image":134679,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":134681},[134682,134687,134695,134700,134705,134710,134715,134720,134724,134729,134734,134742,134747,134752,134757,134762,134767,134772,134777,134782,134792,134797],{"type":591,"attrs":134683,"content":134684},{"textAlign":49},[134685],{"text":134686,"type":596},"In Q4 2018 SK Innovation (SKI) announced that it would be launching its first US-based battery plant in Commerce, Jackson County, Georgia. The company expects to begin production by 2022 with a total installed capacity of 9.8 GWh. The project is expected to cost KRW 1.98 trillion (approximately USD $1.8 billion).",{"type":591,"attrs":134688,"content":134689},{"textAlign":49},[134690,134692,134693],{"text":134691,"type":596},"Outside of the US in its battery plant in Seosan, Korea, SKI currently produces pouch cells for use in electric vehicles (EVs) and ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":134694,"type":596},"expects the Commerce plant to continue to use the same format. SKI suggested end-users of the pouch cells will include Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo, Hyundai and Kia.",{"type":591,"attrs":134696,"content":134697},{"textAlign":49},[134698],{"text":134699,"type":596},"The release of SKI’s battery plant plans closely followed its announcement with Volkswagen of a strategic partnership whereby SKI will supply VW with a portion of the batteries used in its European fleet from 2019, and will supply part of VW’s North American demand from 2022 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":134701,"content":134702},{"textAlign":49},[134703],{"text":134704,"type":596},"As with most EV makers, VW isn’t limiting itself to suppliers, which Dr. Stefan Sommer, Group Board Member responsible for Components and Procurement of Volkswagen AG, made clear when he said: “With SK Innovation, LG Chem, Samsung and CATL, we have found strong partners for the long-term supply of cells for our electric vehicles.”",{"type":591,"attrs":134706,"content":134707},{"textAlign":49},[134708],{"text":134709,"type":596},"It was only two weeks after this that SKI announced its new Georgia battery plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":134711,"content":134712},{"textAlign":49},[134713],{"text":134714,"type":596},"Its latest plant further commits SKI to the battery industry, having announced plants for China and Hungary earlier this year, and its total capacity will increase from currently an approximate 4 GWh to over 50 GWh in 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":134716,"content":134717},{"textAlign":49},[134718],{"text":134719,"type":596},"Currently SKI is a relative minnow in the battery game and lags behind the more established players such as South Korean peers LG Chem and Samsung as well as Panasonic, CATL and BYD internationally. Nonetheless 2018 has seen SKI begin to develop a pan-continental battery operation, setting up the company to exploit the booming EV market.",{"type":591,"attrs":134721,"content":134722},{"textAlign":49},[134723],{"text":924,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":134725,"content":134726},{"textAlign":49},[134727],{"text":134728,"type":596},"What are the implications for North America?",{"type":591,"attrs":134730,"content":134731},{"textAlign":49},[134732],{"text":134733,"type":596},"Notably, this is the first GWh scale US-based facility since the announcement of the BEI/Imperium3 plant in Endicott, New York.",{"type":591,"attrs":134735,"content":134736},{"textAlign":49},[134737,134738,134740],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":134739,"type":596},"’s data (as of 1 December 2018) shows that North America’s share of the megafactory pie leaps from 5.1% of capacity in 2017 to 11.4% of capacity in the pipeline by 2023 and then a modest increase to 12.3% of capacity in 2028. It’s important to note that the forward-looking numbers represent GWh capacity currently in the pipeline – there are likely to be announcements going forward that increase the forecast capacity. Typically battery plants take 3-5 years to become operational, so",{"text":134741,"type":596},"there’s still scope for significant capacity changes.",{"type":591,"attrs":134743,"content":134744},{"textAlign":49},[134745],{"text":134746,"type":596},"It’s also important to note that over that period the capacity will increase from 154.3 GWh in 2017 to 1,321.7 GWh in the pipeline by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":134748,"content":134749},{"textAlign":49},[134750],{"text":134751,"type":596},"North America’s share of megafactory capacity is set to more than double in the next decade and over that period capacity is set to increase by over 700%.",{"type":591,"attrs":134753,"content":134754},{"textAlign":49},[134755],{"text":134756,"type":596},"Europe v North America",{"type":591,"attrs":134758,"content":134759},{"textAlign":49},[134760],{"text":134761,"type":596},"While the pipeline GWh capacity for 2023 shows North America with 91 GWh and Europe with 89 GWh, by 2028, Europe is set to lead with a share of 13.1% compared with North America’s 12.3%.",{"type":591,"attrs":134763,"content":134764},{"textAlign":49},[134765],{"text":134766,"type":596},"Whereas the capacity in Europe by 2028 is looking to be split between eight plants, the US is currently set for five – boosted by the SKI Commerce plant. Not only does the US have fewer plants but the difference in output differs greatly.By 2028 Tesla is set to dominate, with over 100 GWh in pipeline capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":134768,"content":134769},{"textAlign":49},[134770],{"text":134771,"type":596},"This figure is more than the rest of the North American Megafactories GWh capacity added together.",{"type":591,"attrs":134773,"content":134774},{"textAlign":49},[134775],{"text":134776,"type":596},"China is way ahead",{"type":591,"attrs":134778,"content":134779},{"textAlign":49},[134780],{"text":134781,"type":596},"But for North America and Europe there is an elephant in the room: China. The SKI battery plant may be big news for North America but compared to developments in the Chinese battery megafactory scene it is by no means significant. Considering that the USA is home to Tesla’s Gigafactory 1, which was the first megafactory of its type in 2014, China’s battery megafactory pipeline is impressive.",{"type":591,"attrs":134783,"content":134784},{"textAlign":49},[134785,134787,134789,134790],{"text":134786,"type":596},"While the SKI Georgia factory is significant in the USA with 9.8GWh installed capacity, Wanxiang Group’s announcement in Q4 was of a considerably larger scale. The company outlined plans to build an 80 GWh cell production facility in the company’s home city of Hangzhou, China, with an expected total investment of RMB 68.6 billion ($9.9 billion USD). This will add to the",{"text":134788,"type":596},"5GWh of capacity which it already has in the city. ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":134791,"type":596},"expects that the plant will have an installed capacity of 24 GWh by 2023, increasing to 64 GWh by 2028.",{"type":591,"attrs":134793,"content":134794},{"textAlign":49},[134795],{"text":134796,"type":596},"Outside of China, we estimated there to be approximately 25% of worldwide battery capacity in the rest of Asia in 2017, split between Japan and Korea. However, while Japan and South Korea currently come in second place to China, by 2023 their GWh capacity is set to be overtaken by both Europe and the USA. Although Korea and Japan are hosts to battery majors, we will see limited capacity expansions or new factories when compared with the rest of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":134798,"content":134799},{"textAlign":49},[134800,134802,134803],{"text":134801,"type":596},"Based on ",{"text":130806,"type":596},{"text":134804,"type":596},"’ November Megafactory Assessment, by 2028 we expect to see the rest of Asia’s share fall to 8.4% of global capacity. This weakness is due to higher costs of production relative to China, which is set to dominate the battery megafactory scene for the coming decade.","In Q4 2018 SK Innovation (SKI) announced that it would be launching its first US-based battery plant in Commerce, Jackson County, Georgia. The company expects to begin production by 2022 with a total installed capacity of 9.8 GWh. The project is expected to cost KRW 1.98 trillion (approximately USD $1.8 billion). Outside of the US […]",[134807],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134808},{"job_title":557,"image":134809,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"be06d55e-5c6e-41a0-a957-a7679b02cb54\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134812,134813],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134815,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134816,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/990e57524d/bm-vw-ev-factory.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":134818,"uuid":134819,"name":134820,"slug":134821,"full_slug":134822,"content":134823},112474403498918,"72cf24a1-ad22-489c-8fec-7af3133d1a38","Lithium hard-rock dominance to extend beyond 2021","lithium-hard-rock-dominance-to-extend-beyond-2021","article/lithium-hard-rock-dominance-to-extend-beyond-2021",{"_uid":134824,"date":134133,"tags":134825,"editor":134826,"content":134830,"excerpt":134973,"featured":50,"reporter":134974,"_editable":134978,"component":697,"seo_title":134820,"categories":134979,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":134983,"seo_description":134973,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":134222},"9ee9123a-95f8-4d84-9545-6cace46d117a",[],[134827],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134828},{"job_title":557,"image":134829,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":134831},[134832,134837,134842,134847,134852,134857,134862,134867,134872,134877,134882,134887,134892,134897,134902,134907,134912,134917,134924,134929,134934,134939,134946,134951,134958,134963,134968],{"type":591,"attrs":134833,"content":134834},{"textAlign":49},[134835],{"text":134836,"type":596},"Lithium’s hard-rock expansions are set to continue beyond 2021 after Albemarle and Mineral Resources agreed a $1.15 billion deal in Q4 2018. The agreement will see Western Australia’s Mineral Resources sell a stake of its Wodgina project to Albemarle, establishing a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":134838,"content":134839},{"textAlign":49},[134840],{"text":134841,"type":596},"Under the joint venture the Wodgina mine will produce spodumene concentrate, which will ultimately be processed into battery grade lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":134843,"content":134844},{"textAlign":49},[134845],{"text":134846,"type":596},"Albemarle said that once ramp-up of the spodumene concentration plant is complete, it expects the Wodgina processing plant to produce the 100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of LCE, split over two 50,000 tpa stages. The two parties will jointly fund the construction of the lithium hydroxide conversion plant, which will be designed by Albemarle, with production and sales beginning in 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":134848,"content":134849},{"textAlign":49},[134850],{"text":134851,"type":596},"These announcements are in addition to Albemarle’s existing ‘wave 1’ and ‘wave 2’ expansion plans for its facilities in Chile and China.",{"type":591,"attrs":134853,"content":134854},{"textAlign":49},[134855],{"text":134856,"type":596},"The JV will also shift Albemarle’s expansion plans firmly towards lithium hydroxide, adding to increased production at Greenbushes and its new lithium hydroxide conversion facilities in China and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":134858,"content":134859},{"textAlign":49},[134860],{"text":134861,"type":596},"Kidman settles deal",{"type":591,"attrs":134863,"content":134864},{"textAlign":49},[134865],{"text":134866,"type":596},"December saw more positive news for Western Australian spodumene expansions as Kidman Resources agreed to settle a deal which could have scuppered the company’s Mt Holland development.",{"type":591,"attrs":134868,"content":134869},{"textAlign":49},[134870],{"text":134871,"type":596},"There was a risk that Kidman could have lost 13 tenements, which form part of the Mt Holland project, over a dispute around the company’s failure to meet minimum spending requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":134873,"content":134874},{"textAlign":49},[134875],{"text":134876,"type":596},"Martin Donohue, Kidman’s Managing Director and CEO said, “this settlement resolves this matter completely. With the settlement concluded, funding secured through to final investment decision and our recent lithium hydroxide offtake agreements with Tesla, Inc. and Mitsui & Co. Ltd, we will be able to wholly focus on progressing the development of the Mt Holland Lithium Project.”",{"type":591,"attrs":134878,"content":134879},{"textAlign":49},[134880],{"text":134881,"type":596},"The resolution of the dispute activated payments from SQM of USD $25 million directly to Kidman and USD $60 million to the two companies’ joint venture. The project is scheduled for first production in 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":134883,"content":134884},{"textAlign":49},[134885],{"text":134886,"type":596},"The news will come as a relief to SQM considering their decision in August 2018 to sell their 50% stake in Lithium Americas to Ganfeng Lithium for US $87.5 million.",{"type":591,"attrs":134888,"content":134889},{"textAlign":49},[134890],{"text":134891,"type":596},"2018 was a busy year for Kidman as it secured a series of offtake agreements. This began with the company agreeing a 3-year binding offtake agreement with Tesla for up to 25% of initial production in May. Then in November Kidman agreed an offtake with Japan’s Mitsui for up to 15% of Kidman’s share of production in November, which is initially agreed for two years with the option to extend. Finally, the year finished with the company announcing a 10-year initial agreement with LG Chem to supply lithium hydroxide. The deal with LG Chem, which is expected to be finalised in July 2019, will see Kidman supply the Korean battery giant with 12,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":134893,"content":134894},{"textAlign":49},[134895],{"text":134896,"type":596},"What about brine?",{"type":591,"attrs":134898,"content":134899},{"textAlign":49},[134900],{"text":134901,"type":596},"The shift by major brine producers to diversify production towards spodumene speaks of the growing momentum towards lithium hydroxide, which when produced directly from spodumene can offer a more cost competitive processing route.",{"type":591,"attrs":134903,"content":134904},{"textAlign":49},[134905],{"text":134906,"type":596},"Despite this shift in the supply chain, it is important to note that in today’s market brine still remains the low-cost source of lithium, but it is largely the new royalty structure in Chile which has opened the door for the potential cost competitiveness of integrated hydroxide production from spodumene.",{"type":591,"attrs":134908,"content":134909},{"textAlign":49},[134910],{"text":134911,"type":596},"Chilean lithium from the Atacama remains low-cost, but political and regulatory uncertainty is leading the push for supply diversification. The Chilean government’s mining royalties are something that producers will take into account. The table below shows the royalties Albemarle is paying, which illustrates the challenges producers face.",{"type":591,"attrs":134913,"content":134914},{"textAlign":49},[134915],{"text":134916,"type":596},"The royalty payments are not the only political issue facing producers in Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":134918,"content":134919},{"textAlign":49},[134920,134922],{"text":134921,"type":596},"Albemarle is currently engaged in a contract dispute with the Chilean state development agency CORFO. For now, CORFO has delayed",{"text":134923,"type":596},"beginning arbitration proceedings while it awaits a revised settlement offer from Albemarle.",{"type":591,"attrs":134925,"content":134926},{"textAlign":49},[134927],{"text":134928,"type":596},"While these issues have opened the door for greater spodumene expansions, it is important to note that it is still only integrated spodumene converters that will likely be able to compete on a cost basis with brine operators, due to current high spodumene pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":134930,"content":134931},{"textAlign":49},[134932],{"text":134933,"type":596},"Spodumene rocking the lithium market",{"type":591,"attrs":134935,"content":134936},{"textAlign":49},[134937],{"text":134938,"type":596},"With regular news coming out of the Western Australia’s spodumene scene it is easy to miss how quickly it has developed. In 2016 there was just one Australian hard-rock mine producing spodumene in Australia – Talison Lithium’s Greenbushes mine (a JV between Albemarle and Tianqi) – but today there are seven.",{"type":591,"attrs":134940,"content":134941},{"textAlign":49},[134942,134944],{"text":134943,"type":596},"The four companies that had announced spodumene concentrate production in 2018 have all already",{"text":134945,"type":596},"met significant milestones:",{"type":591,"attrs":134947,"content":134948},{"textAlign":49},[134949],{"text":134950,"type":596},"This rapid expansion of the spodumene supply chain was, in recent years, driven by an urgent need to bring new feedstock material into the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":134952,"content":134953},{"textAlign":49},[134954,134956],{"text":134955,"type":596},"However, the ongoing investment",{"text":134957,"type":596},"into spodumene growth post-2021 is largely attributed to OEMs’ current preference for hydroxide-based cathode chemistries used in lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":134959,"content":134960},{"textAlign":49},[134961],{"text":134962,"type":596},"Current trends in cathode chemistry are shifting towards higher-nickel content such as NCM 811 and NCA.",{"type":591,"attrs":134964,"content":134965},{"textAlign":49},[134966],{"text":134967,"type":596},"For these types of nickel-intensive chemistries, lithium hydroxide is required as an input as it provides greater stability in the chemistry, meaning that the race has begun to supply an area of the market which is expected to experience much stronger growth, relative to lithium carbonate which dominates the market today.",{"type":591,"attrs":134969,"content":134970},{"textAlign":49},[134971],{"text":134972,"type":596},"While difficulties over South American expansions have opened the door for spodumene producers to play a leading role in supplying this growth, even hard rock expansions have a long way to go to meet the demand needs of lithium’s battery superpowers.","Lithium’s hard-rock expansions are set to continue beyond 2021 after Albemarle and Mineral Resources agreed a $1.15 billion deal in Q4 2018. The agreement will see Western Australia’s Mineral Resources sell a stake of its Wodgina project to Albemarle, establishing a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. Under the joint venture the Wodgina mine […]",[134975],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134976},{"job_title":557,"image":134977,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9ee9123a-95f8-4d84-9545-6cace46d117a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[134980,134981,134982],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":134984,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":134985,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bba06393d7/bm-amg-spodumene-e1548706905420.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":134987,"uuid":134988,"name":134989,"slug":134990,"full_slug":134991,"content":134992},112474456992693,"3010c56a-7e4a-46e3-89a5-7460259e8b01","Recycling is Getting Serious","recycling-is-getting-serious","article/recycling-is-getting-serious",{"_uid":134993,"date":134994,"tags":134995,"editor":134996,"content":135000,"excerpt":135187,"featured":50,"reporter":135188,"_editable":135192,"component":697,"seo_title":134989,"categories":135193,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":135198,"seo_description":135187,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":135201},"cb1038a3-7cae-4d56-a7bf-425e162a9895","2018-10-19 00:00",[],[134997],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":134998},{"job_title":557,"image":134999,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":135001},[135002,135007,135012,135017,135022,135027,135032,135037,135042,135047,135052,135057,135062,135069,135074,135079,135084,135089,135094,135101,135106,135111,135116,135121,135126,135131,135138,135143,135148,135153,135160,135165,135170,135177,135182],{"type":615,"attrs":135003,"content":135004},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[135005],{"text":135006,"type":596},"The battery recycling industry is becoming increasingly relevant. In this feature Hans Eric Melin explores the global market and its regional variations",{"type":591,"attrs":135008,"content":135009},{"textAlign":49},[135010],{"text":135011,"type":596},"Compared to the rapidly increasing volume of lithium-ion batteries that exist in the market the proportion that are recycled remains very small. Yet, recycled materials are becoming increasingly important for the lithium-ion battery supply chain and for some material producers recycling is a key component in their supply chain strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":135013,"content":135014},{"textAlign":49},[135015],{"text":135016,"type":596},"And it’s Asia that’s taken the lead.",{"type":591,"attrs":135018,"content":135019},{"textAlign":49},[135020],{"text":135021,"type":596},"Circular Energy Storage concludes that 179,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries (at the cell level) will reach end-of-life in 2018. 83 per cent of this will be batteries from portable devices such as laptops, smartphones and power tools.",{"type":591,"attrs":135023,"content":135024},{"textAlign":49},[135025],{"text":135026,"type":596},"Only 20,000 tonnes will come from electric vehicles, primarily from buses in China. The main reason for the low tonnage is that electric vehicles have been on the market for less than 10 years and the batteries have proven to last much longer than many expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":135028,"content":135029},{"textAlign":49},[135030],{"text":135031,"type":596},"However, that batteries reach end-of-life does not necessarily mean that they will be available for recycling. Both batteries used in electronics and industrial batteries used in vehicles will in fact often be used again, either in similar applications or repurposed in so-called second life applications. For example, electric vehicle (EV) batteries are often used for stationary energy storage or backup power solutions.",{"type":591,"attrs":135033,"content":135034},{"textAlign":49},[135035],{"text":135036,"type":596},"China & South Korea lead the way",{"type":591,"attrs":135038,"content":135039},{"textAlign":49},[135040],{"text":135041,"type":596},"Compared to the 179,000 tonnes that reach end-of-life, 97,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries will be recycled in 2018. More than 90 per cent will come from portable devices. Many of these batteries have been circulating in several devices before they end up in the recycling bin.",{"type":591,"attrs":135043,"content":135044},{"textAlign":49},[135045],{"text":135046,"type":596},"Lithium-ion batteries today are built-in and rarely removed by the user but by professional repair or refurbishment companies. Together these companies form a fast-growing industry which is centred in Southeast China to where smartphones, tablets and laptops are shipped from the rest of the world and then back to new users. However, components, including batteries, that are not fit for purpose will be sold to recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":135048,"content":135049},{"textAlign":49},[135050],{"text":135051,"type":596},"This flow of batteries has benefited the Chinese recycling industry for many years. Not only are the volumes larger than anywhere else but the batteries are usually well sorted into different shapes and chemistries. This has made it worthwhile to use recycling methods that elsewhere haven’t been used due to the difficult pre-processing and sorting required. These methods, which are often hydrometallurgical and similar to what is already used in the mining industry, have made it possible to produce significantly better end-products.",{"type":591,"attrs":135053,"content":135054},{"textAlign":49},[135055],{"text":135056,"type":596},"China has a long tradition in recycling. When Shenzhen became a free economic zone in the early eighties scrap and waste materials were sometimes the only raw materials available for the new industries that didn’t have the scale of the state-owned giants. For many years scrap from cars and electronics in Europe and North America was used to produce copper, steel and brass.",{"type":591,"attrs":135058,"content":135059},{"textAlign":49},[135060],{"text":135061,"type":596},"Many battery material companies have started in a similar way. GEM, which today is one of the leading cathode manufacturers in the world, started as a collector and processor of waste electronics and batteries. The company could obtain much higher value for its recycled material but also achieved a position in the materials industry that would be hard if they were to source only virgin material.",{"type":591,"attrs":135063,"content":135064},{"textAlign":49},[135065,135067],{"text":135066,"type":596},"Since GEM, Guangdong Brunp (which now is partly owned by CATL) and a few other companies started to recycle lithium-ion batteries there has been a veritable boom inthe industry. Circular Energy Storage follows 25 companies that either operate or plan to operate lithium-ion battery recycling plants today. About half of these are material producers that can use the recycling processes to process their own production scrap, but also secure an alternative source",{"text":135068,"type":596},"of raw material for their production. The other half can benefit from China’s leading position in cells and battery materials, which both creates an important feedstock of production scrap and obsolete products but also constitutes an end-market ready to pay for high grade materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":135070,"content":135071},{"textAlign":49},[135072],{"text":135073,"type":596},"Similar conditions, and access to a production scrap and a profitable end-market, have also helped several South Korean recyclers to obtain a similar position. Through close cooperation with the recycler Sung Eel, the steelmaker Posco has become an important player in the lithium market. While South Korea lacks the position as a hub for refurbishment and remanufacturing of electronic devices the country has less strict regulations around the import of waste. This has enabled imports of waste batteries from the whole world, driven by better prices downstream for the recyclers.",{"type":591,"attrs":135075,"content":135076},{"textAlign":49},[135077],{"text":135078,"type":596},"All together this has made China and South Korea the leading countries in battery recycling. Of the 97,000 tonnes, to be recycled this year we estimate that more than 67,000 tonnes will be recycled in China while 18,000 tonnes will be recycled in South Korea. It’s equivalent to 86 per cent of the global market.",{"type":591,"attrs":135080,"content":135081},{"textAlign":49},[135082],{"text":135083,"type":596},"And it’s a market that is becoming fairly sizeable. In 2018 the value of the end-of-life market for lithium-ion batteries is expected to exceed $1.3 billion USD, of which $1.1 billion will come from recovery of materials while around $230 million from repair, refurbishment and preparations for reuse of industrial batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":135085,"content":135086},{"textAlign":49},[135087],{"text":135088,"type":596},"Raw materials markets affected",{"type":591,"attrs":135090,"content":135091},{"textAlign":49},[135092],{"text":135093,"type":596},"The market is also having an impact on the raw materials market. In 2018 the amount of cobalt extracted from recycled material is expected to exceed 14,000 tonnes which will be refined into both industrial and battery grade material. Most of this material will be used in processors’ own material production, hence it will not be available to the wider market and not only visible in trade data.",{"type":591,"attrs":135095,"content":135096},{"textAlign":49},[135097,135099],{"text":135098,"type":596},"There will be more than 12,000 tonnes",{"text":135100,"type":596},"of lithium (converted to lithium carbonate equivalents) available for recyclers. However, only around 5,000 tonnes of this is expected to be extracted due to low efficiencies and processes incapable of lithium recovery. But the number is a significant increase from 2017 and is expected to increase further as more lithium recovery processes are coming online.",{"type":591,"attrs":135102,"content":135103},{"textAlign":49},[135104],{"text":135105,"type":596},"Still this is only the beginning. With the explosive growth in the battery market the end-of-life volumes and the amounts that will become available for recycling is expected to grow at a similar pace. In 2025, the market for recycling is expected to grow to $3.5 billion USD.",{"type":591,"attrs":135107,"content":135108},{"textAlign":49},[135109],{"text":135110,"type":596},"By this time the market is expected to generate more than 30,000 tonnes of lithium LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) and 34,000 tonnes of cobalt. And like now, more than 87 per cent is expected to be generated in China and South Korea.",{"type":591,"attrs":135112,"content":135113},{"textAlign":49},[135114],{"text":135115,"type":596},"However, not all value is attributed to the end-market. A not insignificant amount of this value will be distributed down to companies involved in collection, sorting, transportation and preparations for recycling and reuse in Europe, North America and Japan from where as much as half of the processed batteries are imported.",{"type":591,"attrs":135117,"content":135118},{"textAlign":49},[135119],{"text":135120,"type":596},"Challenges outside of Asia",{"type":591,"attrs":135122,"content":135123},{"textAlign":49},[135124],{"text":135125,"type":596},"The players that face the biggest challenge are the recyclers, especially in Europe and North America. Although both the volumes of batteries and local production capacity will increase, recyclers in Europe and North America will have to compete with Asian companies with positive cash flow, economies of scale, experience and proximity to buyers which might be a difficult task.",{"type":591,"attrs":135127,"content":135128},{"textAlign":49},[135129],{"text":135130,"type":596},"Both Europe and North America have better prerequisites for second life solutions. Batteries that have been used in electric vehicles will still be usable in both backup and energy storage solutions. Some of the companies that sold early electric cars to the market, such as Nissan, Renault and BMW, have built up energy storage capacity which exceeds the amount of batteries that have reached end-of-life and have proven scaleable business models. This not only enables them to secure additional value from the batteries but it will help them build positions in completely new markets, generating new revenue streams.",{"type":591,"attrs":135132,"content":135133},{"textAlign":49},[135134,135136],{"text":135135,"type":596},"Also, the second life market will be dominated by China. This is because China has provided more than half of the world’s lithium-ion capacity, not least through",{"text":135137,"type":596},"the ambitious roll out of electric buses. In 2025 the installed capacity of second life applications is expected to reach 42 GWh, of which 80 per cent will be in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":135139,"content":135140},{"textAlign":49},[135141],{"text":135142,"type":596},"Compared to forecasts of energy storage, second life installations could represent only a little less than 50 per cent of the total installed capacity. However, the market for second life batteries is much larger than only energy storage. In China, most second life batteries are modified to serve as backup power in base stations, replacing lead-acid batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":135144,"content":135145},{"textAlign":49},[135146],{"text":135147,"type":596},"Other segments that are expected to use second life batteries are EV-charging stations and various back-up solutions that previously have been served by lead-acid batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":135149,"content":135150},{"textAlign":49},[135151],{"text":135152,"type":596},"The profitability of the second life sector is expected to increase as more products and service concepts, which already at launch are prepared for second life, are reaching the market. Companies like CATL, BAIC and Proterra are some of the companies that have come a long way and which are expected to profit from circular models where money is made from the batteries several times during their lifetime.",{"type":591,"attrs":135154,"content":135155},{"textAlign":49},[135156,135158],{"text":135157,"type":596},"Improved technology for monitoring, diagnostics and management of battery packs, and increased standardisation of",{"text":135159,"type":596},"module and pack design, will further increase the lifecycle of the battery packs. It will also spark new business models based on more efficient use of the batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":135161,"content":135162},{"textAlign":49},[135163],{"text":135164,"type":596},"The biggest challenge for companies involved in second life is to control the return flows of the batteries. As lithium-ion batteries have proved to be a valuable asset, instead of an expected liability, many car companies lack the mechanisms to get hold of the batteries that now are owned by the users, or by insurance companies if the vehicles have been involved in a crash.",{"type":591,"attrs":135166,"content":135167},{"textAlign":49},[135168],{"text":135169,"type":596},"Here technology will play its part. Intelligent battery management systems that can remotely determine the state of health of the batteries might be used to propose earlier upgrades, enabling the car companies to both secure the access to batteries and sell new ones.",{"type":591,"attrs":135171,"content":135172},{"textAlign":49},[135173,135175],{"text":135174,"type":596},"For the recycling industry, the biggest challenge will be to scale up recycling of lithium iron phosphate or LFP batteries. Until 2015 basically all EV batteries in China placed on the market were LFP. Stationary energy storage systems worldwide, like industrial automation and lithium-ion based backup systems, are also large sources of LFP batteries. In a first wave the packs will be",{"text":135176,"type":596},"used in second life solutions. But eventually they need to be recycled. A few specialised companies in China are currently building up capacity and there is also some appetite for the batteries from lithium specialists like Ganfeng and Tianqi. In the rest of the world there is, however, no know initiative to target this chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":135178,"content":135179},{"textAlign":49},[135180],{"text":135181,"type":596},"What definitely can be concluded is that the mountain of battery waste that researchers and the media have warned of is nothing to worry about. With volume comes knowledge about the value, treatment routes and application alternatives. Like in the mining industry this might also attract businesses that don’t follow safety procedures or offer a state-of-the-art working environment. Also, transportation of batteries will be, or already is, an issue.",{"type":591,"attrs":135183,"content":135184},{"textAlign":49},[135185],{"text":135186,"type":596},"But there are very few issues that can’t be solved. Lithium-ion battery recycling is already an important activity and several material companies rely on it for their own production. It will only become more important.","The battery recycling industry is becoming increasingly relevant. In this feature Hans Eric Melin explores the global market and its regional variations Compared to the rapidly increasing volume of lithium-ion batteries that exist in the market the proportion that are recycled remains very small. Yet, recycled materials are becoming increasingly important for the lithium-ion battery […]",[135189],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135190},{"job_title":557,"image":135191,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cb1038a3-7cae-4d56-a7bf-425e162a9895\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[135194,135195,135196,135197],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":10192,"name":10193},{"slug":10195,"name":10196},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":135199,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":135200,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d6746d1523/bm-screen-shot-2018-10-19-at-023942.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 19, 2018",{"id":135203,"uuid":135204,"name":135205,"slug":135206,"full_slug":135207,"content":135208},112474471349176,"97149de9-d905-47b5-924c-30adc2bf11e8","Canadian Charge","canadian-charge","article/canadian-charge",{"_uid":135209,"date":135210,"tags":135211,"editor":135213,"content":135217,"excerpt":135528,"featured":50,"reporter":135529,"_editable":135533,"component":697,"seo_title":135205,"categories":135534,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":135537,"seo_description":135528,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":135539},"9905a938-1d3a-4d29-a780-b41c2bf0a973","2018-10-17 00:00",[135212],{"slug":3254,"name":3255},[135214],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135215},{"job_title":557,"image":135216,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":135218},[135219,135224,135229,135234,135241,135246,135251,135256,135263,135268,135273,135278,135285,135290,135296,135301,135306,135313,135318,135323,135328,135333,135338,135344,135349,135356,135361,135366,135371,135377,135384,135389,135394,135400,135405,135410,135415,135420,135425,135430,135438,135443,135448,135453,135459,135464,135471,135477,135482,135488,135493,135498,135503,135512,135517,135522],{"type":615,"attrs":135220,"content":135221},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[135222],{"text":135223,"type":596},"Nemaksa Lithium is going through a defining year. It has raised in excess of one billion dollars, welcomed Softbank as a major backer, and is the next major lithium mine in line.",{"type":615,"attrs":135225,"content":135226},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[135227],{"text":135228,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence speaks with President and CEO, Guy Bourassa, on Nemaska’s 8-year path to becoming a major component in lithium’s 21st century supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":135230,"content":135231},{"textAlign":49},[135232],{"text":135233,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: 2018 has been a busy year for Nemaska. Imagine looking back in ten years’ time, would you say this has been the year that has defined the company?",{"type":591,"attrs":135235,"content":135236},{"textAlign":49},[135237,135239],{"text":135238,"type":596},"Guy Bourassa: ",{"text":135240,"type":596},"2018 has definitely been a transformational year for Nemaska Lithium. On top of confirming our capacity to produce a high purity lithium hydroxide from our phase 1 electrochemical plant, we raised a total of CAD 1.1 billion to build our commercial project and have transitioned from being a lithium exploration company, to developer and soon to be lithium producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":135242,"content":135243},{"textAlign":49},[135244],{"text":135245,"type":596},"We have expanded our team significantly and now sit at close to 100 full time employees that are committed to building and operating a lithium mine and state of the art electrochemical plant in Shawinigan, both in the province of Quebec, Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":135247,"content":135248},{"textAlign":49},[135249],{"text":135250,"type":596},"Construction advances daily and we are making constant progress at both sites. In addition, we continue to supply Johnson Matthey with lithium hydroxide from our phase 1 plant. That plant is not only a training tool for our employees it is an excellent marketing tool enabling us to engage customers with high quality lithium hydroxide that is reflective of the products from our commercial operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":135252,"content":135253},{"textAlign":49},[135254],{"text":135255,"type":596},"Benchmark: Nemaska is on track for spodumene concentrate output by 2019 and lithium salts production by 2020. How much of your future production is already locked up in supply deals and do you have plans for selling lithium to the spot market?",{"type":591,"attrs":135257,"content":135258},{"textAlign":49},[135259,135261],{"text":135260,"type":596},"GB: ",{"text":135262,"type":596},"To date we have signed four firm take or pay off take agreements with large and credible end users totalling approximately 24,000 tonnes of LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent). These multi-year supply agreements were signed with Johnson Matthey, FMC, LG Chem and Northvolt.",{"type":591,"attrs":135264,"content":135265},{"textAlign":49},[135266],{"text":135267,"type":596},"With these offtake agreements, and taking into account the right of first offer granted to SoftBank Group to purchase up to 20% of production, Nemaska Lithium has now committed over 90% of its anticipated 33,000 tonnes/y LCE capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":135269,"content":135270},{"textAlign":49},[135271],{"text":135272,"type":596},"We continue to field inbound calls looking for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate from new and existing customers. Given the demand for high quality battery grade lithium chemicals we are evaluating the market and considering expansion options once the Shawinigan electrochemical plant and Whabouchi lithium mine are up and running.",{"type":591,"attrs":135274,"content":135275},{"textAlign":49},[135276],{"text":135277,"type":596},"Expansion can be financed through partnerships or from profits from production. The facility in Shawinigan is large enough to accommodate expansion. The Whabouchi mine capacity can also be expanded to match the Shawinigan capacity once additional permitting is in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":135279,"content":135280},{"textAlign":49},[135281,135283],{"text":135282,"type":596},"In addition, we continue to evaluate other lithium projects to feed Shawinigan or as possible acquisition targets for future expansion. Once in production we will be one of the ",{"text":135284,"type":596},"largest producers of lithium hydroxide globally and we intend to keep and increase our market share in lithium hydroxide which is where we see the most growth in lithium battery chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":135286,"content":135287},{"textAlign":49},[135288],{"text":135289,"type":596},"Benchmark: Nemaska’s new lithium units are not only coming from a new mine but also a new processing technology to make battery grade hydroxide. What have been the biggest challenges to overcome over the past 8 years? And why did Nemaska choose to go down this route instead of the conventional chemical methods?",{"type":591,"attrs":135291,"content":135292},{"textAlign":49},[135293,135294],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135295,"type":596},"Our biggest challenge over the past 8 years has been overcoming uncertainty by investors and customers over our proprietary method of producing lithium hydroxide. Indeed, this has also been our biggest strength and key differentiator in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":135297,"content":135298},{"textAlign":49},[135299],{"text":135300,"type":596},"We decided to develop a process to produce lithium hydroxide directly from concentrate after discussions with cathode producers indicated that new higher performing cathode materials were being developed that would require lithium hydroxide rather than lithium carbonate.",{"type":591,"attrs":135302,"content":135303},{"textAlign":49},[135304],{"text":135305,"type":596},"We pursued this growth market and applied existing electrolysis technology to a new application i.e. the production of lithium hydroxide. The application of existing technology to produce a new product was novel and we sought and received global patent protection on our process.",{"type":591,"attrs":135307,"content":135308},{"textAlign":49},[135309],{"type":836,"attrs":135310},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":135311,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":135312},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bca5063042/bm-title-page-pic-e1539751054628.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":135314,"content":135315},{"textAlign":49},[135316],{"text":135317,"type":596},"Guy Bourassa, Nemaska Lithium’s President & CEO",{"type":591,"attrs":135319,"content":135320},{"textAlign":49},[135321],{"text":135322,"type":596},"After much testing and analysis and real-world production experience, from operating the phase 1 plant for over two years, that decision has proven to be the best decision we have ever made. Our method enables us to produce a very green lithium hydroxide, as the main reagent in the process is green hydroelectricity.",{"type":591,"attrs":135324,"content":135325},{"textAlign":49},[135326],{"text":135327,"type":596},"We also took the decision to be vertically integrated, meaning we source our lithium from our own mine. This decision allows us to produce a high-purity lithium hydroxide at a cost which is lower than all our competitors globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":135329,"content":135330},{"textAlign":49},[135331],{"text":135332,"type":596},"Today, much of the uncertainty from the market has dramatically reduced as evidenced by signing of offtake agreements and our ability to complete a significant project financing.",{"type":591,"attrs":135334,"content":135335},{"textAlign":49},[135336],{"text":135337,"type":596},"Benchmark: How important is it that pioneers develop new ways to produce lithium chemicals and are there any other methods that are of interest?",{"type":591,"attrs":135339,"content":135340},{"textAlign":49},[135341,135342],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135343,"type":596},"Very important.",{"type":591,"attrs":135345,"content":135346},{"textAlign":49},[135347],{"text":135348,"type":596},"Innovation is what is driving the demand for lithium battery chemicals, and as producers, we must continue to innovate to keep up with the changing demand for lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":135350,"content":135351},{"textAlign":49},[135352,135354],{"text":135353,"type":596},"Cathode manufacturers are currently moving to high nickel cathodes be it NCA or NCM, ",{"text":135355,"type":596},"both use lithium hydroxide rather than lithium carbonate. These high nickel cathodes are predicted to meet the performance and cost targets of major automotive companies and we should see high nickel cathodes in lithium ion batteries into the foreseeable future (10 years).",{"type":591,"attrs":135357,"content":135358},{"textAlign":49},[135359],{"text":135360,"type":596},"From a long-term product development perspective, cathodes manufacturers are also looking at solid state batteries which would use a lithium anode coupled with high nickel cathodes. These batteries would require even more lithium with the anode using lithium metal. Lithium metal is produced from lithium chloride which is made from high purity lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":135362,"content":135363},{"textAlign":49},[135364],{"text":135365,"type":596},"So, we see lithium hydroxide as having a pivotal role in battery development and we are well positioned in this growth market. Innovation is very much a part of our corporate culture and is a stated value of Nemaska Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":135367,"content":135368},{"textAlign":49},[135369],{"text":135370,"type":596},"Benchmark: Nemaska has really ramped up lithium hydroxide supply deals with existing and future battery consumers, namely LG Chem and Northvolt, this year. How has the lithium ion battery industry’s attitude to long term lithium supply security changed over the last 18 months to 2 years?",{"type":591,"attrs":135372,"content":135373},{"textAlign":49},[135374,135375],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135376,"type":596},"There has been a lot of talk about lithium over-supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":135378,"content":135379},{"textAlign":49},[135380,135382],{"text":135381,"type":596},"Our conversations with customers reflect a very different scenario. In the first half of 2018 we signed 5-year supply agreements with both Northvolt and LG Chem. These customers were keen to work with us to secure future pricing",{"text":135383,"type":596},"as well as quantity of lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":135385,"content":135386},{"textAlign":49},[135387],{"text":135388,"type":596},"From our perspective, the lithium market remains very tight and customers want to sign agreements to have visibility into their lithium supply chain, which is essential to cathode and lithium ion battery manufacturing. There is no substitution for lithium in a lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":135390,"content":135391},{"textAlign":49},[135392],{"text":135393,"type":596},"Benchmark: Are there certain companies and countries that are more proactive?",{"type":591,"attrs":135395,"content":135396},{"textAlign":49},[135397,135398],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135399,"type":596},"Korea and Japan are very active in cathode and lithium ion battery development and manufacturing and are looking to reduce their dependence on China for these products. Interestingly, all our offtake agreements are with companies outside China.",{"type":591,"attrs":135401,"content":135402},{"textAlign":49},[135403],{"text":135404,"type":596},"Our lithium products will be going to Europe, Korea, North America and Japan. These customers will take more than 90% of our annual 33,000 LCE production capacity. We are encouraged by the increase in activity outside China as it demonstrates global production capacity and wider-spread adoption of EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":135406,"content":135407},{"textAlign":49},[135408],{"text":135409,"type":596},"By 2020 at least seven new gigawatt-size battery factories are scheduled to start operating in Europe alone, with more in development talks. Within a decade, these facilities will be producing up to 80GWh a year, more than three times the 2017 global production capacity of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV).",{"type":591,"attrs":135411,"content":135412},{"textAlign":49},[135413],{"text":135414,"type":596},"Regulation and incentives have been instrumental in encouraging adoption and bringing down EV prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":135416,"content":135417},{"textAlign":49},[135418],{"text":135419,"type":596},"Over time this will no longer be needed as customers choose to drive EVs because they are better vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":135421,"content":135422},{"textAlign":49},[135423],{"text":135424,"type":596},"Europe is also very advanced in terms of clean electricity generation through the use of renewables such as solar and wind. These distributed generation systems are intermittent in nature and require energy storage which is also a huge growth market for lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":135426,"content":135427},{"textAlign":49},[135428],{"text":135429,"type":596},"Benchmark: Take or pay contracts are now being set in the lithium industry. How significant a development is this and what is the difference from lithium boom of 2010/2011?",{"type":591,"attrs":135431,"content":135432},{"textAlign":49},[135433,135434,135436],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135435,"type":596},"Back in 2010 many buyers were not interested to sign take or pay agreements because guaranteeing a quantity of lithium",{"text":135437,"type":596},"carbonate and hydroxide was not necessary since the EV market was yet uncertain.",{"type":591,"attrs":135439,"content":135440},{"textAlign":49},[135441],{"text":135442,"type":596},"Today with virtually every automaker offering EV platforms; cathodes manufacturers and battery makers are scrambling to secure supply of quality lithium salts. With the widespread commercial adoption of lithium ion batteries in numerous applications including EVs, and the Chinese purchase of a major Australian spodumene mine, we have seen the supply chain become significantly challenged since late 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":135444,"content":135445},{"textAlign":49},[135446],{"text":135447,"type":596},"Today’s buyers are looking to sign multi-year offtake agreements with built in pricing mechanisms. This is evidenced by our offtakes, we are not yet in production, but nearly 90% of our production is already spoken for. This is not an indication of a market in over supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":135449,"content":135450},{"textAlign":49},[135451],{"text":135452,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are your views on the lithium carbonate versus lithium hydroxide debate in the battery space right now?",{"type":591,"attrs":135454,"content":135455},{"textAlign":49},[135456,135457],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135458,"type":596},"There is no debate any more. The future is definitively for lithium hydroxide. Our view, supported by the ongoing discussions with interested parties, is that lithium ion batteries will continue to evolve and more and more cathode producers will use chemistries requiring lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":135460,"content":135461},{"textAlign":49},[135462],{"text":135463,"type":596},"Of course, we want to be flexible and keep ourselves open to as many customers as possible and so we have opted to make a dual product production line. Meaning we can make both carbonate and hydroxide. This is not typical for lithium producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":135465,"content":135466},{"textAlign":49},[135467,135469],{"text":135468,"type":596},"Benchmark: How far down the supply chain",{"text":135470,"type":596},"and how diversified is Nemaska willing to go?",{"type":591,"attrs":135472,"content":135473},{"textAlign":49},[135474,135475],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135476,"type":596},"Innovation is part of our corporate values at Nemaska Lithium and as such we are constantly looking to stay current with the market requirements. We listened to our customers years ago and understood their products were moving to lithium hydroxide. We continue to speak with end users to understand their product development plans. At the moment, we are focused on making high quality lithium hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":135478,"content":135479},{"textAlign":49},[135480],{"text":135481,"type":596},"Benchmark: On its World Tour 2018, Benchmark analysts outlined the importance of the Softbank deal for the lithium industry. What long term implications do you think the Softbank deal will have, not just for Nemaska but for other new developers seeking funding from non-traditional mining / commodity sources?",{"type":591,"attrs":135483,"content":135484},{"textAlign":49},[135485,135486],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135487,"type":596},"Softbank’s decision to invest CAD $94M to own 9.9% of Nemaska Lithium was a huge endorsement of our company, our people and our technology. It also highlighted the importance of participating in the lithium sector as a key cornerstone investor.",{"type":591,"attrs":135489,"content":135490},{"textAlign":49},[135491],{"text":135492,"type":596},"Softbank’s investment brought attention of many sophisticated and well-heeled investors to the lithium space as a growth sector which is of critical importance to the future. They view their investment in Nemaska Lithium as further accelerating the Mobile Revolution, an era of IoT (Internet of Things) and electric vehicles enabled by the fusion of technology and energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":135494,"content":135495},{"textAlign":49},[135496],{"text":135497,"type":596},"As a global technology pioneer and leader, SoftBank’s culture of innovation melds very well with our own corporate values and is a clear endorsement of our approach to producing environmentally friendly, low-cost lithium compounds.",{"type":591,"attrs":135499,"content":135500},{"textAlign":49},[135501],{"text":135502,"type":596},"Benchmark: We have seen the increasing conversation around exchange traded lithium. Putting aside the practicalities of how this will be done, what are your views on how this would affect Nemaska’s long-term business development?",{"type":591,"attrs":135504,"content":135505},{"textAlign":49},[135506,135508,135510],{"text":135507,"type":596},"GB: I ",{"text":135509,"type":596},"think an exchange traded commodity would help future developers of lithium projects secure project financing as it removes some of the opaqueness of the market and",{"text":135511,"type":596},"commoditises lithium chemicals.",{"type":591,"attrs":135513,"content":135514},{"textAlign":49},[135515],{"text":135516,"type":596},"However, lithium is so critical to our customer’s product and supply chain that I do believe that most of the world’s lithium will continue to be bought via supply agreements directly between buyer and seller. Lithium product quality is extremely important to the customer and suppliers of lithium chemicals are all qualified by the customer. Minor variations in product quality count and each customer has slightly different lithium product specifications and requirements, so it really is a long-term partnership between lithium producer and customer.",{"type":591,"attrs":135518,"content":135519},{"textAlign":49},[135520],{"text":135521,"type":596},"Benchmark: Finally, we have seen bigger and more diverse corporations becoming involved in lithium over the past 2 years. How do you think this will evolve? Are we close to seeing major energy and oil companies entering the industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":135523,"content":135524},{"textAlign":49},[135525,135526],{"text":135260,"type":596},{"text":135527,"type":596},"I think it is inevitable that major players from other sectors will look to enter the lithium market as we see the world move to lithium battery technologies. It will be such an integral part of our lives going forward that the market opportunities will be too large to ignore. However, one thing is for certain the barrier to entry is quite high when it comes to making a high-quality, low-cost product and so new entrants will be keen to work with existing producers.","Nemaksa Lithium is going through a defining year. It has raised in excess of one billion dollars, welcomed Softbank as a major backer, and is the next major lithium mine in line. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence speaks with President and CEO, Guy Bourassa, on Nemaska’s 8-year path to becoming a major component in lithium’s 21st century […]",[135530],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135531},{"job_title":557,"image":135532,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9905a938-1d3a-4d29-a780-b41c2bf0a973\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[135535,135536],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":135311,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":135538,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 17, 2018",{"id":135541,"uuid":135542,"name":135543,"slug":135544,"full_slug":135545,"content":135546},112474466606007,"b2beb92e-2529-4d2b-ada7-2edc9585de08","From within the Lithium Triangle","from-within-the-lithium-triangle","article/from-within-the-lithium-triangle",{"_uid":135547,"date":135210,"tags":135548,"editor":135549,"content":135553,"excerpt":135800,"featured":50,"reporter":135801,"_editable":135805,"component":697,"seo_title":135543,"categories":135806,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":135810,"seo_description":135800,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":135539},"7d08c43c-7c62-414c-a3f6-f1127a857cbb",[],[135550],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135551},{"job_title":557,"image":135552,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":135554},[135555,135560,135565,135572,135579,135584,135591,135596,135601,135608,135613,135618,135623,135628,135633,135639,135646,135651,135656,135661,135668,135672,135680,135685,135690,135695,135700,135706,135711,135716,135721,135726,135731,135736,135743,135749,135754,135761,135767,135772,135777,135784,135790,135795],{"type":615,"attrs":135556,"content":135557},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[135558],{"text":135559,"type":596},"News from South America’s lithium triangle has been dominated by the big players in the last quarter. But Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, Lake Resources is confident in the company’s position in the Argentine north-west, famously known as the Lithium Triangle, as the Australian lithium developer ramps up its activity and searches for a downstream partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":135561,"content":135562},{"textAlign":49},[135563],{"text":135564,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: You have a number of lithium projects in Argentina. Could you detail what they are and how they differ?",{"type":591,"attrs":135566,"content":135567},{"textAlign":49},[135568,135570],{"text":135569,"type":596},"Steve Promnitz: ",{"text":135571,"type":596},"We have four projects – three lithium brine projects; 1 hard rock (pegmatite) project among the majors – in production and development. Our Kachi lithium brine project is a large discovery of 54,000 hectares, which is one of our flagship operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":135573,"content":135574},{"textAlign":49},[135575,135577],{"text":135576,"type":596},"There is development optionality as we own almost the entire basin, which is 22km by 8km, with brines from the surface to approximately 400 metres to 600 metres in depth. The brine’s chemistry is clean. We will outline various options for development in the prefeasibility",{"text":135578,"type":596},"study, which will begin after the initial resource is released in late October. The project is one of the last wholly owned lithium brine lakes available for partnership and is 80km south of FMC’s producing mine which has 20 years of production.",{"type":591,"attrs":135580,"content":135581},{"textAlign":49},[135582],{"text":135583,"type":596},"We will utilise a new direct extraction method in partnership with Lilac Solutions. This method promises a reduction in time to production along with lower operating costs when comparted with conventional methods.",{"type":591,"attrs":135585,"content":135586},{"textAlign":49},[135587,135589],{"text":135588,"type":596},"Our other flagship project is the Cauchari – Olaroz brine operation. It adjoins SQM-Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Americas developments and Orocobre’s production. There are 18,000 hectares of extensions for",{"text":135590,"type":596},"major lithium brine resources. The leases were pegged two and a half years ago, drill access has now been granted and drilling will start in early October.",{"type":591,"attrs":135592,"content":135593},{"textAlign":49},[135594],{"text":135595,"type":596},"The Kachi project has appealed to downstream battery producers and cathode producers because it has size, scale optionality and Lake Resources is the only company in the basin. Cauchari – Olaroz appeals to the market because it sits next to current production and 450 metres from where Ganfeng paid US$237 million for 37% of Cauchari.",{"type":591,"attrs":135597,"content":135598},{"textAlign":49},[135599],{"text":135600,"type":596},"Benchmark: Much of the focus has been on your brine projects but you also have a pegmatite deposit. Can you update us on the state of play?",{"type":591,"attrs":135602,"content":135603},{"textAlign":49},[135604,135606],{"text":135605,"type":596},"SP: ",{"text":135607,"type":596},"The lithium pegmatite project covers a large area of 70,000 hectares in a newly recognised 150km long belt of pegmatites with past small-scale lithium mining history.",{"type":591,"attrs":135609,"content":135610},{"textAlign":49},[135611],{"text":135612,"type":596},"Our view is that the belt has not undergone modern exploration for large deposits. We are targeting spodumene in large pegmatite swarms.",{"type":591,"attrs":135614,"content":135615},{"textAlign":49},[135616],{"text":135617,"type":596},"In September 2018, Lake Resources acquired Petra Energy SA for 20 million LKE shares, which was a 50% escrow deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":135619,"content":135620},{"textAlign":49},[135621],{"text":135622,"type":596},"Recent field work created new exploration models with potential for the belt to host large-scale deposits.",{"type":591,"attrs":135624,"content":135625},{"textAlign":49},[135626],{"text":135627,"type":596},"We are undertaking field based XRF analysis to vector in on potential new targets, the results of which will define drill locations. We are also in discussions with third parties for partnership deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":135629,"content":135630},{"textAlign":49},[135631],{"text":135632,"type":596},"Benchmark: You have used the term ‘prime location’ regularly when describing your deposits. Can you explain what you mean by this and what it means to the lithium industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":135634,"content":135635},{"textAlign":49},[135636,135637],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135638,"type":596},"Prime location means being in the best and most sought-after areas for lithium production globally. We believe these are the best locations because once producing they have proven to be the lowest cost lithium producers with low long-term operating costs",{"type":591,"attrs":135640,"content":135641},{"textAlign":49},[135642,135644],{"text":135643,"type":596},"Prime locations are sought after by the large producers and downstream end-users as they provide long-term, low-cost reliable supply for the battery makers. This theme was reinforced recently in 2018. The equity market for lithium",{"text":135645,"type":596},"stocks was softer, yet corporate transactions increased as the large players secured the best projects in the best locations",{"type":591,"attrs":135647,"content":135648},{"textAlign":49},[135649],{"text":135650,"type":596},"For example, at Cauchari, Gangfeng Lithium paid US$237M for 37% equity in the Lithium Americas Cauchari project in August 2018 by acquiring SQM’s stake. This is 450 metres from our leases at Cauchari and the transaction represents 10 times LKE’s market value.",{"type":591,"attrs":135652,"content":135653},{"textAlign":49},[135654],{"text":135655,"type":596},"For example, POSCO paid US$280M in June 2018 for the northern resource held by Galaxy, which is near FMC’s production and about 100km north of Kachi.",{"type":591,"attrs":135657,"content":135658},{"textAlign":49},[135659],{"text":135660,"type":596},"Benchmark: You pegged your lithium leases in early 2016 but have only risen to prominence in 2018. Can you explain this time lag?",{"type":591,"attrs":135662,"content":135663},{"textAlign":49},[135664],{"type":836,"attrs":135665},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":135666,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":135667},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ebcfc867b4/bm-20170519-114055-2.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":135669,"content":135670},{"textAlign":49},[135671],{"text":125439,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":135673,"content":135674},{"textAlign":49},[135675,135676,135678],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135677,"type":596},"Lake’s subsidiary pegged open ground in early 2016 after a detailed technical review of all of Northwest Argentina. The aim was to locate at least one entire basin that was not drilled or developed in the last boom of 2006-2008 – which produced Kachi – and to locate a",{"text":135679,"type":596},"significant block of prime leases in a basin that was producing – and that was Cauchari-Olaroz. The other aim was to own projects 100% and produce new exploration models.",{"type":591,"attrs":135681,"content":135682},{"textAlign":49},[135683],{"text":135684,"type":596},"An exploration play takes longer to reach key milestones than buying into a known project.",{"type":591,"attrs":135686,"content":135687},{"textAlign":49},[135688],{"text":135689,"type":596},"Argentina’s bureaucratic but careful approach to ensuring all approvals are in place is something familiar in leading resource nations, but is always slower than a share market which wants everything immediately. Further, the company decided to wait until tangible milestones could be met – such as starting drilling and defining resources – before marketing globally.",{"type":591,"attrs":135691,"content":135692},{"textAlign":49},[135693],{"text":135694,"type":596},"The benefits of being quiet until now is that our neighbours have defined world class lithium resources and signed transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which improves the likelihood of a number of successes for Lake – rather than being a one trick pony. We now hold some of the most sought-after lithium leases – but the benefit being that they are owned 100% by Lake.",{"type":591,"attrs":135696,"content":135697},{"textAlign":49},[135698],{"text":135699,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are your medium-to-long-term plans for your deposits? Which chemistry will you be targeting? From a business perspective do you see doing this by yourself or partnering with other companies from the supply chain?",{"type":591,"attrs":135701,"content":135702},{"textAlign":49},[135703,135704],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135705,"type":596},"Our long-term plans are to find a strategic downstream partner for each project.",{"type":591,"attrs":135707,"content":135708},{"textAlign":49},[135709],{"text":135710,"type":596},"That partner could be a lithium battery producer, cathode producer or a key participant in the lithium supply chain. Our view is that the reason Orocobre are producing, being the only survivor from the last boom in 2006-08, is that they had the right asset and the right downstream partners. But we have four projects – not just one.",{"type":591,"attrs":135712,"content":135713},{"textAlign":49},[135714],{"text":135715,"type":596},"At Kachi, the plan is to develop the lithium brine using both conventional evaporation ponds and a new direct extraction technique, together with the possibility of producing a lithium brine concentrate. This gives us three different revenue streams.",{"type":591,"attrs":135717,"content":135718},{"textAlign":49},[135719],{"text":135720,"type":596},"This will provide optionality without committing to one method. The new low-cost direct extraction technique promises a significantly reduced lead time to production, with increased recoveries to 95%, from 40-50%, and a smaller environmental footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":135722,"content":135723},{"textAlign":49},[135724],{"text":135725,"type":596},"Lilac Solutions was selected to provide extraction services after an extensive review. They use an innovative approach compared with the popular ion exchange method widely used in industry. This offers the opportunity to produce a very clean product which is demanded by battery makers and to produce lithium hydroxide and also lithium chloride, the precursor for lithium metal, sought after in the burgeoning solid-state lithium battery market",{"type":591,"attrs":135727,"content":135728},{"textAlign":49},[135729],{"text":135730,"type":596},"At Cauchari – Olaroz, the lease holding favours a stand-alone development, but could be developed in conjunction with neighbouring facilities to produce either lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, together with a lithium brine concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":135732,"content":135733},{"textAlign":49},[135734],{"text":135735,"type":596},"The Catamarca Pegmatite hard rock project, albeit early stage, has the opportunity to be ramped in staged supply fairly quickly with the right results as the pegmatites outcrop over a long distance in a supportive province.",{"type":591,"attrs":135737,"content":135738},{"textAlign":49},[135739,135741],{"text":135740,"type":596},"Benchmark: The Argentinian economy has received considerable attention this year. How does the current situation affect",{"text":135742,"type":596},"Lake Resources and the wider Argentinian lithium market? Has anything fundamentally changed?",{"type":591,"attrs":135744,"content":135745},{"textAlign":49},[135746,135747],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135748,"type":596},"Our view is that Argentina is in a period of adjustment which spells opportunity. The country wants foreign investment. Argentina has had a conservative Macri government since December 2015 with supportive federal and provincial governments in Catamarca and Jujuy. The recent peso devaluation improves short-term returns. The new export taxes are temporary measures and don’t affect Lake and are clearly better than the royalties imposed last year in Chile",{"type":591,"attrs":135750,"content":135751},{"textAlign":49},[135752],{"text":135753,"type":596},"The IMF is being supportive and recently a facility was provided to stabilise the economy. It should be remembered that the G20 will be held in late 2018 in Argentina. Our view based on recent discussions is that the lithium sector in Argentina is ‘business as usual’. Argentina has the fastest growth in new potential brine supply and brines are always at the lowest part of cost curve.",{"type":591,"attrs":135755,"content":135756},{"textAlign":49},[135757,135759],{"text":135758,"type":596},"Benchmark: It’s been a turbulent few months for lithium. Lithium carbonate prices have been hit hard in China, yet long-term supply agreements have continued to develop (LG Chem and Ganfeng for example). What’s your",{"text":135760,"type":596},"opinion on the global lithium market at the moment?",{"type":591,"attrs":135762,"content":135763},{"textAlign":49},[135764,135765],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135766,"type":596},"Our view is that in Argentina the demand is increasing at a rate ahead of potential supply. There were supply deals signed last year which have meant that the downstream end has expected some margin contraction affecting prices short term. But the demand for long-term contracts seem strong, evidenced by SQM’s contract pricing rising year-on-year.",{"type":591,"attrs":135768,"content":135769},{"textAlign":49},[135770],{"text":135771,"type":596},"The medium-term is looking very strong. Based on conversations with Chinese, Japanese and Korean participants in the supply chain, there would appear to be a major supply shortfall in 3 to 5 years’ time. That is the window that Lake is targeting. Recent softness in the lithium market has made the potential for the supply side to react in a reasonable time line more difficult.",{"type":591,"attrs":135773,"content":135774},{"textAlign":49},[135775],{"text":135776,"type":596},"At Lake, we are amazed that the market seems to have overlooked a major demand centre in India. They make leading car brands and are converting bikes and rickshaws to electric as part of Modhi’s drive to renewable energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":135778,"content":135779},{"textAlign":49},[135780,135782],{"text":135781,"type":596},"Benchmark: You joined Benchmark on its 2018 World tour and visited the US, Asia and Australia. Did the opinions of investors and the industry differ between locations and",{"text":135783,"type":596},"what were your takeaways regarding global sentiment?",{"type":591,"attrs":135785,"content":135786},{"textAlign":49},[135787,135788],{"text":135605,"type":596},{"text":135789,"type":596},"Despite the availability of information, the wider investor market is still concerned about potential oversupply and declining pricing – particularly in Australia, Hong Kong and North America. Certainly lithium carbonate prices have come off their highs, while hydroxide prices are fairly stable. But the argument for oversupply is poorly supported and recent softness in the lithium market has made the potential for the supply side to react in a reasonable time line more difficult.",{"type":591,"attrs":135791,"content":135792},{"textAlign":49},[135793],{"text":135794,"type":596},"Korea, Japan and China are always favourably predisposed to new technology and long-term strategy in the industry. Vertical integration continues in China. The Japanese are keen on lithium brines in the medium-term and on new extraction techniques.",{"type":591,"attrs":135796,"content":135797},{"textAlign":49},[135798],{"text":135799,"type":596},"Recent transactions involving LG Chem and Ganfeng are waking up the broader investment market to the ‘next wave’ in value opportunities in the sector with the market ‘oversold’. Our view is that the Gangfeng, Tianqi and FMC Lithium – or Livent – initial public offerings will attract interest from the larger investment community and allow the space to be reassessed with a broad revaluation to the upside.","News from South America’s lithium triangle has been dominated by the big players in the last quarter. But Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, Lake Resources is confident in the company’s position in the Argentine north-west, famously known as the Lithium Triangle, as the Australian lithium developer ramps up its activity and searches for a downstream partner. […]",[135802],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135803},{"job_title":557,"image":135804,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7d08c43c-7c62-414c-a3f6-f1127a857cbb\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[135807,135808,135809],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":135811,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":135812,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6c7063fab1/bm-20180213-194416-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":135814,"uuid":135815,"name":135816,"slug":135817,"full_slug":135818,"content":135819},114851906534014,"356e106e-f792-4325-a8be-cbb734a5cdcd","Graphite’s trade war tailwinds","graphites-trade-war-tailwinds","article/graphites-trade-war-tailwinds",{"_uid":135820,"date":135821,"tags":135822,"editor":135823,"content":135827,"excerpt":135907,"featured":50,"reporter":135908,"_editable":135912,"component":697,"seo_title":135816,"categories":135913,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":135917,"seo_description":135907,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":135920},"cbcd9eeb-4190-48d7-bc7a-0a5dc972d3af","2018-10-16 00:00",[],[135824],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135825},{"job_title":557,"image":135826,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":135828},[135829,135834,135839,135844,135849,135854,135859,135864,135869,135874,135879,135884,135889,135897,135902],{"type":591,"attrs":135830,"content":135831},{"textAlign":49},[135832],{"text":135833,"type":596},"The deepening trade war between US and China threatened to spill over into critical battery raw material markets in Q3 2018 with the Trump administration proposing a wave of new sanctions on Chinese imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":135835,"content":135836},{"textAlign":49},[135837],{"text":135838,"type":596},"In June, the US government took the decision to introduce a 25% ad valorem tax on Chinese imports with an annual trade value of around $34bn USD and by early-July the administration threatened to extend this to a further $16bn worth of products, as well as a separate 10% tariff on goods with a value of around $200bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":135840,"content":135841},{"textAlign":49},[135842],{"text":135843,"type":596},"This additional 10% tariff, which came in response to Chinese retaliatory measures, was brought into effect in mid-September and included several key battery raw material markets including flake graphite, artificial graphite, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, cobalt ores and intermediates.",{"type":591,"attrs":135845,"content":135846},{"textAlign":49},[135847],{"text":135848,"type":596},"Given the US imports very small quantities of lithium and cobalt from China, and the majority of its cathode production takes place in Asia, the measures will not have an immediate impact on these sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":135850,"content":135851},{"textAlign":49},[135852],{"text":135853,"type":596},"For graphite, however, China has been the dominant producer and exporter to global markets for a generation and a new 10% tax is likely to make Chinese suppliers – already suffering under pressures of increasing costs – even less competitive.",{"type":591,"attrs":135855,"content":135856},{"textAlign":49},[135857],{"text":135858,"type":596},"As a result, the tariffs threaten to accelerate the evolution of China’s role in the graphite market, with efforts already increasing to cultivate greater domestic consumption for value-added processing.",{"type":591,"attrs":135860,"content":135861},{"textAlign":49},[135862],{"text":135863,"type":596},"However, the sanctions could prove more problematic for US consumers which remain largely dependent on Chinese graphite exports despite the ramp up of new operations in other parts of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":135865,"content":135866},{"textAlign":49},[135867],{"text":135868,"type":596},"Advanced materials",{"type":591,"attrs":135870,"content":135871},{"textAlign":49},[135872],{"text":135873,"type":596},"Interestingly while President Trump’s latest round trade tariffs have extended to raw material markets, they avoided increased taxes on many advanced materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":135875,"content":135876},{"textAlign":49},[135877],{"text":135878,"type":596},"With the US battery market still in its infancy, emerging producers such as Tesla remain dependent on Asian suppliers (in particular China) for their input components, namely anode and cathode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":135880,"content":135881},{"textAlign":49},[135882],{"text":135883,"type":596},"As trade tensions escalate there is the potential that sanctions could extend to these functional materials which are critical to the US battery growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":135885,"content":135886},{"textAlign":49},[135887],{"text":135888,"type":596},"For US consumers, potential increases in anode costs are a particular concern due to China’s dominance of supply. China controls the global market for anode materials and although some processing capacity exists in other parts of Asia, China is the only country to have control of the supply chain from raw material to functional battery material.",{"type":591,"attrs":135890,"content":135891},{"textAlign":49},[135892,135894,135896],{"text":135893,"type":596},"In addition, anode material prices have been increasing steadily throughout 2018 due to increased demand, taking uncoated spherical graphite prices to their highest levels on record, according to the ",{"text":135895,"type":596},"Benchmark Graphite Price Assessment",{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":135898,"content":135899},{"textAlign":49},[135900],{"text":135901,"type":596},"Battery raw material price risk has been a growing concern for battery producers in the light of recent spikes in lithium and cobalt market, and graphite has come under scrutiny from across the supply chain in recent months from a supply security perspective.",{"type":591,"attrs":135903,"content":135904},{"textAlign":49},[135905],{"text":135906,"type":596},"Increased trade tensions between two major players in the battery market are likely to heighten these concerns and could put critical material markets in the spotlight as both countries seek to gain a strategic advantage.","The deepening trade war between US and China threatened to spill over into critical battery raw material markets in Q3 2018 with the Trump administration proposing a wave of new sanctions on Chinese imports. In June, the US government took the decision to introduce a 25% ad valorem tax on Chinese imports with an annual […]",[135909],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135910},{"job_title":557,"image":135911,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cbcd9eeb-4190-48d7-bc7a-0a5dc972d3af\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[135914,135915,135916],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":135918,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":135919,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8df5219467/bm-3144199355-d478f8c316-b.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Oct 16, 2018",{"id":135922,"uuid":135923,"name":135924,"slug":135925,"full_slug":135926,"content":135927},114851898374564,"f4d361a3-ede3-4b02-bc57-8f16e7afebe9","Could nickel be the next battery raw material facing a supply cliff?","could-nickel-be-the-next-battery-raw-material-facing-a-supply-cliff","article/could-nickel-be-the-next-battery-raw-material-facing-a-supply-cliff",{"_uid":135928,"date":135821,"tags":135929,"editor":135930,"content":135934,"excerpt":136038,"featured":50,"reporter":136039,"_editable":136043,"component":697,"seo_title":135924,"categories":136044,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":136048,"seo_description":136038,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":135920},"9cda3480-18b7-4106-b1ca-9b882f46711b",[],[135931],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":135932},{"job_title":557,"image":135933,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":135935},[135936,135941,135946,135951,135956,135961,135966,135971,135978,135983,135988,135993,135998,136003,136008,136013,136018,136023,136028,136033],{"type":591,"attrs":135937,"content":135938},{"textAlign":49},[135939],{"text":135940,"type":596},"By Andrew Leyland, Head of Forecasting & Consultancy",{"type":591,"attrs":135942,"content":135943},{"textAlign":49},[135944],{"text":135945,"type":596},"While the world seems settled that current and near-term lithium-ion battery investments will have time to fully depreciate ahead of any game-changing new technology, there remains more debate about what cathode formulations will be at the forefront of the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":135947,"content":135948},{"textAlign":49},[135949],{"text":135950,"type":596},"The cost savings and relative thermal stability of 523 and 622 chemistries have made them the go-to, along with NCA, of the electric vehicle (EV) industry. However, increasingly positive announcements about the “commercialisation” of 811 have many forecasting that this will be the prevailing technology in the coming decade, offering greater energy density and yet lower costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":135952,"content":135953},{"textAlign":49},[135954],{"text":135955,"type":596},"The reality, however, is that mass 811 adoption faces far greater challenges than the move to 622, with smaller cost savings than initial substitution away from 111 brought to the industry. The move to a cathode which is, broadly, eight parts nickel to one-part cobalt and one part manganese also means that the nickel market will have to absorb not just massive demand growth from EVs, but also marked substitution towards nickel at the expense of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":135957,"content":135958},{"textAlign":49},[135959],{"text":135960,"type":596},"Nickel sulphate consumed in lithium-ion batteries (excluding NiMH) is currently a relatively small proportion of the 2.3 million tonne nickel market, perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes in total, and significantly dwarfed by nickel’s main end-use of stainless steel, accounting for around 1.5-1.6 million tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":135962,"content":135963},{"textAlign":49},[135964],{"text":135965,"type":596},"This is set to change. Our base case forecast has lithium-ion battery demand growing to a whopping 900,000 tonnes of nickel in the next decade – and this will have serious ramifications for the structure of the nickel market well beyond the battery industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":135967,"content":135968},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[135969],{"text":135970,"type":596},"Not all nickel is created equal",{"type":591,"attrs":135972,"content":135973},{"textAlign":49},[135974,135976],{"text":135975,"type":596},"Nickel is produced and consumed in a variety of formats, commonly split into class 1 (pellets, briquettes, electrol",{"text":135977,"type":596},"ytic nickel, cut cathodes and powders etc) and class 2 (nickel pig iron, ferro-nickel, nickel oxides and chemicals) products.",{"type":591,"attrs":135979,"content":135980},{"textAlign":49},[135981],{"text":135982,"type":596},"It’s the class 1 type that has historically been used in the battery sector, either produced directly as a sulphate or converted from a metal product. Currently “class 1” accounts for around 1.1 million tonnes of production, leaving an even smaller market to absorb the expected demand growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":135984,"content":135985},{"textAlign":49},[135986],{"text":135987,"type":596},"The other side of the equation is the potential for increased supply of nickel sulphate, there are already projects out there focused on battery grade nickel sulphate, such as Thakadu Group’s plan to beneficiate Lonmin’s by-product nickel from South African platinum mines. Furthermore, there have also been tests to convert nickel pig iron (NPI) into a nickel sulphate product. Although given the additional processing required it’s assumed this would at a comparatively high cost, and that this would see most NPI continue to flow into the stainless market.",{"type":591,"attrs":135989,"content":135990},{"textAlign":49},[135991],{"text":135992,"type":596},"It’s possible that NPI production would also expand to meet any supply gap in stainless steel consumption. But this is likely to be fraught with risk given that both the key suppliers, the Philippines and Indonesia, have previously threatened NPI raw material exports for both environmental reasons, and because it adds relatively little economic value unless processed in the source country.",{"type":591,"attrs":135994,"content":135995},{"textAlign":49},[135996],{"text":135997,"type":596},"That leaves more traditional sources of class 1 nickel, most likely from nickel laterite ores with a cobalt by-product to fill the gap. On the surface this sounds like a win-win combination in supplying the lithium-ion and EV market with both nickel and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":135999,"content":136000},{"textAlign":49},[136001],{"text":136002,"type":596},"The problem, as always, is financing. Nickel laterite operations have a chequered history when it comes to ramping up production successfully, the addition of high-pressure acid leaching also making them very capital intensive. This, coupled with several trips below the $10,000/tonne price level for nickel in the past three years makes investors rightly cautious. At least for now it appears that mining sector capital expenditure is continuing to favour copper, gold and low-cost, high-grade, iron ore developments at the expense of world-class nickel assets.",{"type":615,"attrs":136004,"content":136005},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[136006],{"text":136007,"type":596},"Stainless steel substitution",{"type":591,"attrs":136009,"content":136010},{"textAlign":49},[136011],{"text":136012,"type":596},"One potential way of squaring the circle is stainless steel substitution to lower nickel contents and to other materials. This is possible in many of the metal’s current applications, with the notable exceptions of dairy, medical and food preparation industries, where stainless’ bacterial and germ resistance properties often see legislation mandating its use.",{"type":591,"attrs":136014,"content":136015},{"textAlign":49},[136016],{"text":136017,"type":596},"In others, however, there are a plethora of competing materials – notably aluminium, plastics and galvanised or colour-coated carbon steels. When nickel prices spiked to over $50,000/tonne in 2007 on the back of low LME stocks and a flood of fast money, the market saw substantial substitution.",{"type":591,"attrs":136019,"content":136020},{"textAlign":49},[136021],{"text":136022,"type":596},"This took a number of forms. Firstly, thrifting the amounts of nickel used in stainless steel by using more 200 series stainless with only 2-4% nickel content, and also using less nickel in 300 series grades which commonly have 8% to 10% nickel content. While this led to problems for recyclers, and some quality issues, it’s reasonable to assume that reduced availability and higher prices would see a repeat from the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":136024,"content":136025},{"textAlign":49},[136026],{"text":136027,"type":596},"The second form included wholesale substitution, especially in the construction, transport and furnishings industries. Gradually over the late 2000’s high nickel grade stainless steel was phased out of many cost sensitive applications from coat hangers to pens to office window frames and furniture.",{"type":591,"attrs":136029,"content":136030},{"textAlign":49},[136031],{"text":136032,"type":596},"A common example of this is the handrails on older trains and subway cars tend to be stainless steel, while they are colour coated steels on most new rolling stock around the world. High quality plastics and plated materials have also taken away from stainless steel demand growth over the years, with more substitution possible. The one area unlikely to face substitution is in nickel sulphate itself for lithium-ion batteries as it already is the cost-efficient substitute for cobalt. To that end we forecast that it is the stainless steels sector that will have to make way for increased nickel demand from batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136034,"content":136035},{"textAlign":49},[136036],{"text":136037,"type":596},"While the challenge facing the nickel industry to meet new demand growth is large, it is not insurmountable. Nickel pig iron has revolutionised nickel supply over the past 10 years, proving the industry can adapt quickly given the right commercial incentive. It does remain to be seen where all the nickel sulphate will come from, however, and if this will further delay adoption of 811 cathode chemistries.","By Andrew Leyland, Head of Forecasting & Consultancy While the world seems settled that current and near-term lithium-ion battery investments will have time to fully depreciate ahead of any game-changing new technology, there remains more debate about what cathode formulations will be at the forefront of the market. The cost savings and relative thermal stability […]",[136040],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136041},{"job_title":557,"image":136042,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9cda3480-18b7-4106-b1ca-9b882f46711b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[136045,136046,136047],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":92833,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":136049,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":136051,"uuid":136052,"name":136053,"slug":136054,"full_slug":136055,"content":136056},114851938348400,"058857e1-d79f-4961-9b4a-da58e78a1957","The New Oil","the-new-oil","article/the-new-oil",{"_uid":136057,"date":136058,"tags":136059,"editor":136060,"content":136064,"excerpt":136374,"featured":50,"reporter":136375,"_editable":136379,"component":697,"seo_title":136053,"categories":136380,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":136383,"seo_description":136374,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":136386},"6b3adbdd-481e-4432-a32b-f1a741bff4f9","2018-08-13 00:00",[],[136061],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136062},{"job_title":557,"image":136063,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":136065},[136066,136071,136076,136081,136086,136091,136096,136101,136109,136114,136119,136124,136131,136136,136141,136146,136151,136156,136163,136168,136173,136178,136183,136188,136193,136198,136203,136210,136214,136219,136224,136229,136234,136239,136244,136249,136254,136259,136264,136269,136274,136279,136284,136289,136294,136299,136304,136309,136314,136319,136324,136329,136334,136339,136344,136349,136354,136359,136364,136369],{"type":591,"attrs":136067,"content":136068},{"textAlign":49},[136069],{"text":136070,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence looks at how the oil industry is developing closer ties to the lithium supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":136072,"content":136073},{"textAlign":49},[136074],{"text":136075,"type":596},"It is important to state that lithium is nothing like oil. It’s not liquid, or black, it’s rarely shipped in barrels, and it’s not even a source of energy. Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) is a 215,000 tonne per year market while oil is a 34 billion barrels a year market – the resources are measured differently. The figure for oil is so large that is typically measured daily, which was 93 million barrels every day in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":136077,"content":136078},{"textAlign":49},[136079],{"text":136080,"type":596},"In 2017, the value of lithium production was between $3-5 billion USD. The value of lithium production is dwarfed by oil, which was valued at approximately $1,800 billion in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":136082,"content":136083},{"textAlign":49},[136084],{"text":136085,"type":596},"Despite being two extremes of the ‘commodity’ spectrum, lithium and oil have become closer bedfellows over the last two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":136087,"content":136088},{"textAlign":49},[136089],{"text":136090,"type":596},"BP recognises relevance of lithium prices",{"type":591,"attrs":136092,"content":136093},{"textAlign":49},[136094],{"text":136095,"type":596},"In June BP published its annual Statistical Review of World Energy. This was the first time that the oil industry had acknowledged lithium and electric battery raw materials. This prompted us to look at how oil majors are moving to new energy sources, which brings their businesses into the lithium supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":136097,"content":136098},{"textAlign":49},[136099],{"text":136100,"type":596},"The oil industry major’s energy reports and insights are some of the world’s most anticipated pieces of research. They consist of multiple bodies of work produced by world class analysts each year and set the tone for not only the oil industry’s direction but have also significant sway on government policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":136102,"content":136103},{"textAlign":49},[136104,136106,136107],{"text":136105,"type":596},"BP admitted that its energy reports needed to adapt to the changing needs of their customers and as a result cited a lithium price from ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":136108,"type":596}," – the lithium industry’s reference price provider.",{"type":591,"attrs":136110,"content":136111},{"textAlign":49},[136112],{"text":136113,"type":596},"“While the subject of lithium has been on the radar of Big Oil in recent years, this is the first-time lithium has been publicly acknowledged by the oil industry. We have entered a new era for commodities,” Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said.",{"type":591,"attrs":136115,"content":136116},{"textAlign":49},[136117],{"text":136118,"type":596},"The report cited Benchmark’s Lithium Carbonate, FOB, South America price. This is  one of Benchmark’s most commonly cited lithium prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":136120,"content":136121},{"textAlign":49},[136122],{"text":136123,"type":596},"“A key challenge for the Statistical Review is that it needs to adapt to the changing needs of you, our customers,” BP’s Group Chief Economist, Spencer Dale, said in the report. “One of the questions I am most often asked is whether the available supplies of raw materials used to produce batteries for electric cars could act as a constraint on the speed with which they grow. That question was one of the reasons why we included a new section in this year’s Statistical Review on ‘Key Materials for the Changing Energy System’, including data on cobalt and lithium, which are used in the production of batteries for electric cars,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":136125,"content":136126},{"textAlign":49},[136127],{"type":836,"attrs":136128},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136129,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136130},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9d48e309b5/bm-bp-economist-spencer-dale.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136132,"content":136133},{"textAlign":49},[136134],{"text":136135,"type":596},"BP Group’s Chief Economist, Spencer DaleCredit: BP",{"type":591,"attrs":136137,"content":136138},{"textAlign":49},[136139],{"text":136140,"type":596},"Shortly after publishing its 2018 statistical review, BP announced that on 28 June 2018 it had acquired Chargemaster – now be known as BP Chargemaster – the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company. Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive, BP Downstream, said: “bringing together the UK’s leading fuel retailer and its largest charging company, BP Chargemaster will deliver a truly differentiated offer for the country’s growing number of electric vehicle owners.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136142,"content":136143},{"textAlign":49},[136144],{"text":136145,"type":596},"“At BP we believe that fast and convenient charging is critical to support the successful adoption of electric vehicles. Combining BP’s and Chargemaster’s complementary expertise, experience and assets is an important step towards offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the UK and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low carbon vehicles, on the road or at home.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136147,"content":136148},{"textAlign":49},[136149],{"text":136150,"type":596},"There has been a flurry of activity in the EV and battery space from BP this year so far. In January 2018 BP Ventures invested $5 million in FreeWire Technologies Inc. The US based company manufactures mobile EV rapid charging systems. BP will be trialling the technology at certain sites In the UK and Europe during 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":136152,"content":136153},{"textAlign":49},[136154],{"text":136155,"type":596},"BP made further investments in battery markets in May, with an investment of $20 million in StoreDot — a lithium ion battery developer specialising in ultra-fast charging technology. The company is currently developing a new type of EV battery which they expect will charge in the time it takes to fill up a car.",{"type":591,"attrs":136157,"content":136158},{"textAlign":49},[136159],{"type":836,"attrs":136160},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136161,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136162},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9e56b21a51/bm-42139557505-52c86286f7-z.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136164,"content":136165},{"textAlign":49},[136166],{"text":136167,"type":596},"Caption: BP recently invested in StoreDot, which specialise in lithium ion ultra-fast charging technology. Credit: BP.",{"type":591,"attrs":136169,"content":136170},{"textAlign":49},[136171],{"text":136172,"type":596},"Erginbilgic said of the purchase “with our growing portfolio of charging infrastructure and technologies, we’re excited by our opportunities to develop truly innovative EV customer offers. We are committed to be the fuel provider of choice – no matter what car our customers drive.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136174,"content":136175},{"textAlign":49},[136176],{"text":136177,"type":596},"Only two weeks before this purchase BP and fund manager NIO Capital announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding “to establish a long-term partnership to jointly explore opportunities in advanced mobility in China and internationally.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136179,"content":136180},{"textAlign":49},[136181],{"text":136182,"type":596},"Although BP has recognised lithium’s importance to the supply chain and made moves into the EV space, it has not made a move to secure supply for itself. EV makers and battery producers have showed signs of interest in sourcing lithium directly. In May, Tesla signed a three-year lithium supply deal to purchase lithium Kidman Resources. However, BP and other oil majors are further removed from the supply chain and it is unclear whether they would invest directly in lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":136184,"content":136185},{"textAlign":49},[136186],{"text":136187,"type":596},"Shell announced in April that it would increase spending to $1-2 billion per year through 2018-2020 into its New Energies business. This remains a small proportion of the estimated $25-30 billion of its planned annual investment. A recent acquisition in May saw Shell Ventures invest in German battery maker Sonnen. Before that 2017 Shell purchased NewMotion, one of the largest EV charging networks in Europe with over 30,000 charging points for EVs in Western Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":136189,"content":136190},{"textAlign":49},[136191],{"text":136192,"type":596},"On the purchase of NewMotion, at its 2018 AGM Shell’s CEO, Ben van Beurden said “Shell is positioning itself to take the opportunities in the global energy transition…. we will move in step with society, and with our customers, as the world advances towards Paris. And we will do it in a way that adds value to the company and its shareholders.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136194,"content":136195},{"textAlign":49},[136196],{"text":136197,"type":596},"Shell’s moves suggest the business is pursuing a future outside of oil. However, in a speech May 2018 van Beurden was cautious on renewable energy: “if we use renewables to power everything with a plug in the world right now, about 80% of our energy demand remains. That is why it is not a good idea to say energy companies should stop extracting gas or oil from the earth immediately. And this will be true for some time.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136199,"content":136200},{"textAlign":49},[136201],{"text":136202,"type":596},"He went on to say that “with transport, the limits of electricity quickly become clear. Everyone knows you can drive electrically, but I also think everyone understands we cannot use a battery to launch a rocket. Even if the rocket is used to place an electric car in our solar system. “",{"type":591,"attrs":136204,"content":136205},{"textAlign":49},[136206],{"type":836,"attrs":136207},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136208,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136209},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/29b10b1515/bm-385660158-0fcba61a9c-z.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136211,"content":136212},{"textAlign":49},[136213],{"text":136167,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":136215,"content":136216},{"textAlign":49},[136217],{"text":136218,"type":596},"“People who want to use batteries to transport heavy freight over long distances on the road or over water, currently have a choice: they can transport the batteries but have no room for the freight, or fill the ship or truck with goods but have no room for the batteries needed to move them.” Beurden has doubts – and he’s not alone — that current battery technology is limited in its application.",{"type":591,"attrs":136220,"content":136221},{"textAlign":49},[136222],{"text":136223,"type":596},"Total SA, the French oil producer, recently bolstered its foothold in the battery industry by purchasing a stake US based in Ionic Materials, a developer of next generation solid state battery materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":136225,"content":136226},{"textAlign":49},[136227],{"text":136228,"type":596},"To many, solid-state batteries are seen as lithium ion’s successor —with energy density expected to increase three-to-four-fold and for charging times to be significantly reduced.",{"type":591,"attrs":136230,"content":136231},{"textAlign":49},[136232],{"text":136233,"type":596},"This is its second move into the battery market after it purchased French battery producer Saft, for $1 billion in 2016. In May Saft announced that it would be investing over €200 million in pan-European project to research and develop solid-state batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136235,"content":136236},{"textAlign":49},[136237],{"text":136238,"type":596},"This follows on from an agreement between Saft, Belgium based Solvay and Germany’s Siemens and Manz to work together on solid-state. Funding is split between Saft and the European Union, which  is keen to develop Europe’s battery technology capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":136240,"content":136241},{"textAlign":49},[136242],{"text":136243,"type":596},"Total clearly has ambitions for its battery investments but it isn’t clear what Total intends to do with these investments. It could be that Total is looking to complement its existing solar power businesses —SunPower and Total Solar —with enhanced energy storage capabilities. But their holdings Total could also support a move in the EV space, especially considering how changes downstream would affect its oil business.",{"type":591,"attrs":136245,"content":136246},{"textAlign":49},[136247],{"text":136248,"type":596},"While BP, Shell, and Total have shown a keenness to diversify into new energy, Exxon are sticking to their bread and butter. A split is emerging between big oil companies between those that are diversifying into new energy and others, like Exxon, which are doubling down on oil.",{"type":591,"attrs":136250,"content":136251},{"textAlign":49},[136252],{"text":136253,"type":596},"In January 2018, Exxon’s Chairman and CEO, Darren Woods, announced in a blog post that Exxon “to invest more than $50 billion over the next five years” in particular Exxon “will be investing billions of dollars to increase oil production in the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico”.",{"type":591,"attrs":136255,"content":136256},{"textAlign":49},[136257],{"text":136258,"type":596},"These oil investments are not isolated and Exxon is looking to also increase oil production in Guyana, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and Brazil. Investors are pressuring energy companies to adapt their business models and to provide clearer reporting on climate change.",{"type":591,"attrs":136260,"content":136261},{"textAlign":49},[136262],{"text":136263,"type":596},"For example, in 2017 62% of ExxonMobil’s shareholders voted for the company to produce an annual report on climate change and government policies to reduce carbon emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":136265,"content":136266},{"textAlign":49},[136267],{"text":136268,"type":596},"Kathy Mulvey of the Union of Concerned Scientists noted Exxon’s move towards disclosing climate risks but also said in a December 2017 statement that “ExxonMobil is still investing aggressively in developing future reserves under the assumption that economies worldwide will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels”.",{"type":591,"attrs":136270,"content":136271},{"textAlign":49},[136272],{"text":136273,"type":596},"Investor activism is pushing big oil into finding alternative means of energy. Exxon is maintaining a more positive outlook for oil compared to its peers but there are signs of it shifting its position. After years of downplaying climate change risks, the company has acquiesced to shareholder demands and  published a report on the implications for the company of the policies to limit climate change.",{"type":591,"attrs":136275,"content":136276},{"textAlign":49},[136277],{"text":136278,"type":596},"Exxon is taking the position that although there is a move towards EVs and energy storage, demand for oil will continue to rise. Therefore, we’re unlikely to see Exxon paying much attention to lithium for foreseeable future.",{"type":591,"attrs":136280,"content":136281},{"textAlign":49},[136282],{"text":136283,"type":596},"It’s all been done before",{"type":591,"attrs":136285,"content":136286},{"textAlign":49},[136287],{"text":136288,"type":596},"This move towards new energy sources from big oil companies is nothing new. BP set up its subsidiary —BP Solar —in 1981, and as the name suggests, it specialised in manufacturing solar panels and was the world’s biggest manufacturer until selling its solar assets in 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":136290,"content":136291},{"textAlign":49},[136292],{"text":136293,"type":596},"In 2000 Chevron acquired its renewable energy arm. However, Chevron sold the company in 2014 in order to focus “on supporting Chevron’s upstream and downstream business” —new energy didn’t fit the model.",{"type":591,"attrs":136295,"content":136296},{"textAlign":49},[136297],{"text":136298,"type":596},"From the late-1990s to mid-2000s Shell had consistently invested in solar and wind power, but in 2009 it suspended its investments in new energy as these were not seen as lucrative as other potential investments. Although BP has now recognised the relevance of lithium prices to the battery and",{"type":591,"attrs":136300,"content":136301},{"textAlign":49},[136302],{"text":136303,"type":596},"EV supply chain, it was Exxon who arguably first realised the potential lithium offered. Dr M. Stanley Whittingham created one of the first examples of the rechargeable lithium ion battery while working in an Exxon lab.",{"type":591,"attrs":136305,"content":136306},{"textAlign":49},[136307],{"text":136308,"type":596},"Last year, speaking at Benchmark’s 2017 Cathode conference, he went so far as to say that searching for R&D support for electrical storage based on lithium “was just like drilling oil wells” – an apt analogy.",{"type":591,"attrs":136310,"content":136311},{"textAlign":49},[136312],{"text":136313,"type":596},"Exxon continued to play a role in the lithium ion battery. In 2007 ExxonMobil Chemical and Tonen Chemical – its Japanese affiliate – announced that it had improved separator film technologies that would allow for lithium ion batteries to handle increased heat without failing. But in 2012 it sold its share of Tonen Chemical.",{"type":591,"attrs":136315,"content":136316},{"textAlign":49},[136317],{"text":136318,"type":596},"These are just some examples where oil companies have invested in new energy sources before abandoning those projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":136320,"content":136321},{"textAlign":49},[136322],{"text":136323,"type":596},"How do we know that oil companies won’t abandon their latest projects?",{"type":591,"attrs":136325,"content":136326},{"textAlign":49},[136327],{"text":136328,"type":596},"This time might be different. Mass EV adoption in the near future is likely. The success of EV startups like Tesla have forced traditional carmakers to increase their EV offering. Improvements in technology – particularly energy storage – have made electric cars a viable alternative to ICE vehicles. Additionally, climate change and environmental concerns are of continued importance to consumers, legislators and regulators alike.",{"type":591,"attrs":136330,"content":136331},{"textAlign":49},[136332],{"text":136333,"type":596},"Governments are joining the fray",{"type":591,"attrs":136335,"content":136336},{"textAlign":49},[136337],{"text":136338,"type":596},"There is also more interest in EVs from governments. Nowhere else is this so evident as in China, where government policy has been transforming the EV industry. This is likely to continue and as big international companies and countries start to take more interest in EVs the focus on lithium will only intensify.",{"type":591,"attrs":136340,"content":136341},{"textAlign":49},[136342],{"text":136343,"type":596},"As economies move further towards electrification of vehicles and new energy sources the demand for lithium will increase. Like oil, security of supply will become a political issue for governments across the world. Many of the twentieth century’s wars were fuelled by and fought over oil. Oil continues to be at the centre of international  politics today; any rise in tensions in the middle east typically affects oil prices. In the future lithium might play a similar role.",{"type":591,"attrs":136345,"content":136346},{"textAlign":49},[136347],{"text":136348,"type":596},"In fact,we are seeing instances of this now. The Chinese company Tianqi Lithium’s move to purchase 32% of Chile’s SQM was blocked by Chilean regulators. A petition was filed to block the purchase on the grounds that it would have given China too much dominance in the international lithium market. Chilean regulators have until August to decide their  course of action. The Chinese ambassador to Chile told a local newspaper that blocking the sale could “leave negative influences on development of economic and commercial relations between both countries.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136350,"content":136351},{"textAlign":49},[136352],{"text":136353,"type":596},"China is making a significant move towards wide-scale EV adoption, which requires vast quantities of lithium. As other countries realise their need to secure a lithium supply, international disagreements are likely to continue and perhaps even intensify.",{"type":591,"attrs":136355,"content":136356},{"textAlign":49},[136357],{"text":136358,"type":596},"Compared to the oil market the lithium market is small and in its infancy. But demand for lithium will only grow while it’s expected that the oil market will peak in the next two decades. There are also plenty of signs that the lithium market is beginning to mature. There is impetus from big companies and governments to secure supplies of lithium, echoing the early days of oil. It’s also been reported that lithium is on the verge of being exchange traded.",{"type":591,"attrs":136360,"content":136361},{"textAlign":49},[136362],{"text":136363,"type":596},"Rather than a fundamental shift away from oil it is likely that these moves into battery energy storage are a hedge against declining oil use. And not all companies have made this move — Exxon remains unconvinced and is putting its resources into oil. Whether the investments in new energy are simply diversification or the start of a paradigm shift will become evident in the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":136365,"content":136366},{"textAlign":49},[136367],{"text":136368,"type":596},"Big oil is very much at the downstream end of the lithium market and we are only starting to see it recognising the relevance of lithium to new energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":136370,"content":136371},{"textAlign":49},[136372],{"text":136373,"type":596},"Although the industry is split, those who are investing in EV charging networks and battery energy storage may soon follow BP and recognise lithium prices.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence looks at how the oil industry is developing closer ties to the lithium supply chain. It is important to state that lithium is nothing like oil. It’s not liquid, or black, it’s rarely shipped in barrels, and it’s not even a source of energy. Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) is a 215,000 tonne per year market while oil is […]",[136376],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136377},{"job_title":557,"image":136378,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6b3adbdd-481e-4432-a32b-f1a741bff4f9\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[136381,136382],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":136384,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":136385,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8439882f2c/bm-istock-691599104.jpeg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 13, 2018",{"id":136388,"uuid":136389,"name":136390,"slug":136391,"full_slug":136392,"content":136393},114851930082440,"851bebbb-2c0e-42d0-9838-de73c00fceb3","China’s EV Unicorns","chinas-ev-unicorns","article/chinas-ev-unicorns",{"_uid":136394,"date":136058,"tags":136395,"editor":136397,"content":136401,"excerpt":136685,"featured":50,"reporter":136686,"_editable":136690,"component":697,"seo_title":136390,"categories":136691,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":136695,"seo_description":136685,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":136386},"fabcdd4a-bbc2-4a12-a705-a0639bb3044c",[136396],{"slug":575,"name":576},[136398],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136399},{"job_title":557,"image":136400,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":136402},[136403,136414,136419,136424,136429,136436,136441,136448,136453,136460,136465,136470,136477,136484,136489,136494,136499,136506,136513,136518,136523,136528,136535,136540,136547,136552,136559,136564,136569,136574,136579,136584,136589,136594,136603,136606,136611,136616,136621,136626,136631,136636,136641,136646,136653,136658,136663,136668,136673,136680],{"type":591,"attrs":136404,"content":136405},{"textAlign":49},[136406,136408,136412],{"text":136407,"type":596},"In the last issue of the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence quarterly review we looked at the Californian electric vehicle (EV) start-ups in our feature ",{"text":136409,"type":596,"marks":136410},"The New Detroit",[136411],{"type":1006},{"text":136413,"type":596},". Silicon Valley might boast a plethora of start-up companies but the news coming out of China’s EV scene over the past year shows that not only can it match the USA with its volume of EV tech start-ups but many have reached unicorn status – start-ups valued over $1 billion dollars.",{"type":591,"attrs":136415,"content":136416},{"textAlign":49},[136417],{"text":136418,"type":596},"In this article we explore the Chinese EV start-ups that have enjoyed a recent flood of capital investment and the reasons behind this.",{"type":591,"attrs":136420,"content":136421},{"textAlign":49},[136422],{"text":136423,"type":596},"2018 has seen many Chinese EV start-ups go through successful rounds of capital funding, which has pushed a number of these businesses over the $1 billion valuation mark. The profile of these companies outside of China is sometimes limited, but the Chinese EV market is the biggest in the world. Those of us outside of China should pay attention.",{"type":591,"attrs":136425,"content":136426},{"textAlign":49},[136427],{"text":136428,"type":596},"We start by looking at some of the major EV start-ups for before exploring the reasons why these companies are seeing these investment flows.",{"type":591,"attrs":136430,"content":136431},{"textAlign":49},[136432,136434],{"text":136433,"type":596},"WM Motor Technology",{"text":136435,"type":596},"\nWM Motor Technology Co Ltd was founded in 2015 and has raised enough funding since inception of over US$2billion. It produced its first EVs last year which recently started selling in China. Their first car to market was the Weltmeister EX5 SUV, which is reported to be selling for between RMB 149,000 and 220,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":136437,"content":136438},{"textAlign":49},[136439],{"text":136440,"type":596},"There are no firm details of battery specifications or capacity yet but it has been reported that their SUV will have a range of 600km, but this is difficult to verify. Production of the EX5 is underway in Wenzhou, in eastern China and the company aims to have demand of 100,000 in 3-4 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":136442,"content":136443},{"textAlign":49},[136444,136446],{"text":136445,"type":596},"BAIC GROUP",{"text":136447,"type":596},"\nIn Q1 of 2018 the state-backed Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd (BAIC Group) announced that it would be listing its EV subsidiary – BAIC BJEV on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This will make the BAIC BJEV the first state-owned EV manufacturer to be listed in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":136449,"content":136450},{"textAlign":49},[136451],{"text":136452,"type":596},"In 2017 it sold over 100,000 EVs and the company claimed its share of the Chinese EV market increased to an estimated 23 per cent. According to a security filing placed for the deal, in the first 10 months of 2017 BJEV had a revenue of RMB7.38 billion (US$1.15 billion), and a profit of RMB39.24 million (US$6.13 million).",{"type":591,"attrs":136454,"content":136455},{"textAlign":49},[136456,136458],{"text":136457,"type":596},"Byton",{"text":136459,"type":596},"\nByton is another Chinese EV unicorn that has started to gather attention. The company – founded in 2016 as Future Mobility Corp – has hired former BMW, Tesla and Nissan executives.",{"type":591,"attrs":136461,"content":136462},{"textAlign":49},[136463],{"text":136464,"type":596},"In June-2018 the company announced that it had raised another US$500 million in funding and also opened its international headquarters in Nanjing, China. At the start of the year BYTON introduced its first drivable concept car, which is a premium SUV priced at upwards of US$45,000. The car will be manufactured in its Nanjing plant and should be available in China in late 2019 and the US and Europe in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":136466,"content":136467},{"textAlign":49},[136468],{"text":136469,"type":596},"Byton announced that the production car will have two models available. The first will have a range of 400 km with a 71 kWh lithium ion battery pack and the second will use a 95 kWh battery providing a range of 520km.",{"type":591,"attrs":136471,"content":136472},{"textAlign":49},[136473,136475],{"text":136474,"type":596},"Xiaopeng Motors",{"text":136476,"type":596},"\nJack Ma is one of China’s richest men and owns the Alibaba Group, which is one of China’s biggest companies. It seems both company and entrepreneur see a future in EVs. In April of this year Alibaba led a round of funding for Xiaopeng Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":136478,"content":136479},{"textAlign":49},[136480],{"type":836,"attrs":136481},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136482,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136483},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4cc28bc233/bm-xpeng-g3.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136485,"content":136486},{"textAlign":49},[136487],{"text":136488,"type":596},"The XPENG G3 is Xiaopeng Motors first production car. Credit: Xiaopeng Motors",{"type":591,"attrs":136490,"content":136491},{"textAlign":49},[136492],{"text":136493,"type":596},"This year Xiaopeng expects to raise $2.7 billion dollars in additional funding to grow the business. The firm us looking to expand to 3,000 employees from today’s level of 700. The XPENG G3 will be their first production car and is rumoured to be inspired by Tesla’s Model S. It uses the same 18650 battery cell format and Samsung’s lithium ion cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":136495,"content":136496},{"textAlign":49},[136497],{"text":136498,"type":596},"The battery provides approximately 186 miles of range but there are scant details of battery size currently available. It is expected that the G3 will be available on the Chinese market towards the end of the year. The company also has an international footprint with R&D sites in Japan and the U.S.",{"type":591,"attrs":136500,"content":136501},{"textAlign":49},[136502,136504],{"text":136503,"type":596},"NIO",{"text":136505,"type":596},"\nNIO, formerly NextEV, is a Shanghai startup but its US headquarters are in Silicon Valley. It was reported in Q1 2018 that NIO was considering a US IPO that should raise between $1 and $2 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":136507,"content":136508},{"textAlign":49},[136509],{"type":836,"attrs":136510},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136511,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136512},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd0187292f/bm-2018-03-2-exterior-front-3-4-es8.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136514,"content":136515},{"textAlign":49},[136516],{"text":136517,"type":596},"NIO’s ES8, a 7-seater SUV which is launching exclusively in China.Credit: NIO",{"type":591,"attrs":136519,"content":136520},{"textAlign":49},[136521],{"text":136522,"type":596},"NIO has two cars in production: the ES8, a 7-seater SUV exclusive to the Chinese market and the EP9, which is a two-seater sports car. The ES8 was launched in Q4 2017 and will have a base price of RMB 448,000. There is also the option for customers to make use of a battery rental plan, which lessens the upfront costs by providing a discount of RMB 100,000 on the car’s price.",{"type":591,"attrs":136524,"content":136525},{"textAlign":49},[136526],{"text":136527,"type":596},"The ES8 will be made to order through the company’s own app and it has been reported that NIO expects to deliver 30,000 units in 2018.The battery capacity is 70 kWh, which is liquid-cooled and uses VDA square cell batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136529,"content":136530},{"textAlign":49},[136531,136533],{"text":136532,"type":596},"CHJ Automotive",{"text":136534,"type":596},"\nCHJ Automotive is another Chinese EV startup to have received considerable capital funding this year. It recently announced that it had raised USD $473 million, which was led by Matrix Partners China – a firm ultimately backed by state-owned steel company Shougang Group.",{"type":591,"attrs":136536,"content":136537},{"textAlign":49},[136538],{"text":136539,"type":596},"Since the company was founded in 2015 it has raised approximately USD $908 million. They recently announced a joint venture deal with Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, where they will work on smart EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":136541,"content":136542},{"textAlign":49},[136543,136545],{"text":136544,"type":596},"Youxia Motors",{"text":136546,"type":596},"\nAnother company to boast impressive funding figures this year is Youxia Motors. The EV maker is based in Shanghai and raised nearly USD $800 million in the latest round of funding, which comfortably puts the company in the unicorn start-up range.",{"type":591,"attrs":136548,"content":136549},{"textAlign":49},[136550],{"text":136551,"type":596},"Its production vehicle – the YOUXIA X – offers three different battery capacities of 40kWh, 60 kWh and 85 kWh, up to a range of 460 kilometres. The company also announced the construction of a factory in Huzhou with expectations that it will produce 200,000 vehicles annually.",{"type":591,"attrs":136553,"content":136554},{"textAlign":49},[136555,136557],{"text":136556,"type":596},"Singulato",{"text":136558,"type":596},"\nFinally, Singulato Motors was founded in 2014 and has gone through three rounds of funding. The latest funding round raised the company approximately USD $475 million. Not only has the EV start-up securing funding from investors to expand its business, it is now promising to make invest approximately USD $2.4billion in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou over the next five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":136560,"content":136561},{"textAlign":49},[136562],{"text":136563,"type":596},"The partnership with the city’s government will lead to the establishment of a research and development centre, which is expected to employ between 2,000 and 3,000 researchers. The company and local government have also reportedly agreed to establish a USD $1.6 billion investment fund focusing on industries related to EVs, which will include battery developers.",{"type":615,"attrs":136565,"content":136566},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[136567],{"text":136568,"type":596},"China’s EV scene is booming",{"type":591,"attrs":136570,"content":136571},{"textAlign":49},[136572],{"text":136573,"type":596},"China’s EV start-ups have garnered a lot of attention along with impressive funding figures but it’s only a small part of the burgeoning Chinese EV industry. Existing manufacturers, BYD for example, are also pumping investments into the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":136575,"content":136576},{"textAlign":49},[136577],{"text":136578,"type":596},"The sheer volume of capital being invested into Chinese adoption puts the rest of the world to shame, and illustrates how China is way ahead the rest of the world in EV production. It’s also important to note that many of these Chinese EV start-ups that have attracted large funding do not even have cars in production yet.",{"type":591,"attrs":136580,"content":136581},{"textAlign":49},[136582],{"text":136583,"type":596},"In the first half of 2018 China produced 413,200 NEVs, which was up 95% on the same period for 2017. The Chinese auto market is massive, over 28 million were sold in China last year. This figure is expected to increase to over 35 million by 2025. In contrast, the USA only produced 17 million over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":136585,"content":136586},{"textAlign":49},[136587],{"text":136588,"type":596},"The Chinese auto market is the biggest in the world. Considering the size of the market it is understandable that so much investment is flooding into China’s start-ups. But the Chinese government has played a prominent role in this. This has been achieved by offering generous incentives to manufacturing companies but also by providing consumers with subsidies on the vehicles themselves. The state support could be prompting the flood of capital investment into China’s EV start-ups.",{"type":591,"attrs":136590,"content":136591},{"textAlign":49},[136592],{"text":136593,"type":596},"Central government subsidies have ranged from RMB 20,000 to RMB 44,000 per vehicle but local governments have also added their own subsidies. Forbes reported that in 2017 China’s central and local governments spent $7.7 billion on EV subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":136595,"content":136596},{"textAlign":49},[136597,136599,136601],{"text":136598,"type":596},"It’s hard to deny that the government has played a vital role in growing the EV industry",{"text":136600,"type":596},"\nin China. These subsidies are not isolated and there are many other incentive schemes implemented at a country-wide and local level. In a number of China’s largest cities tight controls are enforced which limit the number of cars on the roads – effectively a lottery system for distributing license plates.However, EVs are exempt from this costly and",{"text":136602,"type":596},"\narbitrary process.",{"type":591,"attrs":136604,"content":136605},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":136607,"content":136608},{"textAlign":49},[136609],{"text":136610,"type":596},"China’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy was inspired by California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV). This financial incentive system will use ‘new energy credits’ and also impose targets on car manufacturers to increase EV production. Manufacturers will receive new energy credits for meeting EV production requirements. Failure to do so may result in a fine or require the manufacturer to purchase new energy credits from other car makers. The number of credits awarded will depend on a variety of factors including range, energy efficiency and the power of fuel cells used.",{"type":591,"attrs":136612,"content":136613},{"textAlign":49},[136614],{"text":136615,"type":596},"Compared to subsidies of the past, this puts the onus on manufacturers – more of the stick than carrot approach. To continue this growth in EV production, Chinese companies have begun securing additional lithium supply globally, with deals developing in Africa, Australia and Canada.",{"type":591,"attrs":136617,"content":136618},{"textAlign":49},[136619],{"text":136620,"type":596},"Tianqi lithium were looking to purchase a 32% stake in Chile’s SQM, although for now a complaint has been filed with regulators which could scupper the sale. Not only has China been securing raw materials globally but as of 2017 it already boasted 60% of the world’s 134.8 GWh megafactory capacity according to Benchmark estimates. We expect China’s share of capacity to decline to 53.8% in 2028, but at that point capacity is expected to hit 998.5 GWh so it will have massively increased capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":136622,"content":136623},{"textAlign":49},[136624],{"text":136625,"type":596},"China has just announced that it will launch a pilot EV recycling scheme in 17 cities and regions as part of its EV push. With expectations that the demand for battery raw materials will exceed supply, China is attempting to increase its hold on these critical minerals – in particular lithium – in order to meet its bold EV output targets.",{"type":615,"attrs":136627,"content":136628},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[136629],{"text":136630,"type":596},"Scrapping of foreign ownership limits",{"type":591,"attrs":136632,"content":136633},{"textAlign":49},[136634],{"text":136635,"type":596},"A major factor in the rise of China’s EV unicorns can be attributed to China’s historical limit of ownership on foreign auto manufacturers. These barriers have meant that in the past non-Chinese automakers could not establish their own company in China, having to agree joint-ventures with local companies to access the Chinese market. This has kept some of the well-known EV manufacturers from producing in China, the most obvious of which is Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":136637,"content":136638},{"textAlign":49},[136639],{"text":136640,"type":596},"However, this could soon change. This year China announced that it will remove the foreign ownership limits on businesses producing EVs and plug-in hybrids. The loosening of these rules will increase competition for China’s EV start-ups and domestic producers in general.",{"type":591,"attrs":136642,"content":136643},{"textAlign":49},[136644],{"text":136645,"type":596},"For example, at the start of July Elon Musk agreed a deal with Chinese authorities to open a new EV factory in Shanghai. Tesla is aiming to be producing its first EVs within two years of beginning construction on the plant, with 500,000 units produced two to three years after that.",{"type":591,"attrs":136647,"content":136648},{"textAlign":49},[136649],{"type":836,"attrs":136650},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":136651,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":136652},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bf52a96103/bm-27388736405-ce8c9a40ec-k.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":136654,"content":136655},{"textAlign":49},[136656],{"text":136657,"type":596},"Elon Musk has agreed a landmark deal to build a Tesla factory in Shanghai",{"type":591,"attrs":136659,"content":136660},{"textAlign":49},[136661],{"text":136662,"type":596},"Speaking at a meeting of US governors last year, Musk said that “sometimes people are under the impression that China is either dragging their feet or somehow behind the U.S. in terms of sustainable energy promotion, but they are by far the most aggressive on Earth. It’s crazy.” Tesla now have the opportunity to establish themselves in a market that Musk has been desperate to take advantage of.",{"type":591,"attrs":136664,"content":136665},{"textAlign":49},[136666],{"text":136667,"type":596},"Tesla will have government support in achieving its targets, as in a statement the local government said that “the Shanghai municipal government will fully support the construction of the Tesla factory.”",{"type":591,"attrs":136669,"content":136670},{"textAlign":49},[136671],{"text":136672,"type":596},"After a period of significant funding for China’s EV start-ups, these developments may be of concern to the domestic Chinese EV producers, as the market becomes more competitive. Capital has been flowing into China’s Behind China’s headline EV production figures is the combination of policies, subsidies, incentives and regulation, but also raw materials and battery factories which are driving EV growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":136674,"content":136675},{"textAlign":49},[136676,136678],{"text":136677,"type":596},"This environment makes investing in Chinese EV start-ups a lucrative",{"text":136679,"type":596},"\nproposition. The Chinese government is fostering its EV industry and can take credit for the progress the country has made. Chinese EV start-ups companies have been among the beneficiaries of this over the past few years and particularly in the first half of 2018. Many are yet to have cars in production, which makes the levels of funding even more impressive.",{"type":591,"attrs":136681,"content":136682},{"textAlign":49},[136683],{"text":136684,"type":596},"These businesses are in a strong position to grow even further but will face competition from existing domestic manufacturers and foreign companies that are now being welcomed into China.","In the last issue of the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence quarterly review we looked at the Californian electric vehicle (EV) start-ups in our feature The New Detroit. Silicon Valley might boast a plethora of start-up companies but the news coming out of China’s EV scene over the past year shows that not only can it match […]",[136687],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136688},{"job_title":557,"image":136689,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fabcdd4a-bbc2-4a12-a705-a0639bb3044c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[136692,136693,136694],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":136696,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":136697,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7d4ac62024/bm-screen-shot-2018-08-09-at-115927.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":136699,"uuid":136700,"name":136701,"slug":136702,"full_slug":136703,"content":136704},114851946606178,"0a371e28-871e-4ec2-99ba-3ee50d1680d0","Graphite’s New World","graphites-new-world","article/graphites-new-world",{"_uid":136705,"date":136706,"tags":136707,"editor":136708,"content":136712,"excerpt":136964,"featured":50,"reporter":136965,"_editable":136969,"component":697,"seo_title":136701,"categories":136970,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":136974,"seo_description":136964,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":136977},"cb24ab42-6197-4447-a268-43b29fa57a5f","2018-08-07 00:00",[],[136709],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136710},{"job_title":557,"image":136711,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":136713},[136714,136719,136724,136732,136737,136744,136749,136756,136761,136766,136772,136777,136782,136787,136793,136798,136803,136809,136814,136819,136824,136829,136835,136840,136845,136850,136856,136861,136866,136872,136877,136882,136887,136892,136898,136903,136908,136913,136919,136924,136929,136934,136939,136944,136949,136954,136959],{"type":591,"attrs":136715,"content":136716},{"textAlign":49},[136717],{"text":136718,"type":596},"There has not been a new flake graphite mine in North America since the Lac des Illes operation in Quebec opened its doors in 1989.",{"type":591,"attrs":136720,"content":136721},{"textAlign":49},[136722],{"text":136723,"type":596},"A generation away, the world has changed significantly. China has become the dominant force shaping the flake graphite supply landscape yet new suppliers with differing strategies are for the first time challenging this superiority.",{"type":591,"attrs":136725,"content":136726},{"textAlign":49},[136727,136729,136730],{"text":136728,"type":596},"In addition, lithium ion battery anodes are becoming an increasing focus. ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":136731,"type":596}," spoke with Eric Desaulniers, CEO of Nouveau Monde Graphite, about its Matawinie graphite project in Quebec, its all-electric mining operation and graphite’s future role in lithium ion battery anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":136733,"content":136734},{"textAlign":49},[136735],{"text":136736,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: You have recently started production of flake graphite tonnages from your mine in Quebec. It has been a generation since the last graphite mine began in North America. Can you outline why this has been and how the situation changed for you to begin production?",{"type":591,"attrs":136738,"content":136739},{"textAlign":49},[136740,136742],{"text":136741,"type":596},"Eric Desaulniers:",{"text":136743,"type":596}," Yes, the Lac-des-Iles graphite mine started operations in 1989. We all know what happened when the Chinese flooded the market 20-25 years ago. It took many years and the sharp increase in the graphite prices of 2010-12 before the industry could see a rise in the number of juniors looking for the next world-class graphite deposit. It’s at that time that our company was founded, money was raised, and the Matawinie discovery was made.",{"type":591,"attrs":136745,"content":136746},{"textAlign":49},[136747],{"text":136748,"type":596},"Benchmark: The biggest graphite mine in North America was Imerys’ famous Lac-des- Iles operation in Quebec. You are in the same area. Is this a coincidence?",{"type":591,"attrs":136750,"content":136751},{"textAlign":49},[136752,136754],{"text":136753,"type":596},"ED:",{"text":136755,"type":596}," It’s not a coincidence. We knew Imerys had survived the difficult years by not going head-to-head with the Chinese. They developed their client base, promoting their high-quality flake products and by also investing in value-added production. We knew their mine was getting depleted and therefore we set to explore over a large area of southern Quebec, looking for the next world-class deposit likely to bear the same graphite quality.",{"type":591,"attrs":136757,"content":136758},{"textAlign":49},[136759],{"text":136760,"type":596},"The quality of our deposit and its top location have been key in convincing a very experienced team of graphite experts to join our company. In addition, we have access to great infrastructures and we are relatively close to the North-American customer base who buy the graphite produced at Lac-des-Iles.",{"type":591,"attrs":136762,"content":136763},{"textAlign":49},[136764],{"text":136765,"type":596},"Benchmark: What is your long-term plan for the Matawinie graphite project?",{"type":591,"attrs":136767,"content":136768},{"textAlign":49},[136769,136770],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136771,"type":596}," We filed our pre-feasibility study last fall with strong economics based on a 52k tpa (tonnes per annum) mine. Namely pre-tax NPV (net presen of $498.7 millions, pre-tax IRR (internal rate of return) of 32.4%, and strip ratio of 1.04 to 1. We are fully funded and on target for filing our bankable feasibility study during the fall of 2018 which will be based on an all-electric mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":136773,"content":136774},{"textAlign":49},[136775],{"text":136776,"type":596},"The recent works on our project allowed us to nearly triple our indicated resources, so we are now planning a 100k tpa mine starting in late 2021. Thanks to the very promising market outlook in the lithium ion segment, we are planning to sell about 30,000 tpa in the traditional markets, 10,000 tpa in the expandable market and our remaining production will be upgraded to spherical graphite for li-ion.",{"type":591,"attrs":136778,"content":136779},{"textAlign":49},[136780],{"text":136781,"type":596},"Currently, we are busy launching our demonstration plant and we will start production of 1,000 tonnes of flake graphite per year for the next two years. This plant will also be producing 250 tonnes of uncoated  purified spherical graphite and 100 tonnes of expandable graphite per year for the next two years. We intend to strategically sell this material to North American and European buyers with the aim of signing off-take agreements.",{"type":591,"attrs":136783,"content":136784},{"textAlign":49},[136785],{"text":136786,"type":596},"Benchmark: How far down the supply chain are you willing to go?",{"type":591,"attrs":136788,"content":136789},{"textAlign":49},[136790,136791],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136792,"type":596}," We recently announced a partnership with Hydro-Québec (HQ). We not only licenced their patents for making anode materials, we also have a research program with these guys to optimise the process and bring the technology to the next level. HQ has a long history of involvement in the lithium ion battery industry. Their director isa world-renowned researcher in the field and they have over 60 staff on the lab’s payroll. It’s worth mentioning that their $20 million yearly  budget is fully funded from external sources and not from the utility itself. I think it speaks to the quality of their on-going research.",{"type":591,"attrs":136794,"content":136795},{"textAlign":49},[136796],{"text":136797,"type":596},"Their installations on the south shore of Montreal are packed with high-end equipment that cost a fortune. I’m very optimistic of what we can achieve under this partnership and we are looking forward to becoming a large scale uncoated spherical graphite producer supplying the existing major anode material manufacturers like Hitachi and Posco Chemtech.",{"type":591,"attrs":136799,"content":136800},{"textAlign":49},[136801],{"text":136802,"type":596},"Benchmark: A quite interesting twist on your mine is your aim to make it an all-electric operation. Quite apt considering graphite’s growing use in lithium ion battery anodes for electric vehicles. Can you explain more?",{"type":591,"attrs":136804,"content":136805},{"textAlign":49},[136806,136807],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136808,"type":596}," Yes. Early last fall, we approached a few companies involved in the business of providing mining equipment or engineering services. We wanted to form a task-force committee with the mandate of studying the possibility of having all-electric mining operations for our proposed mine. We wanted to know if the equipment was already available but also ensure it would be wise to do so from a profitability standpoint.",{"type":591,"attrs":136810,"content":136811},{"textAlign":49},[136812],{"text":136813,"type":596},"The conclusion of the task-force committee is that the equipment is definitively available, but it also makes economic sense and that’s thanks to our cheap and readily available electricity at our project location. There is also the important benefit of likely achieving the lowest environmental footprint of the graphite industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":136815,"content":136816},{"textAlign":49},[136817],{"text":136818,"type":596},"This will be taken seriously as battery makers and EV manufacturers are increasingly under pressure to scrutinise their supply chains, making sure they source raw materials from ethically and environmentally sustainable sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":136820,"content":136821},{"textAlign":49},[136822],{"text":136823,"type":596},"Benchmark: Considering recent funding success for other battery raw material miners in Quebec…",{"type":591,"attrs":136825,"content":136826},{"textAlign":49},[136827],{"text":136828,"type":596},"(A) How important is the Quebec government in your development?",{"type":591,"attrs":136830,"content":136831},{"textAlign":49},[136832,136833],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136834,"type":596}," The Quebec government is a key partner in our project. First of all, they provide a safe and predictable framework for permitting and operations, which is the foundation for a mining project requiring a lot of capital.",{"type":591,"attrs":136836,"content":136837},{"textAlign":49},[136838],{"text":136839,"type":596},"Talking about capital, the government through its agency Investissement Québec is one of our largest shareholders and they provide a significant portion of the capital needed to develop the project from exploration to production.",{"type":591,"attrs":136841,"content":136842},{"textAlign":49},[136843],{"text":136844,"type":596},"Through multiple programs related to green initiatives, we are applying for grants both at the Canadian and Quebec government level. Finally, through its subsidiary Hydro-Québec, the Quebec government pioneered the development of battery technologies and materials with work done that goes back to nearly 30 years ago. This is allowing us to have a strong R&D partner with a solid reputation and with their own interests that are aligned with our project.",{"type":591,"attrs":136846,"content":136847},{"textAlign":49},[136848],{"text":136849,"type":596},"(B) How important is the wider success of other battery minerals in the region and for North America as a whole?",{"type":591,"attrs":136851,"content":136852},{"textAlign":49},[136853,136854],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136855,"type":596}," Obviously, to attract lithium ion battery makers in North America, the supply chain needs to develop on all fronts. The North American li-ion ecosystem is relatively healthy although we need to see more major battery plants being developed locally.",{"type":591,"attrs":136857,"content":136858},{"textAlign":49},[136859],{"text":136860,"type":596},"We are strong believers that in order to reduce costs in the future, the logistics will play an increasing role and li-ion batteries will need to be manufactured as close as possible to the end-users, similar to the mature lead acid battery market. The consumer market in North America will be massive. We believe more battery makers will make the choice of setting up factories here.",{"type":591,"attrs":136862,"content":136863},{"textAlign":49},[136864],{"text":136865,"type":596},"(C) How do you view graphite’s future role as a lithium ion battery anode especially considering it can also be synthetically sourced?",{"type":591,"attrs":136867,"content":136868},{"textAlign":49},[136869,136870],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136871,"type":596}," Yes, it can be synthetically sourced but there are important caveats. Firstly, the price of the synthetic stuff is much higher than coated spherical purified graphite. The second thing is the capacity for making synthetic graphite is not growing and the needle coke feed stock for making it is limited as it is a by-product of oil refineries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136873,"content":136874},{"textAlign":49},[136875],{"text":136876,"type":596},"In the last year or so, the combined demand from li-ion battery makers and synthetic anodes manufacturers for foundries have caused a big increase in the price of the feed stock as well as the synthetic graphite end product. This has forced li-ion anode makers to increase their use of natural graphite. We believe what has discouraged historically li-ion anode makers from using more natural graphite was the inconsistency in the quality of the coated purified spherical graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":136878,"content":136879},{"textAlign":49},[136880],{"text":136881,"type":596},"Perhaps, the way the mining and processing industries are setup in China with a number of artisanal mining operations feeding large processing houses such as BTR played a role in this inconsistency. We believe if we are successful in upgrading our medium and fine flakes to uncoated spherical graphite, and down the line to coated anode material, and that we are constantly within specs and with a very low environmental footprint, we will be very successful in selling this material at an attractive margin.",{"type":591,"attrs":136883,"content":136884},{"textAlign":49},[136885],{"text":136886,"type":596},"So, at a time where EV manufacturers and lithium ion battery makers are increasingly scrutinising their supply chains for sustainable raw materials, our low environmental footprint will be a strong marketing factor.",{"type":591,"attrs":136888,"content":136889},{"textAlign":49},[136890],{"text":136891,"type":596},"Benchmark: With battery producers and electric vehicle makers seeking to compress their supply chains, is there a market opportunity in North America?",{"type":591,"attrs":136893,"content":136894},{"textAlign":49},[136895,136896],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136897,"type":596}," We believe the province of Quebec has a lot of important assets that could make it attractive as a place to setup operations for either a battery producer or an EV manufacturer. Quebec and the rest of Canada are rich with key raw materials for making  these batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136899,"content":136900},{"textAlign":49},[136901],{"text":136902,"type":596},"Nemaska Lithium, for example, is fully funded for building its commercial operations and there is our company with our world-class graphite deposit that can easily support a mine life of 27 years. There are cobalt, nickel and copper mining operations or ore deposits as well as rare earth deposits throughout the land.",{"type":591,"attrs":136904,"content":136905},{"textAlign":49},[136906],{"text":136907,"type":596},"The electric power produced by Hydro-Québec is 100% renewable and can cost as low as $0.03 USD cents per kWh if you’re a big industrial consumer. Battery makers could set up their own research or development programs with HQ’s battery research lab, much like what Sony has been doing for a few years already and what we are starting to do for developing our value-added battery material.",{"type":591,"attrs":136909,"content":136910},{"textAlign":49},[136911],{"text":136912,"type":596},"Benchmark: North America’s EV story has been heavily reliant on Tesla. Is this still the case today?",{"type":591,"attrs":136914,"content":136915},{"textAlign":49},[136916,136917],{"text":136753,"type":596},{"text":136918,"type":596}," Tesla is obviously a huge player in the EV industry. I think it’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for the hard work and bold moves of Elon Musk and company, the EV industry would still not be taken seriously. Tesla has had a huge impact in shaking the car industry, in competing head-to-head with mostly the luxury German brands and eating their lunch. No wonder VW’s brands, Daimler, Mercedes and BMW have all made big announcements, embracing the EV as the car of the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":136920,"content":136921},{"textAlign":49},[136922],{"text":136923,"type":596},"Tesla is clearly in the lead with their Supercharger network. For anyone wanting to make road trips with an EV, the Supercharger network is extremely convenient. We’re seeing more and more fast charging devices being installed across North America, for example, Electrify America which was born out of a plea by VW to invest $2 billion as part of the diesel scandal settlement of 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":136925,"content":136926},{"textAlign":49},[136927],{"text":136928,"type":596},"I sincerely believe we are at the onset of a huge revolution in the transportation and energy industries. I’m also expecting the price of oil which has been on the rise for the last year or so to continue rising for the next few years. This will be driven mainly by the huge lowering of exploration capex following the 2014 oil crash. Conventional fields have a yearly natural decline of 5-7% and the industry is afraid to spend the billions of dollars on big projects which takes years to recoup investments. This fear has been mainly driven by the threat of rising output from the U.S. shale industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":136930,"content":136931},{"textAlign":49},[136932],{"text":136933,"type":596},"I don’t think US shale will be nearly enough to offset this natural decline and it does not produce the same crude quality either as it is very light oil. So, rising gasoline prices at the pump are likely to continue and this will be a nice strong back wind for the EV and battery industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":136935,"content":136936},{"textAlign":49},[136937],{"text":136938,"type":596},"Benchmark: What about other markets for graphite such as refractories, expandable and other specialities? Are there any markets that stand out for Nouveau Monde graphite?",{"type":591,"attrs":136940,"content":136941},{"textAlign":49},[136942],{"text":136943,"type":596},"ED: The goal of our project is to balance the production footprint specifics to our deposit with the proper marketing of products. It is important to constantly coordinate our operations and sales to make sure we diversify our business and optimise our margins. Thus, we are planning to be an active supplier in the traditional markets and we are developing our own expandable graphite process.",{"type":591,"attrs":136945,"content":136946},{"textAlign":49},[136947],{"text":136948,"type":596},"Developing value-added products adapted to the market needs is key for being successful in the graphite business. The current growth in the expandable graphite business is phenomenal with fewer deposits that are adapted to this process. Our significant proportion of +80 mesh products coupled with an excellent natural expandable ratio are giving us a head start to develop this market segment business.",{"type":591,"attrs":136950,"content":136951},{"textAlign":49},[136952],{"text":136953,"type":596},"Benchmark: Your company tag line is ‘Foster the Future’. What do you mean by this?",{"type":591,"attrs":136955,"content":136956},{"textAlign":49},[136957],{"text":136958,"type":596},"ED: We mean that we don’t only want to be there passively supplying the graphite that the market is asking for, we also want to be a driver for change. Our all-electric open pit mine is a direct example of this mind-set, where we really foster our future as a supplier. Thanks to this initiative, we are not only engaging with battery makers by selling them materials but we will also be buying battery packs from them and working with them in developing this application.",{"type":591,"attrs":136960,"content":136961},{"textAlign":49},[136962],{"text":136963,"type":596},"We are now engaging with much bigger open pit mining and quarry operators than ourselves to introduce them to our partners’ products and demonstrate the benefits of going electric. This market segment represents a multiple of thousands of construction trucks and related equipment on the world stage; there’s a lot of graphite needed to electrify this fleet!","There has not been a new flake graphite mine in North America since the Lac des Illes operation in Quebec opened its doors in 1989. A generation away, the world has changed significantly. China has become the dominant force shaping the flake graphite supply landscape yet new suppliers with differing strategies are for the first time challenging this superiority. In addition, lithium ion battery anodes are becoming an increasing […]",[136966],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136967},{"job_title":557,"image":136968,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cb24ab42-6197-4447-a268-43b29fa57a5f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[136971,136972,136973],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":136975,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":136976,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/95cc4da75b/bm-screen-shot-2018-08-07-at-100559.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 07, 2018",{"id":136979,"uuid":136980,"name":136981,"slug":136982,"full_slug":136983,"content":136984},114851978670444,"25a899ee-a1af-4b37-9cd5-e9d90926b0a6","Why lithium won’t see $7,000 again","why-lithium-wont-see-7000-again","article/why-lithium-wont-see-7000-again",{"_uid":136985,"date":136986,"tags":136987,"editor":136988,"content":136992,"excerpt":137087,"featured":50,"reporter":137088,"_editable":137092,"component":697,"seo_title":136981,"categories":137093,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":137097,"seo_description":137087,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137100},"a7e80cce-e3ed-40a3-9ce2-ea2a21055520","2018-08-06 00:00",[],[136989],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":136990},{"job_title":557,"image":136991,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":136993},[136994,136999,137004,137012,137017,137022,137027,137032,137040,137045,137050,137055,137060,137065,137070,137075,137080],{"type":591,"attrs":136995,"content":136996},{"textAlign":49},[136997],{"text":136998,"type":596},"By Andy Leyland, Head of Forecasting & Consultancy",{"type":591,"attrs":137000,"content":137001},{"textAlign":49},[137002],{"text":137003,"type":596},"In commodities analysis there is a long-held view that when a market enters into oversupply the price will fall toward the 90th centile of the cost curve. The logic being that this will prevent new supply from entering the market, force out high cost supply and lead to a market rebalancing. On the surface it appears a sensible argument, and is – with some notable exceptions – supported by decades worth of data from the copper, gold and iron ore markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":137005,"content":137006},{"textAlign":49},[137007,137009,137010],{"text":137008,"type":596},"This is also the logic that has seen a number of overly negative lithium price forecasts emerge in 2018, assuming that lithium prices  will also converge towards the cost of production by the early 2020s as the market reaches an oversupply position. Here at ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":137011,"type":596}," we disagree that the classic long-run marginal cost-based price forecast is applicable to lithium, and below we outline the key reasons behind this. Our analysis is supported by the recently launched Lithium Forecast 2040 Report, our li-ion battery cost model and most importantly, primary research.",{"type":615,"attrs":137013,"content":137014},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[137015],{"text":137016,"type":596},"Cash costs are irrelevant in a “new” market",{"type":591,"attrs":137018,"content":137019},{"textAlign":49},[137020],{"text":137021,"type":596},"If we go back to 2015, the lithium industry produced close to 160,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) from around 15 major operations and a number of smaller Chinese suppliers. By 2025 this will be closer to 1 million tonnes from around 45 major operations, many of whom are still ramping up. The vast majority of this production will not be depreciated, with operators facing large quarterly capital repayment charges that are not reflected in a standard cash cost curve. Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast Report and models show that by 2023 a staggering 81% of supply will be undepreciated, with many other producers looking to fund new expansions at the same time.",{"type":591,"attrs":137023,"content":137024},{"textAlign":49},[137025],{"text":137026,"type":596},"When considering the cash operating position of companies, should prices fall toward the $7,000/ tonne level then very few could survive without debt holidays or defaulting on loans. Our analysis of costs on an all-in total cost basis, shows that cost support will actually be a lot closer to the $9,000/tonne level. Furthermore, the recent negative outlooks have made it all the more difficult for a supply chain looking to quadruple in short order from raising debt capital, pushing up weighted average costs of capital for the industry, and leading to many traditional sources of capital for the chemicals and mining industries to take a wait and see approach.",{"type":615,"attrs":137028,"content":137029},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[137030],{"text":137031,"type":596},"The world doesn’t end in 2025",{"type":591,"attrs":137033,"content":137034},{"textAlign":49},[137035,137037,137038],{"text":137036,"type":596},"It’s only beyond 2025 that the scale of the challenge facing the lithium industry really becomes apparent, one of the reasons that ",{"text":25892,"type":596},{"text":137039,"type":596},"models and forecasts all look out to a 2040 timeframe. Even if supply does mange to roughly quadruple in the ten years from 2016-2025, the industry then faces the even more daunting task of quadrupling again in the 2026-2035 timeframe. That’s four times the money to be raised, and well over $55bn in real 2018 terms.",{"type":591,"attrs":137041,"content":137042},{"textAlign":49},[137043],{"text":137044,"type":596},"For this to happen, and for the >$150bn commitment from the rest of the supply chain to have enough lithium for their products, including announcements from OEMs, battery mega-factories, battery pack makers and cathode producers, then the lithium supply industry needs to be investable. An industry that is struggling to cope with capital repayments is unlikely to be able to take out even more credit. Indeed, Benchmark’s base case view is that in order to meet increased demand the supply of lithium will have to almost double in just the three years after 2025. That’s over 800,000 tonnes of certified battery-grade material in just three years!",{"type":591,"attrs":137046,"content":137047},{"textAlign":49},[137048],{"text":137049,"type":596},"For this to happen, in our opinion, average lithium spot prices in the long-term are likely to be higher than $12,500/tonne in order to incentivise sustained new investment and provide an internal rate of return that is acceptable both to the industry and those financing it. Based on our analysis and forecasts of Li-ion battery costs, spot prices at this level, and longterm offtake prices negotiated at a discount to spot, will also be able to see Li-ion equipped EV’s become increasingly cost competitive with their ICE counterparts.",{"type":615,"attrs":137051,"content":137052},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[137053],{"text":137054,"type":596},"Spodumene is just rock",{"type":591,"attrs":137056,"content":137057},{"textAlign":49},[137058],{"text":137059,"type":596},"Finally, what Benchmark analysts know, and desk-based analysts do not, is just how little Chinese conversion capacity is actually up and running against what has been announced online. Indeed, this is perhaps the biggest oversight when people talk of lithium oversupply after constructing a supply / demand balance on a lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) basis. Invariably there is an assumption that Australian spodumene, and to a lesser extent direct shipping ore (DSO), will quickly find its way into the market given the surplus of conversion capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":137061,"content":137062},{"textAlign":49},[137063],{"text":137064,"type":596},"While much of this capacity was announced in 2017 and early 2018, in practice, only limited extra capacity has been brought online, with some projects yet to break ground. Our Long-term Lithium  Forecast Report shows a capacity utilisation of only 34% in 2018 for Chinese converters. Many of these operations, and their owners, are also new to the lithium business, having never processed spodumene or DSO before. This has led to predictable problems in ramping up operations, with issues of both quality and consistency of product still needing to be addressed.",{"type":591,"attrs":137066,"content":137067},{"textAlign":49},[137068],{"text":137069,"type":596},"How much of this material can meet the increasingly stringent requirements and certifications of what is deemed “battery grade” also leaves a question mark over forecast over-supply scenarios.",{"type":615,"attrs":137071,"content":137072},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[137073],{"text":137074,"type":596},"New Thinking Required?",{"type":591,"attrs":137076,"content":137077},{"textAlign":49},[137078],{"text":137079,"type":596},"Not since the early days of internal combustion and the oil market has a commodity faced such rapid expected demand growth. Unfortunately for lithium, this growth comes at a time when  many credit committees have fresh memories of being bitten by commodity price falls, and major mining companies’ shareholders continue to demand a conservative investment approach following the hubris of the Super-Cycle. It’s this lack of available debt capital to the mining industry that has increasingly seen the consumers of lithium-containing products nervously looking to finance the lithium supply on which their own announced investments depend.",{"type":591,"attrs":137081,"content":137082},{"textAlign":49},[137083],{"text":137084,"type":596,"marks":137085},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence offers a range of consulting and forecast services helping our clients understand the supply chain, the opportunities, and the pitfalls it presents. If you would like more information on our products or services, then please contact: aleyland@benchmarkminerals.com.",[137086],{"type":1006},"By Andy Leyland, Head of Forecasting & Consultancy In commodities analysis there is a long-held view that when a market enters into oversupply the price will fall toward the 90th centile of the cost curve. The logic being that this will prevent new supply from entering the market, force out high cost supply and lead to a market rebalancing. On the surface it appears a […]",[137089],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137090},{"job_title":557,"image":137091,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a7e80cce-e3ed-40a3-9ce2-ea2a21055520\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[137094,137095,137096],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":137098,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":137099,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3e931699d3/bm-screen-shot-2018-08-06-at-164113.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Aug 06, 2018",{"id":137102,"uuid":137103,"name":137104,"slug":137105,"full_slug":137106,"content":137107},112474546342951,"aac05f68-d109-4c70-957c-f1061e210231","Trump’s EV minerals tariffs spark fears of new rare earths-like crisis","trumps-ev-minerals-tariffs-spark-fears-of-new-rare-earths-like-crisis","article/trumps-ev-minerals-tariffs-spark-fears-of-new-rare-earths-like-crisis",{"_uid":137108,"date":136986,"tags":137109,"editor":137113,"content":137117,"excerpt":137200,"featured":50,"reporter":137201,"_editable":137205,"component":697,"seo_title":137104,"categories":137206,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":137212,"seo_description":137200,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137100},"99383785-5403-43dd-b711-ccae2e124cb3",[137110,137111,137112],{"slug":1642,"name":1643},{"slug":572,"name":573},{"slug":2899,"name":2900},[137114],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137115},{"job_title":557,"image":137116,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":137118},[137119,137124,137129,137134,137139,137146,137151,137156,137161,137166,137171,137178,137183,137188,137195],{"type":615,"attrs":137120,"content":137121},{"level":127133,"textAlign":49},[137122],{"text":137123,"type":596},"Critical minerals for the EV and battery supply chain will be hit by latest US tariffs on Chinese imports",{"type":591,"attrs":137125,"content":137126},{"textAlign":49},[137127],{"text":137128,"type":596},"At the start of July, it was announced that the US has started the process to impose tariffs on a further US $200 billion of Chinese imports.",{"type":591,"attrs":137130,"content":137131},{"textAlign":49},[137132],{"text":137133,"type":596},"The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a list of products that would be hit by punitive tariffs of 10%. The minerals affected include, flake and artificial graphite, coated spherical graphite for use in anodes, lithium carbonate and hydroxide and cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":137135,"content":137136},{"textAlign":49},[137137],{"text":137138,"type":596},"Considering the globalised nature of the battery supply chain and the broad range of materials listed, the 10% tariff looks on paper to have significant implications for the battery supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":137140,"content":137141},{"textAlign":49},[137142,137144],{"text":137143,"type":596},"Benchmark asked Daniel McGroarty of Carmot Strategic Group, based in Washington D.C,",{"text":137145,"type":596},"\nabout the implications of the tariffs on U.S government policy. McGroarty is a subject matter expert on critical and strategic materials and supply chains and has testified on these matters to US Senate and House committees in the past.",{"type":591,"attrs":137147,"content":137148},{"textAlign":49},[137149],{"text":137150,"type":596},"“2018 has seen some significant steps in U.S. critical minerals policy, after inaction that stretches back a decade and more,” he said. “I’m thinking specifically of the President’s promulgation of a U.S. Government Critical Minerals List earlier this year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137152,"content":137153},{"textAlign":49},[137154],{"text":137155,"type":596},"“The injection of many of these same critical minerals into the U.S.-China trade war – 32 of the 35 ‘criticals’ are on the U.S. tariff list – suggests to me U.S. policymakers have yet to see the danger our deep dependency creates,” McGroarty explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":137157,"content":137158},{"textAlign":49},[137159],{"text":137160,"type":596},"The tariffs are coming out of Washington but there are fears that China could take reciprocal action.",{"type":591,"attrs":137162,"content":137163},{"textAlign":49},[137164],{"text":137165,"type":596},"China has been involved in international disputes over critical minerals before. McGroarty suggested “there’s reason to be concerned.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137167,"content":137168},{"textAlign":49},[137169],{"text":137170,"type":596},"“China has ‘weaponised’ rare earths before in the 2010 East China Sea incident, cutting off Japan’s rare earths supply for nearly two months. While there was a spike in interest in non-Chinese REE (rare earth element) projects – and some sharp statements of concern by US and Western policymakers – there was little follow-through.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137172,"content":137173},{"textAlign":49},[137174,137176],{"text":137175,"type":596},"“As this US-China trade war – which I see in significant respects as a tech war, given the materials on the tariff list – plays itself out, I am concerned that China may respond to the threat of a 10% tariff on REEs, or",{"text":137177,"type":596},"\nlithium, cobalt and graphite by simply saying, ‘never mind the tariff, we won’t be exporting any of these materials at any price’.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137179,"content":137180},{"textAlign":49},[137181],{"text":137182,"type":596},"Finally, McGroarty commented on strategic developments for critical minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":137184,"content":137185},{"textAlign":49},[137186],{"text":137187,"type":596},"“Judging from the Congress’ failure to retain the House critical minerals provisions in the just-completed 2019 National Defense Authorization Act – both of the critical minerals provisions were stripped out of the final bill – I can’t say that U.S. policymakers are giving critical minerals the strategic consideration they deserve. I hope it won’t take a crisis to spur the U.S. into action.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137189,"content":137190},{"textAlign":49},[137191,137193],{"text":137192,"type":596},"These are the second round of tariffs proposed by the U.S, amid concerns of a developing trade war. In response to the first round of tariffs Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, said at a news briefing that “trade war is never a solution” and that “China would never start a trade war but if any party resorts to an increase of tariffs, then China will take measures in response",{"text":137194,"type":596},"\nto protect development interests.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137196,"content":137197},{"textAlign":49},[137198],{"text":137199,"type":596},"Whether critical minerals will be affected by a Chinese response to the tariffs is not yet clear. But considering the precedent set by the rare earths crisis in 2010 it is possible China’s response could be significant.","Critical minerals for the EV and battery supply chain will be hit by latest US tariffs on Chinese imports At the start of July, it was announced that the US has started the process to impose tariffs on a further US $200 billion of Chinese imports. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a list of products […]",[137202],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137203},{"job_title":557,"image":137204,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"99383785-5403-43dd-b711-ccae2e124cb3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[137207,137208,137209,137210,137211],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"slug":703,"name":704},{"slug":6822,"name":414},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":137213,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":137214,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/944c94809f/bm-screen-shot-2018-08-06-at-143449.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":137216,"uuid":137217,"name":137218,"slug":137219,"full_slug":137220,"content":137221},112474525477824,"5c1d5ccf-1bba-494c-8b8c-30563c344d60","Cobalt prices in bear territory after negative run","cobalt-prices-in-bear-territory-after-negative-run","article/cobalt-prices-in-bear-territory-after-negative-run",{"_uid":137222,"date":136986,"tags":137223,"editor":137224,"content":137228,"excerpt":137328,"featured":50,"reporter":137329,"_editable":137333,"component":697,"seo_title":137218,"categories":137334,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":137338,"seo_description":137328,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137100},"b3dd4d6a-84bf-4163-9c3c-bf528ffd0484",[],[137225],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137226},{"job_title":557,"image":137227,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":137229},[137230,137235,137240,137245,137250,137255,137260,137268,137273,137278,137283,137288,137293,137298,137303,137308,137313,137318,137323],{"type":591,"attrs":137231,"content":137232},{"textAlign":49},[137233],{"text":137234,"type":596},"This past quarter was packed with news for the cobalt industry. The quarter saw legal action taken against Glencore in the DRC by both state miner Gécamines and ex-business partner Dan Gertler. While both were ultimately settled by the Swiss miner, the company’s legal woes only deepened as the resolution was followed by a subpoena issued by the US Government on 2nd July.",{"type":591,"attrs":137236,"content":137237},{"textAlign":49},[137238],{"text":137239,"type":596},"In addition, the quarter saw the $690m streaming deal for material from the Voisey’s Bay mine expansion, between Vale and partners Wheaton and Cobalt 27, importantly showing the intent of  the capital markets to secure longterm supplies of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":137241,"content":137242},{"textAlign":49},[137243],{"text":137244,"type":596},"While all of the events above are significant in their own right, the most important story for the future of the industry has been the fall in prices over the course of the quarter. The Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment tracked cobalt  sulphate prices in China down 9.8% in May and 7% in June, with the battery metal price down 1.4% and 7% respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":137246,"content":137247},{"textAlign":49},[137248],{"text":137249,"type":596},"It was not that these price decreases were unexpected, in fact with such rapid rises in the first quarter, a significant portion of the active supply chain expected such a reaction. What was most important was how it exemplified that the cobalt industry can still be driven by sentiment, particularly in China. This article looks at the factors that influenced the price fall.",{"type":591,"attrs":137251,"content":137252},{"textAlign":49},[137253],{"text":137254,"type":596},"Benchmark asked Anthony Milewski, the Chairman, CEO & Director of Cobalt 27 for his thoughts on the recent fall in cobalt prices. He explained that “there is a perception among financial investors that cobalt has sold off and there is weakness in demand. Nothing could be further from the truth.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137256,"content":137257},{"textAlign":49},[137258],{"text":137259,"type":596},"“We see a tremendous increase in cobalt demand that is continuing quarter on quarter as EV and battery storage systems experience growth combined with strong demand from the aerospace industry.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137261,"content":137262},{"textAlign":49},[137263,137265,137266],{"text":137264,"type":596},"Sentiment driven price changes highlight that the cobalt market is still yet to mature and the need remains to not only understand the supply and demand fundamentals going forward but also requires boots on the ground to make sense of the changes in the supply chain, something ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":137267,"type":596}," prioritises above all else.",{"type":591,"attrs":137269,"content":137270},{"textAlign":49},[137271],{"text":137272,"type":596},"The key question is: why did prices fall?",{"type":591,"attrs":137274,"content":137275},{"textAlign":49},[137276],{"text":137277,"type":596},"Was it a lack of demand? No. Electric vehicle production (the key driver for demand growth) in China continues to grow rapidly. At the time of writing production figures were up in excess of 120% year-on- year with the rate of growth in production of EVs accelerating daily.",{"type":591,"attrs":137279,"content":137280},{"textAlign":49},[137281],{"text":137282,"type":596},"If I were to ask a Chinese cobalt refiner the same question the answer would be quite different. The perception in the industry throughout the quarter was that demand had been low and sentiment towards the electric vehicle industry had changed from extremely positive to (in some cases) notably bearish.",{"type":591,"attrs":137284,"content":137285},{"textAlign":49},[137286],{"text":137287,"type":596},"But in reality the situation was very different. All the metrics to track the industry other than price have been positive, and the longterm outlook fundamentals remain extremely strong.",{"type":591,"attrs":137289,"content":137290},{"textAlign":49},[137291],{"text":137292,"type":596},"So, what caused this change in sentiment? In Benchmark’s opinion a number of key events initiated the snowball effect that had a big impact on prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":137294,"content":137295},{"textAlign":49},[137296],{"text":137297,"type":596},"Towards the end of 2017 some parts of the upstream industry changed their payment terms and began to request payment upfront for cobalt products. Up until this point the supply chain has relied heavily on ‘industry credit’, meaning that companies were prepared to deliver cobalt material to their customers and invoice on delivery on good faith that the customer would pay under normal payment terms – 1-2 months from delivery for example.",{"type":591,"attrs":137299,"content":137300},{"textAlign":49},[137301],{"text":137302,"type":596},"Changing to upfront payments meant that certain parts of the supply chain were having to purchase their cobalt prior to delivery, go through the process of refining their material, sell to their customers downstream and wait another 1 to 2 months (plus) for final payment.",{"type":591,"attrs":137304,"content":137305},{"textAlign":49},[137306],{"text":137307,"type":596},"This had a big impact on cashflow for a number of companies and meant that they could no longer purchase in the normal quantities that they used to, which had a negative impact on buying patterns.",{"type":591,"attrs":137309,"content":137310},{"textAlign":49},[137311],{"text":137312,"type":596},"As we entered 2018, a number of companies reported that the little credit that was available via banks was starting to dry up, which was only exacerbated by the commencement of the trade war between the US and China. So, in turn the lack of available cash, combined with no credit gave the outward impression that demand was starting to fall, with many believing this to be related to a slower than expected EV production ramp-up and lack of consumer interest in EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":137314,"content":137315},{"textAlign":49},[137316],{"text":137317,"type":596},"Following the bull run in prices in Q1 2018, Chinese refiners became jittery on pricing, fearing that a crash was on the horizon it began the  snowball effect of lowering prices in order to ensure a sale before the crash came.",{"type":591,"attrs":137319,"content":137320},{"textAlign":49},[137321],{"text":137322,"type":596},"The first signs of prices decreasing were in the sulphate market towards the end of Q1, metal prices were affected in April. As prices began to fall this started to ebb away at what were already low margins – hitting cashflow even further. At this point the bear market became a self-fulfilling prophecy and prices have continued to fall for both cobalt sulphate and cobalt metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":137324,"content":137325},{"textAlign":49},[137326],{"text":137327,"type":596},"This highlights how the cobalt industry is a small but complex beast, and that simply looking at the supply and demand fundamentals may not give you an accurate picture of how the industry will operate in the future.","This past quarter was packed with news for the cobalt industry. The quarter saw legal action taken against Glencore in the DRC by both state miner Gécamines and ex-business partner Dan Gertler. While both were ultimately settled by the Swiss miner, the company’s legal woes only deepened as the resolution was followed by a subpoena issued by the US Government on 2nd July. In addition, the […]",[137330],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137331},{"job_title":557,"image":137332,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b3dd4d6a-84bf-4163-9c3c-bf528ffd0484\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[137335,137336,137337],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":137339,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":137340,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/215526c100/bm-8858727e-b3d4-47bf-89ad-7d9a2052ecc6.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":137342,"uuid":137343,"name":137344,"slug":137345,"full_slug":137346,"content":137347},114852051707538,"c1119424-99d1-4b2d-b5f6-107067484e3c","Has Tesla missed the bus?","has-tesla-missed-the-bus","article/has-tesla-missed-the-bus",{"_uid":137348,"date":137349,"tags":137350,"editor":137352,"content":137356,"excerpt":137420,"featured":50,"reporter":137421,"_editable":137425,"component":697,"seo_title":137344,"categories":137426,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":137429,"seo_description":137420,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137432},"56b8c687-2559-45b8-988b-e8bf6937ef41","2018-06-25 00:00",[137351],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[137353],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137354},{"job_title":557,"image":137355,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":137357},[137358,137363,137368,137373,137378,137383,137388,137393,137398,137403,137408,137413],{"type":591,"attrs":137359,"content":137360},{"textAlign":49},[137361],{"text":137362,"type":596},"Bertel Schmitt",{"type":591,"attrs":137364,"content":137365},{"textAlign":49},[137366],{"text":137367,"type":596},"Should you be among the people highly excited about Tesla’s prospects with heavy trucks, count yourself lucky that you weren’t in the ballroom of Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel this afternoon. Would you have been, you went home with all hopes abandoned. In said ballroom, two global players in the heavy truck business announced that they would join hands, because doing it alone is fraught with dangers. Unsaid, but quickly evident: Newcomers, don’t even try. Also, the allied bus and truck makers, will not bet on either battery electric or fuel cell. They will do both.",{"type":591,"attrs":137369,"content":137370},{"textAlign":49},[137371],{"text":137372,"type":596},"Surprisingly, bitter global competitors Toyota and Volkswagen signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement yesterday that “provides us with broad collaborative possibilities across technologies, products, and business regions,” Hino CEO Yoshi Shimo said today. Short of exchanging shares (yet) the two will cooperate across all facets of their business. “This alliance will seek broader opportunities,” Shimo said. Asked whether there could be cross share holdings, Renschler answered: “We have not talked about it, but I would not want to rule it out. We will see how it develops.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137374,"content":137375},{"textAlign":49},[137376],{"text":137377,"type":596},"Hino is a subsidiary of and majority owned by Toyota, and according to Shimo, “this relationship will not change.” Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH is a fully-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, comprised of heavy bus and truck makers MAN, Scania and VW’s Brazilian heavy truck and bus offshoot Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus. In America, the company owns Navistar. Volkswagen’s big commercial vehicle operation in Germany is not part of the Truck & Bus GmbH, and hence not part of the alliance, but according to Volkswagen’s Hallway Radio, this could change any time if the likewise rumored big re-org happens that is said to divide Volkswagen into four groups, one of them trucks and buses of all sizes.",{"type":591,"attrs":137379,"content":137380},{"textAlign":49},[137381],{"text":137382,"type":596},"In Volkswagen, Hino has found “a partner that shares the same sense of crisis,” Shimo said. The global market of heavy trucks and buses is dominated by Daimler (owner of Freightliner, Thomas Built, and Western Star, and Fuso) and Volvo Trucks (owner of Mack Trucks, Renault Trucks, UD) while the huge Chinese market is a fiefdom of state-owned Dongfeng (which also has a JV with Volvo Trucks).",{"type":591,"attrs":137384,"content":137385},{"textAlign":49},[137386],{"text":137387,"type":596},"Truck makers are faced with heavy investments, spread across small unit numbers. Volkswagen Truck & Bus delivered a total of 206,600 units last year, while Hino produced 195,544 in the same year. In technological terms, the two companies also “are at a par,” as Shimo stated. The fact that two juggernauts think their future will be more assured if they join forces and develop, procure, build, and market together should be a warning to noobs who have never been in the heavy truck business. “The truck business and the car business are quite different,” Volkswagen’s Renschler warned.",{"type":591,"attrs":137389,"content":137390},{"textAlign":49},[137391],{"text":137392,"type":596},"Pressure on truck makers is high. “Autonomous driving, environmental footprint, and electrification are areas of technologies where trucks and buses probably adopt earlier than passenger cars,” Shimo said. “In order to realize that vision, we thought we need partners.” According to Renschler, Volkswagen Trucks&Bus “already sold autonomous trucks to customers, but of course we have to spend more money, and that’s the reason for such a strategic alliance: join forces, and spend R&D money only once instead of twice.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137394,"content":137395},{"textAlign":49},[137396],{"text":137397,"type":596},"The two parties are a great fit, we heard in a tete-a-tete with VW after the presser. “Hino is the strongest player in heavy duty, but seems to need new engines, which we are already developing,” said Matthias Gruendler, CFO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus. As far as markets go, Volkswagen is “very strong in Europe and Brazil, our Navistar is strong in U.S.A., and Hino is incredibly strong in South East Asia and Japan,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":137399,"content":137400},{"textAlign":49},[137401],{"text":137402,"type":596},"Asked whether fuel cells have been a topic in the discussions, Renschler told me that “indeed, we have talked about fuel cells. We have access to Hino’s technology and we will try using it.” Volkswagen Truck & Bus has electric buses, “and is about to deliver the first 10 battery-electric trucks in Austria,” said Renschler. “As far as fuel cells go, we had FC buses in Hamburg, but we switched back to battery electric, because they had big problems with frequent start stops. Maybe we have to combine fuel cell with battery.” Tesla truck fans, take note: Renschler said that sometimes, cities have a hard time charging electric buses overnight. He also said that truck owners abhor downtime.",{"type":591,"attrs":137404,"content":137405},{"textAlign":49},[137406],{"text":137407,"type":596},"A Toyota fuel cell engineer, quizzed after the meeting, suggested that Volkswagen may need to familiarize itself a bit more with the state of Toyota’s fuel cell art. Way back, Volkswagen used to develop high temperature fuel cells which are not suitable for start and stop, as I was told. Toyota’s fuel cells as used in the Mirai sedan and Hino buses can start and stop as frequently as hybrids, the engineer said.",{"type":591,"attrs":137409,"content":137410},{"textAlign":49},[137411],{"text":137412,"type":596},"One of the chief perils of alliances is “engineer pride,” said Renschler.",{"type":591,"attrs":137414,"content":137415},{"textAlign":49},[137416],{"text":137417,"type":596,"marks":137418},"Bertel Schmitt is co-founder of the Daily Kanban together with Edward Niedermeyer, one of the leading sources of global auto industry analysis. He has spent career in the auto sector and is now a journalist and commentator on the space. Bertel lives in Japan. ",[137419],{"type":1006},"Bertel Schmitt Should you be among the people highly excited about Tesla’s prospects with heavy trucks, count yourself lucky that you weren’t in the ballroom of Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel this afternoon. Would you have been, you went home with all hopes abandoned. In said ballroom, two global players in the heavy truck business announced […]",[137422],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137423},{"job_title":557,"image":137424,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"56b8c687-2559-45b8-988b-e8bf6937ef41\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[137427,137428],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":137430,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":137431,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f9092a927d/bm-shimo-renschler.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 25, 2018",{"id":137434,"uuid":137435,"name":136409,"slug":137436,"full_slug":137437,"content":137438},112474570239021,"8dec53be-3348-4899-bbc1-9a0c7e736bd3","the-new-detroit","article/the-new-detroit",{"_uid":137439,"date":137349,"tags":137440,"editor":137441,"content":137445,"excerpt":137913,"featured":50,"reporter":137914,"_editable":137918,"component":697,"seo_title":136409,"categories":137919,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":137922,"seo_description":137913,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137432},"ede5d6cd-15d7-41e1-9dbe-e6355359eb05",[],[137442],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137443},{"job_title":557,"image":137444,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":137446},[137447,137454,137461,137468,137473,137478,137483,137488,137493,137498,137503,137508,137513,137518,137523,137528,137533,137538,137545,137550,137555,137560,137567,137572,137577,137582,137589,137594,137599,137606,137611,137616,137621,137626,137631,137638,137643,137648,137653,137660,137665,137670,137675,137679,137684,137689,137694,137699,137706,137711,137716,137721,137726,137733,137738,137743,137748,137755,137760,137765,137770,137775,137780,137785,137790,137797,137802,137807,137812,137817,137824,137829,137834,137839,137844,137849,137854,137861,137866,137871,137876,137881,137888,137893,137898,137903,137908],{"type":591,"attrs":137448,"content":137449},{"textAlign":49},[137450],{"text":137451,"type":596,"marks":137452},"Detroit is now a synonym for industrial decline and urban decay but in the mid-twentieth century this could not have been further from the truth. At the turn of that century Henry Ford, after a couple of relatively unsuccessful ventures, launched the Ford Motor Company and used assembly line improvements and new labour practices to produce cars on a mass scale. Detroit – or “Motor City” – was the beating heart of the automobile industry and became the headquarters of the “Big Three” manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.",[137453],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":137455,"content":137456},{"textAlign":49},[137457],{"text":137458,"type":596,"marks":137459},"The boom years were followed by a tremendous bust which Detroit is yet to recover from. But the United States’ love affair with the car is far from over and today’s technological disruptors are driving the industry forward in Silicon Valley.",[137460],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":137462,"content":137463},{"textAlign":49},[137464],{"text":137465,"type":596,"marks":137466},"In this feature Benchmark Mineral Intelligence looks at the Silicon Valley companies that are key to the electric vehicle revolution.",[137467],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":137469,"content":137470},{"textAlign":49},[137471],{"text":137472,"type":596},"Sixteen years ago, the movie The Minority Report showed Tom Cruise causing mayhem in a futuristic United States whose highways were dominated by electric vehicles and autonomous cars. In 2002 these transport methods seemed fanciful. But today this future has moved closer to reality, largely thanks to Silicon Valley’s innovators.",{"type":591,"attrs":137474,"content":137475},{"textAlign":49},[137476],{"text":137477,"type":596},"Silicon Valley has capitalised on technological improvements, lower costs and fewer barriers to entry to make significant strides in bringing the electric vehicle closer to the mass consumer market.",{"type":591,"attrs":137479,"content":137480},{"textAlign":49},[137481],{"text":137482,"type":596},"Parallels can be drawn between the innovation seen today in California and Michigan a century ago. Like their predecessors the Silicon Valley start-ups are using disruptive technology and new techniques to transform the automobile industry. And like Detroit did then, Silicon Valley is experiencing a growth in the number of companies hoping to grab a piece of the EV pie.",{"type":591,"attrs":137484,"content":137485},{"textAlign":49},[137486],{"text":137487,"type":596},"This feature explores some of Silicon Valley’s key players, the products flooding the nascent EV scene, and the incumbent automobile manufacturers and their response.",{"type":591,"attrs":137489,"content":137490},{"textAlign":49},[137491],{"text":137492,"type":596},"TESLA",{"type":591,"attrs":137494,"content":137495},{"textAlign":49},[137496],{"text":137497,"type":596},"The original start-up of the Silicon Valley EV scene, the Palo Alto based EV and, now, lithium ion battery manufacturer has wandered far from its Roadster roots.",{"type":591,"attrs":137499,"content":137500},{"textAlign":49},[137501],{"text":137502,"type":596},"Since its inception in 2003 by a group of tech entrepreneurs including Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, JB Straubel and Ian Wright, it was Elon Musk who oversaw Tesla’s rise to the world’s highest profile EV producer, a company that is now NASDAQ listed with a market cap of over $50bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":137504,"content":137505},{"textAlign":49},[137506],{"text":137507,"type":596},"The original Roadster was Tesla’s first ever production car released and is now reaching its 10th birthday. The Roadster’s availability was limited and just under 2,500 cars were sold in total but in November 2017, with a hint of nostalgia, Musk unveiled a revamped Roadster, due to be released in 2020. Tesla claimed that the battery capacity will be an enormous 200kWh and will have a range of 1,000km – specifications which have been refuted as currently unattainable by some pundits.",{"type":591,"attrs":137509,"content":137510},{"textAlign":49},[137511],{"text":137512,"type":596},"Tesla first started delivering its Model S Sedan in 2012. The P100D and 100D version of the car have a battery capacity of 100kWh, with a range of 315 and 335 miles respectively. There is also a smaller capacity vehicle with a range of 259 miles — the 75D — which as its name suggests has a capacity of 75kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":137514,"content":137515},{"textAlign":49},[137516],{"text":137517,"type":596},"According to its annual report, Tesla delivered 100,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in 2017 and is looking to deliver the same number in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":137519,"content":137520},{"textAlign":49},[137521],{"text":137522,"type":596},"The Model 3, unveiled in 2016, is an affordable EV for the mass market priced at 35,000 USD. Consumers have the option of choosing two models. The short-range version has an expected range of 220 miles, using a lithium ion battery with an estimated 50kWh capacity, while the longer-range car provides a range of over 300 miles from an estimated battery size of 75kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":137524,"content":137525},{"textAlign":49},[137526],{"text":137527,"type":596},"In Q3 2017 Tesla delivered 1,764 Model 3s but having received over 325,000 reservations in the weeks following its release, it will have to ramp up production significantly to meet demand. As Tesla noted in their most recent annual report “Based on our current progress, we are targeting a production rate of 2,500 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of the first quarter of 2018 and 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of the second quarter.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137529,"content":137530},{"textAlign":49},[137531],{"text":137532,"type":596},"In November Tesla unveiled the Tesla Semi, which is a battery-powered semi-trailer truck Tesla intends to bring to production in 2019. Battery capacity is yet to be confirmed but the vehicle will have a range of 300 or 500 miles and it is expected that energy consumption will be less than 2 kWh per mile. The vehicle will be powered by 4 independent motors, which suggests that the battery for the truck will be both expensive and heavy. Although the fuel-cost savings should balance this out. The haulage industry will of course be watching this closely.",{"type":591,"attrs":137534,"content":137535},{"textAlign":49},[137536],{"text":137537,"type":596},"FARADAY FUTURE",{"type":591,"attrs":137539,"content":137540},{"textAlign":49},[137541,137543],{"text":137542,"type":596},"In 2017 Faraday Future (FF), one of the more well-known start-ups in Silicon Valley, announced its first production model the FF 91. It should be available to purchase at the end of 2018 and it was reported that the company received 64,000 reservations after its launch. The SUV electric vehicle is",{"text":137544,"type":596},"expected to use a sizeable 130kWh lithium ion battery. This will give the FF 91 an impressive 2.39 seconds nought-to-60 mph time. But with this strong performance and large battery size it is likely that Faraday Future’s flagship EV will be at the more expensive end of the EV market. Faraday Future have not released pricing information but there are rumours it could cost between the broad range of 100,000 and 300,000 USD.",{"type":591,"attrs":137546,"content":137547},{"textAlign":49},[137548],{"text":137549,"type":596},"Following on from the FF 91 launch many in the industry suggested that Faraday Future could be the company to take on Tesla. But in its current situation, it is difficult to see Faraday Future offering much of a challenge in the short-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":137551,"content":137552},{"textAlign":49},[137553],{"text":137554,"type":596},"The company was reported to have had financial issues — summed up by the firing of its CFO, Stefan Krause, in November 2017 for “possible violation of law and lack of contribution to FF’s goals”.",{"type":591,"attrs":137556,"content":137557},{"textAlign":49},[137558],{"text":137559,"type":596},"Budgetary issues also arguably led to the abandonment of its initial plans to build an EV factory in Nevada announced in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":137561,"content":137562},{"textAlign":49},[137563,137565],{"text":137564,"type":596},"However, the impact of these setbacks did not prevent the company from signing a lease on a new manufacturing facility in Hanford, California in August 2017. This should help",{"text":137566,"type":596},"the company stay on target and deliver the FF 91 in 2018, despite their apparent financial problems.",{"type":591,"attrs":137568,"content":137569},{"textAlign":49},[137570],{"text":137571,"type":596},"LUCID MOTORS",{"type":591,"attrs":137573,"content":137574},{"textAlign":49},[137575],{"text":137576,"type":596},"Lucid Motors, founded in 2007 and formerly known as Atieva, originally produced batteries for other EV manufacturers but decided to enter the EV field proper in 2014. Members of the senior team have significant experience across the industry,",{"type":591,"attrs":137578,"content":137579},{"textAlign":49},[137580],{"text":137581,"type":596},"The company expects to begin deliveries of its first EV, the Lucid Air, in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":137583,"content":137584},{"textAlign":49},[137585],{"type":836,"attrs":137586},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":137587,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":137588},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9d6ea73f62/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-25-at-112343.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":137590,"content":137591},{"textAlign":49},[137592],{"text":137593,"type":596},"The Lucid Air is expected to enter production in 2019.Credit: Lucid Motors",{"type":591,"attrs":137595,"content":137596},{"textAlign":49},[137597],{"text":137598,"type":596},"Initially prices will start at $60,000 for the 240-mile range sedan which will be manufactured in Arizona, although it is headquartered in Silicon Valley. The company anticipates that it will produce 10,000 units in the first 12 months of production and 60,000 by 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":137600,"content":137601},{"textAlign":49},[137602,137604],{"text":137603,"type":596},"The Lucid Air’s standard lithium-ion battery will have a capacity of 100 kWh but there will also be an option of 130kWh providing a driving range of 400 miles. Lucid has developed a strategic partnership with Samsung SDI through which they intend to work on producing the next generation",{"text":137605,"type":596},"of lithium-ion battery cells. This will make Samsung one of the major suppliers of lithium-ion cells for the Lucid Air.",{"type":591,"attrs":137607,"content":137608},{"textAlign":49},[137609],{"text":137610,"type":596},"ALTA MOTORS",{"type":591,"attrs":137612,"content":137613},{"textAlign":49},[137614],{"text":137615,"type":596},"When discussing electric vehicles, the car tends to receive plenty of attention. But a rising tide raises all ships and the move towards electric power is now being seen in the motorcycle industry, with the electric bike. Alta Motors, which both designs and builds its bikes in California, is the leading motorcycle industry in the move towards e-bikes – predominantly focusing on off-road and dirt bikes.",{"type":591,"attrs":137617,"content":137618},{"textAlign":49},[137619],{"text":137620,"type":596},"Alta uses 18650 lithium-ion cells in its battery packs for its Redshift bikes, which Alta states can provide 2-3 times energy per weight than other commercially available battery cells. Alta acknowledges that it is difficult to put those particular cells into practice in larger batteries used in EVs but this has not prevented them from trying to develop advanced battery systems. The Redshift’s battery pack is 5.8kWh, weighs 30.8 kg and has a maximum 350V. Alta sells its bikes through over 40 dealerships across the USA, a number which has been steadily increasing in recent years. Sales volumes are expected to grow exponentially.",{"type":591,"attrs":137622,"content":137623},{"textAlign":49},[137624],{"text":137625,"type":596},"The prospects of the electric bike look to continue to improve — in March 2018 it was announced that Harley-Davidson had taken a stake in Alta. The deal will see Alta work together with the motorbike behemoth to build electric motorcycles. This mirrors the changes we have seen in the car industry: established manufacturers are making moves into the EV space as the combustion engines future is brought into question by new and dynamic EV companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":137627,"content":137628},{"textAlign":49},[137629],{"text":137630,"type":596},"PROTERRA",{"type":591,"attrs":137632,"content":137633},{"textAlign":49},[137634],{"type":836,"attrs":137635},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":137636,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":137637},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5cd2511543/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-25-at-113027.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":137639,"content":137640},{"textAlign":49},[137641],{"text":137642,"type":596},"Credit: Proterra",{"type":591,"attrs":137644,"content":137645},{"textAlign":49},[137646],{"text":137647,"type":596},"Proterra may not have the sleek appeal of Tesla or Lucid Motors but the electric bus manufacturer is certainly making its mark on the EV industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":137649,"content":137650},{"textAlign":49},[137651],{"text":137652,"type":596},"Founded in 2004, Proterra had its electric buses on the road by 2009 and its popularity has continued to grow since then; having sold more than 400 vehicles in total.",{"type":591,"attrs":137654,"content":137655},{"textAlign":49},[137656,137658],{"text":137657,"type":596},"Recent growth has been impressive and much of this has come from local",{"text":137659,"type":596},"governments, many of whom are taking advantage of federal grants and looking to replace diesel vehicles with environmentally friendly EVs. Sales have mostly been concentrated on the west coast but the company is seeing demand from across the USA, having recently shipped a number of vehicles to Washington, D.C, and New York.",{"type":591,"attrs":137661,"content":137662},{"textAlign":49},[137663],{"text":137664,"type":596},"The company has two production plants — in South Carolina and California. The 100,000-square-foot factory in California was opened in 2017 at a cost of $20 million and it is understood that the facility will produce 400 buses per year.",{"type":591,"attrs":137666,"content":137667},{"textAlign":49},[137668],{"text":137669,"type":596},"In September-2017 Proterra’s Catalyst E2 Max set a world record and drove a record-breaking 1,101.2 miles, which was the longest distance travelled by an EV on a single charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":137671,"content":137672},{"textAlign":49},[137673],{"text":137674,"type":596},"The record-breaking Catalyst’s lithium-ion battery has a capacity of 660 kWh. This is the largest capacity EV produced by Proterra but they also offer six other buses with capacity ranging from 94 to 550 kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":137676,"content":137677},{"textAlign":49},[137678],{"text":136503,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":137680,"content":137681},{"textAlign":49},[137682],{"text":137683,"type":596},"NIO, formerly NextEV, is a Shanghai start-up but its US headquarters are in Silicon Valley. It was reported in Q1 2018 that NIO was considering a US IPO that should raise between $1 and $2 billion.",{"type":591,"attrs":137685,"content":137686},{"textAlign":49},[137687],{"text":137688,"type":596},"NIO has two cars in production: the ES8, a 7-seater SUV exclusive to the Chinese market and the EP9, which is a two-seater sports car.",{"type":591,"attrs":137690,"content":137691},{"textAlign":49},[137692],{"text":137693,"type":596},"The ES8 was launched in Q4 2017 and will have a base price of RMB 448,000. There is also the option for customers to make use of a battery rental plan, which lessens the upfront costs by providing a discount of RMB 100,000 on the car’s price. The ES8 will be made to order through the company’s own app and it has been reported that NIO expects to deliver 30,000 units in 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":137695,"content":137696},{"textAlign":49},[137697],{"text":137698,"type":596},"The battery capacity is 70 kWh, which is liquid-cooled and uses VDA square cell batteries. NIO claims this should provide the ES8 with a range of over 500 km at a speed of 60 kph.",{"type":591,"attrs":137700,"content":137701},{"textAlign":49},[137702,137704],{"text":137703,"type":596},"It might seem surprising that the ES8 is available exclusively in China but speaking at a meeting of US governors in the summer of 2017 Tesla’s Elon Musk acknowledged that “sometimes people are under the impression that China is either dragging their feet or somehow behind the U.S. in terms of",{"text":137705,"type":596},"sustainable energy promotion, but they are by far the most aggressive on Earth. It’s crazy.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137707,"content":137708},{"textAlign":49},[137709],{"text":137710,"type":596},"The speedy EP9, which recently set a world record for a road-legal car at Germany’s Nürburgring race circuit, uses an 82kWh capacity lithium ion battery. However, the impressive performance of the car will only be available to a limited number of customers, as it is understood that the company is capping production at twenty EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":137712,"content":137713},{"textAlign":49},[137714],{"text":137715,"type":596},"ROMEO POWER",{"type":591,"attrs":137717,"content":137718},{"textAlign":49},[137719],{"text":137720,"type":596},"The combustion engine powered Detroit’s boom years the battery pack is energising EV manufacturers in Silicon Valley and Romeo Power is a specialist in designing and producing battery modules and packs for a broad range of EVs, from cars and electronic bikes to forklift trucks. Their engineering and manufacturing teams are filled with experience and include former leaders of SpaceX, Tesla and Samsung.",{"type":591,"attrs":137722,"content":137723},{"textAlign":49},[137724],{"text":137725,"type":596},"In August-2017 Romeo announced it was opening a 113,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in California. This has helped the company to increase production of its cylindrical lithium-ion battery packs.",{"type":591,"attrs":137727,"content":137728},{"textAlign":49},[137729,137731],{"text":137730,"type":596},"Romeo boasts that its battery packs — which can be produced with a capacity ranging from 1kWh to 1 MWh -— have “the",{"text":137732,"type":596},"highest energy density by 25 per cent” and that the “technology is optimised for the fastest charging times, decreasing standard battery charge times by 15 to 30 per cent.”",{"type":591,"attrs":137734,"content":137735},{"textAlign":49},[137736],{"text":137737,"type":596},"Romeo’s process for developing high-performance lithium ion batteries for customers is their strong competitive advantage. The initial phase of development takes 3-4 months, which involves designing, planning and agreeing on the design with their client. At the end of this period a prototype is delivered. In the next phase, which is 3-12 months in duration, the prototype is soft-tooled until Romeo moves onto the last stage of development. In this final phase of 3-12 months hard-tooling of the battery begins, pre-production builds are finalised, candidates are released and finally the battery enters mass production.",{"type":591,"attrs":137739,"content":137740},{"textAlign":49},[137741],{"text":137742,"type":596},"THOR TRUCKS",{"type":591,"attrs":137744,"content":137745},{"textAlign":49},[137746],{"text":137747,"type":596},"Only one month after Tesla announced its Semi electric truck, Thor Trucks unveiled its competitor, the ET-One, which Thor expects will beat the Semi to market although both companies are targeting production in 2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":137749,"content":137750},{"textAlign":49},[137751,137753],{"text":137752,"type":596},"The ET-One will be priced at $150,000 to $250,000 and is only designed for short-haul travel of 250-300 miles per charge. Although the trucks will be more expensive than",{"text":137754,"type":596},"traditional haulers, Thor claims that the cost of fuel will be 70% cheaper per mile and the cost of maintenance 60% cheaper.",{"type":591,"attrs":137756,"content":137757},{"textAlign":49},[137758],{"text":137759,"type":596},"The haulage trucks will use cylindrical lithium-ion cells. Thor have yet to release specific details of battery capacity, but as the packs are modular Thor expects to be able to cater to up 1MWh on request. Thor will use an array of existing components available to build its cars rather than building its EVs from scratch — perhaps reflecting the small scale and low capitalisation of the company when compared to other start-ups.",{"type":591,"attrs":137761,"content":137762},{"textAlign":49},[137763],{"text":137764,"type":596},"APPLE",{"type":591,"attrs":137766,"content":137767},{"textAlign":49},[137768],{"text":137769,"type":596},"There has been a conspicuous lack of reference to Apple so far and for good reason — there are currently no concrete details of their plans to enter the EV market. Though Apple have been coy about their intentions, the wider industry expect them to act, as suggested by Elon Musk who said in a 2016 BBC interview that it “was an open secret” that Apple were pursuing an EV project.",{"type":591,"attrs":137771,"content":137772},{"textAlign":49},[137773],{"text":137774,"type":596},"Musk is not alone — rumours of Apple developing an electric car abound across the EV market. There are other hints that point towards Apple’s electric car project. In March 2018, The Financial Times reported that since being permitted to test three autonomous vehicles in California in April 2017 Apple can now test up to 45 self-driving vehicles in the state, which puts it ahead of both Uber and Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":137776,"content":137777},{"textAlign":49},[137778],{"text":137779,"type":596},"For now, the market will have to wait for Apple to make an announcement but the consensus is that the company is working on producing an EV. Considering the stockpile of cash and resources it has access to and the potential the EV industry offers it would be surprising if Apple fails to partake.",{"type":615,"attrs":137781,"content":137782},{"level":617,"textAlign":49},[137783],{"text":137784,"type":596},"Self-driving and flying cars: the future is now",{"type":591,"attrs":137786,"content":137787},{"textAlign":49},[137788],{"text":137789,"type":596},"Rapid improvements in technology have made electric cars a viable alternative to those powered by combustion engine. Further improvements in technology have meant that the self-driving car is now a reality — simply put, there are already self-driving cars on the roads albeit in test-mode.",{"type":591,"attrs":137791,"content":137792},{"textAlign":49},[137793,137795],{"text":137794,"type":596},"EVs and self-driving cars are often seen as different sides of the same coin, as advances",{"text":137796,"type":596},"in battery technology and capacity have helped the concept of the autonomous car become practicable. It should be noted, however, that there are many hybrid autonomous cars out there and that not all cars will be battery-powered.",{"type":591,"attrs":137798,"content":137799},{"textAlign":49},[137800],{"text":137801,"type":596},"In March-2018 self-driving cars received considerable media attention, unfortunately this was for tragic reasons when a self-driving Uber hit and killed a woman in Arizona. In response Uber suspended all testing of its self-driving cars across the United States. This was not the first fatality involving a self-driving car — in 2016 a passenger in one of Tesla’s vehicles was killed when the car was in autopilot mode. These incidents will likely lead to further scrutiny from the media, public and politicians and increased regulation.",{"type":591,"attrs":137803,"content":137804},{"textAlign":49},[137805],{"text":137806,"type":596},"Despite these accidents California is pushing for the adoption of self-driving vehicles. In February, the state approved regulations to allow for full driverless testing by issuing permits in April 2018. But by the end of March there had been no applications. This suggests that safety concerns — and perhaps the consequences posed to public relations — have led to hesitation on the part of car-makers rather than regulators.",{"type":591,"attrs":137808,"content":137809},{"textAlign":49},[137810],{"text":137811,"type":596},"Until recently, much like the autonomous car, the concept of a flying taxi had been limited to outings in sci-fi films. But in November 2017 Uber announced that it would be adding a third city – Los Angeles – to project Elevate, which is Uber’s bold plan to bring flying cars into its arsenal of futuristic transportation options. By 2020 Uber is aiming to launch its aerial taxi service, which will also be available in Dallas and Dubai.",{"type":591,"attrs":137813,"content":137814},{"textAlign":49},[137815],{"text":137816,"type":596},"The authorities are on board with Uber’s plans, giving the project further credence. Jeff Holden, Uber’s Head of Product, announced that the company had agreed on a new air traffic control system with NASA to regulate the flying cars flight paths. Flying cars might still seem fanciful to many but Holden was quoted stating “there’s been a great deal of progress that’s been hard to see from the outside.” The ending line in their recent promotion video is the rather optimistic “closer than you think”.",{"type":591,"attrs":137818,"content":137819},{"textAlign":49},[137820,137822],{"text":137821,"type":596},"In its October-2016 white paper Uber acknowledged that there are a number of barriers that could prevent it from implementing its ambitious plans, including the certification process in each country and",{"text":137823,"type":596},"air traffic control limitations.",{"type":591,"attrs":137825,"content":137826},{"textAlign":49},[137827],{"text":137828,"type":596},"Uber has decided that batteries are the preferable energy source for propulsion, however, it was also noted that current battery technology is not advanced enough to support their plans. In their white paper Uber wrote that the “specific energy… of batteries today is insufficient for long-range commutes” and that the “charge rate…of batteries today is also too slow to support high-frequency ridesharing operations.” According to this white paper the company expects that a 140kWh battery capacity would be required for a four-person aircraft.",{"type":591,"attrs":137830,"content":137831},{"textAlign":49},[137832],{"text":137833,"type":596},"The flying taxi remains at the periphery of the battery-powered boom, but it highlights the changes at hand and the creative spirit of Silicon Valley’s EV pioneers.",{"type":615,"attrs":137835,"content":137836},{"level":1102,"textAlign":49},[137837],{"text":137838,"type":596},"OLD DETROIT",{"type":591,"attrs":137840,"content":137841},{"textAlign":49},[137842],{"text":137843,"type":596},"Reshaping the industry: what’s happening to traditional car makers?",{"type":591,"attrs":137845,"content":137846},{"textAlign":49},[137847],{"text":137848,"type":596},"While Silicon Valley might seem the EV epicentre, in recent years the old Detroit has begun to catch up. The traditional carmakers have significant scale and resources on their side and are unlikely to give the EV upstarts in California a free-ride, although they have seemed slow to adapt so far.",{"type":591,"attrs":137850,"content":137851},{"textAlign":49},[137852],{"text":137853,"type":596},"In January, Ford announced it would double its spending on EVs to $11 billion as part of an ambitious plan to bring 40 battery-powered cars, of which 16 will be pure-battery EVs, to market by 2022. But this decision illustrates how little Ford has focused on the shift that the automobile industry is experiencing.",{"type":591,"attrs":137855,"content":137856},{"textAlign":49},[137857],{"type":836,"attrs":137858},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":137859,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":137860},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b5c171b878/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-25-at-114235.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":137862,"content":137863},{"textAlign":49},[137864],{"text":137865,"type":596},"Credit: The Detroit News",{"type":591,"attrs":137867,"content":137868},{"textAlign":49},[137869],{"text":137870,"type":596},"General Motors’ (GM) Chevrolet Bolt is seen to many as key early EV models that will offer a response to the threats posed by the EV makers in Silicon Valley. GM also has a hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, which makes use of battery-technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":137872,"content":137873},{"textAlign":49},[137874],{"text":137875,"type":596},"The total number of units sold now exceeds 20,000 and the company had seen month-on-month sales increases for the Bolt, except for a blip in January and February 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":137877,"content":137878},{"textAlign":49},[137879],{"text":137880,"type":596},"The production of these cars, in particular the Bolt, shows how seriously GM is taking the threat that the move towards EVs poses to the business.",{"type":591,"attrs":137882,"content":137883},{"textAlign":49},[137884,137886],{"text":137885,"type":596},"In 2017 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Chrysler was",{"text":137887,"type":596},"planning for half of its vehicles to use battery power and, as with Ford, they intend to achieve this by 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":137889,"content":137890},{"textAlign":49},[137891],{"text":137892,"type":596},"Detroit’s big three are not alone and companies from across the globe are manoeuvring to adapt to the growing EV market. Surprisingly, Toyota and Volkswagen have agreed to collaborate in EV and self-driving technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":137894,"content":137895},{"textAlign":49},[137896],{"text":137897,"type":596},"This unexpected alliance suggests that the big players will put differences aside to ensure their survival.",{"type":591,"attrs":137899,"content":137900},{"textAlign":49},[137901],{"text":137902,"type":596},"In the past ten years Silicon Valley has brought electric vehicles from relative obscurity to the mainstream. Electric and battery-powered autonomous cars are on the cusp of being adopted by the mass market for which much credit can be attributed to the pioneering technology companies in California.",{"type":591,"attrs":137904,"content":137905},{"textAlign":49},[137906],{"text":137907,"type":596},"Although the response from traditional carmakers has been slow, they have scale, distribution networks and resources on their side. The giants of the automobile industry are clearly anticipating change and positioning themselves to adapt to it.",{"type":591,"attrs":137909,"content":137910},{"textAlign":49},[137911],{"text":137912,"type":596},"In the coming years, we will see whether Silicon Valley can continue its EV charge unabated and if Detroit’s old guard can respond and prosper in the automobile’s next phase.","Detroit is now a synonym for industrial decline and urban decay but in the mid-twentieth century this could not have been further from the truth. At the turn of that century Henry Ford, after a couple of relatively unsuccessful ventures, launched the Ford Motor Company and used assembly line improvements and new labour practices to […]",[137915],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137916},{"job_title":557,"image":137917,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"ede5d6cd-15d7-41e1-9dbe-e6355359eb05\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[137920,137921],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":137923,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":137924,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4f7cef232b/bm-istock-648325980.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":137926,"uuid":137927,"name":137928,"slug":137929,"full_slug":137930,"content":137931},112474565450795,"d8f846b0-94c5-47fc-907b-6aa713d702d0","Turning up the Bass","turning-up-the-bass","article/turning-up-the-bass",{"_uid":137932,"date":137349,"tags":137933,"editor":137934,"content":137938,"excerpt":138220,"featured":50,"reporter":138221,"_editable":138225,"component":697,"seo_title":137928,"categories":138226,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":138229,"seo_description":138220,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137432},"c0827fa9-90f6-4c3d-b768-d56146d95eaf",[],[137935],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":137936},{"job_title":557,"image":137937,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":137939},[137940,137947,137952,137959,137964,137969,137974,137981,137986,137993,137998,138004,138009,138014,138019,138024,138030,138035,138040,138045,138051,138056,138061,138066,138074,138079,138084,138090,138095,138100,138105,138113,138118,138123,138128,138133,138139,138146,138151,138156,138162,138167,138172,138177,138184,138189,138195,138200,138205,138210,138215],{"type":591,"attrs":137941,"content":137942},{"textAlign":49},[137943],{"text":137944,"type":596,"marks":137945},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence talked with Bass Metals Ltd CEO Tim McManus about its plans for the Graphmada Large Flake Graphite Mine, challenges the company will face, and its outlook on the future of the graphite market.",[137946],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":137948,"content":137949},{"textAlign":49},[137950],{"text":137951,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: How did the acquisition of the Graphmada flake mine come about?",{"type":591,"attrs":137953,"content":137954},{"textAlign":49},[137955,137957],{"text":137956,"type":596},"Tim McManus: ",{"text":137958,"type":596},"The team at Bass Metals Ltd (Bass) was of the view that late 2015 was an inflexion point in the asset market after a prolonged downturn post the GFC. The Graphmada Mine and surrounding tenure, located in eastern Madagascar, was at around this time introduced via mutual shareholders in both Stratmin Global Resources PLC (Stratmin) and Bass.",{"type":591,"attrs":137960,"content":137961},{"textAlign":49},[137962],{"text":137963,"type":596},"With the support of Bizzell Capital Partners for an initial investment in late 2015 and after completing subsequent due diligence, Bass entered into a Share Purchase Agreement on a cash and script milestone payment basis. Stratmin had previously purchased Graphmada for A$50m, and had invested more than A$16m in capital in developing the asset. To purchase Graphmada for A$15m in cash and script was considered an attractive deal, considering the asset had been significantly de-risked and would deliver significant value for our shareholders, which has always been our focus.",{"type":591,"attrs":137965,"content":137966},{"textAlign":49},[137967],{"text":137968,"type":596},"In December 2016, Bass Executive Director Peter Wright opportunistically renegotiated more favourable terms with Stratmin to seize 100% ownership of Graphmada for approximately A$5m, one third of the agreed sale price, and a material discount.",{"type":591,"attrs":137970,"content":137971},{"textAlign":49},[137972],{"text":137973,"type":596},"Benchmark: Please tell us about Bass Metals and your motives for entering the graphite market.",{"type":591,"attrs":137975,"content":137976},{"textAlign":49},[137977,137979],{"text":137978,"type":596},"TM: ",{"text":137980,"type":596},"The transaction positioned Bass as an immediate global player as Graphmada had established operations, logistics and existing long-term customers in Europe, India and the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":137982,"content":137983},{"textAlign":49},[137984],{"text":137985,"type":596},"The team quickly came to the conclusion that with the development of the resource inventory, a refurbishment of existing operations to 6,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), and retaining the management team with technical knowledge gained over 4 years of production, that positive cash flow was not only achievable but able to be expanded on to 20,000 tpa, and with a possibility of downstream value adding production.",{"type":591,"attrs":137987,"content":137988},{"textAlign":49},[137989,137991],{"text":137990,"type":596},"Today, Bass is now established as one of only two ASX listed producers, and one of",{"text":137992,"type":596},"only four publicly listed graphite producers globally, a unique and realistic investment for ASX investors in the graphite space.",{"type":591,"attrs":137994,"content":137995},{"textAlign":49},[137996],{"text":137997,"type":596},"Benchmark: What do you see as the competitive advantage of the Graphmada project compared to other established flake graphite operations?",{"type":591,"attrs":137999,"content":138000},{"textAlign":49},[138001,138002],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138003,"type":596},"Besides being a revenue generating asset in a growth market, Graphmada has a significant amount of established infrastructure, which has proven its production potential and operates with established pathways to market. We know our concentrates are a desirable and a highly saleable product and we have inherited relationships as well as solicited new relationships that continue to confirm the value of our graphite. These relationships with established production and distribution, in my opinion, are a massive advantage above our peers, many without operating assets, in an opaque market.",{"type":591,"attrs":138005,"content":138006},{"textAlign":49},[138007],{"text":138008,"type":596},"While Graphmada’s flake size and our ability to supply a premium product into traditional markets is our key to cash flow, the company also sees as a significant advantage, when the timing suits us, that we can compete in the ‘new applications’ markets which are developing but aren’t fully matured as yet, such as expandable and battery markets. We have a particular interest in expandable graphite and have received extremely encouraging results as to the applicability of our concentrates.",{"type":591,"attrs":138010,"content":138011},{"textAlign":49},[138012],{"text":138013,"type":596},"We view hard rock and fine graphite deposits as challenging as they encounter significant hurdles in project economics and material handling issues. Our view was the pathway to success needed to be based on a low capital, low operating cost approach. With established operations and reduced material handling complexities due to our large flake size distribution in easily minable soft ore, we see Graphmada as having significant advantages over other projects in this space.",{"type":591,"attrs":138015,"content":138016},{"textAlign":49},[138017],{"text":138018,"type":596},"This is all over and above the simple metrics of the mine which has 40-year mining permits in place, a proven cash flow track record, potential for lower operating costs with production expansion, and significant near mine and regional exploration upside in a world-renowned and stable graphite province.",{"type":591,"attrs":138020,"content":138021},{"textAlign":49},[138022],{"text":138023,"type":596},"Benchmark: Can you give us an update on the Graphmada project and developments to date?",{"type":591,"attrs":138025,"content":138026},{"textAlign":49},[138027,138028],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138029,"type":596},"Bass was pleased to recently announce that it completed the recommissioning of the newly refurbished process plant at the Graphmada, signifying the completion of stage 1 of our strategic goals for the asset.",{"type":591,"attrs":138031,"content":138032},{"textAlign":49},[138033],{"text":138034,"type":596},"The completion of stage 1 delivers the company’s valued shareholders a 100% owned mine free of debt, with an offtake agreement in place, producing premium large flake graphite concentrates at a time of rising prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":138036,"content":138037},{"textAlign":49},[138038],{"text":138039,"type":596},"Graphmada is now moving rapidly into the commercial ramp up phase to supply international customers with high value, premium large flake concentrates, with the aim of delivering positive cash flow.",{"type":591,"attrs":138041,"content":138042},{"textAlign":49},[138043],{"text":138044,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are your plans for the project moving forward?",{"type":591,"attrs":138046,"content":138047},{"textAlign":49},[138048,138049],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138050,"type":596},"With stage 1 complete, the company will continue with its long-stated strategy of expanding production to 20,000 tpa (stage 2), while aggressively drilling the surrounding brownfield mineralisation at Graphmada such as the Mahela Deposit, which is showing a lot of promise.",{"type":591,"attrs":138052,"content":138053},{"textAlign":49},[138054],{"text":138055,"type":596},"In addition, Bass is developing a stage 3 strategy to produce expandable graphite products to provide further value from its unique resource at Graphmada.",{"type":591,"attrs":138057,"content":138058},{"textAlign":49},[138059],{"text":138060,"type":596},"We are also currently in the field at the highly prospective Millie’s Reward lithium project (Millie’s), in central Madagascar, which has encountered surface samples of up to 7.0% Li2O. In the second half of 2018 we’ll look to begin drilling at Millie’s multiple targets with the aim of announcing a maiden Mineral Resource estimated in accordance with JORC.",{"type":591,"attrs":138062,"content":138063},{"textAlign":49},[138064],{"text":138065,"type":596},"Where do you see the major markets for your material as you increase production?",{"type":591,"attrs":138067,"content":138068},{"textAlign":49},[138069,138070,138072],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138071,"type":596},"Our aim is not to disrupt markets with surplus tonnes and work with those in the market to provide a consistent quality and volume. We’ll firstly honour the market by supplying refractory and crucible customers, where Graphmada graphite is the benchmark of quality. It’s the largest market segment",{"text":138073,"type":596},"and good value can be obtained for our concentrates, especially our +50 and +35 mesh products.",{"type":591,"attrs":138075,"content":138076},{"textAlign":49},[138077],{"text":138078,"type":596},"We’ll then look to establish a beachhead in expandable graphite for which our graphite concentrates are highly suitable and if the market is there, sell our finer concentrates into the Battery Anode market sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":138080,"content":138081},{"textAlign":49},[138082],{"text":138083,"type":596},"Benchmark: Madagascar is known for its larger flake graphite material. Can you tell us about mining in Madagascar and the challenges/opportunity of operating in this part of the world?",{"type":591,"attrs":138085,"content":138086},{"textAlign":49},[138087,138088],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138089,"type":596},"Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa, and has been a democracy since 1960. It is governed under a French legal system with a low corporate tax rate of 20% and a low 2% mining royalty.",{"type":591,"attrs":138091,"content":138092},{"textAlign":49},[138093],{"text":138094,"type":596},"The country has produced benchmark quality graphite for over 100 years. This is due to the high proportion of high purity, large flake, premium quality graphite in soft, easily minable, saprolitic ore. Therefore, the deposits have low operating costs and extremely low capital costs when compared to other African or Western deposits. The well-developed export infrastructure is also a significant aspect that makes Madagascar attractive.",{"type":591,"attrs":138096,"content":138097},{"textAlign":49},[138098],{"text":138099,"type":596},"We’ve got nothing but positive things to say about operating in Madagascar. Our experiences have been, if you respect the culture, provide benefits to those communities in which you operate and demonstrate a high degree of integrity through your actions, you will be successful. But it can be said that this approach is fundamental to mining and exploration in any country.",{"type":591,"attrs":138101,"content":138102},{"textAlign":49},[138103],{"text":138104,"type":596},"Benchmark: Many development stage companies in Africa are targeting large scale production capacities. Do you intend to scale up your production to compete with these projects?",{"type":591,"attrs":138106,"content":138107},{"textAlign":49},[138108,138109,138111],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138110,"type":596},"Our approach is to meet market demand when the fundamentals begin to show the market is ready for further supply. We have plans for expansion in 2020 to 20,000 tpa (stage 2), which for our concentrate, due to its high purity and flake size, can be absorbed into traditional markets, such as refractories and crucibles. This will see us very profitable",{"text":138112,"type":596},"and a desirable partner for stable supply of quality concentrates.",{"type":591,"attrs":138114,"content":138115},{"textAlign":49},[138116],{"text":138117,"type":596},"The expandable and battery anode graphite markets are our upside. Which we think is a responsible and prudent approach, as we aim to be cash flow positive for the long term and not focused on a quick spike in share price for the benefit of a few.",{"type":591,"attrs":138119,"content":138120},{"textAlign":49},[138121],{"text":138122,"type":596},"With our large flake deposits, with approximately 90% of our graphite being >300 micron insitu, there is always attritioning through mining and processing. With proven production, our final concentrates sales average over 60% at >300 micron with grades of >94% fixed carbon.",{"type":591,"attrs":138124,"content":138125},{"textAlign":49},[138126],{"text":138127,"type":596},"If the market determines it requires greater supply of -100 mesh graphite concentrates, for example in the batteries niche, then we’ll have the strategic advantage of altering our processing techniques to meet this demand, so long as the pricing is more attractive. Most of our ASX competitors, however, are confined to compete in the lower value fine graphite market due to their deposits flake size distribution and the natural production attritioning, if they attract enough build capital. We see the fine flake market increasingly looking like it will be well over-supplied for many years. So, our positioning as a significantly de-risked producer of premium large flake concentrates, capable of trading through cycles and spikes in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":138129,"content":138130},{"textAlign":49},[138131],{"text":138132,"type":596},"Benchmark: Can you tell us a little about the challenges that the Graphmada project has found in becoming one of the first new flake graphite mines to enter the market in a generation?",{"type":591,"attrs":138134,"content":138135},{"textAlign":49},[138136,138137],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138138,"type":596},"The main lesson from the mine’s previous 4 years of production, is graphite is not an easy material to process or handle. I think at some stage in our lives we’ve all snapped a pencil! It’s an incredibly soft material. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is not handle it with respect. And most certainly you don’t want the processing challenge of liberating graphite from hard rock with explosives and crushing.",{"type":591,"attrs":138140,"content":138141},{"textAlign":49},[138142,138144],{"text":138143,"type":596},"So, at Graphmada, being a soft and easily minable ore, we’re fortunate that we can approach the material handling challenge of mining graphite with care and attention. In this respect, we avoid the biggest challenge",{"text":138145,"type":596},"to any graphite miner; flake size degradation.",{"type":591,"attrs":138147,"content":138148},{"textAlign":49},[138149],{"text":138150,"type":596},"We’ve proven we can produce at good recoveries a high value product. So really our biggest challenge is consistency, hence the refurbishment of the process plant and the installation of the right types of equipment such as reliable generators. When you build or refurbish a plant, consistent production from reliable equipment is your number one focus, other than the people who will operate it safely.",{"type":591,"attrs":138152,"content":138153},{"textAlign":49},[138154],{"text":138155,"type":596},"Benchmark: Where do you see the graphite market going moving forward and how will Bass Metals position itself to best exploit these developments?",{"type":591,"attrs":138157,"content":138158},{"textAlign":49},[138159,138160],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138161,"type":596},"We feel that smaller flake concentrates will be challenging for some time, whilst cognizant of the quantum shift in demand over the next decade for these concentrates we see new supply largely balancing this.",{"type":591,"attrs":138163,"content":138164},{"textAlign":49},[138165],{"text":138166,"type":596},"Our large flake size in-situ, and in subsequent concentrates, lends itself to more traditional applications, which despite equity markets abiding interest in all things, lithium ion batteries deliver superior pricing.",{"type":591,"attrs":138168,"content":138169},{"textAlign":49},[138170],{"text":138171,"type":596},"Beyond traditional applications there are two obvious areas of growth; battery anode and expandable graphite. The expandable sector is of deep interest to Bass and is emerging the logical stage 3 at Graphmada or to be built in conjunction with Graphmada’s expansion. We have had outstanding results returned for the suitability of our ore for expandability, it’s very exciting. Of real interest to Bass is the growth projections for expandable graphite. We see this as the logical pathway forward for Bass concentrates, with the market in expandables potentially outstripping demand for graphite in the battery anode sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":138173,"content":138174},{"textAlign":49},[138175],{"text":138176,"type":596},"I believe the market has some way to go before recovering in the lower micron sized concentrates. We’ve seen some lower pricing, especially with the removal of the 20% export tax out of China. In contrast the large flake concentrates are selling well and there is significant demand, so pricing is either holding or increasing depending on the market you’re selling into. The demand for the larger flake graphite is growing, in our opinion.",{"type":591,"attrs":138178,"content":138179},{"textAlign":49},[138180,138182],{"text":138181,"type":596},"I often relate large flake graphite to metallurgical coal – they are both rare resources over shadowed by their lower",{"text":138183,"type":596},"quality counterparts in fine graphite and thermal coal respectively. This scarcity is recognised by those in the industry and this will see some interesting discussions as deposit quality drops off in Brazil and Bass Metals remains as one of only two producers from Madagascar.",{"type":591,"attrs":138185,"content":138186},{"textAlign":49},[138187],{"text":138188,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are the main benefits that Bass Metals will bring to the Graphmada project?",{"type":591,"attrs":138190,"content":138191},{"textAlign":49},[138192,138193],{"text":137978,"type":596},{"text":138194,"type":596},"The main benefit is our focus as a team to deliver, as we are all mining professionals with many year’s experience and are all highly invested both emotionally and financially. We will get the results we seek because we know what we’re doing, we’ve done it before and our primary motivation of building value for our shareholders is aligned with building value for ourselves and our families, who are also shareholders. Having such a supportive and highly engaged shareholder base backing us, gives those who work everyday on improving Graphmada a large source of confidence that we are all heading in the right direction together.",{"type":591,"attrs":138196,"content":138197},{"textAlign":49},[138198],{"text":138199,"type":596},"In addition to inheriting the asset we inherited some excellent staff with significant processing knowhow, whom are all dedicated to seeing the mine, and company, become successful.",{"type":591,"attrs":138201,"content":138202},{"textAlign":49},[138203],{"text":138204,"type":596},"As such, we have been proactive in retaining these important members of our team through the issue of shares to both Madagascan and expat staff, as we want our employees to treat the asset as their own.",{"type":591,"attrs":138206,"content":138207},{"textAlign":49},[138208],{"text":138209,"type":596},"We also had a view from the outset that community engagement would be absolutely critical to Bass’ pathway forward and subsequently spend considerable time and resources in the local and regional communities delivering a variety of projects in education, health and local economic opportunities.",{"type":591,"attrs":138211,"content":138212},{"textAlign":49},[138213],{"text":138214,"type":596},"We set out to build an industrial minerals company of scale over 5- 7 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":138216,"content":138217},{"textAlign":49},[138218],{"text":138219,"type":596},"Whilst we are pleased with the delivery of stage 1 the strategy is to carefully move to a much larger company and take shareholders, our employees and the local community with us.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence talked with Bass Metals Ltd CEO Tim McManus about its plans for the Graphmada Large Flake Graphite Mine, challenges the company will face, and its outlook on the future of the graphite market. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: How did the acquisition of the Graphmada flake mine come about? Tim McManus: The team at […]",[138222],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":138223},{"job_title":557,"image":138224,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c0827fa9-90f6-4c3d-b768-d56146d95eaf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[138227,138228],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":138230,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":138231,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/258136cf35/bm-mcmanus-2-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":138233,"uuid":138234,"name":138235,"slug":138236,"full_slug":138237,"content":138238},112474560588842,"da67b8da-f8d6-4b3f-917a-d1c51b9c6351","EUROPE’S LITHIUM PIPELINE","europes-lithium-pipeline","article/europes-lithium-pipeline",{"_uid":138239,"date":137349,"tags":138240,"editor":138242,"content":138246,"excerpt":138824,"featured":50,"reporter":138825,"_editable":138829,"component":697,"seo_title":138235,"categories":138830,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":138834,"seo_description":138824,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137432},"41a79a31-2a14-46c3-be96-d1c643ffef8c",[138241],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[138243],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":138244},{"job_title":557,"image":138245,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":138247},[138248,138255,138268,138273,138278,138283,138288,138293,138298,138303,138308,138313,138320,138325,138330,138335,138340,138345,138350,138355,138360,138365,138370,138378,138383,138388,138393,138398,138403,138408,138413,138418,138423,138428,138433,138438,138445,138450,138455,138460,138465,138472,138477,138484,138491,138497,138501,138506,138512,138517,138522,138527,138532,138537,138546,138551,138556,138561,138566,138571,138576,138581,138588,138593,138597,138604,138609,138616,138621,138628,138633,138638,138643,138648,138655,138663,138668,138675,138680,138685,138690,138695,138700,138705,138712,138717,138722,138727,138732,138739,138746,138751,138756,138763,138768,138773,138778,138785,138790,138795,138802,138807,138814,138819],{"type":591,"attrs":138249,"content":138250},{"textAlign":49},[138251],{"text":138252,"type":596,"marks":138253},"Europe has risen to become one of the world’s most active regions for lithium exploration. Home to world-leading auto and chemical industries, its lithium production is non-existent. One mining major and a group of exploration entrepreneurs are seeking to change Europe’s lithium course and bring supply self-sufficiency to a continent that is pushing hard towards vehicle electrification.",[138254],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":138256,"content":138257},{"textAlign":49},[138258,138261,138264],{"text":63577,"type":596,"marks":138259},[138260],{"type":1006},{"text":6576,"type":596,"marks":138262},[138263],{"type":1006},{"text":138265,"type":596,"marks":138266}," looks at some of Europe’s latest active developments in the lithium space.",[138267],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":138269,"content":138270},{"textAlign":49},[138271],{"text":138272,"type":596},"Over the past five years, exploration geologists have uncovered a wide variety of lithium resources locked in several different mineralogies as Europe rose to prominence to become world’s fourth most active exploration hotspot after Chile, Argentina, and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":138274,"content":138275},{"textAlign":49},[138276],{"text":138277,"type":596},"From former tin mines on the German-Czech border to lithium-mica deposits in Spain and Portugal to an entirely new mineral being discovered in Serbia, the question of whether Europe can have some long-term self-sufficient lithium supply is some way to being answered.",{"type":591,"attrs":138279,"content":138280},{"textAlign":49},[138281],{"text":138282,"type":596},"SERBIA",{"type":591,"attrs":138284,"content":138285},{"textAlign":49},[138286],{"text":138287,"type":596},"Rio Tinto’s Jadar project has been the most talked about lithium prospect in Europe for the last 10 years since its discovery hosting an entirely new mineral.",{"type":591,"attrs":138289,"content":138290},{"textAlign":49},[138291],{"text":138292,"type":596},"The world’s third largest miner by revenue began a global exploration push in the mid-2000s to secure new borates resources but turned up a major global lithium deposit hosted in a new mineral, Jadarite, named after the Jadar River which runs past the project in Serbia.",{"type":591,"attrs":138294,"content":138295},{"textAlign":49},[138296],{"text":138297,"type":596},"Rio Tinto was helped in the discovery by Dr Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum.",{"type":591,"attrs":138299,"content":138300},{"textAlign":49},[138301],{"text":138302,"type":596},"“Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral’s chemical formula – sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide – and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns,” Dr Stanley explained at the time.",{"type":591,"attrs":138304,"content":138305},{"textAlign":49},[138306],{"text":138307,"type":596},"“The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138309,"content":138310},{"textAlign":49},[138311],{"text":138312,"type":596},"The project has made little commercial progress since its discovery in 2007 but that is something Rio Tinto is now looking to correct after investing in a new drilling program in Jadar.",{"type":591,"attrs":138314,"content":138315},{"textAlign":49},[138316,138318],{"text":138317,"type":596},"“The project is currently in Prefeasibility stage. A team of international experts in various disciplines (from mining to processing to communities) is completing studies over as part of Prefeasibility stage to further assess",{"text":138319,"type":596},"the technical and economic viability of the project” Rio Tinto explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":138321,"content":138322},{"textAlign":49},[138323],{"text":138324,"type":596},"A new drilling program began at Jadar in Q1 2017 at eight locations, to learn more about the central ore body, with the company spending $90m on the project to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":138326,"content":138327},{"textAlign":49},[138328],{"text":138329,"type":596},"Interest has been reignited in the Jadar deposit as Europe seeks supply security of lithium for a number of reasons, including the rapidly developing battery and EV industry within the continent and, interestingly, from a concern that Australian spodumene mines and resources are increasingly controlled by China.",{"type":591,"attrs":138331,"content":138332},{"textAlign":49},[138333],{"text":138334,"type":596},"It is a view that is causing some concern within the European battery supply chain that is building out its long-term cell and EV capacities.",{"type":591,"attrs":138336,"content":138337},{"textAlign":49},[138338],{"text":138339,"type":596},"When considering that two of Australia’s three operating spodumene mines have exclusive offtake agreements with Chinese producers of lithium chemicals, it leaves Galaxy Resources’ Mt Cattlin mine as the only hard rock source of free market lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":138341,"content":138342},{"textAlign":49},[138343],{"text":138344,"type":596},"Talison Lithium’s famous Greenbushes operation is majority owned by Sichuan Tianqi with Albemarle, a 49% shareholder, entitled to 50% of output which is processed in China. Meanwhile, Mineral Resources and Neometals’ Mt Marion operation as an exclusive offtake deal with Ganfeng Lithium and Pilbara Minerals, widely tipped to be the next in line to production. There are also deals between Ganfeng Lithium and General Lithium Corp, both China-based lithium chemical producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":138346,"content":138347},{"textAlign":49},[138348],{"text":138349,"type":596},"As a result, a number of lithium hotspots have cropped up in Europe, particularly in central Europe and Portugal, all developing a variety of lithium bearing minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":138351,"content":138352},{"textAlign":49},[138353],{"text":138354,"type":596},"PORTUGAL & SPAIN",{"type":591,"attrs":138356,"content":138357},{"textAlign":49},[138358],{"text":138359,"type":596},"When the global lithium exploration boom was reborn in 2015, it was logical that the first countries to garner the most interest were Portugal and Spain.",{"type":591,"attrs":138361,"content":138362},{"textAlign":49},[138363],{"text":138364,"type":596},"Northern Portugal in particular has always been a small but active area of lithium interest for the ceramics and glass industry for the regional markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":138366,"content":138367},{"textAlign":49},[138368],{"text":138369,"type":596},"“The line-up in Europe is a suite of projects covering a broad range of lithium minerals including zinnwaldite, petalite, lepidolite, jadarite and spodumene deposits,” David",{"type":591,"attrs":138371,"content":138372},{"textAlign":49},[138373,138375,138376],{"text":138374,"type":596},"Archer, CEO of Savannah Resources told ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":138377,"type":596},"in an interview.",{"type":591,"attrs":138379,"content":138380},{"textAlign":49},[138381],{"text":138382,"type":596},"“Historically the lithium deposits in Portugal and Spain have been focused on ceramics applications and products… Projects like Keliber in Finland, European Metals in Czech Republic, European Lithium in Austria and Rio Tinto in Serbia continue to move forward,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138384,"content":138385},{"textAlign":49},[138386],{"text":138387,"type":596},"Savannah is developing one such project in Portugal, a spodumene resource known as the Mina do Barroso project which is on the",{"type":591,"attrs":138389,"content":138390},{"textAlign":49},[138391],{"text":138392,"type":596},"verge of completing its scoping study with Hatch.",{"type":591,"attrs":138394,"content":138395},{"textAlign":49},[138396],{"text":138397,"type":596},"Novo Lítio has been developing the Sepeda project in Portugal, its primary focus, but also has a spodumene asset in Sweden called Spodumenberget or Spodumene Mountain.",{"type":591,"attrs":138399,"content":138400},{"textAlign":49},[138401],{"text":138402,"type":596},"The company has been focused on the Sepeda spodumene resource located in central-northern Portugal on the border with Spain. The Sepeda project is one of a number of resources located in the Barroso- Alvão/Carvalhais pegmatite field – a wide area of spodumene mineralisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":138404,"content":138405},{"textAlign":49},[138406],{"text":138407,"type":596},"In its portfolio, Novo Lítio also has two additional pegmatite fields: Serra de Arga, in the north west corner of Portugal close to the coast, and Barca de Alva, a smaller land package to the east yet still in the same northern region.",{"type":591,"attrs":138409,"content":138410},{"textAlign":49},[138411],{"text":138412,"type":596},"One exploration licence has so far been granted with the remaining under review.",{"type":591,"attrs":138414,"content":138415},{"textAlign":49},[138416],{"text":138417,"type":596},"Infinity Lithium is developing one of the largest lithium resources in Europe: a lithium-tin project in central Spain, 290km from the capital Madrid.",{"type":591,"attrs":138419,"content":138420},{"textAlign":49},[138421],{"text":138422,"type":596},"Located in the Extremadura region, Infinity Lithium has completed the scoping study on the San Jose project and has described its feasibility study as “imminent”.",{"type":591,"attrs":138424,"content":138425},{"textAlign":49},[138426],{"text":138427,"type":596},"The project was previously explored by Tolsa SA, the Spanish specialist mineral producer, between 1987 and 1991. The company, which today employs over 750 people worldwide, was focused not only on lithium but also its tin potential.",{"type":591,"attrs":138429,"content":138430},{"textAlign":49},[138431],{"text":138432,"type":596},"The San Jose deposit is hosted within sedimentary rocks intruded by quartz and quartz pegmatite veins; lithium mineralisation occurs in both sections.",{"type":591,"attrs":138434,"content":138435},{"textAlign":49},[138436],{"text":138437,"type":596},"“Two years ago there were no advanced major lithium projects in Europe. Now there are a number of advanced projects of different mineralogies, from mica hosted",{"type":591,"attrs":138439,"content":138440},{"textAlign":49},[138441,138443,138444],{"text":138442,"type":596},"deposits to lithium boron deposits,” Humphry Hale, Director at Infinity, explained to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138446,"content":138447},{"textAlign":49},[138448],{"text":138449,"type":596},"“There is no doubt more prospects will be uncovered. The interesting part of the European story is that most of the mica projects are intending to create a final battery grade product onsite.",{"type":591,"attrs":138451,"content":138452},{"textAlign":49},[138453],{"text":138454,"type":596},"“There is interest in adding value and providing rock sourced battery grade lithium outside of China as producers address their geographical and political exposure. Infinity’s San Jose project is [Europe’s] third [largest lithium deposit] on resource size,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138456,"content":138457},{"textAlign":49},[138458],{"text":138459,"type":596},"AUSTRIA",{"type":591,"attrs":138461,"content":138462},{"textAlign":49},[138463],{"text":138464,"type":596},"European Lithium has been one of the most active developers in the space as it progresses the Wolfsberg Lithium Project located in Carinthia, 270km south of the nation’s capital, Vienna.",{"type":591,"attrs":138466,"content":138467},{"textAlign":49},[138468,138470],{"text":138469,"type":596},"The resource has been on Austria’s radar since the early 1980s when a previous shortage of lithium sparked exploration activities by the government via a company called Minerex. After a number of drilling programs and the prevailing winds of the global lithium market changing direction, the Austrian government dropped its interest in the project and it fell under the ownership of",{"text":138471,"type":596},"private zinc miner, Bleiberger Bergwerksunion (BBU).",{"type":591,"attrs":138473,"content":138474},{"textAlign":49},[138475],{"text":138476,"type":596},"The wheels only started turning on Austria’s lithium prospects two decades later in 2011 when Global Strategic Metals and Exchange Minerals (through jointly owned subsidiary ECM Lithium AT GmbH), acquired the Wolsberg Project for €9.7m plus 20% VAT.",{"type":591,"attrs":138478,"content":138479},{"textAlign":49},[138480,138482],{"text":138481,"type":596},"Today, it is European Lithium that is responsible for developing the lithium resource which is at PFS stage, of which is 6.3m tonnes at 1.17% Li2O (zone 1, measured",{"text":138483,"type":596},"and indicated), and 5.68m tonnes at 0.78% Li2O.",{"type":591,"attrs":138485,"content":138486},{"textAlign":49},[138487,138489,138490],{"text":138488,"type":596},"“The infrastructure in Austria is excellent for easy transport of lithium products to the coming lithium battery plants whilst Austria has high technical skills and a long mining tradition,” Steve Kessler, CEO of European Lithium explained to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138492,"content":138493},{"textAlign":49},[138494,138496],{"text":138495,"type":596},"“The Carinthian and Federal Governments are very supportive to the development of a lithium industry and their investment agencies are keen to lead application for EC",{"text":138471,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138498,"content":138499},{"textAlign":49},[138500],{"text":138476,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138502,"content":138503},{"textAlign":49},[138504],{"text":138505,"type":596},"Today, it is European Lithium that is responsible for developing the lithium resource which is at PFS stage, of which is 6.3m tonnes at 1.17% Li2O (zone 1, measured and indicated), and 5.68m tonnes at 0.78% Li2O.",{"type":591,"attrs":138507,"content":138508},{"textAlign":49},[138509,138510,138511],{"text":138488,"type":596},{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138513,"content":138514},{"textAlign":49},[138515],{"text":138516,"type":596},"“The Carinthian and Federal Governments are very supportive to the development of a lithium industry and their investment agencies are keen to lead application for EC support funding for the Wolfsberg lithium project,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138518,"content":138519},{"textAlign":49},[138520],{"text":138521,"type":596},"CZECH REPUBLIC",{"type":591,"attrs":138523,"content":138524},{"textAlign":49},[138525],{"text":138526,"type":596},"European Metals has been one of the highest profile lithium developers in Europe over the last three years for the work it has conducted on the Cinovec Lithium Project on the border with Germany and Czech Republic.",{"type":591,"attrs":138528,"content":138529},{"textAlign":49},[138530],{"text":138531,"type":596},"The development activities of European Metals have uncovered Europe’s largest lithium deposit. It is a former underground mine with a lithium-tin mineralisation that was operating from the 1940s to produce Tungsten for the Second World War. It closed as recently as 1993 after the fall of the Iron Curtain and with it the need for captive supply of tin in the Soviet Union.",{"type":591,"attrs":138533,"content":138534},{"textAlign":49},[138535],{"text":138536,"type":596},"The JORC measured resource is presently indicated at 348m tonnes of 0.45% Li2O and 0.04% Sn and an inferred at 309m tonnes of 0.39% Li2O and 0.04% Sn containing a combined 7m tonnes LCE and 263,000 tonnes of tin.",{"type":591,"attrs":138538,"content":138539},{"textAlign":49},[138540,138542,138544],{"text":138541,"type":596},"The project has caught the attention of major auto and battery manufacturers on the continent and was the location of ",{"text":138543,"type":596},"Benchmark’s World Tour 2016 Field Trip ",{"text":138545,"type":596},"which followed on from the Dresden seminar.",{"type":591,"attrs":138547,"content":138548},{"textAlign":49},[138549],{"text":138550,"type":596},"GERMANY",{"type":591,"attrs":138552,"content":138553},{"textAlign":49},[138554],{"text":138555,"type":596},"When Germany enters Europe’s lithium discussion it is usually in the role of an ultimate end user – an electric vehicle producer or, at best, a small-scale lithium ion battery maker.",{"type":591,"attrs":138557,"content":138558},{"textAlign":49},[138559],{"text":138560,"type":596},"Yet Europe’s industrial powerhouse does have lithium projects within its borders.",{"type":591,"attrs":138562,"content":138563},{"textAlign":49},[138564],{"text":138565,"type":596},"SolarWorld Industries AG is a manufacturer of photovoltaic cells for the solar energy industry. The company is fully integrated from polysilicon feedstock creation to solar cells through to the construction of modules.",{"type":591,"attrs":138567,"content":138568},{"textAlign":49},[138569],{"text":138570,"type":596},"The full integration approach is quite unique for Europe and forced the company to look into mineral supply security, especially for high purity quartz.",{"type":591,"attrs":138572,"content":138573},{"textAlign":49},[138574],{"text":138575,"type":596},"Within its portfolio is a spodumene resource that is held by the Zinnwald Lithium Project, located 35km south east of Dresden.",{"type":591,"attrs":138577,"content":138578},{"textAlign":49},[138579],{"text":138580,"type":596},"The driver behind development of the project is London-based Bacanora Minerals which is better known for its Sonora Lithium clay project in Mexico.",{"type":591,"attrs":138582,"content":138583},{"textAlign":49},[138584,138586],{"text":138585,"type":596},"Bacanora stated that Zinnwald contains 36.4m tonnes of indicated and inferred resources at a grade of 3,600ppm under PERC regulations – the Pan European Reserves and Resources Reporting Committee. This would need to be upgraded to fall in line with the",{"text":138587,"type":596},"progresses throughout H1 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":138589,"content":138590},{"textAlign":49},[138591],{"text":138592,"type":596},"Tin International AG is 61.5% owned by Deutsche Rohstoff AG, an exploration company with oil and gas, rare earths, tungsten, zinc and lead, and copper-gold assets in North America, Europe and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":138594,"content":138595},{"textAlign":49},[138596],{"text":10540,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138598,"content":138599},{"textAlign":49},[138600,138602],{"text":138601,"type":596},"Cornish Lithium has been the highest profile lithium exploration and development company in the UK as it seeks to summon",{"text":138603,"type":596},"a new era of production for Cornwall, a county in the south-west of England that is historically famous for tin mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":138605,"content":138606},{"textAlign":49},[138607],{"text":138608,"type":596},"Cornish tin and copper mines were the among the most active in the world during the first industrial revolution between the 18th and 19th centuries, especially the famed South Crofty mine which remarkably ceased operations in 1998.",{"type":591,"attrs":138610,"content":138611},{"textAlign":49},[138612,138614],{"text":138613,"type":596},"In an interesting twist, however, it is not the hard-rock tin mines that are of commercial lithium interest but rather the region’s hot",{"text":138615,"type":596},"springs that are the target.",{"type":591,"attrs":138617,"content":138618},{"textAlign":49},[138619],{"text":138620,"type":596},"In short, Cornish Lithium is seeking to begin Europe’s first ever lithium brine operation into production. The target area is known as the Tregothnan Estates, around 12km from the famous Cornish town of Truro. It is private land which has a history of tin, copper and kaolin mining operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":138622,"content":138623},{"textAlign":49},[138624,138626],{"text":138625,"type":596},"The company is also working with Satellite Applications Catapult, a government funded research group, to use satellite data in",{"text":138627,"type":596},"identifying a lithium “fingerprint” from space. This project is underway as of Q2 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":138629,"content":138630},{"textAlign":49},[138631],{"text":138632,"type":596},"“I was told by a friend of mine about six years ago that he was trying to restart the South Crofty tin mine,” Cornish Lithium’s managing director, Jeremy Wrathall explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":138634,"content":138635},{"textAlign":49},[138636],{"text":138637,"type":596},"“He said that they’ve got everything in that mine, tin, copper, zinc and lithium coming in at depth. I promptly forgot about it, and only remembered in 2016 when electric cars started to really gear up,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138639,"content":138640},{"textAlign":49},[138641],{"text":138642,"type":596},"Mining, let alone brine extraction, is something that the UK left in its past two generations ago. Yet Wrathall is optimistic new methods to extract a host minerals from brines is closer than the general population thinks.",{"type":591,"attrs":138644,"content":138645},{"textAlign":49},[138646],{"text":138647,"type":596},"“Historically, lithium has been extracted in Chile using solar evaporation, which is a really old technology,” Wrathall said to Mining Technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":138649,"content":138650},{"textAlign":49},[138651,138653],{"text":138652,"type":596},"“Now there are new technologies using membranes, reverse osmosis, ion exchange and solvent extraction. All of these processes",{"text":138654,"type":596},"are being used to extract lithium directly from brine without an evaporation step.",{"type":591,"attrs":138656,"content":138657},{"textAlign":49},[138658,138660,138661],{"text":138659,"type":596},"Speaking to ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":138662,"type":596},"Wrathall explained that Cornish Lithium has now identified over 50 separate incidences of lithium bearing brines in Cornwall, some of which have levels up to 200ppm.",{"type":591,"attrs":138664,"content":138665},{"textAlign":49},[138666],{"text":138667,"type":596},"“[The key thing is the] chemistry of these brines [which] appears very favourable to treatment using modern processing techniques which do not utilise solar evaporation.",{"type":591,"attrs":138669,"content":138670},{"textAlign":49},[138671,138673],{"text":138672,"type":596},"“We believe that modern drilling",{"text":138674,"type":596},"technology in combination with newly developed processing technology gives our project a high chance of success,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138676,"content":138677},{"textAlign":49},[138678],{"text":138679,"type":596},"In terms of the UK and Europe’s lithium activity compared with the rest of the world, Wrathall explained more must be done.",{"type":591,"attrs":138681,"content":138682},{"textAlign":49},[138683],{"text":138684,"type":596},"“In our view it is vital that lithium deposits are identified and commercialised in Europe, and as part of that process we believe the UK needs to evaluate domestic potential.",{"type":591,"attrs":138686,"content":138687},{"textAlign":49},[138688],{"text":138689,"type":596},"“The European car industry could potentially be under threat should domestic sources not be quickly developed, given that China has already locked up large quantities of vital battery materials, such as lithium and cobalt,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138691,"content":138692},{"textAlign":49},[138693],{"text":138694,"type":596},"“The importance of Europe is because of the proximity to the end-use markets, especially the car manufacturing industry and the evolving battery cell manufacturing industry,” Archer explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":138696,"content":138697},{"textAlign":49},[138698],{"text":138699,"type":596},"“It is becoming more obvious that it makes economic and strategic sense to establish the complete value chain within Europe and not having complete dependency on foreign raw materials. This is true for battery cells, but also for battery raw materials… there are no doubts that the transformation towards electric mobility is irreversible,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":138701,"content":138702},{"textAlign":49},[138703],{"text":138704,"type":596},"It is a sentiment that Dr Francis Wedin, CEO of Novo Lítio, a developer of the Sepeda project in also in northern Portugal, agrees with.",{"type":591,"attrs":138706,"content":138707},{"textAlign":49},[138708,138710,138711],{"text":138709,"type":596},"“There is extensive interest across all sectors [in Europe] from car and battery manufacturers to government levels,” he explained to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138713,"content":138714},{"textAlign":49},[138715],{"text":138716,"type":596},"“The profile [of European lithium deposits] has been raised considerably, as there has been an increasingly public discussion about the need to secure domestic lithium supply for the battery market in Europe,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138718,"content":138719},{"textAlign":49},[138720],{"text":138721,"type":596},"“There is also a considerable push from manufacturers and governments in Europe to not be caught in the same trap as the fossil fuel sector and allow supply to be controlled by a handful of producers.”",{"type":591,"attrs":138723,"content":138724},{"textAlign":49},[138725],{"text":138726,"type":596},"Breaking the big four",{"type":591,"attrs":138728,"content":138729},{"textAlign":49},[138730],{"text":138731,"type":596},"Yet it is not just the battery market that is having issues securing supply on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":138733,"content":138734},{"textAlign":49},[138735,138737],{"text":138736,"type":596},"“The big 4 dominate the lithium supply market and it is hard for consumers to find",{"text":138738,"type":596},"new sources of lithium carbonate including the ceramic industry,” said Ryan Parkin, General Manager Corporate Development at Infinity Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":138740,"content":138741},{"textAlign":49},[138742,138744,138745],{"text":138743,"type":596},"“European supplies can break this quadropoly,” he explained to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138747,"content":138748},{"textAlign":49},[138749],{"text":138750,"type":596},"As European explorers continue their exploration and drilling, the continent’s defined resources are set to significantly increase over the coming years. However, the management teams appear realistic with their views of Europe in a global lithium context.",{"type":591,"attrs":138752,"content":138753},{"textAlign":49},[138754],{"text":138755,"type":596},"“It should be a priority for the European Community to encourage an integrated lithium industry for Europe,” said Steve Kessler, CEO of European Lithium which is developing the Wolfsberg Lithium project in Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":138757,"content":138758},{"textAlign":49},[138759,138761,138762],{"text":138760,"type":596},"“European lithium mines to European conversion plants feeding lithium hydroxide or carbonate to European battery plants to supply European EV’s and ESS,” he declared to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138764,"content":138765},{"textAlign":49},[138766],{"text":138767,"type":596},"It reminds one of the point that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, made on the officially opening of the world’s first and only fully integrated lithium ion battery to EV plant, Gigafactory 1.",{"type":591,"attrs":138769,"content":138770},{"textAlign":49},[138771],{"text":138772,"type":596},"Musk explained that you cannot take battery raw materials on a “round-the-world-trip” and “expect them to be cheap”. A tighter supply chain for lithium ion batteries is not only a hope but it is now a formality as Asian battery makers establish megafactories around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":138774,"content":138775},{"textAlign":49},[138776],{"text":138777,"type":596},"LG Chem, SK Innovation and CATL are all planning large scale battery plants in Europe with Poland and Hungary becoming hubs. Northvolt, a newcomer to industry, is in the planning stages of a new megafactory in Sweden, and Tesla has also expressed an interest in building a future battery plant in Europe, albeit this will be mid-2020s after it establishes a presence in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":138779,"content":138780},{"textAlign":49},[138781],{"type":836,"attrs":138782},{"id":49,"alt":547,"src":138783,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":138784},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7c6f479388/bm-1-5x7-high-resolution6171.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":138786,"content":138787},{"textAlign":49},[138788],{"text":138789,"type":596},"“The potential for European lithium projects to supply most of the lithium required for the announced battery plant is there” Dr Steve Kessler, CEO, European Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":138791,"content":138792},{"textAlign":49},[138793],{"text":138794,"type":596},"“There are now four advanced projects in Europe in the PFS and DFS stages,” explained Kessler. “Certainly, there is potential for European lithium projects to supply most of the lithium required for the announced battery projects in Europe which will require about 100,000tpa LCE by 2025,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138796,"content":138797},{"textAlign":49},[138798,138800],{"text":138799,"type":596},"“The importance of Europe is because of the proximity to the end-use markets, especially the car manufacturing industry and the evolving battery cell manufacturing industry. In terms of competitiveness, European lithium",{"text":138801,"type":596},"deposits are fully competitive to raw materials coming from other regions in the world,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":138803,"content":138804},{"textAlign":49},[138805],{"text":138806,"type":596},"Europe’s distance from existing sources of lithium appears to be a recurring point of concern between the continent’s lithium CEOs.",{"type":591,"attrs":138808,"content":138809},{"textAlign":49},[138810,138812],{"text":138811,"type":596},"“South American brines and Australian hard-rock deposits have a considerable head start,” explained Dr Wedin of Novo Lítio, “however, since lithium is a semi-bulk commodity [traded in the hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year], distance to market is a factor [especially when the end",{"text":138813,"type":596},"goal is to] reduce the carbon footprint of the EV batteries.”",{"type":591,"attrs":138815,"content":138816},{"textAlign":49},[138817],{"text":138818,"type":596},"At present, lithium derived from Chile’s Atacama and bound for Europe must travel the best part of 20,000km before reaching its end market. With the volume of the lithium industry set to increase at least four-fold over as we approach 2025, Europe’s lithium miners of tomorrow are clearly targeting the advantages of supply chain consolidation.",{"type":591,"attrs":138820,"content":138821},{"textAlign":49},[138822],{"text":138823,"type":596},"And it will gain significant support from Europe’s most influential auto makers and chemical manufacturers.","Europe has risen to become one of the world’s most active regions for lithium exploration. Home to world-leading auto and chemical industries, its lithium production is non-existent. One mining major and a group of exploration entrepreneurs are seeking to change Europe’s lithium course and bring supply self-sufficiency to a continent that is pushing hard towards […]",[138826],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":138827},{"job_title":557,"image":138828,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"41a79a31-2a14-46c3-be96-d1c643ffef8c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[138831,138832,138833],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":138835,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":138836,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7b5afd1c66/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-25-at-115918.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":138838,"uuid":138839,"name":138840,"slug":138841,"full_slug":138842,"content":138843},112474555800617,"c3bd7294-959c-435e-a511-b57cfd837ec4","EUROPE: BEYOND THE BLUEPRINT ","europe-beyond-the-blueprint","article/europe-beyond-the-blueprint",{"_uid":138844,"date":137349,"tags":138845,"editor":138847,"content":138851,"excerpt":139582,"featured":50,"reporter":139583,"_editable":139587,"component":697,"seo_title":138840,"categories":139588,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":139591,"seo_description":139582,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":137432},"51d36b3c-3fd5-47b0-9a06-cf087fcfbda4",[138846],{"slug":1354,"name":898},[138848],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":138849},{"job_title":557,"image":138850,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":138852},[138853,138858,138863,138871,138876,138881,138886,138891,138896,138901,138914,138919,138924,138929,138934,138939,138946,138951,138956,138963,138968,138973,138978,138983,138988,138993,138998,139005,139010,139015,139020,139025,139030,139035,139040,139045,139050,139055,139062,139067,139072,139077,139082,139087,139092,139097,139102,139107,139112,139117,139122,139127,139132,139137,139142,139147,139152,139157,139162,139167,139172,139177,139182,139192,139197,139202,139207,139212,139217,139224,139229,139234,139239,139244,139249,139254,139259,139264,139271,139276,139286,139292,139297,139302,139307,139315,139320,139325,139330,139335,139340,139345,139350,139355,139363,139368,139373,139378,139383,139388,139393,139398,139403,139408,139413,139418,139423,139428,139433,139440,139445,139450,139455,139460,139465,139470,139475,139480,139485,139492,139499,139504,139509,139515,139520,139525,139533,139538,139543,139550,139557,139562,139567,139572,139577],{"type":591,"attrs":138854,"content":138855},{"textAlign":49},[138856],{"text":138857,"type":596},"Europe is playing catch up. With no lithium carbonate or hydroxide production and very small battery manufacturing capacity, Europe’s lithium ion battery supply chain presence is limited.",{"type":591,"attrs":138859,"content":138860},{"textAlign":49},[138861],{"text":138862,"type":596},"Backed by a new EU alliance, a small band of lithium entrepreneurs, an ex-Tesla team, and two Korean battery producers, Europe is seeking to charter a new course that will turn it into a supply chain superpower for the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":138864,"content":138865},{"textAlign":49},[138866,138867,138869],{"text":63577,"type":596},{"text":138868,"type":596},"Simon Moores ",{"text":138870,"type":596},"looks at how Europe is changing as it moves beyond its electric vehicle blueprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":138872,"content":138873},{"textAlign":49},[138874],{"text":138875,"type":596},"If you were based in Europe and in the lithium industry at the start of 2014, it’s very likely you would have to get on a long-haul flight to have a business discussion with anyone relevant.",{"type":591,"attrs":138877,"content":138878},{"textAlign":49},[138879],{"text":138880,"type":596},"This is despite having one of the world’s strongest car industries – primarily thanks to the German auto powerhouse that has dominated the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":138882,"content":138883},{"textAlign":49},[138884],{"text":138885,"type":596},"A similar sentiment can be had about Europe’s chemical sector, nearly all of which had its origins in the UK through the break-up of ICI, in France or Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":138887,"content":138888},{"textAlign":49},[138889],{"text":138890,"type":596},"Yet despite the presence of a strong and varied chemical industry, there was no significant capacity for lithium, cathode materials or battery cell manufacturing… the production clout lay in Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":138892,"content":138893},{"textAlign":49},[138894],{"text":138895,"type":596},"How times are changing.",{"type":591,"attrs":138897,"content":138898},{"textAlign":49},[138899],{"text":138900,"type":596},"Where we stand in 2018 is on the back of 18 months of frenzied activity to get Europe’s lithium ion supply chain off the ground and in shape for 21st century demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":138902,"content":138903},{"textAlign":49},[138904,138906,138912],{"text":138905,"type":596},"Here we take off from the previous feature ",{"text":138907,"type":596,"marks":138908},"“Europe’s Lithium Pipeline”",[138909],{"type":606,"attrs":138910},{"href":138911,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":750},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/europes-lithium-pipeline",{"text":138913,"type":596},"and look downstream of the lithium ion battery supply chain at cathodes, battery cell manufacturing, pack and electric vehicle build out, and the question: who is driving change in Europe?",{"type":591,"attrs":138915,"content":138916},{"textAlign":49},[138917],{"text":138918,"type":596},"Chemicals to cathodes",{"type":591,"attrs":138920,"content":138921},{"textAlign":49},[138922],{"text":138923,"type":596},"The investment community’s darling of the European cathode space is Umicore, a Belgian chemicals group that has focused on speciality chemicals in the auto and energy industries for many years.",{"type":591,"attrs":138925,"content":138926},{"textAlign":49},[138927],{"text":138928,"type":596},"Umicore is the world’s largest manufacturer of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries thanks to an expansion it is undertaking at its plants in South Korea and China to increase capacity by six-fold.",{"type":591,"attrs":138930,"content":138931},{"textAlign":49},[138932],{"text":138933,"type":596},"It is investing over €460m ($566m) between 2017 and 2019 to meet these production goals and increase to an estimated 50,000 tpa of both NCM and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":138935,"content":138936},{"textAlign":49},[138937],{"text":138938,"type":596},"“NMC is the preferred cathode material technology for rechargeable batteries used in vehicle electrification and global demand is increasing fast,” Umicore explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":138940,"content":138941},{"textAlign":49},[138942,138944],{"text":138943,"type":596},"“The demand for our NMC materials is outpacing the market by a significant margin and the increased capacity will enable Umicore to cater for a surge in customer orders. The",{"text":138945,"type":596},"investment will also enable Umicore to meet growing demand for its proprietary high-energy LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) cathode materials used in high-end consumer electronics.”",{"type":591,"attrs":138947,"content":138948},{"textAlign":49},[138949],{"text":138950,"type":596},"Umicore has also made significant progress on recovering minerals from its battery recycling program which is based in Belgium.",{"type":591,"attrs":138952,"content":138953},{"textAlign":49},[138954],{"text":138955,"type":596},"The group can now recover lithium and, most crucially, cobalt in the hundreds and low thousands of tonnes from small laptop and cell phone batteries with an LCO chemistry.",{"type":591,"attrs":138957,"content":138958},{"textAlign":49},[138959,138961,138962],{"text":138960,"type":596},"But challenges still remain as recycling expert, Hans Eric Melin of Creation Inn explained in an interview with ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":138964,"content":138965},{"textAlign":49},[138966],{"text":138967,"type":596},"“As the leading manufacturer of NMC cathode material, and one of the largest recyclers in the world, Umicore should be in a great position to use recycled material in their products. But their cathode production is located in Asia and their process, in which they melt waste batteries and other cobalt containing materials, requires additional treatment steps in order to separate the key metals,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":138969,"content":138970},{"textAlign":49},[138971],{"text":138972,"type":596},"“For that to make sense they need a scale and volumes which currently aren’t available due to our lack of batteries,”.",{"type":591,"attrs":138974,"content":138975},{"textAlign":49},[138976],{"text":138977,"type":596},"Yet this availability of used battery supply is not just a Umicore or Europe problem but an industry-wide one.",{"type":591,"attrs":138979,"content":138980},{"textAlign":49},[138981],{"text":138982,"type":596},"“The recycling industry in Europe is suffering from two problems that limits its growth. First of all there is a lack of batteries to recycle. Although more than 25,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries are reaching end-of-life in Europe annually, most of this is lost to Asia,” Melin explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":138984,"content":138985},{"textAlign":49},[138986],{"text":138987,"type":596},"The second major challenge for recyclers of batteries is the quality of the product that comes out. While recyclers can extract lithium, it is either not possible or too expensive to convert this into high-purity battery-grade material.",{"type":591,"attrs":138989,"content":138990},{"textAlign":49},[138991],{"text":138992,"type":596},"The recycled lithium is therefore either entering the supply chain into other applications such as ceramics and glass or not re-entering the supply chain at all.",{"type":591,"attrs":138994,"content":138995},{"textAlign":49},[138996],{"text":138997,"type":596},"Melin commented: “…there is really no maker of active [cathode] materials here to buy what comes out of [the recycling process]”.",{"type":591,"attrs":138999,"content":139000},{"textAlign":49},[139001,139003],{"text":139002,"type":596},"Yet progress is being made with lithium players such as China’s Ganfeng Lithium which expects between 1,500 and 2,500 tonnes of recycled lithium to be recovered from spent",{"text":139004,"type":596},"batteries in 2018. It is a similar story in Japan and Korea with more lithium ion supply chain players looking to establish recycling operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":139006,"content":139007},{"textAlign":49},[139008],{"text":139009,"type":596},"Melin said: “Strong demand from their own manufacturing enables them to pay higher prices for waste materials and to both develop and scale more advanced technology. If we don’t produce cathode material in Europe I highly doubt that we will see a strong recycling industry here.”",{"type":591,"attrs":139011,"content":139012},{"textAlign":49},[139013],{"text":139014,"type":596},"Melin sees Umicore as the key to cracking Europe’s recycling conundrum.",{"type":591,"attrs":139016,"content":139017},{"textAlign":49},[139018],{"text":139019,"type":596},"“As Umicore is planning a cathode plant in Europe and is also involved in the Terra E project I think they are the likely game changers. That will enable them to fully close the loop and adapt their recycling process to their own material production,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":139021,"content":139022},{"textAlign":49},[139023],{"text":139024,"type":596},"Yet despite the distances, Melin expects European battery recyclers will still face competition for waste materials from China and Korea.",{"type":591,"attrs":139026,"content":139027},{"textAlign":49},[139028],{"text":139029,"type":596},"BASF is another European chemical group in the battery spotlight after it revealed plans to build out new global cathode capacity not only in Europe but also in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":139031,"content":139032},{"textAlign":49},[139033],{"text":139034,"type":596},"The most recent development at the end of Q1 was BASF establishing a new business, BASF Toda America, LLC to produce and market high energy NCM and Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (NCA) cathode materials for EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":139036,"content":139037},{"textAlign":49},[139038],{"text":139039,"type":596},"The business will operate cathode plants in Elyria, Ohio and Battle Creek, Michigan, and mirrors earlier plans for Europe as BASF seeks to build a global footprint and a foothold in the EV battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":139041,"content":139042},{"textAlign":49},[139043],{"text":139044,"type":596},"The group plans to build a €400m ($488m) plant in Europe, most probably Germany, to produce the same line up of cathode materials as in the US. Construction on all of these plants is expected to begin H2 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":139046,"content":139047},{"textAlign":49},[139048],{"text":139049,"type":596},"“We are the largest chemical supplier to the automotive industry, and this is the biggest opportunity that we see in that space today,” Ken Lane, BASF’s global head of catalysts, said in Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":139051,"content":139052},{"textAlign":49},[139053],{"text":139054,"type":596},"“Asia has been the growth story until now and will continue to grow, but Europe is also going to be growing very fast over the next decade,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139056,"content":139057},{"textAlign":49},[139058,139060],{"text":139059,"type":596},"But even though BASF are very strong in supplying auto customers with a range of chemicals such as catalysts and coatings, it",{"text":139061,"type":596},"does not have a strong position in supplying EV cathode materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":139063,"content":139064},{"textAlign":49},[139065],{"text":139066,"type":596},"In fact, BASF does not even feature in the top 5 producers and has a fraction of the production clout of the market leaders — Japan’s Sumitomo, Belgium’s Umicore and China’s Shanshan Technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":139068,"content":139069},{"textAlign":49},[139070],{"text":139071,"type":596},"BASF’s ace up its sleeve to break into and dominate the EV market is what it calls a high-energy nickel cobalt manganese (HE NCM) cathode with manganese being the dominant element rather than the nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":139073,"content":139074},{"textAlign":49},[139075],{"text":139076,"type":596},"It believes HE NCM 217 and 307 – in other words very high manganese content instead of nickel – is showing “strong potential” to be the next evolutionary step after the industry’s perceived lithium ion cathode holy grail of 811.",{"type":591,"attrs":139078,"content":139079},{"textAlign":49},[139080],{"text":139081,"type":596},"The main benefit of this chemistry is to drive the cost of lithium ion batteries down even further which, at the moment, is being negatively impacted by the cost of cobalt and lithium. The fear for a future industry which is driving towards 811 high nickel cathodes, is that producers will then be exposed to any nickel price spikes.",{"type":591,"attrs":139083,"content":139084},{"textAlign":49},[139085],{"text":139086,"type":596},"The reality for BASF is its high manganese cathodes offer a unique selling point and a way into to an industry that is already surging ahead.",{"type":591,"attrs":139088,"content":139089},{"textAlign":49},[139090],{"text":139091,"type":596},"The company has also signed a JV with Russia’s Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) to lock in future supply of battery grade nickel. Both groups signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2017 to “cooperate on the supply of raw materials for future battery materials production for lithium-ion batteries in Europe”.",{"type":591,"attrs":139093,"content":139094},{"textAlign":49},[139095],{"text":139096,"type":596},"The move was an ideal way for Norilsk to enter the nickel sulphate market for lithium ion batteries, an industry it has very little business in at the moment.",{"type":591,"attrs":139098,"content":139099},{"textAlign":49},[139100],{"text":139101,"type":596},"“For Nornickel this project is an opportunity to increase our exposure to the high-potential and fast-growing rechargeable battery materials market,” said Sergey Batekhin, Head of Sales, Commerce and Logistics at Nornickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":139103,"content":139104},{"textAlign":49},[139105],{"text":139106,"type":596},"“We are interested in supporting this target market with our nickel and cobalt products. The electric vehicle industry is set to contribute to a sustainable development… An expanded cooperation with BASF will enable us to strengthen our position as a leading nickel producer globally and offer customers the best product in the most suitable form,” the company said.",{"type":591,"attrs":139108,"content":139109},{"textAlign":49},[139110],{"text":139111,"type":596},"Johnson Matthey, a UK based chemicals major that also produces LFP and NCM cathodes in Asia as well as “battery solutions” which includes pack engineering and development.",{"type":591,"attrs":139113,"content":139114},{"textAlign":49},[139115],{"text":139116,"type":596},"Its cathode business was boosted by the acquisition of A123 System’s cathode materials manufacturing facility in 2014. The plant, in Changzhou, China produces LFP cathode.",{"type":591,"attrs":139118,"content":139119},{"textAlign":49},[139120],{"text":139121,"type":596},"The group went one step further than BASF and invested cash into future lithium supply when it agreed a deal with Canada’s Nemaska Lithium, one of the industry’s most advanced new developers.",{"type":591,"attrs":139123,"content":139124},{"textAlign":49},[139125],{"text":139126,"type":596},"The move was significant for the lithium market as, for the first time, it showed that cathode manufacturers were willing to strike raw material deals for supply security.",{"type":591,"attrs":139128,"content":139129},{"textAlign":49},[139130],{"text":139131,"type":596},"In 2015, Johnson Matthey Battery Materials’ (JMBM) division agreed to invest C$12m up front in exchange for “services and product” to the same value from Nemaska’s Phase 1 output of lithium hydroxide at its Quebec-based mine and chemical plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":139133,"content":139134},{"textAlign":49},[139135],{"text":139136,"type":596},"In May 2017, JMBM received and approved the first shipment of lithium hydroxide from Nemaska’s plant which unlocked C$2m of the final C$3m.",{"type":591,"attrs":139138,"content":139139},{"textAlign":49},[139140],{"text":139141,"type":596},"The investment is part of a wider Johnson Matthey program to target battery materials",{"type":591,"attrs":139143,"content":139144},{"textAlign":49},[139145],{"text":139146,"type":596},"with a £200m investment as it targets a 10,000 tpa cathode output by 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":139148,"content":139149},{"textAlign":49},[139150],{"text":139151,"type":596},"Battery cells",{"type":591,"attrs":139153,"content":139154},{"textAlign":49},[139155],{"text":139156,"type":596},"Hungary and Poland are fast becoming the hubs for future new production of lithium ion batteries on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":139158,"content":139159},{"textAlign":49},[139160],{"text":139161,"type":596},"As of Q1 2018, Europe’s only lithium ion cell facility, operated by Litarion GmbH which is owned by Canada-based Electrovaya, stopped operations in Kamenz, Germany as the company entered insolvency proceedings, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":139163,"content":139164},{"textAlign":49},[139165],{"text":139166,"type":596},"Litarion failed to build its customer base for its battery cells and systems and was struggling to compete with the increasing quality and lower cost of cells coming from Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":139168,"content":139169},{"textAlign":49},[139170],{"text":139171,"type":596},"It is a warning for Europe that dominance in the lithium ion battery market will not come easy.",{"type":591,"attrs":139173,"content":139174},{"textAlign":49},[139175],{"text":139176,"type":596},"The Kamenz plant, which had less than a 500MWh cell capacity producing NMC pouch cells, was Europe’s only significant active lithium ion battery manufacturing capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":139178,"content":139179},{"textAlign":49},[139180],{"text":139181,"type":596},"The misfortunes of Litarion, however, are not a harbinger of things to come for the continent and could well be a result of something bigger on the horizon.",{"type":591,"attrs":139183,"content":139184},{"textAlign":49},[139185,139187,139189,139190],{"text":139186,"type":596},"Litarion’s downturn coincides with",{"text":139188,"type":596},"opening of LG Chem’s battery megafactory in Kobierzyce, Poland – a super battery plant that will begin operations imminently with what ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139191,"type":596},"estimates to be 5GWh capacity, making it one of the top five largest battery plants in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":139193,"content":139194},{"textAlign":49},[139195],{"text":139196,"type":596},"The Korean battery major is investing $389m between now and 2020 to establish the plant under the new entity, LG Chem Wroclaw Energy sp. z o.o, and is expected to make battery cells and packs in Poland for 100,000 vehicles averaging 50kWH battery capacity each.",{"type":591,"attrs":139198,"content":139199},{"textAlign":49},[139200],{"text":139201,"type":596},"“We will turn the Poland EV battery plant into a mecca of battery production for electric vehicles around the world,” said UB Lee, the President of Energy Solution Company, LG Chem.",{"type":591,"attrs":139203,"content":139204},{"textAlign":49},[139205],{"text":139206,"type":596},"“As LG Chem’s Poland EV battery plant is the first large-scale automotive lithium battery production plant in Europe, it will play the role of vitalizing the electric vehicle industry across the whole Europe. We will put all our efforts into making the plant into a main production hub for EV batteries,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139208,"content":139209},{"textAlign":49},[139210],{"text":139211,"type":596},"LG Chem is reported to be speaking with no fewer than 28 end users for its EV batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":139213,"content":139214},{"textAlign":49},[139215],{"text":139216,"type":596},"The Poland plant will be one of four cell manufacturing plants the company is investing in adding to its largest operation in South Korea, its newest facility in Nanjing, China and the established cell and pack plant in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":139218,"content":139219},{"textAlign":49},[139220,139222],{"text":139221,"type":596},"LG Chem’s progress in Europe appears to have inspired its competitor, SK Innovation, to follow a similar path and build a 7.5GWh plant",{"text":139223,"type":596},"to supply a number of EV producers including Mercedes Benz.",{"type":591,"attrs":139225,"content":139226},{"textAlign":49},[139227],{"text":139228,"type":596},"SK Innovation began construction in Q1 and the plant will produce cells based on NCM chemistry and appears to have replaced similar plans in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":139230,"content":139231},{"textAlign":49},[139232],{"text":139233,"type":596},"Hungary is fast becoming a European hub for Asia’s major lithium ion battery producers as it offers the most generous incentives, it is well located for central Europe, and has some of the highest skilled and lowest paid workers in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":139235,"content":139236},{"textAlign":49},[139237],{"text":139238,"type":596},"Europe’s activity and profile in the lithium ion battery space increased in Q4 2017 with significant announcements from the likes of Volkswagen Group (VW) and BMW. This was bolstered by raw material summits hosted by VW to secure long-term lithium and cobalt supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":139240,"content":139241},{"textAlign":49},[139242],{"text":139243,"type":596},"Despite the discussions increasing in number and magnitude, investment to build out battery capacity in Europe is yet to be made. The sentiment is also yet to translate to firm plans, pushing expectation into 2018 that a major announcement on the tens of gigawatts of scale could be on the cards.",{"type":591,"attrs":139245,"content":139246},{"textAlign":49},[139247],{"text":139248,"type":596},"The preferred location of Europe’s future battery plants was underlined by Chinese battery major, CATL in Q1 which is focusing on Germany, Hungary and Poland as locations for its first ever plant on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":139250,"content":139251},{"textAlign":49},[139252],{"text":139253,"type":596},"“We see a big opportunity in Europe,” CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun said at the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Beijing in Q1.",{"type":591,"attrs":139255,"content":139256},{"textAlign":49},[139257],{"text":139258,"type":596},"“Korean companies, using a low-price strategy to compete with us, haven’t made much technological progress in the past two years, while we have managed to grow fast and surpass them,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139260,"content":139261},{"textAlign":49},[139262],{"text":139263,"type":596},"CATL’s goal is to become one of the highest quality EV battery producers with the most significant manufacturing clout.",{"type":591,"attrs":139265,"content":139266},{"textAlign":49},[139267,139269,139270],{"text":139268,"type":596},"“A few years ago, it was a given that the Chinese battery companies couldn’t compete on quality with Korea and Japan,” Sam Jaffe, Managing Director of Cairn Energy Research Advisors told ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":139272,"content":139273},{"textAlign":49},[139274],{"text":139275,"type":596},"“That’s not true anymore. CATL still has to prove that its batteries can beat the Japanese and Koreans on quality and durability, not just price. But with their resources and capital, they have a decent shot to do so,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139277,"content":139278},{"textAlign":49},[139279,139281,139283,139284],{"text":139280,"type":596},"The Chinese producer of lithium ion cells is pushing forward with a $2bn IPO to fund",{"text":139282,"type":596},"its push to become the world’s biggest manufacturer by more than quadrupling its capacity to 50GWh by 2021. Initial plans were to expand capacity to a mammoth 100GWh in this timeframe, but ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139285,"type":596},"understands this has now been pushed back to 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":139287,"content":139288},{"textAlign":49},[139289,139290],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139291,"type":596},"estimates that any European CATL plant would have a starting capacity of at least 15GWh to supply all the major auto manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":139293,"content":139294},{"textAlign":49},[139295],{"text":139296,"type":596},"“We are collaborating closely with our partners,” CATL’s European President, Matthias Zentgraf explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":139298,"content":139299},{"textAlign":49},[139300],{"text":139301,"type":596},"“Automotive partners such as VW, BMW, and Daimler as well as others are important to us… as they know what car buyers are looking for,” Zentgraf said.",{"type":591,"attrs":139303,"content":139304},{"textAlign":49},[139305],{"text":139306,"type":596},"“We are the first Chinese battery company that supplies to the global industry chain,” Zeng boasted, “… and have our unique competitive advantage as a Chinese company since we started earlier than western peers”.",{"type":591,"attrs":139308,"content":139309},{"textAlign":49},[139310,139312,139313],{"text":139311,"type":596},"It is estimated that CATL has just under 30% of the Chinese market share for lithium ion batteries and according to ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":139314,"type":596},"’s Battery Megafactories Tracker, CATL are on course to be the world’s biggest producer by 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":139316,"content":139317},{"textAlign":49},[139318],{"text":139319,"type":596},"One new producer that is seeking to break this central and eastern Europe strangle hold on new production is Northvolt.",{"type":591,"attrs":139321,"content":139322},{"textAlign":49},[139323],{"text":139324,"type":596},"Northvolt is a new start-up company that is planning to construct a Tesla Gigafactory sized battery plant in Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":139326,"content":139327},{"textAlign":49},[139328],{"text":139329,"type":596},"On a $5bn budget – nearly all of which is yet to be raised – Northvolt is planning a 32GWh plant by 2025 in northern Sweden. In Q1 2018, the company received a $67m loan from the European Investment Bank to kick start the pilot plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":139331,"content":139332},{"textAlign":49},[139333],{"text":139334,"type":596},"“Europe is moving rapidly towards electrification,” Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt said.",{"type":591,"attrs":139336,"content":139337},{"textAlign":49},[139338],{"text":139339,"type":596},"“Northvolt’s objective is to build the world’s greenest battery to enable the transition. With the support from the European Investment Bank and the European Union, we are now one step closer to establishing a competitive European battery manufacturing value chain,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139341,"content":139342},{"textAlign":49},[139343],{"text":139344,"type":596},"Northvolt are one of the major battery projects spearheading the European Union Battery Alliance (see Panel: EU’s entry into the global battery industry).",{"type":591,"attrs":139346,"content":139347},{"textAlign":49},[139348],{"text":139349,"type":596},"What is quite interesting about the plant that sets it apart is a toll processing concept whereby EV producers with different capacity requirements and needs can request specific chemistries and sizes of battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":139351,"content":139352},{"textAlign":49},[139353],{"text":139354,"type":596},"Therefore, as of Q1 2018, the types of batteries Northvolt would make – whether pouch, cylindrical or prismatic – was undefined, as was the chemistry, widely anticipated to be NCA or NCM.",{"type":591,"attrs":139356,"content":139357},{"textAlign":49},[139358,139360,139361],{"text":139359,"type":596},"The Northvolt project is presently on course to be the second largest single battery plant in 2025 behind Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada which ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139362,"type":596},"expects to be over 60GWh by the same time.",{"type":591,"attrs":139364,"content":139365},{"textAlign":49},[139366],{"text":139367,"type":596},"Battery Packs",{"type":591,"attrs":139369,"content":139370},{"textAlign":49},[139371],{"text":139372,"type":596},"Europe is further down the line in developing its battery pack capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":139374,"content":139375},{"textAlign":49},[139376],{"text":139377,"type":596},"While there is much confusion over a battery cell and battery pack facility, the continent has seven battery pack facilities either in production or under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":139379,"content":139380},{"textAlign":49},[139381],{"text":139382,"type":596},"BMZ Group has the largest pack capacity with three plants equating to 6GWh – two in Germany and one in Gliwice, Poland.",{"type":591,"attrs":139384,"content":139385},{"textAlign":49},[139386],{"text":139387,"type":596},"BMZ will be one of the most important links in Europe’s lithium ion supply chain, not just through developing battery pack capacity but from its crucial knowhow to get better performance from today’s lithium ion cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":139389,"content":139390},{"textAlign":49},[139391],{"text":139392,"type":596},"“[To get the] production of lithium ion cells up and running as quickly as possible in Germany is of vital importance …[to deliver] complete battery packs to e-bike manufacturers. [Especially] now that the demand for mobile products and with that for batteries is exploding,” Sven Bauer, CEO & Founder of the BMZ said on the announcement of its latest deal in Q1 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":139394,"content":139395},{"textAlign":49},[139396],{"text":139397,"type":596},"BMZ have agreed a €150m battery pack supply agreement with Eurabus GmbH to produce over 1,000 battery systems for electric buses (e-bus).",{"type":591,"attrs":139399,"content":139400},{"textAlign":49},[139401],{"text":139402,"type":596},"The e-bus trend is beginning to pick up pace in the western world with Proterra gaining momentum in the US, and London now using LFP-based e-buses manufactured by BYD on its streets.",{"type":591,"attrs":139404,"content":139405},{"textAlign":49},[139406],{"text":139407,"type":596},"BMZ’s Eurabus agreement is for battery packs as large as 790kWh which can drive an astonishing 650km on a single charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":139409,"content":139410},{"textAlign":49},[139411],{"text":139412,"type":596},"Bauer said: “The agreement between BMZ and Eurabus is a milestone for the E-bus industry. European demand for E-buses is growing – there’s a real boom going on in local public transportation.”",{"type":591,"attrs":139414,"content":139415},{"textAlign":49},[139416],{"text":139417,"type":596},"BMZ is not the only pack player in Europe, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":139419,"content":139420},{"textAlign":49},[139421],{"text":139422,"type":596},"In 2017, A123 Systems made its first entry into the European market with a battery pack facility in Ostrava, north-east Czech Republic that will have the ability to produce 600,000 units at capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":139424,"content":139425},{"textAlign":49},[139426],{"text":139427,"type":596},"The plant produces its 12V lithium ion starter batteries used in micro hybrid vehicles that are designed to replace lead acid batteries. The designed has focused on cold cranking – starting the engine in cold temperatures. The term refers to the number of amps a “12-volt battery can deliver at 0°F for 30 seconds while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts”, according to AutoBatteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":139429,"content":139430},{"textAlign":49},[139431],{"text":139432,"type":596},"A123 also produces the 48V battery in Czech Republic which is designed to replace lead acid.",{"type":591,"attrs":139434,"content":139435},{"textAlign":49},[139436,139438],{"text":139437,"type":596},"The company was spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2001 and was predominately supplying Black & Decker’s power tool lines with cells. Additional supply deals, especially with Chrysler, culminated with an IPO in 2009 on the NASDAQ exchange in New York. The",{"text":139439,"type":596},"momentum then continued, with Fisker Automotive and a JV with China’s SAIC Motor Corp, until the downward spiral began.",{"type":591,"attrs":139441,"content":139442},{"textAlign":49},[139443],{"text":139444,"type":596},"The slow progress with EV demand for batteries, together with a recall from Fisker, which cost the company $55m meant A123 was heading towards bankruptcy in 2012. While interest from Wanxiang was there before A123 went under, there was not enough time.",{"type":591,"attrs":139446,"content":139447},{"textAlign":49},[139448],{"text":139449,"type":596},"China’s Wanxiang Group brought the US company out of bankruptcy in 2013. The acquisition gave the Chinese group a way in to the US market and helped them expand from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) into lithium ion.",{"type":591,"attrs":139451,"content":139452},{"textAlign":49},[139453],{"text":139454,"type":596},"A123 has cell manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Changzhou, China, both of which predominately produce pouch based LFP and NMC cells. Yet it is A123’s European plant that many hope will mark a new era for the group.",{"type":591,"attrs":139456,"content":139457},{"textAlign":49},[139458],{"text":139459,"type":596},"The Chinese owners also see the plant as a politically positive move for the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":139461,"content":139462},{"textAlign":49},[139463],{"text":139464,"type":596},"“The [Czech Republic plant investment] celebrated today are a perfect European example of the One Belt, One Road initiative which is building the 21st century Silk Road between China and its global trading partners.” said H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Czech Republic.",{"type":591,"attrs":139466,"content":139467},{"textAlign":49},[139468],{"text":139469,"type":596},"South Korea’s efforts in Europe have also been key to developing the continent’s battery pack capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":139471,"content":139472},{"textAlign":49},[139473],{"text":139474,"type":596},"Samsung SDI was one of the industry’s first movers when it acquired the battery pack manufacturer, Magna Steyr in 2015 for $120m. The downstream shift from Samsung SDI’s battery cell manufacturing into pack construction was the first step by a major battery maker towards the EV end market.",{"type":591,"attrs":139476,"content":139477},{"textAlign":49},[139478],{"text":139479,"type":596},"Namseong Cho, President and CEO of Samsung SDI said at the time: “[We] will integrate SDIBS’ capabilities in battery pack systems, with its superior cell technology to create world class automotive battery systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":139481,"content":139482},{"textAlign":49},[139483],{"text":139484,"type":596},"Five years before, Magna outlined a number of challenges with the battery supply chain which included the fact that “current suppliers are scattered all over the globe” and “North American investment in cell production has not been matched by necessary investment in supply chain”.",{"type":591,"attrs":139486,"content":139487},{"textAlign":49},[139488,139490],{"text":139489,"type":596},"Samsung SDI’s second move in Europe was in 2016 when it began to construct a $358m new pack facility in Goed, a town 30km north",{"text":139491,"type":596},"of Budapest, Hungary’s capital.",{"type":591,"attrs":139493,"content":139494},{"textAlign":49},[139495,139497,139498],{"text":139496,"type":596},"The 333,000 square-metre plant is now operational and can produce enough packs for 50,000 EVs with a 40kWh average battery pack size, according to ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":131488,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":139500,"content":139501},{"textAlign":49},[139502],{"text":139503,"type":596},"The Hungary plant gives the Korean major EV hubs in Europe, Ulsan, South Korea and Xian, China. On the plant, Samsung SDI explained: “State-of-the-art technology of Samsung SDI will be applied to batteries to be made in this plant in Hungary.”",{"type":591,"attrs":139505,"content":139506},{"textAlign":49},[139507],{"text":139508,"type":596},"“Batteries are one of the most important parts supplied to global car makers. I expect the plant to contribute much to the growth of the European electric vehicle market,” the company added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139510,"content":139511},{"textAlign":49},[139512,139513],{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139514,"type":596},"estimates Samsung SDI’s European pack capacity at 4GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":139516,"content":139517},{"textAlign":49},[139518],{"text":139519,"type":596},"While being one of the smaller pack plants, Accumotive in Kamenz is vitally important to the plans for its parent company, Daimler and to Germany’s EV self sufficiency goals.",{"type":591,"attrs":139521,"content":139522},{"textAlign":49},[139523],{"text":139524,"type":596},"The battery pack plant — the centre piece for the company’s first significant push on energy storage industry — is located just 45 minutes drive from Dresden in east Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":139526,"content":139527},{"textAlign":49},[139528,139530,139531],{"text":139529,"type":596},"In 2017 when ",{"text":12236,"type":596},{"text":139532,"type":596},"was given a private tour of the plant, the pack capacity was estimated at 500-700MWh. However, Accumotive is more than doubling this to at least 2GWh, a project that is being completed in mid-2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":139534,"content":139535},{"textAlign":49},[139536],{"text":139537,"type":596},"Dresden and nearby Chemnitz has been home to Europe’s microelectronics industry, but in recent years it has attracted business such as energy storage and software. It is one of eastern Germany’s few economic success stories since the reunification and the area now employs 50,000 people in the tech industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":139539,"content":139540},{"textAlign":49},[139541],{"text":139542,"type":596},"This is beginning to converge with the country’s powerful auto industry, including the likes of VW, Daimler and BMW, all of which are seeking a significant role in pure electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":139544,"content":139545},{"textAlign":49},[139546,139548],{"text":139547,"type":596},"Energy storage in both EVs and stationary storage devices is a big evolutionary step for Daimler, so much so that its star CEO was a",{"text":139549,"type":596},"high profile figure in the move.",{"type":591,"attrs":139551,"content":139552},{"textAlign":49},[139553,139555,139556],{"text":139554,"type":596},"“For the first time in Daimler’s history the [Mercedes Benz] CEO, Dieter Zetsche, was involved in the launch of a new product,” Andreas Rueckemann, head of European sales for Mercedes Benz Energy explained in a meeting with ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":139558,"content":139559},{"textAlign":49},[139560],{"text":139561,"type":596},"“To get the star on the brand is a paradigm shift for Daimler. We want to show that our batteries are extremely good in the field and are safe and secure,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":139563,"content":139564},{"textAlign":49},[139565],{"text":139566,"type":596},"In fact, the plant expansion and its implications was so important to Germany that its Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was involved.",{"type":591,"attrs":139568,"content":139569},{"textAlign":49},[139570],{"text":139571,"type":596},"“This is a significant investment in the future of electrically powered vehicles. A high-performance battery is of decisive importance for the further development of e-mobility,” said Chancellor Merkel.",{"type":591,"attrs":139573,"content":139574},{"textAlign":49},[139575],{"text":139576,"type":596},"And when political will converges with economic willingness, things begin to happen.",{"type":591,"attrs":139578,"content":139579},{"textAlign":49},[139580],{"text":139581,"type":596},"For Europe, the road to a fully integrated lithium ion battery supply chain is being built and it may take a decade to do so, but by that time electrification will not longer be a word less belonging to science-fiction and more in place with everyday reality.","Europe is playing catch up. With no lithium carbonate or hydroxide production and very small battery manufacturing capacity, Europe’s lithium ion battery supply chain presence is limited. Backed by a new EU alliance, a small band of lithium entrepreneurs, an ex-Tesla team, and two Korean battery producers, Europe is seeking to charter a new course […]",[139584],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139585},{"job_title":557,"image":139586,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"51d36b3c-3fd5-47b0-9a06-cf087fcfbda4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[139589,139590],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":139592,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":139593,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/04ea3c38ed/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-25-at-103833.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":139595,"uuid":139596,"name":139597,"slug":139598,"full_slug":139599,"content":139600},112474583510063,"52ca5caa-3b50-4e26-8e2e-3efead12f604","Unleashing the cathode dragon","unleashing-the-cathode-dragon","article/unleashing-the-cathode-dragon",{"_uid":139601,"date":139602,"tags":139603,"editor":139604,"content":139608,"excerpt":139811,"featured":50,"reporter":139812,"_editable":139816,"component":697,"seo_title":139597,"categories":139817,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":139821,"seo_description":139811,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":139824},"2e7e5131-9b3e-480b-bdbd-13d2c1cce35e","2018-06-18 00:00",[],[139605],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139606},{"job_title":557,"image":139607,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":139609},[139610,139615,139620,139625,139630,139635,139642,139647,139652,139661,139666,139672,139677,139682,139688,139693,139699,139704,139710,139715,139721,139726,139731,139736,139742,139747,139752,139757,139767,139772,139778,139783,139789,139794,139800,139805],{"type":615,"attrs":139611,"content":139612},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[139613],{"text":139614,"type":596},"China’s lithium ion battery cathode industry has surged in line with the country’s game-changing EV output. The size of this market opportunity requires bold expansion plans from China’s cathode manufacturers.",{"type":615,"attrs":139616,"content":139617},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[139618],{"text":139619,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence talked with Liang Chen, Market Development Manager, International Marketing at Ronbay Material on its blueprint to build 100,000 tpa of NCM in the next three years and how high lithium prices have impacted the business.",{"type":591,"attrs":139621,"content":139622},{"textAlign":49},[139623],{"text":139624,"type":596},"Ronbay Material (Ningbo Ronbay Lithium Battery Material Co., Ltd.) is a high tech new energy material enterprise and a transnational group for professional research and provides precursor and cathode material for lithium batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":139626,"content":139627},{"textAlign":49},[139628],{"text":139629,"type":596},"Established by Beijing Ronbay Investment Holdings Co., Ltd and restructured in September 2014, the corporation was built by two teams from China and South Korea both with entrepreneurial experience of more than 20 years’ in the field. Subsidiary companies include cathode and precursor factories in Yuyao in Zhejiang, Hubei Ronbay Lithium Battery Material Co., Ltd., Guizhou Ronbay Lithium Battery Material Co., Ltd., Beijing Ronbay New Energy Research Centre., JS (Korea) Co., Ltd. and EMT (Korea) Co., Ltd., and shares in TMR (Korea)Co. Ltd. Products are applied in small size/ power/ energy storage lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":139631,"content":139632},{"textAlign":49},[139633],{"text":139634,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: How would you describe your cathode technology and advantages?",{"type":591,"attrs":139636,"content":139637},{"textAlign":49},[139638,139640],{"text":139639,"type":596},"Liang Chen: ",{"text":139641,"type":596},"Ronbay has over 15 years’ experience in producing NCM/NCA cathode materials and was one of the earliest producers in China. Its products now include NCM333, NCM523, NCM622, NCM811, and NCA. Most of the precursors the company is using are self-made, and the company has rich experience in general technical adjustment and modification in the supplier chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":139643,"content":139644},{"textAlign":49},[139645],{"text":139646,"type":596},"Ronbay is also the first company in China that can produce NCM811 in scale, with technical advantages in the high nickel cathode field.",{"type":591,"attrs":139648,"content":139649},{"textAlign":49},[139650],{"text":139651,"type":596},"Benchmark: Where are your main customers in and outside China, and what trends are you seeing with your customers?",{"type":591,"attrs":139653,"content":139654},{"textAlign":49},[139655,139657,139659],{"text":139656,"type":596},"LC: ",{"text":139658,"type":596},"For now, Ronbay’s customers are based in China and South Korea, with the main market in China. This is because the NEV industry is developing swiftly in China, as are Chinese lithium ion battery producers — for example, Ronbay’s sales increased over 100% every year in 2015-2017. In particular in 2016, China’s NEV industry development began to pick up speed and power battery demand quickly increased for the NEV market. In this period Ronbay made huge progress in expanding its domestic power battery customers, but is still keeping",{"text":139660,"type":596},"a close watch on South Korea and Japan, and exploiting the markets there.",{"type":591,"attrs":139662,"content":139663},{"textAlign":49},[139664],{"text":139665,"type":596},"Benchmark: Which downstream markets do you sell into, what is the most important market and which market has the most potential?",{"type":591,"attrs":139667,"content":139668},{"textAlign":49},[139669,139670],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139671,"type":596},"Ronbay’s customers include 3C electronic battery, power battery and energy storage battery businesses, and in these three fields the company has already invested significant resources into R&D and strategy planning.",{"type":591,"attrs":139673,"content":139674},{"textAlign":49},[139675],{"text":139676,"type":596},"Looking at current development trends, in the short-term we expect the power battery field to be the fastest developing but in the longer-term ESS has huge development potential as well.",{"type":591,"attrs":139678,"content":139679},{"textAlign":49},[139680],{"text":139681,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are the changes in these markets in future?",{"type":591,"attrs":139683,"content":139684},{"textAlign":49},[139685,139686],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139687,"type":596},"In the next few years the LiB market will continue its fast development in both China and South Korea and power battery will be the fastest developing field. We expect demand growth to exceed 30% each year and for the traditional 3C (electronic) battery to continue producing approximately 7% growth. Meanwhile ESS will also enter a fast growth stage in the next few years.",{"type":591,"attrs":139689,"content":139690},{"textAlign":49},[139691],{"text":139692,"type":596},"Benchmark: What is the company’s plan to expand capacity?",{"type":591,"attrs":139694,"content":139695},{"textAlign":49},[139696,139697],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139698,"type":596},"Ronbay plans to increase capacity to 100,000 tpa NCM cathode in the next three years, including a 30,000 tpa capacity in 2018, and a new 70,000 tpa capacity expansion boost in 2019 and 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":139700,"content":139701},{"textAlign":49},[139702],{"text":139703,"type":596},"Benchmark: What difference do you expect to see in the next 5 years in the Chinese cathode market?",{"type":591,"attrs":139705,"content":139706},{"textAlign":49},[139707,139708],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139709,"type":596},"In the next three years, cathode producers in China will swiftly transfer from producing NCM523 to NCM811 and NCA cathodes. Power battery will be the main field for NCM/NCA. While power battery demand increases and cathode material technology upgrades, the consolidation of cathode producers will be highly concentrated — from over 300 producers currently, to a competition of only around 10 cathode producers. After consolidation, each producer’s scale and technical level will increase greatly.",{"type":591,"attrs":139711,"content":139712},{"textAlign":49},[139713],{"text":139714,"type":596},"Benchmark: What is the bottleneck to deal with in the LiB supply chain? Do you have any suggestions on how to solve these problems?",{"type":591,"attrs":139716,"content":139717},{"textAlign":49},[139718,139719],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139720,"type":596},"Currently in the LiB industrial chain, source material, lithium and price fluctuations are a huge hidden hazard for the industry’s stable development. The greatly increased price of lithium and cobalt since 2016 has already had a profound impact on this industry. In the long-term, lithium and cobalt prices will always be the problem to face and solve during LiB industrial development.",{"type":591,"attrs":139722,"content":139723},{"textAlign":49},[139724],{"text":139725,"type":596},"Lithium prices increased from 2016 and 2017 where a lot of investors entered the market with new projects, in turn capacity will increase greatly. It is expected that lithium prices will gradually return to a normal state.",{"type":591,"attrs":139727,"content":139728},{"textAlign":49},[139729],{"text":139730,"type":596},"Cobalt prices aren’t likely to fall back due to its scarcity and specific distribution area in the world. But with technological advances, high nickel cathode will have large scale applications and battery recycling will keep increasing. In turn, LiB’s demand for cobalt will eventually balance out, and won’t need to replenish new cobalt, which LiB’s reliance on cobalt will eventually diminish.",{"type":591,"attrs":139732,"content":139733},{"textAlign":49},[139734],{"text":139735,"type":596},"Benchmark: What do you think will happen to China’s LiB development in the future?",{"type":591,"attrs":139737,"content":139738},{"textAlign":49},[139739,139740],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139741,"type":596},"China is one of the most important LiB markets in the world and it will continue its high-speed development in the future. But in terms of technology level, companies in China, including battery and cathode/anode material producers still lag behind Japanese and South Korean companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":139743,"content":139744},{"textAlign":49},[139745],{"text":139746,"type":596},"But still, relying on the fast development of China’s new energy market and its growing demand, Chinese companies have already made a lot of progress in the past few years. In terms of both technology and production scale, they are gradually catching up with Japanese and South Korean companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":139748,"content":139749},{"textAlign":49},[139750],{"text":139751,"type":596},"As for the future, not only the LiB market in China, but also the whole world’s LiB market will continue its high-speed growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":139753,"content":139754},{"textAlign":49},[139755],{"text":139756,"type":596},"Benchmark: What do you think of the trends for lithium carbonate and hydroxide in the short-term and long-term, and why?",{"type":591,"attrs":139758,"content":139759},{"textAlign":49},[139760,139761,139763,139765],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139762,"type":596},"In the short-term, both lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices will continue to fluctuate,",{"text":139764,"type":596},"but in the long-term will gradually reduce to a level below 100,000 CNY/tonne.",{"text":139766,"type":596},"The short-term lithium salt price will also continue to fluctuate because supply is still concentrated. Over 80% of supply is dominated by a few large corporations, they have formed a consensus to maintain the current price. In the long-term, as new lithium salt producers enter the market the current supply and demand situation will change and prices will gradually reduce.",{"type":591,"attrs":139768,"content":139769},{"textAlign":49},[139770],{"text":139771,"type":596},"Benchmark: What do you think is the biggest risk in source material supply?",{"type":591,"attrs":139773,"content":139774},{"textAlign":49},[139775,139776],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139777,"type":596},"For now, cathode producers believe that the biggest risk in source material supply is the greatly fluctuating price. This would push up the price of cathode material and will adversely affect the EV supply chain and the electrification of the world. This will also affect downstream customers’ price judgement — they will delay their purchases, and our sales will be affected.",{"type":591,"attrs":139779,"content":139780},{"textAlign":49},[139781],{"text":139782,"type":596},"Benchmark: In cathode technology, what do you think of cobalt’s character?",{"type":591,"attrs":139784,"content":139785},{"textAlign":49},[139786,139787],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139788,"type":596},"Cobalt will always have some influence in cathode materials, but its influence will slowly reduce as the promotion of high nickel material and battery recycling makes an impact in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":139790,"content":139791},{"textAlign":49},[139792],{"text":139793,"type":596},"Benchmark: What are your expectations for high nickel products and technology applications?",{"type":591,"attrs":139795,"content":139796},{"textAlign":49},[139797,139798],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139799,"type":596},"At present, high nickel material is a very defined technical route in cathode material development. An important problem to solve is the safety and high temperature performance issues of high nickel material in LiB, but these technical complications all have technical solutions. In the future, high nickel material will soon be applied in products and batteries on a large scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":139801,"content":139802},{"textAlign":49},[139803],{"text":139804,"type":596},"Benchmark: Are there other technical trends in cathode that you find meaningful or have some expectations for?",{"type":591,"attrs":139806,"content":139807},{"textAlign":49},[139808,139809],{"text":139656,"type":596},{"text":139810,"type":596},"The development trend in cathode material is a process to keep improving on safety and stability. A key development area will be in the cathode material for solid state batteries.","China’s lithium ion battery cathode industry has surged in line with the country’s game-changing EV output. The size of this market opportunity requires bold expansion plans from China’s cathode manufacturers. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence talked with Liang Chen, Market Development Manager, International Marketing at Ronbay Material on its blueprint to build 100,000 tpa of NCM in […]",[139813],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139814},{"job_title":557,"image":139815,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2e7e5131-9b3e-480b-bdbd-13d2c1cce35e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[139818,139819,139820],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3105,"name":298},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":139822,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":139823,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4f2def8c64/bm-source-wendy-piersall.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 18, 2018",{"id":139826,"uuid":139827,"name":139828,"slug":139829,"full_slug":139830,"content":139831},112474593131661,"d97fd9fb-bae6-4649-a942-481f6456e4b6","China’s giants cement position at lithium’s top table","chinas-giants-cement-position-at-lithiums-top-table","article/chinas-giants-cement-position-at-lithiums-top-table",{"_uid":139832,"date":139833,"tags":139834,"editor":139836,"content":139840,"excerpt":139900,"featured":50,"reporter":139901,"_editable":139905,"component":697,"seo_title":139828,"categories":139906,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":139910,"seo_description":139900,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":139913},"7bc00b04-03cc-4fce-8733-0e676e887d70","2018-06-15 00:00",[139835],{"slug":575,"name":576},[139837],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139838},{"job_title":557,"image":139839,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":139841},[139842,139847,139852,139857,139862,139867,139872,139877,139882,139887,139892],{"type":615,"attrs":139843,"content":139844},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[139845],{"text":139846,"type":596},"Tianqi and Ganfeng report record 2017 as Chinese converters ramp up new capacity expansions",{"type":591,"attrs":139848,"content":139849},{"textAlign":49},[139850],{"text":139851,"type":596},"China’s leading lithium converters – Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium Corporation– both reported significant revenue increases in their annual reports for 2017 with increased sales volumes allowing them to further exploit ongoing high industry prices. Ganfeng led the way with a 54% increase in sales revenue and a massive 216% increase in net profits of RMB 1.47bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":139853,"content":139854},{"textAlign":49},[139855],{"text":139856,"type":596},"The company’s continued financial growth has been supported by a diverse portfolio of lithium production assets across the supply chain which have seen them become the world’s leading producer of lithium metal. They also secured crucial resources which began to come to fruition in 2017 through their offtake agreement for supply from the Mt Marion spodumene mine. The assets are expected to be added to with further investments in the near-term, backed by the company filing for an IPO in Hong Kong in February, a move which is expected to raise over $1bn. Elsewhere Tianqi also announced an increase in sales revenue from RMB 3.9bn in 2016 to RMB 5.47bn in 2017, an increase of over 40%.",{"type":591,"attrs":139858,"content":139859},{"textAlign":49},[139860],{"text":139861,"type":596},"While the company’s production expansions were less aggressive in 2017 they are aiming to reach 40,000 tpa LCE output in 2018, growing to 110,000 tpa by the end of 2019, led by the company’s new lithium hydroxide facilities in Western Australia. Despite both Ganfeng and Tianqi targeting major expansions over the coming 2-3 years, neither are anticipating a significant oversupply in the near-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":139863,"content":139864},{"textAlign":49},[139865],{"text":139866,"type":596},"Tianqi told investors that they expected prices to remain around 2017 levels out to at least 2021 as we enter a period of significant demand growth. These projections come in spite of concerns earlier in Q1 2018 that the market was approaching a period of oversupply and price decreases, with a number of new spodumene operations due to begin production this year and smaller Chinese converters investing heavily to increase production.",{"type":615,"attrs":139868,"content":139869},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[139870],{"text":139871,"type":596},"Prices fly in face of capacity expansions",{"type":591,"attrs":139873,"content":139874},{"textAlign":49},[139875],{"text":139876,"type":596},"The fears of potential oversupply which immersed investor sentiment in early-Q1 failed to arise with tight supplies still being reported, and the minor decrease in average prices around February rebounding as Chinese consumers returned to the market following the country’s Spring Festival. With Chinese converters eager to introduce new production lines, very little of this new capacity translated to real battery-grade volumes in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":139878,"content":139879},{"textAlign":49},[139880],{"text":139881,"type":596},"A number of new project announcements were made in January from companies including Zangge Lithium, Yongxing New Energy Co and Infund Holding Group. However, a joint-venture between Qinghai Salt Lake and BYD was the only significant project to actually break ground in Q1, initiating construction of a new 50,000 tpa LCE facility in early-February.",{"type":591,"attrs":139883,"content":139884},{"textAlign":49},[139885],{"text":139886,"type":596},"Even as one of the more credible partnerships between established market participants, major questions remain over their ability to produce these types of quantities economically from Qinghai brine feedstock. Regardless, first production at the project is not expected before H2 2019 at the earliest. The only significant new capacity actually introduced through the quarter was Ganfeng’s new 20,000 tpa lithium hydroxide facility which completed commissioning in February, Sichuan Zhiyuan Lithium Company which completed construction of a new 13,000 tpa plant in March and Jiangte Motor which began operations at a new 5,000 tpa lithium carbonate production line, after months of debugging.",{"type":591,"attrs":139888,"content":139889},{"textAlign":49},[139890],{"text":139891,"type":596},"The issues experienced by Jiangte and the ongoing challenges faced by other producers as they try to meet the ambitious targets outlined to investors, illustrate the slow response of new supply. Despite already having a nameplate capacity of over 200,000 tpa in 2017, the effective capacity of Chinese operations is around 65% of this, an even smaller proportion of which is battery-grade material. As a result the market was tight in Q1 and is expected to remain finely balanced for the foreseeable future despite new feedstock material production.",{"type":591,"attrs":139893,"content":139894},{"textAlign":49},[139895,139896,139898],{"text":5730,"type":596},{"text":139897,"type":596},"Benchmark Lithium Price Index",{"text":139899,"type":596}," has increased marginally year to date, and with prices outside of Asia gradually narrowing on domestic China levels, robust pricing will likely continue approaching H2. As a result, the Chinese majors with a track-record of bringing new, battery-grade supplies into the market look set to prosper from favourable pricing and growing revenues for the foreseeable future. For others, the race to bring new volumes to market and benefit from the unprecedented market growth expected over the coming decade is far from over.","Tianqi and Ganfeng report record 2017 as Chinese converters ramp up new capacity expansions China’s leading lithium converters – Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium Corporation– both reported significant revenue increases in their annual reports for 2017 with increased sales volumes allowing them to further exploit ongoing high industry prices. Ganfeng led the way with a […]",[139902],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139903},{"job_title":557,"image":139904,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7bc00b04-03cc-4fce-8733-0e676e887d70\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[139907,139908,139909],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":139911,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":139912,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3d7f437d7d/bm-5612521974-db3e6e6379-o.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 15, 2018",{"id":139915,"uuid":139916,"name":139917,"slug":139918,"full_slug":139919,"content":139920},114852099140356,"25d19cde-d2be-488e-bdec-15f4774ec962","Total recall","total-recall","article/total-recall",{"_uid":139921,"date":139922,"tags":139923,"editor":139924,"content":139928,"excerpt":140044,"featured":50,"reporter":140045,"_editable":140049,"component":697,"seo_title":139917,"categories":140050,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":140053,"seo_description":140044,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":140056},"4e9a0ca5-45f5-420a-b772-c06f5997d801","2018-06-07 00:00",[],[139925],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":139926},{"job_title":557,"image":139927,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":139929},[139930,139935,139940,139945,139950,139953,139958,139961,139966,139971,139976,139981,139986,139991,139996,140001,140006,140011,140016,140021,140026,140029,140034,140039],{"type":591,"attrs":139931,"content":139932},{"textAlign":49},[139933],{"text":139934,"type":596},"French oil producer sees energy storage as the missing link as it doubles down on solid state technology with its second foray into the battery supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":139936,"content":139937},{"textAlign":49},[139938],{"text":139939,"type":596},"Total SA, the French oil producer, has bolstered its foothold in the lithium ion battery industry by purchasing a stake in Ionic Materials, a developer of next generation solid state battery materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":139941,"content":139942},{"textAlign":49},[139943],{"text":139944,"type":596},"Ionic Materials is based in Woburn, Massachusetts, US, and has been developing a new solid polymer technology – the key ingredient for the solid-state design – and intends to sell this material to battery producers. Solid state batteries are widely seen as the heir to lithium ion’s throne with the promise to increase energy density by 3-4 times while drastically reducing charging times.",{"type":591,"attrs":139946,"content":139947},{"textAlign":49},[139948],{"text":139949,"type":596},"These improvements are gained through the elimination of a liquid electrolyte and through a change in anode to, in most cases, lithium metal. The technology has been publicly backed by Volkswagen Group as it and other auto majors become more and more desperate for a quicker fix to the problems posed by electric vehicle (EV) range and charging.",{"type":591,"attrs":139951,"content":139952},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":139954,"content":139955},{"textAlign":49},[139956],{"text":139957,"type":596},"Total’s move for a stake in Ionic Materials is the second major foray into the battery industry after it purchased French battery producer, Saft, for $1bn in 2016. Saft specialises in producing lithium ion chemistries and cells for strategic uses, such as military and other applications that are used in extreme activities. The focus of the company means it is not yet one of the manufacturing majors which will be supplying mainstream EVs. However, its strong focus on R&D will be an attractive proposition for Total and will dovetail nicely with Ionic Material’s focus on component production first and battery manufacturing second.",{"type":591,"attrs":139959,"content":139960},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":139962,"content":139963},{"textAlign":49},[139964],{"text":139965,"type":596},"Ionic Materials has been in fund raising mode since the turn of the year and raised $65m from “strategic investors” in a Series C financing round. While not public information, investors are anticipated to be from the lithium ion battery supply chain, from cell to electric vehicle (EV) producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":139967,"content":139968},{"textAlign":49},[139969],{"text":139970,"type":596},"Total is the first oil company to make such a foray into solid state batteries. “We have chosen to solve the most significant materials science problems to enable solid state batteries which can be manufactured in a much simpler way using polymer processing,” explained CEO and founder, Mike Zimmerman. Total is the first oil company to make such a foray into solid state batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":139972,"content":139973},{"textAlign":49},[139974],{"text":139975,"type":596},"“We have chosen to solve the most significant materials science problems to enable solid state batteries which can be manufactured in a much simpler way using polymer processing,” explained CEO and founder, Mike Zimmerman choose to accept, as the world needs our solution,” he added Total described solid state batteries as “the next generation” and cited EVs as the main driver behind the acquisition.",{"type":615,"attrs":139977,"content":139978},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[139979],{"text":139980,"type":596},"Controversy",{"type":591,"attrs":139982,"content":139983},{"textAlign":49},[139984],{"text":139985,"type":596},"The commercialisation of solid state battery technology has been on less solid ground. While there is potential to increase the energy storage performance of lithium ion by three-to-four-fold, a real world working example, especially in an EV is yet to materialise.",{"type":591,"attrs":139987,"content":139988},{"textAlign":49},[139989],{"text":139990,"type":596},"The major controversy was UK based Dyson’s purchase of US-solid state battery developer, Sakti3 for $90m in 2015. Dyson, one of the world’s most innovative and technology savvy companies, said it was going to build a multi-billion-dollar battery plant on the back of Sakti3’s patents as the centre piece to its manufacturing of EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":139992,"content":139993},{"textAlign":49},[139994],{"text":139995,"type":596},"Many in the battery industry believed that the Dyson-Sakti3 deal was underpinned by over-promotion from founder, Ann Marie Sastry, leaving the company with more work than expected on the new battery technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":139997,"content":139998},{"textAlign":49},[139999],{"text":140000,"type":596},"There was additional controversy when Quartz published an article: Dyson has abandoned patents aimed at creating a battery-and-electric-car juggernaut resembling Tesla. The article, written by Steve Levine a journalist well known for focusing on batteries, did not quite give the full picture as Dyson explained the three patents it did not renew were immaterial to its R&D progress for solid state.",{"type":591,"attrs":140002,"content":140003},{"textAlign":49},[140004],{"text":140005,"type":596},"Yet it did highlight a major issue in the academic battery world of over-promoting and under-delivering on real world solutions for the solid state battery to usurp lithium ion’s dominance.",{"type":591,"attrs":140007,"content":140008},{"textAlign":49},[140009],{"text":140010,"type":596},"Academic funding for battery research, especially in the US, has been a cottage industry unto itself. It has resulted in misleading headlines in the mainstream press leading the wider public to believe that a super battery is coming to a car near you in the next 18 months. The reality is rather different.",{"type":591,"attrs":140012,"content":140013},{"textAlign":49},[140014],{"text":140015,"type":596},"While solid state is undoubtedly the next-battery-tech-to-watch, commercialisation will unveil itself over the next decade. It is easy to forget that it took lithium ion over ten years to from its first commercial use in the Sony Walkman in 1992, to widespread usage in cell phones, laptops and powertools in the mid-2000s.",{"type":591,"attrs":140017,"content":140018},{"textAlign":49},[140019],{"text":140020,"type":596},"It is true that we are in a different world today where both the auto and utilities industries are desperate for more efficient batteries, that these timescales will no doubt shorten. But caution should be applied with an industry that has yet to test a true solid state battery in real world scenarios.",{"type":591,"attrs":140022,"content":140023},{"textAlign":49},[140024],{"text":140025,"type":596},"Three years on for Dyson and little commercial progress has been made on its solid state development – the company has now switched its nearterm focus to lithium ion in a bid to make its first EV by 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":140027,"content":140028},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140030,"content":140031},{"textAlign":49},[140032],{"text":140033,"type":596},"In fact, the solid-state battery industry is now looking to new pioneers to push its development forward such as US-based Solid Power, a new company spun out from research at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2012. Dyson, however, still remains one of the major global players in the R&D space for solid state and one to watch for EV engineering.",{"type":591,"attrs":140035,"content":140036},{"textAlign":49},[140037],{"text":140038,"type":596},"The potential for full integration from battery-to-EV holds great value and is reminiscent of Tesla’s Gigafactory approach. Sir James Dyson, founder and CEO of Dyson told Financial Times in February 2018 that it has been “investing heavily in new battery technology, solid state battery technology . . . but those sorts of technologies can take some time to get there.” For Total, it continues to make savvy bids for battery producers that hold strong intellectual property portfolios.",{"type":591,"attrs":140040,"content":140041},{"textAlign":49},[140042],{"text":140043,"type":596},"The question remains what the oil producer intends to do to its battery investments – whether linking it up with its solar power businesses or something altogether more radical in the EV space. Either way the hedge against an oil-powered world continues, and the next move belongs to BP and Shell.","French oil producer sees energy storage as the missing link as it doubles down on solid state technology with its second foray into the battery supply chain Total SA, the French oil producer, has bolstered its foothold in the lithium ion battery industry by purchasing a stake in Ionic Materials, a developer of next generation […]",[140046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140047},{"job_title":557,"image":140048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4e9a0ca5-45f5-420a-b772-c06f5997d801\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[140051,140052],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":140054,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140055,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6b57ceff34/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-07-at-104624.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 07, 2018",{"id":140058,"uuid":140059,"name":140060,"slug":140061,"full_slug":140062,"content":140063},112474606685535,"e3f2aa12-3d84-49d4-8905-cc2d2c46c743","The resource bull market you didn’t see coming","the-resource-bull-market-you-didnt-see-coming","article/the-resource-bull-market-you-didnt-see-coming",{"_uid":140064,"date":139922,"tags":140065,"editor":140066,"content":140070,"excerpt":140169,"featured":50,"reporter":140170,"_editable":140174,"component":697,"seo_title":140060,"categories":140175,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":140178,"seo_description":140169,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":140056},"a881a7e6-220f-48f0-a201-3bd91e17b5cc",[],[140067],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140068},{"job_title":557,"image":140069,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":140071},[140072,140077,140082,140087,140092,140097,140102,140107,140112,140117,140122,140127,140132,140137,140142,140147,140152,140157,140162],{"type":591,"attrs":140073,"content":140074},{"textAlign":49},[140075],{"text":140076,"type":596},"Anthony Milewski",{"type":591,"attrs":140078,"content":140079},{"textAlign":49},[140080],{"text":140081,"type":596},"As the Chinese driven commodities “super cycle” wound down and miners’ balance sheets came under pressure globally, management teams, investors, bankers and observers alike were left to wonder when, where, and how the next commodities bull market would manifest itself. Commentators speculated that the next commodities super cycle was a decade off and would be driven by growth in India or possibly by the urbanisation of Indonesia.",{"type":591,"attrs":140083,"content":140084},{"textAlign":49},[140085],{"text":140086,"type":596},"While GDP growth and urbanisation of emerging and frontier markets certainly helps commodities demand, almost universally investors, miners, and commentators failed to predict the bull market which is now upon us.",{"type":591,"attrs":140088,"content":140089},{"textAlign":49},[140090],{"text":140091,"type":596},"Namely new demand for copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt, as well as a host of other commodities in the coming years, due to the electrification of automobiles and the knock on effect it has on power grids globally as well as battery storage technology which is revolutionizing the uses of renewable energy, solar farms, and making power cheaper and more accessible globally. New technology does not always replace old technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":140093,"content":140094},{"textAlign":49},[140095],{"text":140096,"type":596},"Most people don’t know that many of the first automobiles made were electric or that even in the 70s and 80s automobile makers were working on electric vehicles. It has taken a variety of factors, both economic and political, to get us to the point we are at now with the EV and battery storage – which is the verge of mass adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":140098,"content":140099},{"textAlign":49},[140100],{"text":140101,"type":596},"When I think about disruptive technology there are two principles I see repeated time and time again for technology displacement to occur – 1) cost; and 2) utility. In the case of the EV we are nearly at cost parity between EVs and gas powered automobiles. We are only a few years off from EVs potentially costing less than gas powered automobiles. Utility in the case of the EV has two components – battery rechargeability and battery range.",{"type":591,"attrs":140103,"content":140104},{"textAlign":49},[140105],{"text":140106,"type":596},"The current EV range is already further then over 98% of Americans travel in a single day and the current charging infrastructure allows one to drive across the Continental US. In other words, almost without notice, the major barriers to the adoption of the EV have fallen. Two years ago the penetration rate of EVs was almost zero, today we are at approximately 1.8%.",{"type":591,"attrs":140108,"content":140109},{"textAlign":49},[140110],{"text":140111,"type":596},"Wall Street analysts differ on their penetration rate views in the coming decade, ranging from 8% to 35% in 2025, with the average around 15%.",{"type":591,"attrs":140113,"content":140114},{"textAlign":49},[140115],{"text":140116,"type":596},"If you extrapolate the forward growth curve, you are closer to 30% of new car sales in 2025 being EVs. Growth in the battery storage area is harder to predict, but antidotally we see companies like Tesla rolling out battery farms and technology investors such as Softbank investing in mines to get lithium off take to power the batteries associated with their technology investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":140118,"content":140119},{"textAlign":49},[140120],{"text":140121,"type":596},"What does this all mean for commodities? Simply put, a wave of demand for copper, nickel, lithium, and cobalt is coming that almost no one – miner, investor, or banker alike, anticipated or planned for. Exploration budgets have been slashed for almost a decade now, with a dwindling project pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":140123,"content":140124},{"textAlign":49},[140125],{"text":140126,"type":596},"The large copper mines of the world are growing old and the new potential copper mines are located in challenging jurisdictions. Nearly 65% of the world’s cobalt supply is produced in the DRC. Water use issues associated with evaporate lithium production are calling in to question social licenses to mine in North and South America.",{"type":591,"attrs":140128,"content":140129},{"textAlign":49},[140130],{"text":140131,"type":596},"And yet with all these challenges, demand for the underlying commodities only grows. Consider this, as much as 15% of global copper consumption may come from EV and grid applications in seven short years (in fact, it may be much higher).",{"type":591,"attrs":140133,"content":140134},{"textAlign":49},[140135],{"text":140136,"type":596},"The copper market is in relative equilibrium, what does a 15% increase in demand mean for copper? The cobalt market is 100,000 mt today. To meet EV and grid storage demand we may need as much as 350,000 mt of cobalt annually in 2025. The lithium market may need to double and a material short fall in class one nickel is developing.",{"type":591,"attrs":140138,"content":140139},{"textAlign":49},[140140],{"text":140141,"type":596},"CRU estimates the average metals use per vehicle to be 84 kg of copper, 30 kg of nickel and 8 kg of cobalt. To be sure, the story is far more nuanced. In grid storage applications batteries such as the vanadium redox battery are likely competitors to the lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":140143,"content":140144},{"textAlign":49},[140145],{"text":140146,"type":596},"The common battery chemistry in the NMC battery that powers the EV is likely to move from a 5-3-2 formulation to a 6-2-2- formulation and then eventually on to an 8-1-1. Money is also being spent on advancing recycling technology, which today is toxic, expensive and not practical.",{"type":591,"attrs":140148,"content":140149},{"textAlign":49},[140150],{"text":140151,"type":596},"However, on average it takes over a decade from discovery to commissioning a new mine. Recycling technology and advances in processing technology are measured in years and not days. We are now entering one of the most exciting commodities markets we have seen in decades.",{"type":591,"attrs":140153,"content":140154},{"textAlign":49},[140155],{"text":140156,"type":596},"The way to play the adoption of the EV and grid storage is not betting on Tesla or Umicore. I have no insight in to which automaker is going to win the race in autonomous driving, mobility as a service off of their EV platforms.",{"type":591,"attrs":140158,"content":140159},{"textAlign":49},[140160],{"text":140161,"type":596},"I have no view on which utilities are going to best utilize grid storage to displace current infrastructure. BUT, what I do know for sure that is so long as you believe the events discussed are going to happen, the basic materials that support the roll out are going to be huge winners.",{"type":591,"attrs":140163,"content":140164},{"textAlign":49},[140165],{"text":140166,"type":596,"marks":140167},"Contributor Anthony Milewski is CEO of Cobalt 27 Capital Inc and has been active in the battery metals industry, including investing in cobalt and actively trading physical cobalt, for many years.",[140168],{"type":1006},"Anthony Milewski As the Chinese driven commodities “super cycle” wound down and miners’ balance sheets came under pressure globally, management teams, investors, bankers and observers alike were left to wonder when, where, and how the next commodities bull market would manifest itself. Commentators speculated that the next commodities super cycle was a decade off and […]",[140171],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140172},{"job_title":557,"image":140173,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a881a7e6-220f-48f0-a201-3bd91e17b5cc\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[140176,140177],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":140179,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140180,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bb30d1203b/bm-screen-shot-2018-06-07-at-094304.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":140182,"uuid":140183,"name":140184,"slug":140185,"full_slug":140186,"content":140187},114852131352165,"decf832d-e0bd-4d31-b35c-e87df806febb","eCobalt’s new direction","ecobalts-new-direction","article/ecobalts-new-direction",{"_uid":140188,"date":140189,"live":50,"tags":140190,"editor":140191,"content":140195,"excerpt":140512,"featured":50,"reporter":140513,"_editable":140517,"component":697,"seo_title":140184,"categories":140518,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"data_vis_image":140521,"featured_image":140523,"seo_description":140526,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":140527},"b3ea3847-26b9-46f2-a12f-c98ae8e49b3d","2018-02-25 00:00",[],[140192],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140193},{"job_title":557,"image":140194,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":140196},[140197,140202,140207,140220,140223,140228,140235,140240,140245,140250,140255,140260,140265,140270,140273,140278,140283,140288,140293,140298,140305,140310,140313,140318,140323,140328,140333,140338,140344,140349,140354,140359,140362,140367,140372,140375,140380,140385,140390,140395,140401,140406,140412,140417,140422,140427,140433,140438,140443,140452,140458,140463,140468,140473,140478,140483,140489,140494,140497,140502,140507],{"type":591,"attrs":140198,"content":140199},{"textAlign":49},[140200],{"text":140201,"type":596},"With demand side pressure growing rapidly, security of cobalt supply continues to be a major concern for lithium ion battery producers and OEMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":140203,"content":140204},{"textAlign":49},[140205],{"text":140206,"type":596},"This coupled with increased scrutiny of cobalt sourcing across the entire supply chain following the well publicised illegal mining practices including human rights violations in the DRC has led to significant interest in cobalt development projects outside of the volatile African nation.",{"type":591,"attrs":140208,"content":140209},{"textAlign":49},[140210,140212,140214,140216,140218],{"text":140211,"type":596},"Following a recent site visit to eCobalt’s, Idaho Cobalt Project ",{"text":140213,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Caspar Rawles ",{"text":140215,"type":596},"met with President and CEO, ",{"text":140217,"type":596},"Paul Farquharson ",{"text":140219,"type":596},"to discuss the project and the new direction they are taking to capitalise on this opportunity.",{"type":591,"attrs":140221,"content":140222},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140224,"content":140225},{"textAlign":49},[140226],{"text":140227,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles: Can you give us a brief introduction to the Idaho cobalt project and its vital statistics please?",{"type":591,"attrs":140229,"content":140230},{"textAlign":49},[140231,140233],{"text":140232,"type":596},"Paul Farquharson: ",{"text":140234,"type":596},"The 100% owned Idaho Cobalt Project, known as the ICP, is eCobalt’s primary asset. It is the only advanced, near-term, environmentally permitted primary cobalt deposit in the United States. The ICP will produce ethical, transparent, and environmentally responsible cobalt products focused on the battery sector made in the United States.",{"type":591,"attrs":140236,"content":140237},{"textAlign":49},[140238],{"text":140239,"type":596},"The ICP is comprised of the Mine/Mill site located in Lemhi County near the town of Salmon, Idaho, and the Cobalt Production Facility (CPF), a stand-alone refinery facility to be located in Blackfoot, Idaho, approximately 200 miles south of the Mine/Mill site.",{"type":591,"attrs":140241,"content":140242},{"textAlign":49},[140243],{"text":140244,"type":596},"We have had a long history with the project, starting with initial drilling in 1997 followed by receipt of environmental permits in 2009, and initial construction in 2011 paused by a market downturn. We have spent over US$110 million on the project with approximately 90% of the earth and civil works completed at the mine site.",{"type":591,"attrs":140246,"content":140247},{"textAlign":49},[140248],{"text":140249,"type":596},"The majority of the milling equipment was also purchased. These factors put us in a strong position to start underground development, complete construction and achieve initial production in 2019 with commercial production by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":140251,"content":140252},{"textAlign":49},[140253],{"text":140254,"type":596},"We have recently filed a September 27, 2017 Feasibility Study (Feasibility Study), a NI 43-101 Technical Report, on the ICP to produce cobalt sulphate.",{"type":591,"attrs":140256,"content":140257},{"textAlign":49},[140258],{"text":140259,"type":596},"The project has a 12.5-year mine life with mineral reserves of 31.7 million lbs (14,500 tonnes) of cobalt, 42.8 million lbs (19,500 tonnes) of copper and 39,241 oz of gold. Since this is a primary cobalt project, 75% of total revenue comes from cobalt sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":140261,"content":140262},{"textAlign":49},[140263],{"text":140264,"type":596},"The total capital cost estimate is US$187 million and cash cost net of by-product credits is US$5.05/lb Co. Based on current cobalt price of $32.50/lb (LME- December 15, 2017 cash contract Co-99.3%-US$72,500/tonne or US$32.89/lb), the ICP’s after tax NPV (7.5% discount rate) and IRR per the Feasibility Study is US$218.4M and 28.7% respectively.",{"type":591,"attrs":140266,"content":140267},{"textAlign":49},[140268],{"text":140269,"type":596},"Since the release of the Feasibility Study, we have undertaken many optimisation studies to enhance the economics of the project including completion of a 5,000 ft, three-hole resource definition diamond drill program with the goal of upgrading a portion of inferred to indicated resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":140271,"content":140272},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140274,"content":140275},{"textAlign":49},[140276],{"text":140277,"type":596},"We have also commissioned Micon International Ltd. (Micon) to evaluate an internal detailed mine design and production schedule to reduce planned dilution which may result in reduction of development and mining costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":140279,"content":140280},{"textAlign":49},[140281],{"text":140282,"type":596},"Most importantly, we will be pursuing production of a clean (low arsenic content) cobalt concentrate, an upstream precursor material for battery cathode production, instead of cobalt sulphate as identified in the Feasibility Study.",{"type":591,"attrs":140284,"content":140285},{"textAlign":49},[140286],{"text":140287,"type":596},"This new opportunity is being pursued in response to changes in battery supply chain dynamics and in-depth discussions with potential offtake partners.",{"type":591,"attrs":140289,"content":140290},{"textAlign":49},[140291],{"text":140292,"type":596},"We believe that a more simplified flowsheet to produce a clean cobalt concentrate product will result in material reduction in both capital and operating cost at the CPF and improve construction timelines. Overall, these optimization opportunities may result in material improvement to project economics. We have engaged Micon and SNC Lavalin to produce a new feasibility study in which project financing and development will be based in Q2-2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":140294,"content":140295},{"textAlign":49},[140296],{"text":140297,"type":596},"CR: From the site visit Benchmark undertook in October 2017 it appeared that you have much of the equipment needed for the mine already near site – do you have any major purchases remaining for the mine to go into production?",{"type":591,"attrs":140299,"content":140300},{"textAlign":49},[140301,140303],{"text":140302,"type":596},"PF: ",{"text":140304,"type":596},"Yes, additional equipment will have to be purchased for project development and commercial production. However, based on Feasibility Study estimates, the majority of remaining capital expenditures for the mine, mill, concentrator and CPF relate to development and construction costs rather than purchase of additional equipment.",{"type":591,"attrs":140306,"content":140307},{"textAlign":49},[140308],{"text":140309,"type":596},"Capital expenditures for the CPF can be significantly reduced, based on current high-level estimates, since we are pursuing a more simplified flowsheet to produce a clean cobalt concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":140311,"content":140312},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140314,"content":140315},{"textAlign":49},[140316],{"text":140317,"type":596},"The Feasibility Study estimates were based on a complex flowsheet to produce cobalt sulphate. Equipment purchase for the mine is minimal since we intend to engage a contract miner for first two years of mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":140319,"content":140320},{"textAlign":49},[140321],{"text":140322,"type":596},"The mill equipment that you saw in storage during your visit was purchased in 2011. We had spent approximately US$16 million on this long lead time equipment during the initial phase of construction in 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":140324,"content":140325},{"textAlign":49},[140326],{"text":140327,"type":596},"These are major components of the mill and concentrator including the ball mill, flotation cells, hoppers, grizzlies, etc. Other pre-construction works include installation of power to the pump back wells and support equipment related to the capture and treatment of mine and surface waters as well as discharge of treated waters as outlined in eCobalt’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, previously granted by the EPA.",{"type":591,"attrs":140329,"content":140330},{"textAlign":49},[140331],{"text":140332,"type":596},"We have also installed power-line poles to the mill, concentrator, tailings waste storage facility, water treatment ponds, septic field, laydown yard and the miner’s dry area. The stepdown power transformer is also onsite at the concentrator pads.",{"type":591,"attrs":140334,"content":140335},{"textAlign":49},[140336],{"text":140337,"type":596},"CR: At the time of the site visit you were looking at the option of producing a cobalt concentrate or hydroxide rather than a sulphate, can you elaborate why and have any further decisions been made on this?",{"type":591,"attrs":140339,"content":140340},{"textAlign":49},[140341,140342],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140343,"type":596},"We made the decision to pursue cobalt sulphate production in 2015 since it had an attractive price premium and high demand, as it is used for precursor material for NCA and NMC battery cathodes. As such, the Feasibility Study was based on this business plan. We marketed our cobalt sulphate product, produced on a bench scale from the ICP’s ore material, to potential offtake partners over the past year.",{"type":591,"attrs":140345,"content":140346},{"textAlign":49},[140347],{"text":140348,"type":596},"Marketing feedback was positive yet each battery precursor manufacturer had its own product specification requirements and impurity tolerances.",{"type":591,"attrs":140350,"content":140351},{"textAlign":49},[140352],{"text":140353,"type":596},"Our flowsheet would be designed to produce cobalt sulphate that may only serve one or two customers. This valuable marketing feedback forced us to look at other upstream cobalt product options such as concentrate and hydroxide to service a wider customer base and to reduce technical risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":140355,"content":140356},{"textAlign":49},[140357],{"text":140358,"type":596},"We launched a marketing campaign shortly after the release of the Feasibility Study to talk to investors and potential offtake and strategic partners in North America, China, Australia and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":140360,"content":140361},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140363,"content":140364},{"textAlign":49},[140365],{"text":140366,"type":596},"Consolidation of battery materials manufacturing in China to decrease cost and increase production capacity has reduced the premium of cobalt sulphate over cobalt metal. Due to this changing battery market dynamic, and in response to in-depth discussions with numerous potential offtake parties, we have determined that producing a clean cobalt concentrate product is the fastest route to production, generation of cash-flows and reduction of price and technical risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":140368,"content":140369},{"textAlign":49},[140370],{"text":140371,"type":596},"A clean cobalt concentrate is an upstream material for battery cathodes compared to cobalt sulphate which would eliminate the requirement to build the full CPF. Total capital cost estimate for the ICP per the Feasibility Study is US$187 million of which US$124 million (66%) is for the CPF.",{"type":591,"attrs":140373,"content":140374},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140376,"content":140377},{"textAlign":49},[140378],{"text":140379,"type":596},"Operating cash cost, net of by-product credit is US$5.05/lb Co of which US$13.88 is direct cost before by-product credits and 34% of direct cost is related to the CPF.",{"type":591,"attrs":140381,"content":140382},{"textAlign":49},[140383],{"text":140384,"type":596},"Hence, costs related to the CPF is a major burden on project economics. In addition, the significant incremental capital investment required to build a full CPF is not now supported by the forecasted price differential between cobalt concentrate and cobalt sulphate. Initial offtake terms received have indicated attractive pricing for our clean cobalt concentrate product due to the ICP’s unique high cobalt content.",{"type":591,"attrs":140386,"content":140387},{"textAlign":49},[140388],{"text":140389,"type":596},"We have announced the new direction, to produce a clean cobalt concentrate, in our December 7, 2017 news release. We are very excited about this new path as it further de-risks the project and has the potential to significantly improve economics and improve our timeline to production.",{"type":591,"attrs":140391,"content":140392},{"textAlign":49},[140393],{"text":140394,"type":596},"CR: By choosing to produce cobalt concentrate how significantly can shorten the timeline to get the Idaho Cobalt Project into production?",{"type":591,"attrs":140396,"content":140397},{"textAlign":49},[140398,140399],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140400,"type":596},"The timeline to commercial production would be reduced from around 21 months previously to being in initial production within 12 months from project construction commencement (planned for Q2 2018). According to the Feasibility Study, critical path to commercial production is construction and ramp up at the CPF. Production of a clean cobalt concentrate product would simplify the flowsheet at the CPF and reduce the additional circuits required to produce cobalt sulphate and other by-products.",{"type":591,"attrs":140402,"content":140403},{"textAlign":49},[140404],{"text":140405,"type":596},"CR: Under the project’s feasibility study, you have outlined a 12.5-year life of mine, is there scope to extend this in the future once the project is in production? ",{"type":591,"attrs":140407,"content":140408},{"textAlign":49},[140409,140410],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140411,"type":596},"The existing mine life is based on the resources and reserves as outlined in the Feasibility Study. The Ram deposit, which hosts 100% of the reserves on the ICP, represents only a small fraction of the total ICP land package –less than 7% of the claim coverage. Furthermore, the extent of the mineralization of the Ram deposit itself remains undefined; the deposit remains open along strike and at depth.",{"type":591,"attrs":140413,"content":140414},{"textAlign":49},[140415],{"text":140416,"type":596},"Exploration drilling in late 2017 has the potential to expand the known resource and the resource will be further explored once underground operations commence. In addition, we have identified numerous other prospective targets on the property that have yet to be fully evaluated.",{"type":591,"attrs":140418,"content":140419},{"textAlign":49},[140420],{"text":140421,"type":596},"Three of these targets drilled returned drill assays above our current reserve cut-off grade. Historical resources on the East Sunshine and Sunshine deposits exist with development adits in place and numerous core drilling results in storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":140423,"content":140424},{"textAlign":49},[140425],{"text":140426,"type":596},"CR: In November 2017, you announced that the company were part way through 5,000 feet drill program, Benchmark also observed activity on this during the field visit in October. Do you have any preliminary results from this? If so can you elaborate? And if not when are you expecting to announce the results?",{"type":591,"attrs":140428,"content":140429},{"textAlign":49},[140430,140431],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140432,"type":596},"We have recently concluded the 5,000 ft, three-hole resource definition diamond drill program. Assays were completed on two of three drill holes and results showed resource grade greater than Feasibility Study cutoff grade (>0.25% Co). We are very excited to share these results as it demonstrates the strength and depth of the Ram Deposit at the ICP.",{"type":591,"attrs":140434,"content":140435},{"textAlign":49},[140436],{"text":140437,"type":596},"These results were announced on December 14 and 18, 2017. This drill program is expected to have a positive impact on the project’s resource model. We have recently engaged Micon to produce an updated resource model by Q1 2018 to incorporate these assay results.",{"type":591,"attrs":140439,"content":140440},{"textAlign":49},[140441],{"text":140442,"type":596},"In addition, a fourth drill hole was completed in coordination with an independent geotechnical firm to provide rock mass data and acquire additional mineralized material for metallurgical testing.",{"type":591,"attrs":140444,"content":140445},{"textAlign":49},[140446,140448,140450],{"text":140447,"type":596},"CR: Security of supply is currently a top concern throughout the industry, with the likes of VW making very large, public procurement efforts to ensure they have the raw materials they will need for the future. ",{"text":140449,"type":596},"At the same time, there is continued focus on the cobalt supply chain and responsible ",{"text":140451,"type":596},"sourcing associated with untraceable cobalt from the DRC. This is all under a backdrop of rising demand driven primarily by the EV industry, do you feel there has been an increase in interest in not only your project but all projects which can add supply away from the DRC?",{"type":591,"attrs":140453,"content":140454},{"textAlign":49},[140455,140456],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140457,"type":596},"Discussions with potential offtake partners and other industry stakeholders in addition to the increasing media attention that highlights the importance of transparent and socially and environmentally responsible cobalt production have demonstrated that there is significant interest in cobalt projects away from the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":140459,"content":140460},{"textAlign":49},[140461],{"text":140462,"type":596},"Since approximately 65% of global cobalt production comes from the DRC and where some of this production lacks transparency and is a product of artisanal mining as a result of social economic and political conditions, there is increasing attention and requirements by OEMs to source non-DRC cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":140464,"content":140465},{"textAlign":49},[140466],{"text":140467,"type":596},"Once in operation, our production would represent less than 2% of current global cobalt production. Our production is not going to disrupt current supply and demand dynamics and is a transparent, socially and environmentally responsible source of primary cobalt production located in the United States.",{"type":591,"attrs":140469,"content":140470},{"textAlign":49},[140471],{"text":140472,"type":596},"Global cobalt production is required to double within the next decade to meet demand driven by the EV industry. Given the natural constraints of cobalt supply where majority of cobalt deposits are located in the DRC as a by-product of copper and the remaining global supply as a by-product of nickel, these supplies are subject to geopolitical and copper and nickel price risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":140474,"content":140475},{"textAlign":49},[140476],{"text":140477,"type":596},"More projects need to come online to meet the lithium ion battery demand requirements. In response to the cobalt supply bottleneck and increasing price of cobalt, the market has witnessed a surge of new exploration projects in the past 18 months. There are only a handful of advanced projects which are expected to start production within the next couple of years, and are of ever increasing interest to those in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":140479,"content":140480},{"textAlign":49},[140481],{"text":140482,"type":596},"CR: Having been in your role at eCobalt (formerly known as Formation) for over 25 years you will have been through a number of cobalt cycles. Do you feel this current boom is different to previous ones? How has the industry changed since you started following cobalt? ",{"type":591,"attrs":140484,"content":140485},{"textAlign":49},[140486,140487],{"text":140302,"type":596},{"text":140488,"type":596},"The current market dynamic is very different from what we have witnessed over the past 25 years. Historically the cobalt market has been small with predictable growth rates and production was used in traditional applications such as superalloys, paints, tires, dyes, magnets, etc.",{"type":591,"attrs":140490,"content":140491},{"textAlign":49},[140492],{"text":140493,"type":596},"The strongest demand came from the superalloy sector. We filed a feasibility study in 2008 to produce high purity cobalt metal for this sector. Past price fluctuations were caused by political circumstances in the DRC and copper price risks; it wasn’t driven by strong cobalt supply and demand fundamentals.",{"type":591,"attrs":140495,"content":140496},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140498,"content":140499},{"textAlign":49},[140500],{"text":140501,"type":596},"Demand in lithium ion batteries have been increasing over the past decade from consumer electronics. The fundamental shift in demand is now coming EVs and stationary power storage driven by government incentives and regulation, especially in China and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":140503,"content":140504},{"textAlign":49},[140505],{"text":140506,"type":596},"The demand for cobalt used in lithium ion batteries, particularly in EV applications is forecasted to require double current global production within the next decade. These conditions have created strong demand in cobalt that was not there in the past.",{"type":591,"attrs":140508,"content":140509},{"textAlign":49},[140510],{"text":140511,"type":596},"This may change the industry, adding more transparency to pricing and supply chain as cobalt becomes a more recognized commodity. Projects like the ICP – advanced, environmentally permitted, located in safe jurisdictions, and can achieve commercial production within the next few years are well positioned to thrive and grow in these conditions.","With demand side pressure growing rapidly, security of cobalt supply continues to be a major concern for lithium ion battery producers and OEMs. This coupled with increased scrutiny of cobalt sourcing across the entire supply chain following the well publicised illegal mining practices including human rights violations in the DRC has led to significant interest […]",[140514],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140515},{"job_title":557,"image":140516,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b3ea3847-26b9-46f2-a12f-c98ae8e49b3d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[140519,140520],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":547,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":547,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140522},{},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":140524,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140525,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e27a6e36c1/bm-screen-shot-2018-02-25-at-102410.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"With demand side pressure growing rapidly, security of cobalt supply continues to be a major concern for lithium ion battery producers and OEMs. ","Feb 25, 2018",{"id":140529,"uuid":140530,"name":140531,"slug":140532,"full_slug":140533,"content":140534},112474629541719,"e53d79ff-ffc3-4480-ad2d-25a9cafc1007","No, China is not caving in to Tesla","no-china-is-not-caving-in-to-tesla","article/no-china-is-not-caving-in-to-tesla",{"_uid":140535,"date":140189,"tags":140536,"editor":140539,"content":140543,"excerpt":140705,"featured":50,"reporter":140706,"_editable":140710,"component":697,"seo_title":140531,"categories":140711,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":140714,"seo_description":140705,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":140527},"3ce02840-466b-457d-bc00-971d5c9e0e82",[140537,140538],{"slug":575,"name":576},{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[140540],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140541},{"job_title":557,"image":140542,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":140544},[140545,140550,140555,140560,140565,140570,140573,140578,140583,140594,140599,140604,140609,140614,140619,140624,140627,140632,140637,140642,140647,140652,140657,140662,140667,140672,140677,140680,140685,140690,140695,140700],{"type":591,"attrs":140546,"content":140547},{"textAlign":49},[140548],{"text":140549,"type":596},"Bertel Schmitt ",{"type":591,"attrs":140551,"content":140552},{"textAlign":49},[140553],{"text":140554,"type":596},"When you read this, you probably have heard that China is doing away with its requirement that foreign automakers need a 50:50 Chinese partner before they can make automobiles in the Middle Kingdom, the only legal way to avoid the country’s egregious 25% import tax. You may also have heard that this will open the gates to Tesla’s ultimate domination of the world’s largest car market, and especially of the world’s largest electric car market.",{"type":591,"attrs":140556,"content":140557},{"textAlign":49},[140558],{"text":140559,"type":596},"If you haven’t heard, you certainly will soon. There is only one problem: It is not true.",{"type":591,"attrs":140561,"content":140562},{"textAlign":49},[140563],{"text":140564,"type":596},"Car companies indeed will be able to build EVs on Chinese soil, and on their own, but they won’t get around the tax, and therefore won’t be competitive with indigenous products. The Nikkei reported in November that China will “allow more foreign ownership of green auto ventures.”",{"type":591,"attrs":140566,"content":140567},{"textAlign":49},[140568],{"text":140569,"type":596},"Bloomberg had an even more ebullient headline: “China to Test Easing Curbs on Foreign Electric Vehicle Firms.” If you skim the story (and who reads more than the headline, and possibly the first paragraph these days?) you will indeed get the impression that the gates to the Middle Kingdom suddenly are wide open.",{"type":591,"attrs":140571,"content":140572},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140574,"content":140575},{"textAlign":49},[140576],{"text":140577,"type":596},"Digging into the articles, one may note that the no-joint-venture production will only be possible in China’s free trade zones. But who really knows what those, and their implications are?",{"type":591,"attrs":140579,"content":140580},{"textAlign":49},[140581],{"text":140582,"type":596},"At least the New York Times gets it, including the subsides part, which is a completely different story. Most people will think, and more than a few writers, regurgitating Bloomberg and the Nikkei, will write that China has caved-in to the biggest seducers of these days, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and that it opens wide.",{"type":591,"attrs":140584,"content":140585},{"textAlign":49},[140586,140588,140592],{"text":140587,"type":596},"Even Hans Greimel, Japan correspondent of ",{"text":140589,"type":596,"marks":140590},"Automotive News",[140591],{"type":1006},{"text":140593,"type":596}," (and I know no-one with a better grasp of the industry) had a first impression along these lines, and he tweeted: “Could this be a benefit for Tesla?” As I have explained months ago when the matter came up, the rule, if passed, would not give Tesla and others a free hand in producing EVs anywhere in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":140595,"content":140596},{"textAlign":49},[140597],{"text":140598,"type":596},"The rule, if passed, would allow the EVs to be made without a joint venture partner in one of China’s free trade zones only. For customs purposes, free trade zones are outside of the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":140600,"content":140601},{"textAlign":49},[140602],{"text":140603,"type":596},"Once the product leaves the free trade zone, the import tariff is charged as if the car came by boat from a far-away country.",{"type":591,"attrs":140605,"content":140606},{"textAlign":49},[140607],{"text":140608,"type":596},"“Wholly foreign-owned businesses within China’s free trade zones would also still be subject to a 25% vehicle import tariff when selling their products in the rest of the country because such zones are technically considered outside of China for customs purposes,“ Liu Enzhi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Chinese business magazine Caixing.",{"type":591,"attrs":140610,"content":140611},{"textAlign":49},[140612],{"text":140613,"type":596},"Production in a free trade zone (FTZ) would not solve Tesla’s big customs problem, and that’s why it put China production plans on ice for at least three more years.",{"type":591,"attrs":140615,"content":140616},{"textAlign":49},[140617],{"text":140618,"type":596},"Neither Bloomberg, nor the Nikkei explain to their readers these expensive implications. Flagrantly, Bloomberg even writes this: “China’s weighty import tax of 25 percent for luxury cars means foreign automakers must produce in China to make them mass-market affordable.",{"type":591,"attrs":140620,"content":140621},{"textAlign":49},[140622],{"text":140623,"type":596},"A relaxation of the joint venture rule would give companies like Tesla the opportunity to set up fully owned manufacturing operations in China, the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles.”",{"type":591,"attrs":140625,"content":140626},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140628,"content":140629},{"textAlign":49},[140630],{"text":140631,"type":596},"Production in an FTZ doesn’t get around the tax. Goods need to clear customs, and duty needs to be paid at the gates (and there are gates, and customs checks) of the FTZ. Bloomberg then reported: “The plan, announced by China’s foreign ministry Thursday, will also permit overseas companies to set up factories on their own to make utility vehicles, without the need for a local partner mandated by current rules.” Not entirely true.",{"type":591,"attrs":140633,"content":140634},{"textAlign":49},[140635],{"text":140636,"type":596},"They need to set up factories in the free trade zones to do that. It is quite ironic that one must turn to Chinese state media to learn the whole truth. China’s state-run wire-service Xinhua quotes Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang as saying that “On a trial basis, restrictions will be lifted on foreign ownership in utility vehicle and NEV industries in pilot free trade zones by June 2018.”",{"type":591,"attrs":140638,"content":140639},{"textAlign":49},[140640],{"text":140641,"type":596},"This is no big deal at all. For customs purposes, China’s free trade zones are exterritorial, and not bound to many of the often byzantine rules of the mainland. If I would want, and if I would have the cash, I could even start manufacturing heavy helicopters in one of China’s free trade zones, without needing a Chinese joint venture partner.",{"type":591,"attrs":140643,"content":140644},{"textAlign":49},[140645],{"text":140646,"type":596},"I wouldn’t even think it as in China proper. As for the taxes, the Vice Minister dangled the hope that “the government will also ‘gradually and properly’ reduce tariffs on automobiles.” Someday, maybe, very gradually. The announcements were made during US President Trump’s visit to China.",{"type":591,"attrs":140648,"content":140649},{"textAlign":49},[140650],{"text":140651,"type":596},"The Chinese know to placate the Donald: Make him feel like he’s winning. For that, they warmed-over a number of old plans (the FTZ matter being one of them) along with long-agreed deals (such as Ford’s joint venture with Zotye, which was agreed-upon in August). With a heavy helping of vague MOUs, the trip was feted as a $250 billion package, secured by Trump alone during a quick visit to Beijing.",{"type":591,"attrs":140653,"content":140654},{"textAlign":49},[140655],{"text":140656,"type":596},"“It’s old-style politics, where a leader comes in and you scoop a bunch of deals which were already under way, or you put out a big number to show the relationship is strong,” James McGregor, China chairman of the consultancy APCO Worldwide, told AFP.",{"type":591,"attrs":140658,"content":140659},{"textAlign":49},[140660],{"text":140661,"type":596},"Even US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had to agree: “Quite frankly, in the grand scheme… the things that have been achieved so far are pretty small,” he told reporters in Beijing.” Make no mistake: China wants Tesla like the proverbial hole in the head. China’s declared intention is to become the ruling power of the upcoming electric vehicle era.",{"type":591,"attrs":140663,"content":140664},{"textAlign":49},[140665],{"text":140666,"type":596},"It can create the needed scale at home with big subsidies, and heavy coercion. It already is next to impossible to get a new gasoline car registered in China’s big cities. Two years from now, Chinese automakers will have to produce 10% of their cars as EVs, whether people want them, or not.",{"type":591,"attrs":140668,"content":140669},{"textAlign":49},[140670],{"text":140671,"type":596},"With that edict, Chinese OEMs will have to put some 3m EVs on the road in the year 2019 alone, that is 1m more than were sold in the world from the early beginnings to the end of last year. In 2020, forced EV production will go to 12%, and so forth.",{"type":591,"attrs":140673,"content":140674},{"textAlign":49},[140675],{"text":140676,"type":596},"And then the batteries – to qualify for the generous central government subsidies, the battery must be from an approved battery maker.",{"type":591,"attrs":140678,"content":140679},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140681,"content":140682},{"textAlign":49},[140683],{"text":140684,"type":596},"By sheer happenstance, they are all Chinese. Foreign automakers are only tolerated as part of this exercise if they are existing joint venture partners like Volkswagen, Ford, Renault and the like who must comply with the rules. Nobody needs a 100% EV outsider like Tesla, who would only suck up money by selling credits to Chinese OEMs.",{"type":591,"attrs":140686,"content":140687},{"textAlign":49},[140688],{"text":140689,"type":596},"This is China, not California. China happily sent Trump back on his way thinking that he won, and it happily goaded Bloomberg, Nikkei, et al into wishful writing that China will give Elon Musk unfettered access to its electric paradise.",{"type":591,"attrs":140691,"content":140692},{"textAlign":49},[140693],{"text":140694,"type":596},"If you want to know China’s true plans, read Michael Dunne’s piece about “China’s looming clash with the U.S.” Instead of easing the rules, “Chinese officials soon will unveil new regulations designed to give China a decisive upper hand in the market for electric vehicles,” Dunne writes.",{"type":591,"attrs":140696,"content":140697},{"textAlign":49},[140698],{"text":140699,"type":596},"He lived and worked there, in the industry, for decades. If you want to get a feel about China’s prolific output of new electric vehicles, follow Tycho de Feijter and his China NEV Weekly, where you see more new EVs each week that Tesla made in the 14 years of its existence.",{"type":591,"attrs":140701,"content":140702},{"textAlign":49},[140703],{"text":140704,"type":596},"Contributor Bertel Schmitt is co-founder of the Daily Kanban together with Edward Niedermeyer, one of the leading sources of global auto industry analysis. He has spent career in the auto sector and is now a journalist and commentator on the space. Bertel lives in Japan.","Bertel Schmitt When you read this, you probably have heard that China is doing away with its requirement that foreign automakers need a 50:50 Chinese partner before they can make automobiles in the Middle Kingdom, the only legal way to avoid the country’s egregious 25% import tax. You may also have heard that this will […]",[140707],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140708},{"job_title":557,"image":140709,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3ce02840-466b-457d-bc00-971d5c9e0e82\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[140712,140713],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":140715,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140716,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e171d5c3a6/bm-comment-pic.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":140718,"uuid":140719,"name":140720,"slug":140721,"full_slug":140722,"content":140723},112474639003581,"6ae265e6-ed24-43d1-a0ad-572cdb26ef47","Back to the future for Chile’s lithium industry","back-to-the-future-for-chiles-lithium-industry","article/back-to-the-future-for-chiles-lithium-industry",{"_uid":140724,"date":140725,"tags":140726,"editor":140728,"content":140732,"excerpt":140893,"featured":50,"reporter":140894,"_editable":140898,"component":697,"seo_title":140720,"categories":140899,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":140903,"seo_description":140893,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":140906},"24243832-b4a6-4a85-ada8-aa2f32a44eb6","2018-02-23 00:00",[140727],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},[140729],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140730},{"job_title":557,"image":140731,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":140733},[140734,140739,140744,140749,140754,140759,140764,140769,140774,140779,140784,140789,140794,140799,140804,140809,140814,140819,140822,140827,140832,140837,140842,140847,140850,140855,140860,140865,140870,140873,140878,140883,140888],{"type":591,"attrs":140735,"content":140736},{"textAlign":49},[140737],{"text":140738,"type":596},"Lithium liftoff: Chile votes in new president that brings clarity for SQM, boosts Atacama expansion plans and usher in changes for CORFO",{"type":591,"attrs":140740,"content":140741},{"textAlign":49},[140742],{"text":140743,"type":596},"Paul Harris ",{"type":591,"attrs":140745,"content":140746},{"textAlign":49},[140747],{"text":140748,"type":596},"Chile has turned to a familiar face for a new era. It is an era which its domestic lithium producer, SQM, will want to play a major role – with the rise of electric vehicles and the drastic need for new lithium supply – but has been stifled from doing so.",{"type":591,"attrs":140750,"content":140751},{"textAlign":49},[140752],{"text":140753,"type":596},"For the last 3 years, Chile has been in the throws of a lithium civil war between its leading producer, SQM SA, and CORFO, the government’s economic development group.",{"type":591,"attrs":140755,"content":140756},{"textAlign":49},[140757],{"text":140758,"type":596},"This high profile spat which delved back into to the days of Chile’s dictator, Augusto Pinochet, has been as well document as it has been unresolved. In Q4, however, the solution for SQM and the lithium industry has come from the people who voted in pro-business candidate and former president, Sebastián Piñera, in a presidential run off that will commence in January 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":140760,"content":140761},{"textAlign":49},[140762],{"text":140763,"type":596},"The new hierarchy has brought an almost immediate resolution to SQM’s argument with CORFO with a new extension of the group’s lithium license in the Atacama to 216,000 tpa by 2030 (Explored more on p.22).",{"type":591,"attrs":140765,"content":140766},{"textAlign":49},[140767],{"text":140768,"type":596},"Piñera, a highly successful business entrepreneur prior to his excursion into politics, is expected to adopt pro-business policies. Initial sounds from his campaign headquarters following his electoral victory on Sunday 17th December are about consensus building and creating a pan-political platform to facilitate his government overcoming many of the issues facing Chile today.",{"type":591,"attrs":140770,"content":140771},{"textAlign":49},[140772],{"text":140773,"type":596},"Chilean politics is fragmented and as Piñera gathered the various right-leaning factions under his Vamos Chile party, they will be expecting spoils for helping him to occupy the La Moneda seat of government in the form of posts in government, heads of ministries and state agencies.",{"type":591,"attrs":140775,"content":140776},{"textAlign":49},[140777],{"text":140778,"type":596},"Piñera lacks a majority in both Chile’s lower and upper houses so he will be forced to make compromises and build consensus which will inevitably limit his ability to get things done, particularly given that the rivalry between the conservatives and liberals will be played out within his own government.",{"type":591,"attrs":140780,"content":140781},{"textAlign":49},[140782],{"text":140783,"type":596},"One only has to look at the government he will replace to see how spoils can colour governance outcomes. The government of outgoing president Michelle Bachelet was much more left-leaning than during her first term due to the fundamental support she received from the Communist Party.",{"type":591,"attrs":140785,"content":140786},{"textAlign":49},[140787],{"text":140788,"type":596},"This lead to a focus on social aspects, empowering environmental authorities and strengthening worker rights, amongst other things. Bachelet II was a very different beast to Bachelet I.",{"type":615,"attrs":140790,"content":140791},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[140792],{"text":140793,"type":596},"Mining clarity, CORFO changes",{"type":591,"attrs":140795,"content":140796},{"textAlign":49},[140797],{"text":140798,"type":596},"Piñera is coming to power in a very different scenario than his previous term which began in 2010 – when he took office then the commodities supercycle in full swing.",{"type":591,"attrs":140800,"content":140801},{"textAlign":49},[140802],{"text":140803,"type":596},"Chile was brimming with confidence and awash with copper money as the copper price topped out at US$4.60 a pound in February 2011, providing his treasury with the funds to contemplate significant infrastructure investments.",{"type":591,"attrs":140805,"content":140806},{"textAlign":49},[140807],{"text":140808,"type":596},"But shortly after coming to power in 2010, Chile was hit by a massive earthquake that destroyed a lot of infrastructure and meant some of his investment plans were diverted to rebuilding. He was also in office throughout the rescue of 33 trapped miners after 70 days underground following a mining accident.",{"type":591,"attrs":140810,"content":140811},{"textAlign":49},[140812],{"text":140813,"type":596},"The money sloshing about Chile back then intensified distribution pressures and resulted in extensive protests by students calling for free education and mine workers and contractors demanding higher rewards.",{"type":591,"attrs":140815,"content":140816},{"textAlign":49},[140817],{"text":140818,"type":596},"The student protests in 2011 saw Piñera’s public approval ebb to the extent that he became the least popular Chilean leader since dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Chile is a fast maturing economy, and showing early signs of NIMBY (not in my back yard). Environmental compliance and enforcement is getting tougher with larger fines being handed out for infractions.",{"type":591,"attrs":140820,"content":140821},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140823,"content":140824},{"textAlign":49},[140825],{"text":140826,"type":596},"Environmental permitting is getting more rigorous and time-consuming, and communities are becoming more vocal in their demands relating to mining projects. The rejection of an environmental license for the Dominga iron ore and copper project in August is a case in point and would have been unthinkable during Piñera’s first term.",{"type":591,"attrs":140828,"content":140829},{"textAlign":49},[140830],{"text":140831,"type":596},"For lithium, there is great expectation about who president-elect Piñera will name as the head of investment promotion agency CORFO. Current executive vice-president of CORFO is Eduardo Bitran, a career public servant, Bachelet loyalist and arguably the person that has been the sea-anchor on the growth of lithium production in Chile, or more specifically, from the Atacama Salar.",{"type":591,"attrs":140833,"content":140834},{"textAlign":49},[140835],{"text":140836,"type":596},"Bitran, appointed by Bachelet in March 2014, single-handedly stymied the possibility of SQM being able to expand its production quota, which means the company will have maxed-out its allotted production years before its concessions expire.",{"type":591,"attrs":140838,"content":140839},{"textAlign":49},[140840],{"text":140841,"type":596},"The new agreement between SQM and CORFO sees the quota increase to nearly five fold its present output. CORFO’s former position regarding SQM means that Chile has lost significant ground to Australia in terms of lithium production in recent years, and has seen the boom in exploration largely occur in the salars of Argentina rather than in Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":140843,"content":140844},{"textAlign":49},[140845],{"text":140846,"type":596},"Orocobre, Lithium Americas and now Lithium X Energy have all obtained substantial investments to advance and develop lithium projects in Argentina, and attracted large capital sums from Asia as companies involved in the lithium battery supply chain seek to lockdown raw material supplies.",{"type":591,"attrs":140848,"content":140849},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140851,"content":140852},{"textAlign":49},[140853],{"text":140854,"type":596},"Such investments have bypassed Chile. The most recent investment announcement in mid-December saw Nextview New Energy Lion Hong Kong Ltd enter into a definitive agreement to acquire Lithium X for its Sal de Los Angeles brine project in Salta, Argentina.",{"type":591,"attrs":140856,"content":140857},{"textAlign":49},[140858],{"text":140859,"type":596},"Whilst Argentina has become a shining light in the lithium exploration rush, Chile has been left in the starting blocks to the extent that SQM, Chile’s largest lithium producer, has invested in projects in both Australia and Argentina.",{"type":591,"attrs":140861,"content":140862},{"textAlign":49},[140863],{"text":140864,"type":596},"What lithium exploration there is in Chile, by companies such as Wealth Minerals and Bearing Lithium, has so far amounted to securing land packages and early-stage exploration as the structure of Chile’s regulatory regime for lithium is less appealing than in other countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":140866,"content":140867},{"textAlign":49},[140868],{"text":140869,"type":596},"Chile sees lithium as a strategic resource and through development promotion agency CORFO that administers much of the lithium resources, Chile wants significant project participation in any development.",{"type":591,"attrs":140871,"content":140872},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140874,"content":140875},{"textAlign":49},[140876],{"text":140877,"type":596},"Under Bachelet, CORFO has also shown itself to be a very political beast that engages in antagonistic relationships with the private sector, and certainly not the type of partner that many explorers and developers are looking for.",{"type":591,"attrs":140879,"content":140880},{"textAlign":49},[140881],{"text":140882,"type":596},"Bitran made CORFO’s dispute with SQM political, centering on major shareholder and former company president Julio Ponce, due to his links to the former military dictatorship. While Bitran made it clear that a resolution of the dispute and increase in the production quota is not possible whilst Ponce retains a position of influence within SQM, it appears the new government has overruled and undermined his position. However, with a new government coming in, it seems likely that Bitran will be replaced as CORFO head, and almost certainly with someone that does not have the same political differences with Ponce.",{"type":591,"attrs":140884,"content":140885},{"textAlign":49},[140886],{"text":140887,"type":596},"However, whilst Chile is important to the world of lithium, lithium is less important to Chile, and the income the country could derive from the battery material pales into insignificance compared to its copper income.",{"type":591,"attrs":140889,"content":140890},{"textAlign":49},[140891],{"text":140892,"type":596},"Will Piñera seek to roll back the lithium structure implemented by the Bachelet government to allow the sector to develop and flourish like any other mineral? Change is possible but with limited political reward the question remains as to how quickly it will prevail.","Lithium liftoff: Chile votes in new president that brings clarity for SQM, boosts Atacama expansion plans and usher in changes for CORFO Paul Harris Chile has turned to a familiar face for a new era. It is an era which its domestic lithium producer, SQM, will want to play a major role – with the […]",[140895],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140896},{"job_title":557,"image":140897,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"24243832-b4a6-4a85-ada8-aa2f32a44eb6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[140900,140901,140902],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":140904,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":140905,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b950b1f3c8/bm-5012601195-843104ce08-o.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 23, 2018",{"id":140908,"uuid":140909,"name":140910,"slug":140911,"full_slug":140912,"content":140913},112474634223475,"77e84dc4-1a90-4fd0-b479-6998cc285a78","How seriously should we take Glencore’s cobalt goals?","how-seriously-should-we-take-glencores-cobalt-goals","article/how-seriously-should-we-take-glencores-cobalt-goals",{"_uid":140914,"date":140725,"tags":140915,"editor":140917,"content":140921,"excerpt":141058,"featured":50,"reporter":141059,"_editable":141063,"component":697,"seo_title":140910,"categories":141064,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":141068,"seo_description":141058,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":140906},"940321b6-1304-44ca-baea-8c830b41adc0",[140916],{"slug":5837,"name":5838},[140918],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":140919},{"job_title":557,"image":140920,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":140922},[140923,140928,140933,140938,140943,140948,140953,140958,140963,140970,140975,140980,140985,140990,140993,141000,141005,141010,141017,141022,141027,141035,141040,141045,141053],{"type":591,"attrs":140924,"content":140925},{"textAlign":49},[140926],{"text":140927,"type":596},"by Caspar Rawles",{"type":591,"attrs":140929,"content":140930},{"textAlign":49},[140931],{"text":140932,"type":596},"In December 2017, mining giant Glencore – the world’s largest cobalt producer, – shocked the industry by releasing the first official guidance figures for the restart of the upgraded Katanga Mining operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).",{"type":591,"attrs":140934,"content":140935},{"textAlign":49},[140936],{"text":140937,"type":596},"The official production guidance figures are as below and as a percentage of global output in 2017:",{"type":591,"attrs":140939,"content":140940},{"textAlign":49},[140941],{"text":140942,"type":596},"These numbers are much higher than previously expected with the company stating a production target of 20,000 tonnes as recently as the summer of 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":140944,"content":140945},{"textAlign":49},[140946],{"text":140947,"type":596},"The numbers are also significant when compared with a total refined market of around 93,000 tonnes in 2017. If Glencore manage to produce the volumes they forecast the project has the potential to heavily impact the supply/demand curve in the near and midterm, even outstripping their own demand expectations.",{"type":591,"attrs":140949,"content":140950},{"textAlign":49},[140951],{"text":140952,"type":596},"The company stated they expect cobalt demand from the EV sector and grid storage to have increased by 24,000 tonnes by 2020.",{"type":615,"attrs":140954,"content":140955},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[140956],{"text":140957,"type":596},"Impact",{"type":591,"attrs":140959,"content":140960},{"textAlign":49},[140961],{"text":140962,"type":596},"If these targets are met the volumes would mean the cobalt market could be in a state of surplus until the mid 2020’s and the fears over security of supply would quickly be eased. The move also has the potential to stabile prices which had been rising quickly throughout 2017. But a number of industry players close to Benchmark commented on the announcement, highlighting that perhaps there were more to these revised targets than suggested. Some of these considerations are outlined below:",{"type":591,"attrs":140964,"content":140965},{"textAlign":49},[140966,140968],{"text":140967,"type":596},"Timing:",{"text":140969,"type":596}," Glencore made the announcement at a time when cobalt prices were at their highest levels since the price surge of 2008 and going through some of their most rapid rises in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":140971,"content":140972},{"textAlign":49},[140973],{"text":140974,"type":596},"Whilst producers have been enjoying the recent high prices in the market, rapid increases alongside longer term high levels can be seen negatively by cobalt producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":140976,"content":140977},{"textAlign":49},[140978],{"text":140979,"type":596},"Producers are of the belief that if prices continue to rise and stay high over the long term this will accelerate investment into developing high nickel/low cobalt cathode technology and decrease long term cobalt demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":140981,"content":140982},{"textAlign":49},[140983],{"text":140984,"type":596},"Furthermore, rapid price increases can destabilise clients who are not ready to accept the new prices, and aren’t yet in a position to shift the increases onto their client base.",{"type":591,"attrs":140986,"content":140987},{"textAlign":49},[140988],{"text":140989,"type":596},"Some commented that the high production figures were released at a time when Glencore wished to cool the rapidly rising market by easing fears over the availability of cobalt raw material, which was a key factor in driving prices higher throughout 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":140991,"content":140992},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":140994,"content":140995},{"textAlign":49},[140996,140998],{"text":140997,"type":596},"Demand:",{"text":140999,"type":596}," By Glencore’s own admission, its production has the potential to outstrip demand if they were able to meet the levels indicated in the announcement.",{"type":591,"attrs":141001,"content":141002},{"textAlign":49},[141003],{"text":141004,"type":596},"Whilst Glencore has interest in keeping prices in check, it is highly unlikely that they would want to see prices decrease significantly either, it is hard to see a scenario where a miner would flood the market with excess material and drive down prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":141006,"content":141007},{"textAlign":49},[141008],{"text":141009,"type":596},"For this reason, the move has also been seen by some as a political play to ease worries about medium term supply of cobalt to the battery market, helping Glencore market themselves as one of the handful of guaranteed clean cobalt producers from the DRC with abundant supply in the near term.",{"type":591,"attrs":141011,"content":141012},{"textAlign":49},[141013,141015],{"text":141014,"type":596},"Pace of growth:",{"text":141016,"type":596}," Questions were also raised regarding the timeline for such significant production and whether Glencore will be able to ramp up as quickly as outlined.",{"type":591,"attrs":141018,"content":141019},{"textAlign":49},[141020],{"text":141021,"type":596},"Taking the example of Mutanda (Glencore’s other DRC asset), the project took approximately 5 years to ramp up to a production of 24,500 tpa, far below that forecasted for Katanga. At the time Glencore did not have the incentive of today’s high prices, but to be able to produce nearly 40% more material than at Mutanda in a space of less than a year would be an impressive feat, particularly in a nation with the power and infrastructure problems of the DRC.",{"type":615,"attrs":141023,"content":141024},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[141025],{"text":141026,"type":596},"No cobalt flood",{"type":591,"attrs":141028,"content":141029},{"textAlign":49},[141030,141032,141033],{"text":141031,"type":596},"Despite these factors cobalt production from Katanga will be higher than previously expected. ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":141034,"type":596}," believe that achievable production in the timeframe (assuming there will be no major issues bringing the cobalt circuit online) will be significant enough to keep the market in slight surplus until the early 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":141036,"content":141037},{"textAlign":49},[141038],{"text":141039,"type":596},"But this does not mean that we expect prices to return to $25,000/tonne, as they were at the start of 2016. In fact, we expect little by way of price decreases for battery-grade material.",{"type":591,"attrs":141041,"content":141042},{"textAlign":49},[141043],{"text":141044,"type":596},"Any additional volumes of material released to the market by Glencore will be stockpiled by those with the capital and ability to do so in preparation for the return to market deficit.",{"type":591,"attrs":141046,"content":141047},{"textAlign":49},[141048,141050,141051],{"text":141049,"type":596},"Katanga’s production will help to stabilise prices over the coming years, but as we approach the early to mid 2020’s – where ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":141052,"type":596}," forecasts the true ramp up of lithium ion demand will be in full swing – there is still a big question mark on how the supply side response will meet demand. Benchmark expects 2017 global cobalt production will need to roughly double by 2025 to meet the forecasted growth in global demand across all sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":141054,"content":141055},{"textAlign":49},[141056],{"text":141057,"type":596},"Without further significant investments from the incumbents and public and private investment in exploration and development projects, Glencore have merely pushed the supply deficit cliff edge back slightly.","by Caspar Rawles In December 2017, mining giant Glencore – the world’s largest cobalt producer, – shocked the industry by releasing the first official guidance figures for the restart of the upgraded Katanga Mining operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The official production guidance figures are as below and as a percentage […]",[141060],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141061},{"job_title":557,"image":141062,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"940321b6-1304-44ca-baea-8c830b41adc0\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[141065,141066,141067],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":141069,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":141070,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ccc6b04e6a/bm-screen-shot-2018-02-23-at-135712.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":141072,"uuid":141073,"name":141074,"slug":141075,"full_slug":141076,"content":141077},112474668519963,"59b89317-f546-4485-92fb-959eac4d7dce","Getting physical","getting-physical","article/getting-physical",{"_uid":141078,"date":141079,"tags":141080,"editor":141081,"content":141085,"excerpt":141322,"featured":50,"reporter":141323,"_editable":141327,"component":697,"seo_title":141074,"categories":141328,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":141331,"seo_description":141322,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141334},"cfc26cd3-ba62-4c84-895c-152d5d58e69a","2017-11-24 00:00",[],[141082],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141083},{"job_title":557,"image":141084,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":141086},[141087,141096,141108,141113,141120,141125,141130,141137,141142,141147,141152,141155,141160,141165,141170,141175,141180,141185,141190,141196,141201,141207,141216,141222,141230,141236,141241,141246,141252,141261,141267,141270,141275,141281,141290,141296,141301,141306,141311,141316],{"type":591,"attrs":141088,"content":141089},{"textAlign":49},[141090,141092,141094],{"text":141091,"type":596},"Over the past two years, ",{"text":141093,"type":596},"Cobalt 27 Capital Corp",{"text":141095,"type":596}," has been amassing the largest physical cobalt position outside of China through the acquisition of 2,157.5 tonnes of high and low-grade cobalt metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":141097,"content":141098},{"textAlign":49},[141099,141101,141103,141105,141106],{"text":141100,"type":596},"It is part of its strategy to give investors exposure to physical cobalt and the surging demand in the electric vehicle battery sector. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s ",{"text":141102,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles",{"text":141104,"type":596}," met with Chairman, ",{"text":140076,"type":596},{"text":141107,"type":596},", to dig deeper into a development that is reshaping the cobalt industry",{"type":591,"attrs":141109,"content":141110},{"textAlign":49},[141111],{"text":141112,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles: You have been actively trading cobalt for some time now, when did you begin looking at the market and how have things changed since you started? ",{"type":591,"attrs":141114,"content":141115},{"textAlign":49},[141116,141118],{"text":141117,"type":596},"Anthony Milewski:",{"text":141119,"type":596}," The first time I looked at the cobalt market was in 2008 after there was a huge spike in the metal price. Back in 2008, I was thinking about it in terms of cobalt content in cell phone batteries and other industrial applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":141121,"content":141122},{"textAlign":49},[141123],{"text":141124,"type":596},"The idea that the electric vehicle (EV) demand would come and completely change the market the way it has did not cross my mind back then. It’s truly amazing how fast the EV adoption rates have accelerated over the past few years and the impact it has had on a host of metals, especially cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":141126,"content":141127},{"textAlign":49},[141128],{"text":141129,"type":596},"CR: Can you give us a small introduction to Cobalt 27, the reason it was founded and its key stats?",{"type":591,"attrs":141131,"content":141132},{"textAlign":49},[141133,141135],{"text":141134,"type":596},"AM:",{"text":141136,"type":596}," A couple of years ago, we were looking around the world, and thinking about what the future of mining would look like, and the future of metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":141138,"content":141139},{"textAlign":49},[141140],{"text":141141,"type":596},"We were thinking about mechanisation, artificial intelligence and semiconductors, and we started to look at EVs. At that time, they were in their infancy with almost no units out for sale except in Silicon Valley.",{"type":591,"attrs":141143,"content":141144},{"textAlign":49},[141145],{"text":141146,"type":596},"I test drove one and could see that this is something that has come of age. EVs aren’t new. They’ve been around for 100 years. Some of the first cars were EVs. Therefore, I wanted to understand exactly what this EV movement was, and as an investor in basic materials, what minerals and metals it would require.",{"type":591,"attrs":141148,"content":141149},{"textAlign":49},[141150],{"text":141151,"type":596},"I could immediately see that over time there is going to be an impact on copper and nickel, manganese, lithium and, ultimately, cobalt. As I looked at the different materials, nickel and copper are big liquid markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":141153,"content":141154},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141156,"content":141157},{"textAlign":49},[141158],{"text":141159,"type":596},"Lithium already had a lot going on. I arrived at cobalt. Cobalt is largely a by-product of nickel and copper mining, which makes it unique, because unlike other metals, it’s very hard for the supply side to respond.",{"type":591,"attrs":141161,"content":141162},{"textAlign":49},[141163],{"text":141164,"type":596},"That captivated my attention and I immediately began trying to figure out how to invest in it. I looked at different options and I could see that the London Metal Exchange (LME) warrant was not very liquid.",{"type":591,"attrs":141166,"content":141167},{"textAlign":49},[141168],{"text":141169,"type":596},"The mining companies all had big market capitalisations very little exposure to cobalt as relative to the overall size of the company. There were a number of junior developers with small market capitalizations that didn’t really match our risk profile.",{"type":591,"attrs":141171,"content":141172},{"textAlign":49},[141173],{"text":141174,"type":596},"Having thought about it, I tried to figure out the best way to play it and having experienced the uranium bull market, I recalled Uranium Participation Corp. Later, having experienced the gold bull market, I thought about Silver Wheaton.",{"type":591,"attrs":141176,"content":141177},{"textAlign":49},[141178],{"text":141179,"type":596},"I thought, ‘What if you put them together, Uranium Participation Corp and Silver Wheaton, and did it for cobalt?’ That’s the genesis of the idea. This vehicle is a pure play on cobalt. It is underpinned by the largest physical cobalt position in the world outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":141181,"content":141182},{"textAlign":49},[141183],{"text":141184,"type":596},"The Chinese government has a larger position. That NAV underpins our growth strategy, which is streams and royalties. We have approximately six royalties, which have right of first refusal to convert into streams. We’re actively in the market looking for cobalt streams.",{"type":591,"attrs":141186,"content":141187},{"textAlign":49},[141188],{"text":141189,"type":596},"CR: Cobalt has historically been a difficult mineral to invest in, you aim to change that. Can you explain the challenges investors have faced in the past?",{"type":591,"attrs":141191,"content":141192},{"textAlign":49},[141193,141194],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141195,"type":596}," Cobalt is a by-product of nickel and copper mining in 98% of the production around the world. This fact alone makes it challenging to isolate cobalt as an investment. Until Cobalt 27, equity investors were forced to buy junior exploration companies with a certain risk profile or large mining companies whose profitability is overwhelmingly driven by other metals. More adventurous investors could buy the physical metal but with great difficulty. LME warrants have also been an option for investors, but liquidity has not made it attractive to many funds.",{"type":591,"attrs":141197,"content":141198},{"textAlign":49},[141199],{"text":141200,"type":596},"CR: How will Cobalt 27 offer investors a way into the cobalt space?",{"type":591,"attrs":141202,"content":141203},{"textAlign":49},[141204,141205],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141206,"type":596}," It is very simple. We have the largest physical cobalt position in the world outside of China that under pins our equity value. Over time we will grow through additional physical purchases or streams and royalties.",{"type":591,"attrs":141208,"content":141209},{"textAlign":49},[141210,141212,141214],{"text":141211,"type":596},"CR: Cobalt 27 recently completed a C$200m ($160m) raise, these funds were used to purchase 2,157.5 tonnes of high and ",{"text":141213,"type":596},"low grade",{"text":141215,"type":596}," cobalt metal. How did Cobalt 27 make this purchase when market supplies are so tight?",{"type":591,"attrs":141217,"content":141218},{"textAlign":49},[141219,141220],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141221,"type":596}," Cobalt 27 had options to buy physical going in to the public offering. It took nearly two years to put the position together which included taders, producers and funds.",{"type":591,"attrs":141223,"content":141224},{"textAlign":49},[141225,141227,141228],{"text":141226,"type":596},"CR: Does acquiring metal give investors enough exposure to the ",{"text":80234,"type":596},{"text":141229,"type":596}," battery industry which uses a variety of cobalt chemicals?",{"type":591,"attrs":141231,"content":141232},{"textAlign":49},[141233,141234],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141235,"type":596}," Cobalt is one piece of the puzzle. I like the supply and demand dynamics and importance of the metal to the lithium ion battery. That said, I believe an investor who is focused on the basic materials aspect of the electric vehicle and battery storage thematic would do well to look at other metals in addition to cobalt such as nickel, copper, and lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":141237,"content":141238},{"textAlign":49},[141239],{"text":141240,"type":596},"Over time as the commercial and home power storage thematic develops metals such as vanadium and lead are also likely to become more interesting.",{"type":591,"attrs":141242,"content":141243},{"textAlign":49},[141244],{"text":141245,"type":596},"CR: Can you elaborate on the cobalt royalty contracts you have acquired?",{"type":591,"attrs":141247,"content":141248},{"textAlign":49},[141249,141250],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141251,"type":596}," The royalties we currently have are largely call options and examples of the management’s ability to transact. Going forward we will focus on producing assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":141253,"content":141254},{"textAlign":49},[141255,141257,141259],{"text":141256,"type":596},"CR: How key ",{"text":141258,"type":596},"are",{"text":141260,"type":596}," further royalty acquisitions to the strategy of Cobalt 27 and will these be from producing mines or developers?",{"type":591,"attrs":141262,"content":141263},{"textAlign":49},[141264,141265],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141266,"type":596}," We see streaming transactions as an avenue for growth. Our investors would like to see a larger more liquid company. We believe that streaming transactions is one way to achieve this goal.",{"type":591,"attrs":141268,"content":141269},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141271,"content":141272},{"textAlign":49},[141273],{"text":141274,"type":596},"CR: Cobalt is produced largely as the by-product of copper and nickel projects; historically when these two markets have performed poorly cobalt production has been impacted. Do you foresee any longterm risk regarding royalties you have acquired – or plan to do so – from nickel or copper sources?",{"type":591,"attrs":141276,"content":141277},{"textAlign":49},[141278,141279],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141280,"type":596}," Nickel and copper prices have rebounded significantly in recent months. That said, when we look at a stream we stress test our models to make sure that a given asset can withstand lower prices. I think we are at a point in the cycle where the copper and nickel mines that are currently producing are in pretty good shape to continue to produce even if prices return to near recent lows.",{"type":591,"attrs":141282,"content":141283},{"textAlign":49},[141284,141286,141288],{"text":141285,"type":596},"CR: There has been much discussion in the industry about battery manufacturers moving toward high nickel/low cobalt cathode formulations. Does this concern you and your ",{"text":141287,"type":596},"outlook for",{"text":141289,"type":596}," demand in the cobalt market?",{"type":591,"attrs":141291,"content":141292},{"textAlign":49},[141293,141294],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141295,"type":596}," The current formulation of the NMC battery is a 5-3-2. We are seeing a roll out of the 6-2-2 as we speak. The next big change to chemistries is an 8-1-1 and likely four to five years away. It is my belief that the lithium ion battery is the battery of choice for automakers for the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":141297,"content":141298},{"textAlign":49},[141299],{"text":141300,"type":596},"The testing period and design required to bring in a new technology would take a minimum of five years from when a party tries to make a change. For that reason, when we talk about batteries, we are not talking about substitution but instead innovation. More specifically, innovation within the lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":141302,"content":141303},{"textAlign":49},[141304],{"text":141305,"type":596},"The acceleration of demand for EVs and rapid adoption is so significant that in order to keep cobalt supply from being a bottleneck to the cobalt story we need the chemistry to continue to evolve towards the 8-1-1. I see this cathode evolution as incredibly positive.",{"type":591,"attrs":141307,"content":141308},{"textAlign":49},[141309],{"text":141310,"type":596},"Setting aside any disruption to the supply chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo or increased EV demand, the cobalt fundamentals are so strong that the changes underway in the chemistries are very positive to both EV adoption and cobalt more overall.",{"type":591,"attrs":141312,"content":141313},{"textAlign":49},[141314],{"text":141315,"type":596},"CR: Considering the new cobalt supply entering the market between now and 2020 from Glencore’s Katanga and ERG’s RTR projects, together with demand side pressure increasing from mass market EVs, how do you see cobalt prices reacting?",{"type":591,"attrs":141317,"content":141318},{"textAlign":49},[141319,141320],{"text":141134,"type":596},{"text":141321,"type":596}," Cobalt is the same as any other commodity. The market will find an incentive price to bring on more production. I believe that we are going to need a higher price to incentivise production. Through the cycle you are going to see mines in Canada, US, and Australia be built due to their cobalt contents. In order for those capital expenditure cheques to be written we will need to see higher cobalt prices for longer. The world doesn’t have enough cobalt!","Over the past two years, Cobalt 27 Capital Corp has been amassing the largest physical cobalt position outside of China through the acquisition of 2,157.5 tonnes of high and low-grade cobalt metal. It is part of its strategy to give investors exposure to physical cobalt and the surging demand in the electric vehicle battery sector. […]",[141324],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141325},{"job_title":557,"image":141326,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cfc26cd3-ba62-4c84-895c-152d5d58e69a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[141329,141330],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":141332,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":141333,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5497e00097/bm-screen-shot-2017-11-24-at-151600.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Nov 24, 2017",{"id":141336,"uuid":141337,"name":141338,"slug":141339,"full_slug":141340,"content":141341},112474658734417,"190cb288-16b6-4e56-a7e7-f4a173f72609","Chile’s lithium fight continues","chiles-lithium-fight-continues","article/chiles-lithium-fight-continues",{"_uid":141342,"date":141079,"tags":141343,"editor":141345,"content":141349,"excerpt":141605,"featured":50,"reporter":141606,"_editable":141610,"component":697,"seo_title":141338,"categories":141611,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":141615,"seo_description":141605,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141334},"55649ecf-a798-46e8-8d55-22b40c1b7dd1",[141344],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},[141346],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141347},{"job_title":557,"image":141348,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":141350},[141351,141356,141361,141366,141371,141376,141381,141386,141391,141394,141399,141404,141409,141414,141419,141424,141429,141434,141439,141444,141449,141454,141459,141464,141469,141474,141479,141482,141487,141492,141497,141502,141507,141512,141517,141522,141527,141532,141537,141542,141547,141552,141555,141560,141565,141570,141575,141580,141585,141590,141595,141600],{"type":591,"attrs":141352,"content":141353},{"textAlign":49},[141354],{"text":141355,"type":596},"Lack of rules hurts Chile lithium growth prospects as SQM resolution looks distant, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Paul Harris hears in Santiago",{"type":591,"attrs":141357,"content":141358},{"textAlign":49},[141359],{"text":141360,"type":596},"A lack of clear rules and the ongoing dispute between the government and leading lithium producer SQM, are hurting Chile’s ability to respond to the growth in demand for lithium by bringing new production on stream, according to speakers at the 1st Lithium Forum in Santiago, Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":141362,"content":141363},{"textAlign":49},[141364],{"text":141365,"type":596},"Conference host Ricardo Cortes of Editec opened the event by stating that the lithium industry in Chile is at a crossroads, having been toppled by Australia from its number one producer spot and that it needs, “the authority to allow the development of our reserves with urgency.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141367,"content":141368},{"textAlign":49},[141369],{"text":141370,"type":596},"Lawyer Cristian Quinzio, partner of Quinzio Abogados, walked delegates through the existing legal framework and concluded that Chile continues to make “unforced errors” as there is no legal framework for lithium given that the government declared the metal as non-concessionable.",{"type":591,"attrs":141372,"content":141373},{"textAlign":49},[141374],{"text":141375,"type":596},"Law 2886 of 1979 established that lithium is non-concessionable and that only the state, state companies or private companies operating under special operating contracts or having administrative concessions, can be involved in lithium exploitation, but regulations have never been established to implement this.",{"type":591,"attrs":141377,"content":141378},{"textAlign":49},[141379],{"text":141380,"type":596},"“There are no regulations for the state to exercise its rights and so we are creating expectations that will lead to more disputes that will freeze the development of the salars,” he said. Quinzio said the CEOL’s (special lithium operating contracts) lack robustness as they are based on a contracting model used in the oil sector where there is a solid legal framework.",{"type":591,"attrs":141382,"content":141383},{"textAlign":49},[141384],{"text":141385,"type":596},"“Oil contracts have very specific regulations that lithium doesn’t have,” he said. Albemarle, which has been allowed to expand its production, also joined the call for legal change. “We need to establish a new regulatory framework for exploitation.",{"type":591,"attrs":141387,"content":141388},{"textAlign":49},[141389],{"text":141390,"type":596},"It will take five to ten years for new supply to come on line whilst demand is growing now,” said Ney Fauré, strategic development manager at Albemarle.",{"type":591,"attrs":141392,"content":141393},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141395,"content":141396},{"textAlign":49},[141397],{"text":141398,"type":596},"Former BHP Billiton executive Diego Hernandez, now president of mining association Sonami, was blunter when he asked: “How are you going to explore for something that is not concessionable? It is necessary to adjust legislation so that the private sector can freely enter to exploit lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":141400,"content":141401},{"textAlign":49},[141402],{"text":141403,"type":596},"If there is no legal change and the flexibility to explore for and produce lithium in Chile, it is likely that new production capacity will be installed in other countries.” SQM is certainly acting in this direction, through its investment in Minera Exar a 50:50 joint venture with Lithium Americas.",{"type":591,"attrs":141405,"content":141406},{"textAlign":49},[141407],{"text":141408,"type":596},"Plus it has just invested in Kidman Resources that is looking to develop a spodumene resource in Western Australia. Some also take this as evidence that its legal deadlock in Chile is not going to be resolved any time soon.",{"type":591,"attrs":141410,"content":141411},{"textAlign":49},[141412],{"text":141413,"type":596},"The current regulatory framework in Chile lead Juan Esteban Fuentes of CRU to comment that it will be, “a minimum of five years before we see new production in Chile and more likely ten.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141415,"content":141416},{"textAlign":49},[141417],{"text":141418,"type":596},"Hernandez said that lithium investors currently have more attractive places to put their capital than Chile. “For investors today, to develop a project in Argentina is simpler and has more foreseeable conditions than in Chile.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141420,"content":141421},{"textAlign":49},[141422],{"text":141423,"type":596},"Gustavo Lagos, mineral economics researcher from the Catholic University, recently published a book called The Development of Lithium in Chile 1984-2017, and summed things up by saying, “we are champions at discovery but really bad at writing regulations.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141425,"content":141426},{"textAlign":49},[141427],{"text":141428,"type":596},"The potential for legal complexity increases from this starting point. For example, lithium is one of several minerals that can be exploited from brines that also includes potassium, boron and others, as well as water rights (lithium was discovered in the Atacama Salar in the 1960s by state copper company Codelco when it was looking for water sources).",{"type":591,"attrs":141430,"content":141431},{"textAlign":49},[141432],{"text":141433,"type":596},"SQM’s lithium production is essentially a by-product of its potassium production in the Atacama Salar. But only lithium is non-concessionable, which already sees SQM reinjecting lithium into the salar because of the lithium production quota system.",{"type":591,"attrs":141435,"content":141436},{"textAlign":49},[141437],{"text":141438,"type":596},"Lagos is an advocate of using free market mechanisms for lithium exploitation and said that deep political differences in Chile, mean that having the state in charge of its exploitation is a big mistake.",{"type":591,"attrs":141440,"content":141441},{"textAlign":49},[141442],{"text":141443,"type":596},"“This is the death of lithium in Chile,” he said. Sonami’s Hernandez reflected that the reasons that Chile’s military dictatorship declared lithium a strategic resource in 1979, “are not valid today,” adding that, “no other country in the world sees lithium as strategic.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141445,"content":141446},{"textAlign":49},[141447],{"text":141448,"type":596},"Gustavo Lagos went further and commented that the US stopped viewing lithium as strategic in 1978 before Chile made it so.",{"type":615,"attrs":141450,"content":141451},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[141452],{"text":141453,"type":596},"Corfo lacks clarity",{"type":591,"attrs":141455,"content":141456},{"textAlign":49},[141457],{"text":141458,"type":596},"State development agency Corfo is tasked with administering Chile’s lithium resource and delegates complained that the agency is doing little to create new production opportunities, despite vice president Eduardo Bitran commenting that there may only be a limited window of opportunity of 20-40 years to do so due to competition from other countries and the possibility of substitution by other technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":141460,"content":141461},{"textAlign":49},[141462],{"text":141463,"type":596},"“We need to expand production to prevent competition with higher costs from developing their offer,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":141465,"content":141466},{"textAlign":49},[141467],{"text":141468,"type":596},"He also challenged other speakers that Chile has lost its top producer spot to Australia. During the session on public management and administration of the salars, Bitran didn’t talk about how Corfo will promote lithium exploration or where new production will come from.",{"type":591,"attrs":141470,"content":141471},{"textAlign":49},[141472],{"text":141473,"type":596},"Instead, Corfo is focused on a tender process looking to the development of value-added lithium products in Chile using lithium carbonate material to be supplied by Albemarle, announcing that seven companies [VEL Rosatom, Suchuam Fulin Industrial Group, Jiangmen Kanhoo Industry, Molymet, Gansu Daxiang Energy Technology, Umicore and Samsung] prequalified.",{"type":591,"attrs":141475,"content":141476},{"textAlign":49},[141477],{"text":141478,"type":596},"The proponents must present their offers on December 1st and perhaps hinting at the direction Corfo will take, Bitran commented that,” Chile has no advantages to produce batteries but it could have for the active components of batteries such as cathodes and the components of the cathodes.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141480,"content":141481},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141483,"content":141484},{"textAlign":49},[141485],{"text":141486,"type":596},"So certain is Bitran that Chile will successfully develop a value-added lithium products supply chain that he estimated in ten years Chile will generate US$10 billion in lithium sales with $4 billion coming from value-added sales. “If we do things well and solve problems with one company, by 2035 Chile will produce 600,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":141488,"content":141489},{"textAlign":49},[141490],{"text":141491,"type":596},"Bitran and his Socialist development view for lithium clearly rankles sector participants that are looking to increase lithium production, an effect that he seems to enjoy.",{"type":591,"attrs":141493,"content":141494},{"textAlign":49},[141495],{"text":141496,"type":596},"The contrarian elements of his discourse rapidly disperse to reveal the politicized Orwellian newspeak and dose of Panglossian optimism about his plans to mount a central planning approach for lithium development. “Bitran talks of a window of opportunity but the government is not doing anything to open it.",{"type":591,"attrs":141498,"content":141499},{"textAlign":49},[141500],{"text":141501,"type":596},"Apart from a tender process in 2012 that failed, Corfo has done nothing to develop lithium from 1993 to 2016,” said Lagos, adding, “who cares if Chile is number one or number two as long as development continues.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141503,"content":141504},{"textAlign":49},[141505],{"text":141506,"type":596},"With the state having a clear role in future lithium production, Codelco is advancing its studies on the potential for the Maricunga and Pederales salars. Anibal Gajardo of geological survey Sernageomin confirmed that Maricunga is the highest potential salar after Atacama, a fact reflected by the presence of Minera Salar Blanco at the event.",{"type":591,"attrs":141508,"content":141509},{"textAlign":49},[141510],{"text":141511,"type":596},"Blanco is the most advanced project in Chile after SQM and Albemarle and aims to have completed an EIA and preliminary economic assessment by December 2017 and feasibility study at the end of 2018 for an operation to produce 20,000 tpa of LiCO3.",{"type":591,"attrs":141513,"content":141514},{"textAlign":49},[141515],{"text":141516,"type":596},"“We do not need an agreement with Corfo. Corfo is not present in the Maricunga Salar,” said CEO Cristobal Huidobro. Interestingly, state mineral agency Enami, which runs various copper processing plants and commercialization services for small- and medium-sized miners, is staking its claim to be the state actor in the sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":141518,"content":141519},{"textAlign":49},[141520],{"text":141521,"type":596},"President Jaime Perez de Arce explained that the laws that constituted Enami mean it has the faculty to exploit lithium, even though it has never been involved in the element nor does it have any technical expertise within the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":141523,"content":141524},{"textAlign":49},[141525],{"text":141526,"type":596},"Perez de Arce is angling to have Enami designated the state company to manage lithium exploitation-even though Codelco has already established a subsidiary for this purpose.",{"type":615,"attrs":141528,"content":141529},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[141530],{"text":141531,"type":596},"Environment",{"type":591,"attrs":141533,"content":141534},{"textAlign":49},[141535],{"text":141536,"type":596},"The forum was opened by mining minister Aurora Williams who, whilst commenting that Chile has 52.2% of the world’s lithium reserves and that the government sees lithium as a much-desired development opportunity, she cautioned that the bar will be raised regarding socio-environmental aspects for future developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":141538,"content":141539},{"textAlign":49},[141540],{"text":141541,"type":596},"“Lithium is important but it has to be within the context of management of the salars.” Following this lead, the phrase ‘Salars are fragile ecosystems’ was employed by all other government speakers.",{"type":591,"attrs":141543,"content":141544},{"textAlign":49},[141545],{"text":141546,"type":596},"In this vein, Corfo’s Arlene Ebensperger commented said that a pilot for real-time, online monitoring of the Atacama salar will commence in 2019 whilst Paula Diaz of the Environment Ministry said that companies face the prospect of having another state agency to deal with as a bill to create the SBAP (national biodiversity and protected areas service) is before the Senate.",{"type":591,"attrs":141548,"content":141549},{"textAlign":49},[141550],{"text":141551,"type":596},"With the Atacama Salar surrounded by indigenous communities, the socio-economic aspects of their management were reflected in the agreement Albemarle struck with Corfo in 2016 to expand its La Negra production to an eventual 88,000 tpa LCE. Under the agreement, local communities will receive 3.5% of sales revenue.",{"type":591,"attrs":141553,"content":141554},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141556,"content":141557},{"textAlign":49},[141558],{"text":141559,"type":596},"The elephant in the room was the ongoing dispute between leading producer SQM and Corfo. Whether intentional or not, the programme separated the government (in the morning) from the private sector (in the afternoon), perhaps to minimize the chance for conflict.",{"type":591,"attrs":141561,"content":141562},{"textAlign":49},[141563],{"text":141564,"type":596},"Bitran clearly has a chip on his shoulder regarding SQM, or more specifically partial owner Julio Ponce, and is seeking to terminate SQM’s lithium exploitation contract on the grounds of non-compliance with environmental obligations.",{"type":591,"attrs":141566,"content":141567},{"textAlign":49},[141568],{"text":141569,"type":596},"The dispute is in arbitration and Bitran was clear on the conditions under which Corfo could reach an agreement with the producer. “Our requirements are for a drastic change in the corporate governance and structure of SQM, resolution of the environmental issues, Julio Ponce to lose control of the company and a change of the directors.",{"type":591,"attrs":141571,"content":141572},{"textAlign":49},[141573],{"text":141574,"type":596},"Whilst there is no change of control, no agreement is possible,” he said adding that resolution of the dispute would still not resolve the issue that SQM’s lithium production quota will be exhausted in 2022. Felipe Smith, SQM’s head of business development later commented, “over the last two years SQM has made a lot of interesting changes regarding the structure of its management and board.",{"type":591,"attrs":141576,"content":141577},{"textAlign":49},[141578],{"text":141579,"type":596},"Today, we have one of the highest level boards in the country”. With no timetable guiding the arbitration, the SQM-Corfo dispute is unlikely to be resolved any time soon and probably not during the last few months of the Michelle Bachelet administration.",{"type":591,"attrs":141581,"content":141582},{"textAlign":49},[141583],{"text":141584,"type":596},"However, it may not be easily resolved under the new government in 2018. “Sebastian Piñera is looking like a strong candidate for president but he also has a dispute with Julio Ponce and so he may not be motivated to end this,” a notable Chilean mining sector researcher told Benchmark Minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":141586,"content":141587},{"textAlign":49},[141588],{"text":141589,"type":596},"2022 is therefore shaping up as a critical year for SQM. Depending upon the ultimate result of the arbitration process—or will of the next government—Smith presented three scenarios for SQM’s production that will either see it decline rapidly, be allowed to continue at current levels, or the company may be allowed to double its production.",{"type":591,"attrs":141591,"content":141592},{"textAlign":49},[141593],{"text":141594,"type":596},"For now, the main growth in lithium production in Chile will come from Albemarle under its 2016 agreement with Corfo, but it has some technical hurdles to overcome in order to do so. Its phase II expansion doubles production to 42,000 tpa LCE by increasing its pumping rate to 442 litres per second.",{"type":591,"attrs":141596,"content":141597},{"textAlign":49},[141598],{"text":141599,"type":596},"Its phase III project will increase production to 88,000 tpa LCE however, it has to maintain the same pumping rate of 442 lps, which means it will have to develop a technological solution to increase the lithium recovery rate. Corfo’s Bitran mentioned a recovery of about 70% but Fauré did not comment on this.",{"type":591,"attrs":141601,"content":141602},{"textAlign":49},[141603],{"text":141604,"type":596},"“Phase II is built and operating and the transfer of concentrated brine will increase each quarter. Phase III is in the engineering phase and will start construction in mid-2018 and be in operation at the end of 2019 or early 2020,” said Fauré","Lack of rules hurts Chile lithium growth prospects as SQM resolution looks distant, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Paul Harris hears in Santiago A lack of clear rules and the ongoing dispute between the government and leading lithium producer SQM, are hurting Chile’s ability to respond to the growth in demand for lithium by bringing new production […]",[141607],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141608},{"job_title":557,"image":141609,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"55649ecf-a798-46e8-8d55-22b40c1b7dd1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[141612,141613,141614],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":141616,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":141617,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c674b5f386/bm-screen-shot-2017-11-24-at-161138.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":141619,"uuid":141620,"name":141621,"slug":141622,"full_slug":141623,"content":141624},112474735683594,"2b82a05c-2a3b-4b60-bc86-be2ee3d227e5","The fortnight that cemented an electric future","the-fortnight-that-cemented-an-electric-future","article/the-fortnight-that-cemented-an-electric-future",{"_uid":141625,"date":141626,"tags":141627,"editor":141628,"content":141632,"excerpt":141799,"featured":50,"reporter":141800,"_editable":141804,"component":697,"seo_title":141621,"categories":141805,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":141808,"seo_description":141799,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141811},"a6c23dbe-7a6f-48bc-b2cb-d6d92f8e6636","2017-07-26 00:00",[],[141629],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141630},{"job_title":557,"image":141631,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":141633},[141634,141647,141652,141657,141662,141667,141675,141681,141686,141691,141696,141701,141706,141711,141716,141721,141726,141731,141736,141741,141746,141749,141754,141759,141764,141769,141774,141779,141784,141789,141794],{"type":591,"attrs":141635,"content":141636},{"textAlign":49},[141637,141641,141643],{"text":141638,"type":596,"marks":141639},"Two weeks in July: Tesla launches Model 3, plans Shanghai Gigafactory, agrees Australia storage deal; VW sees long term battery shortage; Daimler-Mercedes invests in $735m China pack plant; Northvolt plans European ",[141640],{"type":1006},{"text":141642,"type":596},"Gigafactory; and",{"text":141644,"type":596,"marks":141645}," Volvo vows to become all electric…all in two weeks",[141646],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":141648,"content":141649},{"textAlign":49},[141650],{"text":141651,"type":596},"Just in case we were short of evidence that electric vehicles (EVs) were here to stay, along came two weeks in July which saw a flurry of significant announcements from major players in the space that dispelled any doubts in the trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":141653,"content":141654},{"textAlign":49},[141655],{"text":141656,"type":596},"Tesla Inc, Daimler AG, Volkswagen Group, Northvolt, and Volvo Cars all revealed developments across the lithium ion battery to EV supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":141658,"content":141659},{"textAlign":49},[141660],{"text":141661,"type":596},"Tesla revealed that its long-anticipated Model 3 will started to roll off the production line in June with Elon Musk tweeting the first picture of the semi mass market EVs (inset).",{"type":591,"attrs":141663,"content":141664},{"textAlign":49},[141665],{"text":141666,"type":596},"The development marked the beginning of a defining year for the vehicle and battery manufacturer and the most important EV launch since Nissan’s LEAF in 2010.",{"type":591,"attrs":141668,"content":141669},{"textAlign":49},[141670,141672,141673],{"text":141671,"type":596},"The company now turns to ramping up vehicle and battery production capacity at the Gigafactory which ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":141674,"type":596}," expects to be able to produce 6GWh of cells or 100,000 Model 3 sized vehicles in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":141676,"content":141677},{"textAlign":49},[141678,141679],{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":141680,"type":596}," has forecasted Tesla’s Model 3 orders to conservatively be more than 530,000 which translates to over half a billion dollars in pre-order reservation cash. Elon Musk explained that Tesla will ramp up production to 1,500 vehicles in September and 20,000 vehicles a month by December.",{"type":591,"attrs":141682,"content":141683},{"textAlign":49},[141684],{"text":141685,"type":596},"It will not be a first come first served basis for those customer that placed orders on Model 3 in last year’s launch, however. Tesla is expected to take advantage of a large number of orders from its own employees to roll the initial vehicles out and address any immediate problems thus avoiding a repeat of the Model X rollout.",{"type":591,"attrs":141687,"content":141688},{"textAlign":49},[141689],{"text":141690,"type":596},"Tesla added even more pressure on its own battery supply chain, however, by announcing just days later that it will build the world’s largest stationary storage battery in South Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":141692,"content":141693},{"textAlign":49},[141694],{"text":141695,"type":596},"The project will be located in Hornsdale close to Jamestown and see a 129MWh Tesla Powerwall installed to store wind energy from Neoen’s 99-turbine wind farm, three times the size of the world’s previously largest installation in California.",{"type":591,"attrs":141697,"content":141698},{"textAlign":49},[141699],{"text":141700,"type":596},"It is Tesla’s second major stationary storage since its opening its 52MWh project in the Hawaiian island of Kauai in March.",{"type":591,"attrs":141702,"content":141703},{"textAlign":49},[141704],{"text":141705,"type":596},"Tesla kept this momentum going by revealing information of discussions with Shanghai Municipal Government that it is planning to located its second Gigafactory there. In Benchmark’s Q1 2017 issue, China was placed as the most likely location for the next super-battery plant from Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":141707,"content":141708},{"textAlign":49},[141709],{"text":141710,"type":596},"“Tesla is working with Shanghai Municipal Government to explore the possibility of establishing a manufacturing facility for the Chinese market,” the company revealed.",{"type":591,"attrs":141712,"content":141713},{"textAlign":49},[141714],{"text":141715,"type":596},"“While we expect most of our production to remain in the US, we do need to establish local factories to ensure affordability for the markets they serve,” Tesla added.",{"type":591,"attrs":141717,"content":141718},{"textAlign":49},[141719],{"text":141720,"type":596},"Localised vehicle production is the most logical way to avoid import taxes and high transport costs. It is a move that Daimler AG, the producer of Mercedes Benz vehicles is planning after agreeing to build a $735m lithium ion battery pack facility in China together with BAIC Motor Group.",{"type":591,"attrs":141722,"content":141723},{"textAlign":49},[141724],{"text":141725,"type":596},"Announced just one week after Tesla’s Shanghai discussions, Daimler has selected China as its primary manufacturing base for the ten EVs it plans to launch between now and 2022.",{"type":591,"attrs":141727,"content":141728},{"textAlign":49},[141729],{"text":141730,"type":596},"“Localisation is the key to Daimler’s sustainable growth and future success here in China”, explained the group’s board member, Hubertus Troska.",{"type":591,"attrs":141732,"content":141733},{"textAlign":49},[141734],{"text":141735,"type":596},"“[Our Chinese customers] made this the largest market worldwide for Mercedes-Benz… This year marks the 12th year of our close partnership with BAIC. The framework agreement signed today marks a new chapter of our cooperation in terms of New Energy Vehicles. China today is already the world’s largest market for NEVs, and Daimler is committed to contributing to the further development of electric mobility in this country,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":141737,"content":141738},{"textAlign":49},[141739],{"text":141740,"type":596},"Just five days later Daimler competitor and the world’s largest auto manufacturer, VW, upgraded its own internal demand expectations by 50GWh and revealed it will need 200GWh worth of lithium ion cells each year from 2025 onwards and as a result it foresees a battery shortage.",{"type":591,"attrs":141742,"content":141743},{"textAlign":49},[141744],{"text":141745,"type":596},"VW’s head of R&D, Ulrich Eichhorn made the new prediction in July as the group ramps up its battery supply chain activities to fulfil its ambitious goal to electrify 25% of its fleet by 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":141747,"content":141748},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":141750,"content":141751},{"textAlign":49},[141752],{"text":141753,"type":596},"In total, VW anticipates 1.5TWh of lithium ion battery demand by 2025 should all major auto makers have a similar 25% target. At present, around 250GWh of new capacity is in the pipeline between now and 2020 according to Benchmark’s lithium ion battery megafactory tracker.",{"type":591,"attrs":141755,"content":141756},{"textAlign":49},[141757],{"text":141758,"type":596},"Northvolt, a new entrant on the battery scene, would have therefore felt justified in its timing of Europe’s first megafactory six days prior to VW’s revelation.",{"type":591,"attrs":141760,"content":141761},{"textAlign":49},[141762],{"text":141763,"type":596},"New Sweden-based battery developer is being led by former Tesla executive, Peter Carlsson, who is planning to spend $4.2bn on a plant a similar size to the 35GWh Gigafactory. Northvolt is seeking to raise at least $1bn of the project finance by Q1 2018 to begin phase one in either the Swedish towns of Skellefteå in north-east of the country and Västerås in the south of the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":141765,"content":141766},{"textAlign":49},[141767],{"text":141768,"type":596},"“We are moving at a very fast pace, which is necessary if we want to take on a leading role in the European market and meet the growing demand for batteries,” Carlsson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":141770,"content":141771},{"textAlign":49},[141772],{"text":141773,"type":596},"“The possibility for us to achieve a professional and timely environmental assessment is crucial.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141775,"content":141776},{"textAlign":49},[141777],{"text":141778,"type":596},"Ironically, the highest profile story, that of Volvo Cars vowing to ditch the combustion engine in favour of producing just hybrid of pure EVs, will have the least immediate supply chain impact.",{"type":591,"attrs":141780,"content":141781},{"textAlign":49},[141782],{"text":141783,"type":596},"And that is saying something considering that Volvo is seeking to turn the 532,000 vehicles it produced last year into EVs by 2019. The headline grabber for international media outlines was Volvo’s declaration of the end of the internal combustion engine.",{"type":591,"attrs":141785,"content":141786},{"textAlign":49},[141787],{"text":141788,"type":596},"“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo said.",{"type":591,"attrs":141790,"content":141791},{"textAlign":49},[141792],{"text":141793,"type":596},"“We have said we plan to have sold a total of 1m electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it.” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":141795,"content":141796},{"textAlign":49},[141797],{"text":141798,"type":596},"These big statements have put Volvo, owned by Chinese auto group Geely, in the limelight as a rumours of an initial public offering circulated. It also underlines how much of a bull market for EVs we are now in when this eclipsed by five other significant developments in the same fortnight.","Two weeks in July: Tesla launches Model 3, plans Shanghai Gigafactory, agrees Australia storage deal; VW sees long term battery shortage; Daimler-Mercedes invests in $735m China pack plant; Northvolt plans European Gigafactory; and Volvo vows to become all electric…all in two weeks Just in case we were short of evidence that electric vehicles (EVs) were […]",[141801],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141802},{"job_title":557,"image":141803,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a6c23dbe-7a6f-48bc-b2cb-d6d92f8e6636\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[141806,141807],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":141809,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":141810,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d8122caf1f/bm-screen-shot-2017-07-26-at-121131.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 26, 2017",{"id":141813,"uuid":141814,"name":141815,"slug":141816,"full_slug":141817,"content":141818},112474730985381,"333015db-cefd-425e-b560-0f6107866350","New Tanzania mining chaos casts shadow over graphite","new-tanzania-mining-chaos-casts-shadow-over-graphite","article/new-tanzania-mining-chaos-casts-shadow-over-graphite",{"_uid":141819,"date":141626,"tags":141820,"editor":141821,"content":141825,"excerpt":142029,"featured":50,"reporter":142030,"_editable":142034,"component":697,"seo_title":141815,"categories":142035,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142039,"seo_description":142029,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141811},"f1b067ad-b5e1-4faf-a18e-59ae46e0cd7b",[],[141822],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":141823},{"job_title":557,"image":141824,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":141826},[141827,141834,141838,141843,141848,141853,141858,141863,141868,141873,141878,141883,141888,141893,141898,141903,141908,141913,141918,141923,141928,141938,141943,141951,141956,141961,141966,141971,141976,141981,141986,141991,141996,142001,142006,142011,142016,142021,142026],{"type":591,"attrs":141828,"content":141829},{"textAlign":49},[141830],{"text":141831,"type":596,"marks":141832},"President Magufuli’s Tanzania take hard-line wealth redistribution approach to mining industry",[141833],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":141835,"content":141836},{"textAlign":49},[141837],{"text":138868,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":141839,"content":141840},{"textAlign":49},[141841],{"text":141842,"type":596},"A presidential sized shadow has been cast over Tanzania’s mining industry after the country’s head of state, John Magufuli, decided to overhaul its mining industry in a bid to redistribute wealth around throughout country.",{"type":591,"attrs":141844,"content":141845},{"textAlign":49},[141846],{"text":141847,"type":596},"Tanzania has passed three supplement bills to the Mining Act of 2010 that has been described as “contrary to encouraging mining investment” and “of serious concern to all mining investment related activity in Tanzania” by Australian graphite developer, Walkabout Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":141849,"content":141850},{"textAlign":49},[141851],{"text":141852,"type":596},"Some significant changes to Tanzania’s approach to mining includes:",{"type":591,"attrs":141854,"content":141855},{"textAlign":49},[141856],{"text":141857,"type":596},"The dispute has been sparked by President Magufuli’s dislike of historical deals that have been made with oil, gas, diamond and mineral miners and developers.",{"type":591,"attrs":141859,"content":141860},{"textAlign":49},[141861],{"text":141862,"type":596},"As a result, Tanzania’s government has ordered the suspension of all new mining licences and has said that expired licences will not be renewed.",{"type":591,"attrs":141864,"content":141865},{"textAlign":49},[141866],{"text":141867,"type":596},"“We must benefit from our God-given minerals and that is why we must safeguard our natural resource wealth to ensure we do not end up with empty mining pits,” the president said.",{"type":591,"attrs":141869,"content":141870},{"textAlign":49},[141871],{"text":141872,"type":596},"President Magufuli came into power 18 months ago on a hard-lined election campaign to eradicate corruption in a country that is reliant agriculture and mining as leading sources of revenue.",{"type":591,"attrs":141874,"content":141875},{"textAlign":49},[141876],{"text":141877,"type":596},"While gold accounts for 90% of Tanzania’s mining revenue, it has witnessed a flake graphite exploration surge since 2013 with primarily Australian developers seeking to build the world’s next generation of mines to supply China’s lithium ion battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":141879,"content":141880},{"textAlign":49},[141881],{"text":141882,"type":596},"Graphite has been one of the most active minerals on the country’s development books together with diamonds and gold.",{"type":591,"attrs":141884,"content":141885},{"textAlign":49},[141886],{"text":141887,"type":596},"The situation has come to a head after a number of warning signs including the sacking of the minister of mines, Sospeter Muhongo, in May 2017 following incorrect reporting of mineral exports which saw the country lose tax revenue.",{"type":591,"attrs":141889,"content":141890},{"textAlign":49},[141891],{"text":141892,"type":596},"“The minister is my friend and I like him very much but I will not forgive him for this,” Magufuli said at the time, “I want him to reconsider his position and I am advising him to step down.”",{"type":591,"attrs":141894,"content":141895},{"textAlign":49},[141896],{"text":141897,"type":596},"One solution offered by the president was to force miners operating in the country to list on Tanzania’s own Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in a bid to increase transparency of mining and export activities.",{"type":591,"attrs":141899,"content":141900},{"textAlign":49},[141901],{"text":141902,"type":596},"“By listing these companies on the stock exchange, we will be able to monitor how much [revenue] they actually get,” Magufuli said in early May.",{"type":591,"attrs":141904,"content":141905},{"textAlign":49},[141906],{"text":141907,"type":596},"The president is not only pushing for a better deal with multinational mining groups but is also seeking to create a value-added economy through more smelting and mineral processing in the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":141909,"content":141910},{"textAlign":49},[141911],{"text":141912,"type":596},"It is questionable how much this would impact graphite considering plans in place at the many projects in the country all include beneficiation of to at least a purity of 95% C which requires crushing, flotation, drying, sorting and bagging of a high value mineral concentrate which is priced in the region of $730/tonne to $1,450/tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":141914,"content":141915},{"textAlign":49},[141916],{"text":141917,"type":596},"This vision resulted in a ban on mineral concentrate exports that was ordered in March.",{"type":591,"attrs":141919,"content":141920},{"textAlign":49},[141921],{"text":141922,"type":596},"It is perhaps the language from Tanzania’s president has caused most alarm at the present situation, however.",{"type":591,"attrs":141924,"content":141925},{"textAlign":49},[141926],{"text":141927,"type":596},"London based gold miner, Acacia Mining which is majority owned by Barrick Gold Corp, has been a high profile target.",{"type":591,"attrs":141929,"content":141930},{"textAlign":49},[141931,141933,141937],{"text":141932,"type":596},"“[They should] pay us back our money,” president Magufuli said to the ",{"text":141934,"type":596,"marks":141935},"Financial Times",[141936],{"type":1006},{"text":1280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":141939,"content":141940},{"textAlign":49},[141941],{"text":141942,"type":596},"“If they accept that they stole from us and seek forgiveness in front of God and the angels and all Tanzanians and enter into negotiations, we are ready to do business,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":141944,"content":141945},{"textAlign":49},[141946,141948,141949],{"text":141947,"type":596},"One Tanzanian geologist explained to ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":141950,"type":596}," that it was a “once in a decade situation”.",{"type":591,"attrs":141952,"content":141953},{"textAlign":49},[141954],{"text":141955,"type":596},"Graphite activity  ",{"type":591,"attrs":141957,"content":141958},{"textAlign":49},[141959],{"text":141960,"type":596},"The country is home to a significant proportion of the world’s graphite exploration activity with major flake graphite developers including Magnis Resources, Black Rock Mining, Kibaran Resources, Volt Resources, and Walkabout Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":141962,"content":141963},{"textAlign":49},[141964],{"text":141965,"type":596},"As a result of the uncertainly the country, many of these developers were put into a trading halt in early July.",{"type":591,"attrs":141967,"content":141968},{"textAlign":49},[141969],{"text":141970,"type":596},"The majority of flake graphite deposits are located in the country’s north and east, areas which host some of the world’s highest grade and largest resources and reserves.",{"type":591,"attrs":141972,"content":141973},{"textAlign":49},[141974],{"text":141975,"type":596},"The eastern seaboard of Africa – Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar – has risen to become the world’s leading jurisdiction for flake graphite exploration in recent years stealing the limelight from competition in Canada and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":141977,"content":141978},{"textAlign":49},[141979],{"text":141980,"type":596},"Together with higher grades of flake graphite, large resources and a closer proximity to China, projects based in east Africa have enjoyed significant investment dollars since 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":141982,"content":141983},{"textAlign":49},[141984],{"text":141985,"type":596},"China, which is seeking to move its world leading graphite mining sector down the value chain towards lithium ion battery grade graphite, has turned to developers in Africa to become its future suppliers of flake graphite feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":141987,"content":141988},{"textAlign":49},[141989],{"text":141990,"type":596},"For example, Syrah Resources – a graphite development company that will begin production at the Mozambique-based Balama mine in Q4 2017 –  signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BTR New Energy Materials, one of the world’s leading anode producers for lithium ion batteries based in Shenzhen.",{"type":591,"attrs":141992,"content":141993},{"textAlign":49},[141994],{"text":141995,"type":596},"Should the MOU be executed into a supply agreement, it will see a significant shift in China’s graphite industry policy from using domestic suppliers to acquiring flake feedstock from foreign sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":141997,"content":141998},{"textAlign":49},[141999],{"text":142000,"type":596},"Tanzania has long been seen a leading future source of flake graphite and several agreements have been struck.",{"type":591,"attrs":142002,"content":142003},{"textAlign":49},[142004],{"text":142005,"type":596},"Kibaran announced a future supply agreement with leading graphite trader, ThyssenKrupp Metallurgical Products, for 10,000 tonnes in August 2015 from the Epanko Project, 245km south-west of Morogoro.",{"type":591,"attrs":142007,"content":142008},{"textAlign":49},[142009],{"text":142010,"type":596},"More recently in H1 2017, Black Rock Mining signed an MOU to supply flake graphite feedstock from to Japanese chemicals group, Meiwa Corp, from its Mahenge Project in the south-east region of the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":142012,"content":142013},{"textAlign":49},[142014],{"text":142015,"type":596},"Considering Tanzania does not yet have any active graphite mines, and with the government’s focus on gold, means that graphite developers may not feel the full immediate wrath of the new laws.",{"type":591,"attrs":142017,"content":142018},{"textAlign":49},[142019],{"text":142020,"type":596},"If the one thing that developers and investors are hoping for is new leadership, this is looking unlikely. Tanzania has had only five presidents since becoming a republic in 1961, all of which were from the same Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and each lasted a minimum of two terms or 10 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":142022,"content":142023},{"textAlign":49},[142024],{"text":142025,"type":596},"There is little doubt projects based in Mozambique and Madagascar will be the immediate beneficiaries of the situation in Tanzania.",{"type":591,"attrs":142027,"content":142028},{"textAlign":49},[],"President Magufuli’s Tanzania take hard-line wealth redistribution approach to mining industry Simon Moores A presidential sized shadow has been cast over Tanzania’s mining industry after the country’s head of state, John Magufuli, decided to overhaul its mining industry in a bid to redistribute wealth around throughout country. Tanzania has passed three supplement bills to the […]",[142031],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142032},{"job_title":557,"image":142033,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f1b067ad-b5e1-4faf-a18e-59ae46e0cd7b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142036,142037,142038],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142040,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142041,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/493b692fcb/bm-screen-shot-2017-07-26-at-121934.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":142043,"uuid":142044,"name":142045,"slug":142046,"full_slug":142047,"content":142048},112474726098752,"b9060f85-3d31-49fd-a87a-706a07f47bda","Proterra’s e-bus case backed by Al Gore, BMW","proterras-e-bus-case-backed-by-al-gore-bmw","article/proterras-e-bus-case-backed-by-al-gore-bmw",{"_uid":142049,"date":141626,"tags":142050,"editor":142051,"content":142055,"excerpt":142178,"featured":50,"reporter":142179,"_editable":142183,"component":697,"seo_title":142045,"categories":142184,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142187,"seo_description":142178,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141811},"2f213647-eabc-4e12-b0db-ad56bad5578e",[],[142052],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142053},{"job_title":557,"image":142054,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142056},[142057,142062,142067,142072,142077,142082,142087,142092,142097,142102,142107,142112,142117,142120,142125,142130,142135,142140,142145,142150,142155,142160,142165,142170,142175],{"type":591,"attrs":142058,"content":142059},{"textAlign":49},[142060],{"text":142061,"type":596},"Proterra has made a compelling case for electric buses (e-bused) that could see quicker acceleration for the pure electric vehicles (EVs) in western cities than first anticipated.",{"type":591,"attrs":142063,"content":142064},{"textAlign":49},[142065],{"text":142066,"type":596},"The case which includes cost parity with diesel hybrids, significant fuel savings, and a bus that can travel 350 miles (563km) on a single charge has been backed by Generation Investment Management, a fund founded by former US-vice president, Al Gore, and BMW’s venture capital arm, BMW i Ventures.",{"type":591,"attrs":142068,"content":142069},{"textAlign":49},[142070],{"text":142071,"type":596},"This year alone the company, based just outside of San Francisco in Burlingame, California, has been successful in two fundraising rounds of $140m and $55m and is expected to IPO later this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":142073,"content":142074},{"textAlign":49},[142075],{"text":142076,"type":596},"“We are already seen transit vehicles go electric faster than cars because their fuel consumption is high,” explained Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra.",{"type":591,"attrs":142078,"content":142079},{"textAlign":49},[142080],{"text":142081,"type":596},"“The demand is greater if you are running a heavy vehicle and burning 10,000 gallons of fuel per year,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":142083,"content":142084},{"textAlign":49},[142085],{"text":142086,"type":596},"Mainly owing to lower lithium ion battery costs, the price difference between a hybrid diesel bus and a pure electric is now inconsequential.",{"type":591,"attrs":142088,"content":142089},{"textAlign":49},[142090],{"text":142091,"type":596},"The shift from lithium ion battery cells that cost $200-250/kWh to under $150/kWh today has rendered new technologies like e-buses relevant not only due to this cost decline but the ability for manufactures to install larger batteries for longer range.",{"type":591,"attrs":142093,"content":142094},{"textAlign":49},[142095],{"text":142096,"type":596},"Proterra’s product evolution to date has underlined this trend starting with small capacity e-buses with a 72kWh battery pack in 2009 to today’s largest model which has a 660kWh pack. The economics now allow for significantly large battery packs to be installed – a gamer changer for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":142098,"content":142099},{"textAlign":49},[142100],{"text":142101,"type":596},"“[There are] two reasons driving demand,” explained Popple, “[The first is that] these vehicles are now fully capable of replacing the traditional diesel bus.”",{"type":591,"attrs":142103,"content":142104},{"textAlign":49},[142105],{"text":142106,"type":596},"“[The second is] pricing – the electric bus is the same price point as a diesel hybrid. For a city like New York, Baltimore or San Jose that’s already buying diesel hybrids buses, the price differential to go full EV is now very small. This is one of the reasons the market has ramped up,” the ex-Tesla executive added.",{"type":591,"attrs":142108,"content":142109},{"textAlign":49},[142110],{"text":142111,"type":596},"An intendent study for NYT Transit in 2016 showed that the average lifetime cost of a pure electric bus was $1.18m, 70% of which was the purchase price yet only 5% was fuel and the remaining costs due to maintenance.",{"type":591,"attrs":142113,"content":142114},{"textAlign":49},[142115],{"text":142116,"type":596},"Comparing this to a diesel bus, the average lifetime cost of the vehicle was $1.348m of which only 42% was the purchase price but fuel accounting for 15% of the total. Interestingly, maintenance of the vehicle was a significant portion of the total cost at 43% highlighting the relative simplicity of electric vehicles compared to their internal combustion engine counterparts.",{"type":591,"attrs":142118,"content":142119},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142121,"content":142122},{"textAlign":49},[142123],{"text":142124,"type":596},"Battery breakdown ",{"type":591,"attrs":142126,"content":142127},{"textAlign":49},[142128],{"text":142129,"type":596},"Each of Proterra’s largest 40ft model, the Catalyst E2, contains a huge 660kWh capacity lithium ion battery using a nickel manganese cobalt chemistry – one of the largest used in a mainstream EV to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":142131,"content":142132},{"textAlign":49},[142133],{"text":142134,"type":596},"The size of the battery pack is a critical factor to being able to drive 350 miles (563km) on a single charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":142136,"content":142137},{"textAlign":49},[142138],{"text":142139,"type":596},"In raw material terms, this contains over half a tonne of lithium, 800kg of graphite anode, and 150kg of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":142141,"content":142142},{"textAlign":49},[142143],{"text":142144,"type":596},"One of these buses sold by Proterra would equate to 11 Tesla Model 3s.",{"type":591,"attrs":142146,"content":142147},{"textAlign":49},[142148],{"text":142149,"type":596},"The battery pack is charged from the roof of the bus rather than the side or undercarriage – a “single blade” mechanism designed so the driver does not have to leave the vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":142151,"content":142152},{"textAlign":49},[142153],{"text":142154,"type":596},"It is a fast charging system that Proterra made available for all to use in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":142156,"content":142157},{"textAlign":49},[142158],{"text":142159,"type":596},"“With the recent issuance of foundational patents covering this technology, Proterra is now clear to offer a complete technology package to the market. Proterra will grant anyone royalty-free access to its patents covering its industry leading single-blade overhead charging design. This includes the bus-mounted, single-blade charging design and the overhead charging coupler,” the company explained in June 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":142161,"content":142162},{"textAlign":49},[142163],{"text":142164,"type":596},"While the electric bus market has gained traction in China – even being the main contributor to lithium’s 2015-2016 price spike as demand for lithium iron phosphate and nickel manganese cobalt batteries surged – in the US and Europe it has taken a back seat to EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":142166,"content":142167},{"textAlign":49},[142168],{"text":142169,"type":596},"The era of the semi mass market EV has taken the limelight to date with Tesla launching Model 3, Chevrolet and General Motors developing the Bolt and Nissan planning to double the capacity of its pioneering EV, the LEAF to 60kWh in Q1 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":142171,"content":142172},{"textAlign":49},[142173],{"text":142174,"type":596},"Understandingly e-buses are not as exciting a prospecting for the individual buyer, but with cities around the world having to manage every tightening budgets with a serious air quality issue, all roads are leading towards e-buses and perhaps quicker than we first thought.",{"type":591,"attrs":142176,"content":142177},{"textAlign":49},[],"Proterra has made a compelling case for electric buses (e-bused) that could see quicker acceleration for the pure electric vehicles (EVs) in western cities than first anticipated. The case which includes cost parity with diesel hybrids, significant fuel savings, and a bus that can travel 350 miles (563km) on a single charge has been backed […]",[142180],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142181},{"job_title":557,"image":142182,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2f213647-eabc-4e12-b0db-ad56bad5578e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142185,142186],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142188,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142189,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/58e83e87a4/bm-proterra.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":142191,"uuid":142192,"name":142193,"slug":142194,"full_slug":142195,"content":142196},112474711938473,"6489d2a2-fe90-455f-a2cb-e31429a6acca","Lithium majors round on Western Australia as SQM makes hard rock foray","lithium-majors-round-on-western-australia-as-sqm-makes-hard-rock-foray","article/lithium-majors-round-on-western-australia-as-sqm-makes-hard-rock-foray",{"_uid":142197,"date":141626,"tags":142198,"editor":142200,"content":142204,"excerpt":142354,"featured":50,"reporter":142355,"_editable":142359,"component":697,"seo_title":142193,"categories":142360,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142364,"seo_description":142354,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141811},"be2be22e-731d-4d5c-83bc-6ea80318e784",[142199],{"slug":7852,"name":7853},[142201],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142202},{"job_title":557,"image":142203,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142205},[142206,142211,142216,142221,142226,142231,142234,142239,142244,142249,142254,142259,142264,142267,142272,142277,142282,142287,142292,142297,142302,142307,142312,142317,142322,142333,142338,142346],{"type":591,"attrs":142207,"content":142208},{"textAlign":49},[142209],{"text":142210,"type":596},"Simon Moores / @sdmoores",{"type":591,"attrs":142212,"content":142213},{"textAlign":49},[142214],{"text":142215,"type":596},"SQM SA’s evolution from a fertiliser chemicals company to a lithium focused group has taken a major step forward after the Chilean brine producer agreed to invest $110m into Australian spodumene developer, Kidman Resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":142217,"content":142218},{"textAlign":49},[142219],{"text":142220,"type":596},"The world’s leading lithium brine producer has decided to make its first foray into hard rock production joining Talison Lithium’s dominant Greenbushes mine, Galaxy Resources’ Mt Cattlin operation and Mineral Resources and Neometals’ Mt Marion project.",{"type":591,"attrs":142222,"content":142223},{"textAlign":49},[142224],{"text":142225,"type":596},"The deal will establish a 50:50 joint-venture (J-V) to build a spodumene operation at Kidman’s Earl Grey lithium deposit, part of its Mt Holland Project, located near located near Southern Cross, in Western Australia (WA).",{"type":591,"attrs":142227,"content":142228},{"textAlign":49},[142229],{"text":142230,"type":596},"It includes an upfront cash payment by SQM of $30m and a staged payment of $80m which gives the group one of the few spodumene deposits in Australia with long life and large-scale potential. It adds to SQM’s world class lithium asset base with the operating Salar de Atacama in Chile and Cauchari-Olaroz in Argentina, a J-V with Lithium Americas which is under three years from beginning production.",{"type":591,"attrs":142232,"content":142233},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142235,"content":142236},{"textAlign":49},[142237],{"text":142238,"type":596},"The agreement also outlines loose future plans for a carbonate and hydroxide chemical conversion plant of which Kidman will have a 50% option.",{"type":591,"attrs":142240,"content":142241},{"textAlign":49},[142242],{"text":142243,"type":596},"Rumours were circulating that the hard rock deal was on the cards prior to its official announcement on 12 July 2017, however SQM were no doubt waiting for resolution to the court case between Kidman and Marindi Metals Ltd over the mineral rights for Mt Holland.",{"type":591,"attrs":142245,"content":142246},{"textAlign":49},[142247],{"text":142248,"type":596},"Kidman, a gold mining company, fell into one of the biggest spodumene reserves in Australia through chance more than design and was focused on the gold rights to the Mt Holland property. Discussions and an “agreement to agree” to give Marindi all other mineral development rights to the property, including the lithium, took place while at the same time global interest in lithium was rising.",{"type":591,"attrs":142250,"content":142251},{"textAlign":49},[142252],{"text":142253,"type":596},"The case was settled in favour of Kidman with the Supreme Court of Western Australia stating that a draft agreement with Marindi was never executed giving SQM the green light to proceed with its deal.",{"type":591,"attrs":142255,"content":142256},{"textAlign":49},[142257],{"text":142258,"type":596},"“This is a new step… to maintain our position as a low-cost producer in all our major business lines, including the growing lithium business,” SQM’s CEO, Patricio de Solminihac explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":142260,"content":142261},{"textAlign":49},[142262],{"text":142263,"type":596},"“The project characteristics, coupled with our expertise in lithium production and the lithium market, will make this project a great addition to our production portfolio,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":142265,"content":142266},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142268,"content":142269},{"textAlign":49},[142270],{"text":142271,"type":596},"The move makes SQM the third biggest spender of the present-day lithium boom which has seen lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices rise and hold at 3-4 times the original value in October 2015. It brings the Chilean producer’s total commitments so far to $135m after its $25m investment in Lithium Americas in March 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":142273,"content":142274},{"textAlign":49},[142275],{"text":142276,"type":596},"However, SQM is still some way behind its China-based chemical conversion competitors, Ganfeng Lithium, which has committed $172m into Lithium Americas and more recently in Q2 2017 $20m into Australian hard rock developer, Pilbara Minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":142278,"content":142279},{"textAlign":49},[142280],{"text":142281,"type":596},"Pilbara Minerals has seen a rapid rise from inception to green lighting construction plans. Its deal with Ganfeng Lithium not only sees the cash investment but also an offtake agreement of 160,000 tonnes of chemical grade 6% lithium containing spodumene concentrate. The company began developing its Pilgangoora lithium project in a major way in early 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":142283,"content":142284},{"textAlign":49},[142285],{"text":142286,"type":596},"Canada’s Nemaska Lithium raised $50m in June for its Whabouchi mine and lithium hydroxide plant in Quebec. The deal was underwritten by National Bank Financial Inc., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., Cormark Securities Inc. and Eight Capital.",{"type":591,"attrs":142288,"content":142289},{"textAlign":49},[142290],{"text":142291,"type":596},"Sichuan Tianqi, a leading China-based chemicals convertor and majority owner of the world’s biggest spodumene producer, Talison Lithium, is also ready to double its spend and double the capacity of Australia’s first lithium hydroxide conversion plant in Kwinana, WA, which is under construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":142293,"content":142294},{"textAlign":49},[142295],{"text":142296,"type":596},"Tianqi Lithium Australia has been established as the subsidiary for the 24,000 tpa Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Processing Plant which is expected to be up and running in 2019. However, any second phase construction of the plant, which is under a feasibility study until October 2017, would take its battery grade hydroxide capacity to 48,000 tpa and the Tianqi group’s total commitment to A$717m ($561m) by end-2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":142298,"content":142299},{"textAlign":49},[142300],{"text":142301,"type":596},"Curiously, Chile – the leading producer of lithium through SQM and Albemarle – is yet to see any significant investment dollars for new lithium operations despite the government’s best efforts to attract new competition to the Salar de Atacama. Meanwhile, Argentina’s pro-business stance has buoyed lithium investment into the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":142303,"content":142304},{"textAlign":49},[142305],{"text":142306,"type":596},"Of the three new lithium mines that have entered into production over the last 7 years, since lithium’s first boom of 2010, two are spodumene operations in WA (Galaxy Resources Mt Cattlin and Mineral Resources/Neometals’ Mt Marion) and one is a brine project in Argentina (Orocobre).",{"type":591,"attrs":142308,"content":142309},{"textAlign":49},[142310],{"text":142311,"type":596},"With investment of the top two Chinese lithium chemical convertors together with SQM’s new hard rock lithium commitment, WA is fast becoming a global hub for new lithium production.",{"type":591,"attrs":142313,"content":142314},{"textAlign":49},[142315],{"text":142316,"type":596},"One interesting point about the potential for lithium mining in WA is that all present and future  spodumene operations will export out of different ports across the state.",{"type":591,"attrs":142318,"content":142319},{"textAlign":49},[142320],{"text":142321,"type":596},"Galaxy Resources exports its Mt Cattlin concentrate out of Esperance Port, Mt Marion is shipping out of Kwinana, the ore mined by Mineral Resources at the Wodgina operation is using Port Headland and Talison Lithium exports Greenbushes’ concentrate from Bunbury port.",{"type":591,"attrs":142323,"content":142324},{"textAlign":49},[142325,142327,142331],{"text":142326,"type":596},"While the mining industry is familiar with ",{"text":142328,"type":596,"marks":142329},"provinces ",[142330],{"type":1006},{"text":142332,"type":596},"or hotspots of mineral production such as iron ore in the Pilbara region or gold in Kalgoorlie, world class spodumene deposits do not appear to cluster in such close proximity.",{"type":591,"attrs":142334,"content":142335},{"textAlign":49},[142336],{"text":142337,"type":596},"This not only points to WA’s rich lithium-bearing geology but the fact that lithium is not rare and that it is investment into the chemical processing step in the supply chain that has been lacking.",{"type":591,"attrs":142339,"content":142340},{"textAlign":49},[142341,142343,142344],{"text":142342,"type":596},"With lithium carbonate prices now holding above $12,000/tonne and lithium hydroxide prices in the $16,000/tonne region, according to ",{"text":6576,"type":596},{"text":142345,"type":596}," data, many projects that were deemed non-economic back in 2009 are now enjoying the limelight.",{"type":591,"attrs":142347,"content":142348},{"textAlign":49},[142349,142351,142352],{"text":142350,"type":596},"With lithium demand pressure increasing on a daily basis, particularly with aggressive electric vehicle targets from major auto manufacturers, it is ",{"text":14040,"type":596},{"text":142353,"type":596},"’s expectation that higher prices will persist for at least another three years and that no lithium price crash, which some commodity analysts expect, is in sight.","Simon Moores / @sdmoores SQM SA’s evolution from a fertiliser chemicals company to a lithium focused group has taken a major step forward after the Chilean brine producer agreed to invest $110m into Australian spodumene developer, Kidman Resources. The world’s leading lithium brine producer has decided to make its first foray into hard rock production […]",[142356],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142357},{"job_title":557,"image":142358,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"be2be22e-731d-4d5c-83bc-6ea80318e784\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142361,142362,142363],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142365,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142366,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9b906b5bf5/bm-screen-shot-2017-07-26-at-145617.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":142368,"uuid":142369,"name":142370,"slug":142371,"full_slug":142372,"content":142373},112474707248452,"72937f45-44f6-4fbc-926c-56536c322fe7","Freeport and China Moly fail to shake hands over Kokkola","freeport-and-china-moly-fail-to-shake-hands-over-kokkola","article/freeport-and-china-moly-fail-to-shake-hands-over-kokkola",{"_uid":142374,"date":141626,"tags":142375,"editor":142377,"content":142381,"excerpt":142556,"featured":50,"reporter":142557,"_editable":142561,"component":697,"seo_title":142370,"categories":142562,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142565,"seo_description":142556,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":141811},"cf19173e-56ad-4fe1-84c7-3f7558b0be59",[142376],{"slug":575,"name":576},[142378],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142379},{"job_title":557,"image":142380,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142382},[142383,142388,142393,142398,142403,142406,142411,142416,142421,142426,142431,142436,142441,142446,142449,142454,142459,142464,142469,142474,142479,142484,142491,142496,142501,142506,142511,142516,142521,142526,142531,142536,142541,142546,142551],{"type":591,"attrs":142384,"content":142385},{"textAlign":49},[142386],{"text":142387,"type":596},"We are now halfway through 2017 and so far, it seems the year has been all eyes on cobalt. Whilst price rises were dramatic in Q1, Q2 saw somewhat of a levelling off in the curve, but importantly little by way of price decreases.",{"type":591,"attrs":142389,"content":142390},{"textAlign":49},[142391],{"text":142392,"type":596},"As we move in H2 2017 cobalt is still very much on the agenda of the energy storage revolution and will be for some time. The reason is quite simple, such a small market (93,000 tonnes refined material in 2016) has limited ability to respond to the expected squeeze that will be generated by the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries, primarily for EV’s.",{"type":591,"attrs":142394,"content":142395},{"textAlign":49},[142396],{"text":142397,"type":596},"Despite claims that cobalt content can be reduced or even engineered out of lithium-ion batteries, so far no one has achieved this and by all means it looks as though the move to NCM 811 cathode material (the lowest cobalt content variant of current technology) will take some time.",{"type":591,"attrs":142399,"content":142400},{"textAlign":49},[142401],{"text":142402,"type":596},"With such a small, stretched market under intense scrutiny (just 93,000 tonnes production, and demand reaching a touch over 93,000 tonnes in 2016) each and every development must be considered, and what the potential impact on the supply chain will be.",{"type":591,"attrs":142404,"content":142405},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142407,"content":142408},{"textAlign":49},[142409],{"text":142410,"type":596},"In Q2 2016 Freeport McMoRan outlined plans to sell the companies only copper-cobalt mine to China Molybdenum for $2.65bn in a move designed to reduce the US miner’s debt load.",{"type":591,"attrs":142412,"content":142413},{"textAlign":49},[142414],{"text":142415,"type":596},"The deal seemed to fit well, with many commenting that this was another example of the Chinese manoeuvring to further secure their commodity supply chains; and with Freeport keen to sell assets in a time of low commodity prices, the deal went through later that year without a hitch.",{"type":591,"attrs":142417,"content":142418},{"textAlign":49},[142419],{"text":142420,"type":596},"As part of the deal China Moly negotiated exclusive rights to the assets of Freeport Cobalt. This part of the deal included the Kokkola cobalt refinery in Finland (for a reported yet non-binding price of $100m) as well as Freeport’s Kisanfu exploration project (again for a reported yet non-binding price of $50m) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).",{"type":591,"attrs":142422,"content":142423},{"textAlign":49},[142424],{"text":142425,"type":596},"The period of exclusivity ended earlier this year on the 28th February, with an official announcement that both parties had decided to end negotiations on 14th June. At the time of the announcement Freeport failed to comment on whether it had been approached by any other parties interested in purchasing the assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":142427,"content":142428},{"textAlign":49},[142429],{"text":142430,"type":596},"Upon first appearances this seems like a fairly straight forward story, but delving a little deeper there is more to it.",{"type":591,"attrs":142432,"content":142433},{"textAlign":49},[142434],{"text":142435,"type":596},"The deal seemed like the type of move that has been commonly seen of late, a Chinese miner or refiner makes a large investment or purchase of a mine/company in order to ensure that it will have supply of the underlying commodity in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":142437,"content":142438},{"textAlign":49},[142439],{"text":142440,"type":596},"The move by China Moly seemed to be one to lock up cobalt supply, especially at a time when copper prices were on approximately 8-year low’s and material was easy to come by.",{"type":615,"attrs":142442,"content":142443},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[142444],{"text":142445,"type":596},"Supply Chains",{"type":591,"attrs":142447,"content":142448},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142450,"content":142451},{"textAlign":49},[142452],{"text":142453,"type":596},"After the deal was made it was thought that China Moly would divert the newly acquired cobalt feedstock to China. Under Freeport the usual path would lead from Tenke in the DRC to the Kokkola refinery in Finland and out to the wider market.",{"type":591,"attrs":142455,"content":142456},{"textAlign":49},[142457],{"text":142458,"type":596},"The new path would take feedstock from Tenke and transport it directly to China for processing, with much of the processed cobalt remaining in China for domestic consumption.",{"type":591,"attrs":142460,"content":142461},{"textAlign":49},[142462],{"text":142463,"type":596},"It later emerged that Freeport had negotiated as part of the deal a long-term cobalt supply contract (the June 14th announcement stated more than 10 years) for material from Tenke.",{"type":591,"attrs":142465,"content":142466},{"textAlign":49},[142467],{"text":142468,"type":596},"This element of the deal led many to believe that China Moly would in fact buy Kokkola and the other assets in order to make greater margin by refining cobalt feedsotck to value added products such as the cobalt chemicals and cobalt metal powders that are produced at Kokkola today.",{"type":591,"attrs":142470,"content":142471},{"textAlign":49},[142472],{"text":142473,"type":596},"In 2016 the Tenke mine produced 16,000 tonnes of cobalt, 12,000 tonnes of this feedstock was sent to Kokkola for processing and refining. The 2016 production numbers would leave just 4,000 tonnes of cobalt feedstock to be diverted to China leaving little for China Moly and any strategic move to assist China’s march toward lithium-ion dominance.",{"type":591,"attrs":142475,"content":142476},{"textAlign":49},[142477],{"text":142478,"type":596},"But it is now known that China Moly will not buy Kokkola yet is contractually bound to keep supplying cobalt feedstock to Freeport, so what is the game plan? What does this mean for the future? First let us take a look at perhaps why the deal didn’t go through, to do this we must look back at the cobalt market prior to its recent price spike.",{"type":591,"attrs":142480,"content":142481},{"textAlign":49},[142482],{"text":142483,"type":596},"The deal for the purchase of Tenke, which was announced in May 2016, would have taken a period of months to negotiate. When Freeport made the decision to sell Tenke it is likely that the price of cobalt was closer to $10/lb a far cry from the current level approaching $30/lb.",{"type":591,"attrs":142485,"content":142486},{"textAlign":49},[142487],{"text":142488,"type":596,"marks":142489},"In short supply – cobalt sulphate",[142490],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":142492,"content":142493},{"textAlign":49},[142494],{"text":142495,"type":596},"At the time cobalt prices were in the midst of a long term price slump and the outlook was, by today’s standards, rather bleak. No one could have foreseen the changes that were on the horizon, of course it is known all commodities are cyclical and at some stage prices were bound to rise again, but no one was forecasting price rises to the level seen in such a short time frame.",{"type":591,"attrs":142497,"content":142498},{"textAlign":49},[142499],{"text":142500,"type":596},"Back when the deal was struck Freeport’s margin at Kokkola will have been squeezed, making the plants operation relatively fruitless. At today’s price levels Freeport will be enjoying significant margins on their cobalt products.",{"type":591,"attrs":142502,"content":142503},{"textAlign":49},[142504],{"text":142505,"type":596},"Freeport will not only be making large margins from what they can produce at Kokkola, they will inevitably have a multi-thousand tonne stockpile ready for tolling at the site. The stockpiled material in such tight markets is like gold dust, essentially liquid cash for the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":142507,"content":142508},{"textAlign":49},[142509],{"text":142510,"type":596},"With all this considered is likely that Freeport had changed their minds about the sale of Kokkola, especially with the long term supply deal in the bag. They simply no longer want to sell it, or at least (and perhaps more importantly) not for a price that China Moly are will to pay.",{"type":591,"attrs":142512,"content":142513},{"textAlign":49},[142514],{"text":142515,"type":596},"Since the sale of Tenke the global outlook for commodities is far more bullish. Freeport’s debt woes, to some extent, will be less of a concern so it is hardly surprising that they would want to hold onto Kokkola and ride the wave of juicy profits off of the back of the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":142517,"content":142518},{"textAlign":49},[142519],{"text":142520,"type":596},"Of course there are a multitude of other reasons why Freeport and China Moly couldn’t agree terms on the deal, perhaps china Moly have no interest in refining cobalt (but then it must be asked why they would work into the deal the option to buy Freeport Cobalt’s assets).",{"type":591,"attrs":142522,"content":142523},{"textAlign":49},[142524],{"text":142525,"type":596},"Perhaps it could be that China Moly is eyeing the purchase of a cobalt refinery in China. A refinery based in the company’s homeland would benefit from cheaper labour costs as well as having a geographical location at the epicentre of the energy storage revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":142527,"content":142528},{"textAlign":49},[142529],{"text":142530,"type":596},"But if that is the case 4,000 tonnes will not cut it. Not by a long shot. There are a wide number of estimates out there for the adoption rate of EV’s (the real growth driver behind the cobalt market), and even at relatively conservative levels demand for cobalt is set to explode.",{"type":591,"attrs":142532,"content":142533},{"textAlign":49},[142534],{"text":142535,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects that cobalt demand for batteries will grow from 48,000 tonnes in 2016 to over 82,000 tonnes by 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":142537,"content":142538},{"textAlign":49},[142539],{"text":142540,"type":596},"China Moly made a sizeable investment in the Tenke mine, and whilst they have enjoyed rising prices in the cobalt market since it is likely they will want to capitalise on this ‘hockey stick’ curve even more.",{"type":591,"attrs":142542,"content":142543},{"textAlign":49},[142544],{"text":142545,"type":596},"But with the Freeport cobalt supply deal already locked up, does this suggest a move to increase production at Tenke in order to bring new material to the Chinese market. Whilst too early to tell it would seem logical, Benchmark forecasts the cobalt market to remain tight out to 2021 then turning to market deficit which will grow out to 2023.",{"type":591,"attrs":142547,"content":142548},{"textAlign":49},[142549],{"text":142550,"type":596},"The price outlook for cobalt is a rosy picture too, Benchmark expects prices to remain at current levels for the foreseeable future, with distinct upward pressure.",{"type":591,"attrs":142552,"content":142553},{"textAlign":49},[142554],{"text":142555,"type":596},"So it would seem that this is an ideal time to bring further supply to market and to meet anticipated demand. With this being China Molybdenum’s first foray into the cobalt space, their strategy remains unclear, but it is certainly one to watch closely.","We are now halfway through 2017 and so far, it seems the year has been all eyes on cobalt. Whilst price rises were dramatic in Q1, Q2 saw somewhat of a levelling off in the curve, but importantly little by way of price decreases. As we move in H2 2017 cobalt is still very much […]",[142558],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142559},{"job_title":557,"image":142560,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf19173e-56ad-4fe1-84c7-3f7558b0be59\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142563,142564],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142566,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142567,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2543047f15/bm-screen-shot-2017-07-26-at-154022.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":142569,"uuid":142570,"name":142571,"slug":142572,"full_slug":142573,"content":142574},112474750187834,"3e1078d6-d41f-4076-98f7-27f7992c6e62","Glencore doubles down on cobalt","glencore-doubles-down-on-cobalt","article/glencore-doubles-down-on-cobalt",{"_uid":142575,"date":142576,"tags":142577,"editor":142579,"content":142583,"excerpt":142746,"featured":50,"reporter":142747,"_editable":142751,"component":697,"seo_title":142571,"categories":142752,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142756,"seo_description":142746,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":142759},"7baf5e8b-50ce-43aa-8a2d-f61a6ef661d7","2017-06-14 00:00",[142578],{"slug":5837,"name":5838},[142580],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142581},{"job_title":557,"image":142582,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142584},[142585,142590,142595,142600,142605,142610,142613,142618,142623,142628,142633,142636,142641,142646,142651,142654,142659,142664,142669,142674,142679,142682,142686,142691,142696,142701,142706,142711,142716,142721,142726,142731,142736,142741],{"type":591,"attrs":142586,"content":142587},{"textAlign":49},[142588],{"text":142589,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles asks what the new deal really means for the conglomerate’s future in energy storage",{"type":591,"attrs":142591,"content":142592},{"textAlign":49},[142593],{"text":142594,"type":596},"Glencore has strengthened its position in cobalt and copper. The mining and trading conglomerate purchased increased stakes in the Mutanda and Katanga copper/cobalt mines in which they already had a majority share.",{"type":591,"attrs":142596,"content":142597},{"textAlign":49},[142598],{"text":142599,"type":596},"On the face of it, the deal was expected and logical. The mining and trading conglomerate has made a complete turn-around from the commodities crisis through a process of slashing debt and selling assets.",{"type":591,"attrs":142601,"content":142602},{"textAlign":49},[142603],{"text":142604,"type":596},"With prices showing signs of life in many industries, and none more so than lithium ion batteries, Glencore has begun to capitalise by making key deals.",{"type":591,"attrs":142606,"content":142607},{"textAlign":49},[142608],{"text":142609,"type":596},"In an announcement by the company on 13th February 2017, it was revealed that Glencore purchased the mines from subsidiaries of Fleurette Properties Limited, the Fleurette group’s remaining 31% stake in Mutanda Mining and a 10.25% stake in Katanga Mining Limited.",{"type":591,"attrs":142611,"content":142612},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142614,"content":142615},{"textAlign":49},[142616],{"text":142617,"type":596},"Source: Glencore",{"type":591,"attrs":142619,"content":142620},{"textAlign":49},[142621],{"text":142622,"type":596},"Fleurette is the family holdings company of Dan Gertler, Israeli mining billionaire who has been dogged with accusations in the media of less than transparent dealings, particularly with key Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) politicians to obtain mining assets at a lower cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":142624,"content":142625},{"textAlign":49},[142626],{"text":142627,"type":596},"This new deal comprises of valuations of the stake in Mutanda Mining as $922m and $38m for the stake in Katanga mining. The total cash paid to the Fleurette Group will be US$534m million once debts owed to Glencore by Fleurette and its subsidiaries have been paid. Glencore now owns 100% of the shares in Mutanda and 86.33% of the shares in Katanga.",{"type":591,"attrs":142629,"content":142630},{"textAlign":49},[142631],{"text":142632,"type":596},"The deal not only allows Glencore to break free from ties with Gertler but importantly, at such a key time, it the company a larger stake in two major assets that will help them ride the wave of expansion in the energy storage market and a rebound in copper demand. Global sentiment on commodity prices is certainly more bullish than has been seen for some time. This is true in copper where we have begun to see a sustained uptick in prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":142634,"content":142635},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142637,"content":142638},{"textAlign":49},[142639],{"text":142640,"type":596},"Cobalt on the other hand has not just seen a sustained uptick but more a surge, leading many to believe it is the next lithium, which has seen price increases of up to five times. The increase in price for cobalt over the past 12 months has been significant.",{"type":591,"attrs":142642,"content":142643},{"textAlign":49},[142644],{"text":142645,"type":596},"From February 2016 to February 2017 the price of low grade cobalt metal rose by just over 90%, nearly a doubling of price in 12 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":142647,"content":142648},{"textAlign":49},[142649],{"text":142650,"type":596},"Many would believe that this situation would have Glencore and other cobalt producer rubbing their hands with glee. In reality, it has shone the spot light on an industry not ready for the energy storage revolution and opened the door for many new cobalt developers.",{"type":591,"attrs":142652,"content":142653},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":142655,"content":142656},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[142657],{"text":142658,"type":596},"Cobalt’s cathode road",{"type":591,"attrs":142660,"content":142661},{"textAlign":49},[142662],{"text":142663,"type":596},"To analyse this, we must take a look at where cobalt fits into energy storage or more specifically lithium ion batteries, the real driver behind the price increase and growth driver for the next decade of cobalt demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":142665,"content":142666},{"textAlign":49},[142667],{"text":142668,"type":596},"Cobalt is one of the key minerals used in the cathode of lithium ion batteries, of which there are currently three types of cobalt containing cathode technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":142670,"content":142671},{"textAlign":49},[142672],{"text":142673,"type":596},"Lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO), nickel-cobalt- manganese (NCM) and nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA). LCO is used for electronics, NCM and NCA are used for EVs. The most cobalt rich of these three chemistries – and by a significant margin – LCO, so theoretically it is the most price sensitive when cobalt sky rockets.",{"type":591,"attrs":142675,"content":142676},{"textAlign":49},[142677],{"text":142678,"type":596},"LCO is used in smartphones, tablets, laptops and nearly any portable consumer electronics you can think of. As LCO is used in consumer electronics, the fact that it is very cobalt rich has not caused major issues for manufacturers as the cells are generally small and the products they go into are high value, meaning the cobalt price spike can be absorbed into the final product without too much impact.",{"type":591,"attrs":142680,"content":142681},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":142683,"content":142684},{"textAlign":49},[142685],{"text":142617,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":142687,"content":142688},{"textAlign":49},[142689],{"text":142690,"type":596},"The most recent technology of the three cathode types is NCA. This is the technology developed by Panasonic and used by Tesla. NCA has the lowest cobalt content of all three cathode types in their current stages on development.",{"type":591,"attrs":142692,"content":142693},{"textAlign":49},[142694],{"text":142695,"type":596},"Whilst the cost of raw materials must be at the forefront of Tesla’s mind, its business mode is focussed on driving down cell cost via economies of scale in the Gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":142697,"content":142698},{"textAlign":49},[142699],{"text":142700,"type":596},"That is not to suggest that Tesla is immune to rising commodity prices, and they have a tall order to secure supply at the low prices it is aiming for, but it is sheltered from cobalt more-so than those using NCM. When NCM was developed, the three minerals in the cathode material came in equal parts, known as NCM 111.",{"type":591,"attrs":142702,"content":142703},{"textAlign":49},[142704],{"text":142705,"type":596},"In cobalt’s last price surge in 2008, prices rose to over $50/lb and the cost of cobalt began to eat up margins. Ever since this time, cathode and cell manufacturers began work on reducing the amount of cobalt in the cell and as a result the industry has started to see the emergence of the NCM 523 chemistry, using 5 parts nickel, 2 parts cobalt, 3 parts manganese.",{"type":591,"attrs":142707,"content":142708},{"textAlign":49},[142709],{"text":142710,"type":596},"This use of 523 significantly reduces the amount of cobalt needed for the cell to function. The next evolution of these lower cobalt formulas are 622 and 811, both representing major reductions in the cobalt volumes needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":142712,"content":142713},{"textAlign":49},[142714],{"text":142715,"type":596},"However, it is very important to note that neither 622 or 811 are ready to use on commercial scale, as both still need significant life cycle and safety development testing – as we have seen with NCM 523, this is by no means a fast process. Benchmark does not expect to this evolution to happen before 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":142717,"content":142718},{"textAlign":49},[142719],{"text":142720,"type":596},"Having said this, the energy storage industry is in innovation mode, and with the cobalt price continuing to steam ahead, it is conceivable that more money and resources will be thrown into high nickel/low cobalt cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":142722,"content":142723},{"textAlign":49},[142724],{"text":142725,"type":596},"Producers such as Glencore need to be aware of this. So, it begs the question, was the Glencore/Fleurette deal a move to make the most of climbing commodity prices? Or was it a move by Glencore to allow for more rapid expansion with the goal to keep supply up with the expected demand surge and prices lower?",{"type":591,"attrs":142727,"content":142728},{"textAlign":49},[142729],{"text":142730,"type":596},"By the end of 2020, Benchmark expects cobalt demand from battery industry to have reached 74,800 tonnes up from 48,000 tonnes in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":142732,"content":142733},{"textAlign":49},[142734],{"text":142735,"type":596},"This is significant on a 93,000 tonne per year industry. Glencore already has an expansion in the pipeline with a return from care and maintenance of Katanga Mining and the possibility of early production in late 2017 or early 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":142737,"content":142738},{"textAlign":49},[142739],{"text":142740,"type":596},"Whilst there has been no official announcement of production figures it is expected to be significant – the latest technical report for the project indicates a total finished capacity of 30,000 tpa although it is expected that the first phase of production will be significantly lower than this figure.",{"type":591,"attrs":142742,"content":142743},{"textAlign":49},[142744],{"text":142745,"type":596},"In addition, plant optimisation saw an 8,000 tonne per year increase at Mutanda from 16,500 tonnes in 2015 to 24,500 in 2016. Could there be further expansions in the pipeline? It seems quite likely.","Caspar Rawles asks what the new deal really means for the conglomerate’s future in energy storage Glencore has strengthened its position in cobalt and copper. The mining and trading conglomerate purchased increased stakes in the Mutanda and Katanga copper/cobalt mines in which they already had a majority share. On the face of it, the deal […]",[142748],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142749},{"job_title":557,"image":142750,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7baf5e8b-50ce-43aa-8a2d-f61a6ef661d7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142753,142754,142755],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142757,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142758,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/105917f6ca/bm-screen-shot-2017-06-14-at-141634.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jun 14, 2017",{"id":142761,"uuid":142762,"name":142763,"slug":142764,"full_slug":142765,"content":142766},112474779024384,"fe1496a9-e5a0-43d9-bf12-2eb2e0e5b64c","The Greatest Prize of All 2.0","the-greatest-prize-of-all-2-0","article/the-greatest-prize-of-all-2-0",{"_uid":142767,"date":142768,"tags":142769,"editor":142770,"content":142774,"excerpt":142854,"featured":50,"reporter":142855,"_editable":142859,"component":697,"seo_title":142763,"categories":142860,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":142863,"seo_description":142854,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":142866},"4c2c5175-c15c-40af-84c3-dcd082831265","2017-04-19 00:00",[],[142771],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142772},{"job_title":557,"image":142773,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142775},[142776,142781,142786,142791,142796,142801,142806,142811,142816,142821,142826,142831,142836,142841,142846,142851],{"type":591,"attrs":142777,"content":142778},{"textAlign":49},[142779],{"text":142780,"type":596},"In 1939, Standard Oil discovered the world’s largest oil deposit in the Saudi Arabian desert. At the time it was described as the “single greatest prize in all history”. Nearly 80 years later, as energy, automotive and technology industries converge, Gianni Kovacevic looks at the potential for this discovery to be eclipsed.",{"type":591,"attrs":142782,"content":142783},{"textAlign":49},[142784],{"text":142785,"type":596},"In the mid-1930s Standard Oil of California had won the right to explore and drill for oil in the Saudi Arabian desert by paying the hefty sum of $275,000. The more Middle East dominant British had declined the opportunity, citing there was no oil to be found. As it would turn out, a tremendous amount of oil was discovered. So in March of 1939 Harold Ickes, the US Secretary of the Interior, dispatched Everette DeGolyer, America’s foremost geologist, to assess the discovery and provide a detailed report as to the potential of the new discovery. It would not be necessary, for the message back to the United States would not need pages of details, rather, DeGolyer and his team would proclaim, “the oil in this region was the single greatest prize in all history.”",{"type":591,"attrs":142787,"content":142788},{"textAlign":49},[142789],{"text":142790,"type":596},"If the discovery of hundreds of billions of barrels of oil could be the preeminent single thing ever discovered, what then, could ever eclipse it? Rendering a goodly portion of the remaining oil redundant.",{"type":591,"attrs":142792,"content":142793},{"textAlign":49},[142794],{"text":142795,"type":596},"In a recent declaration, British Petroleum estimated that there are 2.6 Trillion barrels of recoverable oil using current technology. They went on to suggest that this was more than twice the cumulative global oil demand to 2050 under most scenarios. Scenarios? Perhaps the biggest issue with prognosticators, especially the ones who live in StaticVille, is in their attempt to make guesses about products that have yet to be invented.",{"type":591,"attrs":142797,"content":142798},{"textAlign":49},[142799],{"text":142800,"type":596},"The accelerated adoption of electric vehicles (EV’s) will increasingly be led by consumers with their natural desire to want to own the best available form of transportation. Yet, most of society, including a gaggle of forecasters, continue to assume that a broad offering when it comes to EV’s is something that will occur in the distant future.",{"type":591,"attrs":142802,"content":142803},{"textAlign":49},[142804],{"text":142805,"type":596},"In a 2016 study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) asked a large sample of people if they could, or would, switch to driving a full-electric car. As one might expect, the vast majority of respondents answered “no” applying all the well-publicised rational. “Range anxiety.” “Lack of charging stations.” “Cost.”, “Reliability.” “Inconvenience,” and the like. What most people did not realise, is that the same study monitored their movements through the GPS in their smart phone. It turned out that 87% of those questioned could easily navigate their daily activities using today’s EV technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":142807,"content":142808},{"textAlign":49},[142809],{"text":142810,"type":596},"There are other big developments for consumers and industry alike to consider. Big Auto is well aware that Big Tech is encroaching on their territory. There are other pressures, such as mandated efficiency standards, and the stark reality that millennials around the world are no longer lining up to obtain their drivers licence. These many factors are collectively working like a pincer to capsize the entire automotive industry. Chrysler’s charismatic former CEO, Lee Iacocca, once said, “lead, follow or get out of the way.”",{"type":591,"attrs":142812,"content":142813},{"textAlign":49},[142814],{"text":142815,"type":596},"The fourteen companies that make-up Big Auto control 54 major automobile brands and they have indeed chosen to lead and follow. By the model year 2020, almost all of them will have some offering for consumers in the full-electric space. By 2025 the offering could be a staggering surprise for even the most optimistic EV proponent. Why? The consumer effect.",{"type":591,"attrs":142817,"content":142818},{"textAlign":49},[142819],{"text":142820,"type":596},"If we can accept that most of society has yet to actually experience a well made electric car, can we acknowledge that as it accelerates, consumer behaviour should force the direction that the automotive industry will take? Until now, the Tesla brand has been the market leader and unless someone is in that price segment, or, has a friend who owns one, they would not have witnessed the convenience, comfort and cool factor that EV’s provide.",{"type":591,"attrs":142822,"content":142823},{"textAlign":49},[142824],{"text":142825,"type":596},"Let us look at the probabilities when in the not-so-distant future, two suburban neighbours purchase two similar automobiles – a mid-sized EV and a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE). Admittedly, the EV will likely have a larger price tag. However, there is a difference between “price” and “cost” as every Zig Ziglar fan would know. Future maintenance obligations with EV’s are negligible as there are few fail points and a limited number of moving parts to service in the electric drive train compared to the hundreds of moving parts in an ICE. I do not have the courage to guess what the resale value will be on an ever-increasing fleet of global EV’s. I can, however, strongly suggest that there should be robust demand for these technologically advanced cars, especially as they become more available, recognised as more reliable and inevitably more desirable. Not to mention the savings in fuelling an EV over hundreds of thousands of kilometres.",{"type":591,"attrs":142827,"content":142828},{"textAlign":49},[142829],{"text":142830,"type":596},"Incumbent automotive manufacturers that continue to make undesirable products could literally be subjecting their entire business to hostile activity, not from their peer group, rather from Big Tech. As they strive to remain current they are already shifting their EV product pipeline into high gear. Volkswagen has suggested that 10% of sales will be full electric by 2025. What happens when they discover that the greatest consumer demand, for new and used vehicles, is coming from their EV offering?",{"type":591,"attrs":142832,"content":142833},{"textAlign":49},[142834],{"text":142835,"type":596},"On November 18, 2016, when Elon Musk demonstrated the solar roof was in my opinion the updated version of The Greatest Prize In All History. Tesla’s merger with Solar City had created many negative page-one headlines, yet it was approved by an 85% margin. Pundits dismiss the novelty. Analysts say the economics do not work. Incumbents, there are more than a few that are profoundly disrupted by the circuit Musk demonstrated, are brushing the whole episode off to the side-lines of science fiction.",{"type":591,"attrs":142837,"content":142838},{"textAlign":49},[142839],{"text":142840,"type":596},"It does indeed come down to novelty, economics and science fiction. The future is now. Over five million roofs are constructed or renovated new each year in The United States. The basic idea that Tesla is trying to articulate to consumers and investors alike, is that it is possible for a residence or business to become energy self-sufficient, today. Obviously to install a solar roof, a back-up battery and purchase a brand new Tesla Model S is not for every consumer, today. But the train of thinking that believes it will never reach the mainstream is only for those who wish to remain in StaticVille. Fortunately, for all of humanity there is an army of people around the world who live in ProgressVille.",{"type":591,"attrs":142842,"content":142843},{"textAlign":49},[142844],{"text":142845,"type":596},"Six years ago, there was no Tesla Model S. The efficiency of solar panels was just turning the commercially viable corner. The shale oil renaissance had just begun. Back-up battery systems were R&D projects (they still are). Investors thought of green energy projects as white elephants. Islands around the world could never imagine that they could one day be energy self-sufficient.",{"type":591,"attrs":142847,"content":142848},{"textAlign":49},[142849],{"text":142850,"type":596},"The tiny French island of Saint Barthelemy generates electricity using diesel fuel – most islands do. It is now possible for places like St. Barths to implement medium term plans where the only place on the island that consumes diesel fuel, would be in the back-up to the back-up in the local hospital electricity generator. These islands have no interest to import oil products. Out of nowhere, and due to overwhelming technological progress, places all over the world can begin to implement the strategies to wean themselves off of inconvenience (fossil fuels) and towards self-sufficiency (modern electrical systems).",{"type":591,"attrs":142852,"content":142853},{"textAlign":49},[],"In 1939, Standard Oil discovered the world’s largest oil deposit in the Saudi Arabian desert. At the time it was described as the “single greatest prize in all history”. Nearly 80 years later, as energy, automotive and technology industries converge, Gianni Kovacevic looks at the potential for this discovery to be eclipsed. In the mid-1930s […]",[142856],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142857},{"job_title":557,"image":142858,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4c2c5175-c15c-40af-84c3-dcd082831265\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[142861,142862],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":142864,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":142865,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f1aa14c8d3/bm-screen-shot-2017-04-19-at-155727.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 19, 2017",{"id":142868,"uuid":142869,"name":142870,"slug":142871,"full_slug":142872,"content":142873},112474774301595,"92679e72-5f48-4560-99d0-1ae98ff220a1","Cobalt’s Next Generation","cobalts-next-generation","article/cobalts-next-generation",{"_uid":142874,"date":142768,"tags":142875,"editor":142876,"content":142880,"excerpt":142995,"featured":50,"reporter":142996,"_editable":143000,"component":697,"seo_title":142870,"categories":143001,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143005,"seo_description":142995,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":142866},"54a29e7b-fb20-41aa-a857-22b675322398",[],[142877],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142878},{"job_title":557,"image":142879,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":142881},[142882,142889,142904,142911,142916,142921,142942,142949,142954,142962,142968,142973,142978,142986,142992],{"type":591,"attrs":142883,"content":142884},{"textAlign":49},[142885,142887],{"text":142886,"type":596},"Despite an extended period of low prices, cobalt has spiked in the last 12 months and once again attention is on the lithium ion cathode mineral. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence spoke to Robin Goad, CEO of Fortune Minerals about NICO – one of the few late stage",{"text":142888,"type":596}," development cobalt projects in North America seeking to tap into the rapidly evolving battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":142890,"content":142891},{"textAlign":49},[142892,142894,142898,142900],{"text":142893,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles:",{"text":142895,"type":596,"marks":142896},"Can you give us an introduction to the NICO project and its vital ",[142897],{"type":1006},{"text":142899,"type":596},"statistics",{"text":142901,"type":596,"marks":142902}," please? ",[142903],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":142905,"content":142906},{"textAlign":49},[142907,142909],{"text":142908,"type":596},"Robin Goad:",{"text":142910,"type":596}," Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT; OTCQX: FTMDF) is developing its 100% owned NICO Project, comprised of a proposed mine and mill in Canada’s Northwest Territories and refinery in Saskatchewan, to become a vertically integrated producer of cobalt chemicals for the lithium-ion battery industry with gold and bismuth co-products. NICO will be a North American cobalt chemical producer in a market that is dominated by Congolese mine production, by-product copper and nickel cobalt sources, and Chinese refining capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":142912,"content":142913},{"textAlign":49},[142914],{"text":142915,"type":596},"NICO has Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of more than 33m tonnes containing 82.3m lbs (37,300 MT) of cobalt, 1.11m Oz’s of gold, 102.1m lbs (46,300MT) of bismuth, and 27.2m lbs (12,300 MT) of copper to support a 21-year open pit mine life at a mill rate of 4,650 tonnes of ore per day. A simple flotation process reduces the ore from the mine to 180 tonnes per day of concentrate for transportation to Saskatchewan for processing to the final chemical and metal products.",{"type":591,"attrs":142917,"content":142918},{"textAlign":49},[142919],{"text":142920,"type":596},"The refinery will have life of mine average annual production of 1615 tonnes of cobalt contained in a cobalt sulphate heptahydrate, 41,300 ounces of gold, 1750 tonnes of bismuth in ingots, needles and oxide and minor byproduct copper. The refinery is also designed with flexibility to allow for toll processing of concentrates from other mines and we envision diversifying into the battery and metals recycling business in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":142922,"content":142923},{"textAlign":49},[142924,142926,142930,142932,142936,142938],{"text":142925,"type":596},"CR:",{"text":142927,"type":596,"marks":142928},"There has already been ",[142929],{"type":1006},{"text":142931,"type":596},"C$116m",{"text":142933,"type":596,"marks":142934}," (US$88.2m) investment in the project, does this mean some of the mine ",[142935],{"type":1006},{"text":142937,"type":596},"infrastructure",{"text":142939,"type":596,"marks":142940}," is completed? ",[142941],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":142943,"content":142944},{"textAlign":49},[142945,142947],{"text":142946,"type":596},"RG:",{"text":142948,"type":596}," Yes – Approximately C$20m (US$15.2m) of underground pre-production development work comprised of 2km of excavations and a ventilation shaft have already been completed to support combined open pit and underground mining operations in the first two years of the mine life. This work was done for the underground test mining that was done in 2006 and 2007 to validate the deposit grade and geometry and to collect large fresh samples for pilot plant tests. The underground operations will be focussed on the gold-rich, high-grade core in the early years of production to accelerate the payback. Additionally, there is a small camp and shop facility and a network of roads.",{"type":591,"attrs":142950,"content":142951},{"textAlign":49},[142952],{"text":142953,"type":596},"Our investment of C$116m (US$88.2m) has advanced NICO through several resource cycles, from an in-house discovery in 1996 to the point we are now working with PwC to secure project financing for construction. The work includes positive Feasibility and Front-End Engineering and Design studies with sufficient detailed engineering for procurement. The mineral reserves have been drilled in detail and validated in test mining. Development risks have been mitigated by pilot plant tests proving the process methods, metal recoveries and products we will produce. At this point, NICO is essentially shovel-ready with Environmental Assessment approvals completed in both jurisdictions and the major mine permits already in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":142955,"content":142956},{"textAlign":49},[142957,142958],{"text":142925,"type":596},{"text":142959,"type":596,"marks":142960},"What significant milestones for the project do you hope to achieve over the next 12 months?",[142961],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":142963,"content":142964},{"textAlign":49},[142965,142966],{"text":142946,"type":596},{"text":142967,"type":596}," The announcement of federal funding for the construction of the Tlicho All-Season Road (TASR) in the Northwest Territories is an essential enabler for the NICO mine to proceed. The TASR will connect the community of Whati to the Northwest Territories public highway system.",{"type":591,"attrs":142969,"content":142970},{"textAlign":49},[142971],{"text":142972,"type":596},"Fortune is already permitted for, and will assume the cost of extending a spur road to the mine site allowing for the transportation of metal concentrates to southern Canada for processing. The TASR is in the late stages of environmental assessment and is expected to be completed this summer. Confirmation that funding is available will inform the environmental assessment process in terms of timing for construction.",{"type":591,"attrs":142974,"content":142975},{"textAlign":49},[142976],{"text":142977,"type":596},"The road certainty and growing demand for cobalt in lithium-ion batteries were important milestones that will increase the confidence for securing the approximately C$600m (US$456m) needed for project financing and construction. Fortune recently announced that it has engaged PwC to help arrange the project financing that will likely entail a combination of strategic partnerships, conventional and supplier debt, product off-take and/or forward sales of a portion of the contained gold. The key to realizing full value for any one component will be to close on the entire project financing at the same time.",{"type":591,"attrs":142979,"content":142980},{"textAlign":49},[142981,142982],{"text":142925,"type":596},{"text":142983,"type":596,"marks":142984},"The project is looking to secure financing, how much are you currently looking to raise and what are you looking to do with that investment? ",[142985],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":142987,"content":142988},{"textAlign":49},[142989,142990],{"text":142946,"type":596},{"text":142991,"type":596}," The capital cost for the construction of the NICO Project is C$589m (US$447.6m) plus working capital – C$242m (US$183.9m) is for the refinery in Saskatchewan and the remaining C$347m (US$263.7m) for the mine site and access road in the Northwest Territories. Upon receipt of the approximately C$600m (US$447.6m) needed to build the mine and refinery construction can begin and is anticipated to take 2 to 2.5 years to complete.",{"type":591,"attrs":142993,"content":142994},{"textAlign":49},[],"Despite an extended period of low prices, cobalt has spiked in the last 12 months and once again attention is on the lithium ion cathode mineral. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence spoke to Robin Goad, CEO of Fortune Minerals about NICO – one of the few late stage development cobalt projects in North America seeking to tap into […]",[142997],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":142998},{"job_title":557,"image":142999,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"54a29e7b-fb20-41aa-a857-22b675322398\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143002,143003,143004],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143006,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143007,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/46ca45464e/bm-screen-shot-2017-04-19-at-162721.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":143009,"uuid":143010,"name":143011,"slug":143012,"full_slug":143013,"content":143014},112474769488694,"c264a7a2-260a-4738-906e-c2a86dad3348","Model 3 survey underlines Tesla’s mass market challenge","model-3-survey-underlines-teslas-mass-market-challenge","article/model-3-survey-underlines-teslas-mass-market-challenge",{"_uid":143015,"date":142768,"tags":143016,"editor":143018,"content":143022,"excerpt":143127,"featured":50,"reporter":143128,"_editable":143132,"component":697,"seo_title":143011,"categories":143133,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143136,"seo_description":143127,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":142866},"d5550d07-a3cf-4846-bbd9-c068bdd8161b",[143017],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[143019],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143020},{"job_title":557,"image":143021,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143023},[143024,143029,143034,143039,143044,143049,143054,143059,143064,143069,143074,143079,143084,143089,143094,143099,143104,143109,143114,143119,143124],{"type":591,"attrs":143025,"content":143026},{"textAlign":49},[143027],{"text":143028,"type":596},"Edward Niedermeyer",{"type":591,"attrs":143030,"content":143031},{"textAlign":49},[143032],{"text":143033,"type":596},"They waited for reservations… but will they also wait for service? Much of the critical coverage of Tesla Motors has focused on issues that Tesla is able to get away with as a small-volume manufacturer serving an affluent, early-adopter market segment.",{"type":591,"attrs":143035,"content":143036},{"textAlign":49},[143037],{"text":143038,"type":596},"From manufacturing bottlenecks to quality control problems, from inconsistent, hype-happy communication to poor service, Tesla has been able to weather a storm of problems because its customers and fans are so patient with and passionate about the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":143040,"content":143041},{"textAlign":49},[143042],{"text":143043,"type":596},"But as Tesla moves from expensive, low-volume cars to the mass market Model 3 these problems are taking on a new significance. In part this is because higher volumes increase the likelihood of quality and service problems, and in part it is because mass market customers who depend on a single car for their daily routine are more demanding than luxury car buyers who can always take the Lexus to work if their Tesla is broken.",{"type":591,"attrs":143045,"content":143046},{"textAlign":49},[143047],{"text":143048,"type":596},"Given Tesla’s pattern of releasing cars with insufficient testing as well as its chronic quality problems, it’s safe to assume that the Model 3 will face its fair share of issues. Thus, investing in service infrastructure that will allow Tesla to promptly and affordably repair and upgrade high volumes of Model 3 is extremely important.",{"type":591,"attrs":143050,"content":143051},{"textAlign":49},[143052],{"text":143053,"type":596},"Tesla is behind the curve on those investments and it will cost billions to catch up.",{"type":591,"attrs":143055,"content":143056},{"textAlign":49},[143057],{"text":143058,"type":596},"In Q1, a piece by former Tesla employee Evan Niu dramatically illustrated just how far Tesla has to go to improve its service time, which has dragged on for 8 long months in Niu’s case. Now an exclusive study of about 800 Tesla Model 3 reservation holders, EV owners and luxury brand car owners conducted last year on behalf of a major automaker and provided to Daily Kanban by an industry source, reveals why Tesla’s quality and service woes are so critical to the success or failure of the Model 3.",{"type":591,"attrs":143060,"content":143061},{"textAlign":49},[143062],{"text":143063,"type":596},"Given how new the Tesla brand is and how little experience it has in the mass market, this survey provides an important first look at the people who put down $1,000 refundable deposits for Tesla’s Model 3.",{"type":591,"attrs":143065,"content":143066},{"textAlign":49},[143067],{"text":143068,"type":596},"Surprisingly, Tesla’s new batch of potential customers turn out to be predominantly “average joes” who own mainstream cars like the Toyota Camry, rather than existing electric car or luxury car owners. This represents a sharp contrast from Tesla’s existing business: the Model 3 reservation holders polled are more than twice as likely to own a Toyota as any other brand, whereas current Tesla owners are four times as likely to own a BMW than any other brand.",{"type":591,"attrs":143070,"content":143071},{"textAlign":49},[143072],{"text":143073,"type":596},"Similarly, Model 3 reservation holders area most likely to purchase or lease a Toyota in the next 12 months if a Tesla Model 3 is not available. This appears to be tied to income levels: only 37% of Model 3 reservation holders made over $100,000 in household income in 2015, compared to 63% of BMW owners.",{"type":591,"attrs":143075,"content":143076},{"textAlign":49},[143077],{"text":143078,"type":596},"Moreover, a significant portion of Model 3 reservation holders report a household annual income of between $25,000 and $49,000 in 2015, whereas no BMW owners reported earning less than $50,000 in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":143080,"content":143081},{"textAlign":49},[143082],{"text":143083,"type":596},"Tesla Model 3 reservation holders may be very different from existing Tesla or other luxury brand customers, but the things that attract them to the Model 3 will be familiar to existing Tesla watchers, owners and fans.",{"type":591,"attrs":143085,"content":143086},{"textAlign":49},[143087],{"text":143088,"type":596},"Tesla’s traditional brand values of attractive design, free supercharging (the survey was conducted before Tesla announced that Model 3 would not enjoy free Supercharger access), high-speed performance and cutting edge technology are rated as the top reasons for placing deposits on the Model 3, followed closely by the brand halo provided by Elon Musk’s fame, the excitement around Tesla launch events and Tesla’s popularity with Hollywood celebrities.",{"type":591,"attrs":143090,"content":143091},{"textAlign":49},[143092],{"text":143093,"type":596},"Tesla owners and Model 3 reservation holders rated Musk’s status as a technology sector icon especially high as a factor in their decision to order or purchase a Tesla, suggesting that competitors might struggle to outsell the Model 3 even if their “electric vehicles match or even beat the Model 3 on key features or benefits.”",{"type":591,"attrs":143095,"content":143096},{"textAlign":49},[143097],{"text":143098,"type":596},"Nor does Tesla’s lack of profitability dissuade Model 3 reservation holders; in fact, about half of Tesla owners and Model 3 reservation holders are unaware that Tesla is not profitable, and three quarters of Model 3 reservation holders say that this lack of profitability actually makes them more likely to purchase a Model 3.",{"type":615,"attrs":143100,"content":143101},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143102],{"text":143103,"type":596},"Tesla’s new consumer",{"type":591,"attrs":143105,"content":143106},{"textAlign":49},[143107],{"text":143108,"type":596},"This sets up a fascinating mismatch of values among Model 3 reservation holders. On the one hand, they tend to have lower incomes than buyers of other luxury car brands and as a result they tend to own extremely pragmatic mass-market vehicles like the Toyota Camry, while on the other hand they are clearly attracted to the aspirational, status-conferring attributes of the Tesla brand.",{"type":591,"attrs":143110,"content":143111},{"textAlign":49},[143112],{"text":143113,"type":596},"Cars like the Toyota Camry are seen as an extremely rational choice, known for its quality and reliability rather than its performance or prestige, and yet the Model 3 reservation holders who have overwhelmingly purchased such vehicles in the past are now attracted to the Tesla brand for predominantly emotional reasons.",{"type":591,"attrs":143115,"content":143116},{"textAlign":49},[143117],{"text":143118,"type":596},"The fact that these potential customers have made such pragmatic vehicle purchases in the past and yet are far more likely to purchase a Tesla because the company does not turn a profit points to the deeply irrational appeal at the heart of the Tesla brand.",{"type":591,"attrs":143120,"content":143121},{"textAlign":49},[143122],{"text":143123,"type":596},"People are not putting down deposits because they want an electric car and the Model 3 is just the best option out there, people are putting down deposits because they want to enjoy the status-conferring halo of the Tesla brand. This kind of powerful emotional brand appeal has been fundamental to major market shifts in the auto industry’s past, most notably when Alfred Sloan’s “brand ladder” strategy propelled General Motors past Ford’s dominant market position in the commodified market it created with the Model T.",{"type":591,"attrs":143125,"content":143126},{"textAlign":49},[],"Edward Niedermeyer They waited for reservations… but will they also wait for service? Much of the critical coverage of Tesla Motors has focused on issues that Tesla is able to get away with as a small-volume manufacturer serving an affluent, early-adopter market segment. From manufacturing bottlenecks to quality control problems, from inconsistent, hype-happy communication to […]",[143129],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143130},{"job_title":557,"image":143131,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d5550d07-a3cf-4846-bbd9-c068bdd8161b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143134,143135],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143137,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143138,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7bc3f75443/bm-tesla-model-3-sketch.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":143140,"uuid":143141,"name":143142,"slug":143143,"full_slug":143144,"content":143145},112474764561105,"226eed38-253c-43e9-a3e8-f01433f8efe9","Trump and Musk’s unholy alliance","trump-and-musks-unholy-alliance","article/trump-and-musks-unholy-alliance",{"_uid":143146,"date":142768,"tags":143147,"editor":143150,"content":143154,"excerpt":143353,"featured":50,"reporter":143354,"_editable":143358,"component":697,"seo_title":143142,"categories":143359,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143362,"seo_description":143353,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":142866},"7bf43ef7-263d-4cde-86a4-2b959d6cae4f",[143148,143149],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},{"slug":572,"name":573},[143151],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143152},{"job_title":557,"image":143153,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143155},[143156,143160,143165,143170,143175,143180,143185,143190,143195,143200,143205,143210,143215,143220,143225,143230,143235,143240,143245,143250,143255,143260,143265,143270,143275,143280,143285,143290,143295,143300,143305,143310,143315,143320,143325,143330,143335,143340,143345,143350],{"type":591,"attrs":143157,"content":143158},{"textAlign":49},[143159],{"text":80280,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":143161,"content":143162},{"textAlign":49},[143163],{"text":143164,"type":596},"Almost immediately after Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President of the United States, the political analysts and commentators were declaring the end of the country’s green energy movement and a return to the days of North American coal. There were many understandable, if",{"type":591,"attrs":143166,"content":143167},{"textAlign":49},[143168],{"text":143169,"type":596},"There were many understandable, if one dimensional, reasons to come to this conclusion, after all a cornerstone of the campaign was based on ripping shreds into wind energy and Trump doffing his miner’s hard hat at rallies in former coal and steel producing areas.",{"type":591,"attrs":143171,"content":143172},{"textAlign":49},[143173],{"text":143174,"type":596},"“At forty-dollar oil it’s not economic so they are going to have to do a subsidy. Wind is a very expensive form of energy and it’s got problems with storage and lots of other things…” explained Trump at an Iowa rally in November 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":143176,"content":143177},{"textAlign":49},[143178],{"text":143179,"type":596},"This is a telling quote that we will revisit later.",{"type":591,"attrs":143181,"content":143182},{"textAlign":49},[143183],{"text":143184,"type":596},"In his inauguration speech, President Trump used the country’s industrial past as a graphic example of an America that has, in his eyes, lost its way.",{"type":591,"attrs":143186,"content":143187},{"textAlign":49},[143188],{"text":143189,"type":596},"“One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind… [we] spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay,” Trump said.",{"type":591,"attrs":143191,"content":143192},{"textAlign":49},[143193],{"text":143194,"type":596},"And many business leaders were against Trump’s election, non-more so than the Silicon Valley set. The immediate conclusion of all this furore was that Trump is anti-renewable energy and anti-Silicon Valley.",{"type":591,"attrs":143196,"content":143197},{"textAlign":49},[143198],{"text":143199,"type":596},"However, the Silicon Valley blueprint of world leading innovation and global manufacturing prowess is surely what the new president is wanting to bring back to desolated regions of the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":143201,"content":143202},{"textAlign":49},[143203],{"text":143204,"type":596},"While the outsourcing of manufacturing to Asia – such as Apple’s electronics – is no doubt a contentious issue, Silicon Valley’s success over the last two decades is a spirit the US will need to harness and replicate.",{"type":591,"attrs":143206,"content":143207},{"textAlign":49},[143208],{"text":143209,"type":596},"It was clear this was the way forward for the Trump administration after one of its first acts was to invite all the business leaders from Silicon Valley to a lunch meeting and the creation of a business advisory council.",{"type":591,"attrs":143211,"content":143212},{"textAlign":49},[143213],{"text":143214,"type":596},"“I am here to help you folks do well,” the president declared at the meeting.",{"type":591,"attrs":143216,"content":143217},{"textAlign":49},[143218],{"text":143219,"type":596},"“I want you to keep going with the incredible innovation… there’s nobody like you in the world,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":143221,"content":143222},{"textAlign":49},[143223],{"text":143224,"type":596},"Leaders in attendance included Apple CEO, Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, and, of course, Elon Musk of Tesla, Space X and SolarCity.",{"type":591,"attrs":143226,"content":143227},{"textAlign":49},[143228],{"text":143229,"type":596},"The only notable leader that was not invited was Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsy (after a dispute over a ‘Crooked Hillary’ emoji symbol), and the only refusal was from Uber’s chief, Travis Kalanick, who refuses to do business with the new administration.",{"type":591,"attrs":143231,"content":143232},{"textAlign":49},[143233],{"text":143234,"type":596},"Musk took an opposing and pragmatic approach.",{"type":591,"attrs":143236,"content":143237},{"textAlign":49},[143238],{"text":143239,"type":596},"His public embracing of the president’s olive branch to the country’s leading tech companies saw notable online abuse hurled at him.",{"type":591,"attrs":143241,"content":143242},{"textAlign":49},[143243],{"text":143244,"type":596},"“I understand the perspective of those who object to my attending the meeting, but I believe at this time that engaging on critical issues will, on balance, serve the greater good,” Musk said in response.",{"type":615,"attrs":143246,"content":143247},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143248],{"text":143249,"type":596},"Mutual need",{"type":591,"attrs":143251,"content":143252},{"textAlign":49},[143253],{"text":143254,"type":596},"After little over three months in the job, it is becoming clear that Trump is as useful to Musk, as the Tesla CEO is to the President of the United States.",{"type":591,"attrs":143256,"content":143257},{"textAlign":49},[143258],{"text":143259,"type":596},"The formation of an unholy alliance to progress both of their causes is has been formed.",{"type":591,"attrs":143261,"content":143262},{"textAlign":49},[143263],{"text":143264,"type":596},"Tesla is at a critical juncture with the Gigafactory now producing lithium ion batteries and production of the make-or-break Model 3 beginning in June. With the company burning through cash at the most rapid rate of its existence to pay for this, Tesla could do with friends in high places.",{"type":591,"attrs":143266,"content":143267},{"textAlign":49},[143268],{"text":143269,"type":596},"It would be wrong to suggest Trump is influencing Elon Musk’s trajectory for Tesla. After all, it was the choice of Tesla executives many years ago to base manufacturing for its vehicles and lithium ion batteries in the US.",{"type":591,"attrs":143271,"content":143272},{"textAlign":49},[143273],{"text":143274,"type":596},"Domestic manufacturing has been at the core of everything Musk has been involved in. This was also seen at Space X which makes rockets on the outskirts of Los Angeles or SolarCity which manufactures solar panels in Buffalo.",{"type":591,"attrs":143276,"content":143277},{"textAlign":49},[143278],{"text":143279,"type":596},"It is all a strategy of controlling each company’s respective supply chains and with it the quality of their products. The net result of this is the return of the types of jobs that Trump was elected for.",{"type":591,"attrs":143281,"content":143282},{"textAlign":49},[143283],{"text":143284,"type":596},"The Tesla Gigafactory will employ over 6,000 people at its peak, most of whom will be locals from the northern Nevada area and surrounding states. The company is also planning its second, third and fourth Gigafactories for, one would estimate, between 2020 and 2030 with the Tristate area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) and Europe (France, UK) being touted as possible locations. No one could have ever predicted ten years ago that in 2017 Los Angeles’ residents would be making space rockets from scratch or Fremont locals would be forming and stamping metal sheets into",{"type":591,"attrs":143286,"content":143287},{"textAlign":49},[143288],{"text":143289,"type":596},"No one could have ever predicted ten years ago that in 2017 Los Angeles’ residents would be making space rockets from scratch or Fremont locals would be forming and stamping metal sheets into a an electric vehicle. These are jobs that the US was interviewing for a generation ago – not in 2017. “Will Tesla Model 3 be the most ‘made in America’ car, beating Toyota Camry?”, Twitter user, Don Barbieri asked Elon Musk. “Good chance it will be,” the CEO responded. There is an argument that Elon Musk was making America great again, way before Donald Trump arrived on the scene. And it is",{"type":591,"attrs":143291,"content":143292},{"textAlign":49},[143293],{"text":143294,"type":596},"“Will Tesla Model 3 be the most ‘made in America’ car, beating Toyota Camry?”, Twitter user, Don Barbieri asked Elon Musk. “Good chance it will be,” the CEO responded. There is an argument that Elon Musk was making America great again, way before Donald Trump arrived on the scene. And it is",{"type":591,"attrs":143296,"content":143297},{"textAlign":49},[143298],{"text":143299,"type":596},"“Good chance it will be,” the CEO responded. There is an argument that Elon Musk was making America great again, way before Donald Trump arrived on the scene. And it is momentum that the South African-born entrepreneur is using to his advantage.",{"type":591,"attrs":143301,"content":143302},{"textAlign":49},[143303],{"text":143304,"type":596},"After taking on Space, the sun and the ground, Musk is now going subsurface with a tunnel boring company after being stuck in one too many of Los Angeles’ traffic jams.",{"type":591,"attrs":143306,"content":143307},{"textAlign":49},[143308],{"text":143309,"type":596},"It did not take long for a large hole to be discovered in the Space X car park – the result of a tunnel boring experiment that has kick started Musk’s fourth major venture.",{"type":591,"attrs":143311,"content":143312},{"textAlign":49},[143313],{"text":143314,"type":596},"The scale of the Musk’s ambition is Victorian-esque and his appetite for risk is unrivalled, seeking to tackle the population’s biggest problems with innovation and scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":143316,"content":143317},{"textAlign":49},[143318],{"text":143319,"type":596},"By tackling the oldest industries with modern technology, Musk is combining the Steve Jobs blueprint with that of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the greatest influences on the industrial revolution.",{"type":591,"attrs":143321,"content":143322},{"textAlign":49},[143323],{"text":143324,"type":596},"With Trump declaring “we’re gonna build ….”, it’s clear that Elon Musk is migrating towards the centre of his strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":143326,"content":143327},{"textAlign":49},[143328],{"text":143329,"type":596},"And despite Trump’s attack on renewables and a public backing of coal, even the most staunch of his opponents will recognise the true President’s mantra: if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense.",{"type":591,"attrs":143331,"content":143332},{"textAlign":49},[143333],{"text":143334,"type":596},"Therefore, do not expect to see coal mines to return to the world’s biggest economy anytime soon or wind turbines already in use to being torn down. Trump’s policies will not be this transparent.",{"type":591,"attrs":143336,"content":143337},{"textAlign":49},[143338],{"text":143339,"type":596},"To revisit the complete quote from earlier: “Wind is a very expensive form of energy and it’s got problems with storage and lots of other things… But I want to see [us do] whatever we can do [to get] away from the [dependency] on the Middle East,” the president said in his campaign.",{"type":591,"attrs":143341,"content":143342},{"textAlign":49},[143343],{"text":143344,"type":596},"While President Trump finds his feet, his policies may not be very clear, but his ethos is becoming more so: New business, new ideas.",{"type":591,"attrs":143346,"content":143347},{"textAlign":49},[143348],{"text":143349,"type":596},"And with Elon Musk as his unofficial right hand man, an alliance that many never predicted could now be America’s greatest asset.",{"type":591,"attrs":143351,"content":143352},{"textAlign":49},[],"Simon Moores Almost immediately after Donald Trump’s election as the 45th President of the United States, the political analysts and commentators were declaring the end of the country’s green energy movement and a return to the days of North American coal. There were many understandable, if There were many understandable, if one dimensional, reasons to […]",[143355],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143356},{"job_title":557,"image":143357,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7bf43ef7-263d-4cde-86a4-2b959d6cae4f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143360,143361],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143363,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143364,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e010ab3624/bm-screen-shot-2017-04-19-at-164939-2328a422b.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":143366,"uuid":143367,"name":143368,"slug":143369,"full_slug":143370,"content":143371},112474788740298,"08aa0cc0-ac3f-46f1-bbd8-afebe76ae93a","Industrial Evolution","industrial-evolution","article/industrial-evolution",{"_uid":143372,"date":143373,"tags":143374,"editor":143375,"content":143379,"excerpt":143538,"featured":50,"reporter":143539,"_editable":143543,"component":697,"seo_title":143368,"categories":143544,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143547,"seo_description":143538,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143550},"3b29a1bc-9613-42b1-8a7c-97928a697247","2017-02-06 00:00",[],[143376],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143377},{"job_title":557,"image":143378,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143380},[143381,143386,143391,143396,143399,143408,143411,143419,143422,143430,143433,143442,143445,143454,143457,143466,143469,143477,143480,143489,143492,143501,143504,143512,143515,143524,143527,143535],{"type":591,"attrs":143382,"content":143383},{"textAlign":49},[143384],{"text":143385,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery megafactories are being built and low cost, abundant cells are on their way. As a result, the way we store and use energy is about to fundamentally change. ",{"type":591,"attrs":143387,"content":143388},{"textAlign":49},[143389],{"text":143390,"type":596},"During June and October of 2016, The Benchmark World Tour travelled to 11 cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, US, and Canada to host seminars for major players in the lithium ion supply chain. Over 730 delegates heard from Benchmark’s analysts, guest speakers and public companies looking to be a part of the industry’s future. ",{"type":591,"attrs":143392,"content":143393},{"textAlign":49},[143394],{"text":143395,"type":596},"Here, we outline some charts that stood out from the upstream and downstream portions of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":143397,"content":143398},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143400,"content":143401},{"textAlign":49},[143402,143404],{"text":143403,"type":596},"Raw material supply markets in the lithium-ion battery supply chain will need to go through significant growth to meet projected demands. This chart shows the relative sizes of the total supply of these critical materials globally in 2015. ",{"text":143405,"type":596,"marks":143406},"Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",[143407],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143409,"content":143410},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143412,"content":143413},{"textAlign":49},[143414,143416],{"text":143415,"type":596},"With increased demand for anode material, the tightness of supply, especially in quality material, will see prices rise but the ranges widen out to 2020. The widening gap between transacted prices is anticipated by Benchmark due to the price difference between quality, consistent material that can be used by the battery majors and the lower quality product that cannot. ",{"text":143405,"type":596,"marks":143417},[143418],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143420,"content":143421},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143423,"content":143424},{"textAlign":49},[143425,143427],{"text":143426,"type":596},"The Benchmark Lithium Price Index takes into account the prevailing prices and volumes of lithium carbonate and hydroxide – the key battery raw materials – and weights it back to 2007. The softening of carbonate prices in H2 2016 is starting to show on the index curve, but no price crash is anticipated. ",{"text":143405,"type":596,"marks":143428},[143429],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143431,"content":143432},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143434,"content":143435},{"textAlign":49},[143436,143438],{"text":143437,"type":596},"Sourcing the majority of raw material from the Democratic Republic of Congo aside, cobalt’s by-product issue often slips under the radar. With over 75% of material being source from nickel and copper mines, and with these industries presently in significant oversupply and experiencing cutbacks, cobalt for batteries is coming under more strain. ",{"text":143439,"type":596,"marks":143440},"Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, LME",[143441],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143443,"content":143444},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143446,"content":143447},{"textAlign":49},[143448,143450],{"text":143449,"type":596},"While Tesla gets the headlines, the majority of new lithium ion battery production capacity is being constructed in China.",{"text":143451,"type":596,"marks":143452}," Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",[143453],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143455,"content":143456},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143458,"content":143459},{"textAlign":49},[143460,143462],{"text":143461,"type":596},"Consistency of lithium ion battery raw materials is one of the biggest problems the industry is vying to overcome. Whether it’s the anode, cathode and separator components, all input materials need to be consistent and not change significantly from one batch to the next. Outline is how separators – which have the same label on the package – can vary significantly on performance. ",{"text":143463,"type":596,"marks":143464},"Source: Boston Power",[143465],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143467,"content":143468},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143470,"content":143471},{"textAlign":49},[143472,143474],{"text":143473,"type":596},"Mainstream lithium ion battery manufacturers are increasing production capacities to meet significant new demand. Outlined here is Boston Power’s plans to construct two of the 14 lithium ion megafactories that Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is tracking. ",{"text":143463,"type":596,"marks":143475},[143476],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143478,"content":143479},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143481,"content":143482},{"textAlign":49},[143483,143485],{"text":143484,"type":596},"Shipments of lithium in battery cells for use in vehicles have gone through the roof with 2016 seeing this new market beginning to come of age. ",{"text":143486,"type":596,"marks":143487},"Source: Yano Research",[143488],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143490,"content":143491},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143493,"content":143494},{"textAlign":49},[143495,143497],{"text":143496,"type":596},"While the total cost of owning an EV in China is still significantly higher than a gasoline equivalent, the falling economics of pure battery powered vehicles is expected to see increased uptake in the country, even outside of government driven consumption. ",{"text":143498,"type":596,"marks":143499},"Source: UBS",[143500],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143502,"content":143503},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143505,"content":143506},{"textAlign":49},[143507,143509],{"text":143508,"type":596},"Pure battery powered electric vehicles are the best fit into a low carbon ecosystem due to their “well-to-wheel” efficiency, a way of including the production and distribution of the fuel that powers the car. ",{"text":143498,"type":596,"marks":143510},[143511],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143513,"content":143514},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143516,"content":143517},{"textAlign":49},[143518,143520],{"text":143519,"type":596},"No longer is the energy storage market compartmentalised into innovation, generation and distribution, there are many different business models emerging and quite some dynamics regarding market positioning. ",{"text":143521,"type":596,"marks":143522},"Source: Boston Consulting Group",[143523],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143525,"content":143526},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143528,"content":143529},{"textAlign":49},[143530,143532],{"text":143531,"type":596},"For energy storage to become a major part of the energy grid system we use today, there are three main actors or groups of players that will influence the future: Renewable energy generators, grid operators and residential users –private households and small business ",{"text":143521,"type":596,"marks":143533},[143534],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":143536,"content":143537},{"textAlign":49},[],"The lithium ion battery megafactories are being built and low cost, abundant cells are on their way. As a result, the way we store and use energy is about to fundamentally change. During June and October of 2016, The Benchmark World Tour travelled to 11 cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, US, and Canada to host […]",[143540],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143541},{"job_title":557,"image":143542,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3b29a1bc-9613-42b1-8a7c-97928a697247\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143545,143546],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143548,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143549,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/016fe13466/bm-screen-shot-2017-02-06-at-151914.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Feb 06, 2017",{"id":143552,"uuid":143553,"name":143554,"slug":143555,"full_slug":143556,"content":143557},112474807832158,"99811010-1c30-4d20-9d1b-b6d5830e0221","Imerys makes its graphite play","imerys-makes-its-graphite-play","article/imerys-makes-its-graphite-play",{"_uid":143558,"date":143559,"tags":143560,"editor":143564,"content":143568,"excerpt":143704,"featured":50,"reporter":143705,"_editable":143709,"component":697,"seo_title":143554,"categories":143710,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143714,"seo_description":143704,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143717},"187f3178-c4fe-49d1-964a-77a2210ccef4","2017-01-27 00:00",[143561],{"slug":143562,"name":143563},"imerys","Imerys",[143565],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143566},{"job_title":557,"image":143567,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143569},[143570,143575,143580,143585,143590,143595,143598,143603,143608,143613,143618,143621,143626,143631,143636,143641,143646,143651,143654,143659,143664,143669,143674,143677,143682,143687,143692,143697],{"type":591,"attrs":143571,"content":143572},{"textAlign":49},[143573],{"text":143574,"type":596},"Imerys Graphite & Carbon’s Hugues Jacquemin talks exclusively to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Andrew Miller about its new flake graphite mine j-v in Namibia and the global markets it is targeting",{"type":591,"attrs":143576,"content":143577},{"textAlign":49},[143578],{"text":143579,"type":596},"Andrew Miller: Can you tell us some more about the nature of your JV with Gecko Namibia and how this came about? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143581,"content":143582},{"textAlign":49},[143583],{"text":143584,"type":596},"Hugues Jacquemin: Imerys Graphite & Carbon’s expansion strategy includes several actions aligned with the market evolution. The fact that there is a growth trend in the demand for natural graphite, and that we want to increase our market share in this industry, led us to search for the best solution to complement our Canadian production.",{"type":591,"attrs":143586,"content":143587},{"textAlign":49},[143588],{"text":143589,"type":596},"The Joint Venture with Gecko Namibia allows us to achieve these objectives. Gecko, a privately owned company, has a long and successful story in the mining and mineral processing market in Southern Africa.",{"type":591,"attrs":143591,"content":143592},{"textAlign":49},[143593],{"text":143594,"type":596},"In Namibia, where natural graphite occurrences have been known for many decades, Gecko invested heavily in geologic prospecting and modelling in order to consolidate the graphite mining potential in the region of Otjiwarongo. Imerys Graphite & Carbon joined Gecko Graphite Namibia as controlling party, contributing with technical and marketing expertise on natural graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":143596,"content":143597},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143599,"content":143600},{"textAlign":49},[143601],{"text":143602,"type":596},"AM: It seems there is already some infrastructure in place on site from Solvay’s previously operating fluorspar project. What further infrastructure needs to be developed to meet your production target of 2017? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143604,"content":143605},{"textAlign":49},[143606],{"text":143607,"type":596},"HJ: In fact there was a former Solvay plant on site, which has been retrofitted to process graphite. Apart from the advantages from the investment point of view, this brings important environmental benefits as well, since the existing structure was a good alternative to building a greenfield plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":143609,"content":143610},{"textAlign":49},[143611],{"text":143612,"type":596},"Today, after retrofitting the plant, the product line in Namibia is similar to the one in use at our Lac- Des-Îles site in Canada. There are other actions that we consider structural, although they aren’t related to the plant facilities. We are talking about important health and safety training procedures.",{"type":591,"attrs":143614,"content":143615},{"textAlign":49},[143616],{"text":143617,"type":596},"In the past months, several sessions on Imerys’ safety system were organized for all employees, with Take 5 and related Serious 7 initiatives fully in-place. Leaders and supervisors participated in additional leadership development sessions, bringing to life a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. Our activities, together with our employees, contractors and the community, are meant to create a sustainable, long-term presence in Namibia.",{"type":591,"attrs":143619,"content":143620},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143622,"content":143623},{"textAlign":49},[143624],{"text":143625,"type":596},"AM: Will production from Namibia see a transition away from Lac Des Iles and, if so, are there any timelines in place for this transition? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143627,"content":143628},{"textAlign":49},[143629],{"text":143630,"type":596},"HJ: As we mentioned before, our goal is that of facing the industry growth with an adequate supply capacity. A second natural graphite mine will allow us to have two different sources of very similar high quality ore, with abounding large flake content (+50 and + 80 mesh), easy to extract and process. Since a very high percentage of our Lac Des Iles production is meant for the North American market, Namibia is an excellent opportunity to expand natural graphite distribution in that territory and other geographical areas, thanks also to favourable logistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":143632,"content":143633},{"textAlign":49},[143634],{"text":143635,"type":596},"AM: You say the target capacity from Namibia will be 20,000 tpa. Will there be a gradual ramp upto this capacity or is this being slated for 2017? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143637,"content":143638},{"textAlign":49},[143639],{"text":143640,"type":596},"HJ: That number refers to the full production capacity of the Namibian mine and we foresee to reach that level gradually throughout 2017. At full capacity, measured and indicated ore reserves are enough for more than 20 years of plant operation. We are currently developing additional geological work in order to increase the lifetime of the mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":143642,"content":143643},{"textAlign":49},[143644],{"text":143645,"type":596},"AM: Your announcement suggests the project is targeted at growing your market share in the lithium-ion battery anode market. What is Imerys’ outlook for this sector? As a supplier of natural and synthetic graphite, what is Imerys’ view of the split between natural/synthetic material in lithium ion battery anodes? How do you expect this split in the market to develop over the coming years? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143647,"content":143648},{"textAlign":49},[143649],{"text":143650,"type":596},"HJ: Our company is fully aware of the use of natural and synthetic graphite in lithium-ion battery anodes, and as you know we produce them both. For this reason we are ready to follow the market trends and to respond to the demand for both types of graphite. It’s useful to recall that we are active in many other segments, and the new investment in Namibia’s natural graphite mine is meant to serve them all, from polymers and friction to consumer electronics, automotive, refractories and the steel industry amongst others.",{"type":591,"attrs":143652,"content":143653},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143655,"content":143656},{"textAlign":49},[143657],{"text":143658,"type":596},"AM: The majority of battery anode production takes place in Asia today. Do you anticipate selling into those markets or feeding new battery consumers in other regions? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143660,"content":143661},{"textAlign":49},[143662],{"text":143663,"type":596},"HJ: Imerys Graphite & Carbon aims to grow its market share at a global scale. Markets are continuously evolving and the trends in battery anode production, as well as in other sectors, clearly indicate the need to rely on high quality product suppliers, so we firmly believe that we won’t be tied to geographical boundaries.",{"type":591,"attrs":143665,"content":143666},{"textAlign":49},[143667],{"text":143668,"type":596},"AM: What is your expected production cost from Namibia and will this allow you to produce at a comparable cost level to China? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143670,"content":143671},{"textAlign":49},[143672],{"text":143673,"type":596},"HJ: Our company’s focus is on the value we bring to our customers. Our experience and the financial stability of our group have made us a trustworthy partner for long and short term projects. We are strongly committed to ensuring consistency in product quality and supply reliability, which are at the base of the long lasting relations with our customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":143675,"content":143676},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143678,"content":143679},{"textAlign":49},[143680],{"text":143681,"type":596},"AM: Can you give us a clearer idea of the project timeline between now and production in 2017? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143683,"content":143684},{"textAlign":49},[143685],{"text":143686,"type":596},"HJ: Our activities in Namibia are proceeding according to plan and production will start in early 2017. In the meantime, we are already able to provide product samples.",{"type":591,"attrs":143688,"content":143689},{"textAlign":49},[143690],{"text":143691,"type":596},"AM: Can you talk to us a little about Namibia as a mining jurisdiction? ",{"type":591,"attrs":143693,"content":143694},{"textAlign":49},[143695],{"text":143696,"type":596},"HJ: Namibia is a former German and British colony, and one of the most politically and economically stable countries in Africa. The country recognises the importance of mining for its economy and the benefits that this activity can bring to local communities. There is good infrastructure, including abounding electricity, good all weather roads, railways and ports. A favourable mining regulatory framework and policies in place have led Namibia to become a world-class producer of minerals. Furthermore, thanks to a good education level, labour is skilled and prepared for specific training.",{"type":591,"attrs":143698,"content":143699},{"textAlign":49},[143700],{"text":143701,"type":596,"marks":143702},"Hugues Jacquemin is Vice-President & General Manager of Imerys Graphite & Carbon",[143703],{"type":1006},"Imerys Graphite & Carbon’s Hugues Jacquemin talks exclusively to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Andrew Miller about its new flake graphite mine j-v in Namibia and the global markets it is targeting Andrew Miller: Can you tell us some more about the nature of your JV with Gecko Namibia and how this came about? Hugues Jacquemin: Imerys […]",[143706],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143707},{"job_title":557,"image":143708,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"187f3178-c4fe-49d1-964a-77a2210ccef4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143711,143712,143713],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143715,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143716,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ce735a26c9/bm-cropped-cropped-cropped-background1.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 27, 2017",{"id":143719,"uuid":143720,"name":143721,"slug":143722,"full_slug":143723,"content":143724},112474845880811,"fcac5321-06b5-4da6-b69c-bab164a04bf3","The lithium ion revolution in four charts","the-lithium-ion-revolution-in-four-charts","article/the-lithium-ion-revolution-in-four-charts",{"_uid":143725,"date":143726,"tags":143727,"editor":143728,"content":143732,"excerpt":143831,"featured":50,"reporter":143832,"_editable":143836,"component":697,"seo_title":143721,"categories":143837,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":143841,"seo_description":143831,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143843},"0667c806-65f4-4711-ae18-9a714951e2b1","2017-01-26 00:00",[],[143729],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143730},{"job_title":557,"image":143731,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143733},[143734,143739,143744,143749,143754,143759,143764,143769,143772,143777,143782,143787,143792,143795,143800,143805,143810,143813,143818,143823,143828],{"type":591,"attrs":143735,"content":143736},{"textAlign":49},[143737],{"text":143738,"type":596},"Energy storage has become a fundamental pillar of a fourth industrial revolution and central to its commercialisation is low cost, abundant lithium ion battery cells. Here, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence outlines four charts that show the macro trend that is starting to the supply chain",{"type":591,"attrs":143740,"content":143741},{"textAlign":49},[143742],{"text":143743,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery megafactories are being built and low cost, abundant cells are on their way. As a result, the way we store and use energy is about to fundamentally change. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts that at least 180GWh of new capacity is under construction between now and 2020 with a significant amount being brought on-stream within China.",{"type":591,"attrs":143745,"content":143746},{"textAlign":49},[143747],{"text":143748,"type":596},"Deadlines of some major lithium ion cell manufacturers within the country have now been moved forward to the end of 2018 and the impact on raw materials will be significant. As part of our industry leading World Tour 2016 series of seminars, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has outlined four must read slides that explain the story.",{"type":615,"attrs":143750,"content":143751},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143752],{"text":143753,"type":596},"1. The lithium ion battery industry is young…",{"type":591,"attrs":143755,"content":143756},{"textAlign":49},[143757],{"text":143758,"type":596},"Commercialisation in the niche battery sector takes a long time. It is only in the last ten years that the lithium ion battery has taken off owing to its uptake in smartphones, laptops and tablets – what the Japanese battery industry refers to as ICT. This is despite the chemistry being invented in the 1970s and first being commercially used in the early 1990s via its use in the Sony Walkman.",{"type":591,"attrs":143760,"content":143761},{"textAlign":49},[143762],{"text":143763,"type":596},"Benchmark believes we are now entering a fourth phase of battery commercialisation with pure electric vehicles (EVs) and utility storage markets coming of age. The move into pure or 100% battery powered EVs is critical as the battery cells are much larger, and will soon average 60kWh and higher. This is compared to the Prius Plug-in Hybrid which has a 4.4kWh lithium ion battery. Welcome to the era of the advanced lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":143765,"content":143766},{"textAlign":49},[143767],{"text":143768,"type":596},"… rechargeable battery industry is just getting started",{"type":591,"attrs":143770,"content":143771},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":143773,"content":143774},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143775],{"text":143776,"type":596},"2. China is driving new lithium ion demand",{"type":591,"attrs":143778,"content":143779},{"textAlign":49},[143780],{"text":143781,"type":596},"While the Tesla Gigafactory 1 is no doubt the catalyst behind the rapid and significant change in the battery industry, it is not the primary driver of demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":143783,"content":143784},{"textAlign":49},[143785],{"text":143786,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data shows that 70% of new lithium ion supply is coming from China where at least 7 battery megafactories are under construction. Over $20bn has been committed to expanding production capacity between 2016 and 2020 which will take the industry from 63GWh in 2015 to 180-220GWh capacity in 2020, assuming the Gigafactory 1 is at a 50GWh level.",{"type":591,"attrs":143788,"content":143789},{"textAlign":49},[143790],{"text":143791,"type":596},"… The lithium ion megafactories are coming",{"type":591,"attrs":143793,"content":143794},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":143796,"content":143797},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143798],{"text":143799,"type":596},"3. Production costs continue to fall",{"type":591,"attrs":143801,"content":143802},{"textAlign":49},[143803],{"text":143804,"type":596},"The introduction of megafactory scale is the main driver of cost reductions in the battery industry. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts, lithium ion battery production costs are set to fall 15-20% a year for the next five years – the rate of decline is increasing. It is important to note that raw material price decreases – if any are agreed – will not have any meaningful impact on bringing down the cost of lithium ion cells. The majority of the cost reduction will come from megafactory scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":143806,"content":143807},{"textAlign":49},[143808],{"text":143809,"type":596},"… And battery cell costs are falling",{"type":591,"attrs":143811,"content":143812},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":143814,"content":143815},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143816],{"text":143817,"type":596},"4. Convergence of disciplines breeds rapid change",{"type":591,"attrs":143819,"content":143820},{"textAlign":49},[143821],{"text":143822,"type":596},"Energy storage is forcing convergence between historically separate industries of energy, automotive and technology. Abundant, low-cost lithium ion batteries are set to change the vehicles we drive and the energy we consume at peak times, a trend that will have wide-reaching implications for all three sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":143824,"content":143825},{"textAlign":49},[143826],{"text":143827,"type":596},"… Tech industries evolve, force convergence of mult-billion dollar industries",{"type":591,"attrs":143829,"content":143830},{"textAlign":49},[],"Energy storage has become a fundamental pillar of a fourth industrial revolution and central to its commercialisation is low cost, abundant lithium ion battery cells. Here, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence outlines four charts that show the macro trend that is starting to the supply chain The lithium ion battery megafactories are being built and low cost, […]",[143833],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143834},{"job_title":557,"image":143835,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0667c806-65f4-4711-ae18-9a714951e2b1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[143838,143839,143840],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143715,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":143842,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 26, 2017",{"id":143845,"uuid":143846,"name":143847,"slug":143848,"full_slug":143849,"content":143850},112474841133446,"472e9830-ae9e-40d9-8827-69079a52cd76","Future City 2030","future-city-2030","article/future-city-2030",{"_uid":143851,"date":143726,"tags":143852,"editor":143853,"content":143857,"excerpt":144269,"featured":50,"reporter":144270,"_editable":144274,"component":697,"seo_title":143847,"categories":144275,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144278,"seo_description":144269,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143843},"a68c7a2f-1a86-406a-b878-33c3c53891b3",[],[143854],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":143855},{"job_title":557,"image":143856,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":143858},[143859,143864,143869,143874,143879,143884,143889,143894,143899,143902,143907,143910,143913,143918,143923,143928,143933,143938,143943,143948,143951,143956,143961,143966,143971,143976,143981,143986,143991,143996,144001,144006,144009,144014,144019,144024,144029,144034,144039,144044,144047,144052,144057,144062,144067,144072,144077,144082,144085,144090,144095,144100,144105,144110,144115,144120,144125,144130,144135,144140,144145,144148,144153,144158,144163,144168,144173,144178,144183,144188,144193,144198,144203,144208,144213,144218,144223,144228,144231,144236,144241,144246,144251,144256,144261,144266],{"type":591,"attrs":143860,"content":143861},{"textAlign":49},[143862],{"text":143863,"type":596},"The fourth industrial revolution has arrived just as the planet urgently needs to decarbonise in the face of climate change. A city’s ability to cope and thrive in the years ahead will depend on meeting the challenges this presents – to embed renewables, to rethink transport and to grow sustainably ",{"type":591,"attrs":143865,"content":143866},{"textAlign":49},[143867],{"text":143868,"type":596},"by Simon Rees",{"type":591,"attrs":143870,"content":143871},{"textAlign":49},[143872],{"text":143873,"type":596},"One thing about the future is certain: life for most people is going to be urban; the number of people living in cities is already nearing 4 billion and will continue to climb, according to the United Nations (UN).",{"type":591,"attrs":143875,"content":143876},{"textAlign":49},[143877],{"text":143878,"type":596},"The global population is expected to hit 8.5 billion by 2030, with the greatest pressures falling on cities that face waves of inward and external migration, combined with high birth rates among first-generation urbanites. This often leads to slums, overburdened infrastructure, sweatshop conditions and unchecked pollution, all of which needs to be viewed through the prism of climate change, one of humanity’s greatest threats.",{"type":591,"attrs":143880,"content":143881},{"textAlign":49},[143882],{"text":143883,"type":596},"The UN estimates cities now account for around 70% of greenhouse gases produced and a warming planet will have to cope with greater weather disruption and the potential for more ecological disasters. Action is being taken in earnest and October’s UN Habitat III conference on urbanisation in Quito, Ecuador, sought to engage the most pressing concerns and build on the results of the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris in late 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":143885,"content":143886},{"textAlign":49},[143887],{"text":143888,"type":596},"The driving force to ensure necessary change takes place will come from the middle classes, particularly the developing world’s new wealthy. “Take China; the country has created the miracle of a growing middle class but these people are now saying: ‘We appreciate what we’ve got, but we don’t want things to stop there’,” Richard Spencer, president and CEO of U3O8 Corp., a Canada-headquartered uranium project developer, told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":143890,"content":143891},{"textAlign":49},[143892],{"text":143893,"type":596},"However, it is important to note that growth for all is not guaranteed as global competition speeds up and businesses relocate with greater ease. Cities like Detroit or Buffalo in the USA’s northern “Rust Belt” are harbingers of a future other urban zones might face.",{"type":591,"attrs":143895,"content":143896},{"textAlign":49},[143897],{"text":143898,"type":596},"Millions of jobs could also become less important or obsolete as the Internet of Things (IOT), smart computing and intelligent apps perform tasks that used to involve hundreds of hands. This “Uberisation” effect is already shaking up the services sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":143900,"content":143901},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143903,"content":143904},{"textAlign":49},[143905],{"text":143906,"type":596},"The global population will stand at 8.5bn by 2030, with most people living in urban environments. How cities tackle their growth sustainably, while harnessing the power of new technologies, will determine their economic and environmental viability in an increasingly competitive world",{"type":615,"attrs":143908,"content":143909},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":143911,"content":143912},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":143914,"content":143915},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143916],{"text":143917,"type":596},"Here comes the sun",{"type":591,"attrs":143919,"content":143920},{"textAlign":49},[143921],{"text":143922,"type":596},"If climate change is Public Enemy No.1, then technologies that alleviate it – or at least reduce its contributory factors – will be front and centre of most national, regional and civic policies.",{"type":591,"attrs":143924,"content":143925},{"textAlign":49},[143926],{"text":143927,"type":596},"First and foremost that means up-to-date legislation and various government agencies being empowered to assist or enforce relevant policies. This is often easier said than done as many developing countries lack the required expertise. Even developed nations can struggle as arguments erupt over the pace and depth of change.",{"type":591,"attrs":143929,"content":143930},{"textAlign":49},[143931],{"text":143932,"type":596},"For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan unveiled with great fanfare in 2015 was stayed by the Supreme Court in February. The USA also wants a greater level of renewables and the SunShot initiative under the auspices of the US Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) – itself within the Department of Energy – is playing an important role in this. Launched in 2011, it seeks to reduce solar’s cost against conventional energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":143934,"content":143935},{"textAlign":49},[143936],{"text":143937,"type":596},"“SunShot’s goal is to make solar cost competitive without subsidies by 2020 and our target is $0.6 per kilowatt hour,” the acting deputy director of the EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office Rebecca Jones-Albertus told Benchmark. “The progress has been amazing,” she added. “Less than a tenth of a percent of US electricity was supplied by solar in 2010. We’ve seen it grow by ten times that in the past five years, with solar now making up roughly 1% of US electricity penetration.” Albeit with some subsidies and relief packages, solar is now price competitive in 14 US states.",{"type":591,"attrs":143939,"content":143940},{"textAlign":49},[143941],{"text":143942,"type":596},"That includes California, Hawaii, Minnesota and Texas, while more than 200,000 jobs are tied to the technology. “Looking beyond 2020 – if we can accelerate innovation – we foresee solar making up a much larger fraction of our electricity supply,” Jones-Albertus said. While many southern regions in the USA are ideal for solar, northern areas will also witness greater deployment. “Germany is currently getting 7-8% of its electricity generation from solar,” she noted.",{"type":591,"attrs":143944,"content":143945},{"textAlign":49},[143946],{"text":143947,"type":596},"“If it can generate that amount then we can certainly achieve something similar nearly anywhere in the north.” For those arriving in Future City, USA, the effects will be plain to see: more solar farms dotting the hinterland and more rooftop space dedicated to solar panels.",{"type":591,"attrs":143949,"content":143950},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":143952,"content":143953},{"textAlign":49},[143954],{"text":143955,"type":596},"Improving performance will spur uptake as well, while some buildings might use transparent photovoltaic glass to provide energy, reduce glare and lower heat loads. However, the uptake of this technology will depend on cost and whether it can compete with the efficiency levels of conventional solar arrays. Unfortunately, most renewables come with a problem: fluctuation in output that creates variance in energy supplied.",{"type":591,"attrs":143957,"content":143958},{"textAlign":49},[143959],{"text":143960,"type":596},"High renewables penetration makes it hard for grids to deliver consistent and constant 24- hour energy. Smart systems can help by building on initiatives being developed or already in place like IBM’s Green Horizons, which can use climate modelling, the IOT and cognitive computing to assess renewables performance.",{"type":591,"attrs":143962,"content":143963},{"textAlign":49},[143964],{"text":143965,"type":596},"For example, cameras can monitor clouds and assess their potential to block the sun’s radiation at solar farms, while wind turbines are fitted with sensors that monitor wind speed, moisture and air pressure. The data is then coupled with weather forecast analysis, allowing the system to estimate solar and wind performance several days ahead at 90% accuracy, according to IBM. This helps with the vital task of predicting future energy levels and potential power gaps.",{"type":615,"attrs":143967,"content":143968},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[143969],{"text":143970,"type":596},"Next step nuclear",{"type":591,"attrs":143972,"content":143973},{"textAlign":49},[143974],{"text":143975,"type":596},"Other low-carbon energy pathways are available, particularly nuclear power. However, the technology suffers an image problem among many in the general public, sometimes influencing government policies as a result. Germany decided to accelerate the shuttering of its nuclear plants to 2022 in the aftermath of Fukushima in 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":143977,"content":143978},{"textAlign":49},[143979],{"text":143980,"type":596},"That has led – and some would say rather perversely – to further reliance on coal-fired power plants to backstop the country’s baseload power and support energy. By comparison, nations like China believe nuclear power offers a vital means of sustaining growth and reducing its carbon footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":143982,"content":143983},{"textAlign":49},[143984],{"text":143985,"type":596},"Effective September, China has 34 operational plants, 20 under construction, 42 planned and 136 proposed, according to the World Nuclear Association. Several developed-world regions and nations are also revisiting the technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":143987,"content":143988},{"textAlign":49},[143989],{"text":143990,"type":596},"For example, New York State’s Public Service Commission recently approved subsidies that will extend the operational lives of three reactors on their low-emission status. “It’s a fundamental change and New York State is putting nuclear firmly into the green energy, low-carbon space where it absolutely belongs,” Spencer said, adding that other US nuclear plants could benefit if more states follow New York’s lead.",{"type":591,"attrs":143992,"content":143993},{"textAlign":49},[143994],{"text":143995,"type":596},"Small modular reactors (SMR) are making headway too, with multiple designs undergoing permitting processes. “An SMR is defined at below 250 MW and one or two [models] will probably come into production by 2025,” Spencer said. “The really interesting ones will be in the 25-50 MW range and capable of powering around 30,000 homes for something like seven or eight years.",{"type":591,"attrs":143997,"content":143998},{"textAlign":49},[143999],{"text":144000,"type":596},"They’ll be about the same size as a shipping container and easily transported by rail or truck,” he added. The technology will be inexpensive compared with nuclear plants, while offering a flexible solution for getting power to locations in urgent need of energy provision. SMRs can be clustered as well and, at the end of a module’s lifecycle, easily replaced.",{"type":591,"attrs":144002,"content":144003},{"textAlign":49},[144004],{"text":144005,"type":596},"Combined with renewables, the technology could also help many developing countries leap-frog traditional grid structures that are expensive to install and maintain. “In general, it’s clean energy more or less where you need it and effectively they’re just big batteries,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":144007,"content":144008},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144010,"content":144011},{"textAlign":49},[144012],{"text":144013,"type":596},"Batteries of a more conventional nature, albeit on a much larger scale, will prove another critical component in the Future City’s energy revolution, adding flexibility and enabling greater renewables penetration over the longer term.",{"type":591,"attrs":144015,"content":144016},{"textAlign":49},[144017],{"text":144018,"type":596},"“We see an easy 20% of electricity generation possible from solar without battery storage, but higher percentages will need additional flexibility – and storage is a very important part of that,” Jones-Albertus said. “Batteries and other forms of storage will come down in cost and have an enormous synergistic effect,” she added.",{"type":591,"attrs":144020,"content":144021},{"textAlign":49},[144022],{"text":144023,"type":596},"However, the trajectory of innovation, adoption and integration is still the subject of much debate, as are the pros and cons of various battery types. “There are many battery technologies out there, although lithium-ion batteries capture the limelight because they’re powerful, generally safe and have a lot of excellent characteristics,” Spencer said.",{"type":591,"attrs":144025,"content":144026},{"textAlign":49},[144027],{"text":144028,"type":596},"But lithium-ion has issues surrounding duration, lifespan and the ability to be scaled up for industrial purposes, he noted, adding that vanadium redox batteries had these necessary strengths by comparison. “Vanadium redox batteries are little bit like the Cinderella battery; they’re not flashy and they don’t have the high power output of lithium-ion batteries, but they have the duration,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":144030,"content":144031},{"textAlign":49},[144032],{"text":144033,"type":596},"Batteries could allow consumers without direct access to renewables an opportunity to choose low-carbon energy stored by a provider and sold into the grid at a competitive price, possibly via a simple app. For those with the roof space, solar-with battery systems could become a standard feature by 2030.",{"type":591,"attrs":144035,"content":144036},{"textAlign":49},[144037],{"text":144038,"type":596},"The rewards for tapping this nascent market are obvious: first-mover advantage and the potential to sell millions of units across multiple jurisdictions. With its Powerwall technology, and the integration of SolarCity into the Tesla fold, Elon Musk wants to be a major contender here.",{"type":591,"attrs":144040,"content":144041},{"textAlign":49},[144042],{"text":144043,"type":596},"His “Master Plan, Part Deux” released on July 20 infers as much. “[Our goal is to] create a smoothly integrated and beautiful solarroof- with-battery product that just works, empowering the individual as their own utility, and then scale that throughout the world,” he wrote. Cheap solar-with-battery systems would also be a godsend for many developing-world inhabitants, providing reliable and inexpensive power for only a smallish outlay.",{"type":591,"attrs":144045,"content":144046},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":144048,"content":144049},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144050],{"text":144051,"type":596},"Electric avenues",{"type":591,"attrs":144053,"content":144054},{"textAlign":49},[144055],{"text":144056,"type":596},"Vital as they are, energy management, renewables integration and flexible grids are part of a much larger equation – the fourth industrial revolution, marked by its growing interconnectivity between daily life and artificial intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":144058,"content":144059},{"textAlign":49},[144060],{"text":144061,"type":596},"Even “basic” cloud computing by 2030 will be able to act as a master system through which devices like TVs, heaters, fridge-freezers, smartphones or vehicles report and function.",{"type":591,"attrs":144063,"content":144064},{"textAlign":49},[144065],{"text":144066,"type":596},"Out on the roads, traffic management will become more carefully controlled as technology enables real-time tracking of predictive and non-predictive behaviour, allowing cities to better understand bottlenecks, black spots and where speedcalming measures might be needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":144068,"content":144069},{"textAlign":49},[144070],{"text":144071,"type":596},"Traffic emissions are obviously a major contributor to pollution, the effects from which can badly damage health. Those who live in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei tri-city area know this only too well, battling through some of the world’s worst smogs. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer an essential means for cities to reduce this problem and deliver cleaner air. But municipalities will have to assist with the embedding of necessary infrastructure, such as readily granting street space for charging points.",{"type":591,"attrs":144073,"content":144074},{"textAlign":49},[144075],{"text":144076,"type":596},"Most believe the tipping point for EVs in major auto markets will come during the 2020s, when the price of an EV falls within easy reach of the middle classes, and when most people come to renew their conventional vehicles and switch to all-electric in the process. Electric buses also offer a useful template.",{"type":591,"attrs":144078,"content":144079},{"textAlign":49},[144080],{"text":144081,"type":596},"Some of the developments in this sector are small but high profile, like London unveiling its first all-electric double-decker bus in March. This vehicle was designed and built by China-headquartered BYD (Build Your Dreams).",{"type":591,"attrs":144083,"content":144084},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144086,"content":144087},{"textAlign":49},[144088],{"text":144089,"type":596},"Electric buses in China: Fully electric buses using LFP cathodes are today’s most significant factor in shaping the future transport of the country’s cities",{"type":591,"attrs":144091,"content":144092},{"textAlign":49},[144093],{"text":144094,"type":596},"The company also operates an all-electric bus factory in Lancaster, California, near the Greater Los Angeles Area, and is reported to be on track for delivering 300 vehicles this year. In China thousands of all-electric buses are already in service or on order, propelled by national policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":144096,"content":144097},{"textAlign":49},[144098],{"text":144099,"type":596},"For example, the government released a new regulation in November 2015 that requires local governments to increase the integration of all-electric buses in major public transport fleets.",{"type":591,"attrs":144101,"content":144102},{"textAlign":49},[144103],{"text":144104,"type":596},"For specific provinces or cities, including Beijing, the percentage of “new-energy buses” in fleets will rise in rapid tranches – 30%, 60% and 80% – until 2019, according to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.",{"type":591,"attrs":144106,"content":144107},{"textAlign":49},[144108],{"text":144109,"type":596},"Another important development was witnessed at the start of September in Lyon, France, with the world’s first all-electric autonomous mini-bus service unveiled. Two vehicles carrying 15 people each will travel through the city centre in dedicated lanes at an average speed of 10 km/h along a 10-minute route.",{"type":591,"attrs":144111,"content":144112},{"textAlign":49},[144113],{"text":144114,"type":596},"The manufacturer, Navya, believes the technology’s initial points of entry are most likely to be closed sites with restricted traffic rules, such as industrial parks, airports or university campuses. “Our market potential can be estimated at several thousand vehicles on a global level by 2025. Europe itself will have reached 10,000 vehicles on closed sites,” Nava’s CEO Christophe Sapet predicted.",{"type":591,"attrs":144116,"content":144117},{"textAlign":49},[144118],{"text":144119,"type":596},"Meanwhile, six autonomous taxis owned and operated by nuTonomy entered service in Singapore in August. These autonomous vehicles (AVs) have an engineer monitoring performance at the wheel – ready to take over if there is a problem – while the fleet will travel within a 2.5 square-mile area, using designated drop-off points.",{"type":591,"attrs":144121,"content":144122},{"textAlign":49},[144123],{"text":144124,"type":596},"Uber also unveiled an AV service in August to serve in downtown Pittsburgh, with a human present as well. These small steps herald the great leap to come: large numbers of autonomous vehicles (AV) moving through regular traffic. “Currently there are a lot of questions about how much the technology costs, how quickly affordable versions can come online and what the behavioural responses will be,” University of Pennsylvania School of Design assistant professor Erick Guerra told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":144126,"content":144127},{"textAlign":49},[144128],{"text":144129,"type":596},"“But it would be an unwise bet not to assume AVs will be operating on the roadways in 10-15 years,” he stressed. Guerra’s research includes transport, travel behaviour and transit investment. His most recent publication was Planning for Cars that Drive Themselves.",{"type":591,"attrs":144131,"content":144132},{"textAlign":49},[144133],{"text":144134,"type":596},"Like EVs, the initial concentration of AVs will be in cities and urban corridors. Car ownership might decline on their presence as people prefer AV hire rather than buying a vehicle and paying for its upkeep. Companies like Uber, Lift, Google and plenty of others are busy modelling the commercial opportunities this represents.",{"type":591,"attrs":144136,"content":144137},{"textAlign":49},[144138],{"text":144139,"type":596},"“Uber is partnered with car manufacturers and other technology firms to develop this service and so is Lift; I would say it’s one of the big business strategies,” Guerra said. It would be a sea-change for automakers as they witness sales decline and disruption to traditional business strategies, Guerra noted.",{"type":591,"attrs":144141,"content":144142},{"textAlign":49},[144143],{"text":144144,"type":596},"“They [the automakers] are already thinking about becoming service providers rather than just dedicated car manufacturers.” Like aircraft manufacturers, an automaker might produce an AV, add options and then offer maintenance, repair and overhaul services. In areas of broad urban sprawl, like Los Angeles, AV journeys might be more limited as people decide the cost of the service is too much to justify something like a quick trip to the store, Guerra said.",{"type":591,"attrs":144146,"content":144147},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144149,"content":144150},{"textAlign":49},[144151],{"text":144152,"type":596},"But cities with higher densities, like New York, could witness more trips than ever before. Travellers would be happy to pay a premium for an AV as they guarantee comfort and an attractive alternative to oversubscribed massed transit. “There have been some studies that back this up, whereby providers like Uber have increased road use,” Guerra noted.",{"type":591,"attrs":144154,"content":144155},{"textAlign":49},[144156],{"text":144157,"type":596},"“The AV revolution could boost driving levels in the denser urban areas, where most people don’t own cars or only use them for weekend trips.” AV dominance could also lead to a revolution in road space: less car ownership means fewer parked vehicles on the streets, opening them up for other opportunities like dedicated cycle lanes.",{"type":591,"attrs":144159,"content":144160},{"textAlign":49},[144161],{"text":144162,"type":596},"The shopping experience will probably change as well, with AVs taking consumers to stores or malls and then heading off to a rank or a designated loading zone for another customer. Concurrently the potential for intercity rail travel will be overhauled for millions as more high-speed infrastructure is unveiled.",{"type":591,"attrs":144164,"content":144165},{"textAlign":49},[144166],{"text":144167,"type":596},"For example, the USA will have a new high-speed route between Greater Los Angeles to San Francisco and there is more still to come. Maglev technology might become a more familiar sight, although its cost could be prohibitive for many countries, particularly those already struggling to maintain basic commuter routes.",{"type":591,"attrs":144169,"content":144170},{"textAlign":49},[144171],{"text":144172,"type":596},"At the cutting edge, Tesla is pushing ahead with its Hyperloop concept that will use vacuum technology to transport passengers through giant tubes at subsonic speeds. Early prototype trials held in May were successful, although the project is still very much in its infancy.",{"type":615,"attrs":144174,"content":144175},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144176],{"text":144177,"type":596},"Back to basics",{"type":591,"attrs":144179,"content":144180},{"textAlign":49},[144181],{"text":144182,"type":596},"In discussing advanced technology and the Future City, the temptation is to forget basic issues like housing and – especially for those living in crowded or successful cities – the prohibitive cost associated with it.",{"type":591,"attrs":144184,"content":144185},{"textAlign":49},[144186],{"text":144187,"type":596},"Greater densification and more tall buildings could alleviate some of the pressures, but the pace of construction in most cities almost always fails to keep up with demand. Modular buildings and the development of 3D-printed buildings could afford some useful solutions.",{"type":591,"attrs":144189,"content":144190},{"textAlign":49},[144191],{"text":144192,"type":596},"Modular homes are not a new idea, but the scope envisaged in the future would be on a far greater scale than seen today. Components would be produced in factories, ensuring greater quality control and less materials wastage compared with traditional building sites. The units can then be fitted together quickly and sold at an affordable price.",{"type":591,"attrs":144194,"content":144195},{"textAlign":49},[144196],{"text":144197,"type":596},"The materials used will be light-weight, strong and durable as new composites are utilised and construction techniques finetuned. Homes or buildings that are 3D printed will take longer to have a commercial impact as the technology is still in its earliest stages.",{"type":591,"attrs":144199,"content":144200},{"textAlign":49},[144201],{"text":144202,"type":596},"The advantage comes from one mechanism making a house or structure for even less labour costs and materials wastage. Buildings could also be easily re-modelled or customised, with the best designs shared or sold simply at the touch of a button.",{"type":591,"attrs":144204,"content":144205},{"textAlign":49},[144206],{"text":144207,"type":596},"Sturdy accommodation in disaster zones for survivors and refugees could also be provided, while slums could be cleared and replaced with cheap, structurally-sound buildings that have proper ventilation and connections to sewerage systems.",{"type":591,"attrs":144209,"content":144210},{"textAlign":49},[144211],{"text":144212,"type":596},"This would be a huge achievement in a world where more people have access to a mobile phone than a toilet. Italy-based 3D printer Wasp is currently attempting a world first by producing an adobe structure that uses only clay and straw – a 3D-printed structure made from the most basic and inexpensive materials available for a zero-carbon footprint.",{"type":591,"attrs":144214,"content":144215},{"textAlign":49},[144216],{"text":144217,"type":596},"Unsurprisingly, manufacturing centres will make greater use of conventional and advanced 3D printing, producing components or electronics that utilise the latest alloys and composites. There will be less wastage again, while a design could be produced in one country and then emailed for printing at a factory or shop thousands of miles away.",{"type":591,"attrs":144219,"content":144220},{"textAlign":49},[144221],{"text":144222,"type":596},"“The technology is improving quickly; it will become faster and easier much sooner than imagined,” Wasp spokesperson Cinzia Carantoni told Benchmark. “It will be an indisputable revolution, where everybody will be able to print what they need wherever they happen to be located.”",{"type":591,"attrs":144224,"content":144225},{"textAlign":49},[144226],{"text":144227,"type":596},"Materials derived from nanotechnology being tested or piloted today, such as graphene, will be scaled up and utilised within many consumer products by 2030. That means many items being sold fully augmented for strength, conductivity, permeability or a countless array of other advantages – and at little or no extra cost to the consumer.",{"type":591,"attrs":144229,"content":144230},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144232,"content":144233},{"textAlign":49},[144234],{"text":144235,"type":596},"Nanotech is helping in other areas too, like desalination where new filters and membranes could reduce energy requirements, improve water quality and boost supply for growing populations.",{"type":591,"attrs":144237,"content":144238},{"textAlign":49},[144239],{"text":144240,"type":596},"Water systems and piping could also be overhauled by smart systems, sensors and cutting-edge materials. Self-sealing pipes will staunch leaks, while any serious water loss is reported and acted on in real time. Up above, on city rooftops, more space will be converted into green areas, including market gardens.",{"type":591,"attrs":144242,"content":144243},{"textAlign":49},[144244],{"text":144245,"type":596},"Some disused buildings might also be turned into urban farms, utilising specialist lighting, biosensors and monitoring technology to achieve bumper crops. Urban farming would also create employment opportunities and reduce some of the carbon footprint associated with transporting many foodstuffs.",{"type":591,"attrs":144247,"content":144248},{"textAlign":49},[144249],{"text":144250,"type":596},"Overall, it is impossible to detail every development Future City 2030 will witness: the expected advances are almost endless in scope and scale. Expected progress can also be derailed by sudden economic collapse, natural disasters or conflict.",{"type":591,"attrs":144252,"content":144253},{"textAlign":49},[144254],{"text":144255,"type":596},"Many nations are still struggling to overcome the effects of late 20th-century wars, while countries like Syria and Iraq seem locked in vicious cycles that could take decades to break. There are concerns too that smart computing could be used for ill, with authorities or multinationals tracking people in ways that make today’s data collection seem benign and even simplistic.",{"type":591,"attrs":144257,"content":144258},{"textAlign":49},[144259],{"text":144260,"type":596},"Plenty of future technologies that attract praise today will also disappoint or become quickly superseded, leaving those who predicted great successes a little red-faced. For most people, Future City 2030 will be a familiar and possibly mundane place as most technological advances are experienced gradually and are only considered revolutionary in the fullness of time.",{"type":591,"attrs":144262,"content":144263},{"textAlign":49},[144264],{"text":144265,"type":596},"But from today’s perspective, a city that has clean energy and air; has safer traffic and new modes of transport; utilises new building techniques and produces large volumes of its own food will be an exciting and wonderful achievement.",{"type":591,"attrs":144267,"content":144268},{"textAlign":49},[],"The fourth industrial revolution has arrived just as the planet urgently needs to decarbonise in the face of climate change. A city’s ability to cope and thrive in the years ahead will depend on meeting the challenges this presents – to embed renewables, to rethink transport and to grow sustainably by Simon Rees One thing […]",[144271],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144272},{"job_title":557,"image":144273,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a68c7a2f-1a86-406a-b878-33c3c53891b3\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144276,144277],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":144279,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144280,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9410c388d7/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-26-at-122623.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":144282,"uuid":144283,"name":144284,"slug":144285,"full_slug":144286,"content":144287},112474831704152,"94de9675-809f-4c21-ac4b-eb0e836ade67","Unicorns versus Dinosaurs","unicorns-versus-dinosaurs","article/unicorns-versus-dinosaurs",{"_uid":144288,"date":143726,"tags":144289,"editor":144290,"content":144294,"excerpt":144509,"featured":50,"reporter":144510,"_editable":144514,"component":697,"seo_title":144284,"categories":144515,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144518,"seo_description":144509,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143843},"5712133c-dfc1-4002-9b04-7941a5170654",[],[144291],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144292},{"job_title":557,"image":144293,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144295},[144296,144301,144306,144315,144320,144325,144330,144335,144340,144345,144350,144355,144360,144365,144370,144373,144378,144383,144388,144393,144398,144403,144408,144413,144418,144423,144426,144431,144436,144441,144446,144451,144456,144461,144466,144471,144474,144479,144484,144489,144494,144499,144504],{"type":591,"attrs":144297,"content":144298},{"textAlign":49},[144299],{"text":144300,"type":596},"Who wins the debate over growth versus profitability",{"type":591,"attrs":144302,"content":144303},{"textAlign":49},[144304],{"text":144305,"type":596},"By Chris Berry",{"type":591,"attrs":144307,"content":144308},{"textAlign":49},[144309,144313],{"text":144310,"type":596,"marks":144311},"“Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business…”",[144312],{"type":1006},{"text":144314,"type":596}," UBER CEO Travis Kalanick in response to Uber’s merger with Didi Chuxing",{"type":591,"attrs":144316,"content":144317},{"textAlign":49},[144318],{"text":144319,"type":596},"As convergence across industries continues apace and business models evolve, Travis Kalanick’s statement above is a reminder to investors in early stage companies. As startups across various industries attain unicorn status – a valuation of at least USD $1 billion – the argument around growth at all costs versus profitability has become louder.",{"type":591,"attrs":144321,"content":144322},{"textAlign":49},[144323],{"text":144324,"type":596},"There are over 170 unicorns in existence today, so the hunt for the “next big thing” is indeed on. With an abundance of cheap capital looking for yield, many investors appear to have set aside a preference for profitability in favour of parabolic growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":144326,"content":144327},{"textAlign":49},[144328],{"text":144329,"type":596},"The 20 largest unicorns (all privately held) are shown in the charts below. Given these valuations, is this preference for growth over profitability wise? How do you appropriately value a disruptive business model against traditional industries? This piece examines in greater detail how companies grow in this brave new world and which is an optimal investment strategy – pursuing growth or pursuing profitability.",{"type":591,"attrs":144331,"content":144332},{"textAlign":49},[144333],{"text":144334,"type":596},"There is a paradox in global commerce today where young companies (the primary job creators) are eschewing profitability in favour of gaining market share or scale. Uber is one such example, having lost approximately $1.2 billion USD in the first half of 2016 trying to gain market share in China. This is a company with an estimated $60 billion valuation.",{"type":591,"attrs":144336,"content":144337},{"textAlign":49},[144338],{"text":144339,"type":596},"Any of the unicorns listed above would likely also follow the same model – haemorrhaging money in a bid to take market share from industry incumbents. While this model isn’t new, the lofty valuations for unproven business models are reminiscent of the dot com boom.",{"type":591,"attrs":144341,"content":144342},{"textAlign":49},[144343],{"text":144344,"type":596},"That didn’t end well. S&P 500 companies (ex-financials) had a cash balance of $1.45 trillion in 2015 according to FactSet – which was the largest cash total in ten years. In many cases, this cash is sitting on the balance sheet and many companies are issuing cheap debt to finance share buybacks or dividends.",{"type":591,"attrs":144346,"content":144347},{"textAlign":49},[144348],{"text":144349,"type":596},"This is the new wealth creation paradigm in capital markets – invest in a unicorn and generate a high return but sacrifice liquidity, or invest in an established company and generate returns through a “sit and wait” strategy of dividends and share buybacks. I would argue both strategies are unsustainable.",{"type":615,"attrs":144351,"content":144352},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144353],{"text":144354,"type":596},"New tech paradigm to the rescue?",{"type":591,"attrs":144356,"content":144357},{"textAlign":49},[144358],{"text":144359,"type":596},"The reasons for this investing paradox are multiple but have a lot to do with the ubiquity of technology. The past decade has seen a technological shift unlike any the world has seen since perhaps the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the mideighteenth century.",{"type":591,"attrs":144361,"content":144362},{"textAlign":49},[144363],{"text":144364,"type":596},"The ensuing technological age has increased the average citizen’s quality of life (QOL) exponentially. In the New York Review of Books, economist William Nordhaus stated: “According to the economic historian Bradford DeLong, from the first rock tools used by humanoids three million years ago, to the earliest cities ten thousand years ago, through the Middle Ages, to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution around 1800, living standards doubled (with a growth of 0.00002 percent per year).",{"type":591,"attrs":144366,"content":144367},{"textAlign":49},[144368],{"text":144369,"type":596},"Another doubling took place over the subsequent period to 1870. Then, according to standard calculations, the world economy took off.” Mr. Nordhaus is discussing Robert Gordon’s recent tome titled “The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The US Standard of Living Since the Civil War”.",{"type":591,"attrs":144371,"content":144372},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144374,"content":144375},{"textAlign":49},[144376],{"text":144377,"type":596},"Investors are betting that some of the en vogue technologies of today such as cloud computing, electric mobility, or renewable energy can deliver similar productivity gains to society and continue to make life “better” for the average citizen.",{"type":591,"attrs":144379,"content":144380},{"textAlign":49},[144381],{"text":144382,"type":596},"Looking at the largest companies in 2016 on the NASDAQ would indicate that market participants have placed their faith in technology companies to create wealth (and value) going forward: Fifty years ago some of the largest companies included General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and Chrysler.",{"type":591,"attrs":144384,"content":144385},{"textAlign":49},[144386],{"text":144387,"type":596},"Clearly, times have changed and while companies like General Motors still exist and successfully compete on the global automotive stage, investors are placing a premium on the dynamism and growth in the technology sector relative to others. But where will the next Apple or Amazon. com come from? Furthermore, what is the optimal business model to look like?",{"type":591,"attrs":144389,"content":144390},{"textAlign":49},[144391],{"text":144392,"type":596},"If history is our guide it’s likely to originate with two roommates in a dorm room with an idea and capability to scale quickly. With a mixture of cheap capital and ubiquitous technology it’s more likely than not that the largest companies in the world ten years from now will be a different list than the ones listed above, complicating investment strategy somewhat.",{"type":591,"attrs":144394,"content":144395},{"textAlign":49},[144396],{"text":144397,"type":596},"Technology companies can grow quickly (in the case of Apple), making capital allocation decisions around growth versus profit challenging. The iPod/iPhone franchise became so successful that company management needed an activist investor in Carl Icahn to force the company to spend and attain a higher valuation.",{"type":591,"attrs":144399,"content":144400},{"textAlign":49},[144401],{"text":144402,"type":596},"Given that iPhone sales are now on the decline, watching to see what Apple does to innovate through a build versus buy strategy will be telling for the future of the company.",{"type":615,"attrs":144404,"content":144405},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144406],{"text":144407,"type":596},"Build or buy?",{"type":591,"attrs":144409,"content":144410},{"textAlign":49},[144411],{"text":144412,"type":596},"Growth can be organic (think iPhone introduction) or it can be bought. It would seem that the latter is more popular right now amidst industry shifts in the automotive sector in particular. There are an increasing number of companies in the automotive/tech sectors that are buying growth, including:",{"type":591,"attrs":144414,"content":144415},{"textAlign":49},[144416],{"text":144417,"type":596},"This is an admittedly short list, but the point is that established disparate businesses (automotive, natural resources, technology) have seen how their industries are being disrupted.",{"type":591,"attrs":144419,"content":144420},{"textAlign":49},[144421],{"text":144422,"type":596},"A mix of new entrants and consumer choice is forcing changes and these companies are responding through investment rather than total reinvention. Because of this, most unicorns will become acquisition targets of existing businesses – as long as they can demonstrate profitability.",{"type":591,"attrs":144424,"content":144425},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":144427,"content":144428},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144429],{"text":144430,"type":596},"Know when to say when",{"type":591,"attrs":144432,"content":144433},{"textAlign":49},[144434],{"text":144435,"type":596},"It is entirely justifiable that start-up companies shouldn’t be expected to generate cash flow early in their life cycles; however, as multiples grow and comparisons to mature companies become common, an expectation of “when” a company will be profitable is entirely justified.",{"type":591,"attrs":144437,"content":144438},{"textAlign":49},[144439],{"text":144440,"type":596},"Exponential growth early in a company’s life cycle should lead to profitability which in theory will be ploughed back into the business to innovate and drive further growth – a virtuous cycle. But how long should investors wait before demands for profitability outweigh those of exponential growth? Perhaps no company today better personifies this debate between growth and profitability than Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":144442,"content":144443},{"textAlign":49},[144444],{"text":144445,"type":596},"Founded in 2003, the company has sold approximately 140,000 automobiles in its lifetime and is one of the few publicly traded companies that elicits strong opinions from both proponents and haters alike.",{"type":591,"attrs":144447,"content":144448},{"textAlign":49},[144449],{"text":144450,"type":596},"The dichotomy of opinion likely has to do with the fact that while Tesla has built an incredible product in an electric vehicle, the financials behind this growth look less than promising, to say the least. Investors in Tesla must struggle with a fundamental question: Which is more important – building a product that consumers will pay a premium for (though is a money loser), or becoming self-sustaining by generating ample free cash flow? Again, Mr. Kalanick’s words ring true.",{"type":591,"attrs":144452,"content":144453},{"textAlign":49},[144454],{"text":144455,"type":596},"Tesla has returned 885% since its IPO in June 2010 while burning billions of dollars and leveraging subsidies and tax breaks to grow its business. That’s okay, because Tesla is investing in its future through investment in capital-intensive activities such as the Gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":144457,"content":144458},{"textAlign":49},[144459],{"text":144460,"type":596},"However, ultimately Tesla must become profitable on a top line, bottom line, and cash flow basis to be sustainable. Otherwise, when capital availability dries up, investors will run for the exits.",{"type":591,"attrs":144462,"content":144463},{"textAlign":49},[144464],{"text":144465,"type":596},"Tesla’s success has forced the automotive industry to “wake up” with every major OEM declaring their intentions to electrify their fleets in the coming five years. With dozens of automakers scaling up their own EV capabilities (reportedly 200 in China alone), how long will it be before Tesla’s lead in the EV space is eroded? Likely not long, and that may be the reason behind the company’s proposed take out of Solar City – a strategically sensible, but financially foolhardy move by Tesla management to diversify its business.",{"type":591,"attrs":144467,"content":144468},{"textAlign":49},[144469],{"text":144470,"type":596},"So is the company doomed, tied to the need for endless capital raises to survive? Or still in its growth phase and deserving of its $33 billion market capitalization? Value investors would say no, it isn’t deserving, but they’ve missed out on triple digit returns.",{"type":591,"attrs":144472,"content":144473},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":144475,"content":144476},{"textAlign":49},[144477],{"text":144478,"type":596},"Amazon has optimised the trend of Flight or crash lan ding ? growth over profit for 21st Century tech companies that are now evolving out of their traditional routes. Pictured is the latest delivery method for the company, a GPS guided drone",{"type":615,"attrs":144480,"content":144481},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144482],{"text":144483,"type":596},"The future ain’t what it used to be",{"type":591,"attrs":144485,"content":144486},{"textAlign":49},[144487],{"text":144488,"type":596},"Ultimately, the debate between growth and profitability will be ongoing, which makes it such a fascinating topic of discussion. This debate only grows in intensity and depth as established industries continue to clash and converge with new industries, creating new business models and a search for appropriate valuation metrics.",{"type":591,"attrs":144490,"content":144491},{"textAlign":49},[144492],{"text":144493,"type":596},"Ultimately, most of the unicorns in existence today will not survive for a host of reasons, but this entrepreneurial drive is what has pushed QOL higher throughout the world for centuries. Despite worries over Tesla’s financial sustainability and its inflated valuation, the company ought to be applauded for forcing other industries (automotive, technology, etc.) to rethink their existing business models and evolve as new markets are created.",{"type":591,"attrs":144495,"content":144496},{"textAlign":49},[144497],{"text":144498,"type":596},"The “churn” we are seeing across the automotive, tech, and raw materials sectors is a good thing as it means companies are intent on investing in new markets and driving returns in a low interest rate environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":144500,"content":144501},{"textAlign":49},[144502],{"text":144503,"type":596},"The fact that many of these companies have large market caps and a history of profitability is positive in that it implies innovation, even though it may be incremental rather than transformative. High growth rates early in a company’s life cycle are important to capture market share, but this market share won’t be maintained or grow without profits to drive back into the business. Profit (and by extension, cash) drives a business’ long term viability.",{"type":591,"attrs":144505,"content":144506},{"textAlign":49},[144507],{"text":144508,"type":596},"Any self-sustaining company should be able to generate a return for its investors above the cost of capital and in so doing, generate wage growth, enhancing the overall productive capacity of an economy. This tech convergence is hugely bullish for mankind, but it’s not so clear for investors.","Who wins the debate over growth versus profitability By Chris Berry “Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business…” UBER CEO Travis Kalanick in response to Uber’s merger with Didi Chuxing As convergence across industries continues apace and business models evolve, Travis Kalanick’s statement above is a reminder to investors in […]",[144511],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144512},{"job_title":557,"image":144513,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5712133c-dfc1-4002-9b04-7941a5170654\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144516,144517],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":144519,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144520,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f75d2c9f16/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-26-at-161757.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":144522,"uuid":144523,"name":144524,"slug":144525,"full_slug":144526,"content":144527},112474827067379,"30cda136-d02d-49c4-9592-536fff1e2a4a","A year in review: 2016","a-year-in-review-2016","article/a-year-in-review-2016",{"_uid":144528,"date":143726,"tags":144529,"editor":144530,"content":144534,"excerpt":144624,"featured":50,"reporter":144625,"_editable":144629,"component":697,"seo_title":144524,"categories":144630,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144633,"seo_description":144624,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143843},"c000633a-115f-4d9a-9941-f9495df66ff2",[],[144531],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144532},{"job_title":557,"image":144533,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144535},[144536,144543,144548,144553,144558,144563,144568,144573,144578,144583,144588,144593,144598,144603,144608,144613,144618],{"type":591,"attrs":144537,"content":144538},{"textAlign":49},[144539],{"text":144540,"type":596,"marks":144541},"Turbulence: significant unrest, volatility and instability. ",[144542],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":144544,"content":144545},{"textAlign":49},[144546],{"text":144547,"type":596},"Every year I like to choose a word that epitomises the year. Usually, this is an impossible task but in 2016 turbulence seemed to work in every way. 2016 saw the underdog become President of the United States, Brexit become an actual word that everyone knows (if not yet understands), the situation in Syria reach a new level of awfulness, and terror became a very real thing in Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":144549,"content":144550},{"textAlign":49},[144551],{"text":144552,"type":596},"From an industry perspective, lithium ion batteries went into overdrive with the three megafactories being tracked by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence evolving into 14. Nearly every major automanufacturer is now chasing new all-electric offerings before the end of the decade. Lithium’s continuing price surge throughout the year was also a defining factor for the space but had little to do with these megafactories – the majority of which are yet to be switched on.",{"type":591,"attrs":144554,"content":144555},{"textAlign":49},[144556],{"text":144557,"type":596},"The graphite industry waited until December to join the party with China scrapping flake graphite export tax and developing a pollution tax for 2018, while Imerys Graphite & Carbon and Syrah Resources developed new African flake graphite mines ready to enter the market in the New Year.",{"type":591,"attrs":144559,"content":144560},{"textAlign":49},[144561],{"text":144562,"type":596},"On the graphite anode front, Hitachi Chemical followed China’s BTR by announcing a huge expansion of its anode capacity both in Japan and abroad over the next four years, a sign of things to come for the lithium ion anode space. And while all this was happening, cobalt’s price “crept up” 40% and its leading producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo, was thrown into political turmoil with the incumbent president refusing to leave office after losing a general election.",{"type":591,"attrs":144564,"content":144565},{"textAlign":49},[144566],{"text":144567,"type":596},"For all at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence it has been a year of significant change and rapid growth through the addition of new services and team members. Our team has worked tirelessly all year to execute the blueprint we set out to achieve 12 months ago. The launch of our lithium price assessment service and the first price index in May 2016 was the first step of many towards a trustworthy, independent source of market pricing for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":144569,"content":144570},{"textAlign":49},[144571],{"text":144572,"type":596},"It followed in the footsteps of our graphite service which launched in 2015. Benchmark | Data – Lithium had been in development for 12 months up to the point of launch and the price volatility being experienced in the lithium industry at that time underlined the need for independent prices from a team that has been active in lithium for many years. In an age where misinformation, driven by social media, is prevalent, there were increasing calls from the lithium ion battery supply chain for the true lithium price range for carbonate and hydroxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":144574,"content":144575},{"textAlign":49},[144576],{"text":144577,"type":596},"Benchmark’s monthly lithium price assessments addressed this need and we could not have asked for a better reception. This has led us to the launch our cobalt price assessments, Benchmark | Data – Cobalt, which will begin in H1 2017. Not only was the demand for subscriptions high, but Benchmark’s analysts were again being cited together with our prices in the most influential of global media institutions including: The Wall Street Journal, Times of London, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.",{"type":591,"attrs":144579,"content":144580},{"textAlign":49},[144581],{"text":144582,"type":596},"The world’s largest brokers and investors were also using our prices, data and market intelligence in significant reports that shape major investment decisions. For example, Goldman Sachs continued its excellent work on the Low Carbon Economy, bolstered by input from Benchmark on lithium and battery cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":144584,"content":144585},{"textAlign":49},[144586],{"text":144587,"type":596},"For our focused business, the emphasis has always been on trustworthiness of our analysis, quality of our products, our network and our services. One of our greatest achievements of 2016 was the growth in the level of this quality we experienced.",{"type":591,"attrs":144589,"content":144590},{"textAlign":49},[144591],{"text":144592,"type":596},"This was epitomized by two workshops we hosted in Seoul and Tokyo. Our Seoul workshop was a private affair for all the major players in the Korean lithium ion battery industry, and six months later, we hosted Japan’s industry in Tokyo as part of Benchmark World Tour 2016. The quality and importance of these meetings was a milestone for the company. This emphasised the Benchmark ethos that being on the ground and building relationships is the only real way to gain unrivalled, accurate insight into the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":144594,"content":144595},{"textAlign":49},[144596],{"text":144597,"type":596},"These experiences are at the heart of what we do at our company. In this industry, you have to be global, be seen, and be accountable. With lithium ion battery capacity being built in Asia, North America and Europe, face to face meetings on all continents are a must.",{"type":591,"attrs":144599,"content":144600},{"textAlign":49},[144601],{"text":144602,"type":596},"The World Tour series of investment seminars has been at the core of this global exposure. In 2016, we increased the number of host cities to 11, our attendees by 52%, and added UBS, Dundee Capital Partners, and Hi-Tech Materials Advisory as hosts. Our speaker/sponsors – without whom the event could not happen – increased to 20, many of which chose to speak in multiple cities.",{"type":591,"attrs":144604,"content":144605},{"textAlign":49},[144606],{"text":144607,"type":596},"After two very successful tours, it has become the world’s leading forum for lithium ion battery supply chain discussion. This engagement was continued with the launch of our first ever industry conference, Graphite Supply Chain 2016. This private three-day event in Newport Beach, US, allowed us to engage with the core of the industry and create a platform to discuss, in detail and in private, an industry in flux.",{"type":591,"attrs":144609,"content":144610},{"textAlign":49},[144611],{"text":144612,"type":596},"The success and quality of the meeting means Graphite Supply Chain 2017 will take place from 5-7 November 2017 in Newport Beach once again. For all at Benchmark, engagement and accountability are integral to what we do.",{"type":591,"attrs":144614,"content":144615},{"textAlign":49},[144616],{"text":144617,"type":596},"Creating free investor forums and industry conferences, all of which include rigorous Q&A and face-to-face discussion, not only allows us to engage with the target audience but be held accountable to the prices, data and analysis we publish. In a world where people are all too eager to be heard, but far less open to be questioned, the Benchmark blueprint stands us apart and we hope it will serve your critical business decisions well in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":144619,"content":144620},{"textAlign":49},[144621,144623],{"text":144622,"type":596},"Simon Moores, Managing Director ",{"text":6576,"type":596},"Turbulence: significant unrest, volatility and instability. Every year I like to choose a word that epitomises the year. Usually, this is an impossible task but in 2016 turbulence seemed to work in every way. 2016 saw the underdog become President of the United States, Brexit become an actual word that everyone knows (if not yet […]",[144626],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144627},{"job_title":557,"image":144628,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c000633a-115f-4d9a-9941-f9495df66ff2\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144631,144632],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143715,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144634,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":144636,"uuid":144637,"name":144638,"slug":144639,"full_slug":144640,"content":144641},112474822360974,"4da3ff24-e0be-4280-92ca-a7d22def0d28","Explorers seek cobalt as disruption looms","explorers-seek-cobalt-as-disruption-looms","article/explorers-seek-cobalt-as-disruption-looms",{"_uid":144642,"date":143726,"tags":144643,"editor":144644,"content":144648,"excerpt":144718,"featured":50,"reporter":144719,"_editable":144723,"component":697,"seo_title":144638,"categories":144724,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144728,"seo_description":144718,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":143843},"93c4cc4b-9b91-4346-b480-7ef8ed4980f8",[],[144645],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144646},{"job_title":557,"image":144647,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144649},[144650,144655,144660,144665,144670,144675,144680,144685,144690,144695,144700,144705,144710],{"type":591,"attrs":144651,"content":144652},{"textAlign":49},[144653],{"text":144654,"type":596},"In the cyclical markets we live in the question always begs, what’s next?",{"type":591,"attrs":144656,"content":144657},{"textAlign":49},[144658],{"text":144659,"type":596},"The end of 2015 and throughout 2016 was very much the year of lithium. Due to the evolution of the lithium ion battery sector, we saw the biggest price rises the industry has ever seen with hydroxide grades seeing more than a four-times increase in this period.",{"type":591,"attrs":144661,"content":144662},{"textAlign":49},[144663],{"text":144664,"type":596},"There is little doubt speciality minerals are now firmly in the limelight and the investment community especially is asking: where will focus turn for 2017? While the lithium story is here to stay, eyes must be also be on cobalt as front runner for the most talked about speciality mineral or chemical in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":144666,"content":144667},{"textAlign":49},[144668],{"text":144669,"type":596},"The first and most pressing issue is the unfolding and worsening political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is the most significant country for cobalt supply accounting for 60% of global raw material output in 2016, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data. It has been well document that DRC president Joseph Kabila is refusing to leave office despite his elected mandate having expired after his second term in office (the countries constitution does not allow presidents to stand for a third term).",{"type":591,"attrs":144671,"content":144672},{"textAlign":49},[144673],{"text":144674,"type":596},"In late-December 2016, protestors had already clashed with security forces, not only in the countries capital Kinshasa but also in other cities resulting in a number of deaths. Thankfully at this stage talks have resumed between the presidential alliance and the main opposition. With so much of the global supply coming from the nation, and the DRC having never had a peaceful transition of power since its independence from Belgium in 1960 this has to be considered a major roadblock in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":144676,"content":144677},{"textAlign":49},[144678],{"text":144679,"type":596},"Assuming the political issues in the DRC are resolved peacefully, there is yet another threat to supply intrinsic to the nation. Artisanal mining and child labour within the cobalt industry was brought to the attention of the world by The Washington Post and Amnesty International in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":144681,"content":144682},{"textAlign":49},[144683],{"text":144684,"type":596},"The market responded with the Chinese led Responsible Cobalt Initiative, with the likes of Apple, Sony, Samsung and Zhejiang Huayou signing up. The initiative, in essence, treats cobalt like a conflict mineral by putting the supply chain under scrutiny. Whilst it is still early days the full impact of the initiative has not yet been seen but it has the potential to change the pattern of global cobalt supply if fully implemented.",{"type":591,"attrs":144686,"content":144687},{"textAlign":49},[144688],{"text":144689,"type":596},"The intrinsic problems of DRC are one of the reasons that companies are starting to look at prospects elsewhere to reduce the risk to their supply. Benchmark is tracking 11 companies with 20 different cobalt prospects outside of DRC alone. Of course, not all of these will make it to production, but it represents a significant change of pace from even 12 months ago, and is largely being driven by Canada and Australia. Bringing geographical variation to cobalt supply is not the only reason for this cobalt exploration surge, it is also driven by demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":144691,"content":144692},{"textAlign":49},[144693],{"text":144694,"type":596},"The cobalt global cobalt market annually is 100,000 tonnes, of which 48,000 tonnes are consumed by the lithium ion battery sector, primarily in LCO, NMC, and NCA chemistries. Benchmark forecasts that by the end of 2020 battery demand will be such that it requires 70,000 tonnes per year alone, a 45% increase in battery grade cobalt in 3 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":144696,"content":144697},{"textAlign":49},[144698],{"text":144699,"type":596},"In many ways the price movement of cobalt largely went under the radar for 2016, perhaps because its gains compared to lithium were far less significant, but if you look at the cobalt price in its own right it has steadily moved into far higher ground than where it started. With little fanfare, cobalt’s price has risen 40% in 2016 alone. The price for cobalt metal as of mid-December was $14.50/$14.75/lb (bid/offer), whereas Q1 2016 the price was at $9.85/lb. All this considered with the fact that in 2008 prices hit over $50/lb due to Chinese demand and DRC unrest, means price rises in the market still has some way to go.",{"type":591,"attrs":144701,"content":144702},{"textAlign":49},[144703],{"text":144704,"type":596},"The supply of cobalt is dominated by two things, the production of copper and nickel. Cobalt is a secondary mineral, a specialist by-product to these large commodities. There are no outright cobalt mines in the world to date which means it is at the mercy of the markets of these primary minerals it is associated with. And with these markets being depressed for some time now, questions over a supply crunch have been intensifying. Mining companies do not like to take their resources out of the ground when prices are low, therefore they reduce extraction activity during these depressions.",{"type":591,"attrs":144706,"content":144707},{"textAlign":49},[144708],{"text":144709,"type":596},"This has had an impact on the production of cobalt, and will do until we see significant and sustained recovery in copper and nickel prices. Of course, what puts all of this into context is the meteoric rise of the lithium ion battery and with lithium continuing to see price increases into 2017, cobalt is next in line.",{"type":591,"attrs":144711,"content":144712},{"textAlign":49},[144713,144715,144717],{"text":144714,"type":596},"Caspar Rawles ",{"text":144716,"type":596},"Analyst ",{"text":6576,"type":596},"In the cyclical markets we live in the question always begs, what’s next? The end of 2015 and throughout 2016 was very much the year of lithium. Due to the evolution of the lithium ion battery sector, we saw the biggest price rises the industry has ever seen with hydroxide grades seeing more than a […]",[144720],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144721},{"job_title":557,"image":144722,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"93c4cc4b-9b91-4346-b480-7ef8ed4980f8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144725,144726,144727],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":143715,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144729,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":144731,"uuid":144732,"name":144733,"slug":144734,"full_slug":144735,"content":144736},112474884642167,"ffa2c99d-2193-49bf-89a5-1081ffe841ce","Lithium majors step up hydroxide plans","lithium-majors-step-up-hydroxide-plans","article/lithium-majors-step-up-hydroxide-plans",{"_uid":144737,"date":144738,"tags":144739,"editor":144740,"content":144744,"excerpt":144856,"featured":50,"reporter":144857,"_editable":144861,"component":697,"seo_title":144733,"categories":144862,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144865,"seo_description":144856,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":144868},"cf5c96cb-8a95-4af7-a147-4ad2b9ea24a1","2017-01-25 00:00",[],[144741],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144742},{"job_title":557,"image":144743,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144745},[144746,144751,144756,144761,144766,144771,144776,144781,144786,144791,144796,144801,144806,144811,144816,144821,144826,144831,144836,144841,144846,144851],{"type":591,"attrs":144747,"content":144748},{"textAlign":49},[144749],{"text":144750,"type":596},"Albemarle, Tianqi, FMC and SQM reveal significant lithium hydroxide expansion plans, but where will the raw material come from?",{"type":591,"attrs":144752,"content":144753},{"textAlign":49},[144754],{"text":144755,"type":596},"by Simon Moores, Andrew Miller",{"type":591,"attrs":144757,"content":144758},{"textAlign":49},[144759],{"text":144760,"type":596},"The push for new conversion capacities reached fever pitch in Q3 2016, with lithium majors announcing a raft of expansion plans targeted at securing market share in what is expected to be a period of unprecedented growth for the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":144762,"content":144763},{"textAlign":49},[144764],{"text":144765,"type":596},"With new potential producers nipping at the heels of the existing lithium establishment, it was Albemarle that arguably made the biggest signal of intent, announcing a deal to buy Jiangxi Jiangli New Materials Science (also known as GRM).",{"type":591,"attrs":144767,"content":144768},{"textAlign":49},[144769],{"text":144770,"type":596},"The acquisition of GRM – a toll converter of material from the Greenbushes operation in which Albemarle is a 49% joint-owner – is part of the company’s target of capturing 50% of growth in the sector by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":144772,"content":144773},{"textAlign":49},[144774],{"text":144775,"type":596},"The deal will give the company an additional 15,000 tpa (LCE) conversion capacity, with further expansions expected to begin upon completion of the deal in Q1 2017. This news was quickly followed by the news that Sichuan Tianqi Lithium – Albemarle’s joint partners in the Greenbushes operation – would be investing $306m in a new lithium hydroxide processing facility in Western Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":144777,"content":144778},{"textAlign":49},[144779],{"text":144780,"type":596},"The company has now broken ground at this site which is slated to begin production in late 2018 and aims to bring a further 24,000 tpa lithium hydroxide capacity, also using feedstock from the Greenbushes mine. Another significant move by the leading Chinese chemical convertor was to make a bid for the Julio Ponce stake in Chile’s SQM.",{"type":591,"attrs":144782,"content":144783},{"textAlign":49},[144784],{"text":144785,"type":596},"Tianqi Lithium completed a busy quarter of announcements in late-September, investing $209.6m for a 2% piece in lithium brine producer SQM in late September. It was quite a significant move considering the company has been traditionally focused on hard rock lithium conversion rather than brine. Yet it is another sign of China increasing its grip on the global lithium sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":144787,"content":144788},{"textAlign":49},[144789],{"text":144790,"type":596},"SQM and was not to be outdone by its peers, announcing a new 7,000 tpa plant which it expects to be in production by the end of 2017, adding to its existing 6,500 tpa capacity plant near Antofagasta, Chile. Finally, FMC Lithium, in late June, advised of its plans to expand its lithium hydroxide capacity by a further 20,000 tpa “over the next several years”.",{"type":591,"attrs":144792,"content":144793},{"textAlign":49},[144794],{"text":144795,"type":596},"The announcement was light on detail and left more questions than answers, particularly over where it will source its raw material from. At present, it is likely FMC will have to purchase lithium carbonate to convert into its new hydroxide capacity – the most expensive route for new supply. You could be forgiven in thinking the established majors are sounding more like the junior mining industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":144797,"content":144798},{"textAlign":49},[144799],{"text":144800,"type":596},"Many industry participants believe the majors, much like the exploration sector, are now vying for the Tesla Gigafactory business that will require at least 25,000 tpa of lithium hydroxide a year at 35GWh capacity by 2020. The announcements are also the latest in a long-line of efforts to exert producer influence over an industry which has boomed since the start of the year. But while chemical conversion capacity will be integral in supplying the industry’s growth markets in the longer-term, few have addressed the more immediate need for more raw material feedstock.",{"type":591,"attrs":144802,"content":144803},{"textAlign":49},[144804],{"text":144805,"type":596},"It is the underlying lack of raw material has been central to the spike in the market in 2016. According to Benchmark Data, the average global price of lithium hydroxide is up 63% since the start of the year alone, with prices in some parts of the market growing up to five times.",{"type":591,"attrs":144807,"content":144808},{"textAlign":49},[144809],{"text":144810,"type":596},"With few signs of these pressures easing in the medium-term, lithium hydroxide – the NMC cathode raw material – has become the target for lithium producers seeking to appease investors hungry for larger returns.",{"type":591,"attrs":144812,"content":144813},{"textAlign":49},[144814],{"text":144815,"type":596},"New plans to address this shortfall will serve the companies well from a share price perspective, but significant questions remain over their ability to enact these expansions, the timelines for the expansions and most critically, where the new raw material feedstock will be sourced from.",{"type":591,"attrs":144817,"content":144818},{"textAlign":49},[144819],{"text":144820,"type":596},"The Albemarle and Tianqi expansions would appear to be targeted at rerouting material from the Talison mine directly to their own processing facilities, increasing their own market shares rather than the total output of the industry. Moving the pieces around the board will not address a fundamental lack of raw material in the short-term.",{"type":615,"attrs":144822,"content":144823},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144824],{"text":144825,"type":596},"Neometals start up",{"type":591,"attrs":144827,"content":144828},{"textAlign":49},[144829],{"text":144830,"type":596},"Australia is the most reliable and quickest route for lithium’s convertors to increase supply of raw material. The country presently produces 41% of all lithium feedstock measured in lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) – and in recent years has usurped Chile as the world’s leading source which now accounts for 38% from brine sources.",{"type":591,"attrs":144832,"content":144833},{"textAlign":49},[144834],{"text":144835,"type":596},"Mt Marion is set to produce 50,000 tonnes LCE from spodumene at capacity but will initially focus on beginning production at cothe plant in Q4 and ramping up operations in the first half of next year. On a private tour of the Mt Marion site, Benchmark learned that shipments will begin in Q4. “That’s less than one year from start of construction to bringing concentrate from the largest ore processing capacity to market,” explained Michael Tamlin, Chief Operating Officer at Neometals to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":144837,"content":144838},{"textAlign":49},[144839],{"text":144840,"type":596},"Neometals together with Mineral Resources Ltd (MRL) owns 51% of the offtake rights and China-based lithium specialist, Ganfeng Lithium has life of mine offtake contract with the company for the first three years of production.",{"type":591,"attrs":144842,"content":144843},{"textAlign":49},[144844],{"text":144845,"type":596},"Ganfeng has had a rapid rise over the last decade to become one of the most influential companies in the Chinese lithium industry. The company makes a wide range of products based on lithium and uses both spodumene and brine as feedstock sources. The collaboration between China and Australia is becoming increasingly influential in the lithium industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":144847,"content":144848},{"textAlign":49},[144849],{"text":144850,"type":596},"Previously only relying on spodumene output from Talison Lithium’s Greenbushes operation, albeit significant output that accounts for 41% of total LCE, China’s chemical converters, namely Ganfeng Lithium and Sichuan Tianqi, have spent the last five years strategically positioning their businesses in Australia based lithium explorers and miners.",{"type":591,"attrs":144852,"content":144853},{"textAlign":49},[144854],{"text":144855,"type":596},"For Ganfeng, its supply deal with Neometals and MRL have secured it an exclusive say into where the next new lithium mines will sell their feedstock. And it is feedstock that the industry cannot get enough of at the moment.","Albemarle, Tianqi, FMC and SQM reveal significant lithium hydroxide expansion plans, but where will the raw material come from? by Simon Moores, Andrew Miller The push for new conversion capacities reached fever pitch in Q3 2016, with lithium majors announcing a raft of expansion plans targeted at securing market share in what is expected to […]",[144858],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144859},{"job_title":557,"image":144860,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"cf5c96cb-8a95-4af7-a147-4ad2b9ea24a1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144863,144864],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":144866,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144867,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bde6e4c6b2/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-24-at-151918.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jan 25, 2017",{"id":144870,"uuid":144871,"name":144872,"slug":144873,"full_slug":144874,"content":144875},112474874963017,"337bd324-0246-4ca6-9f71-b0a5f4e387b7","Imerys launches plans for graphite growth with Namibia joint venture","imerys-launches-plans-for-graphite-growth-with-namibia-joint-venture","article/imerys-launches-plans-for-graphite-growth-with-namibia-joint-venture",{"_uid":144876,"date":144738,"tags":144877,"editor":144879,"content":144883,"excerpt":144945,"featured":50,"reporter":144946,"_editable":144950,"component":697,"seo_title":144872,"categories":144951,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":144955,"seo_description":144945,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":144868},"6f010d32-7b9f-4578-be23-c7e5cebe2a92",[144878],{"slug":143562,"name":143563},[144880],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144881},{"job_title":557,"image":144882,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144884},[144885,144890,144895,144900,144905,144910,144915,144920,144925,144930,144935,144940],{"type":591,"attrs":144886,"content":144887},{"textAlign":49},[144888],{"text":144889,"type":596},"New venture will target growing lithium ion sector at a time when few producers are challenging Chinese supremacy for a market share in the burgeoning spherical sector",{"type":591,"attrs":144891,"content":144892},{"textAlign":49},[144893],{"text":144894,"type":596},"By Andrew Miller Imerys Graphite & Carbon, a subsidiary of Imerys SA – the world’s leading diverisifed producer of niche minerals and metals – has entered into a joint venture with Gecko Namibia to develop the Okanjande project in northern Namibia.",{"type":591,"attrs":144896,"content":144897},{"textAlign":49},[144898],{"text":144899,"type":596},"The project will form a core part of Imerys Graphite & Carbon’s growth strategy, targeting production which can be sold into the growing lithium ion battery sector, the company explained to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Production, which is due to begin in 2017, will take place on the site of Solvay Fluorspar’s previously operating plant in Okorusu.",{"type":591,"attrs":144901,"content":144902},{"textAlign":49},[144903],{"text":144904,"type":596},"The move signifies the first investment from an existing producer outside of China in new flake graphite capacity. With traditional markets faltering over recent years, and China proving more competitive in the production of spherical graphite, few others have committed to challenging Chinese producers for market share in the rapidly growing spherical market.",{"type":591,"attrs":144906,"content":144907},{"textAlign":49},[144908],{"text":144909,"type":596},"As a leader in the production, processing and trading of flake graphite the JV can be seen as a clear move to challenge China’s dominance and provide a near-term alternative to consumers outside of China seeking to diversify their supply chains. The move will also serve as a statement to junior miners seeking to capture a share of a market which is expected to grow considerably over the next five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":144911,"content":144912},{"textAlign":49},[144913],{"text":144914,"type":596},"Hugues Jacquemin, Vice President & General Manager of Imerys Graphite & Carbon, said: “This industry is growing. We are already a well-established player and we are developing fast, organically and by acquisition. This Joint Venture will help us better serve customers with the objective to grow our market share.”",{"type":615,"attrs":144916,"content":144917},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[144918],{"text":144919,"type":596},"Out with the old…",{"type":591,"attrs":144921,"content":144922},{"textAlign":49},[144923],{"text":144924,"type":596},"The partnership with Gecko Namibia, a junior development company in Africa, may be seen as a left-field choice by some in the market, with many expecting the company to invest in something closer to their existing asset in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":144926,"content":144927},{"textAlign":49},[144928],{"text":144929,"type":596},"However, with the company’s existing asset, Lac des Iles in Canada, reaching the end of its mine life and battery demand expected to grow quickly approaching 2020, time was of the essence. More importantly, Gecko’s project in Namibia was chosen because the graphite has very similar characteristics to that of Lac des Iles, the company told Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":144931,"content":144932},{"textAlign":49},[144933],{"text":144934,"type":596},"The JV is targeting an annual output in the region of 20,000 tpa, similar to the previous capacity of Lac des Iles, and Imerys has already begun work on site, having already implemented Imerys’ safety system.",{"type":591,"attrs":144936,"content":144937},{"textAlign":49},[144938],{"text":144939,"type":596},"A quick build up towards production in 2017 will allow Imerys to shift away from operations in Canada and focus on a project with better economics. These economics will be centred upon significant growth in adoption of EVs and other energy storage applications which require a graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":144941,"content":144942},{"textAlign":49},[144943],{"text":144944,"type":596},"At this point, it is unclear whether Imerys will look to begin spherical graphite production themselves or sell into established spherical graphite companies.","New venture will target growing lithium ion sector at a time when few producers are challenging Chinese supremacy for a market share in the burgeoning spherical sector By Andrew Miller Imerys Graphite & Carbon, a subsidiary of Imerys SA – the world’s leading diverisifed producer of niche minerals and metals – has entered into a […]",[144947],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144948},{"job_title":557,"image":144949,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6f010d32-7b9f-4578-be23-c7e5cebe2a92\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[144952,144953,144954],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":144956,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":144957,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/50204deac3/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-24-at-170946.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":144959,"uuid":144960,"name":144961,"slug":144962,"full_slug":144963,"content":144964},112474864935807,"8b81dc76-af5b-4a6e-8209-0e666ab19916","Do DRC politics spell further price rises for cobalt? Why 19 December is a date to mark…","do-drc-politics-spell-further-price-rises-for-cobalt-why-19-december-is-a-date-to-mark","article/do-drc-politics-spell-further-price-rises-for-cobalt-why-19-december-is-a-date-to-mark",{"_uid":144965,"date":144738,"tags":144966,"editor":144968,"content":144972,"excerpt":145024,"featured":50,"reporter":145025,"_editable":145029,"component":697,"seo_title":144961,"categories":145030,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145033,"seo_description":145024,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":144868},"bd82e9f9-76bf-426e-bdbf-afcec4adbdad",[144967],{"slug":8840,"name":8841},[144969],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":144970},{"job_title":557,"image":144971,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":144973},[144974,144979,144984,144989,144994,144999,145004,145009,145014,145019],{"type":591,"attrs":144975,"content":144976},{"textAlign":49},[144977],{"text":144978,"type":596},"Political rumblings in the DRC may have a major impact on the price of cobalt",{"type":591,"attrs":144980,"content":144981},{"textAlign":49},[144982],{"text":144983,"type":596},"It has been well documented that Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is trying to make changes to the constitution to allow him to run for a third term.",{"type":591,"attrs":144985,"content":144986},{"textAlign":49},[144987],{"text":144988,"type":596},"When The Bureau d’Études, de Recherches, et Consulting International (BERCI) and the Congo Research Group (CRG) at New York University ran an opinion poll, it found that an alarming 81.4% would not accept the change.",{"type":591,"attrs":144990,"content":144991},{"textAlign":49},[144992],{"text":144993,"type":596},"True, that the BERCI and CRG researchers interviewed 7,545 people in face to face interviews, and with an estimated DRC population of 81m, this has to be considered a very small sample size. But if the poll is representative of the general feeling if the nation then it may well spell trouble in the cobalt market. Kabila is due to end his term on the 19 December, and yet he still tries to cling on to power after this official date.",{"type":591,"attrs":144995,"content":144996},{"textAlign":49},[144997],{"text":144998,"type":596},"The government are claiming they require more time to complete the voting registration but it seems the people of the DRC are wary of these all too familiar stories to stave off the vote. The Financial Times states: “This month, the government cobbled together a power-sharing agreement with a sliver of the opposition.",{"type":591,"attrs":145000,"content":145001},{"textAlign":49},[145002],{"text":145003,"type":596},"The article goes on to say that worryingly this agreement does not include the main opposition”. Chinese cobalt demand in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis and political instability in the past has caused the most significant price spikes seen in cobalt, most notably when prices were over 50USD/lb in 2008 – a 245% price increase in 18 months for cobalt metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":145005,"content":145006},{"textAlign":49},[145007],{"text":145008,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence does not believe we will see these levels again, among the most extreme in the speciality minerals space, but the 19th of December is certainly a date to mark in your dairy. This instability and uncertainty combined with the increased demand coming from the energy storage revolution: Benchmark data shows 2015 total global supply at 100,000 tpa, of this the battery market consumed 48,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":145010,"content":145011},{"textAlign":49},[145012],{"text":145013,"type":596},"With a lithium ion battery production surge well under way – and Benchmark recently revising its megafactories tracker to now 14 that are under construction ranging from 3-35 GWh capacity – lithium ion battery demand for cobalt is set to exceed 100,000 tpa by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":145015,"content":145016},{"textAlign":49},[145017],{"text":145018,"type":596},"With DRC so dominant in global cobalt supply, accounting for nearly 60%, and no new supply expected outside of the African country anytime soon, this could this spell the start of the true squeeze of the cobalt market that many have expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":145020,"content":145021},{"textAlign":49},[145022],{"text":145023,"type":596},"While 2016 has already seen some price rises in cobalt metal primarily due to falling supply and strong cobalt chemical demand, the supply and demand dynamics over the next 18 months point towards significant price increases.","Political rumblings in the DRC may have a major impact on the price of cobalt It has been well documented that Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is trying to make changes to the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. When The Bureau d’Études, de Recherches, et […]",[145026],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145027},{"job_title":557,"image":145028,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bd82e9f9-76bf-426e-bdbf-afcec4adbdad\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145031,145032],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145034,"is_external_url":50},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":145036,"uuid":145037,"name":145038,"slug":145039,"full_slug":145040,"content":145041},112474855420597,"2629b067-6ecf-4654-96b0-d227de6fbb77","Tesla’s long-term expansion plan for Model S and Model X","teslas-long-term-expansion-plan-for-model-s-and-model-x","article/teslas-long-term-expansion-plan-for-model-s-and-model-x",{"_uid":145042,"date":144738,"tags":145043,"editor":145045,"content":145049,"excerpt":145190,"featured":50,"reporter":145191,"_editable":145195,"component":697,"seo_title":145038,"categories":145196,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145199,"seo_description":145190,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":144868},"b5025f43-b0ed-41d1-a642-cbfc55cd5b0a",[145044],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[145046],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145047},{"job_title":557,"image":145048,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145050},[145051,145056,145061,145066,145071,145076,145079,145084,145089,145094,145099,145104,145109,145114,145117,145122,145127,145132,145137,145142,145147,145150,145155,145160,145165,145170,145175,145180,145185],{"type":591,"attrs":145052,"content":145053},{"textAlign":49},[145054],{"text":145055,"type":596},"Silicon Valley company’s secret plan to spend half a billion dollars to expand “Gen 2” vehicles by 2021 – over half of the Gigafactory 1’s original intended capacity",{"type":591,"attrs":145057,"content":145058},{"textAlign":49},[145059],{"text":145060,"type":596},"By Edward Niedermeyer ",{"type":591,"attrs":145062,"content":145063},{"textAlign":49},[145064],{"text":145065,"type":596},"Throughout its history, Tesla has always been a company that is looking ahead. Even when the it was handassembling tiny volumes of Roadsters, CEO Elon Musk’s Top Secret Master Plan pointed the way towards lower prices and higher volume.",{"type":591,"attrs":145067,"content":145068},{"textAlign":49},[145069],{"text":145070,"type":596},"Now, with two vehicles on the market and annual production volumes moving towards the six-figure mark, Musk told analysts on Tesla’s Q3 earnings call that a lower-cost, higher-volume Model 3 is “overwhelmingly our focus.” As for the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s so-called “Gen 2 vehicles”, Musk says “things feel really quite stable.”",{"type":591,"attrs":145072,"content":145073},{"textAlign":49},[145074],{"text":145075,"type":596},"That does not mean that Tesla is done investing in its current line-up, however. In fact, the electric automaker’s latest approved application for sales and use tax exclusion (STE) from the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA), reveals that it is actually spending nearly half a billion dollars in order to expand the production capacity of its Gen 2 vehicles to 195,000 units per year by approximately 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":145077,"content":145078},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145080,"content":145081},{"textAlign":49},[145082],{"text":145083,"type":596},"With the Model S now carrying a Model X sized 100kWh lithium ion, NCA battery pack, that equates to 19.5Wh of cells or just over half of the Gigafactory 1’s intended original capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":145085,"content":145086},{"textAlign":49},[145087],{"text":145088,"type":596},"Tesla’s request, which has been approved unanimously by CAEATFA, is its fourth successful application to the program which allows qualifying companies to exclude purchases of manufacturing equipment from state and local sales and use taxes.",{"type":591,"attrs":145090,"content":145091},{"textAlign":49},[145092],{"text":145093,"type":596},"It is also Tesla’s largest approved request to date, excluding the purchase of about $463.62m worth of manufacturing equipment from some $39m in sales and use taxes. CAEFTA’s staff analysts estimate that STE support will contribute 41 permanent jobs out of the 1,384 new permanent jobs associated with this expansion, and will provide net benefits to the state of $27,572,193. According to the CAEATFA staff report: “Tesla will spend approximately $464m to expand its Models S and X production and development capabilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":145095,"content":145096},{"textAlign":49},[145097],{"text":145098,"type":596},"By making additional capital purchases to expand its body shop, stamping line, vehicle assembly, plastics shop, production control, tooling and prototyping, Tesla anticipates it will produce approximately 118,000 additional Model S and X vehicles per year.” “This is an addition to the Applicant’s current projected annual rate of approximately 77,000 Model S and X vehicles per year.”",{"type":591,"attrs":145100,"content":145101},{"textAlign":49},[145102],{"text":145103,"type":596},"Tesla told CAEATFA’s analysts that its purchase of qualified property, or the equipment to be excluded from sales and use tax and used for this expansion, will “take place between January 2016 and the end of 2018, with full production realized within six years.”",{"type":591,"attrs":145105,"content":145106},{"textAlign":49},[145107],{"text":145108,"type":596},"According to cost estimates from the CAEATFA staff report, the largest line items are about $140m for body shell tooling, $88m for interior systems tooling, $35m each for battery processing equipment and materials conveyance, and $23m for body shop equipment. Significantly, CAEATFA staff note that Tesla will use some qualified equipment to expand tool and die manufacturing and prototyping as well as for production expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":145110,"content":145111},{"textAlign":49},[145112],{"text":145113,"type":596},"Tesla is known for continually updating its vehicles, and the purchase of equipment tool/die making and prototyping could point to significant hardware changes for its Gen 2 vehicles down the road. Though Tesla is not sharing any such plans, the prospect of major improvements to the Model S and Model X seems to be a critical factor in making sense of this investment.",{"type":591,"attrs":145115,"content":145116},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145118,"content":145119},{"textAlign":49},[145120],{"text":145121,"type":596},"After all, Tesla’s Gen 2 vehicles hardly appear to have been in any danger of under-capacity when CAEATFA approved tax relief for the expansion last December. According to CAEATFA’s staff report, Tesla’s annual production capacity at the time was some 77,000 units even though the firm only delivered 50,580 units in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":145123,"content":145124},{"textAlign":49},[145125],{"text":145126,"type":596},"That would imply a capacity utilisation of about 65%, which is well below the 75%-85% utilisation level that is generally considered the floor for an operationally profitable auto plant. Delays and early production challenges for the Model X may have been at least partially responsible for that low utilision rate, and may explain why Tesla moved to expand production regardless.",{"type":591,"attrs":145128,"content":145129},{"textAlign":49},[145130],{"text":145131,"type":596},"However, the company’s sales since the beginning of this year raise real questions about the firm’s ability to sell nearly 200,000 of these high-end vehicles each year. Tesla’s deliveries have declined sequentially in each of the first two quarters of 2016, and second half sales will have to grow significantly in order to sell all of the 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles that the company estimates it will build this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":145133,"content":145134},{"textAlign":49},[145135],{"text":145136,"type":596},"According to Dave Sullivan of AutoPacific, significant sales growth for the Gen 2 vehicles “seems unlikely given the weak launch of the Model X, the advancing age of the Model S, declines in some tax incentives and increasing competition.”",{"type":591,"attrs":145138,"content":145139},{"textAlign":49},[145140],{"text":145141,"type":596},"Tesla is already taking a number of steps to shore up demand for its Gen 2 vehicles, offering new highend 100kWh versions and low-end 60kWh versions of the S and X, while adding a number of discounts to its $1,000 referral bonus program.",{"type":591,"attrs":145143,"content":145144},{"textAlign":49},[145145],{"text":145146,"type":596},"Reported initiatives include new lease offers with lower monthly payments, discounts of up to $30,000 on certain inventory vehicles, offers to waive a $1,200 destination and documentation fee, half-price upgrades for certain Model X configurations and a campaign to convert Model 3 reservation holders to the new lower-cost Model S 60. Tesla has also refreshed the Model S’ front fascia for the first time since it began sales in 2012, giving the car a mid-cycle facelift to reflect its numerous changes under the skin.",{"type":591,"attrs":145148,"content":145149},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145151,"content":145152},{"textAlign":49},[145153],{"text":145154,"type":596},"If all these efforts prove necessary to boost Gen 2 vehicle demand to about 100,000 units per year, more radical steps will be necessary to double their sales volume again. The highest annual sales forecast that Tesla has ever given for its Gen 2 vehicles was when Musk predicted as many as 150,000 units in 2018 on the Q1 2016 earnings call.",{"type":591,"attrs":145156,"content":145157},{"textAlign":49},[145158],{"text":145159,"type":596},"Previously, Musk had predicted “mature” demand for the Gen 2 vehicles at “maybe a hundred thousand units per year, or maybe a bit more.” But Tesla has never given a forecast intended to characterize demand in 2021, the year that CAEATFA staff expect the expansion to make 195,000 units per year a possibility.",{"type":591,"attrs":145161,"content":145162},{"textAlign":49},[145163],{"text":145164,"type":596},"Though the Model S will be nearly ten years old by then and though competition in the electric car market is likely to be far tougher than it is today, it’s always possible that a major update or significant cost-downs enabled by this project could bring demand up to the 200,000 unit per year level.",{"type":591,"attrs":145166,"content":145167},{"textAlign":49},[145168],{"text":145169,"type":596},"Regardless of whether or not this proves to be possible, Tesla’s investment of nearly half a billion dollars into its Gen 2 vehicles seems strange given the firm’s stated focus on accelerating the production ramp for Model 3 and emphasis on shortterm cost-cutting. When asked during the Q2 earnings call about other vehicle programs referenced in his latest Master Plan, Musk told analysts: “I think we want to postpone anything that’s a heavy capital impact until after the Model 3 production is ramped.”",{"type":591,"attrs":145171,"content":145172},{"textAlign":49},[145173],{"text":145174,"type":596},"The one factor that might explain the decision: according to CAEATFA’s STE rules, Tesla can use the purchased equipment for other projects as long as it is used for the stated program at least 50% of the time. Given Musk’s recent emphasis on improving production efficiency, it seems likely that Tesla will take advantage of this leeway.",{"type":591,"attrs":145176,"content":145177},{"textAlign":49},[145178],{"text":145179,"type":596},"Of course, investments for the Model 3 launch are still underway and they dwarf this slow, six-year expansion of Gen 2 vehicle capacity. Tesla’s most recent application to CAEATFA’s STE program requests almost $100m worth of sales tax exclusions on a whopping $1.2bn worth of equipment –the most the program has ever seen– that will be used to produce Tesla’s 3rd gen family of vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":145181,"content":145182},{"textAlign":49},[145183],{"text":145184,"type":596},"That application won’t be approved until December at the earliest according to a CAEATFA analyst, but Daily Kanban has made a public records request for a copy. Provided there is still valuable information on it once any sensitive business information is redacted, we will be sure to report on that as soon as we can.",{"type":591,"attrs":145186,"content":145187},{"textAlign":49},[145188],{"text":145189,"type":596},"Edward Niedermeyer is an auto industry expert for the DailyKanban. com, Bloomberg View and numerous other international media outlets. For more insight, visit www. dailykanban.com","Silicon Valley company’s secret plan to spend half a billion dollars to expand “Gen 2” vehicles by 2021 – over half of the Gigafactory 1’s original intended capacity By Edward Niedermeyer Throughout its history, Tesla has always been a company that is looking ahead. Even when the it was handassembling tiny volumes of Roadsters, CEO […]",[145192],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145193},{"job_title":557,"image":145194,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b5025f43-b0ed-41d1-a642-cbfc55cd5b0a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145197,145198],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":145200,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145201,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8997c40150/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-25-at-091440.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":145203,"uuid":145204,"name":145205,"slug":145206,"full_slug":145207,"content":145208},112474850652752,"87b69b7d-82d5-443e-ac96-bbd06f43e73d","A battery powered world","a-battery-powered-world","article/a-battery-powered-world",{"_uid":145209,"date":144738,"tags":145210,"editor":145211,"content":145215,"excerpt":145313,"featured":50,"reporter":145314,"_editable":145318,"component":697,"seo_title":145205,"categories":145319,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145322,"seo_description":145313,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":144868},"a9eb38c1-ed6b-4aa8-be33-b2fc78f4c22d",[],[145212],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145213},{"job_title":557,"image":145214,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145216},[145217,145222,145227,145232,145237,145242,145245,145250,145255,145260,145265,145270,145275,145280,145285,145288,145293,145298,145303,145308],{"type":591,"attrs":145218,"content":145219},{"textAlign":49},[145220],{"text":145221,"type":596},"Gigafactory launch makes lithium supply shortage more apparent",{"type":591,"attrs":145223,"content":145224},{"textAlign":49},[145225],{"text":145226,"type":596},"Tesla turned an unassuming industrial park on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada, into the HQ for its campaign office as it officially opened its Gigafactory 1, the world’s largest lithium ion battery plant, to the usual fanfare and air of extreme positivity. The company invited a blend of investors, fanboys and international journalists to witness the launch of the megafactory which, at capacity, will produce more than double of the world’s output from last year which was 60GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":145228,"content":145229},{"textAlign":49},[145230],{"text":145231,"type":596},"It was in typical Elon Musk fashion to casually drop in the fact that the plant will now be three times the initial planned capacity of 50GWh, a hugely significant development that will have ramifications across the supply chain, from raw material availability to battery cell costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":145233,"content":145234},{"textAlign":49},[145235],{"text":145236,"type":596},"Musk explained that the plant is expected to reach its 50GWh level by 2018 – 3 years ahead of schedule – from which the company is will produce 35GWh of cells in-house while purchasing the remainder from its deal with Panasonic and a new Tesla Energy agreement with Samsung SDI.",{"type":591,"attrs":145238,"content":145239},{"textAlign":49},[145240],{"text":145241,"type":596},"The huge facility is six floors tall and already spans three US city blocks yet is only 14% of the size of the final design. It is on course to be the largest building in the world by footprint overtaking Boeing’s Everett Factory where they build airplanes. “Its matters if it happens at scale,” explained Musk. “It’s about being able to make enough electric cars, enough battery packs that it moves the needle from a global carbon production perspective… so it actually does change the world.” “It has to be big because the world is big. That’s why,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":145243,"content":145244},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145246,"content":145247},{"textAlign":49},[145248],{"text":145249,"type":596},"The sheer capacity size of the plant is not only hugely significant for Tesla to achieve its ambitious goal to produced half a million full electric vehicles but it has also sparked a global battery arms race forcing other major manufacturers to build their own megafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":145251,"content":145252},{"textAlign":49},[145253],{"text":145254,"type":596},"Since Tesla announced the $5bn project in February 2014, the rest of the industry has scrambled to reveal new plants in a bid to produce the world’s lowest costs cells which at present average $250-350kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":145256,"content":145257},{"textAlign":49},[145258],{"text":145259,"type":596},"Tesla is aiming for a sub-$150kWh cell which it expects to achieve through the addition of scale and speed which it will get through designing the Gigafactory to a “physics first principles basis” where density is key. “Just like a great machine, the entire factory [has been designed in] CAD: every pipe, every electrical conduit, every piece of duct work and every piece of the equipment building the cells,” explained JB Straubel, Tesla’s CTO. “We’ve modelled it to fit it in with minimal wasted space, everything is almost touching each other on every floor.",{"type":591,"attrs":145261,"content":145262},{"textAlign":49},[145263],{"text":145264,"type":596},"That was necessary to build this amazing machine and many factories aren’t done this way – you build a shell and randomly put equipment in it. This was very different,” he added. The full integration of the Gigafactory is also critical. It will be the world’s first plant that can produce cells and finished battery powered products, from raw materials to cars rolling off the production line. At present, every single major step in the lithium ion supply chain is separated by thousands of miles and different companies, each of which have to make a profit.",{"type":591,"attrs":145266,"content":145267},{"textAlign":49},[145268],{"text":145269,"type":596},"From lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel mining, cathode and anode manufacturing, cell production, to electric vehicle production, each of these steps adds cost and time and have fundamentally held the battery industry back from producing at a lower cost and at scale. “You can’t send things on around the world trips and expect it to be cheap,” said Musk. And this is where Tesla expects to have an edge.",{"type":591,"attrs":145271,"content":145272},{"textAlign":49},[145273],{"text":145274,"type":596},"At present, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data, a molecule of brine sourced lithium in Chile will go on a 50-day, 42,000km journey before arriving in California in the form of a battery cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":145276,"content":145277},{"textAlign":49},[145278],{"text":145279,"type":596},"Lithium would pass through at least four players in the industry – four contract negotiations and company balance sheets to look after – before ending up in vehicle. Graphite, on the other hand, would have an 18,000km trip starting in northern China and pass through 5 companies over at least 35-days before arriving at Tesla’s Fremont factory in a battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":145281,"content":145282},{"textAlign":49},[145283],{"text":145284,"type":596},"For a company that will be the largest single consumer in the world, this offers not only additional expense but a supply security nightmare hence the rationale behind baking the anodes and mixing the cathodes onsite in Nevada – the Gigafactory’s first step.",{"type":591,"attrs":145286,"content":145287},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145289,"content":145290},{"textAlign":49},[145291],{"text":145292,"type":596},"The real question is about whether there will be enough raw material to fuel not only a Gigafactory that is now 150GWh but also the major growth that is being seen in China where at least 7 lithium ion megafactories are being built. The answer is no. Huge capacity expansions will be needed to take the carbon anode industry from 80,000 tonnes last year to the 300-400,000 tonnes needed by 2021.",{"type":591,"attrs":145294,"content":145295},{"textAlign":49},[145296],{"text":145297,"type":596},"The majority of these expansions are only expected to come from flake graphite miners rather than synthetic graphite producers which are simply not installing the additional capacity due to the higher costs. Meanwhile, lithium continues to be in shortage and prices remain at levels 3-4 times higher than at the start of 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":145299,"content":145300},{"textAlign":49},[145301],{"text":145302,"type":596},"New mines are being planned and significant expansions are being announced – especially by Albemarle and FMC Lithium. There remains little doubt that the supply and demand balance will remain tight over the next four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":145304,"content":145305},{"textAlign":49},[145306],{"text":145307,"type":596},"When Tesla announced the Gigafactory and its plan to build half a million vehicles a year, it raised a number of eyebrows because many people did not believe anyone could sell that many electric cars each year before 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":145309,"content":145310},{"textAlign":49},[145311],{"text":145312,"type":596},"Today, with Model 3 pre-orders over 400,000 and Tesla Energy’s home and commercial battery packs to be integrated into solar powered source of energy through its recent SolarCity acquisition, the company’s biggest worry must now be on whether there will be enough of vital ingredients that will allow it to change the world. Because at the moment there is not.","Gigafactory launch makes lithium supply shortage more apparent Tesla turned an unassuming industrial park on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada, into the HQ for its campaign office as it officially opened its Gigafactory 1, the world’s largest lithium ion battery plant, to the usual fanfare and air of extreme positivity. The company invited a blend […]",[145315],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145316},{"job_title":557,"image":145317,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a9eb38c1-ed6b-4aa8-be33-b2fc78f4c22d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145320,145321],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":145323,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145324,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1376afd92d/bm-screen-shot-2017-01-25-at-093004.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":145326,"uuid":145327,"name":145328,"slug":145329,"full_slug":145330,"content":145331},112474996539321,"367c5823-032e-460c-a738-4233de3c5d14","Tesla aims for battery raw material recycling","tesla-aims-for-battery-raw-material-recycling","article/tesla-aims-for-battery-raw-material-recycling",{"_uid":145332,"date":145333,"tags":145334,"editor":145336,"content":145340,"excerpt":145346,"featured":50,"reporter":145470,"_editable":145474,"component":697,"seo_title":145328,"categories":145475,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145478,"seo_description":145346,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"c7487c08-1006-4a59-ab94-e7077d0ebdf6","2016-07-21 00:00",[145335],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[145337],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145338},{"job_title":557,"image":145339,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145341},[145342,145347,145352,145357,145362,145367,145372,145377,145382,145387,145392,145397,145402,145405,145410,145415,145420,145425,145430,145435,145440,145445,145450,145455,145460,145465],{"type":591,"attrs":145343,"content":145344},{"textAlign":49},[145345],{"text":145346,"type":596},"Lithium tops supply chain concerns as the Gigafactory launches; nickel, aluminium and cobalt also targeted for recovery",{"type":591,"attrs":145348,"content":145349},{"textAlign":49},[145350],{"text":145351,"type":596},"Tesla Motors has revealed it is planning to dedicate a significant section of its super-battery plant, Gigafactory 1, to the recycling of lithium ion cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":145353,"content":145354},{"textAlign":49},[145355],{"text":145356,"type":596},"The company will be operating the world’s biggest and first fully integrated lithium ion battery plant at capacity by 2020, the year it expects to begin recycling its cells to recover cathode materials of lithium, cobalt, nickel and aluminium, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence understands.",{"type":591,"attrs":145358,"content":145359},{"textAlign":49},[145360],{"text":145361,"type":596},"The recycling of batteries has long been explored but never yet been commercialised.",{"type":591,"attrs":145363,"content":145364},{"textAlign":49},[145365],{"text":145366,"type":596},"Reasons behind the prevention of battery raw material recycling to date have ranged from the impossible – the lithium in the cathode physically and chemically alters after being used in a battery – to the uneconomic.",{"type":591,"attrs":145368,"content":145369},{"textAlign":49},[145370],{"text":145371,"type":596},"However, Tesla believes some form of recycling is possible although the company would not be drawn on a commitment as to which minerals and metals it sees as the most plausible for recovery.",{"type":591,"attrs":145373,"content":145374},{"textAlign":49},[145375],{"text":145376,"type":596},"For example, it would be fair to assume the nickel and aluminium foils used in a battery would be easier to recover than cathode raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":145378,"content":145379},{"textAlign":49},[145380],{"text":145381,"type":596},"Tesla did confirm that it will seek to not only target spent cells but also the recycling of scrap from the Gigafactory process.",{"type":591,"attrs":145383,"content":145384},{"textAlign":49},[145385],{"text":145386,"type":596},"Low commodity prices were cited as a slowing factor on the recycling plan, but supply security of these critical minerals and metals is most likely to the biggest influence for the company that will eventually become the world’s biggest buyer of battery raw materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":145388,"content":145389},{"textAlign":49},[145390],{"text":145391,"type":596},"If successful, Tesla will be the world’s first company to recycle raw materials from a cathode at scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":145393,"content":145394},{"textAlign":49},[145395],{"text":145396,"type":596},"The company also answered a persistent question over whether there will be a second life for its lithium ion batteries – old Model X batteries used to power your home, for example.",{"type":591,"attrs":145398,"content":145399},{"textAlign":49},[145400],{"text":145401,"type":596},"The answer was no.",{"type":591,"attrs":145403,"content":145404},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145406,"content":145407},{"textAlign":49},[145408],{"text":145409,"type":596},"Once a battery degrades to 80% capacity, the California-based company explained, that would effectively write-off its potential uses elsewhere. While a lithium ion battery can still experience good usage at this level of capacity, it is likely it will “drop like a stone” to 50% of the original capacity.",{"type":615,"attrs":145411,"content":145412},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[145413],{"text":145414,"type":596}," Gigafactory output",{"type":591,"attrs":145416,"content":145417},{"textAlign":49},[145418],{"text":145419,"type":596},"One third of the lithiumion battery packs produced at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, US, will be destined for the utility market.",{"type":591,"attrs":145421,"content":145422},{"textAlign":49},[145423],{"text":145424,"type":596},"In Q1, the company’s utility storage division, Tesla Energy, started shipping Powerwall, a battery pack for the home, and Powerpack, a commercial storage solution, to customers in US, Germany and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":145426,"content":145427},{"textAlign":49},[145428],{"text":145429,"type":596},"While no information has been released about the storage capacity size of the commercial-scale Powerpack orders, Benchmark estimates them to be megawatt hour solutions.",{"type":591,"attrs":145431,"content":145432},{"textAlign":49},[145433],{"text":145434,"type":596},"Meanwhile, orders for the 7kWh Powerwall have already been installed in homes around the world including the US, UK and Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":145436,"content":145437},{"textAlign":49},[145438],{"text":145439,"type":596},"However the company stated it would discontinue its 10kWh Powerpack with reasons not cited.",{"type":591,"attrs":145441,"content":145442},{"textAlign":49},[145443],{"text":145444,"type":596},"“We are still on track to produce 35GWh of [lithium ion] cells, and 50GWh of [battery] packs [by 2020],” Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer, JB Straubel, explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":145446,"content":145447},{"textAlign":49},[145448],{"text":145449,"type":596},"“15GWh of that [output] will be going to Tesla Energy and the rest to Model 3 and [Model S and Model X] vehicles,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":145451,"content":145452},{"textAlign":49},[145453],{"text":145454,"type":596},"Gigafactory 1 is on track for an official unveiling in H1 2016, a multibilliondollar megaproject in which Panasonic Corp has played a key role.",{"type":591,"attrs":145456,"content":145457},{"textAlign":49},[145458],{"text":145459,"type":596},"“Panasonic continues to be an excellent partner in the project,” CEO Elon Musk said.",{"type":591,"attrs":145461,"content":145462},{"textAlign":49},[145463],{"text":145464,"type":596},"“[Panasonic] has given additional capital commitment to the [Gigafactory] and has also started hiring and training people. Things are going as well as they can,” Musk said today.",{"type":591,"attrs":145466,"content":145467},{"textAlign":49},[145468],{"text":145469,"type":596},"Benchmark expects Tesla to be manufacturing lithium-ion cells from scratch at the Gigafactory from 2018 onwards.",[145471],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145472},{"job_title":557,"image":145473,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c7487c08-1006-4a59-ab94-e7077d0ebdf6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145476,145477],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":145479,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145480,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d3c7a58f6a/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-133757.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 21, 2016",{"id":145483,"uuid":145484,"name":145485,"slug":145486,"full_slug":145487,"content":145488},112474986991342,"84fef697-77a2-4ea2-a925-1a8cd59c9dbb","Gates: it is too expensive to store energy","gates-it-is-too-expensive-to-store-energy","article/gates-it-is-too-expensive-to-store-energy",{"_uid":145489,"date":145333,"tags":145490,"editor":145491,"content":145495,"excerpt":145501,"featured":50,"reporter":145638,"_editable":145642,"component":697,"seo_title":145485,"categories":145643,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145646,"seo_description":145501,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"75a883dd-df95-44f8-9792-60f4826850ac",[],[145492],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145493},{"job_title":557,"image":145494,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145496},[145497,145502,145507,145512,145517,145522,145527,145532,145537,145542,145547,145552,145557,145562,145567,145572,145577,145582,145587,145592,145597,145602,145605,145610,145615,145620,145625,145630,145635],{"type":591,"attrs":145498,"content":145499},{"textAlign":49},[145500],{"text":145501,"type":596},"Microsoft and Breakthrough Energy Coalition founder casts doubt over economic viability of energy storage",{"type":591,"attrs":145503,"content":145504},{"textAlign":49},[145505],{"text":145506,"type":596},"Bill Gates has cast doubt on any immediate energy storage revolution in utilities and has called for more aggressive innovation in the battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":145508,"content":145509},{"textAlign":49},[145510],{"text":145511,"type":596},"The founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s most influential technology and humanitarian voices has said that the means to store energy is “surprisingly hard and expensive”.",{"type":591,"attrs":145513,"content":145514},{"textAlign":49},[145515],{"text":145516,"type":596},"“If you wanted to store enough electricity to run everything in your house for a week, you would need a huge battery—and it would triple your electric bill,” Gates explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":145518,"content":145519},{"textAlign":49},[145520],{"text":145521,"type":596},"He went on to clarify his statement by using a $150/kWh cost of a lithium-ion battery with a lifetime of 500 cycles, which equates to $0.3/ kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":145523,"content":145524},{"textAlign":49},[145525],{"text":145526,"type":596},"“According to the EIA, the average price of electricity for consumers in the United States is around $0.1 per kilowatt-hour,” Gates explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":145528,"content":145529},{"textAlign":49},[145530],{"text":145531,"type":596},"“The European Union, where prices average 20 cents per kilowatthour, and India, where they range from 2 to 15 cents, would see similarly dramatic increases.” “This is one of the reasons why we need new inventions that improve our ability to store energy cheaply and efficiently. Getting them will make it easier for solar and wind to be a big part of our zero-carbon future,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":145533,"content":145534},{"textAlign":49},[145535],{"text":145536,"type":596},"The new focus on energy storage is on the back of the establishment of a new fund, The Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which pledges to spark a new economic revolution and is backed by a number of high profile billionaires including Gates, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Virgin Group’s Richard Branson.",{"type":591,"attrs":145538,"content":145539},{"textAlign":49},[145540],{"text":145541,"type":596},"The fund pledges to invest “early and boldly” into a number of companies in the low carbon economic supply chain including energy storage, clean transportation, and agriculture.",{"type":591,"attrs":145543,"content":145544},{"textAlign":49},[145545],{"text":145546,"type":596},"While the fund has not publicly stated how much it is willing to invest, Forbes understands that Bill Gates is willing to invest $1bn alone, while other members will invest a further $1bn combined into clean energy projects.",{"type":615,"attrs":145548,"content":145549},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[145550],{"text":145551,"type":596}," Is Bill Gates right?",{"type":591,"attrs":145553,"content":145554},{"textAlign":49},[145555],{"text":145556,"type":596},"While Bill Gates’ call for more innovation in the battery sector is undoubtedly correct, some of the data used in the analysis can vary depending on application, meaning it is not quite as black and white as outlined.",{"type":591,"attrs":145558,"content":145559},{"textAlign":49},[145560],{"text":145561,"type":596},"The cost of lithium-ion batteries can vary significantly at the moment.",{"type":591,"attrs":145563,"content":145564},{"textAlign":49},[145565],{"text":145566,"type":596},"Gates uses quite a favourable low price of $150/kWh which is only recently being achieved by major players, with the industry average ranging between $250-350/kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":145568,"content":145569},{"textAlign":49},[145570],{"text":145571,"type":596},"It is expected that by 2018 over 50% of lithium-ion batteries on the market will have a production cost of under $200/kWh primarily through the introduction of scale that battery mega factories, being built at present, will bring.",{"type":591,"attrs":145573,"content":145574},{"textAlign":49},[145575],{"text":145576,"type":596},"Gates’ lifecycle data, however, is not so favorable.",{"type":591,"attrs":145578,"content":145579},{"textAlign":49},[145580],{"text":145581,"type":596},"Around 500 charge and discharge cycles may be the average for some mobile phones on the market, but larger utility storage batteries are being designed to last for longer.",{"type":591,"attrs":145583,"content":145584},{"textAlign":49},[145585],{"text":145586,"type":596},"For example, the Tesla Powerwall, also a lithium-ion battery, is designed for 1,000 to 5,000 cycles while other batteries such as BYD’s lithium-ironphosphate product can last up to 6,000 cycles and a vanadium redox flow chemistry can last well beyond 50,000 cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":145588,"content":145589},{"textAlign":49},[145590],{"text":145591,"type":596},"Another key point is how much lithium-ion battery capacity will fall by over time. Gates explained that 500 cycles will reduce a lithium-ion cell to 80% capacity, however more recent R&D developments in the space are pushing the number closer to 1,000 cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":145593,"content":145594},{"textAlign":49},[145595],{"text":145596,"type":596},"Taking Gates’ most conservative lithium-ion cycle number of 1,000, together with today’s average cost of a lithium-ion battery, $250/kWh, reduces the cost of energy to $0.25/ kWh – lower, but still not enough to tip the scales. It is also a figure that does not take into account the cost of buying and installing solar equipment.",{"type":591,"attrs":145598,"content":145599},{"textAlign":49},[145600],{"text":145601,"type":596},"Looking forward to 2018 and a forecasted average lithium-ion price of $200/kWh, with no cycling improvement, the cost of energy stored in a battery will drop to $0.2/ kWh. Should the life cycles of a lithium-ion battery improve to an average of 1500 while retaining 80% of its capacity, then stored energy at a cost of $0.13/kWh starts to compete on a serious level with fossil fuels.",{"type":591,"attrs":145603,"content":145604},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145606,"content":145607},{"textAlign":49},[145608],{"text":145609,"type":596},"It is important to note that none of these parameters are finite. The lithium-ion cost and cycling targets and the price of energy competition are always moving, the latter especially skewed by subsidies.",{"type":591,"attrs":145611,"content":145612},{"textAlign":49},[145613],{"text":145614,"type":596},"It is also key to not directly compare consumer behaviour patterns with a smartphone to a utility battery. In consumer goods, especially smartphones, people usually see a drop off in battery performance after 1.5 years and this will then add pressure to replace the phone. However, in the utility market this consumer sensitivity is expected to be far lower.",{"type":591,"attrs":145616,"content":145617},{"textAlign":49},[145618],{"text":145619,"type":596},"There are also programs to apply used Nissan LEAF lithium-ion batteries, which have around 70% capacity, into new utility storage units for developing countries – a secondary use for lithium-ion batteries will also emerge.",{"type":591,"attrs":145621,"content":145622},{"textAlign":49},[145623],{"text":145624,"type":596},"While it appears too expensive to store renewable energy in lithiumion batteries at the moment, this will change quite rapidly over the next 3 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":145626,"content":145627},{"textAlign":49},[145628],{"text":145629,"type":596},"The big question remains whether the performance of lithium-ion batteries can improve as the production costs fall.",{"type":591,"attrs":145631,"content":145632},{"textAlign":49},[145633],{"text":145634,"type":596},"If there is no significant improvement, the door will be open for competing battery technologies in the utility space, especially for the commercial market.",{"type":591,"attrs":145636,"content":145637},{"textAlign":49},[],[145639],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145640},{"job_title":557,"image":145641,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"75a883dd-df95-44f8-9792-60f4826850ac\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145644,145645],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":145647,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145648,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/655b948e3f/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-134922.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":145650,"uuid":145651,"name":145652,"slug":145653,"full_slug":145654,"content":145655},112474982166152,"79edc937-20b9-4cb2-9466-8fc2dc77140e","VW’s road to redemption","vws-road-to-redemption","article/vws-road-to-redemption",{"_uid":145656,"date":145333,"tags":145657,"editor":145658,"content":145662,"excerpt":145847,"featured":50,"reporter":145848,"_editable":145852,"component":697,"seo_title":145652,"categories":145853,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145856,"seo_description":145847,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"0114cf60-acca-4e3e-8ba6-49b46826585c",[],[145659],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145660},{"job_title":557,"image":145661,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145663},[145664,145669,145674,145679,145684,145689,145694,145699,145704,145709,145714,145719,145722,145727,145732,145737,145742,145747,145752,145757,145762,145767,145772,145777,145782,145787,145792,145797,145802,145807,145812,145817,145822,145827,145832,145837,145842],{"type":591,"attrs":145665,"content":145666},{"textAlign":49},[145667],{"text":145668,"type":596}," In need of a friend, VW continues focus on electric vehicles with the launch of BUDD-E concept as Dieselgate cloud fails to dissipate",{"type":591,"attrs":145670,"content":145671},{"textAlign":49},[145672],{"text":145673,"type":596}," By Simon Rees",{"type":591,"attrs":145675,"content":145676},{"textAlign":49},[145677],{"text":145678,"type":596},"The first quarter of 2016 witnessed a concerted push by the Volkswagen (VW) Group to redeem itself following the Dieselgate scandal. This is particularly true of the US market, on which the German automaker has pinned such great strategic hopes.",{"type":591,"attrs":145680,"content":145681},{"textAlign":49},[145682],{"text":145683,"type":596},"It chose two flagship events in January to mix panache with penance: the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas followed by the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.",{"type":591,"attrs":145685,"content":145686},{"textAlign":49},[145687],{"text":145688,"type":596},"Executives also reiterated that the VW Group was working hard to ensure all diesel models with illegal defeat devices would be fixed. The technology had been installed over several years to cheat nitrogen oxides tests.",{"type":591,"attrs":145690,"content":145691},{"textAlign":49},[145692],{"text":145693,"type":596},"“We know we deeply disappointed our customers, the responsible government bodies, and the general public here in the US,” VW Group CEO Matthias Müller said during his speech at the NAIAS on January 10.",{"type":591,"attrs":145695,"content":145696},{"textAlign":49},[145697],{"text":145698,"type":596},"Unfortunately, he then stumbled into a linguistic thicket during an interview with US National Public Radio.",{"type":591,"attrs":145700,"content":145701},{"textAlign":49},[145702],{"text":145703,"type":596},"“We didn’t lie,” he said when asked if Dieselgate related to ethics and, through this, VW Group’s engagement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “We didn’t understand the question first. And then we worked since 2014 to solve the problem.” English is not Müller’s first language but the mainstream media focussed on those words “we didn’t lie” for rather obvious reasons. Cue heavy-font headlines and a rapid series of clarifications and explanations in response.",{"type":615,"attrs":145705,"content":145706},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[145707],{"text":145708,"type":596}," Be my Budd-e?",{"type":591,"attrs":145710,"content":145711},{"textAlign":49},[145712],{"text":145713,"type":596},"With its US diesel hopes dashed – at least for the time being – the VW Group has responded by pushing electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids to the fore. Both the CES and NAIAS offered important tasters of this.",{"type":591,"attrs":145715,"content":145716},{"textAlign":49},[145717],{"text":145718,"type":596},"The company unveiled the Budd-e EV concept at the CES, clearly building on the Bulli EV concept unveiled in 2011. That vehicle had SUV features and overhauled a Microbus concept from 2001.",{"type":591,"attrs":145720,"content":145721},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145723,"content":145724},{"textAlign":49},[145725],{"text":145726,"type":596},"The Budd-e can therefore trace its DNA back to the Type 2 “microbus” or “camper”, beloved by hippies everywhere in the 1960s. The underlying psychology is to remind consumers of VW’s most trusted heritage.",{"type":591,"attrs":145728,"content":145729},{"textAlign":49},[145730],{"text":145731,"type":596},"Still, this is not a mere exercise in nostalgia; the Budd-e will come with modern infotainment systems and gesture controls and it utilises VW’s Modular Drive Kit.",{"type":591,"attrs":145733,"content":145734},{"textAlign":49},[145735],{"text":145736,"type":596},"Its lithium-ion batteries are located in the vehicle floor and deliver a top speed of just over 90 mph at an EPAestimated real-world driving range of 233 miles, or 533 km at the New European Driving Cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":145738,"content":145739},{"textAlign":49},[145740],{"text":145741,"type":596},"The vehicle system has a total power output of 235 kW and it will be possible to charge its battery up to 80% capacity in 30 minutes. Those are eye-catching statistics for an EV of the Budd-e’s scale.",{"type":615,"attrs":145743,"content":145744},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[145745],{"text":145746,"type":596}," Tiger Tiguan",{"type":591,"attrs":145748,"content":145749},{"textAlign":49},[145750],{"text":145751,"type":596},"The company presented its Tiguan GTE Active concept at NAIAS. The vehicle will come with two electric motors at the axles: a smaller one at the front, a larger one at the rear.",{"type":591,"attrs":145753,"content":145754},{"textAlign":49},[145755],{"text":145756,"type":596},"The vehicle can cover 20 miles when in all-electric mode, while the total range stands at 580 miles/933 km when both fuel and electricity are used.",{"type":591,"attrs":145758,"content":145759},{"textAlign":49},[145760],{"text":145761,"type":596},"Using the Tiguan as a hybrid platform is a shrewd move as the model has proven popular with the American public. For example, VW sold 2,528 Tiguans in January 2016, up from 1,473 in January 2015 and a 71.6% year-on-year increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":145763,"content":145764},{"textAlign":49},[145765],{"text":145766,"type":596},"VW subsidiaries are also finding growing interest and sales traction with their EVs and hybrids. For example, Porsche has the Mission E concept and its Cayenne E hybrid.",{"type":591,"attrs":145768,"content":145769},{"textAlign":49},[145770],{"text":145771,"type":596},"On 23 January, Detroit News ran an interview with Porsche North America COO Joe Lawrence who noted the subsidiary had 1,600 hybrids on US roads. “That represents 0.7 % of the total hybrid market in the US, whereas our total sales are 0.3% of market,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":145773,"content":145774},{"textAlign":49},[145775],{"text":145776,"type":596},"Returning to VW, the sales of its e-Golf were also noteworthy for January, with 328 leaving the forecourts compared with 181 in January 2015, an increase of 81.2%.",{"type":591,"attrs":145778,"content":145779},{"textAlign":49},[145780],{"text":145781,"type":596},"The overall numbers for VW’s EVs and hybrids in the USA might not look large when compared with the Jetta sedan – 8,175 units sold in January alone – but they highlight something important: that an increasing number of consumers believe the future is electric or, at the very least, partially electric.",{"type":591,"attrs":145783,"content":145784},{"textAlign":49},[145785],{"text":145786,"type":596},"And that will have future effect upstream as a boost for battery producers and those extracting the necessary minerals and metals.",{"type":615,"attrs":145788,"content":145789},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[145790],{"text":145791,"type":596}," Electric dreams",{"type":591,"attrs":145793,"content":145794},{"textAlign":49},[145795],{"text":145796,"type":596},"On February 21, Reuters cited a Welt am Sonntag report that VW had been asked by the EPA to produce EVs at its Chattanooga plant and to help with the building of a US-wide EV charging network.",{"type":591,"attrs":145798,"content":145799},{"textAlign":49},[145800],{"text":145801,"type":596},"It would be considered a means of making amends for Dieselgate, although no source was given by Welt am Sonntag. It was noted that both VW and the EPA declined to comment. So, while an eyecatching story, its details can only be considered speculative until a full disclosure of the discussions is made between VW and the EPA.",{"type":591,"attrs":145803,"content":145804},{"textAlign":49},[145805],{"text":145806,"type":596},"Far more tangible, but less well documented by the mainstream press, was Müller’s speech at VW’s New Year reception in Brussels on January 25.",{"type":591,"attrs":145808,"content":145809},{"textAlign":49},[145810],{"text":145811,"type":596},"He told an audience that more must be done by the EU to compete with Silicon Valley – i.e. the best brains in the USA working on EVs and hybrids – or risk Europe being left behind.",{"type":591,"attrs":145813,"content":145814},{"textAlign":49},[145815],{"text":145816,"type":596},"The absence of European infrastructure was also underscored.",{"type":591,"attrs":145818,"content":145819},{"textAlign":49},[145820],{"text":145821,"type":596},"VW would like to see assistance with building a network of 150 kW rapid-charging stations as a means to facilitate EV uptake.",{"type":591,"attrs":145823,"content":145824},{"textAlign":49},[145825],{"text":145826,"type":596},"Müller also reiterated VW Group’s goal of introducing 20 additional models with electric or plug-in hybrid drive trains by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":145828,"content":145829},{"textAlign":49},[145830],{"text":145831,"type":596},"This directly feeds into VW’s postDieselgate grand strategy.",{"type":591,"attrs":145833,"content":145834},{"textAlign":49},[145835],{"text":145836,"type":596},"“We are using the current crisis to fundamentally realign the Group. I strongly feel we now have the chance to build a new and better Volkswagen,” he stressed.",{"type":591,"attrs":145838,"content":145839},{"textAlign":49},[145840],{"text":145841,"type":596},"But time is running out; various investigations will start returning their findings into the scandal shortly. That includes the company’s own, which it aims to release in April.",{"type":591,"attrs":145843,"content":145844},{"textAlign":49},[145845],{"text":145846,"type":596},"The scandal has already had eyewatering consequences financially and in terms of consumer trust. The question is whether the likes of the Budd-e, Golf-e, Tiguan GTE Active and more besides will be enough to put VW firmly on the road to redemption.","In need of a friend, VW continues focus on electric vehicles with the launch of BUDD-E concept as Dieselgate cloud fails to dissipate",[145849],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145850},{"job_title":557,"image":145851,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0114cf60-acca-4e3e-8ba6-49b46826585c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145854,145855],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":145857,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":145858,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5e0e565e3c/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-135305.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":145860,"uuid":145861,"name":145862,"slug":145863,"full_slug":145864,"content":145865},112474972421466,"1499d18b-21ec-4c72-a988-f124428c8518","Cobalt, conflict minerals  and the ‘unjustified  stigmatisation’ of producers","cobalt-conflict-minerals-and-the-unjustified-stigmatisation-of-producers","article/cobalt-conflict-minerals-and-the-unjustified-stigmatisation-of-producers",{"_uid":145866,"date":145333,"tags":145867,"editor":145868,"content":145872,"excerpt":145883,"featured":50,"reporter":145990,"_editable":145994,"component":697,"seo_title":145862,"categories":145995,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":145999,"seo_description":145883,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"2b395b8a-6a39-441e-9f10-5848764143db",[],[145869],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145870},{"job_title":557,"image":145871,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":145873},[145874,145879,145884,145889,145894,145899,145904,145909,145912,145917,145922,145927,145932,145937,145942,145947,145952,145957,145962,145967,145972,145977,145982,145987],{"type":591,"attrs":145875,"content":145876},{"textAlign":49},[145877],{"text":145878,"type":596},"By David Weight, President, Cobalt Development Institute (CDI) ",{"type":591,"attrs":145880,"content":145881},{"textAlign":49},[145882],{"text":145883,"type":596},"The need for responsible mining practices is not new and has for many years been at the top of the agenda for many large scale mining companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":145885,"content":145886},{"textAlign":49},[145887],{"text":145888,"type":596},"This issue has been collectively addressed by the large scale mining industry since the late 1990s in order to help improve public awareness, address concern for the environment, introduce the broader concept of sustainability and maintaining high ethical standards Cobalt is essentially a by-product of copper and nickel mining and one of the major objectives of the CDI is to promote the responsible production and use of cobalt in all forms and its members abide by the 7-guiding principles of the Institute.",{"type":591,"attrs":145890,"content":145891},{"textAlign":49},[145892],{"text":145893,"type":596},"The CDI members sign up to a code of conduct which exemplifies the very best standards in protecting human health, the environment and upholding human rights.",{"type":591,"attrs":145895,"content":145896},{"textAlign":49},[145897],{"text":145898,"type":596},"Downstream companies purchasing cobalt products from a CDI member company have the assurance that these products are produced with the highest ethical standards.",{"type":591,"attrs":145900,"content":145901},{"textAlign":49},[145902],{"text":145903,"type":596},"Company policies and codes of conduct stress a zero tolerance policy for child, forced or compulsory labour.",{"type":591,"attrs":145905,"content":145906},{"textAlign":49},[145907],{"text":145908,"type":596},"The CDI and its members are therefore very concerned about what has been reported on illegal artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).",{"type":591,"attrs":145910,"content":145911},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":145913,"content":145914},{"textAlign":49},[145915],{"text":145916,"type":596},"There is a risk of unjustified stigmatisation of all cobalt producers, including those in the CDI and International Council for Mining and Metals (ICMM), who for many years have followed strict corporate policies against the use of child labour and in the respecting of human rights.",{"type":591,"attrs":145918,"content":145919},{"textAlign":49},[145920],{"text":145921,"type":596},"Not only could this stigmatise the use of cobalt generally, to the detriment of the wider industry as a whole, but also those operations where the cobalt is mined and processed legitimately in full compliance with local regulations for health and safety and the protection of the environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":145923,"content":145924},{"textAlign":49},[145925],{"text":145926,"type":596},"It is also important to avoid the effects of unnecessary stigmatisation of the responsible bona-fide large scale producers that offer income, safe working conditions and protection of human rights, who may eventually decide to re-consider operating in that country.",{"type":591,"attrs":145928,"content":145929},{"textAlign":49},[145930],{"text":145931,"type":596},"Poverty, a lack of proper employment opportunity, the cost of education, and other capacity gaps are the main issues and should be addressed through partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives to help eradicate the use of child labour in places such as the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":145933,"content":145934},{"textAlign":49},[145935],{"text":145936,"type":596},"Ultimately, this is the responsibility of the DRC government so it is imperative that companies are encouraged to invest sustainably in the country in order to contribute to the economy and well-being of its people.",{"type":591,"attrs":145938,"content":145939},{"textAlign":49},[145940],{"text":145941,"type":596},"Any solution to this problem must include foreign governmental and international support and assistance to the DRC government in a manner that avoids unintended consequences.",{"type":591,"attrs":145943,"content":145944},{"textAlign":49},[145945],{"text":145946,"type":596},"At the same time, international pressure must also be applied on those noncompliant companies purchasing illegally mined cobalt, to address their own practices.",{"type":591,"attrs":145948,"content":145949},{"textAlign":49},[145950],{"text":145951,"type":596},"The mining industry provides the resources necessary for creating and developing modern materials and enabling technological progress and it has, as a responsible industry, also provided substantial benefits, particularly in developing countries. These include:",{"type":591,"attrs":145953,"content":145954},{"textAlign":49},[145955],{"text":145956,"type":596},"To achieve these benefits, the larger producers already operate within a spectrum of mandatory guidelines and voluntary initiatives that ensure they have responsible and sustainable working practices (e.g. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; UN and OECD Guidelines; the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative; the Global Reporting Initiative; ICMM Principles and many more) “The importance of responsible resourcing is growing as organisations increasingly take evaluation of environmental and social performance beyond their own operations and integrate it into supply chain purchasing decisions”, the ICMM writes in “A Guide to Responsible Sourcing”.",{"type":591,"attrs":145958,"content":145959},{"textAlign":49},[145960],{"text":145961,"type":596},"This is vitally important to ensure the sustainable credentials of the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":145963,"content":145964},{"textAlign":49},[145965],{"text":145966,"type":596},"It is important for producers to have an intimate understanding of their supply chain provenance, going beyond mere face value of documentation. So it is questionable whether the addition of mandated audits of the chain of material custody in addition to current guidelines would have any added value, particularly where the stream of raw material is from a company’s own mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":145968,"content":145969},{"textAlign":49},[145970],{"text":145971,"type":596},"For third-party material, a bi-lateral approach on sustainable sourcing between supplier and customer would be recommended in order to enhance the relationships within the supply chain and thus improve transparency.",{"type":591,"attrs":145973,"content":145974},{"textAlign":49},[145975],{"text":145976,"type":596},"This enables companies to carefully select their suppliers and eliminate those that do not provide the necessary sourcing assurances. In these circumstances selfcertification or voluntary reporting systems are the preferred method as they bring the required discipline and flexibility to address issues of compliance.",{"type":591,"attrs":145978,"content":145979},{"textAlign":49},[145980],{"text":145981,"type":596},"We at the CDI believe it is far better to consolidate and rationalise existing guidelines and initiatives, which are all well considered, rather than imposing mandated requirements across such a broad based industry operating at differing levels across the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":145983,"content":145984},{"textAlign":49},[145985],{"text":145986,"type":596},"For more information, visit the CDI at: www.thecdi.com",{"type":591,"attrs":145988,"content":145989},{"textAlign":49},[],[145991],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":145992},{"job_title":557,"image":145993,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2b395b8a-6a39-441e-9f10-5848764143db\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[145996,145997,145998],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":146000,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":146001,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e1e11e2e2d/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-141209.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":146003,"uuid":146004,"name":146005,"slug":146006,"full_slug":146007,"content":146008},112474967649525,"030d8126-0c48-4a26-9904-364929ad80de","Human rights abuses and the cobalt supply chain","human-rights-abuses-and-the-cobalt-supply-chain","article/human-rights-abuses-and-the-cobalt-supply-chain",{"_uid":146009,"date":145333,"tags":146010,"editor":146011,"content":146015,"excerpt":146184,"featured":50,"reporter":146185,"_editable":146189,"component":697,"seo_title":146005,"categories":146190,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":146194,"seo_description":146184,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"f1ae8110-d4e7-47ab-92cb-645290424fde",[],[146012],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146013},{"job_title":557,"image":146014,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":146016},[146017,146022,146027,146032,146037,146040,146045,146050,146055,146060,146065,146070,146073,146078,146083,146088,146093,146098,146103,146106,146111,146116,146121,146126,146131,146136,146141,146146,146151,146156,146161,146166,146169,146174,146179],{"type":591,"attrs":146018,"content":146019},{"textAlign":49},[146020],{"text":146021,"type":596}," In January 2016, Amnesty International released a report on artisanal cobalt mining and alleged human rights abuses in the DRC. Here, Mark Dummett, co-author of ‘This is what we die for’, explains the findings of the report, the subsequent global reaction and outlines the changes needed in corporate due diligence to prevent such abuses from continuing",{"type":591,"attrs":146023,"content":146024},{"textAlign":49},[146025],{"text":146026,"type":596},"Cobalt might end up in high-tech products, such as smartphones and electric vehicles, but much of it is mined using basic tools that have not changed in centuries.",{"type":591,"attrs":146028,"content":146029},{"textAlign":49},[146030],{"text":146031,"type":596},"In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), tens of thousands of miners use nothing more sophisticated than mallets and long metal spikes to chisel out the ore.",{"type":591,"attrs":146033,"content":146034},{"textAlign":49},[146035],{"text":146036,"type":596},"They work in tunnels deep underground that they have dug by hand, which are prone to collapse. The valuable mineral is also mined by children as young as seven. They scavenge in the discarded by-products of industrial mines, washing and sorting the ore before it is sold.",{"type":591,"attrs":146038,"content":146039},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146041,"content":146042},{"textAlign":49},[146043],{"text":146044,"type":596},"The DRC is the source of more than half of the world’s cobalt, and the government there estimates that some 20 per cent is mined by hand. Industry analysts suggest the real figure might be even higher, with thousands of artisanal miners digging for cobalt in new areas in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":146046,"content":146047},{"textAlign":49},[146048],{"text":146049,"type":596},"Most artisanal miners do not even have the most basic safety equipment, such as boots or helmets. Chronic exposure to dust containing cobalt can result in the potentially fatal “hard metal lung disease”, but artisanal miners have nothing to protect them.",{"type":591,"attrs":146051,"content":146052},{"textAlign":49},[146053],{"text":146054,"type":596},"Miners told us that hand-dug mines can extend for fifty metres underground, often without any support to hold them up, and are poorly ventilated. There is no official data available on the number of fatalities that occur, but miners said accidents are common, as unsupported tunnels collapse frequently. Between September 2014 and December 2015 alone, the DRC’s UN-run radio station, Radio Okapi, carried reports of fatal accidents involving more than 80 artisanal miners in the province then known as Katanga (last summer Katanga was divided into three). However, the true figure is likely to be far higher as many accidents go unrecorded and bodies are left buried underground.",{"type":591,"attrs":146056,"content":146057},{"textAlign":49},[146058],{"text":146059,"type":596},"It is DRC government policy to support the formalisation of artisanal mining and it has created authorized zones where mining activities can be regulated and made safer.",{"type":591,"attrs":146061,"content":146062},{"textAlign":49},[146063],{"text":146064,"type":596},"But the reality is that this policy has not been well implemented: there are very few authorized zones and most artisanal mining continues to take place in unofficial and unregulated areas. The government agencies charged with regulating artisanal mining and inspecting work sites for child labour are woefully understaffed and lack the capacity to perform their tasks. Artisanal miners complain that the government officials who are meant to help them are more likely to demand illegal payments from them.",{"type":591,"attrs":146066,"content":146067},{"textAlign":49},[146068],{"text":146069,"type":596},"Last year, a team of researchers from Amnesty International and Afrewatch, a Congolese human rights organisation, travelled to southern DRC to investigate the plight of the men, women and children working in artisanal cobalt mines. As well as documenting the dangerous and abusive conditions in the mines, we also traced the routes along which the mineral is then traded internationally.",{"type":591,"attrs":146071,"content":146072},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146074,"content":146075},{"textAlign":49},[146076],{"text":146077,"type":596},"Researchers followed vehicles of miners and traders as they carried cobalt ore from artisanal mines in Kolwezi to a market where minerals are traded. Independent traders buy the ore, without questioning where it has come from or how it has been mined. In turn, these traders sell the ore on to larger companies in the DRC that process and export it. One of the largest companies at the centre of this trade is Congo Dongfang Mining International (CDM). CDM is a 100% owned subsidiary of China-based Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Ltd (Huayou Cobalt), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cobalt products. Huayou Cobalt sells the processed cobalt to battery component manufacturers in China and South Korea, who in turn sell to battery manufacturers, including market leaders Samsung SDI, LG Chem and ATL.",{"type":591,"attrs":146079,"content":146080},{"textAlign":49},[146081],{"text":146082,"type":596},"Following this supply chain, we were able to identify that cobalt mined by children and adults in these dangerous and abusive conditions could be entering the supply chains of many of the world’s leading technology brands. These include Apple, Dell, Samsung, Sony, Microsoft and LG, as well as the Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, and automobile giants Daimler and Volkswagen. In seeking to understand how this international supply chain works, as well as to ask questions about each company’s due diligence policy, Amnesty International wrote to Huayou Cobalt and 24 other companies in China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, UK, and the USA. Their replies are available on Amnesty International’s website.",{"type":591,"attrs":146084,"content":146085},{"textAlign":49},[146086],{"text":146087,"type":596},"Our findings received massive global news coverage, with over 170 different links for news and other online coverage within two days of the report’s publication. Here in the UK, our research was carried by all of the leading newspapers, including the Financial Times. Even future consumers heard about the link between smartphones and child labour in the DRC: our research was headline news on a famous BBC TV children’s programme that is shown in classrooms across the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":146089,"content":146090},{"textAlign":49},[146091],{"text":146092,"type":596},"The interest was global, with the report picked up in key markets including China.",{"type":591,"attrs":146094,"content":146095},{"textAlign":49},[146096],{"text":146097,"type":596},"Amnesty’s campaigning on this issue has only just begun, and we will continue to watch how companies and governments respond to our findings.",{"type":591,"attrs":146099,"content":146100},{"textAlign":49},[146101],{"text":146102,"type":596},"So what then should companies do?",{"type":591,"attrs":146104,"content":146105},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146107,"content":146108},{"textAlign":49},[146109],{"text":146110,"type":596},"Those that have been buying cobalt, or products containing cobalt, from artisanal mines may be tempted to address the risk of negative publicity by discontinuing a trading relationship with a supplier or embargoing DRC cobalt. However, the fact is that many companies have been sourcing cobalt from these mines for many years without even checking or addressing the dangerous conditions in which adults and children mine cobalt, and so this would absolutely be the wrong thing to do. Companies have a responsibility to undertake remedial action if human rights abuses have occurred at any point in an existing or past supply chain and cannot simply walk away from the adults and children who have suffered human rights abuses for years.",{"type":591,"attrs":146112,"content":146113},{"textAlign":49},[146114],{"text":146115,"type":596},"International guidance, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD Guidance), set out the responsibility of upstream and downstream companies to manage, mitigate and remediate adverse impacts. Upstream and downstream companies should take remedial action on the harms suffered by adult and child artisanal miners.",{"type":591,"attrs":146117,"content":146118},{"textAlign":49},[146119],{"text":146120,"type":596},"UNICEF estimated in 2014 that approximately 40,000 boys and girls work in artisanal mines across southern DRC, many of them involved in cobalt mining.",{"type":591,"attrs":146122,"content":146123},{"textAlign":49},[146124],{"text":146125,"type":596},"It is widely recognised internationally that the involvement of children in mining constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour, which governments are required to prohibit and eliminate.",{"type":591,"attrs":146127,"content":146128},{"textAlign":49},[146129],{"text":146130,"type":596},"Our research showed that the nature of the work children do in artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC is hazardous, and likely to harm their health and safety. Companies must, in cooperation with national authorities, international agencies and civil society, develop and implement a plan to remove children from the worst forms of child labour, support children’s reintegration into the school system and address children’s health, physical, educational, economic and psychological needs. Similarly, there is a need to put in place health monitoring and treatment services for artisanal miners to assess and treat occupational diseases.",{"type":591,"attrs":146132,"content":146133},{"textAlign":49},[146134],{"text":146135,"type":596},"The OECD Guidance also suggests that one of the measures that upstream companies, individually or through joint assessment teams, should take to “minimise the risk of exposure of artisanal miners to abusive practices” is to support “host countries governments’ efforts for the progressive professionalization and formalisation of the artisanal sector”. Both upstream and downstream companies should consider ways in which they can support the DRC government’s policy of creating new areas where artisanal mining will be formalised and regulated.",{"type":591,"attrs":146137,"content":146138},{"textAlign":49},[146139],{"text":146140,"type":596},"All companies must put in place human rights due diligence systems, so that they can identify where the cobalt in their products comes from, and under what conditions it has been mined and traded.",{"type":591,"attrs":146142,"content":146143},{"textAlign":49},[146144],{"text":146145,"type":596},"Companies must make this information public.",{"type":591,"attrs":146147,"content":146148},{"textAlign":49},[146149],{"text":146150,"type":596},"A practical guide for how such due diligence should be carried out for supply chains has been provided by the OECD Guidance, which reflects the current international standard and lays out a five step process for all companies involved in the mineral supply chain to follow.",{"type":591,"attrs":146152,"content":146153},{"textAlign":49},[146154],{"text":146155,"type":596},"Companies that purchase cobalt, or components containing the mineral, have no excuse for not conducting such due diligence steps. T he DRC is by far the world’s largest source of cobalt and the poor conditions of its artisanal mines, and the presence of children working in them, has been reported publicly in the past.",{"type":591,"attrs":146157,"content":146158},{"textAlign":49},[146159],{"text":146160,"type":596},"Finally, other governments also need to act. Our research exposed a clear gap when it comes to home states (the countries where multinational companies are headquartered), such as China, the US, South Korea and many others, playing a meaningful role and requiring greater transparency around cobalt supply chain practices.",{"type":591,"attrs":146162,"content":146163},{"textAlign":49},[146164],{"text":146165,"type":596},"Currently, no country legally requires companies to publicly report on their cobalt supply chains. Under international human rights law, states have a duty to protect against human rights abuses by all actors, including businesses. A good way to fulfil this duty would be for governments to enact and enforce laws requiring corporate due diligence and public disclosure in relation to cobalt and other minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":146167,"content":146168},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146170,"content":146171},{"textAlign":49},[146172],{"text":146173,"type":596},"For many of the tech companies that use cobalt, supply chain due diligence requirements for all minerals – as laid out by the OECD Guidance – are not new. Additionally, many of them are USlisted companies subject to reporting requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires them to check whether certain minerals in their products (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) are contributing to the funding of armed groups or fuelling human rights abuses in the DRC or surrounding countries.",{"type":591,"attrs":146175,"content":146176},{"textAlign":49},[146177],{"text":146178,"type":596},"Yet it is clear that some of these companies are currently failing to operationalise the international standard for mineral supply chains beyond whatever measures they have put in place for 3T and gold. One company that we wrote to explicitly admitted, and others implied, that this is because cobalt is not covered under US legislation.",{"type":591,"attrs":146180,"content":146181},{"textAlign":49},[146182],{"text":146183,"type":596},"This admission clearly underscores the value of law in influencing corporate behaviour.","In January 2016, Amnesty International released a report on artisanal cobalt mining and alleged human rights abuses in the DRC. Here, Mark Dummett, co-author of ‘This is what we die for’, explains the findings of the report, the subsequent global reaction and outlines the changes needed in corporate due diligence to prevent such abuses from continuing",[146186],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146187},{"job_title":557,"image":146188,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f1ae8110-d4e7-47ab-92cb-645290424fde\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[146191,146192,146193],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":146195,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":146196,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9932dee275/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-141643.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":146198,"uuid":146199,"name":146200,"slug":146201,"full_slug":146202,"content":146203},112474962910352,"8d520f82-7000-4f41-bfcf-e011cbc0c89c","The need for leaders in  supply chain ownership","the-need-for-leaders-in-supply-chain-ownership","article/the-need-for-leaders-in-supply-chain-ownership",{"_uid":146204,"date":145333,"tags":146205,"editor":146206,"content":146210,"excerpt":146221,"featured":50,"reporter":146345,"_editable":146349,"component":697,"seo_title":146200,"categories":146350,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":146353,"seo_description":146221,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"c663fe00-7eae-4039-9b1f-c0ce57a7bba6",[],[146207],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146208},{"job_title":557,"image":146209,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":146211},[146212,146217,146222,146227,146232,146237,146242,146247,146252,146257,146262,146267,146272,146277,146282,146287,146292,146297,146302,146307,146312,146315,146320,146325,146330,146335,146340],{"type":591,"attrs":146213,"content":146214},{"textAlign":49},[146215],{"text":146216,"type":596}," By Michael Gibbs, Global Witness",{"type":591,"attrs":146218,"content":146219},{"textAlign":49},[146220],{"text":146221,"type":596},"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. Or so goes an old proverb. It is also the best time to start thinking seriously about sourcing minerals responsibly.",{"type":591,"attrs":146223,"content":146224},{"textAlign":49},[146225],{"text":146226,"type":596},"In recent years the links between conflict, human rights abuses and the minerals trade have been increasingly well documented and understood. While some conflicts are fought over control of mineral resources, others have deeper roots, but are still intensified and prolonged by the cash and economic incentives the trade can provide.",{"type":591,"attrs":146228,"content":146229},{"textAlign":49},[146230],{"text":146231,"type":596},"And while some armed groups are willing to suffer the hardships needed to profit directly from mining, many prefer instead to prey on those who have little choice but to face these dangers on a daily basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":146233,"content":146234},{"textAlign":49},[146235],{"text":146236,"type":596},"Elsewhere, in countries like Zimbabwe, resource-linked corruption on a grander scale has freed oppressive regimes and violent security services from national budgets and the oversight and accountability these bring, eroding the social contract and pushing already fragile states towards further conflict and instability.",{"type":591,"attrs":146238,"content":146239},{"textAlign":49},[146240],{"text":146241,"type":596},"The extractives sector ranked top of a 2014 analysis of international bribery cases conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).",{"type":591,"attrs":146243,"content":146244},{"textAlign":49},[146245],{"text":146246,"type":596},"And while the resource-rich countries of the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan are home to just over eight per cent of Africa’s population, they account for almost forty per cent of the continent’s displaced population.",{"type":591,"attrs":146248,"content":146249},{"textAlign":49},[146250],{"text":146251,"type":596},"If there was ever a time when these problems could be dismissed as the concern only of others, it has long since passed. We know that many of the supply chains that take these resources to market make their way to Europe and North America, bringing with them a range of legal, financial and reputational risks to companies, investors and consumers. At the same time, they bring leverage and an opportunity to make a difference.",{"type":591,"attrs":146253,"content":146254},{"textAlign":49},[146255],{"text":146256,"type":596},"There is no single solution to conflicts and their links to the trade in minerals. But while no single piece is sufficient on its own, that does not mean individual pieces cannot each be necessary and essential.",{"type":591,"attrs":146258,"content":146259},{"textAlign":49},[146260],{"text":146261,"type":596},"The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, operationalised in the minerals sector by the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, make it clear that individual corporate responsibility is one such critical piece. Like in other sectors – from textiles and food to financial services and waste disposal – companies are asked to take ownership of their supply chains and exercise appropriate due diligence when sourcing their minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":146263,"content":146264},{"textAlign":49},[146265],{"text":146266,"type":596},"The OECD standard has now been established globally. It has been endorsed by all 34 OECD members, 19 non-members, and the UN Security Council. It is also increasingly reflected in domestic laws and guidelines, including section 1502 of the US Dodd-Frank Act, recently released industry guidelines for Chinese companies and legislative commitments made in the twelve states of the African Great Lakes region.",{"type":591,"attrs":146268,"content":146269},{"textAlign":49},[146270],{"text":146271,"type":596},"The EU is a surprising exception. It is lagging behind, with ongoing negotiations of its draft conflict minerals regulation threatening to undermine this standard and the consistency and level playing field it offers.",{"type":591,"attrs":146273,"content":146274},{"textAlign":49},[146275],{"text":146276,"type":596},"Despite this progress there is a great deal still to be done. Relatively few companies are doing due diligence to anything like the OECD standard, and fewer still are reporting on what they have done in any meaningful detail. The debate is also still hampered by persistent misunderstandings of the process and its aims.",{"type":591,"attrs":146278,"content":146279},{"textAlign":49},[146280],{"text":146281,"type":596},"Making mineral supply chains more transparent and resilient to risk may seem like a daunting challenge. When faced with such a challenge it can be tempting to reframe it in more manageable terms. But solving a more manageable problem serves no one if it leaves the real issue obscured and untouched.",{"type":591,"attrs":146283,"content":146284},{"textAlign":49},[146285],{"text":146286,"type":596},"The “conflict minerals” narrative is too often framed by geography – most frequently by the geography of the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":146288,"content":146289},{"textAlign":49},[146290],{"text":146291,"type":596},"In some cases of semantic contortion, the meaning of ‘conflict’ has even been narrowed to be used synonymously with violence in eastern parts of Congo, as if armed confrontations and human rights abuses elsewhere in the world belong to a different category altogether.",{"type":591,"attrs":146293,"content":146294},{"textAlign":49},[146295],{"text":146296,"type":596},"The core concept of due diligence is not geography. It is risk. And risks are stateless and nomadic. They respect no borders and know no geography.",{"type":591,"attrs":146298,"content":146299},{"textAlign":49},[146300],{"text":146301,"type":596},"A flurry of recent reporting makes this clear. Child labour has been found in Congolese cobalt mines, but also in the gold mines of Ghana and Burkina Faso. Armed groups have profited from CAR’s abundant mineral wealth, landing one EU company on the UN’s sanctions list for trading in gold and diamonds linked to a conflict that has displaced one fifth of the country’s population and left one in two in need of humanitarian assistance.",{"type":591,"attrs":146303,"content":146304},{"textAlign":49},[146305],{"text":146306,"type":596},"Recent reports have documented similar problems in Colombia, Mexico, and in Myanmar’s secretive jade mines. The trade in resources linked to conflict and human rights abuses is a global problem that companies must play their part in confronting, whatever they source and wherever they source it from.",{"type":591,"attrs":146308,"content":146309},{"textAlign":49},[146310],{"text":146311,"type":596},"The responsible sourcing debate should focus on how companies do business, not where. As any successful company knows, risk is not necessarily a bad thing. Risks that are identified and well managed are called opportunities. The danger lies in unidentified and unmanaged risks.",{"type":591,"attrs":146313,"content":146314},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146316,"content":146317},{"textAlign":49},[146318],{"text":146319,"type":596},"No one, therefore, is asking companies to avoid risk entirely. Rather, companies are being asked to take ownership of their supply chains and to do something about the risks that can link their activities to human rights abuses and conflict financing – especially when sourcing from producing, processing, or transit countries where these risks are especially high. Avoiding risk entirely is neither a requirement of the due diligence process, nor responsible. It may even be self-defeating, as it comes with risks of its own. Divesting from a country or area simply because some additional care and diligence is required risks seriously disrupting local livelihoods and betrays a business model premised on indifference and a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that is no longer defensible.",{"type":591,"attrs":146321,"content":146322},{"textAlign":49},[146323],{"text":146324,"type":596},"The process of proactively identifying and mitigating risks in supply chains – and reporting publicly on efforts to do so – gives companies a practical means of honouring their responsibilities and a clear means of signalling their good standing to customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":146326,"content":146327},{"textAlign":49},[146328],{"text":146329,"type":596},"If done well, this can double as a defence in cases where something goes wrong.",{"type":591,"attrs":146331,"content":146332},{"textAlign":49},[146333],{"text":146334,"type":596},"We are often told that due diligence on mineral supply chains is difficult. There is some truth to this, but not for the reasons most often cited.",{"type":591,"attrs":146336,"content":146337},{"textAlign":49},[146338],{"text":146339,"type":596},"The primary difficulty lies not in the technical or logistical challenges companies in the minerals sector have always made it their business to overcome, but in the conceptual shift needed to make real ongoing management of these risks part of doing business as usual.",{"type":591,"attrs":146341,"content":146342},{"textAlign":49},[146343],{"text":146344,"type":596},"This process will take time. More time than many of the trade’s victims have. Changing the way minerals are sourced by keeping this process on track and moving forward at pace will require leadership from progressive companies willing to show what is possible while others drag their feet and look for loopholes. These companies know the second half of the proverb. They know that the second best time to plant a tree is today.",[146346],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146347},{"job_title":557,"image":146348,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c663fe00-7eae-4039-9b1f-c0ce57a7bba6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[146351,146352],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":146354,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":146355,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/90bed7957d/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-142714.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":146357,"uuid":146358,"name":146359,"slug":146360,"full_slug":146361,"content":146362},112474958187563,"6f5271e6-951d-49f0-a8de-9e71fd09e37e","Spheres of  Influence","spheres-of-influence","article/spheres-of-influence",{"_uid":146363,"date":145333,"tags":146364,"editor":146365,"content":146369,"excerpt":146877,"featured":50,"reporter":146878,"_editable":146882,"component":697,"seo_title":146359,"categories":146883,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":146886,"seo_description":146877,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"00cad605-73cc-44f0-bc5d-15665e0040dd",[],[146366],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146367},{"job_title":557,"image":146368,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":146370},[146371,146384,146389,146394,146399,146404,146409,146414,146419,146424,146429,146432,146437,146442,146447,146452,146457,146462,146467,146472,146477,146482,146487,146492,146497,146502,146507,146512,146517,146520,146525,146530,146535,146540,146545,146550,146555,146560,146565,146570,146575,146580,146585,146590,146595,146600,146605,146610,146615,146620,146625,146630,146633,146638,146643,146648,146653,146658,146663,146668,146673,146678,146681,146686,146691,146696,146701,146706,146711,146716,146721,146726,146731,146736,146739,146744,146749,146754,146759,146764,146767,146772,146777,146782,146787,146792,146797,146802,146807,146812,146817,146822,146827,146832,146837,146842,146847,146852,146857,146862,146867,146872],{"type":591,"attrs":146372,"content":146373},{"textAlign":49},[146374,146376,146378,146380,146382],{"text":146375,"type":596}," Graphite versus silicon in a race for the battery anode crown There is more graphite in a lithium ion battery than lithium.",{"text":146377,"type":596}," Yet while lithium steals the limelight, the importance of graphite’s role in the energy storage revolution is increasing.",{"text":146379,"type":596}," The most hotly debated subject in the field of battery materials, outside of whether a new super chemistry will usurp lithium ion, is whether graphite will continue to be the anode material of choice.",{"text":146381,"type":596}," If it is to be replaced, silicon is tipped as the next in line to graphite’s throne.",{"text":146383,"type":596}," However, as is usually the case with advanced materials, theory often differs from the real world.",{"type":591,"attrs":146385,"content":146386},{"textAlign":49},[146387],{"text":146388,"type":596}," George Hawley looks at the fundamentals and argues why graphite may be here for longer than speculators think.",{"type":591,"attrs":146390,"content":146391},{"textAlign":49},[146392],{"text":146393,"type":596},"Every few months, another research group announces that graphite is dead. They have a new anode, often based on silicon in some exotic form.",{"type":591,"attrs":146395,"content":146396},{"textAlign":49},[146397],{"text":146398,"type":596},"In reality, research into different lithium ion battery anodes is just starting in earnest at a point where the industry and incumbent materials are taking off in a major way.",{"type":591,"attrs":146400,"content":146401},{"textAlign":49},[146402],{"text":146403,"type":596},"Lithium ion is the chemistry of choice for the majority of the world’s leading battery producers and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers as it has a much higher capacity comparative to its weight than lead acid, nickel metal hydride and other mainstream forms of batteries today.",{"type":591,"attrs":146405,"content":146406},{"textAlign":49},[146407],{"text":146408,"type":596},"Without lithium ion batteries, EVs are at best impractical.",{"type":591,"attrs":146410,"content":146411},{"textAlign":49},[146412],{"text":146413,"type":596},"Therefore, it is important to first understand why graphite is the incumbent advanced material of choice to make a lithium ion battery anode and then to analyse its competitors to see the potential for a new anode material taking its crown.",{"type":615,"attrs":146415,"content":146416},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146417],{"text":146418,"type":596}," Anatomy of a cell",{"type":591,"attrs":146420,"content":146421},{"textAlign":49},[146422],{"text":146423,"type":596},"A lithium ion cell is composed of anode, cathode, electrolyte and separator.",{"type":591,"attrs":146425,"content":146426},{"textAlign":49},[146427],{"text":146428,"type":596},"The anode material is carbon, either synthetic or natural graphite, that is pasted onto a copper foil. The graphite material can range from 15-25 microns in size and is either synthetic graphite, a man-made material, or natural coated spherical graphite, a mined and processed mineral.",{"type":591,"attrs":146430,"content":146431},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146433,"content":146434},{"textAlign":49},[146435],{"text":146436,"type":596},"The cathode material is where the lithium ion battery gets its name. While there are six different types of mainstream lithium ion batteries, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has the expectation that the Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) or Nickel Cobalt Aluminium (NCA) formulations will be the dominant chemistries.",{"type":591,"attrs":146438,"content":146439},{"textAlign":49},[146440],{"text":146441,"type":596},"The cathode, in a 45-micron oxide form, is coated onto an aluminium foil that is 15 microns thick.",{"type":591,"attrs":146443,"content":146444},{"textAlign":49},[146445],{"text":146446,"type":596},"The third and final major component is a separator, a 20-micron thick polymer that plays the simple but important role of preventing short circuiting of the cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":146448,"content":146449},{"textAlign":49},[146450],{"text":146451,"type":596},"In total, the thickness of a lithium ion cell is around 100 microns thick and of this total about a quarter is the anode and nearly half is the cathode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146453,"content":146454},{"textAlign":49},[146455],{"text":146456,"type":596},"However, 60% of the graphite now used is natural graphite, which has up to 20% greater capacity and is lower in cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":146458,"content":146459},{"textAlign":49},[146460],{"text":146461,"type":596},"Battery manufacturers that are planning large scale expansions are aiming to reduce the cost of graphite anodes by more than half, from $7,000-10,000/tonne today to $4,000-5,000/tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":146463,"content":146464},{"textAlign":49},[146465],{"text":146466,"type":596},"However, the price impact of this on the total cost of the cell will be less than 2%, so low that it is hardly worthwhile making any efforts to improve the anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146468,"content":146469},{"textAlign":49},[146470],{"text":146471,"type":596},"In contrast, the electrolyte is 18% of the weight and 37% of the cell cost, and the cathode is 41% of the weight and 78% of the total cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":146473,"content":146474},{"textAlign":49},[146475],{"text":146476,"type":596},"Also, the best cathode has less than 50% lower specific capacity than the graphite anode. This is why the cathode is 80% thicker than the graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146478,"content":146479},{"textAlign":49},[146480],{"text":146481,"type":596},"Surely it would be more cost effective to research improvements in the cathode and electrolyte; however, the potential to improve the cathode is more limited as this has been the main focus of intensive research since 2009.",{"type":591,"attrs":146483,"content":146484},{"textAlign":49},[146485],{"text":146486,"type":596},"The lower barrier for entry for new research, and the faster route to government grants, is the anode material, which is why activity is increasing in this area, particularly from universities.",{"type":591,"attrs":146488,"content":146489},{"textAlign":49},[146490],{"text":146491,"type":596},"The US Department of Energy (DOE) is very generous with grants for research on lithium ion batteries and there has been a trend emerging in recent years with anode research.",{"type":591,"attrs":146493,"content":146494},{"textAlign":49},[146495],{"text":146496,"type":596},"This has introduced replacement anode materials into the public domain such as titanium metal and lithium metal.",{"type":591,"attrs":146498,"content":146499},{"textAlign":49},[146500],{"text":146501,"type":596},"But the one most talked about is silicon dioxide.",{"type":615,"attrs":146503,"content":146504},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146505],{"text":146506,"type":596}," Lithium metal",{"type":591,"attrs":146508,"content":146509},{"textAlign":49},[146510],{"text":146511,"type":596},"The first negative electrode (anode) tried in secondary (rechargeable) lithium ion batteries was lithium metal, which is used in primary (non-rechargeable) cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":146513,"content":146514},{"textAlign":49},[146515],{"text":146516,"type":596},"It was found that on charging, lithium grows whiskers (dendrites) which eventually reach the positive electrode (cathode) and short out the battery. Since lithium ion batteries hold a lot of energy, the result was a spectacular explosion and fire.",{"type":591,"attrs":146518,"content":146519},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146521,"content":146522},{"textAlign":49},[146523],{"text":146524,"type":596},"Ballore in France has had 25 of the Blue cars that use lithium metal anodes catch fire.",{"type":591,"attrs":146526,"content":146527},{"textAlign":49},[146528],{"text":146529,"type":596},"Another problem with lithium metal is that it reacts violently with water, and the oxygen and nitrogen of the air. If damaged or overcharged, batteries made with lithium metal may explode and/or catch fire. In EV, the batteries are located in the chassis, just above the road. Ever had an oil pan busted by a rock?",{"type":591,"attrs":146531,"content":146532},{"textAlign":49},[146533],{"text":146534,"type":596},"Also, the battery has to be water cooled. It is no good over 65 deg C. A leak = big bang.",{"type":591,"attrs":146536,"content":146537},{"textAlign":49},[146538],{"text":146539,"type":596},"Avestor made lithium metal batteries for U-Verse network equipment cabinets for AT&T.",{"type":591,"attrs":146541,"content":146542},{"textAlign":49},[146543],{"text":146544,"type":596},"Four of these exploded. So AT&T had to replace 17,000 of them. Avestor went bankrupt.",{"type":615,"attrs":146546,"content":146547},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146548],{"text":146549,"type":596}," Lithium ion solution",{"type":591,"attrs":146551,"content":146552},{"textAlign":49},[146553],{"text":146554,"type":596},"The solution was to switch to a lithium ion chemistry. In this, the anode is generally graphite as lithium ions do not react with water or air. There are no dendrites to grow.",{"type":591,"attrs":146556,"content":146557},{"textAlign":49},[146558],{"text":146559,"type":596},"If overcharged or damaged in a crash in such a way that the electrodes contact each other, the battery shorts out releasing a lot of energy. However, the graphite does not burn.",{"type":591,"attrs":146561,"content":146562},{"textAlign":49},[146563],{"text":146564,"type":596},"What catches fire is the organic liquid carrier for the electrolyte, the plastic separator and the plastic battery case.",{"type":591,"attrs":146566,"content":146567},{"textAlign":49},[146568],{"text":146569,"type":596},"Graphite is composed of layers of graphene, separated by air so the anode material has 82% porosity. This porosity is only accessible through the exposed edges of the flakes. The graphene planes are impermeable.",{"type":591,"attrs":146571,"content":146572},{"textAlign":49},[146573],{"text":146574,"type":596},"The gallery between the planes is 0.275nm thick. So ions like lithium, which has a diameter 0.180nm, and silicon, with a diameter 0.108nm, can easily enter (intercalate). By doing so, they do not force the gallery open.",{"type":591,"attrs":146576,"content":146577},{"textAlign":49},[146578],{"text":146579,"type":596},"The problem with graphite is that it has a relatively low specific capacity – less than one-tenth of that of metallic lithium.",{"type":615,"attrs":146581,"content":146582},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146583],{"text":146584,"type":596}," Enter silicon",{"type":591,"attrs":146586,"content":146587},{"textAlign":49},[146588],{"text":146589,"type":596},"Silicon’s competition with graphite is not new. Since 1989, efforts have been made to substitute silicon for graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":146591,"content":146592},{"textAlign":49},[146593],{"text":146594,"type":596},"In theory, a silicon anode is compelling: a different reaction with the lithium ions gives the material a capacity 11 times higher than graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":146596,"content":146597},{"textAlign":49},[146598],{"text":146599,"type":596},"The problem is anode expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":146601,"content":146602},{"textAlign":49},[146603],{"text":146604,"type":596},"For graphite, the lithium ions are taken into the galleries which act as a casing, therefore it does not suffer from extreme expansion in this process.",{"type":591,"attrs":146606,"content":146607},{"textAlign":49},[146608],{"text":146609,"type":596},"There is on average a 10% expansion, caused by the lithium ions reacting with the electrolyte and dragging these larger products into the galleries, jacking them open. This is a problem caused by the electrolyte and can be overcome by changing the electrolyte.",{"type":591,"attrs":146611,"content":146612},{"textAlign":49},[146613],{"text":146614,"type":596},"Silicon, however, has no galleries, so it reacts with the lithium to form an alloy. This alloy has a volume 375% larger than the original silicon.",{"type":591,"attrs":146616,"content":146617},{"textAlign":49},[146618],{"text":146619,"type":596},"The result: the silicon anode balloons up on charging and deflates during discharge.",{"type":591,"attrs":146621,"content":146622},{"textAlign":49},[146623],{"text":146624,"type":596},"The first major challenge for battery manufacturers is to design a casing to constrain this expansion, in a way mimicking what graphite’s galleries or layers of graphene do naturally.",{"type":591,"attrs":146626,"content":146627},{"textAlign":49},[146628],{"text":146629,"type":596},"The second and perhaps most important challenge is to stop the surface of the silicon anode cracking and flaking off during the expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":146631,"content":146632},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146634,"content":146635},{"textAlign":49},[146636],{"text":146637,"type":596},"The lithium ions contact the silicon surface first and make it expand with the silicon surface below. As a result, the surface alone expands by almost four times and it has nowhere to go, so it flakes off. This breaks the electrical contact so the capacity drops sharply after only a few cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":146639,"content":146640},{"textAlign":49},[146641],{"text":146642,"type":596},"An apt analogy is how potholes are formed in an asphalt pavement due to the freeze-thaw action of ice in the springtime and, interestingly, the ice-to-water expansion is only 10%.",{"type":615,"attrs":146644,"content":146645},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146646],{"text":146647,"type":596}," Silicon’s nano fix?",{"type":591,"attrs":146649,"content":146650},{"textAlign":49},[146651],{"text":146652,"type":596},"An area where silicon could have hope for a future in batteries is in nano technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":146654,"content":146655},{"textAlign":49},[146656],{"text":146657,"type":596},"Silicon’s Achilles heel is its structural weak spots at its crystal boundaries where it tends to crack. A partial fix for this is to reduce the silicon in size down to nano particle scale, which has less micro-cracks.",{"type":591,"attrs":146659,"content":146660},{"textAlign":49},[146661],{"text":146662,"type":596},"The second part of the solution is to encapsulate these nano silicon particles, effectively creating a cage in which the silicon can freely expand but not drop off and break electrical contact.",{"type":591,"attrs":146664,"content":146665},{"textAlign":49},[146666],{"text":146667,"type":596},"To date, this has been the approach of researchers whereby nano silicon particles have been encapsulated or coated onto the surface of carbon nanotubes, bucky balls, graphene and in the form of foam or whiskers.",{"type":591,"attrs":146669,"content":146670},{"textAlign":49},[146671],{"text":146672,"type":596},"Through this approach the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory together with the DOE has reduced the expansion of the silicon anode in a foam form to 30% and has achieved 750 mAh/g – 18% of theoretical capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":146674,"content":146675},{"textAlign":49},[146676],{"text":146677,"type":596},"But there is still a need to allow for the 375% expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":146679,"content":146680},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146682,"content":146683},{"textAlign":49},[146684],{"text":146685,"type":596},"The capacity per unit volume will be lower than with graphite and a much larger battery would be needed, and one would like to have room to carry children and luggage in an EV.",{"type":591,"attrs":146687,"content":146688},{"textAlign":49},[146689],{"text":146690,"type":596},"There are several problems with this nanofix for silicon; these are:",{"type":591,"attrs":146692,"content":146693},{"textAlign":49},[146694],{"text":146695,"type":596},"1.Manufacture",{"type":591,"attrs":146697,"content":146698},{"textAlign":49},[146699],{"text":146700,"type":596},"The major problem is making nano silicon.",{"type":591,"attrs":146702,"content":146703},{"textAlign":49},[146704],{"text":146705,"type":596},"One method is that they are manufactured by extracting silicon from a bulk sample by laser, plasma, or electron beams.",{"type":591,"attrs":146707,"content":146708},{"textAlign":49},[146709],{"text":146710,"type":596},"Alternatively, they can be made by high speed ball milling, precipitation and reduction, and by vapour deposition from silane or silicon tetrachloride.",{"type":591,"attrs":146712,"content":146713},{"textAlign":49},[146714],{"text":146715,"type":596},"The latter is a low cost solution at only $3,000/tonne – until one calculates the cost of the contained silicon at $18,180/ All of these production methods are expensive and of low capacity and very high capital cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":146717,"content":146718},{"textAlign":49},[146719],{"text":146720,"type":596},"2. Cost of silicon feedstock",{"type":591,"attrs":146722,"content":146723},{"textAlign":49},[146724],{"text":146725,"type":596},"There is cheap silicon available but it is too impure for batteries, which require a high purity material in excess of 99%.",{"type":591,"attrs":146727,"content":146728},{"textAlign":49},[146729],{"text":146730,"type":596},"Other industries that use ultra-pure silicon include the solar energy sector, which uses silicon as its main material to form photovoltaic (PV) which trades at $20-23,000/tonne but peaked at $80,000/ tonne in 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":146732,"content":146733},{"textAlign":49},[146734],{"text":146735,"type":596},"High purity silicon is also used in electronics with a semi-conductor grade selling for the equivalent of $35,000/tonne to $50,000/tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":146737,"content":146738},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146740,"content":146741},{"textAlign":49},[146742],{"text":146743,"type":596},"3. Cost of expansion",{"type":591,"attrs":146745,"content":146746},{"textAlign":49},[146747],{"text":146748,"type":596},"Space must be allowed for the 375% expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":146750,"content":146751},{"textAlign":49},[146752],{"text":146753,"type":596},"This extra space is not filled with air but electrolyte, one of the most expensive components of a lithium ion cell at $60,000/tonne, 23.4% of the total cost, according to Argonne National Laboratory.",{"type":591,"attrs":146755,"content":146756},{"textAlign":49},[146757],{"text":146758,"type":596},"Resistivity Silicon is a semiconductor. Its resistivity is 85,000 ohm.cm. This makes it an insulator in battery anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":146760,"content":146761},{"textAlign":49},[146762],{"text":146763,"type":596},"Graphite is semi-metallic. It is a conductor of electricity with resistivity of 1,400 ohm. cm.",{"type":591,"attrs":146765,"content":146766},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146768,"content":146769},{"textAlign":49},[146770],{"text":146771,"type":596},"Even graphite needs the addition of highly conductive expensive carbon black or graphene to make it work, but silicon needs far more.",{"type":591,"attrs":146773,"content":146774},{"textAlign":49},[146775],{"text":146776,"type":596},"4. Reactivity",{"type":591,"attrs":146778,"content":146779},{"textAlign":49},[146780],{"text":146781,"type":596},"Nano particles have a very high surface area, so are very reactive.",{"type":591,"attrs":146783,"content":146784},{"textAlign":49},[146785],{"text":146786,"type":596},"Silicon reacts with oxygen to form a silica coating, which has to be removed with hydrofluoric acid, a very corrosive and toxic chemical. Nano silicon reacts with water to form explosive hydrogen.",{"type":591,"attrs":146788,"content":146789},{"textAlign":49},[146790],{"text":146791,"type":596},"Thus making batteries with nano silicon requires making them in a vacuum or in argon.",{"type":591,"attrs":146793,"content":146794},{"textAlign":49},[146795],{"text":146796,"type":596},"Graphite anodes are made in the open air.",{"type":615,"attrs":146798,"content":146799},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146800],{"text":146801,"type":596}," Perfect harmony?",{"type":591,"attrs":146803,"content":146804},{"textAlign":49},[146805],{"text":146806,"type":596},"While silicon and graphite have gone head to head for the last 30 years, the future anode may actually lie in a combination of both advanced materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":146808,"content":146809},{"textAlign":49},[146810],{"text":146811,"type":596},"Some cell makers are already adding modest amounts of silicon to boost the capacity of the graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146813,"content":146814},{"textAlign":49},[146815],{"text":146816,"type":596},"Tesla Motors’ CEO, Elon Musk, is the highest profile person to publicly speak on this trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":146818,"content":146819},{"textAlign":49},[146820],{"text":146821,"type":596},"“It’s a baby step in the direction of using silicon in the anode, but we will be increasing the use of silicon in the anode,” Musk explained in an investor conference call in July 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":146823,"content":146824},{"textAlign":49},[146825],{"text":146826,"type":596},"The point was never elaborated on, with many believing Musk had spoken too soon on any battery material developments that Tesla may have in the pipeline for its Gigafactory towards the end of the decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":146828,"content":146829},{"textAlign":49},[146830],{"text":146831,"type":596},"However, it was an interesting development and one many industry participants had expected: using silicon as an additive in a graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146833,"content":146834},{"textAlign":49},[146835],{"text":146836,"type":596},"Amprius, a spin-off of Silicon Valley-based Stanford University, has also made progress on small-scale silicon anode production.",{"type":591,"attrs":146838,"content":146839},{"textAlign":49},[146840],{"text":146841,"type":596},"Although the cost has never been divulged,Amprius found very good anode performance with nano silicon wires. This focus, however, has now been switched to using 10-50% silicon additive in a graphite anode.",{"type":591,"attrs":146843,"content":146844},{"textAlign":49},[146845],{"text":146846,"type":596},"The company has achieved 650 Whr/litre compared to 400-620 Whr/litre with graphite alone, and 280 Whr/kg compared to 200-240 for graphite alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":146848,"content":146849},{"textAlign":49},[146850],{"text":146851,"type":596},"Argonne National Laboratories and the DOE have developed an anode with 7.9% silicon in graphite, with reversible capacity of 604 mAh/g versus 369 for a good graphite product. These results are seen as a small improvement, but they do allow more energy to be packed into a smaller volume.",{"type":591,"attrs":146853,"content":146854},{"textAlign":49},[146855],{"text":146856,"type":596},"The results claim 6.8% weight saving over the graphite standard, representing 2.45g saving in a cell phone, about 1.5% of the total weight.",{"type":591,"attrs":146858,"content":146859},{"textAlign":49},[146860],{"text":146861,"type":596},"The question is whether this benefit is worth the additional cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":146863,"content":146864},{"textAlign":49},[146865],{"text":146866,"type":596},"The field of battery raw materials is one of the most rapidly advancing in the world today. In Silicon Valley, the most sought after jobs are now in the field of energy storage and advanced materials.",{"type":591,"attrs":146868,"content":146869},{"textAlign":49},[146870],{"text":146871,"type":596},"The balance is developing a real world anode that can be reliably, safely and cost effectively adopted by the mainstream battery industry. It is a much greater challenge than many materials scientists will even realise.",{"type":591,"attrs":146873,"content":146874},{"textAlign":49},[146875],{"text":146876,"type":596},"The six concluding points below offer a summary of where we stand today:","Graphite versus silicon in a race for the battery anode crown There is more graphite in a lithium ion battery than lithium.",[146879],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146880},{"job_title":557,"image":146881,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"00cad605-73cc-44f0-bc5d-15665e0040dd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[146884,146885],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":67452,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":67452,"source":547,"filename":146887,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":146888,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ac0aae2b18/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-143424.png",{"alt":67452,"title":67452,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":146890,"uuid":146891,"name":146892,"slug":146893,"full_slug":146894,"content":146895},112474953432006,"9361a327-402c-4e0f-a75f-0840773e8cd3","Formula Club-E:  the New Class","formula-club-e-the-new-class","article/formula-club-e-the-new-class",{"_uid":146896,"date":145333,"tags":146897,"editor":146898,"content":146902,"excerpt":146908,"featured":50,"reporter":147208,"_editable":147212,"component":697,"seo_title":146892,"categories":147213,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":147216,"seo_description":146908,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"6396b1d8-c585-4025-9b84-e3a2532dcd0a",[],[146899],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":146900},{"job_title":557,"image":146901,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":146903},[146904,146909,146914,146919,146922,146927,146932,146937,146942,146947,146950,146955,146960,146965,146970,146975,146980,146983,146988,146993,146998,147003,147008,147013,147018,147023,147028,147033,147036,147041,147046,147051,147056,147061,147066,147071,147076,147081,147086,147091,147096,147099,147104,147109,147114,147117,147122,147127,147132,147137,147142,147147,147150,147155,147160,147165,147170,147173,147180,147187,147194,147201],{"type":591,"attrs":146905,"content":146906},{"textAlign":49},[146907],{"text":146908,"type":596},"Oxford Brookes University and the world’s largest racing car manufacturer, Dallara Automobili, introduce The Formula Club-E Development Project and the impact this could have on motorsport as a whole",{"type":591,"attrs":146910,"content":146911},{"textAlign":49},[146912],{"text":146913,"type":596},"With the rise in popularity of Formula E, electric vehicle racing is beginning to conquer the world of motorsport – bringing the support of not only seasoned motorsport fans, but also new, fresh to the scene technology enthusiasts. However, while fans are currently dazzled by the fantastic display of racing action and technology excellence, the time will inevitably come when they too will want a taste of the action.",{"type":591,"attrs":146915,"content":146916},{"textAlign":49},[146917],{"text":146918,"type":596},"Motorsport has always been characterised by its entry-level formulae. These classes have always been there, feeding the bigger classes by providing a stage for new talent to develop and show itself to team managers eager to sign the next champion. Not only that, but lower formulae are also where racing enthusiasts can emulate their idols. Either way, both the aspiring professional driver and the hobbyist have the opportunity to race alternative versions of the desired and admired racing cars of higher formulae.",{"type":591,"attrs":146920,"content":146921},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146923,"content":146924},{"textAlign":49},[146925],{"text":146926,"type":596},"Despite the less advanced chassis and the smaller engines making for slower and, more importantly, safer cars they are still capable of putting everyone on the edge of their seats with close racing action and highly disputed contests. Single make championships excel in providing race action largely as a result of every driver on track having access to the same equipment. Not only does this format lend itself to exciting racing that both fans and drivers love, but it does so at a sensible cost – foregoing the need for expensive technological development essential to success in open formulae.",{"type":591,"attrs":146928,"content":146929},{"textAlign":49},[146930],{"text":146931,"type":596},"The question is, where can the electric vehicle enthusiast find their share of the action? Where is the starting formula that allows the fans to have a taste of what electric racing is all about? The answer to these questions is currently being developed at Oxford Brookes University (OBU) in collaboration with one of the world’s largest racing car manufacturers: Dallara Automobili.",{"type":615,"attrs":146933,"content":146934},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146935],{"text":146936,"type":596}," Plugging the gap",{"type":591,"attrs":146938,"content":146939},{"textAlign":49},[146940],{"text":146941,"type":596},"Back in 2014 the OBU Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences received a visit from Andrea Toso – Head of R&D and US Racing Business Leader at Dallara. This visit would kick-start a project that will fulfil electric racing dreams everywhere.",{"type":591,"attrs":146943,"content":146944},{"textAlign":49},[146945],{"text":146946,"type":596},"OBU’s facilities include equipment such as a Scanning Electron Microscope, 4 engine dynamometer test cells, a wind tunnel and a 4 Post dynamic test rig. OBU has been specialsing in motorsport for some time and has one of the top UK Formula SAE teams, strong industrial partnerships and recognition from leading motorsport and automotive manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":146948,"content":146949},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146951,"content":146952},{"textAlign":49},[146953],{"text":146954,"type":596},"Having recognised a gap in the market Dallara, the manufacturer of every Formula E car on the grid, approached OBU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences with the idea of developing an affordable electric racing vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":146956,"content":146957},{"textAlign":49},[146958],{"text":146959,"type":596},"The challenge was promptly accepted and so started one of the most ambitious projects for OBU: The Formula Club-E Development Project. Every detail of the vehicle from chassis dynamics, powertrain options down to the formula and business model were to be developed by Oxford Brookes’ MSc students, guided at every step of the way by experts from Dallara. To ensure the success of the project at all levels the motorsport vehicle design expertise of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences was supported by business strategy and development knowledge from the Business School. This breadth of knowledge, coupled with the chance to work on a real, large scale project, provides an excellent learning opportunity for the students and, crucially, prepares them for employment.",{"type":591,"attrs":146961,"content":146962},{"textAlign":49},[146963],{"text":146964,"type":596},"The Department is very keen on this – 92% of graduates go on to employment, many in F1, Formula E and other major suppliers to the automotive industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":146966,"content":146967},{"textAlign":49},[146968],{"text":146969,"type":596},"The project is scheduled for four years and is now midway through completion. More than 100 postgraduate MSc students will have collectively contributed over 60,000 hours for the success of this project by the end of the fourth year.",{"type":615,"attrs":146971,"content":146972},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[146973],{"text":146974,"type":596}," Electric fences to jump",{"type":591,"attrs":146976,"content":146977},{"textAlign":49},[146978],{"text":146979,"type":596},"The design, manufacturing and commercialisation of a vehicle and racing series is a challenging task at the best of times and it only becomes more difficult when the vehicle in question is electric. Plenty of organisational and engineering challenges arise in this area – some from the lack of knowledge and experience with the electric powertrain, some from the uncertainty of the customers’ reaction to a technology in its relative infancy.",{"type":591,"attrs":146981,"content":146982},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":146984,"content":146985},{"textAlign":49},[146986],{"text":146987,"type":596},"The Business School helped to support the task of characterising the market and determining the business model most likely to succeed. A thorough analysis of conventional series and vehicles was performed to position Formula Club-E in the market as attractively as possible.",{"type":591,"attrs":146989,"content":146990},{"textAlign":49},[146991],{"text":146992,"type":596},"The performance of electric cars is largely unknown when compared to their internal combustion counterparts, and there is a serious concern regarding the safety of these systems – with careful precautions being taken at this stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":146994,"content":146995},{"textAlign":49},[146996],{"text":146997,"type":596},"The level of detail of the analysis undertaken highlights the commitment to this project – making it impossible to ignore this as a serious bid for the future of affordable electric racing.",{"type":615,"attrs":146999,"content":147000},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147001],{"text":147002,"type":596}," Defining the winning Formula",{"type":591,"attrs":147004,"content":147005},{"textAlign":49},[147006],{"text":147007,"type":596},"The possibilities that arise from starting with a blank sheet can soon turn into a conceptually confusing product if care is not taken to define the right goals. OBU is all too aware of this and very early in the project started to define the character of this vehicle. Developed for a less experienced or even amateur group of drivers, the driving experience had to be simplified. All too often nowadays cars are equipped with so much technology that the driving experience is diluted by the devices implemented to make the car faster. Even though the lowest lap time may be the ultimate goal for some, others are discouraged by all the experience, preparation and budget that a fast car requires.",{"type":591,"attrs":147009,"content":147010},{"textAlign":49},[147011],{"text":147012,"type":596},"With this in mind, the Formula Club-E is meant to feature the very latest technology and yet be fundamentally simple, focusing on the enjoyment of the driver at manageable speeds for the less experienced. Regardless of having a clear idea of their goal, Oxford Brookes could not risk getting this formula wrong. As such, not only were most ideas considered – they were fully developed and tested. This approach eliminates any doubts that the final design will be anything other than the optimal design.",{"type":591,"attrs":147014,"content":147015},{"textAlign":49},[147016],{"text":147017,"type":596},"It is important to realise just how complex a study like this is. Every parameter tested is coupled with at least one other area of the vehicle, making this a multi-dimensional problem of optimisation. The cooperation between groups of different development areas is paramount.",{"type":615,"attrs":147019,"content":147020},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147021],{"text":147022,"type":596}," Simulation & batteries",{"type":591,"attrs":147024,"content":147025},{"textAlign":49},[147026],{"text":147027,"type":596},"None of this would be possible without extensive use of simulation tools. Starting from a solid base of expertise in vehicle simulation and modelling, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences continues to push for better, faster and more reliable simulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":147029,"content":147030},{"textAlign":49},[147031],{"text":147032,"type":596},"DYMOLA was adopted as a tool to build the advanced ‘virtual prototype’ models required. Upon completion and assembly of all the individual models, testing will be undertaken at the state of the art Dallara Driver-in-Loop simulator, allowing test drivers to experience the vehicle before it comes to reality as a physical product. Feedback on the vehicle performance can be gathered and improvements tried before production costs are incurred.",{"type":591,"attrs":147034,"content":147035},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147037,"content":147038},{"textAlign":49},[147039],{"text":147040,"type":596},"One of the areas where knowledge is evolving the most is undoubtedly the powertrain. The motor and batteries are large, expensive, heavy and crucial components that require the utmost care when being specified. One of the benefits of Formula Club-E will be to help organisations like Tesla raise public awareness and acceptance of electric vehicle technology – though it has to be recognised that significant challenges for mass take-up of the technology exist in the supply chain, such as the supply of rare minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":147042,"content":147043},{"textAlign":49},[147044],{"text":147045,"type":596},"After considering torque vectoring strategies, a single motor was determined to be the ideal solution in view of efficiency and cost control. Most suitable motor options available in the market have been simulated.",{"type":591,"attrs":147047,"content":147048},{"textAlign":49},[147049],{"text":147050,"type":596},"However, since this is a constantly evolving technology new solutions are always being considered when they become available.",{"type":591,"attrs":147052,"content":147053},{"textAlign":49},[147054],{"text":147055,"type":596},"As far as powertrain performance is concerned, currently the biggest limiting component is the batteries. With around 1/30th of the energy density of petrol they make up a large portion of the vehicle mass.",{"type":591,"attrs":147057,"content":147058},{"textAlign":49},[147059],{"text":147060,"type":596},"Furthermore, the requirements for batteries in motorsport are also very extreme with very high power draw and charge making for aggressive usage cycles. The batteries need to be charged quickly between races, and also absorb and store the energy from regenerative braking while in use.",{"type":591,"attrs":147062,"content":147063},{"textAlign":49},[147064],{"text":147065,"type":596},"Within this area, there are significant materials science challenges – but the constant need in motorsport to push the boundaries of performance makes it the ideal test bed for the development of materials and disruptive new technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":147067,"content":147068},{"textAlign":49},[147069],{"text":147070,"type":596},"The importance of choosing the appropriate batteries becomes even clearer when one realises that the team even simulates where and how the vehicle will be raced. This is due to different energy levels and conditions encountered at different locations.",{"type":615,"attrs":147072,"content":147073},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147074],{"text":147075,"type":596}," Battery safety",{"type":591,"attrs":147077,"content":147078},{"textAlign":49},[147079],{"text":147080,"type":596},"Due to vehicle dynamic considerations and the amount of mass involved, batteries have to be placed in a location that will place the centre of gravity (CoG) in a favourable location. When it comes to the influence of the CoG on the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle, the more central and lower the position the better. Although using a battery composed of cells can allow for some freedom in configurations, there is one major aspect that somewhat limits the creativity – safety.",{"type":591,"attrs":147082,"content":147083},{"textAlign":49},[147084],{"text":147085,"type":596},"Motorsport has been making huge efforts to ensure the safety of the drivers, marshals and public. Electric batteries are not necessarily any more or less dangerous than a full tank of fuel, but battery-specific considerations have to be taken into account to ensure the level of safety required. The speed at which the energy stored can inflict severe injuries makes containing that energy in the event of an accident one of the biggest priorities. In view of the priority for safety, the arrangement of the cells has been kept in a more traditional configuration, which in turn led to a solution that consists of a single unit containing all the cells behind the driver.",{"type":591,"attrs":147087,"content":147088},{"textAlign":49},[147089],{"text":147090,"type":596},"Even though it may be more detrimental to the vehicle dynamics than a modular design that could be spread around the driver, this solution is more robust, and more likely to meet safety regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":147092,"content":147093},{"textAlign":49},[147094],{"text":147095,"type":596},"Crash scenarios have been considered and simulated to analyse the structural behaviour of the system, and instantaneous shut-off circuits relying on monitoring of power usage and demands have been developed. The crash simulations were run in LS-DYNA following FIA guidelines for safety requirements – once again highlighting the attention to detail employed throughout this project.",{"type":591,"attrs":147097,"content":147098},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147100,"content":147101},{"textAlign":49},[147102],{"text":147103,"type":596},"Oxford Brookes also prepared the vehicle for future technologies and regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":147105,"content":147106},{"textAlign":49},[147107],{"text":147108,"type":596},"Should there be a need for it, and permission from regulatory bodies, the Formula Club-E is designed to allow for battery changes during the race, in true ‘refuelling’ style. The safety challenges here are so high that even the pinnacle of the sport – Formula E – has opted not to use it for the time being on grounds of safety. As a consequence, two cars per driver are required with a change of cars mid-race.",{"type":591,"attrs":147110,"content":147111},{"textAlign":49},[147112],{"text":147113,"type":596},"The same scenario would not be sustainable for a low budget formula.",{"type":591,"attrs":147115,"content":147116},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147118,"content":147119},{"textAlign":49},[147120],{"text":147121,"type":596},"To incorporate a removable battery design Oxford Brookes’ students have not only had to cope with existing challenges but also with the ones the solution itself creates. In other words, from the moment a battery pack is sealed, in order to guarantee safety, something else becomes a hot topic – temperature control.",{"type":615,"attrs":147123,"content":147124},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147125],{"text":147126,"type":596}," Cooling the batteries",{"type":591,"attrs":147128,"content":147129},{"textAlign":49},[147130],{"text":147131,"type":596},"Motors and batteries have a temperature window of operation relatively small with exponentially decreasing performance when operating outside of range. If control over the temperature is lost the damage can build up to severe failures of the system.",{"type":591,"attrs":147133,"content":147134},{"textAlign":49},[147135],{"text":147136,"type":596},"Not leaving a single detail to chance, a considerable amount of effort has been made to understand the heat transfer interactions in place.",{"type":591,"attrs":147138,"content":147139},{"textAlign":49},[147140],{"text":147141,"type":596},"Extensive thermal computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis and DYMOLA simulations were performed, with expert training and support in the use of the software provided by Claytex Services.",{"type":591,"attrs":147143,"content":147144},{"textAlign":49},[147145],{"text":147146,"type":596},"Many hours of modelling work later, a simulation capable of calculating real-time component temperatures was completed.",{"type":591,"attrs":147148,"content":147149},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147151,"content":147152},{"textAlign":49},[147153],{"text":147154,"type":596},"This model will be one of many running simultaneously in the driver-in-loop Dallara simulator, providing valuable data with a resolution down to each individual battery cell.",{"type":591,"attrs":147156,"content":147157},{"textAlign":49},[147158],{"text":147159,"type":596},"Currently simulations are being carried out for charge/discharge cycles for the duration of the whole event, including track driving, energy recovery and battery recharging with the vehicle stationary. More than a concept The scale of the project, coupled with analysis that is being undertaken in Oxford Brookes and Dallara’s Formula Club-E project, conveys a sense of purpose – of something that will not settle for being a mere concept.",{"type":591,"attrs":147161,"content":147162},{"textAlign":49},[147163],{"text":147164,"type":596},"Currently at the midway point, the project has a few questions to be answered and components to be finalised. The simulation models developed are prepared for this, and alternative emerging technologies can now be rapidly simulated and evaluated, thus the team are actively looking for partners to help contribute to the project. In fact, they have much industrial support for the project, including some famous names such as David Brabham, Allan McNish and Petter Solberg.",{"type":591,"attrs":147166,"content":147167},{"textAlign":49},[147168],{"text":147169,"type":596},"The answer to budget electric racing is coming from two leading organisations in Motorsport engineering: Oxford Brookes University and Dallara Automobili.",{"type":591,"attrs":147171,"content":147172},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147174,"content":147175},{"textAlign":49},[147176],{"text":147177,"type":596,"marks":147178}," Authors:",[147179],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":147181,"content":147182},{"textAlign":49},[147183],{"text":147184,"type":596,"marks":147185}," Miguel Fernandez Ferreira, Technical Instructor, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University ",[147186],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":147188,"content":147189},{"textAlign":49},[147190],{"text":147191,"type":596,"marks":147192},"Andrew Bradley, Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University",[147193],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":147195,"content":147196},{"textAlign":49},[147197],{"text":147198,"type":596,"marks":147199}," Andrea Toso, Head of R&D and US Racing Business Leader, Dallara Automobili",[147200],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":147202,"content":147203},{"textAlign":49},[147204],{"text":147205,"type":596,"marks":147206}," Gareth Neighbour, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University",[147207],{"type":1006},[147209],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147210},{"job_title":557,"image":147211,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6396b1d8-c585-4025-9b84-e3a2532dcd0a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[147214,147215],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":147217,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":147218,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/61feff7e3e/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-182558.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":147220,"uuid":147221,"name":147222,"slug":147223,"full_slug":147224,"content":147225},112474948430689,"41e21575-dbd3-4c95-ac4d-2af65b7c7c85","Is lithium the new rare earths?","is-lithium-the-new-rare-earths","article/is-lithium-the-new-rare-earths",{"_uid":147226,"date":145333,"tags":147227,"editor":147228,"content":147232,"excerpt":147238,"featured":50,"reporter":147359,"_editable":147363,"component":697,"seo_title":147222,"categories":147364,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":147368,"seo_description":147238,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"36598047-65c0-46bc-a81b-344ca9ece537",[],[147229],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147230},{"job_title":557,"image":147231,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":147233},[147234,147239,147244,147249,147254,147259,147264,147269,147274,147279,147284,147289,147294,147299,147304,147309,147314,147319,147324,147329,147334,147339,147344,147349,147354],{"type":591,"attrs":147235,"content":147236},{"textAlign":49},[147237],{"text":147238,"type":596},"It is a common question that we get asked at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence from investors, explorers and new participants alike.",{"type":591,"attrs":147240,"content":147241},{"textAlign":49},[147242],{"text":147243,"type":596},"Even though the two minerals share very few similarities besides being niche industries that border the mineralchemical boundary, it is a question that continues to persist because of increasing lithium prices – a surge that brings back painful memories for many rare earth investors. But the fundamentals of the two markets are very different.",{"type":591,"attrs":147245,"content":147246},{"textAlign":49},[147247],{"text":147248,"type":596},"Rare earths are the most extreme example of complex chemical processing, with each element requiring tailored methods for a huge number of end markets, many of which exhibit low or flat demand growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":147250,"content":147251},{"textAlign":49},[147252],{"text":147253,"type":596},"The price for some rare earth elements rocketed well beyond 1,000% in the space of 6 months, with little to no prior warning signs in the years preceding the episode of volatility.",{"type":591,"attrs":147255,"content":147256},{"textAlign":49},[147257],{"text":147258,"type":596},"In the case of lithium, market demand has grown 30% in the last 5 years and supply is now in shortage.",{"type":591,"attrs":147260,"content":147261},{"textAlign":49},[147262],{"text":147263,"type":596},"Since 2005, lithium’s use as the base raw material for lithium ion battery cathodes has seen annual growth in this market increase from 8% to 15% in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":147265,"content":147266},{"textAlign":49},[147267],{"text":147268,"type":596},"Meanwhile, lithium’s latest episode of price volatility is nowhere near the rare earths level and has been far more prolonged – upward pressures began as far back as October 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":147270,"content":147271},{"textAlign":49},[147272],{"text":147273,"type":596},"The difference in the aggressiveness of these price increases are important to understand as they point to fundamentals of each market and offer insight into their future direction.",{"type":591,"attrs":147275,"content":147276},{"textAlign":49},[147277],{"text":147278,"type":596},"Rare earths had no prior warning to what were the most extreme price increases ever seen in niche minerals. It was driven purely by politics – China deliberately blocking the exports to the Japanese trading houses over a fishing boat dispute.",{"type":591,"attrs":147280,"content":147281},{"textAlign":49},[147282],{"text":147283,"type":596},"The industry suffered from its rigid structure with nearly all supply at the time coming from one mine in China – which intensified a sensitive situation.",{"type":591,"attrs":147285,"content":147286},{"textAlign":49},[147287],{"text":147288,"type":596},"Lithium on the other hand had a price warning in 2009 when they increased from 30-50% in the space of 12 months. This was the culmination of new, unforeseen demand pressure from China beginning in 2005 together with Sons of Gwalia (now Talison) going into receivership.",{"type":591,"attrs":147290,"content":147291},{"textAlign":49},[147292],{"text":147293,"type":596},"This was a precursor to the more aggressive volatility episode we are seeing today and can be seen as a tremor before the earthquake. In 2009, lithium’s major producers eventually reacted by bringing some new capacity on-stream but their outlook continued to be short term and reactive.",{"type":591,"attrs":147295,"content":147296},{"textAlign":49},[147297],{"text":147298,"type":596},"Meanwhile, our appetite for lithium in handheld mobile technology was reaching fever pitch and began to spill over into the auto arena and, most critically, pure electric vehicles (EVs), with the launch of Nissan’s LEAF, where the batteries are much, much bigger.",{"type":591,"attrs":147300,"content":147301},{"textAlign":49},[147302],{"text":147303,"type":596},"This new supply was soon absorbed.",{"type":591,"attrs":147305,"content":147306},{"textAlign":49},[147307],{"text":147308,"type":596},"The result is today’s much more aggressive price increases of three to four fold over a similar 12-month period as before.",{"type":591,"attrs":147310,"content":147311},{"textAlign":49},[147312],{"text":147313,"type":596},"The rare earths price run was a firework, a short fuse ending in an almighty price explosion with very little warning. It was a situation that was driven by politics and exacerbated by the fact that China then controlled 95% of supply from one source.",{"type":591,"attrs":147315,"content":147316},{"textAlign":49},[147317],{"text":147318,"type":596},"Lithium is more like a bonfire that has been increasing in size and intensity over the last decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":147320,"content":147321},{"textAlign":49},[147322],{"text":147323,"type":596},"Its supply base is far more balanced between Chile, Argentina and Australia and the price rises are being driven by fundamental battery demand within China. One only has to look at where the new industrial plants are being built.",{"type":591,"attrs":147325,"content":147326},{"textAlign":49},[147327],{"text":147328,"type":596},"In the 1980s and 1990s it was aluminium and steel plants, while in the 1990s and 2000s it was chemical plants such as titanium dioxide.",{"type":591,"attrs":147330,"content":147331},{"textAlign":49},[147332],{"text":147333,"type":596},"Today, the multi-billion dollar plants being constructed around the world are to produce lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":147335,"content":147336},{"textAlign":49},[147337],{"text":147338,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is tracking at least 12 major new capacity expansions that, if all come on-stream by 2020 as planned, will see the industry more than double its output.",{"type":591,"attrs":147340,"content":147341},{"textAlign":49},[147342],{"text":147343,"type":596},"Of these projects, only one is the high profile Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, while 9 reside in China, joint ventures between the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans – the experts in battery production. While the focus is on the newcomers, Elon Musk and Tesla, we estimated that nearly 70% of new lithium ion demand – and therefore new demand for lithium carbonate and hydroxide – will be coming from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":147345,"content":147346},{"textAlign":49},[147347],{"text":147348,"type":596},"Battery plants are going from megawatt to gigawatt capacities – this is not the 8-10% growth seen in the past, the shift is an order of magnitude bigger.",{"type":591,"attrs":147350,"content":147351},{"textAlign":49},[147352],{"text":147353,"type":596},"Lithium ion batteries have been around for nearly 30 years, but it is an industry that is now coming of age.",{"type":591,"attrs":147355,"content":147356},{"textAlign":49},[147357],{"text":147358,"type":596},"We should therefore not be surprised by the lithium spike of the past 12 months – the warnings were in the price curves.",[147360],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147361},{"job_title":557,"image":147362,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"36598047-65c0-46bc-a81b-344ca9ece537\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[147365,147366,147367],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":147369,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":147370,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5cf31b55ac/bm-electronics.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":147372,"uuid":147373,"name":147374,"slug":147375,"full_slug":147376,"content":147377},112474943646459,"08045c10-0d5e-4d8c-ac64-1ff161efdf81","Has critical cobalt been overlooked?","has-critical-cobalt-been-overlooked","article/has-critical-cobalt-been-overlooked",{"_uid":147378,"date":145333,"tags":147379,"editor":147380,"content":147384,"excerpt":147390,"featured":50,"reporter":147556,"_editable":147560,"component":697,"seo_title":147374,"categories":147561,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":147565,"seo_description":147390,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"75bb514b-1184-4c94-8acb-a0ddff569160",[],[147381],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147382},{"job_title":557,"image":147383,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":147385},[147386,147391,147396,147401,147406,147411,147416,147421,147426,147431,147436,147441,147446,147451,147456,147461,147466,147471,147476,147481,147486,147491,147496,147501,147506,147511,147516,147521,147526,147531,147536,147541,147546,147551],{"type":591,"attrs":147387,"content":147388},{"textAlign":49},[147389],{"text":147390,"type":596},"With the discussion over a new energy revolution, lithium ion batteries, and energy storage reaching fever pitch in 2016, it has begged the curious question: why has cobalt been overlooked?",{"type":591,"attrs":147392,"content":147393},{"textAlign":49},[147394],{"text":147395,"type":596},"Cobalt is a critical component to a lithium ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":147397,"content":147398},{"textAlign":49},[147399],{"text":147400,"type":596},"While less is used in a battery than its lithium, graphite and nickel counterparts, cobalt still makes up an average of 10-15% of the cathode and, importantly, it has historically been the most price volatile.",{"type":591,"attrs":147402,"content":147403},{"textAlign":49},[147404],{"text":147405,"type":596},"There are two reasons why cobalt is not hitting the headlines: the first being the fact that the price is (still) very low compared to past performance and, the second, is that it is not called a ‘cobalt ion battery’.",{"type":591,"attrs":147407,"content":147408},{"textAlign":49},[147409],{"text":147410,"type":596},"Tackling the second point first, something as simple as a name may seem like a flippant comment, but it has been the talk of the town not only in cobalt but also in the graphite and nickel industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":147412,"content":147413},{"textAlign":49},[147414],{"text":147415,"type":596},"Why are these industries, which also serve the red hot battery market, not getting the lithium treatment?",{"type":591,"attrs":147417,"content":147418},{"textAlign":49},[147419],{"text":147420,"type":596},"Lithium has taken nearly all of the limelight for, mainly, justifiable reasons which include the extreme price spikes and the supply shortage of both key battery grades of material.",{"type":591,"attrs":147422,"content":147423},{"textAlign":49},[147424],{"text":147425,"type":596},"However, the fact that it is logical for the investment community to relate lithium to a lithium ion battery and that it is geologically easy to find has given the lithium bull extra charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":147427,"content":147428},{"textAlign":49},[147429],{"text":147430,"type":596},"Cobalt, however, has rarely made it to the discussion table despite a facing numerous serious supply and demand problems over the coming years and considering its criticality in modern day lithium ion cathodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":147432,"content":147433},{"textAlign":49},[147434],{"text":147435,"type":596},"At Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, we focus on three main battery cathode materials that we believe will be the mainstays of the industry over the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":147437,"content":147438},{"textAlign":49},[147439],{"text":147440,"type":596},"Whether you analyse LCO (Lithium Cobalt Oxide), NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) or NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminium), cobalt is critical to all three options to a varying degree.",{"type":591,"attrs":147442,"content":147443},{"textAlign":49},[147444],{"text":147445,"type":596},"The most intensive cathode technology, LCO, can be up to 50% cobalt but this is being phased out by NCA and, especially, NMC cathodes which can contain 10-15% cobalt content.",{"type":591,"attrs":147447,"content":147448},{"textAlign":49},[147449],{"text":147450,"type":596},"While it is true that battery producers are seeking to reduced their cobalt consumption, Benchmark believes the element will always be used in a lithium ion battery and the massive growth in the sector will more offset any consumption rate changes.",{"type":591,"attrs":147452,"content":147453},{"textAlign":49},[147454],{"text":147455,"type":596},"To a new industry entrant, the amounts of cobalt used in a battery may seem like an insignificant additive, but in the context of the niche cobalt industry – which in 2015 was around 100,000 tonnes – it is a major market.",{"type":591,"attrs":147457,"content":147458},{"textAlign":49},[147459],{"text":147460,"type":596},"The lithium ion battery industry has seen cobalt demand grow by three fold in the last five years to a market size of 45,000 tpa in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":147462,"content":147463},{"textAlign":49},[147464],{"text":147465,"type":596},"And the real growth is yet to come.",{"type":591,"attrs":147467,"content":147468},{"textAlign":49},[147469],{"text":147470,"type":596},"The Tesla Gigafactory 1 in Nevada will need an average of 7,000 tpa of cobalt at capacity – that is 15% of today’s market from one buyer, not taking into account any stockpiling the company will want to do.",{"type":591,"attrs":147472,"content":147473},{"textAlign":49},[147474],{"text":147475,"type":596},"Batteries are by far the number one market for cobalt yet, curiously, the price is not driven by its chemical products but the cobalt metal used in a host of industrial applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":147477,"content":147478},{"textAlign":49},[147479],{"text":147480,"type":596},"Cobalt prices have been low for some time languishing around $10-12/ lb, a far cry from the extreme peaks of February 2008 when they rocketed to $52/lb due to a supply shortage sparked by instability in the number one producing country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).",{"type":591,"attrs":147482,"content":147483},{"textAlign":49},[147484],{"text":147485,"type":596},"And this brings us onto the second major issue that cobalt has to deal with in the next five years: 55% of the world’s cobalt supply is from the DRC’s copper and nickel mines.",{"type":591,"attrs":147487,"content":147488},{"textAlign":49},[147489],{"text":147490,"type":596},"Firstly, a small percentage of this supply has been subject to intense scrutiny following the publication of an Amnesty International report which claimed it was sourced using child labour. It is a problem that cobalt will have to face as its usage grows with consumer products such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.",{"type":591,"attrs":147492,"content":147493},{"textAlign":49},[147494],{"text":147495,"type":596},"But today, the even bigger problem is the lack of long term supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":147497,"content":147498},{"textAlign":49},[147499],{"text":147500,"type":596},"With copper prices suffering and continuing its downward trend thanks to Brexit fallout, supply has been cut in the DRC resulting in less cobalt for the growing battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":147502,"content":147503},{"textAlign":49},[147504],{"text":147505,"type":596},"While cobalt’s industrial markets slump, its hi-tech uses are surging and causing a conundrum for the industry’s suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":147507,"content":147508},{"textAlign":49},[147509],{"text":147510,"type":596},"The question is when supply will return and it is only a question, at present, that can be answered by the copper industry rather than cobalt players.",{"type":591,"attrs":147512,"content":147513},{"textAlign":49},[147514],{"text":147515,"type":596},"And that in a nutshell is cobalt’s constant challenge: it is mined as a by-product.",{"type":591,"attrs":147517,"content":147518},{"textAlign":49},[147519],{"text":147520,"type":596},"No cobalt dominant resources yet exist; geologically it is an associated mineral. This means developing new supply for a hi-tech era is one fraught with great capital risks. So bringing new mines on-stream is not a simple task.",{"type":591,"attrs":147522,"content":147523},{"textAlign":49},[147524],{"text":147525,"type":596},"And this is a situation that the biggest user of cobalt, China, is all too aware of.",{"type":591,"attrs":147527,"content":147528},{"textAlign":49},[147529],{"text":147530,"type":596},"It forced China Molybdenum into acquiring Freeport McMoran’s Tenke mine in the DRC for $2.65bn – its first foray into the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":147532,"content":147533},{"textAlign":49},[147534],{"text":147535,"type":596},"It is a move which gives China majority control over the world’s cobalt supply, and just in time for a surge in its lithium ion battery output.",{"type":591,"attrs":147537,"content":147538},{"textAlign":49},[147539],{"text":147540,"type":596},"Only one cobalt producer, ERG (formerly ENRC), has committed to focusing on the lithium ion battery market, yet no firm plans have yet to come to the fore.",{"type":591,"attrs":147542,"content":147543},{"textAlign":49},[147544],{"text":147545,"type":596},"It leaves many buyers of battery grade cobalt questioning the medium term strategy of their suppliers and whether they are ready for a new era in lithium ion demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":147547,"content":147548},{"textAlign":49},[147549],{"text":147550,"type":596},"While batteries are a market that cobalt has been long familiar, the traditional nature of the industry means it will need more convincing and the only significant way this will happen is through price spikes.",{"type":591,"attrs":147552,"content":147553},{"textAlign":49},[147554],{"text":147555,"type":596},"And has cobalt’s hi-tech future creeps up on its industrial past and present, there is little doubt this is on the horizon and you will, once again, see cobalt grabbing the headlines.",[147557],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147558},{"job_title":557,"image":147559,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"75bb514b-1184-4c94-8acb-a0ddff569160\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[147562,147563,147564],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":146354,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":147566,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":147568,"uuid":147569,"name":147570,"slug":147571,"full_slug":147572,"content":147573},112474938649144,"a04f4eba-1376-413c-bb92-36b319ee383c","Battery grade graphite shortage on horizon as demand rockets","battery-grade-graphite-shortage-on-horizon-as-demand-rockets","article/battery-grade-graphite-shortage-on-horizon-as-demand-rockets",{"_uid":147574,"date":145333,"tags":147575,"editor":147576,"content":147580,"excerpt":147586,"featured":50,"reporter":147873,"_editable":147877,"component":697,"seo_title":147570,"categories":147878,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":147882,"seo_description":147586,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"c4c4e27c-a014-4c81-879c-29ce096ee0af",[],[147577],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147578},{"job_title":557,"image":147579,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":147581},[147582,147587,147592,147597,147602,147607,147612,147617,147622,147627,147632,147637,147642,147647,147652,147657,147662,147667,147670,147675,147680,147685,147690,147695,147700,147705,147710,147715,147720,147725,147730,147735,147740,147745,147750,147755,147760,147765,147770,147775,147780,147785,147790,147795,147798,147803,147808,147813,147818,147823,147828,147833,147838,147843,147848,147853,147858,147863,147868],{"type":591,"attrs":147583,"content":147584},{"textAlign":49},[147585],{"text":147586,"type":596},"Anode demand in China is surging as Beijing turns to lithium ion powered electric buses and cars to solve its air quality problem, a situation now at critical Demand for graphite (carbon) used as anode material in lithium ion batteries is set to increase by over 200% in the next four years as global cell production surges on the back of maturing pure electric vehicle (EV) demand and the inception of the energy storage in the utility sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":147588,"content":147589},{"textAlign":49},[147590],{"text":147591,"type":596},"China’s concern over the air quality of its cities, especially its capital, is forcing the country to act rapidly to solve an issue that has reached a critical level. In 2015, Beijing issued its first ever air pollution “red alert” forcing the capital’s schools to close and outdoor work to come to a halt.",{"type":591,"attrs":147593,"content":147594},{"textAlign":49},[147595],{"text":147596,"type":596},"The country sees EVs as the most immediate solution to the problem, particularly for vehicles used in city centres such as pure electric buses and cars. Beijing already issues significant subsidies for e-bus production, a situation that was a major contributor to the lithium price spike.",{"type":591,"attrs":147598,"content":147599},{"textAlign":49},[147600],{"text":147601,"type":596},"But with a wide range of pure electric buses and cars scheduled to hit the Chinese market in the next 4 years, the implications for battery raw material demand are significant, especially for the little known anode market.",{"type":591,"attrs":147603,"content":147604},{"textAlign":49},[147605],{"text":147606,"type":596},"New data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts the anode market – which is nearly exclusively served by naturally sourced spherical graphite and synthetically produced graphite – to increase from 80,000 tpa in 2015 to at least 250,000 tpa by the end of 2020 while the market could be as large as 400,000 tpa in the most bullish of cases with no supply restrictions.",{"type":591,"attrs":147608,"content":147609},{"textAlign":49},[147610],{"text":147611,"type":596},"Taking the most conservative case, Benchmark estimates that over 360,000 tonnes of medium flake graphite will be needed as a feedstock source for the spherical material by 2020. This is nearly a doubling of the flake concentrate market in 2015 should the naturaltosynthetic demand proportions remain the same in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":147613,"content":147614},{"textAlign":49},[147615],{"text":147616,"type":596},"At present, China produces 100% of the world’s spherical graphite which is predominately produced from flake sourced from mines in Heilongjiang province in the country’s north-east, but there have been a number of new companies entering the scene looking to create new spherical plants outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":147618,"content":147619},{"textAlign":49},[147620],{"text":147621,"type":596},"The most significant development to date has been Syrah Resources’ Balama Project in Mozambique. The fully funded mine will begin flake graphite production in Q2 2017, but the company is positioning itself to serve the burgeoning global anode market with a spherical plant in Louisiana, US, and recently announced a 50,000 tpa coated spherical supply agreement last month with Japanese trader Marubeni Corp.",{"type":591,"attrs":147623,"content":147624},{"textAlign":49},[147625],{"text":147626,"type":596},"“[The deal] provides an insight into the demand for spherical graphite currently required by Korean and Japanese battery producers… This should also be viewed as validation for the use of natural graphite in the anode industry,” Managing Director, Tolga Kumova, explained to Benchmark in an interview.",{"type":591,"attrs":147628,"content":147629},{"textAlign":49},[147630],{"text":147631,"type":596},"“It is also important to understand that this 50,000 tpa spherical off take is for Japanese and Korean battery producers. Syrah will also look to service the explosive demand being witnessed in the Chinese market,” he added. Demand for anode material has been rising significantly. Last year, the world’s spherical graphite output was 52,000 tpa rising from 37,000 tpa the year before. China has also enacted spherical graphite expansions over the last 12 months in anticipation of the further demand increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":147633,"content":147634},{"textAlign":49},[147635],{"text":147636,"type":596},"In another example, Alabama Graphite are developing a USbased spherical plant. The project is targeting a start-up capacity of 5,000 tpa of coated spherical graphite rising to 15,000 tpa to meet domestic US demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":147638,"content":147639},{"textAlign":49},[147640],{"text":147641,"type":596},"The company will supply the feedstock flake by restarting in Coosa County, Alabama while the spherical plant is being planned for Rockford, 30km away.",{"type":591,"attrs":147643,"content":147644},{"textAlign":49},[147645],{"text":147646,"type":596},"“We will produce two products for the US lithium-ion battery market — namely, coated spherical purified graphite for lithium-ion batteries and purified micronized graphite (PMG) [initially] for alkaline batteries and composites,” President and CEO, Donald Baxter explained to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":147648,"content":147649},{"textAlign":49},[147650],{"text":147651,"type":596},"“[Our coated spherical graphite material] was proven suitable for lithium-ion battery use, and it performed better than costlier and environmentally questionable synthetic graphite.”",{"type":591,"attrs":147653,"content":147654},{"textAlign":49},[147655],{"text":147656,"type":596},"“Primary and secondary processing plants will produce 5,000 tonnes of specialty high-purity graphite products annually, ramping up to 15,000 tonnes annually in year seven,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":147658,"content":147659},{"textAlign":49},[147660],{"text":147661,"type":596},"The company is aiming to be a US based supplier of battery grade material and is first looking at serving specialist battery markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":147663,"content":147664},{"textAlign":49},[147665],{"text":147666,"type":596},"“Of the American-based EV and stationary-battery manufacturers to potentially address, the most exciting for us is the US government and defence sector. For example, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contractors are legally mandated to source their input materials from the US whenever and wherever possible — and there are numerous American Lithium-ion battery solutions providers for the DoD,” Baxter explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":147668,"content":147669},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147671,"content":147672},{"textAlign":49},[147673],{"text":147674,"type":596},"The developments in the defence sector are just one example of surging global demand that is being underpinned by major expansions in the lithium ion battery industry that are underway worldwide as the sector matures from megawatt plants to gigawatt scale operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":147676,"content":147677},{"textAlign":49},[147678],{"text":147679,"type":596},"In Canada, an alliance of four graphite development companies – Elcora Advanced Materials, Northern Graphite, Nouveau Monde Mining Enterprises, and Metals of Africa – have partnered with Coulometrics to jointly acquire a spherical graphite mill with the goal of producing coated material “end to end in North America”.",{"type":591,"attrs":147681,"content":147682},{"textAlign":49},[147683],{"text":147684,"type":596},"The alliance is at an early stage and is seeking to have its material fully qualified by lithium ion battery producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":147686,"content":147687},{"textAlign":49},[147688],{"text":147689,"type":596},"Benchmark is tracking at least 12 lithium ion megafactories worldwide, seven of which are located in China and two in the US. By far the largest plant under construction is Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory 1 in Nevada – a $5bn investment set to reach its 35GWh cell capacity by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":147691,"content":147692},{"textAlign":49},[147693],{"text":147694,"type":596},"However, nearly 70% of new lithium ion battery demand for raw materials will be coming from China as the country’s major cell manufacturers, such as ATL and Lishen, expand their operations in a race to become the world’s lowest cost producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":147696,"content":147697},{"textAlign":49},[147698],{"text":147699,"type":596},"Investments in new lithium ion battery capacity out to 2020 are in excess of $15bn and rising according to Benchmark data.",{"type":591,"attrs":147701,"content":147702},{"textAlign":49},[147703],{"text":147704,"type":596},"This does not take into account the rumoured lithium ion megafactory being planned by Volkswagen AG (VW) which is expected to cost $11bn and be roughly twice the size of Tesla’s Gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":147706,"content":147707},{"textAlign":49},[147708],{"text":147709,"type":596},"Should this rumour be substantiated in anyway by VW in the coming months, committed investments into expanding lithium ion battery capacity will rise well above $20bn over the next four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":147711,"content":147712},{"textAlign":49},[147713],{"text":147714,"type":596},"This is set to have a significant impact on demand for graphite anode material as cell manufacturers seek to lock up long term supplies of the material.",{"type":615,"attrs":147716,"content":147717},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147718],{"text":147719,"type":596}," Natural or synthetic?",{"type":591,"attrs":147721,"content":147722},{"textAlign":49},[147723],{"text":147724,"type":596},"Today, 65% of all battery anode material is sourced from natural spherical graphite, 33% from synthetic graphite material and the remaining 2% from other alternatives such as lithium titante, silicon and tin used in very small amounts in different technologies and testing of new anode formulas.",{"type":591,"attrs":147726,"content":147727},{"textAlign":49},[147728],{"text":147729,"type":596},"Analysing the consumption trends over the last 10 years, there is little doubt that battery consumers prefer naturally sourced graphite which is much lower cost to produce and has a lower environmental footprint than synthetic graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":147731,"content":147732},{"textAlign":49},[147733],{"text":147734,"type":596},"However, consistency of supply remains a problem for the material as the feedstock flake graphite is sourced from multiple mines in China, each of which have different raw material ‘signatures’ – impurities that vary from mine to mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":147736,"content":147737},{"textAlign":49},[147738],{"text":147739,"type":596},"This makes it difficult for the end consumer to adapt to the changing raw material qualities.",{"type":591,"attrs":147741,"content":147742},{"textAlign":49},[147743],{"text":147744,"type":596},"With synthetic graphite, as it is man made from lower quality carbon raw materials such as petroleum coke and coal tar pitch, producers can offer a more consistent product albeit at a higher price, which can be up to three times that of coated, spherical graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":147746,"content":147747},{"textAlign":49},[147748],{"text":147749,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite primarily supplies the steel industry with anode rods used to melt steel scrap.",{"type":591,"attrs":147751,"content":147752},{"textAlign":49},[147753],{"text":147754,"type":596},"These anodes, however, are very different to the lithium ion battery anodes in high demand. “Synthetic graphite faces a more complex problem to meet the growing demand,” explained Ontario Graphite CEO and former SGL vice president of Americas, Tom Burkett.",{"type":591,"attrs":147756,"content":147757},{"textAlign":49},[147758],{"text":147759,"type":596},"“Increases in capacity will require significant investment to meet the demand. As an example, SGL invested over €250m ($277m) to install an electrode plant in Malaysia” Burkett told Benchmark in an interview.",{"type":591,"attrs":147761,"content":147762},{"textAlign":49},[147763],{"text":147764,"type":596},"“This plant has an annual capacity of 40-50,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite. Using this as a single point guide, investment to install 100,000 tonnes of new capacity in synthetic anode materials could require an investment of €400-500m ($443554m),” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":147766,"content":147767},{"textAlign":49},[147768],{"text":147769,"type":596},"Burkett also explained that converting an anode plant into a speciality plant for batteries is not a straight forward task. In one example given, a major synthetic graphite producer spent $50m attempting to covert its steel anode plant into a speciality operation. The plan did not work and it resulted in a $50m write-off.",{"type":591,"attrs":147771,"content":147772},{"textAlign":49},[147773],{"text":147774,"type":596},"While synthetic graphite challenges appear greater than natural, it is important to note that synthetic still commands a third of the anode market and provides consistent, higher quality material to the market. Something natural graphite has struggled to do.",{"type":591,"attrs":147776,"content":147777},{"textAlign":49},[147778],{"text":147779,"type":596},"In Q2 synthetic expansion, Japan’s SDK has increased its battery anode production capacity from 1,000 to 1,500 tpa showing rising demand for all battery anode materials regardless of provenance.",{"type":615,"attrs":147781,"content":147782},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147783],{"text":147784,"type":596}," Prices to follow lithium?",{"type":591,"attrs":147786,"content":147787},{"textAlign":49},[147788],{"text":147789,"type":596},"While lithium prices are experiencing their strongest ever surge, graphite has lagged behind.",{"type":591,"attrs":147791,"content":147792},{"textAlign":49},[147793],{"text":147794,"type":596},"Flake graphite – the feedstock source for spherical graphite – is seeing limited upward pressure after being weighed down by a lack of demand in the steel sector, its primary market.",{"type":591,"attrs":147796,"content":147797},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147799,"content":147800},{"textAlign":49},[147801],{"text":147802,"type":596},"However, new price data from Benchmark has started to show rising prices for uncoated spherical graphite, 99.95% C, 15 micron in size, on a FOB China basis.",{"type":591,"attrs":147804,"content":147805},{"textAlign":49},[147806],{"text":147807,"type":596},"Price ranges in the market have risen from $2,500 to $3,000/tonne in Q4 2015, to $2,800 to $3,200/tonne in Q2 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":147809,"content":147810},{"textAlign":49},[147811],{"text":147812,"type":596},"Benchmark’s uncoated spherical graphite prices reflect the range of products seen on the market. As each product is milled and purified to a customer’s specification, there is not one single traded price for spherical graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":147814,"content":147815},{"textAlign":49},[147816],{"text":147817,"type":596},"For example, the particle sizes of battery anode material can vary from 12 micron to 25 micron while raw material quality issues with some flake sourced in China means not all product can be used by the major consumers.",{"type":591,"attrs":147819,"content":147820},{"textAlign":49},[147821],{"text":147822,"type":596},"Benchmark has even heard some new requests for a finer, 5 micron sized product for battery anode consumption, an example of how much the battery-grade specification can vary.",{"type":591,"attrs":147824,"content":147825},{"textAlign":49},[147826],{"text":147827,"type":596},"It will take some growth in the battery market – which is presently the second largest for natural flake graphite in the derivative spherical form – before it begins to have a meaningful impact on the flake concentrate price. At present, the steel industry, especially in China and the US are far more influential factors.",{"type":591,"attrs":147829,"content":147830},{"textAlign":49},[147831],{"text":147832,"type":596},"Analysing the price trends of each graphite product over the last two years, graphite is split into a two tier market. While nearly all grades of flake graphite concentrate and value added products have fallen between April 2014 and 2016, there is a marked percentage difference.",{"type":591,"attrs":147834,"content":147835},{"textAlign":49},[147836],{"text":147837,"type":596},"For example, flake graphite concentrates of -100 mesh, +100 mesh and +80 mesh, all with a purity of 94-95% C have fallen in excess of 30%. Value added, or derivative products, however, have seen a much softer landing with price decreases ranging from 5% to 17% and, in the case of expandable graphite, average price increases of 10%.",{"type":591,"attrs":147839,"content":147840},{"textAlign":49},[147841],{"text":147842,"type":596},"These price movements demonstrate the complexity of the graphite market and its downstream products, all of which serve different end uses with their own supply and demand dynamics. However, they are also still impacted by the wider raw material trends with 66% of flake graphite being sourced in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":147844,"content":147845},{"textAlign":49},[147846],{"text":147847,"type":596},"While steel is still the main driver for flake graphite concentrate demand, markets such as batteries for spherical graphite and flame retardant materials for expandable graphite are showing strong growth prospects.",{"type":591,"attrs":147849,"content":147850},{"textAlign":49},[147851],{"text":147852,"type":596},"However, the sourcing of the precursor flake material is still dictated by the fortunes of the global steel industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":147854,"content":147855},{"textAlign":49},[147856],{"text":147857,"type":596},"It is a sector which has suffered even more at the beginning of Q2 after China dumped excess steel supply onto the global market at a cut price of 30%. Developments like this are evidence of a structural problem with the steel market and a recalibration is underway to a lower demand equilibrium.",{"type":591,"attrs":147859,"content":147860},{"textAlign":49},[147861],{"text":147862,"type":596},"This means demand for graphite in this sector is likely to be flat for some years to come forcing flake concentrate suppliers, especially those outside of China, to focus on specialist grades.",{"type":591,"attrs":147864,"content":147865},{"textAlign":49},[147866],{"text":147867,"type":596},"However, should the battery market grow as expected and consumption parameters remain at today’s levels, Benchmark forecasts the sector will overtake refractories as the number one market for flake graphite before 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":147869,"content":147870},{"textAlign":49},[147871],{"text":147872,"type":596},"And once batteries become the number one market, graphite would begin to see similar price fluctuations to the lithium industry.",[147874],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147875},{"job_title":557,"image":147876,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c4c4e27c-a014-4c81-879c-29ce096ee0af\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[147879,147880,147881],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":147883,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":147884,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3df7c849d5/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-191259.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":147886,"uuid":147887,"name":147888,"slug":147889,"full_slug":147890,"content":147891},112474934110669,"b201bcb7-ad16-43a9-8d28-dc39209e28e2","China’s graphite shortage fears eased by June rainfall","chinas-graphite-shortage-fears-eased-by-june-rainfall","article/chinas-graphite-shortage-fears-eased-by-june-rainfall",{"_uid":147892,"date":145333,"tags":147893,"editor":147895,"content":147899,"excerpt":147905,"featured":50,"reporter":148054,"_editable":148058,"component":697,"seo_title":147888,"categories":148059,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":148063,"seo_description":147905,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"d2e0edd3-032c-428b-86f4-5897d6daed0c",[147894],{"slug":575,"name":576},[147896],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":147897},{"job_title":557,"image":147898,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":147900},[147901,147906,147911,147916,147921,147926,147931,147936,147941,147946,147949,147954,147959,147964,147969,147974,147979,147984,147989,147994,147999,148004,148009,148014,148019,148024,148029,148034,148039,148044,148049],{"type":591,"attrs":147902,"content":147903},{"textAlign":49},[147904],{"text":147905,"type":596},"A drought in Pingdu county – one of two flake graphite producing areas in China’s processing capital – saw producers report problems in accessing water throughout Q2 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":147907,"content":147908},{"textAlign":49},[147909],{"text":147910,"type":596},"With annual rainfall in the region falling by over 20%, there were fears that further dry weather conditions could limit supply from some of the country’s leading producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":147912,"content":147913},{"textAlign":49},[147914],{"text":147915,"type":596},"This had led to some minor increases in domestic Chinese prices in early-June, however pressures have since been quelled by increased rainfall.",{"type":591,"attrs":147917,"content":147918},{"textAlign":49},[147919],{"text":147920,"type":596},"The disruption to some operations as a result of more extreme weather serve as an example of the fragility in flake graphite supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":147922,"content":147923},{"textAlign":49},[147924],{"text":147925,"type":596},"While China alone accounts for over 65% of global flake concentrate supplies, the vast majority of this production comes from only two areas – Heilongjiang and Shandong provinces.",{"type":591,"attrs":147927,"content":147928},{"textAlign":49},[147929],{"text":147930,"type":596},"While Heilongjiang is the number one raw material producer by volume, Shandong remains the centre of the country’s processing capacities hosting many significant producers, particularly for valueadded grades such as spherical graphite for lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":147932,"content":147933},{"textAlign":49},[147934],{"text":147935,"type":596},"Extreme weather, while uncommon in the region, was within weeks from having a major impact on the region’s processing capacity which could have caused supply shock waves much further downstream, with battery producers gearing up for megafactory production.",{"type":615,"attrs":147937,"content":147938},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[147939],{"text":147940,"type":596}," Supply chain disruption",{"type":591,"attrs":147942,"content":147943},{"textAlign":49},[147944],{"text":147945,"type":596},"China is the world’s leading producer of flake graphite, controlling over 65% of global concentrate supply and dominating the production of value-added grades, such as spherical graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes.",{"type":591,"attrs":147947,"content":147948},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":147950,"content":147951},{"textAlign":49},[147952],{"text":147953,"type":596},"While Shandong province plays an integral role in China’s flake graphite processing capabilities, it is not unfamiliar to supply side shocks.",{"type":591,"attrs":147955,"content":147956},{"textAlign":49},[147957],{"text":147958,"type":596},"Only two years ago the regional government suspended mining activity in the region due to the environmental concerns.",{"type":591,"attrs":147960,"content":147961},{"textAlign":49},[147962],{"text":147963,"type":596},"This caused major disruption to supplies out of Shandong for over six months, and although the weak market conditions meant there was sufficient material in the market at the time, it was a signal of the government’s longer-term policy of consolidation.",{"type":591,"attrs":147965,"content":147966},{"textAlign":49},[147967],{"text":147968,"type":596},"Government enforced closures continue to this day in the region and as recently Q2 graphite companies were found to be violating environmental regulations by disposing of tailings into nearby farmland.",{"type":591,"attrs":147970,"content":147971},{"textAlign":49},[147972],{"text":147973,"type":596},"This is yet to expose a shortfall in material in the market, but periods of extreme weather alongside unpredictable levels of government intervention, mean disruption in China’s flake graphite market is never far from the surface.",{"type":591,"attrs":147975,"content":147976},{"textAlign":49},[147977],{"text":147978,"type":596},"China’s price pressure points In addition to the threat of government restrictions in China’s graphite market, some of the country’s producers have more recently found themselves exposed to weak market prices.",{"type":591,"attrs":147980,"content":147981},{"textAlign":49},[147982],{"text":147983,"type":596},"Strong price competition since the start of the year in particular has seen many companies lower their target output, while others find themselves on the brink of closure if low prices continue.",{"type":591,"attrs":147985,"content":147986},{"textAlign":49},[147987],{"text":147988,"type":596},"Central to these pricing pressures have been heavily discounted sales offered by producers attempting to improve cashflows.",{"type":591,"attrs":147990,"content":147991},{"textAlign":49},[147992],{"text":147993,"type":596},"While cementing China’s current position as the world’s source of flake graphite, these discounts have done little to aide the longer-term prospects of companies which produce lower grade material and rely on spot contracts for the majority of their sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":147995,"content":147996},{"textAlign":49},[147997],{"text":147998,"type":596},"China established its position as the graphite market hegemon in the 1980s when a swathe of producers entered the market – offering low cost material to markets around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":148000,"content":148001},{"textAlign":49},[148002],{"text":148003,"type":596},"By pushing higher-cost mines out of the market China established itself as the flake graphite capital of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":148005,"content":148006},{"textAlign":49},[148007],{"text":148008,"type":596},"Today, however, the country finds itself under threat of losing grip on its flake graphite supremacy, with projects in Africa and North America seeking to eat into this market share and domestic resources becoming increasingly depleted.",{"type":591,"attrs":148010,"content":148011},{"textAlign":49},[148012],{"text":148013,"type":596},"With Heilongjiang as the country’s main source of raw material and Shandong the centre of its processing, production in the country is being streamlined as a result of both state-led restrictions and market-led pressures.",{"type":591,"attrs":148015,"content":148016},{"textAlign":49},[148017],{"text":148018,"type":596},"As this steady course to consolidation continues, a new generation of mines are queuing up to challenge the country’s flake graphite supremacy.",{"type":615,"attrs":148020,"content":148021},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148022],{"text":148023,"type":596}," Not just a cost game",{"type":591,"attrs":148025,"content":148026},{"textAlign":49},[148027],{"text":148028,"type":596},"Central to the competitiveness of prospective graphite companies seeking to enter the market will be production costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":148030,"content":148031},{"textAlign":49},[148032],{"text":148033,"type":596},"In a market where excess supplies weigh heavy, cost is often king.",{"type":591,"attrs":148035,"content":148036},{"textAlign":49},[148037],{"text":148038,"type":596},"But it is no longer solely on a raw material level that companies have to compete.",{"type":591,"attrs":148040,"content":148041},{"textAlign":49},[148042],{"text":148043,"type":596},"Value-added materials remain the major growth sector and represent a part of the market where companies are hurriedly trying to set a marker.",{"type":591,"attrs":148045,"content":148046},{"textAlign":49},[148047],{"text":148048,"type":596},"Any new producer to enter the market will have to position itself as a value-added processor rather than simply a low-cost concentrate producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":148050,"content":148051},{"textAlign":49},[148052],{"text":148053,"type":596},"So as China seeks to adjust its role in the graphite market in the midst of government restrictions and market forces, expect not only the rules of the graphite game to change, but also its players.",[148055],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148056},{"job_title":557,"image":148057,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d2e0edd3-032c-428b-86f4-5897d6daed0c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[148060,148061,148062],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":148064,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":148065,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0639ca12b4/bm-grpahite-floatation.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":148067,"uuid":148068,"name":148069,"slug":148070,"full_slug":148071,"content":148072},112474929375592,"a6f927af-4e3b-44c7-a5d9-4738587f6f36","Lithium gains further momentum as two players rise from the ashes","lithium-gains-further-momentum-as-two-players-rise-from-the-ashes","article/lithium-gains-further-momentum-as-two-players-rise-from-the-ashes",{"_uid":148073,"date":145333,"tags":148074,"editor":148075,"content":148079,"excerpt":148085,"featured":50,"reporter":148224,"_editable":148228,"component":697,"seo_title":148069,"categories":148229,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":148233,"seo_description":148085,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"1a1b958e-de19-4a03-84af-d5caf7654086",[],[148076],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148077},{"job_title":557,"image":148078,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":148080},[148081,148086,148091,148096,148101,148106,148111,148114,148119,148124,148129,148134,148139,148144,148149,148154,148159,148164,148169,148174,148179,148184,148189,148194,148199,148204,148209,148214,148219],{"type":591,"attrs":148082,"content":148083},{"textAlign":49},[148084],{"text":148085,"type":596},"A new hope for Simbol Materials in California, while Quebec seeks to become North America’s lithium hub through a carbonate plant resurrection",{"type":591,"attrs":148087,"content":148088},{"textAlign":49},[148089],{"text":148090,"type":596},"Two lithium projects that suffered in the wake of the industry’s last price spike in 2009, have begun their rise from the ashes after acquisitions were agreed for both.",{"type":591,"attrs":148092,"content":148093},{"textAlign":49},[148094],{"text":148095,"type":596},"Simbol Materials’ geothermal lithium operation in the Salton Sea, California, and the former RB Energy lithium carbonate plant in Canada, have been distressed assets for a number of years, however the fortunes of both companies now seem to have taken a turn for the better.",{"type":591,"attrs":148097,"content":148098},{"textAlign":49},[148099],{"text":148100,"type":596},"In the US, the acquisition of Simbol Materials by Alger Alternative Energy for $400m will give the company a new lease of life.",{"type":591,"attrs":148102,"content":148103},{"textAlign":49},[148104],{"text":148105,"type":596},"Alger is led by Simbol’s former vice president of business development, Tracy Sizemore, and is described as a battery grade lithium-focused investment firm.",{"type":591,"attrs":148107,"content":148108},{"textAlign":49},[148109],{"text":148110,"type":596},"Meanwhile, RB Energy has been acquired by Chinese nickel producer, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co, for a fee of between C$150 and C$200m, the amount needed to get the plant into full production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148112,"content":148113},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148115,"content":148116},{"textAlign":49},[148117],{"text":148118,"type":596},"The acquisition from a Chinese player is further evidence of the country’s increasing grip on the lithium ion battery supply chain following Ganfeng Lithium exercising its 18.1% options on Australia’s Neometals, taking its shareholding of the near-term lithium developer to 43.1%.",{"type":591,"attrs":148120,"content":148121},{"textAlign":49},[148122],{"text":148123,"type":596},"The move also follows China Molybdenum’s entry into the cobalt market – another key battery raw material – through its purchase of Freeport McMoRan’s Tenke coppercobalt mine in DRC.",{"type":615,"attrs":148125,"content":148126},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148127],{"text":148128,"type":596}," What does this mean?",{"type":591,"attrs":148130,"content":148131},{"textAlign":49},[148132],{"text":148133,"type":596},"Simbol, one of the very few private lithium assets seeking to enter production, has always struggled to turn a unique concept into a commercial reality.",{"type":591,"attrs":148135,"content":148136},{"textAlign":49},[148137],{"text":148138,"type":596},"In many ways, Simbol was its own worst enemy with a number of high profile management changes in a short period of time and a failed negotiation with Tesla which saw the company valued at significantly more than it was worth back in 2010 – a figure that ran into the billions of dollars after Tesla’s all stock offer of $325m was rebuked.",{"type":591,"attrs":148140,"content":148141},{"textAlign":49},[148142],{"text":148143,"type":596},"Simbol’s failure to get off the ground was less an indictment on its technology – a filtration and separation process to extract lithium from a geothermal plant’s wastewater – and more on the way the company was managed.",{"type":591,"attrs":148145,"content":148146},{"textAlign":49},[148147],{"text":148148,"type":596},"While there are still doubts that the new process will be commercially viable, Simbol, one of the world’s first lithium developers on the scene in 2008, never really had the chance to shine in the last lithium boom.",{"type":591,"attrs":148150,"content":148151},{"textAlign":49},[148152],{"text":148153,"type":596},"Now with Alger on board in the midst of the most severe lithium supply shortage of modern times, it is a chance for Simbol to rewind the clock by five years and once again aim to enter production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148155,"content":148156},{"textAlign":49},[148157],{"text":148158,"type":596},"The company still needs significant investment of around $400m to begin production of lithium carbonate and take the operation beyond a pilot plant stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":148160,"content":148161},{"textAlign":49},[148162],{"text":148163,"type":596},"Because Simbol is a privately owned company, however, it still holds an advantage over its competitors in that it can operate in relative secrecy and is not valued by a public market which tend to overvalue assets in price spikes – a challenge for many raising funds to enter production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148165,"content":148166},{"textAlign":49},[148167],{"text":148168,"type":596},"It is unlikely that Simbol will reach production pre-2020 considering the lead time to raise funds, develop a full scale lithium carbonate plant and, most critically, get a lithium-centric team in place to realise its ambitions.",{"type":591,"attrs":148170,"content":148171},{"textAlign":49},[148172],{"text":148173,"type":596},"However, the company is ideally located in California and offers a unique process that holds the potential to disrupt the traditional lithium extraction methods used today. As a result, it must still be attractive to Tesla which is facing increasing challenges on the lithium supply front, especially considering its latest Model 3 order numbers.",{"type":591,"attrs":148175,"content":148176},{"textAlign":49},[148177],{"text":148178,"type":596},"For the former RB Energy lithium carbonate plant in Quebec, the future is a little more straight forward.",{"type":591,"attrs":148180,"content":148181},{"textAlign":49},[148182],{"text":148183,"type":596},"The 20,000 tpa lithium carbonate plant needs a reasonable level of investment in the region of $200m to fix the problems with the already built processing facility and create a company to market and sell the material. The plant was developed as a hard rock conversion facility to be used in conjunction with Canada Lithium’s spodumene mine in Quebec (a company which was eventually acquired by RB Energy).",{"type":591,"attrs":148185,"content":148186},{"textAlign":49},[148187],{"text":148188,"type":596},"But a number of failures from the company’s geological assessments to the plant’s construction meant that it soon ran into major problems after starting production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148190,"content":148191},{"textAlign":49},[148192],{"text":148193,"type":596},"However, the appeal of Quebec having a lithium carbonate plant that could serve a number of its hard rock lithium developers – the likes of which include its most advanced player, Nemaska Lithium – could offer a quicker route to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":148195,"content":148196},{"textAlign":49},[148197],{"text":148198,"type":596},"Nemaska, which recently raised C$69m to advance its Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan processing plants in Canada, has been one of the biggest winners of lithium’s resurgence.",{"type":591,"attrs":148200,"content":148201},{"textAlign":49},[148202],{"text":148203,"type":596},"“To date, [Nemaska] has received … C$21M, representing about 55% of the total C$38M Phase 1 Plant budget,” the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Steve Nadeau, explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":148205,"content":148206},{"textAlign":49},[148207],{"text":148208,"type":596},"“The sources of funding received to date towards the Phase 1 Plant are C$10M from Ressources Québec Inc., C$6M from Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Ltd, $4.24M from SDTC and $750k from Technoclimat program through the Bureau de l’efficacité et de l’innovation énergétiques of the ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":148210,"content":148211},{"textAlign":49},[148212],{"text":148213,"type":596},"There is little doubt that the Quebec government will be looking to take advantage of the clear synergies between Nemaska and the former RB Energy plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":148215,"content":148216},{"textAlign":49},[148217],{"text":148218,"type":596},"If all goes to plan, production from the lithium carbonate facility will begin in H2 2018 with a full ramp up anticipated by end-2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":148220,"content":148221},{"textAlign":49},[148222],{"text":148223,"type":596},"In the meantime, Nemaska will be pushing ahead with its lithium hydroxide plant that has been backed by Johnson Matthey, a lithium chemical in even higher demand.",[148225],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148226},{"job_title":557,"image":148227,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"1a1b958e-de19-4a03-84af-d5caf7654086\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[148230,148231,148232],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":148234,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":148235,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/637da3ae6c/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-192224.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":148237,"uuid":148238,"name":148239,"slug":148240,"full_slug":148241,"content":148242},112474924558595,"c8e575f9-c284-4867-a9d2-d7f30395d278","Daimler doubles down on energy storage masterplan","daimler-doubles-down-on-energy-storage-masterplan","article/daimler-doubles-down-on-energy-storage-masterplan",{"_uid":148243,"date":145333,"tags":148244,"editor":148245,"content":148249,"excerpt":148427,"featured":50,"reporter":148428,"_editable":148432,"component":697,"seo_title":148239,"categories":148433,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":148436,"seo_description":148427,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":145481},"6608db5d-a23f-4f85-844c-ab6022c6722c",[],[148246],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148247},{"job_title":557,"image":148248,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":148250},[148251,148256,148260,148265,148270,148275,148280,148284,148289,148294,148299,148304,148309,148314,148319,148324,148329,148334,148339,148344,148349,148354,148359,148364,148369,148372,148377,148382,148387,148392,148397,148402,148407,148412,148417,148422],{"type":591,"attrs":148252,"content":148253},{"textAlign":49},[148254],{"text":148255,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence gains exclusive access into the German auto producers’ €500m assault on the energy storage market ",{"type":591,"attrs":148257,"content":148258},{"textAlign":49},[148259],{"text":142210,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":148261,"content":148262},{"textAlign":49},[148263],{"text":148264,"type":596},"Daimler Group is to go toe to toe with Tesla after launching a new division focused on energy storage for both vehicles and homes.",{"type":591,"attrs":148266,"content":148267},{"textAlign":49},[148268],{"text":148269,"type":596},"The German auto major has decided to lend its gravitas and one of the world’s most desirable brands, to a new company and industry under the new business, Mercedes Benz Energy GmbH, to mass produce utility storage products and a new range of pure electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":148271,"content":148272},{"textAlign":49},[148273],{"text":148274,"type":596},"The division is backed by significant investment from parent company, Daimler, of €500m ($554m) to treble the size of its battery pack facility in Kamenz, Germany.",{"type":591,"attrs":148276,"content":148277},{"textAlign":49},[148278],{"text":148279,"type":596},"“For the first time in Daimler’s history the [Mercedes Benz] CEO, Dieter Zetsche, was involved in the launch of a new product,” Andreas Rueckemann, head of European sales for Mercedes Benz Energy explained in a meeting with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":148281,"content":148282},{"textAlign":49},[148283],{"text":139561,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":148285,"content":148286},{"textAlign":49},[148287],{"text":148288,"type":596},"Mercedes will build a new fleet of pure electric vehicles that will be supplied by battery packs from the new energy division.",{"type":591,"attrs":148290,"content":148291},{"textAlign":49},[148292],{"text":148293,"type":596},"The company will create a new electric vehicle platform that will spawn at least 8 new vehicles with the first launching in 2017, including a rumoured Tesla Model X competitor – an SUV or ‘people carrier’ style of vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":148295,"content":148296},{"textAlign":49},[148297],{"text":148298,"type":596},"But it is the assault on the home energy storage market that is a hugely significant move for one of the world’s most traditional car manufacturers – the risk by adding its brand to home energy storage devices, such a new and unknown market, cannot be underestimated.",{"type":591,"attrs":148300,"content":148301},{"textAlign":49},[148302],{"text":148303,"type":596},"It is a sign of Daimler’s confidence not only in the future of its products but also the lithium ion batteries it purchases and battery packs it constructs which will be the same for its vehicles and home energy products.",{"type":591,"attrs":148305,"content":148306},{"textAlign":49},[148307],{"text":148308,"type":596},"“For sure [the home storage batteries] are over-engineered … as the environment in a car is much more severe. But it’s cheaper to have these over-engineered batteries both being produced on the same product line,” explained Rueckemann.",{"type":591,"attrs":148310,"content":148311},{"textAlign":49},[148312],{"text":148313,"type":596},"The battery pack plant – the centre piece for the company’s first significant push on the market – is located 45 mins by car from Dresden in east Germany, a part of a region that is fast becoming the country’s equivalent of Silicon Valley know in Germany as Silicon Saxony.",{"type":591,"attrs":148315,"content":148316},{"textAlign":49},[148317],{"text":148318,"type":596},"For the last 50 years the area in and around the city of Dresden and Chemnitz has been home to Europe’s microelectronics industry, but in recent years it has attracted business such as energy storage and software.",{"type":591,"attrs":148320,"content":148321},{"textAlign":49},[148322],{"text":148323,"type":596},"It is one of eastern Germany’s few economic successful stories since the reunification and the area now employs 50,000 people in the tech industry. This is beginning to converge with the country’s powerful auto industry, including the likes of VW, Daimler and BMW, all of which are seeking a significant role in pure electric vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":148325,"content":148326},{"textAlign":49},[148327],{"text":148328,"type":596},"Mercedes Benz Energy plans to begin shipping “good volumes” of its home energy storage devices in mid2017 at a fully installed average cost of €5,000-6,000 ($5,542-6,650) for a 7.5kWh system – the same size as the Tesla Powerwall which has a list price of $3,500 for the battery unit alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":148330,"content":148331},{"textAlign":49},[148332],{"text":148333,"type":596},"Estimates vary to how much Tesla’s fully installed Powerwall will cost but they average between $6,000-7,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":148335,"content":148336},{"textAlign":49},[148337],{"text":148338,"type":596},"The group is confident that the quality of its batteries – which will be produced in 2.5kWh units for portability and installation ease – will stand out.",{"type":591,"attrs":148340,"content":148341},{"textAlign":49},[148342],{"text":148343,"type":596},"The company is looking to provide a fully integrated service – production and installation – and will initially target homes and offices with solar photovoltaic installations that are seeking to store energy. It was also explained that the process will take only one engineer compared with two engineers needed for Tesla’s Powerwall.",{"type":591,"attrs":148345,"content":148346},{"textAlign":49},[148347],{"text":148348,"type":596},"At present, Daimler expects its “crate-of-beer” battery design – smaller, more portable 2.5kWh units that can be carried and stacked – to have an average lifetime of 8,000 cycles, significantly higher than the industry average of 4,000-6,000 cycles.",{"type":591,"attrs":148350,"content":148351},{"textAlign":49},[148352],{"text":148353,"type":596},"Rueckemann explained that the group’s estimates were based on real world data rather than unsubstantiated claims from other industry participants.",{"type":615,"attrs":148355,"content":148356},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148357],{"text":148358,"type":596}," €500m expansion plan",{"type":591,"attrs":148360,"content":148361},{"textAlign":49},[148362],{"text":148363,"type":596},"Daimler made a significant commitment to its battery pack facility in Kamenz when it publicly announced a €500m expansion plan that will increase its capacity by three-fold.",{"type":591,"attrs":148365,"content":148366},{"textAlign":49},[148367],{"text":148368,"type":596},"At the moment, the plant, operated by subsidiary Accumotive, is producing booster battery packs for the hybrid Mercedes S Class vehicles, the full electric vehicle e-Smart, and early versions of the home storage product.",{"type":591,"attrs":148370,"content":148371},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148373,"content":148374},{"textAlign":49},[148375],{"text":148376,"type":596},"On a tour of the facility, Benchmark was given an exclusive insight into how the group plans to expand from the blueprint created in Kamenz into Europe’s largest battery facility.",{"type":591,"attrs":148378,"content":148379},{"textAlign":49},[148380],{"text":148381,"type":596},"A plot of land to the north of the plant has been purchased and construction is set to begin in Q3 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":148383,"content":148384},{"textAlign":49},[148385],{"text":148386,"type":596},"It is located adjacent to Electrovaya’s 500 MWh capacity lithium ion cell plant which Daimler previously owned and operated with Evonik. The Canadian battery producer purchased the plant in 2015 and integrated its non-toxic cell process into the plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":148388,"content":148389},{"textAlign":49},[148390],{"text":148391,"type":596},"“There is a large amount of interest from Germany to go to a non-toxic process. If we had not taken it over, the plant could not function in the regulatory environment in Germany,” explained the company’s CEO, Sankar Das Gupta at the time.",{"type":591,"attrs":148393,"content":148394},{"textAlign":49},[148395],{"text":148396,"type":596},"When Daimler first started battery production at its Kamenz plant, it thought it would never sell the one million cells it produced.",{"type":591,"attrs":148398,"content":148399},{"textAlign":49},[148400],{"text":148401,"type":596},"Today, the company expects to consume more than five times this amount.",{"type":591,"attrs":148403,"content":148404},{"textAlign":49},[148405],{"text":148406,"type":596},"It is a sign of the times for the lithium ion battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":148408,"content":148409},{"textAlign":49},[148410],{"text":148411,"type":596},"While new battery megafactories have been announced around the world, particularly in the US and China, Europe has lagged behind.",{"type":591,"attrs":148413,"content":148414},{"textAlign":49},[148415],{"text":148416,"type":596},"While Germany is one of the largest producers of cars in the world, it has not led the global push on EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":148418,"content":148419},{"textAlign":49},[148420],{"text":148421,"type":596},"With huge and successful auto and chemical industries, the country is looking to turn a missed opportunity in energy storage into one of its major future industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148423,"content":148424},{"textAlign":49},[148425],{"text":148426,"type":596},"And now it has Daimler and VW at the helm.","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence gains exclusive access into the German auto producers’ €500m assault on the energy storage market",[148429],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148430},{"job_title":557,"image":148431,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6608db5d-a23f-4f85-844c-ab6022c6722c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[148434,148435],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":148437,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":148438,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2631eebf88/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-21-at-192959.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":148440,"uuid":148441,"name":148442,"slug":148443,"full_slug":148444,"content":148445},112475195331237,"f735113b-f025-4967-b2d8-0dcaa1d0de1a","Geopolitics of mineral supply","geopolitics-of-mineral-supply","article/geopolitics-of-mineral-supply",{"_uid":148446,"date":148447,"tags":148448,"editor":148449,"content":148453,"excerpt":148459,"featured":50,"reporter":148563,"_editable":148567,"component":697,"seo_title":148442,"categories":148568,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":148571,"seo_description":148459,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"c6dd17d1-b7a2-466f-9b0a-1bd1187ad42d","2016-07-20 00:00",[],[148450],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148451},{"job_title":557,"image":148452,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":148454},[148455,148460,148465,148470,148475,148482,148487,148492,148497,148502,148509,148514,148521,148526,148531,148536,148541,148546,148551,148556],{"type":591,"attrs":148456,"content":148457},{"textAlign":49},[148458],{"text":148459,"type":596},"Daniel McGroarty of Carmot Strategic Group outlines the importance of supply chain visibility in an era of technology superpowers",{"type":591,"attrs":148461,"content":148462},{"textAlign":49},[148463],{"text":148464,"type":596},"Look out, Ford, General Motors, and Tesla: In a secret facility somewhere in Silicon Valley, Apple is reportedly building an iCar. It makes sense, in an Apple-centric sort of way: If Apple wants all of us to be able to safely use our iPhones while driving, why not just build a compatible car? The entire automotive industry could become an app.",{"type":591,"attrs":148466,"content":148467},{"textAlign":49},[148468],{"text":148469,"type":596},"Apple may not be ready to morph into a nation-state, but this is all heady stuff for a company that just powered past the $700 billion market cap mark and is touted by otherwise hard-boiled analysts as the odds-on favorite to be the world’s first trillion-dollar company.",{"type":591,"attrs":148471,"content":148472},{"textAlign":49},[148473],{"text":148474,"type":596},"Yet we should marvel at the lack of attention companies such as Apple pay to their Achilles’ heel: The minerals and metals with which make the magic happen.",{"type":591,"attrs":148476,"content":148477},{"textAlign":49},[148478,148480],{"text":148479,"type":596},"The more these companies rule the world, the more fortunes rest on the weakest link in their material supply chains.",{"text":148481,"type":596},"\nTake the typical smart phone. In the screen, you’ll find indium, aluminum, and tin, in addition to 7 of the 17 rare earths. The battery holds lithium, graphite, manganese, and cobalt. For the electronics, you’ll need copper, gold, silver, tantalum, tin, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, gallium, and again, a handful of rare earths. Finally, the case includes nickel, bromine, and magnesium.",{"type":615,"attrs":148483,"content":148484},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148485],{"text":148486,"type":596},"Sourcing conflict-free minerals and metals",{"type":591,"attrs":148488,"content":148489},{"textAlign":49},[148490],{"text":148491,"type":596},"In all, the average smartphone contains as many as 40 elements on the Periodic Table – nearly half of the 90 elements found in nature.",{"type":591,"attrs":148493,"content":148494},{"textAlign":49},[148495],{"text":148496,"type":596},"It may be gram-flakes in each phone, but it all adds up: Last year, new smartphones consumed more than $2.5 billion-worth of gold and silver alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":148498,"content":148499},{"textAlign":49},[148500],{"text":148501,"type":596},"Apple has made attempts to find out where the metals it uses come from. The company’s newly released Supplier Responsibility Report, with a standalone Conflict Metals SEC filing, shows the efforts Apple take to source conflict-free minerals and metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":148503,"content":148504},{"textAlign":49},[148505,148507],{"text":148506,"type":596},"The company discloses a long list of its supply chain smelters and refiners, and it cuts off suppliers that don’t meet conflict-free standards. But the conflict metals legislation tucked away in the 2010 Dodd-Frank omnibus act focuses on just four metals – tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold – from one country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.",{"text":148508,"type":596},"\nApple knows precious little about the remainder of the 40 metals and minerals found in smartphones – how they’re mined and where they come from – and no one else knows much more.",{"type":591,"attrs":148510,"content":148511},{"textAlign":49},[148512],{"text":148513,"type":596},"Some of them come from recycled e-waste, which sounds virtuous. After all, Jane Jacobs, the late urban activist, rhapsodized that “cities are the mines of the future” – chock full of metals and minerals we can reclaim to build the next stage of technological progress.",{"type":591,"attrs":148515,"content":148516},{"textAlign":49},[148517,148519],{"text":148518,"type":596},"She was right, and even now, innovative companies are showing it is possible to extract rare metals from spent electronics, coal ash, and red mud waste dumps – and to do so by environmentally benign means.",{"text":148520,"type":596},"\nUrban mining may be the wave of the future, but the cities that are the mines of the present should be the ones that concern us.",{"type":591,"attrs":148522,"content":148523},{"textAlign":49},[148524],{"text":148525,"type":596},"Take Guiyu, on the South China Sea coast, known as the electronic wastebasket of the world. Children as young as 3 scrabble through metal mountains of shattered flip phones, motherboards, and other assorted electronic innards. Sharply increased lead levels make their way into the food supply, and the air, dense with the chemical stew used to tease metals out of trash, literally burns visitors’ nostrils.",{"type":615,"attrs":148527,"content":148528},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148529],{"text":148530,"type":596},"Illegal e-waste exports",{"type":591,"attrs":148532,"content":148533},{"textAlign":49},[148534],{"text":148535,"type":596},"While it is illegal to export e-waste, truckloads of it somehow keep rolling into Guiyu. Not far from Guiyu, subsistence farmers trade their health for a family fortune, mucking out heavy rare earths from the local ionic clay using toxic chemicals and plastic buckets.",{"type":591,"attrs":148537,"content":148538},{"textAlign":49},[148539],{"text":148540,"type":596},"The supply chain leads through criminal gangs past corrupt Chinese generals – Beijing regularly cracks down on illegal mining, but it persists all the same – onto the docks and ultimately into an unknown number of our smartphones. By some accounts, more than 30,000 metric tons of heavy rare earths are being smuggled out of China each year.",{"type":591,"attrs":148542,"content":148543},{"textAlign":49},[148544],{"text":148545,"type":596},"So what do we really know about the metals in our tech gadgets? Okay, they don’t come from the conflict regions of the Congo. But are they “sourced” from the children of Guiyu? Or in pails full of heavy rare earth concentrate from poor Chinese farmers? Is the antimony in our phones fed into the global supply chain via Burmese rebels over the mountains of Myanmar?",{"type":591,"attrs":148547,"content":148548},{"textAlign":49},[148549],{"text":148550,"type":596},"We don’t know, because no one is asking. And to some extent, perhaps no one wants to know: Just make sure there’s a new phone out when I’m ready for my upgrade. Our policy amounts to Don’t Ask, Can’t Tell.",{"type":591,"attrs":148552,"content":148553},{"textAlign":49},[148554],{"text":148555,"type":596},"It doesn’t have to be this way. Many of the metals we need could come from new mines in the United States, Canada or the EU where supply chains could be easily certified, and labour, environmental, and safety practices would be among the most scrutinized in the world. But the political and regulatory climate in these regions has grown more and more inhospitable for mining over the past two decades, even though the time it takes to permit a new US mine already ranks near the worst in the world. And little wonder, as many of the very groups that depend on metal-laden tech-gadgets to spread their message and plan their protests are the loudest objectors to new mines of any kind.",{"type":591,"attrs":148557,"content":148558},{"textAlign":49},[148559],{"text":148560,"type":596,"marks":148561},"Daniel McGroarty, principal of Carmot Strategic Group, an issues management firm in Washington, D.C., served in senior positions in the White House and at the Department of Defense.",[148562],{"type":1006},[148564],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148565},{"job_title":557,"image":148566,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c6dd17d1-b7a2-466f-9b0a-1bd1187ad42d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[148569,148570],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":148572,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":148573,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7aadedf79c/bm-conflict-minerals.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Jul 20, 2016",{"id":148576,"uuid":148577,"name":148578,"slug":148579,"full_slug":148580,"content":148581},112475176148963,"0313d9ce-4d03-479a-aee4-574960674d18","Has China reached  peak graphite?","has-china-reached-peak-graphite","article/has-china-reached-peak-graphite",{"_uid":148582,"date":148447,"tags":148583,"editor":148584,"content":148588,"excerpt":148698,"featured":50,"reporter":148699,"_editable":148703,"component":697,"seo_title":148578,"categories":148704,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":148708,"seo_description":148698,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"76c5fb43-6e75-481d-b75d-14b5a987a1ef",[],[148585],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148586},{"job_title":557,"image":148587,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":148589},[148590,148595,148600,148605,148610,148615,148620,148625,148630,148635,148640,148645,148650,148655,148660,148665,148668,148673,148678,148683,148688,148693],{"type":591,"attrs":148591,"content":148592},{"textAlign":49},[148593],{"text":148594,"type":596}," China’s global share of natural graphite output falls to mid-1990 levels leaving questions over future policy of raw material exports from the world’s leading producer ",{"type":591,"attrs":148596,"content":148597},{"textAlign":49},[148598],{"text":148599,"type":596},"China’s share of global natural graphite output has fallen to levels not seen since the mid-1990s when the country started ramping up exports to international markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":148601,"content":148602},{"textAlign":49},[148603],{"text":148604,"type":596},"According to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, China has seen output fall to 70% of the world’s share from an all-time high of 85% in 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":148606,"content":148607},{"textAlign":49},[148608],{"text":148609,"type":596},"This raises the question: has the world seen peak graphite production from the world’s leading supplier?",{"type":591,"attrs":148611,"content":148612},{"textAlign":49},[148613],{"text":148614,"type":596},"2014 was notable for the Chinese graphite industry as it consolidated and modernised its flake graphite operations and cut its production of amorphous graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":148616,"content":148617},{"textAlign":49},[148618],{"text":148619,"type":596},"Both forms of natural graphite contributed to the country’s significant output levels in recent years, which reached levels of as high as 800,000 tpa. But this figure has now fallen by at least 40% as the country recalibrates its domestic steel industry, modernises its mining operations and focuses its future on higher value manufacturing.",{"type":591,"attrs":148621,"content":148622},{"textAlign":49},[148623],{"text":148624,"type":596},"As a result of these trends, Benchmark believes we have seen the height of natural graphite supply from China. However, this will be a steady process which cuts output levels to between 50-60% of global production over the next 3-5 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":148626,"content":148627},{"textAlign":49},[148628],{"text":148629,"type":596},"Therefore, China will continue to be the world’s number one supplier of both flake and amorphous graphite in the long term.",{"type":591,"attrs":148631,"content":148632},{"textAlign":49},[148633],{"text":148634,"type":596},"The country is, however, likely to attempt to significantly slow exports of graphite concentrate in favour of greater domestic consumption and value added products including coated, battery anode materials and graphene.",{"type":591,"attrs":148636,"content":148637},{"textAlign":49},[148638],{"text":148639,"type":596},"Existing demand from steel markets is expected to continue with low growth rates of 1-3% a year, therefore the industry will turn to the battery sector for the bulk of new demand which Benchmark expects to be significantly greater than that of refractories.",{"type":591,"attrs":148641,"content":148642},{"textAlign":49},[148643],{"text":148644,"type":596},"The main reason for the decline in output since the highs of 2011 is the decline in demand for flake graphite’s volume product of medium flake and fines sold into industrial markets, in particular steel and refractories.",{"type":591,"attrs":148646,"content":148647},{"textAlign":49},[148648],{"text":148649,"type":596},"The international market for natural graphite began its decline in 2012, while China’s demand has only slumped in the last 18 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":148651,"content":148652},{"textAlign":49},[148653],{"text":148654,"type":596},"If China had not slowed domestically then we would have likely seen a flake graphite output rebound close to previous highs, but China has changed and its hunger for huge volumes of metals and minerals is no longer what it was.",{"type":591,"attrs":148656,"content":148657},{"textAlign":49},[148658],{"text":148659,"type":596},"The amorphous market has been hit hardest by the Chinese slowdown.",{"type":591,"attrs":148661,"content":148662},{"textAlign":49},[148663],{"text":148664,"type":596},"Domestic output has fallen significantly from highs of 400,000 tpa to under 200,000 tpa in 2014. This has somewhat skewed the overall figures for global natural graphite production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148666,"content":148667},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148669,"content":148670},{"textAlign":49},[148671],{"text":148672,"type":596},"Benchmark believes the decline in flake graphite consumption from 2011-2014 has been in the region of 20%.",{"type":591,"attrs":148674,"content":148675},{"textAlign":49},[148676],{"text":148677,"type":596},"If the flake market is viewed in more granular detail by grade then the story becomes more complex with medium flake graphite demand falling the most, while large flake of +80 mesh and +50 mesh has either stabilised or increased in the last two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":148679,"content":148680},{"textAlign":49},[148681],{"text":148682,"type":596},"With China seeking to close many of the older, large flake graphite mines in Shandong province, there are likely to be restrictions in the supply of large flake product over the longer term assuming no new supply enters the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":148684,"content":148685},{"textAlign":49},[148686],{"text":148687,"type":596},"Considering these supply-side restrictions, and with four battery megafactories slated to come onstream in the next three years, the question is: will the natural graphite industry be able supply these new projects or will buyers have to turn to its synthetic counterpart?",{"type":591,"attrs":148689,"content":148690},{"textAlign":49},[148691],{"text":148692,"type":596},"It also raises the point of where new supply will come from to satisfy existing markets let alone the emergence of a potentially huge market in batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148694,"content":148695},{"textAlign":49},[148696],{"text":148697,"type":596},"Regardless of what the future holds, one thing is clear in the present: the days of low cost, abundant graphite from China are over.","China’s global share of natural graphite output falls to mid-1990 levels leaving questions over future policy of raw material exports from the world’s leading producer",[148700],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148701},{"job_title":557,"image":148702,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"76c5fb43-6e75-481d-b75d-14b5a987a1ef\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[148705,148706,148707],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":127725,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":148709,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":148711,"uuid":148712,"name":148713,"slug":148714,"full_slug":148715,"content":148716},112475146931489,"45da59b2-66fa-49ef-955d-8414c44e6698","The battery  megafactories  are coming","the-battery-megafactories-are-coming-2","article/the-battery-megafactories-are-coming-2",{"_uid":148717,"date":148447,"tags":148718,"editor":148719,"content":148723,"excerpt":149142,"featured":50,"reporter":149143,"_editable":149147,"component":697,"seo_title":148713,"categories":149148,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":149152,"seo_description":149142,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":148574},"bb8e9f56-a50d-417e-8a00-dfc0162d858c",[],[148720],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":148721},{"job_title":557,"image":148722,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":148724},[148725,148730,148735,148740,148745,148750,148755,148760,148765,148770,148775,148780,148785,148790,148795,148800,148805,148810,148815,148820,148825,148828,148833,148838,148843,148848,148853,148858,148863,148868,148873,148878,148881,148884,148889,148894,148899,148904,148909,148912,148917,148922,148927,148932,148937,148942,148947,148952,148957,148962,148967,148972,148977,148980,148985,148990,148995,149000,149003,149008,149013,149018,149023,149028,149033,149038,149043,149048,149053,149058,149061,149066,149071,149076,149081,149086,149091,149096,149099,149104,149109,149114,149119,149124,149129,149134,149139],{"type":591,"attrs":148726,"content":148727},{"textAlign":49},[148728],{"text":148729,"type":596}," Tesla Motors, LG Chem, Boston Power and Foxconn are building battery super-plants that will come on-stream in the next three years. The new supply could revolutionise how we source and use energy, creating a once-in-a-century disruptive event",{"type":591,"attrs":148731,"content":148732},{"textAlign":49},[148733],{"text":148734,"type":596},"A global race is on to build the world’s biggest battery plant.",{"type":591,"attrs":148736,"content":148737},{"textAlign":49},[148738],{"text":148739,"type":596},"For what would have sounded like fantasy only a year ago, some of the world’s major corporations are now vying to become the next leading producer of lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148741,"content":148742},{"textAlign":49},[148743],{"text":148744,"type":596},"Tesla Motors Inc sparked furore with its Gigafactory plan to double the world’s capacity. But subsequent plans of LG Chem Ltd, Boston-Power Inc and Foxconn Technology Group have turned it into a case of when and not if a new scale of battery plant enters production.",{"type":591,"attrs":148746,"content":148747},{"textAlign":49},[148748],{"text":148749,"type":596},"All three companies are eyeing rapid growth in electric vehicle (EV) and utility industries as justification for their grand plans.",{"type":591,"attrs":148751,"content":148752},{"textAlign":49},[148753],{"text":148754,"type":596},"It is a trend that rapidly gathered pace in 2014 and one that will see the world’s battery capacity rise by over 150% by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":148756,"content":148757},{"textAlign":49},[148758],{"text":148759,"type":596},"Last year, the world produced 35GWh worth of battery cells, but the three megafactory projects alone will add a further 57GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":148761,"content":148762},{"textAlign":49},[148763],{"text":148764,"type":596},"Tesla is planning to build what will be the world’s biggest battery plant in Nevada, USA, a project it has branded the Gigafactory. It is expected cost up to $5bn and produce enough to power 500,000 EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":148766,"content":148767},{"textAlign":49},[148768],{"text":148769,"type":596},"Phase one will supply batteries for at least 100,000 EVs and is set to be completed by December 2015, a year ahead of schedule.",{"type":591,"attrs":148771,"content":148772},{"textAlign":49},[148773],{"text":148774,"type":596},"Meanwhile, China is the focus for LG Chem and Foxconn which are planning to build super-plants, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates could bring a further combined capacity of 22 GWh. LG Chem has already broken ground on its lithium-ion facility in Nanjing while Foxconn’s Anhui facility is awaiting final board approval as of Q1 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":148776,"content":148777},{"textAlign":49},[148778],{"text":148779,"type":596},"It is also important to note these projects are not the only new supply planned with battery leaders such as Samsung SDI also opening new plants and seeking expansions of existing operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":148781,"content":148782},{"textAlign":49},[148783],{"text":148784,"type":596},"In August 2014, for example, the company broke ground on a new EV battery plant in Xi’an, Shanxi province, China which will start operations in October 2015 and produce lithium-ion batteries or 40,000 vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":148786,"content":148787},{"textAlign":49},[148788],{"text":148789,"type":596},"The new supply will add momentum to already falling production costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":148791,"content":148792},{"textAlign":49},[148793],{"text":148794,"type":596},"The cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 14% a year on average over the last 15 years to today’s level of $250/kWh. But with megafactory economies of scale this is forecast to drop to $150/kWh by 2017 and $100/KWh within five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":148796,"content":148797},{"textAlign":49},[148798],{"text":148799,"type":596},"Many believe this will drive down the cost of EVs and spark mass uptake.",{"type":615,"attrs":148801,"content":148802},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148803],{"text":148804,"type":596}," Multi-billion dollar merge",{"type":591,"attrs":148806,"content":148807},{"textAlign":49},[148808],{"text":148809,"type":596},"The major catalyst in the megafactory race has been the disruption caused by Tesla Motors.",{"type":591,"attrs":148811,"content":148812},{"textAlign":49},[148813],{"text":148814,"type":596},"The company is not a traditional car manufacturer. The entry into the auto industry by what was, back in 2003, a Silicon Valley start-up, has caused major disruption to a mature industry forcing established companies such as General Motors Co. (GM) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd to take a more proactive approach in the EV space.",{"type":591,"attrs":148816,"content":148817},{"textAlign":49},[148818],{"text":148819,"type":596},"Tesla Motors is also not a traditional battery producer. Yet, the turbulence caused by its Gigafactory plan has also sparked major battery manufacturers such as LG Chem and Samsung to either expand or build new plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":148821,"content":148822},{"textAlign":49},[148823],{"text":148824,"type":596},"“Disruptors usually come from the outside,” Tony Seba, a leading expert in disruptive technologies and lecturer at California-based Stanford University, explained to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":148826,"content":148827},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148829,"content":148830},{"textAlign":49},[148831],{"text":148832,"type":596},"“Before the [Apple] iPhone, there were three very separate industries: computers, telephones, and communications. These industries have merged. They are now all the same.”",{"type":591,"attrs":148834,"content":148835},{"textAlign":49},[148836],{"text":148837,"type":596},"“Previously you had one major industry investing in batteries: electronics. Now, you have three: auto, electronics and energy.” “This has started a virtuous cycle of investment, lower production costs and demand which will lead to EV adoption and batteries used to store renewables like solar and wind,” Seba explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":148839,"content":148840},{"textAlign":49},[148841],{"text":148842,"type":596},"The convergence of these three major industries on the battery space is a critical point. Not only does it provide new funds and new competition, but it takes the problems of battery supply that have restricted demand uptake and forces companies to view the market with fresh eyes.",{"type":591,"attrs":148844,"content":148845},{"textAlign":49},[148846],{"text":148847,"type":596},"This disruption sparks others into action.",{"type":591,"attrs":148849,"content":148850},{"textAlign":49},[148851],{"text":148852,"type":596},"Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, explained the impact of its first EV, the Roadster, had on its launch in 2008: “When we first announced the Roadster, Bob Lutz of GM saw it and told his engineers that if a small company in California can do it, so can GM. That’s what got the [Chevrolet] Volt rolling and that in turn got Nissan to do the LEAF.”",{"type":591,"attrs":148854,"content":148855},{"textAlign":49},[148856],{"text":148857,"type":596},"“It’s what we induce others to do that will have a greater impact than the cars we make ourselves”",{"type":615,"attrs":148859,"content":148860},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148861],{"text":148862,"type":596}," Better batteries, bigger batteries ",{"type":591,"attrs":148864,"content":148865},{"textAlign":49},[148866],{"text":148867,"type":596},"Battery performance and cost have always been the main talking points of EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":148869,"content":148870},{"textAlign":49},[148871],{"text":148872,"type":596},"Common and often correct complaints are that the batteries are too expensive (which in turn makes the cars too expensive) and they do not last long enough on one charge.",{"type":591,"attrs":148874,"content":148875},{"textAlign":49},[148876],{"text":148877,"type":596},"Electrification of transport will not succeed unless the world has cheap, abundant, longer lasting batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148879,"content":148880},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148882,"content":148883},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148885,"content":148886},{"textAlign":49},[148887],{"text":148888,"type":596},"But with the cost of batteries falling and EVs improving, many leading figures in the industry – including GM’s former chief, Bob Lutz, and Tesla’s Elon Musk – believe electrification is inevitable, it is just a question of timescale.",{"type":591,"attrs":148890,"content":148891},{"textAlign":49},[148892],{"text":148893,"type":596},"In December 2014, Tesla revealed that owners of the Roadster, the company’s first EV, could receive an upgrade that would boost its range by over 50% to 400 miles (644km).",{"type":591,"attrs":148895,"content":148896},{"textAlign":49},[148897],{"text":148898,"type":596},"The move is testament to how much batteries have improved since the Roadster first came on the market in 2008, even without the disruptive megafactories.",{"type":591,"attrs":148900,"content":148901},{"textAlign":49},[148902],{"text":148903,"type":596},"Tesla has managed to extend the range of its vehicles in two major ways: by using bigger batteries – more than three times the average size of the Nissan LEAF – and designing its cars around the battery to optimise performance.",{"type":591,"attrs":148905,"content":148906},{"textAlign":49},[148907],{"text":148908,"type":596},"Tesla’s Model S is equipped with a 60kWh or an 85kWh lithium-ion battery whereas the Nissan LEAF, which is the world’s best-selling EV, has a 24kWh battery. A new generation of LEAF set for launch in mid-2016 has been tipped to have double the range of its predecessor and is expected to follow a similar strategy to Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":148910,"content":148911},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148913,"content":148914},{"textAlign":49},[148915],{"text":148916,"type":596},"“The battery chemistry is all about range and energy density,” explained Andy Palmer, former executive vice president of Nissan’s zero emissions business in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":148918,"content":148919},{"textAlign":49},[148920],{"text":148921,"type":596},"“This is really game-changing technology.” If batteries are the holy grail of EVs then energy density is the holy grail of batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148923,"content":148924},{"textAlign":49},[148925],{"text":148926,"type":596},"Packing more energy into a smaller space while maintaining a light weight is critical if batteries are going to meet modern vehicle expectations, let alone future needs – and this will come down to the raw materials used.",{"type":591,"attrs":148928,"content":148929},{"textAlign":49},[148930],{"text":148931,"type":596},"To have a world which runs on batteries, the innovation will need to come from not only the cell producers, but also from the raw material suppliers. Ironically it may not be the car manufacturers that have the final word in the success or failure of EVs.",{"type":615,"attrs":148933,"content":148934},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[148935],{"text":148936,"type":596}," Utility impact",{"type":591,"attrs":148938,"content":148939},{"textAlign":49},[148940],{"text":148941,"type":596},"A more immediate impact of better and bigger batteries that has received less publicity is utility or stationary storage – the ability to store energy off-grid in large scale batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":148943,"content":148944},{"textAlign":49},[148945],{"text":148946,"type":596},"While the subject has received far less attention than EVs, there were some major developments in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":148948,"content":148949},{"textAlign":49},[148950],{"text":148951,"type":596},"The US has moved forward with utility storage plans in California, Hawaii and New York that will see a mix of battery technologies deployed in major urban areas.",{"type":591,"attrs":148953,"content":148954},{"textAlign":49},[148955],{"text":148956,"type":596},"American Vanadium Corp., a Canadabased company focused on energy storage, subsequently struck a deal with New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to develop vanadium-flow battery facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":148958,"content":148959},{"textAlign":49},[148960],{"text":148961,"type":596},"The company plans to install its modular 10kWh system commercially known as CellCube in downtown Manhattan.",{"type":591,"attrs":148963,"content":148964},{"textAlign":49},[148965],{"text":148966,"type":596},"“New York’s energy distribution grid is the oldest in the world… but the city is now reorganising its utility storage model and is rapidly developing into an energy marketplace,” Mike Hyslop, director of American Vanadium explained to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":148968,"content":148969},{"textAlign":49},[148970],{"text":148971,"type":596},"Hyslop emphasised that it is not necessarily about going off-grid for New York – unlike Hawaii that wants to cut its ties to petroleum power generation – but more about securing back-up power, especially after experiencing two blackouts in less than a decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":148973,"content":148974},{"textAlign":49},[148975],{"text":148976,"type":596},"The city’s blackout of 2003 was caused by a downed power line in Ohio, while the second in 2012 was in the wake of Hurricane Sandy which left 6m people within 15 states and 20% of New York City’s population without power for over two days.",{"type":591,"attrs":148978,"content":148979},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":148981,"content":148982},{"textAlign":49},[148983],{"text":148984,"type":596},"Off-grid storage has a wider range of battery technologies competing for the space. The fact they are stationary means weight is less of an issue, while energy density, maintaining charge over long periods of time and discharge rate is of higher importance.",{"type":591,"attrs":148986,"content":148987},{"textAlign":49},[148988],{"text":148989,"type":596},"Patricio de Solminihac, the chief operating officer of SQM, the world’s leading lithium brine producer, explained to Benchmark how it sees this battery chemistry competition developing.",{"type":591,"attrs":148991,"content":148992},{"textAlign":49},[148993],{"text":148994,"type":596},"“Since there are no restrictions in the size and weight of types of batteries, as you have with batteries used in portable devices and EVs, we see other technologies competing with lithium in stationary storage applications,” de Solminihac said.",{"type":591,"attrs":148996,"content":148997},{"textAlign":49},[148998],{"text":148999,"type":596},"Lithium-ion batteries are still being used, while vanadium flow technology is also gaining prominence in this area. Lead acid is the more mature battery chemistry that has been favoured in the past for large scale, back-up power, but for a number of reasons, including environmental, it is less popular now.",{"type":591,"attrs":149001,"content":149002},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149004,"content":149005},{"textAlign":49},[149006],{"text":149007,"type":596},"“The issue isn’t about energy generation,” American Vanadium president and CEO, Bill Radvak explained in an interview, “It’s about solving the peak load problem.” “Energy generation today does not fit with people’s consumption patterns,” he said.",{"type":591,"attrs":149009,"content":149010},{"textAlign":49},[149011],{"text":149012,"type":596},"Using batteries to smooth out the peaks and troughs in energy production is not a new concept, but until now it has not been commercially viable.",{"type":591,"attrs":149014,"content":149015},{"textAlign":49},[149016],{"text":149017,"type":596},"With battery back-up systems, energy companies can feed power back into the grid to meet momentary demand rather than ramping up output at their oil, gas, or coal fired plants.",{"type":591,"attrs":149019,"content":149020},{"textAlign":49},[149021],{"text":149022,"type":596},"“The education process for utilities has begun and this requires one hundred million dollars of batteries. When it takes off the industry will need billions of dollars of batteries,” Radvak said.",{"type":591,"attrs":149024,"content":149025},{"textAlign":49},[149026],{"text":149027,"type":596},"The industry is seeing far more activity now than in any period in history.",{"type":591,"attrs":149029,"content":149030},{"textAlign":49},[149031],{"text":149032,"type":596},"Companies such as US-based Eos Energy Storage believe it has reached a production cost of $160/kWh with its zinc-based cathode technology. The company has teamed up with energy providers and distributors in the US and Europe, such as the US National Grid and Italy’s Enel, in a bid modernise today’s energy distribution model.",{"type":591,"attrs":149034,"content":149035},{"textAlign":49},[149036],{"text":149037,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Ambri Inc is pursuing a different line of liquid batteries, originally based on a magnesium and antimony metal solution.",{"type":591,"attrs":149039,"content":149040},{"textAlign":49},[149041],{"text":149042,"type":596},"The design involves two liquid state metal electrodes that are separated by a molten salt electrolyte with density differences keeping the layers from mixing.",{"type":591,"attrs":149044,"content":149045},{"textAlign":49},[149046],{"text":149047,"type":596},"Future chemistries involve: lithium, sodium, barium (derived from the mineral barite, presently used as an oil drilling agent), calcium and strontium.",{"type":591,"attrs":149049,"content":149050},{"textAlign":49},[149051],{"text":149052,"type":596},"With many companies paving the way for battery adoption in the utility industry, a significant increase in installed battery capacity is anticipated towards the end of this decade and into the 2020s.",{"type":591,"attrs":149054,"content":149055},{"textAlign":49},[149056],{"text":149057,"type":596},"Navigant Research estimates that we could see an increase from today’s level of 538.4 MW of installed capacity to 20.8GW by 2024.",{"type":591,"attrs":149059,"content":149060},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149062,"content":149063},{"textAlign":49},[149064],{"text":149065,"type":596},"The company also explained that lithiumion batteries have “established a clear lead in the market as the technology of choice not only in short-duration applications but also bulk storage.”",{"type":615,"attrs":149067,"content":149068},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[149069],{"text":149070,"type":596}," Mobile history lesson",{"type":591,"attrs":149072,"content":149073},{"textAlign":49},[149074],{"text":149075,"type":596},"Batteries have become so engrained in our lives that it is hard to believe the first commercialised rechargeable lithium-ion battery was launched in 1992.",{"type":591,"attrs":149077,"content":149078},{"textAlign":49},[149079],{"text":149080,"type":596},"Just a decade ago, the mobile technology era was just getting started.",{"type":591,"attrs":149082,"content":149083},{"textAlign":49},[149084],{"text":149085,"type":596},"In 2005, the Nokia N70 was the first smartphone to sell over one million handsets in a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":149087,"content":149088},{"textAlign":49},[149089],{"text":149090,"type":596},"Two years later, the inaugural Apple iPhone sold one million handsets in 72 days and in 2014 both iPhone 6 models sold 10m units within three days of launch.",{"type":591,"attrs":149092,"content":149093},{"textAlign":49},[149094],{"text":149095,"type":596},"The speed of smartphone uptake is increasing. In March 2015, the smartphone sector was growing at a rate of 25% a year.",{"type":591,"attrs":149097,"content":149098},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149100,"content":149101},{"textAlign":49},[149102],{"text":149103,"type":596},"Apple revealed that sales of its iPhone product line were growing at 49% a year, mainly owing to its successful entry into the Chinese market.",{"type":591,"attrs":149105,"content":149106},{"textAlign":49},[149107],{"text":149108,"type":596},"Respected UBS analyst, Steven Milunovich, believes that in Q2 2015 sales will keep on surging with a forecast of 58m units in the quarter compared with 44m in the same period only 12 months ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":149110,"content":149111},{"textAlign":49},[149112],{"text":149113,"type":596},"The astonishing growth rates in the smartphone market compared with industrial markets, shows that the industry is still yet to reach maturity. These devices are still finding new uses.",{"type":591,"attrs":149115,"content":149116},{"textAlign":49},[149117],{"text":149118,"type":596},"Consumers now use their phones to do far more than make a call, send messages and check emails.",{"type":591,"attrs":149120,"content":149121},{"textAlign":49},[149122],{"text":149123,"type":596},"Usage has rocketed, yet the battery that powers the increasingly vital smart phone is not experiencing the same research and development progress.",{"type":591,"attrs":149125,"content":149126},{"textAlign":49},[149127],{"text":149128,"type":596},"“Three objects are considered essential across all participants, cultures and genders: keys, money and mobile phone,” said Nokia’s former principal scientist, Jan Chipchase.",{"type":591,"attrs":149130,"content":149131},{"textAlign":49},[149132],{"text":149133,"type":596},"While smartphones have been surging, the critical item that powered it, the battery, has always been playing catch.",{"type":591,"attrs":149135,"content":149136},{"textAlign":49},[149137],{"text":149138,"type":596},"It is only now that imbalance is starting to be corrected.",{"type":591,"attrs":149140,"content":149141},{"textAlign":49},[],"Tesla Motors, LG Chem, Boston Power and Foxconn are building battery super-plants that will come on-stream in the next three years. The new supply could revolutionise how we source and use energy, creating a once-in-a-century disruptive event",[149144],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149145},{"job_title":557,"image":149146,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bb8e9f56-a50d-417e-8a00-dfc0162d858c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149149,149150,149151],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149153,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149154,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1ee8d661c4/bm-tesla-gigafactory-e1572001087107.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149156,"uuid":149157,"name":149158,"slug":149159,"full_slug":149160,"content":149161},112475117460163,"8622e51f-63b8-4cf1-b961-d3c693c93ac1","Fears of lithium  supply shortage  become reality","fears-of-lithium-supply-shortage-become-reality","article/fears-of-lithium-supply-shortage-become-reality",{"_uid":149162,"date":148447,"tags":149163,"editor":149164,"content":149168,"excerpt":149174,"featured":50,"reporter":149243,"_editable":149247,"component":697,"seo_title":149158,"categories":149248,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":149252,"seo_description":149174,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"6c2e29d8-f46a-4e05-9a5b-b8aeec852297",[],[149165],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149166},{"job_title":557,"image":149167,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149169},[149170,149175,149180,149185,149190,149195,149200,149205,149210,149215,149220,149225,149230,149235,149240],{"type":591,"attrs":149171,"content":149172},{"textAlign":49},[149173],{"text":149174,"type":596},"Prices of both lithium hydroxide and carbonate rise on the back of strong battery demand in Asia, while major producers talk of expansions plans",{"type":591,"attrs":149176,"content":149177},{"textAlign":49},[149178],{"text":149179,"type":596},"The lithium industry is at the start of a supply shortage.",{"type":591,"attrs":149181,"content":149182},{"textAlign":49},[149183],{"text":149184,"type":596},"Prices of both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide have continued to rise in 2015 on the backdrop of no new supply with increased demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":149186,"content":149187},{"textAlign":49},[149188],{"text":149189,"type":596},"Rising consumption of lithiumion batteries continues to drive the industry and now accounts for well over one third of all demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":149191,"content":149192},{"textAlign":49},[149193],{"text":149194,"type":596},"However, the lack of any new supply is starting to squeeze the industry and force prices upwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":149196,"content":149197},{"textAlign":49},[149198],{"text":149199,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates the average lithium carbonate price to be $6,000/ tonne, up 20% on the average in 2014. Meanwhile, US-based lithium consultancy Global Lithium LLC estimates that quoted prices have broken the $7,000/tonne barrier – a 15 year high, exceeding the last major price spike in 2009. It is unclear yet whether these prices have stuck.",{"type":591,"attrs":149201,"content":149202},{"textAlign":49},[149203],{"text":149204,"type":596},"The rising trend was publicly backed by Chile-based SQM SA, the world’s largest producer of lithium carbonate by volume.",{"type":591,"attrs":149206,"content":149207},{"textAlign":49},[149208],{"text":149209,"type":596},"“[Our] lithium business continues to see strong market growth and average prices during the first quarter were close to 10% higher than prices seen during the fourth quarter of 2014,” explained SQM’s new CEO, Patricio de Solminihac.",{"type":591,"attrs":149211,"content":149212},{"textAlign":49},[149213],{"text":149214,"type":596},"The company also shed some light on its thoughts behind the supply squeeze.",{"type":591,"attrs":149216,"content":149217},{"textAlign":49},[149218],{"text":149219,"type":596},"“We believe that new projects scheduled to come online in 2015 will supply less [lithium] than originally anticipated this year…[but] we expect to see higher volumes in 2015 compared to 2014,” SQM stated.",{"type":591,"attrs":149221,"content":149222},{"textAlign":49},[149223],{"text":149224,"type":596},"One of the new projects the company refers to is Orocobre Ltd’s 15,000 tpa Olaroz lithium carbonate project in Argentina, which was commissioned in Q1 2015 but output from the operation has been slower than the market expected. RB Energy Inc was also anticipated to have been operating its hard rock lithium asset in Quebec, Canada by now but it fell into bankruptcy in May.",{"type":591,"attrs":149226,"content":149227},{"textAlign":49},[149228],{"text":149229,"type":596},"Lithium hydroxide prices are also rising due to the same fundamental drivers as carbonate, but have the potential to be more volatile over the coming two years. Benchmark sees prices around the $7,000/tonne mark but with some spot price quotes over $10,000/tonne. The higher prices are yet to stick across the board in hydroxide, but there is no doubt prices are rising.",{"type":591,"attrs":149231,"content":149232},{"textAlign":49},[149233],{"text":149234,"type":596},"Global Lithium sees the high price point for lithium hydroxide at just under $10,000/tonne with a midpoint average of just under $8,000/ tonne.",{"type":591,"attrs":149236,"content":149237},{"textAlign":49},[149238],{"text":149239,"type":596},"Hydroxide has less capacity than carbonate and therefore less flexibility with the ebb and flow of demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":149241,"content":149242},{"textAlign":49},[],[149244],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149245},{"job_title":557,"image":149246,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6c2e29d8-f46a-4e05-9a5b-b8aeec852297\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149249,149250,149251],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149253,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149254,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/38ad7d3b2b/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-151247.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149256,"uuid":149257,"name":149258,"slug":149259,"full_slug":149260,"content":149261},112475107875321,"226fc1fc-cfbf-411c-bf21-ffcbc0f0152f","Battery grade graphite set for record year","battery-grade-graphite-set-for-record-year","article/battery-grade-graphite-set-for-record-year",{"_uid":149262,"date":148447,"tags":149263,"editor":149264,"content":149268,"excerpt":149274,"featured":50,"reporter":149351,"_editable":149355,"component":697,"seo_title":149258,"categories":149356,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":149360,"seo_description":149274,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"7b05033f-bc18-4fbd-961e-87b71fae0551",[],[149265],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149266},{"job_title":557,"image":149267,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149269},[149270,149275,149280,149285,149290,149295,149300,149305,149310,149315,149318,149323,149328,149333,149338,149341,149346],{"type":591,"attrs":149271,"content":149272},{"textAlign":49},[149273],{"text":149274,"type":596},"China’s output of spherical graphite continues to surge with 2015 on course to be largest year for production on record",{"type":591,"attrs":149276,"content":149277},{"textAlign":49},[149278],{"text":149279,"type":596},"China’s output of spherical graphite has continued to go from strength to strength in Q2 2015 on the back of strong lithium ion battery demand from Asia.",{"type":591,"attrs":149281,"content":149282},{"textAlign":49},[149283],{"text":149284,"type":596},"The country, which produces 95% of the world’s uncoated spherical graphite – the semi processed material that makes a battery’s anode – has continued to see output surge since 2013.",{"type":591,"attrs":149286,"content":149287},{"textAlign":49},[149288],{"text":149289,"type":596},"Data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence shows that the first five months of 2015 are tracking ahead of the same period last year. If demand holds for the remainder of the year, exports of spherical graphite from China will comfortably exceed 30,000 tpa.",{"type":591,"attrs":149291,"content":149292},{"textAlign":49},[149293],{"text":149294,"type":596},"If China’s domestic consumption of battery grade graphite is taken into account, the industry could be heading towards a production level of 40,000 tpa which translates to 90-100,000 tpa of medium flake graphite concentrate (-100 mesh, 94-95% C).",{"type":591,"attrs":149296,"content":149297},{"textAlign":49},[149298],{"text":149299,"type":596},"The accompanying chart depicts the strong rise of flake graphite’s use in the battery market, from obscurity in the mid-2000s to the second largest market in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":149301,"content":149302},{"textAlign":49},[149303],{"text":149304,"type":596},"China – a strong barometer for the fortunes of the industry – began significantly exporting spherical graphite in 2009 with a total 7,000 tonnes for material destined for Japan and South Korea. Each year since, exports have surged with a 27% CAGR from 2009 to 2014 – only declining once, by 9% in 2012.",{"type":591,"attrs":149306,"content":149307},{"textAlign":49},[149308],{"text":149309,"type":596},"While many graphite producers have been operating in either falling or stable markets, batteries have bucked the trend.",{"type":591,"attrs":149311,"content":149312},{"textAlign":49},[149313],{"text":149314,"type":596},"A lack of industrial demand from steel has softened the flake graphite price in recent years and resulted in increased stocks, especially for medium flake graphite in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":149316,"content":149317},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149319,"content":149320},{"textAlign":49},[149321],{"text":149322,"type":596},"This decline in the feedstock market has seen uncoated spherical graphite prices fall by 15% since mid-2013, despite strengthening demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":149324,"content":149325},{"textAlign":49},[149326],{"text":149327,"type":596},"Coated spherical graphite, a bottleneck in the industry controlled by Japanese and South Korean trading houses, was still selling for the equivalent of $7,000-$10,000/ tonne in the same time period.",{"type":591,"attrs":149329,"content":149330},{"textAlign":49},[149331],{"text":149332,"type":596},"Capacity of uncoated spherical graphite elsewhere in the world has been limited with many western graphite processers finding it difficult to compete with China’s low production cost in a market that is still maturing. However, companies like Grafit Kropfmuhl (AMG Mining AG) based in Germany are increasing activity in this space.",{"type":591,"attrs":149334,"content":149335},{"textAlign":49},[149336],{"text":149337,"type":596},"Coated spherical graphite capacity outside of the control of Japan, South Korea and China is, however, nonexistent in today’s market.",{"type":591,"attrs":149339,"content":149340},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149342,"content":149343},{"textAlign":49},[149344],{"text":149345,"type":596},"Therefore the plan announced by Australia’s Syrah Resources Ltd to build the world’s largest coated spherical graphite facility in the US holds the potential to reshape this landscape. The company aims to be producing 25,000 tpa of coated spherical graphite in North America within two years in what will be the first facility of its kind in the west.",{"type":591,"attrs":149347,"content":149348},{"textAlign":49},[149349],{"text":149350,"type":596},"The internal economic assessment by Syrah outlines an $80m construction cost and $3,200/tonne production costs for the coated product. The company also aims to improve on the Chinese production methods by using less medium flake graphite raw material to produce its spherical graphite at a ratio of 2:1.",[149352],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149353},{"job_title":557,"image":149354,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"7b05033f-bc18-4fbd-961e-87b71fae0551\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149357,149358,149359],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149361,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149362,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b3c64d2d7b/bm-saupload-saupload-micro-spherical-graphite-668.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149364,"uuid":149365,"name":149366,"slug":149367,"full_slug":149368,"content":149369},112475103078804,"03cfbade-fee6-4ecd-95dd-cbab72c0eaf5","Tesla evolves with utility battery launch","tesla-evolves-with-utility-battery-launch","article/tesla-evolves-with-utility-battery-launch",{"_uid":149370,"date":148447,"tags":149371,"editor":149373,"content":149377,"excerpt":149383,"featured":50,"reporter":149522,"_editable":149526,"component":697,"seo_title":149366,"categories":149527,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":149530,"seo_description":149383,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"aab4fc77-685c-4883-9bd0-4ff1a2aba26d",[149372],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[149374],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149375},{"job_title":557,"image":149376,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149378},[149379,149384,149389,149394,149399,149404,149409,149414,149419,149424,149429,149434,149439,149444,149449,149454,149459,149464,149469,149472,149477,149482,149487,149492,149497,149502,149507,149512,149517],{"type":591,"attrs":149380,"content":149381},{"textAlign":49},[149382],{"text":149383,"type":596},"Tesla Motors reveals new range of home and commercial batteries that can offer a real offgrid energy alternative at a lower than expected price",{"type":591,"attrs":149385,"content":149386},{"textAlign":49},[149387],{"text":149388,"type":596},"Tesla Motors has launched a new range of batteries that can power the world’s homes and commercial buildings at a fraction of the expected cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":149390,"content":149391},{"textAlign":49},[149392],{"text":149393,"type":596},"In May 2015, the newly formed Tesla Energy was revealed by CEO Elon Musk in California and with it two new battery product lines – Powerwall and Powerpack.",{"type":591,"attrs":149395,"content":149396},{"textAlign":49},[149397],{"text":149398,"type":596},"Once its Gigafactory battery plant is operational in H1 2016, the Silicon Valley-based company will become the world’s first fully integrated battery producer with car and utility divisions, some evolution from inception in 2006 when it produced just one, niche electric vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":149400,"content":149401},{"textAlign":49},[149402],{"text":149403,"type":596},"Tesla has made a foray into the home storage market with Powerwall, a sleek looking, suitcase sized lithium-ion battery that has a 10kWh capacity, 100kg in weight and a lower than expected cost at $3,500 (Anatomy: Powerwall, p60).",{"type":591,"attrs":149405,"content":149406},{"textAlign":49},[149407],{"text":149408,"type":596},"This larger capacity is designed to provide back-up power for your entire home, while a smaller 7kWh model, created for daily applications like watching TV or powering lightbulbs and refrigerators, comes in at $3,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":149410,"content":149411},{"textAlign":49},[149412],{"text":149413,"type":596},"Tesla is eyeing solar energy as the ideal source of power for its new line of products.",{"type":591,"attrs":149415,"content":149416},{"textAlign":49},[149417],{"text":149418,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that Powerwall will require 16kg of synthetic graphite or an equal amount of spherical graphite derived from 40kg of flake graphite concentrate. It will also consumed on average 12kg of lithium hydroxide in each unit.",{"type":591,"attrs":149420,"content":149421},{"textAlign":49},[149422],{"text":149423,"type":596},"One of the most interesting points that Musk made about Powerwall was its ease of scalability: it can be interconnected with 8 other packs to give up to 90kWh of capacity for a household. This holds great potential, particularly when considering its commercial line of products branded as Powerpack.",{"type":591,"attrs":149425,"content":149426},{"textAlign":49},[149427],{"text":149428,"type":596},"“Powerpack is designed to scale to infinity,” explained Elon Musk at the launch, “You could literally make this into a gigawatt hour solution.” Each Powerpack is the same design of battery as Powerwall but with a capacity of 100kWh – the largest ever battery pack Tesla has produced.",{"type":591,"attrs":149430,"content":149431},{"textAlign":49},[149432],{"text":149433,"type":596},"Tesla proved its design was more than a concept when it revealed the whole launch event was battery powered using Powerwall products. The batteries were fed by solar energy or as Musk explained: “Everything you are experiencing is stored sunlight.”",{"type":591,"attrs":149435,"content":149436},{"textAlign":49},[149437],{"text":149438,"type":596},"The company already has a commitment for a 250MW installation and is working with Amazon and Target for its new range of batteries for business. The Powerpack has been priced even lower than sister product at $250/ kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":149440,"content":149441},{"textAlign":49},[149442],{"text":149443,"type":596},"Tesla will still rely on its close partnership with Panasonic for its supply of lithium-ion batteries into 2016, while it transitions to Gigafactory output that is expected in the first few months of next year.",{"type":591,"attrs":149445,"content":149446},{"textAlign":49},[149447],{"text":149448,"type":596},"The Gigafactory will produce enough batteries at capacity to power 3.5m homes. However,",{"type":591,"attrs":149450,"content":149451},{"textAlign":49},[149452],{"text":149453,"type":596},"with 133m housing units in the US alone, not even considering the number of vehicles produced that could be electric, that number seems insignificant and bolsters Musk’s belief that the world will need multiple Gigafactories and not just the one Tesla is developing in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":149455,"content":149456},{"textAlign":49},[149457],{"text":149458,"type":596},"“There will need to be many Gigafactories in the future…The Tesla policy of open sourcing its patents will continue for the Gigafactory, Powerpack and all of our other products,” Musk said.",{"type":591,"attrs":149460,"content":149461},{"textAlign":49},[149462],{"text":149463,"type":596},"It is a situation Benchmark has been tracking with 6 lithium-ion super-plants announced, and under construction, within the last year alone; the majority of which reside in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":149465,"content":149466},{"textAlign":49},[149467],{"text":149468,"type":596},"If even a fraction of Musk’s grand vision is realised, securing the raw material supply chains and the right specification of graphite, lithium and cobalt to make these batteries is now of paramount importance – not only for ethical reasons but for basic security of supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":149470,"content":149471},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149473,"content":149474},{"textAlign":49},[149475],{"text":149476,"type":596},"Tesla has been the catalyst for a battery powered world that is now upon us and with it now classifies itself as a battery company with a car division.",{"type":615,"attrs":149478,"content":149479},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[149480],{"text":149481,"type":596}," Market reaction",{"type":591,"attrs":149483,"content":149484},{"textAlign":49},[149485],{"text":149486,"type":596},"A number of major players in the battery market reacted to Tesla’s new product line with their own innovations.",{"type":591,"attrs":149488,"content":149489},{"textAlign":49},[149490],{"text":149491,"type":596},"Mercedes Benz has launched its 2.5kWh battery unit for the residential market. The lithium-ion design, like Tesla’s, can be scaled up to 20kWh capacity and, again like Tesla, Mercedes’ parent company Damlier AG is also targeting the solar market as the primary input source of power.",{"type":591,"attrs":149493,"content":149494},{"textAlign":49},[149495],{"text":149496,"type":596},"There is no word on the market price of Mercedes’ battery system however.",{"type":591,"attrs":149498,"content":149499},{"textAlign":49},[149500],{"text":149501,"type":596},"Tesla’s Gigafactory partner, Panasonic, is also testing its own version of a lithium-ion home battery system in Australia. The Japanbased company also manufactures photovoltaic modules for the solar industry and is seeking to dominate both areas of the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":149503,"content":149504},{"textAlign":49},[149505],{"text":149506,"type":596},"Nissan Motor Corp, together with major commercial energy storage installation company, Green Charge Networks, revealed its plan to use recycled Nissan LEAF batteries for stationary storage applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":149508,"content":149509},{"textAlign":49},[149510],{"text":149511,"type":596},"“A lithium-ion battery from a Nissan LEAF still holds a great deal of value as energy storage, even after it is removed from the vehicle, so Nissan expects to be able to reuse a majority of LEAF battery packs in non-automotive applications,” said Brad Smith, director of Nissan’s 4R Energy business in the US, its jointventure company with Sumitomo Corp.",{"type":591,"attrs":149513,"content":149514},{"textAlign":49},[149515],{"text":149516,"type":596},"Nissan is expected to hold a price advantage in the commercial storage space by using recycled lithium-ion batteries. As of Q2 2015, Nissan had sold 178,000 LEAF vehicles worldwide since its launch in Q1 2011 meaning a secondary market for the car and its components is now developing.",{"type":591,"attrs":149518,"content":149519},{"textAlign":49},[149520],{"text":149521,"type":596},"It is a development that will create an interesting dynamic in the battery sector, an industry that is rapidly evolving with Tesla now at the helm.",[149523],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149524},{"job_title":557,"image":149525,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"aab4fc77-685c-4883-9bd0-4ff1a2aba26d\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149528,149529],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149531,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149532,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/63d1aeeaae/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-153519.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149534,"uuid":149535,"name":149536,"slug":149537,"full_slug":149538,"content":149539},112475098147119,"ecc2da37-7542-4c79-a57e-afbab58dcda8","Tesla Powerwall priced for  impact not profit","tesla-powerwall-priced-for-impact-not-profit","article/tesla-powerwall-priced-for-impact-not-profit",{"_uid":149540,"date":148447,"tags":149541,"editor":149543,"content":149547,"excerpt":149624,"featured":50,"reporter":149625,"_editable":149629,"component":697,"seo_title":149536,"categories":149630,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":149633,"seo_description":149624,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"6cf78a9f-da62-438e-ae1e-a30fc912d3f4",[149542],{"slug":2778,"name":2779},[149544],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149545},{"job_title":557,"image":149546,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149548},[149549,149554,149559,149564,149569,149574,149579,149584,149589,149594,149599,149604,149609,149614,149619],{"type":591,"attrs":149550,"content":149551},{"textAlign":49},[149552],{"text":149553,"type":596}," By Simon Moores",{"type":591,"attrs":149555,"content":149556},{"textAlign":49},[149557],{"text":149558,"type":596},"Perhaps the most surprising part of Tesla Motors’ foray into the home energy storage market was the price.",{"type":591,"attrs":149560,"content":149561},{"textAlign":49},[149562],{"text":149563,"type":596},"The starting price of $3,000 for a 7kWh Powerwall or $3,500 for a 10kWh design was astonishing low with pre-launch expectation topping $10,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":149565,"content":149566},{"textAlign":49},[149567],{"text":149568,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that the 10kWh Powerwall battery alone – minus the pack assembly, cooling system, casing, delivery and installation – will cost between $2,500 and $3,500 to manufacture.",{"type":591,"attrs":149570,"content":149571},{"textAlign":49},[149572],{"text":149573,"type":596},"Therefore, it is clear that Tesla has been aggressive with its pricing strategy to spark real change and adoption – a strategy that will likely not see the company make a profit on Powerwall for two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":149575,"content":149576},{"textAlign":49},[149577],{"text":149578,"type":596},"At present Tesla buys its batteries from Panasonic in a long term supply agreement. These cells are produced in Japan, shipped to the west coast USA and then assembled at its Fremont plant into packs. This is before being installed into its Model S electric vehicleS and, now, the Powerwall and Powerpack utility storage line.",{"type":591,"attrs":149580,"content":149581},{"textAlign":49},[149582],{"text":149583,"type":596},"Cost has long been an issue with the Model S which is why the company launched an ambitious project to build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant, the Gigafactory, in a bid to achieve economies of scale and a 30% cost reduction.",{"type":591,"attrs":149585,"content":149586},{"textAlign":49},[149587],{"text":149588,"type":596},"At present, the Gigafactory is on track to produce its first batteries in January 2016, but it is not likely to get a full head of steam until the end of that year. And even then it will only be 20% of the designed capacity where the full economies of scale and lower costs of batteries will be felt.",{"type":591,"attrs":149590,"content":149591},{"textAlign":49},[149592],{"text":149593,"type":596},"It is only at full Gigafactory capacity that Tesla will have the best shot of producing the lowest cost cells in the world; this is expected in 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":149595,"content":149596},{"textAlign":49},[149597],{"text":149598,"type":596},"In many ways, Tesla announcing such a significant foray into the home and commercial energy storage market is a masterstroke – it answers all of the questions over whether there will be enough demand to fuel the Gigafactory’s output.",{"type":591,"attrs":149600,"content":149601},{"textAlign":49},[149602],{"text":149603,"type":596},"Now the company has two additional and arguably bigger markets for demand. Although these utility storage markets do exist at present, Tesla’s marketing is creating demand and making the average person want to install a battery. This desirability factor is vital if the home energy storage market is going to take-off.",{"type":591,"attrs":149605,"content":149606},{"textAlign":49},[149607],{"text":149608,"type":596},"But Tesla is also adding more pressure and potential pain in the short term where it is likely to make a loss in the first two years of Powerwall production until low cost Gigafactory batteries become available.",{"type":591,"attrs":149610,"content":149611},{"textAlign":49},[149612],{"text":149613,"type":596},"The company will hope sales of the Model S and Model X – the lower volume, higher value products – will help push it into the black while the utility storage batteries – the low value, high volume products – find their feet.",{"type":591,"attrs":149615,"content":149616},{"textAlign":49},[149617],{"text":149618,"type":596},"If anything, the Powerwall price is a clear indication – if ever one was needed – that Elon Musk is less interested in short term profit and more interested in impact and market creation.",{"type":591,"attrs":149620,"content":149621},{"textAlign":49},[149622],{"text":149623,"type":596},"This in itself is very different from any corporation or public company out there and why the Tesla buzz continues to grow beyond analysts’ exectations.","By Simon Moores Perhaps the most surprising part of Tesla Motors’ foray into the home energy storage market was the price. The starting price of $3,000 for a 7kWh Powerwall or $3,500 for a 10kWh design was astonishing low with pre-launch expectation topping $10,000. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that the 10kWh Powerwall battery alone – […]",[149626],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149627},{"job_title":557,"image":149628,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6cf78a9f-da62-438e-ae1e-a30fc912d3f4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149631,149632],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149634,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149635,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7a7ddd3121/bm-tesla-power-wall-1.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149637,"uuid":149638,"name":149639,"slug":149640,"full_slug":149641,"content":149642},112475093342410,"332e7fe2-a281-416d-82cf-6d0baceb2632","LG Chem stakes claim in China EV push","lg-chem-stakes-claim-in-china-ev-push","article/lg-chem-stakes-claim-in-china-ev-push",{"_uid":149643,"date":148447,"tags":149644,"editor":149646,"content":149650,"excerpt":149656,"featured":50,"reporter":149778,"_editable":149782,"component":697,"seo_title":149639,"categories":149783,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":149787,"seo_description":149656,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"4ec98c0d-a741-4af5-9575-b909e6414f7a",[149645],{"slug":575,"name":576},[149647],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149648},{"job_title":557,"image":149649,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149651},[149652,149657,149662,149667,149672,149677,149680,149685,149690,149695,149700,149705,149710,149715,149720,149723,149728,149733,149738,149743,149748,149753,149758,149763,149768,149773],{"type":591,"attrs":149653,"content":149654},{"textAlign":49},[149655],{"text":149656,"type":596},"Leading battery producer quietly strengthens market position with SUV deal which could see the company supply 30% of the Chinese market by 2020",{"type":591,"attrs":149658,"content":149659},{"textAlign":49},[149660],{"text":149661,"type":596},"LG Chem, one of the world’s leading battery producers, has struck an agreement to supply lithiumion packs into China’s burgeoning industry, which is expected to see orders exceed 200,000 by 2017 – twice the capacity of the megafactory the company is constructing in Jiangsu province.",{"type":591,"attrs":149663,"content":149664},{"textAlign":49},[149665],{"text":149666,"type":596},"It follows a series of similar agreements with Chinese automotive manufacturers that are eager to secure supply chains as the country’s push towards green energy initiatives continues.",{"type":591,"attrs":149668,"content":149669},{"textAlign":49},[149670],{"text":149671,"type":596},"Since 2011, South Korea-based LG Chem has agreed deals to supply EV batteries to some of China’s biggest automotive players, including SAIC Motors, Qoros Automotive, FAW Group and Changan Automobile Group.",{"type":591,"attrs":149673,"content":149674},{"textAlign":49},[149675],{"text":149676,"type":596},"The deal with Great Wall Motors will see LG Chem’s battery sales into the country’s EV sector exceed 200,000 units by 2017, when the company is set to begin sales of its new electric SUV range.",{"type":591,"attrs":149678,"content":149679},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149681,"content":149682},{"textAlign":49},[149683],{"text":149684,"type":596},"This will coincide with a ramp up in production from LG Chem’s new battery plant in Nanjing, slated for start-up in Q1 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":149686,"content":149687},{"textAlign":49},[149688],{"text":149689,"type":596},"Forecasts from IHS suggest Chinese EV sales could exceed 650,000 vehicles by 2020, meaning LG Chem could feasibly supply batteries to over 30% of the market by this time.",{"type":591,"attrs":149691,"content":149692},{"textAlign":49},[149693],{"text":149694,"type":596},"In addition, the company already has contracts in place with major western car producers such as General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford Motor Co and Audi AG to name a few, and in March 2015 agreed to supply batteries to Germany’s Daimler AG.",{"type":591,"attrs":149696,"content":149697},{"textAlign":49},[149698],{"text":149699,"type":596},"With an expected increase in EV battery demand in North America, LG Chem is already preparing to reopen a battery plant in Michigan.",{"type":591,"attrs":149701,"content":149702},{"textAlign":49},[149703],{"text":149704,"type":596},"This will supply companies including Chevrolet, which will use the batteries for the next generation Volt and the soon to be released Bolt – the company’s first low-cost vehicle which will compete with Tesla’s Model 3.",{"type":591,"attrs":149706,"content":149707},{"textAlign":49},[149708],{"text":149709,"type":596},"While competitors such as Tesla Motors may be making the headlines in the battle for battery dominance, LG Chem has continued to strengthen its foothold in the lithium-ion storage surge.",{"type":615,"attrs":149711,"content":149712},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[149713],{"text":149714,"type":596}," Leading megafactory charge",{"type":591,"attrs":149716,"content":149717},{"textAlign":49},[149718],{"text":149719,"type":596},"LG Chem’s plans to create an EV plant in China were unveiled in Q4 2014 and the company has already made significant progress in the construction of a 7GWh facility in Nanjing, China.",{"type":591,"attrs":149721,"content":149722},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149724,"content":149725},{"textAlign":49},[149726],{"text":149727,"type":596},"It is set to bring the first of the lithium ion megafactories on-stream, ahead of Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory project in Nevada, which will begin production in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":149729,"content":149730},{"textAlign":49},[149731],{"text":149732,"type":596},"The construction of a plant in China is a strategic move by the Seoul-based company, which is already among the world’s leading lithium ion battery producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":149734,"content":149735},{"textAlign":49},[149736],{"text":149737,"type":596},"Production within China will give LG Chem further leverage in the fastest growing market for EVs and allow it to supply batteries at a more competitive price as the race to a production cost of under $250/kWh intensifies.",{"type":591,"attrs":149739,"content":149740},{"textAlign":49},[149741],{"text":149742,"type":596},"Polices to boost EV sales in China have also escalated as the need for environmental controls has grown, increasing momentum towards a low carbon economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":149744,"content":149745},{"textAlign":49},[149746],{"text":149747,"type":596},"Beijing has committed significant capital investment into developing domestic EV production capabilities and building the necessary charging infrastructure to facilitate greater sales.",{"type":591,"attrs":149749,"content":149750},{"textAlign":49},[149751],{"text":149752,"type":596},"In addition, the 10% tax on new vehicle sales has been waived in an effort to accelerate the uptake in cleaner energy transportation.",{"type":591,"attrs":149754,"content":149755},{"textAlign":49},[149756],{"text":149757,"type":596},"As a result, China has become a market leader in the adoption of EVs, outpacing developments in the US and Europe.",{"type":591,"attrs":149759,"content":149760},{"textAlign":49},[149761],{"text":149762,"type":596},"Increasing demand, particularly from the automotive sector, could see LG Chem commit to further battery expansions in the near future, with Chinese orders already doubling the new plant’s production capacity of 100,000 units.",{"type":591,"attrs":149764,"content":149765},{"textAlign":49},[149766],{"text":149767,"type":596},"The coming year will subsequently be crucial in laying the necessary foundations to supply major EV growth out to 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":149769,"content":149770},{"textAlign":49},[149771],{"text":149772,"type":596},"It is also expected to see greater volumes of battery raw materials be consumed within China, which will limit supply to international markets, particularly for materials such as spherical graphite which, in its uncoated form, is produced almost exclusively within China.",{"type":591,"attrs":149774,"content":149775},{"textAlign":49},[149776],{"text":149777,"type":596},"China is a net importer of batterygrade lithium chemicals, while it sources the majority of its cobalt concentrate from the Democratic Republic of Congo for domestic chemical production.",[149779],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149780},{"job_title":557,"image":149781,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4ec98c0d-a741-4af5-9575-b909e6414f7a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[149784,149785,149786],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":149788,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":149789,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/613e8e14bf/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-155515.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":149791,"uuid":149792,"name":149793,"slug":149794,"full_slug":149795,"content":149796},112475088533605,"e7123d5b-0cb1-42ce-b38c-1c45ec0f23ee","Stratmin plots  course for global  graphite status","stratmin-plots-course-for-global-graphite-status","article/stratmin-plots-course-for-global-graphite-status",{"_uid":149797,"date":148447,"tags":149798,"editor":149799,"content":149803,"excerpt":150069,"featured":50,"reporter":150070,"_editable":150074,"component":697,"seo_title":149793,"categories":150075,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":150079,"seo_description":150069,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"bb03723d-e079-4cf4-95eb-821af0aaa60b",[],[149800],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":149801},{"job_title":557,"image":149802,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":149804},[149805,149810,149815,149820,149825,149830,149835,149840,149845,149850,149855,149860,149865,149870,149875,149880,149885,149890,149895,149900,149905,149910,149915,149918,149923,149928,149933,149938,149943,149948,149953,149958,149963,149968,149973,149978,149983,149988,149993,149998,150003,150008,150013,150016,150021,150026,150031,150036,150041,150044,150049,150054,150059,150064],{"type":591,"attrs":149806,"content":149807},{"textAlign":49},[149808],{"text":149809,"type":596},"A new partnership with a leading Indian graphite producer is central to Stratmin Global Resources’ blueprint to put itself on the international flake graphite map. With the London-based company’s planned production increases, it would also place Madagascar in world’s top three producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":149811,"content":149812},{"textAlign":49},[149813],{"text":149814,"type":596}," Benchmark Mineral Intelligence met with new CEO Brett Boynton for an exclusive interview.",{"type":591,"attrs":149816,"content":149817},{"textAlign":49},[149818],{"text":149819,"type":596},"In the last two years, Stratmin Global Resources has risen from obscurity to becoming a fully operational, publicly-listed flake graphite producer in Madagascar.",{"type":591,"attrs":149821,"content":149822},{"textAlign":49},[149823],{"text":149824,"type":596},"While this may sound underwhelming to many in the resources space, Stratmin has so far achieved what the vast majority of exchange-listed graphite companies have not: to establish a mine, produce a consistent flake graphite product and sell to the international marketplace.",{"type":591,"attrs":149826,"content":149827},{"textAlign":49},[149828],{"text":149829,"type":596},"The industry has seen two booms for graphite exploration: firstly in 2011 driven by Canada and then in 2014 with the rise of Australia-based companies. Between the two countries over 150 projects entered the race to become the world’s newest mine outside of China in nearly 30 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":149831,"content":149832},{"textAlign":49},[149833],{"text":149834,"type":596},"New companies are vying for a position in the lithium-ion battery resurgence that is taking place in the wake of increased electric vehicle output and the rise in utility storage applications – batteries that can power your home and commercial facilities.",{"type":591,"attrs":149836,"content":149837},{"textAlign":49},[149838],{"text":149839,"type":596},"Graphite, the carbon anode, is central to all battery technologies. It is also a key raw material in many mature, existing industrial markets such as refractories, foundries and lubricants.",{"type":591,"attrs":149841,"content":149842},{"textAlign":49},[149843],{"text":149844,"type":596},"Supply developments have also hastened the need for new sources, particularly as consolidation activities in China have restricted the availability of flake graphite on the international markets. This in addition to the severe underinvestment in new resources over the past decade means the opportunity for new suppliers is increasing.",{"type":591,"attrs":149846,"content":149847},{"textAlign":49},[149848],{"text":149849,"type":596},"Despite this, only two mines have started operations: Stratmin’s Loharano mine in eastern Madagascar and Flinders Resources Ltd’s restart of the Woxna operation in Sweden.",{"type":591,"attrs":149851,"content":149852},{"textAlign":49},[149853],{"text":149854,"type":596},"In May 2015, under the stewardship of former Managing Director Manoli Yannaghas, the company revealed it was consistently producing an average flake graphite concentrate grade of 94.3% C, the industry standard for selling into leading markets such as Europe and US.",{"type":591,"attrs":149856,"content":149857},{"textAlign":49},[149858],{"text":149859,"type":596},"It was a watershed moment for a company that has had its fair share of production problems to date, including the key processing steps of crushing, flotation and drying. It was also a moment that validated the mine as the world’s newest source of flake graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":149861,"content":149862},{"textAlign":49},[149863],{"text":149864,"type":596},"“We now have a great platform for a step change in the way we produce and sell graphite,” explained new CEO, Brett Boynton in an exclusive interview with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.",{"type":591,"attrs":149866,"content":149867},{"textAlign":49},[149868],{"text":149869,"type":596},"“At our present capacity of 500 tpm we are too small to be a meaningful player, we are only a by-line in analysts’ coverage. [Now it’s our chance] to produce more of the same with more money,” Boynton said.",{"type":591,"attrs":149871,"content":149872},{"textAlign":49},[149873],{"text":149874,"type":596},"With a 6,000 tpa capacity plant already established in Madagascar, Loharano is about half the average size of a flake graphite mine today.",{"type":591,"attrs":149876,"content":149877},{"textAlign":49},[149878],{"text":149879,"type":596},"But Boynton believes with its expansion plans and a new partner, leading Indian producer Tirupati Carbons & Chemicals Pvt Ltd, it can ramp up its output over the next two years and place both Stratmin and Madagascar among the leading producers outside of China.",{"type":591,"attrs":149881,"content":149882},{"textAlign":49},[149883],{"text":149884,"type":596},"“Stratmin now has the platform and the partnership in place to significantly increase capacity, but with all of the experience of our pilot project the risk is substantially mitigated…once we have built this out it will be a sustainable low cost source of graphite,” the CEO explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":149886,"content":149887},{"textAlign":49},[149888],{"text":149889,"type":596},"Boynton outlined to Benchmark the company’s blueprint for expansions in a country that is presently the world’s 6th largest producer of flake graphite.",{"type":591,"attrs":149891,"content":149892},{"textAlign":49},[149893],{"text":149894,"type":596},"Phase one will see an expansion of the Loharano operation to 18,000 tpa, in essence replicating the successful 6,000 tpa plant twice over to bring significant new capacity on-stream.",{"type":591,"attrs":149896,"content":149897},{"textAlign":49},[149898],{"text":149899,"type":596},"A concurrent project will see the company work with Tirupati on a new site closer to Madagascar’s Tamatave Port, which is aiming for a 12,000 tpa flake graphite capacity.",{"type":591,"attrs":149901,"content":149902},{"textAlign":49},[149903],{"text":149904,"type":596},"Should Boynton successfully implement the plan, Madagascar would increase its graphite output four-fold to 30,000 tpa and leapfrog Norway, Russia and India to become the world’s third largest graphite producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":149906,"content":149907},{"textAlign":49},[149908],{"text":149909,"type":596},"“The rationale is simple from our side; it gives us a risk mitigated exposure to significant expansion of our resource and volume,” said Boynton.",{"type":591,"attrs":149911,"content":149912},{"textAlign":49},[149913],{"text":149914,"type":596},"“Tirupati will gain access to capital markets and project finance through Stratmin’s London listing and our ability to attract and negotiate funding. We will be actively seeking funding from sources such as the African Development Bank,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":149916,"content":149917},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":149919,"content":149920},{"textAlign":49},[149921],{"text":149922,"type":596},"Tirupati is one of the leading graphite producers and is involved in the mining and processing of flake graphite for a wide variety of domestic markets. In recent years more graphite has been imported and reprocessed for the domestic markets contributing to the country’s total output of 25,000 tpa, making it the world’s third largest producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":149924,"content":149925},{"textAlign":49},[149926],{"text":149927,"type":596},"Developing new sources in Madagascar could see India evolve into a valueadded processor of flake graphite rather than a miner. This is much the path China is attempting to go down with its consolidation activities which presents opportunities for suppliers like Madagascar.",{"type":615,"attrs":149929,"content":149930},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[149931],{"text":149932,"type":596}," Understanding a niche market",{"type":591,"attrs":149934,"content":149935},{"textAlign":49},[149936],{"text":149937,"type":596},"One of the major challenges for Stratmin has been infiltrating what is a private and niche sector. While flake graphite is a global industry and a key raw material in steel making and batteries, only a handful of companies dominate the international marketplace.",{"type":591,"attrs":149939,"content":149940},{"textAlign":49},[149941],{"text":149942,"type":596},"This problem was one faced by former MD, Yannaghas, who explained to Benchmark: “Graphite customers are very specific for what they want. The guidelines are very tight. If it falls outside of these specifications they won’t take it”.",{"type":591,"attrs":149944,"content":149945},{"textAlign":49},[149946],{"text":149947,"type":596},"Graphite is end user driven. Knowing your customers and working to their needs are factors that can make or break new graphite producers and what sets it apart from larger commodities such as iron ore, coal and copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":149949,"content":149950},{"textAlign":49},[149951],{"text":149952,"type":596},"Yannaghas’ message was echoed by Boynton.",{"type":591,"attrs":149954,"content":149955},{"textAlign":49},[149956],{"text":149957,"type":596},"“It’s naïve to think you can just build a mine, get an offtake deal and be successful. You need to understand the market and focus on your core competencies,” he explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":149959,"content":149960},{"textAlign":49},[149961],{"text":149962,"type":596},"“Our core competencies are developing and operating in Madagascar. We now actually have cash flow and have proven consistency of grade.”",{"type":591,"attrs":149964,"content":149965},{"textAlign":49},[149966],{"text":149967,"type":596},"The country has long suffered from underinvestment in the graphite sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":149969,"content":149970},{"textAlign":49},[149971],{"text":149972,"type":596},"While being well regarded for the quality of its flake graphite, Madagascar has lacked the financial power and forward planning to significantly expand production.",{"type":591,"attrs":149974,"content":149975},{"textAlign":49},[149976],{"text":149977,"type":596},"With both Stratmin’s present sales into North America and a route into the Indian market with its Tirupati deal, all the pieces for a new era in Madagascan graphite production are being put in place.",{"type":615,"attrs":149979,"content":149980},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[149981],{"text":149982,"type":596}," Analysis: Madagascar’s global graphite position ",{"type":591,"attrs":149984,"content":149985},{"textAlign":49},[149986],{"text":149987,"type":596},"By Simon Moores",{"type":591,"attrs":149989,"content":149990},{"textAlign":49},[149991],{"text":149992,"type":596},"Madagascar has always been a niche but high quality producer of flake graphite concentrate.",{"type":591,"attrs":149994,"content":149995},{"textAlign":49},[149996],{"text":149997,"type":596},"Over the last decade, production has ranged between 3,000 and 8,000 tonnes with almost 100% of output destined for the US or Europe. This is only a fraction of total global supply, however, which is dominated by the two majors, China and Brazil – both of which accounted for 86% of flake graphite output in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":149999,"content":150000},{"textAlign":49},[150001],{"text":150002,"type":596},"Despite this minor volume position, Madagascar has found itself a loyal customer base for its high quality, large flake (+80 mesh or larger) product.",{"type":591,"attrs":150004,"content":150005},{"textAlign":49},[150006],{"text":150007,"type":596},"Production to date has been dominated by French company, Etablissements Gallois, in the east of the country, close to Stratmin’s operation. While the Gallois mine has a 10,000 tpa capacity, output in recent years has been roughly half of this.",{"type":591,"attrs":150009,"content":150010},{"textAlign":49},[150011],{"text":150012,"type":596},"Since 2010, supply from Madagascar has been hovering around the 3,000 tpa mark, but with the emergence of Stratmin this year, this figure is rising. The accompanying chart shows the emergence of the new production, with exports between January and May up 28% on the same period last year.",{"type":591,"attrs":150014,"content":150015},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150017,"content":150018},{"textAlign":49},[150019],{"text":150020,"type":596},"Should the trend continue, Madagascar is on course of have its largest year of production in a decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":150022,"content":150023},{"textAlign":49},[150024],{"text":150025,"type":596},"The east African country has also been subject to extensive exploration over the last five years.",{"type":591,"attrs":150027,"content":150028},{"textAlign":49},[150029],{"text":150030,"type":596},"Canada’s Energizer Resources has been a major contributor to uncovering the extent of Madagascar’s flake graphite resources through drilling at its Molo Deposit in the south, which exceeds 80m tonnes at a grade of 5-8% C.",{"type":591,"attrs":150032,"content":150033},{"textAlign":49},[150034],{"text":150035,"type":596},"The company’s feasibility study in March showed an ex-mine operating cost of $352/ tonne. Compared with the majority of producing countries in 2015, Madagascar holds significant potential to expand output should the new mines be able to replicate the quality product of Gallois. Stratmin’s partnership with India’s Tirupati Carbons could also be significant in a global context.",{"type":591,"attrs":150037,"content":150038},{"textAlign":49},[150039],{"text":150040,"type":596},"With India’s domestic graphite resources struggling to expand and producers increasingly reliant on reprocessing imported ore, Madagascar could be a logical option to replace the bulk of India’s present mined output, which was around 25,000 tonnes in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":150042,"content":150043},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150045,"content":150046},{"textAlign":49},[150047],{"text":150048,"type":596},"Tirupati is one of two companies that dominates India’s graphite industry and accounts for around half of the country’s output. Should the new venture with Stratmin take-off, it could be the start of an Indian supply shift from domestic resources to Madagascar.",{"type":591,"attrs":150050,"content":150051},{"textAlign":49},[150052],{"text":150053,"type":596},"China’s slow withdrawal from the international marketplace is also likely to have a positive impact on the country’s fortunes.",{"type":591,"attrs":150055,"content":150056},{"textAlign":49},[150057],{"text":150058,"type":596},"Shandong was a leading source of large flake graphite material, but mine closures and increased processing restrictions in the province have restricted the amount of +80 and +50 mesh material available. Buyers have turned to other countries including Madagascar to replace this shortfall.",{"type":591,"attrs":150060,"content":150061},{"textAlign":49},[150062],{"text":150063,"type":596},"Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that, on average, Madagascar is a lower cost producer than India and on a par with many provinces in China, but the country has lacked the scale to offer any significant international impact to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":150065,"content":150066},{"textAlign":49},[150067],{"text":150068,"type":596},"With the new investment and continued government backing, the country is set for a path of increased graphite output at a time when new supply is needed.","A new partnership with a leading Indian graphite producer is central to Stratmin Global Resources’ blueprint to put itself on the international flake graphite map. With the London-based company’s planned production increases, it would also place Madagascar in world’s top three producers. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence met with new CEO Brett Boynton for an exclusive interview.",[150071],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150072},{"job_title":557,"image":150073,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"bb03723d-e079-4cf4-95eb-821af0aaa60b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[150076,150077,150078],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":150080,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":150081,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65feef33ac/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-160315.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":150083,"uuid":150084,"name":150085,"slug":150086,"full_slug":150087,"content":150088},112475083708416,"d495eaf7-68e8-49e5-8c94-7958399d2bc2","Cobalt’s  hi-tech  blueprint","cobalts-hi-tech-blueprint","article/cobalts-hi-tech-blueprint",{"_uid":150089,"date":148447,"tags":150090,"editor":150091,"content":150095,"excerpt":150624,"featured":50,"reporter":150625,"_editable":150629,"component":697,"seo_title":150085,"categories":150630,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":150634,"seo_description":150624,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"4c41b3a3-14bb-4226-838b-3d043692b11b",[],[150092],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150093},{"job_title":557,"image":150094,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":150096},[150097,150102,150107,150112,150117,150122,150127,150132,150137,150142,150147,150152,150157,150162,150167,150172,150177,150182,150187,150192,150197,150202,150207,150212,150217,150222,150225,150230,150235,150240,150245,150250,150255,150260,150265,150270,150275,150280,150285,150290,150295,150300,150305,150310,150315,150320,150325,150330,150333,150338,150343,150348,150353,150356,150361,150366,150371,150376,150381,150386,150391,150396,150401,150406,150411,150416,150421,150426,150431,150436,150441,150446,150451,150456,150461,150466,150471,150476,150481,150486,150491,150496,150501,150506,150511,150516,150521,150526,150531,150536,150541,150546,150551,150556,150561,150566,150569,150574,150579,150584,150589,150594,150599,150604,150609,150614,150619],{"type":591,"attrs":150098,"content":150099},{"textAlign":49},[150100],{"text":150101,"type":596}," By Andrew Miller",{"type":591,"attrs":150103,"content":150104},{"textAlign":49},[150105],{"text":150106,"type":596}," During the past five years, the battery sector’s hunger for cobalt has increased three-fold and prices have reacted in a volatile way. New battery megafactories using cobalt-based cathodes are being built, yet the industry is still divided on how far lithium-ion batteries can really go.",{"type":591,"attrs":150108,"content":150109},{"textAlign":49},[150110],{"text":150111,"type":596}," With these emerging hi-tech markets threatening to unbalance an industry that relies on the Democratic Republic of Congo for over half of its raw material, the need for new supply is rising in an environment where mining finance is grinding to a halt.",{"type":591,"attrs":150113,"content":150114},{"textAlign":49},[150115],{"text":150116,"type":596}," With demand increasing and future supply uncertain, can cobalt afford another price shock that would derail its role in the lithium-ion revolution?",{"type":591,"attrs":150118,"content":150119},{"textAlign":49},[150120],{"text":150121,"type":596},"The cobalt industry is a split camp. On one side you have traditional cobalt metal manufacturers selling to produce superalloys, binders, catalysts to mature, industrial markets that have struggled to offer any significant growth in recent years.",{"type":591,"attrs":150123,"content":150124},{"textAlign":49},[150125],{"text":150126,"type":596},"In the other corner, you have cobalt’s chemical manufacturers supplying a fastgrowing new market, the battery sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":150128,"content":150129},{"textAlign":49},[150130],{"text":150131,"type":596},"The industry is further fragmented by believers and non-believers of the lithium-ion revolution, a surge in battery applications outside of smartphones, powertools, laptops and tablets.",{"type":591,"attrs":150133,"content":150134},{"textAlign":49},[150135],{"text":150136,"type":596},"Cobalt’s future growth as a key component in lithium-ion batteries relies on vehicles, homes and the commercial world using energy storage in ways never seen before.",{"type":591,"attrs":150138,"content":150139},{"textAlign":49},[150140],{"text":150141,"type":596},"New markets and new demand is a challenge for the well-established cobalt industry to consider and, most importantly, invest in.",{"type":591,"attrs":150143,"content":150144},{"textAlign":49},[150145],{"text":150146,"type":596},"Despite a compound annual growth rate in production of over 5% since the mid1980s, the sector’s traditional end-market, metal production, has been slowing, pushing supplies into surplus.",{"type":591,"attrs":150148,"content":150149},{"textAlign":49},[150150],{"text":150151,"type":596},"The growing needs of the battery sector – which grew by over 9% in 2014 – has insulated the cobalt industry from the slowdown in industrial demand. However, slower than expected uptake of largescale battery applications, namely electric vehicles, has left many industry players sceptical over the further growth potential of batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":150153,"content":150154},{"textAlign":49},[150155],{"text":150156,"type":596},"Experienced cobalt participants are asking: How much further can batteries really go?",{"type":591,"attrs":150158,"content":150159},{"textAlign":49},[150160],{"text":150161,"type":596},"Scepticism is deep-rooted among producers who, despite rallying calls from major battery consumers, remain wary of depending on an evolving market with a variety of battery chemistries, some of which do not use cobalt as part of the cathode makeup.",{"type":591,"attrs":150163,"content":150164},{"textAlign":49},[150165],{"text":150166,"type":596},"While these fears may carry some weight in the longer-term, consumption patterns are likely to dictate that battery uncertainties can no longer be swept under the carpet.",{"type":591,"attrs":150168,"content":150169},{"textAlign":49},[150170],{"text":150171,"type":596},"Over the past five years alone, cobalt’s battery grade consumption has increased threefold, and this growth looks set to continue considering the battery megafactories in the pipeline.",{"type":591,"attrs":150173,"content":150174},{"textAlign":49},[150175],{"text":150176,"type":596},"With this growth will come further disruption to the traditional market structures that have developed in cobalt over the last 30 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":150178,"content":150179},{"textAlign":49},[150180],{"text":150181,"type":596},"In short, a new, more secure supply chain for the modern era will need to be created, a task that includes new mines, new refineries, and a more transparent supply chain.",{"type":615,"attrs":150183,"content":150184},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150185],{"text":150186,"type":596}," Cultivating a new end-market",{"type":591,"attrs":150188,"content":150189},{"textAlign":49},[150190],{"text":150191,"type":596},"Over the last 24 months, batteries have seen a renaissance. Not since the late-1990s and the mid-2000s have associated industries been this excited about growth in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":150193,"content":150194},{"textAlign":49},[150195],{"text":150196,"type":596},"And this time it is not just about electric vehicles but also home and commercial energy storage. It’s a subject that is no longer just the elephant in the room but a prospect that is on the table.",{"type":591,"attrs":150198,"content":150199},{"textAlign":49},[150200],{"text":150201,"type":596},"Tesla Motors Inc has again put itself at the forefront of these developments by announcing the launch of a utility storage line of products – the Powerwall and Powerpack – which hold the promise to revolutionise how we store and distribute energy on both a residential and commercial level (pp24-25).",{"type":591,"attrs":150203,"content":150204},{"textAlign":49},[150205],{"text":150206,"type":596},"Panasonic Corp, Tesla’s battery supplier, is expecting considerable growth in its battery output over the coming decade, forecasting a CAGR in demand of 16.9% from the automotive sector and 74.9% from the utility storage industry to 2025.",{"type":591,"attrs":150208,"content":150209},{"textAlign":49},[150210],{"text":150211,"type":596},"Although the company concedes that its cathode chemistries vary, Senior Executive Engineer, Munehisa Ikoma recently emphasised that cobalt would be an important element in all of Panasonic’s lithium-ion technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":150213,"content":150214},{"textAlign":49},[150215],{"text":150216,"type":596},"This is a message that has been echoed across the industry, with major battery producers and consumers alike, emphasising that cobalt-based chemistries have become the industry standard and are likely to remain this way for the foreseeable future.",{"type":591,"attrs":150218,"content":150219},{"textAlign":49},[150220],{"text":150221,"type":596},"If cobalt-based cathodes remain the status quo then the industry will require substantial new volumes of material to support a sector that is growing not only in the amount of batteries used but also in the size of the batteries being adopted.",{"type":591,"attrs":150223,"content":150224},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150226,"content":150227},{"textAlign":49},[150228],{"text":150229,"type":596},"With today’s cobalt supply structure inflexible to any quick changes or shocks to the system, satisfying the demand for a major new industry, and ensuring the sustainability of cobalt’s role in the market, will pose the biggest challenge to producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":150231,"content":150232},{"textAlign":49},[150233],{"text":150234,"type":596},"In 2014, the world’s cobalt production was 90,000 tonnes with the battery sector estimated to account for between 40-45,000 tonnes of the market. Batteries were by far the number one consuming sector for cobalt, while superalloys accounted for a further 16% of demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":150236,"content":150237},{"textAlign":49},[150238],{"text":150239,"type":596},"The requirements of Tesla’s Gigafactory alone is likely to see this figure increase by 15-20% when it reaches its planned capacity in 2020. This is without taking into account further expansions within China which will at least match this demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":150241,"content":150242},{"textAlign":49},[150243],{"text":150244,"type":596},"Expanding cobalt capacity to meet this demand will be paramount in keeping prices stable. A stable and reasonable price is critical for end users aiming to implement large projects that are conducive to lowering battery unit costs to the holy grail of sub$250/kWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":150246,"content":150247},{"textAlign":49},[150248],{"text":150249,"type":596},"If the price of raw materials escalates to such a level that any cost savings in mass producing batteries are negated, the lithium-ion revolution will begin to unravel.",{"type":615,"attrs":150251,"content":150252},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150253],{"text":150254,"type":596}," Price pressure points",{"type":591,"attrs":150256,"content":150257},{"textAlign":49},[150258],{"text":150259,"type":596},"Moving forward, raw material supply itself will pose a direct challenge to battery producers, but the impact this new demand has on prices will also have an indirect bearing on the cost savings these companies are able to achieve.",{"type":591,"attrs":150261,"content":150262},{"textAlign":49},[150263],{"text":150264,"type":596},"Supply in the cobalt market is already showing signs of tightening with rising battery demand in addition to supply restrictions including the suspension of ENRC’s Chambishi mine in Zambia.",{"type":591,"attrs":150266,"content":150267},{"textAlign":49},[150268],{"text":150269,"type":596},"As a result prices are expected to rise throughout H2 2015 at a time when demand is set to spike with the start of Tesla’s Gigafactory and Chinese battery expansions that could take up much of the domestic Chinese supply usually destined for export.",{"type":591,"attrs":150271,"content":150272},{"textAlign":49},[150273],{"text":150274,"type":596},"It was only at the end of May that LG Chem signed a contract to supply EV batteries to the country’s largest SUV producer – a deal which will see LG’s orders from the Chinese market exceed 200,000 units by 2017 (pp27). Add to this further incentives by Beijing to get its residents to switch to electric vehicles and it becomes apparent that demand will soon outpace supply – a situation that could have a knockon effect on prices, something consumers will want to avoid.",{"type":591,"attrs":150276,"content":150277},{"textAlign":49},[150278],{"text":150279,"type":596},"“The stability in price will be a key factor in cobalt’s usage in batteries,” explained Panasonic’s Munehisa Ikoma.",{"type":591,"attrs":150281,"content":150282},{"textAlign":49},[150283],{"text":150284,"type":596},"In 2008, high grade cobalt metal prices soared to over $50/lb before the effects of the global economic crisis forced prices back below the $20/lb mark in 2013.",{"type":591,"attrs":150286,"content":150287},{"textAlign":49},[150288],{"text":150289,"type":596},"If a price cycle on this scale was to occur again, battery producers could be forced to move towards non-cobalt cathodes like lithium manganese oxide (LMO) or lithium iron phosphate (LFP).",{"type":591,"attrs":150291,"content":150292},{"textAlign":49},[150293],{"text":150294,"type":596},"However, the reality is that it would require substantial and sustained price rises for battery producers to totally abandon the technology they have developed over the last two decades – especially as they now stand on the precipice of a new era in demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":150296,"content":150297},{"textAlign":49},[150298],{"text":150299,"type":596},"Lessons can be learned from rare earths, which has experienced a more extreme yet similar situation. In 2010, prices escalated to all-time highs on the back of supply restrictions in China. While the price of some rare earth elements rose by over 700% in 12 months, large end users such as Siemens AG and Boeing were reluctant to stop using the raw materials. They did, however, ramp up research in substitute materials that could have an impact in years to come.",{"type":591,"attrs":150301,"content":150302},{"textAlign":49},[150303],{"text":150304,"type":596},"In a sense, necessity is the mother of invention and cobalt would want to avoid a rare earths situation by forcing its consumers to look at cobalt alternatives.",{"type":591,"attrs":150306,"content":150307},{"textAlign":49},[150308],{"text":150309,"type":596},"Shifting away from a cobalt cathode, as of today is neither realistic nor conducive to the development of new end markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":150311,"content":150312},{"textAlign":49},[150313],{"text":150314,"type":596},"In order to avoid this type of obstacle, the cobalt market will be required to develop new resources – a tough ask considering the state of public markets today.",{"type":615,"attrs":150316,"content":150317},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150318],{"text":150319,"type":596}," Mapping a sustainable future",{"type":591,"attrs":150321,"content":150322},{"textAlign":49},[150323],{"text":150324,"type":596},"Cobalt’s evolving supply-demand balance means new supply is needed as we approach 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":150326,"content":150327},{"textAlign":49},[150328],{"text":150329,"type":596},"Few existing producers have the ability to substantially increase output in the medium term and with the vast majority of existing supplies being mined as a by-product of either nickel or copper operations, global supply remains largely subject to developments in these sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":150331,"content":150332},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150334,"content":150335},{"textAlign":49},[150336],{"text":150337,"type":596},"Furthermore, with the bulk of mined cobalt concentrate originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this output remains susceptible to changes in the geo-political environment, particularly considering the steps western governments have taken in recent years to limit sourcing from conflict areas. (See pp14-15) Despite these concerns, funding for the few exploration stage cobalt companies seeking to develop new mines remains subject to public markets, which tend to be guided by macroeconomic trends rather than the specialised requirements of these niche sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":150339,"content":150340},{"textAlign":49},[150341],{"text":150342,"type":596},"Nevertheless, this has failed to dampen the appetite of companies seeking to benefit from these market developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":150344,"content":150345},{"textAlign":49},[150346],{"text":150347,"type":596},"“The increasing demand for cobalt in electric vehicle and stationary battery sectors [means] cobalt is anticipated to enter into a deficit situation sooner rather than later – possibly as early as 2016,” Rick Honsinger, Vice President of Canada-based exploration company Formation Metals explained to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":150349,"content":150350},{"textAlign":49},[150351],{"text":150352,"type":596},"It is this potential that the company is looking to capitalise on with the development of the Idaho Cobalt Project in the US, where the company is seeking to produce 1,300 tpa of battery-grade material.",{"type":591,"attrs":150354,"content":150355},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150357,"content":150358},{"textAlign":49},[150359],{"text":150360,"type":596},"Despite completing two of the three stages of construction at the mine and mill, financing for their final stage operations remains challenging, according to Honsinger.",{"type":591,"attrs":150362,"content":150363},{"textAlign":49},[150364],{"text":150365,"type":596},"The company believes the North American location of the mine, combined with the demand outlook, will compel the industry to fund the project and bring the mine on stream in the near term as battery manufacturers rapidly expand operations on the continent.",{"type":591,"attrs":150367,"content":150368},{"textAlign":49},[150369],{"text":150370,"type":596},"The strategic advantages of developing a mine in North America, including supply security and the potential for lower cost logistics, are strong selling points for other exploration miners.",{"type":591,"attrs":150372,"content":150373},{"textAlign":49},[150374],{"text":150375,"type":596},"Fortune Minerals Limited, also a Canadabased mining and development company, is aiming to bring a 1,600 tpa cobalt project online in 2017.",{"type":591,"attrs":150377,"content":150378},{"textAlign":49},[150379],{"text":150380,"type":596},"“[Being North America based we] should command significant market attention from battery manufacturers in Canada, the US and Europe,” Robin Goad, President of Fortune Minerals explained in an interview.",{"type":591,"attrs":150382,"content":150383},{"textAlign":49},[150384],{"text":150385,"type":596},"“[Close to] 60% of mined cobalt supply comes from the DRC and poses a number of risks including political instability, new regulations, higher royalties, export taxes and depletion of readily available surface oxide ores,” Goad said.",{"type":591,"attrs":150387,"content":150388},{"textAlign":49},[150389],{"text":150390,"type":596},"Mining of easily accessible minerals and metals is an important point to stress. In niche industries like cobalt, graphite and rare earths, many of the active mines today have been operational for decades with many having to go deeper underground or shift to lower grade resources to maintain output.",{"type":591,"attrs":150392,"content":150393},{"textAlign":49},[150394],{"text":150395,"type":596},"In addition, many of these mines are in higher risk countries for the west: cobalt comes primarily from the DRC while graphite and rare earths are predominately from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":150397,"content":150398},{"textAlign":49},[150399],{"text":150400,"type":596},"In addition to supply security, the economics of these old mines versus new ones must be addressed.",{"type":591,"attrs":150402,"content":150403},{"textAlign":49},[150404],{"text":150405,"type":596},"Global Cobalt is developing two North American projects in Ontario, Canada and Idaho, US. The company’s flagship project, the Karakul Cobalt Deposit in the Republic of Altai, Russia, is looking to sell into the Chinese market.",{"type":591,"attrs":150407,"content":150408},{"textAlign":49},[150409],{"text":150410,"type":596},"“[The project] is located near the Chinese border and as such is ideally located to take full advantage of China’s rapidly expanding battery materials marketplace,” Erin Chutter, President and CEO, explained to Benchmark.",{"type":591,"attrs":150412,"content":150413},{"textAlign":49},[150414],{"text":150415,"type":596},"The need for new supplies globally is something the company is looking to address, with proposals already in place for the company to create a spin-off entity – Global Energy Metals – which will “focus on the acquisition of additional cobalt projects globally that are located in mature, stable and prolific mining jurisdictions”, she added",{"type":615,"attrs":150417,"content":150418},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150419],{"text":150420,"type":596}," Supply chain conflict",{"type":591,"attrs":150422,"content":150423},{"textAlign":49},[150424],{"text":150425,"type":596},"As companies outside of China seek to insulate themselves from external disruptions to their supply chains, the development of these new projects will become imperative.",{"type":591,"attrs":150427,"content":150428},{"textAlign":49},[150429],{"text":150430,"type":596},"With the needs of cobalt consumers increasing, both in terms of quantity and the consistency of product, end users require greater visibility of upstream markets to ensure the security of their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":150432,"content":150433},{"textAlign":49},[150434],{"text":150435,"type":596},"A major issue that is rising in prominence is one of conflict minerals: the sourcing of raw materials that fund rebel groups in conflict areas of the world. The US has already enacted the Dodd Frank legislation which forces public companies to disclose where they use conflict minerals, while Europe is going down a similar track (pp14-15).",{"type":591,"attrs":150437,"content":150438},{"textAlign":49},[150439],{"text":150440,"type":596},"At present, the 3TGs of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold sourced in central Africa are classified as conflict minerals, while cobalt is not, despite being sourced in a similar way.",{"type":591,"attrs":150442,"content":150443},{"textAlign":49},[150444],{"text":150445,"type":596},"Pressure on the use of these controversial sources is increasing, with the European legislation likely to expand to include more countries and more minerals in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":150447,"content":150448},{"textAlign":49},[150449],{"text":150450,"type":596},"Today, major consumers such as the US remain heavily dependent on the export markets of China and the DRC. In 2014, imports accounted for between 75-80% of the US’ total refined consumption, which is estimated to have reached close to 14,000 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":150452,"content":150453},{"textAlign":49},[150454],{"text":150455,"type":596},"With these volumes likely to increase in the medium term as battery capacity expansions accelerate, the security of supplies into the country has become an issue of national importance – so much so that from this year onwards, the Defense Logistics Agency is expected to commission purchases of cobalt products for the National Defense Stockpile.",{"type":591,"attrs":150457,"content":150458},{"textAlign":49},[150459],{"text":150460,"type":596},"In the early 1990s the US National Defense Stockpile had inventories of over 24,000 tonnes of cobalt; however, sales of these stockpiles were authorised between 1993 and 2011, leaving almost all of these stockpiles depleted today.",{"type":591,"attrs":150462,"content":150463},{"textAlign":49},[150464],{"text":150465,"type":596},"This has left the world’s biggest economy largely at the mercy of countries with different socio-political environments that are arguably not aligned with US economic objectives.",{"type":591,"attrs":150467,"content":150468},{"textAlign":49},[150469],{"text":150470,"type":596},"As well as the security of these supplies the country’s consumers are also having to consider the sustainability of importing from unstable regions such as the DRC.",{"type":591,"attrs":150472,"content":150473},{"textAlign":49},[150474],{"text":150475,"type":596},"Although cobalt was a notable exemption from the US conflict mineral provisions, the brand management of emerging green energy consumers is limiting the areas that companies can acceptably seek to acquire these materials from.",{"type":591,"attrs":150477,"content":150478},{"textAlign":49},[150479],{"text":150480,"type":596},"Furthermore, these ethical issues will only be compounded by greater domestic consumption in countries such as China as it shifts towards a hi-tech economy.",{"type":591,"attrs":150482,"content":150483},{"textAlign":49},[150484],{"text":150485,"type":596},"In 2014, China is estimated to have consumed around 37,000 tonnes of cobalt, a figure which is forecast to increase by over 16% to 43,000 tonnes in 2015 alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":150487,"content":150488},{"textAlign":49},[150489],{"text":150490,"type":596},"The majority of this demand will be met domestically by a group of 10 cobalt smelters that control 90% of the country’s output after a period of consolidation.",{"type":591,"attrs":150492,"content":150493},{"textAlign":49},[150494],{"text":150495,"type":596},"The major risk factor with relying on China for the majority of ready-to-use, processed cobalt is the growth of its domestic market, which is likely to outpace its supply-side expansions leaving less raw material available for export.",{"type":591,"attrs":150497,"content":150498},{"textAlign":49},[150499],{"text":150500,"type":596},"An overreliance on China saw dire consequences for the rare earths industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":150502,"content":150503},{"textAlign":49},[150504],{"text":150505,"type":596},"Even abroad, China’s presence in the industry is growing. Chinese subsidiaries abroad are estimated to have produced up to 10,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2014 and are likely to direct further resources back into the country.",{"type":591,"attrs":150507,"content":150508},{"textAlign":49},[150509],{"text":150510,"type":596},"The need for countries such as the US to secure supplies in the longer term is reaching a critical level. Then there is the case of raw material competition.",{"type":591,"attrs":150512,"content":150513},{"textAlign":49},[150514],{"text":150515,"type":596},"Although the industrial metal markets have contracted over the past 12 months, a global rebound of some form is expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":150517,"content":150518},{"textAlign":49},[150519],{"text":150520,"type":596},"This means future competition between the old and new for the same cobalt concentrate will intensify in the future.",{"type":591,"attrs":150522,"content":150523},{"textAlign":49},[150524],{"text":150525,"type":596},"As this demand competition increases, an increase in vertical integration – end users buying or taking a stake in mining or refining projects – is likely as companies seek to derisk their supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":150527,"content":150528},{"textAlign":49},[150529],{"text":150530,"type":596},"Major battery companies are already looking into these types of investments and although none have yet come to fruition, tightening market conditions will see this become a priority for major end users.",{"type":591,"attrs":150532,"content":150533},{"textAlign":49},[150534],{"text":150535,"type":596},"The question is how far upstream end users are willing to go? Owning a mine has usually been a step too far.",{"type":591,"attrs":150537,"content":150538},{"textAlign":49},[150539],{"text":150540,"type":596},"Securing these deals will become increasingly difficult over the coming years with a supply being squeezed.",{"type":591,"attrs":150542,"content":150543},{"textAlign":49},[150544],{"text":150545,"type":596},"While there is an acceptance that greater coordination within the supply chain will be required, existing producers with an established set of clients will have little incentive to commit major volumes to longer-term contracts considering the existing market dynamics.",{"type":591,"attrs":150547,"content":150548},{"textAlign":49},[150549],{"text":150550,"type":596},"As a result the need for new supplies of not only cobalt but also a range of other battery precursor materials will remain of paramount priority.",{"type":615,"attrs":150552,"content":150553},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150554],{"text":150555,"type":596}," Filling the void",{"type":591,"attrs":150557,"content":150558},{"textAlign":49},[150559],{"text":150560,"type":596},"In the minerals and metals space, recycling is usually a buzz word that comes and goes with the ebb and flow of demand. The likely result of the discussion is that recycling does not make good economic sense.",{"type":591,"attrs":150562,"content":150563},{"textAlign":49},[150564],{"text":150565,"type":596},"In cobalt, like many other industries such as lithium and rare earths, recycling is under discussion. But unlike these industries, it is already placing consumable volumes into the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":150567,"content":150568},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150570,"content":150571},{"textAlign":49},[150572],{"text":150573,"type":596},"In 2014, China was the leading producer of recycled material, accounting for around 5,000 tonnes of their total supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":150575,"content":150576},{"textAlign":49},[150577],{"text":150578,"type":596},"Elsewhere in the world, however, recycling has been limited despite calls from major consumers for developments in this sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":150580,"content":150581},{"textAlign":49},[150582],{"text":150583,"type":596},"Although the concept of recycling cobalt is not a new one, there are a number of inefficiencies the sector will have to overcome in order to forge a bigger role in the supply chain.",{"type":591,"attrs":150585,"content":150586},{"textAlign":49},[150587],{"text":150588,"type":596},"Today, the storage and safety of recycling products such as lithium-ion batteries presents a major challenge to this area of the industry, but as prices rise and supplies tighten, these processors are likely to have an increasingly important role to play – particularly in the short term.",{"type":591,"attrs":150590,"content":150591},{"textAlign":49},[150592],{"text":150593,"type":596},"End users, such as portable power tool manufacturer Stanley Black and Decker Inc, have already voiced their hopes that cobalt recycling will develop over the coming years and allow them to sustain their use of lithium-ion technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":150595,"content":150596},{"textAlign":49},[150597],{"text":150598,"type":596},"Calls from these types of major end users illustrates the growing awareness throughout the supply chain that recycling will play an important role in sustaining growth in new end markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":150600,"content":150601},{"textAlign":49},[150602],{"text":150603,"type":596},"But while recycling could play an important role in bridging the deficit in supplies in the short term, it will not replace the need for new primary cobalt supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":150605,"content":150606},{"textAlign":49},[150607],{"text":150608,"type":596},"As the cobalt industry enters a new period of growth, it needs a major player to take a leading role and lay the foundations for a new generation of demand. But with new mines requiring significant sums of investment – money that is not forthcoming – focus will turn to major producers and major end users.",{"type":591,"attrs":150610,"content":150611},{"textAlign":49},[150612],{"text":150613,"type":596},"Will major battery producers be willing to invest in their own mines? Would major producers be willing to expand existing capacity without certainty there will be a market for it?",{"type":591,"attrs":150615,"content":150616},{"textAlign":49},[150617],{"text":150618,"type":596},"The prospects of hi-tech applications are well established in the cobalt industry, but as of yet neither side of the market has been willing to break the standoff and lay the foundations for this growth.",{"type":591,"attrs":150620,"content":150621},{"textAlign":49},[150622],{"text":150623,"type":596},"The hope will be that one side takes the lead before cobalt’s next price crisis – for which the course is set.","During the past five years, the battery sector’s hunger for cobalt has increased three-fold and prices have reacted in a volatile way. New battery megafactories using cobalt-based cathodes are being built, yet the industry is still divided on how far lithium-ion batteries can really go.",[150626],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150627},{"job_title":557,"image":150628,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4c41b3a3-14bb-4226-838b-3d043692b11b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[150631,150632,150633],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":150635,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":150636,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/f5bc49642c/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-160916.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":150638,"uuid":150639,"name":150640,"slug":150641,"full_slug":150642,"content":150643},112475074078418,"b75fcd87-3d9c-4918-9505-ac64bdd5b071","The changing art of moving minerals","the-changing-art-of-moving-minerals","article/the-changing-art-of-moving-minerals",{"_uid":150644,"date":148447,"tags":150645,"editor":150646,"content":150650,"excerpt":150932,"featured":50,"reporter":150933,"_editable":150937,"component":697,"seo_title":150640,"categories":150938,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":150941,"seo_description":150932,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"b9944592-d319-4ed5-a75e-983b4c4781d8",[],[150647],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150648},{"job_title":557,"image":150649,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":150651},[150652,150657,150662,150667,150672,150677,150682,150687,150692,150697,150702,150707,150712,150717,150720,150725,150730,150735,150740,150745,150753,150758,150763,150768,150773,150778,150783,150788,150793,150798,150803,150808,150813,150816,150821,150826,150831,150834,150839,150844,150849,150854,150859,150864,150869,150874,150879,150884,150887,150892,150897,150902,150907,150912,150917,150922,150927],{"type":591,"attrs":150653,"content":150654},{"textAlign":49},[150655],{"text":150656,"type":596}," Logistics provides the crucial link between a mineral’s mine and market, be it container-shipped graphite and lithium, or dry bulk transported iron ore, coal, barite and magnesite. But with global minerals and metals evolving quicker than ever before, is this mature industry ready for modern day demands?",{"type":591,"attrs":150658,"content":150659},{"textAlign":49},[150660],{"text":150661,"type":596},"It has long been said that a mineral without a market is just a geological curiosity. One of the only links standing between a mineral being a valuable raw material and remaining in the ground is logistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":150663,"content":150664},{"textAlign":49},[150665],{"text":150666,"type":596},"Many new mining projects that are low cost to extract fail on logistical grounds.",{"type":591,"attrs":150668,"content":150669},{"textAlign":49},[150670],{"text":150671,"type":596},"Yet moving minerals is a somewhat private industry despite being global and it is a sector that is not used to significant change.",{"type":591,"attrs":150673,"content":150674},{"textAlign":49},[150675],{"text":150676,"type":596},"Dry bulk and container are the mainstream methods in which raw materials are transported across the world’s oceans.",{"type":591,"attrs":150678,"content":150679},{"textAlign":49},[150680],{"text":150681,"type":596},"Over the last three decades, the flow of international trade has increasingly come from the lowest cost mining areas in the world, including Africa, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, but most importantly China.",{"type":591,"attrs":150683,"content":150684},{"textAlign":49},[150685],{"text":150686,"type":596},"China’s supply and demand of raw materials such as iron ore, bauxite and coal has created the blueprint for the modern day logistics industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":150688,"content":150689},{"textAlign":49},[150690],{"text":150691,"type":596},"Since 2011, however, growth has stagnated and its major customers, such as the US, Japan and Germany, have settled at a new lower equilibrium for mineral consumption. In short and in general, the boom years are over and the world is getting used to consuming minerals and metals at a much slower rate.",{"type":591,"attrs":150693,"content":150694},{"textAlign":49},[150695],{"text":150696,"type":596},"“Industry is being disrupted and this is being forgotten. Everything is now changing a lot faster,” Geert Lagae, supply chain manager at Belgium’s Vlassenroot Group said at the inaugural IMFORMED Mineral Logistics Forum 2015 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.",{"type":591,"attrs":150698,"content":150699},{"textAlign":49},[150700],{"text":150701,"type":596},"Logistics has long been seen as an industrial stalwart of the mining industry, but delegates at IMFORMED’s launch event heard how it plays a crucial link between all raw materials, whether industrial or hi tech.",{"type":591,"attrs":150703,"content":150704},{"textAlign":49},[150705],{"text":150706,"type":596},"“If you can’t grow it, you’ll have to mine it,” said logistics expert Clive Kessell, director of Coastalwise Ltd. “Logistics knits everything together.”",{"type":591,"attrs":150708,"content":150709},{"textAlign":49},[150710],{"text":150711,"type":596},"Since the boom times, however, the logistics industry – which consists of many disciplines including shipping owners, brokers, traders, port authorities, port handling and storage companies – has had to deal with a stop-start market asking whether the sector is efficient enough.",{"type":591,"attrs":150713,"content":150714},{"textAlign":49},[150715],{"text":150716,"type":596},"“You will always hear from the market: this is how we have done business for 120 years. But it’s now not true,” explained Vlassenroot Group’s Lagae.",{"type":591,"attrs":150718,"content":150719},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150721,"content":150722},{"textAlign":49},[150723],{"text":150724,"type":596},"“Customers are ordering smaller quantities and no one keeps stocks anymore,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":150726,"content":150727},{"textAlign":49},[150728],{"text":150729,"type":596},"Destocking of the mineral supply chain has been a dominant trend since the global financial crisis as stocks equate to cash and, in tough economic times, cash becomes king.",{"type":591,"attrs":150731,"content":150732},{"textAlign":49},[150733],{"text":150734,"type":596},"In the recent boom periods of 2005-2008 and 2011, there was a race for raw material supply before the next price hikes were put in place. 2005-2008 especially was the sellers’ market to beat all sellers’ markets and as a result companies purchased what they could for storage as strong growth in demand was all but guaranteed. With this growth, new shipping capacity and storage facilities were needed – almost everyone was winning.",{"type":591,"attrs":150736,"content":150737},{"textAlign":49},[150738],{"text":150739,"type":596},"Today, we are in a very different world and it is one that has asked questions of those developing new storage capacity. Especially if major end users such as UK glass producer, NSG – as the Rotterdam delegation heard – prefer just-in-time deliveries of its Scottish silica sand and Turkish feldspar, as the group’s Raw Materials Manager Tim Smith explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":150741,"content":150742},{"textAlign":49},[150743],{"text":150744,"type":596},"Mike O’Driscoll, Forum Chair and IMFORMED director, explained: “The NSG case study of its captive Lochaline silica sand source is a prime example of one of the key trends we have seen over the last few years of large volume mineral consumers vertically integrating upstream to secure their own raw material supply in order to ensure consistent and uninterrupted supply availability and quality.”",{"type":591,"attrs":150746,"content":150747},{"textAlign":49},[150748],{"type":836,"attrs":150749},{"id":49,"alt":150750,"src":150751,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":150752},"Sibelco’s Head of Shipping, Frank Solberg at IMFORMED’s Mineral Logistics 2015 which set the stage for discussions on the future of transporting raw materials","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/71009dbacd/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-163638.png",{},{"type":591,"attrs":150754,"content":150755},{"textAlign":49},[150756],{"text":150757,"type":596},"Sibelco’s Head of Shipping, Frank Solbergat IMFORMED’s Mineral Logistics 2015which set the stage for discussions onthe future of transporting raw materials",{"type":591,"attrs":150759,"content":150760},{"textAlign":49},[150761],{"text":150762,"type":596},"However, Imerys SA, the world’s largest diversified mineral group, explained how it sees storage playing a pivotal role in softening the unpredictable peaks and troughs in supply and demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":150764,"content":150765},{"textAlign":49},[150766],{"text":150767,"type":596},"“Storing minerals protects the value chain from inefficiency – it’s an insurance policy,” Thierry Salmona, the group’s Chief Technical Officer told IMFORMED’s delegation.",{"type":591,"attrs":150769,"content":150770},{"textAlign":49},[150771],{"text":150772,"type":596},"“Long term, however, I expect storage capacity to decrease as supply chain efficiency increases. But it’s a pendulum, so don’t stick your neck out,” Salmona added.",{"type":591,"attrs":150774,"content":150775},{"textAlign":49},[150776],{"text":150777,"type":596},"Imerys, a French-based company with a 2014 revenue of €3.6bn, specialises in both bulk raw materials such as talc, kaolin and calcium carbonate in addition to speciality raw materials like graphite and white fused alumina. Mastering these global supply chains has become central to its success.",{"type":591,"attrs":150779,"content":150780},{"textAlign":49},[150781],{"text":150782,"type":596},"Another critical factor in Imerys’ dominance is adding value and creating new products.",{"type":591,"attrs":150784,"content":150785},{"textAlign":49},[150786],{"text":150787,"type":596},"As Salmona explained, the company was not satisfied in 2011 when it saw that 5% of its revenue came from new products, therefore the group focused on increasing the figure and in 2014 it rose to 12%, or €449m euros.",{"type":615,"attrs":150789,"content":150790},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150791],{"text":150792,"type":596}," Speciality versus bulks",{"type":591,"attrs":150794,"content":150795},{"textAlign":49},[150796],{"text":150797,"type":596},"At the IMFORMED meeting there was a clear split between minerals such as barite, kaolin and magnetise, which are dry bulk shipped in huge volumes of up to 75,000 tonnes and speciality minerals such as graphite and lithium, which are container shipped in smaller lots of 50 tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":150799,"content":150800},{"textAlign":49},[150801],{"text":150802,"type":596},"This subject also divided the audience with little cross-over between bulk and container disciplines. For example, Imerys transports huge tonnages of kaolin clay – the paper and plastics raw material – in 35-40,000 tonne dry bulk shipping vessels from the depths of Brazil into a specially designed hub at Antwerp port, which can handle 600,000 tpa kaolin.",{"type":591,"attrs":150804,"content":150805},{"textAlign":49},[150806],{"text":150807,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Magnesita Refactários, the Brazilian magnesite, talc, dolomite, and refractories producer, explained how it transports minerals such as magnesite and graphite from China to Brazil via both dry bulk and container.",{"type":591,"attrs":150809,"content":150810},{"textAlign":49},[150811],{"text":150812,"type":596},"It was especially interesting to see Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium explain how it favours the more expensive and specialised container shipping method over bulk shipments, especially as the group is a classic bulk commodity company and the second largest miner in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":150814,"content":150815},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150817,"content":150818},{"textAlign":49},[150819],{"text":150820,"type":596},"As well as titanium minerals and zircon from South Africa, Madagascar, and Canada, Rio Tinto mines borates in southern California, a mineral that finds end uses in ceramics, glass, batteries and fuel cells.",{"type":591,"attrs":150822,"content":150823},{"textAlign":49},[150824],{"text":150825,"type":596},"It led to the question: as mineral companies are forced to specialise and innovate their products in tougher economic times, are they likely to favour containers as their first choice of transport?",{"type":591,"attrs":150827,"content":150828},{"textAlign":49},[150829],{"text":150830,"type":596},"Robert van Muiden, CEO of Rotterdam Bulk Logistics (RoBuLog), explained his vision of the future where increasing amounts of minerals are container shipped to ensure ease of transport and a lower chance of contamination.",{"type":591,"attrs":150832,"content":150833},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":150835,"content":150836},{"textAlign":49},[150837],{"text":150838,"type":596},"“More minerals are moving into containers,” explained van Muiden, who cited battery raw materials such as graphite and lithium as growth markets in the sector. He outlined that although the prospects appeared bright for containers in general, innovations were still needed in the space, which has not fundamentally changed since their widespread adoption in the 1960s.",{"type":591,"attrs":150840,"content":150841},{"textAlign":49},[150842],{"text":150843,"type":596},"One particular development described by van Muiden, new to Europe and certainly, until this presentation, unknown to the audience upon asking, was Arrows Up Inc.’s Jumbo Bin System.",{"type":591,"attrs":150845,"content":150846},{"textAlign":49},[150847],{"text":150848,"type":596},"The Jumbo Bin is a steel and fibre glass square container holding a maximum of 27.4 tonnes of raw material which sits on a 20ft modified chassis and can be loaded through the top and discharged from its floor.",{"type":591,"attrs":150850,"content":150851},{"textAlign":49},[150852],{"text":150853,"type":596},"Key features of the Jumbo Bin include it being integrated, intermodal, and universally transportable; moving of product from source to destination in one contained unit, allowing savings on transloading and demurrage. To date they have been used for shipments of frac sand, cement, and clay.",{"type":591,"attrs":150855,"content":150856},{"textAlign":49},[150857],{"text":150858,"type":596},"The sentiment was backed by Michael Dai, Manager of Trade and Finance at Chinese company PJYT Logistics Co Ltd. The company, which specialises in coal, bauxite and barite mining and transportation in southern China, explained how its own government is backing increased container shipping by offering discounts of up to 30%.",{"type":591,"attrs":150860,"content":150861},{"textAlign":49},[150862],{"text":150863,"type":596},"“Containers have really improved mineral transport in south-west China,” Dai explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":150865,"content":150866},{"textAlign":49},[150867],{"text":150868,"type":596},"“The government has supported the situation as well, with the China Railway Company offering 10-30% discounts for mineral companies that use containers.” Dai also outlined how China is benefitting from open top containers, which are new in the country but have been in use in Europe for some time. He explained a concept that would eliminate sea freight for minerals from China should container transport take off in a major way.",{"type":591,"attrs":150870,"content":150871},{"textAlign":49},[150872],{"text":150873,"type":596},"The “one belt, one road” vision that Dai outlined to the audience would see minerals being container transported from China through Mongolia, Russia and into Europe by rail – a route which could take only 15 days compared with the 45 days for sea bound freight. While some niche mineral logistics companies specialise in this at the moment, costs can still be four times higher than sea freight.",{"type":591,"attrs":150875,"content":150876},{"textAlign":49},[150877],{"text":150878,"type":596},"China also faces a major efficiency issue.",{"type":591,"attrs":150880,"content":150881},{"textAlign":49},[150882],{"text":150883,"type":596},"With the world reliant on the country for many of the lowest cost raw materials, full shipments flow from China into Europe and North America but more often than not the vessels return empty. Dai explained that if China could work harder to fill these ships then costs could fall further. With demand for Chinese raw materials falling from all time highs between 2011-2013 and with no sign of a return, this is something that its companies will have to address imminently.",{"type":591,"attrs":150885,"content":150886},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":150888,"content":150889},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150890],{"text":150891,"type":596}," Destined to be the minnows?",{"type":591,"attrs":150893,"content":150894},{"textAlign":49},[150895],{"text":150896,"type":596},"It was Sibelco that probably gave the most home truths to the delegation.",{"type":591,"attrs":150898,"content":150899},{"textAlign":49},[150900],{"text":150901,"type":596},"One of the world’s largest minerals groups and a long time competitor to Imerys, Sibelco Europe’s head of shipping, Frank Solberg, explained how it struggles with securing long term, low cost logistics.",{"type":591,"attrs":150903,"content":150904},{"textAlign":49},[150905],{"text":150906,"type":596},"“Mineral companies are small players in the global freight market,” said Solberg.",{"type":591,"attrs":150908,"content":150909},{"textAlign":49},[150910],{"text":150911,"type":596},"“At Sibelco we have around 650 shipments a year from 2,000 tonnes up to 75,000 tonnes and we are still a minor operation. We are not BHP Billiton or Glencore and don’t have this kind of market power,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":150913,"content":150914},{"textAlign":49},[150915],{"text":150916,"type":596},"For companies in the niche minerals and metals segment of the mining sector, this will always be an impossible challenge to compete with huge volumes of raw materials of iron ore, coal and bauxite.",{"type":591,"attrs":150918,"content":150919},{"textAlign":49},[150920],{"text":150921,"type":596},"For example, the flake graphite industry produced 375,000 tonnes in 2014, while barite – the oil and gas drilling mineral – mined 9m tonnes and the world’s magnesite mines produced 7m tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":150923,"content":150924},{"textAlign":49},[150925],{"text":150926,"type":596},"Compare these numbers to the 1.7bn tonnes of iron ore produced last year alone and the challenge becomes clear.",{"type":591,"attrs":150928,"content":150929},{"textAlign":49},[150930],{"text":150931,"type":596},"Should the big commodity producers assert more pressure onto the shipping market, niche mineral and metal producers will be pushed into more specialised shipping methods.","Logistics provides the crucial link between a mineral’s mine and market, be it container-shipped graphite and lithium, or dry bulk transported iron ore, coal, barite and magnesite. But with global minerals and metals evolving quicker than ever before, is this mature industry ready for modern day demands?",[150934],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150935},{"job_title":557,"image":150936,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b9944592-d319-4ed5-a75e-983b4c4781d8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[150939,150940],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":150942,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":150943,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5226e944f8/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-163409.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":150945,"uuid":150946,"name":150947,"slug":150948,"full_slug":150949,"content":150950},112475069261321,"093a12f2-e323-4092-99d7-42d39978af02","Graphite’s first price index launched","graphites-first-price-index-launched","article/graphites-first-price-index-launched",{"_uid":150951,"date":148447,"tags":150952,"editor":150953,"content":150957,"excerpt":150963,"featured":50,"reporter":151115,"_editable":151119,"component":697,"seo_title":150947,"categories":151120,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151124,"seo_description":150963,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"e7288d6e-66cd-49b0-b9fe-f8eb214d669e",[],[150954],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":150955},{"job_title":557,"image":150956,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":150958},[150959,150964,150969,150974,150979,150984,150989,150994,150999,151004,151009,151014,151017,151022,151027,151032,151037,151042,151047,151052,151057,151062,151067,151072,151077,151082,151085,151090,151095,151100,151105,151110],{"type":591,"attrs":150960,"content":150961},{"textAlign":49},[150962],{"text":150963,"type":596},"Benchmark Graphite Price Index reveals the next logical progression in data collection and analysis for an industry of growing importance Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has launched the industry’s first graphite price index, providing a valuable reference tool for a market with numerous complexities.",{"type":591,"attrs":150965,"content":150966},{"textAlign":49},[150967],{"text":150968,"type":596},"Launched as part of Benchmark’s new Graphite Data subscription, the Benchmark Graphite Price Index has fallen 4.61% in 2015 and now stands at 74.87 today. For comparison, the all-time peak for the indicator – which stretches back to January 2011 with a base value of 100 – occurred in January 2012 at 135.54.",{"type":591,"attrs":150970,"content":150971},{"textAlign":49},[150972],{"text":150973,"type":596},"The index is designed to provide a new, unique indicator of flake graphite price trends within an industry of ever growing importance.",{"type":591,"attrs":150975,"content":150976},{"textAlign":49},[150977],{"text":150978,"type":596},"Flake graphite is a key raw material in steel making – through its use in refractories and as a recarburizer – industrial lubricants, and as the feedstock for spherical graphite: the anode in a lithium-ion battery.",{"type":591,"attrs":150980,"content":150981},{"textAlign":49},[150982],{"text":150983,"type":596},"While graphite has many grades and many factors that affect a whole range of prices, the industry has lacked an independent reference point for these trends.",{"type":591,"attrs":150985,"content":150986},{"textAlign":49},[150987],{"text":150988,"type":596},"The index is not designed to tell users what an individual price for a grade is, but is intended to inform about the general trend of prices in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":150990,"content":150991},{"textAlign":49},[150992],{"text":150993,"type":596},"Here, Andrew Miller, Analyst at Benchmark answers the most common questions received on the index:",{"type":615,"attrs":150995,"content":150996},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[150997],{"text":150998,"type":596}," What is the Benchmark Graphite Price Index?",{"type":591,"attrs":151000,"content":151001},{"textAlign":49},[151002],{"text":151003,"type":596},"The Benchmark Graphite Price Index is a normalised average of the prices for a range of flake graphite grades based on their prominence within the market in terms of internationally traded metric tonnages.",{"type":615,"attrs":151005,"content":151006},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151007],{"text":151008,"type":596}," How is the index created?",{"type":591,"attrs":151010,"content":151011},{"textAlign":49},[151012],{"text":151013,"type":596},"The index is created by assigning weightings to the various grades included in the index based on the volume in which they are traded. The weighted average of the prices for each grade is then calculated monthly to give a normalized value to show the adjustments in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151015,"content":151016},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":151018,"content":151019},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151020],{"text":151021,"type":596}," Can you explain more about how the prices are collected?",{"type":591,"attrs":151023,"content":151024},{"textAlign":49},[151025],{"text":151026,"type":596},"At Benchmark, we collect all our prices directly from the market. We speak to producers, traders, consumers – anyone actively involved in the market – to give us a perspective on where the prices stand in key areas of the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":151028,"content":151029},{"textAlign":49},[151030],{"text":151031,"type":596},"We then use this data in conjunction with other types of information and use our inhouse methodology and knowledge to verify its validity and make a judgement on where we, as an independent, believe prices stand.",{"type":615,"attrs":151033,"content":151034},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151035],{"text":151036,"type":596}," How do you ensure the prices and therefore the index is accurate?",{"type":591,"attrs":151038,"content":151039},{"textAlign":49},[151040],{"text":151041,"type":596},"We ensure the accuracy of the data we collect through our network of contacts, validating with official secondary data sources and, most importantly, the expertise of our analysts. Nobody else in the market connects with the variety of sources we do in order to collect our information – either geographically or in terms of their positions in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151043,"content":151044},{"textAlign":49},[151045],{"text":151046,"type":596},"These type of minerals are not publicly traded and therefore never have one price – that is down to the negotiations between buyers and sellers. What we aim to provide is the most accurate indication of where the market stands at any point in time.",{"type":615,"attrs":151048,"content":151049},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151050],{"text":151051,"type":596}," How do you differ from other price collection services?",{"type":591,"attrs":151053,"content":151054},{"textAlign":49},[151055],{"text":151056,"type":596},"Our price collection differs both in terms of our interaction with the market and the way in which we verify our data.",{"type":591,"attrs":151058,"content":151059},{"textAlign":49},[151060],{"text":151061,"type":596},"We are constantly in touch with a cross section of the market, therefore we are in the best possible independent position to provide an overview. We work hard on improving our contact database, the accuracy of our prices and the number of grades we analyse.",{"type":591,"attrs":151063,"content":151064},{"textAlign":49},[151065],{"text":151066,"type":596},"At Benchmark, we’re committed to providing the most accurate industry data available. This can only be achieved by having a team of analysts dedicated to keeping their fingers on the pulse of what is happening in the sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":151068,"content":151069},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151070],{"text":151071,"type":596}," How can the Benchmark Graphite Price Index be useful to those in the industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":151073,"content":151074},{"textAlign":49},[151075],{"text":151076,"type":596},"A pricing index is the next logical progression for a market such as flake graphite, which is growing not only in terms of volumes but also in terms of the number of stakeholders in the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151078,"content":151079},{"textAlign":49},[151080],{"text":151081,"type":596},"Traditionally, flake graphite contracts have been negotiated between buyer and seller at regular intervals – usually either annually or bi-annually.",{"type":591,"attrs":151083,"content":151084},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151086,"content":151087},{"textAlign":49},[151088],{"text":151089,"type":596},"Today, however, the market is coming under new pressure for the first time in a generation with the emergence of new applications such as batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":151091,"content":151092},{"textAlign":49},[151093],{"text":151094,"type":596},"For this reason, all stakeholders in the graphite industry are having to become increasingly aware of what’s happening in the market as a whole rather than just their section of it.",{"type":591,"attrs":151096,"content":151097},{"textAlign":49},[151098],{"text":151099,"type":596},"The Benchmark Graphite Price Index gives you a monthly snapshot of these developments and, alongside our additional data products, allows you to dig deeper into the trends driving the market.",{"type":615,"attrs":151101,"content":151102},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151103],{"text":151104,"type":596}," How is the index useful for those outside the industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":151106,"content":151107},{"textAlign":49},[151108],{"text":151109,"type":596},"The index is useful to anyone with an interest in developments in the flake graphite space, whether it be investors or companies that sell into the graphite industry. It is the only way in which to capture where the market stands today and see which direction it may be headed.",{"type":591,"attrs":151111,"content":151112},{"textAlign":49},[151113],{"text":151114,"type":596},"People outside the market may not need the intricate detail on specific grades that our online databases provide. The index works to encapsulate all that information on one platform they can monitor to give an overview of where the market stands.",[151116],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151117},{"job_title":557,"image":151118,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e7288d6e-66cd-49b0-b9fe-f8eb214d669e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151121,151122,151123],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151125,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151126,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b2c8f27a64/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-164811.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151128,"uuid":151129,"name":151130,"slug":151131,"full_slug":151132,"content":151133},112475059774683,"453a478b-bf8b-4aae-b031-3b39d98447d6","The Duck Curve: The best thing to ever happen to energy storage","the-duck-curve-the-best-thing-to-ever-happen-to-energy-storage","article/the-duck-curve-the-best-thing-to-ever-happen-to-energy-storage",{"_uid":151134,"date":148447,"tags":151135,"editor":151136,"content":151140,"excerpt":151225,"featured":50,"reporter":151226,"_editable":151230,"component":697,"seo_title":151130,"categories":151231,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151234,"seo_description":151225,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"9bfea295-042a-432b-8080-c4abd3ffeb24",[],[151137],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151138},{"job_title":557,"image":151139,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151141},[151142,151147,151152,151157,151160,151165,151170,151175,151180,151185,151190,151195,151200,151205,151210,151215,151222],{"type":591,"attrs":151143,"content":151144},{"textAlign":49},[151145],{"text":151146,"type":596},"Beware the ferocious duck curve. It’s looming entry to the energy markets will cause chaos and failures. It will wreak destruction everywhere it appears.",{"type":591,"attrs":151148,"content":151149},{"textAlign":49},[151150],{"text":151151,"type":596},"Not bad for a duck, huh? While the duck curve represents a new problem for the electricity industry overall, it actually represents an enormous opportunity for battery-based energy storage.",{"type":591,"attrs":151153,"content":151154},{"textAlign":49},[151155],{"text":151156,"type":596},"For those that aren’t all that familiar with the duck curve, it is simply the graphical representation of the problems raised with high penetrations of solar photovoltaics (PV) on a grid. If there is a lot of solar power being pumped onto the electricity network when the sun is shining, supply and demand go out of balance both when PV is producing the most (from the 10 AM to 2 PM period on average in the U.S.), which leads to an overproduction of electricity, and when the sun shines the least (from the 4 PM to 10 PM period), which leads to increased demand. An example of a duck curve is in the title image and below.",{"type":591,"attrs":151158,"content":151159},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151161,"content":151162},{"textAlign":49},[151163],{"text":151164,"type":596},"As photovoltaic penetration increases, the demand for electricity drops – hence the increasing girth of the belly of the duck.",{"type":591,"attrs":151166,"content":151167},{"textAlign":49},[151168],{"text":151169,"type":596},"Then the tables are turned as the PV stops producing, leading to a very sudden increase in demand–the rising crown of the duck.",{"type":591,"attrs":151171,"content":151172},{"textAlign":49},[151173],{"text":151174,"type":596},"The electricity system we have today fundamentally hates the words “imbalance” and “sudden”. No natural gas peaker plant is capable of quickly turning on and providing all that extra electricity between the hours of 4 PM and 5 PM.",{"type":591,"attrs":151176,"content":151177},{"textAlign":49},[151178],{"text":151179,"type":596},"Batteries, however, are capable of providing sudden bursts of power in a timescale measured in nanoseconds. And the current batteries available (mostly variants of Lithium Ion) are especially good at operating in a two-to-four hour charge or discharge cycle.",{"type":591,"attrs":151181,"content":151182},{"textAlign":49},[151183],{"text":151184,"type":596},"The problem with using batteries on today’s grid is that they are expensive. While that is changing (very quickly), the capital expense of buying a battery system is significant.",{"type":591,"attrs":151186,"content":151187},{"textAlign":49},[151188],{"text":151189,"type":596},"The duck curve, however, opens up an opportunity to change the economics of battery systems. It won’t change the price of the batteries, but it will double the revenue stream for an installed battery. Instead of doing a single charge-discharge cycle each day, the duck curves opens up the possibility of doing two charge-discharge cycles every day:",{"type":591,"attrs":151191,"content":151192},{"textAlign":49},[151193],{"text":151194,"type":596},"If a single charge/discharge cycle represents X amount of revenue earned, then the duck curve allows for 2X the revenue in the same amount of time. And as anyone who has ever invested in bonds knows, that doubles the value of the underlying asset. It also allows the owner of the energy storage system to cram in as many charge-discharge",{"type":591,"attrs":151196,"content":151197},{"textAlign":49},[151198],{"text":151199,"type":596},"cycles as possible in a shorter time period, which is valuable considering today’s batteries, which are hard to keep from degrading beyond a ten year time period.",{"type":591,"attrs":151201,"content":151202},{"textAlign":49},[151203],{"text":151204,"type":596},"The flaw in this model is that there is currently no method for owners of battery systems to take advantage of the imbalance that the duck curve represents. Electric utility rates tend to be monolithic when it comes to the hours of the day (most of us pay the exact same amount for electricity at 2 AM in the winter as we do for electricity at 2 PM on a hot summer day).",{"type":591,"attrs":151206,"content":151207},{"textAlign":49},[151208],{"text":151209,"type":596},"The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission recently introduced the first “reverse time-of-use rate” pilot programme for the island of Kauai, which reduces electricity costs during the solar peak and increases them during the evening shoulder. Expect many more localities that start to experience high penetration rates for PV systems to start issuing similar rates.",{"type":591,"attrs":151211,"content":151212},{"textAlign":49},[151213],{"text":151214,"type":596},"And if they do, then owners of battery systems will be in a very profitable position.",{"type":591,"attrs":151216,"content":151217},{"textAlign":49},[151218],{"text":151219,"type":596,"marks":151220},"Sam Jaffe, Managing Director, Cairn Energy Research Associates – www.cairnera.com",[151221],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":151223,"content":151224},{"textAlign":49},[],"Beware the ferocious duck curve. It’s looming entry to the energy markets will cause chaos and failures. It will wreak destruction everywhere it appears. Not bad for a duck, huh? While the duck curve represents a new problem for the electricity industry overall, it actually represents an enormous opportunity for battery-based energy storage. For those that aren’t […]",[151227],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151228},{"job_title":557,"image":151229,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9bfea295-042a-432b-8080-c4abd3ffeb24\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151232,151233],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151235,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151236,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/de85fde492/bm-electrical-grid-transmission-power-lines-600.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151238,"uuid":151239,"name":151240,"slug":151241,"full_slug":151242,"content":151243},112475050116213,"91dc5ac1-3ac8-401e-b71c-401d0757a0bc","Quality issues hamper battery grade graphite in China","quality-issues-hamper-battery-grade-graphite-in-china","article/quality-issues-hamper-battery-grade-graphite-in-china",{"_uid":151244,"date":148447,"tags":151245,"editor":151247,"content":151251,"excerpt":151329,"featured":50,"reporter":151330,"_editable":151334,"component":697,"seo_title":151240,"categories":151335,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151339,"seo_description":151329,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"f172e9b2-f9de-4d10-a503-745ee9da8ddd",[151246],{"slug":575,"name":576},[151248],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151249},{"job_title":557,"image":151250,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151252},[151253,151258,151263,151268,151273,151278,151283,151288,151291,151296,151301,151306,151309,151314,151319,151324],{"type":591,"attrs":151254,"content":151255},{"textAlign":49},[151256],{"text":151257,"type":596},"Problems with the consistency of flake graphite supply are hampering full capacity utilisation of battery grade graphite in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":151259,"content":151260},{"textAlign":49},[151261],{"text":151262,"type":596},"Impurities in spherical graphite – a micronized and purified form of flake graphite – are preventing fringe producers from entering the market in a significant way, dragging down capacity utilisation rates while leading volume producers like China’s BTR New Energy Materials continue to expand output and dominate the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151264,"content":151265},{"textAlign":49},[151266],{"text":151267,"type":596},"Demand is at an all-time high for battery anode material, driven by a surge in full electric and hybrid vehicle production that has seen lithium-ion battery demand significantly increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":151269,"content":151270},{"textAlign":49},[151271],{"text":151272,"type":596},"China produced 110,000 battery powered vehicles between January and August alone, a trend that was at odds with falling combustion engine output. The country is on track to overtake the US and become the leading global producer of electric vehicles (EVs) this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":151274,"content":151275},{"textAlign":49},[151276],{"text":151277,"type":596},"With each EV containing between 10kg and 50kg of heavily processed graphite, output of the uncoated spherical graphite used in many of these vehicles is expected to top 50,000 tpa this year, 100% of which is produced in China.",{"type":591,"attrs":151279,"content":151280},{"textAlign":49},[151281],{"text":151282,"type":596},"Meanwhile, due to the inability of these producers to expand output quick enough and in the sufficient volumes and qualities needed, synthetic graphite is still playing a significant role in the sector offering consumers a consistent supply at a higher cost.",{"type":591,"attrs":151284,"content":151285},{"textAlign":49},[151286],{"text":151287,"type":596},"Despite the cost advantage of natural spherical, it still only accounts for around 60% of the total anode market with synthetic products commanding up to a 40% market share, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data.",{"type":591,"attrs":151289,"content":151290},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151292,"content":151293},{"textAlign":49},[151294],{"text":151295,"type":596},"In terms of spherical capacity utilisation, however, Benchmark estimates that China is operating at just under 65% with higher cost fringe producers outside of Heilongjiang struggling to conduct business with larger buyers of the material.",{"type":591,"attrs":151297,"content":151298},{"textAlign":49},[151299],{"text":151300,"type":596},"Synthetic graphite is a more expensive anode material for battery consumers, but it offers the industry supply consistency that is lacking in some areas of the natural spherical sector.",{"type":591,"attrs":151302,"content":151303},{"textAlign":49},[151304],{"text":151305,"type":596},"The main reason for the inconsistency in natural spherical supply is how China’s flake graphite industry is structured.",{"type":591,"attrs":151307,"content":151308},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151310,"content":151311},{"textAlign":49},[151312],{"text":151313,"type":596},"The vast majority of the country’s (and the world’s) flake graphite is produced in Heilongjiang, a vast province with small to medium sized mining operations that feed into centralised processing plants such as those operated by BTR.",{"type":591,"attrs":151315,"content":151316},{"textAlign":49},[151317],{"text":151318,"type":596},"This means it is very difficult to determine the provenance of the feedstock material, a factor that hinders the ability of some producers to meet necessary quality specifications consistently.",{"type":591,"attrs":151320,"content":151321},{"textAlign":49},[151322],{"text":151323,"type":596},"Sources in Japan have explained to Benchmark how they are preparing for a significant increase in battery anode demand over the coming three years, and while from a cost and performance perspective buyers prefer natural spherical, confidence is lacking over whether the volume and consistency of supply will emerge to satisfy 100% of this intensifying demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":151325,"content":151326},{"textAlign":49},[151327],{"text":151328,"type":596},"This dynamic leaves room for new supply of spherical graphite coming into the market from outside of China, with Japanese consumers open to new deals at a cost that can compete with the present market.","Problems with the consistency of flake graphite supply are hampering full capacity utilisation of battery grade graphite in China. Impurities in spherical graphite – a micronized and purified form of flake graphite – are preventing fringe producers from entering the market in a significant way, dragging down capacity utilisation rates while leading volume producers like […]",[151331],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151332},{"job_title":557,"image":151333,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f172e9b2-f9de-4d10-a503-745ee9da8ddd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151336,151337,151338],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":706,"name":693},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151340,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151341,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/219728728d/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-173057.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151343,"uuid":151344,"name":151345,"slug":151346,"full_slug":151347,"content":151348},112475045397520,"dafd6cec-a159-47a3-9829-2b0c56f7763e","Albemarle shifts focus to spodumene but fails to address primary lithium supply","albemarle-shifts-focus-to-spodumene-but-fails-to-address-primary-lithium-supply","article/albemarle-shifts-focus-to-spodumene-but-fails-to-address-primary-lithium-supply",{"_uid":151349,"date":148447,"tags":151350,"editor":151351,"content":151355,"excerpt":151361,"featured":50,"reporter":151445,"_editable":151449,"component":697,"seo_title":151345,"categories":151450,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151454,"seo_description":151361,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"37f95fa5-b191-4e25-be3d-0a1f547f6e2c",[],[151352],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151353},{"job_title":557,"image":151354,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151356},[151357,151362,151367,151372,151377,151382,151387,151392,151395,151400,151405,151410,151415,151420,151425,151430,151435,151440],{"type":591,"attrs":151358,"content":151359},{"textAlign":49},[151360],{"text":151361,"type":596},"Albemarle Corp, the largest diversified lithium producer in the world, has revealed plans to more than double its processing capacity by adding 50,000 tpa lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in a bid to further extend its reach into the lithium-ion battery market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151363,"content":151364},{"textAlign":49},[151365],{"text":151366,"type":596},"The chemicals group is focusing on producing both lithium carbonate and hydroxide at the new facility that is likely to be based in North America and built at an estimated cost of around the $500m.",{"type":591,"attrs":151368,"content":151369},{"textAlign":49},[151370],{"text":151371,"type":596},"Slated to be open in 2020, it will source spodumene from its jointventure operation, Talison Lithium, based in Australia. It is a partnership whereby Chinese producer, Sichuan Tianqi Lithium owns 51% and Albemarle the remaining 49%.",{"type":591,"attrs":151373,"content":151374},{"textAlign":49},[151375],{"text":151376,"type":596},"“Albemarle recognises the significant energy storage movement globally and views this plan as the logical next step in our continued support of leading companies in the transportation, consumer devices and renewable energy industries,” explained group president and CEO, Luke Kissam.",{"type":591,"attrs":151378,"content":151379},{"textAlign":49},[151380],{"text":151381,"type":596},"“By expanding our production capabilites, we will be prepared to meet the growing market driven demand for high quality, battery grade lithium products,” Kissam added.",{"type":591,"attrs":151383,"content":151384},{"textAlign":49},[151385],{"text":151386,"type":596},"While the facility is likely to use spodumene sourced from Australia, there were no plans announced to increase its mining output of the hard rock lithium source nor did the company go into any detail on the situation from its primary lithium brine operation in the Atacama Desert, Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":151388,"content":151389},{"textAlign":49},[151390],{"text":151391,"type":596},"In early 2015, the company did commission a new 20,000 tpa brine processing facility in La Negra in the Atacama close to Antofagasta port, however with legal disputes over the extraction licences in the Salar de Atacama intensifying, it remains to be seen whether any expansion of lithium brine extraction to feed the new plant will be allowed by the Chilean government in the coming years.",{"type":591,"attrs":151393,"content":151394},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151396,"content":151397},{"textAlign":49},[151398],{"text":151399,"type":596},"Albemarle’s strategy to focus on expanding its hard rock conversion capacity is something the wider lithium industry has been shifting attention to in recent years.",{"type":591,"attrs":151401,"content":151402},{"textAlign":49},[151403],{"text":151404,"type":596},"It also diverts focus from the uncertain political situation in Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":151406,"content":151407},{"textAlign":49},[151408],{"text":151409,"type":596},"While the supply side of the lithium industry has grown from 110,000 LCE in 2010 to an expected 150,000 tpa in 2015 according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data, none of this new supply has come from the lowest cost source, continental brine. Instead, the industry has relied on the higher cost spodumene source mined in Australia and converted to lithium chemicals in China to fill the gap.",{"type":591,"attrs":151411,"content":151412},{"textAlign":49},[151413],{"text":151414,"type":596},"It is a situation that back in 2009 was unlikely considering the expansions seen from SQM and Chemetall (now Albemarle) in the Atacama Desert. Meanwhile, the industry was also predicting the rise of FMC Lithium which had also invested in its brine source, Hombre Muerto, in Argentina. But none of these three major brine producers continued their expansion plans and grip on the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151416,"content":151417},{"textAlign":49},[151418],{"text":151419,"type":596},"This left a window of opportunity for new supply from Chinese lithium chemical producers such as Ganfeng Lithium, a company that has gone from strength to strength in this time period, and brine producer, Orocobre Ltd.",{"type":591,"attrs":151421,"content":151422},{"textAlign":49},[151423],{"text":151424,"type":596},"Orocobre was the first lithium junior to raise funds and build a new brine and lithium carbonate facility in Argentina. While the new source has had a slower than expected start up this year, it is still likely to be the only new lithium brine supply in the next two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":151426,"content":151427},{"textAlign":49},[151428],{"text":151429,"type":596},"Lithium industry expert, Joe Lowry, President of Global Lithium LLC, believes there is more than meets the eye with Albemarle’s announcent.",{"type":591,"attrs":151431,"content":151432},{"textAlign":49},[151433],{"text":151434,"type":596},"“Given [Albemarle] have a global low cost position in the Atacama, it seems curious that it would announce a plan for 50,000 tonnes of spodumene based capacity,” Lowry explained to Benchmark, “…this could indicate a number of things relative to their feelings about the future in Chile given their existing concession has a finite life.”",{"type":591,"attrs":151436,"content":151437},{"textAlign":49},[151438],{"text":151439,"type":596},"“[The company] will need to invest significant capital to develop a large project that will also likely result in cannibalisation of existing Talison profits and sharing the spodumene benefit with their Talison JV Partner.” “The 2020 timing indicates they are not yet convinced in their own mind what they are doing but also want to send a near term message discouraging investment in junior miners,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":151441,"content":151442},{"textAlign":49},[151443],{"text":151444,"type":596},"The US based producer revealed its new plans as part of its Lithium Day in late-September for the recently acquired Rockwood Lithium that it paid $6.2bn for in early 2015.",[151446],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151447},{"job_title":557,"image":151448,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"37f95fa5-b191-4e25-be3d-0a1f547f6e2c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151451,151452,151453],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151455,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151456,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/79758615d6/bm-talison-cropped-mr-120608.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151458,"uuid":151459,"name":151460,"slug":151461,"full_slug":151462,"content":151463},112475035739049,"2ad4c880-b385-4e18-b5a1-ebf76969d07d","Intensifying EV competition leads to increasing battery size","intensifying-ev-competition-leads-to-increasing-battery-size","article/intensifying-ev-competition-leads-to-increasing-battery-size",{"_uid":151464,"date":148447,"tags":151465,"editor":151466,"content":151470,"excerpt":151615,"featured":50,"reporter":151616,"_editable":151620,"component":697,"seo_title":151460,"categories":151621,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151625,"seo_description":151615,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"8b4bb398-ef48-4c4e-a392-e61f7d671ba4",[],[151467],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151468},{"job_title":557,"image":151469,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151471},[151472,151477,151482,151487,151492,151497,151502,151507,151512,151517,151522,151527,151532,151537,151540,151545,151550,151555,151560,151565,151570,151575,151580,151585,151590,151595,151600,151605,151610],{"type":591,"attrs":151473,"content":151474},{"textAlign":49},[151475],{"text":151476,"type":596}," Audi, Porsche, Volvo and Toyota outline low emission intentions but Tesla continues to lead the way with launch of industry’s largest mainstream EV battery",{"type":591,"attrs":151478,"content":151479},{"textAlign":49},[151480],{"text":151481,"type":596},"Tesla Motors unveiled its first SUV – the Model X – in September, with the car boasting a 90kWh battery, the largest of any mainstream electric vehicle (EV) on the market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151483,"content":151484},{"textAlign":49},[151485],{"text":151486,"type":596},"The company’s latest milestone on its path towards mass-market EV adoption was met with the fanfare that has come to define Tesla and its enigmatic CEO, Elon Musk.",{"type":591,"attrs":151488,"content":151489},{"textAlign":49},[151490],{"text":151491,"type":596},"However, just days earlier at the Frankfurt Auto Show it was two other auto executives that were placing themselves in the EV limelight, with new full electric concepts.",{"type":591,"attrs":151493,"content":151494},{"textAlign":49},[151495],{"text":151496,"type":596},"Porsche and Audi outlined plans to release a full-electric sports car and SUV, respectively, aimed at challenging Tesla’s two existing product offerings, the Model S and Model X, by 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":151498,"content":151499},{"textAlign":49},[151500],{"text":151501,"type":596},"With an initiative dubbed ‘Mission E’ , Porsche is designing a 600bhp four door sports car, which is expected to be priced at around $150,000 – $32,000 more than the price of a top end Tesla Model S.",{"type":591,"attrs":151503,"content":151504},{"textAlign":49},[151505],{"text":151506,"type":596},"Meanwhile, Audi’s 429bhp E-Tron Quattro will seek to cement the company’s position in the luxury SUV sector, with a 311 mile range car powered by a 95kWh battery, charged (in part) from solar roof panels, something that is more familiar on a Fisker car.",{"type":591,"attrs":151508,"content":151509},{"textAlign":49},[151510],{"text":151511,"type":596},"As the first full-electric offerings from both producers, the approach signals a new wave of attempts from existing auto industry leaders to gain a foothold in the EV sector and challenge companies like Tesla for the significant growth expected over the coming decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":151513,"content":151514},{"textAlign":49},[151515],{"text":151516,"type":596},"It was followed in October with noises from VW that it is also planning to launch a significant foray into EVs in 2018 as it seeks redemption from its emissions scandal.",{"type":591,"attrs":151518,"content":151519},{"textAlign":49},[151520],{"text":151521,"type":596},"Volvo also came out in October with a strong backing for EVs and its plans in the space. With auto majors seeking to gain some positive attention from the negativity of clean diesel scandal.",{"type":591,"attrs":151523,"content":151524},{"textAlign":49},[151525],{"text":151526,"type":596},"“The time has come for electric cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream,’ Volvo CEO, Hakan Samuelsson said.",{"type":591,"attrs":151528,"content":151529},{"textAlign":49},[151530],{"text":151531,"type":596},"“We are confident that by 2020, 10% of Volvo’s global sales will be electric cars,” he added.",{"type":591,"attrs":151533,"content":151534},{"textAlign":49},[151535],{"text":151536,"type":596},"Competition is increasing among the incumbent producers and it seems that, unlike in 2009, this is not just for the headlines as each company is publicly setting sales targets for electric cars.",{"type":591,"attrs":151538,"content":151539},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151541,"content":151542},{"textAlign":49},[151543],{"text":151544,"type":596},"Toyota also added its own public low emission vehicle sales targets in October, saying that it was 30,000 fuel cell cars on the road by 2020.",{"type":591,"attrs":151546,"content":151547},{"textAlign":49},[151548],{"text":151549,"type":596},"The company went further by declaring that it plans to cut emissions from all its cars by 90% by 2020 based on 2010 levels, but that it is not yet planning to make EVs.",{"type":591,"attrs":151551,"content":151552},{"textAlign":49},[151553],{"text":151554,"type":596},"While virtually all auto manufacturers are favouring lithiumion battery powered EVs, Toyota is carving a niche for itself in the fuel cell sector with some market participants believing that with small EVs a fuel cell-battery hybrid can outperform other technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":151556,"content":151557},{"textAlign":49},[151558],{"text":151559,"type":596},"The big challenge for all companies will come in first securing a reliable and consistent supply of batteries capable of fuelling these mass-market offerings, and secondly in sourcing them at a competitive level that is in and around the $250/ kWh price point.",{"type":615,"attrs":151561,"content":151562},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151563],{"text":151564,"type":596}," Leading the pack",{"type":591,"attrs":151566,"content":151567},{"textAlign":49},[151568],{"text":151569,"type":596},"The issue of sourcing these batteries at a price conducive to mass-market adoption was what led Tesla to begin its Gigafactory project in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":151571,"content":151572},{"textAlign":49},[151573],{"text":151574,"type":596},"While the major auto manufacturers have long-established supply chains for the raw materials required in their gasoline-powered vehicles, few have significant, if any, exposure to existing battery markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":151576,"content":151577},{"textAlign":49},[151578],{"text":151579,"type":596},"The construction of the Gigafactory is targeted at reducing Tesla’s battery costs to below $250/ kWh from an industry level of around $350-400/kWh today.",{"type":591,"attrs":151581,"content":151582},{"textAlign":49},[151583],{"text":151584,"type":596},"For the established auto manufacturers to compete at a similar price to today’s vehicles, or the prices Tesla is aiming to produce at in the coming years, will require a rapid and extensive re-examination of supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":151586,"content":151587},{"textAlign":49},[151588],{"text":151589,"type":596},"While batteries remain relatively abundant in today’s market, developments in application sectors, with a trend towards bigger, more powerful batteries, alongside the emerging tightness in raw material markets, means entry into the EV space may be easier said than done for today’s industry leaders.",{"type":591,"attrs":151591,"content":151592},{"textAlign":49},[151593],{"text":151594,"type":596},"With the battery Tesla has used in its new Model X, the company has again shifted the goalposts for EV requirements.",{"type":591,"attrs":151596,"content":151597},{"textAlign":49},[151598],{"text":151599,"type":596},"Using the company’s established Nickel Cobalt Aluminium (NCA) chemistry, which has also featured in the company’s Model S and Roadster, the 90kWh battery gives the vehicle a range of 257 miles and is being sold at a starting price of $132,000.",{"type":591,"attrs":151601,"content":151602},{"textAlign":49},[151603],{"text":151604,"type":596},"With a battery of this power, the question of EV range has almost become a thing of the past; however, cost and availability remain an issue.",{"type":591,"attrs":151606,"content":151607},{"textAlign":49},[151608],{"text":151609,"type":596},"While the company will seek to address the cost issue through economies of scale at its new plant in Nevada, due to come online at a smaller capacity in 2016, EV production prices remain above that of existing auto manufacturers.",{"type":591,"attrs":151611,"content":151612},{"textAlign":49},[151613],{"text":151614,"type":596},"But as costs fall and the push towards electrification continues, today’s auto majors face an uphill struggle to retain market share. With the launch of the Tesla Model X, that task may have become that bit harder.","Audi, Porsche, Volvo and Toyota outline low emission intentions but Tesla continues to lead the way with launch of industry’s largest mainstream EV battery",[151617],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151618},{"job_title":557,"image":151619,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8b4bb398-ef48-4c4e-a392-e61f7d671ba4\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151622,151623,151624],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151626,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151627,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8ee6b1faac/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-174915.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151629,"uuid":151630,"name":151631,"slug":151632,"full_slug":151633,"content":151634},112475030299360,"d94d92f2-7013-4518-82b8-91bc01339781","Solar PV, battery price drops key to utility storage future","solar-pv-battery-price-drops-key-to-utility-storage-future","article/solar-pv-battery-price-drops-key-to-utility-storage-future",{"_uid":151635,"date":148447,"tags":151636,"editor":151637,"content":151641,"excerpt":151647,"featured":50,"reporter":151721,"_editable":151725,"component":697,"seo_title":151631,"categories":151726,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":151729,"seo_description":151647,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"64b6f4ad-a33e-424d-835b-35160ea220ed",[],[151638],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151639},{"job_title":557,"image":151640,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151642},[151643,151648,151653,151658,151663,151668,151673,151678,151681,151686,151691,151696,151701,151706,151711,151716],{"type":591,"attrs":151644,"content":151645},{"textAlign":49},[151646],{"text":151647,"type":596},"The falling production cost of both crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells and lithium-ion battery cells has now reaching a tipping point for serious uptake in the large scale energy storage space, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence believes.",{"type":591,"attrs":151649,"content":151650},{"textAlign":49},[151651],{"text":151652,"type":596},"The ability to store intermittent solar power in an energy storage system that reduces reliance on the peak load situation in the grid system could not only work on an economic basis but also reshape the way we consume and use energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":151654,"content":151655},{"textAlign":49},[151656],{"text":151657,"type":596},"While the cost of PV cells were around $5 in 2004, they now stand at 36-38 cents owing to mass scale output and significant production improvements since the subsidyfuelled boom era of five years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":151659,"content":151660},{"textAlign":49},[151661],{"text":151662,"type":596},"At the same time, the average production cost of lithium-ion cells has fallen from $1,300/kWh in 2005 to $350-450/kWh today without the mass scale production of the battery megafactories, the output from which is expected in 2018 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":151664,"content":151665},{"textAlign":49},[151666],{"text":151667,"type":596},"For the first time, both critical materials and devices needed to produce economical, low cost renewable energy will be available together at the same time and a low price. An abundance of low cost lithium-ion batteries produce by the megafactories under construction, Benchmark believes, will lead to adoption of the technology in utility storage devices over the next decade.",{"type":591,"attrs":151669,"content":151670},{"textAlign":49},[151671],{"text":151672,"type":596},"While other technologies such as vanadium flow will play a part in this space, the lower cost of lithium-ion systems means other battery designs are likely to have a niche role.",{"type":591,"attrs":151674,"content":151675},{"textAlign":49},[151676],{"text":151677,"type":596},"The adoption of solar as an energy source still faces many challenges, however, and is not likely to be a direct replacement for any of the major fossil fuels in the next ten years. Since Japan’s Fukushima incident, for example, Germany vowed to close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022, creating an energy supply gap that is presently being filled by other fossil fuels, namely coal.",{"type":591,"attrs":151679,"content":151680},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151682,"content":151683},{"textAlign":49},[151684],{"text":151685,"type":596},"China has also recently vowed to invest $78bn to construct 110 nuclear power plants by 2030 both domestically and abroad to alleviate the situation and reduce its reliance on coal.",{"type":591,"attrs":151687,"content":151688},{"textAlign":49},[151689],{"text":151690,"type":596},"The challenge now for solar power is not the cost of production but the price of installing capacity together with an energy storage management system. This link in the supply chain is usually the bottleneck and slow to react.",{"type":591,"attrs":151692,"content":151693},{"textAlign":49},[151694],{"text":151695,"type":596},"The industry has come a long way, however, in the last six years, with US-installed solar PV capacity increasing from 1,000MW to 18,000 MW at the end of 2014, according to MIT. But the industry will need to reduce its balance of system (BOS) or installation costs to evolve to a terawatt energy source.",{"type":591,"attrs":151697,"content":151698},{"textAlign":49},[151699],{"text":151700,"type":596},"“The cost of installed PV is divided into two parts: the cost of the solar module and the so-called balance of system (BOS) costs which include cost for inverters, racking, and installation hardware, design and labour, as well as marketing and various regulatory and financial costs,” MIT explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":151702,"content":151703},{"textAlign":49},[151704],{"text":151705,"type":596},"“Crystalline PV, wafer-based crystalline silicon is technologically mature and large scale module manufacturing is in place. For these reasons crystalline silicon systems will likely dominate the solar energy market for the next few decades,” the institution said in a report.",{"type":591,"attrs":151707,"content":151708},{"textAlign":49},[151709],{"text":151710,"type":596},"The impact on raw material demand could be significant for both solar and batteries. While the lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel that make up a lithium-ion cell have been well documented, the input minerals that make solar PV cells have not.",{"type":591,"attrs":151712,"content":151713},{"textAlign":49},[151714],{"text":151715,"type":596},"In simple terms, high purity silica, derived predominately from quartz, is the primary feedstock mineral that is manufactured into a crystalline block. This block is then cut into thin wafers using specially produced silicon carbide.",{"type":591,"attrs":151717,"content":151718},{"textAlign":49},[151719],{"text":151720,"type":596},"As technologies such as solar energy and lithium-ion batteries become commercialised on a mass scale, the raw materials needed to fuel these industries must also restructure. As with lithium-based batteries, solar will also face its own raw material challenges as the way we produce and consume energy evolves far quicker than it has in the past.",[151722],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151723},{"job_title":557,"image":151724,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"64b6f4ad-a33e-424d-835b-35160ea220ed\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[151727,151728],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":151730,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":151731,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/003ef1a6e0/bm-solar-pv-image.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":151733,"uuid":151734,"name":151735,"slug":151736,"full_slug":151737,"content":151738},112475025318523,"4c13c329-8747-4e87-8458-0f177bb194c1","Lithium lift-off for the Gigafactory","lithium-lift-off-for-the-gigafactory","article/lithium-lift-off-for-the-gigafactory",{"_uid":151739,"date":148447,"tags":151740,"editor":151741,"content":151745,"excerpt":152077,"featured":50,"reporter":152078,"_editable":152082,"component":697,"seo_title":151735,"categories":152083,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":152088,"seo_description":152077,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"72d7c01a-a982-4e42-8a3b-046532dca389",[],[151742],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":151743},{"job_title":557,"image":151744,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":151746},[151747,151752,151757,151762,151767,151772,151777,151782,151787,151792,151797,151800,151805,151810,151815,151820,151825,151828,151833,151838,151843,151848,151853,151858,151863,151868,151873,151878,151883,151888,151893,151898,151901,151906,151911,151916,151921,151926,151931,151934,151939,151944,151949,151954,151959,151964,151969,151974,151979,151984,151989,151994,151999,152004,152009,152014,152017,152022,152027,152032,152037,152042,152047,152052,152057,152062,152067,152072],{"type":591,"attrs":151748,"content":151749},{"textAlign":49},[151750],{"text":151751,"type":596}," Tesla Motors starts its lithium sourcing for the Gigafactory amid an industry in shortage, but what do the deals actually mean? Simon Moores analyses both agreements Tesla has announced with early stage lithium developers and what options this leaves on the table for the electric vehicle manufacturer",{"type":591,"attrs":151753,"content":151754},{"textAlign":49},[151755],{"text":151756,"type":596},"After 18 months of speculation, Tesla Motors has got the wheels turning on its Gigafactory raw material deals to a wave of speculation and controversy.",{"type":591,"attrs":151758,"content":151759},{"textAlign":49},[151760],{"text":151761,"type":596},"In September 2015, agreements with two early stage lithium explorers were announced.",{"type":591,"attrs":151763,"content":151764},{"textAlign":49},[151765],{"text":151766,"type":596},"Bacanora Minerals and Pure Energy Minerals both received the green light from the electric vehicle producer to supply future production of lithium chemicals from their respective sources to the super lithium-ion battery plant that is under construction in Nevada.",{"type":591,"attrs":151768,"content":151769},{"textAlign":49},[151770],{"text":151771,"type":596},"Bacanora Minerals is seeking to develop a lithium clay resource in northern Mexico. The deposit has an indicated resource of 1.14m tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at 2,200ppm, and an inferred resource of 6.3m tonnes at 2,300ppm.",{"type":591,"attrs":151773,"content":151774},{"textAlign":49},[151775],{"text":151776,"type":596},"Supply from the Sonora project is dependent on the company being able to raise the funding to bring what will be a new commercial source of lithium into production. Towards the end of September 2015, Bacanora increased its drilling programme to progress towards a prefeasibility stage.",{"type":591,"attrs":151778,"content":151779},{"textAlign":49},[151780],{"text":151781,"type":596},"Pure Energy Minerals is developing a more traditional source of lithium from its brine project in Nevada, strategically located next to the only active source of lithium in North America, Albemarle’s Silver Peak operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":151783,"content":151784},{"textAlign":49},[151785],{"text":151786,"type":596},"The Canada-based company has not yet established a proven or probable reserve estimate for its Clayton Valley brine project, but estimates an inferred resource of 816,000 tonnes. It expects to complete a preliminary economic assessment in Q2 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":151788,"content":151789},{"textAlign":49},[151790],{"text":151791,"type":596},"The deal was the second to be announced by Tesla following political pressure over its selection of Mexico as a primary source over a state which is known for its lithium resources and has given the car manufacturer $1.25bn in tax breaks.",{"type":591,"attrs":151793,"content":151794},{"textAlign":49},[151795],{"text":151796,"type":596},"Until now, Tesla’s raw material negotiations, for lithium and graphite especially, have gone under the radar and not been publicly disclosed. But Tesla has allowed both developers to press release the supply agreements in a bid to raise funding for both sources. While the deals do not quite constitute an off-take agreement seen in commodity circles, Benchmark understands that Tesla is financially tied into the deals for the long term providing both companies can meet milestones that include raising funds and constructing a pilot plant with successful bulk sampling.",{"type":591,"attrs":151798,"content":151799},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":151801,"content":151802},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151803],{"text":151804,"type":596}," Why have the deals stirred the industry?",{"type":591,"attrs":151806,"content":151807},{"textAlign":49},[151808],{"text":151809,"type":596},"The two points that have caused most controversy are the price which Tesla has agreed to pay and the fact that both sources are early stage developments.",{"type":591,"attrs":151811,"content":151812},{"textAlign":49},[151813],{"text":151814,"type":596},"The electric vehicle company, for now, has avoided publicly announcing any discussions with the established lithium majors of SQM SA, Albemarle, FMC Lithium and Talison Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":151816,"content":151817},{"textAlign":49},[151818],{"text":151819,"type":596},"It has also not struck any deals with advanced stage lithium developers that have economic feasibility studies published.",{"type":591,"attrs":151821,"content":151822},{"textAlign":49},[151823],{"text":151824,"type":596},"In essence, the lithium deals that Tesla has agreed to so far are a huge leap of faith in both Bacanora and Pure Energy, with each junior yet to submit any form of studies for key factors such as economic reserve estimates and cost of production.",{"type":591,"attrs":151826,"content":151827},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151829,"content":151830},{"textAlign":49},[151831],{"text":151832,"type":596},"This fact has surprised many in the mining industry, particularly considering the scale of the Gigafactory and the short timeframe in which lithium will be needed.",{"type":591,"attrs":151834,"content":151835},{"textAlign":49},[151836],{"text":151837,"type":596},"However, both Pure Energy and Bacanora are aligned with Tesla’s plan to drive the cost of batteries down and are willing to accept a reduced raw material price as a result. Both companies are also developing their own new processing methods which they believe will reduce the production cost of lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":151839,"content":151840},{"textAlign":49},[151841],{"text":151842,"type":596},"Pure Energy, for example, is working with Tenova Bateman and POSCO to commercialise a new lithium extraction process from brine which involves fewer processing steps than presently employed in the industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":151844,"content":151845},{"textAlign":49},[151846],{"text":151847,"type":596},"But Benchmark estimates that the Gigafactory will need at least 10,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium hydroxide by the end of 2018, 20,000 tonnes by 2019 and 2530,000 tonnes by the end of 2020 should the ramp-up go to plan. These volumes mean the company will more than likely need shorter term supply in addition to the longer term prospects of Bacanora and Pure Energy.",{"type":591,"attrs":151849,"content":151850},{"textAlign":49},[151851],{"text":151852,"type":596},"Tesla will single-handedly increase lithium hydroxide demand by 50% on 2013 levels at a time when demand is also increasing from other battery producers that are expanding lithium-ion cell output on a significant scale.",{"type":591,"attrs":151854,"content":151855},{"textAlign":49},[151856],{"text":151857,"type":596},"Should the company be looking to purchase even 10,000 tonnes today, the industry would not be able to meet this demand.",{"type":591,"attrs":151859,"content":151860},{"textAlign":49},[151861],{"text":151862,"type":596},"The second most controversial aspect of the lithium deals is the price, or more accurately the assumed price.",{"type":591,"attrs":151864,"content":151865},{"textAlign":49},[151866],{"text":151867,"type":596},"While no price was cited in either Bacanora or Pure Energy’s press releases, Benchmark estimates it to be at a 30% discount to the present market price.",{"type":591,"attrs":151869,"content":151870},{"textAlign":49},[151871],{"text":151872,"type":596},"Pricing mechanisms in these contracts can vary, however. It is possible that a production cost plus a fixed cash price type of offer could be on the table, which would most likely still constitute a heavy discount on today’s prices but protect the margins of exploration stage lithium companies.",{"type":591,"attrs":151874,"content":151875},{"textAlign":49},[151876],{"text":151877,"type":596},"It is also expected that Tesla will not be committing to 100% of the material, leaving quantities available for the spot market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151879,"content":151880},{"textAlign":49},[151881],{"text":151882,"type":596},"Such deals do not take into account price volatility in the lithium market and could see companies fail to benefit from rising prices or fall into a loss should production costs run higher than expected, which is common for the first three years of a new operation.",{"type":591,"attrs":151884,"content":151885},{"textAlign":49},[151886],{"text":151887,"type":596},"At times of peak prices such as this year, which has seen hydroxide rise over 20% and carbonate over 10%, this type of deal would understandably shelter Tesla from unforeseen increases.",{"type":591,"attrs":151889,"content":151890},{"textAlign":49},[151891],{"text":151892,"type":596},"Bacanora explained: “Tesla will purchase minimum quantities in accordance with an agreed upon pricing formula, below current market prices, with actual prices and volumes that can only be finalised during the development phase in due course.” An excerpt from Pure Energy’s release also sheds light on this. “The agreement sets a predetermined price that is below current market rates and is aligned with Tesla’s goal to continuously reduce the cost of its lithium ion batteries,” the company explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":151894,"content":151895},{"textAlign":49},[151896],{"text":151897,"type":596},"It is a low price that neither the advanced exploration companies nor the established lithium producers were willing to accept.",{"type":591,"attrs":151899,"content":151900},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":151902,"content":151903},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[151904],{"text":151905,"type":596}," Tesla’s hedge",{"type":591,"attrs":151907,"content":151908},{"textAlign":49},[151909],{"text":151910,"type":596},"Benchmark believes Tesla has announced both lithium deals as a hedge against the major lithium producers. On the surface it seems like a significant risk for the company to partner with early stage lithium juniors for all of its supply; however, it is more likely Tesla was left with no choice but to attempt to lock up lithium resources in case it does not reach an agreement with any major suppliers. It also allays shareholder fears and political pressure that was building.",{"type":591,"attrs":151912,"content":151913},{"textAlign":49},[151914],{"text":151915,"type":596},"It can also be seen as a tactic to add pressure onto the major supplier and advanced juniors, with economic and processing test work completed to meet the company’s price demands.",{"type":591,"attrs":151917,"content":151918},{"textAlign":49},[151919],{"text":151920,"type":596},"It is a strategy that has been seen before with Tesla during its battery cell negotiations with Panasonic – flirting with LG Chem in the process – and with the Gigafactory locations, announcing a short list that included California and Texas before choosing Nevada, a state which offered the biggest tax incentives totaling $1.25bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":151922,"content":151923},{"textAlign":49},[151924],{"text":151925,"type":596},"Tesla is a company that is willing to exert its brand power to get the best deal; however, with lithium, Tesla does not hold the cards. The suppliers do.",{"type":591,"attrs":151927,"content":151928},{"textAlign":49},[151929],{"text":151930,"type":596},"If Tesla cannot get its specific grade of lithium hydroxide in the volumes required, the Gigafactory will not be in operation at the scale need to produce the lowest cost batteries in the world. Lithium has no substitutes and it is the bedrock raw material for lithium-ion battery technology. Demand is also at a high at the moment due to increasing battery demand in Asia, so lithium producers are not short of customers.",{"type":591,"attrs":151932,"content":151933},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":151935,"content":151936},{"textAlign":49},[151937],{"text":151938,"type":596},"Tesla’s focus on driving down cost on the raw material side has also surprised many, considering that the lithium in a Model S, for example, constitutes under 1% of the total price. It should be a supply security issue, not an economic one, for Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":151940,"content":151941},{"textAlign":49},[151942],{"text":151943,"type":596},"This brings up a further question: why is Tesla not interested in buying a stake in a lithium resource?",{"type":591,"attrs":151945,"content":151946},{"textAlign":49},[151947],{"text":151948,"type":596},"Benchmark believes that developing a new source of lithium is the only real way to secure the supply the Gigafactory will require. But it seems the company is not willing to fully commit to this strategy yet.",{"type":591,"attrs":151950,"content":151951},{"textAlign":49},[151952],{"text":151953,"type":596},"Vertical integration is ingrained in Tesla’s ethos firstly with constructing its own auto battery packs, then seeking to make the battery cells with the Gigafactory, but it seems to be stopping short of investing in the entire supply chain all the way upstream to the mine.",{"type":591,"attrs":151955,"content":151956},{"textAlign":49},[151957],{"text":151958,"type":596},"It has led many to question whether Tesla has underestimated the difficulties in bringing new sources of lithium to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":151960,"content":151961},{"textAlign":49},[151962],{"text":151963,"type":596},"It is important to note that lithium is not a commodity but a speciality chemical.",{"type":591,"attrs":151965,"content":151966},{"textAlign":49},[151967],{"text":151968,"type":596},"It is not a uniform product that is easily mined and transported to a wide ranging end market such as iron ore, but a product of both mining and chemical processing practices that is tailored to precise specifications.",{"type":591,"attrs":151970,"content":151971},{"textAlign":49},[151972],{"text":151973,"type":596},"The problems Orocobre has had this year in ramping up its new brine operation and lithium’s first since the 1990s – should serve as an example of the difficulties in bringing a new project into production. The Australian company was the most successful lithium junior graduating from early stage explorer to producer in seven years, a short time frame considering the mining industry average of 10 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":151975,"content":151976},{"textAlign":49},[151977],{"text":151978,"type":596},"But building the mine is just the start.",{"type":591,"attrs":151980,"content":151981},{"textAlign":49},[151982],{"text":151983,"type":596},"The next significant hurdle is optimising the processing plant to produce a consistent product that end users will accept. Lithium plants can take years to reach their nameplate capacity, which means they cannot be relied upon to produce 100% of what is expected.",{"type":591,"attrs":151985,"content":151986},{"textAlign":49},[151987],{"text":151988,"type":596},"Even if Tesla invested its own money into either early stage or advanced stage lithium developers, it still would not get the product it needs by the Benchmark estimated timeframe of 2018/2019.",{"type":591,"attrs":151990,"content":151991},{"textAlign":49},[151992],{"text":151993,"type":596},"This brings us full circle back to the original question: where will Tesla get its lithium from?",{"type":591,"attrs":151995,"content":151996},{"textAlign":49},[151997],{"text":151998,"type":596},"It is likely that it will have to pay market price from the existing producers for the short term with new sources making up the long term supply shortfall. And this would still allow the company to produce low cost batteries as the cost of graphite and lithium are not major contributors to the overall price of a lithium-ion cell. But the volumes required in three years’ time means the producers will need notice before committing to significant expansions.",{"type":591,"attrs":152000,"content":152001},{"textAlign":49},[152002],{"text":152003,"type":596},"Would any of the incumbent producers want to invest their own capital to expansions for the Gigafactory without long term contracts in place? It would require Tesla to accept a price close to market levels, something that today appears unlikely.",{"type":591,"attrs":152005,"content":152006},{"textAlign":49},[152007],{"text":152008,"type":596},"Since 2012, no new lithium supply has come from the lower cost brine resources in Chile and Argentina with 100% of expansions coming from the more expensive hard rock, spodumene source operated by Talison Lithium in Australia – lithium feedstock that is almost exclusively sold into China.",{"type":591,"attrs":152010,"content":152011},{"textAlign":49},[152012],{"text":152013,"type":596},"The brine producers have not been able to increase their supply for a number of reasons, the most serious being political issues in the lithium heartland of the Atacama in Chile. The Chilean government has put under review its largest producer, SQM, and the circumstances surrounding the lithium extraction contracts it was awarded in the early 1990s.",{"type":591,"attrs":152015,"content":152016},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152018,"content":152019},{"textAlign":49},[152020],{"text":152021,"type":596},"This has resulted in a new CEO being installed and a continuing legal battle to not only expand production in line with lithium quotas set by the government, but also to maintain its status as a leading lithium producer.",{"type":591,"attrs":152023,"content":152024},{"textAlign":49},[152025],{"text":152026,"type":596},"It is a situation that could not have been foreseen even a few years ago, with Chile seen as a strong and stable present and future lithium supplier, with the lowest costs in the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":152028,"content":152029},{"textAlign":49},[152030],{"text":152031,"type":596},"This leaves Talison Lithium, the higher cost hard rock lithium miner, as a strong shortterm potential supplier to the Gigafactory via Chinese chemical processors. But Talison is 51% owned by Chinese producer Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries Inc, which ships the majority of spodumene concentrate in Australia. The remaining 49% is held by Albemarle Corp, the US chemicals manufacturer that recently purchased Rockwood Lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":152033,"content":152034},{"textAlign":49},[152035],{"text":152036,"type":596},"At present, Albemarle seems the most logical option for Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":152038,"content":152039},{"textAlign":49},[152040],{"text":152041,"type":596},"While the company owns the significant lithium brine operation in Chile’s Atacama, it recently announced a plan to build a 50,000 tpa spodumene-based lithium chemicals plant in, most probably, North America to supply the auto battery industry.",{"type":591,"attrs":152043,"content":152044},{"textAlign":49},[152045],{"text":152046,"type":596},"The plant will take Albemarle’s share of concentrate from Talison’s Greenbushes spodumene mine and is expected to re-route the supply to the US instead of China. However, it is not new supply rather a processing capacity expansion.",{"type":591,"attrs":152048,"content":152049},{"textAlign":49},[152050],{"text":152051,"type":596},"The significant investment is set to cost Albemarle in excess of $500m and will be at the higher end of the lithium cost curve.",{"type":591,"attrs":152053,"content":152054},{"textAlign":49},[152055],{"text":152056,"type":596},"It was clear from Albemarle’s timing of its announcement, just a day after Tesla announced its second deal with Pure Energy, that the lithium producer was putting its stake in the ground.",{"type":591,"attrs":152058,"content":152059},{"textAlign":49},[152060],{"text":152061,"type":596},"Coincidentally, the timing of the new plant is at the pinch point when Tesla will need its lithium supply.",{"type":591,"attrs":152063,"content":152064},{"textAlign":49},[152065],{"text":152066,"type":596},"But with volumes needed not only by Tesla but also other battery producers that are enacting huge supply expansions an order of magnitude bigger than today’s lithium-ion battery industry, it is likely every sector of the upstream lithium supply chain, early stage and advanced explorers alike, will have to play their part.",{"type":591,"attrs":152068,"content":152069},{"textAlign":49},[152070],{"text":152071,"type":596},"The deals with Pure Energy and Bacanora also reflect Tesla’s desire for sourcing from North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":152073,"content":152074},{"textAlign":49},[152075],{"text":152076,"type":596},"Lithium’s evolution is well underway but, for now, the posturing has just begun.","Tesla Motors starts its lithium sourcing for the Gigafactory amid an industry in shortage, but what do the deals actually mean? Simon Moores analyses both agreements Tesla has announced with early stage lithium developers and what options this leaves on the table for the electric vehicle manufacturer",[152079],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152080},{"job_title":557,"image":152081,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"72d7c01a-a982-4e42-8a3b-046532dca389\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[152084,152085,152086,152087],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":152089,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":152090,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/24ce4ec529/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-181003.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":152092,"uuid":152093,"name":152094,"slug":152095,"full_slug":152096,"content":152097},112475020444182,"abdf5c6e-fa07-4864-9418-e4246aefd991","3D printing casts new dimension on metals","3d-printing-casts-new-dimension-on-metals","article/3d-printing-casts-new-dimension-on-metals",{"_uid":152098,"date":148447,"tags":152099,"editor":152100,"content":152104,"excerpt":152374,"featured":50,"reporter":152375,"_editable":152379,"component":697,"seo_title":152094,"categories":152380,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":152383,"seo_description":152374,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"704b541e-021c-444c-b17e-9dae12bacd92",[],[152101],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152102},{"job_title":557,"image":152103,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":152105},[152106,152111,152116,152121,152126,152131,152136,152141,152146,152151,152156,152161,152166,152171,152176,152181,152186,152191,152196,152201,152206,152209,152212,152217,152222,152227,152232,152235,152240,152245,152250,152253,152258,152263,152268,152273,152278,152283,152288,152293,152298,152301,152306,152311,152316,152321,152326,152331,152336,152341,152346,152351,152356,152361,152364,152369],{"type":591,"attrs":152107,"content":152108},{"textAlign":49},[152109],{"text":152110,"type":596}," Aerospace and hi-tech goods are driving the adoption of 3D printing in the industrial metalcasting sector. The impact of the new way to produce metal shapes is set to lead to more complex, customised and lower cost metal parts. Jessica Roberts, Senior Analyst at Roskill Information Services, analyses the disruption caused by the rise of 3D printing in the global foundry industry",{"type":591,"attrs":152112,"content":152113},{"textAlign":49},[152114],{"text":152115,"type":596},"The metalcasting industry is integral to modern life. From the cars we drive, airplanes we fly in, and utility pipes that keep our cities running – all would not be possible if it was not for the ability to cast metal into a variety of different shapes.",{"type":591,"attrs":152117,"content":152118},{"textAlign":49},[152119],{"text":152120,"type":596},"But the way we produce complex metal shapes is changing.",{"type":591,"attrs":152122,"content":152123},{"textAlign":49},[152124],{"text":152125,"type":596},"Until very recently, it was the case that almost all complex shapes were produced only by metalcasting or fabrication. But the rise of 3D printing has offered a new, cheaper way to produce some shapes in a quicker and more complex fashion. And this new technology is sparking unexpected change in the traditional casting industry that has fundamentally been the same for hundreds of years.",{"type":591,"attrs":152127,"content":152128},{"textAlign":49},[152129],{"text":152130,"type":596},"Around 90% of all goods manufactured in the US contain metal cast products according to The American Foundry Society (AFS) and have contributed to a huge global industry that was worth $300bn in 2014.",{"type":591,"attrs":152132,"content":152133},{"textAlign":49},[152134],{"text":152135,"type":596},"Unsurprisingly, in volume terms, China is the world’s leading producer accounting for 45% of total tonnages produced, a figure The China Foundry Association expects to reach 50m tonnes and $120bn by the end of this year.",{"type":591,"attrs":152137,"content":152138},{"textAlign":49},[152139],{"text":152140,"type":596},"The second largest producer of castings is Europe, accounting for 15% of output by volume at a value of €41.3bn ($46bn) in 2014, according to the European Foundry Association (CAEF).",{"type":591,"attrs":152142,"content":152143},{"textAlign":49},[152144],{"text":152145,"type":596},"The USA accounts for around 13% of casting output by volume and the AFS forecasts the US market will reach a value of $37.5bn in 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":152147,"content":152148},{"textAlign":49},[152149],{"text":152150,"type":596},"World castings output grew to 107m tonnes in 2014, according to estimates by UK-based Roskill Information Services, representing a CAGR of 4% between 2010 and 2014. The bulk of castings produced are made of ferrous metals at 85m tonnes in 2013, comprising mainly grey iron and ductile iron. The non-ferrous casting sector is much smaller, amounting to 18.3m tonnes in 2013 and dominated by aluminium at over 15.4m tonnes.",{"type":591,"attrs":152152,"content":152153},{"textAlign":49},[152154],{"text":152155,"type":596},"In the past decade nearly all growth in castings output has occurred in Asia, which has been to the detriment of established foundries in Western Europe and North America. This has occurred because of the growth in motor vehicle production in Asian countries, particularly China.",{"type":591,"attrs":152157,"content":152158},{"textAlign":49},[152159],{"text":152160,"type":596},"After automotive markets (25% of the total), most Chinese castings serve industrial applications. Internal combustion engines account for around 14% of China’s metal casting output, followed by heavy and mining machinery (12%), casting pipe and fitting (11%), and construction machinery (10%).",{"type":591,"attrs":152162,"content":152163},{"textAlign":49},[152164],{"text":152165,"type":596},"In order to compete, established foundries in western countries have become increasingly streamlined and efficient.",{"type":591,"attrs":152167,"content":152168},{"textAlign":49},[152169],{"text":152170,"type":596},"The average output of castings for each employee in Europe has increased steadily in recent years; in ferrous casting it rose from 55 tonnes per person in 2010 to 70 tonnes per person in 2013 – with a range of up to 120 tonnes. By comparison, China’s 2m employees in the metal casting sector produced an average of 20 tonnes of castings per person in 2012.",{"type":591,"attrs":152172,"content":152173},{"textAlign":49},[152174],{"text":152175,"type":596},"Most metalcasting is of high-bulk and relatively simple goods, but some niche applications offer opportunities to produce high-tech parts – such as wind turbine blades, aerospace parts and intricate consumer goods like golf club heads.",{"type":591,"attrs":152177,"content":152178},{"textAlign":49},[152179],{"text":152180,"type":596},"It is into this competitive space that an alternative manufacturing method is starting to emerge.",{"type":615,"attrs":152182,"content":152183},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[152184],{"text":152185,"type":596}," Rise of 3D printing",{"type":591,"attrs":152187,"content":152188},{"textAlign":49},[152189],{"text":152190,"type":596},"Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is the creation of three-dimensional objects layer by layer.",{"type":591,"attrs":152192,"content":152193},{"textAlign":49},[152194],{"text":152195,"type":596},"The design for the part is read by the printer from a digital computer aided design (CAD) file. Parts are constructed from a high number of two-dimensional layers, built up vertically. There are a number of different printing technologies available, depending on the type of printing material used.",{"type":591,"attrs":152197,"content":152198},{"textAlign":49},[152199],{"text":152200,"type":596},"Metal-based systems include:",{"type":591,"attrs":152202,"content":152203},{"textAlign":49},[152204],{"text":152205,"type":596},"These technologies are compatible with a number of different metals such as stainless steel, cobalt-chrome, titanium, nickel-chrome, tool steel, aluminium, gold, silver and others. Not all technologies are compatible with each of the metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":152207,"content":152208},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152210,"content":152211},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152213,"content":152214},{"textAlign":49},[152215],{"text":152216,"type":596},"The manufacturing principle of these technologies is similar, in that an electron beam or laser is used to melt a layer of metal powder into the desired geometry. Another layer of metal powder is deposited on top and melted, and the process is repeated until the part is complete.",{"type":591,"attrs":152218,"content":152219},{"textAlign":49},[152220],{"text":152221,"type":596},"The part then undergoes any postproduction processing that is required. Build time and materials used differ depending on the technology – for example electron beam welding has a build speed of around 60cm3 per hour, compared to 32.4cm3 per hour for direct metal laser sintering.",{"type":591,"attrs":152223,"content":152224},{"textAlign":49},[152225],{"text":152226,"type":596},"Polymer-based printing systems include:",{"type":591,"attrs":152228,"content":152229},{"textAlign":49},[152230],{"text":152231,"type":596},"Materials for use with polymer printers include epoxy-based materials, nylon, ABS, wax and polystyrene – but, as with metal-based systems, not all materials are compatible with each process.",{"type":591,"attrs":152233,"content":152234},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152236,"content":152237},{"textAlign":49},[152238],{"text":152239,"type":596},"Stereolithography is the building of a part layer by layer, through the use of an ultraviolet laser to solidify liquid photopolymer resins. Fused deposition modelling creates parts through layers of engineering-grade thermoplastics. Thermoplastic filament is heated up and extruded through the 3D printer. As in the metal additive manufacturing processes, selective laser sintering can be used with polymer systems when a polymer powder layer is deposited and melted by the laser into the desired geometry. This is carried out repeatedly until the part is complete.",{"type":591,"attrs":152241,"content":152242},{"textAlign":49},[152243],{"text":152244,"type":596},"Most recently, high-speed sintering (HSS) has been developed by Sheffield University in the UK as a possible competitor to injection moulding. HSS prints infra-red absorbing ink onto a powder bed. After a layer is printed, it is exposed to infrared light which selectively causes the inkcovered powder to fuse. German 3D printer manufacturer Voxeljet is aiming to have commercial HSS printers for sale by 2018.",{"type":591,"attrs":152246,"content":152247},{"textAlign":49},[152248],{"text":152249,"type":596},"Additive manufacturing has been around since the 1980s but technological advances in the last ten years have enabled the process to be used commercially.",{"type":591,"attrs":152251,"content":152252},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152254,"content":152255},{"textAlign":49},[152256],{"text":152257,"type":596},"According to a May 2015 study carried out by SMS Research Advisors with additive manufacturing professionals, the top five industries for 3D printing are consumer products (26%), medical (15%), aerospace (11%), automotive (8%), and energy (6%), with 34% of products serving other industries.",{"type":591,"attrs":152259,"content":152260},{"textAlign":49},[152261],{"text":152262,"type":596},"Although still fairly niche, the industry is growing rapidly and was reported to have increased by 35% between 2013 and 2014 to reach US$4.1Bn, according to the US consultancy Wohlers Associates.",{"type":591,"attrs":152264,"content":152265},{"textAlign":49},[152266],{"text":152267,"type":596},"3D printing offers several benefits compared to conventional manufacturing methods, such as metalcasting or subtractive technologies (i.e. where tooling is required).",{"type":591,"attrs":152269,"content":152270},{"textAlign":49},[152271],{"text":152272,"type":596},"These are mainly focused on product complexity and product customisation.",{"type":591,"attrs":152274,"content":152275},{"textAlign":49},[152276],{"text":152277,"type":596},"In conventional manufacturing, it is generally true that as either complexity or customisation increases, so too does the product cost and production time.",{"type":591,"attrs":152279,"content":152280},{"textAlign":49},[152281],{"text":152282,"type":596},"For example, a tailor-made prosthesis for an amputee is likely to be a one-off product that traditionally would be expensive and have a long lead time. Now it is possible to design and 3D print individual prosthetics or implants – once a personalised CAD file has been created – in a matter of days.",{"type":591,"attrs":152284,"content":152285},{"textAlign":49},[152286],{"text":152287,"type":596},"Participants in the SMS Research Advisors study listed the top four benefits of additive manufacturing as being:",{"type":591,"attrs":152289,"content":152290},{"textAlign":49},[152291],{"text":152292,"type":596},"Aerospace and medical applications have been early adopters of additive manufacturing technology, and the CEO of 3D printer maker Stratasys believes that within 10 years every commercial airplane will have 3D printed parts on it.",{"type":591,"attrs":152294,"content":152295},{"textAlign":49},[152296],{"text":152297,"type":596},"Additive manufacturing technology provider 3T RPD Ltd reported that it had printed a fuel injector made of Inconel 718 (austenite nickelchrome superalloy), 600mm by 160mm in size with a layer thickness of 40μm.",{"type":591,"attrs":152299,"content":152300},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152302,"content":152303},{"textAlign":49},[152304],{"text":152305,"type":596},"The part was printed using direct metal laser sintering technology and had a build time of 50 hours and a finishing time of three hours. The fuel injector cost around £3,500 per unit ($5,470) and was printed as one part, when previously it had comprised eight parts when made via traditional methods.",{"type":591,"attrs":152307,"content":152308},{"textAlign":49},[152309],{"text":152310,"type":596},"However, 3D printing does not always take away market share from metalcasting.",{"type":591,"attrs":152312,"content":152313},{"textAlign":49},[152314],{"text":152315,"type":596},"German printer developer Voxeljet has demonstrated that it can print with silica sand for making cores used in standard sand casting, and has also successfully printed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) parts for use in investment casting. In the standard investment casting process an expendable wax model of the shape to be cast is dipped into a thin refractory slurry and then coated with a primary refractory coating or stucco.",{"type":591,"attrs":152317,"content":152318},{"textAlign":49},[152319],{"text":152320,"type":596},"This is repeated several times until a refractory or ceramic shell has been built up.",{"type":591,"attrs":152322,"content":152323},{"textAlign":49},[152324],{"text":152325,"type":596},"The pattern is then heated to remove the wax after which molten metal can be added to form the casting.",{"type":591,"attrs":152327,"content":152328},{"textAlign":49},[152329],{"text":152330,"type":596},"Instead of using wax, Voxeljet prints a very precise PMMA model of the shape to be cast which is then used in the same manner as wax in investment casting. Therefore additive manufacturing could actually enhance and work in partnership with standard metalcasting methods.",{"type":615,"attrs":152332,"content":152333},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[152334],{"text":152335,"type":596}," Outlook for 3D printing",{"type":591,"attrs":152337,"content":152338},{"textAlign":49},[152339],{"text":152340,"type":596},"While additive manufacturing offers many positives in terms of producing customised and complex parts, it is not without its drawbacks.",{"type":591,"attrs":152342,"content":152343},{"textAlign":49},[152344],{"text":152345,"type":596},"In the SMS Research Advisors study, respondents listed their main four challenges as being: equipment costs, limited materials, post-processing requirements, and manufacturing costs.",{"type":591,"attrs":152347,"content":152348},{"textAlign":49},[152349],{"text":152350,"type":596},"The affordability and speed of 3D printing is improving as new designs are brought out and patents expire. Yet for bulk production of simple parts, 3D printing is much more expensive and slower than traditional manufacturing methods like metalcasting and injection moulding.",{"type":591,"attrs":152352,"content":152353},{"textAlign":49},[152354],{"text":152355,"type":596},"Because of these challenges, additive manufacturing is unlikely to take significant market share from traditional manufacturing in the medium-term. However the technology can be a lower cost and quicker alternative in some applications, particularly in production of niche and high-value goods.",{"type":591,"attrs":152357,"content":152358},{"textAlign":49},[152359],{"text":152360,"type":596},"3D printing can also be used in conjunction with metalcasting to improve final parts.",{"type":591,"attrs":152362,"content":152363},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":152365,"content":152366},{"textAlign":49},[152367],{"text":152368,"type":596},"Stratasys expects that additive metal use will double in size between 2015 and 2018. US consultancy Wohlers Associates, meanwhile, forecasts an overall industry growth of 15%py to 2020 to reach $9.5Bn.",{"type":591,"attrs":152370,"content":152371},{"textAlign":49},[152372],{"text":152373,"type":596},"Compared to the US$300Bn metalcasting sector, this is clearly still a niche industry, but it does appear to offer good opportunities to the high-tech sector and to the specialist metal powders and polymers used in 3D printing.","Aerospace and hi-tech goods are driving the adoption of 3D printing in the industrial metalcasting sector. The impact of the new way to produce metal shapes is set to lead to more complex, customised and lower cost metal parts. Jessica Roberts, Senior Analyst at Roskill Information Services, analyses the disruption caused by the rise of 3D printing in the global foundry industry",[152376],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152377},{"job_title":557,"image":152378,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"704b541e-021c-444c-b17e-9dae12bacd92\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[152381,152382],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":152384,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":152385,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b45d568073/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-181805.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":152387,"uuid":152388,"name":152389,"slug":152390,"full_slug":152391,"content":152392},112475015659953,"2227234b-dce3-4821-ba29-8f3192a66f3b","Copper Conflicted","copper-conflicted","article/copper-conflicted",{"_uid":152393,"date":148447,"tags":152394,"editor":152396,"content":152400,"excerpt":152568,"featured":50,"reporter":152569,"_editable":152573,"component":697,"seo_title":152389,"categories":152574,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":152577,"seo_description":152568,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"75778c44-4f8b-4724-abe0-e41de25bb920",[152395],{"slug":4757,"name":4758},[152397],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152398},{"job_title":557,"image":152399,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":152401},[152402,152407,152412,152417,152422,152427,152432,152437,152442,152447,152452,152457,152462,152467,152472,152477,152482,152487,152490,152495,152500,152505,152510,152515,152520,152525,152530,152535,152540,152545,152550,152554,152561],{"type":591,"attrs":152403,"content":152404},{"textAlign":49},[152405],{"text":152406,"type":596}," How calls on copper supply for its industrial present is risking opportunities for its energy storage future ",{"type":591,"attrs":152408,"content":152409},{"textAlign":49},[152410],{"text":152411,"type":596},"By Gianni Kovacevic",{"type":591,"attrs":152413,"content":152414},{"textAlign":49},[152415],{"text":152416,"type":596},"“When they raid the house of ill repute, they arrest everyone including the piano player.”",{"type":591,"attrs":152418,"content":152419},{"textAlign":49},[152420],{"text":152421,"type":596},"That colourful sentence could certainly be used to describe the current rout in commodity markets, however, should the entire basket be thrown together, i.e. bulks, precious metals, agriculture and the PhD of the economy, copper? Or, is there in fact a “piano player” in the mix?",{"type":591,"attrs":152423,"content":152424},{"textAlign":49},[152425],{"text":152426,"type":596},"Goldman Sachs (GS) has recently been updating their clients by painting a very negative picture for copper prices. GS research is changing course on copper from a previously bullish stance, suggesting that due to slowing growth in China, by far the world’s largest user of most commodities, and a coming copper supply glut, the price of copper is doomed to stay in the ~$2.00/ lb range all the way to 2020. There is more than one side to this coin, in fact, one should review the various pillars that underpin this bold call.",{"type":591,"attrs":152428,"content":152429},{"textAlign":49},[152430],{"text":152431,"type":596},"The prognostication GS has made on copper prices is certainly based on facts and logic supported by their view of supply and demand fundamentals. What is unmistakeable, is that their opinion has significant weight for many global investors, especially the swing traders who often make big differences in turbulent markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":152433,"content":152434},{"textAlign":49},[152435],{"text":152436,"type":596},"Value investor Ben Graham once said (paraphrasing), “that in the short-term markets are like voting machines, whereas in the long-term they are weighing machines.” I fully agree, and investors the world over have voted with the overwhelmingly bearish sentiment that has put commodities on a one-way trade downward, and perhaps quite rightfully so for the ones that have had an idiotic overallocation of capital, namely the bulks, and the over-hypothecated precious metals.",{"type":591,"attrs":152438,"content":152439},{"textAlign":49},[152440],{"text":152441,"type":596},"A strengthening US dollar, negative headlines in Europe, China’s ‘around 7% growth’, Asian stock markets collapsing – and the ban of short-selling Chinese stocks just to name a few of the macro problems plaguing global growth, and in-turn, commodities.",{"type":591,"attrs":152443,"content":152444},{"textAlign":49},[152445],{"text":152446,"type":596},"Is Copper the piano player in the commodity complex? It’s all about the consumer, and that means the tightness between supply and demand.",{"type":615,"attrs":152448,"content":152449},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[152450],{"text":152451,"type":596}," Demand",{"type":591,"attrs":152453,"content":152454},{"textAlign":49},[152455],{"text":152456,"type":596},"Copper, unlike other highly traded commodities, namely oil and gold, is not so hypothecated. The end user of copper is just that, a user, and not a speculator. True, there has been some 500,000 tonnes (maybe a bit more) of copper used as ‘money’, however, for the most part, almost all of the ~23 million tonnes of produced copper is consumed.",{"type":591,"attrs":152458,"content":152459},{"textAlign":49},[152460],{"text":152461,"type":596},"Most of the major end users of copper would be bearish to the short-term copper price hand-to-mouth mode so to speak – and why shouldn’t they be? Just look at China’s State Reserves Bureau (SRB), one of the biggest buyers of copper, who bought 400-700,000 during 2014. Copper prices have fallen by ~25% since, thus the SRB has paid hundreds of millions more than they could today. So big buyers can wait – hand-to-mouth – and they do.",{"type":591,"attrs":152463,"content":152464},{"textAlign":49},[152465],{"text":152466,"type":596},"Consumers are not greedy in a falling price environment, it’s quite the opposite.",{"type":591,"attrs":152468,"content":152469},{"textAlign":49},[152470],{"text":152471,"type":596},"If material can be readily found and they are quite comfortable there should be no spike in the price, then why allocate precious capital? This will not change until bearish sentiment changes, or more importantly, until tighter supply and demand conditions return. The question then becomes, can a market shortfall for copper happen sooner than GS’s 2020 time period, thus inducing end users to once again become greedy and start buying copper from the offer, other than hand-to-mouth consumption?",{"type":591,"attrs":152473,"content":152474},{"textAlign":49},[152475],{"text":152476,"type":596},"Of course what happens in China is important. This must be monitored and global investors and consumers will do just that, but… there are other factors.",{"type":591,"attrs":152478,"content":152479},{"textAlign":49},[152480],{"text":152481,"type":596},"Oil is energy, and energy without fossil fuels actually means electricity and electricity demands copper.",{"type":591,"attrs":152483,"content":152484},{"textAlign":49},[152485],{"text":152486,"type":596},"Traditionally, oil and energy have lead other commodities through most of the big up and down price swings – just look at any 40 or 50 year chart that correlates, oil to gold and/or copper. If there are going to be winners and losers in the future of energy, then oil and coal, to some respect, are the losers, and copper will overwhelmingly be the winner as it takes between three and five times more copper per megawatt of utility, the cleaner and greener we create, utilise and transfer energy. I will suggest the future is now, and that humanity has an incalculable number of ways that we are accelerating the subliminal ways we are using more and more copper. Unless fully appreciated, these dramatic changes could never fit on the pages of any report, let alone the GS document on copper that is perhaps missing all the utility copper plays from an electrifying India all the way to Elon Musk’s Gigafactory.",{"type":591,"attrs":152488,"content":152489},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":152491,"content":152492},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[152493],{"text":152494,"type":596}," Supply",{"type":591,"attrs":152496,"content":152497},{"textAlign":49},[152498],{"text":152499,"type":596},"According to their report, GS believes that the top 15 contributors to new copper supply will offer some 1.7m tonnes of net new copper. On the other side of the coin there is Glencore, one of the biggest producers of copper in the world, and the largest trader of copper, some 50% of traffic, who would seemingly disagree with some of GS’s production forecasts. So who is to be considered more accurate, analysts, or those that are on the pulse of most of the copper operations around the world? Telis Mistakidis, the head of Glencore’s copper division, has suggested that analysts should take a closer look at supply side guidance.",{"type":591,"attrs":152501,"content":152502},{"textAlign":49},[152503],{"text":152504,"type":596},"In the video archive of their December 2014 Investor Day presentation, he gives a country-by-country run-down of all the likely new production that should enter the market in the coming years. As he then stated, “we don’t see a supply glut.” (See table: opposite page)",{"type":591,"attrs":152506,"content":152507},{"textAlign":49},[152508],{"text":152509,"type":596},"We agree with Telis and as educational note, Glencore has curtailed ~500,000 tonnes of production to ‘re-tool’ two African operations – there will be more to come from other producers.",{"type":591,"attrs":152511,"content":152512},{"textAlign":49},[152513],{"text":152514,"type":596},"GS is quite correct in stating that there are only a handful of companies that produce global copper. BHP, the world’s largest integrated miner, suggests that the inducement price for ~70% of future copper projects is $3.50/lb, and nothing works at sub $2.50/lb. Just recently they gave guidance to the market that their 2016 copper production will fall by 12%. The largest producer of copper, Chile’s CODELCO, is telling the market they could cease to be a copper producer past 2030 without some $25 billion of expansion capital. The achilles heel of copper production is falling grade, and as any miner will tell you, when you are mining 30 or 40 million tonnes per year, in 400 tonne trucks, it’s a big big deal when grade falls by 50%.",{"type":591,"attrs":152516,"content":152517},{"textAlign":49},[152518],{"text":152519,"type":596},"What about selling concentrate with big penalties like Peru’s new Toromocho copper mine, who the GS report sees no problem in placing 240kts of reliable future product on the market. Sentinel? Katanga? Africa’s copperbelt is seriously power constrained.",{"type":591,"attrs":152521,"content":152522},{"textAlign":49},[152523],{"text":152524,"type":596},"Chile is having to reconsider social program promises made during the $4.00/ lb copper days to the realities of today.",{"type":591,"attrs":152526,"content":152527},{"textAlign":49},[152528],{"text":152529,"type":596},"Peru’s social upheaval? Where is the future of copper supply going to be reliable?",{"type":591,"attrs":152531,"content":152532},{"textAlign":49},[152533],{"text":152534,"type":596},"So who will be more correct?",{"type":591,"attrs":152536,"content":152537},{"textAlign":49},[152538],{"text":152539,"type":596},"As has been demonstrated in the past, not everyone can be right. I recall in early 2009 when two respected analysts had diametrically opposed views of my then favourite investment, Quadra Mining (early 2009 trading at ~$2.50 per share). One analyst saw weak copper prices into the distant future and as such he placed a $2.50 price target on Quadra.",{"type":591,"attrs":152541,"content":152542},{"textAlign":49},[152543],{"text":152544,"type":596},"The other analyst, saw stronger copper prices going into 2010 and 2011 and he placed a $21.00 price target. One year later Quadra was $18.00 per share. How could two well respected professionals have such different views?",{"type":591,"attrs":152546,"content":152547},{"textAlign":49},[152548],{"text":152549,"type":596},"For now prices for most commodities are falling, and why should that stop. But let us not forget:",{"type":591,"attrs":152551,"content":152552},{"textAlign":49},[152553],{"text":152416,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":152555,"content":152556},{"textAlign":49},[152557],{"text":152558,"type":596,"marks":152559},"Contributor: Gianni Kovacevic, globally respected speaker and author on green energy metals including the new book: My Electrician Drives a Porche: Profiting fromthe largest Migration in History, available on Amazon.",[152560],{"type":1006},{"type":591,"attrs":152562,"content":152563},{"textAlign":49},[152564],{"text":152565,"type":596,"marks":152566},"He is also Chairman of Copperbank, Canada. More at: www.kovacevic.com",[152567],{"type":1006},"How calls on copper supply for its industrial present is risking opportunities for its energy storage future",[152570],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152571},{"job_title":557,"image":152572,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"75778c44-4f8b-4724-abe0-e41de25bb920\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[152575,152576],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":152578,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":152579,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8981459553/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-183937.png",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":152581,"uuid":152582,"name":152583,"slug":152584,"full_slug":152585,"content":152586},112475010887993,"334b2e03-b160-457c-9826-4c161d06fe7b","Chile’s Lithium State of Mind","chiles-lithium-state-of-mind","article/chiles-lithium-state-of-mind",{"_uid":152587,"date":148447,"tags":152588,"editor":152590,"content":152594,"excerpt":152605,"featured":50,"reporter":152704,"_editable":152708,"component":697,"seo_title":152583,"categories":152709,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":152713,"seo_description":152605,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":148574},"b5f70c62-0f5c-46ef-9fec-d7a4f9ce4081",[152589],{"slug":4623,"name":4624},[152591],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152592},{"job_title":557,"image":152593,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":152595},[152596,152601,152606,152611,152616,152621,152626,152631,152636,152641,152646,152651,152656,152661,152666,152671,152676,152681,152686,152691,152696,152701],{"type":591,"attrs":152597,"content":152598},{"textAlign":49},[152599],{"text":152600,"type":596},"By Simon Rees",{"type":591,"attrs":152602,"content":152603},{"textAlign":49},[152604],{"text":152605,"type":596},"What if you held a resource that could ultimately change the world? Do you start realising its value or do you wait, keeping it safe for a rainy day?",{"type":591,"attrs":152607,"content":152608},{"textAlign":49},[152609],{"text":152610,"type":596},"And what if that latent wealth resides in environmentally-sensitive areas – how will that influence your decision?",{"type":591,"attrs":152612,"content":152613},{"textAlign":49},[152614],{"text":152615,"type":596},"Chile is pondering these and many more questions as part of a long-standing and nuanced debate on lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":152617,"content":152618},{"textAlign":49},[152619],{"text":152620,"type":596},"The country holds a significant proportion of the world’s known lithium reserves in high-altitude regions noted for salar brine extraction, with the US Geological Survey estimating the country has more than 7.5 million tons of identified lithium resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":152622,"content":152623},{"textAlign":49},[152624],{"text":152625,"type":596},"A select group of market participants dominate production, including SQM and Albemarle, the latter holding Chilean interests through its acquisition of Rockwood Holdings, the parent of Rockwood Lithium, at the start of 2015.",{"type":591,"attrs":152627,"content":152628},{"textAlign":49},[152629],{"text":152630,"type":596},"On February 1, the country’s mining ministry announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that Albemarle could grow its Chilean lithium carbonate output from 24,000 tons to 70,000 tons over the next four years.",{"type":591,"attrs":152632,"content":152633},{"textAlign":49},[152634],{"text":152635,"type":596},"The ministry estimates the deal will deliver between $70m and $100m a year into government coffers through royalties, taxes and other instruments.",{"type":591,"attrs":152637,"content":152638},{"textAlign":49},[152639],{"text":152640,"type":596},"Several days earlier, on January 25, it was reported that Codelco had established a schedule for a bidding process to evaluate and explore its lithium assets in the Maricunga and Pedernales salt flats. Coldelco is the state-owned mining giant more widely known for its copper interests.",{"type":591,"attrs":152642,"content":152643},{"textAlign":49},[152644],{"text":152645,"type":596},"“The successful bidders would be in a preferential situation in terms of partnering with the corporation [Codelco] if the economic viability of those assets is confirmed,” the President’s office noted on January 26.",{"type":591,"attrs":152647,"content":152648},{"textAlign":49},[152649],{"text":152650,"type":596},"None of this points to a bonanza or even heralds a new lithium rush.",{"type":591,"attrs":152652,"content":152653},{"textAlign":49},[152654],{"text":152655,"type":596},"In fact, as Benchmark was going to press, SQM, Chile’s homegrown lithium success story, has just made a major commitment into developing Argentina’s industry with a plan to jointly develop Lithium Americas Cauchari Project.",{"type":591,"attrs":152657,"content":152658},{"textAlign":49},[152659],{"text":152660,"type":596},"This is a really significant move: a public statement of confidence in Argentina and, perhaps more so, a lack of confidence in Chile.",{"type":591,"attrs":152662,"content":152663},{"textAlign":49},[152664],{"text":152665,"type":596},"In everyone’s excitement, many commentators forget the material’s unique status in Chile; lithium is non-concessionary, accompanied by specific rules and regulations.",{"type":591,"attrs":152667,"content":152668},{"textAlign":49},[152669],{"text":152670,"type":596},"Even as far back as 1979, the country decreed that the rights to extract, process and trade lithium compounds resides with the State and its companies, or those it specifically agrees to operate with via Presidential assent.",{"type":591,"attrs":152672,"content":152673},{"textAlign":49},[152674],{"text":152675,"type":596},"On January 26, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet reiterated this stance after receiving the National Lithium Commission’s report on the country’s new National Lithium and Salt Flat Governance Policy.",{"type":591,"attrs":152677,"content":152678},{"textAlign":49},[152679],{"text":152680,"type":596},"“One of the first decisions that we made was to take up the commission’s call to reaffirm the strategic nature of lithium, which is the property of all Chileans, and to maintain its condition as a material that is not subject to concessions,” she said.",{"type":591,"attrs":152682,"content":152683},{"textAlign":49},[152684],{"text":152685,"type":596},"The policy creates a new regulatory framework to define conditions for lithium exploitation and the engagement of communities.",{"type":591,"attrs":152687,"content":152688},{"textAlign":49},[152689],{"text":152690,"type":596},"It also seeks to strengthen coordination between the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo) and Codelco, the Chilean stateowned mining giant more widely known for its copper interests.",{"type":591,"attrs":152692,"content":152693},{"textAlign":49},[152694],{"text":152695,"type":596},"“I am fully confident that Chilean lithium will not be a case of frustrated development, but an example of a well-built future,” President Bachelet said.",{"type":591,"attrs":152697,"content":152698},{"textAlign":49},[152699],{"text":152700,"type":596},"Where other nations may seek to rush in, it seems Chile will maintain a slow, steady and purposeful approach towards lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":152702,"content":152703},{"textAlign":49},[],[152705],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152706},{"job_title":557,"image":152707,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b5f70c62-0f5c-46ef-9fec-d7a4f9ce4081\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[152710,152711,152712],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":152714,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":152715,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3310425279/bm-uyuni1-peteuniverse.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":152717,"uuid":152718,"name":152719,"slug":152720,"full_slug":152721,"content":152722},112475224901168,"9b8021d7-7a64-4a97-928a-1116c427c6cb","Faraday’s Future begins with $1bn EV plant construction in Nevada","faradays-future-begins-with-1bn-ev-plant-construction-in-nevada","article/faradays-future-begins-with-1bn-ev-plant-construction-in-nevada",{"_uid":152723,"date":152724,"tags":152725,"editor":152726,"content":152730,"excerpt":152947,"featured":50,"reporter":152948,"_editable":152952,"component":697,"seo_title":152719,"categories":152953,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":152957,"seo_description":152947,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":152960},"f1073cab-a8c6-452d-9723-12098ddd055c","2016-05-22 00:00",[],[152727],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152728},{"job_title":557,"image":152729,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":152731},[152732,152739,152744,152749,152754,152759,152764,152769,152774,152779,152784,152789,152794,152799,152804,152809,152814,152819,152824,152832,152837,152842,152847,152852,152857,152862,152867,152872,152877,152882,152887,152892,152897,152902,152907,152912,152917,152922,152927,152932,152937,152942],{"type":591,"attrs":152733,"content":152734},{"textAlign":49},[152735,152737],{"text":152736,"type":596},"Tesla’s mysterious rival to come out of the shadows in 2016, but what does this mean for ",{"text":152738,"type":596},"lithium-ion batteries at a time when the Gigafactory is set for launch",{"type":591,"attrs":152740,"content":152741},{"textAlign":49},[152742],{"text":152743,"type":596},"Faraday Future is a name is yet to have much impact in the electric vehicle (EV) arena.",{"type":591,"attrs":152745,"content":152746},{"textAlign":49},[152747],{"text":152748,"type":596},"The California-based company has released little information about its plans to design and manufacture electric and autonomous vehicles in Nevada except for the promise that it will be an auto industry game changer.",{"type":591,"attrs":152750,"content":152751},{"textAlign":49},[152752],{"text":152753,"type":596},"Secrecy itself has been the loudest noise Faraday Future has made to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":152755,"content":152756},{"textAlign":49},[152757],{"text":152758,"type":596},"If it sounds familiar, you are forgiven.",{"type":591,"attrs":152760,"content":152761},{"textAlign":49},[152762],{"text":152763,"type":596},"Faraday Future is being specifically designed to compete with Tesla Motors and is backed by its very own billionaire, Jia Yeuting from China.",{"type":591,"attrs":152765,"content":152766},{"textAlign":49},[152767],{"text":152768,"type":596},"Yeuting has a net worth of nearly $8bn and rose from 78th to 17th in the Forbes China Rich List in the last 12 months. At 42, the billionaire is seeking to emulate his compatriot at Tesla, Elon Musk.",{"type":591,"attrs":152770,"content":152771},{"textAlign":49},[152772],{"text":152773,"type":596},"Not only are the plans to employ 4,500 on one site north of Las Vegas grand enough to be from the Tesla playbook, of the five key staff members, four are from Tesla and one is from BMW. Therefore, it is unsurprising that design and marketing have been its strongest assets to date.",{"type":591,"attrs":152775,"content":152776},{"textAlign":49},[152777],{"text":152778,"type":596},"The company is aiming to produce a range of full EVs by 2017 but will focus on connectivity as a major selling point.",{"type":591,"attrs":152780,"content":152781},{"textAlign":49},[152782],{"text":152783,"type":596},"“We will launch with fully electric vehicles that will offer smart and seamless connectivity to the outside world,” the company explained.",{"type":591,"attrs":152785,"content":152786},{"textAlign":49},[152787],{"text":152788,"type":596},"“Our team [will take] a user centric, technology first approach to vehicle design with the ultimate aim of connecting the automotive experience to the rest of your life,” it added.",{"type":591,"attrs":152790,"content":152791},{"textAlign":49},[152792],{"text":152793,"type":596},"It is yet another example of technology and automobiles converging, two multi-billion dollar industries that is set to cause great disruption in their respective sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":152795,"content":152796},{"textAlign":49},[152797],{"text":152798,"type":596},"And it has led some to believe that Faraday Future is looking to beat Apple to a similar EV strategy with expectations that the electronics manufacturer will be launching its own full connected vehicle in the next two years.",{"type":591,"attrs":152800,"content":152801},{"textAlign":49},[152802],{"text":152803,"type":596},"Treating a vehicle like a smartphone is something that Faraday Future believes it can get the edge on its competitors.",{"type":591,"attrs":152805,"content":152806},{"textAlign":49},[152807],{"text":152808,"type":596},"“When you buy a phone you get the hardware for free, you can use it for whatever you want, and it can kind of do everything,” explained Page Beermann, head of exterior design at the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":152810,"content":152811},{"textAlign":49},[152812],{"text":152813,"type":596},"“So what if you had access to a range of products where you can buy one car but you’re actually accessing five different kinds of cars?” Beermann said.",{"type":591,"attrs":152815,"content":152816},{"textAlign":49},[152817],{"text":152818,"type":596},"This gives an insight into the direction the start-up company is heading. While Tesla has focused on making EVs desirable through design and performance, Faraday Future wants to take this one step further by making its cars fully integrated with the users’ day to day technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":152820,"content":152821},{"textAlign":49},[152822],{"text":152823,"type":596},"It also raises the question whether the company would be looking at a car sharing scheme of sorts. While not a new idea, EV manufacturers to date have shied away from any form of sharing of intellectual property such as chargers and battery management technology.",{"type":591,"attrs":152825,"content":152826},{"textAlign":49},[152827],{"type":836,"attrs":152828},{"id":49,"alt":152829,"src":152830,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":152831},"farady-facility-plans","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/bc08f70ccc/bm-farady-facility-plans.jpg",{},{"type":591,"attrs":152833,"content":152834},{"textAlign":49},[152835],{"text":152836,"type":596},"Pending Nevada legislative approval, Faraday Future will build its first manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas",{"type":615,"attrs":152838,"content":152839},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[152840],{"text":152841,"type":596},"Faraday construction, Gigafactory to launch",{"type":591,"attrs":152843,"content":152844},{"textAlign":49},[152845],{"text":152846,"type":596},"The company has already started construction on a $1bn “state-ofthe- art” EV manufacturing facility in north Las Vegas, Nevada, the same US state where Tesla have built their mega battery plant, The Gigafatory, and the only lithium producing region in North America.",{"type":591,"attrs":152848,"content":152849},{"textAlign":49},[152850],{"text":152851,"type":596},"It is a move that could shift the North American auto industry’s power away from Detroit. “It’s making Nevada the centre of gravity for the new auto industry,” a consulting firm involved in the process explained to The Review Journal.",{"type":591,"attrs":152853,"content":152854},{"textAlign":49},[152855],{"text":152856,"type":596},"The plant will be located at the Apex Industrial Park, only 15 minutes from downtown Las Vegas. Interestingly, it is also the same industrial park where Elon Musk’s Hyperloop test facility will be based.",{"type":591,"attrs":152858,"content":152859},{"textAlign":49},[152860],{"text":152861,"type":596},"In terms of sheer size, Faraday’s plant will be about 25% smaller than the Phase 1 Gigafactory, while it is only expecting to manufacturer vehicles there and not lithium ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":152863,"content":152864},{"textAlign":49},[152865],{"text":152866,"type":596},"The company has also received tax incentives of $315m over a 15-year period to locate at the site, dependent on the final investment sum.",{"type":591,"attrs":152868,"content":152869},{"textAlign":49},[152870],{"text":152871,"type":596},"“We’re proud of our mining, we’re proud of our gaming, we’re proud of all those anchor tenants that we’ve had in our state,” explained state governor Brian Sandoval.",{"type":591,"attrs":152873,"content":152874},{"textAlign":49},[152875],{"text":152876,"type":596},"“But the world’s changing. And I know that you agree with me that we’re not going to let it pass us by.”",{"type":591,"attrs":152878,"content":152879},{"textAlign":49},[152880],{"text":152881,"type":596},"Meanwhile in northern Nevada, some 700km away, Tesla is on schedule to launch its Gigafactory just outside of Reno.",{"type":591,"attrs":152883,"content":152884},{"textAlign":49},[152885],{"text":152886,"type":596},"The company is not only on track with a Q1 launch of the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery plant, but it has recently more than doubled its land holdings on site from 10m square feet to 24m square feet, sparking rumours it may be planning to build a second Gigafactory at the same location.",{"type":591,"attrs":152888,"content":152889},{"textAlign":49},[152890],{"text":152891,"type":596},"Recent images taken at the site of what will be the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery plant show welcome reception signs saying “Gigafactory 1” leaving the assumption that more than one will be built sooner rather than later.",{"type":591,"attrs":152893,"content":152894},{"textAlign":49},[152895],{"text":152896,"type":596},"With the number of EVs produced worldwide reaching record levels in 2015 together with major plans for this output to grow at an even more rapid rate between now and 2020, taking battery production into its own hands is deemed a major short term risk but a wise move by Tesla.",{"type":591,"attrs":152898,"content":152899},{"textAlign":49},[152900],{"text":152901,"type":596},"“It’s hard to convince people from consumer industries that you’re going to make 15 times as many cars as you’re currently making. That sounds pretty implausible. We just had to say we’re going to do it [make our own batteries], and you’re either on the ride or you’re not.” Elon Musk explained in an interview with Fast Company.",{"type":591,"attrs":152903,"content":152904},{"textAlign":49},[152905],{"text":152906,"type":596},"And with new producers like Faraday Future entering the space, let alone the number of vehicles China is producing today, lithium ion battery demand could be significantly higher than even the most bullish of estimates.",{"type":591,"attrs":152908,"content":152909},{"textAlign":49},[152910],{"text":152911,"type":596},"Analysing Faraday Future’s secretive plans, it is a fair estimate to assume the company will have at least the capacity to produce 100,000 full EVs at the Las Vegas plant each with a battery capacity in excess of 50kWh per vehicle.",{"type":591,"attrs":152913,"content":152914},{"textAlign":49},[152915],{"text":152916,"type":596},"All eyes will be on the company at the CES2016 show in January to see what plants and battery technologies the company reveals.",{"type":591,"attrs":152918,"content":152919},{"textAlign":49},[152920],{"text":152921,"type":596},"What the company’s entry into the auto market does prove is that money is flowing into the sector from outside sources. No longer is the auto sector funding its most innovative projects.",{"type":591,"attrs":152923,"content":152924},{"textAlign":49},[152925],{"text":152926,"type":596},"Talent – mainly the world’s top young engineers and designers – are now gravitating towards the auto sector, something that was not the case only three years ago.",{"type":591,"attrs":152928,"content":152929},{"textAlign":49},[152930],{"text":152931,"type":596},"While the company is some way off of producing its first EV, it claims the money and talent is there.",{"type":591,"attrs":152933,"content":152934},{"textAlign":49},[152935],{"text":152936,"type":596},"In the last 12 months it has grown from 50 people to 400 and is hiring at a rate of 50 a month.",{"type":591,"attrs":152938,"content":152939},{"textAlign":49},[152940],{"text":152941,"type":596},"Faraday Future aims to have its first EV on the road by 2017 adding yet further battery demand to an already squeezed market in this timeframe.",{"type":591,"attrs":152943,"content":152944},{"textAlign":49},[152945],{"text":152946,"type":596},"The world will be watching whether the company can reach its ambitious goals and whether there will be enough batteries available to make them happen.","Tesla’s mysterious rival to come out of the shadows in 2016, but what does this mean for lithium-ion batteries at a time when the Gigafactory is set for launch Faraday Future is a name is yet to have much impact in the electric vehicle (EV) arena. The California-based company has released little information about its plans […]",[152949],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152950},{"job_title":557,"image":152951,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"f1073cab-a8c6-452d-9723-12098ddd055c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[152954,152955,152956],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1034,"name":1035},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":152958,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":152959,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3e248b05e3/bm-faraday-facility.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 22, 2016",{"id":152962,"uuid":152963,"name":152964,"slug":152965,"full_slug":152966,"content":152967},112475219744203,"3911a9d5-1418-466d-be7b-009728b806de","Climate change: we need a new argument","climate-change-we-need-a-new-argument","article/climate-change-we-need-a-new-argument",{"_uid":152968,"date":152724,"tags":152969,"editor":152971,"content":152975,"excerpt":153082,"featured":50,"reporter":153083,"_editable":153087,"component":697,"seo_title":152964,"categories":153088,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":153091,"seo_description":153082,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":152960},"6409589f-61f3-416c-8e4f-aff4490c9562",[152970],{"slug":110216,"name":110217},[152972],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":152973},{"job_title":557,"image":152974,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":152976},[152977,152982,152987,152992,152997,153002,153007,153012,153017,153022,153027,153032,153037,153042,153047,153052,153057,153062,153067,153072,153077],{"type":591,"attrs":152978,"content":152979},{"textAlign":49},[152980],{"text":152981,"type":596},"Politics and climate. Two inseparable world’s that should be poles apart. Prizing apart these two subjects was the major hurdle facing 150 world leaders that attended the United Nations (UN) Conference on Climate Change in November at the 21st summit of its kind also known as COP21.",{"type":591,"attrs":152983,"content":152984},{"textAlign":49},[152985],{"text":152986,"type":596},"It was widely anticipated to be the most significant climate meeting since Koyoto in 1992, the first definitive commitment from countries to reduce greenhouse gas output, and most notably carbon dioxide emissions.",{"type":591,"attrs":152988,"content":152989},{"textAlign":49},[152990],{"text":152991,"type":596},"Many commentators saw China and the US as the key nuts to crack on carbon output, after all, the world’s biggest economies and carbon emitters have not played ball in any real way since Koyoto.",{"type":591,"attrs":152993,"content":152994},{"textAlign":49},[152995],{"text":152996,"type":596},"Granted, China, as a developing nation, was initially omitted from the agreement as its carbon contributions in the atmosphere to date were nothing compared to industrialised nations. China was just getting started.",{"type":591,"attrs":152998,"content":152999},{"textAlign":49},[153000],{"text":153001,"type":596},"Meanwhile, as the agreement didn’t become international law until well into the second half of the 1992-2012 timeframe, the US went into carbon output overdrive, wiping out any cuts other countries made.",{"type":591,"attrs":153003,"content":153004},{"textAlign":49},[153005],{"text":153006,"type":596},"With China – the new contender to the global economic throne – not having to adapt to any legislation, why should the US? It was a fair argument and one that politicians have never really overcome.",{"type":591,"attrs":153008,"content":153009},{"textAlign":49},[153010],{"text":153011,"type":596},"And with that, the failures of Koyoto became apparent and the climate change issue became more about politics and less about the environment.",{"type":591,"attrs":153013,"content":153014},{"textAlign":49},[153015],{"text":153016,"type":596},"We now stand on the cusp of 2016 and climate change is more controversial than ever before.",{"type":591,"attrs":153018,"content":153019},{"textAlign":49},[153020],{"text":153021,"type":596},"Each participant now seems to have to take a side: “yes, man-made emissions are causing irreparable change to our climate” or “no, it’s not man made and part of a wider natural cycle”.",{"type":591,"attrs":153023,"content":153024},{"textAlign":49},[153025],{"text":153026,"type":596},"This will again no doubt be the premise of the Paris seminar. Similar politicians to 1997 arguing the same issues. Different year, same story.",{"type":591,"attrs":153028,"content":153029},{"textAlign":49},[153030],{"text":153031,"type":596},"At COP21, more than 175 countries have given carbon cut pledges to keep the rise in average global temperatures under 2.7 C. The UN has an even more bullish target of 2.0 C, while a secret target of 1.5 C is where the negotiations will start.",{"type":591,"attrs":153033,"content":153034},{"textAlign":49},[153035],{"text":153036,"type":596},"You will be forgiven for thinking this is starting to sound like a TV episode of The Apprentice.",{"type":591,"attrs":153038,"content":153039},{"textAlign":49},[153040],{"text":153041,"type":596},"Whether you are a believer, skeptic or indifferent, the argument over the climate has become so convoluted and loaded that we are seemingly further away from change than ever before.",{"type":591,"attrs":153043,"content":153044},{"textAlign":49},[153045],{"text":153046,"type":596},"Therefore, the argument needs to change in order to get the wheels turning.",{"type":591,"attrs":153048,"content":153049},{"textAlign":49},[153050],{"text":153051,"type":596},"It needs to be less about global warming and more about introducing low carbon technologies in a major way.",{"type":591,"attrs":153053,"content":153054},{"textAlign":49},[153055],{"text":153056,"type":596},"After all, surely petrol or diesel emissions being released into atmosphere is not good in any way, regardless of whether it causes the climate to warm. Thus, the role of electric and hydrogen based propulsion should increase on this basis as a minimum.",{"type":591,"attrs":153058,"content":153059},{"textAlign":49},[153060],{"text":153061,"type":596},"And our energy needs over the next 30 years must pave the way for mainstream solar and wind power as a legitimate, economic source… regardless of their green credentials.",{"type":591,"attrs":153063,"content":153064},{"textAlign":49},[153065],{"text":153066,"type":596},"Furthermore, the widespread adoption of what are now lower cost, advanced and efficient technologies to harness and store energy – such as solar photovoltaics and lithium-ion batteries – are becoming so low cost that they must nearing serious consideration for the mass market.",{"type":591,"attrs":153068,"content":153069},{"textAlign":49},[153070],{"text":153071,"type":596},"The icing on the cake for the world’s leading economies (and carbon emitters) should be that these technologies can create significant new industries at a time of uncertainty with traditional ones.",{"type":591,"attrs":153073,"content":153074},{"textAlign":49},[153075],{"text":153076,"type":596},"While the focus of the UN’s summit will no doubt be the age old argument of global warming and negotiating on dubious percentile points of a degree Celsius, it should be zeroing in on technologies that can make it happen.",{"type":591,"attrs":153078,"content":153079},{"textAlign":49},[153080],{"text":153081,"type":596},"The focus should be on the means to the end. And not the end itself.","Politics and climate. Two inseparable world’s that should be poles apart. Prizing apart these two subjects was the major hurdle facing 150 world leaders that attended the United Nations (UN) Conference on Climate Change in November at the 21st summit of its kind also known as COP21. It was widely anticipated to be the most […]",[153084],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153085},{"job_title":557,"image":153086,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6409589f-61f3-416c-8e4f-aff4490c9562\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[153089,153090],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":153092,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":153093,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65a8e7df13/bm-climate-change.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":153095,"uuid":153096,"name":153097,"slug":153098,"full_slug":153099,"content":153100},112475209684125,"f0bc2a32-ed8c-4f5d-88d8-38b36a9519a0","Vale nickel expansion eases cobalt supply tensions","vale-nickel-expansion-eases-cobalt-supply-tensions","article/vale-nickel-expansion-eases-cobalt-supply-tensions",{"_uid":153101,"date":152724,"tags":153102,"editor":153104,"content":153108,"excerpt":153240,"featured":50,"reporter":153241,"_editable":153245,"component":697,"seo_title":153097,"categories":153246,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":153251,"seo_description":153240,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":152960},"39067a67-e741-4534-867f-2a2228c87b6b",[153103],{"slug":110827,"name":110828},[153105],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153106},{"job_title":557,"image":153107,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":153109},[153110,153115,153120,153125,153130,153135,153140,153145,153150,153155,153160,153165,153170,153175,153180,153185,153190,153195,153200,153205,153210,153215,153220,153225,153230,153235],{"type":591,"attrs":153111,"content":153112},{"textAlign":49},[153113],{"text":153114,"type":596},"Cobalt’s supply issues have failed to be quelled in the fourth quarter of the year leaving questions over whether a significant shortage will hit the industry in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153116,"content":153117},{"textAlign":49},[153118],{"text":153119,"type":596},"With oversupply and prices plummeting to six-year lows in both copper and nickel, their cobalt byproduct, one of the few in-demandmetals, is facing indirect supply cuts.",{"type":591,"attrs":153121,"content":153122},{"textAlign":49},[153123],{"text":153124,"type":596},"However, one of the world’s largest mining groups, Vale, is going against the grain and is increasing output from its nickel mine in New Caledonia – the Pacific island chain close to Fiji – a move which will see the company supply more cobalt to the market in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153126,"content":153127},{"textAlign":49},[153128],{"text":153129,"type":596},"Vale, which is also the world’s largest producer of nickel, announced plans to increase output from its Goro mine in December 2015 against a backdrop of slumping prices which have made operating in the region “very challenging”, according to the company.",{"type":591,"attrs":153131,"content":153132},{"textAlign":49},[153133],{"text":153134,"type":596},"The mine is the groups largest source of cobalt.",{"type":591,"attrs":153136,"content":153137},{"textAlign":49},[153138],{"text":153139,"type":596},"At the Vale’s annual investor day, Jennifer Maki, CEO of Vale Canada and Executive Director of base metals, acknowledged concerns that investor’s “patience is wearing” in the project, but explained that the only way to reduce costs to competitive levels was to increase production.",{"type":591,"attrs":153141,"content":153142},{"textAlign":49},[153143],{"text":153144,"type":596},"This, alongside production and efficiency improvements at the company’s Sudbury and Voisey’s Bay operations, is expected to add additional volumes of cobalt into the market in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153146,"content":153147},{"textAlign":49},[153148],{"text":153149,"type":596},"Despite these targets, industry sources are still expecting the cobalt market to move into deficit next year, as other copper and nickel operations are forced to reduce output and demand from the battery and aerospace markets continues to increase.",{"type":591,"attrs":153151,"content":153152},{"textAlign":49},[153153],{"text":153154,"type":596},"With the vast majority of cobalt produced as a by-product of copper and nickel operations, falling commodity prices have put pressure on major suppliers around the world.",{"type":591,"attrs":153156,"content":153157},{"textAlign":49},[153158],{"text":153159,"type":596},"US-based Glencore announced plans to suspend operations at their Katanga mine in Q3 2015, while other operations in the region are also believed to be under threat as margins continue to tighten.",{"type":591,"attrs":153161,"content":153162},{"textAlign":49},[153163],{"text":153164,"type":596},"These pressures in base metal markets come at a time when consumption of battery-grade cobalt is likely to increase considerably.",{"type":591,"attrs":153166,"content":153167},{"textAlign":49},[153168],{"text":153169,"type":596},"With many of the major battery megafactory capacity expansions being built around either the nickelmananese- cobalt (NMC) or nickelcobalt- aluminium (NCA) cathode chemistries, 2016 is expected to see a push from consumers to secure supplies for a gradual ramp-up in cell production from 2017 onwards.",{"type":591,"attrs":153171,"content":153172},{"textAlign":49},[153173],{"text":153174,"type":596},"Although fears over the security of cobalt supply have seen some producers attempt to reduce cobalt content, established chemistries are likely to require some volume of cobalt for the foreseeable future.",{"type":591,"attrs":153176,"content":153177},{"textAlign":49},[153178],{"text":153179,"type":596},"This reduction in cobalt output therefore poses a potential bottleneck in the development of major lithium-ion battery expansions and is likely to see heightened interest in the development of new sources during 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153181,"content":153182},{"textAlign":49},[153183],{"text":153184,"type":596},"Increased output from New Caledonia will subsequently provide some optimism for buyers of battery raw material, although the operation will have to match the 50% increase in production which it achieved in 2015 to overcome its high fixed to variable cost structure – a tough task considering the wider structural changes in commodities.",{"type":615,"attrs":153186,"content":153187},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[153188],{"text":153189,"type":596},"Commodity pressures driving cobalt",{"type":591,"attrs":153191,"content":153192},{"textAlign":49},[153193],{"text":153194,"type":596},"The Goro mine in New Caledonia is estimated to be Vale’s largest source of cobalt, however volumes are also produced from its North Atlantic operations – Sudbury, Thompson and Voisey’s Bay.",{"type":591,"attrs":153196,"content":153197},{"textAlign":49},[153198],{"text":153199,"type":596},"While announcing plans to improve the flowsheets of these North Atlantic operations, Maki also outlined a goal to reduce production costs in New Caledonia from $20,000/tonne today, to $13,000/ tonne in 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153201,"content":153202},{"textAlign":49},[153203],{"text":153204,"type":596},"Despite these expected cost reductions, Maki also acknowledged that New Caledonia, in particular, “needs a robust nickel environment for the future”.",{"type":591,"attrs":153206,"content":153207},{"textAlign":49},[153208],{"text":153209,"type":596},"With nickel prices down in excess of 30% in 2015 alone, the longer term prospects of increased cobalt by-product production from the mine remains in question.",{"type":591,"attrs":153211,"content":153212},{"textAlign":49},[153213],{"text":153214,"type":596},"The company has experienced issues in ramping up production from the mine and with commodity investors becoming increasingly skeptical of the near-term prospects of a recovery in base metal markets, 2016 could prove a defining year for the Goro project.",{"type":591,"attrs":153216,"content":153217},{"textAlign":49},[153218],{"text":153219,"type":596},"Vale is expecting to reach 75% of its nameplate capacity of the Goro mine by the end of 2015, with this increasing to 85% in 2016. Meanwhile, production of ores from the company’s Sudbury project in Canada is also projected to increase as the company seeks to cut costs by 25% by reducing feedstock material from other suppliers.",{"type":591,"attrs":153221,"content":153222},{"textAlign":49},[153223],{"text":153224,"type":596},"Price declines in copper and nickel Although these cost-cutting efforts are likely to work in favour of increased cobalt supply from Vale in the short-term, wider adjustments in commodity markets mean production is still at the mercy of copper and nickel operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":153226,"content":153227},{"textAlign":49},[153228],{"text":153229,"type":596},"This is a supply security issue which will have to be addressed in the longer-term.",{"type":591,"attrs":153231,"content":153232},{"textAlign":49},[153233],{"text":153234,"type":596},"Existing producers such as ENRC have already announced plans to develop new mines by 2017, while junior projects, primarily in North America, are seeking to develop primary cobalt deposits.",{"type":591,"attrs":153236,"content":153237},{"textAlign":49},[153238],{"text":153239,"type":596},"In addition, 2016 is expected to see further development of recycling routes for cobalt with major companies in Germany, Japan and Belgium exploring processing routes to more efficiently recover used material.","Cobalt’s supply issues have failed to be quelled in the fourth quarter of the year leaving questions over whether a significant shortage will hit the industry in 2016. With oversupply and prices plummeting to six-year lows in both copper and nickel, their cobalt byproduct, one of the few in-demandmetals, is facing indirect supply cuts. However, one […]",[153242],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153243},{"job_title":557,"image":153244,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"39067a67-e741-4534-867f-2a2228c87b6b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[153247,153248,153249,153250],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":4840,"name":115},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3719,"name":150},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":122439,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":153252,"is_external_url":51},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":153254,"uuid":153255,"name":153256,"slug":153257,"full_slug":153258,"content":153259},112475204907988,"b983ff59-fef6-427f-ad85-fcd7ee926944","Tech-tonic shift means lithium’s price surge is set to continue","tech-tonic-shift-means-lithiums-price-surge-is-set-to-continue","article/tech-tonic-shift-means-lithiums-price-surge-is-set-to-continue",{"_uid":153260,"date":152724,"tags":153261,"editor":153262,"content":153266,"excerpt":153454,"featured":50,"reporter":153455,"_editable":153459,"component":697,"seo_title":153256,"categories":153460,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":153464,"seo_description":153454,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":152960},"358b2ca9-6fae-475c-8a06-ad4be40a68a1",[],[153263],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153264},{"job_title":557,"image":153265,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":153267},[153268,153273,153278,153283,153288,153293,153298,153303,153308,153313,153318,153323,153328,153333,153336,153341,153346,153351,153356,153361,153366,153369,153374,153379,153384,153389,153394,153399,153404,153409,153414,153419,153424,153429,153434,153439,153444,153449],{"type":591,"attrs":153269,"content":153270},{"textAlign":49},[153271],{"text":153272,"type":596},"Lithium’s price performance highlights the material’s unique standing in a world of commodity crashes, but supply side structure remains a potential obstacle to growth",{"type":591,"attrs":153274,"content":153275},{"textAlign":49},[153276],{"text":153277,"type":596},"The price of lithium carbonate and hydroxide continued to rise through the fourth quarter of the year sparking fears from buyers that the industry is to remain in shortage for some time.",{"type":591,"attrs":153279,"content":153280},{"textAlign":49},[153281],{"text":153282,"type":596},"Lithium carbonate rose to $8,000/ tonne, a 23% increase year-on-year, while lithium hydroxide went even higher to $10,000/tonne, a 25% increase over the same period.",{"type":591,"attrs":153284,"content":153285},{"textAlign":49},[153286],{"text":153287,"type":596},"Strong lithium-ion battery demand in Asia has seen prices surge in 2015 and no end appears in sight as a new wave of full electric vehicles (EVs) are set to come into production over the next 18 months.",{"type":591,"attrs":153289,"content":153290},{"textAlign":49},[153291],{"text":153292,"type":596},"The battery sector is in the middle of a shift from megawatt capacity plants to gigawatt operations in order to fill expected demand from the auto sector and utility storage industry.",{"type":615,"attrs":153294,"content":153295},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[153296],{"text":153297,"type":596},"Commodity price divergence",{"type":591,"attrs":153299,"content":153300},{"textAlign":49},[153301],{"text":153302,"type":596},"These are some of the few significant growth markets in the world at present and the subsequent price spike in lithium is further evidence of how this growth could be a major catalyst for change in raw material markets.",{"type":591,"attrs":153304,"content":153305},{"textAlign":49},[153306],{"text":153307,"type":596},"Being driven by major established industries, traditional commodities such as steel and energy rely heavily on the construction of cities and infrastructure networks like rail and roads.",{"type":591,"attrs":153309,"content":153310},{"textAlign":49},[153311],{"text":153312,"type":596},"China’s rapid development between 2000 and 2013 underpinned all demand for these minerals and metals. But with the country going through a major period of change, demand has plummeted leaving many questions over whether consumption will ever rebound to levels seen in the 2000s.",{"type":591,"attrs":153314,"content":153315},{"textAlign":49},[153316],{"text":153317,"type":596},"The price drops experienced in commodities are in stark contrast to the battery-powered lithium industry and have been compounded by the strong US dollar, the main currency of trade.",{"type":591,"attrs":153319,"content":153320},{"textAlign":49},[153321],{"text":153322,"type":596},"Bloomberg’s Commodity Index, which also tracks goods such as coffee beans and tea in addition to minerals and metals, dropped to its lowest point since July 1999 in early December.",{"type":591,"attrs":153324,"content":153325},{"textAlign":49},[153326],{"text":153327,"type":596},"Oil was a major contributing factor to these declines, dipping below $40/ bbl for the first time since February 2009 and sparking fears it could head as low as $20/bbl.",{"type":591,"attrs":153329,"content":153330},{"textAlign":49},[153331],{"text":153332,"type":596},"Iron ore slumped to a fresh ten year low in mid-December trading at $38.20/tonne, taking decreases in 2015 to 45%.",{"type":591,"attrs":153334,"content":153335},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":591,"attrs":153337,"content":153338},{"textAlign":49},[153339],{"text":153340,"type":596},"Iron ore, the most commonly cited commodity, has had an astonishing fall from grace to $38.20/tonne in mid-December compared to prices of $180/tonne as recently as 2011.",{"type":591,"attrs":153342,"content":153343},{"textAlign":49},[153344],{"text":153345,"type":596},"And in addition, Copper’s price has decreased by an average of 30% throughout 2015, from $3/ lb in January to little over $2/lb in December. This adds to a long term price decline which began in 2011. Looking forward into 2016, it appears there will be more pain than gain for commodities.",{"type":591,"attrs":153347,"content":153348},{"textAlign":49},[153349],{"text":153350,"type":596},"Moody’s place target prices of $40/ tonne for iron ore, $2.15/lb for zinc and $3.80/lb for nickel.",{"type":591,"attrs":153352,"content":153353},{"textAlign":49},[153354],{"text":153355,"type":596},"The fortunes of lithium this year and next are a world away from this. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects lithium prices to continue there strong performance into 2016.",{"type":591,"attrs":153357,"content":153358},{"textAlign":49},[153359],{"text":153360,"type":596},"A significant lack of supply of both lithium carbonate and hydroxide has forced prices higher on the back of growth in lithium ion battery production, which is close to 15% this year alone.",{"type":591,"attrs":153362,"content":153363},{"textAlign":49},[153364],{"text":153365,"type":596},"New supply is looking set to be limited in 2016 with new output only expected from Orocobre in Argentina, and a potential for more hard rock tonnages from Talison in Australia.",{"type":591,"attrs":153367,"content":153368},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":615,"attrs":153370,"content":153371},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[153372],{"text":153373,"type":596},"Lithium’s structural bottleneck",{"type":591,"attrs":153375,"content":153376},{"textAlign":49},[153377],{"text":153378,"type":596},"The rise of Australian spodumene miners will be one of the key trends to watch.",{"type":591,"attrs":153380,"content":153381},{"textAlign":49},[153382],{"text":153383,"type":596},"With production costs falling owing to the value of the Australian dollar versus the US dollar, hard rock lithium from the country has become increasingly competitive in a market that needs quick, new volumes of lithium.",{"type":591,"attrs":153385,"content":153386},{"textAlign":49},[153387],{"text":153388,"type":596},"Spodumene offers a more rapid route to market by supplying a feedstock to Chinese lithium chemical producers without the need to build complex chemical processing plants at site.",{"type":591,"attrs":153390,"content":153391},{"textAlign":49},[153392],{"text":153393,"type":596},"The other major lithium producing region, the Atacama in Chile, has this year seen political deadlock over the rights to extract lithium, an obstacle which looks set to remain in the short term.",{"type":591,"attrs":153395,"content":153396},{"textAlign":49},[153397],{"text":153398,"type":596},"Therefore, there is a strong opportunity for spodumene sourced lithium to fill the supply gap the industry is facing.",{"type":591,"attrs":153400,"content":153401},{"textAlign":49},[153402],{"text":153403,"type":596},"Benchmark believes in the next 18 months the only significant new volumes of lithium will come from the hard rock source, as has been the case for the last 4 years.",{"type":591,"attrs":153405,"content":153406},{"textAlign":49},[153407],{"text":153408,"type":596},"Lithium sourced from brine is at risk of letting its dominance slip and opening the door to new extraction technologies.",{"type":591,"attrs":153410,"content":153411},{"textAlign":49},[153412],{"text":153413,"type":596},"While brine extraction of lithium is the lowest cost way of producing large volumes, lithium is an abundant mineral found in many forms including clays, seawater, geothermal brines and oilfield brines.",{"type":591,"attrs":153415,"content":153416},{"textAlign":49},[153417],{"text":153418,"type":596},"While the lithium concentrations in many of these sources are prohibitive to economic extraction, the lithium sector is susceptible to disruption.",{"type":591,"attrs":153420,"content":153421},{"textAlign":49},[153422],{"text":153423,"type":596},"In the mid-1990s, SQM, emerged almost overnight to become the dominant lithium producer. Lithium was originally a by-product of potash extraction at its Salar de Atacama plant, but 15-years later has become its mineral of focus owing to the mineral’s strategic importance.",{"type":591,"attrs":153425,"content":153426},{"textAlign":49},[153427],{"text":153428,"type":596},"SQM took a commodity approach to low cost pricing which forced a number of its competitors out of business, particularly those mining from hard rock sources such as spodumene and petalite operations.",{"type":591,"attrs":153430,"content":153431},{"textAlign":49},[153432],{"text":153433,"type":596},"It only took a handful of years for this change to take shape and lithium today stands at another crossroads.",{"type":591,"attrs":153435,"content":153436},{"textAlign":49},[153437],{"text":153438,"type":596},"A lack of expansion from brines has opened the door to Orocobre and seen the rise of alternative lithium sources such as Western Lithium’s hectorate project in Nevada, and Bacanora Minerals’ Mexican clay deposit.",{"type":591,"attrs":153440,"content":153441},{"textAlign":49},[153442],{"text":153443,"type":596},"The incumbent lithium producers tried during lithium’s first price spike of 2009 to quell the furore surrounding supply availability, but in the five years since they have not been able to live up to their promises of significant expansions.",{"type":591,"attrs":153445,"content":153446},{"textAlign":49},[153447],{"text":153448,"type":596},"Only Talison has stepped forward to supply new volumes.",{"type":591,"attrs":153450,"content":153451},{"textAlign":49},[153452],{"text":153453,"type":596},"It is this inactivity from the established majors which could see a shift away from lower-cost brine sources and, arguably, poses one of the biggest bottlenecks to battery capacity expansions in the longerterm.","Lithium’s price performance highlights the material’s unique standing in a world of commodity crashes, but supply side structure remains a potential obstacle to growth The price of lithium carbonate and hydroxide continued to rise through the fourth quarter of the year sparking fears from buyers that the industry is to remain in shortage for some time. […]",[153456],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153457},{"job_title":557,"image":153458,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"358b2ca9-6fae-475c-8a06-ad4be40a68a1\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[153461,153462,153463],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":3102,"name":8},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":153465,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":153466,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/92634bdd51/bm-trading-back.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},{"id":153468,"uuid":153469,"name":153470,"slug":153471,"full_slug":153472,"content":153473},112475263350328,"d3a1665f-6816-440a-a828-ee9a13539670","Niche Minerals Vs Commodities","niche-minerals-vs-commodities","article/niche-minerals-vs-commodities",{"_uid":153474,"date":153475,"tags":153476,"editor":153477,"content":153481,"excerpt":153599,"featured":50,"reporter":153600,"_editable":153604,"component":697,"seo_title":153470,"categories":153605,"visibility":707,"author_company":49,"featured_image":153608,"seo_description":153599,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":153611},"247f3137-c79d-4455-b368-4bfc3e54123c","2016-05-03 00:00",[],[153478],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153479},{"job_title":557,"image":153480,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":153482},[153483,153490,153495,153500,153505,153510,153515,153520,153525,153530,153535,153540,153547,153552,153557,153562,153569,153574,153579,153584,153589,153594],{"type":591,"attrs":153484,"content":153485},{"textAlign":49},[153486,153488],{"text":153487,"type":596},"With the slump in commodity markets forcing greater diversity among mining investors, critical minerals, particularly those used in new hi-tech application, present some of the few areas of optimism. However, with many being burnt in the past through ventures into these niche spaces, it’s important to appreciate how these materials differ fundamentally from",{"text":153489,"type":596},"traditional commodities",{"type":591,"attrs":153491,"content":153492},{"textAlign":49},[153493],{"text":153494,"type":596},"As commodity markets slump to new lows, a wave of interest has engulfed niche minerals with emerging hi-tech applications.",{"type":591,"attrs":153496,"content":153497},{"textAlign":49},[153498],{"text":153499,"type":596},"Here, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence outlines five ways these raw materials differ from traditional commodities and explains why these differences can hold the key to success or failure in the sector.",{"type":615,"attrs":153501,"content":153502},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[153503],{"text":153504,"type":596},"A question of quality",{"type":591,"attrs":153506,"content":153507},{"textAlign":49},[153508],{"text":153509,"type":596},"Fundamental differences between niche minerals and traditional commodities are evident throughout their respective supply chains, beginning with the way in which they are mined.",{"type":591,"attrs":153511,"content":153512},{"textAlign":49},[153513],{"text":153514,"type":596},"Where traditional commodities such as iron ore, copper and petroleum have long established supply chains, rooted in decades of exploration that has identified and developed significant resources across the world, niche minerals have been neglected for a generation.",{"type":591,"attrs":153516,"content":153517},{"textAlign":49},[153518],{"text":153519,"type":596},"Many of these sectors have not seen a major new market entrant for over a decade and while the excitement surrounding emerging end markets has caused a surge in exploration since 2009, weak capital markets have stunted the progress of even the most unique of resources.",{"type":591,"attrs":153521,"content":153522},{"textAlign":49},[153523],{"text":153524,"type":596},"At the heart of this dearth in development lies the inability of investors to sever their ties to traditional mining project analysis.",{"type":591,"attrs":153526,"content":153527},{"textAlign":49},[153528],{"text":153529,"type":596},"Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to niche minerals.",{"type":591,"attrs":153531,"content":153532},{"textAlign":49},[153533],{"text":153534,"type":596},"While the majority of commodity projects depend upon extraction and distribution on a vast scale, the precise properties of a resource are as critical to a niche mineral project as its size or proximity to market.",{"type":591,"attrs":153536,"content":153537},{"textAlign":49},[153538],{"text":153539,"type":596},"As a result, existing critical mineral mines are generally smaller scale projects, supplying an established set of customers with defined requirements. This is in contrast to the majority of major commodity mines.",{"type":591,"attrs":153541,"content":153542},{"textAlign":49},[153543,153545],{"text":153544,"type":596},"For example, the world’s largest iron ore project, the Vale-owned Carajas mine in Brazil, produced 120m tonnes in 2014. In comparison, the world’s largest graphite mine has a capacity of 50,000 tpa, no lithium projects exceed 40,000 tpa LCE production and the vast majority of the 90,000 tonnes of cobalt produced every year comes as a by-product of copper and nickel",{"text":153546,"type":596},"\nplays.",{"type":591,"attrs":153548,"content":153549},{"textAlign":49},[153550],{"text":153551,"type":596},"With emerging hi-tech end markets threatening to disrupt the existing supply structure in many of these industries, a diversification of resources will be required.",{"type":591,"attrs":153553,"content":153554},{"textAlign":49},[153555],{"text":153556,"type":596},"Whether this could be on the scale of traditional commodities remains to be seen, but existing reserves would suggest otherwise.",{"type":615,"attrs":153558,"content":153559},{"level":2461,"textAlign":49},[153560],{"text":153561,"type":596},"Adding value",{"type":591,"attrs":153563,"content":153564},{"textAlign":49},[153565,153567],{"text":153566,"type":596},"The starkest contrast between niche minerals and commodities lies in where",{"text":153568,"type":596},"\nvalue is added in their respective supply chains.",{"type":591,"attrs":153570,"content":153571},{"textAlign":49},[153572],{"text":153573,"type":596},"Where commodity production is generally a volume game, niche minerals are refined, specialist products which require specific processing to ensure their efficient application.",{"type":591,"attrs":153575,"content":153576},{"textAlign":49},[153577],{"text":153578,"type":596},"This is a difference which is only becoming more apparent with the use of these previously industrial minerals in emerging hi-tech sectors.",{"type":591,"attrs":153580,"content":153581},{"textAlign":49},[153582],{"text":153583,"type":596},"Now, more than ever before, the secret behind niche mineral production resides in the hands of the processors. Supply security no longer refers to the ability of a producer to mine and deliver a product, but their ability to provide a consistent supply of tailored material which will maximise efficiency.",{"type":591,"attrs":153585,"content":153586},{"textAlign":49},[153587],{"text":153588,"type":596},"Despite being a minor input cost into applications like lithium-ion batteries, these materials are proving critical in improving performance, and in turn overcoming some of the major barriers to adoption.",{"type":591,"attrs":153590,"content":153591},{"textAlign":49},[153592],{"text":153593,"type":596},"Few have the experience in these markets to recognise this in itself, not to mention to act upon it.",{"type":591,"attrs":153595,"content":153596},{"textAlign":49},[153597],{"text":153598,"type":596},"The emergence of new markets with more refined needs is exposing not only a lack of resources, but also a lack of expertise to provide materials in line with end-user requirements, both old and new.","With the slump in commodity markets forcing greater diversity among mining investors, critical minerals, particularly those used in new hi-tech application, present some of the few areas of optimism. However, with many being burnt in the past through ventures into these niche spaces, it’s important to appreciate how these materials differ fundamentally from traditional commodities",[153601],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153602},{"job_title":557,"image":153603,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"247f3137-c79d-4455-b368-4bfc3e54123c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[153606,153607],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":153609,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":153610,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a88a64aa64/bm-commodities-back.jpg",{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"May 03, 2016",{"id":153613,"uuid":153614,"name":153615,"slug":153616,"full_slug":153617,"content":153618},112475268253241,"b2f5d036-4d73-4971-be61-fa11b5ce78b4","The battery megafactories are coming","the-battery-megafactories-are-coming","article/the-battery-megafactories-are-coming",{"_uid":153619,"date":153620,"tags":153621,"editor":153622,"content":153626,"excerpt":149142,"featured":50,"reporter":153677,"_editable":153681,"component":697,"seo_title":153615,"categories":153682,"visibility":707,"author_company":547,"featured_image":153686,"seo_description":149142,"author_full_name":547,"author_job_title":547,"formattedDate":153688},"fbf5c396-a7b0-4e45-a3e3-3d37f8ac4a04","2016-04-03 00:00",[],[153623],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153624},{"job_title":557,"image":153625,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},{"type":588,"content":153627},[153628,153633,153638,153642,153646,153651,153655,153659,153663,153667,153672],{"type":591,"attrs":153629,"content":153630},{"textAlign":49},[153631],{"text":153632,"type":596},"Tesla Motors, LG Chem, Boston Power and Foxconn are building battery super-plants that will come on-stream in the next three years. The new supply could revolutionise how we source and use energy, creating a once-in-a-century disruptive event.",{"type":591,"attrs":153634,"content":153635},{"textAlign":49},[153636],{"text":153637,"type":596},"A global race is on to build the world’s biggest battery plant. For what would have sounded like fantasy only a year ago, some of the world’s major corporations are now vying to become the next leading producer of lithium-ion batteries.",{"type":591,"attrs":153639,"content":153640},{"textAlign":49},[153641],{"text":148744,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153643,"content":153644},{"textAlign":49},[153645],{"text":148749,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153647,"content":153648},{"textAlign":49},[153649],{"text":153650,"type":596},"It is a trend that rapidly gathered pace in 2014 and one that will see the world’s battery capacity rise by over 150% by 2020. Last year, the world produced 35GWh worth of battery cells, but the three megafactory projects alone will add a further 57GWh.",{"type":591,"attrs":153652,"content":153653},{"textAlign":49},[153654],{"text":148764,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153656,"content":153657},{"textAlign":49},[153658],{"text":148769,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153660,"content":153661},{"textAlign":49},[153662],{"text":148774,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153664,"content":153665},{"textAlign":49},[153666],{"text":148779,"type":596},{"type":591,"attrs":153668,"content":153669},{"textAlign":49},[153670],{"text":153671,"type":596},"In August 2014, for example, the company broke ground on a new EV battery plant in Xi’an, Shanxi province, China which will start operations in October 2015 and produce lithium-ion batteries for 40,000 vehicles.",{"type":591,"attrs":153673,"content":153674},{"textAlign":49},[153675],{"text":153676,"type":596},"The new supply will add momentum to already falling production costs. The cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by 14% a year on average over the last 15 years to today’s level of $250/kWh. But with megafactory economies of scale this is forecast to drop to $150/kWh by 2017 and $100/KWh within five years. Many believe this will drive down the cost of EVs and spark mass uptake.",[153678],{"slug":544,"name":543,"content":153679},{"job_title":557,"image":153680,"bio":548,"linkedin":555},{"filename":552},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"fbf5c396-a7b0-4e45-a3e3-3d37f8ac4a04\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",[153683,153684,153685],{"slug":1037,"name":1038},{"slug":3099,"name":3100},{"slug":1040,"name":1041},{"id":49,"alt":547,"name":547,"focus":547,"title":547,"source":547,"filename":547,"copyright":547,"fieldtype":553,"meta_data":153687,"is_external_url":50},{"alt":547,"title":547,"source":547,"copyright":547},"Apr 03, 2016",1783529727539]